1/ 
 

 HISTORY 
 
 IRELAND 
 
 INVASION OF HENRY II. 
 
 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE 
 
 ANCIENT STATE OF THAT KINGDOM. 
 BY THOMAS LELAND, D. D. 
 
 Senior Fellow of Trinity College, and Prebendary of St. Patrick'*, Dublin, 
 VOL. I. 
 
 DUBLIN : 
 
 PRINTED BY BRETT SMITH, 46, MARY-STRFF.T 
 
 1814, 
 
 BOSTON COIXeSe LIBRARY 
 CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. 
 
^4 
 
 L53Z- 88 
 
 PRELIMINARY 
 
 DISCOURSE. 
 
 1 HE subject of the following History seems 
 not unworthy of attention. A British reader 
 may esteem it neither useless nor uninterest- 
 ing, to trace the progress of the Engfish pow- 
 er in Ireland, ti-om the invasion of Henry 
 the Second, through the conflicts of many 
 ages, short intervals of peace, the sudden 
 revival of hostihties, the suppression of civil 
 war, the attempts to compose all national dis- 
 orders, and the fmal contest in the cause of 
 James the Second. It is a subject whicii 
 comes recommended at least by the merit 
 of novelty: for, although particular periods 
 of these affairs have been treated, sometimes 
 imperfectly, sometimes copiously, yet no ge- 
 neral and connected history hath yet appear- 
 ed of those actions, counsels, incidents, and 
 revolutions, which ended in establishing the 
 authority of the crown of England, in a 
 country, now, a respectable member of the 
 British empire. 
 
 Vol. I. i94l At 
 
PRELIMINARY 
 
 At the Revolutiox, indeed, the favour 
 and patronage of government encouraged 
 Sir Richard Cox to such an attempt. But, 
 however assiduous in his researches, he pro- 
 duced nothing better than an hasty, imhgest- 
 ed, and imperfect Chronicle, ending witli 
 the final suppression oi* the rebellion com- 
 menced in the year one thousand six hundred 
 and forty-one. More tlian fourscore years 
 have elapsed since the last couimotions of 
 Ireland; during this interval it hath made 
 successful advances in refinement and litera- 
 ture : and the descendants of the English 
 settlers in this country seem to have had both 
 leisure and inducement, to record those ac- 
 tions in which their ancestors took so conside- 
 rable a part. But men of letters thought, 
 perhaps, too meanly of the subject; they 
 were deterred by the darkness in which some 
 periods were involved; by the painful and 
 disgusting pursuit of materials not yet dis- 
 closed, or not yet wrought into any regular 
 narrative ; or by the labour of selection from 
 writers, who viewed their fhvourite object 
 with an eye too partial, and detailed every 
 incident, wMth an oppressing minuteness. 
 
 But the circumstances of Ireland were a 
 still more dispiritinii: obstacle to the historian 
 of this country. Prejudices and animosities 
 could not end witli its disorders. The rela- 
 tions of every transaction in times of contest 
 and tiu'bulence, were for many years dictated 
 by pride, by resentment, by the virulence of 
 faction, by the obliquity of particular interests 
 
 and 
 
DISCOURSE. 
 
 and competitions. It was scarcely possible 
 for a writer not to share in the passions and 
 prejudices of those around him: or, however 
 candid, dispassionate, and accurate, still he 
 must have done dangerous- violence to their 
 opinions and prepossessions. Time, and re- 
 flection, and an increasing liberality of senti- 
 ment, may have sheathed the acrimony of 
 contending parties; and those at a distance 
 may look on their contentions with inditier- 
 ence : yet, even at this day, the historian of 
 Irish affairs must be armed against censure 
 only by an integrity which confines him to 
 truth, and a literary courage which despises 
 ever}^ charge but that of wilful or careless 
 misrepresentation. 
 
 In several instances the author may have 
 stated facts in a manner diHerent from those 
 writers usually accepted as authentic. Had 
 he in such cases j^roceeded to a particular 
 examination of the opinions and assertions 
 of other men ; had he entered into a justi- 
 fication of his own accounts, or specified the 
 reasons which determined liim to reject or to 
 admit every particular authority, his work * 
 niust have svrelied to an enormoiis size. He 
 was therefore, obliged to content himself 
 with a diligent and attentive inspection of 
 different evidence, with a careful use of his 
 private judgment, with exhibiting the autho- 
 rities he chose to follow, without generally 
 engaging in critical and controversial discus- 
 sions. They who are best acquainted with 
 the materials of which this History,' and 
 
 par- 
 
iv PRELIMINARY 
 
 particularly the latter periods, have been 
 iormed, will possibly be the readiest to ac- 
 knowledge the necessity of this method. 
 
 It willjnstly.be expected, that something 
 should be said of the ancient state of Ireland 
 previous to the adventure of Henry's subjects. 
 But in this the author must confine himself 
 to those particulars which seem necessary to 
 introduce, or to illustrate his principal sub- 
 ject. It is no part of his design to explore 
 the antiquities of the Irish, to decide on the 
 authenticity of their scattered records, or to 
 take any share in any contest relative to these 
 points. He is particularly disqualified for 
 such attempts, by being totally unacquainted 
 with the Irish language. In recurring to the 
 monkish annals quoted in the first and second 
 volumes, he was indebted to translations made 
 for the use of Sir James Ware, and in posses- 
 sion of the University of Dublin ; to the 
 collections, now the property of the Dubli:;^ 
 Society, and most obligingly communicated 
 by that respectable body ; but above all, tp 
 the zealous friendship and assistance of 
 Charles O'Connor, esquire. And here 
 he might enlarge on the assistance he hath 
 received, and the materials obtained both in 
 England and Ireland. But as such details 
 may be suspected to contain more of osten- 
 tation than gratitude, the reader shall not be 
 detained from that which seems of absolute 
 jfsecessity to be premised. 
 
DISCOURSEc 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HISTORY OF IRELAND 
 
 PREVIOUS TO THE 
 
 INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 If all nations have affected to deduce their 
 History from the earhest periods, and to 
 claim that origin which they deemed most 
 honourahle, the old Irish have been particu- 
 larly tempted to indulge this vanity. De- 
 pressed for many ages, and reduced to a mor- 
 tifying state of inferiority, stung with the 
 reproaches, with the contempt, and some- 
 times with the injurious slander of their 
 neighbours, they passionately recurred to the 
 monuments of their ancient glory, and spoke 
 of the noble actions of their ancestors in the 
 glowing style of indignation. O'Flagherty, 
 their celebrated antiquarian, (in a vindication 
 of his Ogygia against Sir George Mackenzie, 
 which I have seen in manuscript) speaks with 
 an enthusiastic zeal of his country, as the 
 venerable mother of Britain, " that engen- 
 " dered of her own bowels one hundred and 
 ** seventy-one monarchs for above two thou- 
 " sand years, to the year 1198, all of the 
 
 f * same 
 
^ PRELIMINARY 
 
 " same house and lineage ; with sixty-eight 
 " kings and one queen of British-Scotland 
 " (omitting Bruces and Baliols) and four 
 ** imperial kings and two queens of Great 
 *' Britain and Ireland, sprung ti'om her own 
 " loins." In the reign of Edward the Se- 
 cond, the Irish claimed a still greater anti- 
 'quitJ^ An Ulster prince of this time, boasts 
 Fordun. to the pope of an uninterrupted succession of 
 ^^° one hundread and ninety-seven kings of Ire- 
 land, to the year 1 170. 
 
 It cannot be denied, that no literar\'^ mo- 
 numents have yet been discovered in Ireland 
 earlier than the introduction of Christianity 
 into this country ; and that the evidence of 
 any transactions previous to this period, rests 
 entirely on the credit of Christian writers, 
 and their collections from old poets, or their 
 transcripts of records deemed to have been 
 made in times of paganism. It seems un* 
 reasonable to expect, that any other domestic 
 evidence of Irish antiquity should subsist at 
 this day. From these the antiquarian ibrms 
 a regular history, (mixed indeed with childish 
 and absurd fables) of a long succession of 
 kings irom the earlier ages of the world. 
 Not to mention Partholan, his sons, his 
 hoi[nd, and oxen ; the gigantic Fomorians 
 and their extirpation ; the Nemedians, Fir- 
 bolgs, Tuatha-de-Danans and their sorce- 
 ries ; it is generally asserted, that about a 
 tl^ousand, or to speak with the more mode- 
 rate, about five hundread years before the 
 Christian cera, a colony oi" Scythians, imme- 
 diately 
 
DISCOURSE. wj 
 
 diately from Spain, settled ia Ireland, and 
 introduced the Phoenician language and let- 
 ters into this country ; and that however it 
 might have heen peopled still earlier from 
 Gaul or Britain, yet Heber, Heremon, and 
 1th, the sons of Milesius, gave a race of 
 kings to the Irish, distinguished from their 
 days by the names of Gadelians and Scuits, 
 or Scots. Hence their writers trace a gra- 
 dual refmement of their country, from a state 
 of barbarous feuds, factions, and competiti- 
 ons ; until the monarch celebrated in their 
 annals by the name of Ollara-Fodia, es- 
 tablished a regular form of government, 
 erected a grand seminary of learning, and in- 
 stituted the Fes, or triennial convenuon c^' 
 provincial kings, priests, and poets, at Tea- 
 mor, or Tarah, in Meath, for the establish- 
 ment of laws and regulation of government. 
 Keating, the Irish historian, who transcribed 
 his accounts from poetical records,, mentions 
 little more of this boasted assembly, than that 
 its great object was to introduce civility, and 
 to guard against those crimes which predomi- 
 nate in days of rudeness and violence. Tiie 
 magnificent detail of its grandeur and solem- 
 nity, the scrupulous attention paid by it^ 
 members to the national history, annals, and 
 genealogies, are nothing more, (as I am as- 
 sured) than the interpolations of an ignorant 
 and presumptuous translator. 
 
 But whatever w^ere the institutions of this 
 monarch, it is acknowledged that they soon 
 proved too v/eak forthe wildness and disorder 
 
 of 
 
viii PRELIMINARY 
 
 of the time. To Kimbath, one of his suc- 
 cessors, the annahsts give the honour of re^ 
 viving them, besides that of regulating Ulster^ 
 his family province^ and adorning it by the 
 stately palace of Eamania, erected near 
 Armagh. But Hugony, immediate successor 
 to Kimbath, is celebrated for still farther 
 advances in the v>^ork of reformation. He is 
 described as a monarch powerful by sea and 
 land, and equally distinguished by his politi- 
 cal abilities. Of five provincial kings, four, 
 we are told, had ever proved the most perti- 
 nacious disturbers of the fifth who enjoyed 
 the monarchy. To break the power of these 
 rivals, Hugony parcelled the island into 
 twentV-five dynasties, binding them by oath 
 to accept no other monarch but one of his 
 own family. Yet such precaution, it seems, 
 could not secure him from a violent death, 
 nor prevent a series of assassinations, by 
 which the monarchs were for ages removed, 
 scarcely with one exception. 
 
 Keating. f^^ restoration of the pentarchal govern- 
 Di3?er"°'^ ment is dated about a century before the 
 Christian sera, and is said to have been succeed- 
 ed by a political revolution of some importance. 
 Among the other powers and privileges of 
 the Irish fileas or bards, they had been for 
 ages dispensers of the laws, and the whole 
 nation submitted to their tribunals. Their 
 honours were considerable, their numbers 
 prodigious, and in a course of ages they 
 naturally abused their power. Their ordi- 
 nances were affectedly obscured, and could 
 
 only 
 
DISCOURSE. 
 
 only be interpreted by tbemselves ; tbeir de- 
 cisions were frequently partial and unjust, tbe 
 ])eople grew impatient of their oppression, 
 and threatened to exterminate the whole 
 order. They lied lor shelter to Concovar- 
 Mac-Nessa tlie reigning monarcli. On pro- 
 mise of reformation he protected tiiem (iT)m 
 the impending danger. At tlie same time, to 
 remove the just comj)laints of bis j^eople, be 
 employed the most eminent among them to 
 compile an intelhgible, clear, and equitable 
 body of laws, which were received with 
 rapture, and called, in the elevated language 
 of an unpolished age. Celestial Decisions. 
 
 Instead of the effects naturally to be 
 expected from sage counsels, and patriotic 
 institutions, the annalists now present us with 
 a new series of barbarities, successions pre- 
 cipitated by murder, factions, auarchv, and 
 seditions. In this disordered state of things, 
 we are told, that the Irish chieftain menti- 
 oned by Tacitus, addressed himself to Agri- 
 cola, and encouraged him to make a descent 
 on Ireland. But, instead of subscribing to 
 the opinion, that a single legion and a few 
 auxiliaries would be suthcient to reduce the 
 whole island, the Irish historian considers the 
 suggestion as utterly extravagant, even in the 
 present unsettled state of his country, and 
 records with triumph, that the Irish monarch 
 of this time, instead of dreading an invasion 
 of the Romans, sailed to the assistance of the 
 Picts, led an irruption into the Roman pro- 
 VoL. I. b vince. 
 
X PRELIMINARY 
 
 vince, and returned in triumph laden with 
 foreign spoils. 
 
 On the death of this prince, called Crim- 
 than, the annalists lament that the succession 
 of tlie Hne of Heremon to the monarchy was 
 interrupted; that the old Firholgs, or Bel- 
 gian inhabitants, grew so powerful and tur- 
 bulent as to establish a monarch of their own 
 race, and to harass the country for manv years, 
 (with some short intervals) by tlie plebeian, 
 or Attacotic war, as it was called. We are 
 told, that at length, Tuathal, a prince of the 
 Milesian family, returned from North Britain 
 with some Pictish auxiliaries, and vindicated 
 the honour of his house; that he assembled 
 tlie general convention at Tarah, was recocr- 
 ifized supreme monarch, and obliged his sub- 
 jects hy a solemn oath to elect their future 
 sovereigns from his family ; that he separated 
 the flistrict of Meath from the other provinces 
 of Ireland, and apj^ointed it for the appenage 
 of the monarch; that he adorned it with 
 stately edifices ; and that he established, or 
 at least revived a famous assembly at Taltion 
 in Meath, the great resort of the whole nati- 
 Keatin<T^. ou, for the purposes of traffic, sports, and 
 social intercourse. 
 
 The provincial king of Leinster is said to 
 have provoked this monarch by an act of 
 singular perfidy. He had married the daugh- 
 ter of Tuathal ; but conceiving an adulter- 
 ous passion for her sister, pretended that his 
 wife had died; and demanded, and obtained 
 
 her 
 
DISCOURSE. 
 
 iier sister in marriage. The two ladies met 
 in the roN^al house of Leinster ; astonishment 
 and vexation put an end to their hves : the 
 monarch invaded his son-in-law, whose jjro- 
 vince was preserved from desolation, only on 
 condition of paying a grievous tribute^ as a 
 j^erpetual memorial of the resentment of 
 Tuathal, and the offence committed by the 
 king of Leinster. To the exaction of" this 
 odious and oppressive tribute are ascribed the 
 commotions and disorders of ages. Conn, 
 one of the succeeding monarclis is said to 
 have lived in perpetual turl)uleucc, and with 
 a variety of fortune, by his attempts to en- 
 force the payment of it ; and at length to 
 have been driven to a partition of the mo- 
 narchy with the prince of Munster, content- 
 ing himself with the northern moiety, called 
 Leath-Conn, while his rival enjoyed the 
 southern, stiled Leath-Mogha. But he re- 
 covered his ibrmer power, by snrpribi ng and 
 killing the Munster prince. Conn loo dk-d 
 by violence, with the superb title of Conn 
 
 OF THE HUNDRED BATfLES. 
 
 CoRMAC O'CoNN, grandson of this hero, 
 is £aid to be the most renowned of all the 
 pagan monarchs. The annalists date tlie 
 commencement of his reign about the vear 
 of Christ 2o4. They sj)eak with rapture of 
 the splendour and magnificence of Ins court, 
 his three warlike sons, his ten beauteous 
 daughters, his guards, his palaces, his for- 
 midable militia, and their illustrious general 
 Finn, the son of Cumhal, and father of 
 
 Oi^- 
 
PRELIMINARY 
 
 Oissian the immortal bard ; liis revision cS 
 the laws, and endowments of learned semi- 
 naries, liis triumph over his rebellious sub- 
 jects, the resignation ot his dignit}', and his 
 philosophical retreat. 
 
 The effects of an education received from 
 such a father are said to have been honour- 
 ably displa3'ed in the conduct of his son 
 Carbry-Liffecar. But the wisdom and poli- 
 cy of these princes, we are told, could not 
 stem the torrent of domestic strife and nati- 
 onal factions. Carbry died by the sword : 
 his immediate successors shared the same 
 ijite; and even those, who contrived to hold 
 the scej:)tre for many years, at length fell by 
 treachery or war. The contests of the un- 
 just and ambitious laid, the country waste ; 
 and the stately palace of Eamania was de- 
 stroyed by flames. Crimthan, who carried 
 his arms into Gaul and Britain, died by poi- 
 son : and Nial of the nine hostages, 
 afi:er his brave enterprize in support of the 
 x^lbanian Dalraida, and his successes in Ar- 
 morica, fell by the hand of an assassin. To 
 Dathy, his successor, and the last of pagan 
 monarchs, annalists assign a long and peace- 
 ful reign, till at length, engaging in foreign 
 wars, he was killed by lightning near th^ 
 Alps. 
 
 From the poetical annals that furnish this 
 catalogue of monarchs, we have a lively 
 picture of manners, more worthy of atten- 
 tion than the events which they deliver, with 
 so profuse a mixture of giants, necromancers, 
 
 ob- 
 
DISCOURSE. 
 
 obscure allegories and extravagant fables. 
 They describe a brave people, driven from 
 their native land in search of new settle- 
 ments, establishing themselves by their va- 
 lour in a fair and fertile island : the chief- 
 tains parcelling out lands to dieir attendants, 
 and the whole collection of adventurers, 
 from the moment of their peaceable establish- 
 ment, devising means to give stability to 
 their acquisitions. From one family more 
 distinguished and reverenced than the rest, 
 they choose a monarch, not with that regard 
 to primogeniture suited to times more com- 
 posed, but the ablest and bravest of the par- 
 ticular race, as the man most likely to pro- 
 tect or to avenge them. To guard against 
 the confusion of sudden accidents in a time 
 of violence, a successor is ap[)ointed to this 
 monarch during his life, who on his demise 
 is instantly to take the reins of government. 
 But the power of the monarch is consider- 
 ably limited. His associates in adventure, 
 conscious of their own merit, claim a share 
 of dignity as well as of emolument. They 
 pay their tributes to that provincial king 
 whom they choose monarch of the island. 
 In the other provinces they exercise all regal 
 authority by virtue of a similar election. 
 'I'hey have their rights independent of the 
 monarch, and frequently vindicate them by 
 arms against his invasions. The monarch, 
 sensible of the danger arising from their 
 turbulent spirit of freedom, endeavours to 
 secure his authority, sometimes by dividing 
 their power, sometimes by uniting the vari- 
 ous 
 
xvl PRELIMINARY 
 
 ous independent states into one general in- 
 terest by national conventions. In this state 
 of things, a robust frame of body, a vehe- 
 mence of passion, an elevated imagination 
 were the characteristics of the people. No- 
 ble instances of valour, generous effusions 
 of benevolence, ardent resentments, despe- 
 rate and vindictive outrages abound in their 
 annals. To verse and music they are pecu- 
 liarly addicted. They who are possessed of 
 any superior degree of knowledge, they who 
 operate on their fancies and passions by the 
 liveliest strains of poetry, are held in extra- 
 ordinary veneration : the ministers of their 
 religion are accounted more than human. 
 To all these they submit their contests ; they 
 consult them as oracles of law and policy. 
 But reflection and the gradual progress of 
 refinement convince them of the necessity of 
 settled laws. The principles of equity and 
 independence implanted in the human breast 
 receive them with delight ; but the violence 
 of passion still [)roves superior to their re- 
 straint. Private injuries are revenged by 
 force; and insolent and ambitious chieftains 
 still recur to arms. 
 
 They Avho compare this account with the 
 progress of society in other European settle- 
 ments, may decide on the justness of this 
 colouring. The Irish antiquarian deduces fron^ 
 it an intrinsic proof of the general authenti- 
 city of his favourite annals. Even from the 
 idle tales of enchantments and supernatural 
 events, a late advocate labours to prove their 
 
 high 
 
DISCOURSE. 3CV 
 
 high antiquity. " Into this story," saith do<!tor 
 
 Warner, speaking of a particular engage- Warner. 
 
 ment, "there is foisted a very wonderous^/j°\^j,j_ 
 
 ** tale of the skill and enchantments of the p. 244. 
 
 " Druids in each army ; in order, no douht, 
 
 *' to possess their countrymen with an high 
 
 ** opinion and esteem of the power and ini- 
 
 ** portance of their holy leaders, as well as 
 
 " to enliven the history with wonder and 
 
 " surprise. At the same time therefore 
 
 ** that we acquit the bard who inv^ented it 
 
 ** in that age of darkness and superstition, 
 
 '* we must condemn doctor Keating, who 
 
 " relates it to us in these days for serious 
 
 " history. Indeed his relating it to us from 
 
 " the ancient records has answered one end, 
 
 *' for which we ought to forgive him : it has 
 
 " furnished us with a proof from the history 
 
 " of Ireland itself, of the antiquity of that 
 
 *' history, and of the existence of letters 
 
 " betbre the introduction of Christianit}^. 
 
 " For though ui the time of Druidism it was 
 
 *' natural to take every opportunit}^ of dis- 
 
 ** playing the power of that order, yet this 
 
 " was absurd and inconsistent in Christian 
 
 '* annaUsts, and could not therefore be foisted 
 
 " in by them ; nor the history be the pro- 
 
 '* duction of later ages, as our candid critics 
 
 *' all seem to contend." 
 
