=^ THE mVASION OF IRELAND
BY EDWARD BRUCE
1902
A THESIS
Presented to the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Pennsylvania
By CAROLINE COLVIN
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the degree
Doctor of Philosophy
PHILADELPHIA 1901
THE mVASIOK OF IRELAND
BY EDWARD BRUCE
A THESIS
Pkesented to the Faculty of Philosophy of the Univeesity of Pennsylvania
By CAROLINE COLVIN
In Pabtial Fulfillment of the Rkquieemenxs
FOE the DEGEEE
DocTOE OF Philosophy
PHILADELPHIA 1901
PRESS OF
THE NEW ERA PRINTmQ OOMPANH
LANCASTER, PA.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTEE I.
Page. Conditions in Ireland During the Early Part of the Fourteenth Century, 5
CHAPTER II.
Edward Bruce' s Invasion of Ireland and Occupation of Ulster from May 1315 to October 1318, . . . .18
CHAPTER HI. Conclusion, 53
Bibliography, 59
THE INVASION OF IRELAND.
CHAPTER I. CONDITIONS IN IRELAND.
Early in the fourteenth century the people of Ireland, espe- cially those of the northern part, began to watch the struggle of the Scotch nation for independence with a new interest and increasing sympathy. This feeling expressed itself at first in a passive rather than an active manner, for the only direct assistance offered was an asylum to Robert Bruce on the Island of Rathlin in 1306,' and a badly managed expedition by a company of Irishmen who had been enlisted by Thomas and Alexander Bruce, which was cut to pieces while trying to effect a landing on the coast of Galloway.*
The successes of the Scots threw a new light on the English government and showed the weakness of Edward II. as com- pared with his father, in consequence of which the Irish began to withdraw from his service. This fact becomes very signifi- cant in view of the large numbers of Irishmen who had fought in the wars in Scotland ^ and Gascony,* a single request calling
1 Barbour, The Bruce, Bk. III.; Tytler, Hist, of Scot., I., p. 212.
"Matt. West., p. 458.
» Calendar State Papers, Ireland (1293-1301), §§ 40, 42, 46, 47, 144; Annals of Ireland, in Chartidaries, etc., St. Mary's Abbey, Dublin, II., p. 329; Annals of Loch Ce, I., pp. 525, 629; Annals of Ulster, II., pp. 389, 391, 397, 401; Rishanger, p. 161.
In preparing for the Scotch campaign of 1303 the king addressed individ- ual letters to one hundred and eighty-four of the leading men in Ireland, both English and Irish. — Rymer, I., p. 938.
* Cal. Slate Papers, Ireland (1252-1284), §§ 190, 191, 310, 398, 404; Eishanger, p. 414.
5
6 THE II^VASION OF lEELAND.
for as many as ten thousand foot-soldiers.^ These troops were led by the viceroy and nobles of Ireland who were sometimes treated with marked distinction by the king.^ Supplies in con- siderable quantity had also been drawn from the markets of Dublin and Drogheda ; ^ besides purveyance directly by order of the king permission to buy provisions in Ireland was often granted to private individuals, usually with but one restriction, that they were not to be sold to the Scots.*
This drain upon the resources of the Colonists and the fre- quent absences of the more powerful leaders were important causes of the internal disturbances which, toward the close of the thirteenth and during the early part of the succeeding century, were unusually widespread and destructive. The Irish and the English in Ireland not only warred with each other but each race had feuds to the death within itself.' Even the religious organizations were unable to live in peace ; the mon- asteries had begun to make a racial distinction, and the chapters of Christ church and St. Patrick's in Dublin while they quarrelled between themselves for precedence* united
» Eymer, I., p. 829.
«CAar., etc., 11,, p. 326.
' Hiit. and Munic. Doc. of Ireland, sub annos 1312-1313 ; RotvXi Scotice, I., p. 139 ; Cal. State Papers, Ireland (1293-1301), p. 399.
In March, 1314, the following order was to be shipped to Skyburnes for the use of the English army: "Two thousand quarters of wheat, one-half to be ground and barreled ; two thousand quarters of oats ; two hundred quarters of rough salt; two thousand salt fish and five hundred butts of wine." In addi- tion, the mayor and bailiffs of the city of Dublin were to provide twelve good arbalasts with fitting gear and ten thousand bolts. — Hist, and Munic. Doc., pp. 326, 327.
* Patent and Close RoUs of Reign of Edward II. , and Rymer. ( Numerous entries. )
* Irish Annals of this period.
•Lascelles, Liber Munerum Pyilicorum Hibemice, II., pp. 34, 35.
CONDITIONS IN IRELAND. 7
in an effort to take from the see of Armagh her ancient pri- matical right.^
The viceroy, or justiciary, who represented the English government in Ireland did not at this time occupy a position of very great actual power although it would seem from the usual terms of his patent that he was well supported. He was appointed during the pleasure of the king and changes were frequent. He received from the Dublin exchequer £500 a year and was required to maintain in the king's service twenty men-at-arms, including himself, with as many capari- soned horses.^ He was also entitled to levy from the colony provisions of all kinds for his troops and household for which he paid "the king's price."' Whatever may have been his power, theoretically, to call out a sufficient force in case of an uprising of the natives or the revolt of an Anglo-Norman lord, he was practically dependent upon his own retainers and such voluntary assistance as might be given him by interested parties.* Nothing that could really be called an army was sent to Ireland from the time of King John until 1361 when Lionel, duke of Clarence, had become earl of Ulster.^
^ Ibid. , II. , p. 2 ; Abbd MacGeoghegan, Hist, of Ireland, p. 325 ; Eymer, II., p. 47; Patent Bolls, Ed. II., II., p. 77 ; Chart., etc., II., p. 342. This trouble become so serious that in 1308 the king sent an order to his justiciary to permit the archbishop of Armagh to carry his cross, when in Dublin, as had been his right heretofore. Even this did not prevent their followers com- ing to blows in 1313.
^Patent BoUs, Ed. II., I., p. 568 ; II., p. 207.
'Gilbert, Viceroys, p. 120.
* Owing to the existence of five distinct governments the custom of hostages had grown into quite an elaborate system (see regulations of as early as the laws of Senchus Mor) and was extensively used by the viceroys as a means of insuring peace and order. They exacted hostages from the Anglo-Norman lords as well as from the native chiefs. — Ancient Laws and Institutes of Ireland, II., Pref., p. xlii.
*Davies, Discovery (in Ireland under Elizabeth and James I.), p. 227.
8 THE INVASION OF IRELAND.
The internal troubles were so general as to interfere seri- ously with the assistance which the king expected in his war with Scotland and in 1311 he sent instructions to the prin- cipal officers of the crown, together with the Earl of Ulster, asking them to devise some means of settling or at least de- ferring their quarrels ; ^ but matters became worse instead of better, and in 1312 the viceroy, John Wogan, was ignomin- iously defeated and a number of his men killed by Robert Ver- dun, in Louth.^ The most serious feud however was that of the de Burghs and Geraldines which for more than a quarter of a century had kept the north central part of Ireland in a state of turmoil, with an occasional peace brought about by the good offices of the justiciary.^ Richard de Burgh, earl of Ulster, usually had the upper hand but in 1294 John Fitz- Thomas, after he had triumphed over William de Vesey, took the earl prisoner and detained him in the castle of Ley until he was compelled by the king to liberate him " for good hostages of his own people " ; an event which is spoken of by the annalists as causing much anxiety and disturbance throughout the entire country.* The parties came to an amicable settle- ment in 1312 upon the marriage of two of the earl's daughters to two members of the Geraldine family,® Thomas Fitz-John who in 1316 succeeded his father as earl of Kildare,® and Maurice
Kichey, Short History of the Irish People, p. 206. Lionel married the daughter and heir of William de Burgh, earl of Ulster, who was assassinated in 1333. See page 55.
' Rymer, R. II., p. 144.
* Char., etc., II., pp. 340-1. Appendix III. Proceedings relative to the uprising of Verdun, from the Plea Eolls.
•Grace, p. 45 ; Char., etc., II., p. 325.
* Grace, p. 43, note 1., p. 42 ; Annals of Loch Ce, I., pp. 511, 513 ; Char., etc., II., p. 323 ; Annals of Ulster, II., pp. 383, 385.
^Char., etc., 11., p. 341. 'Ibid., 352.
CONDITIONS IN IRELAND. 9
Fitz-Thomas who was later created first earl of Desmond.^ The most serious of the native quarrels, that between two branches of the O'Conor family for the succession in Connaught, was still unsettled at the time of the invasion. This family feud between the Cathal-Crovderg and the Clann-Murtough factions dated from the time of the conquest, having begun with the sons of Roderic O'Conor last native monarch of Ireland. Its history is one long series of open conflicts, private murders, burning and pillaging, with the English frequently assisting first one side and then the other as best suited their interests. * William de Burgh, brother of the earl, soon managed to get practical control of the province for there was no Irish prince strong enough to assert his claim ^ until in 1310 Felim O'Conor through the influence of his foster father, Mac Diarmada, was inaugurated king of Connaught with all the ancient ceremonies.* Although Felim was only seventeen years old he was thought to give promise of unusual ability and seems to have possessed at- tractive personal qualities, but his own people were not united and the balance of power was still in the hands of the de Burghs. There were at this time in Ireland, according to the scheme of organization of the English government, chartered cities,' of which there were four, Dublin, Waterford, Limerick and Cork ; counties, each having a sheriflf appointed by the king ; and liberties, which were similar to the so-called counties Palatine, and to the marches of Scotland and Wales in England. The
'Lynch, W., Legal Institutes, etc., p. 179. (From Chief Remembrancer Koll, Dublin. ) ; Lodge, Peerage, I. , p. 63.
^Animls of Loch Ce, Ulster, and Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland, by the Four Masters.
' Annals of Loch Ce, I. , p. 553.
*lbid., p. 555.
' Chartce, Privilegia et Immunitates, pp. 1, 36, 42.
10 THE INVASION OF IRELAND.
lords of the latter had almost absolute power in their own dominions for the king, being dependent on their conquests and support for his lordship of Ireland, had had few oppor- tunities to interfere with their internal administration. Davies says, " they made barons and knights, did exercise high justice in all points within their territories, erected courts for criminal and civil cases, and for their own revenues, in the same form as the King's courts were established at Dublin ; made their own judges, seneschals, sheriffs, coroners, and escheators, so as the King's writ did not run in those counties, which took up more than two parts of the English Colonies, but only in the church lands lying within the same, which were called the Cross, wherin the King made a sheriff. And so in each of these Counties Palatine there were two sheriffs, one of the Liberty and another of the Cross. . . . No tenures or services were reserved to the Crown, and the lords drew all the respect and dependency of the common people unto themselves." ^
Of these liberties, the largest and most powerful was the united provinces of Ulster and Connaught -whose lord, it will be seen later, was regarded as the first Englishman in Ireland. These lordships, both before and after their union, had been singularly free from disputed succession. Ulster, either through forfeiture by John de Courci ^ or lack of heirs, had reverted to the king and was granted in 1205 to Hugh de Lacy^ whose only
^ Davies, Discovery, p. 279.
^Book of Howth., pp. 112-115. Although no patent is known to exist creating de Courci earl of Ulster, it is clear from the terms of the patent to de Lacy and other evidences that he exercised the powers of such a position. Lynch, Legal Institutions, pp. 144, 145, 177.
