Collectanea de rebus hibernicis

Google

This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project

to make the world's books discoverable online.

It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject

to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books

are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover.

Marks, notations and other maiginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the

publisher to a library and finally to you.

Usage guidelines

Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the
public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing tliis resource, we liave taken steps to
prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying.
We also ask that you:

+ Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for
personal, non-commercial purposes.

+ Refrain fivm automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine
translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the
use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help.

+ Maintain attributionTht GoogXt "watermark" you see on each file is essential for in forming people about this project and helping them find
additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it.

+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just
because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other
countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of
any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner
anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liabili^ can be quite severe.

About Google Book Search

Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers
discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web

at|http: //books .google .com/I

COLLECTANEA

D E

REBUS HIBERNICIS

VOL. L

COMTAIMIKO

No. I. A Cliorofi^raphical
Defipriptionof ue Coun-
ty of Wcftmcath.

No. II. A Letter fromSir
John Davis to tlie EatI
of Salifimrj.

Archbilhop Uiher of Corbes,
Erenachs and Tennon
Lands.

Account of two ancient In-
flmments.

No. III. A Di£bitation
concerning the ancient
IriihLaws, &c PartL

No. IV. The Diflerution*
Part 11.

Part of the ancient Brebon
Laws of Ireland.

Two Laws from the Corpo«
ration Book of Iriflitowni
Kilkenny.

SECOND EDITION.

DUBLIN:

LUKE WHITE.

n^^qr;^

\j D

-I -^o

V 1 2

CONTENTS

OF VOL. I.

No. I. A Chorogiaphical Defcription of die Comilf
of Weftmeath, written A. D. i682» bjT Sir Henry
Piers, Bart. ... Page i

No. IL I. A Letter firom Sir John Davis to the Eail
ofSaliibiuy, - - - 135

2. ArchUfhop Uflier of Corbes, Erenacht and TermoQ
Lands, .... i^p

3. An Account of two ancient Infinnnents htelj diico«
vered, .... 2o8

No. in. A Diflertation concerning the ancient Irifli
Laws, or National Cuftoms, called GaveUdnd and
Thaniftry, Part 1 215

No. IV. The Diflertation, Fart H. to which it ackU
ed. Part of the ancient Brehon Laws of Ireland^
alfo two L^ws from the Corporation Book of Irifh*
town, KfSunnj. - * * 419

The Reader is requeftcd to corred the following Error.

Paie I75« /nv 1 1 , /vr KUmore, and was tnd it Ptrfoo «f Trim, rW,
Xilmorc, whole Biihop it a Man of this Cooatry birth, tod was aad »
ParloQ of Trim, in Mcath» which it tht btft FtriiMHft is ftUlht Kia^
g)«Oy worth irell fiif b 409l« t Year,

•1

• 4 • .
^1 •

i" :. . :
• .■ »

f

I

t

ColleSianea de Reius Hsiemkis*

NUMBER I.

CHOROORAPHICAL

DESCRIPTION

OP THE

U N

OF

WEST-MEAT H;

Written A. D. i68a.

BY
Sir henry PIERS,

Of Trifternagbtf Bikombt.

PublUhed from the MSS. hf
Major CHARLES VALLANCET.

SOC. ANTK^. HIB. SOC.

D U B L I N<
LUKE WHITE.

ll,OCC,LXZXTX.

THE

EDITOR'S PREFACE.

1 H£ Editor of this coUedion of papers
relating to Ireland, here ofiers to the public*
the fruit of many years refearches ^ and
they will find in the Colledanea many va-*
luable tra^s never yet publifhed of thoio^
learned and induftrious antiquaries, Ufher^
Davies, Barclay and Lhwyd.

HE moft gratefully acknowledges his
obligations to the fenior Fellows of Trinity
College, Dublin, for the free accefs givea
him to many valuable papers in their libra-
ry. Matter of the ancient language of Ire-
land, he has copied and tranflatoi all the*
fragments he could difcover of the ancient^
Brehon Laws of this country, fome of which,
are evidently of an aera antecedent to Chrif-
tianity in this ifland, being the edids of
Modha Nuadha, who was flain in battle at
the cldfe of the fecond century. The ori-
ginal of one volume of thefe Laws is in the
College Library, and many fheets on the.
fame fubjedl being among the fragments
colleded by that great antiquarian Ed.
Lhwyd, for the Chandos Library, were
obtained for the Editor from Sir John Sea-
bright, by the favourable interceffion of the
Earl of Charlemont.

To

▼Ui THE EDITOR'S PREFACE-

To the Earl of Rhpden he is obliged for
a Colledanea from the Liher Lecanus^ once
the property of the College of Dublin, but
now in the library of the Irifh College at
Paris. Locd Mount-Florence has alfo ob-
ligingly obtained for his ufe, a moft valua-
ble manufcript containing the various tri-
butes paid by the petty princes to the pro-
vindal kings, and reciprocally by thefe to
At iPlaths or petty princes.
■ To his ingenious friend Charics OGon-
nor, £fq; he is indebted for fome fragments
(jf Ac 6l-ehon Laws j for the Dun-Sheana-
008 or ancient Topography of Ireland, and
for feveral valuable annals. All thefe will
ht prefented to the reader in an Englifh
diiefs in the courfe of this work. The an-
c^t Laws will exhibit a true and impar-
tial pidure of the morals, manners and po-
lice of the people ; they will demonftrate
l9)at fo far from being favage and barba-
rous, they were refined, polifhed and learn-
ed : they will demonftrate that Sir John
Da vies and others who have treated of thefe
Laws, were ignorant of their force and
contents i and that O^ Flaherty and Keating
ftudioufly avoided them, as they would have
forced them from that fabulous path in
whidi the bards and poets had bewildered
them. O^FIaherty pleaded^gnorance of the
old language in which thefe laws were writ-
tin to Mr. Lhwyd, (fee Lhwyd's Letter to
the Royal Society, Phil. Tranf. No. 336.)
et it is evident from the numerous poems
c tranflated in his Ogygia to ferve his own

purpofes.

I

THE EDITOR'S PR£FAiC£«

purpoies, written in the fame dialed^ iJiat
this was an evafi ve excufe.

Many Itineraries made through this
country by learned men are in the cabinets
of the curious and in the college library.
Among the latter coUediion is the foUowng
chorographical defcription of the county of
Weft-Meath, which we offer to the public
as the firfi number of this work^ to which
we have added a map of the county, di-
vided into baronies and parifhes as a more
perfeA bafis for fome future pen to proceed
on. England^ France and Italy abound
with Topographical writers. This deline-
ation of a county by a private gentleman,
may perhaps excite a like fpirit among our-
felves, fo that in the knowledge at leaft of
our country it may not be laid as in other
fciences, that we are two centuries behind
our neighbours.

The antiquities of this iiland bear un-
common and indelible marks of very remote
times. Phoenician monuments are fcatter-
ed over the furface of it, and what is more
extraordinary, Phoenician names of things
and places are retained even at this day.

To convents and monks wc are indebted
for the prefervation of numberlefs monu-
ments of antiquity, and this refledion ought
to mitigate our difgufl on perufing their
dry regifters of names and tranfadions. At
the reformation our antiquities were on the
point of being involved in the ruins of thcfc
religious foundations. Sir James Ware firft
undertook to refcue them, and to vindicata

their

THE EDITOR»s PREFACE-

their utility, and confidering his ignorance
of the Irifh language he did much. His works
are the outlines and materials of a great
plan which he enjoyed neither life or abili^
ties to finifh, and it is much to be lament-
ed that he had not the good fortune to
meet with fo experienced and intelligent an
amanuenfis as Mac Ferbifs fooner.

The pagan inhabitants of this illand pre-^
ferved the primitive Phoenician idolatry of
the worihip of the Sun and heavenly hoft,
as types of a Supreme Being, until the ar-
rival of the firft Chriftian miffionaries. Our
druids like thofe of Gall, confiituted aca-^
demies to promote learning, and they were
obliged to devote twenty years to iludy
before they were admitted to the degree of
dodor. They were allured to application
by the many privileges of fludents and the
great authority their ancient do6lors ob*
tained. Caefar, lib. 6. fays of the druids
of Gall, that they were exempted from war
and pqying tribute ; and that thefc privi-
leges defcended to the Chriftian clergy, and
to the bards, will appear from the frag-
ments of the Brehon Laws.

The druids affeded various and almoft-
all kinds of Philofophy, (Strabo, lib. 4O
and Pliny grants to them (kill in medicine
and magic. Of their opinions in ethick^5
Diogenes Laertius in the proeme to hi^
book, gives us this account, and they fo^
the druids were wont to philofophin^e enigm^-^
ticdlly i that the gods were to oe worjhipped 5
that no evil was to be done j that fortitude wa^

I

1

THE EDlTOR^s ftlEt ACE. xl

to be embraced. This enigmatical mode of
philofophizingy fo prevalent among the
orientals^ they learned from the ancient
Phoenicians, who* had it from the Jews.

That the druidi v/ere (killed in geogra-
phy, aftronomy and natural philofophy,
we learn from Caefar ; and Mela declares,
they taught that the foul was eternal.

Our Irifh druids Grangers to the lafl of
the Grecian and Roman deities, and to the
grofs idolatory of the more modern Phoeni-
cians, enjoyed the pure worfhip of Baal or
the Sun, as the type of one Supreme Being.
Hence in the days of paganifm (as we learn
from Avienus an author of the fourth cen-
tury, who took it from more ancient au-
thors,) this was called the Holy Ifland, and
after Chriftianity the Ifland of Saints. No
image of Jupiter, Mars, Venus, or any
other pagan deity was ever found in Ire-
land, but the rough unhewn pillar ftill pre-
fcnts itfelf in every parifh.

The druidical tenets yet preferved in

fome fragments of our ancient manufcripts,

ftall be more largely treated of in the courfe

of this work. We fhall prove that our

^ifh druids confidered Baal as the liame of

^Jie true God j that the Aflyrians, Chal-

^i^ans, and Phoenicians, applied this facred

^anie to the Sun, after which the Lord

^mmanded the Ifraelites to call him no

^ore by that name, as in the fixteenth

^^rfe of the fecond chapter of Hofea, And

^ Jhall be in that day that thou Jhall call me

V^h and Jhall no more call me Baal.

That

%u THE EDITOR'S PREFACE.

That we may leave no material fubje^
relating to Ire^d uadifcufled, we ihall
give aa ample detail of the records in Bir*
minghaoi tower^ with the fubilance of
each : an article the more important as feme
of the rolls have been lately confumed by
fire, and others rendered illegible by ver*
min and time. A compleat Irifh hiflorical
library will alfo be introduced. In a word^
it is propofed to give the public every in*,
tereiling matter that concerns this king*
dom and its antiquities, partly from our
own labours, in fuch numbers as fhall not
exceed the price of Three Shillings each^
and frequently under that value , and we
hope from the extent of the plan now laid
before the public, that the fale of this firft
number will be fuch as to encourage the
publication of another, as foon as it can
be prepared for the prefs 5 and we beg
leave to add, that the publication will al«-
together depend on the early attention ma-
nifed^d to the undertaking.

T O

t 0 t HE

RIGHT ilEV. FATHER IN GOD

ANTHONY,

Lord Bishop op MEATH,

One of his Majcfty's Moft Honourable Privy
Gouadl of Ireland, and Vice-Chancellor of
tiic Univerfity of Dublin.

MY LORD,

Vr HEN at your Lordfhip*s command I
wrote and prefented to your Lordfhip that incon-
fiderable trifle, my remarks of this county of
Weft-Meatfa, you were pleafed, fuch and fo
great is your humanity, to declare an efteem for
it, far beyond its value ; when after I had the
honour and happinefs of kiffing your LordHiip's
band, and receiving your bleiling at your vifita-
tion at MuUingar, you were pleafed to enjoin me
to renew my inquiries, and try what more I could
glean up of remarks to add unto thofe before pre-
fented. I, who think myfelf highly honoured in
undertaking any employment at your Lord(hip*s
comniand, could not omit to make a new attempt,
and although I have met with very little more
ffaan what at firfi I offered, yet being thus brought
jDO a review of what I had written, I have not

only

xiv DEDICATION.

only given a few things new, but have attempted
in fome places by way of eflay or conjecture at
the reafon of thofe phoenomcna, which at firft, fo
diftruftful am I of my own judgment in enquiries
of that kind, I durft hardly adventure at; and
now rcfleAing on what I have done, I have too
great caufe to fear, that my performance hatb
iUuftrated nothing more than my own weaknefs
and ignorance in the great works of the Almigh-
ty's hand-maid, Nature.

But what apology (hall I make for my over
long cxcurfion in that of the effort of the air on the
water of the ocean ? Surely nothing lefs than that
goodncfs, I have already fufficicntly experienced
inyourLordfhip, can make atonement for it.

There are now many years elapfcd fince I firft
met with the elaborate difcourfe of the incompa-
rable philofopher, the honourable Mr. Robert
Boyle, concerning the weight and preffure of the
air, which firft miniftred to me thefe fancies^
which I have here adventured to fprcad before
your Lordftiip ; and though I feem to write with
as much affurance of them, as if they were revera
thofe doors and bars mentioned in the book of
Job, which the all-wife and powerful Creator
hath fct unto the ocean, faying, Hiiberio Jbdt
thou come but no further^ and here fhall thy proud
waves be flopped^ yet 1 here let your Lordfliip
know I have done all only by way of effay, not
at all prefuming that what I write is the real truth
of the matter j we know that the ways of the
Lord are unfearchable and paft finding out : he
is, as the philofopher fays of him, i K^t^f**. If
I have overftrained Mr. Boyle's fprings beyond
cither his defign or their own ftrefs, yet I hope I

have

DEDICATION.

have not cracked them. His doctrine, and what
he with great candour and modcfty builds on it,
is nothing weakened by my bolder attempt, nor
am I concerned whether my fancies fmk or fwim^
If your Lordfhip thinks I have overfhot the mark,
I am very well contented to fit down with the re-
proof I find old Phoebus gives his over hardy fon,
when nothing mud fcrve him but he muft up and
ride.

Magna petisy Fbaeton ; et qtut non viribus ijlis

Munera conveniunt.

Your Lordfhip will find the accounts I give yoq
of fome places enlarged, efpecially thofe of Ath-
lone and the battle of Rochenell ; indeed what I
gave before thereof was, methought, flight and
defultory, far fliort of the merit of the matter,*
inafmuch as the aftions of Athlone and Roche*
nell comprife all that was of remark in thiscoun-^
ty during the whole courfe of the war : for from
the battle of Rochenell which was in the begins'
ning of February, 1642, forward, this coi|i^ty
being altogether within the Irifti quarters, here
was no fcene for adlion, I thought them I fay too
flenderly rcprefented, although I gave your Lord-
ihip all I then knew.

I therefore made it my bufinefs to get further
knowledge of thefe things by application toa very
worthy commander yet living, et quorum pars ipfe
fuit fm parva^ who with no Icfs candour and in-
genuity, than fidelity and fincerity, hath given
me the moft of what your Lordftiip finds rcpre-
fented of that time, whofe memory not retaining
the numbers of the flain on feveral occafions, and
Pthcrcircumftances, he chofe rather to befilentin

many

jsA DEDICATION.

ttithy particukrs^ than to g^ve my thing which
be himfelf had not a particular remembrance of.
What I bad not of that worthy gentleman^ I
gleianed up imnong the natives, and being no way
to their advantage, I thought t might more fafely
mfert it : It is only what you find concerning the
county of Longford forces, which came up late
and yet too foon for theihfelvea, and which after
a courfe of forty years, I little wonder, having,
had no monitor, if that worthy gentleman (hould
have omitted.

If any thing here prefented, be worth your
Lord(hip*s pains in reading over, I befeech your
Ii0rd(hip to afcribe it, where only due, to the
influence your Lord(hip*8 commands have over
me^ not only begetting in me a readincTs to under^
take, but enabling me in fome meafure to per-
form ; which give me leave to prefent to your
Lordfliip in the more polite ftrain of our Britilh

tA quod ab if^emc domtnifperare nequibam^
Deterenl gcmo forJUMifta tuo.

Buchanan.

MY LORD,

Your Lordfliip's

Moft Humble Servant,
HENRY PI^RS.

CHOROGRAPHtCAL

BBS C RI PTION

or THE COUNTY OF

WEST- MEAT H.

TH E county of Wcft-Meath is bounded B^"*-
on the Eaft with the county of Eaft^
Mcath, on the Welt with the county of Rof-
common, (from which it is parted by the livir
Shannon) on the Korth with the counties dF
Cavanand Longford, from which it is parted for
the moil part by the river {any, and on the South
by the King's county.

It is extended from Eaft to Weft, v\z. from ir^^t
Caftle town, near Athboy in Meath to Athlone on
the Shannon, about 3g IrUh miles^ (which might
ftrike hard on 50 Englifti miles) and generally
not more than 14 or 15 in breadth, containing in
this furround more than 1 80,000 acres of profit-
able land, plantation meafure, befides bogs, lakes
and heathy mountains, accounted unprofitable. .

It is cantoned into 1 1 baronies, whereof on die
North- Eaft, Delvinj on the North, I>cmy-foui*,*^«»*«*^
Corkcry, Moygoyfli, and Raihconrath | on. the
Noith and Weft,' Kilkenny-, on the Weft and
South, Clonlonap ; on the South, Moycaftiell,

B and

* I e. The Half Btrooj of fore.

A DESCRIPTION OF THE

fcd Fgrnila^ v <3n dxe Sautk-Eaft, Fairbill ; uid
ia ±e ceaxrc ibe hocny of MoyiflieU and Ma-
Iigieiii! I'JWKL. Tlis QBoft ^cftdH pvt of the
bscsy cf EHkemiy, where k drawcth near
AAdcnCy is £ied dae terxkory of Brawny, con-
taBBTg afacu J cr 4000 acre&

r Tbs ccuQt^ is ^ ±e maft port of aplea(ant

Aeid, and fiukful toil, ki wiudtt rcfpeA fome have

it dKgadca of bckody weB watered Willi
fioall rfiersy brooks aod lakes, in all parts
ftoced with ezcdkst arafaie, naeadow, and ptftare
g^eoDck, ahonfiiBig m atl ioits of gram, (beep
aodkine, aA icrts of tame and wikl-fowl, fruits,
and fxcfb-watcr fifli i Jeiiuent in notlnng neccf'

iarj CO the ofe awd dDotancat of fanman if^s
00^ oolj tonber of bak, (wlnewidi idfb it wr as

MBakndj wctt ftoced) a want «> be bewailed, not
ftobf ta tbi oooDty, bat in iMft parts of cb<
kingdom; and,whatisyetmogedeptonibk, Uttlc
care is taken for ptomgating fe nfefol a oowunodi'
ty,aniidft the harocktkoeof made by iron- W(»rk^
&c. in thefe counties, where as 3fet only fmaU
lemunders of timber aie : So that it is mudi to
be feared that pofterity will want not only 0^*
oeflaries for tmildiog, but even whcte-with^I
to drefs tbdr leaifacr, and make ^eiels for cs^
.portation of their inbred commodities, unlcfii
by a careful and timety preraition (a work w^
becoming the wi<<iom of our Parliament) p^o^
vifion be made for planting and raifing all forts of
fbreft trees, even in this our generation : Nevcr^

g^^. fhelefs this our county is welt ftorcd with copl^^
'^ or undcrwooda, the poor remainders of our ^t^"
tient forefts.

Huii and '^ '• ^^^^^ where raifed m moft pteafitfit hffls an^
es. hanging grounds, and depreflcd agam in mo^

friritf*^-^

COUNTY OF WEST-MEATH. 3

fruitful plains : Many of our hills arc excellent
arable even to their very fummits or tops, as
Farragh, Frevin, Slewin, Larah, Knockafty, and
divers others ia moft parts of the county.

lt*s principal commodities are corn of all kJnda» Commo-
hides, tallow, flax, hemp, chccfc, butter, yircoXf^i^^

wool-fells, honey, wax, &c.
Terra fms cmteraa bonkj non ind^a mercis.

a foil.

The plough rewarding and the mcrchant*s toill^
^uam dives niveipecoruy quam lailis abundans.

What ftcffea, my dairies, and my^ folds contain.

D«.YOEtt.

«

It is watered every where with plenty of fprihgs^ j. .

rivulets, brooks, lialkes as aforefaid, and a few Urge

rivers, whei'eof the chief are the Shannon, whicb Shannoii;

only bordercth our county oh the Weft, and no

where that I know of runneth within it. I (hatl

not undertake to give a dcfcription of this the

nobleft of all the rivers in this kingdom, navlgar-

ble for 60 miles within land, fo as (hips of the

greatefi burden come up to the key of Limerick,

in which refpeft no river which 1 have read or

heard of in Europe, can vie with it, unlefi

the Danaow, or liler may be excepted. But as

this famous or antient river (as its name feemethtp

import) only toucheth on us, I only touch oa it^

and proceed to give fome account of others.

The next liver of note is the Inny, before* i^j.
mentioned only as a boundary, but it is not fo
altogether, for it holdeth a continued courfe of
ten miles, whoHy within this county, dividing the

B 2 barony

4 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

barony of Moygoyfh into two half baronies, the
upper on the S6uth-fide, the lower on the North
fide thereof. It hath its rife in the county of
Cavan, in ♦ Lough-Rower, where pafling under
Daily's Bridge in that county, it fallelh intot
^ Lough-Selin above Finah in this county, thence
" gathiering itfclf into a narrower channel, it glidcth
under a bridge there, whence after it hath con-
tinued its narrow courfe for a while, it again
cxpatiateth in the broad waters of Lough- Kinully,

from which again it holdeth a narrower courfe for
5 miles, and then lofeth itfelf in the large and fmu-
ous lake called Lough- Direvreagh, which waters
the (hores of three baronies. From this Iake(where-
in it was almoft drowned) it recovereih again by
much ado, and glideth; (for I cannot fay it run-
neth) in a fmooth, large, deep, and muddy chan-
nel, by fome called Lough-Sallagh, 'till it water-
eth Ballybane ; tl:|en clofer girt, it fubmitteth to the
bridge of Ballinglach, an antient and well built
bridge, which having of late been very incommo-
dious and dangeroujs for travellers, is now very
well repaired j adorned and rendered fafe for them
^t the charge of the county. From this bridge in a
larger and deeper channel, itvifiis§ Lough-Iron,
(but' in its paffage as it were) for it only toucheth
orf it in the North end thereof; from which, being
not any more willing to hazard its being loft in
thcfc lakes, it fpeedily recovers, and in a deep,
fmooth, and fometimes a very broad channel, it
Btllittt- fallcth under the bridge of Ballinacarrow, a late
cirrow built bridge, not much more than of twenty years
'''^*^ ftanding.

• Lou^h Rtmor. f Loagb-SiUiit.

§ Lou[(h-Iroo, ortheLooghofTrifteroagh.

COUNTY OF WEST-MEATH. 5

fbnding. The fituation of this bridge (however
it was not built 'till our days) feemeth to have
been laid out by nature, for it is founded on a rock,
which lay always confpicuous funlefs in great
floods; in a ftraight line a-crofs the river, and at
juft diilances to receive and fuftain the arches of a
bridge. Henceforward this river becomes to us
a boundary again between us and the county of
Longford, arriving at the ^ Abby Shrewell ; it
divides the barony of Shrewell in the county of
Longford, as before it did Moygoylh with us,'
into two half baronies. In this courfe it falletb
over feveral rocky precipices, and under divers
new-built bridges, until at laft it is loft in that
great lake in the Shannon called Lough-Ree or
the King of lakes. And here it meets with the
fate it fo narrowly efcaped in our county , for hence-
forward we hear no more of the Inny ; unlefs we
hearken afterit in the Shannon, or Shannin, as fom^
will have it (as if it were compounded of Shannb
and Inny) and to countenance this they tell us,
that before it meets with our Inny, that river is
called only Shanno or Shunno. This river, were it
not for thcfc precipices before mentioned, might
be made navigable unto Finagh, and for ought!

know, higher. It is well ftored with bream, pika,
eel, trout, roach, and falmon. About Lough-
iron and Lough-Direvreagh, there is found; itiilk
month of May only, a fmairflfh without fpot, of
the (hape almoft of an herrlrig, a'filh very pled -
fant and delightful, but not taken in great quaftlf-
ties ; the natives Call it Goa(ke,i know not by afty Coafke.
name to Engli(h it. The pike and eel of Lou^lt-
Iron, and the bHsath of Lough-Direvreagh^ eli-

} AbbyShrool.

6 A DESCRIPTION Of TBS

cccd any clfcwhcre inlreland, for their excellency^
and for aught I know, any iif. the whole world.

BnCoj. The river Brothy rifeth in Lougfi-Poyle, whence
pafiing thro' the gardens of Cullenmpre, it byeth
to Mullingar, the chief town of our county, aixl
thence to l«oi^h-Inniel , when freeing itrelf from
this large water, it is called for i^ud dm Brofiiy,
the word fignifying a burthen of ^icks, but why
the river is called fo I do not know. It waiereth
the large barony of Moycafhell, running befidea
the town of Kilbeggain, it fuftaineth a fair bridge ;
living this barony, it faUeth thro* the King'a
county, and after a long courfe there it payeth
tribute to the Shannon at or near Bannagher.

GhuQ^ Gaine is the laft river I (ball particularly de-
icribe, a fmall but very pleafant water of about
four or five miles courfe, traverfing the barony of
Corkery. It hath its original from feveral fprings
that iflue from the higher grounds which lie to
the Eaft and South of Monyiefti thefe fprings
centring fhort of the town, form in one channel
A very pretty brook, which thence foon falleth
f>ver a mill at Kiltnaglifti, and about a mile further
over: another at Ballinegall; thence it glideth to
jj^nightfwood, and there (like a fnow ball in*
.cceafing as it. goes) fuHaineth a late built foot-
-bridge; hehoe forward coailing the lands of
jSiiightlwood on the Weft, and Tifarnan (belong-
'ing to the See of Meath) on the Eaft, it pafleth
lo Multifornan^ where it falleth under another
-large bridge ; thence to a mill, whence immediately
U watereth the ground of the lateFricry of Mul-
tifernan ; this done, after a mile's longer courfe,
k Jofeth itfeif in the krge lake I^ugh-DJrevreagb.
'This water, tho* fmall and of a ihort courfe, is

plentifully

I 'Jr_

.-vii

COUNTT OF W|£ST.MIATH. 7

identifuU/ ftorod with the beft fmall troutt in
Weft-Mcath, both white ftod red, €ni ioQe
fmall pikes aUb^

Other riv4ikts and brook:.s« wherewith this ooiiq-%i>>^
ty is well fiored^it isneedlefs to treat ef^ we^^^
hftve of them which run both Eaft and Weft* ;Wcft.
I my (elf have ibmetimes with fdeafure obfervfx)»
from one piece of ground not feemingjy hig^,
very good arablet with pafture intormixic), aflji
within the reach of lels than half an hour*! o^
riding, many iinall fprixigs, which meeiimg fiFOi|i
petty brookai falling both Eaft and Weftward. :
thofe which fell Weft, centred in the Gaine, whioipy
as before from Moltifornan, lofeth itfcif in
Lough-Direvreagh, thence being incorporated in
one channel with the Inny, it falleth finally froqi
Limerick into the Weft fea. Thofe which fell
Eaftward, incorporated together in the river Ded^
which from Donour in the county of Eaft-Meat^»
falleth into the Boy ne, and finally from Drc^hcdf,
into the Eaftern fea. Thus both Eaft and Weft
(hare our waters of Weft-Meath. Hence. it

•

ihould feem that this county is Tested on the fuog*
mit or ridge of Ireland, and is perhaps ^eqioa^y
raifed with tbofe rougher npQiinlains in n^h^
countries, that would Sb thought to overtoil' W."!

Loughs or Lakes, this country afTordeth vesyLongtu.
many, well fiored with ^U forts of $th before
named, falmon excepted; which is found Dfily^n
the Inny and Brofny, con>ing out of the Sbamtofi.
Of fome of thofe 1 ^(hall fpesk, and firft?4)f
Lough-Lene.. . ; :. ..» . ,

Lough-Lene, in Irilh founds like the lake of L. Lent.
Learning, feated within half a mile of •Foore town,
in the barony of Dc^-Fodnii from wfci**it \i

^Fore, in the half barony of Fore.

la A DESCRIPTION OF THE

trumpets or loiid-founding inftruments. Major
General Reynolds, towards the latter end of our
late unhappy war, is faid (pafling this country) to
have halted h^re, and though he defcended not
into the water, was fo taken witfi the anienity of
the pro(peft, and the beauty of the landfcape,
MTtd the nk)ft ravifhing echoes that redoubled to
hint the noife of his trumpets, that he exclaimed
he never came to the like place, and it is faid to
have wiflied he could even then with leifure and
fafety, fit down and take up his reft here.

Mf nee tarn paeiens Laeediemon^
Nee tarn horijjee pereujfit campus opima^

^uam domus AUmnea re/mantis^
.£$ preeceps AniOj £ff Tihurnilucus. Hor:

But me, nor patient Lacedsemon charms.
Nor fair Larifla with fuch tranfport warms.
As pure Albunea's far-refounding fource.
And rapid Anio, head-long in his courfe.
Or Tibur, fenced by groves from folar beams.

Francis.

The water, efpecially under this hill, is exceeding
deep, (as if nature, out of this pit, had raifed fo
vaft a bulk) never yet fathomed by fuch as have
attempted it. The hill, although it rife fo fteep
as I have faid, is yet in all its afcent cloathed with
trees, that naturally and fecureiy grow here (for
no hatchet can come near them) which rifing con-
tinually and gradually one above another, add no
fmall grace to the landfcape. This hill h^ih 6n
that fide which hangcthover the water, and' ^boDt
Chapel of midway from it to the top, an ancient chapel de-
St. €yen dicatcd to a faint, called Eycn or Keyon. This
* ^^^^'chapel is cut out of the natural rock, for all one

fide

COUNTY OF WEST*MEATH. 13

fide of it appears to be the natural (lone inftcad
of a wall. 'It isnoWy and long hath betn, with-
out a roof : it hath in it a curious purling brook
of cryftal water, which liTuing out of the rock
fide of the chapel^ traverfeth it, and failing thro*
the oppofite fide wall, haflencth down to the
waters below.

Eft mfecejfu longo locus : infula portum
Efficii objeQu laterum ^ qmbus ornnis ab alio
Franghur^ hiqitejimsfcindit fefe urida redallos.
Hinc atque bine vqfta ^upes^ geminique mnumtur
In cahmfcopuli : quorum fub vert ice laic
yEquora tutajileni. Turn JUvisfcana corufcis
Defuper^ borrenttque airum nemus mminei umbra.
Frtmtefub advetJA fcopulis fendtmOms antrum :
Intus aqua dulcps^ vivoque/edilia/axb \
Njmpbarum imus. Viro.

Far in a deep recefs, her jutting fides

An ifle projedls, to break the roinng tides,

And forms a port, where, curling from the fea,

The waves fteal back, and winds into a bay.

On eiriicr fide, fublrme in air, arife,

Two tow'ring rocks, whofe fummits brave

the flcies ;
Low at their feet the fleeping ocean lies.
Crown'd with a gloomy (hade of waving woods.
Their awful brows hang nodding o'er the floods,
Oppos'd to thefe, a fecret grotto (lands.
The haunt of Nereids, fram'd by nature's hands.
Where polifii'd feats appear of living ftone.
And limpid rills, that tinkle as Ihey run.

Pitt.

To

t4 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

To this chapel from the land f^dt le^ds a path-
way on the fide of the hill I'the nearer you approach
to it, the narrower doth the way grow ; at Uft,
and at a good diftance from it, the way appeareth
hewn ont of the rock fide, rendered eafy and fafe
by the trees, which, as aforefaid, rife from the wa-
ter, and range over one another, and hem up the
way fo clofe, that there is no danger either to flip
Filgrim- or fall. 'To this chapel, on the firft Sunday iahar-
^S«»* veil, the natives pay their devotions in pilgrimages,
which for certain ftages they undertake barefoot ;
but when they come to a certain noted place in
the way, they hold on the remainder of their devo-
tion on their bare knee?, all along to the diap el,
on (tone and gravely intermixed and overgrown
with heath and grafs. Their devotions performed,
they return merry and (hod, no longer concerned
for thofe fins that were the caufeof this fo fevere
a penance ; but as if, having now paid ofifthe old
fcore, they longed to gp on in the new again,
they return in aU. hafte to a green fpot of ground
on the eaft fide of the hill towards the land, and
here men and women fall a dancing and caroufing
the reft of the day ; for ale fellers in great num-
bers on thefe days have their booths here as in a
/au*, and to be fure the merry bag- pipers fail not
to pay thai attendance. Thus in lewd and ob-
fcene dancing, and in excefs of drinking, the re*
mainder.oftheday is fpent, as if they celebrated
the Bacchanalia, rather than the memory of a
pious faint, or their own penitentials ^ and often-
times it falls out that more blood is (hed on the
grafs from broken pates and drunken quarrels,
when the pilgrimages are ended, than was before
on the ftones from their bare feet and knees dur*^
ing their devotions.

This

COITNTY OF WEST-MEATH. 15

4

This chape], ifo high above water, being pafled,
you may yet CDntinue your travd, afcending for a
good way within trees toward the top of the hill,
which now in climbing becomes more eafy in the
afcent. But after a wh»Ie, your way is no longer
(haded with verdant trees, but incumbered- with a
more humble plant, heath intermixed with grafs.
Having at laft topped the hill, if^in a fair day, you
have a profpedt into both Eaft and Weft feas,
and fviay percdve many mountains and countries
both South andMorth, fo that from this, our coun*
ty not only fendeth ftreams Eaft and Weft, but af-
fbrdeth a pleafant profpe£t of both ftas. This
lake, as almoft others in this county, affordeth
many pieafant feats ; but it being not my purpofe
to defcribe every fine place, I fliall pais thofe by^
and proceed td fay fonoething of

Lough Foyle, the name of whid) feems to im«L. Foyk:
port time, in that fenie, as when a man borrow-
eth for a time on promife of reftitution -, foas the
word nnay denote, a take borrowed for a certain
feafon. And there goes an ancient fabulous ftory,
which tVve natives blirfh not to own as a traditional
truth, which, becaufe it feems to countenance the
interpretation I have adventured to give of this
name, I crave the reader's leave to infert.

There lived, in I know not what age of the pJ^^J,J^J^5
world, two fillers, one in this country, the other ftoiy.
in the county of Rofcommon, beyond the Shan-
non, both famous for their (kill in enchantments
and forceries, as indeed were all of whom any of
our ancient fables run« The fifter who lived here
on a certain day (belike Tuefday or Wednefday)
fent to her fifter in Connaught, to let her know
(he flood in need of her lake for fome great de-

fign

j6 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

figQ (he had then on foot, and prayed the loan
thereof, promifing to reftorc the fiimc on Monday
to her. The Connaught (good natured) filler
immediately grants the requeft, and winding up
her lake in a (heet, (he quickly made fit for the
purpofe, fends it to her fifter over hills and dales
fiiiling on the wings of the wind, into this country.
Our Leinfter lady places it here, where now we
have it, and makes her ufe of it. At laft, Mon-
day comes, but no lake is returned according to
capitulation ; the Connaught filler hereat ftorms,
and becomes as turbulent, as the lake itfelf is on
every blall of wind, fends to the Leinfter lady to
demand rellitiftion of her water, challenging her
upon her promife, but in vain, (he had poRtiBoit^
and likes the water fo well, that (he refoives not
to part with it. Neverthelefs, becaufe (he would
not feen[i to be worfe than her word, (he tells her
that (he had borrowed it indeed till Monday, but
her meaning was, as the Iri(h phral'e has it, till
Monday after the day of eternity, or as we fay in
Englifh, on Monday come never on a wheel*
barrow, (behold the great antiquity of equivoca-
tion) and thus we have made a (hift to keep our
borrowed lake to this day. I will not overburden
the reader, with the many pleafant arguments our
natives make ufe of, tojuftify this (lory, as that
the place is yet remaining and to be feen in Con-
naught, whence this lake was taken ; and that a
certain church in an ifland in this lake, the walls
whereof yet remain, was heretofore a parilh
church, having been of ready accefs before the
lake was placed here, &c. for it is rot enough,
that we ourfelves believe this ftor> infinitely, hut

we would fain be thought fober and grave in

{o

JOQNTT OP WEST*MEATH. M

to doings and by our worfliipful reaioning make
all die world as wife as oui felves.

This lake is fituated in the heart of oar coutw
ty, and ahnoft in the very height of it, between
the baronies of Corkery and Moyalhell, diftant
ft kurge ntile from Muilingar, and Northward of
it, a very fcuge k>ng and high feated water, and
on every gale of wind, very tempeftuous. Here
is abundance of all forts of fifh. above- named,
fiilnnon excepted, the trouts hereof are the beft
and hrgeft in Weft-Meath. Of this water, this
is partfcniarly obfervable, that it fendeih forth
continually two Areams or rivulets, receiving none
into it, except a very fmall one at Portnefhang^
wh«ch at every drought is dry. One of thefe
flreams, being the kginning of the Brofny be*
fore-mentioned, runneth out at the South end, and
is by the natives called the Golden Hand, or arm ; Golden
the other iflueth out of the Northern end of the"*^
hke, and is by the natives called the Silver Hand, silver
or arm. TUs filver ftream is of a very ftiort^*^^*
courfe, not full a mile in length, and yet it turneth
five overlhaft mills, whereof the leaft hath a
wheel tweh-e feet diameter ; and one might have
a wheel of eighteen feet, bcfidcs which, feats
might be found with convenience for more mills,
if our country could find them employment.
Thefe mills aie perennial, never dry, not in the
grcateft droughts I have feen. This brook finifli-
eth its (hort courfe, in the lake called, Lough-Iron,
vhereinto it falleth at the South end ; and at the
north end mingles with the Inny, and together
with it, f^Us into the Shannon. Hence, and from
what hath been faid of the courfe of the Brofny,
the Inny and Shannon, it is manifeft, that this

C Lough-

si A DESCRIPTION OF THE

X/>ugh*Foyle, with its two arms and the Shannon,
embraceth half the county of Weft Meath ; fome
part. of the county of Longfoid ^ and a^ part no
way inconfiderable of the King's county • of aO
whichy it maketh one entire com pleat ifland, eve-
xy day in the year. This is a renoark^ nut ob-
served in any chorographical map I have feen df
this cou.it} : no, not in Sir William Fee ty*€ great
map of Ireland.
Digreffi. Wtiuevti conCders the great quantity of wa-
rn cob- ters, that continually liieia thistake, which wc
5^^ Jhavc reprcienicd in theie two rivers, always
waters, ftreaming from it ^ may juftly wonder, w hence
the fund or fource thereof ihould be. If it be
Xaid, it is from the Tea, from vv hence the waters
by fecret paflages,ftreamingand percolating thro'
the boweU of earth, lofeth its brackifli faltnef^
land becometh pleaiant and healthful, both for the
tife of man and beaft, I oppofe it not. Never*
thelefs a great difficulty ariieth on this hypothefis.
Fox iGnce it is a known and received maxim in
hydroftaticks, that water, uniels forced, will not
rife higher than its firft fource or head ; how ihall
it rife in this lake, in a place feemingly much
higher than the fea ? For if we confider \^ hat
jfalls this water bath in its Silver arm before-men«
tloned, even in the fliort courfe of one fmall mile,
and after when it incorporates with the Inny, in
the feveral weyrs, over rocks and precipices, as
dt Shrewell, Newcaftle and elfewhere, before it
reacheth the Shannon ; then the whole courfe of
that river and its falls, as at the bridge of Ath-
lone, Fortumny, the great cataract at Killaloe,
and elfewhere, in its whole courfe, until it arrives
at the fea : we may modeftly enough compute,

that

COUNTY OF WEST-MEATH. 19

that the waters rifing in this lake are more than
twp-thoufand foot, in perpendicular height, abaye
the liem, where the Shannon falleth into it. Noir'
if the former rule hold good, vh. that water
rifeth not higher than its iirftfource, it follows
either that thefe waters rife not from the Tea, or
that the Tea muft be fomewhere hi^r than at the
inflex of this river into it ; that fo by its additi-
tionai weight, the waters may be forced to rife in
this lake.

That all waters come from the fea, either by All wm-
exhalation or percolation, or both, is plain, not ten from
only by proof from Holy Writ, from whcncethe"** **•
beft faints even of natural pliilofophy may be ti*
ken ; but by the unanimous confent of all writers,
that I have met with. And that the lea is in
fome parts higher than the land, we have argu-3^
ments from the experience of mariners, who tellli^hcr
us, that (hips fetting to fea, tho' with a favoura-^*j **
ble wind and tide, go out much more flowly,^/ *
than they come in from it to harbour, thp' they
come with a lefs favourable 'gale: and the
reafon given is, that fetting out, they (ail againft
the height and as it were up hill, but coming to-
wards land, they fail with the height and as it
were down hill, and confequendy make the great-
er fpeed. They tell us alio, that from the tops of
their mafts, they are able to defcry a diftant (hip,
whereas, yet below on the deck it is not vifible,
which, in all likelihood, would not be fo, if the Tea
lay on a level ; the reafon feetning to be no othei^,
than that the arch of the hill-rifing fea oppofeth,
hindering the view of the diftant fhip from the deck
below, which it doth not to them, that are fo high
raifed as the top maft, inafmiichas at that heighth,

C 2 they

20 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

they may be taken to ec^ual, if not fur mount the
height of the interpofing arcl^ ; and indeed to
^ the naked and unafTifted eye,, the fea (eemeth
higher at a diltance from lane), than it doiea near
the (hore. Taking it therefore for grapted^ at
the prefent, on thefe grounds that this is thus, the
great enquiry is^ whence it cpme$ to pafs, that tl)e
fea doth not o\ crflow the land ; at leaft thefe pa^
that lie firft ai^d nigheil expofed to it.
GMieTif We find that in the third day's woil; of the
cb. i.o. creation, God 1$ iaid to have thus commanded.
Let the waters qnder the Heaven be gather^
• together unto o(ie place, . fiqd let the dry land ap-
pear ; where by th^ yfuy^ the earth at this tiipe
fef ms to have b?e(i overwhelmed with waters ;
and elff w^r^ we f^nc^ it is faid iq Holy Writ, th^t
he hath fet bounds unto the fea, ia^ing, hitherto
ihalt thoii come i^nd t\o further, and l^ere (hall thy
J*3^ proud wave^ be ftayed. And indeed, whoever
^ ' confidershow incpnfiflcnt and (lai^ a bo^y of
water i? ; how readily jt fpre^^ls, if not pent i^p
or bounded, will eafily grant, that it can be no lefs
thari the hand and power of Almighty God, that
(lints and keep$ up the oceat) within bpunds ;
efpecially fmce we have g^;antcd, on the reafon
before alledged, that the fea in fome parts, at leail
' where it is moft diftant from land, is perpendipv*
larly highpr than the land. Whofoever confiders
this, I wy, may think it well worth his enquiry,
by what ways and means, this Almighty hand pf
Providence thus fufpends or heaps together, thofc
{o vaift and unwieldy bulks of unfteac^y w^ter,
which we call the oceans : for as that great phi-
iofopher, the lord Verulam faith in his advance-
ment of learning, that final or material caufe^

are

COUNTY OF WEST.MEATH. 21

arc not fo fitly the enquiry of a philofopher^ ai
formai and efficient caufes arc. Since therefore,
We -do not aferibe this dupendous aft of God's
trovidencc to a miracle, that is, to his over-ru-
Hng pbwer, whercbN he, whofe ways are paft find*
ing out, a£ts fomething quite without, befides,
or againft all natural caufes ; it may perhaps be
looked upon as no undutiful part in us, to cndea*
vour modellly to fearch into the caufes, methods,
or ways, which he in his wifdom takes, for eSe£t*
ing this fo wonderful a phoenomenon. For
caufes of this, nature, when found out, or per*
haps but narrowly fearched after^ oftentinnes mi-
nifter matter of praifing, admiring and adoring
the infinite abyfles of his wifdom and almighty
power. If it be true, what fome affirm, that
Ignorance is the mother of devotion, it muft be
only of fuch blind and fupcrftitious performances,
as fuch men endeavour to beget in their devotions.
For certainly, a true and generous admiration and
adoration of the goodhefs and wifdom of God,
can never have rifen from dull ignorance, or blind*
nefs ; and t remertiber our late cited author, the
iiluftrious Bacon, writes fomewhere to this
purpofe \ that a ftiort, dull, and (hallow enquiry
into the natural caufes of things, or (which is the
fame in dSedt) a flight and fuporficial knowledge
in natural Philofophy, tends to Atheifip and irreli*
gion, v^hich I place but one. degree beyond igntf^
ranee, or rather look on as an higher improve*
ment thereof ; whereas a full, flrenuous atid 4cep
fearch after the caufes of things, tends directly oot
only to the finding out that there is a God, but th«
adoration of him when found. And thus it was
truly faid of the heathen Phllofopher^ that man Is

the

aa A DESCRIPTION OF THE

the prieil of nature^ that is» who, on all occafions,
<>flfereth up unto Ms maker facrifices of praifes
and thankfgivings, for thofe excellencies he finds
out in his fellow-creatures ; and thofe wonderful
operations they perform, tho* they be altogether
mfenlible of thefe aftings themfelves.

To endeavour therefore to give fome probable
hint, ifitmaybe, towards folving this great pro-
pofcd difficulty, why the vail ocean, being granted
higher than the land, doth not overflow it ? I have
confidered what I find very ingenioully propofed
and fufficiently made out, by the no lefs learned,
than truly honourable virtuofo, Robert Boyle,
Efq; in his tra£t of Phyficomechanical experi-
ments, and that is, that the air hath in it both
weight and fpring, or a continual endeavour of
expanding itfelf. This fpring, the fame author
makes out to be flronger which is here near the
earthy than it is higher up and at greater diflance
from us, being increafed here by its own weight,
as we fee in artificial fprings, the more we ftrain
or pftfs on them, the more forcible are their en-
deavours of refiftance or expanfion. By thefe two
properties (which in his faid work he makes out
beyond ekception) of the air, he folveth all the
phaenomena that the world of phiiofophers before
him thought fufficiently anfwered, when they told
us, for iniiance, that heavy bodies under fuch and
fuch circumflances, will, of their own. accord,
ftlfpend as it were their own innate gravity, and
rftdily move upwards, to prevent that great evil
ff a diaifm, hiatus, or vacuum in ndture, herein
ifaibbig to fenfelefs and inanimate bodies, the
operation' of election and underllanding ; for, oi
fiurn (^ert wn eft nifi JoHus natura mteU^entis :

.- • ' but

CODNTT or WEST-MKATH. 23

but to him who well cxmfiders and weighs whtt
our faid author delivers in his faid excellent piece,
it is manlfeft thar they move upwards in fuch
channels and under luch circumftances not of
their own accord^ but as they are impelled and
forced by the fpring and weight of the outward
air, where the counterbalance of the air, that be*
fore was within, is removed. For clear mani-
feftatton of thisdodtrine, I refer my reader to the'
learned author's work itfelf, wherewith whofoever
(hall not reft fatisBed, I requeil him to produce ..
a more rational hypothefis, or elfc in plain terms
Itt him aflert, that the fucker in his pneumatical
engine (which being let flip, when the receiver
was abnoft emptied, did with fuch impetuofity
and hafte afcend) was an inteUigrat animal ; or,
if he like not that, let him go ft wool-gathering .
with Moor^s Aniraa Mundi, or enjoy the fancy
of Liney*s invifiblc unaccountable hooks and
wires ; for my part, I fliali here take for granted
and lay it down for an uhcontrouied principle^
that the air, or atmofphere, hath thelc two pro^
praties of weight and fpring in it.

Now on this ground I proceed to confider the
whole aggregate gfobe of the earth and water, ia.
tliat ftate we may fafely imagine it was in before
the Almighty pronounced thefe words before cited
in the work of the third day ; or, if you pleafe^
af it was during the height cf Noah's flood. And :
thus we may fuppofe the wliole earth cov^cred wititt .
water, as the text plainly fliewedi it was. In the'^
next pbor, fuppofe here the whole atmofpttene,-
or body^pf «ir, now beginning loisdfc; on fbe aggre-
gate of .eavtb and water, which it encompafleth on
all^pan^ by ^hefprccp^ita^jpriiig^ |iad prtffui*^
r of

24 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

oi its weights, it is manifefi that the earth being 0
body confifient and compaA, whofe parts will
not eafily feparate, or give way to the activity of
thefpringand weight of the air, (hall iUUkeep
its own place, and the fituation of all its parts
intire, notwithftanding the effort of the air upon
this aggregate : whereas on the other fide, the
water being a body fluid, and whofe parts eafily
feparate, may well be fuppofed to give way to
this now inenmbenr weight and a^vity of the
ttmofphere, which if it do, it cannot otherwife
do it, than by receding from fome parts of the
eardit and confequenily rolling back upon itfelf ;
or, as the expreifion of Holy Writ runs, by ga-
thering together unto one place or portion of the
e«rth. And thus gathered together, it feems,
to be even at this day ; for whoever views the
whole habitable continent, as reprefented in our
geographical maps or globes, fliall fee it lie. in
form of two great iflands (for whether the ex*
treme North and South parts be land or water is
noty^t certain, and eadi alike to the matter in
hand) and the ocean aa one great water, bounding
it every where. Now this operation of the air,
ilill contmuing en the whole fphere and acting
uniformly, will not ceafethus to drive and force
the waters from the face of the earth upon them-
felves, till the air and waters be brought into an
eqnal balance, that is, till the power of the weight
and fpring of the air can force no more waters
from the fkce of the earth, nor raife them higher,
nor ke^ them Aifptnded if they were higher
rtiftd. For it is manifeft, if we fuppofe the
weight and fpring of the air, really to furmount.
Of )ntt equal the we^^htof the water, the opera«>

tH>l|

COtJNTt OP WESt-MEATh. 25

tion would not have reded where it does^ but th6
air would have removed the waters quite from the
face of the earth. The infinite wildom of thd
Almighty having (for (he advantage of the whole)
fo proportioned and balanced the weight of the
one^ with the fpring and ^ eight of the other, that
there is yet water enough left in the Tea, to poifeffl
and fill his decreed place which he brtfke up for it,
and yet are they not fo high raifed, but that the
weight and fpring of the air (which as doors and/ob»3S.
bars he hath fet to it) are fufficient and ftrong^^
enough to fufiain and lock it up from overflowing
the face of the earth : a confideiation, though but
in this one inftance, fnfficicnt to (ilence all athe-
ifiicalcavils, and eternally to open the mouths of
the admirers and adorers of the infinite wifdom of
the Ddty, in fongs and praifes of thankfgiving.
For further dilucidation of this matter, 1 (hall
inftance a part only of the vaft ocean, as under
the mentioned circumfiances. Let us therefore
take that limb thereof that interpofeth between
our European (bores and thefe rpi ofite in Ame-
rica ; fuppofe we them both covered as before with
water, and then the air, by force of its fpring and
weight, afling as before on them, the effcft can
be no other than that the waters that cover Europe
(hall be driven from it towards the American (hore,
and at the (ame time, and by the fame means, (hall
the water that covereth thefe parts of Americai
that oppofe us, be driven thence toward rtis : the
effeA of the whole operation can be no other than
that the waters muft rife higheft between both
(hores, even in the mid (t, and there remai^n fuf-
pended, or heaped up, when fartheft from thci
land i ajid this is the thing I contend for. Thua
therefore we imagine the whole ocean to be r^fed

26 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

and fufpended between its oppoiite (hores, every
where in form of a rifing^ or every way banging
ground in the midft of a plain ; or, if you pleafc,
like an higher raifed ridge, between two others
that are flatter and lower than it. I ftiall yet at-
tempt further to illuftrate my appreheniions iii this
whole matter^ by inftancing the operation of the
air in one of the fmaileft portions of water. Sup*
pofe we then, but one drop of water trickling
down from an height and hanging on the point
of a reed, not yet grown weighty enough to pirt
with it : you may perceive this faid drop (during
the fufpenlion) to hang in (hape and form of a
fphere or globe, and in this form to continue,
even when it falls, until it reach the ground.
Now I a(k, why is the form or (hape of this drop
fpherical i I remember an ancient grave perfon*
well read in the philofophy of the fchools, did
long fince with a compofed countenance, and ma-
gifterially enough, anfwer me to this very quef-
tion, much after this manner : Sweetheart, thou
muft underfland, that this fpherical figure is of all
other the moft entire and compadt ; this drop of
water therefore cafls itfelf into this figure to pre*
ferve all its parts entire, for it is not pofTible that
in any other figure a quantum equal to this drop,
can contract all its parts fo near the centre, as in thu
form. This he fpake with gravity and referved-
nefs, enough to have filenced all oppofition from
one of my llation at that time. But to return to
his anfwer. Is not this the fame error I not long
fmce reproved, of afcribing to inanimate bodies
a£tions of reafon and choice i Is not this plainly, as
the poet hath it, cum ratione infanire ? However,
with this anfwer coming from fo grave a fenior^ to

whom

. < J

A-ithin the narroweft and moft imaginable
laiS of all bounds, even ihat of a fplicrc.
It for anfwer to this queftion. Let us look;
itdrop, or fmall portion of water, as it is
fid in the open air, bounded every whereby
Ij winch endeavoureth every way to expand
; it is very eafy to conceive, that every mi-
part of this water feaii be forced by the fpring
It portion of the air which bears upon ityfrom
ir itfelf, and confequently inwards upon itfelf.
It all parts being at once fo equally born up-
»th under, over and on all fides, the rcfult
!s aftion can be none other, than to cad
bail quantity of water into our mentioned
ical figure. This will appear yet farther if
dee this drop and lay it genlly on a hard
, as a board or flone, youlhall 6nd it will
sdiately alter the (hape, and become from a
e to an bcmifphere. The reafon being, that
tiding or leaning on the harder body, the air
DCS excluded from thefe parts that touch,
I being now no longer a£ted on b; the air,
luid body, from its own wdght, fpreads.

it A l)£SCRIPTION OF Ttlt

fttll Its globular figure in the hemifphere beford
mentioned.

But if after all thift, dur drop begtftken and laid
on other water^ it then itntntmzxtlf difappears^
for mixing and incorporating into" its congenitc
liquor, all the parts of it are excluded firotn the
a£tion of the ai/^ unlefs we fuppofe the upper-'
moft of all, and thore;.(if any protuberance you
will imagine yet left) will forthwith be deprefled
into an equality of fuperfides with the former
water* But 1 apprehend, fomeone may objeft to
all this, that I take on me here to illuftrate^ the
effort of the air, on the greateft imaginable quan-
tity of water, from what it worketh on the leaft,
and that, altho* the fpring and weight of the air
may be imagined to have fuch a power over fo
fmall a portion of water, it is not reafonable to
imagine it (hould have the like, on fo great a bulk,
as is the entire ocean. To this 1 anfwer in fhort,
that the mentioned effort of the air, on one fmall
drop is of no more parts of air, than what imme*
diately furround it. Hence therefore I infer, that
if fuch be the effort of fo fmall a portion of air, on
a portion of water, equal to it, why may we not
imagine that the whole atmofphere, or the whole
united body of the air, that (urrounds this aggre*
gate of earth and water, which bears yet a greater
proportion to the ocean, how vafi foever it be,
may have a conformable operation, on the whole
waters expofed to it.

I (hall yet attempt one inilance more. Fill a
glafs or other veflel, with water or other liquor,
till it be full, and if you yet continue gently
to pour on, you will find that more liquor will yd(
be heaped on the glafs, than really the glafs doth

contain,

COITNTT OF WEST-MEATH. 39

coDtain, even to the height of the tlucknefs of a
gnin of berleyt or more, and there it will hang,
on the fubjaoent liquor in the glafs, which I fup*
pofe to be wh|it Virgil meaneth, by his vina mro^
fimu. The reafim of the liquor being thus fuf-
pended, and not falling o0*, I uke to be none
jother, than what we have been all this while dif-
jcouriing, and need not here repeat. But if you
ihall attempt to pour on ftili more, the liquw will
jife,'tUl it hath attained fo high above the lip of the
glafs, that the weight of this heaped water, begins
now to over-balance the weight and aflivity of the
portion of air that hitherto fuftained it» which is no
. more than what equals the periphery of the glafs
itfelf ; and now by r^fon that the fpring of the
l^ir, is overpowered by the weight of the over-
heaped water ; it is no wonder to fee the liquid
body di^ow and fall off, which it had done at firft,
if it had not been been upheld and forced together,
by the fpring of the air. And now you may be-
hold the water continue falling off *till the over*
balance, or foipewhat more be run off, and then
figain it ftops, and that before the heaped liquor
be quite got o^; for pow again, the effort of the
air prpygiling, it checks the remainder and fup*
ports a cpnfiderable quantity of water, after the
bead is brought to an equilibrium, or perhaps
under it, with the portion of air that adeth on it.
I (hall here ceafe from farther ioHances, and if
by this time it may be granted, that the ocean is
fuftained and fufpended by the weight and pref-
fure of the fpring of the air, to any pitch above
|he higheft mountains in land, and thereby with-
held from returning and overflowing the fame,
it will then be eafy to anfwcr all the cavils that
(ome have brought, againft the polfibility of fuch

an

i

30 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

an univerfal deluge^ as we find recorded in holj
writ to have been in the days of Noah ; for if wi
(hall fuppoie, that it pleafed the Almighty ^t that
time, but to lufpend or withdraw, forthepum<^

Daniels, ment of mankind, the weight anda^vity dfthc
air, as we feehedid that ofthemoft fubtile and vio-
lent of all natural agents, that we are acquainted
with, even the leven times morethanulually eJDcii-
ed fire in Nebucbadneztar*^ furnaoe ; \h hat can be
then imagined, but thefe vail heaps of w^ater being
now no longer fuftained or prefled together by
the counterpoiie and adtivity of the aimofpheie,
(or if we may make boki with the fbrementioned
expreifion out of Job) the doors and bars which
the Almighty had fet unto the vail ocean, being
now opened and withdrawn, thefe waters, I fay,
muit needs (as it were; of their own accord, from
the law of their innate weight and iluidity , dif-
flow, fpread abroad and prevail over the face of

7/T1.* the earth, as we. read, they then did. And who
knows if by the fountains of the deep, that are
faid to have been then broken up, any other
matter or thing be intended, than this great ir-
ruption of waters, on the withdrawing the adti-
vity of the atmofphere. And if all this be ixha-
gined too little, (as perhaps it was) to beget fo
great a deluge, as that was, for it is faid, that the
higheil mountains on earth, were covered fifteen

Vcrfe 1 9. cubits deep ; Behold then, hereunto added, the

^°- auxiliary waters of thefe vaft cataradts and fpouts,
that fell for forty days continually.

Ef^ wmprofunt Jifigula^ junOa juvant. Ovid.

In union mighty, though, divided, weak.

Again,

COUNTY OF WEST-MEATIL 31

A^n, (which fiill makes for our Hypothefis)
.we find, ch. 8. when it pleafed God the waters
Ihould abate, it is faid that God firll made a wind
ID pai's over the face of the earth. I fuppofe all
'knen conclude that wind is nothing elfe than air,
forced or driven in fuch a channel ; and I believe,
no man of reafon will imagine, that the activity
:of the fpnng of the air, which we fuppofe now
«gain rehoied, was any way impaired by its being
mow itfelf, put into a more brifk motion. Add
%ho knows, if by the wind here mentioned, be
inot intended, this very thing I drive at, viz. the
. vdgbc and fpring of the air, now not only re-
ftored, but invigorated on this extraordinary occa*
r fion, we fee the efie& followed, for it is exprefly
i ikid, that the waters returned from off the face of
the earth, continually. Behold we here the uni-^^ ^" ^'
ibrm effetft of the weight and fpring of the air rr-
[ turned, an tficA^ furpaflSng the power of the mind,
if we fuppofe it void both of fpring and weight.
To my imagination, not only the whole cufiCnt
of thefe texts feem fully to confirm our Hypothe-
iis, but the Hypothefis itfelf Teems plainly to ex-
pound what elfe is dark in them ; and certainly
that is fuch a connexion between the word of Gv.d
and bia works, that they bed elucidate one an j-
ther ; and tho' the main current and defign of the
holy fpirit in the fcripture, is chiefly the delivery
of fuch truths, as being aflented unto both in the-
ory and practice, render a man happy, both in this
life and that which is to come, yet, exfupcrabun-
dsnt, we have in them, not only the beft pre-
cepts of moral philofophy, but intcrfperfcd fucli
excellent hints of natural philofophy alfo, as
vhen rightly apprehended, lead us to a more ex*

celleiit

32 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

oellent and certain knowledge of the works of
nature, than all the mighty voluminous writings
of many of our modern commentators on Ari-
flotle, can do without them. But this by the by.
Now therefore to draw towards a conclufion of
this matter. If on all that has been faid, it be
thought fit to admit, that by the efFe£t of the
air, on the water in the ocean, they are higheft
raifed, where farther diflant from land, then it it
eafy to give an account how the waters here in
l^ugh-Foyle, asalfo, in all other places elevated
fo high above the fea, at the influx of their feveral
torrents into it, may be faid, and that without in«
jury to our forccited H>droftaticai maxim, vis.
that waters rife not, unleft forced, higher than j
their firft fourcc, to come from the fea : for it is
clear as what hath been faid, that waters heaped
on thcmfelves may, atdiflance of many leagues,
furmountour propofed heighth of two thoufand
foot; if fo, then the higher parts of thefe heaped
waters, prefling on thefe fubjeded unto them, as
our foremcniioned accurate author makes manifeit
Afr.Bojrle^}^ jjo^ in j^jg Hydroftatical experiments, con-
trary to the axiom of the fchools, Elemema nongnf
vitant in propiis lods. Thefe lower parts, thus prcff-
ed, when they find fecret paflages and pores in
the caverns of the earth, are through them forced
by that higher and greater weight abroad in the
ocean, to rife and fpring wherever their conduits
lead them, (as for inftance in this our lake) and
itream from them continually.

And now at latt, for anfwcr to our great propof-
ed queftion, why the water in the ocean, being on
our Hypothefis higher than the land, overflow it
not. It is eafy to conceive, that that power in

the

COUNTY OF WEST-MEATH* jj

the air, that we now fuppofe able to force back
and heap up the waters on themfelves, isalfo able
to keep them up and fufpend them^ where thus
forced back. And to put us out of all fear of
their returning to overflow the earth again, we
have the pfon.ife of the AJmighty, in this cafe^*^fi»
exprefsly affuring us, that the waters (hall no more ^ '^'
become a flood to deftroy all flefti.

I have in this difcourfe^ adventured to expofe
thefe fentiments 1 judged rational to infer from
the principles laid down to my hand, by that
truly able and excellent author beforenamed, de-
figning not in the Icaft to impofe upon any ; ne-
verthelcfs, I ferioufly offer to the reader, what I
find very ingenioufly propofed by the poet, for
his imitation ;

«Sjf ^iit furoifii reliius tfiis^

Candidus imperii ; Ji non^ Ins utere mecum.

Hon;

If a better fyftcm's thine.

Impart it frankly, or make ufe of mine.

Francis;

And now for clofingupthis difcourfe, too long
to be fliled a digreiTion, tho* it be no other, I (hall
borrow a few lines from our Britilh Virgil, out
of his ' mafler-piece, his paraphrafe on the onf
hundred and fourth pfalm.

Tf rerum^ Deusalme^ canam^ domirmmquepatremque:

Mn^ne parens^ JanSli guam majejiate vcrendus^

j^tber'ts itternas relto^ moliris babenas.

Tc decor ^ auratis ambit te gloria pennis^

Ei circumfufiifft veffit pro t ermine lumen.

Tu tihi pro veto nittdi tentoria cdsli

Et Uquidas ciirvofujpenm fomice lympbas j

D Et

}4 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

Ei kvUms vcntonan ahs ftr immia vcQuSy
Fr4tmu c€u akres vobtoMits miHU cnrms^
AppofiKt aum3^ oMnt fiamaHUNpu wamfir^^
Utjufia acapicmt. Sou mtUo moUUsitoo
Terra^ fuperfdid^ mstm fmuknmna wwhs^
PoOemifiaUiia wuam^ terra obntta qmndam
Fhilthm^ utfujofuper ardua aUwma vdo :
Sed fimuliiUTefua tua vx^ tomtrtique iremeni^
h/tmuere mtrst^ pmlaiim afcendtre momtes
Orntre erat^ Jenfiwupu caixu fubjultre vaJks^
Aque cavas voiles irepidas deeurrere Ijmpbas.
Neve iterum hnmiffa tellus fti^naret ab unda^
Undlibiu compreffa fids rejomaaia femgit
IMtora^ prejcripeas voUtans tranfcendcre mctas.

BCCHAN.

Awake, my foul, to hymns of praife ;

To God the fong of trinmph raife.

O clothed with majefty divine.

What pomp, what glory, lord, are thine !

light forms thy robe, and round thy head

The Heav'ns their ample curtain fpread.

Thou know*ft amid the fluid fpace

The ftrong-compadlcd beams to place.

That proof to wafting ages lie.

And prop the chambers of the (ky .

Behold, aloft, the King of Kmgs,

Borne on the wind's expanded wings,

(His chariot by the clouds fupplied,)

Through Heav*ns wide realms triumphant ride.

Around him ranged in awful ftate

Th' aflembled ftorms miniftrant wait ^

And flames, attentive to fulfill

The dictates of his mighty will.

On firraeft bafe uprear'd the earth

To him aicribes ber wondrous birth.

He

k

COUNTY OP WEST.MEATH* $$

He fpake ; and o*er each mountain's head
The deep its watery mantle fpread :
He fpake ; and from the whelming flood
Again their tops emergent flood ;
And faft adown their bending fide ^^

With refluent ftream the currents glide :
AwM by his Hern rebuke they fly.
While peals of thunder rend the (ky.
In mingled tumult upward borne
Now to the mountain's height return.
Now lodg'd within their peaceful bed
Along the winding vale are led.
And, taught their deftin*d bounds to know,
No more th' affrighted earth overflow,
But obvious to her ufe (their courfe
By nature's ever copious fource
Supplied,) refrefh the hilly plain,
And life in all its forms fuflain. MsftRieiC.

And now toreturntoour Silver Hand or flreanlf
iffuing, as we faid before, out of the northern end
of Lough- Foyle, whofe many falls, in fo fhorta
courfe, hath led us fo long a dance, 1 fliall give one
remarkable paflfage concerning it, which you may
take on my own certain knowledge. la a very
cold feafon, about twenty years fincc, Lough-
Iron, Cwhereinto I told you this brook falls) being
frozen all over, infomuch as men and horfes went
over it without hazard ; this Silver Hand, when
it had attained the lake, held on its courfe, I
may rather fay channel, thro* the whole length of
the lake, liquid and unfrozen ; and, which ii
more to be admired, the flagnant water of the
lake itfelf, continued frozen under the liquid
running ftream ; infortiuch as both men aiid
women, with horfes leaden, did, at that time, fafe*
ly walk on the ice, thro* the flream. I myfelf, be*

D z lag

^ A DESCRIPTION OF THE

ing one, walked ancle deep in the water on the ice,
where I am certain, there was of ice and water
together, the depth of no lefs than fifteen foot.
This continued thus for many days, during the
cold feafon, and feeming to admire it, I was told
by an ancient and grave perfon, that it had been
fo once before in my grand- father *s days : and
tradition tells us, it was once fo, when the monks
dwelt here. The caufe hereof may be, for that
the water, by falling over fo many precipices and
mills, in the (hort courfe before defcribed, hath
its fpirits fo excited and made aAive or tremulous
in it, fo as that the cold cannot fo eafily fix the
parts thereof, as of the more dull, phlegmatic
and flagnant water in the lake itfdf, as we fee
running rapid dreams do not fo readily freeze,
as more quiet water. This I offer only by way
of guefs, for I confefs, I know not why for this
r<afon it fhould not be always thus in great
fxoRs s and yet I have feveral tinKs known this
]bke frozen over, without any appearance of thi$
fireunonit. But I leave the more accurate and
nic^ inquifition into this odd phcenomenQn, to the
curious witsof diis inquifitive age wherein we live.
And now to return to Lough- Foylc, whence
jwe have a long time deviated . Towards the
fouthemend of it there is an ifland, before-mcn-
tioaed, and in it a church, faid to have been of
eld -a place of pilgrimage. In our lafl, long and
Wihappy wars of forty-one, towards the latter
end thereof, when the power of our Englifh arms
bcgap to prevail in this country ; this ifland was
made a^rrifon, or a place of retreat and fafety
jS:Mrihc nutivesy who hitherto, and to all fuch like
pjKices^ JSockfid for fecuring their perfons and

COtJNf T OP WESt-MBATH. 37

gpodii until they could make their cotnpofidon.
From this ifltnd then, were fent two men in It
cot to bring in turf, from a neighbouring bog
where it ftood ftacked up and dry : having loaded
their oot, they took in a young woman, whom
Aey feated in the midft of the cot upon Hie turf,
and liimdied forth. It fortuned the cot iprung
ao aaafual lake, and before they heeded it, h
was more than half full of water ; the men piled
the heft they could to get to land, but the water
prevailed fo that the cot funk ; the men not
ikilful in fwimming were both loft ; die woman,
in (o great a conftemation, giving herfelf for loft,
endeavoured no way to fave herfelf, but fat fUll
widiout motion and almoft without (cnCt ^ yet
it pieafed the Almighty, who oftentimes wonder*
fidly and beyond hope appointeth means of de*
liforance, when the cot funk, (he continuing ftlll
in the pofture (he was firft feated in floated, fat
fo much of the turf remained united under her
coats 88 buoyed her up, and there being no wind
on the lake, file continued floating, until that by
another cot, fent out frorh the ifland, Die was
received almoft fenfelefs into the fame. This ftory
hsA been confirmed to me, not only by aii eye
witnefs, but by one of thofe, who in the other
cot reKeved her ; and I am told the wonian is yet
living. This paiTage verificth, that of the poet,
tho* in a fcnfc different from his, for had ftic en-
deavoured to fave herfelf, it is like (he had efcajp-
ed no better than the other two did :

Um/abis villis^ nuIJam [per are fahtm. Vi R O •

Catch one laft beam of iafety from defpair.

Pitt.

Hence

38 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

Hence let us look a little to the north weft, an*

U Iron. \if^ meet with Lough- I^on (of which fomethin

before; not a full mile dtftant from Lough-Foyle

it is in length, from north to fouth, a full mi

and more, in breadth not half fo much ; it*s naa

need not be Englifhed, but, as tradition goeth,

hath it on this occalion \ it is faid, that of o

here was no lake at all, all wood, meadow ai

woody pafiures, only our Silver brook, aflifted I

feveral fprings from the neighbouring ground

watered the low ground in a fmall rivulet, ov

which by ftepping*ftones was a paflage for foe

'men : a country farpier paiiing near, chanced

drop his plow-irons, which he was carrying

the forge, in the brook ; hence it got a nan

which in the Iri(h tongue founds, the iron-brool

this name held ftili, for when the water af

prevailed over the low ground^ the nacne ^

altered tothat of the Iron-lake. This ftory I co

^ fels looks fomewhat odly, favouring of thofe i

bles that our old traditions abound fufficien

with, neverthelefs, it gaineth much on thofe w

know the lake, and the bogs and low grour

that are about it ^ for firft this lake is not fo de

as moft of our lakes in this country are, for it

no where above (ixteen foot deep, whereas 1

ihalloweft ofpur other lakes are fo many fatb

and more. Again towards the banks or marj

of it, (firand it hath none, except where the In

falletb into it and near it) are feen under wat

trunks and ftumps of trees, efpecially near i

verge where it is (hallow, lying in the mud, a

indeed the whole bottom of the lake is nothi

but mud ; and, what I efteem a very great e

dence in this cafe, I myfelf have found in our fli

I

COUNTY OF WEST-MEATH. a»

low water near the banks, and taken up, (tags
boras much decayed and rotten. After all this, at
the northern end of this lake, where the Inny run-
neth into it (as aforefaid) in a fair, calm and clear
fummer*6 day, you may be able to trace the old
channel of the Inny, and plainly difcemin eight
or ten foot of water, the antient banks the river
had, 00 both Gdes thereof, before it overflowed
and drowned all. Hereof I myfelf and many
others, are witnefles. This fo unufuala metamor*
phoiisyfeemstometo have been occafionedby fome
fubfidence, or fettling downwards of the land,
tlio' it occur not readily to guefs at the caufe there^
of, and may confirm and be confirmed, by what
of thTs kind hath been written, by antient and
modem cofmographers, in their accounts given
of other countries. Of the like changes of habi-^
table places into Handing pools, the poet &ngs.

Si qustras Heliten et Burin acbaidas urbes ;
Irruems fuh aquis : Ovid Ma t^.

If Burin and Helice (Grecian towns)

You feck, behold the Tea their glory, drowns.

Sandys.

In the ditches that have been lately cut in the
ikirts of this lake, are conftantly, from Septem-"
ber to March, found in an incredible abundance,
the fry of young filh. A youth, one of my fons,
about feven years'ago difcharged a fmall piece at
this fry in the water ; of this (hot were reckoned,
that floated and were fcrvcd up to^thc table in one
di(b, of young roach and bream more than two
hundred and fifty, befides more than fixty that
funk and were told as they lay in the mud at the
bottom. This hath feemed incredible to all that

ever

A DESCRIPTION OF TH£

ever heard it^ yet hath been attefted by the Right
Kev. the late Lord Biihop of Meath^ Mr. Robert
Ware and others then at m> huuie^ and to toy cm
certain knowledge is no tiCtion, whoftood by wbea
fte gun was difcharged and law the fi(h wbea
told out. But what to me icemed a greater won*
der isy I did not find that many of the (lain wci«
t^ounded, and I imagine if any were, they weie
tfaofethat funk. Moilofthefifli that wereta*
ken up feemed whole and untouched, only t
few feemed fcratched rather than wounded oa
their fides, by the (hot that had grazed on themi
infomuch that a man might juftly wonder, how
they became bereaved of their lives. This 1 con*
€eive to have been occafioned by the fudden im«
preffion and violent coiiciH&on of the ambient
vater on the fi(h, from the like made in the con*
tiguouaair, by the violent irruptbn of the ignited
fulphurondilchargeofthegun. But ihe great dif-
ficulty fecms, to determine what noble part of the
fi(h it was that was fo affeded, or vitiated on the
difplofion, as to exanimate them fo (uddenly. I
find that all thofe fmall tifh, and many other (if
not alU grcit fi(h, have within them between the
heart and back-bone, a fmali bladder full of air in
ihape fomewhat refembling a long egg, which
fome^ for want of other name, call the fwim |
the office of which, I take to be to counter-poifc
their own weight in the water, fo that by contraft^
jng or dilating it, the fifh may at plcafure, with
aafe and readinefs, move higher and lower, on this
or on that band in the water. I find alfo, that to
outward appearance, their brain feemethto be as
thin almoft as water itielf , and even as it were an

oily

COUNTY OF WEST-MEATH.

oily moifture^ and confequently more eafily reoep^
tiveof aiteiatioD in its texture, on the rapid con-
zui&on of the water before fpoken of. Hence I
tm apt io deduce it^ the fi(h which floated, were
vitiated in the brain, by the fudden and violent
[TOpreffion, made in the water before mentioned %
ind confequently fo fiunned, as to be rendered
:|uite dead, or at leail modonlefs for the time,
vhereupon their mentioned bladder, being n6
rays over-powered, by the voluntary motion of
the fifli exerting its own function, buoyed them
up to the top of the water, their backs as the more
heavy and fleffay part weighing downwards, and
of confequence their bellies upwards, as is ufual

in dead fi(h. Bnt for the fifti we mentioned to
have funk, (which fcarce were a fourth part of
the whok) I fancy they were fmitten in their fwims
or bladders, v» hereby the included air evaporat-
ing, tho' perhaps not quite kilkd, they were now
ideated of their natural buoy or counterpoife to
their own weight, and muft of confequence bfe
for want thereof deprefTed and funk. This I
exhibit only as my own conjeAure in this matter,
no way pretending to a demonltration in any in-
qairy fo nice -, but leave the thorough difcuffion
thereof, and of other phocnomena herein exhibit-
I ed, to the more accurate and philofophical genius
of this our inquifitive age ; altho* I iidventure to
give on them my own conjedtures.

I ihall take leave for the prefent of this our
Iron-Lake, when I have told you, that we have in
the margin of it, an excellent meado^v, which in
the fcveral feafons of the year yields hay, grafs,
fi(h and fowl. But other low grounds near our

lakes

42 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

lakes in this county, yielding the like alfo, I will
no longer infift hereon, but pafs now foulhward
about fix miles, to the more noble water

Lough- Inniell, the largeft and moft extended
L.IimidLofall our waters in Weft-Meath, if Lough Di-
revreagh and Lough-Foyle do not conteft with
it in this refpedt. It is five miles long and full
half as broad. The fabulous account given of
the name, I (hall not burthen this paper with, but
(ball acquaint the reader, that it is feated on the
weft and fouth of Mullingar, and of the fame
diftancefrom it on the one hand, as Lough-Foyle
bon the other, that is to fay, a large mile or more.
It aboundeth with all forts of fifli before- named,
and is hemmed of all fides with excellent arable,
meadow and pafture. On the fouth fide thereof,
jetteth out into the lake a very pleafant peninfula^
being about three or four acres of ground, joined
to the main land by a very pleafant neck of
ground, of about forty yards long and about hatf
fo much in breadth. The Cherfonefe is cloathei
with all forts of foreft trees, which fill the arva
except one green fpot in the centre, a place very
delightful and fatisfadory to the beholder ; foe
even at a diftance, it afibrdeth a very pleafmg pro^
fpe£t to fuch as travel weftward from Mullingar^
or fouthward to it. Into this water, as aforefaid,
the Golden Hand of Lough Foyle, fallcth from
Mullingar at the eaft end, and is united at the
weft end, under the name of the Brofny. In this
lake is an ifland belonging to the land of Difert,
which was in fome fort fortified by the Irifti in th(
latter end of the late wars, and held as a garrifoi
by them, and made one of the chief repofitorie
of their wealth •, yet notwithftanding it was takei

O)

COT7NTT OFWEST-MEATH. 43

tn compofition by the Englilh, who held it, until
}y the treachery ofoneR) ling of Mullingar, whom
die governor of it trufted with his cots, for ex-
portation of goods ; he delivered the cots unto
fome of the Irifti captains, who by this means
in a daik night landed their men, and fet on the
governor unawares, and furprifed him and his
garrifon. I hear of no great (laughter committed
in tbe adlion, they were all made prifoners, 'till
the Englilh getting together a good force of cots^
forced them to furrender again. From this wa-
ter, let us look eallward again, and two miles be-
yond Muliingar, you (hall meet with

Lough-Drin, fo called from an high hill, under l Drin.
which it is (ituate. This lake, one of the lead in
Weft-meath, is indeed a mere (landing pool, for
ooglit appearing, unlefs it has a fecret vent by
fome of the neighbouring fprings, which in this
tn& rife very plentifully ; it is of depth incredi-
ble, yet fcarce covereth an acre of ground, and
remarkable only for the quality of trouts there
found ; for whoever eateth of them, falleth foon
after into exceffive fits of vomiting, which con-
tinueth not without pain *till the whole maw be
difcharged. This account I had of a fervant of
mine, who was my fifher and lived many years
wiih me. But being willing to be more fully in-
formed of the truth of this matter, I lately dif-
courfcd with that worthy gentleman, in whofe
land this pool ftands, who gives me a full confir-
mation of it, and that from his own experience ;
for he once eat of them, and found the operation
conform to what is above related. But not con-
tent therewith, for tryal, fearing fome other thing
mighi occafion the vomit, he attempted yet once

more

44 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

more to cat of them, and foand the effedt at be-
fore. This gentleman further adds, that a certain
iiflier having taken good ftore of them, fold them
in the town of Mullingar ; coming thither again
ivilh more of the fame fi(h, he was laid hoU on by
the inhabitants, and well drubbed for his ]iains,hb
fi(h thrown about the ftreets, and with miidi in*
treaty was he permitted to efcape with unbrdcoi
bones. Enquiring at thecaufe thereof, the faid
gentleman told me, that before the rebellion of

1^41, one St. - - ^ Vcale lived at his father's

tenant at Monylea near this pool, who drew a
drain from the river Gain up into this pool, by
which the trouts then got up to this water. He
farther adds, that this drain not being kept open,
hath fo grown up long fince, as that the trouts are
therein intercepted, and fo pent up in the poni
from running water, as that they are hereby alter-
ed and become emetick. This he gives as his ac-
count hereof, wherewith I am not fo fattsfied as to
take it for the folecaufe of this quality in the fifli,
altho* 1 deny not but by accident it may contri-
bute unto it, if it be true that before this drain
made, there were no trouts in this water, whidi
this llory feems to infmuate ; I rather ima^ne
there may be fome mineral fprings in this water,
that may have fecret and undifcovcred vents.
Thefe fprings, probably are not without gravd
where they rife, in which this fort of fifh is
known to delight. But this fnppoiition of mine*
ral fprings, being but a meer conjefhire, I fhall
not enter into the enquiry how far the feeding
of the fifh in fuch fprings, might alter their na*
tiu'e, and make them from an wholefome food,
to become a medicine : and yet the fame gen*
tlcman farther adds, that the eels found

in

COITNTT OP WIST-MEATH. 4S

in this pool are exceeding good, and have no Aich
opentton, which if we could lay any ftrefs on our
former guefs, might not be held inconfiftent widi
it, for that it is known eels delight moft in mud^
•nd confcquently frequent not the fuppofed mine-
.ntl fprings. I Ihall now lead my reader more
northerly, Cfcn to the verge of the county, to the
yet more admirable water, which fhall be the laft
(^ our lakes I (hall peculiarly give account of

Lough-Banean*Annagh, which may be render- LBanean
cd the white lake of the paflage. This lake is in AaM««»-
the north of our county, being a boundary be-
tween our half-barony of Four, and that in
Meath ; fituate between two hills, which fo pen
it up that it beareth no proportion in its breadtby
. with its length. That which is moft admirable of
this water is, that during the winter feafon, when
lUother waters are at the fiiUeft and overflow, this
ooly then is at the loweft ebb, and thus continueth
oooftantly during the higbeft winter floods and
^coeunual rains. But towards April, when all
odser floods do abate and fall, it beginneth to rile,
and continueth fo to do gradually 'till about the
middie of June, by which time it is highcft, and
thnscoQtinueth during the whole fummer's drought
until about Michaelmas, and then when all other
waters begin to fwell this only, abates, andgradu«
lily falls, 'till about the midft of December, and
*oi it is at loweft ebb, and fo continues 'till
Majpdi again. This hath been and is its confl:ant
Uxt timeout of mind. It rifeth when at higheft
oorc Chan twenty foot of perpendicular water all
fcnraier Jong ^ k looks in colour green as the fea
water is, but always frefh ; in the winter when low,

it

46 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

it is limpid and clear, as our other waters are.
A gentleman of good efieem, who lives near this
lake, aflures me of the truth of this, and addSi
that in the winter feafon, while it is low, it re*
ceiveth a Aream of water into it, from other
neighbouring lakes, that at this time are higher
than it, yet no ftream was ever known to iiTue out
of it at any time, neverthelefs he farther faith,
that one fummer, about fourteen or fifteen years
flnce, the water rofe fo high in this lake, that about
midfummer it overflowed, and that the lame chao- j
nel by which in the winter before, it had received
waters from one of th cfe lakes, did now return
back unto them, a ftream no way inconfider-
able ; and farther he adds, that he hath often-
times about Chiiftmas, made coverts and laid
fnares at one end of this lake to catch foxes, in
more than forty perches of ftrand, in a place
where he is certain, had he fiood .the fummer b^
fore, and had the additional height of four men,
(this was his expreflion) to his own, he had been
drowned. Enquiring of him the caufe of fo ad-
mirable a phenomenon, he could not affign any,
but faith, this matter hath proved the fiuiilcfi
inquiry of all the learned in the neighbouring
countries, v< ho have feveral times had their folcmr
meetings and reafonin^^s about it; their refuH
being, that this overflow is occafioned, by th<
opening of the pores of the earth (as their phrafi
is) at one feafon, and their being again (hut a
another. But to my apprehenfion thisfeems but^
general defultory account, and I confefs it is mud
more eafy to objecl againft this h) pothefis, thai
to eftablifli a better, eipecially for a man thai
liveth at diftance from this water, which, fo

ough

COUNTY OF WEST-MEATH. 47

t

ought I yet ever met with, hath not a parallel in
the univcrfc ; neverthclefs I fhall venture here to
cafl in my mite, but I (hall intrcat my reader to
look on it but as a conjedure at the caufe, and no
adequate account of fo rare a phoenomenon.

1 look therefore on this rife and fall of water^
to be, as it were, the only annual tide in nature^
tkt we hear of, and offer it to be confidered of
as the refult of the influence of that great lumi-
nary of the heavens, the fun. For as all philofo-
phers, that I have met with, afcribe the daily
influx and reflux of the fea, to the influence of
the moon obferving that the higheft tides that
we call fpring tides, keep their conllaht courfe
with the full and waine thereof ; fo perhaps we
in the inftance in hand, may afcribe the great over-
Bow of this lake to the fun's approach to us ; for
IS I have told you, that about March, which is the
time of the year that our fun caufeth ail germina-
tion in our horizon, this water beginneth its flow,
and by the time he comes nearefl: to our zenith we
have the flood at the higheft, fo confequently at the
fun's recefs it falls again, and when the fun is
fartheft diftant, and that all germination and
growth of the year ceafeth, then is the lowefl: ebb
of this tide. I (hall not defcend to inquire over
nicely into the manner of the fun's influence on
thisocccafion, as whether it be by the effort of his
impreflion on our hemifphere, in his approach unto
as, which then bearing harder as it were on our
air, might be thought the more to invigorate the
fpring thereof, and fo by the fecret conduits or
pores (as the phrafc of our philofophers is) to
force more violently the waters from the ocean
ibroad to rife and fpring in this lake, to the height

above

48 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

above mentioned. But againft this account of
this matter, it may be faid that for this reaion the
effedk (hould be the (ame in all other lakes that
have wrter continually fpringing in them, as in
Lough- Foyle before-mentioned; to which I an*
fwer, that for ought I know it would be fo in
all thofe other lakes, had they not continual vents
which carry off the rifing water, as it rifcd con*
tinually, whereas this lake having no vent at all,
except that one by which, as before faid, it did one
year (end forth its ftream unto the neighbouring
lakes ; the waters that arife in it in the fiimraer
are ftill heaped up on themfelves, for want of a
channel whereby to fall off, and at the fun's re*
ceft, they as leifurely return whence they came
and by the fame paflTages, as upon his accefs they
jRowed unto us. HoweVer this matter be, I have
iadventurcd thus to exhibit this my conjecture,
indeed with a great deal of hefitancy, for I look
on the matter, being new and never handled by
any I know of, as too nice for me to be pofitivein
an account of this or any other hypothefis, and
think it enough to expofe the hint, given rather
as a fubjrCt of difcuilion, than any way as yet to
be infifted upon as a real account of the phoen»-
menon. I (hall therefore now proceed to acquaint
my reader, that the gentleman before-mentioned
farther tells, that he has founded this water when
lowell and found it eighteen fathoms deep.

It hath in it plenty of pike and eel, the largeft
and biggeft he hath feen ; fome of the eels he
hath taken have held out thirteen inches in com-
fMtfs. Of this admirable water, I have heard
many years fince, but of late made m> inquiry
more particular^ and I find the feme things, as to

the

COUNTY OP WEST-MEATri. 49

the ^ confirmed by divers others : more parti-
cularly by a worthy gentleman, who hath been
about fourfcore years a near neighbourto this lake,
andhcaffureth me of the truth of every matter of
faft above related, and that it was never othcrwife
in the memory of man. I (hall here clofe up
what I have to fay of our lakes, for I find nothing
more to be faid of any of them, that is peculiar
and dcferving a more particular relation, though
mjny more we have well ftored with filhand very
l>leafant waters.

Having too long perhaps detained my reader in

ihc >¥aters, we (hall now make towards land. But ^'*

before we comeat it, we are forced in many places

to trace the bogs, wherewith Weft-Meath is for

certain well ftored. I do not remember that I

have at any time feen in this county any large

farm, that hath not a bog in one Ikirt or other of

it ; and indeed were it not for thefe, our country

being neither ftored with timber for fuel, or coal,

would cither be a defolate wildcrnefs, or at Jeaft a

very uncomfortable habitation.

Our bogs are of two forts, one we call red-
bogs, from the colour of the turf or peat therein J^^d bog.
found. Thefe naturally produce only mofs, a
little fliort heath and a certain ftrong fmelling (hrub,
which fome from the bitternefs call Moregall,
the natives call it Riddoge. This fort of bog
is alfo ftored with an high raifed and oftentimes
conical berry, of a (harp, four, piquant tafte and
yet not unpleafant ; it makes an excellent fauce j
the natives call them Moonogs, I know not by
what name to mj»ke them fpcak Engliffi, unlets by
the genera! riui^e of bog-berries. We have alfo

E in

/

>^

A DESCRIPTION OF THE

{

Blaeb-
bog.

in thofc bogs, a certain round, flat, berry, full of
juice, fomewhatfweet, called bill-berries, in colour
purple, which leave the hand and face of the
eater for a lime black and blue. On this fort of
bog is alfo found Ros Solis, in great abundance,
cfpecially inthe flutches thereof, and in deep ftand-^
ing pits of water, overgrown with flobby mofs.
The other fort is the black- bog, it is rather a
kind of meadow or pafture. It afFordeth a fort of
black, hard turf, which we call ftone turf, and is
a more lafting fort of fire, but not fo pleafant or
fwect. This kind of bog, (if not incumbered
with water to which it is often fubjeft) will call
good ftore of grafs, and is reducible by draining,
to excellent meadow. Our red- bogs, iho* drain-
ed, are not fo eafily improved. 1 have known
many of them lye many years after draining
(unlefs other hulbandry be ufed) and caft little
grafs. The beft courfe to reduce them after
draining, is firft to raife up the uppermoft fcrufF
or fod, which when dried and burnt, in heaps, the
afhes muft be fcattered abroad, the bog lightly
plowed and fown with barley, which it will yield
in great plenty ; this done, leave it out, keep open
your drains, and you may in time hope to fee a
good head of grafs.

Of this kind of hulbandry by draining fomc-
Advan- thing is done amongft us, more ffor what I can

drabine. ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^" former ages, yet far (hort
of the merit of a matter conducing fo much to
the general advantage. 1 have not feen any bog
lefs capable of being improved, than thofe about
our Iron-lake aforefaid. They lie fo level and
low, that in an hundred perch you (hall hardly

find two foot fall above the high water mark in the

lake,

COUNTY OF WEST-MEATH. 51

lake, and withal fo extraordinary full of old
pits, that after as much water as is poffible, with-
out the ufe of engines to lead it, is drawn off,
the pits (land many of them feveral foot deep of
the Itagnant waters from the lake ; neverthelefs by
draining (this I mention to encourage others in fo
good a work) it doth become pafturable, and
where heretofore you could not without hazard
have walked, you may now ride fecurely.

In thcfe bogs are found fomctimes at four foot, '^°*^^»
and fometimes more deep, the roots, bodies and 1,^3^
branches of oak, alderand other fortsof foreft trees,
u iiich tho* foft when firft raifed, yet if left to dry,
become ufeful timber, but always black, I have
often taken up leaves of willows and other trees,
found under four or five foot of perfeft turf, in
their perfcft fizc and (hape, no way impaired, only
by their long lying in their moift beds, they be-
come difcoloured, inclining to yellow : Ihavealfo
found five or fix foot in turf, hazel nuts whole and
unbroken -, neverthelefs, when opened, there was
nothing found within the (hell, but a thick blackifh
water. Thefe certainly may feem to ftrengthen
our former conjefture, viz. that our Iron- lake and
the bogs that now bound it, were formerly woody
pa(lures« and alfo ferves to add flrength to what
I obferved in the beginning of this difcourfe,
that of old we had in this country many forefts,
and the name that the foreft, whereof now not
one tree remains, that was in this barony forPortici
feveral miles both in length and breadth, remainsw,
to this day amongfl us, viz. the Foreft of the
Black-hog.

E 2 lo

52 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

In a large bog, not far from hence, are found
many large portions of j imiper, yew and deal or
fir trees; oneof thefe about eight foot long, and
fix inches fquare, I have this day in a floor in my
houfe, the grain plainly (hewing it to be fir j yet
by long lying in this bog, it is become of a
dulky blackidi hue.

But not only trees and leaves have been thus
found, fome have found vcffels of butter, very
deep and over-grown with found turf. And I re-
member a worthy gentleman, now dead, hath told
in», that digging in his bog, fome years before
the rebellion of 1641, for turf, he found fome

links of an antient gold chain, and what I more
wonder at, the bowl and a piece of the ftem of a

tobacco pipe. How thefe (hould fettle fo low,
efpecially the leaves and nuts above mentioned,
occur not cafily 5 for my part I am apt to believe^
they kept thefirft ftation or level, in which they
fell or were cafually loft, and that the bog hathfincc
rifcn or grown over them, from the fediment or
ilime which water leaveth behind it, in places
where it hath long lain. And this I the lefs doubt
of, having read fomcwhere in the writings of our
excellent author bcfore-rnentioned, Mr. Robert
Boyle, that he hath, for trial, fet by fome jjortions
of the moft clear and limpid waters he could meet
with, in very clear glafles, and after fome time
he hath found therein a fediment of a whiti(h
flime or mud, by which, with other his experi-
ments in that piece, he clearly demonftrates that
the elements amongft us are no where found pure
and unmixed. And yet farther to confirm this,
^' that bogs do grow, I Ihall relate what I have
grow, ^j.^^^ ^^^ affured of by an old farmer of my

own

COUNTY OF WEST-MEATH. jj

own, who hatb avowed to me, that he hath twice
in his own time raifed perfoft gcxnl turf in one and
the (ame pit, viz. a fecond growth in the placf
where he had the former ; and I myfelf know a
certain piece of ground in thia country, which iy
an high hanging ground and a moori(h foil for
two fpade fptt at top, but then gravelly clay,
whereon I have often feen the inhabitants raife
their turf this year and fiea it to the gravel, and
in lefs than ten years it will have a coat grown
over as good, and as deep turf as before. I have
oftentimes made this observation in my travel by
and thro* this ground, by all which it is manifeft
not only that bogs do grow, but fc veral of them
in lefs time than a man would be apt to imagine ;
vitnefs the tobacco pipe fo long (ince found fo
deep in that turf, fince it is not much more than
one age, lince tobacco was iirft in ufe among us.
But what (hall I fay if our whitifh foft clay
grounds (whence is fometimes digged, what we
call marl for manure of our lands) do grow f
Ilhall relate a ftory that may fcem to give coun-
tenance hereunto. About the beginning of the
'cign of our late fovercign king Charles the firft,
of blefled memory, a certain gentleman of this
County, by name Thomas Nugent of Collamber
Efq; riding not far from his own houfe, faw lying
on the ground a prodigious pair of ftag*s horns,
which had been found fevcn or eight foot deep in Horns
a pit, whence the farmers had digged their marl. fou«din
The gentleman on whofe credit! relate this ftory, °^'^'^*'^'
is fon to this Mr. Thomas Nugent, now about
eighty years old, a perfon of good repute and
worth. This gentleman (hewed me, not long

fince, the place in the great hall of that houfe, where

thefe

54 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

thcfc horns were credted. The fpace of the wall
they filled (when there fixed) being from the
chimney to the end wall of the room, is no left
than twelve foot in length, the hall at that time
having no loft, would have received their height,
had they been higher than they were, but their
juft height he remembereth not. The palms out
of which the f mailed horns branched, were as
broad (he fays) as the targets, which in thofe days
men of the blade ufcd to wear. They were much
decayed by reafon of their long lying in their moid
bed, mapy of the (harper points being quite
rotted off. They were then the only wonder of
thofe halcyon days, andihe talk of all thofe who
had not^ as well as who had feen them ; infomuch
as that the report of them being carried to the
court of England, his majefty was very deiirous
to fee them, and fcnt his command in writing, to-
gether with his pafs under the royal fignet to
Mr. Nugent, to bring them to him. Nugent
obeyed, and went in perfon, and prefented them
fome timebefore the late unhappy conteft that had
arofe between his majefty and his parliament, for
which his majefty rewarded him with a concorda —
turn of five hundred pounds ; what became oE
thefe horns after this I find not, but remember
have heard the relation of thefe things frelh i
this country alraoft thirty years ago. Some ha v^
thought them the horns of an elk ; but if thc]^
were, they are the only proof that ever I heard of^
that elks have been in this kingdom. But whe-
ther (lags or elk's horns, two things I find re-
markable on the whole relation, firft their prodi-
gious largenefs, and then the great depth they were
found at under ground. The firft fpeaks what

vaft*

COUNTY OF WEST.MEATH- 5$

vaft bodied beafts we have fonaetimes had in this

kingdom ; the other mud imply, either that they

funk fodeep into the ground, which is not polfi-

ble in fo tenacious and ftifT a body as this fort of

clay is, unlefs we fuppofethem to be vaftly heavier

than their equal bulk in clay, or that this clay hath

grown to this height over them, which I take to

be the more rational fuppofition, for from thefe

inftances, and others deducible from the fod that

we fee daily grows even in a few years, where our

pafture grounds have been flayed, and from the

frefhnels and fatnefs, not to fay growth alio of our

arable, when fuffered to lye out, for if any growth

it hath, it is fo flow, and the age of man fo fliort,

that no man, that ever I heard of, hath recorded

any obfervations concerning it. From thefe j^^ ^ ^

rcafons I am apt to conclude, there is no fuch de-cay in

\ cay in nature, as fome men have been prone to***^*""^-

complain of; but from the continual influence of

the celcftial bodies communicated to the earthy

chiefly by thefe dews that during fummcr and

L harvcft fall in great plenty, when our fun is nearer

to us, for the reception whereof the earth had

been by the frofts and cold of the preceding

^mter, during his diftance from us, exceedingly

^cll fitted and prepared \ hereby, I fay, the

'Mature of the foil is continually redintegrated,

^nd what may feem by the labour and induftry of

n^an to be drawn from it, is fufficiently and to

advantage, by thefe influences, repaired. Info-

ttiuch, that it Qod had not declared in Holy Writ

tViat an End ftiall be, I fliould be apt to imagine,

fuch is the care and concern of the Almighty,

whofe mercies are renewed every moment for his

whole creation, that never any ftiould be.

But

A DESCRIPTION OF THE

Bog-muf- But to return to our bogs. In them is found,
^^' cfpecially in flimy pits covered with water,
a certain (hell fi(h, which we may call the bog-
mufcle, in (hape and fize like the fea mufcle,
but flatter and broader, the (hell in colour much
brighter and greyifh, by many degrees thinner,
very brittle and cafily broken. They arc not
found any where in great plenty, nor are thoie
that are found much eaten, altho* faid to be harm-
lefs by fuch as have eaten them.
No poi- ^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ obfcrved of this ifland, that it
fonoos foftereth no. venomous or deadly animalin it, whidi
animal in ^^jtainly is a very great bleffmg, whereof few-
countries, that I hear of, partake, except it be
true what fome have written of the ifland of Malta
in the Mediterranean fea j neverthelefs we have a
certain reptile found in our bogs and moori(h
P*""^gJ* paftures, called by the Irifh the Connogh, it
^''™* palTeth my (kill to make it fpeak Englilh. This
is an ugly worm, fometimes as thick as a man's
thumb, about two or three inches long, having,
as all reptiles have, many (hort feet, a large head,
great goggle eyes and glaring, between which
rifelh or jetteth forth, one thick briftle almoft in
(hape like an horn, which is prominent and
bendeth forward about three quarters of an inch.
Whatever beaft happeneth to feed, where this ve-
nomous worm hath crept (fome fay if he do but
tread there) is certainly poifoned, yet may be in-
fallibly cured, if timely remedy be applied. The
cafe is two-fnld, yet in effedt but one, both pro-
ceeding from the very worm itfelf. Some there
are that take this worm, putting it into the hand
of a new-born child, clofc the hand about it, tying
it up with the worm clofed in it, 'till it be dead.

Thi*

COUNTY OJf WEST-MEATH. 57

This child ever after, by ftroking the beaft ^Sefted,
recovers ic, and (b it will, if the water, wherein
the child walhetb, be fprinkled on the beaft. I
have known a man that thus would cure his neigh*
hour's cattle, the* he never faw them. The other
method of cure, which I like much better, is by
boring an augur-hole in a well grown willow tree,
and in it imprifoning, but not immediately killing,
the worm fo clofe by a wooden peg, that no
air may get in, and therein leaving him to die at
leifure. The leaves and tender branches of this
tree, ever after, if bruifed in water and the affedled
beaft therewith be fprinkled, he is cured. The
all-wife and ever gracious God, having thus in his
providence ordered it, that not only this venomous
reptile, but divers others, and who knows if not
all, did we know the right method of ufing
them, (hould have in themfelves their own an-
tidotes, that fo we might have a remedy at hand,
as the poet fayeth,

Una eademque mams vulnus opemque ferat, O v i d .

The hand that wounds applies the healing balm.

We have alfo in our bogs and low pafture grounds,
and likewife on high moorifh pafture, and moun-
tains, a certain fmall animal (rarely met with) in
length about a fpan, having four feet refcmbling
the hands of a man, palm, thumb, and fingers,
from the hind foot backward it is as long as
thence forward, but not fo bulky, for it tapereth
forth in length, and ends in a very fmall tail^
without any fting that I could ever find. The
beft portrait that I can give of it is the crocodile
in the maps and cuts of travellers and fome

geographers.

58 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

geographers, which it feems to irte in ail par
refemble, and to outward appearance is none c
than a diminutive crocodile. They are of diffi
colours ; thofe found on the mountains are gr<
and azure ; thofe in our bogs are betwixt gr<
and brown, fpeckled ; fome call them in the
Arglogh- tongue, Arglogher, which may be renderec
*^' ru(h-pig, and others Alkeloagher, or ruQi

This animal, thus terrible to our outward vie
altogether harmlefs; and tho* its jaws be very ^
and he at pleafure exerteth thereout a very i
and flender branched, forked tongue, refemt
at full extent an anchor, the outwings of whic
draweth up clofe fo as not to be vifible at pleal
yet it never offereth to fling or ejedl any poi
It is a ftrange vivacious animal ; for being ke
the open air, it will live a twelvemonth togc
without food or fuftenance, more than what
•element affords it. I have known a young
who for feveral months together, kept one oft
pri loner on his hat, tyed by a thread to ilie
band : it had more than half its long ta
hinder part cut off, yet this poor creature li
and feemed lively and flrong enough ; how
he kept it in the whole time, and whether it
for lack of food or not, I cannot tell. I have
you this creature was no way noxious, I fliall
tell you wherein it is helpful to man, and
under one of the faddcft accidents or difaf
that fomctimes befal us j whoever therefore (ha
fo hardy as to take thisliitle formidable animal,
ftroke the belly and tail thereof three limes agj
his tongue, drawing it againft the fcalesof it,
ever after perfcdlly and fpeedily cure any bur
fcald, and that by licking the part affedled. '

COUNTY OF WEST-MEATH. 59

hath been confirmed to me from the certain
knowledge and experience of a very honeft gen-
tleaum, and a near neighbour.

Having too long, I fear, detained my reader in
oor lakes and marfhes, we will now, with his good
likiDg, range the more firm and ftable champaign
groDnd ; and here you (hall be fure to meet with
moil pleafant and fruitful fields, either cloathed
with corn of all forts, or ftudded with white or
black cattle, meadows in their feafons flowring, or
paflures always verdant, no rough or impaflable
mountains, but.inftead thereof, pleafant and fine
fifing bills, feated at fuch juft difiances, as if by
tbem nature defigned only to delight the elevated
fpeftator with a more advantageous and chearful
^icw- of the adorned fields and plains; neverthe-
Icfs, as before I complained of our great want of
timber, fo here I muft of another deficiency, of
almoit as bad a confequence, want of hedges and
fences ; a defeft that we cannot hope to find in 01 r ^ -
days thoroughly removed, nor is it likely it ever hedges
will,unlefsour propri etors become inhabitants alfo;and
for adventurers and other gentlemen, fet out their ^^^**"
eftates at the highell rent to the poor farmer, and
from him little of improvement is to be expefted,
who, if he be able to pay his rent and live, thinks
bimfelf happy and rich; nor indeed doth the genius
of the Irilh farmer incline to be at any prefent
expence, in expedation of a future greater bene-
fit ; he will fence indeed his corn, but fo flight ly
and without any manner of quick, that before it
can be reaped, his own and his neighbour's cattle
force him ufually to a renewal of his labours ; and
if at any time he makes a fejice likely to hold out
a whole year, he triumphs, and with confidence

pronounccth

■!

^o A DESCRIPTION OF THE

pronounccth it a year's ditch, which among ihcm
paffeth for a very ftrong fence.

In this our furvey of Weftmeath, we muft not
cxpcdt to meet with ftatcly cities, nor great towns
of mart, for being an inland country, having no
navigableriver,norcftablifhedmanufadlory among
us, our inhabitants live more fcattered in fmall
villages, confiding moftly of poor fmall cottages,
which Hand not much longer than their fences;
neverthelefs, you will now and then meet with t
few towns'corporate, fome antient caftles, and
fome abbies and monalleries, whereof I (hall
here give you the beft account I can.
Rathwire. Rath wire is the firft place of note that prefents
itfelf to our view, and that at a diftance if you ?
come from the Eaft, fituate in the barony of =•
Farbill, on a high rifing ground, built as of de- >
fign not to overlook but to awe the whole coun-
try founded (as tradition goes) by Sir Hugh dc
Lacy, who was one of our firft Englifti conquer- '
ors, and fixed in this country in or very near the ^
reign of king Henry the Second. It feems bjf •
what to this day remains of the ruins, to have •
been a ftrong well built fort for the manner of =
building at that time, capacious and of good re- '
ceipt, now remain only fome portions of the out-
walls, and heaps of rubbifti,

Fuii Ilium et ingens
Gloria Dardania. Virc.

Here Ilium flood Dardania's mighty boaft.

Very near this but in a valley behind it, is feated
Killucquin, the largeft of all the parifti churches
quiq.^" I have feen in this county. It beareth fome pro-
portion with the mind not the body of the founder

^for

COUNTY OF WEST-MEATH. 6i

r Sir Hugh was a fmall timbered man) and not
ly fo but with the parifh itfelf, which is com-
nfurate with the barony. For the barony of
:bill and the parifh of Killucquin are terms
onimous. The church hath a large and well
lit fteepk or tower, in the weft-end thereof,
lerein hang to this day two or three fair bells,
licb have had the good fortune to efcape the
Mne and fury of the late wars. On the eall-
I is a fair large chancel raifed almoft to thd
ght of the body of the church i the whole well
>fed and (hingled. On the north wall of the
mcel At the eaft-end, ftands a fair handfome
tie, now without roof, the manfion houfe, I
ipofe, of the vicar or curate ; adjoining to this
irch are two or three chapels, whereof one called
Mary's is a large one but without roof, all
It in after ages for burial places to divers of the
I families of the country ; not far from the
drch yard, on the fouth of it. Hands wliat is left
heantient parfonage houfe,a fair large building,
ording to the antient mode of building; it is to

day (prob pudor) wafte without ftick or ftonei
r a thus long fettled and well eftablifhed
:c. This feems indeed an univerfal malady,

I take it to be one of the many inconveni-
es that follow non-refidence, (an evil too fre-
nt among our clergy) which certainly here in
irifh fo large and of very good revenue, is
lly excufable.

1 this church, as in all churches I (hall hereafter
tion to be in repair, divine fervice, according
le rites of the church of England, is con-
:ly celebrated, &c. Hence north-weft let
•avel to

Delvin,

64 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

accbrdingly here he remains pent-up all his daj

every day he faith mafs in his chapel, which a

IS part of, nay almoft all his dwelling-houfc, 1

there is no more houfe, but a very fmall caft

wherein a tall man can hardly ftretch himfelf

length, if he laid down on the floor, nor is the

any paflage into the caftle but thro* the chajx

He hath fervants that attend him at his call in i

out-houfe, but none lyeth within the church b
himfelf. He is faid by the natives, who hold hi;

iagreat veneration for his fandtity, every day :
dig or rather fcrape, for he ufeth no other toe
but his nails, a portion of his grave ; beir
efteemed of fo great holinefs, as if purity ai
fandtity were entailed on his cell, he is conftant
vifited by thcfe of the Romilh religion, who ai
at being efteemed more devout than the ordina
amongft them ; every vifitant at his departii
leavcth his offering or (as they phra(e it) devotii
on his altar ; but he relieth not on this only f
a maintenance, but halh thofe to bring him in tb
devotion whofe devotions are not fo fervent as
invite them to do the office in perfon ; thefc i
called his proftors, who range all the countries
Ireland to beg for him, whom they call the h(
man in the ftone : corn, eggs, gcefe, turkies, he;
flieep,money and what not 5 nothing conies am'
and no where do they fail altogether, but fon

thing is had, infomuch that if his proctors d
honeftly, nay if they return him but the tei

part of what is given him, he may doubtlefs (

as well as any pried of them all -, the only rec

ation this poor prifoner is capable of, is to w;

on his terras built over the cell wherein he li

if he may be faid to walk, who cannot in c

line ftretch forth his legs four times.

C

COITNTY OP WEST-MKATH. 65

One of thefe churches before mentioned isSt. Fe*

cifledSt. Fochin'8, one of our Irilh faints. Tbc^'^'^-

cbitf entrance into this church is at the weft-end,

bj a door about three feet broad, and fix feet high.

This wall is hard upon, if not altogether, thnre

feet thick;, the lintel that traverfeth the head of

the door 4s of one entire (lone of the full thicknefs,

or near it, of the wall, and to the beft of my re*

membrance, about fix ibot long, or perhaps more,

and ia height about two foot or more ^ having

takennotioeofit, as the largeft entire ftone, I had

at any time obferved, efpecially fo high in any

building, and difcourfing of it with an antient

dweller in the town, I obferved to him, that of old

time they wanted not their engines, even in this

country, for their ftruftures 5 the gentleman, fmil-

ingasat my miftake, told me that the faint him-

fdf alone without either engine or any help placed

the Hone there, and thereon he proceeds in this

fonnar ftory of the manner and occafion of it |

he (aid the workmen having hewen and fitted the

ftone in its dimenfions, and made a Ihift with niuch

ado to tumble it to the foot of the wall, they

allayed with their joint forces to raife it, but after

much toil and lofs of time, they could not get it*

done, at laft they refolved to go and refrefli them-

felvesand after breakfaft to make another attempt

at it -, the faint alfo, for as the ftory goes he was

then living and prefent, advifed them foto do, and

tells them he would tarry 'till their return ; whoijL

they returned, behold they find the ftone placed

cxaftly as to this day ft remains over the door ^

•Aiswas done, as the tradition goes, by the l^aAnt

alone ; a work for my part, I believe impoffibic

to be done by the ftrength <5f fo many hands

F only

66 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

only as can immediately apply their force unto i^ -
however I aflure you this ftory in that formality
related, is infinitely believed by a generation cre-
dulous enough, and who boaft of miracles an<i
adhere to tradition hoW unlikely foever it be, if it
feem to fet but the lead glofs or varnifh on that
religion or the relatives thereof, that they fo teaa-
doufly adhere unto.
Monafte- Befides the churches and the cell, this corpora*
y ^f tion hath adjoining to it one monaftery, not large
^^^^ but neat and of firm compofure, of canons regular,
built by the fame St. Fechin about the year 630 ^
this monaftery is (aid to be built in a bog, and fo
it is, but'founded on a firm fpot of ground which
it wholly pofleflcth. This town of Foure, after
all that is faid of it, is at this day but very mean, |
the inhabitants very poor and live in fmall cot- |
tages. Hence let us pafs to ]

Fahatty. F^hatty, on the Eaftern banks of Lough-Dire-
vereagh before defcrib^ d ; the word may import
or fignifie a joyful reception or welcome. This
was the retiring place of Mortimer Earl of March,
who married Philippa the daughter and heir of
Lionel Duke of Clarence, third (on to Edward the
. third and an elder brother to John of Gaunt Duke
of Lancafter, the father of Henry the fourth.
This Mortimer, after king Richard was depofed,
that he might be out of harm's way, procul a Jove
proculafulmine^ with his princefs, in whom after
the death of Richard without heir of his body the
right of fucceiBon remained, fixed his refidence,
as tradition goes, amongft us at this place, a
place not more fafe than pleafant, not above
a mile diftant from the chapel before fpo-
kea of^ on the fide of Knock* JEy en. By mar-
riage

COUNTY OP WEST^MEATH. 67

riage with the daughter and heir of this bed, and
not by the paternal line, the houfe of York got
thar claim to the crown, whereof in the fourth
generation, they got into the poflfeflion in Edward
the fourth. This Fahatty (Mortimer's Latmm)
by iis ruins, for it is now little elfe, fpeaks itfelf to
have been the refidence of a prince, as the name
feems to denote his welcome, and as in a decayed
and out-worn face you may trace beauty, fo in the
niins hereof you may yet behold the lineaments
and foot Heps of antient (late and magnificence.

And not .unlikely it is, that the reGdence of thcfe
princes here in the * meditutlium almoil of this
kingdom, joined to the winning fweetncfs of a
free and eafy converfation, wherein princes in
diftrcfs are never deficient, together with the myx-
riesthey might feem to fuffer, being kept out by
an ufurpng prince of their lawful right, might
have given the firil rife to that great afifeftion this
nation is obferved by hiflorians to have borne to
thehoufeand family of York, for nothing taketh
more than the unjuft fufferings of a rightful prince,
and perhaps alfo, that the fuccefs this family at
lall found in Edward the fourth and his father
Richard Duke of York, might have given coun-
tenance to that faying that to this day is common
in the mouths of many, be that England would
win muft with Ireland firft begin ; and this af-
ficftion was no doubt then highly enhanced in the
hearts of the people, by the winning carriage of
Richard Duke of York, a wife add ambitious
prince, during his admini(tration here as Loixl
Lieutenant under king Henry the iixth. Thence
about a mileeaftward, we havi thecliurch of

Fa Ballinegrofs,

* i. e. Centre.

68 A DESCRIPTION 0¥ THE

Balline- ISallinegrofs, a new fabrick upon new founda
l^^** tions, large and capacious, having ahandfom*
tower or fleeple at the weft end, wherein han
two fair bells. The patron hereof is Walter Poi—
lard, Efq; who beftowed the ground thereof and
a fair church yard. The church was built at the
charge of the barony , and confecrated by the Ri^ f
lUv. Henry Jones late Lord Biftiop of Meath, in
x68o. Hence weft ward about four or five miles
we meet with
Moldfer- Multifernai^ a monaftery of Francifcan friars,
****• founded by William Delamerc ♦, in the reign
of .Henry the third, feated on the Gaine, in the
barony of Corkery. The frame or fabric is ra-
ther neat and compact than futnptuous or tower-
ing, having in the the midft between the body of
the church and the chancel, an handfome, ftrait,
liitt very narrow fteeple. After the diftolution of
monafteries it became the property of Alderman
Jans of Dublin, who or his fucceflbrs permitted
the friars to enter agam and here fettle in as
great or greater fplendour than ever : here^t and
before 1641, they had their church not only in
v^iry good repair, but adorned (pardon the ex-
preflion) with images, pidkures, reliques, &c. here
in the choir qr chancel they had their organs
und chorifters ; they had not only apartments fuf-
ficient for their own number, but for the reception
of many horfe and foot at any time ; here they
bad aUby all houfes of offices fit to make prepara-
^n for entertainment of fuch as came at all times
jt)o vifit, or.othcrwife toconfiilt or debate their
concerns ; atid here it was that the fatal rebellion,
miifii bro^e ($ot with fo much fury and havock on
tfaelEEnglifli and Proteftants in this kingdom in

1641,

f b tlie year 12^6.

COUNTY OF W£ST.M£ATH. 69

li^tf was hatched snd oontrivcd : for this pfaKid
kiiog conveniently feared almoft in the centre of
tbeUngdofB and aifo of great r^pt ^ that year
ud fome years before^ great and frequent were
the meetings here of the Popiih clergy of aU lunds,
fiomiU parts of the kingdom ; infomuch that
tbcQ great notice was taken thereof, and the evil
coofcquences of their great frequency dreaded by
fuch weening fouls as knew nothing in particular
of the macfatnations and contrivances then afoot
smoQgft diem ; whereupon fome even then fpared
not to divulgie their apprehenCons^ and particu-
hdy the late Lord Biftiop of Ardagh, Dr. Rich*
trdibn, who the furamer before the war broke out, ^
OS no other ground^ as I have heard he faid him-
felf, withdrew with all his fubftance into England.

Hmc UUi lacbrjm^.

Ah i kence the fource of our lace cruel woes.

This abby is at this time altogether out of re-
pair, yet the friars of this convent had before the
difcovery of the late Popiih plot in England, a
friary and convent on a piece of land near this
place, being a parcel of Knights- wood belonging
to Sir Thomas Nugent baronet, where they had
Mt all manner of conveniencies both for the re*
ceipt of (Grangers and for their own ufe, but all
thatched cabins which are to this day kept up in
good repair, and are ready for their reception
vbencver they (hall plcafe, or find the opportuni-
ty of re-entering, and fome fay that it is not now
•Jtogciher void of ihcro, altho* he who owns to be
^^ inhabitant therein is faid to be a Proteftant.
Not fer hence eaft ward on the north fide of an

high

70 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

high hill after you have afcended more than 1
the height^ we meet with a great hollow ore
in the bowels of the hill, by the natives called
CattV CattVholc. The firft entry is very low, fo
Hole. you mull creep on all fours if you will enter j w]
in this pofture you have proceeded fourteen
fifteen foot, you may rife and walk upright,
here the cave is feven or eight foot high, anc
you bring light with you, you may behold a pi
of nature's architedture ; for as art is faid in ot
things to imitate nature, fo here nature may
faid to imitate art, fo handfomely the vauh fe<
arched : the firft room that entertaineth yov
pretty large, about ten or twelve foot in fqua
hence are divers narrow apartments verging e
(buth and weft ; two of thefe of the length of <
perch or two, grow fo narrow and incommodi
for farther travel, that they give but little inv
tion to a farther fcarch ; the third towards
weft admits a curious perfon to a farther feai
yet this alfo, growing at laft both uneven and r
row, I was difcouraged to go as far as I mi{
fearing I might have fallen into feme unhce
precipices ; the natives tell us, ttio* one had n
of a large portion of their credulity to believe
that it endeth at Croach-Patrich in Connauj
In this cave towards the latter end of our
unhappy war of 1641, the chief tory of W
Meath is faid for a time to have lurked ; bul
better confideration he fobn flighted his garril
for altho' here one man might keep out a thouf^
yet it were eafy for one man without, the w
fetting convenient, by a fmoke to force a g
number within to a furrender, or death. At

Kilmaca

COUNTY OF WEST-MEATH. 71

Kifaucabill ^, are the ruins of a diflblved firiaryKiiknai.
flrmooaftcry of Francifdins, whereof remains to »'**''•
tiiis day, only fome part of the walls of their
diorch ; if other buildings they had, time hath
[ rendered them invifible ; this ftandeth in that part
of the county that I told you was on the north
fide of the Inny, as alfo did three or four miles far-
ther northward on the lands of Clonmore, the
tmnery of

Kenard. Hence let us hafle again to the ^o^^'^u^jy^jj
rfthclnny, and within a Ihort mile of it on the
wcftcm banks of the Iron-lake before defcribcd,
we meet an antient diffolvcd monaftcry or priory
of Auguftin monks, called

Trifternaugh. The word fccms to denote T^jft^.
tlwrns, thiftles or briers • this monaftery is built, asnaugh.
roany antient collegiate churches have been, in the
fcfm of a crofs, having in the centre thereof a tow-
er or ftcepic, raifed on the four inncrmoft comers
of ihc crofs, from each of which corners the wall
tt it rifelh flopeth off until the whole is brouglit
into an odtagon ; whence forward the tower rifeth
•hout thirty foot in eight fides, in each of which
wa window. The wall of this church and ftceple,
TO* without roof time out of mind, remains
to this day very firm and fubftaniial. This abby
va« founded by Sir GcofFry Conftantine, who was
one of our Englifh conquerors, in or foon after the
*»y8 of king Henry thefecond, to whom for his
^rvicewere given the territories ofKilbixyand
Ralhmarthy j in his charter of donation to this
*S he fliles himfelf, dominus terrUorii de KiWixy^
*nd tells us that he founded this abby in his ter-
ntoryofKilbixy. This generous founder, among
^tncrhis large donations to this abby, gives his

lands .
* Or KillmacCahal.

^^ A DESCRIPTION OF THE

lands in G^nnaught without naming any parttca-
larSy.whereaa in all he had before ^ven, he is fo cur
riousas not content with barely naming them, he
defcribes their very mears and bounds ; advifing
with an antient and judicious perfon, what he
Gould imagine might be the reafon hereof, he told
mc that this was ufual with great warriors and
conquerors of old, who oonBding on their own
prowefs and good fortune, oftentimes defigned
lands to fuch and fuch ufes even before they bad
conquered them ; hence we may conclude, that
Connaught was not yet conquered when this abby
was founded, and whether our conqueror did or
not after this time, make any impreffion on Con-
naught I cannot learn ; fure I am, that there ap-'
pears nothing that our monks that were here, ever
had any pofleiEons in Connaught, and of thoTe
that they had here, of which there remaineth re-
cord, many were fold and aliened in their own
time, and many were loft at the time of the fup-
prefHon, for want of due care or faitliful dealings
in thofe that were at that time by the crown em-
ployed, fo as neither the crown, nor any by or un-
der the title thereof, ever held them to this day.
O'Dofrh- ^^ ^^^ demefnes belonging to this abby, the
arty'$ great 0*Dogharty, with his followers and forces
^•°*P- out of Connaught, to the number of fix hundred
men, is faid to have encamped at an hillock where
grew a thorn bu(h, called by the natives, from his
defeat, O'Dogharty's bu(h, altho* fince that, oi
another occafion it hath another name ; he havin
(at here for many days, was at laft fet upon by ok:
of the Qjieen^s captains, his name nor the peculi ^
time Icould never learn ; after a brifh engagemeai
on both fidesy fome of O^Dogharty's chief mc

falling

COUNTY OF WEST-MEATH. 'JJ

aUmgi he gave ground and retired^ hoping to

be leoei ved and protefked by Nugent, then tenant,

iMm the abt^ walls -^ but Nugent, tho* it is fiud

he had been kind unto him before, feeing him fly

and the Qyeen's forces at his heels, denied him

c&trance; thus he and his men miffing of this

hope, made but very weak refiftanoe, infomuch

that they were all miferably (lain under the walls

of the abby, few or none efcaping ; whether any

• found quarter I cannot find ; the (lain to a great

bttt uncertain number were buried on the fpot^ as

daily experience (hews ua, when occafion is given

of digging in our gardens any thing more than

ordinary deep. This account tho* lame, is the

beft that ever I could learn of this aAion ; and the

great negligence of our forefathers, in trufting

their anions not to writing but uncertain tradition,

is much to be lamented, not only in this but in

inftaiures of greater concern, fome whereof we

may have occafion to mention hereafter.

Weft hereof not a quarter of a mile is feated achapel of
fmalland well built chapel, now in good repair. Temple
wherein bangeth one fmall bell, which had thc^^^^'
good fortune to efcape the fury and rapine of the
Ul war. In this chapel in our late biftiop of
Meath*s days were ordained at one time, eleven or
noore priefts and deacons, and at another time fix
orfcven ; this p>lace fupplieth the defedt of our
mother church Kilbixy, now out of repair.

Before we leave this chapel yard, it may not becorpnou.
amifs perhaps to entertain our reader with a cer-
tain miracle that was here fometime wrought, ca-
fiat qui caper e poteft^ which venerable tradition
gives us to thisefTedt ; we have from antient days

a certain relique, remaining even yet among us.

Kept

74 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

keptbyacertaingentleman, agreatzealot of thcRo-j
mi(h church, with no fmall veneration ; theyodli
itCorpnou*, that is in Englifli, the holy or bi<
cd body ; if it be meant or intended of thc^
of our blefled Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift,
fear it is, it falls very little fliort of blafphemy ;
thing itfelf is no more than a fmall piece of w<
fhaped fomewhat like a bible of the fmaller
lume, laced about with laces of brafs, and on foi
parts ftudded over on the one fide with pieces
cryllal all fet in filver, and here and there larddj
with filver fet or chafed into the wood and faftohj
ed with nails, (bme brafs and fome filver ; oni
other fide appears a crucifix of brafs, and whcll
it have any thing hidden within it, is known I be*1
lieve to no man living, but it hath been andii
held to this day in great veneration by aIloFtlft|
Romifh perfuafion that live hereabouts ; onoc-|
cafion it is offered to them as a fiicred oath, bf |
which none dare fwear falfcly for fear his imaAi
fhould run awry up to his ears, or fome other grot
deformity or fudden death (hould betide him; ndr
arc we without ftories of judgments of this foft|
that have befallen falfe fwearers, iho' no man liv-
ing can fay, that he ever faw any perfon that thus
became deformed ; but the ilory of the mtrade
runs thus : In old tinies when the monks dwdt
here, one of their young friars had occafion to
carry this relique over the lake ; carrying it under
his arm in the cot, it chanced to fall into the lake,
where being over- laden with brafs, filver and
cryftal it funk ; the young friar returns and re-
ports this great misfortune and lofs ; hereupon the
whole convent is diflblved into lamentation^ for-
row and mourning, and certain days of fieifting

are

• Properly Corp- nacmli.

COUNTY OF WEST.MEATH. 75

^reindi&ed, not <mly intheconvent but throughout

Hhe adjoining pariihes^ when the days of grief were

Hirer, and all hopes of recovering the predous

iidique were given up, behold on a certain day

the fwine that were about this land, were feen to

pafs a little hillock that is yet in this chapel

d, in a pofture of great devotion, being eiedt on

iftbeir hinder legs, with their four legs held upwards

u men ufe in their devotions to kneel with hands

lifted up ; the unufualnefs of this fpedtade did,

as no wonder it Ihould, attradt the eyes of the

beholders into admiration, to fee fwine, which by

' all men are efteemed the emblem of ingratitude,

with their eyes eredt unto heaven ; the curiofity of

the beholders, when the fcene of wonder was over,

engaged them to fearch in the faid hillock fo un-

ufually befet; on fearch made, a large fquare

fione is found, having in the centre thereof a large

fquare hole engraven about five inches deep, and

herein was found, when none fo much as dreamed

thereof, the fo much bemoaned relique; it is not

to be doubted but that hereupon was great joy and

triumph, and on this occaflon the relique becomes

more than ever adored. This (lory is believed

by the vulgar hereabouts, with a faith little fliort

of that whereby they profefs to believe the gof-

pei, infomuch that if any man would be heard

ferioufly to aflert any thing he would pafs for truth

without making ufe of other oath, he avers it in

words to this purpofe, by the Corpnou that arofe

at Temple- crofs, fo is the chapel called, and

fometimes, if our ferious man were born on the

demefnes of this abby , he adds by way of triumph

and exultation, under it was I born. Weftward

hence and north, about a mile dUlance is feated,

Kilbixy^

7^ A DESCRIPTION OF THE.

KUbuyj Kilbixy, the chief feat of our mentioned coi
queror*8 refidence, and head of his territory ; i
old a town of great note, havings as traditk
telieth us^ tweive burgeiles in their fearlet gown
a mayor or fovereign, with other offices fuitah
to fo great a port. Of this fo great ilatc, i
fniall>dre now the renaains, that you may j«AI
fay of it, what the hiftorian fays of the Vcii i
Italy,

Lahrai mmaliumfides^ ut yeiosfuiffe credamus.