 But to the antiquarian 1 leave it to esta- 
 bhsh the authenticity of this history. It is 
 only pertinent to xnj present purpose to ob- 
 serve, that ir' we suppose tiiat the old poets 
 were merely inventors of this whole series 
 
 of 
 
atvi PRELIMINARY 
 
 of actions and incidents so circumstantially 
 detailed, still they must have dra\vn their 
 picture from that government and those man- 
 ners, which subsisted in their own days, or 
 were remembered by their fathers. So that 
 we may reasonably conclude, that the state 
 of Ireland for several centuries at least before 
 the introduction of the English power, was 
 such as they describe it in these early periods. 
 And this is the only conclusion which I am 
 concerned to establish. 
 
 OF 
 
DISCOURSE. xvU 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ESTABLISHMENT OF CHRISTIANITY, 
 
 l^ 
 
 IRELAND, 
 
 AND THE 
 
 CONSEQUENCES OF THIS EVENT. . 
 
 1 HE conversion of the Irish to Christianity 
 is generally considerecl as a new period, 
 whence we may trace their history with 
 more certainty ; though we still find it en- 
 cumbered with legendary and poetical fic- 
 tions. The people were prepared for the 
 preaching of Patrick their great apostle^ by 
 the gradual progress of the Gospel, by the 
 labours of soirie former missionaries, and (if 
 we may believe the old annalists) by the 
 liberal and philosophical spirit of Cprmac 
 O'Conn, who first taught his si)bjec|:s to de^ 
 spise the pagan rites. To him they princi- 
 pally attribute it, that the Druidical orde^ sq 
 ancient and so powerful, gradually declined 
 in consequence, though not extinct on the ar- 
 rival of the great missionary : for the most 
 authentic records mention the name of a 
 Druid who violently opposed the introducs 
 tion of Christianity, and warned the monarch 
 of the heavy and oppressive taxations which 
 Vol. ly c the 
 
3t^u PRELIMINARY 
 
 the people must suffer from the new rehgious 
 establishment. 
 
 Patrick, say the adversaries of Irish 
 antiquity, laid the foundation of civility in 
 this barbarous country, by teaching the use 
 of letters to its ignorant inhabitants. Pa- 
 trick, say the advocates for this antiquity, in- 
 troduced the Roman character, in which his 
 copies of the Scriptures and Liturgies were 
 written, and in which the new Irish converts 
 transcribed the Sacred Writings, with such 
 ease and expedition as were impossible for 
 unlettered men. They remind us, that 
 Fiach. to whom Patrick first delivered the 
 new character, was the disciple of Dubthah- 
 O'Lugair, an illustrious poet, who, some time 
 before, had sent his pupil into Connaught, to 
 present some of his compositions to the 
 princes of this countr3^ But they proceed 
 yet farther: for, not to mention their ac-r 
 counts of the Ogham, their ancient or or3^p- 
 tic character, or their arguments from the 
 number, the arrangement, the names of the 
 Irish letters, or Beth-luis-nion, they furnished 
 Sir James Ware with a long catalogue of 
 writers in the days of paganism, from Amer- 
 gin brother to Heber and Heremon. 
 
 Archbishop Usrer has shewn that the 
 gystem of doctrines taught by Patrick were 
 free from the erroneous novelties of the 
 church of Rome. But pure as his preaching 
 inight be, the doctrines of the Gospel^ 
 IjYhich, if their influence be not fatally coun- 
 ter- 
 
DISCOURSE. 
 
 teiacted, tend to refine, harmonize, and 
 elevate the human mind, do not a|)j:)ear to 
 have been so dee|)ly imbibed, or blended so 
 thoroughl}^ with the natural principles of the 
 people, as to pi'odu<:e any extraordinary refor- 
 mation of national man ners. Even Leogaire, 
 the converted monarch, made an unchristian 
 attack on Leinster, was defeated, and by a 
 solemn oath renounced the old tribute which 
 had been the pretence of quarrel. Yet no 
 sooner had he returned to his own territory, 
 and reassembled his forces, than, with a 
 shocking defiance of his sacred obligation, 
 he again rushed into the province with fire 
 and sword. It is true the monastic annalists, 
 scandalized at this conduct, tell us, that Leo- 
 gaire apostatized after his baptism. The 
 fact, if admitted, only exhibits a notable in- 
 stance, in which an inveterate corruption of 
 manners proved too powerful for the preachers 
 of Christianity, even when its doctrine had 
 been embraced an(^ professed. And for ages 
 after the death of this monarch, the annals 
 abound in horrid instances of revenge, and 
 liideous effects of avarice and ambition. Yet 
 Christianity, as then taught, although it, 
 could not eradicate, at ]east restrained the 
 national vices. A numerous bo;iy of eccle- 
 siastics secular and regular, (]uiokly swarmed 
 over the whole country, frecjuenlly becamoi 
 umpires between contending chieftains; and 
 when they could not confine them withiu 
 the bounds of reason and religion, at least 
 terrifiedthem by denouncing divine venge ince 
 against their excesses. An ignorant pcjjle 
 
 lis- 
 
?LX PRELIMINARY 
 
 listened to their tales of pretended miracles 
 with a religious horror. In the midst of 
 every provincial content and every domestic 
 strife, they were sacred and inviolate. I'hey 
 soon learned to derive their own emolument 
 irbm the public veneration. The infant 
 church was every where amply endowed, and 
 the prayers of holy men repaid by large 
 donation;^. Some of the oldest remains of 
 Irish literature, as the}' have been explained to 
 me, inform us, that the people were taught 
 to dedicate the first born of all cattle to the 
 church, as a matter of indispensible obliga- 
 tion. But if the clergy thus acquired riches, 
 they applied them to the noblest purposes. 
 
 "The Monks," saith Mr. O'Connor, 
 '* fixed their habitations in deserts, which 
 " they cultivated with their own hands, and 
 " rendered the most delightfiil spots in the 
 O'Con- " kingdom. These deserts became well po- 
 Dissert " liced citics ; and it is remarkable enough 
 f* that to the INIonks we owe so useful an 
 •* institution in Ireland as bringing great 
 ** numbers together into one civil cominuni- 
 " ty. — In these cities the Monks set up 
 '* schools, in which they educated the youth 
 *' not only of the island but the neighbour- 
 *' nations." The testimony of Bede is un- 
 questionable, that about the middle of the 
 seventh centuiy, in the days of the venerable 
 prelates Finian and Colman, many nobles and 
 other orders of the Anglo-Saxons, retired 
 from their own country into Ireland, either 
 
 for 
 
DISCOURSE. 
 
 lor instruction, or tor an opportunity of liv- 
 ing in monasteries of strieter diseipline: and 
 that the Scots (as he styles the Irish) main- 
 tained them, taught them, and furnished 
 them with hooks, without fee or reward: 
 ** A most honourahle testimony," saith the 
 elegant lord Lyttelton, ** not only to the 
 ** learning, hut likewise to the hospitality 
 " and hounty of that nation I" A conflux 
 of foreigners to a retired island, at a time 
 when Europe was in ignorance and confusion, 
 gave peculiar lustre to this seat of learning : 
 nor is it improhable or surprising, that seven 
 thousand students studied at Armagh, agree- 
 ably to the accounts of Irish writers, though 
 the seminary of Armagh was hut one of tlios-? 
 numerous colleges erected in Ireland. 
 
 But the labours of the Irish clergy were 
 not confined to their own country. Their 
 missionaries were sent to the continent. They 
 converted heathens, they confirmed believers, 
 they erected convents, they established schools 
 of learning ; they taught the use of letters 
 to the Saxons and Normans, tiiey converted 
 the Picts by the preaching of Coiumb-kill, 
 one of their renowned ecclesiastics : Burgun- 
 dy, (Jermany, and other countries received 
 their instructions : and Europe with gratitude 
 confessed the superior knowledge, the piety, 
 the zeal, the purity of the Island of 
 Saints. Such are the events on which 
 Irish writers dwell with an enthusiastic 
 delight 
 
 The 
 
xxii PRELIMINARY 
 
 The first Christian missionaries seem to 
 have industriously avoided all unnecessary vio- 
 lence to (he ancient manners of the Irish. 
 Their poets they fiivoured and protected ; 
 the remains of the Druidical order were not 
 persecuted ; and although divine vengeance 
 was thundered against the worshippers of the 
 sun, stars, and winds, it is evident, that some 
 pagan superstitions were overlooked with too 
 great indulgence ; for they subsist at this 
 day in Ireland : fn^es are lighted up at parti- 
 cular times, and the more ignorant Irish still 
 drive their cattle through these fires, as an 
 effectual means of preserving them from 
 future accidents. 
 
 Whatever were the civil establishments 
 jn Ireland on the introduction of Christianity, 
 the first missionaries attempted no essential 
 alterations. '* They thought," saith Mr. 
 O'Connor, " that schemes of political legis- 
 "lation belonged properly to the civil power 
 "alone." Possibly their genius was too 
 confined, and possibly they were too much 
 absorl>ed in the immediate business of their 
 mission to entertain such schemes. The 
 written laws, however, if the Irish had any- 
 written laws, were in several |3oints necessari- 
 ly to be accommodated to the new religious 
 estublisliment. Accordingly we are told that, 
 ocon- on the first reception of Christianity, Patrick 
 Dissert "^vas onc of nine persons, kings, bards, and 
 Frag- ' ecclesiastics, appointed to revise the ordi- 
 Son^ nances of ])agan times, and to form a new 
 Law. code of laws; that the code was formed, 
 
 pub- 
 
DISCOURSE. xxiii 
 
 published, and known to posterity by tl|E 
 name of Seanchas-Moir, or the great 
 Antiquity. 
 
 English writers treat the idea of written 
 laws, or any settled jurisprudence among the 
 old Irish as merely chimerical. Sir Richard f.*?^' 
 
 ^^ . • • 1 ■ 1 • 11 History 
 
 Cox IS positive that trie nation never had any of Le- 
 written compilation of laws, or any other ^^"^,' 
 rule of right but the will of a chieftain, or Davis, ' 
 the arbitrary decisions of his Brehon or^'scov^ 
 Judge, who sat without formahty in tlie open "^' 
 air; and attended only to the will of his 
 patron. Sir John Davis, a still greater au- 
 thority, declares that the Brehons gave judg- 
 ment in all causes, *' witli the assistance of 
 *' certain scholars, who had learned many 
 " rules of the civil and canon law, rather by 
 " tradition than by reading." 
 
 In opposition to such unfavourable re[)re-- 
 sentations, and to the opprobrious name of 
 ** Gens Exlex" by which Giraldus Cam- 
 brensis marks the old Irish, their writers 
 quote the authority of Joceline, who asserts, 
 " Patricium, magnum volumen, quod dici- 
 ** tur Canoin-Padruig sive canones Patricii, 
 " scripsisse, quod cuilibet personte sen secu- 
 *' lari seu etiam ecclesiastical ad justitiam ex- 
 " ercendam, & salutem obtineudam, satis 
 ** congrue convenit :" they produce the testi- 
 mony of Saint Bernard, who, in his encomi 
 um on Malachy the Irish saint, savs expressly, 
 ** Omnibus tradebat jura ecclesiastica, opti- 
 " mus legislator, leges dabat plenas modestise 
 
PRELIMINARY 
 
 '* & honestatis. — Repetuntur antiqi]a3 coiisue- 
 " dines quas bonas fiiisse constitit; nee modo 
 '' Vetera restaurantur ; ctiduntur & nova :" 
 and still farther, they testify that several 
 collections of the old Irish laws existed m 
 their own driys. The author of Cambrensis 
 Eversus declares that he saw many large 
 volumes of these laws on vellum, the text 
 in a larger, the comment in a smaller writ- 
 ing. " Vidi ego [)lura e pergameno spissa 
 ** iegum Ilibernicarum volumina, & in illis 
 " textuni charactere grandiori conscriptum, 
 *' lineis modice disjunctis, faciliori vocuni 
 " interpretatione minutioribus Uteris inserta. 
 " Uberiora commentaria per paginam diffusa 
 *' textum obibant, eadem omnino ratione 
 " qua textum & glossam in libris utriusque 
 *' juris aspicimus." ** I have thirty books 
 " of our law," saitli Roddy, another Irish 
 antiquarian, ** although my honoured friend 
 " Sir Richard Cox was once of opinion 
 ** that our law was arbitrary, and not fixed 
 *' or v/ritten, until I convinced him of the 
 * contrary by shewing him some of our 
 •* old law-books." 
 
 We mav observe that neither Lynch in 
 his refutations of Cambrensis, nor this Roddy, 
 the collector of Irish books, says one word 
 of having read or examined these tracts ; 
 nor attempts to give any account of their 
 contents. The one only saw them; the 
 other only shelved them ; but neither under- 
 stood these books. Llujxl the antiquarian 
 saw them, and to him they were equally un- 
 
 in- 
 
DISCOURSE. 
 
 intelligible ; but with more ingenuousness he 
 confesses his ignorance, and in a postscript 
 to the preface of" his Irish Dictionary, copies 
 a j)assaoe from his old parchments as a speci- 
 men of ancient Irish, which he cannot ex- 
 plain, and of which he requests an interpreta- 
 tion from any gentleman of Ireland or Scot- 
 land. Two volumes of old Irish manu- 
 scripts, which appear to have been part ot 
 Mr. Lluyd's collection, and one of which 
 contains the passage he extracted, were com- 
 municated to me in London, by Edmond 
 Burke, Esq. and conveyed to Ireland. They 
 contain tracts apparently juridical ; as the 
 text, comment, and glossary precisely corres- 
 pond with the description of Lynch. Thev 
 were pronounced by readers of the Irish 
 language to be fragments of the Seanchas- 
 Moir compiled by Patrick, or rather much 
 earlier, by some pagan legislator : they were 
 acknowledged to be written in a dialect dil- 
 ferent from that of their poets and annalists; 
 and such, as they who studied these poets and 
 annalists could not explain. They were in- 
 deed discouraged from the attempt, not only 
 by the difficulties of an obsolete language, 
 but by a strange confusion and incoherence 
 which appeared in these writmgs even where 
 the words were intelligible. It was suspect- 
 ed, that this arose from an affectation of ob- 
 scurity. But a more natural solution of the 
 difficulty hath been just now given. Charles 
 Vallancey, Esq a native of England, by a 
 laborious attention to the ancient language of 
 Ireland, had gained a knowledge of it, sur- 
 Vol. L d prising^ 
 
I2vi PHELIMINARY 
 
 prising to those natives who made it tlie great 
 object of their study- To him I communi- 
 cated these old manuscripts, and he claims 
 the merit of first explaining them, and has 
 ohligingiv furnished me with translations and 
 copious extracts of the ancient Irish laws, 
 contained in these books, and another of the 
 same kind in the library of Trinity College 
 Dublin. A considerable part of the dilh- 
 culty which Mr. Lluyd and other inspectors 
 of these books hitherto experienced, arose, it 
 seems, from not adverting to the proper me- 
 thod of reading tliem ; as they are written in 
 the manner well known to the Grecian anti- 
 quary by the name of Boustrophedon. 
 The unirsual inversion of lines occasioned the 
 apparent iitcoherence and confusion above- 
 mentioned. When this circumstance was 
 once pointed out, the difficulties arising from 
 an obsolete language appeared not so consi- 
 derable. 
 
 The laws thus discovered appear to be no 
 part of the great code or Seancbas-Moir said 
 to be fi'amed in the days of Patrick, but of 
 a date considerably later. The Seanchas- 
 Moir is frequently quoted both in the text 
 and comment, as also another old code called 
 the laws of Ulster, which the learned Irish 
 claim to have been made in the house of 
 Eamania, long before the preaching of theirts 
 great apostle. In one place it is ordained, 
 that in a particular case, when the property 
 of lands is disputed, the unanimous voices 
 of TWELVE men shall decide the controver- 
 
discourse:. xxyii 
 
 sy, Flence it was inferred by those who oniy 
 iintlerstood the translation, that these Irish 
 laws were nothing moie than the local ordi- 
 nances of some Brehon, who had copied 
 from the legal proceedings of his neighbours, 
 the English settlers. But such inferences 
 were immediately enc^ountered by an appeal 
 to the style of these remains : which is said, 
 both in the text and comment, (evidently 
 written at different periods) to be as distin- 
 guishable from the Irish of the twelfth or 
 thirteenth century, as the language of Chan- 
 cer and Spencer from the compositions of 
 present times. And indeed the matter of 
 these law^s seems to bear strong internal 
 marks of antiquity. They never once mention 
 foreigners or foreign septs settled in Ireland. 
 They ai>ound in reguli^tions for bartering 
 goods ; they ri^te all payments and amercia- 
 ments by cattle and other commodities, in 
 the place of which the comment, as if in 
 compliance with a change of manners, sub- 
 stitutes gold and silver taken by weight ; 
 they take not the least notice of coined mor 
 ney, which was introduced into Ireland by 
 the ScandinaN'ian invaders, and became com- 
 mon among the Irish septs soon after the set- 
 tlement of the English. They mention the 
 triennial assemblies, and convention at 
 Taltion, and ordain that no debts shall be 
 demanded or enforced by any legal proceed- 
 ings during these meetings. Hence it seems 
 not improbable that these fragments are part 
 of a compilation of laws which O'Flagherty O'Fia-- 
 teils us, were made by three brethren (whom "g^'^' 
 
 he 
 
PRELIMINARY 
 
 he names) in the eighth century. But when- 
 ever they were made, or transcribed, they 
 certainly exhibit a Hvely picture of the man- 
 ners and customs of the Irish in early times, 
 and serve to correct some errors of their own, 
 as well as of English writers. — The reader 
 will excuse this digression; as it is a necessa- 
 ry introduction to what appears proper to be 
 mentioned under another head. 
 
 OF 
 
DISCOURSE. 
 
 OF THE 
 ANCIENT MANNERS OF THE IRISH. 
 
 And here I must again premise, that 
 I cannot enter into a copious detail of eve- 
 ry particular relative to the ancient manners 
 of a people whose iiistory still continues 
 dark, doubtful, and deformed. I mean to 
 confine myself principally to those particu- 
 lars which may illustrate my immediate sub- 
 ject. 
 
 If we enquire into the manners of the 
 ancient Irish from English w riters, we fnid 
 their representations odious and disgusting : 
 if from writers of" their own race, they fre- 
 quently break out into the most animated 
 encomiums of their great ancestors. The 
 one can scarcely allow them any virtue ; the 
 other, in their enthusiastic ardor, can scarce- 
 ly discover the least imperfection in their laws, 
 government, or manners. I'he historian of 
 England sometimes regards them as the most 
 detestable, and contemptible of the human 
 race. The antiquary of Ireland raises them 
 to an illustrious eminence, above all other 
 European countries. Yet, when we examine 
 their records, without regard to legendary 
 tales or poetic fictions, we find them even in 
 their most brilliant periods, advanced only 
 to an imperfect civilization, a state which 
 exhibits the most striking instances both of 
 
 the 
 
XXX PRELIMINARY 
 
 ^I'as- the virtues and the vices of humanity. We 
 Brehou° have already seen the more general divisions 
 Laws, of the island ; the princes of the several pro- 
 vinces : and the monarch chosen to preside 
 over the whole collection of dynasties. The 
 dignity of this monarch was supported by 
 tributes paid by inferior princes, at least 
 fi'om the time that Meath ceased to be his 
 peculiar appenage, They were paid in every 
 kind of cattle, mantles, clothes, and utensils, 
 ijot as tributes of bondage say the old records, 
 but as benevolences granted in return for the 
 benefits of his laws and the benedictions of 
 his clergv. Yet the number and quality of 
 the tributes to be paid by every inferior dy- 
 nasty were accurately ascertained. The mo- 
 narch on his part was bound to purchase 
 the service and attachment of his inferiors, 
 by large donations of kine, sheep, horses, 
 swine, arms, mantles, drinking-cups, of which 
 every chieftain claimed his particular por- 
 tion, and in return was bound to entertain 
 Ihe monarch in his j)rogress*, for a stated 
 /ime, and to attend him for some certain 
 days or moriths, and no longer, in his milita- 
 ry expeditions. 
 
 Such is the account collected from aq old 
 Irish record called *' the Book of Tributes." 
 The obligations of the monarch and his sub- 
 jects were mutual : each had their rights 
 defined ; and each lived in perpetual jea- 
 lousy of the encroachments of the other. 
 
 The 
 
 * The Christian cle-gy were particularly careful to inculcate 
 til is virtue of hospitality. 
 
DISCOURSE. 
 
 The factious easily devised pretences for 
 w iih-holding tribute from the monarch ; tlie 
 monarch, in this case, could seek redress only 
 by making war upon his subjects. If the 
 j)resents demanded by every interior prince 
 were denied, delayed, or not exactly propor- 
 tioned to his claims, he refused his services. 
 The monarch was leit to the resources of 
 his hereditary province ; and in the most 
 dangerous emergencies was irequently with- 
 out anv army. Hence sudden revolutions, 
 and tragical catastrophes, the effects of pride, 
 ambition, and resentment. Even when the 
 military service was performed, chieftains 
 must have oftentimes marched to the field, 
 with a secret indifference or distaste to the 
 cause in which they were engaged ; and 
 these they easily contrived to propagate 
 among their followers. Hence in the hour 
 of danger, they frequently fled on the first 
 attack ; of which we shall hereafter find 
 several instances. Men, who at other times 
 display such intrepidity, could scarcely yield 
 with so much ease and apparent indifference, 
 if they had not thought their interest and 
 their honor totally unconcerned in the quarrel ; 
 if they had not been discontented with their 
 leader ; and their leader too weak to restrain 
 or punish them. At least, this seems a more 
 reasonable account of such appearances, than 
 recurring to the charge of national cowardice, 
 a vice scarcely to be expected among a rude 
 and turbulent, though not a barbarous peo- 
 ple. But if we suppose the collected forces 
 of the monarch the most favourably affected 
 
 t© 
 
PRELIMINARY 
 
 to Ills interests, still an army, bound to serve 
 only for a season, might prove sufficient for 
 some short incursions into a rebellious pro- 
 vince; but foreigners, who might pour gra- 
 dually into Ireland for settlements, or con- 
 quest, were not to be exterminated by a tem- 
 })orary militia. 
 