3 Lynch, Legal Institutions, pp. 145, 177. (From Charter Roll T. L.) He was a son of the Hugh de Lacy who had received Meath from Henry II. in 1172.— CAar., etc., XL, p. 304.
CONDITIONS IN IRELAND. 11
daughter Maude married Walter de Burgh, lord of Connaught.^ Their son Richard the Red, who is described as "a man prudent, witty, rich and wise,^ and the choicest of all the foreigners of Erin,"' succeeded his father in 1271,* was head of his house until 1326,® and was the most powerful of all the earls of Ulster. As a leader of the forces brought from Ire- land he had served the king in numerous wars in Wales, Gascony and Scotland,^ being especially prominent in the last. It is said that before starting on the expedition of 1303 he created thirty-three knights in Dublin castle,^ a precedent which was followed later by the viceroy.^ In 1308 he showed his independence of the king and contempt for his representa- tive by disregarding Edward's request to give aid and counsel to Gaveston,* and instead held a sort of rival court in the castle of Trim where he conferred knighthood on some of his followers, including Hugh and Walter de Lacy ^^ of West Meath. The king, for some reason, did not resent his treatment of Gaveston, but soon afterward appointed him to the custody of the castles of Roscommon, Randoun, and Athlone,^^ and, on
^ Char., etc., II., p. 315. He was a grandson of William Fitz-Adelm de Burgh, first lord of Connaught, and was made earl of Ulster by patent in 1264.— Lodge, Peerage, I., p. 120.
* Grace, p. 161.
'Loch Ce, Vol. I., p. 605.
*Ohar., etc., II., p. 290.
^Ibid., p. 364.
6 Gilbert, Viceroys, p. 127 ; Ulster, Ce, Char., etc., Grace, Four Masters.
T Char., etc., II., p. 331.
^Ibid., p. 343.
» Pat. Bolls, I., p. 83. John, son and heir of the earl of Ulster, and de Gaves- ton were both married to sisters of the earl of Gloucester, nieces of the king (Chron. and Mem. of Ed. I. and II., pp. 156, 264), and Gloucester's second wife was a daughter of the earl [Char., etc., II., p. 338).
•0 Char., etc., II., p. 338.
n Cal. Patent Rolls, I., p. 182.
12 THE INVASION OF IRELAND.
account of good services, relieved him of his rent of five hun- dred marks for his lands in Connaught.^ In August of this year, 1309, he received the highest mark of royal favor in a commission granting plenipotentiary powers to treat with Robert Bruce or those authorized to act for him ; and safe con- duct was provided for those sent from Scotland to Ireland for that purpose.'' It is not to be wondered at, as we shall find, that this man, who was held in such high esteem by the king and whose name stood first in the councils of the colony' and on official documents, should regard the landing of a party of foreigners on his own coasts in the light of a private attack with which he had both the right and the power to deal.
In preparing for the Scotch campaign of 1314 Edward II. was anxious to have a large contingent from Ireland and addressed letters to twenty-six of the most influential native chieftains, including Tyrconnel and Tyrone, asking each to come himself if possible, and if not to send some noble of his house.* Although this appeal was disregarded there is no indi- cation of any assistance being oifered to the Scots,^ and there were doubtless many Irish foot-soldiers in the ranks of those who fought in that memorable campaign in Scotland under the leadership of the earl of Ulster.®
The victory of Bannockbum determined the Irish to make an effort for their own independence, in which the people
1 Cal. Patent Bolls, I., p. 192.
*Rymer, R. II., p. 85.
'Grace, Appendix II. ; Irish Arch. Soc. Pub. Miscellany, I.
♦Rymer, R. II., p. 245.
^ In 1313 at the time of the reduction of the Isle of Man some Scotch galleys had made a descent on the Ulster coast but were driven off apparently without having received any aid or sympathy from the Irish. — Char., etc., II., p. 342. a, p. 561.
•Rymer, R. II., p. 246.
CONDITIONS IN IRELAND. 13
of the northeastern section naturally took the initiative. It is not necessary here to go into the history of the early migrations to prove the connection between the inhabitants of Ulster and those of Scotland.^ They were neighbors and kinsmen. The Bruces themselves were descended from Dermod MacMurrough, and Robert's wife Elizabeth was the daughter of the earl of Ulster. The Lacies were connected with the lord of Galloway and the Bissetts who held the Island of Rathlin and the district of Glenarm ^ had personally befriended Robert Bruce in 1306. The king of Scotland, relieved by the defeat of the English from the pressure of an outside enemy, began to find in his brother Edward a serious problem. He was a man of marked bravery and military ability whose services had been invaluable in the wars with England, but he was mettlesome, high-spir- ited' and impatient of another's authority.* Moreover as the brother of the king he considered himself entitled to a share in the government^ whose independence he had helped to establish. It was while this claim of Edward Bruce was still unsettled that Donald O'Neill, the most powerful native ruler of Ulster, together with other chiefs of the northern septs, extended an invitation to him to come over and accept the king- ship of all Ireland to which O'Neill was himself heir.®
' Amials of Titjernach, Clonmicnoiae, Four Masters, etc.
^Gilbert, Viceroys, pp. 132, 133; Ulster Journ. of Arch., II., p. 155, note j.
'Fordun, Scotichronicon, L. XII., c. 25.
* Barbour, Bk. I. He made a truce with the commander of Stirling castle without consulting the king but the latter, although displeased, decided to observe it.
^Fordun, Scotichronicon, L. XII., c. 25.
* Memoiixd to Pope John XXII. Barbour gives a different view :
The erll of carrik, schir Eduard, That stowtar wes than ane libbard,
14 THE INVASION OF IRELAND.
Ulster, whose native population now seemed ready to unite in the support of Edward Bruce, and in an effort to free the whole of the Irish people from the rule of England, was of the then five provinces the best suited to take the lead and become the base of operations ; it formed a distinct geograph- ical unit naturally defended on the south by a chain of lakes and morasses, and was only a day's journey from Scot- land. But that this appearance of strength and union was very deceptive a glance at the history of Ulster will show more clearly than was apparent at the time owing to the prestige of the name of O'Neill. Very early in the Christian era we find the Hy-Nial occupying the north and west while the Rudri- cians, a Milesian branch descended from Ir, occupied the south and east. Soon after 300 A. D. the latter were driven by the CoUas out of the section afterward known as Oirghialla, and taking their own name with them they retreated to the territory lying east of Glen Righ, Lough Neagh and the lower Bann where their kingdom of Ulahd remained until the English invasion.^ An effort to regain their lost territory resulted in
And had no will till be in pes, Thought that Scotland to litill wes Till his brothir and him alsua ; Tharfor till purpos can he ta That he of [Irland] wald be kyng. Tharfor he send and had treting With the irischry of Irland, That in thar lawte tuk on hand Of Irland for to mak him king. With thi that he with hard fechting, Might ourcum the ynglis men, That in the land was wonnand then ; And thai suld help with all thair mycht.
—"The Bruce," Bk. XIV., lines 1-15.
^Annals. Ancient Laws & Institutes, II., Pref., p. xlii ; Hill, Plantation of UlOer, Chap. I.
CONDITIONS IN IRELAND. 15
the celebrated defeat of Magh Ratli.^ In the meantime the Hy-Nial, who were undisturbed by these troubles in the south, had come into prominence under Nial of the Nine Hostages a chief who, having been made monarch of Ireland, is said to have led the Scots (Irish) against the Romans in Britain.' This family descending in two branches, the Cenel-Conaill and Cenel-Eoghain, outgrew its territory and having made con- quests to the south this new land was occupied by the latter and called Tir-Eoghain, while the former remained in the old home which now took the name of Tir-Conaill. The Cenel- Eoghain became the more powerful, several of its princes be- ing elected ard-righ or monarch. From one of these, Nail the " black knee," the whole family, early in the tenth century, took the name of O'Neill.'
At the time of the conquest, although there was more or less strife among the various septs and there had never been friend- ship between Ulahd and the west since the fourth century, the power of the O'Neills was recognized as paramount and the whole of Ulster was comparatively peaceful. For some time it was scarcely affected by the coming of the English. The operations of de Courci were confined mainly to the east, and in his struggle with the Lacies he even found it to his interest to make " covenant and amity " with the Cenel-Eoghain.^ It was not long how- ever before the two great families began to oppose each other for the Cenel-Conaill, by the help of the English of Connaught, were able to extend their territory and increase their power. These quarrels terminated in 1281 in a fierce battle near Dun-
Urish Arch. Soc Pub., Vol. III.
* Four Masters, I., p. 127. Note z.
* Plantation of Ulster, Chap. I. ; Annals.
* Annals of Loch Ce, I., p. 235.
16 THE INVASION OF IRELAND.
gannon which, without settling the difficulty, left both parties weakened. Shortly afterward, in 1286, the earl of Ulster in- terfered in the internal affiiirs of the O'Neills,^ as had so often been done with the O' Conors, and having passed through Con- naught and Tir-Conaill, establishing his authority and receiving hostages, he entered Tyrone and deposed the king, Donald O'Neill, putting in his place Nial Culanach O'Neill.^ In 1290 Donald expelled Nial and regained his position but was not able to keep it for the earl returned and reestablished his own order of things. Scarcely had he gone however when Nial was slain by Donald ^ and the earl had to come a third time when he placed Brian, the son of Aedh Budh O'Neill, in power. In 1295 Donald again gained the crown,^ after a bloody contest, and was left in peace by de Burgh who was now busy with his own quarrels and the military service of the English King.
Such were the conditions in the fourteenth century when it was proposed to throw off the English yoke. The prime movers in the undertaking were Edward Bruce, dissatisfied and ambi- tious ; the king of Scotland, glad of a new field for his brother's energy ; and Donald O'Neill whose personal grievances inclined him to give up his shadowy claim to the throne of Ireland in the hope of immediate betterment.
Rumors of a Scotch attack on Ireland having reached the king
^Arnials of Loch Ce, I., p. 487 ; Four Masters, III., p. 433,
"In 1248 the justiciary invaded Tyrone with an army and the O'Neills in a general council decided that, as the English were in the ascendency, it would be advisable for the sake of the country to give hostages and make peace {Ce, I., p. 383; Four Masters, III., p. 329; Ulster, II., p. 309), and there seems to have been no serious trouble again between them and the English until this time.
'^Annals of Loch Ce, I., p. 495; Four Masters, III., p. 445; Annals of Ulster, II., pp. 367-375.
* Ce, I., p. 501 ; Four Masters, III., 451.
» Ce, I., p. 513 ; Four Masters, IIL, 463.
CONDITIONS IN IRELAND. 17
he took steps to acquaint himself with the condition of affairs there by appointing in August 1314 John de Hothura, a clerk in whom he had great confidence, to go to Dublin, ascertain the state of the exchequer and report. At the same time mandates were issued to the officers of the crown to execute whatever Hothum should desire and to call a meeting of the nobles to discuss with him the state of the kingdom. ^ Soon afterward the king, wishing to have a personal interview on the subject, sent for the earl of Ulster together with the keeper to come to the parliament soon to be held at Westminster.^ Edward But- ler, who had held the position of viceroy with considerable efficiency in 1312 and 1313, was asked to again take that office.* To further strengthen the English cause the king addressed directly eighty-four of the ecclesiastics, nobles, native chiefs and city communities, requesting them to give credence to his repre- sentatives and assist them in carrying out their plans. '
The scheme for establishing the independence of Ireland under Edward Bruce as king having met with favor in Scot- land preparations were begun for an expedition to Ulster, but before it started the Scottish Parliament met at Ayr, in April 1315, and passed a succession act which provided that if Robert died without male issue his brother was to succeed.^ Although the proceedings of this parliament make no reference to the proposed conquest of Ireland it is very probable, since the expedition sailed from Ayr, that the magnates of Scotland approved of the undertaking.