Florui
Hiftory even doubts whether the Vcii ever exifta

The only remajning foot fteps that I have nx
with h^eof, is firft a large piece of an old iquai
caftle called the Burgage-callle, and forty acit
of ground adjoining to it, called alfo, the Burgagi
land, corruptly fii;)r the Burgeifes caftle and Bui
geffes-land, thefe being believed to have been th
town-houfe and the land belonging to tho<x)rpQn
tion ; there is alfo on the bank of our Iron-lake
not far from hence, a place which in the Irifl
dialect foiuids the Haven of the market, this like!
having been the landing place of fuch as from tb
eaftern banks had occafion to this market. Wbc
ther this town of old, fent burgeifes to parliamen
or not, I do not find ^ but tradition fays, that ou
crofs and market were, in what age I know nol
transferred hence to Mullingar, and perhaps wit
them our right of fending burgeffes to parliamen
aUb. Other remainders of ancient ilate I find nose
unlefs you will take for fuch the ruins, or rubbifl
rather, of many ancient houfes and caftles, befidc
which and fome late built cabbins, nothing is to b
feen^ but excellent corn of all kinds, fo as it wa

neve

CO'UNTT OF WEST-MEATB. 77

ever more truly £ud of Troy^ than it may be
f this town.
Jtm/^es efl uU ^roja fuit. O^ i o .

rbe golden corn now 'grows where (lood proud
Troy.

h Aw town Hands the remains of an ancient and
IRil built ^urch, the mother of many churches
ind chapek about it, which had at the weft end
I very well built tiigb tower or fteeple. Here :be^
at this day nothing more of remark, let4ia
w our cfofSf &c. Hence to the fouth and
t fix miles off we meet with
Mallingar^, the^hief town of the county, feat-
Tery near the centre thereof, as is faid before, MuDia-
tbe river ilfuing out Lough-Foyle, which we^"'
the Gdden-hbnd or Arm, and in the midft
the two great lakes of Lough-Foyle and
4nniel. The name of the town, if £ng*>
imports the ihort mill ; indeed in my time,
hatii 4xen an over^fhaft mill of the leall
that ever I faw, which with. buckets and
was not ei^t foot in diameter, but now it is
verted into a breafi miU. There are alio in
is town on the fame water, two other mills,
were Anciently two monailenes^ one whereof
a piiory 6f Cannons regular f, founded by
tSslph le Petit, Biihop of Meath ^ the other a con*
mil of friars predicant ^ ; one of ihefe ftood in the

eaft

OrMoUlingear.
t About the year 1227. This pnory was ancienttj
iloiwi& bj the xitine of jtlie houfe of God of MuUingar.

* -^ 'Founded in 1237, bj the Nogents, feveral chapters
ef the ordtr being held here, (hew that it wu a great mo-
mdaetj ; part of the beIl*tower and fome other ruins re-
Bnrgb*s I£b. Dom. pag. 218.

78 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

eaft end of the town, the other on the well end c
the town, the ruins of which are this day feared
viiible. The ancient ^buildings here were ol
fafliionable caftles, fome of which remain yet, aa
fome are demoliflied, and better or at lead mor
commodious houfes are built in their roona
Here are held continually, all ailizes and feffioni
four fairs yearly, and all public meetings of th
county. It is alfo a great thorough fare or ro«
from Dublin to Connaught, all houfe$herean
ale houfes, yet fome of the richer fort drive ai
other trades alfo ; they fell all forts of commodi
ties to the gentry abroad in the country, and fomi
befides have large farms abroad. Here is a ne«
goal built on the county's coft, for the old on
was very weak ; the old feflion houfe alfo, beiii|
very narrow and inconvenient in all refpefts, i
new one is a framing, very large and fpacioosac
cording to the modes of modern archite£turc
the church alfo of this town is handfomety rebuBl
This town was formerly a corporation, had initi
public magiftrate called a portrive, and always fd
two burgefles to parliament ; but now the whol
town and commons being given in fee to^
Right Hon. the Lord of Granard and his hein
the ancient corporation is diifolved; and the who!
town and liberties, with other hislordfhib's land
in this county are by his majefty eredtfed intoi
manor, wherein actions without limit may b
tried, and court leet, court-baron, &c. are held ac
cording to law ; this manor by a new and uo
prefidented grant from hismajefiy, hath liberty d
fend two members to parliament, but whethc

undc

COUNTY OF WEST^MEATH. 7^

indcr the ftilc of burgcffcs, as formerly, time muft
(hew. This town giveth the ftyle of vifcount to
ihc Earl of Carbery in Wales. About five miles
hence weft ward we have
Rathconrath, where ftands a church in good ^th-

coxxrath.

repair, m our way to
Ballimore, a market town having two fairs in theBallimore.

year, feated on the weft fide of Lough-Seudy.

Here was formerly a ftrong garrifon of the Eng-
li(h forces, towards the latter end of the war ; this
ganifon feated on the ikirts of the lake, was divid-
ed from the main land by a grafF deep and large,
vith ramparts of earth and bulwarks ; the ditch
was fo low carried, as to receive three or four foot
of the reftagnant water of the lake, over which was

- by a^draw-bridge the entry into the fort. This

^ was the chief fortrefs of this county, feated in the

; ixud-way betwixt Muilingar and Athlone, from
each diftant ten miles; heie is now a church
batlt on the old foundation in repair except only

^ the eaft end. Adjoining to this town is the old
diflbtved monaftery of

Plary; here was formerly both a friary andpj^

miimery, but in feparated buildings'*, both of the

Cifterttan order ; the land hereunto belonging are

bid to belong to the bifliop of Meath, yet are

withholden from that fee, either by the adventurer,

I or the Lord Netterville. Weft and north from
hence about half a mile, we have a fair, large and

fpSLcious field, by the road to Athlone, all excellent

arable

■

* Pounded bj the Lacy's. I tKink it was of the order
«f Gilbertines. K. Henry 8th converted the church of this
wUbj into the cathedral of the dtocefe of Meath ; I knew
aot how long H &> continued. H^ar^i monajl.

to ADESCRIPTION OF THE

arable and as fmooth as a die, called in the Irifl
tongue,
^|Jj^«- Magherc-Tibbot, that is the field of Thcobalc
from the defeat of Sir Theobald Verdon, vth
here fought a battle in king Henry the eighib
days, againil fome party of the IriHi, and wasi;
the field ilain ; this Sir Theobald had his quar
ters and garrifon in Ballimore adjoining, but wfaai
force, he commanded, or who the enemy wti
that eogaged, or of the fuccefsof the day, I have
not been ajble to learn one word ^ tho' it is roudi
to be feared our chief dying in die field, that the
jEnglifh came by the woril ; for it is Teldom met
with in biftory, that chiefs are viAors in death,
as the great Guftavus Adolphus was. And here
again I cannot but complain of the great n^led
of former ages, in not committing to writing the

actions of their times, but leaving all to the un*
certainty and hazard of tradition, infonuich thai
the bed accounts that we are able to refcue from
oblivion, are fp lame and jejune, and that in fc
(hort a revolution of time as fince king Htmj
the eighth's days, that it is more than probable,
had not the very name only prcfcrved fome fuper*
fidal memory of this adion, we had not now
occaiion miniftred unto us of this complaint oi
this fubjedt. Hence yet weft ward and north w<
meet with

Ardnacrana, a monaftery or as fome fay a nun<
nery, whether is uncertain* ; I (hall only obferv<

am

* Founded, for Carmelites^ in the 14th oentmy, hj Ra
bert Dilloa of Drumrany. Borgh's Hib. Don. pag. 753
March io» 1 545* the lands were granted to Sir Rober
Dillon, of Ne.wtown» and therdn it is called thi6 mo
nafterj of the Friars preachers of Athnecame. Lodge*)
peerage, toL I. pag. 153.

COlfNTT OF WEST-M^ATH. Si

flodfopafs it by, that the word in thelriih language
foufldetb, the high place of the Sow. Hence
fourJiward and fomewhat weft, we raieet with

Kilkenny, which for diftindtion fake from theKilken^
dry of Kilkenny, is many times called Kilkenny- ^^•
Weft. Here are yet to be fecn fome reliques of
an abby, or monaftery belonging to the Knights
Templars^. In this place alfo ftandeth a church in
good repair. From hence weft and a little north,
even till we arrive at the great lake Lough-Ree
in the Shannon, in a promontory that jetteth into
the lake^ diftant from Athlone five miles, and to
the north of it, was before the year 1641, a nun-
nery called 9

Bethlem, the only one that I hdve heard of Bedilenu

that was of late days in this kingdom, of the

order of St. Clare, the mother abbefs whereof

wasaladyof good extraction, the daughter of

Sir Edmund Tuit, who fometime lived in this

county at Tuitftown. On the firing of thrir

nunnery towards the end of the firft year of the war,

not long after the lord prefident had received the

Engiifti forces, whither they retreated is not cer-

ttin, I rather think they difperfed and fcattered ;

but are of late united again at Athlone, and Under

the fame mother abbefs, a lady now of great years.

But the firing of their nunnery was a piece of

fervice, if 1 may fo call the burning of a houfe

wherein none but women dwell, that was attended

with a very fad circumftance; for two foot com**

panics of Engiifti forces^ before mentioned, were

commanded to quarter at Ballineclofiy, a ftrong

G caftle

* It was founded for Crofs-bearen, if I miftakc xx>t.

Wahi.

Founded by Thomas a prie^ (great grandfon of Sir Hen.
Dillon, who caoic iato Ireland in 1 185*) who was buried ;
therein. Lodge's Peerage, vol. i. p. 145 . *

82 ADESCRIFTIOMOFTHE

caftle and dwelling houfe of a gentleman of
ontient family and good eftate, (ituate in the
montory before meniioned ; thefe were commamS*

\ ed by a genlieman of a very noble extraction ,

captain Bertie or Bartue, brother to the lord cham-
berlain of England, the earl of Lindfey, who was
general for the king at the battle of EdgehiU.
Thefe men hearing of the nunnery hard by, im- *

\ mediately marched thi ther, whether with or without

command of their officer I have not learned, tnd
plundered the fame ; I do not hear of any force
there to relift them, nor that any violence was
offered to any of the virgins ; however, after
rifling of the fface they burnt it, and leaving the
houfe in flames they returned to their quarters at
Ballinecloffy aforefaid, which had been defertcd
by the inhabitants on their appearance^ but left well
itored with excellent firong beer and aquavits, *
and all forts of provifions for food, and to it the
whole party fell, officers and foldiers, without fear
or wit, not fearing or fufpedting any enemy, who
yet was too near unto them. ^Uineclofff is
feated in the mentioned promontory, which jets
out into the lake or Shannon, nearer to the main
land than Bethlem, and hath over againft it on
the other fide of the Inny, which here falls into
Lough-Ree in the Shannon, a place called Porte-
nure, where a certain young gentleman lay ; I do
not hear that he was then in arms for the Irifli,
however, being informed at what rate the Eng-
fifli at Ballinecloffy then drank, and knowing
the houfe tg be fufficiently ftored to diforder diem
all, refolved to try if he could advantageoufly
fall on them ; imnftediately he gets together about
fix fcore men^ who to be the more expedite Grip-
ped Ihem&lves to their (hirts, and with fuch wea-
pons

J*-

COUNTY OF WEST-MEATH. . 9}

pons as they had in readinefs, hailed to the •
ihugbter, having wafted themfelves over the
Annagh, fo they call the water paflage^ they hafte
immediately to BallinecbfFy, where they find our
Engfiih by this time of day neither men nor
foldierSi but mere brutes, neither capable to make
defence, or fo much as to apprehend their danger,
inoft of them being afleep or fo difabled with
drink, as not to be in a condition to put them*
felves in a poftpre of defence. Never was the

poel'a
Invadunt urhem fomno vinoque fipuham V i r •

Buried in wine and fleep the Trpjaus lay,
The wily Greeks furprifed their hecdlefs prey.

more traeof Troy, than at this time at Ballinedof-

fy J iheiffuc was, the captain, with fgineof theofficers

and foldiers were, to the number of fixty, mifera-

bly butchered ; nev^rthelefs, fome, who had not

fo raifcrably bcfottcd ihemfelves as the reft, eP*

caped^ to bring the fad tidings to the next gar*

rifon, Connorftown ; nor did thefe inhunian

butchers falisfy their cruelty in the flaughter of

the men only, (for feme of the foldiers had wives)

the women alfo muft die, and the carcafles of both

men and women be ftripped and expofed naked ;

neither did their inhumanity end here ^but

inodefty and (hame here arreft my pen, and fuf-
fer me not to write, what they barbaroufly afted ;
they dragged the dead bodies of the men, and
covered tnefe of the women with them, and ex-
poiiDg them in fuch a pofture a^ I leave to the
reader's imaginatip^ jtp ipake gut. Let us now
j^ngp roQrefQ.utbward,ai?c} in th? barony of Moy-

caihcl we meet with

G % itilbeggatfi .

84 A DESCRIPTION OP THE

K^^'jcg- Kilbcggan, a corporation and market towi
^^' fending two burgefles to our parliament. Th
town is feated on the Brofny before defcribc<
over which it hath an antient bridge, but now t
late repaired^ of lime and (lone. Here flood
monaftery dedicated to the Virgin Mary, founde
anno laoo, and repienifhed with monks from tb
Ciftertian abby of Mellifunt ; of this abby ri
mains only the name of the (Irudure, not fo mud
as the rubbt(h to be feen this day, nor of tb
houfe built here by the late lord Lambert befor<
the late war, more than the ruins; for it wa
burnt in the late war, and is not to this day re
paired. In this town now ilandsa church in repair
Hence let us vifit
j^g^Q^, Ardnorchor, in the fame barony, called alfi
chor. Horfe-leap ; an antient (lately Urudure, as tb
ruins thereof this day (hew/founded, if not finifh
edy by the fore-mentioned Sir Hugh de Lacy
tradition telleth us, that in this place and during
the building hereof, the faid Sir Hugh was un
worthily (lain, by a meer villain, a common la
bourer and a native ; as he was (looping down t<
give fome directions to the workmen, the villaii
taking advantage of his podure knocked out hi
brains with his mattock or fpade : this gentlemai
IS faid of ftature and limbs to have been but lov
and fmall» and hence by nick- name to have beei
called Petite, and from him for this reafon th
Petits of our country would fain derive their de
fcent ; he was an excellent horfeman, and of bin
there is a tradition, that he leaped on horfe-bad
over the draw bridge of this place ; a thing al
together incredible, notwith(landing the nam<
Horfe-leap, is alledged for proof or countenanc
of the fkft Here is a late built churchy but o

ol

COUNTY OF WEST-MEATH. 85

old /bondations, the roof whereof is a mod curi-
ous ftame, and according to the new model of
i/tbitcdture ; tlus is a mother church to fixteen or
more churches and chapels in this and the King's
county. At Newtown alfo in this barony is ano-
ther church in repair, as alfo at Ballioughloe in
the barony of Clonlonan, and at Moylicker in
the barony of Fertullagh. Let us now for a
while look weftward again as far as the Shannon,
and on the eaftern bank thereof we (hall meet
with

Ctonmac-nois, now indeed reputed as part of^^i^nmme-
the King's county, but of old not fo, for this place noU.
and three hundred acres of land was In 1638, by
the management and procurement of Mr. Terence
Coghlan, through the favour of I>r. Anthony
Mmin then lord bilhopof Meath, for what reafons
Iknow not, taken from our barony of Clonlonan,
and annexed to the barony of Garri-cafUe in the
King's county, and much I fear to our great lof^
in all taxca and fubfidtes ; for I am afraid this
county bears the quota of this three thpufand acres^
on all occafions to this day. From hence we pafs
unto

Alhlone* ,a corporate town fituate on both banks
of the Shannon. The part on this fide the river was
heretofore much the better built. The other part
together with the king^s caftle (ituate on the wef-
tcm banks, is in the county of Rofcommon, both
parts united into one town, by a very ftrong, high-
taifcdand wcll-buih bridge, in the middle whereof
ftmds a fair monument with fome figures welt
cut in marble, together with queen Elizabeth^s
fcatcheon of anus, and fome infcriptions declaring
the time, and the founders of the building.

This

• AcUaain, i. «• *' « ford of LiKin*

86 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

This bridge, tha* the arches thereof be wide aiy
large, cauieth the river, which here is very deep
to rife and fwell backwards, fo that under it th
river hath a great fall, which giveth an advantage
ous fituation to feveral underfhaft mills at eae
end of the bridge. One tower on the corner c
the caftle wall is fo advantageoufly feated that i
commandeth'the whole bridge, which nevertbeleC

hath a great drawbridge on that end. Thiscaftk
was founded by king John on a parcel of land
belonging to St Peter's abby , which is on that fide
of the river, for which be granted a compenfiition
otherwife ; it is built on an high raifed round bill»
refembling one of our DaniHi raths or forts, the
walls whereof do almoft (hut up the whole
ground ; in the centre whereof is an high-raifcd
tower, which overlooketh the walls and country
round about ; on the fide that faceth the river are
the rooms and apartments which ferved always
for the habitation of the lord prefident of Con^
naught, and governor of the caille ; the middle
tower being the repofitory or ftore-houfe for am-
munition and warlike provifions of all forts
Of late, Gnce the prefidency was diflolved, tbi
caftle and the demefnes of it and all revenues at
granted in fee by his gracious majefly now reign
ing, to the right honourable Richard Jones^ ea
of Ranelagh, grandfon to Roger lord Ranelagl^
who was prefident of Connaught in 1641, an<
his hdrs. The prefidents heretofore here hcl<
their courts of jufticc, which are now diflolved
This town on both fides the river was in time 01
the late ufurpers very w^ll forti Bed . The part oc
this fide hath very ftrong walls with large flanker
of lime and Aone, according to the rules ol

moderr

COUNTY OF WEST-MEATH. ^7

modern fortification. The infide of thefe walls ^

aod bulwarks was lined with a large rampaf t of
flone and earth, the outfide was made not eafily
tcceifible by a large deep graiF; round about on
the flankers were mounted feveral gre^t guns.
The town on the other fide was alfo fortified with
great ramparts of earth flanked, and a large deep
graff. The works here were fet with a quick-fet
hedge, which was well kept and neatly (horn^ and
had obuined a confiderable growth at tbe time of
bis majefty's happy refioration, fo that hore was a
living ftrength both pleaiaut and ufeful^

uiik dulcL

The ofeful blended with \ht fweet.

as the poet hath it. But all this beauty, all this
ftreagth is of late vaniflied^ efpecially that on the
farther fide, and the old caflle only aft^r the old
falhion is upheld. At whofe door to leave this
great negledt I know not. The town on this fide
was before the war fairly built as to outward ap-
peanuice, mofl faoufes bosfUng of their neatly
hewen coy ns and arches ; but mofl efpecially the
curious workmanlbip of the funnels of their
dnmnies ; and one houfe built backward from the
ftreet by one Devenilh exceeded all the re(t for
politenefs of arcbitedture ; but this beauty was
all without doors, for within they were ill (bapeh
and ill contrived. In the fury of the late war this
town was wholly deflroyed by fire, but fince it hath
in a good meafure been repaired, until by a very
lite fire, nineteen of thefe houfes have bde»T«g<in
turned into dnders, the market-houfe 6n this fidef
the water hardly having been preferved. Here

were

81 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

were of old two convents or monafteries, the one
on theConnaught fide called St. Peter's,'thcoiher on
this fide of Francifcans founded by Cathal Crui-
yarig, (or of the red fill) but he lived not to
finifti it, that work being afterwards done by Sir

Dillon in I244*, On this fide of the river

likewife fiandeth the parifh church, a low but well
built fabrick, and in good repair. This caftle
gave the ftile of vifcount to the right honourable
the late earl of Ranelagh ; and the whole corpora-
tion fendeth two burgeflTes to our parliament.

This caftle and town, during the firft years of
the late rebellion and war in 1 64 1 , were holdenand
commanded by the right hon. Roger Jones lord
vifcount Ratielagh, lord prefident of Connaughr,
but with what forces at firft or (Irength I have not
learned ; fure I am the number was not great ;
no doubt there was the conftant ward that always
was in the king's caftle, and I believe but very
little additional ftrength. For all the country,
that lies nigheft Athlone on both fides the Shan-
non, were then for the moft part of the popifti
religion, fcarce fix families in the county of Weft^
Meath were proteftants ; but more particularly
this town of Athlone were then all papifts. The
town itfelf, being of ftone houfes, without other
fortification was ftrong ; neverthelefs it had walls
and two towers or gate-houfes, or towers that
fcoured the principal ftreets. The people were
rich and very early gave the lord prefident their

faith

* Sir Hen. Dillon of Dminrany, who o«me into Ireland
in ii85,lie was here buried. Lodge's peerage, vol. i. p. 146.

In 1241 » Albert archbifliop of Armagh, confecrated the
great church of thb n»onaftcry> Mac Geoght gens.

COUNTY OF WEST.MEATH. 89

faith and afllirance to keep and defend their
town againft all Irifli rebels whatfoever, and in
their aflurance the lord prefident thought fit to
withdraw his forces out of the town, trufting
themfelves with the guard of the town on this fide
the bridge. But it was not long before they ap-
peared in their true coloufb, for in a few weeks
time, finding that the prefident, trufting to them,
went every Sunday with few attendants and no
apprehenfion of treachery in them, to the church
which is on this fide of the town and near Dublin
gate, they invite Sir James Dillon, who at this time
commanded all the Irifh forces within twenty
miles of Athlone on this fide, to come to them,
and opening the gates la'^on a Saturday night,
receive all his forces into their town without any
noife, defigning to furprife the lord prefident,
his daughters and attendants next day, as they
fhould go to church, and having him in their
cuftody to attempt the caftle and garrifon. The
Irifh foldiers lay quiet till next morning, not one
appearing abroad. The time for the execution of
their defign drawing nigh, the lord prefident being
ready to go to church, and the ladies taking coach,
one of the Iiilh foldiers fitting and preparing his
mufquet, it went ofFunawares; the others who lay
ready, miftaking this for their fignal, poured in
their (hot upon the caftle windows, which altoge-
ther oppofe that part of the town on this fide,
for as yet the lord prefident had not appeared on
the bridge, and by this miftake, altho* fome
damage was done to the houfe, the prefident, his
family and the king's caftle were preferved.
Sir James being defeated in his expedlations, layeth
clofc fiege to the caftle on this fide,and on theCon-

naught

pm A DESCRIPTION OF THE

naught fide the Iri(h did the like, Mocking up all
paiTages^and manning all callles near hand on both ,
fides the river ; and thus befieged and blocked ;
up doth the prefident remain for twenty- twa^
vrecks time, nor were all the Proteftant forces ii j
Ireland able to relieve them, till fupplies camti
from England.

Atlaft in April 1642, four regiments of vo-
lunteers, confifting of four thoufand men, befideit
officers, rendezvoufed at Chefter for the Irifli^
fervice ; the colonels were the lord prefident of'
Munlier, Sir Michael Earnly, colonel Hunks amt'
colonel Cromw^n. This being now an unhappy*
conjunfture of time, by reafon of the differcncei
between the king and his parliament, the four
regiments being alfo detained by crofs winds from
the fea, theircommanders thought it their duty to
offer their fervice to his majefty then at York^
refolving to march to him thither, if here were wil-
ling to accept their fervice, and command them to
come : that pious and gradous prince, tho* he re-
ceived the offer of their fervice gracioufly, yet re-
fufed to accept thereof, faying, that being raifed
for the fervice of Ireland and relief of his proteftant
fubjedls there, he would not for any ftrefs he him-
felf was put to, divert them, and advifed them
with all diligence to purfue the war there ; a
manifeft evidence of that excellent king*s tcnder-
ncfs towards his proteftant fubjedls, then indeed in
great diftrefs in this kingdom, and enough alone
to refute all obloquies that in after and the worft
of times, were caft out againft the beft of princes,
whom all the ages of mankind had feen.

The

COUNTY OF WEST- MEAT H.

The wind at lad putting fair towards the end of
May, the (aid regiments with three or four troops
^^ horle and dragoons land in Dublin, and after
time of refre(hmen t , they draw into the fields
the command of the eart (now duke) of
i!^rmond, who then was lieutenant general of the
army in Ireland, who with them marcheth to the
lelief of Athlone, and by flow but wary marches
Jle comes to Ballimore, within ten miles of Ath-
lone, the Irifli in all his march not daring to at-
tempt them, yet ftill attended clofe at his rear, ta
llopes of picking up fome ftragglers or tired per-
^ns. Hither came the lord prefident to attend
the general, for now the Iri(h had drawn off all
their blockades, and here received from him two
full regiments of foot, his own and Sir Michael
Earnly *s, and two troops, the Lord Digby's of
horfe, and lieutenant colonel Moyle*s of dragoons,
but without any manner of provifion, not fo
much as one bifcuit ; they being to be received
into a place, that had been blocked up and deftt-
cute of all neceflaries. In the whole conduct of
this affair the care and vigilance of the general
was confpicuous, who in all this time lodged not
<Mie night from the army, nor was known fo
much a^ once to have his boots pulled off. The
prefident having received thefe forces, fent them
to (everal quarters, fome to Ballinccloffy, of whofe
hard fate (a bad omen to the whole party) I fpoke

before,fome toConnorftown,and fome elfewhere^
and it was expefted, that having a force now fo

confiderable, he might have lived of himfelf, and
on the blood of his enemies, making thefe who
had been before fo hardy as to befiege him, now
to maintain him ^ but the prefident, of temper

exceeding

9^

92 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

exceeding good, juft, and honourable, was fitlcr
for ruleand command in time of peace, rather tlian
war ; neverthelefs he often made impreffions oft
the enemy, never met them but had advantage
of them, yet wanting fait, and having but little
bread and that very bad, in a (hort time his men
began to fall into fluxes and other emaciating dif-
eafes, and tho* he was now free on all hands, wa< j
under as bad or worfe circum fiances, as when I
blocked up ; his men began to die apace of all \
manner of difeafes, which idlenefsCthe ruft of mca
of the blade) want of bread and employment
ufually bring along \\ith them, infomuch that in
one month's time, the foldiers died fafler almoft
than their furviving comrades could make graves
for them.

At this time it was that fixteen refolute blades,
rather than die at home like roiten (beep, refolvcd
to attempt to make their way with their arms in
their hands toDuhlin. They take their journey out
of Athlone by night, but were met at LowbaiHin,
about nine miles from Athlone, and were there by
the Irifti miferably butchered. Things going thus
ill at home, about the middle of July the prcfi-
dent takes the field, andmarcheth intoConnaught,
with a force of nine hundred foc^t and two or three
troops of horfc with one good battering gun ;
they fat down with this furce about the cafile of
Ballymartell feven miles from Athlone, in the
road to Rofcommon ; this lie forceth to yield.
Thence he immediately advanceth before Ballia-
tobber, the chief feat of O'Connor : here were
in a body about three thoufand horfe and foot of
Mayo forces under the command of one Butler,
together with the county of Rofcommon forceis

under

COUNTY OF WEST-MEATH- 91

inder O'Connor himfelf. The prefident, that he
aigbt draw them into the plain grounds^ makes
hew of retreat for about three miles, when facing
iboat he chargeth the enemy who had followed
im^ but in very good order, and were drawn upf
jBBd after a fliort difpute he defeated their united
brcei. Thus wherever he faw an enemy he was
jliAorioas, and yet fo unfortunate, as by all to be
Mhiflg advantaged, nor have his men better fed
ir better clad, but ftill to remain under the fame
ficknefles and hardfhips as before, a clear demon-
ftiation that the prefident knew better how to get
ttan bow to ufe a vidory. After this victory »
kving neither provifions and fcarce ammunition,
lie was forced to betake himfelf a little too early
n the year to his winter quarters, and dividing his
^ces, fome he quarters with Sir Michael Eamly
b Rofcommon, and fome he marches back to
Ithlone. During his abfence in Connaught, Sir
hmes Dillon was not idle fn Weft-Meath ; he
bad made a blockadeand encamped at Ballagheron^
ihree miles eail of Athlone upon a pafs, and
Gnom thence took the opportunity of the prefident's
lUence to ftorm the town on this fide, being at
this time but weakly manned ; the foldiers for-
(bok the walls, and betook themfelves to the de*
fence of the houfes that were in. themfelves
Srong and flanked each other. He prevailed not
igiunft any but the hofi^tal ; that he forced and
5red, and in it twenty fick foldiers were miferably
ximt ; but he enjoyed not bis triumph long, for
:aptain St. George advancing from the caftle
kle with his company, beat him out again with the
06 and daughter of many of his men, and forced
ana back to his former Aatioi^ at Ballagheroh.

Soon

94 A DESCRIPTION OF TH£

SooB after thisSir Michael Earnly wascommandec
toattack him in his camp, which he did and forcd
him to retire to his ftronger caftles oC KiUiniBi
and Kilfing-faughny. But as foon as his bad
was turned he took up his old itation again, and
thence continued to diftrefs the town as formerl/^
fuSering no provifions to be brought in^ and lini
again thro* famine and the badnefs of that final
diet, the foldiers began to die apace, and the prefi-
dent being now under greater difficulties than cfoA
ordered lieut. col. Moyle, an expert foldier, ym
his troop of dragoons, to attempt to make hii
way to Dublin, to folicit for relief. He marcfiej
out, but after fome miles travel, is met by retj
confiderable forces of the Iri(h, and the alarm fti|
increafmg, he was forced to retire fighting tftrf
Sep back again ; and thus fiUii^ up all the moH
fiires of a gallant commander and expert foldie^
he made a gallant retreat without lofs of one mwa,
Being hereat nothing difcouraged, he undertake!
after a few days the fame march, and thro* rntnf

difficulties and hardfhips, often fighting in greit
hazard, he at lad made his paflfige and broi^
his troop fafe to Dublin ^ there he fets forth the
dejdorable cafe of the Engiifh regiments at Ath*
lone. But alas ! the ilate was then in no conditiofl
to afibrd relief, they were at that time themfelvei
under great preflures; pity and commiferate thai
eftate they could, help or relieve they could not
The lieutenant-col. feeing he could not prevail
takes up his ftation elfe where in the war, for ina{
much as he could not, with Noah's dove, briii|
with him the olive branch, he refolves with hei
at her third going forth, to return to the ark lii
more.

Thing

COUNTY OF WEST.MEATH. 95

Things going every day worfe and w(^fe at
Athlone, the prefident is forced to conclude a cef*
btion with Sir James Dillon, by which the country
was permitted and encouraged to fupply and fur-
nilh the markets. But alas ! the poor foldiers
were little advantaged thereby, for havtng no mo*
ney wherewith to buy, they were tantalized, not
telieved, by the plenty of the maricets.

During this treaty of ceiTation, the prefident
bad feveral meetings abroad with Sir James Dillon
md his party, in one of which one Mr. Dakon,
the fon and heir of John Dalton of MuUin-
Mihan, who had married the lord bifhop of
Elpbin's daughter, a very honed gentleman and
a good proteftant, who had all along continued
cooftant and faithful to the Englifli party at Ath-
k»)e,took a fancy to ftep abroad, in the prefident's
OQmpaHy,'to fee his kinfmen and fuppofed friends.
Tb^ flock about him, and making Ihew of
g^t love, engage him in drink, and detain
In beyond the time of the parley, fo that una-
wares he ikys, after the prefident was retired to
Addone, mnidft his fuppofed friends, but indeed
ml enemies, who now firfl made him a prifoner^
t^Dghim the time of the truce was over, &c. and
immediately they fend to acquaint his father old
JMton of Mullin-Mihan, and demand to know
what he would have done with him ; he out of
bravado, whether really defirous his fon (hpuld
foffcr or not is uncertain, a(ked why they had not
bulged the rafcal ? With this kind of anfwer the
sieflcnger returns, and they, in whofe cuftody he
via, oiade no more ado, but immediately trufs*up
die poor gentlenxin, merely for being a proteftant
lod preferving his faith and loyalty to his king.

His

96 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

His widow remains withiis to this day, a lady of
excellent parts, and a living teftimony of lh»
_jcr^elty and pcrfidioufnefs. But let us return.
The prefident being under thefe ill circum^
fiances, was very defirous to have at leaft his
daughters and fome other ladies in a place of com-
fort and fafety, refolving in his own perfon to
abide all hardfliips to the uttermoft, giving fevenL
diftant meetings to Sir James Dillon, he prevailed,
with him at laft to procure from the great coundl
then at Kilkenny, free pafTage for his daughter^
and other ladies and their menial fervants towards
Trim ; and Sir James himfelf undertook the con-
voy, and very honourably performed his under-
taking therein ; for foon after he delivered up the
ladies and his charge fafe to Sir R. Greenvill at
Trim, which proved that happy occaGon of the
mofi confiderable defeat that the Infli got in the
firft two or three years of the war. For foon after
that excellent and incomparable lady, the lady
Catharine daughter to the earl of Corke, and wife
to Mr. Arthur Jones, fon to the lord prefident,
now lady vifcountefs dowager Ranelagh, who
indeed had been the chief of his charge, being
come to Dublin, and having audience before the
Hate, in a mod elegant and polite oration, fopath^
tlcally fet forth the diftrefs, under which the pooi
remains of the Englifli at Athlone laboured, thai
maugre all the neceffities and preflurc under whid
the ftate then groaned, a convoy to bring off tb
diftrcfled Englilh is refolved on, altho* if tha
convoy had mifcarried, it might, as things thei
flood, have hazarded the lofs of all the Englid
and proteftants in Ireland, at leaft about Dublin.

COUNTY OF WEST-IIEATH. 99

-— Mi qmd forma ft f^amdia poffii tmcpatuii.

The pow« of wk and beauty (he difplayed.

And accordingly that gallant commander Sir
Hichacd Gf envill ir pitched upon for this io im-
portant a ferjince, to whom all the forces tbitt
cookl iK fpared from Dublin, Trim and all gar-
nCons witfam call, in all iMt exceeding eleven
hmdred borfe and foot, whereof proportionably
but !vtryiow 4iorfe, were^configned. With thcfe
fae marches to Athlone, in all his way not im-
)»ded, only with fome lifde appearances anddif-
Jam Ikirmtihes not worth mentioning. At Ath*
iooe be ftays a few 4ify»until the (battered parties
nere united from their feversd garrifons, when
:sii.eorae together fhey were not nboye four bun-
dled and 'fifty, whereof tnany were fo lick and
weak that they were not able to march, fo mifer-
ably bad th^ been walled with famine and (ick-
nttfis'in«bout feven -months' time, (or it was now
alK>ut 'the beginning of February, 164a. The
fidk foidiers wepeoirried tm* their captains waggons
And : other ways -aHb of carriage were prepared
for ihem. Tk^ Ktng^ caftle was committed lo
1^ cuftody of the lord rifcount Dillon of Cof-
tpUoe.

Thvsall'betngin.a foadinefs, not the foldicrs
imly, \3KX ail the EngUfh and proteftants refoWe
imthis march, and with them I fliaU tntreatinV
<rcBder;to take his Ihare in thet^ and hazafds
Iheeeof asfarasRocbonell, thekft-of tluaeoiHi-
;iiy J AaUg^e^ny aocoum ^.

H ttoAoBCU

pS A DESCRIPTION OF THE

Rocho- Rochonell is feated two miles cad of MuUin-
ncU- gar^ in the way to Dublin, upon a pafs, I believe,
not above fixty yards in breadth of good channel
ground. The neck of ground that here divides
between two large and fpacious moors, is not long
before it opens and enlarges itfelf ; not mucli
above one hundred yards within it is a high rifing
ground, wherein is feated a caflle, and fome pirt
of an old bawn wall^ having a fmall round turret
on one end, all which one above another command
this narrow pafi». The moor on each hand this
pafs hath in all ages been efieemed impaffible for
horfemen, being of a low meadowiih ground,
interlarded in many parts with very deep Houghs
or guts, where water fometimes falls, neverthekis
they are traverfable enough by light foot-noeQ.
Thefe moors or low grounds are fo widely extend-
ed, that without a mile or two's travel backwards
and fetching a compafs of much more ground^
there is no paflage on either hand for horfe or
cart. This place hath its name from an andent
leader of the Irifh nation called O Connell Car- *
nagh, who here in fome age of the world, by 1
know not whom, was defeated, the memory of
which a£\ion lives only in the name of the place,
for Rochonell being interpreted, imports 0
Conneirs route or defeat. On this fo advantageous
a piece of ground to oppofe or difpute a paflage,
had no lefsa perfon than the great general Prefton,
with all the choice forces not only of Weft-
Meath, but all he could for the time gpt together
throughout all Leinfter, feated himfelf ; and to
-vnake fure work, he called a trench to be made
and a redoubt or breaft-work to be caft up, quite
aaoft the foremendoiied neck of ground, where

narroweft

COUNTt OP WEST-MEATH. 9^

anoweft from moor to moor, wherein he pofied
ii ion col. Inigo or Diego Prefton^ finee lord
f Tarah, who had lately arrived from fervice
I Flandera, with three hundred choice men«
ifitbin them where the ground, as I faid^ enlarges
fcif, was the whole army drawn up in very good
der, their feveral battalions of foot appeared
inked with their horfe, the caftle alfo above the
alls was manned. Their whole army, as I have
!ird fome fay, confified of feven thoufand borfe
id foot, others have not owned fo much ; how**
m the additional multitude of fpedtators who
3vered ihe adjoining ground, encreafed very much
le rqnitation of their numbers. They flocked
ither this day in hopes to fee a certain old pro-
xcy fulfilled in favour of themfelves; which
as, that a battle (hould be fought at Rochonell
tween the Englifh and Iiidi, and that the fide
party that (hould win the battle, Ihould alfo
n all Ireland, in this manner and pofture did
oeral Prefton attend the arrival of the Engfiih^
The Englilh being but an handful in compt*
m, had now pafled Mullingar, with their fick
i tired men. When behold ! their fcouts bring
the hafty news to Sir Richard Grenvill^ who
nmanded the field, of a great formidable army
iwn up at Rochonell to oppofe his paflkge*
imediately Sir Richard draws up his forces^
lich were in their march, into a pofture gf fight*
r^ for which he prepares. Being advanced
thin kenning of his enemy, he finjs his fcouts
1 truly informed, that col. Diego Preftpn, fo
vantageoufly pofied, fo well fmed, inuft be
acked, muft be beaten out of his breaft work,
:er that the whole army engaged and beaten

H a too^

1^ A b%%ClirttlON OF tHE

Battle of (|6b^ WtiCtV6*&^tbge^ and if no paflage all mu
J^^- pcrifh iy tlhemrd -, Sir Richard delays not, con
Triamis firft die body of foot to advance to tl
brealt ivork ^nd force thdr enemy thence. The
kidvshct up clbfe and fire, but Prefton appears rt
folute to 'keep hrs ftatibn ; he receives our flioi
tihd returns his ; tbefe firft failing in their at
^enipt, another body is commanded up torefiev^
Vtid fecond -theih^ they alfo make their itnpni
Tfioits but to no purpofe, Pi^on will not fe«fil;
qtiit'hts'pbft'; thus all the foot take thkb ktm
^hd all in viain ; at length the weak Athlohe re
^mcfiits, who in this day's march had the rearar
^iothc lip ; they tnuft on alfo and try thetr kn
*)uijes; biitliereit was well Worthy the couiag
^6f Engliflimcfh lb fee with what ala(tfity iEm<
^eerft^fethofe^jibbr, weak men addrefa thbn

%1V& tVfhc fight, evin the very Ifck mta, vrh
liith^rto hid liiln groaning in their uneafy waggon
bhdxafts, now forfakc their beds of forrow^ an
forgetting they had hitherto been fick, they fpiin
out as cheerful, as if they had not laft night ftrive
^tth the pangs of forrow und death. In (hoi
they advance with as much courage as the ftron{
tti men ttiere, and What is wanting in the
flretlgtb, is fupplied in their hopes of being foe
either vi£tdrs or ending their painful lives, in
lefslihgeringand moreiglorioils death. The loi
-pi'eiident's' regiment attempt with pike and Ihd
hgs clofe as hand and foot could, and try if not t
'^ferce oip their arms, yet by the terror of the
(ghaftly Countenance to frighten Preftoh oiit i
ills lb well defended riedoubt; but in vainDc
Diego, who had learned abroad what fervice wf
'Witt ildt mdre cafy to be finghted than forced

COVNTT QP WEST-MEATIJ^.

qok his ftatipp ; he bad by this timp omxi or twici^
boo refiered by fre(h men firom their greater
body, and appeared now as refolutc a^a^t the &r^
ooiet ; however no refpite was given him, ^nci^
Ihei^fed parties ftill relieve one i^npther bj
turns, Sir Richard being refolved cither to force
hb wsy, or here end his days. During this en-
gigement. Sir Michael Eamly had been cpm-
nunided to ia^ their horfe on the bog fide ^ he
oppofod their right wing of horfe command by
9spt, Bryen, and plied them with his fmall (hot.
Tins gentleman was that day one of their beft
pfficors; he had been a Germaa fpldiery and
came over in the Engli(h fervice, bad been ^OT^^t
onto Sir Thomas Lucas, but at this time wa9
ie?olted, and took to the Irilh fide ; he had 'till
now ftood manfully all their (hot, when at laft
recciviog a (hot in his thigh bone, he fell firom his
boric ( his (all fo difcouraged his followers, that
Acy now no longer ftood their ground, but drew
bsdi under fome covert from Sir Michael's (hot.
This gentleman's fall, and the retiring of his
party that enfued, I look on to be the firft ftep to
that glorious vidtory that foon after followed, for
hereby was opportunity miniftered to that worthy
Perfon, major Morice, major to the earl of Of-
toond, who commanded as major this day in the
field ; he feeing what was done, and the ^ound
bdng no longer incumbered by tho(e horfe, at-
tempted to ride over one of thefe guts or (loughs
ia the moor, eftemed 'till now impaflable for horfe,
but be found it otherwife, and retiring back again
he was immediately advifed by Sir Michael EaraLy>
to acquaint Sir Charles Coot; who that day com-
manded

» >* •

loa A DESCRIPTION OF THE

manded the horfe that were in the field ; he readily
advanced and paffing with his horfe charged that
wing that had already retired on the fall of thefr
leader ^ they ftood not his charge but fell back in
diforder ; at which the whole field take the fame
courfe and fly ; young col. Prcfton that hitherto
had defended his poft fo manfully, thinks now fit
. as haftily to quit it ; in a moment the whole
ground is cleared of the enemy, having broken
all orders and ranks, they flee on all hands and the
£ng(i(h purfue. Many officers look to the caftle, '
and yielded themfelves prifoners of war. Eleven
foot colours and one horfe colours were taken ;
col. Prefton, that fo gallantly had maintained .
his ftation, was taken in the purfuit, having le*
ceived a wound in the head. The new Frendi
arms, and the fine collars of bandoleers, are now
taken up apace, the Irifh foldiers difcharging them-
felves of them as clogs ; for as the matter (lands
now with them, one pair of heels is worth two
pair of hands. The (laughter of this day was not
proportionable to the number, or eagernefs of the
conteft, more by odds fell in the purfuit than in the
adtion. On the Englifli part fell very few % Sir
Abraham Shipman was deeply wounded in the
breaft on the firft onfet, but recovered afterwards.
The Englifh continued the chace on all hands, and
had the fpoil of the field ; but to them whofe lot it
fell to follow the chace northerly foon appeared a
(emblance of new work, for by the time they had
purfued as far as Lough-Foyle, not two mtle8»
behold ! our county of Liongford neighbours
appear as auxiliaries in a full body, who now
make hafte, hoping to put in for (hare in the glory
of the action. I will not fay, that they might have

appeared

COUNTY OF WEST-MEATH- 103

ippeuoi fooncTi if they had pleafed, aa fome in
tb CDoatry have reported, I am fure they came
wo Coon for themfelves, for finding they had now
I viflorious enemy to encounter with, they retire
m the fiune diforder they found their neighbours
io, aod about the verges of this lake met their
iovi| &te tbey made fo great hafte to overtake, fuch
only outliving the difhonour as had the good
fortooe to betake themfelves timely to their heels.
It fared better with the county of Cavan gentle-
men, who alfo were making all fpeed imaginable
ontheiame errand, for meeting at good diftance
by tbofe that fled ere they could reach the bridge
of Ballinelack, with the tidings of the defeat,
tbey fairly retire without fo much as feeing an
coemy, and march home in as good order as they
came forth, thinking it no matter of prudence to
provoke a victorious enemy. This was indeed a
%Qal day, a day of deliverance, for if all cir-
cumftances be confidered, there was but little
* ground for the EngliQi to have hoped to efcape,
bat that God, not themfelves, ordered ways be*
yond hopes for their prefer vation. The number
of the flain in this adion from (irft to laft is un*
certain, many more efcaped by flight than fell.
The vidorious Englifh reunite under their colours,
and march fafe to Dublin, fending before them the
joyful news of this good day by captain Vaughan
wbp, as well for his good fervice, as news, was

Having now traced thro* the places of moft
note I know of in this county, I fliall attempt Coftomt
to fpeak of the manners and cuftoms of thisi^rfff^^
people, and then conclude thefe my remarks. In
tMs I Ihall be more general, for that I find little

or

I04 A DESCRIPTION OP THE

or nothing that ctfn be faid in this county io tUa
rtfped^ that niay not be faid indifferently of all*
The cuftoms therefore and xnaimert of theft
people of old were in many infiaoces^ what we
term rude and barbarous^ much after ihe habit
of oiu former Britods and other Europeans and
nliore eafterly nations, before the power of till
ilncient Romans prevailed, who by conquering and
bringing them under fubjedkiont wrought tnd
moulded them into polite nefs of manners and
civil conftitutions. In hke manner our Englifli|
after they had in Henry the lecond's days and
fucceeding times got footing in this ifland, tock
care by llatute laws, to abolifh the worft and mnft
rude of their ufages, and in their ftead, tointio»
duce the Lnglifti cuftoms, laws, habit and
language.

It muft be owned, that this work, tho* a matttr
of great good and concern to this nation, in geB>
ral went but flowly on, it receiving many interrup
tions, efpecially when any difquiet happened in tbe
Englifh nation, and the people, tenacious cnoog^
of their ancient habits, did but flowly come into
the Englifli lure in this affair \ feme countries con*
tinued rude a long time, and fome are not quite
dvilized to this day % and hereunto many tlwigs
concur. Firft, The many diftradtions of Engbod
by civil war and contefts within itlelf, which not
only occafioned divifions, from minding the inter-
efts of this nation, but gave advantageous oppor-
tunities to the people to (hake off, if poffible, the
Englifh yoke. We need not travd far back into
antiquity for an inftance hereof ; we have one too
firefti in our own memory, the rebellion and war
of i64iYCDierpriaedatatime^ when the lung and

his

COI7NTT OF WBST-MEATH. 195

\m pviament wore «t unhappy variance with
tuh olher, and maiatauned during the raging war
Ifatt eofiied on thefe diffarencea» in England^ are
Ukicnt teftimonics not only what influcnoea the
4K»rder8 of England ha^ over Ireland^ one
thereof waa the withdrawing our armiea henee,
when we were in a fair profpedt of giving a fpec*
ij end to that unnatural rebellion and war. But
vliat ufe the natives endeavour to make of thern^
mnifefted in their treaty with a foreign prince, to
X reodved by him unto his protc£kion^ that with
sore eafe and fiecurity, they might (hake off the
Engiifli yoke.

In the next place I rank the degeneracy of Dcgene*
many Engiifli families^ as a great hindrance of ^^^ ^j^
the redudng'this people to dvility^ occafioned not ^
only by foftering, that is having their children Poaering
imrfed and bred during their tender years by the and M*^
Irifli, but much more by marriages with them^ by "*2**'
means whereof our Engiifli, in too many great
fiuniiies, became a few generations, one both in
manners and interefts with the Irifli ; infomuch Irifli
as many of them have not doubted to aflume even n*"'*^-
Irifli names and appellations ; inftances hereof
are but too many even this very day : thus a
Birmingham is called by them Mc. Yores. Fitz-
Simmons Mc. Kuddery, Wcyfly McFalrene, &c.
md from men thus metamorphofed what could be
ezpefted ? But to evidence the great evils that
enfiie on thefe mixtures we have a very late in-
ftance in one Tarrington feme years fmce hanged
in Connaught, as a tory ; this fellow was the fon
of an Engiifli foldier, who came over during the
late war and quartered at Athlone ; he marrying
an Irifli woman and dying left a young fon to her

tuition ;

io6 A DESCRIPTION OF THE

tuition ; (he bred him up after her manner, andj
he had fo far degenerated in his generation, thi^
on his trial he ccmld not fpeak one word of Eng^
lifli, and appeared with lefs either of Englifh maa*
ners or demeanour, than the meaneft of the Irtti
themfelves. But too many inftances of this
could be brought nearer home ; 1 know the (c
of Engliflimen in my neighbourhood, who
ready are become Irifh both in intereft, educatii
and religion, and very little differihg from
Tanington of whom we have fpoken.

Emolati- ^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^Y ^^ '^'^ ^^^^ ^^^ fooner
ons be- duced to the Engiifti cuftoms and manners, was

^^** emulations and ftrifcsthat have been between
^ greateft of our Englifti families themfelves, wl
for many generations together being fuccelfivc^i
at ftrife, minded more their particular fplenetic^
difcord than the public good, or their comi
intereft ; whence often it fell out, that inftead di
reducing the Irifti to good order, they themfelves
fometimes became obnoxious to them, and Vfot
forced to make fuit unto them for aid in their
hereditary conteils ; and thus weakening each
other, they become the fport and may-game
of them, who made a gain of their mutual
loiTes.

A fourth caufe, was the negledl of feveral of

Neglea our former kings, many of them feeming little to

of our regard or efteem Ireland, looking on it as a plact

°*** of charge and burden without any advantage to

the crown ; and indeed it haih proved fo for many

generations together. But I may imagine that the

caufe proceeded moftly from their own ncgledt of

it. But the fmall regard that one of the wifeft of

our

COUNTY OF WEST.MEATH. 107

[0ur princes, Henry the feventh^ had hereof in the
years of his reign had like to have coft him
for both Lambert Simneil and Perkin
Wbeck, two mock princes, found here pro-
i, encouragement and fupport ; fo great af-
had this natipn borne to thehoufe of York,
they willingly fuffered themfelves to be cheat-
by any that had but the impudence to fay they
of that houfe. ^uod vohmus facile credimus.
Vom hence the one immediately and the other
found countenance and relief in Scotland,
ided England, and had not the providence of
God and the good fortune in arms of that prince
interpoted, they might have fliaken his throne,
md tumbled his crown into the mire.

To thefc may be added the corruption of fome^^*™P^-
nferior officers of juftice, as fenefchals, fub-fhe-offic^,^
iSs, 8cc. and fuch alfo as have obtained grant,
rom the crown of forfeitures or penal ftatutes.
rhefe whofe duty it is to enquire after and punifh
bme fort of offenders againft law ; as for inftance,
ucfa as plow or draw their horfes by the tail, burn
om in the ftraw, &c. thefe very perfons in fome
Nurta of this kingdom, inftead of fuppreffing
befe barbarous and evil cuftoms do encourage
bem, by taking a general fmail compofition, as
me penny per houfe to licence or connive at them,
o ufe their barbarifms without punifhment ; and
his I hiave on good authority heard, is this day
lone in that great lord(hip of Boreftioole in Con-
aoght.

I might farther add, at lead for this lad century,
:he religion generally profefledby the natives, the
EUmian, to which they make it their glory, that
diey fo tenacioufly adhere ; and they feem to do
it as it were in contradiflin£tion to the Englilh,

who

lot A D.E&CRIFTION OF THB

wba geoeially have oaahiaced tine ieC9iim4» w
unHkft the Indian in die poet,

rr

wbo Iif4tve9. wou'd ibrbcar.

Tbefef I fVLppofc, ina; be reckoiie4 aofiongd;

caufes of the (low p^ogrefs this nation h^th mt

toward^ civility^ and accgmn[iQdatipn tooucEfiJ

li(h Iaw9 and cu%nis | yet thefe np^y/'^bftapdiqi

this people^ efpecially in this and the a^jioiiqri

countries, are in our days become more polite fa|

civi^ than in former ages, and feem very forwH

to accommodate themfelves to the pnglifh model

particularly in their habit| language, and furqamei

Vfhich t^y all manlier of ways they flrive to ^

£ngli(h| or Englifh like ; this I fpake of th^ Ufe

Irifli nowrior rank of them. Thus you haye IVfac Gotiri!<

^«K* furname himfelf Smith j Mac Killy, Cock i M^

names SpoUane, Spencer ^ Mac Kegry, Leftrange | &i

into Herein making fome fmall amends for oqr dcgi

^^^'°'' nerate Englitti before fpoken of. All the yout

of this age learn to fpeak Englifh in their pen

La^. fchools, the only good they learn there, nor

goage. there now any more appearance of the Irifli c|

mantle, or trowfes, at lead in thefe countries ;ai

^*^*^ flitho* the language yet remains, it is nevertbdc

fo adulterated, by the multitude of Englifli wor

adopted to it, that it remains no where now in

purity ; I know fcveral perfons of worth, wl

not only fpeak^ but write and read their toi^

exceedingly w^ll, who profefs they not. cm

meet ^ith inany hard words they underfii

n<

COl^Nt't 0¥ VKST-MftATH.

top

sot, but fi>me whole Iri(h books^ of which tkey
vet not abte to gi^ any manner of account.

The nobilHyahdgenti'y vahie themfelvcs very Andqua.
litgh on xht ttodcof ih«ir antiquity and defoerit,"^'-
and in this rtfpedt they little ftt by others; yb«
Aali medt with one or mcfre anliquari^, «s ihey art
leMned, that is dicduc^rs of thieir pedigreos, in
[ienaty great family, who wi(i with as mnch C6trfi*
and affiMhiae, rip up even unto Adafn,fook
i^perfen^ progMilors, as if Adaih iK^fe but ef
terday : he mouts up as high 4s Nosihas vf*-
tedty^ as if unto hiln he had asgobd bUthority^
what he d^liveriB, as he has Trofn Noah lb
[ftS anil what thiefb Indi fodelii«r is htlitVtA
F)A equal aflurancfe : rievtenbeleft \h6y arfe foittid
,-bjrihe>viiy u> ftep ifito Spain, an^'thto again to
rtduehmt'S^ypt, in -both which pkices I dare ven-
iMit tay <^lt, very little will be found on inqui-
5y» dttit^n fuftain thefe their confident deduc^
'As'fo'r England they love it tiotib wtll aa
'tb hohodr ft with their pedigrees ; and yet in all
likdfhood this ifland mud have been firft peofried
*oatof it ; for he who in enquiries of To gteat an-
tiquity, whereof no unquefiionable records we to
tehnet-with, makes his dedtiftion with moil ihew
tf ^probability, ought to be efteenied the toioft
Itfiui-accoiintant of time ; now let allmen judge
■wnether is molt likely that Ireland (hould be peo-
^pkdfrom Britain or Spain, the one being in view
of it at one end and 6f the main continent iat the
JDcherend ; whereas the nigheft coaft of Spain is
hot to be reached under feveral weeks fail, evtfn
iRth'« fair wind, and that in thefe our days where-
'{n-tbe ah of navigation hath attained to a hig^
perftAion.

But

no A DESCRIPTION OF THE

But leaving every man to enjoy his own feoti«
ments in this matter ; I fli^ilt here^ if my reada
pleafes, atteppt to divert him with a pleafiint ftoiy
of one of thipfe pedigreers, whereby will appear,
what value )hey have for thefe genealogies ; a cer-
tain gentleihan of Englifli defcent, and that do
higher than queen Elizabeth's days, whofe &ther
linked with one of the antient Irilh families, hap-
pened {o be prefent when one of thefe genealogifii
was v^ith great fatisfa£tion and veneration received
by tht hearers. This gentleman merrily requefi*
cd the antiquary to rip up his pedigree alfo; the
confident time-talker replied, that I can do witi
great eafe, for you are the Ton of fuch a perfoD,
naming his father, the fon of (uch a perfon, nam-
ing his grand father, the fon of fuch a great pe^
fon, naming his great grand father by his fumaroe,
who came over, and there (lops ; what fays thst
meny gentleman, can you go no farther ? No (ayi
the genealogift, not by your father's fide ; but if
you will have your pedigree by your mother's fide,
I will fet you up to the devil's houfe ! fpeaking
thefe laft words in a far differing tone, and as a
man rapt up in an ecftacy.

One great evil of this vanity in our Iri(h
gentry is, that you (hall hardly meet with any of
them, that fcorns not to take up any manual craft,
whereby they may earn an honeft livelihood, as
if like cameleons, they could live on thefe airy
vanities, that thus puff up their minds. They will
walk from houfe to houfe with their greyhound,
their conilant attendant, and fpend their whole
age in idle wandring and cofhering, as they term
it, and live, as if they were born only ffni^i$

corifumin.

COUNTY OF WEST-MEATH. m

<mfumere. Againft thefe were our ftatutes made
of cofliering and idle wandring. But aUs not in
this inftance only, but in many more may we
complain with the poet,

^id irifies querimomie
SinonfuppUcio culpa reciditur f
§^dl£ges fan moribus
Vmut pTi^iunt t

Horace.

But wherefore do we thus complain,
Ifjuftice wear her awful fword in vain f
And what are laws, unlefs obey*d
By the lame moral virtues they were made ?

Francis.

' And againft fuch f ruitlefs idle perfons, the fame
Judicious poet thus very ingenioufly elfewhere
inveighs.

Fanutftrvit inepius :

a^'ft^pei in tituUs ct imagimbus : ^uid oporiei
Nos facere a vu^o hn^e laieque remotos.

Horace.

(laves to fame

And with a ftupid admiration gaze
When the long race its images difplays ;
But how (hall we, who differ far and wide
From the mere vulgar, this great pcnnt decide ? ^

Francis.

This peopk of old were very famous for their Lcam-
teaming ; and indeed in thofe-tek ages of the>ag.

world.

tia A BfiSCRIPTION OF THE

woddf trherein barbarirm, like « torrent, ow-
flowcd aU our European GDoatneiy here odIj
fetrfong (bund fiui£hiary . Here then were niof
Csiinous fchools, and martsi of ktten, whcni
Foure before mendoned was one, and hither frooi
all parts of Europe they traded for this coqubo*
dity. i

Eftemph pairum commotus amere bgeiuU^
fyii iiillibemos^ fopbiA mirabib' chros.

Nurtured from youth in learning's mazy ftore,
He fought, for wifdom fam'd, Hibernians Ihore.

And altho' learamg tnthis our age, and for
ages paR, bath vgain^t footing in Europe, Mq
tnuchtis now it feems to exceed in arts and
all former times, no country that I hear of on
lide'theSofphorus, except Greece once the mif
-of all learning itfelf, being void thereof, yet Mj
(he not yet quite forfaken this ifland, for the peo-
ple ftill retain an ardent defire for learnii^, and
both at borne and abroad do attain unto .good
meafures thereof. There are from xthe inghift to
the lowed xlafles of thiem that are very ii|geilioia
and docile ; in this only unhappy, that they vril
not breed their youth in our univcrfilics, neither ill
this kingdom nor in England, .becau& of ^
religion therein profeffied, but choofe rather, bdm
not permitted to have public fchools of their own
to educate their chiklren under private .pcofeflbn
^ or elfe fend them abroad into France or Spainii

their breeding. Neither is a prieft now amoni
them of any repute, if he has not fpent fom

-year

COUNTY OF WEST.MEATH. 113

yeiris abroad. They arc much given to HoTpita* Hofpiu-
lity firowi the highcft to the loweft, even the mean-**^^
eft will receive into his houfc a ftranger, and im*
part the bed of his fare unto him : in this gene-
fofity they feem rather to exceed on ckrafions
Hian fall ffiort^ efpecially vrhen they make any
I^ublfC treats, for at fuch time it is ufuai with them
not to fufFer their gueil to part until their wholer
ftock of provifiotf be fpent. Their women arewome^
generally bnutifuU and love highly to fet them-biad-
felvea out in the moft falhionable drefs they can**"^^*
tfitatn.

Every Iriftt fumame or family name hath cJthcr s^p.
O or Mac prefixed, concerning which I have found names,
fdnie make this obfervatton, but I dare not undef*
take it ibalf fiohi univerfally true, tliat fuch a$
have O prefixed, were of oM fuperior lords or
princes, as O Meal, O Doniiel, O Mdtaghlin,
6ce. and (bch as have Mac, were only great men,
vh. brds, thanes, as Mac Gennis, Mac Loghlin,
Mbc Doneho, &c. But however this obfefvatibii
hold, it iis cenain they take much Kberty ^ahdfeem
tb do it with delight, in giving of nick- names ;
if a man have any imperfcAion or evil habit, hcNic^
ihall bt furc to hear of it in the nick-name. Thus"*******
if he be Wind, laine, fquint-eyed, grey-eyed, be
a ftammerer iti fpeech, Ibft-handed, to be Aire he
fliall have one of thefe added to his name ; fo alfo
from bis colour of hair, as black, red, yellow,
brown, 8tc. and from his age, a^ young, old, of
ftt>m what he addicts hittifelf to or much delists'
in, zB in draining, buildihg, fencing, or the lik^; {o
as no man whatever can efolpe a nick-name, who
lives aifiongthem or eohVerreth with theitt', and*
fomedmes, fo libidinous are' they in this kind of

I raillery.

A DESCRIPTION OF THE

raillery, they will give nick-names per antiphrafii
or contrariety of fpeech. Thus a man of e
ccUent parts and beloved of all men, (hall
called, Grana, that is naughty or fit to
complained of; if a man have a beaudfol cou
tenance, or lovely eyes, they will call him, Cuie^
that is fquint-eyed ; if a great houfe- keeper,
(hall be called, Ad^erifagh, that is, greedy.

The landlords of old were, and ftili are gr<
. oppreflbrs of their tenants and followers, and vc
much given to cofher upon them, that is, to coi
for fome time with their family and Uve on thei
neverthelefs they arc very induftrious to prefer
them from the wrongs and oppreflions of othei
and if this were the utmoft of their kindnefs
their tenants it were truly commendable, but
this they too often exceed, for many of th
will not fpare to protect their tenants ag^ft t
payment of their juft debts ; infomuch as af
you have been at coil and charges in the law, a

come with vour execution, you happen well if y
find not all your debtor's goods (azed on by 1
landlord for his rent, and fo mean a matter ii
with an Irifhman to be protected by his landlc
from the injuries of others, that it is a comm
faying in the mouths of moft of them, Wl
boots it me to have a landlord, if he defend i
not, both in juft and unjuft caufes; and anoll
faying they have as rife as this. Defend me a
fpend me, infomuch that it feems they give the
felves up to their landlord's pleafure, as to wl
he wiUetltfor himfelf, in cafe he will fuffer nc
dfe to do the like. Thefe things, tho' true as
the main, admit of many exceptions : for I kn(
tercnl that are truly juft and confdentious

tl

COUNTT OF WEST^MEATR. itj

tbeir ways, both fuperiors and inferiors ; and

this matter of exception holds not only in this

inftance but in molt of what I have written^ or^

(ball write of all degrees of this people.

As to the inferior rank of hufbandmen called, SctdlMes

ScuUoges, which may be Englifhed, farmer ortnifty.

bufbandman, or yet more properly, boors, they

are generally very crafty and fubtle in all manner

of bargaining, full of equivocations and mental

refervations, efpecially in their dealings in fairs

and markets; whereas if lying and cheating

were no fin, they make it their work to over readi

any they deal with, and if by any (light or fetch

they can hook in the lead advantage, they are"
mighty tenacious thereof, and will not forget the

fame, uniefs over- powered by the landlord, who
is the party addreffed to for juftice.

1 will crave the reader's patience to fufTer me •p^^A-j.^
while to give an inftance of the 4^hng of this in Com>
fon of men, and thdr cuftoms in the manage of mon.
tbeir hufbandry one with another. Every town*
land held by them is grazed in common, that is,
every man's ftock goes iildifFerently over all the
pailures of the town. The difference lies here,,
be who holds the greateft number of acres in the
arable, is fuppofed the more able farmer, and con-
iiM|uently is allowed to have more cattle on the
paftures of the town, than he who holds fewer
acres, or a lefler hokiing as they call it. The
great evil hereof generally is overftocldng their
ground, by means whereof it is too often feeir
once in three or four years, that they hazard the
lofs of their itock ; as they graze in common,-
/bone who is not ao^uainted with them, woukl*

la think^'

i\6 A DBSCRlt^TION OF TITE

think, that they plough in common too. Eor it is
uTual with them to have ten or twelve plou^s at
once, going in one (faiaU field; neverthelefs every
one here hath uUage diftin£t, tho* ail appear
fqnoed up in one mear or ditch. They divide ufu-
aUy one field into acres, half-acres, fiangs^jrhati^
roods i, and of tbefe they make fo many lots or
equal (hares, as there sire ploughs in thatowa ; b
aS: a. man whofe Ibare may amount to three acres,
(ball not btve pethttpa half an acre together, but
filtered up aad down in all quarterns of the fidd.
Thisaf ifirtfa tbrt)' that greatcare and concern every

^ nsan hath left he ihould be over-reached by his
neighbour ; and they will take upon them to be
judges to an extreme nicety of tiie quality sod
quantity of each cood of ground ; aiul, to mske
fure work, will bring their ropes to meafure, si
farmally as a^ furveyw bis chains. Their cnanner

. of divilfK)!^ is. tbus^ To cadi plough they redcon a
certain number of acres, which by a general naona
is called a (h^rt v each fliare hath particukrly fuch
apd fuQh. hatf acres or llanga alfigned to it bgf
nsjenc tQ make up the given number, and for
gimter equality (ake^ thefe are not given as the^
lie. in the ^ound, but, as they call it, they lay tf
Ia;^ac^ ftangor half acre to a lies (nor mat'
ters;!t whiore it lies) and on a good a worfe, in all
tbia^ ptetending the: greattft indifference imagpaa*
hh ;> whWithey have perfedted this work, which
u^iEt^jly tb<^ take time enough to confider of, a
^fwger might think they nought now permit any
qpei tfp cjbioiore his fhare ; neverthelefs ftill one or
t>|Po of theft (bsres are left worfe than the reft,,
and this t^. all k^ow too, but they difiembfai.
ibaic knowledge therein, purfuing ftill the grand

deliga

COCTNTT OF WEST-MEATHw ny

defign of over-rtaching one another, while everf
xnta hopes the worft will not fall to his lot ; and
Qov at laft they proceed to call lots for their
flints \ herein alfo are they very nice, even to
ikEculous folly ; for commonly they will call lots
with agreement before hand, not to be tied up
to t!o8 lot, but only to try how their lots will
G^t ; this done to no purpofe, at laft they will
oAlots in good earneft, the manner whereof is
dim, They call one (hare, made up of certain
acres orftangs as afore, the firft, and lay down for
it a ftone or turf on the ground ; another they
call the fecond, made up as the firft, and lay down
for it, a fione alfo or a turf; and thus they do
for as many ploughs as there are in the town : this
done each plough agree among themfelves on one
togiveina lot for each particular (hare, then the
firft puts into a hat it may be a fmall Hick, another
a pebble ftone, a third perhaps a fcrap of iron, a
fourth a (hred of cloth or rag, or a flower, tec.
and every man's lot is taken notice of by the
^e number -, this done they call a child or a
ftranger, who knows nothing of the privity, and
be takes out any of thefe and places it on the
firft, then another on the fecond. Sec. and thus,
every man comes to know the lot or (hare of his
plough; this done, and not before, begins the
buftle and wrangle, for they to whom the worft
Jot falls are fare to cavil at all that is done, and
now he telb exadtly all the faults of his (hare^
which before the lots caft, he feemed not to know^
and there is no peace Hill all muft fall anew to
divide more equal again, and if they have not a
landlord that can over-rule them, they will hinder

one

Ii8 ADESCRIPTION OF THE

one another from their labour for a month or two
longer. I have known when a wrangle hath
continued fo long that they have been forced to
break up their fallow in common, and fo likewife
to harrow it, and then at lad rather out of necef-
fity^ than any love to peace or equuy, they agree
in making their lots either more equal, or take to
it with more quiet ; yet fometimes are they not
thus itfelf fatisfied, for fo jealous they will be of
one anothers practices, that no divifion can ferve
or fatisfy, but that which is the mod nice that cio
\fe imagined, and certainly the worft and moft
incommodious, and that is by the ridges ; yet to

this, if peace cannot be had amongft them other-
wife* it comes atlalt ; and this divifion they call
by a term, that I may Englilh, the gut divifion.
3y all which appears how unequally and hard they
will be^ one upon another ; and yet ieem oifir
wardly to pretend to nothing but equality.
Jotntng in When the fquabble about dividing is over, they
Plough, as often fall by the ears again about joining tog^
ther or coupling to the plough, for fometimes two,
three or more will join together to plough. This
they call coar, which may import ap equal man,
fuch another as myfelf, and with a little alteration
of the found may fignify, help, right, or juftice.
Jn this alfo they are often very litigious, weighing
the ftreneths of one another to mere nigeti(s.
But in caie of difagreement, their cuftoms hath
provided for them, that with confidence they may
come before their landlord and demand from him
their coar, or equal man, or helper to plough,
which thqr count the landlord bound to provi4e
for them, and if he cannot, he is obliged to affift

him

COUNTY OF WEST-MEATH. iiip

am himfelf; fometime it fo fallethout, that a
xofis-graincd boor refufeth to afford his help, and
iriien required thereto by his landlord, looking on
iumftlf as fufficient enough for his own need
without any coadjutor, in this cafe, tho' the cuftom
obliges him that feeks the aid to bring every day
into the field his horfes and his tackle, and offer
aUb his own labour to the refufing party, to offer
alfo his proportion of feed in its proper feafon,
lod then altho* the refufer hath denied through-
out, the demander is to reap at harveft as good
s portion of the crop out of the refufer's labours,
as if he had been at expence all the year long. Bearded
This cuftom they call, the law of Owen with theOwen^s
beird, who was one of their antient Brehons

«r judges.

In towns fet to farmers, every houfe hath ap-^o***
pr(^iated to itfelf a (hare or portion of the bog
for turf cutting, by known meafures and bounds,
which whoever comes to that houfe is to enjoy fo
long as he lives in it, as v; ell as the garden thereof.
Thismuft lie wafte and untouched, until the own-
erbe at leifure to cut his turf, nor may his neigh-
boor, if more early at his work, lay one fod on his
portion of the bog. If he does, immediately the
complaint comes before the landlord, or his
Seward, who fupplies his place in all thefe toils,
who is holden to do right, by caufmg the turf thus
njorioufly laid on, to be thrown into the pit again,
f the landlord refufesor delays hisjuftice herein,
ooft ufually they will fall to loggerheads, and
ftentimes they do fo before the matter comes be-
ne the landlord, and then likely the (Irongeft
md carries all. Hence they have a faying ufual
3 thefe or the like occafions founding much to

this

A OSS eRtPTI ON OF THE

this purpofe ; a town without « kfidlord and n
Imll^ ie a tow a turned topTy tufvy.
Yenanu They hold bat from year ^oyear, npr da the^
from defire longer term. They have a cafiom on i
y«r.^ ftated day every year to oome and give wanmig
to their landlord to provide other tenants 4br
their holdings and houfes, and thti they will do if
fc^mally, as if they were in earneft, and yet tfftt
all they intend nothing lel^, for they will not lesve
the place with their good v^ill^ where they and
their anceftors have Tat. In this c^fe yQu Ihd
have feme of them tell their landlord, that thef
and their forefathers have been there as long god
perhaps longer than he, and they will not out dgr
him ; whither (hall they go ? and the like ftuff;
and this their (hinefs of leaving their anoent
habitation is not without fpme caufe. For if one ^
of them remove but to dwell in the r?ext coun^i
nay the next parilh, provided it be under another
landlord, he is on every little picque with his
neighbour reproached with terms importin^^ vaga*
bond, or a forfaken outcaft. Sec. and fo keen is bis
anima redeundi, that he is not at eafe within him-
felf, 'till he make way for his return again, to the
place, as he plirafes it, where he ought to be ^

Ne/a'o quA tkUale/olum dukedine cunflos
Tangity et tmmemorcs nonjinel effefui.

Whence fpringsthis love of home, thisfond defire.
This longing after our paternal foil.

In countries that are rocky, as fome part of
Tuomond, where corn is not to be had in fo great
plenty, for in the barony of Burren, fome part of

Gorki nroe

COITNTY OV WSST-MEATH. »#

Cofkimoe tod dfewhere^ their greateft fields txt
baa little cmfb ; they hare a cuftom every May*
daji which they count their firfi day of fummeff
Id irnve to their meai one formal difh, whatever
aUe they have, which fome catl, ftiraboutor hafty Sdraboot
fttddingy that is flour and milk lx>iled thick ; and
iBm fe holden aa an argument of the good wives
9)od hufwifery, that made her com hold out (b
vdl^ aa to have fuch a di(h to begin fummer fare
^rith ; for - if they can hold out fo long widi
heady they count they can do well enough for
^htt remains of the year till harveft ; for then
milk becomes plenty, and butter, new cheefe and
mfds and (hamrocks, are the food of the meaner
f)rt all this feafon ; neverthelefs in this mefs, on
tins day, they are fo formal, that even in the
plentifullefi and greateft houfes where bread is in
lAundance all the year long, they will not fail of
ibis difli, nor yet they that for a month before
wanted bread.

On the firft Sunday in harveft, viz. in Augufts^m.
they will be fure to drive their cattle into fome ming of
pool or river, and therein fwim them ; this they ob*^*^^*
ferve as inviolable as if it were a point of religion,
for they think no bcaft will live the whole year
thro' unlefs they be thus drenched \ I deny not but
that fwimmingof cattle, and chiefly in this feafon
of the year, is healthful unto them as the poet
bath obferved ;

Balantumque gregetnfluvio merfarefalubri.

ViRO,

■

In th* healthful flood to plunge the bleating flock.

but

-iZ% A DESCRIPTION OF THE

but precifely to do this on the firft Sunday io
harveft, I look on as not only fuperftitioos, bat
profane.

In their marriages, efpecially in tbc^e countrioi
Mairiagft where cattle abound, the parents and friends oa
each fide meet on the fide of an hill, or if v
weather be cold, in fome place of (belter, abotf
midway between both dwellings ; if agreemai
enfue, they drink the agreement bottle, as thef
call it, which is a bottle of good ^ufquebau^ sai
this goes merrily round ; for payment of the fOtH
tion, which generally is a determinate numbff of
cows, little care is taken ; only the father or neit
of kin to the bride, fends to his neighbours aoi
friends, fub mutuse vicrffitudinis obtentu^ and twf\
one gives his cow or heifer, which is all one indil|
cafe, and thus the portion is quickly paid ; never-
thelefs caution is taken from the bridegroom oa|
the day of delivery for reftitution of the cattle^!
in cafe the bride die childlefs within a certain day
limited by agreement, and in this cafe every man*!
. ' ^' own beail is reftored ; thus care is taken, that no
man (hall grow rich by often mar riages ; on the
day of bringing home, the bridegroom and his
friends ride out, and meet the bride and her friends
at the place of treaty, being come near each other
the cuftom was of old to cad (hort darts at the com-
pany that attended the bride, but at fuch diftance,
that feldom any hurt enfued ; yet it is not out of
the memory of man,that the lord of Ho'alh on fuch

an

* i. e. Whifkey, the Iri(h Aqua-vitae, and not what is non
underftood by Ufqaebaugh.

COUNTY OF WEST-MEATH. 113

in occafion ioil an eye ; this cuftom of calling
larts is now obfolete.

On the patron-day in mod. pari(hes, as alfoon
(be feafts of Eafter and Whit- fun tide, the more
ordinary fort of people meet near the ale-houfe in Patron*
tbe afternoon, on fome convenient fpot of ground ^'
nd dance for the cake ; here to be fure the piper
Ulis not of diligent attendance ; the cake to be
dtnced for is provided at the charge of the ale-Daaoiiv
wife, and is advanced on a board on the top of a^°^^
pike about ten foot high ; this board is round, and
ftom it rifeth a kind of a garland, befet and
tied round with meadow flowers, i^ it be early in
tberummer,if later, the garland has the addition
of apples fet round on pegs faflened unto it ; the
ibole number of dancers begin all at once in a
large ring, a man and a woman, and dance round
about the bufli, fo is this garland called, and the
pper, as long as they are able to hold out ; they
tbat hold out longed at the exercife, win the cake
and apples, and then the ale-wife's trade goes on.

On May-eve every family fets up before their
loor a green bufti, ftrowed over with yellow May-
lowers, which the meadows jicld plentifully-, in^*^
ountries where timber is plentiful, they ere£t tall
ender trees, which (land high, and they continue
moft the whole year, fo as a ft ranger would go
[gh to imagine that they were all figns of ale-
Hers, and that all houfes were ale-houfes.
On the eves of St. John Baptift and St. Peter,
cy always have in every town a bonfire, latein^ ^
e evenings, and carry about bundles of reeds on St.
ft tied and fired $ thefe being dry will laft long, John's
id flame better than a torch, and be a plcafing^^' v

divertive

l^l A DESCRIPTION OF THE

divertive profpedt to the diftant bdioMef; tj
ftranger would go near to imagine the wl
country was on fire.
Twdrc- On Twelve-eve in Chrifteias, they nfe to ftt]
^^^ up as high as they can a fiere of oats, and in it
dozen of candles fet rounds and in the centre
larger, all lighted ; this in memory of our favi
and his apofties, lights of the world.
Wdbs. At funerals they have their wakes, wMdi
now they celebrate were more befitdng heal
than chriftians ; they fit up commonly in a
or large room, and are entertained with beer
tobacco ; the lights are fet up on a table over
dead ; they fpend moft of the night in obfc
Tories, and bawdy fongs, until the hour
for the exercife of their devotions; then
prieil calls on them to fall to their prayers for
foul of the dead, which they perform by repetitii
of Aves and Paters on their beads, and clofe
whole with a de prtfundis^ and then imroedial
to the ftory or fong again, till another hour
prayer comes ; thus is the whole night fpent
day : when the time of burial comes, all
women run out like mad, and now the fccnc
altered, nothing heard but wretched exclamati<
howling and clapping of hands, enough to deftroj^
their own and other's fenfe of hearing • and tUi
was of old the heathenifh cuftom as the poet hatfe
obfcrved ;

omnes magno circvm chmore fremebani

Hmi morafeftmcaaflenles.

ViEG

Th

COUNTT or WEST.MBATH. laf

t gaping croud tround the body (land,

i hmften to perform the fun'ral ftate.

DftTDSK.

bthcy fail not to do^ ^fpecialiy if die deoeafed
leof good parentage, or of wealth and repute^
1^ landtord^ 8cc. and think it a great honour to
l4ead to koep all this ooyl, and fome have been
hu aa to hire thefe kind of mourners to attend
ir dead ; and yet they do not by all thisattani
I end tb^ feem to aim at, which is to be tiiougbt
iliooro fot the dead ; for the poet bath wett

Rriiur Uk Ma^ fit fim iiftt dokf.

p

The mily grieted in feaet weep«

(.Cbine fiages where commonly they meet with
pX heaps of flones in the way, the corpfe
wA down, and the prieft or priefts and all
ifearaed fall agam to their Aves and Paters^
j^ during this office all is quiet and huffied ;
a'this done the corpfe is raifed, and with it the
(-cry again; in this manner the corpfe is brought
die grave, where during the office all is huflied
tin'; but that done and while the corpfe is laying
srn and the earth throwing on, is the laft and
ft vehement fcene of this formal grief ; and
:his perhaps but to earn a groat, and from this
^ptian cufiom they are not to be weaned.
n fome parts of Connaught, if the party de«
fed were of good note, they will fend to the

wake

1)6 A DESCRIPTION, &c.

wake hogflieads of excellent ftale beer and wine

from all parts^ with other provilionSy as beef, &c

to help the expence at the funeral, and ofteo^

times more is fent in than can well be fpent.

Ifimili'g After the day of interment of a great perfdh

fcat. age they count four weeks, and that day foor^

weeks, all priefts and firiars, and all gentry far and j

near are invited to a great feaft*, the preparatioa

to this feall are males (aid in all parts of tbcj

boufe at once for the foul of the departed;

the room be large you fliall have three or

priefts together celebrating in the feveral coi

thereof; the mafles done they proceed to

fealtings ; and after all, every prieft and friar if;

difcharged with hislargefs. ,

Inny tbe This county is wholly comprized within th?

b^mtopr djoccfe of Meath, except only the half barony

^^^^ of*^^ Moygoifli, which in the beginning we told you

Ideath. was on the north fide of the Inny, and in lieu

thereof it taketh in that part of the county of

Longford, that is on the fouth fide of the fame,

fo iis the Inny from the time it toucheth on the

diocefe of Meath till it lofe itfelf in Loughree in

the Shannon is the boundary to this diocefe,

but no where that I know of runneth within the

fame.

^ Ufually termed the month's mind.

FINIS.

^Ue£ianea de Rebus Htbernicisl

NUMBER II.

CONTAINIIIG,

k LfiTTtR from Sir John Davis to the Earl of

ALISBUKT.

Oripnal and firft Inftitutioii of CoRBBs, E&&B-
\ACH%9 and TbBII 0M-LAMD9. Bj Abchbishov
fsHBR.

An Account of two ancient Imstbumbnts
edf diicoveredy iUufirated bf a Drawing.

Publifhed from the MSS. by

UjoR CHARLES VALLANCEY,

SOC. ANTI<1. HIB. SBC.

DUBLIN:

LUKE WHITE-

MiDCCyLXXZVI.

TO HIS GRACE,

R I C H A R D,

LORD ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH,

PRIMATE OF ALL IRELAND,

•

I

THIS

SECOND NUMBER

OPTHr

COLL ECTANEA

IS INSCRIBED IT

The Editor.

ijz ADVERTISEMENT.

Errenach^ or Erreineach, is compounded
of Err, noble, and Eineach, liberality ;
alluding to the lands appropriated or be-
ilowed to the church : this officer was alfo
named Arceineach, and Oirchindeach, the
firfl exprefsly means, liberality to the body,
and Oirchindeach implies providential
which in ancient records iignified provifion
of meat and drink. Hence, with the mo-
derns, Errenach, Arceineach and Oirchin-
deach, are fynonimous names for Archdea-
con, whofe office it was to take care of the
church, its property and the indigent poon

Tearmon implies a fanduary, protediony
otafylum, and is frequently written Tom-
ran, and Tomharn, which are fynonimous
names with Tearmonn. Tearm-naomh isa
patron faint ^ Tearmonn-^i, a houfe of
defence, and Tearmonn Magcrafdhe, was
the antientname of Se.Pattiek'8 Purgatory.

Some have erroneoufly thought that the
Greek and Latin Terminus (Deus l^prmi-
ncHiim) was derived fix)m this Teiitoonn
srhich has a diffisrent fignification. Ter-
minus is from the Celtic Tir-muin^ u e.
^ir. Terra and muin, patrimonium ; the
ixmndsof which being diftinguiihed by krge
onhewn fiones, the Greeks, according to
their -ufual cuftom of converting Celtic
words to the fenfe of the neaxeft in found

ADVERTISEMENT. 133

k theirown language, from thence formed
Tenoon fiom w^pf, i. e. finis. Terminus
was repitfented by a large unhewn fione,
even in the temple built for him, by Nu«
fluonthe Tarpeian rock, but was after-
wards honoured with a human body, placed
upon a pyramid. Plutarch traces this cuf-
torn of laad«marks and boundaries no far*
thcr back than the time of this Numa Pom-
pUiiis ; but Virgil proves it to be as old as
that &mous legiflatrice Ceres, fartiri /r-
^Camfum. We are not to feek for an*
cient ufii^es amongfi the Greek and Latin
tnthors, this amongft many others was dc*
n?ed from the Egyptians, who received it
^ the Hebrews, for as M. de Boze ob-
serves (Mem de T Acad, t. I. p. 50.) Mofes
^ not appoint his people to fet bounds
to their lands, iince the thing was eilabliih*
^ every where, but only forbids them to
CQcro^h. upon them,

Tcr-muin, or Terminus, therefore im-
plied si limited property of land, whofe
bounds were diflinguiflied, and is of the
fame fignification as the Hebrew ni^SD ga-
belut, i. e, limis, confinii;im, terminatio,
from whence the Iberno-Celtic famed gabh-
altas, which ^t this d^y means a fafm«

It remains only to explain the term luach
impighthe, mentioned p. 187 of this num-
ber.

,34 APVERTISEH^NI;.

l^r. The literal meaning of t^iis expre^on
fe> the fee of the petition, that i^i the fcti
paid by the Errendch to his h\ih(m on pe-
titiQnin:g for libei^ty fqr his di^pgfater tq

Tfc« Bditof takes this^opporttmity of ac-
knowledging his obfi^tions to Ai^hdeacoa
Mahoii for thefj^men^s of a* yahmblb^code
of the Brehonlaws. -Piart (yPthfe ffagment
is- in the colleflion bek>nging td'Sir j^)hl>
Seahrighty mehtibned in the firft hnmber
of this work 5 they do not foFfolJr ibr thjft'
^me order, and are miMd with odxeir^ ap-
patently of a more mo^Bm date;, 'Tt(l^ iS a
ftrong proof that thefe la1y$, sttlj* not
the reveries of a Mbnk or a $ard. Ijpt that
they were theeflablifhed laws of tfris il

The tranflation and; revifet of^tHeiJi laws
will take up a conliderable time j theBdj-
tor, unwilling to with-hold fo cuttious a
fubjed from the public until'the whoFcdre
compleated, propoles fbon to givie' t^eXb
laws in chapters^ in fbme fiibftquent num-.
bers. The Irifti to be printed, in the B,bman
letter on one page, and the Rngfifls traqr-.
lation on the other.

DuUin^ 2oth of -Mqy, 177^

is E t T E Ry

WftlTtm l>r THE Ytkt ife^ Hy

Sir JOHN DAVIS, Kht.

ATTOKNSr OEfrtRAL OF lR£LAl*fb,

TO

KO'BERT, EARL op SAtlStftJRV,

tHr M69r HONOURAliLB GOOD' tOR0»

X Am not ignorant how little my adverttfe-
medtsdo add unto your lord(hip*s knowledge of
Hie afl^irs of this kingdom ; forafmuch as I know,
your tordfliip doth receive fuch frequent di^
(Ufchca from the lord deputy and council hercy
ta' libtliing worthy of any conTideration is left
6^ tKem unadvertifcd. Becaufe, they, knowing
tilings a priori^ in that they fee the caufes and
glands of all accidents, can give your lord(hip
litbire taW and perfe£t intelligence, than fuch an
inffakiof minifter as I am, who come to under-
fticnd things a pofterion\ only by the e£fe&, and
by the l\iccefs. NotwithAanding, becaufe die
diligence of others cannot excufe my negligence,
if I oitiit duty in this behalf, I prefume ftill to
write to your lordlhip ; and, though I write the
fame things as are written by others in fubftance,
yet perhaps I may fometimesaddacircumfiance,

which

^36 SI 11 JOHN D A VIS

which may give light to the matter of fufaftanoc^
and make it the clearer unto your lordfliip.

After the end of the laft term, my lord depoff
took a refolution to vifit three counttoi in Uifti^
namely, Monaghan, Fermanagh, and Cavaoi
which, being the moil unfettied and nnieformd
parts of that province, did moil of all need hii
lordibip'a vifitation at this time.

For Mon^han, otberwife called M^Mahon's
country. Sir Willkim Fit^-Williams, . upon fjat
attainder and execution of Hugh Roe M*Mh
hon, chief of his name, did with good wifdoo
and policy, divide the greateft part of that cooD-
ty among the natives thereof, except the chord)-
lands, which he gave to Englifli fervitors, in
which divifion he did allot unto five or fix gootle-
men, fundry large demefnes, with certain iCBtt
andfervices, and to the inferior fort, feveoilfiiee-
holds, and withal referved a yearly rent unto tlie
crown of four hundred and odd pounds ; wherdy
that county feemed to be well fettled for a yetr
or two. Notwithitanding, the late rebellioii,
wherein the M*Mahowns were the firil aAors, re-
verfed all that was done, and brought things ica
this country to the old chaos and confufion. For.
they ere£ted a M^Mahon among them, who be-^
came mailer of all, they revived the Irifh cuttii^
and exadtions, detained the queen's rent, reduocd
the poor freeholders into their wonted ilavery ;
and in a word, they broke all the covenants and
conditions contained in their letters patents, and
thereby entitled the crown to refume all again \
they having now no other title to pretend, but only
the late lord lieutenant's promife, and the king's
mercy. I fpeak of the chief lords andgentfe-

men.

TO THE E." OF SALISBURY- 137

nen, whofe eiktes were fubjed to coodicions •
ilbeit theit was yet no oflke fimnd of the breach
of tbofe conditioas ; but ti for the petty free^
boiden^ whofe efljitet were abfolute^ many of
them whofe names were yet unknown, were flaih
in tbe late rebellion, and fo attainted, if any in-
qoiiition thereof had been taken. Of fuch as did
fcrvioe in die wars, and had their pardons, fome
were remofed and tranfplanted by the tyranny
cftheloids, and fome were driven out of the
couatry« not daring to return to their freeholds
widmit fpedal countenance of tbe Hate. And
tbot ftood the efiate of Mona^an.

Touchiflg Fermanagh, otherwife called Nfa-
gaiie's country, that country was never reduced
to tbe crown fince the conquefi of Ireland, nei-
iher by attainder, furrender, or other refumption
fbtibever, until Sir John Parrot's government,
fbo caufed Co-connaught M^Guire (father of
Hogh M^Guire, who was a principal a£tor in the
itte rebellion, and (lain in Munfter upon an en-
counter with Sir Warham St. Lcgcr) to furrender
iHthe county of Fermanagh in general words to
tbe late queen, and to take letters patents back
igun of all the country, in the like general words,
to faim and his heirs ; whereupon was referved a
rent of one hundred and twenty beeves, arifing
out of certain horfe and foot, and a tenure in ca-
fk. But this Englifh tenure did not take away
his Irilh cililoms and exadions; he was fuffered
ilillto hold his title of M*Guire, and to exercife
hiityrannyover the qucen^spoor fubjcfts, of whom
die ftatetook no care nor notice ; albeit there arc
many gentlemen who claim eftates of freehold in
that country, by a more ancient title than

M^Guire

138 SiajOHMDAVIS

M^Gnire hlmfelf doth daicn, the cYadbj. Go-
connaught M^Guixe^ btfving, thus obtained lettdi
patents, died feizcd of the counlry,, and aftetKi
death, Hugh M'Guire being faifr eldeft fon, took
pofleilioii t hereof 9 not a& heir at common hnti
butastanifty and diiefof his naitie; was created
M'^Guire, and held it as an Irifti Lord^ until hp
was flain in adtual rebellion, wbtcb-tre hold ait
attainder in law in this kingdomv Hereupon m
office being found, that Hugh M^Guire vraa kiildA
in rebellion, one couofellor Roe^ M-'Gutre, wfao(b
anceftors had been chief Loi:d€ of the coontryi ]
and who being reoeived^ lo graced had (K^ftfrmed
good fervice in thefe parts, had a patent of the
whole country granted unto him by the late-lord
lieutenant, and held it accordingly during' the
wars ; when young Co-connaught M^Gaire, brd*
ther to Hugh M^GiHre^ and fecoTKl (on to tlie old
Cb-connaught^' fubmitted hinafelf tp the latelotd
lieutenant ; his- lordlhip promifed biin> to divide
tlie country betwixt him and counfcllor Roc Ifl
performance of which promife the ftate here by
direction out of England perfuaded counfeltbr
Roe to furrender liis patent, which he did, and
thereupon fet down a divifion of the country, al-
lotting the greater portion to Co-cortnaught, ac^
cording to which divifion, they have fmcc held
their feveral portions ; but hitherto they have no
letters patents, my lord deputy having made ftay
thereof, till he had feen and underftood the ftate of
the country, and eftablilhcd a competent number
of freeholders there, which willbc more convenient*-
ly and eafily effe£led now, while the land is in hid
majefty*s difpofition, than it would be, if thofe
Iri(h lords had cftates executed or paft unto thehi.

Upon

?0 THE E. OF SALISBURY.

on tbefe terms ftood the ellates of the chief
Is of Fermanagh. But touching the inferior
)^emen and inhabitants^ it was not certainly
own to the ftatc here, whether they were only
isnts at will to the chief lords (whereof the
fxitain cutting which the lords ufed upon them

Sit be an argiunent) or whether they were free-
ers, yielding of right to the chief landlord
p$\Tk rents and ferviccs^ as many of them do al-
^flt^ alRrming that the Irifh cutting was but an
(brpationi and a wrong. This was a point
herein the lord deputy aod coundl did nuich
efire to be refolved^ the refolution whereof would
ive them much light how to make a juft and
jua} divifion of the country^ and to fettle every
irticular inhabitant thereof. Thus, much touch-
g the eftate of Fermanagh.
As for Cavan^ othcrwife calkd^ Breny
Tleilye, or 0*R«ilyc*s Country, the late trou-
fes had fo unfettled tlie poflibilions thereof, which
deed were never well diflinguiihed and efta-
filbed, as it was doubtful in whom the chiefry
F that country reftcd^ or if the chief lord had
:en known, yet was it as uncertain what demelnes
' duties he ought to have, and for the particular
nants,. they were fo many times removed and
efted, as their title and poiTedion were as doubt*
1 as the lords. True it is, that Sir John Perrot,.
nng deputy, purpofed the reformation and fet-
ing of this country, and to that end indentures
ere drawn between himfelf, in behalf of the late
jeen, on the one part, and Sir John Q'Reiiye,
te chief lord of the country, on the other part ,
hereby Sir John O'Reilyo didcovenant to furren-
er the whole unto. the. queen, and Sir John Fer-

rot

t3}*

I40 SIRJOHNDAVIS

rot on the other part did covenant that letters
tents ftiould be made unto him of the whole ;
beit there followed no efled of this, for
was thereany furrendermadeby Sir JohnO'l
neither was there any patent granted unto
during Sir John Perrot's time ; marry afters
when the late lord chancellor and Sir Henry
lop were lords juitices, certain commanders
fenf down to divide the country into baronies,

to fettle the chief fepts and families
which they did in this manner. The whole
try being divided into feven baronies^ they
two to Sir John 0*Reilye free from all count
charges and contributions ; a third barony t1
allotted to Philip O'Reilye, brother to Sir
O'Reilye ; a fourth to Edmond O'Rcilye,
to Sir John 0*Reilye ( a fifth to the foos of one
Hugh O'Reilye, furnamed the Prior ; and out ff^
the three baronies, whereof Sir John O'Reilye wu[
not poflefled, they referved unto him a chief rent
of ten (hillings out of every poll, (being a por*
tion of land containing fixty acres, or therealx>uts)
in lieu of all Iri(h cuttings and taxes. As for the
other two baronies poQefled by the fepts of
M^Kernan and M'Gauroll, being remote, an4
bordering upon 0*Rork*s country, ihey were
neglcdted, and left fubjc<ft dill to the Iri(h exac-
tions of the chief lord. But to the crown
they referved upon the whole country two
hundred and twenty beeves, which the deputy
ever fmce hath taken for his provifion. This di-
vifion oreftablifhment was made and reduced tc
writing as one of the commilTioners, who is yet
living, told me ; who told me wilhal that the)
were well paid for thcu- pains ; for he that had

lead

TO THE E. OF SALISBURY. X4c

had one hundred fat bacons given him by
country ; yet cannot we find any return for
cbmmiflion, either in the council book, or in
^ncery i (o as hitherto there were only pro*
made for the fettling of the country^ but
_ vf as really or cfiedually done ; none of
fuks or ceremonies of the law obferved, either
atcepting furrenders, or rq;ranting the land
again, or by any other lawful conveyance,
ion of eftates.
After this. Sir John 0*Reilyedied in rebellion;
pon his brother, Philip 0*Reilye, took
Mm the name of 0*R«lye, and poflefled
Telf of the country as tanift and chief lord,
ing to the Irifli cullom, and being fo pof-
was (lain in rebellion. After his deaths
ond CReilye, his uncle, entered in like man-
; and was killed in adtual rebellion ; fince the
^dttth of Edmond none of that fept was ele£ted
l^created O'Reilye, but the chiefry of the coun-
^ytj flood doubtful till the end of the wars.

T3)en a niece of the earl of Ormond's, being
, ihe widow of Mullinora 0*Reilye (eidefl fon of
Sr John 0*ReiIye, which Mullinora had been al«
vays loyal, and was flain on the queen's part)
I (bppofing that Sir John 0*Reilye held the country
f ^ grant from the late queen (which indeed he
never had) caufed an inquifition to be taken,
thereby it was found that Sir John 0*ReiIye was
feifed of the country in fee, and died feifed,
after whofe death the country defcended to Mul*
Tinora, who likewife died feifed, his heir being
within age, and in his majefty 's ward ; and there-
upon (he made fuit to Sir George Carew, then lord
deputy, as well for the grant of the wardfbip, as

for

141 SIRJOHNDAVIS

for the affignment of her dower ; whereas im
ihc land never defcended according to the
of the common law, but was ever held by
ifiry, according to the Irifh cuilom, w
there codd grow neither ward (hip n^t do
for the tanift coming in by eleAion, neither
)iis heir ever inherit, neither was his wifccycr
dowed. Howbeit Sir George did affign tb ha
third part of the profit of the country, and
her withal the cuftody of the body of her
but the cuftody of the land, during the
pleafure, he committed to the care of one
linora O'Reilye, great uncle to the fup
\fc'ard, whereof the poor gentleman hath
little benefit ^ becaufe not being created 0'Rdl|r
by them, they would not fuffer him to cut a4
exaft nke an Englifli lord, neither would tbcy
fuffer him to receive the eftablifhment made Ij
the commifllioners, becaufe it had been broka
and reje£led by Philip and Edmond, who fitheocc
held the country as tanifts, or Iri(h chefttiu
In thefe uncertam terms flood the poiition of
Breny, which we now call the county of Cavia.
I thought it not impertinent to (hew unto yov
lordfhip how unfettled the pofleflfion of thofe
countries were, before my lord deputy begari Ui
journey, that it may appear how needful it wai
that the lord deputy (hould defcend in perfon to
vifit thofe countries ; whereby he might have pp-
portunity to difcover and underfland the true and
particular eftate both of the pofTelfions and pof-
fcffors thereof, before he gave warrants for patt-
ing the fame by letters patents unto any, and
thereby prevent that error which hath formerly
been committed in palKng all Tyrone to one, and

Tyrconncl

TO THE C. OF SALISBURY. 143

CtxoqoqcI to anodnTy and two other Urge terri-
MM CO CDogheny and Randal M'Sorly, with-
Mt any rc^ie^ of tiy kingla poor (vk^eebh who
ifaiUt «nd boU the lands under them ; wherckgr
bllviMDttta are made Uttk kingi, or rather tf^
^u over tiieni, in ib mudi as diey oow beiiig
vooed and pmyed by the ftate, oaMot yet be
kamm te noake freeboldecs for the fervice of the
temoivraaltliy which before the paiSc^ of their
pUems, they would g^ly and humblj haipe
fMded unto.

^ Vke cAilertittefere of the threecoiaiiies befero
iiaiid flandini; \n fuch terms as I have before
o^Mflbd, my lord deputy, accompanied with the
kMI ^aaeeHor, the lord cSitef jtrftice, Sir Oliver
In Wit 9 mA^r Oatvet Nfoore, and being alfo
vned upon by myfelf^ who was for the fervice
Jdac4 In eommiCiofi of afTize, and gaol delivery
vMillie diief /uftice, began his journey the 19th
dbf of July, 1606, being Saturday, and lodged
titt til^t and the next at the abbey of Meliifont,
Sr Oarvet Moored houfe ; on Monday night his
kiiAip camped in the field upon the bfrders of
Smey, which is the inheritance of the earl of
^Msfi and albeit we were to pafs through the
iiiidi and vilell |mtts of the North, yet had we
Qoiy for our guard fix or feven fcore foot, and
SAy or fixty horfe, which is an argument of a
^aod lime, and a confident deputy. For in former
iiDea, {when the ftate enjoyed the beft peace and
acdrity) no lord deputy did ever adventure him-
iBf intothofe parts without an army of too or
900. men. The third night after our departure
rom Mellifont, we came to the town of Mo*
ii^gfaan, which doth not dcferve the name of a

good

144 SIR JOHN DAVIS

gpod tillage, confifting of divers fcattered cabbini
or cottages^ whereof the moft part are potkSkd
by the cad foldiers of that garrifon, in the nortb-
weft part^ whereof there ia a little forty which ii
kept by the fopt company of Shr Edward Blayiie^,
who is fenefchal or goremor of that cotinty bf
patent. In the mtdft of this village there is t '
foundation of a new cafUe^ which being raifed
ten or twelve feet from the ground, and fo left
and negfeOed for the fpace almofl of two years^ii
now ready to fall into ruin again ; albdt his nt-
jefiy*s charge in building hath been already laooL
at leaft. My lord deputy was aa much difpleafed
at the fight hereof, as the chief lords of die oouh
try are pleafed and comforted therewith ; becaufe
if it were ereAed and finilbed in that form aa wu
intended, it would at all times be a bridle totbeir
infolency. For the M^Mahons undoubtedly are
the moft proud and barbarous fept among the
Irifh, and do ever fooneft repine, and kick, tod
fpurn at the Engli(h government. My lord de-
. puty having pitched his tent about a quarter of
a mile from the town, did prefently dillinguiih tlie
bufinefs That was to be done, the determinio|^
the matters of the crown ; and the hearing all per*
fonal petitions touching debt and trefpafs, hekft
wholly to the juftices of alfize, and gaol delivery^
and referved only to himfelf and the lord chancel^
lor, the confideradon of fuch petitions aa (houkl
be made unto him, touching the landa and poflef^
fions of that county i which bufinefs, becaufe i^
was the principal, and taken in band by my UaA
deputy himfelf, I will firft trouble your lordflpp
with the relation thereof.

TO THE £• OF SALISBURT. 145

His lordihip firfi propounded to the inhabit-
ants of the country two principal queftions in
writing, viz. Firft, what lands they were at that
inftant pofleffed of; and fecondly, what lands
they claimed either by patent from the crown, or
by promife from the ftate. When they had given
their feveral anfwers to thefe queftions, my lord
deputy thought meet to inform himfelf of the par-
&ular eftate of the country, by perufing the book
of divifion made by Sir William Fitz- Williams,
which remaining among the rolls in the chancery,
the brd chancellor had brought with him of pur-
pofe for this fervice. By that book it did appear,
that the county of Monaghan was divided into five
btronies, viz. Dartrey, Monaghan, Cremorne,
Trough, and Donamayne. That thefe five ba*
ionics contain an hundred Bally betaghs, viz. Dar-
tieyai, Monaghan 21, Cremorne 22, Trough
15, and Donamay ne a i . That every ballibetagh
(which (ignifieth in the Iri(h tongue a town able
to maintain hofpitality) contain 16 taths, each
tath containeth 60 Engliih acres, or thereabouts ;
lb as every ballibetagh containeth 960 acres, the
atent of the whole containing 100 baliibetaghs,
is 96000 acres, befides the church lands. All
this country, albeit it were refumed and vefted
a&ually in the crown by the a£t of attainder of
Shane O^Ncal, notwithflanding the M^Mahons
^ heing ftill permitted to hold the pofleilion, no
Qian fought to have any grant theroqf, until Wai-
ter, earl of Eflex, obtained the whole barony of
^natnaine (otherwife called the Ferly and Clan*
'^ftvel) to himfelf and his heirs ^ and afterwards,
*^pon the execution of Hugh Roe M*Mahon,
chief of his name. Sir WiiKapi Fitz-WilHaipi

L ' divided

U6 DtltlOHll DAVIS

dividid atid djfj^bfed the other baronies iii tl
manner; In t!he Darlrey five ballibetaghs we
granted in demefnfe unto Bryan M^Hugh 0|
M^Mahoh^ then reputed diief of his narne^ ai
Che heirs male of his body, rendering 30 1. ren
viz. 6 1, for evbry balUbetagh, the other 1 6 baltifa
faghs were divided among the ancient inhabitar
of that batx3iihy, fome having a greater portion i
Ibtted, JEind Ibcne a fefs ; howbeit every one d
render a yearly rent of ao s. out of every tat
ivhereof sa & 6d. was granted to Bryan M^Huj
Oge M^Mahon, as a chief rent in lieu of
other dUtiJ^ ajRd ^s. 6d. was refervedtot
crown ; which plot Was obferved in every of t
other birbnies, fo as out of every baHibets^ co
taihing fiktten talhs, the lord had 10 1. and t

king6l.

In Monaghan^ Rofs Batie M^Mahon had lik
wife iiv^ ballitietaghs granted unto him, with t
like eftate, rendering to die queien $6 1, rent, ai
the like chief tent^ as aforefaid, out of nine ball
betaghs more, and in the fame barony Patri<
M* Alt Moyle had three ballybetaghs allotted un
him with the lite eftaic, rendering 18 1. rent
the qubcn^ and the like chief rent out of t
other fooTi,

In G^ifrtorne, Ever M*GoIla M^Mahoft, w
#lw the firft o( that name that entered into t
kfc I'ebelHdii, -iind is now fkrmer to my lord
Effex of all his lands in thiat county, had f:
iMUlybcfiighs in demefee granted unto him, a
tNe^hfcrrs fni^tet>F his body, rendering 30I. n
ib^ croWni tmd flie like chief rent out of twd
diher\)kAyb!^hS| and m ^he fame barony c
ntiick VhOk M^CcXtk MPNfahon hkd two b
^ lybcta{

TO TUB t. OF SALISBURY. 'm

lybetflghs and an half aifigticd to him in dMBeTne^
itfldering 15I. rent, and the like chief real out of
nro other baronies and a half.

In the Trough containing only fifteen bally-
beugha, Patrick M'Kenna had three baUytag^hs,
ind twelve taths in dtftiefne, gven untohim^ with
the like eftate rendering aat. rent as afore&idy
lod the Yikt chief rent out of the feven other bally-
betighs^ and in the fame barony ont Bryan Oge
M^Mabowne, brother to Hiigfl Roe, who was
executed and the like eftate granted unto him in
three bally betaghs, rendering 18I rent in like
inAnner^ and the like chief rent out of two other
ballybctaghs, and under this condition, that if
the patentees or their affigns, did not within five
years build a cafile upon fome part of this land,
contained in the patents, their feveral grants to be
void.

Thus it appeared, that thefe four baronies were
then beftow^ among die chief lords or gentlemen
of that county, and as they had tfadr dfemefne and
rents allotted urito them^ (b the inferior inhabit*
ants, which were fo many in number, as it is not
fit to trouble y6ur lord(hip with the lid of their
particular nanies^ were all named in the book of
divifioti, and had their feveral portions of land
granted unto them, and to their heirs s howbtit
the eftates made to thefe petty freeholders were not
fnbjedt to any conditions to df fie^t the liutte, but
only to a nomne pent for non payment of the Se-
veral rents ; whertes Mi every grant made to the
lords, there was a threefold prorifo, vit. that if
any of them took upon him the name bf M^Ml*
hon, or did fail of payment of the queeo'fi letir,

. »*r
L %

M« S I R J O H N D A V I S

or entered into rebellion, and were thereof at_
^ ^ainted^ their letters {>atents (hould be void.

Thus the temporal lands were difpofed. F<^,
the church land, the abbey of Clunis, which ws^^
the only abbey of any value in that county, wa^
formerly demifed to Sir Henry Duke for yea« .
but the reft of the fpiritual lands, which the Irilh
call Termons, they were granted to fundry fervi-
tors rendering los. to the crown for every tath ;
which, out of all the church lands, amounted to
7dl. per annum, or thereabouts; but as wel
tbefe patentees^ as the former, did all fail in per-
formance of the* conditions, whereupon their fc-
veral eftates depended ; fo as there wanted nothing
but an office to be found thereof for the making

• void of all their patents ; and therefore as foon as
the ftate of the pofieffions of this country did ap-
pear unto my lord deputy to (land in fuch fort as

' U b^ore exprefled^ his lordfliip forthwith com-
manded me to draw a fpecial commilfion dire£ted

• among others to the chief juftice, and myfelf, to
enquire as well of the breach of conditions con-
tained in the grams before mentioned, as alfo of
all efcheated and concealed lands in the county.
Accordingly thecommiflion was drawn, and feal-

•cd in the hamper, in the execution whereof we im-
-pannelled as many of the patentees themfelves as
^ Appeared at the feffions, to enquire of the articles
**'0niained in the commiflTion, fo as they them-
"felves found their own letters patents void, fome

• for non-payment of the king's rent, and others
^for not building of ca flies within the time pre-
*(cribed ; befides they found divers of the infe-

ttor freeholders to have been flain in the late re-
•bdlion, whereby eight or nine bally betaghs ef-
cheated

TO THl-^. OF SAliSRXHtT. r49'

clitttcd to the cr6wn, every ballybeiHgh (as I faid
before) containing* 560 acres, or thereabouts ;
which office being found, there refted in the pof-
ftffion of the crown the greatcft part of that

county.
This being done, my lord deputy entered into

council, in what manner he might beft difpofe
and refettle the fame again, according to his in*
ftrudtions received out of England in that behalf ;
wherein albeit his iordftiip did refolve to determine
6f nothing finally before his return to Dublin^
wherewith the reft of the council be propofed to
digcft all the buGnefs of his journey ; yet having
an intent to make fome alteration of the former
divifion, his lordfhip acquainted the principal
gentlemen and lords therewith, moving them to
give their free confents thereunto, to the end that
tbofe fmall alterations might not breed any dif*
fcrcnce or difcord among them ; fo thereupon his
lordlhip did in a manner conclude, that Bryan
M*Hugh Oge ihould be reftored to all that he had
by the former divifion, except one or two bally-
betaghs, which he was well contented fliould be
difpofed to two young children, his near kinfmen •
for which he was permitted to receive recompcnce
out of the land efcheated within his barony.

That Patrick M*Art Moylc (hould likewifc be
reftored in integrum ^ howbeit he was not well
contented therewith \ alledging, that my lord lieu-
tenant, when he received him to grace promifed
to make him equal in poffeflions with Bryan
M'Hugh Oge ; but my lord deputy found an eafy
way to perform that promife. Notwithftanding
his lordfhip defigned unto him one bally betagh
more, being parcel of the barony of Trough^

which

whidi lying npon Uic hordq'.cf T^roPC hat
biecn po({cffe4 of late bf the ftrl, w^ pr^wdet
that it 13 parod of hU epuntriefi.
. T^at Rpfa Bane Nf ^Mf^o\¥ii fliQuU lilqewife fa
eftablilhed in all his former poflfeifionSy one h^lly
betagh excepted^ wbi«h: hc fnnk;}y gav? to on
ci his kinfmen ^bo wi)s forgotten iq thcl«it di
vifion.

That Patriqk M^Kenna ^nd pry^n Qge M^Ma
bon Ihould hold all their lands and rents with
Qut any alteration fit aU- 9ut the grefite(( pbang
\Kas to be m^do in |he barony of Qremorne
the greaceft part whereof was by the former di
vifiQQ aihgticd to Eve^ M'Co|la, who notwith
Handing never enjoyed any part diereo, becaut
that one Art M'Ho|ry M'Mahon^ an aftive am
dei'perate fellow, who had a very (t^^Xi portioi
given him by Sir William Fitz* Williams, ix|akin{
claim to that whol^baiony did eycr (ince by ftronj
hand withhold the ppiTeiUon thereqf fi-om Eve
M'Colla ; therefore not v\ithout confent of Eve
himfelf, hislordfhipafligncd to Art M*Roryc Bvi
bally beiaghs in that barony ^ and becaufe a plao
called Bally lurgan, containing twp hallybetaghi
lyeth in the midway between Monaghan and tb
Newry, which two towns are diftant the one fron
the other twenty-four miles ; and for as much a
Monaghan being an inland town, cannot be Tup
plied with vidtuals, but from the Nevvry, and tha
it is a matter of great difficulty, in time of w^r, t(
convey viiftuals twenty-four miles, having n<
place of fafety to reft in by the way, therefore hit
lordftiip thought it very necei&ry for the (ervio
of the eftate, to referve thofe two b^Uybetagfas
and to pafs fome eftate thereof to the governor a

Monaghan

/

TO T^E ^ OF ^AL^jSBURT. i{t

Mooagh^n, who dp^b under^ke within (hort tii^^
to build a Oifilt thcrcMppn at his pwn ch^sg^^^
Thefe kvtn, balilbeta|^hs (icing refumcd fropiEver
M'CoUa, h^ hath yet allotted unto him ^nd hifi
(bas in demefn?^ iiKl ia chi^fry ten ballilpetaghs^
ortb^eabouts; albeit Patrick Duffc M'CpUa hi$
kinfm^, doth ftill hold his five ballib^taghs i^>
cordiflg to the Brft divifion. This refumption
was made upon Ever M^olla for two caufes*
firft in regard the fiate (hall not put him in quiet
pofle^pn of a good part of that barony, whereas
before he did not enjoy any part thereof: fecondly.
beauTe he holdeth a whole barony in farm from
my lord of Efiex, wherein he hath fo good a pen-*
ayworth, as he is grown fince the wars to be pf

Sealer wealth than all the reft of his name be^;'
, Ics.

This much was intended for the principal
^Qtlemen and lords of the country. As for the
petty freeholders, fuch of them as have furvived
the wars, and not being attainted, have been (ince
pardoned, do owe good eftates in law ftill, and
need only to be eftablifhed in their feveral poflef-
fions, ail which his lordfhip hath a purpofe to dp
by a general order ; but the lands of Tuch as were
fUinin rebellion, his lord(hip allotted two or three
ballibctaghs thereof, lying in the barony of Mo-
nagban, unto divers caft Ibldiers dwelling in that
poor town, which will be a good ftrength to that
garrifon, the remnant being fcattcrcd in other ba-
ronies, his lordfliip hathdifpofed to fuch of the in-
habitants as were commended for their inclination
to prove civil and loyal fubjedts. Lailly, the pa-
tentees of the fpiriti^al or termon lands making
fmt to his lordfliip tp be refiored to their feveral

portions

152 S I R J O H N D A V I S

portions granted to them upon the former dtvifioO|
his lordfhip thought fit to extend the fike favour
unto them Iriniiie. And thi^is theeffeftof tbit
'bqfinefs, which his lordlhip refervcd unto himfdfi
^vherein his lordfhip doth mate this a year of
jubilee to the poor inhabitants of this county of
Monaghan, becaufe every man (hall return to hii
own houfe, be reftored to his ancient pofleflions,
and withal have the arrear of his rent to the king
remitted ; which is indeed a great matter, for the
arrear of this county doth amount to 6000I. at
leaft.

• Touching the fervices performed in this county
by thejufticesof affize, albeit they found few pri-
foners in the gaol, the moft part being bailed by ^
Sir Edward Blaney, to the end the fort whcrg j
the gaol is kept might not be peftered with tbcra, '
yet when fuchas were bailed came in upon their
Recognizance, the number was greater than wi
cxpefted. One grand jury was fo wellchofen, at
they found with good expedition all the bills rf
indidtment true : but on the other fide, the juria -
that were impannelled for trial of the prifoncr^ :
did acquit them as faft, and found them not ■
guilty ; which, whether it were done for favour oT
for fear, it is hard to judge ; for thp whole coun-
ty, confifting of three or four names only, name-
ly, M*Mahon, M'Kenna, M*Cabe, and O/Con-
nolly , the chief was ever of one of ihofe names^
and of ihele names this jury did confift, foas \\
was impoflible to try him but by his kinfmen \
and therefore it is probable, that the malefadtors
were acquitted for favour ; but on the other par't
we were induced to think, that fear might be tim ^
caufe ; forafmuch as the poor people feemed ver^

unwillin

TO THE. E. OF SALISBURY. 15:

vSEog to be fworn of juries, alledgtng, that if
!]f condemned any man, bis friends in revenge
M rob, or bum, or kill them for it ; and
: the like mifchief had happened to divers
rs finoe the laft feffions holden there ; fuch is
wbarous malice and impiety of thefe people :
nthfianding when we had punifhed one jury
good round fines and imprifonment, for ac*
ing fome prifoners contrary to diredt and
nant evidence, another jury being impannelU
KT trials of others, found two notorious male-
irs guilty, whereof one was a notable thief, and.
3tber a receiver of thieves, both which were
mxly executed, and their execution (Iruck
t terror into the bed men in the country ; for
leef which they eat in their houfes, is for the
part ftolen out of theEnglifh pale ; and for
purpofe every one of them kecpeth a cun-
thief, which he calleth his caterer. Bryan
M'Mahon, and Art M^Rorye, two of the
apal gentlemen before named, were indidted
be receiving of fuch Healths ; but they ao-
vledging their faults upon their knees before
ord deputy, had their pardon granted unto
I ; fo, as I believe, ftolen flefh will not be fo
t unto them hereafter.

^hen we had delivered the gaol, we impan-
d another jury to enquire of the ftate of the
::h in that county, giving them thefe fpccial
ics in charge, viz. how many parifh churches
: were in that county ? who were patrons? who'
incumbents.^ which of the churches were
iently repaired, and what decayed f of what
ly value they were f what glebe, tythcs, or

other

H^ SIR JQ«N I?AV?a

otihcr duties b?lpngc4 imtqi evef j ^hvurch ? imd
If llfl ft)Qk the pyrofits thereof.

This we 4i4 \>j vif tije pf that great commii
Mehich W9S fipnt o>it of England about tweli
iQomh9fiDCe; wh^l^y the comrxuflfiG^^
authortey ^mong othcjr things tp eiiq^irei of
points^ and thereupon to take prder for
re?edifylng and repairing of the churdies, and
the placing of fuiiicient incumbents therein,
point of that commifl^on was i^ot before time
in execution any where^ albeit it was fundry di
liioved at the council table, that fon^ewh^^
be done therein. But the bifliops that fit at thie^
board, being not very well pieafisdy that lay<^'
men (hould internoeddie with ccclefiaftical mat<H
ters, did ever anfwer that motion in this mannsr,' ^
^^ Let us alone with that bufmefs, take yotu »f
** care for thatj we will fee it cffefted we wairiDf
** you." Notwitliftanding there hath been ((f
h'ttfe care taken as that the greateft part of tin
churches within the pale lie ftill in their ruins: for 8$
the common people (whereof many without doubt
would conform themfelves) have no place to rc-
fbrt unto, where they may hear divine fervice, this
confideration moved us to enquire of the (late of
the church in thefe unreformed counties ; the in-
qulfilion prefented unto us in this county was in
tUtin, becaufe the principal jurors were vicars
and clerks; it appeared that the churches for the
moft part are utterly wafte, that the king is pa-
tron of all, and that the incumbents are popiih
priefts, inftituted by bifliops, authorized from
Rome. Yet many of them, like our old priefls
of queen Mary's time in England, ready to yield
conformity. When we had received this parti-
cular

TO THR ^. OF SAl,IS9URT. C55

culariafbrmatiQn, it wm thought m^t %o rcforvc
it, vid fuTpead and ftay aU proqc^ding^ theie*
upoQ mtii the hi(hop pf Derry, Raphoe, aod
Clogher (which three diocefe^ cgmprehcndcd the
neateft part pf fJlft^Tt ail^it they he now uaiied
& one man'a b^oefitj fliall arrive out of England}
wbofeabfence, being two years finee he waseleA*
ed by his naajelly, hath been the chief caufe that
Qo courfe hath hitherto been taken to reduce this
pOQr people to duillianity, and therefore at^'itf

LaiUyi for the civil government of this county,
we made ieveral orders ; firft , for the building of a
gaol and feiSoo^-houfe we impofed a tax upon the
county (by cofifent of the chief gentlemen and
fireclioldera) of i^ljer. and for the furplufage of
the charge we moved my lord deputy and council
to proqiife an allpwance out of the fines and ca*
fualcies of that county. Next for the erecting of
^ frre fchool, aT\d maintenance of a. (choolmaller
ifl Monaghan, we prevailed with the chief lords
fofar, as they yielded to contribute %ol a year
to that uTe; finally, we received and enlarged
ipodry former orders made for the mending of
highways, clearing of places, and bringing of
lazy and idle men to juftice, 8cc.

This is the efifed of all our proceedings in the
county of Monaghan.

From Monaghan we went the firft night to the
ruins of the abt>ey of Clonays, where we camped ;
and paflfmgfrom thence through ways almoll im-
paflable for our carriages by rcafon of the woods
and bogs, we came the fecond night after to
the fouthfide of Lougherne, and pitched our
teats Qver aga'uilt the ifland 9f Peveoifby a place

being

156 SIR JOHN DAVIS

being prepared for the liolding of olir feffions for
Fermanagh, in the ruins of an abbey there. Hat
my lord deputy diftinguifhed the bufinefs as
had formerly done in the county of Monag
referving unto himfelf the difpofition and fettii
of the lands of inheritance, and leaving unto
the ordinary matters both criminal and civil.
For the lands of inheritance in Fermanagh, t'
flood not in the fame terms as the lands in Mi
naghan. For the fignorie or chiefry, and the
mefne lands, that were the inheritance of M^Gdi
himfelf, were reduced and vefted in the crown
two feveral inquifitions found after the death
Hugh M'Guire, the arch-rebel, of whom I ha
fpoken before, the one found in Munftcr, w
fhortly after he was (lain in adtuai xebellton t
by fpecial commii&on, and the other in Fera
nagh by the late lord chief baron, by virttie
his office of chief baron two years fince, when
was juftice of affize in that county, both w
offices are returned and remain of record, the one
in the chancery, and the other in the exchequcf.
But forafmuch as the greateft part pf the inhabit*
ants of that country did claim to be freeholder
of their feveral poffeffions, who furviving the late
rebellion, hac^ never been attainted, but having ^^ !
ceived his majefty's pardon, flood upright in law;
foas we could hot clearly entitle the crown to their
land, except it were in point of conqueft, (a title
which the ftate hath not at any time taken hold of
for the king againft the Iri(h which upon the
conqueft were not difpofleffcd of their lands, but
were permitted to die, feifcd thereof, in the king's
allegiance, albeit they held the fame not according
to the courfe of common law, but by the cuftoiti

ol

TO THE E. OF SALISBURY. 157

of ttnlttry,whcrcby thecldcft of every fept claimed

g ctiehy over the reft, and the inferior fort di-
[ vided their poflef&ons after the manner of gavel

kiad) therefore it was thought meet to impannel
1 jury of the mod fufficient inhabitants to enquire
ind preient how many freeholders there were, and
what lands they held in this county, and what cer^^
tain rents and fervices they yielded to the M^Guire
or other chieftains and tanifts in ancient time,
though this w ere a bufinefs of fome labour, becaufe
the cuftom of gavel kind had made fuch petty fac*
lions and divifions of the poirefTions of this coun-
ty, as the number of freeholders were exceeding
great; yet within two days they brought in their
inquifition in Irifh, which being tranflated into
Englifb, appeared to be confufed in general, and
without method ; wherewith my lord deputy not
bdng fatisfied, his lordfhip having taken a refolu-
tioQ to vifit the fort and caille of Bally(hannon
and Tyrconnel, being fituate in the north-weft
end of Lougherne, and not diftant from our
amp above twenty Engli(h miles, commanded
me in the mean time of his lord(hip*s abfence to
call the grand jury who made the former prefent-
ment, and with them the chief inhabitants of
every barony, and by conference with them to
digeft the bufinefs againft his return, which was
done in this order.

Firft, we thought meet to diftinguifti the pof-
feffions, next to enquire of the particular poflcf-
$vs thereof. Touching the pofleffions we found
Fermanagh to be divided into feven baronies,
namely, Magheryboy, Clanawley, Clankelly,
Maghery, Stephanagh) Tirkennedy, Knockrinie,
lad Lough Lurgh. Every of ihefe baronies
contain feven ballibetaghs and an half of land,

chargeable

\it SlftJOHNDAVlS

thftrgeable with M'Cuire's tent, and other wn^
tributions of the country. Every ballibetagh k
divided intd four dudrters of land, and every
(quarter into four tatns, fo as a ballibetagb cM.
taineth fixteen taths, as it doth in Monaghan,
but the meafure of this country is far larger ; be-
fides the free*Iand, whereof there is good quan-
tity in every barony, is no fmrcel of the feveb
ballibetaghs and a half, whereof the barony ii
faid to confift. For thefe reafons, Fermanagh,
containing but fifty-one ballibetaghs aiid an half
of chargeable lands, is well nigh of as large an
extent as Monaghan, which hath in it an hundred
ballibetaghs.

Touching the free-land, we found thena to be
of three kinds.

I. Church-land, or termon-lands, asthetrifh
call it.

t. The mcnfal land of M*Guire.

3. Lands given to certain fepts pnviltgtd
among the Irifh, viz. the lands of the chronickn,
rimers, and galioglaiTes.

The church-land was either monaftery land,
corbe-land, or Erenach*s-land ; for it did not
appear unto us that the bifhop had any land ia
dcmcfne, but certain mcnfal duties of the corbel
and Erenachs ; neither did we find that the par-
fons and vicars had any glebe land at all in this
country.

For monaftery-land, we found not other thiti
that which belonged to the abbey of Lifgoole^
which doih not exceed the quantity of two balli-
betaghs, and lieth for the moil part in the baron7
of Clanawley. But the lands belonging to the
corbes and Erenachs are of a far greater quam-
lity, and are foOftd in every barony. I had

heard

TO TRfe S. OF SALISBURY. 159

beard of the name of k corbe, and of an EreA&<^h
divm tinted fince I came into this kingdortt,
and vmAd gladly have leiarned of our clergym6ii
atDabtin, what kind of religious perfons thty
wcre^ but I could never be fatisfied by any ; and
thteefore at this tipie I was the morb curious ztA
inquifitive to inform myfelf of thefe ecdefiaftical
perfoAa, the like whereof art not to be found ih
any other part of Chriftendotn, iior ih Ireland hei-
ther, but only in the countries that zYt mere Irifti.
When therefore we came to emjuire of the quan-
tity of the ttrmon lands, I called unto tfie one
of the beft Itartied vicars in aH the country, and
one that had been a Brehon, ieind had fome (kill
in the dvtl and canon laws, and with riiuch ado
I got fix>m him thus much light for the under*
ftanding of this matter. They told me that the
word Termon, doth (ignify in the Irifti tongue,
a liberty or freedom, and that all church-lands
whatfoeveir are called termon-lands by the Irifli,
becaufe they were ever free from all impdfitions
and cuttings of the temporal lords; and had
the privilege of fanftuary , fo as no temporal fer-
jeant or officer might enter to arreft any perfon
upon thefe lands, but the bifliops officers only.
Howbeit in common underfianding among us that
are Englifh, we call only fuch termon-lands as
were in the poffeffion of corbes or Erenachs.
the name of Corbe, I could not leara that it
had any fignification in the Irifh tongue ; fome
call him in Latin, Omverbnu^ but fuch as are of
beft underftanding, call him Plebanus, and they
yield the reafon of that name, quia pkUtccl^iqftiue
ft€tfi. I colledt by that which (hey fell me,
dtttlie was a prior or prefident of ft collegiate
- churdi^

!