 The power and government of a provin- 
 cial king were exactly similar to those of the 
 monarch. I lis successor or Tainist was elect- 
 ed in his life-time ; he received tributes from 
 inferior chieftains, ]yaid for their services, 
 was entertained in his visitations and attend- 
 ed by them in his wars. Inferior toparchs 
 governed their respective districts in the same 
 manner: and to these again a number of 
 lords wei-e subordinate, who dwelt in their 
 Raths, as they were called, or enclosures of 
 a dwelling-house and offices ; parcelled out 
 lands to their inferiors, who again possessed 
 their smaller Raths, and commanded a smaller 
 number of dependents. In these petty socie- 
 ties we may view the manners of the Irish 
 more distinctly. No man was bound to con- 
 tinue in them longer than he found it neces- 
 sary for his interest. On his admission, he 
 took the name of the chieftain or Flath as he 
 ■was called ; on his death, or departure, a new 
 partiti(^n was made of all the lands belonging 
 to the particular district, by virtue of the law 
 of *' Gavel-kind," as the English called it. 
 Through the whole countrv the tenure of 
 lands determined with the life of the posses- 
 sor ; and as the crimes or misfortunes of men 
 
 fk- 
 
DISCOURSE. 
 
 frequently forced them from one tribe to 
 another, property was eternally fluctuating; 
 and new partitions of lands made almost 
 daily. Hence, the cultivation of grounds was 
 only in proportion to the immediate demands 
 of nature, and the tributes to be paid to su- 
 periors. And whatever magnificent struc- 
 tures might have been erected for occasions of 
 state, or for religious worship, it is certain that 
 both princes and people dwelt in houses slight- 
 ly composed of hurdles. 
 
 Among a rude ])eople, Iiospitality was a 
 principal virtue. It was enjoined by law ; 
 and as neither lords nor tenants were bound 
 to each other, as the whole tribe might mi' 
 grate to some more favoinable district, the 
 Brehon institutes expressly enjoin that no 
 llath shall break up suddenly, lest the tra- 
 veller should be disap|)ointed of his expected 
 reception. But neither tlie duties to be re 
 ceived by the lord, nor the entertainment he 
 was to expect from his inferiors, were deter- 
 mined by his arbitrary will and pleasure. 
 They were proportioned to the benelits re- 
 ceived from him, and ascertained by the 
 laws : so that the lord could exact his Co- 
 shering, his Cuddies, his Bonnaught, names 
 denoting particular modes of provision for 
 the temporary support of himself and his at- 
 tendants ; and w hich in latter times werd 
 f<3und so grievous, and so severely condemn- 
 ed, under the denominations of ** Coyne and 
 livery." Even the lowest of the people claim- 
 ed reception and refreshment, by an aUiiost 
 Vol, 1. e |>er- 
 
sxxiv PRELIMINARY 
 
 perfect right : and so ineffectual is the flux 
 oi many centuries to efface the ancient man- 
 ners of a people, that at this day the wander- 
 ing heggar enters the house of a farmer or 
 gentleman, with as much ease and freedom 
 as an inmate. The benevolent spirit of 
 Christianity served to enforce and counte- 
 nance such manners, *' The most holy men 
 of heaven," say the Irish laws, were remark- 
 *' able for hospitality; and the Gospel com- 
 " mand^ us to receive the sojourner, to enter- 
 " tain him, and to relieve his wants." 
 
 These laws not only provide against mur- 
 der, rape<^, adultery, theft, robbery ; but such 
 crimes as are not generally cognizable by hu- 
 man tribunals ; such as slander, tale-bear- 
 ing, or disrespect to superiors. But at this 
 day it will not be regarded as a distinguishing 
 mark of barbarity that the most outrageous 
 offences were punishable only by an eric or 
 fine. That for murder was to be paid by 
 the perpetrator or his family, to the son, or 
 relations of the deceased, and in proportion 
 to their degrees of consanguinity : that for 
 adultery, to the husband of the offender, by 
 her fiither or nearest relations; or, if a bond- 
 woman, by the tribe which entertained her, 
 or by the church which she served. The 
 incestuous person not only paid his Eric, but 
 was instantly expelled from his tribe. Nor 
 could any man be admitted into a new tribe, 
 until he had paid Eric for all offences what- 
 ever committed in his former residence. The 
 fme paid to a son for the murder of his father 
 was rated at seven Cumhals, as they were call- 
 
DISCOURSE. XXXV 
 
 f'd, or twenty-one kine. Hence we may 
 form a JLicliiment of the lenity of their penal 
 laws in otlier instances. The property and 
 security of woods, the regulation of water- 
 courses, but above all the property of bees, 
 on which depended the principal beverage 
 of the j^eople, were guarded by a number of 
 minute institutions, which breathe a spirit 
 of equity and humanity. We are not to won- 
 der that a people, accustomed to the re line- 
 merits tbund in their own laws, should be 
 pronounced of all others the greatest lovers 
 of justice. This is the honorable testimony 
 of sir John Davis and lord Coke. With 
 shame we must confess, that they were not 
 taught this love of justice by the first English 
 settlei^s. 
 
 MoRYSON, in his travels, informs us that 
 an Irish chieftain with his family and attend- 
 ants sat round his fire, naked. There is lit- 
 tle doubt but that in the reign of Elizabeth, 
 even the old natives had degenerated, and 
 that the wars of several centuries had reduced 
 tiiem to a state inferior to that in which 
 the English found them in the days of Henry 
 the Second. Yet the fact is totally incredi- 
 ble. The climate of Ireland must at all times 
 have forced the most barbarous to some co- 
 ^ ering, even in their retired chambers. Irish 
 writers minutely describe the ancient dress 
 of their country, the vest, the trowse, the 
 mantle, the enormous linen sleeves dyed with 
 saffron, the ornaments of their women, and 
 the crowns of their kings. The fragm»ents 
 
 of 
 
PRELIMINARY 
 
 of their laws, an authority less suspicioife, re- 
 gulate the prices ot" dress for all orders and 
 iiegrees; they ordain that- wives who brine: 
 no dowry (including even queens) shall be 
 restrained in ih^ expence ot their apparel; 
 they ascertain the prices of needle-woik, em- 
 broidery, and other ornairents. But if the 
 women were attentive to adorn their persons, 
 the men affected rather a warlike asjject: 
 their thick beards, and great whiskers, their 
 glibbs or bushy hair hanging careless over 
 their visage, joined with an athletic body, 
 gave them a fierce and even hideous appear- 
 ance. 
 
 •* The songs of the bard," saith lord Lyt- 
 tleton," had usually more power to incite 
 ** and enflame, than the music of the harp 
 *' to soften or mitigate the ferocity of the 
 '* chief: so that e\ en this recreation, which 
 " seems to indicate something gentle and 
 " approaching to pohleness in the temper of 
 ** the Irish, contributed to keep uplhattur- 
 '' bulcnt spijit, averse to order and peace, 
 *' which no prince or legislator that their 
 '* country ever produced liad sufficient skill 
 *' to controul." The observation is fully ve- 
 rified by the history of this people. 
 
 Of all the customs of the Irish, that of 
 Fosterage, as it is called, hath been a 
 particular subject of sj)eculation. Their wri- 
 ters generally agree, that children were mu- 
 tually giveq, from different families, to be 
 nursed and bred up in otiicrs ; and that infe- 
 
 riois 
 
DISCOURSE. xxxvii 
 
 riors, instead of expecting any reward for 
 their care, purchased the lioiior of" foster- 
 ing the children ot the ricli. Hen(!e, we are 
 told, a stricter connection and confederacy 
 were formed hetween diflierent families and 
 ditlJsrent trihes. lliereis no doubt, hut that 
 children bred from their infancy together, in 
 the same family, under the same parental 
 care, in the same sports and occupations, 
 with minds untainted by pride, and inatten- 
 tive to worldly distinctions, considered each 
 other as real brethren, and contracted warm 
 affections, which time could not extinguish: 
 that they regarded their fosterers with a filial 
 reverence; and w^re oftentinies, through life, 
 attended by the children of these fosterers 
 with a zealous and steady attachment. But 
 I cannot allow that fosterage was pnrposely 
 devised by politicians to produce these eli'ects, 
 that there was a mutual exchange of chil- 
 dren, or any mutual alliances intended or 
 concerted by such an exchange. The Brehon 
 laws seem to intimate, that fostering was the 
 occnpation of those whose infeiior condition 
 rendered them incapable of doing other ser- 
 vices to the public. ** No man," say they, 
 *' shall in any case be entitled to eric, but 
 " he who pays tribute or fosters: and in 
 *' their injunctions on all orders of wonien, 
 ** their expression is, fiom the queen to the 
 *• FOSTERERS." So far aie the fragments 
 of these laws from favouring the notion that 
 the honor of breeding cliildren was ever 
 purchased, that they are exact in ascertaining 
 the wages that shall be paid to tcsterers in 
 
 pro- 
 
PRELIMINARY 
 
 proportion to the time that children continue, 
 under their care, and the instructions they 
 have received: nor do they omit the prices 
 which the several masters may demand fiom 
 the appointments of a fosterer. And here 
 they discover the secret of a complete Irish 
 education : at least for those of the middle 
 ranks of life. The youth in his state of fos- 
 terage was not employed in a tedious and 
 painful practice of various forms and mea- 
 sures of poetry, as we are sometimes told; 
 the system of his education was more useful, 
 and indeed more honorable. He was in- 
 structed in the management of cattle ; in 
 husbandry and tillage ; in navigation, which 
 the laws distinguish into the higher and low- 
 er, but without explaining the difference ; 
 and lastly, in the knowledge of letters^ or 
 reading, as the lowest part of education. 
 
 In a word, it appears from all their legal 
 institutions yet discovered, thnt the Irish, in 
 their state of greatest composure, were indeed 
 bv no means barbarous, but far from that 
 perfect civility which their enthusiastic ad- 
 mirers sometimes describe as their peculiar 
 characteristic. They cultivated those arts of 
 peace which subsist among a people strangers 
 to extensive commerce, or the refinements 
 of an opulent and luxurious age. Rights 
 were accurately defmed in their societies, and 
 the people might have been impressed with 
 an habitual love of justice ; but their sense of 
 injuries was, in proportion, lively ; and their 
 passions irritable. Redress, in many cases, 
 
 was 
 
DISCOURSE. 
 
 was onlv to be obtained by force ; and to 
 Ibrce thes^ perpetaally recurred. Their boast- 
 ed trienniai j.sseniblies do not appear to have 
 ever served the purpose of a strict and peace- 
 able connection between the ditierent inha- 
 bitants of a country, which for many ages 
 had full leisure for improvement. The in- 
 fluence of their monarchs was weak ; their 
 power neglected, controuled, and resisted. 
 The provinces, and even the interior septs 
 into which the island was parcelled, lived in 
 a kind of tederal union with each other; 
 which the pride, the injustice, the ambition, 
 the avarice, the revenge of diiferent chief- 
 tains were ever ready to interrupt. Their 
 histories record the effects of these dangerous 
 passions : the virtues of private life are not 
 generally the subject of history. An impar- 
 tial and unprejudiced enquirer may still dis- 
 cover many traces of the equity, tlie recti- 
 tude, I he benevolence and generosity of the 
 ancient Irish in their diiferent septs. But 
 men of other countries sometimes judge of 
 them precipitately, from a sliglit inspection 
 of their futile historians, or irom careless or 
 malicious misrepresentation. Tiius we are 
 told, that " the Irish from the beginning of 
 ** time had been buried in the most profound 
 " barbarism and ignorance ;" that " they 
 " were distinguished only by those vices, to 
 •' which human nature, not tamed by edu- 
 ** cation, nor restrained by laws, is for ever 
 " subject; that " the most simple arts of 
 " life, even tillage and agriculture, were al- 
 '< most wholly unknown among them." The 
 
 people 
 
x\ PRELIMINARY 
 
 people, thus traduced, exclaim with indigna- 
 tion, that no brain-sick monk, in days of 
 darkness and superstition, ever betraj^ed such 
 credulit}' as appears in these assertions. They 
 are indeed well disposed to retort this severi- 
 ty : but the Irish have no philosophical hi.^- 
 torian. 
 
 OF 
 
DISCOURSE. xK 
 
 OF THE 
 
 INVASIONS OF IRELAND 
 
 PREVIOUS TO THE 
 
 REIGN OF HENRY THE SECOND. 
 
 It hath been already observed that the 
 temporary armies of the Irish were not. 
 calculated for repelling a foreign invasion. 
 And fi-om the moment that they came to 
 contend with any other enemies but those of 
 their own Island, they experienced the effects 
 of their internal weakness and disunion, as 
 well as their inferiority in the art of war. 
 Bede informs us, that in the year six hundred 
 and eighty-four, the general of Egfrid, king 
 of Northumberland, made a descent on Ire- 
 land. But, instead of mentioning any gallant 
 resistance made by the natives, he insinuates 
 that they trusted more to prayers than arms : 
 and in the plaintive style of compassion la- 
 ments the miserable havoc of a people, in- 
 offensive, and ever most friendly to the Eng- 
 hsh. 
 
 But Ireland experienced a still more for- 
 midable invasion, when the Danes, Norwegi- 
 ans, and other Scandinavian adventurers be- 
 gan to rove in search of new settlements. 
 
 Vol. I. f 'J^he 
 
xlii PRELIMINARY 
 
 The Irish called them by the general names 
 of Normans, and Galls or foreigners. They 
 distinguished their particular tril)es by those 
 of Duff-galls, Fin-galls, (black and white 
 foreigners) and Danshir or Danes. The Eng- 
 lish called them collectively Ostmen or East- 
 men. Their piratical expeditions were com- 
 riienced about the end of the eighth century. 
 Their associations were gradually enlarged ; 
 and their excursions became more and more 
 alarming. They infested England ; they 
 threatened France, and Charles the Great 
 found it necessary to fit out a great navy for 
 the security of his coasts. Ireland was weak 
 and improvident; and the country inviting 
 O'Connor to these foreigners. At this time, we are 
 Dissert, ^^j^j^ ^^^.^^ ^^^^ monarchical power in Ireland 
 was enjoyed in alternate succession, by two 
 branches of what was called the Hy-Nial 
 race, the northern house of Tirone, and the 
 southern, or Clan-Colman, seated in Meath; 
 that the power of the monarch was remarka- 
 bly weakened, the inferior dynasties factions 
 and assuming; but that the evils of the poli- 
 tical constitution were corrected by the reve- 
 rence paid to religion and learning: that the 
 people were happy, and the country respect- 
 ed. A new scene of affairs was soon to be dis- 
 closed. 
 
 The firs!: invasions of the Danes were 
 made in small parties, for the sake of plunder. 
 Keating. 'J'hev wcrc attacked and repelled, by the pro- 
 vincial chieftain whose dominions were in- 
 fested. Other j>arties appeared in different 
 quarters of the island, terrified the inhabi- 
 tants 
 
DISCOURSE. xlUi 
 
 tants by the havoc which they committed ; 
 were again opposed, again put to flight, and 
 again repeated their barl)arous incursions. 
 I'he Irish thus harassed for twenty years 
 continued their local contests, without form 
 ing any scheme of national union against the 
 common enemy. The northern pirates, ei- 
 tlier by force or treaty, gradually obtained 
 some small settlements in Ireland ; and at 
 length TuRGES, or Turgesius, a warlike 
 Norwegian, landed with a powerful arma- 
 ment in the year 815. He divided his tleet 
 and army, in order to strike terror in difter- 
 ent quarters. His followers were indulged 
 in every s|3ecies of outrage that might drive 
 the inliabitants to despair ; they pillaged, 
 they burned, they massacred, without regard 
 to sex, age, or character ; and, of all others, 
 the clergy were persecuted by these pagans 
 with especial fury. The Danes of Ireland 
 flocked to the standard of Turges; and while 
 the Irish w^ere still infatuated by their private 
 coispetitions, the invader seated himself at 
 Armagh, from which he expelled the clergv, 
 and lived on their lands in all tlie state of 
 sovereignty. Other foreigners, encouraged 
 by liis success, attempted to share his advan- 
 tages: but 'i'urges was now so powerful as 
 to repel them. The Irish after some ill-con- 
 certed and unsuccessful efforts, sunk gradual- 
 ly into a state of abject submission ; and the 
 northern leader, after a residence ol" thirty 
 years in Ireland, was at length proclaimed 
 monarch of the kingdom. 
 
 TilK 
 
jJiv PRELIMINARY 
 
 The Irish however stiil retained so mucli 
 pride as to be incensed at this violence to 
 the rights of" their ancient princes : and the 
 government of the usurper was to the last 
 degree odious and severe. The annalists 
 describe the oppressions, the extortions, the 
 insolence of the Northerns, in the most af- 
 fecting colours, but particularly their rage 
 against learning and religion, the destruction 
 of all seminaries and religious houses, with 
 their books, utensils, and furniture, and the 
 expulsion of their clergy to foreign countries, 
 or to some miserable retreats in Ireland, 
 Their descriptions may possibly be exagge^ 
 rated, in order to justify the catastrophe of 
 Turges and his Northerns, The old Irish 
 spirit at lengtii revived. Melachlin, prince 
 of Meath, in a time of apparent peace, con- 
 trived to seize the usurper. Thus the old 
 f^nnalists record the event, without the po- 
 etical embellishments of later times. The 
 joyful intelligence was in an instant spread 
 through Ireland. The Danes were every 
 where surprised by '4 sudden insurrection, 
 massacred, or dispersed ; their leader con- 
 demned to death for his cruelties, and the 
 sentence executed, by plunging him into a 
 lake. 
 
 The foreigners were thus reduced to a 
 state of subjection, but not exterminated. 
 When the first rage of indigriation and re- 
 sentment had subsided, the Irish sufliered their 
 remains to continue in the island as subjects 
 and tributaries to particular chieftains. A 
 
 new 
 
DISCOURSE. xlv 
 
 new colony arrived under the conduct of 
 Amlave Sitrick and Ivar. They professed 
 the most peaceable intentions, and {)roniised 
 to enrich the country by their commerce. 
 They were received ; and the Irish, with an 
 infatuated poHcy, suffered them to become 
 absolute masters of Dublin, Limerick, Wa- 
 terford, and other maritime places, which 
 they gradually enlarged and fortified with 
 such works as were unknown to the Irish; 
 and in which they lay securely, ready to re- 
 ceive I'einforcements li'om their original coun- 
 try. Their powder en creased imperceptibly, 
 for they were a warlike and commercial peo- 
 ple. And the Irish, in their pride and su- 
 pineness, their feuds and distractions, suffer- 
 ed them to extend their territories, until 
 they again threatened to dispute the sove- 
 reignty of the whole island. 1 hey were at- 
 tacked, defeated, yet still subsisted, carried 
 on their commerce, and, like other particular 
 septs sometimes acknowledged the suj^eri- 
 ority of their neighbours, sometimes main- 
 tained their independence ; were not sub- 
 dued by tumultuous incursions, nor consider- 
 ably reduced by casual misfortunes in the 
 field. We are told indeed,, that about the 
 year Sd3, the Danes were totally defeated 
 and driven from Ireland. Yet scarcely have 
 the Irish annalists found leisure to detail the 
 actions of Cormac, the reverend and learned 
 prelate who filled the throne of Munster, 
 when they again return to the contests of 
 Ceallachan with the Danes, and the roman- 
 tic adventures of this Irish prince. 
 
 But 
 
xlvi PRELIMINARY 
 
 But the history of these northern foreign- 
 ers seems to have heen related imperfectly 
 by the Irish, and with a studied obscurity. 
 The victories of their countrymen, and the 
 misfortunes, as well as the ferocity of these 
 their rivals, they were naturally tempted to 
 exaggerate. It is evident, that through the 
 various revolutions of some centuries thev 
 continued a very powerful, and were some- 
 times, the most distinguished sept of Ireland. 
 They embraced Christianity about the year 
 948. And their settlement was so well es- 
 tablished, and their consequence so consider- 
 able, that they engaged the attention of the 
 neighbotirmg countries. A charter of king 
 Edgar, dated at Gloucester in the j^ear 964, 
 purports, that this prince had " conquered 
 * liie greatest part ot Ireland, together with 
 ** its most noble city of Dublin." The Asia- 
 tic style of this charter, and die silence of 
 English, as well as of Irish annals, render its 
 authenticity justly suspected ; and from the 
 distinction with wiiich the city of Dublin is 
 mentioned in this record, it is evident that 
 the framer of it formed his ideas of Irelarjd 
 from the Danish or Ostmen-settlements. 
 Dublin had never been a place of note, or 
 regarded even as the capital of Leinster in 
 former times. But however the authority 
 of this charter may be rejected, it was the 
 policy of Edgar to keep the foreign Danes in 
 awe ; and his fleets might have visited their 
 maritime cities in Ireland; if not to conquer, 
 at least to intimidate them, and to exact some 
 token of their submission. The conjecture 
 
 seems 
 
DISCOURSE. xlxii 
 
 seems to receive some countenance from a 
 coin of Ethelred the Second, in the Collec- 
 tion of Trinity College Dublin, evidently- 
 struck in this city, and possibl}*^ intended as 
 tribute-money : not to mention another coin 
 of Edgar found in Dublin, with the name of 
 a minter on the reverse, evidently Irish. 
 
 The most vigorous and dangerous ene- 
 my, whom the northern foreigners experi- 
 enced in Ireland, was the hero so celebrated 
 in the annals of this country b^ the name of 
 Brian Boromy. While yet general to his 
 brother the king of Munster, he gave them 
 repeated overthrows. A long life spent with 
 honor in the field endeared him to his coun- 
 trymen, who on the death of his brother 
 called him, in an advanced age, to the throne 
 of Munster. His fust care was to avenge the 
 death of his predecessor, who had been kill- 
 ed by a chieftain of some note. He defeated 
 this chieftain in a battle, and made a terri- 
 ble execution of fifteen hundred Danes who 
 marched to his assistance. Another chieftain 
 opposed him with another reinforcement of 
 Danes, but with the same success. The 
 tranquillity of his province was thus esta- 
 blished ; the southern moiety of the island 
 acknowledged his sovereignty : and when 
 the Irish and Danes of Leinster refused to 
 pay him tribute, he marched against them at 
 the head of his renowned militia formed in 
 South Munster, and known by the title of 
 the invincible tribe of Dalcais. He be- 
 sieged and stormed the city of Dublin, and 
 
 red II- 
 
xlviii PRELIMINARY 
 
 reduced the itilmbitants to a state of due sub- 
 ordi nation, Tbe tame of Brian proved an 
 incentive to other princes ; they rose against 
 the Norman power in other quarters of the 
 island : and dissatisfied at the inactivity of 
 Mahictiy their monarch, they deposed him, 
 and raised the illustrious king of Muiister to 
 tliis station. 
 