^Patent Bolls, II., p. 165; Close Bolls, II., p. 193; Kymer, R. II., p. 252.
«Eymer, E. II., 256.
*Ilnd., 260.
* Close Bolls, II., p. 218 ; Rymer, E., II., p. 262.
^Annals of Scot., Dalrymple, II., pp. 70-71; Fordun, L., XII., C. 24.
CHAPTER II. BRUCE IN IRELAND.
On the twenty-sixth of May 1315/ Edward Bruce reached the coast of Ireland with three hundred vessels^ and six thous- and men, and landed either in Lame harbor or at the mouth of the Glendun river.' After disembarking he sent back his ships and, having in all probability been joined by native allies, set out for the town of Carrickfergus* which then contained the principal fortress of Ulster and was conveniently situated for communication with Scotland. Bruce's soldiers had the confi- dence that comes from experience and success in war and were accompanied by a number of prominent military leaders among whom were Thomas Randolph, earl of Moray, and Sir John Steward.^ On the way they met and defeated a force under Mandeville, Logan and the Savages who had come out to defend their own possessions, but who were obliged to retreat to the castle of Carrickfergus which had recently been sup- plied with provisions and men. The Scots followed and after taking possession of the town laid siege to the citadel, but as it was surrounded on three sides by the sea and separated from land by a moat^ they were unable to make any impression upon it and finally entered into a truce with the garrison.'
1 Barbour, Bk. XIV.; Char., etc., II., p. 344.
^Annals of Clmmac., F. M., III., p. 504.
'Grace, p. 63 ; Char., etc., II., p. 344 ; Barbour, Bk. XIV.
♦Barbour, Bk. XIV.
« Barbour, Bk. XIV.; Char., etc., II., p. 344.
' Ulster Journal of Archaeology, III. , p. 282.
"Barbour, Bk. XIV.
18
BEUCE IN IRELAND. 19
Bruce with his allies now overran Ulster ' and after es- tablishing his authority and receiving hostages and reve- nues from the people^ started toward Dublin. At a pass called Edwillane, near Newry, he was attacked in an ambush prepared by two Irish chiefs who had previously supported him, but he succeeded in routing them and gaining a quantity of supplies.' Upon nearing Dundalk he was met by a con- siderable army which, after a hard struggle, fell back into the town followed by the Scots and there the fighting, continuing in the streets, resulted in the slaughter of many of the inhabi- tants. The invaders having found plenty of food and wine re- mained there for some days and then continuing their march southward ravaged the larger part of Uriel,* plundered the church of Ardee of its books, relics and vestments,^ and burned it with all the men, women and children who had taken refuge in it.^ Their leader then, having heard doubtless of the prepara- tions for opposing him and not deeming it wise to separate his men from the territory of his allies and the means of communication with Scotland, evidently changed his plans and, instead of continuing through the English district toward Dublin, turned aside to the west or northwest and camped in a wood which Barbour calls Kilross.^
The preparations for meeting Bruce were strikingly charac- teristic of the times and a forcible illustration of the weakness
^ The eastern part, ancient Ulahd. There is no evidence that Bruce ever tried to exercise any authority in the land of the O'Neills (Tir-Eoghain).
* Annals of Clonmac., F. M., IIL, p. 505, 3 Barbour, Bk. XIV.
* Barbour, Bk. XIV. ; Grace, p. 65. sClyn, p. 12.
' Char., etc., II., p. 345 ; Grace, p. 65. 7 Barbour, Bk. XIV.
20 THE INVASION OF IRELAND.
of the central government and of the lack of united action. The earl of Ulster, upon learning of the invasion, left his home near Gal way and assembled his followers from every direction at Roscommon, Felim O'Conor king of Connaught and his men being of the number. From this meeting place they marched down to Athlone and thence across Meath to a point south of Dundalk, despoiling the country through which they passed.^ In the meantime Edmund Butler, having col- lected a force from Munster and Leinster, had started north to intercept Bruce and these two independent armies met at Ardee. The justiciary had a well-appointed and equipped army, larger than that of the earl, but the latter, accustomed to considering himself superior to any officer of the crown in Ireland, informed Butler that he did not need his assistance, that he was himself powerful enough to expel the Scots, and that he would promise to deliver Bruce alive or dead to the authorities at Dublin.^ To this the justiciary must have agreed as he does not appear to have taken any part in the cam- paign which followed. The next day the English with their Irish following pushed on in pursuit of the invaders and some skirmishing took place under William de Burgh at Louth,^ but Bruce and his men were evidently afraid to risk a battle and, taking the advice of O'Neill and the Ulstermen, they retreated northward. The earl followed, and this being the country where most of the Irish had joined the Scots he destroyed everything in his path sparing "neither corn crop nor residence" and leav-
' Animls of Loch Ce, I. , p. 565 ; Annals of Clonmac. , F. M. , III. , p. 605 ; Annals of Ulster, II., p. 423.
'Annals of Loch Ce, I., p. 565 ; Annals of Clonmac., F. M., III., p. 506 ; Char., etc., 11. , pp. 345, 346; Grace, p. 65.
'Annals of Loch Ce, I., p. 565; Annals of Clonmac., F. M., III., p. 506.
BEUCE IN IRELAND. 21
ing " neither barn nor town unransacked nor unfrequented place, were it never so desert, unsearched and unburnt, and consumed to mere ashes the very churches that lay in their way unto the bare stones." ^ Bruce arriving safely at Coleraine (Cul-Rathain) crossed the Bann and broke down the bridge^ behind him. The two armies now spent some time watching each other from opposite sides of the river, which at this point is wide and deep, and skirmishing from day to day with arrows.^
During this period of inactivity Bruce managed to commu- nicate with Felim O'Conor offering him complete power in Connaught if he would desert the earl and defend his own province against the English.* Scarcely had this compact been made when Ruaidhri, Felim's rival, appeared on the scene. He too had a purpose of his own to serve and having come with a few followers, by way of Tir-Conaill, to the camp of the Scots, now made an offer which was practically the same as the agree- ment which Bruce had entered into with Felim. The Scotch leader was thus placed in an embarrassing position but finally consented to Ruaidhri making war on the foreigners on condi- tion that he did not attack Felim. Ruaidhri disregarded these terms and on his return devastated Connaught, burning towns and castles, among which were Roscommon, Randoun and Ath- lone, "together with all the houses that were in every route through which he passed." He even claimed sovereignty over MacDiarmada, but could obtain neither pledge nor hostages from him. The majority of the Connaught men, however, supported
^Annals of Clonmac, F. M., III., p. 506.
* Built in 1248 by the justiciary and his men. — Annals of Ulster, II., p. 309.
'^ Ann/ds of Loch Ce, I., p. 567 ; Annals of Ulster, II., p. 309.
* Annals of Clonmac., F. M., III., p. 506.
22 THE INVASION OF IRELAND.
him and he was crowned king at Camfree. In the meantime Felim, after explaining to the earl of Ulster that it would be necessary for him to return to defend his own claims, also set out for Connaught. His adherence to the English had made him an object of special hatred to the northern Irish and he was so constantly harassed on his march that when he reached his own friends, in the neighborhood of Granard, his numbers were reduced to such an extent that he gave up, for the time being, all hope of regaining his crown and allowed his followers to return home and submit to his rival.^
Richard de Burgh, weakened by the defection of the king of Connaught, now decided to fall back toward the episcopal town of Connor ^ while Bruce, crossing the Bann higher up by the aid of one Thomas Down and his four vessels, concealed his men in a wood and succeeded in annoying the English and cutting off parties sent out for supplies until they were obliged to retreat to the city. On the tenth of September they came out and gave battle to the Scots, which, thanks to a ruse of Sir Thomas Mow- bray, was a complete victory for the latter.^ The losses on both sides were heavy and William de Burgh with some of his knights were taken prisoners.* The earl himself escaped and did not halt until he reached Connaught where his adherents, suffering from the tyranny of Ruaidhri, gathered about him in the hope of assistance, among them Felira O'Conor and Mac- Diarmada. He could however do nothing for them ; his brother William had been captured and his fine army had gone
^ Annak ; Ce and Clonmac. , are the most complete.
^Annah of Loch Ce, I., p. 571 ; Annab of Clonmac, F. M., III., p. 507 ; Char., etc., 11. , p. 346.
3 Char., etc., II., p. 346 ; Barbour, Bks. XIV. and XV.
* Annals of Loch Ce, L, p. 571 ; Four Masters, III., p. 505 ; Char., etc., II., p. 346 ; Annals of Clonmac., F. M., III., p. 507.
BEUCE IN IRELAND. 23
to pieces. Even MacDiarmada was discouraged by the outlook and after giving hostages returned to his own country, while the great Richard de Burgh remained for the rest of the year " without sway or power in any part of Ireland." ^ The Scots on gaining possession of Connor found good stores of provi- sions, "corn and flour and wax and wine," which Edward trans- ferred with his army to Carrickfergus and again took up the siege of the citadel. On the fifteenth of September he sent the earl of Moray to Scotland with William de Burgh, uncle of the Scottish queen, a prisoner, and four ships laden with spoils.^
The prospects of Edward Bruce were at this time at high- water mark ; he was heir-presumptive to the throne of Scotland had in all probability already been crowned king of Ireland,' and now received a communication from Gruffydh Llwyd, who was leading a rebellion in Wales, offering to support him as ruler of that country if he would assist in freeing them from the English, and even holding out the prospect that they might together expel the Saxons and establish the ancient kingdom of Britain.^
The English government meanwhile had not been alto- gether inactive. In June the treasurer at Dublin was ordered to cause all money due to the king to be collected so that he might have it ready in three weeks from midsummer, to aid in maintaining a fleet in Irish waters ; * and a few weeks later directions were given that all provisions remaining in the hands
1 Annals of Loch Ce, I., p. 579 ; Annals of Clonmac, F. M., III., 509. ' Char., etc., II. , p. 346.
3 Accounts differ widely as to date of crowning.
* History of Wales, Caradoc of Lhancarvan. Translated by Powell, pp. 311-313.
^ Close Bolls, II., p. 183.