Itfb SIR JOHN DAVIS

church, for he did not onbf poflefs a good quaor^
tity of glebeland,the tenants and occupiers whert-^
of were called termon men, and had privilege of^
c^ci^gy* hut he had alfo Tome redtorics appropri-
ate, whereof he had that portion of tyihcs which
belonged to the parfon, and had withal the pre-
fentation of the vicarages. He had always hit
place or feat in a mother church, where he had ,
a certain number of priefts ferving with him ; in
the cathedral church he had a ftail in the choir,
and a voice in the chapter, and this Corbefliip is
named a dignity in the regifter at Rome ; for all
dignities in cathedral churches, and all benefices
of value in this kingdom are contained in a re^
iter at Rome, and the Pope at this day doth col-
late unto them, and until this day the perfoiui pre-
fented have enjoyed the benefices in thefe mere
Irifh countries by colour of the pope's collation.
Laflly, this Corbe(hip was in a ms^nner heredi-
tary ; for though the Corbe were ever in orders,
yet was he in thefe Irifli countries ufually married,
or if he were not married he had children, and
after his death, if any of his Tons were qualified
with learning, he was chofen by the dean and
chipter to be Corbe ; and if none of his fons were
capable, another of that fept or furname was
chofen without doubt. Thefe Corbeihips being in
the nature of collegiate churches are veiled in the
crown by the ftatute of diflblution of monafteries,
and accordingly fome of them have been reduced
into charge ; but there are yet many whereof no
inquifition hath been found, but concealed, as de-
tained by the Iriflirie unto this day. And that
' your lordfhip may perceive I weave not this web
cut of my own brain, but that I have authority

for

TOTtf£ H. OP SALlSf VRT. lAt

for it) which I deiiVer^ I will here infert a oeitt^

£care in Latin made unto me by an Irilh fcholar^

whoTe opinion I required in this matter ; which I

have now by chance among my papers ; for the

moft part of thefe things I have fet down out of

my memory, being now at Waterford, and hav*

ing left the notes of our former journey at Ptfbljn.

The Scholar's opinioa wai thi^ :

Carbpiatus^Jhi Pkbamus^ dignitasefi^ et fnofy
^ ^<g^ pertintt^ fed anied att pafatH ; in matrki
tcchfia dfbet nece/fkrii, effe^ i^ifi^Pi^ ^^ /^^nV orjii--:
ftthis^ omnefipie decimas p^thmfes ad bake debet bar
bere^ f/ beneficia adjunila buic i^s funt^ eorum^f
cwferemiam bahet it prefentatiimpn : ifi^Mfh boc W^
men^ quia popuh et plebi eccUfiafii^t friatricis ecckjbt.
prefmt ; cerium numerum facer dotum quajt coIkgu$r
turn debet babere fecum ^ frimum ftalbim infu&ect
ckfiA babft ; ikdfci etiqtn ftalkth vacuum in Mkfi&
easbe4rqli\ ef yocfirh Jn omni capifuh ta^ p^Uco
^Hom prriuffq : intiffihiiut Romano Regiflro^ adeagiif
^nita^efi.

Of thefe porbelhips, th^ beft in thefe parts was
at Clonys in the county of Monaghan, which
M^Mahon himfdf procured to be conferred upon
his eldeft fon, ^if^g 1^^ ^ ^^y in the time of the
late rebellion. It wa)^ long before granted to
Sir Henry Duke for ^^ars, and is now in the pop'
feffion of Sir Francis Ru(h, who married one of
Sr Henry Duke's daughters. There is unotfiet'
at Dcrough in Ferman^h, which is fikewiffi
brought Into charge. There are orifcrs m
(yRonrke's country, others in tTpper Offoiyi
and in Ormond, and in maay other places whicl}
are not yet difcovertd.

M Tfattf

l6z . 9 I R ] O H N D A V I S

. Thus much touching the name and nature of

• Corbe«

For the Erenach there are few pariibes of ar
compaft in estent, where there is not an Erenacl
which being an officer of the church, took \x
ginning in this manner. When any lord or gen
tleman had a direAion to build a church, he di(
6tti dedicate fome good portion of land to fom
faint or other, whom he cbofe to be his patron
tbenhe founded the church, and called it by tb
name of that faint, and then gave the land t
fome clerk, not being in orders, and to his hcii
fqr ever ; with this intent^ that he (houkl kce
the church clean and well repaired, keep hofp
tality, and give alms to the poor for the foul
bealth of the founder. This man and his ha
had the name of Erenach. The Erenadi Wi
alfo to make a weekly commemoration of d
founder m the church ; he had always prim
tm/uram^ hut took no other orders. He had
voice in the chapter when they confulted abo
their revenues, and paid a certain yearfy re
to the bi(hop, befides a fine upon marriage
every of bis daughters, which they call a Lougl
nipy ; he gave a fubiidy to the bi(hop at his fi
entrance into his biflioprick. The certainty
which duties appear in the bi(hop*s regiftcr ; ai
thefe duties grew unto the bifhop^ firft, b
cauife the Erenach could not be created, nor t
church dedicated without the confent of t
bifliop. We are yet doubtful whether thefe Ian
poflefled by Erenach be yet reduced to t
aown ; bccaufe the flatute c^ Chaunteries isr
yet enacted in this Idngdom i but certain it

tl

f O THE 4. OI' SAtlSBUltY. 163

that tbcTe lAen poflefs all the glebe lands which
l^ofigeth td fuch as have care of fouls.

/U^d therefore when they (hall be refutned, it
^ere tfitxi they (hould be added to the parfonages
and vicarage6| whereby they may be found com-
pclcat livings for able minilters, which niay be
pUced hereaft^i* in thefe parts. F'ornow albeit^,
there be in every parifh both a j>arfon and a vicar^l <* ^.
ybtboth their livings being put together are hot' .
rufficiem to feedl an honelt man. For the tyfhes j
of every parith within the diocefe, which com- .^
prehetideth Morfaghan, and almoft allFemlanagb^. ,
aile divided into four part^ ^ wherebf the parfbn be^ ^
i/lg no pried, hath two parts |. the vicar, who U:^
cverapriell, and ferveth the cure, hath one-fourtti-
pait^ and the bifhop hatb another fourth p^rc, {
which, (jod knOweth, intheCepoor waftecoiui*.|
tries do arife to very imall portions. And thus*
we found the fiate of th^ church in this county.

Touchitig M*duire^s menial lands^ which were
free from all common charges and contributions t
of the country, be&ufe they yielded a large pro* :
poniofi of butter and meal, tf ndf other provi(miSy
for M*Guire's table, albeit the jury and other in- .
habiutnts drd fet forth the(e menfiil lands in cer-
tainty, whidh lyiilg in feveral baroines did not in
quantity ctceed four batnbetaghs, the greateft
ther«fof being In the pofTeinon of one M'Manus
and his fept ; yet touching the certaiinties of the
duties or pcovificni yielded unto M^Guireout of
tbeie menfal lands, they referred themfelves to
tftdd parchment roll, witich they called an inden-
ture, remaining in the hands of one O^Briflan, a
chronickr; and principal brehon of that country .: '
whereupon O^Brilhn was.fent for, who lived not^
fir from the camp, u ho was fo aged and decrepid

M 2 as

i6a SIRJOHNDAVIS

' ts he was fcarce able to repair unto us ^ when ^

was come, we demanded of him a {rght of that ai

cient roll| wherein, as we were informed, nptoim]

the certainty of M*Guire*s menfal duties did aj

pear, buta^fo the particular rents and other fe

vices which were anfwered to M^Guire out of evi

ry part of the country. The old man, feeming t

be much troubled with this demand, made an

{vt^$ th^t he had fuch a roll in his keeping befon

the v^s but that in the late rebelljoh it wa

burned among others of his papers and books b;

certain Eiigliih foldiers. We were told by fonx

that were prefent, that this was not true ; for the;

affirmed that they, had feen the roll in his hand

fiqce'^tbe wars. Thereupon, my lord chancello

bdiig then prefent with us, (fpr he did not acoom

pMy ^yi<Mrd deputy to Bally (hannon, but ftai

behifid , in. the caonp) did minifier ^n oath unt

him, and gEiye him a vety ferious charge to inforc

us truly wiiat ^as bcicbnie of the roll. The poc

old man^ fetching a deep figh, confeflfed that li

knew wherie the roll was, but that it was dearer (

hrm than his life, and therefore he would never d(

liver it qut of his hands, unlefs my lord chance

or would take the like oath, that the roll (houl

be reftore4 unto him again : my lord chancell(

imiling gave him. hi^ hand and his word, that 1

(hould have the roll re-delivered unto him, if 1

would fufier us to take a view and a copy therec

And. thereupon the old brehon drew the roll o

of bis bofom, where he did continually be^

al^ut him. It was not very large, but it was wri

tqi on both fides in a fair Irilh chuader ; hawb

fom^ part of the writing was worn and defae

iBth ti(pe and ill^kfepiitg. We ctufed it fort

wi

TO THE E. OP SALlSbtJRT. 165

vitb to be tranflgted into Engli(h, and then we
pac&ftA hbW tnany veflels of buttet, and how
fflfdy meafares of meal, and how many porka,
nd other foch grofs duties did arife unto M^Guire
out (^bis menful lands ; the particulars whereof
i could have ejcpreflfed if I had not left tlie tranf*
htedoDpy of the roll at Dublin. But thefe trifles
tfe not worthy to be prefented to your tordfliip's
knowMge ; it is fufficient to (hew what quan*
titbthofe menfal duties are, and for the quan*
dties thereof, though it were great in refpet\ pf
die land out of which thefe provifions wete taken,
whid) being laid altog;ether, doth not exceed four
UTibetaghs, as I faid before, fuch commodities
in thefe parts are of little or no value, and there-
fore he never made any civil ufe of them, but
^t them waftefully in a fordid and barl>aroos
nanner among his loofe find idle folluwers. Be-
fides thefe menfals, M^Guire had two hundred and
forty beeves, or thereabouts, yearly paid unto him
oat of the feven baronies, and about his caftle at
lonifldllen he had almoft a ballibetagh of land,
which he manured with his own churles.

Arid this was M'Guire*s whole eftate in cer-
tainty ; for in right he had no more, and in time of
peace he did exa£t no more ; marry, in time of
war, he made himfelf owner of all, cutting what
he lifted, and impofing as many bonaghts, or
Ured foldiers upon them as he had occafion to ufe.
For albeit HughM'Guire, that was flain in Mun-
ftcr, were indeed a valiant rebel, and the fiouteft
that ever was of his name, not withftanding ge-
nerally the natives of this country are reputed the
worft fwordfmen of the norths being rather inclin-
^ to be fcholars or hulbandmen, than to be

kerne,

i66 S I ft I O H »} D A V 1 3

kerne, or men of aftipn, as they "^erm rebelsi ip tii
kingdom ; ^nd for tUs caufe M^Guire iq the ja
wars did hire and wag;: the ^esAp& part of I;
foldiers out of Connaught, aqd out of the Bra

' 0*ltcilyc, and made his ow^i covintryinen fa
them. And therefore the jury enquinpg of ?fcA^

~ found only two fredioldqrs iq thisi county , heiid
.Hugh M*Guirc hipifclf, to have been flaii^ in tl
late rebellion \ hereby your lor^dlip niay perfd^
what manner of lord M'Guire (hoi^ld have bee

' and what means and power he (hoitld have h
to do hurt, if the ftale here h^^ in fornaer tim
but looked into, the ftate of this coyntry, and b
eftablifhed the EngHHi law^ and juftice amoi
them^ >\ hereby every iiii^n might have cnjoy<
his own. And your lordlhip may |ikpwife conjc

^ tnre of yrhat gfeaf nefs the ^cft of th|s (ur-nar
will be, when the chicfry of this country (ball

" divided between twp M'Gui^es, and the frcch(

• dersfhall be eftabliftied in their feycral poflfeflior
without any depcndjcncy upon the lords, payii

■ only their certain rents and duties. Affurcd
thefe Irifli lords appear to us like glow-wornr
which afar off feem to be all fire ; but being t
ken up in a man's hand, are but filly worm:
and yet this young Co-connaught M*Guire (whc
brother Hugh was the Alpha, and himfelftl
Omega of the laft rebellion ; for Hugh was tl
firft that went out, and himfelf the laft thatcac
in) will in no wife be falisfied with the greali
part of the chicfry of his country. Such fa tl

J pride of his own heart, and fqch is the enco

ragement he receives from fome of place and po^

cr in this kingdom ; and to ihe end he muft I

thought a peYfon fit to ba pleafed. with extrac

• ' dina

f

TO THE tOF SALISBURY. '-\6^

Smj good terms, he gave out a falfe alarm
fine few days before our coming into Fermanagli,
ththimrelf, with the earl of Tyrconnel, were
goae into Spain, a common and a poor Irifli po-
ky, pradifed in this realm ever fince the con-
qoeft, to amufe the date with rumours that are
otter^ falfe ; wUch, notwithftanding in former
times iiath prevailed to do hurt in that kingdom,
according to the obfervation and faying of the old
cardinal of Loraine, that, a lie believed but for
aa hour, doth many times produce effects of fe-
ven years continuance. 1 have digreft a little too
nracbio this place, for which I humbly crave par*-
don, if your lordfhip fliall not think it pertinent
to this difcourfe, wherein I meant to fet down
the quantity and quality of the M^Guire's menfiil
duties.

Concerning the free-land of the third kind,
oanely, fuch land as is poflefled by the Irifli of-
. ficers of this country, viz. Chroniclers, gallog-
iafles, and rimers, the entire quantity, if it were
laid down together, as it is fcattered in fundry
bvonies, doth well nigh make two ballibetaghs,
^dno more ; which land (in refped of the per-
'oDithat merit no refpedt, but rather difcounte-
oaooe from the ftate, for they are enemies to the
Ei^lifli government,) may perhaps be thought
Q^t to be added to the demefne lands of the
*ef lords.

In this manner were dillinguilbed the poflef-
«^ of Fermanagh, which being drawn intomc-
•^, were prefented to my lord deputy upon his
'ttuni.

For the feveral pofleflbrs of all thefe lands we
took this courfe to find them out, and fet them
^ for his brdflitp's information. We called

unto

^6% Sift JOHN DATIS

Uito lift the inisabit«nt6 of tvery bar^fty ievcratly,
. jb^gmmg with the barony of Mugfieryiboy^ whei«-
tn we tocaipped, and fo calling One barony after
aaother, we had pretenc certain of the clerks or
Ickc^fspfthe country^ who krlcw all the feptt
and families, and their branctecs^ and the dignity
fif oiie fept above another ; and what families or
..perfoni3 were chief of every fept, and who were
mat, and who were of a third rarik, and fo forth,
till they defcended to the moft infeKor man in all
the barony : moreover they topk upon them to
tell what quantity of land every man ought to
have by \ht cuftom of their country, which is of
the nature of gavel kind, whereby as their fepts
€r families did multiply, their poflclEons have
been from time to time divided, and fubdivided,
and broken into fo many fmall parcels, as almoft
every acre of land hath a feveral owner, >^ho
teritieth hrmfelf a lord, and his portion of land
jbi$. country. NotVvithftanding as M^Guire hini-
(elf had a chiefry over all the country, and feme
demefne that did ever pafs to him only who car-
ried that title, fo was there a chief of every fept
who had certain fervices, duties, and demefnes,
that ever pafled to the tanill of that fept, and ni-
ver was fubjedt to dividcn. When this was till-
. derfiood, we firft enquired whether one <6r more
fepts did pbflfefsthat barony, which we had in
hand, that being fet down, we took the names
of the chief parties of the fept^ or fc^ts,
that did poflefs the barony, and alfo the namte
of fuch as were fecond in them, and fo of
others that were inferior unto them again in rank
and impQ^tiOnt^ Then whereas every baVony
t^oAtaincth f<?v.en . ballibetsghs and ah half,
wb caufed t^he mme of ever^ ballibetagh to be

written

> THE B. OP SALISBURY. tl9

ft dbwn^ and thereupon we made enquiry
KMTtion of land or fervices every man held
ry ballibetagh^ beginning with fuch firft as
nd and fervices, and after naming fuch as
e greatefi quantity ofUnd, and fo defoend-
to fuch as poflefled only two taths. There
tyed, for lower we could not go, becaufe
lew the purpofe of the date was only to efta-
iich freeholders as were fit to ferve injuries ;
[fc we had found by experience in the county
maghan, that fuch as had lefs than two taths
sd unto them, had not 40s. freehold per
f, jdSrra reprizas^ and therefore were not of
letent ability for that ferrice. And yet the
ler of freeholders named in this county was
5 two hundred ; and in this order and me-
we digefled the bufinefs touching the podef-
and pofleflbrs of this county of Fermanagh,
1 we prefented to my lord deputy upon his
n from Baliy(hannon ; his lordfhip having
ired it, and taken Tome coniideration of it,
i the principal inhabitants before him in the
), told them he came of purpofe to under-
1 the cflate of every particular man in that
ttry, to the end to cftablifh and fettle the fame
rding to his majefty's directions out of Eng-
, and that he had received fome information
eof, which gave him fome good fa tisf action ;
beit that he would not fuddenly take any final
t touching the fame, but would refolve what
fit to be done, and finifh his fervice the next
lat Dublin. His lordfhip's fpeech, and good
lonftration to the people, gave them great
teatment.

It

lya SIR JOHN DAVIS

It remains, I (hould inform your lordfhtp, f(
what of the fcrvicc performed by the jufticei
affize in this county ; albeit they had little to
here, no matter being prepared for them to
upon, for the gaol delivery mqft needs beq
ly difpatched, when there were no judices of
that had either the will or the (kill to commit
lefaflors, and where there was no gaol of
failnefs to keep them, being committed. H
beit, we had a full appearance of all the coun
and there came in upon recognizances, taken
IkilfuUy enough by the flierifF, and other Ii
juflices of the peace, twenty perfons in nu
or thereabouts j the greateil part whereof
loofe and idle people, bound over to find
ters or fureties for their behaviour ; others
committed f6r felonies, whereof fome few
indi£ted, biit in the end all were acquitted
want of evidence, wfiich happened by the
gence ofthe jufticcs of peace, who had not
their accufers to profecute them. We reb
the juflices of peace for this omi0ion,
impofed fines upon them, and fo ended our pd
delivery. Then made we the like inquifitiaa
here touching ecclefiaflical living, and publift-
edthe like orders for the civil government of!
this county, as we had done in Monaghan ; and
fo diflblved ou^ feflions. The erefting of a frc^
fchool in this county was deferred, till the com*
ing of the bifhop of Clogher. The building of
a gaol and feirions-hoiife was likewife refpited
until my lord deputy had refolved of a fit place
for a market, and a corporate town. For ibe
habitations of this people are fo wildly tranfitoryi
as there is not one fixt village in the whole coun-
ty. His lordfhip took a view of two or three

places

TO THE E. OF SALISBURY. . »«t

• •••■' ■

places for that purpofe, of which he coDceiveth

the tbbey erf* Lifgoale to be the fitted ; and I con-
je£tm that the next term, when the principal
geatlemen c^ this country (hall repair to Dublin,
to fettle their eftates, his lord(hip will make choice
of that place for the (hire town of this county,
ind then take order for the ercAing of a gaol
and houfe of feffions there.

Having fpent fix or feven days in this wafte
country, we raifed our camp, and returned the
(ame way which we pafled before into the county
of Monaghan ; and lodging the fecond night not
far from the abbey of Clonays, we came the third
day to the Givan, and pitched our tents on the
fouth fide of that poor Irifii town. The appear-
ance of this place was very full ; for not only the
natives of the county of Cavan, but alfo many
mhabitants of Wefimeath and other parts of the
pale, bordering on this country, (whereof fome
pretended title to land, others came to demand
(lebts, and others to give evidence againil felons,)
repaired to this feflSons ; the chief of which was
the baron of Delvyn, who came attended with
many followers.

^y lord deputy having a purpofe to pur-
fue the fan^e courfe in the fervice here, which
had been holden in the other two countries, caufed
forthwith a commiifion to be drawn and pafa the
feals, whereby the judges of affize and others were
authorized to enquire of all lands efcheated to the
aown in this county by attainder, outlawry, or
adual killing in rebellion of any perfon, or by
any other means whatfeever. For the difpatch of
this bufinefs, a jury was impannelled of the bed
koights and gentlemen that were prefent, whereof

foQie

tja ilk JOHN DAVtS

fome wttefdrfei^ inH^bksints b{^ ite p^d, aHdj
freehbldeis of this couhtify, ^nd tbe reft ^eitl
dwef oF cvtry Irfth fept, natives df f hii
We rtedvtd tWb preferitmehts frofti th*Bi:
firft of fundt-y freeholders whb Wttt flaih itt.
late rebellibn, and of fuch lands te they wdfcl
rally fcized of at the tinie of their killings,
fecond was, that Philip O'Reilye, who wa*,
cording to the cUftom of the couhtry,
O'Reilye, and wak lord and chieftiin oJF Xht
country being fdzed of all lands, ten'ei
und hctedttami^nts in Breny O'Reilye, U
fuo ti Afttdo etjure (for thefe are tht wi
the inquifition) was flain in adtual rebellicm
dgain they found, that after the death of
one Edtnond O'Reilye was, after the Uke
of the country, created 0*keilye, arid wail
like manner feized of the coiintry, arid beii
feized, was flain in rebellion. They found,
that Sir John 0*Reilye, who was chieftain
tanift of the country long before Philip and
mond, did adhere to the earl of Tyrone,
other rebels, and died an aAual rebel againft
crown. This inquifition was found with
difficulty, becaufe the jurors themfclvcs, all ch
ing and pretending to be freeholders of lai
within that county, were jealous leaft their pai^
cular freeholds might be found efchcated by thi
office; becaufe in the time of rebellion thefe lord
or chieftains, by their Iri(h cuttings and exaAioi
took the profits of the whole country at the
pleafure, and fo might be faid to be feized of \
the country in demefne, when they were flain
rebellion. But fome of the jury being learned
tlie law informed the reft, that by the words i

dOffttfl

O THE Ep 9R ^AlflSBTJRT. 17}

}koJifo ei ^/^ ^ jV^) not only lands in de-
le or poflcffion^ but a figniory or chiefry nu^y
ixifcftoQd, and thereupon they were content-
at: thcK feals to thq inquifition, which boixig
jk. mad engrQ(Ie4 in parchment by one of the
Qi^ners waa prefented unto them. By the(e
offices the greatefi part of this county (if npt(
a vefted in the. poilbilipn of the crowa* but
i^c my lord deputy conceived his m^edy*^
[^^ to be, that th<; riatives of the oouotryt.
fhc^n hif highnefs hath granted, hi^ gen^rftl
Imi (ball be rcrcftabiifhed in tbeii poi]^pQf»
idi !|»ey peaoeably held before the late wv;.
ffttt I dp npt underftand that^ hialprdfhip hfith
particular dircdtion touching the difgof^^oi^
ioSm country of Breoey 0*Rf ily) his ior<Mbip
eeCure thought fy. to IqoI; bade to the time h^^
Kthf: late rebellion, and to inform himfelf how
sy. nian*a pofleifion ftopd at that timCf and
peuppo commanded onQ of u§ to u)(e tb^ like.
jp as was taken ip Fermanagh, and in thf like
|ar and method to dil^inguilh th^ poflcifon and
l^ffiqns of this, country ; which wa4 . thcr Qipre
Uj performed, becaufe in the Irifb coi^ntrief
|Be the cuftopi of tanillry is not ei^ingui(hed,
gtentures are every where alike. There is ftrft
gmeral chiefuin of every country or territory^
Uch bith fonie deqoefne, and fpme houfliokl pro*
fiooa yieUed unto him by all thei inhabitanti
iriqr him, every fept or fur-name hath a parti-
i|ar chieftain or tanift, which hath likewife his
miliar demefne, and duties, and thefe poflcf-
PUS go by fuccefiiQa or ek£tion, entirely without
ly divifion ; but all the other lands holden by
inhabitants^ are partible in courfe of

gavel

174 SIR JOHK dAWti

gavtl kind, wherein there is no dttK^nce
between lM;itimate Tons and baftards. and ll
fore both thefe cuftoms both of taniihy and
kind in this kingdom are lately by the opinion
all the judges here adjudged to be utterly
and extinguifhed either by Airrender or refi
thn of all the lands whidi are fo hotden.

My lord deputy haring recdved the likeic
of the lands and the like diftindtions or lift of
freeholders in this county, as was prefented tol
lordlhip in M*Guire*s country, deferred the
pofing and fettling thereof until his return
Dublin, having a purpofe in Michaelmas U
to make a perfect eftablifhment of thefe
counties.

The date of the lay pofleifions being ditt

vered, we did not omit to enquire of the nt

and vahie of the parfonages and vicarages, of i
reparation of the churches, and of the quality i

their incumbents, by which inquifition we
that the greateft number of the parfonages
appropriate unto two great abbies lying wi
the Englifh pale, namely, the abbey of Fc^re
Weftmeath, granted to the baron of Delvin,
the abbey of Kelts, whereof one Gerrard Ftei
is farmer. To the firft of thefe, fourteen
fonages within this county are appropriate ^
to the other eight : befides there are two or d
belonging in the like manner to the abbey
Gavan in this county, being now in the poflisffioM
of Sir James Dillon. As for the vicarages, tb^'
are fo poorly endowed, as ten of them beings
united will fcarce fuffice to roaintaio an boncflk
m'miiler.

F*

TO THE E. OF SALISBURY. 175

P For the churches^ they are for the moft part in
I fudi as were prefented to be in reparation,
only with thatch 1 but the incumbents,
parfons and vicars, did appear to be fuch
9 ^88^9 ignorant creatures (for we faw ma^*
them in the camp) as we could not efteem
of them worthy of the meaneft of thofe liv-
alb^t many uf them are not worth above
fcf iunnuttm

country doth lie within the diocefe of
e, whofe bifiiop always was, and is parfon
Xrim, in Meath, which is the beft parfonage
mil the kingdom j whofe bifhop is a man of
country birth, worth well lugh 400I. a year :
doth now live in thefe parts, where he hath
biihopridu : but there is no divine fervice or
to be heard within either of his diocefes^
lordlhip might have &ved us this labour of
ouching matters ecdefiaftical, if he had
careful to fee the churches repaired and
lied with good incumbents, as he is diligent
vifiring his barbarous clergy, to make benefit
of thdr usfufficiency, according to the para-
which is common in the mouth of one of our
it bilhops here ; that an Irilh prieft is better
a milch cow.
Uiftly, our gaol delhrery was greater in this
, and the civil caufes were more in num-
; and of better confideration and value, than
that dkl arife in the other two (hires, whidi
ve had paficd before. Yet we finifhed all our
hfineCs here within five or fix days, and after
Rtomed to Dublin about the asd of Auguft.
TUs report of our fervice in the county of Cavan,
I have contrafted and delivered fummarily, as

wcU

i|(. SIR JOHN SAVtS

wdi for that I doubt I have been too large in the
precedent difcourfe, as alfo becaiite we hdda
lUiiform proceeding, and did in a manner the fame
things which we had performed in the other plaoet
of feiTion.

Now, may it pleafe yoiir lord(hip, upon con-
ikleration of the whole matter^ in my weak ap-
preheniion, I conceive thus much, that if my
lord deputy do finifh thefe beginnings, and (ettle
thefe countries, as I afTure myfelf he will, tlui
will prove the moft profitable journey for the fcr*
vice of God and his majefty, and the general
good of this kingdom, that hath been made in
this time of peace by any deputy thefe many years.
For firil, his lordfhip having gotten a true and
dear underftanding of the date of the clergy, in
theie parts, many will take a direct fpeedy courfe
for the planting of religion among this rude pe<^
pie, who are apt to take any impreffion. For
his lordihip knowing the number and value of
the benefices in every county, may caufe a union,
or rather a fequeftration to be made of fo manj
as will make a competent living for a fole miai-
fter ; then may he give order for the building of
many churches, as there (hall be competent liv-
ings for minifters in that county ; and this prepa^
ration being made, his lordftiip may laftly provide
fuffident to ferve in thofe churches. Next for U^
majefty's profit, there will be revived and aiTurec^
to the crown 500 1. per annum ^ out of Monaghan
which though it was formerly referved was neve=?-T
paid to the king's coffers ; and out of the others
two counties there will be raifcd 500 1. a year
at leaft for rent and compofition. Befides,
crown is reftored to all the patronages of ecdefi—

afticaL-

TO 1^H« I. OF SALLSBV&T. 177

&\nl pMinMionfty ^hich heretofore were ufurped
>y 'the .i>op^ttiid utterly neglefted by -the fiate
icve. Licftly, iAs inajefty (hall have wardfliips,
Bfcheats, fines, atnercemeots, and other cafualties^
Mmh w«re oeTer had nor hestrd of in thefe paria.
>RiiaUy^ for the Gomnx>n good not only otthefe
j^aits, but of all the. kingdom- befides ; his lord*
ttip in this journey hath cut off three heads of
^t hydra of the North, namely, M^Mahon,
id^uire, artdO^Reily ) for thefe three names of
Uiralry with their Irifli duties and exactions (hall
4je ittterly '• abolilhed, the cafiom of taniftry and
^pvil kind bang abfurd and unresfonable, as they
are in ufe here, and which have been the cau(e <rf
many murthers and rebellions (hall be clearly ez-
tingui(bed, ail the pofie(fions (hall defcend and be
oonveyed according to the courfe of the common
law, every man (hall have a certain home, and
know the certainty of his eftate, whereby the peo-
jAe will be encouraged to manure their land with
lietter induftry than heretofore hath been ufedf
to bring up their children more civilly, to provide
for their pofterity more carefully ; this will caufe
them to build better houfes for their fafety, and
to love neighbourhood | thence will arife villages
and towns, which will draw tradefmen and arti-
^ fioers « fo as we conceive a hope that thefe coun-
tries in a (hort time will not only be quiet neigh-
bours to the pale, but be made as rich and as d*
vil as the pale itfelf.

This is the effedt of the fervice which was per*-

furmed in that journey, which my lord deputy

made into Ulfter this fummer vacation ; whereof

I have made unto your lord(hip a broken and dif-

'fCrinted relation ^ for which } humbly crave par-

N don.

178 SIR JOHN DAVI8, &c.

don, the rather becaufe I was continually inter^
rupted in the writing thereof, being employed
upon my return out of the North, together with
my lord chief juftice, in a new commiflion of
affizeand nifiprius for the counties of Waterford,
Wexford, and Wicklow ; fo that I have been
enforced to take fradtions and darts, and almoft
inftants of time to fini(h the feveral periods of
this rude difcourfe : iii which, notwithftanding,
I hope your lordlhip will, according to your
.wonted noble difpofition to me, accept in good
part ; andfo with the prefentation of my humble
iervice, I leave your lordlhip to the divine prefer*
vation.

JOHN DAVIS.

Of

Of the Original and firft Inftitution

of CORBES^ ERENACHS^andTsR-^

MON Lands*

Written by J A M E S USHER, afterward*
Archbishop of Armagh, Anno 1609.

pThia. Traa is in the Library of the College of Dubliii» all
in Ulher's own Hand*'Writiiig» and flgned bj him J. IX»
1609]

A* OR the declaration of the original and firft
inftitution of Corbes^ Erenachs, and Termon-
lands, it is to be confidered, ift, of what nature
thefe lands be. a. How they came to be pofleflf*
ed by the Termoners. 3. Who thefe Cor bes and
Erenachs may feem to have been^ who now are
the chief of the Termon men. 4th, and laftiy.
Who had interefts in the profits of thefe lands.

Toucliing the firft, it may be obferved, that in
times paft it was provided, that whoever founded
a church (hould endow the fame with certain
pofleiBons, for the maintenance of thofe who were
to attend God's fervice therein, infomuch that a
biihop might not confecrate any church, bef(»re
an inftrument of fuch a donation was delivered
by the founder. Concil. Braccarens. cap. 5. ^ Unuf-
* quiiqueepifcopus meminerit, ut non prius dedicet
^ ecciefiam aut Bafilicam, niU antea dotem Bafili^

N a !

iSo USHER OF CORB£S|&c.

* cse et obfequiumipfius per donatioaemchartulae cc
^ fiiuialuiii acdpnit. NsnK)ue non leviseftiftaten)

* ritas, fi fine luminariis^veifinefuftentationeeoru
^ qui ibidem fervituri funt, tanquam domus priva
^ iti^sibtfttretiir tdctefia.' And after this doiMio
the {bunker was no longer to have the difpo&I
thefe (Kmellionsv but tbe ordering thereof apjxs
tained unto the bifhop. WheriBbpon this caHi

TJicuaTui ^^* cnadtcd in divers councils, (a) * Multi, cent

cl^ 19* « canonum conftituta, fie ecclefias^ quas sedificav

Msfont. ^ nht, jxAiilatit cbrirecrari, ut dotem, quam ddc

^"^4. * ccdcniecontulcruht, cehfeantadepircopiordina

^j^' . * onem non pertinere, quod factum et in preteriti

«A^!' * dtfplictot,'et in ftitwoprohrbetur/ Hicnce itcame

'•• pdfs, that every church had allotted to it a ceftj

proportionofland (with fervantsappertainingthei

unto) free from all temporal impofttions and e

admrfs^ as may appear by the ftatute of Charl

(I) capttu. RUigfie.<&)* Snuutam eft ut unicuiqne ecdefiftui

i», ab An. ^mtfnfus integer^ abfque alio fervitto attribuatt

yStStu &c. And the council of Cologne^ held in i

'^' ^ ttetieof Ghariesthegroffe/Neque ex dote ecdcfi

*i. e. ex uno manib et quatuor mancijMis cen

« exigatur/ Neither is it to be doubted, but tl

thofe wKd founded churches upon their lands, I

ifig \i^illing to affign an endowment unto them

pifecfes itaoft convenient, would for this purp

^^dfllUy takkt choice of the lands next adjoi

kig unto the houfe which they had binlded,

u) Hid. ^de ic) particular^ recordeth in his hiftory of

^^'^^^ fhop Aldan, • that he had no proper poflcflk

3. ctM7. ^ ^^^ ecclefii ftA et adjacentrbus agellis/

Kcfw Brenach and iTermon^lands being f
IhMriU enlarges of tciniK)^ lords, as all e^
lilttii^'^pofieffions wcreby die fofilrth cotaftitoti

QSHER OF CQR9](% te^ rttt

of tbecoumulheldat CaAfli, Anno u7*t (d)^^^^'mf^.
biliiqps.bdngthe diief lor<l»pf tbeaivftod qbiiictoHib. iip.
beJDg commonly Iwlt upon, them, the reptctttoa * '* ''^^
of agrent put whereof. Uy' continuaUy upon the
EceoAcbB ihac belong^ totbetn, therftiBiKtqpef-
tion tobenade but that th^ wereof thia mtwe;
and forafmuch as unto thqfe lands certain fiM*
doms were anneiied, namei|y, the privilege q£ fiinc-
tuary (as appeareth by the.offioe f taken for. thct▼•"«*^
ooQQty of Cavan) the land from thence was called^'
TenQon, or free and pro«e£ked land : for the
word tearmum is ufed in the Irifli tongue for a
faofinary ( whence Termoii-(echin,a town bel^n^-
ing unto the arghbiftiop oP Armagh hath his deno-
mination, Vs it were the £ln£tuary of Fechin, (0 JjJ^J^,
(Ac of the country faints) and may well be thought tom. Hih.
to have been borrowed by the Irifli (as many other $«; m^
words are) from the Latin iermimu^ by reafon ^^^am
that fudi privileged places were commonly de- cs^xmj
%ned by fpecial marks and bounds. Termimu^ mmu*
finaihcibabeai/gna circa fe^ fayaan ancient fynodi*^'*i*
^ (/) Ireland ; and the oldJaw of the Bavarians, {£2m
(Gb« 4. } I .) * Si quis fervum ecdefias vel andllam haiMNor fa
* ad fugtendum fuaferit^ et eos foras Terminum]^J^^
*dmerir,ct exinde probatus fuent,revoceteum ce-^W"*
'kriter/ &c. I conclude, therefore, that Tibrmons
were indeed free land, but free from all claim of
^poral lords, not of the church, being truly
^^^^it9rium ccclcfiqfiicum^ land merely ecclefiaftical,
'^t of fuch a middle nature as the jurors of 6an-
8^11 found that land to be of, wherein their mo-
^^>ftery was feated, wbofe evidence is thus record-
•*. (ff) • Noftri jurati dixcrunt, quod noftrum mo- Jj^J^^*
^Qafterium in loco libero, non in fifco, non in terra ^^ ookMo
^ccdefiiuftica eflet/ Uc Our Termons, I f^y, ^trttu^^' ^

tU USHEROFCORBEd, &c.

not firee after this fort, but tributary unto the
churcht as may be feenin the regifter of Clogher^
Qj^j^^ where Matthew, bifliopof Clogher, is faid to
bekMigiiig have granted certain lands unto one Philip
chwch in O^Heogan, * pro duobus folidis fingulis annis fibi
^J^*** * et fuis fucoeflbribua et ccclefiae Clogherenfi fol-
wcftcooB- ^ vendis nomine tributi ;* and a little after/ quam
^\)Jdlka> ^ terrae peciam fecit patricius fufcus O'Heogain

iSd^tS^ * Erenachus didtae ecdefiae nobis et eccleliz Clog-
mob ia tbt^ renfi tributariam, reddendo inde nobis et fuc-
'««•»%/ ceflbribus noftris ex eSl fingulis annis unum fo-
'^^ * lidum ufualis monetc*

So the tenants of the Erenach and Termon-
lands were tributary, ox fervi ecclefia/liciy which is
the fecond point to be enquired. Fof the under*^
Handing whereof it is to becoafidered, that the
temporal lands appertaining to the church, were
occupied by laymen, who hufbanded the fame,
both for the behoof of themfelves and their fami-
lies, and likewife for the benefit of the church. In
(/i)Pithaai*' a^monitione {b) Caroli apud Piftas : ** Ut co-
in Gitftrio 4* loni, tam fifcalcs quam ecqlefiaftici,,&c. non de-
aopera, ^* negcut (i) carropcra et manopera ex antiqua
Ji^"*^" confuetudine. Ibid, ut quoniam quibufdam in
ro Orrnte c« j^^jg coloui tam fifcalcs, quam de cafis Dei fuas

iag. ^^ hsereditates, i. e. manfaqusetenent, non folum
^< fuis paribus, fed et clericis, canonicis, ac viilanis
*♦ prefbyteris, et aliis quibufcumque vendunt, ct
•* tamtummodo cellam retinent ; et hac occafione
** ficdeftruftse funt villas, ut non folum cenfusde-
^* bitus inde non poffit exigi, fed etiam quaeterr«e
^* de fingulis manfis fuerunt, non poflunt cognofci
** conftituimus ut pr^ipii^tur a noftris miniftriali*
^^ buset aminiftris, ut hoc nullo modo de csetero
*• fiat,nevill8e deftnifkae atqj confufe fiant/* Thefe
occupiers of the land were of two conditions, as

appeareth

USHER OF CORBES9 &c. it3

appeareth by the fentence of Aiutftafius the emper*
or. (k) ^^ i^icolarum alii quidem font adfcripd^ (||)^' ^^
*' til, et eorum peculia dominis competunt ; alii ve- lU. Agrt.
^^ ro temport annorutn triginta coloni fiunt Ubeiiej^^]^
^' manentes cum liberis fuis, et ii etiam coguntur >*•
** terrain colere £c canonetn preftare ;*' and in the
fame title, in the lafi law fave^one^fedt. ult. no man
may *^ vel adfcriptitium vel colonum alienum fci-
** enti prudentique in fuum jus recipere i* but he
muft refiore him ^* admonente domino vel ipfius
adfcriptitii vel terrae. Dominus terrae (the land-
lord) was lord of the adfcriptitius,'* but not to
the free colon, who had for his lord, the land, ra-
ther than the landlord. Whereupon the emperors
Theodofius and Valentinian (/) give this note con- l^iJjJl it.
cerning them : ^* Licet conditione videantur iQ*||^5'^
^* genui, fervi tamen terrs ipfius, cui nati funt, Thnctate.
^^ exiftimentur, nee recedendi quo velint, aut
^^ permutandi loca habeant facultatem.*'

Such were the cobni liberty who by thirty years

pofleflfion obtained from the landlords an ellate of

inheritance, remaining free tenants, tho' holding

by a bafe tenure. Porafmuch as (even by the cpm-

Qipnlaw) (m)nolandholden by villenage, nor anyM J^Hdc

<^u/loiii rifing of the lands, can ever make a free-i^i^^

'^ttn villein. Adfcriptiui were the fame with thofe

^hom the Grecians call kfMxm rS i^^mp i^ri iffiu$

^OfS/irvus ; our common lawyers, villeins regardoHi

<o 3. manor; and the French, i&om/»^i^mmiiffor/ii#,

^Ko could not be alienated away, but were perpe-

tusilly bound unto thofe lands, whereunto at nrft

^^^ry were appointed ; in which refpcdt, mancipia

^^H^ica^ in the civil law, are reckoned among thofe

gc>^8 which are inunoveable. *^ Noi^inatim Ju-

** B anus ait mancipia eile veluti membra rerum im-

" " — *^'** — : atqueideo, 1. 3. D. de divers, temp.

prefcrip.

184 USHfElR'OF OORBESi Sec,

^^fvefcrip. Longe^pofleffioQia prefcriptio loaw

*^ habere dicitur tarn in pracdiis qiiam in mtncipiiiy

&c." Thu8 Cujadus in his cxpofltion of Jufiini-

aii*6 7th novel, where the ftanite of Leo the em-

lhlm!'!joi- P*'^^ '® recited, ** Vuh (») ilia (Leonis nempe

lit. %. Tit. ^* confticutio) neque Deo amabileni archieptfe^-

** pum, &c. neque cyconomum vendere, aut <i<h

^^ nare, aut aliier alicnare- rem immobilexn, d6-

^^ mum forfan au^ agrum, aut colonum, aut mui-

^* cipia ruftica, aut civiles annonas (nam et-hiR

^* inter immobilia funt numeranda) qus con>petuiit

** Conftantinopolitanac landtiffimae majori ecclcfiC|

slkancla.' " &c. In like fort, the council held at Scnlis," (f)

SSu^BiDeT** NwlK liceat alicnare rem immobilcm ecclefiCi

t^drum *« (rve domum, five agrum, five hortum, fivenif-

eftiiietna; '* ticum mancipium." Thcfc fcrvanta were often -

'*! oqJ'iV manumitted and made free, remaining yet ftill

tributary unto their landlords, of which conditioa

were they who in France oFold were called' Zift^i

.or Z>///f in Italy, Aldi(mes\ of whom mention i$

made in tt|is conftitution of Ludovicus Pius, apid

jplf^/umj lib. 4. cap. 1202 (in the copy wMdi

^^cSiT Rciturus Reinecc'ius (p) ufed ; for in Pithcfsui**

aroiimig-edition I do not find it ; " Aldiones vel Aldiamed

"' • W« c< i^g^ vivant in Italia in fcrvitutcm dominorum

'• fuorum, qua Fifcalini velLidi vivunt in Franda.*^

And in the law$ of the Rinuarians. tit. 64. §. i*

"Si quis fervum fuum tributarium aut litum fecc-

** rit, fi quis eum interfeccrit 36 fol. culp. jud."

Of thefe divers conditions of fervitudc mention is

made in the laws of the erriperors Arcadius and

(f ) Cod. !ib.Honorius, (y) ** Servos vel tributarios vel inquili-

Agrk.'S ••nosapud dominos fuos yolumus remanere^'*

ccnf etc©-and in thefecond council of Challons, (r) ** Q^

fr) coadi. " conitat m eccleua diverfarum conditioqum no*

n^ci^j. ** mines cflc ui fint nobilcs & ignobiles fervi, co-

*• loni^

^' Ions, iaquilini, et c»lci^ bujufmodi nommay
^^ oportet ut quicuiique eis prdatr fant clerici &»
^ Itici dementer ergo cos agant, et miferecordifer
^' eos tra^beot, five in exig^ndia ab cis operibus*
'^ fiv€ in aodpiendis tributisi & quiburdam de vt-
^^ til/* &c. Thuain times paft thoTe who endow-
ed dnirdics »id abbey?) beftowed not only bare
landS) but landa Oock^ as it were with certain
ftpis and races, tied there perpetually to perform
aU fervicea for the behoof and bebefit of thofe to
whom they were given. Suchadeeddf gift- we
find made by one Brfoinus, (i)in the time of Ei-(f)cent«r.
ffricus or Cbilperic the French king, about 866^^|^*
years ago : ** In loco qui dicitur Openwilar© tra- «*•*•.*«• a-
^^ dimus^ S. Galloni (he meaneth Gallusi one of hm. w
** Ac old worthies of Ireland^ from whom the fe*^^'
^' ' cnous monaftery and town of Gangall in Switz-
f* eriand, had the name) viginti inchos, et in
*^ Eberinhen unum inchum de vineSi, et de colbnis
^^ meis Erfoinum cum uxore fuk, et cum omni aji-
*^ pertenentii foi, cum ca(% et cum terr&, et cum
*^ omnibus fuis, et alium fervum noipine WaMol-
^*fum,cum callL, cumterri,et cum omnibusad eupd
**T)crtihentibu5.'- Hence it is that we find To oftfiJh
in old grants, nien numbered among other pof-
feffions given in l^rank-AlmcMgne ; as in a chafi^ -
tqr of K. Henry II. ratifying a former donation qf
cirl Stronglbow, in thcfe words : **^ Sciatis qucjl.
^ ^go dedi et conceiTi et hSlc mdL chartfi confirm^-
•" vi Thorns Dominico mco clerico dignitatem
"qus dicitur abbatia de Glendalachc, et per-
'* (bmtum intus et extra, et omnes res et poflef-
" Qones, ethomincs, et rcdditusin ecclcfiis, etolj-.
** iationibus, et decimis, &c. et cum omnibus aliis
^^ rebus ad abbatiam illam pertinentibus in perpe-
[* tuam eleemofynam, ficuti melius Richardua

"Comes

iStf USHER OF CORBES, &c.

*^ Comes fiA charti confirmavit." Thus there a|h,
pertained unto churches two forts of
^^ fervi ecclefis cum onere in the nature of vil
*^ et liberi, or coloni ecclefiaftici/' as may evidi
dently be feen in the laws of the old Almayi
where feveral fines are fet down for the killingl
either of them, fuch as thelrifli cBilericb^ or
(himjangums^ and likewife a taxation, of the
nary duties which both of them were bound;
perform unto the church whereunto. they werei
g^rdant. The firft is to be read, tit. 8. and
*^ Si quis ecdefiafticum fervum vel regium
*^ rity tripliciter componetur, hoc eft zlv.
*^ Q^icunque liberum ecclefis, quern colonum
^* cant, occiderit, ficutalii Alamannt componatorj
The other, tit. 22. and 23. '^ Servi ecclefis
*^ buta fua legitime reddant, xv. ficlas de oervifilnj
^^ porcum valentem tremlQem unum, panumoao-
^^ dia duo, pullos v. ova xx. Ancillseautem ope<
** ra tmpofita live neglecto faciant, &c. Liberi ao-
*^ tem ecclefiafiici, quos colonos vocant, omnoi
^* (icut & coloni regis, ita reddant ad eccleliani.''
That the holders or the Termon lands were at the
fiift tenants in one of thefe kinds, feemeih to n.e
more than probable. I mean that thofe wen
no other than •' originarii (as Gelafius (/) termcdi
mEpifl. ^^^ them) originales inquilini, tributarii, or perfonc
lirTKb*' ** colonarisK," as Sidonius Apoilinaris (11) doth en-
Bpift** >9- title them, or adfcriptitii, or feme fuch thing.
Whereupon John Walton, archbifliop of Dublin,
ann. 1473, giving out a fcqueftration of the
Corbeftiipof Glendalach, diredlcih it in this fort
(w) ** Johannes, miferatione diving Dublinien-
fi^.^!"** fis archicpifcopus et Hibernise Primas, de-
Dttbiiiu «« rids, vaffalis, adfcriptitiis, et aliis habitatoribus
^^ villae et totius dominii noftii de Glendelache,
f ^ tenarum,filvarum,nemorum, etaliorumlocorum

" ipfius

irSHER OF CORBES, kc. 187

^ tpfius manerii noiiri, (atutem, gratiam, et beac^

'^ didtionexn.'* A ftrip of which forvitude may (ecm

to remain to this day upon the Erenach, who, be-

fides an annual rent psiycd nomine trihai (as before

I noted out of the regifierof Clogher) doth like*

wife give to the bifliop a fine upon the marriage

of every of his daughters, which they call Luadi

impigche, as the bi(hop of Kilmore, who doth

dually receive it, informed me ; fo that 1 4ake

DO hold of the words of Dermidus OCane, one

of the Corbes of the north, and one of the jurors in

the inqwfition for the church lands in the county see tbit Ta-

of Coleraine, ufcd to the bi(bop of Dcrry (as hwj^'^^jj^*

lordfhip told mej were to this ctkSt. ^ Mon

* debet dominus mutare cenfum antiquum, fed fi
^ctfcat rebus neceflariis, vaccisfringuibus, &c. de*

* bet ad nos mittere, et nos debemusilli fubminif-

* tnre. Nam qusecunque nos habemus domini

* funt, et nos etiam ipfi iilius fumus.*

Neither will it feem ftrange that the original of : - )
tbefe matters (hould be fetched from this kind of
raffiilage, if it be well weighed, that the tenure
is little better, whereby the northern people hold
didr land generally (as appeareth by the taillages,
or cuttings, wherewith the Iri(h lords opprefied
their tenants at their pleafure) and likewife that
in^es pail, the buying and felling of fervants
(vhich now is grown out of ufe) was a matter fo
common in this country, that in an ancient iyood
of Ireland, a bi(hpp*s legacy out of the church
goods is proportioned by the price of a wife, or a
midrervant, as may be feen in two ancient books
cf canons, written about 700 years fmce, the one
ninaining in Bennet-CoU^e, and the other in Sir
IWbcrt Cotton's library. •• Princcps (faith that

• fynod,

iM VS.aER OB CORBES^I^.

* fyncxl, mcaiung themby. the biihop^ as dfe-
^ wliera ordinarily) in fui morto etiam de rdw
' ecdelia: oommendare poteft, hoc eft, pretiuman-
^ ciUfle, fira de mobili fubihinti^ five de agra'
Whereuntp naay be added another canoa of that

(jr) Is vH. Irilh council {»)' (which cometh more near to die
j^^i^ matter in hand) ^ De cpmmendatione multeris d^
' genttsfub conju^y fi habuerit ecclefiam cuifcr*
^ vivit quamdiu cum viro fuorit, ex confeofu viri
^ tertiam partem fubftantias dabit ecclefiae fuac (ftd
^ vir ejusrdiftribuet) caetera auiem viri et filiorum

* ejuaerunt.'

Whereby I take it to be clear, that the churcki
of Ireland in old time had not only fervants fa^
longing to them in the way of villenage^ but alio
Um eccUfiqfiici^ who had a prc^riety in the goodi
which tfa^y, acquired; and might freely dlfpofedf
tiiemt w^ y^^ ought fervice to fome fpedil
church ; in which refpedt (though otherwife Ud^

S) opitu. they, were uflially termed bamms ecckfiafiki^ as in
dj. uif' * Capitulia Garolinia (y) a Benedidto Leviia Col.
^ le£ti8. Pro nimi^ redamatione quae ad nos venitde
< hominibus . ecclefiafticis feu fifcalinis, qui noa

* erant adjuranti* and in the old laws of the Ripu-
ariana^ tit. lo. ^ i. ^ Si quia fs^minam regiam ant
« eoclefiafticam parientem interfecerit, coc. foL
^ cvlp. jud. tit. ai* Qjiod fi ingenuua aut regin
^ vel ecdefiafticus homo fervo os fregerit^ viii. fd.

* culp.jud/

I come now to the third point, which conoem-
eth the original of the Corbes and Erenachs, wtt
bear' themfelves as head lords over thefe bomim
(s) coocu. ^^kfiffiifi- Where it is to be notedt that for th
ctuiMd. receiving and difpoffng of the diurchgooda it wa
^f '^. .thou^t expedient (e) that every church flxNii
ccB.ft!an.^ bftve anoecenomus, cui res ecdefialVica gubr

• nand

gH'BtL ^9 COKB^S, Ike ft0

IftaildabMilr/ For fo this officer k defined
mfticution of ihe emperorB Leo ttid An*
/fib. i.Codicis Juftinitni, tk. i. (de ft-^
. tBcclef.) reg. r4. The law there (enlarged
■da by Juftinhm (d) in Novel, conftitut. V.gJ^JJ'^^
sided to all the provinces) is this : ^^ Ju-tk. i.
I, Bulli pofthac archiepifcopo in hoc urbe
fodrofanftse orthodoxse ecdefiae prefidttti
iDConooio, cui res eccleliaftica gubeman-
oidatur, eflfe facultatem fundos vel pnt^
ive urbana five ruftica, res poftremo im*
ea aut in his prsediis colonos vel manci*
>oftituu, aut annonas civiles cujuTcunque
M vel fuperftitis voluntate ad religio&s
iaa devolutas, fub cujufqtie alienatioilis
ad quamcunque transferre perfonaiti, tec.
loitius autem qui hoc fecerit, imo fieri*
foerit, vel quacunqire prorfus hujuf-
venditione, feu donatione, vel commuta-
[lufi ea quae prefenti lege condcdimus) pof*
• in quacunque alienatione confenferit,
lifla fibi oeconomatus adminiftratione pri-
, deque ejus bonis, quodcunque exinde
imodum ecclefia: contigerit, reformetur:
dea ejus, et fucceflbres, ac pofteri fuper
a6to five confenfu competenter ab ecde-
is pcrfonis adkionc pulfentur/ The tx-
of this office was in times paft committed
b who are archiprefi>iteri, or archidiatoni*
e Hincmarus, archbifhop of Rhetms, in
Ue to the church of Tournay, willeth the
* Ut pro conftituendis minifteriafibus ec-
Rids prsemium non acciptat, fed arcbi-
firos^ et arch'iBacanos eligat, fSKuItatum
iafticarum difpenfatores, qm in fide fint
i, et in nKuribus probati/ And the fa-
thers

^ ITS HER OF CO ft BBS, &c.

W ctn. ss-thers. bf the firft council of Baccara (*) gjy
order for the difpoling of a portion of the chu
goods towards reparations and lights^ fet it dc
thus, ^ De qui parte five arcb^rejbiter^ five jt
^ diaconus illam adminiftrans epifcopo fadat
^ tionem/ The archidiaconus and the Ereo
have in the Irilh tongue both the fame nil
viz. Eireinneach, or (as fome would write
Oirchtndeach, and the name of the Corbe, G»yi
or C^rbacb (for the Irifli ufe the letters p and i
differently) and the Chorepifcopus feemeth to
to have his original from the fame with archip
biter. Synod. Auguftan. ann. 1548. * Q

* Grafcci Chorepifcopes, hoc eft, certarum n

* unoularum in qualibet dicecefi, fpeculato

* alii archidiaconos, alii archipreibiteros voci
Vin noftrS. ecclefil calhedrali, archidiaconi,
^ reliqui vero dioecefi, decanorum ruralium
^ mine cenfentur.' Our Corbes and Erenai
befide the office of gathering up the hifba
rents, were likewife charged with maintain
of hofpitality, relieving the poor, and entert
ing travellers and ftrangers. That the Ch
pifcopus of old had fome efpecial care over

(c) ▼. cia. poor, appeareth by the lad canon fave on(
Tr'uiiwu.' ' the council of Mcocaefarea. But that charge |
2fiSi^ perly belonged to the deacons, (r) who nad
ct onupiin.overfight and difpofing of the ecdefiaflical 1
M i^^^" nies, as Origen notcth, tractat. 16. in Matthci
^^' **- and the care of providing for the poor and l!ran|
cockfitft. (whence iri times paft Menodocbk were called
"^^^^^ coni^) (rf) artd fo to the archdeacon, as the pri
WJ^J^*"?*' of *at order : I mean the ancient archidiac
ft. vjuB Grc- who in degree were inferior to the preflbiteri,
X^' ^^ the archdeacons of higher rank that exercifi

rifdid

USHER OF CORBES, lEC. 191

fiion under the bi(hop. And to that fonner
I of Archidiaccmi do I refer the Erenachs, who
efiore were fo many in number in every dio-
^ and (for aught that 1 can learn) were wont to
dmitted ad primam tonfuram et diaconatum,

not promoted ad prelbiterium. But the
be (whom I fuppofe to have been the fame
1 Chorepifcopus, or archiprelbiter) was of a
KT. dignity, and ftated in ecclefia matrice ;

had alfo in many places, one or more Ere-
bi under him. In Latin he was called Pleba-
k^t tt it is found in the office taken for the^ ^^^^ ^
mtj of Cavan. Now the Plebanus was thes^^-
le with the rural dean, Archiprefbiter, or Char-
ibopus, may appear by the teflimony of the
poifts, cited by Ifidorus Moponius, lib. i. de
jeftate militantisecclefiae, part i. ch. 13. ^ Ru-
dia archiprelbiter vel dccanus (fays Moponius)
Ik) nomine Plebanus regimine plebis nuncu-
atuT; unde fi habit capellanos perpetuos in
i& ecclefiSL dicitur efle cum dignitate, vel fi
ft in collegiata et in parochiali curata/ Where-
h compare this certificate, CorbanatiUj &r. (vide
157.) delivered unto fir John Davis three or
r years fince by an Irilh fcholar in the north,
rbe Gonfideration of all thefe circumftances put
Itther, b^ve induced me to think that our
rbe at the firft inftitution was Chorepifoopus,
wbofe name and dignity being unknown untoRaamib.

ruder Irilh, no marvel, though fome of them^^f^^
re detorted the name of Corbe to Converbius***« '*'•'••
r fo fome of them in Latin ftile him} or Con-S7«tj[ohtiu
bach in Irilh, which importeth as mudi as^^'"^'

aterraneus. In the Irilh annals (f) the name»»'^»* *»^
written thus, Comrba, or Comhurba where'/) mi^

1^ USn^H OT COOlfflEfi, Bcc.

thefirft inentioQ of a Corbe thkt Ifind isAt the
858th year from Chrift's nativity, or 859 fmnini
iockmatioiiy after the computation of the church
of 'England ; there it is recorded, * that O Cam)I

* king of OiTory, affifted with other kiags^
*: brought his army into the iieklagainft theloi^
^ of Taraughe ^ bat Imfeathna, Patrick's Gnbe,

* and imfuarlech Finno his Corbe, intespofing
^ themfelves, O Carrol was perfuaded to yield to

* St. Patrick and his Corbe/ So in the fiune an*
nais, at the year of our Lord 920, or:9zi after the
cbmmon account, is noted the death of Moenach
MacSiadhaiel, St. Comhgail his Corbe,' the chief
head (as he is there called) of all the learning or
tntiquities of helaiid.

It may be objc£ked, that the Corbes^ aAd Ele-
nachs always ufed to marry, and therefore not
like to have been Archiprdbiteri or ArdiidiaoGni.
But unto this I anfwer, that in Ireland, when
churches were there itrft ere6ted, no fuchlaw was
Admitted, which ftioutd retrain Pre(biteri or Dia-
coni fr6m the ftate of wedlock ; for proof what-
of I alledge theteftimony^f him whofe authority
is of higheft efteem with our people of Irdind,
I mean St/Patrick, who had to his father Cal-
)[>bumium Diaconum, ^nd to his grand-fimifer Po*
titum Pteftiterum, as Probus fettethdown in the
firft book of his life ; and he Mmfelf faith dfo in
his confeffion, ^ Patrem habui Calphurntum Dia-
^ csonum, filfion quondum Potiti Preflbicoi.* In
a very ancient book which belonged to the cmthe*
dral church of Worcefter, and may now befeen
in Bennetts cc^ege library, in Cambridge, there
are extant certain canons bearing this infcri(ition^
Synnklus Epifcopornm, i. e. Patrici), Autifii,
'4flernini, which othet where I have read alfo cited

by

O S H £ it -a.F , C O.R.B E S, . |k. jpa

\>y ^ name of Sypodus Patricii, as held ^y our
gi:eal St. Patrick, in wbofc days Auxilius and
Iferninus flourilhed, as may be proved not only
by our Irilh authors, but alfo by Nennius f the+";^;**P-
Britifti writer,, and Matthew of Weftminfter (jr). »)/'?'"
Aipqog other .canons of that Synod this is one >ad 10.491.
*^ .Q^icunque clericus, ab oftiario ufque ad facer-
'* llotcm, fine tunica vifus fuerit, atque turpitu-
^' ^inem ventris et nuditatem non tegat ; et, ii
*V non more Romano capiUi ejus tonfi (int, eiuxor
*^ ejus fi non v^ato capite ambulaverit, pariter
** aiUucis contemnetur, et abecclefii fep^ifetur."
Apd as it is pianifeft hy this canon, .that the
cicrgy at that time were not debarred from niar-
xii^e, fo is it apparent that afterwards infhcycry
fee. of Armagh,. foff fifteen generations, the pri-
macy hath paflied. to the chief of the fept, as it
were by a kind t>f Inheritance, and that.]>efore
Cclfus (a, marrijrf. bjlhop, who idoceafed j about JJ^""*^
the year 11*9) j^mjpftp fixtiter;$nt viri jixorati,j?«tJei*tom

.et abfque ordinihus, literati umen,. as. Bernard cllib^^-'''
vriteth in the lifeof Malachias,. ur.bicb; if right~£„^f
the ftatc of our Corbet ^nd ErentChsi^ for as thofcs- stepbin'i
in lime po0e&4 th$mfelves of the ;pliK:c; of thecadl^^ut
archbilhop, fo.didrpthpr^ i^i like inwnqr keep inJSSiS ^
tb^rfept the dignity of th^ ArcliipfjBfljiterj f byj^^ <i«« ^^

- the : name of Coi^s,, and others of th^ archdeacon, ptt^iito! it
by the name of .^r^Wchs, y?ry ViVledi^cringSL^S^
from thofe, which ii» Wales wei;c edited I-ay-^ab- ^^^^•?"«"-
bots,, . iof vfhom Clmldvis Cawbrcnfi? : ; (Jby thus rrgiOro"^

jRrAeth, which 19 a tcftimony . very , pertipent to ^1 A^hi^
jthia.purpofe :• ?r^ftndqm,quod .bieqiscicfia,^^ Ji^

•*..ficut ct aliacper Hiberoiatpcj.W^lliamiplpres,^ Wner/
*• >f bbalcm laicum habet^ Ufus. eflim iijftlevit & {ib"*!'2p.
^f. j>rava confuetwdo, ut vin ia p^rpc^ J^tentes, ^

O •• primo

T94 USHER OF CORBES» &c.

^' primo tanquam ceconomi, feu potius o

^* arum patroni et defen fores a clero coni

^^ poftea proceflu tern pons audta cupidine i

** fibi Jus ufurparent, et terras omnes cum

** riori pofleiTione fibi impudentftr appropri

** folum altarta cum decimis et obventic

*' clero relinquentes, et hxc ipfa filiis fuis ei

** natis aflignantes." Our Corbes and Ere

do commonly fpeak Latin, and are in ac

as clergymen, being fubje^ unto the biftioj

fitation, giving unto him a fubfidy at his ent

and remsuning chargeable with proxies and

tions ; whereof in the firft office taken f

county of Tyrone, 27 th of July, 1608, th

dence is given ; *^ Ac ulterius jurat i praed.

** facramentum fuum dicunt, quod in qi

** di£tanim baroniarum praeter illas ternu

^^ aniehac polfidebanttir, ac modo poffiden

** bominibus nunc laicis, funt alias qusedan

** de quibus quidam derici five homines fite

*^ vocantur Erenaa\ ab antiquo feifiti fi

•* &c. Nihilominus quilibet cUdorum Ere

*• ruinfolvebatetfolveredebebatarchiepifc

*' vc epifcopo, in cujus dioecefi terrae quasj

^^ bant fituatse fiierunt, quoddam chant

^* fubfidium, refe£liones, ac penfionem

** lem fecund um quantitatem terrx et coi

** dinem patriae/' The fame may be faic

Corbe(hip, which was in like manner ful

the bifliof>*8 vification, and fometimes alfo

fequeftred no \c£s than other places ecclc

wcre» whereof I find this precedent in th

bifliop of Dublin's r^ifler; ^^ Quia ex

*^ dam rationabilibus caufis coram nobis di

^ animum noftnim jufte moventibus, c

" Corl

cc

TTSHER OF CORBES» ftc. 19;

** Corbanatus ibidem cum omnibus emolumentis

** et peninentiis fuis duximus fequcftrandum, et

fequeftraixius per prefentcs: Tadeum Oflcelly

** clericum gufdem viilae et ecclefise Glindela-

'^ chenfis ipfius fequellratorem cuftodem depu-

*^ tanteS) juriumque et pertinencium difti officii

*^' antiquitus excrefcentium, et excrefcere vaien-

^* tium, ufque nofiram vifitationem et ecclefise et

** popularium de Glindelach preedidt. ratiocinio

•* emolumentoriun ipfius officii et rerum ad illud

*• perrinentium nobis refcrvato, 8ec. etiam ex

*^ fcrutatis antiquis ecclefise noftrse Dublinienfig

*• fcripturis et monumentis feu chartis, difpofitio-

*^ Item didti officii, cum illud vacare contigerit, ad

^* nosetnoftrosfucceirores pertinere deberei etnul*

' ** lum alium (fede Dubl'mienfi duntaxat plen& et

* ** confulti archiprefule) pronuntiamusdeceraimus

^ " et deciaramus in his fcriptis. Datum in manerio

' ** noftro deFinglas, i imo. die menfis Decembris,

^ A. D. i473> et noftra: confecrationis anno ado.'*

' This is the fequeftration given out by John Walton,

' arcfabtfliop of DuUin, whereof I made mention.

It now refleth in the laft place that I (hould

' Ihew who had intereft in the profits of thefe

church lands ; where for latter times it appeareth

by theregifter of Clogher and other records^ that

the Erenachs held thefe lands by grants from the

faiihop, dean, and chapter, which by order were

ftill to be renewed, both at the firft entry of every

Erenach, and upon the confecration of every new

bi(hop. The Erenachs were tied to manure the

Terftion lands, to refide upon them, and in no

wife to alienate them unto any ftranger. Out of

the profits thereof they maintained hofpitality,

kept up their part of the fabrick of thechitfches,

O2 and

t^S USHER OF CORBES» &e.

.und yielded a yearly rent to the bifhops : a certtb
portion of free land remained unto tbeinfelfei
(wliich they call Honorem villse) not chargotbh
with any rent. In turning over the regifters of

: the archbifliops of Armagh, which by meani of
my uncle, the lord primate, I had occafionto
psrufe) I met with three evidences tending tov
purpQfe. One containeth the grant of an
tiBJchy made by MHo, archbifhopof Armagh,

i?r"'a!?' '5^5' '" this form, (/) " UniverfisS, Matris
NichoUi «*. fne fiKis hasliteras vifuris vel audituris,
A^muSlL ^^ Dei et apoflolicae fedis gratiiL, archiepil
I tfi. <c Ajinach. Hiberniae primas, falutem in

^^ fempiternam. Noverit univerfitas veftra, nom
^^ unanimi aflenfu et voluntate decani et m
^^ capitiidi Afdmachani, dedifTe, conceilifle, .
^* hoc. prefenti charti nofirSl confirmaflfe (Ult
** nobis in Chrifto Willielmo et ArtharaMal
^* Aryn, filiis magiftri Arthuri Mac Bryn^ temi^
** ndftras fubfcriptas in tenemento hbftro de Ky^
^^ mor, quas nunc idem magifter Arthurus di
** nobis tenet, viz. Teachrana, &c, Habendu
** et tenendum praedidtas terras, cum earumpot^
^* nentiis debitis in bofco & piano, &c. quas d
^^ qose idem magifler Arthurus confuevit habere,
^^ et omnibus viiset femitis, pratis et pafcius, et
*^ ornnibuslibertatibusetliberisconfuetudinibosid
** prscdifkas terras fpeAantibus, fecundumi pfii^
*^ rum terrarum debitas et antiquas limitationea
** cum pleno jure Erenachiae in toto tenemeoD
/^ epclefise de Kellmore, nobis et fucceflbriba
: ^^ noftris, quoad vixerint et quilibet eorum vixer
^' poffidendas, quamdiu nobis, noflras ecdcfi^
^ Artnachanse, noftrifque fucceflforibus et mifti
•2 firis grati fuerint et obedientes, et qiiilibc

" comn

U S H E R O F C O R B E^S^ &c. 197

nm gratus fuerit et obedicns, et di£ta| tcrfM
leriot, feu coliierit, ac eas in partem, vel in
^ nullt laico extrinfeco colendas tradiderint^

tradiderit : falvo tamen jure charoe difto
:huro (ujper iifdem terns coafefts ad totain
qi ififius magiftri Arthuri ; quam chartam
iimus pfTo vid fuft, prefcnti charti non ob-
ife^ infao rpbore permanere. Reddendo
t annoatim prsedift. Willelmuset Arthunis
]apraedi£k. magiftri Arthuri, et quiltbet eo*
a qui fupervixerit, nobis et fuccefforibua
Irii, unum marcam, et odto denarios fter-
gprum, ad fefta apoftolorumPhilippi et Jaco*
et omnium (anftorum, per portiones Kqua*
unum cum aliis omnibus^ et fervitiis inde,
»tis, et confuetis. In cujus rei teftimonium
ilium noftrum, et figillum commune noftri
lituli antedi£ti prefentibus funt appenfa.
turn apudDunum, die zi. menfis Novem*
I, A. D. 1365." The.fccond is a grant of
H lands in the diocefe of Droroore^ made
E the vacancy of that fee, anno 1427, by.
Swayne, then ar(]|^biftiop of Armagh, in^
words, viz. *^ Univlpirlis fan£t^ matps eccle-
: filfis prsefentes literas vifuris vel audituris,^
bannes, &c. Cuftos fpiritualjum, et fpiritu-
ijiirifdiftionis ac temporalitatvim epifco]:Mif us
omorenfis ipfo epifcopatu nonplend confqltb|
Qtcm in Domino fcmpiternam. Noyerit vef-
ninivcrfitas, quod nos, ratione cuftpdise fu-
ididx, juxta antiquam et laudabilem. con-
midinem ecclefise noftrse Ardmachana;, hac*
DU8 inviolabiter obfervatam, terras de Lachre-
ht, Dyrke^ Dromorenfis diceceQs yulgariter^
iacupatas, dile^o in Chrifto filjo Mauritio

•* Mac

V

ipi USHER 0> COR B£S, &c

■ # *

^^ Mac Bryn Erenacho (habendum et tc
^^ prat^iftaa terras, cum omnibus fuis jui
^* antiquis limltationibus) quoufque ecctei
*^ ftnorenfi plen6 confulatur, feu de legiti
^* videatur paftorc, concef&mus et con
^* per pr^efentes, ratione cufiodise fup
^^ iDde annuatim, nobis et fucceflfortbu:
^^ pfp tempore exiftentibus, reddendo,
** folitum et antiquum bonae et ufuali;
*^ t^ Anglicanse medietatem, viz. ad
^* apoflobrum Philippi et Jacobi, et ali
** dietatem ad feihim omnium fanflorui
^* aliii fervitiis, et omnibus ordinariis
*^ traocdinariis et confuetis, quamdiu r
*• fupra, femper falvo. In quorum fide
^V timonium, has literas nofiras fieri fee
^* tentes, nollri appenfione figilli munita
third containeth the confirmation of an E
(lj^-j;,(ik) granted by John Mey, archbilhop of i
tro johAnnuanno 14 5$ j to ouc whofc auceilors had I
15!^.! "' ^'enjoyed ^he fame. ^ Univcrfis fanftae n
^^ clefiae filiis, ad quos praefentes liters
" rint, Johannes, pcrmiflione divini a
^* copus Armachanus, Hiberniae primas,
•* in Domino fempiternam. Veftra nov
" verfitas, quod, cxponente et fupplicar
*^ diledto filio Patricio MackaSaid, Erei
** Twinha, eo quod ipfe ab olim a noflri
^\ ceflbribus (ficuti et progenitores fui nc
** runOErenachiam de Twinha et terras
** ibidem quas per fui particulas duxjmi
** fentibus vulgariter plenius fpccificanda:
^^ eutua fuiflfet in iifdem debite inct
^^ de antiqui fui juris confirmationeet no
\f ^vefiituri^ quo fic firmius et fecurius

USHER OF COR B£S9 &c. t^

'^ p^fmanere ; ex certislicitiscaufisnos moventibus,

' adiuppUcationemfuamhuJufmodiannuentesbe-

' n^^oldetgratantdr,nedumjusomnimodum,quod

Jim an tea hucufque^ ex conceifionibus, ac char«»

ti^9 et inde fecutis, in Erenachia, et terris pre«

di^Us, cum fuis pertinentiis fuerit aflfecutus^ in

oi'nni fui robore ratum habentes, confirmamua»

• ec prefentis fcripti patrocinio communimus ;

( vcrum etiam, pro modo et forma nollrae ratione

k( invefliturae, deconfenfu et voluntate unanimit

«^ decani et noftri capituli Armachani, dedimus^

^^ oonodfimus, et hac prefenti chartll noflr& con-

«^ (irmamus prediAo Patricio Mackaflfaid terra^

^^ noflras de Twynha, fic per fui particulaa^ hie

'< quo fupra vulgaritdr fpeciiicatas, viz. &c. cum

^* fuis pertinentiis et antiquis limitationibus. Ha*

<* bendum et tenendum fibi et haeredibus fuis

(' de nobis & fucceflbribus noftrisdiftas terras cum

^ <' fuisparticulis, pertinentiis, et limitationibus ante*

'' diAis ; inde nobis reddendo, et nollris fuccellb*

/' ribus, annuatim ad fefta omnium fandorum

, ** et apoftolorum Philippi et Jacobi, sequis por-

i '^ tionibus quinque ^narcas et duos folidos fier-

; ** lingorum bonse et legalis moneaet Anglise, cum

I '^ aliis fervitiis et oneribus ordinariis et extraordi-

I (^ nariis inde debitis et confuetis, quamdiu diiflus

I '* Patricius, et haercdcs fui, nobis et fucceflbri-

I '

'^ busnoftris, ac officiariis noftris grati obedientes

'* et fideles fuerint, atque didas terras inhabita-

" verint, et eas colucrint, ac nulli laico extrinfeco

" coiendas tradiderint, et reditus fuos, ferviiia ct

" oncra prsedidla pro tcmporibus debitis fideliter

" et plcnd perfol verint. Alioqui fi in aliquo fo-

*' iutionis dcbito defecerint in praemiflis, liceat

'* .nobis et fucceflbribus noftris de didlis terris dif-

" ponere^ cooceffioac prscdiOi pro aliquo non

" obftante,

<^ obi|)^me,joreafteriuscuiufqiiamfemp|ei
'^ Et di^m Patricium, noftrnm Erehach
*^ cicdcfii'd* Twynha; cumomni indcoi
*• emolumento, fccimtis, conftituimti^, ct in
*** prstniffii^enore prdentiumoirdtBafnas.
*• otnintrt, qUidcm, per has noftras concefii
^^ dmftitutioticm ct ordinationenii nobis v
** ccflbrlbiB noftris, dc' novo introitu i
** nova!'conccfBon?s feu inveftiturae, cum
•^'gferlt, pro arTquanolamus derogare. Ii
"rei tcfthwonium, figtHum noftrum, unk
^' giUo comnrani capituli noilri prsedidli, |
** ttbilscftappcnfiim. Datum Armachiae
" Augtifti, A. D. 1455, ct noftrae confccn
*V anno isr.— By thcfe evidences (and othe

vid. Ct-"''!^^ ^ produced out of the rcgiftcr of CI
pitvkr. car.ivlfeh fof brevity I omit) may cafily be colic
l^l'E^k j! wMt fort, and upon what terms thcfe churd
JlJ J^oj^a^j-havc been held mlattcr days; Althefirft bcgi
tiom'ei bt'l conceive, the fame order to havcbeen here,
(I*)" piJf^commonly was ufed in other parts of Chrifte
*?]^J''j^^-that the tythesand profits of temporal Ian
tiaum ar- pertaining unto every church, were taken
ciimVniem^ common rcccivcr, and diftributed int<
Br?ndISS ^q^^l portions, (/) one whereof was allotted
0) Epio.' bi(hop, another to his clergy, the third up
MixTmitm.rcparation of the fabric, and a fourth towai
Ip""*^' relief of the poor and ftrangcrs. This w
if>\Apu6 cuftom of the churches of Italy, as may I

V ftB%4t^* O F C OR BJE.%^ BOJ tor-

^ndlof'Wbrmfe, ctlibi 7. capitular. cii-«y>^
iAftW, Gregory the i ft tnaking mnfiver to the rift *
^oaof^AxjRrm, biOiop of Canterbury <f) " Mos^SS,
(( fedb apoftdlicflcreftCfaidi he) ordinatisepifcoptscb. g.a§L
'* pr€ccpia tradcrc, ut d« omnir ftipendio quod*'*
<* accidit^ quataor debent fieri por^nes: una^ viz.
'* epiicopoet familiae, propter hofpitafitatem alqiie *
'< fufceptionem ; atia clero; tertia paoperibua^
** qtortt ecclefits r epdrandis.'* In Sftfln the<livir
(lOD of the church revenues was siade into tbree^
partS) afi is plain by divers councils held tfaete^;
and namely^ the i ft of Braccara^ cap. 25. "Pkr
^^ catty ut de rebus ecclefiafticis tres nque fiaM
'^poftiofieSf i. e. una epiicopi; aliaclericonun^.
** tertia in reparatione^ vel in lummariis ecdefiafr/*
And the council of Tarragona, (/) Can. 8. ** QSttM ram. «.
" tertia piinrs ex opnibus, per antiquam traditio-^JJ^iJ^
" ncm, ut accipiatur ab efufcopis, novimus ft^t^^SJUJ^i^
*• turn." In the prefcnt ftate of our northernmeritMr.
dnirches^ if we well mark it, fome traces of thefetTss.^Sit-
andcnt orders may be obferved. For firft in the^>o!r;
canons which have been cited, thiamay be noted,s* ''J^ *•
that in thefe days the pariihionors were not tied to'' * *'
the reparation of their churches; but the charge
thereof was to be defrayed out of the revenues of
the church. '* Ex omnibus iflis capitulis coUige
** (faith the glofle (r) upon the decrees) laicos non
^' eiTe compellendos ad reparationem fabricae, fedmeai io it.
'♦ tantum clerlcos". Now this old order, which ^^tt^
other where is grown out of ufe, remaineth ftill in
^fic North. " We find (fay the jurors of the
'* county of Cavan J) that the parfon, vicar, andtseebcfare
*crenacb, are to repair and maintain their pro-B!rf aS!
^ poT parifb church at their own charge, out of^nr.
tixir benefices and the Termon-land, unto

*• which

Sot USHER OF CORB^S^ fcc.

^^ whidi work the parifliioners did oftencim<

<^ lontarily give their benevolence." Again, I

fame canons the bifhop was to have vel qua

vel tertiam, fecundum locorum di verfitates, a

b) itf- j[B**tian (u) noteth. And fo (according to the d\\

'* '' of places) the bifhop enjoyeth his fourth in

naught, and in the diocefs of Clogher, as lib

in the diocefe of Derry and Raphoe his

part, which alfo fiill retaineth the name of

ta & tertia epifcopalis. The taking up (

GoUeAions, and diftribution of the church ]

into their feveral portions, was in thofe da]

fpedal charge of the archidiaconus, as ms

(«);Grcg. pear by the epiftle of Gregory (w) ad honoi

Kpiitio. archidiaconum Salonitanum $ and of Ifido

j^6t^k^ LindifredumCordubcnfcm epifcopum, th

Rru, aimo fcribing the oflSce of an archdeacon. *' CoU(

^^ pecuniam de communione ipfe accipit, ei

** copo defert, et clericis proprias partes idei

•* tribuit." The archdeacon to this day is t^

by the Iri(h, Erenach (as before I have dech

and we find that this was one office of oui

nach, to be the bifhop*s colledtor, as in tl

t Aau p. quifition for the county of Donegal t is partic

•7S. fct down of O'Morrcfon the Erenach of the |

of Clonemanny, ^' that he was anciently accu

ed to collect all the bifliop's duties througho

whole barony of Ennifowcn."

Now by the Canonica difpofitio quartaru
Gregory (y) calleth it) the bifliop being to
O) Epift. his fourth both of the fpiritual and temporal c
of the church m Clogher, he rcccivcth accord
the fourth part of the tythes of fuch parifl
art within that diocefe. Befides this, every
nach payeth unto him a certain yearly rent (

USH£ROFCORBES|tcc t«3

rerroon-lands belon^ng unto his church,

I if I (hould guefs to have been in confidera-

f the Q^arta due unto the biftiop out of the

>ral pofleiTions of that church, I fuppofe my

5lure, would be found to have in it more pro-

ty and conformity to the ancient church go-

nent, than that which by fome of the northern

; (men not very (kilful in matters of fuch an-

y) was deli vered, viz.* that when the tempo- • Ut kttcr

rds in their fcveral wars, and upon other oc-Ji^hwy.**

IS, began to charge and tax the Termon*

\ with divers exactions and impofitions, the'

ei and Erenachs fled unto the bifliop of the

fe wherein they lived, and befought his pro-

0 againft the wrongs and injuries of the tern-
lords, and therefore voluntarily gave unto the
p a rent or penfion out of their land/' But
this pafs. The bifliop's portion being deduA-
fuch fort as hath been (hewed, there fliould
in a fourth both of the ty thes and of the tem-
ities to be allowed unto the minifters that at-
xl the cure, another fourth to be fpent in re-
ions and keeping up of the church, and a
h likewife paupeiibus et peregrinis fideliter

inda, as the canons (z) require. When there-(s) cMan
the receiving of the church goods into a com-c|I^.*i
hand, and the (haring of them into their fc-p]«[^. J^

1 portions began to be abufed (he which wasGr^iaiioa,
economus carving, as it is like, very favour- ^'/JS;^
for himfclf) or upon fome other refpedl was<»«^ ^•'*«:
led, and every one was willing to be the itew-^ad aem. u
)f his own portion^ the prefbiteri, (that is, the JJSjjJI^cS^
an and vicar) and the archidiaconus, or Ere-S*' ^•'T*
1, may be thought to have grown to this com- 47-

lion ^ the Erenacb charged himfelf with the

reparation

2^si USHEHrOF CORBE.Ss. &c^

repanUion.of two* thirds of the fabrick (t
uppahtm thcrcarcof. the, lower part or bo
the.church) the:parfQn and vicar undertool
chatg!?. of the other third . part. There bei
divide betwixt them the three quarters <
church. gpodawhipb xematioed aboye.tbe bi
allowaocc ; for.more.qpiet and eafe the pref
took wholly uato thernfelves the three quart
' the.tythes(two whereof fell iqto the parfon*
tad one. to the. vicar's) without challenginj
bfsnefit IB thctemporal profits (except fome
qi^tity of glebe^land they were to dwell o
ardiidiaconus or erejiach for keeping of hofpi
aodentertainmem of ftrangers (befides the.
mon . care of reparations) bad afligned unt

the. commodity of the three quarters of th(
pond lands^ which he raifed out of fuch renu
tings^and fervicea as were to be exacted <
Coloni Ect:lefiaftici, or Termoners. Thus
thin^ ordered, where the diftiibution o
church goods into four parts, was admitted, a
be obferved in thofe places, which belong
dioccfe of Cloghcr, viz. in a part of Tyroi
Fermanagh, and in the county of Mona
called In times pad, Ergallia, where Quarta
copalis, is faid to have been granted to the I
of Clogher, by Innocentius the fecond, at tl
queft of Malachias. For fo we read in the
ter of that bifhoprick. '' Malachias, archie
*• pusuArdmachanus, apoftolicae fedis legati
** fhnocentio Ildo. impetravit quartam epilco]
*• '^r totam Ergaliam dari epifcopo Cloghc
;ut in pontificalt ejufdem ecclefise. com
*• continctur ; quam vidimus, legimus, et a
*• bavimus.'* Howbeit,.it i^ppcareth by Bei

"pel

^fici

i

U S H EH O F C O R BE S, "ftc. 1K>5

that this Malachias, all the time that he vtti \Ar
/bop enjoyed not the benefit of any tythes, nor
yetoF lands, either menfal or cenfual ; bnt liv^
r«.thcr by cofhering after the Irilh fafliion. *• Non

* * ferVos (faith Bernard 0») in his life) non andU>>^, W^«"2|]J;
<* non villas, non viculos, non denique quicquamUch.

• • reditum ecclefiafticorum, feculariumve, vel ia
^^ ipfo habuit epifcopatu. Menfe epifcopali, nihil
** prorfus conftitutum, vel aflignatum, unde eplf-

: •• * copus viveret \ nee enim vel domum propriam
^ ** habuit ; erat, autem, pend inceflanter circuiens
r^ • * parxdas omnes, evangelio ferviens, et de evan-
s •* gclio vivens, ficut conftituit ei Dominus; dig-
;x ** nus eft, inquiens, operarius nwrcede fui." But
: b to return to the matter, whence I have a little di-
t tsu. grefled. As in Clogher the Canonica difpofitio
5, c: quar tarum was in ufe, fo in the diocefes of Dcrry
of t! andRaphoe the diftribution in tertias was obferved.
3 vf f here the Erenach taketh up tertiam epifcopalem
of - of the tythes, which he delivcreth not in kind, but
as CI paycth in confideration thereof a yearly rent iinto
; ^^ - the biftiop. He giveth unto him in like mariner,
^^ \ a certain annuity out of the Termon-lands, which
^S*^ poflibly might have been due (according to my
* ^; fbrmcr conjedhire) in regard of the bifliop's inte-
reH in the third of the temporal larids belonging
unto that church. So there (hould remain two
thirds both of the tythes and of the temporalities.
The two thirds remaining of the temporalities the
Erenach held for the maintenance of his charge ;
the parfon and vicar contented themfclves with
the two thirds of the tythes (which were equally
drVided between them ;) the parfon, vicar, and
fi-enach, charging themfelves in common with the
keeping up and reparation of the church, this

206 USHER OF COR B£S, &c.

is the order obferved in Derry and Raphoe. Id
the diocefe of Armagh (from which alfo the fiate
of the diocefe of Kilmore differeih not much) the
tythes are divided into three parts, whereof tk
parfon hath two, and the vicar one ; the ardh
bifbop challenging only certain menfal tytbei
out of the lands lying about the city of A^
magh. The Erenach poflefleth the temporal laoib
of the church, yielding a rent unto the hiSbofi
and intermeddleth not with the tythes ; yet b»
eth together with the parfon and vicar, the chtigi
of reparations. So in divers diocefes, diverfcdf*
toms are held for the diftribution of the chuck
revenues : whereupon it falleth out fometime^
that in one and the fame county very different
culloms are obferved in that behalf. As^ namdji
in one part of Tyrone (belonging to the (Bo-
ce(e of Clogher) the biftiop and vicar haie
one half of the tythes, and the parfon the others
in another part (belonging to the diocefe of
Derry) the parfon, vicar, and erenach divide the
tythes betwixt them in fuch fort as formerly hath
been declared ; and in another part (belongingto
the diocefe of Armagh) the parfon taketh up two;
third parts of the tythes, and the vicar one ; the
archbi(hop and erenach claiming no part thereof.
And thus have I delivered my judgment, not fo
much of the prcfent (late, and much Icfs of that
which were meet to be fettled hereafter (the order-
ing whereof I wholly refer unto the higher powersi
not minding to interpofe myfelf in ftate affairs) as
of the original and firft eilate of Corbes, Erenachs
and Termon-lands ; wherein as I myfelf profefe
that I have carried an indifferent hand, without
any partiality or private refpedt whatfoever, (mihi

enia

USHER OF CORBES» &c ao?

emm ifthic nee feritur nee metitur) fo would I have
none to imagine, that I take upon me peremptorily
to determine any thing in this matter of antiquity ;
u being not ignorant with what obfcuritiea quef*
tions of that nature are involved, efpedally where
^p of aneient monument^ is wanting. My pur*
ipofe only was to point unto the fountains, and to
^compare the prefent date of things with the prac-
'fice of antienter times ; thinking I have done will,

^ if hereby I may give oeeafion of further enquiry
Onto tfaofe who have greater judgment and more

Icifure to hold out the truth of this bufinefs.

AN

A C C O U N T

or TWO

/ A1<1CIENT ; INSTRUKENTJ

LATELY 0ISCfQVERE9»

WITH A SHORT

INTRODUCTORY PREFACi

JN E X T to the laws, policy, and go^
of a people, the arts and fciences knoi
amongft them, deferve our attention, becauTe fn
difcoveries have had their origin and their ii
provements in fettled and civilized focieties.
difcovery , and more efpecially their improve
are the work of well-regulated focieties, parti(
larly of fuch as have fettled early, and have it
habited the fame fpot for a long feries of time.

As we propofe to treat of the manners
cuftomsof the ancient Irifh, this work would
cflcntially defedtive did we not defcribe fuch nio»!
numents of antiquity as have been difcovcred iaj
this ifland. There is an intimate relation between
the manners of a nation, and the arts and fciencei^

whkh

ANClEMT INSTRUMENTS. 209

vhich it cultivates. Their influence upon each
»ther is reciprocal.

All political focieties have not made equal ini'*
provements in the arts ; thefe have beeii carried
to different degrees of perfeftion by different peo-
ple. In this ifland we may mark their pnigrefs.
Tools and implements of Aone, fuch as ufed by
Hhe favage American, are frequently difcovered ;
hammers of fione have been found in the copper
mines of Kerry ; heads of arrows made of flint,
•re often dug up and are now efteemed the work
of fairies ^ nor is this peculiar to the Irifti, all nati*
, ons were originally in the fame fiate of ignorance.
The Egyptians, Perfians, Phoenicians, Greeks,
and even the felf-opinionated Chinefe, acknow
;, that their anceftors were once without the
ufe of fire. Mela, Pliny and Plutarch, fpeak of
nations who at the time they wrote had but jult
learned it, and feveral modern travellers atted
i&£ts of the fame kind in our days.

The ufe of copper fucceeded that of (tone. All
jiDcient authors are unanimous that mankind were
jkteft in learning to work iron. The fragments
>of the Brehon laws of Ireland inform us, that iron
rwi8 an imported commodity into this ifland.
Iron, wine and leather were the chief imported
commodities.

Arms and tools for hufl>andry were all of cop-^
per for many ages. The writings of Home^
leave us no room to doubt of this ; {b) even at the
Tngan war iron was very Kttle ufed. Copper, id
a word, fupplied its place, and this metal was
ufed both in making of arms and all kinds of tools

P and

«

r»^ n. L 4. v. 511. 1. 5. v. 7a|, OdyC L 5. t. S44< Dl-
oayf. HaL L 4. p. aai.

aie ACCOUNT OF TWO

ind utenfils. The Sabean priefis cut their hs
with a knife of brafs (c) ; Job fpeaks of bows
brafs (d) ; and Herodotus aflures us that the Mi
fagetae had their axes, fpears, quivers, hatchets ar
their very horfe-trappin^s of this metal {c
Swords compofed of copper, fpeltur and iron,
the fame fliape and of the fame mixture as
quantity and quality of each metal, have be<
u>und in Ireland and on the plains of Cannx,
fimil^r in form as to appear to be cad in the fai
mould J may wc not cpnjefturc that they wi
made by one and the fame artift, s^nd if flreng
cned by further evidences may wc not affert t|
the very people who wielded thcfe fwqrd
Cannae extended tlieir conqueiU to Ireland ?
Had the ancients hande^ down tp. us draw
ofthpfe implements, many dificult points of
tory might have been cleared up. Number!
pff^nt /nconflflencieshaye been reconciled hj^
labours of the indefatigable Montfaucpn ^ the
jeftures of the very learned Bryant, that
Egyptian and Arkite worlhip extended to
Britifh ifles, is in a manner confirmed by the
numeiit dug up at Thor in Weftmoreland,
an infcription dedicated to Jovi Serapi, prefc
by that memorable magazine monger Sylvcft|l
Urban (/). In Ireland we have ftronger prqj
of the fire worlbip, wc celebrate the fire fcafl^
^al to this day, and Pqrtethia, or fire to\wi
ai^e common in this ifland, fome are alfo tq^l
met in Scotland.

(e) Macrpb. Sat. 1. 5« c. 19.

(d) Ch. 20. V. 24. The original Hebrew implies bf
or copper, and fo the Vulgate has tranflated it ; but t
£ngli(h verfion calls them bows of ftecl.

(fi) HfTodot. L I. Q. 2r5,

(fj Gent. Mag. vol. 8. p. 417.

:i'rf

K:

Of all thefe the editor propofes to treat of io
their turns, and in this number prefents his raid-
ers with the drawings of two remarkable inftru-
meats not hitherto defcribed.

PLATE I.

Fig. I . reprefents a fiiver inftrumctit lately turn-
ed up by the plough in a field near the cathedral
of Cafhei in the county of Tipperary .

C D. is a ring of foiid fiiver, one inch and quar-
ter in circumference t the diameter of the ring
from C to D is 54 inches.

£ £. are two bofies or knobs of folid fiiver fixed
to the ring ; one fide of each of which is curi-
oufly wrought with fmall pyramids of a qua*
drangular bafe, terminating in a point.

A. B. is a fpear of folid fiiver, 1 3} inches long,
terminating in ^ point, and fo flender as to con-
vince us that it is not a weapon either oSenfive
or defenfive ; it is fo weak, that if held near the
point , B, the weight of the ring and bofles
bend^the fpear. One fide of the knob of this
fpear is alfo ornamented With pyramids as
thofe of the knobs E £ : this fpear is moveable
round the ring C D.

The fuperficies of the button F is engraved in
form of a crofs, as reprefented at G. The
weight of this inftnlment is 18 ounces.
Another inftrument of fiiver, fimilar to the

above, has been lately dug up from under a rock

a.t Ballinrobe.

Ftg. ^.1 I. are two globes of folid fiiver, faftened
to each end of the ring.

H. another globe which moves round die ring.

P a This

ai2 ACCOUNT OF TWO>&c.

This 18 the only defcription given of this inftnK
ment in Exfbaw's Magazine for the month oT
February laft. If this work (hould fall into the
hands of Curio, he is requefted by the editor to
l^ve the exadt dimenfions and weighty and to ob-
ferve if the fpear point as at K. has not been brok-
en, from the moveable globe or bo(s H.

FINIS.

CfHeSianea de Rebus Hibemicisl

N U M B £ R III.

CR I TICO. HISTORICAL

DISSERTATION,

CONCERNING THE

Iri(h Lawt, or National Cuftoms, called
GiVBL-KiNDj andTaiMisTET or Seoior Go-
vern ment.

PART I.

SHEWING,

The Nature and primitive Intent of thefe Lawsi and tbe
rational Grounds of their original Infiitution. Uluftrac*
ed by remarkable Inftances of fimilar Laws, antiendr
obferred by other great and flourifliing Nations, ,bot&
European and Afiatic.

ALSO,

A. fliort Sketch (from the Leabhar na Gceart, or Book of
Rights) of the Subfidies which were foroiflied by the
Provincial Kings of Ireland, to the difR^rent Princes and
Dynafb of their refbedive Provinces* and of the State
Retributions, and Fifcal Supplies annually paid to the
Provincial Kings by chofe fubaltem Princes and their
People.

The whole intended aa an Eflay towards fumiiking fome
Lights for future Enquiries into the Origin of theanti*
ent Iriih Nation.

DUBLIN:
LUKE WHITE-

V,PCC)LXXXTI.

Advert ifement.

As an Introdu£tion to the Iri(h laws^ which we
intend to give the public in the coiufe of this
worky the next number will contain a critical and
. Inftorical diflertation on the gavel and tbaniftry
laws of Ireland ; wherein wiU be proved^ that the
aflertions of Sir John Davis, Sir James W*e, and

f others, making thefe laws peculiar to the ancient
. IrUhy are falfe, and arofe from their ignorance of
the laws of other nations^ and even of their own.

T O

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

JAMES BARON LIFFORD,

LORD CHANCELLOR

»

[ or

I R E L A N D,

THIS

THIRD NUMBER

OF THE

fcOLLECTANE A,

CONTAINING A

Dissertation of the Laws

OP T H B

ANTIENT IRISH,

IS DEDICATID BY

HIS LORDSHIP'S
most ob e d i i n t,

Most humble servakt,

CHARLES VALLANCEY.

CONTENTS.

o

'F the Male-ginrely

Pagca«5

Of the Thanifirj-law or Senior-fucceffiony 274

378

Of the State'lfWB of Tribiifeff aiid Fifcal
rights ; anciently obferved by the Irifli
kings ; and their fubordiaate princes and
ftates refpcdtively.

Of die £ri<5 or Muldt fof homicide accord-
ing to the antient Brehon-law of Ireland,
compared WitK tBe Uwis bf other nations, 401

An orfgiMA anftfent i^ettJitlg in f^tir of
Senior-fucceffion, with a tranflation, 410

PREFACE.

i^ I R John Davis, Sir James Ware, and other
writers of Irifli afiairs, having efteemed the an-
cient Irifli fy ftem of government, and particularly
the confiitutional law of fucceffion, called Tta-
fofiry^ not only as abfurd, but alfo as Angular
and unprecedented in other nations, has induced
the author of the following DiiTertation to 'take
up his feeble pen in its defence ; in which he
has endeavoured to prove, that a fimilar form of
government may be found in other political con-
ftitutions, and that this Thaniftical law of fuc-
Gcifion was firft introduced among the Irifh, by
their Celtic anceilors.

Whoever reads Procopius's Hiftory of the Van-
dalic war, and the foundation of the empire eila-
blifhed by Geferic, or Gizeric, conqueror of
Andalufia and Africa foon after the fifth century,
will there find a true counterpart, if not an exa£t
copy of the ancient Irifh fyftem of government,
particularly with regard to the ^onftitutional law
pf fucceffion called Thaniftry. As this hiftorian
inay be regarded as an ocular witnefs of moii of
the fa As and feats of the Vandalic war, he has
been often referred to, the author has therefore
given the quotations at length, as alfo from Gre-
gory of Tours, to fave the reader the trouble of
fecking books, not to be found in every library.

Roderic O Flaherty, author of the Ogygia^
(whom the Irifh erroneoufly efleem as the Hiber-
nian Procopius) feems to have confidered the
Thaniilical law, rather in its abufes^ and accord-
ing

PREFACE.

ing to the manner of executing it in fubfequeoc
ages, than in its primitive infiitudon or
intent and meaning. This author, among ot!
is an example of the great lofs it is both to
tory and to law, that they have too little
huted their mutual aids to each other. La
themfelves feldom give hiftorical dedudions
laws, and hiftorians feldomer meddle with k
at all, even with thofe which gave occafioD
the conftitution of a date, and on which, m
than on battles and negcciations, the fate of
doth often turn. ar

For this reafon, it is difficult to trace th^ "
ral revolutions of the feudal laws of defccntin
one ftate of Europe ; nor could fuch revolud
be often traced at all, were it not for the li
which the hiilories of public fucceffions afford.

Before Edward I. proceeded to hear the
of Bruce and Baliol, for the crown of Scot
he put the following queftion to the parlia
of both kingdoms aflcmblcd together : * By wbii

* law of fucccffion is the right of fucceffion to be

* determined ?' The anfwer made unanimouflj
by the parliaments of both kingdoms was, * Thtt
*' the right of fucceffion to the kingdom is to be

* judged by the rules obfcrved in cafes of counties,

* baronies, and other fuch like tenures,' Hengcwe
fee that the fame rules which regulated private, !
were likewife the meafures of public fucceffion.

The author of this diflertation agrees with Sir
John Davis, that the laws of Thaniftry and Ga-
vel-kind would not be deemed rational laws in this
improved age, and that fuch laws would (to ufc
his own words) va en deflruSHm del comptotttoealibl
et pour ceo^ no/Ire Ley eft h melior Ley de mmmk
pour fair £5? prejerver un commonwealth: the intent

of

PREFACE.

)f this cffay is to prove that ihefc laws were not
m cuftomc perfonall^ peculiar to the Irilh, but in
x>nimon to mod other nations on the globe.

The beil hiftorians allow that the Englifh an-
tiquities are involved in mift, and the Scotch in
^e moft profound darknefs regarding feudal fuc-
xffion \ they knew that the inheritance, without
(bang upon the eldeft, or indeed any fon at all,
was equally divided amongft all the fons, but
they knew not from what law or cuftom this pro*
ceeded.

This divifion of lands amongft the male oflf-
fpring, the ancient Irifli called Gabhaltas-cinne
or Gavail-kinnc, from which IriOi word, literally
fignifying a famly fettlment ; the Englilh formed
the term Gavel-kind. The word Gavail or Ga-
valtas in the old Irifh language (ignified any land-
ed fettlement whether by inheritance or conqueft ;
thus by the words Lcabbar . na Gabbala is meant
tHe Book of Qmquc/tsj and in an old manufcript
now before me the eftates which the O Briens of
Thomond, and thofe of Arra pofieiTed themfelves
of in the country of Arra in the thirteenth cen-
tury, is called GabbaUas^ though fubjed to no
fervice or rent in thofe days.

The learned Somner is as much miftaken in
deriving the word Gavel kind from the Saxon Go^
fd or Gavekj i. ,e. vesical, vel, red^tus^ a tax
or tribute, and Cyndc^ \. e. natura^ genus ^ modus ^
t mode or quality, as others are in deriving it
[ from G«/, or Giveall-kind. Taylor is certainly
i^t in deriving it from {a) Gafael^ \. e. tenurg
aod ccnedl^ i. t. generation i. t.funduf ^entiUs^ five
bereHtarius^ and this agrees per^&ly with the lri(h
Gavml'cinne. See the root of this word explained

in

(#) Clarke's Preface to Hywel Dda's Code of WeUh^s Lawf.

PREFACE.

in the preface of the former number of this Co/
ledanea.

The Franks were not the only people, bcfidcj
the Irifti, that obfcrved this cuftom of Gavcling
or dividing landed properties between the pof
fellbrs children. The Anglo-Saxons praflifed
the like cuftom, which they called in their lan-
guage Gifeal-kin ; a word of almoft the like found
and letters, as well as of the fame l^ificatioii
with the Irifti Gabbdl-anm. The WcKh alfo,
who are the remains of the old Britons, obfenrcd
It until the thirty-fecond year of Henry VIII.

Sir John makes no diftin£tion of the Irifh Ga-
vels, of which there were too kinds, as we have
explained by examples at page 263 of this work
He treats only of the general gavel or reparti-
tion, at the exiinftion of fome branches, as nwj
be underftood from his own words, * Ceft Can-

* finny, ou chicfc de Sept, apres It mort de chc-

* fcun ter-tenant que avoit competent portioildc

* terre, aflembloit tout le Sept, fc aiant mifi
^ touts lour pofleflions en Hotchpotch, fefoit novel

* panition de tout ;— — et il allottoit al chcfcur

* del Sept, folonque fon antiquity, le melrcur on

* greinder purparty.* Again, this author fays,
the Ihfh cuftom of Gavel- kind, ^ futt agreeaUc
^ al cuftome de Gavel- kinde, qui fuit en ufe tx

* Northgales/ It is very probable that it originall]
was, as the ancient Britons derived this cdfton
from the fame fource as the ancient Irilh. Ac
cordingly we find that the chief Strongbonian fa
milies, exclufive of thofe who were confined will
in the Engli(h pale, obferved this gaveling cu!
torn, yet they did not regard the rufe of cquj
(bares, as I have noticed at page 265, where

gav(

PREFACE.

d of the Burks is tranflated, as I find it re*
led in the aforementioned old manufcript.
rfae Thaniftical fucceffion of the O Brien fa-
f has been recorded from the earlieft account
[ri(h hiftory down to the XVth century, in
book of Munfier and in the annals of Ire-
1. The tranfailions of this family are inter*
r£ed with many hiitorical anecdotes of the va-
18 tribes of Belgians, Livonians, Pruflians, Po-
nanians, Danes, and Norwegians, Src. who in-
ed this country at different periods to the end
the ninth century, under the name of Nfair-^
, Leatnuumi, Lochlanni, &:c. &c. in which,
ioAion is made between thofe invaders whom

Irifli denominated Fin-galli, and Duflf-galli,
white and blatk ford^ers) names which have
pkxed our modern luftorians. This (hall be

fnbje£t of the fucceeding number of this
Ikdanea.

rhe author being unacquainted with the temis
law, hopes the indulgence of fuch gentlemen

the robe, into whofe hands the following
ets may fall. He flatters himfelf, that on an
partial perufal, it will appear, fome new lights
re been thrown on thcfe very ancient conftitu-
Qal laws of the Celtic nations, and that the an-
at Irifh are freed from the reproach of barta-
^ fo wantonly and fo illiberally beftowed on
em by former writers.

DuBLiv, July 1774.

/

DISSERTATIONS

ON THE

NATIONAL CUSTOMS,
AND STATE-LAWS

OF TBI

ANCIENT IHISH.

PART I.

CHAP. I.

Of the aaietit Irijb laws or natiuud adorns, edUd
Gavd-kind or Male-gavd, tmi Thmifiry «r
iftic SucceOion.

SECT. I.

Of tbt MA.LE-GA.VEL.

/\ S the primordial and fundamental lavrs of
all kingdoms and fovereign ftatea are^natu*
rally coeval with, and calculated for the par*
ticular fyfteni of government originally in-
tended and eftablifhed by th^ir refpedtive foun*
ders : fo all fuch primitive cuftoma or ufagea aa
may pafs either for (tate-maxims or for national

Q^ and

tt6 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

and Gonftf tutiondl laws univerfidly adopted by tbe
body of people of which the ftate was firft fonor
cd, muft have flowed either firom the law of ot-
ture and the maxims of the primitrve times, or
from the particular genius and fpirit that dumtc
terized each different nation, and the polidcil
drcumfiances, in which they primitively hsp-
pened to be (ituated with regard to their ndg^
bours and their own national views and pubiic
interells ; or from the cafual combination of fome
or all of thefe different principles together.

Thus that national and llate-maxim, which hid
been anticntly eftablifhed among the Franks, ssd
wasby anexprcfb conftitutional law tobe moftftrtft-
ly obferved by them after their firft (ettleroent in
Gaul, I mean that law, by which all female bein
were excluded from any part or portion in fudi
inheritances as they called Salic lands ; was not
only the natural refult of the military genius of
that people, as well as a meafurc of public ex*
pediency for extending their conquefls, and fecor-
ing their national fettlement in that part of the
then decaying Roman empire ; but was alfo very
plainly fuggefled by the principles of the Uw of
nature and the reafon of things : and far from
being peculiar to the Franks alone, the fame
maxim was common to feveral other nations, who
equally obferved it, efpecially with regard to all
properties and tenures of a like conftitution and
condition with the Salic lands.

The military benefices that had been inflituted
by the Roman emperors, before the Franks
had any fixed fettlements in Gaul, particularly

and

DISSERTATIONS

ON THE

NATIONAL CUSTOMS,
AND STATE-LAWS

or TBI

ANCIENT I&ISH.

PART I.

CHAP. I.

Of ik oMlient Irijb laws or national cu/loms^ caBed
Gavel-kind or Male-gaydi and ThanUlry or
Taniftic Succeffion.

S E C t. 1.

0/ tU MALE-GAVEL.

xSl S the primordial and fundamental lavrs of
all kingdoms and fovereign ftates are ^ natu*
rally Coeval with, and calculated for the par-
ticular fyftem of government originally in-
tended and eftablifhed by th^ir relpeftive foun-
ders : fo all fuch primitive cuftoms or ufagea as
may pafs either for (tate-maxims or for national

Q^ Md

228r Di&SERTATION& ON THE

fervice {b) as a neceflary condition for the en*
joymcnt of thofe landed, benefices, but alio re-
quired, that the fons of the veterans who woe. **
poliefled ofi fuch lands, (bould be enrolled in the
fervice at the age of eighteen, to the end, fays da
emperor, that they may learn to ferve their fove-
reigp and their country, before they are of in
agf t0 become plunderers or highwaymen i it ap-

Eears from a remark of St. Auguftin in one dF
is ftrmons (r), that tbe Roman emperors aUi
required an oath to be taken by thofe, who were
to be: poflefled of fuch benefices, by which they
bound themfelves to the obligation of militaij
fervice^ as well as to fealty and alliance to. the
Imperial crown ; it further appears by the so*
nezed paflage of Severus Sulpitios concenung
St; Martin (d)j that by a law of Confiantioe the
Great, it was not left to the free option of the
male hcarff of the beneficed veterans^ either to

cogsge

(i) Barbarorum qui apud Ifauros fttnt, vcl per tenottQ
Tcl per volantatem* loca ingrefTus eft : qux quum peragnf*
fet» hoc dixit, facilias eft ab iftis locis Ittronet arceri qntm
toUi, Veteranb omnia ilia qus angufti adeontur loca pri-
vata doDavit, addens ut eorum. filii ab anno odaTodccuno
mares duntazat ad militiam mitterentur, ne ante latroctna-
ri quam militare difcerent. Vopifcus in Probo.

{€) Notum eftt quod milites fieculi beneficia temporalta
a temporalibus dominis accepturi prius militaribus iacra-
mentis obligantUTy et dominis fuis fidem fe fervaturoi pro-
fimitur. Senn. i . in Vigil. Pent.

(df) Sed cum ediftum.efle^ a regibns, et veteranorum filn
ad miHtiam fcribepentur, .pn>dente patre qui felicibos ejus
adibns inridebat^ cum eflet annorum ^uindecimy raptos et
catenatus facraadentis. imlitaribus implicatus eft:. Solpitio
in: viti Msuctini.

X.fAWS OF Tai ANTIE3IT IRISH. 229

tsv^mge in die fervicci 4ir forfeit the 'faocefficn >

bu\ were abfohitely forced to enrol and bind tbem-

fcWcs by the military oath above mentioned^

even at the age of fifteen: and here, to-obfervc

it by ihe bye, we have the trne orij^nal and

pattern ^bbth in matter and Ifbrm, of thofe traded

pofleffiom, which, towards'the-decline and period

(tf the G^rlovingian race, vert eftabliffaed in

France and Germany, under ^he name of iFeoda

or Feuds, otherwife ctilied Pi^fs and Fees, held

under the 'obligation of 'fti^, and liomage or

military (bvice, fworn to (he proprietary tord.

It was doubtlefs to leave no fort of room fior a
female fuoceffion into thofe military beneftatt'of
the Roman emperors, that the words Mires
diMMoi^ were inferted'by Brdbus in his juft cftfed
law ; ^as if he had forefeen that in aafe ($f 'foiitire
of mate ifliie, the daughters of the i>en€ficed ve-
terans might po0efs themfelves of the land that
was enjoyed by their fath^ under pretekt of a
nominal! enirolment in the fervice, and think tfiem*
felves qualified to enjoy them by only employing
a mercenary foldier to acquit the <A)ligatidn ?hi-
cumbent on the benefice. Thia in reiUi^ :haljp«
pened Id^tee the cafe, in after ages, with iregsrd
to feveral of the military benefices of itheiFreiich
nation, wherein after the difoirdcrt, which hap-
pened lender the lad kings of the feoond tnie,
and when thofe benefices Vfefeconvcrtfld'hitoifiafs
of perpetual property, th6**ttitl^urtder the Obliga-
tion of -tniKtary fervice, a female fuccd&Mi- wits
mtroduced and admitted of, efpecially in the
grand feodal provinces, on condition of fumi(h-

- ;in^

*•

230 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

ing the due contingent of officers tad
.to perform this feryice in behalf of the
heirefis.

But before we proceed farther on this

or come to the explication of the confi

that enfued from the diforders juft mentiofd^

is to be obferved, that the Franks after their

fettlement in Gaul, enjoyed two forts of

properties of different cpnllitutions and

ons ; their very firft fettlements in. that part of

then declining empire, confided in what

called Salic lands, which in reality were hut lit

tary benefices of the hereditary kind, gnntrd

them by their firll adventuring kings, and dueflf

by Clevis ; and which of con fequence they hcUj

£rom the flate, under the obligation of Qiilitv;

fervice. Thofe Salic lands, according to s lite

and well approved French writer (r J, were doc

only of the fame oonftitution with the Romn

benefices eliablifhed by Severus and Probus, bot

alfoconfifted moftly of thofe individual landsthii

had been aifigned by them and other emperors

to the imperial veterans; Clovis haying diftri-

buted them amongft the officers and (bkliers d

hts army, according as they fell vacant, and ic

the mean tiipe, to make up the deficiency

beflowed on others a competent (hare of the

lands that belonged to the domain of ih

emperors, or were otherwife at his own difpo(ai

whether from devolution, di&nheritance, or con

fifcatton i for, according to this author, Clovis dk

no

(#) Abbe Dabos Hift. Crit. de la Monar. Franc. ^oL 4
lib. 6. cb. 13-

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 031

not difpoflcds the old inhabitants of Gaul of the
lead part or portion of their properties, for which
q^inion, tho' contrary to the general notion, he
gives, I think, very plaufible reafons, if not quite -
iatisfaftory proofs ; thofe Salic lands or hereditary '
benefices being held of the date, in whofe direft.
dominion they always remained, fubjedted as they -
were to the obligation of military fervioe, oouid
not therefore be efteemed of Oa\£i property to;
the pofieflbrs, tho' they may be deemed a perma*
nent intereft, as defcending perpetually &om
father to fon, while the obligation and condition.
of their tenure was complied with and fulfilled. 1
The fecond kind of landed property which ths*
Franks became poflefled of by degrees after their
eftablUhment in Gaul, efpecially under Cbviti
was called Allodium or AUeudium and terra Al-t
iodta, in Engliih Allodial land, or Alleud, whereof
there is queftion in the 6ad title of the SaUc law^
wbidi was firft digefted and reduced into writing
under the reign of Theodoric or Thiery die eldeft
fon of Clovis or Clodowic. Botindua ezp^D^is
Allodium to be praedium feu qusevis poQd&6 li*
bera jurilque proprii, et non in feudura Clientam
onere accepta. In (hort, it may be defined, a
man's own land, or whatever he poflEbifes freely
and merely in his own right, without oblig^tien
of any fervice, or payment of any rent to anot
thar ; and therefore Qiay be called property in tibte
higheft degree ; this name of Allodiom at firft
was peculiar to the lands, that were^ left in pro*
perty to the andent pofleiTors, the old inhabitants
of Gful, both Romans and Celts. The Franks

acquired

l|(t iblSeSRTiATIONS ON THE

Mqwtd ibydegroes ione of 4be fldbdial Imik,
ei^ by purchafe or by inheritance, in «Qnfe»
qnenpe of marnageB contntded yfixh iach of ihe
QAuitfh women, as inherited Jandb, ihatdeTolMi
to tiiera thro* failuse of male heirsy which in dl j
lifcelifaood was the only cttfe tin wMch fbmiioi
opidd enjoy any fliare of iands^of wiiatever.iuod|y
aiaoQg idle Ga&ds or:Celts, -as. may i4>pear in tkt
ftliuel. And Bs to the Fcanlca it is plainly ap*
parent fnDta the f aid 6ad title of the Salic law,
wfaicii is de Modiis, that it was only in cafe ^
foch fulure, their women fiicoeeded to the Al-
lodial poropertses, which happened to be acquired
to them.

"' I have j oft ob&rved, that the term Allodion
)pB4ipprDpriated to the landed poflfeflions of tk
old 'mbabitants of 'Gaul, whether Romans or
CeitBi the nrofli in itfeff is mere Celtic, aodJti
lAain mnd natuiid root is ftitt picferved in the old
iiifa, allowed to . be the puseft and moft perfeft
Aialedt now fnbfifting of that mother-tongQe
which was primitively the univerfal language of
the European nations, very few or perhaps none
at all exoepted. All6d and All6d in the Celto-
Iberaian tongue fignifies antient or old, as by
jirefixiog dK prscpofition an, or in, it means an*
tieqtly , (in foixner times, or .of old, and bei^ce the
latinijod word Allodium or Alleudium, in Engli(h
AUeud^ :<ddch Signifies an independant hereditary
fitoperty of antierrt ftanding or pofTeffion. In
like manner^ is the root of the latinized Cehic
word, Fendnm lor Feodum, plainly to be found in
the Irffii language, wherein die words FAd and

Fodin,

WS 07 THE ANTIENT IRISH. ^33

, though vulgarly Signifying the fod or
mould of my ground, do mean as pro^
my one particular lot or portion of land,
I cut wit for any irfc whaffocver. Thus
Duthchais figniBcd any piece or parcel
id, that was of permanent or hereditary
ty in any family, tho' fubjetEt to cither
cut or iervicc. But Allodium and Feodum
t the only words, whereof the etymolygifts
;lo(Iary-writers, have laboured in vain tb
at the radical meaning, for want of knowing
elto»lbemian language, fo unhappily ne-
d now very near fix hundred years. Biit
) be hoped, that the candid acknowledg-
of certain late Englilh writers, particularly
dward Lhuyd (/), in favour of that antient
t ; and the celebrated Leibnit2*s (g) opi-
3f its great ufc towards illuftratihg the re-
antiquities of Gaul and Germany, will
<he learned and the curious to encourage
nprovement of that trueft dialcft of the
t Celtic tongue.

But

Archhlog. Brit. Welfli Praef.
oftremo ad perficiendam, vol eerte ^ralde promoTen-
ttcraturam Cclticam, diljgentius lingus Hibemicx
n adjangendum cenfeo et Lhuydius egregie facere
nam ut alibi jam admonui, quemadmodum Angli
^olonia SaxoDum, et Britanni emiflio veterum Cclta*
allorum, Cimbrorum : ita Hibcmi funt propaTO an-
um Britannix babitatorum, colonis Celticis Cimbri-
nonnuUis, et ut fic dicam, mediis antcriorum. Ita-
ez Anglic is linguse veterum Sazonum, et ex Cimbri-
emm Gall'orum ; ita ex Hibemicji vetuftiorum ad
sltanim Germanorumve et ut generaliter dicam, ac-
m oceani Brilannici Cifmarinorum Antiquitates il-
cur. Et fi ultra Hiberniam eflet aliqua infula Ccltici
lis, ejus Hlo in mulio, &c.

334 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

But to purfue our explication of the different
kinds of properties that were enjoyed by the
Franks after their tranfplantation into Gaul, it is
. to be obferved, that befides the Salic lands, and
the Allodial lands, the French antiquities make
frequent mention of cert^n landed pofljeffions,
which are merely and peculiarly called benefices,
and to which the obligation of military fenrice
was fo (tri£tly and particularly annexed, that by
the firft article of Charmelagne's capituUr of
the year 807 (b)^ all thofe that enjoyed themt
were to nuurch againil the enemy at the firft alarm*
and to appear in the field before all other fubjeds*
Abbe Dubos, who is the late French writer I have
pointed at, is plainly of opinion, that thofe bene-
fices, fo frequently mentioned in the capitulars of
the kings of the fecond race, were individually
thofe very Salic lands of which there is queflion
in the Salic law \ and which in thofe capitulars
he fuppofes to be otherwife called benefices, as
being held from the (late on account of military
fervice; his chief reafon is, that as the Salic
lands are exprefsly oppofed to the Allodial lands
in the above cited title of that law ; fo in the
capitulars of Charlemagne, the benefice ftands
oppofed to the Allodium or AUeud, particularly
in the ipih article of his capitular of the year
ffJ9 (j)% AS in the margin.

Abbe

(h) In primit quicahque Beneficia habere videntiirt
nes in hoftem ventant. Capitul. An. 807. Art. 1.2.

(f) £t fi Deo donante fnper fe et fuper familiam fuam aot
m Beneficio, ant in Alode annonam habueriCi et venundare
▼oluerit. Baloz. Capitul. An 779. Tom. 1 p. 456.

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH.

Abbe Dubos has indeed very fufficiently proved,
that the Roman benefioes inftituted by Severus
and Probus, and the Salic lands fettled upon the
Pnnks at their fir ft eftablifhment in Gaul, were
csadtly of the fame nature and condition ^ and it
Iz U really what appears evident to whofoever com-
' pares the above cited conftitutions of thefe two
emperors with that part of the 62d title of the
Salic law, which referves the fucceffion and fe-
cures the inheritance of the Salic lands to the male
beirs of the pofleflbrs ; utterly excluding women
from (baring in that kind of property : an ez-
dulion, which plainly (hews, that thofe lands
were fubjed to the obligation of military iervice,
pf which women are naturally incapable. And
as the (aid lands were at the fame time to defcend
by inheritance to the male offspring, it evidently
follows, that they were of the fame nature and
conftitution in all efiential refpefts with thofe mi-
litary benefices, that had been e(tabli(hed by the
Rornan emperors above-mentioned.

Now therefore if Abbe Dubos had made it ap-
pear, that the French benefices, whereof frequent
mention is made in the capitulars of the Carlo-
vingian kings, were of the fame nature and con*
ditions with thofe of the above emperors ; it
would follow of courfe, that they were alfo of
the fame nature and conflitution with the Salic
lands; but yet it would not follow, that thofe
fame benefices were individually the very pro-
perties, which are called Salic lands in the text
of the Salic law. For I prefume it (hould be
confidered that the kings of the fecond race, as

well

036 ©ISSERTATIONS ON THE

well'fls ihofe of tfaefirft, might have occaGonallr
made gnmts t>f other hinded pofleffiom to thi^j
tifficers and foldiery, <m account of military fe
▼ice; as it is evident from hiftory that ffacfj
really did, even to the prejudice of their own tb*!
vnain ; as alfo that they may very juftly \m
tliftinguifhed ^by the name of benefice fockj

'new 'granted poflfefiions from the anrcient SA\
lands that had .been fettled upon the primitiie
Franks at their firft eftablifliment in Gaul. And
f tannot but think fuch a diftindion is the'tnoke
leafbnably to be fuppofed, as the Salic lands wot
fiitt granted to thofe adventurers, not only«
their pay for aflual and future fervice, but aKb
as a juft reward of their paft condud and brsvcfj
inlhe profecution of a war, whereby their kingi
hvA obtained fo happy 'and gb rious an ^abfifr
ment inone of the moft grateful foils, and raoft
agreeable "climates of Europe ; after a 'long, b-
^igurng courfe of roving and plundering, fioce
the time they abandoned their former habitatioos
on the right fide of the Rhine.

But by what I have juft faid of the diflinftion
that might rcafonably have been made between
i the new benefices and thofe of the Salic lands ; I

would not be underftoed, as if I meant, that it
Ihould be or really was a mere nominal difiindion:
for I humbly think there was a real and ef-
fential difference between them, at leaft in one
refpeft, as I (hall foon explain. The ingenious
writer I have repeatedly mentioned, no way ap-
prehcnfive, it feems, of the leaft doubt or fuf-
* ptcion concerning fuch a difference, firft fuppofes

without

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IKLSH. 937

bout hefitation, that the term benefice faoftea
dc ufe of in the capituiars, ia always ta be. uor
-ftood aa meaniog the Salic lands (k) : and then
: iupporting bis opinion, contents himfelF with
i reaibn above-mentbned ; I mean, the bene-

5 being plainly oppofed to the Alleud in Char^
oigpe'a capitular of the year 1779, in the fame
Wner aa the Salic lands are oppofed to the Al*
M lands in the bzd title of the Italic law.
lia^ it mufi be conf^ed, is a plain argument
d pcoof of a natural agreement in fome certain
ijped bctiReen the SaTic lands and the benefices
often mentioned in the capitulars: otherwife
ey could not naturally fiand oppofed to one and
e fame thing, but far from proving tbofe be--
fioes to be the very Salic lands granted bf Cbvia
id his predeceflbrs $ or that the term benefice is
It another name, by which they are defigned
If Cbaska the Great ; this fuppofition does not
ren prove them to be of a fimilar kind or con*
ition in all eflential refpe£ts. In a word, it only
roves them to agree in one refpedt ^ which doubt-

6 is, that both kinds of landed polTeifion are
fually held of the king under the obligation: of
military fervice. But at the fame time, I cannot
at aflbre myfelf, that they alfo differed in ano-
cr eflential part of their conlUtution y which I
rinly think to be this, that while the Salic
ids were a hereditary eftate and property to the
[Je defcendants of thofe that firft c^tamed and
erved them, the benefices mentioned in the

capttutacsi

(k) Hift. Crit. vol. 4, p. 34s.

23S DISSERTATIONS ON THE

capitulars, were but a mere bounty and gift or
the king, granted only for life, to his officers and
foldiery, on account of military fervioe in time of
war, and of dvil offices in time of peace ; for the
fame officers adted in both capacities, as we (hall
fee in the following fedion.

That thofe benefices were not hereditary, I
think may fuffidently appear from the very texts
of the capitulars, that are quoted by the Abbe
Dubos (/). For, in the firll place, thofe bene-
fices were fubjeft to forfeiture for bare omiffions
of civil duty, fuch as the n^ledt of difcovering
or delivering a robber into the hands of juftice (lyv),
and other fuch delinquencies as could not of their
own nature be reputed capital ; and confequendy
not grievous enough to caufe the forfeiture of any
hereditary property ; inafmuch as the innocence,
as well as the intereft of future heirs is generally
confidered on thofe occafions ^ excepting in fome
countries in the cafe of high treafon, or of rebel-
lion ♦ rather in the higheft degree. In the

next

(l) hift. Crit vol. 4. p 3^3, 314.

(i») Qjlaliter de latronibus faciendum fit *

Similiter & Vafli noftriyfi hocnon adimpleverint benefidoiv
Be bonorem perdant. Balus. capit. torn. i. p. 197.

* Mr.Carte in his Hiftory of England, toI. i . p. 364, citei
the Hiftoria Blienfis to prove there were fome lands held bf
the Saxons» which were not liable to any forfeiture, not
even for rebellion i alnd thofe he fuppofes to be fnch as had
been allotted to the firft adventurers, when a partition wu
made of their conquefts. If he is right in this conjeftocct
the Salic lands, being in the fartie manner, foch as were
acqmred to the Fraiucs by the conquefij in Gaul» muft in
all appearance have enjoyed the like privilege of not being
liable to any forfeiture ; inafmuch as the cuftomt ana

u&ges

WB OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 239

ce, we find thofe benefices fircqucntly op;

> property, as in the capitulars here re*

> in the margin (n) ; what doubtlefs had
1 the cafe, if they were hereditary lands ^
ery landed tenement that defcends to *
eirs, is truly and really a property to him,
it may not be free and independant, or
juris, in the (Iridt fenfe. To all this I (hall
d, that the bed French writers, who have
of the antiquities of that nation, generally
I mentioning as one point of the ufurpa-
the dukes, counts, and other officers upon
onarchical rights and prerogatives, their
ng hereditary in their own families thofe
enefices, which till then they enjoyed on^y
, or doubtleis, during the king's pleafure
of mifcondu£t.

oonfequence of this laft argument in fa-
F our opinion being too plain to want an
t dedufiion, I (hall conclude with obfenr-
At from what I hare hitherto advanced,

it

f both nations were generally the fiune» as that au-
I7 obferYesy though he plainly contradidi himfelf ts
oint in the fame place as (hall appear in the fequel.
remarks in the fame paragraph, that the Boclands»
:das being granted by written charters, under re*
n of rent or fenrice to the king, were forfeited
' murder and treafbn, but that tlwir forfeiture did
»nd to the children of the guilty perfon.
.aditnm habemus qualiterSr comites 9t alii homines
ra beneficia habere videntur, comparant fibi pro-
t de ipfo noftro beneficiof & curtcs noftrs remanent

Bsduz. cap. torn. i. p. 453 Qtficunque

am fuum occadone proprii doertum habuerit & in*
urn poftquam a comite vel a miflb noftro ei notua
fuerity iliud emendatum non habtterit» ipfum bene-
imitut. Capit, an. 808. lib. 4. art. 38.