 Bfuan lab(uired to sup|)ort his new dig- 
 nity, with the spirit of a veteran, and the 
 prudence and moderation of a man advanced 
 beyond the age of seventy. All malecon- 
 tents were subdued and terrified. The fac- 
 tious were conciliated by the equity and be- 
 nignity of the new monarch. They who had 
 suffered, in times of commotion were re- 
 dressed, they who had been ejected from 
 their possessions by the foreigners were re- 
 stored ; they who had been reduced to a 
 state of bondage were set at liberty. The 
 havoc made by invaders was repaired ; the 
 clergy restored to their endowments; church- 
 es and religious houses rose suddenly from 
 their ruins; learned seminaries were re-es- 
 tablished and enlarged ; laws were review- 
 ed, corrected, and strictly enforced. Brian 
 was now preparing to crown all the glori- 
 ous actions of his reign, by building and fitting 
 out a formidable navy, to strike terror into 
 all future invaders of the island, when tbe 
 Danes still left in free possession of the mari* 
 time cities invited their countrymen to their 
 assistance. The neighbouring Irish, impati- 
 ent of the ancient tribute still exacted by the 
 
 mo- 
 
DISCOURSE. xlix 
 
 monarch, readily concurred with them ; and 
 even encouraged the foreigners to assist in 
 their insurrection. The whole province of 
 Leinster suddenly caught the tlame of war, 
 and called Brian to the field at the age of 
 eighty-eight. He lived to be a witness of 
 the valour of his son Mortagh in the despe- 
 rate engagement of Clontarffe, and the vic- 
 tory of his trooj)s. The son fell in the field ; 
 the venerable monarch, we are told, was 
 slain by some fugitives, as he lay unguarded 
 in his-pavilion. 
 
 By the death of Brian Boromy, the title 
 of monarch reverted to Malachy, or Me- 
 lachlin, who had been deposed, and who, 
 with a singular moderation, lived contented 
 with his own province of Meath, acquiescing 
 in the unanimous voice of the nation, and 
 even serving in the army of his rival. His 
 misfortunes taught him the necessity of a vir 
 gorous administration. He intimidated and 
 restrained the factious chieftains; he pursued 
 the Danes with severity ; and the Irish his- 
 torians in the bold style of hyperbole assure 
 us, that he totally extinguished their power. 
 Yet nothing is more certain than that they 
 still maintained their settlements in Ireland, 
 and continued a distinct and powerful sept. 
 Their maritime cities were governed by 
 chieftains whom they called kings : their 
 church was modelled without the assistance 
 of their neighbours, and their bishops re- 
 mitted for consecration to the primate of 
 Canterbury. 
 
 Vol. I.' or They 
 
1 PRELIMINARY 
 
 They bad the more leisure to strengthen 
 and enlarge their settlements, as the death 
 of Malachy involved the Irish in an extraor- 
 dinary degree of confusion. The alternate 
 succession of the two royal houses had been 
 interrupted by the election of Brian to the 
 sovereignty. Animated by his example, 
 every provincial king aspired to the same ho- 
 nor : but among the several competitors, 
 Donchad, son of Brian, at first proved most 
 powerful. He established his authority in 
 the south, and proceeded to enforce it in the 
 northern moiety of Ireland, when Turlogh 
 his nephew suddenly started up, by encou- 
 ragement of a king of Leinster, and was pro- 
 claimed monarch by his faction. The coun- 
 try was harassed by their competitions ; laws 
 and religion lost their influence ; licenti- 
 ousness and immorality were the natural at- 
 O'Connor tendants of local feuds and hostilities. These 
 Dissert. ^^^^^ ^^^^ timcs, say the Irish writers, in 
 which Bernard the monk gives such a horrid 
 picture of Ireland. 
 
 Donchad at length yielded to the supe- 
 rior power of his rival. In the anguish of 
 disappointed ambition, he fled to Rome, and 
 laid his crown at the feet of the holy pontiff, 
 promising to invest him with the sovereignty 
 of Ireland. Still he could obtain no assist- 
 ance. In despair he assumed the habit of a 
 religious, and concealed himself in Saint Ste- 
 phen's Abbey at Rome. 
 
 Turlogh thus left without any consider- 
 able competitor, exercised the monarchical 
 
 povv- 
 
discourse!. 
 
 power, though not formally elected or re- 
 cognized by the states. The defects of his 
 title he endeavoured to supply by the merit 
 of his administration, in restraining and re- 
 iorming abuses, in iiis equity and justice. 
 Such at least is the testimony of archbishop 
 Lanlranc to the comluct of this Irish king: 
 whose elevation he attributes to the interpo-^ Usher's 
 sition of Providence in favour of the peopleSyiioge 
 of I reland. But if his reign gave some check^^^*^^ 
 to faction and licentiousness, these broke 
 forth with double violence on his death. 
 Morrough O'Briaii in the South, and Donald 
 O'Lochlan in the North, contended for the 
 monarchy; each was recognized by his party, 
 and each received the submissions of those 
 chieftains and septs who were most exposed 
 to his power. 
 
 In the midsts of intestine contests and com-- 
 motions, Ireland seemed ready to be subdu- 
 ed by the first foreign invader who should 
 attempt the conquest of an inviting country. 
 We are told in tlie Chronicle of Man, that 
 Magnus, king of Norway, in the course of 
 his adventures and acquisitions resolved to 
 complete them by the reduction of Ireland; 
 and with a small fleet made a descent on Ul- 
 ster, in order to view the coasts. As he land- 
 ed without opposition, he ventured to pierce 
 into the country without caution or appre- 
 hension. He was suddenly surrounded ; for 
 it was the custom of the Irish instead of meet- 
 ing their enemy, with all the parade of war,^ 
 to watch their advantage, and dart unex- 
 j)ectedly upon them from their retreats. 
 
 Mag- 
 
lii 
 
 Magnus and his party were cut to pieces. 
 Thus the contempt he entertained of the 
 Irish, happily proved his ruin. I say hap- 
 pily; for, (as the noble author of the Life 
 of Henry the Second judiciously observes) 
 " if this enterprize had been more wisely 
 *' conducted, and the success had been an- 
 ** swerable to what the divisions among the 
 *' Irish princes, and the inclination of the 
 ** Ostmen in favor of a monarch from whose 
 *' country most of them originally came, 
 ** seemed reasonably to promise, it would 
 " have erected in Ireland a Norwegian king- 
 ** dom, which, together with Man, and the 
 ** other dominions of Magnus, full of ship- 
 *' ping and good seamen, might, in process 
 " of time, have composed a maritime power 
 '* capable of maintaining itself) perhap for 
 *' ever, against that of the English, and dis- 
 " puting with them the sovereignty of the 
 " sea. It may indeed be esteemed most happy 
 " for this nation, that no king of Denmark, 
 " or of Norway, or of Sweden, nor any 
 *^ prince of the Ostmen settled in Ireland, 
 *' ever gained an entire dominion of that 
 '* isle ; for, had it remained under the or- 
 •* derly government of any of these, its 
 '♦ neighbourhood would have been, in many 
 " respects, prejudicial to England." An- 
 other power, and other settlers were soon to 
 be established in Ireland, and the disorders 
 of this isle operated gradually, yet effectually, 
 to render their establishment easy and suc- 
 cessful. 
 
 THE 
 
THE 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 IRELAND. 
 
 BOOK L 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 State of Irelamt fatPurahJe to an bnaslon in the eJevrnth 
 
 and ticclfth centuries. . . ^lafe . of the neighbourins^ 
 
 kingdoms. . . Scheme of invading Ireland formed by 
 
 Henry the Second. . . Pretences for this invasion. . . 
 
 . . Application to Pope Adrian. . . His motives fur 
 
 compli/ing zcith the request of Henry. , . His Bull. . . 
 
 The Irish clergy earnest to regulate their church. . . 
 
 Henry'' s design necessarily suspended. . . Review of the 
 
 state of Ireland at this period. . . Factions and quarrels 
 
 of its chieftains. . . Dennod king of Ltinster driven 
 
 from his province. . . Mies to England. . . Solicits aid 
 
 from Henry ; . . ivho licences his suh/'ects to assist him. 
 
 . . Dermod hopeless. . . Applies to the earl of Chepstow. 
 
 . . Fitz- Stephen and Fitz-Gerald engage in his service. 
 
 . . Dermod returns to Ireland. . . His return discovered 
 
 to Poderic O'Connor. . . His subiniasioiii and treaty. , . 
 
 Vol. 1. A Arrit«l 
 
HISTORY OF IRELAND. li. 1. 
 
 Jrrival of Fifz- Stephen. . . March to JVe.rforJ. . . The 
 ' Britons repulsed. , . 7^ tnrn to the Assault . . . The town 
 surrendered. . . I'irst British eoforif/ in Ireland. . 4 Ex- 
 pedition to Ossori/. . . Ossorians defeated. . . Horrid in- 
 stance of revenge. . . Second invasion of Ossorj/. . . 
 jPrendergast jwolts to the Ossorians. . . Uermod in- 
 vaded. , . Arrival of Fitz- Gerald. . . Danger and escape 
 of Prendergast. . . Conduct of Roderie. . . lie collects 
 his forces. . . Is suspicious of his vassals. . . Dismisses 
 the northerns. . . Dermod and the Britons retire. , , Ro- 
 derie treats with Fitz- Stephen and with Dermod, but 
 7cithout effect. . . Preparations for a Ixd'Je. . . Timid 
 Policy of Roderie. . . Treat 1/ with Dermod reneiced and 
 concluded. . . Fitz- Stephen intent to secure JVe.rford. . . 
 Roderie defeated in his attempt against the prince of 
 Thomond. . . Success of the first British adventurers 
 nothing wonderful or extraordinary. 
 
 oUCH were the stnte and cireiimstances of 
 Ireland, for a considerable time before the 
 English invasion, tliat any neii;hbonrint^ poten- 
 tate, whose donnnions were so composed, and his 
 resources so opulent as to enable him to euf^ag-e in 
 foreign conquests, might have naturally made it the 
 object of his ambition. But in the eleventh, and 
 the beginning of the twelfth century, the circimi- 
 stances of the neighliouriug kingdoms were by no 
 means favourable to such attempts. France was 
 dismembered by the Norman acquisitions, weak- 
 ened by the independent and tunudtuous spirit of 
 Its barons, and intimidated by vassal princes raised 
 even to a degree of formidable rivalry. England, 
 by its situation, Mas naturally more attentive to this 
 western island ; but in England, at this period, we 
 find a people dispirited by the Danish yoke ; the 
 tjold usurpation of Harold instantly opposed by the 
 Norman ; a successful invasion followed by a reign 
 uldisorder, severity, and rigorous measures for the 
 establishment of the conquerors ; a prince solely 
 
 inteat 
 
Cn. 1. HENRY II. 
 
 intent to secure and perpetuate his new dominion, 
 as well as to preserve his original and favourite ter- 
 ritory; his innnediate succours irregularly apponit- 
 ed.or rather violent usurpers of the throne, exposes! 
 to faction and insurrection, called out to the de- 
 fence of their own titles and territories, and some- 
 times engaged in bloody civil wars, with various 
 changes of fortune; while the lords and princes of 
 inferior territories in dith:M'ent parts of Europe, 
 oftentimes possessed of considerable }W>wer, and 
 attended by warlike and adventurous follosver,s, 
 found a new and transporting object for their ant- 
 bition, and in all the })hrenzy of fanaticism and 
 romantic valour poured into the East for the reco- 
 very of the Holy-Land. 
 
 Ireland, during this period, though like other r'ar«<ioe 
 more renowned countries, principally confined to ^-^''o'^»- 
 htM* own internal affairs, uninfluenced by the fortunes 
 of other states, and unaffected by their revolutions, 
 yet was not entirely imknown to the adjacent king- 
 iloms. The Irish -chieftains, by frequently engag- 
 ing in the contests of Wales, hail extended the tame 
 of their valour: itwascchoexl by those whom com- 
 merce or devotion had brought Irom Ireland, who 
 amused the ignorant, and indulged thei." own na- 
 tional vanity by splendid accounts of their native 
 residence and the ]>ro\\ess of their countrymen, 
 Distressed lords and factious leaders were induced 
 1o seek relief and assistance in their inland. On the 
 disgrace of earl Godwin, in the reign of Edward Ihe Hoveden. 
 Confessor, Harold, the l>raA est of his soiis, chose his 
 retreat in Ireland, and there formed such connexi- 
 ons as pioved the resource of his family when hig 
 Norman rival was in tlie height of glory and suc- 
 cess. His three sons fled thitlier in\m?diat,ely after 
 ihc defeat at Hastings, and, in the reign of William 
 the Conqueror, led an Irish army into England, to 
 a.ssert the liberty of their country and the preten- 
 sions of their family ; nor w ere their auxiliaries re- 
 pelled but by the obstinate and repeated efforts of 
 llie count of Brittany. The Welsh annalists in- Caradoc, 
 
 form 
 
4 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I, 
 
 form that when Arniilph earl of Pembroke rebel- 
 led against Henry the hrst, he solicited the assis- 
 tance of Mortongh the Irish Monarch ; by his emis- 
 sary Gerald he sought the daughter of this prince 
 in marriage, was encouraged to make a voyage 
 into Ireland, but returned without accomplishing 
 his wishes, or obtaining any succours. And this 
 might possibly have laid the foundation of that 
 friendly intercourse, which William of Malmsbury 
 assures us was invariably preserved between Henry 
 and this Irish king. France is also said to have 
 drawn considerable succours from this country iu 
 several of her wars ; and if we may believe the Irish 
 Ann. MS. annalists, the assistance granteil by some Irish 
 J nn.Col. pj.jiices to his rival first provoked Henry the Second 
 to the design of annexing Ireland to his domi- 
 nions. 
 
 However this may be, the design was conceived 
 soon after he had ascended the throne of England 
 vvithout dispute or competition, without jealousies 
 or discontent, with all that brilliancy of character 
 naturally arising from his distinguished abilities, 
 and with an extent of territory unknown to his jire- 
 deccssors. AVe generally do such honor to the po- 
 licy and circumspection of great princes, as to sup- 
 pose that such designs are formed on mature deli- 
 beration, on an accurate enquiry into the condition 
 and circumstances of the country they are to invade, 
 and a thorough knowledge of those defects in polity 
 and manners, that internal weakness and disorder, 
 which prepare the way for a foreign invader, and 
 promise an easy and eiiectual conquest. But a \ cry 
 general and superficial knowledge of this island 
 w as suthcient to fire the ambition of a powerful and 
 popular sovereign, at a time when the ditlicidties of 
 his reign were yet unexperienced, and when it was 
 reproachful to any distinguished character not to be 
 possessed with some scheme of gallant enterprize. 
 
 A PRETENCE alone was wanting to give some co- 
 lour of justice to the design : and here his flatterers 
 seem to have exerted all their ingenuity and address. 
 
 It 
 
Cii. J. HENRY II. I 
 
 It was affirmed l)y those, wlio ventured to dictate to^peed. 
 an ignorant peoj)le, that the Irish had originally 
 possessed themselves of their country by perniissioii 
 ot'Gurg'Uutius, a British kin<^, and that, as descend- Campion, 
 ants of the Britons, they were the natural and right- 
 ful subjects of the English monarch. It was urged 
 that the renowned Arthur, Egfrid the Northum- 
 brian, Edgar the illustrious Saxon prince, had all 
 led their armies into Ireland, and there made va- 
 luable acquisitions, which their successor w as in 
 honour bound to recover and maintain. It was sug- 
 gested that Englishmen had frequently been sold as 
 slaves in this island ; an histanceof cruelty and barT 
 barism, which gave him full right to invade and 
 subdue it. But the forged or suspicious histories of 
 ancient times, the obsolete claims of Saxon or Bri- 
 tish princes, however they might inliuence the vul- 
 gar, yet were not deemed sufficient for that fair and 
 plausible colouring which might conceal the ini- 
 quity of an attempt against an nuoffendiiig- people. 
 And as to the crime ot trafficking- in slaves, b4>th na- 
 tions, it was well known, had been equaiiy involved 
 in it. If the Irish had purchased, the Saxons had 
 freely offered themselves and their children to sla- 
 very for an insignificant price : if the Irish were less 
 sordid and unnatinal, yet the prisoners taken on 
 their unsuccessful inroads in the reign of William 
 the conqueror, had been sold in great numbers, so(jyi 
 tliatthe English clergy were obliged to remonstrate Mahns. 
 against this practice, which they pronounced ut- 
 terly unchristian, and with difficulty prevailed on 
 the king to reiincfuish his ungodly g-ain. 
 
 Blt the sag-acity of Henry, or the suggestions 
 of an interested and subtle ecclesiastic, soon sup- 
 plied the necessary pretence for afreeindulg-enceof 
 his ambition. The papal power was graduall) ad- 
 vancing- to a formidable height, and extending its 
 influence even to the extremity of the British islands. 
 Not contented with assuming a dominion in the ec- 
 clesiastical system, it had already dictated to kings 
 
 - ^.^4 
 
a HISTORY OP IRELAND. 13. I. 
 
 and nations in their secular concerns. It had es- 
 poused the cause of William theNonnan, made a 
 solemn decision in favour of his claims, and de- 
 nounced its spiritual vengeance a«^ainst all those 
 who should presmue to resist aprmce, whom the 
 'Bromp- sovcrciii^n pontitF declared rightful and lawful inhe- 
 «"o- ritor of the crown of England. The usurper Ste- 
 
 phen had obtainetl a ratification of his title from the 
 same authority. To this power Henry now deter- 
 mined to resort, and by the solemnity of apapalde- 
 cree to sanctify his intended enterprize againstlre- 
 HasuLstadland. John Salisbury, his chaplain, was made the 
 .agent in this important negociation, and acted with 
 the zeal and diligence of a man conscious that his 
 success woidd recommend him ecpially to his royal 
 master and his spiritual sovereign. I le represented 
 to Adrian, the reigning pope, that the inhabitants 
 of Ireland were sunk into the most wretched state of 
 i?orr.iption, with respect to l>oth morals and religi- 
 on ; that Henry, zealous for the honor and en- 
 largement of God's kingdom, liad conceived the pi- 
 ous design of erecting it in this unhappy country ; 
 was ready to devote liimself and all his powers to 
 this meritorious service ; imploring the benediction 
 of the pontiff, and requesting his ])ermission and 
 anljiority to enter Ireland, to reduce the disobedient 
 and corrupt, to eradicate all sin and wickedness, to 
 instruct the ignorant, and spread the blessed inllu- 
 ence of the gospel in its purity and perfection ; pro- 
 mising at the same ttujc to pay a yearly tribute to 
 St. Peter Irom the land thus to be reduced to his 
 obedience and that of the holy see. Habituated as 
 we may be to the depravity of mankind, one can- 
 not seriously reflect upon the profane hypocrisy of 
 tliis transaction without the utvnost horror. Little 
 did Henry foresee, in the blindness of his ambi- 
 tion, the perplexities he was to experience from 
 that power he now contributed to aggrandize, or 
 the heavy weight of oppression with which it was 
 to fidl upon his own head. 
 
 Adrian 
 
Ch. 1. HENRY IT. T , 
 
 1 
 
 Adrian' secretly exulted in an application which 
 favonred liis enormous claims, and recon^nized his ; 
 
 authority; nor was he displeased to gratify 1ms conn- \ 
 
 trymau, a prince of exalted character, lately raised j 
 
 to the throne, and who had not yet discovered his I 
 
 dispositions to the hierarchy. Rome had long; con - i 
 
 tended for extensive powers in England; Ireland 1 
 
 had but lately been disposed to acknowledge its su- \ 
 
 premacy. All ecclesiastical authority had, till about Ann qna i 
 
 four years before the accession of lleiu y the Second *"°|'" '"' ; 
 
 been exercised by her own ])relates; nor had the^jgy 
 ceremonies and dicipline of her church, points of 
 the greatest moment in this age, been conformable ; 
 
 to those of Rome. The pontificate, however, l)y 
 the interested zeal of its numerous and active emis- j 
 
 saries, had at length contrived to extend its inllu- j 
 
 ence even to this remote island ; had alarmed the I 
 
 Irish clergy with fears of the irregularity of their j 
 
 ecclesiastical constitution, and persuaded them to | 
 
 submit to a reform modelled and dictated by Rojue. 
 Cardinal Paparon w as, in the year eleven hundred ' 
 
 and fifty-two, admitted into IreLind with a legan- 
 tine commission : three thoiisand ecclesiastics as- ' 
 
 sembled by his direction in the town of Droglieda: ] 
 
 four palls were solemnly received from the pope by 
 the prelates of Armagh, Dublin, Cashel , and Tuani : j 
 
 the celebration of Easter was adjusted according 
 to the Romish decisions ; and for the further refor- ! 
 
 ination of the church, the celibacy of the clergy wa«i ! 
 
 enforced, and their privileges and properties secured 
 by various canons. Thus was the correspondence 
 opened with the church of Ireland, and the pre- 
 eminence of Rome formally acknowledged. It re- i 
 mained therefore for the pope to improve these fa- 
 vourable beginnings, to embrace the occasion of ' 
 extending his new dominion hi Ireland, as well as to \ 
 conciliate the friendshijj of Henry. A bull was 
 framed withoutdelay, fully conformable to the wish- 
 es and purposes of the king. It is here insert<Hl at 
 
 large I 
 
8 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 large, and aflbrds a shocking* instance of the pro- 
 fligacy and ini})iety of papal usurpation. 
 
 ^}^^^- ^^AdRIAN, Bishop, servant of the servantj^ 
 MaT '' ^^ God, to his dearest son in Christ the ilhis- 
 Paris. " trious Icing of England, greeting, and apostolic 
 *' benediction. 
 
