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diff --git a/42046-8.txt b/42046-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 55ebbe3..0000000 --- a/42046-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,20592 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Ireland under the Tudors, Volume I (of II), by -Richard Bagwell - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Ireland under the Tudors, Volume I (of II) - With a Succinct Account of the Earlier History - -Author: Richard Bagwell - -Release Date: February 8, 2013 [EBook #42046] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IRELAND UNDER THE TUDORS *** - - - - -Produced by Brownfox and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from -images generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - - - IRELAND UNDER THE TUDORS - - VOL. I. - - - - - PRINTED BY - SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE - LONDON - - - - -IRELAND UNDER THE TUDORS - - -WITH A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THE - -EARLIER HISTORY - - -BY - -RICHARD BAGWELL, M.A. - - -IN TWO VOLUMES - -VOL. I. - - -LONDON - -LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. - -1885 - -_All rights reserved_ - - - - -PREFACE. - - -'Irish policy,' said Mr. Disraeli in the House of Commons, 'is Irish -history, and I have no faith in any statesman, who attempts to remedy the -evils of Ireland, who is either ignorant of the past or who will not take -lessons from it.' This is most true, and history, if it is to be of any -use, should be written for instruction, and not merely for the -confirmation of existing prejudices. This is especially so in the present -case, for, as Sir George Stanley told Cecil in 1565, 'the practises of -Ireland be great, and not understood to all men that seem to have -knowledge thereof.' The writer who enters the arena as an advocate may -produce an interesting party pamphlet, but he will hardly make the world -either wiser or better. The historian's true office is that of the judge, -whose duty it is to marshal all the material facts with just so much of -comment as may enable his hearers to give them their due weight. The -reading public is the jury. - -Starting with this conception of the task before me, I have not attempted -to please any party or school. The history of Ireland is at the best a -sad one; but its study, if it be really studied for the truth's sake, can -hardly fail to make men more tolerant. In Ireland, as in other countries, -a purely Celtic population was unable to resist the impact of the -Teutonic race. First came the pagan Northmen, with power to ruin, but -without power to reconstruct. Then followed the Anglo-Normans, seeking -for lands and lordships, but seeking them under the patronage of the -Catholic Church. For a time it seemed as though the conquest would be -complete; but the colony proved too weak for its work, and the mail-clad -knights failed almost as completely as the Scandinavian corsairs. - -The main cause of this second failure was the neglect or jealousy of the -kings. They feared the growth of an independent power within sight of the -English shore, and they had neither means nor inclination to do the work -of government themselves. Little gain and less glory were to be had in -Ireland, and Scotch, Welsh, or Continental politics engrossed their -attention in turn. They weakened the colony, partly of set purpose, and -partly by drawing men and supplies from thence. In short, they were -absentees; and, to use an expression which has gained currency in modern -times, they were generally content to look upon Ireland as a mere -drawfarm. - -The Wars of the Roses almost completed the ruin of the work which Henry -II. had begun. For a moment it seemed as if the colony was about to -assert its independence. But this could not have been done without an -understanding with the native race, and it does not appear that any such -understanding was possible. The upshot was that Yorkist and Lancastrian -parties were formed in Ireland, that the colony was thus still further -weakened, and that the English language and power seemed on the point of -disappearing altogether. - -The throne of Henry VIII. was erected on the ruins of mediæval feudalism, -and guarded by a nation which longed for rest, and which saw no hope but -in a strong monarchy. The King saw that he had duties in Ireland. Utterly -unscrupulous where his own passions were concerned, the idea of a patriot -King was not altogether strange to him. Irish chiefs were encouraged to -visit his court, and were allowed to bask in the sunshine of royal -favour; and it is conceivable that the 'Defender of the Faith,' had he -continued to defend it in the original sense, might have ended by -attaching the native Irish to the Crown. By respecting for a time their -tribal laws, by making one chief an earl and another a knight, by -mediating in their quarrels, and by attending to their physical and -spiritual wants, a Catholic Tudor might possibly have succeeded where -Anglican and Plantagenet had failed. The revolution in religion changed -everything, and out of it grew what many regard as the insoluble Irish -question. - -Henry II. had found Ireland in the hands of a Celtic people, for the -intermixture of Scandinavian blood was slight and partial. Henry VIII. -found it inhabited by a mixed race. From the beginning there had been -rivalry and ill-feeling between men of English blood born in Ireland, and -those of English birth who were sent over as officials or who went over -as adventurers. During the fifteenth century England did nothing to -preserve the ties of kinship, and the Celtic reaction tended to swallow -up the interlopers. The degenerate English proverbially became more Irish -than the Irish themselves, but the distinction would scarcely have been -so nearly obliterated had it not been for the change in religion. The -nobles of the Pale, the burghers of the walled towns, and the lawyers in -Dublin were equally disinclined to accept the new model. Neither Irish -chieftains nor Anglo-Irish lords found much difficulty in acknowledging -Henry's supremacy both in Church and State; but further than that they -would not go. The people did not go so far, and, in the words of the -annalists, regarded the Reformation simply as a 'heresy and new error.' - -Religion itself was at an extremely low ebb, and only the friars -preserved the memory of better days. Henry may have imagined that he -could lead the people through the bishops and other dignitaries: if so, -he was entirely mistaken. The friars defied his power, and the hearts of -the poor were with them. In Ireland, at least, it was Rome that -undertook the work of popular reformation. The Franciscans and Jesuits -endured cold and hunger, bonds and death, while courtly prelates -neglected their duties or were distinguished from lay magnates only by -the more systematic nature of their oppressions. And thus, as the hatred -of England daily deepened, the attachment of the Irish to Rome became -daily closer. Every effort of Henry to conciliate them was frustrated by -their spiritual guides, who urged with perfect truth that he was an -adulterer, a tyrant, and a man of blood. Holding such cards as these, the -friars could hardly lose the game, and they had little difficulty in -proving to willing ears that the King's ancestors received Ireland from -the Pope, and that his apostasy had placed him in the position of a -defaulting vassal. - -Henry's vacillations and the early deaths of Edward and Mary for a time -obscured the true nature of the contest, but it became apparent in -Elizabeth's time. She was an excommunicated Queen. From a Catholic point -of view she was clearly illegitimate. Many English Catholics ignored all -this and served her well and truly, but those who carried dogmas to their -logical conclusions flocked to the enemy's camp. Spain, Belgium, and -Italy were filled with English refugees, who were willing enough that the -Queen should be hurt in Ireland, since England was beyond their reach. -But even here national antipathies were visible, and Irish suitors for -Spanish help came constantly into collision with Englishmen bent upon the -same errand. - -Desmond, Shane O'Neill, and Hugh O'Neill seem to have cared very little -for religion themselves. The first was a tool of Rome; the two latter -rather made the Church subservient to their own ambition. But in these -cases, and in a hundred others of less importance, the religious feeling -of the people was always steadily opposed to the English Crown. Elizabeth -was by nature no persecutor, yet she persecuted. Her advisers always -maintained, and her apologists may still maintain, that in hanging a -Campion or torturing an O'Hurley she did not meddle with freedom of -conscience, but only punished those who were plotting against her crown. -The Catholics, on the other hand, could plead that they had done nothing -worthy of death or of bonds, nor against lawful authority, and that they -suffered for conscience' sake. And the Continental nations, who were -mainly Catholic, sided on the whole with the refugees. Ireland, it is -true, was only a pawn in their game, and Philip II. was probably wrong in -not making her much more. At Cork or Galway the Armada might have met -with scarcely any resistance, and a successful descent would have taxed -Elizabeth's resources to the utmost. - -The poverty of the Crown is the key to many problems of the Elizabethan -age. The Queen had to keep Scotland quiet, to hold Spain at bay, and to -maintain tolerable relations with France. She saw what ought to be done -in Ireland, but very often could not afford to do it. The tendency to -temporise was perhaps constitutional, but it was certainly much increased -by want of money. Her vacillating policy did much harm, but it was caused -less by changes of opinion than by circumstances. When the pressure at -other points slackened she could attend to her troublesome kingdom; when -it increased she was often forced to postpone her Irish plans. Ireland -has always suffered, and still suffers sorely, from want of firmness. In -modern times party exigencies work mischief analogous to that formerly -caused by the sovereign's necessities. - -The dissolution of the monasteries was followed by no proper provision -for education. In the total absence of universities and grammar-schools, -certain monks and nuns had striven nobly to keep the lamp of knowledge -burning, but they were ruthlessly driven from house and home. Elizabeth -was alive to all this, but she could not give Ireland her undivided -attention, and such remedies as were applied came too late. The -oppressed friars kept possession of the popular ear, and the Jesuits -found the crop ready for their sickle. Denied education at home, many -sons of good families sought it abroad, and the natural leaders of the -Irish acquired habits of thought very different from those of English -gentlemen. Archbishop Fitzgibbon, one of the most important champions of -Catholic Ireland, saw clearly that his country could not stand alone. He -would have preferred the sovereignty of England, but she had become -aggressively Protestant, and he turned to Spain, to France, to Rome, -anywhere rather than to the land whence his own ancestors had sprung. The -lineage of the United Irishmen and their numerous progeny may be easily -traced back to Tudor times. - -A few words now to the critics whom every writer hopes to have. The -spelling both of Irish names and English documents has throughout been -modernised, from regard to the feelings of the public. Irish history is -already sufficiently repulsive to that great unknown quantity the general -reader, and it would be cruel to add to its horrors. Etymologists will -always go for their materials to originals, and not to modern -compositions. When, therefore, such names as Clandeboye or Roderic -O'Connor are met with in the text, it is not to be supposed that I have -never heard of Clann-Aedha-Buidhe or Ruaidhri O'Conchobair. - -Of the first 123 pages of this book, I need only say that original -authorities have as much as possible been consulted. In the third and -four following chapters, much use has been made of Mr. Gilbert's -'Viceroys,' a debt which I desire to acknowledge once for all. In so -succinct a review of more than three centuries, it has not been thought -necessary to quote the authority for every fact. - -For the reign of Henry VIII. I have chiefly relied on the second and -third volumes of the 'State Papers,' published in 1834. They are -sometimes cited as 'S. P.' or 'State Papers,' and when only the date of -a letter or report is given it must be understood that this collection is -referred to. The great calendar of letters and papers begun by Dr. Brewer -and continued by Mr. Gairdner contains some items not included in the -older publication; it is referred to as _Brewer_. Other sources of -information have not been neglected, and are indicated in the footnotes. - -The account of the reigns of Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth is chiefly -drawn from the 'State Papers, _Ireland_'--all documents preserved in the -Public Record Office and calendared by Mr. Hans Claude Hamilton. How -excellently the editor has done his work can only be appreciated by one -who has entered into his labours as closely as I have done. Except where -a document has already been printed, I have nearly always referred to the -original MS. All documents cited by date or number without further -description must be understood as being in this collection. The late Dr. -Brewer's calendar of the Carew MSS. at Lambeth often fills up gaps in the -greater series; it is referred to as _Carew_. Many papers, both in Fetter -Lane and at Lambeth, are copies; but their authenticity is not disputed. -The Carew calendar is on so full a plan that it has not been thought -necessary to consult the manuscripts; indeed, except for local purposes, -it is not likely that they will be much consulted in the future. Other -collections are referred to in their places, but it may be well to -mention specially the journal of the Irish (Kilkenny) Archæological -Society, whose editor, the Rev. James Graves, has done as much as any man -to lay a broad foundation for Irish history. - -O'Donovan's splendid edition of the 'Four Masters' has generally been -consulted for the Irish version of every important fact. O'Clery and his -fellow-compilers wrote under Charles I., and are not therefore strictly -contemporary for the Tudor period. They appear to have faithfully -transcribed original annals, but to this one important exception must be -made. The old writers never hesitated to record facts disagreeable to the -Church; the later compilers were under the influence of the -counter-reformation which produced Jesuitism. Making some allowance for -this, the 'Four Masters' must be considered fair men. Michael O'Clery -spent much time at Louvain, but he wrote in Ireland, and had native -assistants. Philip O'Sullivan, on the other hand, was a Spanish officer, -and published his useful but untrustworthy 'Compendium' at Lisbon. The -'Annals of Lough Cé' are preferable in some ways to the 'Four Masters,' -but they do not cover so much ground. All the native annalists are jejune -to an exasperating degree. Genealogy seems to have been the really -important thing with them, and they throw extremely little light on the -condition of the people. We are forced therefore to rely on the accounts, -often prejudiced and nearly always ill-informed, of English travellers -and officials. - -The Anglo-Irish chronicles in 'Holinshed' were written by Richard -Stanihurst, who dedicated his work to Sir Henry Sidney, for the reign of -Henry VIII., and after that by John Hooker. Stanihurst, a native of -Dublin, was not born till 1545. He has been thought an unpatriotic -writer, and excited the violent antipathy of O'Donovan; but he appears to -have been pretty well informed. The speeches which he puts into the -mouths of his characters must be considered apocryphal, but as much may -be said of like compositions in all ages. Hooker was an actor in many of -the events he describes. He was a Protestant and an Englishman, -prejudiced no doubt, but not untruthful, and his statements are often -borne out by independent documents. Edmund Campion, the Jesuit, wrote in -Ireland under Sidney's protection; his very interesting work is less a -history than a collection of notes. - -Other books, ancient and modern, are referred to in the footnotes. Among -living scholars, I desire to thank Dr. W. K. Sullivan, of Cork, who had -the great kindness to correct the first chapter, and to furnish some -valuable notes. Hearty thanks are also due to the gentlemen at the Public -Record Office, and especially to Mr. W. D. Selby and Mr. J. M. Thompson. - -In making the index a few errors were discovered in the text, and these -have been noted as errata. Some mistakes may still remain uncorrected, -but I am not without hope that they are neither many nor of much -importance. - - MARLFIELD, CLONMEL: - _August 13, 1885_. - - - - -CONTENTS - -OF - -THE FIRST VOLUME. - - - CHAPTER I. - - INTRODUCTORY. - - PAGE - - Early notices of Ireland 1 - The Celtic constitution 2 - The tribal system 5 - The Celtic land law 7 - Common origin of Celtic and Teutonic institutions 11 - The ancient Irish Church 12 - Gradual introduction of Roman ecclesiastical polity 14 - - - CHAPTER II. - - THE SCANDINAVIAN ELEMENT. - - First inroads of the Northmen 17 - Turgesius 17 - Danes and Norwegians 18 - Danish power in Ireland 19 - Its limits 21 - Revival of the Celts 22 - Brian Borumha 23 - Battle of Clontarf 28 - Conversion of the Danes 29 - Superiority of their civilisation 30 - Brian's monarchy not permanent 31 - Danish Christianity in Ireland 32 - Conflict between Canterbury and Armagh 33 - Papal supremacy fully established 34 - - - CHAPTER III. - - THE REIGN OF HENRY II. - - Ireland given to England by the Popes 37 - First interference of Henry II. 39 - An Anglo-Norman party in Ireland 40 - Strongbow 41 - Anglo-Norman invasion 42 - Henry II. in Ireland 47 - Difficulties of the invaders 49 - Henry was unable to carry out his own policy 52 - An Irish kingdom contemplated 54 - Viceroyalty of John 55 - No conquest of Ireland under Henry II. 56 - - - CHAPTER IV. - - FROM JOHN'S VISIT IN 1210 TO THE INVASION BY THE BRUCES IN 1315. - - John Lord of Ireland 58 - King John in Ireland 59 - Leinster divided after Strongbow's death 61 - The De Burgos in Connaught 61 - The colony declines under Henry III. 62 - Results of Edward I.'s policy 64 - The Bruces invade Ireland 65 - - - CHAPTER V. - - FROM THE INVASION OF THE BRUCES TO THE YEAR 1346. - - Why the Bruces failed 69 - Decline of the colony 70 - The colonists become _Hibernis ipsis Hiberniores_ 71 - Creation of the great earldoms 71 - Irish corporate towns 73 - Anglo-Norman families 75 - Further decline of the colony under Edward III. 76 - Dissensions among the colonists 77 - - - CHAPTER VI. - - FROM THE YEAR 1346 TO THE ACCESSION OF HENRY VII. - - Lionel, Duke of Clarence 80 - The statute of Kilkenny 81 - Its effect in dividing the rival races 83 - Richard II.'s first visit 85 - His second visit 86 - His complete failure 87 - Henry IV. and V. neglect Ireland 87 - Foreign wars fatal to Ireland 89 - Richard of York made Lord-Lieutenant 90 - A Yorkist party in Ireland 91 - The colony reduced to the utmost 93 - - - CHAPTER VII. - - THE IRISH PARLIAMENT. - - A close copy 94 - Growth of representative institutions 95 - The sphere of English law contracted under Edward III. 96 - The Parliament of Kilkenny not representative of Ireland 97 - The peerage 98 - The clergy as an estate 99 - The Viceroy 100 - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - THE REIGN OF HENRY VII. - - The Fitzgeralds were Yorkists, the Butlers Lancastrians 102 - Lambert Simnel crowned in Ireland 104 - The Irish Yorkists cut to pieces at Stoke 105 - Mission of Sir Richard Edgcombe 106 - The Irish nobility in England 108 - The Butlers and Geraldines 109 - Perkin Warbeck 110 - Sir Edward Poynings holds a Parliament at Drogheda 111 - Poynings' Acts 112 - Second visit of Perkin Warbeck 113 - Weakness of the Government 114 - Third visit of Perkin Warbeck 115 - Power of the Kildare family 115, 117-120 - Battle of Knocktoe 120 - Henry VII. wished to separate the two races 122 - - - CHAPTER IX. - - FROM THE ACCESSION OF HENRY VIII. TO THE YEAR 1534. - - The Kildare family in power 124-128 - The Ormonde family much reduced 125 - Viceroyalty of Surrey 128-139 - The Pale a very small district 129 - Misery of the country 131 - O'Donnell and O'Neill 132 - Desmond and the MacCarthies 133 - Policy of Henry VIII. 134 - Unsteadiness of English policy 136 - The Irish constantly at war 140 - The Butlers and Geraldines were scarcely more peaceable 145 - Wolsey's policy 148 - A Viceroy captured by the Irish 150 - The rivalry between Ormonde and Kildare 149-152 - Skeffington Viceroy 152 - Overshadowed by Kildare 154 - Results of the Kildare power 154-158 - Fall of Kildare 161 - - - CHAPTER X. - - THE GERALDINE REBELLION--SKEFFINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION, 1534-1535. - - The Geraldine rebellion 163 - Loyalty of the Butlers 164 - Geraldine siege of Dublin 166 - Failure of the rebellion 169 - Surrender of Kildare 177 - The Desmonds and MacCarthies 180 - Desmond intrigues with France 181 - The Butlers and the Desmond Geraldines 182 - Desmond intrigues with Charles V. 184 - State of the South of Ireland 189 - Modern spirit of the Tudor monarchy shown by promoting new men 194 - - - CHAPTER XI. - - FROM THE YEAR 1536 TO THE YEAR 1540. - - Administration of Lord Leonard Grey 195-220 - The royal supremacy established by law 196 - The Act of Absentees 197 - The O'Neills 198 - Poverty of the Crown 199 - Grey in the West of Ireland 200 - Want of money 204 - Grey and the O'Connors 206 - Vague good intentions of Henry VIII. 210 - The O'Neills and O'Donnells 212 - Grey and the O'Connors 213 - Seizure of the five Geraldines 215 - Eclipse of the Kildare family 216 - - CHAPTER XII. - - END OF GREY'S ADMINISTRATION. - - Ormonde proposes to reform his country 221 - Grey almost constantly engaged in war 222 - His quarrel with the Butlers 223 - The O'Carrolls 223 - The O'Mores 224 - Rash expedition of Grey 226 - His dispute with the Butlers 229 - The revenue 233 - Cromwell's Irish policy 234 - The royal supremacy acquiesced in 236 - A Catholic movement nevertheless makes itself felt 238 - Grey routs the O'Neills 240 - Fall and fate of Grey 243 - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - 1540 AND 1541. - - Confusion after Grey's recall 247 - Sir Anthony St. Leger Lord Deputy 249-261 - His policy 250 - Case of the O'Tooles 251 - The King will not allow a military brotherhood 254 - Desmond abjures the Pope 255 - Success of St. Leger with the Irish chiefs 256 - Henry VIII. made King of Ireland by Act of Parliament 259 - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - 1541 TO THE CLOSE OF THE REIGN OF HENRY VIII. - - St. Leger Lord Deputy 262-287 - O'Donnell abjures the Pope 262 - O'Neill abjures the Pope 264 - Other chiefs follow suit 266 - The Munster nobles do likewise 267 - O'Neill made Earl of Tyrone 268 - O'Brien made Earl of Thomond 270 - MacWilliam Burke made Earl of Clanricarde 271 - The MacDonnells in Antrim 271 - Financial dishonesty 274 - An Irish contingent in Scotland 276 - And in France 277 - Dissensions between St. Leger and Ormonde 278 - An English party in Scotland 279 - The Lord of the Isles in Ireland 280 - Abortive attempt to invade Scotland from Ireland 281 - Intrigues of Irish officials--St. Leger and Ormonde 282 - Ormonde is murdered in England 285 - Permanent causes tending to weaken Irish Governments 286 - - - CHAPTER XV. - - THE IRISH CHURCH UNDER HENRY VIII. - - Points at issue between King and Pope 288 - See of Armagh 289 - Dublin 290 - Meath 290 - Cashel 291 - Tuam 292 - Remoter sees 292 - King and Pope in Leinster, Munster, and Connaught 293 - Corrupt state of the Church 294 - Miserable condition of four sees particularly described 295 - General corruption of the clergy 296 - Evils of Papal patronage 297 - Many of the religious houses out of order 298 - Excellent service rendered by others 299 - Ecclesiastical legislation in 1536 300 - The Crown could procure the passing of Acts, but the people - remained unaffected by them 301 - Archbishop Browne 302 - His quarrel with Bishop Staples 303 - Lord Leonard Grey gave general offence 303 - Images, relics, and pilgrimages 304 - The Munster bishops conformed 305 - But this does not prove any real conversion 306 - Origin of a double succession 306 - Wauchop made Primate by the Pope 306 - First appearance of the Jesuits 307 - The friars oppose the royal supremacy 310 - The Reformation hateful to the Irish 311 - Henry attacks the monasteries 312 - Account of the different orders 313 - Cistercian abbeys 314 - Hospitallers 315 - Pensions to monks 317 - The monks were not really driven out 317 - Property of the religious houses 318 - The mendicant orders 319 - Their suppression scarcely decreased the number of friars 320 - The plunder of the monasteries shared by all classes 320 - The educating monasteries not replaced 321 - Early attempts at an Irish university 321 - Archbishop Browne 322 - Bishop Staples 323 - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - FROM THE ACCESSION OF EDWARD VI. TO THE YEAR 1551. - - St. Leger still Deputy 325 - Education of Irish nobles at Court 326 - Sir Edward Bellingham Lord Deputy 327-345 - His efforts to protect the Pale 328 - Pirates on the Irish coast 329 - Bellingham puts down the O'Mores 331 - And the O'Connors 332 - He bridles Connaught 333 - A remarkable adventure 334 - The Irish mint 335 - Bellingham's haughty bearing towards great men 337 - He offends his own council 339 - He tames Desmond 339 - Ireland quiet 340 - The Reformation--Browne and Staples 341 - Bellingham and Dowdall 342 - The royal supremacy 343 - Death and character of Bellingham 344 - Lord Justice Bryan 345 - Lord Justice Brabazon 346 - Foreign intrigues 347 - St. Leger Lord Deputy 348-353 - His conciliatory policy 349 - The Reformation hangs fire 349 - Causes of this 350 - Want of money 351 - The French discourage the Irish refugees 352 - English settlers not always a civilising influence 353 - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - FROM THE YEAR 1551 TO THE DEATH OF EDWARD VI. - - St. Leger Lord Deputy 354-359 - Protestantism officially promulgated 354 - Doctrinal conference 355 - Browne and Dowdall 356 - Tolerant views of St. Leger 357 - Sir James Croft Lord Deputy 359-383 - Colonisation projects 360 - The Ulster Scots 361 - The O'Neills 362 - Shane O'Neill and his competitors 363 - Another doctrinal conference 365 - The primacy removed to Dublin 367 - Church patronage 368 - The coinage 370 - Sufferings from a debased currency 371 - Attempts at mining 372 - French and Scotch intrigues 373 - Connaught 374 - Leinster 375 - Ulster 376 - Protestant bishops 379 - Bale 381 - Catholic reaction after Edward's death 382 - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - THE REIGN OF MARY. - - St. Leger is again Lord Deputy 384-396 - The succession 384 - The Queen and the Pope 386 - Bishop Bale at Kilkenny 386 - The Primacy is restored to Armagh 391 - Restoration of Kildare 392 - The Pope and the kingdom of Ireland 393 - Mary's notions of prerogative 394 - Recall of St. Leger--his accusers 396 - Sussex (then Lord Fitzwalter) made Lord Deputy 396 - Ulster 397 - The King's and Queen's Counties 399 - The monastic lands not restored 401 - Catholicism re-established 401 - Military operations of Sussex 402 - O'Neills and O'Donnells 404 - Sir Henry Sidney Lord Justice 405 - General disaffection 406 - Mary's ideas on Irish policy 407 - Sussex in Munster 408 - And in Thomond and Connaught 410 - Abortive expedition to the Hebrides 411 - State of the Protestants under Mary 413 - - INDEX 415 - - -_Errata._ - - Page 140, _for_ Bishop of Kildare _read_ Bishop of Killaloe. - " 305-6, _for_ Michael Comyn _read_ Nicholas Comyn. - " 317, _for_ Nicholas Walsh _read_ Nicholas Fagan. - - - - -_MAPS._ - - - IRELAND IN 1172 _To face page_ 37 - " ABOUT 1300 " 69 - " " 1500 " 124 - IRELAND, ECCLESIASTICAL " 288 - - - - -IRELAND UNDER THE TUDORS. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -INTRODUCTORY. - - -[Sidenote: Scope of the work.] - -The main object of this book is to describe in some detail, and as -impartially as possible, the dealings of England with Ireland during the -reigns of Henry VIII. and his three children. As an introduction to the -study of that period, it seemed desirable to give some account of the -course of government during those 340 years which had elapsed since the -first Anglo-Norman set foot upon the Irish shore. And, seeing that -Teutonic invaders had effected a lodgment about three centuries and a -half before Henry II.'s accession, it was hardly possible to avoid saying -something about the men who built the towns which enabled his subjects to -keep a firm grip upon the island. Lastly, it seemed well at the very -outset to touch lightly upon the peculiarities of that Celtic system with -which the King of England found himself suddenly confronted. - -[Sidenote: The Roman period.] - -Agricola took military possession of south-western Scotland partly in the -hope of being able to invade Ireland. He had heard that the climate and -people did not differ much from those of Britain, and he knew that the -harbours were much frequented by merchants. He believed that annexation -would tend to consolidate the Roman power in Britain, Gaul, and Spain, -and kept by him for some time a petty Irish king who had been expelled by -his own tribe, and to whom he professed friendship on the chance of -turning him to account. Agricola thought there would be no great -difficulty in conquering the island, which he rightly conjectured to be -smaller than Britain and larger than Sicily or Sardinia. - -'I have often,' says Tacitus, 'heard him say that Ireland could be -conquered and occupied with a single legion and a few auxiliaries, and -that the work in Britain would be easier if the Roman arms could be made -visible on all sides, and liberty, as it were, removed out of sight.' -Agricola, like many great men after him, might have found the task harder -than his barbarous guest had led him to suppose; and in any case fate had -not ordained that Ireland should ever know the Roman Peace. It was -reserved for another petty king, after the lapse of nearly 1,100 years, -to introduce an organised foreign power into Ireland, and to attach the -island to an empire whose possessions were destined to be far greater -than those of Imperial Rome. - -[Sidenote: The Celtic polity.] - -Setting aside all ethnological speculations as foreign to the scope of -this work, it may be sufficient to say that the inhabitants of Ireland at -the dawn of authentic history were Celts, of the same grand division as -the bulk of the Scots Highlanders, but differing considerably from the -people of Wales. Their organisation in the twelfth century had not passed -beyond the tribal stage.[1] - -[Sidenote: The Irish Monarchy or Pentarchy.] - -There was a monarch of all Ireland, who had Meath--the Middle--as his -official appanage, and who reigned originally at Tara. There were -provincial kings of Ulster, Munster, Leinster, and Connaught. A primacy -was given to the race of Niall, who lived presumably in the fourth and -fifth centuries, and from whom the O'Neills, O'Donnells, and others trace -their descent. The theory is thought to have been pretty closely adhered -to until the desertion of Tara in the sixth century of our era. After -that the over-king lived in his own territory; but his authority was -often disputed, especially by Munster, the revolt of which province -finally broke up the old order.[2] - -[Sidenote: Weakness of the Brehon law.] - -Wars were frequent, and Irish Brehons, who were rather legal experts than -judges, exerted themselves to define rights and liabilities, and to -establish a peaceful polity. Perhaps in laying down the law they -sometimes rather stated their own conception of what it ought to be than -described the actual state of things; much as Brahminical writers -propounded a theory of caste which cannot be reconciled with historical -truth. Neither the Church nor the Law had always original power -sufficient to enforce steady obedience. The Law might be clear enough, -but the central government was often too weak to secure respect for the -opinion of experts. Portia might have argued like a very Daniel, but she -could have done nothing without the Duke behind her. In the absence of -such an overpowering authority, the decisions of the Brehons were little -more than arbitrations which might be, and probably often were, accepted -as final, but on which neither party could be compelled to act.[3] - -[Sidenote: Ireland was outside the imperial system.] - -In the treatise called the 'Senchus Mór' there is a passage which may be -as old as the fourteenth century, in which it is allowed that the nature -of Irish royalty varied considerably from time to time. 'The King of Erin -without opposition,' says the writer or interpolator, 'received stock -from the King of the Romans; or it was by the successor of Patrick the -stock is given to the King of Erin, that is, when the seaports of Dublin, -and Waterford, and Limerick, and the seaports in general, are subject to -him.' There is here an attempt at once to bring Ireland within the pale -of the Empire, and to show that the Irish Church was independent. It was -natural that the Brehons should seek to introduce their country into the -circle of nations, but we know as a matter of fact that the Empire never -had anything to do with Ireland. The passage quoted may have been -inspired by a wish to deny English supremacy by attorning, as it were, to -the superior lord. It is a tribute to the greatness of the Empire more -than anything else, and it was not thought of until the Brehon law -schools had fallen from their high estate. - -[Sidenote: The tribal system. The chief.] - -It was by giving stock that an Irish chief showed his power and added to -his wealth. There were lands attached to his office, but his capital -consisted of kine, and he extracted a sort of rent by obliging his -inferiors to give them pasture. The number of cattle which he 'grazed -without loss' upon other people's ground was the measure of his power and -popularity. There were free tribesmen the amount of whose obligation to -their chief was strictly laid down, though a greater quantity of stock -might be voluntarily taken under certain restrictions. But there were -also servile or semi-servile classes whose comparatively unprotected -condition placed them more or less in the power of the chief to whose -sept they were attached. An ambitious chief would always have -opportunities of aggrandisement, and his wealth enabled him to support a -mercenary force, and to grow strong at the expense of his own and other -tribes. Broken men who had lost their own tribal position would always -flock to an ambitious chief, and the disturbing influence of such -retainers was often too strong for Brehons or priests. But the growth of -power by means of mercenaries was not peculiar to Ireland, and was -perhaps less frequent than is commonly supposed.[4] - -[Sidenote: Frequency of war.] - -Whatever the advantages of a pure Celtic system, it did not secure -general peace. There is no period of which Celtic Ireland may be more -justly proud than that between the death of St. Columba in 597 and the -death of St. Gall about 640. It was the age in which the Irish saint -Columbanus bearded Thierri and Brunehaut, in which Ireland herself was a -noted seat of learning, and in which the monasteries of Luxueil, of St. -Gall, and of Bobbio were founded by Irishmen. Yet, under thirty years out -of forty-four either battle or murder is recorded in the _Chronicon -Scotorum_. In some years there were several battles and several murders. - -In 628 Leinster was devastated. Quarrels between near relations were -frequent, and often ended in murder. When we consider that the deaths of -important people only are recorded, we cannot pronounce the Ireland which -sent forth Aidan, and Adamnan, and Columbanus to have been at all a -peaceful country. Christianity was then established, and no Scandinavian -irruption had yet hindered the development of purely native ideas. But -Irish chroniclers, perhaps owing to their genealogical turn, give a -disproportionate space to deaths; and it may be admitted that the number -of homicides was not greater in Ireland than in some parts of Germany in -feudal times.[5] - -[Sidenote: Celtic law of succession.] - -Primogeniture, which is practically incompatible with the tribal stage of -political organisation, was perhaps formally acknowledged at a very -remote period, but was unknown as a rule of succession to Irish chiefries -in the ages with which this book chiefly deals. In those comparatively -modern times a vacancy was filled from the same family, but the person -chosen was generally a brother or a cousin of the deceased. It seldom -happened, perhaps, that an Irish chief, who was necessarily a warrior, -attained threescore and ten years, and on an average a son would be less -likely to make an able leader than one of an older generation. To avoid -disputed successions, an heir-apparent, called the tanist, was chosen -before a vacancy actually occurred, and sometimes probably against the -wish of the reigning chief. Very often the sons refused to accept the -tanist, and bloody quarrels followed. This system stank in the nostrils -of the Tudor lawyers; but in the twelfth century the true principle of -hereditary succession was not fully understood. It was, perhaps, a -suspicion that his eldest son might not succeed him quietly that induced -Henry II. to crown him in his lifetime. A later and much stronger analogy -may be found in the history of the Empire. Charles V. procured the -election of his brother Ferdinand as king of the Romans, and he was -actually crowned. Many years later Charles wished to substitute his son -Philip; but Ferdinand refused to yield, and he was sustained by the -electors, who had no mind to see the Empire become an appendage of the -Spanish monarchy. The influence of the Irish Brehons probably tended to -prevent chiefries from becoming hereditary. In such cases as the earldom -of Desmond we have a mixture of the two systems; the earls were chiefs as -regarded the Irish; but their succession to the honour, and through it to -the quasi-chiefry, was regulated by feudal rules. - -[Sidenote: Tudor view of the Celtic land law.] - -As the chief was elected by his tribe from among a limited number, so was -the land distributed among the tribesmen within certain fixed limits. As -it is with England's treatment of Ireland that we have to do, it may be -as well to let Sir John Davies himself say how the matter appeared to the -Tudor lawyers:-- - -[Sidenote: Septs.] - -'First be it known that the lands possessed by the mere Irish in this -realm were divided into several territories or countries; and the -inhabitants of each Irish country were divided into several septs or -lineages.' - -[Sidenote: Lord and tanist.] - -'Secondly, in every Irish territory there was a lord or chieftain, and a -tanist who was his successor apparent. And of every Irish sept or lineage -there was also a chief, who was called Canfinny, or head of a -"cognatio."' - -[Sidenote: Tanistry and gavelkind.] - -'Thirdly, all possessions in these Irish territories (before the common -law of England was established through all the realm as it now is) ran at -all times[6] in course of tanistry, or in course of gavelkind. Every -lordship or chiefry, with the portion of land that passed with it, went -without partition to the tanist, who always came in by election, or by -the strong hand, and never by descent.[7] But all the inferior tenancies -were partible among the males in gavelkind.'[8] - -[Sidenote: No estate of inheritance.] - -'Again, the estate which the lord had in the chiefry, or that the -inferior tenants had in gavelkind, was no estate of inheritance, but a -temporary or transitory possession. For just as the next heir of the -lord or chieftain would not inherit the chiefry, but the eldest and -worthiest of the sept (as was before shown in the case of tanistry), who -was often removed and expelled by another who was more active or stronger -than he: so lands in the nature of gavelkind were not partible among the -next heirs male of him who died seised, but among all the males of his -sept, in this manner:-- - -[Sidenote: Partitions of tribal land.] - -'The Canfinny, or chief of a sept (who was commonly the most ancient of -the sept) made all the partitions at his discretion. This Canfinny, after -the death of each tenant holding a competent portion of land, assembled -all the sept, placed all their possessions in hotchpotch, and made a new -partition of the whole; in which partition he did not assign to the sons -of the deceased the portion which their father held, but allotted the -better or larger part to each one of the sept according to his -antiquity.'[9] - -[Sidenote: Effect of frequent partitions.] - -'These portions being thus allotted and assigned were possessed and -enjoyed accordingly until the next partition, which, at the discretion or -will of the Canfinny, might be made at the death of each inferior tenant. -And thus by these frequent partitions and the removals or translations of -the tenants of one portion or another, all the possessions were -uncertain, and the uncertainty of possession was the very cause that no -civil habitations were erected, and no enclosure or improvement of lands -made, in the Irish countries where that custom of gavelkind was in use; -especially in Ulster, which seemed everywhere a wilderness before this -new plantation made there by the English undertakers. And this was the -fruit of this Irish gavelkind.' - -[Sidenote: Position of daughters and of bastard sons.] - -'Also by this Irish custom of gavelkind bastards took their shares with -the legitimate, and wives, on the other hand, were quite excluded from -dower, and daughters took nothing, even if their father died without -issue male. So that this custom differed from Kentish gavelkind in four -points.'[10] - -[Sidenote: Four points peculiar to Irish gavelkind.] - -The four points were the certainty of estate in each share, the exclusion -of bastards, the admission of a widow to one moiety, and the admission of -females in default of issue male. For which reasons, says Sir John, the -Kentish custom was always held good and lawful by the law of England. He -admits, however, that the Irish custom had a counterpart in North Wales, -which had been totally abolished by Henry VIII., along with other usages -resembling those of Ireland. Edward I. had only ventured to exclude -bastards, and to give widows their dowry.[11] - -[Sidenote: Sir John Davies did not exhaust the subject.] - -Notwithstanding the above decision, it is probable that a description of -tanistry and gavelkind does not exhaust the subject. The theoretical -division among all the males of a sept is not at all likely to have been -carried out, except in very early times. Human nature was against it. -From the twelfth century the example of the Anglo-Normans, which cannot -have been altogether without weight, was against it. The interest of the -chief was everywhere against it, because it would deprive him of the -means of rewarding his friends, and because he was always tempted to -seize lands to his own use. The tendency to private property would be -always asserting itself, but the exact historical truth can never be -known. Before the close of the mediæval period, a great part of Ireland -had been reconquered by the tribes from Anglo-Norman hands. Is it -possible that the Irish land system can have been anywhere restored in -its integrity? On the whole, it is at least probable that English -statesmen in the sixteenth century made as many mistakes about tenures in -Ireland as their representatives in the eighteenth and part of the -nineteenth made about tenures in India. Good faith may be generally -granted in both cases, but the blunders made were no less disastrous. It -is at all events clear that primogeniture was no Celtic usage, that it is -no part of the law of nature, and that the Tudor lawyers treated it as an -end in itself, and almost as a necessary element in the eternal fitness -of things. In the twelfth century Irish practice may have come much -nearer to theory than in the sixteenth; at all events, Henry II.'s grants -to individuals were absolutely opposed to Celtic notions of justice. - -[Sidenote: Composition for murder.] - -[Sidenote: Celtic usages part of the common Aryan stock.] - -[Sidenote: The conflict of laws is the key to Anglo-Irish history.] - -The Irish admitted composition for murder. This blood-fine, called an -_eric_, was an utter abomination to the English of the sixteenth century, -who had quite forgotten the laws and customs of their own Teutonic -ancestors. To men long used to a strong central government such a custom -seemed impious. It was nevertheless part of the common heritage of the -Aryan race, and had been in vogue among the peoples from whom the later -English sprung. The Njal Saga illustrates its use among the Icelanders by -many famous cases strictly in point. The feudal system and the canon law -had caused the Teutonic nations to abandon a usage which they once had in -common with the Irish. Celtic Ireland had never had a very strong central -government, and such as it was it had sustained serious damage. Homicide -was still considered a personal injury. The rule was not a life for a -life, but adequate damages for the loss sustained. The idea of public -justice, irrespective of private interests, was far in advance of the -stage which had been reached by the Irish Celts. Irish history cannot be -understood unless the fact is clearly grasped, that the development of -the tribal system was violently interrupted by a feudal half-conquest. -The Angevin and Plantagenet kings were strong enough to shake and -discredit the native polity; but they had neither the power nor the -inclination to feudalise a people which had never gone through the -preliminary stages. When the Tudors brought a more steadfast purpose and -better machinery to the task, they found how hard it was to evolve order -out of the shattered remnants of two systems which had the same origin, -but which had been so brought together as to make complete fusion -impossible. From the first the subjects of England and the natives of -Ireland had been on entirely different planes. Even for us it is -extremely difficult to avoid confusion by applying modern terms to -ancient things. The Tudor lawyers and statesmen could hardly even attempt -to look at jarring systems from the outside. They saw that the common law -was more advanced than that of the Brehons, but they could not see that -they were really the same thing at different stages. In fact, plain -Englishmen in the sixteenth century could not do what only the most -enlightened Anglo-Indians can do in the nineteenth. They were more -civilised than the Irish, but they were not educated enough to recognise -the common ancestor. That there was a common ancestor, and that neither -party could recognise him, is the key to Anglo-Irish history both before -and after the Tudor times. - -[Sidenote: Origin of the Irish Church. Patrick and Columba.] - -[Sidenote: Exile of Columba.] - -[Sidenote: Saint Bridget.] - -The early history of the native Irish Church is shrouded in much -obscurity. The best authorities are disposed to accept St. Patrick as the -apostle of Ireland, the fifth century as the period of his labours, and -Armagh as his chief seat. He was not a native of Ireland; so much seems -certain. A more interesting, because a more clearly defined figure, is -that of Columba or Columkille, who was born in Donegal in 521. The -churches of Derry, Durrow, Kells, Swords, Raphoe, Tory Island, and -Drumcliff, claim him as their founder; but it is as the apostle of North -Britain that he is best known. He was religious from his youth, but a -peculiarly serious tinge was given to his mind by a feeling of remorse -for bloodshed which he had partly caused. He had surreptitiously -transcribed a psalter belonging to another saint, who complained of this -primitive infringement of copyright. A royal decision that 'to every cow -belongs her calf' was given, and was followed by an appeal to arms. Exile -was then imposed as a penance on Columba, whose act had been the -original cause of offence. Such was long the received legend, but perhaps -the exile was voluntary.[12] Whether his departure was a penance or the -result of a vow, tradition says that he was bound never to see Ireland -again, that he landed first on Oronsay, but found that Erin was visible -from thence, and refused to rest until he had reached Iona. His supposed -feelings are recorded in a very ancient poem:-- - - 'My vision o'er the brine I stretch - From the ample oaken planks; - Large is the tear of my soft grey eye - When I look back upon Erin. - Upon Erin my attention is fixed.' - -Columba was the Paul of Celtic Christianity. By him and his disciples a -great part of Scotland was evangelised, and it was to him that the -British Church looked as a founder when the time came to decide between -the relative pretensions of the Celtic and the Norman type of religion. -St. Bridget or Bride, who died four years after Columba's birth, is -scarcely less celebrated. She was born near Dundalk, and her chief seat -was at Kildare. She was the mother of Irish female monachism, and in -popular estimation is not less famous than Patrick, and perhaps more so -than Columba.[13] - -[Sidenote: The Irish Church was originally monastic.] - -Irish Christianity was at first monastic. A saint obtained a grant of -land from a chief. A church was built, and a settlement sprung up round -it. The family, as it was called, consisted partly of monks and partly of -dependents, and the abbot ruled over all as chief of a pseudo-tribe. Like -a lay chiefry the abbacy was elective, and the abbots wielded -considerable power. These ecclesiastical clans even made war with each -other. Thus, it is recorded that in 763 the family of St. Ciaran of -Clonmacnoise fought with the family of St. Columba of Durrow, and that -200 of the Columbides fell. The head of such a confraternity was called -coarb, or successor of the founder, and Irish writers sometimes called -the Pope 'coarb of Peter.' In course of time the coarb of Patrick -crystallised into the Archbishop of Armagh, and the coarb of Columba into -the Bishop of Derry. Other saints were revered as the founders of other -sees. Very often at least the abbot was chosen from among the founder's -kin. - -[Sidenote: The early Church was episcopal, but not territorially so.] - -Episcopal orders were acknowledged from the first, but it was long before -the notion of a territorial bishop prevailed. In early days there were -many bishops, wanderers sometimes, and at other times retained by the -abbot as a necessary appendage to his monastery. The bishop was treated -with great respect, but was manifestly inferior to the head of a -religious house. St. Patrick was said to have consecrated 350 bishops, -founded 700 churches, and ordained 5,000 priests; a mere legend, but -perhaps tending to show that the episcopal order was very numerous in -Ireland. Travelling bishops without definite duties, and with orders of -doubtful validity, became a scandal to more regularly organised churches, -and drew down a rebuke from Anselm as late as the beginning of the -twelfth century. At an earlier period impostors pretending to be Irish -bishops were not uncommon.[14] - -[Sidenote: Ireland gradually conformed to Roman usage.] - -The Irish Church long continued to keep Easter on a different day from -that sanctioned by Rome, and to use a different form of tonsure. But the -inconvenience of such dissidence from the general body of Western -Christendom was soon felt. About 630 Pope Honorius I. addressed a letter -to the Irish Church, in which he reminded the clergy that they were a -scanty company inhabiting a remote region, and that it could not be for -their interest to remain isolated. Cummian, afterwards seventh abbot of -Iona, warmly espoused the papal cause. 'Rome errs,' he said with great -scorn, 'Jerusalem errs, Alexandria errs, Antioch errs, the whole world -errs--the Britons and Irish are the only right-minded people.' The -southern Irish followed Cummian, but the northern rejected his advice, -and some even called him a heretic; yet this did not prevent his being -elected to fill Columba's chair. Adamnan, ninth abbot of Iona, and -biographer of the great founder, was no less earnest on the Roman side -than Cummian had been. At the Synod of Whitby in 664 Wilfred discomfited -Colman of Lindisfarne, and settled the question so far as England was -concerned. Adamnan lived till 704, and succeeded in converting nearly all -the Irish churches, except those subject to his own monastery. - -[Sidenote: Close of the Paschal controversy, 716.] - -In 716, under Duncadh, the eleventh abbot, Iona conformed, and the -Paschal controversy came to an end, after lasting 150 years. The coronal -tonsure was adopted three years later. The supremacy of Rome was thus -acknowledged, but circumstances long prevented the Irish from adopting -the Roman plan of Church organisation. - -[Sidenote: Influence of the Scandinavian invasions on the Church.] - -[Sidenote: The Eugenian Constitution, 1151.] - -The Scandinavian inroads began towards the close of the century which -witnessed the submission of Iona. It is probable that the influx of pagan -Northmen kept Ireland apart from the rest of Christendom. The ninth -century produced Erigena and other eminent Irishmen, but a country in -which Christianity was fighting for bare life was not a promising field -for Church reformers or systematisers. It was not until Clontarf had -finally decided the cause in favour of Christianity that Ireland had -again leisure to think of ecclesiastical polity. Gillebert of Limerick, -an Ostman, was the first papal legate, and as such presided at the synod -of Rathbreasil in or about 1118, where the first serious attempt was made -to divide all Ireland into dioceses. The great influence of Malachi of -Armagh was exerted in the same direction. He was the friend of Bernard of -Clairvaux, and he introduced the Cistercian order into Ireland. Pope -Eugenius III., himself a Cistercian, finished the work, and in 1151 -Ireland accepted four archiepiscopal palls from Rome. From that date the -Irish Church must be held to have fully accepted not only papal supremacy -but Roman organisation. That she had not done so long before seems due to -accident more than anything else. From mere remoteness of position -Ireland had escaped the dominion of Imperial Rome. From the same -remoteness she was comparatively slow to feel the influence of Papal -Rome. Still, it can scarcely be doubted that had it not been for the -Scandinavian intrusion, the Ireland which adopted the Roman Easter and -the Roman tonsure before the middle of the eighth century, would have -gladly accepted the palls long before the middle of the twelfth.[15] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] As to the divisions and sub-divisions of the ancient Irish people, I -prefer to give the following statement of Dr. Sullivan:--'The unit -territory was the _Tuath_, each of which had a _Ri_, or chief. Three, -four, or even more _Tuatha_ were connected together for military and -other purposes as a _Mór Tuath_; the king or chief of the confederacy, -who acted as Commander-in-Chief, was the _Ri Mór Tuatha_, or great chief. -This group corresponded to the Gothic _Thiuda_, old Norse _Thjoth_. The -Irish unit _Tuath_ corresponded to the Norse _Fylk_, the Teutonic _Gavi_ -or _Gau_, the Greek _Phyle_, and the old Latin _Tribus_; it was at first -genealogical, but acquired a geographical and political signification. -The tribe or _Tuath_ consisted in some cases of a _Clann_, the progeny or -descendants of a chief. Sometimes a _Clann_ embraced several _Tuatha_. -_Clann_ was strictly genealogical, _Tuath_ both genealogical and -geographical. The _Clann_ consisted of families or houses called _Fine_, -equivalent to _Cognatio_--the Anglo-Saxon _Maegth_. The head of a _Fine_ -was the _Cendfinne_ or chieftain. The _Fine_ was a sept. The _Clann_ -therefore consisted of several septs, and the land of the tribe or -_Tuath_ was divided between the septs or _Fine_ composing it. The _Fine_ -or sept is one of the most important parts of the Irish organisation, but -the word is used in several senses: thus, the relatives of a chief or -other tribesman to the fifth degree constituted the true _Cognatio_ or -_Geilfine_, i.e. Hand-_fine_. The _Fine_ or sept was in fact an -independent unit, which paid _Erics_ for all its members, and received -_Erics_ or fines for the killing of one of its own members, and also took -possession of the _Dibad_ or property of its deceased members. But when -the sept did not fulfil its obligations, the _Ri_ of the _Tuath_ was -bound to enforce justice. So when the _Tuath_ itself failed in its -obligations and duties, the _Ri Mór Tuatha_ or superior chief was bound -to enforce justice in the recalcitrant tribe. The _Ri Mór Tuatha_, or _Ri -buiden_, or king of companies, corresponded to the Anglo-Saxon _Heretoga_ -or Dux. The King of the Great Tribe received hostages from the sub-reguli -of his territory for their _Ceílsine_ or fealty, and he might call upon -them to support him with a levy of their tribes.' - -[2] 'The existence of the Irish Pentarchy,' says Dr. Sullivan, 'was as -real as that of any similar confederacy among nations in a tribal stage, -and the means of enforcing the orders of the over-king were not very -different or less effective than in many federal states--ancient, -mediæval, and modern.' - -[3] 'It is quite true,' says Dr. Sullivan, 'that the central power was -not always strong enough to enforce rights, and in many instances was -defeated in its attempt to do so. But in what does this differ from other -federal states, ancient and modern? The Emperors of Germany were not -always able to subdue and to enforce their decrees against the princes -and nobles of the Empire, and in numerous instances the decisions of the -imperial chancery might be regarded in precisely the same light--as mere -arbitrations. To say there was no law, properly speaking, seems to me -wholly irreconcilable with actual facts, and _especially with the -existence of a rich and elaborate nomenclature of native terms not -borrowed from Roman law_. This nomenclature implies an equally elaborate -machinery. It was the existence of this legal system which kept out the -canon law, which never, for instance, succeeded in suppressing or even -modifying the marriage customs. In discussing the laws and institutions -of early nations we are liable to go to one or other of two -extremes:--(1) We represent the laws, &c., in terms of modern law, by -which we make inchoate institutions full-grown, while the germs of a -legal system are represented as a fully developed code; or (2) we deny -the existence of all law and legislation. You are right I think as -regards the Church; for owing to the organisation of the old Celtic -Church it was perfectly acephalous. Whatever influence it did exert was -individual and never official, and, therefore, not continuous--it might -be described in fact as sporadic influence.' - -[4] 'All through the laws,' says Dr. Sullivan, 'there is ample evidence -to prove that the tribesmen, or _Aires_, were bound to take stock from -the _Ri_, or chief, only. The amount of this stock, called _Saer_, or -free-stock, is strictly laid down, and the amount of the tribute payable -for this stock, called _Bestigi_, or house-refection, or tribute, is also -strictly laid down. But if the _Ri_ were wealthy he might offer more -stock to his _Ceiles_, clients or vassals, on condition of paying him -certain dues, called _Biatad_. The stock so given was called _Daer_, or -base-stock; and its acceptance by a tribesman made a _Daer-ceilé_ of him, -and placed him very much in the power of the _Ri_, or chief. No tribesman -could accept _Daer-stock_ without the consent of his _Fine_, or sept, -which would be bound by the acts of its members. A tribesman, with the -consent of his _Fine_, might accept _Daer-stock_ from any _Flath_, or -lord, in his own _Tuath_, or tribe. All the above applies to the -tribesmen, or _Aires_, who alone constituted the free class. But besides -the _Ceiles_, or clients, or free tribesmen, or _Aires_, there was -another class, called _Fuidirs_. The markland of the tribe and the land -held in severalty of the _Ri_, and the similar land of the _Cendfinne_, -or chieftain (or captain, as he is called in the Scottish Highlands) of a -sept was let out to various classes of _Fuidirs_. Some were _Saer_, or -free _Fuidirs_, and others _Daer_, or base Fuidirs. The _Saer-fuidirs_, -again, were of two sorts--broken tribesmen who went into another _Tuath_ -and got stock as well as land from a _Ri_, or _Flath_, and _Saer-fuidirs_ -who possessed some stock of their own which they grazed on land of a -chief or of a _Flath_. Some of these free _Fuidirs_ entered into _daer_, -or servitude, by accepting stock under certain conditions. The _Fuidir_ -classes were the true tenants at will. The _Aires_ were of the clan, the -_Fuidirs_, _Bottachs_, or cottiers, and other servile classes, _belonged_ -to the clan. The giving and taking of _Daer-stock_ depended upon the -impoverishment of a sept through cattle murrain, the levying of -blood-fines on account of the misconduct of some of its members, &c. But -the whole thing was voluntary, and depended on the poverty of a sept and -the wealth and ability of the _Ri_, or _Flath_.' - -[5] Dr. Sullivan does not think Christianity was fully established by the -middle of the seventh century. 'The Irish Church organisation,' he says, -'was ill calculated to influence the social habits and the political life -of the people; unlike the diocesan and centralised system of the Latin -Church. Hence a high spiritual life and intellectual cultivation within -the numerous coenobiums was quite compatible with practical paganism and -disorder outside.' - -[6] 'At all times' must be understood to refer only to those -comparatively modern ages above mentioned. - -[7] 'The election,' says Dr. Sullivan, 'was always from the _Geilfine_, -or relatives within the fifth degree. Should the _Geilfine_ fail, or be -all killed in battle, the _Derbfine_, or relatives from the fifth to the -ninth degree, came in.' - -[8] 'This,' says Dr. Sullivan, 'is not right. There was the "joint -undivided family" formed by the _Bo-aire_ class, or freemen possessed of -cattle. The poorer _Flaths_, or heads of septs, did not gavel their -possessions, but either elected a tanist or formed a "joint undivided -family." When the property of an _Aire_ was not sufficient to gavel, so -as to qualify one or more _Aires_, the division of the inheritance did -not take place, but the parties agreed to form a "_joint_ undivided -family." In such a family one was head, and as such was an _Aire_. -_Bo-aires_ of this class, to avoid the gavelling of their property, -elected a _Tanist_--the _Tanaise Bo-aire_. Poor and broken tribesmen, not -having sufficient wealth to qualify them as _Aires_, formed a -"joint-family," or _Congilda_. Every _Flath_, or head of a sept, had a -tanist also. The Irish "joint-family" was an institution of great -importance and of surpassing interest in the comparative history of the -Aryan family.' - -[9] 'This account of Davies,' says Dr. Sullivan, 'is entirely wrong. The -law of the distribution of the property of a deceased tribesman was most -carefully laid down. No doubt then as now, and naturally more frequently -then than now, a chief, or head of a sept, or of a _Treb_ (homestead) -might usurp power he did not possess, and do wrong.' - -[10] 'Marriages in Ireland,' says Dr. Sullivan, 'were not regulated by -canon law. The Irish marriage customs were in full force long after the -Norman conquest. According to these customs, which appear to have been -wholly uninfluenced by the canon law, bastardy was entirely different -from what that term implied in countries under canon law, and in modern -times. The Irish marriage customs should consequently be taken into -account here, as they sanctioned a kind of polygamy, divorce, &c. See -also the excommunication in 1282, by the Archbishop of Canterbury against -Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, at the request of Edward I., in which the -marriage customs of the Welsh, identical with those of the Irish, -constitute one of the charges.' - -[11] _Le Résolution des justices touchant le Irish custome de gavelkind._ -Reported by Sir John Davies, A.G., 3 Jac. i. - -[12] Dr. Sullivan believes the story of the decision against Columba to -be a mere myth. - -[13] 'The Irish Church,' says Dr. Sullivan, 'had undoubtedly two distinct -phases of monasticism: one that of the Patrician period--an obscure but -highly important and interesting phase; the other, that of the sixth and -subsequent centuries, to which the Irish missionaries belonged.' - -[14] 'Besides,' says Dr. Sullivan, 'the monastic bishop proper, who -furnished the wandering Scotic bishops of the Middle Ages, there is a -later development of a higher church organisation in the tribal bishop, -who was a close approximation to a diocesan bishop. The tribal bishop was -a bishop who had jurisdiction over the whole of a _Tuath_, and sometimes -even a _Mór Tuath_. The growth of territorial jurisdiction is well marked -by the prestige attached to the office--the bishop ranked in fact almost -on a level with the chief, and was entitled to the same legal retinue. -Many of the ancient dioceses, and some of the existing ones, _e.g._ Ross, -Kilmacduagh, Kilfenora, represent ancient _Tuaths_, or tribe territories. -Several deaneries were former dioceses, and are co-extensive with ancient -_Tuatha_. - -[15] Dr. Sullivan warns me not to attribute too much influence to the -Danish Church. 'The tribe-bishop,' he says, 'was a much earlier -development, and proves the growth of diocesan jurisdiction and the -consequent merging of the Irish Church in the Latin Church. The -acceptance of the Roman time for celebrating Easter by the Irish Church -and the constant intercourse between Ireland and the Continent had -brought the Irish Church fully under Roman supremacy three and a half -centuries earlier. What really took place in the early part of the -twelfth century was the more complete adoption of the organisation of the -Western Church, and of the principles of the canon law; and especially -the granting of lands and charters to the Church in the same way as in -feudal lands. The marriage of Irish princes with Saxon and other foreign -princesses, and the growth of towns which helped to relax its rigid -tribal system, did more than the Danish Church.' The chief towns were, -however, of Danish origin. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE SCANDINAVIAN ELEMENT. - - -[Sidenote: First appearance of the Northmen, 795.] - -Norwegian ships began to appear on the Irish coast in 795, one year after -the destruction of the church at Lindisfarne. The islands were harried, -Lambay being perhaps the first to suffer; everything of value was taken, -and the hermits and anchorites were killed or carried away. Iona, where -the greatest of Irish saints had founded a new Church, was burned or -plundered in 802 and 806. About twelve years after their first visit the -Scandinavians began to venture inland, sacking the monasteries, which -contained such wealth as Ireland then possessed, and slaughtering the -monks. The famous religious community at Bangor, in Down, was thus -destroyed about 824. The first permanent settlement of the northern -invaders was perhaps in the neighbourhood of Limerick. They had a fort at -Cork before 848, and at Dublin before 852. There were also forts on Lough -Foyle and at Waterford. The flat coast between Dublin and the borders of -Meath lay open to a floating enemy, and early obtained the name of -Fingal, or the land of the stranger. - -[Sidenote: Turgesius, 830.] - -In or about 830 a chief arrived who pursued a more ambitious policy. He -is called Turgeis or Turgesius by the Irish, and by the Irish only: this -may be a form of Thorkils or Trygve, and may perhaps be a name applied to -the mysterious hero whom the Scandinavians call Ragnar Lodbrok. Turgesius -landed in Ulster, and planned the complete subjugation of Ireland. He -burned Armagh and drove out St. Patrick's successor, and then took up a -central position near Athlone, whence his flotillas could act on Lough -Ree and Lough Dearg. We know that the Northmen dragged ships or boats -overland to Loch Lomond, and similar feats may have been performed in -Ireland. There was another plundering station on Lough Neagh about the -same time. - -Turgeis mastered the northern half of Ireland, and made frequent -incursions into the other half. Against the Church he showed peculiar -animosity, and his wife used the high altar at Clonmacnoise as a throne -when she gave audience; perhaps she uttered oracular responses from it. -In the south Turgeis was less powerful, for the dispossessed abbot of -Armagh took refuge at Emly in Tipperary. But the whole coast was attacked -by innumerable corsairs, who sometimes made raids far into the central -districts. Dublin was fortified by the Norwegians about 840, and became -the chief seat of the Scandinavian power. Turgeis did not live to unite -the various bands, but fell into the hands of Malachi, King of Meath, in -845, and was drowned in Lough Owel. The Northmen of Limerick were -defeated in the same year at Roscrea, and their earl, Olfin, was -slain.[16] - -[Sidenote: A.D. 852. - -The Black and White Gentiles.] - -Seven years after the death of Turgeis came the Black Gentiles, who are -generally supposed to have been Danes, as the White Gentiles were -certainly Norwegians. Whether the colour of their armour or their -complexion was referred to is doubtful. The new-comers made themselves -masters of Dublin, and of the plunder which the first invaders had -accumulated from all the Irish churches. Before one of the battles fought -to decide whether Black or White Pagans were to enjoy this property, -Horm, or Gorm, the Danish chief, is said to have invoked St. Patrick, a -singular confusion of ideas, which may have resulted from intercourse -with Christians in England. Victory followed. The Black Gentiles seem to -have retained their supremacy; but the distinction becomes partly -obliterated, and the Danes, of whom we read later, were probably -intermingled with Norwegians. It is recorded that Amlaf, son of the King -of Norway, came to Ireland in 852 or 853, that all the foreigners of Erin -submitted to him, and that the Irish also paid tribute. The name of the -Black Gentiles is believed to be preserved in the little town of -Baldoyle. - -[Sidenote: Forty years' peace.] - -Amlaf and his sons were not satisfied with the spoils of thrice plundered -churches, but everywhere violated tombs in search of gold ornaments. -Another great chief was Ivar, who appears to have been Ivar Beinlaus, son -of Ragnar Lodbrok, and founder of the Northumbrian kingdom, which was -afterwards closely connected with the Irish Danes. To the Norwegians who -fled to Ireland from the iron rule of Harold Harfager, the King of Dublin -was one of the chief sovereigns on earth. Carrol, lord of Ossory, was in -alliance with Amlaf and Ivar, and ruled Dublin after their deaths; but he -died about 885, and a Norse dynasty was then re-established by force. A -dozen years later another Carrol drove the foreigners across the Channel, -but Sitric, king of Northumberland, regained the fortress in 919, and the -Celts do not appear to have recaptured it. For a period of some forty -years, ending about 916, Ireland is said to have had a little rest. The -enemy may have had enough to do elsewhere, but their predatory -expeditions did not entirely cease. There were perhaps no fresh invasions -in force, but former settlers held their own against the Irish, with whom -they were generally at war. - -[Sidenote: Renewed invasions, 916.] - -[Sidenote: Severe treatment of the natives.] - -Whatever may have caused the period of comparative rest, the Danish -incursions began again with renewed vigour. A great host came to -Waterford in 916, defeated the men of Leinster, and harried all the south -of Ireland; churches, as usual, attracting their special attention. -Ragnal, Ivar's grandson, represented by the Ulster annalists as king of -all the Irish Scandinavians, was the chief leader, and he afterwards led -his men to Scotland, where the great but indecisive battle of Tynemoor -was fought.[17] Sitric, Ragnal's brother, took Dublin from the Irish, who -had, perhaps, held it since 902, and on Ragnal's death succeeded to the -royal title. The natives had occasional successes, but on the whole they -were conspicuously inferior in the field, and Nial Glundubh, King of -Ireland, who headed a great confederacy, fell in the attempt to recover -Dublin. Twelve chiefs or kings of northern and central tribes are said to -have died at the same time. After this reverse all serious attempt to -check the invaders seems to have been given up, and fleet after fleet -brought hordes of oppressors to the ill-fated island. Munster suffered -especially, and the general nature of a Danish invasion cannot be better -apprehended than by transcribing the chronicler's words:--'And assuredly -the evil which Erin had hitherto suffered was as nothing compared to the -evil inflicted by these parties. All Munster was plundered by them on all -sides and devastated, and they spread themselves over Munster and built -earth-works and towers and landing-places over all Erin, so that there -was no place in Erin without numerous fleets of Danes and pirates; so -that they made spoil-land and sword-land and conquered-land of her -throughout her breadth and generally; and they ravaged her chieftainries, -privileged churches, and sanctuaries, and demolished her shrines, -reliquaries, and books. They wrecked her beautiful ornamental temples: -for neither veneration, nor honour, nor mercy for holy ground, nor -protection for church or sanctuary, for God or man, was felt by this -furious, ferocious, pagan, ruthless, wrathful people. In short, until the -sand of the sea, the grass of the field, or the stars of heaven are -counted it will not be easy to recount or enumerate or relate what the -Gaedhil, all, without distinction, suffered from; whether men or women, -boys or girls, laics or clerics, freemen or serfs, young or old; -indignity, outrage, injury, and oppression. In a word, they killed the -kings and the chieftains, the heirs to the crown, and the royal princes -of Erin. They killed the brave and the valiant, the stout knights, -champions, soldiers, and young lords, and most of the heroes and warriors -of all Ireland; they brought them under tribute and reduced them to -bondage and slavery. Many were the blooming, lively women; the modest, -mild, comely maidens; the pleasant, noble, stately, blue-eyed young -women; the gentle, well-brought-up youths; and the intelligent, valiant -champions, whom they carried to oppression and bondage over the broad -green sea. Alas! many and frequent were the bright eyes that were -suffused with tears and dimmed with grief and despair at the separation -of son from father, and daughter from mother, and brother from brother, -and relatives from their race and from their tribe.'[18] - -[Sidenote: The Northmen fail to found a permanent kingdom.] - -The Irish Danes became strong enough to interfere with effect in English -politics, and Olaf Cuaran, or Sitricson, King of Dublin, was a general of -the great Scandinavian army which Athelstane overthrew at Brunanburgh. -The Danes were much fewer than the Irish, but their general superiority -during the tenth century was incontestable; and had the invaded people -been of kin to them the kingdom of Canute might have had a counterpart in -Ireland. Irish Celts were only too ready to call in Scandinavian allies -in their internal quarrels, but they could never amalgamate with them. -Occasionally a confederation of tribes would gain a great success, as at -the battle of Tara, where King Malachi defeated the Dublin Danes under -Athelstane's old opponent, Olaf Cuaran. After great slaughter on both -sides the Dublin men had the worst, and were forced to release Donnell, -King of Leinster, who was then in their hands. A great part of Ireland -was at this time subject to the Danes, and the battle of Tara has been -called the end of the 'Babylonish captivity of Ireland, inferior only to -the captivity of hell.' King Olaf went on a pilgrimage to Iona, where he -died in the following year. Thirty-seven years had passed since his -acceptance of Christianity, at least in name; yet the Danes plundered the -sacred isle only five years later, in 986, and killed the abbot and -fifteen of his monks. It is to be noted that the Scandinavian treatment -of churches reacted on the Irish, and that many native warriors came to -regard saints and sanctuaries with as little respect as Turgesius -himself. - -[Sidenote: Their strongest power in Munster.] - -Munster seems to have been more completely subdued than any other part of -Ireland. The Danish stations at Waterford, Cork, and Limerick made -invasion at all times easy, and the sons of Ivar bid fair to found a -lasting dynasty at the latter place. There was a tax-gatherer in every -petty district, a receiver to intercept the dues of every church, a -soldier billeted in every house, 'so that none of the men of Erin ... had -power to give even the milk of his cow, nor as much as the clutch of eggs -of one hen in succour or in kindness to an aged man, or to a friend, but -was forced to preserve them for the foreign steward, or bailiff, or -soldier. And though there were but one milk-giving cow in the house she -durst not be milked for an infant of one night, nor for a sick person, -but must be kept for the steward, or bailiff, or soldier of the -foreigners. And however long he might be absent from his house, his share -or his supply durst not be lessened; although there was in the house but -one cow, it must be killed for the meal of the night, if the means of a -supply could not be otherwise procured.'[19] - -[Sidenote: Succession to the kingdom of Cashel.] - -At last a deliverer arose. According to the will of Olioll Olum, King of -Munster in the third century--such is the theory--the sovereignty of -Cashel, that is of Munster, was to belong alternately to the races of his -two sons, Eoghan Mor and Cormac Cas. The Eoghanachts and Dal Cais are -generally Anglicised as the Eugenians and Dalcassians; the strength of -the former and much stronger tribe being in Cork, Limerick, and -Kerry--that of the latter in Clare. The Eugenian Fergraidh was king in -967, when he was murdered by his own people. Mahon the Dalcassian then -became king, in compliance with the constitutional theory, but not -without a struggle. Urged on by his brother Brian, he attacked the Danish -settlements up and down the country, and became master of Cashel, when -Ivar, finding his supremacy threatened, summoned all that would obey him -to root out utterly the whole Dalcassian race. - -[Sidenote: Molloy, Mahon, and Brian.] - -The tribes of Western Munster generally were disposed to follow Mahon, -but Molloy, King of Desmond, and some others, adhered to the Dane rather -than admit the supremacy of a local rival. A pitched battle took place at -Solloghead, near Tipperary, in which the foreigners and their allies were -totally defeated. Molloy and other chiefs who had taken the losing side -were forced to give hostages to the victor. Mahon burned Limerick and -drove away Ivar, who returned after a year with a great fleet, and fixed -his head-quarters on Scattery Island, where St. Senanus had so sternly -resisted the blandishments of a female saint. - -[Sidenote: Murder of Mahon. Brian succeeds him.] - -For some years Mahon reigned undisputed King of Munster, but his -successes only stimulated the jealousies of Molloy and the other Eugenian -chiefs, who saw their race reduced to play an inferior part. They -accordingly conspired with Ivar, and Molloy procured the treacherous -murder of Mahon. The crime was useless, for Brian was left, and he -immediately succeeded both to the leadership of his own tribe and to the -kingdom of Munster, Molloy having certainly forfeited all moral claim to -the alternate succession. Brian pursued the Danes to their strongholds, -slew Ivar and his sons, and carried off the women and the treasure. There -was, however, still a Scandinavian settlement at Limerick, and we find a -grandson of Ivar afterwards in Brian's service as one of the ten Danish -stewards whom he employed. He was ambitious, and he had experience of the -skill of such officers in extorting contributions from unwilling -subjects. Molloy and his chief allies were slain; and Brian, having -reduced the Limerick Danes to insignificance, turned his arm against -those of Waterford, whose territory he ravaged, and whose Celtic allies, -inhabiting the modern county of Waterford, he easily subdued. Brian was -acknowledged as supreme in Munster, and took security from the principal -churches not to give sanctuary to thieves or rebels. As the consequence -of further expeditions Leinster also became tributary; and thus, in eight -years after his brother's death, Brian was admitted to be supreme in the -southern half of Ireland. - -[Sidenote: Brian aims at being King of all Ireland.] - -In his further expeditions, undertaken with a view of becoming King of -all Ireland, the Danes of Waterford sometimes accompanied Brian; but his -progress towards the desired goal was arrested for a while by a prudent -treaty with Malachi II., head King of Ireland, whom he acknowledged as -undisputed sovereign of the northern half, and by a revolt of the -Leinster men, who were allied with the Danes of Dublin, the united forces -of Brian and Malachi having overthrown the Leinster Danes at Glenmama, -near Dunlavin, Dublin fell an easy prey. The spoils taken are -represented as enormous, and the mention of carbuncles and other precious -stones, of buffalo-horns, goblets, and many-coloured vestures, betoken -some degree of luxury and much commercial activity among the Danes. It is -to be observed that Brian and his followers, though Christians, had no -scruple about making slaves. His panegyrists simply say that the Danes by -their cruelty and oppression had deserved no better treatment. Threshing -and other rough work was done by the male prisoners. Menial work, -including the severe labour of the hand-mill, was done by the women. -'There was not,' we are told, 'a winnowing sheet from Howth to the -furthest point of Kerry that had not a foreigner in bondage on it, nor -was there a quern without a foreign woman.' The fairer and more -accomplished of the Danish women of course underwent the fate of -Chryseis. - -[Sidenote: Brian and the Danes, Gormflaith.] - -Having in vain sought a refuge with the northern Irish, Sitric was forced -to submit to Brian, who reinstated him at Dublin as a tributary king. -Sitric's mother, Gormflaith, or Kormlada, was sister to Maelmordha, King -of Leinster, and her husband, King Olaf, having been dead many years, she -was free to marry Brian, which she did soon after, while Brian's daughter -married Sitric. Wielding thus the whole force of southern Ireland, Brian -called upon Malachi to acknowledge his supremacy. The King of Ireland -sought aid in vain from his kinsmen, the northern Hy Neill, whose king -Aedh, or Hugh, sarcastically remarked that when his clan had held the -chief kingship they had known how to defend their own. No help coming -from Connaught either, Malachi was forced to submit to Brian's power, and -though no formal cession took place the King of Ireland quietly subsided -into King of Meath. - -[Sidenote: Brian, King of all Ireland, 1002.] - -Brian was henceforth reckoned as monarch of Ireland. He invaded Connaught -with a flotilla on the Shannon and an army marching on land, and the -chiefs of the western province were glad to give hostages. The Ulster -potentates falling out among themselves, the north also was easily -subdued, and Brian became the actual lord paramount of Ireland. After -this he made a tour round the island, starting from the Shannon and -marching through Roscommon and over the Curlew mountains into Sligo. -Hugging the coast by Ballyshannon to Donegal, he crossed Barnesmore Gap -into Tyrone, and then passing the Foyle, near Lifford, he went through -Londonderry, Antrim, Down, and Louth, to the neighbourhood of Kells. In a -previous expedition he had visited Armagh and laid twenty ounces of gold -on the altar. A fleet, manned by the Danes of Dublin, Limerick, and -Waterford, seems to have circumnavigated Ireland while he was making the -circuit by land. - -[Sidenote: Brian's supremacy a loose one.] - -[Sidenote: Gormflaith's intrigues.] - -The supremacy of Brian was no doubt an extremely loose one. He had made -no real impression on the northern tribes, and they only waited a -favourable opportunity to cast off the nominal yet galling yoke. But for -about seven years there seems to have been no serious attempt against -him, and he was able to turn his attention to the building of churches -and bridges. It was during this period that a lone woman is said to have -walked unmolested from the Bloody Foreland to Glandore with a gold ring -at the end of a wand. Peace, however, there was not; for Brian was -engaged in at least two warlike expeditions to Ulster, and there was a -fair amount of murder and private war among the minor chiefs. Brian had -repudiated Gormflaith, Maelmordha's sister and Sitric's mother, and -probably not without good reason, for her moral character was by no means -on a par with her beauty and talents, since she had been married -successively to Olaf Cuaran and to Malachi II., and had been repudiated -by both. 'She was,' says the Saga, 'the fairest of all women, and best -gifted in everything that was not in her power, but it was the talk of -men that she did all things ill over which she had any power.' Brian -afterwards married a daughter of the King of Connaught, and when she -died, Gormflaith may have sought to be reinstated. At all events she was -at Kincora when her brother arrived, bringing with him the tribute of -Leinster. Her taunts, and a quarrel which he had with Murrough, Brian's -eldest son, provoked Maelmordha to leave Kincora in anger, and to raise -the standard of revolt. 'Gormflaith,' says the Saga, 'was so grim -against King Brian after their parting, that she would gladly have him -dead, and egged on her son Sitric very much to kill him.' Sitric readily -agreed to Maelmordha's proposal, and so did the northern Hy Neill, who -had never been really conquered, and who at once invaded Meath. After a -gallant struggle against Leinster and Ulster, Malachi was overpowered, -and called upon Brian for help. The King of Ireland, to whom the men of -Connaught remained faithful, accordingly ravaged the country between his -own district and Dublin, but was obliged to retire from before its walls -for want of provisions.[20] - -[Sidenote: Alliance of Sitric and Gormflaith against Brian.] - -Sitric and Gormflaith made use of the breathing space allowed them to -organise a powerful confederacy against Brian. Sitric himself went to -Sigurd, Earl of Orkney, who, after many refusals, at last agreed to join, -on condition of receiving the Crown of Ireland and Gormflaith's land. -'All his men,' says the Saga, 'besought Earl Sigurd not to go into the -war, but it was all to no good.' Gormflaith was well pleased at the -prospect before her, and advised large preparations for the inevitable -struggle. - -[Sidenote: Sitric's allies. Sigurd. Brodir.] - -Sigurd was nominally a Christian, but he reposed his chief trust in the -raven banner which his mother had woven with mighty spells; and many -Scandinavian warriors were still fanatically attached to Thor and Woden. -The Vikings, Ospak and Brodir, were lying off Man, and to them Sitric -next addressed himself in person. The Norsemen do not seem to have -insisted on youth in their wives, for Brodir was induced to join by the -same promises which had been made to Sigurd, and Gormflaith's first -husband had been dead thirty-three years. 'Brodir,' says the Icelandic -account, 'had been a Christian man and a mass deacon, but he had thrown -off his faith and become God's dastard, and now worshipped heathen -fiends, and was of all men most skilled in sorcery. He had the coat of -mail on which no steel would bite. He was both tall and strong, and had -such long locks that he tucked them under his belt. His hair was -black.'[21] - -[Sidenote: Conflict between Christianity and Paganism.] - -Ospak, who had leanings towards Christianity, refused to attack Brian; -indeed, he went over to him, and, according to Norse accounts, was -baptized. An immense force was, however, gradually collected, and -Scandinavian contingents are mentioned from Northumbria, under two Earls, -from Norway, from Orkney and Shetland, Skye and Lewis, from Cantire, -Argyle, and Galloway. Welshmen from Pembrokeshire and Cornwall, -Frenchmen, that is in all probability French Normans, under Karl and -Ebric, and some Flemings under a knight are also spoken of. Romans even -are mentioned, but this may be mere magniloquence. To oppose this motley -host Brian had the men of Munster, Meath, and South-eastern Connaught, -and the Danes of Limerick and probably of Waterford. He may have had the -numerical superiority, for Sigurd told his mother, the wise woman, that -he expected to be outnumbered seven to one. The eve of the battle of -Clontarf was signalised, according to the annalists, by various -supernatural occurrences. A messenger from St. Senanus appeared to the -king, and prophesied his death as the penalty due for violating the -sanctuary on Scattery Island thirty-seven years before. The interests and -prejudices of monastic chroniclers may account for this story, but it is -not so easy to explain the firm belief in pagan deities, in fairies, in -demons, and in satyrs shown by two independent historians. It is evident -that the oracles of heathenism were not supposed to have been dumb more -than 500 years after the death of Patrick, and 400 after that of Columba. -Nor was there any lack of marvels on the Danish side. Brodir, who had -already been plagued by showers of boiling blood, by supernatural noises, -by deaths among his men, and by ravens with beaks and claws of iron, -'tried by sorcery how the fight would go. And the answer ran, that if the -fight were on Good Friday, King Brian would fall but win the day; but if -they fought before, they would all fall that were against him.'[22] - -[Sidenote: Battle of Clontarf, 1014.] - -The battle was fought upon the fateful Friday, and Brian refused to take -part in it because the day was holy. He remained in the rear protected by -a ring of soldiers with their shields locked together. It was observed -that the successive bearers of the raven banner all fell, and Hrafn the -red, who was called by Sigurd to the dangerous duty, refused, saying, -'Bear thine own devil thyself.' ''Tis fittest that the beggar should bear -the bag,' answered the Earl, and put the banner under his cloak. Sigurd -fell, and Sitric had to retire before Ospak. Hrafn the red flew to a -river into which the devils wished to drag him, but a spoken spell -dispersed them. 'Thy dog,' he cried, 'Apostle Peter, hath run twice to -Rome, and he would run the third time if thou gavest him leave.' Of -Thorstein we are told that he interrupted his flight to tie his shoe. -Kerthialfad, Brian's foster son, asked him why he lingered at such a -critical moment, and the Northman returned an answer worthy of Sparta's -best days--'Because I can't get home to-night, since I am at home out in -Iceland.'[23] - -[Sidenote: Death of Brian.] - -In the moment of victory Brian was left behind, and Brodir, who had -lingered for a time in a thicket, broke through the line of shields and -hewed off the king's head. The Viking was taken and disembowelled alive, -according to the Norse account, but the Irish writers say that he fell by -Brian's hands. Sigurd being already dead, Gormflaith lost all chance of a -royal husband, and it is only further recorded of her that she died -sixteen years later. Many other chiefs fell, including Maelmordha, and -Murrough, Brian's favourite son, and the fight was followed, as it had -been heralded, by many signs and wonders both in the Celtic and in the -Scandinavian world. - -[Sidenote: The Danes were not expelled.] - -The popular delusion that the battle of Clontarf caused the expulsion of -the Danes from Ireland must be pretty well dissipated by this time. -Sitric remained with reserves within the fortress, and thus saved his -kingdom; nor do the annalists cease to make frequent mention of the -foreigners. But the defeat was great, and may have had considerable -influence in deciding those who were already hovering between Woden and -Jesus. Fourteen years after Clontarf we find Sitric going to Rome, and -his son Olaf was killed in England when attempting the same pilgrimage. -These facts lend some countenance to the legend that Sitric founded -Christ Church in 1038; for the Roman court well knew how to impress the -rude northern warriors, and to profit in various ways by their simple -faith. We are told that Flosi the Icelander went to Rome to cleanse -himself from the stain of blood-guiltiness, 'where,' says the Njal-Saga, -'he gat so great honour that he took absolution from the Pope himself, -and for that he gave a great sum of money.' - -[Sidenote: But they soon accepted Christianity.] - -Without actually amalgamating, the Danes seem to have drawn gradually -closer to the native Irish. A royal heir of Ulster received the name of -Ragnal less than half a century after Clontarf, and in 1121 a bishop -seems to have been temporarily appointed at Dublin by the joint election -of Irish and Danes. But quarrels were frequent even after the Danes had -become fully Christianised; and when the men of Munster invaded Fingal in -1133, they burned the church of Lusk when it was full of people and -treasures. Nor did fresh invasions quite cease, for Magnus, King of -Norway, made two expeditions to Ireland, in the latter of which, in 1103, -he lost his life. The separate history of the Irish Ostmen was drawing to -a close, even at the date of the Anglo-Norman invasion; but they have -left indelible traces upon the map of Ireland and on the traditional lore -of her people. - -[Sidenote: The Danes were traders.] - -Giraldus informs us that the Scandinavians who settled at Dublin, -Waterford, and Limerick, came under pretence of peaceful trading. The -Irish, he says, were prevented by their innate sloth from going down to -the sea in ships, but were ready to welcome those who would trade for -them, and thus allowed the fierce strangers to get a strong footing. -However this may be, it is certain that the Irish are deficient in -maritime enterprise, and equally certain that the Northmen had a constant -eye to trade as well as to war and plunder. Unerring instinct pointed out -the best stations, and on the sites thus chosen the chief cities of -Ireland were reared. The Kaupmannaeyjar or merchant isles, probably -those now called the Copelands, may have been a rendezvous for passing -vessels. Arabic coins, of which more than 20,000 pieces from more than -1,000 different dies are preserved at Stockholm, have been found in -Ireland, and the Irish Northmen certainly had a coinage of their own, -when the native princes had none. Pieces have been found which were -struck by, or at least for, a Scandinavian king of Dublin as early as the -ninth century, and all coins minted in Ireland up to the Anglo-Norman -invasion were perhaps of similar origin. Many such pieces have been found -in the Isle of Man, and some as far off as Denmark.[24] - -[Sidenote: They were superior to the Irish in peaceful arts.] - -The Irish annalists constantly dwell on the superiority of Norse arms and -armour as a reason for their success in war. Ringmail in particular shows -a high degree of manufacturing skill, and they wore it at Clontarf both -in brass and iron, while none is mentioned in the pompous Irish catalogue -of the arms worn by Brian's troops. Nor was this costly harness worn only -by the Scandinavian leaders, for they are said to have had 1,000 coats of -mail in that one battle. Danish swords which have survived from Brian's -days are of superior workmanship to Irish blades of the same date; and -the Northmen had perhaps a superiority in bows also, though on this point -the annalists are less explicit. The turgid verbosity of these writers -makes it doubtful whether the Danes used poisoned arrows, but no such -thing is mentioned in the Saga. - -[Sidenote: They built the first cities. Dublin, Waterford.] - -The flotillas which Brian maintained on inland waters, and the sea-going -vessels which attended his army in the North, were all manned by Danes, -and a mercantile marine has in every age been the best nursery of naval -power. No doubt the Irish felt the advantage of having commercial -emporiums on their coast, as other shore-going people profited by Greek -and Phoenician colonies. The analogy might easily be carried further, -and Dublin and Waterford might be represented as standing between the -Anglo-Normans and Celts of Ireland, as Massilia stood between the Romans -and Celts of Gaul. It is at all events clear that the Scandinavians -built the first cities and coined the first money in Ireland. - -[Sidenote: Brian's monarchy soon fell to pieces.] - -High as Brian towers above other mediæval Celts--one annalist calls him -the Charlemagne of North-western Europe--it cannot be said that he laid -the foundation of an Irish monarchy. He lived to be eighty, yet none of -his work lasted. Malachi received the honorary office of chief king, from -which his rival's personal prowess had driven him, and the years of his -reign are counted by some annalists without noticing Brian's -intervention, as in the modern case of Charles II. Brian was indeed -doubly a usurper, in wresting Munster from the race of Eoghan, and in -wresting Ireland from the race of Nial, in whom royalty had been vested -for centuries. With all his ceaseless exertions he was little more than a -levier of black mail, who left intact the internal government of weaker -princes. Borumha, or the tribute-taker, if that be really the meaning of -the term, describes his position with sufficient accuracy. When he died -Donnchadh, or Donogh, his son by Gormflaith, became head of his tribe, -and claimed the succession to the Irish monarchy. The Eugenians -repudiated his claim, alleging that their turn, which had been wrongfully -passed over, had now come to reign in Munster. Not satisfied with this, -their two principal chiefs fell out among themselves. The Ossorian -followed suit, and thus Brian's creation crumbled at once into dust. - -More than 150 years elapsed between the battle of Clontarf and the -landing of the first Anglo-Norman, and they were years of almost constant -war and confusion. Had Ireland been left to herself a prince might in -time have arisen strong enough to establish such a monarchy as Brian -failed to found. The Danes had ceased to be a seriously disturbing -influence, but there is no evidence that any such process of -consolidation was going on, and a feudal system, which had lost none of -its vigour, was at last confronted with a tribal system which had lost -none of its inherent weakness. - -[Sidenote: Progress of Christianity.] - -It is impossible to fix the exact date when Christianity began to make -head against the Irish Ostmen. When St. Anschar obtained from the Swedes -a place for his God in the northern pantheon, and when Guthrum and his -officers submitted to baptism in Wessex, a foundation had been laid for a -general Scandinavian conversion. But neither Norway nor the Norwegian -colonies in Iceland, Shetland, Orkney, or the Hebrides, yielded so soon. -Irish anchorites spent some time in Iceland about 795, and when Ingulf -and Lief landed in 870 they found that Irish priests had lately been -there, and had left behind them books, bells, and croziers. The second -batch had probably fled from Ingulf's congeners in Ireland. Olaf -Trygvesson, the first Christian king of Norway, was educated at -Athelstane's court, and the nominal conversion of Norway may date from -the year of his accession. Five years later, in 1000, Christianity was -established by law in Iceland. Removed as she was from English or Roman -influences, Ireland remained a stronghold of paganism after the Danes of -England had been generally converted; and the Irish being on the whole -weaker in war, were scarcely in a position to prove that Woden and Thor -had nothing to say for themselves. Olaf Cuaran was baptized in England. -It is clear that the Irish Danes remained generally pagan throughout the -tenth century, and that the confederacy which failed at Clontarf had to a -great extent been formed against Christianity. The story of Ospak and -Brodir shows that some of the fiercest Danes were beginning to waver, the -question at issue being the relative power of two deities, rather than -the relative merit of two systems. After Clontarf Woden seems to have -been looked upon as beaten. He had been tried and found wanting, like -Baal on Mount Carmel, and the defeated party went over to the stronger -side. - -[Sidenote: The Danish church of Dublin.] - -The connection of the Dublin Danes with their brethren in England had -long been very close, and it was to Canterbury and Rome rather than to -Armagh that they naturally turned. Sitric and Canute were perhaps in the -Eternal City together; their visit was at least almost simultaneous, and -we cannot doubt that every means were taken to prejudice the powerful -neophyte against the pretensions of St. Patrick's successor. An Ostman -named Dunan or Donat is reckoned the first Bishop of Dublin, and is -credited with the foundation of Christ Church. A tradition which may be -true, but which is not supported by contemporary evidence, makes Sitric -the joint founder. From an expression in the celebrated letter of the -Dublin burgesses to Archbishop Ralph d'Eures it may be fairly inferred -that Donat had his succession from Canterbury, and he certainly -corresponded with Lanfranc on the subject of infant baptism. He was -succeeded by Patrick or Gillapatrick, an Ostman, who was consecrated by -Lanfranc in St. Paul's at the instance of Godred Crovan, king of Man, who -was then supreme at Dublin. Godred's reign is rather shadowy, but -Lanfranc's letter to him has always been considered genuine, and it -addresses him as king not only of Dublin, but of Ireland. Lanfranc also -wrote to Tirlogh, who had acquired the supreme kingship, like his father, -Brian Borumha. It is not unlikely that the curious poem which represents -St. Patrick as blessing Dublin and its Danish inhabitants, and cursing -the Hy Neill, was forged at this time, partly in the Munster interest and -partly to prove that Dublin was not subject to Armagh.[25] - -[Sidenote: Dublin acknowledges Canterbury and repudiates Armagh.] - -In his letters Lanfranc insists much upon Catholic unity. According to -modern ideas, the heaviest of the charges which he brings against the -Irish Church is the levity with which they regarded the marriage tie. It -appears that men even exchanged wives. Bishop Patrick promised -ecclesiastical fealty to the Archbishop of Canterbury, as Primate of the -British Isles. Lanfranc had obeyed the order of his old pupil Alexander -II., who was prompted by the deacon Hildebrand, and had gone to Rome to -receive his pall. But in his dealings with Dublin he acted independently, -and he was ready to give advice to Irish prelates, though without -claiming direct jurisdiction over them. In doctrinal matters he was an -ally of Rome. Himself an Italian, he espoused the dogma of -transubstantiation in opposition to the Irishman Erigena, and the -Frenchman Berengarius; and on the great question of clerical celibacy he -was a follower, though not an extreme one, of the uncompromising -Hildebrand. The ever-watchful Roman Court probably espied the germ of a -Western patriarchate, and was thus moved to annex Armagh as a -counterpoise to the dangerous primacy claimed under a grant of Gregory -the Great by the successors of Augustine. Gregory VII., in addressing the -kings, nobles, and prelates of Ireland, took care to claim absolute -sovereignty by divine right; and here he ran little risk of such a rebuff -as William the Conqueror administered.[26] - -[Sidenote: Lanfranc and Anselm.] - -Patrick's successor was Donat O'Haingly, an Irishman, but a Benedictine -monk of Canterbury, who was consecrated by Lanfranc, to whom he had been -recommended by King Tirlogh. He was succeeded by his nephew Samuel, a -Benedictine of St. Albans, who was consecrated by Anselm. That great -archbishop was not altogether pleased with his Irish brother, whom he -chid for alienating vestments bestowed on the Church of Dublin by -Lanfranc, and for having the cross borne before him, although he had -never received the pall. A further element of confusion was introduced, -probably in 1118, by the Irish synod of Rathbreasil, which declared -Dublin to be in the diocese of Glendalough; and it seems that the Irish -inhabitants submitted, while those of Danish origin refused to do so. - -[Sidenote: Ralph of Canterbury consecrates Gregory, who receives the pall -from Pope Eugenius.] - -On the death of Bishop Samuel O'Haingly, the Irish annals inform us that -'Cellach, comarb of Patrick, assumed the bishopric of Ath-cliath,[27] by -the choice of foreigners and Gaeidhil.' If there be any truth in this it -was a bold stroke on the part of Armagh to exercise jurisdiction in -Dublin, and was probably the act of the Irish as opposed to the Danish -party. In the same year, or the next, the burgesses and clergy of Dublin -wrote to Ralph of Canterbury, begging him to consecrate their nominee -Gregory. They reminded him that their bishops originally derived their -dignity from his predecessors, and that the bishops of Ireland were very -jealous of them; and especially he of Armagh, because they preferred the -rule of Canterbury. Ralph consecrated Gregory, and he governed the see -for forty years. To his lot it fell to receive the pall sent by Pope -Eugenius, who was too politic to insist on a visit to Rome. For the -moment it was enough to assert the necessity of the pallium and its papal -origin. The legate Paparo ignored the pretensions of the bishop whose -church in the mountains had the name of city, and divided the diocese -into two parts: the bishop with the Cantuarian succession being made -Metropolitan, and the Irishman at Glendalough being reduced to the -position of a suffragan. St. Lawrence O'Toole, who was the second -Archbishop of Dublin, derived his succession from Armagh, and the -Scandinavian Church of Dublin ceases to have a separate history. - -[Sidenote: See of Waterford.] - -Of far less importance than that of Dublin, the early history of the see -of Waterford is proportionately obscure. Malchus, a Benedictine of -Winchester, who seems to have been the first bishop elected by the -Ostmen, was consecrated by Anselm; to whom he promised canonical -obedience, and with whom he corresponded. It seems likely that he was -afterwards translated to Lismore, or he may have held both sees together, -as they were held in after years. It is probable that the great Malachi -of Armagh studied under him. Maelisa O'Hanmire appears next in -succession, but we know nothing of him. He may have represented a -reaction against the dominion of Canterbury. The next name preserved is -that of Tosti, who was, of course, a Dane, and who assisted in the -establishment of the papal or Eugenian constitution. Tosti's successor, -Augustine O'Sealbhaigh, was practically appointed by Henry II., and he -attended the Lateran Council in 1179. - -[Sidenote: See of Limerick. Gillebert.] - -The tradition which connects St. Patrick with Limerick is of the vaguest -kind: practically, the first recorded bishop is Gillebert. He was an -Irishman. Cellach of Armagh acted with the Bishop of Limerick on this -occasion; but while both were anxious to parcel out Ireland into -dioceses, neither ventured to interfere with Dublin, which was under the -powerful patronage of Canterbury. Gillebert resigned both the legatine -authority and his own bishopric before his death, which took place in or -about 1145. His successor Patrick, having been elected by the Ostmen, -was consecrated in England by Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, to whom -he promised canonical obedience. The three following bishops, Harold, -Turgeis, and Brictius, who may be Elbric or Eric, were doubtless all -Ostmen. Very little is known of them, except that the last named attended -the Lateran Council in 1179 and 1180. - -[Sidenote: See of Cork.] - -Cork was often plundered by the Northmen, and they settled there -permanently early in the eleventh century. But they found themselves -confronted by a strong monastic organisation, under the successor of St. -Finbar, whereas at Dublin, Waterford, and Limerick the field had been -clear. Around the abbey a native town had sprung up, which was strong -enough to maintain itself by the side of the Scandinavian garrison. Once, -with the help of a force from Carbery, they defeated a confederacy of -Danes belonging to Cork, Waterford, and Wexford. The Ostmen were in quiet -possession of Cork for a period long preceding the Anglo-Norman invasion, -but they were probably content to take their Christianity from their -neighbours, for we do not find that any bishop of this see sought -consecration at Canterbury.[28] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[16] The account which Giraldus gives of Turgesius is funny, but -worthless. - -[17] Reeves's Adamnan, p. 332 n. - -[18] _Wars of the Gaedhill with the Gaill_, chap. xxxvi. - -[19] _Wars of the Gaedhill with the Gaill_, chap. xl. - -[20] The quotations are from _Burnt Njal_, chap. cliii. - -[21] _Burnt Njal_, chap. cliv. - -[22] _Ibid._, chap. clvi. _Wars of the Gaedhill with the Gaill_, chaps. -xcviii. and xcix. _Annals of Lough Cé_, pp. 7-13. - -[23] _Burnt Njal_, chap. clvi. - -[24] Many details about the Hiberno-Norse coins are to be found in -Worsaae. - -[25] _Book of Rights_, pp. 225 _sqq._, and O'Donovan's preface. - -[26] See Hook's _Lives of Lanfranc, Anselm, and Ralph d'Eures_. -Translations of the letters mentioned in the text may be found in King's -Primer of the Irish Church; most of the originals are printed in Ussher's -_Sylloge_. - -[27] The Irish always called Dublin Ath-cliath, or the Ford of Hurdles. - -[28] The great mine of knowledge about the Irish Scandinavians is Todd's -_Wars of the Gaedhill with the Gaill_, in the Record series. I have also -used Dasent's _Story of Burnt Njal_, and Anderson's _Orkneyinga Saga_. -Haliday's _Scandinavian Kingdom of Dublin_, edited by Mr. J. P. -Prendergast, is a good modern book. Worsaae's _Danes and Norwegians_ is -said to be somewhat fanciful, but it contains information not readily -accessible elsewhere. - - - - -[Illustration: IRELAND IN 1172. - -_The principal Danish Settlements are underlined Blue._] - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE REIGN OF HENRY II. - - -[Sidenote: England lays claim to Ireland, 1155.] - -The claims of the Kings of England to Ireland were very vague. They -sometimes acted as patrons of the Irish Ostmen, who were not unwilling to -follow the example of their Northumbrian kinsmen, but they performed no -real function of sovereignty. William the Conqueror and his sons had not -time to attend to Ireland, and this applies in an even greater degree to -Stephen. Henry II. ascended an undisputed throne, and in the first year -of his reign turned his thoughts to the fertile island of the West. Being -badly in want of a title, he sent John of Salisbury to Rome for leave to -conquer Ireland, to root up the saplings of vice there, and to bring the -wild Irish into the way of the true faith. The Pope was Nicholas -Breakspeare, known in history as Adrian IV., the only Englishman who ever -filled the papal chair. The popes were usually ready to grant boons to -kings, if by so doing they could extend their own power, and an English -pope must have felt a double pride in conferring favours on a king of -England. The mission of John of Salisbury was successful. He brought back -the Bull _Laudabiliter_ and a gold ring containing a very fine emerald, -intended to be used in Henry's investiture. Empress Maude objected to an -Irish expedition, and nothing was done until long after Adrian's death. -Henry took the precaution of having the grant confirmed by Alexander -III., and there is ample evidence that he annexed Ireland with the entire -approbation of that Pope.[29] - -[Sidenote: Adrian IV grants Ireland to Henry II.] - -Irish scholars, torn asunder by their love of Rome and their love of -Ireland, formerly attempted to prove that Adrian's bull was not genuine; -but its authenticity is no longer disputed. The momentous document runs -as follows:-- - -[Sidenote: Adrian's bull.] - -'Hadrian the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his very dear son -in Christ, the illustrious King of the English, health and apostolic -benediction: - -'Your magnificence praiseworthily and profitably takes thought how to -increase a glorious name on earth and how to lay up a reward of -everlasting happiness in heaven, while you are intent, like a Catholic -prince, on enlarging the bounds of the Church, on declaring the truth to -unlearned and rude peoples, and on uprooting the seedlings of vice from -the Lord's field. The better to attain that end you have asked counsel -and favour of the apostolic see. In which action we are sure that, with -God's help, you will make happy progress in proportion to the high design -and great discretion of your proceedings, inasmuch as undertakings which -grow out of ardour for the faith and love of religion are accustomed -always to have a good end and upshot. There is no doubt and your nobility -acknowledges that Ireland, and all islands upon which Christ the sun of -justice has shone, and which have received the teachings of the Christian -faith, rightfully belong to the blessed Peter and the most holy Roman -Church. We have, therefore, the more willingly made a faithful plantation -among them, and inserted a bud pleasing to God, in that we foresee that -it will require a careful internal watch at our hands. However, you have -signified to us, my dear son in Christ, that you wish to enter the island -of Ireland, in order to reduce that people to law, and to uproot the -seedlings of vice there, and to make a yearly payment of a denarius to -the blessed Peter out of each house, and to preserve the rights of the -churches of that land whole and undiminished. - -'We, therefore, seconding your pious and laudable desire with suitable -favour, and giving a kindly assent to your petition, do hold it for a -thing good and acceptable that you should enter that island for the -extension of the Church's borders, for the correction of manners, for the -propagation of virtue, and for increase of the Christian religion; and -that you should perform that which you intend for the honour of God and -for the salvation of that land; and let the people of that land receive -you honourably and venerate you as their lord; the ecclesiastical law -remaining whole and untouched, and an annual payment of one denarius -being reserved to the blessed Peter and to the most holy Roman Church. -But if you shall complete the work which you have conceived in your mind, -study to mould that race to good morals, and exert yourself personally -and by such of your agents as you shall find fit in faith, word, and -living, to honour the Church there, and to plant and increase the -Christian faith, and strive to ordain what is for the honour of God and -the safety of souls in such a manner that you may deserve at God's hands -a heap of everlasting treasure, and on earth gain a glorious name for -ages yet to come.' - -[Sidenote: The papal title.] - -The right of the Pope to dispose of islands rested upon the donation of -Constantine, which is now admitted to be as certainly spurious as -Adrian's bull is certainly genuine. Adrian may have believed the donation -authentic, but in any case, as Irish scholars point out, Constantine -could not give what he had never possessed. It is true that Ireland never -really formed part of the Roman Empire, but so strong was the idea of an -oecumenical sovereignty that Celtic lawyers imagined a state of things -in which Ireland would be tributary to the King of the Romans. This was a -mere fiction, but it was one of which Rome would readily take advantage, -and the Pope who insisted so sturdily on Barbarossa holding his stirrup -was not the one in whose hands any available weapon would be allowed to -rust.[30] - -[Sidenote: Henry II. finds a pretext for interference.] - -Henry II. was the most powerful prince in Europe, and sooner or later he -was almost sure to have a reason for interfering in Ireland. The -opportunity was at last afforded by Dermod MacMurrough, King of Leinster, -who aspired to reign over all Ireland with the help of Anglo-Norman arms. -As early as 1152 Dervorgil O'Melaghlin, wife of Tiernan O'Rourke, Prince -of Brefny, being ill-treated by her husband, left him, and placed -herself, her cattle, and her furniture under the protection of Dermod. -Dervorgil was forty-four and Dermod sixty-two, so that the affair, in -spite of a beautiful poem on the subject, was not what would be commonly -called romantic. Yet Cleopatra was thirty-nine, when Antonius, at the age -of fifty-three, refused to survive her. O'Rourke felt the insult and the -loss of the lady, or, at least, of her property, and appealed to Tirlogh -O'Connor, King of Connaught and titular King of Ireland. Dermod was -compelled to abandon Dervorgil, who survived her husband eleven years, -and died as late as 1193, during a pilgrimage to Mellifont Abbey. On the -death of Tirlogh O'Connor his son Roderic became a candidate for the -chief sovereignty, but Dermod espoused the cause of the O'Neill -candidate, who was successful. The flight or abduction of Dervorgil was -certainly not the proximate cause of the Norman invasion, but by placing -Dermod in permanent opposition to O'Connor and O'Rourke, it probably -contributed to bring it about. - -[Sidenote: Dermod MacMurrough.] - -In 1166 Dermod, who had made himself odious by his tyranny, was expelled -from Leinster by O'Connor and O'Rourke, who demolished his stronghold at -Ferns, and transferred his kingship to the next-of-kin. The clergy appear -to have been generally favourable to Dermod; and as Adrian's bull, even -if not published, could hardly be a secret, it may have been their advice -which induced him to go to Henry II. Dermod, though seventy-seven years -old, was still active and enterprising, and he sought the king in -Aquitaine or Guienne. Henry was too busy to think of going to Ireland -himself, but he gave the suppliant a kind of letter of marque in the -following terms:--'Henry, King of England, Duke of Normandy and -Aquitaine, and Count of Anjou, to all his faithful English, Norman, -Welsh, and Scots, and to all nations subject to his jurisdiction, -greeting: When these present letters reach you you will know that we have -received into the bosom of our grace and favour Dermod, prince of the -Leinstermen. If anyone, therefore, within the bounds of our power wishes -to help his restoration as our man and liege subject, let him know that -he has our licence and favour for the purpose.'[31] - -[Sidenote: Dermod seeks allies in England.] - -Thus armed, Dermod returned to Bristol, which was much frequented by -ships from Leinster, and he appears to have been supplied with money by -his partisans there. His promise of gold and land at first attracted -little attention, but after two or three weeks he was visited by Richard -Fitz-Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Chepstow. Earl Richard, whose father had -lost most of his lands, lent a favourable ear to Dermod, and undertook to -bring an army to Ireland in the spring of 1169. The Irishman promised to -give him his daughter Eva, his only legitimate child. According to Norman -law Eva would bring the kingdom of Leinster to her husband and children. -According to Celtic law the lands belonged to the tribe, and the royal -dignity was elective. In this singular contract between MacMurrough and -Fitz-Gilbert, we have the key to most of the problems which have made -Ireland the despair of statesmen. - -[Sidenote: Earl Richard and his friends.] - -Dermod, however, did not rest his hopes of success upon Earl Richard -alone. He went to St. David's, so as to be as near Ireland as possible, -and made friends with the bishop, who had two brothers admirably suited -for the work in hand. Nesta, the beautiful daughter of Rice ap Tudor, -Prince of South Wales, is reported to have been the mistress of Henry I., -and to have had two sons by him. The younger of these had also two sons, -the Robert and Meiler Fitz-Henry who played a prominent part in the -conquest of Ireland. Nesta afterwards married Gerald of Windsor, by whom -she had three sons and one or two daughters, and from one or other of her -children all the Fitzgeralds, Barrys, Carews, and Cogans are descended. -After the death of Gerald, Nesta married Stephen, the castellan of -Abertivy, and by him had one son, the famous Robert Fitz-Stephen. -Giraldus, who must have known, twice states expressly that Fitz-Stephen -had no legitimate child. The historian himself was Nesta's grandson, -through her daughter Angareta, who married William de Barry. Robert -Fitz-Stephen, and his half-brother, Maurice Fitzgerald, listened readily -to MacMurrough, who promised them Wexford and two cantreds of land, if -they would help him conquer Leinster.[32] - -[Sidenote: Fitz-Stephen and others land in Ireland, 1169.] - -Robert Fitz-Stephen was a desperate man. Betrayed by his own followers, -he had suffered three years' imprisonment among the Welsh, had been -released on promising to serve Rice Fitz-Griffith against Henry II., and -had agreed to hold Abertivy for the Cambrian and not for the Angevin. -Dermod now offered him a loophole to escape from, and he agreed to accept -his offers and to invade Ireland. His half-brother, Maurice Fitzgerald, -consented to accompany him. Dermod then slipped over to Ireland and -sought a refuge among the clergy of Ferns, who entertained him, as the -Archdeacon of St. David's carefully notes, to the best of their small -ability. It was in the winter of 1168 that MacMurrough returned to -Ireland, and in May 1169 Fitz-Stephen and his brother followed with -thirty knights of their own kinfolk, sixty men-at-arms, and 300 archers, -picked, as Giraldus says, from among the youth of Wales. Three ships -carried them all, and they landed safely in Bannow Bay, a shallow inlet -which they had probably mistaken either for Waterford or Wexford. The -brothers were accompanied by Hervey de Montmorency, who was sent by his -nephew, Earl Richard, rather as a spy than as a soldier. On the following -day Maurice de Prendergast, whose name still lives at Haverfordwest, -brought ten knights and a number of archers from Milford, and landed not -far from the same place. As soon as Dermod heard of the adventurers' -arrival he sent his son Donald with 500 men to welcome them, and soon -followed himself. Donald, surnamed Kavanagh, from having been fostered at -Kilcavan, was illegitimate; but that was a matter little considered among -the old Irish, and he became the ancestor of those Kavanaghs or -MacMurroughs who afterwards claimed the kingship of Leinster and even of -Ireland, and who baffled Richard II. and his great army. - -[Sidenote: They win Wexford.] - -After a smart conflict Fitz-Stephen and MacMurrough mastered Wexford, -which was a Danish town. The Irishman's readiness to grant Wexford to the -adventurers was very probably caused by the fact that the town had never -been really in his power. Perhaps he hoped to get rid of the Normans when -he had used them to subdue his enemies. It was evident that Fitz-Stephen -and his company could do little more than hold Wexford. If Leinster was -to be conquered it could only be by a much larger force. Nevertheless, -Fitz-Stephen decided to advance into the country, and was joined by the -Wexford Danes, who probably were not slow to learn that the Normans were -their kinsmen. With a heterogeneous army of 3,000 men, Dermod and his -allies marched towards Ossory. There was a battle in open ground with the -Ossorians, and the mail-clad stranger had an easy victory. Among the -slain was a personal enemy of Dermod, and we are told that that savage, -'lifting up the dead man's head by hair and ears, cruelly and inhumanly -tore away the nostrils and lips with his teeth.' In the meantime King -Roderic had set his army in motion against the invaders, and easily -penetrated to the neighbourhood of Ferns. The monastery was surrounded by -woods and bogs, and Fitz-Stephen, who was an adept in Welsh warfare, -taught the Leinstermen how to make it impregnable with ditches and -abattis. Neither party were very anxious to fight, and Dermod made a -treaty with Roderic, in which he acknowledged him as chief king, in -consideration of being allowed to enjoy Leinster in peace. Giraldus says -there was a secret understanding that the adventurers should be sent home -as soon as they had pacified Leinster, and that no reinforcements should -be brought over. - -[Sidenote: Earl Richard hesitates. His friends take Waterford.] - -Whatever understanding he might have with O'Connor, Dermod did not soon -abandon the hope of more help from Wales. 'We have,' he wrote to Earl -Richard, 'observed the storks and swallows; the summer birds have come, -and with this west wind have returned. Neither Favonius nor Eurus has -brought us your much-desired and long-expected presence.' The Earl had -waited for the return of Hervey de Montmorency, and when he brought a -favourable report it was still necessary to make at least some show of -consulting Henry II. The King had forbidden him to go to Ireland, but he -now sought an audience and begged either the restoration of his estates -or leave to carve out a new one for himself. Henry gave an ambiguous -answer, which the Earl chose to interpret in his own favour. In May 1170 -he sent out Hervey again, accompanied by Raymond Fitzgerald, called Le -Gros, a creature of Fitz-Stephen and Maurice, with twenty knights and -seventy archers. Raymond landed at the south-eastern angle of the modern -county of Kilkenny, just at the point where the united Nore and Barrow -flow into the Suir. He intrenched himself at once, and was soon attacked -by the Waterford Danes. If Giraldus is to be believed, a panic seized the -assailants, of whom 500 were killed, and many taken. Among Raymond's -followers was a leper named William Ferrand, who performed prodigies of -valour, 'choosing rather to die gloriously than to endure the burden of -his disease.' A question arose as to the disposal of the prisoners. -Raymond was for sparing, Hervey for slaying. 'The opinion of the latter,' -says Giraldus, 'prevailed; the citizens were condemned, and, their limbs -having been broken, they were cast headlong into the sea.' - -[Sidenote: Earl Richard lands, 1170.] - -Earl Richard landed near Waterford on August 23, 1170. The city was taken -soon afterwards, and Reginald's tower is particularly mentioned as -forming part of the defences. That tower still stands with one of -Cromwell's cannon balls sticking in the wall--a monument of three -distinct invaders: the Pagan Northman, the Catholic Anglo-Norman, and the -Puritan Englishman. 