DISSERTATIONS ON THE

it fccms very apparent, if not quite evident, t^
the Franks under the firft and fccond race cnjay
three dififercnt kinds of landed poffeflions. Pi
the Salic lands, which in all cflcntial refpcfl
were of the fame nature with the hereditary ^
Roman benefices firft inftituted by Alexander Sc-
verus, and afterwards extended by Frobus and
Conibnlinc . Second ly , the benefices for life that
were occafionally granted by the kings of the fe*
cond race, and doubtlefs by thofe of the firft, who
were fuccelTors of Clovis and his fons* to their
officers and foldicry on account of military fervicc.
And thirdly, the Allodial lands, which the
Franks gradually acquired from the old inhabit-
ants under both races, and which may be called
property in the moft perfedt fenfe, and higjhcft
degree.

But thofe diftin£tions were almoft univerfiJIy
laid afide in France, before the eftabliflimeflt of
the Capetian race, having been all reduced to one
common form oi tenure or pofleiTion known by
the name of feud, fief, or fee; which in nature

and

•
4

Aucruftns the firft Roman emperor (ettled benefices ditf-
ing life upon the foldxery of his armies, which confified in
laMti whereof he had difpoflefTed the Roman citizens. Ale^-
aaderSeverus io the inftitution of his benefices granted to
the frontier troops, aded much more agreeably to jnftioi
and equity, as well ai to the maxims of wife govenuacnC.
He gave no other lands to his officers aad fiudien, than
thoM that were recovered from the Barbarians,, who had
encroached on the empire in its frontier provinces » aad
for his making thofe benefices hereditarx» he affigns this
found reaibn, that their pofTcfTors muft he the more ^in-
lant and adive in repelling the enemy, as they were to do-
flAid their own properties, whilft they were fighting fiir
the fafety of the empire, diccns, atieatius hos militatoroSf
fi fua rura defenderent.

;5. t

err

Du'

\

LAWS OF THE ANTI£NT IRISH. 241

md condition was not efleotially difierent from
the Salic lands, and perhaps lefs fo from the he*
reditary benefices granted by the Roman empe*
fors : as v^e know from the above cited paflageof
S. Auguftin, as well as from what Severus Sul-
pitius mentions of S. Martin, that an oath of
icsalty and homage or fervice was required of the
beneficed foldiery, at leaft as early as the fourth
or fifth centuries, in the fame manner as it was
afterwards exaded from the fief^es. And hence
I fuppofe it was, that feveral of the French wri-
ters, fuchasBodin, Du Moulin, 8cc. have ufed
the terms feud, Salic land, benefice, all promif-
cuoufly and in the fame fignification ; though it
feems certain, that there was an eflential diffe-
rence between the fiefs under the third race, and
the benefices that were granted under the king's
of the firft and fecond race ; thofe being heredi-
tary, and thefe only for life.

This great change in the condition of the fub-
je£t8, and their manner of enjoying lands ; this
general extindtion of the Allodial properties was
begun Toon after the firft decline, and perfefled
tot^ards the period of the Carlovingian race ; when
the dukes or governors of provinces, the counts
or governors of towns and their territories, with
other officers of inferior rank, raking advantage
of the weakneifes of the laft kings of that family
from Louis le begue to Louis le faineant, as alfo
availing themfelves of the large conceiTions and
grants made to them by the ufurper Raoul to the
great prejudice and diminution of the royal do- •
main, not only appropriated to themfelves the

R fovereign

142 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

fovereign power and jurifdidion, which tiU then
they had exercifed in the king's name, but alfo
nfurped the perpetual and hereditary property </
all the lands that were fituate within the limits of
their refpeAive governments. In confequenceof
this ufurpation they obliged the Allodial prqm-
tors, as well as the pofleflbrs of Salic lands, and ;
thofe who enjoyed royal benefices, to hold firoQi
and derive under them for the future, fo as to Im*
come their immediate vaflals and fiefees ; aD ;
bound on oath to pay thepi fealty and homage '
or military fervice, as to their immediate lords
and fovereigns, to the great prejudice or abnoft
the annihilation of the regal authority, as well ti
to the utter fubverlion of the moft facred ri^ti
of the king's fubjedts in general, but moft dfpe-
cially the proprietors of Allodial lands. For, n
monarchy, I mean regal power in its natural ex*
tent, and reftrained or counterafled by no other
power but that of the law, is the beft and pro-
pereft form of government for maintaining bodi
the duration of empires and the tranquillity of the
fubjedts, as the chronological abridger of the
French hiltory obferves in his particular remsrki
on the fecond race ; fo nothing could be more
deftrudtive or fatal to both the one and the other
of thefetwoobjeds, than the eftablifhment of the
feodal powers or ligniories, that were fet up by
the great lords of thofe unhappy times, and the
feudatory tenures, to which they reduced the
fubjedls under the fworn obligation of fealty and
homage to themfelves, more immediately than to
their natural^ Tov^.i^ign and king, who only re-
tained

. AVrs OF THE ANTI£NT IRISH. 243

icd what was called an arriere vaflalage over
iminediate vaflala of thofe ufurping lords*
lusall the petty feudatories and tenants, ty-
mized by thefe new mailers, were conftantly
pt in the moft diftratted condition between
nr immediate lords and the king, not knowing
!Uch to obey upon any clafliing of interefts be-
'een the two powers ^ fuch efpecially as had
ought on a call for military fervice from both
€ one and the other at the fame time : and their
:uation was the more perplexed, as the feodai
rds to whom they had fworn homage or fervice,
id cqnfequently infift on a right to march them
i the field, in order to make war upon the very
ng* their fupreme fovereign, whenever they
dged it their intereft to quarrel with him.
A like ufurpation and change took place in
snnany much about the fame time, at leaft in
e fame century ; but by a good number of
ars earlier, if I am not miftaken, than it hap-
ned in France. We find that the German
^ds, in the reign of Louis le debonnaire, foa
d fucceflbr of Charlemagne, aflembled in diet
Nimeguen, ann. 831, were powerful enough
reilore that emperor to the imperial throne
ainft the joint intereft and oppofition of his
eefons, Lothaire, Pepin and Louis, who had
x>fed and (hut him up in a convent. The wars
I divifions that were afterwards held up be*
sen the faid Lothaire, become emperor, and
brother Louis, who firft was king of Bavaria
I then of Germany, whence he was called
Liis le Germanique, could not but &vour and be

R 2 the

244 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

the occafion of carrying to a higher jntchy the
Rowing power and authority of the GermiB
princes. The partition that was fubfequcndy
made of the kingdom of Bavaria or Genrnafi
in the year 877, between the three fens of Lodi
It Germanique, having divided the foverdgntj,
and thereby weakened the regal power in all the
divifions of that kingdom, muft likewife bait
given a favourable opportunity to the GemMA
lords to pulh on more and more towards the in*
dependency they always aimed at. And thedif*
putes that arofe firft between Charles le chauvet
King of France, and his nephew Carloman, fon
of Louis le Germanique, after the death of Loim
II. fon of LfOthaire, when they both contended fer
the empire in the year 875 : and afterwards b^
tween the faid Carloman and Louis le begue, die
faid Qiarles's fon and fucceflbr in the French
throne, contending in like manner with each
other for the Imperial crown ; furniflied without
doubt to the German grandees the next, and in
all appearance, the only opportunity they then
wanted to complete their feodal ufurpation, and
fix their fovereignty upon the fame bafis it ftands
to this day. Accordingly we find that thofe
German lords now become fovereigns and chief
members of the body politic of the occidental
empire, had fo efTedtually ufurped the whole
power and authority of the ilate, that they took
upon them to depofe the emperor Charles le gros
brother and fucceffor of the above Carlomati ^
which they really executed in the year 888.

Now

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. t45

Now as the above expofed occafiont of ag-
pmndiang the German lords, by which they were
fttkft enabled to aflume a feodal fovereignty, have
tU offered before the year 878, when Louis le
begue was weak enough to pacify his male-con)-
tents at the expence of the royal domain, wberebf
he difinembered and diftributed very confiderable
parcels amongft thofe fadlious harpies, who hav-
ing afterwards erefted them into hereditary lord-
fliipa, were thereby in a condition to make the
firft ftep towards the ufurpation, which they
thence-forward carried on, and at laft completely
eSedted before the extindtion of the Carlovingian
race : and as this weak condudt of Louis le begue
was the very firft occafion of enabling tho(e am-
bitious courtiers to ufurp a feodal fovereignty in
their refpeAive provinces : it is therefore a pktia
confequence, that the French lords were not the
firft^fhat began this kind of ufurpation ; but that
they only followed the example of the German
dukes and graves or counts, fuch as they had
been appointed by Charlemagne; as governors 6f
provinces or counties, upon the model' of thofe
of France.

And here it naturally occurs to be obferved,
that as the ufurpation of the German dukes,
graves. Sec. hadferved both as a precedent and a
model to that which was carried on in France ^
fo did the example and fuccefs of the French uf-
urpers encourage the Anglo-Saxon governors to
borrow from them the fafne pernicious model of
ufurping upon the regal power and domain, and
aifuming the fame fafliionable titles of dukes,

counts

DISSERTATIONS ON THE

counts or earls, as they did in Ethelred^s tfigPf
in imitation of thofe on the French contincot.
Our Englifh governors did not indeed begin to
ufurp the hereditary property of their refpediie
provinces or counties, until thofe of France hid
completed their feodal ufurpation and fovoc^-
ty ; which it is plain they effe£tually and uaiver-
fally had compafled before the reign of Lotbuit
the Ton of Charles the (imple ; lince we find diat
king reduced to very little more than the one fin-
gle town of Laon for his whole domain, jufiif-
ter his acceiTion to the throne in the year 954,
an epoch wKich was 23 years earlier than the be-
ginning of the weak reign of Ethelred, under
whom the Englifh^ governors alTnmed the titles of
dukes, &c. and ufurped the hereditary feodil
property of their refpeftive govemmenta. It i^
true they might have made long ftridea^ as it par-
ticularly appears, that the Mercian and North*
umbrian lords really did, towards that ufurpation
under the ufurped reign of Edgar, and even fome
years earlier during the troubles of his brother
Edwy's, againft whom the former rebelled in the
year 956. Their uncle Edred, a weak prince,
who died in 956, had indeed unwifely furnifhed
a precedent to thofe ufurping lords, when he com-
mitted to Ofuolf the government of all Northum-
berland, with the right of inheritance in favour of
his defcendants. But befides that this precedent,
and whatever progrefs of an ufurping tendency^
might have have been made during the reigns of
Edwy,' Edgar, and Edward the martyr, were
but preparatory Aeps towards the ufurpation
which only began in that of Ethelred ; as all thefe

epochs

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 147

dis were pofterior to the time of Raoul's uf-
ttioQ of the French throne, and the rdgn of
fucceflbr Louis d'Oulremer, when the feodal
pation of the French grandees had been uni*
lUy effedied; it pkinly follows, that the
li(h governors did not begin their ufurping
oae until the French had finiihed their own^
Fumiihed them with a complete model,
ad this, to obferve it by the bye, was not die
inftance of ufurpatton upon regal power 1
:dn the flate-officers of the Anglo-Saxons
wed the fteps and example of thofe of the
iks. For it is very remarkable, that when
{ officers or minifters, whom the French call-
laires tin palais, palace mayors, under the
s of the firft race, and who originally were
^vemors of provinces, had rendered here-
jf in their farxiilies, not only their provincial
nunents, but alfo that of the king's palace
houlhold; fo the Anglo-Saxon eoldermen
anes (for (b they firft were promifcuoufly
1, as we find in the recital of Alfred's re-
ions and laws, tho' afterwards thofe two ti.
were diflinguifhed) who in the beginning
but temporary governors of counties under
dngs of the Heptarchy, not only made
felves hereditary go\'ernors, but alfo con*
d entirely to their own ufe the public reve-
of their refpedtive governments, and, as the
;e mayors in France, ufurped at long run the
. dignity : fo we find in the Anglo-Saxon
ry, that Witlaflf, who at firft was but chief
nrman of Mercia, afterwards became king of
kingdom, even in the great Egbert's time.

Indeed

t48 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

Indeed the very titles of the French mayors sod
the Saxon eoidermen, were of the fame io^xM
and literal fignification ^ and fo were their offioM
and power of the (ame nature and extent. The
ienieuiB and archi-fenieurs of the Franks^ other-,
wife called maires, i.e. mayors^ majors, asbeifl|
najores natu, the (ame as feniores, under the
kings of the firft race, were according to the pri-
liaitive ufages, and in confideration of their age
and experience, entrufted with the principal of-
fices and power of the ftate ; and were psrtica-
larly emfdoyed in the government of provinoet^
vefted with both the civil and military power.
The eoldermenofche Anglo-Saxons, atitlewhidi
in the Saxon language figniiies mayor, fenior,
or elder, were entrufted v^ith the like doobk
power in their government of counties and pro-
vinces. It was the impolitic union of thofe two
powers in one and the fame perfon, that give
fuch a general influence to the French mayors and
the Saxon eoldermen, as enabled them to carry
their ufurpation to fo great an excefs, as the for-
mer did at the decline and towards the period of
the firft race, and the latter during the laft age of
the Heptarchy ; and in fome meafure under the
monarchy of Egbert and his three next fucceflbrs,
until the great Alfred wifely feparated, and pot
into different hands the adminiftration of thofe
fame powers, whofe union had proved fo preju-
dicial and dangerous to the regal authority. The
Saxon eoldermen were indeed much flower in con*
du&ng themfelves, according to the pernicious
example of the French mayors, than their f«c-

ceflbrs

W8 OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. M9

the dukes tnd earls were in Ethdred's
in foUo^wing that of the Freneh dukea and
under the Carlovingtan race.
3 ferioua refledtions relative to the uiurpt-
' the French maires and Saxon eolderniM,
naturally occur to the reader in this place ;
le, that the maxim of entrufting feniors
K>th the civil and military power in the go-
ent of provinces, feemt to have been a na-
cuftom, which was common to both the
B and the Anglo-Saxons : and as the latter
xrtainly compofed of various tribes or na-
if Germans, Saxons, Frifians, Angles, Jut-
s, &c. it is rationally to be prefumed, that
ne cuftom was univerfal and common to all
ermanic nations, founded upon their great
Ltion for the perfons, and confidence in the
ty and experience of the principal feniors of
efjpe£tive tribes, agreeably to the maxims of
imitive times. The other reflection rela-
0 thofe ufurpations particularly that of the
h dukes under the fecond race ; that inaf-

as thofe kings of that family whofe weak
A encouraged the ufurping meafures of their
; and counts, muft have known, that the
of the civil and military power in the hands
t palace mayors, was what enabled their own
ors, Pepin Heriftal and his baftard fon
;8 Mart el, to drip their royal mafters of
kvhole authority, and thereby pave the way
!pin the fon of this Charles, to deprive the
ing of that race not only of his crown, but
( liberty, treating at the fame time his fon

and

250 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

and heir Thiery in the faioe inhuman
as thofe Carlovingian kings, I fay, muft
been well-informed of fo recent hiftorical
is very ama^ng, that they were fo ii
to have furniftied their dukes with thefiune
of dethroning themfelves, that the above-i
palace mayors had made ufe of to extirpate
whole royal family of the Merovingian race.

The reader I hope will excufe the
difcuiTion concerning the different conffiti
and conditions of landed properties, and
changes they fuffered firom the ufurpation of
feoda Uords: a difculfion I judged neceflbry toi
premifed by way of introduction to what I
juft going to lay before the reader, in vtndical
of the ancient cultom of male-gavel* kind, «l
has been inviolably obferved at all times by tiiei
cient Irifli, as well as by various other m
until the fourth year of the reign of James
art, our firft Albano-Scotic king, who then
lifhed that primitive and national cuftom, wind!
had been formerly obferved by his own natioQ
well as by the Irilli.

The IriOi cullom called gavel- kind, confiM
in dividing the father's hereditary lands among
all his fons, utterly excluding the daughters firom
enjoying any (hare of the landed inheritance. The
manner of this divifion (hall hereafter, be exphioed
and exemplified by feveral inftances of particultf
family-gavels, which I find mentioned in the Irifli
antiquaries; in the mean time I am to obferve
and prove in vindication of this Irifh cuftoi&i
firil, that the maxim of excluding women from

(haring

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 251

iving with their brothers or co- heirs mak in
■ded properties, far from being peculiar to the
llhy appears rather to have been univerfal or
immon at leaft to feveral other nations in the
feiitive times ; and next, that the cufiom of
■riding the father's lands among his fons, was
loooftantly obferved by many other andent peo-

u by the Irifli, and feems rather a maxim of
praAice in all the primitive nations, than

anreafonable cuftom peculiar to the Iiilh

» -

P Now, as to the maxim of excluding the daugh-

crs firom fliaring with their brothers in the landed

pihentance of the father, we find it as ancient as

fe patriarch Jacob, whofe daughters were to en*

Isy no (hare with their brothers in the land of

pomife, which was their father's inheritance by

Avioe appointment. Nor do I find in fcripture

or andent hiftory, any inftance of daughters

Ibiriog with their brothers in their father's landed

^operties in thofe primitive times. I have ob«

erved and (hewn in the beginning of this dif-

ourie, that the Romans, as well as the Franks,

Kduded women from enjoying any portion of

ich lands as were fubjed to military fervice, and

"ere therefore called military benefices. In effect,

is plainly againft the nature of things that lands

hidi had been acquired by the fword, and either

luft be maintained and defended at the point of

e fword, or elfe are enjoyed on condition of mi-

ary fervice, (hould be poflefled or (hared by

>men, who are naturally excluded from the mi-

iiy profeffion.

Accordingly,

tii DISSERTATIONS ON THE

Accordingly, not only the Romans and Frank:^,
but likewife the Goths, the Burgundtans, and^
the other barbarians who were firft employed by
the emperors as mercenary auxiliaries living apon
military benefices, and afterwards forcibly fetded
themfelves in different parts of the empire, have
all equally obferved the maxim of excluding
women from (baring cither in the military bene-
fices they made hereditary in their different fami-
lies, or in any other lands that were acquired and
defended by the fword; this plainly appears
through the whole courfe of their hiflory, as it
hath been delivered to us by Procopius, Gregorius
Turonenfis, Ifidorus, Idacius, &c. In a word,
dll the Teutonic or Germanic nations excluded
the daughters from fharing with their brothers
or other heirs male in the father's landed inheri-
tance of whatever kind or condition, all bring
referred to the fons or male offspring alone ; as
appeal's exprefsly by the following axiomatial
Latin diflich, fetting forth this fame maxim of
their ancient laws :

Teutonicis prijcis patrios fuccedit in agros
Mqfculaflirps omnisy ne foret uUapotens.

As to the old Irifh, they were fo tenacious of
the maxim of excluding women from all landed
inheritance in their different tribes, that the fa-
therms landed properties upon failure of his iffue
male, devolved entirely to his brothers or next
male heirs without any regard to his daughters.

The

N

.AWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. ' 253

Cbe exclufion of women from (haring in pa-
nonial cfiaceSy was To general among the Id(h
well as the ancient Germans or Teutonics, that
eixtendcd to all forts of landed properties with-
in diftlnftion of Allodial and Feodal ; a diftinc-
flk wbofe origin could not have been earlier than
firft infiitution of military benefices foon after
beginning of the third century ; the landed
rties of the old Iri(h, of whatever rank,
all of one and the fame nature and condi-
_ , and may in a proper fenfe be ftiled of the
Ubdial kind, as they were proprii juris, fubje£k
b no rent! or fervices, nor alienable by any ex-
irefs flace-Jaw for any failure of duty towards
lie rovereign, though far from being (afe from
mt of the ftrongeft hand; the Dynafts and
oparchs with their dependants were indeed in
le cuftom of anfwering the military calls of
leir proyincial kings, for marching under thdr
xnaouind to wage war againft their enemies or
lofe they inclined to pick a quarrel with. But
ita kind of military fervice, far from afieding
le landed properties of thofe that rendered itf
raa abfolutely free and voluntary ; inafmuch as
lofe fame Dynafts and Toparchs efteemed them-
Ives not the lefs poflefled of the right of mak-
ig war upon thofe very kings, as often as they
rat able to form a fufHcient alliance to vindicate
ly grievance they pretended to have fuflered
om them : and as to thofe kings of Meath or
*ani, who in the middle ages of the Scotic gp-
minrient, afliimed the title of Monarch or King
F all Ireland, or rather have been ftiled fo by

the

354 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

the writers of their party, mod certain it is, that
the 'provincial kings and other fovereigns never
acknowledge any fupreme right in thofe pre-
tenders to monarchy, but always aflerted their
own independency againft them at the point of
the fword, as appears moft glaringly from the
Irifh annals ; notwithftanding any cafual and
(hort flarts of depredatory po^er in fome of
thofe nominal monarchs, who never failed to kt
out upon ravaging expeditions into the neigh*
bouring provinces, whenever they happened to
have formed a fufficient party for fuch depreda*
tions; parallel to this, without doubt, was the
cafe and ftate of all the Germanic and Scythian
nations, and probably of all others in ancient
times, before the formation and firm efiabliflimeiit
of well policed ftates.

But to return to the male- gavel and the ez«
clufion of women from landed propenies, I cant
but be of opinion, that it was untverfal, I mean
common to all nations in the primitive tiroes,
and that it feems well grounded upon the princi-
ples of the law of nature and the reafon of tbingt
In thofe early days of the world and for a long
time after the difperfion of Noah's pofterity, all
landed pofleiQons, whether they were enjoyed by
the right of primi occupantis, or acquired by
force of arms, were all equally to be maintained
and defended by the (Irength of hands and the
ufe of the fword : fundtions, which womankind
was excluded from by nature, notwithftanding alt
the ftories of the pretended feats of arma of
the Matic Amazons. We may aflure ourfelTea,

that

AWS OP THE ANTIENT IRISH. 255

t matters have continued in the fame ilate
n after the eftabliibment of political focietieSy
Al thofe nations, wherein the fy item of general
icmnient was rudely planned out and the fo-
ly ill policed, efpecially in thofe which confided
^different independant tribes of people, all
and conftantly exercifing the right of
liing war with each other, though in fome
, pditically connedted together, whether by
jlieiieral but ill-formed confederacy, or by th^
pQiority of one common fovereign, which was
It regarded but as far forth as he had power
dough to enforce it ; in this fame fituation, we
Hj conclude from all the lights fumifhed us by
Ikiy, human affairs have always remained in

I tbofe parts of the Celtic and Scythian coun-
lis, wherein the Roman power and police had
X been eftabiiftied, as it was unhappily the cafe
Ireland, as well as in molt parts of Germany
id tfarou^iout the Scythian nations ; hence the
imitive maxims were always maintained among
ft old Iri(h, and particularly that of excluding
3oien in all cafes, even upon failure of all iflue
ale in one whole branch of a tribe, from en<-
^ng any part of the family eftate or landed
djpertics, which in fuch cafe, devolved to the
ilea of the next branch, or elfe reverted to the
rpo£il of the common chief of the whole tribe,
» upon fuch occafions new-gaveUed it amongft
e different branches.

The Franks indeed after their fettlement in
ml,, allowed certain women to inherit Allodial
ids ; a cuilom they doubtlefs borrowed from

the

256 DISSERTATIONS OK TH£

the Romans and Romanized Gauls ; but the
liberty they granted on this occafion was very
much ftraightened and limited, fince it only ex-
tended to the mother and aunts, both paternal
and maternal (with the preference to the latter)
of the proprietor who died without iflue either
female or male ; for it is natural to fuppofe, that
if he left a daughter, the Allodial property mi
to be inherited by her. As to collateral female
heirs, even were they fillers or nieces, they were
all exprefsly excluded by the law, and the inherit-
ance was to devolve to the neareft collateral
kinfman of the deceafed, however diftant he may
be. Leg. Sal. tit. 62. de Allodiis. The benefit
here allowed of to the above limited female betn
feems veryjuft and natural among the Franks of
Gaul, whofe acquifitions of Allodial lands muft
have proceeded chiefly from their intermarriagei
with Gallic or Romano-Gallic heirefles.

Before I have loft fight of the above explained
principle or corollary of the law of nature, where-
by women were excluded from landed properties
in the primitive times, 1 (hall obferve it was the
fame principle together with the nature of the
functions which were indifpenfably required
from the perfons of chief governors and com-
manders of nations and tribes, that gave an ab-
folute and natural exclufion to womankind from
being fupreme rulers or fovereigns in any nation
whatfoever during the primitive and middle ages
of the world, and generally all along 'till within a
few centuries of our times. One fmgle Semi-
ramis in Aflyria, one Cleopatra in Egypt, one

ambitious

LAWS OF THE ANTIEWt* IRISH. 157

mmbttious and monftroufly unnatural Irene in the
Oriental empire, one folitary Borana in that of
Perfia, and one fabulotls and ingenioufly fingu*
hf i29edoId Macha^ whofe antiquity the Iri(h Saena*-
city'a or antiquaries took care to inake almoft as
Tenerable as Semiramis : thefe fingte inftances, I
fay, of female government, thefe rare anomalies
m the different political fylfcms of our world,
can be of no prejudice to the principles by
which women have been excluded IRrpm the n^
government of nations arvi Idngdoms ; natural^
ly cfifqui^fied to enjoy landed projperties of a
private coiidition in the primitive times, they
were by a ftronger reafon incapacitated to enjoy
kingdoms and govern nations.

The nature of the perfonal fuAAions that wete
required of kings or fovereign rulers in the pri-
itntWe times, and which they generally performed
tn perfon until within a few centuries paft, wi!re
thole <^ commanding their own armies in the
field, and judging the caufes of their fulge^ :
fUfiClkions which women are natundly drfquKfied
to meddle wUh ^ the barbarian kings, even the
inoft unpolifbed of them, did not difpenfe them*
ftlrcs from acquitting thefe duties^ nor oitiitted
cither of thefe two futidlions. A Roman writer
tells us of the famous Attila kibg of the Hunii^
that after fighting a battle, hts aext eane was to
fit on his tribunal^ and decide the caufes and cHf*
{fetes of his people* ; but in after ag;^ wheh

S kingf

* AttUaegreffoBbsbitatiime, gravis valmomnkuDoai*
Am quaquaverfas in fe converfis mcedcAs» GUfb ootfMo 6*
dit pirradibosy hic cum miilti mfbus erant lites a£enttttt
^ clas jttftitiam cxcepenmt. mens lUth. in t xccrp.

f6o t)IS«ElltAtlONS 0*I THE

havi! bccafion t6 explkhi In the foUbtiring Teaite,
tfetoYding to the ctefiaiiled account of Procopioi de
hello Vandal, lib. i. tap. 7, 8, 9 ; in a woid, I
can cafily conceive the principle, upon wludi the
ttapcTor Valentinian HI. when Atttla demanded
hh fifter Honorla in marriage, with a -vkm of
iharitig m the (empire by her ri^ht, undeodVki
th^Btt ambitious barbarfam idng by roundly anfwer
ing'him, that tn cafe he was married toiionoriiy
hetould derive ho right from her, ihafinddi 11
^men had norle to the empire ; neqoe Impen*
tirn Hohorik deberi, Virorumenim, noii mulieraa
RcUnanum linperium efle ; Prifcus RUetar Da-
thcfnie, torn. i. p. 223.

N6W inafmuch as I have treated the good oU
Itfdies of antient times with all the Viv^Afj of
thfe firimitiVe tnfaxiiBsby fescluding thim fMtn die
tiftjdyihtfrit of all landed properties^ it is ^ aoA
dtcdAt, that before I tiske my leitvie, Ifliotild pro-
^^ide for them other wife in fome bdimyiing Mm-
Tftsr-, their fortunes and natural eftabliflutients
^^t^e not the lefs fecure for fuch an ezdufiott»
they were under no neceffity of providing a ttitr-
til^ portion to attradt courtiers, or fati^
4litibands ; on the oontmi^ their hufbands were
obHged to portion and endow them according to
ifae !wife maxims of the primitive times, sod
'UHl^out this condition they could obtain no femak
^nforts. Women were therefore as eamcftly
courted and demanded in difmterefted manriage
In thofe days, as they are now haunted and ifl
ibine countries run away with for their fortunes,
ibore than for any conjugal a£fe£tion. And hence
J •' ■• ■ ■ we

. AWS OF THE ANTI^MT tMSH. %6i

oiajf afllire ourfelves the unfortuped gop4
men of antient times foupd the mmriage tkaAt
icfa happier, than, fome of pur modern, la.di^
d it i^ith all their thQufands^
Tacitus informs us that the German woiipep
Mig^t no fort of portion or fortune to their
Am^s, but on the contrary, tlwt the hulbiaod
tt oblig^ to beftow a marriage portion upon
e wife : a pUin and fimple one indeed it wa^9
ice it confiftied not of any gau^y ornamcnta, bHt
il} in fome cows and a war horfe, another with a
licld, a fword, &c. ; the wife in return prefented
)me pieces of arms to the hulband, and tlu^
'as all the fortune that was demanded oJF h^ ^
Kc Franl^ of Gaul always continued to obferve
us cuftom of their German ancefiors till of late
mtunes ; the learned abridger of the chrpnolq*
icalluftory of France rem^arks, that in the at^^
F St. Peter en Vallee, there (till fubfifts a Carti^-
iry or Charter of feven hundred years antiqjqiq^
xording to the judgment of the great critiq aQ4
itiquary M. le Laboureur, wherein is infcrt*
i a donation made to that convent by HU*
cgarde Countefs of Amiens and widow pf
aleran Count of Vexin ; by v;hich inftium,qi^^
lis hdy declares, that (he gives and beftows (9
iC faid abby pf St. Peter an Alleu or Allodi^
ropcrty in land, which (he had received as a mar-
ige portion from her lord and hu(band accprcj-
gto the ufage pf the Salic law, which, fay^ Ihe^
liges hufbands to portion their wives.
This happy cullom of purch^fing wives by
is^ing them and their parents \^itli a fortune

fuiuble

i6i DISSERTATIONS ON THI

f

fukable to their ranks or birth^ was general in the
' primitive times, and much more antient than the
' Germans of the age of Tacitus. The hufbands
who were notable to givetheaccuftoroed fortuneor
prefentSf were obliged to purchafe them by fome
oth^ valuable confideration. Thus Jacob agreed
to ferve Laban for feven years, on condition of
enjoying Rachel as his wife at the end of that
t^rm ; Shechem and his father HanK>r king of the
Shechemites, far from requiring any marriage
portion with Dinah, or taking advantage of her
liaving been dilhonoured, offered her father
Jacob and his fons, whatever marriage portion
. and gifts they would be pleafed to demand for
her; and what plainly (hews, that the cuftom
Svas univerfal in thofe days throughout the Eaftem
nations, Shechenni generoufly propofesto Dinah's
father and brothers, that they may augment or
r&ther multiply (for fo the Hebrew text and thtt
t>f the Septuagint literally exprefs it) the mar-
riage portion and gifts that were ufually given by
fuch hufbands to their wives ; for the fortune that
^hechem underfiood and offered to be multiplied
at hisexpence, could be no other than that whidi
was cufiomary to be given by hufbands of Us
rank ; which is very evident from this drcum-
ftance, that Jacob and his Tons, far from having
previoufly mentioned or demanded any particular
marriage portion for Dinah, were rather pofitively
reludtant to her marriage with that Prince, not-
withftanding her misfortune.

Now I have only to proceed to an explication
of the manner, in which the male-gavel or parti*

tion

^

WS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. t6j

landed properties was made between the
bdrs male among the old Irifh ; and alfo
f^ how univerial that ancient and equitable
I was in the Celtic nations and others^ ac-
; to all the lights we can coUedt from an-
iftory. To fpeak properly of the manner
Irifli gavel I mull firft obferve^ that there
wo forts of gavels pradiifed among them :
t was that, by which the father's landed
was divided among all lus male children,
by himfelf in his old age, or by the chief
tribe, in cafe the father had died inteftate.
manner of the gavel or divifion nuule by the
wasaccording to the rule of ezaA equality
^ without any difference in fiivour of the
fon during the father's life : but, after the
B death, the equal (hare which he had re-
to himfelf, and which comprehended the
at houfe of the family with its demefnes,
the eldeit fon, who enjoyed it as a fecond
1, conjointly wi.th his firft equal (bare, ac-
g to the primitive maxim obferved by the
'chs, who allowed a double portion of the
ance to the eldeft fon, together with the
K)od and the regal dignity, Vid. Roberti
mi notas ad Gen. cap. xlix. v. 3, 4. The
rule of equality of (hares was obferved in.
rifion when it was made by the chief of the
Without any other difference than that
the (aid patriarchal maxim allowed in fa-,
>f the eldeft fon. Of this fort of gavel or
in of the father's lands between his fons,
1 manufcript now in my poffeflion, furni(hes

a very

^ DISSBRTATIONS O^THE

a yttvj exad pattern in a partttion, which Dono|^
O'Brien fon o£ Brien-duff, fon of Connor king of
Tfaomond, arui firft founder of the family of
Garrigogiaio^ made of all his lands between hit
eleven fons towards the end of the XVth een*
tnry ; in which partition an equal number of
ptow*laods, all made equal in themfehres, and
whofe nanitt are all fet down in my fatd manu-
fcripi, is given to each fon : but the matifion
l)ou(e and demefne of Canigo^niol, which the
iaid Doiiogh refierved to himfolf was reverfiUe to
the eldcfi Ic^n with th^ dignity of Lord and Chief
of the family.

Of the other kind of gaveU which is a gener^
divifion or repartition of all the lands belonging
ta a whole tribe or family confiding of feveraf
branches, a repartition which became necefl^
from lime to time through the decay or eytindioir
of (bme branches or particular families, my oU
manufcrtpt contains two different examples, bottr
regarding O'Briens of differe^it houfes; theonCi
which is the moft fingular, and at the fame time
the moft difintercfted and geqerous gavel tbtt
could ber imagined, was made in the XlVth centu-
ry, by Conor More O'Brien, chief of the Cuaoagb
fimoily, who divided that country in the firfl pke
into three equal parts, between himfelf, and two
other families of the fame Cuanagh flock, to whidi
he was but remotely related, vie. the family and
branehes of Palace, flrc.defcended from Morrog^
og of the one part, and thofe of Brien Roe ot
Battydog^, Sec. of the other. In the next pbtct

he fubcUvides fhe one half of al| 1^ pwn Aare ^^

tfaiffre

.Airs OF THE ANTlBKTltRiaH. «ds

^ fan of €uaaag)i betweea hi$^ coufio-ger-
nt Turlogfi audi Mahon, fona of Tiq;e-m^
M^mc^ mho. waa hia fatber'a ddcr brodier :
id itlea after tfaia fubdivifion^ he divklea aa yat
[that lemaiacd to bim into fix equal p«Ai
IRCcefi bimfetf and hia five biocherav whereof
M^waa a natural fbn, reicrving colj fome chief

vH from hia faid hrathers; and yet the fobdivifioii
m carried ftill f urther^ for he now dtvidea hia
m &Mth part into three equal fkarea between faai
pee fooa, Mortogh, Turlogh and Conor-og.
In the Ana branch a fftvti waa made in the
Vifa century by Turlogh O^firien of iirni
ftle, the eighth diie6t defoeadant from Brian
Utdk Juog of Thomood i who divided ha
witry between hia four fona, Afertog^^ Turto^^
'iaga and Morrpgh : my manufcript contains an
mpfe detail and enumeration of all the landa andl
pMei afligned to each of thefe four Tons : and
: iacqmfiily obTerved in the famepbce, that tfaia
raa Ae third gavel or partition, thut'had been*
Bide of the country of Arra, fince the time of
likn RuacBi^a grandfon, by name Brien fon of
Donald, who waa the firft of this branch, tha^
iMried in the country of Arm, after bis defeat it
ho iMltle of Difin O X>ea in the county of Clare,
B the year 131 8, by which event, he and his fa-
rily were difpoflfefTed of their pretenfions and.
del of kinga of Thomond, and reduced to the
irrowcr limits of the faid country of *Arra. Vide
afthfeim Thoirdhcalbhaig, or th? hiftory of the
ai9 of ThonKHid, by John Magraths

The

366 DISSERTATFONS ON THE

The Englifli, Wdlh, Norman, and Fren^
adventurers, who fettled in Ireland in the Xlfii
century, and their refpeAive defeendants of the
firft rank, fuph as the Fitz-Geralds, dieBurbi
the Barrys, &c. were all as obfervant of the
gavelling cuflom as the old Irilh : but it feeou
they did not always obferve the old rule of equa-
lity of (hares as above defcribed, in dividing thdr
landed eftates among their male children. My
manufcript records a gavel which Walter Bark
baron of Caftle-Connuing, now called Caftfe-
Connel near limerick, third direA dcfcendant
from Richard Burk earl of Ulfter, made of hii
eftate of Caflfe-Connuing bciween his three fons,
Richard, Edmund and Tobias ; to Richard bis
ddeft fon he gave twenty plow-lands ; his fecond
ion Edmund enjoyed but eight plow-lands ; and
Tobias his third fon had feven plow-lands, where*
of Brittas was one, which place gave the title qf
lord baron of Brittas to one of his defcendants ^
it would feem by this gavel, that an cquaUty of
fhares was not obferved even between the feoood
and third fons, and that the eldeft had more than
a double (hare of the inheritance : yet we know
for certain, that the Anglo-Saxons and WeUh
divided in equal (hares the father's landed pro-
perties between all his fons, which hath been ob-
ferved by different Engli(h writers; Mr. Carte,
in particular, obferves it in his hifiory of Eng-
land, vol. I. p. 365, where he alfo very juftly
remarks that fuch an equal divi(ion of the fitther*8
lands among his male children according to the
Roman law, was obferved by the Saxons rather as

an

^

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH.

ancient cuftom common to all the Celtic na-

18, Britons^ Gauk, Germans^ fire, than as a

any way borrowed or derived to them from

Ronums. In effedt all the Germanic or Ten*

nations obferved that ancient cuftom, as

rs by the old Latin axiom exprefled in the

cited diftich, from which it is likewife

intelligibfe, that the divifion was made by

_ equal (hares to each fon, as the words,

fpotens yttafintt^ naturally imply and fufficiently

^^^iprefsan equality of fortune and power between

^ arfl the fons. Every reader of hiftory knows, tha^

the Franks, who were a Germanic nation, or

Dat her a confederated body of feveral nations or

tribes of Germans, obferved the fame gavelling

Giifioro according to an exadt equality of ftiares.

T^hus the' four fons of Clovis or Clodovic, the

founder of the French monarchy as it was after*

^Kfards called, divided between them their father's

dominions in (hares exadtly eqtial accorditig to

Gregory of Tours and Agathias, whofe words are

^ted in the margin J. And when two of thefc

^cur fons had moft inhumanly murdered their

brother Godomir's two fons, in vindication as I

always apprehended of the law of fenior fuc-

ceffion, becaufe they had been informed that their

mother

X Defundo igitur Clodoveo Rege» quatuor filii ejus, id
«ft, Theodoricus, Clodomeris, Childebertus, atqae Clott-
clurius regnum ejus accipiunt, atque inter fe a^ui lance
din'dunt. Greg. Tur. Hid. lib. 3. cap. i.

Childebertus quidem et Lotharius, praeterea vero Theo-
dortcus et Clotomerus germani fratres fuerant» hi mortuo
patre Clotoveo in quatuor partes Regnum partiti fecundum
Bfbes et populos, ita ut atquas finguli partes acciperent.
Agathias de rebus Juftiniani, lib. i.

motboi ClptUda was reiblved to enthrooc thofe
two young boys, her eraodfoi^ in their, fatho*!
Kingdom i the diree mrviving brothers dlivided
the kingdom of the deceafed ClodomK lA. three
equal part$ between (ho9i^ or ra^ther reqewf d and
Gopfirnnqd thft partition, which they had miade of
it before the perpetration of the faid horrid mar*
der^ and i/p^mediateiy %fter the faid ClodoQuc*!
deaths acQoiiding ta tibe j^ujihor of the receot
^ooptogK^a) ahridgipent of the hiAvy o(
France, at the year 535, See alfo Abb6 Djojboi
Etajbif. de h Monarchic France, vol. iii. p. 490^
^. Thus alfo the two furviving Tons of Ct9vi8,
Clodprairus and Clotafius, and their nephpw Th^
•debertus, fpn of Thodpric, divide4 equaUy-be-
tweien them the whole Kingdom of J^Mi'guody
«fler the defeat and death of its king Gondemiri
an. 534, In a word, tl^ fame cufto^n of gavd*
IJAg the dominion^ of the French crown,^ ia well
Known tQ have been oonflantly obferved amoog
the male offspring of the royal farnily, dunq^
the firft and fecond race of the kings of France

Now to give fmther proofs of the antiquity of
t)itt cuilom of male-gavel kind, as it hath been
now explained, and (hew at the faizie time how
univerfal, or at leaft how common to varioai
ancient nations it has been in all times, till witUo
a few ages before our own days ; to what I hive
already remarked of its having been obferved I9
the old patriarchs of the race of Sheni, I (ballKid
in the fiiil place, that Lycurgus whofe wi(doiq in
inftit^iting his laws, without doubt, was imprcyved
and condudked by the example of other iMtiooi^

enfprced

t^ 0*THfi ANtlENftklSH. a^

ed the Tame tixftotn in the Lsoedsroonuiti
by dividing all (he lands of Laconia into
thoufand equal (hares, and thofe of Sparta
ine thoufand, among fo many different fa*
; (b that each and every family were ail of
[MToperty and power, agreeable to the fpirit
Gertnan maxim above-cited, ne potcKs utU
From the Lacedfttmonians doubtlefsit was^
le Romans borrowed the fame law of dt-
; the patrimonial eftate in lands among all
ate diildren, together with the other laws oJF
ii^elve tablies. And as to the Gauls and
^ that they alfo 6bferved the fame cuftom
tittMl, I think may very rationally be in-
from the practice of the Britons or Welfli,
being their defcendants, muft have derived
niftom from them, which they always fol-
l tiHthc 34th and 35ih year of Henry VIII,
hm itbolilhed that ancient law of the Britons,
nkAed that all the lands in Wales (hould be
(idflibie to the direft heir alone, according to
>tirfe of the modern common law of £ng-

lis general proof of the obfervance of the

ling cuftom by the ancient Gieiuls and Celts,

inded upon the pradtice of their defcendants

tiritons, is diredtiy and exprefsly confirmed

rcgory of Tours, who upon mentioning an

of Childebert, the fecofid foa of Sigibevt

of Auftrafia, in the year ^75, ot)fervts tbitt

ded to facilitate the collefting of the regal

or fifcal revenues, as they were aooiently^vf-

upon the difTertot denominatiofiB 6f hmdl.

270 - DISSERTATIONS ON THE

h.

by removing the difficulties and delays limfp
attended fuch colledions^ all arifing fioo
divifions and fubdivifions that had been
between the male coheirs of the fingje
properties, upon which the particular reff
funfis recorded in the rolls of the Imperial
were primitively aflefled and levied I ; this s
evident proof of the mate gavelling cuftom
anciently obferved among the Gauls ; and u
the Franks, there is no doubt of its tuiviog bm]
followed by them at all times, as it was by il Ik
other German nations, and even by their )am
with regard to the dominions of the crown. I biie{
already remarked, that the Anglo^xon8slwi]i|
fcrupuloufly obferved it in common with all ds
people of their mother country : and our modn
Englifii writers take notice, that it is ftillretilDed
in full force in the greateft part of Kent, mi
in other places of lefs note, fuch as Urchenfidi
in Herefcrdihire. Now the reader is to judge if
I have faid enough in vindication of this dd ci'
totn to give fufficient confufion to our good
Englifli lawyer Sir John Davis, who takes b
much pains to reprefent it as a barbarous toi
pernidous cuftom, and feems to think, as if it

ad been peculiar to the old Irifh alone.

BdioR

•

% Muhum enim jam eiadores hujus tribnti Ipoliadaui
CO quod per longam tempus et foccedentium genentioia
et divifis in multas partes ipfis poflefiiombus colligi ra pt-
terait hoc trtbuctifn, quod hie Deo infpiraote ita |n«ccpk
emendart, ut quod fuper hcc fifco deberentory nee cxafio*
rem damna percuterent, nee cultorem tarditas aliqia de
officio rcTOcaret. Greg. Tur. Hift. lib. lo. cap. 7.

Il

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. a?!

I, Before I have done with this fubjeft I muft

k concerning the above Irilh gaveU, firft,

the Seniors or Chiefs of families generally

ed the natural and equitable rule of exa£k

ity in the (hares or partitions they made be*

the males of each family : of which we fee

perfed^ examples in the preceding gavels of

anil Carrigoginniol ; fecond, that the

Hitoral fons had their dqual (hares, as well asthofc

ho were born in lawful wedlock ; a maxim,

^■rliicb was likewife obferved by the Franks, inaf-

iMiuch as Tbeodoric or Thiery the eldeft fon of

''^lovis had an equal (hare of the regal dominions

'With the reft of bis brothers, though it is allowed

^hat his mother was only a concubine ; a drcum-

fktnoe wluch proves that this cuftom was grounded

Upon the patriarchal and primitive law of nature,

wldA derived from an origin of a more ancient

«ftsbli(hment than the laws of Chriftian princes,

'Iby which baftards are excluded from sU landed

lidieritance. Agreeablyto the primitive law Jacob's

• dnldren by the handmaids of his wives Leah and

fiichd, are ranked amongft the heads of the

twelve tribes of Ifrael upon a level with the

diildrea of his faid wives folemnly married ; and

their defoendants enjoyed their (hares of the

land of promife, as well as thofe of the other

chiklren of that patriarch ; third, it is remark-

Mt^ that it was generally the fenior or eldeft of

die fiimily, and not the diredt heir in lineal defcent

from the common ftock, who was qualified to

make tMs equal divi(ion between the males of his

family. Of this we fee a ftrong inftanoe in the

above

a7» DISSERTATIONS ON TH

ibatt Cuaniagh gavtl, whidi is made b^
fAott O'Brien, whofe coulin gentian Turl
dF Teige*aTi<^omhraic, was the dtreft lie
Tcigc bcmg the elder brother oF Mortc
father of Conor More, who, notwithftandi
the right of fenibrtty was then the diief
family, ^nd folely qualified to make the
fourth, it is fpeciaBy to be obreryed,that i
' this chief or fenior ittnts faimfelf in the ps
to a bare equality of (hare with every othc
rf'the family ; yet he refervesthe diief pi
d[ the eftate, as vefted in himfelf durhig I
by fubjefting the other (hares to a chic
which, though very light and inconfiderabli
notwithflanding, a fuffictent proof and n
their being dependent of him, as princip
priiitor . In a word , the equality t)f Shares I
a viery real community of gpods ^nd nee
fSf life between the different members of
tnily ; and the re(erve of fome mark o
rent, both fecured the refpdSt due to the
and declared the abfolute property of the
fubftance and eftate to be vefted in him
and hence it is evident, that what Strabo
to another great ancient nation (of whici
after) was €8 naturally and properly ap]
to the Iri(h in former times. Hi omnia pc
lias communia habent, fed is imperat etr^
ipti fenior eft. Strabo de Iberis Afiaticis.
It is finally to be obferved, that as the
©f chief rent upon the gavelled lands, nc
eftablUhed the fway and influence of the i
Jiead of the family over all the members

LAWS OFTHl ANTIENT IRISH. t^S

Elbe, and !ikevife fecurcd ft reverfion of the f j!!

Kopeny and pofiTd&ois of the fakl gard Lands un-

KD the faid diirf, when ibe adual teninrs either

Corfrited, or d^rd viifaDui sfbe ; fo this ascent

givelEng caftozn of cur remote acceftors, was

tiot, and could not in thole da\ s, be attended

mh any confcquences, &s defirudive cf *che fplen*

^urof a famiiv, as ii mull be in our da\s. In

indent times, the dignity cfa chief and members

of a family, did not depend upon pecuniary re*

Venues, but cocfided, u idi regard to the chief,

in his influence ard povrer over a nun^acus tribet

in tlie quantity and afBuence of their lupplies of

provifion of all forts to fupport his houlbold, and

in the number of Hghting men they could fumilh

him to yindicate his right, or his quarrels with

lijs netghboaring lords ; and with regard to the

Iplendour of the tribe in general, it confided in

their numbers, as well as in their capacity and

means of fumifliing their family-chief with thops

different fupplies.

In a wt>rd, the gavel-kind cullom, as it was
obferved by our anccftors, whether Irifti, Britifh,
Anglo-Saxon, or Franco-Normans, was in their
times perfefUy recoiicileable with all the natural
exigencies of the Hate and dignity of any chief*
tain, were he even a fovereign prince ; and why
not ? fince it was manifeftly grounded upon the
law of nature and reafon, the law of diftributivf
juftice and equity ; and adapted to times and
ctrcumftances of political government, in which
it could not be produdtive of any confequcncei
prejudicial to either public or private oeconomy ;'

T it

174 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

it fecured at the fame time their refpedkive birti^.
rights not only to the eldeft, but alfo to tV^
younger brothers or members of the family, f^
from ever qualifying the younger in any caiviai
djrcumfiance, to deprive the fir ft bom of the i^.
tural rights and privileges attached to Us HiM.
rank.

SECT. II.

Of tbe ToHf/lry'IaWj or J'amJUc manner of fucceffion

among tbe ancient Irijb.

1 ANISTRY, among the Iri(h of very old dat<
was a law of fucceffion, whether to regal powi
or any princely dignity, to which landed propec —
ty was annexed ; whereby, according to its pii. -
mitive nature and inftitution, the oldeft mL^
among the near kinfmen of the laft ruling princ^^
(legally fucceeding) and of the fame name \
flock, was conftitutionally to fucceed him by
right of feniority, unlefsfome natural or acdden.
t^ infirmity had rendered him manifeftly ioc^
pableof governing. I have faid, accordii^U
its primitive nature and inftitution, becaufe I in
Well convinced, and it appears but too abundant —
ly by all our hiftorical accounts, that with r^^
to the general obfervance of that law, in procefe
bf time, the jealoufies of amUtious princes of tbe
fame blood whofe fucceffion was occafionallj
tx>ftponed, have frequently raifed faftions and
parties in the ftate, whereby tumultuous eleftions
and illegal inaugurations were gradually intro- j
: duced.

N

WS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 275

and the fenior prince, or chief, fome-
lid afide, if not worfe ufed, in prejudice of
ttof feniority, which made him the natu-
^hereditary and the conllitutional heir and
)r.

:hat the original intent and ihfiitution of
te law of regal fucceilion, was fuch as I
iw explained it ; and that no eledtion did
ft\y interfere, nor could naturally be in-
to interfere in a fucceffion, which was
out by the very courfe of nature, until
unnaturally introduced by ufurpation and
^ that fuch I fay was the real primitive in-
Q and pradice of this law, I hope the im*
reader will not judge me ill-grounded to
when I have laid before him, not only the
r of other ancient and flourifhing nations,
lituted and obferved a parallel law of re^
effion, by the fole right of feniority and
vithout the leaft intcrventionof an elc^ion ;
other plain arguments grounded upon the
lature, and the reafon of things, as well
the principles of found politics,
time, as to the origin of the word Ta- .
l)y which Englilh writers have exprefled
1 law of fovereign fucceffion, it is to be
1, that Sir James Ware thinks it derived
5 Saxon Thanes, who were officers of fu-
ank among the Anglo-Saxons. It was
ore natural to have derived it from the
rd Tanaifte, which was the diftinguifliing
tve and title of the fenior and prefumptive
' in every princely family. But to under-

T 2 ftaod

h^i blSSERTATIOKS ON THE

ftahd the true drigiYi of the derivative word Ti-
hiftry, that of its immediate root Tanaifib anil
certainly be invefiigated and explained. To d^
rive this honourable word Tanaifte, as Mr.
OTlaherty does, from the Irilh name of the an-
nular finger, called meur tanaifte, feems to be
the fame as deriving it from its very derivative,
which would be fuch a hy fteron-proteron, as d^
riving the caufe from its own effeft ; it may fem
much more natural to think that fuch an objed
fls a finger (hould rather borrow its diftindiTe
name from the word which exprefled the title and
quality of the fecond perfonage of the whole flale;
becaufe as the Taniil was the next in rank and
power, as well as in right of fucceffion to the
reigning prince, fo the annular finger is the not
in tee and place to the middle finger.

But whether the Iriih perfonages called Ta-
nifb derived their name from the vulgar appdk-
tive of the annular finger, or rather, vice verfi,
we are fiill to feek for the original meaning of the
word Tanift, and confequently that of its deri-
vative Taniftry ; a literary kind of difquifition
i ihould be ill difpofed to trouble the reader or
myfelf with, but that I think it may be of foine
ufe towards difcovering the origin and antiquity,
as well as the nature and extent of the power and
privileges which were veiled in the ancient Ta-
nills.

If Mr. OTlaherty, who appears indeed to
have been well fldlled in the Irilh language, had
taken notice of the old Irilh or Celto-Ibemian
'word T&n or T&in, and its meaning, he might

cafily

WS OF THE ANTI?5J'if I&I^H. 277

cafil>r ^^^ perceived it to be the natural and i^cnr
t\c root of the word Tanaiile or Taii^. This
radi^^l word Tan is to be feea in our ancient Icifli
maivvifcripts (0), fignifying a region, country, or
pravil^ce ; as alfo its derivative Tl^nas Q^), domi-
nion 9 fovcreignty, governipc^t, &c.fron[i which
root the word Tanaifte is plainly anc| natur^Uj
derived, to exprefs the quality of the-perfon who
is veiled with that fovereign power and govcrnt
mcnt over fuch a region or province ; fo that tltia
word Tanaifte figniBcd in the Gehic language
nearly the fame thing as Dynafta did ia tte
Greek. And if the Greek word Dunaflfts^ was
not formed upon the Celtic word Tanaifte, and
derived from the fame root Tan or Taia (the
\ettersT and D being naturally comra^table, and
formerly ufed indificrently in feveral languages)
I (hould think it not more naturally derivable
a from the verb dunamai, fo as to fignify literally
? 1 potentate, than from dun, another Celtic wor^^
which fignified a fortifitrd town, that was the
centre and capital of a fingle nation or tribe^ of
people. And this derivation may feeiq the more
oattiral, not only as Dunaftet was not meant by
the Greeks to fignify a powerful king orrdonareb,
but alfo any potentate, as in ancient times, evenry
town and tribe had a particular king or fc^erogh.
Of this we liave many inftances in the f«<x>n4 boeli:
of Homer's Iliad ; and that this cuftom was uni-

verfal

(•) Amon^ft other old manufcripts» the .fmcientfepgra*
plucal poem of Mac Pes^rguH, beamninff wiui tie' wofosj
Taillc. fcafa ar Eirinn Oijr, &c: ' ^

(fi) Vid. Lhuyd's DiAionkry, a( ihc Word T>
^irhicb he explains by Tanaiftcas.

278 DISSERTATIONS ONTHE

verfal in the primitive times, particularly among
the Afiatics as well as the Greeks, we have fuf-
ficient grounds to conclude from the facred hifio-
ry of Jofhua's conquefts in the land of Canaan,
where every city had its own king, as is parti-
cularly fet forth in Jofli. c. lo. 1 1 . 1 2. where we
fee Bp mukttude of thofe kings enumerated toge-
ther with their refpcftive cities or kingdoms.
Nor am I far from being inclined to think, tint
the word Tyrannus, for which the Lexicon-writ-
ers a0ign no theme or root, may have had it Id
the Celtic, particularly in the word Tir, which
irr tht -Celto-Ibernian language (ignifies a buge
country or tradt of land, comprehending fevenl
towns, regioris and diftrids ; fo that Tyrannus
was the fupreme king or monarch of tlie whole,
' indft:word which was originally taken in a &-
vourable fenfe, until the Tanill^ or Dynafts, who
were brought under his fway, and could not be
reconciled with fubordination, gave that title the
odious fenfe of a tyrant and ufurpcr. The Ceko-
Ibernian word (y) Tierna or Ticarna, which fig-
nifies a fupreme lord or king, and is derived from
the radical word Tir-land, Lat. terra, Hifp.
tierra, is ftill taken in a favourable fenfe in the
Iri(h language, nay, is fo far from having any
thing odious in its fignification, that they exprefs
the fupreme Lord God by the words Tierna Dia.

f

It

ff) The Irifli poets have pat «n tfpirtted g into this
word at the end of the firft fjllable for the fake of fband
and rhyme, as the French hare in the word Seinenr,
which is now written Seigneur.

LAWS OP THE ANTIENT IRI»H. tif

It muftnot be omitted that it was plainly updn
is Celtic word Tan that the Greeks formed
eir Tlmia, in thefe national names Mauritania^
ufitania, Turditania^ Aquitania, Brittania, fig-
ifying refpeftively the country of the Mauri^ of
be Lufi, of the Turdi or Turduli, of the Aqua*
ici, or Armories, of the Britts or painted people^
^bden obferves very juftly, that Tania figni*
ieda r^on or country according to the gloffiuies*
mt ieems plainly to take it for a genuine Greek
rord, in which I can't but think he was miflaken.
^or can thofe conje£tures concerning the origin
)f thefe national names ending in Tania, and of
he words Dynafta and Tyrannus, be efteemed
nerely prefumptive, fmce it is undeniable that
lumbers of Greek words h^ve their origin in the
^c and other foreign languages. Plato in his
^lus obferves that the Greek word Cuon, a
logor hound, plur. Cunes (in Iri(h Cu, and plur«
^aio, Coin, and Cain, Lat. Canes) and many
thers, fuch as Pur fire (Ir. Ur.) Hudor water (Ir.
Hnr.) were derived from the Phrygians, of whom
tnibo, lib. 7. p. 540, fays, that they were ori-
inally Thraciaiis, and thefe were anciently of
le Celtic nations. See preface to the IbenuhOhic
ammar latehf publijbed.

But however it may be with the words Dynafta
id Tyrannus, as to their origin, I can't buEt
ink with fome (hare of confidence, that the
ord Tanaifte or Tanift, is very plainly and na-
irally derived from the Celto-Ibernian root T&n
Tain, a region or country, and primirivcly
unified a fovereign governor or )>rince of a region

or

28o DISSERTATIONS oiH THE

m province. That the Tgniftical power wu
O^iffdally rpv^gn in the ipoft extenfive (bile*
vntil the T«niit became fubordinate ta tfao
Tierna^ the fuprcme lord or king^ l think imj
naturally be inferred from the righta and privi-
ties th» Tapifts. retained as inherent in them*
ftlvoa, even after their fubordination. Our M^
torians iofarxQ us^ that the Tanift was by fpe-
(ual right not only ciiief commander or genera) of
Ihe army, but alfo chief judge, of the whole ftatf
or kingdom.

Of thofe privileges regarding the judicial 8S
well as the military power claimed by the Tt-
liifts, the moll expreffive account I find in Uilh
Uftory, is in tlie reign of OUiol-olum king of
Munfter, towards the beginning of the third oeo-
tnry according to our chronologifts, and thoog^
this is, I think, the earlieil explication of this
matter furnilhed by hiftorians, yet lam pcrfaad-
cd the eftabliihment of Tanifts and Tanifiid
euftoms among the Irifb, has been of an earlier
date, and coeval with the firft Celtic or CeIt'Ib^
rian colonies, that fettled in this kingdom. In
the account of 011iol*olum's reign, *tis obferved,
onoccafx>n of his having exiled Mac Con, adefr
cendant of Ithius fon of ]&reogan, that in thofe
days the princes of the Ithian family claimed an
alternate fucceiTion withriiofe of the Iberian race,
of which Olliol'olum was then the chief | and
diat when a prince of the latter branch \^as in
pofleffion of the throne, an Ithian claimed a right
to be Tanift and chief judge of the kingdom ;
in confeqqence of which pretention it is iaid that
Mac Con aiTumed the rank of Tanift, with its

annexed

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. oti

QKQcxed right of judicature, under OUiol-olum ;
Dd that he was poflcfled at the fame time of the
kief miUtaiy command, appears very plainly
fm what biftorians alledge as the caufe of btf
KoUhment ; they inform us, that OUiol-olQtn'<6
Botivc for bringing this ambitious Tanift to coi>-
ign puni(bment, was a difcovery be had made
his having abufed the influence and military
Kwer he was entrufted with, in favouring ttie
Qbition and evil defigns of Nemeadb or Nc-
cthus fon of Srabhthine an Eamian prince, who
id murdered Conaire the chief king of the North
loiety of Ireland, and now had a view to fucceed
im on that throne in prejudice of faid Conaire'a
Nis» who were half brothers to Olliol-olum'^i
hiUren ; and to remark it by the bye, this king
( Munfter was the more interefied in fupprefling
nd puniihing this confpiracy, as it was but too
^n, that Mac Con's view and expe£tation from
he iiliie of it was to fecure his fucceflion to the
^domonian throne by the afUftance of Nemetbus,
D prejudice of the rightful heir of Olliol-olum.
2ut the confederacy was happily diflblved by the
igaal vi£^ory gained by the king and his Tons and
]iofe of Conaire, at the battle of Fenabhra, over
lie combined forces of Nemetbus and Mac Con,
irbere the former loft his life, and the latter, wv
vounded and expelled the kingdom ; from the
ircumflances that gave occafion to this battle,
nd Mac Con having had influence enough tp
iduce and command a part of the Munfter fof-
» againft the chief fovereign and his, it appears
cry plainly that this Tanift was pofleffed of the

right

thine king of the North moiety of Irelan<
the end of the third century, that this k
ed his fon Muireach Tireach with the <
bfcmg chief commander of the army in <
his prefumptive heir and fucceflbr ; and
larly for this reafon, that in thofe days
never expofed himfelf at the head of I
his life being of fuch importance as not
zarded upon the iffue of a battle. Fron
torical accounjt it appears, that the T\
prefumptive fucceflbrs to the throne
poflefled of ttie right of chief military cc
but by another hiftorical fadl, very aut!
recorded, we find that they preferved i
even as late as the end of the eleventh
and the beginning of the twelfth. To\
year 1096, Dermod O^Brien, brother a
wards fucceflbr of Mortogh O'Brien k
Irehuid, fubfcribes to the eledion of Mai
bifhop of Waterford in the following i
Dtrmod Dux frater Regis fubfcripfi ;
charge of chief commander of the arm;

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 2S3

fSkd by them in the third century ; yet I find no
made of any particular inftance or hSt^
'Which it may appear that they continued in
poflfeffion and ezercife of the faid right after
epoch, notwithftanding die now cited proofs
,^ if having poffifled that of the military com*
nd (b late as the twelfth century : firom tUs
llioe of the hiftorians with r^^rd to any judi-
■y power being exercifed by the Irifh Tanifts
fer die third century, I think I may probably
ifer, that the Irilb fovereigns have been much
'Serthan thofe of the Anglo-Saxons in depriv-
S the Tanifts of fo dangerous a power. In
a £ngli(h hiftory we find, that the Anglo-Saxon
aanes or Tanifts, who were then chief gover-
kBof provinces, preferved and exercifed theju-
aiary power, as well as the military command
til about the year 896 ; when king Alfred's
M deprived them of all civil jurifdidtion. As
r the Irifli princes we are the better grounded to
ink, that they aboliftied the Judiciary power oC
|3r Tanifts earlier than the time of Alfred's
ks, as we find it frequently mentioned by their
brians, before that epoch, that each prince had
town particular judge chofen out of an inferior
id dependant family, in which that office was
leditary, and who had fome landed properties
(gned them by their prince for that fervice ;
Itas, the Clancies were the hereditary judges of
i chief of the O^Briens • the Egans, of that of
sMacCarthys, &c.

It is further to be obferved, relatively to the
iglo-Saxons, that in the fame manner, as among

the

meant lentors) were tnore very perions
tke title of Thanes, and were governors
vinces under ihe kings of that nation,
the fanoe time with the mihtary comn
the dvil jurifdidlion, until king Alfred
them of the latter, as I have already d
and were in that nnonarch*s time ftili
Thanes or Eoldermen indifferently*

Nor Were the Anglo-Saxons the only (
people that alkiwed tbofe rights and prii
their feniora \ the Franks, who were di
manic nation, or rather a confederated
different German nations, held their 6
fenieurs, as. they expreiTed the word, in
rank, and vefted them with the very (at
and offices both civil and military ; tl
may find it well proved by the learned I
Valois in his book de Gefti^ Francorum.
ter him more minutely and correftly by
Abbot Dubos in his excellent hiftorical v^
4. ch. 5. that among the Franks, under 1
Clovis and his fucceffors of the Merovinj

LAWS OF THE AKTIEMT IRISH. atf

il tight land privilege the lung^ principal
m both for the civil adminiftration and the
rhilitary command ; and had a great fluue
t' the government and direAion of fiate afTaira.
k^fb, <hat thofe who were appdnted govemom
F^oviftcesorof great towns^ were taken out of
Hi vocierable body of feniors, and that the faid
Dverhora, who, during the peace, had no con*
Hm but the adminillration of juftice and civii
ttiirs, bad in time of war the chief military
edimand of the forces of their refpedive pro^
^ncea. And further, that thofe who ferved aa
lieir fubahemB in the civil jurifdidtion at home,
Iveie the very perfons who adked as their inferior
afioers during the campaign ; it is likewife ob*
Ebved and proved by the fame authors, that
iutong thofe fenieurs of the Franks, fome were
filed ardii-^fenieutB, of whom were the higheft
ttttceka of the king's court and palace, and
^ chief governors of great provinces; thofe
kicfai-fi^taieiiriB were afterwards called mayors <^f
fte palace, whereof Clotarios Illd, inftituted one
il eadi of the three kingdoms of Auflrafia, Ne-
tftrafia and Burgundy, vefted with all civil and
ttBlary power : an inftitution which afterwards
jptotred fatal to his own family.

Of the fame power and rank with thofe French
Hcht^fenieurs and mayors of the palace, was in
dl likelihood that chief minifter or general go-
vernor, who among the Anglo-Saxons was ftiled
be Eolderman fingularly and eminently, and where-
f during the heptarchy it feems there was: but
ne in each kingdom, as I think may be inferred

from

K^uiiciiaiu aiiu iiia pcupic, put iiicm ai.

fword, and killed himfelf. We fee by tbu
that there was fome particular Eoldermac
kingdom, who was fiogularly and einin<
filled, and that he bad a Thane, whoitfe
his lieutenant or fubfenior, in the fame i
that the archi-fenieurs of the Franks ha
fenieurs as their fubflitutes ; the fame ti
pears fiill more dillindtly in the hii
* Egbert's wars againft the Mercians, of ^
is related, that after tlie death of ihn
Luduan, they raifed to the throne With
Eolderman ; but 1 have obferved above, tl
Egbert had united all the heptarchy ii
kingdom, and the civil power and jurifdi
the Thanes bad been aboliflied by Alfrc
were called either Eoldermen or Thanes
rently. In a word, the archi- fenieurs or
of the palace among the Franks, and tl
Eoldermen of the Anglo-Saxons, (thofel
of whofe rank there was but one in each ki
of the heptarchy) were exadlly of the fa

sAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 287

ior*mory or Mor-mhaor^ among the Albaniaa
h or Scots, the word Maor bdng the fame as
qfor, and Mor Great, the compound of both
^ying Grand Major^ or High Steward, as
(Lowland Scots exprefled it in the Saxon Ian-
ige. The Latin writers of Anglo-Saxon affiuri
ikd their chief Eolderman, ThaniKegii, which
ews that Thane and Eoldermen were words of
t fame meaning : and in the (ame fenfe Bucba-
in latinizes the title of High Steward of Scot-
dp by the word Ab-Thanus ; whence it follows^
at as Eolderman is the fame thing as fenior, (b
te Arch-fenbrs or Mayors of the Palace among
le Franks; the chief Eolderman of the Anglo-
ixons, and the Ab-Thani of the Scots, were all
Iks of a parallel nature and fignification.
To go on a little further with my enumeration
Pdiofe nations, wherein the pre-eminence of
ink sad office due to Seniors was held as a facred
BUQiDt I (hall add in the firft place, what I think
My reafonably be inferred from the following
^ige in Csefar*s commentaries, that the fame
li:dm feems to have been common to all the
ift of the Germanic nations, as it was to the
tenks and Saxons. In Csefar's account of his
ipedition againft the Ufipetes and Tenchtheri,
\ teUs us, that thofe nations deputed thek Pr^es
i Elders to bis camp under pretext of making
nr fubmiffions and obtaining favourable terms,
c. German! frequcntes omnibus principibus
)goribufqite naiu adhitxtis, ad eum in caftra
Bcnint, &c. Com. Lib. 4. But in the next
ICC to produce rcafonable grounds for con-
cluding.

wnicn regards tneir leniors and ttie n
refpeft they were held in. As this p
article of the cuiioms of that ancient natu
fcarcely be fet out in ftronger li^t than
which the learned M. de Fleury has deii
I (hall here prefent it to the reader in
words and meaning, as exa£Uy as I can
them from the original, in his exceller
intitled M^urs des Ifraelites, art. 24.
, ^ The feniors or elders had great t
^ anKMig the Ifraelites^ as they had an
^ other nations of the primitive times.
^ early days of the world, all forts of pei
*' trufted with any power or authority , a
^ o( private afFairs, as well as public cc
^ and magiftrates, were chofen from aa
^ feniors or ancients of every tribe or

* hence were formed in Rome, the va

* latives of Setuuus et Patres Cmfcripti^
^ great council was compofed of old

^ fathers of a venerable age : and hence
^ great veneration, in which old age wa

L/ft.TS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH.

* age* ''^ allowing them all forts of pre-
» emi ncBce and authority from a confidencejuftly

* <}ue to their experience, wifdom and equity,
t Young people are only fit for movement, exer-
( afe and action, but old age knows how to

* inftruA, to counfei, and to command. Thi
I gjafy ^ yout^ ptapk, faya the wife man, FroT.

* AO, 3J). u tieir ftrengtb of bodf ; but the d^ntty
« ^ €»Id mm is tbetr grey hairs. It fcarce ever

* bftppcns, that flrength oi underllanding tm'

• proved by ftudy can well fupfrfy the place of
■ experience and knowledge of the world;

* an old man being only endowed with a compe-

* teni fiiare of good natural fenfe, will have ac-
. * quired knowledge and learning by experience

' tiaae. Nothing better warranted and arcertaia-
- * ed in hiftfvy, than that the beft governed ftate«
B ' efcr known Id the world, were thofe wherein
r. * ibe fenion or old people had the principal au-
X • ibority i and that the reigns of the youngeft

* princea were always the moll unhappy, H^oe
B * Ut^tbtlMd^-wbtfi king is But a bofy fays the
; * wife man, Ecdcf. lo. i5- It is this fame woe
• * and fceorge that God threat«K the Jews with,

* wheo he tells them by the mouth ^ the pro-
' phet Ifatas, c. 3. 4. That be w^ give- ibein

* ymi^ei&lrm as ibeir princes.

* Am (bon aa the Ifraetites became numerous

* enough to form a body of people, they were

* Kvrerned by their feniors or elders, even before
' * ttmr ddivcry from the Egyptian bondage;
' * when MoTies went to Egypt by the order of

* God, wiib bis airurances oC tKnr fpeedy de-

U • livery,

w ncn uoa mougni proper lo appuiiii
cii for Mofes to eafeand aflfift him in go
the great multitude of the people of
choofe out, fays the Lord, Num. ii.
aflemble before me feventy perfonages
the old men of Ifrael, and whom you 1
be adually the elders of the people ai
governors or fuperintendants, Sec.
fliews that the elders were already vefl
authority, and in the adual exercife of
natural (late of the people of Ifrael an<
they received, the law, which formed th
a political body \ and ever after througl
whole courfe of the fcripture, as often
is mention of aifemblies and pabltc affi
elders are always named in the firft rai
fometimes they alone are mentioned
occafions , hence that expreffion in Pf
32, exhorting all perfons to praife Go(
aiTembly of the people and in the /effk
feniors^ that is to fay, in the great co
fenate. Such were the two bodies, c

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 291

words by which ancient perfons were ezprefled

m difierent nations and languages, have pafled

into titles of dignity \ from the Greek word

Preibyteros, is formed the ecclefiaftical title of

prieR, and from the Latin fenior, that of feig*

neur. We may judge of the age required

among the Hebrews to be admitted into the

Fink of feniors by that which thofe favouritetf

of Roboam, whofe counfel he followed, mud

have attained to at the time they were (tiled

young men; ii. Paralip. cap. x- v. 10, n. It

is mentioned on that occafion, that they had

been bred up with Roboam from his infancy^

whence we may fuppoTe them not lefs than

forty years old, which was Roboam's age at

that time/ ii. Paralip. cap. 12. v. 13.

To M. de Fleury*s remark that the Latin

irord fenior has pafled into a title of dignity, fuch

isfdgneur in the French language, in Englifli

^lifying lord, I (hall add that the appellation of

hhr has been at all times and ftill continues to

« the principal title of honour and dignity of

imoft all the kings and fovereign princes of the

•Uropean or Celtic nations \ the Sennor of the

paniards, the Signore of the Italians, the Sire of

)e French, the Sir and Sire of the Engli(h, and

^en the Signior in that (lile of Grand Signior,

|>propriated to the Grand Turk, are all but fo

lany dialectic variations of the word Senior ac-

wding to the different languages of thofe Euro-

an kingdoms-, as to the title of Roy, Rey,

sge, Koning and King, &c« in France, Spain,

ily, Germany, England, &c. refpcikively, it di-

U z reftly

api DISSERTATIONS ON THE

refily regards the office and power of a foverogQi
as he is (upreme ruler and con^mander, wbkb ii
the literal meaning of that word, however diffir-
ently exprefled in diiferent languages : but whip
any of thofe fovereigns of Europe are perfooallj
addreifed or fpoken to, they are always honoured
with the title of Senior, according as that wad
is.varioufly uttered in the different dialedts of tk .
Eurc^an nations.

I (ball further obferve, that the folc appellative
of Senior was ufed not only as a title and ffileof
regid honour and dignity, but ferved alfo in fonpcr
times to exprefs the very office and power of
fovereigns ; fo that the word Senior was particu*
larly and flridtly appropriated to mean a fovereip
ruler or commander. That this aflertjon is far fioa
being deftitute of grounds, I prtfpine may (of -
cicntly appear to the reader by the following Mf-
torical padages. John de Biclaro hifhop of Gi*
rone in Catalonia, relating the aftions of Lcovi-
gildus Gothic king of Spain, about the middle of
the fourth century, mentions in his chronicki p.
69, that this monarch invaded the hig^ilandsof
Arragon, where he vanquiflied and led away imo
captivity Afpidius the Senior of that countryi
together with his wife and children ; et Afpi<fium
terrs Seniorem cum uxeor et filiis captivos dudt,
&c» In the adts of a council held under Thtf-
fillo duke of Bavaria, in the time of Charlemagoe
and towards the middle of the eighth century, it
is decreed that all thofe who for the future may
be (ent as deputies to the general ailembly, muft
give a ftri£^ account of their place of abode^ and

who

LAWSX>F THE ANTIENT IRISH. J93

tho the Seniors are of their refpeftive coontri^,
Hbfamt obftri£te queefitum ex quo loco fiiit, et
jm fint Seiiiores eoruin. Stephanus Stephanias in
bn notes on that place of the tenth book of Saxo-
Gnunmaticus where he mentions the Senior of
SUandia, cites other hiftorical inftanctts of the
Bane nature, and concludes that the word Senior
Ggnified in thofe days a fovereign lord or prince,
far any perfon who ruled with fupreine power •
Seobr eft dominus aut princeps, vel qui alioqutn
itimmi cum poteftate prseeft, quemadmbdum Hi*
^niseft in ufu fuum Senor, Italis Stgnore, Galfis
Sre, &c .

AgtttMf to .the fame prtmitive and natwal
ftie, the ancient Irilh always underftood by tHe
Cdtic word Seanoir the fame as the Latins did by
the word Senior, which they formed upon the
Cehic; and by that of Sinfior, another Celtic
wtrd derived from the fame root and nearly fyno-
nimooB to Senior, the Irifli meant what the Latins
imderftood by Princeps tribus aut nationis ; hence
it was, that though the kings of England, after
^rig themfelves the title of Lord of Ireland,
iDowed that of King to the chief princes of the
Mh nation, fuch as the O'Briens, the O'Neils,
the O'Conors and fome others ; yet thofe princes
did not hold the title of King in higher efteeih
ind honour, than that of Senior, which they un-
ferftood to be the fame in meaning and import,
t was for this reafon, that, though we find O'Neil
tiled king by Henry Illd, in a roll of the 3^th
ear of his reign, as is likewife O'Brien fiiled
ing of Thomond by the fame Henry m a roll of

(be

Z94 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

the 6th year of his reign, yet 0*Neil in the
addrefs of homage he makes to Richard lid,
ftiles himfelf by the title of Senior alone, inftead

- of Rex or Princeps in thefe words. Ego Ndanus
P*Neil Senhr^ tam pro meipfo, quam pro filiis meis
et tota natione mea, et parentelis meis, et pro om-
nibus fubditis meis deveni^e ligeus homo ▼eftrr,
&c.

Nothing is more natural, or nK>re perfedly
agreeing with the maxims of the primitive times,

. than that the fovereign power (hould have been
one of the appurtenances of the right of feniority.
Sovereignty in its pure nature and original uk
among mankind has made its firft appearance in
the world in the perfons of Seniors. The pa-
ternal authority of fathers of families, over their
children and bond-fervants, was the very firft
form of fovereign government : as it neceffarily
mud have been in the infancy of the poft-diluviaa
world. This domeilic fovereignty of fathers or
heads of private families continued long after the
primitive times in feveral rutions, even under
political governments, whether monarchical or re-
publican ; an abfoiute power of life and death
over their children and flaves being then vefted in
all fathers of families. So it was under the
Roman government both republican and Imperial,
and fo in Greece, with this difference of the lat-
ter with regard to Athens in particular, that there
indeed the fathers could not immediately have
ordered capital panifhment relatively to ilicir
children, though they might as to their flaves,

but

^

L AW^VF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 29s

t muft have previoufly proved them difobe-
ent and inconigible before the fenate or public
dges. The fame re(lri£kion was put to the ab-
lute authority of fathers with regard to their
laldren amongft the Ifiraelites, after their political
loorporation and Theocratic government accord^^
igtothe laws of Mofes*. And in thofe earlj^'ys
if the poft-diluvian world, while the children of *
«ch particular father of a family kept together
n one body or fociety, the firft born (on enjoyed
ay natural right not only the regal pre-eminence
ind power^ but alfo the facerdotal dignity and
iunttony together with a double portion of the
fiitber*8 fubftance and inheritance. Thus the fcep-
^f together with the pontificate, and a double
hnt of the land of promife, would have belonged
t> Ruben theeldeft fon of Jacob had he not for-
^ted that threefold right by his unnatural crime
>f having defiled his father's bed ; his double
)Qrtion of the inheritance was given to Jofeph :
uevi had his prieilhood, and his right of fove*
reignty was veiled in Juda.

OF this triple right belonging to feniority in tlie
perfons of the firft born fons, and of chief feniora
>f regal lines, we find fcvcral plain veftigcs in the
rery Pagan antiquities. Virgil's Anius was king
3f Argos and prieft of Phsebusat the fame time.
Rex Anius, Rex idem hominum Thaebique Sacer*
dos. -fincid. 9. Mercurius Trifmegiftus or ter
maximus, was fo called (according to Alexander
ab Alex, in lib. dierum genialium) becaufe he was

a great

• Vid. fltUTj Mocurt des Uraelt cap. 28.

296 pISSERTjjLTlONS OlJ^HB

t.great philofopher^ a gi^t king, and (irieft 4
at once. The Roman tnnperors were ^ ti^
priefts or pontifices maximi ; and that the ib*
fcendants of Juda, to whom the regal dignity «•
transferred upon the forfeiture of Ruben, neitr^
lofi fight of that maxim of the primitive tiBMi
according to which the priefthood aad the icgri
vpo WCT were enjoyed both at once by one. and tht
fame (enior or firft bom, appears id fiam h& fm
the hiftory of the Afmonean race, or the Mr
chahees, amongft whom Johannes, Simon, and
Johannes Hircanus exercifed both the foveragn
power, and the charges of the pontificate ; sod
their example was followed eve^ by (uch of
their fucceifors, as had been crowned kings, ii
i^riftobolus and Alexander Janneus. In Irehad
ftveral kings were alfo bifliops of the Chriffiaa
church, particularly Cormac Mac Cuillionan vbo
tasking of Munller, andbithopof Cathelatthe
end of the ninth century and beginning of the
tenth : and before him Olcobhar who died in 851,
and Ceanfhaola or Cinfeledh who died in 87^
were both bilhops of Emly and kings of Mun-
fter. The ecclefiaflic eledors and other fovereigns
who are bifhops in the German empire, are ftiil
in our own days an inftance of the fame ancicat
maxim «

As to the fovercign or regal authority takea
fingly in itfelf, it is very plain by what has been
already obfervcd, that in the primitive (late of
mankind it was both natural and neccflar)/ to con-
fider it as one of the branches of the right of
fenlwity ; and accordingly we have remarked,

that

.AV>^F THE ANTLENT IRISH. 097

ximeuiffi power vras primitiv^y enjoyed hy
ioffs alone m their inherent right. The fame
lam muft have continued to be held facred
u^ the firft ages of the world, and before the
at multipitcadon of mankind i and when the
bcrity of Noah's three fons became numerous
»flgh to fpread out into different tr'rbes, at their
wai feparation and difperlion throughout the
ildy thai forming themielves into differeBt Mr
u and political focieties ; the chief regal dig**
yerfopreme power (before the introduction
tyranny, and while the principles of the Jaw
nature were kept in view) muft naturalW
vc been veiled in the chief fenior of that bramA
fiuDiiy which formed the diredt line, as de*
odiiig from the eldeft (on of the common flock,
1 £rft father of each feparated tribe. As to
: direct hereditary fuccelfion of regal power
cn<&ther to fon» which has been eilabliihed in
r pofterity of David in the tribe of Juda^ it
sib ordained in confequence of the defigns of
ividence with regard to the temporal defcez^
Chrift from the regal line of Juda.
But if we examine tlie courfe of regal fuocef-
a in other kingdoms belonging to the feniority
Abraham, I mean thofe of lirael or the ten
xs, and of Edom or Idume and of the progeny
£fau; we (ha)l find that in the latter (by
at appears in I. Chron. Ch. I J a diredt here-
u-y fucceffion, far from being obferved even in
onefingle inftance, feems rather to have been
ftitutionally excluded ^ nor do we fee any rea-
to doubt^ that the chief feniors of tbe de-

fccndants

apB DISSERTATIONS ON THE

icendants of Efau, fucceeded each other regulnl}
in their refpedtive limes, according to the above-
defcribed maxim of the primitive ages. For as
to a free election of the people, or any ufurptdan
carried on by high hand, the facred text affocds
us no grounds to fuppofe, that either the one oi
the other of thofe two meafures might have ii^«
t^nrened in the fucceflion of the kings of Edoirm
nor even in that of its dukes ; and with regard t^
the kingdom of Ifrael we fee, that not only th^
particular judgments of God upon the diflferecn
families who fucceeded to that throne, have fr^
quently interrupted the diredt hereditary fucceSi
on ; but alfo that the election of the people fon^c
times interfered as in that of Amri and Thebn;
I Kings, 1 6. and fometimes ufurpation, as in
that of Baaza, i Kings, 1 5. and of Zambri, 1
Kings, 16.

For what regards any inftances of a lineal and
hereditary fucceflion that may appear in the ao-
cient monarchies of the Chalda:ans or Babyio* •
nians, of the Aflyrians, of the Egyptians,^ be
as thofe kingdoms were originally founded upon,
and fubfequently governed by tyrannical mei-
fures and defpotic laws ; fo it is natural to think,
that the primitive maxims of government ground-
ed upon the law of nature might not have been
regarded in fuch kingdoms; and that everj
reigning monarch employed all his abfolute power
to fecure the fucceflion for his fon or natural heir.
It is however far from being certain, that, even in
thofe defpotic kingdoms, the regal fucceflion yf9%
regularly carried on in a hereditary manner, ac-
cording

^AWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 299

cdiiig to the order of lines. For in the firft
■oe, M to the feven Chaldsean and fix Arabian
ng^ who were the neareft fucceflbrs of Nimrod
I the Babylonian kingdom, according to Eufe-
im and Geo^us Synoellus, who mentioned
hem not only upon the authority of Alexander
Myhiftor, a coteinporary of Sylla the Roman
Bftitor, but alfo upon that of more ancient *
ttoriana, Berofus, Abydenus, and ApoUodorus :
iito thofe thirteen Babylonian kings, I fay^ it is
ir from being certain, that either of the two
noes of them, fucceeded each other in the direft
beiedttary manner, inafmuch as we have only a
Eft of th^ bare names, without the leaft mention
of theSr relation to each other.

In the next place, for what regards the Aflyrian
Qonsrchs, fucceflbrs df Ninus, who made the
Bsbjflonian lungdom a part of his empire by the
tdoftion of Babylon, whofe laft king of the
Ifibian race, he took captive with his wife and
iddren, and afterwards put himfeif to death :
4 to thofe fucceflbrs of Ninus, I fay, though we
iod by the accounts of Eufebius (doubtlefs upon
he authority of Diodorus Siculus, Juilin and
others) that Ninus was fucceeded by his fon
finias, after the ufurpation of his mother Semira-
lis, yet we (ee no further mention or proof of a
ereditary fucceflion according to the order of
nes among the following kings of that empire
om Ninias down to Sardanapalus, through a
ries of fifty one kings according to Syncetlus,
lOugh Eufebius reduces their number to thirty
tree, as Diodorus does to thirty.

In

ic% Dr^&EKTATSOB^'S CV THE

prncriy famii^ m t:he tiev cf fiscoe and U^

hsxid anxonifzlT: dicie "*/ dK^Bneasuncaiidliiood;
hut QCiiRSiib, tf te acsuxa^»LedgESp io finoorof
themcit«iie}Gr7'.ngfiaiu3i9of eadz pomcohr ncc,
^ C^ 9*i!faii5 cr diissreia. prfrmim, pkmmqoe

^ tTOffl*™^ dietiincta '"pnocipi^ TTTULeitflML" And
rboo^ diia aconcnc of ds rimjiiiiik: maooer of
resi fuccoficxi cnaGt ceLGiu2i>^ cioes not tA it
othorwite, cfaaa » it naj be ooofiicred ia ittd^
dining and abufx^c frarr, wed accordziig is h «»
generally earned en ia tbe larirr osfcappj timo
of die Irifii nacon ; yet we tae cfaes aodnr is
cancfid enough to owa, diac tbe diief fcnior vas
gencxail J the pcx£o€L, wbo iuccceded to all icgd
power and propertj araongft tbe Irifli ctcq ia
tfadr dcdiniag tate.

Sr John Davia in bis hiftorical rdatioo of At
afiairsof Ireland, wherein, tboogh it maft be coo*
fefiied cfaat in otber refpeds he fbews fixne rnnks
of candour and juftice towards tbe antient Irifli, a
pkaied however, page 36, to throw very ferae
iefle£tiona upon tbe taoifbc law of (bcoeffioii, «
bedoea in tbe fame page npon the Brehoo \mm\
and in tbe following page, iutmning up his ar*
gtimenta, and cocnbiiring tbe tbamftic and gtfd-
kind coftoms both together, he forgets bis mod^
ration, and bctrava at the fame time Ihs fliaUov
knowledge or rather utter ignoranoe of tbe gene-
ral htftory of nations, even that of bts own coun-
try, (as I (hall hereafter (hew) fo far as to repie*
(rat thofe two antient, I may fay, almoft general

cuftoms,

V

AWAOF THE ANTIEKT IRXSR 301

•CRUQCDoe was veiled in the perfons of feoiom
irtue of their very right of feniority^
ihouid not have been fo difTufe upon a {\xbjoSt
iidifolf- evidence, aa thofe principlea of the
.of nature upon whigh were grounded th0
rr«xpiaioed rights and privileges fo religioufly
(md.to.feniors under the difpenfation of that
:4 nor (hould I have been fo minute in availing
feif of tboic maxims and general, cuftonii of
pdniitive tiices, whereby ail power and pre-
ideoce was deferred to their chief femora by all
lit antiont nations, wherein tyranny and de^ .
xifm did not prevail againft the moft facred
bti.; I Aould not, I (ay^ have enlarged fo am-^
' upon thofe general heads* but that I thought
argiUDcnt ihouid be overlooked, that could
itribute to remove a prejudice, which I found
leeply imprefled on the minds of fome Engliih
bn with regard to the thaniiUc law of regal
oeffion amongil the antient Iriih, that they .
a. to look upon .it as a cuilom of extraordinary .
{uhrity, and even of a barbarous and unpoliih'^
nature. Sir James Ware^ the moil candid
eed of thofe Engliih writers of Iri(h affairs,, and :
he fame time the beft inilru£bd of what re*,
ded our antient cuilotna, confiders, notwitli"
kUng, the thaniilic manner of governn^ent and
al.fiia:efllon, merely in its corrupt ^nd abufiye
e, according as it was pradtifcd in l|tt(er agM» :
. particularly after the eftabliChipent of the.,
;iiih colonies in this iiland under Henry IId»
jr of England. This writer giyes^ us to ua-

[land, (Antiq. Hib.oip. 8.) tb$i thctlimcffim.

was

3^ DliJSERTATiaNS ON TTHS

of thofe general maxims of the primitive tiraci,
which I have already explained, it is to be hoped,
may be prevalent enough to tndoce all impartial
readers to take no further notice of the cenfures
of fuch Englifh writers, as might have (hewn their
prejudice againft tho law«of regal and princely
fucceffion among the antient Iri(h.

The firft precedent of a law of fucceflion paral-
lel to that of olur remote anceftors, I Ihall look for
in at lead a^ antient a nation, and in fome ftrong
appearance, that which was the very original ftock
of fonne of the primitive colonies of this iflaod;
I mean the Scy tho - Iberian nation, antieatly
fituated between the Euxine and Cafpian feas. Of
this antient people, Strabo gives us thb high
notion, ** That their country is not only very
*^ well improved^ but of a climate naturally happy
^ for inhaUtants ; for Iberia, fays he, is full of
'^ dties and inhabitants, they live in tiled houfes,
^ and have edifices of a curious ftruftore and
** ftone-wofk ; they alfo have courts of juftice
^ and other public building^.'' And as a ded-
five proof of the riches and happinefs of all tfait
re^on inhabited by them and the Soanes thdr
clofe neighbours ; he further adds, thAt the very
rivers and torrents threw out with their fand vaft
quantities of gold dufi and ore, whith the people
ftrained thr€>ugh bored planks, and received into
woollen fleeces ; from which praftice, he fays, the
fable of the golden fleece was mvented. The
ftme author informs us, that the Iberian nation
confifled of four orders ; firft, thofe of the royal
race, in which the regal fucceffion was kept up \

the

^

.•I

LAWS OF THE ANTLENT IRI3H. 305

the fecond order was, that of the priefis and
prieflly tribes ^ to which, befides their religious
funAions, belonged alfo the right of adminifter-
ingjuftice in all difpu^es of property, and con-
cerning limits, and other public rights between
all neighbourmg people ; the third order includ-
ed both the military men and the agricultors,
thofe two profellions being thus held in equal ef-
teem in that great and flourilhing nation; the
fourth and lall order was the common people,
who were deft ined for ferving the kings, and fup-
plying ihcm with all forts of vidluals and provifi-
ons. Such were the four orders of the antient
Iberian nation : and it appears very plain from
the general fcope and contents of hiftory, that the
Irifh Scoto- Iberian ftate confided like wife df the
fame number and the fame denominations of dif-
ferent orders or ranks of people, with the like
privileges and duties refpedlively attached to each
rank. I cannot conceive what grounds Mr.
0*Flaherty might have had to exclude, or rather
fay nothing; in his account of the different or-
ders of the iri(h nation, of the military men and
agricuhors ; two public corps, which were al-
ways held in particular honour and efleem
amongft the old irifh. The antient and famous
militia called Peine, and the agricultors, who
were diftiftguifhed by the appellative of Biadh*
tachs, from their great hofpitality, were remark-
ably honoured and privileged in the antient ftate
ofthe Irifh nation.

But to return to the four ranks of people in the
Schytho-lberian nation in Afia, our author ob-
fcrves of thofe orders in general, that in all their

X rcfpcftivc

. have identically the plain, natural, and ti
^ dation of our Scoto-lbcrian fyftem of the
^ chief poweif and property, not only wit
^ to particular fepts or families, but alfo i
^ to the fuprcme power and princely face

.general, as grounded on the right of
. And in the preceding fedtion I have likK
^ ^rved, (hat the Irifh or Scoto-Iherian a
^inalc-gavel was regulated in all circun

.agreeably to this fame maxim of the I
I Iberians: it being manifeft, that an equ

button of the famiiy-fubftance between all
-, ferent nierhbcrs, as it was obferved by oi
- . ?ors, formed a very natural community o
^ inafinuch as an equal participation of tt
.Janes of life out of the fame mafs of fi
; was cquivalently the very fame as living
^ jtnpn. Hi omnia per familias communk
^ . white the j^^ferving a chief rent, always
. property vefted in the gavelling and com
. fenior. Isimperat & rem tenet ^ qui fenic
:. ; havic been often thinking, that this (hor
of Strabo, defcribing the political ceco

*t.-. TI I i_. ^t..

LAWS.OF THE.ANTICNT IRISH. ^07

ig in bis Uttpia, under the command of thefe-
iprsofeach family ; which has been afterw%r4p
ery fuccefsfully realized in Paraguay, under .the
iredtion of the Jefuits.

Now, exclufive of what Strabo pbferves con.
rrning the right of feniority with regard to the
ipreme command in each refpe£tive family or
}be^ of the different ordjcrs of the Iberians, he
Kplains and reprefents the law of regal fucceifiont
nd the univerfal foverei^^]^^ of that nation ii^
!ch a light a^ demon(lrat<ff jit) to have been moft
Ka£t!v of a .parallel nature with that of the anci-
nt IriiHoi^.Stcoto-Iberians, according to its pri-
inaj iniljtution and intent^ that is to fay, that the
^ fovcrcignty of the whole lUte was by right
F feniority to be always veiled in the eldeft of all
lofe princes of the royal race who were the
qareft in blood to the direQ reprefentative of its
jock I Of w:hat is juft equal^ the eldeft of the^ear
iQfin^n pfithe fame name and blood (as the tfiOi
iiipri^nft cxjpxt&d themfelves). of the laft reign-
Ig. prince, >v ho had conftitutionally fuocoeded
y. the fame right of feniority and proziniii^of
[god.. ^Su€^ s^i^ jexa^ ps^^ld between the law of
igal ;fuG9c(fion atpongft the Schj^tho-ZlLlktic Ib^
ans. an4 that of our Iiilh Scoto-Iberianis -will
Iwily appear from ihe very words of Strabo^.def-
;ibing the publjc and coqftitutipnal laws cf the
Kir orders of the former nation ia the place above
iipted.| This a^uthor fetji forthy^^that^ut mAhc
r(l prder^that c^ the rpyal fapilyi; two .^ngs
e^ (conflitutipnally) appointed to fua^^^.one,
lW> hacLthc Rt?cedency or^Ji^cpqa^^

X 2 ^ of

3o8 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

of his feniority and proximity of Mood (alter {&
cety qui setate & propinquitate anteccdit)ni
another who was to be chief judge and goal
commander of the national forces (alter qm jan
det tz exercitum ducat) or as Gurtlerus has it i
other uords, Judex alter & Copiarum Da
Orig. 1. 1, c. lo. S. 58.

To perceive, with full convi£tion, the cnA
parallel and identity of nature between this lbs*
rian law of regaKfiK^eflfion, and that of the di
Irifhy as above explained, we have only totib
notice in the firft place, that in Strabo*s defGrip*
tion of the natural qualities or conditions reqari
in the chief king of the Iberians, for enjoying th
right of precedency and pre-eminence, he doci
not mean to compare his age with that of hiiiis-
condary colleague alone, but plainly givei as ^
underftand in a fubfequent explication, thtth
muft be theeldeft, the chief fenior of alltherojii;
line or family. This follows evidently from whi
he afterwards fays colleftively and in general, of
all the refpe£tive families of the four different
orders above defcribed, viz. that in eadi familj
or tribe, he who is the fenior and eldelt of all, eo-
)oys the right of fupreme command, as well ts
the property and poffeffion of the whole nitfe of
Aibftance, whofe ufe is in common amongft ^
the members of the fame tribe ; hi omnia per fr
milias communia habent, fed is imperat & tea
tenct,^ qui fenior eft : words which literally ani
manifeftly intport, that in the Iberian nation A
right of all chief powers aad command, wheth
•fupreme and univerfal as In their prime king; <

fuWtc

I. AWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 309

fubaltcrn and particular, as in the fenior of each
tribcy was attached to their quali^ty of being the
cldeil of their refpedtiyc families.

Hence it is to be inferred and noted in the fe*
cond place, that inafmuch as the eldell perfon of
the royal family could not always be the neareft
in blood, refpeftively to the right line of the re-
prefentative, fince his nephew or grand-ncphc>r
by an elder brother mufi naturally be nearer, ai
a coufin german, or another collateral, may like*
wife happen to be, it is therefore that the proxi.
mity of blood required in the prime king of the
Iberians, mud be underftood in no other fenfe
than comparatively with that chief judge and
commander of the army, who was his fecondary.
In the third and lad place, it is to be noted, that
the uniformity between the Schytho Iberian law
of regal fuccefllion and form of government, and
that of the old Irilh Iberians is entirely compleated
by the rights and functions attributed to the fe*
condary king of the former nation, thofe I mean
of being chief judge and general commander of
the army. The reader, muft have remarked, that
in the beginning of this chapter, I have proved
that the Irifll Tanifl was originally vefted with
the fame double right. As to the title of king
given by Strabo to the chief judge and general of
the Ibeiian nation, it is very plain that it muft be
underftood in a fubordinate and limited fenfe, in-
afmuch as no other power or function is attributed
to him by this author, and confequently none
chat could properly be efteemed regal and inde-
pendant. From his great authority, and particu-
larly

3 W " D^ i 8 S £ k ¥ A *r i b N1S O » ^ T H "E •

larly thatofcommahdingall thehatlonit forces;
he may in one proper ferifc be ftifed, Rex li reg^i-
do exercitu ; and whoever knows any thing of
Iri(h hiftory, will readily agree that art Irilh Ta-
n^ofa royal family, Tcven after ihofc of thtt
quiality were deprived of the judiciary power, and
not always vefied with the aftual coiifittiatid of tlie
army, was notwithftanding ' held in filch high
li^fit ahd confideration, as to be efteetn^ no.
thing' lefs than a fecondairy kitig. The titk of
Rlgh damhna, meaning^ king in fiery, or future
king, was generally given to thd'prtfumptive fiu>
cffflbr of the reigtiing ki^g. AH thefe circuoh
fiances being confidered and compared on both
fides, the parallel between the Iberian form of re-
f^l government, and that of the old Iriih, mtj
b^ looked upon as a finifhcd onie to the nfoeft

I^erfedtion.

One further remark remains to be mad^ upitt
the nature of the Iberian conftitutioti, tending to
i^ftify what I have advanced in the bejginnitig of
this diapter, in aiferting, that aiicording" to the ori-
rfnal inftitution of the fenior-fucceflion, called
tnc Taniftic-law, it was inconfiftcrit with its na-
ture that any eleftion Ihould have Ihterfttey in
Carrying on fuch a fucccffioni befciufe the fucccf-
(or was always pointed out by the courfc of na- '
ture, as his right and title depended wholly and
folelyupon his fcniority and proximity of blood \
and by confequence was naturally independent of
all extrinfic choice and elcAion whatfocver. A»
cleftion, in a word, is as iriconfiftent with %1*
nature of a fenior-fucccflidri perpetuated iaC%
fame family, as it is with that of a direct

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 311

• - -2.

:y one» carried on ftom father to fon, or the^
kt heir, according to the order of Itxics ^'^ the ]
Art and title of feiyors being as conftantlymark^'
lout by nature, as well as thofe of the direCt'df
lod heirs. Whence I muft conclude, that Tn-
much.as the iame natural marks and qualit^^
nam, (ehiority and proximity of blood' were '
ijpifed asneceffary conditions for enjoying th«i ;
ime regal fucceJlfion in Iberia, it luid bieeii^
ite, inconfift^nt, that any ele^ion, propdrly'
;!fi)^ng, (hould have interfered in difpo&ng o^ .
t iaiperial crown of that nation. Here Ican't
Lt think it .manifeft,. that Strabo*s expreflibn re.
ring to the . two Iberian kjngrs, duo Reg^ deli-
mtur, is hot to be underilbbd m the proper and,
jjorous fenfe, as if the author had meant, that .
€ appointment of both thefc kings depended.
luaUy uppn a free eleftioh, while the conditions,
lat determined the right of one of the two, I
lean the. {Mrime king, depended folely upon the .
Durfe of nature.

After all/ if any further fcruple ihould arife
-cm the word Deliguntur being in the plural
umber, and confequently applicable to the prime
ung, as well as to his feconda^y, I would defure
i may be confidered, that the fame word may in
mr own days be applied without any impropriety,
;?en to fome of thofe kings whofe fucceffipn is
nptt ftri^ly hereditary. In the ceremonials of-
lieir coronation we find, that a herald at arms,
irevioufly to the ad of crowning the king, loudly
ries out to the people, aiking if they choofe the
refent prince; for their foyereign king ? to which
peftioa it is vexy plain, that their anfwer in the

affirmative

jia DISSERTATIONS ON THIh

•ffirmatbe cannot be le(s exprdfive of an eledBon,
than 18 the word deligantur ufed by the Latin
tnnflatorof StrabOy with regard to the fucoeffioa
of. the Iberian kings.

An inftance hithert9 not mentioned might io-
deed have g$ven the face of an eledion to the af-
fembly in which the fucceflion of the kings of
Iberia muft have been carried on and folemnized.
At the* death of every principal king of thit
nation, it is natural to judge that the natioul
fiates aflembled on that occafion, firft to en-
mliie which of the princes of the royal family htd
the prior right of fucceeding in virtue of his fujfr
ripr feniority, and then to proclaim that prince
whofe right was verified and acknowledged Such
a public a£t might have carried fo ftrong an ap-
pearance of an election as may very well juftify
Sirabo, orany other ftrangcr to fpeak ofthclbe-
rian fucceflion, as if it were properly dedlive.
And here I think it material to obferve that the
circumftancf of a public convention for examin-
ing and verifying the natural right of the prince,
who fliould fucceed in virtue of his fcniority, was
doubtlefs what gave the firft occafion and fccra-
ing grounds of an infringement and alteration of
the original inftimtion and nature of fenior-fuc-
ceflion, by introducing thofc fadtipus and tumul-
tuary eleftions, of which I fpoke in the bc^n-
ning, and (hall have further occafion to fpcak
more at large, where I intend to treat of the dif-
mal confequcnces of the abufcs of and deviations
from the original law of that form of government.
In the mean time, if I can (hew the reader by the

example

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 3»3

implc of another anticnt and powerful nation.
It Ac fame law of fcnior-fucceflion has been
ifoved in a manner fo ftridlly and cxaaiy agrcc-
l with the defcription I have given of the origi- *
1 oaturc and inftitution of the Taniftic laW| that
> loom was left for any fort of election even in
t binteft appearance ; fuch a plain and unex*
spdonable example being produced, will^ I
ope, ccmvince the reader, that the fenfe and in-
nt of all thofc nations, who prcfervcd this pri-
utive maxim of fenior-fucceffion in the regal
>vemment^ did originally concur with plain
afon and the nature of things, in excluding all
rts of eledion from interfering in fuch a fucoef*

n.

The antient nation I mean to point at for hav-
g fumifheda perfect model of fenior-fucceiTion,
inflitutionally excluding all forms and even ap-
^arances of an eledtion, was another Schythiant
It more properly a Ceito-Schythian people of
eat renown. They were the firft in rank as well
hiftorical fame of the five great bodies or ag-
-egates of different tribes, under whofe generi-
il {a) appellatives, the whole German nation far
id near a^ it was then known to the Romans,
as been cphiprehended by Pliny, lib. 4. c. 14 ;
icy were tilfo the very people, who of all the
orthern nations were the firll that made them-

felves

(«) Germanorum genera quinque: Vindili, quorum
irs fiurgundiones, Verrini, Carini, Guttoues ; alcerum
mus, kigXYones ; quorum pars Cimbri, Teutoni, ac
luchoTum gentes ; proximi autem Rheno, Iftxvones ;
lomm pan Sicambri, Mediterransei, Hermiones» quorum
levi, Hermunduri, Chatti, Cherufci : quinta pars, Pcu-
Qi, qui et Baftamz fupra di^is contermini Dacis. Pli-
if lib. 3. c. 14.

I>,IS;5EJLTA,TIpNS.0N THE.

felves formidable to the. Roman empire* vhofe
prpTincesorMsefia and Thificia, fome of theii
tribes invaded and ravaged as early as the year
350, un(}er the reign of Decius, whofe .ftrm;
they totally defeated, and piefled htrnfelf lo cloft
in his precipitate retreat or ratbe^ flight,, that tbej
forced him into a mprafs, whofe wat^ers providen-
tially delivered the world of that imptqus pcxif-
cutor of the Chiiilian church. 1 mean in a wocd
to point at th^t numerous and w^ilike. luttoo of
Geimanics, whofedifTerent tribes .PJipy cpinpn-
hends under the generical denomioatipns of
Vindeli, by Tadtus called Vandalii, or Van-
dati, and of whom the former fays, tlqt t|ie
Burgundioncs, the Varrini, the Carini and the
Ouctonesor Gothi, were only a part 4 the olhei
tribes, which beGde (hefe four, were coiripic-
heoded under the fame national name of Vandali,
Cluverius finds in other authors to be the foUow-
ing, viz. the. Longobardi, by Faulus D'taconus
called Viaili for Vindali, the Thuringii, the Angli,
theLcmovii, otherwife called the Hcruli, thcRu-
gii, the Sidinii, the Suardonii, the Eudoccs« the
Cavionesand the Nuitones. All thofe. fourteen
tribes of the Vaodalic nation, the learned Clu-
veriu^ places between the Viflula and the Albis
or Elbe, towards the borders of the Baltic iea.
where he cuts out their rcfpeiflive habitatioas,
from which feveral of them, fome earlio- than
others, made emigrations into the Europea-n
Sarmatia, and firft fettled towards the Mjcoc»c
bke, or more probably on both tides of itrxi
Borifthenes ; the Roman writers of the dediairmi
ages of the empire, confounded that tribe «=>
ther-^

LAWS OP'TflX'ANTIENT IRISH:

^

caUed.Gothi, with tBic people called Getae^
mSteC'tik former faid advanced . from the Borift-
^tetaei kico Dada, and there poflefled themfidves of
tlkiadent hatntations of the latter.

. TbeLadn writers of thofe latter ag«;i have alio.

canbnnded and jumbled together the different

ef the Vandalic nations, and foem to have^

^^ .-^—5%^ all the moft noted people of them under
tk name of Gothi, even exclufive of the Vifigothi

crOftroooth}; as if that name had been the com-
tabn and national denomination of all thofe dif-
fetent tribes, inftead of that of Vandali^ which
Vras their gcnerical name in the time of Tadtua :
«nd Pliny,; at the fame time thofe writers have,
changed the generical nature of the fame Vandali ,
bjr mlikmg it peculiar to one fingle tribe, or at
Icaft one particular body of thofe people they,
called the Gothic nations : thus Paul the deacon
oalls the Longpbardians by the name of Vinili^
Vrbich he mufthave thought to be quite different
from Vindili or Vandali, inafmuch as he fets forth^
that a 1>loody war had been carried on between the
Vinili and the Vandali ; had he known the gene-
xical nature of the name and the identity of
meaning between the words Vinili and Vandali^
he would have expreifed himfelf withlefs inaccu-
racy by faying, that the Longobardians, who
were a tribe of the Vandali or Vinili, had beea
at war with another tribe of the fame name.

Certain however, and remakably certain it is»
that the common and national name of Vandali,
had been particularly appropriated to one certain
body of the Vandalic people, whether confiding

only

3i6 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

only of a fmgle tribe, or of a confederacy lod
coalition of Teveral tribes of the fame nttkn.
Cluverius exprefsly aflures us, that it was a 000*
federated body of the fame nation, chiefly confift*
11^ of the Suardones, the Eudofes, the Nuithooci
and the Sidini, that the generical name of VaotUt
was particularly appropriated to by the Romn
writers of the fourth and fifth centuries. It wa
indeed very natural, that any confederated bodj
confiding of different tribes of the Vandalic »
tion, (hould have aflumed the common and nto*
onal name of Vandals, though every particobi
tribe was known by its own peculiar and diftinc-
tive name, while they enjoytd their refpcAivt
fettlements feparately from each other either
at home or abroad ; thus the Gothi, the HerS,
the Burgundiones, the Thuringii, the Ang^
were known only by their own refpeAivetnd
particular names, though they were all properly
Vandals, as being but fo many different tribes of
the fame Vandalic nation.

But whatever might have been the occafion of
appropriating in a peculiar manner the common
name of Vandal! to thofe tribes of the Vandalic
people, who of all others were the very firft that
gave beginning to the downfall, and afterwards
had the moil principal part in compleating the
utter ruin and deftrudlion of the Roman empire
in the Weft ; this (ingle point I have further to
co^fider relatively to thcfe fame people, that inaf-
miich as they were the very nation, in whidi 1
(hall find a moft perfcdl model of fenior-fucceffion
in the conftitutional manner above defcribed, it is

very

WS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 317

atural and becoming, that I fhouid give a
ketch and account of their progrefs, fince
rft invaded the Roman empire^ after paff*
: Rhine in the year 406, until they fetded
mperial province of Africa, whofeconqueft
>mpleated by taking the town of Carthage
To difpatch this account in the moft fuc-
lanner, I (hall only make a capital fum-
ecital of the events relating to this people
their progrefs through Gaul and Spain, re-

the reader to the authority of the L^tin
.na of thofe times, fome of whofe words I
lote in the margin, as often as it may be
ible to trouble the learned reader with an
t of fa^s generally known.
lU therefore obferve in the firfi place, that
' who was chief general and prime mini-
the emperor Honorius, having conceived
>us views in favour of his own family,
{ to nothing lefs than to that of veiling his
:berius with the imperial purple, at the ex-
f the very life of his auguft mailer, whofe
ved confidence he daily abufed and availed

of, for promoting his traiterous defign :
fidious Stilico, I fay, a Vandal by origin,

that end treat with the now mentioned
:rated body of the Vandalic nation, to
le affociatcd a tribe of the Suevi (*), to-
gether

is ancient and extenfive name, was then particii-
exclufiveiy attribated to the HermonduHy a na-
:h was fituated ia thofe da/s between that of the
n the weft, thtf Bojoarii to the eaft, the Burgnn-
die footh, and the Thttringii to the north* Clu-
as. Antiq. 1. 3. c. a8.

320 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

Tours in the pih chapter of the fecond book of
hishiftory (/), by which it appears, that Refplen^
dial, akingof the Alemanni, who was to join the
Vandals at the inftigahon of Stilico^ being diTcou-
raged by the news of their lodes, as well as by
the defection of Goares^ another prince of the
fame nation, changed his refolution, and returned
home, leaving the Vandals to fight their oun bat*
ties agalnft the Franks. Here 1 (hall obferve, by
the bye, that the fituation of that country on the
right fide of the Rhine, which the Franks inha-
bited in tliofe days between the Maine and the
Necker, according to Cluverius, feems to afford
fome ground to judge, that this famous pafliig^
of that river was affefted by the Vandals and their
aflbciates, at fome place between the two lad men-
tioned rivers. Anil the conjedlure may feem the
better founded, as the cities of Mentz and Wormsi
which are fituated on the left fide of the RUnei
oppofite that fame tra£t of land which lies between
the two faid rivers, are mentioned as the very
firft conquefls of thofe invaders, after they had
pafled that river.

But where or whatever the real place of that
trajefl may be, this I think I may advance upon
good grounds relatively to the Vandals, that they
are juftly to be regarded as the principal and main

body

(f) Renatos Proibtunis Fngeridos, cujos jam (bpra me-
inininQUSy cnm Roman refert a Gotthis capcam atque ibb-
vertaro, ait : Interea Refplendial rex AJamaiiiioniiDi
Goare ad Romanos tranlgreiflb, dc Rbeno agmea fooriia
convertit, Vandalts FraDCoroin bello iaboraatibiis» Ood-
egifillo rege abfampto* acic vigind fermd miUibotfcrraj
perempiis, cunAis VandaJonin ad intcroecioiieaB dekadii^
ni Alanorua vis ia tempore fobvcnifliet. Greg. Tor. kiL
lib. 3. cap. 9.

kWS OF THE AKTIENT IRISH. 321

} of thofe forces, by which had been effedked
meinorable paflage of the Rhine, and that
firll irruption of Barbarians into the interbrs
le Roman empire, that has been attended
the fuccefa of a permanent and independant
;ment. That the Vandab were the main pow-
id chief adors in thefe expeditions, and that
iuevi and Alani are only to be confidered as
auxiliaries, appears, I think, very plainly
i thefe two circumftances. Firil, that during
' engagements with the Franks, and before
junStioa of the Alani, we find no mention
le of the Suevi, as having had any part ki
e bloody adtions : and fecondly, that the
en of thofe times reprefent the Vandals as the
dpalaAors in thisinvafion under thediredtion
itilico, and as the main body, to which the
11 and Suevi have been made . Auxiliaries or
cr intermixed troops in the Vandalic army,
t literally appears by thefe words of Zosmus^
idio fextum & Probo Confulibus, Vandalt
is 8c Alanis pcrmixti nationes tranfalpinas
iverunt. Zoz. Lib. Hid. 6. ad an. 406.
ow I am to obferve in the next place, that
Vandals having defeated the Franks, and
d the Rhine under the command of Gun-
: (/), fuccciTor of Godcgifillus, * they aiul
i\x afibciates befieged, took and defiroyed^
inflate the words of S. Jerome, in his epiftle
Ageruntia) the noble city of Mentz ; that of

Y * Worms

•J

I Poft hxc Vandalt a loco fuo digreflS cnm Gnnderico
la Gallias ruunt, quibus valdd vaftads, HHjpaniai ap*
it. Greg. Tur. Hift. lib. a. cap. 2.

312

DISSERT A nONS OU TUt

Worms they turned into a heap of ruins, after
having fuftained a long fiegc. The powerful
city of Rheims, thofe of Amiers and Arras,
and the capital city of Morini, fituate at the
very extremity of Gaul, Tournay, Spire and
Strafbourg, are all poflefled by the Germani
The Aquitaniaa, the Novempopulania, the
provinces of Lyons and Narbona have been
ravaged. A fmall number of their towns have
hitlierto efcaped the general calamity, thou^
blockaded in fuch a manner by the enemy,
that they are threatened with immediate ft*
mine. I can't without tears in my eyes, make
mention of Tholofa, whofc prefervation de-
pends only en the prayers and merit of i(8
holy bifhop, Exfuperius. Spain which is juft
lit the eve of its dellrudlion, in the higheft an-
guilh of conftcrnaticn. What a torrent of mis-
fortunes ! But we are not to attribute them to
our princcj^, who are very pious and religious.
All thofe evils are owing to the treachery of
Stilico, that barbarian; difguifed as he was,
under the appearance of a Roman (g).

From

' (g) Moguntiacum qoondam nobilis civitai capta atqne
.fubyerfa eft, et in ccdcfia multa hominum trucidau.
Vasgiones longil obfidione dclett. Remonitn nrbs pre-
pocens, Ambiani, Attrebat«, eitremique bominum Mo-
rini Tomaciim Nemctx, Argentoratus tranflais in Ger^
maniam. Aquitanix, Noyemque-popiilorumv Lngdn*
nenfis, et Narbonenfis provincix prcter paacas urbcs po-
polata funt cun^ta, ouas et ipfat fbris gladius^ intus ¥aP
tat fames. Non poimm abfque lacbrymis Tho]ofk facere
. mentionem, quae ut hucufque non meret, faadi Exfapcrii
cpifcopi mcrita prarftiterunt. IpCx Hifpanic jamqne peii-
tmvx quotidte contremifcunt, &c rlitron. £pifL ad
Agerunt.

1} tAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 323

-* . From ihc mention here made by S. Jerome of
^fae conilernation of the Spaniards at the ap-
proach of the Vandals, it is plainly to be in-
-fo'ied, that he wrote this epiftlejuft before their
/Entrance into that province. What I have ob-
^Icrved as to the Pannonian rebels in my {>receditig
-bote concerning the Alani, the curious reader
will find jullified in the beginning of that fame
cp'file ; whereby it likewife appears, that fome
other German and Schy thian nations foon follow*
^ the example of the Vandali in invading Gaul,
^Uch as the Quad!, the Saxoties, the Heruli» the
fiurgundiones, the Gepides, the Sarmatse (a).
One particular circumftance of Stilico's treacher-
t>us meafures naturally occurs to be mentioned in
this place ; which is that he purpofely called away
all the troops then quartered in Gaul, that could
make any timely oppofition to his barbarians in
their paflage of the Rhine, and this uiider pretext
of fending thofe troops to fight the Goths on the
banks of the Danube ; thiscircumftance we learn
from the very panegyrift of Stilico, (b) whofe in-
iquitous defigns the good poet may very proba*
bly have no notion or fufpicion of.

But to return to our Vandals, I arh to obferve
in the third place, that the Britifh ufurper Con-

Y a ftantin,

(m) (^idquid inter Alpes et Pyrenxum, quod Oceano et
Rheno inclttdttnr ; Vandalus, Qyados, Sarmata^ /Vlani^
Gepides, Herculi, Siiones, BurgundioQcs, et^ olneenda
Rdfpnblica ! hoftes Pahnonii vtftayerunt. Hieron. id.
(#} Agmina quinctiam flavis objeda Sicambris ,

Quxque domant Catcos, imxnanfaetofqae Chcruicof ^
Hoc omnes verc^rc ininas, catnmqae rcmotit
Excubiity RhcDum folo urrore relinqaunt.

' Claadian. dt laud. Stilic.

324 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

ftantin, >whom the Imperial troops of GreuBn-
tain, incenfed at the treacherous condud of Sd-
fico had fet up as an emperor^ having paffcdioii
Gaul, and routed back to their countries t gmt
part of the barbarians, allowing fome foodngto
thofe who promifed obedience and fidelity } tk
Vandali, Suevi and Alani, who by this time y
fettled in the two Aquitains, found themielm
under the neceffity of attempting the pafltge of
the Pyrensean mountains, with a view of acqoi^
ing fome fettlements in the Spanifh provimti
this refolution they efteemed the more expedient,
as Honorius had judged proper to coropooDd
matters with Conflantin, while the infolent Ahiic
king of the Vifigoths, encouraged by theprogreft
&nd fuccefs of his countrymen the Vandiki
threatened the capital of the Weftem empire wflh
total ruin and defolation ; in thefe circumfiances,
the Vandali with their aflbciates the Alani, andtbe
Suevi, took the hardy refolution of forcing tbdr
paflage into Spain through the Pyrenacan moun-
tains, whofe gorges hath been occupied and <k-
fended by the Spaniards, fmce the firft approKh
of thefe people towards the other fide of thofc
hills ; this paflage they eflfefted fword inhaod
even in fcparate corps one after another in the
months of September and GAobcr, of the year
409: for which fafts, the reader has fufficient
authority in the marginal note here referred to
(0» that of Idatius a Spanifh bifhop, who very

poffibly

(c) Vandaliy Alani et Suevi, Hifpanias in^reffi wri qua*
'iringcncefim& quadragtao" "^ Hima, alii quarto Cakndafi

aHi

OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 325

ght have been fpeftator of thefe parti-
s of war, as he wrote his chronicle about
of the fifth century, muft be efteemed
cception, efpecially as he is fo particular
the days and months of the fafts ; and
lull be concluded, that S. Ifidore of
:cQunt written fo late as towards the
fizth, or beginning of the eighth cen-
which he places this paflage of the
408, muft either be miftaken by him«^
Tupted by his Copyifts.
lie fubfequent part of the hiftory of
lalic people and their feats of war both
d Africa, to the Epoch of the redudtion
^, and all that Imperial province under
lion, it is too univerfally known, and
ftantially fet forth by different authors
mes to want any further explication that
nilh. The curious reader of antiquity
I taken notice ; firft, that the Vandals
their paflage of the Pyrenseans fettled .
the richeft province of all Spain, ever
vn by the name of Vandalufia, (now
kndalufia) fo called from thofe Vandals;
at in or before the year 418, their king
poflefled himfelf of the province of
here he quarrelled with Hermeric king
(ri, whofe army he entirely invefted and

miferably

bus OAobris, Honorio o^vum et Thcodofio
tert'tuoiy Confulibus. Idat. Chron. ad aft.
quadringentefima quadragefimA fexta, Vall-
et Sucviy Hifpaniafl occupaotef , Neces, Vaf*
Tuentis difcurubns faciuot. Ifidor. HiTp- hitt.

S26 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

miferably llaughtercd in the mountaios of that
province ; third, that in the year 421 » they gained
a complete victory over the Roman general CaT-
tiniis at the head of a numerous army, alfiftedby
a corps of Gothic auxiliaries ; fourth^ that Count
Bonifacius, to maintain himfelf in hi$ ufurped
independancy in Africa, invited all the Vandals to
pafs over into that province, which paflfage they
cffedted in the month pf May, of the year 447,
(a) under the command of their king Geferic,
"who, from a catholic, according to Ifidonis, (t)
became an apoftate, and a furious profeflbr of
Arianifm; fifth, that thefe people after v^ards ob-
tained a permanent fettlement in that province,
according to the conditions of a peace^ wUcb
Valentinian Hid. found himfelf under t|ie neceffi:
ty of concluding with them in the year 435;
fixth, that in four years after the conclufion of
this peace, and precifely on the 19th qf 0£lob$r
in the year 439, (c) they trcachcroufly furprifcd
and pofleffed themfelves of Carthage, the capital
of all the Imperial Africa, and thereby became

abfolute

(«) Gefericus Kex de Beticas provincts lirtore, cum Van-
dalis omnibus, eorumque familiis, Menfe Maio, ad
Miuriuniam ct Afrtcam tranfiity reliAis Hifpaniii. IdaL
Chronic, ad an. 427

Ih) Gifehcus, qui ex Catholico eflFedus apoftaU, ii
Arianam fertur primns tranfgrciTus perfidiana; hie depro-l.
^incis Betics Ittcore cum Vandalis omnibus* eoromqael:
famtliisy ad Mauritaniam et Africam trajecic. Ifid. Htft.
Vand.

(r) Actio, rebui que in GaQiis cocnpontbatur, intcatOb
Geifcricus, dc cujos amicitia nihil cnetuebatar, Cal. if
NoYembris Cartha;;tnem dolo pacis inradit. Profp. Ckroft
ad ann 443.

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. ^a;

ftbrdute mafters of that vaft province {d}. An
event, which may be juftly regarded as the icn*
nediate caufe of the downfai of the Ron^an
power and empire, (r) and at which, according to
t^he ezprellion of Salvianus (f ) the very foul of
the republic was feized with its laft agony. It is
>iot without reafon, that Salvianus calls Africa
^ic foul of the Roman republic, fince all the
lahabitants of Rome chiefly, and almofl folely
depended on that province, for their ccrn-provi-
&on and daily bread, the main fpring of human
life, and hence it was, that Africa was very juftly
Called the granary of the Roman empire ; it was
therefore very natural, that the mortal convulfioni
into which the reduction of Carthage and all the
•province of Africa had thrown the Occidental
empire, (hould (hortly end with its utter diflblu-
tion ; as it effedually did in the year 475 : \vhen
Qdoacer, a prince of the fame Vandalic nation*
dethroned and confined Auguftulus, very juftly
(b called, not only for his puerile age, but becaufe
he was the lowed in power as well as the laft
in number of all the fucceifors of the great
Auguftus Oftaviaqus (^}.

By

((/) Carthagine fraade deccptt, decimo quarto Ciilendai
Novembrily omnem Africtm Rex Gifericus invadit. Idac.
Chron.

(e) Carthago a Vandalis capta, cum omni fimal Africa
lachrjm^bili elide et damno. Imperii Romani potentian*
deieciti ex hoc qaippe a Vandalis poffidecur. Profp.
Chron.

(/) Africam ipfam, id eft, quaA animam reipublicc»
captivavere. Salvian. de Gub- lib. 6. cap. 1 2.

(g) Bafilifco et Armato Confulibus, Odoacer rex Go-
thonim Romam obtinnit. Oreflem Odoacer iHico trucida-
▼it. Augnftiiiam filias Oreftis Odgacer in Locnllano

Campanis

928 DISSERTATIONS ON TRK

* By this fummary account of the Vandab, fop-
{xnrted as it is by the authorities above cited, the
reader I am confident, will be fadsficd as to lU
evidence of thefe two points ; firft, that da
Vandalic people were efteemed a nation of cgof"
fJ>icuou8 rank and confideretionamongfttheuifr
tent Germans in the time of Tacitus and FHnfi
when the latter fets them down at the head of Ae
five denominations of the people, of whidi ife
whole German nation was compofed ; fecondl},
that thofe confederated tribes of the fame peopki
who invaded the Roman empire, at the inffig^
tion of Stilico in theyear407, have by theinubi-
ry exploits, adventures, and fucoeflfes (b remtrb-
bly fignalized themfelves in their fubfequent pith
' grefs, that they muft be allowed a principal Ihiie
in the mod memorable inflance, that ever happeih
ed of that kind of nominal honour, which is k*
qnired by unjuft conquefts : they being the vaj
people, who under the guidance of providence
were the firft that undertook and afterwards prin-
cipally efFcAcd the arduous work of (baking the
foundation of, and then pulling down to thcground
the whole pompous fabric of the Roman empire;
but whatever degree of honour and fplcndour*
whether real or nominal, may be allowed to thofe
people from their military atchievements and
conquefts, their very antiquity jn quality of a veil
known nation, being a title they have an indifpu-
table right to,^ fliould in all juflice oblige us to

hold

Campapix caftello exiiio damnavit. Hefperiam Rmoanz
mentis imperium qaod Sepcingentcrimo vigefimo iccundot
Gothomm de bine regibos Romam tenentibos. R4arccL
Chron. ad an. 476.

jlWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 399.

I in an honourable Kght any fuch law or cuf-
i of national obfervance amongft them, as may
be found difcordant with the principles of the
of nature -, their horrid ravages by Tea and
ly afterthe taking of Carthage, together with
rcruel and relentlefs perfecutions in that pro-
se, however juftly odious and execrable they
e rendered the Vandalic name, cannot refleft
dilhonour upon fuch of their national cuf*^
IS or conftitutional laws, as muft be efteemed
Uy grounded upon reafonable principles,
t derived from the maxims of primitive
tes. And as to thofe perfecutions it appear*
if the Vandals were made inftruments and
lurges in the hand of God to punifh the licen-
n fives of the Chriflians of Africa, where
nanus tells us (j), that the preachers of the
rd of God were then lefs fafe in their perfons
hin the dties of that province, than the apof-
were in thofe of the hcathenilh world. It
herefore I very confidendy aflure myfelf, that
iudicbus readers ofantient hiftory willcan-
ly think as I do, that if a law of regal fuccef-
I ly the fale rigbf rf femority be found in this
lent Cclto-Schythian nation of the Vandalic
pie, it will not only be efteemed an honoura*
confirmation, but aifo a particular explication
I proof of the original nature, as well of the

Schytho*

) Ecce Afrorum et Carthagimenfiam fidem ! tatiat
adam Apoftolis paganas urbes licuic intrare . . . Et
imur fi nunc Barbaros illi perfeninc, cnm ▼ideamus
i {an€ti viri Barbaros pertolerint. Juftus et Domi-
eft jufium judicium fuum, de Gub. lib. 8. cap. 5.

330 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

Schytho-Ibcrian, as of the Iriih or Scoto-Iberian
conftitution of regal or princely fucceflion, through
a feries of elders defcending from the fame roy-
al ftock.