24 THE INVASION OF IRELAND.
of the king's purveyors should be delivered at a fixed price to the nobles and custodians of castles.^ In September, after the in- vasion had assumed a more serious aspect, John de Hothum was again sent over clothed with very great powers. He was to examine the state of the exchequer and certify to the king what debts had been collected and what remained to be collected ; he might, with the advice of Butler and others of the council, pardon felons, outlaws, and all persons accused of felony or trespass, on condition that they serve the king against the «nemy ; he might also enter into agreements with those who had proceeded or were to proceed against the Scots in Ireland, remit debts due to the king, and dispose of wardships and marriages ; and lastly, he might remove insufficient officers and appoint others.*
Bruce, after some weeks of effi)rt, finding himself unable to take the castle of Carrickfergus and even suffering loss from the sallies of the garrison, withdrew, and on the fifth of November, near Dundalk, met the earl of Moray who had just landed with reinforcements of five hundred men.^ Although the king of Scotland had not come, as had been hoped for, Edward never- theless decided upon a campaign into the heart of the English territory. With his army he crossed the Dee near Nobber,^ burned Kells and Granard, first pillaging the monastery at the latter place of all its valuables, and then passing through Finnagh and
^Historic and Munic. Doc, pp. 327, 328. The date given, 1314, is evi- dently a mistake, as the order was issued July 12, when Bruce was already in Ireland.
' PateM Rolls, 11. , p. 347; Eymer R. II., p. 276. An order of the same date provided for calling the magnates to confer with Hothum. — Close BoUs, II., p. 308.
^Char., etc., II., p. 347; Grace, p. 67.
*He was deserted here by a number of the inhabitants who had joined him at Dundalk. See ref. following.
BRUCE IN IRELAND. 25
Newcastle reached Lough-Suedy in West Meath in time to spend Christmas there. ^ By the first of January 1316 he was again on the move and crossing the northeastern part of the present King's County proceeded, by way of Rathangan and Kildare, as far south as Castledermot but not, as the native writers say, without loss of men. ^ Although Bruce had met with no organ- ized opposition and had been able to devastate a large strip of the enemy's country, yet he must have been bitterly disappointed by the fact that the people did not join him in any considerable numbers. The Irish of Wicklow were at this time on the eve of a general uprising ^ but there is no proof whatever of any inclination to join Bruce, or of any communication with him. The failure of the Irish to support him and his already dimin- ishing force alarmed him, and turning his face again toward the north he passed back through Athy to Sketheris near Ardscull, in Kildare, where Edmund Butler, John Fitz-Thomas and other nobles had met to cut off his retreat. Any one of these could easily have defeated him but they quarreled among themselves until finally the justiciary withdrew, illus- trating, as the annalist says, the old proverb : " Omne regnum in seipsum devisum desolabitur." * In the battle which took place with those who remained, on the twenty-sixth of January, the English lost Hamon le Grace and William Prendergast while on the side of the Scots Fergus of Ardrossan, Walter de Moray and many others fell. ^ But Bruce was neither killed
^Char., etc., II., p. 347. Grace, p. 67. It would seem from later events that this being the country of the Lacies should have been a friendly neighbor- hood but Bruce' s treatment does not indicate that he so regarded it.
^Char., etc., 11. , p. 347. Grace, p. 67.
3 Char., etc., II., p. 348. Grace, p. 69.
* Char., etc., II., p. 347.
^Char., etc., II., p. 347. Grace, pp. 67, 69. Clyn, p. 12.
26 THE INVASION OF IRELAND.
nor captured and, burning the castle of Ley on the way, he con- tinued his retreat unmolested until he reached Kells in Meath. Here Roger Mortimer had collected an army given as fifteen thousand but they do not seem to have been well disposed among themselves or faithful to their leader, for through the influence of the Lacies so many of them deserted that Mortimer fled to Dublin and Walter Cusak took refuge in the castle of Trim leaving the country in the hands of the enemy. ^ This Roger Mortimer, who was the famous earl of March, was lord of part of Meath in right of his wife, daughter and heir of Peter Gene- ville, ^ and was endeavoring to defend his lands. As an ab- sentee owner he had no personal following among the Irish, and the Lacies of West Meath, a collateral branch, were dissatisfied at seeing the original grant to Hugh by Henry II. pass out of the name through female inheritance. ^ The Scots left masters of the town of Kells and the adjoining country remained there for some weeks, and even returned south as far as Geashill where they spent St. Valentine's day. Fortunately for the English army, which lay in the adjoining portions of Kildare, it was not necessary to fight, for the ranks of the little com- pany of invaders were being constantly thinned by hardship, famine, and disease.* The failure of crops the preceding sum- mer together with the devastation by all parties, Irish and English as well as the Scotch, had caused great scarcity of food, suffering, and loss of life.® Driven by actual necessity Bruce
'Grace, p. 69. Char., etc., II., p. 348,
» Char., etc., 11. , p. 337. (See also I., p. 375. )
•Gilbert, Viceroys, p. 133. Char., etc., II., p. 316.
*ChaT., etc., II., p. 349.
' All the Irish annals of the period give comparatively full accounts of the
BRUCE IN IRELAND. 27
and his men finally returned, by way of Fowr, to Ulster and again settled down at Carrickfergus. ^
The incursions of Bruce and the hostility of the Irish kept the English authorities in constant alarm for their own safety. The castle of Dublin was repaired and liberally supplied with qua- rells, wheat, salt, coal, wine, grease and hides,^ and a sort of militia was organized for the maintenance of peace ^ in the out- lying districts. The months of January and February 1316 were a period of almost continuous uprisings of the natives of Leinster — theO'Tooles, O'Byrnes, Archibalds, Harolds, and O'Moors — but the justiciary, Edmund Butler, now earl of Carrick,^ at the head of the regular troop which had been increased was more successful than he had been against the Scots and defeated them in a number of engagements, at one time sending eighty heads to Dublin.^
Nevertheless this was a time at which the outlook for the government seemed very gloomy indeed ; the success and influ- ence of the Scots appeared to be great and their own weakness and lack of union had been painfully evident in the quarrel and defeat at Sketheris, and the defection of the Lacies at Kells. Early in February ten of the principal nobles met at Dublin and, in the presence of Hothum, signed a compact in which, after stating that the Scotch had drawn to themselves all of the Irish, many of the English, and even a number of the lords,
^ Char., etc., 11. , p. 349 ; Grace, pp. 69, 71. With the exception of the castle of Carrickfergus the Scots may be said to have held Ulster (Ulahd). In ac- cordance with an order of the king the previous October an effort had been made to send supplies from Dublin for the earl of Ulster's castles but the ves- sels were driven by stress of weather upon the coast of England where their cargoes had to be discharged. — Hist. & Mimic. Doc, pp. 334, 335, 340, 343.
^His. and Munie. Doc, pp. 337, 339, 340.
^Ibid., pp. 372, 376, 377,
* Lynch, Legal Institutions, etc., p. 178.
^Char., etc, II., pp. 348, 349.
28 THE INVASION OF IRELAND.
they undertook, having regard they said to their allegiance and loyalty and mindful of the great damages they had sustained in loss of men, lands and castles, to maintain the rights of Edward II. against all men and that their bodies, lands, and chattels should be forfeited if they failed in their loyalty. As security they promised to give the king hostages who were to be lodged in Dublin castle or elsewhere, provided they were well guarded and suitably maintained at the king's cost.^ In the list of signatures to this document the name of John Fitz- Thomas, lord of Offaly, stands first and on May fourteenth the king created him earl of Kildare.^ Richard de Burgh was not one of the signers but there can be no doubt that he con- tinued to enjoy the confidence of the king. The uncertainty felt in England as to the attitude of the English in Ireland is shown by various efforts to gain their good will and adherence ; letters of thanks,^ conferring of titles, and especially material favors. For instance on the eighth of January when the Scots had penetrated southward as far as Kildare, John de Athy, a knight and a former sheriff of Limerick and Kerry, was offered respite from an exchequer claim if he would join the army of the justiciary.* John, son of Peter le Poer, was reimbursed for his loss in horses, armor and other goods, incurred in defending Ireland against the Scots, in the sum of five hundred marks to be paid out of the issues of the archbishopric of Cashel.' And the mayor and commonality of Dublin were pardoned £60 a year for four years, out of the farm of the city, on account of
' Close Rolls, II., p. 333 ; Rymer, R. II., p. 283 ; Gilbert, Viceroys, p. 527, note.
•Lynch, Legal Institviions, etc., p. 178 ; Lodge, Peerage, I., 78.
'Rymer, R. IL, p. 276.
* Historic and Munic. Doc. , p. 373.
8 Gose Rolls, IL, p. 29L
BRUCE IN IRELAND. 29
having been much burdened by the frequent passing of men-at- arms and the partial destruction of the suburbs.^
By the opening of spring, the Irish having been defeated and Dublin put in a state of defense, the government was able to look toward aggressive movements in the north. The dep- redations of Scottish vessels had been extensive and un- checked, the policy of the English government so far being very ineffectual.^ Orders were now issued for the arrest of all ships entering the ports of Ireland, and none were to be allowed to leave without the King's permission.^ In May the fleet, which had been provisioned at Drogheda, was sent north to cruise among the islands and if possible apprehend Thomas Don,* the " scummar of the seas," who had rendered such good service to Bruce in crossing the Bann. The commander of the fleet was John de Ergadia who in 1315 had regained the Isle of Man, and taken a number of prisoners on the coast of Scot- land itself.^ About the same time the city of Drogheda and the sheriff of Uriel were ordered to provide supplies^ for an ex- pedition by land against Bruce under Thomas de Mandeville, lord of the territory about Carrickfergus. After reinforcing the garrison with men and provisions they attacked the Scots from this point, killing several, but in a second skirmish near Easter time, which according to Barbour was in violation of a truce. Lord Thomas was himself slain.^
^Patent Rolls, II., p. 471 ; Historic and Munic. Doc, pp. 392, 393 ; Calendar of Ancient Records of Dublin, I., p. 11.
' Botuli ScoticB, I., pp. 121, 151. John of Lorn was nominally in the English service under the title of Admiral of the Western Fleet.
3 Historic and Munic. Doc. , pp. 374, 375.
*Ibid., p. 377.
5 Close Rolls, II., p. 153 ; Rotuli Scotice, I., p. 138.
^Historic and Munic. Doc, pp. 350-352.
' Char., etc, II., p. 350 ; Barbour, Bk. XV.
30 THE INVASION OF IRELAND.
Toward the close of May another general uprising of the natives began simultaneously in several directions from Dublin,^ and so alarmed the people of the Pale that they could think of nothing but their own safety. The extent of this alarm is shown in the command to the treasurer that in accordance with a previous ordinance of the king's council he must reside in the castle with the treasure and the papers belonging to his office, for safe keeping ; and he must allow no others to dwell there except his own house- hold and those appointed by him.^ Later, in accordance with the wish of the population, a standing force consisting of twenty men-at-arms, forty hobellers, and eighty footmen, was organ- ized under William Comyn for the protection of Leinster. For their support each carucate of land in Fingal, religious as well as lay, in liberties and out, had to pay two shillings, while for the rest of the province the assessment was forty pence.^ To protect the route to Ulster and facilitate communication between the towns, the tenants of Crumlin were obliged to erect a fort- alice, and the sheriflF of Uriel was given power to distrain men for military service and to cut the pass of Donaughmayne and another near Louth.*
' Richard Birmingham defeated the Irish of Munster ; the men of Wick- low, trying to invade the coasts of Tullagh, were driven back ; William Comyn, justice of the peace, and his force killed a chief of the O' Byrnes, and the men of Dundalk killed about two hundred of the O'Hanlons. — Char., etc., II., p. 350.
^ Close BoUs, II., p. 293.