 " Full laudably and profitably hath your mag- 
 *' nificence conceived the design of propagating 
 *' your glorious renown on earth, and completing 
 *' your r'eward of eternal happiness in heaven ; 
 " while, as a catholic prince, you are intent on en-* 
 " largingthe borders of the church, teaching the 
 ^' truth of the Christian faith to the ignorant and 
 *' rude, externiinating the roots of vice from the 
 '' field of the Lord, and for the more convenient 
 *' execution of this purpose, requiring the counsel 
 " and favour of the apostolic see. In which, the 
 " maturer your deliberation, and the greater the 
 " discretion of your procedure, by so much the 
 ^' happier, we trust, will be your progress, with the 
 " assistance of the Lord ; as all things are used to 
 '' come to a prosperous end and issue, which take 
 *' their beginning from the ardour of faith and the 
 " love of religion. 
 
 "' There is indeed no doubt but that Ireland, 
 *' and all the islands on which Christ the sun of 
 '' righteousness hath shone, and which have receiv- 
 *' ed the doctrines of the Christian faith, do belong 
 *' to the jurisdiction of St, Peter and of the holy 
 *' Roman church, as your excellency also doth ac- 
 *' knowledge. And therefore we are the more so- 
 '' licitous to propagate the righteous plantation of 
 " faith in this land, and the iDranch acceptable to 
 " God, as we have the secret conviction of consci- 
 *'ence that this is more especially our bounden 
 " duty. 
 
 '' You then, most dear son in Christ, have sig- 
 " nified to us your desire to enter into the island of 
 /' Ireland, in order to reduce thepeople to obedience 
 
 ^' unto 
 
Cu. 1. HENUY n. 
 
 '' unto laws, and to extirpate tlie plant,s ot vice ; and 
 '' that you are \villin«j»- to pny from each house a 
 " vearly pension of one penny to vSt. Peter, and that 
 '-' you will preserve tlie riglits of the churches of 
 " this land whole and inviolate, We therefore, with 
 " that grace and acceptance suited to your pious 
 *' and laudable desi<>n, and favourul^ly assentinj^ 
 " to your petition, do hold it i:;ood and acceptable, 
 " that, for extending- the borders of the chinch, 
 '' restraining the proij;Tess of a ice, for the correction 
 '' of manners, the planting- of virtue, and the en- 
 '' crease of religion, you enter this island, and 
 •' execute therein whatever shall pertain to the 
 '' honor of God and welfare of the laud • and that 
 " the people of this land recei^e you honourably, 
 " and reverence you as tlieir lord : the rights of their 
 '■' churches still remaining- sacred and im iolate ; and 
 *•' saving to St. Peter tlie annual pension of one 
 '* penny from every house. 
 
 '' If then you be resolved to carry tlie design yon 
 •' have conceived into efTectual execution, study to 
 '• form this nation to virtuous manners; and labour 
 '•' by yourself, and others whom you shall judge- 
 " meet for this work, in faith, word, and life, that 
 " the church may be there adorned, that the reli- 
 ^- gion of the Cliristiau faith may be planted and 
 '' grow up, and that all things pertjiining to the 
 *' honour of God, and the sahation of souls, be 
 '- so ordered, that you may be entitled to the 
 '' fulness of eternal reward from God, and ob- 
 " tain a glorious renown on earth tliroughout all 
 - ages." 
 
 The Bull thusframed. was presenled to king Henry, 
 together with a ring, the token of his investiture, as 
 rightful sov(M-eig-n of Irt^and. 
 
 Some Irish writers, scandalized at the gross repre- CJrat. Lu- 
 sentations of the corruption and bari>arism of their ^'"^• 
 coiuitr}', seem willing to cpiestion tiie authenticity 
 of this bull : as if the character of a church or nation 
 were infallibly decided by the sentence of a pope;Eadmer. 
 and as if the chargj? of corruj)tion and barbariritn hadP-^^i- 
 
 \'oi. 1 H not 
 
10 HISTORY OF IRELAND- 13. L 
 
 Tri 
 
 Thauiii 
 
 not been as stroiiiilv' and oflensively ur^^'ed af^ainst 
 the English, Avhen the purposes of the holy see le- 
 qnire<l it. But the reality of this transaetion [)et\veen 
 Adi'ian luid kiiii^ Heiu-y is so far froi>i being sus})i- 
 eious, that there is some ii,ronnd to eonjecture that 
 ' ', the Irisli ecclesiastics thiunselves were innnediately 
 y^„^ infonned of it. From tl)e date of the ]>ope's bidl 
 4 Mag. Me find their synods multipHed, and tlieir reguhi- 
 M8S, tions repeated and inforced, as it were with an af- 
 Colgau. f(i^^^,(| solicitude to take away the reproach of tlieir 
 clnn-ch. We are told that they made the most salu- 
 tary ordinances, not oidy for the preservation of 
 clerical discipline, but for the reforujation of man- 
 ners: and, (what bespeaks neither barbarism nor 
 i^-norance) they provided for the re^^idar instruction 
 of their clergy. Armagh v. as then tlieir most reputed 
 seat of learning: and by a solenm ordinance it \^as 
 provided, that no one should J)e allowtd to ])rofess 
 or teach the(»Iogy in any of their churches, wlio had 
 not been educated in this seminary. But whetlier 
 their zeal and solicitude were merely accidental, or 
 purposedly intended to demonstrate that the refor- 
 mation of their church did not require the hiterfer- 
 ence of a foreign prince, this cons])iracy between 
 the pope and Henry was certainly aliu-ming; and, 
 had concert or policy subsisted in Ireland, should 
 have united its inhal)itants, of all orders and condi- 
 tions, in the most vigoious and etiectual measures 
 P^^ ' to guard against invasion. So possessed \^as Hemy 
 with his design against this country, and so elated 
 Iw the commission now received from Rome, that 
 the empress his mother is said to have emj)loyed tlie 
 most urgent solicitations to divert him from an en- 
 terprize whicli might endanger his immediate inter- 
 ests, as well in France as England. 
 
 And certain it is, that however invested with the 
 
 plenitude of papal authority, and however flattered 
 
 with the ideas of conquest and donnnion, Henry 
 
 \^ p was, as yet, by no means prepared for such an en- 
 
 1156. tcrprize. In 1;he year in which the bull of AdriaTi 
 
Cii. I. HENRY II. n 
 
 is dated, we find him eii«^aood in reprossin*^ the in- 
 surrection of his brotlier Geof^iy, and supporting 
 Jiis own chiini to Anjon. The affairs of En^^land Bromp- 
 were not yet coHipk'tely^ settled; and the regulation *^'^;^'''''^- 
 of tjiis country o-ave fidl employment to the vi«;'our 
 and abilities of its monarch. The inquietude of 
 Wales oblij^ed him to lead a formidable army into 
 this principality ; and scarcely had he reduced it to 
 his obedience, when he was again called to the con- 
 tinent by the death of Geolfry, a\ hero he encraged in 
 ANars and treaties for securing- and extending- his do- 
 minions. These were succeeded by the long and 
 ]){untid contest which he nuiintained against the 
 chu'ch, in which the inllexible and intrepid spirit of 
 Becket, kept him in a continual sJate of agitation. 
 The desi<i^n against Ireland was therefore necessarily 
 susjiended, and seemed to have been forgotten, till 
 accident revived it, or Ihe factions ratlier, and com- 
 petitions of a corrupted and disordered people, 
 opened a way for the English arms to penetrate into 
 their unhappy country. 
 
 If we review^ the state of Ireland at this period, 
 we there find a monarch little more than titidar, de- 
 pending for his power andinllaence on Ijis own abi- 
 lities and vigour, harassed b} faction, and opposed 
 by powerful rivals; a luuubec of provincial cliief-Ann. 4 
 tains, who assumed the lith' and the rigjjts of roy- '^**'^^- , 
 ally, paid a precarious tribute to their suj)erior, ^u^^, on" 'Ann' 
 united, if they were disposed to unite with him, as i'ioern. 
 allies rather than subjects. In Ulster, the family of<-'oiitm. 
 the northern Hi-Nial, as it was called, exercised air ^^• 
 hereditary jurisdiction in the uiodern counties of 
 Tirone, Deny, and Donegal; claimed a right of su- 
 premacy over the lords of Fernuuiagh, Antrim, and 
 Argial, which included the counties of Armagh, * 
 
 Monaghan, Louth, and some adjacent districts: 
 while Dunleve, prince of Uladh (so tiie (ounty of 
 Down was named) disputed the superiority of this 
 family, and affected an independent state. In Mun- 
 ster, the descendants of the illustrious Brien ruled ^ 
 
 in 
 
12 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 in all the pride of ancestry, impatient to recovei^the 
 honours of their family, till, confmed l)v more 
 powerful rivals to th(^ territory of North Ivlunster, 
 or Thomond, they left the warlike sept of Mac- 
 Arthy independent sovereigns of Desmond, the sou- 
 thern di^ision. In Cojinaught, the princes, known 
 by the name of O'Connor, were acknowledged so- 
 vereigns of the Eastern territory. Tiernan O'Ruarc, 
 an acti^ e, restless, military chief, governed in Rretl- 
 ney, containing the modern county of Leitrim, and 
 some adjacent districts. Meath, or the southern 
 Hi-Nial, was subject to the princes of the great 
 Irish family of Clan-Colman,Murchard,0'iMalachlyn, 
 and his successors. Leinster, divided into several 
 inferior principalities, as that of Ossory, Decies, 
 and the septs of Osliuen formed of the remains 
 of the Danes, and other foreigners, seated princi- 
 pally in Dublin and Waterlord, and governed ge- 
 nerally by their own chieftains, ga^e the title of 
 royalty to Derntod, surnamed Mac-lMurchad, a 
 prince represented by Iiis countrymen in the most 
 odious colours : and although his vices have been 
 evidently exaggerated, yet even in an age and 
 country of nuleness, he appears to have bet n dis- 
 j. . , tinguished by a rude, tierce, turbulent, and oppres- 
 j«^,,„' sive spirit. His father had governed Leinster with 
 AiioiK a tyrannical severity. Sevepteen of his dependent 
 MSS. lords, we are assured, were either capitally executed, 
 or lost their eyes by his cruelty, within one year: 
 and Dermod, with his principality, inherited too 
 ll'ib e\n S^*^"^ ^ portion of the same temper. His stature, 
 Aiui.MSSaud bodily strength, together with a boisterous va- 
 utsup. lour, had rendered him the admiration of all the 
 inferior orders of his subjects; and these, as the 
 proper instruments of his andiition, he was careful 
 to protect and favour. His donations and endow- 
 ments of religious houses recommended him to the 
 clero^y; but his tributary chieftains felt the full 
 weight of his pride and tyranny. To them his go- 
 vprnmcnt was odious; !;o that in his attachments 
 
 to 
 
C^. 1. HENRY II. 
 
 lo tlio reigning- factions of tlie island, lie was without Ann. 
 principle or steadint^ss, determined to that side which, ^^^^^ •** 
 ibr the present tune, seeined most likely to support''"^'' 
 him. 
 
 The chief competitors for the ranli of niQiiarch 
 of Ireland, were the heirs of the two houses, of 
 pConnor, and the northern Ili-Niaj. Of these, 
 Torlogh O'Connor was in possession*-, and though 
 not generally recognised, and opposed, especially hy 
 liis northern rival O'Lochlan, he yet maintained his 
 state w ith magnihcence, aud supported his title with 
 sntficieut vigour. A decisive a ictory gained over 
 the forces of 0'13rieu encreased his renown, but 
 served at the same time to awaken the jealousy of 
 his rival; wlio, in a general convention of the .states, 
 obliged him to consent to a tacit partition of au- 
 thority, by which O'Lochhui was left sovereign of 
 the northern province ; and such disj)os!tipns were 
 to be made in other districts as their joint interests 
 might recpiire. Such treaties betMecu two superi 
 ors generally ended in a design dictated by some 
 irregular passion, and executed against the peace 
 and welfare of their neighbours. It wns soon re- 
 solved to transfer the ten-itory of O'Ruarc to a more 
 favourite partizau ; aud the expedition was under- 
 taken by the Counaught and the Leiuster princes. 
 O'Ruarc was surprized, defeated, and driv( n from 
 his dominions. He had married the daughter of 
 the prince of Meath, a lady distinguished by her 
 beaut}', but of a g-ay and amorous disposition. She 
 had inspired the king of Leiuster with an unlawful 
 passion, and eutlamed it by the freedom of her de- 
 portment ; aud if the present expedition had not 
 been secretly contrived or fomented for the pur- 
 poses of his adulterous love, Dermo^ at least re- 
 solved 
 
 * The Irish annahsts have a particular name for a monarch thus 
 circumstanced ; and which they apply to Turlogh. They call him 
 High go h'-resmira. King ivitli reluctance, i. e. monarch who had no^ 
 his authority recognized in all the provinces. 
 
U HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 A. D. solved to take advantage of the distresses of her 
 
 **^^' husband, and to possess himself of Dervor^hal, (so 
 the hidy was called.) By the assistance of a base 
 brother she was conveyed to his arms, and with an 
 aHected reluctance carried oil' in triumph into his 
 own province *. 
 
 An outraj^e of tliis kind was not alwaj^s regarded 
 
 Spencer, by the Irish with abhorrence ; they considered it 
 rather as an act of ])ardonable gallantry, or such 
 an offence at most as a reasonable pecimiary com- 
 pensation might atone for. But the sullen and 
 haughty Bretiiiian, provoked more by the insolence 
 and treachery of the ravisher, than tlie infidelity of 
 his wife, conceived the mo.st determined animosity 
 against Dermod. He practised secretly with Tor- 
 logh, promised the most inviohible attachment to his 
 interest^ and prevailed on him, not only to reinstate 
 him in his possessions, but to revenge the insult 
 
 of 
 
 •* Giraldus assigns this incident as the itnmeiliatft cau so of the ex- 
 pulsion of Dermod, and tlie first Engli.sh invasion : and all the 
 English historians have implicitly lollowed his authority. But the 
 monk was neither a cautions examiner of the reports he heard in 
 Ireland, nor an accurate enquirer into the true causes which opened 
 the way to the successful progress of his countrymen. He came into 
 Ireland with v.t\ apparent contempt of the country and its inhabitants; 
 and that contracted mind which produced this contempt, made him 
 ifaUsfied with the reports of those who wc-re of the same rank of 
 vmderstanding with himself. He asked the cause of that resentment 
 which drove Dermod from his province. He was answered, that it 
 arose from the seizure of O'lluarc's wife : and he mistook tlie Hrst rise 
 of jiersonal animosity between two chiefs, for the immediate occasion 
 of the revenge executed against Dermod. But the Irish annalists are 
 of authority in this case, if in any; and they uniformly agree that this 
 PUlrage was committed full sixteen years before Fitz-Steplien was in- 
 vited into Ireland. Dermod and O'ltuarc, during this period, had 
 frequently contended with various success ; and private injuries were 
 apparently forgotten in the tumult of faction and j)ublic contention ; 
 till the death of his protector O'Lochlan left Dermod exposed to 
 all the rageof his pohtical a^ well as his personal enemies. The re- 
 sentments of O'Uuarc might have revived upon a fair occasion ; 
 but their operation could not have been considerable, if the po- 
 litical attachments of Dermi)d had not been particularly offensive. 
 It was the partizan of O'Lochlan who was pronounced unworthy to 
 tiill the throne of Leinster ; not the ravisher of Dervorghal. 
 
Ch. I. HENRY IT. !• 
 
 of Mac-Murcliad, whom he represented (and justly) 
 as a faithless vassal, really devoted to the service 
 of his rival. The king of Connaught led his threes ^^"Ji; 
 into Leinster, resened I)ervori»hal from her para-^^^^" 
 mom-, and restored her to her friends ; with m horn a. D, 
 she lived, if not in a state of reconciliation wilh herii54. 
 husband, at least in that opulence and splendor, 
 which enabled her to atone tor the crime of infide- 
 lity by the usual method of magnificent donations 
 to tlie clnnch. 
 
 This service naturally formed a close connection 
 between ORuarc and the Connaught prince, with'^'^- 
 whom h(^ remained iu firm union, and by whose as- 
 sistance he was enabled to revenge his wrongs, by ' 
 frequently joining with the discontented chieftains 
 of Leinster, and harassino- his enemv kino- Der- 
 
 nny 
 
 mod ; till the death of Torlogh, in the year one 
 thousand one hundred and fifty-six, rewarded the 
 \igorons eflbrts of OLoghlan with the dignity of 
 monarch. Dermod was the first to acknowledge 
 this new sovereign, and by the merit both of his 
 former attachment, and his new submission, found 
 support in his ]n'ivate quarrels, and in his turn was 
 enabled to wreak his animosity on the prince of 
 BrefTney. But he had taken his party with too 
 great precipitation. His patron, with the most 
 outrageous defiance of all the precepts of humanity 
 and good taith, seized on Dunleve, the prince of 
 Uladh, with whom he had but now conclnded a 
 solemn treaty, and put out his eyes : w hich so pro- 
 voked the neighl>ouring chieftains, that they in- 
 stantly took arms to avenge their associate, and de- 
 fend themselves from the like barbarity. OLoch- a. T>. 
 Ian was defeated, and by falling in the battle ofilGT. 
 Litterluin, as it was called, extinguished the hopes 
 and pretensions of his family, and left the long- 
 contested title of monarch to Roderic, son and suc- 
 cessor of the late king of Connanght. 
 
 Roderic, during the reign of liis father and his 
 own government of Connaught, had been fiir the 
 
 mo&t 
 
16 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 most part cmgaocd in the field, and thouoli not al- 
 \vays ^icto^()lls, had ac(iuired the roputation of 
 valour, which was now eonfinncd in his present e.\- 
 ahation, to which the pievaiHng' power of his faction 
 A. D. ^**^^^ raised him. Deten>iined to strike liis enemies 
 1167. with terror, and to approve himself worthy of ])re- 
 cminence, he led a numerous army to Dublin, im- 
 mediately after the death of O'Lochlan ; was there 
 solemnly inaugurated ; engaoed the Ostmen-inha- 
 bitants in his pa}^ ; and, thus reinforced, marched to- 
 wards the north, and was received by the chieftains 
 with every mark of submission. Dermod, jusjly 
 dreading- the vigour of this new monarch, and ex- 
 pecting all the fury of a triumphant resentment 
 against the partizan of his fallen rival, was seized 
 with the utmf)st consternation, and in the phrenzy 
 of vexation and despair, set lire to Iiis own town of 
 Fern.s, lest his enemies should have the satisfaction 
 of spoiling it. Nor was he mistaken in his ajipre- 
 hensions. Roderic soon retiu'ned, attended by 
 ORuarc, still the inveterate enemy of the Leinster 
 prince. They over-ran the whole province with an 
 irresistible force. All the inferior lords were .at 
 once driven to make their peace and acknowledge 
 the supremacy of Roderic ; Dermod was deposed, 
 as a man utterly unworthy of his station ; to which 
 another of his family was nominated, and gave sure- 
 ties for his submission and fidelity to the n^onarcli ; 
 who in the full career of glory pierced into Munster, 
 regulated this province at his pleasure, and returning 
 lo Meath, held a numerous and magnificent con- 
 vention of the states, in which his grandeur and 
 authority were so strikingly displayed, that the an- 
 cient honours of his country seemed to revive, at 
 tlie very moment when all such expectations were 
 on the point of being utterly extinguished ; and 
 the insolence of triumphant faction was ready to 
 ])roduce a revolution more important than Ireland 
 had yet experienced. 
 
 On the very first appearance of an invasion, Der- 
 mod felt the efTects of his tyrannical governnient. His 
 
 tributaries 
 
Cii. L IJENRY jr. 17 
 
 (ril)iitanes had at once deserted him ; and «oiiie of 
 the most considerabh^ amono- them, as tlie Daiii-^h 
 loid of Dnldin, and the chieftain (»f Ossory, united 
 with his enemies. His abject tiatteiy and bubmis- 
 sion could not etiacc the meniory of his former 
 severities. The chief of the O'iJinies, a powerfid Re-an. 
 sej)t in tliat part of Leiuster now called "W^icklow, 
 was with dithcnlty persuaded by the ck^ri;y to ad- 
 mit him to his presence, disavowed all attachment 
 to liim, and ^vith the haii<^hfiness of a superior 
 commanded him to depart, as h*" regarded his per- 
 sonal safety. And now, defeated, and dei;iiided, in 
 the bitterness of insulted pride, vn.\ the rage of 
 malignant resentment, he formed the d< sperate pur- 
 pose of abandonin-i; his kingdom, and seeking in 
 foreign countries the means of regaining his state, 
 and gratifying his rev(!nge. The situation of his 
 territory naturally pointed out Eugland as his place 
 of immediate refuge ; he embarked with sixty fol-Girald. 
 lowers, and arrived at the port of Bristol. 
 
 In England the odious part of his character was 
 unknow^n. He was considered as an injin'ed prince, 
 deserted by rebellious vassals, and forced from his 
 dominions by ai^ iniquitous confederacy; and he 
 ^yas received with a suitable degree of pity and re- 
 spect, especially by the clergy, who entertained the 
 friend and benefactor of their order iu the monas- 
 tery of Angustines with the utmost hospitality. 
 Here he learned that Henry the king of England, 
 whom he now professed to consider as his sole re- 
 source, was engaged in Acquitain, arid thither he 
 immediately proceeded. He apj)eared beiore the 
 king in all the marks of distress and sorrow, and Ibid, 
 failing at his feet, made a passionate and aflecling 
 narrative of his misfortimes, erdarged on the nialice 
 of his countrymen, the treachery of his pretended 
 friends, and the r^^bellion of his sn])jects. imploring 
 the protection and assistance of Henry, the tame of 
 whose magnaniuiity and generosity had piompted 
 him to this address; addi?ig, that if lie should b«; 
 so happy as to obtain his pow eiful interposition, he 
 
 Vol. I. C woulJ 
 
^^ HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 would ackuowledi^e liiin as his liege lord, and hold 
 his dominions^ which Jio was thus confident of re- 
 gaining-, in vassalage to Henry and his heirs. 
 