After thefe preambles which I have judged

neoeflary for reafons now made very perceivable

to the reader, I proceed to lay down in the wordi

of Procopius, an author of unexceptionable aedit

on this occafion, the law t>f regal fucceflion ob-

ferved by the Vandalic nation, according as he

found it explained in the laft will and teftameatof

their king Xjcfericus, that unjuft conqueror of

the Imperial province of Africa {t). This hifto-

fian, whom we may regard as an ocular witnefs of

moil of the fadts and feats of the Vandalic war,

fets forth in the cleareil light, that the fundaroen*

taland conflitutional lawsof the African empire,

founded by Gefftic, as enadted ^nd explained in

his

fh) A conqueft is efteemed juft, according to tbe lawi
of nations, when made by one independent ioTereigo op-
en another, who had been the aggre/Tor, whether by open
hoftilities, or by public infults wnich might be ofiertd to
him or his fubjeds, and affbdling in any manner the dig-
nity of his crown, or the public happinefs of hit people m
any matter, wherein the crown or people had a juft right;
prorided always, that fatisfaAinn had been previoafly de-
manded by the aggrieved party, and pofitively deaicd hj
the o£Fender ; this lad condition Is particularly ncceflkry
for juftifying the effulion of human blood of either ifide.
If no conqueft can be efteemed jud without the conditioiit
now laid down, let the reader of Roman hiflorr take a re-
f iew of the different conquefts made by the Romans in
profecution of their aggrandising fcheme, and then let
him confider within what diftance of the walls of Rome,
thofe principles of the Jaw of nature and nations auy ob-
lige him to Ex the limits of their juft acquifitiou.

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH.

33«

is own folemn tcftamcnt, cxprcfsly imported,
that after the death of his eldeft Ton Honoric the
right of fucoeffion to the throne Ihouldat all times
be veiled in the eldeft prince of all thofe, who de-
fended in a male line from him the faid Geferic,
as the common Hock of the family, without re-
gard either to the rank or order of the lines, or to
the proximity of degree, which the fucceflbr may
Hand in, relatively to the laft preceding king (a)f
accordingly, after the death of Honoric, his fon
Ilderic was laid afide, and the fceptre came into
the hands of Gundamund, (who was the fon of
Genfo, one of Geferic's fons) the faid Gunda--
inund having then the right offeftiority^ which
gave him the firft rank amongfi ail the defcen-
dants of Geferic ; extinfto Honorico, in manna
Gundamundi, cujus pater Genfo, filius Generici
fuerat, fceptrum Vandalicum devenit atatis jure^
quss in Geferici ftirpe principem ei locum dabat-

Procop.

(tf) Haad diu fuperftes Gizericus, grandaevns, deceflit»
cohdito ceftamento : quo, pneter alia multa, illud Vand^
Us mandaTit, ut Regnum Vandalicum ei Temper obveni-
ret, qui per virihm ftirpem rtSu ferie propinquitatis Gv-
xericum ipfum attingens, coguatos fuos date prccurreret.
Igitur GizericuSy cum a capta Carthagioe annos 39 Van-
dalis imperaflet, fato, uti diximus, fundus eft. Procop.
de belL Vandal, lib. i. cap. 7.

Regnum Gefericus filiorum maiimo Honorico reliquit ;
annis demum odo Vtndalis dominatus, morbo oppetiit
.... excindo Honorico> in manus Gundamundi, cujus
pater Genfo, filius Geferici fuerat, fceptrum Vandalicum
dc^tnit itiatii Jure, qux in Geferici ftirpe primcipem ei U^
€um dahat ; provedo ad medium anno regni duodecimo^
iniplicitus morbo k vita deceflit ; habenas regni capeftit
ThraiiuDundtts ipfius frater • . Thrafamundus, poftquam
Vandalis annis viginti feptem imperaflcry diem fupremunv
abiit. Procop. ibid! cap. 8.

333 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

Procop. ibid. cap. 8. Thra(aiiiund, who m
Gundamund^s brother, fuccceded him by tbe&iK
rigti tffemority \ provedto ad medium anno icg-
ni duodecimo, Gundamundus implicitus oooiboe
vita deceflit, et habenas regni capeffit Tlnli:
mundus ipfius frater. Procop. ibid. After Thnb-
mund, Ifderic the fon of Honoric, being in Hi
turn the tldifi prince of his family, fucoMded to
the crown, after his two coufingermans now meo:
tioned ; in regnum fucceflit Udericus Honorid
filius, ac Geferici Nepos. During the rdgprf
llderic, a prince of the fameUood, called Gdt
mar, fon ofGelarid, who was the fon of Genib^
fon of Geferic, being the next in age to therei|^
ing king llderic, was confequently known ud
confidered as I'mifl or prefumptive fucceflbr(^}.
This confideration and light he was held in, bodi
encouraged and enabled him to form a party and
ftrong faction in his favour ; by the means of
which he not only depofed and confined llderic,
but alfo committed the grcateft cruelties towards
all his friends : a circumftance which greatly fa-
voured the emperor Juftinian in the war, by which
he both foon put an end to Gellimar's ufurpation,
and deftroyed the '^^andalic empire in Africa.
When we have compared the Vandalic manner of
regal fucceffion, as now defcribed, with the Ta-

nifiical

(^) In regnum fucceilit Udericus Honorict filius nc Gefe-
rici Nepus .... quidam h Geferici ftirpe, Gellimar Gc-
laradi filius, Geniunis Nepos, pronepos Generici, J9»
jprandh natu uno prscedente Ilderico, ideo ad regnum, Qt
cziftimabatur, propedieni ' perventurus . . • . ita doroina-
turn occupat Gellimar, et Ildericum feptem annos regno
potitum cum Hoamere ejufque fratre Evagea in cuilodiam
tradic. Ibid. c. 9.

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 333

ilkal law of fucceflion in the old hiQx kingdoms
d principalities; wherein the eldeil brother was
:en fucceeded by a younger^ and this latter by
«phew, and he again by a coufin-gerznan or
kercollateral, before the firft brother's fon was
ilified to fucceed by right of feniority, the read-
will then be enabled to judge^ if a perfeft re-
iblance or rather an exaft uniformity be not
nd between the one and the other, as well as
wera the abufcs, to which both the Vandalic
1 the Iri(h conftitutions have, and muft have
en room by very natural confequences. Ovum
n ell ovo fimilius.

By this plain account of Procopius we fee with
I evidence, that no room has been left for any
td of election to interfere in the regal fucceffion
jiferic's defcendants according to the tenour
his laft teftamentary a£t ; by which it literally
pears, that amongft all his defcendants through
cries of male lineage, the precedency or fupe-
rity of agie was conftitutionally to determine at
times the right of fucceffion to the Vandalic
one. Ut Regnum Vandalicum ei femper ob-
liret, qui per virileift^ftirpem re£ta ferie Geferi-
Q attingens C^gnatos fuos atate pracurreret.
is was litterally and identically the Irifh confti-
onal law of regal fucceflion, according to its
nitive inllitution and meaning ^ as it manifeft*
pp^rsby that antient axiom of national law
find expreifed in the word Sinfearcabt Ftifoigt :
»pre(Iion, which though confiding but of two
!lantive nouns, has the energy of comprehend*
the whole meaning of the following Latin

fentence

334 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

fentence and definition of the Iri(h law of regi!
fucceflion) viz. Rex regi« fucceflionis apud Hib^-
no8 ea eft, ut Regnum feu fupremum dominuin
ei Temper obveniat, qui a prime regis familis
patre et Regni fundatore per virilem fiirpem con-
tinue feiie defcendens, oognatos fuos ejufdcm
fanguinis et cognominis ataie mtecedii ; in Eng-
U(h : the law of regal fucceffion amongft the an*
tient Irilh was, * that the fupreme power and
* dominion fliould at all times devolve to him,
« whobeingdefcended through an uninterrupted
( feries of male anceftors from the common fiock
^ and firft founder of the family, preceded in age
^ all his icinfmen of the fame name and blood."
Every Irifhman, who is (killed in the antieat
Celto-Ibernian dialed of the country, will ac-
knowledge, that the two Irifh words above ex**
prefled, comprehended the whole import of die
Irifli law of fucceffion, according to the above de-
finition in the full extent and meaning of all ib
words ; Sinfearacbt^ (ignifies not only EUerftrip m
Semority^ but alfo Chief tainfbip^ Superiority^ or fu-
premacy of power, command and dominion over
a particular family together with all its psopjeaod
properties ; and the word Feafig whidi figmfia
Beard^ being added in the genitive cafe to JSih
fearactt^ means that fuch a fupremacy is due to
the Eldeft'beard^ that is to fay, to the eldeft roan
of the whole family or kindred defcending froAi
the fame (lock ; and inafmuch as amongd the did
Irith, nobody was ever counted a member, nor
could be admitted as chief of any family, witln
out being defcended through a feries of male as

cefiori

s

LAWSOFTHEANTIENT IRISH.

ceftors from the founder and ftock of the whole
name and progeny; it was of plain and neceflary
confequence^ that the chief mufi be of the fame
name and blood with all the reft of his kinfmen
of the fame family ) it is therefore manifeft, that
ihe two Irilh words above written very obvioufly
comprehended the whole meaning of the preced-
ing definition, exprcfled as it is in fo many dif-
ferent words.

Ifthe Salic law had been as litterally clear and
explicit in that article which regarded the regal
Aicceffion amongft the Franksi as the Irifh and
VandaKc conftitutions have been by determin-
ing, as above explained, that befides the condi*
tion of feniority , that of being a male, who was
defcended from the common (lock by a feries of
male anceftors, was abfolutely neceflary to con-
llitute a right of fucceeding to the aown; it
Would have prevented that horrid and long con-
tinued efFufion of Chriftian blood, which was oc-
cafioned by the famous contell between Edward
Illd of England, and Philip de Valois of France
after the death of Charles le Bel : when the faid
Edward pretended to the right of fucceflion, as
being the Ton of the deceafed king's fifter, Ifabelle
of France, and confequently nearer in blood than
Philip de Valois, who was but a coufin-german,
a paternal uncle's fon to the faid king. Con*
fronted with the text of clear and litteral evidence
concerning the fundamental law of regal fuccef-
fion in the French monarch, fuch as that of the
plain words in which the Irifli and Vandals have
delivered their own refpe£tive laws of the lame

nature I

3iS

336 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

nature ; Edward would not in the face of all Eu-
rope any longer infift, as he did, upon pretend-
ing, that a right of fucceflion could have been de-
rived to him from his grand father through the
perfon of his mother. But as the Salic law con-
tained no text, by which Edward the third's claim
may with any evidence appear to be ill ground-
. ed, it was very natural, that he and his fuccefibrs
(hould perfift in the fame claim, without acknow-
ledging any fuperior judge, who could have a
right to interpret that law to their prejudice, efpc-
cially, as Edward the thirds though afeodalfub-
je£tof the French monarchy, did not think pro-
per to fubmit to the judgment of the twelve peers
of France on that point.

Theoderic the firft, king of the Oftrogothfi in
Italy, by the teflamcntary difpofal he made of
his crowh in the year 526, gave much a clearer
interpretation than ever was given by the Franks,
of the original intent and nature of the regal lav
of male fucceffion amongft the different people
of the Germanic nations. That great monarch
had no male idue of his own body, nor any other
natural heirs of his crown, furvivingat the end of
his days, than twograndfons, one by his fecoad
daughter, by name Theodegotha, who was mar-
ried to Alaric the fecond king of the Vifigothst
and the other by his third daughter, the celebrat-
ed and unfortunate Amatafontha, with her firft
hufband Eutharic Cillica of the fame family and
flock of the Amaleans ; another grandfon by his
eldcft daughter Oftrogotha, and her hufband
Sigifmund king of the Burgundians, had been

unnaturally

LAWS. O.F THE ANTIEMT IRISH. 337

inaturally put to death by his father three years
Fore that of Theodoric ; this I only obferve
by the bye ; for this Burgundian prince, had he
•Ten furvived his grandfather, cuuld have no
sigbt or chance to fucceed to the Oftrogothic
ctown, as we (hall fee by the following teftament-
auy .a£t of old Theodoric ; this monarch, agree-
mUy to the fundamental maxinu of government
mnd law of fucceflfion, primitively eftablifhed in
his own and probably in every other royal family
of the Germanic nations, prefented at the end of
his days to his nobles and people his grandfon
Atbalric as his lawful fuccefior ; not as being the
fon of bis daughter Amalafontba, but as a de-
fcendant through a male line from the common
ilock of the family by his father Eutharic i ex-
cluding .at the (ame time Amalric, his other
grandfon by his elder daughter and by Alaric
king of the. Vifigoths, as being of a different na-
tion and iiock called that of the Baltes ( thou^
both were only two feparated tribes of one and
the fame Gotho-Vandalic people ; the French
writers (eem to be very little apprehenfive^ that
the Jaw, of male-fucceffion has been better ex-
plained in the ftatutes and maxims of fo many
different nations, than it was in the Salic law.

Before 1 have done with Geferic's teftamentary
law of Regal fuccelfion to be obferved by his
pofterity in the African monarchy I (hall t^e
notice that it is not to be imagined that a prince
of his capacity and experience, would have under-
taken to eftabliOi fuch a law in bis kingdom, if
he had not known it to be agreeable to the fpi^

Z and

33« DISSERTATIONS ON THE

. and manners of the Vandalic people, as having
been of antient inllitution in their nation ; tboog|i
perhaps either partly negledted, or abuiively pnc-
tifed during the courfe of their adventurous emi*
grations out of the country of their origin. G^
feric, who muft have had his turn in the (on'
reignty cither by virtue of tha| law, or by ufiarp-
ing fome other n>an*s right derived from afiiperi-
or feniority, might in all likelihood have made
no other change in the primitive difpofnion and
courfe of the faid law, than that of laying afide

for the future all his collaterals and their pofttiitjf
und limiting the right of alternate fuoxffion lo
his own defcendants, according as their fenionij
(hould by the courfe of nature refpedtively cxM
them to fucceed to the crown; and this new#
pofition he might indeed have judged hinotf
juftly qualified to make in favour of his own pof*
terity, as he was the founder of the kingdom he
committed to their care and government. If tint
monarch had introduced a new and unprecedented
law of regal fucceflion in the Vandalic narioDi
accufiomed as thofe people were to a great (hare of
liberty, as well as to tumultuous rifings and blood-
"Ihed, it could not be cxpedtcd, that they would
have fo [peaceably fubmitted and reconciled ihcm*
felves to it as they did for fo confiderable a time
after Geferic*s death ; and the refpedlful acqmef-
cence of Gel'eric's pofterity to the difpofxtion of
that law, is particularly remarkable in Ildcric,
who notwithftanding his quality of being the
dire^ft heir of Geferic by his eldeft fon Honc^c,
a£led without complaint or difturbance for almoft

forty

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IR.I«H. 339

forty years during the reigns of his two coufia-
germans, before his degree of feniority entitled
him to fucceed. I (hall add, that if Procopius
had found any thing of extraordinary iingularity
or novelty in that law^ it is not likely, that fo judi-
cious a writer would have paflcd it as he did*
wiihcut fome animadverfions. Nor is it very
likely, that Geferic would have even imagined
fuch a law^^as ^either expedient or pra^icable in
his days, if he had not received it from his an*
ceilors, as being agreeable to the primitive maxims
and praftice of their nation. Neither would Pro-
copiifis have affured us in the fame hiftory^ tha^
all the Gothic tribes together with the Vandals
observed the fame laws and cuftoms (a) as well
as they fpoke the fame language, and were all of
a like manly ftature and fair complexion^ if he
had found any thing Angular in the Vandalic law
of fucceifion^ that may render it obfervably diffe-
rent from that of the other tribes of thofe north-
ern people..

Abufes indeed and Various infringemi^nts bf

. the primitive law of fucceffion are very obferva-

ble both amongft the earlieft fucceifor bf Alaric I.

Vifigothic king, and conqueror of Rome in the

Z 2 year

(a) Plurimse quidem fuere fuperioribtis ccmporilnu hoii*
cque funt nationes Gothicc, fed inter illas Gothic Vandaii,
Vifigothi et Gepides cum numero, turn dij^^itate pHbftant

TOcabuHs quideni) ut did^um efty nulla vero pm*

terea re inter fe di^Ferunt. Cutis omnibus Candida, nava
Casfaries, corpus procerum, facies liberalise csedem legesy
eadem facra, Ariana fcilicet, una demum lingua quam
GotBicam appellant, ita ut ad unam univerfi gentem per*
tinuifle quondam, ac fuortxm deinde ducum mfcretos no*
minibus fuifTc exiftimcm. Procop.g^pll. Vand. lib. i. cap. i.

340 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

year 409, and among thofe of Athalric the gmd-
Ton of the above Theodoric, firft king of tk
' Oftrogoths in Italy. Vttiges was tumoltuooily k
up as a fucceflor of Theodat, Amalaibntha's ft-
eond hulband, to whom, it feems, he had beoi
either mafter of the horfe, or captam of b
guards. Nor is it known, that he belonged ■
«ny refpedl to the royal family of the Oftrogodi^
the fame thing in all likelihood may we fay of b
twofucceffors Evaric and T otilla, whobemgdnlei
' in a like manner by the Oftrogoths, during didr
defperatewarsagainft Juftinian's twoableg^ioilii
Bellifarius and Narfes, had in fuch circtmrfliDis
no need of any other quality or title to the fo1^
reign power, than that of being braye wanioii,
and ikilful commanders of their national troop.
And as to the fucceflbrs of Alaric, firft kiq; of
-the Vifigoths, weiind plain marks of vMencettfl
party-bufinefs in the courfe of their focoeffion.
In Profper's chronicle we fee, that Ataolphis, Ac I
immediate fucceilbr of Alaric, was murdered tt |
Barcelona by fome of his people in theyear4i5Wi '
and that Sigeric, who wasfet on the throne aftef
him (as Ifidore of Seville informs us Hift. Godi.
p. 614.) together with other pretenders, were
difpatched after the fame violent manner by
Wallia, who was fuccceded by Theodoric I. io
the year 41 9; the manner of whofe fucceffiool
find no mention of, nor by what right he became
fovereign commander of the Vifigothic nation

after

(h) Ataulphusaquodam fuorumvulneratos interiit,re^
numqne ejus Wallia peremptis, qui idem cupere inteUigC'
• bantur invafic Prafp. faft, ad an.415.

LAWS OF THE ANT/ ENT IRISH. 341

after the faid Wallia ; it may not feem unlikely,
that during theunfettled ft ate of thofe Barbarian,
adventurera of the Germanic nations, they roi^*
have judgpd it more, expedient to obferve thati
antient maxim of the old Germans, Duces ex
Virtute fumunt, (as remarked by Tacitus d^.
MoriU Germ. Num. 7.) by contenting themfekrea,
with being: under the guidance and commasKi)
of able captains, veiled with all neceiTary powert
without minding in fuch circumftances that otbefj
msociro,, reges ex nobiliute, mentioned in the fiiinti
place i and by which it appears that the Gerniaoax
were antiently accuftomed and limited to receivat
their kings out of particular families of noble or ^
princely diilindtion in their refpedive oationa:;
white th^r general captains, or chief commanders:
wanted no other qualification' or title, than their.
own merit and abilities in military affairs. By thcj
Iberian conflitution above explaii^ed it would feem^
that that antient nation, whecejd their chief gene^
ralsfucGMded as regularly as their kingj!^ looked;
upon the office of chief commander, of the- army,
aa almoll of equal neceffity with the foveieigrj,
authority of their monarchs; according ta the?
fame maxim the Gothic tribes during their unfet-
ded and alarmii^ ftate, might have judged, that;
able captains vetted with fupreme military power,
were more fuitable to their circumftances than no-
minal kings taken out of one particular family,,
efpecially, while they had no fettled kingdoms,,
which may give them a real title to the r^al
dignity. And thofe German nations were the
more free to chufc this expedient, as they were

not

34X DISSERTATIONS ON THE "'^

not limited to any particular family for the (ys l^"^
of their chief captains, ^s the Iberians were b}
their niational law, which obliged them toreom
their chief commanders out of the royal family.

For the further fatisfadtion of fuch readcn o{
modem hifiory as might have received impreffioos
of prejudice againft the law of fenior-fucoeffioa
either from Sir John Davis, or any other urriter}
before I come to the conclufion of this chapter,
Lfliall make a (hort refearch into the French tod
Anglo-Saxon hifiories, after fome Veftigia of die
fame antient law, whi^h I apprehend may be very
pbinly found in both one ieind the other of thofe
two German nations, as well as amongft their
countrymen the Vandals. I (hall begin with the
Franks, and by a (hort refearch into the earlieft
monuments of their hiftory, (hall fairly examine if
the right of feniority appears to have beeii any
way regarded or obferved in the courfe and man-
ner of their regal rucce(non. In this enquiry I
have reafon to promife myfclf fome light frcm
the niature and motives of the horrid condud of
Clovis king of the Saiian Franks towards his
iteareft collateral kinfnrien of the fame blood, who
were" at the fame time kings of different tribes of
Franks refpedtively, all independent of each other,
as well as of Clovis, and yet were cut off by him
cne after another in the mod unnatural and treach-
erous manner. I (hall firft give the reader a con-
trafked view of this bloody fcene, and then point
out the motives and views of its adtor, as they
(hall naturally prefent themfelves from the very
faAs, according as they are related in hiftory.

Gregory

Laws of the antient laisn. 341

Qnffoy of Tours informs us (a) in a full and
^cumftantial detail, that as foon as Clovis had
ctteoded his conquefts, and thereby became more
powerful than any of the other jcings of his nation,
^ beftowed all his time and attention upon the
Sanguinary talk of flaughterin^ and exterminating
tlie feveral princes of his o^n bloody and then
|)oflbffing himfelf of their r^fpe£tive kingdoms.

Ht began with Sigibert kii^g of the Ripuariaa
franks, who was the moft ^onliderable amongft
them, and whofe fon Cloderic was wicked enough
to perpetrate the horrid murder of his father, at the
(hameful inftigation of king Clovis, who had re*
duced him with promifes of concurrence to procuie
him the fucceflion of the RJpuarian Crown : but
by a jufi judgment it foon Appeared, that it was
not for h'unfelf the unhappy parricide had vacated
his father's throne. Clovis being fpeedily in*
formed of Sigibert's cataftrophe, fent 6ff two of
his blood bounds towards Cloderic under the pre.
tended cbaradter of his agents or ambafladors for
treating with him concerning their common inte-
reft, who purfuant to their inftrudtions loft no
time in difpatching away that ill-fated prince after
his father ; what one of them effe&ed by dafhing
out his brains with a ftroke of a battle-ax, while
he ftooped over a cheft in which his father had
hoarded up a large quantity of gold coin. Thofe
two Ripuarian princes being brought to this tragi-
cal end by the contrivance of Clovis, he loft no
lime in aflembling their fubjedts i and was fuc*

cefsful

M C^f^g- Turox^ lib. a. c. 40^ 41, 42.

344 DISSffltTATlOM'S OU THE

cc&fiil enough to perfuade them, thit he wtt'u
way acceflary to that miirddr, aHedgiffg'-aAM|
ottKT reafons for his juftification; that it wis qidli
unnatural he (houdd have been giitlty of fo horrii
an aA as that of fpiliing the blood of' hit on
nearefi kinfmen. Ill a wdfd, the aflbrelaMa«f
Clovia made fuch an imprelfion oh ' the raiiidi- dt
thfcltipuaHans, that they acdeptM' the^ ofiv K
made them of his own perfoh for thenr foverdgit
and confequently proclaimed him Idng^ by tlik
ceremdny of lifting him up^ on'the large biiddet
•ec6rd)ng- to the cuftom of their nation.

Cararic another prince oF the (ame family nd
king^of a tribe of Franks, who; .accordingiotltK
judgment of Abbot Dubos, inhabited the tountm
comprehended between Bologhfc^ St. Onier, ind
Brugges with their environs, was the nekt that til
vifkifh to the ambition of Clovia ; whd firfl de-.
pofed, tonfuredj-and obliged himfeiralld^ his foo
to* become ecclefiaftids, the former a prieft and tk
latter a deacon ; and afterwards put them boA
to death, without refpefling the facred charader
they were vefted with. After this facrilegious ct6
cution, the fame Clovis fell upon Ragnacarius king
of Cambray, another near kinfman and prince df
his blood ; whofe fubjeAs being bribed, or ntther
being bafely lured by Clovis with deceitful pr^
fents of brazen bracelets (lightly waflied over with
gold, nnioft tr^icherbufly betrayed their king ind
his brother Ricarius, and after having tied hii
their hands behind their backs, prdfented them to
the bloody minded Clovis, who did not fcorn to
become their executioner, difpatching them in that

fame

, AW3 OF THE ANTIEMT ItllSH. 34^

Mfpoftilrt each with one huge ftrolbe of hisifii-
qpUttchet funk> deep into their brains. ThoAi
iniifaiappy princes bad a ' brother calkdRegno-^
r, wix>* Dlraa king of another tribe of Franlor
latttmg the prorince of Maine». and wfaom-
ifia^vcry ipeedily brought to the fame trai^kad
livrith^hii'brothereand kinfmen above! men ti<»i«'
. Gfegorf ' ctf Tonri very plafaily givtt us ttf
krfbmd; that Clovis had* cut oiff (a) mMaf
m princes^ who were likewife of his neareftr
ifittn of the fame royal family; and adds^ thil^
er s£dng out that' bloody foene, he aiffi^fted iif
iftmilikr fpeechcis^to bemoan his own unhappj^
iiatioa'in being deprived of fo many faitlrftil
ends atid alEes, ^m whom, according td tlif
f of bltod| he may naturally MpeA' affiftadcdf
jiioSt his eneniliet in time of need : but all thii^
^tthat Ufldrian^ was But mere fiction and deceit,
Iculated for decoying into his murdering gins'
' hoptirof ibeurity fome other remains of Us*
ifmen, who rill then had efcaped his fanguinary
rfuitst' We (hall find notwithftanding, thaf
ne princer of the fame blood furvrvtd Clovis;
1 ffiUexiftied in the time of his immediate fuc*
Ibrs;

n) lotbrfffaifqtte multit Regibas et piu^tibas fius prtnus
^nibos Zelumbabebat, ne ei regoum auferrent, regniiiti
m per ecus C>allias dilatavit : tamen congr^atis fuit
ubun Tice diiifle fertur de Pafentibus qctos ipie perdi*
tt-: TC mihi qui tanquam peregrinos inter eiceros rft*'
ofi* et non habeo de parentibus, fi mihi venerit adrer«
ly qui poflic aliquid adjuvare. Sed hoc non de morte
am condolens, ftd dolo dicebac Greg. Tur. hift. lib.
«p.

346 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

Now with regard to the views of Clovis in Ui
horrid and unnatural condudt towards all his col-
lateral kinftnen ; it is very evident, that their im-
mediate objedt was his own aggrandizement hj
the enlargement of dominion and encreafe of
power : and this he plainly compafled by hivii^
cut off all the other reigning princes of his fiuu-
ly. But that Clovis had other views regarding
futurity and the intercft of his own polterity, ip-
pears* equally evident from the above-mentioned
drcumftance of his jealoufy and uneafinefs of
mind at finding that fome of his collaterals of die
fame family had cfcaped his bloody purfuits, and
fiill furvived the maflacre of the unhappy Idngi
and princes, whofe names I have recited aa tkej
are recorded by our author. To underftand the
nature of thcfe remote views of Clovis, and the
caufe of his jealous apprehenfions with regard to
his furviving kinfmen, we muft firft lay down and
confider fome few principles and maxims, vbidi
were of confiitutional force and natio^I obferr-
ance, amongft the Franks, according to the beft
accounts we have of their antient cuftoma and
inanners, fince their firft fettlement in Gaul.

The firft, that the Franks in general, divided
as they were into different tribes, acknowledged
but one royal family, out of which each tribe 6f
them was fumtftied with a king. This maxim of
adherir)g to one particular royal family feerm to
have been obfcrvcd by their German nations,
while the whole aggregate of their tribes con-
tinued to form but one national body or confede-
racy : for whenever it happened, that they had

entiidy

k

. AWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 347

irdy feparated fo as to have formed themfelves
3 difiercnt nations ; in that cafe, they alfo had
ir difierent royal families, in which the regal
bcffion was perpetuated whether by mere eledi*
or otherwife. This feems very apparent from
yAoife cited account of the difpofition made by
iBodoric, the firft Oftrogothiq king of Italy
h regard to the fucceffion of his crown, to
fch he preferred his grandfon Athalaric, as be-
[the fon of an Oftrogothic prince by his fecond
dieter, before Amalaric his other grandfon,
banfe Us father wasa Vifigoth, tho' his mother
A Us eldeft daughter and natural heirefs; that'
the Franks, however feparated into different
leii acknowledged but one royal family out of
idi they receiveid their kings, appears to be an
doobted matter of fa£t by the above tragical
Ition of Gregory of Tours, who obferves in
cral places, that all and every one of thofe
■Qcickingp, who had been murdered by Clovis,
Ire his own neareft kinfmen of the fame blood ;
Kt hchimfelf even aflfedted to mention as often
'the bccaiion offered, efpecially for promoting
I own ends. In another pafiage of the fame
dioranterior to his account of that bloody fcene
|idi was adted by Clovis, he expref^ly mentions
it national maxim of the Franks having but
e royal family : and adds, that the fame (hould
nher appear in the fcqucl by the hiilcfry of xhe\
d king's conquefls {a).

Another^

^a) Tradunt enim mulci eofdem, Francos, de Pannonia
Be digreiTos. £t primuxn quidem litora Rheni amnis

incoluiile :

34fr DISSER-TATIONS ON^THI

Another muunr of national law among the
Branks was, that in tfadr feveral tribea and o^
lonies a popular eIe£tion always interfered in keep*
ing .up the regal fucceffion by. filling^tbe tbrooeof
fupreme command. It is what Gregory o£ Tom
plainly expre&s in' the above cited wordSi jiott
pagps vel civitates regcs Crinitos^fuper feacavife
At thofe eledting affembliesi the particular choice
made of the ele£ted prince was fignified not ooiy
by loud acclamations, but by a> general beat of
bucklers. inftead of drums, according, to the ctf.
tbm of all the (jermans'(ii). And me inat^nnp
tion was performed on the fpot by, raifing the
dedted king upon a large (hield in figbt of tk
whole aflembly, as appears by the above citeddp
ample of Clovis, when the Ripuariaa Frukt
diofe him as their fovereign king^ after fignifyjiig
their confent and approbation in thc^abovo-iMh
tioned manner by a gjcneral refound bodi of tfadr
voices and bucklers (^). This fame ceremony of
regal inauguration was^obferved in like manner bv
the Goths, as may bo particularly feen- in Cai-
fiodore's account of Vitiges fucceflbr of Tbeodaty
the hulhand of the unfortunate Amalafonthi.

AlUid

incolnifle: dehinc traniaAo RJienOy Tongriam traafmeaft:
ibiqoe juxt^i'pajos rtl ciTftSiles Reges cnifitos fnperfe ere*
a^ifle^. deprimat et utita dicam» nobiliori fitommfonQa.
Q^od poftea probatuoi TidorixClodoTCcbi tyadidere, idqoe
ill (iqtitiiti digerimos. Greg. Tnr. hifti lib. a. c. 9.

(a) Si difplicuit fententia,fFemit«'a({>eniaBtarsfin plt-
cuity frameas concutiunt ; bonoratiffimam Aflenfos gami
di armis laudare. Tacit de Morib. Germ. cap. 1 1..

(h) At illi ifta audientes, plaudentes urn pabnis qnam
Tocibos, cum dypeo eredum fupcr fe Regem conftimunc
Gtrg: Tim hift: lib. 2. cajt. 40.

AW8 OFTHEANTIENTJatllBH. 3^

.iKifd national maxim x>f the Franks mm^
JO' cbufing their kings, they (hewed no parti«-
r regard to any right that naay be cUtm^
or by the firft-bom of the feveral branches of
r reyii family, or by the dire£t heir of the laft
ining prince, unlefs he wore otherwtfe well qua-
d ; and that maturity of ^age joined with mili-
F experience and perfonal merit in any prinoe df
rqpil iiock, whatever line or branch he may
rf, >were the qualificaiions^and conditions that
omined their choice, as being pre-requtfites of
tfpeilfable neceffity in the perfons of iall com-
oders^ military ftates, fuch as diofe of the
incic tribes, who were generally engaged either
I defenfive or o&nfive war with their neigh*
irs, «nd whpfe iking feldom difpenfed them-
ta from marching againft the enemies at the
d of thetrown; forces. That the Franks al-
'ed no'paniciriar right or privilege to the firft
n or diredheir in the order of lines and' birth,
oogft the. ftveral princes of the royal' family,
(hall find demonftrable from plain matter of
t, when we come to treat of the fucoeifion of
fons of Clovis, anid their defcetidants. Ni^,
n feveral hiftorical fa£ts, I think we may find
m to doubt, whether it was the general fenfeof
Franks after the time of Cbvis, lUid during
firft and fecond race of their kings, that the
uted heirs of the crown (hould be allowed Mf
U either of power or property, beyond what
y be called merely prefuniptive or expe^tive,
ore they came to fuch maturity of ageaa may
orally qualify them for exerciQng the functions

of

3S0 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

of the regal dignity. Of this national maxim of
the Franks, we (hall find very plain veftiges in
their hiilory, traced down even as late as the b^
ginning of the fifteenth century.

As to the maxim of allowing no particular
right to the fon or natural heir of the laft reigning
king, the real obfervance of it amongft the pri*
mitive Franks may, I think, be inferred withi
good (hare of evidence from the mannner in whidi
we find the regal rucce(rion carried on fromQodioa
the firft king of that nation, who made a perma-
nent fettlement in Gaul down to Clodowic or
Clovis who was his third fucce(ror, and the firft
founder of the French monarchy. Clodion after
his fir ft fettlement at Difpargum (a caftle near
Tongcren, or Aduatuca Tongronim, as is fup-
pofcd) furprifcd and po(re(red himfelf of Toumiy
and Cambray {d) towards the year 445^ according
to the computaxion of Sirmondus and Petavius.
(e) Meroveus fucceedcd Clodion towards the
year 448, according to Prof per 's Chronicle : and
as to this fucceflTor's lineal defcent, fo far arc wc
from being grounded to think him iflTued from
Clodion, that by the exprelTion of Gregory of
Tours, we are left in a doubt, whether he was even
of the fame particular line or branch of the roytl
family (/). Mezaray is of opinion, that Mcrovcui

was

(d) Greg. Tur. hift. lib. 2. cap. 9. Ge(L Franc, cap, $.
Duchefne, torn. i. p. 699. Vit. Rem. Ouch. Fo.i. p. 514.
(#) Sirmondus in notis ad Sidonium.
f/) Petavius Rat temp. lib. 6.

>

AW8 OF THE ANTI£NT IRISH. 351

the guardian of Clodion's two fons, whofe
KM he fuppofes to be Clodobaud and Clodomir.
10 the opinion of fome writers, that Meroveus

that young prince, fon of a king of the
nks, whom Prifcus Rhetor (g) mentions to
e feen at Rome towards the year 450, from
»ce they conclude, that he was the fon of king
dion, the inconfiftency of it is plainly de*
aftrated by Abbot Dubos, vol. ii, p. 86.
4ow with regard to the fecond fucceflbr of
idion, who was Childeric the fon of Meroveus^

iirft account we have of his life is, that the
inks, who were his father's fubjed\s, banilhed
n out of their territories for the excefs of his
baucberies : and that far from allowing him any
terent right of fucceffion, as being the fon of
ar laft king, they eledted Egidius the Roman
Utary conunander of Gaul (Jb) as their fole king
d fovereign ; who continued to reign over them,
tn after Childeric was recalled, and reigned al-
ys in good underfianding with him according to
I fame hiftorian, who plainly gives us to under-
nd, that they fought in concert with each other
i\n£t the Viligoths and the Saxons, the latter
ng commanded by their Adoagrius, near Or-
nsin theycar464 (/). And for further evi-
nce that the Franks, who were fubjcdls of Clo-
m and Meroveus, chofe their kings without any

regard

9) Prifcus in Ezcerp. Icgat. P- 3^«
!f) Deniquc Franci hoc cjcao, Egidium ilium qnem fupe ^
\ Magiftrum miHtuma Kcpublica miflum dtximos, fibi
nimiter in Regem adfcifcunt. Greg. Tur. hift. lib. a. c. 1 1 .
0 G"«- '^^^' ^^^' ^*^- *• ^*P* «^-^iA Abbot Dubos,
2. p. 312.

deric the fon of the latter was only kti]
nay^ a fmall (hare of the (aid conquefts

ttnd which was Itkewife the only ivim
rather the military benefice of Clovia
ginmng of his reign, as (hall hereaftx
particularly obfcrvcd.

Through the clear medium of th
national maxims of the Franks, we i
difcem all thofe views and moiives

c.which regarded futurity in his horric

< tural plan of cutting off all his collate
bf the royal family. That ambitious I

' to enfure the fucceflion of his crown an
to his o>^n fonsand their defcendants
knowledge of the general maxims an(

'Franks, as above explained, he wa
vinced that every prince of the fame b
ever line or branch he may be of, ha<
chance and expe£tative right to the fai

.^ as his own fons or their offspring.

' that in the fame manner, and by tl

• /• • f J

(OV T.HE AKXtE^VT IRIffH. n$

dfe two>king^ ; (o may his new aoqd*
[tfpofei^of after his death, in favour of
8.88 the feveral tribes of Franks whom
ughf under his fubjeAioA, might jud^
iring of their refpeftive crowns and go*
, Without allowing of any prior right
M may claim from the merit of their
ikquefls. Clovis was likewife fenfible^
hould happen to die before all his font
\ at the maturity of age that was re-
HTcreign commanders according to the
w of the Pranks j any of them that
I deficient in that refpedt could not have
ance to fuccecd him in any fhare of bit
in quality of a king, while there re*
y other prince of the royal family, who
and niilitary experience had been qua*
icercife the fun^ions of the fupreme

I remove thofe feveral caufes of danger
ainty with regard to the future ilate of
lat t^iovis conceived, and almoft com*
x:uted the horrid defign of cutting off
^ his kinfmen, from whom and their
le had room to apprehend an oppofition
0 his own aggrandizement, but alfo to
eftabli(hment and regal fucceffion of his
ofterity. Clovis however had not long
e dominions and treafures of his mur-
men, when he was called to an account
great iudge in the 45th year of his age^
t had finiihed that bloody wosk, as ap«
the plain words of Gregory of Tours,

Aa ^t

354 DISSERTATIONS ON THE |.>

iw

at the clofe of his hiftorical recital of that tnp-
dy (41) ) but as to what that ambitious kingU
promifed himfelf from that violent ezpedieat in
JFavour of his fons ; it had indeed fo far itsdefind
efFea with regard to them, that they were tbodif
left at full liberty to poflefa themfelvea of all dn
father's dominions, which they divided betwoi
them with common confent and without contm),
^at leaft without any efleftual oppofition at tbi
lime from thofe weak remains of the royal farailjf,
■who had efcaped the general maflacre.

Another circumftance was indeed very parM-
larly conducive to the peaceable fettlement of the
fons of Clovis, as it had been likewife moft effix*
tually favourable to himfelf in all his undertakingi
for the enlargement of his dominicma. The
circumftance I point at, was the intereft, wUdi
the bifhops, and all the orthodox Chriftiaos of
Gaul had in oppofmg fome powerful barrier to the
progrefs of the arms and oppreflioaa both of the
Burgundians and the Vifigoths, whofe kings were
not only zealous votaries and defenders of the
Arian herefy , but alfo profeiled and violent ene-
mies of all the true believers of the divinity of
our Saviour Jefus Chrift. Evarix or Euric the
Vifigothic monarch, murderer of his own brother
and predeceflfor Theoderic the Second, and for
fome time a cotemporary of Clovis in the begin-
ning of his reign, (hewed himfelf the moll fanguine

of

(a) His tranfaAis, apud Parifios obiit . • . migraTit aatem
poft Vogladenfe beilum anno quinto : faeruntque omnes
dies regni ojus triginca anni ; setas tota qoadraginta qain-
quc anni. Greg. Tor. lib. a. cap. 43.

LAWS Ot THE ANTIENT IRISH. 35s

bf all others in carrying on the antichriftian work
of <::ruelty perfecuting the Catholics in general.
•* The inferior clergy he committed to clofe con-
•• iinement ; of the bifhops he exiled many, land
*• put others to death ; thofe of the laity who
diliinguiifaed themfelves in oppoflng the pro-
grefs of his heref);, he ordered to be bc-
**' headed ; and for fupprefldng all Catholic
^^ communion of public prayers, he nailed
^* up the churches and all places of divine
** worfhip (^;." I only tranflate the words of
Gregory of Tours : An earlier writer than Gre-
gory, 1 mean the .pelcl>rated Sidonius Apollinaris
biihop of Clairmont in Auvergne, one of our
moil noted Chriilian poets, in a letter he writes
about the year 47 5 » to Bafilius fuppofed to be the
bifhop of Aix, concerning thofe perfecutions of
Evarix, efpecially againft the Catholic biftiops,
after obferving to his friends that that king (hewed
himfelf not more intent upon enlarging his domi-
nions, than propagating his herefy upon the ruins
of the Catholic religion in thofe countries, wherein
he had eftabliflied his military command, con-
cludes with this remark, that upon the whole of
his condu£t it would feem doubtful, whether he
(hould rather be confidered as the king of his
nation, than as the chief of his fe^. A (harp
but juft reflection worthy of the great Apollinaris,

A a 2 and

{h) Hojus tempore Evarix Rex Gothoram ezcedent . . •
tnmcabat paffim perverfitati fuse non confentientes. Cleri-
cof carceribus fubigebat. Sacdrdotes vero, (fipifcopos fc.)
alios dabat eiilio, alios gladio trucidabat : Nam et ipfos
ficrorom templomm aditas fpiab joiferat obferari. 'Grrf.
Tur. hift. lib. 2. c. 25.

356 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

and not lefs becoming his Chriftian zeal as a
bifliop, than his judgment and experience as a
ftatefman *. Happy for both the temporal and
Spiritual peace of mankind in our daya^ that the
kings of the prefent age are fo well advifed and
inftrufted by the hiftory of paft timea, aa to fliew
themfelvea much more ambitious of ^e dmn&a
of juft and wife rulers^ than that of dtber pro-
pagating their own religion, or perfecuting the
folbwera of any other, were it even of die lateft

growth . *

But to return to Clovis and the viewa of the

orthodox Chriftians of Gaul with regard to him,
that prince, who fucceeded his father at the time
thofe Vifigothic and Burgundian kinga were dm
carrying on their perfecutions againft the cathofics,
was but a mere Pagan in point of religion, free in
the mean time from all difpofitions of quarrelfing
with the Chriftians on the fcore of thrir religion,
while his heathentfli priefls were equally remote
* from forming any claim or pretenfions to poflefi
themfelves of the Catholic churches or their
revenues ; which was far from being the cafe of
the Arian clergy. Thofe were ilrong motives for
the orthodox Chriftians of Gaul to favour the
progrefs of Clodowic's arms, and to fricilittte in
all refpefts the encreafe of his power, whereby he
may be able to ballance, if not dieck that of die

perfecuting

* Sidonias was the fon of a Prctorian Pkrfed of Ganlf
ander the emperor Honorius ; he was made Prefied or go*
Ternor of Rome by the emperor Athemioi, who after-
wards created him a Patrician, and was fobfequently em-
ployed upon di£fcrent embai&ei of great toiportaace.

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. sff

perfecudng kings aboveihenttoned. But befide thil
tnotivey the Catholic clergy muft likewife have
:on(id^red and forefeen, that Clovis being but a
[imple and unprejudiced Heathen, may be niore
safily converted to the orthodox faith of Chrifl^^
than thofe Arian kingy hardened and obftinate ai
they were in their herefy, and violently prejudiced
It the fame time againft the Catholics. Subfe^
quent ^ents proved the wifdom and found judg*
ment of the Catholic clergy on this occafion.
Clovtfi became a convert to the orthodox faith ;
and Gundeband the Bui^undian king, nbtwith-
ftandtng the confiifion he had received at (ttihg
feme of his ableft divines convinced and converted *
by the conference of biffaops, wMch he agreed to
be held at Lyons in his prfefence, {a) remained
obdurate to the end of his life : though being at
laft convinced of the errors of Arianifm, he offer-
ed to abjure it in a private manner i but a public
abjuration being infifted on by Avitus the bilhopl
of Vienne on the Rhone, that unhappy king died
in his herefy and fins, Andbchus-like, againft the
light of truth, the inward codvidtioh of his mind,
and the preffing dictates of his confctence (b).

Abbot Dubos, after explaining and fetting forth
in a very advantageous light thofe views and ex-
pe^ations of the Catholics of Gaul with regard
to Clovis, confidently infers from the tenor of a-
letter, which Remigius bifhop of Rheinis wrote to-
that prince foon after his acceflion (as that authbr

thinks)

{a) Collado Epifcop. coram Rfg^ Giiaclebaado ix| bper.
Gneg.Tur. p. 1322.

(^jGreg.Tar. Hift.Ub.a.

358 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

thinks) to the throne of the SaKan Franks efb*
biiflied at Tournay, that the bifhops and dwf
citizens of thofe provinces of Gaui which «cr
ftill faithfully obedient to the Roman empire, look
upon . them to inveft Clovis with the d^it; i
Magiiler Miiitum, or chief commander of te
Roman army in the faid provinces: aflbringAcfr
fclves, as it may be fuppofed, that theorieotil
emperor Zenon, when informed of the pfcffiog
exigencies of iheir affairs, would a(^)rove tod
ratify that meafure, as they, had judged it of a-
treme neceflity both for their own I'afety and tla
intereft of the CathoUc religion. But how lU
we reconcile this inference in all its circumftaooei
with the plain context of that letter, and efyccaSj
with its preamble* wherein the writer gsoundi b
congratulatory compliment to Gbvia upoB a bire
report } I^emigiuat who for the fandity of his life
as well as the luftre and antiquity of bis fee, vu
univerfally refpedted in his time, as if he bad been
properly the chief or primate of all the bifhops
of Gaul, could not but have had furer information
than that of mere rutnour or hearfay of what
may regard the military dignity Clpvis tsfuppoTed
to have been invefted with, if it really had been
conferred on him either by the bifhops and chief
citizens of thofe obeying provinces of Gaul for
the intereft of their religion, or by the emperor
^enon at their recommendation and requeft ; the
bifhop of Rheims being the mofl eminent of all
ihofe prelates, and not lefs intercfted in that or
any other mcafure of common concern, muft
doubtlefs have been consulted by them upon fuch

an

IWS OF THE ANTIENT tSLlSB. 3S9

»Uion : at leaft, neither their own refolutkm r
rour of Clovig^ nor their negodation with the '^
iror to the fame end, could have efcaped th^ »
ledgp of Remigiui, whofe penetration and •
nent was equal to hia xeal for the Catholic -:
f and confequently for pconu>tti^ every mea- \
iiat may tend to its proTperity.
le obvious and natural fenfe of that letter '
rts indeed, that Remigius makes his compli* :
s to Clovis upon the common report of his
tg taken in hand the adriiimftration of ilie.:
iry diarge, which was attached to^his benefifib . ^
Kog af the city of Tournay and its annexed ^
oriest and gives him at the fame time very. ^
ifyadviceafor biajuftand fuocefsfnl conduct *
X admtniftration ; f uch aa in the fir ft place ; to
:are, that his faid military benefice (hould not
efiled with exactions; and in the next, to
ur and xefpeft the Inlhops of his dillri^s, ^
ng him,, that while he kept in good under- '
lii^ and harmony with the Catholic prelates,
ay promife himfclf all forts of facilities and
ft in the execution of his office. The reader
take notice, that thofe military benefices, as
fa been obferved in the preceding chapter,
granted by the Roman emperors as the fti- '
or pay of the foldiery, and their com* _
lers ; and the feveral nations and tribes of
irians, who in the declining fiate of the em»
vere employed as auxiliary troops during the
1 and fifth centuries, had certain territories
led to them as their military benefices, wherein
rfa at firft they had only the right of receiving

, apart

3^6^ DIS8SI.TATIONS: ON XHX

a port of. die ftate^revetiiies,. and: the fniili of
(bme lands at the hire of their fervicev vhhoor
the leaft power or part in the civil adiDimftntioi,
thiey ufurped by degrees bodi • the! dvil and the
miUtary power, arid, thus affiisiing at kft all tiiD
rightB of loverdgnty, ete6tfd':theaifelv^ asibr
foluteand independent kings:: wtet (ban ooa-
fioned the utter fnbverfion ofi the ocddemal dih
pire.

During the courfii-of tfaefe gradual uflirpstjoni
upoQ the righti^ of thit declining fiata |. jotlmmj
tribe' of thofe barbarianr infatiafaly defirooi «.
they were of enktging tkeir^ quarters^' iorpittd'
axid poffefled themfelves of iime ineig^booriif
pbfts or cities occupied by Rbfloao traop^.ik
weak and embanrafled emperorageiieiallyfoaBi
thfemielves under the neceffity of patiientty besng
with thofe infults'ahd fufieringftxch ufurped pofr
feffions to pafs under the name of military beser
fices, afligned to thofe rapaciousmrroenarics: dna
contenting themfelves with the bare form of fiv
ing appearances. It was doubtlefs in tMs fenfe,
and agreeably to this form, that Hemigius in ha
letter to Clovis, calls his fettlements in and about
the city of Tournay by the name of his mifittry
benefice under the Roman eniperor ; tho* he wdl
Icnew at the fame time, that they had been illegally
acquired by Clodion, who had forcibly poflefliDd
himfelf of that city and its territories, even in sn
open hoftile manner.

The chiefs of thofe barbarian tribes having
thus ufurped all fupreme power over the Roman
citizens ot'the diftriAsor provinces, which paflU

under

[M wiB o f^ Tm A^Ti t ivii rug wti. j^

Id: tbe ntme of tbdr roilit»ry beh^oe, whiter
f flUbaflfuiAed the rtg^t of coitinnltndihg fucb
Ae'Rocmti (bldiay as happened td hstve^beeir
iMd Withfn their adjaoent quarterr^' mader.iir
kf twtictilar bofitiefs at the fame time to' rei*
MtiW the commMderi of thbfe lakiMr Rortfeif
ikm and foidieri to their rerpedlive pei&M
fgoVenuneht ^ judging fuch a oonduft tovMrdti
em to behighly^xpedtent hk their owh perfonrfi
fefdft; aa itcnfured them their favoor and icon^
lieiioe in tiine of need toward maintaining them^-
Mintberfupremecommandof their refpejktre
itei the ouididatet or prefumptive foecefionp
cmd^ in likA manner am obli^g faehaviotir^
4nrd*^tlM Ronfian citizent and fddiery for their ^
afotitfe intereft; and thofe intere^ed viewa>
tbfcBaibarian chiefs Terved to alleviate in fotMi
afiire the wei^t and barbarity- of theis'^ yoke.*
the judicioiis readers of the hiilories of thofe^

faarian Wars and nfurpattons on the Roftianp
jplirt, will find the preceding remarks plainly
I^Kkd upon hiftorioad fadts. .?[

Biit to return to the congratulating letter of ^
migiiA to Clovts or Clodouric. I think it per-i
tnt to the fubjedt in hand to obferve, that aa^
•faid • letter -preferves no date, fo -I find nothing *
the obferv^tions made thereupon by Abboti
bds^ from^wttch I may wciraffiirc myfclf of*
having been written to that prince fo foon after •
father's death, or while he was of fo mature
age as is fuppofe(l by that learned writer ; if na
nerical error has crept into that pailage of •
of Tours hiftory, wherein hcTcts down

the

^6% DISSERTATIONS ON THI

the years of Qodowic's reign, and bis tge at lb
time of his death, afligning thirty to the
and forty-five to the latter; it follows i
that he had begun to reign at the ag^ of
This if we fuppofe as a matter of faA, and
at the (aroetime that die adminillratioo
to Clovis ita Remigius's letter, was really
by Hypfo very foon after his fathor'a death, n
is pretended by the above named writer; i
would plainly follow, that the national maam
the Franks, requiring maturity of age for the sh'
miniftration of regal power or fovereign nvSltuf
command, was either difpenfed with, or violstedis
favour of Clovis, or elfe, that the reality of fudii
maxim has been fuppofi^ without fuffidemfiMS-
datfon. As to the real obfervaoee of fucli i
national maxim amoogil the Franks, it is wht
I hope I (hall produce fuch further proofs of a
the fequelt as may give full fatisfadtion to theiou
partial reader ) nor is there any fort of nootStj
to admit of the fuppofition founded upon the
letter of Remigius, iQafmuch as it bears no due,
as I have already obferved. In a word, if die
military adminiftration attributed to Clovis by the
venerable bifhop of Rheims was of a reg^ Or
fovereign nature in any fenfe or refpedt, as it retliy
muft have been with regard to the Franks of his
own tribe and military benefice i far from having
any grounds to fuppofe^ that that prince was hh
vefled with it, at leaft with the approbation of Ui
own national fubjcdls, before he came to a fufficiem
maturity, we have rather the moft cogent rcafons
to fuppofe the contrary.

As

i^AWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 3^3^

Ba to the number of years tffigned by Gregory
I Tours to the reign of Clovis at the time of
r^^nthy whidi being deducted out of his whole^
p^ would have fixed its beginning immediately '
fr tta fifteenth year ^ that hiflorian, if the com«
Ijtfoa attributed to him be firee from error^
lift have fuppofed, according to the common
i^bo, that Ck>vis begsn to reign as foon as his
dber had refigiied his iaft breath : in the fame
Winer that the reigns of the fubfequent kings of
OBOoe were computed from the deceafe of their
mediate predeceilbrs : though it is very certain, :
istuntilthetimeof Charles the fifth, or rather ^
at of his fin Charles the fizth in the year 1405, .:
3ae of them can be faid to have reigned eflfeclu-*
ly, until they hadatuined thetwenty-fecond year
f their age, as (hall hereafter be explained and
ovcd. At the fame time I cannot but conceive
Ihon^ fufpidon of fome error having crept into
"egory's fuppofed account of the years of Clo*
wic'a Kign, and his age at the time of his death ;
caufe I cannot fee, how it may be rrafbnably
:ondled with an undoubted hiftorical fadt,
uch is rekted by the (aroe author in that very
tt of ^s hifiory. After mentioning the death
Clodowic, and the partition which his four fons
ftde between them of all his dominions, he in-
rms us, that Thicry othcrwife Thcodoric, had
rn a fon called Theodebert, who was already of
:h a maturity of age, as rendered him capable
ferving the date (j). And what confirms this
arafter of that young prince, our faid hiftorian
ating the immediate confequencesof Clodowic'g

death

(a) Greg, Tur. Hift. Ub. iii. c. 4.

3^ 0tS8EItT ATrONS' 01^ TSTt

detth (an event, which mu ft naturally ha?e ea.
amraged the neighbouring powers to invade the
Franco -Gallic dominions) fettf forth, that Cocbj.
liachis king of the Danes, having made a defoieflt
on the coafts of Theodortc*s kingdom at the
head of all his forces, trahfpbrfed firoii! Dttiioailt
in a very numerous fleet, the Utter loft nb ttmeit
nsTchingaway a powerful and well provided bo^
of land-forces under the command of tut bi
Theodeb^t, ordering at the fame tiniebts fleets
fteer towards this invaded coaft, to be coroinsiided
hf the fame prince at the place of a£lion. Theo-
debertus proved himfelf worthy of fo importtnr
a.command, he not only defeated, but Idhed the
Daniih king at the head of his land-forces ; he
then embarked, engaged, beat, and difperfedAe
Daniih fleet, brought back, and reftored todie
owners all the fpoils which had been carried faff by
thofe piratical invaders, and returned compleitlf
victorious both by fea and land.

Now as to the age of Theodeberttis at the
time he atchieved this glorious exploit, which Ab-
bot Dubos refers to the year 51a, if Clovis vis
but forty-five years old, when he died a few
months before in the year 51 1, we muft neceffii-
rily fuppofe, that his grandfon Theodebertuscouki
not then have furpalled the fourteenth or fifteenth
year of his age ; and by allowing that prince e?cn
this fmall number of years, when he gave thofe
fignal proofs of his military capacity, Theodoric
cannot be allowed more than fifteen years when he
begat Thcodebcrt, nor confequently could Clovii
be of a more mature age, when he had Theodoric

Now

AW:S OF THif ANTI^NT tUAH. ^

that Theodoric would have oommitted na
ditton of fo much importance as the i^peMu|g
tillable inyafion to the conduct of a youth
aly foMrteen or fifteen years of age^ reefiii.t0
i.fuppofition thatcaonot be reconciled with
naxima of common prudence, much led with
: of ftate-government, even had that youi^
nander been affifted by experienced officers,
g veiled with the fupreme command over
I officers, the flights of youth might have led
to diredt their operations in fuch a nutnner M
It be attended with woeful oonfequences. I
t therefore conclude, that Theodcbertus wia

more mature age, when he was entmfted
that important command, and confeqaendy^
his grandfather Clodowic muft have been of
ire advanced age, than that of forty-five at
ime of his death, which happened but a few
ths before this exploit •f Theodcbertus. Am
e reft, the latter fuppofition, which is a neceC-
confequence of the former, I mean that of
is and Theodoric becoming fathers each at
tge of fifteen at moll, is remarkably repug-
to the national cuftoms and manners of the
nans ; whofe long continence is fo particularly
ii notice of by Caefar and Tacitus, that among
young folks of that nation, the former ob-
!a, it was looked upon as the greateft fcandal
diffaonour to any man to know womankind
re the age of twenty. And the latter re*>
ks in general of the whole nation, that both

men and women obferved firi6t continence
i very mature age. Of tb6 advantages of

which

But however ihort or loriR Clodowic^
age may have been at tm time of I
certain it is, that his four ft^ns, unrival
were left through their fath^'s genen
of all his collateral kinfmen or^my Bot<
divided his dominions between them
controulor oppofition, according to tl
accounts of Gregory of Tours and
And here it is to be obferved, that wc
material part of the old conftitution fa
Franks and other Gq^anic nations vt
and remarkably preserved by the fons
in the partition they made of their fatli
nions: I mean the law of AbUc-Ga
rule of exa£t equality of fliares^ as an
pU Irijb. Both Gregory of Tours am
are very exprefs as to this rule of equs
partition made by the fons of Clovis.
find in Gregory's account of the E
princes, that the four Tons of Gunderic,
debandus, Godegifillus, Gundemarus,

! i:..:j 1 *u^:- r.-.! •_ j • •

HWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 3(7

led between lus twogrand-unde% Gildebertus
Clotharius, in the year 555. And fo was that
!aribertU8| eldeft (on of the faid Clotharius^
ed equally between his three brothers in 566.
18 aUb had Theodebertus the Ton of Theo-
c, and his two uncles Childebertus and Clo«
iuB divided the kingdom of Burgundy after
defeat and death of its king Gundemar in the
r 534. From all which inftances we may con**
le^ that this law of equal Gavel was a oonfti-
onal maxim common lo all the tribes of tho(e
manic nations. .

This national ufage of gavellng the domi-»
[IS of the French crown between the fobs or
beirs of the laft pofleflbr, has been confiantly
wed during the firll and fecond race of their
p, and that without any . particular regard
the firft bom or dire^ beir beyond the

of the brothers or Qo-partners. Hence
, that the learned and judicious author of the

chronological abridgment of the French
ory obferves (j), that during the courfe of
ie races of the French kings, the crown was
iyed by thedefcendantsofClovisandPe|Mnin
tr lefpeftive times, according to the law of
wX partition, and without allowing any particu.
right or preference to the firft born or direft
•. In the partition or gavel made between the

fons

) Pendant toutc la premiere race, la Cooronne fiit por-
Mir lei Dcfcendtns dc Clovis, a la teritd fans droit d'
b et avcc partage : elle fut poffcded de ni6me font la
dcme race par les Enfant de Fepi% 9tc. Abreg.
00. p. 41. Edit 4.

3^ (DISSExRTATIOM^ ON THE

fons of Clovis, I find aaother remariuible Guank*
fiance, in which it exadtly agrees with the aotieot
Irifo.Quttom of Gavel-kind ; which is, that Tbeo-
dpric, whoy according to all the French hiftoriuii,
Audigier alone excepted, was but a natural foocf
the laid Cbvis by a concubine, had notwithfttad*
ing an equal (hare of his fiither'a inheritsnce
with his brothers the lawful fons of that lung by
his virtuous wife Clotilda.

From this agreement and uniformity between
the antient Franks and the old Irifh in that one
point of the law of regal fucceffion^ whidi coa-
fitted in the male gavel or partition by an eqoiliiy
of (hareSy I think it may reafonably be prefuroed,
that the primitive conllitution of the Fraah wis
not eifentially different from that of the Jirjl in
the other principal part of the faid law, according
to which, maturity of age was indifpenftUy f^
quired for fucceeding to the regal power and dig-
^ty : conlequent to which maxim the dire& d^
fcendants and heirs of royal families in fadiod
were frequently excluded from the regul fucceffion
for the want of fufficient age, while thdr uodei
or other collateral kinfmen, being feniors, filled the
throne, and fwayed the fceptre during life, l^
ferving to fuch diredt defcendants only the bm
chance of fucceeding afterwards by virtue of thdr
feniority. Now if M^e can produce ioflanceswdl
warranted^ hiftory of fome direft heira of the
crown of France, during the firft and fecond ract
ef their kings, being either excluded from the
luccefCon, or poftponed to their collateral kinfmea
fipr want of fuf{icient maturity of age ; and ou

fliev

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH.

(hew that even during the third race, when the
direct hereditary fucceffion became more firmly
eftabliftied^ certain plain marks and vefiiges^ ilili
remaining in the French conilitution of the fame
ancient roaxim^ whereby maturity of age was
eHeemed an eflential qualification, and made a
condition abfoiutely required for the exercife of
regal power ; it is to be hoped, the reader will
not think us quite unfuccefsful in this particular
enquiry into French antiquities.

The firft plain inftance I meet with in hiftory
of a direct heir of the French crown being cic-
cludcd from the fucceflion on account of immatu-
rity of age happened in the year 673, when Do-
nald or Daniel the only fon and heir of Chil-
deric II. was laid afide, while Thieric III. his un-
cle by the -father, fucceeded to the throne, and
reigned during life as fole king of all the French
dominions. This example is exactly parallel to
the Tannic manner of regal fuccefTion in Ireland^
where one brother was frequently fucceeded by
another, while the fon and heir of the elder bro-
ther and predeceflbr in the throne was quite ex-
cluded, or at leaft poftponed to his uncle who
reigned as abfoluteking, in right of his fenioricy.

The fecond inftance of fuch an exclufion I find
in the perfon of Thiery of Chelles, only fon and
heir of Dagobcrt III. who died about the year
718, when that ycung prince was laid afiise for
want of fufficientage, and the above Daniel came
in for his turn in the regal fucceflion, which he
enjoyed during life under the name of Childeric II.

B b aud

370 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

and was fucccedcd by the above Thicric of
Chelles.

In the year 884, among the kings of the fe-
. cond race, a third plain example of fuch an ez-
tlufion from the throne for want of age^ is re-
markably obfervable in the perfon of Charles IK.
fon anid only remaining heir of king Louis le
Begiie, after the death of his two brothers
Louis III. and Carloman, when the faid Charks
was excluded the throne of France by his kinf-
inan Charles le Gros, emperor of Germany, under
the fole pretext of his want of fufiicient age.
The fame pretext was ilill alledged againft that
unhappy prince after the death of Charles le Gro6,
whom his nephew Arnoldus, a bailard fon of his
brother the emperor Carloman, fucoeeded in the
Imperial throne, while the French crown was
ufurped by Eudes, fon of Robert le Fort, the
ftock of all the kings of the third race.

Now as to this iaft race of the kings of France,
though we find the hereditary fucceffion regularly
carried on from Hugh Capet, down to our own
days, and no inflance of utter excluiion given to
the diredt heirs of the crown, by appointing any
other prince to reign as king, in cafe of immatu-
rity of years in the rightful heir ; yet we can
difcover plain veftiges of the old maxim of re-
quiring fufEcient age as an eflential condition for
the exercife of regal power ftill very difcemably
to be traced in the French conflitution as far
down as the beginning of the fifteenth century.
To fet thofe vefligia in their due lights we have
only to lay down the following propofitions im-

porting

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH.

porting certain hiftorical hi\s of unconteftable
truth and authority. The firft, that maturity of
age was always looked upon by the French na*
tion as a condition fo eflentially neceflfary for ez'*
ercifing the regal power and functions, that be*
foi-c the above epoch, the heirs of the crown
were never inaugurated, proclaimed, ftilcd, or
reputed kings, nor entrufted with the adtual ad-
miniftration of the kingdom, until they entered
the twenty-fccond year of their age, which waa
the term of their minority. The fecond, thtft
during this long minority of the heir of the
crf>wn, one of his neareft relations of the fame
blood being of a mature age, and preferably,
whoever was the next in fucceflion, always claim-
ed the right of being regent and adminiftrator
of the kingdom with regal authority ; and ac-
cordingly^ admintftred and governed abfolutely
in his own name, and not in the name of the
minor, fealing all a£ls with his own feal of arms
after the manner of all fovereign princes, and
dHpofing of all the royal revenues or converting

them to his own ufe according to his will and
pleafure. Of the truth and reality of theft
maxims end ufages of the French nation, the
reader may fully fatisfy himfclf by confulting the
^bove cited chronological abridgement in the
reigns of Charles the fifth, and Charles the fixtb,
and under the years 1374 and 1403 : as dlfo*
Abbot Dubos, vol. iv. p. 80, 8r, 82.

I refer to the judgment of the reader, if thefc
very maxims alone, were there no other concur-
ring inftances to be found in the French antiqui-
ties, may notjuftly be regarded as (bmany plain

B b 2 and

37«

374 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

*

fttttined to full maturity of age, before they were
veiled with the regal power and dig;nity, was
much of a more ancient date than the ceremony
of crowning them at their inauguration. In the
above account of their national cuftoms and pub*
lie ufages we have obferved, that the inauguratioq
of their kings was performed by the fole ceremony
of railing up the royal candidate upon a large
(hield or buckler, and proclaiming him king or
(bvereign commander, with the general acclama-
tion of the ar my and muhitude, as above ex-
plained. The Gothic nations ufed no other cere-
mony at inaugurating their kings, as we have
always obferved. Leovigildus, who was the
feventeenth of the Vifigothic king^ of Spain, is
faid to be the fir A, that added the regal crown to
die reft of his regalia towards the end of the
fixth century. But that he required the ceremony
of coronation at his acceflion to the throne, is the
more to be doubted, as it is not obferved even
in our own days by the kings of that monarchy*
Nor does it appear from any folid proofs, that any
6f the Merovingian kings of France were either
anointed or crowned at their inauguration, not-
withftanding the ftory of the holy oyl-cruit of
St. Remigius, which is abundantly refuted by
many writers, and even denied by Rodehc
OTIaherty (a) : who has likcwife obferved and
proved from good authorities, that Pepin was the
firft king of France, who ufed the ceremony of
regal un£tion and coronation, which he received
at the hands of St. Winifred, otherwife Bonifacius^
arcn-bffhop of Ment2, in the year 752. The

fame

LAWS OP THE ANTIKNT I&tSH. a«

fame king Pepin, and his two fons^ Charles (af-
terwards called Charlemagne) and CarlomaD,
were anointed and crowned kings of the Franks,
by Pope Stephen III. as appears by his own
letter to Regino, which is recited by Baroniu4,
and referred to the year 754. And when the faid
Charles became emperor, he was andnted and
crowned a fecond time by Pope Leo III. as hat)i
been recorded by feveral authors ; in (hort, thofe
Carlovingian princes were the fir ft of all the kings
of France, that ufed the ceremony of regal uacr
tion and coronation.

It being therefore an undeniable fk£t, that the
kings of the firlt race never ufed the ceremony
of regal coronation and un^ipn, and yet were
not the lels refpefted and acknowledged as real
and lawful kings, as foon as they arrived at fuch
a maturity of age as qualified them to be inaugu-
rated in the old ufual manner, and entrufted
with the fovereign power and adminiftration of
the kingdom, it follows by a plain and neceikry
confequence that the right enjoyed by the regents,
was neither founded upon, nor derived from any
fuch origin as the fuppofed notion, that the heirs
.of the crown (hould not be held as real kings,
until they had been folemnly anointed and crown-
ed. In a word, during the firft race of the kings
of France, whenever the prefumptive fucceflbr
and heir of the crown happened to be under age,
at the ^\mt of the demife of his predeceiTor, the
adminiftration of the kingdom was committed -to
a regent, who governed fovereignly and abfo-
lately in his own name, during the minority, and

his

376 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

his right was folidly grounded, as it naturally re*
fulted from the old national maxim of the Franks,
whereby maturity of age was made ft previous
condition and qualification abfolutely neceilary for
being either veiled with the right or entniftcd
with the exercife of regal power. Hence it is»
that in primitive times, the heirs of the crown of
JFrance, while minors, being under a temporary
difqualification to be either invefted with the rrgil
dignity, or entrufted with the exercife of fo▼^
rdgn power, it became neceffar}', that this pow*
er, together with the whole adminiftra'tion of the
kingdom, (hould be lodged in the hands oft ct-
pable perfon, who governed abfolutely and fe?^
reignly in his own name, until the diredt beir
fhould have attained to the due maturity of age.
The hereditary prince having attained this n^
ceflary term of years, he was inaugurated and
enthroned, as being then efteemed capable of ex*
crdfing the functions of the regal dignity. The
antient Franks judged it inconfiRent not only with
their national maxims, but alfo with the reafon of
things, to inaugurate and proclaim king a perfon^
who through the immaturity of his years and fenfc
mull naturally be incapable ofgoverning the (late
and commanding its forces : of difcharging ina
word fuch duties and funftions, as in thofc days
were neceflarily annexed to the regal office, and
indifpenfably to be performed by the king in his
proper perfon. And as the capacity of executing
thofc regal functions was the natural produd cJ
years and maturity of age ; fo the general opinV
on mentioned by the author of the abridgment

tloai

«rS OF THE ANtlENT IRISH. 377

•

: king was not really king, until he had
aaugurated in the due time and manner
: flow from a mere groundlefs notion, as
IS to think, but rather from a folid prind-
unded in the law of nature and reafon of
That author muil therefore have com*
another* miftake, in imputing to the de-
contrivance of the regents, that the coro-
of the heirs of the crown was deferred for
;a tin)e as the twenty-fecond year of their
r as late as they otherwife could ^ thus
r to their own advantage;, as he plainly
, the above mentioned notion, that thofe
; were not really kings, until they had re;,
folemn coronation in the dual manner.

CHAP.

171

DISSKRTATIOKt SONTHK

CHAP. 11.

<y $bi S^i^e-laws of fuhfidies^ irihues^ ad}
rigtis Mtienthf oh/ervedby ibe Irijb khtgs^ mi #|
Juhrdinate princes^ and/laUs u/jpeaivehf.

These laws of fubCdics, tributes andR|i|

fights, are fet forth in an antient book M]

J^eabbar na Gceari^ or the book of rights fonssij

inferted in the old records called LtaUar Gbk

Logb^ and attributed lo Benan, Benin or Bedg-

nus^ who was difciple and fucceflbr of St. h-

trick.

All readers of antient hiftory will readily tgn^

that the primitive cuftoms of nations, reg^uf&g
fuch ftaterrights as are here underftood, may be
juftly efteemed a good foundation for formingi
rational judgment concerning their rcfpcftivc ori-
gin and antiquity. In weighing this matter, not
only the conftitutional mode of eftabli(hing tnd
exacting thofe public rights, that regard Tubfidies,
tributes and ftate revenues ; but alfo the very
nature or quality of the goods or effefts, in whkh
they were acquitted and complied with, is dulj
to be confidered . The Roman manner of inipo-
iing and exadting tributes and other public re\'^
nues, was not very different from that, which the
fovereign powers of Europe obferve in our own
days, even with regard to the nature of the fpe-

cic

1. AWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 379

c\^s in which they were paid ; which was moftly
thofe metals, that have^ been univerfally received
as the common ftandard and meafure of all other
worldly goods : and this circumftancc very evi-
dently pointed out the modern origin of that peo-
glt'm quality of a commonwealth, when compared
yilh the Scbytbians^ the Celis^ and the other na-
tions that retained the primitive culloms^ which
regarded thofe public rights, that were at all times
neceflary for anfwering the exigencies of a ftate,
and fupporting the dignity of the fovereign. But
the dtfferent manner and fenfe, in which thofis
fifcal and ftate-rights have been eftablifhed and
enforced in different nations, is what I efteem the
chief point to be confidered for making a proper
difcemment, as well concerning their refpedtive
antiquity, as their iiatural liberties, and political
freedom. In modern nations and tiates, found-
ed in confequence of conqueft, whether lawful or
unjuft ; thofe regal or public rights that zSeSk
landed properties, were underllood and infified
on as the very condition of the proprietor's tenure
and title in thofe lands or ellates. Thus after the
Norman conqueft,. all the lands of England were
conGdered as abfolutely vefled in the king, and
the fecondary proprietor's title or right was mere-
ly derived from the fovereign, and was fnbjcdled
to an abfolute condition of paying him certain
rights or tributes, whether confifling in military
fervicc, or pecuniary rents, or in both. But in
all antient nations, the poflTeflTor's right and title
to his landed property, as well as any other be-
longing to him, was quite independent of the fo-
vereign,

38o DISSERTATIONS ON THE

>

r

vereign, and founded only on the primitive Itwof
nature and nations ; and what he fupplied towar(b V
the fupport of the date and public power, thou^
It may be properly deemed a right and infiftedon
as fuch ; yet was both demanded and given, n*
therasa free contribution^ merely in view <^ the
common intereft, and the general exigency of die
flate, than any fervile or compulfory impofi. No
nation on earth ever produced a more perfed
image of fuch a primitive lUte-conftitution, is I
have juft now defcribed, than that which is exhi^
bited in the following national fyllem of the an-
tientlri(h, concerning the public rights and flate-
revenues eftablifhcd in their government.

To introduce the reader into a full knowledge
of the true fpirit and meaning of this part of the
Irifh conftitution, he muft be informed in the firft
place, that amongfi the different princes and
ftates of this nation, the chief, and, I may fay, the
only proper mark of fubjedtion and fubordination,
was the receiving a certain fubfidy called Tum'ofdd^
which literally implies hire ox wages in the Eng-
li(h tongue, and which in effedt was only a prince-
ly prefent, and token of generofity and roagnifi-
cence in the giver. But the prince or flate^ that
received it firll, was deemed inferior and tributa*
ry to the prince, by whom it was given. This
maxim, which vifibly lays the foundation of the
freed and moft fociable form of government with
regard to liberty and property, that can polfibly
be reconciled with any fort of political order and
fubordination, not only is expreOed as a funda-
mental axiom in Leabbar na Gcearty or the book of

public

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 381

public rights; but is likewife proved from fevcral
paflages of antient hiftories, to have been con-
ftintly obferved amongft the princes and flates of
the Iri(h nation. A very remarkable inftance of
it is fet forth and explained in that hiftory of the
O'Briens of Thomond^ which is entitled Cailbreim
Tboirdkealbbaiccy viz. that about the middle of the
thirteenth century, when a general convention of
the princes and nobles of thelri(h nation, was ap-
pointed at a place called Caoluifge^ in order to de-
liberate upon the choice of a monarch, under
whofe banners they were to fight againft the
Engl'fh, Teige O'Brien of Thomond, contend-
ing withO*Neii of Ulfter for the fupreme power
and fovereignty, had prepared a hundred horfes
in rich furniture as a fubfidy or wages for 0*Neil,
and accordingly, fent them to that prince in this
ihape, and in the intent and meaning of the above
explained maxim. O'Neil, highly ftomached
at that mark of pretended fuperiority from
G^Brien, not only rejected his hundred horfes, but
retorted back upon him double the number,
equally well accoutred and furniftied. This punc-
tilio of honour between the two princes, was the
immediate caufe of the difTolution of that general
aflembly, without its coming to any refolution, and
Tcigc O'Brien reaped no other benefit from his
conduA, than the diftindtion of the furname
Caoluifge^ derived from the place of that tranfac-
tion, which liowever was intended as a high com-
pliment to him from hisfubje£\sand fycophants.
This (late-maxim, regarding the poHtical right
both of the independent fovereiga and the fubor-

dinate

3Sft DISSERTATIONS OM THE

dinate princes, is cxprcffed in the following Iridi
rhyme in the above mentioned Leabhar na Gocarl,
in that part of the faid book, where the rhyme,
exprefling that general maxim, is applied to the
king of Munfter or Cafliel ; it runs thus in the dd
Irifh language,

Atafau Sl^ancbas fuaire freaib :
Ni bainbbjbios dagacb Eolacbj
Tuarafdal Rigb Caifil coir :
Da Riogaibb caomba an cbeaSoir.

This rhyme exprefles in the plaineft and moil
energic manner, hot fo principally the right of
the fovereign, as that of thofe fubordinate princes:
and accordingly, the following (ketch of this na-
tional fyilem of political oeconomy, moft evi-
dently demonflrates ftep by ftep, that the tributes
or fupplies of the fubordinate princes and nobks,
were given and received under the form of an
equivalent or return for the fubfidy or wages firft
paid by the fupreme fovereign ; as well as for the
necefTary fupport of the (late and regal dignity.
In this general fyftem of the Iriih governmenty
we fee nothing eilentially different from what has
been and is dill pradtifcd in the univerlal fyfiem
of the European republic, where feveral fo?e-
reigns, otherwife independent, receive fubfidies
or wages, and return by way of equivalent a cer-
tain fupply either of military forces, or fome other
Hate contributions tending to the common iote-
reft, and principally to maintain the balance of
power, foneccffary for the prefer vation of that

general

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 383

general ftate, which is compofed of the different
fovereignties of all Europe.

In Ihe next place the reader is to be informed^
that vtrith regard to the general and conftitutional
oeconomy of the Irifti nation and its government,
the provincial (overeigns obferved and enforced
two forts of public rights. The one regarded
their own refpcftive fovereignties, or fubordinatc
ftates and princes, the other was chiefly relative
to the univerfal harmony and mutual dependence,
that was to be kept up between the principal
members of the national republic. I (hall begin
vrith the more immediate concern of the provin-
cial fovereign, I mean that which regards his own
fubordinate princes and dates ; and as I find the
public rights of the king of Munfter, both with
regard to his own province, and the other provin-
cial fovereigns more cxtcnfively explained, than
thofe of any other Irifli prince (though all were
carried on upon the fame plan) I (hall therefore
treat of him and his rights alone, as it will ferve
as a portrait of all the reft. My author fets down
the Momonian or Munfter fovereign's rights,
wKether adkive or piaflive, I mean, regarding
both himfelf and his fubordinates in the manner
and method following ; where it appears, that he
began always with his fubfidiary payments to the
different princes or ftalcs of his province, accord-
ing to the general (late-maxim. But that the
reader, unacquainted with Iri(h hiftory, may not
be fiartled at fuch a multitude of kings appearing
in one province, he is to know, that every fubor-
dinate prince or head of a large tribe and trad of

country

times of that monarchy, fiich as the Dul
Normandy, Britanny, and Guienne, an
Counts of Tbolofe, Flanders, and Cham]
&c. made war againft the king of Franc
which they had not as good a right as tb
fubordinate princes, with regard to the!
king ; their lands and tenures being quite
pendent of him, and fubjedl to no fort of r
fcrvile condition ; whereas thofc of Franc
theirs as Fiefs, deriving under the crow
were fubjcdcd to military fervicc and to i
which properly and originally meant not on
jcAion, but fervility. As to the reft, the
plicity of kings in one and the fame provii
beenjuflified in the preceding chapter,
example of the moftantient nations, accon
facred and prophane hiftory. I proceed th
to the deuil of the public rights, regardin
the king of M under, and the fubordinate ]
and ftates of the fame province.

1. The king of Munller, (who was al(b
the king of Cafhel from his refidingat that
prefenled by way of iubfidy every year (4

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 385

golden cups, 30 golden hilted fwords, and 30
horfes in rich furniture to the Dal-Caffian king,
whenever he was not the fovercign of all Munfter,
to. which he had an alternate right by the will
of Olliololim. In fome copies of the book of
rights, I find added to the above prefents, ten
coats of mail, two cloaks richly adorned, and
two pair of chefs boards of curious workmanfhip.

II. To the king of EqganaSl CaifiJ, when the
Dal-Callian chief became king of Mnnfter, ac-
cording to his alternative, (b) ten men (laves, ten
vomeD Oaves, ten golden cups, and ten horfes in
full furniture.

III. To the king of OJfery^ otherwife called the
king of Gabbran^ (rj ten fhields, ten fwords, and
two cloaks with gold clafps and rich embroidery.
The profe mentions, ten horfes, ten fhields, ten
fwords, two cloaks, and two fuits of military
array.

IV. To the king of Jra^ {d) fix fwords, fix
Ihields of curious workmanfhip, and fix fcarlet

C c cloaks.

pirince or king of Nordi-Munftery and that precifeljr on the
nrft of November, according to thofe words of Beni^^nus's
pdenif Deich ccorn go n6r gach Samhna ; fo it is to be
underftoody that the fabfidies of all other princes and
ftates were likewife paid annually about the fame time.

(Jk) EqganaA Caifil, otherwife called Magh Feimen or
Machaife CafU, comprehended the country from Caihel to
Qonmely &c. Its particular chief was the ftock of the Mac
Carthies, but more antiently, the anceftors of a tribe of the
O Donofl^hues, defcended fromNadfraoich king of Munfter,
and coniequently different from the O Donoghues of Loch
Lein.

(r) The king of Oflery was Mac Giolla Pidraig, or Fitz-
.Patrick of the Herimonitn race.

(J) The king of Ara in the north weft part of the county

w

386 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

cloaks. The profe adds, feven (hields, fe?ca
fwprdsy and feven horfes.

V. To the king of Eik (/) fix men flaves and
fix women flaves, fix (hields, and fix fwords : ac*
cording to the profe, eight coats of mail, cig|it
(hields, eight fwords, eight horfes, and eight cups.

VI. To the king of Uaitime^ (/) fix feidds,
fix fwords richly mounted, and fix horfes magoi-
ficently accoutred, and particularly with gokko
bitted bridles : according to the profe, feveo
horfes, eight fwords and eight cups, together witb
particular marks of honour and diftlndion (bewo
him at the court of Ca(hel.

VII- To the king of Dfifies, (^) a (h^p wcB
rigged, a gold hilted fword, and a hor(e in tich
furniture : by the profe, eight (hips, e^t mes
fluves, eight women flaves, eight coau of imil,
eight (hields^ eight fwords and eight horfes.

VIII. To the king of Cairbrc Aodbbba^ whofe

prac^Ml

of Tipperary, (t. e. Tubber Arat) was O DonnegaA of the
Eamian race ) but in the year 1318, it came to the poffef-
fion of the defcendants of Brien Rua, king of Thomond,
called the O Briens of Ara.

(#) £iie was the country northwards of Cafliel in the
county of Tipperary, its king was O Fogurty of Eugenian
defcenty and from him was called Eile ui Fhogurta : bat
£Ue ui Chearbhtily fituate in the king's countj* belonged
to a tribe of the O Carrols, defcended from Teige fim of
Cian» fon of Olliololim.

( / ) The king of Uaithne or Ownv, fituate between the
counties of Tipperary and Limerick was O Ryan of a
l^ffenifm race.

Q) The kings of Defies, which comprehended the entire
county of Waterford, wereO Felan and O Brie, both de-
fcended from the Herimonian dock.

LAiyS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 387

principal feat was Brughrigh, {b) ten flaves made
captives in a foreign country, as appears from the
plain text of the verfc, viz. Deiib Gaill gan
GaeSilga ; the profe has feven bond-flaves, feven
free fervants, feven fwords, and feven cups.

IX. To the king of Conal Gabbra^ (i) the
following privileges and prefents, viz. while the
JIungof Conal Gabhra remained at the court .of
Caihel, he had the honour to (it near the king at
table^ and at his departure from court, was pre-
icnted witha horfe in rich furniture, and a military
fuit of array, and all his attendants received the
like prefents proportioned to their refpe^ive
ranks; according to the profe, the whole was
only ten fliields, ten fwords, ten horfes and ten
caps.

X. To the king of Aine Cliacb^ H) a fword and
(hield of the king's own wearing, and thirty cloaks,
which were given him in the month of May, pre-
xnfely according to the verfc. Is triocad brat gacb
Beihine ; the profe has eight fwords, eight horfes*
eight cups, two coats of mail, and t^o cloaks.

C c 2 XI. To

•

(h) The Mxtig of Cairbre Aobhdha, no# called Kenry in
ihecoantirofLimericky was O Donovan, before tbetranjp-
pUntationof the family to Carbury in the county of Cprke 1
the chief dyn^s were O Qeircine and O Flannabhra, a^
tf Eoffenian defcent.

(/) Ua Cconnuill Gabhra, the kings of Upper Con^^llo
in the connty of Limerick were Mac Epnery and O Shee-
|ian, defcended from Mahon an elder brother of Bricn
BorOTe, and king of Munfter: O Collins and O Kix^ly
of the Eugeniah race were the kings of th.e )ower .barony
of ConneUo, biit they were all diAnherited by the tfftz-
"Geralds, upon their firft conquefts in Munfter.

{k) The king of £<^ana€ht Alne Cliach, ,which was th^
county of Limerick, was O |trarwick defcended from
IPcidhlim fon of Nadfry king of Munfter.

388 DISSERTATIONS jON THE

XL To the king of Fenrmuigbe or Gfcw-
ambain^ (/) one horfe richly accoutred, one (hkld
curioufly wrought, and one fword : by the profe,
feven horfcs, fevcn (hields, and fevcn cups.

XII. To the king of jloibb Liatbain, («) i
fword and (hield of the king's own wearing, one
horfe richly accoutred, and one embroidered
cipak ; according to the profe, five horfes, five

, fwords, five cloaks, and five cups.

XIII. To the king of Mufgruidbe^ (n) one of
the king's own fwords, one of his horfes, and one
of his hounds : the profe allows feven horfes,
feven coats of mail, and feven fuits of compktt

armour.

XIV. To the king of Raubkam, (o) ten

fwords, ten fcarlet and ten blue cloaks, and tea
cups ; according to the profe, ten horfes, ten
coats of mail, and ten (hieids.

XV. To the king of Dairime^ (/>) fevcn (hipa,

^ fevcn

(/) The king of Eoagnacht Gleannamhain whidi com-
prehended that part of the county of Corke^ now called
Clan - Gibbons, Condons and Roche*s country, was
O'Keeffe ; but that part properly called Fearmuighe be-
longed to O Dugain, who was defcended from Ir fon of
Mileadh.

(ff») The king of Aoibh Liathiin, now called Barrrinorc
and Cinealtalmhuiu were O Lehane and O Anamchadha
of Eugenian defcent.

(if) Mufgry in the county of Corke, fometiaies called
Mufgruidhe ^4iotaine and fotnetimes Nf ufgrudh ui FhloinOi
its chief king was O Flinn of the Earnian race* until
Dermod Mor Mac Carthy difpoiTeffed him.

{9 J Raithlean, was the principal feat of O Mahony Fioan,
who was chief kine: of the baronies of Cineal Aodha and
Cineal Mbeice in the county of Corke, and defcended from
Cas fon of Core fon of Luiz king of Munfter.

2) The king of Corcaluighe, otherwife called Dairinne
irbury in the county of Corke was O Dnfcol, defcended

from

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 389

fcvcn coats of mail, and fevcn fwords ; by the
profe, feven (hips, feven coats of mail, feven
horfes, feven fwords, and feven cups.

XVI. To the king of Leim-con^ (q) a (hip in
full rigging, one horfe in rich furniture, one cup
curiouf^y wrought, and one fword : in the profe,
feven (hips, feven horfes, feven coats of mail,
feven (hields, and feven fwords.

XVII. To the king of Locb-Lein (r) ten (hips*
ten dun horfes, and ten coats of mail : by the
profe,. feven (hips, feven horfes, feven coats of
mail, feven (hields, and feven fwords.

XVIII. To the king of Ciiruidbe, (/) ten
horfes well accoutred, and a filk cloak : according
to the profe, feven cloaks with gold clafps, feven
horfes, and feven cups,

XIX. To

from Luig fon of Ithe ; the other principal dynafts of the
IthianraceywereOLeary^O Cobhthach, O Baire, O Flinn,
and feveral others.

(f) The king of \jc\m Con, in the weft of Carbury was
O Drifcol-og.

N. B. There were three O Drifcdt, ^iz. O Drifcol More,
whole efUte or lordfhip extended from Glendore harbour
to Dromelegue northward, and to both fides of the river
Eylan, and to Cape Clear weftward. O Drifcol-oge, who
refidcd at Leamcon, and poireifedall that trad of land,
which now confifts of the parifhes of Scul and Caharagh ;
and O Drifcol of Beara or Bearbaven^ whofe lordfhip ex-
tended from the bay of Bantry to the river of Rinmare.

(r) The king of Eog^nacht Locha Lein in the cotmtyof
Kerry» was Q Donoghue defcended from Cas fon of Core
ion or Luig king of Munfter : but before him the chief kings
were O Muireariy and O Carrol defcended from Cairbre
Luachra fon of the; faid Core fon of Luig.

(/) The king of Ciaruidhe Luachra, otherwife called
Feoma Floinn, was O Connor Kerry who Wfi(s of the Ru-
derician race, an4 defcended fct^m Ciar fon of Feargus,
fim of Roih, «

390 biSSERTATIONS ON Tfnt

3C1X. To the king of Ddirbre^ (/) three (hip
Well rigged, and three fwordS : atebrdih^ to flic
profe, fcven horfcs, feven hoUnds and feveticdpt;
and ft) on to other petlty kings and ftates, too ^di-
oiis to be mentioned ; every one of whidi he
complimented with a proporttoiifthle prefcnt bjf
way of an annual fiibfidy.

The reader is to judge, if fuch yearly nitim-
ficence could be extended to fo many princes taxi
ftates, without a certain degree of royal magnifi-
cence and fplendour, fupported by power and
opulence ; and from this circumftslnce, as well is
from thie quality of forhe of the fubfidiaiy pfc-
fcnts now defcribcd, it may bie concluded, not only
that a foreign trade and commierce was carried oq
in Ireland in thofe days (of which, befide the an-
thority of Iri(h hiftory, we have further proof in
the teftimo.ny of Tacitus in Vit. Agricol.) but
atfo. tliat arts and handicrafts of this kind bad
been brought to great perfedtion in this kingdom.
It further appears from the quality of (bme of
thofe prefcnts, that the ufe of gold and filver was
then of an antient ftanding amongft the old Irifb;
though they chofe rather to adhere to the primi-
tLve cuftoms of complimenting each other with
furniture and provifions, than with coined pieces
of thofe metals, which could not inimedraicly
ferve them inftead of the neceflaries of life. The

fumptuary

(/)The king of Dairhre, now called Ircragh in the

county of Kerry, was O Shea of Earnian defcent :

O Failbhe and O Connel were fettled near him ia the ba-
rony of Corcaduibhnc , who were of the fame Eamian
ftock, being all defcenJed from Core fon of Cairbrc Mufg,
fon of Connairc fon of Moghlaimhc king of Leath Cuinn.

LAWS OF THE ANTIE<IT lAlSH. 39»

fumptuary laws ^hich I (hall exhibit iii the courfe
of this work, do alfo affix the value in cattle, 6^
ettibroiidery in gold, (ilver, andfilk.

I fh^M now proceed to (hew arid explain to the
reader the different forts of retributions or tri-
butes, thofe fubordinate princes and flates paid
their chief provincial foverelgn in return of his
fubfidies, both for the neceflary fupport of his
dignity, and for anfwering the exigencies of the
ftsLlc. Thefe two different objedis required^ that
the tributes (hould likewifc be of two different
natures, the one fort was merely fifcal, and regard-
ed only the fupport of the king's houfhold, or
that of his particular ffate and dignity. The
other kind of tribute confided in what was necef-
fary for fupporting the public ftatc, and defending
the king4om iipion all occafions and exigencies,
whether ordinary or cafual. From the payment
of this latter kind of tribute, no fubordinate
prince or flate was, or could be exempted. For
the cafual exigencies of defending the flate in
time of war, or exterior infults, they fupplied
their refpedive contingents of fighting men :
and for the ordinary exigencies regarding the in-
ward cBconomy and police, they furiiiQied either
men or effcfts, according to the nature of the
call ; and as thofe objedts of cafual and ordinary
Aate-exigencies were not of a fixed and invariable
nature, the refpeftive proportions of the tributary
princes and dates are not, and could not be fpeci-
ficd in the book of rights. But the other fort of
tribute, regarding the fupport of the king's houf-
hold and dignity is minutely taxed and entered in

that

39a DISSERTATIONS ON THE

that book, refpedlively and proportionably to
every petty ftate or tribe of people, that was to
furnifh it. And it is to be obferved, that noluig
i$ fubjeded to it, though the people of their coon* ']
try are ; and that not only for the conlidentioQ
due to the regal dignity, but alfo, becaufethe oditr
kind of tribute regarding the public intereft and
flate is all referved for, and levied on tbofe fob-
ordinate kings. For what regards the fifcaltn-
butes, the manner of paying them, agreeably to
the primitive times, will be fufiiciently exempUBed
by the following entries, faithfully tranflated wof4
for word, out of the antient Vecgrd, called Leib-
har na Gceart^ or the book of Irifh Rights.

I. The king of Cafhel or Munfter, received i
yearly tribute of one thoufand bullocks, odc
thoufand cows, one thoufand weathers, and one
thoufand cloaks from the inhabitants of Bumen.

II. From the inhabitants of Orcamruadb^ one
thoufand bullocks, one thoufand cows, one thou-
fand (beep, and one thoufand cloaks.

III. From the people of Corcabbaifcin^ one
thoufand bullocks, one thoufand weathers, one
thoufand hogs, and one thoufand cloaks.

IV. From the inhabitants of Corcaduibbne^ one
thoufand bullocks, and one thoufand cows : but
according to the poem beginning with the words,
* Cios Caijil Accualabbair* It is added, thirty
fcarlet cloaks, thirty bullocks, and thirty milch

cows.

V. From thofe of Ciaruidbe^ one thoufand
bullocks, one thoufand cows, and one thoufand
hogs.

VI. Frora

iWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 393

[; From the people of Seaamadb^ (11) one
Ired bullocks, one hundred cows, and one
ircd hogs : according to the poem, they were
ay only fixty bullocks, fixty cows, and fixty
k weathers.

IL From the inhabitants of Corcaluigbe^ one
dred bullocks, one hundred cows, and one
dredhogs.

III. From the people of Mufgruidbe^ one
dand cows, and one thoufand hogs : though
n accounts add three hundred beeves, three
dred hogs, one hundred milch cows, and one
dred cl<Kdes.

X. From the inhabitants of that part of
mmigbe^ which belonged to ODugain of the
: of Ir fon of Mileadh, forty bullocks, forty
ves, and forty milch cows,
C. From the people of the Defies^' out thou-
d bullocks, one thoufand milch cows, two thou-
d hogs, one thoufand fheep, and one thoufand
aks.

KI. From thofe of Uaitbne^ three hundred
ch cows, three hundred hogs, one hundred
Jocks, and three hundred cloaks.
XII. From the inhabitants of Ara^ one hundred

cows.

u) Seactmadh is an ancient name of fome country in
: weft of the counties of Corke and Kerry, which I do
: find in any other bid writing, eicept this poem. I am
lined to think it was Iveragh in the county of Kerry^
ich as it chiefly belonged to the O Sheas and others of

£arnian race, was confequently liable to pay tribute i
I this feems the more probable, as that country alone is

reckoned amongd the other tributary ftates by any
cr appellative.

394 DISSERTATIONS ON TflE

coWs^ one hundred hogs^ two hundred weal
Und one hundred green cloaks.

XIIL Prom the people of Offurj^ fii?en (Mi*!
dred cows, and feven hundred cloaks ; befidb
obligation incumbent on the king of Oflbjr
fuf^lying the king of Munfter with \xA
tingent of armed men, when demiEindeduixn
necefTary occafion. And fo on from
oth^r countries and petty dates : all which fi
were to be paid in by thbfe difiertnt pcdpk^
Hated times and certain feafons of the year.

tJ. B. The Dalgais and the following
and principalities were exempted from
this kind of fifcal tribute to the king of Mi
as is fet forth in the book of rights, but
at large in the Irifh poem beginning with
words, j1 Eolcba Mumban Moire ^ viz.

I. Eoganaa Cajbel; 2. Eogaha^l Aine ; 3.
GkaHndmbain; 4. Ecgana£l RaitbkoHi 5. £|r
naSI Locba Lein ; 6. Eogatta^ Graffan {x) ; 7. Aik
Liatbain -^ %.Ua Cconuill Gabbra ; 9. Aoibb Gorki
Aodhbba-^ \o. Aoibb Cor mate ; 11. Eik y Fbpr-
tba. In a word, all the tribes defcended nom
Olliololum by his three fens, Engan More^ Onm
CjA, and Ciarij were confidcred as free ftatcs ex-
empted from the payment of this fort of annual
tribute for the fupport of the king's houftioU.
From this and the preceding notes it appears, that
none but fuch as may be confidered as mere fiib^
je£ts and foreigners, no way belonging to the royal

fanHf

{x) The king of Eoganacht Graffan was O Sulinai
whofe anceftors held their chief regal feat at Knock Gnf*
fan on the banks of the river Shure in the county ofTip*
perary.

A#SOFTHE ANTllSrff IRIJH. ^jj

ly of Marrftei^, were fubjeftcd to the pijtMtli
n kind of tribute.

£cfe the aboVe tributary foppRes, thb king
his royd granaries furniflied by thbfe of hiis
tnnn<6diate domain : and his \)^ine cettars ^(iit
Ifcd by the means of foreign coMmetdSf
t hik hotne-iiqubrs were provided by t)^e ftew-
6f his palace and kitchens. Such was the
ter of houfhold-ceconomy^and fuch w^f-eihe

find!nces of the greateft prihces in priit)itive
I. Their exchequer and fifcal revenues
ipally conirfted in cattle, corn, and other ne«
leis of life, which, as they were the trtoft
f wealth and treafury, fo they were thic mbft
al tod folid riches, and at the fame time the
fubjca to luxurious abufes. The Latin

ptcunium and pecunue, now ufcd to fignify
ly or riches, Were originally applied by the
IS or Romans to that fort of wealth, which
[led in caltk^ and were derived from the

PecuSf picudis : and by the bye, I am apt to

the words were primitively pecudium and
if, in the fame manner that Pecudiarius^
ies a Herd/man : there being many examples
th changes of one letter for another in all
lages. Not only the antient Latins regarded
: and corn as their principal riches, as did
t firft patriarchs or heads of tribes ; but
reateft kings we read of, either in facred or
ne hiftory, depended upon them as their
pal finances for the fupport of their dig-
ind houlhold. The magnificent Solomon's
ues, colleded by his twelve intendants of

provinces,

396 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

provinces, were nothing elfe, than ail forts of pro-
vifions for the king's court and ftables, i Kogi^
ch. iv. V. 7, 27, 28. And that they confifted oofy
in beeves^ cows^ fieep^ and other cattle^ &c. as well
as in corn^ or grain of different kinds, appears ex-
prefsly in the fame chapter, v. 22, 23. Wheotk
fame king applied to Hiram king of Tyre fer
fqpplying him with timber for building the tqn.
pie -, we find that all the payment ftipulated Iqf
the latter, conGfted barely in provifions to befup-
plied for fupport of his houfhold. Praebebifqueoe-
ceffaria mihi, ut detqr cibus domui meae, i Riog^
5. Thus were all kings and their houfliold fupport-
ed amongft the old Germans, by fupplies of qittie
and corn freely and abundantly furnifhed by tixir
people, as Tacitus informs us in thefe wonki

* Mos efl civilatibus ultro et viriiim conferrePrio-
^ cipibus armentorum vel frugum aliquid \ quod

* prohonore acceptum etiam neceflitatibus fiW

* nit.* Tac. de M. G. c. 1 5. Nor can this mamw
of paying regal rents and revenues in cattle, com,
&c. be efleemed either barbarous or impolilhed^
fince it is well known, that the kings of Englaod,
even as late as the thirteenth century, were often
paid in the like old coin of beeves^ which woe
thence called rent-beeves. Vid. Sir John Davis*!
hiflorical relation, p. 6.

We (hall now enter on the detail of other fub*
fidiary prefents made by the king of Munfterto
the different pentarchs or provincial kings, and
other princes of Ireland in his royaflour 10 thofc
princes, as the fame is defcribed in the book of
rights : which fubfidies however, I do not fuppofe

ic

\WS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 397

ivc been given or received as a mark of fu-
irity in the king of Munfter over the other
ardis, (unlefs it fhould have happened, that
^8 alfo monarch of Ireland at the fame time)
pting only the king of Leinfter, over whom
former, in his quality of king of all Leath-
luiy aflumed a tributary right. I therefore
der this kind of fubfidies, as well as the re-
tions fupplied by thofe that received them,
conftitutional cement of mutual friendlhip
liarmony between the princely chiefs of the
republic, and as a mark of their political
ndance on each other for the common intereft
welfare. The order of the king of Munf-
progrefs in his royal vifits, according to the

of rights, was as followelh.

The king of Munfter, attended by the chief

«s of his kingdom, began his vifits with the

of Connaught, and prefented to him 100
s, 100 fuits of military array, 100 fwords,
100 cups, in return for which, the faid king
o entertain him for two months at his palace of
rAm, and then to efcort him to the territories
yrconnell.

He prefented to the king of Tyrconnei\
eeds, 20 compleat armours, and zo cloaks,
^hich the faid king fupported him and the
ity of Munfter for one month at his palace
u/ruadb^ and afterwards efcorted him to the
ipality of Tyrone.

. He prefented to the king of Tyrone^ 50
s, 50 fwords, and 50 cups ; for which this
entertained him and his court for a month at

his

393

DISSERTATIONS ON THE

his palace of OiJigb^ and then conveyed him to

Tulach-6g.

IV. He gave the king of Tulacb-6g 30 fond
fteeds, 30 fwords, and 30 cups j in return of
which this Dynaft treated him and his fuitc for
twelve days at Drumchla, and thence efcorted
him to the principality of Orgialla.

V. He prefcnted the king of Orgialla with 70
deeds, 70 fuits of military apparel, and 8 corllds,
in E^ratitude of which the faid prince was to eo-
tert^in him and his nobility for one month it
his palace of Eambain^ and afterwards to efooct
bim to the kingdom of Ulfter.

VI. To the king of U^er he prefcnted 100
fteeds, loofword^, 100 cloaks, 100 cups, jpod
1 00 bed-covers or counterpoints curioufly wrou^,
in confideratipn of which royal prefent, this kipg
regaled him and his retinue for two months at i»
palace of BoircCj and then waited upon him wkh
the princes and nobles of his court to the kii^
dom of Meath.

VII. lie prefcnted to the king of M^b 100
Seeds, 3ocompleat armours, 30 corflets, and 30
cloaks, for which the faid king treated him $nd
his court for one month in his palace pf T^mUr
or faray 9ind after wards efcorted him with loocf
his own chiefs to the kingdom of Leiniler.

VIII. lie prefcnted the king of Leinfter widi
30 bond-women, 30 fteeds, 30 cups, and 30 ikb
bed-covers ; in return of which he was enier*
tained for two months by the two kings of the
north and fouth parts of Leinfter ^ and then t^

faid

AWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 3^

kipg$, together M^ith their nobles, were to
iinpany him to the principality of Oflery.
JC. He prefcnted ttie king of OJfery with 30
cs, 30 corflets, or coats of mail, and 30
rds ; for which this king was to entertain him
is palace of Gowran for one month, and then
:ftort him to the territories of his own king-
ly

lom the nature of thofe prefents, and the
njQg manner of offering them, as well as the
ttude of high compliments with which they
c acknowledged, the reader may judge how
bly the Iri(h nation imitatied in this point, as
noft others, the manners of the ancient Qer-
38, of whom Tacitus obferves, that they de-
ited in receiving gifts from the neighbouring
es, fuch efpecially as were prefented in a pub-
nanner : and thofe prefents confided of choice
fes, gjrand weapons or arms, horfe-furniture,
k-ch^ins, 8^c. Gaudent prsecipue finitimarum
itium donis, quae non modo a (ingulis, fed pub»
mittuntur. Tacit, de Morib. Germ. cap. 15.
xn the defcripUon of the above royal tour, as
U as from the antiquity of the didion and lan-
ige in which it is fet forth both in profe and
verfe, it feems evident, that the law or cuftom
och regulated thofe princely vifits, and the
(tts atuched to them, was pf a very ancient
Dding ampngft the Iri(h fovereigns ; and par-
iilarly .it may (eem, that the tours of the kings
Adunfter, as now defcribed, were really and
rdtually carried on by fome of them before the
^ruAion of the rojal palace of Emban or

Emania

40O DISSERTATIONS ON THl

Emania in Ulfter, and that of Cruacban in Con-
naught. Mr. O'Flaherty fixes the epoch of the
building of Emania by Kimbaithus, about 553
years before the ChrilVian sera ; and that of its
demolifhment in the reign of Moredachos Tirius,
he refers to the year of Chrift 332. Seme of the
above defcribed tours cannot therefore be of k(s
antiquity than this laft epoch. It may however
be reafonably fuppofed, that thofe circular vifirs
of the kings of Muniler could not have been per-
formed with the fplendour and majefty above de-
fcribed, before the end of the ad century, when
thofe defendants of Hcberfionn recoverai their
original right of poffening half the kingdom of
Ireland ; a right, which Eugenius Magnus called
Mogha-Nuagad, then wrelTed out of the haods
of Conn of the hundred battles, king of all Ire-
land, after having defeated him in ten fucoeffive
engagements, or general adli(»ns. Ever fincc thtt
epoch, the kings of Munfler difavowed^ in a fp^
cial manner, any right in the chief kings of the
northern half to demand tributes from them or
their fubjedls : in the above defcribed tour of the
king of Munfter, there is no mention made of a
king of all Ireland, nor fuch an extraordinary
compliment paid to any particular king, that
could denote him to be a fuperior fovereiga. The
king of Connaught receives as royal a prefentas
the king of Ulfter : and the king of Meath, or
Teamhair, is not complimented in as regal a
manner as either the one and the other. And
agreeably to the reafon now alledgcd, we Bod if
exprefsly mentioned in the book of rights, by waj

of

.LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 401

of preamble to the king of Munfter's prerogatives,
^hat he owned no fupcrior in temporalities but
God, and that he was independent fovereign of
Xht fouth-half of all Ireland, which was feparated
fVom the north by a right line drawn from Dub-
lin toGalway, and palling through the highlands
x^f Efiir Riada. It was in confequence of this Hate
maxim of independency in tlie kings of Munfter,
that Fiacha Muilleathan king of the Momonian
provinces or Leathmogha, abfulutely difavowed
«11 right of tribute from his dominions to the faid
king Cormac or any of his predcceflbrs. In efFcft
'Ihe king of Munftcr obliged that northern prince
not only toretradt and relinquifli fuch a vain and
groundlefspretenfion, but alfo to make full repa-
ration for the damages he had done to the people
of Muniler by the ra(h invafion of that province ;
for the performance of all which conditions, the
vid\orious Fiacha Muilleathan obliged him to fend
hoftages to his court at Rath Naoi now called
Knock-Raffan near Cafhel.

Here I cannot butexprefs my hearty concern,
that the codes of civil laws antiently ufed in this
kingdom, (hould not have been handed down to
us compleat. By the imperfed\ colleAion of the
Brehonlaws, prefcrvcd in the late duke of Chan-
dois*s library, and conveyed to my hands, by
the kind interpofition of the earl of Charlemont
from Sir John Scabright, whofe property thcjr
now are, I think myfelf fufficiently well grounded
toexpoftulate with Sir John Davis upon thefeve-
rity as well as the injuftice of his cenfure on the
aniient Irilh, concerning their obfervance of thefe

D d very

402 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

very laws. The attorney-general f^onounces Ins
fevere fentence againft them in the following
words, by which he feems afTedted to give usaftm*
pie of his erudition and extenfive knowledgeof die
civil laws of different nations. ^ Whereas {kfl
he) ^ by the honourable law of England, and by
*' the laws of all other well governed kingdooi

* and common weals, murder, man-flaug^tcr,
' rape, robbery, and theft, are puniihed vnA

* death : by the Irifli cuftom of Brehon law, tix
'* higheft of thofe offences was puniftied only hj

* fine, which they called an Eiric: Hift. Difc

.p. 36'

Juftice, as well as found judgment, and dieiih
tereil of his own reputation, in quality of a writer
and a jurifconfult, (hould have cautioned tint
gentleman againft throwing out an odioua reflec-
tion of fuch a weight upon a whole nation, with-
out having previoufly confulted either the Iri(h
hiftories and records, by which he might be (bon
difabufed ; or thofe of other nations, whereby he
could eafily convince himfelf , that the very abufes
of the Irifh Brehon laws concerning the points in
qucftion, never went further, than what we find
enadted by the exprefs texts of the antient laws of
feveral other nations.

Without indfting upon the truth of what hiftori-
ans relate oFfome of thelrifh kings who lived before
the light of the gofpel appeared in this kingdom,
and are faid to have enadted capital punifliment
againft murderers and wilful homicide, I (hall
prove from undoubted authority, which however
modern, if compared with thofe which were

made

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 403

made in the times of the Pagan Irifh, is of fuffici-
ent antiquity to convince the reader of the injuf-
ticc of Sir John Davis's cenfure above explained.
The ftatuce I point at is to be found in the adlsof
the general convocation of the ftates of Ireland*
aflcmblcd by Murtogh More O'Brien, king of
Ireland, an. m.c.xi. of which Ihave anextradlin
an old Irifh manufcript, and by whofe fixth arti-
cle, parricide and murder, as alfo robbery and
theft of great damage, were to be punilhed with
death without cxpedtation of reprieve, or mer|Cy
of any kind. And thus much is neceffary to
dii'culpate the antient Cbrifiian Irijb from the in-
juftice of Sir John's cenfure, fince he makes no
diftindtion between the Iiifh Chriftian kings and
^ their Pagan anceftors, and every reader of Sir
John's works muft fuppofe he treats of the age
in which he lived.

That the antient Pagan Irifh punilhed murdcif
and theft by fine alone, is certain ; as will appear
from the fragments in my hands ; but from this^
lawyer's cenfure on the Irifh by fine alone, wc
may reafonably infer, that he overlooked, or ra-
ther had not read all the o!d laws of his ov^a
country. By the flighteft perufal of the Anglo-
Saxon laws, he would have found, that his cen-
fure lay as heavy on his own countrymen and their,
laws in former times, as it did upon the old Irifh.
It appears quite evident from the very text of
king Athenian's laws, that all forts of homicide,
and even parricide, were then punifhed in Eng-
land only by a pecuniary fine or muldt. * Who-
* ever killed an arch-bifhop (which could not be

D d 2 * knowingly

404

DISSERTATIONS ON THE

knowingly done without parricide) or a duke,
was fined mxh no more than fifteen thou&nd
thrympfes, or groats, which made 250!. fterl.
The parricide of a biOiop, and the killing of
an earl, was taxed only at 8000 groats, or
about 1421. fieri. A vifcount's life was corn-
pen fated by half this laft fum : and the nobk

blood of a lord baron was efteemed to be worth
no more than 2000 groats, or 25I. los. wWdi
waslikewife the fine, and fole temporal paniflh
ment for murthcring a fimple prieft. Whocitr
killed any other plain man within the twelve
days of Chriftmas, on the Sundays of Eaftcr
and Pentccoft, on Afcenfion Thurfday, or in
the feftivals of the Purification, Afliimption
and Nativity of the bleffed Virgin Mary, or in

the day of all Saints, was punifhed with the
fine of 40s. Rape, robbery, and theft, were

likewife punifhed with 40s. fine/ See Leg.
Athelfi. Reg. cap. de dherfis occiforum fmigmm
fretiis. See alfo Hy well's Dda's Liges fFcUkit^
p. 192. Homer alfo, in his defcription of the
(hield of Achilles, reprefents two citizens plead-
ing concerning an i?/r/c, or mul6t, due for a ho-
micide. He who had flain the man maintains
that he had paid the mul6t. The relation of the
dead declared that he had not received it, and
both of them, fays the poet, appealed to the dc-
pofition of witneffes for determining their difputc.
II. 1. 18. V. 499. &c.

A good lawyer, and an impartial judge would
have alfo infpedled into the old laws and cuftotns
of different foreign nations, before he had laidfo

grievous

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 4oi

grievous a charge in a fmgular manner upon the
antient Irilh and their laws concerning the punifh-^
ment of capital crimes. Befides reviewing the
Anglo-Saxon flatutes, he would have alfo con*
fulled thofeof other nations of a like genius and
fpirit, as well as of an equal antiquity. By the
moft curfory caft of an eye oh the Salic law, he
could therein have found it exprefly enaded^
' That any freeborn man who had killed a Frank,

* or a Barbarian, or any other perfon, who lived
^ according to the Salic law, was to pay aoo gold

* fols or pence, by way of a fine. That 360

* gold pence was to be the fine for killing a Ro-
^ man, who may be qualified to fit at the king'if

* table. Whoever (hall be convicted for the

* murder of a Roman, who is a man of an indc-

* pendent property, (hall be obliged to pay a fine

* of 100 gold pence. Whoever has killed a tri-

* butary fubje^, who was a Roman, (hall be

* liable to the fine of 45 gold pence {a).* And
afterwards, the fame law adds, ' Whoever has
« killed a chief baron, or an earl or graff, who

* had been one of the king*s houfhold, (hall be

* condemned to pay a fine of 300 gold pence (i).*

In

(a) Si quis ingenuus Francum aut Barbarum aut hotni-
nem qui Salici lege vivit, Occident, folidis docentis cul*
pabilis judicetur* Si Romanus homO conviva regis ocel-
lus fuerity folidis trecentis componatur. Si quis Roma*
nus homo pofTefTor, id e(l, qui res in pago ubi remanety
proprias poflidec, occifus fuerit ; is qui eum occidifle con*
vincituTy folidis centum culpabilis judicecur. Leg. Sal.
Tit. 44. Si quis Romanutn tributarium occiderit, folidit
quadraeinta quinque culpabilis judicecur. Ibid. Tit. 44*

(^) Si quis Sagibaronem aut GravioneiDy qui puer re*
gins fuerat, occideric, folidii ter centom culpabilis judice*
tur. Lex Sal. Tit. 57. part, fecu&da.

4o5 DISSERTATIONS ON THE

In like manner, the law of the Ripuarians, ano-
ther tribe of the Franks, deddes,* that if a free-
born man has killed a Ripuarian citizen, he is
to be condemned to the payment of 200 gold
fols or pence (c). That if a Ripuarian kills a St-
lian Frank, he likewife pays 200 gold pence.
That the fum of 1 60 gold pence muft be paid
fpr killing an AUeman or German, a Frifion, a
Bavarian, a Saxon, &c. If he has killed g
Burgundian, he (hall be likewife fined in 160
fuch pence. If he has killed a Roman, who is
not a fubjedt of the Ripuarian king, he (hall
pay a fine of 100 gold pence (^* The law
of the Frifiones in the compilation of Lindcro-
brug, determines, * that if a nobleman hath

* killed another noble, he (hall pay 80 gold (ols

* or pence : but if he hath killed a fimple citizen,

* he muft pay only 54 gold fols and one denier.
« The noble that kills a franked fcrvant, (hall

* pay 27 gold pence wanting one denier to his

* matter, and nine fuch pence to his neareft rcla-

* tions. A citizen who had killed a nobleman,

* was to be fined 80 gold fols, and only 55 and
« one denier, if he kills another citizen of tbefamc-

* rank with himfelf. If a freed fervant has kill-

(c) Si qois ingcnuus ingcnuum Ripnarium interfecerir^
ducentis folidis culpabilis judicctur. Lex Ripoar. Tit 7.

(d) Si quis Ripuarius advenam Frtncum interfe€erit«
ducentis folidis culpabilis judicetor. Si qais Ripnarios
advenam Alamannum, i'eu Prefionem, vel Bajuvariuia
aut Saxonem interfecerit, centum fexaginta folidis coJpt*
i>ilis judicetur. Si quis Ripuarius advenam Burgundio-
nem mteifecerit, centum fexaginta folidis colpabiJis judi*
cetur. Si quis Ripuariiis advenam Romanum interfece>
rit, centum felidis miildatur. Lex Ripuar. TiL jd

LAWSOFTHEANTIENTIRISH. 407

ed a nobleman, he fhall pay 80 gold (bis ; and
only s^ and one denier for killing a iimple citi-

J have already obferved, that the laws and fta-
tijc^of thelrifli kings before the coming of the
£cm£li^9 ordained the pain of death againft wilful
murder, rape, robbery, &c. By fome of the
Brehon or civil laws the fame crimes were alfo pu-
niflicd by mulcts or fines, whether of money, cat-
tle, or land- property, according to the condition
of the criminal, who beflde was to fuffer death,
unle(8 he had made his efcape. Thofe fines were
employed to make reparation, partly to the fami-
ly oftheperfon that was killed, or to thofe that
had fuffered in their property or honour, and
partly to the public. In the fame manner, we
find it exprefly imported by the laws of the Ripu-
arian Franks, titulo 79, and by thofe of the Bur-
guadians, tit. 2. de Homicid. that befides the pe-
cuniary rauldts above defcribed, as ordered by
^he civii law in reparation of damages, the crimi-
nal was afterwards to fufFer death by the law of
th^ prince, or by his particular fentcnce : unlefs
fornc favourable circumftances had moved him to
grant his royal pardon or reprieve. The fame
msiicim we find obferved and enforced by the par-
tiovilar ordinances of the French kings Childibert
the fecond, and Charlemagne, Vid. Capitul.
Ba^luz. tom. I. p. 19. and p. 197. By the difpo-
tition of thofe ftatutcs, the civil laws and judges
were firft to proceed to the examination of the
gxiilt and fentence of the pecuniary fine, but were
not to meddle with the fanguinary fentence or ex-
ecution, in regard to any free-bom fubjedt, which

part

4o» piSSERTATiONS ON THE

part was referved to the fovereign : and of this
laft maxim we ftill find very plain footfteps in
England, where the king's death-warrant is pl^
yioufly required for the execution <^ perfons of
certain ranks or conditions, ever fincc the efta-
|>liflunent of the Nonaan laws in that kingdom.

From what I have faid of the Anglo-Saoo
laws, I do not mean to throw any cenfure upon
them for not punilhing thofe grievous crimes,
otherwife than by pecuniary mulcts ; for if thep
really never puniftied with death the horrid oim^
of murder, (which is a point I do not take upoi^
me to determine) in that maxim, they only mu-
tated or rather preferved the antient manner of
their German anceftors, of whom Tacitus ob-
(firvt^ ^ that they atoned for homicide bytbe
^ forfeiture of a certain number of cattle ; tod
^ that the whole family of the perfon who was

* killed received and was content with this kind

* offatisfadlion ; a very falutary cuilom for the

* public good, remarks our author, as the enter-
^ taining of fpight and enmity muft be of dange-
^ rous ccnfequence amongft a people of unboimd-

* ed liberty/ All the Germanic nations iibovc
cited for the obfervance of this cuftom of punifli-
ing homicide by pecuniary mul£b, had the fame
political reafon for adhering to it after the man-
ner of their remote anceftors, and fo had the an-
tient Irifli, as the fubjeftsof that nation enjoyed as
much liberty with regard to their actions, as thofe
of any other.

If Sir John Davis was not really informed,
that the laws of punishing homicide, 8cc. by fine
alone, were formerly obferved in fo many other

nations,

I. AWS OF THE ANTIEKTIIirSH. ^

iations, and even in his own country, much more
currently than in Ireland ; ail I can fay in favour
of his knowledge as a jurifconfult, is, that his em*
dkion extended only to the laws of his own tiroes.
But if he was confcious of the exiftence of fuch
laws^ in various other civilized nations in former
(inies, fuch efpecially as the . Anglo-Saxons and
Pranks, I don't fee how he can efcape the cenfure
of prejudice and partiality, in laying the whole
porden of his odious charge of barbarity ;ind ia«
juftice upon the Iri(h alone, and their Brehoa
laws. If we are to cenfure the Irifh antient cuf-
tom, by which mere and unpremeditated bomi*
ode was punifhed by a heavy fine, even that of
the forfeiture of property to the profit of the fur-
viving fufiferers, I am at a lofs how to bring off
uncenfured the prefent practice of our Englifli
laws, by which mere homicide or manflaughter
Onto which murder is often conftrued by favoura-
ble juries) is often acquitted of all forts of punifli*
ments, cither fanguinary or pecuniary.

I (hall finilh this part of my eflay with a prcd-
ous morfel of antiquity, being the cafe of Semor
SucceJJum^ Hated according to the Irifli law. It
was written by fome Brehon, whofe name or date
do not appear : by the compofition and language*
it feems to have been the work of the 6th or 7th
century. The original is in the pofleffion of
Cluurles O'Connor, Efq. The modern Irifhman
Will acknowledge that he undcrftands little of it ;
and I muft affure my readers, that my tranflation
has loft much of the beauty and nervous expref-
iioii of the original ; but it is a literal one.

Aighneas

4IO ' PISSERTATIONS ON THE

Aighneas do ihabhairt Tighcarnuis do rcir an

Fheneacais do Shinfior.

Ag (o na hadhbhair far c6ra do A tigheamus
do ghabhail, ina do B. Ar an adhbhar gurobe
^ as fine, agus as f earr do reir dhlighidh. Mar
a dcr dligheadh Sinfior la Fine^ &c. i. c. an li as
fine ar an fine do dhiil ifin FhlaitheamhnaSi agos
mar a der dligheadh, Ara cbae ofar Jinfior^ &c.
i. e. ceimighneadh an ti as aige riafan ti as fine as
an Flaitheamhnas. Mar ader, Fo creanar am k
fim acbt m ba aois diograidb, i. e. as fearr as inchcan-
naighthe an te as fine do rer an f heneachais, adit
munab aois do chuaidh o chongnamh i, ionus nadi
iontughtha gradha no ceim flaithis di ar arfaidett,
Mur a der, An // besjine aft do fet^ i. c. afe an ic
as fine as remhteacbtaige, i.e. as toifionaighe learn
dodhul ifin righe no ifin flaitheamhnas. Agos
mur a der, dligbidb cean fogbaine^ dligbidb foifisr
faor iogba^ do fit aoi aoifaibb^ i. e. as rcmhteach-
taighe, i. e. as toifionaighe lem do reir cuifi
dlighidh. an te as fine do dhul ifin flaitheam-
hnas, oir diighidh an finfior athogha go faor,
dligbidb an ti as fine afritheoladh go maith da

chur ifHaitheas. Agus mur a der, as redh gach
r6dh, i. e. amhuii as redh imtheacht ar an fligh-

idh moir rddh, as amhluidh as rddh an id as fine
do dhul ifin bhflailbeas. Agus mur a der, foim-
rim gach aonach ceangair gach conair. Righin
gachroilbhe, dall gach dubhadhaigh, i. e. torca

imtheacht

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 4n

leadings in favour of Senior- fucceffion to the
Sovereignty, according to Lolvt.

L HESE are the reafons that A. (hould in
dice be nominated to the fovercignty, rather
an B. Becaufe A. is the fenior^ and moft cab-
bie according to the law. Thus fayeth the Izw^
he elded of the tribe, &c.' that is, the fenior
:xeeds to the fovercignty, and fays the law,
he eldeft is the protedkor of the youngeft,* how
en can he protect him unlefs he fucceeds to the
vercignty ? Again, thus fayeth the law^ * fe*
liority qualifies a man to be chief, unlefs fo old
is to be degraded ;' that is, the fenioir is molt
pable of ruling, unlefs fo old as to be unable to
pport his government, fo that the rank of fo-
reignty is not to be diverted but in the inftance
)W mentioned. For fayeth the law, * The fe-
lior is the chief finew of the (late, he is the
forerunner,' that is, chief of the fovercignty.
nd fayeth the law, * the fenior is the proper
:hief, age gives him pre-eminence, and the
law nominates him ;' Therefore, I plead, that
iC eldeft be nominated to fucceed to the fove-
ignty, for he is the moft proper pcrfon to ad-
linifter juftice to the people. And it is faid,
lere is one diredt road to all things, every beaten
)ad is cafy to the traveller : thus is the road to^
le fovercignty free and open to the eldeft or
:nior. Again, it is faid, fafe and eafy to the

traveller

4it CIS'StltTAfrON'S oKthe

f

imthetcht na hoidhdie. RighiB imthetdit
tflebhe, urufa cetmDiughadh na fligheadh tDtm
ibmharcaideacht gach aonach no gpuii
tfMh ; fitmhutl fin it dtigheadh tuifi; i e.
dfigheadh chtiirean finfior ittaoifidieadit r^^
tnaithe no ifin flaitheas gelfine, ara foi
da leir dligbeadh tar dfaocra an tfofar dorAnt
flaitheas ar » bfaeluibb. AgUa mtir m do^ t
ruin amhaoinigh amhodb in nmirthi
' Violtar gpicb fineaebair, i. e. afe ni da
jAr an feneaebaiay an re aa fine do dbul
^iMMa. Ro feaa aa nafiJaightbe spch ntaik
lieadb; gach dlanlb fri fine^ gach finei fiafoM'
efaas, gach feneacfaas fri fior, gach fior fa
gach fafach fria dicheadai. Agni mtfr a deti
ifcadh riar ireamhadh^ gtch duine dIq;^ieKklDf
glurar utle iftntheamhum fior. Fo bid>ail$
wre, cogbearbha g«cb liuile nomh. Aicfite
dire dligbeacb gach ndireach, i. e. aa do as dft
heach learo tighearnas do tabhairt don ti aaw,
& dircach gach ndileas, i. e. asanaadireadilcia
an flaitheas do tabhart^ i. e. don ti dar dileas e,
1. e. don ti as fine. Agus mur a der a Seaadiaii
^.Ciflcr toirgfiona gach fine an tan as roarbbRi

* na tuaithe? as eadh dieather do gach gradhib

* tuaith teacht cano I&ndaimh go teach an Bnug-

* badh^ & ambeth r^ re tri noidhche an aga oon-
^ hairle cia do gebbaidh ifin bhflaitheambnas» k
^ gurob d gabhaid h ann an te dan duthaidh i, U

* gurob flaith a athair no a fean athair & go ralh
^ haid tri conntairifme aige, i. e. bailte puirt, k
' gurob iconraic d gan guin gan gold/

Adhbhar ele fan cora^ A do chur affiaitheas iai
B, do beth in urtbuafacht na ttoifieachta r6 li

rudhartba,

AVrS OFTHE ANTIENT IRISH 413

/eller is the beaten road, but tedious and irk-
le is the tracklefs mountain, and uncertain ia
way on the deep feas; thus is the beaten road
tn to the fenior to advance to the fovereignty oc
ch(hip of a gel- fine; it is therefore meet and
3per, it is agreeable to the law to ek(X the
kior and to reject the junior. Moreover it ia
3» the mod noble in blood, the moft wealthy in
sftance, is always the moft renowned in every
1^, that is, if we judge q( fhefe things accord-^
I to the exprefs words of the law, the fenior mull
poeed to the fovereignty. It is a known maxim,
it all protection and fupport proceeds from the
F| that the moft learned men proceed from the
Ixt, and that every tribe is fupported by the
inacas or laws ; that every law is founded in
ifon, and that reafon proceeds from refledioa
d communication of ideas each to the other,
is known and allowed that the aflemblies of
ilofophers in all ages, have always had recourfe
the law in matters of this kind, and that their
ice nominated the prince ; therefore when the
IT is juft, let every man fubjedt himfelf to it|
or the law of nominating the fenior is founded
juflice, let him therefore be proclaimed fove-^
^. But what fays the Seancas, (or our moft
^nt Gxle) ^ How is a tribe to condu6t them--
dves on the death of a fovereign ?— every noble
1 the diftrich ftiall of his free will, with fuU
etinue, alTemble forthwith at the houfe of a
iniigh, and (hall there remain in council during
hreee nights, confidering to whom of right thq
:>vereignty belongs, and they ftiall name him,
rhofe right and propeirty it ifi to fucceed, him

whofe

414 DISSERTATIONS ON THE |IJ

rudhaita, gan fuaidredh gan mhiUfin a dU^
eadh uime, afe fin a cheart do fegcao tains dolii
rh priomhfcript. Mar a der diigbeadh, * kgiil^
^ crece gan eargaire/ i. e. madh do reachidhftifvfi
an codhnaigh ina fiadnuifi, & gan a crofidhdm^
do fgutflad lea amhtiii fgo madh d Bn do
fadh iad. Oir a der dligheadh gurobtr
fiadhbharibh tug dia urlaUira do dhuine, it
^irmeafg uilc, do f horailearoh nuuthis, do
taadh eoiuis & do iarraidh eoluis. AgDia
dligfieadh, * gibe duine cellidhe arandcdUi
^ dmr no dochar do lathair fiSn, & go
* athairmearg go leanann air muna caofai
Agus ader dligheadh, ^ bi gach connndh
^ do r6nadh, & ni dligh eonnradh cq
Ni dhligh coibhce cofgradh, ni dUghi
athcuingidh, as gach naidhm amhuil fo
. As gach cor amuii do ronadh. Ar ni
cuir iar na ndluthadh, a meaa, a ttomha^^it
imchifi, an iomradh ria na ndeanamh, ar
taithmheac iar naidhm, ar na rob ghaoisflr
mbaois, biothratha, bithdilli, amhuil fo-oaifcCi
agus ader, Rutdhleas gach leughadh, hiixEki
gach dilfiughadh : Tuidhmide gac cor, donioA*
natdh l&mh & buel & teanga. Ader f6s, ts heflt
^ Conall Comhramhach, gidh feandia go tait
eolus, ni taithmith annfm. Socorach gpch f«)^
faor gach faoithir ara bfiannarhar gaoith, i.e.#
flain learn a afdadh an ni ro feadadar na gaoitbd;
breth uatha an duibhart feafa. Agus amhtnl
heart, afdadh caich iccoruibh beul ar baoi anbkA
ipboile, muna afdadaois cuir beul : afeadh dall
riaglach dlighidhfm anuas uile (gtdh ecfandn
afuidhiughadh &c amighdair) gach dlightheadi «

cooradli

i

AWS OF THE AKTIENT IklSH. 41$

ife father or grandfather was a Fiaith, who
three royal palaces,- and who had conducted
ifclf in his fovereignty without plundering^
naiming his fubjeds.