'Earl Strongbow,' say the Lough Cé annalists with -pathetic brevity, 'came into Erin to Dermod MacMurrough to avenge his -expulsion by Roderic, son of Tirlogh O'Connor; and Dermod gave him his -own daughter and a part of his patrimony; and Saxon foreigners have been -in Erin since then.' - -[Sidenote: The adventurers take Dublin.] - -Waterford and Wexford having fallen, and his daughter Eva having been -married to Earl Richard, Dermod, who now aspired to the crown of all -Ireland, felt himself strong enough to attack Dublin. The Earl had -brought 200 knights and 1,000 other soldiers, so that the allied force -was a considerable one. MacMurrough led the army safely through the -Wicklow mountains, which were the scene of more than one disaster to -Elizabeth's officers. Dermod's auxiliaries had been trained in Wales; and -probably understood mountain warfare much better than those who had -served in the Netherlands, or even on the Scottish border. Lawrence -O'Toole, Archbishop of Dublin, a man revered both by Danes and Irishmen, -attempted to make peace between the citizens and their assailants; but -Raymond and Milo de Cogan, while their elders parleyed, led a chosen band -to the assault. They soon mastered the place; and Hasculph, with a number -of followers and some treasure, escaped to the Orkneys, whence he went to -Norway for help. Meath, which for some unexplained reason was in -O'Rourke's possession, was next invaded, and Roderic then wrote to -upbraid Dermod with having broken his oath by interfering outside the -bounds of Leinster. MacMurrough shortly answered that he meant to be -monarch of Ireland, and Roderic then killed his son, who was with him as -a hostage. The clergy of Armagh assembled in their synod saw or suspected -that the invasion was different from all former invasions. They agreed -that Ireland had brought a curse on herself by keeping Englishmen in -slavery, and they ordered the liberation of all such bondsmen. Henry II. -also saw that something extraordinary had happened. He had no fancy for -having an independent Norman principality within sight of Snowdon, and he -ordered the adventurers to return, strictly forbidding all communication -with them in the meantime. Fitz-Gilbert wrote to the King, who was in -Aquitaine, protesting that he believed he had the royal licence for what -he had done, and that he was ready to be his vassal for all he might gain -in Ireland. Raymond was sent with the letter, but Henry kept him a long -time in suspense. - -[Sidenote: The Danes vainly attempt to retake Dublin.] - -At Whitsuntide, 1171, while Earl Richard was waiting for the King's -answer, Hasculph returned with sixty ships, containing a well-armed -force, under a berserker called John the Mad. Milo de Cogan had been left -governor of Dublin, and he and his brother Richard succeeded after a -short fight in routing their assailants. John the Mad was killed, and -Hasculph taken while trying to escape across the slob to his ships. The -prisoner annoying him by threats of another and more formidable attempt, -Milo ordered him to be beheaded. He had, however, spoken truth, for -Godred, King of Man, soon appeared with thirty ships, and blocked the -mouth of the Liffey, while Roderic, having collected a great army from -all parts of Ireland, except the extreme north and south, besieged the -city by land. The Earl and his followers being thus shut up in Dublin, -Dermod's local enemies besieged Fitz-Stephen in the castle which he had -built at Wexford. No help, as the Irish well knew, could be expected from -England while Henry II. frowned, and the Normans at Dublin resolved on a -great effort to relieve Fitz-Stephen. A sally was arranged, and Roderic's -army was dispersed. The Irish had trusted entirely to their numbers, and -kept no watch and no order. Such stores of provisions fell into the -victors' hands that there was no need to victual Dublin for a year -afterwards. Fitz-Stephen, however, was not relieved. By force or -stratagem, Giraldus says it was by perjury, the Wexford people obtained -possession of his person, and killed or captured his men. Hearing of the -disaster at Dublin, the victors burned their town and withdrew with their -prisoners to an island in the middle of the harbour. Earl Richard arrived -too late for his immediate purpose, and continued his journey to -Waterford, whence he made his way to the King, whom he met near -Gloucester. Henry was at first obdurate, but it was finally agreed that -Dublin and all other port towns, with the lands adjoining, should be -handed over to the King, and that the Earl and his heirs should hold all -their other conquests of him and his heirs. While preparations were being -made for a royal expedition, O'Rourke once more attacked Dublin, but the -Cogans again surprised the Irish camp, and the city was never again -seriously threatened by the natives. - -[Sidenote: Henry II. lands in Ireland, 1171.] - -The last attack on Dublin was about September 1, 1171, and on October 16 -the King sailed from Milford Haven with 400 ships, containing 4,000 men, -of whom 400 or 500 were knights. He landed next day at Crook, on the -right bank of the Suir, some miles below Waterford, which he entered on -the 18th. The Wexford men saw that the game was up, and brought -Fitz-Stephen to the King, expecting thanks for surrendering the man who -had dared to make war without the royal licence. Henry spoke sharply to -the prisoner, and ordered him to be kept safely in Reginald's tower. -Dermod MacCarthy, chief of Desmond and Cork, did homage at Waterford. -Thence Henry went to Lismore, where he stayed two days. From Lismore he -went to Cashel, where Donald O'Brien, chief of Thomond and Limerick, -followed MacCarthy's example. The minor chiefs of Munster also made their -submission, the only one mentioned by Giraldus being O'Phelan, who ruled -a great part of the county of Waterford. Dermod's old antagonist, Donald -of Ossory, also did homage. Henry placed governors both in Cork and -Limerick, but it is not clear that he visited either of those cities. He -then returned along the Suir to Waterford, where he took Fitz-Stephen -into favour, and restored Wexford to him. During this progress the King -selected three sites for fortresses, which were afterwards built by his -son John--Lismore on the Blackwater, and Ardfinnan and Tibraghny on the -Suir. The first and last were intended to command the upper tidal waters -of the Blackwater and Suir; Ardfinnan secured a passage from the southern -sea-board into Central Ireland, and Cromwell recognised its importance -nearly five hundred years afterwards. - -[Sidenote: Henry II. winters at Dublin.] - -Leaving a governor in Waterford, Henry then led the bulk of his army to -Dublin, where he received the submissions of O'Rourke and of the chiefs -of Leinster and Uriel. Hugo de Lacy and William Fitz-Adelm were sent to -meet Roderic at the Shannon, and the monarch of Ireland acknowledged -himself a tributary and vassal of the King of England. Ulster still held -out; for the submission of the nominal head king can in no way be held to -bind the chiefs, much less the people, of his own province, and certainly -not those of all Ireland. Giraldus does not venture to advance any such -theory, and yet Hooker, who translated his work in Elizabeth's time, -coolly interpolates the statement that 'by him and his submission all the -residue of the whole land became the King's subjects, and submitted -themselves.' The synod which met at Cashel under the legate's presidency -did what was possible for the Church to do in strengthening Henry's -pretensions. The King held a court at Dublin during the winter of 1171 -and 1172. His temporary palace, erected outside the walls on the ground -now occupied by the southern side of Dame Street, was built of polished -wicker-work, after the manner of the country. Here he kept Christmas in -state, and invited the Irish chiefs to share his feast. They admired the -King's grandeur, and were by him persuaded to eat crane's flesh, which -the Normans thought a delicacy, but which the Irish had hitherto loathed. -The winter was so stormy that there was scarcely any communication with -England, and Henry's pleasure in his new acquisition must have been -darkened by the sense of impending retribution for the recent murder of -Becket. - -[Sidenote: Henry's warlike preparations. He distrusts the adventurers.] - -From the preparation which he made for the invasion of Ireland, it seems -clear that the King profoundly distrusted the adventurers who had -insisted on winning him a new realm. Vast stores of provisions, a great -number of hand-mills, artisans for building bridges, horses, and tools -for building or trenching, might indeed have been required for a war -against the natives. But the Irish had no fortresses, and wooden castles, -of which we also read, can only have been intended for attacking the -port-towns which Earl Richard had promised to give the King, and which -were already in Norman hands. Henry saw enough of Ireland to know that he -had really nothing to fear from the adventurers. Dermod MacMurrough was -dead before his arrival, and it was clear that Earl Richard would have -enough to do in maintaining his wife's monstrous claim without doing -anything to offend his own sovereign. - -When, therefore, shortly before Easter, 1172, news came from Aquitaine -and Normandy that the legates were on their way to inquire into the -Canterbury tragedy, Henry lost no time in appointing Hugo de Lacy his -representative at Dublin, and in arranging for the safe keeping of -Waterford and Wexford. He sailed from the latter port on Easter Monday -1172, having been in Ireland exactly six months.[33] - -[Sidenote: Henry leaves Ireland. He grants Meath to De Lacy.] - -Before leaving the country Henry granted to Hugo de Lacy all the -territory of Meath, by the service of fifty knights. This included -Westmeath, with parts of King's County and Longford, and was about -800,000 acres in extent. De Lacy, to whom Hoveden gives the title of -justiciar, must be considered as the first Viceroy of Ireland, and he -lost no time in advancing a claim which, if successful, would make him -one of the most important vassals of the Crown. Tiernan O'Rourke, the -one-eyed King of Meath, consented to meet the Pretender at the Hill of -Ward. The conference ended in a quarrel, and O'Rourke was killed. -Giraldus charges treason upon the Irishman, and the Irish annalists -charge it upon the Norman. The important point is that De Lacy was able -to make head against the Irish, and that a powerful Norman colony was -established by him in the fertile central tract of Ireland. Earl Richard -was rather less successfully engaged in fighting for Leinster, which -Henry had granted him by the service of one hundred knights, when he was -summoned to Normandy, where he did such good service that the King made -him Viceroy in De Lacy's room. This was in 1173. It was in the next year, -or perhaps in 1175, that Henry had the bulls or privileges of Adrian IV. -and Alexander III. promulgated in Ireland. We can hardly suppose that -they were previously unknown to the clergy, who so manifestly favoured -the Anglo-Normans all through. Perhaps the King's main object in -publishing them at this time was to make his own peace with Rome, by -ostentatiously announcing that he held Ireland of the tiara, and not in -right of his own sword. - -[Sidenote: Difficulties of the adventurers.] - -When Earl Richard returned to Ireland he found that he had lost ground. -The Irish were beginning to recover confidence, and Hervey and Raymond -were quarrelling bitterly. The latter was the favourite of the soldiers, -who insisted on having him for leader, and he gained some successes over -the Danes of Cork and over the MacCarthys. Believing himself worthy of -the highest rewards, Raymond asked for the Constableship of Leinster, and -for the hand of Basilia, the earl's sister. The new Viceroy was -disinclined to grant these terms, and Raymond, whose father had just -died, went over to Wales to look after his old inheritance. Hervey thus -became second in command, and planned a campaign in concert with the -Dublin garrison. Earl Richard accompanied him to Cashel, but the intended -junction was not effected. Donald O'Brien's homage to Henry II. did not -prevent him from hindering his representative, and at Thurles he -surprised and totally defeated the Dublin division. No less than 400 -Danes are said by Giraldus to have fallen, which shows that a portion of -that nation had accepted the alliance of their Teutonic kindred. The -O'Briens were aided by a large contingent from Connaught, but it does not -appear that Roderic was himself present. The immediate result of this -defeat was the recall of Raymond and his marriage to Basilia. He easily -put down a partial revolt of the Waterford and Wexford Danes; and, -finding himself indispensable, remained at Wexford until his bride was -brought to him. The honeymoon was scarcely begun when news came that -Roderic was wasting Meath, and had penetrated nearly to Dublin. Raymond -hastened thither, and the Connaught men retired before him. Castles, -according to Giraldus, were already built at Trim and Duleek; but they -had not proved strong enough to resist Roderic, and Raymond's first care -was to restore and strengthen them. The adventurers, most of whom were -already nearly related, were still more closely united by the marriage of -Hervey to Raymond's sister Nesta, and of Earl Richard's daughter Aline to -William Fitzgerald. - -[Sidenote: The adventurers fail to hold Limerick. William Fitz-Adelm made -Viceroy.] - -[Sidenote: Death of Strongbow, 1176.] - -Donald O'Brien was not left long to enjoy his victory. Limerick was taken -by a sudden onslaught under Raymond, and the bounds of the colony were -advanced as far as they had yet been. Raymond still lingered on the -Shannon, where he received a loving letter from his wife, in which she -informed him 'that the great molar tooth, which had been hurting her so -much, had now fallen out.' He could not read, but his chaplain secretly -imparted the contents of the paper, and he guessed that Basilia alluded -to the death of her brother, who had been for some time ill. He hurried -to Dublin, and found that Earl Richard was indeed dead. Deprived of their -leader, and probably hard pressed by the Irish, the Normans thought it -prudent to evacuate Limerick. It was surrendered to Donald O'Brien, who -set fire to the city in four places as soon as they were gone. When the -King heard of this he remarked that the abandonment of Limerick was the -only wise thing that had been done concerning it. The Normans chose -Raymond their governor in Earl Richard's room; but he was quickly -superseded by William Fitz-Adelm de Burgh, whom Henry sent over as -Viceroy with large powers. - -[Sidenote: Fitz-Adelm depresses the adventurers.] - -According to Giraldus, the new governor did all in his power to depress -the adventurers of Nesta's stock. Raymond came to meet him with a chosen -band of his relations and friends finely mounted and armed. Instead of -being conciliated, the Viceroy muttered to his suite, 'I will soon cut -short this pride and disperse these shields.' According to the same -authority, he took advantage of the death of Maurice Fitzgerald to -defraud that leader's children. Giraldus is partial, but it is easy to -see that official governors were from the first jealous of the local -magnates, and were disposed to engross all influence. Fitz-Adelm did -little or nothing to increase the Norman power in Ireland, and he was -recalled in 1177. - -[Sidenote: Treaty between Henry II. and Roderic O'Connor.] - -In October 1175, not long before the death of Earl Richard, Henry II. -made a treaty with Roderic O'Connor, which must be understood as a kind -of declaration of policy. The commissaries who attended at Windsor on -Roderic's part were Catholicus, or Keyly O'Duffy, Archbishop of Tuam, the -Abbot of Ardfert, and the King of Connaught's Brehon, whom Giraldus calls -his Chancellor. The Archbishop of Dublin, St. Lawrence O'Toole, was among -the witnesses to the instrument by which Henry granted 'to his liege man -Roderic, King of Connaught, as long as he should serve faithfully, to be -King under him, ready to serve him as his man, and to hold his land well -and peacefully, as he held it before the King of England's entry into -Ireland, paying him tribute.' Should he be unable to maintain his -authority, the King's forces were to help him. The tribute was to be one -in every ten marketable hides. Roderic was not to meddle with those lands -which the King held in his own hands, or in those of his barons: that is -to say, Dublin with its appurtenances; Meath with its appurtenances, in -as ample a manner as Murchat O'Melaghlin had held it; Wexford with its -appurtenances, and all Leinster; Waterford and Dungarvan with its -appurtenances, and all the lands between the two places. Irish fugitives -willing to return into the King's land were to have peace on paying the -aforesaid tribute, 'or by performing the ancient accustomed services for -their lands.' Those who would not return were to be coerced by the King -of Connaught, who was to take hostages from all whom the King granted to -him, and to give hostages on his own part wherever the King required him. -No refugees from the King's lands were to be entertained by Irishmen -under any pretence. At the same time, as if to mark the fact that -Irishmen were his own subjects as well as Normans, Henry appointed -Augustine O'Sealbhaigh to the bishopric of Waterford, and sent him, in -charge of the Archbishop of Dublin, to be consecrated by the Archbishop -of Cashel. This was a confirmation of the Eugenian constitution, and put -an end to the succession of the Danish bishops through Canterbury. Henry -had no wish to have future Beckets interfering in Ireland. Canterbury was -near and Rome was far. - -[Sidenote: Henry's original policy frustrated by De Courcy.] - -The treaty with Roderic, if we accept it as Hoveden and Benedict have -handed it down, shows that a full conquest of Ireland was not intended by -Henry II. The possession of the port-towns gave him the command of St. -George's Channel, and a control over the trade of the island. He had seen -enough to know that a permanent conquest was beyond the power of a feudal -army, and his policy was to balance the adventurers, his own creation De -Lacy, and the native princes against each other. Fitz-Adelm, a subtle -intriguer with an eye for money, probably seemed a fitter instrument for -his purpose than any enterprising soldier. But Fitz-Adelm brought with -him to Ireland one of those restless and unscrupulous men of action, who -sometimes disconcert the best laid plans of statesmen. John De Courcy is -represented by Giraldus as a tall, fair man, of immense strength and -extraordinary audacity, an experienced warrior, though often more of a -partisan than a general; but religious in his way, and ever ready to -ascribe to God the glory of any successful exploit. He was the patron of -the monk Jocelin, who wove such a tangled web about St. Patrick, and he -carried with him everywhere a tract of St. Columba, which was supposed to -point him out as the destined conqueror of Ulster. Seeing that neither -gain nor glory could be had under the Viceroy, De Courcy, in January -1177, boldly marched into Ulster with twenty-two knights and 300 chosen -men. Among the knights were Almaric St. Lawrence, ancestor of the Howth -family, and Roger le Poer, apparently a collateral ancestor of the Powers -and Eustaces. In the course of a year or two, though by no means always -successful in battle, De Courcy made himself supreme in eastern Ulster. -Where they had the advantage of the ground, the natives were too much for -the adventurers; but in a fair field a hundred Normans, at least under -such a leader as De Courcy, were more than a match for 1,000 Irish. -Discipline and steadiness soon gave them the coast, and the castles which -they built everywhere enabled them to make war or peace as they pleased. -Downpatrick was John de Courcy's capital. - -[Sidenote: De Courcy and De Lacy. Castle-building.] - -O'Donlevy, chief king of Uladh, or that part of Ulster now comprised in -Antrim and Down, had done homage to Henry II., and imagined that he would -be thus secured from invasion. But the King evidently understood the -matter differently, for De Courcy had a grant from him of such northern -lands as he could conquer. Fitz-Adelm having failed as a Viceroy, Henry -now fell back upon Hugo de Lacy, who perhaps dreamed of making himself -independent. He distinguished himself by good government from 1177 to -1181, and by showing favour to the Irish; and he married a daughter of -Roderic O'Connor without the King's consent. Henry accordingly sent for -De Lacy to England, and gave the viceregal authority to John, Constable -of Chester. The Lord of Meath succeeded in making his peace, and was soon -restored to the government; Robert of Salisbury, a priest, being sent as -a spy upon him. De Lacy covered his own district with castles, Trim being -his capital. Delvin he granted to William Nugent, his sister Rose's -husband, who became the ancestor of the Earls of Westmeath. Other estates -he gave to his friends and followers, who founded many of the families of -the Pale. The Flemings, Lords of Slane, became the most important of -these. Other barons followed the example of De Lacy; and Giraldus -mentions that by the year 1182 castles were built at or near Newtown -Barry, Castle Dermot, Leighlin, Timahoe, Athy, Narragh, and other places. -The Meath castles, says the chronicler, were too many to mention by name. - -[Sidenote: John designated as King of Ireland.] - -As early as 1177 Henry had nominated his son John King of Ireland. For -this he had the leave of Alexander III., and in 1186 Urban III. actually -sent a crown of peacock's feathers set in gold for the King to crown one -of his sons, the choice being left to him. The intervening Pope, Lucius -III., had opposed the plan, and this may have been the reason why it was -never carried out. Or the King may have hesitated to repeat even in -John's favour an experiment which had succeeded so ill in the case of his -eldest son. The Oxford nomination of 1177 was allowed to take effect only -so as to constitute John Lord of Ireland, and this title was afterwards -assumed by the Kings of England. In the sixteenth century it was by some -taken as evidence that the crown in Ireland was subject to the popes. But -the idea of a separate, though subordinate, kingdom was very nearly -realised. The acts of the colony were from the date of the Oxford Council -executed in the name of 'John, Lord of Ireland, son of the King of -England,' and the first Anglo-Norman coinage bore his face. - -[Sidenote: John sent to Ireland as Viceroy.] - -On March 31, 1185, the King knighted John at Windsor, and on April 24 the -latter, who was in his nineteenth year, sailed from Milford Haven, with -300 knights and a large body of troops. The expedition reached Waterford -in safety next day, and the neighbouring chiefs flocked to do honour to -the King's son, and to give him the kiss of peace. The Anglo-Norman -courtiers--young men mostly--pulled their long beards, and they at once -departed to the hostile chiefs, Roderic O'Connor, Donnell O'Brien, and -Dermod MacCarthy. All chance of conciliating the more powerful and -distant potentates was thus taken away. Giraldus Cambrensis was present -at Waterford, and he likens John to Rehoboam. The Irish, who had adhered -to the invaders since Fitz-Stephen's first landing, were deprived of -their lands; the castles were given up to favourites, who did nothing but -eat, drink, and plunder; the worst officers were put in the best places, -and the men, as a natural consequence, were as bad as their masters, -devoted to Venus and Bacchus, but neglectful of Mars. Hoveden adds that -John put all the profits of government into his own pocket, and that his -soldiers being unpaid were useless in war. The three castles projected by -his father were built; but he lost many to the Irish, and De Lacy was -suspected of intriguing against him. It is clear that there could be no -confidence in a prince whose chief care was to rob and displace the men -who had won his principality for him. The disastrous experiment lasted -only eight months, when John returned to England, leaving the government -to John de Courcy, who retained power until the death of Henry II. The -Lough Cé annalists, who wrote beyond the Shannon, give the following -account of John's expedition:--'The son of the King of the Saxons came to -assume the sovereignty of Erin ... afterwards he went across to complain -of Hugo de Lacy to his father; for it was Hugo de Lacy that was King of -Erin when the son of the King of the Saxons came, and he permitted not -the men of Erin to give tribute or hostages to him.' To the Irish -bordering on Meath no doubt De Lacy seemed a veritable king. The Four -Masters, who were better acquainted with the English theory of -government, repeat this; but soften Hugo's title of king into that of the -King of England's deputy. - -[Sidenote: Murder of Hugh de Lacy. The colony continues to extend.] - -In or out of office, De Lacy continued to increase his dominion in Meath, -but his career was cut short not long after John's departure. Having -encroached upon the lands of the O'Caharneys, he was murdered while -building a castle at Durrow by a foster-relation of the injured clan. His -death was a great blow to the colonists, but his son Hugo succeeded to -scarcely diminished power, and is accused by Giraldus of systematically -thwarting De Courcy. Fitz-Stephen meanwhile was carving out a -principality in Munster, where he would be tolerably free from official -interference. He and Milo de Cogan were joint grantees of Cork, and the -latter married his daughter Catherine to Maurice, son of Raymond le Gros, -to whom Dermod MacCarthy had given a portion of North Kerry. From this -alliance the Fitzmaurices sprung. It is probable that in granting the -land of the O'Connors to a stranger, Dermod gave that over which he had -no real authority. The territory immediately round the city of Cork was -divided between Fitz-Stephen and Cogan, the former taking that lying to -the east, and the latter that lying to the west. Fitz-Stephen's share -passed to his sister's son, Philip de Barry. Before the death of Henry -II. the country about Cork was studded with castles, but it is impossible -to say how far it was really conquered. Intermarriages with the Irish -were no doubt common from the first. The example set by Strongbow and by -Hugo de Lacy was not likely to want imitators. - -[Sidenote: No conquest of Ireland under Henry II.] - -The conquest of Ireland by Henry II., as it used to be called, amounts on -the whole to this. The coast from Larne to Cork harbour was, at the date -of the King's death, strongly held by the invaders, all the ports being -in their hands, and the principal points being defended by castles. They -were also pretty firmly established on the south side of the Shannon -estuary. The rivers of Leinster were in their hands, and the central -plain almost, if not quite as far west as the Shannon. De Courcy had -begun to assert his dominion over Monaghan and Armagh. All the Danish -towns except Limerick were fully possessed by the conquerors. On the -other hand, the Irish were not expelled from any part of the island. The -mountains which extend almost uninterruptedly from Dublin to Waterford -still sheltered the O'Tooles, the O'Byrnes, the MacMurroughs, the -O'Nolans, and other clans. Fitz-Stephen had begun the conquest of what is -now the county of Cork, but the Irish were still in force on all sides of -the city. The natives generally had recovered in some degree from their -first alarm. The first invaders had been trained in mountain warfare, but -those who succeeded them were often quite unfit to dispute the possession -of hills and woods with the light-armed natives. And there were -jealousies between Normans, English, and Welsh, which went far to -neutralise the strength of the colony. Had it not been for the -dissensions of the Irish themselves, it is probable that they would have -confined the invaders to the east coast. It was a quarrel between Dermod -MacCarthy and his son which brought the Geraldines to Kerry; disputes -among the O'Connors introduced De Cogan, De Lacy, and De Courcy into -Connaught; and, though they effected nothing, they paved the way for the -De Burgos, to whose founder, William Fitz-Adelm, Henry granted the whole -of the western province. The King's troubles with his own sons, with the -Holy See, and with France, prevented him from attending to Ireland. It -would have been better for the peace of mankind had he made a real -conquest, instead of leaving it to barons, who lost much of their old -civilisation, and who disdained to learn anything from the weaker people -whom they oppressed.[34] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[29] Matthew Paris calls the Irish 'bestiales.' - -[30] See the _Senchus Mór_, ii. 225. - -[31] Giraldus, _Ex. Hib._ lib. i. cap. 2. - -[32] In Webb's _Compendium of Irish Biography_ is a carefully compiled -catalogue of Nesta's children and grandchildren. I have generally -followed it, noting, however, that Fitz-Stephen's children cannot be held -legitimate in the face of Giraldus' distinct statement. - -[33] The details of Henry's preparations may be studied in Sweetman's -_Calendar of Documents_. - -[34] In narrating the events of Henry II.'s reign, I have generally -followed Giraldus Cambrensis, checking him by references to Hoveden and -Regan. The _Expugnatio_ may be considered a fanciful book in some ways. -But if we eliminate everything supernatural, and make some allowance for -the writer's prejudices, I see no reason to question his good faith. Of -the native Irish he knew little, but the invaders were his neighbours, -friends, and relations. Fitz-Stephen and the other descendants of Nesta -may be unduly praised, Fitz-Adelm perhaps unduly blamed; but, after all, -this is no more than may be said against most historians of their own -times. Giraldus was undoubtedly an observer of first-rate power. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -FROM JOHN'S VISIT IN 1210 TILL THE INVASION BY THE BRUCES IN 1315. - - -[Sidenote: John acts as lord of Ireland under his father and brother.] - -Richard I. did not interfere with his brother's jurisdiction over -Ireland, and this may be the reason why the records of the colony during -his reign are so scanty. The invaders, though they fought a good deal -among themselves, continued to extend their power, and gained a firm -footing in Connaught. Some years before the death of Henry II., Roderic's -sons had invited the Anglo-Normans into his kingdom, and in 1183 the last -monarch of Ireland retired to the abbey of Cong, where he died in 1198. -His brother Cathal Crovdearg, or Charles of the Red Hand, about whom many -marvellous stories are told, ultimately made himself supreme; but not -without the help of William Fitz-Adelm, who lost no opportunity of -advancing the claim given him by Henry's thoroughly unjustifiable grant. -Fitz-Adelm, who had made himself master of Limerick, at first opposed -Cathal Crovdearg, but joined him in 1201 and enabled him to triumph over -all competitors. The accession of John to the crown of England put an end -to the separate lordship of Ireland, but his successors, until the time -of Henry VIII., continued to call themselves only lords of Ireland. If -Berengaria had had children, it is possible, and even probable, that -Ireland would have passed to John's issue as a separate, or at the most a -tributary kingdom. The early years of John's reign were much disturbed by -a violent feud between the De Lacies and De Courcy. The King favoured the -former party, and in 1205 created the younger Hugo Earl of Ulster and -Viceroy. He proved an oppressive governor, over-taxing the King's -subjects to provide means for his foreign enterprises. The southern -colonists, in alliance with some of the natives, defeated the Viceroy -near Thurles, and the King began to fear that he had given too much power -to one family; for Walter de Lacy continued to rule Meath, while his -brother was all-powerful in the north and east. A royal army was -accordingly levied, and John prepared to revisit the lordship where he -had so signally failed twenty-five years before. - -[Sidenote: King John visits Ireland.] - -The excommunicated King sailed from Milford Haven with a motley army of -mercenaries, under command of Fair Rosamond's son, William Long-sword, -and landed on June 20, 1210, at the same place as his father had done. -Among his train were John de Grey, Bishop of Norwich, whom Innocent III. -had refused to make Archbishop of Canterbury, and John de Courcy, who had -been captured and given up by the De Lacies, and who had suffered a -rigorous imprisonment, but was now again in favour with the King. John -did not let the grass grow under his feet. On the eighth day after his -arrival he was at Dublin, having travelled by Ross, Thomastown, Kilkenny, -and Naas. The first effect of his presence was to separate the two De -Lacies, and the Lord of Meath sent him the following message:--'Walter -salutes the King as his liege lord, of whom he holds all he possesses; -and prays the King to relax his ire, and suffer Walter to approach his -presence; Walter will not plead against the King, but places all his -castles and lands in the hands of the King as his lord, to retain or -restore as he pleases.' The messenger added that Walter had lost much by -his brother Hugo, and that he left him to the King's pleasure. It is -possible that this was said in consequence of an arrangement between the -two brothers. John was not pacified, and prepared to invade both Meath -and Ulster. Trim was reached by July 2, and Kells by the 4th, and the -Kings of Connaught and Thomond were summoned to take part in the -expedition to Ulster. Cathal Crovdearg and Donough O'Brien both obeyed -the King's order, and the royal army proceeded by Dundalk, Carlingford, -and Downpatrick to Carrickfergus. The latter place was taken and -garrisoned. Hugo de Lacy had already fled into Scotland. The King stayed -eight or nine days at Carrickfergus, where he was visited by Hugh -O'Neill, who does not appear to have made any real submission, and then -marched by Holywood, Downpatrick, Banbridge, and Carlingford to Drogheda. -From Drogheda he again entered Meath, visited Duleek and Kells, and seems -to have penetrated as far west as Granard. He was in Dublin by August 18, -and back to England before the end of the month, having spent sixty-six -days in Ireland. On his return from Ulster he had summoned Cathal -Crovdearg a second time, bidding him bring his son 'to receive a charter -for the third part of Connaught.' Over-persuaded by his wife, Cathal went -to the King alone. John's object may have been to make a hostage of the -boy, and he seized instead MacDermot of Moylurg, O'Hara of Sligo, and two -other men of importance in Connaught. Carrying these chiefs with him to -England, the King left the government of Ireland to Bishop de Grey, who -signalised his advent to power by building a castle and bridge at -Athlone. William de Braose, who had enormous estates in Ireland, was -driven into exile by John, who starved his wife and son to death, and -gave his castle of Carrigogunnel on the Shannon to Donough O'Brien. - -[Sidenote: The Anglo-Normans flock to the King. He erects twelve shires.] - -The Anglo-Norman barons of Ireland flocked to Dublin while John was -there, and swore to obey the laws of England. The King divided their -country into twelve counties: Dublin, Kildare, Meath, Uriel or Louth, -Carlow, Kilkenny, and Wexford in Leinster; and Waterford, Cork, Kerry, -Limerick, and Tipperary in Munster. Every knight's fee was bound to -supply a well-armed horseman, and inferior tenants were bound to provide -foot-soldiers. The Viceroy was to give a notice of forty days when the -feudal array was to muster at Dublin, and serve against the King's -enemies for forty days in each year. Ulster and Connaught were not -shired, but were afterwards sometimes regarded as counties. Perhaps the -nobles of these provinces were supposed to be constantly employed against -the Irish. The native chiefs were considered as tributary subjects, but -not as tenants. In 1215 John ordered the Archbishop of Dublin to buy -enough scarlet cloth to make robes for the Kings of Ireland; and it is -clear that they were expected to serve, though the exact measure of the -aid rendered may have been left to themselves. - -[Sidenote: Leinster is divided after Earl Richard's death.] - -When Strongbow died without a son the principality of Leinster fell to -his eldest daughter Isabel, who became a ward of the Crown. In 1189 the -minor was given in marriage to William Earl Marshal, who thus became Earl -of Pembroke and Strigul, and lord of a territory in Ireland, -corresponding nearly to the counties of Wexford, Kildare, Carlow, -Kilkenny, and part of the Queen's County. He built a castle and -incorporated a town at Kilkenny, and died in 1219, transmitting his -honours and great power to his son William. The younger William was -Viceroy in 1224, and depressed the De Lacies, allying himself generally -with Cathal Crovdearg O'Connor. He died in 1231, leaving all to his -brother Richard, who made good his position, although Henry III.'s -foreign advisers plotted his destruction. Strongbow's grandson was killed -in 1234 by the feudatories who were bound to defend him, and the colony -never recovered the blow. - -[Sidenote: The De Burgos in Connaught.] - -Fitz-Adelm's son, Richard de Burgo, generally called MacWilliam by the -Irish, married Una, Cathal Crovdearg's grand-daughter, and procured from -Henry III. a grant of all Connaught, except five cantreds reserved for -the support of the post at Athlone. From the first the position of the -Anglo-Normans in Connaught differed from their position in other parts of -Ireland. They were there rather as allies of the native chiefs than as -conquerors, and the easy lapse of their descendants into Irish habits is -the less to be wondered at. Richard de Burgo obtained a confirmation of -his grant in 1226, through the favour of his kinsman, the great -justiciar, Hubert, and he soon afterwards made himself master of Galway, -which he fortified strongly, and made the chief place of Connaught. After -his time the O'Connors never regained possession of it, and the -importance of the royal tribe steadily diminished during the whole of the -thirteenth century. Richard de Burgo's eldest son Walter married Maud, -daughter and heiress of the younger Hugo de Lacy, who died in 1243, and -he thus became Earl of Ulster as well as Lord of Connaught. His son -Richard, commonly called the Red Earl, advanced the power of the -Anglo-Norman state to the furthest point which it ever attained. - -[Sidenote: Poverty of the colony under Henry III.] - -Constant war is not favourable to the production of wealth, and it seems -probable that no very considerable progress was made in the arts of -peace. Tallage was first imposed on Ireland in 1217, in the name of Henry -III., but it seems to have yielded little, and a generation later there -was equal difficulty in collecting a tithe for the Pope. Innocent IV. -ordered that a sum should be so raised for the liberation of the Holy -Land, and very stringent letters were sent to Ireland in 1254; but -collector Lawrence Sumercote declared that the difficulties were -insuperable. The Irish, he explained, never saved anything, but lived -riotously and gave liberally to all, and he professed that he would -'rather be imprisoned than crucified any longer in Ireland for the -business of the Cross.' The plan of drawing upon Ireland for English or -Continental wars was, however, largely practised during the reign of -Henry III., and it tended to sap the strength of the colony. Ready money -might be scarce, but there were men, and they could be ill-spared from -the work of defending their lands against a native race who were ever on -the watch to take advantage of their absence or neglect. - -[Sidenote: Edward I. had not time to attend to Ireland personally.] - -A vast number of documents remain to show that Edward I. took great pains -about Ireland. Phelim O'Connor, who died in 1265, may be regarded as the -last King of Connaught. His son Hugh did indeed assume the title, and, -according to the annalists, 'executed his royal depredations on the men -of Offaly, where he committed many burnings and killings;' but his -kingship does not appear to have been officially recognised, and the De -Burgos were the true rulers. The Red Earl was supreme in the northern -half of Ireland; but O'Neill was recognised as King of Tyrone, while his -claim to be head of all the Irish in Ireland was denied. O'Cahan was also -sometimes given the title of king. O'Donnell was treated with less -respect, and a price was set upon his head, which appears to have been -actually brought to Dublin in 1283. In 1281 Hugh Boy O'Neill, whom the -annalists call 'royal heir of all Erin, head of the hospitality and -valour of the Gael,' sided with the English against Donnell Oge -O'Donnell, who is called 'King of the north, the best Gael for -hospitality and dignity; the general guardian of the west of Europe, and -the knitting-needle of the arch sovereignty, and the rivetting hammer of -every good law, and the top-nut of the Gael in valour.' A battle was -fought near Dungannon, and O'Donnell, who had under him the O'Rourkes and -MacMahons, and 'nearly the majority of the Irish of Connaught and -Ulster,' was defeated and slain. Two years later Hugh Boy was killed by -the MacMahons. The story of this contest is a good illustration of the -hopeless incapacity of the natives for anything like a national -combination. If Edward I. had been able to attend to Ireland personally, -it is at least probable that he would have conquered the country as -completely as Wales. - -[Sidenote: Frequency of quarrels among the colonists.] - -In 1275, Edward granted the whole of Thomond to Thomas de Clare, who took -advantage of the dissensions among the O'Briens, and built the strong -castle of Bunratty to dominate the district. The conquest of Thomond was, -however, never completed, or nearly completed, nor did the De Clares -succeed in establishing themselves like the De Burgos. They might have -done so had they not come so late into the field, and their failure was -certainly not owing to any exceptional power of combination shown by the -Irish. It was rather due to quarrels among the colonists, whose strength -was being constantly sapped by taking part in Edward's Scotch wars, and -who were not recruited by any considerable immigration. In 1245, the male -line of the Earl Marshal was finally extinguished, and the inheritance of -Strongbow fell to five sisters, the great grand-daughters of Dermod -MacMurrough. Matilda, the eldest, obtained Carlow and carried the -hereditary office of Earl Marshal to her husband, Hugh Bigot, Earl of -Norfolk. Joan, the second, received Wexford. Isabella, the third, had -Kilkenny, which her descendants sold to the Ormonde family. Sibilla, the -fourth, had Kildare for her share. Eva, the youngest sister, married -William De Braose; and through her daughter, who was married to Roger -Mortimer, became ancestress of most of the royal houses of Europe. As -the five daughters of William Earl Marshal were all married, and had all -children, the history of Leinster becomes very confusing. Had it remained -in one strong hand the Irish would hardly have recovered their ground. -But, as Giraldus points out, the 'four great pillars of the conquest, -Fitz-Stephen, Hervey, Raymond, and John de Courcy, by the hidden but -never unjust judgment of God, were not blessed with any legitimate -offspring.' A similar fatality attended many others, including Earl -Richard, to whom, and not to Fitz-Stephen, common fame, more true in this -case than contemporary history, has attributed the real leadership among -the Anglo-Norman invaders of Ireland. - -[Sidenote: Edward I. weakens the colony by drawing men and supplies from -it.] - -In his great campaign of 1296 Edward had much help from Ireland. The Earl -of Ulster was among those who led contingents to Scotland, and the names -of Power, Butler, Fitzthomas, Wogan, Rocheford, Purcell, Cantoke, and -Barry appear among the leaders. The whole force from Ireland consisted of -310 men-at-arms, 266 hobelers or horsemen with unarmoured horses, and -2,576 foot, including many archers and cross-bowmen. All who went -received pardons, but some refused or neglected to obey the royal -summons. In 1298 Edward drew provisions from Ireland. His requisition -included 8,000 quarters of wheat, chiefly fine flour in casks; 10,000 -quarters of oats; much bran, bacon, salt beef, and salt fish; and 10,000 -casks of wine. If so much wine could not be got in Ireland, then the -Viceroy was to agree with some merchant to bring it from Gascony as quick -as possible. Edward used Ireland as a base for operations, or as a -recruiting ground, but he never had time to give it much of his personal -care. First Wales, then Gascony, then Palestine, then Scotland engrossed -his vast energies; but Ireland was left to herself. Without the means to -keep order themselves, Viceroys found it necessary to preserve the colony -by stirring up dissensions among the Irish. The justiciar, Robert -d'Ufford, was sent for by Edward and charged with this evil policy. He -answered, that to save the King's coffers, and to keep the peace, he -thought it expedient to wink at one knave cutting off another. 'Whereat,' -says an old author, 'the King smiled, and bade him return to Ireland.' - -[Sidenote: Disorders after the death of Edward I.] - -John's imperfect partition of Ireland into shires was still more -imperfectly carried out. At the death of Edward I. four out of his -grandfather's twelve counties--namely, Meath, Wexford, Carlow, and -Kilkenny--were liberties or exempt jurisdictions in the hands of what -Davies calls 'absolute palatines,' claiming and exercising almost every -attribute of sovereignty. The Fitzgeralds had acquired similar authority -over a portion of Desmond, and the De Clares over a portion of Thomond. -Connaught and Ulster were under the De Burghs, in so far as they had been -reduced at all, and Roscommon was a royal castle and the head of a -separate county. At Randon on Lough Ree was another royal castle, and -these were almost the only strongholds of the Crown in Connaught; for -Galway was quite subject to the De Burghs. Within their palatinate -jurisdictions, the great nobles made barons and knights, appointed -sheriffs, and executed justice. The King's writ only ran in the Church -lands, and was executed by a separate sheriff. So complete was the -distinction, that in the mediæval parliaments knights were separately -returned for the counties and for the 'crosses,' as the ecclesiastical -jurisdictions were called. The inherent weakness of such a polity was -probably aggravated by the suppression of the Templars, who always kept a -strong armed force. In 1308 Edward II. called for an account of their -lands and revenues, and the barons of the exchequer answered that they -could make no proper inquisition. 'On account,' they wrote, 'of the long -distances, and of the feuds between certain of the magnates of Ireland, -we do not dare to visit the places named, and jurors of the country -cannot come to us for the same reason.' - -[Sidenote: Reasons why the colony declined. The Bruces invade Ireland.] - -Dissensions among the barons, caused by the weakness and absence of the -Crown, were one great cause of the decline of the colony. Another was the -policy of Edward I., which left him little time to attend to Ireland, and -tempted him constantly to draw supplies of men from thence. A third was -the battle of Bannockburn, which allowed victorious Scotland to compete -with England for the dominion of the neighbouring island; and the Irish -themselves were not slow to adopt the principle that England's difficulty -is Ireland's opportunity. In 1315 Edward Bruce landed near Larne with -6,000 men, including some of the best knights in Scotland. Having been -joined by O'Neill and the chiefs depending on him, Bruce twice defeated -the Red Earl of Ulster, occupied the strongholds of Down and Antrim, and -wintered in Westmeath. In the spring he overthrew the Viceroy, Sir Edmund -Butler, at Ardscull, for the Earl of Ulster disdained to serve under the -King's representative, and the English armies were therefore beaten in -detail. Bruce gained another battle at Kells, wasted all northern -Leinster, and then returned to Carrickfergus, where he was joined by King -Robert with reinforcements. The Scots went almost where they liked, and -Robert Bruce is said to have heard mass at Limerick on Palm Sunday, 1317. -They did not cross the Shannon, and seem not to have gone further south -than Cashel. Dublin was not attacked, though the invaders came as near as -Castleknock. On Easter Thursday, 1317, Roger Mortimer landed at Youghal -with 15,000 men and full viceregal powers, and the Bruces retired before -him into Ulster. They had devastated the country, and lost many men from -the famine which they themselves had caused. - -[Sidenote: The Bruces fail to conquer Ireland.] - -The Bruces were descended from Strongbow and from Dermod MacMurrough, and -Robert's wife was descended from Roderic O'Connor. The true principles of -hereditary succession were not fully accepted, and they might pretend -some right to interfere in Ireland. They had been invited by the De -Lacies of Meath, who for want of male heirs saw their territory divided -between De Verdon and De Mortimer. In the first flush of his victorious -advance from the south, Roger Mortimer called the De Lacies before him. -They refused to appear, and were proclaimed traitors, but continued to -adhere to Edward Bruce's fortunes. The invader, after his brother's -departure, remained for more than a year at Carrickfergus, in hopes of -being able to take the offensive again, and still retaining the title of -King, which he had assumed after his first successes. He had been so -often victorious in battle that he despised the colonists, and, against -the advice of his Irish allies, resolved to fight once more without -waiting for reinforcements from Scotland. John de Bermingham, at the head -of an army which greatly outnumbered the Scots, forced an engagement -between Faughard and Dundalk, and Bruce and most of his officers were -killed. The remnant of his army, with Walter and Hugo de Lacy, managed to -escape to Scotland. The sovereignty of the English Crown in Ireland was -never again seriously disputed; but the feudal organisation was shattered -by Bruce's invasion, which did nothing to compose the differences already -existing among the colonists. John de Bermingham received a grant of -Louth with the title of earl, but his great services were soon forgotten, -and eleven years after the battle of Dundalk he was murdered by the -English of his own earldom. - -[Sidenote: Horrible cruelties of the Bruces.] - -English and Irish are agreed as to the cruelty and ferocity of the -Bruces. Clyn the Franciscan records, in terse and vigorous Latin, that -'Robert Bruce, who bore himself as King of the Scots, crossed Ireland -from Ulster, where he landed, almost to Limerick, burning, killing, -plundering, and spoiling towns, castles, and even churches, both going -and returning.' Clyn was an English partisan, but the same cannot be said -of the Lough Cé annalists, who record that 'Edward Bruce, the destroyer -of all Erin in general, both foreigners and Gaels, was slain by the -foreigners of Erin, through the power of battle and bravery at Dundalk; -and MacRory, King of the Hebrides, and MacDonnell, King of Argyll, -together with the men of Scotland, were slain there along with him; and -no better deed for the men of all Erin was performed since the beginning -of the world, since the Formorian race was expelled from Erin, than this -deed; for theft, and famine, and destruction of men occurred throughout -Erin during his time for the space of three years and a half; and people -used to eat one another, without doubt, throughout Erin.' - -[Sidenote: The Irish fail to give the Bruces effectual support.] - -There can, however, be no doubt that Edward Bruce came to Ireland on the -invitation of the Irish. Donnell O'Neill, claiming to be the true heir to -the chief kingship, and the other chiefs, in the famous remonstrance -which they addressed to John XXII., informed that Pope that they felt -helpless for want of a leader, but were determined no longer to submit -like women to Anglo-Norman oppression, and that they had therefore -invited over 'the brother of the most illustrious Lord Robert, by the -grace of God King of the Scots, and a descendant of the most noble of -their own ancestors,' and that they had by letters patent constituted him -king and lord. The blood of Roderic O'Connor and of Eva evidently went -for something, but the chiefs also believed that Edward Bruce was 'a -person of piety and prudence, of a chaste and modest disposition, of -great sobriety, and altogether orderly and unassuming in his demeanour.' -Scottish historians are not entirely of the same opinion. It is indeed -probable that Bruce had no other idea than to carve out a kingdom with -his sword, like a genuine Norman as he was. He had the memory of Earl -Richard, of Fitz-Stephen, and of De Courcy to guide him; and if a more -modern instance was required, there could be none better than that of his -brother Robert. - - - - -[Illustration: IRELAND ABOUT 1300.] - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -FROM THE INVASION OF THE BRUCES TO THE YEAR 1346. - - -[Sidenote: The Irish never united. The O'Connors are almost destroyed by -the De Burgos.] - -The Irish invited Bruce, but they made no regular or general effort in -his favour. Their total incapacity for anything like national -organisation had forbidden the idea of a native sovereign, and perhaps -the majority of them thought one Norman baron no better than another. The -year 1316, in which Bruce landed, witnessed the almost total destruction -of the O'Connors, the tribe which had last held the chief kingship. Their -relationship with the De Burgos, Berminghams, and other Anglo-Normans may -be traced in great detail in the annalists. Felim O'Connor, whom the -Connaught historiographers call undisputed heir presumptive to the -sovereignty of Erin, formed one of those great confederacies which occur -so frequently in Irish history, and which so seldom had any results. The -O'Kellys, MacDermods, O'Maddens, O'Dowds, O'Haras, O'Kearneys, -O'Farrells, MacMahons, and many others were represented; and the -Anglo-Normans, who also mustered in great force, were commanded by the -Red Earl's brother, Sir William de Burgo, and by Richard Bermingham, -fourth baron of Athenry, at the gate of which town the decisive struggle -took place. The Irish were defeated with the loss of something like -10,000 men. Felim O'Connor fell, and his tribe never recovered its -position in Connaught. In late times we have O'Connor Don and O'Connor -Roe in Roscommon, O'Connor Sligo, O'Connor Kerry near the mouth of the -Shannon, and O'Connor Faly in what is now the King's County, but the De -Burgos became supreme in Connaught. - -[Sidenote: The Irish recover ground under Edward II. and his successors.] - -In other parts of Ireland the Celts were more successful. In 1317 or 1318 -the O'Carrolls gained a victory over Sir Edmund Butler, but Clyn places -his loss at about two hundred only. More important was the battle of -Disert O'Dea, in which Richard de Clare was defeated and slain. This -fight destroyed the pretensions of the De Clares, and the O'Briens -remained supreme in Thomond as long as such supremacies lasted anywhere. -In Leinster, too, the Irish became more and more troublesome, and Clyn -unwillingly records successes of the O'Nolans and O'Tooles over the Poers -and other settlers. The dissensions of the colonists were yet more fatal -than the prowess of the natives. Eva's descendants were for ever fighting -among themselves, and it was the Red Earl's jealousy of Sir Edmund Butler -which prevented a united effort from being made against Bruce. 'After -having violently expelled us,' wrote the Irish to John XXII., 'from our -spacious habitations and patrimonial inheritances, they have compelled us -to repair, in the hope of saving our lives, to mountains and woods, to -bogs and barren wastes, and to the caves of the rocks, where, like the -beasts, we have long been fain to dwell.' The close of Edward II.'s reign -saw them everywhere ready to descend from their hills, and to emerge from -their woods. For nearly two hundred years the history of Ireland is in -the main a history of Celtic gains at the expense of Anglo-Normans and -Englishmen; if, indeed, anarchy can rightly be accounted gain to any race -or community of men. - -[Sidenote: The last Earl of Ulster is murdered, 1333. The De Burgos and -other Anglo-Normans assume Irish names and habits.] - -In 1326 the Red Earl of Ulster retired into the monastery of Athassel, -where he died soon afterwards. His great power descended to his grandson -William, who was murdered at or near Carrickfergus in 1333 by the -Mandevilles and other Ulster colonists. By his wife, Maud Plantagenet, -great-grand-daughter of Henry III., he left one child, Elizabeth, who was -only a few months old at the date of his murder. Twenty years afterwards -she married Lionel Duke of Clarence, and became ancestress of the Tudors -and Stuarts. The Earldom of Ulster thus ultimately merged in the Crown. -But the Irish De Burgos refused to acknowledge a baby, who, as a royal -ward, would be brought up independently of them; and they preferred to -follow the sons of Sir William, the Red Earl's brother. William the -elder assumed the title of MacWilliam Uachtar, or the Upper, took all -Galway for his portion, and became ancestor of the Clanricarde family. -His brother, Sir Edmund, as MacWilliam Iochtar, or the Lower, took Mayo, -and founded the family which bears that title. They threw off their -allegiance to England, and became more Irish than the Irish. They -reappear in the sixteenth century under the modern name of Burke. About -the same time several other Anglo-Normans assumed Irish names. The -Stauntons became MacAveelys; the Berminghams MacFeoris; the D'Exeters, -MacJordans; the Barretts, MacAndrews, MacThomins, MacRoberts, and -MacPaddins; the Nangles, MacCostelloes; the Mayo Prendergasts, -MacMaurices. The De Burgos themselves had many subordinate branches, each -with its peculiar Irish name, as MacDavid, MacPhilbin, MacShoneen, -MacGibbon, MacWalter, and MacRaymond. Nor was the practice confined to -Connaught. Some of the Leinster Fitzgeralds became MacThomases and -MacBarons; and some of the same house in Munster were transfigured into -MacGibbons, MacThomaisins, and MacEdmonds. Many other Anglo-Normans or -English families were more or less completely transformed in the same -way. It is only necessary to mention that the Wesleys or Wellesleys, who -gave England its greatest captain, were sometimes called MacFabrenes; and -that the Bissetts of Antrim, whose connections in Scotland gave the -Tudors such trouble, may still be traced as Makeons. In the district near -Dublin, which got the name of the English Pale, some Irish residents took -English names, and the practice was encouraged by a statute of Edward IV. -There is probably no country in Europe where the population is so -thoroughly mixed as it is in Ireland. - -[Sidenote: Edward III. creates three great earldoms: Kildare, Desmond, -and Ormonde.] - -As the Earls of Ulster disappear, other families attain prominence, and -the earlier Tudor history is mainly occupied with the struggles of three -earldoms, created in the first half of the fourteenth century. The name -Geraldine, to which Giraldus Cambrensis gave a more extended -signification, was in later times confined to the descendants of Maurice -Fitzgerald, one of Nesta's many sons. One branch was firmly settled in -Kildare before the death of Henry II., and in the reign of Edward I. the -head of it was John Fitz-Thomas, whose dissensions with William de Vesci, -Lord of Kildare, ended in an appeal to the King, and a challenge to the -trial by combat. Fitz-Thomas was the challenger, and on his adversary -failing to appear, he received a royal grant of De Vesci's lands. In 1316 -Edward II. created him Earl of Kildare, and the Duke of Leinster is -descended from him. During most of the fifteenth century, and for the -first third of the sixteenth, this was on the whole the most powerful -family in Ireland. The Earls of Kildare commanded the whole strength of -that county, and its proximity to Dublin often enabled them to control -the government. Meath was too much divided for its proprietors to act as -a counterpoise, and the strength of the rival house of Ormonde lay at a -distance from the capital, and was exposed to attacks from another branch -of the Geraldines, whose chief was created Earl of Desmond in 1329. The -Desmonds first rose at the expense of the MacCarthies in Kerry. A -marriage with the heiress of Fitz-Anthony brought them the western half -of the county Waterford and other large estates. This lady's son married -the heiress of the Cogans, and her great property in Cork was added to -the rest. The Desmonds never became quite so completely Hibernicised as -the De Burgos; but they attained something very like independence, and -more than once proved too strong for the government. The third great -earldom was founded in the person of Edmund Butler, who was created Earl -of Carrick in 1315; the better known title of Ormonde being conferred on -his son James in 1328. The founder of the family was Theobald -Fitz-Walter, who accompanied Henry II. to Ireland, and was by him made -hereditary butler with a grant of the prisage of wines. The name of -office was adopted by his descendants, who derived great advantage from -the grant. Ormonde is properly the northern part of Tipperary, but the -earls became palatine lords of nearly all the county, and owners of vast -estates in Kilkenny and Wexford. Their principal castles were Kilkenny, -Gowran, Carrick-on-Suir, and Arklow. The possession of the latter place -gave them ready access to England, and through all turns of weal and woe -they ever remained faithful to the Crown. If regard be had to the length -of time that it retained eminence, or to the average ability of its -chiefs, or to its comparative civilisation in rude times, the House of -Ormonde must be accounted the most distinguished of the Anglo-Norman -families of Ireland. - -[Sidenote: Towns in Ireland: Dublin and Drogheda.] - -The native Irish had no regular towns. The Anglo-Normans took possession -of those founded by the Ostmen, which were all on the coast, and founded -many others, of which only three or four, and those not the most -important, were at a distance from navigable rivers. Athassel in -Tipperary is sometimes called a town, but it never became a municipality, -and can have been little more than an aggregation of poor houses about -the great monastery, and there may have been other similar cases. Dublin -obtained its first charter from Henry II. in 1171 or 1172, and Drogheda -from Henry III. in 1229. - -'Dublin and Drogheda,' says the historian of the Irish capital, 'were -neither distinctly English nor Irish. Their citizens, as tax-contributing -and acknowledged subjects of England, relied on her for protection -against oppressive Anglo-Norman nobles and hostile natives. The -Irish--unless Anglicised--had no legal part in these communities, but -continuous mutual intercourse was sustained by the advantages derived -from traffic.' 'In our documents,' adds the same writer, 'Scandinavians -or Ostmans but rarely appear, although in 1215 the latter people were of -sufficient importance to have been associated with the English of Dublin -by King John as parties to an inquiry held there by his justiciary. The -proportion of the various national elements cannot be absolutely -determined by the forms of names;' for many names originated in personal -peculiarities, many were translated from one language to another, and -many Irishmen became denizens, and adopted an English patronymic. The -'Irish town' which exists outside the old bounds of Dublin, Limerick, -Kilkenny, Clonmel, and other places, doubtless perpetuates the memory of -a time when the natives congregated in the neighbourhood of civic -communities to which they did not belong.[35] - -[Sidenote: Other towns: Limerick, Waterford, and Cork the chief.] - -What has been said of Dublin and Drogheda applies to the other cities and -towns of Ireland. Limerick received its first charter from John in 1197, -Waterford from the same prince in 1206, and Cork from Henry III. in 1242. -These were the chief centres of trade and of English law in the south of -Ireland. The less important municipalities owed their origin generally to -some great noble, the Crown afterwards adopting them and granting fresh -privileges. Kilkenny received a charter from the Earl Marshal between -1202 and 1218. New Ross, well situated at the junction of the Nore and -Barrow, belonged to the same great man, and excited the jealousy of -Waterford at least as early as 1215. Clonmel was included in a grant made -by Henry II. to Otho de Grandison. It passed into the hands of the De -Burgos, who probably incorporated it, and who received a royal grant to -hold a fair there in 1225. Fethard, Callan, Gowran, and other inland -towns were of less consequence, but were still distinctly English in -origin and character. Youghal and Kinsale were also corporate towns. The -latter received a charter from Edward III. in 1333, and the former, which -had been long identified with the Desmond family, seems not to have been -regularly incorporated till 1462. The Kinsale charter recites that the -town was surrounded by Irish enemies and English rebels, and that the -burgesses were worn out in repelling the same. The mediæval kings -commonly granted the customs and tolls of loyal towns to be expended by -the inhabitants in repairing their walls. - -[Sidenote: Galway.] - -Galway has a history of its own. The O'Connors had a fortified post there -before the Anglo-Norman invasion, and it soon attracted the attention of -the invaders. In 1232 it was for the first time taken by Richard de -Burgo, who lost it once, but recovered it and made it the capital of his -province. The building of the walls was begun about the beginning of the -reign of Edward I., and murage charters were granted probably by that -king, and certainly by Edward III. and Richard II. A charter of -incorporation was granted in 1396, but the names of certain chief -magistrates, provosts, portreeves, and sovereigns, are preserved from -1274 to 1485, when the first mayor took office. Fourteen English -families, afterwards known as the tribes of Galway, engrossed civic -power, and from 1485 to 1654 every mayor, with a single doubtful -exception, was chosen from among them. When the De Burgos turned Irish -and renounced their allegiance, the loyal citizens soon learned to treat -them as enemies, and in 1518 the corporation resolved that no inhabitant -should receive into his house 'at Christmas, Easter, nor no feast else, -any of the Burkes, MacWilliams, the Kellys, nor no sept else, without -licence of the mayor and council, on pain to forfeit 5_l._ that neither O -nor Mac shall strut nor swagger through the streets of Galway.' Their -great enemies were the O'Flaherties of Iar-Connaught, and it is said the -prayer 'from the ferocious O'Flaherties, good Lord, deliver us,' was once -inscribed over the west gate of the town. Athenry, which was built by the -Bermingham family, was long and closely connected with Galway. It -received a murage charter in 1312.[36] - -[Sidenote: Anglo-Norman families of importance.] - -Besides the three great earldoms, there were several Anglo-Norman -families who continued to have considerable importance in Tudor times. -Robert le Poer, or De Poher, received a grant from Henry II., which made -his descendants, now generally called Power, supreme in the eastern half -of the county Waterford. In the middle ages they were often at war with -the citizens of Waterford. Their chief seat was Curraghmore, and they are -represented, through a lady, by the Marquis of Waterford. The western -half of the same county, which came by marriage to the Desmonds, fell to -the descendants of the seventh earl's second son, known as the -Fitzgeralds, of Decies, and seated at Dromana. The Fitzmaurices, -descended from Raymond le Gros, occupied that part of north Kerry which -is still called Clanmaurice. They became Barons of Lixnaw, and are -represented by the Marquis of Lansdowne. The family of the White Knight -was descended from Gilbert, eldest son of John More Fitzgerald by his -second wife, Honora O'Connor; his half brother by Margery Fitz-Anthony -being the first Earl of Desmond. The White Knights were called Macgibbon -and Fitzgibbon, and their memory is preserved by the barony of -Clangibbon, in the county of Cork. From John, the second of Honora -O'Connor's sons, is descended the Knight of the Valley, or of Glin on the -Shannon. Maurice, the third brother, was the first Knight of Kerry. -Another branch of the Fitzgeralds, known as hereditary seneschals of -Imokilly, were settled in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries at Castle -Martyr. The Barrys, descendants of Nesta as well as the Geraldines, were -settled in that part of the county of Cork called Barrymore; and the -Roches were established soon after the first invasion about -Castletown-Roche, and Fermoy. Of the families who obtained portions of De -Lacy's great territory, the most important were the Nugents, Barons of -Delvin, and the Flemings, Barons of Slane on the Boyne. The Plunkets, who -are supposed to be of Danish origin, were in the middle ages settled -chiefly in Meath; and there they are still. They became Barons of -Killeen, Dunsany, and Louth. The Prestons, Viscounts of Gormanston, and -the Barnewalls, Barons of Trimleston, may also be noticed; but all the -families of the Pale were overshadowed by the House of Kildare. - -[Sidenote: The colony steadily declines under Edward III.] - -So far as the English colony in Ireland is concerned, the long reign of -Edward III. must be regarded as a period of decay. The murder of the last -Earl of Ulster in 1333, and the consequent secession of the De Burghs, -hastened the destruction of a fabric which had always hung loosely -together. The sons of Hugh Boy O'Neill, who was killed in 1283, -established themselves firmly in Eastern Ulster, and undid nearly all the -work of De Courcey and his successors. They gave to Antrim the name of -Clan-Hugh-Boy, or Clandeboye, as it is now written. Only the Savages -maintained themselves in Ardes; and the MacQuillins, a family of Welsh -origin, between the Bush and the Bann, in the district afterwards called -the Route. The three royal fortresses which bridled Connaught, Athlone, -Roscommon, and Randon, all fell into the hands of the Irish. In Leinster -also the natives rapidly gained ground. Lysaght O'More formed a -confederacy of nearly all the midland tribes, and expelled the settlers -from the district between the Barrow and the Shannon. His career was -short, but his work was lasting. 'In 1342,' says Clyn, 'he was killed -when drunk by his own servant. He was a rich and powerful man, and -honoured among his own people. He expelled nearly all the English from -his lands, and burned eight of their castles in one evening. He destroyed -Roger Mortimer's noble fortress of Dunamase, and usurped the lordship of -his own country. He was a servant, he became a lord; he was a subject, he -became a prince.' Bunratty Castle in Clare was dismantled by the O'Briens -and Macnamaras, and a branch of the former established themselves in -Tipperary. Of William Carragh O'Brien, of Aherlow, one of the chiefs of -this sept, Clyn gives a very unflattering account. 'He was,' he declares, -'a bad and perverse man who lived ill and died ill, passing all his time -in waylayings, thefts, spoils, and murders.' - -[Sidenote: Dissension rife among the colonists.] - -The constant quarrels of the colonists, and the corruption of their -officials, laid them open to the attacks of the natives, and the state of -Ireland attracted so much attention that the Parliament held at -Westminster in 1331 advised the King to cross the Channel himself. Edward -III. never had much time to attend to Ireland, but he seems to have been -aware that he had duties in the matter. In 1338 he decreed that none but -Englishmen born should fill legal offices; but this did not mend matters, -and the administration of justice continued to be as corrupt as ever. The -new comers married in Ireland, and were as ready to job for their -children as if they had been descended from the first colonists. In 1341 -the King ordered that Englishmen with estates in England should be -preferred, but the supply of such men was necessarily limited. The main -cause of the corruption prevalent was no doubt the poverty of the Crown. -Officials were ill paid, or not paid at all, and they supported -themselves by embezzling funds or by selling justice. An unjust proposal -to increase the revenue by resuming royal grants naturally aggravated -every evil, and the English by blood were arrayed against the English by -birth. Sir John Morris, the deputy who was ordered to carry out the new -policy, summoned a Parliament to meet at Dublin in October, 1341. But -Maurice Fitz-Thomas, first Earl of Desmond, persuaded a large section of -the nobility to ignore the writs, to attend a rival assembly at Kilkenny, -and to draw up a remonstrance addressed to the King. The malcontents -wished to be informed how a governor without military skill could rule a -land where war never ceased, how an official could become quickly rich, -and how it came about that the King was never the richer for Ireland? -Edward abandoned the intention of resuming the grants, but subsequent -events show that he did not really forgive Desmond. - -[Sidenote: D'Ufford's futile attempts to recover the Earldom of Ulster.] - -Ralph d'Ufford had married Maud Plantagenet, widow of the murdered Earl -of Ulster, and in 1344 he was sent over as Viceroy with very large -powers. One of his objects was to resume possession of Ulster for the -benefit of his step-daughter, the royal ward; but he totally failed in -obtaining rent out of the lands, or in ousting those who had seized them. -After chastising the Irish in the neighbourhood of Dublin, d'Ufford -resolved to invade Ulster with a regular army. The MacArtanes attacked -him at the Moyrie Pass, and he narrowly escaped annihilation. Having cut -his way through with the help of the settlers in Louth and Monaghan, he -made his way into the northern province, but no permanent results -followed. Desmond and others having refused to attend his Parliament, the -Viceroy went to Kerry, took Castle Island, and hanged its principal -defenders. He imprisoned the Earl of Kildare and seized his estates, and -then took action upon a bond executed in 1333, by which twenty-six of the -chief men of the colony became bound for Desmond's good behaviour. Many -of the sureties had aided the Viceroy, but he, nevertheless, seized their -lands. The Earl of Ormonde and two more were the only exceptions. The -ruin caused by this policy was out of all proportion to the good, and in -the history of the English in Ireland no one has a worse name than Sir -Ralph d'Ufford, except perhaps his high-born wife, whose resentments were -supposed to guide him. His hand was as heavy against the Church as -against the temporal nobles. The annalist Pembridge, who was a -contemporary, declares that he brought bad weather to Ireland, and that -it lasted all his time. 'On Palm Sunday,' says the same writer, 'which -was on April 9, 1346, Ralph d'Ufford died, whose death was very much -lamented by his wife and family; but the loyal subjects of Ireland -rejoiced at it, and both the clergy and laity for joy celebrated a solemn -feast at Easter. Upon his death the floods ceased, and the air again grew -wholesome, and the common people thanked God for it.' - -FOOTNOTES: - -[35] The quotations are from Gilbert's _Historic and Municipal Documents -of Ireland_, pp. xxviii. and xxx. - -[36] Hardiman's _History of Galway_ contains as much as most readers will -care to know about that town. The following distich makes it possible to -remember the tribes:-- - - Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Browne, Deane, Darcy, Lynch, - Joyce, Kirwan, Martin, Morris, Skerrett, French. - -To which Ffont or Faunt must be added. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -FROM THE YEAR 1346 TO THE ACCESSION OF HENRY VII. - - -[Sidenote: Lionel, Duke of Clarence, is not more successful than -D'Ufford.] - -[Sidenote: Lionel holds a Parliament at Kilkenny, 1367.] - -The Crown did nothing for Ireland. Torn by intestine quarrels, and denied -a just government, the colony grew yearly weaker. Many of the settlers -found their position intolerable, and, in spite of severe ordinances, -absenteeism constantly increased. In 1361 Edward summoned to Westminster -no less than sixty-three non-resident landowners, including the heads of -several great abbeys, who derived revenues from Ireland and gave nothing -in return. They were ordered to provide an army suitable for the King's -son Lionel, Duke of Clarence and Earl of Ulster by marriage, who -proceeded to Ireland as Viceroy. He was accompanied by his wife, but -failed, as D'Ufford had done, to obtain any profit from her lordship of -Ulster, and was scarcely successful even against the clans near Dublin. -The O'Byrnes and O'Tooles cut off many of his English soldiers, and the -Duke was obliged to seek aid from the more experienced colonists. Like -many governors who have come to Ireland with great pretensions, Lionel -found his position most humiliating, and he spent a great part of his -time in England. His authority was delegated to deputies, and the feuds -between English by blood and English by birth ran higher than ever. In -1367 he returned and summoned a Parliament, whose enactments gave legal -sanction to the fact that the King was no longer lord of more than a -comparatively small portion of Ireland. - -The statute of Kilkenny contains a great many rather heterogeneous rules. -What makes it of such great importance is its formal recognition of the -existence of an English Pale, and of a hostile Irish people outside it. -The word Pale may not have been in use for a century later, but the -thing was fully established. - -[Sidenote: Composition of the Parliament of Kilkenny.] - -The Parliament of Kilkenny did not, however, confine its attention to the -narrow limits of the 'four obedient shires.' The distinction between -English and Irish land was conceded, but it was still hoped that most of -the shireland would be preserved to English law. The sheriffs or -seneschals of ten counties or liberties, comprising all Leinster, except -the modern King's and Queen's Counties, as well as Tipperary and -Waterford, were required to produce their accounts at Dublin; but those -of Connaught, Kerry, Cork, and Limerick were excused on account of -distance, and were required only to attend commissioners of the exchequer -when they came to their bailiwicks, and to render an account to them. -Ulster, the Duchess of Clarence's patrimony, is not even mentioned by her -husband's Parliament. Of the composition of that assembly we have no -record, but it was attended by the Archbishops of Dublin, Cashel, and -Tuam, and by the Bishops of Waterford and Lismore, Killaloe, Ossory, -Leighlin, and Cloyne. The Archbishops of Cashel and Tuam and the Bishop -of Killaloe were Irishmen; the rest were of English race, and some of -them born in England. - -[Sidenote: The Statute of Kilkenny endeavours to separate the two races.] - -The statute begins by reciting that for a long time after the conquest -the English in Ireland spoke English, and in general behaved like -Englishmen; but that of late years many had fallen away and adopted the -Irish language and habits, whereby the King's authority and the English -interest were depressed, and the Irish enemy 'against reason' exalted. In -order to remedy this marriage, fosterage, gossipred, and even concubinage -with the Irish was declared high treason. Supplying horses and armour to -Irishmen at any time was visited with like penalties, and so was -furnishing them with provisions in time of war. Englishmen and even -Irishmen living among the English were to speak English, to bear English -names only, and to ride and dress in the English fashion, on pain of -forfeiture until they should submit and find security. If they had no -lands they might lie in prison till security was forthcoming. Special -penalties were provided for offenders who had 100_l._ a year in land. -The English born in Ireland and in England were to be in all respects -equal, and were not to call each other English hobbe or Irish dog, on -pain of a year's imprisonment and a fine at the King's pleasure. War with -the Irish was inculcated as a solemn duty, and the practice of buying off -invasions was condemned. The end aimed at was that Irish enemies should -be finally destroyed, and many minute rules were made for arming the -colony properly. The rude Irish game of hurling was discountenanced, and -the borderers were enjoined to make themselves fit for constant war by -practising such gentlemanlike sports as archery and lance-play. -Imprisonment and fine were to follow a neglect of these precepts. -Provision was made to prevent the Irish from forestalling the markets by -establishing fairs of their own, and from grazing their cattle in the -settled districts. Very severe regulations were made against Irish -hangers-on--pipers to wit, story-tellers, babblers, and rhymers, all of -whom acted habitually as spies. The keeping of kerne and idlemen, armed -or unarmed, at the expense of other people, was sternly forbidden, and -qualified as open robbery. It became, nevertheless, the greatest and -commonest of all abuses. Private war among the English was to be punished -as high treason, and so was the common practice of enticing friendly -Irishmen to acts of violence. - -[Sidenote: The Statute of Kilkenny respects the Church, but makes -distinctions.] - -The rights and privileges of Holy Church were jealously guarded by the -Parliament of Kilkenny. Persons excommunicated for infringing her -franchises were to be imprisoned by the civil power until restitution was -made. Tithes were specially protected, and the excommunicated were not to -be countenanced by King or people. But the distinction between the -hostile races was maintained in matters ecclesiastical. No Irishman was -to be admitted by provision, collation, or presentation among the -English. Such preferments were declared void, and the next presentation -was to lapse to the Crown. Religious houses situated among the English -were strictly forbidden to receive Irishmen, but Englishmen by birth and -by blood were given equal rights. The Irish prelates present probably -found no difficulty in accepting these principles, for they might, and -did, retaliate by refusing to receive English clerks in Irish districts. -The Archbishops and Bishops assembled at Kilkenny lent a special sanction -to the statute by agreeing to excommunicate all who broke it, and they -declared such offenders duly excommunicated in advance. - -[Sidenote: Effects of the Statute of Kilkenny.] - -Sir John Davies, with less than his usual accuracy, has declared that -'the execution of these laws, together with the presence of the King's -son, made a notable alteration in the state and manners of the people -within the space of seven years, which was the term of this prince's -lieutenancy.' Now, the Statute of Kilkenny was not passed till 1367, and -Lionel died in 1368. The Act of Henry III., on which Davies chiefly -founded his statement, says the land continued in prosperity and honour -while the Kilkenny laws were executed, and fell to ruin and desolation -upon their falling into abeyance. But the annalists tell a different -story, and it is not easy to say what those fat years were. In 1370, only -three years after the passing of the much vaunted statute, the Earl of -Desmond and others were taken prisoners by the O'Briens and Macnamaras, -and the deputy, Sir William de Windsor, was obliged to leave the O'Tooles -unchastised in order to hurry to the defence of Munster. Newcastle, -within a day's ride from Dublin, was taken and dismantled. The judges -could not get as far as Carlow. In 1377 the O'Farrells gained a great -advantage over the English of Meath. The general result of the fighting -during the ten years which followed the Parliament of Kilkenny was that -the Irish retained possession of at least all which they had previously -won. What the statute really did was to separate the two races more -completely. - -[Sidenote: Edward III. weakens the colony by drawing men from it.] - -Edward III. repeated his grandfather's mistake, and drew away many of the -colonists to his Scotch and Continental wars. An Anglo-Irish contingent -fought at Halidon Hill, and it was while making preparations for that -campaign that the Earl of Ulster lost his life. Ireland was also well -represented at Creçy, and many brave men fell victims to disease at -Calais. The Viceroys sent over from time to time seem to have been -regarded as licensed oppressors, and it is recorded of many that they -left Dublin without paying their debts. Sir Thomas Rokeby, who was Deputy -in 1349 and 1356, is praised by the contemporary chronicler Pembridge for -beating the Irish well, and for paying his way honestly. 'I will,' he -said, 'use wooden cups and platters, but give gold and silver for my food -and clothes, and for the men in my pay.' That this golden saying, as -Davies calls it, should have been thought worth recording shows what the -general practice was. The three great pestilences which ravaged England -ran their course in Ireland also. It was to the first of these -visitations that the annalist Clyn succumbed. 'I have,' he records, 'well -weighed what I have written, as befits a man who dwells among the dead in -daily expectation of death; and lest the writer should perish with the -writing, and the work with the workman, I leave parchment for a -continuation, if by chance any of the race of Adam should escape this -plague and resume my unfinished task.' On the whole, the reign of Edward -III. must be regarded as one of the most disastrous in the annals of the -English in Ireland. - -[Sidenote: Richard II. determines to visit Ireland.] - -[Sidenote: His first visit, 1394.] - -The reign of Richard II. is mainly remarkable for the King's two visits -to Ireland. But that step was not taken until many others had failed. -James Butler, third Earl of Ormonde, was Viceroy when the old King died. -He continued in office, and held a Parliament at Castle Dermot, whose -deliberations were interrupted by an invasion of Leinster on the western -side. The O'Briens were bought off with 100 marks, but there were only -nine in the treasury, and the residue was supplied by individuals who -gave horses, a bed, or moderate sums of money. Ormonde resigned an office -which there was no means of supporting properly, and the Earl of Kildare -refused the post. In 1380 Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, who claimed -Ulster through his wife Philippa, the daughter of Duke Lionel, agreed to -accept the burden for three years. He covenanted for 20,000 marks and for -absolute control over the revenue of Ireland. The Irish scarcely ventured -to oppose him openly; and he recovered Athlone, built a bridge at -Coleraine, put down rebels in southern Leinster, and might have extended -his power still further had he not died of a chill, caught in fording a -river near Cork. Ormonde and Desmond refused to accept the vacant -government, and the Irish continued to enlarge their borders. In 1385 -Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, the King's favourite and grandson of -Ralph d'Ufford and the Countess of Ulster, was appointed Viceroy for -life, and created first Marquis of Dublin, and then Duke of Ireland. All -the attributes of royalty, such as the right to coin money and issue -writs in his own name, were conferred on him, and he undertook to pay the -King 5,000 marks a year, which the latter agreed to remit until the -conquest of Ireland was complete. De Vere did not visit Ireland; but the -government was carried on in his name for some years, during which the -colony grew weaker and weaker. Nor did his disgrace make any more -difference than his appointment had done. Limerick and Cork could -scarcely defend themselves. Waterford was harassed by the Le Poers and -their Irish allies. Towns in Kildare were burned, and the English Bishop -of Leighlin was unable to approach his diocese. Galway threw off its -allegiance, and sought the protection of MacWilliam. In 1391 the Earl of -Ormonde was again persuaded to undertake the government with a salary of -3,000 marks; but he could do little more than temporise. Payments to the -Irish were frequent, and as they constantly advanced the dispossessed -settlers carried the story of their woes to England. Proclamations -against absentees were of small effect, and at last the King determined -to go himself. He landed at Waterford on October 2, 1394, with 4,000 men -at arms and 30,000 archers. As soon as Art MacMurrough, whom the Leinster -Irish accepted as their king, heard of Richard's arrival, he attacked New -Ross, 'burned its houses and castles, and carried away gold, silver, and -hostages.' - -[Sidenote: Richard has but little success.] - -Richard II.'s army, augmented as it was by the forces of the colony, was -the largest seen in Ireland during the middle ages, and has hardly been -exceeded in modern times. William III. had about 36,000 at the Boyne. -Nothing was performed worthy of so great a host or of the King's -presence. One division of the royal army was defeated with great loss by -the O'Connors of Offaly, and another by the O'Carrolls. Richard saw that -his troops were unfit for war in bogs and mountains, and could not but -confess that the natives had many just causes of complaint. He adopted a -conciliatory policy, and induced O'Neill, O'Connor, MacMurrough, and -O'Brien, as representatives of the four royal Irish races, to do homage -and to receive the honour of knighthood at his hands. These four, and a -great number of other chiefs, bound themselves to the King by indenture; -but no money was actually paid, and for all practical purposes Caligula's -shells were quite as good a badge of conquest. The German princes had a -right to say that Richard was not fit for empire, since he had been -unable to subdue his rebellious subjects of Ireland. He remained nine -months in the island, and left the government to Roger Mortimer, Earl of -March, heir-presumptive to the Crown, and claiming to be Earl of Ulster -in right of his mother, the only child of Lionel, Duke of Clarence. - -[Sidenote: The Irish grow continually stronger. Richard's second visit, -1399.] - -Besides the earldom of Ulster, Mortimer claimed enormous estates all over -Ireland, but possession had been completely divorced from feudal -ownership. He attacked the Wicklow clans, but was defeated with loss. In -1398 he made a final attempt to recover some portion of his Leinster -inheritance, but was defeated and slain in Carlow by the O'Tooles, -O'Nolans, and Kavanaghs. In the following year Richard again visited -Ireland in person. His army was nearly as large as on the first occasion, -and vast quantities of stores had been collected. The Crown jewels were -carried with the King, as was a yet more precious flask of oil which had -been transmitted straight from heaven to Archbishop Becket while praying -at the shrine of Columba. But neither arms, nor gems, nor even the sacred -chrism had any effect upon Art MacMurrough. The King again landed at -Waterford, and after a few days' rest moved forward to meet the -redoubtable Irishman, who was posted in a wood with 3,000 men. An open -space having been secured by burning houses and villages, Richard -knighted young Henry of Lancaster, the future victor of Agincourt, and -ordered a large number of labourers to fell the wood which sheltered the -enemy. Aided by the ground, MacMurrough held the royal army in check for -eleven days. The communications were cut, and the men at arms had nothing -but green oats for their horses. It was early in July; but the weather -was wet, and the whole army suffered from exposure and hunger. A convoy -which arrived at Waterford rather added to the disaster. 'Soldiers,' says -a contemporary chronicler, 'rushed into the sea as if it were straw.' -Casks were broached, and more than 1,000 at a time were seen drunk with -the Spanish wine. Abandoning the hope of attacking the Kavanaghs in their -fastnesses, Richard made his way to Dublin, the Earl of Gloucester having -failed to treat with MacMurrough. - -[Sidenote: Richard's failure.] - -The Leinster chieftain had married an Anglo-Norman heiress, and through -her claimed the barony of Narragh in Kildare. He demanded to be put in -full possession of his wife's lands, and to be left unmolested to enjoy -his chiefry. Otherwise he refused to come to any terms with the King. -Richard threatened, but his Irish plans were interrupted by the news that -Henry of Lancaster had landed in England. He lingered for some weeks in -Ireland, and that delay was fatal to him. He reached Milford only to find -that he had no longer a party, and thus Art MacMurrough may be said to -have crowned the House of Lancaster. The Irish chief continued -irreconcilable, and defied the Government until his death in 1417. - -[Sidenote: Ireland neglected by Henry IV.] - -With a bad title and an insecure throne Henry IV. could not be expected -to pay much attention to Ireland. The strength of the colony continued to -decline during his reign. He made his second son, Thomas, Viceroy, but a -child in his twelfth year was not the sort of governor required. The -treasury was empty, and the young prince's council had soon to announce -that he had pawned his plate, and that not another penny could be -borrowed. The soldiers had deserted, the household were about to -disperse, and the country was so much impoverished that relief could -scarcely be hoped for. The settlement was only preserved by paying black -mail to the Irish. The towns defended themselves as they best could, and -sometimes showed considerable martial enterprise. Thus Waterford was -several times attacked by the O'Driscolls, a piratical clan in West Cork, -who habitually allied themselves with the Le Poers. In 1413 the citizens -assumed the offensive, and armed a ship, in which the mayor and bailiffs -with a strong band sailed to Baltimore, where they arrived on Christmas -Day. A messenger was sent to say that the Mayor of Waterford had brought -a cargo of wine, and admission was thus gained to the chief's hall. 'The -Mayor,' we are told, 'took up to dance O'Driscoll and his son, the prior -of the Friary, O'Driscoll's three brethren, his uncle, and his wife, and -having them in their dance, the Mayor commanded every of his men to hold -fast the said persons; and so, after singing a carol, came away bringing -with them aboard the said ship the said O'Driscoll and his company, -saying unto them they should go with him to Waterford to sing their carol -and make merry that Christmas; and they being all aboard made sail -presently, and arrived at Waterford, St. Stephen's day at night, where -with great joy received they were with lights.' - -This exploit seems to have tamed the O'Driscolls for a time, but they -invaded Waterford in 1452 and 1461. On the first occasion the citizens -had the worst, but on the second they gained the victory, and took the -chief with six of his sons.[37] - -[Sidenote: Henry V. makes Talbot Viceroy.] - -In the first year of his reign Henry V. made the famous Sir John Talbot -Viceroy. He was entitled to lands in Westmeath in right of his wife, and -the lordship of Wexford had devolved upon his elder brother. He adopted -the plan by which Bellingham and Sidney afterwards reconquered the -greater part of Ireland. The array of the counties was called out under -heavy penalties, and Talbot remained six days in Leix, which he so -ravaged as to bring O'More to his senses. The bridge of Athy, which had -been of use to none but the assailants of the Pale, was rebuilt and -fortified, so that the cattle of loyal people might graze in safety, -which they had not done for thirty years. Passes were cut in the woods -bordering on the settled districts, and there seemed some hope for the -shrunken and shattered colony. But Talbot's salary of 4,000 marks fell -into arrear, and his unpaid soldiers became a worse scourge than the -Irish had been. The Viceroy and his brother, the Archbishop of Dublin, -were constantly at daggers drawn with the White Earl of Ormonde, and the -feud continued nearly till the Earl's death in 1450. It was, however, due -both to Sir John Talbot and to Ormonde, his antagonist, that the Irish -were kept at bay. Shakespeare's hero was the bugbear with which French -mothers quieted naughty children, and he was no less feared in Ireland. -With the colonists he was not popular, because the Crown refused him the -means of paying his debts, and Irish writers stigmatise him as the worst -man who had appeared in the world since the time of Herod. - -[Sidenote: Drain of colonists to the English civil wars.] - -'France,' says Sir John Davies, 'was a fairer mark to shoot at than -Ireland, and could better reward the conqueror.' The latter part of his -statement is questionable, but such was the view taken by the kings of -England from Henry II. to Henry VII. Thomas Butler, Prior of Kilmainham, -who ought to have been engaged in the defence of the Pale, took 1,500 men -to help Henry V. at the siege of Rouen in 1418. The contemporary -chronicler, Robert Redman, says they did excellent service with very -sharp darts and crossbows. Trained in the irregular warfare of Ireland, -they easily outran the Frenchmen, to whom they showed extraordinary -animosity, but were less honourably distinguished by their practice of -kidnapping children and selling them as slaves to the English. James, -Earl of Ormonde and Wiltshire, also raised troops in Ireland for foreign -service, and it is probable that many other contingents were furnished of -which no record has been preserved. These forces consisted of -Anglo-Irish, or at least of Irishmen settled in obedient districts, and -their absence from home must have had a constant tendency to weaken the -colony. - -[Sidenote: Richard of York made Lord-Lieutenant for ten years, 1449.] - -In 1449 Richard of York visited Ireland as Viceroy. He accepted the -office for ten years, in consideration of 4,000 marks for the first, and -2,000_l._ for each succeeding year, and of the whole local revenue. -Richard was Earl of Ulster, but he preferred conciliation to any attempt -at reconquest, and was, consequently, able to command the services of -many Irish clans, including Magennis, MacArtane, MacMahon, and O'Reilly. -The O'Byrnes were put down with the help of the Northern chiefs, O'Neill -himself sent presents to the Duke, and most of the central districts -became tributary. The Anglo-Normans of Munster, who had partially -degenerated, renewed their allegiance, and it was generally supposed that -the task of making Ireland English would at last be accomplished. The -Viceroy's son George, the 'false, fleeting, perjured Clarence,' of later -years, was born in Dublin, and his sponsors were Ormonde and Desmond. But -very soon the fair prospect was clouded. The stipulated salary was not -paid. The Irish discovered that Richard had no greater force than his -predecessors, and the MacGeohegans, who had submitted, openly defied his -power. He left Ireland suddenly in the autumn of 1450, and did not return -for nine years. - -[Sidenote: Richard is popular, and creates a Yorkist party. Ireland -almost independent.] - -Richard had not done much to increase the King's power in Ireland, but he -created a Yorkist party there. At the time he was accused of prompting -Cade's rebellion, and Jack himself was said to be a native of Ireland. -The fact that both Simnel and Warbeck afterwards found their best support -among the Anglo-Irish seems to show that the Kildare and Desmond -partisans were already familiar with the notion of a Yorkist pretender. -It is very probable that the adherents of the White Rose saw their -opportunity in the fact that the Earldom of Ulster belonged to their -chief, and Cade must have had an object in calling himself Mortimer. All -this is plausible conjecture; but about the significance of Richard's -second viceroyalty there can be no reasonable doubt. In 1459, after -Salisbury's defeat at Blore Heath, the Duke of York was forced to fly, -and he took refuge in Ireland, where he seized the government in spite of -the Coventry Parliament. The local independence of Ireland was now for -the first time seriously attempted. Richard held a Parliament, which -acknowledged the English Crown while repudiating the English Legislature -and the English Courts of Law. The Duke of York's person was declared -inviolable, and rebellion against him was made high treason. The royal -privilege of coining money was also given to him. William Overy, a squire -of the Earl of Ormonde, who was already acknowledged as head of the Irish -Lancastrians, attempted to arrest the Duke as an attainted traitor and -rebel; but he was seized, tried before Richard himself, and hanged, -drawn, and quartered. After the victory of his friends at Northampton the -Duke returned to England. He took with him a considerable body of -Anglo-Irish partisans, and he committed the government to the Earl of -Kildare. - -[Sidenote: The Yorkist faction headed by the Earl of Kildare.] - -Richard of York fell at Sandal Hill, but the popularity which he had -gained in Ireland descended to his son. In the bloody battle of Towton -the flower of the Anglo-Irish Lancastrians fell, and their leader, the -Earl of Ormonde, was taken and beheaded. His house suffered an eclipse -from which it was destined to emerge with greater brilliancy than ever, -and the rival family of Kildare became for a time supreme in the Pale. -The native Irish everywhere advanced, and English law rapidly shrunk -within the narrowest limits. A Parliament, held by the Earl of Desmond in -1465, enacted that every Irishman dwelling among the English in Dublin, -Meath, Louth, and Kildare, should dress in the English fashion, shave his -moustache, take the oath of allegiance within a year, and assume as a -surname the name of a town, of a colour, or of a trade. In the Parliament -of 1480, held by the Earl of Kildare, all trade between the Pale and the -Irish was forbidden by law. The Parliament of Drogheda in 1468 had -already passed an Act which declared that the castle of Ballymore -Eustace, 'lying between the counties of Dublin and Kildare, among the -O'Byrnes and O'Tooles, Irish enemies,' should be garrisoned by Englishmen -only. The Eustaces, it was explained, had given it in charge to 'one -Lawrence O'Bogan, an Irishman both by father and mother, who by nature -would discover the secrets of the English.' Other Acts to a similar -effect might be cited, and it may be said that the main object of Edward -IV.'s government in Ireland was to separate the two races more -completely. - -[Sidenote: George, Duke of Clarence, twice Viceroy.] - -[Sidenote: Execution of Thomas, Earl of Desmond, 1467.] - -George, Duke of Clarence, was Viceroy from 1461 to 1470, and again from -1472 till his mysterious death in 1478. Though born in Dublin, he never -visited Ireland as a man, and the government was administered by a -succession of Deputies. The fate of one of these Deputies, Thomas, eighth -Earl of Desmond, deserves particular mention. John Tiptoft, Earl of -Worcester, whose beautiful Latinity had moved Pope Æneas Sylvius to -tears, was entrusted with the government in 1467, and he assembled a -Parliament in which Desmond and Kildare were attainted. Kildare escaped -to England, and procured a reversal of the attainder, but Desmond was -enticed to Drogheda, and there beheaded. The ostensible cause for this -severity is declared by an unpublished statute to have been 'alliance, -fosterage, and alterage with the King's Irish enemies, and furnishing -them with horses, harness, and arms, and supporting them against the -King's loyal subjects.' The Anglo-Irish tradition attributes it to the -vengeance of Queen Elizabeth Woodville, whose marriage Desmond had -opposed. According to Russell, he told Edward that Sir John Grey's widow -was too mean a match for him, that he needed allies sorely, and that he -had better cast her off and link himself with some powerful prince. By -this account the Queen stole the royal signet, and transmitted a secret -order for the Earl's death to Ireland. Three years later Worcester was -taken and beheaded during the short Lancastrian restoration; and this -quite disposes of Russell's statement that King Edward 'struck his head -from his neck to make satisfaction to the angry ghost of Desmond.' What -is historically important in Desmond's execution is that it gave his -successors an excuse for not attending Parliaments or entering walled -towns. Their claim to legal exemption was not indeed allowed, but it may -have had considerable effect on their conduct.[38] - -[Sidenote: Under Edward IV. and Richard III. the House of Kildare is -all-powerful. The Butlers overshadowed.] - -After the death of Clarence, Edward made his sons, George and Richard, -Viceroys, and Richard III. conferred the same office on his infant son -Edward. The government was carried on by Deputies, and during the last -twenty years of the Yorkist dynasty almost all real power centred in the -House of Kildare. It was the seventh Earl who established the brotherhood -of St. George for the defence of the Pale. The thirteen members of this -fraternity were chosen from among the principal landowners of the four -obedient shires, thus excluding the Butlers, who formed a small Pale of -their own about Kilkenny. The brothers of St. George had rather more than -200 soldiers under them, who were paid out of the royal revenue; and that -constituted the entire standing army. The cities and towns maintained a -precarious existence by themselves. In the charter which Richard III. -granted to Galway it was specially declared that the Clanricarde Burkes -had no jurisdiction within the town which their ancestors had taken and -fortified. An Act passed in 1485 declares that various benefices in the -diocese of Dublin were situated among the Irish, that English clerks -could not serve the churches because they could not be understood or -because they refused to reside, and that it was therefore necessary to -collate Irish clerks; and power was given to the Archbishop to do so for -two years. The statute of Kilkenny and the Acts subsidiary to it had had -their natural effect. The English, in trying to become perfectly English, -had shrunk almost to nothing; and the Irish, by being held always at -arm's length, had become more Irish and less civilised than ever. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[37] The quarrels of Waterford with the O'Driscolls are given in the -_Calendar of Carew MSS._, _Miscellaneous vol._ p. 470. Smith refers to a -MS. in Trinity College. - -[38] Besides those in the Statute Book many Irish Acts of Edward IV.'s -reign may be studied in Hardiman's _Statute of Kilkenny_. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE IRISH PARLIAMENT. - - -[Sidenote: The Irish Parliament a close copy.] - -The history of the Irish Parliament in the middle ages corresponds pretty -closely with that of England. The idea of the three estates is plainly -visible as early as 1204, when John asked an aid from the archbishops, -bishops, abbots, priors, archdeacons, and clergy, the earls, barons, -justices, sheriffs, knights, citizens, burgesses, and freeholders of -Ireland. The Common Council of the King's faithful of Ireland is -afterwards often mentioned, and in 1228 Henry III. ordered his justiciary -to convoke the archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, earls and barons, -knights and freeholders, and the bailiffs of every county, and to read -Magna Charta to them. 1254 has been fixed as the date at which two -knights from each shire were regularly summoned to the English -Parliament. In the confusion which followed, the precedent slept for a -while, but in Simon de Montfort's famous Parliament in 1264 burgesses as -well as knights had seats. The evidences of regular election in Ireland -are scanty at this early period; but legislative enactments and pecuniary -aids were more than once made by the whole community of Ireland before -the close of Henry III.'s reign. The germs of a Parliamentary -constitution were not planted in purely Irish districts; but it is -probable that ecclesiastics attended Parliament even from them, and that -the natives were thus in some degree represented. In 1254 the King called -by name upon the Kings O'Donnell, O'Neill, O'Reilly, and O'Flynn, upon -MacCarthy of Desmond, O'Brien of Thomond, O'Phelan of Decies, and -fourteen other Celtic chiefs, to help him against the Scots. He confides -in their love for him to furnish such help, and promises them thanks; -pointedly separating their case from that of his lieges of Ireland.[39] - -[Sidenote: Growth of representative institutions.] - -Accepting 1295 as the date at which English Parliamentary representation -settled down into something like its modern shape, we find that the great -Plantagenet was not unmindful of Ireland. In that same year the -justiciary Wogan issued writs to the prelates and nobles, and also to the -sheriffs of Dublin, Louth, Kildare, Waterford, Tipperary, Cork, Limerick, -Kerry, Connaught, and Roscommon, and to the seneschals of the liberties -of Meath, Wexford, Carlow, Kilkenny, and Ulster. The sheriffs and -seneschals were ordered to proceed to the election of two good and -discreet knights from each county or liberty, who were to have full power -to act for their districts. It does not appear that cities and boroughs -were represented on this occasion; but in 1300, Wogan being still -justiciary, writs were directed to counties for the election of three or -four members, and to cities and boroughs for the election of two or -three. The King's principal object was to get money for his Scotch war; -and, with this view, Wogan visited Drogheda and other places and extorted -benevolence before the Parliament met. A certain supremacy was not denied -to the English Parliament, for in 1290 a vast number of petitions were -made to the King in Parliament at Westminster. Among the petitioners was -the Viceroy, John Sandford, Archbishop of Dublin, who begged the King to -consider the state of Ireland, of which he had already advised him -through Geoffrey de Joinville, a former Viceroy, who was sitting in -Parliament with others of the King's Council in Ireland. Edward I. -answered that he was very busy, but that he had the matter much at heart, -and that he would attend to it as soon as he could.[40] - -[Sidenote: Parliament of 1295.] - -Of the Parliament of 1295 a particular record has fortunately been -preserved. Each sheriff was ordered to make his election in the full -county court, and each seneschal in the full court of the liberty, and -they were to attend Parliament in their proper persons--to verify the -returns no doubt. The personal attendance of the sheriffs was required in -England until 1406. The magnates who were summoned to Wogan's Parliament -behaved as we might expect to find them behave. The Bishops of the South -and East came. The Archbishop of Armagh and his suffragans sent proctors -with excuses for non-attendance. The Archbishop of Tuam and his -suffragans neither came nor apologised. The absence of Hugo de Lacy, one -of those elected by the county of Limerick, is particularly noted, whence -we may infer that the other shires and liberties were duly represented. -Richard, Earl of Ulster, was present. This Parliament principally -occupied itself with making regulations as to the treatment of the Irish, -and in devising means for checking their inroads upon the colonised -districts. The descendants of the first conquerors were already beginning -to adopt Celtic customs.[41] - -[Sidenote: Parliaments of Edward II. and Edward III.] - -Under Edward II. Parliaments were frequent; and writs are extant which -show that he, as well as Edward III., intended them to be held annually. -Cases occur of bishops, priors, and temporal peers being fined for -non-attendance in this reign, and there is good reason to believe that -those who were summoned to Parliament generally came. In 1311 writs for a -Parliament to be held at Kilkenny were issued by the justiciary Wogan to -Richard, Earl of Ulster, and eighty-seven other men of name, to the -prelates and ecclesiastical magnates, and to the sheriffs. The sheriffs -were ordered to summon two knights from every county, and two citizens or -burgesses from every city or borough, who were to have full power to act -for their several communities in conjunction with the magnates, lay and -clerical. Owing probably to the shape which Bruce's invasion gave to the -English colony, the Parliaments of Edward III. are more strictly confined -to the districts where the King had real as well as nominal authority. -The murder of the last Earl of Ulster in 1333, and the conversion of the -De Burghs into Irishmen, almost completed the work of destruction which -Bruce had only just failed to effect. To the Parliament of 1360, the -Archbishops of Dublin and Cashel, the Bishops of Meath, Kildare, Lismore, -Killaloe, Limerick, Emly, Cloyne, and Ferns, and the Abbots of St. Mary's -and St. Thomas's at Dublin were the only prelates summoned. The Earls of -Kildare and Desmond and eight knights were called up by name. Writs for -the election of two knights were issued to the sheriffs of the counties -of Dublin, Carlow, Louth, Kildare, Waterford, Limerick, and Cork, and of -the crosses of Meath, Kilkenny, Wexford, and Tipperary; and to the -seneschals of the liberties of Kilkenny, Meath, Tipperary, and Wexford. -Writs for the election of citizens and burgesses were no longer directed -to the sheriffs, but the mayor and bailiffs of Dublin, Drogheda, Cork, -Waterford, and Limerick, the sovereign and bailiffs of Kilkenny and Ross, -and the provost and bailiffs of Clonmel and Wexford were ordered to -return two members each. The sheriff of Kildare and the seneschal of the -liberty of Kilkenny were told what individuals they were expected to see -elected. The House of Commons was then supposed to consist of -twenty-eight knights and twenty-four citizens and burgesses; but the -counties of Dublin and Carlow were 'justly excused' on account of the -war, and the members for Drogheda, who omitted to come, were summoned -before the Council under a penalty of 40_l._[42] - -[Sidenote: Parliament of Kilkenny.] - -The famous Parliament which Lionel, Duke of Clarence, held at Kilkenny in -1367 was probably attended by representatives from a very limited -district; for there were but forty members of the House of Commons in -March 1374, and of these four came from the county of Dublin. But in -November 1374 the number was fifty-four; in 1377 it rose to sixty-two; -and in 1380 and 1382 it was fifty-eight. We may, therefore, take the -number of county and borough members at the close of the fourteenth -century as about sixty. The counties generally represented were Dublin, -Kildare, Carlow, Meath, Louth, Waterford, Cork, Limerick, and Wexford, -the liberties of Ulster, Meath, Tipperary, Kerry, and Kilkenny, and the -crosses of Ulster, Tipperary, Kilkenny, and Kerry. The cities were -Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Kilkenny, and Limerick, and the towns were -Drogheda, Youghal, Ross, Wexford, Galway, and Athenry. Longford was a -county in 1377, but was not maintained as shire ground. Many Parliaments -met during the fifteenth century, but their action was more and more -confined to the district round Dublin, which about the middle of the -century came to be called the Pale.[43] - -[Sidenote: Hereditary peers.] - -1295 will probably be accepted as the date when English barons who had -once sat in Parliament claimed an hereditary right to their writs of -summons. It would seem that the origin of the Irish peerage, using the -word in its modern sense, must be referred to a somewhat later date; for -eighty-seven persons, who were perhaps all tenants of the Crown, were -summoned by name to the Kilkenny Parliament in 1311. The subject is not -of great historical importance, because the period of transition -coincides with that in which the encroachments of the natives reduced -feudal Ireland to its lowest estate. In the sixteenth century the title -of baron was still popularly given to the heads of some families who had -formerly been barons by tenure, but who had lost all Parliamentary -rights. As in England, the knights of the shire had become the proper -representatives of the gentry, and peerage grew to be the special -creation of the Crown. In the Parliament of 1560 there were twenty-three -temporal peers, and of these eight had been created within the century. -It will be safe to assume that the number of temporal peers sitting in -the Irish Parliament at any time during the one hundred years preceding -Elizabeth's accession was well under thirty.[44] - -[Sidenote: Spiritual peers.] - -The number of spiritual greatly exceeded the number of temporal peers. -There were four archbishops from the first sending of the palls in 1151. -If we take the year 1500, after some unions had been effected and before -the great quarrel between King and Pope, we find that there were -twenty-six bishops in Ireland. Some of the more distant ones were perhaps -never summoned to Parliament, and long before the close of the fifteenth -century we cannot doubt that many had ceased to attend the shrunken -legislature of the Pale. In 1293 John, Bishop of Clonfert, an Italian and -the Pope's nuncio, was fined for non-attendance; and similar penalties -were imposed on Bishops of Ferns, Ossory, Cork, Ardfert, Limerick, Down, -and Emly, during the reigns of Edward II., Edward III., and Richard II. -There were thirteen mitred Abbots of the Cistercian order, ten mitred -Priors of Augustinian canons; and the Grand Prior of Kilmainham, who -represented the wealth and importance of the proscribed Templars as well -as of the Hospitallers, had always a seat in Parliament. The Prior of -Kilmainham was so important a person that upon the suppression of the -order of St. John, Henry VIII. made its last chief a peer. The Abbot of -St. Mary's and the Prior of St. Thomas's were always summoned, but it is -clear that in earlier days all the mitred heads of houses were considered -real as well as nominal spiritual peers. The Prior of Athassel was fined -for non-attendance in 1323, the Abbot of Owney in 1325, and the Abbot of -Jerpoint in 1377. Much obscurity hangs over the mediæval House of Lords -in Ireland; but it must generally have rested with the Viceroy whether -the temporal or spiritual peers should be most numerous in any particular -Parliament.[45] - -[Sidenote: The clergy as a separate estate. Proctors.] - -The existence of the clergy as a separate estate in Ireland is less clear -than in England; but they had the right of taxing themselves, for in 1538 -the Lords Spiritual were thanked by Henry VIII. for granting him an -annual twentieth of all their promotions, benefices, and possessions. -Proctors of the clergy attended the Lower House, and when Henry VIII. -undertook his ecclesiastical innovations, they claimed the right to veto -bills. It was, however, easily shown that their consent had not formerly -been held necessary; and in 1537 an Act was passed declaring the -proctors to be no members of Parliament. The preamble states that two -proctors from each diocese had been usually summoned to attend -Parliament; but that they had neither voice nor vote, and were only -'counsellors and assistants upon such things of learning as should happen -in controversy to declare their opinions, much like as the Convocation -within the realm of England.' Their pretensions to a veto were formally -pronounced baseless, and it was declared once for all that the assent or -dissent of the proctors could have no effect on the action of -Parliament.[46] - -[Sidenote: The Viceroy.] - -The representative of the King in Ireland was generally styled justiciar -for a long time after the first invasion. His powers were analogous to -that of the great officer of State in England who had the same title, and -who acted as regent during the frequent absences of the kings. The title -of justiciar continued to be given to the Irish viceroys long after the -English justiciarship changed its character--that is, about the close of -Henry III.'s reign. The first person who had the title of Lord -Lieutenant, if we except the early case of John de Courcy, appears to -have been Lionel, Earl of Ulster and Duke of Clarence, who was sent to -Ireland in 1361. Afterwards it became a common practice to make one of -the royal family Lord Lieutenant, the duties being usually performed by a -deputy. But the title of Lord Lieutenant, though considered higher than -any other, was not confined to princes. In time the title of Deputy was -given to Governors of Ireland, even when no Lord Lieutenant intervened -between them and the King. Richard of York was the last Lord Lieutenant -of royal blood who actually ruled at Dublin. After his time the real -government was in the hands of the Earls of Kildare, who were Lords -Deputy, with but brief intervals, from 1478 to 1526. During that period -the title of Lord Lieutenant, but the title only, was enjoyed by Edward, -Prince of Wales, by John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln, by Jasper, Duke of -Bedford, and by Henry VIII. before his accession to the Crown. In the -meantime, the word justiciar, or Lord Justice, had come to mean a -temporary substitute for the Deputy or Lieutenant. When a sovereign died, -or when a viceroy suddenly left Ireland, it became the business of the -Council to elect some one in his room. When giving leave to a governor to -leave his post, the sovereign sometimes named the Lord Justice. Lord -Capel, who was appointed in 1695, was the last chief governor who had the -title of Deputy. Since the Revolution, the head of the Irish Government -has always been a Lord Lieutenant, and during his absence one, or two, or -three Lords Justices have been appointed by the Irish Privy Council.[47] - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[39] Stubbs's _Const. Hist._, chap. xv.; Lynch's _Feudal Dignities_, -chaps. iii. and xi. - -[40] Sweetman's _Calendar of Documents_, 1289; Lynch, _supra_. - -[41] The record is printed from the Black Book of Christ Church, in the -_Miscellany_ of the Irish Archæological Society. - -[42] Lynch, _ut supra_. - -[43] Lynch, _ut supra_; Lodge's _Register_; Hardiman's _Statute of -Kilkenny_. - -[44] The names of those summoned to the Parliament of 1311 are printed by -Lynch, chap. ii.; the names of those who attended in 1560 are in _Tracts -Relating to Ireland_, vol. ii., Appendix II. - -[45] Cotton's _Fasti_; Alemand's _Histoire Monastique_; Lynch, chaps. -iii. and vii. - -[46] _Irish Statutes_, 28 Hen. VIII. cap. 12. - -[47] See the list of chief governors in Harris's Ware; Borlase's -_Reduction of Ireland_; Lodge's _Patentee Officers_; and Gilbert's -_Viceroys_. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE REIGN OF HENRY VII. - - -[Sidenote: Accession of Henry VII., 1485.] - -Ireland was destined to give the victor of Bosworth much trouble, but his -accession made little immediate difference to the Anglo-Irish community. -Kildare continued to act as Chief Governor, and on the nomination of -Jasper, Duke of Bedford, to the Lord Lieutenancy, he was formally -appointed Deputy under him. His brother Thomas was allowed to retain the -Great Seal. While thus leaving the administration of the island to the -Yorkist Geraldines, Henry lost no time in restoring the rival House, -which had suffered in defence of the Red Rose. Sir Thomas Butler was by -Act of Parliament at once restored in blood, became seventh Earl of -Ormonde, and was taken into high favour. The practical leadership of the -Irish Butlers was, however, never held by him, and the disputes -concerning it had no doubt great effect in consolidating Kildare's power. - -[Sidenote: The Ormonde family. Sir Piers Butler.] - -John, sixth Earl of Ormonde, who never lived in Ireland, appointed as his -deputy his cousin, Sir Edmund Butler. Earl John dying in Palestine, his -brother Thomas succeeded him, and continued Sir Edmund in the custody of -the Irish estates. Sir Edmund by will granted to his son Piers the same -power as he had himself held, but it does not appear that this curious -bequest was acknowledged either by the Earl of Ormonde or by the people -of Kilkenny and Tipperary. Sir James Ormonde, as he is called, a bastard -son of the fifth Earl, became the real chief of the Butlers, and is often -called Earl by Irish writers; the rules of legitimate descent being then -very lightly regarded in Ireland. Sir James received a regular commission -from Thomas, Earl of Ormonde, as his deputy, supervisor, 'and general and -special attorney' in Kilkenny. Strong in the confidence of the rightful -Earl and in the estimation of the people, Sir James became Kildare's -chief opponent; who to weaken him espoused the cause of Sir Piers, to -whom he gave his daughter Lady Margaret in marriage. 'By that means and -policy,' says the 'Book of Howth,' 'the Earl of Wormond (_i.e._ Sir -James) was so occupied in his own country that he could not attend to do -any damage to the Earl of Kildare nor any of his friends.' And the -chronicler Stanihurst, a Geraldine partisan, would have us believe that -the successful career of Sir Piers was wholly due to the 'singular -wisdom' of his wife. An eminent modern antiquary tells us that her fame -still lives among the peasantry of Kilkenny, while the Red Earl is -forgotten; that she is remembered as Magheen, or little Margaret, and -that she is the traditional castle-builder of the district.[48] - -[Sidenote: Kildare suspected of plots. Lambert Simnel.] - -It has been generally stated that Henry, before he had been a year on the -throne, heard that Kildare was plotting against him. From what happened -later, it is likely that such a report would not have been without -foundation. Perhaps there was some evidence of his complicity in Lord -Lovel's abortive insurrection, and it is highly probable that he was a -party to the plot which the Duchess of Burgundy was hatching against the -King of England.[49] Except on the supposition that he had already been -admitted to the conspirator's confidence, it is hard to see how Kildare -can have received Lambert Simnel and his promoter, a young and -undistinguished priest, without hesitation or inquiry. There was no -Lancastrian party in Dublin, and Henry's politic exhibition of the real -Earl of Warwick had no effect upon men who were determined to accept the -counterfeit. In common with almost every temporal grandee, the -Archbishop of Dublin and the Bishops of Meath and Kildare espoused the -pretender's cause; but Octavian, Archbishop of Armagh, a Florentine, and -well informed, remained firm, and was supported by the Bishop of Clogher. -Henry afterwards asked the Pope to excommunicate the prelates who had -favoured the pretender, and it is remarkable that he mentions the -Archbishop of Armagh as one of them. Among the temporal peers, Lord Howth -had the sense to see that Henry would be victorious, and he kept him well -informed of all that went on in Ireland.[50] - -[Sidenote: Simnel is crowned King.] - -Simnel remained in Ireland, and published acts were done in his name as -King until the arrival of Lincoln and Lovel, with Martin Swart, an -experienced German leader, and 2,000 veterans of his nation, sent by -Margaret of Burgundy. Lambert was crowned in Christ Church with a diadem -borrowed for the occasion from a statue of the Virgin, and was shown to -the people borne aloft on the shoulders of Darcy of Platten, the tallest -man of his time--details which bespeak the poverty of the country. A -coronation sermon was preached by the Bishop of Meath.[51] - -Kildare ordered the citizens of Waterford to join him with all their -forces, but the mayor, who was a Butler, filled the town with the vassals -of the House of Ormonde, and the clans depending on it, and returned for -answer that they held all as traitors who had taken any part in the mock -coronation. Kildare hanged the poor groom who had brought this message, -an act of barbarity with which the Archbishop was much offended, and then -repeated his summons. The herald, who bore the Geraldine arms on his -tabard, was refused admission to Waterford, and summoned the citizens -from a boat, ordering them instantly to proclaim King Edward VI. on pain -of being hanged at their own doors. With becoming spirit the chief -magistrate replied, that they would not give the Earl so much trouble, -that they looked on all his partisans as traitors, and that they were -ready to give him battle thirty miles away. Kilkenny, Clonmel, Callan, -Fethard, and other towns followed the example of Waterford.[52] - -[Sidenote: Battle of Stoke, 1487.] - -There was some division of opinion between the partisans of Simnel as to -whether England should be immediately invaded. Two reasons in favour of -this course prevailed over those for establishing a separate government -in Ireland. The country was too poor to support 2,000 German mercenaries, -and the Irish followers of Kildare, who cared little for either rose, -promised themselves much pleasure from fighting and plundering in hated -England. Accordingly, just a month after the mock coronation, Lambert and -his friends left Dublin and landed at Foudray in Lancashire, where they -were joined by Sir Thomas Broughton and some of his tenants. 'But their -snowball,' in Bacon's phrase, 'did not gather as they went,' and they -advanced as far as Newark without materially increasing their force. The -popularity which Henry had gained during his late stay at York, and the -general pardon which he had given, went far to break up the Yorkist party -in the North, 'and it was an odious thing to Englishmen to have a King -brought in to them upon the shoulders of Irish and Dutch.' At Stoke, the -pretender's motley host came into collision with the far more numerous -royal army. The Germans fought well, and so did their few English allies; -'neither did the Irish fail in courage or fierceness, but being almost -naked men, only armed with darts and skeans, it was rather an execution -than a fight upon them.' At least 4,000 of the pseudo-Yorkists fell, -including Martin Swart, the Earl of Lincoln, and Kildare's brother, the -Irish Chancellor, Thomas Fitzgerald. Lord Lovel and Sir Thomas Broughton -may have escaped for a time, but they were never heard of again. It -appears from a passage in the 'Annals of Ulster,' where Henry VII. is -contemptuously mentioned as 'the son of a Welshman,' that the native -Irish believed Simnel to be what he pretended to be--the last prince of -the blood royal.