 Nothing conld have been more acce}){able to 
 the king- than this petition, which revived the flat- 
 tening* ideas he had formerly conceived, and aflbrd- 
 rd a new pretence for leading an army into Ireland. 
 Bnt his affairs were still perplexed. His contest 
 with the clergy subsisted ; and he had but now re- 
 ceived i>evv proof of the obstinacy and violence of 
 Becket ; while tlie insurrections of his subjects in 
 the provinces of France, fomented secretly by 
 Louis, engaged him busily both in war and negocia- 
 tion. Yet still detennined to improve the present 
 incident as far as his situation might permit, he re- 
 ceived the Irish ])rince with the utmost kindness, 
 aflected to commiserate his wrong's, made him mu- 
 Ibid. nificent |Ti-esents, accepted his tender of alleg'iance, 
 and dismissed him with a letter of credence address- 
 ed to all his subjects, notifying his grace and pro- 
 tection irranted to the king of Leinster, and declar- 
 ing that whosoever within his dominions sliould be 
 dis])osed to aid him in the recovery of his territory, 
 might be assured of his free licence and royal favour. 
 Dermod returned to England high'y elevated by his 
 favourable reception, and still more by the hoj^es of 
 deiiving* important advantag'cs from this letter. 
 He repaired once more to Bristol, the usual resort of 
 Trish vessels, and where of consequence he expect- 
 ed intelligence from his own country. Here he 
 made publication of Henry's letter, repeated his 
 pitioiis tale, and lavished his promises on all those 
 who should assist the friend and vassal of their sove- 
 reign; but withoijt effect. Whether his character 
 and conduct had by this time been represented in 
 an unfavourable light, or wlieiher a disadvantage- 
 ous opinion had been formed of his country, no one 
 could be found, even in those days of adventure, 
 to listen to his flattering promises, and take arms in 
 Ids cauise. 
 
 A MONTH 
 
Ch. 1. HENRY II. 19 
 
 A MONTH tlnis elapsed >vithout any prospect oflbid. 
 succours, and Derinod began to aljandon all hopes 
 of a restoration, when, as his last desperate effort, 
 he was persuaded to address himself to Richard earl 
 of Chepstow or Strigul, as it was anciently named, 
 son of Gilbert, a nobleman of the illustrious house 
 of Clare, known by the titles both of Chepstow^ and 
 Pembroke, and of considerable note and consequence 
 in Wales. His son was distin<^uished as well by his 
 military genius, as by his station and alliances ; at- 
 tended by a powerful train of followers, whose af- 
 fections he had gained by his courtesy and genero- 
 sity ; but, estranged from the royal favour, retired 
 and disengaged, his fortune dissipated, his distresses 
 urgent, and his prospects gloomy, he was thought 
 likely to comply with the overtures of Dermod, 
 who pressed him with the most urgent solicitations.. 
 These however were received with a coldness and 
 reserve little suited to his present views. The earl, 
 better iitted for the execution, than the conduct of a 
 bold design, was scrupulous and endiarrassed ; and, 
 where he was to take a leading part, considered every 
 difiiculty minutely, and stated every objeclionin its 
 full force. He could not consider the general li- 
 cence of Henry as a sullicient vrarrant for a mea- 
 sure of such consequence as that of leading his 
 vassals into a foreign couiifry. Dermod renewed 
 his instances, and redoubled his promises. He en- 
 fi'aoed even to o-ive him his dauiihter Eva in mar- 
 riage, and to make him heir to his kingdom ; 
 though sensible that he had no power to nominate 
 his heir, by the ancient usage and institutions of his 
 country: such tempting oflers at length prevailed 
 over the scruples of earl llichard. He covenanted 
 to assist him with a considerable force, which he 
 appointed to transport into Ireland in the ensuing 
 spring, provided he could obtain the king's particu- 
 lar licence and approbation. 
 
 Elevated by the success of this negociation.Ibid, 
 Dermod conceived that he had most etfcctually pro- 
 vided 
 
90 HISTORY OF IJIELAND, B. L 
 
 Ibid. vi'-p{l for his le-pstanlis-liineiit; and now advaucrd 
 as tar as to St. David's iu South Wales, in order to 
 retiun (jrivately into Irehind, to collect the remains 
 of his adlieroiits, and to prepare for the rectLptiou 
 of his expected ally. He was received by the bi- 
 shop of this see uith particular kindness, who af- 
 fected tlie utmost indignation at his wrong-s, and 
 pity of his sufierinos, and was particularly studious 
 to gain friends to a ])rince whose numificence to his 
 cl(M'*vy had every where made liim a favourite of 
 the order, in desjiite of tyranny and adnltery. Rice 
 l''itz-GritFith, who conunanded in this country, 
 l;ad for some time meditated a revolt from t]\e 
 kin^^ of En;^land. Robert Fitz-Steplien, an active, 
 brave, and skiltnl soldier, had been entrusted by the 
 Welchman witli the oovernment of Canlij^an ; but 
 as he ])roved not well disposed to favour his rebelli- 
 ous designs, he was seized by his order, and con- 
 fined three years in pris(m. Snch was the opinion 
 formed of his abilities in war, that Rice now made 
 liirn a voliinlary oHer of his liberty, provided he 
 would unite with him ag-ainst kino- Henry. Fitz- 
 Stephen, though nearly allied to this chief by his 
 mother's side, was yet utterly averse from rucIi a 
 service. His father was a Norman, and he hiiuself, 
 of consequence, attached to the interests of the Eiig- 
 lish monarch. Solicitous, at the same time, to regain 
 his liberty, he represented to Fitz-Griffith, that al- 
 thoug-li he could not take arms against his liege- 
 lord, he was yet willing to decline all part ifi the 
 projected contest; that the Irish prince solicited as- 
 sistance; that he would gladly hazard his life and 
 fort^me iii a foreign land, so as not to oppose, since 
 he could not assist him. These instances were ur- 
 n^ently enforced by the bishop and by Maurice Fitz- 
 Geraid maternal brother to Fitz-Stej^hen, a lord of 
 distinguished worth and valour, who with some other 
 adventurous knights of Wales now consented to taket 
 part in the Irish expedition. Robert, thus set at 
 liberty, covenanted to engage with all his followers 
 in the service of Dcrinod, who on Lis part promised 
 
 tQ 
 
Ch. 1. HENRY 11. 21 
 
 to cchIc to the two ])i'incipal leaders^ Filz-Stephoii, 
 aiul r'itz-Geiakl, tlic; entire dominion of the town 
 of AV^extbrd, \vith a lar^e ad joining- territory, as 
 soon as by their assistance he should be reinstated 
 iii his rights. 
 
 Sl;(h was the original scheme of an invasion, 
 Mhicii in the event proved of so great importance. 
 x\n odions fugitive, driven from his province by 
 faction and revenge, gains a few adventurers in 
 Wales, Avhoni yonthlul valour or distress of fortune 
 led into Ireland, in hopes of some advantageous set- 
 tlements. Dermod, who, no doubt, encouraged 
 his new allie-; by the assurance of a po^^erful rein- 
 forcement of his countrymen, was obliged to aflect 
 impatience to depart, and to provide for their recep- 
 tion. He paid his vows in the church of St. DaA id, 
 embarked, landed in Ireland, passed ^vithont disco- 
 very through the quarters of his enemies, arrived 
 at Ferns, and was entertained and concealed in the 
 monastery which he himself had erected ; waiting 
 impatiently for the return of spring, when the 
 English powers were to come to his assistance. To iig9. 
 the clergy he took care to magnify his gracious re- 
 ception by king Henry, the dispositions of the Eng- 
 lish in his favour, and the number, force, and valour 
 of the confederates he expected. The hitelligence 
 was industriously spread abroad, and served to ani- 
 mate his adherents ; who incautiously crowded in 
 considerable numbers to their old master, and re- 
 ceived his assurances of a speedy and effisctual sup- 
 port. As the secret of his return could not be long Ann 4 
 concealed, he assumed the appearane of the utmost iVlag. 
 Tconlidence. He even marched at the head of his^^^^- 
 adherents, and possessed him of a part of his do- 
 minions called Hi-Kenselagh. Yet secretly distract- 
 ed and terrified, tormented l)y delay, and dreading a 
 disappointment, he dispatched Regan, his faithful 
 domestic into England, to hasten the succours al- M.Regan. 
 ready promised, and to solicit others, \^ith an assur- 
 ance of rich settlements and large rewards to all 
 adventurers. 
 
 RODERIC, 
 
m HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 Ann. 4 "RoDERic, wlio was still busily employed in esta- 
 A^"°iru blisliins: his authoritv, confirmiiio- his adherents and 
 
 Arm. Ult. •,• -^ 1 • / • ^ .1 
 
 A^nn. teiTitymo^ his secret enemies, was not long- unm- 
 'I'igern. formed of the return of Dermod. Fame mag-ni- 
 Coiitin. flcj ti^e force he had collected, and converted a few 
 ^""^ followers of Wales, who embarked w ith this prince, 
 MSS,' into an army of foreigners. Possibly the new chief- 
 tain of Leinster was author of this report, as he 
 seems to have found no resources in his own valour 
 and abilities, but to have relied entirely on the pro- 
 tection of Roderic. The monarch had lately oblig- 
 ed the northern chieftains, whom he most suspect- 
 ed, to acknowledge his supremacy ; and was now 
 impatient to regulate the disorders both of Meath 
 and Thomond, in each of which provinces the vio- 
 lence of local feuds and factions had ended in the 
 murder of the reigning- princes. Yet still resolving 
 to chastise the insolence of the Leinster chief, he 
 suddenly collected some forces, and with liis faithful 
 associate O'Ruarc marched into the country of Hi' 
 Jif'nselagh. 
 
 Dekmod, terriiied at this incursion of his inve- 
 terate enemies, fled into his woods for shelter; and, 
 favoured by the advantage of situation, made a shew 
 of resistance, and even skirmished with the enemy, 
 without any considerable disadvantage or disgrace. 
 In the first action the forces of Connaught were 
 repelled with some loss : another battle ensued, in 
 which the Tainist, or successor elect of O'Ruarc, 
 fell; and on the part of Dermod, a young lord of 
 Wales, whom the Irish annals in the style of their 
 nation, call a king's son, together w ith others of in- 
 ferior note, were killed. But this chieftain, sensi- 
 ble of his own weakness, and the necessity of amus- 
 ing his assailants, art(\illy proposed to treat, made 
 solemn professions of the most abject suliiuission to 
 Roderic, and formally renounced his claim to the 
 government of Leinster ; requesting, as an object 
 of compassion, <o be allowed to retain ten cantreds 
 only of the province, which hf" promised to hold in 
 absolute dependence upon Roderic, and in perfect 
 
 sub- 
 
Ch 1. HENRY ri. 
 
 submission to that monarch. To him he teiiderod 
 seven hosta^^es as a surety lor his obedience ; and to 
 O'Ruarc one hundred oimces of gold, as an induce- 
 ment to bury all old animosities in oblivion, and to 
 grant his favour and protection to an unhappy 
 prince, whom he could no longer consider as a ri- 
 val, divested, as he was, of all the antient rights 
 and honours of his family. Roderic, intent on ob- 
 jects apparently more important, accepted his insi- 
 dious submission; consented to remit this small por- 
 tion of territory to Dermod, received his hosta<^es, 
 and hastened to make the necessary dispositions in 
 other provinces. 
 
 But the period at length arrived, when Dermod 
 was to discover his insincerity, and to assert at tJie 
 head of an army, the rights he had so solemnly re- 
 linquished. Robert Fitz-Stephen had collected hisQirald. 
 forces, consisting- of thirty knights, sixty men in ar-Caiab. 
 mour, and three hundred archers, all chosen men 
 of Wales, and embarking' in three ships about the 
 beginniuf^ of the month of May, in the year eleven 
 hundred and seventy, arrived at a creek called the 
 Bann, near the city of Wexford. With these came 
 Hervey of Mountmorres, not with any military 
 train, but as the emissary of his nephew the earl of 
 Chepstow, to survey the country, and to report its 
 state and circumstances to Ricliard, so as to direct 
 him in his intended enterprize. This troop was the 
 very next day reinforced by Maurice of Pendergast, 
 a valiant Welshman, at the head often knights and 
 two hundred archers. The commotion whicli was 
 naturally produced through the adjacent country 
 by the landing' of a foreign force, served to alarm 
 the Britons, who before thej' adventured to marcli 
 forward, sent immediately to Dermod to notify their 
 arrival, and to demand his assistance. The Irish 
 prince was tilled with the utmost exultation. Num- 
 bers of his subjects, who had abandoned him in his 
 distress, considered this event as a certain assurance 
 of his speedy restoration, and now crowded eag^erly 
 
 to 
 
2* HISTORY OF IRteLAKD. B. 1. 
 
 to his standard. He instantly sent five liundred 
 men, lieaded by his natural son Donald, a \o«ih 
 of distinguished bravery, to join tlie invaders!^ Jie 
 himself soon followed, received his foreign allies 
 with every expression of joy and aMection, renewed 
 those promises he had made in England ; and their 
 mntual stipulations being adjusted, and ratified with 
 all due solemnity, they jiroceeded to concert the 
 operations of war, and the measures most eti'ectuaS 
 for their own interests and the service of the prince 
 of Leinster. 
 Glrald. It was resolved to march to Wexford, a city 
 
 Camb. about twelve miles distant from their place of land- 
 ing, the reduction of which was an object of great 
 importance, and of which Fitz-Stephen was by trea- 
 ty to become possessor. It was garrisoned by a body 
 of Irish and Ostinen as tliey were called, men of 
 violent and undiciplined bravery, who marched out 
 boldly to meet their assailants. But w hen they came 
 to view the British forces, whose nnndiers they had 
 despised, they found an enemy quite dillcrent from 
 those they had hitherto encountered ; no disordered 
 crowd, but a regular a.nd well-appointed body, 
 whose barbed horses, shining armour^ regular dis- 
 cipline, and composure, formed a nev>' and terrify- 
 ing spectacle to these natives. They declined the 
 engagement ; yet still resolving to dc^tend their city 
 even to the last extremity, they set fire to the suburbs 
 and adjacent tillages, and retired within their \\ails, 
 Fitz-Stephen and his associates, encouraged by 
 this retreat, advanced with the greater confide]ice, 
 led up their forces to the walls, and making the 
 Ibid. necessary dispositions, proceeded to a vigorous as- 
 sault, assured of immediate victory. But the gar- 
 rison, on their part, made an obstinate defence : and 
 after many eftbrts of valom-, the Britons had the 
 mortification to find themselves obliged to retire w ith 
 the loss of eighteen of their number. Their Irish 
 allies were confounded at the ill success of this first 
 attempt : but the spirit 'of Fitz-Stephen was not 
 so easily subdued. He drew^ off his men to tlie 
 
 Kca- 
 
Cir. I. HENRY II. 25 
 
 sea-shore, and to convince them that then" sole reli- 
 ance must be npon their \alour, he set fire to his 
 own traiisports among- other vessels which lay at an- 
 chor ; and the next day, having- first ordered di- 
 vine ^icrvice to be performed in his camp, with all 
 solemnity, he disposed his forces v»ith greater care 
 and circumspection, and again led them to the as- 
 sault, animated by devotion, impatient of their late 
 disgrace^ and convinced of the necessity of conquer- 
 ing*. 
 
 Their motions had not been unobserved by tlicGimlJ. 
 garrison. These men, -^xho were accustomed to see^'"'"''- 
 contests finally decided by the success of one vigor- 
 ous impression, were astonished at this persevering* 
 resolution. The clergy in particular were terrified, j^^.^q^ 
 and made the most passionate remoiistrancesa«]^ainst Siamh. 
 an opposition whicli must prove fatal to all within 
 the walls. It was at length agreed to treat with the 
 besiegers ; and a deputation of the principal inha- 
 bitants, with two reverend bishops at their head, 
 were sent to settle the terms of capitulation. They 
 proposed that Wexford sliouldbe surrendered to Der- 
 mod, that all the iidiabitants sliould acknowledge 
 him as their sovereign, be admitJed to renew their 
 oaths of ailegiai^ce, and received itjto liis service; 
 and that fou'r principal citizens should become hos- 
 tages for the peaceable subinission and fidelity of the 
 Wexford ians. The insolence, resentment, and sus- 
 ])icions of Dermod ]>r()lraet<'d iliis treaty fi>r three 
 days; when tiie autjiority of Ids ])reh3les, and tlje 
 advice of his foreign albes at length prevailed. lie 
 accepted the submission of his repenting sui)jects, 
 and entered Wexford in triunuili. And now. to 
 demonstrate his gratitude and good faith, Fiiz-Ste- 
 phen, and Fitz-Gerald whose speedy arrival was ex- 
 pected, were jointly invested with the lordship of 
 ihis city and its domain. Hervey of Mountmorres 
 also was declared lord of two considerable districts 
 on the coast, between Wexford and Waterford, in 
 order to gratify his nephew earl Richard, and to 
 
 Vol. I. D convince 
 
Giraia 
 C'auib. 
 
 26 HISTORY OF IRELAND, B. I. 
 
 convince him of the a{lvanta<^ps to be gained in the 
 service of the piince of Lcinster. Here then was 
 the first colony of British inhabitants planted by 
 these h>rds ; and here they remained for many years 
 distinguished frotn the natives, in their manners and 
 language ; nor even at this day, after so many va- 
 rious changes and revolutions, are they completely 
 blended with the original inhabitants. 
 Regan. After a fcw days residence at Wexford, Der- 
 
 mod led the British forces to his usual abode at 
 Ferns, Avhere three weeks were spent in refreshing 
 the soldiers, teasting their commanders, and con- 
 certing their future operations. By the accession of 
 the garrison, his army ^yas now encreased to three 
 thousand men, exclusive of his foreign forces ; and 
 revenge no less than policy determined him to make 
 that part of Lcinster called Ossory the scat of war. 
 The lord of this district had not only rt^volted from 
 Dermod in his distress, and united with Roderic, 
 but had formerly possessed himself of a son of the 
 prince of Lcinster, either as an hostage or a visitor 
 at his court; and conceiving some suspicions of him 
 as holding an unlawfid intercourse with his wife, 
 seized him in the rage of jealousy, and with a cru- 
 elty not then pecidiar to Ireland, ordered his eyes 
 to be put out. The unlia])py youth expired under 
 the operation ; and the father harboured the most 
 violent and implacable resentment, ^^hicll he now 
 determined that the prince of Ossory should feel. 
 He assembled the British leaders, pathetically relat- 
 ed the injury he had received from this chieftain, 
 the most malignant of his rebellious su])jects, whom 
 his honour and his interest equally obliged him to 
 reduce, without delay ; observed that his whole re- 
 liance was on their conduct and valour, which his 
 covmtrymen were now taught to dread ; and en- 
 treated their concurrence iu his intended expedition 
 into Ossory, where the very terror of the English 
 name assured thern of an easy victory. To this they 
 readily replied, that the very purpose of their ex- 
 pedition 
 
Ch. 1. HENRY II. S7 
 
 pedition was to restore him to his (li<^nity and au- 
 thority, and that it was his part 4o direct their ope- 
 rations. 
 
 The fame of this intended expedition was soon ^*^5^^- 
 s])read abroad, and the Ossorians ronsed hy the^^^'^'^l^'j^' 
 (h-eadfid intelligence tliat Dermod prepared to spread 
 tire and slanghter through their territory, their un- 
 daunted prince marched to his frontier at the head 
 of a considerable force, amounting to five thousand 
 men ; and, strongly entrenched amidst w oods and 
 morasses, waited the approach of his invaders. The 
 onset was violent, and sustained with the utmost 
 firmness : the efforts of the Britons w ere repeatedly 
 foiled and repelled ; till the Ossorians, transported 
 by the ardour of victory, quitted their advantage- 
 ous situation, and poured down rashly into the plain, 
 in pursuit of an enemy who fled on purpose to be- 
 tray them into this fatal error. Their disordered 
 numbers w ere here opposed to the British cavalry, 
 conducted by a skilfid general ; and the contest was 
 speedily decided. The Ossorians were driven off 
 the field, and vi«i^orously pursued till the victors in 
 their turn were, by their ignorance of the country, 
 betrayed intoadangerous situation, amidst morasses, 
 Mhere their heavy armed ca^alry could not act. 
 Dermod apprised them of this danger in due time: 
 for the enemy were again collecting, and prepared 
 to renew the engagement with an appearance so 
 formidable, that his Irish forces could not dissemble 
 their sense of the a|)proaching* danger. Unexpe- 
 rienced in the artifices of war, they attributed the 
 quickness of the foreigners in retiring ])efore the ene- 
 my to the want of courage, and separated them- 
 selves from a bodv, who, they said, could run like 
 the w ind : while Dermod on his j^art began to sus- Re2;an. 
 pect that the men of Wexford intended to take this 
 opportunity of deserting to the enemy; and there- 
 fore, for his <]^reater safety, joined the British bat- 
 talion. But the conduct and resolution of his allies 
 prevented the pernicious cllectsi of these sus})icions, 
 
 and 
 
2S HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 and once more prevailed over undisciplined and in- 
 experienced nmnbers. Tiiey again sniiered tliem- 
 fcielves to be driven throngli the delilcR and morasses, 
 to the plain, firm, and open gronnd ; then advanc- 
 ed vig^oronsly ; while a select body, placed in am- 
 bnsh for this pm'pose, charged the enemy in the 
 rear. The Ossorians fleii on all sides; and the Irish 
 in the service of Dcrmod pinsned, and complete<t 
 tlie ront. They retmiied from the carnag-e laden 
 Avith three hundred heads of the slaughtered enemy, 
 
 MibExp. ^^hich they presented to their prince. If we may 
 believe Giraldus, he turned and exanuned them dis- 
 tinctly, and in all the infernal triumph of revenge, 
 clasped hisliands passionately, and returned thanks 
 to heaven. The historian acids a circumstance too 
 horrid to be believed, or even nmntioned, but with 
 reluctance; tliat having discovered in this bleeding 
 lieap the head of one of his niortal foes, the mon- 
 ster seized it, fastened his teeth upon the ghastly vi- 
 sage, and mangled it in the phrenzy of savage rage 
 and malice. Surely the humane and generous Britons 
 could not have been v^ itnesses of such an action ! 
 