^Historic and Munic. Doc, pp. 380-382. Among the provisions for main- taining the necessary military forces there is an interesting requirement made from the sheriffs of Dublin and Meath, the stewards of Wexford and Carlow, the custodian of the temporalities of the archbishopric of Dublin, and the steward of the liberty of Trim, to provide cows for the use of the king's army in Leinster, varying in number from one hundred down to twenty. — Hist, and Munic. Doc, pp. 355-358 (July-Sept., 1316).
* Historic and Munic. Doc, p. 378. The difficulty of pursuing the Irish was greatly increased by the trees and underwood, even the king's highways were often allowed to become almost impassable. Grace, p. 90, note x.
BRUCE IN IRELAND. 31
The conditions in Ireland at this time were bad in the ex- treme. As we have seen not many parts of the land were ac- customed to law and order at the best of times, but now the presence of Bruce, the powerlessness of the de Burghs, and, added to the ordinary devastations of war, the failure of crops, caused a great increase in personal lawlessness. Even the members of a parliament are recorded as doing nothing except spoil the country on their way home,^ and the Hilary term of court in 1316 had to be postponed because the suitors could not reach Dublin without risking their lives.^ The people finally appealed to the king, complaining that the justices had been in the habit of permitting persons indicted for felonies to be redeemed for small ransoms, and sometimes for nothing, by reason of which malefactors had been encouraged to such an extent that agricul- ture and trade had fallen away in many places ; that neither English nor Irish criminals feared to commit such crimes, be- cause faithful subjects dare not indict them, nor say the truth concerning them in judgment, lest they should be slain or de- stroyed ; and that the people who desired to live under the king's peace and law were compelled to desert the places where they had been accustomed to dwell. To remedy these evils they asked that a parliament should be held in Ireland yearly ; that pardon for the death of an Englishman or for arson should be made only in parliament with the consent of the king's council, for not less than £100 ; and that for petty larceny or robbery a fourfold ransom should be taken.' On the eighth of August the king, in reply to the above petition, ordered that the archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, earls, barons and communi-
^Char., etc., 11. , p. 349.
2 Gilbert, Viceroys, pp. 526, 517, notes.
3 Chse Bolls, II., pp. 358, 359.
32 THE INVASIOX OF IRELAND.
ties of Ireland should be convoked as soon as possible to give their counsel and advice concerning the administration of the law ; and if they could not agree, then the justiciary was to ask sep- arately, by the king's writ, for the opinion of the prelates and magistrates, if they could not conveniently assemble.^ Here, however, the matter appears to have ended.
On the tenth of this same month of August, 1316, the battle of Athenry in Connaught indisputably established the power of the English party in the west. The native struggle had at last ended in the destruction of the leaders of both parties.^ The sovereignty of Ruaidhri which could be maintained only by force was not long respected, and Felim O' Conor, placing him- self at the head of the disaffected and again supported by his foster-father, MacDiarmada, soon became a formidable rival. This civil war which was so unfortunate for the interests of Edward Bruce, was terrible even for Ireland ; women and chil- dren were robbed and killed ; flocks, cattle and crops uselessly destroyed, and even " the cloths from off the altars were given as wages to gallow-glasses and mercenaries." By uniting with the English Felim had been able, in a pitched battle on the seventh of March,^ to completely defeat Ruaidhri and his fol- lowers and again assume the crown. He now prepared to carry out his promise to Bruce, and in the first engagement a number of prominent Englishmen were killed* after which their terri- tory, both church and lay, was overrun and spoiled. Becoming alarmed at the return of William de Burgh, who had left his
» Close Rolls, II., pp. 378, 379 ; Rymer, R., II., p. 294.
^Annals of Clonmac., Ce, Ulster, Four Masters, etc.
^Annals of Loch Ce, I., pp. 581, 683; Annals of Clonmac, F. M., III., pp. 510, 611.
*Anruih of Loch Ce, I., p. 586; Annals of Ulster, II., p. 427; Annals of Clonmac.," F. M., III., pp. 510, 511.
BEUCE IN IRELAND. 33
son a hostage in Scotland/ he mustered a great army at Athenry, but in the battle which followed he himself fell and " there was not slain in this time in Ireland the amount that was slain there of sons of kings, and chiefs, and of many other persons in addi- tion." ^ Felim O'Conor was but twenty-three years of age and " the Irish had expected more from him than any other Gael then living."^
Bruce, after his return from the south, sent the earl of Moray a second time to obtain assistance from his brother and then settled down to rule over Ulster.^ Of this period we have very little information. In his court a number of captives were con- demned to death among whom were some of the Logans, while Lord Alan Fitz- Warren, a more important prisoner, was sent to Scotland.^ The garrison of the castle of Carrickfergus, having received supplies in the spring as before mentioned through the efforts of Mandeville, was able to hold out during the summer, and when at last driven by hunger to surrender they were granted security from personal injury.^ Eight ships which had been sent from Drogheda in July for their relief had been stopped by the earl of Ulster^ who seems to have been dissat- isfied with the slow progress of arrangements for the liberation of his brother William. This incident may have been one of the reasons why he was later suspected, by some, of not being altogether true to the English cause, although within a week from this time he is reported to have met with the earl of Kildare
^ Char., etc., II., p. 352 ; Annals of Loch Ce, I., p, 586.
'^ Aniuds of Ulster, II., p. 429.
^Annals of Loch Ce, I., p. 587 ; Four Masters, III., pp. 511, 513, 515.
^Char., etc., 11. , p. 349.
^Ibid.
^Char., etc., II., p. 297.
Tlbid., p. 296.
34 THE INVASION OF IRELAND.
and other nobles at Dublin and there taken oath^ to sup- port the peace of Ireland. The treatment of the church in Ulster is difficult to understand for whatever religious estab- lishments were opposed to the Scots were likely to have been so from the beginning, but they seem to have been unmolested until the summer of 1316 when a number of monasteries, in- cluding those of St. Patrick at Down,^ and Saul, were plun- dered and destroyed, and the church of Bright filled with per- sons of both sexes was burned.^
On the third of October the king of England gave power to Walter de Islep, treasurer, and Richard Tuit to bind him in the sum of £100 for any deed committed against Edward Bruce by which he might lose life or limb.* On account of this offer perhaps, or because the fortunes of the Scots seemed to be on the wane, some of the northern English under John Logan and Hugh Bisset took the field against them, killed three hundred and later sent Alan Steward and John Sandale prisoners to Dublin.^
In November the king decided to send Roger Mortimer to Ireland, and to place practically the whole government and direction of affairs in his hands.^ He was accordingly made justiciary, and king's lieutenant, and all the powers formerly granted to John de Hothum were now given to him abso- lutely, whereas the former had been restricted by the ne- cessity of conferring with the justiciary and council. In
> Char., etc., II., p. 296.
* Benedictines brought in by John de Courci. Archdall, Monasticon Hiber- nicum, I., pp. 247, 253.
^Char., etc., II., p. 352.
* Patent Bolls, II., p. 551. 5 Char., etc., II., p. 298.
« Patenl Rolls, II., pp. 563, 564.
BRUCE IN IRELAND. 35
addition he might sell or grant lands which by reason of the war had fallen or should fall into the hands of the king, and he could grant to Irishmen the use of English law as might seem best to him for the expediting of affairs against the Scots and rebels.^ The significance of this last power, and the inducement thus offered to the Irish to support the Eng- lish, can be appreciated only in the light of the most striking facts in the history of the introduction of English law into Ire- land.
Whatever may have been the intentions of the council at Lismore ;^ whether or not the natives were included in John's plans for the establishment of English laws and customs ; ^ and whatever may have been the original scope of the charter of liberties granted by Henry III. in 1216,* there can be no doubt as to the later interpretations. The weakness of the govern- ment at Dublin and the isolation and independence of the barons naturally led to many irregularities in the courts, and so during the thirteenth century, especially in the reign of Henry III., we find numerous orders from the king for the correction of these abuses, and stating emphatically that his subjects in Ireland were to be governed by the same laws and customs as were observed in England.^ But who were the king's subjects ? Only those of English blood and the Irish to whom the use of English law had been granted. Of the latter
^ Grace, p. 83, 84, note i. Butler thinks the exercise of this power may have been one of the reasons why the English in Ireland did not more fully cooperate with him.
*Matt. Paris, Historia Anghrum, L, p. 371; Wendover, I., p. 90.
' Davies, p. 260.
*Hist. and Munic. Doc, pp. 65-72 (Magna Chartafor Ireland); Leland, I., App. I. ( Given in full. )
5 Calendars, Ireland, 5 vols., 1171-1307, § 2850 ; in Vol. I (1171-1251) is a good illustration.
36 THE INVASION OF IRELAND.
there were those known as the "Five Bloods"^ — the royal families of the five native kingdoms — and a few individuals who had received charters of denization. The rest of the native population were aliens and their laws and customs are fre- quently alluded to as quite separate and apart from those of the English residents.* The fact that they were not admitted to equality before the law is set forth in the petition to John XXII. as one of their most just grievances ; a statement well supported by the records of various cases.^ In 1253 the king gave the justiciary power to grant to two brothers who had sworn that they and their ancestors, though Irish, were always faithful in their fealty and service, the privilege of selling their lands as if they were Englishmen ; * but the custom of granting charters of denization to individuals did not begin until a quarter of a century later. In 1277 the Irish offered Edward I. seven hundred marks for a grant of the English common law.^ In his reply to the justiciary the king said it seemed meet to him and his council that it should be done, because the laws in use were so detestable to God and so contrary to all law that they ought not to be deemed such ; but that the com- mon consent of the people or at least of the well-affected pre- lates and magnates of Ireland must first regularly intervene,
lO'Neil de Ultonia, O'Molaghlin de Midia, O'Connoghor de Connacia, O'Brien de Thotmonia, et MacMurrogh de Legenia. Davies, p. 262. (Plea Rolls in Bremingham's Tower, 3 Ed., II.) Only the O'Briens had their lands secured by charter, but they were all considered the king's men and had the privilege of suing in the king's courts. — Richey, Short Hist, of Irish People, p. 174 ; Davies, p. 223.
2 Cakndar, Vol. 1171-1251, U 1081, 505, 1763, 2916 ; Vol. 1252-1284, §§ 220, 1115, 1474, etc. The existence of a native people who were not subjects was never recognized by the English parliament until 1331.
» Richey, p. 176 ; Davies, pp. 261, 262.
* Calendar, Vol. 1262-1284, 2 164.
s/Wd, §1400.
BRUCE IN lEELAND. 37
and that they were to be called to a conference. He then made two stipulations ; that a higher fine in money should be re- quired and a certain number of good and valiant foot-soldiers should be sent to serve, for once only, in the king's army.^ In a separate communication to the English of Ireland the king expressed himself as unwilling to comply with the request of the native population without their consent, and asked them diligently to debate whether or not, without prejudice to them- selves, their liberties and customs, this concession could be made.^ The general concession was not made, but soon after, in 1281, the first individual patent was issued, in which, by grant of special grace, Gregory Olidek was to be allowed during good behavior to use and enjoy the same liberties and customs in Ire- land as the English of that country.^ During the seven years from 1285 to 1292 twenty-nine people received such patents,* extending in a few cases to their children. Four of the above were women, and two were Englishmen who had proven them- selves such, and in the latter case the charter included all their family. One Irish woman, who in 1289 asked for the benefit of English law in order that she might have a share of her English husband's property after his death, which was not otherwise allowed,^ was told to wait and see if she survived him.^ After 1292 there was a decided reaction against the ex- tension of the coveted privilege and to this period probably be- longs an undated petition from Hugh Kent, liege burgess of Galway, praying for letters patent to enable him and his
1 Calendar, Vol. 1252-1284, § 1408.
Ubid., ? 1681 (June 10, 1280) ; Eymer, K. L, p. 582.