[53] - -[Sidenote: Loyalty of Waterford.] - -The loyalty of Waterford deserved special thanks, and Henry sent a letter -to the mayor and citizens, in which he expressed his hearty gratitude. To -show his perfect confidence he commanded them to pursue and harass the -Earl of Kildare and the citizens of Dublin, both by sea and land. The -trade of the Irish capital was placed at their mercy, and they were -exhorted not to desist from hostilities until 'our rebel, the Earl of -Kildare,'--who was also our Deputy--and his Dublin allies were brought to -due obedience. Kildare sent messengers to England to make his peace, and -the citizens of Dublin did likewise. 'We were daunted,' said the latter -plausibly enough, 'to see not only the chief governor, whom your Highness -made ruler over us, to bend or bow to that idol whom they made us to -obey, but also our Father of Dublin, and most of the clergy of the -nation.' After some hesitation, Henry resolved to pardon all the Irish -conspirators, and even allowed Kildare to remain in the office of Deputy. -In return for their pardons the nobility were required to take the oath -of allegiance; and to secure its proper administration the King resolved -to send a special commissioner to Ireland. Sir Richard Edgcombe, -Controller of the Household, whom he had already employed on a diplomatic -mission to Scotland, was the person chosen for this delicate duty.[54] - -[Sidenote: Mission of Sir Richard Edgcombe, 1488.] - -Sir Richard sailed from Fowey with a squadron of four vessels containing -500 men; and having tried in vain among the Scilly Islands and in the -Bristol Channel to surprise certain pirates who infested those seas, he -reached Kinsale on the fifth day, where he again failed to apprehend a -notable pirate. Lord Barry Oge came on board to take the oath of -allegiance. Edgcombe then landed, was met by Lord Courcy and the townsmen -of Kinsale, received the keys of the town, and administered the oath to -all persons of importance. Having granted a royal pardon, he sailed for -Waterford, where he was loyally welcomed. Hearing that he had brought a -pardon for Kildare, the citizens reminded him that the Earl was their -bitterest enemy, and begged to be exempted from any jurisdiction which he -or any other Irish lord might claim as Deputy. Sir Richard promised to -advance the interests of Waterford at Court, and then went on to Dublin. -Kildare kept the royal commissioner waiting for eight days, during part -of which time he was entertained at Malahide, by a lady of the Talbot -family. At last the Earl came to Thomas Court with 200 horse, and sent -the Bishop of Meath and the Baron of Slane to conduct Sir Richard -thither. On entering the room Edgcombe made no bow to the Lord Deputy, -but bluntly delivered the King's letters. Five days more were given for -the rest of the lords to make an appearance, and Kildare retired to -Maynooth to digest the letters and verbal messages. On the fourth day Sir -Richard came by pressing invitation to Maynooth, and the Earl promised -that he would do everything required of him; but he continued to -interpose delays in coming to any official decision. Sharply reprimanded -by the royal commissioner, the lords at last agreed to take the oath of -allegiance; but refused to enter into recognisances for the forfeiture of -their estates in case they should again lapse from their duty, plainly -declaring that they would rather become Irishmen, every one of them. With -an oath of allegiance Sir Richard was fain to be content, and he drew one -in very stringent form, Henry being specially described as the 'natural -and right-wise' King of England. To prevent tricks, the host, upon which -the oath was taken, was consecrated by Edgcombe's own chaplain. The -nobility present, and the principal ecclesiastical dignitaries about -Dublin, were sworn or did homage, and particularly bound themselves to -support and execute the censures of the Church, as pronounced by the Bull -of Innocent VIII. upon those who should rebel against the King of -England. In that instrument the Pope had declared his belief that the -Crown belonged to Henry by inheritance, by conquest, and by election, -independently of, and in addition to his claim in right of Elizabeth of -York. Among the commoners whom it was thought necessary to swear -specially was Darcy of Platten, the tall man who had borne Lambert on his -shoulders. The civic authorities of Dublin, Drogheda, and Trim, having -been sworn before him in their own towns, Sir Richard embarked at Dalkey -on the thirty-fourth day after his arrival at Kinsale. Of all Simnel's -partisans, Keating, Prior of Kilmainham, was the only one who did not -receive a pardon.[55] - -[Sidenote: The Irish nobility summoned to England, 1489.] - -Kildare sent the Bishop of Meath to England to watch his interests, and -Octavian also sent an agent to procure for him the custody of the Great -Seal. The Primate complained that Kildare, despite his recent oath, had -begun plotting against him before Edgcombe had reached the English shore. -'I know,' he said, 'for certain that if the said Earl of Kildare obtains -the government of Ireland by royal authority, and has the Chancellor of -Ireland also at his back, that I have no hope of quiet in Ireland.' Henry -did not give the seal to the Archbishop, but he summoned all the Irish -nobility to Court; and all obeyed except Desmond and Fitzmaurice of -Kerry. 'My masters of Ireland,' said the King, when giving them audience, -'you will crown apes at length.' Afterwards at dinner he gave point to -this remark by ordering Lambert Simnel to hand wine to those who had so -lately crowned him King. 'None would have taken the cup out of his hand, -but bade the great devil of hell him take, before that ever they saw -him.' 'Bring me the cup if the wine be good,' said the Lord of Howth, -being a merry gentleman, 'and I shall drink it off for the wine's sake, -and mine own sake also, and for thee, as thou art, so I leave thee, a -poor innocent.' Henry kept the lords at Court long enough for them to -feel the expense burdensome, and then despatched them, making Lord Howth, -who had alone remained loyal, a present of 300_l._ in gold, and the robe -which he wore at the reception. Some of the others had expected little -less than the axe for their reward.[56] - -[Sidenote: Kildare Deputy till 1492. Butlers and Geraldines.] - -The influence of Kildare was not much shaken by his complicity in -Simnel's adventure, and it was not till 1492 that he was deprived of the -office of Deputy. It was conferred on Walter Fitz-Simons, Archbishop of -Dublin. About the same time Rowland Fitz-Eustace, Baron of Portlester, -the Earl's uncle, who had been Lord Treasurer for thirty-eight years, was -suddenly removed and threatened with a hostile inquiry into his accounts -during the whole period. Sir James Ormonde, knighted by Henry in person, -for his services against Lambert, was appointed in his room, and another -Butler was made Master of the Rolls. The quarrel between the two Houses -blazed up fiercely; and Kildare, to reassert his influence, summoned a -great meeting of citizens on Oxmantown Green. - -The two factions came to blows, some lives were lost, and Kildare -attempted to seize the city by a sudden movement. The gates were, -however, shut in time; but Ship Street, then outside the walls, was -burned. The Geraldines wasted the Butler territory, and the Butlers in -their turn ravaged Kildare and encamped in great force on the southern -side of Dublin. A meeting of the two chiefs in St. Patrick's Cathedral -was then arranged. A riot took place in the church, a flight of arrows -was discharged, and Sir James, suspecting treason, barred himself into -the Chapter-house. The Earl came to the door with offers of peace, and a -hole was cut in the timber through which the rivals might shake hands. -Sir James hesitated to risk his hand, but Kildare settled the question by -putting in his own. The door was then opened, they embraced each other, -and peace followed for a time. To make amends for the desecration of the -church, the Pope ordered that the mayor should go barefoot through the -city on Corpus Christi day, and this practice was continued till the -Reformation. The door with the hole in it is still preserved, or was so -until very lately.[57] - -[Sidenote: Perkin Warbeck lands 1491, but leaves the next year.] - -'Ireland at this time,' says Ware, 'was as it were a theatre or stage on -which masked princes entered, though soon after, their visors being -taken off, they were expulsed the stage.' Perkin Warbeck landed at Cork -late in 1491, or early in 1492, and was entertained by John Walters, an -eminent merchant and future mayor. The citizens from the beginning -insisted on regarding him as a royal personage, first as a son of -Clarence, afterwards as a bastard of Richard III., and finally as -Richard, Duke of York, Edward IV.'s younger son. Having adopted the -latter character, Perkin wrote letters, extant in Ware's time, in which -he sought help from the Earls of Desmond and Kildare. The former at once -espoused his cause; the latter, according to his own account, would have -nothing to do with 'the French lad.' Desmond joined Perkin in soliciting -the aid of James IV. of Scotland, and he remained for about a year at -Cork, learning English, but apparently without exciting any anxiety in -England. Towards the close of 1492 he withdrew to France, where Charles -VIII. received him as a prince, and where he was joined by disaffected -Yorkists. Henry having made a successful campaign in France, Perkin was -dismissed and went to Flanders, where Margaret of Burgundy acknowledged -him as her nephew, and no doubt instructed him how to fill the part.[58] - -[Sidenote: Parliament of 1493.] - -In 1493 the Archbishop of Dublin held a Parliament, where many things -were done unfavourable to the Geraldine faction; and on August 12, John -Walters and other accomplices of the pretender were summoned to -surrender. The Archbishop shortly went over to England, where he made -Henry clearly acquainted with the state of affairs in Ireland, and was -followed by Kildare, who had an opportunity of telling his own story. In -consequence of what he had learned, the King resolved to appoint a Deputy -unconnected with any Irish party; and fixed upon Sir Edward Poynings, -whom he had already employed as envoy to the Archduke Philip, when -remonstrating against the countenance given to Perkin in Flanders. While -Archbishop Fitz-Simons was in England, Viscount Gormanston filled the -office of Deputy, and even ventured to summons a Parliament; but the -Duke of Bedford having in the meantime resigned the lieutenancy, his -substitute's action was afterwards declared null and void. - -[Sidenote: Sir Edward Poynings Deputy, 1494.] - -Poynings landed at Howth on October 13, 1494, with 1,000 men. He was -accompanied by Henry Dean, Bishop of Bangor and afterwards Archbishop of -Canterbury, as Chancellor, by Sir Hugh Conway as Treasurer, and by three -other Englishmen appointed to the chief places in the three common law -courts. Joining his forces with those of Kildare and of Sir James -Ormonde, Poynings immediately undertook an expedition to Ulster, with a -view of chastising O'Donnell, who had lately been honourably received in -Scotland, and was probably implicated in Perkin's project. When the army -reached O'Hanlon's county, Sir James Ormonde persuaded the Deputy that -Kildare was plotting with the Irish against his life, and some colour was -given to the charge by the conduct of the Earl's brother James, who -seized Carlow Castle, mounted the Geraldine banner, and refused to -surrender when summoned in the King's name. Having with difficulty -reduced Carlow, Poynings repaired to Drogheda, where he held a -Parliament, whose legislation was destined to have a momentous effect on -Irish history. The invasion of Ulster was abandoned, and Bacon, with the -experience of the next century, summarily disposes of it as 'a wild chase -on the wild Irish.' - -[Sidenote: Parliament of Drogheda, 1494.] - -The Acts of this Parliament of 1494 are numerous, many of them being -intended to make the administration more directly dependent on the Crown. -Thus, the judges and other high officials were made to hold at the King's -pleasure, instead of by patent as had been customary heretofore. It was -made illegal for great men to retain free citizens and burgesses in their -pay, or for anyone to make war without the governor's licence, or for -anyone to stir up the Irish against the English. It was made unlawful to -keep firearms without the Deputy's licence. The Statutes of Kilkenny were -confirmed or re-enacted, with the exception of those against using the -Irish language and those obliging every subject to ride in a saddle. -Family war cries, such as 'Butleraboo' and 'Cromaboo,' were strictly -prohibited. Coyne and livery were visited with severe penalties; but -advantageous terms were fixed, upon which the King might obtain -provisions for his soldiers. All Acts against papal provisions -theretofore made, either in England or Ireland, were declared to be in -full force, though the Government had no means whatever of preventing -them, or of making other arrangements for the vast majority of Irish -benefices.[59] - -[Sidenote: Poynings' Acts.] - -The statutes known in after days as Poynings' Acts were two in number. By -the first it was enacted that no future Parliaments should be held in -Ireland, 'but at such season as the King's Lieutenant and Council there -first do certify the King under the great seal of that land (Ireland), -the causes and considerations, and all such acts as them seemeth should -pass in the same Parliament.' Should the King in Council approve them, -then the Irish Parliament should be summoned under the great seal of -England, and not otherwise. By the second Act it was provided that all -public statutes 'late made within the said realm of England' should be in -force in Ireland. The lawyers decided that this applied to all English -Acts prior to the tenth year of Henry VII. And thus the dependence of the -Irish Parliament on that of England was established in the fullest -degree.[60] - -[Sidenote: Attainder of Kildare.] - -Kildare was attainted by the Drogheda Parliament, the Act stating that he -had provoked Irish enemies and English rebels to levy war against the -King, that he had conspired with O'Hanlon to kill the Deputy, that he had -caused his brother James to seize Carlow and hold it against the King, -that he had used coyne and livery, and that he had conspired with the -King of Scots and the Earl of Desmond for an invasion of Ireland. The -Earl was arrested and sent to England, there to await Henry's own -judgment on these and other matters. The chief of the southern Geraldines -had in the meantime again given his adhesion to the cause of Perkin -Warbeck.[61] - -[Sidenote: Second visit of Perkin Warbeck. Siege of Waterford, 1495.] - -Less than three weeks after his disgraceful failure in Kent, Perkin was -with Desmond in Munster. Eleven ships, of which some were Scotch, -attacked Waterford from the river, while Desmond and his Irish allies -with 2,400 men threatened the city from the southern side. Poynings -marched against the invaders in person; but the real work was done by the -mayor and citizens, who dammed the stream called John's River, so as to -prevent Desmond from joining Perkin: while they battered the fleet with -cannon planted on Reginald's Tower. They made several sallies, killed -their prisoners, and stuck their heads on stakes in the market-place. -When the siege had lasted eleven days one of Perkin's ships was sunk by -the fire from the town, and the adventurer then fled precipitately. At -least three vessels fell into the hands of the besieged or their allies, -and the citizens followed Perkin to Cork, where his friends protected -him. Afterwards he made his way to Scotland, where James IV. received him -with the honours due to a prince, and gave him the hand of his cousin, -Lady Catherine Gordon. James, who was of an ambitious and visionary turn -of mind, may perhaps have thought it possible to restore the days of -Bruce, and to conquer some part of Ireland for himself. Two successive -O'Donnells acknowledged themselves his subjects, and with their help and -that of sailors like the Bartons, Scotland might have disputed with -England the possession of Northern Ireland at least. The elder Hugh -O'Donnell, who died in 1505, was a man of considerable ability, the -annalists, with their usual magniloquence, styling him the 'Augustus of -the North of Europe;' and with more truth asserting that he was the most -powerful person in the North of Ireland.[62] - -[Sidenote: Poynings leaves Ireland, 1496.] - -Poynings quitted Ireland in January 1496, leaving the government in the -Bishop of Bangor's hands. Important as was the recent legislation, it -cannot be said that Henry had made any real change in the system of -government. His great idea, like that of his descendants, was to make -Ireland pay her own expenses, and for that purpose he sent over two able -officers, with instructions to overhaul the entire system of government. -Plenty of zeal seems to have been shown, but the result was not -encouraging. No year passed in Ireland without some small war, and the -established custom of hiring native mercenaries tended to prevent any -improvement. Sir James Ormonde and other leaders found their account in -constant disturbance, and expense always more than kept pace with -revenue.[63] - -[Sidenote: Friars employed by the Government.] - -The accounts of Vice-Treasurer Hattecliffe, to whom Henry committed the -control of Irish finance, seem to show that Poynings and others found a -difficulty in obtaining the aid of subordinate officers. They had, -however, a resource which Elizabeth lacked, in the power of employing -priests and friars. Thus we find a Franciscan of Dublin sent to spy out -the manners of the people inhabiting the marches of the Pale, and again -acting as a messenger between the Council in Dublin and the Deputy in the -field. A canon named John Staunton was sent to act as a spy 'in Munster -and elsewhere about the Earl of Desmond, Perkin Warbeck, and other -rebels.' On another occasion a Carmelite was the means of communication -between the Government and Sir James Ormonde, and it is probable that -many more of the messengers were clergymen, though the fact is not so -mentioned.[64] - -[Sidenote: Turbulence of the Geraldines. Restoration of Kildare, 1496.] - -That there was no peace, and consequently no diminution of expense, is -not to be altogether attributed to the rapacity of Sir James Ormonde and -other leaders of kerne and gallowglasses. The Geraldines took care that -the country should be disturbed during the Earl's absence, as we find by -the following significant entry:--'Two shillings to Philip Messanger for -carrying the Lord Justice's letters directed to Richard Paynteneye of -Carbury, Edward Dowdall of Slane, to the sovereign of Athboy, and others, -ordering them to have sundry fires made on sundry mountains--viz. the -mountains of Tara, Lyons, Athboy, and Slane, to warn the King's lieges -in case James, the Earl's son, and others the King's Irish enemies, -should bring a power to invade the English districts.' Several other -payments were made to the same messenger for services in connection with -these Geraldine inroads, and Henry came gradually to think that Kildare -did more harm as a prisoner than he could possibly do if he were at -liberty. Whether the account of the Earl's behaviour at Court, which has -been copied from the 'Book of Howth' into most histories, be true or not, -there can be little doubt that Henry thought it better that he should -rule all Ireland, than that he should have further opportunities of -showing that all Ireland could not rule him. The gravest charge against -him was that of conspiring with O'Hanlon to murder Poynings, and this was -disposed of by the evidence of O'Hanlon. Prince Henry became titular -Lord-Lieutenant, the attainder was reversed by the English Parliament, -and Kildare received a commission as Lord Deputy under the King's son. -His first wife, Alison Eustace, is said to have died through the -agitation caused by his imprisonment, and he now added to his influence -by marrying Elizabeth St. John, the King's first cousin. Leaving his son -Gerald as a hostage at the English Court, he returned to Dublin as soon -as possible, received the sword from Deane, successfully invaded the -O'Briens and Macnamaras, and was fully reconciled to the Archbishop of -Armagh. The Great Seal was given to Fitzsimons, Archbishop of Dublin, a -prelate who had the courage to tell Henry that a certain courtly orator -flattered him too much. 'Our father of Dublin,' replied the King, 'we -minded to find the same fault ourselves.'[65] - -[Sidenote: Warbeck's third visit, 1497.] - -On July 20, 1497, Perkin Warbeck again made his appearance at Cork. He -got no help this time from Desmond, who had been pardoned, and who had -perhaps made up his mind that the adventurer was an impostor. Sir James -Ormonde was accused of favouring him. The citizens of Waterford at once -gave Henry notice, and with four ships fitted out by themselves gave -chase to Perkin, who found no encouragement in Ireland, and lost no time -in going to join the Cornish malcontents. Narrowly escaping capture at -sea, he managed to raise a force of 6,000 or 7,000 men, besieged Exeter -and Taunton unsuccessfully, and then ran away without striking a blow, -and took sanctuary at Beaulieu in Hampshire. The inglorious close of his -career is unconnected with Ireland, and he seems on this last occasion to -have had no Irish allies. The citizens of Waterford received from the -King a cap of maintenance to be borne on certain occasions before the -mayor, and the title of _Urbs intacta_, in which the city still glories. -The sum of 1,000 marks which he had promised for the capture of Perkin -was not, strictly speaking, earned by the Waterford men; and their loyal -and, doubtless, very costly exertions, received no money recompense from -the frugal King.[66] - -[Sidenote: Considerations as to Simnel and Warbeck.] - -The modern historian, whose fortune it has been to clear up all doubts -about Perkin Warbeck, takes Lord Bacon to task for overrating the -excellence of the pretender's acting. But Bernard Andreas, the principal -if not the only contemporary writer, certainly gives one to understand -that he played his part very plausibly. - -'Carried to Ireland by a fair wind he suborned with his very cunning -temptations a great part of the barbarians of that island. For he -unfolded and retold from his ready memory all the times of Edward IV., -and without book repeated the names of all his familiars and servants as -he had been taught them from a boy. He habitually added circumstances of -time, place, and person, with which he very easily persuaded the levity -of those men. And with the help of such figments the matter grew so -important, that men of prudence and high nobility were induced to believe -the same. What followed? Certain prophecies concerning him were scattered -far and wide by false prophets, which completely blinded the mental -perceptions of the common people.' - -It must be admitted that Lord Bacon did not speak without considerable -authority. A contemporary French poem, which was probably also written by -Bernard Andreas, gives a very unflattering account of Ireland as a cave -of robbers, 'where is neither peace, love, nor concord, but only treasons -and the foulest deeds.' Such material help as the pretender received was -entirely among the Anglo-Irish. The native annalists do not mention him, -whereas Simnel is, at least by one writer, spoken of as an undoubted -prince of the blood royal.[67] - -[Sidenote: Sir Piers Butler kills Sir James Ormonde, 1497.] - -Sir James Ormonde, whose mother was an O'Brien, used the help of his -Irish connections to oppress Sir Piers Butler, whom he imprisoned, but -afterwards released at Desmond's request, 'upon trust that he should have -married the Earl's daughter.' One of Kildare's first acts after his -restoration was to summon Sir James to Dublin, and to proclaim him outlaw -on his refusal. But this scarcely lessened his power in the Butler -country, and did not even prevent him from assuming the title of Earl of -Ormonde. Driven to great straits, Sir Piers asserted that his rival had -imprisoned him 'contrary to his oath and promise made upon the holy cross -and other great relics ... and that the same Sir James, not pondering his -said oath and promise, showed openly that wheresoever he would find me he -would kill me.' After this Sir James, for the second time, refused to -appear before the King. The two Butlers met accidentally in the open -field between Dunmore and Kilkenny, and after a short struggle Sir James -was slain.[68] - -[Sidenote: Consequent peace between Butlers and Geraldines.] - -According to some accounts this encounter or murder, whichever it may be -thought, was caused by Lady Margaret Butler's complaint that she could -get no wine, though in delicate health. 'Truly, Margaret,' he answered, -'thou shalt have store of wine within this four and twenty hours, or else -thou shalt feed alone on milk for me.' One writer says that there were -desperate odds against Sir Piers; and if this be true, and considering -the then state of Ireland, the guilt of murder can hardly attach to him. -The death of Sir James was decidedly beneficial to Ireland, for it made -peace between the Houses of Kildare and Ormonde.[69] - -[Sidenote: Parliament of 1498.] - -In 1498 Kildare received a commission to hold a Parliament which was not -to last for more than six months. The first Act of this Parliament was to -confirm the reversal of the Lord Deputy's attainder, who by a singular -anomaly thus exercised viceregal authority, notwithstanding the -corruption of his own blood; the last to attaint Lord Barrymore and John -Waters for their dealings with Perkin Warbeck. Waters was caught, found -guilty by a Westminster jury, and hanged at Tyburn, alongside of the -pretender. Lord Barrymore escaped arrest, but was murdered by his -brother, the Archdeacon of Cork. Kildare visited and garrisoned Cork, -forcing the chief inhabitants to take the oath of allegiance to Henry, -and to give bonds for future good behaviour. Of the other Acts passed, -the most important was one for the discouragement of Irish habits and -weapons. Henceforth dwellers within the Pale were enjoined to wear only -English dress, and to wield only 'English artillery,' such as swords, -bucklers, pavesses, bows, arrows, bills, crossbows, guns, or such hand -weapons--darts and spears being prohibited; and they were to ride in -saddles in the English fashion.[70] - -[Sidenote: Kildare's wars in Ulster. Cannon are used.] - -It was Kildare's fortune not only to give trouble himself, but to be the -progenitor of those who were to give trouble in future. The rebellion of -his grandson Thomas Fitzgerald was to cause the eclipse of his house. The -descendants of his daughter Alice were to be the chief disturbers of the -Elizabethan monarchy in Ireland. She had married Con More O'Neill, who -was naturalised by Act of Parliament, and this gave her father a fair -excuse for interfering in the affairs of Ulster. Con More had been -treacherously killed by his brother Henry in 1493, and the murderer -fought for supremacy with his brother Donnell. Henry was at first -successful, and Donnell, whom Lady Alice appears to have favoured, could -only keep up a desultory opposition. In 1497 a peace or truce was made, -but in the following year Tirlough and Con, Lady Alice's two young sons, -killed Henry in revenge for their father's death, and invited Kildare to -come himself into Ulster. Besides his grandsons, the Lord Deputy had the -help of Donnell O'Neill, of Maguire, of O'Donnell, and of most of the -neighbouring clans against Henry O'Neill's sons and partisans. Cannon -were brought against Dungannon, which soon surrendered. Omagh was -afterwards taken, and Donnell was established as chief of Tyrone. -Firearms were perhaps first brought to Ireland in 1483, when six muskets, -considered a great rarity, were sent from Germany as a present to -Kildare, and were borne by his guards more for show than for use. In 1487 -an O'Donnell was killed by a cannon or musket shot in a local broil, and -in the following year Kildare brought ordnance against Balrath Castle. In -1495, as we have seen, heavy guns were successfully used for the defence -of Waterford, and the mention of firearms in the Act of 1498 shows that -their importance was quickly recognised. Cannon came in time to be the -peculiar weapons of the King, their great expense putting them out of the -reach of private combatants, and no doubt it was gunpowder that caused -the downfall both of the feudal and of the tribal systems.[71] - -[Sidenote: Kildare's wars in Connaught and Ulster.] - -In 1499 the Lord Deputy, who acted pretty much as if there were no King -in England, made an excursion into Connaught, and garrisoned certain -castles. About the same time Piers Butler was defeated in battle by the -O'Briens, but the causes of neither quarrel have been handed down to us. -It was the policy of the Anglo-Norman nobles in Ireland to make -themselves allies among the Irish, and in pursuance of this idea the Earl -gave up his son Henry to be fostered by his late ally, Hugh Roe -O'Donnell, who came to visit him in the Pale. Kildare afterwards held a -Parliament at Castle Dermot; but its acts had no political significance, -unless the punishment of certain nobles for not wearing Parliament-robes, -and for not using saddles, be considered an exception. - -Donnell O'Neill and his nephews did not long remain at peace, and -O'Donnell, siding with the latter, expelled Donnell from Dungannon. -Kildare again invaded Tyrone, in conjunction with O'Donnell, and took -Kinard Castle, which he handed over to his grandson Tirlough; but six -weeks later it was retaken by Donnell O'Neill. For more than two years -after this no event of any importance is recorded; there were ceaseless -wars among the Irish, but the Lord Deputy does not seem to have -interfered with them. - -[Sidenote: Kildare in England, 1503.] - -In 1503 Kildare visited England by the King's orders, and remained there -three months. Having licence from Henry to appoint a substitute, he -selected his old antagonist the Archbishop of Dublin to act as Lord -Justice in his absence. The Earl remained three months in England, and -was allowed to bring back his son Gerald, who had been a hostage for -eight years. Gerald, who was accompanied by his bride, Elizabeth Zouche, -received his appointment as Lord Treasurer of Ireland a few months -later.[72] - -[Sidenote: Battle of Knocktoe, 1504.] - -In 1504 a quarrel arose between Kildare and Ulick MacWilliam Burke, Lord -of Clanricarde, who had married his daughter, Lady Eustacia. The only -cause assigned by any of the authorities is, that MacWilliam ill-treated -his wife. He had, however, seized the town of Galway, and that might be -provocation enough for a Lord Deputy. Two great armies were -collected--MacWilliam having the O'Briens and Macnamaras, the Connaught -O'Connors, and the MacBriens, O'Kennedys, and O'Carrolls on his side. -With the Deputy were a portion at least of the O'Neills, O'Donnell, -MacDermot, Magennis, O'Connor Faly, O'Ferrall, MacMahon, O'Reilly, -O'Hanlon, and some of the Mayo Burkes, the Mayor of Dublin, the Earl of -Desmond, and the Lords Gormanston, Slane, Delvin, Killeen, Dunsany, -Trimleston, and Howth. Notwithstanding this formidable array of names, -Kildare's army was far inferior to MacWilliam's in point of numbers. Both -bishops and lawyers appeared at the council of war which preceded the -battle: Art O'Neill objecting to the former and O'Connor Faly to the -other. The one declared that the bishops' duty was 'to pray, to preach, -and to make fair weather, and not to be privy to manslaughter;' and the -other expressed great contempt for pen and ink and for 'the weak and -doubtful stomachs of learned men.' 'I never,' he said, 'saw those that -were learned ever give good counsel in matters of war, for they were -always doubting, and staying, and persuading, more in frivolous and -uncertain words than Ector or Launcelot's doings.' Lord Gormanston was -unwilling to risk so much without first knowing the King's pleasure; but -Lord Howth, as represented by the family chronicler, saw that good advice -might come too late, and that being in the field they must fight. He -proposed that they should conquer or die, having first placed their sons -in safety, so as to secure vengeance in case of defeat. This plan was -frustrated by young Gerald's refusal to retire. MacWilliam's army made -certain of victory, and spent the night drinking, playing cards, and -arranging about the custody of prisoners. The battle took place at -Knocktuagh or Knocktoe, now generally written Knockdoe, a hill near Clare -Galway. Kildare is said to have reminded his followers that the enemy, -though very numerous, were ill-armed, many with one spear only and a -knife, and 'without wisdom or good order, marching to battle as drunken -as swine to a trough.' When the fighting began 'Great Darcy'--the man who -had borne Lambert Simnel on his shoulders--appeared as one of the chief -champions on the Deputy's side. Kildare gained a complete victory. The -'Book of Howth' represents the gentry of the Pale as sustaining the brunt -of the battle, while the 'Four Masters' tell the story as if both armies -consisted of aboriginal Irishmen only. According to the former authority, -Lord Gormanston made the following speech to the Lord Deputy:--'We have -done one good work, and if we do the other we shall do well. We have for -the most number killed our enemies, and if we do the like with all the -Irishmen that we have with us, it were a good deed.' - -Galway and Athenry were occupied without difficulty after the battle, and -the Lord Deputy's Irish allies withdrew to their own countries. The -arduous task remained of persuading Henry VII. that all had been done in -his interest. Kildare sent his old antagonist the Archbishop of Dublin to -Court, who performed his mission so well that the King professed himself -quite satisfied, and soon afterwards made his Deputy a Knight of the -Garter. Perhaps Henry was not really deceived, but thought it good policy -to make his great subject's victories his own. Sixty years afterwards, -when Sir Henry Sidney solicited a garter for another Earl of Kildare, he -urged his suit in these words:--'King Henry VII. made his grandfather, -and wist full what he did when he did so; he enlarged the Pale, and -enriched the same more than 10,000_l._ worth.'[73] - -[Sidenote: Parliament of 1508.] - -Of the remaining years of Henry VII.'s reign but little seems to be -recorded, except that the chronic war among the native tribes did not -cease. Kildare held a Parliament in 1508, in which a subsidy of 13_s._ -4_d._ was granted out of every ploughland, whether lay or clerical. About -the same time a party of the O'Neills took Carrickfergus Castle, and -carried off the mayor. In 1509 Kildare again invaded Tyrone in the -interests of his grandsons, and demolished Omagh. When the King died he -was in full possession of the government, and without a rival in those -parts of Ireland which were in any real sense subject to the English -Crown.[74] - -[Sidenote: Henry endeavoured to separate the two races.] - -It was the decided policy of Henry VII. to act in the spirit of the -Statute of Kilkenny, and to separate the English and Irish districts. -The well-known name of the Pale, or the English Pale, seems to have come -into general use about the close of the fifteenth century. A great number -of ordinances remain to prove how necessary it was for the Englishry to -bear arms, and the practice of fortifying the home district against the -Irish became a subject of legal enactment at least as early as 1429. An -Act of the Parliament of 1475 declares that a dyke had been made and kept -up from Tallaght to Tassagard, at the sole cost of four -baronies--Coolock, Balrothery, Castleknock, and Newcastle--and provision -was made by statute for its future maintenance. This was an inner line -for the defence of Dublin only, but the Parliament of Drogheda made a -similar provision for the whole Pale. It was enacted that every -inhabitant of the marches or inland borders of Dublin, Meath, Kildare, -and Louth, should, under a penalty of 40_s._, make and maintain 'a double -ditch of six feet above ground, at one side, which meareth next unto -Irishmen,' the landlord forgiving a year's rent in consideration of this -work. The legal provision was afterwards enforced by writs addressed to -the sheriffs and justices, and the name of Pale was perhaps first given -to the district so enclosed. The building of this Mahratta ditch may be -considered to mark the lowest point reached by the English power in -Ireland.[75] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[48] _History of St. Canice_, by Graves and Prim, especially pp. 187 and -193; also Mr. Graves's _Presentments_, p. 79; Archdall's _Lodge's -Peerage_, art. 'Mount Garrett.' - -[49] It is hard to say whether the instructions for John Estrete, -attributed by Mr. Gairdner to the very beginning of Henry's reign, are by -him or by Richard III. Henry would hardly have promised to make Kildare -Deputy for ten years on condition of his going to Court, and the -allusions to Edward IV. are more likely to have been made by -Richard.--_Letters of Richard III. and Henry VII._, vol. i. p. 91. The -three letters in the Appendix cannot be earlier than 1488. - -[50] Writing to Morton or Fox, Octavian says, 'Profano coronationis pueri -in Hiberniâ sceleri, me solo excepto, nullus obstitit manifeste.' This -hardly gives due credit to the Bishop of Clogher.--_Letters of Richard -III. and Henry VII._, vol. i. p. 383. Henry's letter to Pius II. is at p. -94. 'Armachanensis' must be a mistake on the King's part. - -[51] Lambert was crowned May 2, 1487. - -[52] _Book of Howth_, and an account in _Carew_ (followed by Smith), iv. -p. 473. - -[53] Bacon; _Book of Howth_; O'Donovan's _Four Masters, ad ann._ 1485. -The battle of Stoke was fought June 16, 1487. - -[54] Henry's letter to Waterford is in Smith's _Waterford_; the letter of -the Dublin people in Ware's _Annals_. - -[55] Sir Richard Edgcombe's voyage, in Harris's _Hibernica_. - -[56] _Book of Howth_; _Letters of Richard III. and Henry VII._, vol. i. -p. 384. - -[57] _The Earls of Kildare_; Harris's _Dublin_; _Four Masters, ad ann._ -1492. - -[58] Ware; Gairdner's _Life of Richard III._; _Letters of Richard III. -and Henry VII._, ii. 55. - -[59] _Irish Statutes_, 10 Henry VII., Dec. 1, 1494. - -[60] _Ibid._, chaps. iv. and xxii. - -[61] Gilbert's _Viceroys_, p. 454, and Ware. The Act is not in the -printed statutes. - -[62] _Letters of Richard III. and Henry VII._, vol. ii. pp. lxxvi. 237, -242, 299; _Histories of Waterford_, by Smith and Rylands; _Four Masters -and Annals of Lough Cé ad ann. 1505_. - -[63] _Letters of Richard III. and Henry VII._, vol. ii. pp. 64 and 67. - -[64] Hattecliffe's accounts in _Letters of Richard III. and Henry VII._, -vol. ii. pp. 297-318. - -[65] Ware; Hattecliffe's _Accounts_; _Earls of Kildare_. - -[66] Gairdner's _Richard III._; Smith's _Waterford_, where is given the -correspondence between Henry and the city; _Carew_, vol. v. p. 472, where -the events of 1487, 1495, and 1497 are mixed up; Sir Piers Butler to the -Earl of Ormonde, in Graves's _St. Canice_, p. 193. - -[67] _Four Masters_, with O'Donovan's notes, under 1485. The 'Annals' of -Andreas and the 'Douze triomphes de Henri VII.,' are in _Memorials of -Henry VII._, ed. Gairdner. - -[68] Sir Piers Butler to the Earl of Ormonde, in Graves's _St. Canice_, -p. 193. Stanihurst says Sir Piers waylaid his enemy. - -[69] All the authorities bearing on this event are collected in Graves's -_St. Canice_, pp. 193-198. - -[70] The Acts of this Parliament (supposed lost) are printed by Mr. -Gilbert in his _Facsimiles of Irish National MSS._, vol. iii., from the -English Patent Rolls. Ware; _Four Masters_. - -[71] _Four Masters_ and O'Donovan's notes, under 1487, 1488, and 1498. - -[72] Ware; _Four Masters_. - -[73] Sidney to Leicester, March 1, 1566, in the _Irish State Papers_. The -account of the battle of Knocktoe is made up from Ware, Stanihurst, the -_Four Masters_, and the _Book of Howth_. The _Four Masters_ seem to have -thought that the forces of the Pale were not engaged, and O'Donovan -rather countenances them, but the _Annals of Lough Cé_ say Kildare -mustered 'all the foreigners and Irish of Leinster and of Northern -Ireland.' (_Ad ann. 1504._) The details in the _Book of Howth_ may not be -all correct, though there is nothing antecedently improbable in Lord -Gormanston's truculent speech. - -[74] _Irish Statutes_, 24 Hen. VII.; _Letters and Papers of Henry VIII._, -Oct. 7, 1515. - -[75] The statutes referred to are printed in Hardiman's _Statute of -Kilkenny_. See Gilbert's _Viceroys_, p. 459. - - - - -[Illustration: IRELAND ABOUT 1500. - -_London: Longmans & Co._] - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -FROM THE ACCESSION OF HENRY VIII. TO THE YEAR 1534. - - -[Sidenote: Accession of Henry VIII., 1509. Kildare remains in power.] - -Henry VIII. was proclaimed without opposition, and amid great rejoicings -in all the principal towns, but his accession made no immediate -difference to Ireland. Kildare prepared to go to the new King, but the -Council, who felt their helplessness without him, chose him Lord Justice, -and constrained him to stay. His patent as Lord Deputy was not long -withheld, and other official men were for the time continued in -authority. The Earl was summoned to Court, but excused himself on the -grounds that he could not be spared, and, as the Council sustained him, -the King made no objection. Attended by the chief men of the Pale he -invaded Munster, and, being joined by O'Donnell, penetrated into Desmond -and took Castlemaine, as well as the so-called palace of the MacCarthies -near Killarney. He met with scarcely any resistance, and seems to have -had no higher object than plunder. Near Limerick, Kildare was joined by -Desmond's eldest son with the main force of the southern Geraldines and -the MacCarthies of Carbery and Muskerry. The Lord Deputy passed into -Clare by a wooden bridge which the O'Briens had erected near -Castleconnell, and which he broke down behind him. Here he was met by -Tirlough O'Brien, the chief's son, accompanied by the Macnamaras and the -Clanricarde Burkes. The hostile armies bivouacked at such close quarters -that they could hear each other talking at night. At daybreak Kildare -retired along the right bank of the Shannon, and reached Limerick in -safety with the bulk of his plunder. The Munster Geraldines, with their -Irish auxiliaries, marched in the van as not being over trustworthy. -In the rear, the post of honour in a retreat, were the O'Donnells and the -men of the Pale. Such was the settlement of differences between -Geraldines and De Burgos, which the chief governor had alleged as the -main obstacle to his attendance upon his sovereign. It was indeed his -interest to be always at war, for he had obtained a grant in tail of all -such possessions as he could recover from any rebel in Ireland.[76] This -method of paying a viceroy with letters of marque cost the Crown nothing, -but the greatest ingenuity could hardly have devised a plan more fatal to -an unfortunate dependency. - -[Sidenote: Activity of Kildare, 1512, 1513.] - -During the next year Kildare kept pretty quiet, but was soon again in the -field. Crossing the Shannon at Athlone he plundered and burned all before -him to Roscommon, where he placed a garrison, and then prolonged his -destroying course to Boyle. Here he met O'Donnell, who came to him over -the Curlew Mountains. This chief had lately made a pilgrimage to Rome, -and spent four months in London going and as many more on his return. He -was well received by Henry VIII., but we have unfortunately no details. -In this same year Kildare invaded Ulster, took the castle of Belfast, and -spoiled the land far and wide. In the following summer he marched against -Ely O'Carroll, but while watering his horse in a stream near his own -castle of Kilkea he was shot by one of the O'Mores, and died soon -afterwards.[77] His son Gerald was at once chosen Lord Justice by the -Council, and the King continued him in authority[78] on the same terms, -and with a similar grant of all lands he could recover from the rebels. - -[Sidenote: The Earldom of Ormonde in abeyance.] - -The rival house of Ormonde was at this time depressed by the loss of its -head without male issue. Early in 1515 died Thomas, the seventh Earl, the -only Irish peer whom Henry VII. or Henry VIII. called to the English -House of Lords, who was reputed the richest subject of the Crown, and is -said to have left the enormous sum of 40,000_l._ in money, besides -jewels. He had two daughters, who inherited his personal property and -seventy-two manors in England. Ann, the eldest, was married to Sir James -St. Leger, Margaret, the younger, to Sir William Boleyn, by whom she had -Sir Thomas, who became grandfather to Queen Elizabeth. Sir Piers Butler, -a descendant of the third Earl, was heir male to the title and to the -settled Irish estates, which at once became matters of dispute between -him and the ladies St. Leger and Boleyn. With the full approval of the -Irish Butlers, Sir Piers at once assumed the title of Earl. He had -married Lady Margaret Fitzgerald, sister of the new Lord Deputy Kildare, -a woman of lofty character and stature, to whom Irish tradition, with an -endearing irony, has given the name of Magheen or Little Margaret. In -compliance with letters from the King, Sir Piers was ordered to appear -before his brother-in-law and the Irish Council; but he sent his wife -instead, to urge that he was busy fighting. The lady, who must have had a -delicate task between her husband and her brother, procured an -adjournment, and it was stipulated that no rents should be paid in the -meantime. The late Earl's daughters appeared by counsel in due course, -and it is evident that Henry leaned strongly to their side. They offered -evidence of title, but Sir Piers staid away and left all to his wife and -his lawyers. The latter contented themselves with practically demurring -to the jurisdiction, and prayed to have the case tried at common law; -which would probably have secured a decision for their client. The Lord -Deputy referred all back to the King, and the tenants continued to pay no -rent. Kildare wished to command Sir Piers on his allegiance to appear -before the King in England on a certain day; but he was overruled by the -Council, who believed that this would drive Butler into rebellion; and as -its acknowledged chief, he could command all the forces of his family. He -chanced, moreover, to be at peace with the reigning Desmond, and he had -strengthened himself by alliances among the Irish. These considerations -prevailed with the King or with Wolsey, and the case remained in -abeyance; but it had gone far enough to cause an irreparable breach -between Kildare and the rival chief.[79] - -[Sidenote: Kildare visits England in 1515. His restless policy.] - -Meanwhile, the Lord Deputy trod in his father's footsteps. He made -successful raids on the O'Mores and O'Reillys, and for slaying many of -the latter had a grant of the customs of Strangford and other places in -Down. A visit to England in 1515 resulted in permission to hold a -Parliament in the following year, but it produced no legislation of -importance. He took and dismantled Leap Castle, the stronghold of the -O'Carrolls, which his father had failed to gain, and he surprised Clonmel -by a sudden march, though we know not what offence that town had given -him. When he was busy in the north, where he destroyed O'Neill's castle -at Dungannon and stormed Dundrum, which was defended by Magennis, the -O'Carrolls rose again and invaded Meath. Again Kildare visited Ely and -destroyed another castle. The history of two viceroyalties may indeed be -told in a single sentence. Every year or two the Earl of Kildare harried -some Irish country, and then reported such and such execution done upon -the King's enemies. There was no attempt to keep the peace among the -natives, the highest policy being the setting of one chief against -another. The O'Neills and O'Donnells continued their everlasting feuds, -and nearly every tribe was constantly at war. Occasionally they made -foreign alliances, as in the case of O'Donnell, who was a travelled man. -A French knight coming on a visit to St. Patrick's Purgatory was -hospitably received by the chief, and offered to recover Sligo from the -O'Connors. The offer was accepted, and in due course an armed vessel -appeared in Killybegs Harbour. Sligo was battered from the sea, the -O'Donnells co-operating by land, and the castle surrendered. We hear no -more of the mysterious Frenchman.[80] Ware says that Ireland was -peaceable during the year 1518, but the Irish annalists tell a very -different story.[81] - -[Sidenote: Miserable state of the country.] - -The chiefs of English race were almost as restless as the Celts whom -they affected to despise, and the state of the Pale was as bad as bad -could be. John Kite, a Londoner, who had been promoted to the throne of -Armagh by Wolsey's influence, informed his patron that he tried to -comfort the people by promising that the King would soon come to reform -the land. He insisted very reasonably that the King was as much bound to -maintain order and justice in Ireland as in England herself. The sea was -no safer than the land, and the ship which brought the Archbishop from -Chester had been attacked by two pirates; but the men of Drogheda--no -thanks to the Government--had captured the rovers. Even the Countess -Dowager of Kildare, who was the daughter of an English knight, complained -that her stepson allowed O'Neill to levy tribute on her lands, and that -her property and that of her dependents was laid waste. Portions that had -escaped the Irish were seized by the Earl's own steward. Kildare had many -other accusers, and was at length summoned over to give an account. He -was allowed to appoint a Deputy, and nominated his cousin, Maurice -Fitzgerald of Lackagh, who was soon afterwards killed by the O'Mores. But -the cry of the land had been heard at last, and Henry resolved to send -over a governor whom he could trust. The lot fell upon Thomas, Earl of -Surrey, the son and companion in arms of the victor of Flodden, whose -influence at Court probably made his absence desirable to Wolsey.[82] - -[Sidenote: Thomas Earl of Surrey, Lord-Lieutenant, 1520. Anarchy.] - -The first thirty pages of the printed State Papers are taken up with a -report to the King on the state of Ireland, founded on an earlier -document, but corrected and brought down nearly to the date of Surrey's -appointment. It discloses a state of things calculated to try the ablest -governor. In Ulster and Connaught, in the counties of Waterford, Cork, -Kilkenny, Limerick, Kerry, Carlow, Westmeath, and Wicklow, and in parts -of Kildare and Wexford, there was neither magistrate nor sheriff. -Districts wholly or partially peopled by men of English race were under -black-rent to the native chiefs. This odious tax was paid by the Savages -of Lecale in Down to the O'Neills of Clandeboye. The great chief of -Tyrone levied his dues in Louth. Meath and Kildare were tributary to -O'Connor Faly, Wexford to the Kavanaghs, Kilkenny and Tipperary to -O'Carroll, Limerick to the O'Briens, and Cork to the MacCarthies. -MacMurrough Kavanagh, who in the eyes of the natives represented the -ancient royalty of Leinster, actually received eighty marks out of an -almost empty exchequer. The sum of the several black-rents amounted to -740_l._, and this was at a time when a soldier received fourpence a day. -Dublin was in constant danger, and one of Henry's first acts was to grant -20_l._, a year to the citizens for repairing their walls, which had -crumbled through decrease of population, pestilence, and Irish violence. -A line drawn from Dundalk to Kells, from Kells to Kilcullen Bridge, and -thence by Ballymore Eustace, and Tallaght to Dalkey, enclosed the whole -actual Pale, upon which fell all the expenses of an establishment -intended to meet the wants of all Ireland. The King's taxes had to be -paid, coyne and livery were extorted, horses and carriages were -requisitioned for the public service; and with all this the Government -could give no protection, no judge went circuit, and black-rent was -perforce paid in addition. 'The King's army in England,' said Henry's -informant, 'is the commons, the King's army in Ireland is such as oppress -the commons.' The nobility and gentry copied the Government, and it was -more than suspected that they dreaded any reform which would force them -to obey the law; 'for there is no land in all this world that has more -liberty in vices than Ireland, and less liberty in virtue.' The Church -showed no better example than the lay magnates; 'for there is no -archbishop nor bishop, abbot nor prior, parson nor vicar, nor any other -person of the Church, high or low, great or small, that useth to preach -the Word of God, saving the poor friars' beggars.' Some Irish chiefs kept -better order than the Government; 'but not to the intent that his -subjects should escape harmless, but to the intent to devour them by -himself, like as a greedy hound delivereth the sheep from the wolf.' - -[Sidenote: Remedies suggested.] - -Ireland has never lacked physicians, though she has often been nothing -bettered by them. The most obvious means to strengthen the English power -was to make the men of the Pale keep arms and practice their use; and -this had been the constant cry of governors and legislators for many -generations. Henry had directed Kildare to get an Act passed obliging -every merchant trading from England to Ireland to bring a pound's worth -of bows and arrows for every 20_l._ of wares, so as to prevent the King's -subjects from applying themselves to Irish archery. Patrick Finglas, -Baron of the Exchequer, was less sanguine than the writer of the State -Paper which has been so largely quoted. That reformer ventured to -prophesy that if his advice were taken the war of Ireland would cease for -ever, the King would recover Constantinople and die Emperor of Rome, and -Ireland once reduced to order would be 'none other than a very paradise, -delicious of all pleasance.' But Finglas admitted that reform must -necessarily be gradual, and advised the King to confine himself at first -to the reclamation of Leinster. He recommended that the chief abbeys and -castles should be entrusted to Englishmen, from Bray Head round the coast -to Dunbrody on the Suir, and inland from Baltinglass and Carlow along the -Barrow to Ross. The Wicklow Highlanders would be thus bridled and unable -to attack Kildare. Athy and other places were to be held against the -O'Connors and O'Mores. The Butlers seem to have been thought able to take -care of themselves. It would not do to give up the castles to men who had -great possessions in England, and who would never encourage English -farmers to become their tenants. At first settlers would have to be -protected, but in time would take care of themselves. There would be no -difficulty about tilling the soil, 'for there be no better labourers than -the poor commons of Ireland, nor sooner will be brought to good frame, if -they be kept under a law.'[83] - -[Sidenote: Irish exactions.] - -Besides the payment of black-rent, the commons of Ireland were oppressed -by innumerable exactions, of which the principal may be described once -for all. Bonaght was a tax imposed by a chief for the support of his -mercenary horsemen, gallowglasses, and kerne. The name was often -transferred from the tax to those who were maintained by it, and Bonaght, -or Bony, became the generic name for an Irish mercenary or for one from -the Scotch isles. Sorohen was an obligation on certain lands to support -the chief with his train for twenty-four hours once a quarter, or, -according to another account, as often as once a fortnight. Coshery was -the chief's right to sponge upon his vassals with as many followers as he -pleased. Cuddies, or night-suppers, were due by certain lands upon which -the chief might quarter himself and his train for four days four times a -year. Shragh and mart were yearly exactions in money and kine -respectively, apparently imposed at the will of the chief. Worse than any -of these was coyne and livery--that is, the taking of horse-meat and -man-meat from everyone at the will of the chief; in other words, the -right of the strongest to take what he liked. Coyne and livery were not -the invention of an Irish chief, but of one of those Anglo-Normans who -knew how to better native instruction. Maurice Fitz-Thomas, Earl of -Desmond, is said to have begun it under Edward II. as the only available -means of coping with Edward Bruce. Originally a contrivance for carrying -on war at the enemy's expense, it came to be used by all great men at all -seasons. James, the ninth Earl of Desmond, has the credit of first -imposing it on loyal subjects, but the Crown was primarily to blame for -neglecting to keep order. Lords Deputies showed no better example than -private oppressors.[84] - -[Sidenote: Surrey finds all in confusion.] - -Surrey landed with his family at Dublin on May 23, bringing 100 men of -the royal guard as a peculiar mark of favour. He found the country in -rather more than its usual confusion. He sent Archbishop Rokeby to -Waterford, who succeeded in preventing Sir Piers Butler from fighting -with Desmond, and he himself marched into Leix with his English soldiers, -120 Irish mercenaries, and 300 kerne. The English of the Pale, who, from -love or fear of Kildare, usually mustered so strong on these occasions, -contributed only forty-eight horse and 120 foot. Surrey made war in the -usual Irish fashion, and burned Connell O'More's country. He was joined -by Sir Piers Butler, who brought a strong contingent, including Mulrony -O'Carroll, whom he induced to take the oath of allegiance. O'Carroll had -latterly done great harm in the Pale, and he was considered the best -leader among the Irish. He refused to take the oath until Surrey rashly -promised that Kildare should never be Deputy again. On being pressed -about a letter which the Earl was said to have written to him, he at -first said that he would not inform even were he to receive the viceregal -pavilion full of gold; but in spite of all this bravado he allowed his -brothers to be examined, and they both swore that they had stood by and -heard the letter read. Surrey never saw the document itself, nor has it -been preserved. According to the report which we have, Kildare had -directed O'Carroll to keep the peace till the arrival of an English -Deputy, and then to make war on all Englishmen except the writer's -friends. The object was to make all government but his own -impossible.[85] - -[Sidenote: O'Donnell is friendly.] - -On his return to Dublin, Surrey found O'Donnell waiting for him. That -chief had probably pleasant recollections of his visit to the English -Court, and was not unwilling to strengthen himself against his rival -O'Neill. He told Surrey that his powerful neighbour had urged him to make -war on the Pale, and had declared his own intention of doing so, in -compliance with Kildare's directions. O'Donnell promised to invade Tyrone -if the Lord-Lieutenant would do likewise from the opposite quarter, and -remarked emphatically that if the King ever set Kildare in authority -again he might as well convey Ireland to him and his heirs for ever. - -[Sidenote: O'Neill temporises.] - -Early in August, Surrey, accompanied by Sir Piers Butler and his forces, -entered Farney and punished MacMahon for the assistance given to O'Neill -in his attacks on the Pale. O'Neill made some sort of verbal submission, -and the Lord-Lieutenant returned to Dublin, where he detected a -conspiracy among his soldiers, some of whom found life intolerable in -Ireland. Their plan was to seize a small vessel in the river, and by her -means a larger one on the high seas, and so to become rovers. The Irish -lawyers held that the Viceroy could not hang them; for they had committed -no overt act, and his patent did not authorise him to proceed by martial -law. It is clear that the Crown was held capable of dispensing with the -common law, at least in the case of soldiers.[86] - -[Sidenote: Desmonds and MacCarthies.] - -In September an important private war was waged in Munster. James, Earl -of Desmond, according to the usual practice of his family, made a -perfectly unprovoked attack upon Cormac Oge MacCarthy, the chief of -Muskerry. Having secured the assistance of Sir Thomas Fitzgerald, the -Earl's uncle and his own sister's husband, and of his kinsman MacCarthy -Reagh, Cormac Oge defeated Desmond in a pitched battle near Mourne Abbey, -to the south of Mallow. The messenger who brought the news to Dublin -reported that the Earl had lost 1,500 foot and 500 horse. The -Lord-Lieutenant was not sorry, for he had straitly charged Desmond to -leave the MacCarthies alone. The fate of the Desmonds has excited much -not very well directed sympathy: it would better become Irishmen to -remember that they were the worst oppressors of their Celtic neighbours. - -When Surrey visited Munster soon after, Desmond met him at Clonmel, and -was as loyal in words as Sir Piers Butler had been in deeds. At Waterford -he met MacCarthy Reagh and Cormac Oge, who were adherents of Sir Piers, -and who had come on his invitation. They spoke fairly, bound themselves -to keep the peace and professed themselves loyal, so that they might be -protected. Surrey wished to make Cormac Oge a Privy Councillor and a -Baron of Parliament, and he calls him a 'sad wise man.' Cormac produced a -charter under the Great Seal, a copy of which was sent to England with an -assurance that it comprised no lands to which the King was entitled.[87] - -[Sidenote: Henry speaks boldly to the Irish.] - -It was probably to Cormac Oge that Henry wrote a remarkable letter, which -shows his intentions at this time. The Irishman, whether Cormac Oge or -another, was willing to surrender his lands and take an estate tail from -the Crown at a fair rent. It was the interest of native chieftains to do -this, because it secured them as against the Government, while it enabled -them to transmit to their children a property which was not theirs at -all, but held in trust for the clan at the election of the clansmen. The -one fear of Henry's correspondent was that he should after all be -abandoned to Kildare's vengeance, and he counselled the employment of a -large army. To this the King answered that he had no intention whatever -of giving up his plans for the reduction of Ireland, that he would not -remove Surrey, and that he would not reinstate Kildare in the government. -When peaceful means failed it would be time to put forth his strength. In -language which reminds us of the royal speech in the ballad of 'Chevy -Chase,' he remarked that this Irish enterprise was a trifle compared with -those which he had in hand against France and Scotland. This was politic -language in dealing with a half-civilised MacCarthy, but Henry spoke very -differently to his own servants. There was talk of an alliance between -Argyll and O'Neill, and of a Scotch descent upon Ireland. The Continent -was disturbed, and the burden of three armies would be intolerable. And -yet he would try to do justice to Ireland. He was an absolute monarch and -above legal trammels, but might even condescend to consider himself -bound, if by so doing he could induce Irish chiefs to live by law. If -that of England proved too strong for weak stomachs, they might even -retain some of their native customs. The Earldom of Ulster was legally -his own, but he would not willingly take it by force. If clemency failed, -in the last resort he would try the strength of his hand, for realms -without justice were but tyrannies, communities of beasts rather than -reasoning men. Brave words! but woefully belied in action.[88] - -[Sidenote: Surrey is not sanguine.] - -Surrey was not to be deceived, and steadily refused to prophesy smooth -things. He believed that Ireland could only be reduced by conquest, and -that the easiest method was to master one district at a time, gradually -pushing forward the frontier until the whole country was obedient. A -permanent army of 500 men might perhaps effect this, while at least 6,000 -would be required for a rapid conquest. Edward I. had taken ten years to -subdue Wales, and that great king had given almost constant personal -attention to the work. Yet Wales was unprotected by the sea, and was not -a fifth part the size of Ireland. All artillery and munitions of war -would have to be brought from England, and fortresses must be built to -bridle each tract of country successively occupied. Nor could a military -occupation endure unless accompanied by a large plan of colonisation. -Thus only could the natives be brought to labour and settled order. We -can see, though Henry VIII. could not, how justly Surrey estimated the -magnitude of England's task in Ireland.[89] - -[Sidenote: Activity of Surrey.] - -In July 1521 the Irish bordering on the Pale took their usual advantage -of the season. O'Connor, O'More, and O'Carroll, the latter all unmindful -of his last year's oath and of more recent promises, collected a great -host and prepared to attack the Pale. Surrey, who had lately prorogued -his Parliament after a ten days' session, was in Dublin, and by his -promptitude averted the danger. O'Connor's castle, near Edenderry, was -soon in his hands, being unable to resist the fire of three pieces of -heavy ordnance for a single day. It became an axiom in Irish warfare that -the Government could always make its way with artillery. Surrey proposed -to hold O'Connor's stronghold permanently, and to use it against the -Irishry as Berwick was used against the Scots. He destroyed all the corn -far and wide, the people with their cattle flying before him, while Sir -Piers Butler played the like part in Ely O'Carroll. The vigour shown by -the Lord-Lieutenant had the effect which vigour generally has in Ireland, -and the confederacy gave him little further trouble. Meanwhile, the North -was in a blaze. O'Donnell professed loyalty, but was not trusted by -Surrey, who, however, thought it wise to humour him. O'Neill was willing -to be on good terms with the Government, and was on his way to Dundalk -accompanied by Magennis and a large force, when the O'Donnells attacked -him in the rear. Fifteen hundred cows were driven off and seventeen of -the Magennis' villages burned, so that the allies were forced to retrace -their steps. The chief of Tyrconnell feared that if his great neighbour -were once at peace with the Pale he would be too strong for him in the -everlasting private war of Northern Ulster.[90] - -[Sidenote: Uncertainty of English policy.] - -It is not the least of Ireland's misfortunes that her rulers have ever -been subject to hot and cold fits. In the autumn of 1521 Henry suddenly -changed his mind. Disgusted at the apparently almost fruitless expense, -he not only relieved Surrey at his own earnest request, but also -abandoned his policy. War broke out between Charles and Francis, and the -reformation of Ireland, which had but lately seemed so necessary a work -for a Christian king, was lightly postponed to a more convenient season. -Surrey is the first of a long series of able men whose efforts, generally -very ill seconded at home, in the end brought Ireland under the English -sceptre. His means were inconsiderable. In the expedition against O'More, -which he undertook very soon after landing, his whole force seems not to -have exceeded 700. He then asked the King for eighty horsemen from the -North of England, and for leave to discharge as many of the guardsmen as -he might think fit. Many of these were well-to-do householders, and liked -Ireland so little that they were content to leave it on receiving -twopence, or even a penny, a day. One hundred horsemen were accordingly -sent, under the command of Sir John Bulmer, who was Surrey's personal -friend, and fifty more were added from Wales. The captain received -half-a-crown and the lieutenant eighteenpence a day. On their arrival 117 -guardsmen were discharged upon a penny a day. Fourpence appears to have -been a soldier's ordinary pay in Ireland, and Surrey maintained that this -was not enough. Neither Welshmen nor Northumbrians proved to his taste, -most of them being mounted archers and not spearmen. He thought better -men might be had in the country, and Henry was willing to give him much -latitude, though he cautioned him against employing too many Irishmen, -lest the sword should hurt his hand. The King gave his Viceroy the power -of life and death, reserving noble personages, and the right of making -knights. A golden collar was sent for O'Neill, and it was supposed that -such cheap defences would avail against a chief who could easily raise -1,600 men. Of two evils Surrey chose the less; he discharged most of -Bulmer's men, whom he pronounced ill-looking, worthless rascals, and took -Englishmen of the Pale in their places. The difficulty of buying forage -was thus obviated, as native horsemen could find it for themselves.[91] - -[Sidenote: Parliament of 1521.] - -A Parliament sat in Dublin for ten days in June 1521, and after many -prorogations was not finally dissolved till March 1522, when Surrey had -left Ireland. There appears to be no record of the peers who attended, or -of the places represented, and so little mention is afterwards made of -this Parliament that the interest attaching to it was probably slight. -Acts were passed making arson treason, forbidding the exportation of -wool as the cause of a 'dearth of cloth and idleness of many folks,' and -providing against the failure of justice through lack of jurors.[92] - -[Sidenote: Want of money.] - -The Irish Government had no command of money, the judicious employment of -which might enable them to dispense with troops. Surrey's expedition to -Munster was near failing for want of means to pay his men. Before the end -of August the exchequer was habitually empty; no taxes were due till -Michaelmas, nor leviable till Christmas; and nothing was to be had except -for ready money.[93] The King sent 4,000_l._, but would not face the -necessities of the case. It seemed to him monstrous to have to spend -1,600_l._ or 1,700_l._ a year merely for the defence of the Pale. His -remittances were mere palliatives, and Surrey was in difficulties during -his whole term of office. - -[Sidenote: Surrey recalled at his own request, 1521.] - -Surrey had to cope with disease as well as poverty. It was scarcely -possible to find healthy quarters for soldiers, and the people fled -everywhere into the fields, leaving unburied bodies behind them. No place -in Ireland was safe, and the Lord-Lieutenant, who lost three of his -servants, was anxious about his wife and children. Sir John Bulmer never -had a day of health in Ireland, and was glad to get home safe without -having seen any service. In the second year of his government, Surrey -himself was affected with the fever and diarrhoea which have often been -fatal to the English in Ireland, but his prayers were heard at last, and -he was recalled in time to save his life. He was much regretted by the -inhabitants of the Pale, who recognised his good nature, integrity, and -ability. Those who best knew the subject believed that he really saw how -the country might be reduced to order, and it was hoped that he would -return with sufficient means. Meanwhile, the Irish Council entreated -Wolsey to be guided by his advice.[94] - -[Sidenote: He leaves a great reputation.] - -Beloved by the King's subjects and feared by rebels, Surrey left one of -the fairest names among those who have ruled Ireland. He paid in full for -everything, so that the market followed him wherever he went, and he -declared that he would rather eat grass than feast with the curses of the -poor. His retinue had orders to behave in Ireland as they would at home. -So generous was he that the common people thought him the King's son. Nor -was he less just, for he gave full notice of his intended departure, and -discharged all debts due by him or his. It was thought that he never -offended within the compass of the seven deadly sins during his stay in -Ireland; tradition, with a fine contempt for facts, adds that 'in his -time was corn, cattle, fish, health, and fair weather, that the like was -not seen many years before.' We know from his own letters that corn was -dear and sickness prevalent, and we may be very sure that the weather was -not always fair.[95] - -[Sidenote: Sir Piers Butler is made Lord Deputy, 1522.] - -Henry had too much respect for Surrey's opinion to hand back Ireland at -once to Kildare; but he had resolved to reduce expenses, and was -therefore obliged to place the government in the hands of someone who had -the strength to make authority respected. No one satisfied this condition -except Sir Piers Butler, and Surrey was allowed to appoint him Deputy, -retaining the office of Lord-Lieutenant himself. There were objections to -Sir Piers, as to every Irish governor. The Butlers would not take the -field except under him or his eldest son, and he was generally laid up -with gout all the winter. Lord James, as the heir was called, was active -enough, but young and inexperienced. The choice, however, lay between -Ormonde and Kildare, and Sir Piers was so cautiously handled, that he -abstained from driving a hard bargain. - -[Sidenote: The experiment is not successful.] - -[Sidenote: O'Neills and O'Donnells.] - -The experiment was not very successful; for the Geraldines were -all-powerful in the Pale, and the new Lord Deputy, when in Dublin, was -separated from his own country by his rival's dominions. He took the -oath on March 26, 1522, but the O'Mores, who had heard that Kildare was -on his way to restore the good old times, soon began to threaten the -Pale. In the North a war broke out on such an unusually large scale as to -make it probable that O'Neill had promised Kildare to give the new Deputy -as much trouble as possible. Indeed, when Kildare did actually return, he -at once went to O'Neill's aid. The chief of Tyrone may have required -little persuasion to attack his hereditary foes, but the number of his -allies was very uncommon. MacWilliam of Clanricarde, Tirlough O'Brien, -Bishop of Killaloe, with many of his clansmen, O'Connor Don and O'Connor -Roe, MacWilliam of Mayo, and MacDermot of Moylurg, all agreed to assemble -on the southern border of Donegal. O'Neill brought to the trysting place -Magennis, O'Rourke, and MacMahon, and many Scottish mercenaries in the -hereditary service of his family. 'Great numbers,' we are told, 'of the -English of Meath, and the gallowglasses of the province of Leinster, of -the Clan-Donnell and Clan-Sheehy, also came thither, from their -attachment to the daughter of the Earl of Kildare, who was O'Neill's -mother.' To oppose this vast host, O'Donnell had only the clans -immediately subject to him, O'Boyle, O'Gallagher, O'Dogherty, and the -three septs of MacSwiney, hereditary gallowglasses of Tyrconnell. He -mustered his forces near Trim, on the Tyrone side of the Finn, and there -awaited the onset. But O'Neill adopted tactics very usual in Irish -warfare, passed by the northern shore of Lough Erne, reached Ballyshannon -without fighting, and slaughtered the garrison of MacSwineys there. -O'Donnell retaliated by sending his son Manus to ravage the nearest -districts of Tyrone, and himself hurried in pursuit of O'Neill across the -pass now called Barnesmore Gap. Again declining battle, O'Neill turned -back, spoiled the country between Donegal and Letterkenny, and encamped -on the hill which overlooks Strabane. O'Donnell returned very quickly -over Barnesmore, and, having been rejoined by his son, faced the enemy -near Lifford. There he held a council of war, and his followers in -desperation resolved on an immediate fight. Leaving their horses behind, -the O'Donnells crept up unperceived, drove in the outposts, and entered -the camp pell-mell. In the darkness and confusion faces could not be -distinguished, and many O'Neills fell by the hands of their brethren. -Nine hundred dead bodies were counted in the morning, including many of -the Leinster men who had come for the love of Kildare. Celtic war always -presents the same features, and the victorious O'Donnells quickly -disbanded with the horses and armour, the strong liquors and the rich -drinking vessels of the vanquished.[96] - -[Sidenote: O'Donnell is stronger than O'Neill.] - -When he had again collected his men, O'Donnell recrossed Barnesmore, -passed between Lough Melvin and the sea, and encamped at the foot of -Benbulben, the bold hill which tourists admire from Sligo. The Connaught -men were besieging that place when they heard of O'Donnell's victory, and -of his near approach. They offered to negotiate, and, having thus gained -time, they broke up from Sligo and retreated rapidly to the Curlew -mountains, where they separated. The panegyrists of the O'Donnells sing -pæans over two victories obtained without the help of English or Scotch -allies, and remarkable in Irish warfare, the one for its slaughter, the -other for its bloodlessness. Next year O'Donnell carried the war into -Tyrone, which he ravaged as far as Dungannon. At Knockinlossy he -destroyed a beautiful herb-garden, which must have been a rare thing in -those days, and from Tullahogue, where he established a temporary camp, -he spoiled the land far and wide. All the plunder was carried off safely, -and the invaders then returned for more; but peace was made instead, and -they turned their arms against O'Rourke. Fermanagh was wasted as Tyrone -had been, and we cannot be surprised that chiefs who thus preyed on each -other should fail to make head against the English Government.[97] - -[Sidenote: Sir Piers Butler is thwarted by the Geraldines.] - -During his short tenure of office, Sir Piers Butler undertook but one -warlike expedition. He chastised the O'Briens, and killed one of their -leaders at the ford of Camus on the Suir. But Kildare had returned to -Ireland, and was active in the field, acting at first in apparent unison -with the Lord Deputy. Supported by O'Neill, to whose arbitration -differences were submitted, he reduced to quiet the clans on the border -of the Pale. With both Butlers and Geraldines, the main object was to -enlarge and secure their hereditary territories; but the former sought -support in England, the latter among the wild tribes of Ulster. Lady -Kildare, a daughter of Grey, Marquis of Dorset, whom the Earl had married -during his late visit to England, complained bitterly to Wolsey that Sir -Piers oppressed her husband, spoiled his tenants and friends, and made -alliances with the wild Irish. She attributed this to Kildare's refusal -to act partially in the dispute with the Boleyn family. Sir Piers Butler -had married Kildare's sister, and he might not unreasonably count upon -his brother-in-law's assistance; but throughout the contests of this -century personal considerations were of little power compared with those -of clanship and family pride. Kildare's brother James killed Robert -Talbot of Belgard, on his way to Kilkenny, and it seems that the -Geraldines regarded all gentlemen of the Pale who opposed them as no -better than spies. But Sir Piers was naturally incensed at the outrage on -his friend and visitor.[98] - -[Sidenote: Kildare in Ulster.] - -The general lawlessness is well shown by an expedition which Kildare -undertook against O'Neill of Clandeboye, partly, as he owned, in revenge -of the damage done to his property there, and partly, as he told the -King, to punish attacks upon English merchants. At Carrickfergus he found -a Breton ship which had just landed a cargo of Gascon wine. England and -France were at peace, but the foreigners were fain to avoid capture by -putting to sea without having been paid for their goods. The taste for -claret was early developed in Ireland, and this relief from payment may -have had a charm like the exemption from legal duties in more modern -times. A Scotch vessel laden with provisions, which lay out in Belfast -Lough, was attacked by the Geraldines in boats and forced ashore. Hugh -O'Neill, who had 1,500 Scots with him, rescued the crew, and in revenge -Kildare destroyed Belfast and two other castles, and burned the country -for twenty-four miles round. The Mayor of Carrickfergus and three of the -chief townsmen were sent prisoners to England for trading with the French -and Scots. If we are to believe Kildare's account, the Lord Deputy took -the opportunity of handing over his castles to the O'Connors, of making a -league with O'Carroll, and of carrying off 500 stud mares and colts from -the county of Kildare.[99] - -[Sidenote: Kildare is restored.] - -It became evident at last that Sir Piers Butler was not strong enough to -govern without Kildare's help, and Henry reverted to his father's policy -of entrusting all Ireland to the man whom all Ireland could not govern. -One more effort was made to reconcile the rivals by sending over royal -commissioners, who prevailed upon them to make an agreement under seal as -the basis of mutual concession. Kildare's stud mares had been taken by a -namesake of his own, but Sir Piers covenanted to give them up if they -came within his power. The subsidy payable by Tipperary to Kildare when -he was Deputy was forgiven, as was half the subsidy paid by the county of -Kildare to Butler during his tenure of office. In general, everyone was -to behave well, to keep the peace, and not to make friends with Irish -rebels.[100] - -[Sidenote: Arrangements for local government.] - -Butler and Kildare, and the principal gentlemen living on the marches of -the Pale, were bound at this time to adopt a certain order in their -countries, the two greater chiefs under penalties of 1,000 marks each, -and the others in sums varying from 200 marks to 40_l._ They made -themselves liable in general for their own acts and for those of their -sons and brethren, covenanting not to use the Brehon law nor those Irish -exactions which usually accompanied it, and to repress crime as far as -their power reached. Kildare, on his appointment as Deputy, covenanted -with the King not to make war or peace with Irishmen at the public charge -without consent of the Council. This was intended to prevent another -Knocktoe. Coyne and livery for the public service were to be reduced to -fixed rules. Householders were to be allowed to compound by paying -twopence a meal for a footman, and threehalfpence for a horseman or -groom; twelve sheaves of oats for a trooper, and eight for a draught -horse was to be the allowance, and not more than one boy was to accompany -each horse. If the Earl travelled on private business, or on his way to -attend Parliament, he was not to take coyne and livery save from his own -tenants; and in no case except for the actual use of soldiers, nor for -more than one night in one place, nor for successive nights within a -distance of nine miles. It had been the custom to charge the farmers for -'black men,' that is, for soldiers who only existed in name and as a -means of extortion. Treaties with Irishmen were not to be made to -prejudice the Crown, nor were pardons to be given without the consent of -the Council. The King's castles were to be kept in repair, and the Earl -was to do his best to make the people of the Pale speak, dress, and shave -like Englishmen. The salaries of the judges were to be paid; and Kildare -promised if possible to have sheriffs, escheators, and coroners appointed -in Meath, Dublin, Louth, Wexford, Kilkenny, Tipperary, and Waterford, and -to provide for the holding of Quarter Sessions in due course.[101] It is -noteworthy that the counties of Kildare and Cork are not mentioned, and -that Tipperary is; the probability being that the two former were -purposely excluded as being under Geraldine influence. As to the Butler -Palatinate of Tipperary, it is possible that only the ecclesiastical -portion or cross was intended, but it is more likely that Kildare -purposely placed his rival's district in a worse position than his own or -those of Desmond. On the other hand, he promised not to go to war with -the Butlers, or with their allies the Darcys and Nugents, without the -consent of the Council. The new Lord Deputy promised not to purchase -during his tenure of office any lands of which the title was in dispute. -James Fitzgerald was carried to England to answer for the death of -Talbot, and led through the streets of London with a halter round his -neck; but was pardoned in defiance of Wolsey's opinion at the -intercession of Denton, Dean of Lichfield, who had been one of the -commissioners lately sent to Ireland.[102] - -[Sidenote: The Butlers and Geraldines still quarrel.] - -In spite of all precautions, the perennial quarrel of Butlers and -Geraldines was not stopped by the appointment of Kildare. Sir Piers sent -his son James to London to watch the family interests there, in which -task he was to be guided by Robert Cowley. Kildare even asserted that Sir -Piers had given a signet to his trusty adherent, with the aid of which he -might attest any written statement he chose to make. James Butler was -either really too much occupied with the pleasure of the Court, or was -crafty enough to appear so, while waiting for an opportunity. 'Surely,' -his father wrote, 'unless I see your time better employed in attendance -of my great business, than ye have done hither, I will be well advised or -I do send you any more, to your costs.' A chief part of the business was -the prisage of wines, especially at Waterford, which had always formed an -important part of the Butler revenue. Kildare, as Lord Deputy, had -insisted that an account should be given into the Exchequer, and Sir -Piers argued that this was done merely to annoy him, and not at all out -of regard to the King's revenue. He declared that the indentures which -the new Deputy had executed were 'in no point observed,' and, in -particular, that coyne and livery were ruthlessly exacted, two villages -in Kilkenny having to maintain no less than 420 gallowglasses. The Butler -tenants were so impoverished that they could pay no rent and, moreover, -the Deputy had not paid the half-subsidy of 800_l._ as he had bound -himself to do. The King peremptorily ordered payment, but the claim was -still disputed, and it does not appear that the money was ever handed -over. Meanwhile, Lord Leonard Grey, the Deputy's brother-in-law, pressed -many grave complaints upon the royal attention. Sir Piers was accused of -levying coyne and livery for craftsmen as well as soldiers, and for his -hunting establishment. There were separate packs for hare, stag, and -martin, and no less than sixty greyhounds; the whole charge on Kilkenny -and Tipperary amounting to 2,000 marks.[103] - -[Sidenote: Recriminations. Great disorders.] - -Sir Piers was further accused of illegally occupying Callan and other -royal manors in Kilkenny and Tipperary, but these lands were soon -afterwards specially granted to him and his wife, and to their heirs -male. Kildare charged his rival with helping O'Carroll and lending him -cannon to defend Leap Castle against him. The fact was hardly disputed, -but it had occurred as far back as 1516, and it was alleged in answer -that the attack on O'Carroll was wanton and unprovoked. There were also -accusations of intriguing with the O'Mores, of spoiling a village in -Kildare and slaughtering the people even at the altar, of using the -Castle of Arklow to rob the lieges by land and sea, of levying illegal -taxes, and, in short, of behaving as Anglo-Irish noblemen generally did. -A far graver charge against Sir Piers was the not having punished certain -of his servants who were present at the barbarous murder of Maurice -Doran, Bishop of Leighlin. The murderer was Maurice Kavanagh, his own -Archdeacon, whom the Bishop had reproved for his crimes. It was said, -moreover, that the churches in Tipperary and Kilkenny were ruinous, and -that Sir Piers was in all things under the influence of his wife, the -Lord Deputy's sister. It is satisfactory to know that the Bishop's -tonsured assassin did not escape, for Kildare had him hanged and -disembowelled at the scene of the murder: he was a near relation of Sir -Piers Butler, which may account for the Lord Deputy's anxiety to do -justice in this particular case.[104] - -[Sidenote: Kildare again in Ulster, 1524.] - -Kildare never ceased to harass such Irish chiefs as he chose to consider -his enemies. In the autumn of 1524 he led an army to help his kinsman -O'Neill against O'Donnell, and encamped near Strabane. Manus O'Donnell, -who had just returned from Scotland, wished to attack at once with his -strong force of Macdonnells; but he was overruled by his father, who -feared the Deputy's artillery. Flights of arrows were directed against -the intrenchments all night, and in the morning Kildare thought it -prudent to make peace and to depart without fighting. His old enemy Hugh -O'Neill attempted to intercept him, but was killed in the skirmish which -ensued. After this Kildare seems to have kept quiet for some months, and -to have endeavoured to make peace among the Ulster clans. O'Neill and -O'Donnell, or O'Donnell's son Manus, visited Dublin; but all efforts to -reconcile them were ineffectual, 'so that they returned to their homes in -strife, and the war continued as before.'[105] - -[Sidenote: Butler goes to England, 1526. Kildare sent for the next year.] - -In September 1526 Sir Piers Butler went to England to press his various -suits, and to complain of Kildare's conduct. At Bristol he was in great -danger of his life, the citizens having quarrelled with his retinue, who -were probably for the most part Irish in speech and habits. According to -Sir Piers the townsmen were the aggressors, and no provocation was given -to the 600 men who surrounded his lodgings and threatened to set the -house on fire. In spite of the interposition of the mayor and of some of -the King's officers, Sir Piers was obliged to surrender certain of his -men and to find securities for the rest. A grant of considerable -possessions in Ireland rewarded him for the troubles and dangers of the -journey to Court. He accused Kildare of conspiring with Irish enemies to -help Desmond in the foreign intrigues which he was undoubtedly carrying -on, and of neglecting to arrest him when ordered to do so by special -letters from the King. It was said that he entered Munster for the -ostensible purpose of effecting this arrest, but sent private word to -Desmond to avoid him, and to plead his privilege not to attend Parliament -or enter walled towns. It was scarcely fair to expect that the head of -one branch of the Geraldines should willingly imprison the head of the -other; but Kildare was also accused of employing Irish enemies to oppress -the Butlers, was summoned to London, and was at once committed to the -Tower. He was soon brought before the Council, and Wolsey is said to have -assailed him in a violent speech, calling him King of Ireland, a king who -was able to bring back his own from the furthest edge of Ulster, but who -would do nothing against a rebellious lord who had defied the Crown of -England. After a time Kildare interrupted the Cardinal, saying that he -was no orator, and that if he did not answer each charge in detail as it -was uttered, his memory would fail him and his case would thus be -prejudiced. This was considered reasonable, and the Earl hastened to -ridicule the notion that Desmond's liberty depended on him. 'Cannot,' he -asked, 'the Earl of Desmond shift, but I must be of counsel? Cannot he -hide him except I wink?' Then he turned round upon Wolsey, whom he -averred to be quite as much king in England as he was in Ireland. Indeed, -he would willingly change places for one month, and would engage to pick -up more crumbs in that time than could be bought with all the revenues of -his Irish earldom. 'I slumber,' he continued, 'in a hard cabin, when you -sleep in a soft bed of down; I serve under the King his cope of heaven, -when you are served under a canopy; I drink water out of my skull, when -you drink wine out of golden cups; my courser is trained to the field, -when your genet is taught to amble; when you are begraced and belorded, -and crouched and kneeled unto, then find I small grace with our Irish -borderers, except I cut them off by the knees.' Wolsey broke up the -Council in high dudgeon, and sent the Earl back to the Tower until -further evidence should arrive from Ireland. Before leaving Dublin, -Kildare had taken the precaution of seeing each Councillor separately and -binding him by oath to write in his favour.[106] - -[Sidenote: Wolsey accused of plotting Kildare's death.] - -Wolsey is said to have taken it upon himself to send a death-warrant to -the Governor of the Tower, which arrived while that officer was playing -shovel-board with his prisoner. On reading it the Lieutenant sighed, and -Kildare remarked, 'By St. Bride, there is some mad game in that scroll, -but fall how it will this throw is for a huddle.' On learning the -contents of the paper he begged his gaoler to go straight to the King and -ask his real pleasure. Unwilling to offend Wolsey, but still more -unwilling to obey him, the Lieutenant repaired to Whitehall and was at -once admitted, though it was ten o'clock at night. The King immediately -respited the execution, and is said to have used strong language, calling -Wolsey a saucy, over-officious priest, and threatening him with -unpleasant consequences.[107] - -[Sidenote: But the Cardinal has perhaps been misrepresented.] - -Such is the received story. Yet Wolsey, who is represented as thirsting -for Kildare's blood, was not even disposed to remove him from the -viceroyalty. This forbearance arose from no love for the troublesome -Earl, but it was thought that if he were detained in England and treated -with some show of favour, his Irish adherents would be afraid to move. In -case the King should nevertheless resolve to remove Kildare, then Wolsey -advised that Sir Piers should again be made Deputy, the real government -being in the hands of his son. Henry, however, thought that James Butler -was too young for so great a charge, and that the noblemen of Ireland -would disdain to be led by one who was junior to them all.[108] - -[Sidenote: The Earldom of Ormonde.] - -While Kildare's fortunes were thus clouded, his rival was at Court -looking after his own interests. The Earldom of Ormonde, to which he was -the true heir male, had been conferred, together with that of Wiltshire, -on Sir Thomas Boleyn, grandson, through his mother, of the late Earl. Sir -Piers, who was too prudent to oppose the father of Anne and Mary Boleyn, -and who perhaps thought one earldom nearly as good as another, was -content to accept the title of Ossory. Five years before, Henry had -thought to reconcile the rival claimants by marrying James Butler to Anne -Boleyn, but the negotiation had come to nothing, and the King now -destined the lady for himself.[109] - -[Sidenote: Sir Piers Butler is created Earl of Ossory.] - -The new creation was made at Windsor with great pomp. Arriving late in -the evening from London, Sir Piers, who was in delicate health, lay at -his own lodgings in the town, as being warmer and more comfortable than -the rooms of the Lord Chamberlain, with whom he breakfasted next morning. -We are particularly told that good fires were lit after mass. The Marquis -of Exeter and the Earl of Oxford led the new peer into the presence -chamber, the Earl of Rutland bearing the sword. The grandees dined -together at the King's expense after the investiture, and then, having -changed his dress, the Earl was again conducted into the royal presence -by the Marquis of Exeter. Having taken leave of Henry and of the Queen -and Princess, and having duly feed the waiters, Ossory returned to -London, where he paid a parting visit to Wolsey, and then returned into -his own country.[110] - -[Sidenote: The Vice-Deputy Delvin is captured by the O'Connors, 1528.] - -Leaving Kildare in the Tower, we must now go back to Ireland, where -Richard Nugent, seventh Baron of Delvin, had been acting as Vice-Deputy, -Sir James Fitzgerald, whom Kildare had left in charge, having been -superseded by the Irish Council. When Archbishop Inge and Chief Justice -Bermingham heard of Kildare's imprisonment, they wrote to Wolsey -regretting the Earl's absence, and expressing their doubts as to whether -he was guilty of any such practices as were charged against him. They -considered Delvin incompetent, for he had no great fortune of his own to -eke out the scanty revenue of Ireland. The people were more heavily taxed -than ever, and they were not defended; for the armed bands which were -always at Kildare's beck and call would serve no one else. As the Pale -was desolated by the absence of one Earl, so were Tipperary and Kilkenny -by the absence of another; and the worst was to be feared unless they -both speedily returned. These gloomy forebodings were soon fulfilled; for -Delvin, against the advice of the Council, withheld the black-rent which -O'Connor, Kildare's son-in-law, had been used to receive from Meath. The -aggrieved chief surprised the Vice-Deputy on the march, killed most of -his men, and took him prisoner. Lord Butler, who was present, had -prudently provided himself with a safe-conduct; he lodged that night with -the victorious O'Connor, and was allowed to have an interview with his -distinguished prisoner. The chief and his brothers were present, and the -two noblemen were not allowed to speak English nor to confer in private. -Speaking in Irish, O'Connor insisted on having his black-rent again, or -being paid a ransom for the Vice-Deputy, and on receiving a distinct -promise that the men of the Pale should not avenge his overthrow. But -Butler's diplomacy was not yet exhausted. By the advice of a Mr. White, -who was among O'Connor's guests, he sought a private interview with -Cahir, the chief's brother, who of course had a party of his own among -the clansmen. Cahir readily agreed to escort Lord Butler out of his -brother's country, and was afterwards persuaded to visit Lord Ossory at -Kilkenny. He professed loyalty and was ready to prove it by his actions, -if only he could be sure that Kildare would not sooner or later return -and have his revenge--that was his only fear.[111] - -[Sidenote: The Geraldines still in the ascendant.] - -While his son was thus by policy undermining the Irish enemies of his -house, Ossory was busy looking about for Irish allies. Hard pressed by -the Desmonds and O'Briens, he wished to avoid a rupture with the -O'Connors, and tried the efficacy of smooth speeches. As the price of an -alliance against this possible foe O'Carroll demanded 40_l._, besides -anything that the King or Deputy might give. O'More claimed the help of -the Butlers against Kildare, and a money reward also. MacGilpatrick -stipulated that Ossory should release him from debts amounting to 400 -marks. The Earl agreed to these terms; but his immediate object was not -attained, for Delvin remained a prisoner until early in the following -year. In the meanwhile Sir Thomas Fitzgerald, Kildare's brother, acted -as Deputy, and the Geraldine policy was practically successful.[112] - -[Sidenote: Kildare is accused by Cowley and others, 1528.] - -The late Lord-Lieutenant, now Duke of Norfolk, attributed all the woes of -Ireland to the quarrel between Butlers and Geraldines, and he was on the -whole in favour of maintaining the latter faction in power. Ossory and -his son were loyal enough, but they could scarcely hold their own against -the Desmonds and O'Briens, and could do nothing in the Pale, where they -had no natural authority and where public opinion was against them. They -would be entirely dependent on their own followers, who would eat more -than their services were worth. On the other hand, Robert Cowley, -Ossory's faithful agent, was always at hand to prevent Henry and Wolsey -from yielding too completely to Norfolk's advice. It is said that on one -occasion he complained of Kildare to the Council, and that he shed tears -in the course of his speech 'for pity,' as he said, 'upon his father's -son.' 'He is,' retorted the Earl, 'like the plover taken in setting his -snares, and waiting for his desired purpose, his eyes being against the -wind and the water dropping out. So many plovers as he taketh he knocketh -their brains out with his thumb, notwithstanding his watery tears of -contemplation. Even like doth Mr. Cowley with me; his tears cometh down; -he layeth shrewd matters or articles to my charge.'[113] - -[Sidenote: The Duke of Richmond Lord-Lieutenant, 1529. His Deputy, Sir -William Skeffington.] - -If this story be true we must assign it to the autumn of 1528, when -Cowley was certainly in London. O'Connor had just invaded the Pale, and -evidence afterwards came to light which connected Kildare with his -son-in-law's proceedings. Early in August, Kildare's daughter Alice, the -wife of Lord Slane, came to Ireland and went straight to O'Connor's -house. Sir Gerald MacShane Fitzgerald afterwards swore before the Irish -Council that Melour Faye had revealed to him a secret agreement between -himself and Kildare, and that Lady Slane's arrival was the preconcerted -signal that her father was detained in England. Ossory was at war with -Desmond when O'Connor made his attack, but abandoned his expedition and -hurried off to defend the Pale. He took occasion to remind Wolsey of the -hereditary policy of the house of Kildare. By stirring up rebellion in -Ireland when he was detained at Court the late Earl had made himself -chief governor for life; his son had followed suit, and the Pale had -practically transferred its allegiance from the King of England to the -Earl of Kildare. Henry thought it prudent to give the Earl his liberty, -but resolved to have a Viceroy who should hold Ireland for the Crown -only. He made his son, the Duke of Richmond, Lord-Lieutenant, thereby -giving the Emperor great offence, and assigned him as Deputy Sir William -Skeffington, a Leicestershire man, who had been long in the public -service. Meanwhile the sovereign had frowned. In the month following that -in which Skeffington was appointed, Wolsey saw Henry at Grafton for the -last time, and three weeks later he was indicted in the King's Bench. -Kildare remained in London, for he was one of those who signed the famous -letter to Clement VII., in which the English notables reproached the Pope -for his partiality, and laid upon him the responsibility of a disputed -succession, with all its terrors and troubles.[114] - -[Sidenote: Skeffington's instructions.] - -Skeffington had long served as Master of the Ordnance, whence the Irish, -who may have been offended at the appointment of a commoner, gave him the -name of 'the gunner.' He was accompanied by Edward Staples, a -Lincolnshire man, whom the King had appointed Bishop of Meath, and -brought with him 200 horse and a sum of money. He was instructed in the -first place to reconcile, if possible, the conflicting interests of the -Earls of Kildare, Ossory, and Desmond. He was not to make any serious -attack on the wild Irish without the consent of the majority of the -Council, especially when it would involve charging the country with the -support of an army. The established custom of taking provisions for the -ordinary movements of troops was, however, allowed. Skeffington was to -hold a Parliament, but was to get all the money he could by way of -subsidy before it met, and to pay the gross levy into the -Vice-Treasurer's hands. Kildare's loyal promises were to be taken as -sincere, and the Deputy was enjoined to help him in his enterprises as if -they were undertaken in the King's name. The Earl might retain half the -proceeds, provided the remainder were handed over to the -Vice-Treasurer.[115] - -[Sidenote: The O'Tooles chastised, 1530. Ulster invaded, 1531. Submission -of O'Donnell.] - -Kildare returned to Ireland some months after Skeffington's arrival, and -his first exploit was to chastise the O'Tooles, with the help of 200 -archers supplied by the city of Dublin. Next year Ulster was invaded. A -treaty had already been concluded at Drogheda, by which O'Donnell -promised the King allegiance, and bound himself to assist Skeffington -against all his Majesty's enemies. He covenanted for O'Reilly, Maguire, -and MacQuillin, as well as for himself, and Skeffington bound himself to -give them such help and protection as was due to the King's subjects. In -pursuance of this agreement Skeffington, accompanied by Kildare and -Ossory, ravaged Tyrone on both sides of the Blackwater, from Clogher to -Caledon, and penetrated to Monaghan, which was undefended. There -O'Donnell and some malcontent O'Neills met them, but they did not venture -to meet the tyrant of the North in the field, a measure of the weakness -of government at that time.[116] - -[Sidenote: Skeffington is overshadowed by Kildare.] - -It clearly appeared that the Lord Deputy was in a false position as -regards Kildare. When the Butlers were out on a foray, the Geraldines -attacked their camp, killed the officer on guard, and carried off horses, -arms, and provisions. It was even said that the Earl of Kildare -displayed his banner openly, and led his men to the attack. With great -difficulty and at Skeffington's earnest request, Ossory prevented his -followers from retaliating, but he poured complaints into Cromwell's -attentive ears. Kildare allowed his adherents to seize the titular Baron -of Burntchurch in Kilkenny, while passing through Castledermot, on his -way to attend Parliament. The Baron was a Fitzgerald, but on friendly -terms with Ossory, who would have rescued him in spite of Kildare but for -the Lord Deputy's express prohibition; as it was, the poor man lost his -horse, money, and apparel without redress. 'This,' said Ossory, 'is a -good encouragement to malefactors to commit spoils, having the advantage -thereof without punishment or restitution.' It was not the first nor the -last time in Ireland that the friends of law and order have been less -safe than its enemies, and that the Government has hampered those whom it -could not protect. Indeed, the Kilkenny borough members fared no better -than their neighbours, for they were seized at the gate of Athy by -Murtagh MacOwney, who wished that he had the King in the end of a -handlock, and the Deputy in the other end, as surely as he had the worthy -burgesses. In fact, Skeffington had scarcely any power. Kildare detained -the hostages of the natives, in spite of direct orders to send them to -Dublin, and thus let it be clearly seen that the King's representative -was a mere instrument in his hands.[117] - -[Sidenote: Kildare goes to England, 1532, and regains favour.] - -It was commonly said in Ireland that all the parchment and wax in England -would not bring the Earl of Kildare thither again; but this saying turned -out not to be true. So well had the Earl managed his affairs, that he -ventured across the Channel early in 1532, and, after a six months' -residence at Court, returned with the legal as well as the real power of -a Chief Governor. Sir John Rawson, Prior of Kilmainham, and Chief Justice -Bermingham, supported Kildare's counter-charges against Ossory, and -accused Skeffington of partiality in his favour. There was an attempt to -show that Ossory's hostility arose from the fear that Kildare would -support Wiltshire's claims upon the Ormonde estates. But Ossory -maintained that he had long since compromised all claims against his -property, that Kildare's advocacy of Wiltshire's pretensions was -collusive and fraudulent, and that the King would be the real loser of -the possession, if such castles as Arklow and Tullow were given to the -too powerful Geraldine under colour of another man's sham title. Anne -Boleyn's star was now at its zenith; her father was fond of money, and -perhaps saw a chance of extorting it from opposite quarters. It is clear -that any claim of his was likely at this time to be favourably regarded, -and it may be in this way that the lately waning influence of Kildare was -restored. - -[Sidenote: Kildare again Deputy.] - -Having secured the much-coveted patent, Kildare hastened to Dublin and -relieved Skeffington, who, having arrears of business to transact, was -allowed to dance attendance among other suitors in his successor's -ante-chamber. On the very day of his arrival, the new Lord Deputy took -the Great Seal from his enemy Archbishop Alen, and gave it to the Primate -Cromer. As a sop to the opposite faction, Lord Butler was made Lord -Treasurer by the King; but the Deputy was supreme in the Council, and -those who were not his friends thought only of saving themselves from his -anger. Thus relieved from all restraint, and perhaps thinking himself -indispensable, as indeed he well might, the Earl turned upon his -hereditary enemy. While his brother Sir John Fitzgerald was helping -O'Neill to ravage Louth, the lawful guardian of the Pale devastated -Kilkenny; his men were allowed to plunder the peaceable folk resorting to -Castledermot Fair, and to murder a due proportion. He used the sword -which the King had committed to him 'utterly to extinguish the fame and -honour of any other noble man within that land ... shadowed with that -authority, so that, whatever he did, it should not be repugned at.'[118] - -[Sidenote: The O'Carrolls.] - -There was at this time a fierce dispute as to who should succeed Mulrony -O'Carroll, who among southern chiefs in his time 'destroyed most in -regard to foreigners and improved most in regard to Gaedhill.' A brother -would in the usual course have succeeded to these glories; but there was -always a strong tendency to substitute the hereditary for the elective -principle, and a claim was advanced on behalf of Mulrony's son -Fergananim, to whom Kildare, choosing his time, had just given his -daughter. Ossory of course espoused the cause of the brothers, but was -defeated with the loss of several small pieces of cannon. On the same day -the old chief died, and, as he favoured his son's pretensions, this was -numbered among his victories. Having been a man of blood, and having -lavished some of his plunder upon the clergy, he was rewarded after death -with hyperbolical praises. 'He was,' the 'Four Masters' inform us, 'a -protecting hero to all; the guiding firm helm of his tribe; a triumphant -traverser of tribes; a jocund and majestic Munster champion; a precious -stone; a carbuncle gem; the anvil of the solidity, and the golden pillar -of the Elyans.' Fergananim was at first acknowledged as chief, but his -uncle soon occupied Birr and other castles, and ravaged the country from -thence. The Lord Deputy came in person before Birr, and received a bullet -wound in the side. As he groaned with the pain, a kerne is reported to -have encouraged him by saying that he himself had three bullets in him, -and felt none the worse. 'I wish,' replied the Earl, 'you had this one -along with the others.'[119] He was less fortunate than his follower, for -the bullet, which came out of itself some months later, lamed him for -life, and affected his speech. Birr Castle was, however, taken.[120] - -[Sidenote: Parliament of 1533. Miserable state of the country.] - -Kildare held a Parliament in Dublin in 1533, but we know nearly as little -about it as about that held by Surrey. The most important law passed -appears to have been one for the punishment of those who stole corn under -colour of taking wages for harvest work in kind. This meeting of -Parliament gave rise to a renewal of the old dispute about precedency -between Armagh and Dublin. Alen could no longer rely upon the patronage -of Wolsey, and it is certain that Kildare's influence would be exerted -against him. But the Deputy had been making so many enemies, that the -increased hostility of Alen would not count for much. A heavy reckoning -had been scored up; and John Dethyke, or Derrick, a prebendary of St. -Patrick, gave voice to the prevailing discontent. With bitter irony he -assured Cromwell that the people were excellently disposed and full of -abstinence. Their accustomed ceremony was to abstain from flesh on -Wednesday, but their devotion had so much increased that they now -abstained likewise on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. 'I trust to -Jesu,' he continued. 'Ye shall hear that there shall be many saints among -them; but they play the fox's part, shy of hens when he could not reach -them.' All the butchers in Dublin had not as much meat between them as -would make a mess of broth, and those who owned no cattle were driven to -dry bread. Marauders entered the suburbs of Dublin, and one butcher had -lost 220 beasts. No one could safely ride a mile out of town, and it was -useless to complain; for the Deputy was visited with that distressing -form of deafness which affects those who do not wish to hear. The poor -butchers had accordingly shut up their shops, and taken to making leather -breeches, as if it were perpetual Lent. And not only did the Viceroy do -nothing, but he took the opportunity of removing the King's artillery -from Dublin to his own castles. Meanwhile, the O'Byrnes actually entered -Dublin Castle, and carried off prisoners and cattle, 'insomuch as nightly -since great watch is in the city of Dublin, fearing that the same should -be pilfered, prostrate, and destroyed, whereof they never dreaded so -much.' Even Sir James Fitzgerald complained that his brother oppressed -him cruelly for having done good service under Skeffington, and Norfolk's -tenants in Carlow were in no better plight.[121] - -[Sidenote: Charges accumulate against Kildare.] - -The Council did not directly attack Kildare; but they sent over Sir John -Alen, the Master of the Rolls, to enlighten Henry upon the true state of -affairs. They directed Alen to report that English laws and customs were -unknown except within twenty miles of Dublin, and that unless something -were done they would soon be driven even from that contracted area. -Various errors of policy, such as the practice of entrusting viceregal -power to Irish lords and of giving away Crown lands, had so strengthened -the Irishry and weakened the Pale, that the King would soon not have -revenue enough to maintain a Deputy. Two archbishops, two bishops, four -of the great regular ecclesiastics, two temporal peers, and three judges -signed the document embodying these severe strictures, and they reminded -Henry that unless he looked the better to it, Ireland might be used -against him by any enterprising foreign enemy. Even more outspoken was a -native of Ireland, closely associated with the Master of the Rolls, who -declared that loyal subjects had been ill requited, and that people had -come to look upon the viceroyalty as part of Kildare's inheritance. -Everyone who opposed him suffered for it, and all his offences were -passed over. 'Always after the malice of the Geraldines was resisted and -the land staid, the King withdrew his aid from thence, putting the -malefactors in his authority; whereas, if he had continued the same -there, and suppressed the others, undoubtedly a marvellous profit and -commodity should have issued thereby.... What subjects under any prince -in the world would love, obey, or defend the right of that prince, which -(notwithstanding their true hearts and service toward him) would -afterwards put them under the governance of such as should daily practise -to prosecute and destroy them for the same?' The question has often been -asked in Ireland since then.[122] - -[Sidenote: The Geraldines become intolerable.] - -The confusion between the Earl of Kildare, in his own character, and in -that of Lord Deputy, was not at all conducive to good government. Private -opposition to the subject was easily represented as treason to the King -in his representative's person, and was indeed likely enough to grow into -it. It was believed that the recent murder of Ossory's son Thomas by -Dermot Fitzpatrick was not altogether the work of Irishry. Kildare and -his sons and brothers provoked attacks on every side. The moral effect of -O'Byrne's raid had of course been disastrous, and no one felt himself -safe. The principal remedies suggested were the appointment of a Deputy -for a long term, Norfolk being preferred, and after him Skeffington, the -abolition of Irish customs, and the education of young noblemen and -chiefs' sons at the English Court. Local presidencies were also -recommended, but the first thing was to get rid of Kildare. The -Geraldines indeed did not conceal that their interests were not those of -the Crown. 'Thou fool,' said Sir Gerald MacShane to the Earl's brother -Thomas, who had some legal scruples, 'thou shalt be the more esteemed in -Ireland to take part against the King; for what hadst thou been if thy -father had not done so? What was he set by until he crowned a King here; -took Garth, the King's captain, prisoner; hanged his son; resisted -Poynings and all Deputies; killed them of Dublin upon Oxmantown Green; -would suffer no man to rule here for the King, but himself? Then the King -regarded him, made him Deputy and married thy mother to him; or else thou -shouldst never have had foot of land, where now thou mayst dispend 400 -marks by year, or above.'[123] - -[Sidenote: Kildare is forced to go to England, 1534.] - -As the result of Alen's efforts, Kildare was summoned to Court. The Earl -doubtless felt that his chances would be small if once the Tower gates -closed upon him, and he sent his wife over to get the order revoked, on -the old ground that he could not be spared. Lady Kildare's diplomacy -failed, and her husband was summoned a second time; but was allowed to -appoint a Vice-Deputy. This may, or may not, have been a bait to induce -him to go quietly, for nothing less than an army could have taken him by -force. Skeffington had been working hard against his enemy, and was in -constant communication with Cromwell, watching the port of Chester, so as -to be in London as soon or sooner than the Earl. He reported that Lady -Kildare's servants delayed the King's letters purposely, and that he was -most anxious for the moment when he should at last be able to prove his -charges against the Lord-Deputy.[124] - -[Sidenote: His eldest son remains as Deputy.] - -Kildare had now no choice but between obedience and open rebellion. -Before embarking at Drogheda he delivered the sword to his eldest son in -the presence of several members of Council. Thomas Lord Offaly, better -known as Lord Thomas and Silken Thomas, was about twenty years old, and -his father advised him to be guided in all things by his uncle, Sir James -Fitzgerald; his cousin, Sir Thomas Eustace; his great-aunt, Lady Janet -Eustace, and her husband and son, Walter and James Delahide. It is -impossible to pronounce on the genuineness of the speech which the -chronicler puts into Kildare's mouth, but the advice contained in it -would have been well suited to the occasion. He told his son that his -youth should be guided by age; his ignorance by experience. He was, he -said, putting a naked sword into a young man's hand, and urged him to -defer to the Council, 'for albeit in authority you rule them, yet in -counsel they must rule you.'[125] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[76] See his patent of Nov. 8, 1510. Council of Ireland to the King, June -8, 1509, in _Brewer_; _Four Masters_; _Annals of Lough Cé_. - -[77] _Earls of Kildare_, p. 69; Ware; _Four Masters_. Kildare died Sept. -3, 1513. - -[78] See the grant in _Brewer_, Dec. 2, 1513, and again, March 24, 1516. - -[79] Kildare to the King, Dec. 1, and Archbishop Rokeby to Wolsey, Dec. -12, 1515, both in _Brewer_. - -[80] _Four Masters_, 1516. - -[81] _Ibid._ - -[82] Kite to Wolsey, May 1 and June 7, 1514, R.O.; Lady Kildare's -_Articles of Complaint_, 1515, R.O.; Ware's _Annals_. - -[83] The tract by Finglas is in _Carew_, under 1515. - -[84] For further details of Irish exactions see Ware's _Antiquities_, and -_Presentments of Irish Grand Juries in the Sixteenth Century_, ed. Hore -and Graves, p. 266, _sqq._ Articles by Sir William Darcy, June 24, 1515, -in _Carew_. - -[85] The paper printed by Leland, ii. 132, contains only Donogh -O'Carroll's recollections. Surrey to Wolsey, September 6, 1520. - -[86] The Lord-Lieutenant and Council to the King, August 25; Surrey to -Wolsey, August 27; Surrey to the King, July 29, 1521. - -[87] The Lord-Lieutenant and Council to the King, October 6; Surrey to -Wolsey, November 3; Surrey to Wolsey, April 27, 1521. - -[88] The King to Surrey, No. 12 of the printed State Papers; the King to -an Irishman, No. 14 of the same; Instructions for Sir John Petchie, No. -18 of the same. - -[89] Surrey to the King, July 31, 1521. - -[90] Stile to Wolsey, July 30, 1571; Surrey to the King, July 29 and -September 14; Ware. - -[91] The King to Surrey, May 1520; Surrey to Wolsey, September 6 and 25; -the King to Surrey, S.P. No. 12; Surrey to Wolsey, November 3; Surrey to -the King, September 14, 1521. - -[92] _Irish Statutes_, 13 Henry VIII. - -[93] The Lord-Lieutenant and Council to the King, August 25, 1520. The -King to Surrey, Nos. 12 and 19 in the printed S.P. - -[94] Surrey to the King, September 16, 1521; to Pace, December 2. The -latter letter was written in bed. Surrey to Wolsey, August 2 and November -3, 1520. - -[95] The Council of Ireland to Wolsey, December 21 and February 28, 1522; -Dowling's _Annals_, 1519; Sir John Davies' _Discovery_; the _Book of -Howth_. - -[96] _Four Masters_; _Annals of Lough Cé_, 1522. Stile to Wolsey, April -25, 1522. - -[97] _Four Masters_, 1522; _Annals of Lough Cé_. - -[98] Ware; Lady Kildare to Wolsey, May 25, 1523. - -[99] Kildare to the King, May 24, 1523. - -[100] Indentures between Kildare, Ormond (_sic_), the King's -Commissioners, and others, July 28, 1524. The Commissioners were Sir A. -Fitzherbert, Ralph Egerton, and James Denton, Dean of Lichfield. Kildare -to the King, May 24, 1523. - -[101] Indentures as above; Recognisances for the Marchers, July 12, 1524. - -[102] Indentures between Kildare and the King, August 4, 1524. -Recognisances for the Marchers, July 12, 1574. Ware. - -[103] The King to Kildare, May 20, 1525; Articles on behalf of Kildare, -No. 42 in printed _State Papers_; _Presentments of the County and City of -Kilkenny_, 1537, ed. Hore and Graves; Sir Piers Butler to his son, April -22, 1524. - -[104] Articles on behalf of Kildare, No. 42 in the printed _State -Papers_; Dowling's _Annals_, 1522-1524; _Hibernia Dominicana_. Bishop -Doran, 'eloquentissimus prædicator,' was killed in 1525. - -[105] _Four Masters_, 1525 and 1526; Ware, 1526. - -[106] Stanihurst; Lord James Butler to his father, Dec. 27, 1527, in -_Brewer_; Ware; Russell. - -[107] Stanihurst; Russell. - -[108] Consideration by Vannes and Uvedale, No. 52 in the printed _State -Papers_. - -[109] See _Brewer_, introduction to vol. iv., p. 238, where there is a -confusion between Sir Piers and his son. - -[110] _Carew_, Feb. 22, 1528. - -[111] Inge and Bermingham to Wolsey, Feb. 23, 1528; to Norfolk, May 15; -the Council of Ireland to Wolsey, same date; Lord Butler to Inge, May 20. - -[112] The Council of Ireland to Wolsey, May 15; Ossory to Inge, May 21; -to the King, June 10. - -[113] Cowley had been in the service of the late Earl of Kildare. _Book -of Howth_. - -[114] Instructions for the Lord Cardinal, No. 56 in the printed _State -Papers_; Ossory to Wolsey, Oct. 14, 1528; Instructions by Charles V. to -Gonzalo Fernandez in _Carew_, Feb. 24, 1530 (should be 1529). The letter -to the Pope was July 30, 1530. - -[115] Instructions to Skeffington, No. 57 in the printed _State Papers_. -He landed near Dublin, August 2, 1529. - -[116] Submission of O'Donnell, May 6, 1531. O'Donnell 'publice proposuit -et fatebatur dominum suum fuisse et esse fidelem et ligeum subditum -Domini Regis;' _Four Masters_, 1531. In his Instructions for Cromwell, -Jan. 2, 1532, Ossory notes that his contingent was better than Kildare's, -and that he bore the whole cost himself. - -[117] Ossory to Cromwell, January 2, 1532. - -[118] Report to Cromwell, No. 64 of the printed _State Papers_; Lodge's -_Peerage_ by Archdall, art. 'Duke of Leinster.' Ware; Stanihurst. - -[119] 'Cui quidam turbarius jocose dixerat, "Domine, cur gemis tam dire, -cum ego semel habui iii bulletos in me, et vides, domine, quam sanus sum -ad præsens?" Cui comes mite respondit (in agonia) quod hunc etiam -bulletum vellet ipsum in se una cum cæteris habuisse.'--Dowling's -_Annals_, wrongly placed at 1528. - -[120] _Four Masters_, 1532. _Annals of Lough Cé._ - -[121] _Jus Primatiale Armachanum_, Part I. No. 361; Dethyke to Cromwell, -Sept. 3, 1533; Report to Cromwell, No. 64 of the printed _State Papers_; -Sir James Fitzgerald to the King, August 31. - -[122] Report to Cromwell, printed _State Papers_, vol. ii. p. 174. -Instructions to Sir John Alen, No. 63 in same. - -[123] Report to Cromwell, quoted above. - -[124] Skeffington to Cromwell, October 25 and November 4, 1533. - -[125] Stanihurst. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -THE GERALDINE REBELLION--SKEFFINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION, 1534-1535. - - -[Sidenote: Kildare is sent to the Tower.] - -Among the letters which Alen brought with him from England was one of -thanks for past services to Connor Maguire, chief of Fermanagh. Maguire -belonged to the party in Ulster which opposed O'Neill, and consequently -Kildare; and he seems to have been in some degree under Alen's influence. -He now wrote to the King, adding to the already overwhelming case against -Kildare, and praying for the appointment of Skeffington. This despatch -probably reached London about the same time as the Earl, who was examined -by the Council and at once sent to the Tower. The heaviest charge against -him was that of fortifying his own castles with the King's artillery; and -it was in fact this which enabled his son to make head for a time against -the Crown. He could only answer that he had intended to defend the Pale -against the Irish: perhaps the hesitation caused by his wound was taken -for the confession of guilt. He was no longer the man who had bearded -Wolsey in his pride; and, unfortunately, his old power of repartee had -descended to his son, who annoyed with his taunts those whom he should -most have conciliated. The young Vice-Deputy made no secret of his -dislike to the King's policy, sought alliances with O'Brien and Desmond, -and gave the enemies of his House plausible grounds for stigmatising him -as a traitor from the very first.[126] - -[Sidenote: His death prematurely reported.] - -Early in the summer of 1534 a report reached Ireland that Kildare was to -be beheaded, and his son and brother arrested. A poor retainer of his -house living near Kilcullen is said to have brought to Lord Offaly from -London a little silver-gilt heart and a pair of black dice, with a verbal -message from his father bidding him not to trust the Irish Council, but -to keep out of the way lest he should lose life and liberty. About the -same time a private letter from Thomas Cannon, who had been in -Skeffington's service, confirmed the sinister rumours already afloat. In -days when there were no newspapers such letters were handed about freely, -and this one fell into the hands of a priest who read English with -difficulty, and who put it aside until he had time to spell out its -meaning. A retainer of Offaly's, who chanced to stay the night in the -priest's house, used the letter as a shoe-horn, and forgot to withdraw -it. Undressing in the evening he found the paper, read it out of -curiosity, and found to his dismay that it announced Kildare's death. He -at once took the fatal missive to James Delahide, who carried it to the -Vice-Deputy. Delahide was one of those whose advice Kildare had directed -his son to take: he now counselled him to rebel and to avenge his -father's death.[127] - -[Sidenote: His son rebels.] - -Though his death was at hand Kildare still lived, and there is no reason -to suspect foul play: he was old and suffering from wounds, and -confinement or anxiety may well have hastened his end. But his impetuous -son assumed the worst, and at once prepared for war. His Irish -connections O'Neill and O'Connor approved his resolution; but the Earl of -Desmond, Sir Thomas Eustace of Baltinglass, Fitzmaurice of Kerry, -Fleming, Lord of Slane, and most of the Anglo-Irish well-wishers of his -House, counselled prudence. Lord Chancellor Cromer, a grave and learned -divine, gave similar advice. But Rehoboam would not be persuaded. On St. -Barnabas' Day he rode through Dublin with 140 armed retainers, each -wearing a silken fringe on his helmet, a mode of decoration which gave -Offaly the name by which he is best remembered. Passing through Dame's -Gate the Geraldines forded the Liffey and rode to St. Mary's Abbey, where -he had summoned a meeting of the Council. No sooner had the Deputy taken -the chair than his armed followers invaded the council-chamber, and -waited with ill-concealed impatience while their leader made a speech, in -which he declared himself no longer King Henry's officer, and called on -all who hated cruelty and tyranny to join him in open war. He then -tendered the sword of state to the Primate, who besought him with tears -in his eyes not to do so mad and wicked an act. 