 The Britisli commanders would gladly have im- 
 proved this victory, by keeping the field until the 
 
 R«gan. pnnce of Ossory should be completely reduced, ra- 
 ther than incur the danger of being again attacked 
 in their retreat. But they were now in the service 
 of a prince nsed to another kind of war. He had 
 defeated his enemy, ravaged and burnt his territory ; 
 and contented for the present with such success, 
 he once more led his army back to F'erus ; where 
 his vassal lords attended him in his good fortune, 
 to deprecate his resentinent, and renew tlieir engage- 
 ments. Those wlio still refused to submit were ha- 
 rassed by his incursions. Decies, the territory of 
 O'Faolan, and that part of Wicklow known by the 
 name of Glandelagh, felt the ntn\ost fury of his ra- 
 vages. The prince of Ossory, notwithstanding his 
 defeat, still dared to appear in arms and dely the 
 power of Dermodj and was therefore exposed to a 
 
 second 
 
i 
 
 Cn. 1. HENRY II. 29 ' 
 
 second invasion. Conscious that his original offence 
 could not readily admit ot" un accommodation^ h(^ 
 prepared for an obstinate and desperate resistance. 
 For three days he maintained his post against thct 
 repeated assaults of liis invaders; and though his 
 forces Avere at length broken, they were by no means 
 subdued, but still waited for a fair occasion of mak- 
 ing head against an enemy, who allowed them to 
 re-assemble, by retiring when the victory was once 
 obtained. 
 
 A FORTUNATE incident soon encouraged the Os- 
 sorians to become invaders in their turn. Dermod Regan. 
 by his insolence or neglect had provoked Maurice 
 of Pendergast to renounce his service; and by at- 
 tempting to prevent his return into Wales, forced 
 this lord with his whole troop to follow the insidi- 
 ous advice of the Wexfordians, and to unite with 
 the prince of Ossory. So fonnidable an opinion had 
 been entertained in Leinster of the English prowess, 
 and so great expectations were formed from such a 
 slender re-inforcement, that tliis chiefiaiu was now 
 emboldened to make an inroad into the territories 
 of Dermod. He harassed his tributaries, and ra- 
 vaged his country; but Pendergast .was too sensible 
 of the advantages of the prince of Leinster to suffer 
 his new associate to meet him in the field : especi- 
 ally as the loss sustained by his own defection was 
 now supplied by the arrival of Maurice Fitz-Gerald, 
 who landed at Wexford with his powers, consisting 
 often knights, thirty horsemen, and one hundred 
 archers. 
 
 The Ossorian, though not strong enough to en- ibid, 
 gage in any enterprize of real consequence, was yet 
 desirous to retain Pendergast in his service : and 
 when this commander, disgusted at his new alliance, 
 and dreading treachery ii-om the Irish of Ossory, 
 determined once again to retiu-n to Wales, he even 
 attempted to oppose his passage ])y force. The ad- 
 dress and valour of Maiu-ice extricated him from 
 the danger, and secured Ids retreat ; and the prince 
 
30 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 of Ossory soon found it necessary to amuse his im- 
 placable enemy by a submission, which with some 
 reluctance Dermod at length sullenly accepted. 
 
 AVhile this prince proceeded thus successfully in 
 reducinji' liis revolted subjects, Roderic, the Irish 
 monarch, was busily engaged in measlnes calculated 
 for intimidating his rivals and enemies, and sup- 
 . porting; the dignity of his station. The insincere 
 
 4 Mag. submissions of many, the most powerful of the Irish 
 MSsr dynasts, and the internal disorders of difterent pro- 
 vinces> called him off from the apparently less iii- 
 teresting atiairs of Leinster, and kept him in perpe- 
 tual agitation. To give his sovereignty the greater 
 dignity and respect, he repeatedly summoned the 
 estates of the nation, revived such ancient institu- 
 tions as served to strike the multitude with Uvely 
 impressions of his power and grandeur ; ordained 
 new laws, bestowed his graces upon the clergy, regu- 
 lated their seminaries, made additional donations to 
 the professors of the learning of his days, and by 
 every popular measure studied to gain the respect, 
 and command the obedience of his vassals. The 
 conmiotions of Leinster he affected to consider as 
 merely local, a contest between an inferior prince 
 and his tributaries, and the arrival of foreigners to 
 the assistance of Dermod as an incident totally un- 
 important. The nation had been for ages used 
 to see petty troops of foreis^ners engage in the 
 service of some provincial chieftain, who paid and 
 dismissed them when his contest was decided. But 
 the fame of the exploits and progress of those war- 
 like Britons began to spread through the island, and 
 was received not without surprize and terror. The 
 defeat of the Ossorians, who had been the declared 
 partizans of Roderic, and Dermod's contemptuous 
 violation of his treaty, seemed to cast a shade of dis- 
 honour upon the government of this monarch, and 
 to demand his imnjediate and vigorous interposition. 
 And as other provinces were now composed, and 
 that the affairs of Leinster could not be neglected 
 
 without 
 
Ch. 1. HENRY II. SI 
 
 ^\ithout the utmost disgrace to his authority, he de- 
 tenriined to march, in ail the majesty and terror 
 of an oHeiided sovereii^n, against Dermod and his 
 foreigners, before they \yere enabk^d by any addi- 
 tional reinforcements to spread the flames of war 
 still further. 
 
 The several chieftains were summoned to attend 
 his standard, their vassals were collected ; the whole 
 united army was assembled and reviewed at Tarah, 
 the renowned seat of ancient Irish grandeur ; and at- 
 tended their monarch to Dul)lin. Here were dis-Ann. 
 covered the first symptoms of that internal weakness:J.^^''S- 
 Avhich lay concealed under this parade and ostenta- > ,"j^ Ul^ 
 tion. The northern chieftains, who yielded to none Ann, Ti- 
 of their countrymen in military honour, had march- g|'»-. 
 ed thus far, under the command of Roderic, ^^ilh^-'gi'"' 
 their numerous and warlike troops. But many of 
 these chieftains, he knew, paid him a reluctant and 
 insidious obedience, and were secretly favourers of 
 the rival family of Hi-Nial, Dreading this insince- 
 rity, and justly suspecting that on some critical emer- 
 gency they might avow^ their disafl'ection, and per- 
 haps desert to the enemy, he dismissed the Northern 
 forces, as if the present service was not sufficiently 
 important to require their concurrence, or to detain 
 them from their own habitations and concerns. Hi;^ 
 provincial troops, those of O'Ruarc, those of Tho- 
 mond, and some from the lords of Leinster, who 
 still opposed their chieftain, formed an army greatly 
 superior to the forces he was to encounter: and 
 Dermod had scarcely received the news of this for- 
 midable confederacy, when he was again informed 
 that the united powers of the monarch had actually 
 entered his territories, and commenced hostilities. 
 
 This first appearance of a reverse of fortune served 
 to convert the insolence of his success into the most 
 abject and unmanly dismay. And, to complete his 
 confusion, numbers of his own vassals, who had but^""^^^- 
 just now bound themselves to his service by thegj!^^ih\ 
 most solemn oaths^ made a faithless revolt to the 
 
 enemy ; 
 
32 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 enciny : and even tliose who had not yet deserted, 
 he had too j^ood reason to suspect. In tliis, which 
 he regarded as the extremity of distress, he lost all 
 hopes, even in his British allies ; and communicated 
 his uitelli<>ence to their leaders with the dejection 
 of a man totally desperate. Fitz-Stephen is said to 
 IiJfA e endeavoured to allay these terrors ; and to 
 have represented, with some Avarmth, that a prince, 
 should not only display his personal bravery in the 
 field, but possess his mind with that finnness and 
 magnanimity which might enable him to encounter 
 the severest distress ; that a steady and well-collected 
 mind could not fail of its resources, even in the 
 most alarming events : at worst, an honorable death 
 was the last glorious resource of an undaunted spi- 
 rit; the Britons were still faithful to his cause, 
 ready to share his fortunes, the friends of his dis- 
 tress, as well as of his prosperity. Such remon- 
 stances were succeeded by a serious deliberation on 
 the measures necessary for their defence. As the 
 enemy was so superior in numbers, it was resolved 
 to retire to a station near Ferns, difficult and dan- 
 gerous of access, .surrounded with deep and impas- 
 sable woods, precipices, and morasses; whichby art 
 and labour was soon rendered impregnable to an 
 enemy more distinguished by rude valoin* than by 
 military skill. And thus entrenched and fortified, 
 they seemed to bid defiance to the invaders. 
 Girald. RoDERic cousidcrcd their present advantage of 
 
 Ilfinmer. situation, the danger of attacking an enemy thus 
 Staniii. stationed, which had frequently been experienced in 
 all the Irish wars, the precarious event of battle, the 
 fatal consequences to his authority from a defeat, or 
 even from the least disgrace which might attend his 
 arms ; and determined to try every expedient of 
 policy, before he had recourse to the final decision 
 of the sword. His first attempt was to prevail upon 
 the British forces to detach themselves from Der- 
 mod : and for this purpose, by his deputies, lie is 
 said to have represented to Fitz-Stephen the injustice 
 
 of 
 
Ch. 1. HENRY II. S3 
 
 of his present conduct in leading an army into tt, 
 s(rani;e country, uliere lie had no claims or preten- 
 sions lO support, in seizing lands and projecling set- 
 tlements, >vhen the rightfnl pois^essors, far from en- 
 feriaining any hostile dispositions to his followers, 
 uere still contented that the Brilons should he suf- 
 fered to depart unmolested : that it was shameful 
 for a brave and generous peojile to espouse the odi- 
 ous cause of a tyrant and adulterer; unreasonable 
 to involve themselves iu tlie ruin nov/ impending- 
 over hiui, and extra^ agaut to suppose that the forces 
 of an Irish monarch coidd not crush an enemy in his 
 distress, whom they had successfully nttacked in the 
 midst of his prosperity, aiid driven into abject ba- 
 nishment, in despite of his most vigorous efforts ; 
 that their only just and reasonable measure was to 
 retire in peace, and leave him to his fate ; especi- 
 ally as Roderic consented not oidy to allow them a 
 secure departure, but to defray the expences of their 
 voyage. 
 
 In these overtures Fitz-Stephen readily discover- 
 ed the diffidence and timidity by which they had 
 been dictated, and therefore was the more embold- 
 ened to reject them. He replied, that the Britons 
 had not come to invade the rights of others, but to 
 take possession of their own, which they claimed by 
 treaty with the king of Leinster ; to him they stood 
 engaged by every tic of justice and honour ; nor 
 was it their custom to fon-ake their allies on the 
 first alarm of opposition, or to be seduced from their 
 attachments by a bribe; tliat soldiers ^vere not used 
 to listen with severity to old tales fjf any man's 
 amours; nor could Roderic himself, whose spurious 
 issue was well known, boast of consumntate chastity ; 
 that he and his associates were utterly at a loss to 
 conceive the purpose of this deputation ; his advice 
 or friendship they neither Vvtinted nor accepted ; if 
 he ventured to predict the event of the present con- 
 test, they had no reliance on his sagacity ; if he 
 commanded as a monarch, they were sU'itngers to 
 
 Vol.1 K ' bis 
 
31 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. 1. 
 
 his authority ; if he threatened as an enemy, they 
 defied his power. 
 
 Girald. The deputies thus unsuccessful in their first at- 
 tempt, addressed themselves in the next place to 
 Derniod. They called upon him, in the name of 
 their master, to detach himself from the stran<^ers, 
 to unite with his countrymen, and acknowledg-e his 
 allegiance to the king- of Connaught. On this con- 
 dition they assured him that he should be established 
 in his rights ; that his sovereign w as even ready to 
 defend him against the danger of his present unna- 
 tural alliance : that the Britons meant but to im- 
 prove the pretence which he had precipitately af- 
 forded them, to establish a permanent and powerful 
 settlement in Leinster; to strengthen themselves gra- 
 dually by a succession of new adventurers, so as to 
 drive him from his territories, to reduce the whole 
 province to a state of slavish dependence, and pos- 
 sibly to extend their power yet further : that his in- 
 terest and his honor, the duty which he owed to 
 himself, to his sovereign, and to his country, ob- 
 liged him to turn his arms against the common ene- 
 my, and to drive away these insidious invaders. 
 Should he prove insensible to every just and gene- 
 rous motive, the monarch of Ireland was at hand, 
 ready to chastise such treason, nor should his foreign- 
 ers defend him against the just resentments of his 
 countrymen. 
 
 Ibid. Dermod, who had learned resolution from his 
 
 allies, received these propositions with the most 
 insolent disdain. The deputies returned, and Ro- 
 deric prepared for battle as his last resource, wliich 
 was now expected, on both sides, not without the 
 utmost anxiet}^ for the event. It was usual for the 
 Irish chieftains to harano-ue their forces before an 
 engagement : and now when the onset was immedi- 
 ately expected, the leaders on each side strove to 
 animate their troops by such arguments and motives 
 as their cause afforded. We are told that Roderic 
 laboured to paint the iniquities of Dermod in the 
 
 most 
 
Cn. 1. HENRY II. 35 
 
 most odious colours ; inveighed against his former 
 tyranny, his present malice, his infamous connexion 
 Avith foreigners, and tlie injustice and danger of 
 their attempt to gain a settlement in Ireland ; en- 
 couraging his troops to display their native courage, 
 that posterity might be instructed by their example, 
 and roving adventurers for ever deterred from the 
 like injurious attempts against their country. Der- 
 mod on his part was equally industrious to possess 
 his people with the most unfavourable sentiments 
 of Roderic, whom he represented as the ambitious 
 and oppressive invader of his province. He himself, 
 he observed, had taken arms merely in defence of 
 his own rights and those of his subjects, and rely- 
 ing on their well approved valour, he despised the 
 numbers of his invader ; w hile Fitz-Stephen con- 
 tented himself with representing to his countrymen, 
 that they were engaged in an honourable cause, that 
 of supporting an injured prince, their friend and 
 benefactor, who had given them valuable settle- 
 ments, when distressed and neglected in their own 
 country ; and that their anns might open a way to 
 acquisitions still more valuable and extensive, if they 
 now exerted that valour which became their descent^ 
 and which had ever been the glory of Britons, 
 ^ But in the midst of all this agitation, while the Girald. 
 armies seemed on the point of a desperate encoimt- 
 er, the timid policy of Roderic was still predomi- 
 nant. One vigorous effort to crush these foreigners 
 in the infancy of their enterprize, might have con- 
 founded all their expectations, deterred their coun- 
 trymen from any like attempts, and prevented the 
 momentous consequences of this apparently insigiii-r 
 ficant invasion. The future fate of Ireland hung 
 on this critical moment : and it was at once decid- 
 ed : for Roderic listened to the suggestions of his 
 clergy, and rather than hazard an engagement, con- 
 sented to treat with a prince whose perfidy he had 
 already experienced. His deputies were once more 
 sent to Dennod, offered their propositions with less 
 
 a^rrogance^ 
 
8S HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 arrogance, and were hoard with g^rcater tejnper. 
 The neo'ociation was protracted for a time, lint, by 
 the industry of the agents, and the mediation of 
 the clergy, at lengtli finally conclnded. Derinod 
 was allowed to proceed in the reduction of Leinster 
 "ivithout any opposition from Roderic or his vassals. 
 On his part he engaged to acknowledge the supre- 
 macy of Roderic, and to pay him such service as 
 monarchs of Ireland had usiially claimed from infe- 
 rior princes. As a surety for the faithful perform- 
 ance of this article, his favoiuite son was delivered 
 as an hostage to the king of Connaught. But in or- 
 der to heal the woimds of civil discord, and to es- 
 tablish the present acconnnodation on the firmest 
 basis, Roderic obliged himself to give his daughter 
 in marriage to this youth, as soon as Leinster should 
 be reduced, and the general peace of the island ef- 
 fectually restored. By a secret article Dermod en- 
 gaged to dismiss the British forces immediately af- 
 ter the settlement of his province, and in the mean 
 time not to bring over any further reinforcements 
 froiji England. He was bound by the most solemn 
 oaths to the due observance of this treaty, which 
 he determined to observe no longer than necessity or 
 convenience might ol)lige him. And now Roderic 
 drew off his army, leaving tjie prince of Leinster 
 with his Britons at full liberty to expend their con- 
 quests unmolested. 
 Uirald. Fitz-Stephen on his part was in the first place 
 anxious to secure the possessions he had already ac- 
 quired ; and justly dreading the instability of the 
 men of Wexford, determined to build a fort to keep 
 them in perpetual awe. He chose for his situation 
 a place called Carrig, about two miles distant from 
 the town, defended on two sides by a precipice, and 
 on the others by a deep navigable river. Dermod 
 in the mean time boiling with revenge, and impati- 
 ent to take the advantage of his retuniing fortune, 
 and to wreak his malice upon all his former ene- 
 mies, now marked out Dublin as the scene of hosti- 
 lities 
 
Cu. 1. HENRY II. Sf 
 
 lities. This city was inhabited principally by Ost- 
 iiien, whoni the convenience of commerce had in- 
 vitc^d thither, and who, as the powjer of the prince 
 of Leinster prevailed or declined, either lived under 
 his dominion, or asserted their independence. The 
 father of Dermod had so provoked them by severity 
 and tyranny, that when he ventured within their 
 walls they treacherously murdered, him and, to ex- 
 press the greater abhorrence and contempt, interred 
 liis body with the carcass of a dog\ This inhuman 
 outrage was followed by a revolt, and ever since the 
 iirst misfortunes of Dermod they had acknowledged 
 no other lord but their own Danish governor 
 called Hesculph Mac-Torcal. Dermod had now 
 power to execute his revenge for the murder of his 
 father, and to punish their defiance of his omu au- 
 thority. Leaving Fitz-Stephen and his party to 
 complete their works, he led his Irish, together 
 with the rest of his British forces under the com- 
 mand of Fitz-Gerald, into the territories of Dub- 
 lin, where he spread fire and slaughter with the most 
 unrelenting fury. The improvident citizens, terri- 
 fied at the severity of this execution, which they 
 were utterly unprepared to oppose, had no other 
 part to take but that of deprecating the resentment 
 of their invader. They consented to lay down their 
 arms, and return to their allegiance. And Fitz- 
 Gerald himself, aflfected by their submission, be- 
 came intercessor with the prince of Leinster, who 
 for the present was sufliciently gratified by this their 
 abasement, admitted them to take the oaths of fide- 
 lity, and received their hostages, leaving their form- 
 er governor still to command the city in his name, 
 and as his vassal. 
 
 While Dermod was employed in this expedi- 
 tion, a trivial incident served to discover his impla- 
 cable aversion to Roderic, and his impatience to 
 break through his late engagements. A short timeGirald. 
 before the arrival of the British troops, Donald^ "J- 
 O'Brien had^ on the death of his father, assumed j^lgg^" 
 
 the 
 
3S HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 tlie g-overnmcnt of Thomond in which he was con- 
 firnied by the authority of Roderic^ with whom he 
 remained in strict connexion^ attending him in all 
 his expeditions, till the restoration of Dermod, the 
 fame of his foreign auxiliaries, and above all the 
 late inglorious conduct of his sovereign determined 
 him to revolt ; and entering into an alliance with 
 the prince of Leinster, w hich was cemented by the 
 marriage of one of his daughters, he bad defiance 
 to the power of Conn aught. Roderic endeavoured 
 to reduce this rebellious vassal, who sought, and in- 
 stantly obtained assistance from his new ally. Der- 
 mod, on the first notice of his danger, was impati- 
 ent to insult the pride of Roderic, and to resist that 
 sovereign authority which he w as but now sworn to 
 Girald. support. He dispatched an emissary to Fitz-Stephen, 
 earnestly requesting him to march to the assistance 
 of his son-in-law. The British chief readily obeyed; 
 and Roderic, alarmed at the intelligence of a rein- 
 forcement, whose numbers were industriously mag- 
 nified, had the mortification to find it necessary to 
 retire, leaving his enemies to triumph over his dis- 
 appointment and disgrace. 
 
 Thus we find the first British adventurers suc- 
 cessful in their attempts to reinstate the Irish chief- 
 tain, in whose service they had engaged;, peaceably 
 settled in his province, left to secure and enjoy the 
 possessions he had bestowed, and still ready to es-^ 
 pouse his quarrels, This, which is sometimes re- 
 presented as an astonishing iiistance of British prowess 
 and Irish weakness, appears, when fairly examined, 
 neither wonderful nor extraordinary. To affirm 
 that the followers of Fitz-Stephen and Fitz-Gerald 
 composed a force which nothing in Ireland was able 
 to withstand, is to account for their success in such 
 a manner as bespeaks an easy and pliant belief, but 
 does no honor to the valoin* and abilities of these 
 gallant knights. The truth is, they w ere withstood 
 by those inuTiediately affected by their invasion, with 
 ail the spirit of undisciplined and undii'ected valour; 
 
 and 
 
Ch. 1. HENRY II. 59 
 
 and where the numbers on each side were nearly 
 equal, the Irish brought both their courage and con- 
 duct to a severe trial. The power of the nation 
 they did not contend with; and however we may 
 conceive or speak of Ireland as one collected state, 
 the Irish of these days had but faint ideas of a nati- 
 onal cause or a national force. Their tribes were 
 each zealous for their own interest or the honour of 
 their own arms ; but little concerned about the for- 
 tune of a distant province, and little affected by the 
 disgrace or defeat of any chieftain but their own. 
 They followed Roderic because they recognized his 
 authority, or feared his power, not to repel an in- 
 vasion of Ireland, but to reduce his disobedient vas- 
 sal: and when this was effected, either by arms or 
 negociation, they were not at all concerned about 
 the administration of that vassal's province or any 
 dispositions of his territory. The settlement of a 
 Welsh colony in Leinster was an incident neither 
 interesting nor alarming to any, except perhaps a 
 few of most reflection and discernment. Even the 
 Irish annalists speak with a careless indifference of 
 this event, while they dwell upon the provincial 
 wars and contests subsisting in other quarters of the 
 island, and even upon the insignificant aflair/? of their 
 church, asobjects much more important. Had these 
 first adventurers conceived that they had nothing- 
 more to do but to march through the land, and ter- 
 rif^^awhole nation of timid savages by the glitter 
 of their armour, they must have speedily experienc- 
 ed the effects of such romantic madness. But their 
 valour was happily directed by prudence and circum- 
 spection, and hence they gradually prevailed over 
 their enemies, no less brave, but unexperienced, im- 
 provident, and disunited. 
 