3/6id., §1775.
* Calendar, Vol. 1285-1292.
* Petition to Pope John.
« Calendar, Vol. 1285-1292, § 558.
38 THE INVASION OF IRELAND.
children, in life and death, to use the English law saying that the free extension of such right to all who demanded it would be to the king's advantage, as had been shown him by his parliament at London and by his council.^ From 1292 until this power was put into the hands of Mortimer, sixteen persons received patents extending in three cases to heirs.* Only two had been issued since the landing of Bruce and both of those bear the date of May 16, 131 6.^
The internal troubles in England and the war in Ireland had left Scotland in comparative safety, and by the close of 1316 Robert Bruce was able to comply with the urgent request of his brother. Accompanied by the earl of Moray and a consider- able number of soldiers he crossed to Carrickfergus,* about Christmas time," where he was received with great rejoicing and festivity, and preparations were made for another invasion of the Pale. In the middle of February the Scots appeared unex- pectedly at Slane, in Meath, and soon afterwards penetrated to within a few miles of Dublin, but here they received news which led them to turn aside and capture Castleknock instead of at- tacking the city.^ A few days before the earl of Ulster, who with some of his household was staying at St. Mary's Abbey, had been arrested by the mayor and citizens and taken to the castle for safe keeping, the room in which he was captured hav- ing been burned and seven of his followers killed in the fray.' The reason for this arrest can only be conjectured, but there are
' Calendar, Vol. 1285-1292, § 1174.
« Calendar, Vols. 1285-1292, 1293-1301 ; Rymer ; Patent Bolls, I. and II. 3 Patent Rolls, II., p. 463. * Barbour, Bk. XVI. «Clyn, p. 12. 'Char., etc., II., p. 362.
'' Char. , etc. , II. , pp. 352, 299. It is strange that there is no reference in the chartularies of the abbey to this arrest. — Char., etc., I., preface, p. xl.
BEUCE IN IRELAND. 39
two things which may have led to such action : in the first place, the earl, who was father-in-law to the king of Scotland, was doubtless suspected by some of sympathy with their cause ; and secondly he was, as it proved, a valuable hostage for it was no doubt fear for his life that prevented the Scots from making an immediate attack. On the night after Bruce's ap- pearance the church of St. Saviour was torn down and the stones used to extend the city walls, while all of the suburbs, including the district of St. Thomas, were burned, with the consent of the citizens. This fire accidentally destroyed the church of St. John and the campanile of St. Mary Magda- lene.' The next day upon learning that the city had been put in a state of defense the Scots withdrew to Leixlip, and after camping there for four days proceeded throught the coun- try, under the guidance of one Wadin White, as far as Naas. During the two days they remained here they plundered the town and churches, stole and broke open cofi*ers, and even desecrated the graves in the cemetery in the hope of find- ing treasure. From Naas they passed through Castledermot, carrying off the books, vestments and other valuables of the Friars Minor, to Gowran and thence, shunning Kilkenny, to Callan, which they reached about the twelfth of March.^ On invitation of a chief of the O'Briens of Thomond, Bruce and his men went west to Castle Connell, on the Shannon near Limerick, but being opposed by the other faction of the O'Briens ' and alarmed by an Anglo-Irish force which collected at Ledin, a hill near by, they secretly withdrew and returned to Kells, in Ossory. The English army under Edmund Butler
^Char., etc., IL, pp. 299, 353.
'Ibid., pp. 299, 300, 353.
'Grace, p. 83 ; note e {Annals of Innisfallen) .
40 THE tNVASION OF IKELAND.
and other nobles, even after liberally discounting the numbers given, thirty thousand, must have been greatly superior to that of the Scots, yet they did not try to attack them. Bruce, never halting long in one place, retreated to Cashel and then to Nanagh, burning and wasting the land of the justiciary. Early in April Mortimer landed at Youghal with one hun- dred and fifty horsemen and five hundred footmen,^ and sending word to Butler that nothing was to be done until he arrived, set out to join the army. The Scots warned of this new danger, retreated in the night toward Kildare, while the English, after sending the Ulstermen^ to Naas, repaired to Kilkenny where with Mortimer they discussed plans for the future.^ Toward the close of April Bruce, still journeying northward, halted for a week in a wood near Trim to refresh his men who were perishing from hunger and fatigue and where a number of them died. On the first of May he again reached Ulster with the remnant of his army, and the king of Scotland returned to his own country.*
It was in the spring of this year, 1317, in connection with the efibrts of the Pope to make peace, or at least establish a truce ^ between Edward II. and Robert Bruce, that the church
1 Close Rolls, II., p. 382 ; Patent RoUs, II., p. 574. The king commanded fifteen of the absentee lords of Ireland to either go in person with Mortimer or send men-at-arms according to their lands. — Rymer, R. II., p. 409 ; Obse Rolh, II.; pp. 450, 451.
* These men, who were simply spoken of as Ulstermen, were evidently Irish. Two thousand of them had come to the English army seeking aid against the Scots and had been put under the earl of Kildare. — Char., II., p. 300.
''Char., etc., II., p. 301.
*Char., etc., p. 302; Grace, p. 87; Barbour, Bk. XVI. The king of England expressed his thanks by letter to forty-two of the principal barons, the officers of eight towns, and the prior of St. John of Jerusalem in Ire- land. Hugh and Walter Lacy were of the number. — Rymer, R. II., p. 327 ; Close Rolls, II., pp. 464, 465.
* Rymer, III., p. 594; Calendar, Papal Reg.; Papal Letters, II., pp. 127 129.
BRUCE IN IRELAND. 41
began to take an active part in Irish affairs. The influence of the clergy and monastic orders had probably been more im- portant from the beginning of the invasion than is apparent from the records, for the line between the native and the Anglo- Irish ecclesiastical interests had even at this time been quite clearly drawn. The destruction and appropriation of church property incident to conquest, the appointment of Englishmen to the most lucrative positions, differences of race, and finally their inability to even understand each other on account of dif- ferent languages had caused the church, though without dif- ference of creed, to fall into two hostile factions. As early as 1206^ we find the successor of St. Patrick going to the king on behalf of the churches of Ireland to enter complaint against the encroachment of the English, but his appeal was disre- garded. Henry III. on his accession to power gave distinct orders that, as the peace had been frequently disturbed by elec- tions of Irishmen, in the future no one of them was to be elected or promoted in any cathedral.^ As early as the middle of the thirteenth century this feeling of animosity had entered even the monasteries and the Irish began to exclude the English. This custom, which later became common on both sides, was hard to controP however much condemned by Popes and heads of orders. During the first half of the Scottish invasion there was very little complaint of the religious establishments or of effort to influence affairs through them, a fact which may have been partly
iPour Masters, III., p. 149.
2 Calendar, Vol. 1171-1251, pp. 736, 739. By counsel of the archbishop of Dublin it was ordered that clerics and other honest English useful to the king and his kingdom should be elected and promoted to sees and dignities when vacant. — Ibid., 737.
'Eymer, R. I., p. 274 ; Grace, pp. 12, 13 ; note d ; Petition to Pope John; Close BoUs, III., p. 404.
42 THE INVASION OF lEELAND.
due to the papal vacancy. The Irish friars, certain of whom had been arrested as vagabonds in 1309/ were the first to fall under suspicion and in September 1315 the king asked the justiciary to inform himself concerning those who were staying among the English in cities and towns, whereby danger might arise, and advise as to what should be done.^ About a year later the general of the friars minor was requested to correct their misconduct,' but there is no indication of any serious trouble. When the cardinals Gaucelin and Luke arrived in England to promulgate a truce between that country and Scotland, they came armed with the power of excommunication and interdict to be used at their discretion in carrying out their mission.* At the same time the archbishops of Dublin and Cashel, and the dean of Dublin, were commissioned to warn the friars, preachers and other religious mendicants, together with the rectors, vicars and chaplains of parish churches to desist from stirring up the people to resist the king's authority ; * and the sentence of excommunication against those who invaded Ire- land or in any way assisted them was to be published through- out the country, especially in the seaports.® The pope also addressed personal letters to eight of the leading nobles including the earls of Ulster, Kildare, and Carrick, and Richard de Clare, enjoining them to watch over and promote the peace of the king and the realm.^
^Kymer, II., p. 86 ; Patent RoUs, I., p. 182.
^ Close Bolk, II., p. 307.
'Eymer, II., p. 295.
*Cal., Papal JReg., Papal Letters, II., p. 431; Rymer, R. II., p. 317; Theiner, Vetera Monumenta Hibemorum et Scotorum, 202.
* Cal., Papal Bey., Papal Letters, ii., pp. 138, 139 ; Rymer, R. ii., p. 325 ; Theiner, 194.
'CSiZ., Papal Reg., Papal Letters, II., p. 417.
^/6td., pp. 415, 438. In August the king ordered an investigation of the
BRUCE IN IRELAND. 43
The imprisonment of the earl of Ulster by the city authori- ties of Dublin added to the complication of affairs during the first half of the year 1317. The king, who throughout appears to have held him in high regard and to have been anxious to keep his good will, upon hearing of his arrest requested the justiciary, the earl of Kildare and other nobles to procure his liberation on the king's security^; but the barons apparently were not anxious for his release, and the authorities of Dublin had no intention of giving up so valuable a hostage and so formidable an enemy until they had secured terms for their own future safety. They accordingly sent, early in April, two mes- sengers to confer with the king on the state of Ireland and the liberation of the earl.^ The result of this mission as well as the discord between the city and the barons is apparent from an order issued, soon afterward, to Mortimer, that the men of Dublin were not to be aggrieved on account of the arrest of Richard de Burgh and other members of his family, and that the king had reserved to himself all matters touching the arrest lest trouble might arise on this account.^ Later he sent several requests for full information and proposed, if it were thought best for the peace of the country, that the earl should be sent under safe custody to England.* Early in May, after the re- treat of Bruce to Ulster, Mortimer held a parliament of the magnates and thirty knights, at Kilmainham, at which nothing
report that the bishop of Ferns had aided the Bruces with counsel and sup- plies but no record of the result has been found. Close Rolls, II., p. 561; Eymer, R. II., p. 339.
^Char., etc., II., p. 300.
'^Ibid., p. 301.
3 Close Rolls, II., p. 404 ; Historic and Munic. Doc, p. 398 ; Rymer, II., p. 327.
* Close Rolls, II., pp. 404, 405, 469.