Lother reafon why A. Ihould be nominated
r than B. is, that A. has been many years
ed and efteemed as heir to the fovereignty :
.w has neither expelled him, or been turned
ft him in any inftance. A. therefore pleads
gbt ; for thus fayeth the law, ^ the man who
ids thcitly by, and fees his property fold to an*
er, that man (hall lofe his property as if he
ifelf had fold it.' Again, fayeth the law^
d gave to man the ufe of fpeech, for thefe
r reafons, to forewarn evil, to point out
dnefs, to feek knowledge, and to com*
nicate it/ And moreover fayeth thelaw,
t man in his fenfes, who fuffers evil to be
\t in his prefence, without endeavouring to
venti t, let that man abide the confequences.*
again, * let every covenant be fulfilled j it
igainft the law to evade a covenant.' It is
iwful therefore to fet afide a juft inheritance
>ut caufe, or is it lawful for the other party,
is cafe, to petition a gift : let every covenant
cording 10 its terms, every furety according
bonds. When once a furety is given, or a
lant made, no law can diflfolve the terms,
r in meafure, in weight, in tributes or pro-
t: no art, no felfwill can afterwards controul
at the letter of the covenant muft be ftridlly
red to. Again it is faid, faithful and not to
ontradi£ted is the written law, and binding
:ry furety whether by hand or tongue. And

fays,

4J6 dissertations on the

conradh do bheth do r6r mur do nithear e iffiadh-
nuifi daoine cellidhe go ffios doibh f6n gan thair*
meafg.

Cuis ele chuireas B, o thighcarnus, i. c. B. do
bbeth fionghalach, i. e. f hoil a f hint fi6n dodor-
tadh do. Mar ader, dergf hine^ i. e. an finefion-
gbalach. An fionghalach umuro bherid fine adb-
iobhadh&dhe Sc ni bherid a chion & ni bhercan-
nfomh diobhadh na fine & bcridh a cion. As
eadh a chiallfin, i. c. gi be neach dheargus a lamb '
ar a f hine f6n ag dortadh a fola gurob fear fiongh-
aile murfin e^ & nach coir a cor i ttighearBus.
Agus f6s ata do reir dhlighidh nach tted a chion
ara fhine (mur adertha cion comhoguis) &go
tted a edhreacht alainr.h afine ara fhon fin. Gidb
eadh ado ghe^na an fionghalach peannait do dhit
& eric do dhuine ar Ton a mhighniomha do gebh
achuid ronna do edhreacht a athar 8c a feanathar
f£n & ni f haghann cuid don f hearann edbreachta
coitchinne bhios ag an fhine uile. Agus ader
dligheadh, ^ gurataigheas & guiedireaa & gutui-
rufdai & gold Sc etheach, feall & fionghal & du-
inetaidhe^ go tteafdann a laineanachlana o dhuioe
fa gach enni diobhfin, & fgchtar mataid fin, no
eanchor diobh ar, B. go tteafda a laineanacblaon
uadha & ar na hadhbharaibh reamraite uile, gur
eagur flaitheas ris & gurob do A. dleagar a tha*
bhairt.

KND OF THE FIRST FART.

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH. 41?

fays, * Conall Comhramhach/ there is no break-
ing the line of genealogy ; fafe is every free man,
and free is every nobleman. And it is faid, flop
that people wherefoever fituated, who would tref-
pafs with their tongues, the fenfe of which is this,
that a covenant made in the prcfence of men,
not being idiots, (hall be binding without let or
hindrance.

Another rcafon why B. is difquaKfied for the
fovereignty is, that B. is a murderer : he hath
fpilt the blood of his own tribe ; he is a dearg^
fine;, confequenlly as a murderer, the tribe take
his inheritance, yet take not on them his guilt.
Whoever ftains his hand in the blood of his
own tribe, is a murderer, and cannot be elected
to the fovereignty, yet, according to law, his kinf-
men are not difqualified, although^his inheritance
defcends to his tribe ; for, though a murderer does
pennance to God, and gives Eric to man, he gets
his portion of paternal inheritance, but none of
the land he inherited in common with the tribe.
And laftly fayeth the law, perjurers, falfe witnefles,
falfe-fureiies, thieves, traytors, murderers, men-
ftealers, (hall forfeit a full Eric for every fuch
crime : Lo ! then if any one of thefe crimes can -

be proved on B, he muft pay the full Eric

for all thefe reafons aforefaid B. cannot be nomi-
nated, and A. in due courfe of law is the proper
lovereign.

END OP THE PIRST PART.

£ e

I

ColleSfanea de Rebus Hlbernicis,

NUMBER IV.

CRITICO. HISTORICAL

DISSERTATION,

CONCERNIKO TH£

LAWS OF THE ANTIENT IRISH.

R

IL

CONTAININO

The Tanistic Law of Senior-Succession, illus-
trated in aa Hiftorical and Genealogical Account
of the Kings of Munster.

BEING

An Essay on the General History of Munstii,*
from the Beginning of the third Centuiy, to the Year
1C41 ; when Morrogh O Brien furrendered his Title
of King of Munster to Henry VIII. and was created
Earl of Thomond and Baron op Inchk^in.

CoBEpiied chiefljr from the Codex Momonienfis or Book of
Munfter, the Annals of Innisfallen, Tighemaehy Ma*
gradan and the Chronicon Scotorum of Clonmacnois.

Interfperfed with Obsertations on the various Tribes of
Belgians, Livonians» Pruflians* Pomeranians, Danes*
and Norwegians, who invaded this Country, at dif-
ferent Periods, to the end of the ninth Century.

TO W H I C

It A D D I »,

Part of the antient Brehon Laws of lasLANDt

ia>

The whole intended as an Essay towards fumifhing fome
Light for future Enquiries into the Origin of th«
antient Irish Nation.

DUBLIN:
LUKE WHITE.

KiDCCiLXXXTI..

' TO
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

WILLIAM O'BRIEN,

EARL AND BARON of INCHIQyiN,
AMD BARON OF BURREN,

THIS FOURTH NUMBER

OF THE

COLLECTANEA,

CONTAIMING THE

TANISTIC LAW OF SENIOR SUCCESSION,

ILLUSTEATED IN THE

HISTORY OF HIS ANCESTORS,
KINGS OF MUNSTER,

IS DEDICATED, BY

HIS LORDSHIP'S

MOST OBSDIBHT,

MOST HOMBLB SEKTAMT,

CHARLES VALLANCEY.

DISSERTATIONS

ON THE

NATIONAL CUSTOMS,
AND STATE-LAWS

O V T H B

LNTIENT IRISH,

II.

CHAP.

*be Tamfiic Law of Senior SucceiHon iUuftrated
in an biftorical and genealogical account of the
Kings of Mutter of the DahCaJftan race^
ctmneaed with the biftory of the Eugenian
Kings of Cajbelj and tbofe of the other provinces
of Ireland.

DY way of introaudtion to the following
uflory I think myfelf obliged to. inform the
eader that my whole account of the lives and
etgns of the Dal-Caffian Kings of Munfter^ from

Eogan

424 THELAWOFTANISTRY

Eogan More furnamed Mogh Nuagad, the ftock
of that race, down to Kennedy the Father of Brien
Borove king of all Ireland, haih been cxtraAed out
of that old monument of Irifh antiquities the
Codex Momonienfis or Muntter book, whereof I
have an authentic copy ; and as no regular chro-
nology hath been obferved by the authors of
that ancient work, the reader, I hope^ will there-
fore excufe the like defedt in that part of my
hiftory ; and the more, as none of thofe few rf
the general annals of Ireland which ftill fubfifi,
hath furnifhed us with a complete and exad ac-
count of the fucceflion of the Kings of Munfter
of either the Dal CalTian or Eugenian race, until
about the beginning of the ninth century ; from
which epoch the reader may expedl a regular and
true chronology down to the end of this cflky.
In the mean time I judge it neceflary to prepare
the learned reader for the firft part of diis
hiftory, by apologizing for its drynefs and want
of interefting tranfadtions or important events;
nothing of the kind is to be expedtcd until the
arrival of the northern invaders towards the end
of the Vlllth century ; after which time the reigns
of Kennedy fan of Lorcan, and thofe of his fens
Mahon and Brien Borove and their fucceffors^
will open quite different fcenes of attion and
bravery in repelling foreign force and maintaining
regal independency. In the reign of Mahon fon
of Kennedy, the reader will find a critical difler-
tation concerning the faid northern invaders,
whom our writers called Lochlannaice, the coun-
tries from whence they came, and the caufes of

their

ILLUSTRATED. 4^5

ir emigrations and foreign expeditions, in the
[Ith and iXth centuries.

Such readers as may be neither curious nor in-
efted in mere Irifli affairs unconneded with
cign hiftory, are at full liberty to pafs over the
I part of the following eflay as flightly and as
>idly as they pleafe ; but as to thofe who by
ture are inclined to, and intercft themfclves ia
latever may regard Irifli antiquities, and the
tfcrvation of thofe venerable remains of the
1 monuments in which they were recorded ;
ope I need not make them any apology for
livering into their hands in its original fimplici-
what I have found in the Codex Momonienfis
ncerning the kings of the Dal-Caflian race,
>ro the lid century to the beginning of the
^th : after which I fliall purfue their hiftory con-
icled with that of the Eugenian princes, and
her kings of the different provinces of Ireland^
xording to the authority of the beft annalst
irticularly thofe of Innisfallen, Tighernach and
s continuator, with thofe of Magradan, the
hronicon Scotorum and of Clonmacnoifs, of all
hich I have old and well authenticated copies,
have chofen the fucceflion of the Dal-Caflian
inces, preferably to that of the Eugenians for
Trying on this hiftory, becaufe the Munftcr
>ok does not furnifti any regular account of the
inces of the latter family ; it were to be wiftied
r the advantage of antient hiftory, that other
I iters well verfed in Irifh antiquities would col-
St all the accounts they could find of their refpec-
^c provincial kings, beginning at the Hid cen-
tury j

4a6 THE LAW OF TANI8TRT

tury ; for I muft own I have but very little faith
in many things that are delivered in the biftoriei
of times preceding this epoch. Such an under*
taking may facilitate the compiling of a gpod g^
ncral hiftory of old Ireland.

EOGAN MORE.

Eogan More, furnamed Mogh Nuagad, king
of Munller towards the end of the lid century,
was the fon of Mogh Neid king of the fame pro-
vince, defcended from the royal line of Hdxr
Fionn ; his mother was Sida daughter of Flamii
fon of Fiachra of the Earnaians of Munller ^ he
married Beara daughter of Eibhir fon of Mtdboa
a king or prince in Spain, and had by her two
fons, viz. Olliol Olim and Luig I^ga, and two
daughters, whofe names were Caoimhniall and
Sgoithniamh ; this inter-marriage between Eogan
More and the daughter of the above Spanifli
prince, happened while Conn furnamed Cead-
chathach was king of Tara, and (tiled himfelf
king of Ireland ; our brave Momonian king af-
filed by Nuagad Dearg, fon of Dairinne^ fon of
Baire, a prince of the Ithian race, with whom be
had been educated, made war upon Luig AUab*
hachfonofCairbreCromchin, fon of Daire Do-
ranmore, and Aongus (both Earnaian princes and
of the pofterity of Connaire More) for their ufur-
pations in the province of Munfter ; he gave them
three battles, one of which happened at Samh-
doire, where Luig Allathach was (lain ; hereupon
AonguSy being deprived of his powerful aflbdale

ia

ILLUSTRATED. 417

tifcrrpation^ and derpatring of being abfe tb
ike head^gainft Eogan^ whofe power tad mi-
uy ^ty was daily encreafing^ repairs to Conn
e kir^ of Tara, and reprefents to him tht fatal
mfequences of Mogh Nuagdd's vidtortcs. This
ng moved at the complaint of his fiipplianty
idjealous of the growing power and ret)utation
Hhe Heberian prince, fnppiied Aongus with
tcinforcethent of five thoufand men. Aongus
I Vvder to vindicate his ufurped rights by fur-
r^ing his adverfary, marches with all poffiUe
loed ^t the head of his auxiliary troops, joined
I the remains of his own fcattered army^ to die
irritory of Ive-Liathain in the county of Gorki,
"liiire Eogftn well prepared to receive Mm, ob->
Uned a fignal victory, and had the Iglory and
itisfadtion of killing the ufurper of his father's
town and kingdoni with bis own hand.
This circunlftance brought on a tedious and
loody war between our M^monian hero aiid
loTin Cduldiathach, in the progrefs of wbich the
>rmer proved victorious in ten fucccflive pitched
attles, viz. the battle of Brofne, the battle of
Jreine, the battle of Gabhran, the battle of Sam-
aite, the battle of Athlone, the battle of Ath-
fkil, the battle of Sliabh-mofaigb, the battle of
^dgh-crioch, the battle of Suama, and the l»t*
le of Vifneach j thefe viftories fo far humbled and
Dduced the power of Conn, that he was ghd to
ome to an equal divifion of Ireland, between hihi
ad his refolute enemy, and to content' hi mftlf
fith the chief regal jurifdidlion of the northern
alfy called from him Leath-Cuinn, or Conn's

halft

4ag THELAWOFTAMISTRT

half 'j the fouthern half, which was the hereditary
right of Mogh Nuagad and his anceflors derived
to them from Heber Fionn, was called Leatfa-
mogh, or Mogh's half. The bounds fixed be-
tween them were from Athcliath na Mearuidhei
now called Clarin's bridge, near Galway, to the
ridge of mountains called Eifgir-Riada, on whidi
Cluainmacnoifs and Cluainirard are (ituated, and
fo on to Dublin, By this means thefe two deter
mined enemies came at lall to a reconciliatioD,
and remained each in peaceable pofleifion of his
refpeftive part, without infringing on the terri-
tories of the other, or committing any hoitiiitiei
for the fpace of fifteen years : at which term of
time certain difputes relative to the duties of tbe
port of Dublin happening between them, they
aiTembled their forces at Magh-Leana, wfaeit
Eogan being furprifed in his bed, was barbaroufly
murdered by Conn in perfon, the night bcfoit
the day on which the battle was to be fought
Thus far our Irifh original of this tranflated ex-
traft.

REMARKS.

Keating*s account of the origin, progrefii and
circumftances of the above defcribed war, by
which Eogan More recovered the hei'editary ri^
of his anceftors, differs in fome material refpeds
from the above narrative. He fets forth that the
Earnaidhs, who derived their origin from Hcri-
mon, and confcquently of the fkmc ftock with
king Conn, had fo far overpowered the defcend-

ants

ILLUSTRATED. 419

B of Heber Fionn, that three chiefs of thofe
Liigers ufurped at the fame time all regal fway
Munfter, viz. Luig Allathach, Daire Doran*
tre^ and Aongus. That Eogan More in this
Mtion of his affairs found himfelf under the ne*
Eity of craving the aififtance of Daire Barrach,
I of Cathoir More, king of Leinfter, of the .
aremonian race, with whom Keating fays that
gan More had been educated, inilead of attri- ^
ting his education to Nuagad Dearg, fon of
Lirinne, Ton of Baire of the Ithian race, for
lom Keating muft have miflook Daire Barrach,
account of the refemblance between his name
d that of Dairinne Mac Baire. Keating adds.
It this king of Leinfter, fenfible of the wrong
dufurpation carried on by the Earnaidhs againft
ogh Nuagad, fupplied him with fuf&cient forces
recover the crown of Munfter. Eogan at the
ad of thefe auxiliaries marched into the pro-
nce of his ancefiors, and halted in Ive-Liathiain,
w called Barry more, in the county of Corke ;
re Aongus made head againft him with a nu-
^ous army I and a bloody battle enfued, in
lich Eogan More being vidtorious routed the
emy and purfued them fo clofe, that he drove
;ro entirely out of the province. He afterwards
rndons Aongus*s flight and application to Conn
adchathach, and his return at the head of fif*
fi thoufand auxiliaries, and that having en-
ged Mogh Nuagad in the abovementioned
mtry of Ive-Liathain, he was totally defeated
econd time, and the remains of his army all
ited without any further poflTibility of returning

to

419 THE LAW OF TAMISTRT

to the charge. The reader will obferve the dif.
fcrence between the two accounts, not only with
regard to the prince, who is mentioned as tlie iei|
alBftant of Eogan More, but alfo as to the or-
cumftance of K*^ating*s making Daire Dono-
more, one of the three ufurpers at the fame time
together with Luig Allathach and Aongus; wilQ^
as our manufcript mentions but the two latter.
And Keating*s account in mentioning Daire Do-
ranmore as one of the ufurpers, feems to be the
more inconfiflent,as the faid Daire was the grand*
father of Luig Allathach by his fon Caibre Crooh
chion, according to his own genealogy of G>iiue
the fecond monarch of Ireland, befides the oo-
natural order of placing Luig Allathach in d%
firft rank of the ufurpers before his faid gnndb.
ther.

O^FlabertyV account of the circumftancei d

this war, Ogyg. p. 315 — 16. is remarkably dif*
ferent from both Keating and our original ; with-
out introducing any previous motive of that qou-
rel between Conn and Mogh Nuagad, he begun
with informing us, that after flrenuous eShm
and eng3gcn?.enrs between thofe two princei,
Mogh Niuigad was obliged to tranfport lumfdf
to Spain, where after nine years exile, he entered
into an alliance with Fraoch, fon of Heber and
grandfonofMidna, a Spanifh prince, with whofe
fifter Beara he contracted marriage. That dm
Spanifli prince Fraoch, coming to Ireland with bis
faid fifter and brother in law, at the head of a pow-
erful army of his own fubje6ts, not only re-efti-
bliOied Mogh Nuagad in the throne of MunflcTi
after defeating Conn in ten fucceflive battles, but

alfo

I LLU ST R A TED. 431

forced him to come to an equal divifion of

whole ifland with his victorious antagonift^
»pofleffed himfelf ofthe fouth half according
le above defcribed limits. This hif lorian fur-

tddsy that the faid divifion fubfilted not
^ than one year, contrary to the above ac*
it of fifteen years, and concludes with telling
that Mogh Nuagad having claimed the fo-
%hty and commercial duties of the north fide
lie harbour of Dublin, king Conn met him
I idl his forces on the plain of Magh-Leana,
are liaving found Mog^ Nuagad of fuperior
le, fae furprized and killed him in his bed the
lit befbre the intended day of battle ; but pre-
3b at the fame time, that Goll, fon of Moma,
\ the immediate perpetrator of this murder :
. this Chriftian hiftorian thinks proper to jufti-
t by the Heathenilh poet's text, ihhis an virtus

in ixfte regmrat f Thus far 0*Flaherty.
Mother account of the battle of Magh-Leana
xsrts, tiuit early in the morning before day-
it, Conii having furprifed Eogan More in his
t, where he gave him a mortal wound while
id'afleep in his bed, the guards and army of
wounded king foon took the alarm, and put
mfeh^es in order of battle at the firft dawn of
f ; that Eogan More, nolwilhftanding his mor-
wound, fought for fome hours at the head of
army, until fuch time as he had the fatisfac-
a of taking revenge for his life by a great
ighter of his enemies : and after that expiring
he field, his army (till continued to difpute the
tory with fuch refolution and conftancy as
: the enemies no room to boaft ofthe advan-
tage

432 THELAWOFTANISTRT

tage they had derived from their inglorious ftra-
tagcm of a noAumal furprize.

But to return to our original ; it concludes the
hiftory of this valiant prince Mogh Nuagad with
obferving, that his death was univerlally lamented
by all his fubjefts : becaufe he was juftly cftccmcd
to have been one of thofe kings who beft defervcd
of the Irilh nation by having fignally relieved it
in a time of great fcardty and famine. Hiseldefl
fon, Olliol Olim, having not attained the required
maturity of age at the time of his father's death,
Macniad, an Ithian prince, whofe family was al-
lied to that of Eogan More, was therefore tc-
knowledged as fovereign commander of Leatb-
Mogh by all the princes and Rates of that king-
dom. This prince thus veiled with the cbicf
command, was urged by the princes and people
of Leath-Mogh to march diredtly at their heid
againft the treacherous enemy, to revenge the
death of their late king. Conn and his forcc$
being informed of thisrefolution, and apprehend-
ing the confequences of a war, which (hould na-
turally be animated by thejuft refentroent of the
Memonians, declined appearing in the field;
judging it much more fafe and prudent for him
and his people to agree to any terms, than ta-
zard their lives with a defperate and formidable
enemy, furioufly bent upon revenge. Confe-
quent to this determination, and in order to ob-
tain aceflation of arms. Conn propufed the fbt-'
lowing condilions, which were accepted of by the
Memonians, viz. That he fhould deliver into tbdr
hands 200 flaves, zoo chariots, 200 deeds, 200

bargei

ILLUSTRAtED. 433

rges, 20O javelins, 200 fwords, and 2cx>
Liads ; befides his own (hield and fword. That
lerablc monument, the Codex Momonienfis,
es on with informing us, that the ambafTadors
It by Con on this occafion were Ciodhruadb,
1 of Fircaogat, and Croitin, both the mofll
iioguifhed poets of Leath-Cuinn in their own
y«. The former's poem, explaining the cir-
mltances and progrefs of this whole affair, is in-
ted in our original. Thus it came to pafs,
it the Momonian troops were prevented from
irenging by the fpilling of blood, the death of
or fovereign. Conn neverthelefs did not long
::apc the divine vengeance, for within the
tee of two years he was killed by Tiobraid-
each, fon of Mai, Ton of Rochry, of the royal
e of Ire.

OLLIOL OLIM.

Eogan Mofe, or Mogh Nuagad, left two (bns
his wife Beara, viz. Ollrol OKm and Luig
iga, as above explained. The latter was re-
irkable for his extraordinary ftrength and agi-
^ of body, as well as for his dexterity in hand-
g alt military weapons, fo that he is generally
knowledged as one of the moft famous heroes^
Irifli ftory. He flew Art, fon of Conn Cedd-
Bthach, then king of Tara, at the battle of
agh-Mochririme, near Gal way, where he af-
:ed Mac Conn, fon of the above Maicniad,
ainft this fatd Art, without regard to his own
phews, the fons of Olliol Olim, who were fight-
l for him at the faid battle, where feven of

F f them

436 THELAWOFTANISTRT.

Oirigc, iz. Eecha Dtmona. The above fevco
fons of OUiol OGm by Saidhbh fought for thdr
undc Art the fon of Conn at the battle of Mag|i-
Moobruime, out of which no more than tvo
efcaped, viz. Cormac Cas and Cian ; the aboic
Eogan Cs^mh was elder brother of Connc
Cas, and left a fon called Fiachra MiiUeathiD.
Fkherty, Ogyg. p. 331, nientions the abofe
Eocha Tsebh-fada or Eochains, a bffgo hten^ as
he joflly interprets his name, as having been killed
tcgjether with his brother Cian by Feargus Dub-
deiidach the fucceflbr of Mac Con, in a battle
wluch they fbiight for Corniac the fon c^ Ait, foo
of Conn Ceadcbathach. •

Olliol Olim by his laft will and teflament
(after a peaceable reign of 23 *ynrs) deimfcd
and fettled the perpetual enjdy ment of the crown
of Leath-mogh upon the male iflae and pofterity
of his two eldeft fons Eogan and Cormac Cks,
l^ a fuGceilion which (bould be exactly and uoin-
tcrruptcdly alternate between both branches:
with this particular condition and law, that tbe
eldeft prince, if capable of governing, fliodd
always fucceed out of either brandi. Sec
Flaherty Qgyg. p. 326, compared with p. 57,
1. 28, 29; this law of fucccflion was obfcrvcd
regularly enough between tbe two branches for
fevaral generations (as Keating and Fkhcrty have

alfo

M J^ I? ^^^^^ *'* ^^ ^* computed from the time he
exiled Mac Con, fon of Mac Niad, who had raffed diftur-
b^ac^ in bis kingdom, for in fome of the lifts of rcwl
facceffion he is alkwed fifty years reign.

ILLUSTRATED. 417

alfo obferved) after which fome abufes and violar
tions have frequently happened, as it was natural
to expedt. We ihall however fee through the •
courfe of the following extra^, that thisi law of
alternate rucceflion carried on according to the
right of feniority, has been always infifted upon
whenever any infringments or^ ufurp^ttons werfe
attempted by high-hand.

COR MAC CAS.

Cormac Cas fon of OUiol Olim was the fucceed-
ing king; this prince was remarkable for hk • /
ftrength of body, and was eiqually dexterous and
refolute. It is recorded of him that he was oAe
of the moft diftinguifbed Iri(h champions of tht
age he lived in ; he eftabliihed a certain chief-
rent to be regularly and propprtionably paid by
the different dates of Leath-mogh to the king
thereof for the fupportof bis perfon and dignity;
by bis fuccefs in all military operations, his haine
became a terror not only to the inhabitants of
Ireland, but alio to foreigners ; he defeated and
brought away fpoils of great value at thirty dif-
ferent times from the Welfli^ who came over to
the afliftance of the Lagenians againfl him, which
made the latter return to their obedience, fubmit
themfelves peaceably to his government, and pay
him the above tribute of Eidirfgeoil *^ he fupported
the rights and privileges of the cfown of Leath*
mogh in eight battles againjd the other provinces,
viz. the battle of lorras, the battle of Damhfa,
the battle of Carman, the battle of Liamhna

againll

THE LAW OF TANISTRT

flgainft the Lagenians who had revolted from
their obedience, the battle of Cruachan ag^
the people of Connaught, the battle of Teambir
or Tara againft Fioncha, the battle of TaikioD,
and the battle of Samhna, in which laft cDgag^
ment he flew an Ultonian prince, and wis
himfelf grievoufly wounded. He married Sun-
hair the daughter of the celebrated Fionn Mk
Cuil, hereditary chief general of the famoos
military corps called Clanna Buoifcoine ; andbd
by her three children whofe names are Mog|h
chorb, Aife and Eadaoin. After the death of
Cormac Cac, his nephew Fiacha Muilleathan, by
his elder brother Eogan Ca^mh, fucceeded to the
throne of Leath-mogh ; this prince diftingui(bed
his martial fpirit by a timely exertion of Us
power againft Cormac, fon of Art, Ton of Conn
Ceadchathach, who had made a fudden irruption
into Munfter at the head of all his forces, with a
view to make that province tributary to hisaown.
Fiacha Miiilleathan gave him battle at a place
called Drom-dabhaire, now Knocklong, in ihc
county of Limerick ; where he defeated and
routed his army, the remains of which he pur
fued all the way to Offory, where he overtoook
Cormac and made him prifoner of war, who was
glad to redeem himfelf by a folemn engagement,
confirmed by the delivery of hoftages, not only
of repairing all the damages caufed by his unjuft
invafion, but alfo of never molefting the king of
Munfter for the future, or fetting up any pretcn-
fion of Aipremacy or right of tribute from his

kingdom,

ILLUSTRATED. 439

kingdom, which never owed any to the kings of
Tara or to any other but its own.

MOGHCHORB.

Mc^hchorb fon of Cormac Cas fucceede^ in
the fovereignty of Leath-mogh immediately after
his coufin-german the above Fiachra Muiileathan ;
he was a very powerful and brave prince, and well
experienced in military operations and difcipline ;
he obliged the dates and princes of Leinfter to
pay him the tribute of Eidirfgeoil\ he was as
formidable to foreigners as his father had been ;
it was in his reign, that the moft bloody and
memorable battle of Gabhra was fought, A. D.
%96^ between him and Cairbire Liflfeachair, fon of
the above G)rmac, king of Tara, wherein moft
of the ftanding army that had been lately com-
manded by Fionn Mac Cull and its renowned
heroes calkd Fiana Eiriann^ or Phenians, who
were of Mi^hchorb's party, had been flain, after
having made an equal carnage of their rivals the
Clanna-Moirne, who fought for Cairbre LifFe-
achair. Moghchorb reigned for the fpace of
twenty years according to the Reimriogra^ or
Regal Kalendar.

FEARCHORB.

Fcarchorb fon of Moghchorb, was proclaimed
Icing of Leath-mogh immediately after his
father's death, and reigned J fcven years accord-
ing

^ In fome of the lifts he is allowed twenty years reign.

440 THE LAW OF TANISTRT

iDg to the Rjnmrugra, or Regal Kalcndf.
He was a warlike and cnterprifing prinoe^he
engaged in the pitched battles of Ilachta toi
Tailtion with the prmces and flates of Tans ia
the latter of which the famous champion Tine, fin
of Triun, fell by his fword ; he fought fevoil
battles againll the different provinces and prina-
pabties of Ireland both feparately and conjenc.
tivdy, excepting the province of Leinfter, wlieh
always fubmit ted to pay him the tribute of £!£/•
gevil. It is acknowledged by ail irifii antiquariff,
that for his liberalit) and generous fpirit, he vas
not inferior to any prince of the f rifh nation, ud
they further add, that it was a conftant masm
with him never to fit to an entertainment withott
the focial attendance of a hundred of bis nobks
at kaft. This prince defeated tlie comlMned foRcs
of the princes of Connaught and their aliies at the
battlea of Ceara, of Cruachaa and of Coniinn,
in vindication of his right to the immediate
fovereignly of the country now called Thomond,
which originally belonged to his anceftors.

AONGUS TIRACH.

AongusTirach, the fon of Fearehorb, fucceeded
to the fovereignty immediately after Ollil Flann
Beag, the fon of Fiachra Muilleathan ; he was a
ftout and courageous prince j he flew with his own
hand Fiacha Figinte, Ton of Daire Cearb, in the
famous battle of Cliona ; he was remarkaWc for
the llridinefs of his laws, as well as for his candid
and unbiaffed judgments j and agreeably to that

principle,

ILLUSTRATED. 441

priaciple, he nevei^ would favour his noareft or
4caKfl: friend againit his moft warranted enemy
in prejudice of the truth ; he uled all poiiible
means to rea)ncile people at variance, and pro«
mote true concord and barmuiy among his fub-
jefts, and was generally chofen by the contending
prince of the whole nation to be umpire and
arbitrator of their difputes, and they always agreed
to his determination.

LUIG MEANR

Luig Meann otherwife Luig Lamh-dearg, the
fbn of Aongus Tirach, filled the throne of Leath*
mogh.' He was a prince of uncommon ftrength and
aAivity of body, and was diflinguifhed for has
judgment and (kill in conducting military opera-
tions; he fought feven bloody battles with the
Conatians, in all which he had the advantage, and
killed feven of their chief princes ; he fo harraffed
them by frequent attacks, and laying waile their
territories with fire and fword, ftill purfuing the
advantages he was ufed to gain, that they were
reduced to the neceflity of fubmitting to his own
terms; but this prince too generous to avail
himfelf of all the advantages the laws of arms
had then entitled him to, deprived them only of
the country now called Thomond, extending from
the bay of Killcolgan near Galway to Limerick &
and from Lough-dearg to Leim-Cuchullan, now
called Loop-head, otherwife Cape Leane at the
mouth of the Shannon ; to this tradt of ground
he had ajullandantient claim, inafmuch as it was

within

44a THE LAW OF TANISTRT

vrithin the limits of Lcath-mogh traced out from
Galway to Dublin; thus the vidtorious Luig
Meann contented himfclf with the glory of re-
covering the right of his ancellors, and acqmriog
for his poftcrity the enjoyment of thofe lands as
a perpetual memorial of his valour.

The Pfaltar of Cafticl, here cited by the original,
and other antient records, defcribe the entire pa-
trimonial eftate and dominion of Luig Meann
and his pofterity, according to the following de-
lineation and limits, viz. from Leim-CuchuHan,
or Lcim-na-Con, in the weft of Thomond, to
Sliabh-Bladhma or Bloomy mountain in Ofibry,
jjiow between the King and Queen*s counties ; and
from Carran-Fearaidh or Knock-Ainc in the
county of Limerick, to Ath-Lucad on the fron-
tiers of the county of Galway. Others have
traced them from the Ides of Aran, to Sliabh-
Eibhline near CaHiel, as well as to Knock-Aine,
and from the faid Leim-na-Con to Slighe-Dala in
Oflbry ; which is a more exad delineation of the
length and breadth of the Dal-Caflian eftate, than
that of O Flaherty, who gives them no other
breadth than from Sliabh-Eachty on the north fide
of Lough-Dearg, to Sliabh-Eibhline in the county
of Tipperary.

Luig Meann was equally fuccefsful in his en-
gagements with foreigners, for he routed the
Welfh invaders in many defperatc conflids at
various limes, and expelling them quite out of
his dominions of Leaih-mogh, he followed them
•with a powerful fleet to Wales ; which when they
had been apprized of, they prevailed with the

neighbouring

ILLUSTRATED. 443

sghbouring ftates to fend them fuccours againft
foreign and common enemy. But the brave
ligMcann, undaunted at their vaft preparationa,
irches through the country in a hoftilc manner^
id being oppofed by ihe enemies, he overthrew
em at the expence of much blood with all their
liloxiliary forces, and receiving the fons and
^jP^ughters of their princes and chieftains, in quality
mtf' hoftages for their future obedience and the
itying him homage and tribute as to their lawful
ing and fovereign, he returned home to his own
Aungdom, and regularly received their annual
iSributes. In like manner it is added, that he went
»%^p<>n hoilile expeditions into Scotland, from
Tw^lience he returned equally vidtorious and fuc-
- JcefifuL This fame Luig Meann is here repre*
«Xciited not only as king of Leath-mogh, but is
■ alfo confidered equal to the monarch of Ireland,
■^^n power and influence over the natives, which
authority he had gained by his own fuperiour
; Valour and extraordinary abilities of mind.

CONALL EACHLUATH.

After the death of Luig Meann, Criomhthan

. ^lore, fon of Fioga, of the pofterity of EoganTon

•of Oliiol Oluim, being king of Ireland, ceded the

^l^ingdom of Munfter to Conall Eachluath fon

^f the faid Luig Meann, for whom this monarch

liad a perfonal affedion from his having been

^ucated at his own court from his youth. This

circumilance highly difpleafed the defcendants of

Fiachra Muilleathan, who reprefented to Conall

that

^144 THE LAW OF TANISTRT

^t he ought as well in regard to his own honour,
as to the juftice which was due to his kinfmen n
blood, by iio means to accept the donation of the
generous monarch, and the more fo, as he waswcD
convinced that Core Ton of Luig of the fineal
defcent of faid Fiachra Muilteathan, had both
age and experience enough to take into his handi
the reins of government. This remonfiranoe hd
fuch efTed on >he generous mind of Comll
Eachluath, that by a very rare example he coo-
fented to conr^romife his right to the crown he
was poffeffed 6{^ and refer the whole matter to tk
folemn judgnlent of an aifembly of the princfi
and dates of ^unller; thofe princes being af-
fembled on this important occafion decided, dat
Core Ton of Luig, in virtue of his right of Sco-
ority, {Oir fa bi hudb Ssme^ are the very wocdi
of this hiftorian) Qiould be firft entitled to die
rule of the kingdom ; and as a further motive of
this decifion, they alkdged, that a defceodant of
Cormac Cas had been laft in pofleilion of die
crown of Leath-mogh, and therefore, that in con-
fcquence of the laft will of Olliol Olutm, ihdr
common parent, (which was held inviolable con-
cerning a regular alternate fucceffion to the fove-
reijgnty of Leath-mogh in the pofterity of Piachn
Muilleathan, and the royal line of Cormac Cas)
the defcendant of the former had now the beS
right to the fucceflion ; and on the other hand.
Core fon of Luig, and the other princes w
Leath-mogh were obliged by the fame fentence
to deRver up their fons to Conall Eachluadi
in quality of hoftages to infurc him of his

fucceflion

tLHTfrTRATED. 445

effion immediately after Core fon of Luig^
to ixiaike die fame good to bta fon m cafe the
Core (hould out-live himfelf. Upon this
{6on the princes of Munfter by their foiemn
BBce conikmed and ratffied the Will of

>101iiiro, concerning the State-law of alternate
effion between the defcendants of his two
1 Eogan More and Cormac Cas. Thus it
e to pafsy that ConaU Eachluath fon of the
re Luig Meann, was content to cede the reins
go?ernment, which had been put into his hands
lie monarch Criomhthan, to Core fon of Luig
ht pofterny of faid Eogan More.
?he faid ConaU Eachluath, after the deceafe
!Iorc his competitor, refumed the government
Lhe kingdom of Cafiiel, and Criomhthan his
ner friend ftillkingof Leath-coin, being em-
ftd in carrying on wajs in foreign countries^
Lblifhed him during his abfence in the fupreme
imand and adminiftration of his fliare of the
nd. Conatl was not inadtive in this commif-
1, for he ezercifed Criomhthan*s power, with
ich he had been vcfted, not only titularly but
!£tuaHy, and accordingly difpofed of polls
h civil and military throughaut the kingdom,
1 received hoftages and the payment of tributes
m all the northern provinces and Hates. This
lole tranfaftion is defcribed at large in Cormac
Kc Cuillionane's Pfaltar of Cafhel, in a poem
pnning with the words, ** Cain ro gabb
OmaU Eacbhatbr

EANNA

44S THE LAW OF TANISTRY

his twelve fons, referving only to the eldeft, in
cafe of his furviving himfelf, the fupreme power
and authority^ with all the rights thereunto belong-
ing. It is here to be obferved, that the offspring
of Luig Dealbhaodh, who from their father's fir-
name were called Dealbbnaidhs, made other great
fettkments for themfelves in Meath, Oflbry, and
Connaught ; all which different pofleffions were
called Dealbhnas or Delvins, but diftinguiihed
by various fimames. The country called Delvio.
More was in Meath, whofe former Lord wai
OFinnallain, a Dal-Caffian, which title is now in
the Nugent family , barons of Delvin, and earls of
Weil-Meath. In the fame province was likewife
Ddvin of Teanmoy. Delvin- Eatbra, ik>w of the
King's County, was the lordlhip of Mac CoghUo \
Delvin-Nuagat, now a part of the county dKcf-
common in Connaught ; Delvin-Culfabhar tad
Delvin- Feadha, were likewife in Connaught, the
latter in Tirdaloch to the weft of Galway ; it was
divided into two diftridls called Gno-moresnd
Gno-beag, of which now confifts the whole ba-
rony of Moy-Cuillin. The O Conrys were an-
tiently the chiefs of Gno-beag, until they were
panly difpofleffed, and partly made tributaries bj
the O Flaherty's.

B L O D.

Bled, fon of Cas, fucceeded his father in the
principality of north Munfter. This prince had
four fons, viz. Carthan Fionn, Carthan Dubhi

Eccha,

ILLUSTRATED.

£ocha, and Breanan Bin : this hiftorian is alto-
gether filent of his aftions.

CARTHAN FIONN.

Carlhan Fionn, other wife called Carthan M6re,
immediately fucceeded him. This prince lived
when St. Patrick was preaching the gofpel in Ire-
land, and was baptized by him at Sanigean, or
Sainaing6al, near Limerick. He had three fon«,
whofe names were Eocha Baildearg, Aongiis
Tuillidh, and CormacCoichin.

EOA.CHA BAILLDEARG.

Eocha Bailldearg, the fon of Carthan Fionn,
ruled next after him. This prince left two fons,
viz. Conall, who did not reign, and Breacan
Aran. The former dying before his father Eo-
cha Bailldearg, had two fons, viz. i. Aodh
Caomh, who became king of Calhel, 2. the faint
Molualobliar, who was the firft founder of the
church of Killaloe.

CORMAC COICHIN.

Cormic Coichin, the fon of Carthan Fionn,
fucceeded his brother in the fovereignty of North-
Munfter.

AODH CAOMH.

Aodh Caomh, the fon of Conall, fon of Eo-
cha Bailldearg, fucceeded his grand uncle Cor-

G g mac

449

*i '

THE LAW OF TANJSTRY

mac Coichin. He was the firft Cbriftian prince
of his family that became king of all Munftcr.
His inveilituie, with the authority and title of
king of that province, was performed at bis own
court in the prefence of St. Breanan of Clonfcrt,
and of his domeftic poet Mac Leinein, afterwards
firft bifliop of Cloy ne, and by the concurrenaof
Acxih Dubh, the father of Fignin and FailUic
Flann, and fonofCriomhthan, then chief ^cpr^
fentative of the Eugenian race. Thcfe two princes,
attended by the nobles of their refpcdiivc tribo»
met on the plain of Magh-Feiminy betwem
Cafliel and Clonmel, with a view to confult abom
matters of public and common concern, and af-
terwards repaired to the court of Aodb Caombi
where the Eugenian princes were fplendidly ea-
tertained. Here it was, that tht^ Da}-ca^ian prince
reprefeoted to Aodh Dubh his own right to fill
the throne of Cafhel ; but the Eugenian prince
could by no meansl)e prevailed upon to acknow-
ledge him fovereign of that kingdom, until fudi
time as he was enfured of his own or his fon's
fucceffion immediately after him. Of which he
was fatisfied by having had the holy Brean^an and
Mac Leincin given him as fureties for the per-
formance of this public contract. The truth of
thefe particulars is confirmed by the teftimony of
that faint, in a poem attributed to him, which
begins with the following words : Au da Aodba
mo dba cbaraidfoun a raon.

FORRANAN.

ILLUSTRATED. 451

FORRANAN.

Forranan, fon of Fionan, fon of Breanan, Ton
of Eocha, fon of Caifin, fon of Cas, fucceeded
Aodh Caomh in the throne of North Munfter.

D I O M A.

Dioma, the fon of Ronane, fon of Aongusi
Ion of Carthan Fionn, collateral kinfman in the
fourth degree of the above-mentioned Aodh
Caomh, was the next Dal-caiTian prince, who laid
claim to the crown of Cafliel after the death of
Finine, eldeft fon of Aodh Dubh, and anceftor
of the O^SullivanSy who, purfuant to the above
agreement made between his father and the faid
Aodh Caomh, fucceeded the latter in the fover-
cignty of Cafhel. This Dal-caffian prince, Dio-
ma, fupported his right to the crown of Ca(hel
againft Failbhe Flanh, younger brother of the
above Finine. Thefe difputes very probably
xnufi have been attended with great effafion of
blood on both fides, had not the clergy of Mun-
fter jointly offered their mediation, which waa
accepted of by the two contending princes. That
venerable body being alTembled on this occafion,
and judging that the ftate law of regal fucceffion
(hould be inviolably grounded upon the right of
feniority, concluded that the alternative, claimed
by Dioma, fhould not then take place in preju-
dice of Failbhe Flann, inafmuch as the latter was
of a maturer age. But with this referve and
claufe in favour of the faid ^ Dioma, that he or

Gg 2 his

THE LAW OF TANISTRY

his dircdl heir (hould reign immediately after faid
Failbhe. And this condition and daufe, as aifo
the following articles were enfured to him by the
ftridteft obligations and the delivery of hoftages.
The further articles ftipulated by Dioma on this
occafion, were,

1. That in confideralion of his giving up the
kingdom of Cafhel into the hands of Failbhe
Flann for that turn, neither he the faid Failbhe
Flann, nor any of his tribes or fucceflbrs in the
fame throne, (hould ever claim any fovereign
power or right of tribute over the kingdom of
North-Munfter, according to its known limits
and boundaries, from Slighe-D&la in Oflbry, to
the well of Ireland, on both fides of the Shan-
non, and from Sliabh-Eibhline, Ca(hel, Knock-
Aine, and the river Fell, its fouthern limits to
Galway, and theifles of Arran towards the north.

2. It was ftipulated by Dioma, that the king of
North-Munfter ftiould ever after be lawfully and
avowedly entitled to a fovereign jurifdidlion over
the countries, which the anceftors of the Dal*
cailian princes had beftowed on different families
in South-Munftcr, viz. That of the country in-
habited by the poflerily of Mac Conn, fon of
Maicniad, of the tribe of Dairinne and Ithian
race ; inafmuch as it was Cormac Cas, fon of
Olliol Olim, beftowed them on his mother
Sadhbh's grandfon, called Maicnaid, the fon cf
Mac Conn, (for Sadhbh, daughter of Conn of
the one hundred battle, was firft married to Mac
Conn's father.) Thefe lands were of the royal
cftate and patrimony of Cormac Cas, becaufc
Olliol Olim had made an equal divifion of the pro-
vince of Munfter between him and his brother

Eogan

ILLUSTRATED.

Eogan More*s fon Ficha Muilleatban, dedudting
only thofc territories which he appointed as the
patrimony of his third fon, Cian, in the norlh-eaft
part of the faid province, which were added to the
other poflcflions of his in that of Leinfter. Fiacha
Muilleathan fliared no part of his own divifion
with the fons of Mac Conn, though his coufin-
germans ; he and they being all grand-fons of the
above Saibh. But Cormac Cas, from his natural
tendernefs for Macniad, who was his nephew by
the half blood, beftowed upon him a vaft tradlof
ground, which comprehended all the weft part of
that country we now call the county of Corkc,
and was from the time of that donation diflin-,
guilhed by the name of Corcalaidhe, as being
then pofleffed by the pofterity of Luig Ladh, who
was the grand- father of Mac Conn. The Dal-
caffian tribe did therefore efteem ihemfelvcs en-
titled to claim the fovereignty of a country which
had been the free-gift of th^ir anceftor. It was
further covenanted between Dioma and the Euge-
nians, that the Dal-caffians (hould have a like
fovereign jurifdidtion over the one-half of the
country called Ibh-Eochach, now corruptly Ibh-
Echach, in the weft of the county of Corke ; in-
afmuch as it was the free donation of Conal
Eachluath to Eocha, fon of Cas, fon of Core of
the Eugenian line, whom the former had bred in
his court ; and when his uncles and brothers
would not allow him any ftiare amongft them,
the generous Conal fettled him in the above-men-
tioned country. In the laft place, it was ftipu.
iated that the Dal-caffian princes (hould recover

the

453

454 THE LAW OF TANISTRY

the fovereignty of the country then called Ibh-
Torna-Eigeas, and now Clan- Morris, in tbe
county of Kerry, becaufe it was Conal Eachlutth
that had given all that territory as a dowry to his
daughter Caomhfionn, who was married to Tor-
na^igeas.

Dioma's pacific difpofition, to which, accord-
ing to this author, he facrifioed his tndifputable
right of alternate fuccelTion, was however r^
warded by providence ; inafmuch as it is cotaio,
that he lived to wear the crown of all Muoficr,
and was brave and fuccefsful enough to have re-
pulfed the invafion of all the Conatian forces, un-
der the command of Guaire king of that province.
' Our author informs us, that in Dioma*8 reign, iH
the princes and dates of Connaught having jancd
their forces with a view to recover the country
now called Thomond, of which they had been
difpoffefled by the brave Luig Meann, made a
fudden irruption into the province of Munfter,
where Dioma foon met and engaged them in a
bloody battle at Carran-fearaidhe, now called
Knock-Aine, in the county of Limerick, where
he gained a complete vidory, and killed five of
the Conatian princes, whofe names were Maol-
dune, Maolgaillid, Donall, Maoldubh, and
Maolbreafal, together with four thoufand of their
inferior officers and loldiers ; and many others
were made prifoners.

Note ; that the abovemenlioned mediators in

their fentence concerning the refpedlive pretcnli-

ons of Failbhe Flann and Dioma, have not (hewn

r a juft regard to the Hate law of fucccffion made

by OUioI Olim, by which an cxaft alternative of

fupreme

ILLUSTRATED. 4^?

fu{M'eme governhr.ent was enadted and fettled be-
tween the priiiccsof both tribeS. Thole arbitei's
igrounded their fcntcnce Tolely and entirely Upon
the right of feniorily in Failbhc Flann, without
confidering, that his elder brother Finine Wiethe
irhitiediate predeceffor in the throne of Cafhel,
arid cdnfequently that the next alternative bc-
loiiged of all right to a prince of the Dal-cafliah
tribe. The thaniftic law of fucceffion, chiefly,
if not folely grounded upon the. right of feniority^
was to be obfcrved amongft the princes of one
and the fame tribe, in refped to each other ; but
with regard to the princes of the two different
tribes of Eugeniansand Caflians, and their mutual
rights refpeftively to each other, the chief and
fundamental point of the (late law of fucceffion
enatted between them by the will of OUiol Olim,
was the alternate enjoyment of fupreme power
and government in the throne of Leath-mogh.
This point we (hall hereafter find to have been
ir(i(ted upon from time to time, even by ihe Eu-
genians, whenever they found it ncceflary to have
recourfe to it.

Our original fets forth in this place, that from
the fird eftablifliment of the Chriftian religion in
Ireland, to the time of Lorcan, the grandfather
of Brien Boromh, feven princes of the Dal-caffian
race had enjoyed the crown of Ca(hel and ail
Munfter. Their names and ferles of regal fuc-
cc(5on, together with other princes who were
only Icings of North- Munfter, to the time of
Lorcan, are as followeth : i. The above Dioma,
2. Feardomnach, fon of Dioma, king of Calhel,

&c.

456 THE LAW OF TANISTRY

&c. 3. Ainlcadha, fon of DIoma, king of Calhd,
&c. 4. Dubhdin, fon of Dioma, king of Calhcl,
&c. 5. Ccarnach, fon of Ainleadha, king of
Calhcl, &c; Torpa, fon of Cearnach, king of
North-Munftcr ; Donal, fon of Eichiaran, fon
of OUiola, fon of the above Fcardomnach, king
of North- Munftcr , Finachta, fon of Eichiann,
king of North- Munftcr ; Cormac, fonofDooa(
fon of Etchiaran, king of North-Munftcr. 6.
Rebecan, fon of Mothla, fon of Maehuille, of the
fame dock with Dioma, king of Calhel.

L A C H T N A.

Immediately after the ahernatives of the abov^
mentioned Caflian princes in the throne of Ca(hd,
Feidhlim, fon of Criomhihan, of the Eugcman
tribes, fucceeded to that crown. This king foon
after his inauguration demanded the ufual tributes
and hoflages, with all other marks of fubmiflioQ
from the different princes and flates of Souih-
Munfter ; not exempting the Eoganachts, and
other free flales belonging to the principil
branches of the Eugenian family. The princes
of thofe free dates very fiifly refufed to comply
with their king's demand ; and alledgcd, as
chief reafon of their refufal, that as thofe of iIk
Caffian race had as good a right as iht Eugcnians
to an alternate fucceflion to the throne of Ca(hel,
fo they fliould be equally burihcncd with all fuch
tributes and taxes as may be neceffary for fup-
porting the dignity of that crown. The king of
Cafhel very reafonably replied to thofe remoii-
ftrances of the Eugenians, by defiring they may

confider.

ILLUSTRATED.

confider, that as the major part of the lands and
flates belonging to the Dal-caf&an tribes, was
merely and properly their o^^n acquifition, as
well as a glorious monument of the valour of their
anceilors, fo it confequently owed no fubjedion
or tribute to the crown of Cafhel, to whofe domi-
nions that acquifition was never annexed ; befide,
that thofe Dal-caflian flates were frequently ex-
pofed to the attacks and hoftilities of the Conati-
ans, againft whom they were obliged to ferve as
a barrier^ which was equally^ though not fo im-
mediately ufeful and neceflary for the defence of
the Eugenian flates. But thofe reafons, however
jufl and folid in thcmfclves, were not prevalent
enough to remove the jealoufies of the £ugeniaas
againft the Dal-caflians j on the contrary, they
at laft prevailed with king Feidhlim to march at
their head with all the forces of South-Munfter into
the heart of North- Munfter, refolved to reduce
the Dal-caifian flates to ihe fame fubjeftion with
themfclves, or die in the attempt. But king
Feidhlim forefccing at the fame time the difficul-
ties, which that enterprize ftiould meet with from
t!ie martial fpirit of the Dal-ca(Iian tribe, and de-
firous of preventing the efFufion of human bloody
thought proper to proceed with caution and pru-
dence upon this perilous expedition. He there-
fore halted at a place called Lig-na-Nachtran in
the country of Thomond, and from thence dif-
patched ambaffadors to the princes of the Caffian
race, with full power to fignify unto them the
firm refolution of the Eugenian flates, and that

nothing

457

45» THE LAW OF TANISTRY

tiothinglefs than their fubjeftion to the crown of
Cafhel, by the payment of tributes and taies,
with the delivery of hoftages, could prevent a
bloody war, between the two tribes, which nuy
be attended with mod difmal confequences. The
Dal-caflfian princes having heard out thofeambaf-
fadors concerning thefe new pretentions of the
Eugenians, difmifled them with fcorn and indig-
nation, charging them at the fame time to afliire
their king that he flibuld find them well prepared
to give him a warm reception, and difpute that
matter with him and his forces, at the point of
the fword. But the clergy of the country purfu-
ing wifer counfels, entreated thofe ambafladors
toreprefent to king Feidhiim, that none of his
predeccffors ever pretended to a right of futjec-
tion, or tribute, from the Dal- caflian princes, and
that their kingdom of North- Munfter was always
Acknowledged as an independent date, cTpeciaily
that part of it which was the conqueft of Luig
Meann, and may bejuftly elleemed the price of
Dal-caflian blood. At the fame time L^chtna,
fonof Anluan, who then was the fovereign rukr
of Norlh-Munfter, and a prince of great pro-
dence as well as valour, took an opportunity of
riding away incognito with one fuigle attendant,
to pay a private and friendly vifit to king Feidh-
iim at his camp, who received him with the
grcateil demon ftraticn of fatisfadlion and civility,
which ended in a thorough reconciliation and
change of purpofes between them and their ^^
fpeftive tribes. In a word, Feidhiim was folly
fatisfied with a polite declaration, w hich was made

to

ILLUSTRATED.

to liim by Lachtna, importing^ that for hb par-
ticular part, he was \viUing to acknowledge liitti
as king of CaHiel and South-Munfier ; but with-
out prejudice to the independency and rights of
the king and dates of North-Munfter. Feidhltm
and his princes were doubtlefs the better difpofed
to be fatisfied with this polite declaration of
Lachtna, as the Dal-CaiUan forces were n[iarching
from all quarters to meet thofe of Feidhlim, who
were already very apprehenfive of being furround-
cd and attacked on all fides, without even the pof-
fibility of a retreat. But when the Dal-Caffian
chiefs had notice of the reconciliation! they all
aflembled about their fovereign, and paid thdr
compliments to the king of Ca(hel, who received
them in the moil gracious and friendly manner;
and Lachtna infilled that as he was fo fplendidly
entertained by king Feidhlim that day in his tent,
he expefted his vifit, and an acceptance of thfc
like politenefs from him at his court, where he
prevailed with Feidhlim and his pritices to fpend
fomc weeks, during which time they were regaled
in the moil magnificent manner. At Feidhlim's
departure, he folemnly promifed he never would
pretend to the right of either tribute or ho(lage&
from the martial and royal tribe of Dalcaia,
whom he acknowledged to have been always (ttc
and independent.

L O R C A N.

Lorcan, the fon of Lachtna, Ton of Core, fon
of Anluan, fon of Mahon, fon of Torelach, fon of

Caithil,

459

4^0 THE LAWS OF TANISTRT

Caithil. fon of the above Aodh Caomh, fin
Conall, fon of Eocha Bealldearg, of the diieft
line of Cormac Cas, fucceeded his father in the
fovereignty of North- Munfier : he was a power-
ful and refolute prince, and was diftinguifhed for
his generofity, prudence and piety. Our bifl(uritn
relates a remarkable affair that happened between
this prince and Flann Siona king of Leath-Cuinn;
this king inftead of employing his forces in
giving proper check to the Daniih invaders, who
in his time were committing the moft barbsrom
devaftations, cruelties and facrileges, efpeciiSj
in the North of Ireland, and even in Meath and
Kildare under his own eyes, thought proper to
make a fudden irruption into the province of
Munfter, at the head of his troops, where be
plundered and laid wafle a great part of ihe
country. At his return home loaded with btety,
he boafted to his officers, that there was no prince
or llate in all Ireland, that would dare to noleft
or obftrudt his march, and that he (houldhoU
himfelf as fafe and free in his paflage, as if be
had been upon a tour of pleafure and fporting in
the heart of his own patrimonial eftates : where*
fore he declared that he intended to divert and
amufe himfelf at his chefs-board, wherever he
thought proper in his way homeward, without the
lead compliment to any prince or ftate whatfoe?cr
[This praftice and condudt, it feems, was held u
a mark of contempt in thofe days, towards the
prince and people, in whofe ftate fuch fporting
liberties had been taken by another, without their
confent.] A domeftic poet, called Flann Mac

Lonnane,

ILLUSTRATED. 4«<

inane, who was of this king's retinue, haviilg
rd out this piece of rodomontado, could nor
sun from telling hisfnafter, that he was appre-
five if he had gone upon fuch a fporting
srae into the country of the Dal-Caflian tribe,
mded as he was by all his forces, he (hould
3 have a more feripus and yet a briflcer game
ilay, than that of either chefs or hazard : here-
^ this king, after calling a fcornful look at

poet, inftantly orders his troops to march
"^ards Thomond . In the mean time, the poet
c Lonnane, who would not gladly be found a
b prophet, took an opportunity to give timely
ice of his mailer's defign to Lorcan, King of
Ith-Munfler, who having loft no time in giving

alarm to the chiefs of his tribe and their
aes, they foon were in readinefs to give a warm
sption to king Flann ; this prince having
rched into the Country of Aobh-Caifin in
omond, halted on the plain called Magh-
hair, at the very fpot on which the kings of
rth-Munfter were ufually inaugurated; and
c, after a fliort rcfrefliment, he ordered a
^al to be made to his courtiers and officers, to
to their amufements without care or apprehen-
3; and for his part, hechallenged a companion
a game of chefs. But the Dal-Ca(Iians, who
I diligently watched his march and motions,
re by this time aflembled in fight of his camp,
I in a fufEcient number todiflurb his attention
that fort of game. In a word, they poured
m upon him, before he had finifhed his party
faefs, and foon overturned his gaming tables,

after

4Sa THE LAWS OP TANISTRY

after forcing their way fword in band, tothcwj
fpot on which they ftood : the fport did notdl
with this brifk fcuffle ; for our hiftorian infaai
U5» that the affair came to a general tod mI
bloody engagement between both araiia, lU
continued for three days fucceffively, tndciU
with a total defeat and dreadful carnage of Ib|
Flann's men, who at laft was drove to the a*
tremity and confufion of employing the mat
fion of his poet, to obtain quarters for hii«
perfon.

Note ; This piece of military condudt, hwas
odd it may appear in our days, I judged not dn-
gether improper to be relat^ in this otnft}
inafmuch as it may ferve as a fample of the mar
ners and cuftoms obferved by the waniondE
thofe times. It is juft to remark ztAtbm
time, that no part of the ridicule of this tmt
action falls upon Lorcan or his tribe, who, bai|
attacked in a contemptuous as well as haft
manner, were obliged not only to vindicate tier
own honour and rights, but alfo to repel theio^
vadcr of their country, to whom they owed v
fubmiflfion.

Cormac Mac Cuillinan, king and bilhoprf
Cafhel, paid a vifit to this Dal- Caifian prince <
his court of Thomond, where he was honounUf
received for nine fucceflive days, to the grcitlr
tisfadlion of the venerable guefl, and that of i
numerous fuite. This king at his departure,
prcfented to Lorcan and the other princes of ■
fept, that he hoped the principal heads and
prefentatives of the twelve branches, into wlii

ILLUSTRATED. 4<J3.

ribc of Dal-Cais.was divided, fhould deliver
his care and tuition one of their feveral fons,
; educated in the, natiu-c. of ecclefiaftics. To.
pious prppofal of th^ king of Ca(bel they;
»dily cpnfented, Lorcan hioifelf being their
edept in giving up his youngeil fon Cpfgaracht
pi Conla fon of Eionachta, who would not de-
bts own fon, upon a furmife, which he did not
tal, that this had been a fpecious pretext in
nac to carry away the young princes, and :
wards detain them at Caihel, in the ftateand*
ity of hoftages. The venerable Cormac
only protefted^ that the charges of Conia
^r both injurious and groundlefs,. and in the.
^iice of the aflenibly, gave him his maledic-
^ of which ConU and his {>ofterity (fay the.
rds) felt the temporal efiedsi being foon after
iced to a poiTelBon of lands, confined within
ifqufty limits of the diftriA of Sgeth-
chtgn.

prpan, in fome time after^ w^t to return the
of king Cormac, bat before he approached
x>urt, thought proper to halt at a place called
Vrna Nurlan, on the plains of CafticL This
[,being informed of Lprcan's vifit, fends' him
Invitation without any further ceremony or
plinoent by one of his houfliold, who.as(bon
e, delivered his errand, was obliged to return
1^ a plain denial. The meffenger immediately,
rins his royal mailer, that the king of North-
ifter feemed to be rather affronted than
fed with the invitation. Cormac having
«fly reflected upon this circamftance, and the

caufe

464 THE LAWS OF TANISTRt

caufe of that refufal, made the following declara-
tion in the hearing of all his courtiers ; I certainly
know, fays he, the rcafon of the worthy prince's
non-compliance, he requires the benefit of that
right, which the Dal-Caffian kings, whenever ihcy
do not fill the throne of all Munfter, are indif-
putably entitled to inherit in the regal houfc of
Cafhel ; for the faid princes in fuch conjunctures
have an unqueftionable right to poflfefs the entire
northern half of that palace, for this reafon, that
their ancefiors and themfelves have always de-
fended the king and crown of Cafhel againft the
attacks and invafions of the provincial troops of
" Leinftcr, and the forces of Leath-Cuinn. Here-
upon, Cormac difpatches one of the princes of
his tribe to make an apology to the Dal-Caflian
king for the incivilities (hewn him, and requeft
he would now come on, and enjoy his privileges
in the royal feat of Calhel. Lorcan made no
difficulty to comply with this offer, and wasie-
ceived with open arms by king Cormac, who, as
foon as the Dal-Callian prince entered, gave
him poflcflion of the north-half of the entire
palace, and feated him and the princes of his
blood at his right hand ; an honour wluch the)'
were entitled t6 enjoy, not only becaufe the Da!-
CaHian forces always formed the foremoft ranks
in all ofFenfive and defenfive engagements wi:h
the common enemy, but alfo covered the rear of
the Momonian armies in all their neceflary re-
treats, being at all times the laft that quitted the
field of battle. In return to this compliment
due to his rank, Lorcan gave the king of Calhd

his

ILLUSTRATED. 4^5

bis moft hearty thanks, and frankly declared, if
he had not (hewn him the honours and privi-
leges^ to which he had an hereditary right, that,
iar from paying him a vifit, he and the other
princes of his tribe, (hould never hold the leaft
conrefpondence with the king of Ca(hel, or his
Sugenians, nor ever after alTift them in their
^cateft diftrcflcs. The venerable Cormac him-
ictf, having an extraordinary talent for poetry,
tcxprcSks the privileges of the Dal-Cais in the
tegal houfe of Caftiel in a poem of his Pfaltar
which begins thus : ** RuidUeas Dal-Cais Ceo-
•* daibb ^rmacb:'

In this prince's reign as king of North-Munfter,
/Teige Mac Cathil the king of Connaught, made
a fudden invaiion with all the forces of his pro*
vinoe into the country of Thomond, of which
the Dal-Caflians being fpeedily alarmed, by an ex-
pedient generally pradifed on the Kke occafions,
aflcmbled their forces in a fufHcient number, and
repeUod the invaders, after a general deroute and
ilaughterof their men. The military expedient
above-mentioned, and which the Dal-Ca(fians
ordered to be obferved upon the firit notice, or
apprehenfion of an invafion by the Conatians,
confifted in lighting a large alarming fire on the
fiimmit of the hill called Rinarda, which may.
apprifethe watch-guard of the height calledSliabh-
Muiceann to do the fame, who were to be imitated
by tbofe of Knock-'an-Phriachan, which laft fir^
advcrtifed the watch of Knock-an-Dubhan, fothat
by this means every man who faw the fire, that was
able to bear arms throughout the whole kingdom

H b of

«!« THE LAW OF TANISTRT

€x Jicrrr-MicfrcT, -cftinily repaired to Ccann-
^'X^ZJL^ pr^cgrgd :o repel the invaders.

Xsc prxsi Ox^Ti^c Mac CuiUinan, biftiop and
tne dc C^ihci, riot coly had a perfonal affeftion
fex^^Lorca::, bcr W2$ fer.fiblc of his right to
gf^y*^ feiJcLf in ibc throne of Calhel. This
kaag being m pomrwd by Fiaharuch abbot of
ii5^^ra, and odxr princes of bis tribe, to go
cpcc an cxpcdi'icc into Lcinfter, in order to en-
Cxcs fca rigtr of tribote from that province, as
part Gt Lsath iii3gh ; and having a fore- fight of
b's dsih before be ret am from that enterprife,
tci: a friKjd?.- rnv'^tation to Lorcan, at whofc
arrrrx: be declared to all his court and kinfmen,
xksz :h:3 prince had a jatt and natural right to
fjcceed himielf in the throne of Cafliel, purfuanc
to tbe vill of CXI-J Oixm, thdr common anceftor :
and therefore did (irom that moment, deroife his
crown t3 Loffcan, in cafe he (hould not furvive
tbe expc<£tkxi be tben was going upon. Ac-
cccdingiy, dns enterprife having been fatal to tbe

Efe of Cormac, agreeably to his own pre-fenttnieot
cf death, this Dil-Caffian prince fuccceded him,
and rczgoed as king of all Manfter for die re-
maiixkr of his days, which, I (hall here obferve,
that, according to O Dubhagane, quoted by
Kcacng, was only a year and a half; but it ap-
pears from Chronicon Scotorum, that be reigned
for fix years, r. r. (irom the death of Clormac in the
year 90S, to tbe commencement of Fldthbhertadi
c Ionmhuir«en's reign, in the year 914.

KINNEDY.

ILLUSTRATED. 467

K I N N E D Y.

Kinnedy fon of Lorcan, fuccccdcd his father, at

Icaft in the kingdom of North-Munftcr ; and we

Ihall by and by find fufficient reafon to think, that

he may very juflly be allowed a place in the

catalogue of the kings of all Munfter. This

prince was attacked all of a fudden and at once

by a confederacy of the following princes and

itates, viz. Meath, Dealbhna, Corcamrua, Eile,

Nlufcr}tire, Tiege Mac Cahil king of Connaught

with ali his forces, the Eoganacht of Cafhel, and

their king Callaghan, who doubtlefs was the

author and fomenter of all this confederacy.

But the brave Kinnedy, with his invincible Dal- .

Caifians, intrepidly and conflantly facing about to

oppofe the different attacks of their invaders, not

only maintained his ground againft them all in

the mod gallant manner, but alfo gained feveral

vidtories in the profecution of this defenfive war :

and particularly a very fignal one againft Cal-

laghan of Cafhel, of whom he won the battle of

Saighleann, where 300 of Cailaghan's tribe befide

numbers of his troops were left dead on the field

of battle. This was not the only battle Kinnedy

fought againfl Callaghan, as (hall juft hereafter

appear from the Chronicon Scotorum. This gallant

prince met the confederate army of all Leath-

Cuinn, at Athlone in Connaught, and there fought

and forced them to retire with confiderable lofs.

He alfo had twenty-four bloody engagements

with the Danes, whom at long run he entirely

H h 2 routed

468 THE LAW OF TANISTRT

routed out of his kingdom of Norlh-Munftcr.
Thus far the Munfter book concerning the gallant
aftions of this great prince.

Keating, agreeably to his ufual fondncfs of en-
tertaining his readers with ftories of an extraor-
dinary nature, relates two very fmgular events
concerning Kinnedy and Callaghan, fon of Bu-
adhcan, a prince of the Eugenian flock, his cotem-
porary and rival for the throne of Calhel 5 in the
firft place he tells us, that Kinnedy, after the
death of his father Lorcan, had convened the
princes and ftates of the whole province, at a
place called Gleannamhuin, now Glanworth, in
the county of Corke, to whom he (ignified and af-
ferted his right of fucceeding to the throne of all
Munfter ; but adds, that the mother of Callaghan
appearing at the fame time in the midft of this
awful affembly, pathetically remonftratcd to Kin-
nedy, that according to the law of alternate fuc-
ceffion antiently cftablilhed by the laft will of
Olliol Olim between the Eugenians and Dal-
Caflians, her own fon had then the right of fuc-
ceeding in his turn to the throne of Cafliel, pre-
ferably to Kinnedy. This argument, by the
bye, would imply a plain acknowledgment from
the inventor of the llory (who doubtlefs was one
of the feanachies belonging to the Eugenian
princes) that Lorcan, the father of Kinnedy, had
been the immediate predecefibr of Callaghan in
the throne of Ca(hel, though the writers of the
Eugenian party have expunged him out of their
lifts of the kings of Munfter. Our hiftorian, pur-
fuing the ftory, aflures us however, that Kinnedy,
notwitbftanding his great power and influence,

was

ILLUSTRATED. 469

was good enough to acquiefce to thofe reafons
and reiinquifti his preteniions in compiaifance to
this old bdy.

Keating*s other ftory relative to thefe two
princes, but which regards Caliaghan in a more
particular manner, is, that this prince being
treacheroufly invited to Dublin by Sitrick, the Ton
of Turgefius the Dani(h tyrant, under the fanAi-
on bf a promife the faid Sitrick had made him of
a marriage alliance with his (ifter Bevionn, daugh-
ter of the faid Turgefius, was perBdioufly feized
at his arrival, together with his companion Don-
chuan the fon of Kinnedy, and both fent off tied
neck and heels to Ardmagh, there to be difpofedof
according to the fanguinary views of that ufurper :
but that Kinnedy, to whom Caliaghan had en-
tnifted the government of the whole kingdom
during his abfence, being informed of Callaghan's
captivity, raifed all the forces of Munfter, both
by fea and land, and difpatched them away under
the comnsand of an able general called Donogh
O'Keeffe, and an. experienced admiral, by name
Failbhe Fionn ; and that, by the extraordinary
valour of thefe commanders and their refpedtive
forces, Caliaghan and Donchuan were refcued
from on board the Danilh fleet off Dundalk, and
brought away triumphantly, after killing Sitrick
and his two brothers, whom our hiftorian, faith-
fully copying his learned authors, calls by the
names of Tor and Magnus.

But with regard to thefe two (lories, the latter
of which is wonderfully enlarged upon, and em-
bellished with all the flowers of romantic elo-
quence.

470 THE LAW OF TANISTRT

quence, belides the profound filencc of all Iriih
annals, which of itfelf alone, may found a ftrong
fufpicion and prejudice againft the reality of their
refpedlive fubjedts; I (hall obferve in the firft phoc
with regard to the former of the two, importing
the pacific acquiefcence of Kinnedy to Gdlaghan's
pretenfions, the annals reprefent him of a quite
contrary difpofition and condii6t, inafmudias we
find it exprefsly mentioned intheChroniconSoo-
torum, at the year 944, to which is thereto I^
ferred the death of Flaithbhertach, the fon of
lonmhuinein, Callaghan's predeceflbr in the fo-
vereignty of South- Munfter, that a very bloody
battle was then fought between Kinnedy and Ctl-
laghan, both vifibly contending for the throne of
Cafliel, as foon as it was vacated by the death of
thefaidFlaithbhertach; in which battle, fought at
a place called Magh-Duine, many lives were loft
on both fides, as the author of the Chronicon ob-
ferves, by adding to his Irifh account the Latin
words, ubi fnulti ccciderunt . And, to remark it by
the bye, this fanguinary contention and rivalfhip
between ihefe two princes, difcredits in great mea-
fiire that zealous part which Kinnedy and his fon
Donchuan are faid to have taken in what regarded
Callaghan's intereft during his captivity. But at
the fame time it is obfervable, that the power and
fovereign command attributed to Kinnedy by tl^.e
authors of Callaghan's ftory, implies a fair con-
ceflion from them of the fovereignty of Munfier,
being at lead as cxtenfively fhared by the farmer
as it was by the laticr.

Now

ILLUSTRATED.

47 «

Now as to Callaghan's captivity under Sitrick,
the fon of Turgefius, and his heroic deliverance
by the forces of Munfter, I cannot but obfcrve,
tbat the whole (lory is inflexibly irreconcileable with
the moft authentic accounts and hi Aorical fafts ex*
prefsly recorded in the Irifli annals. Turgefius, the
fuppofed father of Callaghan's perfidious enemy
Si trick, finiftied his execrable life, according to
the Chronicon Scotorum, the annals of Innisfallen
andthofeof Ulfter, in the waters of Lough-Nair,
whereinto they tell us he was plunged and drowned
anno 845, by Maolfeachluin king of Meath, who
had feized the body of that tyrant, whether by*
open feats of war, or by fuch a ilratagem as that
which has been firft; related by Giraldus Cambren-
fis, Topogr. Hib. Dift. 3. c. 4. who (according
to his well known talent of inventing wonderful
flories concerning Irifti affairs) will have us believe
what the annals above cited are all quite filenc
upon, that Maolfeachluinn contrived the capture
of thatDanifh king, by complimenting him with
the difpofal of his fair daughter, accompanied by
fifteen young bravos difguifed in woman's drefs,
under which they concealed well prepared weapons
for the execution of that defign. But however
this event was brought about, it is agreed upon
by all authentic accounts and the beft authors,
that Turgefius died in the year 845. But the
carliefl mention I find of Callaghan in the faid
annals, particularly in Chronicon Scotorum, is in
the year 936, that is to fay, eight years before he
contended v^ith Kinnedy for the fucceffion at the
death of Flaithbhertach in 944; at which firft
mentioned year of g^S^ he is faid to have plun-
dered,

47^ THE LAW OP TANISTRT

dered CIonmacnoifB in Mnth, at the head of i
party of Munfter men : and in the year 9^ ic
18 mentioned as making another expedition of 1
like nature, aififtcd by a party of Danes, into tiie
fame province, wherein he plundered Cluainnirttid,
' Cluainaineach, and Cill-aice. Now from the time
of Turgefius's death in 845, to the very fiifi of
thofe epochs of Callaghan'a firft appearance in the
world in quality of an adventuring partifan, that
are juit 91 years, and to that of his affumingtk
title of king of South-Munfter^ as fuoceflbr of
Flaithbhertach in the year 944^ there are at loft
99 years, and poflibly within a few months of t
whole century. And what allows us full liberty
to extend this good round number of yean to
near half a fcore beyond the whole century, the
writers of Callaghan's (lory all agree in telling «|
that he finifhed his life as well as his reign of tea
or twelve years (for they differ as to its dtirttioB)
foon after his return from his captivity, in which
they give us to underftand, that he had remuned
but a few months. Bevionn, the daughter of
Turgefius, muft therefore by a ncceffary confe-
quence be a pretty grave and experienced matron,
of more than an hundred years of age, when her
brother Si trick, who could not be much younger,
but may by many years be older, vjas arch enough
to fet her up for the objed of Caliaghan's ambi-
tion and courting expedition to Dublin. But a
further mifchief and crofs purpofe againft this
much famed ftory is, that the annals make no loft
of mention of this Sitrick, fon of Turgefuis, wiih
regard to whofe iffue, either male or female, they
keep a profound filcnce.

The

ILLUSTRATED. 473

The next account they give us of any princi-
pal chiefs of the Danes or Norwegians^ is in the
year 853, when Amhiaibh, or Amlavius (to whom
Giraldus Cambrenfis, Topogr. Hib. 1, 3. c. 4j.
aflbciates his two brothers Sy tarachus and I varus)
arrived in Dublin from Norway, and fubjcftcd all
the Danes and Norwegians of Ireland to his do-
minion. But as this event was 91 years anteoe*
dent to Callaghan's affuming the title of king of
Cafliel in 944, this Sitricus, the brother of Am-
lavius, befides his having never been mentioned
as king of the Danes of Dublin, but only gover*
nor or commander of thofe of Watcrford, could
not be the perfon whofe fifter might have tempted
the ambition of our Momonian prince. To this
we may add, that the authors of this ftory, far
from mentioning Amlavius and Ivarus as the
brothers of their Sitricus, have taken care to af-
lign him two of quite different names, Tor and
Magnus, whom they reckon among the flain in
the wonderful battle by which Callaghan was re-
fcued. We find indeed another Sitrick menti-
oned in the annals at the year 919, as an aflbd-*
ate with one Ivarus at that bloody battle near Dub-
lin, in which Nial Glunduff and many other Irifli
princes were flain, with great numbers of their
men and officers. The Qironicon Scotorum calls
this Sitrick by the diftinftive name of Sitrick
Gaile, and the Innisfallenfes call him Sitrk:, the
fon of Amhlaibh, or Amlavius. Sir James Wars
mentions him at the year 916, Antiq. Hib. p. 109.
The epoch of this battle is juft 25 years before
that of the death of Flaithbhertach, the prede-
ceflbr of Callaghan in the throne of Cafhel •, and

ytt

474 THE LAW OF TANISTRY

yet this Sitric difappears immediately after dat
battle, and mud be fuppofed to have loft his tfc
either in that action, or before the end of tk
fame year, inafmuch as there is no mentico of hio
in another tnoH flaughtering battle and vidaji
which Donogh Mac Floinn, the fucceflbr of Nid
GlundufT, gained the year following over die Dr
ni(h and Norwegian forces, wherein theChromooi
Scocorum obferves, that thefe foreigners fufed
much greater carnage and lofs of men, than thelrilh
had fuftained from them in the preceding bittie.
Another proof of the above Sitrick's havingfiniflxd
his days before 921, is, that Godfra or Godfii*
dus, grandfon of Ivar, is noentioned at thisjfor
as king of the foreigners of Dublin. The doA
of this fame Godfridus is mentioned at the yor
934, when his fon Amlavius, or Aulafius fiK^
ceeded him, and died in 941, and was fuccccdcd
by his fon Blacarus until 948, when be loft te
life with 1600 of his people in a battle, where-
in Congalach, the fucceflbr of Donogh Mac

Floinn, gained the vidtory. Blacarus was fuc-
ceedcd by Godfridus, fon of Sitrick, whom

we find mentioned as ftill reigning in the jcar
951, after which he foon loft his life, as mentioned
by theChronicon Scotorumby a viCble judgment
from God, for having deftroyed and plundaed va-
rious churches named in that chronicle j and was
fucceeded by another Godfridus, fon of Aulafius,
\fho died in 962, fix years after the death o(
Callaghan Cafhel, during whofe reign, from 944
to 954, no Sitrick appears at the head of Danes
or Norwegians, as is plain from the preceding
fucceflion.of their kings.

Another

ILLUSTRATED.

Another plain mark of invention in this ftory
)f Callaghan's captivity under Sitrick, the fon of
Turgefius, is furniOied by the part, which Don-
:huan the fon of Kinnedy is faid to have a£ted
n this romantic adventure, which the authors of
t reprefent as having happened not long before the
leath of that Momonian prince. The Chronicon
Scotorum fets doun at the year 958, that is to fay^
the fifth year after that in which Callaghan began
his reign, the death of Donchuan and his brother
Achiar^, as having been killed by Congaladi
the fuccclFor of Donogh Mac Floinn in the throne
of Tara, in a plundering expedition which he
then made into the province of Muntter. The
fame fa£t I find mentioned in another old manu-
fcript I have in my poflcffion, without either title
or author's name. Callaghan lived for five years
after this event, a circumflance, which befides
the little appearance there is of any good under-
(landing having fubfifted between him and Kinne-
dy or his fons for the reafons above mentioned,
founds a very material prejudice againft the truth
of this famous ftory. The laft fymptom of deli-
rious imagination, I /hall take notice of in the
inventers of this romance, is the mention they
make of Morrogh Mac Floinn king of Leinfter,
as having oppofed the paflage of Callaghan's
army through his country, at their return to
Munftcr. To convince us of the inconfiftency
of this epifode, we have only to obferve, that
the Chronicon Scotorum at the year 944, when
Callaghan began his reign, mentions one Bran Mac
Maol-m6rdha, as being then the reigning king of
I^lnfter, and affifting Congalach, afterwards king

of

475

\

476 THE LAW OF TANISTRT

of Tara, in ranfabking Dublin, where diey killed
400 Danes. This Brian king of Leinfter, wa
killed by the king of Oflbry, amo 947, according
to the Chronicon Scotorum, that is to fay, fix or
feven years before Cailaghan^s death. Now ac-
cording to the lift or catalogue we have from the
I^einfter records of the kings of that province,
and their fucceflion with the dates of thdr
enthronement and death, I find that Morrogh
Mac Flin or Mac Fin, as he is called in fome
copies, began his reign juft 21 years after the
death of Bran, 1. ^. 14 or 15 years after that of
Callaghan. I (hall conclude this tedious criticifm,
by aiTuring my reader, that zeal for the honour
and credit of the true antiquities of the Iri(h
nation, and far from a natural inclination of ex-
pofing the weaknefs of any of the Irifti writer^
is what induced me to make thefe animadverfioos
upon this famous (lory of Callaghan Cafhd;
and upon this occafion, I am forry to have too
much reafon to lament thedifcredit, and even the
diflionour, which the Engliih tranflatioH of
Keating's hiftorical colledions muft naturally
have refledted upon the authentic and geamne
antiquities of this nation, of which fome precious
monuments are ftill remaining, as I (hall foon
have occafion to mention more particularly ; t
tranflation, which befides being miferably incorred
andabfurd as to the literal fenfe in many places,
for want of a competent knowledge of the Irifli
language in the chief tranflator, vifibly alters or
gives a defigned turn to the true meaning and
fcope of the original. Nor could the author,
whofe zeal for the prefervalion of the Iri(h lan-
guage

II,LUSTRAT£D. 479

ciigzged htm to undertake the compiling
t work, havt ever intended it for a genuine
dl grounded hiftory of Ireland, much lefa
lad any deftgn to have it publilhed in any
language than the native tongue, for whofe
vement it was principally cakulated. Thift
option of his laodable views and intention
egard to that work, muft appear very natu-
d well founded in the eyes of thoTe who will
npartiaUy confider, that a perfon of Kea*^
charadter and profeffion, could not be filf-

1 to have had any other view or meaning in
irding his hiflory with fo many fabulous
renccs of Pagan fuperftition and Druidifh
SkionSy as well as with various romantic
s, whidi are as plainly inconfiftent in them-
, as they are irreconcileable with the annals
is counti^, but to amufe the common fort of
readers, and give them at the fame time a
and emulation for the improvement of their
^ language.

Fore I have dooe with the ftory of Callaghan
(hel, I ihall confefs, I am flrongly of opinion,
his romantic ftory has been raifed upon no
foundation, than that of the capture which
nnals both of Innisfallen and the Chronicon
»rum mention to have been made of the body
Uaghan, by Mortogh the fonof NialGlQnduff^

2 year 941, when this prince is mentioned to
made a fudden irruption into the country of
cl, where he furprifed and feized Callaghan,
n he led away captive and delivered up into
hands of Donogh Mac Flin the king of
, who, as the Innisfallcnfes obfcrve, foon

afterwards

478 THELAWOFTANISTRY

afterwards gave him his liberty upon foine coq^*
ditions which are not explained in either of tbofe
annals. Some Momonian Bard or Seanchy at*
tached to Callaghan's family, having had a tradi-
tionary knowledge of this difgrace of that king,
might have bethought himfelf of giving it fudi
a different turn and kind of new creation^ as may
rather rcfledk honour upon the memory of aa
Eugenian prince, who otherwife had given prooft
of his military courage, though fometimes upoo
unbecoming expeditions, of which we have oc-
cafionally cited fome examples from our authentic
annals. To Bnifh this abridged extract of Kin-
ncdy's hiftory, we have only to obfcrvethat ac-
cording to the genealogical records of the Mac
Brodins, hereditary antiquaries of the Dal-Caffim
princes, this Kinnedy had ten fons, viz. Lachtnii
Mahon, Brien furnamcd Borumha, Eachianh
Donchuan, Aiiluan, Marcan,iEdh, Cleircin,and
. Domhnal; of thefe fons five only left iffue,
' which were, Mahon, Brien, Eichiarn, DonchuaOi
and Anluan ; Kinnedy's death is mentioned b;
the Chronicon Scotorum at the year g^ i ,

L A C H T N A.

Kinnedy was fucceeded in the kingdom of
North-Munfter, by his fon Lachtna, and reigned
for three years, according to the Brodins, both ia
their genealogical records, and. their Reim*
Riogra or Regal SuccefTion of the Dal-CaiBai
princes ; in the faid records it is mentioned of tt&s
Lachtna, that he fought a battle at Magh-Duioe
againfl O Floinn, O Kearny Fionn, and O Keaniy

Duff,

^

ILLUSTRATED- 479

whom he left dead all three together on the
of battle. And the fame authors remark,
the place called Grianan-Lachtna, or the
e of Lachtna's in Craigliath, a dillridt of
nond, was called from this prince, who built
lid palace towards the year 953. The cir-
lance of Lachtna*s immediate fucceiTion after
ithcr, feems to prove him the eldett of Kin-
's ten fons.

fore I begin the reign of Mahon fon of
edy, I Ihall make a few remarks concerning
:xorbitant number of king's of Munfter of
^ugenian race, which the antiquaries of that
ely family have fet down in their royal
ogue, or feries of regal fuccelTion in the houfe
iachra Muilleathan, from his time to that of
gradh the fon of Ailgeanan, who has been the
:ing of Munfter of that family, and was the
ediate predeceifor of Mahon, fon of Kinncdy,
he Dal-CalEan race. To (hew how ill
nded and inconfiftent thofe antiquaries have

in fwelling their regal catalogue, with fo
t a number of Eugenian kings of Munfter
ling fucceflively or at different times, I have
to remark,

That, in the annals of Tighernach and the
)nicon Scotorum Cluanenfe, of both which
nicies I have old and authentic copies,
hran and Amhalga fons of Eanna are fet down
ings of Munfter in the year 598, and confe-
itly coregnants, or reigning at the fame time
iflFerent parts of that province j and yet the
enian antiquaries give them feparate places

in

^ THE LAW OF TANISTRT

in dieir lift of the kings of Munfler, as if Aef
had reigned ieparately and at different tina
The latter of thefe two princes dying in the pr
604, left the kingdom to Finghin, (on c^ hak^
Duisr, who was accordingly proclaimed kingiadi
fame year ; fo that there are no more thu fa
years from the beginning of the coinciding rqp
of the above brothers^ to Finghin's inaugante
in the throne of Munfter. But the Eagenin
antiquaries allow feven years to Amhalg^ lod
eleven to Gabhran feparately from each otixr,
after which they infert no lefs than five Eugenin
kings in their catalogues, diftributing 67 yen
between them, from the rdgn of the tii
Gabhran fon of Eanna, to that of Finghin foa cf
Aodh Duff above mentioned.

II. According to the faid chronicles, this («
Finghin, fon of Aodh Duff, died in the year 615k
and they alfo mention Aodh Beannan as king of
Munfter at the fame time, both chronicles agredog
that he died in the fame year 619. And yet die
Eugenian antiquaries give them fepMirate rrignsi
and place Cathal fon of Aodh Flannchathridi*s
reign often years, according to fome, and twenty,
if we beiievc others, between them both, ifld
prefix the reign of the faid Aodh Beannan 10
that of Finghin fon of Aodh Duff.

III. According to the faid annals of T^
nach, and the Chronicon Scotorum Cluanenfei
Finghin fon of Cu-gan-Mathair, became kingrf
Munfter in the year 678, and died in the yeir
696 ; and Congal fon of Maoldun is exprefilj
ftiled king of Munfter in the fame annals, whole

datk

ILLUSTRATED. 4S1

death they both mention at the year 690, which
m fix years before that of Fiongaine or Fingin,
who reigned from the year 678. This is a plain
demonftration, that thefe two princes were only
coregnants und kings in part, like thofe above
mentioned; and notwithftandiog the Eugenian
antiquaries fet them down in their lifts as kings
of all Munfter, reigning faccelTively one after the
other.

IV. According to the fame chronicles, Cormac;
Ion of Ollil, became king of Munfter, immedi-
stely after his father, in the year 700, and had an
untimely end in quality of king of that province,
in the year 712. The faid chronicles alfo men-
tion G)ripac fon of Maonach, as king of Munfter
at the fame time, and refer his death to the year
711, by which it appears he was coregnant with
Cormac fon of OUil, reigning for fome time
in a feparate part of that province, and yet both
thefe princes are fet down as kings of Munfter,
in the Eugenian lift of kings, as if reigning ovier
the whole province at different times.

V. According to the Chronicon Scotorum, from
the death of Cormac fon of Cuillinan, at the
bloody battle of Beaiach-Mughna fought in the
year 908, to the death of Callaghan Caftiel, king
of Munfter in the year 954, it is plain there are
only forty fix years, which were filled up by
Cormac^s immediate fucceflbr Lorcan, the father
of Kinnedy, a Dal-Caflian prince who died in the
year 914, and was fucceedcd by Flaithbeartach,
the fon of lonmhuinein abbot of Innif-catha, au
Eugenian, who died in the year 944 : and thirdly,
by Callaghan CaQiel, who fucceeded faid Flaith-

I i bhertach^

THE LAWS OF TANISTRT

bhertach, and died in the year 954. Notwtdh
fianding this glaring evidence and niatter of b&^
the Eugenian antiquaries in all their lifts of kingi
that I have feen, do infert the reigns <^ no U
than thirteen princes of the Eugenian line, from
the death of Cormac to that of Gallagban Ctflid,
and diftribute amongft them a feries of 165
years.

VI. If we may depend upon Keating's aoooooi

of the general aflembly of Dromceat, m the time

of Aodh Mac Ainmireach, Idng of Tara, sficr

the middle of the fixth century, and I am dx

better inclined to think we may, as I find the find

aflembly mentioned in my copy of the annsb of

Innisfallen, during the reign of the faid lung;

it affords us a clear notion of one method wUkh

has been obferved by the Eugenian antiqnaM

to increafe their lift of the kings of Munfler, in

the line of Fiachra Muilleathan. Among tbe

kings whom Keating mentions as memboi of

that aflembly, he names Maoldun fon of Aodk

Bcannan, as king of Wcft-Munfter; and at the

fame lime fcts down Finghin fon of Aodh Duff,

fon of Criomhthan, as king of all Munfter and

another member of the faid aflembly. Now oor

good antiquaries of the Eugenian party, reckoo

both the one and the other of thefe two prinoei

as kings of all Munfter, reigning feparately ind

at diftant times, placing two kings between tbea

both. And thus without doubt they have done

with regard to many others of that family, who

were only petty fovereigns in their refpeftive pirts

of the province of Munfter.

Khali

I L L U S T R A T £ D. 483

I (hall finifli thefe remarks with obferving, that,
Booording to the preceding account of the regal
fuocelfion of the Dal-Caifian princes, taken from
the Munfter book, no more than feventeen of that
family have been kings of Cafliel and all Munfter^
ftom OUil 01im*fi time, to that of Brian Boromh,
banning with Cormac Cas, the ftock of this
line, and ending with Mahon the elder brodier
ttid predeccflbr of the faid Brian ; yet we find,
that during this interval of time, the alternative
of fuccei&on between the pofterity of the faid
Cormac, and thofe of his nephew Fiachra Muil-
leathan was always inlifted upon, as may be feen
notfinly in the Munfter book, but alfo in Keating,
efpmaUy at the times of Criomhthan Mac Fioga
•od Connal Eachluath^ of Cormac Mac CuiUinan
and Lorcan Mac Lachtna, and of Callaghan
Cafiicl, md Kinnedy the fon of the faid Lorcan.
And what is particularly remarkable upon thefe
different occafions, we find it was the Eugeniaa
family that inlifted on this alternate right in their
own favour. Hence I think it might very ratio^
nidly be concluded, that there were as many king3
of all Munfter of the Dal-Caflian race as of the
Eugenian, or at leaft that the difparity was not
very great; though the Munfter book reckons
but feventeen during the above interval: but
good Dr. Keating in his account of the rdgn of
Cormac Mac Cuillinan, tells us very confidently
that no lefs than forty-four kings of this laft men*
tioned family reigned in Munfter, from the time
of Aongus fon of Nadfry (he (hould have faid
firom Fiachra Muilleathan^ to a^e with the lifts

I i a of

484 THE LAWS OF TANISTRY

of the Eugenian antiquaries) to the time of Ma-
hon, fon of Kinnedy; and that during this lime
the princes of the Dal^CafTian race poiTeiTed oo
more lands than the principaHty of Thoniond, or
North- Munfter. And this he aflures us of> after
having occafionally informed us from thne to
time in the preceding part of his hiftory, that fc-
▼era! princes of that family have been kings of all
Munfter after Cormac Cas^ particularly Connal
Eachluath, Dioma the fon of Ronane, and
Lorcan the fon of Lachtna, befides Mogbchorby
Fearchorb, and others.

But upon the whole matter, I prefume it might
juftly be concluded from the preceding remsks,
that the lift of Eugenian kings may very rcron-
ably be (hortened at leaft by near a third part, fo
as to reduce their number to thirty or thirty-two
real kings of all Mimfter. And as we may as
reafonably prefume to raifc the number of Dal-
Caflian kings of that whole province during the
faid interval, from that of feventeen, as it is in
the Munfter book, to at leaft twenty ; fo we may
conclude upon very rational grounds, that the
whole number of kings of all Munfter fumiftcd
by both families conjunftivcly, did not exceed 52
during the faid interval of time, which was of
about 700 years. In fuch a government as that of
the old Irifh, wherein maturity of age, or rather fe-
niority, was conftrtutionally required, no lefs ihan
fevcn kings ftiould reafonably be allowed for every
century : and if we confider that thofe kings frr
quently came to an untimely end through the
machinations of thofe who afpired to become their

fucceffors,

ILLUSTRATED. 485

fucceilbrs, we may upon a confiderable interval of
time as often allow eight kings to one century as
feven kings, fo as to compute their reigns, one
with the other, to be of between 1 2 and 1 5 years.
And as this computation cannot reafonably be ex*
ceeded, fo I think the above number of 52 kings
furnifhed from the two families, is the highefl that
can be allowed to fill the fpaceof 700 years.

As the Eugenian tribes were always more nu-
merous in Munfter than the Dal-Caffians, feveral
of whofe branches had tranfplanted themfelves to
Leinfter, as above explained, fo it may very
naturally have happened, that they were
wronged of their alternative of fucceflion in the
throne of all Munfter, as often as the Eugenians
found themfelves in a condition to take the ad-
vantage of them. And this muft have happened
the more frequently, as the Dal-Caflians were al-
moft perpetually engaged in a defenfive war
againft the G>natians, ever fmce their renowned
ancefior Luig Meann had conquered that peo-
ple, and annexed to his kingdom of Nbrth-
Munfter all that country on the north fide of the
Shannon, which was afterwards called Thomond
and now the county of Clare ; but whatever in-
juftice the Dal-Caffians may have futfered with
regard to their right of alternate fucccffion'ih
the throne of all Munfter, during the interval
above mentioned, it will appear in the following
part of this hiftory, that they afterwards very
glorioufly repaired their loftes by maintaining
themfelves in conftant pofleffion of the fupreme
power, either as kings of all Ireland, jor of Leath-

mogh.

4S6 THE LAW OF TANISTRT

mojghy confifiing of Munfter and Lnnfier, or of
both the Momonian provinces, from the mtd
the above Feargradh, who died in the year ^
to the Englifh invafion ill the year 1172. Not
we are to refume our hiftory, axxi proceed totk
reign of Mahon the fon of Kinnedy.

M A H O N-

Mahon fucceeded his brother LachtiUi io tk
Jungdom of North- Munfter, in the year 954; ui
fucceeded alfo to the throne of South-Mooia
after the death of Feargradh fon of Ailg^anini
the lafi king of Ca(bel of the Eugenian noe
who was treacheroufly killed by Maolmuadb Ma^
Broin^ chief of the O'Mahonies and his dani
anm 960, aa is exprefsiy mentioned in tbe feri^
of the Idngs of Ca(hel inferted in the Manft^^
book. By this revohition Mahon became fic^ic
king of the two provinces of Munfter, and Su-
preme fovereign of all Leathmodha or the foutb-
half- of Ireland, at the above epoch of 9^
And as his death is referred by our annals, par-
ticularly the Chronicon Scotorum, and the annds
of Innisfallcn, to the year 976, when he ws
murdered in cold blood by the fame Maolmuadb
Mac Broin and his two brothers, to whom he had
been treacheroufly betrayed by Donovan fon oi
Cahil, as ftiall hereafter be fully explained •, il
ncceflarily follows, that Mahon's whole reign as
king of all Munfter was of fixtcen years •, though
Keating and the Eugenian antiquaries allow him

but twelve.

MahoD,

ILLU ST R ATE D.

Mahon, inheriting the martial fpirit of his
anceftorSy was from the beginning to the end of
his reign oonftantly waging war widi the common
enemy the Danes ; ag^inft whom he fought feven
pitched battles, befides numberlefs ikii'miflies
and cafual adtionsy in all which he was fignally
vi£toriou8| according to the Munfter book. Bi|t
as my copy of that valuable monument of our
antiquities very unhappily finilhes at the reign
of this king, with regard to whofe hiftory it j^in^
ly appears defe£tive, and quite Ihort of the primi^
tsre original, no particular account of any more
than two of the (even battles previoufly menti*
oned in general, being found therein ; I muft
therefore have recourfe to other authorities, for
carrying on to the utmoft of my informations the
ftory of this great prince, whofe end was as unde*
fervedly ill-fated and tragical, as his life had been
fortunate and glorious. The particulars I find
remaining in my copy of the Munfter book, (hort
as it may be of its original account of Mahon's
full hiftory, are however very deferving of being
recited in the firft place ; and the more, as through
the lamentable lofs of the monuments of Irifti an-*
tiquity, nothing fo curious and facisfadtory is to be
found elfewhere, relative to the actions of this
magnanimous king. I fhall begin with my eiq^ir*
ing author's account of a bloody battle that was
fought and glorioufly won by Mahon, againft the
king of Connaught, for which he found bimfelf
under the neceffity of interrupting his engage-
ments againft the common enemy. Our Momo-
nian hero, having recdved fome provocations

from

4«7

488 THE LAW OF TANISTRT

from the people of Connaiight and their luBg
Feargal O Ruark, marched at the head of b
troops into the heart of their country, refolved to
be revenged on them for cruelly taking advantage
of his hard circumftances. Feargal and his peo*
pie determined to oppofe his pafTage over tbe
Targlin, met him on the banks of that river,
where after a very brilk and bloody engagement,
the unfortunate Connatian king, and the reroiiot
of his officers and men, were drove to the necef-
fity of throwing themfelves into the river to fwkn
over for faving their lives, in which defpente
attempt many of them met in the waters the fate
they apprehended from the vidtors fword. Bat
Feargal, though he faved his life, did not efcape
without the additional difgrace of having left his
Ihield behind him in the pofleHion of Mahon, who
had fairly liripped him thereof in a perfonal itn-
contre, during the heat of the adkion. This
battle was fought in the year 965.

Thus the Munfterbook; wherein it is added,
that Mahon had this trophy laid up in his palace
as a monument of his valour and victory; and
that one or other of his general officers during his
time, and afterwards the princes of his family,
always wore Feargal's fhield on days of battle,
cfpecially whenever they fought againft the peo-
ple of Connaught, thereby to damp their fpirits
with fhame and confnfion, on account of that dif-
grace. In this poi-it of conduft, as in other
various maxims of the antient Irilh, a per-
feft uniformity of manners and cuftoms is ob-
fervable between them and the old Germans, ac-
cording

ILLUSTRATED-

cording as thofc of the latter aredefcribed by Ta-
citus, who fin his treatifc de Morib. Germcmrum)
takes notice, that nothing was more ignominious
in the eyes of this warlike people, than a com-
batant's having left his fhiekl behind him on a
day of battle in poflfeffion of the enemy, fiut, to
return to this glorious vidtory of Mahon ; we are
to obferve, that according to an Iri(h poem be-
ginning with the words, ^^ Caogad Ardr^b air
^^ diib Oadaibbj" which is recorded in the Mun-
iter book, as having been compofed to perpetu^
ate the memory of Mahon's condu£t and fuccefs
on that occafion, not lefs than fifty princes or
chiefs of clans were killed in this battle.

Now as to Mahon's wars with the Danes, the
fame Chronicle informs us in general, that he
fought feven pitched battles againft thefe invaders^
in all which he was glorioufly viftorious ; but it
defcends to no particulars, nor names, either of
places or perfoiis, but with regard to two of them ;
the one is that of Sulchoid, which is alfo men-
tioned in feveral other records and hiftorical ac*
counts of Mahon's life, and fought in the year 968,
according to the Chronicon Scotorum ; concerning
which, my copy of the faid book of Munfter fetg*
forth, that this king fought it againft the Danes
of Limerick, under the command of Maoghnas
-w-^^agnus, their chief governor or king, and
thofc of Leinfter, conduced by Carran, who
came as auxiliaries to their countrymen of Lime-
rick ; and that thefe two chiefs, with many of
their fubaltern officers, and three thoufand of
their men, were all left dead onthe field of battle.

Keating

4St

4^ THE LAW OF TANI8TRT

Keating mentions this, or perhaps another £&-
rent battle, that was fought and won by Mahoa
at the fame place of Sulchoid agatnft the Danesof
Limerick, commanded by Muiris, or Mamioei
their governor, and affilied by Totil and Rooaoe,
the former of whom is fiiled governor of Water-
ford by the EngUfli tranflator of Keating, and the
latter governor of Limerick ; which titles however
I do not find attributed to them in any of the
Irifh manufcripts of that Mftory. In this faattk
Keating informs us, that thefe three conmuuxfen,
with two others, called Bernard and ToroB, kfi
their lives with two thou&nd of their countrytnco,
who were left dead on the fpot (in one of Ket^
ing's manufcript copies I find the number of the
Hain amounting to feven thoufimd;) and tint
^ Mahon, and his brother Brien, with their vifio-
rious army, purfued the reft of the Danes to the
dty of Limerick, where they flaughtered them
both in the ftreets and in their houfes ; after wfaid
they plundered and burnt the town, fet fire to
the gates, demolifhed the walls, and entirely dif-
mantled that fortrefs. The numbet of the flsin
might therefore very poilibly have amounted to
feven thoufand both at Sulchoid and Limerick.
J My old anonymous manufcript, above-roeo-

' tioned, relates all thefe circumfiances of this battle
of Sulchoid, regarding Mahon's purfuit of the
Danes after their defeat at that place into tbe
Greets of Limerick, the flaughter that was made
of them therein, and the plundering, burning,
iand difmantling the town ; but it premifes one
curious drcumftance to his relation of that battle

and

ILhVBTR ATED. 491

end ks oonfequenoes ; which is, that the tdtoa
btg/kn at a piaGe caUed CnamhchotU, now pro*
noonoed Knawhill, between Cafhd and Suldxad,
^hcxt he fays that the day before the decifite
battle at this plaoe, Ivoma, a Dani(h commaiKier^
appeared with a ftrong body of cayaby to icooor-
noitre Mahon's army, and that he was fuddeoly
attacked at that place by Brien, fnrnamed fio-
rondi, at the head of fonie fquadrons of lights
hoife; who, after a briik engagement, wherdn
more than half the number of tittt Danilh party
Was left dead on the fpot, routed and purfued the
reft to the main body of their army, then en«
camped at Sulchoid ; and that Mahon fpeedilj
followed at the head of all his forces to the laft
jnentioned place, where the decifive aAion was
glofioufly atchieved by him and his faid brother
Brien, as above detailed. The difierence of ciN
cumllances between this battle of Sulchoid, and
that which is accounted for in the Munfter book,
makes me think they were two diflferent actions,
though happeniog at the fame place ; and I am the
more inclined to be of this opinion, as I find that
Sulchoid is frequently mentioned in fubfequent
ages and wars, even as far down as the laft cam-
paigns and revolutions that happened in this king*
dom, as a noted poft for the encampment of ar-
mies, being fituated in a plain, which is guarded
•by heights on both fides, within one day's
march of Limerick, and in the diredl road from
Dublin to that town by the way of Cafhel. With
regard to the other battle, which the Munfter
1x)ok particularizes, as having been fought and

won

49a THE LAW OF TANISTRT

won by Mahon againft the Danes^ it defcends to
no other detail of its circumftances, than that the
Danifh forces were commanded by Ivar, chief of
fuch of thofe foreigners as were dill in and about
Limerick ; which plainly (hews that this adioa
was another quite different from that which ii de-
fcribed by Keating.

Of the other battle of Mahon againft thefe com-
mon enemies, as particularized in the Munfter
book, there is no further explication or detail,
than that he fought it vidorioufly in the year970i
againft Ivar commander of the Danes of Lime-
rick, aififted by two auxiliary bodies of people,
who are diftigguifhed by the national names of
M airtinigh and Leathmannigh, words which ire
pronounced Martini and Letmanni. Who thefe
two different people were, and of what origuiis
a queftion I ftiall endeavour to clear up in a (hort
diflertation at the end of this reign, as I think the
Irifh hiftorical antiquities interefted in its eclair-
ciflement.

Now we are to (>urfue and (inifti Mahon's hi-
ftory according to other authorities. In my copy
of the annals of Innisfallen, I find mention made
of a very bloody battle that was fought in the
year 972, between Mahon and Maolmuadh Mac
Brain chief of the O Mahon's, aififted by the
Danes of Munfter. In the year 975, he gained
a very fignal victory over the Danes of Corkc,
Wateiford, Limerick, and all Munfter, accord-
ing to the Chronicon Scotorum. The above-
named Maolmuadh Mac Brain, anceftor of the
O Mahonys, who at that time was the moft pow.

erful,

ILLUSTRATED. 493

erful, as well as the moft reftlefs and amUtioud'
of all the Eugcnian chiefs, envious of Mahon's
glorious adtions and fucceflfes againft the common
enemy, fet all his engines to work in order to take
away his life, and thereby force bis way to the
throne of all Muhfter. For this jend he Tent pri«
VBte meflages to all the principal Danifh com-
manders of the province, and particularly to
Aralt, fon of Ivanis, whom Mahon had flain at
the battle of Sulchoid, eameftly foliciting them to
make all preparations in the moft private and eic-
peditious manner, and join himfelf and his forces
to take their full revenge of their declared and
conflant enemy the king of Munfter. This en-
couragement was fo very agreeable to the Danes,
that they loft no time in muftering all their forces,
and joining Maolmuadh, whom they found well
prepared at the head of a ftrong body of Euge-
nians at the place and time appointed for the ge-
neral rendezvous. The Chronicon Scotorum re-
fers this event to the year 976. Maolmuadh,
:«Fith all his auxiliary Danes, marched diredtly
and with all poffible fpeed, to furprize the king of
Munfter, who had but juft time enough to aflem-
ble his forces, and range them in order of battle
before the near approach of the enemies. Both
parties were juft preparing to enter upon adlion^
when Columb (bn of Ciaragain the biftiop of
0>rke, attended by fome of his clergy, unez*
pe£tedly appeared in the field between both ar-
mies, and by bis pious intercelfion and fupplica-
tions prevailed with the king of Munfter and his
enemies to fufpend the battle, and thereby pre-
vent

-h

^ THE LAW OF TANISTRT

fier, withanaccountof theyearsoftbdrragQiyttd
manner of their death ; wherein it is mentiooed tiat
Mahon was murdered on the mountain of Mof-
firy near Macroomp, at a place called ladt'
Mbagbtbambna^ or the grave of Mahon, Crao
his name. This mountain lies in the diitd Goe
between the places where Maolmuadh and Dodd-
van had their refidences.

Keating confidently tells us, that Kdnmiioi
fon of Kinnedy, was king of Thomond, wheo
his brother Mahon was king of all Munller. Bot
it is recorded in the Chronicon Scotonim, m
authority which we may depend upon, dat
Eichiaruin and his brother Donnc^uan were boA
killed by Congalach, kingof Tara, inTbomood,
-4- in the year 950, jufl ten years before the Ix-
ginning of Mahon's reign. It feems, however,
that Eichiaruin and Donnchuan were elder bro-
thers of Mahon, and it is poffible the former
might have been king of Thomond after Laditm.
Whence it muft follow, that Brien Boromh, whofc
nativity is marked down in the Chronicon Scoto-
rum at the end of the year 924, juft 25 yean
before the death of Eichiaruin, and Donnchuin,
was but the fifth fon of Kinnedy, fon of Lorcaa
Mahon left iflTue, of whofe pofterity the moil
flourifhing were the Mac Eneirys, who enjoyed
the large eft ate of Caflle Mac Eneiry, till the
time of Crom weirs ufurpation ; and whofe chief
was in former times the principal lord of the coun-
try now called the barony of Upper Connalla, in
the county of Limerick, until the arrival of the
Englifh planters, when the earls of Defmond hid

pofTel&on

ILLUSTRATED. 497

f^ofleffion of moft parts of that county. Before
that time Mac Enciry's principality extended from
the river Maig to Abbey-Feil on the bounds of
Kerry. The O Shyhans, who were likewife of
Mahon^s pofterity, enjoyed very confiderable pro*
perties in lower Connall, until ihey were difpoffeff*
ed by the faid £arls. As to the Mac Eneiry^s
I find in Tighernach's annals, Kineth Mac
Eneiry mentioned as king of Conallo, at tht
year io'29> on occafion of a battle fought between
him and Doncha O Donegan king of Orrery,
wherein both were killed ; which (hews the early
fcttlemcnt of the Mac Enciry's in that country
after Mahon's death.

Having thus finifhed my account of the life
and reign of Mahon, I am now to make good my
promife of giving fome account in this place, of
the above mentioned Martini and Latbmanni^
by laying down my opinion concerning what kind
of people they were, and of what original. As
to the L^tbmanniy the inveiligation of thdr
origin muil be the more difficult ta(k, as I find
no mention of them in any other monument of
Irilh antiquities; wherefore, I muft neceflfarily
trace them out by the fole light of foreign autho-
rities. But with regard to the Martini or Mar-
tinciy 1 am fufficiently warranted by hiftorical ac*
counts, to think and fay without heiitation, that
they were a tribe of the ancient lri(h Belgians, or
Oanna-bolg^ (for fo IriQi antiquaries have always
called the people of the Belgian colony) as may
be feen explained at large in Flaherty's Ogygia,
p. 175. Where the Martinei^ the Emm^ and the

K k Mornei

4jj« THE LAW OF TANISTRY

Mornei or Moriniy &f r. are fet down as diffcrem
cians of that ancient people, fome belonging to
the Damnonian Belgians, and others to the Galle-
nian Belgians of Leiniler.

And inafmuch as all Irifh aniiquaries allow,
that thofe Belgians were inhabitants and rukrs
of Ireland, not only long before thofe they call
the Milcfian colony, (whom they preceded by
178 years, according to O'Flaherty's computation)
but alfo, before the Tuatha de Danan, whom the
faid antiquaries mention as the immediate poffif'
fors of this Ifland, before the Scots othcrwife
called Milefians ; it follows that thofe Martm^
as well as the Erneiy and the other tribes of tiioTe
Belgians mentioned in Irifh hiftory, had a very
good right to maintain their ancient pofleifions,
even by confederating with any people that would
help to proted them againft their former inva-
ders of the Scottilh colony. A{1 hiftorians agree in
afluring us that thofe Belgian tribes retained the
property and fovereign power of all Connaught^
and uninterruptedly furnifhed kings to that pro*
vince, till the time of Cairbre LifFeachair fon of
CormacMac Airt, when Aidiusthe fon of Gara-
dius was king of Connaught, and the laft of the
Belgian race, towards the end of the third
century. There flill fubfift in the city of Lime-
rick and in that of Galway, fome refpedfable re-
mains of thofe Belgian Martinei^ I mean the fami-
ly, who are now known by the name of Martin.

With regard to the Leaih mannicc or Leunrn-

ttiy I have no other conjecture or opinion to oflfct

. the reader concerning their origin, but that they

were

ILLUSTRATED. 499

were in all appearance the people of that central
province of Livonia, whofe capital is Riga, ftilcd
by Cluverius Urbs totius Livonia nobilijffitna \
and which province by the inhabitants is called
Letten, and Lctta by the Latin Geographers, vid.
Cluver. Introd. Geogr, 1. 4. c. 26. The author
of the Munftcr book calls ihofe people by the
name of Leaih-mannicc, with the fame propriety
of fpeech as the Irirti writers always called the
Germans Gcar-mannicc, and the Flemifti, Flea-
mannicc or Plea'- mannicc, iSc, The learned
Ufhcr, (Sylog. Epift. Hib. p. 121 .) is of opinion,
that the Oft-manni, who came to Ireland under
the conduct of three brothers called Abhlavius,
Sitricus, and Ibharus, (A. D. 853, according to
our annals, followed by Waraeus Antiq. Hib.
p. 106.) were all Livonian; and plainly feems
to think they were called Oft-manni as being the
defcendants of the OJHai or Oftioties of the
Greeks, who were the Q/?// of Tacitus and Pliny.
In this opinion I (hould not however be eafily
induced to join that great antiquary.

Giraldus Cambrenfis (Topogr. Hib. 1. 3. c. 43.)
tells us, that thofe foreigners who came with the
threecommandcrs above named, called themfelveis
Oft-manni, as being Eafterlings or people come
from the Eaft. They might indeed have been
properly fo called by the Irifh, or by themfelves
with regard to Ireland, in reference to which
Livonia is fituate to the Eaft, or rather to the
North' Eaft. But if that people call them-
felves Oft- mans at home in Livonia, as well as in
Ireland ; they certainly were no other than the

K k 2 inhabiunts

Soo THELAWOFTANISTRT

inhabitants of the province of Eften or ^ftonia,
who fo diftinguifticd themfelves from the reft of
the Uvonians by the name of that particular
country, and not from its natural fituation, which
they could not have cfteemcd abfolutely or pecu-
liarly eafterly, as they could not be ignorant, that
there were other nations of mankind, (ituate be-
tween themfelves and therifmg of the fun.

That the Oft-manni or rather Eall-manm, who
came to Ireland under the command of the three
officers above named, were really Livonians, as
Ufher has judged ^ is an opinion which I think
receives Arong conBrmat'ton from this mention
that is made of Lsth-mannicc, as of foreign
people aflbciated with the reft of thofe ftrangers
who infefted and fettled in th*s country from the
latter end of the eighth and during the ninth
century ; for as thofe Let-manni plainly feem to
be the people of that particular province of U-
vonta, which is called Letten and Letta, fo the
Oft-manni or Eaft-manni appear as plainly to be
the inhabitants of that other province of the fame
country, which is called Eften and Eftia ; and
which, it is natural to think, had retained the ge*
nerical and national name of the ancient j^H^
defcribed by the Roman writers ; in a word, thefe
two opinions, Uftier's of the origin of the Oft-
manni from the province of Eftonia, and mine
of that of the Lei-mannij mentioned in the
Munfter book, from the province of Letten
mutually fupport and confirm each other, fo as
to make it the more apparent, that both people
were Livonians, of thefe two different provinces

rcfpedtively.

ILLUSTRATED. ifci

refpedlively. ^ And if we add to all this^ that thofc
foreigners who came to Ireland, with the thite
brothers and commanders now often mentioned,
and were fettled by them in the cities of Dablin,
Waterford, and Limerick, have been frequently
called by the name of Gaill, by Irifli writers, ever
fince their iirit landing in this country ; this dr*
cumftance, joined with that of the Lei manm^
being found mentioned in Iridi antiquities, net
long after the arrival of thofe fame foreigners,
will render it more than probable^ that all and
every one of the diflfercnt provinces of Livoiua
have furnidied adventurers to the expeditions for
invading Ireland, in the ninth century.

For as the Let-manni, and Eft-manni, were ve»y
apparently the people of the provinces of Letta
and Ellia refpedtively : fo 1 think it equally ap-
parent, that thofe whom Irifh writers call Gaill,
were the people of Semigallia, which is a third
province of Livonia, bordering on Letta towards
the South, and fituate juft at the bottom of the
Sinus Livonicus. And here it is particularly
to be remarked, that before the arrival of thofe
fame foreigners, writers have never difiinguifhed
any people or nation by the name of Gaill : for
as to the Gauls, in the moil ancient writings, the
words Ccilt or Geilt, and Ceilteach, fignify a .
Gaul and Ceilltiic in the plural : and writers of the
middle ages have ufed the word Galtach to fignify
a Gaul, and plurally Galticc the people of Gaul ;
but the words Gall in the fmgular, and Gaill in
the plural, firft ufed to fignify fome of the in-
vaders of the ninth century, who probably were

the

502 THE LAW OF TANISTRY

the people of Semigailiay have afterwards been
employed by writers, to mean all foils o(
foreign invaders promifcuoufly arid in geaenl,
whatever nation they may be of. So that the
Anglo-Saxons, who invaded Ireland after die
fuppreffion of the Danifli power, have always been
called Gain as well as Safonicc, by Irt(h writas;
and are called Clanna Gall by the common pcopk
to this day.

Befides thefe general appellatives of GdllvA
Lehtnannicc, the Irifh writers made ufe of the word
Danifj which in right orthography is rather Dat
fbify literally meaning viri Dani^ to fignify
the people of Denmark in particular. And this
word I find to have been of later ufe than any of
\ the preceding; from which circum (lance it may

be inferred with fome appearance of truth, ibit
the Danes were not as early in their invafive ex-
peditions to Ireland, as the Livonians and other
inhabitants of the right hand coaftsof the Bllti^
fea : for which I (hall by and bye affign a rcafon,
whereof the reader is to judge as he may think
proper ; in the mean time, it is nccefl'ary to cb-
ferve, that with regard to the northern invadcn
of the ninth century, writers mcft generally and
commonly call ihem all promifcuoufly and indif-
ferently by the national name of Locb-hnnacb in
the lingular, and Locb-larmicc in the plural;
whether they were Livonians, PrulTians, PonK-
ranians, Saxons, Frifians, Danes, Norwegians,
Swedes, or any other people of lower or northern
Germany inhabiting the coaft of either the Baltic
or the Germanic fea. To the people of iholc

regions

ILLUSTRATED.

regions alone the name o( Locb-ltmnicc was always
affedted by Irifti writers, while they extended that
of Gaill to all forts of foreign invaders, whatever
part of the globe they 'came from. From hence
itfeems evident, that this word Locb-lannMcb oX
Locb-latmicc^ has been originally formed upon the
name they firft had given, or' traditionally heard
to have been given either to. all thofe maritime
coafls of the Baltic and Germanic feas in general,
or to fome particular country adjacent to one or
other of the faid feas, from which that name may
have been extended to fignify all the other coun-
tries of thofe regions.

As to Kea ting's and Flaherty's etymological
explication of the word Locb-larmacb, by which,
they would mean powerful atfta^ the Irifli of the
ninth century could not be ignorant, that other
nations had as good a right to that character as
any of the Germanic people we are fpeaking of,
whom they confequently would not have diftin-
gui(hed by that name. The whole maritime
force of the feveral Germanic and Schytho-Ger-
manic people of thofe days all combined together
could not match even the third part of the naval
power of Charlemagne J of whom we read, that
his armaments formed one continued cafdon of
(hips of force, ftationed at convenient diftances,'
all the way from the mouth of the T> ber to the
coafts of Denmark. Mr. Edward Lhuyd, in his
comparative etymology, (Archaeol. Brit. p. 19.
c. 2.) fets down Lycblynnydb^ as fignifying a Nor-
wegian in the old Britifli or Welfh language \
and confequently we may prefumethat they gave

the

S«>3

504 THE LAW OF T ANISTRT

the name of LychlyDn to the country of Noi-
way. The vfoid Locb-Ioiuuicb^ fometicnes indeed
meant a Norwegian with the old Irifb, butitiUb
fignified a Dane, Swede, Livonian, Pruffiao,kc
with all the Irilh writers, as well as a Norwaymin.
Whatever original fignification the old. Wdb
might have given their word LycbhfunjS^ for of
part, I am flrongly inclined to think, thaiLodh
lann or rather Loch-land, (for the Irifli ahrtp
ufed fm and nd indifFereotly for each other, elp^
cially at the latter-end of words, as may be fca
in old parchments, and I find the words Lodt-
]and and Loch-lainde fet down in my old copy of
the Chronicon Scotorum as frequently as Lodh
lann) that Loch-land, I fay, a Celtic word whidi
litterally fignifies a land of lakes or a watry (^
gion, was a name which our remote analiors
gave either to fome particular country fituatedoo
the Bahic, from which it might have extended
itfelf to fignify all the other countries of tbofe
parts ; or elfe, that they originally comprehendcii
under the fame name all the country furrounding
that fea, as well as thofe of lower Germany fix-
ated on the Germanic fea. And this would fem
the more natural, as it is well known, thaiall
thofe regions are more abundantly watered with
lakes and rivers, than any other large traft of
Europe. If any particular country of ihofc to
arc fituated on the Baltic or the Gei manic fe,
was peculiarly called Loch- land by the ani'eni
Irifli, it may very probably be that region en boih
fides of the lower Vittula, which comprehends the
provinces now called Pomerania and Pruffia,

w

ILLUSTRATia

\Yhich were the antient feats of the Goths, and
that part of the Efiii^ which by the anticnts wcie
diftinguifhed by the name Scyrri. Helmodusa
German hiftorian and geographer of the twelfth
century tells us, that thofe countries, and more
efpecially PruiTia, are almoil inacceifible through
the grejit number of their lakes or loughs, and
fenny grounds \ inaccejfi paludibus^ mUnni inter fe
dominum fati voluntj are the word« of this author,
relative to the Pruffians. Cluverius, a native of
Dantzick, gives ub the fame notion of thofe coua-
tries, by defcribing ihem in thef^j words, ' terra

* pahidibus lacubufque creberrimis pntpcdita atigue

* liivw,* (Germ. Antiq. 1. 3. c. 48.) words whofc
whole meaning is comprehended in one Iberno-
Celtic word Loch-lann, or Loch-land.

But what I think very much to our purpofe for
grounding not only the reality, but alfo the anti-
quity of this name Loch-land, being given to
thofe right coatts of the Baltic, which compre-
hended Pomerania, Pruflia and Livonia, is fur-
niftied by Jornandes in his hiftory of the Goths,
written about the middle of the fixth century ;
wherein, according to Ciuverius*s explication, that
author's following v/ords, pervemt ad terras qu^
lingud eorum (Gothorum) Ovin voeabantur^ muft
be underttood of the countries of the Eftii of Ta-
citus beyond the Viftula, which in the Gothic
language, were called by the names of Ouen or
Ouen-land, as Jornandes tells us in the above
words terra oven. Now it is plain to every
Iriftiman, who underftands the Iberno-Cehic laifr-
guage,tbat Ouen-land and Loch-land, fignifylhe

very

5^5

5*6 TH£ LAW OF TAMISTRT

•

very fame thing, Abhuin or Obhuin^ which is
pronounced as Ouin, (ignifies in Irifh a river:
and though the Irifh word Loch or Lach in its
primitive and radical meaning, properly figniiies
a lake and is the radix of the Latin lacus, yet we
find it very frequently ufed by Irilh writers,
to fignify a river, even fo as to make it fynony-
mous to the word Obhuin or Ouin. Cluvcrius
obferves, in the place above cited, where he ex-
plains the words of Jornandes, that even in his
time, the Saxons diflinguilhed by the name of
Ouven-land, all fuch lands as abounded with
lakes and rivers.

Whether the name of Loch-land may have
been peculiarly given in primitive times to thofe
countries, which are fituated on the right or fouth
fide of the Baltic, for the rcafons now explained ;
or whether the antient Irifh might have given that
name in general to all the countries lying round
about the borders of that Tea, which may pro-
perly be called a lake or lough, being almoft
quite (hut up within land, and confequcntly may
have given the name of Loch-land to all the
countries by which it is furrounded ; certain how-
ever it is, that Irilh writers extended that name
to all and every one of thofe faid countries, whofe
inhabitants they promifcuoufly called Loch-lanicc,
as I have already obferved, and I am quite of
opinion, that this name was known in Ireland
before the arrival of the invaders of the eighth and
ninth centuries ; for I think it very apparent, and
-I am confident I may upon another occafion make
it appear from fuch plain reafons, as may in a
proper fenfe be called living arguments^ that fome

colonies

V

ILLUSTRATED. 507

colonies of different Germanic people have been
fettled in this ifland, before its converlion to
Chriftianity, whomuft have derived their refpec-
tive origins from thofe different nations of Ger-
mans, whom Tacitus, Pliny, and others, mention
as the antient inhabitants of the countries, which
arc fituated on the right hand coafts of the Baltic,
and whuconfequently could not have been flran-
gcrs to the old name of any particular country
of the fame fide of that fea, from which they ori-
ginally proceeded, or that of any other of thofe
northern coafts.