'They are not yet born,' -he said, 'that shall hereafter feel the smart of this uproar.' The -Chancellor's speech was probably unintelligible to most of the intruders; -and the effect of it was at once dispelled by an Irish bard named Nelan, -who recited a long heroic poem in honour of Silken Thomas, and upbraided -him with lingering too long. Stung by this taunt, Offaly replied that he -was much obliged to the Archbishop for his advice, but that he came to -announce his own intention and not to seek counsel: he then threw down -the sword and left the room. He was now a subject, and the Council at -once ordered his arrest; but the Mayor had no force at his command, and -the rebel was allowed to rejoin his forces on Oxmantown Green. Archbishop -Alen, who had good reasons for fear, took refuge in the castle, and the -Chief Baron, who accompanied him, wrote to Cromwell for help.[128] - -[Sidenote: The Butlers remain loyal.] - -It was rumoured that Offaly would destroy everything in the Pale, so that -no support might remain for a royal army: he gave out that he would kill -or banish everyone born in England, and declared forfeit the goods of all -who remained loyal. He wrote to his cousin Lord Butler, offering to -divide Ireland with him if he would help to conquer it; but Butler, one -of the ablest of his race, declined with proper indignation. He refused -to barter his truth for a piece of Ireland, and was not at all disposed -to hang for good fellowship. 'Were it so,' he wrote '(as it cannot be), -that the chickens you reckon were both hatched and feathered; yet be thou -sure, I had rather in this quarrel die thine enemy than live thy -partner.' Ossory had left the King but a few days before, having -undertaken for himself and his son to assist to their utmost power the -due course of law, and above all strenuously to resist the usurped -jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome. Skeffington was again Deputy, and -Ossory promised to maintain his authority. The Government was in fact -placed to a great extent under the protection of the House of Ormonde. In -return for these promises, and in consideration of the singular -confidence and trust which the King had conceived in the Earl and his -son, and in respect of the truth which always had continued in them and -their blood to the Crown of England, and as a token of confidence in -their ability, the Government of Tipperary and Kilkenny, and of other -districts at the Deputy's discretion, were granted to Ossory and his son. -They were not the men to renounce such solid advantage for the shadowy -realm which their rash kinsman offered.[129] - -[Sidenote: Murder of Archbishop Alen.] - -It would have been well for Archbishop Alen had he adhered to his first -resolution of remaining inside the castle walls, which, as it turned out, -were quite able to protect him. Six weeks after the first outbreak, and -while the rebels were threatening Dublin, he put himself under the -guidance of Bartholomew Fitzgerald, a confidential servant, who brought a -small boat to Dame's Gate. The Archbishop embarked, but the wind was -contrary and perhaps the boatmen hostile; at all events, the boat stuck -fast on the sands at Clontarf. The fugitive took refuge in a gentleman's -house at Artane; but Offaly appeared at the door next morning and ordered -two of his followers, John Teeling and Nicholas Wafer, to bring out the -Archbishop. They dragged the old man out of bed, and brought him before -their leader. Alen begged for mercy, acknowledging that his captor had no -reason to wish him well, but claiming regard for his office if not for -his person. Offaly turned away contemptuously, and, speaking in Irish, -ordered his men to 'take away the churl.' Teeling and Wafer immediately -dashed out the Archbishop's brains. Robert Reyley, who, if not actually -an eye-witness, must have been close at hand, was at once sent off to -Maynooth with a casket which was found on Alen's person, and he -afterwards swore that he did not know whether Offaly ordered the murder -or not. The rebel chief always maintained that his intention was to -detain and not to kill; but he thought it necessary to send his chaplain -to Rome to seek absolution.[130] - -[Sidenote: Dublin is threatened.] - -The sword of state which should have protected them having been exchanged -for a rod to scourge them, the citizens of Dublin were left to their own -slender resources. Instigated by Offaly, and assisted by John Burnell of -Balgriffin, a gentleman of the Pale, the O'Tooles descended from their -mountains and ravaged the flat country to the north of the city. In an -attempt to intercept the raiders on their return, the citizens were -defeated with great loss near Kilmainham. Assuming that they were at his -mercy, Offaly offered the citizens their lives if they would let him -enter to besiege the castle. John White, the Constable, who was -afterwards knighted for his services, made no objection provided he were -allowed time to victual. A spirited Alderman, John Fitzsimons, furnished -a great part of the provisions[131] at his own expense, and also employed -a smith in his own house to forge a chain for the drawbridge. To such a -state of destitution had Geraldine ascendency brought the principal royal -fortress in Ireland. Another Alderman, Francis Herbert, was sent off to -beg help from the King.[132] - -[Sidenote: Defence of Dublin.] - -White having announced himself ready, the citizens admitted about 100 of -the rebels under the command of James Field of Lusk, who had with him -Teeling and Wafer, the Archbishop's murderers, and three noted pirates, -named Brode, Rookes, and Purcell. The ordnance at Field's command, part -of that which had been entrusted to the late Earl of Kildare for the -defence of the realm, was too light to make any great impression on the -castle, upon whose walls it ought to have been mounted; and in the -meantime Ossory was sweeping away the cattle from Kildare. The temptation -to retaliate was too strong for Offaly, or perhaps for his men, and he -turned aside from Dublin to punish the Butlers. Tullow Castle delayed him -for five precious days, after which he had the satisfaction of -slaughtering the garrison, and five more days were spent in inaction on -the Barrow. Again did Offaly offer to divide Ireland, including even his -own inheritance, with Ossory; but the Earl refused as his son had done, -and only consented to a truce which would leave him free to defend -Tipperary against a threatened attack from Desmond. The Butler forces -being thus divided, and help having come from O'Neill, Offaly broke the -truce and began to plunder Kilkenny. At Thomastown Lord Butler was -wounded in a skirmish, and had to retire to Dunmore until cured; while -Offaly, who had possession of Athy, Kilkea, Carlow, and Castledermot, -collected a great host of O'Mores, O'Connors, Kavanaghs, and O'Byrnes. -But these auxiliaries do not seem to have been of much use; for Ossory -had still men enough to burn and spoil the northern part of Carlow, -though not to attempt the relief of Dublin.[133] - -[Sidenote: The rebels are beaten off.] - -Francis Herbert returned very speedily from the King, bringing letters in -which Henry promised immediate succour. Despairing of success, Field -anticipated the action of Rosen at Londonderry, and threatened to expose -the citizens' children on the trenches, so as to prevent the garrison -from using their guns. Indignant at this breach of faith, and encouraged -by the near prospect of relief, the citizens shut their gates and seized -most of those who were besieging the castle. A few escaped across the -river, and brought the news to Offaly, who returned to Dublin only to -find it bent upon the most desperate resistance. Having summoned the city -in vain, he cut the leaden pipes which supplied it with water; but there -must have been wells also, for no effects followed. He then besieged the -castle from Ship Street, where there was cover for his men, but White -had some fireworks, which enabled him to burn down the thatched houses of -the suburb and give his guns full play. Herbert distinguished himself by -shooting twenty-four of the enemy, including one of their chief leaders. -Being thus driven from the castle, Offaly attempted the city wall from -Thomas Street, demolishing the party walls of the houses so as to make -two covered galleries leading up to the New Gate. One of his shots -pierced the gate and killed a man who was trying to get water at a pipe -in the middle of the Corn Market. A remarkable feat is recorded of -Staunton, the gaoler or warder of New Gate. Having galled the rebels by -his sharp-shooting, he had become a particular mark for their fire, and -he saw a musketeer trying to cover him. He not only shot him in the -forehead, but, notwithstanding the hail of bullets issued from the gate, -stripped the dead man, and brought his gun and clothes into the town. The -Geraldines then tried to burn the gate; but a sally of the besieged -through the smoke and flame made them suppose that the city had been -relieved, and they withdrew precipitately, leaving a piece of artillery -and 100 dead behind them. Offaly lingered for the night in the precincts -of the Grey Friary, from which Francis Street takes its name, and next -day rejoined his men, who had believed him dead. He made no attempt to -renew the siege.[134] - -[Sidenote: The citizens refuse to help the rebels.] - -In this, as in so many other Irish insurrections, there was no want of -double traitors; of men who had neither the constancy to remain loyal nor -the courage to persevere in rebellion. Many of the arrows shot over the -walls were headless, and some bore letters which revealed to the garrison -every plan of the besiegers. The children of the citizens, whom he had -hitherto detained as hostages, could now be of no use to Offaly, and he -exchanged them for some of his own men who had been captured. He tried to -get money, ammunition, and other help from the citizens in return for -raising the siege; but the men of Dublin knew their advantage, and -answered that they had no money to spare. They argued that if his -intentions were loyal he had no need of warlike stores, and that to -supply him might be to make a rod for their own backs. They were, -however, willing to supply him with enough parchment to engross his -pardon upon, and to join him in begging humbly for it. Having neither -powder nor shot, Offaly could not retort to any purpose, and he withdrew -to put his ancestral castle of Maynooth in a posture of defence.[135] - -[Sidenote: Reinforcements arrive from England.] - -Besides retaining some of the citizens' children, the rebels had captured -Chief Justice Luttrell and Lord Howth. A truce was therefore concluded -for six weeks, but Offaly broke it within twenty-four hours by burning -corn belonging to the Prior of Kilmainham. Meanwhile Skeffington had -sailed from North Wales. The bulk of his fleet and army were intended for -Waterford, but Sir William Brereton and Captain Salisbury were detached -with 400 men for the relief of Dublin. Brereton took command of the city, -and saw that proper watch was kept. Shortly afterwards eighty Northern -spearmen under Musgrave and Hamerton landed or were driven ashore at -Clontarf, where the rebels met them in great force. They were perhaps -picked men, for their white coats and red crosses are particularly -mentioned: at all events, they made a gallant resistance, and Offaly was -wounded. Musgrave and Hamerton were both killed, and the rebel chief is -said to have mourned deeply for the former, who was his cousin. The main -force of the insurgents hung about the Hill of Howth in hope of -preventing other English troops from landing, and Brode, Purcell, and -Rookes cruised in the offing with their piratical vessels.[136] - -[Sidenote: Arrival of Skeffington.] - -Although the wind served well for Ireland, Skeffington, who was old and -delicate, delayed long at Beaumaris. The North-countrymen, on whom he -placed his chief reliance, chafed at the delay; and many of their horses, -which were perhaps not very well stowed, died from being cooped up on -board ship for three weeks. At last, on the very day on which the siege -of Dublin was raised, the Lord-Deputy sailed. The fleet was driven by a -gale under Lambay, where a report reached it that Dublin had fallen. The -news was not believed, but Brereton and Salisbury were detached. They -reached the Liffey without any difficulty; and there was no reason why -Skeffington should not have done so, but that he had made up his mind to -go to Waterford. As it was, he was able to lie close to Skerries and to -send in his boats, which burned four Geraldine vessels at anchor in the -roads. The fleet then made sail again, and was again driven under Lambay, -whence two ships made chase after Brode, the pirate, and drove him ashore -near Drogheda. At last the Lord Deputy was persuaded to take the obvious -course, and landed safely at Dublin more than a week after Brereton. -Other troops from Bristol, under Sir John St. Loo, reached Waterford -about the same time. Messengers were at once sent to Drogheda, and Brode -and his crew were brought by sea to Dublin.[137] - -[Sidenote: Offaly is proclaimed a traitor.] - -Driven from Dublin, Offaly threatened Drogheda with some 400 horse, but -Skeffington, with unwonted energy, marched the whole distance in one day, -and the rebels did not venture to attack him. The Geraldine chief was -proclaimed traitor at the market-cross, and the gentlemen of Louth and -Meath, finding that there was again something in the shape of a -government, came in fast to the Lord-Deputy. Meanwhile Ossory and St. Loo -were at work in the south, and agreed to meet Skeffington at Kildare's -castle of Kilkea. The Earl and the English knight kept their appointment, -but the Deputy was again ill, and without artillery nothing could be -done. Ossory had enough to do to keep the O'Mores and Kavanaghs in check, -but he gained one important ally in the person of Sir Thomas Eustace, of -Baltinglass, who brought forty of his kinsmen and left hostages in the -Earl's hands. Eustace kept his word, and received a peerage for his -services, an honour forfeited in Elizabeth's time for a rebellion, -which, if one of the most foolish, was also one of the least selfish of -the many recorded in Irish annals.[138] - -[Sidenote: The rebellion continues.] - -During the greater part of the winter Offaly ranged up and down the Pale, -not sparing the Kildare estates, which he was not likely ever to enjoy in -peace. On one occasion he came into collision with Brereton near Trim, -and lost 150 men; but when a garrison of forty men were left in the town -he had no difficulty in recapturing it, and a garrison of twenty men -failed to hold Kildare against him. His following was reduced to 100 -horse and 300 kerne, who had scarcely a dozen muskets among them; but -with this band he wandered where he pleased, even to the walls of Dublin. -Skeffington again fell sick, and the army was detained doing nothing in -Dublin; he could not, according to Sir John Alen, do anything himself, -and he would not let anyone else have the credit. A truce for three weeks -was concluded with the rebel, and after the New Year some of the troops -were allowed to leave the capital. Sir Rice Maunsell with 500 men -occupied Trim--Brereton and Salisbury lay at Newcastle; and preparations -were made for assuming the offensive as soon as the Lord-Deputy should be -able to mount a horse. But there was great want of money, and the -ill-paid soldiers took little interest in any service which did not bring -them profit. They took it on themselves to find men guilty of treason and -to seize their goods, 'whereas,' as Alen grimly suggested, 'the King -might have them by another mean.' Munitions of war were as scarce as -money, and the bows which were sent from Ludlow Castle snapped when the -archers tried to bend them.[139] - -[Sidenote: The Archbishop's murderers are excommunicated.] - -[Sidenote: Death of Kildare.] - -In the meantime the ecclesiastics who administered the vacant see of -Dublin pronounced sentence of excommunication in its most tremendous form -against the murderers of the Archbishop. Offaly himself, his uncles John -and Oliver, Captain Rookes, James Delahide, and Teeling and Wafer, who -seem to have been the actual murderers, were mentioned by name. Leprosy -and madness, hunger and thirst were invoked upon them in this life, and -eternal damnation in the life to come. No house was to shelter them, no -church to give them sanctuary, no kind Christian to bestow on them a -morsel of bread when starving, nor a cup of cold water when dying of -thirst, on pain of being considered accessories to their crime and -accursed like them. They were to be partakers with Pharaoh and Nero, -Herod and Judas, Dathan and Abiram; and stones were cast towards their -dwellings, as by Moses when he called down Divine wrath upon the last -named. It is said that a copy of this curse was cruelly shown to the old -Earl in the Tower, and that the shock snapped the enfeebled thread which -still bound him to life. The fate of the seven excommunicated persons was -nearly as bad as the most vindictive priest could wish. The three -Geraldines were hanged at Tyburn, Rookes was hanged at Dublin, Teeling -and Wafer died at Maynooth of a horrible disease, James Delahide escaped -to Spain and gave the Government some further trouble, but he died an -exile in Scotland.[140] - -[Sidenote: The new Earl seeks help from Emperor and Pope,] - -The new Earl--for Earl he was in spite of Stanihurst's statement to the -contrary--took advantage of the breathing space allowed him by the -Deputy's inaction to cast about for allies. He sent Dominick Power to the -Emperor, armed with gifts, and with documents going to prove that Ireland -was a fief of the Holy See and that it was forfeited on account of -Henry's heresy. Kildare was ready to hold the country of Pope or Emperor -and to pay tribute, in consideration of being protected against the -English schismatics. Twelve hawks and fourteen hobbies, or Irish -palfreys, were thought suitable presents for the second Charlemagne.[141] - -[Sidenote: and from the Irish.] - -More immediate help was sought from the O'Briens of Clare and the -O'Kellies. The latter were induced to threaten Westmeath, and Con -O'Brien, chief of Thomond, was already in communication with Charles V., -but Con's son Donogh had married Lady Ellen Butler, and Ossory had enough -influence with his son-in-law to keep him to his allegiance. Donogh, as -was usual with the sons of Irish chiefs, had a strong party of his own, -and prevented the clan from stirring. Ossory contrived to make the Burkes -threaten the O'Kellies, and they also were neutralised.[142] - -[Sidenote: Many rebels executed.] - -Skeffington, having awoke to the fact that Ireland could not be subdued -by an army which never left Dublin, allowed Maunsell and Brereton to -divide their forces and to burn most of the Geraldine villages, including -Maynooth. While gaining strength himself he had the satisfaction of -ordering several executions in Dublin. Brode, who was called the -traitor's admiral; Rookes, who was captured near Wexford with some of the -royal ordnance in his possession; a third rover named Purcell, who had -been bold enough to cut a vessel out of the Thames; and Travers, -Chancellor of St. Patrick's, who had been an agent in the attempted -reduction of Dublin, were all duly hanged, drawn, and quartered on -Oxmantown Green.[143] - -[Sidenote: Maynooth Castle summoned. The siege.] - -Brereton summoned Maynooth Castle, proposing to let the garrison depart -with bag and baggage, and offering pardons and rewards. But they trusted -in their walls, and answered only with taunts and jeers. At last -Skeffington left Dublin and encamped before the castle, which he invested -closely the next day. He pronounced it to be the strongest fortress which -had ever been in Ireland since the English first set foot there. No -detailed account of the armament has been preserved, but there were -several pieces of cannon and a garrison of over 100, of whom about -one-half were gunners. Christopher Paris, the Earl's foster-brother, -commanded within the castle. Skeffington's batteries opened on the third -day after his arrival, and soon silenced the guns on the north-west side -of the keep. The guns were then pointed against a new work on the -northern side, and after five days' bombardment the breach was -pronounced practicable. Paris, who probably despaired of maintaining his -post, now thought it time to make separate terms for himself, and shot -out a letter in which he offered to sell his post for money. The garrison -were accordingly allowed to sally forth and to capture a small piece of -artillery. Paris pretended great satisfaction, and served out abundant -liquor to his men, who proceeded to celebrate their triumph by getting -drunk. In the first grey light of morning the outwork was occupied almost -without resistance, and the warders were aroused from their slumbers by -shouts of 'St. George! St. George!' Ladders were quickly planted against -the walls of the keep, and the storming party began to ascend. Captain -Holland, who was one of the first to reach the parapet, jumped down into -a tub of feathers, but Brereton's company had scaled the walls at another -place, and the Geraldines, completely surprised and only half sober, made -but a short stand. An arrow was discharged at Holland, the weight of -whose armour kept him fast in the feathers, but it missed him, and he was -released in time to take an active part in the final struggle. Brereton -himself ran up to the highest turret and hoisted a flag, which told the -Lord-Deputy that all was over.[144] - -[Sidenote: Maynooth taken. Story of Paris.] - -When Skeffington entered in the evening two singing-men of the Earl's -chapel prostrated themselves before him, plaintively chanting a hymn or -song called 'Dulcis amica,' which affected the victors as the verses of -Euripides affected the Dorians at Syracuse. They were pardoned, and Paris -then came forward to claim his reward. Skeffington allowed that he had -been useful, and promised that the King would not let him starve; he then -asked what confidence the Earl of Kildare placed in his foster-brother, -and Paris enumerated the benefits which he had received from the fallen -family. 'Couldst thou,' said the Deputy sternly, 'find in thine heart to -betray his castle who has been so good to thee? Truly, thou that art so -hollow to him wilt never be true to us.' Then turning to his officers he -ordered them to pay down the stipulated price, and to execute the -traitor forthwith. 'My lord,' said the wretched man, 'had I wist you -would have dealt so straitly with me, your lordship should not have won -this fort with so little bloodshed as you did.' Among the bystanders was -James Boys, formerly Constable of Maynooth, who had resigned his office -at the breaking out of the rebellion, but who may have sympathised with -his old employers, and who muttered 'too late' in Irish, a saying which -became proverbial for an ineffectual repentance. Paris was executed, and -it does not appear that he had been promised pardon, but Skeffington's -action was neither honest nor politic. He had profited by the treason, -and to kill the traitor could only tend to make other rebels desperate. -About forty other prisoners were taken, of whom twenty-five were -executed, including the Dean of Kildare and another priest named Walsh. -It appeared from the depositions of one prisoner, a priest, that there -had been negotiations with the Emperor, who held out hopes of 10,000 men, -and also with the King of Scots. The 'pardon of Maynooth' became a -proverbial expression for the gallows.[145] - -[Sidenote: The Irish fall away from Kildare.] - -Kildare had in the meantime succeeded in raising an army of 7,000 men -among the O'Connors of Offaly and in Connaught, but the news that -Maynooth had fallen almost dispersed it. With the men who remained he -advanced to Clane, where he came into collision with Skeffington, who -took 140 prisoners and put them to the sword, on a renewal of the fight -being threatened. Kildare then went into Thomond, intending to sail for -Spain, but sent James Delahide and Robert Walsh, the parish priest of -Loughseedy, in his stead. These messengers joined Power at Cadiz, but did -not obtain an interview with Charles until after their chief's execution. -Power was pardoned at the Emperor's request, but the others were -attainted by name. Kildare's allies now gradually dropped away. O'More -and MacMurrough gave security to Ossory, and the Earl's followers -dwindled daily, though he continued to roam about in the neighbourhood of -his ancestral estates. Maynooth was too strong to attempt, but he twice -took Rathangan, so that no Englishman would take charge of it; and -Skeffington was forced to entrust it to Sir James Fitzgerald. After this, -Kildare drove a herd of cattle under the walls, and by the hope of booty -drew out a great part of the garrison, whom he cut to pieces. On one -occasion, he destroyed part of the garrison of Trim by putting forward -some English troopers, who pretended to be Salisbury's men; and on -another, he almost succeeded in capturing a large convoy near Naas. But -such stratagems could not long delay the end, and the Irish saw that the -game was up. O'Neill came to Skeffington at Drogheda, and took the oath -of allegiance. It was agreed among other things that any O'Neill who did -wrong within the obedient districts might be tried by English law, and -that homicides should not be compounded by money payments;[146] but the -King's subjects taken in O'Neill's country were to be reserved for the -royal consideration, and not punished capitally by the chief. O'Neill was -to receive his customary black-rent, but none of his clans were to levy -Irish exactions,[147] or to graze cattle in the English districts. All -Englishmen were to enjoy free trade with Tyrone, and O'Neill undertook to -help Skeffington in his hostings in as ample a manner as any of his -predecessors had helped any previous Lord-Deputy or Lord-Lieutenant.[148] - -[Sidenote: But Skeffington makes little progress.] - -O'More, an able man, who was anxious to deserve well of his new friends, -accompanied Brabazon into the wastes of Allen, where Kildare was lurking. -After the usual plundering, he advised the Englishmen to turn as if in -full retreat, but, in reality, to occupy all the passes, while the -O'Mores engaged the Earl's party in the plain. But the Northumberland -moss-troopers under Dacre and Musgrave had not forgotten their old -habits, and made off with the booty, leaving an unguarded pass, through -which the Geraldines escaped.[149] The O'Mores would not kill Kildare's -men, but were very active against the O'Connors; indeed, the Earl was -believed to have been in O'More's hands for a time, and to have been -purposely released. But Brabazon took Burnell of Balgriffin, one of the -original advisers of the rebellion, and William Keatinge, captain of the -Keatinge kerne, who had hitherto been the rebels' chief strength. The -latter was released on giving security, but Burnell was reserved for the -scaffold. The remarkable unfitness of Skeffington for the post in which -Henry maintained him was strikingly shown at this time. He was unable to -stir from Maynooth, and seemed half dead if he rose before ten or eleven -o'clock. Marauding bands came with impunity to the castle gates, and -stole the Deputy's horses; and he allowed the army to lie in the open -country without orders, and to consume provisions instead of fighting. -The sick man was jealous of Lord Leonard Grey, the marshal of the army, -whom rumour had designated as his successor; he was himself incapable of -action, and was unwilling to let others act in his stead.[150] - -[Sidenote: Surrender of Kildare.] - -Before his release Keatinge undertook to drive the Geraldine chief out of -Kildare. The wretched peasants crept back to their fields to save what -was left of the harvest; and Cahir O'Connor, who saw how things were -likely to end, came to Grey and Brabazon, and took an oath to defend the -King's interests against Kildare, and against his own brother. The Earl -had a stronghold in a boggy wood near Rathangan, fortified with -earthworks and wet ditches, and almost impregnable had it been well -manned and armed. Not being defended it was easily taken, and whatever -would burn was burned. At last Skeffington felt well enough to take the -field, and advanced with Grey and Butler to the borders of Offaly. -Despairing of the cause, and anxious to save his harvest, O'Connor came -in and submitted to the Lord Deputy at Castle Jordan; and Kildare, -finding himself alone, then surrendered to Butler and Grey in the -presence of three witnesses. Skeffington positively asserts that no -condition was made, 'either of pardon, life, land, or goods;' and this is -confirmed by a despatch from the Council sent three days later and signed -by Lords Butler and Delvin, Rawson, Prior of Kilmainham, Saintloo, -Brabazon, Aylmer, Salisbury, and Sir Rice Maunsell, the last two having -been present at the surrender. But the councillors admitted that -'comfortable words were spoken to Thomas to allure him to yield,' and -begged the King to spare his life according to the comfort of those -words.[151] - -[Sidenote: The surrender was unconditional.] - -A great effort was made to cause a belief in England that the surrender -was conditional, but it does not appear that the prisoner himself made -any such assertion. He wrote to his connection Grey, confessing himself a -rebel, but urging that he had done all by the advice of Thomas Eustace -and Sir Gerald MacShane. He begged intercession for his life and lands: -failing the efficacy of such aid, he had, he said, only to shift for -himself as he best could. Writers favourable to the Geraldines have -nevertheless stated that he was promised his life, and this has been -copied into a long succession of popular manuals. Even at the time, the -legal mind of Lord Chancellor Audeley refused to believe that the Irish -Council had so dealt 'with so errant and cankered a traitor.' 'If this,' -he added, 'be intended that he should have mercy, I marvel much that -divers of the King's Council in Ireland have so largely told the King, -afore this time, that there should never be good peace or order in -Ireland till the blood of the Garrolds were wholly extinct. And it was -also said that the Irishmen spared their effectual diligence in the -persecution of him, because they heard that he should have pardon, and -then he would revenge; and now it seemeth they would procure him mercy. -They be people of a strange nature and much inconstancy.'[152] - -[Sidenote: Kildare is sent to England;] - -In writing his thanks to Skeffington the King regrets that Kildare's -capture had not been 'after such a sort as was convenable to his -deservings'--alluding to the report that conditions had been made with -him. The letter is worthy of Elizabeth at her best, and very creditable -to Henry, who declares his unabated confidence in Skeffington, and -promises to make every allowance for his age and infirmities. As to the -disposal of the prisoner, not only Audeley but Norfolk, who spoke from -the fulness of his Irish experience, thought he should be sent to the -Tower and executed in due course, 'except it should appear that by his -keeping alive there should grow any knowledge of treasons, or other -commodity to the King's grace.' The Duke advised a long respite, lest -Lord Butler and Lord Leonard Grey should lose all their credit in -Ireland. The Chancellor wished to proceed in the King's Bench under the -new Statute of Treasons, by which he considered that such offences, -though committed in Ireland, might be tried in an English shire. Had this -opinion finally prevailed, modern Ireland might be easier to govern than -it ever seems likely to be. Both Norfolk and Audeley allude to the report -that Kildare had been promised his life, but neither they nor the King -confirm it.[153] - -[Sidenote: and harshly treated in the Tower.] - -An account is extant showing that twenty shillings a week were allowed -for Kildare's maintenance in the Tower, but intercepted letters tell of -great harshness. His object in writing was to borrow 20_l._ from O'Brien, -who had his plate, and he urged that chief to help the Deputy as the best -means of helping him. 'I never,' he wrote to a trusty servant, 'had any -money since I came into prison but a noble, nor I have had neither hosen, -doublet, nor shoes, nor shirt but one; nor any other garments, but a -single frieze gown, for a velvet furred with budge, and so I have gone -woolward, and barefoot and barelegged, divers times (when it hath not -been very warm), and so I should have done still, and now, but that poor -prisoners, of their gentleness, hath sometimes given me old hosen, and -shoes, and old shirts.' For sixteen months the rash young man endured -this misery, and then, an Irish Act of attainder having passed in the -meantime, he and his five uncles were carried to Tyburn and there duly -hanged, drawn, and quartered.[154] - -[Sidenote: The Desmonds and MacCarthies.] - -Having followed the fortunes of the House of Kildare until their great -eclipse, we may now turn to the southern Geraldines, who had also entered -upon the slippery paths of rebellion. The dispute between Desmond and -Ormonde was of old standing, the real cause of it being the fact that -Munster was not large enough to hold two such families. In 1520 Surrey -brought about a meeting at Waterford between James, the eleventh Earl of -Desmond, and Sir Piers Butler. They were solemnly sworn to keep the peace -and to help each other on lawful occasions. Cormac Oge MacCarthy, Lord of -Muskerry, and MacCarthy Reagh, who had allied themselves with the Butlers -as a defence against their great neighbours' oppressions, were parties to -this agreement. Surrey took hostages from them, and reported that they -were wise men and more conformable than some Englishmen. If the King -would undertake to protect them, he thought that they and many other -Irishmen would be content to hold their lands of him. The peace was -short; for Desmond no sooner got back to his own country than he -proceeded to waste Muskerry with fire and sword. The two MacCarthies -joined their forces, and a pitched battle was fought at Mourne Abbey, -near Mallow. Cormac Oge placed the cavalry under the command of his -sister's husband, Thomas Moyle Fitzgerald, who was Desmond's uncle and -heir presumptive; and to his charge the Geraldine partisans of course -attribute the result. The Earl was totally defeated: 'and of this -overthrow,' wrote the family historian more than a century later, 'the -Irish to this day do brag, not remembering how often both before and -after they received the like measure from the Geraldines.'[155] - -[Sidenote: Desmond intrigues with Francis I., 1523.] - -Two years after the fight at Mourne Abbey Desmond was in secret -communication with Francis I., the Constable Bourbon having at the same -time similar relations with Henry VIII. The French King sent two agents -to Ireland--Francis de Candolle, Lord of Oisy, who afterwards appears as -having a relationship or connection with Desmond, and Francis de -Bergagni. They met the Earl at Askeaton, and made a convention with him. -Desmond agreed to make war on the King, provided that his father-in-law -Tirlough O'Brien and others of that clan should be included in any peace -made between England and France. Francis rather oddly undertook to send -ships to help Desmond in collecting tribute from his subjects. The Earl -and his seneschal David MacMorris were promised French pensions, and both -Geraldines and O'Briens were encouraged to expect French help in any -emergency. Richard de la Pole, Edward IV.'s exiled nephew, was to be set -up against Henry, and Desmond undertook to support the Pretender with 400 -horse and 10,000 foot, which were to remain under his command. If he -succeeded in raising 15,000 foot Francis agreed to pay two angelots a -month for every fully armed man, and one angelot for every kerne. -Kinsale, Cork, or Youghal was to be held by the French, and Desmond -promised to use his exertions in providing them with horses. The -convention was ratified at St. Germain-en-Laye, but nothing whatever came -of it. Had there been any good understanding between Desmond and the -Scots who were threatening Ulster, a powerful diversion might have been -effected; but the Earl seems to have had no higher object than the -enhancement of his own local authority. Some years later a bill was -prepared for the attainder of Desmond in the Irish Parliament, which -recited his treason in giving aid and comfort to Frenchmen while France -and England were at war. But no Parliament was then held, and Desmond -died unattainted.[156] - -[Sidenote: The Butlers and the Desmond Geraldines.] - -During his short administration after Surrey's departure Sir Piers -Butler, who had heard of Desmond's dealings with France, invaded his -country with the consent of many loyal Geraldines. The port towns closed -their gates to the rebellious Earl, who turned upon Tipperary, and -occupied the strong castle of Cahir, the same which afterwards delayed -Essex and thus contributed to his fall. The Deputy hastened to the spot, -and seized the bridge leading to the fortified island; but the bridge on -the other side remained open and Desmond escaped. After this the -O'Briens, whom many supposed to be instigated by Kildare, laid a trap for -Sir Piers very like that in which his famous grandson was long afterwards -caught. A parley was proposed at the ford of Camus on the Suir, and -thither, according to his own account, Butler repaired with a slender -escort and the most pacific intentions. The O'Briens, who were hidden in -a wood, suddenly rushed out and attacked him, but his men fought bravely -and killed Teig O'Brien, the chief's son, 'of all men of his age the most -dreaded by his enemies.' The Ormonde district at this time lay open on -account of a bridge which the O'Briens had lately built over the Shannon, -and one of the complaints against Kildare was that he had not helped Sir -Piers to destroy this bridge.[157] - -[Sidenote: Their disputes about Dungarvan.] - -A war without much plan or apparent purpose continued to rage for years -between the Butlers and the southern Geraldines. In 1527 James Butler -wrote to his father, who was then in England, giving him an account of -certain intrigues and disturbances, and telling him plainly that it was -folly trying to look after Irish affairs in London. He who would do the -King service must do it on the spot. Sir John Fitzgerald of Decies, who -had taken part against the head of his house, and had in consequence lost -much cattle and seen many farm-houses in flames, watched his opportunity, -and shut up Desmond in Dungarvan. Here he was joined by Butler, and by -the Earl's cousin, Thomas Fitzgerald of Decies; but the castle defied -anything short of a regular siege. Butler had a horse shot under him, but -a sally was unsuccessful, and Desmond thought it prudent to take the sea -with forty men. He sailed into Youghal upon the flood-tide, and Dungarvan -then offered to surrender to Sir Thomas Fitzgerald. Butler refused to -allow this, and Sir Thomas then joined his cousin, who had begun to -ravage his lands about Youghal. The prey having escaped, Dungarvan was -not thought worth any further immediate trouble; but a grant of the -offices of governor, constable, and steward of the place was soon -afterwards passed to Sir Piers Butler on his being created Earl of -Ossory. The condition was imposed that the new Earl should seek to -recover Dungarvan out of Desmond's possession.[158] - -[Sidenote: Desmond immigration into Wales.] - -The rebel seems to have been a man of large ideas. He had the Archbishop -of Cashel, a natural son of Ossory, to watch over his interests at Court, -and something amounting almost to an Irish invasion of England took place -under his auspices. In twelve months the almost incredible number of -20,000 Irishmen are said to have landed in Pembrokeshire--that little -England beyond Wales whence the ancestors of the Geraldines had first -sailed to Ireland. They spread themselves over the country about Milford -Haven and between St. David's and Tenby, and the very corporation of the -latter town came under Irish influence. A townsman had two large heavily -armed ships manned by Irishmen: he was himself Welsh, but he would have -neither Welshman nor Englishman on board. Throughout the country side -Irishmen outnumbered the natives in the proportion of four to one, and -many Irish vessels frequented the coast, and were employed in trade or -piracy, or in a mixture of both. Nearly all the men they brought were -from Desmond's country, and it is probable that he had a share of the -profits, and that he was thus enabled to keep up the contest on -land.[159] - -[Sidenote: Desmond intrigues with Charles V.] - -The adventurous Earl had gained nothing by his alliance with France; but -he did not abandon the hope of foreign intervention in Ireland, and sent -a present of Irish hawks and wolf-hounds to Charles V. The gifts were in -charge of a trusty messenger, who landed at St. Sebastian and hastened to -the Imperial Court at Toledo. Wolsey's emissaries were accurately -informed of these movements, and one who lived at Renteria recommended -that a royal cruiser should be sent to intercept the ambassador on his -return. The man himself lacked discretion, for he showed his despatches -to the papal collector at Valladolid, and their contents thus became -known to the English agents. Desmond's great wish was for artillery, -which would have placed nearly every castle in Munster at his mercy. Glad -to find any means of annoying a King who desired to repudiate his aunt, -Charles sent a gold cup to Desmond, and soon afterwards despatched his -chaplain Gonzalo Fernandez to Ireland. Fernandez, who spoke very good -English, was instructed to make himself thoroughly acquainted with -Desmond's resources, and to offer help if he thought it advisable. He was -authorised to promise that the Earl should be included in any treaties -which might be made between the Emperor and Henry VIII., and to explain -that his master had always been most anxious for the English King's -friendship. Notwithstanding his former good offices Henry had made an -alliance with France, and now sought to divorce his Queen and to give the -Duchy of Ireland to his bastard in disparagement of the Princess Mary. -Such proceedings Charles was determined firmly to resist.[160] - -[Sidenote: Mission of Gonzalo Fernandez to Ireland, 1529.] - -Fernandez left Toledo on March 3, the Spanish Government giving out that -he had gone to England to recover debts due to the Emperor. He had -returned by April 28. On his way out he touched at Cork, where many -persons visited his ship, and he gathered from their conversation that -Desmond was not popular there. After this he was driven into Berehaven, -whence he wrote to the Earl; and in four days he received an answer -directed to him as chaplain to 'our sovereign lord the Emperor,' Desmond -striving to assume the position of an Imperial feudatory, instead of that -of an English subject. Fernandez then sailed to Dingle, and before he -could land Desmond sent six gentlemen on board to ask his help in -capturing certain English and French vessels which lay near, probably at -Ventry or Smerwick. Desmond had already sent his galleys, and was going -with 500 men to support them by land. The Spaniard, with a more exact -idea of an ambassador's duties than the potentate to whom he was -accredited, prudently excused himself. Desmond evidently did not wish -Fernandez to visit any of his castles, and preferred to meet him at the -water's edge. Anxious to appear a powerful independent prince, he was -probably unwilling that the Spaniards should see the nakedness of the -land and his own rude way of life; and perhaps he shrunk from -accumulating evidence against himself in case submission to his lawful -sovereign should after all become expedient.[161] - -[Sidenote: Fernandez in Munster with Desmond.] - -On April 21 Fernandez disembarked. He was well received by the -inhabitants and by Desmond himself, who had 500 horse and as many -gallowglasses with him. The Earl asked after the Emperor's health, and -again called him his sovereign lord. Fernandez read his commission first -in English. Desmond then requested that it might be repeated in Latin for -the benefit of his Council, and when it was finished he took off his cap -and thanked the Emperor for his gracious condescension, adding the -reflection that his Majesty was placed on earth to prevent one prince -from injuring another. His evident design was to acknowledge the -supremacy of the Empire over all the kingdoms of the world, and at the -same time to place himself on a level with the King of England, from whom -he held his lands, his title, and his jurisdiction. Desmond then -discharged the congenial duty of magnifying himself and his ancestors. He -was, he said, descended from Brito, who lawfully conquered the great and -the small Britain, and reduced Ireland and Scotland under his yoke. It -had been prophesied that an Earl of Desmond should conquer England, and -this kept the English in a constant state of tremor. The fear of its -fulfilment had caused the beheading of Earl Thomas by Lord Deputy -Tiptoft, and Richard, 'son of the King of England,' had invaded Ireland -on account of his father's enmity with the reigning King. Afterwards that -Earl had conquered all Ireland, 'some few towns only excepted.' The King -of England caused the Earl of Kildare to be destroyed in prison, until -his kinsman of Desmond forcibly liberated him and made him Viceroy of -Ireland. In twenty-four years, during which he had been stirring up both -English and Irish, first to kill Desmond's father and afterwards to make -war on himself, the King of England had gained no advantage. The Earl's -servants trading in France and Flanders had been imprisoned and despoiled -of 9,000_l._ by the English King's orders. Fernandez prudently demanded -that this extraordinary farrago should be written down. It is very -fortunate that he was unable to retain it in his memory, for no amount of -mere English evidence could give us such a measure of a Desmond's pride, -or of the nonsense which rhymers or Brehons could venture to put into a -Desmond's head.[162] - -[Sidenote: Desmond's proposals to the Emperor.] - -The Geraldine addressed Charles V. as most invincible and most sacred -Cæsar, ever august; and described himself as Earl of Desmond, Lord of -Decies, of O'Gunnell, and of the liberty of Kerry. He first asked for -four vessels of 200 tons each, and six smaller ones, all well armed, and -for 500 Flemings to work them. Fernandez objected that no consideration -was offered for so great a gift, and that Desmond could give no security -out of Ireland; but ultimately an article was made out in which the Earl -avowed himself the Emperor's subject, and promised to help him in all his -enterprises. Knowing that no guarantee could be given, the Spaniard -wisely asked for none but his host's word of honour. The Earl declared -his fixed intention--and here at least he spoke quite sincerely--to use -all his strength and that of his friends in prosecuting the war against -Piers Butler, the King's Deputy, and against the cities of Limerick, -Waterford, and Dublin. He begged the Emperor's help, and renewed his -request for cannon; as for men, he could bring 16,500 foot and 1,500 -horse into the field, and his allies could furnish 9,000 additional foot -and 300 additional horse. In enumerating his allies Desmond again drew -upon his imagination, for he included O'Donnell, Prince of Ulster, with -his 4,000 foot and 800 horse, Maguire and Magennis in the distant north, -as well as the MacCarthies with whom he was at war, and who, about this -time, defeated him in a pitched battle. He also represented himself as -firmly allied and frequently communicating with the King of -Scotland.[163] - -[Sidenote: Fernandez is unfavourable to Desmond.] - -Fernandez told his master that Desmond had treated him well, and supplied -his ship with fresh beef and venison. He had found him full of animosity -against Wolsey, and quite ready to forget his French connections and his -former compact with Francis. But the Earl acknowledged that Dublin was -the chief town of Ireland, and that he had no interest there, and that -his kinsman of Kildare, whom he called the ruler of the capital, had been -imprisoned in the Tower. That he had been arrested partly on Desmond's -account was obviously of less importance than the fact that he could be -arrested at all. As to Cork, Limerick, and Waterford, Desmond had some -friends there, but many more enemies. On the other hand, the Earl -certainly had ten castles, and Fernandez was made to believe that the -King of England had lately failed to take Dungarvan--a version of the -facts which strained them considerably. The Spaniard could not doubt that -Desmond had many tributary knights, and much influence among the wild -Irish; but he did not form a high opinion of the Earl's soldiers, among -whom executions for theft and murder were very frequent. They performed -wonderful feats of horsemanship without saddle or stirrups, but they had -no military skill. There were some gallowglasses with halberts, but the -great mass had only bows and arrows. Fernandez allows that the Earl kept -good justice, but it is clear that his general impression was -unfavourable. - -[Sidenote: Desmond sends messengers to Spain. The English agents are well -informed.] - -Desmond sent John Aslaby, Archdeacon of Cloyne, and another messenger -with Fernandez, and they found their way to Spain. The English agents -there continued to be well informed, and they learned from one Gwyn, -living at Ballinskellig, in Kerry, and trading to St. Sebastian, that -Desmond had sent for 4,000 men to teach the Irish war. Gwyn truly -reported that Cormac Oge was warring against the Earl, but that he would -probably soon acknowledge himself beaten. There is reason to believe that -a Spanish expedition to Ireland was really contemplated, but that the -Biscayans intended for the service refused to go, alleging, with a fine -perception of the realities of Celtic diplomacy, that the Irish would be -sure to deceive the Emperor. At all events nothing was done, and Spanish -intervention in Ireland was put off for half a century. Desmond was -proclaimed a traitor, but he died soon afterwards, and his successor -followed him in a few months, leaving his heritage in dispute. The -mission of Fernandez had no direct effect upon Ireland, but it may have -had a good deal to do with Wolsey's fate, and with the crooked diplomacy -of the divorce question. He was heir to De Puebla, who had negotiated -Catherine of Arragon's marriages, and probably knew more than any one -about the brief which Julius II. was said to have sent to Ferdinand the -Catholic, and which, if genuine, would have precluded Clement VII. from -granting a divorce on the ground of affinity. If the brief was forged, -its spuriousness could not be proved in the absence of Fernandez, and the -delay was fatal to the English Cardinal.[164] - -[Sidenote: Stephen Parry's tour in the south of Ireland. Siege of -Dungarvan.] - -Lord Leonard Grey was sent to England in charge of Kildare, but he left -his company of 100 men, under a Welsh officer named Parry, with orders to -attach himself to Lord Butler. Parry's despatch to Cromwell is one of the -very few contemporary documents which throw light on the state of the -country. He and his men entered Ossory's district at Leighlin Bridge, -where the people were glad to see them, and went on to Callan, where they -found English fashions generally followed. They were so well received at -Callan that they stayed there nine days, and they made a further halt of -three days at Clonmel, which also entertained them hospitably. Thomas -Butler, a man of great local influence, who had married Ossory's -daughter, and was afterwards created Lord Cahir, met the troops at -Clonmel and led them over the mountains to Dungarvan. He spoke very good -English, and made himself most agreeable. Gerald MacShane Fitzgerald of -Decies, who was also Ossory's son-in-law, joined them on the road. This -gentleman could not speak a word of English, but he was very civil, -professed great loyalty, and bound himself by hostages to act under the -advice of the Council. Reaching Dungarvan about the middle of September, -they met Skeffington, who had made up his mind to take the place, and who -brought the artillery which was henceforth to play so great a part in -Irish politics. The accidental presence of a Devonshire fishing fleet -enabled the Lord Deputy to invest the castle completely. On being -summoned the commandant answered boldly that he held the place for his -master, and that he would do the best for him, as he was sure Skeffington -would in like case do for his master. Two days were spent in preparing -the battery, and at five o'clock on the morning of the third the -cannonade began. A breach was made by eleven, and Sir John Saintloo -wished to storm it at once, but Skeffington's practised eye detected an -inner barricade. Lord Butler, who was a suitor for the castle, and had no -mind to be at the expense of rebuilding it, here interfered to prevent a -renewal of the fire. He sent in two of his men as hostages for the -constable's safety, and the latter then came out. Partly by coaxing and -partly by bullying, Butler persuaded him to surrender, and he and his -men took the oath of allegiance and swore to maintain the succession of -Anne Boleyn's child. The castle was handed over to Ossory's men.[165] - -[Sidenote: Desmond dies in 1529. Disputed succession. Parry's journey.] - -The Earl of Desmond whom Gonzalo Fernandez visited died in 1529, leaving -no male issue, and his uncle and successor Thomas Moyle soon followed -him. Thomas Moyle's son Maurice died before his father, having married -Joan Fitzgerald, daughter of the White Knight, by whom he left one son, -generally called James Fitzmaurice. James would have succeeded of course, -but that the validity of his mother's marriage was disputed. Failing him -the next heir would be his grand-uncle, John Fitz-Thomas, who was at this -time a very old man. To settle this question, if possible, and also, as -Skeffington wrote to the King, 'to execute the succession of your -Highness and of your most excellent Queen' Anne Boleyn, the Lord-Deputy -issued commissions for all the southern and western counties, and in each -Lord Butler was named chief commissioner. But the old artilleryman would -not give Butler a single gun, and he continued his journey without the -means of taking castles. At Youghal the townsmen received him well, and -Parry, who evidently liked good living, notes that claret sold there for -fourpence a gallon. Next day they encamped near Midleton, where the -Butlers mustered 202 horse, 312 gallowglasses, and 204 kerne, besides a -due proportion of the rabble which invariably accompanied Irish armies. -Parry's contingent consisted of 78 spearmen, 24 'long boys,' and 5 -musketeers--all well horsed. The next day they reached Cork, and Cormac -Oge appeared with his host on a hill less than a mile from the city. -Drawing up his main body on rising ground fronting the MacCarthies, -Butler descended into the hollow with a few followers, and the chief of -Muskerry met him there similarly attended. The mayor and aldermen, all in -scarlet gowns and velvet tippets, after the English fashion, were very -glad to see so many Englishmen, and 'made us,' says Parry, 'the best -cheer that ever we had in our lives.' Next day Cormac Oge came into the -town accompanied by the young Earl, who had married his daughter, and -who, having been brought up in England, dressed and behaved in approved -fashion. He acknowledged that he held all from the King, whom he had -never offended; and as a true-born Englishman he was quite ready to go to -England and try his title before his Majesty in council, provided his -grand-uncle Sir John would do the same. Earl or not, he was at the King's -disposal for any service, and to all this Cormac Oge agreed.[166] - -[Sidenote: Journey of Parry and Lord Butler. The O'Briens.] - -The youthful Lord Barry, who spoke very good English and was full of -complaints against the MacCarthies for keeping him out of his lands, also -came to Lord Butler at Cork. Cormac Oge was anxious to have all disputes -referred to the Lord-Deputy; but his son-in-law MacCarthy Reagh, the -chief of Carbery, who came in upon safe-conduct, said that he would do -nothing of the kind, but would hold by the sword what he had won by the -sword. Butler was very angry and told him he should repent, but MacCarthy -doubtless knew that, however good the will, the power to pursue him into -his own country was wanting. Mallow and Kilmallock, which Parry found a -very poor town, were next visited; and as the army approached Limerick, -O'Brien evacuated two castles in the neighbourhood and obstructed the -passes into Thomond with felled trees. Hearing that the invaders had no -cannon he restored his garrison, and encamped with a large force three -miles from the city walls. At Limerick Parry also found very good cheer, -'but nothing like the cheer that we had at Cork.' They then encamped at -Adare, where Donogh O'Brien, the reigning chief of Thomond's eldest son -and the husband of Lady Helen Butler, came to meet his brother-in-law. -The speech attributed to Donogh seems genuine, and is not without a rude -pathos:--'I have married your sister; and for because that I have married -your sister, I have forsaken my father, mine uncle, and all my friends, -and my country, to come to you to help to do the King service. I have -been sore wounded, and I have no reward, nor nothing to live upon. What -would ye have me to do? If that it would please the King's grace to take -me unto his service, and that you will come into the country, and bring -with you a piece of ordnance to win a castle, the which castle is named -Carrigogunnell, and his Grace to give me that, the which never was none -Englishman's these 200 year, and I will desire the King no help, nor aid -of no man, but this English captain, with his 100 and odd of Englishmen, -to go with me upon my father and mine uncle, the which are the King's -enemies, and upon the Irishmen that never English man were amongst; and -if that I do hurt or harm, or that there be any mistrust, I will put in -my pledges, as good as ye shall require, that I shall hurt no Englishman, -but upon the wild Irishmen that are the King's enemies. And for all such -land as I shall conquer, it shall be at the King's pleasure to set -Englishmen in it, to be holden of the King, as his pleasure shall be; and -I to refuse all such Irish fashions, and to order myself after the -English and all that I can make or conquer. Of this I desire an answer.' - -That Donogh in offering his services was going directly against his own -family is plain from a letter which his father had written to Charles V. -not much more than a year before. 'We have,' he had then said, 'never -been subject to English rule, or yielded up our ancient rights and -liberties; and there is at this present, and for ever will be, perpetual -discord between us, and we will harass them with continual war.' The -O'Briens had never sworn fealty to anyone, but he offered full submission -to the Emperor, with 100 castles and 18,000 men.[167] - -[Sidenote: The Desmonds and the Irish.] - -Old Sir John of Desmond, the rival claimant to the title, also came to -Adare and spoke plainly in very good English. 'What should I do in -England,' he asked, 'to meet a boy there? Let me have that Irish horson, -Cormac Oge, and I will go into England before the King.' Parry thought -him as full of mischief as ever; but he agreed to meet the young Earl at -Youghal, and also the obnoxious Cormac. It is curious to see how proud -these Desmonds were of their Norman blood, and how they despised the -Irish; while often straining every nerve against Henry II.'s successor, -offering their allegiance to foreign princes, and boasting to them of -their Irish allies. - -[Sidenote: Parry's observations.] - -Returning to Clonmel by Kilmallock and Cashel, Parry was despatched to -bring Vice-Treasurer Brabazon and Chief Justice Bermingham to a -conference with Ossory and his son at Youghal. During the whole long -journey from Dungarvan he had met no one who had ever seen an English -soldier in those parts. Some days they rode sixteen miles at a stretch -over what had once been really, and still remained nominally, -Englishmen's ground. The woods, the rivers, and the rich grass lands -about them excited his admiration. Nor was there any want of ground -suitable for corn, and the ridges showed that it had once been tilled, -but not a blade of oats had grown there for twelve years. Parry, who had -evidently been very well treated by him, seems to have formed a high idea -of Lord Butler's qualifications. If the King would give him artillery -there was scarcely any limit to his possible services; for his own -marriage with a daughter of Desmond and the marriages of his sisters, no -less than his personal character, gave him great influence throughout the -South of Ireland.[168] - -[Sidenote: Lord Leonard Grey made Marshal of the army. He and Skeffington -disagree.] - -Having determined to continue Skeffington in the government of Ireland, -notwithstanding his age and bad health, Henry took means to supply him -with efficient subordinates. First among them was Lord Leonard Grey, who -had returned with a new commission as marshal and with the title of -Viscount Grane, which, however, he never chose to assume. The others were -Sir John Saintloo, a brave soldier; the Vice-Treasurer Brabazon, who was -already well tried; and John Alen, Master of the Rolls, who had been -pushing his own interests at Court, and who was entrusted with the royal -despatch. Honest musters leading to a reduction of expenses were the -King's great object at this time; for Kildare was safe in the Tower, and -it seemed that a great army was no longer necessary. Special care was -taken to define Grey's position, and Skeffington, whose supremacy as -Henry's representative was fully acknowledged, was reminded that royal -blood flowed in the marshal's veins. Discipline had been much relaxed in -Ireland, and no doubt reform was wanted; but Grey seems to have used his -military authority with undue severity. Thomas Dacre, a member of the -great northern family, who came in charge of some spearmen, was -imprisoned for eight days, though nothing had been proved against him. -Another Dacre was confined for seven weeks without any apparent reason, -and during a fortnight he had irons on both arms and legs. Such -proceedings certainly gave some grounds for supposing that Grey was not -disposed to favour those who had helped to overthrow his rebellious -nephew.[169] - -[Sidenote: Death and character of Skeffington, 1535.] - -Skeffington died about two months after Grey's return. Though not very -brilliant, he had been on the whole successful, and had shown that a -private gentleman armed with the King's commission could be more than a -match for the greatest of Irish nobles. It was indeed part of Henry's -policy, as it had been his father's, to rely much upon persons of far -humbler birth. Fox and Wolsey were Churchmen, and the tonsure had been -always powerful to counteract plebeian extraction; but Empson the -pettifogger, Cromwell the clothier, Stile the scribe, and Tuke, who -speculated in kerseys, with many others of no higher original -pretensions, were often preferred for important affairs to the chiefs of -the English aristocracy. The business was often better done, and the -power of the Crown was brought into more prominent relief. Skeffington -may be regarded as the first of that long line of able public servants -who reduced Ireland to a tardy and unwilling obedience. 'He was,' said -Brabazon, 'a very good man of war, but not quick enough for Ireland, and -somewhat covetous.' The charge was made by others also, and is easier to -make than to refute. But it is certain that Skeffington died in -difficulties, and one fact may be set against many opinions.[170] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[126] Conossius Maguire to the King, Feb. 20, 1534, in _Carew_. Letter -from the five Alens, May 17, 1534. R.O. _Ireland_. - -[127] Examination of Robert Reyley, Aug. 5, 1536, in _Carew_. Stanihurst. - -[128] Stanihurst. Finglas to Cromwell, July 21, 1534. Dowling says Offaly -was commonly called 'Thomas sericus.' - -[129] The King to the Earl of Ossory, No. 72 in the printed _State -Papers_. Butler's letter is in Stanihurst. - -[130] Examination of Robert Reyley in _Carew_, Aug. 5, 1536; Sir John -Rawson to the King, Aug. 7, 1534; Dowling's _Annals_. Rawson says 'divers -of his chaplains and servants' were killed with the Archbishop, and that -the murder was in Offaly's presence and 'by his commandment.' - -[131] Wine, 20 tuns; beer, 20 tuns; powdered beef, 16 hogsheads; 2,000 -dried ling, &c. &c. - -[132] Stanihurst. - -[133] Stanihurst. Ossory to Walter Cowley, No. 93 in the printed _State -Papers_. - -[134] Stanihurst. Brereton and Salisbury to the King, Nov. 4, 1534. - -[135] Stanihurst. - -[136] _Ibid._; Dowling. According to Stanihurst, Salisbury and Brereton -did not land until after the fight in which Musgrave fell, but their own -letter seems to contradict this. - -[137] John Alen to Cromwell, Oct. 4; Brereton and Salisbury to the King, -Nov. 4; Skeffington to the King, Nov. 11; Ossory to Mr. Cowley, No. 93 in -the printed _State Papers_. - -[138] Brereton and Salisbury to the King, Nov. 4; Skeffington to the -King, Nov. 11; Ossory to Mr. Cowley, as above. - -[139] John Alen to Cromwell, Dec. 26, 1534, and Feb. 16, 1535; -Vice-Treasurer Brabazon to Cromwell, Feb. 16, 1535; Skeffington to Sir -Edmund Walsingham, March 13. - -[140] The sentence of excommunication is printed in the _State Papers_, -No. 81; see No. 84; Stanihurst. Kildare died Dec. 12, 1534. - -[141] Stanihurst; Alen to Cromwell, Dec. 26, 1534. - -[142] Ossory to Skeffington, Jan. 17, 1535. - -[143] Alen to Cromwell, Feb. 16, 1535; Stanihurst. - -[144] Stanihurst; Lord Deputy and Council to the King, March 26. - -[145] Ware; Stanihurst; the Lord-Deputy and Council to the King, March -26. The official despatch does not mention the negotiation with Paris, -but I see no reason to disbelieve Stanihurst. 'Too late, quoth Boys,' -became proverbial. - -[146] 'Quæ vulgariter dicitur a saulte.' - -[147] Coyne and livery, cuddies, kernaghts, 'vel talia poculenta.' - -[148] The indenture is dated July 26, 1535. - -[149] Aylmer and Alen to Cromwell, Aug. 21. - -[150] Grey to Cromwell, August 15. Aylmer and Alen to Cromwell, Aug. 21 -and 26. - -[151] Skeffington to the King, Aug. 24; the Council of Ireland to the -King, Aug. 27. - -[152] Audeley to Cromwell, i. S.P., p. 466; Stanihurst; _Four Masters_. - -[153] The King to Skeffington, ii. S.P., p. 280; Audeley to Cromwell, i. -S.P., p. 146; Norfolk to Cromwell, September 9, 1535. - -[154] Feb. 3, 1537. The letter to Rothe (enclosing that to O'Brien) is in -S.P. ii., p. 402. - -[155] Surrey to Wolsey, Nov. 3, 1520; Russell; O'Daly, chap. ix. The -latter writer is hopelessly wrong, and makes Thomas Moyle fight on -Desmond's side. - -[156] He is generally stated to have died June 18, 1529, but he was alive -Sept. 12 in that year. For his intrigues with Francis see Wise to -Cromwell, July 12, 1534, and the Cotton MS. quoted there; _Brewer_, vol. -iii., No. 3118. The abortive Bill of attainder is calendared under Oct. -1528. - -[157] Articles alleged by Ormonde against Kildare, _Brewer_, vol. iv., -No. 1352 (2). Ware; _Four Masters_, 1523. - -[158] James Butler to his father, _Brewer_, vol. iv., No. 3698; to the -King, _ib._ 3699. Cormac Oge to the King, _ib_. 5084; to Wolsey, _ib._ -4933. Sir Thomas Fitzgerald to ---- _ib._ 3922. Archbishop Inge to -Wolsey, Feb. 23, 1528. - -[159] R. Cowley, ii. S.P., 141; R. Griffiths to Wolsey, in _Brewer_, vol. -iv., Nos. 3372 and 4485. - -[160] J. Batcock to ---- in _Brewer_, vol. iv., No. 4878; Sylvester -Darius to Wolsey, _ib._ 4911; Ghinucci and Lee to Wolsey, _ib._ 4948; Lee -to Henry VIII., _ib._ 5002. The instructions to Fernandez are in _Carew_, -Feb. 24, 1529 (wrongly calendared under 1530). - -[161] Fernandez to Charles V. in _Brewer_, vol. iv. No. 5323; Ghinucci -and Lee to Wolsey, _ib._ 5423; Lee to Wolsey, April 19, 1529, _ib._ 5469; -Desmond's Memorandum for the Emperor, April 28, _ib._ 5501; Froude's -_Pilgrim_. - -[162] Same authorities. Writing later to Charles V. (Sept. 2, _Brewer_, -iv. 5938) Desmond increases his loss by Henry's malpractices to -100,000_l._, and says he holds the chief power in all Irish harbours from -the furthest point of Kerry to Waterford. - -[163] In the _Pilgrim_ Wexford is substituted for Waterford. The lists of -chiefs in the _Pilgrim_ and in _Brewer_ (vol. iv. No. 5501) are not quite -identical. - -[164] _Brewer_, vol. iv. No. 5620; Lee to Henry VIII., July 4, 1529, -_ib._ 5756. For the question of the brief see Brewer, Introd. to vol. iv. -pp. ccccxxiii. and ccccxliv., and an excellent article in the _Quarterly -Review_ for January 1877. - -[165] Stephen Ap Parry to Cromwell, Oct. 6, 1535; Skeffington to the -King, Oct. 16. - -[166] Stephen Ap Parry to Cromwell, Oct. 6; Lord Butler to Cromwell, Oct. -17. - -[167] Parry to Cromwell as before. Con O'Brien to Charles V., July 21, -1534, printed in Froude's _Pilgrim_, from the Brussels Archives. - -[168] Parry to Cromwell, as before. - -[169] The King to Skeffington, No. iii. in the printed S.P. Thomas Dacre -to Cromwell, Jan. 5, 1536, printed in the _Irish Archæological Journal_, -N.S., ii., 338. Skeffington died December 31. - -[170] Brabazon to Cromwell, Sept. 10, 1535. Alen to Cromwell, Feb. 16, -1535. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -FROM THE YEAR 1536 TO THE YEAR 1540. - - -[Sidenote: Lord Leonard Grey Deputy, 1536.] - -Grey was immediately chosen Lord Justice by the Council, and his patent -as Deputy was not long delayed. He began badly, his temper involving him -in one of those personal difficulties which led to his ruin. He had never -been on good terms with his predecessor, and was at no pains to make a -decent or politic show of regret. Less than a month after her husband's -death Lady Skeffington wrote to Anne Boleyn, declaring that she was -overwhelmed with debt through his liberality in advancing money for the -public service. She had already complained to Cromwell of Grey's -harshness, and her son-in-law Anthony Colley went so far as to accuse him -of shortening the late Deputy's life. Aylmer and Alen, afterwards Grey's -most unrelenting enemies, were included in Lady Skeffington's complaint. -The Council now sustained Grey, but it was not in official documents that -the politicians of Dublin were wont to assail a chief governor whose hand -might after all be heavy against them. Verbal messages and innuendoes -contained in private letters seldom failed to undermine a man whom it -might be neither safe nor decent to accuse openly. Grey now contented -himself with saying that the late Lord Deputy had died in debt, and that -his property was held in pledge for his creditors. But Lady Skeffington -replied, and no doubt truly, that the official salary had never been -paid, and that she could do nothing without it. Cromwell at least -believed her, for he gave orders that her goods should be delivered to -her, and that she should be sped on her homeward journey. Grey complied -in the most ungracious manner, and had all the luggage and furniture -turned out of Maynooth Castle before carts could be provided to carry it -away. It was stored in a church, and there further detained by the new -Deputy for a debt to the Crown. Lady Skeffington was unable to leave for -eight or nine months after her husband's death, and obstacles were placed -in her way to the last. There may have been faults on both sides, but had -Grey been either a good-natured or a politic man he might have found -means to smooth matters for a widowed lady whose chief desire was the -very general one of wishing to get out of Ireland as quickly as -possible.[171] - -[Sidenote: Parliament of 1536.] - -Grey was commissioned to summon a Parliament, which accordingly met on -Monday, May 1, the day before Anne Boleyn was sent to the Tower. In less -than three weeks a number of important bills were passed, of which drafts -carefully settled by Audeley himself had been sent from England. The -succession was secured to the issue of Anne Boleyn, as Brabazon wrote -only two days before that unfortunate lady's execution. Before the letter -reached London Jane Seymour had already been Queen a full fortnight, and -Cromwell's concern was, if possible, to stop the passing of an Act which -would have to be repeated so soon. It was too late to do this, but the -Parliament made no difficulty about enacting the same stringent rule of -succession for the third as they had done for the second wife. They thus -achieved the unique distinction of passing two contradictory Acts of -Settlement within eighteen months. This remarkable performance does not -adorn the printed statute book, because that compilation was made when -Elizabeth was firmly seated on the throne.[172] - -[Sidenote: The royal supremacy.] - -The bill declaring the King to be supreme head of the Church encountered -some opposition from the proctors of the clergy, two of whom were -summoned to Parliament from each diocese. The proctors had only -consultative voices, but they now claimed not only to be full members of -Parliament, but to form a separate order whose consent would be necessary -to every change in the law. An Act was passed declaring them no members -of the body of Parliament, as they had 'temerariously assumed and -usurpedly taken upon them to be.' In spite of their opposition and of -much secret discontent, a series of Acts were passed to emancipate the -Irish Church from Roman influences, or rather for subjecting her to King -Stork instead of to King Log. All dues hitherto paid to Rome were -forbidden, and the election and consecration of bishops were withdrawn -from papal control. Appeals were transferred from the Pope to the King. -The payment of first-fruits was imposed on all secular dignitaries and -beneficed clergymen, abbots and priors being for the time exempted. The -abrogation of this heavy and oppressive tax was reserved for the energy -of Swift or the piety of Anne. By Audeley's advice the English heresy -laws were not copied in Ireland. An Act was passed to validate the -proceedings of this Parliament, though it had been held contrary to -Poyning's law, but the spirit if not the letter of that famous measure -had been observed by preparing the bills in England. Indeed, the -Parliament was as subservient as any official could wish. 'The Common -House,' wrote Brabazon, 'is marvellous good for the King's causes, and -all the learned men within the same be very good; so that I think all -causes concerning the King's grace will take good effect.'[173] - -[Sidenote: The Act of Absentees.] - -The weakening of the English power in Ireland by the non-residence of -great proprietors had long been recognised. Edward III., on the occasion -of his son Lionel's mission, announced by proclamation that the lands of -absentees would be granted to Englishmen willing and able to defend them -against the Irish. An English Parliament under Richard II. provided that -in case of absenteeism the Viceroy and Council might divert two-thirds of -the rents and profits to the defence of the country in ordinary cases; -one-third in the case of students, of persons absent on the King's -service, or of those who had leave of absence under the great seal. -Whether or not this English law was ever re-enacted or obeyed in -Ireland, forfeiture was considered an incident of non-residence, and -special Acts were passed to protect those who left Ireland on the public -service. Henry VI. made a law ordering his subjects of Ireland to return -to their own country. By Poyning's Act the statute of Richard II. -obtained full force in Ireland, and it was shortly afterwards provided -afresh that all licences of absence should be under the great seal of -England, exceptions being made in favour of the religious orders and of -students. The momentous Act now passed declared that many great -proprietors had notoriously failed to defend their lands, whereby the -King was forced to incur great expense in bringing an army to Ireland. -The persons specially mentioned were Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, and -his coparcener Lord Barkley, who claimed and held the seigniories and -lordships of Carlow, Old Ross, &c.; George Talbot, Earl of Waterford and -Salop, who held the seigniory of Wexford; and the heirs general of the -Earl of Ormonde, who held divers possessions and lands. To these were -added the Abbots of Furness, Bristol, Osney, and Bath; the Priors of -Canterbury, Lanthony, Cartmel, and Keynsham; and the master of St. Thomas -of Acon in London. All this property was resumed to the Crown, saving the -rights of residents in Ireland, who held under the dispossessed lords. -Wexford was at once placed under a royal seneschal, and was so governed -till the reign of James I. The Crown thus became one of the greatest of -Irish landlords, and the foundations of a reconquest were laid.[174] - -[Sidenote: The O'Neills.] - -While Parliament was sitting Phelim O'Neill, chief of Clandeboye, came to -Dublin and covenanted with the Lord Deputy to attend all great hostings -and to make war upon all enemies of the Government within a day's march -of his own country. He promised not to aid or harbour rebels, and to -submit all differences between his people and the King's subjects to -peaceful arbitration. The great Leinster chief, Cahir MacEncross -Kavanagh, also came to terms, agreed to supply twelve horsemen and twenty -kerne in all hostings, and to employ his whole force on journeys of not -more than three days' duration. He promised to submit disputes to the -arbitration of Ossory and his son. Redmond Savage, the chief of an -English family in Down which had long conformed to Celtic usages, made a -similar agreement, and also promised to pay the Lord Deputy for his -friendship 100 fat cows and a good horse, or fifteen marks Irish. Grey -went himself to Dundalk, where Con O'Neill met him. The chief of Tyrone -renewed the promises made to Skeffington, binding himself to attend all -hostings and do his best against Scotch intruders, but he gave no -hostages, and an invasion of his country was not believed to be -practicable. The Lord Deputy then returned to Dublin, where a new and -very serious danger demanded his presence.[175] - -[Sidenote: Want of money. Mutiny.] - -'Lack of money,' as Grey expressed it, 'after the late robbing and -spoiling,' was the great difficulty of the English in Ireland during the -whole Tudor period. The King now sent 7,000_l._, but that sum still left -the soldiers' pay three months in arrear. There were many differences -among the members of Council, but they all agreed in demanding more -money. The northern spearmen, on the report that they were not to be paid -in full, mutinied openly, declaring that they would have all or none. -They refused to hear the King's letter read, threatened the lives of the -Vice-Treasurer and Chief Justice, declared that they would not serve -without wages, and that if they were not paid they would 'board with the -Council at their houses, in spite of their hearts.' The astute borderers -carried their point, for they received full payment, while Grey's own -retainers were sent empty away. Saintloo's men at Waterford also showed a -mutinous spirit, but they were silenced for a time by receiving part of -what was due to them.[176] - -[Sidenote: Grey travels southward.] - -Parliament having adjourned to Kilkenny, Grey followed it thither, the -army being victualled for a month. Having made arrangements for restoring -the fortifications at Powerscourt, Woodstock, and Athy, Grey left the -defence of the Pale to Brabazon, adjourned the Parliament to Limerick, -and himself set out for Desmond's country. Besides Ossory and his son and -the usual force of the four shires, O'Carroll, MacMurrough, O'Byrne, Lord -Roche, and the gentlemen of Wexford and Waterford, accompanied the Lord -Deputy. He was also attended by William Body, a confidential servant whom -Cromwell had sent over to gather information, and whom he afterwards -mentioned in his will. Body travelled to Ireland with George Browne, the -new Archbishop of Dublin, and first busied himself in trying to arrange -Grey's dispute with Lady Skeffington. He had particular instructions to -inquire as to the possibility of increasing the Irish revenue.[177] - -[Sidenote: The Desmond country. Carrigogunnell.] - -Marching unopposed across the central plain, Grey found the great Desmond -stronghold on Lough Gur undefended, the doors and windows having been -carried off and the roof purposely burnt. It was handed over to Lord -Butler, who undertook to repair and garrison it at his own expense. Grey -then marched to Carrigogunnell, an immense fortress standing in a -commanding position over the Shannon. Matthew O'Brien surrendered the -place on condition, as was alleged by Body, that it should be garrisoned -only by Englishmen. An order was nevertheless given to hand it over to -Donogh O'Brien, Ossory's son-in-law. This chief came to Grey and renewed -the offers made to Butler. He was ready to serve the King against his -father and all others, provided he might have Carrigogunnell; and the -Council considered his services more important to them than the castle -could be to him. But the English guard restored the place to Matthew -O'Brien. Donogh was certainly not an Englishman, and George Woodward, 'an -honest and an hardy man,' may have thought himself bound in honour to -restore the original situation, or he may have thought one O'Brien as -good as another. Grey merely says that Matthew held out boldly until the -battering train was in position, when he was content to depart with bag -and baggage.[178] - -[Sidenote: Grey attacks the O'Briens, August, 1536.] - -The next undertaking was an attack on O'Brien's Bridge, which had long -laid Limerick and Tipperary open to attack. The bridge was of wood, with -a castle at each end built in the water. That near the Limerick shore was -the strongest, and was of hewn limestone or marble, twelve or fourteen -feet thick, and armed with an iron gun carrying shot as big as a man's -head, and two small pieces, of which one belonged to some ship, and the -other was of Portuguese make. The garrison had also some muskets and -hand-guns, and the work was skilfully strengthened with wooden barriers -and with hogsheads full of sand. Under Donogh O'Brien's guidance the Lord -Deputy marched along the hilly bank of the great river by devious paths, -untravelled hitherto, as he believed, by Englishmen or by wheels. The -four land-arches had been broken down, and the castle was thus surrounded -by water. The royal artillery consisted of one culverin, six falcons, and -one half-saker, but these were not heavy enough. In a day and a half all -the shot had been fired away, and the walls were almost as sound as ever. -No baggage train had been brought, provisions were scarce, and two nights -had been spent on the bare ground; it was necessary to retire or to take -the castle. Brushwood was abundant, and Grey set his men to make fascines -and to throw them into the channel. Ladders were also made, but it became -unnecessary to use them; for Saintloo's men advanced along the frail and -shifting path and carried the castle with a rush. The garrison ran out at -the other side, and the bridge was then broken down with such tools as -were at hand. The army then returned to Limerick, and Lord Butler went to -Carrick-on-Suir for more cannon before undertaking the recovery of -Carrigogunnell, which the Irish had again seized by stratagem.[179] - -[Sidenote: William Body. His report to Cromwell.] - -Body, with the insolence of a great man's favourite, had throughout this -expedition assumed the character of a Royal Commissioner, to which he had -not a shadow of title. He associated with the loosest of boon companions, -who disturbed the camp by night and day and swore, with the truth born of -alcohol, that he was no Commissioner. At O'Brien's Bridge he blamed Grey -for not providing sapping tools, which must have tired out the soldiers, -and which would have been quite useless. He was very indignant at having -to sleep on the ground 'from Friday inclusive until Tuesday exclusive,' -but no one else was better off. Grey, a thorough soldier, was at no pains -to conceal his contempt:-- - -'I desired him to be contented, for I had seen better men than he was, or -should be, or any that was there, lodged worse. He was displeased -therewith, desiring me not to judge what his fortune might be. Then I -said, I was sure he should never be so good as the Duke of Norfolk, and -Suffolk, and my lord my brother (the Marquis of Dorset), whom I had seen -lodged worse. Whereat he took a great fume for that I should judge any -impossibility what he might be; and thereupon leaving us at our coming to -Limerick, departed towards Dublin in a great anger. But of his gests by -the way the folly of it is such, I will not commit to writing, but, I -assure you, like no Commissioner.' - -This short experience of Irish campaigning was enough for Body, who -returned to Dublin and busied himself in undermining Grey's influence. -Few seem to have had his good word, except Ossory and his son, who took -care to be civil to Cromwell's confidential man. But Body was perhaps a -better judge of a country than of a general's qualifications. 'As far as -I have seen it,' he wrote, 'that is to say the counties of Dublin, -Kildare, Carlow, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Ormond, Ossory, Desmond, Limerick, -and Thomond, if there be any paradise in this world, it may be accounted -for one among them, both for beauty and goodness.'[180] - -[Sidenote: The soldiers refuse to go beyond Shannon.] - -The army which Grey had at Limerick did not much exceed 2,000 men, -including the Butlers and their not very trustworthy Irish allies. The -Pale had been much exhausted by the Kildare rebellion, and it was -purposely spared, much to the indignation of Body, who, like many other -casual visitors, fancied he understood Ireland better than men who had -studied it for years. The Lord Deputy had only 700 men of his own and had -no money to pay them. Saintloo's company had received some part of their -money at Waterford, but broke out again soon after leaving that city; and -it was supposed that two subalterns, Gerbert and Powell, were the true -ringleaders. Grey's gunners stood firm, and by threatening to use the -guns he kept the mutineers quiet for a time. They behaved, as we have -seen, with great gallantry at O'Brien's Bridge; but they refused to go -beyond the Shannon, and the idea of a pursuit into Clare was therefore -given up. The Council thought Grey's person in danger, and he owned to -more peril from his soldiers than from the Irish enemy. He could depend -only on his own immediate followers, 100 horse and as many foot, and upon -one officer, that Stephen Parry whom we have met before. Whenever the -bulk of the troops were called upon to perform a service they all -answered together, 'Let us have money, and we will do it.'[181] - -[Sidenote: The Butlers and O'Briens. Carrigogunnell.] - -The troops being pacified for the moment and Lord Butler having arrived -with another battering piece, the garrison of Carrigogunnell, consisting -partly of Desmond men and partly of O'Briens, were summoned to surrender -on promise of their lives, and warned that if the castle had to be taken -by force no quarter should be shown to man, woman, or child. They -detained the messenger and returned no answer. A breach was soon made, -and, after more than one failure and the loss of thirty men killed and -wounded, the castle was taken by storm. Seventeen of the defenders were -killed in the fight, and of forty-six survivors all were put to death on -the spot, except certain gentlemen of the O'Briens, for whom large -ransoms were refused, and who were taken to Limerick, tried for high -treason, and immediately executed. Chief Justice Aylmer accompanied the -army for such purposes. The castle was handed over to Lord Butler, who -placed it in his brother-in-law's charge, and Donogh, having gained his -great object, became a scourge to the citizens of Limerick.[182] - -[Sidenote: Grey cannot pay his army.] - -The troops positively refused to go into Clare without receiving their -arrears, and Grey had nothing to give. He therefore proposed to leave -them at Limerick, Cork, and Kilmallock; giving his own and the Council's -security for their victualling until the King should think proper to send -money. They refused; and Butler's men, after twenty days' trial of Lough -Gur, would stay there no longer unless the towns had English garrisons. -James Fitz-Maurice, whom the King acknowledged as Earl of Desmond, and -who had a party in the country, was not at hand, and as no one could take -his place the castle was abandoned. The artillery was left at Limerick -and Clonmel, and the Lord Deputy went back to meet Parliament at Dublin. -His expedition had shown that a small army well led and well paid could -go anywhere and do anything in Ireland, and that feudal castles could do -nothing against a proper siege train; but it had also shown that the -necessary conditions were not likely to be fulfilled under a King who -gave away priories while crossing passages, and who staked one of the -finest peals of bells in London upon a single throw of the dice.[183] - -[Sidenote: The Duke of Richmond dies, 1536.] - -The death of the Duke of Richmond, whom his father no doubt intended to -advance and whom Charles V. even thought, or professed to think, destined -to succeed him, made no difference to the country which he nominally -governed. It was indeed at first supposed that Acts of Parliament passed -after his death would be invalid, but the lawyers seem to have decided -that this was not the case.[184] - -[Sidenote: The revenue. Abuses.] - -The actual revenue of Ireland, derived partly from forfeitures and partly -from a parliamentary grant, amounted at this time to about 5,000_l._, of -which 1,000_l._ was not paid. Henry, who was of course obliged to -supplement this, complained that he got very little for his money, and -wished to reduce the Irish establishment. He declared that he valued an -increase of income less for himself than for the common good of Ireland. -'A great sort of you,' he wrote to the Lord Deputy and Council (we must -be plain), 'desire nothing else but to reign in estimation and to fleece -from time to time all that you may catch from us.' He announced therefore -that he was about to send an independent person with ample powers to -inquire into Irish affairs. He gave Brabazon detailed instructions for a -survey of marsh lands, and bade him go to war no more but apply himself -wholly to financial affairs. No salary was to be paid to any officer who -acted by deputy, and none but customary fees exacted. Henry said he was -determined to reform Ireland, and would value his servants there -according to their merits in that behalf. 'If anyone,' he wrote, -'directly or indirectly devised and practised the let, hindrance, or -impeachment of this our purpose for any respect, whereunto we will not -fail to have a special eye, we shall so look upon him what degree soever -he shall be of, as others shall, by his example, beware how they shall -misuse their Prince and sovereign Lord, and transgress his most dread -commandment.'[185] - -[Sidenote: Ireland cannot be governed without money.] - -To this formidable letter Grey and his Council answered that the army had -never been properly paid, and had in consequence often mutinied, that -they had spent every farthing of revenue on public objects, and had -raised large additional sums on their own credit, that credit was now -quite exhausted, and that without money to pay off the men it was -impossible further to reduce the military establishment. Brabazon had -accounted or was ready to account for every penny, 'and as to our desire -to reign in estimation, it is to be thought that among civil people there -can no name of dignity or honour be in estimation, unless thereunto be -annexed rule and riches. Would to God his Majesty did know our gain and -riches, which is so great that we of the mean sort of this Council, -being his Grace's officers among us all, we suppose be not worth in money -and plate 1,000_l._ Irish, which is a small substance for us all, being -in the rooms that we be under his Grace. We be no such purchasers of -possessions, builders, dicers, nor carders, neither yet pompous -householders whereby we should consume our profits and gain if we had -them.'[186] - -[Sidenote: Grey attacks the O'Connors, 1537.] - -Those best acquainted with the country at this time believed that the -necessary precedent to its reduction was a thorough conquest of Leinster. -The overthrow of the Kildare Geraldines was necessary, but had its -inconveniences. They had been a standing menace to the Government, but -they had kept the Irish at bay, and their fall left the marches quite -open. Without security either of life or title no one would work the -forfeited lands, and the margin of waste grew broader every day. Grey's -temper and talents made him prefer war to diplomacy, and he resolved to -strike at O'Connor, whose hostages were in his hands, and who was under -recognizance to deliver 800 cows to the King, but who had regained -complete possession of Offaly. His brother Cahir had suffered the not -uncommon fate of those who support Irish governments, and had been an -exile for two years. Grey, Brabazon, and Aylmer took fourteen days' -provisions from Dublin, and were joined on the march by Lords Delvin, -Slane, and Killeen, and by William Saintloo, now seneschal of Wexford, -with his own company and 100 kerne. They passed along the southern edge -of Westmeath to MacGeohegan's country, the modern barony of Moycashel, -and took hostages from that chief and from O'Molloy, whose district lay -further south. On the same day Brabazon got possession of Brackland -Castle through the treachery of an inmate, who acted in Cahir O'Connor's -interest, and who was pardoned while the rest of the garrison were -beheaded. The soldiers destroyed all that lay in their path, and on the -fifth day arrived before Dangan, afterwards Philipstown, which had been -fortified with some skill. The march was only of five or six miles, but -the ground was boggy, and a road had to be made with fascines and -hurdles. The ditches about the castle were filled in the same way, and -the courtyard was forced before nightfall. Three days were spent in -waiting for one large and two small pieces of artillery, and on the -bright May morning following their arrival fire was opened upon the keep. -After four hours' cannonade, resulting as usual in those days with the -disabling of the principal gun, a breach was made and the castle at once -stormed. The walls were dismantled, and the heads of their twenty-three -defenders set on poles 'for a show to the O'Connors.' On the next day -Ossory's second son Richard, afterwards created Viscount Mountgarret, -came to excuse his father, who had been kept away by ill-health. O'Connor -in the meantime had fled into O'Carroll's country, 'which O'Carroll,' -Grey carefully notes, 'is the Earl of Ossory's friend.' The punishment of -O'Carroll for harbouring the fugitive was nevertheless entrusted to -Richard Butler, partly to punish his tardiness, and partly because Grey's -fifteen days' provisions were almost gone. It was an absurd expedient, -and before the end of the year O'Connor was back and Cahir had fled the -country. The sole result of the expedition was to show the force of -artillery; yet Henry, unless his language be thought ironical, calls it a -notable exploit. 'If, however,' the King added, 'he should be suffered to -enter again, it should but add a further courage to that traitorous -malice which by all likelihood is so entered, that it will not be -removed.'[187] - -[Sidenote: Grey makes many enemies.] - -Grey had many enemies, for he was not conciliatory, and his relationship -to the Geraldines laid him open to the suspicions of all who had risen on -the ruins of the House of Kildare. With Brabazon, the ablest man about -him, he had long been on cold terms, and many supposed that the -Vice-Treasurer thought he ought to have been Deputy himself. Thomas -Agard, Vice-Treasurer of the Mint, a sour but apparently honest Puritan, -hated Grey for his attachment to old religious forms, and Archbishop -Browne lost no opportunity of attacking him on the same grounds. Alen, -Master of the Rolls, a useful public servant, but with an inborn love of -intrigue, gave trouble to every successive chief governor. Robert Cowley -and his son were devoted to the House of Ormonde, which Grey thought too -powerful. The Deputy did not favour the innovations in religion, and took -no pains to hide his dislike to Browne and Agard; but with the rest he -was always ready to co-operate. The King, however, found it hard to -reconcile conflicting accounts, and resolved to send over Commissioners -unconnected with Irish factions to report upon the actual state of -affairs. The persons selected were Anthony St. Leger, of Ulcombe in Kent, -one of the wisest statesmen who ever represented the English Crown in -Ireland; George Paulet, a younger brother of the astute courtier who is -best known as Marquis of Winchester, but not equally endowed with -prudence; Thomas Moyle, of Gray's Inn, Receiver-General of the Court of -Augmentations, and afterwards Speaker of the English House of Commons; -and William Berners, auditor of the same court. The Irish Government was -directed to treat them with as much deference as if the King were -present; and they were ordered to treat Grey with much consideration, and -to take his advice when possible. The latter instruction, so well -calculated to soothe the Lord Deputy's wounded pride, was not directly -made known to him. The Commissioners were ordered to present their -credentials to the Lord Deputy as soon as they reached Dublin, and then -to summon the Council and read the King's letter, in which he promised to -remember their good services. 'If, on the other side,' he added, 'we -shall not find you now faithful officers, ministers, and good -councillors, but men given more to your own affectes, commodities, and -gains, than earnestly bent to our satisfaction, we shall again so look -upon the best of you so misusing himself for it, as shall be little cause -to rejoice at length of his doings in that behalf.'[188] - -[Sidenote: The King sends a special Commission.] - -The first duty imposed on the Commissioners was the reduction of -expenditure and the increase of revenue. As a cheap defence to the Pale, -hostages were to be generally taken, and the army was, if possible, to be -cut down to 340 picked men, inclusive of garrisons. Horsemen were to -receive 8_l._ yearly, footmen 4_l._, constables of castles 13_l._ 6_s._ -8_d._, gate-keepers 6_l._ 13_s._ 4_d._, under-warders 4_l._ 13_s._ -4_d._--all in Irish currency, or about two-thirds of the sterling -amounts. The Vice-Treasurer was in future to visit all garrisons -quarterly, to see that deserving men received commands, and to provide -for frequent musters of all borne on the books. All soldiers in excess of -the new establishment were to be paid off with money specially provided, -and the King, with a touch of his daughter's temper, gave orders that -they should be induced if possible to take less than their due. The -Commissioners were to survey waste lands and were authorised to give -leases for twenty-one years, with a clause of forfeiture for -non-observance of the laws as to English dress and for alliance with -Irish rebels--the penalties provided by law being also enforced. After -this all offices and officers were to be subjected to rigid scrutiny, -with a view to increased efficiency and reduced expense. Detailed -instructions were given as to public accounts, and Brabazon was to be -repaid all he had spent in annoying the King's rebels. - -[Sidenote: Powers of this Commission.] - -The control of legislation was also given to the Commissioners, who were -to see various Acts for the establishment of royal authority in Church -and State duly passed. They were to inquire as to the claims of clerical -proctors to interfere in Parliament, were themselves to have a right of -entry as the King's councillors, and were to expound the royal policy -'with all their wit and dexterity, and with such stomach, where they -shall perceive any man frowardly, perversely bent to the let and -impeachment of the King's purpose in the same, as they may the rather by -their wisdom both conduce the thing to effect and reconcile the parties -that before would show themselves so wilful and obstinate.' Messages to -this effect were sent to both Houses, both Wolsey and Cromwell relying -upon a species of intimidation of which Charles I.'s attempt on the five -members is the last recorded example. The Commissioners afterwards -exercised the power of dissolving Parliament. - -[Sidenote: The King has vague good intentions.] - -The Commissioners were to examine charges of taking money from the rebels -which were brought against many men highly placed in Ireland; Henry -rightly supposing that many nominal subjects connived at treason, as in -the case of O'Brien's Bridge, which had cost much to take and to -demolish, and which was now as strong and as troublesome as ever. But he -did not choose to see that want of money was the chief cause of this -failure. He was indeed, he said, determined to make a full reformation -some day, and the information now collected would be very useful when the -convenient season arrived. In the meantime, the Commissioners were to -reduce the garrison to 340 men. - -[Sidenote: The Commissioners arrive in Ireland, 1537. Grey's activity -against the Irish.] - -St. Leger and his companions set out early in August, but were detained -by adverse winds about Holyhead, and did not arrive at Dublin till the -middle of September. Grey had unusually strong reasons for exertions, and -he begged hard for money and artillery. The pay of the army was twelve -months in arrear. O'Connor was coshering among his friends 'more liker a -beggar, than he that ever was a captain or ruler of a country,' and -making vain suits daily to the Government. But Grey had not caught him, -and he could be submissive enough until what was left of his corn had -been saved; his neighbours, English and Irish, thinking it more prudent -to shelter an enterprising rebel than to run risks for a Government which -could not protect its friends. Grey, who habitually used strong language, -characterises these prudent people as 'having as much falsehood remaining -in them as all the devils of hell.' Having, as he supposed, made O'Connor -'as low as a dog were for the bone,' he applied himself to the Kavanaghs, -whose chief, Cahir MacArt, had married a Geraldine. It had been often -proposed to extirpate them and to colonise the country. The Lord Deputy -now entered Carlow, burned some castles of the O'Nolans between -Newtownbarry and Tullow, forced Cahir MacArt to give hostages, and then -turned sharply upon Ely O'Carroll, where O'Connor had first found a -refuge. He had now the help of Ossory, who was always glad to weaken a -neighbour, and of Cahir O'Connor, who was as anxious as his brother to -divert attention from the Offaly corn. He passed unopposed through the -lands of the Fitzpatricks, O'Mores, O'Molloys, and MacGeohegans, received -O'Carroll's submission, and then entered Tipperary, where he took a -castle belonging to O'Meagher, the chief of Ikerrin. O'Connor came in on -safe-conduct, and paid 300 marks for his son, who was given up to him. -Grey refused to trust him, and begged Cromwell never to allow his -restoration; and the event proved Grey right, though he soon forgot his -own advice. He now announced to the minister that he was beginning to -understand the Irish nature, and that the King needed only to be in -earnest. He was right in blaming constant changes of policy, but like -most soldiers he failed to see the real difficulties of the Irish -problem.[189] - -[Sidenote: The O'Donnells. Death of Hugh Oge, 1537.] - -It was now just a quarter of a century since Hugh Oge O'Donnell, then on -his return from Rome, had been received with honour at the Court of Henry -VIII. Deeply impressed by what he saw there, and aware of the -impossibility of uniting all Irish tribes against the stranger, he had -always striven to keep English intruders at bay by remaining on good -terms with the Government, and had exerted his strength only to subdue -his neighbours on the side furthest removed from the Pale. He had thus -extended his sway over the modern counties of Roscommon and Sligo, and -over great portions of Fermanagh, Mayo, and Galway, and even of Down and -Antrim. He had forced or persuaded the O'Neills to acknowledge his claims -to the disputed sovereignty over Innishowen, Raphoe, and Fermanagh; and -the Irish generally were so much impressed by his wisdom and prowess that -they supposed him to be Hugh the Valiant, the promised Celtic Messiah, -who was to redress or avenge the wrongs of Erin. When it seemed clear -that this was not so, the dreamers of dreams declared that as he had -failed the deliverer would never come. His panegyrists reckon among his -titles to fame that 'the seasons were favourable, so that sea and land -were productive:' it is more to the purpose that he executed strict -justice and repressed thieves. Like most Irish chiefs, he had -difficulties with his children, and his valiant son Manus was discarded -at the instance of a mistress whom the old chief had brought into his -house. For this and for other sins he made such reparation as he could by -a late repentance, donned the cord and cowl of St. Francis, and died in -the odour of sanctity. He was buried in his religious dress in the -monastery which his father had built at Donegal for friars of the strict -observance; and Manus was at once acknowledged both by the tribesmen and -by O'Neill, and was inaugurated at Kilmacrenan with the usual -ceremonies.[190] - -[Sidenote: Disturbances in the North.] - -The new chief at once took up the thread of his father's policy by -invading Connaught, and at the same time making loyal professions to -Grey. He had, he wrote, been tempted to rebellion by all the disaffected -lords in the South and West, but was determined to take no advice but -that of the King and his Deputy. As soon as he heard of Hugh O'Donnell's -death, Grey at once repaired to the borders of Ulster. The galleys of -O'Neill and his Scotch allies had threatened a fortified settlement at -Ardglass on the coast of Down, and the Deputy burned to invade Tyrone; -but the Council dissuaded him, and the receipt of Manus O'Donnell's -letter gave hopes of settling the North by peaceful means. Some thought -Grey too fond of making aimless raids, and Alen made some sensible -remarks on the subject. 'I would not,' he wrote to St. Leger, 'have the -Deputy representing the King's Majesty's person and estate be a common -skurrer for every light matter; but, when he should begin a war, begin it -upon a just good ground, and when it were so begun, to be so profoundly -executed, that all other should take example thereby.' But the King -thought only of increasing the revenue and diminishing the army.[191] - -[Sidenote: Grey is baffled by the O'Connors.] - -Grey had been sanguine enough to believe that his work in Offaly would be -lasting, but, as Henry had partly foreseen, O'Connor's return had undone -it all. Cahir was a fugitive, and the floods protected Offaly, where the -corn had been safely garnered in. At last the waters subsided, and Grey -reached Brackland by the old road through Westmeath. O'Connor escaped -into O'Doyne's country, the modern barony of Tinnahinch, which Grey and -Richard Butler proceeded to ravage. While thus employed the scattered -troops were surprised by O'Connor, and some were killed. The Lord Deputy -was just able to destroy or carry away the corn stored at Geashill, and -to return to Dublin without having seen the enemy. To gain time till the -season of long days came round again, Grey gave a safe-conduct to -O'Connor, who proposed to visit Dublin. 'But shortly herein to conclude,' -as Brabazon puts it, 'the said traitor and his brother Cahir fell to -agreement and concord, so that at this presents they both remain in -Offaly.' St. Leger, who had a cooler temper than Grey, saw the -impossibility of subduing even a single clan by desultory hostings. 'The -country,' he said, 'is much easier won than kept.' To overrun Offaly was -a small thing, but it could only be united to the Pale by the costly -expedient of fixed garrisons. O'Connor had got back his son, and indeed -neither he nor any Irishman had much regard for promises or for the fate -of hostages.[192] - -[Sidenote: He continues to attack them.] - -The O'Connors were weakened by repeated blows, and Alderman Herbert, who -had long advised a colonising policy, proposed that Offaly should be -peopled with Englishmen once for all. Grey again invaded the doomed -district with 800 men, and O'Connor at once declared himself willing to -treat, though he utterly refused to trust himself within the Pale. Grey -halted at Kinnafad, where a castle built by the Berminghams still -overhangs the ford of the Boyne. Having taken precautions against -treachery, the Lord Deputy passed about half his men over the river, and -then advanced with twelve horsemen to an open field about a quarter of a -mile off, where O'Connor met him similarly attended. The chief submitted -to the King's clemency, begged Grey's intercession, and promised to come -to Dublin in three days. Cahir sent word that he would come too, but -broke his promise. O'Connor kept his tryst, acknowledged himself the -King's liegeman, abjured the authority of the Pope for himself and his -tribesmen, renounced all Irish exactions, and gave up his black-rents, -including a pension of sixty marks from the King. Thanks were in future -to be his only reward for service; and he offered to hold legally of the -King 'that portion of lands in Offaly which he held by partition after -his country's fashion,' undertaking that his brothers and other holders -of land there should become entitled in the same way. These lands were to -be subject to impositions at so much per ploughland, as if they were -situated in the Pale, assessments for the defence of the King's subjects -being made as occasion might arise at the Lord Deputy's discretion. For -himself he solicited the honour of Baron of Offaly, and begged for such -protection as the Government habitually gave to Englishmen. He agreed -that the Lord Deputy and all the marchers might cut passes where they -pleased, and gave up his son again pending the King's final decision. The -crafty Cahir was hunted down, apparently with his brother's help, and -brought to Dublin, where he agreed to similar terms and also gave up his -son. Yet many sceptics thought the O'Connors would slip the yoke at the -first opportunity, and it is evident that nothing had occurred to change -their nature, or to attach them to English habits or to English -government.[193] - -[Sidenote: Seizure of the five Geraldines.] - -A main object of Grey's attack both on the O'Connors and the O'Briens may -have been to get possession of the heir of Kildare, whose half-sister was -married to the chief of Offaly. It is difficult to avoid the thought that -Grey had a private as well as a public object in persecuting to the death -all members of the fallen family except the children of his own sister. -The rebel Earl had five uncles, all men of fair ability and great -influence, and Brabazon seems first to have suggested that they ought to -be kept in England. Grey asked Sir James Fitzgerald and his brothers -Walter and Richard, all of whom had opposed the rebellion, to dine with -him at Kilmainham, and in the middle of dinner they were all seized and -handcuffed. Sir John and Oliver were arrested before they had heard of -their brothers' capture, and the five were lodged in the castle. Grey -always plumed himself on this exploit, though he admitted that some of -the prisoners were innocent. The Irish Council approved the deed and -applauded its secret handling, but none of the Irish officials knew that -they were sending these men to the scaffold; the guilt of that must rest -on Henry and Cromwell. Aylmer and Alen accompanied them to England, and -the chronicler tells us that Richard, who had literary tastes, relieved -the tedium of a sea-voyage by singing songs and repeating apophthegms. -When he heard that the ship was called 'The Cow,' he was much dismayed, -for there was a prophecy that five Earls' brethren should be carried to -England in a cow's belly, and should never return. 'Whereat,' says -Stanihurst, 'the rest began afresh to howl and lament, which doubtless -was pitiful, to behold five valiant gentlemen, that durst meet in the -field as sturdy champions as could be picked out in a realm, to be so -suddenly terrified with the bare name of a wooden cow, or to fear like -lions a silly coxcomb, being moved (as commonly the whole country is) -with a vain and fabulous old wives' dream.' On reaching London they were -at once sent to the Tower, and left it only to take the last sad journey -to Tyburn.[194] - -[Sidenote: Survivor of the Kildare family. The 'Fair Geraldine.'] - -But the family was not destined to extinction. Lady Kildare had -accompanied her husband to England, and had her three daughters with her. -The eldest was deaf and dumb, and of the youngest nothing particular is -recorded, but the second, Lady Elizabeth, has by a strange chance been -immortalised as the 'Fair Geraldine.' While yet a child she became maid -of honour to the Princess Mary, at whose house at Hunsdon Henry, Earl of -Surrey, saw her. She was then only twelve. Four years later she was -married to Sir Anthony Browne, Master of the Horse and Knight of the -Garter, but also a widower of sixty, whose daughter by his first marriage -became her brother Gerald's wife. The unequal match was solemnized in the -presence of the King and of the Lady Mary, and Ridley preached on the -occasion which drew forth Surrey's sonnet. The situation of the bride's -family and the apparent sacrifice of herself sufficiently account for the -poetry, and there is no reason to suppose that the poet, who was married, -had any regrets for himself. The study of Italian models would naturally -lead to rather high-flown language, and poets were always privileged. The -romantic fable of the magic mirror in which Cornelius Agrippa, an -alchemist living at Florence, showed him the fair one reclining on a -bridal couch and reading his sonnet, would not be worth noticing but that -it found its way into the 'Lay of the Last Minstrel.' It is refuted by -the fact that Surrey never was in Italy. After the death of Browne, who -outlived Surrey, Lady Elizabeth was married to the Lord Admiral Clinton, -who had been twice a widower. She left no children by either marriage, -but her influence at Court may have had much to do with her brother's -restoration. A portrait remains to show that she had a sweet face, and -that she was not fairer than many who have had no poet. But canvas, and -especially the canvas of Holbein's school, seldom preserves the charm of -grace and motion. Three letters remain, creditable so far as they go, and -written in a clear, bold hand which contrasts strikingly with the crabbed -characters often affected by public men, characters which drew a sarcasm -from Shakespeare, and still trouble the historian. A portrait, three -letters, and fourteen pretty lines would have hardly preserved the fair -Geraldine's memory had it not been for the tragic fates of her father, -her brother, and her poet.[195] - -[Sidenote: Edward Fitzgerald.] - -Less than two years after her husband's death, and while her rash stepson -was lying in the Tower, Lady Kildare came to live at her brother -Leonard's house at Beaumanoir in Leicestershire. She found there her son -Edward, aged eight, who had been brought by some devoted but unknown -friends 'without word, token, nor letter.' With touching humbleness she -begged to be allowed the custody of him 'because he is an innocent, to -see him brought up in virtue.' The prayer was granted, and the child thus -strangely rescued lived to be Lieutenant of Queen Elizabeth's pensioners, -and ancestor of the Dukes of Leinster.[196] - -[Sidenote: Gerald Fitzgerald.] - -The King was most anxious to get Lady Kildare's eldest son into his -power, and St. Leger avers that the King had no object 'but to cherish -him as his kinsman in like sort as his other brother is cherished with -his mother in the realm of England.' Having disposed of all who were old -enough to be dangerous, it was doubtless Henry's intention to bring up -the children in English ways and in dependence on him. But Lady Mary -O'Connor had other views, and the adventures of Gerald show how -inextricably the Geraldines were intermingled with Celtic families. He -was ten years old when his half-brother was taken, and was then lying in -small-pox at Donore in Kildare. As soon as he could be moved his tutor, -Thomas Leverous, who was his father's foster-brother, carried him off in -a basket and brought him safely to his sister in Offaly. Lady Mary -procured him a three months' shelter among the O'Doynes, and he was then -removed to Clare and placed under the charge of James Delahide. O'Brien, -who had the Kildare plate and jewels as well as the heir in his power, -refused all offers of the Government; and Leverous and Delahide were -allowed to take Gerald to Kilbrittain Castle, and give him up to his -aunt, Lady Eleanor MacCarthy, widow of the late and mother of the actual -chief of Carbery. Had James Fitzjohn of Desmond wished to surrender the -boy MacCarthy could hardly have resisted; but they agreed to amuse the -Government with evasive answers, while Gerald employed himself in -visiting the old tenants of his family about Adare and Croom. James -Fitzjohn offered to take those manors on lease, the real object being to -keep off grants to strangers. But Lady Eleanor feared the issue of this -unequal contest, and agreed to marry Manus O'Donnell, whom she had -rejected some years before. The marriage was desired by the whole -Geraldine connection, and Lady Eleanor, accompanied by Leverous, -Delahide, and the chaplain Walshe, brought her nephew safely through -Thomond, Clanricarde, and Mayo, into Tyrconnell. All the O'Briens and -Burkes welcomed and sped them on their journey. As the travellers -approached Sligo they were joined by a rhymer named M'Cragh, a native of -Tipperary, who was studying his craft in those parts, and through him -many details became known to Ormonde. After her marriage with O'Donnell, -Lady Eleanor busied herself in forming a confederacy of the Northern -chiefs with Desmond and her friends in Leinster and Munster.[197] - -[Sidenote: Gerald escapes to France, 1540.] - -But Irish plots are commonly woven in sand, and Grey's activity -disconcerted her schemes. Fearing that O'Donnell might be bribed, as -Brabazon suggested, to give up the boy, she determined to send him to -France. Allen Governor, an English shipowner of St. Malo, happened to be -trading in Donegal, and agreed to take the precious passenger. A contract -was drawn up before a notary, in which Governor bound himself to land -Gerald and his companions safely in France. Bareheaded, and wearing only -the saffron shirt of a humble native, Gerald stole out in a small boat by -night and committed himself and his fortunes to the chances of the sea. -His aunt had provided him with 140 moidores, and he had also some plate, -with part of which his passage was paid. His companions were Leverous, -Robert Walshe, a faithful ally but a stern disciplinarian, who did not -even spare the rod in the interests of his noble charge, and a young -gentleman whose name is not recorded. They arrived safely at Morlaix, -where the military governor received Gerald and led him through the town -by the hand, taking especial care that no English trader should come near -him. Henry's ambassador was nevertheless well informed as to the boy's -movements. He re-embarked on the same vessel with a pilot named Jacques -Cartier, who brought him to St. Malo, where he was hospitably treated by -the Lieutenant-Governor.[198] - -[Sidenote: Gerald abroad, 1540.] - -When Chateaubriand, the Governor of Brittany, heard the news, he sent a -special messenger to bring the refugees to Rennes. The gossips there -would have it that Gerald was the rightful King of Ireland, and that -Henry was a mere usurper; and neither he nor his friends could correct -them: for they spoke no French. Chateaubriand treated his guest well and -forwarded him to Court, where Wallop demanded his surrender as a treaty -obligation. Francis did not deny this, but quietly removed the boy to the -imperial town of Valenciennes. The faithful Leverous still attended him -to watch against English kidnappers who were hanging about, and for -greater security sent him to the Emperor at Brussels. But English -diplomacy was importunate, and Charles transferred him to the -Prince-bishop of Liège, with an allowance of one hundred crowns a month. -After six months' residence with the Bishop, his kinsman Reginald Pole -sent him to Italy, pensioned him, and provided the best education the -peninsula afforded in the houses of the Bishops of Verona and Mantua, and -of Gonzago, Duke of Milan, who gave him a further pension. His last -patron in Italy was Cosmo de' Medici, who allowed him three hundred -crowns annually; and a three years' residence at Florence doubtless made -him a proficient in the arts of courtly dissimulation. Leverous was -admitted to the English monastery at Rome, and in Mary's reign became -Bishop of Kildare; Robert Walshe went back to Ireland, but I do not find -that his attainder was reversed or that he was ever pardoned.[199] - -[Sidenote: Geraldine pride.] - -O'Donnell soon made his submission, and was restored to favour. Lady -Eleanor had some reason to be afraid, for Alen had proposed to invade -Tyrconnell by sea and land with all the forces at the King's disposal. -But she had now secured her nephew, and cared nothing for her new husband -or his dangers. She called him traitor and many other hard names, said -that the only object of her marriage was now gained, and that she had no -further occasion for his company. She returned to her son's relations in -Munster, but was not pardoned till 1545, seemingly because she did not -ask sooner. The Irish Government refused to plead her cause as long as -she remained obstinately among the MacCarthies. She came therefore to -Malahide on safe-conduct, and thence forwarded a petition to which, as if -the Geraldine pride scorned the Irish strain, she affixed her maiden -name. After this the frequent reports of a Geraldine invasion ceased, but -the head of the family thought it prudent to remain abroad until the -death of Henry VIII.[200] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[171] Lady Skeffington to Anne Boleyn, Jan. 26, 1536; to Cromwell, Aug. -1. Anthony Colley to Cromwell, in _Carew_, Feb. 13, 1536; Lord Deputy and -Council to Cromwell, Nov. 23. - -[172] 28 and 29 Henry VIII. The contemporary Schedule of Acts is in the -S.P. ii. 526. Brabazon to Cromwell, May 17, 1536; Cromwell to the Lord -Deputy and Council, June 3. - -[173] _Irish Statutes_, 28 and 29 Henry VIII. Brabazon to Cromwell, May -17; Grey to Cromwell, May 21. - -[174] 25 Henry VI., c. 5 and c. 9, and see Hardiman's _Statute of -Kilkenny_, p. 129; 17 Henry VI., see _Carew_, vol. iv. p. 457; 12 and 13 -Henry VII. For the earlier legislation, see Gilbert's _Viceroys_, pp. -216, 244. The Act of Absentees is 28 Henry VIII., cap. 3. For the -preparation of Bills in England, see Audeley to Cromwell, S.P. vol. ii. -p. 439. - -[175] Grey to Cromwell, June 24, 1536, for the treaty with Con O'Neill. -The other treaties are in _Carew_, May 4, May 12, and May 31. - -[176] Lord Deputy and Council to Cromwell, June 1, 1536; Council of -Ireland to Cromwell, June 30; William Wise to Cromwell, July 12. - -[177] The Council of Ireland to Cromwell, Aug. 9; Grey to Cromwell, Aug. -10. - -[178] The Council of Ireland to Cromwell, Aug. 9; William Body to -Cromwell, Aug. 9, in _Carew_; Grey to Cromwell, Aug. 10. - -[179] Same authorities; also Lord Butler to Cromwell, Aug. 11. - -[180] Body to Cromwell, Aug. 1536, in _Carew_; Grey to Cromwell, Nov. 24; -Lord Butler to Cromwell, Aug. 11. - -[181] Grey to Cromwell, Aug. 10; Body's letter, as above; Lord Deputy and -Council to Cromwell, Nov. 23; Grey to Cromwell, same date. - -[182] Council of Ireland to Cromwell, Aug. 22, 1536, and the notes; Grey -to the King, Aug. 19. - -[183] Council of Ireland to Cromwell, Aug. 22. This session of Parliament -began Sept. 15, 1536. - -[184] See the _State Papers_, vol. ii. pp. 366, 367. The Duke of Richmond -died Aug. 22, 1536. - -[185] The King to the Lord Deputy and Council, Feb. 25, 1537. - -[186] Lord Deputy and Council to Cromwell, April 20, 1537; to the King, -same date. - -[187] Grey and Brabazon to Cromwell, June 11, 1537; Council to Cromwell, -June 26; Thomas Alen to Cromwell, June 12, in _Carew_. - -[188] The King to St. Leger and others, with the Commission of July 31, -1537; to the Lord Deputy and Council, same date; to Grey, same date. - -[189] Lord Deputy and Council to Cromwell, Aug. 12. Grey to Cromwell, -Aug. 16, 1537, wrongly printed under 1539 in the S.P.; same to same, -Sept. 1. - -[190] _Four Masters_ and _Annals of Lough Cé_, 1512 and 1537. Manus -O'Donnell to Grey, Aug. 20, 1537. Ware says that Donegal Friary contained -a famous library. - -[191] Grey to Cromwell, Sept. 1, 1537; J. Alen to St. Leger and others, -No. 183 in the printed S.P. - -[192] Brabazon to Cromwell, Dec. 31, 1537. St. Leger to Cromwell, Jan. 2, -1538. - -[193] From the light it throws on the land question O'Connor's prayer is -worth transcribing:-- - -'Humiliter petit, quatenus Dominus Rex, ex suâ gratiâ, dignetur concedere -sibi, per literas suas patentes, quod ipse, et exitus sui, sint liberi -status, et homines legales, more Anglicorum; et quod sit Baro de Offaly, -atque habeat sibi et heredibus suis ex regia donatione portionem terrarum -in Offaly, quas nunc illic possidet per partitionem, more patriæ, -tenendam de Domino Rege secundum leges Anglicanas; ac quod simili -auctoritate, fratres sui, et alii possessionarii terrarum ibidem, terras -quas nunc possident habeant sibi et heredibus suis; ipse et omnes alii et -heredes sui, reddendo Dominio Regi, annuatim, de qualibet carucata terræ, -tres solidos et quatuor denarios; et quod carucatæ terræ in Offaly, -quotiens Domino Deputato visum fuerit, ac necessitas emergerit, onerantur -et assidentur belligeris pro defensione subditorum Domini Regis, eodem -modo sicut cæteræ carucatæ terræ inter regios subditos onerantur et -assidentur. Igitur humiliter petit, quod Dominus Rex, et Deputati sui, -pro tempore existentes, suscipiant suam protectionem et defensionem -contra omnes alios, prout suscipiant defensionem Anglicorum.' Submission -of O'Connor, March 6, 1538.--Grey to Cromwell, March 17, 1538; Francis -Herbert to Cromwell, March 21, 1536, to Norfolk, Jan. 24, 1538; Grey to -Cromwell, April 1, 1538. - -[194] Brabazon to Cromwell, Sept. 10, 1535; Council of Ireland to -Cromwell, Feb. 14, 1536; Stanihurst; Ware; _Four Masters_, 1535. - -[195] Nearly all that is really known about her is contained in a memoir -by the Rev. James Graves. See also Hallam's _History of Literature_ and -Lodge's _Lives of the Earls of Surrey and Kildare_. - -[196] Lady Kildare to Cromwell, July 16, 1536. Articles by St. Leger and -others, Dec. 10, 1537. - -[197] St. Leger and others to Cromwell, Jan. 2, 1538; Ormonde to the -Irish Council, S.P., vol. iii. p. 44; Stanihurst. - -[198] Brabazon to Cromwell, May 26, 1539; Stanihurst. - -[199] Sir John Wallop to Essex, April 18, 1540, S.P., vol. viii.; Lord -Deputy and Council to the King, July 12, 1542, and Henry's unfavourable -answer; Bartholomew Warner to Wallop, May 22, 1540. - -[200] Lady Eleanor O'Donnell to the King, May 4, 1545. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -END OF GREY'S ADMINISTRATION. - - -[Sidenote: Ormonde proposes to reform his country.] - -The O'Connors having been quieted for the moment, Ormonde, who had -private as well as public reasons for his advice, proposed a temporising -policy towards O'Neill and O'Reilly on the north, and towards O'Byrne and -O'Toole on the south, side of the Pale. The Government might then easily -subdue the Kavanaghs, who were surrounded by settled districts. Their -chief, Cahir MacEncross, who has been called the last King of Leinster, -had till lately been Constable, and his acceptance of the office seems to -have been thought a condescension. Ormonde's son Richard had now -succeeded him, and with the aid of Saintloo and his Wexford men might -hope to reduce the whole country. To strengthen Kilkenny against a -possible counter attack from the O'Mores, Ormonde secured the services of -Edmond MacSwiney, a powerful hereditary chief of gallowglasses, whom -O'Connor had brought from Donegal. The Earl thought it cheaper to outbid -O'Connor than to have MacSwiney's band thrown into the scale of -rebellion. Desmond and the rest excused their slowness to reform by -saying that they waited for him to begin; and he was anxious to wipe out -this reproach, regretting only that he had not the same powers in -Kilkenny as in Tipperary. Though not disinterested, Ormonde's was -probably the best available plan, and his reforming zeal was certainly -serious. 'I have proclaimed,' he said, 'over all the county of Tipperary, -that no caines, allyiegs, errikes, Irish Brehons, neither that law, -rahowns, and many like exactions and extortions shall cease, with -reformation for the grey merchants, and the Liberty court to be duly -continued, as the King's laws require.' In Kilkenny he could only exhort; -'howbeit,' he added, 'I have often persuaded many of them to be -converted, which to do I can scarcely have their assents, for the lust -they have to caines and other abuses, turning to their profit, as it doth -to mine.'[201] - -[Sidenote: Grey goes to Ulster, 1538.] - -Taking advantage of O'Connor's quiescent state, Grey cut passes on the -borders of Offaly wide enough for several carts abreast. He then turned -his eyes to the North, where the MacMahons of Ferney had for three years -neglected to pay their tribute of 10_l._ The borderers of English race -were opposed to Grey's raid, and gave the MacMahons warning, but he -managed to capture 500 cows, and as many pigs and goats. The expedition -was as useless as it was inglorious, for Louth was invaded within a week, -and O'Neill, who complained that his black-rent was unpaid, plundered the -borders of the Pale and threatened to burn Drogheda. The men of that town -and of Dundalk and Ardee rallied at the Lord Deputy's summons, and -O'Neill then became quieter in his behaviour. But nothing could keep Grey -quiet. He lent soldiers to one Chamberlayne of Athboy, to revenge a -private quarrel against O'Reilly. That chief had hitherto been at peace -with the Pale; but he lost his brother in this aimless brawl, and a -general alliance of the Northern chiefs was with difficulty averted. The -MacMahons had done far more harm to Louth than Grey had done to them, and -he could gain little reputation by enterprises which had no apparent -object but plunder.[202] - -[Sidenote: The O'Tooles.] - -While the Lord Deputy was driving cattle in Ulster, the other side of the -Pale was in a blaze. John Kelway, Constable of Rathmore, saw some -servants of Tirlogh O'Toole eating meat, assumed that it was stolen, and -incontinently hanged them. This seems to have been thought unusual even -among borderers, and Kelway's conduct found no defenders. But the -O'Tooles were willing to consider the question of compensation in Irish -fashion, and a meeting took place for the purpose. Kelway brought a -considerable force, and, on the parley being dissolved without an -agreement, he followed the Irish into their mountains. The mountaineers -turned to bay on advantageous ground, and drove the English into a small -tower. Its thatched roof burned readily, and the whole party had to -surrender. The O'Tooles killed Kelway, who deserved nothing better, but -held the gentlemen of the Pale to ransom. Chief Justice Aylmer's son was -present but escaped, while his brother, Richard Aylmer of Lyons, was -taken prisoner. About sixty of the marchers, all householders, fell in -this wretched business, and so great a panic followed that an Irishman in -Judge Luttrell's service was afraid to travel from Glendalough to Dublin. -It is ever thus between races of different degrees of civilisation; if -the backward people are beaten it is thought quite natural, but the -slightest check is of importance when experienced by members of the -higher organisation.[203] - -[Sidenote: Grey falls out with the Butlers.] - -The Lord Deputy and the Butlers had never been very good friends, and the -dissension now reached such a height as to disturb the whole country. 'I -was never,' exclaimed Brabazon, 'in despair in Ireland until now,' and -others were not more hopeful. 'My Lord Deputy,' said Lord Butler, 'is the -Earl of Kildare born again?' and Luttrell, a keen observer, thought -Ormonde hated Grey worse than he had hated Kildare. The Butlers -complained that the Lord Deputy systematically slighted their party and -favoured the Geraldines; he retorted that they intrigued with Irishmen -against his government. One or two of the matters in dispute call for -more particular notice.[204] - -[Sidenote: Ormonde and the O'Carrolls.] - -After many struggles Fergananim O'Carroll was the acknowledged chief of -Ely. His wife was daughter to Kildare and sister-in-law to O'Connor, and -he was ready to submit to Grey as the best means of opposing Ormonde. He -promised to hold his land of the King at a rent of twelvepence for every -ploughland, to attend the Lord Deputy with a fixed contingent, and to -give free quarters for a limited number of the gallowglasses in the royal -service. He also undertook to open up his country by cutting passes. -O'Carroll at first stipulated that Grey should help him to recover all -his father's strongholds; but all those castles were already vested -legally in the Crown, and some of them had been granted to Ormonde. The -Council therefore objected, and Fergananim seems to have waived his claim -without demanding any corresponding concession. The prudence of the -Council had prevented the Lord Deputy from concluding an offensive -alliance; but he acted as if he had done so, and proceeded to take Birr -and Modreeny, both of which Ormonde claimed under a royal grant, and to -attack Ballynaclogh. The latter place was held by an O'Kennedy who paid -rent to the Earl, and it is within the bounds of Tipperary. O'Carroll -boasted that Nenagh and Roscrea would soon be his, and these castles, -though long in Irish hands, were part of the old Ormonde inheritance, and -had been lately confirmed to the Earl by a new grant.[205] - -[Sidenote: Grey and the O'Mores.] - -Connell O'More, chief of Leix, died in 1537, and the inevitable dispute -followed between the tanist, his brother Peter, and his sons, Lysaght, -Kedagh, and Rory. Grey espoused the cause of the sons, rather, as it -seems, because Ormonde sided with Peter than from any preference for -hereditary succession. Peter was, however, acknowledged as chief, and met -Parry, Grey's confidential man, at Athy. Rory, who was present, assaulted -his uncle, and the latter was then seized by Parry and carried to Dublin. -Nothing was proved against him, and he was restored on agreeing to pay an -annual tribute of twenty marks, and to receive a certain number of -soldiers at free quarters. The young O'Mores resisted the levying of the -tribute, and Lysaght, the eldest, was killed in a fray. They had all -taken part in the murder of Ormonde's son Thomas five years before, and -Kedagh and Rory now plundered one of his villages. Their party consisted -of only eight men, but the neighbours pleaded that they dared not resist, -because the assailants were aided and abetted by one of the Lord Deputy's -servants. The O'Mores pleaded that the Earl had first attacked them, and -he rejoined that he had done so in self-defence. There was never a want -of excuses for violence on any side. Grey forbade the Earl to retaliate, -and it was even said that he shared the plunder. The young O'Mores then -attacked Tullow, but the Lord Deputy still held Ormonde's hand, and even -sent guns to help his enemies. Hoping to make peace, the Council summoned -both uncle and nephews to Dublin. The chief came on Ormonde's advice and -practically under his protection, and Kedagh also attended. O'More was at -once sent handcuffed to Maynooth, though the whole Council protested, and -Kedagh was suffered to depart unhurt. The blow to the Earl's credit was -serious, and was not deadened by Grey, who led his prisoner in chains -about his own part of the country, much as the Thane of Fife threatened -to lead Macbeth. Grey's servants took the cue, and openly in the streets -called the Butlers traitors. Lord Butler vowed that unless absolutely -forced by his duty he would never wear armour under Grey until he had -seen the King, and he cited the example of Count de Roeux, who had made -a like vow when the Imperial lieutenant Van Buren had forced him to make -peace with France. Even the old Earl meditated a journey to London, -though he was so infirm that he could only be carried in a litter. The -Irish Council condemned Grey's treatment of O'More; and moreover, said -they, 'it is no good policy for the King our master, having no more -obedient subjects in this land like unto the said Earl and his son, of -reputation in honour, force, and strength, both to preserve and defend -the parts where they dwell, and to succour other his subjects in all -events, to suppress them which, with all their ancestors, have ever -continued their truths to the Crown of England, either upon the -accusation of those which for the most part have always done the -contrary, or yet in hope to have them now from henceforth true, which -hitherto were never true'--remarks which have their practical value in -modern Irish politics, as they had in the days of Henry VIII.[206] - -[Sidenote: Sudden departure of Grey.] - -Though not too wise in council, Grey was prompt in action, and was never -so happy as on horseback surrounded by armed men and free from -interference. Perhaps he wished to show how much he could do without -Ormonde's help. He left Dublin suddenly, without warning the Council, and -attended only by a small force, his companions being under the impression -that he was bound only for an eight days' journey into O'Carroll's -country. Among them was Lord Gormanston, a son of Lord Delvin, John -D'Arcy, William Bermingham, O'Connor, Rory and Kedagh O'More, and several -other Irishmen of note, with a due proportion of kerne and gallowglasses. -Of English soldiers Grey had no more than one hundred, and of these the -greater part were without armour. A hosting had been proclaimed against -the O'Tooles, who still kept some of the prisoners taken in Kelway's -raid, and Grey promised to be back in time to lead the expedition. He -failed to do so, and a truce was with much difficulty concluded with the -mountaineers.[207] - -[Sidenote: His rash march into Western Munster,] - -Grey made his first halt at Monasteroris, where O'Connor entertained him -in the Franciscan friary. Next day he took Eglish Castle near Birr from -the O'Molloys, and was joined by Kedagh O'More, O'Molloy, MacGeohegan, -and MacGillapatrick, each of whom brought a few men with him. On the -third day he entered Ely, and received the adhesion of Fergananim -O'Carroll, who bound himself by indenture on the usual terms, and gave -his son into the Lord Deputy's hands. Grey spent three days in reducing -the lands of Birr and Modreeny, the latter of which had to be taken by -assault. Ormonde had provided the garrison with arms; but, as he alleged, -these were intended only for use against Irish enemies. Grey then entered -Tipperary, and on three successive days received the submissions of -Dermot O'Kennedy, chief of Ormonde, of MacBrien Arra, and of Dermot -O'Mulryan, chief of Owny. Ulick de Burgh, captain of Clanricarde, and -Theobald, head of the Clanwilliam Burkes, also submitted; and James -Fitzjohn of Desmond, to whom Grey gives the title of Earl, though he was -not acknowledged by the Crown, brought a large contingent to the Deputy's -help, but refused to enter the gates of Limerick. He had not only -procured a safe-conduct, but had solemnly bound O'Connor and others in -Grey's train to take his part if any attempt were made against him. The -Lord Deputy spent a week in Limerick, where the Mayor and Corporation and -the Bishop took the oath of supremacy. Connor O'Brien, the chief of -Thomond, met Grey on the Shannon, ten miles from Limerick, and agreed, -after a long wrangle, to put his son Tirlogh into the Deputy's hands. He -also promised to do all in his power to promote the capture of the -castles held by his brother Murrough, the tanist of Thomond. O'Brien's -Bridge was once more demolished, Connor led the army through the tanist's -district, and everything was destroyed as far as Clare Castle. Here Grey -and Desmond had a quarrel about the custody of O'Mulryan's hostages, and -there was very near being a pitched battle; but Sir Thomas Butler of -Cahir, Ormonde's son-in-law, managed to patch up a truce. Grey was, in -fact, quite at O'Brien's mercy, but the family politics saved him. The -chief had lately married a second wife, Lady Alice Fitzgerald of Desmond, -and Tirlogh, the child of the marriage, was pledged to Grey; but Murrough -the tanist and Donough, the chief's eldest son, were both afraid that the -issue of the second marriage would be preferred before them. O'Connor, in -whom Grey now placed implicit confidence, 'and all sage men of his band, -both English and Irish,' begged him not to venture among the O'Briens, -and Edmund Sexton, a noted royalist of Limerick, even conjured him on his -allegiance not to cast away the citizens' company, on whom all depended. -Grey refused to take advice, and escaped all dangers, chiefly through -Donough O'Brien's influence. Donough's loyalty might not have been enough -by itself, but he dreaded the aggrandisement of Murrough more than -possible dangers from a half-brother who was still in his infancy. Guided -by a single gallowglass, who bore a silver axe adorned with silken -tassels, the army marched safely into Clanricarde. Ulick de Burgh blamed -Grey for his rashness, but he pointed to the guide and said, 'Lo! seest -thou not yonder standing before me O'Brien's axe for my protection?' A -modern traveller among Arabs must often be content with some such outward -sign of invisible allies, but his trust in O'Brien's axe was made an -article in Grey's impeachment.[208] - -[Sidenote: And into Connaught, 1538.] - -Ulick was fully acknowledged as chief of Clanricarde, to the prejudice of -his uncle Richard. He was believed to be illegitimate, and the De Burghs, -however much Hibernicised, had hitherto preserved the English law of -succession. The precedent was therefore thought bad by many experienced -men, but the relationships of this family are so inextricably confused -that it is very hard to say who was legitimate and who was not. The -citizens of Galway remembered their origin, and would take no money from -the Lord Deputy, and Ulick, who was knighted, took hospitable care of his -Irish allies. As at Limerick, the Mayor and Corporation took the oath of -supremacy, and so did the Archbishop of Tuam. Grey made several forays -into Clanricarde, with the apparent object of strengthening Ulick; and -O'Flaherty, two O'Maddens, and Bermingham of Athenry, made their -submissions. The Lord Deputy then went towards the Suck in O'Kelly's -country, and met O'Connor Roe, who rode with him to Aughrim. Fording the -Shannon at Banagher, the army passed through the countries of O'Melaghlin -and MacCoghlan, from whom securities were exacted, and returned -unmolested to Maynooth, after an absence of thirty-eight days.[209] - -[Sidenote: Effects of this journey.] - -As a military exploit Grey's journey was by no means contemptible, but -his critics seem to have been right in thinking it useless. The settled -policy had long been to reduce the tribes bordering on the Pale, and not -to overrun districts which there was no hope of holding. Many chiefs had -come to the Lord Deputy with loyal professions, but they had required -safe-conducts, had refused to enter walled towns, and had given children -for hostages. They had thus saved their harvest, and the Government could -scarcely take vengeance on infants. Grey's supposed partiality for the -Geraldines was probably the chief reason that he got back safely. He had -no sooner turned his back than James Fitzjohn of Desmond seized Croom and -Adare and threatened Ormonde's country. No difficulty had been lessened -by an exploit which was obviously open to the reproach of extreme -rashness.[210] - -[Sidenote: Grey's dispute with the Butlers.] - -Having got back their chief governor, the first care of the Council was -to reconcile him with the Butlers. The old Earl's appearance plainly -foretold his approaching end, but he came to Dublin and left his son to -front the Desmonds and O'Carrolls. Grey wrote to the latter to keep the -peace, and Lord Butler at once came to Dublin; but both father and son -refused to go to Maynooth, where they would be in the Lord Deputy's -power. Kilmainham was at last fixed on as the place of meeting, and Grey -took the chair of state, but shook hands with none of the Council, and -smiled on no one. The two Butlers offered to abide by the Council's -decision, but Grey had already produced a paper reflecting on them for -receiving O'Connor after his defeat in the summer of 1537. A Latin -confession said to have been made by O'Connor in the presence of Paulet -and Berners was relied on, but the chief was secretly cross-examined by -the Council, and so modified his statement as to exonerate the Butlers -completely. It was said, for instance, that O'Connor had hired Edmond -MacSwiney and his free axes immediately after a conference with Ormonde. -O'Connor admitted the hiring, but explained that the gallowglasses were -not bound to levy war against the King, and that Ormonde knew nothing at -all about the matter. Again, he was charged with retaining Scotch -mercenaries, who were allowed a fortnight's free quarters in Ormonde's -country. He admitted having brought in the Scots; but the Earl had known -nothing of it, and the free quarters had not been given. Ormonde allowed -that he had harboured O'Connor, but pleaded the instructions of Grey, who -waited for orders from the King, and who was afraid of driving the chief -into fresh combinations with Irish enemies. The probability is that -O'Connor had at first been ready to confess anything, because absolution -was sure to follow, and he is not likely to have been overflowing with -Latin, which was his only means of communicating with the English -officials.[211] - -[Sidenote: They accuse each other.] - -Both Grey and Ormonde gave in long written statements. The Council -desired to consider them in the Deputy's absence, and to this he with -some hesitation consented. They found that Grey's charges contained -nothing new, but only general accusations of slackness; while Ormonde -plainly accused Grey of treasonable practices, of shaping his policy to -suit young Gerald of Kildare, and of systematically depressing all who -opposed the Geraldine faction. The indictment is summed up in the -comprehensive statement that 'My Lord Deputy cannot find in his heart to -love or favour any man that is preferred, favoured, or put in trust by -his Majesty within this his land, and would have none of them, though -they be all ready at his commandment, to be toward, or about him, be they -never so trusty nor so well meaning; but wholly adhereth to those that -were the counsellors, servants, and followers of the disloyal Geraldines, -and no men so nigh about him as they, which either of his own prepensed -mind, or being seducted by them, is like to bring this land to perdition -again.' On being pressed for proof, Ormonde said that the facts were too -notorious to require any.[212] - -[Sidenote: The Council patch up a reconciliation.] - -The Council prudently resolved not to let either litigant see the other's -charges, and Mr. Justice St. Lawrence having been called in, the -originals were burned in his presence. Copies already taken were -transmitted to London. Ormonde and his son then swore to serve the Lord -Deputy loyally. Grey swore not to use them spitefully nor ask them to -perform impossibilities, to deliver Modreeny to the Earl unless O'Carroll -could show a better title, and to cause the young O'Mores to restore the -plunder of Ormonde's villages, or at least to refer all to the Council. -The Council did not believe the agreement would be lasting. 'Neither,' -they added, 'can we perceive (whereof we be sorry) that my Lord Deputy is -meet to make long abode here, for he is so haughty and chafing that men -be afeard to speak to him, doubting his bravish lightness. Nevertheless, -it is much pity of him, for he is an active gentleman.'[213] - -[Sidenote: The Kavanaghs. The O'Reillys.] - -It was not long before the Butlers had an opportunity of co-operating -with Grey. The Kavanaghs threatened the Wexford colony, negotiations -failed, and it became necessary to chastise them. Grey entered Carlow in -person, and was joined by Saintloo, who, whatever his shortcomings as a -governor, was not a bad soldier, and who brought 800 men. After fourteen -days' burning and plundering, MacMurrough and his clansmen sued for -peace, and agreed to hold their lands of the King. Grey then moved -northwards, and provisions for eight days were prepared for a raid -against O'Reilly, to be used otherwise by the Deputy in case O'Reilly -should make timely submission. O'Reilly did submit, and Grey went to -Dundalk with a view of meeting O'Neill, who was now young Gerald -Fitzgerald's protector. O'Neill broke his appointment, and he did wisely, -for Grey says he was determined to take Gerald if possible, 'and if not, -by the oath that I have made to my sovereign lord and master, I would -have taken the said O'Neill and a kept him till he had caused the said -Gerald to be delivered to my hands.'[214] - -[Sidenote: The Savages in Down.] - -Foiled in this attempt, which can hardly be described as otherwise than -treacherous, Grey determined to chastise the Savages, who had refused to -pay rent to Brabazon, the King's tenant in Lecale. This old English -family had become quite Hibernicised, and were now bringing Scotch -mercenaries into the country. Various castles were taken and delivered to -Brabazon, who also took charge of Dundrum, an important stronghold -belonging to Magennis, which commanded the entry to Lecale on the land -side. The Scots fled, leaving corn, butter, and other rural plunder -behind. Grey was much struck by the fertility of the district, which is -still famous. 'I never,' he said, 'saw a pleasanter plot than Lecale for -commodity of the land, and divers islands in the same environed in the -sea, which were soon reclaimed and inhabited, the King's pleasure -known.'[215] - -[Sidenote: Labours of St. Leger's Commission.] - -Sir Anthony St. Leger and his brother Commissioners arrived in Ireland -early in September 1537, and lost no time in endeavouring to carry out -the King's plan. By November they had surveyed most of the King's lands -in Carlow, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Waterford, Dublin, and Kildare. The -general result of their observations was that they had seen 'divers -goodly manors and castles, the more part of them ruinous, and in great -decay, the towns and lands about them depopulate, wasted, and not -manured; whereby hath ensued great dearth and scarcity of all manner -victuals.' But few applications were made for leases, because there was -no security, and they saw the necessity of placing a few castles in a -defensible state. Within reach of the walls there was no difficulty in -getting tenants. By Christmas the survey was finished, and an increased -desire to take leases was quickly manifested; but some lands were still -unlet. Two thousand marks in money and securities had been collected for -the King, 'and much more,' the Commissioners reported, 'would have been -levied, in case that men had not of late been sore charged with service -doing to his Highness here, whereby we be constrained to look on them -with more favourable eye.'[216] - -[Sidenote: The public accounts.] - -Brabazon reported that the Commissioners had done their work well. The -passing of his own three years' account was a yet more difficult matter. -They found it tedious and intricate, both from its nature and from the -fact that there were no records of the King's ancient inheritance, or of -escheats. Brabazon's own arrangements were good, but all before his time -was chaos. 'Every keeper,' said the Master of the Rolls, 'for his time, -as he favoured, so did either embezzle, or suffer to be embezzled, such -muniments as should make against them and their friends, so that we have -little to show for any of the King's lands or profits in these parts: it -is therefore necessary that from henceforth all the rolls and muniments -to be had be put in good order in Bermingham's Tower, and the door -thereof to have two locks, and the keys thereof one to be with the -Constable, and the other with the Under-Treasurer, which likewise it is -necessary to be an Englishman born; and that no man be suffered to have -loan of any of the said muniments, nor to search, view, or read any of -them there, but in the presence of one of the keepers aforesaid.' The -accounts were nevertheless put in order by March; and having received -very gracious thanks from the King, St. Leger and his colleagues returned -to England, 'not,' as they were careful to note, 'for that we be weary to -serve his Grace, but for because we be very loth to spend any more of his -treasure, than we see time to serve him.' Aylmer and Alen, by the King's -especial orders, accompanied the High Commissioners to England.[217] - -[Sidenote: Cromwell and the Irish service.] - -The official politicians of Ireland generally took care to be on good -terms with the virtual ruler of England, and to watch for every sign of -change in the distribution of royal favours. Cromwell was therefore well -bespattered with flattery; but there were murmurs, some at least of which -reached his ears. St. Leger the discreet may or may not have glanced -obliquely at the Lord Privy Seal when he said of himself that 'he had too -long abstained from bribery to begin now.' But his colleague George -Paulet was more outspoken, and declared openly that 'the Lord Privy Seal -drew every day towards his death, and that he escaped very hardly at the -last insurrection, and that he was the greatest briber in England, and -that he was espied well enough.' Cromwell had given orders that the -Commissioners should not interfere with castles in Lord Butler's -possession, and to this Paulet objected, hinting that Butler's head as -well as Cromwell's might easily be disposed of. His reading of Henry's -character was exactly the same as Wolsey's. 'I will,' he said, 'so work -matters that the King shall be informed of every penny that he hath spent -here; and when that great expense is once in his head, it shall never be -forgotten; there is one good point. And then I will inform him how he -hath given away to one man 700 marks by year, and then will the King -swear "By God's Body, have I spent so much money and have given away my -land." I will find the means to put the matter in the King's head, after -that wise as shall be to his displeasure; and yet shall he not know which -way it came.' Paulet gave Alen a most amusing description of the fashion -in which Henry treated the minister to whom he gave such power. 'The King -beknaveth him twice a week and sometimes knocks him well about the pate; -and yet when he hath been well pommelled about the head, and shaken up as -it were a dog, he will come out into the great chamber shaking of his -bush with as merry a countenance as though he might rule all the roast.' -The appointment of the High Commissioners was a 'flym flawe to stop the -imagination of the King and Council' as to Cromwell's object in promoting -great grants to Lord Butler. The suggestion of course is that Cromwell -was bribed by Butler, and the fact that Paulet was not punished shows -that there were limitations to the minister's power. Paulet said as much, -or nearly as much, to Grey as to Alen and Aylmer, and Grey repeated it -to the King with some softening of the words. Paulet was evidently -hostile to the Butlers; so was Grey, and the fact that they had been on -friendly terms was thought evidence of their conspiring in the Geraldine -interest.[218] - -[Sidenote: Charges against Grey. Circuit of the Council in the South, -1539.] - -Aylmer and Alen were less than two months in London, but they left behind -them a mass of accusations against Grey which in time brought forth -fruit. Alen soon afterwards received the Great Seal, and during the last -days of 1538 proceeded on a tour in the South with the general view of -establishing the King's supremacy, of improving the revenue, and of -providing for the administration of justice. Archbishop Browne, Brabazon, -and Aylmer accompanied the new Chancellor. At Carlow the party enjoyed -Lord Butler's Christmas hospitalities, and the old Earl treated them well -at Kilkenny, where they spent New Year's day, and where Browne preached -to a large congregation. English translations of the Pater Noster, Ave -Maria, Articles, and Ten Commandments were published, and copies given to -the Bishop and other dignitaries, who were ordered to promulgate them -wherever they had jurisdiction. Next morning several felons were hanged, -and certain concealed lands sequestrated to the King's use; neither of -which proceedings were calculated to increase his Majesty's popularity. -The councillors then went to Ross, which they found much decayed through -the rivalry of Waterford and the disorders of the Kavanaghs. Here the -Archbishop preached again. At Wexford there was another sermon, and the -Kilkenny ceremonies were repeated, including the execution of divers -malefactors. The Councillors were dissatisfied with Saintloo's conduct as -seneschal, and accused him of converting fines and forfeited -recognizances to his own use. Badly armed and badly horsed, the soldiers -appeared to do the people less good by their protection than they did -harm by their extortion. The evils inherent to all palatinate -jurisdictions were greatly aggravated by the seneschal's lax -administration. It was doubtful whether he had the right to appoint a -deputy at all. He had nevertheless made such an appointment by parole and -without any formal record, and his irregular substitute had arrogated all -the powers of a Judge of Assize.[219] - -[Sidenote: The royal supremacy. The Munster Bishops.] - -From Wexford Alen and his companions went to Waterford, where Browne -preached to a great audience, and where the new formularies were again -published. The usual hangings followed. Four felons suffered, -'accompanied with another thief, a friar, whom, among the residue, we -commanded to be hanged in his habit, and so to remain upon the gallows, -for a mirror to all other his brethren to live truly.' The assizes or -sessions were attended only by the inhabitants of Lord Power's portion of -the county of Waterford. The other and larger division of the shire -belonged to Gerald MacShane of Decies, who pretended to hold of the -Desmonds, and altogether ignored his tenure of the royal honour of -Dungarvan. The Lord of Decies, James Fitzjohn of Desmond, the White -Knight, and Sir Thomas Butler of Cahir were summoned with several others. -Butler came to Clonmel and made a favourable impression, but the -Geraldines sent only 'frivolous, false, feigned excuses, not consonant to -their allegiance.' Browne preached again at Clonmel in the presence of -two archbishops and eight bishops, all of whom afterwards, before the -whole congregation, took the oath of supremacy, and swore to maintain the -succession as established by law.[220] - -[Sidenote: Taxation of southern counties.] - -After much pressing, the inhabitants of Wexford, Waterford, Kilkenny, and -Tipperary consented to pay a yearly subsidy to the King; 100 marks for -Wexford, and 50_l._ for each of the other three. This source of revenue -was quite new, and the Council were very proud of inventing it; but they -confessed to doubts as to its substantial value, especially in -Waterford, where Sir Gerald MacShane had power to pay or to withhold. -From Clonmel the councillors returned to Dublin by Kilkenny, where they -hanged one man more and levied some further fines. They had been absent -from the capital five weeks.[221] - -[Sidenote: Grey in Ulster. The Scots, 1539.] - -About the time that the Chancellor and his companions were turning -homewards, Grey undertook another expedition against O'Neill. Again the -ostensible object was to catch young Gerald of Kildare, and in this the -Lord Deputy failed. But he very nearly caught O'Neill himself, actually -carried off his 'housewife,' and ravaged much of his country. O'Donnell -was present, or at least some of his people, for the horse which his -standard-bearer rode was taken. James Fitzjohn of Desmond was in alliance -with the two great northern chiefs to protect the 'naughty boy,' as Alen -called Gerald, and if possible to force the King to restore him. The -bastard Geraldines of the Pale were ready to help their natural leader, -who grew more dangerous as he grew older. The Antrim Scots were always -available for service against the English Government, and Brabazon wished -to cripple them by a naval expedition. O'Neill and O'Donnell now sent -Roderick O'Donnell, Bishop of Derry, to Scotland for 6,000 Redshanks. In -the meantime they professed themselves ready to treat with Grey, and -promised to bring young Gerald to meet him on the last day of April at -Carrick Bradagh, near Dundalk. They never came, and Grey penetrated to -Armagh in spite of bad weather and foul ways. O'Neill still refused to -show himself or to give any hostage, but he professed peaceable -intentions. The weather made it impossible to advance further, and Aylmer -was sent to Blackwater, where he succeeded in making a truce. Again, Grey -says that he had intended to seize his nephew by fair means or foul. 'If -they had kept pointment with me having young Gerald with them, howsoever -the thing had chanced by the oath that I have made unto your Grace, they -should have left the young Gerald behind them quick or dead. If it were -the pleasure of God I would that I might once have a sight of him whom as -yet I never saw with my eyes.'[222] - -[Sidenote: The O'Tooles.] - -The O'Tooles had never been punished for their victory over Kelway, and -Grey, who had for the moment no worse enemy than a gouty foot, resolved -to chastise them. They proposed to parley near Ballymore Eustace, but did -not come. Though in great pain, Grey rode to Powerscourt in a day, -entered the mountains and penetrated to Glenmalure, cutting the woods on -both sides as he went. 'Before my coming thither,' he said, 'I think -there never was Deputy with carts there.' He had some skirmishing with -the natives, but took no man of importance, and returned to Maynooth -without having improved his gout.[223] - -[Sidenote: Intrigues concerning Gerald of Kildare.] - -A confederacy had at this time been formed in favour of young Gerald. His -own claims might not have been enough, in spite of Lady Eleanor -O'Donnell's efforts, but Henry's ecclesiastical policy was beginning to -bear its natural fruit. Priests passed from chief to chief, and -communications with Rome were frequent. The Irish said all Englishmen -were heretics, and the King the 'most heretic and worst man in the -world,' in which perhaps they were not far wrong. They considered Henry a -disobedient Papal vassal, and a mere usurper in Ireland. 'When Dr. -Nangle, my suffragan,' says Archbishop Browne, 'showed the King's broad -seal for justifying of his authority, MacWilliam little esteemed it, but -threw it away and vilipended the same.' The plan was that O'Toole, to -whom Gerald promised to restore Powerscourt, should harass the Pale from -the south, while James Fitzjohn of Desmond, with some Scotch mercenaries, -attacked it from the west and O'Neill from the north. If Tara could be -reached O'Neill might be proclaimed King of Ireland, and Gerald restored -to his own in Kildare. Besides her own friends, Lady Eleanor commanded -the services of a Bristol captain named Kate, or Cappys, who spoke Irish -fluently and owned his own ship. John Lynch, a Galway merchant, met him -at Assaroe, on the Donegal coast, and warned some of the confederates -that Grey would be too strong for them, and that he was active enough to -surprise them when they thought he was amusing himself. But Delahide, -Leverous, and others, answered that they had perfect intelligence, that -Grey could not ride twenty miles in the Pale without their knowledge, -that his army consisted chiefly of churls and ploughmen, of which 300 -might easily be vanquished by 100, and that he had no good officers under -him. These are the arguments with which the foes of order in Ireland have -always deluded their adherents, and sometimes themselves.[224] - -[Sidenote: Catholic movement.] - -Wherever Lynch went he found the priests preaching daily 'that every man -ought for the salvation of his soul fight and make war against our -sovereign lord the King's Majesty and his true subjects; and if any of -them which so shall fight against his said Majesty or his subjects, die -in the quarrel, his soul that so shall be dead shall go to heaven as the -soul of St. Peter, Paul, and others, which suffered death and martyrdom -for God's sake.' 'And forasmuch,' Lynch adds, 'as I did traverse somewhat -of such words, I was cast out of church and from their masses during a -certain time of days for an heretic; and I was greatly afraid.' The -result of all this preaching was an invasion of the Pale in the month of -August. Lord Butler's policy had kept the O'Briens quiet, and nothing was -done on that side. But O'Donnell and O'Neill entered Meath with the -greatest army, as some thought, that had ever been seen in Ireland. There -was a large contingent of Scots, both from the mainland and the islands, -and most of the Northern chiefs added their quotas to the host. O'Neill -of Clandeboye, O'Rourke, Maguire, MacQuillin, O'Cahan, Magennis, and -MacDermot are among those mentioned. Tara was reached, but no restoration -of the ancient kingdom followed. Much damage was done to the modern -kingdom, including the burning of Ardee and of Navan, which was the best -market town in the county. The invaders set fire to the standing corn, -carried off every portable article of value, and, sweeping all the cattle -before them, turned in high spirits northwards. They had met with no -enemy, and had probably attained their object of providing funds for a -general rising, which was fixed for September 1, and which James of -Desmond was expected to join.[225] - -[Sidenote: Grey routs the O'Neills at Bellahoe, 1539.] - -Grey summoned the men of Dublin and Drogheda, those citizen soldiers whom -the Irish dreaded so much, and hurried after O'Neill. Out of a nominal -350 he could muster no more than 140 of his own men, but he had some help -from the gentlemen of the Pale. The marchers, like Rob Roy at -Sheriffmuir, waited to see which was the winning side. 'I must help the -King,' said Fitzgerald of Osbertstown, to Gerald's messenger, 'but if ye -be the strongest we must go with you.' Without waiting for such -Laodiceans, the Lord Deputy dashed forward, and, as Lynch had foreseen, -caught the Ulstermen quite unprepared. They were encamped at Bellahoe, -the ford which divides Meath from Monaghan, on the Farney side of the -water, and he routed them before they had time to form. The Irish leaders -who knew the country escaped, with the exception of Magennis, whose post -was near the ford. He fell into the hands of the Louth men, who were -bribed by some of his own clan to kill him, and did so. The only person -of note killed on the English side was a gentleman named Mape, who -charged up the river bank by Lord Slane's side, and who was carried by -his runaway horse into the midst of the Irish. According to Stanihurst, -whose account of this affair is at least highly coloured, the mayors of -Dublin and Drogheda and Thomas Talbot of Malahide were dubbed knights on -the field by the Lord Deputy. He also says that Black James Fleming, -Baron of Slane, led the attack, and called on his hereditary -standard-bearer to do his duty in the front. But the standard-bearer, -whose name was Robert Halpin or Halfpenny, thought the service -desperate, and refused to advance his banner, preferring 'to sleep in an -whole sheepskin his pelt, than to walk in a torn lion his skin.' Calling -him a dastardly coward, the Baron ordered Robert Betagh to supply his -place, which he cheerfully did: Mape, though he had refused to lead, was -fain to follow, and fell fighting in the first rank.[226] - -[Sidenote: Grey is accused of favouring the Geraldines.] - -After this great success, which shattered the Irish or Catholic -confederacy for a time, Grey remained in the North. A fleet had been -collected at Carlingford to chastise the Scots, and the crews had taken -part in the fight or pursuit at Bellahoe; but not much could be done -against the islanders. The old Earl of Ormonde had just died, and his son -was too busy to visit Ulster. He had incurred vast expense in subsidising -the O'Briens and the Clanricarde Burkes, who were ready to serve the King -with 800 gallowglasses, 800 kerne, and some horse. James Fitzjohn of -Desmond was growing daily stronger, while his rival was basking in Court -sunshine; and Ormonde attributed this state of affairs to the Lord -Deputy, who favoured all Geraldines and depressed all who owed their -promotion to Cromwell. James Fitzjohn had seen the Earl's brother, the -Archbishop of Cashel, and had promised to meet Ormonde also, but he -failed in his appointment, and threatened at every moment to attack -Tipperary.[227] - -[Sidenote: The Desmond heritage. Grey goes to Munster, 1539.] - -The English Government had in the meantime declared that James -FitzMaurice was right heir to the earldom of Desmond. He had been a royal -page, and was provided with a force sufficient to guard against any -sudden attack. He landed at Cork or Youghal in August, but three months -elapsed before any serious effort was made to put him in possession of -his own. Leaving Dublin early in November, Grey joined Ormonde near -Roscrea, about which there had been fierce dissensions. The castle was -now in the hands of the O'Meaghers, but they gave it up peaceably to the -Lord Deputy, and he handed it over to Ormonde. Modreeny, which the Earl -now acknowledged as O'Carroll's, was also surrendered. Taking hostages -from O'Carroll, MacBrien Arra, O'Kennedy, O'Mulryan, and O'Dwyer to be -faithful and pay the King tribute, Grey and Ormonde cut passes through -the woods near the Shannon, the inhabitants of which had guided the -O'Briens in their raids. They halted two days at Thurles, where Sir -Gerald MacShane and the White Knight thought it prudent to submit -themselves, and victualled their troops about Cashel and Clonmel. At -Youghal they delivered all the castles of Imokilly to the young Earl of -Desmond, and two nephews of former Earls accepted him as the head of -their House. At Cork Lord Barry, who had held aloof for years, came in -and gave security. Hither also came the sons of Cormac Oge, and it was -probably on this occasion that their sister Mary MacCarthy married the -young Earl. The union was not fated to last long, nor to give an heir to -the House of Desmond. The barony of Kerrycurrihy was taken possession of -at Kinsale, and MacCarthy Reagh, in whose castle of Kilbrittain Gerald of -Kildare had lately found a home, consented to come to Cork and to give -his brother as a hostage. He hesitated to sacrifice his cattle, and was -easily persuaded by Ormonde, who was now on unusually good terms with -Grey. Barry Roe and Barry Oge also gave security. The army then shifted -to O'Callaghan's country, and near Dromaneen James Fitzjohn came to the -other side of the flooded Blackwater and defied Grey. He would, he said, -conclude nothing without the advice of O'Brien, who could dispose of all -the Irishry of Ireland. Grey could not pass the river, and returned to -Cork. John Travers, a native of Ireland who had learned the art of war -elsewhere, had lately been appointed Master of the Ordnance, and -accompanied this expedition, in which only 800 men were employed. Travers -said that he would go anywhere in Ireland with 2,000 men, and Grey's -exploits, no less than Sidney's later, show that he was right: the -difficulty was not to take but to keep. 'Six thousand good men,' Travers -added, 'divided in three places as I could give instruction, with certain -craftsmen to inhabit the places they win, might make a general -reformation in one summer.' The advice was sound, but the Crown could not -afford to take it.[228] - -[Sidenote: Grey's last raid into Ulster.] - -Once more before young Gerald had left Ireland did Grey turn his -attention to the North. For the third time O'Neill promised to meet him, -and for the third time he failed to appear. Without victuals, and -trusting to plunder for the support of his men, the Lord Deputy then rode -'thirty-four miles of ill way' to Dungannon, and again nearly caught the -troublesome chief. But the guides, perhaps intentionally, delayed the -soldiers on their night march, and daybreak found them still five miles -from Dungannon. O'Neill had time to escape. Six days were spent in -promiscuous burnings, during which the soldiers had no bread and lived on -freshly killed beef: it is no wonder that disease was rife in the ranks. -This was Grey's last warlike expedition; successful in a certain sense, -but quite useless as a matter of policy.[229] - -[Sidenote: Recall of Grey. Consequent confusion.] - -Grey had often asked leave to go to Court and lay the state of Ireland -before the King, begging that his adversaries might not be allowed to -ruin him behind his back. His request was now to be granted in an -unexpected manner. One of his last acts in Ireland was a quarrel with the -Council, in spite of whose remonstrances he sent over Travers, the Master -of the Ordnance, with despatches, though he seems to have agreed with -them that a man who could be better spared would have done the business -just as well. Sir William Brereton, Marshal of the Army, had lately -broken his leg, an accident from which he seems never to have fully -recovered; Edward Griffiths, another useful officer, was dying of -diarrhoea; Travers was the only available officer, and his own -department was in bad order. Yet Grey sent him, perhaps because he -thought his talk would be favourable to him. The immediate result of -Travers's journey was that the King sent for Grey, professing his anxiety -to see him and to send him back to Ireland in time for the fighting -season at the end of May. Brereton was to act as Lord Justice during his -absence. Henry declared himself willing to raise the wages of soldiers in -Ireland, which had been fixed three years before at 5_l._ 6_s._ 8_d._ a -year for horsemen and half that sum for footmen, and which had been found -quite inadequate. Deplorable disorders had resulted from the necessities -of the men. Henry expressed his intention of keeping the troops on the -Irish borders instead of in Dublin. Coming events cast their accustomed -shadow before, and Grey's recall, for recall it was understood to be, was -known to the public sooner than to the officials. It was of course -suggested that Grey purposely concealed the truth in order to embarrass -the Council; and he refused their prayer to stay until arrangements had -been made for the defence of the Pale. His activity had evidently -inspired respect, for he had no sooner crossed the Channel than the -O'Tooles made a raid towards Dublin. O'Byrne warned the citizens, and -they had time to make ready. The Kavanaghs attacked the Wexford settlers. -The O'Connors burned Kildare. Alen and Brabazon had also been called to -England, but they were obliged to wait for a fitter time. 'The country,' -wrote Brereton in excusing their absence, 'is in very ill case, being -assured of no Irishman's peace.'[230] - -[Sidenote: Trial and execution of Grey.] - -An enormous number of charges were brought against Grey. He was accused -of maintaining the King's enemies and depressing the King's friends, of -injustice to Irishmen and others, of violence towards Councillors and -others, and of extortion. There is no reason to suppose that he could -have taken young Gerald, with whom, in Stanihurst's quaint language, he -was accused of 'playing bo-peep;' but no doubt he had been guilty of much -injustice, as his unprovoked invasion of Ferney and his treatment of -O'More sufficiently prove. He cannot be called a man of scrupulous -honour, or he would not have arrested the Geraldines at dinner, or -professed his intention to capture his nephew by fair means or foul. But -Henry VIII. knew how to pardon such conduct, though he could punish his -instruments when it suited him. The Irish chiefs felt that they could not -trust Grey, and therefore kept no faith with him. He was accused on all -sides of greed, and especially of making useless expeditions for the sake -of plunder. The usual inquisition made after his arrest shows that he had -some private hoards. He was violent in Council, and no doubt it was often -hard for a Viceroy, especially for one who suffered from gout, to deal -with the Dublin officials, who were independent of him and sometimes -spies on his conduct. 'I think,' says Walter Cowley, 'there is not one of -the King's Council there but my Lord Deputy successively have sore fallen -out with them.' But he was rude and tyrannical to others also, as to Lord -Delvin, whose life he was accused of shortening by insults, and -especially by calling him traitor, 'which,' says the old Earl of Ormonde, -'shall never be proved.' In any case and whatever his actual guilt, a -cloud of witnesses appeared to denounce Grey.[231] He pleaded guilty, -rather in hopes of mercy than acknowledging his faults; but no pardon -followed. That he had any treasonable intention is more than doubtful, -but there was more against him than against Buckingham; he suffered a -year's imprisonment in the Tower, and then underwent the fate to which -his treacherous compliance with a tyrant's wishes had condemned his -Geraldine kinsmen. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[201] Ormonde to St. Leger, March 12, 1538. See also the 'Fall of the -Clan Kavanagh,' by Hughes, _Irish Archæological Journal_, 4th series, -vol. ii., 1873. Erics were compositions for murder, caines for other -felonies. Rahownes may be the same as 'sorohen.' I do not understand -allyieg, unless it be 'allying' with the Irish. - -[202] _Four Masters_, 1537; Brabazon to Aylmer and Alen, Whitsuntide, -1538; Council of Ireland to Cromwell, June 10, 1538. - -[203] Grey to the King, June 4, 1538; Brabazon to Aylmer and Alen, -Whitsuntide; Luttrell to Aylmer, June 5; Council to Aylmer, June 10. All -the accounts make out that Kelway was quite wrong. - -[204] Justice Luttrell to Chief Justice Aylmer, June 5, 1538; Ormonde's -instructions to R. Cowley, June; Lord Butler to his father and to R. -Cowley, June. - -[205] Lord Butler to his father, June 19, 1538; Ormonde to the Irish -Council, June; to R. and W. Cowley, July 16; to R. Cowley, July 20; to -the Privy Council, S.P., vol. iii., p. 77; Grey to the King, June 4 and -July 26; Council of Ireland to Cromwell, June 10, July 24, and August 22. - -[206] Brabazon, Aylmer, and Alen to Cromwell, Aug. 24, 1538. For the -treatment of O'More see Ormonde to R. Cowley, June 1538; Aylmer and -Alen's articles against Grey, June. Lord Butler to R. Cowley, June 20. -Articles alleged on the part of O'More, S.P., vol. iii. p. 26. Council of -Ireland to Cromwell, June 10. Luttrell to Aylmer, June 5. The ten years' -truce between Charles V. and Francis I. was concluded June 28, so that -Lord Butler must refer to some earlier negotiations. - -[207] Brabazon, Aylmer, and Alen to Cromwell, July 24, 1538. - -[208] Grey to the King, July 26, 1538. Brabazon, Aylmer, and Alen to -Cromwell, Aug. 22. Information against Lord Leonard Grey, Oct. 1840, in -_Carew_. - -[209] Grey's account has been pretty closely followed; see his letter to -the King, July 26, 1538. - -[210] For unfavourable strictures on Grey's journey see Brabazon, Aylmer, -and Alen to Cromwell, Aug. 22; articles by the Earl of Ormonde in S.P., -vol. iii. p. 77; Thomas Agard to Cromwell, July 25, 1538. Agard blames -Grey for taking cannon with him; he risked them of course. - -[211] Brabazon, Aylmer, and Alen to Cromwell, Aug. 22. - -[212] Articles by the Earl of Ormonde, S.P., vol. iii. p. 80. - -[213] Brabazon, &c., as above. - -[214] Grey to Cromwell, Oct. 31, 1538, in _Carew_. - -[215] _Ibid._ The 'islands' referred to seem to be the peninsula of Ards, -subsequent attempts to colonise which did not meet with much success. The -islets in Lough Strangford are very small. - -[216] St. Leger and others to Cromwell, Nov. 15, 1537, and Jan. 2, 1538. - -[217] J. Alen to St. Leger, S.P., vol. ii. p. 486, 1537. St. Leger and -others to Cromwell, Jan. 2, 1538; to Wriothesley, Feb. 11. The King to -St. Leger and others, Jan. 17. The Commissioners sailed from Dublin in -April. - -[218] Interrogatories, with Aylmer and Alen's answers, as to Paulet's -conversations, are printed in the S.P., vol. ii. pp. 551-553. - -[219] Alen and others to Cromwell, Jan. 18, 1539. In his letter to -Cromwell of Sept. 8, 1539, R. Cowley says Saintloo did no service, but -kept in a corner like a King, used every kind of extortion, and took no -notice of the universal outcry against him. 'Such a liberty,' says -Cowley, 'is more like to induce them to plain rebellion than to any civil -order.' - -[220] Council of Ireland to Cromwell, Feb. 8, 1539, and also the letter -of Jan. 18, and Browne to Cromwell, Feb. 16. The letter of Jan. 18 says -'all the Bishops of Munster' were summoned. - -[221] The Council of Ireland to Cromwell, Jan. 18 and Feb. 8. Both -letters are signed by Alen, Aylmer, and Brabazon; the second by Browne -also. - -[222] Grey to the King, May 9, 1539; Walter Cowley to Cromwell, Feb. 18, -1539; Thomas Wusle, Constable of Carrick Fergus, to Laurans, Constable of -Ardglass, March 1539, in _Carew_; confession of Connor More O'Connor, -servant to young Gerald, April 17, 1539; Brabazon to Cromwell, May 26; -Gerot Fleming to Cromwell, April 27. - -[223] Grey to Cromwell, June 30, 1539. - -[224] Alen to Cromwell, July 10, 1539, and the documents printed in the -notes; Robert Cowley to Cromwell, Sept. 8; Archbishop Browne to Cromwell, -Feb. 16, 1539. - -[225] _Four Masters_, 1539; R. Cowley to Cromwell, Sept. 8. - -[226] _Four Masters_ and _Annals of Lough Cé_, 1539; _Book of Howth_; R. -Cowley to Cromwell, Sept. 8, 1539. In a letter to Cromwell, dated April -20, 1540 (in _Carew_), the Dowager Countess of Ormonde mentions the -service of her niece's husband Gerald Fleming. In his note to the _Four -Masters_ O'Donovan says roundly that Stanihurst's account is -'fabricated;' but it is corroborated by an Irish MS., for which see -Shirley's _History of Monaghan_, p. 36. - -[227] R. Cowley to Cromwell, Sept. 8, 1539; James, Earl of Ormonde, and -Ossory to Cromwell, Oct. 19; to Wriothesley, Oct. 21. - -[228] Ormonde to Cromwell, Dec. 20, 1539; Travers to Mr. Fitzwilliam, -same date. Dromaneen is five miles above Mallow. - -[229] Lord Deputy and Council to the King, Feb. 13, 1540. - -[230] Brereton to Essex, May 17, 1540 and May 7; Council of Ireland to -Essex, April 30; Ormonde to Essex, May 1; Alen and Brabazon to Essex, May -8; the King's letter to Grey and Brereton is dated April 1. For the -dispute about Travers, see Council of Ireland to Cromwell, March 14. - -[231] The charges against Grey may be gathered from the Articles, &c., by -Aylmer and Alen in S.P., vol. iii. No. 237, and their letter to St. -Leger, June 27, 1538; Ormonde to Cowley, July 16 and 20; the Council of -Ireland's Articles, Oct. 1540; Stanihurst. The Articles of the Council -seem to have been carefully scrutinised by Wriothesley. In his letter to -the King of July 20, 1540, O'Neill says Grey, 'guerras et contentiones in -partibus istis seminavit sui lucrandi causâ.' On June 20, 1538, Lord -Butler writes to Cowley that 'our governor threatens every man after such -a tyrannous sort, as no man dare speak openly or repugn against his -appetite;' and on July 20, his father says, 'the Lord Deputy is occupied -without the advice of the Council, for his own private lucre and gain.' -On the trial of Strafford Oliver St. John--the man who said that -'stone-dead hath no fellow'--cited Grey's case as a precedent for trying -in England treasons committed in Ireland. Grey was Viscount Grane in -Ireland, but he was declared no peer, and tried as a commoner in England; -see Howell's _State Trials_. As to Grey's private hoards, see a letter -from R. Cowley to Norfolk, printed by Ellis, second series, No. 126, and -wrongly placed under 1538; it belongs to 1540. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -1540 and 1541. - - -[Sidenote: The O'Neills. Scottish intrigues.] - -With the usual plundering inroads on the Pale Brereton was able to cope; -and the greater chieftains were quiet, for Gerald of Kildare was safe. -O'Donnell, who may have resented his treatment by Lady Eleanor, readily -reverted to his father's policy, and no difficulty was made about his -pardon. O'Neill held aloof, but again professed himself ready to come to -Carrick Bradagh. Again he failed to appear, and pleaded that he dared not -approach Dundalk through fear of Grey's manifest treachery. He offered to -come to Magennis's Castle at Narrowater, a beautiful spot near the mouth -of the Newry river and the foot of the Mourne Mountains. Brereton agreed, -and a meeting at last took place. O'Neill declared his readiness to -perform all that he had promised to Skeffington, to send a trusty -messenger to the King, and to leave pardon or punishment for the past to -the royal discretion. Till the answer came he was content to be at peace -with the Government, and to keep his neighbours quiet. He was at this -time intriguing with Scotland, and his secretary was actually at -Edinburgh. Cromwell had received information that eight Irishmen had been -with the Scottish King, to whom they had brought sealed letters from the -principal chiefs, containing offers to take him as their lord and to do -homage to him. It was even said that James meditated an invasion of -Ireland in person. O'Neill probably waited for the result of these -negotiations before sending a confidential servant with a letter to -Henry. He begged the King not to send his enemies into his country, where -Grey had, as he affirmed, sowed dissensions from selfish motives. He was -willing to do anything he was asked unless the new Lord Deputy should -prove very extortionate, and he advised the King not to waste his money -in Ulster. Henry answered graciously, and acknowledged some trifling -presents which accompanied the chief's letter. Future royal favours, his -Majesty was careful to point out, must depend on performance and not on -promises. Pardon in the meantime would be granted for the heinous -offences committed.[232] - -[Sidenote: Murder of James FitzMaurice, Earl of Desmond, 1540.] - -With the sea at hand, and Ormonde ever ready to help him, it was supposed -that James FitzMaurice would be able to maintain himself as Earl of -Desmond. At first he confined himself to Kerrycurrihy and Imokilly, but -after three months he was tempted to go inland towards the Limerick -district, in which James Fitzjohn's strength lay. Near Fermoy he was set -upon and murdered by his rival's brother, who had earned the title of -'Maurice of the Burnings.' James Fitzjohn, who now believed himself to be -undisputed Earl, at once repaired to Youghal, where he was well received -and joined by all the chiefs who had lately made such professions to Grey -and Ormonde. The garrison had, through over-confidence, withdrawn to -Waterford. Gerald of Kildare had just escaped to France, and the web of -policy which the English Government had cast over both branches of the -Geraldines was torn to pieces for the time.[233] - -[Sidenote: James Fitzjohn is allowed to succeed him.] - -There was no evidence of James Fitzjohn's complicity in his cousin's -murder, and Ormonde received the King's authority to pardon him, if he -could be brought to promise good behaviour. He preferred to ally himself -with O'Brien, and pleaded that Irish confederacies were too strong for -him to withstand. To gain his confidence Ormonde risked his own person in -the Desmond country for two nights, and passed right through it to parley -with O'Brien, who refused to listen to anything. But Desmond would not -show himself, and Ormonde then went for a few weeks to England. On his -return he found that little harm had been done, and this he attributed -solely to O'Brien having been out of his mind. But Desmond claimed the -credit of holding his hand. 'In like,' he wrote to Ormonde, 'I desire -you, according to my full trust, for to bring me in the King's favour the -best ye can; and in case that his Grace will so accept me, I trust we -shall both be able to do his Grace acceptable service according to our -duty.' On his return from England Ormonde at once resumed negotiations, -and St. Leger had been scarcely a month in Ireland before he received -friendly letters both from Desmond and O'Brien.[234] - -[Sidenote: Fall of Cromwell. St. Leger is made Deputy, 1541.] - -In the meantime Cromwell's head had fallen on the scaffold to which he -had sent so many better men. Grey was in the Tower, and Henry found time -to appoint a new Lord Deputy. He chose Sir Anthony St. Leger, who already -knew much of Ireland, and whose temper would at least save him from his -predecessor's chief faults. Sir Patrick Barnewall of Fieldston, an -eminent lawyer, had lately enumerated the qualities desirable in a chief -governor, and in so doing had drawn a heavy indictment against the last -holder of that high office. The King, he said, should provide a Deputy -'faithful, sure, and constant in his promise, and in especial to any -concluding of peace; and that he shall be such a person that shall have -more regard to his own honour and promise than to any covetous desire of -preys or booties of cattle; and that he shall make no wilful war, and -when war is made upon a good ground, that the same be followed till a -perfect conclusion thereof be taken, and not left at large, nor yet to -take a faint peace; and that the said Deputy shall not be in weighty -causes counselled nor guided by such persons as be openly known to be -ill-doers, or apt adherents of the ill-doers in their ill-doings against -the King's Majesty and his Grace's subjects in time past, for the same -hath and may hinder.' In selecting St. Leger, Henry was probably actuated -in part by such motives, and in part by hopes of an increased income. -With him were associated as Revenue Commissioners Thomas Walsh, Baron, -and John Mynne, Auditor of the English Exchequer, and William Cavendish, -Treasurer of the Court of Augmentations; but the viceregal authority was -not in any way impaired.[235] - -[Sidenote: St. Leger's policy. The Kavanaghs.] - -St. Leger seems clearly to have grasped the idea so often put forth and -so often neglected, that the pacification of Ireland must begin with the -neighbourhood of the Pale, and that distant expeditions were neither -lightly to be undertaken nor abandoned without attaining their object. He -resolved at once to punish those who had attacked the Pale at Grey's -departure, and he turned first to the Kavanaghs. Ormonde had lately -ravaged Idrone for a week and taken hostages, reporting that all the -mischief was done by Donnell MacCahir, 'who, having nothing to lose, -adhereth to Tirlogh O'Toole.' St. Leger now ravaged the territory far and -wide, and at the end of ten days the chief came in and submitted. He -renounced the name of MacMurrough, and agreed to hold his lands of the -Crown by knight-service. After the manner of Deputies in their early days -of office, St. Leger believed that he had really made a final settlement. -The Kavanaghs were ready enough to make promises, and even to boast their -descent from the man who first brought the English to Ireland; but St. -Leger was destined to have plenty of trouble with them.[236] - -[Sidenote: The O'Mores and O'Connors, and their neighbours.] - -Offaly had been so often devastated that the new Lord Deputy could have -little to do in that way; but the adjoining district of Leix had been -more fortunate, and its turn now came. The O'Doynes, O'Dempseys, and -others were separated by St. Leger's policy from O'Connor, whom it was -proposed to bridle by establishing fortified posts at Kinnegad in -Westmeath, at Kishevan in Kildare, at Castle Jordan in Meath, and at -Ballinure in what is now the King's County. A letter arrived from the -King with orders to expel O'Connor from his country and to give it to his -brother Cahir, if he would behave in a civilised manner, as he had often -promised to do. The incorrigible rebel should be made an example to all -Ireland by his perpetual exile and just punishment. But this could not be -honourably done, for Brereton had made a peace during the difficult days -that followed Grey's recall, and O'Connor, whose submission was of the -humblest, had done no harm since then. St. Leger indeed showed some -inconsistency in the matter, for he thought in September that O'Connor -could never be trusted, and in November he advised his restoration to -favour. Not only was it proposed to give him a grant of his land, but -also to raise him to the peerage as Baron of Offaly, an ancient honour in -the eclipsed family of Kildare.[237] - -[Sidenote: The O'Tooles.] - -No tribe had hurt the Pale more than the O'Tooles, who could boast of -giving a famous saint to Irish hagiology. Originally possessed of the -southern half of Kildare, they had been driven into the Wicklow Mountains -by Walter de Riddlesford in the early days of the Anglo-Norman -occupation. They were afterwards known as lords of Imaile, a small -district between Baltinglass and Glendalough, and at one time held nearly -all the northern half of Wicklow. The Earls of Kildare expelled them from -Powerscourt, and latterly they had led a very precarious life. True -children of the mist, they either bivouacked in the open or crept into -wretched huts to which Englishmen hesitated to give the name of houses. -They cultivated no land, but levied 300_l._ a year from their civilised -neighbours, partly in black-rent and partly in sheer plunder. The actual -chief was Tirlogh O'Toole, who professed himself anxious to mend his -ways, and offered to go to England and beg his lands of Henry himself. -There was something chivalrous in Tirlogh; for when Grey was hard pressed -by the northern confederacy he sent him word that 'since all those great -lords were against him he would surely be with him, but whensoever they -were all at peace, then he alone would be at war with him and the English -Pale.' This simple-minded warrior had kept his word, and he now begged -St. Leger to write to Norfolk, in the belief that the Duke would let him -want nothing 'when he knew that he had become an Englishman.' In return -for his undertaking to forego his exactions and to wear the English -dress, he asked for a grant of the district of Fercullen, comprising -Powerscourt and about twenty square miles of land, chiefly rocks and -woods, but with some fertile spots. St. Leger was anxious to grant -Tirlogh's terms, for the lands actually held by him were worthless and -would never pay to reclaim, while the O'Tooles were obliged to live on -the Pale. The hardy mountaineers had nothing to lose, and they prevented -land enough to support 2,000 inhabitants from being cultivated at all. -The Lord Deputy accordingly sent over the wild man with a special -recommendation to Norfolk, whose Irish experience made him a natural -mediator. Tirlogh was so poor that St. Leger had to lend him 20_l._ for -his journey, and he could not even afford decent clothes. 'It shall -appear to your Majesty,' wrote the Irish Government, 'that this Tirlogh -is but a wretched person and a man of no great power, neither having -house to put his head in, nor yet money in his purse to buy him a -garment, yet may he well make 200 or 300 men.'[238] - -[Sidenote: Tirlogh O'Toole at Court.] - -Tirlogh remained nearly a month at Court, where he was very well -treated; perhaps Henry remembered how well Hugh O'Donnell had requited -the kindness shown to him long since. The grant was authorised, and care -was taken to make such a fair division among the clansmen as would -prevent internal dissensions. Tirlogh became the King's tenant by -knight-service at a rent of five marks yearly, and his brother Art Oge, a -man of some ability, was gratified with a grant of Castle Kevin. Henry -desired that this case should form a precedent, and that in future chiefs -received to peace and favour should be treated with on the same basis as -the O'Tooles. In doing this he followed the advice of some of his wisest -councillors at home. Cranmer, Audeley, and Sadleir did not believe in the -possibility of a thorough conquest, and rightly considered that Ireland -would be best gained by fair dealing. Pedants and flatterers might argue -that the King was actually entitled to most of the land, that the Irish -were intruders, and that grants to them were derogatory to the royal -dignity. To this it was answered that the intrusions were of very old -date, that future rebellions would be more easily punished when they -involved a breach of contract, and that the Crown must gain by the mere -acknowledgment of its title. The O'Tooles at all events seem to have -given up plundering the Pale, and they make little further figure in -history. But they could not give up fighting among themselves. The -favoured Tirlogh had a grudge against one of his clansmen, and pursued -him daily in spite of orders from the Government. At last the threatened -man caught his persecutor asleep, and in the early morning killed him and -all his companions; 'and we think,' wrote the Lord Deputy and Council, -'the other would have done to him likewise, if he might have gotten him -at like advantage.' Tirlogh left no legitimate children, but St. Leger -nevertheless recommended that his son Brian should be allowed to succeed -him.[239] - -[Sidenote: Proposed military order. The King vetoes it.] - -Finding Leinster in an unusually promising state, the Irish Council hit -upon a strange device for keeping it permanently quiet. In the previous -century Thomas, Earl of Kildare, had established the Brotherhood of St. -George, an armed confraternity, whose thirteen officers, chosen from -among the loyal gentlemen of Dublin, Kildare, Meath, and Louth, elected -their own captain annually, but were paid by the State. It was found -necessary to dissolve this body by an Act of Parliament, passed in 1494. -Its object had been the defence of the Pale against Irish enemies and -English rebels. It was now proposed to erect a new order, not named after -St. George, but holding its great ceremony on St. George's day. It was to -consist of a Grand Master and twelve pensioners, with salaries amounting -in the aggregate to 1,000_l._ The majority were to be Irishmen of family, -who might be kept out of mischief by fear of losing their pensions. After -seven years, promotion was to depend on knowing English, or having spent -two years in the public service in England; the object being to induce -Irish gentlemen to cross the Channel and learn manners. As vacancies -occurred the persons chosen were to be bound 'not to have any wife or -wives.' The Council nominated Brabazon to be first Grand Master; but -Ormonde put forth a list of his own, and preferred his brother Richard to -the highest place. The Council also proposed to make a pensioner of Lord -Kilcullen, and to place him in the castle of Clonmore, which had belonged -to his family, but which the King had granted to Ormonde. The Earl -naturally ignored this claim, and there were other differences in the -rival lists. The Council suggested elaborate machinery by which the Order -might be made to work for the reformation of Leinster; but St. Leger does -not appear to have been a party to the scheme, and perhaps opposed it -quietly. The King, who had just abolished the great military Order, had -no idea of creating another, though its patron saint should be St. George -instead of St. John. 'We do in no wise,' he said, 'like any part of your -device in that behalf.' By minding their business and doing what they -were told his Majesty hoped that they would ultimately succeed in -reforming Leinster 'without the new erection of any such fantasies.'[240] - -[Sidenote: An arrangement is made with Desmond.] - -James Fitzjohn being now necessarily acknowledged Earl of Desmond, one of -St. Leger's first cares was to obtain his submission. Satisfied at last -that no treachery was intended, Desmond agreed to meet the Lord Deputy at -Cashel. Passing through Carlow and Kilkenny, St. Leger was joined by -Ormonde, who took care that the viceregal retinue should be well treated -on the journey; but Desmond at first held aloof, and demanded that the -chief of the Butlers should give himself up as a hostage before he -trusted himself in English hands. This was refused; but Archbishop -Browne, Travers, the Master of the Ordnance, and the Deputy's brother -Robert consented to run the risk. Desmond then appeared, and said he was -ready to do all that loyalty demanded. The proceedings were adjourned to -Sir Thomas Butler's house at Cahir, and there Desmond signed a solemn -notarial instrument, by which he fully acknowledged the King's supremacy -in Church and State. 'I do,' he said, 'utterly deny and forsake the -Bishop of Rome, and his usurped primacy and authority, and shall with all -my power resist and repress the same and all that shall by any means use -and maintain the same.' He renounced the pretensions of his family not to -attend Parliament or enter any walled town. He agreed to abide by and to -enforce the King's decision as to the Kildare estates, and to pay all -such taxes as were paid in the territories of Ormonde, Delvin, and other -noblemen of like condition. He constituted himself the defender of the -corporate towns, and gave up all claims to the allegiance of the Munster -Englishry, with a partial reservation as to men of his own blood, who -held their lands under him or his ancestors. Finally, he agreed to send -his son to be educated in England. This was Gerald, the ill-starred youth -whose folly and vanity were destined to work the final ruin of his House. -The Archbishop of Cashel and the Bishops of Limerick and Emly witnessed -the instrument, and the manner of the submission was as satisfactory as -a Tudor could wish. 'In presence,' wrote St. Leger to the King, 'of -MacWilliam, O'Connor, and divers other Irish gentlemen, to the number of -200 at the least, he kneeled down before me and most humbly delivered his -said submission, desiring me to deliver unto him his said pardon, granted -by your Majesty; affirming that it was more glad to him to be so -reconciled to your favours, than to have any worldly treasure; protesting -that no earthly cause should make him from henceforth swerve from your -Majesty's obedience. And after that done, I delivered to him your said -most gracious pardon, which he most joyfully accepted.' He was -immediately sworn of the Council, and St. Leger asked the King's -indulgence for having done this without warrant. Care was also taken to -prevent a renewal of the quarrel between the new Privy Councillor and -Ormonde, who had married the heiress-general of a former Earl of Desmond, -and had thus large and indefinite claims on the family estates. The -rivals bound themselves in 4,000_l._ to promote cross-marriages between -their children, and to keep the peace. The claims of Ormonde through his -wife were nevertheless destined in the next generation to deluge Munster -in blood.[241] - -[Sidenote: Dutiful attitude of Desmond and O'Brien.] - -Desmond accompanied St. Leger to Kilmallock, 'where, I think, none of -your Grace's Deputies came this hundred years before,' and treated him -hospitably, openly declaring that he was ready if the Deputy wished it to -go to London to see the King. O'Brien came peacefully to Limerick, -complaining chiefly that he was not allowed to bridge the Shannon nor to -exercise jurisdiction over friendly tribes on the left bank. St. Leger -promised him perpetual war unless he would yield on both points, -believing that he could do little harm without the concurrence of -Desmond, of the Clanricarde Burkes, or of Donogh O'Brien. He was given -till Shrovetide to consult his friends, and at last decided to keep quiet -and to send agents to watch over his interests in Parliament. A pardon -was issued under the Great Seal of Ireland, and towards the end of the -year O'Brien spontaneously addressed a very dutiful letter to the King, -begging personal as well as official forgiveness for his many sins. 'My -mind,' he said, 'is never satisfied till I have made the same submission -to your Grace's own person, whom I most desire to see above all creatures -on earth living, now in mine old days; which sight I doubt not but shall -prolong my life.'[242] - -[Sidenote: MacWilliam Burke and MacGillapatrick.] - -MacWilliam Burke of Clanricarde and MacGillapatrick professed anxiety for -the royal favour, and accompanied St. Leger on his tour. He prescribed an -earldom for the former, a barony for the latter, and Parliament-robes and -other fine clothes for both; in the belief that titles and little acts of -civility would weigh more with these rude men than a display of force. He -himself had given MacWilliam a silver-gilt cup, and in Limerick Desmond -had from vanity or policy worn 'gown, jacket, doublet, hose, shirts, -caps, and a velvet riding coat,' from the Lord Deputy's wardrobe. It was -very important to conciliate MacWilliam, who could always prevent a -junction of the O'Briens and O'Donnells. MacGillapatrick soon afterwards -covenanted with the King to live civilly, to act loyally, and to hold his -lands of the Crown by knight-service. MacWilliam wrote a letter to Henry -confessing and lamenting that his family had degenerated, and belied -their English blood, 'which have been brought to Irish and disobedient -rule by reason of marriage and nurseing with those Irish, sometime -rebels, near adjoining to me.' He placed himself and all his possessions -unreservedly in the King's hands, but seems to have let it be known that -he would like to be an Earl. Henry refused this unless the repentant -Norman would come to Court, but he offered a barony or viscounty without -any condition.[243] - -[Sidenote: Parliament of 1541.] - -Early in 1541 St. Leger received authority to summon a Parliament. The -composition of the House of Commons is uncertain, for no list of members -is extant between 1382 and 1559. In the former of those years eighteen -counties or districts and eleven towns were represented. In the latter, -ten counties and twenty-eight cities and boroughs returned two members -each. Through the action of the royal prerogative the number was -progressively increased until the 300 of the eighteenth century was -reached. In St. Leger's time the Upper House was the more important of -the two, and was attended by four archbishops, nineteen bishops, and -twenty temporal peers, of whom Desmond was one. Among the temporal peers -was Rawson, late prior of Kilmainham and chief of the Irish Hospitallers, -who had just been created Viscount Clontarf. There were four new -Barons--Edmund Butler Lord Dunboyne, MacGillapatrick Lord Upper Ossory, -Oliver Plunkett Lord Louth, and William Bermingham Lord Carbery. Richard -le Poer had been created Baron of Curraghmore six years before. Besides -the peers there were present in Dublin Donough O'Brien, MacWilliam Burke, -O'Reilly, Cahir MacArt Kavanagh, Phelim Roe O'Neill of Clandeboye, and -some of the O'Mores. O'Brien sent agents or deputies. These and other -important persons were present at the passing of the Bill which made -Henry King of Ireland; but they had no votes and were not considered as -members of Parliament. - -[Sidenote: Henry VIII. is made King of Ireland.] - -Parliament met on Monday, June 13; but the Munster lords had not yet -arrived, and the solemn mass was postponed until Thursday, the feast of -Corpus Christi. By that day all had assembled, and they rode in state to -the place of meeting. Most of the peers wore their robes. On the morrow -the Commons chose a Speaker in the person of Sir Thomas Cusack, a rising -lawyer, who afterwards obtained the highest professional honours. He made -a set speech at the bar of the Lords, praising the King for many things, -but especially for having extirpated the Bishop of Rome's usurped power. -Ormonde then gave the substance of what had been said in Irish, to the -'great contentation of those lords who could not understand English.' At -the sitting of the House of Lords on the following day, St. Leger -proposed that Henry VIII. should be King of Ireland. A Bill to that -effect was read a first time in English and Irish, and was received with -acclamation. It was then and there read a second and a third time, and -all the Lords subscribed it, lest they should thereafter be tempted to -deny their consents. The Bill was then sent down to the Commons and read -three times, and on the morrow, in presence of both Houses, St. Leger -pronounced the royal consent--'no less,' he wrote, 'to my comfort, than -to be risen again from death to life, that I so poor a wretch should, by -your excellent goodness, be put to that honour, that in my time your -Majesty should most worthily have another Imperial Crown.' This rapid -action is in striking contrast to the long and acrimonious discussion -excited by a change of the royal style in our own times.[244] - -[Sidenote: King and Pope. The royal style.] - -The question of style was one of considerable practical importance, for -the friars had sedulously encouraged the popular notion that the real -sovereignty rested in the Pope, and that the King of England was only a -sort of viceroy. Alen had recommended the assumption of the royal title -four years before; and both Staples and St. Leger had given the like -advice. Parliamentary sanction had now been given to the change, and -those who acknowledged English law could hardly dispute the principle -involved. In the later struggles of Irish parties the contest between the -Crown and the Tiara was constantly revived, and the ghost of the -controversy is sometimes seen even in our own times. Less than two months -before the meeting of St. Leger's Parliament, Paul III. had written to -prepare O'Neill for the arrival of a detachment of the Company of Jesus, -and before its dissolution the first Jesuits had landed. But for the -moment no opposition was visible. The proclamation of the new style was -joyously celebrated by the citizens of Dublin. Salutes were fired. -Bonfires were lit. Wine casks were broached in the streets; and there was -much feasting in private houses. An amnesty was granted to criminals, -except traitors, murderers, and ravishers; but prisoners for debt were -not released, lest any creditor should be defrauded. There was some fear -lest it should be supposed that the Irish Parliament had elected their -King instead of merely declaring his just hereditary right; and many -letters were exchanged on the subject. Finally the new style was settled -as follows:--'Henry VIII., by the Grace of God, King of England, France, -and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and of the Church of England, and -also of Ireland, in earth the Supreme Head.' A new Great Seal had to be -sent from England, since there was no competent engraver in Dublin. And -thus, after the lapse of nearly four centuries, did Henry II.'s successor -repudiate all obligations to Rome, and declare himself King of Ireland by -right divine.[245] - -[Sidenote: Regulations for Munster.] - -The other Acts passed had no political significance, but followed pretty -closely recent domestic legislation in England. After a session of little -more than five weeks, Parliament was prorogued with the intention of -convoking it again at Limerick. Before the two Houses dispersed, -elaborate regulations, which were not embodied in an Act of Parliament, -were drawn up for Munster, Thomond, and Connaught. There was no chance of -enforcing these ordinances, but some of them are very good. Laymen and -minors were disabled from holding ecclesiastical benefices; kernes were -ordered to be treated as vagabonds, unless some lord would give bail for -them; heads of families were declared responsible for damage done by -younger members. Highway robbery and rape were pronounced capital; but by -a strange anomaly robberies of above fourteen pence were made punishable -by the loss of one ear for the first offence and of the other ear for -the second, while death was fixed as the penalty for the third. A system -of fines was promulgated for homicides, invasions, and spoils. The Irish -jurisprudence was thus acknowledged, but only as a matter of fact, for -the chiefs who indulged in open lawlessness were generally beyond the -reach of the law. Saffron shirts were forbidden under penalties, and the -permissible quantity of linen was carefully prescribed for each rank. A -lord might have twenty cubits, his vassals eighteen, and his servants -twelve. A kerne was allowed sixteen and an agricultural labourer ten. -Stringent but useless limitations were imposed on coyne and livery, the -fact being that great men had usually no other means of protecting their -districts. Ormonde was appointed chief executor of these ordinances for -Tipperary, Waterford, and Kilkenny, and Desmond for the other counties of -Munster. Both were to command the assistance of the Archbishop of Cashel -and to be entitled to one-third of all fines levied by them, two-thirds -being payable to the King. The regulations for Thomond and Connaught were -the same as for Munster, but they were probably even less regarded.[246] - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[232] For the intrigues with Scotland, see Brereton to Essex, May 17, -1540, and the note, S.P. vol. iii., and Layton to Essex, S.P. vol. v. p. -178; O'Neill's letter to Henry was dated July 20; the King's letter to -O'Neill is dated Sept. 7--'literas vestras unà cum _munusculis_ grato -animo accepimus.' For O'Donnell's submission, see Henry's letter to him -of Aug. 20, acknowledging his letters 'per dilectum nobis Johannem -Cappis, mercatorem Bristoliensem.' St. Leger brought over O'Neill's -pardon. - -[233] In a letter to Cromwell of December 23, 1539, in _Carew_, William -Wise, of Waterford, almost foretold the murder, which (according to Mr. -Graves's pedigree in the _Irish Archæological Journal_) took place on -March 19 following. The pedigree says the murder was in Kerry, but other -accounts, which are evidently correct, point to the neighbourhood of -Fermoy or Mitchelstown. Council of Ireland to the King, April 4, 1540; -Archdall's _Lodge_; Russell. O'Daly (chap. xii.) admits that the murder -was premeditated. - -[234] Ormonde to Brereton from Kilkenny, May 14; to the King, July 26, -from Waterford. He had been to England and back between these dates. -Desmond to Ormonde, July 8; Lord Deputy St. Leger to the King, Sept. 12, -1540. - -[235] P. Barnewall to Essex, May 19; Instructions to St. Leger and the -others, and to St. Leger alone, S.P., Aug. 16 and 20. St. Leger landed -Aug. 12, 1540. - -[236] Walter Cowley to St. Leger, March 15, 1541, 'from the border of -Cahir, MacArt's country.' St. Leger to the King, Sept. 12; Council of -Ireland to the King, Sept. 22. - -[237] Council of Ireland to the King, Sept. 22, 1540; the King to the -Lord Deputy and Council, Sept. 7 and 8; Lord Deputy and Council to the -King, Nov. 13. - -[238] For the O'Tooles, see O'Donovan's _Book of Rights_, and his notes -to the _Four Masters_, 1180 and 1376; and Lord Deputy and Council to the -King Nov. 14, 1540, with the notes. These people had suffered from the -Kildare family as much as the Macgregors did from the Campbells. This may -partly explain Tirlogh's unwillingness to aid in restoring Gerald. - -[239] The King to the Lord Deputy and Council, No. 332 in the S.P., and -his very important minute of March 26, 1541; Lord Deputy and Council to -the King, Dec. 7, 1542, and May 15, 1543. - -[240] For the scheme see S.P., vol. iii. No. 330; the King's answer is -No. 337. - -[241] St. Leger to the King, Feb. 21, 1541. The submission was signed at -Cahir, Jan. 16. For the names of the notaries and of the chief -spectators, see _Carew_, vol. i. No. 153. - -[242] St. Leger to the King, Feb. 21, 1541; list of those who attended -Parliament, 1541, in S.P., vol. iii. p. 307; O'Brien to the King, vol. -iii., No. 352. - -[243] St. Leger to the King, Feb. 21, 1541; MacWilliam to the King, March -12, 1541; MacGillapatrick's submission, &c., S.P., vol. iii., No. 336; -the King to MacWilliam, May 1. - -[244] St. Leger to the King, June 26, 1541; Lord Deputy and Council to -the King, June 28; printed _Statutes_, 33 Henry VIII.; Lodge's -_Parliamentary Register_; Parliamentary lists in _Tracts Relating to -Ireland_, No. 2. - -[245] Alen to St. Leger in 1537, S.P., vol. ii., No. 182; Staples to St. -Leger, June 17, 1538; Lord Deputy and Council to the King, Dec. 30, 1540. -The proclamation of the King's style is in _Carew_, vol. i., No. 158. The -author of the _Aphorismical Discovery_, who wrote about 1650, says Henry -'revolted from his obedience to the Holy See' by assuming the royal -title. There is an abstract of the King's title to Ireland in _Carew_, -vol. i., No. 156; Adrian's grant is mentioned as one of seven titles, -some fabulous, some historical. For the proceedings in Dublin, see St. -Leger's letters already cited, June 26 and 28, 1541; for the style -itself, see the King's letter in S.P., vol. iii., No. 361; for the Seal, -see Lord Deputy and Council to the King, June 2, 1542, and Henry's -answer. - -[246] See the ordinances in _Carew_, vol. i., No. 157. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -1541 TO THE CLOSE OF THE REIGN OF HENRY VIII. - - -[Sidenote: The O'Carrolls.] - -The attendance of Irishmen during the session of Parliament was not -altogether barren of immediate results. Fergananim O'Carroll, chief of -Ely, having become blind, was murdered in Clonlisk Castle by Teige, the -son of his old rival Donough, with the help of some of the Molloys. The -claimants to the vacant succession voluntarily submitted to the -arbitration of the Lord Deputy and Council, and a curious award was -given. According to Irish law John O'Carroll, as the eldest, would have -been the natural chief. He was set aside as unfit to rule, but received -his lands rent free and forty cows annually out of the cattle-tribute -payable to the chief. Fergananim's son Teige was also pronounced -incompetent, but was nevertheless established as ruler of half the -country by way of propitiating Desmond, who was his uncle by marriage. -Calvagh or Charles O'Carroll was made lord of the other half, and it was -provided that if either procured the other's death he should forfeit all -to the sons of the deceased.[247] - -[Sidenote: Submission of O'Donnell, 1541.] - -Soon after the prorogation St. Leger went to Cavan to meet O'Donnell. -Leaving his boats on Lough Erne, the chieftain came boldly to the -appointed place with a dozen followers, and made little difficulty about -the terms of peace. He agreed to serve the King on all great hostings, to -attend the next Parliament or send duly authorised deputies, to hold his -land of the Crown, and to take any title that might be given him. He not -only renounced the usurped primacy and authority of Rome, but promised -industriously and diligently to expel, eject, and root out from his -country all adherents of the Pope, or else to coerce and constrain them -to submit to the King and his successors. He more than once asked to be -made Earl of Sligo, and to have Parliament-robes as well as 'that golden -instrument or chain which noblemen wear on their necks.' Henry was -willing to create O'Donnell Earl of Tyrconnell, but the creation was -deferred until the reign of James I.[248] - -[Sidenote: St. Leger chastises the O'Neills.] - -O'Neill still refused to come to Dundalk, or in any way to submit to the -Lord Deputy. He was, he said, waiting to hear from the King, and he made -the curious complaint that St. Leger would not let him send hawks as -presents to his Majesty. Diplomacy failing, the Lord Deputy prepared for -an invasion of Ulster. He was joined by O'Donnell, O'Hanlon, Magennis, -MacMahon, who had lately made submission in the usual form, Phelim Roe -O'Neill and Neill Connelagh O'Neill, nephews and opponents of the chief -of Tyrone; by the Savages of Ards; and by many others, both English and -Irish. Twenty-two days were spent in destroying corn and butter; but no -enemy appeared, and the cattle had been driven off into the woods. -Meanwhile O'Neill tried the bold but not uncommon experiment of attacking -the Pale in the absence of its defenders. The new Lord Louth handled the -local force so well that the invaders were ignominiously routed, while -O'Donnell ravaged not only Tyrone but a great part of Fermanagh, the very -islands in Lough Erne being ransacked by his flotilla.[249] - -[Sidenote: Success of a winter campaign.] - -After a month's respite St. Leger made a second raid, and this time -captured some hundreds of cows and horses. Another month elapsed, and -then a third attack brought O'Neill to his knees. He sent letters to -Armagh in which he threw himself on the King's mercy, which he preferred -to the Lord Deputy's, gave a son as hostage, and offered to come in -person not only to Dundalk but to Drogheda. O'Neill had never been known -to give a hostage before, and great importance was attached to this. -Three thousand kine besides horses and sheep were taken in spite of the -natives, but not without much suffering on the part of the soldiers, who -had to lie without tents on the wet ground. Many horses died, and many -more were lamed. The pastime, as St. Leger called it, of a December -campaign can never be very pleasant, but he proved, as Sidney proved -afterwards, that it was the right way to subdue the O'Neills. There was -not grass enough in the woods to keep the cattle alive, and when they -came into the fields the soldiers easily captured them.[250] - -[Sidenote: Submission of O'Neill.] - -Ultimately O'Neill made a complete submission. He agreed to behave like -the Earls of Ormonde and Desmond, praying only that he might not be -forced to incur the danger and expense of attending any Parliament -sitting to the west of the Barrow. He not only renounced the Pope, but -promised to send back future bulls, if ecclesiastics already provided -from Rome would do likewise.[251] - -[Sidenote: The Council advise the King to accept it.] - -The Council advised Henry to accept O'Neill's submission, seeing that his -country was wide and difficult, and now so wasted as to be incapable of -supporting an army. It might perhaps be possible to expel Con, but he -would certainly be succeeded by a pretender as bad as himself, and -extreme courses might lead to despair, and to a universal rebellion. They -admitted that the winter war had been proved to be 'the destruction of -any Irishmen,' but the loss of men and horses was great, and might lead -to risings in other places.[252] - -[Sidenote: Henry's ideas about Ireland.] - -The King disliked the wholesale grants of land for small consideration, -which were favoured by St. Leger. He rebuked his servants in Ireland for -thinking too much of Irish submissions, and here he saw more clearly -than they did. He was now King in Ireland, and required a revenue in -proportion. For that purpose he divided Irishmen into two classes, those -who were within easy reach of his arm, and those who were not. The former -were to be treated sternly, but the latter tenderly, 'lest by extreme -demands they should revolt to their former beastliness.' The near -neighbours were to be brought to the same terms as Tirlogh O'Toole. A -proper rent was to be exacted, and knight-service insisted on for the -sake of the wardships and liveries. In the obedient districts monastic -lands were to be let on lease for the best possible rent. In more distant -quarters the chiefs were to be coaxed into suppressing the religious -houses by promising them leases on easy terms.[253] - -[Sidenote: Ireland at peace, 1542. Submission of many chiefs.] - -At the beginning of the year 1542 the Council were able to make the -strange announcement that Ireland was at peace. They praised St. Leger -for his diligence, patience, and justice, and for his liberal -entertainment of those on whom, for the public good, it was necessary to -make favourable impression. Following up his Dublin success, he now met -Parliament again at Limerick, where the principal business was to make -terms with the O'Briens. Murrough agreed to give up all claims to the -territory of Owney Beg, a poor district lying under Slieve Phelim, which -retains its reputation for turbulence to the present day. The possession -of this tract had made him master of the western part of Limerick, whence -he exacted a black-rent of 80_l._, and of Tipperary as far as Cashel. The -whole country was waste through plunder and extortion, and no one could -travel peaceably from Limerick to Waterford through fear of a gang of -robbers called the 'old evil children,' who held a castle near the -Shannon. Desmond expelled these brigands and handed over their hold to -MacBrien Coonagh, who held it at his own expense for two years. St. -Leger's observations during the session at Limerick led him to believe -that little rent or tribute could be got out of the Irish. The sums -promised to Grey were withheld on the ground that promises had been -forcibly extorted. By holding out hopes of gentler treatment, St. Leger -brought them to accept his own much easier terms. Tipperary was assessed -at 40_l._ yearly, Kilkenny at 40_l._, and Waterford at 10_l._ MacBrien -Arra agreed to pay sixpence a year for each ploughland, and to furnish -sixty gallowglasses for a month. MacBrien of Coonagh promised 5_l._, -O'Kennedy and MacEgan in Ormonde 10_l._ each, O'Mulryan forty shillings -and sixty gallowglasses for a month, and O'Dwyer eightpence for each -ploughland and forty gallowglasses for a month. These sums are small, but -seem larger when we reflect that the Government gave no consideration, -either by keeping the peace or administering justice, and that the people -were extremely poor.[254] - -[Sidenote: Further submissions.] - -Several months passed in negotiations with Irish chiefs with the general -object of inducing them to submit, to pay rent, and to hold their lands -by knight-service; forswearing Irish uses and exactions, and promising to -live in a more civilised manner. These terms were accepted by Rory -O'More, who had become chief of Leix by the death of his brother Kedagh, -by MacDonnell, captain of O'Neill's gallowglasses, by O'Rourke, and by -O'Byrne. All except the last named abjured the Pope, as did the -MacQuillins, a family of Welsh extraction long settled in the Route, a -district between the Bush and the Bann. The MacQuillins were always -oppressed by the O'Cahans, who were supposed to be instigated by -O'Donnell, and the valuable fishery of the Bann was a perennial source of -dissension. Travers, who soon afterwards became lessee of Clandeboye, -held this fishery on a Crown lease with the goodwill of the MacQuillins; -but in spite of the O'Cahans, who annoyed his fishermen, St. Leger -ordered him to help the weaker tribe. Coleraine was taken by Travers, and -after a time the neighbours were reconciled, a pension of 10_l._ being -given to each on condition of not molesting those who fished under royal -licence. A curious submission was that of Hugh O'Kelly, who seems to have -been chief of his sept as well as hereditary Abbot of the Cistercians at -Knockmoy, near Tuam. He renounced the Pope, promised to aid the Lord -Deputy with a considerable force in Connaught, and with a smaller one in -more distant parts, and to bring certain of his kinsmen to similar terms. -In return he was to have custody of the monastic lands and of the rectory -of Galway at a rent of 5_l._, paid down yearly in that town. As if to -complete the anomaly this abbot-chieftain gave his son as a hostage for -due performance.[255] - -[Sidenote: Desmond in favour at Court.] - -Desmond continued to behave loyally. St. Leger received him hospitably in -Dublin, and advised the King to do the same. But Alen cautioned his -Majesty not to be too free of his grants, especially in such important -cases as Croom and Adare. The Chancellor preferred to give the Earl -monastic lands in the Pale, by accepting which he would give hostages to -the Crown, or among the wild Irish, who would thus certainly be losers -though the King might be no direct gainer. Desmond did not linger long in -the Court sunshine, for he took leave of the King in little more than a -month from the date of his leaving Ireland. Either he really gained the -royal goodwill, or Henry thought it wise to take St. Leger's advice, for -he gave him money and clothes, made him the bearer of official -despatches, and, after due inquiry, accepted his nominee to the bishopric -of Emly.[256] - -[Sidenote: The Munster nobles submit. They abjure the Pope.] - -With a view to establish order in those portions of Munster under -Desmond's influence, St. Leger visited Cork, where the notables readily -obeyed his call. They abjured the Pope, and agreed to refer all -differences to certain named arbitrators. Henceforth no one was to take -the law into his own hands, but to complain to Desmond and to the Bishops -of Cork, Waterford, and Ross, who were to have the power of summoning -parties and witnesses, and of fining contumacious persons. Difficult -cases were to be referred to the Lord Deputy and Council, and legal -points reserved for qualified commissioners, whom the King was to send -into Munster at Easter and Michaelmas. This was part of a scheme for -establishing circuits in the southern province, but it was very -imperfectly carried out during this and the three succeeding reigns. The -state of the country seldom admitted of peaceful assizes, and martial law -was too often necessary. The Munster gentry now promised to keep the -peace, and to exact no black-rents from Cork or other towns. The -Anglo-Norman element was represented by Lord Barrymore and his kinsmen, -Barry Roe and Barry Oge, by Lord Roche, and by Sir Gerald MacShane of -Dromana. The Irish parties to the contract were MacCarthy More, MacCarthy -Reagh, MacCarthy of Muskerry, MacDonough MacCarthy of Duhallow, -O'Callaghan, and O'Sullivan Beare. St. Leger himself, Desmond, Brabazon, -Travers, and Sir Osborne Echingham, marshal of the army, represented the -Crown.[257] - -[Sidenote: An Earldom for O'Neill.] - -O'Neill was at last induced to go to Court to receive the Earldom of -Tyrone, the title chosen for him by the Irish Government. He would have -preferred that of Ulster, but it was in the Crown, and the King refused -to part with it. St. Leger did what he could to conciliate O'Neill by -attention and hospitality while in Dublin, and rightly attached great -importance to the fact that he was the first O'Neill who had ever gone to -the King in England. He advised that he should be received with the -greatest distinction. - -'O'Neill,' say the 'Four Masters,' 'that is, Con the son of Con, went to -the King of England, namely, Henry VIII.; and the King created O'Neill an -Earl, and enjoined that he should not be called O'Neill any longer. -O'Neill received great honour from the King on this occasion.' The -acceptance of a peerage was universally considered a condescension, if -not a degradation, for the head of a family who claimed to be princes of -Ulster in spite of the Crown. The Irish Government were willing that he -should have Tyrone, 'but for the rule of Irishmen, which be at his -Grace's peace, we think not best his Highness should grant any such thing -to him as yet.'[258] - -[Sidenote: His submission.] - -It may be doubted whether O'Neill fully understood the scope of a -document which was written in English, and which he signed with a mark; -but the form of his submission to his 'most gracious sovereign lord' was -as ample as even that sovereign lord could wish:-- - -'Pleaseth your most Excellent Majesty, I, O'Neill, one of your Majesty's -most humble subjects of your realm of Ireland, do confess and acknowledge -before your most Excellent Highness, that by ignorance, and for lack of -knowledge of my most bounden duty of allegiance, I have most grievously -offended your Majesty, for the which I ask your Grace here mercy and -forgiveness, most humbly beseeching your Highness of your most gracious -pardon; refusing my name and state, which I have usurped upon your Grace -against my duty, and requiring your Majesty of your clemency to give me -what name, state, title, land, or living it shall please your Highness, -which I shall knowledge to take and hold of your Majesty's mere gift, and -in all things do hereafter as shall beseem your most true and faithful -subject. And God save your Highness.'[259] - -[Sidenote: He is created Earl of Tyrone. Special remainder.] - -One week after the delivery of this submission O'Neill was created Earl -of Tyrone, with remainder to his son Matthew in tail male: Matthew being -at the same time created Baron of Dungannon, with remainder to the eldest -son of the Earl of Tyrone for the time being. This patent afterwards gave -rise to infinite bloodshed. Con O'Neill certainly acknowledged Matthew as -his heir apparent; but it was afterwards stated, not only that he was -illegitimate, which might not have mattered much, but that he was not -Con's son at all. There was no doubt about the legitimacy of Shane, and -that able savage consistently refused to acknowledge the limitations of -the patent. Henry dealt liberally with the new Earl, paying 60_l._ for a -gold chain such as O'Donnell had asked for, 65_l._ 10_s._ 2_d._ for -creation fees and robes, and 100 marks as a present in ready money. 'The -Queen's closet at Greenwich was richly hanged with cloth of Arras, and -well strewed with rushes'--no more was then thought of even in a -palace--and Tyrone was led in by the Earls of Hertford and Oxford, the -latter of whom was summoned specially for the purpose. Viscount Lisle -bore the new Earl's sword. Kneeling in the rushes, the descendant of -Niall of the Nine Hostages submitted to be girt by the hands of Henry -II.'s descendant. The King then gave him his patent, and he gave thanks -in Irish, which his chaplain translated into English. Two of his -neighbours, Donnell and Arthur Magennis, were knighted and received gifts -from the King. A great dinner followed, to which the lords went in -procession with trumpets blowing; and Tyrone carried his own patent. At -second course Garter proclaimed the King's style and that of the new -Earl. The herald who tells the story is careful to note that Tyrone gave -twenty angels to Garter, 10_l._ to the College of Arms, and 40_s._ to the -trumpeters, with other fees 'according to the old and ancient custom.' -Next day Con was taken to pay his respects to the young Prince Edward, -and he soon afterwards returned to Ireland.[260] - -[Sidenote: O'Brien created Earl of Thomond. Special remainder. MacWilliam -Earl of Clanricarde. Knights.] - -Murrough O'Brien, his nephew Donough, MacWilliam of Clanricarde, and many -other Irish gentlemen of note, went to Court during the summer of 1543. -The three first were raised to the peerage in the same place and with the -same ceremonies as O'Neill. Murrough O'Brien was created Earl of Thomond, -with remainder to Donough, and Baron of Inchiquin in tail male. Donough's -right to succeed as tanist thus received official sanction. Donough was -made Baron of Ibracken in tail male, and, curiously enough, the same -patent created him Earl of Thomond for life in case he should survive his -uncle. MacWilliam was created Earl of Clanricarde and Baron of Dunkellin. -The Earls were introduced by Derby and Ormonde, the Barons by Clinton and -Mountjoy, and the King gave a gold chain to each. The presence of the -Scottish ambassadors, who had just concluded the abortive treaty of -marriage between Edward and Mary Stuart, added to the interest of the -ceremony; and no doubt Henry was glad to display his magnificence to the -representatives of the poor northern kingdom. Macnamara, the most -important person in Clare after the O'Briens, was knighted at the same -time; as were O'Shaugnessy, chief of the country about Gort, and his -neighbour O'Grady. Many other favours were conferred on these reclaimed -Irishmen, and they all agreed to hold their lands of the King.[261] - -[Sidenote: The MacDonnells in Antrim.] - -The relations between England and Scotland were at this time much -strained. The miserable and mysterious death of James V. left the -northern kingdom a battle-field for contending factions, and the restless -Beaton had full scope for his intrigues. The Hebridean settlers on the -Ulster coast had always been troublesome, since they were ever ready to -sell their swords to the highest bidder; and they now became really -important. These settlements originated with the Bysets or Bissets, -sometimes called Missets, who were said to be of Greek origin and who -accompanied the Conqueror to England. They afterwards settled in -Scotland, whence they were expelled in 1242 on suspicion of being -concerned in the murder of an Earl of Athole, and condemned to take the -cross. Preferring Ireland to Palestine, the exiles bought the island of -Rathlin from Richard de Burgo, Earl of Ulster. About the close of the -fourteenth century, Margaret, the heiress of the Bysets, married John -More MacDonnell, a grandson through his mother of Robert II. of -Scotland. This lady is said to have known Richard II. during his second -visit to Ireland, and to have recognised him afterwards, crazed and a -refugee, in the island of Isla. By Margaret's marriage the estates of the -Bysets passed to the MacDonnells, and a close intercourse was thenceforth -kept up between the Western Isles and Antrim, which are never out of -sight of one another in clear weather. Matrimonial alliances with -O'Neills, O'Donnells, and O'Cahans were frequent, and the islemen -established themselves so firmly that Rathlin was as late as 1617 claimed -as part of Scotland. It has an assured place in Scottish history; for, -among the rocks of black basalt and white chalk which give Rathlin its -curious piebald look, stand the ruins of the castle where Robert Bruce is -said to have learned the lesson of perseverance from a spider. In Henry -VIII.'s time the head of the Irish MacDonnells was Alexander or Alaster, -whose influence at Court had been great enough to drive Argyle from the -western government, but whose common place of residence was on the shore -of Ballycastle Bay. Many other Hebrideans were settled in Antrim, but the -MacDonnells were always the leading clan.[262] - -[Sidenote: Contemporary description of them.] - -John Edgar, a reforming priest of the violent kind which Western Scotland -has produced, gave Henry VIII. a graphic account of the islemen in his -day. They spent much time in hunting and manly exercises, going -barelegged and barefoot though the snow should be waist deep, 'wherefore -the tender and delicate gentlemen of Scotland call us Redshanks.' Against -exceptional frosts they protected themselves with moccasins made of fresh -red-deer hide, secured with thongs and full of holes to let the water in -and out. The hairy side being exposed gained them the name of -'rough-footed Scots,' and the whole description recalls a well-known -nursery rhyme. The people of the Irish isles of Arran still use cowhide -coverings exactly similar, to protect their feet from the sharp -limestone rocks which are too slippery for soled boots. Edgar is careful -to mention that the perones worn by the ancient Latines in Virgil were -shoes of the same kind. Travers, who saw a great deal of the Hebrideans, -was less struck by their poetic aspect, and simply describes them as -'most vile in their living of any nation next Irishmen.' 'Nevertheless,' -says Edgar, who anticipated such criticism, 'when we Redshanks come to -the Court waiting on our lords and masters, who also for velvets and -silks be right well arrayed, we have as good garments as some of our -fellows which give attendance at Court every day.' These hardy islanders -were in great request as mercenaries even in the South of Ireland, and it -was a far cry to Mull or Isla, where, and where only, the English or -Irish Government could seriously injure them.[263] - -[Sidenote: Fears of Scotland and France, 1543.] - -St. Leger was uneasy lest a combined Scotch and French attack should be -made on Ireland. Two French ships in company with some Scotch galleys -were seen off Carrickfergus. There was an English squadron off Lambay, -and its appearance had at first had a good effect, but it could not even -guard the sixty miles of water between Howth and Holyhead. Frenchmen and -Bretons frequented the Irish coast, and even sold Spanish prizes at Cork; -for that city claimed the strange privilege of dealing with the King's -enemies in time of war. James Delahide was in O'Donnell's country with a -servant of the Earl of Argyle, and young Gerald of Kildare might at any -moment be made the instrument of fresh disturbances. James MacDonnell, -Alaster's eldest son, had been brought up at the Scottish Court, and, -alone of his race, had learned to write: he was married--or perhaps only -handfasted--to Lady Agnes Campbell, Argyle's sister, and Beaton might at -any time turn the connection to account.[264] - -[Sidenote: St. Leger is successful in Ulster.] - -In the first flush of the matrimonial treaty Henry announced that he -would have Scotsmen treated as friends. But against Frenchmen he had -declared war, and he and the Emperor had bound themselves not to make a -separate peace. Yet in thirteen months Charles suddenly came to terms -with Francis, leaving Henry to get his army out of France as he best -could, and to see the English coast insulted by a French fleet. Whatever -the designs of the French party in Scotland, no invasion of Ireland in -fact took place. Tyrone, O'Donnell, and some of their neighbours were -induced to visit Dublin and to submit their differences to the Lord -Deputy. There was a standing dispute as to whether O'Dogherty, chief of -Innishowen, owed service and tribute to O'Donnell or to O'Neill. The -former established his title, but agreed to pay sixty cows yearly if -O'Neill would prevent his men from molesting Innishowen. The contention -that O'Donnell himself owed suit and service to O'Neill was not accepted, -and both were confined to their own districts. Both made extravagant -pretensions, but their documents were worthless, and proceeded for the -most part from the imagination of Irish bards and story tellers who would -do anything for money, or for love, or from a lively sense of favours to -come. St. Leger managed to bring about an amicable arrangement, and even -to lay the foundation of an increased revenue in Ulster.[265] - -[Sidenote: Henry's financial dishonesty.] - -The reckless extravagance of Henry, his venal courtiers, and useless -wars, had sunk him in debt. The plunder of the Church was gone, and there -seemed no limit to the calls on the generosity or fears of his subjects. -A king who could seek the help of a subservient Parliament to repudiate -his debts was not likely to be scrupulous about contract obligations, and -he seems to have contemplated resuming by Act of Parliament all Irish -lands which had been leased by his authority. St. Leger protested in the -strongest manner against thus confiscating the improvements of tenants, -who had paid their rent and spent their money on the faith of royal -grants. Discontent was already prevalent, for the pay of the soldiers was -in arrear. Their number was reduced to 550, but they had not been paid -for months, and a sum of less than 2,500_l._ was all that the King would -send. A full pay was impossible, and the Irish Government were afraid -even to make payments on account, lest an invasion or other sudden -emergency should find them penniless. They urged the folly of not paying -punctually, and their reasoning applies to the frugal Elizabeth as well -as to her spendthrift father. The Tudor monarchy had already outgrown the -feudal exchequer. 'We assure your Highness your affairs hath often been -much hindered in default of money, which being paid at last is no -alleviating of charge; and yet by default of monthly payments, half the -service is not done that might and should be done. In which case if it -might please your Majesty, of your princely bounty, to furnish us for -your army beforehand for one whole year, your Highness shall perceive -your affairs thereby to be highly advanced.'[266] - -[Sidenote: St. Leger leaves Ireland, 1544.] - -Like every other Deputy, St. Leger soon grew heartily sick of Ireland. 'I -beseech you,' he wrote to the King, 'to remember your poor slave, that -hath now been three years in hell, absent from your Majesty, and call me -again to your presence, which is my joy in this world.' Four months after -sending this touching appeal he received leave of absence; but he could -not then be spared, and he remained in Ireland until the beginning of -1544. Brabazon, who became Lord Justice, remembered what had happened -after Grey's departure, and stood well upon his guard. The veteran -O'Connor and the new Baron of Upper Ossory were discovered to be in -league. They avowed designs against O'More; but Brabazon was not to be -deceived, and preserved the peace by imprisoning the Baron. Clanricarde -enjoyed his Earldom only a few months, and his life had not been such as -to ensure a peaceful succession. 'Whether the late Earl,' the Irish -Government wrote, 'hath any heir male, it is not yet known, there were so -many marriages and divorces; but no doubt he married this last woman -solemnly.' His son Richard by Maude Lacy was ultimately acknowledged as -second Earl, and became a considerable personage; but his morality or -fidelity was not more conspicuous than his father's.[267] - -[Sidenote: An Irish contingent for the Scotch war, 1544.] - -Beaton had outwitted Henry, annulled the marriage treaty from which so -much had been hoped, and brought his countrymen back to the French -alliance. Breathing threatenings and slaughter, the King of England -determined to raise an Irish contingent as his predecessors had done. As -his object was to destroy the greatest possible quantity of property, he -could hardly have done better. One thousand kerne were required for -Scotland and 2,000 for France. The order to raise the men only reached -Ireland about the beginning of March, and Henry's impatience expected -them to be ready in a few days. The Irish nobility were not unwilling to -meet the King's views, but they thought six months' notice would have -been little enough. Even in England such a sudden levy would have been -very difficult, and in Ireland, the King was reminded, 'the idle men were -not at such commandment, that willingly they would in such case forthwith -obey their governor, nor gladly depart the realm, being never trained to -the thing, without some nobleman of these parts had the conduct of them.' -Great exertions were made, the Council dividing into a northern and -southern recruiting party; but the King was at last obliged to content -himself with 1,000 kerne, the proportions to be furnished by different -chiefs and noblemen being fixed by Henry himself. Ormonde, who was asked -to give 100, sent 200, and Desmond provided 120 instead of 100. The Lords -Power, Cahir, and Slane also did more than they were required; but the -Irish chiefs were all under the mark, and the O'Briens and others sent -none at all. Tyrone, O'Reilly, and O'Connor were pretty well represented, -and the deficiencies were supplied from various sources. In Irish warfare -every two kerne used to have a 'page or boy, which commonly is -nevertheless a man.' That allowance was diminished by one-half, and when -all deductions had been made, more than 1,000 fighting men were sent. The -ship which brought treasure for this expedition was chased by the Breton -rovers, who then commanded the Channel. There was some difficulty in -finding a commander, 'Earls being unwieldy men to go with light kerne,' -and the choice of the Council lay practically between Lord Power and Lord -Dunboyne. The former, who was Ormonde's nephew, was chosen. The Council -were afraid of offending the chiefs by refusing any quotas which might be -furnished after the departure of the main body, and they resolved to take -all who came. In any case, they said, 'if any ruffle should chance, we be -discharged of so many.' They begged Henry to see that they were properly -treated for an encouragement to others. The kerne were good soldiers in -their way, but the King was warned that they would require some training -for regular warfare. The proportion of officers was excessive; but the -Council advised their retention, lest disappointment should quench the -smoking flax of Irish loyalty.[268] - -[Sidenote: Irish troops at the siege of Boulogne.] - -Lord Power's men mustered 700 men in St. James's Park, the rest having -been perhaps diverted to the Scottish borders, and they served at the -siege of Boulogne, burning all the villages near the beleaguered town, -and foraging as much as thirty miles inland. Their plan was to tie a bull -to a stake and scorch him with faggots. The poor beast's roars attracted -the cattle of the country, 'all which they would lightly lead away, and -furnish the camp with store of beef.' They treated Frenchmen no better -than their bulls, preferring their heads to any ransom. The French sent -to Henry to ask whether he had brought men or devils with him, but he -only laughed; and they retaliated by mutilating and torturing every -Irishman that they could catch. The Irish gained a more honourable -distinction from the valour of Nicholas Welch, who, when a French -challenger defied the English army, swam across the harbour and brought -back the boaster's head in his mouth.[269] - -[Sidenote: Apprehensions from France.] - -Rumours were afloat at this time about great preparations at Brest for -the invasion of Ireland in the interest of Gerald of Kildare. It was -supposed that the blow would fall in Cork, Lady Eleanor MacCarthy not -having yet been pardoned, and her influence being very great. The Council -thought that they could resist 10,000 men with the help of the natives, -who would all stand firm against Frenchmen. But if young Gerald once set -his foot in Ireland, they could answer for nothing. It was true that he -had left Italy and Reginald Pole, but only to serve with the Knights of -Malta against the Moslems; and it does not appear that he visited France -at all. But the very sound of his name, coupled with Scots one day and -with Frenchmen the next, kept the Irish Government in hot water for more -than a year. Lady Eleanor received a pardon, and her nephew, who was now -nineteen, returned about the same time to Italy. From the time that he -entered Cosmo de' Medici's service the rumours in Ireland ceased.[270] - -[Sidenote: St. Leger returns to Ireland. He falls out with Ormonde.] - -St. Leger returned to Ireland in August 1544, after the kerne had sailed, -and it was probably their absence which kept the island quiet for a time. -Like his predecessor, St. Leger found Ormonde's power embarrassing. He -knew him to be loyal, and personally both liked and admired him, but -could not help being uneasy at his overgrown power. His influence in the -Council was so great that St. Leger reported him as having 'the great -part of all those that daily frequent the Council here, of his fee.' The -King's interest had small chance against the Earl's, 'and as I am true -man,' St. Leger wrote, 'I see no man having learning that will plainly -speak in such a case but poor Sir Thomas Cusack.' Ormonde now claimed for -his palatinate of Tipperary a larger meaning than had lately been given -to it. The undefined boundaries he stretched to the utmost, and -throughout the whole district claimed every sovereign right, except -treasure trove and the right of punishing rape, arson, and coining. Men -feared to speak openly against him. Cusack was maligned for his -independence, and Lord Upper Ossory begged St. Leger to keep his -communications secret. The palatinate jurisdiction and the prisage of -wines had been taken from the House of Ormonde by Poyning's Parliament; -but the Earl could show later documents under the Great Seal, some of -which St. Leger suspected to have been forged during the time that Sir -Piers Butler was Lord Deputy. St. Leger also complained that Ormonde put -obstacles in the way of reforming Leinster, unless he might do it himself -and in his own way. He recommended that this mighty subject's wings -should be clipped a little, and that he should have no more grants of -land in Ireland; he had no objection to the King giving him as much as he -pleased in England. To make things pleasant he recommended a garter. -After all this he strangely proposed to entrust the Irish Government to a -succession of Irish noblemen for two or three years at a time, and to -make Ormonde the first Deputy of the new series. The suggestion met with -no favour, and seems not to have been thought worthy of an answer. No -Irish nobleman received the sword during the remainder of the Tudor -period; but when Charles I. was slipping from the throne he committed his -interests in Ireland to the charge of another and more famous -Ormonde.[271] - -[Sidenote: Scotch politics. The Lord of the Isles takes Henry's side,] - -Donnell Dhu, calling himself Earl of Ross and claiming to be Lord of the -Isles, having escaped from his almost lifelong imprisonment, was received -with open arms by the Hebrideans, who still sighed for their ancient -independence. Donnell and seventeen of his principal supporters bound -themselves solemnly to be at the command of Lennox, who had declared for -Henry VIII. against the regent Arran and the French party, which at this -time was also the Scotch party. The confederates gave full treating -powers to Rory MacAlister, Bishop-elect of the Isles, and to Patrick -Maclean, Bailie of Iona and Justice Clerk of the South Isles. - -[Sidenote: and sends agents to Dublin.] - -A few days after this treaty the bishop and the bailie came to Dublin and -asked for 1,000_l._ Half of this sum, with 100_l._ worth of provisions, -was as much as St. Leger could afford to give them. In the meantime -Donnell Dhu had appeared at Carrickfergus with 4,000 men and 180 galleys, -having left another force of 4,000 behind him to keep Argyle and Huntley -in check. In writing to the King of England he expressed great joy that -his Majesty had deigned to look upon so small a person, and either he, or -the priest who prompted him, found an extraordinary analogy between the -fishers of the Western Isles and those of the Galilean lake, and between -Henry VIII. and their Master. At Carrickfergus Donnell Dhu and his -friends again bound themselves to do the bidding of Lennox, and 'to -fortify after their power the King's Majesty touching the marriage of the -Princess of Scotland, and in all other affairs as is commanded them to do -by my Lord Earl of Lennox.'[272] - -[Sidenote: His agreement with St. Leger.] - -Having done their business in Dublin, Donnell's ambassadors hurried to -England and made their terms with the Council. They bound their chief and -his friends to be Henry's liege subjects, and to furnish him with 8,000 -auxiliaries, who were to co-operate with Lennox and Ormonde, and, if -possible, to harry Scotland as far as Stirling. While Lennox remained in -Argyle's country all the islemen were to be employed in destroying it; in -other places 6,000 were to follow him, but there were never to be less -than 2,000 occupied in persecuting the sons of Diarmid. In consideration -of this undertaking Henry promised to pay 3,000 of Donnell's men, and to -send a force of 2,000 Irish under Ormonde, who was to be subordinate to -Lennox.[273] - -[Sidenote: The whole project ends in failure.] - -St. Leger had considerable difficulty in raising 2,000 men at short -notice. Money was scarce with him, and he was not told what pay he might -offer. Recruiting was hindered by rumours of casualties among the kerne -who had taken part in Hertford's second raid, when they had been -specially employed to burn and waste East Teviotdale 'because the -borderers would not most willingly burn their neighbours.' The required -number was, however, got together by great exertions, one-half being -raised by Ormonde. The force when complete consisted of 100 of the Dublin -garrison, 400 gallowglasses, and 1,500 kerne. Two hundred and fifty had -muskets, or were to some extent trained in the use of artillery, of which -there were several pieces. Shipping was collected in the Irish and Welsh -ports, and great quantities of munitions put on board. Lennox himself -came to Dublin, and sailed with Ormonde for the Clyde. Dumbarton Castle -was in the hands of Lord Glencairne, and was to be taken if possible. -Should this attempt fail, the plan was to effect a landing in Argyle's -country, and to do all the damage possible there. The fleet left Dublin -on November 17, and was unlucky from the first, being caught in a storm -off Belfast Lough and much damaged. On reaching the Clyde the country was -found to be up in arms, the attitude of the islemen was uncertain, a -French squadron was on the coast, and Lennox, against the advice of -Ormonde, resolved to turn back. Donnell Dhu died at Drogheda just at the -critical moment, and was buried in St. Patrick's, Dublin, where an -epitaph recorded the mournful fact that he had escaped an exile's life -only to die an exile's death.