44 THE INVASION OF IKELAND.
definite was done ;^ but at a second meeting in Dublin, a few days later, the earl was released on condition of his giving bail and hostages, and taking an oath that he would never on ac- count of his capture, through himself or his people, cause any trouble or damage to the citizens of Dublin, but that he would obtain satisfaction by due process of law ; he was accordingly given until the twenty-fourth of June to bring suit.* In the meantime, June seventh, the king sent word to Mortimer to hold the coming parliament at some place outside of Dublin as he feared trouble might arise if the nobles entered the city with their followers ; he further ordered that no assemblies were to be held in Dublin and the nobles were not to house their men there against the will of the community.^ As the earl did not bring suit within the time fixed he was granted full freedom, on account of his former services against the Irish and Scots and on taking oath and giving security as required by law.*
By the beginning of the summer season conditions were better for the English, and the outlook for an invasion of the north and the reestablishment of English authority was more prom- ising than at any time since the landing of the Scots. Bruce's army was small and suffering from lack of supplies ; the Irish of Leinster and Munster had not joined him even when they had the opportunity of doing so ; since the death of Felim O'Conor there was no prospect of any assistance from Con- naught, and even some of the Ulstermen had become dissatisfied with his rule. On the other hand, the English were more united than heretofore and the entire direction of military
1 Char., etc., II., p. 302.
• Char., etc., II., p. 354 ; Grace, p. 88, note q. ^ Close Rolls, II., p. 476.
* Char., etc., II., p. 355.
BRUCE IN IRELAND. 45
operations had been put into the hands of one commander. The fleet which had transported Mortimer and his men across to Youghal had been sent north and its captain, John de Athy, empowered to receive into the king's peace the inhabitants of Ulster who wished to return to their allegiance.^ But at this point the interests of the government were doubtless again sacri- ficed to the desire for personal revenge. Toward the close of May Mortimer went north into Meath and from the castle of Trim cited the Lacies, by letter, to appear before him, which they refused to do.^ The Lacies had fallen, almost in the beginning, under suspicion of sympathy with the Scots, and after the com- pact of the nobles in February 1316, to which they were not parties, Walter came to Dublin to deny the charge of dis- loyalty and offer hostages as the others had done.^ Alarmed further by the coming of their enemy, de Mortimer, as the king's lieutenant, and the preparations to crush Bruce, they both appeared in Dublin the next winter and asked for an investigation of the charges against them.* In the trial which was held by the justiciary, Edmund Butler, they were acquitted by twenty-five jurors, and upon payment of two hundred pounds were admitted to the king's peace.^ Notwithstanding this they shortly afterwards gave aid and comfort so openly to Robert and Edward Bruce while in the south that they now refused to appear and killed Mortimer's messenger,^ Hugh
^Patent Bolls, II., pp. 632, 636. On the second of July he fell in with Thomas Don or Down and took him with about forty of his men. — Char., etc., II., p. 355 ; Grace, p. 89.
'Char., etc., 11. , p. 354, 355.
^Ibid., p. 349.
*Ibid., p. 298.
^Ibid., Appendix II. Documents relating to Bruces in Ireland.
Ubid., p. 355.
46 THE INVASION OF IRELAND.
de Crofts, who was sent to treat with them. Mortimer then proceeded against them with his army, and after defeating them and taking their cattle and goods he drove them into Con- naught with the exception perhaps of Walter who is reported to have fled to Ulster to seek aid of Bruce,^ and it is true that several of the family were with the Scots in their last campaign the following year. Later, Mortimer in conjunction with the king's council declared the Lacies, with a number of their ad- herents, traitors, and confiscated their property on the ground that they had fought against the king's troops.' The army re- turned to Dublin by way of Drogheda,^ but without stopping long at the latter place, for the king had issued orders that none of the soldiers were to be housed in that city, nor any food to be taken away against the will of its citizens.*
Although Mortimer made no effort to drive the Scots out of Ulster and thus end the war, he was very active and efficient in his endeavors to strengthen the government and preserve order. Several of the tribes southeast of Dublin were induced to make peace, the earl of Kildare going security for the Arch- bolds. In a campaign against the O'Ferals he burned out a dangerous pass and compelled them to come to terms and give hostages." He did not interfere, however, in a civil war in
' Char.y etc., II., p. 355 ; Grace, p. 87 ; Clyn, p. 13, "ejecit omnes de nacione et cognomine de Lacy ex Hybernia." John Lacy, who fell into the hands of the English, was sentenced to be confined in prison on short diet until he died. — Char., etc., II., p. 358.
*Char., etc., II., p. 356. Appendix II.
>Ibid., p. 356.
* Close Bolls, Ed. II., p. 476. The burden of the war had fallen heavily upon Drogheda, and in March 1317 the king granted to its citizens the privi- lege of trading, under certain restrictions, with England and Wales, notwith- standing the general prohibition aginst taking food supplies, etc., out of Ireland.— Ctose Rolls, II., p. 396.
^Char., etc., II., pp. 356, 357; Grace, p. 91.
BRUCE IN IRELAND. 47
Connaught, although it was of most destructive character and was probably caused by a grant of some lands to one of the O'Conors, ^ for it was the general policy of the English to let the Irish fight unmolested so long as they did not interfere with the interests of the ruling race.^ By the middle of February 1318 the country was in such a state of quiet that Mortimer was able to return to Dublin where he held a great festival at the castle and knighted John Mortimer and some of his asso- ciates, among whom was John Bermingham.^ The citizens of Dublin had been put in a good humor by a series of favors from the king. He had pardoned them for having levied tolls without his license ; remitted £600 of debt on account of their expenditures on the defenses of the city ; * and released them from the liability of being impleaded according to the common law for having destroyed the suburbs and taken food supplies, until such time as an ordinance should be made concerning it, pro- vided the articles so taken were restored or their value paid.^
On the tenth of May a conflict in the west, between the O'Briens and McCartys on the one side and the English on the other, resulted in the death of Richard de Clare and several other prominent men,^ but Mortimer being under orders to re- turn to the king ^ took no steps in the matter, and having ap- pointed William Fitz-John, archbishop of Cashel locum tenens^
1 Char., etc., II., p. 357 ; Grace, p. 90, note z,
^Gilbert, Viceroys, p. 109.
sClyn., p. 135 ; Char., etc., II., p. 357 ; Grace, p. 91.
* Historic and Munic. Doc, pp. 402-404. Cal. of Ancient Records of Dub,, I., p. 12, U XXV., XXVI., XXVII.
5 Chse Rolls, Ed. II., pp. 574, 575.
«Clyn., p. 13; Char., etc., II., p. 358.
' Close Rolls, IL, p. 561.
^ Char., etc., II., p. 358. This united in one person the offices of justic- iary, chancellor and archbishop.
48 THE INVASION OF IRELAND.
he sailed for England in June, leaving debts in Dublin to the amount of one thousand pounds.^
Early in the year 1318, when Mortimer was so successful in establishing peace and order in the east and south and Bruce was ruling undisturbed in the north, a petition was sent to the Pope from "Donald O'Neyl, King of Ulster, and rightful hereditary successor to the throne of all Ireland, as well as the princes and nobles of the same realm, with the Irish peo- ple in general." In this they gave a brief account of their an- cient history, and their devotion to the church ; complained of the grant of Pope Adrian and the slavish timidity of the clergy who were afraid to make known the true conditions ; gave a de- tailed account of their wrongs under the rule of England, and ended by asking him to sanction their calling of Edward Bruce to their assistance.^ John XXII. sent no reply to the Irish, but wrote the king in June informing him that this letter had been received through the cardinals, and urging him to correct the grievances while he might be able to do so ; he also sent to Ed- ward in connection with his own letter the above petition and the donation of Adrian.^ He then notified the cardinals Gau- celin and Luke of his action in the matter and ordered them to assist in carrying out the necessary reforms in Ireland.*
After the return of Robert Bruce to Scotland, Edward was unable to make any aggressive movement though, as we have seen, he was not forced to defend himself against the regular
' Ohar., etc., II., pp. 358, 359.
^Fordun, Scotichronicon. Trans, in Taaffe's History of Ireland, I., p. 121 seq. Most important parts in Richey, p. 189, seq. Facsimile of Irish 3ISS. Plate xii. , part 3.
* Cai., Papal Reg., Papal Letters, p. 440 ; Sullivan, Historice Catholicce Ibemias Compendum, p. 70. (Letter given entire. ) Theiner, 201.
* Cal., Papal Reg., Papal Letters, p. 440.
BRUCE IN IRELAND. 49
English army. The devastations of war and the failure of crops for three successive seasons made the year 1317 and the first half of 1318 a period of terrible suflPering and loss of life from famine and disease.^ The conditions in Ulster were worse than elsewhere ; there were no cities with accumulated wealth or supplies, and they were shut off from very much communi- cation with the outside world. It is said that they were re- duced to eating each other and even the dead bodies from graves, which, the pious annalists say, was a just punishment for the sin of the Ulstermen who, while in the south, had eaten meat in Lent when there was no necessity for doing so.^ The harvest of 1318 was abundant however, and the prospect of it caused food prices to fall early in the summer ; the season, too, was unusually early so that bread was made from new corn on St. James' day, July 25th.^ By the last of September the Scots and their allies were strong enough to venture upon an- other campaign, and Edward Bruce, a man " that rest anoyit ay " * and who had doubtless found the long enforced period of inactivity hard to endure, decided not to wait for the assistance which the king of Scotland, after the taking of Berwick, was preparing to send. Accompanied by Mowbray, Soulis, Alan Steward and his three brothers, four of the Lacies, Walter, Hugh, Robert and Amalric, John Kermerdyne and Walter White, he marched with his army of not more than two thou- sand men ^ to a place called Faughard, within a short dis- tance of Dundalk.^
'AH the Annals. Clyn, and the Annals in Char., etc., (Pembridge) speak especially of conditions in Ulster.
'Char., etc., 11, , p. 357; Grace, p. 81. ^Char., etc., II., p. 359 ; Grace, p. 93. * Barbour, Bk. XVIIL ^ Does not include the Irish allies. 6 Barbour, XVIII. ; all Annals.
50 THE INVASION OF lEELAND.
To meet this invasion the array of the Pale had to be reor- ganized. Richard de Clare was dead ; William de Bargh was in Connaught where the unconquerable MacDiarmada still waged war in behalf of one branch of the O'Connors; ^ Richard de Burgh, earl of Ulster, had taken little part in military afiPairs since the summer of 1315 and since his release had, at the king's request, spent most of his time in England ; ^ Edmund Butler although very successful on several occasions in putting down the uprisings of the natives had not been able to protect his own lands from the ravages of the Scots ; Mortimer, lord of the lands in most immediate danger, was in England ; and the newly ap- pointed justiciary, Alexander Bicknor, archbishop of Dublin, had just arrived. The archbishop, who had been received with honor by both laymen and clerics, immediately took a place of great influence and importance,^ On account of age and infirmity he did not wish to lead the army himself so, with the consent of the council, he appointed as leader of the English John Bermingham, "a man of great courage, stal- worthiness, practiced and apt in wars, wise, of a good con- dition, sober and circumspect."^ The archbishop's good opin- ion of Bermingham had probably been gained from Mortimer whom he had assisted in expelling the Lacies, ' and from whom he had received the honor of knighthood. The result justified the choice. Among those who were with him were Richard Tuit, Milo Verdun, Edmund, William, and Walter Bermingham and Walter de la Pole. The primate of Armagh, Roland Jorse, whose
' Loch Ci, I., p. 595.
« Close Bolls, II., p. 576 ; Char., ef/:., IL, pp. 367.
'^Char., etc., II. , p. 359.
♦ Book of Howth, pp. 144, 145.
sClj'n, p. 13.