Now it remains to be obferved, that the Irifh
writers divided their Locb-lannicc of the ninth cen-
tury into two forts, viz. the Fionn-locb-lannicc^ or
white Loch-landers, and the Du-hcb-hnmcc^ or
black Loch-landers, whom they alfo diftinguifhed
by the name of Fionn-geinte^ or white Gentils,
and Du'geinte^ black Gentils or Pagans. This
dillindtion of our Loch-landers and that of the
Albanian Pids, who were divided by the Roman
writers into Ve6luriones, and Ducaledones, was
exadlly of a parallel nature and fignification.
Ducaledones fignified the black Caledonian Pifts,
and Veduriones, a corruption of the word Vit-
guriones, meant the white PiAs or white men of
the fame people called Pidts, for Vit in the Ger-
mano-Celtic fignifies white, and Gur, from which
Guriones was formed in the plural by the Romans,
is the Britifh word (ox man. Vid. Archaeol. Brit
in voce Vir, p. 174. The Fionn- loch-landers
were alfo called Fionn-gaill by Irifh writers ; whence
the name of the country about Dublin which is

called

508 THE LAW OF TANISTRT

called Fingall. Here the reader is to be informed
that in the meaning of the Irifli language, the
word Fi&m or white when applied to man or wo-
man, has reference chiefly to the hair of one's
head ; fo that Fitmnloclhiarmicc fignified the Loch-
landed people with the fair or flax-coloured hair \
fuch as the Roman writers called flava ca/aries^
and its oppofite and correlative Du-hcb-Unmc
iigpiiied the Loch- landers with the black or dark
coloured hair. Hence I fee no reafon, that may
incline me to the opinion of modern Irifti writers,
who think, that in the fenfe of the old Iri(h, the
black Loch- landers were the Danes, and the white
Loch- landers the Norwegians. For if we may
judge of the features and hair of the Danes of
thofe days according to what we know of the pre-
fent inhabitants of Denmark, who in general are
rather of a fair than a black or dark complexion,
we can have no reafon to judge, that thofe who
inhabited that country in the ninth century, could
with any foundation or propriety of fpccch be
diftinguifhcd from their neighbours by the name
of Loch- landers. And as to the Norwegians, I
fee as little reafon to think they could have a bet-
ter right to the name of white Loch- landers, than
their neighbours of the fame climate, particularly
theSuiones, the Gutae, the Hilluviones, theScan-
dii, &c. of which the people of Swedeland were
then compofed. Roderic O'Flaherty, Ogyg. p.
303, thinks the Finlanders were the Fionn-Ioch-
landers of the Iri(h writers \ and derives the name
of Finland from the beauty and fertility of its foil,

imagining

ILLUSTRATED.

gining that the word Fin^ which enters into
compofition of that name, is the fame as our
glo- Saxon word ./Snf, or beautifuJ. He did
I it feems, reflet that Finland is (o called
b ita antient inhabitants the Fennii^ wboTe de*
ption by Tacitus does not give us the leaft
Bi to think they had any particular right to be
inguifhed from their neighbours, either by
whitenefs or beauty of their complexion, or
pleafantnefs of their country.
4ft cannot in my opinion be qualified to oflfer
81 fo much as a conjedure, much lefs to fpeak
afively on this fubjed, with any (hew of ret-
I or foundation, before we have obferved in
I firft place, that according to the Irifli annak,
rticularly thofe of Innisfallen, and the Chronic-
Q Scotorum of Cluainmac-Noifs, the firft ap-
arance of the black Loch-landers in this king-
m, was in the year 851, when they arrived
th confiderable forces at Dublin, where they at-
ked the white Loch-landers, and difpoflefled
III of that town and its neighbouring territories.
A though the whites having received reinforce-
Tits from their own country, fought the blacks
ct yeiar during three days and three nights, as
t Irifti chronicles inform us, yet the latter were
ilviftorsand kept their poiTcilions, contrary to
James Ware's account of this battle, who mif-
dng the fenfe of the Iri(h language, interprets
5 words that defcribe that adion, as if the black
ich-landers had loft the vi£tory, and were ex-
iled in their turn. But in two years after this
irolution in favour of thefe new invaders, call-
ed

S^f

Sio THELAWOFTA-NISTRT

cd black Loch-landers, the three brothers above-
mentioned, who condudled the Oftmanni\ whom
the learned Ufher derives from Livonia, arrived
in Dublin, dirpoflefled the black Loch-landers,
and fettled themfelves and their people not only
in that city, but alfo in thofe of Waterford and
Limerick. And in the mean time Abhlavius,
who fettled in Dublin, was acknowledged chief
commander or king, by all the Loch-landers of
Ireland, both white and black.

Now that thofe new invaders and conquerors of
the black Loch-landers, were of the people call*
ed white Loch-landers, as well as thofe that had
been difpoflefled by the blacks in S51, appears, I
think, evident enough from this one circumftance,
that the name of Fingall could not have been gi-
ven to the country about Dublin, which ftill re-
tains that name, till after the arrival of Abhlavius
and his people, and while it was poflcffed by them
and their pofterity, who continued to be its fovc-
reign pofleffors till Bricn Boromh's time. For u
the names of w hite Loch-landers and black Locb-
landers arc but mere comparatives or correlatives
to each other, in fuch fort that neither of ihcm
could have cxiftcd without the co-cxiftencc of the
other : fo neither the people whom writers call
white Loch-landers or white Gallions^ could have
been fo called by them before they had fecn the
other later Loch-landers, who were of a darker
complexion, nor confequently could the country
which had been poffeflTed by the firft Locb-land-
ers, have received the name of Fingall, derived
from that of its pofleffors the Fingaills, or white

Gallioos,

ILLUSTRATED. 511

Gallions, before it came into the hands of the
above Abhlavius and his people, who had con-
quered it from the black Loch- landers. And ve-
ry agreeably to this argument, I find after a ftriA
and minute fearch into the Iridi annals, that from
the fir(]t appearance of thefe northern invaders on
the coafts in the year 795, till the arrival of the
black Loch-landers in 851, writers never called
any of thofe foreigners by the name of either white
Loch- landers or black Loch- landers, but always
by cither of thefe three names fimply and with-
out diftindion, viz. Locb-hnnig^ Gaill^ Geinie •
names which they ufed promifcuoufly for each
other.

The next ftep that (hould, I think, be taken
for deriving fome light upon this fubjedt, is to
look into foreign hiftory, and after taking a view
of the fiate of affairs in Germany about the time
thofe northern pirates began toinfeft the coafts of
Ireland, to confider which of the different people
who inhabited the northern and lower parts of the
German continent, and the countries bordering
on the Baltic fea, may be reafonably fuppofed
to have been earliefl in feeling the necefEty of
' quitting their native feats at that time, and feek-
ing new efiablifhments in the Britifh ides or elfe-
where. In this review of the (late of Germany in
the eighth century, the moll remarkable objedt
that prefents itfelf is, that long and bloody war
which was carried on by Charlemagne againft the
Saxons and their allies for the fpaceof 30 years,
from the year 77« to 802, when this conqueror
entirely finifhed the redudion and difperfion of
that warlike nation. This war muft naturally

have

51^ THE LAW OP TANISTRT

have produced among the Saxons and their ifa
and neigh bours^ changes of feats, emignioi
and expeditions into diftant countriesi fodi »
a£Uy as thofe which antient hiftory fuffidotlf
gives us to underftand were produced by tbemi
pfDrufusand Germanicus on the banks of die
Elbe, and in thofe very quarters of Gmq
which made the theatre of Charlemagne't m
with the Saxons.

.For in the fame manner that the arms of tbde
Roman generals caufed fuch preflfures and coo*
motions of the northern Germans of thofe days a
extended all the way to the Viftula and the coqd*
tries beyond it, fo as to have obliged the mot
part of the Vandalic tribes, particularly theGtids,
firft to pafs that river, and afterwards qdttk
country they call Ovenlandy now Pniffit, (nA
whence after roving through Sarmatia, and the
borders of the Mseotic lake, they pafled into Da*
cia, where in procefs of time they fettled under
Marcus Aurelius about the year 16 1 ; foinlike
manner the cxpulfion and difperfion of the Saxooi
and their auxiliaries mud have caufed fuch a
preffure and exuberancy of inhabitants in tboii
parts to which they had the eafieft accefs, asnwdc
it abfolutely necelfary for fuch hard prefled airi
crowded countries to difcharge themfelves upoa
, their next neighbours on the fame continent, or

fend off their redundant numbers by feaintofome
diftant parts of the world. The countries bt
tween the Elbe and the Viftula, and thofe be*
yond this latter river, afforded a larger and raon
inviting fcope of ground to the Saxons and theii

ncighbouiim

ILLUSTRATED. 51J

tieighbouring auxiliaries to refuge themfelves in,
than the narrow peninfula of the Cherfonefus
Cimbricus, or Denmark and Jutland; which
otherwife was of the more difficult accefs to thofe
diilrefTed fugitives, as it was governed at all times
by powerful kings, and thickly inhabited by th*
braveft of all the Germanic nations the Teutons
and the Cimbrians. Nor was it either prudent
or political for the expelled Saxons to attempt
forcing their way into that narrow neck of land,
out of which they might naturally forefee, that
they fhould be obliged fooner or later to pafs
over the ftreights of Sunda, and fight for more
difagreeable habitations amongft the Norwegians
and Swedes, people of as Aubborn and as brave
a fpirit as the Cimbrians.

From thefe confiderations I infer, that in the
fame manner as the preiTure caufed by the wars
of Drufus and Germanicus on the banks of the
Elbe, have been fooner propagated, and more
fenfibly felt on thofe of the Viftula and beyond
it, than in the Cherfonefus Cimbricus, as appears
from ancient hiftory, particularly that of the dif-
perfion of the Vandalic tribes ; fo the preffurcs
ariQng from the expulfion of the Germans by
Charlemagne, muft for the fame natural reafonar
have fooner dilated and propagated themfelvedS
towards the fame river and the countries to the
caft of it, than to any other part of the Germanic
continent. From this argument I conclude, thac
the necedity of difcharging the redundancy caufed
by the difperfion of the Saxons, may reafonably
be fuppofed to have been begun in the countries

L 1 now

514 THE LAW OF TANISTRT

now called Pomerania and Pruffia, the latter of
which, as I have already repeated, was called
Oven-land, the fame as Lxx:h-land in the time of
Jornandes, and his Goths, according to Quveriusj
and that the naval expeditions which were pre-
pared for that difcharge might have fetoutftois
the fea- ports of thefe countries, fuch as Dantad,
Colberg, Koninglberg, &c.

And that the people who were fent off on fudi
of thofe expeditions as have been made to Ire-
land, were compofed of Saxons, as well as of tbe
natives of the countries from which they fetost,
appears, I think, from this circumftance,thatiD
the year 837, when thofe foreigrners madetheM
iettlement in this ifland, (for before that epodi
they were only infeflingand plundering our coafis
from their firft appearance in 795) by taking ind
pofleifing themfelves of Dublin, the annals of I&-
nisfallen and thofe of Clonmacnoifs called Cbro-
nicon Scotorum, mention one Saxolb commanda
of thofe fame foreigners, who then took this city,
as having loft his life at that enterprize. Theie
firft adventurers continued in poffeifion of Dublin
and its environ fron the above year 837 to Sfi,
when they were difpoffeffed by thofe whom our
anceftors called black Lx)ch-landers or black
Gentils, comparatively with the former Loch-
landers, who in all appearance from the reafons
above mentioned, were moftly compofed of the
people of Pomerania, and Pruffia, of whom
Helmoldus tells us, that they were of a fair
complexion.

The

I L>L U S T R A r E D. jiS

The Dantzickers, Pomeranians and MeckJen-
:>urghcrs of the eighth century, (for I would pot
exclude the latter from having taken part in the
above expeditions, as they could not have been
lefs urged by the fame neceffitics, and the ports
^f Lubcck, Wifmar and Roftock, were conve-
nient to them) for the greater parts were the
dcfcendants of the Vandalic tribes, whofe feats in
the time of Tacitus, who lived under Vefpafian^
extended from the confines of Hoiftcin to the
Viftula. Procopius in his hiftory of the Vanda-
lic war, (Lib. i. cap. i.) defcribing the difFereat
tribes of the Vandali wilh whom he was ac-
quainted, remarks that they were all white (kinned ^
with fair or flax coloured hair, cutis omnibus can-'
dida^ flava aefaries^ &:c. And this is the very
complexion which the Irifli have always diftin-
gui(hed by the word Fionn. The Gottones or
Gothi were only one particular tribe of the Van-
dalii, and their habitations in the time of Tacitus
were on the banks of the lower Viftula in the
country where Dantzick is now fituated. Now it
is remarkable, that in feveral places of Tighcr-
nach and the Chronicon Scotorum, I find the
Gottatcc or Goths mentioned among our northern
invaders: and it feems they were of highdifiinc-
tion amongft thofe foreigners, inafmuch as their
names were tacked as a mrname to that of feveral
of our Irtfh princes in thofe days. Mslruana
Got O Maelfeachlin was the name of the prc-
fumptivc fucceffor to the throne of Tara in the
year 977, vid. Tighernach and Chronicon Sco-
torum, Maelfeachlin Got king of Meath is men-

L 1 2 tioned

x6 THE LAW OF TANISTRY

tioned in both the faid annals at the year 1025.
Giolla Got O Ciarda king of Carbury in Ulftcr,
is fo named in Tighernach's ccminuator, am
1155. And Donal Got Mac Carlhy was prince
of Carbury in the county of Cork, and fo named
in the annals of Innisfallen at the year 1252.

From all this I conclude, that the firft northern
invaders of Ireland, who were called Fionn-loch-
lanning^ and had fettled at and about Dublin
before the arrival of the black Loch- landers, were
either Pomeranians, Mecklinburghers or Fruffians,
or perhaps an aflbciated body of thofe different
people collefted and probably commarkled by
fome Saxon fugitives after their difperfjon by
Charlemagne. And as to the fecond colony of
white Loch-landers, who under the conduA of
Abhiavius, Sitricus and Ibharus, difpoflfefled the
black Loch-landers, I would be inclined to think
them only a fecond expedition and difcharge of
inhabitants from the faid countries, but that I
find in the Munfler book the name of Letmanmcc^
given to thofe foreigners, who were fettled in
Limerick by Ibharus, one of the three above-
named commanders of the fecond expedition of
white Loch-landers : and this is what chiefly bends
me to the opinion of the learned Ulhcr, who
'thinks that thofe who were condudted by the
faid three commanders came from Livonia, and
were therefore called Oft-manni ox Eaft-mannihy
the Saxon writers. For as to the Irifti it appears,
that they never gave that name to any of thofe
foreigners, as it is not to be found in the Irifli
chronicles. The Let-manniand other Livonians

may

ILLUSTRATED. 517

may-ijc properly called Fionn-loch-lannig or
while Loch- landers, as' their complexion could
not be fenfibly different from that of the Pruf*
fians, who were of the fame Eilian nation, with a
Ibrong mixture of the Goths remaining amongft
them fince they palfed the Viftula in confequcnce
of the wars of Drufus and Germanicus. And
it is not unlikely, that the expedition conducted
by the three often named brothers, might have
been compofed of Pruffians and fugitive Saxons
as well as of Let-manni or Letians ; inafmuch as
the preflure and redundancy of inhabitants pro*
pagated to PrufTia by the difperfion of the Saxoa
nation and their auxiliaries, might very naturally
have obliged the people of that country to dif-
charge themfelves towards Livonia, were it for
no other reafon or view, than to find fo conve*^
nient a port as Riga for their intended expedi-
tion.

This is all I have to fay of the white Loch*
landers. And now the queflion is, who tht
black. Gentils were? What part of lower os
northern Germany they were from ? And what
neccffity urged them at that time to quit their
native country ? This, I muft acknowledge is
a queftion, which I fee little or no light to folvc,
or even to fpeak to in any fatisfadory manner;
my only conjefture about them is that they may
be a body of Frifians with a mixture of the dif-
perfed Saxons. We read in Charlemagne's
hiftory that in the year 795, he tranfplanted great
numbers of the Saxons into different parts of his
dominions, fuch as Frifeland, Flanders, Switzer-

landy

5i8 THE LAW OF TANISTRY

land« &c. And the Englilh hiftorians mendoQ
the Frifians among thofe foreigners who invidol
England and took York, anno 867. TbeFrifiios
\irhore feats in Charlemagne's time were neir tk
lower Rhine and the Zuider-Zee^ in the country
'ftill called Frizeland from their name, wbetber
Tthey naturally were of a dark complezioa a not,
might have received a ftrong mixture of GiuElli
and French blood and features, fince their M
"iettlement in the neighbourhood of Gaul ; lod
for that reafon might properly enough be diffio-
guifhed in Ireland by the name of black Lock-
landers or black Gentiles, from the white 000-
plexioned people above defcribed : and that nxil
of them were really Gentiles or Pagans ia tk
time of Charlemagne, to the middle of the oiotii
century, may reafbnably be concluded from thdr
. having martyrized St. Bonifacius firft archbilhop
of Mentz, and afterwards bifliop of Utrccbt.
after the middle of the eighth centiu'y. By vial
I have now laid down in this difcuflion concerning
the white Loch- landers and black Loch-landcrs,
among either of \\hom I have not mcntioDcd
or comprehended the Danes or Norwegians, I
would not be underftood as if I meant itainooc
of thefe people came to Ireland during the ninlb
and tenth centuries; I an rather of opinion,
that fome Danes and Noi wegians came and fetiH
here, efpecially towards the end of the tenth
century, about the time that Swcin king of Df^'
ttiark, and Olave king of Norway inva(k<i
England. We find in the account of thebailk

of Clontarf, A. D. 1014, the Danir or Dan«

mentioned

ILLUSTRATED. 5tj^

mentioned among thofe f..odi-landers, agaihft
whom Brien Bororoh fought that bloody batde.

Before I have done with the Let-manni dr
Letians of Livonia, I (hall |)ropofe by way^ gf
quaere, whether the Lseti or Lettiani, who ar^
mentioned by Zozimus, Jorhandes, and others as
inhabitants of Gaul, and mercenary auidliaries ot
the empire in the fourth and fifth centuries, mav
not be originally of thefc fame Lctjans of Livo-
nia. Zozimus (peaking of the tyrajit Magnen-
cius who ufurped the empire, a9n$ 350, fay^
that he was by origin a barbarian, and had b^n
bred among the Letians, a tribe of the Gauls^
priginem generis a barbaris babebaty et vixerai afiit4
Latos qua Gallica natio eft. Zoz. I. 2. p. 154^
Now, that thofe La:ti or Lsetiani, (for fo th<gf
were indifferently called by either name) werg
not originally Gauls, but rather of a Germanic or*
Scytho-Germanic origin, appears, I thinks frpni
a paflage of Jornandes, who in reciting the^ifr
ferent barbarian auxiliaries of jhe Germanic ana
Scythian nations, who a(ri(led Aetiiisat the battle
he fought againd Attvla near Orleans iiimo 451,
mentions the Lastiani among thofe -auxiliaries .as
in the following words, *his enim adfuere auxil(a-

• res Franci, Sarmatse, Laetiani, Burgundioii^^

• Saxones, Riparioli, &c. aliseque Celticae vclGcr-

• manicae nationes.* From an expreffion of Eu-
roenius in his panegyric on Conftantius Chlorus it
feems apparent, that thofe Lseti or Laetiani were la
the fervicc of the empire, and inhabitants of Caul
before the time of Diocletian and Maximia^
who began to rc^gn in 304, for jt appears from
the following vrorcU of .thait joratpr, that tfe

Letians

izo THE LAW OF TANISTRY

Laetians had been expelled the empire before
Maximian*s time, and that this emperor recalled
and employed them and the Franks, in cultivating
the wafte lands of the Nervii and Trcveri in
Gaul : * fic ut poftea tuo, Maximiane Auguile,
Vnutu Nervorum et Xreverorum arva jaccntia
« Laetus poftliminjoreflitutus, etFrancus in leges

• receptus, excoluit &c. It alfo fecms to appear
from the Notitia Imperii, which wa$ drawn up in
the reign of Honorius, that ihefe Laetians were
the firft barbarian mercenaries that had been em-
ployed in the Imperial fervice. For in the fam^
manner as the name of the particular people and
troops called HufTars, is given in our days to ail
fuch military corps of the different nations of
Europe, as are armed and mounted in the fame
manner, and deftined for the fame kind of fervice
as the firil Huflars that appeared in the armies of
Europe ; fo we find in the Notitia Imperii the
name of the L^f/i' tacked as a military furname
ft) the barbarian mercenaries of different nations.
Thus we read in that valuable monument of Ro-
man antiquity, publifhed by Sirmondus, ' Prae-

fedlus Laetorum Teutonicp'rum, — Prarfcflus
« Laetorum Battayorum, — Praefeftus Laetorum

• Gcntilium Suevorum, — Prsefedlus Laetorum

• Francorum,* &c.

This kind of military language of the Roman
armies paflTcd into ufe even with regard to the
military benefices that were affigned to thofe dif-
ferent barbarian mercenaries ; for wc find i.i an
cdift of the Emperor Honorius, that thofe bene-
fices, whatever nation their pofleflbrs may be of,
were all called Ttrra Laiiae. ' This appears from
the preamble of that edi<!t, whieh runs thus,

quia

ILLUSTRATED.

•

& quia ex multis gentibus fequentes foelicitatem

* Romani Imperii, fe ad imperium noftrum con-

* tulerunt, quibus terrse Lxticse adminiftrandse

* funt, &c.* Codex Theod. lib. 13. tit. 4, leg.
9. A modern French critic has criticized away
from all exiflence in quality of a people or nation,
thofe Lseti or Lsetiani of the Roman writers, and
thinks thefe words to be only attributives or ad-
jcftivcs to fignify the beneficed conditions of the
barbarian mercenaries ; without regarding the au-
thority of Zozimus, who calls the L^tti a real na-
tion living among the Gauls, nor that of Jorium-
des, who mentions them amongft the different
Germanic people who were auxiliaries to Aetius
againft Attila ; this he alledges as his chief reafoh,
that no author mentions either the country of their
origin, before they came to Gaul, or that where-
in they were fettled in this part of the empire af-
ter engaging in the Imperial fervice. It feems
this writer forgot, that there is fuch a country as
Lena or Letia in Livonia, which was poilefled by
the M&X\ of Tacitus, and whereof he might have
read in Cluverius as well as in the learned U(her .
and if he had known any thing of Irilh antiqui*
ties, he would have found that the antient name
of Low-Brittany before the Brittons fettled in it,
was Letbs or Armoric-Letba^ vid. Colgan. Trias
Thaumat. p. 4. col. a. parag. 2, and p. 8. col. a.
parag. 3. In the life, of Gildas Badonicus, the
fame country is called Letbania^ and in fon^e
manufcript copies Lttbaruia. In the life of St.
Mac Clovius the patron of St. Malo, which de«
rives its new name from that faint, we find that
the old name of that town was A-ktba^ which in

the

sax

jjta THE LAWS OF TANISTRT

tiie Celto-Ibemian language fignifies vadam feu
fortus Letborum, Vid. War. de Scrip. Hib. part
2. c. i.n. 8. The Welch always called Low-
Brittany by the name of Lsedan^ or Lidan^ as they
ftill do, deriving it from Letba^ or LnUrna
Thus it is, that the antient names of cbtmtries
are often better prefaved by foreigners than by
their own inhabitants.

BRIEN BOROMH.

Before I enter upon the reign of this great and
iriAorious prince according as his a£tions are re-
corded in the Iriih annals, I Ihall relate an aiiec-
jdote of his life before he came to the throne of
Munfter, fuch as I find it explained in my old
anonimous manufcript with regard tolumandliis
brother Mahon. It imports that Brien, when a
young man at his faid brother's court, impatient
of ina£tton while he faw all parts of the country
over-run and fpoiled by the Danes, conceived the
defign of carrying on a kind of a partifan war
againft thefe foreigners. For this end he formed
a fmall corps of only one hundred brave young no-
blemen, attended by their domefticks, at the
iiead of which be always polled bimfelf at pro-
per paffes and defiles to furprife and take all ad-
vantages of thole cruel enemies^ both at tbdr
plundering excurfions, and in their marches and
counter- marches from one poll to another. Dur-
ing this little nK)untain war, Brien in one of bis
esTpeditions attatked a Danifli officer called firi-
tnis, who commanded a party of loo meni
^hom he 'killed with 50 of his number, at a pke
called Craig- liath, near the town and regal feat

of

ILLUSTRATE]). 533

f Boromby from which by the bye^ this prince.

'wbo afterwards enlarged riiat town^ and buflt

^Kkeieat the famous palaoe of Ceanncora, had the

JHuname of Boromh. At another rencaimter in a

. |wt of Thomond called Breantir, he killed «ne-

. SherDanilh ofiicer named Owen, and cut off to a

.amn his whole party wUch con&fted of 60 men.

At a thirdy he furprifed and killed one Eloys with

So Danes, near the river Forgus ; and in a fourth

pedition, one Melgy with 100 Danes at a place

lied Deargret. Thus he continued his little

ing war againft the Danes, until his fmall

XMmy was reduced to fifteen : with thefe he re-

^^Urned to his brother Mahon, whom he then earn*

r^flly folicited to redouble his efforts againil the

•iniraders of his kingdom ; in which undertaking

-S^rien with the greateft ardour always vitlorioufly

l^conded his faid royal brother to the day of Us

^eath. But the glorious work of the entire re-

^u6Uon and extirpation of the invaders was re-

f crved to himfelf in a latter feafon.

I (hall now purfue and relate the principal ac«
lions of this heroe's life, according as they are fet
ciown in the annals of Tighernach, thofe of In-
Aisfkllen, and the Chronicon Scotorum, without
-<lepefidtng on, or borrowing the lead circum-
Aance from any other authority, as no other than
VfcW known and authentic annals (hould ever be
.depended on with regard to the public adions of
-kings , and this fame rule I fhall obferve with re-
gard to all the fubftquent reigns as far as the faid
annals will lead me. But as to the genealogical
part of thifihiftory, which I fhall carry on at the

end

THE LAW OF TANISTRY

end Gf every leigii, the reader, I humbly pre-
fisae, vill find it fupportcd by the heft aatbo-
fkxs (vhedier annals or other records of a gen^
aSogicai natore) that can be produced in the pre-
Sccz age, and perhaps the bell that have esdfiai
tor ferczal ages backward. But the well infonn-
cd reader is to be judge in this cafe, and will be
the bester abie to pais a right judgment, if he
Gccpares the following genealogical accounts of
the O^Brien race with thofe that have been pub-
Efhed in the Irifli peerages of two difierent authorg
ia daesr genealogy of the Earls of TlxKnond and

To begin and purfue this prince's hiftory from
the time of his brother Mahon's unnatural dcadi;
I am lo obTerre CO the reader in the firft place, thtt
Brien being informed of Donovan's horrid tret-
cfaerj, kit no time in preparing to be fully I^
Tecgcd bcth of that traitor and the bafe miffder.
era cf hfs royal brother. For this end, he manlh
ed 13 the firtt place ag^nft Donovan, whom he
pcrtbed ;ntc iLc heart of his country « where hi?-
isg exigagcd him and his Danifh acziliarics coo-
macded by Aulaibh or Aulavius king of tbe
Dases cf Munfter, be not only cut off andkft
dead on tbe £eld cf battle, both that Irifli priooe
ard this DanKh ksig^ but alio made a general car*
cage cf all their forces, whereof fcarce a nunef-
caped the vigor's fword, as is particularly re-
rrarked \z tbe annals of Iniusfallen. Bricn's neit
care was to take the Fke revenge of Maolmuadh
NIac B:ain and his brothers^ tbe immediate per-
petratcfs cf Mahcn*s mmder. He therefore
gsarched fccc afterwards in qceii of Maolmuadb,

ILLUSTRATED. JI5

) being aflfifted by 1 500 Danes, was met by
!n and his forces ac a place called Bealach*
chta. Here prince Morrogh, Brien's eldeit

making the firft eflay of his military genius^
giving the firft proof of that martial fpirit^
;:h fo fignally charadterized the reft of his life^
ng with his father's confent encountered
»lmuadh hand to hand in the heat of the ac*
p facrificed him to the injured manes of his
c Mahon ; which gallant adtion was followed
I general flaughter and rout of the enemies
I Irifti and Danes, of whom the far greater

were either killed on the fpot, or made pri-
:rsof war. Thefe two anions with which
n began his reign as king of Munfter, are
rred to the years 977 and 978, by the annals
nnisfallen, as well as by thofe^of Tighernach
theChronicon Scotorum. In the former of
'e two years, he gave battle to the Danes of
lerick in an ifland of the river Shannon, called
if-catha, where he flew 800 Danes together
1 their commander the Ton of Harold and his
^ fons. He afterwards vifited all the other
ids on that river, which were poflefTed by thofe
agners, and killed or made prifoners fuch of
m as had been obftinate enough to oppofe his
K>rious arms, after which he returned home to
palace of Ceanncora confiderably enriched
h their fpoils.

n the year 979, Daniel 6 Felan king of the
ies, encouraged and aflfifted by the Danes of
uerford, rebelled againft Bricn, and was ra(h
ugh to rifque a battle againft him near the

town

5z^ THE LAW OF TANISTRT

town of Waterfordy where Daniel loft his life,
and his troops were cut down together with the
flower of the Danifh army ; thofe who furvived
the battle fled to the town for flielter^ whithor they
were purfue^ by the vidtor, and put to the fword.
After this a6tion, he received homage and h(rflt-
g^ from all the petty princes of Munfler^ both
Irilhand Danes, In 981, he invaded the king-
dom of Leinfter with a powerful army by land,
and fent thither at the fame time a confidenble
body of troops by Tea from the ports of Ive-Each*
ach^ Corcalnighe and Waterford, by which di-
verfion he obliged the princes and ftates of Lein*
fier to pay a yearly tribute and deliver him bofli-
ges : and the two principal kings of the province
came to his camp^ and paid him homage.

In 982, Malathy Idng of Teamhair or Tan
invaded Thomond, and by way of bravado and
indignity cut down the famous tree of Magb-Ad.
hair^ under whofe boughs the kings of Nortb-
Munfter were inaugurated. A. D. 983, the fiiid
Malachy aflifted by the Danes of Dublin^ under
the command of their king Gluniaran who wts hii
half brother^ invaded the province of MunfteTi
and committed great flaughter upon the inhabi-
tants of the Defies near Waterford. They af«
terwards fpoiled all Leinfter, and defeated Dbnil
Claon king of that province with great bfs of hit
men. In the fame year, Brien to take revengs
of thofe repeated infuhs, marched without delt/
againft Malachy and his Danifli auxiliaries, whoa 1^
he met at a place called Port-da- Cbaombqg; 1^
where the kingof Tara^ not chuiing to rlTqnei T^

baoki V^

XLLUSTR AT ED. 517

le^ delivered up to Brien all the hoftag^ he
taken in Leath-Mogh, and folemnly bound
(elf in a formal treaty, never to moleft him
the future in the pofleflion and fovereignty
hat kingdom, which condfted of both the
rinces of Muniler and Leinfler, together with
city of Dublin and the Danifli territories in
tnvirons.

1 988, the people of Connaught, aififted by
eof Meath in open violation of their king'a
.ty with Brien, invaded the weft of Munfter,

killed Dunloing Ton of Dubdabhoirean an
jenian prince in a pitched battle, wherein the
atians had likewife fufTered a confiderable
efpecially by the death of Muirgios fon of
lor, who was Righdatnhna or heir apparent
he throne of Connaught. Brien, to revenge
infult, marched at the head of a powerful ar-
, and failed up the Shannon and to Lough-
th and then divided his forces into two corps ;
one he detached to the weftern parts of Con-
ght which they fpoiled and laid walle, and
w Muireadhach fon of Connor the principal
g of the province, with other princes of dilVmc-
1. The fecond corps was comnianded by
en in perfon, who fpoiled the weftem parts of
uith, Uifneach, Breifne, and on both fides of

Shannon, and then returned home with the
dis.

[n P90| Malachy invaded M ufgrytire in Mun-
r, where he committed great ravages, and
.^d Donal fon of Lorcan petty king of that
intry, at ai place called Fordroma. ^ In y^j^
en to take full revenge of him, fpoiled his

country

sal THE LAW OF TANISTRY

country as far as the lake Naindiu, and bron^t Ir
home great fpoils and many pnfoners. iLD. 1^
994, Malachy invaded Munfter, and burntdtk y
place called Aonach-Teide, and carried an; 1^
confiderable fpoils. In 95)5, Brien in tetntn fr 1^
vaded Meath and burned the famous Regiillniifc F
called Teacb- NaohDroma-Raiibet after having f r
ven Malachy a fignal overthrow in a pitcbodii- r
tie. After this a peace was concluded betwea |
them^ according to the tenour of whidi, boA
princes were tied down in the mod folemn tDtn-
ner to commit no more a£ls of hofiilities oil cad
others territories for the future : but on the con-
trary, Malachy promifed to aflift Brien vilbla
troops in fupprefling the rebels of LeatlhiDo^
and Brien offered the like good offices to Malidij
in reducing the malecontents of his kingdom.

A. D. 998 , Malachy and Brien marched vii
united forces againft the Danes of Dublin, wbom
they obliged to pay tribute and deliver boftagcS
to Brien. Soon after this event, they manW
againft the people of Connaught, and obliged the
princes and ftatesofthat province to paytributs
and deliver hoftagcs to Malachy ; in the fame
year, the Danes of Dublin rebelled againft Brien,
upon which he and Malachy marched againf: ■
them, and gave them a total defeat in the vaEcy
called GIcann-Mama, where Hartalachus fonoi
Sitricus, Harold fon of Aulavius and Cuilcnus
fon of Eftigcn, with fevcral other Danes of dil-
tinftlon were flain, vid. Tighernach's annals
A. D. 999. Sitricus fon of Aulavius with ikc
Danes of Dublin ravaged a great part of Lcinf-

Iff,

tLLUSTRAtED. P9

dcularly Kildare, and carried away pri(bhier
I fon of Donald Claon^ king of Leinfter to
' of Dublin. As foon as Brien heard of
•flilities^ he marched with a fele£k body of
•ps to DuUih^ defivered his li^;e-man the
Leinfter from his confinement, bani(h<ed

ii(h king Sitricus beyond Teas, burned a
irt of the town, and brought away a con*
e quantity of gold and filver, and a great

manufa^res and Other valuable cSk&s^
i annals.
'. The author of Caittbrenfis everfus, at-

the whole honour of this aftion to Ma-
vith an uttdr etclufion of Briieb, although
als ot Tighemach etprefsly mention Brieu
^ engaged in the affair, without attributing
ire of it to Malichy. What makes that
the more inezcufable in this piece of impofi*
that he quotes the atinals of TighernachV
latot* for the now-mentioned fadi, who to
: it by the by e^ did not begin his continuation

^id annals until tht year 1088, when
nach ended hi3 annals and died. The
x>n Scotortim indeed makes this fa(£t im-
:ly fubfequent to the defeat of the Danes
n- Mama, which that chronicle makes to

in ^9, and (hates the glory of it equally
n Malachy and Brien, though Tighemach
them two different adtions, referred to two
It years, and ailigns no part of the latter
to Malachy ; notwithftanding the great
ment he always pays him without miffing
\ occafion. I have further reafons to think,

Mm that

S30 THE LAW OF TANISTRT

that Brien alone was the author of this piece of
ferviceto his country, becaufe the annab of lonif-
fallen at the fame year 999, make exprefs meo-
tion of Malachy's committing vaft depredatioiis
in the province of Leinfter, and killing many of
the inhabitants. By this means Malachy. broke
through the articles of peace concluded betweco
him and Brien, and confequently could not be
rationally fuppofed to have interefted himfclf an;
longer in his favour in the fuppreffing of tk
Danilh rebels of Dublin. The faid annaliof
Innisfallen mentiori, that Brien went a fecond tjoe
to that city^ and received homage and hoftages
from the Eafter lings there in the fame year.

In the year 1000, Brien was earneftly folidtd
by the princes and ftates of Con naught todethrooe
Malachy for his violation of the folemii Ueity
in invading Leinfter without a juft cade, as wdl
as for other particular and national grievaaces,
for which purpofe they offered him their owq
concurrence and the fovcreignty of their wbol*
province. In the fame year Brien at the head of
a confiderable army compofed of Momonians,
Conatians, Lagcnians, the people of Oflbry and
the Danes of Dublin, marched to Tara the regal
manfion-houfe of Malachy, in order to demand
fatisfadtion for the late depredations of that
king upon Brien's kingdom of Leinfter; but
bearing he retired with his troops to the place
called Magh-Breagh, Brien detached a fquadroo
of his Daniih cavalry to that place, where they
were attacked and defeated by Malachy at the
cxpence of much blood ; Brien had no fooner

come

I *'

i L t U S r R A t E D. 531

come up to thtf place of aftion, than Malachy laid
down his arms, and made the moil folemn pro-
niifes of paying him tribute and homage as
monarch of Ireland, in cafe he fhould not at a
certain time be able to try titles with him at the
point of the fword. And for this end an entire*
year was gcncroufly granted him by Brien to colleft
his auxiliaries, and maintain hiitifelf if he could
it! the independent fovereignty of Tara..

In I GO I, Brien at the head of the forces oF
M under, Connaught, Leinfter, and the Danes or
Dublin, marched to Tara, where Malachy paid*
him homage, delivered him hoftages and acknow-
ledged him the fovereign king of all Ireland ; To
that Brien in this year commenced his reign as
monarch of Ireland. A. D. 1002, he marched
into Connaught, and received hoftages from the
fcveral princes and dynalls of that j>rovince.
After which he marched into Meath, and received
frefli hoftages and tribute from Malachy, as well
as from all the petty princes of Meath. Thcn\
uniting the forces of Meath under the command
of Malachy to the main body of his army, he
pafled the Eafruadh, and brought away hoftages.
from the princes and dynafts of Tirconnel, and
Tirone, and from thofe of Ulidia. And Aidus
fon of Dons^l O Ncill king of Aighie, and Eocha
fon of Artgal king of .Ulidia came to his camp,
and paid him homage.

In 1004, hemarclied into Meath, and rccciveidr
homage from all the petty princes of that king-
dom, thence he went to Ardmagh, where hc'fc-^
mained an entire week perfor^ng afts'^of devo-

M m 2 tion.

53% THE LAW OF TANISTRY

tion, and offered a gold collar of twenty omwa
weight by way of alms or pious offexii^ on the
great altar of Ai4magh. After this he maiclKd
to the regal honfe of the kings of Dalnanndhei
now the county of Antrim, which was diftingoiih-
ed by the name of SatA - Ator - ABi^be'laft
where the king of Dai^naruidhe paid him homigB.
A. D. 1006) be forcibly brought away hofiigei
and tribute from FlaithbhiorUch O NetlL Afo
tfaefe actions, Brien.and his entire mcmardiyof
Ireland, enjoyed the bleffing of profound pace
fbr fome years, wUch time he employed in ca-
ading whokfome laws, and eftablilhing a pcoper
police througliout the whole kingdom.

In loiOi he fent his eldeft fon Morrogb with t-
fele& body of troops into Ulfter, to put a ftop to
the rebellion of Fkithbhiortadi O Neill, whom
Morrogh foon reduced, and brought away prifoocr
to the palace of Ceanncora. A. D. 101 1, he
marched into Tirconnel to the plain called Mfh
adbair-an-cborainnj where he made Maolruaoa
O Maoldora king of that principality a prifoncrof
war, and brought him away to Ceanncora. Soon
after, he marched to the plain called Magb-Mmr-
tbimbfUj now in the county of Down, and there
received hoftages from the feveral kings and
dynaftfl of Oirgialla, Ulfter, and Ulidia, And
in the fame year, made feveral pious foundations
for churches throughout all Ireland, and annexed
competent portions of lands for the fubfiftena
of the refpedtive clergy, who were to occupy thcro.
And in the end of faid year, dethroned and exiled
two of the rebellious kings of Ulfter, and cfta-

biifhed

ILLUSTRATED. {33

Uifhed two others with full authority in tbrir
irfacc

In 10139 Maolmordha king of Leinftdr at thb
head of die troops of bis province, and Sttrictts
king of the Danes of Dublin, made terrible in-
sotds into Mel^th, plundered and burned the
country all before them, and penetrated as far as
Tarmon-feithin and Magh-Breagh. Malachy to
levenge this affront plundered and burned the
^srincipality of Fingal as far as Bineadair or tte
hill of Hoath, where he was met by Sitrtcus king
of the Danes, and Maolmordha king of Leinftert
who gave him battle, and defeated his army with tba
lols df two hundred of his befi troops ; his eldeft
Ion Flann and his general Lorcan, fon of EichianUi
king of Cineal-meachair and many others of tfag
nobility of Meath were found among the llain iti
this a£kion. The king of Tara hard prefled by
thefe confiderable lofles, and fearing that mudi
greater ones would probably follow, repaired
without deky to Brien's court at Ceanncora, and
complained to him in the mod pathetic manner of
Ae unjuft depredations committed by the Danes
«nd Lagenians in Meath without the lead provo-
cation from him, requeuing at the fame time, that
he would be generous enough to chaftife them for
their infolence in firft fpoiling his territories, and
difturbing the public tranquillity of the nation,

Brien was prevailed on by thefe reafons to fly to
his affiftance ; in his march he fpoilcd the entire
country of Oflbry ; he then fcnt his fon Morrogh
with a felcft corps into the heart of Leinfter,
which'he laid wafte by fire and fword as far as

Glendahugb^

534

THE LAW OF TANISTRY

;Gknaahi^bi and Tarmon-Caimin in the northern
parts of tlat province, and brought away a great

j^xc^'XotKilmaitibam^ where his father bad ordered

,heihou|d meet him. At this place Bricn pitched
his camp, and continued in the plain of Dublia
fron^ the month of Auguft until Chriftroas,

.malnng conftant excurfions in the mean time upon

Jhe Danes and I. ag^jiians, and reducing them to

Jhe loweft extremities. While Bricn was thus
employed in chaftifmg the infolent Danes and

.Lageniaiis for their violent a£ts of hoftiiities
againft-.his liege- man the king of Tara, thcfe
took the opportunity to fend a numerous and wcU-

jpianned navy to the fquth of Ireland, where tbcy
did great damages, and plundered ai^d burned the

.city of Corke ; but before they ^o\\V\ re-embark,
C^thal Ton of Donal fon of Dubhdabhoirean killed
Aulavius fon of the Danidi king of Dublin, and
Maghnus fon of Dubhgall fon of Aulavius aa
officerof diftinction with fcveral others.

Soon after Brien came back tp his palace of

•Ceanncora, enriched with the fpoils of the Danes
and the people of Leinfter ; during the time of
the above blockade of Dublin by Bricn, and after

his departure, the Danes of that city and the
Eafterlings difperfed throughout all Ireland, loft
no tirpe to fend for auxiliaries to Denmark, Nor-
way, and to all the wefltrn iflands of Scotland,
and other parts of the world where that piratic
people had obtained the lead eftahiiOiment, in
order to be fully revenged of their formidable
enemy, and by that rneans to ufurp the fovcrpgnty
of the whole nation,' The king gf Leinfter

was

ILLUSTRATED. 535

was as aftive on his part to unite the forces of
the different princes and dates of that province^
and even ufed all the artifice in his power to feduce
other neighbouring princes into the fame rebel-
lion.

In 10 1 4, Brien hearing of the immenfe prepara-
tions of the Danes and Lagenians, and of the
lending of very confiderabie Danifh auxiliaries
from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Orkney
iflands, the iflands of Shetland, the Hebrides, the
Me of Man, the ifland of Lewis, the iflc of
Sky, Cantire and Cathnefs, both at and near the
city of Dublin ; marched at the head of his Mbnib-
nian forces, joined by the troops of Meath and
Connaught under the command of their refpcdtivc
kings, Malachy and Teige fon of Cathal, fon of
Connor, and encamped, as he had done the yeaf
before, at Kilmainham within full view of his
enemies. Soon after the encampment of his
army, he detached into Leinftcr a Yeledt body of
troops confifting of thie flower of his Dal-Caffians
and the third* part of the Eugcnians. under the,
command of his fon Donogh ijnperq|eivcd by tbq^
enemies, charging them to return in two days,
tinae, after they had annoyed the Lagenians, and.
dcflroyed ihiir country. This expedition, whiclv
was dcfigned for caufing a diverfidni' had beco,
approved of by Malachy and all the other princes!
of Brien*s council; but in the mean time the
treacherous and ungrateful king of Tara loft no,
time to fend a truftyemiflary to the Danilh caqip
to inform- thofe foreigners of what had happened^
entreating them in the moft prefling manner to

attack

THE lAV^ ^? TANISTRT

attack Brici^ the following day , and aa an additi-
onal encouragement to them, he promtfed to de-
fcrt from the moiiarch in tb? beginning of the
^£tion.

Thefe advantageous offers of the king of Tart
were foon accep.ted of by \hc Danes and Mgeoi-
fins, infomuch that they fpent the night in pit-
paring for a general aftion^ and prefcntcd diem-
felvca at the ftrft appearance of day-Jight before
Brien's army on the plain of Clontaff, with co*
lours difpUyed 2pfi, mrmed inta three feparaie
corps or diyifions. The firft was compofed of
the Danes of Dublin, under the Qommaod of
their kin^ Sitricus, affifted by the auxiliaries fent
froi;n Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, who were
cpmnoanded by their generals Gurrol and Anmd,
the two Tons of Euricus king of Norway, Doktui
and Conmaolus, two famous ofi^r^, and Brodar
general of the troops of Denmark^ and what was
remarkable inthofedays, one.thoufand of thefe
auxiliaries had their bodies covered with ennie
coats of brafs. The fecond divifion confifled of
the infular Daniih auxiliaries under the command
of Sitricus fon of Lodar earl of the Orkney
iflands, who was an officer of difiinguifiied exp^
rience and merit.; and the tail confifted of ike
forces of Leinfter under th^ command of Mad-
mordha Mac Murchada, principal king of that
province, Baodan fon of Duluing petty king of
the weftern parts of Ldnfter, Mac Tuathil king
of LiSe, Mac Brogarvan king of Ive-Failge, and
a thoufand Danifli troops to fupport tbeoji in the

Brieo

\

II.LUSTIIATSD. j«*

4.

Brien had no fooner reconnottered the order
Ms enemy ^s battles, than he divided his own
wps into three feparate columns* The firft waa
mpofed of the tribe of Dal*Cas, under the
fticular command of Brien in perfon, and of
\ fon Morrogh. His four other fons, by name
onor^ Flann, Teige, and Donnal, had alfo a
Qcipal (hare in the command of this corps,
le other officers of diftinftion were Conuingfoa
Donnchuann fon of Kinnedy i as alfo Lonar*
3, Ceiliochar, Fingalach, and Jonnrachtach^
fide the Dal-Caflians, Malachy king of TarA
th the forces of Meath, formed a part of tbia
nfioq, and was to fupply inftead of Donogfi
Brien and his party ; and the whole corps wa9
attadc the firft divilion of the enemies.
The fecond divifion of Brien^s forces confifted
the Conatians under the command of Teige^
1 of Cathal, fon of Connor, principal king of
>nnaught, Maolruana fon of Heidhqe king of
achrach-Aidhne, Kelly king of Ive-MainCt
ahcrty king of the weft of Connaught, and
ronor fon of Maolruana king of Magh-Luirg.
«d thefe troops were fupportcd by a ftrong
dy of Munfter-men under the command of
brtagh fon of Core king of Mufgry-Cuire,
kH) fon of Lochlin king of Conuagh, Donogh
I of Cathal king of Mufgry-Aodha, Donal fon
Dermod king of Corcabhaifgin, and Eichiaran
» of Donagan king of Ara. This whole corps
8 to engage the fecond divifion of the enemies,
liUling of the infular Danilh auxiliaries.

The

53t THE LAW OF TANISTRT

The lift diviiioo of the king of Ireland's anny
was compofed of the Eugenians and Defians under
the command of Cian fon of Maolrauadh Mac
Brain^ and Donal fon of Dubhdabhoirean the
two chief kings of Ive-Eachach ; the other officers
of note who fought under them were Mothla fon
of Feian king of the Defies, Mortogh fon of
Anamchadha kingof Ive-Liathain, Scanlan fon of
Cathal king of Loch-Leane, Loingfioch fon of
DulcNng king of G>nnalgabhra, Cathal fon of Do-
novan king of Carbre-Aodhbha, Mac Beathadi
king of Kerry-Luachra, Geibhionach fon of Dubh«
gan king of Fermoy, Carrol kingof Eile, withfoaie
others. This entire corps was fupported by acoa&
derable reinforcement of Ultonian troops under
the command of Carrol, principal king of Oirgi-
all, and Mac Guibhir king of Fearmanach, «te
were to fupply the place of the abfent Eugeniaru;
and they were Jointly to attack the third divifion
of the enemies army confiding of the forces d
Leinfter.

While Brien was employed in ranging his army
in order of battle, he reprefented to his troops
the indifpenfable neceifity of diilinguifhing theoi-
felves in that aflion againll a foreign enemy win
had been for fome nges pad the perpetual op-
preflbrs and murderers of their kings, dynafis
and clergy, without (hewing the leaft mercy to
fex, character, or age, had fo often fpoiled and
burned or pillaged their churches, and trampled
under foot the moft facred reliques of their faiatii
And, " I am convinced,** fays he, ** that your
^^ valour and condudt will this day put an end to

"all

ILLUSTRATED.': 53t

ill the fufferings of your dear country, by a
total defeat of thofe facrilegious and mercilefii
ryrants. And what proves providential in our
Favour is, that we (hall take fiiii revenge df
them for their conftant adts of treachery, and
'or the prophanation of fo many churchea this
Friday in Holy week, on which Jastia Citrist
lad fuSered an ignominious- death for our re-
iemption, who will undoubtedly be pcefeat
vith us as a juft avenger of his. holy religion
and laws." Saying thefe laft words, he (hewed
m the crucifix, which he held in hfs left hand,
1 bis fword in his right, intimating thctreby that
was willing to facrifice his own life in thd
srtion of fo juft, fo honourable acaufe.
After thefe words, he ordered- the different
*ps of his army to fall upon the enemies with
ord in hand, when to his great furprife, Ma-
hy and the forces of Meath, deferted their poll
d retired with precipitation from the' field df
ttle: This a£t of treachery j^nd ingratitude in
coniiderable an afly as MaUchy at the firft fet-
g out of the a£tion, amthated the Danes of
) firft divifion to fuch a degree, that the firft
acks of their cuiralliers were almoft -infupport-
e ; yet Brien and his corps, far from being
inted, maintained their ground with great
nnefs and intrepidity, redoubling their cou-
,c upon feeing their tribe of Dal-Cas all ialbne^'
I without the mixture of any other troops to'
re in the glory of their exploits : now it was,
t a general and obftinate fight b^an between
: different corps of both armies, which lafted

from

H^

THE LAW or TANISTRT

from foon after the rifing of the fud till late m
the evening, at the expence of much blood op
both fides. The Danes and Lagenians, after the
lo(s of moft of their commanders and troops, gt?e
ground and fled for ffaeltsr to Dublin and to thdr
fliips, but were fo clofely pnrfued by the vidon,
that ^ery few of them arrived at rheir places of
refuge. The Irifh in this deroute of the Danes
had the woeful misfortune to lofe their famous
monarch Brien, who, after having (hewn prodigies
of valour as well as of military ikill in the ge>
ntral Command of his army during the wbok
action, purfued the enemies at die head of hii
corps, where he was flain by Brodar, geneitlof
the auxiliaries from Denmark, by a ftroke of t
battl6-ax ; but Brien at the fame time gave \m i
thruft of bis fword, of which that Dane immedi*
ately expired.
^ Brien*8 eldclt fon Morrogh, at the age of 63
yearn, did wonders in this action, and Oew fevt-
rai Danifli officers of diftindion, among whom
were Carrol and Anrud, the two fons of the king
of Norway, as alfo Conmaol another famous com-
ifiander. He in like manner flew Sitricus fan of
Lodar or Lotharius earl of the Orkney iflandi,
and chief commander of the infular Danes, by
dividing him into two equal parts through btt
coat of brafs from his head to his rump with a
fmgleblow of his military a^. For when his ft-
ther had obferved that Daniffa commander mab
a great carnage of the Eugenians in the hescof
the battle, he commaixled his fon Morrogh to
haften and go to meet Mm, charging him to check

proceedings if polfiblc. Morrogh foon obeyed
I order, and difpatcbed the Dane in the now
bribed manner ^^ and then returned without
%y to his father's corps, at the head of which
perfornied great exploits, and continued to
ft the enemies with fuch irrefiftible fury and
aigtb, that'liis right hand was entirely mang*

from the repetition of his blows. After this
ibility of his hand, the Norwegian prince An-
. abovementioned, made towards him with
ird in hand ; Murrogh endeavoured to parry

pafles, and then taking fail hold of him with

left hand, he lifted him above ground, and
»ok him quite out of his coat of brafs ; then
iterating him he leaned upon his fword with

breaft and pierced it through Anrud^s body;
le Norwegian in the mean time, drew Mor-
;h*8 knife or fcimetar from his belt, and gave
-n a mortal wound, of which he foon expired^
:er having made his confeffion and received the
ly coromumon of the body of Chrift. Such
IS the point of honour and way of fighting be-
aten the princes and chief commanders of all
igaged armies in thofe days, as well as in the
!tt>ic ages of the Romans and Greeks, witnefs
e perfonal engagement of £neas and Turnus ;

they

^ Ona tantam manu & non ambabus fecuri percntiont
lice defaper manubrium in longum extenfb tdumqoe n^
xXCt a quo nee galea caput in conum ereda. nee rein
im corpus ferrea loricae tricatura tnetur. Unde et in
bis condgit temporibus, totatn mii)tis cozam ferro at-
Iqoe fideliter Yeftitam, uno fecuris idu practfiun {uifie,
tm equi parte coxa cum tibia, ex altert vero, tdrpore
Icnte moribundo. Sic Giraldus Cambreaiis, Topo-
^h. HibemiSy diftindt 3. cap. 10.

149 THE LAW OF TANISTRT

they generally encountered each other of both
fides hand to hand during the heat of the adioo.
An ill judged praftice, unlefs it was their efia-
bliflied difcipline and maxim at the fame time
to have appointed lieutenants, who (hould fupply
their place in the general command and diredtioc
of the a£lion during thofe perfonal engagemcuto
with each other.

Befides the Daniih commanders flain by Mor
rogh, there alfo fell in the firft divifion of the
enemies, Dolatus an officer of note, Dubhgall fon
of Aulavius, and Giolla Curain fon of Gluniaran,
two of the principal Danes of Dublin, together
with the greateft part of their troops. The £u-
genians made a great carnage upon the auxiliaries
of the iflands, and flew almoft all their oflicersand
men. Maplmurdha principal king of Ldnfter,
Mac Tuathal fon of Gaire, aLagenian prioceof
great valour, Mac Brogarbhan king of Iv^
Failge, and moil of the nobility of Leinfter lay
Aretched on the plain. And the attentioo to
{laughter alone was fo great, that the viAon,
purfuant to the orders of Brien, did not lofe time
in making prifoners of war, but put all eoenuei
to the fword without dillindtion. This accouol
of the battle of Clontarf, which is inferted in mj
copy of the annals of Innisfailen, makes the num-
ber of the flain on the part of the Danes and U.
genians to amount to 13,800 men, that is tofaj
4000 of the Danes of Dublin and Ireland, 670a
of the auxiliary Danes, and 3100 of the forces
of Leinfter. The Chronicon Scotorunn, whld
gives but a very ftiort flcetch of this battle, ffiS

gire

ILLUSTRATED. 543

:s us a very good idea of the obftinacy with
ch it was fought, by faying, " that the like
ttttle, or any equal to it^ had not been fought
11 Ireland for many ages." But the account
t chronicle gives of the number of Danes flain
bis battle, falls (hort of the above computation,
^ pofitively mentions, " that there were in all
mt 4000 Danes killed, among whom were looo
Hrafs- coated combatants, and is quite filent
«>ncerning the lofs of the Lagenians.*' * Ac-
£ng to the account inferted in the Innis-
en annals there were 4000 of Brien's forces
ed during the engagement, and many wound-
^ but the Chronicon Scotorum gives no further
ount of it than that the lofs of Brien was very
ifiderable.

Befides our renowned monarch Brien Boromh,
3 his illuftrious fon Morrogh, with his fon
arlogh a youth of fifteen years, there were fe-
ral other Iri(h commanders of diftindtion killed
the enemies, of whom the moil remarkable
7e Conning fon of Donnchuan, Brien's bro-
w's fon, Mothla fon of Donal, fon of Felan
ig of Defies, Eocha fon of Dunuidhe, Nial
k of Cuinn, and Cudula fon of Cinidhe, who
re all three Brien*s moft intimate favourites
i his aids de camp in the battle, Teige fon of
lly king of Ive-Maine, Maolruana fon of
idhin king of Aidhne, Geibhionach fon of
bhgan king of Farmoy-Feine, Mac Beothach
of Muireadhach Claon king of Kerry-Lua-
a, Donal fon of Dcrmod king of Corcabhaf-

THr LAW OF TAHISTRt

^B^ Scminlbc erf* Cadttl kii^ of Lough- Leane

Jiami ka\ ti Eiwisn^ km ofCaioc, with maoj
titer priocB and heads of triba, who are too
todiotf Id tc caacTffiatwi,

Aficr iht viStmj had been tfans glorioufly ob-
laioed fay the Momoman and Gbnauan forces,
Te^ fen of ftien and Gan foa of Maolmuadh
ctm^ftytd iiids of the voonded as were not judged
iocnrdile to the cunp at Kdlmaiaham^ and tp-
l^lied medicaments and ronedies to their wounds.
Aa foon as the monks of Sord had heard of
Bnen*s death* they came diiedly to the camp,
and took the bodies of Brien and his Ton to Soid
and afterwards bore them to the reiigions houlc
of St. Kiaran at Duletk^ and thofe conveyed
them to Louth^ to which place Maolmuire^ or
Maiianus fon of Eochadh, archbilbop of Armagh
accompanied by Us clergy, came for the bodies,
and conveyed them in great folemnity to the
cathedral church, where they offered mafles for
the repofe of their fouls, and continoed their fa*
crifices, prayers, and watchings over the bodies
for twelve days and nights without intermiifioo.
After which the body of Brien was folemnly in-
terred in a monument of hewn marble at the
north fide of the cathedral church, and the bodies
of Morrogh and his fon Turlogh, and of Coou"
ing Ton of Donnchuan, were interred in anotiitf
tomb at the fouth fide of the fame church.

Brien Borumh, whofe hiflory f have brieflj
related out of the annals of Tigbernach, thofe of
Innisfallen, and the Chronicon Scotorum, hid
three wives according to the Leabhar Irfe of the

MulconncQs

ILLUSTRATED. 545

Mulconnerys. The names of thcfc three wives
were, i. Mor, the daughter of Heidhin fon of
Cleireach, fon of Eadalach, fon of Cumufgach
king of Ive-fiachrach-aidhne in Connaught, and
anceftor of the O'Hcynes, by whom he had three
fons, viz. Morrogh who had a fon called Turlogh,
killed along with his father at the battle of Clon-
tarf ; 2. Connor ; 3. Flann, who were alfo flain
in the fame battle. Thefe three fons according
to ali our hiftorical and genealogical accounts left
iio pofterity.

Bricn^s fecond wife according to the Mulcon-
nerys, was Eachraid the daughter of Carolus fon
of Oillil Fionn, king of Ive-Naedha-Odhbha a
principality in Meath, by whom he had two fonsy
viz. I. Tcige, who was coregnant with his bro-
ther Donogh in the throne of Leath-mogh from the
death of their father to the year 1023, when he
was murdered by the people of Eile at the infti-
gationofhis faid brother; 2. Donal, a prince
much celebrated for his valour, who diftinguifh-
ed himfelf in the battle ofClontarf, and had
broughtaway hoftagcs from Mac Maoil Na Mbo
king of Lcinfter, and from the Danes of Dublin,
A. D. 1048; he was flain in Thomond by the
king of Connaught, whom he had greatly dif-
trefled, in 1051, when his eldeft fon Dermod
was bafely murdered by his own coufm german
Morrogh furnamed of the Short Buckler, fon of
Donogh, according to the annals of Tighernach
at that year. Antiquaries are quite filent con-
cerning the lands or eftates which the pofterity of
this branch poffcfled in Ireland, nor do I find any
further mention of them after the above Dermod.

N n The

54fi THE LAW OF TANISTRY

The third wife of Bnen according to the faid
records, was Gormlaith the daughter of Morrc^
Mac Finn king of Leinller, by whom he had an
only fon called Donogh, who was coregnant as I
have faid with his brother Teige from the death of
his father to the year 1023, in which he contrived
•bis death, as abovementioned, and by thatmetos
became fole independant fovereign of Leath-mogh
and foon after principal king of all Ireland ; but
he was after great lofTes and humiliations dethron-
ed by his nephew Turlogh fon of Teige in 1064,
according to the annals. The above Gormkich
was alfo mother of Sitricus fan of Aulavius king
of the Danes of Dublin, according to the annals
ofTighernach and died A. D. 1030. The re-
cords of the Mulconner}' 's add that (he was the
mother of Connor fon of Malachy king of Tara.
The books of the herald's office, and the Earl of
Inchiquin's pedigree publifhed by the tranflatorof
Keating's hiftory aflign no other v/ife to Bricn
Borumh but this Gormlaith and make her to be
the mother of Teige, which is quite falfc, accord-
ing to the above cited authorities, which arc the
beft we have on fuch a fubjeft as being more
antient than either the office of our heralds or their

books.

The Chronicon Scotorum at the year 1009,
inakes mention of Dubhchabla daughter of Ca-
thal fon of Connor king of Connaught, as being
wife to Brien Borumh and dying that year, from
>vhich it may be inferred that he had four wives.
The annals of Innisfallen mention that he had a
daughter by name Sadhbh or Sabia, who was

married

ILLUSTRATED. J47

nnarried A. D. 979, to Cian Ton of Maolmtmdfa
iWf ac Brian king of Ivt*Eachach, by whom he
Isad a fon ca Ued Mahon, from whom defcendcd
^he O^Mahonys of Ive-Eichach. An old ^nony-
manufcript which I have lately feen, mcn-
that a daughter of Rrien Borumh monarch
^^^qC Ireland was married" to Malcolm the fecond^
^iim of Kinneth king of Scotland.

TEIGE AND DONOGH.

In the evening of the day after the battle of
Clontarf, Donogh Ton of Brien returned to the
^^mp of Killmainham with a great booty and
^poibs brought from the enemies country ; he fent
Several rich offerings to the archbi(hop of Ard-
iHagh and to his clergy for the repofe of his fa-
ther's and brother's fouls. The Eugenian Xtodps
employed in hib late expedition joined their re-
Tpedtive kinfmen under the command of Ciati fon
of Maolmuadh, and of Donal fon of DuUida-
bhoirean, by which reinforcement they became
much more numerous than the tribe of Dal-Cafs.
Cian fon of Maoimua intending to avail himfelf
of the fuperiority of his numbers over the two fons
of Brien, was upon the point of having himfelf
proclaimed king of Munfter, by virtue of his
right of feniority in prejudice of Brian's faidfonsi
until Donal fon of Dubhdabhoireann (ancefior
of the 0*Donoghues) a very powerful Eugenian
prince oppofed his ambitious views, and with''
drew the troops under his command from fup-
porting Cian in his pretentions. After which

N n a Donogh

54« THE LAW OF TANISTRY

Donogh marched home throi^gh Oflbry, whcK
be met with fome oppofitipn from the i>etty king
of that country ; which is particularly remarked
by our hiftorians, with circumftanpes which rcfleil
(ingular honour on the martial tribe of Dal-Ca(i

Cian fon of ^aolmuadh had no fooner arrived
and refreflied his troops in Ive-Eachach, than he
ient a challenge to Donal fon of Dubhdabhoire-
ann, defiring he would meet him on the plain
called Magh-guile and give him fatisfadtion for
having oppofed his intereft near Dublin. Donal
met him at the time and place appointed and gave
him battle, in which he flew Cian and his two
brothers Cathal and Raghalach, with the rooft
part of his adherents. Mahon the fon of Cian
by Sadhb the daughter of Brien, would have
(hared in the fate of his father, had not his un-
cles Teige and Donogh O'Brien fpeedily come to
his afliilance ; Donal however rifqued a battk
againft them, in which he was totally defeated,
hiseldeflfon Cathal flain, and was himfelf oblig-
cd to deliver hoftages for his future obedience.

In the fame year 1014, Teige and Donogh
O'Brien broke out into open afts of hoftilitics
againft each other and fought a defperate battle,
in which the viftory favoured Teige's party, and
Roderic 0*Donagan prince of Ara with fevcral
Other princes of dillinftion loft their lives ; yet
they were foon after reconciled through the me-
diation of the clergy of Munfter. While thefc
two brothers, the natural protedors of their ne-
phew Mahon fon of Cian, were thus fighting
againft each other, Donal fon of Dubhdabhoirean

feized

+

i L L U 6 T k A T E D. 549

A that favourable opportunity to attack the
Mahon, whom he killed in a pitched battle.

fatisiied with that fuccefs, in the beginning
leyear 1015, he marched at the head of the
enians to Limerick^ where his troops were
ed and cut in pieces by Teige and Donogh
rien, and the unfortunate Donal himfelf was
among the flaih.

rom this time forward thefe two brothers lived
irfedt harmony as coregnants in the throne of
h-mogh until the year 10^3, when Donogh
treacherous and inhuman enough to order
nt hands to be laid oh his brother by the in-
tants of Eile : of the circumllances of this
a and horrid aft we have no further explica-
or account.

eigc fourth fon of Brien fiorumh according
e Leabhar Irfc of the Mulconnerys, married

the daughter of Giolla Brighidc 0*Maol-
dh, or 0*Molloy king of Fearceal and Ci-
Fiachrac in Leinftcr, now comprehending
;reateft part of the King's county, by whom
ad an only fon, by name Turlogh. The
s of the herald's office at Dublin, call Teige's
the daughter of Maolmuadha king of Leinf-
and Keatin^'s unfkilful tranflator calls her
laughter of the king of Leinftcr in his pedi-
of the Earl of Inchiquin, when he ought to
called her the daughter of a king in Leinf-
' a Lagenian king, as he knew not how to
ibe her in particular. The above Turlogh
f Tcige, was exiled by Donogh after the
ler of his father into the provinces of Con-
naught

550 THELAWOFTANISTRY

naught and Lcinfter. Turlogh was not only fa-
vourably received by the kings of boththefe pro.
vinces, but alfo fo powerfully affiftcd with troops,
that he obliged Donogh to abdicate the crowni
A. D. 1064, and content himfelf with a private
life.

DONOGH O^BRIEN.

Donogh by the death of his brother Teigp be-
came fole king of Munfter, A. D. 1023, and
exiled his nephew Turlogh into Connaught in the
faid year. In 1026^ he obliged the princes and
Hates of that province together with thoTe of
Leinfter, Oflbry, and the Danes of Dublin, to
pay him homage and deliver hoilages, by which
fubmifTion of thefe different powers, he became
fupreme king of almofl all Ireland ; he prefcrved
his fovereignty overLeath-mogh and the province
of Connaught in an abfolute manner, until the
years 1053 ^^^ io54» when the Conatiansand
Lagenians unanimoufly rebelled againfthim, and
fent powerful bodies of troops under the command
of bis nephew Turlogh to invade his territories
of Munfter, by which means his power was
greatly reduced. A. D. 1058, he was totally de-
feated in a pitched battle that was fought againii
him at the foot of the mountain called Sliabh-Grot
by the united forces of Connaught and Leiniler
under the command of Turlogh 0*Brien. In
1059, he was driven to the neceffity of making
fubmiilions to, and difclaiming the homs^eofhis
former vaifal theking of Connaught ^ and A. D.

i960,

i L L tj S T ft A T E D. S5»

1060, the king ofLeinfter forced him to the
like terms. A. D. 1063, he received a total
overthrow at the foot of Ardagh mountain in
Eoganacht-Cafhel from his nephew Turlogh, who
commanded ihe united troops of Connaught and
Leinftcr. The confequence of this fatal defeat
was that in 1064, Donogh waa forced to deliver
up the crown of Munfter into the hand$ of his nc- ^
phew Turlogh O'Brien. After this abdication
of the crown, he went to Rome to do penance
for the murder of his brother Teigo, and took
upon him a religious habit in the monafiery of St
Stephen, where he died a penitential death.

Donogh the 6th fon pf Brien Borumh, of whofe
hiilory and reign I have given a fuccinft and
abridged account from the authority of the an-
nals of Tighernach, thofe of Innisfallen and the
Chronicon Scotorum, had twelve fons according
to the Mulconnerys and the Mac Brodins, nino
of whom died without iffue. The three who left
pofterity were i . Lorcan, who had two fons, by
name Connor and Kinnedy ; Connor became king
of Tyrone, and was killed in a rebellion of his
own fubjeds, A. D. 1078^ according to the an-
nals of Innisfallen. Kinnedy his brother fuccced*-
cd him in the fame year in that kingdom accord-
ing to the faid annals, as well as thofe of Tigher*-
nach and the Chronicon Scotorum, and was ikin
in the memorable battle of Moincruin-ne-oige^in
1084.

2. Morrogh furnamed of the Short Buckler,
king of Thomond^ who, A. D. 1065, being ex*
afperated at the dethronement of his father, forced
his way at the head of a feledt party into the pa-
lace

552 THE LAW OF TANISTRT

lace of Ceanncora, where he committed a great
flaughter upon the houlhold of Turlogh 0*Bricn-
He was killed by the men of Teabhtha or Wcft-
Meath, who had attacked and forcibly entered
his camp, A. D. 1068. He was anceftor of the
noble families of Cuonagh and Aharla.

3. Donal Bann, who was a famous warrior, and
of whofe pofterity we have no f>articular infor-
mation from our ani\als or other records.

Donogh had alfo a daughter by name Dearbh-
orgal, married to Donogh furnamed Maolnambo,
king of Leinfter, by whom flic had Dermod,
otherwife called Mac Maolnambo, king of Leinf-
ter ; who was one of the moft powerful princes of
Ireland in his time, and (liled king of Ireland by
Sir James Ware. This Dermod h^d educated
Turlogh O^Brien at his own court, and affifted
him with his forces, as I have already (hewn, to
gain the fovereignty of Munfter by dethroning
his uncle, though he was the faid Dermod *s grand-
father. A remarkable example indeed of that
extraordinary affeftion and attachment, whidi
proceeded from the foftering or education of young
princes among the Irifh ; an office which by the
bye, was not at all difhonourable in thofe days,
and did not denote dependancy or vaflfalage in
thofe perfons who received fuch young princes
under their particular care or tuition.

Morrogh furnamed of the Short Buckler, fc-
cond fon of Donogh according to the Leabhar
Irfc of the Mulconnerys, married Edina daughter
of 0*Hara king of Luighne in Connaught, by
whom he had a fon and a daughter. The fon

was

ILLUSTRATED. 553

was Bricn of Gleann-Mire, who was king of
Thomond and flain in a battle which he fought at
Gleann-Mire near Corke, againft Dermod
O^Brien king of Munfter in 11 18, as it appears
from the annals of Innisfallen. The daughter's
name was Mor, who was married to the celebrated
warrior Morrogh 0*Maolfeachlin king of Meath»
by whom (he had, befides male iflue, the famous
Dcarbhorgall wife of Tieraan 0*Ruark. The
above Brien of Gleann-Mire according to the faid
records, had four fons, viz. i. Connor, froixi
whom were defcendcd the 0*Briens known by the
name of Clann Bhriain Duinn Mic Conchubhair^
as alfo the O'Briens called Sliocht Teige Corrfiac*
luig. 2. Donal Ramhair or Grofs, from whomi
the O^Briens called Clann Donail Ramhair. 3*
Kinnedy, who died according to our annals, A.
D. 1 1 59, and was anceftor of the O^Briens of
Dromy Chrionain near Drom-Nalga in Cuo-
nagh. 4. Donogh, who according to Tigher-
nach's continuator, was flain together with his
eldeft fon Dermod by the forces of Defmond un*
der the command of their prince Cormac Mac
Carthy, whofurprifed then^ in the camp of Con-
nor O'Brien na Catharach king of Munfter, A.

I>. 1 1 34-

The above Dermod fon of Donogh had three

fons, viz. I. Mahon, 2. Mortogh, who left a

numerous pofterity, 3. Bricn Dall. This Brien

Dall had two fons, viz. r. Kinnedy, who was

anceftor of the 0*Briens of Aharla, 2. Morrogh

furnamed of the Steeds, anceftor of the Mac y

Briens of Cuonagh. Morrogh of the SteedSf

had fiv^ fons, viz. 1. Thomas, 2. Donal Car-

rachy

J54 THE LAW aF TAtflSTtit

Utch, who left a numerous pofterity, 3. Brkn,
iffho was anceftor of the moil remarkable brand}
of the O^Briens defcended from Donogh fon of
Brien Borumh, who diftinguifted themfelves un*
dor the fpecific title of Mac y Brien 0*Cuanadi,
fi> called from this Brien O'Brien, the grandfoo
of Brien Dall O'Brien. In the fame manner, to
obferve it by the bye, the 0*Briens of Ara were
Galled Mac y Brien Ara from Brien O^Brien die
grandfon of Brien Ruadh O'Brien, who was king
of Thomond, and being expelled out of that
principality fettled in Ara, A. D. 1519. 4.Der-
mod. 5. Kinnedy, who had alfo a fon called
Kinnedy O'Brien whofe daughter Fionnduala, or
feirhaired, was married to Teige Caoluiige
O'Brien fon of Connor na Siudaine king of Tho-
mond. My often mentioned copy of the Leabbar
trfe or genealogical records of the Mulconnerj"^
contains very ample accounts of the lineii
defcents of the different branches of the Cuonag^ '
£ftmily ; for whofe honour and (atisfadtion I (hould
be very glad they were publiflied to prevent any
accident that may happen the faid copy, whidi
begins already to fufFcr by its antiquity.

TURLOGH O'BRIEN.

Turlogh fon of Teige, fon of Brien Borumh,
\yas proclaimed king of Muniler, A. D. 1064, i°
which year his uncle Donogh had been dethroned.
In 1072, he marched into the province of Letof-
ter immediately after the death of Dermod Mac
Maolnambo, and received hoftages from the

kings

I L L U Si T R A T E D. 555

kings of Oflbry and Ivc-Cinfiolach ; be then
marched to Dublin, where he was magnificently
entertained, and the Danes of that city gave him
hoftages and the fQvei;eigaty of their ftate. A,. D,
1073, Connor O'Maolfeachlin king of Tara, as
well as Godfridus king of the Danes of Dublin^
and Dona! Fitz-Patrick king of Offory paid him
homage, put their hands between his hands, pro-
ixiifing obedience, and delivering him hoftages and
ihe fupreme fovereignty of their refpedtive king-
doms and dates. In ^075, he alfo received
hoftages from Roderie O'Connor king of Con-
naught and from O'Ruark king of Breifne, but he
was unfgccefsful in his expedition againft the Ulto-
nians in the fame year j however upon his return
from Ulfter with fome lofs, he was powerful
enough to banifh Codfiidus king of the Danes of
Dublin beyond f^s, and make his own fon Mor-
togh king of that people in his ftead. A. D. 1076,
he made Roderie O'Connor, who was revolting
from his jurifdidtion, a prifoner of war, butfoon
after granted him his liberty upon folemn pro-
mifes of future obedience.

In 1079, he reinftated Donnfleibhe O'Heocba-
dha king of Uladh or Ulidia In the throne of
that kingdom, and defeated the malecontents who
had dethroned him in a pitched battle •, in the
fame year he fent a powerful navy into Wales
under the command of his fon Dermod O'Brien,
who fpoiled that country and brought away a con-
fiderable booty. About the fame time Malachy
O'Maolfeachlin king of Tara came to his palace

at Li^^icic, and obtained his pardon and protec-
tion

556 THE LAW OF TANISTRT

DOC througlb the roediatioa of the archbi(bop of
Ardxrag^ who came along with him, prefenmig
him toTurb^. A.D. 1082, Donnfleibbe king
of Ulkiia anecded by the nobles of his kingdom
came to his court at Limerick paid him homage,
and rcceiTed from Turlogh 1000 cows, 40 ounces
of goM, I20 coloured cloaks, and other royal
preients to denote his vaflalage and dependency.
A. D. 1084, being on a regal tour in Leatb-Coinni
be fent his two fons Tdge and Mortogh O'Brien
to check the rebellion of O'Ruark, which ibcy
fooc eficded by routing his forces and boraing
bis ccantry . O'Ruark by way of reprifal invaded
and fpoiled North- Munfter by fire and fword,
bomcd Killaloe, Tnaim-Greine and Magh-Neo;
after this reinforcing his troops, he burned and
rat-^ed a great part of Fingal, and fought the
bloody battle of Moincruinneoige againft Monogfa
CBrim, in whidi O'Ruark together with the
mcft of his forces were flain. In 1086, Turlogji
0*Bnen died at his palace of Ceanncora, being
at the fame time indifputable king of Leath-mogh
and principal king of all Ireland ; his corpfe was
interred with great folemnity in the church of
KiUaloe.

Tur!ogh 0*Brien, according to the Leabhar
life of the Mulconnerys, married Sadhbh or
Sabia ibc daughter of Tcige eideft fon of Carr-
ttach, Cfi^cm whom the name Mac Carthy) king
of Deirr.cnd, and anceflor of the Mac Aulifls, t^
when he had four fons, viz. 1. Teige who was
king cf Thomond and died at Ceanncora foon
aflci his father, A. D. 1086. This Tcige had

two

ILLUSTRATED,

two fons, viz. Mortogh of whom or his pofterity
wc have no further mention, and Donal who,
according to the annals of Innisfallen, was made
Hing of Man and the Hebrides, A. D. 1 105, but
^as dethroned and expelled for his male-admi-
niftration, A. D. 1 1 08 . By the power of Turlogh
O'Connor king of Connaught, A. D. 11 15, he
was fet up in the throne of Thomond, but in the
end of the fame year he was put to death by the
faid king. 2. Mortogh Mor, of whofc reign
and family I (hall fpeak hereafter. 3. Dcrmod,
who was king of Munfter, and (hall be alfo fpoken
of in the due place. 4 Donogh who was killed
in a (kirmi(h of a detached party from the camp
of Magh-Coba in the county of Antrim, A. D.
1 103, according to the annals of Tighernach^s
continuator, but our Leabhar Irfe calls him
Donal.

Turlogh had a daughter by name M6r, who
was wife of Roderic O'Connor and mother of
Turlogh O'Connor kings of Connaught, (he died
A. D. 1088. The books of the herald's office
affign two wives to Turlogh O'Brien both different
from the abovementioned wife given him by the
Brodines and Mulconnerys ; the firft, they
fay, was daughter to O'Heyne ; the fecond by
name Dufraulia was daughter to Teige Fitz-
Patrick, a prince of Ive-Cinfiolach in Lein-
ftcr. Keating makes M6r, the daughter of
O'Heyne his only wife and mother of Dermod.
The annals of Tighernach mention the death of
the daughter of O'Fogarty king of Eile, and
wife of Turlogh O'Brien, A. D. 1077; and the

annals

557

jyg THE LAW OF TANISTRT

annals of Tigbernach*6 contiituMor, as we
Chronicon Scotorum make mmticnicoi)
the death of Dearborgall (who doubllefi
Dufraulia of the herald's books) daug
Teige Mac GioUa Patrick king of Offc
mother of Mortc^h M6r O'Brien^ anc
quently wife to his father Turlogh O'E
that according to our different accounts
have bad four \\ i^es.

MORTOGH MOR O'BR

Mortogh M6r O'Brien ^ foon after the
his father, and immediately. after that of
brother Teige, A. D. io86« wasprodaii
of Munfter ; his firft care was to have (
brother Dermod intoConnaught; in loi
feated the forces of Leinfter ; A. D.
was put to flight in a battle fought
Ardacha againft his brother Dermod anc
O'Connor, in the end of the fame )
Dermod prevailed with Donal Mac L«
Neil! king of Ulfter, to whom Rodeiic (
had paid homage, to join his troops to
Connaught and invade Munfter. Dor
confented and committed great hoftiliti
province, burned the country all before
moft demolifhed Limerick and Ceanm
made 120 of Mortogh's houftiold prii
war J among thefe was the fon of Mahc
nedy, Congalach O'Hogan, and the fon
0*Lynch, who were all ranfomcd by M
the expence of a large quantity of j

IL t U6TR A T£ IX <j^

vcr aad other v^loable efifedts. An. 1 089, Dei^
ad O'Brien failed with a Conatian fleet to the
Oth of M under, plundered the town of Clpytale
ed tode away the reliques of St. Fionn*bar out
; the church of Gill^ia-Gleireacih near Corkft,
■t before he could re-embark 500 of his party
ierelcilled by the 0*Mahonys. M ortogh at the
■fee time made Eanna kir^^ Leintiera prifohdr
? war, and was afterwards eledted to the fove-
%iity of Leinfter and Dublin by their refpedttve
I||te8. After which he failed with a numerous
DBt up the Shannon, where his boats were all

feL]nded and taken by O'Connor and O Madl-
tin ; the troops of G>nnaught and Meath
pnediately embarked on board this fleet, and ojke
iMdron of them under the command of O
^nnor and Dermod O'Brien failed towards
bomrotid and burned Killaloe and the dates of
3l.l-Cafs ; the fecond fquadron comtnanded by
Adaolfeadilin fpoiled Owny and Ormond, and
the forces returned on board the fame fle^
ften with fpoils to their feveral countries.
In 1090, Mortogh marched into Meath, laid
fcftc the country by fire and fword, defeated
'^aolfeachlin in a pitched battle, in which he
rvr many of his nobility and brought away an
MQenfe booty. After this glorious expedition
!? reduced the malccontents of Lcinfter. A. D.
9191, he fpoiled the weftern parts of Meath,
wen invading Connaught, he fpoiled Nuadhbhea-
aach upon the Shannon, and encamped at Lough-
ime. A. D. 1092, he marched to Tara, wheie
ki'Maolfeachlin paid him homi^e and delivered
!^ hoilages.

THE LAW OF TANISTRT

RodoicCyCouiiorkiiigof Conniugbt
djiag die fame yev, Moitog|i was procl^med
l^Dg of Conmo^ and Dcmiod O^Brien was
oued Lnto Ulftcr. After this^ be made Aodh
taa of Cathal QConnor a priibner of war, and
befeawcd the fwercigntyof Sioi-Muindh, wiach
was OCoaiior*s oountry, npon Giolla na Naomh
QHeTne. A. D. 1095, Dermod OBrien obtained
pndoc for a!I Ins pafi offences from his brother
Mortog^ through the medtanon of the ardibi-
Ihopof Aidmagh and feveral others of the dergy
asd Dofai&tj of Irebod, and fokmnly fwore bjr
a!! the hdj refiqoes of Ireland, and by tbecio6er
cf Sc Patrick, commonly called the fttffof
Jefos, to (hew him all future obedience. Moitogh
ohSecd faimfelf by a like voluntary oath, nevtrto
take rcfnsge of his brother for Us paft ofiencei
cither public or particular- A, D. 1094, Mortogk
flew Dooal 0*Maoireachlin king of Tara, btmflied
Godfirkha kLng cf the Danes from Dubbo, onde
QtCaazsa Failge prifoner, and beflowed the
Rwaeignty of Mcath upon Donogh 0*Nhol-
ieachl^. After this he divided that prorince
into two equal parts, one moiety of wUdibe
gave Conner 0*MaoIieachlin and the other to
DoDogh 0*Maolfeachlin wbofe conduft he began
tt> difkke, and then received hcftages from them
both.

In IC95 he encamped in the centre of Coo-
zai^r from the lath of January to the latter end
of March, and had a powerful fleet of boats at
the iame time cruifing on Longh-Ree. By tbts
he ful^eded to bis juriidiclion the cooa-

tixi

^

ILLUSTRATED. 5«z

\ of Conmaicne and all the tribes called Siol-
iridh. After which Donogh O Maolfeachlin
le to his palace of Limerick, paid him
lage, and received twenty ounces of gold as
uarafdal or wages to fignify his dependancy
vaflfalage. Soon after he flew Cathal O Con-
heir apparent to the crown of Connaught, and
tral other Conatian nobles of the firft rank, in
tched battle, and then marched againft O Fla-
:y, whom he foon reduced, fpoiled his coun-

as well as that of O Hara called LuighnCt

returned with the fpoils into Munfter. Not
y after that expedition he remained encampecl
the plain of Ive-Fiachrach from the middle of

month of June to the end of September,
ing which time he entirely reduced Conmaicne
1 Siol Muiridh and routed all the malecontents
D the plains called Magh-Hy and Magh-Luirg.
: then crofled the Shannon and encamped in,

territories of Breifne, where O Ruark paid
I homage and delivered hoftages. In confl-
ation of this fubmiflion, Mortogh gave him
feodal fovereignty of all the ftatcs of Con-
ight, excluding at the fame time from his ju-
lidtion the territories of O Heyne and O Kelly,
3wn by the diftinftive names of Ive-Fiachrach-^
Ihne and Maine. At the end of the fame
ir, O Ruark came to his palace at Limerick,
1 delivered up to him the hoftages of the no-^
ty of Conmaicne and Siol-Muiridh.
In 1099 he marched to the plain called Magh^
jirtheimhAe, now in the county of Dpwn, where
was met with by Donal Mac Loghlin O Ncill,

O o king

5(Ja THE LAW OF TANISTRT

kmg of Ulftcr, at the head of his Ultonians,
but they were hindered from coming to an en-
gagement by the feafonable interpofition and me-
diation of the archbilhop of Ardmagh, and Mor-
togh returned to his own country. A. D. nor,
he made a pious and folemn grant and dedication
of the town of Cafliel to God and to St. Patrick,
to be poffeffcd for ever in virtue of his right by
the archbiftiops of that fee. This adt was pa-
fedled in prefencc of the clergy and nobility of al-
moft all Ireland, whom he had convened thither
for that purpofe. Not long after this dedication
of the town of Cafhel and its environs, he in-
vaded the province of Ulfter, and fpoiled Tyrone
and Tyrconnel, and demolifhed the royal palace
of Aighle, by way of reprifal for the dcmolifli-
ment of the palace at Ceanncora and Culrathan,
by O Neill and his Ultonians. In 1103, he
marched his forces into the province of Ulfter as
far as Magh-Choba, where prefuming too much
on his ftrength and courage, he divided and
weakened his army, not only ^ by detaching two
different parties to fpoil and reduce the coun-
try of Dalnaruidhe, now the county of Antrim,
but alfo by licenfmg the Eugenians to return
home to Munller, according to the Innisfallenfcs.
In the abfence of his detachments, and while one
of them was very roughly handled by the Dalna-
radians in a brifk attack, wherein Donal O Brien
Mortogh's youngeft brother loft his life, the
king of Ulfter feized that favourable opportunity
to attack with all his forces the main body of
the Momonian army, which he prefled fo hard

as

ILLUSTRATED. 5^3

as to oblige Mortogh to make an honourable
retreat^ and betake himfelf to a more advan-
tageous poft where he might wait the jun£tion of
his detached parties. A. D. i io6, Mortogh flew
ttonogh O Maolfeachlin king of Meath who
was forming parties againft him, and brought
away hoftages from O Ruark.

In nil, he convened almofl: all the clergy
and nobility of Ireland, at a place called Fiodh-
Aongufa, or the Grove of Aongus, fituate in the
plain called Magh-Breaifail according to the annals
of Innisfallen, where a council was held under
the diredion of the pope's legate Maolmuire, or
Marianus O Dunain, archbi(hop of Cafliel, and
of Ceallach or Celfus, fon of Aodh fon of Maol-
iofa, archbifliop of Ardmagh. The number of
clergy in this celebrated council, according to the
Chronicon Scotorum, was fifty eight bifliops^
three hundred and feventeen priefts, one hun-
dred and fixty deacons, and a vaft number of
the inferior clergy. In the fame year, a par-
ticular council was held by the clergy and nobility
of Meath, at a place called Uifneach, at which
prefided Giolla Criofd, or Chrillianu3 O Maoil-
lean, abbot of Clonmacnoifs. In this council all
the petty diocefes of that province were reduced
to two, Clonmacnoifs and Clonirard, and their
boundaries cut out, fo that the diocefe of Clon-
macnoifs confifted of that part of Meath which
was weftward of the place called Clochan an
Dimrin, and that of Clonirard of all the reft of
the province eaft ward of the fame place.

Keating could have had no other founda-
tion than this particular tranfadtion of the clergy

O o a and

THE LAW OF TANI3TRY

and nobility of Meath, for his long and incon-
fiftent ftory of the boundaries of the fewril
diocefes of Ireland, which he fays were all fiitd
and determined by a national council in ihisyeat,
When a Chriftian country hath been once En-
tirely divided into diocefes, as Ireland had btto
for many centuries before this year, their liniiH
coeval with their firll formation, are aftetwuili
legally unalierable, as they are not fubject to pro-
fcription by any iengtli of time. They are ntc
naturally unalterable, if we foppofe an unititn-
rupled fucceflion of bifhops and paftors in oA
diocefe , becaufe the knowledge of them beii^
always handed down from generation to geom-
tion, every fucceeding bifhop and his pafliB
muft therefore be well inftrutled of the uimol
extent of their jurifdidion, that is to fay, of its
primitive limits of their diocefe. And hence w
new modeling or altering the limits of dioctfc
could have happened, but in fuch a cafe as tim
above defcribcd, when feveral fmgle diocefes sii
reduced to 3 lefTer number by the authority of>
pope or council, or a part of too large a dioni!
added to a fmalt one by a like authority. Ba
the abfurdity of Keatlng's ftory is other»ii<
Tcry palpable by the erroneous account if
gives of thefe pretended new limits of dioafe
tixed at the above council. Thofe he afli|
the diocefe of Emly may alone fuffice to w-
vince every reader that has the leaft knowledge oi
its fituaiion, of the innumerable grofs errors tbJM
writer muft have committed with regard to ttu
limits of all the reft of the diocefes of the
kingdom,

ILLUSTRATED. |^j

kingdom, fince he fo widely erred from the truth
concerning tbofe of Emly^ a diocefe which boundt
ed on that which he lived in. He makes it ex-»
tend to the Black Water and to A van- Alia ; thq
latter of which rivers is at lead twenty mile^
dillant from its real limits, and the former not icfy
than ten. The limits he cuts out for the diocefq
of Corke, Limerick, and Kerry, are likewUa
grofsly erroneous and ill fixed.

In II 14, Mortogh was attacked with a violent
indifpofition of health, whereupon the ftates qt
Connaught, Leinfler, and Meath renounced their
obedience to him, and under the command of
Donal Mac Loghiin O Neill, fpoiled a great part
of Thomond. After which, Dermod O Brieii
had himfelf proclaimed king of Munfter. A D.
1 1 1 5, Dermod was taken by ftratagem and deli-
vered up to his brother Mortogh by the Dane^
of Limerick. But Mortogh foon after granted
him his pardon and liberty, and received him
into his former favour and rank. A. D. 11 16,
his indifpofition ftiil continuing, and being re?
lolved to lead a devout and private life for the
reft of his days, he refigned the government into
the hands of his brother Dermod O Brien. A. D.
1 1 19, he died a penitential death at Lifmore, and
Avas folemnly interred in the church of Killaloc.
He was a prince of great valour and wife conduct,'
and at the fame time one of the molt pious and
clement of all the kings of the O Brien race.

Mortogh O Brien, furnamed the great, fecond
fon of Turlogh O Brien, whofc reign I have
now briefly related out of different annals, had

three

566 THE LAW OF TANISTRT

three fons according to the Leabhar Irfe, viz.
I. Donal Gearrlamhach, or (hort-handed, who
was king of the Danes of Dublin, and a very
great warrior. A. D. 1 1 15, he gave battle to the
united troops of all Leiniter, in which he flew
Donogh Mac Murcha^ king of that province,
O Connor king of Ive-Failge, and feveral other
Lagenian nobles of diftindtion. In 1 1 18, he re-
figned the fovereignty of Dublin ; after which be
retired to lead a devout and private Itfe^ and died
in an ecclefiallical fiate, A. D. 1135, according
to the Chronicon Scotorum. 2* Mahon, who
was anceftor of the Mac Mahons of Corcabbafgio
in Thomond. 3. Kennedy Oghar^ of whom we
have no further mention.

The above Donal Gearrlamhach had two Tons,
viz. I. Connor, who was a prince of great
power, and is inferted in the Reim Riogra of the
Dal-Caffian princes as king of Thomond. He
was made prifoncr by Turlogh O Brien, but he
recovered his liberty by the concurring power of
Turlogh O Connor, king of Connaught, and of
Dermod Mac Murcha, king of Lcinftcr, A. D.
1155. Ncverthclcfs, he had his eyes put out by
faid Turlogh O Brien, A. D. 11 58. 2. Luidhig
O Brien, who was killed at the memorable battk
of Moin-Mor, fought A. D. 11 51.

DERMOD O BRIEN.

Dermod O Brien, the third fon of Turlogh,
immediately after the refignation of his brother
Moitoghy was proclaimed king of all Munfter,

A.D.

ILLUSTRATED. 567

A. D. 1 1 1 6. I need not relate the hiftory of his life
before this epoch, as it has been already fufficiently
fet forth, and connected with the life and reign
of his brother Mortogh. A. D. 1 1 17, he march-
ed into Connaught at the head of the Momonian
troops, fpoiled and burned the country of Ive-
Fiachracb, and laid wafte the territory of Ivc-
Briuin. A. D. iizo, he fiiiifhed his life after a
reign of only four years duration, during which
we have no further account of his particular ac-
tions.

He married according to the Leabhar Irfe of
the Mulconnerys, Mor the daughter of Roderic
O Connor, king of Connaught, by whom he had
fix Tons. The books of the herald's office at
Dublin, and the earl of Inchiquin's pedigree
publiflied by Keating's tranflator, affign him as
wife Sadhbh, or Sabia, daughter of Teige Mac
Carthy, and make her the mother of his Ton
Turlogh O Brien. Whether this be true or not,
it is natural to think the authors of the Leabhar
Irfe were not milUken in giving him as wife the
daughter of Roderic O Connor, as he was hif
heft friend upon all occafions, according to our
different annals above cited. He had fix Tons as
abovementioned, according to the faid authors,
viz. I . Connor na Catharach, furnamed Slaparfa-
lach or Spattered Robe, king of Thomond, who
fucceeded his father in the throne of Munfter,
A. D. 1 1 20, and whofe reign and family are
treated of in the next title. 2. Turlogh, who
was king of Munfter after the death of his bro-
ther Connor, A. D. 1142, and from whom are ^

defcended

568 THE LAW OF TANISTRY

defcended the O Briens of Thomond. 3. Teige
Gle, who by the intered of O Connor of Con*
nai^ht, beoune king of Thomond in prejudice
of his elder brother Turlogh, A. D. iizz. As
the military and ftate tranfa£tions of this prince
arc feverally pointed out in the reigns of his. bro-
thers Connor na Catharach and Turlogh^ I refer
|he reader to the hidories of thofe princes.

In the mean time as tp what regards this Tdge
in the genealogical way, I (hall obferve that he ii
the anceftor of a noble family of the O Briens,
^ho were the antient pofTefibrs of the ifles of
Arran near Galway, and of Tromraith with f^
veral other landed properties in the county! of
Clare. And we find in John Magrath's lri(b
Hiftory of the Revolutions of Thomond, called
. Caithreim Thoirdhealbhaig, written by the author,
A. D. 1 459, that Donal fon of Teige, furnamed
Aluinn, or Comely, otherwife called Sean Teigc,
was in a£lual pofleffion of the eftate of Tromraith
and held his refidence at that place in the year
1277. The fame hiftory mentions, that faid
Donal O Brien fent his two fons, by name Ma-
hon and Donal Oge O Brien, to aflift Turlogh
O Brien fon of Teige Dalouifge againft: the earl
Thomas de Clare, who came that year to the
aflfillance of Brien Ruadh, faid Turlogh*s uncle.
The above Teige Aluin O Brien was the fixth
diredt defcendant from this Teige Gle, or Neat,
according to all the genealogies that I have feen
of this family. The chief and direct repre-
fentative of this noble branch of the O Briens
defcended fromTeigeGle,was JohnOBrien, lately

living

IliIiUSTRATBD. $69

I at his own efbite of Moy vainine and Ctu-
s in the county of Limerick ; who ba4 a
»Ucd Thady O Bricn, an oflficcr of known va-
in the queen of Hungary's fcrvice. I have .
ty pofleflion an authentic copy of a public in*
nent (igned by the mayor and bailiffs of the
of Galway the 3Qth of Mardi 158S, (Joha
:e being then mayor and Walter Martin and
lony Ktrrivan bailiffs) and counterfigned by
rander Dermot notary public ; whereby they
:j to queen Elizabeth in favour of Morrogh
: Turlogh O Brien then living, ** That the
4ac Teiges of Arran, his anceftors^ were qn*
er her majefty and her predece0brs, the tem-
oral captains or lords of the iflands of An'an
nd their territories and hereditan^ents eife*
ifhere, under the names of Mac Teige O Brien
tf Arran, time out of man's memory ; and that
hey had feen the faid Mprrogh Mac Turlogh
) Brien authorifed by all his fept, as chief of
hat name and in pofleilion of the premifles
s his own lawful inheritance, as more at large,
ay they, doth appear in our books of records,
therein he continued until of late he was by
:he ufurping power of the O Flaherty's cxpul-
Ted, from whom it is taken by fome inqueft
Pound in her majefty's favour. We fay, more-
over, add they, that the fcpt of Mac Teige
O Brien of Arran, fince the foundation of this
city and town, were aiding and aififting toour-
felves and our predeceffors againil her majefty's
and her predecelTors enemies in all times and
places, whereunto they were called as true,

*• faithful.

5TO THE LAWS OF TANISTRT

** faitbfiily and liege people to the crown of Eif.

^* buid, to niaintain, fuccouTy and aifill this town.'
Thus that public inftrunient. The above Job 0
Brien ii the fizth direct defcendant from the bii
Morrog^ fon of Turk)g|i O Brien, nicntioQed k
die preceding abftraft, as appears by his goieib.
gy, wherein I find it mentioned by wayof aav<
ginal note, that Dermod Mor O Brien, gnodii
of the above Sean Tdge or Teige- Aluinn, rcceir-
cd twelve tuns of wine as a yearly tribute fm
the to^A n of Galway , in confideration of prottc-
ting the harbour and trade of that dty, from i
pirates and privateers, by entertaining a [\Mk
maritime force for that purpofe.

N. B. A modern compiler of the genolopi
of the peers of Ireland calls Teige Gle by ik
name of Teige-a-line (aiming doubtkfs at
lixth defcendant Teige Aluinn) and makes
the fecond fon of Dermod O Brien, and only bro-
ther of Turlogh the anceftor of the Thomood
branch, whom he fliles the heir of his faid fatixr
Dermod, and referves Connor na Catharach, win
was his true heir and elded fon, to make a kind
of Pythagorean appearance in the world as fecood
brother of Donal Mor, and third fon of his own
younger brother the faid Turlogh. But a fo-
reigner and perfect ftranger to Iriih annals mud be
excufed in thefe blunders, grofs and incxcufablea
they other wife (hould be deemed.

4. Dermod Fionn, uho was a prince of a vio-
lent and fanguinary diipofition; for, A. D. 1154,
he put out the eyes of his own elder brother
Teige Gle^ and in 1168, by the aiuilance of

Maiadiy

ILLUSTRATED. 57

ilachy O Felan king of the Defies, aged as he
KB, he murdered the grand fon of his eldefi bro-
ar Connor na Catharach by name Connor O
ien, and foon after dirpoflefled faid Connor's
Hily of their principality in Ive-Bloid which
pprehended Ar^ and lower Qrmond, being
%erfully fupported for that end by his nephew
anal M6r O Bricn. His family from that time
sre chief princes of Ive-Bloid till the fetilement
the children of Donal M6r O fi|rien in that
mtry, neverthelefs they remained in great
i^dor and held the fecond rank there, until
f were entirely difpoflelfed by the family called
c y Brien Ara, and the defendants of Donal
inachtach O Brien ; which (hall be particularly
ted in its due place. 5. Dermod Donn, of
:>fe family we have no account.
S. Donogh, who was a virtuous prince and left
c. After the death of his wife he became an
lefiaftic, was eledted to the vacant fee of Kil-
►c, confecrated bi(hop of that dioccfc, A. D.
>i ; according to the annals of Tighernach's
itinuator, and died in four years after that
K:h according to the faid annals. His de-
ndants and family, highly valuing themfelves
>n this circumftance, and dcfirous to prefervc
memory of fo virtuous, fo honourable an
:cftor, always diflinguilhed themfelves by the
ticular title of Clann mic an Ealbuig. This
riily was very powerful, and enjoyed large
ites even folate as the reign of queen Elizabeth,
c prefent diredl reprefentativc of that branch
the O Briens, is faid to be Francis O

Brien

19

THE I#AW OF TAMISTRT

Bnen Ion of WUImih O Brien^ wholtttly
a fimU part of the large poflfeffioni of hii
tori, upon wluch he refided at a place
Caflle Brien, otherwifc called CuMkra-Bci-
inrbhearnun m the county of Clare.

CONNOR NA CATHARACH O

Connor na Catharach king <^ Thomond
Slaparfalach or Spattered-rdbe, the eldeft
I>eniiod O Brien, was proclaimed king of
immediately after the death of his father. A]
iiao; upon which his brother Turing^
the (econd fon fucoeeded him in the fot
of Thomond. A. D. 1 1 2 1 , Connor O
Ht^ O Heyne king c^ lYC-Fiachracb-i
O Flaherty king of the weft of Connaught,
I^rcan a prince of great valour, with
others of the Conatian nobility, in a battle
Ardfinan ; by which means he took reveogei
the Conatian army for having burned
Lifmore, and other places in Munfter that
under the command of Turlogh O Connor,
king of Connaught returned the fame year
Munfter with all the forces of Leath-cuinn,
remained encamped at Birr in Ormond from
iirft of November to the end of January wii
committing much hoftilities. In the mean
he fet all his political engines to work for
drawing the Eugenian princes from their
ance to the king of Munfter ; in this projefil
fucceeded fo well, that Donogh Mac Carthy
pther Eugenian princes came to his camp,

tLLUSTRATED. 5173

1 him homage ; his next fcheme for reducing
mor O Brien's power w as to fo w the feeds of
ordamongft the O Brien princes, which he foon
6fccd, by fetting up Teige Gle O Brien in oppo-
in to his brother Turlogh, whom he by dmt
ms eafily dethroned from the fovereignty of
lomond and made him a prifoner of war ; then
daiming Teige Gle king of Thomond in his
Cfc, he decamped with his troops for Connaught
I tJlfter in the month of February of the year
U9 according to the annals of Innisfallen and
rhernach's continuator ; according to the latter
befe annals, Teige Ton of Cairthach king of
blond, died at Caihel, A.,D. 1123; and his
htw CormaC fon of Muireadhach, fon of
rthach, fucceeded him in that principality.
3. The author of CambrenfisEverfus isguiU
kf a great error and anachronifm of no lefs than
years, concernisg this Teige Mac Carthy,
>m he fuppofes to begin his reign as king of
\nond, after the death of Connor na Catharagh
kien, who died, A.D. 1142, according to the
ctitring teftimonies of all different annals.
n 1 1 27, Turlogh O Connor at the head of the
DCS of Leath-cuinn, marched into Munfter,
I baked at Corke, where Donogh Mac Darthy
1 a great body of the Eugenians joined him ;
cr which he dethroned Cormac Mac Carthy,
fcr brother of the faid Donogh and king of
fmond, who thereupon turned to lead a devout
I at Lifmore, and had Donogh Mac Carthy
LUgurated and proclaimed king of Defmond in
» place ; he then undertook to make an equal

divifion

574 THE LAW OF T ANISTRT

divifion of all Muniler between him and Connor
O Brien, the reigning king of that entire pro-
vince. In the fame year G>nnor O Brien, to
defeat the projedts of O GMrnor^ tending to
create a divifion among the princes of his fiunily,
effected a perfedt reconciliatbn between Us two
brothers Turlogh and Teige Gle^ by reftoringdie
former to the feodal foverdgnty of Thoniood,
and the latter to that of Ormond. Then bidding
defiance to the ufurped authority of Turlogh
O Connor in his province, and condemning the
unnatural ufurpation of Donogh Mac Carthy m
Defmondy he repaired to Lifmore, where hafmg J
found Cormac Mac Carthy in a cell, he took him
by the hand, brought him back into the worid
again, and acknowledged him the <xily king of
Definond : confequent to which he detfaroDol
Donogh Mac Carthy and enled him into Coo-
naught. In this a£t of public juftice, he hid tbe
concurrence of O Sulivan, O Donogbue, 0
Mahony, O Keeffe, O Moriarty, O Felan, and
almoft all tbe Eugcnian nobility. This hBt k
recorded not only in the annals oJF Innisfalkn,bat
is alfo mentioned by St. Bernard, in his fifeof
Malachy, archbifliop^of Ardma^, cafK 3. io thefe
words, ^* Conchobbarus O Brien vid^quacfidi
*^ funt, repietus eft zelo, et hinc qindem indigooi
^^ prardonum libertati et infoicntis fuperbcnfl^
** inde miferatus regni deiblalioiiem et regji d^
*^ jecboncm deicendit ad ceflubm pauperis } ai
^* Cormacus, accedente mandato epifcopi e
*^ Malacfaix coniiUo, vix tandem aoqaievit;
^ puliis pr^tdcoibus, reduditor in fua com ooi*

•* tatiooe

\

ILLUSTRATED. 575

atione fuoruniy regnoque reftituitur fuo." tn
end of the fame year, 1 1 27, Turlogh O G>n-
' refolving to take full revenge of the king of
softer for thefe proceedings, invaded his pro-
oe with a fleet of one hundred and ninety fail^
ttding to the annals of Tighcmach'scontinua^
i fpoiled and burned the country as far as the
untain called Sliabh-Caoin, Ardpadrig, and
inallo in the county of Limerick ; but being
red that Connor OBrien was marching at the
1 of the Momonian forces to give him battle,
nade a precipitate retreat and arrived in
inaught without fufiering much lofs.
L. D. 1 1 30, Connor O Brien, apprehended
Ua Caomhdhain for ftealing feveral valuable
&8 out of the church of Clonmacnoifs at the
igation of the Danes of Limerick ; after which
Tent the facred pledges and the chief under a
^ng guard to that place, where he was public-
xecuted. A. D. 1132, he invaded Connaught^
iled Ndbonmhuighe near Thomond, burned
Imian and brought away a confiderable booty ;
a after, being aififted by the troops of Con-
akne and Meath, he made a fecond defcent
m that province, and fought a battle againft
Idng of Connaught at Athlone, wherehe gained
ignal victory, flew Connor O Flaherty with two
the family of Mugron, and burned that town.
t then dellroyed the iflands of Buinne and
ithe upon the Shannon with fire and fword.
3wards the end of this year, he fent a (tout body
troops, chiefly Eugenians, under the command
Cormac Mac Carthy , by fea to that province ;

in

1^6 THE LAW OF TAKISTRT

in which expedition they battered and broke down
the caftle of Buna-Gaillimhe, put the garrifon to
the fword, and nfiade the like hoftUe defcents in
feveral parts of the well of Connaught. A. D.
^ 1 339 ^^ marched at the head of the forces of
Munfter and Meathinto Connaught, laid waftetbe
places called Ruadhbheitheach and Bealatha, and
flew Cathaid O Connor Rioghdamhna or heir ap-
parent to the throne of Connaught, and Giolla na
Naomh O Floinn a chieftain of great note. After
which he burned the fortrefles called Don-Mogh-
dhairne, Dun-Mor and other places of ftrength ;
he then defeated the tribe called Siol Muiridhtg in
a pitched battle, flew AulifF O Radain chief of
the fept called Clann Tumultaig, with fcvml
others of the Conatian nobility, and made the fen
of Ineifdir O Handiy prifoner of war.

In 1 1 34, he marched againft Mac Murcbaking
of Leinfter and the Danes of Dublin, who bd
revolted againft him, and flew Marianus fon d
AUgort a Danifh commander of great reputatioo,
and Aulavius another Danifli officer ; after which,
he routed and defeated Mac Murcha in a pitched
battle, where the beftpart of the Lagenian troops
and thofe of Ive--CinfioIach were left dead on d)e
plain ; foon after, he marched at the bead of the
united forces of Munfter, Leiniier, the Danes of
Dublin, Wexford, Waterford and Corke, into the
province of Connaught, with a full refolution tt
reduce that entire kingdom, and receive hoftaga
from the principal nobility. Tuflogh O Coowir
in this great emergency of his af&irs, convince!

as he was of his own incapacity to rifque a battk

with

ILLUSTRATED. 577

xvith O^Brien, and well knowing that prince's
piety and obedience to the church of God^ fent
Muireadhach O^Dubhthaig archbilhop of Tuara^
whom Tighernach*s continuator fiiies the pope'a
legate in Ireland, attended by Hugh O'Hoifin^
who afterwards became Muireadhach's fucceflbr
in that See, with full powers from him to offer
the invader any conditions that might fecure his
perfon and Dates from the danger and defolation
which fo nearly threatened both the one and the
other I the commiffion however was fo well dif-
charged by the archbiftiop of Tuam, that he per-
fuaded the Momonian king to grant O'Connor
reafonable terms of peace ; thus far the annals
of Innisfallen ; but thofe of Tighernach's conti-
nuator at the fame year mention, that they return-
ed without obtaining fuch conditions as they ex-
pected from O^Brien ; from this circumfiance
we may reafonably infer, that O^Connor was
then obliged to promife obedience and deliver hof-
tages as pledges of his fidelity ; which was always
pradtifed by the princes of Ireland, upon the like
advantages. This circumfiance of Turlogh
More's reduAion and humiliation by the power of
Connor O^Brien, has not been expofed to light
by any of the late writers, notwithftanding it's
being fo well grounded on Irifli annals.

In the fame year 1 1 34, he marched at the head
of the united forces of the provinces of Munfier,
Leinfler and the Danes of Dublin into the province
of Ulfter, where he deflroyed the country with
fire and fword, and brought away with him the
treafures of Tyrone, out of the cathedral church

P p of

^^i THE £.AW OF TAHiaTRT

of Derry, and three other churches of that prin-
cipality^ in which they had been depofited for
the greater lafety. Hie then fpdled Tirconoel
and found immenfe wealth iheltered m the
churches of Raphoe and Hathluirg | after whidi
he marched through the heart of the proma
intoMeathy fpoiled that entire principality and
brought away the riches of the province oat of
the cathedral of Clonirard ; then croffing the
Shannon^ he began the like hoftilities in Coo-
naught, and brought away the vaft treafures of
, the province, which he found depofited in the

churches of Conga, Eithne, Rofcommon, Rof-
naor, and feveral other churches of note ; after
this lad expedition he returned triumphant into
his own province, enriched with immenfe treaforei
c^gold, filver, and other valuable efieds of ill
the different provinces of Ireland.

Inunediately after this grand expedition Cor-
mac Mac Carthy king of Defmond, and the Eth
genian nobility revolted and proceeded to open
a^ of hoflility againft Connor O^Brien, fo as to
penetrate into his camp in the night time with
fword in hand, where they committed a great
daughter, in which Donogh O'Brien fonofBrien
0*Brien of Glanmire, and his cldeft fon Dcrmod
were flain, before the king's forces could get
themfelves in rcadinefs to oppofe and repulfe the
rebellious party. All annalifts who mention this
fudden mif-undcrftanding between Cormac Mac
Carthy and the king of Munfter, to whofefricnd-
(hip faid Cormac owed his rank as king of Def-
mond, by having dethroned the ufurper Donogh

Mac

tLLUSTRATED. j7^

Lc Carthy, keep a profound filence concerning
caufe ; but as the annah of Innisfallen mention,
It Cormac Mac Carthy forcibly took away
»m the king's camp at this time a part of tha
mIs brought home from Ulfter, 8cc. it may ret-
lably be inferred from this fa£t, that the rup«
'e took its rife from a jealoufy of the Eugeniank
ncerningthe diihibutionofthofe fpoils.
I^ 1 1 3S* Cormac Mac Carthy at the head of th^
igenian tribe marched into Thomond, wher*
did great damages, and killed Ctrmheadh Mor,
r k*»ng of Ivc-<}aifin. Connor O^Bricn fudden-
purfucd him and garc his forces a total ovcr-
ow, in which Cian 0*Mahony king of Raith-^
n or eaft Ive-Eachach, Mahon O'Donog-
2 and Roderic O^Donoghue kings of Ive-Each-
i weft, Fiongain O^Kecfc king of Gleannam*
n, 0*Fclan king of the Defies, O^Connortdng
Corcomrnadh, O^Loghlin king of Burren,
hich two laft mentioned princes favoured the
gem'an intereft) and many other princes of
tinAion were all put to the (word.
A.D. ii37» Turlogh O'Brien was made a pri-
cr by his brother ; here the annalifts are quite
Tit about this brother's name; yet we iftty
ifidcnily advance, that Teige Gle was the brt>
^r here pointed at for that fadt, as he had been
1 author of hisimprifonment, A. D. iiaa, ai
Ih been explained at that year. The EugeniaA
inces in their prcfent rupture atid rebeUicMH
;ainft the king of Munfter, muft in all appears
ce have foHowcd the exattHple of Turlogh
^Connor in availing themfelves^ as he did^ df

P p a the

58o THE LAW OF TANISTRY

the ambitious difpofilion of Teige Gle, and his
particular pique againft his brother Turlogh, to
difturb the union and good underllanding that
fubfilled at that time bet ween the princes of the
Dal-caifian race. This conjecture feems to be
the better grounded, as we underftand from the
concurring teilimonies of the annals of Tigber-
nach's continuator, thofe of Innisfallen, and the
Chronicon Scotorum at the year following, thit
Cormac Mac Carthy was murdered by Dermod
O'Connor king of Kerry-Luachra at the inftmce
of Turlogh O'Brien, whom Tighemach's con-
tinuator Ailes the fon-in-law, goffip, and fofter-
child of faid Cormac Mac Carthy ; befides the
probability which arifes from this laft circuroftana
to confirm the prefent conjecture, the faid annab
furnifh us with other firong proofs as (hall here-
after appear in its own place, where the like ^^
prifals are made upon Teige Gle by his brother
Turlogh, when he obtained the afcendant m
Munfler upon the death of his brother Connor
O'Brien. Nor can we at all fuppofe the brother
who I mentioned to be Connor O^Birien, with
whom Turlogh never had the leaft difputeor
mif-underfianding before or after this time, that
I can learn from a ny of the annals.

In 1 1 39, Connor O'Brien, at the head of the
united forces of the fouth half of Ireland, nwrch-
ed into the territories of Oirgial in Ulflcr, where
Donogh fon of Cucalhel O'Carrol chief king of
that extenfive principality came to his camp, paid
him homage and delivered him two hoftages
After which he reduced Conmaicne and bro^^

away

ILLUSTRATED. 581

beir boilages. A. D. 1 142, Connor O^Brien,
le king of all Leath-mogha without con*
ion, and the moft powerful prince of the
Irilh nation very pioufly and penitentially
d his days at Killaloe. His corpfe was
ily interred in the cathedral church in the
vault of the O^Brien kings.
\ continuator of Tighemach*s annals, after

Connor avowed king of Leath-mogha,
to fay, both the provinces of Munfter and
' Leinfter, with the capital city of Dublin,
thefe words, Jtmnfaigbtbeacb Eirimn lofe,
literally import, that he had invaded, re-
» and required obedience and hofiages from

other provinces of Ireland, which indeed
uf&ciently appears from the preceding ex-
f the anna Is concerning his reign ; it is very
Lt to all thofe who read the Iri(h annals,
rith the princes of Meath of the Niellian race,
mbitioned to be (liled kings of Ireland, it
Handing maxim, as foon as they could have
I or reduced to fome fubmiffion, were it
»ut temporary and of the (horteil duration,
^o of their neighbouring provinces together
hat of Meath, they thought it quite fuffici-
r them to affume the title of monarchs of
land ; and the fame maxim was conilantly
^ed by ihofe of the fame Niellian race in
-, who never failed to arrogate to themfclves
me title and dignity of monarch, as foon
y had found means to force fome fubmiffion
the princes of Connaught and thofe of
b jointly with their own Ultonian tribes.

In

08a THE LAW 07 TANI2TRT

In the mean time tkoikxng appears plainer or more
abundantly proved through the whole oourfectf
^11 the hifh annals, than that thofe provioces
from whom the nominal or pretended mooarda
bad, by fiarts of force afid high band, extoitoi
iimfi ton of exterior fid>mifljon, always fdied
upon the firft opportunity not only Co renaunoc
Jfuch a fubroifflon, but alfo to bid open defiance to
thoie high monarchs who had ftarted over tbem
by the chances of war. So that, notwithfttnd-
hig the offence it gives Roderic OTlaberty,
that thoiie kings of the Saxon Heptarchy, who
from time to time were diftingui(hed by the title
of monarchs, (honld have been compared or pot
upon a par with Irilh monarchs, it muft be fairlj
eonfefled by all unprejudiced perfons who ht?e
fcad the annals and hiftories of both nations, ibt
that high title has been often afibroed in Ireland^
upon weaker grounds than it was generally tttrh
buted to the moft powerful kings of the heptar-
chy ; where it was both natural and necc&ry,
that one or other of the feven kings of thatnstioQ
ihould be velUd with a general commanding
power, as often as a war with the old Britons oi
Albanian Scots became unavoidable. But on the
whole matter it is a real fa£t, that the general fyf-
tem of government among the Iriih kings and
princes of the Scotic nation, was very nearly if
not exactly of the fame nature with that of the
Saxon heptarchy. Thofe who would form th«ir
judgment rather upon real hiftorical fa£t$, glar-
ingly appearing throughout all the annals of this
country, than upon fuch an UtopNan (yftem o^

Irilh

ILLUSTRATED.

Ifi(h government as hftlh been imagined and pub-
liflied fome years rmce, would I darefay^ make
TIG difficulty, after the firft reading of the annaU^
to acknowledge the reality and truth of what t
have here reprefented concerning the manner of
government and exertion of regal power among
the princes of the Scoto-Ibernian race.

I fhall therefore conclude without hefitationf
thai according to the annals, Connor na Catba-
rach O^Brien had ^s good a right to be fiiled king
or monarch of Ireland, as any other prince that
had aflumed that title, his great ancefior Brien
Borumh alone excepted; who either from tfa^
free will of the people or by fuperior power,
maintained himfelf infuU pofleifionof the perfeA
fubmiflion and obedience of all the princes and
ilatesof the whole kingdom. And that foreign
writers regarded and fiiled faid Connor king of all
Ireland, the reader will find attefted in the fol-
lowing extracts out of the antient records of the
i^bbey of Ratifbon, as they were communicated to
the author of Cambrenfis Evafus, by Stephanas
Vitus, of whom the great Ufher makes honoura-
ble mention in his Britifh and Irifh antiquities.
From thefe concurring teiiimonies of domeftic and
foreign writers it evidently appears, that I have
not exceeded the real truth in what I have Ad-
vanced concerning the fupremacy of Connor
0*Brien over all the other kings of Ireland, dur-
ing a confiderable part of his reigo, a fupreiHai^y
which was rather encreafing than declining to-
wards the end of his life : what was not common
to all his predeceiTors of the fame raci ; tod that

he

THB LAW OT TANISTRT

he furpafled all the defcendants of the great mo-
narch Brien Borumh, in piety and zeal for the
public good of the church and ftate, may dearly
be inferred both from the faid extrad^s of records,
and from the very literal meaning of his furnamei
He was called Connor na Catharacb or rather at
Gcathrach, from his having built feveral dties,
cailles and royal feats^ of which Cahir-Dun-lafct
the prefent feat of Lord Cahir in the county of
Tipperary was one» andCahir-Conchul^ir in an
ifland of the Shannon in Lower- Or mond, fo caiied
from his Chriftian name, was another ; he was
^likewife nicknamed Slaparfalach or Spattered-
Robe, from his piety and zeal in building cburdies
and monafteries, to which work he was fo atten-
tive, that he often mounted the fcaffolds to in-
fpe£t the mafonry, on which occafion his robes
were unavoidably befpattered with the mortar.

His piety and munificence in founding and r^
pairing the Iri(h abbey of St. Peter at Ratifbon in
particular, are confpicuous in the annexed re-
cords, as quoted in the margin. They import io
the firft place (j) * that Ifaacus and Gervafius,

* who

(a) Ifaacus et Gervafias qui oati erai^t in (Cbemia ex ftirj^
nobiliori, atqne egregiea pietate,littens, eloquentta in£bw*
ti, qaibus conjundi funt alii duo Scotigeoz Hibemi, Con-
radus Cari>entarius et Guilielmusy ad Hibeirniam perft-
ncrunt, ct falutato Hibemix ^.egt Conchur O'Brien cog-
nomento Slaparfalach, caufam ei adventus fui ezpo^Q^
* runt ; qui eos humaniter excepit ; atque poft aliquot dies
in Germaniam honorifi^e remifit onuftos ipgenti vi aari,
argentiy et pretioforum aliorum donorum. Alii Principes
Hibemix ampliflinia in Germaniam reveitentibiis mmien
Tarii generis contulerunt. liaacos amem» Gexrafius mil

eraac

ILLUSTRATED* 58^

ho were natives of Ireland and of noble ex*
mCdon^ as well as of lingular jMety^ learning,
id eloquence, to whom were joined Conradus
arpentarius and Gidlielmus both of Scotic <^
n and natives of Ireland, after having paid
idr refpedts to Connor O^Brien furnamed
laparfalach king of Ireland, explained to him
le nature and caufe of their expedition into
is kingdom ; upon which he received them
loft gracioufly; and within a few days fent
!iem back to Germany, laden with an im-
lenfe treafure of gold, filver, and othervaluabte
refents. Some other Irifli jprinces made them
t their departure very conuderablc donations
f various kinds ; they had been fent to Ireland,
continue the records) as legates from Diony-
ius the abbot of St« Peter's abbey at Ratilbon,
0vho was a native of Ireland, to b^ for fup-
pVies and alms from the princes of his country :
by the help of thefe pecuniary fupplies fent him
From Ireland, the abbot purcbafed a fnece of
ground in the city of Hatitbon, fufficient for
building a new abbey at the eaft fide of the
town/ And that this abbey was an excellent
d finifticd ftrufture, may be very fuflliciently
Ferred from the following words of the extraft,
lich import, that * the ere£ting fo fpacious a
>yfter of fuch famous workman(hip, abound-
ing

ant in Hibemiam taaquam Legati a Dionydo Scoto con-
n^ti Petri Ratifbonx abb«te» petituri fubfidium et eleetno-
nam a Regibus et Principibus fui foli natalis : his pecu«
18 ex Hibemia fubmiflis emit abbas aream novo monaf-
rio extruendo coaunodam ad occidentalem partem Ra-
feonc*

$w

THE LAV OT TAVISTRT

' ing with ftaoely tarretB, walk, pilUrt and ftttlti,
^ with fuch wonderfal eicpedition^ Bouft be wlioi*
^ ly attributed to the iminenre fan» of moQ^
^ and riches furnifhed for that pious end by the
^ king of Ireland, and by other princes of tha
f nation /^ J.

And that Connor O^Brien was the very fomd-
«r of this abbey is exprefsiy atlefted in the foUov-
ig paflage of its records which imports, ^ dut
Chriftianus, abbot of the iriih abbey of St. Jsibq
at Ratifbon, wbo was a man of noble extradi-
on, being defoended from the illuftrionsftmiiyof
the Mac Carthys, after the treafares which had
been fent by the king of Ireland to RatilboQ
were exhaulled, and that his religiotis family
were in extreme want of fubfiftence, at the (b-
licitations and requeft of bis neceflitous bl^
thren, he came to his native country of Irdaod,
to beg for feme eleemofynary fuppltes for lis
poor family, from the moft Chriftian lod
devout Irifh king Dond, and from the other
princes of that nation, fince the above men-
tioned king of Ireland, Connor O'Brien, who
was the founder of the faid abbey of St.
Peter and St. James at Ratitbon, had been
dead forfome fpacc of time befcn-e (c).* The

maenificcQce

(h) Sciendam eft quod nee ante nee poft tarn
daodrum tam nobtli ftruflura in turribns, paricdbos, co*
lumnisy teftudinibus tam cito ere^um et paratum ad pk-
nam ficut illud clauftrum, quia abundantia divitiaranct
pecanite Regis Hibernis et alioniai principom crac tut
faenTara.

(r) Chrillianus abbas inonafterii Scotorufn S. Jacobi la*
tiibons, vir nobilis, ex ftlrpe primaria familis Macaitkf ia

tUbena,

IJLtXJSTltAT ED. j«,

teafpnificcaace and opidtnce of king Connor, as
wdi as his oorrefpondence and alUance with the
€Dr$ign powers of hk tixn«, appear with equal
anrjdence from anodier paflage of thoie records
of Ratifbon, where it is xpentioned, (^ ^ That
^ by a number of Counts and Knights of great
^ power and nobility^ and all wearing the holy
^ badges of the crofs, whom he difpatched away
^ to fight againft the infidels in the Holy-land^
* he fent an immenfe quantity of rich pre&nts to
^ Lotharius the Roman Emperor/

MORTOGH O'BRIEN, Ton of Coqnor

na Catharaph.

Connor na Catharach O^Brien, married Sadhb
or Sgbla the daughter of Connor O'Mulfeachiin
king of Meath, by whom he had Morto^ O
. Brien the only fon of whom we find any mention
in the annals. This prince upon the promotion
of his uncle Turlogh king of Thomond to the
throne of all Muniler by the death of faid
Mortogh's father Connor na Catharach, A. D.
1 142, fucceeded his faid uncle in the fovereignty

of

Htbernia* jam ezhauftis the&uris oltm Ratilbonx fubmiilis
a Rege Hibemizy videns fuos inopia laborare fubiidii hu-
mani rogatu fratrum fuorum ut novum repeteret levamen
jeseftatis concefit in patriam fuam Hiberniam, ut a Rege
Cnriftianiflimo ac devoto Donato O'Brien diAo (jam enim
vita fundhis fundator confecrati Petri et monafterii S. Jacobt
Scotonim Rex Conchur O'Brien) ab aiiis Hibemis mag-
natibuis impetraret eleemolynas.

(d) Per magnz nobilitaus ac potentix Coroites cruce fig^
fiatos, et Hierofolymam petituros, ad Lotharium Regem
Komanoram ingentia mttnera mifit.

5«S THE LAW OF TANISTRT

of Thomond. He alway entertained good
friendfhip and harmony with the Cud '^vAif^
and ftrongly fupported bia intereft to the dty tf
his death, not only agatnft hia onde Tc^ Gk
king of Ormond, who waa g^enerally at ymaa
with lus brother Turlogh, but alio agpinfttk
united powers of Turlo^ O'Connor and b
Conadans on the one fide, and of Demxxi Mk
Carth; , and the Eugenians on the other.