[274] - -[Sidenote: James MacDonnell offers his services, 1545.] - -James MacDonnell, the son of Alaster, became Lord of the Isles by general -consent. He had been educated at the Scottish Court, and his politics had -thus lost something of their insularity. At all events he had learned to -write, and that was a rare accomplishment for one of his family in those -days. Lady Agnes Campbell had perhaps excited doubts in his mind as to -the desirability of destroying the Argyle power; and others in the isles -may have doubted the power of Henry VIII. to protect them against the -Campbells and Gordons. But James still professed his readiness to do the -King of England's bidding, suggested St. Patrick's day--nearly two months -off--for a meeting with Lennox in the island of Sanda, and in the -meantime asked for shipping to transport his men. Ragged Scotchmen -continued to flock to Dublin, all asking for money; and the Irish -Government soon formed an opinion that while the cost of maintaining them -was certain, the expectation of service was more than doubtful.[275] - -[Sidenote: Dissensions between St. Leger and Ormonde.] - -St. Leger and Ormonde were now at open war. When leaving Gowran for -Scotland the latter received an anonymous letter warning him that he was -sent there only that he might be the more easily caught and put into the -Tower. The writer affirmed that Lennox had said as much, and that the -boasting of the Lord Deputy's servants had been to the same effect. The -pretext was that the Earl obstructed Irish reforms. Ormonde seems to have -partly believed the letter, for he sent a copy to Russell, and begged him -to procure an impartial inquiry. He then went to Scotland, declaring that -his loyalty was not of that timorous sort which fears inquiry or shuns -danger. 'If,' he wrote, 'I saw all the power of the world upon a hill -armed against his Majesty, I would rather run to his Grace, though I were -slain at his Majesty's heels, than to leave his Highness and save -myself.'[276] - -[Sidenote: They both go to England, 1546.] - -After his return from Scotland Ormonde wrote several letters to Privy -Councillors in England, in which he attacked St. Leger's administration -as expensive and wasteful. A graver accusation against a servant of Henry -VIII. was that he concealed much which it imported the King to know. The -letters were seized on ship-board by the Lord Deputy's brother, and -detained for some time in Dublin. Ormonde refused to state his -grievances before the Irish Council, as being necessarily under St. -Leger's influence, but preferred to run all the risks of a voyage to -England. The Irish Government left all to the Privy Council. St. Leger -accordingly went over to state his own case, having first secured -certificates of character from the Irish Council, from Desmond, Tyrone, -Thomond, and Upper Ossory, and from several Irish chiefs, all of whom -willingly came to Dublin at his summons, and 'wept and lamented the -departing of so just a governor.'[277] - -[Sidenote: Intrigues of Irish officials.] - -Lord Chancellor Alen was not favourable to St. Leger. He quarrelled -regularly with every deputy; but there may be some truth in his -allegations, which are little more than a statement of the insoluble -problem of Irish government. The King's writ did not run much further -than in former days. The revenue was almost stationary, and was -supplemented annually by 5,000_l._ of English money. Leinster was not -reformed. Irishmen were quiet, but might not long remain so. The chiefs -continued to wage private war, and were not to be tamed with abbey-lands -in their own countries, or farms in the Pale. 'I cannot,' said Alen, -'learn that ever such barbarous people kept touch any while, or were ever -vanquished with fair words. Let Wales be example.' Interrogatories were -sent to Irish councillors on these and similar points, and as to whether -either St. Leger or the Chancellor had been corrupt in any way. Questions -were asked as to the demeanour of every councillor, as to whether Alen's -account of St. Leger's overbearing conduct at the Council Board was true, -as to the behaviour of Ormonde and others there. In replying to Alen's -charges, St. Leger complained of their vagueness, and detailed his -strenuous exertions to overcome the inherent difficulties of his task, -and here most people will sympathise with him. He thought that Irishmen -on the whole kept their word as well as Englishmen, 'and if Irishmen use -their own laws, so doth the Earl of Ormonde, and all the Lords Marchers -in Ireland.' We have here a line of argument very common in our own day, -but very rare in that of Henry VIII., and St. Leger must be credited -with unusual breadth of view. The Irish customs were in truth necessary; -for there was then no way of enforcing English law, and the difficulty of -applying it fully has not disappeared even in the reign of Queen -Victoria. As to mismanagement of the revenue, St. Leger gave Alen the lie -direct, and accused him of conspiring with Walter Cowley to defame him; -but this the Chancellor positively denied. The Lord Deputy begged that he -might not be wearied with interrogatories, but called before the Council, -and confronted with his accusers. 'Then,' he said, 'let me be rid of this -hell, wherein I have remained six years, and that some other may serve -his Majesty as long as I have done, and I to serve him elsewhere, where -he shall command me. Though the same were in Turkey, I will not refuse -it.'[278] - -[Sidenote: St. Leger exonerated from blame. Alen and Cowley imprisoned.] - -The English Government came to the conclusion that St. Leger deserved no -blame. Alen could not be quite acquitted of factious conduct; but he was -a faithful servant, and hardly to be spared from Ireland, which had the -quality of transmuting wisdom into foolishness and honesty into -self-seeking. He suffered a short imprisonment in the Tower, and had to -surrender the Great Seal, which, after being refused by two other -lawyers, was given to Sir Richard Rede. But his property was restored to -him immediately after Edward's accession; he became Lord Chancellor -again, and received the constableship of Maynooth, and many other -favours. In 1550 he seems still to have been grumbling against St. Leger, -who could then afford to speak of him as his old friend. Walter Cowley, -the Irish Solicitor-General, was also sent to the Tower. It appears that -one William Cantwell held a lease for life of three farms in Kilkenny, -and that others had seized them while he was learning English at Oxford. -There may have been a question of title, for it was not uncommon in Henry -VIII.'s time to grant the same property to several people at once. -Believing that he had been kept from his own by Ormonde, St. Leger -espoused Cantwell's cause; and it was to get the Earl out of the way that -Cantwell wrote the Gowran letter, and another found at Ross. Cowley, who -was more or less under Alen's influence, declared in the Tower that his -report against St. Leger had been revised by the Chancellor; but this was -solemnly denied. 'I was,' said Alen, 'never of counsel with article of -it. God is my Judge, I would be ashamed to be named to be privy to the -penning of so lewd a book;' and years afterwards he told Paget that -Cowley had confessed the truth of this disclaimer. Perhaps he spoke in -fear of the rack; in any case, the Privy Council or the King decided that -he was a liar, and he was certainly a plotter like his father before him. -The old man was deprived of the office of Master of the Rolls, and the -young one of that of Solicitor-General. Both were employed again in the -next reign. St. Leger was reconciled to Ormonde, and in spite of his -prayers was restored to his government with increased honours and an -hereditary pension.[279] - -[Sidenote: Murder of Ormonde.] - -Ormonde never saw Ireland again. He kept fifty servants in London, who -invited him to sup with them at Limehouse. After supper the whole company -sickened, and seventeen in all died. The Earl was carried to Ely House in -Holborn, where he lingered for several days, but at last succumbed. There -seems to have been no inquiry into this tragedy, and one might suspect -that the Government took this means of releasing themselves from a man -who had become inconveniently powerful, and whose services were too -eminent to attack openly. Henry had no particular scruples about -assassination, when, as in Cardinal Beaton's case, he could not reach his -enemy by other means; but he would hardly have been likely to poison a -subject against whom he could always compass an Act of Attainder. The -fact that Ormonde's loyalty was above suspicion may have rendered this -course difficult, and Henry may have seen in him a possible Earl of -Kildare. He was ambitious, very powerful, impatient of interference, and -by no means tamely subservient to the ruler of the hour. There is no -reason to suppose that Hertford or Wriothesley were capable of such a -crime. Warwick was capable of anything; but if he had suspected the -Seymours, he would hardly have allowed the matter to be hushed up. An -anecdote of Ormonde's son, the famous tenth Earl, perhaps points to a -suspicion against Leicester's father; but it is not likely that the -mystery will ever be cleared up. The 'Four Masters' say St. Leger had -boasted that either he or Ormonde should never return to Ireland; but -this is not mentioned by older annalists, nor in the official -correspondence, and it is just the sort of story that would have been -concocted afterwards. Ormonde's vast estates passed quietly to his heir, -a boy of fourteen, who became the most famous and powerful man of his age -and country. The boy was educated at the English Court, and 200 marks a -year out of his lands in Ireland were assigned for his support.[280] - -[Sidenote: All Deputies had difficulties with the Butlers and the -permanent officials.] - -Scarcely any Deputy could escape collison with the head of the Butler -family, whose influence rested on lasting foundations and not on the -favour of the Dublin Government. Moreover, permanent officials, who had -powerful connections in the county, knew how to thwart their nominal -superior; and, unless he happened to be a man of great tact, difficulties -were sure to arise. Grey and Bellingham quarrelled with the Council. -Sidney viewed the Ormonde of his day with unconcealed jealousy and -suspicion. Strafford was at war with the Lord-Treasurer Cork and with the -Vice-Treasurer Mountnorris; and his treatment of the latter contributed -to his fall. Lord Fitzwilliam was beaten by a revenue commissioner, Lord -Townsend by the boroughmongers; and the lawyers have often been able to -make combinations enabling them to dictate their own terms. Australian -governors can best appreciate the difficulties of Ireland's rulers in -past times. - -[Sidenote: Henry's Irish policy; why it failed.] - -Henry VIII.'s plan for the government of Ireland was very different from -that which his children pursued. Evidently he did not desire to plant -colonists in the country, but rather to civilise the people as they were. -By creating some of the great chiefs Earls, and by insisting on their -going to Court for investiture, he hoped gradually to convert them into -supporters. Such cases as that of Tirlogh O'Toole show that he knew how -to be both gracious and just. On the other hand, the ferocity of his -character was exemplified by his treatment of the five Geraldine -brethren. He was a thoroughly selfish man, but in matters which did not -concern him personally he had many of the qualifications of a statesman. -Had England remained in communion with Rome, his tentative and patient -policy might have succeeded in Ireland. The Reformation caused its -failure, for there never was the slightest chance of native Ireland -embracing the new doctrines. The monasteries had not weighed heavily on -Ireland, and their destruction made many bitter enemies and few friends. -By upsetting the whole ecclesiastical structure, Henry left the field -clear for Jesuits and wandering friars; and his children reaped the -fruits of a mistake which neutralised every effort to win Ireland. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[247] Indenture in O'Carroll's case, July 2, 1541, in _Carew_. - -[248] Submission of O'Donnell, Aug. 6, 1541; O'Donnell to the King, April -20, 1542: 'Iterum Vestram Majestatem exortor, mittatis mihi instrumentum -illud aureum, quo colla nobilium cinguntur, aut katenam, vestesque -congruentes, quibus vestirer decenter, quoties accederem (data -opportunitate) ad Parliamentum.' - -[249] Lord Deputy and Council to the King, Aug. 28, 1541; _Four Masters_, -1541: 'he left them without corn for that year.' - -[250] St. Leger to the King, Dec. 17, 1541. - -[251] Articles binding Con Bacagh O'Neill, in S.P., vol. iii., No. 356: -'Regem recognosco Supremum Caput Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ et Hibernicanæ -immediate sub Christo; et imposterum, in quantum potero, compellam omnes -degentes sub meo regimine, ut similiter faciant; et si contingat aliquem -provisorem aut provisores aliquas facultates sive bullas obtinere de -prædicta usurpata auctoritate, illos sursum reddere dictas bullas et -facultates cogam, et semetipsos submittere ordinationi Regiæ Majestatis.' - -[252] Council of Ireland to the King, S.P., vol. iii., No. 357. - -[253] The King to the Lord Deputy and Council, S.P., vol. iii., No. 348. - -[254] The session was from Feb. 15 to March 7 or 10; see Lord Deputy in -Council to the King, March 31, 1542; for the robbers, see same to same, -Nov. 25, 1544. - -[255] See the submissions in _Carew_--MacBrien Coonagh, March 18, 1542; -Rory O'More, May 13; MacQuillin, May 18; MacDonnell, May 18; Hugh -O'Kelly, May 24; O'Byrnes, July 4; O'Rourke, Sept. 1; MacQuillin and -O'Cahan, May 6, 1543. Lord Deputy and Council to the King, July 12, 1542, -and Aug. 24. - -[256] Desmond's visit to Court was between June 2 and July 5, 1542. Lord -Deputy and Council to the King, June 2; J. Alen to the King, June 4; the -King to the Lord Deputy and Council, July 5; St. Leger to the King, Aug. -27. - -[257] Indentura facta 26 die Septembris, 1542, in S.P. The signatories -promised jointly and severally 'usurpatam primatiam et auctoritatem -Romani Episcopi annihilare, omnesque suos fautores, adjutores, et -suffragatores, ad summum posse illorum precipitare et abolere ... omnes -et singulos provisores ... apprehendere et producere ad Regis communem -legem,' &c. - -[258] Lord Deputy and Council to the Privy Council, Sept. 1, 1542; _Four -Masters_, 1542. - -[259] Submission made at Greenwich, Sept. 24, 1542. - -[260] The creation was Oct. 1, 1542. The patent is in Rymer; the Herald's -account in _Carew_, Oct. 1. O'Neill was back in Ireland before Dec. 7, -when the Irish Government wrote of him to the King. Tyrone's style -was--'Du treshaut et puissant Seigneur Con, Conte de Tyrone, en le -Royaulme d'Irlande.' - -[261] The heraldic account is printed in S.P., vol. iii. p. 473, from the -Cotton MSS.; the O'Brien and Burke patents are in Rymer, Conatius being -by mistake printed for Donatus; see the King to the Lord Deputy and -Council, July 9, 1543; MacWilliam submitted much in the same terms as -O'Neill. - -[262] Hill's _MacDonnells of Antrim_, chaps. i. and ii.; Archdall's -_Lodge's Peerage_, Earl of Antrim and Baron MacDonnell; Burton's _History -of Scotland_, vol. iii. p. 149. For the antiquarian controversy in 1617, -see _Carew_, vol. vi., Nos. 183, 188, 189, 190. 191. - -[263] Hill, p. 37; John Travers's Devices in S.P., vol. iii. p. 382. - -[264] Hill, p. 41; St. Leger to the King, June 4, 1543; Lord Deputy and -Council to the King, June 5. - -[265] St. Leger to the King, July 18, 1543, and the notes; see also -_Carew_, July 15 and 16. - -[266] Lord Deputy and Council to the King, May 15, 1543; same to same, -Dec. 7, 1542, and the King's answer. - -[267] St. Leger to the King, April 6, 1543; the King to the Lord Deputy -and Council, Aug. 9; Lord Justice Brabazon and Council to St. Leger, -March 24, 1544. - -[268] Lord Justice Brabazon and Council to the King, May 7, 1544; same to -St. Leger, March 24, where the kerne are first mentioned in the S.P.; -Privy Council to Lord Justice and Council, March 30; Ormonde to the King, -May 7. In a letter to the King printed in S.P., vol. iii., No. 437, -O'Reilly complains that his contingent cost him 600_l._, that eight weeks -of their wages remained unpaid, and that his chaplain had been taken -prisoner in Scotland, and had paid eight nobles for his ransom. This -shows that some of the 1,000 kerne went to Scotland. - -[269] Stanihurst. - -[270] For these rumours, see the S.P. from May 20, 1544, till May 11, -1545, vol. iii., Nos. 407, 408, 411, 414, 415. - -[271] St. Leger to Wriothesley, Feb. 26, 1545, with Lord Upper Ossory's -letter in a note; to the Privy Council, April 14. - -[272] Hill, p. 43. In a letter printed in S.P., vol. v. p. 483, Donnell -Dhu speaks of himself as 'in materno utero inimicorum jugo et captivitati -astricti, et in hoc pene tempus carceris squalore obruti, et -intolerabilibus compedibus truculentissime ligati.' The notarial -instrument between the islemen is in S.P., vol. v. p. 477. Lord Deputy -and Council of Ireland to the King, Aug. 13, 1545. - -[273] Privy Council to Lord Deputy and Council of Ireland, in S.P., vol. -iii., No. 422. See S.P., vol. v. pp. 505-7. - -[274] Ormonde to Russell, Nov. 15, 1545; Lord Deputy and Council to the -King, Nov. 19. Donnell Dhu died before Jan. 20, 1546, the date of a -letter from James MacDonnell in S.P., vol. iii. p. 548. Dowling. - -[275] Lord Deputy and Council to the Privy Council, Feb. 15, 1546, and a -letter in a note from 'Ewyne Allane of Locheld.' James MacDonnell is -called Lord of the Isles 'by consent of the nobility,' 'apparent heir,' -'worthy to succeed,' and 'Lord elect.' - -[276] Ormonde to Russell, Nov. 15, 1545. - -[277] Cusack to Paget, March 28, 1546. See the S.P. from Feb. 20 to March -28, vol. iii., Nos. 431, 433, 434, 435, 438, 439, and 440. - -[278] See S.P. 1546, vol. iii., Nos. 441 to 448. No. 439 is a letter from -certain Irish chiefs to the King in St. Leger's favour, and they make the -reflection, 'Oh si majoribus nostris tales contigissent moderatores.' - -[279] Alen's Answer to St. Leger in S.P., vol. iii. No. 446, and W. -Cowley's Letter to the Privy Council, No. 448; Alen to Paget, April 21, -1549; St. Leger to Cecil, Dec. 5, 1550. - -[280] Stanihurst; Morrin's _Patent Rolls_, p. 168. - - - - -[Illustration: IRELAND - -(ECCLESIASTICAL)] - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE IRISH CHURCH UNDER HENRY VIII. - - -[Sidenote: King and Pope.] - -During the quarter of a century which elapsed between Henry's accession -and his final breach with Rome, the King showed great submission to the -papal chair. The wishes of such a faithful son could not be lightly -regarded, and royal nominations to English bishoprics were invariably -confirmed by the Pontiff. Capitular elections still took place; but they -had ceased to be free, and preferment was really given by the joint fiat -of the Crown and the Tiara. In Ireland the King was less absolute. The -popes had not forgotten their original gift of the island; and the -clergy, more especially in remote regions, would naturally look to them -for promotion, rather than to a King whose power was uncertain and to -whom they had a national antipathy. In the year 1520 the united sees of -Cork and Cloyne became vacant. Surrey, then Lord-Lieutenant, was besieged -with applications, but preferred the claims of Walter Wellesley, head of -the great Augustinian house of Conal in Kildare. In right of his priory -Wellesley had already a seat in the Irish House of Lords, and Surrey -recommended him to Wolsey as 'a famous clerk, noted the best in the -land--a man of gravity and virtuous conversation and a singular mind -having to English order.' Wellesley was not nominated on this occasion, -either because he preferred his priory to a bishopric, or because the -Cardinal had other views. In the following year the Bishop of Limerick -died, and the Lord-Lieutenant and Council again strongly recommended the -Prior of Conal; but the Pope nevertheless provided John Quin, a Dominican -friar, and Wellesley did not become a bishop till 1529. He was then at -last consecrated to Kildare, and allowed to keep his monastery, as in -that situation he might very fairly do.[281] - -[Sidenote: Case of Clonfert.] - -The points at issue between King and Pope are well illustrated by the -case of Clonfert, which fell vacant at the moment of separation. Clement -provided the Dean, Roland de Burgo, and Henry appointed Richard Nangle -Provincial of the Irish Austinfriars. Nangle was consecrated and took -possession of his see. Relying on his family influence, and probably -upheld by popular opinion, the Papal prelate, who was armed with the -power of granting indulgences and dispensations, defied the royal -nominee, and Nangle was afraid to appear in public. It was proposed to -bring the Burkes to their senses by laying an embargo on the trade of -Galway, but this does not seem to have been done. Ten years after his -original provision, and probably after the death of Nangle, De Burgo was -confirmed by the King and allowed to hold his deanery and other -benefices, of which he had all along kept possession, on condition of -renouncing the Pope's bulls and acknowledging that he held from the -Crown. The Bishop, who must have had an elastic conscience, died in -harness in 1580.[282] - -[Sidenote: Armagh.] - -The more important bishoprics were generally given to men whom the -English Government could trust, and it is not likely that they were ever -filled up in defiance of the King until after his rupture with Rome. -Armagh, Dublin, and Meath were rarely entrusted to any but men of English -birth. In 1513 John Kite, a Londoner, was appointed by provision to -Armagh, but the nomination was certainly agreeable to Henry, who had -before employed Kite as a diplomatist in Spain. The temporalities of the -diocese were almost immediately restored to him, and he was soon -afterwards present in London at the grand reception of Wolsey's red hat. -Kite, who received many tokens of royal favour, was translated by the -Pope to Carlisle. The Holy See claimed very full rights in the case of a -translation; but George Cromer, an Englishman, was appointed to Armagh -at the King of England's supplication. Such was the form preferred by the -Pope, but the supplication was in fact a nomination.[283] - -[Sidenote: Dublin.] - -William Rokeby, a Yorkshireman, was translated from Meath to Dublin in -1512. Henry made him his chancellor, and he also was present at the hat -ceremony. After his death a Somersetshire man, Hugh Inge, was translated -by the Pope from Meath to Dublin. There can be little doubt that this was -done with the King's full consent, for Inge acknowledged that he owed all -to Wolsey. As a special favour the tax on this occasion was reduced from -1,600 to 1,000 florins, on the suggestion of Campeggio, who reported that -certain noblemen had intruded into the diocesan lands and greatly -diminished the income. Inge also held the office of chancellor, which at -this time was almost invariably given to an archbishop. When Inge died, -John Alen, one of Wolsey's chaplains, was provided to Dublin at the -King's instance, or supplication as the Pope called it, and immediately -received the Great Seal. Alen had been employed by the Cardinal in the -suppression of the lesser monasteries, and had incurred great odium in -that office.[284] - -[Sidenote: Meath.] - -The see of Meath, which has the singular distinction of having never -possessed a cathedral, was from its position of especial importance. -After being successively filled by Rokeby and Inge, it was given by the -Pope, but probably at Wolsey's instigation, to Richard Wilson, Prior of -Drax in Yorkshire. It is remarkable that Wilson, who does not seem ever -to have resided in his see, fully acknowledged that the Cardinal's -legatine authority extended to Ireland. This was vehemently denied by -Primate Cromer and his suffragans, who were able to make their objections -good; the whole province of Armagh, except Meath, being situated among -the Irishry. On the resignation of Wilson, Edward Staples, a Lincolnshire -man, was provided by Clement on the King's nomination. He was allowed to -hold St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London, and other benefices, along -with his bishopric, and he had a special Papal dispensation for filling -offices with incompatible duties. Staples fully embraced the Reformation, -and was a principal instrument in carrying out the changed religious -policy of the English Crown.[285] - -[Sidenote: Cashel.] - -In 1524 Edmund Butler, Prior of Athassel, a natural son of Sir Piers -Butler, was appointed by the Pope to Cashel, and by him recommended to -the King, who addressed letters in his favour to the Irish Government. -Kildare alleged that Butler was opposed by his father, and there was -certainly a contest between them. The Archbishop's object was to prevent -his father, as acting Earl Palatine of Tipperary, from raising a revenue -in that county, the larger part of which was in his diocese. The citizens -of Waterford complained that his Grace used every kind of Irish -extortion, and his opposition to the palatinate jurisdiction clearly -arose from no wish to leave the people untaxed. In one respect indeed the -prelate bettered the instruction of the temporal magnates, for he -'retained Dermond Duff for his official and counsellor or commissary, -which so entertaineth the King's people by colour of canon law that there -can be no more extortion committed by any Irish Brehon, and polleth the -King's subjects as he lists, and taketh for fee of sentence of a divorce -10_l._ or more.' He openly robbed a boat laden with merchandise, and held -the owners to ransom. Butler's consecration was delayed for three years: -it is not easy to say why, as there is no trace of a dispute between the -Crown and the Pope. Ultimately he became a very important person, and -generally acted with the other Butlers in support of the King's -authority. He accepted the royal supremacy, and surrendered his monastery -when called on to do so.[286] - -[Sidenote: Tuam.] - -The western province was so entirely Irish that the King could hardly -have interfered effectually with Papal nominees. On the death of the -learned Maurice O'Fiehely in 1513, Thomas O'Mullally was provided to -Tuam, and lived unmolested by Henry till 1536. But Christopher Bodkin, -who had been preferred to Kilmacduagh at the King's request, was -translated purely by royal authority to Tuam. The breach with Rome had at -this time become irreparable; and Bodkin, whom the Vatican regards as a -schismatic but not as a heretic, acknowledged the royal supremacy and -held the temporalities of both his sees, as well as the minor ones of -Enaghdune and Mayo, until his death in 1572. His astuteness far exceeded -that of the Vicar of Bray, for he seems to have kept his preferments and -his opinions as well. A rival archbishop was appointed by Clement in -1538, and is now considered the true one by writers on the Papal side. -The double line has continued ever since.[287] - -[Sidenote: Remoter sees.] - -To the less important and more distant bishoprics appointments were -probably very often made by the popes without the King's interference, -and even without his notice. But when he did make a recommendation it is -hardly likely to have been neglected at Rome. Thus the sees of -Clonmacnoise, Clogher, Ardagh, and Kilmore were on particular occasions -filled by the King, and the appointments confirmed by the Pope at his -request. The case of Clogher is the more remarkable in that a provision -of Julius II. had lately declared that church to be immediately subject -to the Holy See. In the yet more remote districts of Down, Dromore, -Raphoe, and Derry, the King does not seem to have interfered at all. In -providing Edmund O'Gallagher to the see of Raphoe, Clement VII. observed -that the diocese was vacant because the King had neglected to nominate -any one for seventeen years.[288] - -[Sidenote: Leinster.] - -In Leinster the King must generally have had power to prevent any bishop -from enjoying the profits of his see. The patronage was very laxly -managed, for Kildare lay vacant from 1513 to 1526. In 1523 the Earl of -Kildare tried to get the preferment for the dean, Edward Dillon, whom he -recommended to Wolsey as of virtuous living and of English name and -condition. The application failed, but Thomas Dillon was at last -appointed both by King and Pope. This promotion was probably effected in -Kildare's interest; for Cowley, a partisan of the Butlers, called Dillon -an Irish vagabond, without learning, manners, or other good quality, and -not fit to be a holy water clerk. This Irish vagabond had, however, been -educated at Oxford. Thomas Halsey was persuaded by Wolsey to accept the -bishopric of Leighlin, and Maurice Doran was, at the King's request, -provided to the same see. There may be no positive evidence as to Ossory -and Ferns, but there is no reason to doubt that the persons appointed -were acceptable to the Government.[289] - -[Sidenote: Munster.] - -In Munster it is not likely that bishops would be appointed without the -consent of the Crown, except perhaps to the remote sees of Killaloe and -Kilfenora, in which the succession at this period is almost hopelessly -confused. In filling the scarcely less completely Irish bishopric of -Ross, the King took a direct part. He called upon the Pope to accept the -resignation of Edmund Courcey, and to appoint as his successor the -Cistercian John O'Murrilly, with leave to hold the Abbey of Maur in -addition. Leo X. complied in every particular; but when O'Murrilly died -two years later, the Pope took the strong step of uniting Ross with -Dromore in the distant north. We may infer from this that Henry did not -always choose to interfere, but that when he did the Pope paid the -greatest attention to his wishes; and that this rule applied to Munster -generally. At Waterford and Cork, the strongholds of English law, it was -hardly possible for a bishop to enjoy his revenues in defiance of the -Government.[290] - -[Sidenote: Connaught.] - -In Connaught the popes seem to have provided bishops as a general rule; -but they generally avoided a collision when the King's wish was openly -expressed. As late as 1533 Christopher Bodkin was appointed to -Kilmacduagh at Henry's request; and this is a very strong case, because a -purely papal nominee seems to have resigned in his favour. In Elphin John -Max was appointed by the Pope; but as he held the abbeys of Welbeck or -Tichfield, or both, along with his bishopric, he can hardly have been -distasteful to Henry. The case of Burke and Nangle, already mentioned, -shows King and Pope openly at variance. But even at the beginning of that -contest the schism was almost complete.[291] - -[Sidenote: Bad state of the Irish Church.] - -In the 'Description of Ireland,' written early in Henry VIII.'s reign, -there is a story of St. Brigid, who inquired of her good angel of what -Christian land most souls were damned. He showed her a land in the west -part of the world, where was continually root of hate and envy, and vices -contrary to charity, for lack of which souls kept continually falling -down into hell as thick as hail showers. It is inferred that the angel -spoke of Ireland, 'for,' says the writer, 'there is no land in this world -of so long continual war within himself, nor of so great shedding of -Christian blood, nor of so great robbing, spoiling, preying, and burning, -nor of so great wrongful extortion continually as Ireland.' Among the -various causes of this state of things the bishops and clergy are blamed, -'for there is no archbishop nor bishop, abbot nor prior, parson nor -vicar, nor any other person of the Church, high or low, great or small, -English or Irish, that useth to preach the Word of God saveing the poor -friars' beggars ... Also the Church of this land use not to learn any -other science but the law of Canon, for covetyce of lucre transitory; all -other science whereof grows none such lucre, the parsons of the Church -doth despise. They hold more by the plough rustical than by lucre of the -plough celestial, to which they have stretched their hands, and look -always backwards. They tend much more to lucre of that plough, whereof -groweth slander and rebuke, than to lucre of the souls, that is the -plough of Christ. And to the transitory lucre of that rustical plough -they tender so much, that little or nought there chargeth to lucre to -Christ, the souls of their subjects, of whom they bear the cure, by -preaching and teaching of the Word of God, and by their good ensample -giveing; which is the plough of worship and of honour, and the plough of -grace that ever shall endure.'[292] - -[Sidenote: State of Ardagh, Ross, Clonmacnoise, and Enaghdune.] - -This is a heavy indictment, but it is sustained by very many facts which -have come down to us. The state of many important churches shows how ill -religion was supported. A report to Leo X. on Ardagh Cathedral states -that there was no sacristy, no bell nor belfry, no proper appliances for -service; and that the walls of the church itself were but just standing. -There was only one altar, which was exposed to the weather. Mass was -rarely celebrated, and then by a single priest, and the scanty vestments -and utensils were kept in a chest in the church. The town consisted of -four thatched cabins; and there were few inhabitants, owing to continual -wars caused by the conduct of the late Bishop, William O'Ferrall, who had -excited the animosity of his neighbours by attempting to exercise -temporal power. The bishopric of Ross was in rather better case. The town -of 200 houses was walled, and the cathedral church was built of stone in -regular cruciform fashion, and with a tiled roof. There was decent -provision for the mass. On the other hand, the church was unpaved, and -the income of the see no more than sixty marks. At Clonmacnoise, one of -the most famous ecclesiastical places in Ireland, things were scarcely -better than at Ardagh. The town could boast but twelve houses, built of -wicker and straw. The church was roofless, and half ruined; with a single -altar protected by a thatched shed, one vestment, and a cross made of -brass. Mass was rarely celebrated, but the body of St. Ciaran was -preserved and reverenced. The Pope's informant was an Irishman, but the -saint's name was unknown to him. The ancient see of Enaghdune or -Annaghdown on Lough Corrib was in a deplorable state. The church was in -ruins, the clergy far out of order, and the revenue not more than 20_l._, -which could only be collected by a steward who had the favour of the -country.[293] - -[Sidenote: Corruption among dignitaries.] - -The above cases are all of bishoprics situated in remote parts among the -Irishry. The state of the Church in the Pale and other obedient districts -was of course better, but even in Dublin the metropolitan crozier -remained in pawn for eighty years, from 1449 until Archbishop Alen -redeemed it by paying one hundred ounces of silver. The clergy were -charged with seeking money more than souls; and many acts of violence and -extortion are reported on oath against the Archbishop of Cashel and the -Bishops of Ferns, Ossory, Leighlin, Waterford, and Limerick; against the -Abbots of Tintern, Jerpoint, Kilcooley, Holy Cross, Dusk, and -Innislonagh; against the Priors of Kilclogan, Knocktopher, Inistiogue, -Kells, Cahir, and Lady Abbey; and against the Prioress of Moylagh. In -general bishops and heads of houses were not less extortionate than other -gentlemen. They exacted coyne and livery and the other multifarious Irish -imposts with neither more nor less severity than the laity. But it should -not be forgotten that these ecclesiastical dignitaries were also great -landowners, and that they were forced to provide the means of defence in -the only possible way. The Archbishop of Cashel and the Bishops of -Waterford and Ossory had other means of taxing the people peculiar to -their offices; they took excessive fees in all matrimonial and probate -cases, and appropriated a portion of every dead man's goods. The -Archbishop's lowest charge for a divorce was 5_l._, and it was generally -double that or more. The citizens of Waterford declared that the -canonists were as burdensome as the Irish Brehons.[294] - -[Sidenote: Parochial clergy no better.] - -The parochial clergy were no better than the dignitaries. They made -charges varying from sixpence to two shillings for all weddings, -christenings, churchings, and burials; and at the death of any married -person, man or wife, they exacted five shillings, or one-fifth of the -personalty, or the best article of apparel, from the survivor. In many -places divine service was neglected or was only performed at irregular -intervals. The Earl of Kildare, who was not impartial but who probably -spoke truly, declared that the churches in Tipperary and Kilkenny were -generally in ruins through the system of Papal provisions, 'so as, and if -the King's Grace do not see for the hasty remedy of the same, there is -like to be no more Christianity there, than in the midst of Turkey.' -Henry was just beginning to quarrel with the Pope, and would be ready -enough to believe that provisions had ruined the churches. No doubt many -bad appointments were thus made, but it may have been impossible to get -fit men; for Browne reports the clergy as unlearned persons, who repeated -the Latin offices like parrots and without understanding them.[295] - -[Sidenote: Evils of Papal patronage.] - -Piers, Earl of Ossory, also adopted the doctrine that the Papal system of -patronage had been the chief cause of the utter ruin and destruction 'of -cathedral churches, monasteries, parish churches, and all other regular -and secular.' Murderers, thieves, and 'light men of war' obtained -provisions, ousted the rightful incumbents, ignored the rightful patrons, -held livings by force, and wasted them in riotous living. Violence indeed -was the rule. John Purcell, Bishop of Ferns, was in close alliance with -the dangerous rebel and freebooter, Cahir MacArt Kavanagh, was present -when his men sacked the town of Fethard, and himself called loudly for -fire to burn the houses. Milo Baron, Bishop of Ossory, was said to be as -bad as the Bishop of Ferns, and to 'have no virtuous quality nor -obedience to any good laws.' Archbishop Butler was accused of riotous -conduct and of at least one highway robbery, a richly laden boat having -been plundered by him on the Suir within four miles of Waterford. Amid -the general corruption a bright example was shown by the Franciscan -Maurice Doran, Bishop of Leighlin, a learned theologian, an eloquent -preacher, and a man of blameless life. Being advised to increase the -burdens of his clergy, he replied that he had rather shear his sheep than -flay them. Doran was allowed to tend his flock for twenty months only. -Having corrected the irregularities of his Archdeacon Maurice Kavanagh, -he was treacherously murdered by him. It is some satisfaction to know -that Kildare afterwards caught the Archdeacon and his accomplices, and -hanged them in chains on the scene of the Bishop's murder.[296] - -[Sidenote: The Regulars not exempt from censure.] - -The Regulars by no means escaped censure. The Prior of the Hospitallers -of Kilclogan in Wexford was as bad as Bishop Purcell, and 'kept fire in -the steeple door of St. John's, until such time as he had out the ward -that was within.' James Butler, Cistercian Abbot of Innislonagh and Dean -of Lismore, attained a bad eminence. The citizens of Waterford -represented him as a man of odious life, who neglected every duty, gave -himself up to voluptuosity, and wasted the property of his house to -provide for his open and scandalous immoralities. The people of Clonmel -repeat the charge, and extend it to the other monks. The Augustinian -Canons, in the great monastery of Athassel, of which Archbishop Butler -was Prior, were no better. Nor were the mendicants blameless. The -Carmelite Prior of Lady Abbey, near Clonmel, which was a parish church, -kept a mistress and provided no divine service. The Prior of Knocktopher, -also a Carmelite, and the Cistercian Abbot of Dusk, had sons. That -secular priests should be fathers of families was of course common both -in England and Ireland; and they may be defended on the ground that they -were really married, and that such unions, though condemned by the -Church, were not repugnant to the public feeling of the age. But this can -hardly be pleaded in favour of monks, and perhaps still less of friars. -The Prior of Cahir neglected divine service, but was not accused of -immorality. Many enormous crimes were objected against the Abbess of -Kilclehin. The canons of St. Catherine's at Waterford had fallen out -among themselves, and divided the revenues. All these houses were in -south-eastern Ireland, but from what has been said of the state of -cathedral churches in Irish districts it may be inferred that -proportional irregularities existed elsewhere. The fact that priests were -often the sons of priests rests upon less partial evidence than that of -Bale, and it was condoned by the Holy See. Leo X. even showed special -favour to a monk of Monasterevan, notwithstanding that he was a priest's -son. Dispensations on account of defective birth are very common in the -Papal correspondence, and were a source of income to the Curia. -Archbishop Browne believed that in the Irishry not one parson in five was -of legitimate birth. He cannot be considered impartial, but legitimacy -was little regarded by the Irish.[297] - -[Sidenote: The good side of the monastic system.] - -That some monks were immoral or useless is doubtless true. There were -critics who represented them as in every way worse than their English -brethren, but some of these were men who desired the destruction of the -abbeys that they might divide their lands, and whose indignation had not -been excited by abuses until the wishes of the English Court were known. -Robert Cowley, for instance, accused them generally of loose living and -of 'keeping no hospitality save to themselves.' There is ample evidence -that the monks were not all bad. The education of children was almost -entirely in their hands. Six houses in Dublin, Kildare, and Kilkenny are -mentioned as the only places where the rising generation might be -brought up in virtue, learning, and good behaviour. The boys were cared -for by the Cistercians of St. Mary's, Dublin, and of Jerpoint, and by the -Augustinian canons of Christ Church, Dublin, and of Kells and Conal. The -girls were brought up by the canonesses of Gracedieu, near Swords. St. -Mary's was also noted for its hospitality, being the only inn fit for men -of rank; and the doors of Christ Church were always open for Parliament, -Council, or Conference. To escape dissolution all the monks of these -houses were ready to don secular habits. As to the services of the friars -in holding stations, in visiting the sick, and in preaching, there can be -no doubt whatever. Religion in Ireland was in fact only maintained by -them. Most of the friaries had been founded or beautified by great -families, who still continued to befriend them, and who reserved a last -resting-place within their walls. The Franciscans were especially -favoured in this way. Thus, the MacDonnells of Antrim were buried at -Bunamargy, the Desmonds at Youghal and Tralee, the O'Briens at Ennis, the -O'Donnells at Donegal, the Macnamaras at Quin, the Burkes at Athenry, and -the MacCarthies at Irrelagh or Muckross. The Franciscan dress was often -assumed in death and burial, and was thought to bespeak the favours of -heaven. The Dominicans were planted and cherished in the same way. The -Augustinian hermits and the Carmelites had many houses, but were much -less important than the other two orders.[298] - -[Sidenote: Parliament of 1536.] - -When the Irish Parliament met for the despatch of business in May 1536 -many important bills passed without any great difficulty. The proctors of -the clergy, who had voices and claimed votes in the Lower House, objected -to the King being declared supreme head of the Church; but their -opposition was little regarded. Appeals to Rome were forbidden, the -jurisdiction of the Pope abolished, and first-fruits vested in the Crown. -Grey then prorogued Parliament, first to Kilkenny, and afterwards to -Dublin again. In the meantime Archbishop Browne had landed, and lost no -time in recommending the royal supremacy to the people. He had but little -success, and incurred some personal danger. Primate Cromer, who was in -communication with Rome, took the other side, laying a curse on all who -should accept the new system, and reminding his clergy that Ireland was -the Pope's gift to England. Browne is said to have made a speech to -Parliament, in which he appealed to the example of Christ, who paid -tribute to Cæsar, and of the earliest popes, who acknowledged the -supremacy of emperors and kings. A bill was then brought in for the -suppression of twelve religious houses, and for giving the King a -twentieth of all ecclesiastical revenues. A formidable opposition at once -arose in both houses, and particularly in the Commons under the -leadership of the King's sergeant, Sir Patrick Barnewall, who declared -openly that the King's supremacy gave him power to reform abbeys but not -to secularise them. He then went to England to lay his views before -Henry, and Parliament was again prorogued for nearly four months.[299] - -[Sidenote: The Reformation makes no progress.] - -After eighteen months residence in Ireland Browne could report scarcely -any progress. The new Head of the Church, by the mouth of his Archbishop, -gave the people orders for their spiritual conduct; but they were not -well received. All true Christian subjects were ordered to repudiate the -Bishop of Rome, and to erase him from their service-books and manuals; -but this was never done unless Browne sent his own servants to see to it. -The power of binding and loosing and the system of indulgences were -called juggling, and the people were reminded that God only could forgive -sins. There was no Mediator but Christ, and the so-called Pope's 'great -thunderclap of excommunication' could hurt nobody. These exhortations -were in vain, while a conditional general indulgence was eagerly taken -advantage of. A copy of the paper was even hung up openly in Kilmainham -Church. Pilgrimages to Rome were never commoner, and bishops and priors -appointed by provision were received with open arms. The circular which -spoke so contemptuously of the Holy See was Browne's composition, but it -inculcated at least two doctrines which all modern Protestants -reject--the invocation of the Virgin and prayers for the dead.[300] - -[Sidenote: Troubles of Archbishop Browne.] - -Lord Deputy Grey was opposed to doctrinal changes, and made no secret of -his dislike to Browne, whom he suspected of traducing him. The Archbishop -had little help from other officials, and the lawyers opposed him -strongly. Lord Butler, Brabazon, Alen, and one or two others of small -importance, constituted the whole innovating party. They arrogated to -themselves the title of Catholic; they were the right Christians, and -their opponents were sectaries. But Browne's antagonists were active and -numerous. The Observants took the lead everywhere, and they relied on the -support of Grey to defy the Archbishop's authority. Browne had imprisoned -one of his own prebendaries. 'Howbeit, spite of my beard, whiles that I -was at an house of Observants, to swear them, and also to extinct that -name among them, my Lord Deputy hath set him at liberty. I think the -simplest holy water clerk is better esteemed than I am.' Most of the -clergy were unwilling to acknowledge the royal supremacy, or to denounce -the Pope's authority, and they refused to preach at all. The most active -preachers now contented themselves with holding forth in corners to -select knots of sympathisers, and took no notice either of threats or -exhortations. The oath of supremacy had as much effect as oaths taken -under pressure usually have. Now and then some bold spirit would openly -defy Browne. James Humfrey, the prebendary whom he imprisoned and Grey -released, officiated at High Mass in St. Andrew's Church, and omitted to -read the Archbishop's circular. The parish priest ascended the pulpit, -and began to read the paper; but Humfrey gave a signal to the choir, and -the reader's voice was drowned by those of the singers.[301] - -[Sidenote: He cannot agree with Bishop Staples.] - -By the admission of so zealous a reformer as Brabazon, Staples promoted -the Word of God; but the effect of his eloquence was much lessened by the -ill-feeling existing between him and the Archbishop. A report of one of -Browne's sermons, which, as he alleged, was fabricated by Humfrey, had so -excited the wrath of Staples that he denounced it from the pulpit. The -Archbishop himself was present, and thought 'the three-mouthed Cerberus -of hell could not have uttered it more viperiously.' The scene was in the -church of Kilmainham, which was an exempt jurisdiction under the sole -charge of Rawson the Prior. Browne also accused Staples of indulging in -other 'rabulous revilings' against him, of denying that men should search -the Scriptures, and of allowing his suffragan to pray first for the Pope, -then for the Emperor, and lastly for the King, in the words, 'I pray God -he never depart this world, until that he hath made amends.' Browne -imprisoned the suffragan, whom Grey seems to have released without trial. -Staples, on the other hand, reported that everyone was weary of the -Archbishop's demeanour, and that he himself had never said a word against -the King's supremacy, or in favour of the Pope. After an inquiry by -Paynswick, Prior of Christ Church, and two others, the quarrel was -patched up; but the relations existing between the two chief supporters -of the Reformation were not at all conducive to its success.[302] - -[Sidenote: Lord Leonard Grey obnoxious to both parties.] - -It was bad enough to be called a heretic by the Bishop of Meath, but -worse to be called a poll-shorn knave friar by a Lord Deputy who had -soldiers and prisons. Browne said it was no safer to speak against Papal -usurpations before Grey than if the Pope had been present. Lord Butler -agreed with the Archbishop that Grey had a special zeal for popery, -allowed the new system to be openly impugned in his presence, and in fact -headed the reactionary party. According to Browne, he went so far as to -maintain a bishop appointed by the Pope against the King's nominee; but -this is scarcely credible. Grey, however, had the Corporation of -Limerick, and the Bishop and clergy there solemnly sworn to maintain the -new order, and renounce the usurpations of Rome. He is said to have -burned Down Cathedral, and defaced the tombs of the three saints there; -and he was accused on his trial of turning the church into a stable, of -pulling down the tower, and of sending the famous peal of bells to -England: 'had not God of His justice prevented his iniquity by sinking -the vessel and passengers wherein the said bells should have been -conveyed.' Grey has himself recorded his proceedings at the Franciscan -friary of Killeigh, whence he carried off the organ, the glass windows, -and other valuable things. On the other hand, he spared Armagh; and, -being at Trim shortly before the destruction of the miraculous Virgin -there, 'very devoutly knelt before the idol, and heard three or four -masses.' This may have been done from devotional feeling, or through -sheer inconsistency, or to annoy Browne, Brabazon, and Alen, who were -present, and who refused to enter the chapel, by way of showing an -example to the people.[303] - -[Sidenote: Images, relics, and pilgrimages.] - -Browne had a conscientious hatred to images, which he called idols, and -destroyed them wherever he could. In this case coming events had cast -their shadow before, and he at one time thought it prudent to disclaim -iconoclasm. 'There goeth,' he wrote in June 1538, 'a common bruit among -the Irishmen, that I intend to pluck down our Lady of Trim, with other -places of pilgrimages, as the Holy Cross, and such like, which indeed I -never attempted, although my conscience would right well serve me to -oppress such idols.' Even more celebrated than the miraculous Virgin was -the crozier with which St. Patrick had banished the snakes, and which had -been brought from Armagh to Dublin. This wonder-working staff was said to -have been delivered by Christ Himself to a hermit in a Mediterranean -island, with directions to take it to Ireland, and hand it over to the -saint. It was compared to the rod of Moses, and was the chief of a large -tribe of croziers upon which people swore in preference to the gospels. -The staff was burned publicly, and so was the Virgin of Trim, and a -crucifix of peculiar sanctity kept at Ballibogan in Westmeath. The holy -cross of Tipperary was probably spared for a time. Browne and his -successors nearly put an end to relics, which are now so scarce that a -learned member of Parliament in our own times is said to have imported -the bones of a more or less authentic foreign saint. But it was beyond -the power of Government to put down pilgrimages, which were numerous down -to the present century. Of the holy places still remaining, Croagh -Patrick in Mayo is probably the most remarkable.[304] - -[Sidenote: Conformity of Munster Bishops.] - -When the four Protestant members of Council--Browne, Brabazon, Alen, and -Aylmer--visited Clonmel early in 1539, two archbishops and eight bishops -took the oath of supremacy before them. The archbishops were Butler of -Cashel and Bodkin of Tuam--the first regularly appointed, the second not -acknowledged at Rome, but both in undisputed possession. Of the eight -bishops, Milo Baron or Fitzgerald of Ossory, Nicholas Comyn of Waterford -and Lismore, John Coyne or Quin of Limerick, Thomas Hurley of Emly, -Matthew Sanders of Leighlin, and James O'Corrin of Killaloe, appear to -have been regularly appointed. The submission of O'Corrin seems to have -been resented at Rome; for a Papal administrator was appointed to oust -him eighteen months afterwards. He found it necessary to make his peace, -and his resignation in 1542 was accepted by the Pope. No attempt was -made to displace Baron, Comyn, Quin, Hurley, or Sanders. The remaining -prelates present at Clonmel were probably Dominick Tirrey of Cork and -Cloyne, and Richard Nangle of Clonfert. Tirrey was the King's nominee, -and continued to hold the temporalities till his decease in 1556. Lewis -Macnamara, a Franciscan, was set up against him at Rome, but he soon -died, and the Pope did not again interfere for a long time. Nangle, being -kept out of Clonfert by his rival, whom Grey was accused of favouring, at -this time acted as Browne's suffragan or coadjutor. It is expressly -stated that all the Bishops of Munster were present at Clonmel, and all -have been mentioned but three. Ross was vacant, and probably Kilfenora. -Young James Fitzmaurice, who had been lately provided to Ardfert, may -have kept away in Kerry, or very probably he was not in Ireland at all. -We must guard against hastily supposing that all, or even any, of these -prelates were Protestants. Like Gardiner, Bonner, and Tunstal, they -accepted the formulation of the old English principle of national -independence, but they had not therefore necessarily any sympathy with -the doctrines of Luther.[305] - -[Sidenote: The Pope makes Wauchop Primate.] - -Primate Cromer opposed the royal supremacy, but he was none the less -accused of heresy at Rome, and Robert Wauchop, a priest of St. Andrews, -was appointed to administer the see until the Archbishop should purge -himself. Wauchop was a noted theologian, and, in spite of his imperfect -sight, had the singular reputation of riding post better than any man in -Europe. He had lived chiefly at Rome, and was employed by the Holy See on -many missions, including attendance at the diets of Worms, Ratisbon, and -Spires. The choice of a purblind man to persuade the sharp-eyed Germans -gave rise to a proverb, and the reputation for riding post may have been -gained by the rapidity with which he went from place to place. After -Cromer's death Wauchop received the pall, and bore the title of Primate -at the Council of Trent, where he attended for eleven sessions, and where -he shared with the Archbishop of Upsala the distinction of having never -seen his church. In the meantime George Dowdall was appointed by the King -on St. Leger's recommendation, and it must be supposed that he took the -oath of supremacy. In spite of Dowdall's zeal against the reformed -doctrines, he was never acknowledged by the Pope until after Wauchop's -death. The latter does not appear to have landed in Ireland, and his -bolts were shot from Scotland or France. When preparing at last in 1551 -to visit his diocese, he met a most edifying death in the Jesuit Church -at Paris.[306] - -[Sidenote: The Jesuits sent to Ireland, 1542.] - -It was by Wauchop's advice that the disciples of Loyola began their work -in Ireland. Paul III. addressed a brief to Con O'Neill, as prince of the -Irish of Ulster, acknowledging the receipt of letters which he had sent -to Rome by the hands of Raymond O'Gallagher, 'by which letters,' wrote -the Pope, 'and by his fuller verbal communications, our mind has been -variously affected; for we have learned with the pain it calls for how -that island is cruelly ravaged by the present King, and to what a pitch -of impiety he has brought it, and with what savage ferocity he has -spurned the honour of God Almighty. But when, on the other hand, we -learned from thy letters and Raymond's words that there existed in thy -person a champion of God, and of the Roman Church and of the Catholic -religion, we rejoiced greatly in the heavenly Father's love. We praise -thee then, beloved son, as thou hast deserved, and commend thee in the -Lord; and we give Him thanks for granting thee to us and endowing thee -with such virtue and piety for the preservation of that island at the -present time, and we pray Him long to prosper thee, and to preserve thee -to us unchanged. We have taken such care as we were bound, and as thou -hast asked us to take for thee and for the other champions of the -Catholic Faith. We therefore exhort your lordship, and all the peoples of -Ireland who follow your authority and piety, to preserve you all as -becomes faithful servants of the True Christ, in the Catholic Faith which -you have received from your fathers, and preserved with the greatest -constancy to this day. For we who embrace that island with singular -affection and desire to preserve it in its ancient attachment to the Holy -Faith, will never be wanting to your lordship or to your followers in -piety.' - -[Sidenote: The first Jesuit missionaries.] - -John Codure and Alphonso Salmeron were selected by the Pope as nuncios to -Ireland, and another brief was sent to the clergy of Ireland exhorting -them to receive the Jesuits with honour and goodwill. Codure died before -he could visit Ireland, and Paschal Broet accompanied Salmeron in his -stead. Francesco Zapata, not yet admitted to the society, was their -secretary. Broet, whom Loyola called the angel of his society, was a -native of Picardy. Salmeron was a Spaniard, and one of the original seven -companions who took the momentous vow upon the hill of Montmartre. -Ignatius himself gave directions to the mission:-- - -[Sidenote: Loyola's instructions to them.] - -1. They were to use caution in talking, especially with inferiors and -equals, to 'take each man's censure but reserve their judgment.' When -they could not avoid expressing an opinion, it was to be delivered -briefly and with a careless air, so as to avoid further argument. - -2. They were to be all things to all men, like St. Paul. An angry man was -to be treated with great circumspection. - -3. The precept of Basilius was to be observed, that the devil must be -fought with his own weapons. To gain favour at first they were to praise -virtues rather than denounce vices. Medicine might then by degrees be -administered. Morose men might be won by cheerfulness. - -4. In public and private, and especially when performing the duty of -peacemakers, they were to remember that 'all their words and deeds might -become known, and that the things done in darkness would be brought to -light.' - -5. Appointments were to be anticipated rather than deferred, so that -there might be plenty of time for the business in hand. - -6. In money matters they were to meddle as little as possible. Even the -fines which they took for dispensations should be given in alms by the -hands of others, so that they might be able to swear that they had not -touched one penny. - -7. Paschal was to be chief speaker in dealing with great men. In doubtful -cases there was to be a consultation, and the opinion of two was to bind -the other. - -8. They were to correspond with Rome frequently on their journey, -immediately on their arrival either in Ireland or Scotland, and at least -once a month afterwards.[307] - -[Sidenote: Their adventures in Scotland and Ireland.] - -After narrowly escaping imprisonment in France, the three emissaries -reached Scotland and saw James V., who gave them a commendatory letter to -the Irish nobility and a special one to O'Neill, whom he exhorted so to -receive the strangers that they might feel the advantage of his -introduction. A brother of Bishop Farquharson of the Isles accompanied -them to Ireland, where they found nothing to their liking, either civil -or ecclesiastical. The people were savage and the clergy negligent, and -neither bishoprics nor parishes were properly served. All the chiefs but -one were not only sworn to the royal supremacy, but had declared their -readiness to burn the Pope's letters and to deliver his messengers bound -to the King or his Deputy. The single exception was about to follow the -general example. The Irish chiefs were all afraid to confer with the -nuncios, or even to secure them a safe passage out of the island. The -Jesuits also complained that the Scottish King had not performed his -promises. But if Paschal and his companions could do nothing with the -chiefs, they were successful with the people. They changed their place of -abode constantly, exhorting men everywhere in private, hearing -confessions, and celebrating the Mass as often as possible. Indulgences -were sparingly granted, but they gained goodwill by varying burdensome -vows, and by remitting fines and dues. Their personal virtue was evident; -they never spared themselves, and they asked for nothing. Any money that -came within their reach they diverted through the debtor himself, or -through the bishop, to such good work as the repair of churches, the -relief of widows, and the care of unprotected girls. After thirty-four -days thus spent the pursuit waxed too hot. Rewards were offered for their -apprehension, and they escaped to Scotland, where they vainly hoped to -find a quieter people. The Scotch chiefs seemed as bad as the Irish, and -the foreigners were fain to sail to Dieppe, whence they reached Paris on -foot. Zapata remained there for study, and the two Jesuits pursued their -journey to Rome in rags, and almost penniless. They were arrested as -spies at Lyons, but rescued by Cardinals Tournon and Gaddi, who were -passing through and who recognised them. Thus, in apparent, but only -apparent, failure ended the first descent of the Jesuits upon -Ireland.[308] - -[Sidenote: The royal supremacy opposed by the friars.] - -In the days of Henry VIII. the majority of Irish chiefs seem to have -cared greatly for land, much less, but still a great deal, for titles and -gold chains, and very little for religion. They were, therefore, ready -enough to accept the King's ecclesiastical polity; the rather that they -hoped to go on exactly as they had done before. But with the people it -was different. It was not for their interest that tribal lands should be -turned into private estates, nor could they hope for special marks of -royal favour. They were barbarous, but they could appreciate virtue, and -in the austere self-denial of some friars they could discern glimmerings -of a higher light. Against the friars Henry had no available weapon; they -could not even be prevented from preaching. Under the very shadow of -Dublin Castle the King could give no peace to his reformed Church, of -which the only sincere supporters were a few new comers from England. -Except Browne and Staples, who, as we have seen, did not agree, there was -no one to preach what Henry wished the people to learn. And neither of -them could speak a word of Irish. The lawyers in Dublin heard and -disliked the expounders of the new ideas, but the great mass of the -population did not even hear them. The friars had it all their own way, -and every feeling, national and sentimental, predisposed the Irish to -believe their statement of the case. The people were told that Ireland -was a fief of the Holy See, and that the vassal had forfeited all by -treason to his sovereign lord. The Defender of the Faith had become its -assailant, and he was manifestly no longer a Catholic. These were the -arguments used daily and never answered. 'In the Irishry,' Staples -reported, 'the common voice runneth that the supremacy of our sovereign -lord is maintained only by power, and not reasoned by learning.' He -recommended that all Irish clerks should have safe-conduct to come and -go, and to dispute with himself. 'I trust then,' he added, perhaps with a -side cut at the Archbishop, 'to do my master good service, without -railing or "frasing," which doth well nowhere, but least in a good -cause.' And he strongly urged the assumption of the royal title, as at -least one means to disabuse the popular mind. In the meantime the counter -reformation had begun. The official Church was to be defended mainly by -power, by a few English-speaking ecclesiastics, and by the self-seekers -who sought preferment where the sceptre was strong enough to protect -them. On the side of Rome was ranged every popular feeling and prejudice, -and it was to have the support of crowds of devoted men who could exhort -the people in their own tongue, and whose example was sometimes more -eloquent than their words. - -[Sidenote: Irish view of Henry's innovations.] - -The 'Four Masters' describe Henry's reformation as 'a heresy and new -error in England, through pride, vain-glory, avarice, and lust, and -through many strange sciences, so that the men of England went into -opposition to the Pope and to Rome. They at the same time adopted various -opinions and the old law of Moses, and they styled the King the chief -head of the Church of God in his own kingdom. New laws were enacted by -the King and Council according to their own will. They destroyed the -orders to whom worldly possessions were allowed ... and the four poor -orders ...; and the lordships and livings of all these were taken up for -the King. They broke down the monasteries, and sold their roofs and -bells, so that from Arran of the Saints to the Straits of Dover there was -not one monastery that was not broken and shattered, with the exception -of a few in Ireland, of which the English took no heed. They afterwards -burned the images, shrines, and relics of the saints of Ireland and -England.... They also appointed archbishops and sub-bishops for -themselves; and though great was the persecution of the Roman emperors -against the Church, scarcely had there ever come so great a persecution -from Rome as this; so that it is impossible to narrate or tell its -description, unless it should be narrated by one who saw it.' There can -be no doubt that these were the ideas prevalent in Ireland in the -sixteenth century, and they remain essentially unchanged in the -nineteenth. That the annalists tell but a small part of the whole truth -must be plain to candid students; but it is the only part which the -native Irish have ever accepted. In England Anglicanism was the outcome -of national independence; in Ireland it was the badge of conquest. - -[Sidenote: The King resolves to dissolve the religious houses.] - -Barnewall's mission failed; but he did not lose the King's favour, and -was soon promoted: had he been an English lawyer he would have lost his -head. While denying the King's right to dissolve monasteries, he made no -objection to receiving a grant of their lands, and accepted that very -nunnery of Gracedieu where all the young ladies of the Pale had been -educated. When the houses met again the clergy opposed all legislation, -being perhaps excited by rumours of a Geraldine restoration. The proctors -insisted on their right to vote as an estate, and the bishops and abbots, -who formed a majority in the Lords, declined to entertain any business -until the point was decided. The Council gave a decided opinion that the -claim of the proctors was unfounded, and the spiritual peers at last -agreed to proceed to business with or without their consent. The Lords -threw out the Bill for confirming the King's title to certain abbeys, -most of which had already been suppressed; making an exception only in -the case of St. Wolstan's. The Bill for giving the King a twentieth part -of all spiritualities was also rejected. After a further prorogation for -four months this resistance was at length overcome. An Act was passed -declaring the proctors to be no members of Parliament, the first-fruits -of abbeys were given to the King, the suppressions were confirmed, the -much desired twentieth was granted, and the questions of faculties and -testamentary dispositions were arranged in a sense hostile to Rome. As -far as an Act of Parliament could do it, the Church in Ireland was now -placed on the same footing as the Church in England.[309] - -[Sidenote: First convent dissolved, 1535. Relative strength of different -orders.] - -The first Irish religious house dissolved by Henry VIII. seems to have -been the nunnery of Grane, which gave a title to Lord Leonard Grey; but -the nuns were quartered on other houses: this was in 1535. In the latter -half of 1536 a commission under the Great Seal not now extant was issued -for the suppression of eight Irish abbeys named therein. The earliest -victim of the batch was probably St. Wolstan's near Leixlip, a house of -canons of the congregation of St. Victor, which was granted to John Alen, -the Master of the Rolls. The necessary inquiries into the condition and -property of the doomed institutions were too slow for Henry, who chided -the Irish Council for remissness. They promised to proceed as speedily as -was consistent with his Highness's profit. Before the end of 1537 fifteen -more houses had fallen, all within the Pale or in the immediate -neighbourhood of walled towns. After this the process of surveying and -suppressing went on rapidly, so that by 1541 all, or very nearly all, the -houses in Dublin, Kildare, Meath, Louth, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, -Tipperary, Waterford, and Limerick city had been surrendered. A careful -calculation makes the whole number about seventy-eight, of which -thirty-eight were Canons Regular, eleven Crutched Friars, fifteen -Hospitallers, two Benedictines, and twelve Cistercians. Only ten of the -number were nunneries, all belonging to Regular Canonesses. To these may -be added a few in other districts, such as Aghmacarte in -MacGillapatrick's country, and Midleton in the county of Cork.[310] - -[Sidenote: The Cistercians. Mellifont.] - -Some monasteries deserve particular mention, and of these Mellifont, the -oldest of the Cistercian houses, is perhaps the most famous. It is said -to have contained 140 monks, and was called Monastermore, or the Great -Monastery. The Cistercians were introduced about 1142 by Donough -O'Carroll, Prince of Oriel, at the instance of Malachy, the friend of -Bernard of Clairvaux, who wrote his life and in whose arms he died. St. -Bernard supplied the new foundation with monks from his own monastery, -under the leadership of Christian O'Conarchy, afterwards Bishop of -Lismore and papal legate, who presided in that synod of Cashel where the -Irish Church was first formally subjected both to Rome and to England. -King John afterwards confirmed all grants made before the conquest, and -several later sovereigns were benefactors of Mellifont. The abbot was -always summoned to Parliament, where he took precedence of all his mitred -brethren, and ranked immediately below the bishops. The buildings, of -which there are still some remains, are said to have greatly resembled -those of Clairvaux. The rich estates were granted by Elizabeth to Lord -Drogheda's ancestor as a reward for defending the northern border of the -Pale against the Ulster Irish.[311] - -[Sidenote: Holy Cross.] - -Another famous Cistercian abbey was that of Holy Cross on the Suir, whose -beautiful ruins recall, though they do not rival, Fountains, Furness, and -Rivaulx. This monastery was founded by Donald O'Brien, King of Limerick, -shortly before the Anglo-Norman invasion. A fragment of the true cross -preserved here attracted many pilgrims, and is thought by some to have -been contained in a richly sculptured shrine which still stands. Long -after the dissolution pilgrimages continued, and Sir Henry Sidney noted -the 'detestable idolatry used to an idol called the Holy Cross, whereunto -there is no small confluence of people daily resorting.' The abbots had -seats in Parliament, and from the extent of their territorial power were -sometimes called Earls.[312] - -[Sidenote: Dunbrody and Tintern.] - -Two Cistercian abbeys near one another in Wexford are remarkable from the -circumstances of their foundations. Dunbrody was built by the ruthless -conqueror, Hervey de Montmorenci, who sought to expiate his cruelties by -becoming its abbot and endowing it with all his property. Tintern was -founded in fulfilment of a vow made during a storm at sea by William -Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, who brought monks and a name from Wales. -Tintern was the only Irish abbey which retained the original black dress -of Citeaux, thus acknowledging the foundation of Stephen Harding rather -than that of Bernard. - -[Sidenote: Hospitallers. Kilmainham.] - -Strongbow founded a preceptory for Templars at Kilmainham in 1174, and it -became rich and powerful. Under Edward II. the order was suppressed in -Ireland with as little pretence of justice as elsewhere, and its -possessions granted to the Hospitallers, who showed less charity to the -really poor, though their doors were always open to strangers and -travellers of importance. The priors of Kilmainham were often chosen -from the greatest families--Talbots, Butlers, and Fitzgeralds--were -always summoned to Parliament, and became very important personages. -Being exempt from episcopal jurisdiction they sometimes acted almost like -independent princes. In 1444 the Prior, Thomas Fitzgerald, espoused the -cause of Archbishop Talbot in his quarrel with the White Earl of Ormonde, -and he challenged the latter to trial by combat. The fight was appointed -to take place at Smithfield, and both champions were kept in close -custody; the Earl being confined in the Tower, of which the Duke of -Exeter, inventor of the rack and other gentle instruments, was then -constable. The Duke was authorised to allow his distinguished prisoner -exercise enough to keep him in good fighting condition, his swordsmanship -being evidently thought adequate. The representative of the Church -militant was considered wanting in skill, and was detained in the city to -receive instructions at the royal expense from Philip Treherne, -fishmonger and fencing master. Ormonde's friends cleared his character, -and the combat never took place. Many acts of turbulence were charged -against Fitzgerald; but he was far outstripped by James Keating, who -became prior in 1461, and who defied the King, the Deputy, and his own -Grand Master for thirty years. Marmaduke Lumley was sent to supersede -him, but died of the ill-treatment which he received. In 1511 Sir John -Rawson, the last prior, was appointed. He was an able man and a chief -supporter of the Government, but did not think it necessary to observe -his vow of chastity. At the dissolution Rawson was created Viscount of -Clontarf, where there was a cell of his house, and enjoyed a pension of -500 marks till his death in Edward VI.'s time. Sir William Weston, the -English Provincial, was less fortunate, for he was forced to leave his -priory and died the same day. The great possessions of Kilmainham were -granted to different persons, and the site of the commandery is now fitly -occupied by a military hospital, which owes its foundation to the great -Duke of Ormonde.[313] - -[Sidenote: Pensions to monks.] - -Pensions were generally granted to the heads of the dissolved houses and -sometimes to the other monks. Thus the Abbot of Mellifont received -40_l._, and several of the monks from 3_l._ 6_s._ 8_d._ to 20_s._ The -Prior of Fower in Westmeath and the Abbot of St. Mary's, Dublin, received -each 50_l._; the Prior of St. Thomas's, Dublin, 42_l._; and others were -paid in proportion to the importance of their convents. In a few cases -priors received as little as 3_l._, and monks as little as 13_s._ 4_d._ -The ejected brethren often got other preferment. Edmond O'Lonergan, Prior -of Cahir, who received a pension of 3_l._ 6_s._ 8_d._, was made vicar of -the parish, and William Walsh, Prior of Ballydrohid, had a pension of -6_l._ 8_s._ 4_d._ till he should receive a benefice of greater value. -Hugh Doyne, one of the monks of Conal, who had received a pension of -40_s._, surrendered it on being presented by the Crown to a vicarage. -Pensions were charged on the lands of the dissolved houses, and power of -distress was sometimes given. The absence of complaints may justify a -supposition that payments were pretty regularly made. Great numbers of -monks doubtless withdrew to the Continent. Mary herself grumbled at the -numerous pensions payable to clerks, and directed her Deputy to make them -the first objects of his patronage, so that the pensions might be -gradually absorbed.[314] - -[Sidenote: Titular abbots still appointed. Cistercians.] - -In the case of the Cistercians at least titular abbots were sometimes -appointed for many generations. Alemand, the French historian of Irish -monasteries, says that the learned Nicholas Fagan, Bishop of Waterford, -was Abbot of Innislonagh, and was buried in the abbey in 1617. According -to the same author, who wrote towards the end of the seventeenth century, -there were in his time Abbots of Mellifont, Tintern, and Boyle, living in -the neighbourhood of their abbeys, but dressing like laymen. They were -probably chiefly occupied in receiving novices for education in foreign -convents. An important paper drawn up at Waterford in 1646 bears the -signature of one prior of Augustinian canons, and of four Cistercian -abbots, to say nothing of Jesuits and mendicants, but some of these may -have been appointed after the breaking out of the rebellion. In the reign -of James I. some Cistercians certainly lurked in Ireland. The nuncio -Rinuccini, who had the charge of Irish patronage from 1645, apologised -for preferring so many regulars on the ground that men of family seldom -became secular priests.[315] - -[Sidenote: The dissolution not carried out in remote districts.] - -In 1541 a commission was issued to the Earl of Desmond and others to -survey and dissolve all religious houses in Cork, Limerick, Kerry, and -Desmond. In these districts and in the purely Irish regions of Connaught -and Ulster, the process of dissolution was slow and uncertain. The title -of the Crown was theoretically acknowledged, but in some cases nothing -was done for many years. As the native nobility were subdued or -reconciled, Henry VIII.'s policy was gradually carried out. In the -wildest parts of Ulster the consummation was delayed until after the -flight of the Earls in the reign of James I.[316] - -[Sidenote: Number and wealth of religious foundations.] - -[Sidenote: Many are losers by the dissolution.] - -Without counting the mendicant orders, about 350 religious houses can be -traced in Ireland. Many of these had disappeared before the reign of -Henry VIII., having become parish churches, or been absorbed in episcopal -establishments. Others were dependent on English foundations, and were -destroyed by the Act of Absentees; others, again, were cells to more -important houses, and followed their fortunes. A yearly income of -32,000_l._, with personalty to the amount of 100,000_l._, has been -attributed to the Irish monasteries, and their possessions must certainly -have been considerable. The monks, and especially the Cistercians, -generally chose fertile situations near a river or on the coast, for the -sake of fish and water carriage. The most beautiful and convenient sites -were in their hands, and their system of cultivation was much superior to -that of lay proprietors. The ceaseless wars of Ireland did not entirely -spare the religious houses, but they escaped better than other kinds of -property. The spoiling of the Church could never have been considered a -great or glorious work. The wealth of the monks is not to be measured by -the extent of their lands. It is in the vast number of their houses, -orchards, gardens, fishing-weirs, and mills, that we must seek the -evidence of accumulated capital. The immense circuit of the walls at -Kells or Athassel seems to show that great numbers of artificers and -labourers were sheltered within the enclosures, and that the monks knew -how to defend their own. The system of corrodies or resident pensions -probably reconciled the great nobles, and opposition to the dissolution -came partly from those who were impoverished by their abolition. It is to -these pensions, which were perhaps often abused, that Cowley probably -alludes when he accuses the monks generally of immorality and of showing -no hospitality save to themselves and 'certain bell-wedders, which -ringleaders have good fees, fat, profitable farms, the finding of their -children, with other daily pleasures of the abbeys, and fearing to lose -the profit thereof, repugn and resist the suppressing of abbeys, -surmising it should be prejudicial to the common weal, which is -otherwise.'[317] - -[Sidenote: The Friaries suppressed. Not before 1541.] - -In 1541 a commission was issued to Sir Anthony St. Leger and others to -survey and suppress all the friaries in Ireland. The total number was -rather under two hundred, of which the Franciscans had more than half, -the Dominicans forty-three, the Augustinian hermits twenty-four, and the -Carmelites twenty-one. As in the case of the older monasteries, the -houses within reach were at once dissolved, and the rest were perforce -respited. Their possessions were not large, and the friars managed to -exist without them. The Dominican historian says there were about six -hundred members of his order in Ireland just before Cromwell's conquest, -and the Franciscans were probably much more numerous. The houses of Grey -Friars had been very generally reformed by the Observants, and it is with -these stricter votaries that we generally meet. They swarmed everywhere, -and to them is due the preservation of the Roman tradition until the -Jesuits made head in Ireland. Archbishop Browne is never tired of -testifying against them, and Thomas Agard, his enthusiastic supporter, -calls them crafty bloodsuckers. Almost the only open opposition to the -dissolution came from a Franciscan, Dr. Sall, who boldly preached against -it at Waterford. During the Cromwellian war and subsequent persecution -the Franciscans claim thirty-one martyrs, which shows that they must have -been very numerous. In 1645 the Carmelites reckoned twenty-seven houses -in Ireland, but most of these were doubtless desecrated and deserted. No -candid Protestant can altogether sympathise with Browne and Agard, for we -have the most overwhelming proof that but for the friars a large part of -the population would have been altogether debarred from the exercise of -religion.[318] - -[Sidenote: All kinds of men share the plunder.] - -Most of the men who had been useful in carrying out the suppression -received a share of the spoils. Brabazon, St. Leger, Sir John Alen, Chief -Justice Luttrell, Edmund Sexton, Sir Thomas Cusack, and Robert Dillon, -were all enriched in this way. Prime-serjeant Barnewall denied the King's -right to dissolve the monasteries, but profited largely by the measure. -Celts, Normans, and Saxons, Papists and Protestants alike, showed a fine -appetite for the confiscated lands. Desmond had a lease of part of St. -Mary Abbey, perhaps to induce him to spend some of his time in Dublin. -Three at least of the new peerages--Upper Ossory, Carbery, and Cahir, -were partially endowed from similar sources. Edward Power, bastard -brother of the first baron of Curraghmore, was granted the possession of -Mothel, of which he had been prior. In some cases, as in Clanricarde and -Thomond, the Government made a virtue of necessity, and gave monastic -lands to lords or chiefs who would have had the power to seize them in -any case. It is scarcely necessary to say that the House of Ormonde -profited enormously by the dissolution. Sometimes the plunder was too -small to excite much cupidity, and then the monks might be spared. Thus -the Austinfriars of Dunmore in Galway, who had 'neither land nor profit, -but only the small devotion of the people,' were respited during the -King's pleasure, on condition of assuming a secular habit. A like -indulgence was given to the canons of Toem in Tipperary, which the -O'Meaghers had been able to prevent the Royal Commissioners from -visiting. Many houses were reasonably granted to the founders' kin, for -the dissolution must have been a heavy loss to some families. Most of the -corporate towns had founded or fostered monasteries, and Waterford, -Drogheda, Kilkenny, Galway, Limerick, Clonmel, and Athenry received a -portion of the spoils. All Saints was specially granted to the citizens -of Dublin in compensation of their loss during the Geraldine siege. As a -general rule, monastic lands were at first let only on lease, and in -succeeding reigns large fines were obtained by the Crown. At the first -threat of dissolution some houses hastened to let their lands for long -terms, and to cut down their woods and sell their jewels, and thus the -plunder actually realised often fell below expectation. I have met with -but one case of a charitable foundation being laid immediately upon the -ruins of a monastery, and that was owing to private liberality. Henry -Walshe, son of a Waterford merchant, bought the Grey Friars from the -King, and founded a hospital for sixty or more sick persons. This -institution received a royal charter, and still exists on a reduced -scale.[319] - -[Sidenote: No university in Ireland.] - -No care was taken to supply the place of the monasteries which were -devoted to education. There had been three attempts to found a university -in Ireland before the reign of Henry VIII. In 1310 John Lech, Archbishop -of Dublin, obtained a bull from Clement V., who ordered the establishment -of the desired institution, which would, he hoped, 'sprinkle the said -land, like a watered garden, to the exaltation of the Catholic faith, the -honour of the mother church, and the profit of all the faithful.' Lech -died soon after, and his project was buried with him; but his successor, -Alexander de Bicknor, actually made a foundation in connection with St. -Patrick's Cathedral, and under the patronage of John XXII. Bicknor's -University maintained a very precarious existence till the time of Henry -VII., when it finally disappears. The institution was not crushed by the -weight of its endowments, for it does not seem to have had any. In 1465 -Bicknor's work was ignored by the Parliament of Drogheda, which founded a -new university on the ground that there was none in Ireland. But it was -not enough to declare that Drogheda should be as Oxford: there was no -endowment and no popular support, and this scheme also failed. Very near -the end of his reign Henry VIII. made up his mind that one cathedral was -enough for Dublin, and he suppressed St. Patrick's. Christ Church had -already been acknowledged as the metropolitan church. But it was not till -the next reign that Archbishop Browne propounded his abortive plan for -restoring the University which had once faintly glimmered.[320] - -[Sidenote: Archbishop Browne.] - -The principal instrument by which Henry carried out his ecclesiastical -revolution was George Browne, Provincial of the English Austinfriars, who -was appointed Archbishop of Dublin in 1535 after regular election by the -two chapters. He was consecrated by Cranmer, Fisher, and Shaxton of -Salisbury, who were significantly commanded to invest him with the pall. -Browne's appointment is ignored at Rome, but no rival prelate was at -first set up. He had already distinguished himself by preaching strongly -against the invocation of saints, and, whatever his faults were, he was -certainly a sincere Protestant. 'The common voice goeth,' said Staples, -who had not quite made up his own mind, 'that he doth abhor the Mass.' -Browne was married, but whether before or after his consecration does not -appear. He zealously promoted the King's supremacy and the destruction of -images, and complained bitterly of being thwarted by his colleague of -Armagh, by the Irish generally, and even by Lord Deputy Grey. Cromer was -in communication with Rome, and circulated a sort of Papal oath of -allegiance among the clergy, in which obedience to heretical powers was -denounced and all their acts declared null and void. The old jealousy -between Armagh and Dublin may have had something to say to this; for -Browne, if we may believe Staples, claimed authority over all the clergy -of Ireland. The new Archbishop did not bear himself meekly in his great -office, and he received a stinging rebuke, which the writer was pleased -to call a gentle advertisement, from the King himself. Henry accused his -nominee of neglecting the instruction of the people and the interests of -the Crown. 'Such,' he added, 'is your lightness in behaviour and such is -the elation of your mind in pride, that glorying in foolish ceremonies, -and delighting in _we_ and _us_, in your dreams comparing yourself so -near to a prince in honour and estimation, that all virtue and honesty is -almost banished from you. Reform yourself therefore ... and let it sink -into your remembrance that we be as able for the not doing thereof to -remove you again and to put another man of more virtue and honesty in -your place, both for our discharge against God, and for the comfort of -our good subjects there, as we were at the beginning to prefer you.' Well -might Browne answer that the King's letter made him tremble in body for -fear. He defended himself at length, and invoked the fate of Korah should -he fail to advance the King's service. His defence seems to have -satisfied Henry, but he continued to make many enemies and to excite much -criticism. 'His pride and arrogance,' said Staples, 'hath ravished him -from the right remembrance of himself.'[321] - -[Sidenote: Bishop Staples.] - -Edward Staples, originally a Cambridge man, and afterwards parson of -Tamworth and a canon of Cardinal College, was appointed to the see of -Meath in 1530 by Papal provision. Either as Bishop or Privy Councillor he -incurred the hatred of the Geraldine faction, and fled to England on the -breaking out of the rebellion in 1534. Early next year he returned, and -was one of the commissioners for suppressing the nunnery of Grane. -Staples did not at first fully embrace the reformed doctrines, for he -accused the Archbishop of Dublin of heresy, and appears to have been -attached to the Mass; but he was as zealous as Browne for the royal -supremacy, and his conversion to thorough Protestantism was gradual like -Cranmer's. Staples was a noted preacher, and was promoted for that -reason; but the King at one time accused him of slackness and threatened -to remove him.[322] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[281] Surrey to Wolsey, Sept. 6, 1520, and the notes; Pace to Wolsey, -April 7, 1521, in _Carew_; Stubbs, _Const. Hist._ ii. 317. - -[282] Ware's _Bishops_; Richard Culoke to Brabazon, Nov. 10, 1537; the -King to the Lord Deputy and Council, July 10, 1543. - -[283] Ware. - -[284] Brady's _Episcopal Succession_, vol. i. p. 325; Ware. Roy's satire -against Wolsey, printed in the 9th vol. of the _Harleian Miscellany_, has -the following: - - _Wat._ And who did for the show pay? - - _Jeff._ Truly many a rich abbaye - To be eased of his visitation. - - _Wat._ Doth he in his own person visit? - No, another for him doth it, - That can skill of the occupation. - A fellow neither wise nor sad, - But he was never yet full mad, - Though he be frantic and more. - Dr. Alen he is named, - One that to lie is not ashamed - If he spy advantage therefore. - - _Wat._ Are such with him in any price? - - _Jeff._ Yea, for they do all his advice, - Whether it be wrong or right. - - -[285] As to the legatine authority, see _Brewer_, vol. iii., No. 2838, -and iv., No. 5131; John Alen to Wolsey, June 1, 1523, in S.P. - -[286] Clement VII. to Henry VIII., Oct. 21, 1524, in _Brewer_ and in -_Rymer_; Kildare's Articles against Ormonde in S.P., vol. ii. p. 123; and -see _Brewer_, vol. iv., No. 4277; R. Cowley to Wolsey in 1528, S.P., vol. -ii. p. 141; _Presentments of Grievances_, edited by Graves, p. 203; -Council of Ireland to Cromwell, Feb. 8, 1539. - -[287] _Brady_, vol. ii.; Council of Ireland to Cromwell, Feb. 8, 1539. - -[288] Theiner's _Vetera Monumenta_, pp. 515, 516, 521; _Brady_, Arts, -Kilmore, Clogher, and Raphoe. - -[289] Kildare to Wolsey, Feb. 8, 1522; R. Cowley to Wolsey, S.P., vol. -ii., No. 53; Ware. - -[290] For the Ross case, see _Theiner_, p. 520; for the union of Ross and -Dromore 'propter tenuitatem utriusque ecclesiæ,' see _Brady_, vol. ii. p. -109. - -[291] See _Brady_, under Elphin and Kilmacduagh. - -[292] S.P., vol. ii. pp. 11, 15, and 16. - -[293] For Ardagh, see _Theiner_, p. 521; for Ross, p. 529; for -Clonmacnoise, p. 518. For Enaghdune, see Ossory to Cromwell in 1532, -_Carew_, vol. i. No. 37. - -[294] _Presentments of Grievances_, ed. Graves; particularly pp. 192 and -203. - -[295] Kildare's Articles against Ormonde in 1525, S.P., vol. ii. p. 123; -his statement is partially confirmed by the _Presentments of Grievances_, -and see Ossory's own statements in 1534, _Carew_, vol. i. p. 55; Ware's -_Life and Death of Archbishop Browne_. - -[296] Indenture of Remembrance for the Earl of Ossory and Lord Butler, -May 31, 1534, in _Carew; Presentments of Grievances_, pp. 48 and 204; -_Four Masters_, 1525; Dowling's _Annals_, 1522:--'Mauritius Doran -episcopus in jocando ejus adventu quibusdam persuadentibus duplicari -subsidium cleri respondit: melius radere oves quam destruere.' - -[297] _Presentments of Grievances_, especially pp. 100, 202, 204, and -248; for the sons of clergy, &c., see Kildare's Articles in S.P., vol. -ii. p. 122. In _Brewer_, Feb. 25, 1521, Leo X. authorises a priest's son -to govern the Cistercian Abbey of Rosglas; Browne to Cromwell, Nov. 6, -1538, in S.P.; for Kilclehin (wrongly calendared as Kilcullen), see -_Hamilton_, Oct. 9, 1539. - -[298] For the educating monasteries, see Lord Deputy and Council to -Cromwell, May 21, 1539, and the petition from St. Mary's, July 31. The -value of the friars appears from the whole history of the time. See in -particular _Presentments of Grievances_, p. 130; R. Cowley to Cromwell, -Oct. 4, 1536. - -[299] Browne to Cromwell, July 15, 1536 (?), in Browne's _Life and -Death_, in _Ware_, p. 148, and in the _Phoenix_; R. Cowley to Cromwell, -Oct. 4, 1536. - -[300] Browne to Cromwell, Jan. 8, May 8, and Aug. 10, 1538. The Form of -the Beads in S.P., vol. ii., No. 214; R. Cowley to Cromwell, July 19, -1538 and Aug. 5. - -[301] James White to Cromwell, March 28; Lord Butler to the King, March -31; again to Cromwell, April 5; Brabazon to Cromwell, April 30; Browne to -Cromwell, Jan. 8, May 8 and 20, 1538. - -[302] This quarrel may be traced in detail in the _State Papers_. Browne -to J. Alen, April 15, 1538; to Cromwell, May 8 and 21, and June 20 and -27; Staples to St. Leger, June 17; to Cromwell, June 10 and Aug. 10; -Thomas Alen to Cromwell, Oct. 20; Brabazon to Cromwell, April 30. - -[303] Grey to Cromwell, Dec. 31, 1537; J. Alen to Cromwell, Oct. 20, -1538; Browne's Letters in S.P. from 1538 to 1540; R. Cowley to Cromwell, -July 19, 1538; Lord Butler to Cromwell, Aug. 26. Butler says that at the -Lord Deputy's table the vicar of Chester said the King had commanded -images to be set up, worshipped, and honoured as much as ever. 'We held -us all in silence to see what the Lord Deputy would say thereto. He held -his peace, and said nothing; and then my Lord of Dublin, the Master of -the Rolls, and I said that if ... he were out of the Deputy's presence, -we would put him fast by the heels.... His lordship said nothing all the -while. Surely he hath a special zeal to the Papists.' For Down Cathedral, -see Stanihurst. - -[304] Ware places the destruction of relics in 1538: it was perhaps a -little later. For Our Lady of Trim and the Baculum Jesu, see the _Four -Masters_, under 1537, and O'Donovan's notes; also Giraldus Cambrensis, -_Top._ Dist. iii. cap. 33 and 34, and _Expug._ lib. ii. c. 19, Record -Edition. The notice in Campion is perhaps only an echo of Giraldus. - -[305] The above paragraph is founded on a careful comparison of the data -in Ware, Cotton, and Brady. R. Cowley to Cromwell, Aug. 5, 1538; and see -S.P., vol. iii. pp. 110, 117, and 123. A letter from Staples to St. -Leger, June 17, 1538, throws some light on Henry's relations with Rome -before the divorce question arose: 'Appoint some means how that such -bishops as had their bulls of the Bishop of Rome by our sovereign lord's -commandment may bring in their bulls, cancelling the same, and to have -some remembrance from his Highness, which shall stand them in like effect -with the same.' - -[306] There are notices of Wauchop in Ware, Brady, Sarpi, ii. 34 (French -translation and Courayer's notes), and Moran's _Spicilegium Ossoriense_, -vol. i. p. 13. Twelve letters of Wauchop printed in the last-named work -have nothing particular to do with Ireland. He must be regarded as -founder of the titular hierarchy in Ireland. - -[307] Abstracted from Hogan's _Hibernia Ignatiana_, p. 4, where Paul's -letter may be also read in the original Latin. - -[308] Hogan's _Hibernia Ignatiana_, pp. 3-9. Paul III.'s letter to Con -O'Neill is dated April 24, 1541. The Jesuits were in Ireland in February -and March, 1542. O'Sullivan Beare, lib. iii. cap. 8. James V. to the -Irish chiefs, in S.P., vol. v. p. 202; Paget to Henry VIII. from Lyons, -July 13, 1542, in S.P., vol. ix. p. 106. - -[309] _Calendar of Patent Rolls_, p. 73; Grey to Cromwell, Feb. 4, 1537. -The last session began Oct. 13, 1537; a detailed account is given by -Brabazon in a letter to Cromwell in S.P., vol. ii. p. 524, and in the -note there. - -[310] Grey and Brabazon to Cromwell, May 18, 1537. The King to the Lord -Deputy and Council, S.P., vol. ii. p. 425. Harris's _Ware_ under Staples, -Bishop of Meath. For the names of the dissolved houses, see the Statute, -28 Henry VIII. cap. 16, and _Calendar of Patent Rolls_, p. 38. There were -twenty-five mitred abbots and priors in Ireland, ten of Canons Regular, -one of Benedictines, one of Hospitallers, and thirteen of Cistercians. -Ware, in his _Annals_, says the heads of St. Mary's and St. Thomas's, -Dublin, of Kilmainham, and of Mellifont were regularly summoned to -Parliament--the more distant ones very seldom. The Augustinians were the -most numerous and probably the richest of the sedentary orders. Their -rule was adopted by most of the ancient Irish monasteries, the small -residue becoming Benedictine. Alemand, who was originally a Huguenot and -who was Voltaire's countryman, remarks that in order to become quickly a -bishop in Ireland, it was necessary first to be a Regular Canon. - -[311] Chiefly from Alemand; the words of John's grant are 'ante adventum -_Francorum_ in Hiberniam.' For the final grant, see Archdall's _Lodge_. -Art. Earl of Drogheda. - -[312] Alemand. Sidney to Queen Elizabeth, April 20, 1567, in the _Sidney -Papers_. - -[313] Alemand and Archdall. As to the intended combat, see _Carew_, -miscellaneous vol., pp. 446, 447. - -[314] Most of the pensions mentioned in the text are traceable in -Morrin's _Calendar of Patent Rolls_. For Cahir, see Archdall's -_Monasticon_. Queen Mary's instructions to Lord Fitzwalter, April 28, -1556, in _Carew_. - -[315] Alemand, _passim_; Documents in the supplementary volume of _King's -Primer_, No. 66; the Waterford document is in Brennan's _Ecclesiastical -History_, p. 459. - -[316] Sir John Davies's _Discovery_. - -[317] In Mant's _Church History_ is an estimate of the monastic property -founded on the Loftus MS.; but such calculations must be very rough. R. -Cowley to Cromwell, Oct. 4, 1536. - -[318] Agard to Cromwell, April 4, 1538. James White to Cromwell, March -28. _Spicilegium Ossoriense_, vol. i. p. 437. _Hibernia Dominicana._ - -[319] In recommending a grant of Dusk to Ormonde the Council say they -'cannot perceive, as it is situated, that any man can keep it for the -King, but only the said Earl or his son.' For Toem and Dunmore, see -_Calendar of Patent Rolls_, pp. 73 and 84. Browne to Cromwell, May 21, -1538. - -[320] Ware's _Antiquities_, by Harris, chap. xxxvii., sec. 3. Lord L. -Grey to Cromwell, Jan. 19, 1538. - -[321] The King to Browne in S.P., vol. ii. p. 174; Browne's answer, Sept. -27, 1537; Staples to St. Leger, June 17, 1538; Ware's _Life and Death of -Browne_. - -[322] Ware's _Bishops_; Staples to St. Leger, June 17, 1538; Devices by -Travers for the Reformation in 1542, S.P., vol. iii., No. 382. The King's -rebuke was in 1537, see S.P., vol. ii. p. 174, note. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -FROM THE ACCESSION OF EDWARD VI. TO THE YEAR 1551. - - -[Sidenote: Accession of Edward VI. Ormonde and Desmond.] - -The death of Henry VIII. made no immediate difference to Ireland, for St. -Leger continued to govern as before. There was such a tendency to depress -the Ormonde interest that the widowed countess thought it wise to go to -London, where she pleaded her own cause with much success. She was -supposed to have designs upon the heir of Desmond's hand, and the English -statesmen, who naturally dreaded such an alliance, encouraged her to -marry Sir Francis Bryan, who was in favour with Somerset as he had been -with Henry VIII. The new government directed their attention to economy -and the repression of jobbery among the Dublin officials. It was -discovered that many who drew the King's pay were serving in the houses -of councillors, 'some in the place of a cook, some of a butler, -housekeeper, and other like,' so that they were practically useless when -called to arms. This was strictly forbidden for the future. The Irish -Council were earnestly charged finally to put down 'that intolerable -extortion, coyne and livery, having always respect to some recompense to -be given to the lords and governors of our countries for the defending of -the same.' Desmond was thanked for his services, and the young king -offered to have his eldest son brought up as his companion, 'as other -noblemen's sons whom we favour are educated with us in learning and other -virtuous qualities, whereby hereafter, when we come to just age, we, in -remembrance of our childhood spent together, may the rather be moved to -prosecute them with our wonted favour, and they all inclined to love and -serve us the more faithfully. We shall consent and right glad to have him -with us, and shall so cherish him as ye shall have cause to thank us, -and at his return to think the time of his attendance on us to be well -employed.' If this offer had been accepted, and if the same results had -followed as in the cases of the young Earl of Ormonde and of Barnaby -Fitzpatrick, the unspeakable miseries of the Desmond rebellion might have -been avoided.[323] - -[Sidenote: The bastard Geraldines.] - -The Pale was at this time much disturbed by the depredations of a gang of -freebooters, headed by some of the bastard Geraldines who had lost their -lands. They overran the southern half of Kildare and the northern half of -Carlow, plundering and burning Rathangan, Ballymore Eustace, and -Rathvilly. At first they acted with O'Connor, but he was forced to go to -Connaught to look for reinforcements, and the MacGeohegans and others -were induced by St. Leger to kill his men and drive his cattle. The -Fitzgeralds, after defying the Government for a year, were crushed at -Blessington in the autumn of 1547. The O'Tooles sided with the English, -and thus justified Henry VIII.'s policy towards them. The Irish generally -fell away from O'Connor and O'More, to whom they feared to give food and -shelter; and the chiefs were obliged to make such a peace as was possible -with the Government. The annalists dwell strongly on the strength of the -English at this time, on the unexampled bondage in which they held the -southern half of Ireland, and on their complete victory over the man who -had been 'the head of the happiness and prosperity of that half of -Ireland in which he lived, namely, Brian O'Connor.'[324] - -[Sidenote: Bellingham's first visit to Ireland, 1547.] - -Sir Edward Bellingham, a gentleman of the bedchamber, was sent over for -the first time in the summer of 1547, in charge of reinforcements. This -able soldier had been Governor of the Isle of Wight, and had served at -Boulogne in 1546. He had also held diplomatic appointments in Hungary, -and at the Emperor's Court. The Privy Council, who expressed themselves -satisfied of his military ability, directed the Irish Government to be -guided by his advice, and to pay him the unusual salary of forty -shillings sterling a day. He was employed by the borderers of the Pale -against the O'Mores and O'Connors, and seems to have made his mark from -the first. After a short stay Bellingham with difficulty obtained leave -to return to England. He must have succeeded in impressing his views on -Somerset, to whose religious party he belonged, for St. Leger was -recalled in the following spring, and Bellingham was appointed in his -stead.[325] - -[Sidenote: Butlers and Kavanaghs. Bellingham Deputy, 1548.] - -Bellingham landed at Dalkey on May 18, 1548, and the state of Leinster at -once engaged his attention. Moryt Oge Kavanagh had taken a horse and -other property from a neighbour, and Bellingham called upon Cahir MacArt -to restore it, and to punish the thief. The chief denied all -responsibility, on the ground that the culprit was in Sir Richard -Butler's suite, and that he could not in any case hang a man for -stealing, but only enforce restitution according to the Brehon law. We -can now see that in this at least Cahir MacArt was more nearly right than -the English lawyers. Moryt Oge had grievances, and said that he was -oppressed by one Watkin Powell, but he restored the horse, subject to the -Lord Deputy's opinion as to whether he had a right to it as a set off -against his own losses. He came to Carlow to plead his own cause, but Sir -Richard Butler, who had promised to meet him, did not appear. Butler was -accused of showing a bad example in the country by plundering houses, -wounding men, and taking gentlewomen prisoners. If this, or even a small -part of it, were true of the Earl of Ormonde's brother, it is not -surprising that robberies should have been things of every-day -occurrence.[326] - -[Sidenote: The Pale constantly threatened.] - -The defenders of the Pale were fully occupied. Having consulted such men -in England as understood Irish affairs, the Privy Council concluded that -the principal damage was done 'skulkingly in the winter's nights.' If the -Lord Deputy's presence near the border was not enough to prevent -incursion, soldiers accustomed to the country were to be quartered there -permanently, and nightly watch to be kept, especially on O'Connor's side. -Truces were not to last beyond the winter. This border service must have -been very disagreeable. John Brereton, who held the office of seneschal -of Wexford, of which the duties were very ill discharged by Watkin -Powell, was stationed at Kildare, and complained bitterly that he was -harassed to death. He could get no leave because he had no second -captain, and even in May and June he could scarcely enjoy an undisturbed -night. At one time he was roused from his bed by shouts, at another by -the announcement that some alarm beacon was blazing. On foot or on -horseback he had to march at once, and yet he was unable to answer every -summons. A proprietor at Rathangan, who is called Raymond Oge, had his -haggard burned by some of the O'Connor kerne. Two English troopers were -with him by chance and helped to defend his castle, but the fires which -they lit on the roof were not answered. Horses left out in a bog near a -wood were carried off and the keepers killed. Nothing was safe unless -shut up in a bawn, or fortified courtyard. Owen MacHugh O'Byrne, who was -retained permanently by the Government as a captain of kerne, was -inclined to do good service, but his men would not advance beyond Lea -Castle, saying that 'if Captain Cosby wanted wilfully to lose his life, -they did not set so little by their lives.' Cosby was a man of great -personal courage. The Constable of Lea, the same James Fitzgerald whose -allegiance in Grey's time had been so elastic, required a letter from -Bellingham to encourage him. The Lord Deputy himself spent some time at -Athy, where eighteen beds were provided for him and his suite; but the -border was never quiet for a moment. Fitzgerald and Cosby had no official -authority, and their orders carried no weight. If a cow strayed an alarm -was raised, and while soldiers were sent on a fool's errand in one -direction, the rebels or brigands had their time to themselves. O'More -came to the Barrow and carried off horses and sheep. Owen MacHugh -skirmished with him, but the hostile chief, 'like a jolly fellow,' -offered the royal kerne 6_s._ 8_d._ a fortnight to serve him, and pay to -their leaders in proportion. Before Cosby could get his men together the -O'Mores had vanished.[327] - -[Sidenote: Lord Dunboyne.] - -Other loyal and half loyal partisans were less energetic than Cosby. Lord -Dunboyne complained that his manor of Fishmoyne in Tipperary had been -plundered by the O'Carrolls and O'Meaghers, and this because he had -discharged his men by the Lord Deputy's orders. Bellingham retorted that -his lordship lied in his throat; for he had bidden him to entertain true -men instead of rebels, and to discharge no one unless it could be done -safely. He had particularly cautioned him against 'rashly discharging -such as have been malefactors as your gallowglasses were, and naturally -as their captains were.'[328] - -[Sidenote: Pirates.] - -While the frontiers of the Pale were harassed by robbers, the loyal ports -of the south were in constant dread of pirates. A rover named Eagle -blockaded Kinsale, which was half depopulated by an epidemic, and -another, named Colley, established himself in a castle belonging to Barry -Oge, whose aunt he married, so that the poor town was quite shut up. -Cork, the citizens told Bellingham, was so well defended by marshes and -waters, 'besides walls and towers which we do build daily, that we do not -fear all the Irishmen in Ireland and English rebels also, if there be any -such, until such time as your wisdom would repair hither for our refuge.' -John Tomson, a noted rover, visited both Cork and Waterford. According to -the authorities of the latter city he had 'one saker of 16-foot long, -having four chambers, so that we do not see how he may be apprehended.' -In an affray between the citizens and an armed French vessel Tomson took -part with the foreigner, and the pursuit of them cost Waterford 1,000_l._ -This formidable water-thief was taken by O'Sullivan Bere, who made him -pay a large ransom. Afterwards Bellingham rather oddly allowed the Cork -men to trade with Tomson, because it seemed possible that he had received -pardon, and because the goods then on board did not appear to be stolen. -Wine, figs, and sugar were, however, the wares offered by Tomson and his -ally Stephenson, and it is most likely that they had been stolen at sea -from the Portuguese. Tomson used the occasion to refit and to repair his -weapons, and the Waterford men called upon the Mayor of Cork to apprehend -the pirates; but that prudent official refused to do so without special -orders from Bellingham. Pirates were unpleasant people to deal with. A -gang confined at Waterford broke their gyves, nearly murdered a -fellow-prisoner, and with many 'cracks' and menaces threatened to burn -the gaol.[329] - -[Sidenote: Their daring outrages.] - -A pirate named Smith sailed into Youghal, but seems to have taken nothing -but loose rigging and spars. He had long infested these waters, seemingly -with no more than six men, armed with guns and bows. The Youghal -fishermen took heart, and by a combined attack succeeded in capturing -Smith. Other pirates named Cole, Butside, and Strangwych are mentioned as -active about this time. They were all English, but the trade was by no -means confined to any one nation; for Sir Philip Hoby, the English -ambassador at the imperial court, was instructed to apply for help to -suppress a squadron of twenty sail, manned by lawless desperadoes of all -countries, who infested the Irish coast, and robbed the Emperor's -subjects. Logan, a Scotch professor of the art, and a survivor from -Lennox's expedition, haunted the coast about Howth, and took several -vessels. Power and Gough, who robbed a Portuguese ship in Waterford -harbour, and ruined the foreign trade of that port, were probably of -Irish birth. Desmond, on whom the honorary office of Lord Treasurer, held -by the late Earl of Ormonde, had already been conferred, received a -commission from Lord Admiral Seymour to exercise his jurisdiction along -the coast from Dungarvan to Galway. The men of the latter town said they -could defend themselves against all Irishmen coming by land, but that -they had not a single piece of artillery to resist attacks from the sea. -They professed unswerving loyalty, as did their neighbours of Limerick, -and Bellingham thanked the latter for their efforts to keep the Burkes -quiet, 'in whom,' he said, 'the obstinacy is found to break this order, -you the King's our own most dear sovereign lord's and master's subjects, -the mayor, brethren, and council of Limerick shall proceed to the first -and lawful redress and punishment thereof.'[330] - -[Sidenote: Bellingham's campaign in Leix, 1548.] - -Before Bellingham came to Ireland a hosting into Leix had been -proclaimed, and he carried it out promptly. The men of Drogheda were -required to furnish a strong contingent, having 'caused to be mustered -all such as are meet for the war without partiality.' They had also to -furnish carts, of which it seems the town could only boast three, and -there were complaints of the stringency of Bellingham's requisitions; but -he said he would rather they were unfurnished than he. The Drogheda men -did very good service, and the carts, which were duly paid for, were -employed to carry pioneers' tools. The soldiers were thus enabled without -excessive fatigue to cut passes through woods, and make causeways over -bogs. After a thirty days' campaign in Leix, Bellingham resolved that a -town should be built in Leix, and in the meantime was erected Fort -Governor or Protector, in the place where Maryborough now stands. The -citizens of Dublin were required to assist in making it practicable for -soldiers to act upon the border of Kildare; but they made excuses, saying -that men could not carry arms and tools as well. Bellingham -sarcastically refuted their argument, 'in which your experience bitterly -condemneth my ignorance.' Let them send carts as the Drogheda men had -done, and then one man could do the work of two.[331] - -[Sidenote: Bellingham routs the O'Connors.] - -In August 1548 Cahir O'Connor, who still kept some force about him, -invaded Kildare. Nicholas Bagenal, Marshal of the army, fell in with the -marauders, and rescued the cattle taken, though his men were in the -proportion of one to sixteen. Cahir retreated with his troop, and with a -multitude of camp followers and 'slaves,' who carried their food to what -was considered an unassailable position. Bellingham was not far off, and -he ordered Saintloo to attack them wherever he could find them. -Accompanied by Travers, Brereton, and Cosby, Saintloo tracked them to a -spot surrounded by a bog. The soldiers struggled manfully through the -moss until they reached hard ground, and a great butchery followed. The -oldest man in Ireland had, as Bellingham supposed, never seen so many -wood-kerne slain in one day. Such was the slaughter, says this precursor -of Cromwell, that none escaped but by mistake, or hiding them in ambush, -'such was the great goodness of God to deliver them into our hands.' The -Old Testament in English was beginning to make its mark upon language and -upon habits of thought.[332] - -[Sidenote: Disturbances in Munster. Foreign rumours.] - -Munster was much disturbed. Edmund Tyrry, the King's bailiff at Cork, had -a dispute with some of the Barries about land. The Earl of Desmond was -appealed to, and he took Tyrry to Lord Barrymore, desiring the latter to -do him justice. Barrymore took the bailiff with him to his court-baron, -or 'parliament,' and the case was partly heard and adjourned to a future -day. On his return journey towards Cork, Tyrry was waylaid and murdered. -Bellingham demanded justice, and Lord Barrymore, after some months' -delay, gave up the murderers, who were doubtless duly executed. But the -Barry country continued to be the scene of frequent outrages. Lord -Barrymore went out one day in the early winter to drive the cattle of -some wild Irishmen, and met with certain other wild Irish who were going -to spoil his tenants. A fight followed, and the Barries 'killed -incontinently little lack of fourscore of them,' wherewith, said the -Corporation of Cork, 'we be glad, and so is the Earl of Desmond.' But -Bellingham was not satisfied with Desmond's conduct, nor easy about the -future. James Delahide, always the herald of a storm, was in Ireland, and -probably with the Earl. Gerald of Kildare might appear again; and there -were rumours that the French meditated a descent and the establishment of -a fortified port at Skerries to command the passage to Scotland. These -fears were not realised; but there were frequent communications between -Desmond and the O'Briens, and Bellingham took steps to have everything -reported to him. This vigilance perhaps prevented the Munster chiefs from -moving.[333] - -[Sidenote: Anarchy in Connaught. Garrison at Athlone.] - -The death of the newly-created Earl of Clanricarde revived the normal -anarchy of Connaught. Ulick Burke was acknowledged as captain by the -Government and by some of the inhabitants during the minority of the -Earl's son Richard. But another Richard, the heir's illegitimate brother, -gave so much trouble that Sir Dermot O'Shaughnessy, and other -well-disposed chiefs, demanded that the young Earl should be settled in -possession, and that Commissioners should be sent to Galway for the -purpose. The false Richard was, however, allowed to rule his own -immediate district, but not without strong hints from Bellingham that -what the King gave the King could take away. Burke was reminded that he -had apprehended no notable malefactor, and that the Lord Deputy would -quarrel with no honest Irishman for his sake. Bellingham had neither time -nor force to give to the West, and the towns of Limerick and Galway had -very indifferent success in their efforts to keep the peace. But the -chief governor's reputation for justice was not without effect even in -Connaught. 'Your lordship's famous proceedings,' wrote the Archbishop of -Tuam, 'being divolgated throughout all Ireland, to the great fear of -misdoers and malefactors all through the country hereabouts now needing -reformation, more than heretofore, all for lack of justice among them to -be observed.' Bellingham established a garrison at Athlone, which -overawed the O'Kellys and O'Melaghlins; but little progress was made -beyond the Shannon. Robert Dillon, the lawyer, was the Lord Deputy's -civil substitute, but the sword was necessarily in the Baron of Delvin's -hands, who did all he could to prevent Dillon from sending messengers to -Dublin. The central districts of Ireland between the Pale and the great -river were at this time the theatre of constant war, and in this an -English, or Anglo-Norman, adventurer figures conspicuously.[334] - -[Sidenote: Edmond Fay.] - -Edmond Fay, who seems to have had property at Cadamstown, in the King's -County, and to have claimed more than the natives were willing to allow -him, was called into Westmeath by O'Melaghlin to aid him against his -enemies. The confederates gained some successes, and occupied, among -other places, the historic castle of Kincora. 'Edmond,' say the 'Four -Masters,' 'then continued to conquer Delvin in the King's name in -opposition to O'Melaghlin; and thus had O'Melaghlin brought a rod into -the country to strike himself, for Edmond a Faii expelled and banished -himself and all his tribe out of Delvin, just as the young swarm expels -the old.' Fay, who was to some extent supported by the Government, and -who had soldiers with him, drove the MacCoghlans across the Shannon, and -made himself master of most of the country between Athlone and -Slievebloom. Not satisfied with this he proposed to attack the -O'Carrolls, who joined the MacCoghlans, and expelled him from his recent -conquests. Fay called on the Government for help, and the whole county, -on both sides of the Brosna, was burned and plundered by the troops, to -whom no resistance was attempted. The Irish demolished Banagher and -other castles to prevent their being occupied, and this became a general -practice in like cases. Cadamstown was afterwards taken by the -O'Carrolls, and Fay returned to his original obscurity. He seems to have -had the keep of Thady Roe, or the Red Captain, a noted leader of -mercenaries, who held possession of Nenagh. The O'Carrolls burned the -monastery and town, but the castle defied their power.[335] - -[Sidenote: The Pale is freed from rebels.] - -Towards the close of 1548 Alen was able to report that there were only -about a dozen rebels on the borders of the Pale. O'Connor had surrendered -at discretion, and his life was spared in the hope of inducing O'More to -follow his example. Alen advised that they should be removed from -Ireland, and that work should be found for them at Calais or Boulogne. -'There are in all,' he told Paget, 'not twelve persons wherewith your -honour to make a maundie, for when Christ ministered at His last supper -there were twelve, of whom one was a traitor, and of these ye may have -twelve together at one table.'[336] - -[Sidenote: The coinage. A mint.] - -The Plantagenet kings had made no difference in the coinage of England -and Ireland; but in 1460--when Richard, Duke of York, was Lord -Lieutenant--the Parliament of Drogheda, with the express intention of -loosening the tie between the two islands, declared that coins -intrinsically worth threepence should be struck in Ireland and pass for -fourpence. There was afterwards a further degradation, and the money -struck by Henry VIII. consisted at last of one-half, or even two-thirds, -alloy. 'New coins were introduced into Ireland,' say the 'Four Masters,' -with pardonable exaggeration, 'that is, copper, and the men of Ireland -were obliged to use it as silver.' Dishonesty had its proverbial reward, -for trade was thrown into confusion and general discontent engendered. -The Corporation of Galway more than once besought Bellingham to force the -new money on the captain of Clanricarde and Donnell O'Flaherty. The -Corporation of Kinsale made the same request as to the Courcies, -Barries, and MacCarthies. This was, of course, beyond Bellingham's power, -and the Protector went on coining regardless of Irish complaints. Thomas -Agard was Treasurer of the Dublin Mint, and exercised his office -independently of the Lord Deputy. He was originally in Cromwell's -service, and his position not unnaturally brought him into collision with -Lord Leonard Grey, who accused him of making mischief. Agard, however, -said that Grey, 'which is my heavy lord,' oppressed him out of spite, -because he opposed the Geraldine faction, and prevented him from setting -up broad looms and dye-works in Dublin. With the politic St. Leger he got -on better, but Bellingham, whose temper was quite as despotic as Grey's, -was much disgusted at the independence of the Mint. Agard leaned to the -Puritan side, and praised Bellingham's godly proceedings. God is with -you, he wrote to him, and with all good Christians who love God and their -King, with much more of the same sort. But the Lord Deputy was not -conciliated, and accused Agard of cooking his accounts, and of embezzling -2,000_l._ He was not superseded, and was entrusted with the congenial -task of melting down chalices and crosses, and of turning them into bad -money. The home authorities chose to make Agard independent in his -office; but the stronger nature triumphed, and the King's auditor -reported that the Treasurer of the Mint dared not for his life speak of -his business to any but the Lord Deputy. The debased currency caused much -speculation of an undesirable kind. Thus, Francis Digby, who had a -licence to export Irish wool, found it pay much better to buy up plate -with the current coin and sell it in England for sterling money. Others -took the cue, and it became necessary to issue a proclamation. It was, of -course, no more possible to prevent the exportation of silver than to -change the ebb and flow of the tides.[337] - -[Sidenote: Bellingham's haughty bearing.] - -[Sidenote: His rash letters to Somerset,] - -In November Bellingham paid a short visit to Dublin, where he found Lady -Ormonde with her new husband, Sir Francis Bryan, who had a commission as -Lord Marshal of Ireland. Bryan, 'the man of youthful conditions,' as -Roger Ascham called him, was particularly recommended by the Privy -Council to Alen, who could not understand what Henry VIII. had seen in -him worthy of great promotion. Bellingham hated him from the first, and -Alen thought he would have the same feeling to any one who had married -Lady Ormonde. We have no means of knowing whether he was in love with -her, or whether he hated her, or whether he merely disliked the alliance -as likely to clip his own wings. His idea of the rights and dignity of -his position was high and even excessive, and was asserted with a fine -disregard of prudence. To Somerset he complained that his credit was bad, -and that he was despised in Ireland because he was thought to have no -power to reward those who had done good service. He begged that they -might be 'fed with some thereof, which no doubt it is great need of, for -the wisest sort have ever found that good service in Ireland has been -less considered of any place.' - -[Sidenote: to Warwick,] - -[Sidenote: and to Seymour.] - -In writing to Warwick his words were still stronger, and he complained -bitterly at the slight put on him in the matter of the mint. 'I am,' he -said, 'at your honourable lordship's commandment; but in respect I am the -King's Deputy, your good lordship may determine surely that I will have -none exempt from my authority in Ireland's ground, but sore against my -will.' He had not spent the King's treasure in gambling or riotous -living, nor in buying land for himself. The King's responsible servants -in Ireland were neglected, and credit given to backstairs' suitors -'coming in by the windows,' which did more harm than all the rebels and -Irishry in the realm. Some of Warwick's letters had hurt him, whereas the -true policy would be to let men 'know that I am the King's Deputy, so -that they shall think when they have my favours things go well with them, -and the contrary when they have them not.' These letters, and another to -Seymour, gave great, and not unnatural offence, so that Bellingham was -fain to beg the admiral's pardon and intercession with Warwick. Some -measure of the serpent's wisdom is necessary to those who fill great -offices.[338] - -[Sidenote: Bellingham and the Irish.] - -If Bellingham could thus treat the most powerful men in England, he was -not likely to mince matters with those whom he could touch. 