BRUCE IN IRELAND. 51
loyalty to the English cause had been above suspicion and who had incurred the hatred of the O'Neills, * accompanied the army and absolved them all before battle,^ a fact which probably gave rise to the report in England that he was their military com- mander.^ For a couple of days at least the two armies seem to have faced each other without fighting ; Bermingham was anxious to acquaint himself with the conditions for there was great honor for him if he should win, and the story of his going to Bruce's tent disguised as a beggar, in order to recognize him on the field,* is not at all improbable. The Scottish army, small at the best, was weakened by difi'erences of opinion. Bruce's own officers strongly advised against risking a battle until the expected rein- forcements arrived, and the Irish refused to engage against such odds. ® In the battle which took place on the fourteenth of Oc- tober, the English were entirely successful. Bruce himself fell by the hand, supposedly, of John Maupas, a soldier who had come from Drogheda with twenty well-armed men and who had been put close to the front of the English force. ^ Lord Alan Steward while doing all he could to rally and encourage the Scots was singled out by Bermingham and slain. Sir John Soulis also fell. Thomas Mowbray, Hugh and Walter Lacy, and a few of the Scots made their way back to Carrickfergus under the protection of the Irish allies, and from there returned in the ships with the reinforcements sent by Robert but who had arrived too late for the battle,^ Bermingham was shortly after-
* Petition to Pope John XXIL
'Char., etc., II., p. 360.
^ Walsingham, Historia Anglicana, L, p. 154.
*Book ofHowth, p. 144-146.
5 Barbour, Bk., XVIII.
^Char., etc., 11. , p. 360.
T Barbour, Bk., XVIII.
52 THE INVASION OF IRELAND.
ward created earl of Louth and given large estates from the confiscated lands. ^ The victory at Faughard was decisive, Ed- ward Brace had been defeated and killed, the Scots were soon driven out of the country and the invasion was at an end.
1 Char., etc., II., p. 360 ; Kymer, E. II., pp. 393, 397.
CHAPTER III.
CONCLUSION.
The invasion of Ireland by the Scots, following as it did close upon the victory of Bannockburn, was evidently regarded both by the English government and the English colonists as a part of the Scottish war, undertaken by Edward Bruce, heir pre- sumptive of Scotland, acting under the direction of his brother Robert, for the purpose of dividing the strength of the enemy and looking toward the final union of the two countries. The Irish chiefs like O'Neill hoped, under the leadership of a " kins- man," to regain the independence of Ireland which would mean the reestablishment of the native kingdoms with Bruce as ard- righ, or monarch, a position of little more than nominal power. It was his claim to the latter and not his sovereignty as king of Ulster that Donald O'Neill was willing to surrender. As we have no documents emanating from Bruce as king of Ireland^ and the records of his rule in Ulster are meager indeed, we know very little about his own idea of his position ; but from the nature of the man and the tone of his reply to the invitation from Wales^ it is easy to conjecture that it was scarcely that of the ancient ard-righ of the Irish Celts. The spirit of the move- ment was not much felt except in Ulster and Connaught, and only for a short time in the latter province ; and the fact that the allies, although present, took no part in the final battle,
^ Char., etc., II., pref., pp. cxiii-cxviii. A grant of land executed by Edward Bruce in regal style was confirmed, five years later, by Robert. — Nat. MSS. Scot., II., 16, No. XXIII. Char., etc., II., pref., pp. cxxxi-ii.
«Seep. 21.
53
54 THE INVASION OF IRELAND.
strengthened at the end the impression that it had been an in- vasion rather than a war initated by the people of Ireland them- selves. The inevitable suffering and loss of life which the famine alone would have caused, as well as the horrors of war, were nat- urally associated in the popular mind with the presence of the invaders, for it is said that " there was not a better deed since the creation of the world than the killing of Edward Bruce, for there reigned scarcity of victuals, breach of promises, ill per- formances of covenants, and the loss of men and women throughout the whole kingdom for the space of three years and a half that he bore sway.'"
Notwithstanding the fact that the war had shown the weak- ness of the home government and the lack of union among the English settlers themselves, the policy followed indicates that the political conditions were regarded as unchanged. Pro- vision was made against future invasion and for the protection of the northeastern coast by strengthening the castle of Car- rickfergus and maintaining a fleet between Ireland and Scot- land,^ both of which were placed under the command of John de Athy,' to the dissatisfaction of the powerful Mandeville family.* Orders were sent in February 1319 to Alexander Bicknor, justiciary, and the chancellor not to make any charters of pardon for adhering to the Scotch without special orders from the king,* and in May Thomas Fitz-John, John Bermingham, Arnold le Poer, and John Wogan were appointed commissioners to hold inquiries respecting the king's subjects who had aided
' Annals of Clonmac, F. M., III., p. 520.
* Close Bolls, III., numerous orders, 1319-1322. 'Ibid., p. 68.
* Rymer, R., II., p. 388 ; Cbse Rolls, III., p. 127 ; Ulster Journal of Arch., XL, p. 153 ; notes.
^Clo8eEoUs,llL,p. bb.
CONCLUSION. 55
Bruce.' It was soon afterward decided to be more lenient, and the above commission was withdrawn,^ while Mortimer, who returned as viceroy early in 1319, must have been given great power in this matter for in his trial in 1330 one of the charges against him was that he had obtained two hundred charters of pardon for those who should have been punished instead.^ Re- wards were given to men who had met with loss or distinguished themselves by special services from the confiscated property of those who had openly assisted the Scots,* such as the Lacies. Calls were made as before for men and provisions for the war with Scotland,^ but the establishment of a truce prevented England from discovering that these would likely have met with slight response. Although as we have seen the natives did not suspend their quarrels to sustain Bruce the English, while not fully united against him, did not engage in open conflict with each other ; but as soon as the war was over a gen- eral scramble for power began, in which the old race divisions became less distinct. However much the home government might ignore the fact, conditions in Ireland were not the same. The prestige of the great earl of Ulster as military arbiter was gone ; and the justiciary, a constantly changing officer, had ceased to be regarded as the representative of a strong govern- ment able to maintain order. The disturbances consequent upon the invasion of the Scots hastened events which were a natural result of the political and social changes which had been taking place unnoticed. During the previous reign while the king was busy making conquests in Wales, Scot-
iRymer, E. II., 396.
^CloseBolls, III., -p. 175.
^ Bolls of Parliament, II., p. 53 a.
* Rymer and Rolls.
^ Close Rolls, III., pp. 529, 530, 690 ; Eymer, R., II., 567.
56 THE INVASION OF IRELAND.
land, and on the continent, Ireland was left to itself so long as it supplied soldiers and provisions. The fact that the colonists quarrelled and fought among themselves caused no alarm for the same was true of the nobles of England, and the then unquestioned loyalty of the de Burgh family gave an appearance of security to Ireland as a possession of the crown. But the majority of the settlers outside of Dublin and its im- mediate vicinity had tended, on account of their isolation and association and intermarriage with the natives, to become less and less English in their language and habits of life. English feudalism was being constantly modified by the Irish clan system which it was supposed to have supplanted. Two legal codes were in force, for the colonists had found it to their advan- tage not to admit the Irishmen to equality with themselves be- fore the English law and had resisted the efforts of the king to do so. Furthermore the independence of the native chief ap- pealed strongly to the Anglo-Norman's love of power and the willingness of the Irish to follow him as a leader, when he iden- tified himself with their interests, is illustrated later in the case of the earl of Desmond. There then began to appear a dis- tinct Anglo-Irish class, the members of which had interests and ambitions antagonistic to the home government and often to each other, and in the next reign " English rebels," as distinct from " Irish enemies," is an accepted term used even in parliamentary statutes. The older families were further alienated by the dis- tinction made between the English by blood and the English by birth, and by the effort of Edward III. to revoke land grants which he claimed had been issued under false representation.
Many fruitless efforts were made to reconcile the different factions, the record of which is proof of their increasing inde-
CONCLUSION, 67
pendence. Almost as soon as the Scots were defeated Richard Mandeville, disregarding the direct orders of the king, re- fused to support John de Athy and besieged the castle of Carrickfergus on the ground that he was its rightful cus- todian.^ In 1327 a personal quarrel between Maurice Fitz- Thomas and Arnold Power resulted in a struggle which lasted for several years and in which Lord Butler and William Bermingham took the part of the former and the de Burghs the latter.^ In 1329 the people of Louth rose against the earl and slew not only himself but nearly all the collateral heirs of the Bermingham family/ and when an effort was made to bring the murderers to justice they resisted the sheriff" and were finally allowed to go unpunished. A family difficulty be- tween the Mandevilles and William de Burgh, who had suc- ceeded to the earldom of Ulster in 1326, finally ended in his assassination in 1333.* His wife fled with her child, a little daughter, to England, and the control of the greater part of northern Ireland was resumed by the O'Neills of Tir-Eoghain and the Clann-Aedha-Buidh ; ® the latter had become a distinct branch about the beginning of the fourteenth century and in 1319 had been strong enough to dethrone Donald who, as so often before, was soon afterward able to "resume his sover- eignty."" This clan after the assassination of William de Burgh obtained a permanent footing in Antrim.^
1 Char., etc., II., p. 365 ; Grace, p. 107 ; Kymer, R. IL, p. 388.
2 Chxir., etc., II., p. 364, 365 ; Book of Howth, pp. 148-152. Grace, pp. 104- 105.
^Book of Howth, pp. 152, 153 ; Char., etc., pp. 369, 370. Grace, p. 113.
* Annals for year 1333 ; Book of Howth, pp. 159, 160.
6"Clan Hugh Boy."
^ Annxik Loch Ce, I., p. 597.
'' Ulster Journal of Arch., II., p. 57.
58 THE INVASION OF IRELAND.
The two leaders of the de Burgh family in Connaught re- leased from the overlordship of the earl of Ulster, and deprived also of his protection, decided to cast in their lot with the natives and establish their own independent authority by renouncing their allegiance, assuming Irish names, and adopting Irish customs. This adoption of the Irish language, dress and modes of life increased so rapidly that the Government in an effort to prevent its remaining English subjects from becoming " more Irish than the Irish" jfinally passed in 1367 the famous Statute of Kilkenny.
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Annals of Ireland (a fragment), 1308-10, 1316-17 ; ed. J. T. Gilbert, in Char, of St. Mary's Abbey. Very valuable for Bruce period.
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Annales Hihernise ad annum 1349 ; John Clyn, ed. Richard Butler. Irish Arch. Soc, Dublin, 1849. Also contains the annals by Thady Dowling, and from the Book of Ross.
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Rerum Hibemicarum Scriptores Veteres ; Charles O' Conor. 4 vols., Buckingham, 1814-16. Contains annals of : Boyle [Creation to 1253] from 420 to 1245 ; Innisfallen [creation to 1319] from 428 to 1196. Four Masters, Ulster and Tigemach (above editions better).
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59
60 BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Calendar of Documents Relating to Ireland, 1171-1307 ; ed. H. 8. Sweetman. 5 vols., London, 1875-86.
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BIBLIOGEAPHY. 61
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Ecclesiastical antiquities of Down, Connor and Dromore, consisting of a taxation of those dioceses in 1306, ed. William Reeves. Dub- lin, 1847.
Peerage of Ireland; John Lodge. 4 vols., Dublin, 1789.
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62 BIBLIOGRAPHY.
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A Short History of the Irish People ; A. G. Richey ; ed. R. R. Kane.
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