The following Iketch of Mortogh's mifitaj
fldll and martial expldts, taken from the ooncar-
^g teftimonies of the Chronicon Scotorum,
T^iemach's continuator. and the aimals of !&>
niafaUen of the fingle year 1 150, will ferve totk
reader as a fpecimen of the reft of his adiooi;
for in that year he reduced the king of Ofiij,
and obliged him to deliver hoilages ; he dn
had wafte the country of Meath with fire tod
fword, and brought home very confiderable fpoii;
after which he invaded Connaught, and broogh
from thence a great prey and many prifooers o(
war. Not long after that expedition he maidiod
into the province of Leinfter, which fufferecltbe
like hoftile rigour from his vi£torious arms ; it is
to be obferved that all thefe princes and ftites
were his and his uncle Turlogh's declared enemies^
Turlogh O'Connor and Tiaman O'Ruark at tk
head of their refpedive forces invaded Munftcr,
being fully determined to take ample revenge of
the king of Thomond^ for having fpoiled tbor
country ; in this expedition they were fortunatd?
joined by the Eugenians under the command of
Dermod fon of Cormac Mac Cartby , at the foot

of

ILLUSTRATED. 569

le mountain ealled Sltabh-M is, where Turlogh
Mortogh O'Brien gave them battle ; in which
Conatians, after a great carnage of their beft
pa, gave ground and retreated precipitately
their own country. Dermod Mac Carthy after
tving ftrong reinforcements from his tribet
jed a fecond battle with thefe two 0*Srtea
ices in the territory of Ive-Connal-gabhra^
ire the Eugenians received a fignal overthrow^

were obliged to fly for refuge to the faflneflfes
[ve-£achach. The Dal-Caffian princes mak-

good ufe of thefe favourable circumftances,
lied and laid wafte the entire principality of
mond, that is to fay, from the Black- water to
ke^ and from the town of Lifmore to Brandon-
in the weft of Ireland. Mortogh O'Brien in

mean tinoe clofely purfued Dermod Mac
thy through the defiles of Mufgry, and thence
Tmneich near Bandon, which place he alfo
Jed and committed to the flames,
'he king of Defmond and the other princes
lis tribe being driven to thefe great extremi-
, fent repeated embaflies into Connaught to beg
riogh O'Connor's aififtance once more againft
r and his enemies ; upon which he fent his

Roderic O'Connor in the beginning of the
r 1 151, with a ftout body of troops into
omond, where they did great damages, and
ned down the famous palace of Ceanncora,
ich the continuator of Tighernach's annals
» the beft and the moft celebrated regal feat
all Ireland. Soon after the return of thefe
latian troops, Turlogh O'Connor at the head

of

Slid reduoed the Eugeniaa famtit
tepafe that fame night at Corke ; a
morning marched through Moio-Mc
imapprelienftve of the leaft dangc
were fuddenly met with and and it
united armiea of almoft all Irelu
fou^t the Moody battle of Moin-f
the cdebrated Mortogh O'Brira 1
mood, together with the flowtir
Caffian nobifoy, were flain, very few
fept either crying for quarter, or
field of battle ; adrcumftance, hov
able, that did wonderfully weaken 1
Muafler for £6me years after tlus U
This Mortogh O'Brien fon ol
Cadtarach and king of Thomond,
▼iK. I. Connor O'Brien, who after
hia father, A. D. 1151, as now rd;
fucceed him in tbe principanty, as T
of Ormond, by lus right of fenior
Mortogh in that fovereignty, and I
pality of Ormond to faid Connor O
fmaU kingdom bepeaceaUyenit^ed

IL:LaSTft AT£D.

:r*8 death, to die year i i6S, when immedi-
after the death. o£ Turbgh O'Brien, he
led his title to the fovereignty of all Mun<-
as heir of Connor na Catharach, and diredt
of all the O^Brien race. This right he
f contended for againft faid Turlogh's eldeft
Mortogh O'Brien, whom Connor flew with
wn hand ; but he was foon after treacheroufly
Jered by his own grand uncle Dermod Fiona
ien, fourth fon of Dermod 0*Brien and brother
onnor na Catharach, as above remarked aifift-
>y Malachy OTelan king of the Defies,
ough this unhappy catailrophe, this prince was
aft. of the defcendants of Connor na Catha-
, who enjoyed either the fovereignty of Tho-
d, or that of Ormonde Such of his family
St remained chief rulers in the territory called
Bkid^ which comprehended Ara and Lower-
lond, being foon difpoirefied by the children
he above Dermod Fionn O'Brien, who were
erfully and efTedtually affifted by Donal Mor
rien.to extirpate that principal branch. This
nor O'Brien left a fon by name Mortogh
rien, who was unhappily ftifled in a heap of
if, A. D. 1181. 2. Turlogh O'Brien, who
a fon called Mahon O'Brien, a young prince
preat hopes; his eyes were inhumanly put
by Donal M6r O'Brien (the conftant and
ared enemy of this family) at his own houfe
i^aftle-conuing, A. D. 11 75, as were alfo the
s of Dermod O'Brien fon of Teige Gle, at the
e time. This fadt is particularly recorded
1 in the annals of Innisfallen^ and by Tigher-

nach^s

S9t

592 THE LAW OF TANISTRT

nach*s continuator at that year. This MahoQ
alfo left male ifiue of which I ftiall Ukewife gin
fome general acxounts^

tIjrlogh o*brien.

Turlogh O'Brien the fecond fon of Denood
became king of Munfter^ immediately after tk
death of Connor na Catharach his eldeft brodxr,
A. D. 1 142 ; in the year following, he demoliflied
the fortrefs called Ruadhbheathach in Connaugb,
where he flew i great many Conatians, togddxr
with their general GioUa Breanain O^Morch,
whom Tighernach's continuator fliles the goven-
or and fuperintendant of Turlc^h O'Conoor's
houfliold, and the mod famous champion of tk
province of Con naught. In 11 44, Donog^ Mk
Carthy marched with hoftile arms to DroidBd-
iBrien upon the Shannon, where he flew Dooq^
the fon of Kinnedy 0*Brien; after whidilie
marched into the Defies, when he was betnjed
by 0*Flanagan, and given up into the haDds of
Turlogh O'Brien, who fent him loaded with dual
to Lough-Goir^ at which place he foon after a*
pired. A. D. 1 145, the Momonian forces uo&
Turlogh O'Brien made great depredations ii
Connaught, flew Roderic O'Flaherty, and midc
Teige O'Kelly prifoncr of war. Soon ificr
Morrogh O'Maolfeachlin and the peopk of
Meath, TeabhthaandConmaicnerenounadiod
withdrew their obedience from Turlogh O'Bofl-
nor, and proclaimed Turlogh O'Brien fuprciDe
king of their fiates, according to the Chronica

Scotoroa

ILLUSTRATED. S93

rum. In the end of this year, Teige Gle
ien was pUt into clofe confinement by his
ler Turlogh, not^vithftanding the mediation
le archbifliop of Ardmagh, and the greateft
of the prelates of Ireland ; however he was
t liberty, and rieftored to the kingdom of
ond, A. D. 1 146, after a folemn oath of his
e obedience, and the engagements of the
y in his favour.

D. 1 1 50, Turlogh O Brien, affifted by
<^gh O Brien fon of Connor na Catharach,
y defeated and reduced the Eugenians, as

been already mentioned in treating of the
ndants of Connor na Catharach. A. D.
, he efcaped by flight out of the bloody
I of Moin Mor as abovie defcribed, in which
togh O Bi ien fon of Connor na Catharach

of Thomond, whom the continuator of
lernach's annals (liles the fecond in worth
dignity of the Dal-Ca(fian princes, together
the principal chieftains of that martial tribe,
lain. After the battle he fled for refuge to
own of Limerick, whither he was clofely
led by the viftors and obliged to ranfom
*lf by paying down two hundred ounces of
, and fijcty valuable prcfents, and then ddi-
l hoilages to Turlogh O Connor. A. D.
., Teige Gle O Brien in open contempt Of
>lemn oath, and of the facred engagementg
le clergy, broke out into public hoflilities
ift his brother Turlogh, whom he dethroned
)ani(hedinto Tironc, being fupportcdby the
d powers of Turlogh O Connor king of

Q^ q Connaught,

594

THE LAW OF TANISTRY

Connaught, Dermod Mac Murchadha king of
Lcinfter, and Dermod Mor Mac Carthy king of
Defmond ; by thefe princes he was inaugurated
and proclaimed king in the room of Turlogh
O Brien, and the fovereignty of Munfter equally
divided between Teigc Gle O Brien and Dermod
Mac Carthy ; in the mean time, Turlogh 0
Brien was received with great refpeft by Mortogh
O Neil the king of Tirone and principal king of
all Ulfter, who promifed to aifift him with his
Ultonians in the recovery of his kingdom ; here
the political and ambitious king of Connaught
having now no longer a Connor na Catharach to
deal with, refumes the practice of his old maxim
dmde et impera^ in which he eflfeftually finds his
account ; and the O Briens at the fame time are
made woefully fcnfible, that the glory, the dignity
of their name has expired with that great prince,
who was as fuccefsful in baffling his adverfary in
the cabinet, as in beating him in the field.

In 1152, Mortogh ONeil, Donogh O Carrol,
and Turlogh O Brien at the head of all the forces
of Tirconnel, Tirone, Oirgial, and Ivc-Briuin-
Breifne marched into the w eft of Meath to a place
called Ath-Maighne, where being met by Tur-
logh O Connor, and Teige O Brien, a bloody
battle was fought between them, in which the
forces of Connaught received a total overthrow^
and nine princes of that kingdom were (lain, toge*
ther with nine hundred of their beft troops; after
which Turlogh O Brien was reinftated in his king-
dom with full authority, and Teige Gle had his
eyes put out by one of his brothers called Der-
mod

ILLUSTRATED. 595

. Fionn O Bricn, as above hinted. A. D.
4., Tcige Gle pioufly finifhed his life at Lif-
e. In 1 1 56, Turlogh O Brien delivered hof-
s to Turlogh O Connor king of Connaught,
iireties of his obedience. A. D. 1157, ^^^
es of Limerick renounced the fovereignty of
iogh O Brien, and acknowledged Mortogh
4eil the king of Tirone, who was then Sn-
iped at Limerick^ as their fupreme king.
1 1165, Turlogh O Brien retired to Killaioe
rad a private and devout life, and refigned the
s of government into the hands of his eldeft

Mortogh O Brien. This prince during hia
^ncy fl^w AulifT-mor O Donoghue, furnamed
I^uimfmighe, at Brughrigh in the county of
nerick. A. D. 1166, Turlogh returned
Ti his pilgrimage and refumed his authority.

D. 1 1679 Turlogh O Brien king of all Mun*
r until ihe fatal event of Moin-Mor, but af-
wards reduced to the fovereignty of North-
under, departed this life in a penitential and
Jmplary manner.

Turlogh O Brien, according to the Leabhar
e of the Mulconnerys^ married Raghnait, the
ughter of O Fogurty, by whom he had five
[IS, viz. 1 Murtogh, furnamed na Dun na
[iath, who was a prince of great valour, and
cd without iffue. He was king of Thomond,

D. 1 165, during the pilgrimage of his father,
above explained. He had himfelf proclaimed
ng of North- Munfter immediately after his faf
cr's death, in which he was oppofedand killed
r Connor O Brien, the grandfon of Connor na

Qjl 2 Catharach

S96 THE LAW Ot TANISTRY

Catharach and king of Ormond, A. D, 1 1 68. This
Connor was killed foon after by Dermod Fionn
O Brien, his own grand uncle, aififted by O Fc-
Ian, as above related. 2. Donal Mor, who fuc-
ceedcd his brother Morlogh in the fovcrcignly of
Thomond, A. D. 1168; in which year he put
out the eyes of his younger brother Tcige, fur-
named of the Mountain, who was king of Or-
mond upon the death of the above Connor O Bri-
en ; and by that means became abfolute king of
North-Munfter. He foon after became the moli
powerful king of all Munfter ; he is the anceftor
of theThomond branch. 3. Bricn an Sieibh, or
of the Mountain, who became king of Ormoad
by the deat h of Connor O Brien grand fon of Con-
nor na Catharach, but was unhappily difqualified
from governing by having had his eyes pat out
by his elder brother Donal Mor in the fame year
1 168. 4- Dermod, of whom wc have no further
mention. 5. Cbnfadin, who was anceftor of the
family called Clann Conftantine, now Confadins:
after the death of his wife, he became bifhop of
Killaloe, and was prefent at the council of Late-
ran held A. D. 1 1 79. The books of the herald'^
office and Keating agree with the above ac-
count of the Mulconnerys and Mac Brodins, con-
cerning the wife of Turlogh O Brien ; but Tigh-
crnach's continuator gives us to uuderftand that
he alfo married the daughter of Cormac Mac
Carthy king of Defmond, by ftiling the faid Cor-
iftac father-in-law to Turlogh O Bricn, A. D.

1138.

DONAL

ILLUSTRATED. 597

DONAL MOR O BRIEN.

In 1 1 68, Donal Mor O Brien, the fccond fon
of Turlogh, was proclaimed king of Thomond
immediately after the death of his elder brother
Mortogh dun na Sgiath, and his brother Brien
an Sleibhe at the fame time king of Ormond, but
Donal foon dethroned him, by which means he
became fole fovereign of Thomond and Ormond
both together, that is to fay, of all North-Mun-
fter, as above explained. A. D. 1170, he had
feveral engagements with Roderic O Connor at the
expence of much blood on both fides, in all which
he was afTifted by a ftrong party of the Englifh
adventurers under the command of Robert Fitz-
Stcphcns, who were fent him by his father-in-
law Dermod Mac Murcha the king of Leinfter.
By this expedition the Englifli gained their firft
footing in Munfter. A. D. 1 171, he paid homage
and delivered hoftages of obedience to Roderic
O Connor, notwithftanding his alliance with the
Englilh, and their bafe encourager the king of
Leinfter ; and in the fame year he fwore homage
and allegiance to Henry the fecond, king of
England^foon after his landing at Waterford.

A. D. 1 173, Donal O Brien at the head of
the troops of North- Munfter, retracting it fcems
his homage to king Henry, broke down the caftle
of Kilkenny, and dcftroyed all the Englifli fettlc-
ments in that part of the country. A. D. 1 174,
he committed great depredations upon the people '
of the country called E6ganacht-Lough-Leane,
and greatly fpoiled the entire country of Kerry.
A. D. 1 1 75 , Dpnal Cavanagh fon of Dermod Mac

Murcha

5^8 THE LA^ 6V TANISTRT

Murcha the king of Leinftcr, affifted by a body
of the Englifh under the command of Redmond
leGrofs, and by Fitz- Patrick of Oflbry, took the
town of Limerick by ftorm and plundered it.
Soon after they returned a fecond time, but the
Dal Caffians fet the town on fire and then gave
them battle, in which the Lagentans and Englifh
gained the vidkory. In the mean time the Cona-
tians fpoiled and burned a great part of Thomond.
After this Donal O Brien put out the eyes of
Mahon fon of Turlogh, fon of Mortojgh, fonof
Connor na Catharach O Bncn, and or Derrood
fon of Tcige Gle O Brien at Caftlc-Conuing, as
above related. Towards the end of this year,
Donal was dethroned from the fovcreignty of
Thomond by Roderic O Connor, who baniflied
him intoOrmond, and fet up in his place the fon
of Morrogh O Brien who was half brother to
himfelf the faid Roderic. What likelihood or
pofQbility, that a nation of fuch a condud thus
divided in itfelf could long fubfifi ? As Dr. Le-
LAND juftly obferves, ** In the midft of inteftinc
** contells and commotions, Ireland Teemed ready
** to be fubdued by the firft foreign invader who
^^ (hould attempt the conqueft of an inviting
•* country."

A. D. 1 176, he made peace with Roderic 0
Connor, after having paid him homage and deli-
vercd hoftages of obedience. A. D. 1 177, Mor-
togh O Brien, Donal's eldeft fon, made an alliance
with Miles Cogan and feveral other knights who
joined him with their troops ; after which they
ro arched to Corke, and plundered the town. Soon
after^ Donal O Brien, with Milea Cogan, Philip

Braoi

ILLUSTRATED.

and other Englifh knights, committed feve-

B&B of hoftilities againfl the Eugenian families

burned many churches in Defmond. A. D.

<78, Donal O Brien at the head of the entire

-Caifian tribe, greatly diiirelTed and reduced

^^ the Eugenians, laid wafte their country with

and fword,and obliged thedifperfed Eugenians

Teek for Ihelter in the woods and faftneflea

Ive-Eachach on the fouth fide of the Lee.

™ ^his expedition they routed the O Donovans

*^ Ive-Figinte or Cairbre Aodbbha in the county

^ liimerick, and the O Collins of Ive-Connaili-

^^bhra or Lower-Connallo in the faid county,

"^yond the mountain of Mangartan to the

^eftem parts of the county of Corke ; here thefe

*C^o exiled Eugenian families being powerfully

^(lifted by the O Mahonys, made new fettlements

^or themfelves in the antient properties of the

Q Donoghues, O Learies, and O Drifcols, to

"^^ich three families ihe O Mahonys were always

declared enemies ; after which the O Donoghuets

tranfplanted themfelves to the borders of Lough-

leane, where AulifF Mor O Donoghue fur named

Cuimfinach had made fome fettlements before

this epoch.

In 1 1 84, a battle was fought between Donal
Mor and Dermod Mor Mac Carthy king of
Defmond, wherein a great number of Momonians
were killed on both fides ; after which a peace
was conduded between them and their refpeAive
tribes. A. D. 1185, he marched into Connaught
to aifiil Roderic O Connor in recovering his
kingdom from the unnatural uTurpauon of his

own

599

66o THE I4AWS OF TANI3TKY

own fon Connor Maonmuighe O Connor, whom
they foon reduced. Roderic was by this means
re-cftabli(hed in his kingdoi^, and his fon par-
doned and received into favoiif once more. A. D.
1 188, Donai Mor and the find Connor Maon-
muighe O Connor gained a fignal vidtory ovex
the Englifh under the command of JcAin de
Courcy. A. D. 1190, a peace was concluded
between him and the Eugenian nobility. A. D.
1 1 92, he gave the Englifh a total overthrow it
Thurles in O Fogiirty*s country, and flew many
knights. A. D. 1194, Dopal Mor O Brien
king of North- Munfter and principal king of
• the whole province departed this life, and was
folemnly interred in the church of Killaloc.

Donal Mor O Brien, according to the Lcabhar
Irle, (or book of genealogy) of the Mulconncrys,
with whom the books of the herald's dfi&ce and
the Earl of Inchiquin's pedigree ag^ee in this
point, married Urlacam, or Curkd Hair, the
daughter of Dermpd Mac Murcha king of
Leintter, by whom he had nine fons, viz. i.
Mortogh Dall, who was his father's chief general
in all his wars ; he was the firft that introduced
the Englifh into Munfler, A. D. 1 1 7 7 , to aiS with
hoftile arms againft the Eugenians ; notwithftand-
ing which, the annals fay, he was made prifonerby
the Englifh at the commencement of his reign
after the death of his father, A. D. 1194, and
had his eyes put out by them ; he was anccltor of
a family of the O Biiens, diftinguifhed by the
name of Clann Mortogh Dall, his children were
pbliged to leave the principality of Thomond,

during

I L L U ST R AT E D. 6oi

ng the wars of their uncles for the fuj^me
mandy and fettled in the county of Ive*
d. . .,

Connor Ruadh, who claimed his title to
bvereignty of Thomond and Ormond, imme*
dy after the captivity and misfortune of hia

brother Mortogh Diill, and had himfelf pro*
led king of North-Munfier ; in this he was
>fcd by his younger brother Donogh Cair-
2h, whole factions were more powerful and
erous ; though we find in our annals that he
e fjfid Donogh a prifoner, A. D. 1196, and
ted him his liberty foon after in the fame

; after which being overpowered, he applied

le Englifh for their aififtance, who came along

L him to Thomond, where they did great

lages and flew many Dal-CaiTian nobles of

mftion, A. D. 1197; by the help of thefe

:ours he recovered the fovercignty of Tho*

id, but was dethroned, A. D. 1198, by his

ngcr brother Mortogh Fionn. In 1 200, he

. pcrfcdlly reconciled with his brothers, and

D. 1 20 J , he was killed by his nephew Mortogh

trien fon of Mortogh Dall, who was alfo af-

ng to the throne. We have no further ac*

nt of him or of his poilerity.

|. Dcnogh Cairbrcach, who contended for the

ereigniy with his brother Connor Ruadh, as

)ve explained, from the time of his father's

ah till the year 1 198, at which time they were

h obliged to lay afide their pretentions^ and

►mit themfelves to their younger brother

)rtogh Fionn . But Donogh getting into favour

with

tfot THE LAW OF TANISTRT

with the EngUA, and ptying homage to ksa%
John of England at his firft landing in Water-
ford, A. D. 1 21 1, purchafed from the faidtiog
the lands of Carrigoginniol, together witk ill
brdfhip, for himfelf and his heirs for «ver, it die
yearly rent of fixty marks ; he had aHb the kii^
dom <» Thomond granted bim at the fame time,
and all his other brothers who claimed any title to
it, vrere declared ufurpers and enemies to the Ssd
king as fupreme lord of Ireland. By this poli-
tical ftep, Donogh Cairbreach foon reduced Ki
brother Mortogh Fionn, who was always the de*
tlared enemy of the EngKfh, and made him a
prifoner ; but after folemn promifes of future
obedience he granted him his Kberty in the fsme
year. For the truth of all thefe fa^s, fee the
annals of Innisfallen at the year i2i r. In 1214,
he united his troops of North-Muniler with the
combined Englifh forces of the provinces of
Munfter and Leinfter, to fpoil and lay wafte the
territories of Defmond, and reduce the Eugenim
families under the Englifh yoke ; in this projed
he did not fuccccd to his fatrsfa£tion, for the
Eugenians under the command of their prtnct(n|
king Dermod Mac Carthy furnamed Dum-
droighnin, fupported the war againft them with
great refolution and firmnefs. But towards die
latter end of the fame year, by the inteftitie
quarrels of the faid Dermod Mac Carthy, and Ms
younger brother Cormac Fionn, contending with
each other for the fovereignty of Dcfmond, the
Eng!i(h, under pretence of affifting cither the one
or the other, but determined to ruin both, flocked

into

ILLUSTRATED. 603

Pefmond, and planted thcmftlves in the weft
toe county of Corkc, by building a vaft num-

of caftlcs in different parts of the country :
nanoes of thefe caftles as well as of the En*
I who built them, are to be feen at large in the
lis of Innisfallen at the year iZi^^ 1215, 8rc
ppears there was fome noifunderftanding be«
sn faid Donogh Cairbreach and the Englifh
bme time after; for, A. D. 1236, Maarioe
-Gerald, lord juftice of Ireland, and Fits-
niam committed great hofiilities in Thomond.
D. 1242, Donogh Cairbreach O Brien died^.

was folcmnly interred in the church of Kil-
B. This third Ton of Donal Mor O Brien
le anceftor of the Thomond branch. It is to
^bferved, that this Donogh's alliance with the
lifli, which he firft entered into for the better
sorting his quarrels againft his brothers^ be-
t very fatal to himfelf and his family. It
the Englifh an opportunity of difpoflfef'

him of the town of Limerick and its terri-
8, by which revcrfe of his fortune, he was
red to fix his refidence at Cluainramhad near
16 in the country of Thomond ; the fuccef.
in the fovcreignty or chief command of that
itry continued however for fome generations
s direct defcendants to the prejudice of Mor-

Dall's pofterity ; in the fame manner, that
gan with his anceftor Turlogh fon of Der*
., and continued in his family to the prejudice
liofe of Connor na Catharach«

4 .Mortogh

6c4 THE LAW OF TANISTRT

4. Mortogb Eionn, who was a warlike prince
and always a profeflbd enemy to the Eoglilh
adventurers. We do not find in our annals wbt
party he joiued during the dvil wars of his ekkr
brothers Connor Ruadh, and Donogh Cairbrcacfa;
but A. D. 1 198, be dethroned his brotber
Connor Ruadh, who then had the afcendant, and
bad Umfelf proclaimed king of North-Munfler^
He oblig^ ail his brothers to give their sfleot
to that proclamation and acknowledge him their
fovereign. A. D. laoo, he marched at the beai
of the Dal-Caflians, his brothers Connor Ruadh
and Donogh Cairbreach ferving as officers under
him, againft the Eugenians, whom he grcatij
faarrafled, and flew AuiiflfO Donovan diiefof that
family with many others of the Eugenian nobiJity,
After which a peace was concluded between him
and Donal Mor MacCarthy, fumamed na Curadh,
king of DeUnond, by the mediation of Mahon
O Heney archbifliop of Cafhel, who was the
pope's legate in Ireland at that time. In 121 1,
he was dethroned and made prifoner by his hrcAia
Donogh Cairbreach, afiiiled by King John's forccsi
as above explained, and foon after fet at liberty
upon conditions of being obedient to the (aid
Donogh. Not long -after, he became very
powerful and commenced hoftilities upon the
Englifh, fpoiled their fettlements and flew many
knights; infomuch that they were obliged to
apply to Connor O Heney bifliop of KiUabe,
to make peace with him : by the intereft and
mediation of this prelate, they even obtained
liberty to build the ftrong caftle of Rofcrea to

fcnrc

ILLUSTRATED. 605

e as a barrier againft him AD. 1213. Id
^ear following he was again obliged to humble
felf to his brother Donogh Cairbreach, who

powerfully af&(ted by the EngliQi againft his
Rft. We have no information from the
als concerning the reft of his life ; whether he
Ic any efforts for refuming the fovereignty, or
ler' contented himfelf with a private rank)

certain it is according to the faid annals
t he died, A. D 1239. This fourth fon of
nal Mor O Brien is the anceftor of a family
ifae O Briens known under the name of Clana
irtogh Fionn ; they made fcttlements for them«
^es in Ive-BIoid, as did the children of the
eft fon of Donal Mor, as alfo thofe of his
h fon of whom I (hall now begin to give fome
orical account.

5. Turlogh Fionn, of whom the annals give
hiftory 5 but he left pofterity who were diftin-
flied by the name of Clann Turlogh Fionn,
crwifc called Fionn Bloidig. They had their
ilements in conjundtion with the children of
ir above mentioned brothers Mortogh Dal and
3rtogh Fionn, as alfo with thofe of Dermod
>nn fon of Dermod king of Munfter of whom
ore, to the eaft of the river Shannon in the
mtry thencalled Ive-Bloid, now comprehending
I and Lower-Ormond. Of this entire country
defendants of Turlogh Fionn were the prin*
>l lords and proprietors, thofe of Dermod
nn being the next to them in power of all thofe
Brien families now mentioned. They were
chief fupporters next to the Earl Thomas de

Clare

6o6 THELAWOFTANISTRt

Clare and his fon Sir Robert, of the children of
Brien Ruadb, in their tedious and bloody war
againfi the children of Teige Caoluifge for the
fovereignty of Thomond j but when the vidbry
favoured the latter, A. D. 1318, by the untimely
end of Sir Robert de Clare and his fon, they were
unnaturally and moil ungratefully ufurped upon
and turned out of their fettlements in Ive-Bloid,
both by Brien fon of Donal, fon of Brien Ruadb,
and by Mahon fon of Brien, fon of Donal Cao-
nachtach's children, who jointly made a conquefi
of the mod of that country for their own poftcri*
ty. This hiftorical (ketch will, I hope, very
abundantly account to the reader for the vafi
number of O Briens now living in different parts
of Ireland, who think themfelves derived from the
branch of the above Brien O Brien, called Mac
i Brien Ara : not knowing in the mean time, that
this country was the common receptacle and place
of refuge for all thofe families of the O Brieo
name, that had been out of favour with the reign-
ing princes or had any juft title to difturb their
own often ufurped reigns, or to difpute the fo-
vereignty with their children ; which had beeo
often the cafe. Nor fhould thofe difperfed 0
Brien families value themfelves the lefs for not
having deduced their origin from the above
Brien O Brien, fince they had been more antieot
poffefforsof the country of Ara, than the Aid
Brien, and confequer.tly entitled in all jultice toi
rank fuperior to thofe latter poflcffors of An.
But VI e (hould be the lefs furpriled at this revolu-
tipn in prejudice of the united defcendants of

Derrood

I LI4U ST & ATED. 6Qf

od Fiona OBricn, and the now mentioned
f Ponal Mor O Brien^ gs the children of
tnnod Fionn were guilty of a like uforpa-
pen the defcendants of Connor na Catha-*
as hath been explained in its proper place.
&fe different revolutions are very plainly to
iderftood from the often cited annals of
rnach's continuator, thofe of Innisfallen^
ecords of the Mulconnerys, and John
ith's hiftory called Caithreim Thoirdhelbhaig
t exploits of Turlogh O Brien and his
en^ written, A. D. 1459, concerning the
>f Tbomond, from the year 1267 ^^ i3<8*
ind in the faid hiftory of Magrath, that the
onnegans, who, according to antiquaries,
)S what they called Earnian defcent and the
t kings of Ara, were deeply engaged in
wars of Thomond in favour of Brien
b's family ; at which time they fiill retained
Gonfiderable landed properties and were held
rank of dynafts or lords in Ive-BIoid ; yet
ir no more of them or their poflefHons in
after the time thofe they were fighting for
rtled themfelves in that country.
Donal Conachtach, fo called from his having
lurfed and educated in Connaught ; he left
lerous pofterity known by the name of Clann
1 Chonnachtaig ; their firil poflfefiions were
; north-weft parts of the county of Clare,
lich Brien the fon of Donal Conachtach
ofleffcd, A. D. 1267, when he and his bro-
aflifted O Lochlin againft Connor O Brien

ned na Siudaine, king of Thomond, of which

here-

do8 THE LAW OF TANlSTkT

hereafter. At the firft arrival of Earl Thomas
de Clare in Thomond, to affifl Brien Ruadhin
" the year 1277, Mahon O Bricn fon of faid Bricn
andgrandfon of Donal Conachtach, joined that
Earl's party ih the wars, and thought proper lo
pafs patents from his fon Sir Robert dc Clare of
the efiate of Inchiquin with its appurtenanas,
holding his principal manfion-houfe at the fame
time in that iiland. He poflefled a large trad of
land in quality of faid Clare's fiefee, which ex-
tended from the place called LeimConcullin in
the weft of the county of Clare all the way toCill-
Mac-Duagh. This Mahon had a fon called
Donal O Brien, furnamed An Bhearla from
his fpeaking the Englifli language. Butafterthe
untimely end of his benefadtor Sir Robert dc
Clare and his fon, as alfo of faid Mahon's two
fonsatthe battle of Difirt-0-Dea, A. D. 1318,
he and the reft of his family tranfplanted them-
felves into Ara, as hath been explained in the
preceding paragraph. In a genealogical Irilh
rtianufcript copied in the year 1 7 1 4, I find thit
John O Brien was then the dircdl reprcfemative
of this branch, and ftill enjoyed a part of the
family eflate which is called Cluain-i-Brien in
Ara, where he refided. And I am informed, ihat
one Kendal O Brien now living is the grandfon
and heir of the faid John O Brien ; his defcent
from Donal Conachtach is fet down in the fame
manufcript according to the following ferics;
John fon of Teige, fon of Morrogh, fon of
Mahon, fon of Teige, fon of Donogh, fon of
Donal Duff, fon of Donogh an Ghleanna, fon of

Morrogh

i L L u s r k A T E li. 609

Morrogh Riabhach, fon of Donal Glas, fon of
Turlogh, fori of Bricn, fon of Mahon, fon of
Bricn, fon of Donal Conachtach.

7. Brien furnamcd Boirneach, from his having
been educated at Burren ; from whom defcended
the family called Clann Brien Boimig. 8. Con-
nor Guafanach, from whom the 0*Briens called
Clann Conch iibhair Guafanaig. 9. Dermod Fiod-
hnuighe, anceftdr of the 0*Brien family diftin.
guifhed by the name of Clann Dermod Fiodh-
nuigh. The annals of Innisfallen inform us, that
Donal Mor O'Brien had a daughter by name Mor,
who was married to Cathal Croibhdearg king of
Connaiight, fhe died according to the faid annals^
A. D. 1217.

DONOGH CAIRBREACH 0*BRIEM.

Donogh the third fon of Donal Mor O'Brien
had the furname Cairbreaeh, from his having been
educated in the diftridt of Cairbi'c-Aodhbha now
Kenry in the county of Limerick. According to
the Leabharlrfe of the Mulconnerys^ with which
the books of the herald's office, and lord Inchi-
quin's pedigree agree in this point, he married
Sadhbh or Sabia daughter to Donogh 0*Kinncdy
of Ormond, furnamed na Fithchillc from his (kill
in f>laying at chefs. By her he had five fons, viz.
I. Connor na Siudaine, who commenced his
reign immediately after the death of his father
Donogh Cair breach, A. D. 1242. The annals
do not furnifh us with any material events tranf-
ad\ed by him during his reign, except ihatof ob-
liging the dates cf Ive-Bloid and Ormond to pay

R r him

tfxe THE LAW OF TANISTRT

• •*

^qs hoMtgg W>4 ddwer haftaget fee thai fattK

qbedtenoey A. D. ia66. In the jte fiolkmi^

he nuurdied into Bumm at the head oftheliihc

called Cmeal FearmaiCt whoTe cbieb were da

P^Dmand the O'Httdiirs, todied^tbe dfdb

4i^GCfof the peopte of Bunco, who betriogof

theimall body of troopa he comniaiided in oricr

^rediice them, jpioed themiSdTei to die duidica

of Donal Conac^ti^ under the commind d

jCponor Carradi O^Log^blia king of Burreo, aal

jgaye him battle at a place called Sudiiii, wboe

he. was l^Uledy A. D. ia67 i from whidi phoe

c^ Ua death pofterity gave Urn die fumanie ofa

Siu4«ne ; his body was fotemnly interred iads

abbey of Corcam-Ruadb, wheran agrend moor

ment was raifed to his hoDour, the lemsiniQf

which are to be fecn to dus day. a. Tvlqg|i|

who died widiout iffue, A. D. 1042* 3. Mocto||h,

4. Deniiod, 5. Teige DaU 1 <^ali whofe pi&-

fity we find no mendon.

' The annals of Innisfallen give ua to underftmd,

that Donogh Cairbreach had a daughter cilkd

Sadhbh or Sabia married to JefTcry O^Donoj^

prince of Lough-Lein : and that they were boA

burned together with fome of their children ini

friends by Pighnin Mac Carthy fumamed Ranoi

Rion, fon of Donal Got Mac Carthy, prince d

Carbury, who fet the houfe on fire about tfaemi

A. D. 1253. See the annals of Innisfallen at thit

year. This laft mentioned Eugenian prince, to

remark it by the bye, was the moft formidable

enemy the Englifli ever met with in Munftcr;

for befides defeating and killing great numben

of

ILiuSTRAtED. 6n

bf thiem in different reitcounters^ he demolilhed
nil the caftles they had built in the fouth weft part
of Muniler fiitce their firft eftablifhtnent in thofe
parts to hid Ximi.

CONNOR NA SlUDAINE 0*BRIEN.

Connor na Siudaine the eldeft Ton of Donogh
Cairbreach O^Brien, accorditig to the concurring
tefti monies of all our often cited genealogical re^
Cords, mdrried Mor the daughter of Mac Con
prince of Ive-caifm in Thomond and anceftor of
the Mac Namara ; by her^ according to the Mul^
tonnerys, he had three fohs, viz. i. TeigeCao*
luifge, who was an active and warlike prince ;
he fignalized his cotirage in a pitched battle fought
iagainll the Englifh at Limerick, A. D. 1 25a ; in
which he gained a compleat vi^Story and flew ma->
tiy knights ; after he wais called Caoluifge from
his rejecting the wages or fubfidy offered him by
O^Neil as an earheft of the fubordination and obe<^
dience which that prince pretended a right to
from this Teige and other Irifli nobles, convoked
by way of a national aflembly to appoint a diief
king againft the Englifh, at a plaoe called CaoU
uifge in Uliler; He died before his father, A.
t). 1255.

2. Brien Ruadh, who was folemnly inaugU'*
rated and proclaimed king of Thomond immedi*^
ately after the death of his fSather, A. D. 1267^
which he enjoyed without the leaft controul, ordif-
content on the part of his fubjedts until the year
1 276 ) 2t which time he was dethroned by his ne-

R r 2 jphew

6i2 THE LAW OF TANISTRT

phew Turlogh fon of Teige Caoluifge affiftedb;
fhe two powerful fa£kiona of Cbmo Cuiictn ^bofe
chiefs were the Mac Namaras, and ofCineal
Fearmaic whofe chiefs were the O^Deas. Afta
his dethronement he fled to Corke, and there Ix-
fto wed upon the Earl Thomaa de Clare, com-
mander of the Englifh forces in Munfter, aod
upon his heirs, by a folemn a£t, all that part d
Thomond which extends from Limerick to the
place called Ath-Solats, in confideration of his
coming at the head of his Englifli troops to mxt
flate him in his kingdom. A. D. 1 277, Tbomi
de Clare marched to hia affifiance, and having
re-eftablifhed Brien in his kingdom of Thoroood,
he built a (trong cafile at Bunratty, and thca
fpoikd the country. Turlogh O'Brien afliftcd
by his own friends in Thomond and by the Burks,
the 0*Kellys, and the O^Madagans from Con-
naught, gave them both battle on the plain ctlkd
Magh*Grefain, where Clare and Brien Ruadh
were defeated after a great (laughter of the Eng-
lifli, among whom Clare's own brother-in-law,
the fon of Fitz-Maurice of Kerry, loft his life
The Earl's wife and father-in-law provoked it
this lofs, obliged Clare to put Brien Ruadh to
death for his having been the occafion of the bat-
tle. This treacherous and ungrateful adt was in-
ftantly perpetrated by the Earl, at his own caftlc
of Bunratty, A. D. 1277. 3. Mortogh of whofe
pofterity we have no account.

BRIEN

ILLUSTRATED. 613

BRIEN RUADH 0*BRIEN.

Brien Ruadh the fecond Ton of Connor na Siu-
ainCy according to the Mulconnerys, had five
<<>ns, viz. I. Donogh who difputcd the fovcr-
^ignty of Thomond after the murder of his father,
. D. 1277, againft Turlogh 0*Brien ; but he
foon after driven to the neccflity of applying
o Donal Mor Mac Carthy king of Defmond to
come mediator in his favour. Donal complied^
3xrith his requeft, came with him in perfon to
TThomond, and obtained for him the weft half of
That whole country, while his colleague Turlogh
^hofethe eaft moiety, A. D. 1280. He was not-
^withftanding obliged to take refuge in Connaught,
A. D. 1282 ; but returning the fame year, he
furprized Turlogh's forces in their camp at Sliabh-
Eibhle, yrhere he flew many of his nobles and
men, by which adlion he recovered his divifion
of the country of Thomond, as before. A. D.
1283, ^^ ^^s furprized in his turn by Turlogh
and his party, and while he was bravely fighting
againft numbers, hishorfe being killed under him
on the banks of the Forgus, by this fatal accident
he was plunged into that river and drowned. 2.
Mortogh. 3 Donal, who was anceftor of the fa-
mily of Mac i Brien Ara. 4. Teige Ruadh. 5;
Turlogh who was baniftied from Ennis by the
fons of Teige Caoluifge, A. D. 1284, and died
in 1305. Magrath's hiftory mentions, that Brien
Ruadh had another fon called Brian, who greatly
harraffed the adverfe party, A. D. 131 1, and

brought

6i4 THE ^Alf Of TAiriSTltT

brooght awty confidertUe fpoik fiom Teannoi
Cronuii eaft ward of In^hiquip iq tbe fiune jm.

iThe above Donp^ ddeft fop of V^nea KvaS^
had feiqr foiu^ viz. i. Dermod who was Ipif of
Thpmoad, A.D. 13111 ip the year licfpfedit
epoch bring affifted by Sir Hobat do Ciait| k
h$d reduced the p^Deaa apd the O^Giadyii M
obliged them and theif r^paftive ftatei to affil
Mm againft his antagpnift Dobqi^ elddt fimoC
Turlogh O^Brien then retgning kii^ of Tho-
moad. In i3iit be and Sir l(ohert dftOaic
iFougbt a bloody battle againft ^id Qdqo^
b^l^en and Richard de Surk of Conoaugjht, oar
the caftle of {[unratty^ where (aid R^isid de
Bark was made a prifoner and a corapfete y^Siatf
graijod o^ his party, After t|iia» Dcraod
burned the refidenoe of Dcmog^ O^Briea a
Cluanrainhad^ and after the oiurfler of faid Do-
Qogh in that year^ he was inaugurated and pro-
claimed king of Thomond. He then ban^
Mortogh O^Pricn faid Donogh*s brother in Cun-
naught, who made feveral bold attempts to re-
trieve hie af&irs in Thomond, but was always
repaired with great lofs by this prince. Dermod
P*Bricn died in the year 1312, being then fok
king of all Thomond ; %. Mahon Dpnn, 3.
Teige ; thefe two princes were made prifoners of
war by Mac Con Mara, and confined in one of
Richard de Burk*6 caflles in Connaught, A. D.
131 1 ; 4. Connor an Fhafaig, who was treache-
ipufly killed by the Englifli, A, D. 1309, 5.

Murtogh

ILLtrSTRATED. tfi;

l^ortogh Garbhy who was flain together with hit
Ixrother the above Teige at the battle of the ab-
fcey of Corcamruadh^ A. D. 1317.

Donal the thirds fon of Brien Ruadh^ had
tfiree fons, according to the Mac Brodins and the
l^ulconnerys ; viz. i . Donogh, a brave and
^irarlike prince, who immediately after the death
4of his oHifin german, the above Dermod king of
Tbomond, fought the battle of Tulagh-O-Deat
A. D. 1312, againft the forces of Mortogh
O^Brien, aflifled by the Burks, the O'Kellys,
snd the O^Madagans of Connaught, together
with the Butlers and Cummins of the province of
Munfter. But being unprovided againft that
battle, he was foon routed, together with his bro*
ther Brien, to Bunratty. Not long after he
gained the afcendant in Thomond, and banifhed
Morto^ O'Brien and his brother and all their
party a fecond time into Connaught. After
which he was folemnly inaugurated king of Tho-
mond on the plain called Magh-Adhair, A. D.
13 1 3. In the year following, by the powerful
mediation of the Burks and Butlers, as well as the
-- O'Kellys and other Irifh Conatian princes, be di-
vided the kingdom of Thomond into two equal
parts, whereof he ceded the eaft divifion to Mor-
togh O'Brien. In the end of the year 1315, af-
fifted by Sir Robert de Clare, he baniftied Mor-
togh a third time into Connaught, fo that Do-
nog^ became again fole and fupreme king of
Thomond. But being forfaken foon after by Sir
Robert and fome of his beft Iri(h friends, he was
in his turn banilhed out of Thomond. In this
diftreft of his afia'urs towards the end of the fame

year,

>t6 THE LAW OF TANISTRT

TfHUF, he went into the prpvince of Ulfter to d^

^ the affiilance of Edward Bruoe, broiberto

the king of Scotland, who was then comnuniif

yiolent adts of hostilities i(t the head oif a nunx-

irons army in Ulfter. That Scotch invader did

pot thin^ proper to come with Donogh thisyor,

but upon hi^ fecond defcenty A. P. 1316, the fiud

l^nogh conduced biin to Cajhel, and thence ti

Apnach, and after that to Caflle-Conuing. Ncir

this place the troops of Mortogh p^Bricn, aflified

by the Englilh, hindered thpir paflageover the

Gannon. This check joined with other drcum-

fiances determined Edward Bruce to retunito

yiftcr^ leaving Donogh O^Brien and his frieodf

to (hift for themfelves. A. D. 1 3 1 6, Donogh

was taken into favour again by Sir Robert de

Clare for political reafons, and by that means re-

ftored to hi$ weft em moiety of the fpveragnty q(

.Thomond. He was (lain at the bloody battle of

the abbey of Corcamruadh, fought againft him

by Dermod 0*Brien, the brother of Mortogh, lo-

gether with his ion Brien Bearra^ and almoftall

ibcdefcendants of Brien Ruadh, A. D. 1317. It

is particularly remarked in Nlagrath^s hiitory,

out of which I have taken all the above accounts

of Brien Ruadh and his family, that this prince

fell by the hands of Feidhlim an Oinig O'Connor

prince of Corcamruadh, who joined the part) of

Mortogh 0*Brien and his brother Dermod againft

him, notwithftanding his quality of fubjedt ortri"

butary dynaft to faid Donogh O'Brien, as his

country was comprehended in thp well divifionof

Thomond.

2. Brien

I L t U-S T R A T B Di $17

2. BrienkingofThornond, who was colleague /

and co-partner with his brother in all the different
revolutions and changes of his fortune, as hath
been now explained. But he very happily fur-
J^ivcd the battle of the abbey, wherein he perform-
ed great exploits. In 1318, being ailifted by
0*Carrol king of Eile, he gave battle to the unit-
fsd forces of Mortogh 0*Brien, Sir William Burke
of Connaught and the Butlers of Ormond, whom
he put to flight, and gained a complete victory.
After this battle he gained ground in Thomond,
and commanded the Irifh troops at the battle of
Difirt-0-Dea, in which Sir Robert de Clare was
killed by the bands of Connor O'Dea prince of
Jhat country, and faid Sir Robert's fon by the
above Feidhlim an Oinig 0*Connor, and the vic-
tory favoured Mortogh 0*Brien and his party.
In the fame year this Brien 0*Brien and Mahorf
the grandfon of Donal Ponnadach 0*Brien made
aconqueft and fettlement for themfclvesand their
children in the country of Ara, and expelled the
O'Briens called Fionn Bloidig, who had been
their conftant friends and fupporters during thefe
tedious wars, as above explained. In which un-
dertaking they were favoured and afliftcd by
Mortogh 0*Brien, with a view to remove hismoft
formidable enemies to that diftance from his
own quarters. The chiefs of the family of this
Brien, fecond fon of Conal third fon of Brien
Ruadh, have ever fince been ftiled Mac i Brien
Ara, from the name of that prince.

The Mulconnerys give us the following genea-
logical account of this Brien and his chief defcen-

dants

Kit THE^LAW or TAMISTIT

dants and their wivca, vik. Maigiiet the daag^
terof Turlogh Duff Mac Mahon waa diew&
of Donal O^Brien and mother of the now n»
tioned Srien O^Brien. Brien'a wife waiAe
daughter of Henry Burk, by whom he had Mor-
rbgh Na Reithinidhe. Morrog^ married Mor
the daughter of O'Kinnedy, by whom be hi
Turlogh. Turlogh married Onora the dau^
of Barry Oge, by whom he had Teige. Tdgrt
wife is not mentioned, his f(m*aname wasDooil
Mor, whofe fon by name Morto^ Caoch hid t
fon called Turlogh, who was diftinguiflied b^the
title of Mac i Bricn Ara, and chief of that brandi.
He married Mor an Uabhair O^Carrol daogjiter
of Donogh fdn of John O^Carrol of Muiriarog^i
by whom he had five fons, among whom be
made the following gavel of his lands of Aia ac«
cording to the Mulconnerys, viz. i. Donogfa
who died before his father and left no male iflbe
having but one daughter^ had no (bare in the p-
vc).

a. Mortogh, who was ftiled Mac i Brien An
and chief of that branch. He poflefled fevcnl
caftles, among which was that of Caftletotn
whereat the chiefs of the family alwaya reiided, u
alfo the caftle of Cahir Conchdbhair, formerly one
of the Regal feats of Connor Na Catharacb is
above mentioned, and the caftle of Moinruadhaod
the caftle of Palace, together whh all their kndi
and appurtenances. The Mulconncrys ftUe dsi
Mortogh bilhop of KiUaloe ; and in cffca we fiad
that his temporal power and influence engptged
queen Elizabeth to attach him to her own iDt^

rtfi,

^v

V L I, U 3 T R A T E 9/ fig

f efty by namiDg him prqteftant biihop of Kiilaloe,
Whofe revenues he enjoyed according to Sir Jamea
Ware from the yedr 1570 to 1613. Mr. l^odge
gives the follpwing further account of this firft
proteftant bifhppof Killaloe and his defcendants ;
Vis. That he married Slaine daughter to Lord
Inchiquin and left Sir Turlogh his heir, John who
died childlefs, and three daughters. Sir Turlogh
^ac i Brien Ar^ was advanced to the dignity
ef a baronet by patent from king James the firft^
ftSth February, i6a3, and died without tflue in
l62i^. His wife was fifler to Daniel O'Brien of
Annagh. He left three fillers his coheirs, vi;,
pnora married to Lewis WaUh, Efq ; Margaret
to Thomas Tyrell, Gent, and Mor NTy Brien to
> Butler, to all whom a fpecial livery was

granted of their inheritance 22d May, 1629.
^/Ir. Lodgpe gives no account of this blfhop's an-
peftors, nor of the fucceeding chiefs of the family
of Ara to the prefent time.

3. Turlogh Carrach, who poflefled the caftle
of 'Bealanatha and that of Cnocan-an-Einfinn to*
gether with their appurtenances. 4. Teige Na
Buile who poflefled the caftle of CiU-Colmain and
it's appurtenances. 5. Morrogh an Tuagh, who
poflefled the caflle of Tuath-Eafagreine and it*s
appurtenances. Thefe three laft mentioned bro-
thers were bound to pay aU4(.ind of homage and
obedience to Mortogh tfieir elder brother, and
depend on him for protection of their rights
againft their enemies. The fame records of the
Mulconnerys take notice, that this was the third
gavel or divifion that had been made of the princi-
pality

6ao THE^LAW OF TANISTRT

pality of Ara from the firft conqueft of that coun-
try by the above Brien O'Brien, grandfon of Bricn
Ruadh to the time of this Turlogh O'Brien and
his children now mentioned.

TURLOGH O'BRIEN.

The father of this prince, who was Tcigc
Caoluifge the eldeft fon of Connor Na Siudaine,
according to the Mulconnerys, married Fionn-
duala, or Fairhaired, daughter to Kinnedy O'Brien
fourth fon of Kinr\edy, who was the fifth foncf
Morrogh furnamed of the Steeds, of whom above
in the reign of Donogh O'Brien. The carl of
Inchiquin's pedigree makes her Fionnuala the
daughter of Kinnedy, without mentioning his
furname, which would lead one into the error of
thinking him an O'Kinnedy. The books of the
Herald's office juftly call her Fionnwola daughter
to Kinnedy fon of Kinnedy fon of Morrogh an
lona (rather Na Neach) O'Brien.

This Fionnduala O'Brien, according to our
Leabhar Irfe of the Mulconnerys, bore two fons
for Teige Caoluifge O'Brien, viz. i. Turlogh
from whom thehiftory of John Magrath, enliilcd
Caithreim Thoirdhealbhaig, or. the exploits of
Turlogh, takes it's name, as already (ignificd.
A. D. 1276, being encouraged and afliftcdby
his friends and fofterers, he dethroned his own
uncle Brien Ruadh king of Thomond, which
circumftance gave the firft fooling to the Engliih
In that principality, as appears from the preced-
ing account. After the unhappy death of his

campetitor

ILLUSTRATED. 6zt

competitor Donogh fon of Brien Ruadh, A. D.
1283, he became fole prince and fovercign of
Thomond ; banifhed faid Donogh's brother Tur-
logh Oge out of his feat at Innis-An-Laoi, and
built a caftle in the fame place, A. D. 1284.
In the year following he fpoiled and laid waftc
the entire diftrift of Tradaruighe with fire and
fword from the river Shannon to the fea (horc
and from Tiobraid- Na- Huinfion to the very
walls of Bunratty ; that is to fay, through the
whole extent of the poffeffions of the Englifli in
Thomond in thofe days. A. D. 1287, he gave
battle to the earl Thomas de Clare commander in
chief of all the EngliQv of the province of Mun-
fter, whom he flew together with Gerald Fitz-
Maurice, Sir Richard TaafFe, Sir Richard Dc*
cciter. Sir Nicholas Fcling,aftera general flaugh-
ter and deroutc of the Englifh fubaltern officers
and common foldiers. A. D. 1 304, he recdvcd
hoftages from the different Irilh princes of all
North- Miinfter, and broke down the EngliOi
caftles of Cat hair- Cinnlis, Inis-Auliffe, Fiodhr
Mogain, Magh-Nailbh, Bealach-Eachaille, and
Galbally, and put the different garrifons to the
fword. A. D. 1305, he laid a clofe blockade to
Bunratty, drew lines of circumvallation round the
caftle, and erefted a bridge of timber, which ex-
tended oVfer a neck of the fea for the commodious
battering of the faid caftle, and would have foon
obliged Sir Robert de Clare faid earl's fon to fur-
render, had he not offered him his own condi-
tions of peace. A. D. 1 306, he died at his caf^
lie of Innis-An-Laoi and was folemnly interred in

the

6it TrtE LAW OF tANl^TRT

the abbey of that place^ which he had bmlt nak
long before.

2. Donate who waft a prince of great Tiloar
and well (killed in the art of war. A. D. 1176.
be fought ihe battle of the Abbey of Clare agiioft
Mahon 0*Brien the grand fon of Donal Con-
nachtach and the tribe called Cineal-DongiSe,
whofe chief was O^Grady^ and defeated them
very fignally . In the year following he furpriad
and defeated the Englifh auxiliariea who were
coming to the aid of the Earl Thomaa de Cine
for whom he waited a confiderable tinoe at die
entrance of a wood called Coill-Dniingei hj
which means he baffled the fchemes of that Eiii^
and obliged him for his own fecurity to renoanoe
the inteicft of his favourite Donogh^ (on of Doui
third fon of Brien Ruadb^ and evea to huiKh
that prince into Defmond* He was viUanoolIy
Aabbed with a poigdard in time of peace by ta
Englitti foldier belonging to the garrifon of the
caftle of Qiiinhte, A. D. i aSo. The hiftoty of
Magrath mentions that he had a fon who diftin-
guKhed himfelf in thefe wars. We ha?e 00
further accounts concerning him or his

DONOGH O'BRIEN, MORTOGH O^BRIKM,
and DERMOD O'BRIEN, kings of ThomoixL

The above Turlogh O'Brien the eldcft fon of
Teige Caoluifgc and father of thefe princes^ marri-
ed Sadhbh or Sabia the daughter of Philip foo of
Giolla Caoimhgin O'Kinnedy^ according to the

Leabhir

ibhar Irfe of the Mulcoonerys. The books
the herald's office call her Sadhbh or Sabina
ighter of Giolla Caoimngin^ fon of Kinnedy
irien. The Earl of Inchiquin's pedigree
ikes Orlaith daughter of Donat Mor Ma^
rthy his wife, and the mother of the above
irtogh : and 1 have feen another pedigree writ*
i in Irifti, which afligns him as wife and mother
the faid Mortogh, the daughter of Cumheadha
IT Mac Namara. The Mulconnerys mention^
t Turlogh O'Brien had five Tons by the above
ned daughter of O'Kinnedy, viz. i. Donogh

0 was inaugurated^ing of Thomond, at Magh-
hair foon after the death of his father, A. D*
nS. In 1 309, he defeated the forces of Der«
d fon of Donogh, Ton of Brien Ruadh and
fe of the O'Briens of Ive-Bloid or Ara, and
IV Donal O'Grady chief of the tribe called
leal-Dongaile, with feme other nobles of dif«-
Slion } after which he marched to the affiftance

Sir Richard de Burk in Connaught, and render-
him great fervices in reducing the Ciann-Muir-
artaigs and Fianachtys, and fpoiling their
intry . In 1 3 1 1 , after his defeat near the caftle
Bunratty, and the taking of his good ally
chard de Burk prifoner at the fame battle, he
m after rallied his troops, and marching to take
renge of his enemy the above Dermod for this
feat and burning his palace of Clonramhad^ he
IS inhumanly murdered at a place called Gleann*
ioin by Morrogh O'Brien furna med Mainchtn

1 of Mahon, fon of Brien, fon of Donai
nachtach who was one of his owagenerals, and

in

626 THfeLAWOFTANISTRT

in whofc fidelity he moftly confided. The
Leabhar Irfe informs us, that he had bcftowcdtb
revenues of his principality for one year towards
the fupport of the poor friars of the abbey of
Ennis and for enlarging and adorning the faid
abbey.

This Donogh O'Brien the eldefb fon of Tur-
logh, had a fon called Brien O'Brien, who was
not powerful enough to vindicate his right lo
the fovereignty of Thomond, either for himfelf
or his children, after the long reigns of his two
uncles Mortogh and Dermod O'^Bricn, hereafter
to be accounted for. He >^as anceAor of the
O'Brien families, diftinguifhed by the naroccf
Siol Briain na Gceail, and Glean na Caoin ; theie
two branches of Donogh's pofterity I find areftili
fubfifting, though in an obfcure and indigent
manner, having long fince been deprived of their
eftates by the general misfortune of the tiro«.
As thefe O'Briens confiitute the direcl line of the
Thomond branch defcending from Teigc Cac-
Juifge, I therefore have cau(fd particular enquiries
to be made in the county of Clare concerning the
O'Briens of this line, and whether any reputed
reprefentative or chief of the whole family may
ilill exift. After the ftri£\eft refearches, I have
lately received the following information from a
perfon of undoubted veracity and credit, as wet
as knowledge in genealogical affairs, viz. that
Mortogh O'Brien whom my informant perfonally
knew, and had lately fpcjken to at Gleann-Caoin
iin the county of Clare, is the undoubted and tnie
reprefentative of the O'Briens of Gleann-Caoin;
.:. and

4tLtJStfeAtE0. eng

tthd that he has a Ton by name Donogh b Briefiiy
who now or lately lived in Dublin, in rather a
lo^ than an opulent condition* that the faid
^4ortogh*s father was Connor O Brien the fon of
Donogh^ whbfe father was Brien fon of Connor
O Brien, who was tlie laft poflcflbr of the family
cftate of Gteann-Caoin, and whofe genealdgy is
recorded in fcvcral old matiufcripta now in my
poflcflion • wherefore the whole pedigree of the
above Mortogh and his fon Donogh traced up to
Teige Caoluifge proceeds according to the fol-
lowing feries \ Donogh O firien fon of Mortogh
(boih now livinjg) fon of Connor, fon of Ddnoghj
fon of Brien, fon of Connor^ fon of Brien, fon of
Connor, fon of Brien, fon of Mortogh, fon of
Turlogh, fon of Brien, fon of Donogh king of
Thomdnd^ tWeft fon of Turlogh fon of Tejge Ca^
oluifge. 1 am alfo well informed^ that feverjal
|)articular perfons of that other branch of Donogh*s
. pofterity <vhich Were tailed the O Briens of Deall,
tlo ttill eiift in the faid coiinty of Clare.

2. The above Mortogh, aiiceftor of jhe laft
l^rinces and Earls of Thomond, who after the
unhappy death of his elder brother Donogh
O Bricn^ iVas fupported by Fitz- William dc Burk
in the fuccelTion to that principality^ and inaugn^
rated at Nt^gh-Adhair, A. D. 1 31 1 , but not being
Able to withftand the power of Dermod, grandfon
of Brien Ruadh> he fled for refuge into Burkfs
country, as has been before explained. A. D*
1311, he obtained an equal divifion of tb<
country of Thomond from faid Dermod by the
interdl of his faid allies, and after the demife of

S f hit

626 THE LAW OF TANISTRY

his colleague in the fame year, he became very
. powerful. A. D. 1 3 1 3, he defeated the forces of
Donogh and Brien O Bricn the grandfons of
Brien Ruadh at Tulach-O-Dca, where Morrogh
Maincin O Brien the aifaffm of his brother
Donogh was flain by the O Kelly s of Connaught
his auxiliaries. Notwilhftanding this victory he
was foon after forced to quit Thomond. In
13 14, he was greatly harraffed in feveral fkirmifhes
by the Engiilh of Ormond ; after which he was
generoufly entertained by the Burks and the
*^ O Kellys of Connaught, and returning, A. D.
1314, he burned the Engiilh town of Bunratty to
the ground except the caftle ; but by the defertion
of O Shannaghan and his tribe called Cineal-
Rongaile, he was obliged to refuge himfeJf in
Connaught as before. A. D. 1315, he made
peace with Sir Robert de Clare, by which means
he foon routed Donogh O Brien his chief advcr-
fary into Connaught and obliged Brien O Brien
his brother to take refuge in the ifland of Innis-
Cealtragh upon the Shannon.

In 1316, he was chofen by all the Engiilh of
Munfter convened at Limerick to command the
Engiilh and Irilh troops which were defigned to
attack Edward Bruce and his Albanian Scots.
In the latter end of the fame year, being en-
couraged and accompanied by thcchief Butler of
Ireland, he went to the parliament of Dublin to
complain of Sir Robert de Clare for always affifting
Donogh O Brien the grandfon of Brien Ruadh,
who had been the guide and condudtor of Edward
Bruce into Munfter, and who confequently

ought

Illustrated. 6x1

dught not to be affifted by any of the king of
England's forces againft his own intereft, who at
the head of the forces of Thomond had oppofed
the paflage of that invader over the Shannon,
and had afterwards joined his fubjefts to tht
Englifh of Miinfter, aflembled with a view rf
giving battle to the faid Edward Bruce. He
returned from the parliament in company with
the fame lord Bjtler, A. D. 1317, during which
year he enjoyed great tranquillity in confequence
of a glorious victory gained by his brother
Dermod in his abfence over the defcendants of
Brien Ruadh at the abbey of Corcamruadiv
A. D. J 318, he narrowly efcaped being made a
prifoner of war by Brien O Brien affifted by
O Carrol prince of Eile. He foon after difpbf-
feflfcd Mahoft O Brien grand fon of t)onal Co-
hachtach of his principal relklence in the jflahd
of Inchiquin, and Ipoiled hib entire country which
extended from Leim*Conchulan to Kill-Mac-
Duach. In the fame year he was prefent at the
battle of Difirt-0-Dea, where Sir Robert dc
Clare was flain by Coilnor O Dsa the warlike
prince of Cineal-Fearmaic, and faid Clare's fon
Feidhlim O Connor prince of Corcamfiiadh,
furnained An Oinig or the Hofpitable, before
Mortogh had time to joih them j after which he
entirely defeated all ihofe that remained of Sir
Robert's party j foon after the battle he pofleflcd
the caftle of Bunratty and expelled Brien O Brien.
the grandfon of Brien Ruadh, and the above
Mahon grandfon of Donal Conachtach, together
with their children and friends to Ara beyond

S f 2 the

C^^ THE LAW OT TAHISTRT

^t Shannon as above related i he afterwards
tojoycd the fovereignty of Tbbmond in greit
liranqujUity, and died A. D. 1333, according to
John Magrath'i hiftory .

3. bermbd, who was a brave and military
IPrince. The firft mention made of his military
ibbc'ploits in Caithreim Thoirdhealbhaig is at the
Wleof Tukch-O-Dea, A. D. 1313, where he
wounded Mahon O Brien above-mentioned in a
perfonal engagement : upon which Mahon and
ftis troops retreated with precipitation from the
iSeld of battle, and firien Ruadh's defcendants
following their example, a general deroate en-
tiled. A. D. 1 3 14, he rendered great fervim to
his brother Mortogh in Corcaihruadh. And in
the year 131 7 9 beir^ appointed regent of Tbo-
inond by his faid brother durit^ his abfence at
Ihe parliarhent of Dublin, he commanded the
^troops of his rhoiety of Thomond at the often-
menVibned battle of the Abbey of CoicamruaiBi,
where he gained a compleat vidtory over all the
cfefcendants of Brien Ruadh. By which Cngk
fi£t of his valour and military conduft he fecured
the fovereignty of Thomond in poflfeffion of the
pofterity of Tcige Caoluifge. He became king
of Thomond, A. D. 1333, after the death of
his brother Mortogh and died in the year 1355,
according to the above chronological hiftory of
John Magrath, out of which I have taken the
above ample account of the wars between the
two families ot Teige Caoluifge and Brien Ruadh,
which began A. D. 1276, and ended in 13 18,
as above mentioned. I find no account of this

Dcrmod's

k

Permod*s pofteiity. 4. Connor. 5. Donal fiir^
named Uaijthneacht from his having hecfi nuifed
at Owny in the county of Limerick. Of whom
I have found no further mention.

MOR^TOGH Q 8RIE,N>

Mortogh O Brien the fecond Ton of Turlogh^
married l^aoin daughter of l^^c Qornaan^ who^
it is faidy was originally of I^agcnian djcfc^iKi!
The boo^s of the Hcn^l^Voffice jigrec wit;H thi^
Mulconnerys^ inci^Hinghis wife l^ina daugbtei: oj^
Ma^c Gorman, and mother of Mahon Nfene^^
But the Earl of Inchiquin's pedigree gives him 9fi
wife Sadhbh or Sarah the daughter of O ^nnedy,
and makes her the tpother of (aid Mahon. Tfaif
Leabhar Irfe meatipna, that h^ had three kfis Ijiy
his above-mentioned wife Ed^oin, viz. i. Mahon
furnamed Maonmuighe from hi^ having been
born and eduQatec) in that country adjoining Thor
mond in the province of Cqnnaugbt during; thf
time of his father's exile. He fucceeded his lii)*
cle Dermod O Brien in the fovereignty of X^^
mond. A. D. 1355, notwithftanding ti^fcniority
and prior rank of bis coufm german Qrien, Ton oJF
Donogh, anceilor of the above family of Cilei^iap
caoin, &c It is recorded of this prince in tb?
faid Leabhar Irfe, that he obliged the Engliifh.of
the county of Limerick to pay him tbi; kin4 of
tribute which the Irifh called Dubb Chs^ or Blac|c
Rent. He reigned asking of Thonaond for the
fpace of twelve years, according tp^be M^lcqfV*
ncrys and tb^ chrgnological, pppm qf jgug«iq mV

grath.

^ TBI LfWOVTANISTRT

cf faanqflss's pcd^g^BC pubolJicd bj fLsatn^

tioos, that fats >*ife vs Ae
g( apriooeof Lrinftrr dctrmricd fan
jcn anbeni king of tbatpcofaKs.
Bsr tins wiiicr 4aes ooc fecm to knov^ who (k
w cr cf wiat fnmlj ddcoKlcd from the abort
king. The poiaa pointed at by Hm widioat
docte WIS the abore mninonert Edina dai^ditcf
ti Mac Gcvman, vhocn that trairfktor (bonkl
flSbei have fiiJed fbe mothrr of Mahoo Meoeij
ttar bfi vi£e. A iale Eagfifli wntrr vfao was a
foka faaBBBT to tbe idionis of the Iriih laa*
imiuta him in that aflertioa, bat vithiliis
it dAtiOMX beiwcen thrm that our Fnglilh
£s Maboc's wife the daughter of
Eanwdi, who was king of Letnfler, accord-
lo a& cxv Irih w rirers, at lealt eleven hindred
bcf cce Izs caog^ter is fupp: fed to imxvj
Maboe Meneiry O Brien ; a very pleafant piece
ef chrooctegy ! The Malconnerys aifign fe\'ea
to Ma]boa b j Ins w ife Una O Conner, vii.
Bnc= furamed Catfaa an Aona*g, who itn-
after the dethroneraent and expulfioa
ef fais a>de Turlcgh as abc vemennoned, goc hinv
fcffprodairoed king of Tbomcnd, A.D . 1570.
Is tbe frme year be fought an cbflinate battle at
Aooacb a tcwx is Lower-Ornaond againtt his faid
^sack, a£f.ed by the Englifh forces under the
crtT>^^ of tbe Earl of Deimond, whom be
cmldT xkfeated and rcuied afrer a great daughter
of ibdz cficers asd men, and made priibneis of
wmr is tbe beat cf the sftron Garret or Gerald
FstE-Maxnice, Fa-Thomas, Fit2-Gerald Earl cf

Defroondi

Dtetoond^and tbisl^rd JohaFitz-Hicbaiilt^aiidtlio
Uprd John Fiuz^-John wi|h.mapy pthei;En^i(h.0Q-
Mm qf the firft rank. Frojn Uiis victory at the bat^
Lto^of Aonacb^ the furname of Caihaan Aonaig has
bcen^given to the (aid 3rien. In^ the aanaU of Au<^
B^in Magradoighip o^ which I have an old copy
by w%y of fupplement to Tigbernach and his con<-
|kiuatur» I find it mentioned) ihat king Richard
the fecond of England, being arrived in Ireknd;,
4LD. tS94, thi$ Brien Cathaan iVonaig then made
hia addreflbs to ths^t king in the town of Dundalk^
Inhere he paid him homage for his principality of
Thomond ; a ftep he doubtlefs judged necefTary
foe maintaining himfelf in the poffeSioxi of that
eflate againft all future attempts of the Earia of
Pf fn;v)nd in favour of the above expelled family^.
He was prince of Thomond for thirty-fix year^i,
$iccording to the Mulconnerys and the chronolo-
gical poem of Eugene Magrath. He died, A. D,
i^4o6t and is the anceflpr gf the Earl of Thomond's
family.

z. Connor, who immediately after the death of
bis elder brother the above Brien, was folemnly
inai^uratcd and proclaimed king of Thomond,
A. D. 1406, and reigned according to the Mul-
connerys for the fpace of eight years ; after which,
in 14149 according to the faid antiquaries, he
judged proper to refign his fovereignty of Tho-
mond into the hands of his nephew Teige na
Cle^dh Moire, his brother Brien*s eldeft fon. A
rare example of a peaceable difpofition and dif-
ihtereftednefs in a fovereign prince of thofe days,
^ivh^n the Taniftic-law and the example of his

predeceflbrs

«34 THE LAW OF TANISTRT

predecefTors gave him a full conflttutional right to
that principality. This prince is anccftor of the
O Briens of Carrigoginniol or the country called
Pobal-Brien in the county of Limerick. He
married Mary O Brien the daughter of Tcige
O Brien chief of the Counagh family, by whom
according to the Mulconncrys he had three fons,
viz. I. Dcrmod who died without male iffuc,
2. Brien DufF anceftor of the princes of Car-
rigoginniol, 3. Donal, who was bifhop of Limerick
according to the Mulconncrys ; though Sir James
Ware does not mention him in his catalogue of
the bifliops of that fee ; which by the bye, docs
not invalidate the teftimony of thofe antiquaries;
it being well known, that his faid catalogue is
defedtive in fcveral places. In my copy of the
I^eabhar Irfe of the Mulconncrys, the tranfplan-
tation of this family to Carrigoginniol is referred
to the year 1449. According to this chronology
it would feem, as if Brien Duflf was the firft
poflcflbr of that eftate, although the Mulconncrys
as well as Eugene Magrath in his chronological
poem give us to underhand, that his father Connor
retired to Carrigoginniol with his family in the
above mentioned year, that is to fay, thirty-five
years after his refignation of the fovereignty of
Thomond. I have obferved above from the
annals of Innisfallen at the year 1211, that
Donogh Cairbreach O Brien king of Thomond,
received patents from king John of England for
the eftate of Carrigoginniol and the country of
Pobal-Brien, at the yearly fee or rent of fixty
marks. But I underftand by other records, that

the

%

ILL U STTR A T.E D.r. ' ^35

rs«^ Earls of Defmond afterwards became chi^
latV'ds of the faid country : and from this I con-
:.^'«:ade, that they favoured Connor O Briea and
sifesfons, in fettling themfelves at Carrigoginniol,
L n. the fame manner as they had behaved in favour
taf the O Briens of Cumeragh i for it was a
^scaallatit maxim with the Defmond family to enr
iBcaurage ihe injured branches of the Thomond
^O Bnens, in order to divide and weaken that
^^■hoie tribe of which they were always' very.
JTC^Ious.

The above Brien Duff married Mary the
daughter of Teige Mac Mahon prince of Cor-
^^bhafken in the county of Clare, by whom he
■^ad an only fon called Donogh O Brien, This
X^Biiagh married Margaret the daughter of
^^ Kinnedy prince of Ormond, by whom he had
ffAwen fons according to the Leabhar Irfe; be-
^^veen thefe fons he made an equal gavel of the
*>^lids of Carrigoginniol, according to the faid MuIt
Adonoerys, whoexprelsly mention anddefcribethe
-*^eral divifions aifigned to each of them. The
^'^une antiquaries add, that none of thefe eleven
Xons left mate pollerity of any duration except
- ^^onogh's fourth fon by name Mahon O Brien.
~ This Mahon had two fons according to the Mul-
connerys, viz. 1. Donogh anceftor of the direfl
.line of this family, of whofe prefent chief and
rcprefentative I Ihall fpcak by and by. 2. Mor-
rogh or Mortogh (for in all our Irifh writingsin
the abbreviated way, thefe two names which equal-
ly fignify bold and expert at fea, are written in the
lame manner and with the fame letters) who as I
find

TBI LAW or T A WIST RT

§mi in wj Irifli mannfcfipta had % foB ctlkd
Turlog^; mtlwtptitof the Lnbhar Irfe of Ae
Moloooaerjiy which tmU of the Earkof Dtf-
Bsood andthdrgeoealogy^lfiiiditreoordcd^ditt
Jbbi Fd»rThoiias Earl of Defiaxmd, who died,
A. D. 1536, and wae the fburlh fon of Eid
ThomaSt who had heen beheaded at Droghedtia
14769 married Mor O Briea dau^ter of tin
dAd O Brien of Carrigoginiiiol, whofe naoK 11
aot otherwife mentioiied. By cornparing the dme
of die (aid Earl John Fitz-Thomas with that in
which MahoQ O Brien muft have lived according
to the above dvooology, it is evident enough,
dnt the (aid Mor O Brien was the dau^ter of the
6id Mahon O Bi ien of Carrigoginnio) ; and this
qppears the more evidently well grounded^ 15 I
find in one of my old manufcripts, that the abofe
MDrrog^ O Brien and bis fon Turlogh O Bnen,
obtUBcd a landed fettlement in the barony of
Kneataihin and coonty of Cork by way of a
Ibodal property deriving nnder the fiud DeTmoiKi
fiunily ; which fettlement it is natural to think,
Mor O Brien interdted herfelf in procuiing fior
that younger branch of her family ; the above
barony of Kneatallun bad been given as a marriage
portion by die Lord Barrymore widi his daughter
the wife of the Earl Thomas, and mother of Eail
John the hnfl>and of Maura O Brien, according
to the Mulconoerys.

The prefent chief of the dxretX Kne of Cirri-
gOginniol defcended from Dooojgh the fon of
Klahon above mendoncd, I ara well informed b
Daniel O Bmn^ a youth who Uvea at Glin in the

county

I L L U B r R A T E D. 83)

county of Limerick, whofe father was Morro^
O Brien fon of Daniel O Brien, whofe father wis
alfo Daniel the fon of Donogh, whofe genealogy
VfC find in feveral old maftufcripts, according to
the following feries of lineal defcent from Gonndr
O Bfien king of Thomond and anceftor of iht
Otrrigoginniol family , viz. Donogh fon of Brien
Duff, fon of Donogh, fon of Dotial, fon of
I>onogh, fon of Mahon, fon of Donogh, fon of
Brien Duflf, fon of Connor king of Thomond.

3. Mahon Menevy*s third fon was Turlo^lH
4. Mortogh, 5. Dermod, 6. Teige-Bacach, from
whom are defccndcd the O Briens of Bally-gcr-
riden, according to the Mulconnerys.

BRIEN CATHA AN AONAIG.

Brien Cat ha an Aonaig theeldefl fon of Mahoii
Menevy married Slany the daughter of LfOchlin
Lrfaidir Mac Namara, prince of Ibh-Caifm in
Thomond, according to the Mulconnerys, with
whom Lord Inchiquin's pedigree agrees in calling
her Slany ni Mac Namara ; the faid Mulconnerys
mention, that he had three fons by the faid Slany^
viz. I. Teige na Glaodh Moire, who immediately
after the refignation of his uncle Connor O Brien
anceftor of the Carrigogihniol family, was inauga*
rated king of Thon[K>nd, A. D. 1414 ; he fought
the battle of Beal-atha-lighe, againft O Kelly at
the head of a powerful body of Conatians, whom
he fignally defeated. After a reign of twenty
three years according to the Mulconnery's and
Magrath*8 poem, he was difpoflefled and de-
throned

63S THELAWOFTANISTUt

throned by his younger brother Mabon Dal),
A. D. 1437. This prince according to all our
accounts died without iflue.

2. Mahon Dall, who after he had dethrooed
his eider brother as now naentioned, was inaugon-
tedkingof Thonaond^ A. D. 1437. HereigDed
according to the faid records for five years and fix
months ^ at the end of which he was difpofleflbd
in his turn by the factions and clans of his young-
er brother Turlogh Bog. This prince left a (on
called Donogh O Brien, of whom hereafter.

3. T\irlc^h B(^, who after he had difpoffeflod
his elder brother Mahon Dall of the fovereigntj,
got himfelf folemnly inaugurated king of Tbo-
mond, according to the Mulconnerys, A. D. 14^*
The (aid antiquaries inform us, that this prince
gave a fignal defeat to James fon of Garret Fitz-
Gerald the above-mentioned earl of Defmond in
two pitched battles, the onehapp>ening at Gleann-
Fcgurta and the other at Bally-an-foyl. He
reigned in Thomond for the fpace of eighteen
years, and died in 1460. He is the anceftorof
the Earls of Thomond.

The Leabhar Irfe mentions, that Brien Cithi
an Aonaig had a fourth fon called Bricn, who
was only half brother to the above mentiofied
kings of Thomond, his mother being thedaughic
of one of the Earls of Defmond. The fame
records mention that he was anceftor of the familv
of Eachdroma.

DONOGH OBRIEN.

Donogh O Brien the fon of the above Mabon
Dall fecond fon of Brien Catha an Aonaig im-
mediately

ILLUSTRATED.. 639

liately after the death of his untie Turlogh
;, was inaugacated and proclaimed king of
csmond, A. D: ^1459, according to our faid .
ibhar Irfe : thefe records mention in like
■iner that he reigned in Thomond only for two
rs ; at the end of which, though then f refped-
rfy to his opponents) the only righlful heir
h by the natural and Taniftic law, and a moil
us benefa^or to the church, be was difpofief-
and routed away by dint of faftion and
achery. A truth which Eugene Magrath ex-
rfies in thefe pathetic terms, * Gur fgrios fala
^gus feall an mac : Caradh na Gceall an*Griobh
hlat ;* words which are as ftrong a proof of
: poet's fincerity and love of truth, while he was
iting under the power of a prince, of whom he
pended for his bread, and upon whofe branch
5 now cited verfes threw, a very (harp and well
>unded cenfure. This Donogh was the im-
diate (lock of the family (liled Siol Mbriain
Mortha or the expelled O Briens, fo called,
:aufe their father Donogh and they were forced
Fly for refuge and new fettlements beyond the
^r Shannon. This prince died iii 1462, foon
ir his expulfion.

Sote, that in the genealogies of the Earls of
lomondand Inchiquin, pufatifbed by Keating*s
riOator, as alfo ifi later pedigrees of the Tbo*
>nd family, I find Brien Catha an Aonatg af-
ted to be the (lock of the O Briens of Cume-
gh: what might have given occafion to that
iilake in my opinion is this, that thofe gene-
>giils being traditionally informed, that the
Briens of Cumeragh were fdrcibly'expellcd out

of

THE LAW OF TANtSTR Y

cf Thcmaiid, and haTO^ otfaervife known^ thit
a fanolj of the O Bricns defcewfing from Bries
Czda an Aooa% by his foo Mahonand gnodfaa
Dteongh veic czpdied tbdr ouuntry after itbe fiud
Bffies'is cieaili, tliia gave occafioo of their cob-
iwirtmg thcfe cipdled familicBafie with aiiQihff,
lb as to miitake the fiDmicr for the latter ; nor is
it natmai to think, that he fbouki have ezpdled
las ovn fan Mahon and grandfon Donogfa, vtio
both ei^ofed the principality long after faid Brien's
death ; hot on the other hand, that Brien Cttb
an Aofsng flioald have ondcrtaken and cffeAed dx
cxpotfion of Us imde Tnrlogh and his chSdren,
is very natoral to think, they having a Tamftk
si^ to difpote the poflbfibn with his cfaildreQ.

TURLOGH BOG O BRJEK

Tnrlogh Bog the third fon of Brien Catba in
Aonaig, and anceftor of the Tbooiond family,
married Cadienne Burk the daogbtcr of Ulid
Ftcz- Walter of Tuath-O Lnigfieach, according
to the Muloonnerys. The Earl of Incbiquia^
pedigree affigns him Slany the daughter of Lod-
En Laidir Mac Namara, who was his mother ac-
cording to the Mulconnerys i what I'ecros rtij
remarkable in the poblilher of that Earl'^ pedi-
gree, is that he afii^^ the fame woman as -^ik
and mother to diis Turlogh Bog, and .. ouTd fain
make ns be&eve they were two diflferent wociie&
by {tiling his wife Slany vi Mac Namara the
daoghter of Lochlm LaidiTi and calling b
mother Slany ni Mac Namara, without telliog ci
her fiitfaer's name.

Turlo^

N

ILLUSTRATED. 641

Turlogh Bog had by the above Catherine Burk
nioe Tons, according to the Mulconnerys, viz.
Teige an Chomhaid, fo called from his having
built a caftie at that place fituated inBurren.
This prince aflifted by his brothers and friends
dethroned his coufm german Donogh fon of
Mahon Dall, and expelled him and his family
beyond the Shannon eaftward as above hinted,
after which, according to the faid antiquaries, he
was inaugurated king of Thomondi A.D. 1462:'
bis chief refidence was at Inchiquin, that being
the feat of the eldeft fon ; he died after a reign of
fix years according to out" accounts in 1468 ; he
18 ihe anceftor of the Thomond branch.

a. Donogh, whofe refidence was at Cahif-Kelly .
this prince was bifhop of Killaloe according fo the
Mulconnerys ; he is the fame biftiop of Killaloe,
whom Sir Jame/s Ware in hb catalogue calb
Terence O'Brien murdered at Innifcluaidr^vada
in the year 1460, for which he quotes the Ulfttt
annals.

3. Connor Mor ha Sron, who Itnmediately after
the death of his brother Teige an Chomhaid
was inaugurafcti king of Thombrtd according to
the Mulconnerys, A. D. 1468. In the laft year
of this princess reign, which was in 1496, ho
fought an ooflinate battle againil (jerald Fitz-
Gerald harl of fCildare, then lord lieutenant ol
Ireland, near the caftle of BallyHicky, which
that Earl took foon after by affault together with
the caftle of Fiadh-Beg and other caflles in
Thomond, belonging to Florence Mac Namara.
See the annals of Sir Jarnc^ Ware at this year.

Tt This

6i4a THE LAW OF TANISTRY

This prince died in the {ame year 1496, and kft
pofterity who were called the O'Briens of Seai-
uidhe in the county of Clare. The chief iqn-
Tentative of that family, as I am credibly infonn-
ed, is Morrogh O'Brien who now lives near Em
in the faid county.

4. Turlogh Oge, furn^med Giolla Duff, vlio
immediately after the death of his brother Coootf
Mor na Sron, was inaugurated king of Thomood,
A. D. 1496, according to the Mulcoonerys and
Sir James Ware's annals ; he reigned for tbe
fpace of two years and three months, according
to the faid antiquaries and Eugene Magrath. Hi
family had their ellate at a place called Bally-mic-
Dubhda, according to the faid Leabhar Irfe. He
died in the year 1498.

5. Mahon, whofe family refided at a pboe,
called Kill-clanoy, and pofleflfed the lands id.
nexed to that place. 6. Morrogh whofe famU}
enjoyed the lands of Bally-Grioflfa. 7. Kinnedy,
8. Bricn Ccancach which two laft mentioned fons
died without iffuc. 9. Mortogh Beag.

TEIGE AN CHOMHAID O'BRIEN.

Tcige an Chomhaid the cldeft fon of Turlogh
Bog, married Anabelia Burk dai gh er of Ulick
Fitz-Ulick an Fiona ufually liilcd the Mac
Uilliam of Clanrickard, according to the Mul-
connerys, with whom the Earl of Inchiquir/s
pedigree agrees in this place. He had fix fons
by his faid wife, according to the Leabhar Irft,
viz. I. Turlogh Donn, who immediately after ihc
death of his uncle the above Turlogh Oge, fur-
named

1 L L U S T R. A t E D*

named Giulla Duflf, was inaugurated King of
Thomond, A. D. 1498. In the year followingj
according to our faid accounts^ and Sir James
Ware's Annals, he fought a bloody battle at the
place called Muighe-Ailbhe in Ormond, againft
Pierce Butler, Eiail of Ormond, whom he fignally
defeated. Sir James Ware further fays, that the
magiitrate of Kilkenny was killed therein, and
tliat the diflenfion took its fit ft rife about certain
lands and limits which each of them claimed to
himfelf. The fame Leabhar Irlc adds, that he
foon after defeated the fame Earl at a place called
Knock- tuagh. The annals of Sir James Ware
Ht the year 151O, exprefbly mention, that being
eflifted by James eldeft fon of Maurice Eai 1 of
Defmond, and Mac William Burk, he defeated
the Earl of Kildare then lord lieutenant deputy^
at a place called Mointrarr, and took away the
fpoils wiich that Earl got in Defmond. He was
king of Thomond for twenty nine years accord-
ing to the Leabhar Irfe and Magrath, with wbofc
computation Sir James Ware perfedWy agrees by
afiigning faid Turlogh's death to the year 1528.

2. Donal, who polTefled the lands and eitates
called Tir-Mac- Brien* Ceathrumha- DufFj and
Dunn-Hogan, according to the Leabhar Irfe,
thele lands he Ravelled among his four Tons, visw
1. Bricn, 2. Teige, 3. Connor, 4. Mortogh.

3. Donogh whofe principal residence was ac
Drom-Fionaaglaife-, he had four fons, vig. Mor-
togh, Teige, Dermod, and Brien na Corcaidhe,
This Brien's eftate according to the Mulconnerys,
was called Cahir-Gorcarain and Caftletowni which
he divided between hia fix fona, vi2. Mahon,

T t 2 Morrogh,

d43

644 THE LAVr OF TANISTRY

Morrogh, Dcrmod, Connor, Monogh, Tdgcan
Phonairc.

4. Mortogh Garbh. 5. Morrogh, bothviUch
princes died without iflfue ; 6. Dermod Cleiitach,
who poirefTed the lands cailed Ceathrumhi-ot-
Madruidhe, according to the faid records, which
mention that he had fix fons, viz. Donal u
Gceal, Morrogh an Tarmain, Brien an ChobUaig,
Mahon, Donogh, and Turlogh, of all whom 1
have no further mention.

TURLOGH DONN O'BRIEN.

Turlogh Donn the eldeft fon of Teige m
Chomaid, married Raghnait the daughter d
Jthn fon of Sioda, fon of Mac Con, fon of Locb-
)in, fon of Commheadha Mac Namtra chief d I
that family, according to the Lcabhar Irfe. The
Earl of Inchiquia'a pedigree afligns him as w&
Joan Fitz-Maurice daughter to lord Fitz*Mturice
vulgo Balbus, Lord Baron of Kerry and Lixnaw
and mother of the faid Earl's anceftor Morrogh ;
hence we may infer, that he had two wives. The
Mulconnerys mention that he had five fons, viz.
I.Connor, who immediately after the death o(
his father, was inaugurated king of Thomoni
according to the faid antiquaries, A. D. 1528;
after which he reigned for twelve years and died,
according to the Leabhar Irfe and Eugene Ma-
grath in 1540. The annals of Sir James Ware
fix his death at the year 1539.

2. Donogh, who is ttiled Tanift of Thoraond
by the faid Mulconnerys, and of whom thcv
make no further mention.

3, Morrogh,

ILLUSTRATED- «4j

MORRCX3H O'BRItN.

3. Morrogh, who was folemnly inaugurated
Id proclaimed king of Thomond, A. D. 1540,
^on after the death of his eldcft brother Connor;
I this year according to Sir James Ware, he
^tered into a league with O'Neill, O'DonncU
id O'Connor to meet together at a place called
cure, and then to maintain their liberties with
nitcd forces againft the EngHfli. But that the
ird juftice Brereton at the head of eight thoufand
inglidi forces having intelligence of it, fopn
revented the meafures thofe princes had taken.
!*he fame annals add, that in 1541, the deputy
if Anthony Saintleger propofed certain conditions
t for that time in Limerick, at the requeft of
lorrogh O'Brien. In this year Henry the VIIL
as declared king of Ireland, a title never before
iven to any of the kings of England, they being
itherto ftiled lords of Ireland. A. O. 1543,
lis Morrogh O'Brien following the example of
Jon O'Neil king of Tirone who had the year
cfore renounced his title of O'NEIL or king of
Tirone, and received that of Earl of Tirone in
s place, he in like manner fubmitted himfelf to
le lord deputy and then fetting fail for England,
e difclaimed his name of O'BRIEN and with

his title of king or prince of Thomond, and
ransferred all he pofleflcd to king Henry then
efiding at Greenwich. Here Morrogh was re-
eived as tenant deriving under the king by letters
atent dated the firft of July, and folemnly
reated Earl of Thomond during his life; he

alfo

J44 THE LAW OF TANISTRT, fa.

alfo procured for himfelf and bis heirs male, the
title of Baron of Inchiquin. Ulick Burk received
letters patent at the fame time of the Earldoin
of Clanrickard, after haTing firft difclaimedbis
naoie of Mac UILLI AM. ^ And the king alio
gave to Donc^h O'Brien the fon of Connor
(faid Morrc^h's eldeft brother) by his wife
Honora daughter of the above UlicK Burk, the
title of Earl of Thomond for life, after his uncle's
'death, together with the dignity of Baron of
Ibracken to himfelf an^ his heirs male. The
Mulconnerys and Magrath give this Morroghil
reign of twelve years, and Sir James Ware places I
his death at the year 1 552. From him defanded |
in a right line the prefent Earl of Inchiquin by
his eldeft fon Dermod ^ and from his fecond foa
Donogh is defqended Sir Lucius O'Brien^ Baronet,
of the county of Clare.

4. Teige, who was killed by a fhot at a plac:
called Ath-an-Chambuis, upon the river Su-rc,
by Pierce Butler Earl of Orm^ond, after be hi
fpoiled and laid wafie the country of that h'
with fire and fword ; his troops nptuithftanding
carried his corps together with the fpoils, inn
Thomond, where he wasfolemnly interred at Ev
nis according to the faid Mulconnerys.

5. Dermod, who died without iflue.

FINIS.

THE

BREHON LAWS

OF

R E L A N D.

i V.

H

•<i ^^ A J a

PREFACE.

1 O this Number we have added' part of
the Laws of the antient Irlfli, commonly
known at this day by the name ofBre-
thon, or Brehon Laws. The moft part of
the Fragments which have come to our
hands, were colledted by the learned Mr.
Lhwyd i who, in a letter to the Royal So-
ciety, publiflied in the Philof. Tranf. No-
356. Baddam's Abr. Vol. 5. p. 4^2, in-
forms US, * That he had procured in divers

* parts of Ireland about 20 or 30 MSS. in

* parchment j and tho* heconfultcd 0*Fla-
' herty, author of the Ogygia, one of the

* chief Irifti critics, and ftveral others,

* they could fcarce interpret one page.

* What is moft valuable among them (adds

* Mr. Lhwyd) is their old Laws, which

* might give feme light to the curious, as

* to their national Cuftoms.' Thefe MSS.
were part of the Chandois Library, and arc
now the property of Sir John Seabright, Bf .
Two volumes of this coUedion we have
been favoured with, which were evidently
of Mr. Lhwyd's colleAing, his name being

writteq

P R E F A_ C L

written in the firfi folio ; and thefe contain
about forty pages of the Laws. Another
Fragment of thefe Laws, is in theLibraiy oC
Trinity College, Dublin ; a third was dif-
coverd in the Britifh Mufeum ;and a fourth
Fragment we h^ve been obliged with by the
Rev. Archdeacon Mahon, one of thefe few of
this country who think its Antiquities de-
ferving attention. Of all thefe we have
been permitted to obtain copies.

The word Breith, the root of Breithc
omhan,- or Brehon, ha3, with many other
antient Gaulic words^ been wonderfbllj
preferved in thelberno-Celtic. From hciicc
the Romans formed Fergobretusy the name
of the Brehon, or chief judge of the GauK
which, in its primitive orthography, w
written Feargabreith. Bochart, contrary to
his ufual manner of treating etymologies, I
cxprefTcs himfelf dubioufly of the word
Vcrgobretus : vox videtur compojita ex Syrii
M^ID farga, et cuimD partum, quarum ilk
mutationemj hcec fummum prcefe6lum & tno-
deratorem fonat ^ inde Galli Vergobretus u^
cant prafe6lum.--^c Colon. Phoen. lib. i.
c. 42. Feargj in the Iberno-Celtic, and
Fergeriy in the Teutonic, fignify Prasfefius,
and are certainly derived from the Syrian or
Phoenician Farga^ which by a natural
commutation of letters, was written Veri^

bv

PREFACE.

by the Romans : thus Fearg Peine in Irifh
fignifies the chief of the regular troops ;
and Fearg Jlann ruadh^ the blood covered
leader of the army. Etiamnum hodii ^/^/y
dicitur fupremus magiftratips Auguftoduni
{i. e. Autun in Burgundy) Du Cange. The
latter part of the compound ^^/«/x, is from
tfie Celtic ^^/M, which fignifies either the
Judge, or the Sentence.

These Laws were entitled by the antient
Irifh, Neimead^ Feanacasy and Seanacas ; and
by the moderns Breith-neimead : which laft,
O^Flaherty and Lynch have rendered in
Latin by Judicia Celejiia. The Hebrew root
nam or neum^ and the Chaldaic namos (a)
fignify a Law or Decree ; which is written
nimos in the Arabic, and nomos in the
Greek, (b)

The Grecian name of Mercury was No^
miusy from the Laws of Eloquence which
he founded. The Lacedemonians named
their Laws k^^i (noraoi) not becaufe the

promulgation

{a) c:}£< j nam. Heb. conftitutam. a nam fit nemoafa
Syr. Lex, inde n;^m«. nimh Irelandicd ad nam pertinet.
Thomaffin. Gloff.Hebr.

(h) NV:«a<* Lex Arift. — fd^«; ctiam cantilena, ut Latbi
dicunt modum, modos, modulos, legefque metrkas.

Plin. Nomeria^ confuetudines dc jura Monafterii d^

Regula in Aqultania. Labbeus, torn. 2.^^—NomiffM,
Demoftheni, cGeterlfquc fcriptoribus Gnecis fomitur pro
confuetudiae, more & lege non fcripta. Du Cange.

PREFACE.

promulgation of them was by fingiag, but
from the Hebrew root nam. Thefe Laws
were fung by the Bards and L^flaton,
and probably in verfe ; hence nomoiczmt to
fignify a Poem : thus neimead^ in Iriih (the
Celtic termination ad being poftfized) is a
Poem, or any learned Compoiition. (r) The
word IS indifierently written in IriOi mm
futidhnty nimhy naonih^ and neimead. (J) In the
dialers of the northern nations, nemd^
naemedy nembda^ nempda^ nemdaj fignified the
Judge, Jury, or Sentence ; {e) and this is un-
doubtedly the true meaning of the Irifh
neimead. Feanacas, or Seanacas, another
name of thefe Laws, literally fignifies, the
caufe, mode, or manners of the Tribes or
Antients. Bteith alfo implies the judge-
ment, muld or fine ^ and Breithrneimed^
literally means the Sentence of the Law :

•

It

(r) Neimead. Lex. Poema. Lhwyd.

\i) Neimead. i. e. gach dan, no gach ealadhao. i. e.
any poem or learned compofition. Mc Naughton, MSS.
C3VJ t^om^ ad orationis delicias & clegantium fxpe pcr-
tinet. Bocbart. Chan. lib. 2. cap. 7.

(/) Nembda, in jure Sueonum vetufto Jadicem figni-

ficat. Sticmhook. p. 31. 52* ^Nembda, nempda Td

nemda, noojudkem, fed coetum duodecim proboroc
feo le^dium hominom fignificat , Hudolph. c. 1 1 . See

alfoObus Vcrelius. Nemda idem eft duodecim jo-

ratomm numerus feu jurata apud Anglci, quod ncznda
apud Danos, Sqccos & Norregos, a quibus per Nor*
mannosin Angliam inTedhim. . Hicke'Sj £p. p. 37.

PREFACE.

luft be obfcrved, that the running Title
be old parch ments^ from whence thefe
vs were copied, was written fitnply
nead. In the courfe of this work we
II alfo find naomhy or neimeadj fo far from
Ayingce/e^tSj that it fignifiesa noble^or
i of dignity, either in Church or State ;

example, irath nMmh cathadhbha cad-
ly the remnant of noble Champions :
Deover, it is often annexed to inanimate
cigs, as crann neimeady a noble Tree,
. &c.

The Irifh antiquaries have treated this
jcdl of their Laws very fuperficially :
y have enumerated feveral codes, enad-

by difierent princes, but have not
ught proper to publish the Laws, though
ny acknowledge they had feen them.
OS they have prefentcd to us a number
dark and obfcure fhadows, without
iging us to convcrfe with real men.
rHE Welfh attribute their oldeft Code
written Laws to Hoel-dha, or Hoel
ixis, who reigned early in the loth cen«
y 5 (f) ^Dd the Scots afcribe the Regiam
^jeftatem^ the oldefl inflitate of their
svs, to David II. who lived in the be-
ning of the 13th century (^). At what

period

f) L^es Wal&x. Wotton^ prae£itso«

{) Home's Intrpdoftion of the Feadal Law into

land.

PREFACE.

^

period our Irifh Brehon Laws were eiia6l-
ed^ we do not pretend to determine. Some
of them are prefaced with a declaratioo,
that they were the Pagan Laws, revifcd and
correded by Patrick : fbme are evidently of
more modern date ; and others^ apparently
the mofi antient^ inflid the fine on \hc
Pagan culprit, to be double that on the
Chrifiian in fimilar cafes : yet this does not
prove they were older than the eftabliih^
ment of Chriflianity in this kingdom ; for
hiftorians gave the opprobrious name of
Gentile or Pagan to the northern invaders
of the 9th and loth centuries. Satisfied
that they will be well received by chePtib-
lick, without further hiflorical remarks, a
plain and literal tranflation is attempted.

Wfi fhall concude this Preface with an
account of the law Books of the antient
Irifh, which Duald Mc Firbis, an antiquary
of the laft century, informs Mr, Lynch
were in his pofTefiion. iji)

I. Br£Itue-nimh£, compiled from the
antient Fileas, by the three brothers Fara-
nan, Baethgal, and Maeliuile, in the 8th
century. 2. Meill-hreatha^ a book writtca
for the unlearned, by Modan fon of Tolban,

aboul

(h) Cambrcnfis cvcrfus. c. 20. p. 157. O^Conucr'i
DiiTert. p. 125.

^

PREFACE/

ut the year 177. 3- Fiondfuith^ written
Piatach, in the reign ofCormacO^Cuins
ut the year 260- 4. AnT^acht-hreath^
ifccllany of Laws. j. An Fuigheal^
'/A, a fupplement to the Laws \ to which
bbjoined a trad, intituled Fotha^moir^
ing forth the true office of a Judge, and
errors which fubjed him to a privation
lis Jurifdidion. 6. Fotha-beag^ on the
vs of Partition, 7. Taid-bhreathay on
sfts. 8. Corasfinne^ rules for the regu-
on of the Tanaft Diftrichts. 9. The
k of Cain; or Mulds, faid to be per-
ed at Caihel by prince Feidlim, anno
\ : to this work is added Ei^^headh^
iting of crimes againft the Laws, written
he 3d century by Cor mac OCuin and
fon Cairbre Liffecair. 10. Duhy by
rbre Liffecair, faid to be taken from
^ney Rofgadach, who is fuppofed to
e flouriflicd 300 years before the Chrif-
i iEra. II, Cain Fuitribhe^ of prefcrip-
I and long poffeflions, written in the 8th
tury. 12. Fonn Seancas^mor ; after the
jption of Chriftianity, St, Patrick, is
. to have afliAed in this great work
ged from Druidical Superftition : it is
itioned in the annals of the four matters,
I Mr. O^Conner, and the lofs of it is

irreparable.

PREFACE.

irreparable. (/) 13. Cain Drubhartmgh
Bearra^ treated of maritime and commer-
cial a&irs : this Codct it is (aid, came
forth about the fame time with the Seancas
mor. 1 4. Cain Lanamhna mor^ (hewed the
(everal relations of Society. 15. Faidh
FeneaehaSy a Mifcellany. 16. Cain B^ock-
fay relating to property in Herbage, Herds
and Flocks.

Im this pompous catalogue^ not a word
isfaid of the fumptuary Laws, we now
offer to the Publick, which appear to be as
antient as any of the above Codes ; and are
the more curious, as they detail the feve-
ral clailes of the antient Iriih people. The
remainder of our Fragments are mifcelia-
neous, and relate to every fubje^ mention-
ed by Mc. Firbis,

(;^ This Code is now in the Bntifli Muicam, No. 431.
BibL Harl. it begins thus : L a Stancas m§r €cmamMi m
nar neihu maith do ulc^ agus eic di mat ft. i. e. T^his is the
SesmcMt msr diftinguifking good from evil^ and evil frtm
good, h is written on parchment^ on 30 p^es in folio,
and iras copied for the Editor of thb Collectanea \ but
the copied undeHlanding neither the Language or die
Chara^^, has rendered many parts illegible— Scrcnl
of the Laws contained in our Fragments, are to be fotrnd
in this Code y but as they are not placed in the fame
order, it appears probable, that they were enaAed t
different times. 0*Flaherty fays, that this Code m
compofed by Scan, fon of Aigid, anno mundi 3922.
Ogyg. p. 2 1 8. Tantum antiquitatis curaeqnc majonbv
pro Uibcmica gente fiiit !

ANTIENT LAWS

o p

IRELAND.

FRAGMENT I.

In the PoflTcffion of Sir Johh Sbabright^ Bart,
being Part of the Collcftion made by Mr. Edw.
Lhwtd for the Chandois Library.

ORIGINAL.

Me S T a Mugdorn
ingcn Mogha fri cum :
nuinge no boin noda
criad no con frith ara
ruicctlia ainmes tairfe
nochiffi cetna cum : ce-
taragaib broin inna laim
la firu Erenn. Mugdorn
ingen Moga ni condi-
chct meis Moga ♦ * *

U u

TRANSLATION,

iVlUgdorn daughter
of Mogha {a) ellimatcd
the following articles to
be paid by the men of
Ireland, by cumals (i)
of cows, or by ounces
in lieu of them. And
what Mugdorn did was

confirmed by Mogha

« ^ * ^ ^ ^ •

2. Teach ta

MSS.

de&ced.

{a J If this be Mogha nuadhad, he was killed at the bat*
tie of Maghleana, or Moylean, in the King's county, A«
D. 192. according to the Irilh annals. See Colled, p. 426.
vrhere his daughters names are faid to be Caoimhniall and
Sgoithniamh. Mugdorn, i. e. naafculine hand, noight alfo
have been the firname of one of thefe ; but that we leave
to be cleared up by the Irilh hiftorians.

{h) A cumal is three cows, or two cows and a heifer^ at
explained in fome parts of thefe Laws ; but here it feems to
fignify a grofs number of homed cattle, and ofed as a ^
verb. See Law 2. A royal cumal was 6 cows.

6st

antient laws
Original. translation.

t. Teach ta fuillime
gell (d) aiccde airgit,
dir : comdirc fri bcs co-
mailtuir aris for dartib
ro fuidiged fuill : a dire.

3. T. f. g. aiccde
airgit Oc-airech dir tec-
ra dartib.

4. T. f.g. aiccde air-
^t each Bo*aircch for
cuic dartib direanar.

S.T. f. g, aiccde air-
git each Airechota fuide
coruicce Airigh-forgill
direnar deic dartib la
aitbgin.

2. The lawful value
of a filrer bodkin (r) is
by cuitom to be paid m
cumals of heifers.

3. The lawful value
of a iilver bodkin to an
Oc*airech is 3 heifers.

4. The lawful valoe
of a Giver bodkin to 1
Bo-drech is 5 heifers.

5. The lawful value
of a filver bodkin to
every Airech (or noUc)
up to an Airech-forgill
is 10 heifers.

6. T.f.g.

(ff) We are not told whether this be a bodldn for the
doathing or for the hsur* for it appears that the aflOcflt
Britons wore them in their head drefs. See Whitakcr*i
Mancheftert Vol. i. b. i. led. 7. See alfo plate 1 of ad
jiomber of this Colled, which tho' too Iar|^ for the head,
has focne refemblance of thofe on Whitaker^a Coins.

(J) Aiccde, i. dealg. commentator.

We have here the feveral Ranks or Degrees of the and-
cot Irifli. The fifth Law includes every degree of No-
bles, from the Bo-aii*ech to the Airech-forgill. Tliefe axt
particnlariaed in a fubfeqoent Law, relating to the feet of
Burial } and as it is neceSarj the Reader Ihoald be made
acquainted with thenit before we proceed, we fludl hoc
infert it, viz. Fees to be paid for Hymns fang at the buri-
als of the people, from the Ruftic to the Kin^. xft« loua
<X>airech 3 feoit. ad, lana Bo-air«cb 5 icoit. jd, Imsi

Airech-dc&

OF IRELAND.
ORIGINAL. TRANSLATION.

6. T. f. g. aiccde air-
git each Airig-forgill
dofli cuic dairte dec a
fuiilem lainrac naithgin.

6. The lawful value
of a filver bodkin to aa
Airech-forgill, of the
loweft rank, is 15 hei-
fers.

7- T. f. g.

6s9

Airech-defa 10 feoit. 4th9 Ixxina Airech-ard 15 feoic.
5th, Imna Airech-trediu 20 feoit. 6th, Imna Airech-for*
gill 30 feoit. 7th, Imna Righ, feacht cumula, i. e. for
Snging Hymns for an Oc-airech 3 cows j— for a Bo-atrech
5 cows ; — for an Airech-defa 10 cows |— for an Airech-
ard 1 5 cows j— for an Airech-treffiu 20 cows ; — ^for an
Airech forgill 30 cows; — for a King 7 cnmals, or 42
cows.-— —Here are 7 decrees orclafles of people exclufive
of the King, iiiz. ift, Tnc Airecb-foreill^ i. e. whofe dcf-r
cent and genealogy was known and eltabliflied. 2d, Air»
tcb^treffiut i. e. one who had ennobled himfelf by conqneft.
3d, Airecb-ard^ i.e. a Chief or Warrior. 4th, kirech-defa^
i. e. one pofleiTed of landed property. 5th, B9'airecb^ i.c.
one whofe wealth con filled in Cattle. 6th, Oc-airecb^ i.
c. one who had obtained rank by (kill in Poetry* £lo*
quence, &c. and 7th, the Rufticy or Peafant. This divi-
uon exactly correfponds with the ranks or clafles of the
people, according to the antient Egyptians, as we are in-
formed by Herodotus. Airecb is compounded of two
Fhcenician words, art and Rach^ the firft ngnifying a LioUi
and the latter a King, from the Hebrew Racbas or Rucbfi,
fifirnifving the exaltations or proud liftings up of the peo-
ple : hence Aryus, Dux Solymorum ; & Ari-el, i. e. leo
dei ; virorum fortlum cognomen apud Moabitas Bocbart.
Chan. lib. 1. c. i. & 14. From the Celtic Airecb is derivi>
ed the Greek a'^;^*, i. e. magiftratus, principatus, and
A^^ciyitTttif reges, apud Spartas ; to which, prefixing the
Celtic pnirif i. e. magnus, is formed the Greek compound
/uo »xx^i ^ Monarch, and not from fti^^, folus, as s^qR,
etymologies have devifed.

Erecb^ fays Mr. Byrant (in his Mythology of the Ant?-
ents) was the mod antient title of the fupreme, and hence
Erecbtbotb^ vei Erec-Qut^. So th% temple built at Ar-
^olis was called Armcb^^9Sy m hGuont oS Aracb Nokff.
Aire and Rach are often ul^"^ in ^he Irifi& feparatdr, ais* hi
many other Languages '; tht '^t^mandik is a noble Wjr-

UuiX • *riot

66o

A N T IE N T L AWS
OR I GIN AL. TRANSLATION.

7. T. F. g. aiccdcair-
gittRignoSiiad(i OIL:
file) ro fuidigedh for
trtcait dairte adire la ait-
gin airget mbruithc.

8. Ma teccmai lith
laithc no Dail nothd-
comracc tuaithe mant-
toirc a gell <io nofct
bcfid fiu dofli Ian log-
aenech do each fomiad
la eraicc do neocli do
ruirmefemdifmaditaibh
flgus aithgenaib.

7. The lawful value
of a filver bodkin to t
King, or Profcffor (1
bard, or Ollamh) is 30
heifers, if the fame be
made of refined filver.

8. If any one impri-
fons, lets or detains ano-
ther for debt on fcftival
days, or on thofe dajs
the dates are convened,
he (hall make fiiil fam-
fadion to the Nobb
and Warriors; wKd
fine fhall be equal to
the Eric of the aflail-

ant.

9. T.f.g.

nor in the Bafque or Bifcayan tongue. Ara-cbana (Hibr
nicd Aire Cean) is a King in the Tartarian dialed. Arr
tabbee (Hibernicd Ari-rach vel righ) is the title of King
among the Otaheites. See Cook's Voyages. Hence ik
Saxon Are^ i. c. honor, reverentiat decus, gloria, rcfpec-
tus, Somner. And alfo the land-art of the Saxons, cor
refponding to the Celtic Airi'dcjja. Hence, allb, thcfol-
iowing proper names of Kings and Princes : Arjpj»f
Longobardus Bencventi Dui. ab Antiq. Sax. Are. i. t
Honor & Teut. Geits, aviditas, Argohafius^ Francus, Co-
mes Occldentis. Arckeho'd^ Prasnomen Scotis famiJIart
jfrd aricus, (aircch-ard) Aftro Gothorum lulorum Rci
Arefajl^ i. c. Ario-viftus. Ari-amirus^ i. c. Ari-maort
Arfpertus^ Longobardorum Italorum Rex. Ari-haUth
Longobardorum Italorum Rex. Arminius^ i. c. Ari-mcr-
BCD. — Cherufcorura Dux. See Skinner's Etymolcgicfla
Onomafticon. Aire-toga^ or togu, frequcnilr occurs ii
*chdc Laws* literally fignifjing the chofen Chief of a Ttibe*
fo lead thcoi forth when called on bj the prince :

hcfice

OF IRELAND.

669

I G I N A L.

\ f. g. ctaig fog-
caich do mclar
la direnar com-
airechaib feibe
ndairte ifuillem
I ctach befid fiu
n la aithgin*

r. f. g. etach lith
dir : comdire da
ibh febe alid
namuin befid fiu
iteoraib trefib
lide dia teccmai
no daii na tbo-
icc tuaithe nos
n nadratha dofli
; for fer darfann-
cenn diren :

TRANSLATION.

9. The lawful price
of femtants cloatbs is
alike to all degrees of
(0 Airech feibhes, and
7 heifers is the price o£
each fervants cloathing.'

10. The lawful price
ofcloaths forholydays"
is alike to all Airtch
febes, and they are to
pay for the fame in 3 :
gales : but if any fldr*
mi(h or difpute (hall ■
happen on this payment
on the Convention days
of the States or holydays
of the Ollamhs, the pci^
fon found guilty of fuch
a fray (hall forfeit bis
Eric, (f)

1 1 . T. f. g.

V.irech feib, fajs the Commentator^ includes all de«

' Nobles, from the Bo- aire to the King : Na gradk

lie is Aire febe o Boaire gu High.

'.TIC iignifies the fine» which by the Laws is enafi*

be paid for murder. This wiJl be fully explained

:qucL

lerehga in the old Sazon» is a Conductor of an ar-
^frfgti in the Netherlands, and Hert»9g with the
iSy means a Duke, (dux) all which are derived from
rhcAtn-fta, Toga is not a corruption of Taoif-
Chief» or Prince, as Mr. Whitaker has aflerted in
mology oFTarcto and togu, difcorered on the cotnis
taBmu % t«gadh^ in the Celdc; is tockd or dra&t]

and

en

ANTI EN T h AWS
ORIGINAL. TRANSLATION.

1 1 . T.f . g. ctach fog-
nima caidi Rig domelar
ctoh dit direnar oomdi-
rib fri etach Hthlaithe
na n Airech (eibe.

I a. T. f. g» ctach
lidilaithc Righ ailidfon
lar dsbaidib dlig : trc
cUeh innamuin fcrthatr-
fon itcora dcchmadaib
iarniabaidib dlig : otha
fiudiu ma tcccmai lith-^
laitbe notbocomracc tu-
aidicdofli knlogcncch
for fcr lafannditb at an
gpU daraditbac cenn di-
renar dia dcchmaidc iar
cuimlechtaib fenc.

13. T. f. g. ctach
fognama Ogairech no
Boairech do mclar each
did direnar teora dairtib
htfuilicm a dire la ctach
befid fiu ina muin araile.

11. The lawful price
of the doathing of 1
King's fervant iscqoil
to that of the holydiy
cloftthing of an Aiicch
febe.

12. The lawful piia
of a King's bolyday
cloatbingy out of grati-
tude and love to his po^
fon (hall.be valued tf
three common iuits, to
be paid at thcee g^
If any pcrfon (hallR-
quire payment or 1
pledge on this accooM
on the holydays dost
mentioned, he fhall for-
feit the value of two
gales.

13. The lawful pri«
of the cloathing of iIk
fcrvantsofthe Ogairech
and Boairech is 3 heifers
each, to be paid out of
their dock.

14. T.f.f

and togu fignififis elcdled : for exainple, cogh anud
dhilinn daoine, eled or chufe us out men ; hence tqgb*
ruth, is a fuffrage. This may probably aflid that iearsed
Author in his Eirptanationof Togu and Togudumnus. See
liift. of Manchefter, Vol. 2. b. i. c. 9. p^ 10. Toga« in^
old Sajon, alfo nj^niHed a leader, (dux) Somner tnd Skitt*
net at the word Heretog.

or IRELAND.
ORIGINAI. TRANStATION.

««»

14. T. f. g. etach
lithlaitbc Boaircch no
Ogairech ailed etach ioa
mia befid fiu, otha Hu-
diu ma teccmai iith-
laiihe no thocomracc
tuaithe dofli lelh log
doib iar nmbuidib dlig.

1 5. Anfort* ifoilltmail
getl la : bai briugad na
airemad nech achl nech
fo da rochtthar dagair
illiud atiiud acetbkhim.
bo brigad cumal noig
ninndib innamuin noch-
isfor cum ; deich fet
conamas in cum : re fe-
ancas mor. Leth cum :
immuin in tanatli leora
bae imuin na trilB bo.
bo immuin cacha bo
otha fiudiu ciapa lin cia
ba nuaite fertair co lainn
aithgena each ae dia
ttife coboin inna miua
ferthair acetdire dia xde.
/erthair amedonach dia
mis. ferthair an dedhi-
nach dia trifC for mis.

14. The lawful price
of holyday doatbin^ ta
the Boiairec and Ogoirec
is already mennoned }
but if demanded on the
aforefaid holydays, the
6ne by the indulgence
of the Law is but hftif
an Eric.

i5.Thefe are the pri-
ces acoordkig to the 9^
Code of Lawi : it iftlp
be observed, That thf
cattle In vebecD eftisiAk
cd oc if paidon deraaodL
Morcovo-, if young oM-
tte are raced in cUomJ^
tbcK muft be ten futh
to mftfce ap > ctutMl,
and 5 to half t catiHtl*
to be paid in three ^ales,
be the value moM or
lefs ; one third to be
given on the delivery df
the goods, one thiM at
the expiration of Itoe fe-
cond month,and the re-
maining third at the end
of the third month.
Tins, andlheJixfoUowit^y
appear to b« ohferuati-
ons of the CbmmentO'
torsy aitbougb vjritten
like Oie rtfi tf tie text.
C. V.
16. T.f.g.

664

A NTl EN T LAWS
ORIGINAL. TRANSLATION.

i6. T. f. g. Catrech
caich ro fuidig : icom-
dire do cech recht fria
cethrai olcena.

17. li diccmachtaib
geli la : mucea ar ni
tuilletiide acht muicc
imuin araile. i. each
miucce la aitbgin corniT
iooe teora mucca otha
fuidieu isaithginnamma
do fliat da ba lin ci ba
fiuaite armuinegrtar
muoca ce arobos no a|-
logair|ni lugudofog-
laib fo fechat olldas
dithorbu dogntat cona
urlund an dithma«

1 8. An indie ech
agus fifcclabra dia do
rotfat la nech ni tuillet
acht fet na muin la
aithgin.

1 6. Sheep, according
to all Laws, are allowed
€& lawful payment, and
may be given in proper
tion in lieu of coi»s.

1 7. Swine are forbid-
den inpayment by the
old Law ; yet one may
be given in each pij-
meqt with other catde
in each gale, provided
that in the payment of
the whole^ nomorethu
three fwine^ be given }
and this muft beob-
ferved, let the number
of cows to be given in
payment be more or
iefs.

iS.Horfesandmarcj
are not to be given in
payment, but in pro-
portion to their value o"
cows.

Tbf Commentator aidSy
tbey muft be doubk r«
number to make th
value.

19. T. f.&

OF IRELAND.

G I N A L. TRANSLATION.

66$

. f. g. Capuill
s here, ro fui-
tndiriu do each
id triech ina-
aithgin acollna
ch ae dia cuic-
iliu.

. f. g. echaige
e do each reeht
ht beeh befid
I in mani teee-
leh lugh naa-
> la taurchom-
the matecmaif-
lan log enech
^ hech beiifid
amamu la dia-
gcna.

19. By every law, a
horfe for draft and a
horfe for burthen, are
efteemed of equal va-
lue ; from three to five
may be given in pay-
ment for cloaths or or-
naments of the body.

20. Young horfes or
colts have their value ;
but aged horfes only
being allowed in pay-
ment, if the payment
fliould be made at the
fair of Lughnafad ;
(Taillen) or Conventi-
on days of the State,
and the perfon fliould be
in pofieffion of colta
only, he muft pay dou-
ble in quantity inflead
of hor&s.

21. Cid

666

A NT I ENT LAWS

ORIGINAL.

ai. Cid fc^fo ro fui-
dtg^ techta fuillema
^n feoit athrebe do
each fodlat trebe cia da
rotiat dar cenn neicb m
ailet acht fet immuin
each ae befid fiu tatricc
ar trtfe amal raghab
lann agus lainnene, air-
med agus iithal, lofat
agus criathar, mias agus
eoad, gaimen agus
cherchuill agus fidkaf-
tra fo gnama olchena.

TRANSLATION.

21. It is otdiioBi,
that in rmall oocuna-
ces between onepiiae I
family and Mother,
where the payment ta
notarifetothe vtloetf
cows or horfes, fecttat
any houfchold ftrf
may be bartered, fvk
as gridics and wafiiing
boards, meafores ami
drinking bowls, loftli
and fieves, difhes ml
cups, hides and cib
of wax, and all M
of wooden vcflck

FRAGMENT II.

From the CoQedion of Sir John Seabrigrt, Bart.

22. T. f. g. dob. ben
each Briugad la ; cipc
aide ciape a huaifle ni
aile acht fet inanmiun
befid fiu laithg : aris
rechtaid dilge da ben
each Briugad.

22. The lawful pric.
to be given, accord::^
to the old Law foritJ
clothing of a {g) Bruigh'^
wife, be the Bruighn>
ble or plebeian, is be:
one cow ; for ever)' wi'i
of aBruigh,fliallbytl:i
Law be exonerated.

23. Ki

(g) The Bruifirh was a pcrfon endowed with land a»
ftock by the Pnncc of each Territory : he was obliged s

kee

OT IRELAND.

4»}

GINAL.

i nach ba 7
7 nach airged

' tug bean in

ingeall uairda
fm rabadh da

adh dan Briu-
uilliumh da

mnai, no gon

eithbh :

f. g. dob. ben
7 Ogairech
bert fide acht
tra ro fuidiged
5 fri tcora dar-
:ce dimboech-

TRANSLATION.

25. Neither gows,
fteeds, filver or gold, it
to be given for the pay-
ment of the cloatbing of
a Bniig^'s wife : two
thirds, or even half of
the value, may be paid
in provifions orvifiuals.
N. B. This Number ii
the huerlineatm ^
fame Commeniaiar.

24. By the old Law,
the lawful price of the
cloathing of a wife of a
Boairech, or of an Ogai-
rec, (hall be repaid by
gra^ng : their forety
for the fame (hall be 3
heifers, until they have
fulfilled the grazing of
cows agreed on.
N. B. They have liber-
ty rf payif^ two
thirds of the value in
cahes. Commentator.
25. T, f. g.

beds and open table for all trarellers. And
. or petty Prince was compelled, by die Laws
. to eftablilh a Bniigh in every Difeid belong*
He was obliged to fopply all Airechs witn
8 and baek-gammon tables^ and all mariners
I will be mort ^7 explained in the comie of

669

ANTIENT LAWS

ORIGINAL.

25. T. f. g. cacha
mnarindas. i.inbhan-
bhard, la : ma do roth
is diles dofui diu aige
fine caichda randichet
cenn a gell do rinnad.
coro fuigle dia inchuib
tre gabla fet, imtha da
techta f. g. cacha fir
rinnas ro fuidiged ic-
comdirc otha tigcrn
bardd coruicc dris cona
is innunn fuillem diana
gcllaib.

a6. T.f. g. fuad. i.
in tOllomh filcdh. no
tanaife. i. in tAnradh
filedh. ciapa met ciaba
laiget ro fuidiged for
cuicfetaib. i. famhaifce
acobiur la aithgin.

27. T. f. g. fnataite
la : dairt direnar inna
fuillemafide mad brat-
fnat is colbtach inna
fuiUemfid nochis corn-
dire di cech recht achtit
mna ata coriu dia ta-
bairt in gell.

TRANSLATION.

25. The lawful value
of cloathing to apoetefs
or to thte wife of a Bard
according to the old
Law. If he be of long
fianding in the Tribe it
is proper he (houldbe
made free. Three mildi
cows is the value of a
free poet'scloathing and
of his wifc*s : it is the
fame from the chief
Bard of a Flaith (petty
prince) to the Ollamh,
or Poet Laureat ; and
the value of their wives
cloathing is the fame.

26. The lawful price
of the cloathing of an
Ollamh, or Poet Lau-
reat, and of the Anra,
or fecond Poet, is five
milch cows.

27. The value of nee-
dle work, according to
old Law. A young bul-
lock or fleer is the pay-
ment for a manlle
wrought with the nee-
dle, or an heifer is equal
payment. It is therefore
enadled^ that every wo-
Aan fliall pay this re-
ward for fuch work.

OF IRELAND.

66p

[ G I N A L.

r. f. g. fnaiic
la : imden-
renar corruicce
igi argit air is
dothorbu dofli
1 bes druinech
cidrigna.

r. f. g. iad aige
; ma beith cona
faib tccliiaib ro
>r fe fetaib ac- '
iFuillimaib a dire
inibet atothcufa
nde ni aiie acht

fiu innaile im-
ch fet bes inde
beas immuine.

Caille eudache
on 7 lann oir 7
jid, &c.

TRANSLATION.

28. The value of cm-
broidery according to
old Law ; for work of
this kind, properly done
andcompletely finifhed,
the reward is an ounce
of (liver : more is to be
paid for extraordinary
work in proportiop.

N. B. Divers colours on
fcarktftlk is to be paid
for according toils me-
rit. Commentator.

29. The lawful price
of a Queen's cloathing,
if (he brought a legal
dowry, is fix cows ; but
if (he brought no dowry
the payment to be made
is in proportion to the
value of the cloathing.

N. B. This chatting
may confijl of bodf
chatbsy a golden bead
drefs in form of a
crowny a golden veil^
or a Jilver cbain for
tbe neck ; provided
tbe cbain does not

• weigh more tban 3
ounces: tbe value of
tbe cbain lefs tban 3
ounces is onfy 3 cows.
Commentator.

tfjo

AITTIENT LAWS

ORIGINAL.

30. T. f. g. ctmg
mna caich cideroth ni
aile acht etach befid fiu
mna muini inalbai no
eich no or no airget no
humha no iarann. do
rata infin gell do intai-
tcrnichair fm dia/ncea
athcomarcc dia ceiliu
ineoch mad rodma in
celi is do direnar afuil-
km.

31. Nochoiflc fuil-
lemgill trcnig la : da
trian aloge do bcrar mna
fuillem la aithgin ni
tuilli ni bes mo acht ro
ben dorata in gell.

TRANSLATION

30. The hwful pice
of the cloatbing oTevtrj
other woman (om-
ments excepted,) lAt
thertobepaidiDOOf^
horfes, gold, filver^of-
per,oriron, when fine
ties are given, the bof*
band muft pay the ttl
value, whether the »ifc
remains withhimarodl
l^.B.IfJbeisdimi
for adultery ^thuhn
is reverfed^ aiik
woman mufi pajf9
thirds <f ibif(iiv9*
bie. CommMaiv,

31. I do not apprort
oflhelaftLaw,tho'oa«

of the old Laws. T«

thirds of the value onlv,

(hall, in that cafe, M

on the hufband, and ti

wife (hall give fure:^

for the remaining thiii

N. B. Tbis appeal

me to be the otfeni'

tion of a Qmrnm^

tor^ although wt0

in the great Tefst bm

in the MSS, lik *

re/i of the Laws.

CM

32. T.fj

F IRELAND.

671

INAL.

g. do beir
irech feibc
Hatha.) or

trib fctalb
na fuillem.
ni piadach
:hos.) conea
rata, no ni

cunnduala.
ni aile acht
s fed Inna*
le beifid fiu.

TRANSLATION.

32. The lawful price
of the cloathing of every
W6man of the degree of
an Airech's wife is three
cows ; and for any ex-
traordinary work, the
price muft be propor-
tionable : but if (he
brought no dowry, (he
is forbid to wear any
thing exceeding the va-
lue of 6 cows.

the Corporation Book of Irishtown,
^ N N T, it appears, that the Iri(hwomen
extraordinary Cap or Head Drefs, as late

>n of Irishtown, i5tH December 1557.

f the court made by the portreeve* burgefles,
ins of Irifhtown, 7th Jan. 15371 it was or-
. the following prices (hould be paid within
poration for making the underneath particu-

dubblet, with a new fafliioned BcUire to be

de for IS. fterling.

f gally-enKhes to be made for 8d.

f new fafbioned clofe ho(e 6d.

in*s IriHi coat double feamed» being not

I filk, 7d.

:e of filk to be wrought upon a woman's coat

er to forfeit two (hillings.

. This year happened the great flood* when
ind women were drowned, and St. John's
aflle fell down. Amio

72 A N T I E N T L A W S, &c.

Anno 156;. Bye-law in the corporation of Iriflitoir:.,
that no inhabitant dwelling within the mitre land» being 1
freeman or wotnan» wear no apptrel but after the Englifn
falhion ; nor no woman wear ilafs upon pain of forfeiture ;
and that every burgefs (hall go in his cloak, and fo everj
freeman, upon pain of forfeiture^ excepting W. Dullany,
Teig Lowry, R. Wale.

The following Law, extraAed from the fame Book,
is inferted for the curious, tho' relating to another
fubjcft.

At a Doer hundred, held 8th Jan. 1 579.

IT tsenaded, by the aflent of the portrieve, burgeircs
and commons, that where great inconveniencies have hap-
pened, and wafte and fcarcitr of yictles, to the great im-
poverifhing of many of the inhabitants of this corporaticc ;
whotho' their ability could not afford the like charj^e,
yet pride and comparifon, who Ihould make the grcateil
cheer at churching of women after child-birth, h^th been
the utter undoing of many, as daily we fee : for to avcic
the likegrofs enormity and harm, be it enadieJ, tha: no
man or woman (hall come hereafter to any chrillening of
children, or churching of women brought to bed, but the
goiTobs for the lime being, fathers and mothers, brother:«
and Ailers, upon pain of 40s. IriQi, to be levied and takes
of the owner of the houfe io making the fcaft /o/xV/ quii:t\
to be divided, the one half to theportrieve and fpie : and
that it ihall be lawfuhfor enny that fpieth fuch mrn
or women coming from the feaft, to take away their hits
or rolls, and mantles, and the fame to forfeit ; and 10 vAt
away the midwife's roll and mantle, that goeth to var?.
the people. And the parifh pried fhall have none In £3
company but his clerke.

Serjeants appointed to execute this Statute.

Thomas Poorb.
RonY DoWLY.

(79 be C^nttnuid.)

END OF VO L. I.

11 <r

r'^<j

□ATE DUE 1

STANFORD UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
STANFORD, CAUFORNIA 94305