'Bring -yourself,' said the Lord Deputy to O'Molloy, who had wrongfully detained -the property of a kinswoman, 'out of the slander of the people by making -prompt restitution, or have your contempt punished as to your deserts -shall appertain.' To the Earl of Thomond, who had promised to bring in -Calough O'Carroll but had not done so, he wrote a noble letter, but a -very imprudent one, considering the character and position of the chief -whom he addressed. Calough O'Carroll, he said, had brought his troubles -on himself by allowing his men to plunder, and by refusing to give them -up; he should be well plagued for it according to promise, until he and -his brother found means to come and seek their own pardon. The O'Carrolls -submitted and were pardoned.[339] - -[Sidenote: Bellingham and his Council.] - -Bellingham was above all things a soldier, and he treated his Council, -consisting for the most part of lawyers, in a very high-handed manner. -His old friend Alen remonstrated, and there is no reason to doubt him -here, though he had a way of quarrelling with successive Deputies. Alen -admitted that Bellingham was quite free from pecuniary self-seeking, but -thought he had more than his share of the other sin which beset chief -governors, ambition namely, and the longing to rule alone. He had said -that it would be a good deed to hang the whole Council, and he kept the -members waiting for hours among the servants in the ante-room. Alen he -accused personally of feigning sickness when bent on mischief. Others he -threatened to commit if they offended him, reminding them that he could -make or mar their fortunes. When angry he frequently sent men to a prison -without any warrant of law; 'and I myself,' said the Chancellor, 'except -I walk warily, look for none other but some time with the King's seal -with me to take up my lodging in the castle of Dublin.' The Council had -become a lifeless, spiritless corpse, for Bellingham could hear no advice -without threats and taunts. It is not surprising that Privy Councillors -feared to speak frankly, and forced themselves to wait until this tyranny -should be overpast.[340] - -[Sidenote: Bellingham seizes Desmond.] - -To a Lord Deputy so jealous for the dignity of his office nothing could -be more distasteful than the power of the House of Ormonde, which was now -wielded by the Countess and her husband. The Sheriff of Kildare gave a -most galling proof of this power by begging that his communications with -Bellingham might be kept secret for fear of Lady Ormonde's displeasure. -She claimed the right to keep gallowglasses in Kilkenny, and the Lord -Deputy infinitely disliked this practice, which had prevailed for -centuries. He wished to keep the young Earl in England, lest by living at -home he should imbibe exaggerated notions of his own importance. 'His -learning and manners,' he said, 'would be nothing amended, and the King's -authority thereby be nought the more obeyed.' By remaining in England -till he was of discreet years, he might learn willingly to abandon his -'usurped insufferable rule, which I trust he will do yet in time to -come.' Any assumption of independence on the part of a subject irritated -Bellingham excessively; and when Desmond, whose manners he stigmatised as -detestable, neglected his summons, he set out quietly from Leighlin with -a small party of horse, rode rapidly into Munster, surprised Desmond -sitting by the fire in one of his castles, and carried him off to Dublin. -He set himself to instruct the rude noble in civilisation and in the -nature of the royal authority, sometimes, if we may believe the -chronicler, 'making him kneel upon his knees an hour together before he -knew his duty.' This discipline, accompanied doubtless with kind -treatment in other ways, seems to have answered so well, that, according -to the same authority, Desmond 'thought himself most happy that ever he -was acquainted with the said Deputy, and did for ever after so much -honour him, as that continually all his life at every dinner and supper -he would pray for the good Sir Edward Bellingham; and at all callings he -was so obedient and dutiful, as none more in that land.'[341] - -[Sidenote: Ireland quiet. Garrison at Leighlin Bridge.] - -At the beginning of the year 1549 the Privy Council thanked Bellingham -for having brought Ireland to a good state. They charged him to aid -Tyrone against the Scots, and to be on his guard against French -enterprises undertaken under colour of trading. The forts erected where -Maryborough and Philipstown now are kept Leix and Offaly quiet. Breweries -were at work under the shadow of both, and it was proposed to start a -tan-yard at Fort Protector, as Maryborough was for the moment called. -Bellingham established another post, which became very important, to -command the road from Dublin to Kilkenny, and thus make the Government -less dependent on the House of Ormonde. The suppressed Carmelite convent -at Leighlin Bridge required but little alteration, and the Barrow ceased -to be a serious obstacle. The Lord Deputy kept twenty or thirty horses -here with the greatest difficulty, the hay having to be brought from -Carlow through a disturbed country. Irishmen were willing to settle and -to make an example of peaceful cultivation, but they were in great fear -of Lady Ormonde. Walter Cowley, formerly Solicitor-General and fomenter -of discord between St. Leger and the late Earl, had little good to say of -the no longer disconsolate widow, but praised Sir Francis Bryan for -saying that he would not 'borrow of the law as my Lord of Ormonde did.' -The expression was called forth by the action of the Idrone Ryans, who -were frightened by the inquiries into tenure, and came to Lady Ormonde -offering to convey their lands to her and her heirs; the object being to -defeat the Act of Absentees. No doubt the cultivators would have been -glad to pay an easy rent to a powerful neighbour, rather than have an -active new landlord such as Cosby thrust upon them. Sir Richard Butler, -some of whose misdeeds have been already mentioned, built a castle in -O'More's country without any title, and overawed the whole district of -Slievemargy.[342] - -[Sidenote: Progress of the Reformation. Browne and Staples.] - -Doctrinal Protestantism was not formally promulgated in Bellingham's -time; but the recognition of the royal supremacy was pretty general, for -he would allow no disobedience. The Treasurer of St. Patrick's, who was -refractory, was severely reprimanded, and threatened with condign -punishment. A Scot who preached at Kilmainham condemned the Mass, and -Archbishop Browne, whose opinions were not perhaps quite fixed, was -accused of inveighing against the stranger, and of maintaining that those -who sided with him were 'not the King's true subjects.' Means were, -however, taken to spread the order of service which Browne had set on -foot. The Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the _Ave Maria_ were -read and circulated in English, but the Mass was retained; a confused -arrangement which could not last. Still, the men who controlled the -Government and the young King were known to be favourable to the new -doctrines, and the Scots emissary soon found a distinguished follower in -the Bishop of Meath. Staples had at one time certainly held opinions less -advanced than those of Browne, but he now went to Dublin and preached a -strong Protestant sermon against the Mass. On returning to his own -diocese he found that he had incurred universal hatred. An Irishman, -whose infant he had christened and named after himself, desired to have -the child re-baptized, 'for he would not have him bear the name of a -heretic.' A gentleman refused to have his child confirmed 'by him that -denied the sacrament of the altar.' The gossips in the market-place at -Navan declared that if the Bishop came to preach there they would stay -away, lest they should learn to be heretics. A lawyer in the -neighbourhood told a crowd of people that Staples deserved to be burned, -'for if I preached heresy so was I worthy to be burned, and if I preached -right yet was I worthy that kept the truth from knowledge.' 'This -gentleman,' Staples quaintly adds, 'loveth no sodden meat, but can skill -only of roasting.' Another lawyer, a judge, said it should be proved -before the Bishop's face that he preached against learning. The following -is too interesting to omit:--'A beneficed man of mine own promotion came -unto me weeping and desired me that he might declare his mind unto me -without my displeasure. I said I was well content. My Lord, said he, -before ye went last to Dublin ye were the best beloved man in your -diocese that ever came in, and now ye are the worst beloved that ever -came here. I asked why? "Why," saith he, "ye have taken open part with -the State that false heretic, and preached against the sacrament of the -altar, and deny saints, and will make us worse than Jews: if the country -wist how they would eat you;" and he besought me to take heed of myself, -for he feared more than he durst tell me. "Ye have," he said, "more -curses than ye have hairs of your head, and I advise you for Christ sake -not to preach at the Navan as I hear ye will do." I said it was my charge -to preach, and because there was most resort (God willing) I would not -fail but preach there. Hereby ye may perceive what case I am in, but I -put all to God.' The Bishop spoke as became his office, but he was -'afraid of his life divers ways.'[343] - -[Sidenote: Bellingham and Dowdall.] - -Bellingham had information of what was going on in England by private as -well as official correspondence. John Issam, a strong Protestant, who was -afterwards made seneschal of Wexford, wrote from London an account of the -variations of opinion upon the all-important question of the sacrament. -'There is great sticking,' he said, 'about the blessed body and bloode of -Jesus Christ, howbeit, I trust that they will conclude well in it, by the -help of the Holy Spirit, without which such matters cannot well be tried; -but part of our bishops that have been most stiff in opinions of the -reality of His body there, as He was here in earth, should be in the -bread, they now confess and say that they were never of that opinion, but -by His mighty power in spirit, and leaveth His body sitting on the right -hand of His Father, as our common creed testifieth; but yet there is hard -hold with some to the contrary, who shall relent when it pleaseth God.' -Bellingham certainly did what he could to spread the reformed doctrines, -but this was, perhaps, not much. His letter to Primate Dowdall, who had -acknowledged the royal supremacy, but was inflexible on the question of -the sacrament, is instinct with the spirit of Christian sincerity. - -'My Lord Primate,' he says, 'I pray you lovingly and charitably to be -circumspect in your doings, and consider how God hath liberally given you -divers gifts, and namely, of reputation among the people ... Let all -these in part be with the gratuity of setting forth the plain, simple, -and naked truth recompensed, and the way to do the same is to know that -which, with a mild and humble spirit wished, sought, and prayed for, will -most certainly be given, which I pray God grant us both.'[344] - -[Sidenote: Bellingham advances the royal supremacy.] - -Bellingham could do nothing with Dowdall; but in the spring of 1549 all -the priests in the Kilkenny district not physically incapable of -travelling were summoned to meet the Lord Deputy and Council. It was -ordered that the Attorney-General should exercise jurisdiction in -ecclesiastical matters, and 'abolish idolatry, papistry, the Mass -sacrament, and the like.' The Archbishop of Cashel seems to have had no -great zeal for the work. Nicholas Fitzwilliam, Treasurer of St. -Patrick's, received a stinging rebuke for his hesitation to carry out the -royal commands. The innovations were distasteful to most men in Ireland, -but Bellingham was recognised as one who would use his patronage -conscientiously, and not job in the usual style. John Brereton, a decided -Protestant, recommended to him 'for the love of God and the zeal that you -have for the education of Christ's flock,' a poor priest who was willing -to go into a certain district where he had friends, and where there was -no one to declare the true worship. The suppliant, who was both learned -and earnest, could expect favour from no nother's (_sic_) hand, because -he 'is but poor and has no money to give as his adversaries do.' Auditor -Brasier told Somerset that 'there was never Deputy in the realm that went -the right way, as he doth, both for the setting forth of God's Word to -His honour, and to the wealth of the King's Highness' subjects.' But -these praises did not serve to prolong his term of office, and he left -Ireland without effecting the reforms which he had at heart.[345] - -[Sidenote: Bellingham leaves Ireland, 1549. His character.] - -Bellingham's departure from Ireland followed pretty closely on the -Protector's eclipse, though it is not quite certain that it was caused by -it. Warwick may have borne malice for past lectures, but the Lord Deputy -seems to have defended himself successfully, and might have been sent -back had he not excused himself on account of ill-health. The malady -proved fatal, but he seems to have retained office till his death. There -has been a tendency among those who find their ideal realised in a strong -man armed, to represent Bellingham as a model ruler. It appears from his -letters and from general testimony that he was honest, brave, loyal, and -sincerely religious; but his incessant wars were very burdensome, and it -is noted that he exacted the unpopular cess more stringently than its -inventor St. Leger had done. But he was a true-dealing man, took nothing -without punctual payment, and 'could not abide the cry of the poor.' From -the love of gain, that common vice of provincial governors, he was -absolutely free, and made a point of spending all his official income in -hospitality, saying that the meat and drink in his house were not his -own, but his dear master's. For the King's honour he paid his own -travelling expenses, and insisted on doing the like even when Lord -Baltinglass entertained him sumptuously. Alen, who criticised his -official conduct so sharply, could not but allow that he was 'the best -man of war that ever he had seen in Ireland.' The figure of the Puritan -soldier has its charms; but the sword of the Lord and of Gideon is not a -good instrument of civil government. Absolutism may be apparently -successful under a beneficent despot, but who is to guarantee that his -successor shall not be a villain or a fool? Bellingham's forts did their -own work, but his ascendency over lawyers in Dublin and ambitious chiefs -in the country was purely personal, and had no lasting effect. There was -much to admire in his character, but distance has lent it enchantment, -and in practice not much permanent work could be done by a governor of -whom the most striking fact recorded is that 'he wore ever his harness, -and so did all those whom he liked of.'[346] - -[Sidenote: Bryan, Lord Justice. Mischief brewing.] - -As soon as Bellingham had left Ireland the Council unanimously elected -Bryan Lord Justice. The Irish, though overawed by the departed Deputy, -had been plotting in the usual way, and after all that had passed Lord -Thomond and O'Carroll were sworn allies. The Kavanaghs were known to be -meditating mischief, and Desmond was not to be depended on. Lady Ormonde -had been quarrelling with Lady Desmond, and Alen took credit to himself -for having made a truce between them. To the usual elements of discord -were added many rumours of Scotch and French invasions. O'Neill, -O'Donnell, O'Dogherty, and others proposed to become subjects of France, -in consideration of help from thence, and of the most Christian King's -good offices with the Pope. Monluc, Bishop of Valence, returning from his -mission to the Scottish Court, was directed by Henry to take Ireland on -his way, and to gain all the information possible. Sir James Melville, -then a boy, accompanied him. 'Before our landing,' he says, 'we sent one -George Paris, who had been sent into Scotland by the great O'Neill and -his associates, who landed in the house of a gentleman who had married -O'Dogherty's daughter, dwelling at the Loch edge. He came aboard and -welcomed us, and conveyed us to his house, which was a great dark tower, -where we had cold cheer--as herring and biscuit--for it was Lentroun.' -One De Botte, a Breton merchant, was also sent on secret service to -Ireland apparently about the same time.[347] - -[Sidenote: Death of Bryan, 1550. Lady Ormonde meditates a third -marriage.] - -At this juncture Bryan died at Clonmel under circumstances apparently -somewhat suspicious, for there was a post-mortem examination. He had -refused to take any medicine, and the doctors, who detected no physical -unsoundness, prudently declared that he died of grief; we are not told -for what. 'But whereof soever he died,' says Alen, who was present both -at the death and the autopsy, 'he departed very godly.' Lady Ormonde, who -must have had a rooted dislike to single life, immediately recurred to -her plan of marrying Gerald of Desmond, and the Chancellor had to -remonstrate on the scandal of so soon supplying the place of two such -noble husbands. The danger of putting both the Ormonde and Desmond -interests in the same hand was obvious. The Geraldines were already too -powerful, and what might not be the consequence of throwing the weight of -the Butlers into the same scale, and making them more Irish and less -loyal than they had been before? In the end she promised to remain sole -for one year. 'Nevertheless,' said Alen, 'I would my lords (if they take -her marriage of any moment) trusted a woman's promise no further than in -such a case it is to be trusted!' Her marriage took place in the end with -beneficial results: for Lady Ormonde was able to keep some sort of peace -between her husband and her son, and thus saved much misery and -bloodshed. Immediately after her death the quarrel broke out anew, and -ended only with the extinction of the House of Desmond.[348] - -[Sidenote: Brabazon, Lord Justice. Dowdall and Wauchop.] - -On the day of Bryan's death the Council elected Brabazon to succeed him, -and the new Lord Justice soon afterwards went to Limerick to arrange -disputes among the O'Briens and between Thomond and Desmond. Before the -complicated complaints had been all heard his presence was required in -Dublin on account of the disturbed state of the North; a most dangerous -visitor having landed in Tyrconnel. This was the Papal Primate, Robert -Wauchop--Dowdall, who had acknowledged the royal supremacy, though -without accepting any of the new doctrines, not being acknowledged at -Rome. The actual Primate kept himself well informed as to the movements -of his rival, whom he understood to be a 'very shrewd spy and great -brewer of war and sedition.' There were many French and Scotch ready to -attack Ireland, and the former had already manned and armed two castles -in Innishowen. Tyrone gave Dowdall letters which he had received from the -French king, and the Archbishop, with his consent, forwarded them to the -Council. Tyrone swore before the Dean and Chapter of Armagh that he had -sent no answers, and that he would remain faithful to the King. He did -not acknowledge Wauchop's claims, but merely reported that he called -himself Primate, and that he was accompanied by two Frenchmen of rank, -who were supposed to be forerunners of countless Scotch and French -invaders. The Council warned Tyrone that the French wished to conquer -Ireland, and to reduce him and his clan to slavery and insignificance. He -was reminded that they had been expelled from Italy and Sicily for their -more than Turkish ferocity and rapacity. French messages were also sent -to O'Donnell, but no letters, as he had transmitted some formerly -received to the Government. He professed his loyalty, and declared that -he would not recognise Wauchop unless the Council wished it.[349] - -[Sidenote: Foreign intrigues. George Paris.] - -In all these intrigues we find one George Paris, or Parish, engaged. He -was a man whose ancestors had held land in Ireland, of which they had -been deprived, and he was perhaps related to the traitor of Maynooth. -This man came and went between France and Ireland, and though the -threatened attack was averted by the peace concluded by England with -France and Scotland, his services were not dispensed with. Henry said -that the intrigues had ceased with the peace, but the English ambassador -knew that his Majesty had had an interview with Paris less than a week -before. Paris told everyone that all the nobility of Ireland were -resolved to cast off the English yoke for fear of losing all their lands, -as the O'Mores and O'Connors had done. He boasted that he himself had -begged Trim Castle of the French king to make up for the lands which the -English had deprived him of. The Constable spoke as smoothly and not much -more truly than the King. Monluc was still employed in the matter, had -interviews with Paris, and gave him money.[350] - -[Sidenote: St. Leger again Deputy. Alen displaced, 1550.] - -After Bellingham's death it was determined to send St. Leger over again, -though he disliked the service, and though the Irish Chancellor continued -to indite bulky minutes against him. It was felt that the two could -hardly agree, and Alen was turned out of the Council and deprived of the -great seal, which was given to Cusack. His advice was nevertheless -occasionally asked. A year later he received 200 marks pension from the -date of his dismissal, though he had only asked for 100_l._ Many charges -were made against him, the truest, though he indignantly denied it, being -that he could not agree with others. But after careful search no fault of -any moment could be found in him, and he had served very industriously in -Ireland for twenty-two years. With all his opportunities he declared that -he had gained only nine and a half acres of Irish land. St. Leger and his -friends, who were for conciliating rather than repressing the Irish, -naturally disliked Alen. He had a decided taste for intrigue; but if we -regard him as a mere English official, diligent and useful, though narrow -and touchy, he must be allowed to have had his value.[351] - -[Sidenote: St. Leger adopts a conciliatory policy.] - -The new Lord Deputy's salary was fixed at 1,000_l._ a year from his -predecessor's death, though St. Leger, who alleged that he was already -500_l._ the poorer for Ireland, fought hard for 1,500_l._ He retained his -old privilege of importing 1,000 quarters of wheat and 1,000 quarters of -malt yearly, to be consumed only in Ireland. The appointment was -evidently intended to restore some confidence among the natives, who had -been scared by Bellingham's high-handed policy. St. Leger having -suggested that Irishmen should be 'handled with the more humanity lest -they by extremity should adhere to other foreign Powers,' he was directed -to 'use gentleness to such as shall show themselves conformable,' that -great Roman maxim of empire which has been so often neglected in Ireland. -Encouraging letters were to be sent to Desmond, Thomond, and Clanricarde; -and to MacWilliam, the O'Donnells, O'Reilly, O'Kane, and MacQuillin. -Pieces of scarlet cloth and silver cups to the value of 100_l._ were to -be distributed to the best advantage among them. Particular instructions -were given for reforming the military establishments, and officers were -not to be allowed to have more than 10 per cent. of Irish among their -men. Coyne and livery, the most fertile source of licence and disorder, -was to be eschewed as far as possible. Irish noblemen were to be -encouraged to exchange some of their lands for property in England, and -thus to give pledges for good behaviour. In Leix and Offaly leases for -twenty-one years were to be given; and religious reform was everywhere to -be taken in hand. One very curious power was given to the Lord Deputy. -When England was at war with France or the Empire, he was authorised to -license subjects of those Powers to import merchandise under royal -protection, excepting such articles as were under a special embargo.[352] - -[Sidenote: Hesitation about pressing the Reformation forward.] - -St. Leger was ordered to set forth the Church service in English, -according to the royal ordinances, in all places where it was possible to -muster a congregation who understood the language. Elsewhere the words -were to be translated truly into Irish, until such time as the people -should be brought to a knowledge of English. But small pains were taken -to carry out the latter design, and the Venetian agent reported, with -practical accuracy, that the Form of Common Prayer and Administration of -the Sacraments was not enforced in Ireland or other islands subject to -England where English was not understood. The book still remains that of -the English colony, and of no one else in Ireland. Cranmer and Elizabeth -both saw the necessity of attempting to reach the Irish through their own -tongue, but neither were able to do it. When Bedell, at a later period, -threw himself heart and soul into the cause, he received not only no -encouragement, but positive opposition, from the Government; and in any -case the breach was probably then past mending. Protestantism had become -identified in the Irish mind with conquest and confiscation, a view of -the case which was sedulously encouraged by Jesuits and other foreign -emissaries.[353] - -[Sidenote: Bad state of the garrisons.] - -St. Leger lost no time in visiting the forts in Leix and Offaly, and he -found there the disorder natural to, and perhaps pardonable in, an -ill-paid soldiery. Bellingham had complained more than a year before that -so many women of the country--Moabitish women he would have called them -had he lived a century later--were received into Fort Protector. Some -officers indignantly denied this, 'and as to our misdemeanour in any -point,' they added, 'we put that to the honestest men and women in the -fort.' If this report was true, discipline had been much relaxed in a -year and nine months, for St. Leger found as many women of bad character -as there were soldiers in the forts. Divine service there had been none -for three years, and only one sermon. Staples, who was the preacher on -that solitary occasion, 'had so little reverence as he had no great haste -eftsoons to preach there.' There was also a want of garrison artillery; -and eight pieces of cannon, with forty smaller pieces called bases, were -demanded by the Master of the Ordnance. He also asked for 400 -harquebusses, and for bows, which the Dugald Dalgettys of the day had -not yet learned to despise. There were rumours of a French invasion, and -it was proposed to send a strong expedition to Ireland--six ships with -attendant galleys, 1,000 men, including many artificers to be employed in -fortifying Baltimore, Berehaven, and other places in the south-west, and -the mouths of the Bann and of Lough Larne in the north-east. The -Constables of Carrickfergus and Olderfleet were ordered to put those -castles in order for fear of Scots. Lord Cobham was designated as leader -of the expedition, and the Irish Government were directed at once to -survey Cork, Kinsale, and other southern harbours.[354] - -[Sidenote: St. George's Channel unsafe. Want of money.] - -Martin Pirry, Comptroller of the Mint, who brought over bullion collected -in France and Flanders, had to stay seven days at Holyhead for fear of -five great ships which he saw drifting about in the tideway. In the end -he secured a quick and safe passage by hiring a twenty-five ton pinnace -with sixteen oars, into which he put twenty-five well-armed men. St. -Leger had been complaining bitterly that he could get no money out of the -mint, although 2,000_l._ was owing. Pirry seems to have had only a -limited authority, for though over 7,000_l._ was delivered by him on the -Lord Deputy's warrant, St. Leger still objected that he had to make -bricks without straw, and to put port towns in a posture of defence -without being allowed to draw for the necessary expenses.[355] - -[Sidenote: Abortive scheme for fortifying in Munster. Apprehensions of -French invasion.] - -The expedition did not take place, but Sir James Croft was sent over with -instructions to inspect all the harbours between Berehaven and Cork, to -make plans of the most important, and to select sites for fortification; -utilising existing buildings as much as possible, and taking steps for -the acquisition of the necessary land. He was then to extend his -operations as far east as Waterford, acting in all things in concert with -the Lord Deputy. It is evident that things were in a state quite unfit to -resist a powerful French armament; but the weather as usual was on the -side of England, and of eighteen French vessels laden with provisions, -more than one-half were lost in a storm off the Irish coast. This fleet -was, no doubt, destined only for the relief of the French party in -Scotland, and there does not seem to have been any real intention of -breaking the peace with England. But the Irish exiles were unwilling to -believe this. George Paris, who had been despatched from Blois about -Christmas 1550, returned to France in the following spring, bringing with -him an Irishman of importance. The Irish offered Ireland to Henry, and -begged him to defend _his own_, saying that Wales would also rise as soon -as foreign aid appeared. Their avowed object was 'the maintenance of -religion, and for the continuance of God's service in such sort as they -had received from their fathers. In the which quarrel they were -determined either to stand or to die.' It would be better to invade -England than Ireland; for the English Catholics would receive an invader -with open arms. Paris spoke much of the frequent conquests of England. No -outward enemy, once landed, had ever been repulsed, and the thing was -easier now than ever. The sanguine plotter talked loudly of all that had -been promised him, and professed to believe that the Dauphin would soon -be King of Ireland and Scotland at the very least. 'With these brags, and -such others, he filleth every man's ears that he chanceth to talk -withal.' He had constant interviews with the Nuncio, but the French grew -every day cooler. The English ambassador perceived that the Irish envoy -was 'not so brag,' and at last reported that he had been denied help. He -attributed this change of policy entirely to the fear of increasing the -difficulties in which the Queen Dowager of Scotland already found -herself.[356] - -[Sidenote: Difficulties in Ulster. Andrew Brereton.] - -While Scots and Frenchmen threatened its shores, Ulster furnished more -even than its normal share of home-grown strife. Captain Andrew Brereton, -who seems to have been a son or grandson of Sir William Brereton, held -Lecale as a Crown tenant at will. He was a man singularly unfit to deal -with a high-spirited race like the O'Neills. When Tyrone, according to -ancient Irish custom, sent a party to distrain for rent among the -MacCartans, Brereton set upon them and killed several men, including two -brothers of the Countess. To the Earl's remonstrances he replied by -calling him a traitor, and threatening to treat him as he had treated -O'Hanlon--that is, to spoil him, slay his men, and burn his country. It -is clear that Brereton was not actuated by any special love of the -MacCartans, for he beheaded a gentleman of that clan--without trial. He -forcibly expelled Prior Magennis from his farm on the church lands of -Down; and Roger Broke, a congenial spirit, shut up the Prior in Dundrum -Castle. Tyrone went to Dublin to welcome St. Leger on his arrival, and -Brereton openly called him a traitor at the Council Board, in the -presence of the Lord Deputy and of the Earls of Thomond and Clanricarde. -The proud O'Neill of course took the accusation 'very unkindly.' St. -Leger was of opinion that such handling of wild men had done much harm in -Ireland; and the Council, while admitting that Tyrone was 'a frail man, -and not the perfectest of subjects,' thought that this was not the way to -make the best of him. Brereton had no better justification for his -conduct than the gossip of one of MacQuillin's kerne, who said that -Tyrone had sent a messenger to the King of France to say that he would -take his part against King Edward, and would send him Brereton and -Bagenal as prisoners. Brereton was very properly relieved of his command -in Lecale, on the nominal ground that he had refused to hold the Crown -land there upon the Lord Deputy's terms; which St. Leger evidently -thought more likely to have weight with the English Council than any -amount of outrages committed against the Irish. He was afterwards -restored, and gave trouble to later governors.[357] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[323] Lord Protector and Privy Council to Lord Deputy St. Leger and -Council, March 25, 1547; the King to the same, April 7; King Edward VI. -to the Earl of Desmond, Oct. 6. In a letter dated Lambeth, July 6, to her -'assured loving friend Mr. Cecil, Master of Requests,' Lady Ormonde begs -that Abbeyleix may not be granted to Barnaby Fitzpatrick to her son's -detriment, and she refers to Cecil's 'former friendship.' Here we see the -beginning of a most important connection. - -[324] _Four Masters_, 1546, 1547. - -[325] Introduction to _Carew_, vol. ii. p. lxxxv.; Archbishop Butler to -the Lord Protector, Feb. 25, 1548; _Calendar of Patent Rolls_, p. 154. - -[326] _Calendar of Patent Rolls_, p. 66. For Butler and Powell, see three -letters calendared under April and May 1548, Nos. 16, 17, and 19. - -[327] Privy Council to Lord Deputy and Council, Nov. 2, 1547; John -Brereton to Bellingham, May 1548 (No. 20), and July (Nos. 44 and 45); -Cosby to Bellingham, July (Nos. 48 and 50). Bellingham dated a letter -from Athy, Aug. 19, 1548. The eighteen beds are mentioned by John Plunket -and Thomas Alen in a letter to him of the 18th. - -[328] Lord Dunboyne to Bellingham, June 21, 1548, and the answer (No. -25). - -[329] Sovereign and Council of Kinsale to Bellingham, July 15, 1548; -Mayor, &c., of Cork to same, July 24, Aug. 27, Dec. 29, and the answer, -Jan. 10, 1549; Mayor, &c., of Waterford to Bellingham, Sept. 5, 1548. - -[330] Mayor, &c., of Youghal to Bellingham, July 8, 1548; Deputy Mayor -and Council of Galway to same, Aug. 13; Bellingham to Limerick, Aug. (No. -63); John Goldsmith to Bellingham, Aug. 22; Kyng to Wyse, Sept. 5. Sir -Philip Hoby's letter is calendared among the foreign S.P., April 17, -1549. - -[331] Bellingham to Alen, July 1548 (No. 39); Mayor, &c., of Drogheda to -Alen, Aug. 8; Bellingham to Privy Council, Aug. (No. 84), and to the -Mayor of Dublin (No. 67). For the fort, which became Maryborough, see the -notes to O'Donovan's _Four Masters_ under 1548 and 1553. - -[332] Bellingham to the Privy Council, Aug. 1548 (No. 84). - -[333] Bellingham to the Mayor of Cork, Aug. 1548 (No. 80); Mayor, &c., of -Cork to Bellingham, Nov. 18; Alen to Somerset, Nov. 21; Bellingham to -Arthur, Dec. (No. 145). - -[334] Archbishop Bodkin to Bellingham, July 25, 1548; Bellingham to -Richard Burke, Aug. (No. 83), and to the Mayor of Limerick, Sept. 18; -Ulick Burke to Bellingham, Sept. 22. - -[335] _Four Masters_, 1548 and 1549. - -[336] Alen to Paget, Nov. 21, 1548. - -[337] Harris's _Ware_, pp. 211-217; S.P., vol. iii. p. 534; _Four -Masters_, 1546; Mayor, &c., of Galway to Bellingham, July 27 and Aug. 13, -1548; Sovereign and Council of Kinsale to same, July 16; Agard to same, -Sept. 23; Richard Brasier to same, Oct. 8; Memoranda by Bellingham, Nov. -14; Bellingham to Warwick, November (No. 132, i.); Privy Council to -Bellingham, Jan. 6, 1549. - -[338] Bellingham to Somerset, Nov. 22, 1548, which encloses a copy of the -letter to Warwick; to Issam, Dec. (No. 163). - -[339] Bellingham to O'Molloy, Nov. 24, 1548; to O'Carroll (No. 138); to -Thomond (No. 137). - -[340] Alen to Paget, April 1549 (No. 32). - -[341] Bellingham to John Issam, Nov. 1548 (No. 140). Hooker's _Chronicle_ -in Holinshed. The capture of Desmond was about Christmas 1548. - -[342] Richard Brasier to Somerset, Nov. 14, 1548; John Moorton to same, -April 15, 1549; Anthony Colcloght to same, Feb. 1 and 13, and to Cahir -MacArt, Jan. 27; Walter Cowley to Bellingham, March 14; Brian Jones to -same, April (No. 35). - -[343] Staples to ---- between Dec. 22 and 29, 1548. The letter is not -addressed to Bellingham, but he must have seen it, as it is endorsed by -his clerk. See also Walter Palatyne to Bellingham, Nov. 23, 1547, and -Interrogatories for Archbishop Browne at the end of that year. The first -Book of Common Prayer was not printed till 1550. - -[344] Bellingham to Dowdall, Dec. 1548; John Issam to Bellingham, Dec. -22; Richard Brasier to Somerset, Nov. 14. - -[345] Sovereign of Kilkenny to the Lord Deputy, April 26, 1549; Walter -Cowley to same, June 25; Brasier to Somerset, Nov. 14, 1548; John -Brereton to Bellingham, 1548 (No. 174). - -[346] _Book of Howth_; Ware; Hooker in Holinshed; Lodge's Patentee -Officer in _Liber Hiberniæ_. Bellingham embarked at Howth, Dec. 16, 1549. - -[347] Patrick Fraser Tytler's _England under Edward VI. and Mary_. He -quotes Melville's _Memoirs_. See in particular the letter of Sir John -Mason to the Privy Council, June 16, 1550. The 'Loch' mentioned by -Melville must be Lough Foyle or Lough Swilly. - -[348] Instructions from Lord Chancellor Alen to Thomas Alen, Feb. 1550. -Bryan died, Feb. 2, 1550. - -[349] Lord Chancellor and Council to Tyrone, March 17, 1550:--'Tam ferox -est illius nationis nobilitas ut sub Turcâ (quantumvis barbaro) mitius -viveres quam sub illorum regimine ... summo conatu libertatem patriæ, -sanguinis libertatem et personæ vestræ dignitatem abolebunt.' Dowdall to -Alen, March 22; Brabazon to the Privy Council, March 26, with enclosures. - -[350] Sir John Mason to the Privy Council, June 14, 1550; Foreign -Calendar and Fraser Tytler, _ut supra_. - -[351] Letters of Croft and the two Bagenals, July 31, 1551; Alen to -Cecil, April 5, 1551, and to the Privy Council, Aug. 10. The grant is -calendared after the latter date. Having been chief of the commission for -the dissolution of abbeys, Alen thought it prudent to go to England -during Mary's reign, but made his peace, became again a member of -Council, and lived to congratulate Cecil on becoming once more Secretary -of State. - -[352] Instructions to Lord Deputy St. Leger, July 1550; Mr. St. Leger's -Remembrances for Ireland, same date. He was sworn in on Sept. 10. - -[353] Instructions to St. Leger; Barbaro's 'Report on England' in 1551, -in the _Venetian Calendar_. - -[354] St. Leger to the Lord High Treasurer, Sept. 27, 1550; Henry Wise -and John Moorton, officers at Fort Protector, to Bellingham, Jan. 6, -1549; Articles for an expedition into Ireland, Jan. 7, 1551; St. Leger to -Somerset, Feb. 18; Privy Council to Lord Deputy and Council, Jan. 26. - -[355] Martin Pirry to the Privy Council, Feb. 21, 1551; St. Leger to the -same, March 23. - -[356] Instructions to Sir James Croft, Feb. 25, 1551, in _Carew_; Sir -John Mason to the Privy Council, April 18, printed by Fraser Tytler. - -[357] Articles against Andrew Brereton, Nov. 1550; St. Leger to Cecil, -Jan. 19, 1551. The Council in Ireland to the Privy Council, May 20. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -FROM THE YEAR 1551 TO THE DEATH OF EDWARD VI. - - -[Sidenote: The Reformation officially promulgated, 1551.] - -No Parliament was held in Ireland during Edward VI.'s reign; and the -official establishment of Protestantism is generally supposed to date -from a royal order, dated Feb. 6, 1551, and promulgated by the Lord -Deputy on the first day of the following month. But the new Liturgy had -been already introduced, and copies had been forwarded to Limerick, and -perhaps to other places. St. Leger, who felt that the Communion Service -was the really important thing, had it translated into Latin for the -benefit of those who had some tincture of letters, but who could not read -English. The citizens of Limerick made no difficulty about receiving the -new formulary; but the Bishop, John Quin, refused, and was therefore -forced to resign. Quin, who was old and blind, had been willing to -acknowledge the royal supremacy, but very naturally refused to embrace a -new faith. It has often been stated that Quin accepted the Reformation; -but it is not easy to see how this can be reconciled with the facts. His -successor was William Casey, whose consecrators were Archbishop Browne, -Lancaster of Kildare, and Devereux of Ferns. The two last had been -consecrated by Browne and by Travers of Leighlin. Travers had only just -been appointed himself, and was probably in pretty nearly the same -condition.[358] - -[Sidenote: Doctrinal conference in Dublin.] - -Immediately after the arrival of the momentous order, St. Leger summoned -the clergy to meet him in Dublin. To this assembly the royal mandate was -read, as well as the opinions of certain English divines in favour of the -proposed changes. Primate Dowdall at once protested. 'For the general -benefit of our well-beloved subjects,' the King was made to say, -'whenever assembled and met together in the several parish churches, -either to pray or hear prayers read, that they may the better join -therein in unity, hearts and voices, we have caused the Liturgy and -prayers of the Church to be translated into our mother tongue of this -realm of England.' 'Then,' observed the Primate, 'shall every illiterate -fellow read Mass?' 'No,' answered St. Leger with much force, 'your Grace -is mistaken; for we have too many illiterate priests among us already, -who neither can pronounce the Latin nor know what it means, no more than -the common people that hear them; but when the people hear the Liturgy in -English, they and the priest will then understand what they pray for.' -This last observation might be true enough in Dublin, but it was -singularly inapplicable to Ireland generally. The key-note of the -controversy had, however, been struck, and it was clear that the Primate -and the Lord Deputy occupied very different standpoints. Finding St. -Leger a formidable antagonist, and seeing that the case was virtually -prejudged, Dowdall somewhat forgot his habitual dignity, and threatened -the Viceroy with the clergy's curse. 'I fear,' was the answer, 'no -strange curse, so long as I have the blessing of that Church which I -believe to be the true one.' There was some further altercation about the -Petrine claims to supremacy; and Dowdall, finding that he made no -impression, left the hall with all his suffragans except Staples, and -repaired to his own diocese. St. Leger then handed the King's order to -Browne, who received it standing. 'This order, good brethren,' said the -Protestant Archbishop, 'is from our gracious King, and from the rest of -our brethren, the fathers and clergy of England, who have consulted -herein, and compared the Holy Scriptures with what they have done; unto -whom I submit, as Jesus did to Cæsar, in all things just and lawful, -making no question why or wherefore, as we own him our true and lawful -King.'[359] - -[Sidenote: St. Leger, Browne, and Dowdall.] - -The above proceedings show that St. Leger was at least in general -agreement with the Protestant party, but he had certainly no wish to -force the reformed doctrines on the reluctant Irish. Browne complained -that he had publicly offered the sacrifice of the Mass in Christ Church, -'after the old sort, to the altar then of stone, to the comfort of his -too many like Papists, and the discouragement of the professors of God's -Word.' The Archbishop found it convenient to forget that this was -strictly according to law; and that the royal order, even admitting that -it had all the power claimed for it, had not yet gone forth to alter the -state of things established under Henry VIII. Browne could not deny that -the Lord Deputy had made due proclamation of 'the King's Majesty's most -godly proceeding;' but alleged that it was only for show, 'while massing, -holy water, Candlemas candles, and such like, continued under the Primate -and elsewhere,' without let or hindrance from the chief governor. -Dowdall, he said, was 'the next father in word and deed of Popery;' the -Viceroy a Gallio who did not scruple to say, 'Go to, your matters of -religion will mar all.' St. Leger seems in good truth to have been -laughing at the ex-friar. 'My Lord of Dublin,' he said, 'I have books for -your Lordship.' Browne found them on examination 'so poisoned to maintain -the Mass with Transubstantiation, and other naughtiness (as at no time I -have seen such a summary of Scriptures collected to establish the -idolatry), clean contrary the sincere meaning of the Word of God and the -King's most godly proceedings.' The Archbishop had copies taken, which he -sent to the Privy Council. St. Leger was angry at this, and Browne says -he threatened to do him harm, even should it cost 1,000_l._ The -Archbishop intimated that the 1,000_l._ would be nothing to him, for that -he had enriched himself by peculation, and attributed to him a degree of -vindictiveness which does not seem really to have belonged to his -character. Browne admits that the Lord Deputy called Dowdall before the -Council for practising the old ritual, 'who came and disputed plainly the -massing and other things, contrary the King's proceedings; and that he -would not embrace them: whereat the Deputy said nothing.' Sir Ralph -Bagenal called the Primate an arrant traitor. 'No traitor, Mr. Bagenal,' -said Lord Chancellor Cusack, who was Dowdall's cousin; and the Primate -continued in his old ways as long as St. Leger held the reins of -government. The Lord Deputy even recommended Tyrone to 'follow the -counsel of that good father, sage senator, and godly bishop, my Lord -Primate, in everything, and so ye shall do well.' He made indeed no -secret of his regard for Dowdall, whose high character was admitted by -all but fanatics. 'He is,' he declared openly before more than a dozen -persons in the hall of Dublin Castle, 'a good man, and I would that all -the Irishmen in Ireland spake so good English as he, and if they do no -worse than he the King had been the better served.'[360] - -[Sidenote: St. Leger has some idea of toleration.] - -It was impossible that any secret policy could go on without Alen having -a hand in it. St. Leger told him that the danger from both France and -from the Emperor was much increased by the religious sympathies of the -Irish, who, in civil matters, would like foreigners only in so far as -they could profit by them. He ridiculed the notion of France annexing -Ireland, though he thought it possible that Henry II. might make a -diversion there to prevent England from interfering with him in Scotland -or on the Continent. He thought the Emperor would be friendly for old -acquaintance sake, but that he disliked the new fashions in religion; -'and no wonder, seeing that in that matter daily at home among ourselves -one of us is offended with another.' St. Leger, in short, was a statesman -who could admire moral excellence in men of different opinions; and -Browne was a fanatic. 'God help me!' said the Deputy. 'For my own part, -knowing the manners and ignorance of the people, when my lords of the -Council willed me to set forth the matters of religion here, _which to my -power I have done_, I had rather they had called me into Spain or any -other place where the King should have had cause to make war, than -burdensome to sit further here. I told my lords no less before my coming -away.' Alen had refused to put this conversation in writing, though -urged to do so by Browne; saying that he wished St. Leger no harm, though -he had lost all through him. He said as little as might be against him -even when questioned afterwards by the Council. After his interview with -the Lord Deputy, Alen went to sup with Lockwood, Dean of Christ Church, -and found there the Archbishop and Basnet, late Dean of St. Patrick's. -When the servants had gone the conversation turned upon St. Leger, whom -Browne attacked on the grounds already mentioned, saying that he was but -a 'dissimular in religion.' He was, in fact, a thoroughly secular -politician, wise and resolute, and willing to carry out orders from the -Government; but not pretending to like the plan of forcing an -English-made religion upon the Irish, and administering it in practice as -gently as possible. He was really in advance of his time, and had formed -some notion of religious liberty. That he sympathised with the old creed -there is not the smallest reason to suppose. 'They name me a Papist,' he -said. 'I would to God I were to try it with them that so nameth me;' and -he was accused in Mary's reign of writing satirical verses against -Transubstantiation, which shows that his opinions were not supposed to be -anti-Protestant. He would have had things stay as they were under Henry -VIII; the royal supremacy acknowledged, and doctrinal changes left to the -action of time, persuasion, and increased enlightenment.[361] - -[Sidenote: These views not in favour in England.] - -But these ideas did not recommend themselves to the English Council, -which had now come under Warwick's influence. Neither the bishopric of -Leighlin nor that of Ossory was granted to St. Leger's chaplain, James -Bicton; though his patron strenuously defended him against the charge of -Papal leanings, declaring that there was no more competent man in -Ireland, nor one who had better set forth God's Word. Bicton, who had -been formerly chaplain to the Earl of Ormonde, was of Irish birth, -though educated at Oxford, and was at all events not one of the very -ignorant priests whom St. Leger cast up against his friend the Primate. -He became Dean of Ossory, and had a large chest of books at Kilkenny, -besides a wine cask full at Bristol, for which he had paid 40_l._; and he -seems to have supported a poor Irish scholar at Oxford. It would be -difficult to say anything so good of Travers, who was preferred before -him at Leighlin. Travers owed his promotion to his cousin the Master of -the Ordnance, whose chaplain he had been; but he did no credit to his -blood, scarcely anything being recorded of him but that he oppressed his -clergy and made money out of his see.[362] - -[Sidenote: Sir James Croft succeeds St. Leger, 1551.] - -Whatever was the exact cause of St. Leger's recall, it is likely that he -was glad to escape from the thankless Irish service. Sir James Croft, his -successor-designate, was already in Ireland, and he handed him the reins -without waiting for his patent. Croft was directed to put the seaports of -Munster and Ulster into a defensible state; but the English Government -showed a bad example, for though Argyle was plotting in the North and -MacCarthy in the South, the artillery was sent over in charge of a clerk -only. MacCarthy was to be apprehended if possible, and also George Paris, -who was 'a common post between Ireland and France,' sailing in French -ships which were to be overhauled in search of him. When the thousand men -who had been promised arrived at Cork there was no money to pay them. -Croft and his advisers begged and borrowed till both credit and -provisions were well-nigh exhausted in the barren wilds of West Cork. -Soldiers unpunctually paid could not but be dangerous, and there was no -sort of justice to be obtained in the country districts. 'If in England,' -said Crofts, using an apt illustration, 'the place of justice were -appointed only at Dover, I think no man doubts but the people would soon -grow out of order.' A thorough reform in the official circle, head and -members, was necessary before any great improvement could be expected in -the people. Before leaving Cork, Croft did what he could to secure local -justice by drawing up regulations for maintaining the peace of the -district under Desmond's general superintendence, not greatly differing -from those already supposed to be in force, but with a clause which shows -how the Puritan spirit was working. The Earl and those joined in -authority with him were to have a special care to 'set forth divine -service according to the King's proceeding, and diligently to look for -the punishment of harlots, for which purposes they may call for the -bishops and ministers within their circuit, giving them warning of their -duties to see them punished according to the orders taken in that -behalf.' MacCarthy More, who had submitted, was required with his -clansmen to swear allegiance to Edward VI. as King, and also as 'supreme -head of the Church in England and Ireland, and clearly to renounce the -Bishop of Rome and all his authority,' and take his 'oath on the Bible' -to obey all laws, civil and ecclesiastical, set forth by the King and his -successors. - -[Sidenote: Croft proposes to colonise in West Munster.] - -Archbishop Browne, having got rid of St. Leger, was loud in praise of his -successor's activity, who was the first governor to visit Baltimore -(Ballagheyntymore). Crofts proposed to the Council that a colony of -married Englishmen with their wives and families should be planted in -this remote place, who, after serving as soldiers for a time, would be -able to protect themselves as others had done at Calais. But the King -blamed Croft for visiting Baltimore at all, since he had not the power to -do anything there. In August the time for fortifying was already past; -and there was a danger that Spanish fishermen might discover the Lord -Deputy's intentions, and even find means to forestall them.[363] - -[Sidenote: The Ulster Scots attacked. Failure at Rathlin, 1551.] - -The affairs of Ulster next engaged the attention of Croft. The Scots had -lately made themselves supreme from the Giant's Causeway to Belfast; and -it was determined to attack them there, and, if possible, to capture the -island stronghold of Rathlin, whither the MacDonnells had transported all -the cattle and horses taken by them in their late raid. A hosting was -accordingly proclaimed for thirty-one days, and the army mustered at -Carrickfergus. The roads being impassable for carts, everything had to -be carried on pack horses or by sea. The Lord Deputy himself went by land -through the country of several Irish chiefs, of whose intelligence -Chancellor Cusack, who tells the story, formed a favourable opinion. Some -of them joined the expedition. Meat was abundant throughout the four -days' journey, at the rate of 10_s._ a beef and 16_d._ a mutton; much -less than the prices of the Pale. Leaving the heavy baggage at -Carrickfergus, Croft advanced to Glenarm, where he encamped. No Scots -appeared, and but few cattle; but immense stores of corn were found. -There lay at Ballycastle four small vessels which the English men-of-war -had captured, and some of the prisoners from the Scots were brought -before the Lord Deputy. The result of their examination was a resolution -at once to attack Rathlin, where James MacDonnell and his brethren were. -It was found that the captured boats would only carry 200 men, and it was -therefore resolved not to risk a landing unless some more of the Scots -vessels could be taken, or unless the men in the island yielded to the -fear of the cannon upon the English ships. Sir Ralph Bagenal and Captain -Cuffe approached the island with about 100 men, but the galleys which -they wished to seize were at once driven in shore, and a threatening -crowd of Scots hung about the landing-place, and took no notice of the -fire from the ships, which was probably too vague to endanger them much. -The tide was ebbing, and the invaders seemed to run no great risk; but -the Race of Rathlin, even in the finest weather, is never quite calm, and -a sudden reflux wave lifted Cuffe's boat high and dry on to the rocks. -The men, about twenty-five, were slain on the spot, the officers taken -and held by James MacDonnell as pledges for the return of the goods taken -from him about Glenarm, and for the release of his brother Sorley Boy, -who was a prisoner in Dublin. Croft was obliged to yield on both points, -and the whole expedition ended in failure. The threat of complaining to -the Scots Government was not likely to weigh much with MacDonnell, who -was on good terms with the anti-English party.[364] - -[Sidenote: Disturbed state of Ulster.] - -[Sidenote: The O'Neills consider wheat a dangerous innovation.] - -Most of the chiefs of Ulster, who feared the Scots more than they hated -the English, paid their respects to Croft at Carrickfergus, and were glad -to submit their grievances to his arbitration. Tyrone, O'Donnell--with -his two rebellious sons, Calvagh and Hugh--Maguire, the Baron of -Dungannon, MacQuillin, O'Neill of Clandeboye, MacCartan, the Savages, -Magennis, and others, had complaints to make, and the Lord Deputy patched -up their differences for a time; most of them agreeing to pay some rent -or tribute to the King for their lands, and not to employ Scots -mercenaries. Maguire was declared independent both of O'Neill and -O'Donnell, and sheriffs were appointed both in Ards and Clandeboye, -which, being part of the Earldom of Ulster, had once had a feudal -organisation. A garrison was left in Carrickfergus, and a commission -charged with abolishing the Irish laws, 'so as by God's grace,' says the -sanguine Cusack, 'that country since the time of the Earl of March was -not so like to prosper and do well as now.' A garrison was also left at -Armagh, under command of the Marshal Nicholas Bagenal, who was joined in -commission with the Baron of Dungannon for the purpose of re-establishing -order in Tyrone, which was utterly wasted through the dissensions of the -Earl and his sons. There were not ten ploughs in the whole country. -Hundreds had died of hunger in the fields. The Baron's lands were better -off; for he felt that he owed his position to King Henry's patent, and to -please the English Government he had caused wheat to be largely sown. -Tyrone did his best to burn the Saxon crop, and the people declared that -they would grow it no more; 'for that was the chief cause (as they said) -that the Earl did destroy their corn, for bringing new things to his -country other than hath been used before. And what the Earl will promise -now, within two hours after he will not abide by the same.' Most of this -unstable chief's fighting men had gone over to his son Shane, who abused -his powers dreadfully. Cusack thought the people would prefer to have the -Baron over them, 'for that he is indifferent, sober, and discreet, and is -a hardy gentleman of honest conversation and towardness,' whose country -was as well ordered as the Pale. Tyrone had no capacity for government, -and was ruled by his wife; but he so far yielded to the Deputy's -persuasion as to accept a garrison for Armagh, and to go first to -Drogheda and then to Dublin. Having been once enticed into the Pale, -Tyrone was detained there against his will. This was done by Cecil's -advice, who agreed with Cusack that Tyrone was quite useless in his own -country, and quite unable to control Shane.[365] - -[Sidenote: Shane O'Neill and his brother Matthew.] - -Tyrone had, or might have had, a son by Alison Kelly, the wife of a smith -in Dundalk. The mother brought her boy Matthew at the age of sixteen to -the chief, who acknowledged him as his own, and thus, according to the -ancient Irish law, made him equal with his children of less doubtful -origin. Shane, on the other hand, was the offspring of an undisputed -marriage. Matthew was certainly acknowledged as an O'Neill when he was -made Baron of Dungannon and heir to the earldom, but Shane explained the -difficulty by saying that his father was a gentleman, and never denied -any son that was sworn on him, and that he had plenty of them. Whether -there was any election to the chieftainship we do not know, but Shane -was, by the practical adhesion of the clansmen, in a better position than -most Irish tanists. Thus it strangely happened that Matthew, who was -confessedly born in adultery, was heir to the feudal title, while Shane, -who was certainly legitimate, claimed the reversion of the tribal -sovereignty. The influence of the clergy had probably weakened or -destroyed the old Irish principle that an adulterine bastard could be -brought into the real father's lawful family by acknowledgment, nor could -English law have been altogether without effect; but it is strange to see -one in such a position as Matthew O'Neill, or Kelly, maintained by -statesmen and lawyers against Shane and his brothers.[366] - -[Sidenote: Invasion of Tyrone.] - -Whether O'Neill or Kelly, the Baron of Dungannon was a man of resolution -and ability. He accompanied Bagenal on an expedition against Shane, which -the Dean of Armagh, Terence Daniel, or O'Donnell, tried to prevent by -exaggerated accounts of the distance. The bridge over the Blackwater was -broken down, and the castles at Dungannon were also dismantled. This -became a regular practice in Irish warfare, in order to prevent the -English from placing permanent garrisons in strong places; and any -disposition on their part to repair such a building was generally -frustrated by the length of time necessary, the difficulty of obtaining -labour, and the want of provisions. When the danger was past the chief -would re-occupy his stronghold, and soon made it serviceable for raising -a revenue, or resisting sudden attacks of neighbouring tribes. Bagenal -met with little resistance during his raid. Shane appeared on a hill with -eighteen horsemen and sixty kerne, and the Baron of Dungannon advanced -against him with only four followers. 'An the King were there where thou -art,' said Shane, 'he were mine.' The Baron, nothing daunted, answered, -'I am here but the King's man, and that thou shalt well know,' and -spurred his horse forward. Shane, who was never remarkable for dashing -courage, retired into the wood closely followed by his brother, who was -prevented by the thick covert from using spear or sword, and who tried to -close, but was caught by a branch at the critical moment, and nearly lost -his own seat. Shane escaped on foot, leaving his horse and arms to the -Baron, and afterwards came to Bagenal on parole, when a truce was patched -up.[367] - -[Sidenote: The Scots attempt a settlement in Down.] - -Emboldened by success, the Scots extended their operations to the south -of Belfast, slew John White, landlord of Dufferin, and proposed to make a -settlement on the western shores of Lough Strangford. Hugh MacNeill Oge, -who held the district between that inlet and Belfast Lough, took their -part, and the Prior Magennis and his kinsman, the Bishop of Dromore, were -authorised to make large offers with a view of detaching him from his -allies; but he refused to come to Bagenal. The Baron of Dungannon had -some trifling success against the Scots, and another officer drove some -of their cattle through Ards to Strangford, apparently crossing the ferry -there, and thence into the Pale. One thousand cows were also taken from -Hugh MacNeill Oge; but he promptly recouped himself from the herds of his -neighbours on every side, so that the balance was soon again in his -favour. The expedition was evidently a failure, and the 'Four Masters' -represent it as a disastrous one; the English and their allies losing 200 -men.[368] - -[Sidenote: Another doctrinal conference.] - -The general directions to Croft for his conduct in ecclesiastical matters -was much the same as those given to St. Leger. Public worship in English -was to be made general, and a translation to be made into Irish for use -in such places as required it. He was sworn in on May 23, and on June 16 -he wrote to Dowdall, who was at St. Mary's Abbey, inviting him to take -part in a conference concerning the disputed points in religion. The Lord -Deputy said much about what was due to Cæsar, hinted that he should be -sorry to see the Primate removed from his great office, and entreated an -answer by the hands of the Bishop of Meath, who, as chief of his -suffragan, seemed the fittest intermediary. Dowdall answered very truly -that no discussion could bring about agreement between those who differed -as to fundamentals, and excused himself from waiting on his lordship, as -he had for some time withdrawn from public affairs. Mohammed decided to -go to the mountain, and the discussion took place in the hall of St. -Mary's Abbey, Croft being supported by two bishops, Staples of Meath, who -conducted the case for the Crown, and Lancaster of Kildare. The debate -first turned on the new liturgy, Dowdall treating it as an innovation, -and his opponent as the Mass purified from gross corruptions. The -following is the most remarkable part of what was said:-- - -_Dowdall._ Was not the Mass from the Apostles' days? How can it be proved -that the Church of Rome has altered it? - -_Staples._ It is easily proved by our records of England. For Celestinus, -Bishop of Rome, in the fourth century after Christ, gave the first -introit of the Mass which the clergy were to use for preparation, even -the psalm, _Judica me, Deus_, &c., Rome not owning the word Mass till -then. - -_D._ Yes, long before that time; for there was a mass called St. -Ambrose's Mass. - -_S._ St. Ambrose was before Celestinus; but the two prayers, which the -Church of Rome had foisted and added unto St. Ambrose's works, are not in -his general works; which hath caused a wise and a learned man lately to -write that these two prayers were forged, and not to be really St. -Ambrose's. - -_D._ What writer dares write or doth say so? - -_S._ Erasmus, a man who may well be compared to either of us, or the -standers by. Nay, my lord, no disparagement if I say so to yourself; for -he was a wise and a judicious man, otherwise I would not have been so -bold as to parallel your lordship with him. - -_Lord Deputy._ As for Erasmus's parts, would I were such another: for his -parts may parallel him a companion for a prince. - -_D._ Pray, my lord, do not hinder our discourse; for I have a question or -two to ask Mr. Staples. - -_L. D._ By all means, reverend father, proceed. - -_D._ Is Erasmus's writings more powerful than the precepts of the Mother -Church? - -_S._ Not more than the Holy Catholic one, yet more than the Church of -Rome, as that Church hath run into several errors since St. Ambrose's -days. - -_D._ How hath the Church erred since St. Ambrose's days? Take heed lest -you be not excommunicated. - -_S._ I have excommunicated myself already from thence. - -Opposite opinions were then given about the Virgin and her power to -mediate; and the Primate finally appealed to the consecration oath, which -Staples had taken as well as he. The Bishop of Meath said he held it -safer for his conscience to break it than to keep it, and he praised the -oath of supremacy. And thus, without any approach to an understanding, -but with many mutual expressions of courtesy and goodwill, the champions -of Rome and of England measured swords and parted.[369] - -[Sidenote: Dowdall goes away. The Primacy removed to Dublin.] - -A few days after this the Primate disappeared, and it was understood that -he had gone abroad like a traitor, as Browne said, who with indecent -haste demanded that the old contest between Armagh and Dublin should be -finally decided in his favour. Dowdall, he said, claimed by the 'Bishop -of Rome's bulls and I by the King's majesty and his most noble -progenitors' grants and gifts.' He recounted the services of his -predecessors in supporting the Government of the Pale, and asked not only -for the empty title and honours of Primate of all Ireland, but for 'all -and every the spiritual profits, living, and commodities,' belonging to -Armagh. The King granted the chief place to Browne, who in the Anglican -succession remained Primate of all Ireland till deprived by Queen Mary. -Those who adhere to Rome of course ignore the interruption in Dowdall's -primacy, but his withdrawal beyond seas was considered as a resignation -by the English Government.[370] - -[Sidenote: Church patronage. Bale.] - -The sees of Armagh, Cashel, and Ossory being vacant, Croft recommended -that they should be filled with peculiar care. The negligence of the -Bishops and other ministers allowed the old ceremonies to remain in many -places. It was necessary to send over good, zealous men to fill up the -bishoprics as they fell vacant. If this could not be done, Croft begged -that at least he might have a competent adviser in ecclesiastical matters -to enable him to direct the bishops, who were blind, obstinate, -negligent, and very seldom learned. For Armagh it would be well to choose -a divine with some property in England, who might act as a commissioner -for deciding the daily quarrels arising in the North. For the bishopric -of Ossory, Croft, Protestant as he was, ventured to recommend Leverous, -Gerald of Kildare's old tutor, who had been pardoned for his offence in -carrying him out of the realm. For learning, discretion, and decorous -life there was no one superior in Ireland, and Croft had heard him -'preach such a sermon, as in his simple opinion he heard not many years.' -Personally unobjectionable, Leverous was known to be attached to the old -doctrines, and Croft's advocacy failed, as he himself expected. The see -of Ossory was conferred after some delay upon John Bale, a Carmelite -friar, born in Suffolk and educated at Jesus College, Cambridge. The -arguments of a layman, Lord Wentworth, according to his own account, -enforced by the charms of a young lady, according to the account of his -enemies, converted Bale to the Reformation. He married a wife, who was -his companion in all his wanderings and vicissitudes, and became a -professed Protestant. It was not in his nature to hide his light under a -bushel; he preached openly against the Roman doctrine, and suffered -imprisonment in consequence. Having been released through Cromwell's -intercession, he spent eight years in Germany. Returning to England on -Edward's accession, he became Poynet's chaplain, and obtained the living -of Bishopstoke. The King happening to see and hear him at Southampton, of -his own accord promoted him to Ossory. Bale was a multifarious writer, a -man of learning and eloquence, and unquestionably sincere; but coarse and -violent, with no respect whatever for the feelings of others, and -remarkably unfit for the task of persuading an unwilling people to -embrace the Reformation. - -[Sidenote: Edward's opinions about patronage.] - -Though partially shorn of its glories, the see of Armagh, claiming as it -did to be founded by the national apostle, was still of great importance. -Pending an appointment in England, Croft proposed that Basnet, late Dean -of St. Patrick's, should enjoy the first-fruits of the vacant see along -with the revenues of his old deanery. The Lord Deputy was moved to this -by the curious practical consideration that Basnet was 'experimented in -the wars of the country.' Make it worth his while to live at Armagh, and -he would be most useful to Bagenal and the Baron of Dungannon. But the -young King, who had already opinions of his own, was scandalised at the -idea, and shrunk from making bishops of any but ministers earnest in -setting forth God's glory. He directed that Deans and Chapters should -maintain divine service and preach the gospel in vacant sees, declaring -that he minded the education of his people above all things. If the -dignitaries proved negligent the Lord Deputy might appoint occasional -ministers to do the duty.[371] - -[Sidenote: Cranmer's difficulties about Irish patronage.] - -Cranmer named four persons as fit for the archbishopric of Armagh, but -none of them were in haste to go to Ireland. Of these the King selected -Richard Turner, a Staffordshire man, but vicar of Chartam in Kent. -Cranmer described him as an earnest preacher, merry and witty withal, who -wanted nothing, loved nothing, dreamed of nothing but Christ only. He had -shown courage in the late Kentish insurrection, and that would be a -useful quality in Ireland. 'He preached,' says Cranmer, 'twice in the -camp that was by Canterbury; for the which the rebels would have hanged -him, and he seemed then more glad to go to hanging, than he doth now to -go to Armachane, he allegeth so many excuses, but the chief is this, that -he shall preach to the walls and stalls, for the people understand no -English. I bear him in hand Yes, and yet I doubt whether they speak -English in the diocese of Armachane. But if they do not then I say, that -if he will take the pain to learn the Irish tongue (which with diligence -he may do in a year or two) then both his doctrine shall be more -acceptable not only unto his diocese, but also throughout all Ireland.' -But Turner would not go. Perhaps he estimated more correctly than Cranmer -the difficulty of learning Irish, and his wit and liveliness would only -enable him to forecast the misery of a man who should preach to unwilling -congregations in halting and uncertain language. Cranmer's other three -nominees also failed him; and he then recommended Hugh Goodacre, who was -induced to accept the unenviable post. The archbishopric of Cashel had -not even the dignity of Armagh to make it attractive, and it remained -vacant during the rest of Edward's reign.[372] - -[Sidenote: Pluralities.] - -The King had a reasonable dislike to pluralities, and resisted the union -of Clonfert and Elphin in the hands of Clanricarde's uncle, Rowland -Burke. 'A good pastor,' he said, 'cannot nourish two flocks at once, and -it agreeth not with our religion.' But he gave in when it was proved to -him that the sees were small and poor, and that their union would be -likely to further rather than to hinder religion.[373] - -[Sidenote: The coinage.] - -It would have been well if Edward or his advisers had paid as much -attention to honesty in civil government. The attempt to give a forced -course to bad coin had had its usual evil effects. The Irish currency had -always been less pure than that of England, but practically little -difficulty had occurred until the late changes. An English groat was -worth sixpence Irish, and everyone understood what he was doing. But now -the country was flooded with base coin of uncertain value, and men -bargained, as they do still at Cairo, for sterling money, foreign crowns, -and livres Tournois. Trade with England was necessarily conducted by -means of a reputable currency; and the whole of the new Irish coinage -being only available for local use, felt the effects of inflation as well -as of its own intrinsic baseness. There was great confusion in every -trade, and all was attributed to the coin, which every one thought would -be cried down, and therefore feared to have in possession. 'Being put to -sale of all men,' said Croft, 'and no man desirous to buy it, it must -needs be good cheap.' It was urged that, coins being only counters for -exchange, they should be taken at the proclaimed price, but Croft rightly -argued that gold and silver had been chosen on account of their fitness -for the purpose and also for their intrinsic value. The effect of laws -against usury is to raise the rate of interest, and the effect of putting -an artificial value on coin, in conjunction probably with other causes, -was to raise necessaries to a famine price. Corn that had been worth -6_s._ 8_d._ had risen to 40_s._; leather, iron, boots and shoes, wine and -hops, had all become dear. Six herrings sold for a groat. Englishmen, and -especially officials with fixed salaries, could not live in Ireland. The -native Irishman was somewhat better off, for 'he careth only for his -belly, and that not delicately.' 'We that are stipendiaries,' said the -Lord Deputy, 'must live upon our stipends, and buy with our money which -no man esteemeth.' The native lords used coyne and livery, and did what -they could to make their vassals keep all provisions in the country, so -that the markets were unsupplied, and the Government had scarcely any -alternative but to practise like extortions.[374] - -[Sidenote: Evils of a debased currency.] - -The inhabitants of Dublin, Waterford, Limerick, Cork, Drogheda, and -Galway were consulted, and they all attributed the state of trade to the -currency. A petition signed by the attorneys of those communities, by -seven peers, and by many others of high position was sent to the King; -and the petitioners prayed that the coin might be of the same weight, -value, and fineness in both kingdoms. 'By the whole consent of the -world,' said the Lord Deputy and Council, 'gold and silver have gotten -the estimation above all other metals, as metest to make money and be -conserved as a treasure, which estimation cannot be altered by a part or -little corner of the world, though the estimation were had but on a -fanciful opinion, where indeed it is grounded upon good reason, according -to the gifts that nature hath wrought in those metals whereby they be -metest to use for exchange, and to be kept for a treasure. So as in that -kind they have gotten the sovereignty, like as for other purposes other -metals do excel; and so is everything good, as God said at the beginning, -whereof followeth that the thing which we count naught cometh of the -misuse.' No laws or proclamation could prevent the value of money from -depending on the quantity of bullion it contained, and without money -exchanges could not be made. Men saw that an artificial scarceness was -created, and blamed the Government for not taking the obvious step of -crying down the coin. Croft apologised for his importunity in pressing -the currency question, observing that one string would put a harp out of -tune, and that the tuner would naturally strike that the oftenest. The -King's advisers did not deny the facts, but hesitated to make the -necessary sacrifice. Next year, however, they found it absolutely -necessary to act. Two of the despised groats were proclaimed equivalent -to fourpence English, and an immediate revival of trade was the -result.[375] - -[Sidenote: The Revenue. Attempts at mining.] - -The hope of making some profit out of Ireland to set against the cost of -governing her had attracted the attention of Henry VIII.'s ministers to -her mineral resources. Traces of lead, tin, copper, iron, and alum had -been found, and St. Leger hoped to turn them to account. In the last year -of his reign Henry authorised an advance of 1,000 marks sterling, and it -was thought that the mines would soon be self-supporting. The only -serious attempt made was at Clonmines, near Bannow, in Wexford. Silver -was found mixed with lead, and much expense was incurred. Germans were -employed in the work under the direction of Joachim Gundelfinger, and a -large mass of ore was raised. A smelting-house was built at Ross, both -wood and coal being used, and there were stores at Newtown Barry and -Ballyhack. There was some jealousy of the foreigners, who received very -high wages, and it was thought that Englishmen would be better and -cheaper. The English surveyor reported that the strangers cost 260_l._ a -month, and scarcely earned 40_l._, and he proposed to dismiss them, at -least until the work of sinking deep shafts had been completed by less -expensive labour. The Germans retorted that the surveyor himself was to -blame. But there was sickness among the miners, and some of them died; -and after some further trial the Germans were sent home and the works -stopped. It was found that the King had lost nearly 6,000_l._ in two -years.[376] - -[Sidenote: French and Scotch intrigues. The O'Connors. 1552.] - -The early part of the new year was disturbed by rumours of invasion. -Wauchop had just died at Paris, but his spirit still animated Ulster, and -help was confidently expected from Scotland. The French were trying to -recruit in Ireland, and some of those who held the seaports might as well -have been Frenchmen or Spaniards so far as the State was concerned. Old -O'Connor, who had received messages and tokens from the ubiquitous George -Paris, managed to escape from the Tower, but was caught near the border -and brought back. Walter Garrett, a soldier of Berwick, probably an -Irishman, who had deserted and gone as far south as Newcastle, was taken -trying to cross the Tweed or the Solway in a boat without oars. He -confessed his knowledge of O'Connor's movements, and this roused -suspicion as to the fidelity of the great frontier garrison. Leix and -Offaly were still unleased, the forts cost 7,000 marks yearly without any -return, and a rising among the friends of the old chief might undo the -little that had been done. The garrisons were most oppressive, taking -1_l._ worth of wheat for five shillings, and 4_l._ of beef for twelve -shillings, and the people were ready to rebel on the mere chance of -shaking them off.[377] - -[Sidenote: Tyrone is detained in Dublin.] - -Tyrone and his countess were detained in Dublin, while Shane continued -his fire-raisings in Ulster. The Earl complained bitterly of his own -treatment, of Bagenal's incursions, and of Cusack's intrigues. The -Marshal had taken 1,000 kine and 300 mares from him, and had billeted -himself and his army at Armagh. O'Donnell had suffered from similar -extortions. In St. Leger's time, he said, all had been quiet, and he sent -a statement of his grievances to the late Lord Deputy, who, very wisely, -sent it to Northumberland with the seals unbroken. Against the Chancellor -Tyrone could find no better accusation than that he had twice dissuaded -him from sending hawks as presents to the King. Cusack maintained that -Tyrone's arrest was justified by his negligent and savage behaviour. 'If -there were but one plough in the country,' the candid barbarian had -boasted, 'he would spend upon the same, with many other indecent words -for a captain of a country to say.'[378] - -[Sidenote: Anarchy in Connaught.] - -The fort at Athlone remained a memorial of Bellingham's military plans, -and under its shelter Westmeath submitted to the government of a sheriff; -but it cannot be said that the garrison kept Connaught quiet, either by -force or example. They sacked Clonmacnoise, and took away the bells from -O'Rourke's Tower, and left neither bell, image, book, gem, nor -window-glass in the whole place. 'Lamentable was this deed,' say the -annalists, 'the plundering of the city of Ciaran, the holy saint,' and by -no means calculated to increase the popularity of the King's religion. -Whether on account of this outrage or not, Croft found it necessary to -visit Athlone himself, and try to establish some order in Connaught. The -dissensions of the young Earl of Clanricarde with his kinsman Ulick, who -was loth to part with his authority, had laid the whole country waste. -Cusack with a small force succeeded, after a few executions, in placing -the Earl quietly, and swearing the gentry of the district to obey him. -Agriculture again flourished, and Cusack boasted that he had increased -the ploughs in use from 40 to 200, and that both ploughs and cattle could -be left safely in the open field. Clanricarde made use of his new power -to seize Roscommon, about which O'Connor Roe and O'Connor Don were -disputing, and to hand it over to Cusack for the reception of a garrison. -The warlike Chancellor brought O'Kelly to terms, and then succeeded in -getting a promise from the chiefs that they would assemble a force of -1,500 men to support the Earl in chastising MacDermot of Moylurg, who had -been plundering the O'Connors' cattle. Cusack thought there should be a -president to govern Connaught in conjunction with Clanricarde and -MacWilliam of Mayo, who was well disposed.[379] - -[Sidenote: Government of Leinster. Gerald of Kildare comes to England.] - -Leaving Cusack in the West, the Lord Deputy went into Leinster, and made -successful arrangements for maintaining peace there. He gave a lamentable -account of the state of the country. The Kavanaghs were indeed quiet, and -the O'Byrnes supported soldiers without grumbling; but the poor in the -towns were starving, and their cry sounded continually in his ears. They -were too wretched even to state their own grievances, and this was done -for them by the neighbouring gentry. Croft's regulations for the -garrisons at Carlow and Leighlin show considerable forethought. The -constables were prohibited from levying contributions themselves, but -might obtain the necessary supplies from the country through four -'cessers,' chosen by the freeholders for each garrison. No kerne were to -be quartered on the people, except thirty, which William Keating -covenanted to keep always ready for police purposes, and these were to be -billeted as the 'cessers' should appoint. Under the circumstances the -young Earl of Ormonde's rents were not very well paid, but Croft managed -to send him 400_l._ The state of the currency was such that the Earl -would lose one half if it were paid in Ireland. Gerald of Kildare, who -was now in England, was less fortunate, and the Lord Deputy declared that -he could get nothing for him. At a masque given by the King this -adventurous young man, who was now twenty-seven years old, and very -handsome, had met Mabel Browne, step-daughter to the fair Geraldine. -According to the family historian she fell in love with him. They were -married, and her father's influence procured the honour of knighthood for -the returned exile, and a patent restoring his estate. He did not, -however, come to Ireland till the next reign.[380] - -[Sidenote: Cusack's attempts to conciliate the Irish.] - -Passing eastwards again, Cusack found the O'Farrells peacefully paying -rent and supporting soldiers, but O'Reilly, who had seven warlike sons -and 1,600 men, was less submissive. With 1,200 followers he met the -Chancellor, who had only 200, and agreed to give hostages for the -restoration of spoils taken out of the Pale, and to pay a fine of 200_l._ -Cusack made it a rule to impose a fine, since the Brehon code required -restitution only; but as the fines were seldom paid, the chiefs made -little real concession. O'Reilly refused to go to Dublin, lest he should -be imprisoned like Tyrone, but admitted that that chief deserved his -bonds if he had behaved as Cusack reported, and that he should deserve -them also in like case. The MacMahons and the O'Hanlons were found -equally well disposed, and Magennis kept house like an English gentleman, -and exercised the office of sheriff of Down. From this point the Scots' -handiwork began to be visible. John White, the farmer of Dufferin, had -been murdered by them, and the murderers kept possession of the district. -The fertile lands of Lecale seemed to invite settlers, but the -neighbouring region of Ards warned them off, being laid waste by the -invasions of the islanders. Hugh MacNeill Boy, the chief of Clandeboye, -had agreed to meet Cusack, but, hearing of the landing of some six or -seven score Scots archers, he broke his appointment. Through his frequent -conflicts with Bagenal there was scarcely anything left in the country -worth destroying, and the Chancellor was fain to leave a small party of -soldiers behind him, and to await the action of the Council in Dublin. -Permanent garrisons at Belfast and Castlereagh were the means he proposed -for bridling this part of the North. The O'Cahans and MacQuillins in -northern Antrim were willing to obey the Baron of Dungannon, but were -coerced by the Scots, who disposed of their force as they pleased. Cusack -had a fruitless interview with the formidable Shane O'Neill, and Shane -went straight from the meeting to burn his father's house at Dungannon, -which was only four miles off. Led by the light, Cusack's horsemen were -able to save the building, and he afterwards succeeded in capturing 700 -of Shane's kine, and many horses. The Baron of Dungannon took charge of -the castle, and 300 gallowglasses were quartered on the county, but -Cusack saw plainly that nothing permanent could be done without a -resident governor. The Chancellor was somewhat more successful with -O'Donnell and his rebellious son Calvagh, both of whom came to Dublin and -bound themselves to keep the peace.[381] - -[Sidenote: Unsuccessful attack on the Ulster Scots. Death of Brabazon.] - -Soon after this the Lord Deputy made another attempt to punish the Scots -for the Rathlin disaster, and Hugh Oge O'Neill for supporting them. -O'Neill attacked the advanced guard at Belfast, then 'an old castle -standing on a ford,' and killed Savage of Ards, with fifty others. The -main body crossed the Laggan safely, and proceeded to fortify the old -stronghold. Meanwhile the Baron of Dungannon had brought up his forces, -but incautiously encamped in the open field before effecting a junction -with Croft. There he was set upon by the sleepless Shane, and utterly -routed, so that the whole expedition ended in failure. Sir William -Brabazon, the Vice-Treasurer, who had served so long and so well in -Ireland, died on the march. His body was buried in Christ Church, Dublin, -but his heart, according to the annalists, was 'sent to the King, in -token of his loyalty and truth towards him.'[382] - -[Sidenote: Tyrone is released.] - -Tyrone complained to the King of his continued detention. His country, he -said, suffered by his absence, and he offered either to plead his own -cause in England, or to submit unreservedly to Commissioners sent from -thence. Danger was still feared from Scotland, but the English party -there procured the arrest of George Paris, on the information of one of -O'Connor's sons. On the whole it was thought better to release Tyrone, -his countess and her son remaining as pledges for him, and Shane's -brother for that troublesome person. The Earl bound himself in 6,000_l._ -to keep the peace towards the King's adherents, the Baron of Dungannon, -Calvagh O'Donnell, Maguire, and Tirlogh Luineach O'Neill.[383] - -[Sidenote: Desmond.] - -The Corporation of Waterford praised Desmond for visiting remote parts of -his district, and training the wild people; a task for which few, if any, -of his ancestors had shown any taste. Cusack wrote in the same strain, -and advised that Dungarvan should be taken from the Butlers, and restored -to him. The Chancellor's pet idea was to have a President at Limerick, -less as a governor than as a general referee in all disputes, and he -believed that by such peaceful means permanent civilisation might be -cheaply attained.[384] - -[Sidenote: Croft recalled, 1552.] - -At this time the King granted leave of absence to Croft, whom he -apparently intended to send back; but the O'Connors became uneasy, and -Sir Henry Knollys was sent to stop the Lord Deputy. The clouds blew over, -and Croft was able to go before the end of the year, leaving the -government to Cusack and Chief Justice Aylmer. Tyrone was released a few -days later, and followed Croft to London; and Hugh O'Neill submitted, -apologising for the past, and making promises for the future. The latter -chief received certain monastic lands rent free, especially stipulating -for the friary at Carrickfergus, where his ancestors were buried. Belfast -Castle was restored to him. The Government had in fact been unable to -chastise him, and put the best face they could upon matters. It can -hardly be doubted that the three secular priests whom Hugh intended to -maintain at the family burying place were not likely to advance the -King's views in religion.[385] - -[Sidenote: Character of Croft. St. Leger returns to Ireland.] - -Sir James Croft bears a fair character among Irish governors. He did -nothing very striking, nor did he contribute much towards a final -pacification; but he was considered a just man, and he made no personal -enemies. He was at least no bigot, for he received warm praise from -Archbishop Browne, though he did not hesitate to recommend Leverous for a -bishopric. It was, however, decided that St. Leger should return to -Ireland in his stead. Sir Anthony's government had been cheap, and not -ineffectual. During the last five years of Henry's reign there had been a -small annual surplus; but since his death there had been a constantly -growing deficit, which could only be met by increasing the taxation of -the obedient shires, by employing Irish soldiers almost exclusively, and -by maintaining such troops as were necessary at free quarters upon the -country. Miserable expedients certainly; but the English Government could -devise nothing better, and they were determined to keep down the -expenses. It was resolved not to increase the existing force of 2,024, -and to make no attempt at a thorough conquest. The arrangement with -Tyrone was dishonourable, but was to be adhered to, lest a breach of -faith should lead to war, and consequent expenditure. The King's death -prevented a full return to his father's policy, and those who had lately -governed in his name immediately lost all influence.[386] - -[Sidenote: Protestant Bishops.] - -Goodacre was consecrated to Armagh and Bale to Ossory on the same day by -Browne, Lancaster of Kildare, and Eugene Magennis of Down. Where Bale was -there was sure to be controversy, and a fierce one arose about the ritual -proper to the occasion. The Archbishop would have postponed the ceremony, -and Bale, who frequently denounces him as an epicure, declares that his -object was to 'take up the proxies of any bishopric to his own gluttonous -use.' Lockwood, Dean of Christ Church, was supreme in his own cathedral, -and his timidity led him to wish for the pontifical order. Bale -accordingly stigmatises him as an ass-headed dean, a blockhead who cared -only for his kitchen and his belly. But Lockwood had the law on his side; -for King Edward's first book only had been proclaimed in Ireland, and it -contained no form for consecration. Browne and Cusack also wished to -stand on the old way. Goodacre was for the form contained in the second -book, and now used in England, but he was willing to waive his own -opinion. Bale, however, positively refused to be consecrated according to -the old usage, boldly maintaining that one king makes one law, and that -Ireland must necessarily follow England. His vehemence carried the day, -and the consecrations took place according to the new Anglican use. The -Communion Service followed, and Bale rejected the consecrated wafer, -successfully arguing that common bread should be used. He afterwards -preached twelve strong Protestant sermons in Dublin, insisting -particularly on the marriage of priests; and he flattered himself that he -had established the people 'in the doctrines of repentance, and necessary -belief in the gospel.'[387] - -[Sidenote: Goodacre.] - -Goodacre seems never to have seen his cathedral, to which access was -barred by Shane O'Neill. Bale says he was a man of remarkable sincerity -and integrity, and a zealous and eloquent preacher. He also informs us -that he was poisoned by the procurement of certain priests of his -diocese, 'for preaching God's verity, and rebuking common vices.' This -contemporary statement has been doubted, on account of Bale's prejudices, -but it is repeated by Burnet on the authority of Goodacre's fourth lineal -descendant. Burnet's informant received the story from his grandfather, -who was Goodacre's grandson. According to this tradition the actual -murderer was a monk, who pledged Goodacre in poisoned wine, and died -himself of the effects. Bale says he was himself warned by letter to -beware of the Archbishop's fate. Whether the joint authority of Ossory -and Sarum is to be rejected or not will much depend upon the reader's -opinion of two learned, and in some respects not dissimilar divines. - -[Sidenote: Bale.] - -Bale soon proceeded to Kilkenny. On his journey from Waterford to Dublin -he had already passed through part of his diocese, and had been much -scandalised by what he saw and heard. The parish priest of Knocktopher -boasted that he was a son of William, late prior of the Carmelites -there--not the legitimate son, as he was careful to point out. The -marriage of a friar would have been a heinous offence, but an irregular -connection was venial, and it was thought honourable to be the offspring -of a spiritual man, whether bishop, abbot, monk, friar, or secular -priest. Bale, who had himself been a Carmelite, and who had married a -wife, rebuked this candid ecclesiastic, and resolved to set himself as -bishop to the work of reform. He admits that he had no success; and none -could be expected where public opinion sanctioned the pleasant vices of -the clergy.[388] - -[Sidenote: Proceedings of Bale.] - -Far more questionable was Bale's zeal against images, the destruction of -which will never make men Protestants. His opinions were hopelessly at -variance with those in vogue in Ireland, as may be judged from the -following autobiographical passage:-- - -'Many abominable idolatries maintained by the epicurist priests, for -their wicked bellies' sake. The Communion or Supper of the Lord was there -altogether used like a popish mass, with the old apish toys of Antichrist -in bowings and beckings, kneelings and knockings; the Lord's death after -St. Paul's doctrine neither preached nor yet spoken of. There wawled they -over the dead, with prodigious howlings and patterings, as though their -souls had not been quieted in Christ and redeemed by His passion; but -that they must come after and help at a pinch with requiem æternam to -deliver them out of hell by their sorrowful sorceries. When I had -beholden these heathenish behavers, I said unto a senator of that city -that I well perceived that Christ had there no bishop, neither yet the -King's Majesty of England any faithful officer of the mayor in suffering -so horrible blasphemies.' - -This was at Waterford. At Kilkenny things were no better, and on his -arrival Bale proceeded to show his zeal for reform. All the statues of -saints were turned out of St. Canice's Cathedral, but the Bishop had the -good taste to preserve the fine painted windows erected in the fourteenth -century by his high-handed predecessor Ledred. The less artistic -Cromwellians afterwards destroyed what Bale had spared, and some -fragments were dug up in 1846. Bale had some supporters, chiefly laymen. -The clergy, whose moral failings he had lashed so mercilessly, were not -convinced by hearing the host called a 'white god of their own making,' -nor easily persuaded that the lucrative practice of saying masses for the -dead was useless, nor inclined to admit a liturgy which condemned all -that they most valued. The deanery was in the hands of Bishop Lancaster, -who could give no help, and among the prebendaries there was either -obstructive apathy or violent opposition to change. Bale was certainly -wrong in trying to impose King Edward's second book without legal -warrant; but he had gained his point with Browne, and disdained to yield -to the inferior clergy. The latter pleaded that they had no books, and -quoted the Archbishop against their own diocesan, who says he was 'always -slack in things appertaining to God's glory.' Bale's sincerity is -unquestionable, but he had set himself an impossible task, and his -violence made him enemies who showed no quarter when their turn came. The -most patient of men might have done nothing in such a position, but his -reputation would have been better had he shown some Christian moderation. -Bedell afterwards fell into the hands of his opponents, but his -imprisonment was relieved by expressions of sympathy and admiration from -the most unlikely quarters, and he must have felt that he had not worked -in vain. Bale could have no such consolation.[389] - -[Sidenote: Catholic reaction at Edward's death.] - -On the first rumour of Edward's death it became evident that the Bishop -of Ossory's authority was at an end. Oddly enough the priests hastened -amid general rejoicing to proclaim Queen Jane. They were eager for -change, and probably knew little of the fair saint whose innocent life -was sacrificed to the ambition of others. Justice Howth, who had been -Bale's strongest opponent, censured him for not being present at the -ceremony; 'for indeed,' says the Bishop, 'I much doubted that matter.' In -order, he adds, to 'cause the wild people to bear the more hate to our -nation,' the priests also propagated a report that the young Earl of -Ormonde and Barnaby Fitzpatrick had been slain in London. The forts were -attacked, and many Englishmen killed. Mrs. Matthew King, the clerk of the -check's wife, was robbed 'to her very petticoat' on the highway by the -Fitzpatricks and Butlers. But rumour and uncertainty were soon at an end, -and the priests and people of Kilkenny learned that Catherine of -Arragon's daughter was Queen of England.[390] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[358] St. Leger to Cecil, Jan. 19, 1551; Brady's _Episcopal Succession_. - -[359] This conference is detailed in Mant's _Church History_, pp. 194, -199. See also Ware's _Life of Browne_. The conference was held in St. -Mary's Abbey, the residence of Dowdall, he having refused to attend the -Lord Deputy at Kilmainham. - -[360] Browne to Warwick, _ut supra._ Examination of Oliver Sutton, March -23, 1552. - -[361] St. Leger to Cecil, Jan. 19, 1551. Deposition of Sir John Alen, -March 19, in the deponent's own hand. 'The Bishop of Kildare -(Lancaster),' he says, 'came to me persuading me on his behalf to put in -writing the words Mr. St. Leger spoke to me in Kilmainham, to whom I made -this answer, "Show my lord that albeit I love his little toe better than -all Mr. St. Leger's body, yet I will do nothing against truth."' - -[362] Bicton's curious will is printed in Cotton's _Fasti_, vol. ii. -Appendix. - -[363] Croft to Warwick, May 1551; Instructions to Desmond and others July -1; Archbishop Browne to Warwick, Aug. 6. - -[364] Cusack to Warwick, Sept. 27, 1551. - -[365] Cusack to Warwick, Sept. 27, 1551; Instructions to Mr. Wood, Sept. -29, with Cecil's notes, 'Keep him (Tyrone) still, participating the cause -thereof to the nobility;' Hill's _MacDonnells of Antrim_, chap. iii. - -[366] _Ancient Laws and Institutes of Ireland_, vol. iii. p. 146; Maine's -_Early History of Institutions_, p. 53. - -[367] Bagenal to Croft, Oct. 27, 1551. - -[368] Bagenal to Croft, Nov. 11, 1551; Sir Thomas Cusack's Book, May 8, -1552; _Four Masters_, _ad ann._ 1551. - -[369] Mant, pp. 209-210, from a Clarendon MS. The letters which passed -between Croft and Dowdall are given by Mant from the Harris MSS. - -[370] Browne to Warwick, Aug. 6, 1551; Ware's _Browne_. - -[371] Instructions for Mr. Thomas Wood, July 28, 1551; and the King's -answer, Aug. 17. - -[372] Strype's Cranmer, book ii. chap. xxviii., and Appendices 65 and 66. - -[373] Instructions for Mr. Wood, Sept. 29, 1551. Cecil wrote on the -margin 'denied for the King liketh no union.' The King's amended answer, -Nov. 26. - -[374] Croft to Cecil, March 14, 1552; to the Marquis of Winchester, March -22. - -[375] W. Crofton to Cecil, April 12, 1551; Lord Deputy and Council to -Privy Council, Aug. 30, and the answer in Nov.; Croft to Northumberland, -Dec. 22; Lord Deputy and Council to the Privy Council, Jan. 27, -1552--'idleness decayeth nobility, one of the principal "kayes" of a -commonwealth, and bringeth magistrates in contempt and hatred of the -people,' and the petition enclosed. Croft to Cecil, March 14, and to -Winchester, March 22. Ware's _Annals_. - -[376] Wicklow tinstone has never been thought workable, see Kane's -_Industrial Resources_, p. 210. Dr. Kane does not seem to have known -anything of the Clonmines venture. Lord Deputy St. Leger and Council to -Henry VIII., Oct. 24, 1541, and June 4, 1543. St. Leger acted on the -advice of Thomas Agard, a mining expert. Minute of Council in S.P., 1546. -St. Leger, Croft, and others to the Privy Council, May 20, 1551; Robert -Record, surveyor of mines to the Privy Council, Feb. 1552. Harman's -certificate, same date. Joachim Gundelfinger to the Privy Council, May -15. Reports on the mines, Aug. 1552, and Feb. and April, 1553. -Instructions to St. Leger in _Carew_, July 1550, p. 228, as to alum. The -MSS. contains many details interesting to specialists, especially the -certificate of Gerrard Harman, a German. - -[377] Privy Council to Croft, Feb. 23, and May 29, 1552. Sir Thomas -Cusack's 'Book,' in _Carew_, 1553, p. 241. - -[378] The Earl of Tyrone's articles, Feb. 9, 1552; St. Leger to -Northumberland, March 10. Sir Thomas Cusack's 'Book,' in _Carew_. - -[379] Cusack's 'Book' in _Carew_. _Four Masters_, 1552. - -[380] _Earls of Kildare._ The patent of restoration is dated April 25, -1552. Orders for Leighlin and Carlow in _Carew_, April 30. Croft to the -Privy Council, April 16, May 1, and May 31. - -[381] Cusack's 'Book' in _Carew_, No. 200. It is there wrongly dated -1553. - -[382] The facts of this expedition (June and July 1552) are given by the -_Four Masters_; and see Ware's _Annals_. - -[383] Tyrone's complaint, July 1552; Privy Council to George Paris, Oct. -25; to Croft, Dec. 10; Cusack to Privy Council, Dec. 22; Memorandum -concerning Tyrone, Dec. 30, in _Carew_. - -[384] Mayor, &c., of Waterford to the Privy Council, Dec. 18; Cusack and -Aylmer to the Privy Council, Dec. 22 and 30; Declaration of Desmond's -title, Dec. 30; Cusack in _Carew_, _ut supra._ - -[385] Northumberland to Cecil, Nov. 25, 1552; Cusack's 'Book' in _Carew_, -vol. i. p. 236; King's letter in Lodge's _Patent Officers_; Ware's -_Annals_. - -[386] A paper calendared under Jan. 1553 (No. 75) calculates the average -expenses from 33 to 38 Hen. VIII. at 8,500_l._ a year. In the six years -of Edward's reign they rose by regular gradation from 17,000_l._ to -52,000_l._ The average revenue for the former period was 9,000_l._, for -the latter, 11,000_l._ See also No. 83, 'a device how to keep Ireland in -the stay it now remaineth upon the revenues only.' - -[387] The consecrations took place on Feb. 2, 1553. - -[388] Bale's 'Vocation,' in the _Harleian Miscellany_. - -[389] Church histories of Mant, Killen, Brennan, and Reid. Graves's -_History of St. Canice_. They all derive their chief inspiration from -Bale's own 'Vocation.' Fuller has preserved the nickname of 'biliosus -Balæus,' given to the Bishop in contemporary controversy. - -[390] Browne and Bale were friars; yet Protestants will not blame them -for entering the holy estate of matrimony, any vows to the contrary -notwithstanding. To modern England a married clergy seems quite natural, -but the scandal was great during the transition period, and Queen -Elizabeth felt the awkwardness herself. The following statement of -Harpsfield may be true or false, but it shows what could be said by a -contemporary. It should be remembered that Harpsfield was Archdeacon of -Canterbury. 'Against these kind of marriages, and maintenance of the -same, King Henry, in his latter days, made very sharp laws, whereupon -many so married put over their women to their servants and other friends, -who kept them at bed and board as their own wives. And after the death of -King Henry they received them again (as love money) with usury; that is, -the children in the mean season begotten by the said friends, whom they -took, called and brought up as their own, as it was well known, as well -in other as in Browne, Archbishop of Dublin. It would now pity a man at -the heart to hear of the naughty and dissolute life of these yoked -priests,' &c. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -THE REIGN OF MARY. - - -[Sidenote: The succession to the crown.] - -Lawyers and casuists might dispute about the succession. Logically, Mary -and Elizabeth could not both be legitimate; but the people of England -swept these cobwebs away. Catherine had for twenty-two years borne the -title of Queen, and in that great place she was not known to have done -anything worthy of blame, but much deserving the highest praise. And then -there was the will of Henry VIII. Its execution had perhaps been -informal, but the people cared nothing for that; it was his will, and he -had been authorised by Parliament to make it. The sick-room fancies of a -boy of sixteen were not to be allowed to alter such a settlement. - -[Sidenote: Mary proclaimed.] - -The struggle for the crown was short, and was little felt at the distance -at which Ireland then was, though the Dudley party took care that Queen -Jane's accession should be officially known there. On the thirteenth day -after her brother's death Mary was proclaimed by the Council in London, -on the fourteenth the baffled Northumberland renewed the proclamation at -Cambridge, on the fifteenth the grand conspirator himself was arrested. -On the very day of the Cambridge proclamation the Privy Council wrote to -Aylmer, the acting Lord Justice cancelling the former communication, and -directing that Mary should be proclaimed 'Queen of England, France, and -Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and on earth supreme head of the churches -of England and Ireland.'[391] - -[Sidenote: St. Leger is Deputy, 1553.] - -Besides twelve Privy Councillors, six individuals connected with Ireland, -who happened to be in England, signed these letters--Cusack, the -Chancellor; Lord Gormanston; Staples, Bishop of Meath; Thomas Luttrell, -Chief Justice of the Common Pleas; James Bathe, Chief Baron; and the -veteran John Alen. The object probably was to show the men in Dublin that -this time at least there was no mistake as to which Queen they were to -obey. Cusack, Aylmer, Luttrell, and Bathe were confirmed in their offices -with increased emoluments, and no immediate change was made in the -general management of Irish affairs. Some disturbances amongst the -O'Connors were easily put down, and the citizens of Dublin repulsed a -raid of the O'Neills near Dundalk. In the meantime Northumberland had -expiated his crimes on the scaffold. Gardiner, Bonner, Tunstall, and -others had been restored, and Cranmer, Latimer, and Hooper imprisoned; -and there was time to think of the affairs of Ireland. In October, soon -after the coronation, St. Leger was appointed Lord Deputy in fulfilment -of the late King's intention. He landed at Dalkey on November 11, and on -the 19th took the oath and received the sword in Christ Church. - -[Sidenote: His instructions.] - -St. Leger's instructions show the policy which Mary had adopted. As -regards temporal affairs it did not greatly differ from that of her -father. The Scots in Ulster were not to be molested unless they gave -fresh trouble. The army was to be reduced to 500 regular soldiers, of -which not more than ten per cent. were to be Irishmen. Extraordinary -garrisons were to be discharged at the next general pay day, and if -possible induced to go back to England without raising riots. The Lord -Deputy might employ kerne and gallowglasses where necessary, and the -usual private bands were to be continued; but coyne and livery were to be -eschewed as much as possible. St. Leger found it impossible to carry out -the reduction of the army lower than 1,100 men, besides kerne. The -question as to the desirability of a Presidency for Munster was to be -carefully considered in all its bearings. Leix and Offaly being in great -measure waste, the Lord Deputy was to grant lands in fee simple at a -small quit-rent either to Englishmen or Irishmen, binding them to erect -and maintain farm buildings, and to till a certain portion of land. By -this means it was hoped that these unfortunate districts would soon be -made like the English Pale. Leases for twenty-one years were to be given -to Crown tenants generally, including holders of monastic lands. Goodacre -had just died, so that there was no difficulty about Armagh, to which, as -well as to the Primacy of all Ireland, Dowdall was immediately restored, -with the additional grant of the priory of Ards rent free for life. The -Mass and the rest of the old religion was to be restored as nearly as -possible.[392] - -[Sidenote: Mary maintains the rights of the Crown.] - -But Mary, though zealous for orthodoxy, had no intention of yielding the -rights of the Crown to the Pope, and this was no doubt well understood. -One of St. Leger's earliest duties was to go to Drogheda and place the -government of Eastern Ulster in the hands of Eugene Magennis, who -specially covenanted not to admit any provisor from Rome. An Irish-born -priest named Connor MacCarthy asked Mary for a letter of licence to go to -Rome, there to obtain certain benefices from the Pope, fearing lest some -should be in the Queen's gift, 'and also considering the statute of -Premunire.' Nor was the fear an idle one, for when Tyrone afterwards -obtained a Papal bull for the appointment of his chaplain to the restored -priory of Down, the Queen sharply reminded him that she intended to -maintain the prerogative in that behalf which she had received from her -progenitors. MacCarthy was not the only Irish ecclesiastic of the reign -who thought it necessary to petition for relief from the consequences of -the dreaded statute.[393] - -[Sidenote: Catholicism restored. Bale refuses to give way.] - -[Sidenote: Bale's religious dramas.] - -In some places the old religion was restored without waiting for any -formal order. As soon as Edward's death was known Justice Howth and Lord -Mountgarret, the Earl of Ormonde's uncle, went to Kilkenny and desired to -have the sacrament celebrated in honour of St. Anne. The priest said the -Bishop had forbidden celebrations on week days; 'as indeed I had,' says -Bale, 'for the abominable idolatry that I had seen therein.' The learned -judge, who seems to have had no commission, then discharged the clergy -from obedience to their Bishop, and commanded them to proceed in the old -way. On August 20 Mary was proclaimed at Kilkenny with much solemnity. -Bale strongly objected to wear cope or mitre, or to have the crozier -borne before him; not from any opposition to the Queen's title, but from -dislike to vain ceremonies. Taking a New Testament in his hand, he went -to the market-cross followed by a great crowd, to whom he preached from -the 13th chapter of Romans, on the reverence due to magistrates. But the -clergy of the cathedral, who had no sympathy with the Bishop's doctrines, -provided two disguised priests to carry mitre and crozier before him -against his will. The people were amused, instructed, or scandalised, as -the case might be, by the representation of a tragedy concerning God's -promises in the old law, and by a comedy of St. John the Baptist. The -baptism and temptation of Christ were brought upon the stage, and the -young men of the town acted both at the morning and evening performance. -Both dramas were written by Bale himself, and in a literary point of view -they are far from contemptible. They mark the transition between the -mystery plays of the middle ages and the compositions of Shakespeare's -immediate precursors. Personified abstractions as well as historical -characters appear on the stage; nor did Bale shrink from a representation -which seems impossible to us, for he boldly introduces the first person -in the Trinity under the name of Pater Cælestis. Justification by faith -is the great doctrine inculcated, and where the author speaks in person -he loses no opportunity of attacking the Church of Rome. In an epilogue -he exhorts the people to - - 'Hear neither Francis, Benedict, nor Bruno, - Albert nor Dominic, for they new rules invent, - Believe neither Pope nor Priest of his consent, - Follow Christ's gospel,' &c. - -In another play on the instructive story of King John, 'Ynglond vidua' -says:-- - - 'Such lubbers as hath disguised heads in their hoods, - Which in idleness do live by other men's goods, - Monks, chanons, and nones.' - -In his other works Bale throughout shows the same spirit. Thus he calls -that very questionable hero, Sir John Oldcastle, 'a blessed martyr not -canonised by the Pope, but in the precious blood of his Lord Jesus -Christ.' St. Paul is the great object of Bale's admiration, and he seems -to have thought that he was like him. The points of resemblance are -similar to those which Captain Fluelen discovered between himself and -Alexander the Great. Thus, Paul was tossed up and down between Candia and -Melita, Bale between Milford and Waterford. There was a river in Monmouth -and a river in Macedon, and there were salmon in both.[394] - -[Sidenote: Opposition to Bale in his diocese.] - -Sir Richard Howth, Treasurer of St. Canice's, and his friend Sir James -Joys, were among Bale's most energetic opponents. To annoy him they -suggested solemn exequies and prayers for the soul of Edward VI. The -Bishop argued that it would be better to wait for orders from Dublin. The -ceremony had already once been postponed to see the devil dance at -Thomastown--a Sunday amusement which the mob perhaps preferred to the -Bishop's plays. Bale found another enemy in one whom he calls Bishop of -Galway, and who was probably John Moore, Bishop of Enaghdune, the ancient -diocese in which Galway stands. This Moore was commissioned, along with -other prelates not acknowledged in the Roman succession, to consecrate -Patrick Walsh Bishop of Waterford. He was no credit to the Reformation, -for Bale represents him as spending his nights in drinking and his days -in confirming children at twopence a head. A gallowglass brought a dog in -a sheet with twopence hanging round his neck to be confirmed with his -neighbours' children; in this, says Bale, 'noting this beastly Bishop -more fit to confirm dogs than Christian men's children.' The soldier may -have regarded him as a schismatic, but it is not easy to understand how -such a man can have attained episcopal orders.[395] - -[Sidenote: He is forced to fly.] - -Ten days after the proclamation of Mary there was a general revolt -against Bale, incited by Howth, whose position in legal circles gave him -ample means of knowing how the wind blew at Court, but who was rather -horrified at the length to which the clergy and their adherents went. In -Bale's absence they rang the bells of St. Canice's and of all the other -churches, flinging their caps to the battlements of the cathedral with -shouts of laughter, but doing no actual violence. A little later the mob -was not so good-humoured. The Fitzpatrick and Butler kerne, and -especially the 'furious family of Mountgarret,' annoyed Bale in many -ways. Barnaby Bolger, an enterprising tradesmen who had formerly aroused -great indignation by forestalling Kilkenny market, and whose young -daughter was married to 'Grace Graceless,' an adherent of the -Fitzpatricks, headed a tumultuous attack on the Bishop's house outside -the town. He and his friend Mr. Cooper, the parson of Callan, were robbed -of all their horses, and thus deprived of the means of escape. Five of -Bale's servants, one of them a girl of sixteen, were caught haymaking, -and all murdered. He managed to close the portcullis and defend himself -until rescued by Robert Shee, the sovereign of Kilkenny, 'a man sober, -wise, and godly, which is a rare thing in this land.' Shee, who could -command the services of 100 horse and 300 foot, sent Bale by night to -Dublin, and no doubt he thought of St. Paul's journey under somewhat -similar circumstances. But there was no safety in the Irish capital, and -the Bishop escaped by sea in a sailor's dress. He was captured at St. -Ives and brought before the justices, but was released when nothing was -found to connect him with Wyatt's or any other plot. He was again -captured by pirates and had to pay a ransom, but ultimately succeeded in -reaching Holland. For five years he lived at Basel, where he continued to -write with an acrimony which had not been lessened by his recent -troubles. When Elizabeth became Queen, Bale made no attempt to regain his -bishopric. At sixty-three he was disinclined to face the Kilkenny people -again, or perhaps he had learned that he was unfit to govern men. He -became a prebendary of Canterbury, and devoted his remaining years to -literature. His hurried flight from Ireland had forced him to leave books -and manuscripts behind, and the Queen ordered them to be sent over to -him. 'He had,' she said, 'been studious in the search of the history and -antiquities of this our realm,' and might probably do something for their -illustration. Whether Bale ever got back his library or not, he was -certainly not silenced for want of materials; for the extent and variety -of his learning were considered most remarkable.[396] - -[Sidenote: Wyatt's rebellion. Croft, Cheeke, and Carew, 1554.] - -The abortive insurrection of Wyatt had the usual effect of setting Mary -more firmly on the throne, and at the same time of exasperating her -against some whom she might have been willing to spare. Sir James Croft, -the late Lord Deputy, was arrested before he had time to raise his -tenants in Herefordshire: he was convicted, but afterwards pardoned. Sir -Peter Carew, who afterwards played an important part in Irish affairs, -was also accused of complicity, and thought it prudent to go abroad, -where his companion was no less a personage than Sir John Cheeke. -Venturing to Brussels, where Paget was ambassador, they were led to -suppose that there was no danger, but that crafty diplomatist had them -kidnapped near Antwerp, and carried to England in a fishing boat. Their -captors were the Flemish and Spanish officials; and Philip, while -expressing becoming indignation at the breach of hospitality, took care -not to hear of it until the prisoners were safe beyond seas. The passage -can hardly have been pleasant, for they were blindfolded and chained, one -at each end of the boat. Poor Sir John Cheeke, who afterwards showed his -unfitness for the crown of martyrdom, and who perhaps saw a vision of the -stake, did not conceal his misery. 'Although very well learned, but not -acquainted with the cross of troubles, he was still in great despair, -great anguish, and heaviness, and would not be comforted, so great was -his sorrow; but Sir Peter Carew, whose heart could not be broken nor mind -overthrown with any adversities, and yielding to no such matter, -comforted the other, and encouraged him to be of a good stomach, -persuading him (as though he had been a divine) to patience and good -contentation.' The man of action, as is not seldom the case, showed that -he had more philosophy than the philosopher. Sir Peter, whose guilt, if -he was guilty, was much less clear than that of Croft, was pardoned by -the Queen, and afterwards served her well at St. Quentin. Sir John Cheeke -lived to undergo a worse humiliation than that of Cranmer, to be made an -instrument in the persecution of those with whom he secretly agreed, to -suffer in the few months which his pusillanimity had gained him a -thousand martyrdoms of grief and shame, and then to die heart-broken and -dishonoured. Sir Nicholas Arnold, afterwards employed by Elizabeth in -Ireland, was another of the conspirators. Lady Jane, the innocent victim -of so many intrigues, laid her beautiful neck upon the block, and -fivescore Kentishmen suffered death for their zeal to the Reformation or -their hatred of Spanish influence. Gerald of Kildare and the young Earl -of Ormonde both served with distinction against Wyatt, and the orthodox -Queen rewarded both with goodly grants of abbey lands. Ormonde had been -captain of one of the bands of Whitecoats sent by the city into Kent, -where many of his men deserted to the insurgents.[397] - -[Sidenote: The primacy is restored to Dowdall.] - -The insurrection being at an end, the Queen lost no time in forcing -Browne to surrender his patent of precedence, and restoring Dowdall to -the primacy, and a commission was issued to him and to Drs. Walsh and -Leverous for re-establishing the old religion, and punishing those who -had violated the law of clerical celibacy. Browne, who had a wife, was -accordingly deprived, and, pending the appointment of a successor, the -temporalities of his see handed over to Lockwood, the pliant Dean of -Christ Church. Staples of Meath, who was likewise married, and was -besides personally obnoxious to Dowdall, was also deprived in favour of -one of the Commissioners who sentenced him, the learned William Walsh, -formerly a Cistercian monk of Bective Abbey. Curiously enough, Walsh, who -was appointed by Pole in virtue of his legatine authority, did not -receive a Papal provision till 1564, some time after Elizabeth had -expelled him from his see. The same treatment for the same offence was -inflicted on Lancaster, Bishop of Kildare, who was succeeded by Leverous, -already Bishop of Leighlin by Papal provision. A fourth married bishop -was Travers of Leighlin, who was succeeded by Thomas O'Fihel or Field, an -Augustinian friar. A fifth, Casey of Limerick, had to make way for his -aged predecessor Quin. On Bale, who had left the field clear, no legal -sentence of deprivation was passed; but his successor, John Thonory, was -already appointed. Thonory has an evil name for having corruptly wasted -the property of his see, and is said to have died of grief at the loss of -some of his ill-gotten gains. Of the deprived prelates, Lancaster lived -to be Archbishop of Armagh, and Casey, who survived two successors, and -saw another expelled, regained his see in 1571. Browne, Travers, and -Lancaster are supposed to have died before the accession of Elizabeth, -and Staples soon after it.[398] - -[Sidenote: Kildare returns to Ireland, 1554.] - -This year was memorable for the return of Gerald of Kildare, whose titles -and estates were restored to him. The attainder, however, was not renewed -till 1569. Old Brian O'Connor was released from the Tower, and allowed to -revisit Offaly, an indulgence which he owed to the exertions of his -daughter Margaret, who was Kildare's aunt, and who relied upon the number -of her connections at Court, as well as her own knowledge of the English -language. Barnaby Fitzpatrick, Lord of Upper Ossory, King Edward's bosom -friend, returned about the same time, and so did a far more important -personage, the young Earl of Ormonde. 'There was great rejoicing,' say -the 'Four Masters,' 'throughout the greater part of Leath-Mhogha because -of their arrival; for it was thought that not one of the descendants of -the Earls of Kildare, or of the O'Connors Faly, would ever come to -Ireland.' - -[Sidenote: Constant war among the Irish.] - -While the obedient shires were busy with the restoration of the ancient -religion, the native Irish made war among themselves, with but little -interference from the Government. Donough O'Brien, the second Earl of -Thomond, and a firm friend of the Crown, was killed in April 1553 by his -brother Donnell, leaving the earldom to Connor, his eldest son, by Lady -Helen Butler, who survived him. Donnell, however, assumed the title of -O'Brien, and the clansmen were divided between the representatives of the -old and new order. Donnell petitioned that, having been nominated -according to the ancient custom, he might be acknowledged as chief. St. -Leger was unable to grant this, but offered to write to the Queen in his -favour. In the meantime other controversies were submitted to the -arbitration of O'Carroll, O'Mulrian, and MacBrien Arra, on the part of -Donnell; and of the barons of Mountgarret, Cahir, and Dunboyne, all -Butlers, on the part of the Earl. The umpires in case of disagreement -were the Lord Deputy, the Lord Chancellor, and the Earl of Desmond. It is -very hard to make out the exact sequence of events, but either just -before or just after this negotiation, Donnell attacked one of his -nephew's castles, and was driven off by the arrival of the Earl of -Ormonde. He then turned his attention to the plunder of Clanricarde. The -Baron of Delvin continued to ravage MacCoghlan's country, and one of the -Nugents, who was foster-brother of Kildare, being killed, the newly -restored Earl, who lost no time in showing that he meant to keep up the -family traditions, exacted 340 cows as an _eric_. The O'Carrolls in the -south, the MacSweenys in the north, killed each other in the old fashion. -Shane O'Neill persuaded the Earl of Kildare and the Baron of Delvin to -take his part in a quarrel with one sept of his name, and old Tyrone was -defeated by another sept, supported by the MacDonnells, who were also -intriguing with Calvagh O'Donnell.[399] - -[Sidenote: The Pope and the 'Rex Hiberniæ,' 1555.] - -We have seen that the Queen had no intention of yielding any part of the -dignity which had belonged to her predecessors. Notwithstanding the Papal -pretension to suzerainty, she had as a matter of course assumed the -royal title created by her father in Ireland. The Holy See found it -necessary to respect accomplished facts, and had not Julius III. -abandoned all claims to the monastic lands, Pole would never have been -allowed into England. Paul IV.'s pretensions were boundless, but he could -not afford to quarrel about a mere trifle both with England and Spain. He -considered it a great glory for his pontificate that its opening should -be signalised by the arrival of an English ambassador. Whether he wished -it or not, Philip and Mary were, and would remain, King and Queen of -Ireland. He therefore ignored all that Henry had done, and, as if of his -own mere notion, erected Ireland into a kingdom. The world might perhaps -suppose that Mary took it from his hand, and not in right of blood. 'The -Popes,' says the sarcastic Venetian, 'have often given that which they -could not take from the possessors, and, to avoid contentions, some have -received their own goods as gifts, and some have dissembled the knowledge -of the gift, or of the pretence of the giver.' But in Ireland, where -distance cast a halo of enchantment over Papal politics, and where -Franciscans and Jesuits swayed the popular mind, the bull which announced -the gracious gift was taken by many for what it pretended to be, and not -for what it really was.[400] - -[Sidenote: The Queen maintains her prerogative.] - -Mary gave evidence of her desire to restore the splendour of religion by -re-establishing St. Patrick's as a cathedral. Leverous was the first Dean -of the new foundation, and was allowed to hold the preferment along with -the see of Kildare. The man selected to undo Browne's work was Hugh -Curwin, Dean of Hereford, a native of Westmoreland, and one of the -Queen's chaplains. He had become known as a preacher in favour of Henry's -marriage with Anne Boleyn, in opposition to the Franciscan Peto. The -deanery of Hereford had been his reward. Peto, on the other hand, had -become the Queen's confessor, and was the chosen instrument of Paul IV., -when that Pope in a fit of anger appointed a legate to supersede Pole. -Mary so valued the royal authority that she resented the irregular honour -intended for her confessor, though he had been the champion of her own -legitimacy, stopped the red hat at the gates of Calais, and never allowed -Peto any benefit from the Pope's irritability. On the whole, Anne's -advocate fared better than Catherine's. Curwin, whose first article of -belief enjoined submission to principalities and powers, no doubt knew -how to turn the Queen's love of power, as he had done her father's, to -his own advantage. He was treated with exceptional favour, and gained -practical control of the temporalities even before his consecration, -which was performed in London by Bonner, Thirlby, and Griffin. -Immediately afterwards he received the Great Seal of Ireland. Curwin had -the pall from Rome, and in the Papal record of his appointment Philip and -Mary are said to have supplicated for it, Browne being ignored, and -Curwin made successor to Alen. But the King and Queen only acknowledged -that Curwin was preferred on their recommendation, and he had to renounce -on oath all things prejudicial to the Crown, whether contained in the -Papal bull or not. Curwin held a provincial synod soon after his arrival -in Ireland, at which the principal business was the restoration of the -ancient rites.[401] - -[Sidenote: No progress made in Ulster. St. Leger has no money, 1555.] - -Ulster was in a state of more than usual confusion. Manus O'Donnell, who -had been constantly at war with his father, was opposed by his son -Calvagh, who had the help of the Scots. They addressed him as illustrious -lord, and he went over to Scotland to claim the proffered aid. Returning -with a large force, and with a piece of ordnance which the annalists -inexplicably call a crooked gun, he entered Lough Swilly, took his father -prisoner, and battered Greencastle and another fortress on Lough Foyle. -Calvagh thenceforth assumed practical control of his clan. The Scots slew -Hugh MacNeill Oge, and St. Leger divided his territory between Phelim -O'Neill and the sons of Phelim Bacagh. The hardy interlopers had even -designs on Carrickfergus, which St. Leger says were frustrated 'by the -help of God and Mr. Parker;' but in a campaign of six weeks the Lord -Deputy could gain no real advantage. As in the case of most Irish -governors, his detractors, among whom Sir William Fitzwilliam was -conspicuous, were busy at Court. They accused him, among other things, of -falsifying estimates in favour of Andrew Wyse, the late Vice-Treasurer, -whose accounts had been found unsatisfactory. 'I am now in case,' he -said, 'as the poet's fame. I have meat to the surlip and drink to the -netherlip, and can reach neither of them.' His position made it -impossible for him to economise, and no money came to pay his hungry -retinue. A friendly chronicler has remarked that St. Leger, like all -other Irish governors, was hated chiefly for his good deeds; like a good -apple tree, which, the more fruit it bears, the more stones are thrown at -it.[402] - -[Sidenote: Lord Fitzwalter (Sussex) Lord Deputy, 1556.] - -The Lord Deputy's entreaties for release were heard at last, and the -government was conferred on Sir Thomas Radcliffe, Lord Fitzwalter, -afterwards created Earl of Sussex, who, but for his Irish service, would -bear one of the fairest characters in our history. Mary rejoiced that the -true Catholic faith had by God's great goodness and special grace been -recovered in England and Ireland, and she directed her representative 'to -set forth the honour and dignity of the Pope's Holiness and See Apostolic -of Rome, and from time to time to be ready with our aid and secular -force, at the request of all spiritual ministers and ordinaries there, to -punish and repress all heretics and Lollards and their damnable sects, -opinions, and errors.' Cardinal Pole, she added, was about to send over a -legatine commission to visit the Irish Church, and official assistance -was to be given 'in all and everything belonging to the function and -office legatine, for the advancement of God's glory and the honour of the -See Apostolic.' The new governor was reminded that he lay under an -obligation to execute justice, and was exhorted at much greater length to -exert himself for the improvement of the revenue. A Parliament was to be -held, chiefly as a means of restoring religion according to the Queen's -ideas, of settling her marriage and succession, and of voting a subsidy. -Sir Henry Sidney, who now makes his first appearance in Irish history, -accompanied the Lord Deputy as Vice-Treasurer. He brought with him a sum -of 25,000_l._[403] - -[Sidenote: A warlike mayor of Dublin.] - -About the time of the new Lord Deputy's arrival, the Kavanaghs made a -raid into the neighbourhood of Dublin. Sir George Stanley took command of -the citizens, and drove 140 of the assailants into Powerscourt, where -they had to surrender at discretion. Seventy-four were hanged. John -Challoner, who was Mayor of Dublin at the time, provided the civic force -with arms, which he had brought at his own expense from Spain. This -martial magistrate was offered knighthood, but he excused himself. 'My -Lord,' he said, 'it will be more to my credit and my posterity's to have -it said that John Challoner served the Queen upon occasion, than to say -that Sir John Challoner did it.'[404] - -[Sidenote: Sussex makes a journey into Ulster, 1556.] - -Sussex landed at Dublin towards the end of May, and received the sword -from St. Leger's willing hands. The religious ceremonies were of a kind -entirely satisfactory to the Queen. After a month's stay in the capital -he set out for the North, and appeared in church both at Drogheda and -Dundalk. The force mustered on this occasion was very considerable, for -besides the regular soldiers and Ormonde's followers, the gentlemen of -the Pale were called on to serve with from one to six horsemen each. The -Plunkets contributed twenty-four horse, the Nugents eighteen horse and -twenty-four foot. Dublin sent sixty horsemen and gunners, and Drogheda -forty men well appointed. 'The Byrnes and the Tooles' wastes' in Wicklow -were expected to send twelve horse each, and other Irish contingents -joined on the march. The first Sunday was spent at a mill beyond Newry, -where Dowdall said Mass, and where O'Hanlon, whose chiefry seems to have -been disputed, was solemnly proclaimed. Mention is made of a great hill -of stones, which was, perhaps, the traditional spot for the election of -an O'Hanlon. Passing along the right bank of the Newry river, which he -crossed near Tanderagee, Sussex reached the Laggan valley near Moira, and -passing Belfast, reached Carrickfergus on the ninth day after leaving -Dublin. From this the army marched across the central districts of -Antrim, and, at last, on the twenty-fourth day from Dublin, Sussex -reached Glenarm, and found that James MacDonnell had fled before him into -Scotland. The fugitive sent to France for help, but his envoy's -proceedings were counteracted by Paget's vigilance. A quantity of cattle -were captured, besides butter and other produce hid in a cave. This seems -to have been the only result of an expedition which lasted thirty-seven -days. Sussex dismissed his allies at their old rendezvous near Newry, and -on the very next day, as if in ridicule of his efforts, a messenger -arrived to say that the Scots had attacked the rear guard. Sidney -afterwards said that he had slain James MacConnell, a mighty Scots -captain, during this expedition. Some Scots of name were certainly -killed, and one of them may have been called James; but the real James -MacDonnell was back at Glenarm before the end of the year.[405] - -[Sidenote: His failure.] - -The moral which Sussex drew from this inglorious expedition was that the -North could only be held by a chain of forts along the coast from Dundalk -to Lough Foyle. Some part at least of the expense would be paid by the -salmon fisheries of the Foyle, the Bann, and the Bush; and by the -herring, cod, ling, and hake fisheries, of which Carlingford was the -chief seat. A good English bishop would also, he thought, be a means to -civilise the country. It had not yet been discovered that making the -Church a badge of conquest only served to make religion itself odious. -The dislike of the Irish to English ecclesiastics had been marked -throughout the middle ages, and even if England had remained in communion -with Rome, bishops who were Government officials first and chief pastors -afterwards, could scarcely have ministered successfully to the wants of -O'Neills and O'Donnells.[406] - -[Sidenote: The King's and Queen's Counties.] - -[Sidenote: The natives.] - -The settlement of Leix was in outward form completed, and Sussex received -the Queen's thanks for it. The arrangements were not without a show of -equity; but the old inhabitants could not reconcile themselves to the -intrusion of a colony, and their pertinacious opposition forced the -Government to treat them with far more rigour than had been at first -intended. The western half of the new Queen's County was originally -reserved for the O'Mores, each head of a sept becoming a landlord holding -an estate in tail by knight-service. The chiefs were prohibited from -keeping any idlemen except of their own sept, or more than one for every -100 acres. They were to attend the constable of the fort when required, -to repair bridges, and at all times to keep the passes open between their -districts and those occupied by the English. They were to dress like -Englishmen, except when riding, and to teach their children to speak -English, to attend the Deputy annually, and to use only the Common Law. -All above twelve were required to take the oath of allegiance. Forfeiture -was prescribed for a persistent refusal to keep the passes open; for -retaining superfluous idlemen; for keeping more than one set of harness; -for interrupting communication with the English; for making a private -way; for marrying and fostering with the Irish, and for absenteeism. The -Deputy's licence removed the penalty in all these cases. For keeping -unlicensed firearms the first offence was to be punished by forfeiture, -and the second by death. - -[Sidenote: The settlers.] - -The eastern district was assigned to the English, to hold on similar -terms, and twelve places, among which Stradbally and Abbeyleix are the -best known, were to be kept in a defensible state as satellites to the -royal fort of Maryborough. The duties of the settlers were in general the -same as those assigned to the O'Mores; but whereas the latter were -restrained in the matter of arms, the possession of them was made -obligatory on the former. A good bow and sheaf of arrows, or one -hand-gun at least, was to be kept in every house. Forfeiture was to be -incurred in the same way as by the Irish, and in addition for falling -away from the use of the English tongue, for holding more than 300 acres -in demesne, or for entertaining Irishmen, except so far as they were -necessary for husbandry. A few natives, whose services as captains of -kerne had deserved special recognition, were to have grants in the -English territory, and it was suggested that a large territory should be -offered to the Earl of Kildare. A constable, resident at the fort, was to -have the same powers locally as the Lord Deputy had generally. Stringent -rules were made as to free quarters and purveyance. The constable or -president on his annual circuit was to have his own expenses and those of -four men and five horses borne for one night only by each town; and each -sept of the O'Mores was to bear the like burden, and no more. Finally, a -church was to be built in each of the twelve settlements within three -years, and a parson, of English birth, was to have the tithe.[407] - -[Sidenote: The natives cling to their land.] - -Whatever the intentions of the Queen or her Deputy might be towards Leix -and Offaly, there was sure to be plenty of opposition on the part of the -natives, who were, however, as usual, divided among themselves. The old -chief, Brian O'Connor, was still alive, and his son Donough carried on -the old feud and killed his cousin, the son of Cahir Roe. Both Donough -and Connell O'More, the chief of Leix, fell into the hands of Sussex in -the course of the year, but to the surprise of the Irish in general were -released in deference to Kildare and Ormonde, who had become in some -measure responsible for them. The O'Mores remained quiet for a time on -the lands reserved to them. Donough and others of the O'Connors afterward -came to Sussex at Philipstown, as the fort of Offaly must henceforth be -called, and made their submission, giving promises of good behaviour, -which they immediately broke.[408] - -[Sidenote: They are again attacked, 1557.] - -After the meeting at Philipstown, Sussex and his Council repaired to -Leighlin, where the principal O'Connors neglected to appear as they had -promised. A leader of the Kavanaghs, who had not taken warning by the -recent fate of his clansmen, was executed, and Connel O'More, who had -once more broken into rebellion, was hanged in chains at Leighlin about -the same time. Offaly was next invaded and hostages taken, who were -executed on a further outbreak taking place, with the exception of -O'Connor himself, who was detained prisoner in Dublin.[409] - -[Sidenote: Parliament of 1557. The monastic lands are not restored.] - -The Parliament, from which Mary expected much for the Church of which she -was so faithful a daughter, met at last and enacted all the laws made in -England against the Protestants. The old statutes against Lollardry, -which prescribed death by fire as the punishment for obstinate or -relapsed heretics, were declared to be in full force. A communication -from Pole was read by Curwin as Chancellor, kneeling down in open -session, in which the Cardinal urged the assembly to restore Ireland to -full communion with the Church. All Acts derogatory to the Pope which had -been passed since the twentieth year of Henry VIII. were accordingly -repealed. The Queen was declared a legitimate, absolute sovereign, and -all laws and sentences to the contrary were abrogated. On the other hand, -grants of monastic land were confirmed. There could be no doubt of Mary's -wish to restore the religious houses, but this does not appear to have -been done except in the single case of Kilmainham. Oswald Massingberd, -who during the Puritan ascendency had led a wandering life in the woods, -was appointed Prior by Pole, and the nomination was confirmed by the -Queen. Massingberd was sworn of the Council, and assumed the position of -his predecessors; but he seems to have had no belief in the stability of -the new system. He gave long leases and sold all that was saleable, and -he took no thought for the morrow. There appears to have been no -intention of specially favouring the obsolete order of St. John, for no -attempt was made to restore it in England; but in Ireland it happened -that the Crown had not parted with the house and lands. In the same way, -since it could be done without offending vested interests, Mary -re-established the Benedictines at Westminster, the Carthusians at Sheen, -and the Observants at Greenwich. There are indications that she wished to -examine titles closely, and to restore the monks where defects appeared; -but she granted and confirmed grants of abbey lands as freely as her -father and brother. Ninety years later, when the confederate Catholics -had military possession of the greater part of Ireland, and the Nuncio -Rinuccini was apparently all-powerful, the claim of the regulars to their -old possessions was met by the nobility and gentry with anger and -scorn.[410] - -[Sidenote: Sussex makes an abortive expedition westward;] - -When released from his Parliamentary duties, Sussex marched westward -against the O'Connors, who, under Donough, had possessed themselves of -Meelick Castle, on the Shannon. The line of march lay through Offaly, by -Killeigh, Ballyboy, and Cloghan, no opposition being offered by the -O'Molloys or O'Maddens. The Shannon was reached on the third day. -Clanricarde must have been in a tolerably peaceful state, for Athlone -pursuivant seems to have had no difficulty in going to Galway to seek -ammunition and provisions. Cannon were brought by water from Athlone and -planted in the grounds of the friary, on an island or peninsula on the -Galway side of the stream. The castle was summoned, and a cautionary shot -fired without effect. Next day the cannonade began, and at the sixteenth -shot a large piece of the courtyard wall fell down. The O'Connors escaped -by a postern gate, and were proclaimed traitors. Clanricarde, Thomond, -O'Carroll, and other chiefs, came to pay their respects to Sussex, and -may well have laughed at the small results achieved by the display of -irresistible force. A garrison was placed in the castle, and, hostages -having been taken from the neighbouring clans, the army returned through -MacCoghlan's country, led by the chief himself. The Lord Deputy had the -pleasure of seeing the night lit up by fires which the rebels kindled -within a mile of his camp. The outlying buildings at Philipstown were all -burnt, and arrows shot into the fort itself. Such was the practical -outcome of a nine days' expedition, during which, as the annalists say, -it is not easy to state or enumerate all that was destroyed.[411] - -[Sidenote: and another into Ulster.] - -An expedition into Ulster, undertaken three months later, had the same -lame and impotent conclusion. The annalists say compendiously that Armagh -was burned twice in one month by Thomas Sussex. His horsemen encamped in -the cathedral, and no enemy opposed the destroyer, who returned after a -week to Dundalk only to hear that Shane O'Neill was burning and -plundering within four miles of the town. Being pursued, Shane retreated -to his woods, whither those who knew the country declined to follow him. -Sussex then returned to Dublin; the Queen being richer by a few cows, and -Sir James Garland poorer by the village which O'Neill had burned.[412] - -[Sidenote: The central districts still disturbed.] - -Not much impressed by the late invasion, the O'Connors who had escaped -from Meelick stationed themselves at Leap Castle, about which there had -been so much fighting in bygone days. Sussex took the castle without -trouble, but Donough again escaped by the speed of his horse, and the -stronghold was seized by O'Carroll as soon as the army had left. Sidney -afterwards made two separate inroads into the same district. O'Molloy was -proclaimed a traitor, and everything destroyed. It is not easy to see how -there could be anything combustible left in the devoted country. The -O'Carrolls were also engaged about this time in opposition to the -Government, and in support of the O'Mores and O'Connors, and the -annalists are again at a loss to enumerate the preys and slaughter which -were made from the Shannon to the Nore.[413] - -[Sidenote: War between the O'Neills and O'Donnells.] - -A local war of considerable importance took place this year between the -O'Neills and O'Donnells. Manus, the old chief of Tyrconnel, had been kept -a prisoner for the last two years by his son Calvagh, who assumed the -leadership. This claim was disputed by his brother Hugh, who, with his -immediate adherents, had deserted to Shane O'Neill. Shane was delighted -at the opportunity of interfering, and declared that not one cow should -escape, though the O'Donnells should carry away their cattle into -Leinster or Munster. He himself would in future be the sole King of -Ulster. Shane pitched his camp at Carriglea, near Strabane, just above -the junction of the Finn and the Mourne. It was more a fair than an -encampment, and the time was gaily passed in buying, and no doubt in -drinking wine and mead, as well as fine clothes and merchandise. Calvagh, -who lay five miles off with a few followers, sent two trusty spies to the -camp, who mingled boldly with the throng of camp followers and soldiers -belonging to many different clans. In front of Shane's tent they found a -great central fire, and a huge torch as thick as a man's body blazing -brightly. Sixty gallowglasses with their axes, and as many Scots, with -heavy broadswords drawn, stood ready to guard the chief. When the time -came for serving out supper, the spies claimed their share with the rest, -and received a helmet full of meal and a corresponding quantity of -butter. Not staying to make cakes, they carried back the trophy to -Calvagh, who immediately got his men under arms. He had but two companies -of the MacSweeney gallowglasses and thirty horsemen. No look-out was -apparently kept at the camp, which they entered at once. There they had -little to do but to kill till their arms were tired, the deficiency of -force being much more than counterbalanced by the totally unprepared -state of the O'Neills. Shane, whose reputation for courage is not high, -slipped out at the back of his tent with only two companions, leaving his -men to their fate. The three fugitives threaded the passes of the -neighbouring mountains, and passed the Finn, the Deel, and the Derg by -swimming. At Termonamongan, near the latter river, Shane bought a horse, -and never rested till he reached the neighbourhood of Clogher. Calvagh -remained in possession of the camp, and his men spent the rest of the -night in drinking the wine which the O'Neills had provided for -themselves. The extent of the plunder may be estimated from the fact that -Con, Calvagh's young son, who had given up his horse to his father and -fought on foot, now had eighty steeds for his share, including a -celebrated charger of Shane's called the Eagle's Son.[414] - -[Sidenote: Sidney, Lord-Justice. No money.] - -Sussex had not been very long in Ireland before he asked for a holiday, -and he was allowed to spend Christmas at home; Curwin and Sidney, and -afterwards Sidney only, being appointed Lords Justices. War had been -declared with France at midsummer, and one of the first letters received -by the new governor announced the loss of Calais, and the Queen's vain -hope of recovering it. In the storm of St. Quentin and the defence of -Guisnes, English soldiers had shown that they were made of the same stuff -as the victors of Agincourt, but the war was unpopular. Mary's subjects -felt that they were sacrificed to Philip, and this jealousy of Spain both -caused the fall of Calais and prevented its recovery. But the national -vanity was sorely hurt, and Sidney thought it a good opportunity to point -out that James MacDonnell was expected in Ulster with many French and -Scots allies, and that the natives would join him or fall upon the Pale, -which was itself heartily sick of English rule, of soldiers at free -quarters, and of purveyors, who paid, if they paid at all, something very -much less than market prices. The army was reduced to a little over 1,000 -men, and the people of the Pale, though well disposed, could afford no -effective help. Credit was extinct, and the bad money caused great -misery. Yet even bad coin was scarce. 'Help us, my lord,' he wrote openly -to Sussex, 'help us to money at this pinch, though it be as base as -counters.' - -Men, money, and provisions were alike wanting, and the outlook was as -dark as could be. Desmond proposed that the Queen should send special -commissioners, independent of the Government, to inquire into the state -of Ireland, and point out means of reformation. He himself had perhaps -sinned through ignorance, and he thought justice and fair dealing more -likely to do the work of civilisation than a new conquest. 'We neither -think it meet, nor intend,' answered Mary, with a touch of her father's -humour, 'to make any new conquest of our own, nor to use any force when -justice may be showed.' She proposed to do all that was necessary by fair -means.[415] - -[Sidenote: Hatred of the English Government.] - -Sidney's fears of foreign complications were not unfounded. He had no -ship of war at his disposal, and he feared that Dublin might be -blockaded. George Paris was in France, declaring that the wild Irish were -quite ready to transfer their allegiance, and Sidney had reason to -believe that Kildare was playing his hereditary game. There can be no -doubt that this great nobleman, whose estates lay between the capital and -the disturbed midland districts, was a thorn in the side of each -successive governor. It was thought he wanted to be Deputy himself, and -all the principal lawyers in Dublin had a retaining fee from him. William -Piers, Constable of Carrickfergus, the vigilant guardian of the North, -was told by one of his men who was present, that Sorley Boy MacDonnell, -in the careless after-supper hour, said plainly 'that Englishmen had no -right to Ireland, and they would never trust Englishmen more, but would -trust the Earl of Kildare, "who," quoth Sorley, "hath more right to the -country...." The nature of these people is they will speak what is in -their hearts when the drink is in their heads.' The love of claret, -inherent both in Scottish and Irish chiefs, tended to keep up constant -communication with France. The hereditary hatred of England might at any -moment counterbalance the jealousy which Scotland felt for the French -regent and king matrimonial, and an invasion of Ireland might seem less -dangerous than that from which the caution of the Scots lords had just -saved England. The recollection of Dundalk was not so fresh as that of -Flodden.[416] - -[Sidenote: Attempts at conciliation.] - -Lady Tyrone had been closely imprisoned, apparently by Shane, for urging -her husband to hold fast to his allegiance. 'I will not,' says Sidney's -informant, 'you make this known to the Primate, or Kildare, or any -Geraldine in Ireland.' To the Queen the Lord Justice wrote that the coast -was infested by hostile cruisers, that he dreaded a French attack on -castles which could not resist artillery, and that he could scarcely be -answerable for the defence of the country. The effect of Sussex's advice -while at Court may be gathered from the number of letters which Mary -addressed to great men in Ireland. Tyrone and O'Reilly were thanked for -past services, the former being charged to help the Deputy with a -contingent, and the latter to dismiss the Scots in his pay. Calvagh -O'Donnell was reminded of his duty, and encouraged to hope for a peerage -and other rewards. Barnaby Fitzpatrick, whose courtly education was not -forgotten by his friend's sister, was exhorted to behave like one who -regards the service and weal of his natural country. His neighbour -O'Carroll might look forward to a peerage for life if he would give help -in season. Desmond and Clanricarde were directed to put Thomond in -possession of his earldom and estates, the care of the coast being -particularly recommended to the former. Desmond and Ormonde were thanked, -and advised to refer all their differences to the arbitration of the Lord -Deputy and Council.[417] - -[Sidenote: A spirited policy.] - -The Queen did not limit her care for Ireland to writing letters. She -doubled the army; 800 men being sent over, and directions given for -raising 200 more in Ireland. Every foot soldier was to receive twopence a -day, and every horseman threepence a day, in addition to the old wages. -The Deputy's salary was raised from 1,000_l._ to 1,500_l._, with the -usual allowances, and he was directed to move constantly to and fro, -residences being maintained for him at Roscommon, Athlone, Monasterevan, -Maryborough, Philipstown, Ferns, Enniscorthy, and Carlow. The O'Mores and -O'Connors were to be still further chastised, and as much as possible -effected against the Scots. In most other matters the former instructions -were to remain in force. The restored Deputy was not expected to make -bricks without straw, more than 200_l._ having been spent on the carriage -of munitions to Chester for the Irish service.[418] - -[Sidenote: Sussex returns to Ireland, 1558.] - -Sussex left London on March 21, and we are told that he travelled post; -but he did not leave Holyhead till the 26th of the following month. The -actual passage only occupied a few hours. Detraction, the usual lot of -Irish governors, followed him on his journey, his accuser being no less a -person than Primate Dowdall, who was summoned over to tell his own story, -and who died in London some three months before the Queen. Sidney and his -Council declared that the Archbishop was actuated by personal malice, and -that there was no foundation for his statements. There was, however, some -excuse for a prelate who saw his metropolis and three churches burned by -the viceregal army. Sussex believed that Dowdall was in league with his -predecessor. Were it not, he said, for his set purpose to serve the -Queen, he might find occupation enough in avoiding the nets spread on all -sides, the catch line whereof he could not prove but by looking into Mr. -St. Leger's bosom.[419] - -[Sidenote: The O'Connors still troublesome. Sussex goes to Munster.] - -Sussex had left Leix and Offaly in confusion, and he returned to find -them in the same state, his brother, Sir Henry Radecliffe, being actually -besieged in Maryborough by the natives, under Donogh and another -O'Connor, accompanied by Richard Oge, one of the bastard Geraldines who -had so long been troublesome. The garrison beat off their assailants -after a hard fight, Richard Oge falling by the hand of Francis Cosby; but -Donough again escaped. The first matter which demanded the personal -attention of Sussex after his return was the state of Thomond, where Sir -Donnell More O'Brien--who had slain his brother, the second Earl, five -years before--was now disputing the title of his young nephew Connor, -whose principal castles he held. Ormonde, whose aunt was the young lord's -mother, was of course interested in his favour, and the same reason was -enough to make Desmond incline to Sir Donnell. It became necessary for -Sussex himself to go in force and establish some kind of order. Taking -the familiar line through Offaly and Ely, Leap Castle being abandoned at -their approach, the Lord Deputy and his troops, strengthened on the route -by the adhesion of Barnaby Fitzpatrick and a considerable force, marched -across North Tipperary by Newport and Cahirconlish to Limerick, which was -reached on the seventh day after leaving Dublin. At a point a few miles -from the city Ormonde and his brother Edmund appeared with a large party. -The young lord of Cahir, Gerald the heir of Desmond, with all the forces -of his house, MacCarthy More, who received the honour of knighthood and a -gold chain and gilded spurs, and William Burke, chief of the district, -joined on the same day. At the gate of Limerick the mayor and aldermen in -scarlet robes delivered to Sussex the keys and mace, which he returned to -the mayor. With the civic insignia and sword of state borne before him, -the Lord Deputy rode to the door of the cathedral, where the Marian -bishop, Hugh Lacy, met him, and where he was censed and sprinkled with -holy water. Sussex kissed the cross both here and at the rood, where the -same ceremonies were repeated, and knelt devoutly at the high altar while -the _Te Deum_ was sung. Salutes were fired after church. - -[Sidenote: The Desmonds at Limerick.] - -The Lord Deputy rested ten days at Limerick, during which time was -performed the rite of 'bishoping' Desmond's youngest child, the old Earl -being present himself. This was a first or second baptism, for the little -Fitzgerald was not old enough to be confirmed, and the Lord Deputy stood -sponsor and gave his god-child his own name, and presented him at the -same time with a gold chain. The career of James Sussex Fitzgerald thus -auspiciously begun was destined to end in a traitor's death on the -scaffold. - -[Sidenote: The O'Briens.] - -Sir Donnell O'Brien failed to appear, and was thrice proclaimed traitor -at Limerick. Sussex then issued forth into Thomond. Clare Castle and -Ennis made no resistance, but a few cannon shot had to be fired at -Bunratty before it surrendered. The Earl of Thomond, having been placed -in possession of his country, was sworn upon the sacraments and on the -relics of the Church with bell, book, and candle, to forsake the name of -O'Brien, and to be true to the King and Queen. All the freeholders of the -district swore in the same solemn way to obey him as their captain. - -[Sidenote: O'Shaughnessy.] - -On his journey westward from Limerick, Sussex spent a night with -O'Shaughnessy at Gort, where he 'dined so worshipfully as divers wondered -at it, for the like was not seen in an Irishman's house.' At Galway he -was received with the same civic, military, and religious ceremonies as -at Limerick, and, after staying four or five days, returned by Athenry -and Meelick into Offaly, and thence to Dublin.[420] - -[Sidenote: Expedition against the Hebridean Scots. It ends in failure.] - -Sidney's apprehensions were partially realised, for James MacDonnell -landed before Sussex with 600 islemen and two guns. But Carrickfergus had -been reinforced, and the greater part of the Scots returned to their own -country. Colla MacDonnell, one of the chief's five brothers and the -resident guardian of his clan's Irish interests, died soon afterwards, -and, his brother Angus having refused to take his place, Sorley Boy, the -youngest and ablest of the family, filled the vacant post. It was decided -to attack the Redshanks in their own islands, and a fleet assembled at -Lambay from which great things were evidently expected. Sussex urged -despatch; but the delays of the supply service were inveterate, and -nothing was done for nearly three weeks. The Lord Deputy landed first in -Cantire, and began operations by burning James MacDonnell's 'chief house -called Sandell, a fair pile and a strong.' - -[Sidenote: The fleet is in danger,] - -He boasted that in three days he burned everything from sea to sea in a -district twenty miles long, and this without meeting any opposition worth -notice. Isla was the great object of the expedition; but the wind was -unfavourable, and the incendiary's work could be carried on elsewhere. -Arran was accordingly devastated, the army dividing into two, so as to -make the damage more complete. Isla being still inaccessible, the same -fate was intended for Bute, but just as the boats were about to be manned -a sudden gale sprung up, 'and that being then the weather shore the wind -wheeled suddenly and made it the lee shore, whereby we being very near -the shore were forced to ride it out for life and death in such a place -as if any tackle had slipped or broken the ship whose tackle had so -slipped or broken must needs have perished.' The cable of a Dublin -transport parted, and she foundered with a loss of twenty-eight men. Most -of the small vessels got into harbour, 'but the masters of H.M.'s ships I -think thought scorn thereof.' The fine gentlemen who commanded men-of-war -in those days were unwilling to take advice from the old seamen who acted -as their sailing masters or pilots. With loss of boats, running rigging, -and anchors, the fleet escaped, and the captains, whose courage was -'somewhat cooled,' were content after this to be controlled by their -professional associates. - -[Sidenote: and is forced to retire.] - -The poor little Cumbrays having been ravaged, the disabled vessels were -just able to reach Carrickfergus after a dead beat against a stiff -north-wester. Sussex landed, and was nearly lost in regaining his -flag-ship, the 'Mary Willoughby.' A council of war was then held, and it -was found that there were provisions for only three weeks more, and that -damages could not be properly repaired in Ireland. Only three ships were -at all fit for service; and, moreover, 'the new bark is a ship of such -length and unwieldliness in steerage as she is not to be ventured among -the isles in such stormy weather, where there be many deep and narrow -channels and strong tides.' It was feared that the ships might be -becalmed or otherwise delayed in the isles, there was now no spare tackle -in case of future storms, and it was by no means impossible that the -crews and troops might starve. The hope of visiting Isla was therefore -abandoned, and Sussex landed the soldiers with the less ambitious -intention of attacking the Scots in the Route. An English fleet and army -carefully equipped and commanded by many gallant gentlemen had just -succeeded in burning some barren islands, not without considerable loss -to themselves, and had returned disabled without striking a blow. Sussex -was conscious of his failure, and begged the Queen 'not to impute any -lack in me, but to consider that whatever I wrote of was feasible, is -feasible, and shall with grace of God be put in execution with a great -deal more than I wrote of,' &c. The expedition is not even noticed in the -Scots correspondence of the time, nor was anything done to retrieve -matters on land. Out of 1,100 soldiers, but 400 were fit for service, the -rest being prostrated by illness caused by the foul water on board -ship.[421] - -[Sidenote: Activity of Sussex. He leaves Ireland at Mary's death.] - -Want of activity at least could not be charged against Sussex, who -carried out strictly the spirit of the Queen's instructions, which -desired him to be constantly on the move. He was at Leighlin a few days -after his return from Scotland, and then returned to Dublin, where the -affairs of Munster occupied his attention. The old Earl of Desmond was -dead, and his son Gerald, destined to a disturbed life and a miserable -death, succeeded to the splendid but troublesome inheritance of the -Southern Geraldines. He promised fair, and was knighted by the Lord -Deputy's hands, who went to Waterford to receive his homage and to admit -him to the earldom. Sir Maurice Fitzgerald of Decies, who ruled about one -half of the county of Waterford, also made his submission, promising to -obey the law and make others obey it, to give his help to all judges, -commissioners, and tax-gatherers, and to secure free admission for all to -the markets at Waterford, Dungarvan, and elsewhere. The news of Mary's -death reached Ireland soon after this, and Sussex, who had already -obtained leave to go to England, hurried away to pay his court to the new -sovereign. He left Ireland tolerably quiet.[422] - -[Sidenote: Story as to an intended Marian persecution in Ireland.] - -Mary did all she could to efface her father's anti-Roman policy; but no -Irish persecution took place. This may have been less from the Queen's -want of will than from the insignificance of the Protestants in Ireland. -It is said that many people fled from the western parts of England in -hope of sharing the comparative immunity enjoyed by the small Protestant -congregation in Dublin. One story seems to show that this had attracted -attention, and that Dublin would not have long escaped. It rests on the -testimony of Henry Usher, one of the fathers of Trinity College and -afterwards Archbishop of Armagh, and was repeated by his more famous -nephew James Usher, and by other public men of repute. Henry Usher died -at a great age in 1613, and was Treasurer of St. Patrick's as early as -1573. In the absence of anything to rebut it, such evidence can hardly be -rejected. The story is that a Protestant citizen of Dublin named John -Edmonds had a sister living at Chester married to one Mattershed, who -kept an inn or lodging-house in which Cole, Dean of St. Paul's, slept -when on his way to purge the Irish Church. 'Here,' said Cole, in the -hearing of his hostess, 'is a commission that shall lash the heretics of -Ireland.' The good woman watched her opportunity, possessed herself of -the doctor's wallet, and substituted a pack of cards for the -commission--a service for which she received a pension of 40_l._ from -Queen Elizabeth. On reaching Dublin, Cole went straight to the Castle, -where the Lord Deputy, who had just returned from his Scotch expedition, -was sitting in council. Cole declared his business in a set speech; but -when the secretary opened his wallet he found only the cards, with the -knave of clubs uppermost. Sussex had conformed to the dominant creed, but -had probably no wish to be a persecutor, and may have rejoiced at Cole's -discomfiture. 'Let us have another commission,' he said, 'and we will -shuffle the cards in the meanwhile.' A new scourge for the heretics was -despatched, but before it came to hand Mary's unhappy career had -closed.[423] - -[Sidenote: Death of Mary and Reginald Pole.] - -The weak enthusiast who, far more than Gardiner or Bonner, must share the -responsibility for the persecution with which this Queen's name is -inseparably connected, was not long divided from her in death. Reginald -Pole survived his kinswoman some twenty-two hours, and almost the last -sounds to reach his ears were the cheers with which a people that -breathed freely once more greeted the accession of Queen Elizabeth. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[391] Morrin's _Patent Rolls_, p. 304. - -[392] Instructions for Sir A. St. Leger, Oct. 1553; Morrin's _Patent -Rolls_, pp. 300-304. - -[393] Petition of Connor MacCarthy, 1553. The Queen to Sussex, July 6, -1558. Orders taken at Drogheda, Dec. 6, 1553, in _Carew_. - -[394] Bale's select works, Parker Society; _King Johan_, a play, ed. J. -Payne Collier, Camden Society; 'God's promises in all ages of the old -law,' in Dodsley's _Old Plays_, vol. i.; a brief comedy or interlude of -John Baptist in _Harl. Misc._ vol. i. - -[395] Bale's _Vocation_; Cotton's _Fasti_, vol. i. p. 123. - -[396] Bale's _Vocation_; Ware's _Annals_. Queen Elizabeth to the two St. -Legers, calendared under 1559 (No. 85). Dr. Reid printed the following -contemporary epigram:-- - - 'Plurima Lutherus patefecit, Platina multa, - Quædam Vergerius, cuncta Balæus habet.' - - -[397] Hook's _Life of Pole_, vol. iii. p. 359, note; Machyn's _Diary_, -Jan. 27, 1554; _Life of Sir Peter Carew_, ed. by Macleane, and also -printed in _Carew_, vol. i. - -[398] Brady; Cotton. Dowling says of Thonory: 'Pro dolore amissionis -thesauri sui per fures mortuus. Fures confitebantur et executi.' - -[399] Indentures with the O'Briens, Sept. 1554, in _Carew_; _Four -Masters_, 1554. - -[400] Sarpi's _Council of Trent_, trans. by Courayer, lib. v. cap. 15, -and the _notes_. Dr. Lingard, vol. v. end of chap. v., objects to Fra -Paolo's account, but I cannot see that his own much differs. - -[401] Brady; Hook's _Life of Pole_; Ware's _Life of Curwin_; Rymer, Feb. -22, and April 25, 1555; Morrin's _Patent Rolls_, p. 339. - -[402] Hooker in Holinshed; St. Leger to Petre, Dec. 18, 1555; _Four -Masters_, 1555. James MacDonnell's agents to Calvagh O'Donnell, -calendared under 1554 (No. 7). - -[403] Instructions to Lord Fitzwalter, April 28, 1556, in _Carew_. -_Sidney Papers_, i. p. 85. - -[404] Ware's _Annals_. - -[405] Sussex's Journal, Aug. 8, 1556, in _Carew_; Sidney's Relation, in -_Carew_; 1583; Lord Deputy Fitzwalter to the Queen, Jan. 2, 1557; -_Calendar of Foreign State Papers_, Oct. 28, 1556. - -[406] Opinions of Lord Fitzwalter, Jan. 2, 1557. He mentions hake as 'a -kind of salt fish much eaten in Ireland.' - -[407] Privy Council to Lord Deputy, Sept. 30, 1556; Orders for Leix, -Dec.; Lord Deputy to the Queen, Jan. 2, 1557. An Act of Parliament was -passed in 1557, entitling the Crown to Leix and Offaly, and authorising -the Lord Deputy to make grants under the Great Seal. - -[408] Proceedings of the Deputy and Council, Feb. 25, 1557, in _Carew_. -_Four Masters_ for 1555 and 1556. - -[409] _Four Masters_, 1555 and 1556. Proceedings of Deputy and Council, -Feb. 25, 1557, in _Carew_. Dowling says Connel O'More was 'apud pontem -Leighlin cruci affixus.' Ware's _Annals_. - -[410] Thomas Alen to Cecil, Dec. 18, 1558; Letters of Queen Mary, -calendared under 1557 (Nos. 63 and 64), and petitions (Nos. 65 and 66). -For grants of abbey-lands, see Morrin's _Patent Rolls_, passim. Mary's -only Irish Parliament (3 and 4 Phil. et Mar.), met June 1, 1557, in -Dublin. There were adjournments to Limerick and Drogheda. See Stuart's -_Armagh_, p. 244, and Rymer, Dec. 1, 1556. - -[411] July 1557; Journal by Sussex of that date in Carew; _Four Masters_, -1557. - -[412] October; _Four Masters_, 1557. - -[413] _Four Masters._ This was towards the end of 1557. - -[414] _Four Masters_, 1557. - -[415] Lord Justice Sidney and Council to the Privy Council, Feb. 8, 1558; -Desmond to the Queen, Feb. 5 and Feb. 23, and her answer, April 19; -Sidney to Sussex, Feb. 26, and to the Queen, March 1. - -[416] Piers to Curwin, Feb. 14, 1558; Sussex to Boxoll, June 8; Articles -by an Irishman, 1558 (No. 15). - -[417] The Queen's letters are all dated March 12. - -[418] See instructions in _Carew_, March 20; Estimate for munitions, -March 13. - -[419] Machyn's _Diary_; Sussex to Privy Council, April 7, with -inclosures; Dowdall to Heath, Nov. 17, 1557. - -[420] This tour is in _Carew_, i. 274-277; the date in the end of July -1558. - -[421] For the expedition to the isles, see Sussex to the Queen, Oct. 3, -Oct. 6, and Oct. 31, 1558. - -[422] Journeys by the Earl of Sussex, July and Nov. 1558, in _Carew_; -oath of Gerald Earl of Desmond, Nov. 28. - -[423] Ware's _Life of Browne_. In their instructions to the Lord Deputy -and Council, Philip and Mary say:--'Lord Cardinal Poole, being sent unto -us from the Pope's Holiness and the said See Apostolic Legate of our said -realms, mindeth _in brief time_ to despatch into Ireland certain his -commissioners and officials to visit the clergy _and other members_ of -the said realm of Ireland,' &c., _Carew_, April 28, 1556. - - - - -INDEX - -TO - -THE FIRST VOLUME. - - - Abbeyleix, 399 - - Abertivy, 41, 42 - - Adamnan, St., 6, 15 - - Adare, 191, 218, 229, 267 - - Adrian IV., Pope (Nicholas Breakspeare), his bull, 37-39, 49, 260 - - Aedh, or Hugh, King, 29 - - Æneas Sylvius; - _see_ Pius II. - - Agard, Thomas, Vice-Treasurer and Treasurer of the Mint, 207, 208, - 319, 320 - - Aghmacarte monastery, 314 - - Agricola, 1, 2 - - Aidan, St., 6 - - Alban's, St., 34 - - Alemand, L. A., his history of Irish monasticism, 314-316, 318 - - Alen, or Allen, John, Archbishop of Dublin (1529-1534), 163; - murdered, 165, 166, 171, 172, 290-296 - - Alen, Sir John, Master of the Rolls (1533-1538), Lord Chancellor - (1538-1546 and 1548-1550), 156, 158-160, 162, 164, 171, 193, - 195, 208, 212, 233, 235-237, 244, 259, 267, 283-285, 304, 305, - 313, 320, 335, 337-339, 345, 346, 348, 357, 358, 385 - - Alexander II., Pope, 33 - - -- III., Pope, 37, 49, 54 - - Aline, Strongbow's daughter, 50 - - Allen, Bog of, 176 - - All Saints', Dublin, 321 - - Ambrose, St., 366 - - Amlaf, 18, 19; - and _see_ Olaf. - - Andreas, Bernard, his works on Henry VII., 116, 117 - - Andrew's, St., in Scotland, 306 - - -- -- in Dublin, 302 - - Angareta, mother of Giraldus Cambrensis, 41 - - Angevins, 11 - - Annaghdown; - _see_ Enaghdune. - - Anne, Queen, 197 - - -- -- _see_ Boleyn. - - -- St., 386 - - Anschar, St., 31 - - Anselm, St., 34, 35 - - Antrim, 66, 77, 237, 272 - - Aquitaine, 40, 45 - - Arabic coins in Ireland, 30 - - Ardagh, see of, 292-295 - - Ardee, 222, 240 - - Ardfert Abbey, 51 - - Ardfinnan, 47 - - Ardglass, 212 - - Ards, in Down, 263, 265, 376; - priory of, 386 - - Ardscull, 66 - - Argyle, 67, 134, 272, 273, 280-282, 359 - - Arklow, 72, 146, 156 - - Armagh, 237, 263, 403 - - -- County, 56 - - -- church, abbacy, and see of, 14, 17, 18, 25, 34, 45, 104, 289, - 367, 369, 386; - for Archbishops (called by the Irish Successors of St. Patrick), - _see_ Cellach, O'Toole, Octavian, Kite, Cromer, Dowdall, - Wauchop, Goodacre. - - Artane, 165 - - Aryan race, 11 - - Ascham, Roger, 337 - - Aslaby, John, 188 - - Assaroe, 239 - - Athassel Abbey, 70, 73, 99, 291, 319 - - Athboy, 115, 222 - - Ath-Cliath (the Celtic name for Dublin), 34 - - Athelstane, 21, 32 - - Athenry, 69, 78, 122, 228, 300, 321, 410 - - Athlone, 17, 60, 77, 84, 125, 334, 374, 402, 408 - - Athole, Earl of, 271 - - Athy, 54, 88, 130, 167, 200, 328 - - Audeley, Thomas Lord, Lord Chancellor of England, 178, 179, 196, - 197, 253 - - Aughrim, 228 - - Augustine, St., Canons Regular of, 99, 314, 317 - - Augustinian Hermits or Austin Friars, 289, 300, 319, 320, 392 - - Aylmer, Sir Gerald, Chief Justice of the King's Bench (1535-1559), - 215, 223, 233, 237, 303, 378, 384, 385 - - Aylmer, Richard, of Lyons in Kildare, 223 - - - Bacon, Francis, 105, 111, 116 - - Bagenal, Sir Nicolas, Marshal of the Army (1546-1553, and - 1565-1590), 332, 353, 364, 368, 373 - - -- Sir Ralph, 357, 361 - - Baldoyle, 19 - - Bale, John, Bishop of Ossory (1552-1553), 299, 368, 379, 380-383, - 386-390 - - Balgriffin, 177 - - Ballibogan, 305 - - Ballinaclogh, 224 - - Ballinskelligs, 188 - - Ballinure, 251 - - Ballyboy, 402 - - Ballycastle, in Antrim, 272, 361 - - Ballydrohid, 317 - - Ballyhack, 372 - - Ballymore Eustace, 91, 129, 238, 326 - - Balrath, 119 - - Balrothery, 123 - - Baltimore, 88, 351 - - Baltinglass, 130, 251 - - -- Viscount, Sir Thomas Eustace, Baron of Kilcullen, 161, 163, 170, - 178, 254, 344 - - Banagher, 228, 335 - - Bangor, in Down, 17 - - Bann River, 266, 351, 398 - - Bannockburn, 65 - - Bannow, 42, 372 - - Barbaro, a Venetian, 350 - - Barbarossa, 39 - - Barkley, Lord, 198 - - Barnesmore Gap, 140, 141 - - Barnewall, Sir Patrick, 249, 301, 312, 320 - - Barnewalls, the, 76 - - Baron, Milo, Bishop of Ossory, (1527-1551), 297, 305 - - Barretts, the, 71 - - Barrow River, 113, 130, 167, 264, 329, 340 - - Barry, David, Archdeacon of Cork, 118 - - -- Gerald; - _see_ Giraldus. - - -- William de, 41 - - Barrymore, Barons of, and Viscounts from 1405, 76 - - -- John, Viscount, 76, 118, 191, 242, 268, 332, 333 - - -- William, Viscount, murdered in 1499, 118 - - Barry Oge of Kinalea, 242, 268, 329 - - Barry Roe, 242, 268 - - Barrys, the, 41, 64, 76, 242, 268. In the 16th century they were all - settled in the County of Cork. - - Bartholomew's, St., in London, 291 - - Basel, 389 - - Basilia, Strongbow's sister, 50 - - Basilius, 308 - - Basnet, Edward, last Dean of St. Patrick's of the old foundation, - 358, 368 - - Bath Abbey, 198 - - Bathe, James, Chief Baron, 385 - - Bearhaven, or Berehaven, 351 - - Beaton, Cardinal, 271, 273, 276, 285 - - Beaumanoir, 217 - - Beaumaris, 169 - - Becket, Thomas, 48, 86 - - Bective Abbey, 392 - - Bedell, William, Bishop of Kilmore, 350 - - Bedford, Jasper, Duke of, Lord-Lieutenant, 100, 102, 111 - - Belfast, 125, 360, 364, 376-378, 398 - - Belfast Lough, 143, 281 - - Belgard, near Dublin, 142 - - Bellahoe, battle of, 240 - - Bellingham, Sir Edward, Viceroy (1548-1549), 88, 286; - sent to Ireland with troops, 326; - Lord Deputy, 327; - his ceaseless activity, 328; - his treatment of the disloyal, 329, 330; - he projects the town of Maryborough, 331; - his dealings with Galway, Limerick, and Drogheda, 331; - with Dublin, 332; - he routs the O'Connors, 332; - his dissatisfaction with Desmond, 333; - establishes a garrison at Athlone, 334; - frees the Pale from rebels, 335; - his dealings with the currency, 336; - his impolitic self-assertion, 337; - his treatment of the Irish, 338; - he cannot agree with his council, 338; - his jealousy of the Ormondes, 337, 339; - he seizes Desmond, 339; - he establishes a garrison at Leighlin Bridge, 340; - a Protestant, 341; - well informed, 342; - his dealings with Primate Dowdall in furtherance of the royal - supremacy, 343; - the darling of the Protestant party, 343-344; - recalled, 344; - his death and character, 344-345, 348, 349, 350; - his fort at Athlone, 374 - - Benbulben, 141 - - Benedictines, 314 - - Berehaven, 351 - - Berengaria, Queen, 58 - - Berengarius, 33 - - Bergagni, Francis de, 181 - - Bermingham, Baron of Athenry, 228 - - -- John de, Earl of Louth, 67 - - -- Patrick, Chief Justice of the King's Bench, 150, 155, 199 - - -- Richard de, 69 - - -- William, created Baron of Carbury in Kildare, 226, 258, 320 - - Berminghams, the, 69, 71, 213 - - Bermingham's Tower, 233 - - Bernard, St., 15, 314, 315 - - Berners, William, 208, 230 - - Berwick, 373 - - Betagh, Robert, 241 - - Bicknor, Alexander de, Archbishop of Dublin, 322 - - Bicton, James, 358 - - Bigot, Hugh, 63 - - Birr, 157, 224, 226, 227 - - Biscayans, 188 - - Bissett, or Missett family, 71, 271 - - Blackwater River in Ulster, 237 - - -- -- -- Munster, 242 - - Blessington, 326 - - Blois, 252 - - Blore Heath, 90 - - Bobbio, 6 - - Bodkin, Christopher, Archbishop of Tuam (1537-1562), 228, 292, 294, - 305, 334 - - Body, William, 200, 202, 203 - - Boleyn family, how related to the Butlers, 126, 142 - - -- Mary, 149 - - -- Queen Anne, proposed as a wife for Ormonde, 149, 156, 190, 195, - 196, 394, 395 - - -- Sir Thomas, 125, 126, 149, 156 - - -- Sir William, 126 - - Bolger, Barnaby, 389 - - Bonner, Edmund, Bishop of London, 306, 395, 413 - - Boulogne, 277, 335 - - Bourbon, the Constable, 181 - - Boyle, 125, 317 - - Boyne River, 85, 213 - - Boys, James, 175 - - Brabazon, Sir William, Vice-Treasurer (1534-1553), Lord Justice - (1543, 1545, and 1549), 176-178, 193, 194, 196, 197, 199, - 205-207, 209, 213, 218, 232-233, 235-237, 244, 254, 268, 275, - 304, 305, 320, 346, 377 - - Brackland, 206, 213 - - Braose, William de, 60, 63 - - Brasier, Richard, first auditor of the Irish Exchequer (1547-1550), - 344 - - Bray Head, 130 - - Breakspeare, Nicholas; - _see_ Adrian IV. - - Brefny, 39; - _see_ O'Rourke and O'Reilly. - - Brehons, 3-5, 7, 12, 143, 186, 221, 273, 277, 291 - - Brereton, Andrew, 353 - - -- John, 328, 332 - - -- Sir William, Lord Justice in 1540, 169-171, 173, 174, 243, 244, - 247, 352 - - Brian Borumha, King of Ireland, 22-31, 33 - - Brictius, 36 - - Brigid, or Bride, St., 13, 294 - - Bristol, 147, 170, 359 - - Bristol Abbey, 198 - - Brito, 186 - - Brode, a pirate, 166, 169, 170, 173 - - Brodir, 26 - - Broet, Paschal, 308-310 - - Broke, Roger, 353 - - Brosna, River, 334 - - Broughton, Sir Thomas, 105 - - Browne, George, Archbishop of Dublin (1553-1555), 200, 207, 208; - his tour in the South, 235-237, 255, 299; - his quarrels with Staples and others, 301-305, 311; - his hatred of the Franciscans, 320; - account of him, 322-324, 341; - his conference with Dowdall, 354-357; - his relations with St. Leger, 357-358; - with Croft, 360, 378; - with Dowdall, 367, 379; - with Bale, 379 and 381; - story of him told by Harpsfield, 383 - - Browne, Mabel, Countess of Kildare, 375 - - -- Sir Anthony, 216 - - Bruce, Edward, 66-68 - - -- Robert, 66-68, 272 - - Brunanburgh, 21 - - Brussels, 219, 390 - - Bryan, Sir Francis, Viceroy, Lord Marshal of Ireland, 337; - married to Lady Ormonde, 337; - disliked by Bellingham, 337; - in practical command of the Butler influence, 339; - Lord Justice after Bellingham's departure, 345; - his death under suspicious circumstances, 346 - - Bulmer, Sir John, 137, 138 - - Bunamargy, 300 - - Bunratty, 77, 300 - - Burgo, Hubert de, 6, 61 - - Burgundy, Margaret, Duchess of, 103, 104 - - Burkes, Bourkes, De Burghs, or De Burgos; - _see_ MacWilliam, MacDavid, MacPhilbin, MacRaymond, MacShoneen, - MacWalter, and FitzAdelm. - - -- of Clanricarde, 75, 93, 120-122, 173, 227, 241, 256, 289, 300, - 331; - _see_ MacWilliam Uachtar and Clanricarde. - - -- or De Burghs, Earls of Clanricarde; - _see_ Clanricarde. - - Burke, or De Burgo, Rowland, Bishop of Clonfert, 289, 294, 370 - - -- of Clanwilliam in Limerick, 227, 409 - - -- of Mayo; - _see_ MacWilliam Iochtar. - - -- -- -- Sir William, 69 - - -- -- Richard, 61, 74 - - -- -- -- Earl of Ulster, 27 - - -- Ulick, of Clanricarde, son of the first earl and captain during - the minority of the second, 333, 374 - - Burnell, John, 166, 177 - - Burnet, Bishop, 380 - - Burntchurch, 155 - - Bush River, 266, 398 - - Bute, 411 - - Butler, Edmund, Archbishop of Cashel (1524-1561), natural son of the - eighth Earl of Ormonde, 183, 241, 255, 261; - account of him, 291; - his oppressive conduct, 296; - state of his monastery, 298; - takes the oath of supremacy, 305; - not a zealous reformer, 343 - - -- Earls of Ormonde; - _see_ Ormonde. - - -- Lady Helen, daughter of the eighth Earl of Ormonde, married to - Donogh O'Brien, second Earl of Thomond, 191 - - -- Richard, son of the eighth Earl of Ormonde, created Viscount of - Mountgarret; - _see_ Mountgarret. - - -- Sir Edmund, first Baron of Dunboyne; - _see_ Dunboyne. - - -- Sir Edmund, Viceroy in 1312 and 1314, 66, 70 - - -- Sir Thomas, first Baron of Cahir; - _see_ Cahir. - - -- Thomas, Prior of Kilmainham, 89 - - -- Thomas, son of the eighth Earl of Ormonde, 160, 225 - - Butleraboo, the Ormonde war cry, 112 - - Butlers, the, 64; - origin of name, 72, 93, 125-127; - and _see_ Ormonde, Ossory, Carrick, Mountgarret, Dunboyne, and - Cahir. - - Butside, a pirate, 330 - - - Cadamstown, 334, 335 - - Cade, Jack, 90 - - Cæsar, 301 - - Cahir, 182, 227, 258, 317 - - -- Sir Thomas Butler, first Baron of, 189, 227, 236, 255, 276, 320, - 393, 409 - - Cahirconlish, 409 - - Calais, 83, 335 - - Caledon, 154 - - Callan, 74, 189, 388 - - Cambridge, 384 - - Campbell, Lady Agnes, married to James MacDonnell of Cantire and - Antrim, 273, 281 - - Campbells, the, 280, 282; - _see_ Argyle. - - Campeggio, Cardinal, 290 - - Camus, 182 - - Candolle, Francis de, 181 - - Canice's, St., 388, 389; - _see_ Kilkenny. - - Cannon, Thomas, 163 - - Canterbury, its connection with Ireland, 32-36; - the Prior had lands in Ireland, 198, 389 - - Cantire, 410 - - Cantoke, name of, 64 - - Cantuarian succession, 35 - - Cantwell, William, 284, 285 - - Canute, 21, 32 - - Capel, Henry Lord, Lord Lieutenant in 1695, 101 - - Cappys, or Kate, a merchant, 239 - - Carbery, in Cork, 36, 124, 191, 218 - - Carbury, in Kildare, Baron of; - _see_ Bermingham. - - Carew, Sir Peter, 390, 391 - - Carews, the, 41 - - Carlingford, 241, 398 - - Carlisle, 289 - - Carlow, 63, 65, 83, 167, 231, 235, 327, 340, 375, 408 - - -- Castle, 111 - - -- County, 158 - - Carmelites, 114, 300, 319, 320, 340, 368, 380 - - Carrickbradagh, 237, 247 - - Carrick, Edmund Butler, Earl of, 72 - - -- on Suir, 72, 201 - - Carrickfergus, or Knockfergus, 59, 60, 66, 70, 122, 142, 143, 273, - 281, 351, 361, 362, 378, 395, 398, 410, 411 - - Carrigogunnel, 60, 186, 192, 200, 203 - - Carrol, Lord of Ossory, 19 - - Cartier, Jacques, 219 - - Cartmel, 198 - - Casey, William, Protestant Bishop of Limerick (1551-1556 and - 1571-1591), 354, 392 - - Cashel, 47; - synod, 48 and 314, 50, 66, 81, 193, 214, 242, 254, 265 - - -- see of, 16, 291, 367, 369; - _see_ Butler, Archbishop. - - Castle Connell, 124 - - -- Dermot, 54, 84, 120, 155, 156, 167 - - -- Island, 78 - - -- Jordan, 177, 251 - - -- Kevin, 253 - - -- Martyr, 76 - - Castleknock, 66 - - Castlemaine, 124 - - Castlereagh, 376 - - Castletown Roche, 76 - - Cavan, 262 - - Cavendish, William, 250 - - Cecil, William, afterwards Lord Burghley, 326 - - Celestinus, Pope, 366 - - Cellach, or Celsus, Bishop or Archbishop of Armagh (1106-1129), 34, - 35 - - Cerberus, 303 - - Challoner, John, Mayor of Dublin in 1556, 397 - - Chamberlayne, name of, 222 - - Charlemagne, 172 - - Charles I., 209, 279 - - Charles V., Emperor and King of Spain, 7, 136, 172, 173, 175; - negotiates with Desmond, 184-186, 192, 219, 274 - - Charles VIII., King of France, 110 - - Chateaubriand, Governor of Brittany, 212 - - Cheeke, Sir John, 390, 391 - - Chepstow, 41 - - Chester, 54, 128, 161, 408, 413 - - Christ Church, Dublin, 32, 385 - - Ciaran, St., 13, 296, 374 - - Cistercians, 16, 99, 267, 293, 314, 317, 318, 392 - - Citeaux, 315 - - Clairvaux, 314 - - Clandeboye (Clan Hugh Boy), 76, 77, 129, 142, 198, 258, 266, 376 - - Clandonnell, gallowglasses, 140 - - Clane, 175 - - Clangibbon, 76 - - Clanricarde (the south-eastern portion of Galway), 218, 335, 402 - - -- Earldom of, 71, 271 - - -- Ulick Burke, or De Burgh, first Earl of, 120, 140, 227, 228, 238, - 256-258, 270, 271, 275, 335 - - -- Richard Burke, or De Burgh, second Earl of, called 'Sassenagh,' - son of the last named, 333, 349, 353, 374 - - Clanwilliam, the Burke district in Limerick, 227, 409 - - Clare Castle, 227, 411 - - -- Richard de; - _see_ Strongbow. - - -- a later Richard de, and others, 65, 70 - - Clare, or Thomond, 124, 172, 203, 204, 219, 271; - _see_ Thomond. - - Clarence, Lionel, Duke of, 70, 80, 100, 197 - - -- George, Duke of, 90, 92 - - Clement V., Pope, 321 - - -- VII., Pope, 153, 289, 292 - - Clifford; - _see_ Rosamond. - - Clinton, Lord, 216, 271 - - Clogher, 154, 405 - - -- see of, 293 - - -- Bishop of; - _see_ Courcy. - - Clonfert, see of, 289, 370 - - Clonlisk, 262 - - Clonmacnoise, church of, 13, 18; - sacked by the troops, 374 - - -- see of, 292; - its forlorn condition, 295 - - Clonmel, 73, 105, 127, 133, 189, 193, 204, 236, 237, 242, 305, 321, - 346 - - Clonmore, 254 - - Clontarf, place and battle, 15, 27-32, 165, 169 - - -- Viscount; - _see_ Rawson. - - Cloyne, Bishop of, in 1367; - _see_ Swaffham. - - -- see of, 288 - - Clyde, the, 281 - - Clyn, John, the Franciscan annalist of Ireland, 67, 70, 77, 84 - - Cobham, Lord, 308 - - Codure, John, 308 - - Cogan, Milo and Richard de, 45, 46, 56 - - Cogans, the, 41, 72 - - Cole, a pirate, 330 - - -- Dean of St. Paul's, 413 - - Coleraine, 85, 266 - - Colley, a pirate, 329 - - -- Anthony, 195 - - Colman, St., of Lindisfarne, 15 - - Columba, or Columkille, St., 6, 12-15, 53, 86 - - Columbanus, St., 6 - - Comyn, Nicholas, Bishop of Waterford and Lismore (1519-1551), 305, - 306 - - Conal Abbey, 317 - - Cong, 58 - - Connaught, 61, 175, 262, 294, 374 - - Constantine, forged donation of, 39 - - Conway, Sir Hugh, 111 - - Coolock, 123 - - Coonagh in Limerick, 265, 266 - - Cooper, Mr., 389 - - Copeland Islands, 30 - - Cork, 17, 47, 74, 85, 110, 118, 181, 187, 190, 241, 242, 273, 329, - 330, 351, 359, 371 - - -- County, 278, 359 - - -- Richard Boyle, Earl of, 286 - - -- see of, 36, 288, 294 - - Cormac Cas, 22 - - Cornelius Agrippa, 216 - - Corrib, Lough, 296 - - Cosby, Francis, 328, 329, 332, 340, 408 - - Courcy, Edmond, Bishop of Clogher (1484-1494), 104, 293 - - -- John de, 53, 55-59, 64 - - -- Lord, 106 - - Courcies, the, 338 - - Cowley, Robert, Clerk of the Crown (1535), and Master of the Rolls - (1539-1542), an adherent of the house of Ormonde, 145, 152, 208, - 236, 284, 285, 293, 299, 319 - - -- Walter, son of Robert, joint Clerk of the Crown (1535), - Solicitor-General (1529-1546), 208, 245, 284, 285, 340 - - Coyne, Bishop of Limerick; - _see_ Quin. - - Cranmer, Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury, 253, 322, 350, 369 - - Creçy, 83 - - Croagh Patrick, 305 - - Croft, Sir James, Viceroy, a Herefordshire man, sent over to fortify - in Munster, 351; - Lord Deputy, 359; - proposes to plant colonies in Munster, 360; - attacks Rathlin unsuccessfully, 360-361; - persuades Tyrone to tolerate a garrison at Armagh, 363; - his doctrinal conference with Dowdall, 365-366; - his ideas about ecclesiastical patronage, 367; - desires a warlike Primate, 368; - has enlightened ideas about the currency, 370-372; - visits Connaught, 374; - gives a lamentable account of Leinster, 375; - makes another unsuccessful raid into Ulster, 377; - recalled, 378; - character of his government, 378-379; - implicated in Wyatt's rebellion, 390-391 - - Cromer, George, Archbishop of Armagh (1522-1543), Lord Chancellor - (1532-1534), 156, 163, 289, 291, 301, 306 - - Cromwell, Thomas, created Earl of Essex, 155, 158, 161, 189, 194, - 196, 202, 209, 211, 215, 234, 241, 336 - - -- Oliver, 44, 47, 319, 332 - - Cromwellians, 381 - - Cromwellian war, 320 - - Crook, 47 - - Croom, 218, 229, 267 - - Crovan, Godred, King of Man, 33, 46 - - Cuffe, Captain, 361 - - Curlew Mountains, 125, 141 - - Cumbray Islands, 411 - - Cummian, St., 15 - - Curraghmore, 75 - - Curwen, or Curwin, Hugh, Archbishop of Dublin (1555), translated to - Oxford (1567), Lord Chancellor (1555-1567), 394, 401, 405 - - Cusack, Sir Thomas, Master of the Rolls (1542-1550), Lord Keeper - (1546), Lord Chancellor (1550-1555), 258, 278, 279, 320, 348, - 357, 361, 373-379, 384, 385, 393 - - - Dacre of the North, Thomas, and others of his name, 176, 194 - - Dalcassians, or Dal Cais, 22 - - Dalgetty, 351 - - Dalkey, 108, 129, 327, 385 - - Danes in Ireland, Chapter II. _passim_ - - -- of Dublin, Cork, Waterford, and Wexford after the Anglo-Norman - invasion, 44-47, 50 - - Dangan, 206 - - Daniel, Danyel, or O'Donnell, Terence, Dean of Armagh, 364 - - Darcy of Platten, called 'Great Darcy,' 104, 108, 121 - - -- John, 226 - - Darcies, the, 144 - - David's, St., 42 - - Davies, Sir John, Attorney-General (1606-1618), 8-10, 65, 83, 84, 89 - - Dean, Henry, Bishop of Bangor, and afterwards Archbishop of - Canterbury, Lord Justice in 1495, 111, 113, 115 - - Dearg, or Derg, Lough, 17 - - Decies, 76, 186, 236, 412 - - Delahide, Sir Walter, married to Janet Eustace, 161 - - -- James, son of Sir Walter, 161, 163, 172, 175, 218, 239, 273, 333 - - Delvin, granted to the Nugents, 54, 76 - - -- Richard Nugent, seventh Baron of, Vice-Deputy in 1528, 120, 150, - 178, 206; - one of his sons mentioned, 226 - - -- -- -- eighth Baron of, grandson of the seventh Baron, 255, 334, - 393 - - Denton, James, Dean of Lichfield, a Royal Commissioner in Ireland in - 1524, 145 - - Dermod, King of Leinster; - _see_ MacMurrough. - - Dermod Duff, 291 - - Derry, church and see of, 12, 14, 237, 293 - - Derrick, or Dethyke, John, 158 - - Dervorgil, 39 - - Desmond, Earls of, 7, 65, 72; - their burial place, 300 - - -- Maurice Fitzgerald, first Earl of, 76, 78 - - -- James Fitzgerald, seventh Earl of, 90 - - -- Thomas Fitzgerald, eighth Earl of, executed, 92 - - -- Maurice Fitzgerald, tenth Earl of, 110, 120, 121, 131 - - -- James Fitz-John Fitzgerald, eleventh Earl of, his treatment of - the MacCarthies, 133, 144, 147, 148, 151-153; - defeated by the MacCarthies, 180; - intrigues with France, 181; - besieged in Dungarvan, 182; - his partisans in South Wales, his intrigues with Charles V., - 184-188; - calls the emperor his sovereign lord, 185; - his death, 190 - - -- Thomas Moyle Fitzgerald, twelfth Earl of, 163, 180, 190 - - -- James Fitz-Maurice Fitzgerald, thirteenth Earl of, 190, 191, 192; - Henry VIII. acknowledges him, 204; - at Court, 241; - returns to Ireland and attempts to seize the estates, 241-242; - murdered, 248 - - -- John Fitz-Thomas Fitzgerald, sometimes called fourteenth Earl of, - 190, 191; - his speech at Adare, 192 - - -- James Fitz-John Fitzgerald, fifteenth Earl of, 218; - called Earl by Lord L. Grey, 227; - seizes Croom and Adare, 229; - refuses to come to Clonmel, 236; - in alliance with O'Neill and O'Donnell, 237; - expected to attack the Pale, 238; - expected to rebel, 240; - threatens Tipperary, 241; - defies Grey, 242; - pardoned and acknowledged as Earl, 248; - acknowledges the royal supremacy, 255; - a Privy Councillor, 256; - wears English clothes, 257; - attends Parliament, 258; - Commissioner for Munster, 261, 264; - puts down brigandage, 265; - at Court, 267; - represents the Crown, 268; - gives St. Leger a character, 283; - Edward VI. offers to make a companion of his son, 325; - appealed to in a dispute at Cork, 332; - Bellingham suspects his loyalty, 333; - Bellingham carries him off to Dublin, 339; - his love for Bellingham, 340, 346; - to be encouraged, 349; - an umpire between the O'Briens, 393, 407, 409; - his death, 419 - - Desmond, Gerald Fitzgerald, sixteenth Earl of, to be educated in - England, 255; - Edward VI. proposes to make a companion of him, 325; - Lady Ormonde has designs on his hand, 325; - she marries him, 346, 409, 412 - - -- Lady, 345; - _see_ Honora MacCarthy. - - -- -- Lady Joan Fitzgerald, widow of the ninth Earl of Ormonde, and - of Sir Francis Bryan, first wife of the sixteenth Earl of - Desmond, 346; - _see_ Lady Joan Fitzgerald. - - Devonshire, 189 - - Dexter, name of, 71; - _see_ De Exeter. - - Diarmid, sons of, 280; - _see_ Campbell. - - Dieppe, 310 - - Digby, Francis, 336 - - Dillon, Edward, Dean of Kildare, 293 - - -- Thomas, Bishop of Kildare (1523-1529), 293 - - -- Robert, Attorney-General (1535-1553), Justice of the King's Bench - (1554-1559), made Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in 1559, - 320, 334 - - Disert O'Dea, 70 - - Dominicans, 300, 319 - - Donat, or Dunan, an Ostman, first Bishop of Dublin, 32, 33 - - Donegal, 212, 300 - - -- County, 12, 218, 239; - _see_ Tyrconnel. - - Donncadh, or Donough, 31 - - Donnell, King of Leinster, 21 - - -- Dhu, Lord of the Isles, 279-281 - - Donore, 217 - - Doran, Maurice, Bishop of Leighlin (1523-1525), 146, 293, 298 - - Dorset, Grey, Marquis of, 142, 202 - - Dover, 359 - - Dowdall, Edward, 114 - - -- George, Archbishop of Armagh (with an interval, 1543-1548) 307, - 343; - his conference with St. Leger, 355; - his relations with Browne and other Protestants, 343, 355-359; - his conference with Croft and Staples, 365-367; - leaves Ireland, 367; - restored, 386, 391, 397, 408 - - Dowling, Thady, Chancellor of Leighlin (1591-1628), author of - 'Annals,' _passim_ - - Down or Downpatrick, church and see of, 53, 293; - cathedral burned by Lord L. Grey, 304, 386 - - -- County, 66, 199 - - Doyne, Hugh, 317 - - Drax monastery, 291 - - Drogheda, origin of, 73, 92, 108; - Parliament of, 123, 154, 161, 170, 222, 240, 263, 281, 321; - University of, 322, 331; - Parliament of, 335, 371, 386, 397 - - Dromana, 76, 268 - - Dromaneen, 242 - - Dromore, see of, 293 - - Drumcliff, church of, 12 - - Dublin, Danish Kingdom of, Chapter II., _passim_ - - -- called Ath Cliath by the Irish, 34, 59, 73, 81, 108; - the Mayor at Knocktoe, 120; - the O'Byrnes break into the castle, 158; - siege of, 166-168, 170, 187, 198, 223; - the Mayor dubbed knight at Bellahoe, 240, 259, 331, 371, 385 - - -- church and see of, 32-36, 289, 290; - primacy removed to, 367; - for Archbishops, _see_ Donat, Gillapatrick or Patrick, O'Haingly, - Gregory, O'Toole, Lech, Bicknor, Minot, Talbot, FitzSimons, - Rokeby, Inge, Alen, Browne, and Curwin. - - -- Robert de Vere, Marquis of, 85 - - Dufferin, 364 - - Duleek, 50 - - Dumbarton, 281 - - Dunamase, 77 - - Dunan; - _see_ Donat. - - Dunboyne, Sir Edmund Butler, first Baron of, 258, 277, 329, 393 - - Dunbrody Abbey, 130, 315 - - Duncadh, Abbot of Iona, 15 - - Dundalk, 13, 67, 129, 199, 222, 231, 237, 247, 263, 363, 397, 403 - - Dundrum, in Down, 127, 232, 353 - - Dungannon, 63, 119, 120, 127, 243, 264 - - Dungannon, Matthew O'Neill, or Kelly, first Baron of, 269, 363, 364, - 368, 376, 377 - - Dungarvan, 182, 183, 187, 189, 193, 331, 379, 412 - - Dunkellin, Barony of, created, 271 - - Dunlavin, 23 - - Dunmore, in Kilkenny, 117, 167 - - -- in Galway, 320 - - Dunsany, the Plunkets of, 76 - - -- Edward Plunket, first Baron of, 120 - - Durrow, 12, 13, 56 - - - Eagle, a pirate, 329 - - Ebric, a Norman at Clontarf, 27 - - Echingham, Sir Osborne, Marshal of the army, 268 - - Edenderry, 135 - - Edgar, John, 272 - - Edgcombe, Sir Richard, 106-108 - - Edinburgh, 247 - - Edmonds, John, 413 - - Edward I., 62 - - -- II., 65 - - -- IV., 71, 116 - - -- Prince of Wales, 100 - - Eglish, 226 - - Elbric, or Eric, 36 - - Elizabeth Woodville, Queen, 92 - - -- of York, Queen, 108 - - Elphin, see of, 294, 370 - - Ely O'Carroll, in King's County, 125, 127, 136, 210, 223, 226, 262, - 409 - - Elyans, the, _i.e._ the O'Carrolls, 157 - - Ely House, Holborn, 285 - - Emly, church and see of, 18, 255 - - Empire, the, 47, 86, 187, 192, 349 - - Empson, Richard, 194 - - Enaghdune, now Annaghdown, at one time a bishopric, 296, 388 - - Ennis, 300, 410 - - Enniscorthy, 408 - - Eoghanachts, or Eugenians, 22, 31 - - Erasmus, 366 - - Erigena, 15, 33 - - Eugenius III., Pope, his constitution for the Irish Church, 16, 35, - 52 - - Eures, Ralph de, Archbishop of Canterbury, 33, 34 - - Eustace, Alison, first wife of the eighth Earl of Kildare, 115 - - -- family of, 53; - _see_ Baltinglass. - - -- Janet, sister of the last named, married to Sir Walter Delahide, - 164 - - Eva Mac Murrough, wife of Strongbow, 41, 44 - - Exeter, de; - _see_ Dexter. - - -- Duke of, 316 - - - Fagan, Nicholas, 317 - - Farney, or Ferney, 133, 222, 240, 245 - - Farquharson, Bishop of the Isles, 309 - - Faughard, 67 - - Fay, Edmond, 334 - - Faye, Melour, 152 - - Fercullen, 252 - - Ferdinand, Emperor, 7 - - Ferdinand the Catholic, 188 - - Fergraidh, King of Munster, 22 - - Fermanagh, 162, 211, 263 - - Fermoy, 76, 248 - - Fernandez, Gonzalo, 184-188, 190 - - Ferns, church and see of, 40, 42, 293, 297, 408 - - Fethard, in Tipperary, 74, 297 - - -- in Wexford, 297 - - Field, James, 166, 167 - - Fieldston, 249 - - Finbar, St., 36 - - Fingal, 17, 29 - - Finglas, Patrick, Chief Baron of the Exchequer in 1535, 130, 164 - - Fisher, John, Cardinal and Bishop of Rochester, 322 - - Fishmoyne, 329 - - FitzAdelm de Burgo, William, Viceroy in 1177, 47, 51-53, 58 - - FitzAnthony, 72 - - -- Margery, ancestress of the Desmonds, 76 - - FitzEustace, Rowland, Baron of, Portlester, 109 - - Fitzgerald, Maurice, son of Nesta and ancestor of all the - Fitzgeralds, 41, 65, 71, 76; - _see_ Geraldines. - - -- Raymond le Gros; - _see_ Le Gros. - - -- John FitzThomas, first Earl of Kildare, 72 - - -- Maurice FitzThomas, first Earl of Desmond, 72, 78 - - -- Sir Thomas, brother of the eighth Earl of Kildare, Lord - Chancellor in 1487, 102; - killed at Stoke, 105 - - -- Thomas, half-brother of the ninth Earl of Kildare, 133, 151, 160 - - -- Sir James, brother of the ninth Earl of Kildare: Vice Deputy in - 1526, 142, 150, 158, 161, 176, 215 - - -- Oliver, half-brother of the ninth Earl of Kildare, 171, 215 - - -- Richard, half-brother of the ninth Earl of Kildare, 215 - - -- Sir John, half-brother of the ninth Earl of Kildare, 156, 171, - 215 - - -- Walter, half-brother of the ninth Earl of Kildare, 215 - - -- Lady Eleanor, sister of the ninth Earl of Kildare, married first - to Donnell MacCarthy Reagh, and afterwards to Manus O'Donnell, - 218, 219, 238, 239, 247, 278 - - -- Lady Margaret, called 'Magheen,' sister of the ninth Earl of - Kildare, and married to the eighth Earl of Ormonde, 103, 117, - 126 - - -- Lady Alice or Alison, sister of the ninth Earl of Kildare, - married to Con More O'Neill, 118, 119 - - -- Lady Eustacia, sister of the ninth Earl of Kildare, married to - MacWilliam Burke of Clanricarde, 120 - - -- Edward, son of the ninth Earl of Kildare, half-brother of the - tenth, and brother of the eleventh, 217 - - -- Lady Alice, half-sister to the last named, married to James - Fleming, Lord Slane, 152, 153 - - -- Lady Mary, sister to the last named, married to Brian O'Connor of - Offaly, 215, 217, 218, 219 - - -- Lady Elizabeth, the 'fair Geraldine,' half-sister to the last - named, married to Sir Anthony Browne, and afterwards to Edward, - Earl of Lincoln, 216, 217, 375 - - -- Bartholomew, 165 - - -- James, of Osbertstown, 240, 328 - - -- Joan, daughter of the White Knight, and mother of James - Fitzmaurice, 190 - - -- Lady Alice, daughter of the twelfth Earl of Desmond, married to - Connor O'Brien, chief of Thomond, 227 - - -- Lady Joan, daughter and heiress general of the eleventh Earl of - Desmond, married successively to the ninth Earl of Ormonde, to - Sir Francis Bryan, and to the sixteenth Earl of Desmond, 325, - 337, 339, 340, 345, 346 - - Fitzgerald, Maurice, of Lackagh, 128 - - -- of Decies, Sir John, Lord of, 182 - - -- -- Sir Gerald MacShane, Lord of, son of Sir John, 152, 160, 189, - 236, 237, 242, 268 - - -- -- Sir Maurice, Lord of, son of Sir Gerald, 412 - - -- -- Sir Thomas, brother of Sir John, 182, 183 - - -- Thomas, Prior of Kilmainham, 316 - - Fitzgeralds, Earls of Desmond; - _see_ Desmond. - - -- Earls of Kildare; - _see_ Kildare. - - -- Knight of Kerry; - _see_ Kerry. - - -- or Fitzgibbons, White Knights; - _see_ White Knight. - - Fitzgibbon, or MacGibbon; - _see_ White Knight. - - FitzGilbert; - _see_ Strongbow. - - FitzGriffith, Rice, 42 - - FitzHenry, Robert and Meiler, 41 - - Fitzmaurice, Lord of Lixnaw in Kerry, 163 - - -- James, Bishop of Ardfert, 306 - - Fitzmaurices, the, 56 - - Fitzpatrick, or MacGillapatrick, chief of Upper Ossory in Queen's - County, 151, 211, 226, 257 - - -- Dermot, 160 - - Fitzpatricks, Barons of Upper Ossory; - _see_ Upper Ossory. - - FitzSimons, Walter, Archbishop of Dublin (1484-1511), Lord - Chancellor in 1496, 1501, and 1509, 109, 115, 120 - - -- John, 166 - - FitzStephen, Robert, 41, 43, 47, 56, 57, 64 - - FitzThomas, name of, 64 - - Fitzwalter; - _see_ Butler. - - -- Lord; - _see_ Sussex. - - Fitzwilliam, Nicholas, 343 - - -- Sir William, Revenue Commissioner in 1554, afterwards Vice - Treasurer and Lord Deputy, 396 - - -- Lord, 286 - - Flanders, 186, 351 - - Flemings, 27, 54, 76, 163, 186 - - Florence, 220 - - Flosi, 29 - - Folan, John, Bishop of Limerick, 288 - - Fore; - _see_ Fower. - - Formorian race, 67 - - Fountains Abbey, 315 - - Fower, or Fore Abbey, 317 - - Fox, Richard, Bishop of Winchester, 194 - - Foyle, Lough, 17, 395, 398 - - France, 186, 274, 347, 349, 351 - - Francis I., 136, 181, 187, 219 - - -- St., of Assisi, 212 - - French, name of, 75 - - -- the, 27, 89, 127, 181, 273, 276, 333, 340, 345, 347, 351, 352 - - Furness Abbey, 198, 315 - - - Gaddi, Cardinal, 310 - - Gaedhill, the, _i.e._ the Irish, 34, 36 - - Gaill, the, _i.e._ the Scandinavians, and by later usage the - Anglo-Normans and English, 36 - - Gall, St., 6 - - Galway, 65, 74; - tribes of, 75, 85, 120, 122, 228; - rectory of, 267, 321, 331, 333, 335, 371, 402, 410 - - Galway, Bishop of, 388; - _see_ Moore. - - -- County, 211 - - Gardiner, Stephen, Bishop of Winchester, 306 - - Garrett, Walter, 373 - - Garrold, a form of the name Fitzgerald, 178 - - Garth, Captain, 160 - - Gascony, 64 - - Geashill, 213 - - Gentiles, Black and White, 18 - - George, St., 93, 174, 254 - - Geraldine, 'the Fair;' - _see_ Lady Elizabeth Fitzgerald. - - Geraldines, a generic name given to the descendants of Maurice - Fitzgerald, Nesta's son, including all the Fitzgeralds of - Ireland, and sometimes extended to collaterals, 71, and _passim_ - - Gerbert, Lieutenant, 203 - - Germain-en-Laye, St., 187 - - Germans at Stoke, 104-105; - miners, 372 - - Germany, 119 - - Gillapatrick, or Patrick, Bishop of Dublin, 33 - - Gillebert, 15, 35 - - Giraldus Cambrensis, 41, 55, 57 - - Glenarm, 361, 398 - - Glencairne, Lord, 281 - - Glendalough in Wicklow, ancient see of, 35, 223, 251 - - Glenmalure, 238 - - Glennama, 23 - - Glin, 76 - - Gloucester, Earl of, 87 - - Godred; - _see_ Crovan. - - Gonzago, Duke of Milan, 219 - - Goodacre, Hugh, Protestant Archbishop of Armagh in 1553, 369, 379, - 380, 386 - - Gordon, Lady Catherine, wife of Perkin Warbeck, 113 - - Gordons, the, 282 - - Gorm; - _see_ Horm. - - Gormanston, the Prestons Viscounts of, 76 - - -- Sir William Preston, second Viscount of, 120, 121 - - -- Jenico Preston, third Viscount of, 384 - - Gormflaith; - _see_ Kormlada. - - Gort, 410 - - Governor, Fort; - _see_ Maryborough. - - -- Alan, 218 - - Gowran, 282, 285 - - Grace, called 'Graceless,' 389 - - Gracedieu nunnery, 300, 312 - - Granard, 60 - - Grandison, Otho de, 74 - - Grane, 213 - - Greencastle in Donegal, 395 - - Greenwich, 269 - - Gregory the Great, Pope, 34 - - -- VII., Pope; - _see_ Hildebrand. - - -- Archbishop of Dublin, 34 - - Grey, Marquis of Dorset; - _see_ Dorset. - - -- Lord Leonard, son of Thomas, Marquis of Dorset, and - brother-in-law to ninth Earl of Kildare, Lord Deputy, 1536-1540; - complains to Henry VIII., 145; - Marshal of the army, 177, 178, 179; - Kildare his prisoner, 189; - Viscount Grane, 193, 194; - Viceroy, 195; - his harshness to Lady Skeffington, 196; - his Parliament, 196-198; - in want of money, 199; - his campaign in Western Munster, 200-204; - the King reproves him unjustly; - his activity, 206-207; - his enemies, 208; - active against the Irish, 210-211; - goes towards Ulster, 212; - baffled by the O'Connors, 213-214; - seizes the five Geraldine brethren, 215; - his raid in Ulster, 222; - falls out with the Butlers, 223; - his treatment of the O'Mores, 225; - his rash expedition to Connaught, 226-229; - the Council reconcile him with the Butlers, 231; - goes into Ulster, 232, 235; - in Ulster, 237; - in Wicklow, 238, 239; - his victory at Bellahoe, 240, 241; - in Munster, 242; - in Ulster, 243; - recalled, 243; - executed, 245, 247, 248; - confusion after his recall, 243, 251, 275, 286, 336 - - Grey, Lady Elizabeth, sister of Lord Leonard, second wife of the - ninth Earl of Kildare, 142, 161, 216 - - -- Lady Jane, 300, 391 - - -- John de, Bishop of Norwich, 59, 60 - - Griffin, Maurice, Bishop of Rochester, 395 - - Griffiths, Edward, 243 - - Guienne, 40 - - Gundelfinger, Joachim, 372 - - Gur, Lough, 200, 204 - - Gwyn, name of, 188 - - - Halidon Hill, 83 - - Halpin, or Halfpenny, Robert, 240 - - Halsey, Thomas, Bishop of Leighlin, 293 - - Hamerton, Captain, 169 - - Harding, Stephen, 315 - - Harman, Gerard, 273 - - Harold, Bishop of Limerick, 36 - - Harold Harfager, 19 - - Hasculph, 45 - - Hattecliffe, William, 114 - - Hebrideans, or Redshanks, 271, 272 - - Hebrides, 32, 67; - West isles, 279; - South isles, 280 - - Henry, I., 41 - - -- II., 11, 37, 45, 46, 51 - - -- III., 62 - - -- IV., 87 - - -- V., 86 - - -- II., King of France, 345, 353, 357 - - Herbert, Francis, 166-168, 213 - - Hertford, Edward, Earl of; - _see_ Somerset. - - Hervey de Montmorency, 42, 44, 49, 64, 315 - - Hildebrand, Pope Gregory VII., 33 - - Hoby, Sir Philip, 330 - - Holbein, Hans, 217 - - Holland, Captain, 174, 389 - - Holy Cross Abbey, 304, 315 - - Holyhead, 210, 273, 351, 408 - - Honorius I., Pope, 14 - - Hooker, John, the chronicler, 47 - - Horm, or Gorm, 18 - - Hospitallers; - _see_ St. John. - - Howth, 273, 330 - - -- family (St. Lawrence), 53 - - -- Nicholas St. Lawrence, sixteenth Baron of, 104, 108, 120, 121 - - -- Christopher St. Lawrence, seventeenth Baron of, 169 - - -- Justice, 382, 386; - perhaps the same person as Thomas St. Lawrence, _q.v._ - - -- Sir Richard, 388 - - Hrafn the Red, 28 - - Hubert, 61; - _see_ De Burgo. - - Humfrey, James, 302, 303 - - Huntley, Gordon, Earl of, 280 - - Hurley, Thomas, Bishop of Emly, 305, 306 - - Hy Neill, the O'Neills and their correlatives, 33 - - - Iar-Connaught, 75 - - Ibracken or Ibrickan, in Clare, 271 - - Iceland, 11 - - Icelanders, 32 - - Idrone, 250, 340 - - Ikerrin in Tipperary, 211 - - Imaile, 251 - - Imokilly 76, 242, 248 - - Inchiquin, Barony of, 270 - - Inge, Hugh, Bishop of Meath (1512-1521), Archbishop of Dublin - (1521-1528), 150, 290, 291 - - Ingulf, 32 - - Innishowen, 211, 274 - - Innislonagh Abbey, 296, 298, 317 - - Innocent III., Pope, 59 - - -- IV., Pope, 62 - - -- VIII., Pope, 107 - - Iona, 13, 15, 17, 21, 280 - - Ireland, Duke of, 85 - - Irishtown, origin of name, 73 - - Irrelagh or Muckross, 300 - - Isla, 273, 411 - - Isles, Lord of the; - _see_ Donnell Dhu. - - Issam, John, 342 - - Italy, 219, 290 - - Ivar, 19, 22, 23 - - Ives, St., 389 - - - James I. of England and VI. of Scotland, 318 - - James IV. of Scotland, 113 - - -- V. of Scotland, 247, 271, 309 - - James's Park, St., 277 - - Jerpoint Abbey, 99, 300 - - Jesuits in Ireland, 259, 287; - their first mission, 307-310, 318, 320, 350 - - Jocelin, 53 - - John, King, 54, 55, 58, 65, 314, 387 - - -- XXII., Pope, 68, 70 - - -- of Salisbury, 37 - - -- the Mad (by some chroniclers called John 'Wood'), 45, 46 - - -- St., of Jerusalem, Order of, 254, 314-316 - - John's, St., at Wexford, 298 - - Joinville, 95 - - Joys, Sir James, 388 - - Julius II., Pope, 188, 292 - - -- III., Pope, 394 - - - Karl, a Norman, 27 - - Kate, or Cappys, a merchant, 239 - - Kaupmannaeyjar, or Copeland Islands, 30 - - Kavanagh, Cahir MacEncross, the MacMurrough, called the last King of - Leinster, 175, 199, 200, 221; - _see_ MacMurrough. - - -- Cahir MacArt, the MacMurrough, created in 1553 Baron of Balian - for life, 210, 231, 258, 298, 327 - - -- Donnell MacCahir, 250 - - -- Maurice, Archdeacon of Leighlin, 146, 298 - - -- Moryt Oge, 327 - - Kavanagh, origin of the name, 42; - _see_ MacMurrough. - - Kavanaghs, the, 86, 87, 167, 210, 221, 231, 235, 250, 375, 397; - _see_ MacMurrough. - - Keating, James, Prior of Kilmainham, 108, 316 - - -- William, Captain of Kerne, 177, 375 - - Kells, or Kenlis, in Meath, 12, 66, 129 - - -- in Kilkenny, 319 - - Kelway, John, 222, 223, 226, 238 - - Kent, Ormonde in, 391 - - Kerry, 56, 163, 186, 188 - - -- Fitzgerald, Knight of, 76 - - Kerrycurrihy, in Cork, 242, 248 - - Kerthialfad, 28 - - Keynsham, 198 - - Kilbrittain, 218, 242 - - Kilclogan Priory, Wexford, 298 - - Kilcooley Abbey, 296 - - Kilcullen Bridge, 129, 163 - - -- Lord; - _see_ Baltinglass. - - Kildare, 13, 244 - - -- County, 97, 122, 128, 130, 167, 177, 332; - _see_ Pale. - - -- family (Fitzgeralds), 72, 76, 93 - - -- John Fitzthomas Fitzgerald, first Earl of, 72 - - -- Thomas Fitzgerald, seventh Earl of, 91, 92, 93, 254 - - -- Gerald Fitzgerald, eighth Earl of, Deputy, 102, 103, 104, 105, - 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111; - attainted, 112; - Deputy, 115, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 124, 125; - his son chosen Lord Justice at his death, 125; - his widow, 128 - - -- -- -- ninth Earl of, marries Elizabeth Zouche, 120; - present at Knocktoe, 121; - Deputy, 125; - his sister, 126, 127; - superseded, 128, 130, 132, 134, 139, 140; - marries Lady Elizabeth Grey, 142, 143; - Deputy, 144, 145, 146; - goes to England, 147; - in the Tower, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153; - returns to Ireland, 154; - in England again, 155; - Deputy, 156, 157, 158, 159; - forced to go to England, 160; - makes his son Deputy, 161; - in the Tower, 162, 163; - dies in the Tower, 172; - seeks preferment for Dean Dillon, 293, 297 - - -- Thomas Fitzgerald, tenth Earl of, called 'Silken Thomas,' Deputy, - 161, 162; - rebels, 163, 164; - his people murder an Archbishop, 165; - besieges Dublin, 166, 167, 168, 169; - proclaimed traitor, 170, 171; - seeks foreign aid, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176; - surrenders, 177, 178; - in the Tower, 179; - attainted and executed, 180 - - -- Gerald Fitzgerald, eleventh Earl of, 216, 217; - escapes to France, 218, 219, 220, 230, 231, 237, 240, 242, 243, - 245, 247, 248, 273, 278, 333; - his estates restored, 375; - serves against Wyatt, 391; - returns to Ireland, 392, 393, 400, 407 - - -- see of, 288, 293; - for Bishops, _see_ Lane, Dillon, Wellesley, Lancaster, Leverous. - - Kilfenora, see of, 293, 306 - - Kilkea Castle, 125, 167, 170 - - Kilkenny, 59, 73; - a mock Parliament there, 78; - Parliament and statute of, 80-83, 93, 97, 105, 111, 155; - Parliament adjourned to, 200, 235, 261, 300, 321, 340, 359, - 380-383 - - -- County, 61, 63, 65, 72, 97, 145, 146, 150, 155, 156, 165, 167, - 221, 266, 297, 300, 321, 339 - - Killaloe, see of, 81, 293 - - Killarney, 124 - - Killeen, Plunkets, Barons of, 76, 120, 206 - - Killeigh friary, 304, 402 - - Killybegs, 127 - - Kilmacduagh, 292, 294 - - Kilmacrenan, 212 - - Kilmainham, the chief house of the Hospitallers in Ireland, 89, 99, - 155, 166, 169, 178; - a viceregal residence, 215, 229, 258; - the church, 301, 341; - the priory restored, 401 - - Kilmallock, 191, 193, 256 - - Kilmore, see of, 292 - - Kinard, 120 - - Kincora, 25, 334 - - King, Matthew, 383 - - Kinnafad, 213 - - Kinnegad, 251 - - Kinsale, 74, 106, 181, 242, 329, 335 - - Kite, John, Archbishop of Armagh (1513-1521), 128, 251, 289 - - Knights of Kerry and White Knights, Fitzgeralds, _q.v._ - - Knockinlossy, 141 - - Knockmoy Abbey, 267 - - Knocktoe, 120-122, 144 - - Knocktopher Monastery, 381 - - Knollys, Sir Henry, 378 - - Kormlada, or Gormflaith, 24-26 - - - Lacy, Hugh, Bishop of Limerick (1556-1571), 409 - - -- Hugo de, 47, 49, 52-54, 55-57 - - -- -- the younger, 58, 59, 61 - - -- Maude, wife of the first Earl of Clanricarde, 275 - - -- Walter de, 59, 61 - - Lady Abbey, near Clonmel, 296 - - Laggan, or Lagan River, 398 - - Lambay Island, 17, 170, 273, 410 - - Lancaster, Thomas, Bishop of Kildare (1549-1554), and afterwards - Archbishop of Armagh, 365, 382, 392 - - Lancastrians, 91-93, 103 - - Lane, Edward, Bishop of Kildare in 1487, 104 - - Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, 313, 314 - - Lansdowne family, 76 - - Lanthony, 198 - - Larne, 66, 351 - - Lateran Council, 35, 36 - - Lawrence O'Toole, St.; - _see_ O'Toole. - - Lawrence, St., Sir Almaric, ancestor of the Howth family, 53 - - Lea Castle, 328 - - Leap Castle in King's County, 127, 146, 409 - - Leath Mhoga, the southern half of Ireland, 392 - - Lecale, 129, 232, 352, 370 - - Lech, John, Archbishop of Dublin (1311-1313), 321 - - Ledred, Richard, Bishop of Ossory (1318-1360), 381 - - Le Gros, Raymond, 44, 45, 49, 56, 64, 76 - - Leicester, Robert Dudley, Earl of, 286 - - Leighlin, 54 - - -- see of, 293, 358; - for Bishops, _see_ Tatenhall, Northalis, Halsey, Travers, - O'Fihely. - - -- Bridge, or New Leighlin, 189, 339; - the suppressed Carmelites there, 340, 375, 401, 412 - - Leinster, Dukes of, 72, 217 - - Leix, the modern Queen's Co., without Upper Woods, Tinnahinch, or - Portnahinch, 224, 313, 349, 350, 373, 385, 399, 400 - - Lennox, Earl of, 279-282, 330 - - Leo X., Pope, 293, 295, 299 - - Leverous, Thomas, Bishop of Kildare (1554-1559), and in the Papal - succession till 1577, 217-219, 239, 367, 368, 379, 391, 392, 394 - - Liège, 219 - - Liffey River, 160, 170 - - Limehouse, 219 - - Limerick, 17, 18, 47, 50, 51, 56, 58, 66, 73, 85, 187, 191; - Parliament adjourned to, 200-202, 204, 228, 256; - Parliament prorogued to, 260, 265, 304, 321, 331, 333, 346, 378, - 409 - - -- County, 201 - - -- see of, 35, 255, 288, 354, 392; - for Bishops, _see_ Gillebert, Patrick, Harold, Turgeis, Brictius, - Folan, Quin, Casey, Lacy. - - Lindisfarne, 15, 17 - - Lisle, Viscount, 270 - - Lismore, 47 - - -- see of, 35, 81; - for Bishops, _see_ Malchus, O'Conarchy. - - Lixnaw, 76 - - Lockwood, Thomas, Dean of Christ Church, Dublin (1543-1565), 358, - 379, 391 - - Logan, a pirate, 330 - - Lomond, Loch, 17 - - Londonderry, 167 - - Longsword, William, 59 - - Louth, 67, 156, 170, 222, 240; - _see_ Pale. - - -- John de Bermingham, Earl of, 67 - - -- Barony of (Plunket), 76 - - -- Oliver Plunket, first Baron of, 258, 263 - - Lovel, Lord, 103, 105 - - Loyola, Ignatius, 307, 308 - - Lucius III., Pope, 54 - - Ludlow Castle, 171 - - Lumley, Marmaduke, 316 - - Lusk, Co. Dublin, 29, 166 - - Luttrell, Sir Thomas, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas (1534-1554), - 169, 223, 320, 384, 385 - - Luxueil, 6 - - Lynch, John, 239 - - -- name of, 75 - - Lyons in France, 310 - - -- in Kildare, Richard Aylmer of, 310 - - - MacAlister, Rory, Bishop of the Isles, 280 - - MacAndrew, or Barrett, 71 - - MacArtane, or MacCartane, chief of Kinelarty, in Down, 78, 90, 353, - 362 - - MacAveely, or Staunton, 71 - - MacBaron, or Fitzgerald, 71 - - MacBrien, chief of Arra, in Tipperary, 227, 242, 393 - - -- chief of Coonagh, in Limerick, 265 - - MacBriens, the, 120 - - MacCarthies, the, 50, 72, 124, 220, 300 - - MacCarthy, Dermod, chief of Desmond and Cork, 47, 55, 56 - - -- More, chief of Desmond, 268, 359, 360, 409 - - -- Cormac Oge, chief of Muskerry, 133, 134, 180, 188, 190-192 - - -- Teig MacCormac, son of Cormac Oge, chief of Muskerry, 268 - - -- Reagh, chief of Carbery, 133, 180, 191, 218, 242, 268 - - -- MacDonough, chief of Duhallow, 268 - - -- Lady Eleanor; - _see_ Fitzgerald. - - -- Mary, wife of the thirteenth Earl of Desmond, 242 - - -- Honora, wife of the fifteenth Earl of Desmond, 345 - - -- Connor, a priest, 386 - - MacCostello, or Nangle, 71 - - MacCragh, a rhymer, 218 - - MacDavid, or Burke, 71 - - MacDermot, chief of Moylurg (the northern half of Roscommon), 60, - 69, 120, 140, 239, 374 - - MacDonnells, the, of Western Scotland and Antrim, 67, 147, 266, - 271-274, 300, 360, 393, 410 - - MacDonnell, Alaster, chief of the Irish branch, 272 - - -- James, chief of Antrim and Cantire, son of Alaster, 361, 398, 410 - - -- Colla, brother of James, 410 - - -- Angus, brother of James, 410 - - -- Sorley Boy (yellow-haired Charles), 361, 410 - - MacEdmond, or Fitzgerald, 71 - - MacEgan, a chief in North Tipperary, 266 - - MacFabrene, or Wellesley, 71 - - MacFeoris, or Bermingham, 71 - - MacGeohegan, chief of Moycashel, in Westmeath, 90, 206, 211, 226, - 326 - - MacGibbon, or Burke, 71 - - -- _see_ Fitzgibbon and White Knight. - - MacGillapatrick; - _see_ Fitzpatrick. - - MacJordan, or Dexter, 71 - - Maclean, Patrick, 280 - - MacMahon, chief of Irish Oriel or Monaghan, 63, 69, 90, 120, 133, - 140, 263, 376 - - MacMaurice, or Prendergast, 71 - - MacMorris, David, 181 - - MacMurrough, Dermod, King of Leinster, 39-48 - - -- Art, considered as King by the Leinster Irish, 85-87 - - -- Cahir MacEncross, and Cahir MacArt, chiefs of their name; - _see_ Kavanagh. - - MacMurroughs, the, 57; - _see_ Kavanaghs. - - Macnamaras of Clare, the, 115, 271, 300, 306 - - MacOwney, Murtagh (an O'More), 155 - - MacPaddin, or Barrett, 71 - - MacPhilbin, or Burke, 71 - - Macquillin (of Welsh origin), chief of the Route, in Antrim, 77, - 154, 266, 349, 353, 376 - - MacRaymond, or Burke, 71 - - MacRobert, or Burke, 71 - - MacRory, King of the Hebrides, 67 - - MacShane, Sir Gerald; - _see_ Fitzgerald. - - MacShoneen, or Burke, 71 - - MacSwiney, Edmond, captain of gallowglasses, 221, 230 - - MacSwineys, three septs in Donegal, 140, 393 - - MacThomaisin, or Fitzgerald, 71 - - MacThomas, or Fitzgerald, 71 - - MacThomin, or Barrett, 71 - - MacWalter, or Burke, 71 - - MacWilliam Uachtar, of Clanricarde, 71, 75, 85, 120, 140, 238, - 256-258; - _see_ Burke and Clanricarde. - - -- Iochtar, or Burke, of Mayo, 71, 140, 349, 375 - - Maelmordha, King of Leinster, 24-26 - - Magennis, chief of Iveagh, in Down, 90, 120, 127, 136, 232, 239, - 240, 247, 263, 376 - - -- Arthur and Donnell, knighted by Henry VIII., 270 - - -- Arthur, Bishop of Dromore, 364 - - -- Connor, Prior or Dean of Down, 353, 364 - - Magnus, King of Norway, 29 - - Maguire, chief of Fermanagh, 119 - - -- Cuconnacht, chief of Fermanagh, 154, 162, 187 - - -- Shane, chief of Fermanagh, 239, 377 - - Mahon, King of Munster, 22-23 - - Makeon, or Bisset, 71 - - Malachi, St., Archbishop of Armagh, 15, 35, 314 - - -- King of Meath in 845, 18 - - -- King of Meath and of Ireland, 21, 23; - deposed by Brian from the chief sovereignty, 24; - restored after Clontarf, 31 - - Malahide, 107 - - Malchus, Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, 35 - - Mallow, 180, 191 - - Malo, St., 218 - - Malta, Knights of, 278 - - Mandeville family, 70 - - Man, Isle of, 28, 30, 33, 46 - - Mantua, 240, 241 - - Mape, name of, 240, 241 - - March, Edmond Mortimer, Earl of, 84 - - -- Roger Mortimer, Earl of, 86 - - Marshal, William Earl, and Earl of Pembroke, 61, 63, 315 - - Maryborough, 331, 340, 399, 409 - - Mary of Lorraine, Queen Dowager of Scotland, 352 - - Mary's Abbey, St., 163, 317, 320 - - Massingberd, Oswald, 401 - - Mattershed, name of, 413 - - Maude, Empress, 37 - - Maunsell, Sir Rice, 171, 173, 178 - - Maur Abbey, 293 - - Maynooth, 107, 169, 173-175, 177, 195, 225, 229, 238, 284, 347 - - Mayo, 24, 71, 218 - - Max, John, Bishop of Elphin, 294 - - Meath, kingdom and county (including Westmeath before the sixteenth - century), 3, 24, 49, 65, 170, 239; - _see_ Pale. - - -- see of, 289, 290; - for Bishops, _see_ Payne, Rokeby, Inge, Wilson, Staples. - - Medici, Catherine de', 219, 279 - - Meelick, 402, 410 - - Mellifont Abbey, 40, 314, 316 - - Melville, Sir James, 345 - - Melvin, Lough, 141 - - Messanger, Philip, 114 - - Midleton, 190 - - Milan, Gonzago, Duke of, 219 - - Milford Haven, 42, 46, 55, 59 - - Minot, Thomas, Archbishop of Dublin in 1367, 81 - - Missett; - _see_ Bissett. - - Modreeny, 208, 227, 231, 242 - - Moira, 397 - - Monaghan, 154 - - Monaghan County, 56, 240 - - Monasterevan, 408 - - Monastermore, 314 - - Monasteroris, 226 - - Monluc, Bishop of Valence, 345, 348 - - Montmorenci, Hervey de; - _see_ Hervey. - - Moore, John, Bishop of Enaghdune, called Bishop of Galway, 388 - - Morlaix, 219 - - Morris, Sir John, Deputy in 1341, 78 - - Mortimer, Roger, 63, 66, 77, 86 - - Mothel, 320 - - Mountgarret, Richard Butler, created Viscount, second son of the - eighth Earl of Ormonde, 207, 213, 221, 327, 386, 389, 393 - - Mountjoy, 271 - - Mount Norris, Lord, 286 - - Mourne Abbey, 133, 180 - - Mourne Mountains, 247 - - Moycashel, 206 - - Moylagh nunnery in Tipperary, 374 - - Moyle, Thomas, 208 - - Moyrie Pass, 78 - - Muckross, 300 - - Mull, Island of, 273 - - Munster Bishops, 293 - - -- nobles, 267-268 - - -- President proposed for, 378 - - -- regulations for, 261 - - Murrough, Brian Borumha's son, 25, 28 - - Musgraves in Ireland, 169, 176 - - Muskerry, 124, 180 - - Mynne, John, 250 - - - Naas, 59 - - Nangle, or MacCostello, 71 - - -- Richard, Bishop of Clonfert, 238, 289, 294, 306 - - Narragh, Castle and Barony of, 54, 87 - - Narrowater, 247 - - Navan, 240, 341 - - Neagh, Lough, 18, 164 - - Nenagh, 224, 335 - - Nesta Tudor, 41, 50, 71, 76 - - Newark, 105 - - Newcastle, in Wicklow, 83 - - Newcastle-on-Tyne, 373 - - Newport, in Tipperary, 409 - - Newry, 247, 297 - - Newtown Barry, 54, 210, 372 - - Nial Glundubh, 19 - - -- of the nine hostages, 3, 19, 270 - - Nore River, 44 - - Norfolk, Hugh Bigot, Earl of, 63 - - -- Thomas Howard, Duke of; - _see_ Surrey. - - Northalis, Richard, Bishop of Leighlin in 1290, 85 - - Northampton, 91 - - Northmen, Chapter II. _passim_ - - Northumberland, John Dudley, Duke of, and Earl of Warwick, 286, 337, - 358, 373, 384, 385 - - Northumbrians, 37 - - Norwegians, Chapter II. _passim_ - - Nugent, William, grantee of Delvin, 54 - - Nugents, the, 76, 144, 393, 397 - - -- Barons of Delvin; - _see_ Delvin. - - - O'Bogan, Laurence, 91 - - O'Boyle, chief of Boylagh in Donegal, 140 - - O'Brien, Donald or Donnell More, King of Limerick and North Munster, - 50, 55, 315 - - -- Donough Carbreach, son of Donnell More, 60 - - -- William Carragh, 77 - - -- Brian, chief of Thomond, 86 - - -- Tirlogh Don, chief of Thomond, 181 - - -- Connor, chief of Thomond, son of Tirlogh Don, 162, 173, 179, 191, - 192, 200, 218, 227, 228, 249 - - -- Tirlogh, son of Connor, 227 - - -- Murrough, Donough, and Connor, first, second, and third Earls of - Thomond; - _see_ Thomond. - - -- Teig, 142, 182 - - -- Matthew, 200 - - -- Sir Donnell More, son of Connor and brother of the second Earl of - Thomond, 393, 409, 410 - - -- Tirlogh, Bishop of Killaloe in 1522, 140 - - O'Brien's Bridge, 201-203 - - O'Briens, the, of Thomond or Clare, 70, 77, 115, 141, 151, 172, 181, - 182, 239, 257, 258, 265, 300, 346 - - O'Byrne, Owen MacHugh, captain of Kerne, 328 - - O'Byrnes, the, of Wicklow, 57, 80, 90, 158, 160, 167, 200, 221, 244, - 266, 375, 397 - - O'Cahan or O'Kane, in Londonderry County, 62, 239, 272, 349, 376 - - O'Caharney; - _see_ O'Kearney. - - O'Callaghan, of Duhallow in Cork, 242, 268 - - O'Carroll, Donough, Prince of Oriel in 1142, 314 - - -- Mulrony, chief of Ely, 132, 135, 146, 151, 156, 157 - - -- Fergananim, son of Mulrony, chief of Ely, 157, 200, 207, 223, - 224, 226, 231, 242, 262 - - -- Donough, brother of Mulrony and claiming the succession, 157, - 207, 262 - - -- John, 262 - - -- Teig, son of Fergananim, 262 - - -- Teig, son of Donough, 262 - - -- Calvagh, chief of Ely, 262, 338, 345, 393, 402, 403, 407 - - O'Carrolls, the, of Ely in King's County, 69, 86, 120, 127, 157, - 207, 329, 334, 335, 393, 403 - - O'Conarchy, Christian, Bishop of Lismore and papal legate, 314 - - O'Connor, Tirlogh, King of Connaught and Ireland, 40 - - -- Roderic, King of Connaught and Ireland, son of Tirlogh, 40, 43, - 45, 47, 52, 54, 55, 58, 68 - - -- Cathal Crovdearg, chief of the Connaught O'Connors, brother of - Roderic, 58-61 - - -- Honora, ancestress of the White Knights, 76 - - -- Brian, chief of Offaly, 135, 136, 150-153, 163, 177, 207, 210, - 211, 213, 214, 221, 222, 224, 226, 227, 229, 251, 256, 326, 328, - 335, 373, 392, 400, 401 - - -- Cahir Roe, brother of Brian, 151, 177, 207, 211, 213, 214, 251, - 332 - - -- Donogh, son of Brian, 400, 402, 403, 408 - - -- Lady Mary, wife of Brian; - _see_ Lady Mary Fitzgerald. - - -- Margaret, daughter of Brian, 392 - - -- Roe, in Roscommon, 140, 228, 374 - - -- Don, in Roscommon, 140, 374 - - O'Connors, the, 56, 57, 61, 62, 69, 86 - - -- of Offaly, the, 86, 120, 121, 129, 130, 175, 177, 213, 348, 385, - 401-403 - - O'Corrin, James, Bishop of Killaloe, 305 - - Octavian de Palatio, Archbishop of Armagh (1480-1513), 104, 108 - - O'Dempseys, the, of Clanmalier (Portnahinch in Queen's Co. and Upper - Philipstown in King's Co.), 251 - - O'Dogherty, chief of Innishowen in Donegal, 140, 274, 345 - - O'Donlevy, chief of Uladh, 53 - - O'Donnell, chief of Tyrconnel, 62 - - -- Donnell Oge, chief of Tyrconnel, 63 - - -- Hugh Roe, chief of Tyrconnel, 111, 113, 119, 120 - - -- Hugh Oge (called also Hugh Dhu), son of Hugh Roe, chief of - Tyrconnel, 124, 125, 132, 136, 140, 141, 147, 154, 211, 212, 253 - - O'Donnell, Manus, grandson of Hugh Roe, chief of Tyrconnel, 140, - 147, 212, 218-220, 237, 239, 247, 262, 263, 345, 347, 373, 395 - - -- Roderic, Bishop of Derry, 237 - - -- Lady Eleanor, wife of Manus; - _see_ Lady Eleanor Fitzgerald. - - -- Calvagh, son of Manus, chief of Tyrconnel, 377, 393, 395, 405, - 407 - - -- Con, son of Calvagh, 405 - - -- the, 120, 257, 272, 300, 349, 399 - - O'Doyne, of Iregan or Portnahinch in Queen's Co., 213, 218, 251 - - O'Driscoll, of Baltimore in West Cork, 88 - - O'Duffy, Keyly, Archbishop of Tuam, 51 - - O'Dwyer, of Kilnemanagh in Tipperary, 242, 266 - - Offaly (greater part of King's Co. and part of Queen's Co.), 206, - 211, 213, 218, 349, 350, 373, 392, 399, 400, 401, 408, 409 - - -- Barony of, in Kildare, 251 - - O'Fihely, Maurice, Archbishop of Tuam, 292 - - O'Gallagher, Edmund, Bishop of Raphoe, 293 - - -- Raymond, Bishop of Killala (Papal), and afterwards of Derry, 293, - 307 - - O'Gallaghers, the, of Donegal, 140 - - O'Grady, chief of a district near Killaloe in Clare and Galway, 271 - - O'Gunnell, _i.e._ Carrigogunnell in Limerick, 186 - - O'Haingly, Donat and Samuel, Archbishops of Dublin, 34 - - O'Hanlon, chief of Orior in Armagh, 111, 112, 115, 120, 263, 353, - 376, 397, 398 - - O'Hanmire, Maelisa, Bishop of Waterford, 35 - - O'Hara, of Leyny in Sligo, 60, 69 - - Oisy; - _see_ De Candolle. - - O'Kane; - _see_ O'Cahan. - - O'Kearney, or O'Caharney, called 'the Fox,' of Kilcoursey in King's - County, 56, 69 - - O'Kellies, the, of the tribe of Hy-Maine, much scattered, but in - this work chiefly between Tuam and Roscommon, 69, 75, 172, 334, - 374 - - O'Kelly, Hugh, 266 - - O'Kennedy, of Ormonde in Tipperary, 120, 224, 227, 242, 266 - - Olaf Cuaran, 21, 24, 25, 32 - - -- Sitricson, 29 - - -- Trygvesson, 32 - - Oldcastle, Sir John, 388 - - Olderfleet (Larne), 351 - - Olfin, 18 - - Olioll Olum, 22 - - O'Lonergan, Edmund, 317 - - O'Madden, of Longford in Galway, 69, 228, 402 - - Omagh, 119, 122 - - O'Meagher, of Ikerrin in Tipperary, 211, 242, 321, 329 - - O'Melaghlin (commonly corrupted into MacLoughlin), of Clonlonan in - Westmeath, 39, 52, 228, 334 - - O'Molloy, of Fercall (including Ballyboy and Ballycowan) in King's - County, 206, 211, 226, 262, 338, 402, 403 - - O'More, Lysaght, 77 - - -- Connell, chief of Leix, 132, 175-177, 224 - - -- Peter, brother of Connell, 224, 225 - - -- Lysaght, son of Connell, 224, 225 - - -- Kedagh, son of Connell, 224-226, 266 - - -- Rory, son of Connell, 224-226, 266, 275, 329, 335, 341 - - -- Connell Oge, 400, 401 - - O'Mores, the, of Leix, 88, 125, 127, 130, 135, 140, 146, 167, 176, - 177, 211, 258, 348, 399, 403, 408 - - O'Mullally, Thomas, Archbishop of Tuam, 292 - - O'Mulrian, or Ryan, of Owney in Tipperary and Limerick, 227, 266, - 393 - - O'Murrilly, John, Bishop of Ross, 293 - - O'Neill, Donnell, 68 - - O'Neill, Con More, chief of Tyrone, 118 - - -- Henry and Donnell, brothers to Con More, 118-120 - - -- Art Oge, son of Con More, chief of Tyrone, 121 - - -- Con Bacagh, son of Con More, by Lady Alice O'Neill, and - half-brother to Art Oge, whom he succeeded as chief (he was - created Earl of Tyrone), 119, 132, 134, 136, 137, 140, 142, 147, - 163, 167, 176, 199, 221, 222, 231, 232, 237-240, 243, 247, 259, - 263, 264, 268; - _see_ Tyrone, Earl of. - - O'Neill, Tirlogh, brother to Con Bacagh, 119, 120 - - -- Shane, son of Con Bacagh, 270, 376, 377, 403-405, 407 - - -- Matthew Ferdoragh, reputed son of Con Bacagh; - _see_ Dungannon, first Baron of. - - -- Tirlogh Luineach (so-called from having been fostered with the - O'Loonies), nephew of Con Bacagh, and afterwards chief of - Tyrone, 377 - - -- Phelim Roe and Neill Connelagh, nephews of Con Bacagh, 263 - - -- Hugh Boy, founder of the Clandeboye branch, 62, 76 - - -- Phelim Bacagh, chief of Clandeboye, 198 - - -- of Clandeboye, Phelim Roe, 258 - - O'Neills, the, of Clandeboye, 129, 142, 239, 362 - - -- the, 40, 120, 211, 212, 239, 385, 399 - - -- of Tyrone, 62, 66, 86, 90 - - O'Nolans, the, of Forth in Carlow, 57, 86, 210 - - Oransay, 13 - - O'Reilly, Farrell, chief of Brefny-O'Reilly (this consisted of - Cavan, except Tullyhaw and Tullyhunco), 154 - - -- Malachias, brother and successor to Farrell, 221, 222, 238, 349, - 375, 376 - - O'Reillys of Cavan, the, 90, 120, 127 - - Oriel, 32 - - Orkney, 32 - - Ormonde, James Butler, first Earl of, 72 - - -- -- -- second Earl of, 79 - - -- -- -- third Earl of, 84 - - -- -- -- fourth Earl of (the 'White Earl'), 89, 90, 316 - - -- -- -- fifth Earl of, 91 - - -- John Butler, sixth Earl of, 102 - - -- Thomas Butler, seventh Earl of, 102 - - -- Sir Thomas Boleyn, sometimes called Earl of; - _see_ Boleyn. - - -- Piers Butler, eighth Earl of, and first Earl of Ossory (called - Roe, 'The Red'), 102; - marries Lady Margaret Fitzgerald, 103; - kills Sir James Ormonde, 117; - claims the earldom of Ormonde, 126; - co-operates with Surrey, 132, 133, 136; - Deputy, 139, 140, 141, 142; - superseded, 143; - sends his son to London, 145; - his disputes with Kildare, 146; - in England, 147; - created Earl of Ossory, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, - 157, 160, 164, 165, 167, 170, 173, 182, 183, 187, 189, 190, 193, - 200; - on good terms with Cromwell, 202, 207, 210; - Earl of Ormonde after Boleyn's death, 218; - his attempts at civilisation, 221; - he quarrels with Grey, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229; - hollow reconciliation with Grey, 231; - entertains the Council at Kilkenny, 235; - his death, 241, 245; - supposed falsification of records in his time, 279; - in opposition to his son, the Archbishop of Cashel, 291 - - Ormonde, James Butler, ninth Earl of, and second Earl of Ossory, - called 'The Lame,' 139; - at Court, 145; - escapes marrying Anne Boleyn, 149; - his influence among the Irish, 151, 152; - made Lord Treasurer, 156; - his loyalty, 164, 165; - wounded, 167, 177, 178; - at the siege of Dungarvan, 182; - at the second siege, 189; - his journey in Munster, 190-193, 199, 200, 201, 202; - at the siege of Carrigogunnell, 203, 204, 218; - falls out with Grey, 223, 229, 231; - his head in danger, 234; - entertains the Council at Carlow, 235; - becomes Earl, 241, 242, 248; - risks his person in the Desmond country, 249; - attacks the Kavanaghs, 250, 254; - attends St. Leger in Munster, 255; - his claims on the Desmond estates, 256; - addresses Parliament in Irish, 258; - at Court, 271; - furnishes a large contingent for Scotch war, 276; - his quarrel with St. Leger, 278-286; - proposed for Deputy, 279; - chosen to command the contingent in Scotland, 280; - sails to the Clyde, 281, 282; - he is poisoned, 285, 331, 341; - his chaplain Bicton, 359 - - -- Thomas Butler, tenth Earl of, called 'Black Thomas,' succeeds his - father at the age of fourteen, 286, 325, 326; - in England, 339, 346; - receives part of his rents, 375; - his death reported, 382; - his uncle, 386; - returns to Ireland, 392, 393, 400, 409 - - Ormonde, James Butler, Duke of, 316 - - -- Sir James, 102, 103, 109, 114, 117, 118 - - -- the northern part of Tipperary, 266 - - -- Joan, Countess of; - _see_ Lady Joan Fitzgerald. - - O'Rourke, Tiernan, prince of Brefny, 39, 46, 47, 49 - - O'Rourkes, the, of Brefny (Brefny-O'Rourke was Leitrim with Tullyhaw - and Tullyhunco in Cavan), 63, 140, 239, 266 - - Osbertstown, 240 - - O'Sealbhaigh, Augustine, Bishop of Waterford, 35, 52 - - O'Shaughnessy, seated at Gort in Galway, 271, 410 - - -- Sir Dermot, 333 - - Osney, 198 - - Ospak, 26-28 - - Ossory, Ossorians, 43, 47, 81 - - -- Earldom; - _see_ Piers, eighth Earl of Ormonde. - - -- see of, 293, 358, 367 - - -- Upper; - _see_ Upper Ossory. - - O'Sullivan, Beare or Bere (in West Cork), 268 - - O'Toole, St. Lawrence, Archbishop of Dublin, 35, 45, 51, 251 - - -- Tirlogh, chief of Imaile, 222, 238, 252, 253, 265, 287 - - -- Art Oge, brother to Tirlogh, 253 - - O'Tooles, the, of Imaile (Upper Talbotstown) in Wicklow, 57, 70, 80, - 86, 154, 166, 221, 223, 238, 244, 251-253, 326, 397 - - Overy, William, 91 - - Owel, Lough, 18 - - Owney, in Tipperary, 99, 227 - - -- Beg, in Limerick, 99 - - Oxford, 284, 293, 322, 359 - - -- Earls of, 85, 150, 270 - - Oxmantown, 109, 160, 164, 173 - - - Paget, Sir William, afterwards Lord, 335, 390, 398 - - Pale, the, 71, 76, 80, 123, 129-132, 171, 200, 203, 209, 254, 335 - - Palestine, 271 - - Paparo, Cardinal, 35 - - Paris, 310, 373 - - -- Christopher, 173-175 - - -- George, 345, 347, 348, 352, 359, 373 - - Parry, Stephen ap, 189-193, 203, 224, 395 - - Patrick, St., 4, 12, 14, 17, 18, 32, 33, 35, 305 - - -- Bishop of Dublin; - _see_ Gillapatrick. - - -- -- -- Limerick, 36 - - Patrick's day, St., 282 - - -- Cathedral, St., 109, 158, 173, 281, 322, 341, 394 - - -- purgatory, St., 127 - - Paul, St., 308, 381, 388, 389 - - -- III., Pope, 307 - - -- IV., Pope, 394 - - Paulet, William, Marquis of Winchester, 208 - - -- George, brother to the Marquis, 208, 229, 234 - - Payne, John, Bishop of Meath (1483-1506), 104 - - Paynswick, Robert, Prior and first Dean of Christ Church, Dublin, - 303 - - Payntenye, Richard, 114 - - Pembroke, Earl of; - _see_ Marshal. - - Pembrokeshire, 183 - - Peter, St., 28 - - -- the Pope called Coarb of St., 14 - - Peto the Franciscan, 394 - - Philip II., 7, 394, 395 - - Philippa, Countess of Ulster, 84 - - Philipstown, 206, 340, 400-403, 408 - - Pirry, Martin, 351 - - Pius II. (Æneas Sylvius), Pope, 92 - - Plantagenets, 11, 70, 78, 84 - - Plunkets, 76, 397 - - Poer, Le Poer, De Poer, De Poher, Power, 53, 64, 70, 75, 85, 88, - 258; - _see_ Power. - - Pole, Reginald, Cardinal Archbishop of Canterbury, 181, 219, 401, - 413, 414 - - -- John de la, 100 - - Portuguese, 201, 330 - - Powell, an officer, 203 - - -- Watkin, 327 - - Power, a pirate, 330 - - -- of Curraghmore, Richard, first Baron by creation, 236 - - -- Peter, second Baron, son of the last named, 276, 277 - - -- Edward, bastard brother of Peter, 276 - - -- Dominick, 172, 175 - - Powerscourt, 200, 238, 251, 252, 397 - - Poynet, John, Bishop of Winchester, 368 - - Poynings, Sir Edward, Lord Deputy (1494-1496), 110-115; - first Parliament held under his 'Act,' 118, 160, 198, 279 - - Prendergast, Maurice de, 42 - - -- name of, 71 - - Prestons, family of, 76 - - Protector, Fort; - _see_ Maryborough. - - Puebla, Rodrigo de la, 188 - - Purcell, a pirate, 166, 169, 173 - - -- John, Bishop of Ferns, 297, 298 - - -- name of, 64 - - - Queen's County; - _see_ Leix. - - Quentin, St., battle of, 391 - - Quin or Coyne, John, Bishop of Limerick (1521-1551), 300, 305, 306, - 354 - - - Radclyffe; - _see_ Sussex. - - -- Sir Henry, brother to Sussex, 408 - - Ragnal, name, 29 - - -- son of Ivar, 19 - - Ragnar Lodbrok, 17, 19 - - Ralph, Archbishop of Canterbury; - _see_ Eures. - - Randon Castle, 65, 77 - - Raphoe, church and see of, 12, 211, 293 - - Rathangan, 176, 177, 326, 329 - - Rathbreasil, 15, 34 - - Rathlin Island, 271, 272, 360, 361, 377 - - Rathmore, 222 - - Rathvilly, 326 - - Ratisbon, 306 - - Rawson, Sir John, created Viscount of Clontarf, 155, 160, 178, 258, - 316 - - Raymond, Le Gros Fitzgerald; - _see_ Le Gros. - - -- Oge, 328 - - Rede, Sir Richard, Lord Chancellor in 1546, 284 - - Redman, Robert, 89 - - Redshanks, 272, 273 - - Ree, Lough, 17, 65 - - Reginald's Tower, 47, 113 - - Rennes, 219 - - Renteria, 184 - - Reyley, Robert, 165 - - Rice; - _see_ Tudor. - - Richard, Earl; - _see_ Strongbow. - - -- I., 58 - - -- II., 42, 272 - - -- III., 93 - - -- Duke of York; - _see_ York. - - Richmond, Henry, Duke of, natural son of Henry VIII., Lord - Lieutenant (1529-1536), 153, 204 - - Riddlesford, Walter de, 251 - - Ridley, Nicholas, Bishop of London, 216 - - Rinuccini, Giovan Battista, 318, 402 - - Robert II., King of Scotland, 272 - - Roche, Lord, 200, 268 - - Rocheford, name of, 64 - - Roderic, King; - _see_ O'Connor. - - Rokeby, Sir Thomas, 84 - - -- William, Bishop of Meath, (1507-1511), Archbishop of Dublin - (1512-1521), 131, 290, 291 - - Romans, King of, 4, 7, 39 - - Rome, 35, 211, 220, 238, 288 - - Rookes, a pirate, 166, 169, 172, 173 - - Rosamond Clifford (Fair Rosamond), 59 - - Roscommon, 77, 125, 408 - - -- County, 95, 211 - - Roscrea, 18, 224, 242, 374 - - Rosen, General, 167 - - Ross, or New Ross, in Wexford, 59, 74, 85, 235, 285, 373 - - -- Old, in Wexford, 198 - - -- in Carbery (West Cork), church and see of, 293, 295, 306 - - -- Earl of, in Scotland, 279 - - Rouen, 89 - - Route, the, 77, 266 - - Russell, John, first Earl of Bedford, 282 - - Rutland, Thomas Manners, first Earl of, 150 - - Ryans, the, of Idrone in Carlow, 340 - - -- the, of Tipperary; - _see_ O'Mulrian. - - - Sadleir, Sir Ralph, 253 - - St. John, Elizabeth, wife of the eighth Earl of Kildare, 115 - - St. Lawrence, Thomas, a Judge of the King's Bench, 231; - _see_ Howth. - - St. Leger, Sir Anthony, of Ulcombe, Lord Deputy (1540-1547, - 1550-1551, and 1553-1556); Royal Commissioner in Ireland, 208; - detained by weather at Holyhead, 210, 212; - correctly appreciates the Irish question, 213; - arrives in Ireland, 232; - labours of his Commission, 232-3; - his opinion of Cromwell, 234; - Viceroy, 249; - Revenue Commissioners associated with him, 250; - determines to begin with Leinster, 250; - proposes to ennoble O'Connor, 251; - befriends O'Toole, 252, 253; - his caution, 254; - Desmond submits to him, 255, 256; - goes to Munster, 257; - holds a Parliament, 258; - makes Henry VIII. King of Ireland, 259; - meets O'Donnell at Cavan, 262; - chastises the O'Neills, 263; - invents winter campaigns, 264; - his success as a governor, 265; - treats the Irish mildly, 266; - regulates the Desmond country, 267; - Munster chiefs flock to him at Cork, 268; - procures the submission of O'Neill, 269; - his successes in Ulster, 273; - sick of Ireland, 275; - in England, 276; - returns to Ireland, 278; - his negotiations with Scotch malcontents, 280; - raises Irish troops for foreign service, 281; - on bad terms with Ormonde, 282-286; - in England, 283; - restored to his Irish government, 285, 286; - recommends Dowdall for the primacy, 307; - profits by the dissolution of the monasteries, 320; - his dealings with the Irish, 326; - recalled, 327; - a conciliatory man, 336, 340; - considered inventor of the cess, 344; - reappointed Deputy, 348; - adopts a conciliatory policy, 349; - finds the garrisons utterly demoralised, 350; - cannot get the necessary funds, 351; - welcomed by Tyrone, 353; - has the communion service translated into Latin, 354; - his conference with Dowdall, 355; - is compared by Browne to Gallio, 356; - has ideas of toleration, 357; - repudiates the name of Papist, 358; - recalled, 359, 365; - his mining projects, 372; - O'Donnell quiet in his time, 373; - reappointed Deputy, 378; - lands, 385; - conforms to Mary's religious plans, 386; - hated chiefly for his good deeds, 396; - superseded, 397; - Sussex is jealous of his influence, 408 - - St. Leger, Sir James, 126 - - St. Leger, Robert, 255 - - Saintloo, Sir John, Marshal of the Army (1535), 170, 178, 189, 193 - - -- Captain William, seneschal of Wexford, 199, 201, 203, 206, 221, - 231, 232, 235 - - Salisbury, John of, 37 - - -- Robert of, 54 - - -- Captain John, 169-171, 178 - - Sall, Dr., 320 - - Salmeron, Alphonso, 308-310 - - Sanda Island, 282 - - Sandal Hill, 91 - - Sandell, in Scotland, 410 - - Sanders, Matthew, Bishop of Leighlin, 1527-1549, 305, 306 - - Sandford, John, Archbishop of Dublin and Viceroy in 1290, 95 - - Sarpi, Fra Paolo, 394 - - Savages, a family settled in Ards, Co. Down, 77, 129, 199, 232, 263 - - Scandinavians, 15 - - Scattery Island, 23, 27 - - Scotland, Scots, Scotch, 64, 66, 199, 230, 232, 237, 239, 241, 247, - 271-274, 282, 309, 310, 333, 341, 345, 347, 352, 360-362, 364, - 365, 376, 377, 385, 395, 398, 408, 410; - _see_ MacDonnell. - - Sebastian, St., 184, 188 - - Senanus, St., 23, 27 - - Seymour, Queen Jane, 196 - - -- Thomas Lord, Lord Admiral, 331, 337 - - Seymours, the, 286; - _see_ Somerset. - - Sexton, Edmund, 228, 320 - - Shakespeare, 89, 217, 387 - - Shannon River, 47, 124, 182, 200, 203, 228, 256, 265, 334, 402 - - Shaxton, Nicholas, Bishop of Salisbury, 322 - - Shee, Robert, 389 - - Sheehy, Clan, 140 - - Shetland, 32 - - Sidney, Sir Henry, several times Lord Deputy, 88, 122, 243, 286, - 315, 397; - his first service in Ulster, 398, 403; - Lord Justice, 405-407; - sides with Sussex against Dowdall, 408 - - Sigurd, Earl of Orkney, 26, 28 - - Simnel, Lambert, 90, 103, 108 - - Sitric, 19, 24, 32, 33 - - Skeffington, Sir William, called 'The Gunner'; Viceroy, 153, 154, - 155; - recalled, 156, 158; - hostile to Kildare, 160, 161, 162, 163; - Viceroy, 165; - arrives in Ireland, 169, 170; - his inactivity, 171; - takes Maynooth, 173-175; - relapses into inactivity, 176-177; - thanked by Henry VIII., 178-179; - takes Dungarvan, 189; - his jealousy of Lord Butler, 190, 191; - cannot agree with Lord Leonard Grey, 193-194; - death and character, 194; - his widow, 195-196, 200, 247 - - Slane, 114, 115 - - -- Christopher Fleming, Baron of, Lord Treasurer, 152 - - -- Flemings, Barons of, 54, 76, 107, 163, 276 - - -- James Fleming, Baron of, 240 - - Slievebloom, 334 - - Slieve Margy, 341 - - -- Phelim, 265 - - Sligo, 24, 127, 218, 263 - - Smith, a pirate, 330 - - Smithfield, 316 - - Solloghead, 22 - - Somerset, Edward, Duke of, Protector, 270, 281, 286, 327, 337 - - Somersetshire, 290 - - Sorley Boy; - _see_ MacDonnell. - - Spain, 175, 289, 357 - - Spaniards, 187, 273 - - Spires, 306 - - Stanihurst, Richard, the Chronicler, 103, 175, 240 - - Stanley, Sir George, 397 - - Staples, Edward, Bishop of Meath (1530-1554), 153, 259, 303, 311, - 322-324, 341, 350, 365, 366, 384, 391, 392 - - Staunton, name of, 71 - - -- John, 114 - - -- Richard, 168 - - Stephen, King, 37 - - -- castellan of Abertivy, 41 - - Stephenson, a pirate, 330 - - Stile, Sir John, 194 - - Stirling, 280 - - Stoke-on-Trent, 105 - - Stradbally, 399 - - Strafford, Earl of, 286 - - Strangford Lough, 127, 365 - - Strangwych, a pirate, 330 - - Strongbow, 41 _sqq._, 51, 61, 63, 64 - - Stuart, Queen Mary, 271 - - Stuarts, the, 70 - - Suck River, 228 - - Suffolk, 202 - - Suir River, 44, 47, 130, 182 - - Sullivan, Dr. W. K., notes to Chapter I. - - Sumercote, Laurence, 62 - - Surrey, Thomas Howard, Earl of, afterwards Duke of Norfolk, Viceroy, - 128; - lands at Dublin, 131; - wars with the Irish, 132; - O'Donnell visits him in Dublin, 132; - more wars, 133; - his difficulties, 135; - his activity, 136; - his Parliament, 137; - recalled, 138; - character, 139; - his opinion as to Butlers and Geraldines, 152; - his tenants in Carlow, 158; - recommended for the Viceroyalty, 160; - his advice, 179; - affected by the Act of Absentees, 198; - befriends the O'Tooles, 252; - recommends a scholar for a bishopric, 288 - - -- Henry Howard, Earl of, 216 - - Sussex, Thomas Radclyffe, Earl of, Viceroy; - _see_ Fitzwalter. - Lord Deputy, 396; - installed with the old religious ceremonies, 397; - goes into Ulster, 397; - his failure, 398; - his attempts to settle the King's and Queen's Counties, 399; - imperfect success, 400; - holds a Parliament in 1557 which restores the old Church, 401; - makes an abortive journey into Connaught, 402; - and another into Ulster, 403; - harries the central plain, 403; - takes a holiday, 405; - returns to Ireland, 408; - is jealous of St. Leger, 408; - makes a progress in Munster, 408-409; - and in Connaught, 410; - undertakes an invasion of the Hebrides, 410; - but returns without effecting anything, 411; - his activity, 412; - leaves Ireland at Mary's death, 412 - - Swaffham, John de, Bishop of Cloyne (1363-1376), 81 - - Swart, Martin, 104, 105 - - Swedes, 31 - - Swift, Jonathan, 31 - - Swilly, Lough, 398 - - Swords, 12 - - - Talbot, George, 198 - - -- Richard, Archbishop of Dublin (1417-1449), 316 - - -- Robert, 142 - - -- Sir John, 88, 89 - - -- Thomas, 240 - - Tallaght, 123, 129 - - Tanderagee, 398 - - Tara, 1, 21, 114, 238, 239 - - Tassagard, 123 - - Tatenhall, John of, Bishop of Ossory in 1376, 81 - - Teeling, John, 165, 166, 172 - - Templars, 65, 99, 315 - - Tenby, 183 - - Teviotdale, 281 - - Thady Roe, 335 - - Thames River, 173 - - Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, 36 - - Thierri, 6 - - Thirlby, Thomas, Bishop of Norwich, 395 - - Thomas, son of Henry IV., viceroy, 87 - - -- St., of Dublin (Thomascourt), 317 - - -- St., of Acon, 198 - - Thomastown, 59, 167, 388 - - Thomond, or Clare, 63, 65, 124, 172, 175, 203, 204, 218, 219, 227, - 261, 271 - - -- Murrough O'Brien, first Earl of, son of Tirlogh Don, 227, - 256-258, 270, 271, 338, 345, 346, 349, 353 - - -- Donough O'Brien, second Earl of, son of Connor, 173, 191, 192, - 200, 201, 204, 227, 228, 256, 258, 270, 271, 393 - - -- Connor O'Brien, third Earl of, son of Donogh, 393, 402, 409, 410 - - Thorstein, 28 - - Thurles, 50, 59, 242 - - Tibraghny, 47 - - Tichfield Abbey, 294 - - Timahoe, 54 - - Tinnahinch, 213 - - Tintern Abbey, 296, 315, 317 - - Tipperary Castle, 22 - - -- County, 144, 146, 150, 165, 167, 182, 186, 201, 218, 221, 224, - 227, 236, 261, 265, 266, 278, 297, 305 - - Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester, 92 - - Tirlogh, King of Ireland, 33 - - Tirrey, Dominick, Bishop of Cork and Cloyne (1536-1556), 306 - - Toem, 321 - - Toledo, 184 - - Tomson, a pirate, 329, 330 - - Tory Island, 12 - - Tosti, 35 - - Tournon, Cardinal, 310 - - Townsend, Lord, 286 - - Towton, battle of, 91 - - Tralee, 300 - - Travers, Sir John, first Master of the Ordnance (1539-1558), - 242-244, 255, 266, 268, 273, 332 - - -- Robert, Bishop of Leighlin (1550-1555), 359 - - -- Doctor John, 173 - - Treherne, Philip, 316 - - Trent, Council of, 307 - - Trim, 50, 108, 171, 176, 304, 305, 348 - - Trimleston, Barnewalls, Barons of, 76 - - Tuam, see of, 81, 292; - for Archbishops, _see_ O'Fihely, O'Duffy, O'Mullally, Bodkin. - - Tudor, Rice ap, 41 - - Tuke, Sir Brian, 194 - - Tullahogue, 141 - - Tullow, 156, 167, 210, 225 - - Tunstal, Cuthbert, Bishop of Durham, 306 - - Turgeis, or Turgesius, 17, 18, 36 - - Turkey, 297 - - Turks and French compared, 347 - - Turner, Richard, 369 - - Tynemoor, battle, 19 - - Tyrconnel, or Donegal, 12, 136, 218, 220, 239, 263, 347 - - Tyrone (sometimes held to include part of Armagh), 62, 119, 154, - 176, 263 - - -- Con Bacagh O'Neill, first Earl of, 268-270, 274, 307, 340, 345, - 353, 362, 363, 373, 374, 376, 379, 386, 395; - _see_ under Con Bacagh O'Neill. - - Tyrry, Edmund, 332 - - - Ufford, Robert de, Viceroy in 1276, 64 - - -- Ralph de, Viceroy in 1344, 78 - - Uladh (ancient name for Antrim and Down), 53 - - Ulcombe, 208 - - Ulster, Earldom and Earls of, 61, 62, 64, 66, 71, 76, 78, 81, 83, - 86, 135, 271 - - -- princes of, 269; - _see_ O'Neill. - - Upper Ossory, Barnaby Fitzpatrick first Baron of, 257, 258, 275, - 279, 283 - - -- -- Sir Barnaby Fitzpatrick, second Baron of, son of the above, - 326, 383, 393, 409 - - - Valenciennes, 219 - - Valladolid, 184 - - Valley, Knight of the, 76 - - Verdon, de, 66 - - Vere, de, 85 - - Verona, 219 - - Vesci, de, 72 - - - Wafer, Nicholas, 165, 166, 172 - - Wales and the Welsh, 10, 27, 57, 283, 352 - - Wallop, Sir John, 219 - - Walsh, or Walshe, Henry, 321 - - -- -- Patrick, Bishop of Waterford (1551-1578), 388 - - -- Robert, 175, 218-220 - - -- -- Thomas, Baron of the Exchequer in England, 250 - - -- -- William, Papal Bishop of Meath (1554-1557), 391, 392 - - -- -- William, 317 - - Walters, John, 110, 118 - - Warbeck, Perkin, 90, 109-118 - - Ward, Hill of, 49 - - Warwick, Edward, Earl of (Clarence's son), 103 - - -- Dudley, Earl of; - _see_ Northumberland. - - Waterford, 19, 21; - its position in Danish times, 29-30; - taken by the Normans, 44, 47, 74; - its private wars, 87-88, 104; - its siege by Warbeck, 113, 116, 119, 170, 187, 235, 236, 291, 297, - 321, 329, 330, 351, 371, 378, 380, 412 - - -- County, 47, 60, 81, 144, 236, 237, 412 - - Wauchop, Papal Archbishop of Armagh (1543-1541), 306, 307, 347 - - Welch, Nicholas, 278 - - Wellesley, or Wesley, name of, 71 - - -- Walter, Bishop of Kildare (1529), 15, 288 - - Wentworth, Lord, 368 - - Wessex, 32 - - Westmeath, 49, 66, 173, 206, 213, 334, 374 - - -- Nugents, Earls of, 54 - - Weston, Sir William, 316 - - Wexford, 42, 43, 46, 49, 235, 237 - - Wexford, County and Liberty, 63, 88, 65, 95, 97, 198, 206, 231, 236, - 298, 328, 342, 372 - - Whitby, synod of, 15 - - White, John, 166, 168 - - -- another John, 364, 376 - - -- Knights (Fitzgerald), 76, 190, 236 - - Wicklow, 130, 397 - - Wilfred, St., of York, 15 - - William the Conqueror, 37 - - -- III., 85 - - Wilson, Richard, Bishop of Meath (1523-1529), 29 - - Wiltshire, Earl of, Butler, 89 - - -- Earl of, Boleyn, 149 - - Winchester, 35 - - -- William Paulet, Marquis of, 208 - - Windsor, 54, 83 - - -- Gerald de, 41 - - Wogan, Sir John, several times Chief Governor under Edward I. and - Edward II., 64, 95, 96 - - Wolsey, Cardinal, 126, 142, 145, 148-150, 152, 153, 158, 184, 187, - 188, 194, 209, 289, 290, 293 - - Wolstan's, St., Monastery, 313 - - Woodstock, 200 - - Woodward, George, 200 - - Worcester, Tiptoft, Earl of, 92 - - Worms, 306 - - Wriothesley, Thomas, created Earl of Southampton, 286 - - Wyatt, Sir Thomas, 389-391 - - Wyse, Andrew, Vice-Treasurer (1550-1553), 396 - - - Youghal, 66, 74, 181, 183, 190, 192, 241, 248, 300, 330 - - York, Richard, Duke of, 90, 335 - - Yorkists, in Ireland, 90 _sqq._ - - - Zapata, Francesco, 308-310 - - Zouche, Elizabeth, married to the ninth Earl of Kildare, 120, 128 - - -END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. - - PRINTED BY - SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE - LONDON - - - -TRANSCRIBERS' NOTES - -Page iii: Two volumes as in original; number of volumes may have been - revised after original publication - -Page xxii: Errata have been applied to the text and index - -Page 10: Hyphenation of re-conquered standardised to reconquered - -Page 13: Text has Oronsay, index has Oransay, as in original text - -Page 20: Inconsistent hyphenation of earth-works as in the original. - Left as in the original as part of a quotation - -Page 23: Text has Glenmama, index has Glennama, as in original text - -Page 26: Machnordha's corrected to Maelmordha's - -Page 31: Text has Donnchadh, index has Donncadh, as in original text - -Page 34: Text has St. Albans, index has St. Alban's, as in original text - -Pages 34, 416, 422: Inconsistent hyphenation of Ath-Cliath/Ath Cliath as - in original index - -Page 44: siezed corrected to seized - -Page 48: Hyphenation of handmills standardised to hand-mills - -Page 59: Text has Long-sword, index has Longsword as in original text - -Page 73: Text has Irish town, index has Irishtown, as in original text - -Pages 89, 118: Hyphenation of cross-bows standardised to crossbows - -Page 90: Hyphenation of re-conquest standardised to reconquest - -Page 114: Text has Paynteneye, index has Payntenye, as in original text - -Page 140: Text has Clan-Donnell, index has Clandonnell, as in original - text - -Page 144: Text has Darcys, index has Darcies, as in original text - -Page 148: he corrected to be in "than could be bought" - -Page 188: Text has Ballinskellig, index has Ballinskelligs, as in - original text - -Page 190: gallowglasess corrected to gallowglasses - -Page 210: Duplicate in removed from sidenote "The Commissioners arrive - in in Ireland ..." - -Page 212: gallies corrected to galleys - -Page 218: Text has M'Cragh, index has MacCragh, as in original text - -Page 218: Text has Allen Governor, index has Alan Governor, as in - original text - -Page 224: Text has Ballynacloch, index has Ballinaclogh, as in original - text - -Pages 237, 247: Text has Carrick Bradagh, index has Carrickbradagh, as - in original text - -Pages 250, 255: Hyphenation of vice-regal standardised to viceregal - -Page 257: viscounty as in the original - -Page 267: Hyphenation of good-will standardised to goodwill - -Page 268 [Footnote]: signataries corrected to signatories - -Page 271: Text has Bissets/Missets, index has Bissett/Missett, as in - original - -Page 286: collison as in the original. "collision" may be intended - -Page 290 [Footnote]: Speakers as in the original. Other copies of this - work have Watkin's speech ending at "... own person visit?" and - Jeffrey responding from "No, another for him doth it ..." onwards. - -Page 292: Text has O'Fiehely, index has O'Fihely, as in original text - -Page 333: Bnt corrected to But - -Page 341: Text has Slievemargy, index has Slieve Margy, as in original - text - -Page 351 [Sidenote]: Appehensions corrected to Apprehensions - -Page 365: Dowdale corrected to Dowdall after "fittest intermediary." - -Page 373: Hyphenation of sea-ports standardised to seaports - -Page 392: Text has Leath-Mhogha, index has Leath Mhoga, as in original - text - -Page 408: Text has Radecliffe, index has Radclyffe, as in original text - -Page 421: Reference for Daniel, Terence, Dean of Armagh corrected from - page 361 to 364 - -Page 422: In entry for Dublin, Archbishops of, Leck corrected to Lech as - elsewhere in index and text - -Page 439: Tony Island corrected to Tory Island - -Various: Variable spelling of recognisance/recognizance as in the - original text - -Various: Text has MacQuillin, index has Macquillin, as in original text - -Various: Erratic capitalisation and hyphenation of Fitz names as in the - original - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Ireland under the Tudors, Volume I (of -II), by Richard Bagwell - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IRELAND UNDER THE TUDORS *** - -***** This file should be named 42046-8.txt or 42046-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/0/4/42046/ - -Produced by Brownfox and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from -images generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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