 CHAP, 
 
40 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 C II A P. II 
 
 JDermod aspires to the monarchy of Ireland. .... Eiiroio'agrd 
 bt/ the British leaders . . , Again applies to the Earl of Chip- 
 stoic, .who is discouraged hij Ilcnrjj . .prepares for an expe- 
 dition into Ireland. . .Arrival of Raj/niond le Gross. . .II is 
 victor//., .cruel execution of his prisoners.. .Landing of 
 earl Richard. . . Siege of TVatetford. .Marriage of the earl. 
 . .March to Dublin.. . Koderic takes arms . .skiniiisheSyand 
 retires. . . Dublin stormed in the midst of a treati/. . . 
 Escape of Ilesculph. . . . Inxasion of Meath. . . . Embassj/ 
 of Roderic . . Cruel execution of the Leinster hostages. . . 
 St/nod convened at Armagh.. .Henri/ alarmed at the pro- 
 gress of Strongbow. . . His proclamation. . . Raj/mond dis- 
 patched to the king. . . Death of Dermod. . .its consequences. 
 Britons deserted, .distressed.. .Defeat and death of Iles- 
 culph.. .Zeal and vigour of archbishop Laurence.. .Dublin 
 invested bj/ the Irish confederates. . . Fitz- Stephen besieged at 
 Carrig. . . Strongbow treats with Roderic. . . Terms of capi- 
 tulation proposed. . . Desperate effort of the Britons. . . Re- 
 treat of the confederates. .Fitz-Stephen deceived, .surrenders. 
 Crueltij of his enemies. . . Strongbow marches to We.iford. . . 
 Is atlackedat Hi-drone. , . Desists from his attempt to relieve 
 Fitz-Stephen.. .Goes to Waterford.. .Meditates an inva- 
 sion of Ossori/. . . Generositi/ of Pendergast. . . Strongbow 
 exercises a roj/al sovereignty in Leinster. . .Is sum7nonedto 
 appear before king Henri/. . . Is reconciled to the king. . . 
 Preparations for his invasion. . .Defeat of O' Ruarc. . .De- 
 putation of the Wexfordians. .artfully received by Henry. 
 
 JJeRMOD, now esta])lished in the full and peace- 
 able possession of his province^ and acknowlediJcd 
 and obeyed as the rightful prince of Leinster, 
 Giiald. could plead no just pretence for emplovino; his 
 British auxiliaries any longer. But success en- 
 larged his vievvs^ and entlamed his passions: and 
 
 the 
 
Gir. 2. HENRY IL 41 
 
 tlie abandoned fu«;itive, suddenly restored to his state 
 and power, burnini];- with reveni;"e, and intoxicated 
 by ambition, determined to contend v,ith Roderic 
 for the monarchy of Irehvnd. 
 
 He commnnieated his bold design to the British Girald, 
 leaders, on whose attachment he justly placed his^'^'"^' 
 chief reliance. He told them tliat his ancient 
 rii^lits had not yet been completely recovered ; that 
 the dominion of Connan^lit, a rich and extensive 
 province, which would alrbrd the amplest and most 
 honorable settlements to his adherents, had been 
 formerly wrested from his family, and was now 
 usurped by his mortal enemy ; he labonred to 
 possess them with mai^nificent expectations, if they 
 wonld assist him in asserting all his claims: and he 
 addressed himself to those who were desirous to 
 engage him in such ]>ursuits. They commended 
 the design he had conceived, and apj>lauded his 
 generous spirit; but as the attempt was arduous, 
 as he nuist support a contest with superior num- 
 bers, and warlike chiet\a]i!s, and ashi^ British forces, 
 howeverdistingnished })y discipline and valour, were 
 yet too few to engage in an extensive enterprize, 
 they advised him tor the present to conceal his in- 
 tentions, till he could obtain more powerful rein- 
 forcements from England ; which they pressed him 
 to solicitl\y every possible means, as his sure support 
 against the boldest opposition of his enemies Der- 
 mod, still more enfiamc^d by this encouragement^ 
 pathetically entreated Fitz-8teph(?n and Fitz-Gerald 
 to employ their induence in gaining an additional 
 number of British forces. He n peated and en- 
 forced his solicitations, he lavished his promises, and 
 even oftered his daughter in marriage to each suc- 
 cessively, w ithont the least regard to his former en- 
 gagement. But these lords, who were already mar- 
 ried, and possibly had already brought all the forces- 
 they could command, advised him to aj)ply once 
 more to the earl of Chepstow, who proliably wag 
 Avell disposed, and certainly enabled to lead such an 
 Vol. I. P army 
 
42 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. T. 
 
 army into Ireland, as miglit in tl^c end exalt liini to 
 the sovereignty ot" the whoh' nation. 
 
 Girald. Dermod ap|)rovc(l of this advice, and without. 
 
 Caiub. further delay dispatrhed if is emissaries with letters 
 to earl Richard, in which he i^ently complained 
 of his absence, and pressed him earnestly to the 
 long-expected pei'fonnance of his proniise. Ho 
 had now, he oliservcd, l)y the assistance of those 
 friends he had already gained from England, re- 
 covered the po-ssession of his own province, and 
 wanted bnt tlie presence of the earl to redi\ce his 
 enemies completely, and extend his sovereignty 
 even over the whole island. His other adherent;^ 
 had supported the weight oi' his distress, and were 
 amply rewarded for their services ; he now called 
 on him to take the less hazardous and more pleasii^j^ 
 part, that of sharing and extending his good for- 
 tune: wealth and honor were prepared for him ,- 
 a beautiful bride and a princely dowry waited his ac- 
 ceptance. 
 Ibid. Earl Richard had heard of the successes of hi.s 
 
 countrymen, and readily determined to obey this 
 invitation. Neglected by his prince, oppressed by 
 his necessities, and Hattered by the prospect of va- 
 luable acquisitions in Ireland, he instantly repaired 
 to king Henry, represented his distress, and en- 
 treated the royal favor to re-instate him in his tor- 
 mer atHnence, at least to jx^rmit him to court the 
 return of fortune, by hazarding his life in the ser- 
 vice of the prince of Leinster. Henry, who by 
 no means wished that his subjects shoidd make too 
 considerable a progress in Ireland, much less that 
 the reduction of this country should be gradually ef- 
 fected, without his interposition, was not desirous 
 that the prese^it British adventurers should gain any 
 additional reinforcemenis: yet, without disavowing 
 his former general licence, or directly forbidding* 
 the earl to pursue his intended enterprise, he at tirst 
 detained him by various pretences, without any ex- 
 plicit answer to his petition. When his instances 
 were renewed^ he affected to commend his martial 
 
 spirit^. 
 
Ch. ?. HENRY 11, i3 
 
 spirit, but treated his scheme of an adventure into 
 Irehind with conlemptand ridicule. Richard was still 
 importunate; 'till the kin«^' passionately commanded 
 him to begone, with some equivocal expressions 
 which might be understood as an assent to his re- 
 cpiest. The earl determined to understand his lieg'e- 
 lord in this manner, departed, and prepared for his 
 expedition with all imaginable vigour. 
 
 It was now winter, when no embarkation could be 
 safely ujade. But he employed this interval so dili- 
 g-enJi y :md effectually, that in the ensuing spring his 
 preparations were complete; and his domestic friend, 
 Raymond Le Gross, the near kinsman of Fitz-j^"''^^j|' 
 'Stephen and Fitz-Gcrahl, first embarked with ten "*'" ' 
 knights and seventy archers as an advanced guard. 
 AVith these came Hervey of jMountmorres, who 
 had returned to Wales, probably to confer w ith earl 
 Ricliard, and was now attended into Ireland by a 
 small train. This little company landed, in the 
 month of May, at a place called by the old histo- 
 rians Dondonolf, near Waterford ; and for their 
 innnediate security cast up an intrenchment, and 
 raised a temporary fort. Nor was the precaution 
 \iseless; for this new debarkation, which was justly '^•J^- 
 attril)uted to the practices of Dermod, seemed so '^' 
 flagrant a violation of his treaty, and indicated so 
 confirmed a resolution in this chieftain to over-run 
 his country with foreigners, that the inhabitants of 
 Waterford, and those of Decies instantl\^ formed 
 a tumultuary troop, and marched to expel thcsr. 
 invaders. The Britons prepared to meet them ; but, 
 when they had surveyed their formidable superio- 
 rity of numbers, retired to their fort, The Irish 
 pressed closely upon them, and some were even 
 \vithin their gates*, wheii Raymond boldly assailed 
 and slew their leader. His associates were animated 
 by this example ; the enemy retired, and stood 
 suspended. Fortiuiately the Britons had collected 
 from the adjacent country a numerous herd of 
 cattle for their subsistence; and ihese Raymond f^^^S"^ 
 
 ordered 
 
Gi'-ald. 
 
 44 HISTORY OP IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 orderod to bf^ driven with all possible h\Yy against 
 the enemv. The beasts rushed forward with irresis- 
 tible violence, and cast the astonished Irish into the 
 luinost contusion. The invaders seized the tavour- 
 able moment, marched out asjainst their disordered 
 innnbers, <j;ained an immediate victory, pnisued^ 
 with considerable slaughter, and as tliey were too 
 few to make any *>reat nimiber of prisoners^ preci- 
 pitatf^d the flying enemj^ into the sea with an hard- 
 ened indiderence. They returned, however, to the 
 
 Camij" ^<^*'^ ^^'^'i seventy captives, all principal citizens of 
 Waterford, who oflcred larg-e sums for their ransom^ 
 and even promised that the city should be surren- 
 dered, as the pu.rchase of their liberty. If we arc 
 to believe Cambrensis. Raymond was disposed to 
 accept their olier. He pleaded that they had 
 fouo-ht in a fair and honorable cause, the defence 
 of their territory, and therefore were to be treated 
 in their distress \yith courtesy and pity. Hervey on 
 the other hand represented the danger of strength- 
 ening- their enemies already too powerful^ the neces- 
 sity of striking terror into tl^e inh«bitants, and their 
 aversion to the Britons, to whom they nevei' 
 would srdjmit, till broken by rigour and severity. 
 Unhappily this cruel policy prevailed, and the glory 
 of their extraordinary success was sullied by the 
 execution of these vi retched captives. An act of de- 
 liberate bari)arity, it might be supposed, woidd have 
 provoked the Irish to a severe revenge ; but whether 
 they were uninformed of the fate of their country- 
 men, or intimidated, they sutlered these merciless 
 invaders to maintain their station unmolested, and 
 ■^vait for the arrival of their associates. 
 
 And now earl Richard, more generally known 
 by the name of Strongbow, from his extraordinary 
 feats of archery, led his vassals through Wales, en- 
 
 Giil. Neu- creased them by new adventurers from this warlike 
 
 "^' country, and was on the point of embarking, when 
 
 he Was surprised by a positive command from 
 
 Henry to desist from his intended enterprise, on 
 
Cii. 2. * HENRY II. 45^ 1 
 
 pain of forfeiture of his lands and honors, as a rebel ; 
 
 against his sovereityn. He had proceeded too far, j 
 
 and dwelt too long- upon the thoughts of acqiiir- I 
 
 ing- extensive and valuable possessions in Ireland, ' 
 
 to acquiesce in this mortifying" prohibition. He 
 either aliected to doubt of the authority by which 
 tlie mandate was delivered, or ventured openly to i 
 
 renounce it. He hoped to render himself indepen- 
 dent of the king, or at least to find some means 
 of deprecating his resentment. He set sail fromGirnld. \ 
 
 Milford, in the jnonth of August, and on the eve^'^'^b. j 
 
 of the feast of St. Bartholomew landed at Water- i 
 
 ford, with two hundred knights, and about tvt^elve ; 
 
 riundred infantry, all chosen aiid well-appointed sol- ^ 
 
 diers. These were instantly joined by Raymond and i 
 
 his party, and the very next morning they marched ' 
 
 in military array to attack the city. 
 
 Waterford, which was inhabited principally by^e?:fn- j 
 
 Ostmen, and governed by two Danish lords, hacl,J^|^''''j^' ' 
 
 on the first alarm of this invasion, received conside- ' * j 
 
 rable reinforcements from the neigli])onring chief- i 
 
 tains, and prepared for a vigorous defence. The 
 Britons were beaten off, returned to the assault, and i 
 
 were again forced to retire ; when Raymond, per- 
 ceiving in the eastern angle a small house of timber 
 projecting beyond the walls, and supported on the ^ 
 
 outside by posts, prevailed on his countrymen to 
 make a third attempt, and to bend the force of 
 their assault against this very quarter. They began 
 with hewing down the posts; the house fell, and a 
 
 drew with it such a portion of the walls as made a ' 
 
 breach sufficiently practicable. The besiegers rush- 
 ed in, and bearing down all opposition, were soon 
 left at liberty to glut their vengeance upon those 
 who had presumed to make a brave defence against 
 the unprovoked invaders of their lives and proper- 
 ties. The whole city was made a scene of pro- 
 miscuous carnage, without mercy or distinction. 
 Reginhald, one of the Danish governors, and^nn. 4 
 O'Paolan, prince of Decies, with his son, wereMa^. ; 
 
 seizcdj and just on the point of being made victims ^^S. ; 
 
 to 
 
46 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 to the insolent cruelty of the conquerors, when the 
 sudden arrival of Dermod and his troop put an end 
 to the slaughter. Even this cruel chieftain had now 
 GiraJd ^^^^ merit of interposing", to prevent the deliberate 
 Canib. butchery of his countrymen. He embraced his 
 new associates, and presented his daughter Eva to 
 her intended spouse. When the clamour of war 
 had been silenced, and the peace of the city re-esta- 
 blished, he insisted, with an ostentation of good faith 
 and gratitude, that her marriage with earl Strong- 
 ])ow should be immediately solemnized. Their 
 liands l>eing joined, and the nuptials celebrated, 
 Dermod and his confederates proceed to settle their 
 military operations, and leaving a garrison at Wa- 
 terford, bend their course towards I)ul)lin. 
 
 The men of Dublin had probably discovered 
 some recent disaflection to the khig of Leinster, 
 which his old resentments might have magnified into 
 an avowed rebellion. In accepting their late sub- 
 mission he had but suspended his revenge ; and now 
 Avhen strengthened by so powerful a reinforcement, 
 he resolved to punish their real or pretended revolt, 
 as the fairest pretence for employing and displaying 
 Ids new forces, so as to strike general terror, and 
 at the same time to lead them on gradually into the 
 territories of his enemies. Roderic in the mean 
 time, who had but too just reasons to consider the late 
 treaty as totally dissolved, and whose interest and 
 reputation, the surest basis of his sovereign dignity, 
 called him forth to check the progress of these 
 foreigners, once more took the field, and joined by 
 Ann. the forces of O'Huarc and O Carrol prince of Ar- 
 4 Mag. gial, marched to Clandalkan, a few miles southward 
 MSS. of ihp (.j(y a«i if determined to give battle to the 
 ^jgg^^"^' confederates of Leinster. His numbers are rated 
 by those whom we may reasonably suspect of mag- 
 nifying them, at thirty thousand men. But though 
 Regan, this account be evidently incredii)le, yet were 
 they much superior to those he v,as to encoun- 
 ter. But the Britons, who had by this time learn- 
 ed 
 
Ch. 2. HENRY II. i7 
 
 ed to tlespise the nnmbeis of their Irish enemieK, 
 continued tlieir march, and advanced resolutely 
 upon Roderic. Milo de Co^an, a brave English 
 kniglit, led the vanguard, composed of seven 
 hundred British forces, and an Irish battalion 
 commanded by Donahl, that son of Dennod Mho 
 sened with such vigour in all his father's wars. Tim 
 main body Avas formed of eight hundred British, 
 commanded by Raymond Le Gross, and the chief 
 part of the Irish troops led by the king of Leinster. 
 Earl Strongbow followed in the rear with three hun- 
 dred English and one thousand Irish forces. This 
 regular disposition of a disciplined and well-appoint- 
 ed army formed a new^ and terrible spectacle to the 
 tumultuous lumibers of Roderic. Iiistead of com- 
 ing to a regular engagement, they were contented ^"J'- 
 with skirmishing for three days with the confede- j^jgj^^* 
 rates; and then as if the services due to their so- 
 vereign were thus completely j)erfoniied, they ob- 
 liged him to dismiss them, and to retire into his 
 own province, leaving the Ostmen of Dublin to sus- 
 tain the whole fury of their besiegers. 
 
 These citizens, in the utmost consternation at 
 the flight of Roderic, utterly unable to defend them- 
 selves against their implacable enemy, and still fur- 
 ther confounded and distressed hy an accidental lire, 
 which had destroyed one of their princijial, gates, re- '^'^"- ^ 
 solved, as their last resource, to avert tise danger by Mys'|°* 
 a treaty. Tlieir deputation, led by Laurence their Giruld. 
 archbishop, a prelate highly reverenced for the dig- Camb, 
 nity of his birth, as well as his exalted piety, re- 
 paired to Dermod, and laboured to allay his resent- 
 ment. In the name of his fellow-citizens Laurence 
 expressed the utmost penitence for all past offences 
 against their prince, promising for the future to ad- Ke^an. 
 here to his interests with the sincerest and most 
 scrupulous allegiance : for which thirty hostages 
 were offered as a surety. Dermod was intractable ; 
 and though the respect due to the character of tlii>j 
 prelate did not permit hini to avow his bloody in- 
 
 tentionSj 
 
48 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 teulions, yet difficulties and objections were repeat- 
 edly started to give some colour to his obstinate re- 
 jection of every overture. In the midst of these de- 
 lays, honor and good faith proved but a weak re- 
 straint against the fiery spirits of the Britons. Their 
 younger and more adventurous commanders, pre- 
 tending that the term of parly was expired, led 
 their forces to the walls, and gave the assault, which 
 the citizens neither expected nor were prepared u> 
 repel. Their streets were soon filled with slaughter : 
 numbers plunged into the river, to escape the fury 
 of their pursuers, and were drowned. A consider- 
 able body of the inhabitants, however, with Iles- 
 culph their governor, had the good fortune to gain 
 some vessels lying at anchor in the harbour, which 
 conveyed them with their more valuable efii'ects to 
 the northern islands. 
 
 Earl Strongbow, now invested with the lord- 
 ship of Dublin, appointed Milo de Cogan his go- 
 vernor ; and proceeding directly with Dermod to 
 the territories of Meath, over-ran the country, l)urn- 
 ing and slaughtering with the most unrelenting fury. 
 The prince of tliis district had some time since been 
 murdered by one of his kinsmen, who assumed his 
 ^"J- state and dignity. Roderic determining to punish 
 MSS^ this outrage, marched into Meath, and exp<'llt'd 
 the usurper. He in revenge joined with the king of 
 Leinster audhis British allies, who thus had a j)iau- 
 sible pretence for invading Meath in support of 
 their new confederate. Roderic, on theotlier hand, 
 who had bestowed the eastern part of Meath on 
 O'Ruarc, and reserved the western to himself, was 
 bound to support his own arrangements ; nor could 
 he look upon the progress of the Leinster forces 
 without the most serious apprehensions for his own 
 province, where the dissensions of his people, and 
 the ambition and turbulence of his sons were raising 
 the flame of civil war, while a powerful foreign 
 enemy advanced fast upon his borders. But as he 
 was not strong enough to take the field, his depu- 
 ties w ere sent to Dermod, who in the name of their 
 
 inonarcU 
 
Ch. 2. HENRY II, - 40 
 
 monarch Commanded him to retire. H<^ was told, 
 that while he contiiied himself to the recovery of hin j 
 
 own dominions he }iad not been opposed ; bnt now^ 
 when contrary to his solemn enf^agements he had 
 invited over new troops of forei»-ners, and employ- 
 ed them in the most crnel hostilities against his nn- ' 
 ofliending- neighljonrs, it became the monarch of 
 Ireland to remind him of his duty ; which if he : 
 continued to violate, his son was in the hands of 
 Roderic and his life nuist answer for the perfidY 
 and cruelty of his father. l>ut natural afFectiou had i 
 but little place in the breast of Dermod. His reply 
 was full of insolence and disdain. He defied the GiraW. \ 
 power of Roderic, and renounced his authority; Camb. ' 
 expressed the most careless indifference at the fate 
 of his son, and the utmost scorn of the man who 
 presumed to dictate to his arms, and prescribe bounds : 
 to his excursions; openly avowing his pretensions ' 
 to the dominion of Conuaught, which he w as de- . i 
 termiued to assert; that he claimed not Leinsteron- i 
 ly but all Ireland ; nor should he lay down liis arms \ 
 till that kingdom universally acknowledged his ju- 
 risdiction. *\ 
 
 This imperious answer was received with the > 
 
 vexation of impotent dignity insulted and contemn- 
 ed ; and the unhappy youth his hostage felt the Ann. 
 vengeance which he could not point against its pro-"* J^^- 
 per object; his head was instantly cut off. The 
 Irish armalists speak in such terms of this hostage, 
 the noblest and most amiable youth of Leinster, (so 
 they call him) as plaiidy shew their detestation of 
 this brutal cruelty of Roderic. They add, that on 
 this occasion he also put to death a son of the gal- 
 lant Donald Kevanagh, and one scarcely less dear 
 to him, the son of his fosterer, both of whom had 
 been his hostages. 
 
 Every day were now spread through the island 
 fearful accounts of the power, progress and devas- 
 tations of these foreigners, the depo])ulation of whole 
 districts, the miseries of the inhabitants, ravages, 
 massacres, and all the atlecliiig incidents of war, 
 
 Vol. I. G terrible 
 
 MSS. 
 
50 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 terrible in themselves, and mag-nified hy report. 
 Girald. The people were in dismay; their monarch had 
 CumL>, shrank from the danger ignohly: they who were 
 most exposed or threatened, when all human aid 
 seemed desperate,, turned their thoughts^ to hearen, 
 and besought the clergy to devise some means for 
 deprecating the divine wrath, which had thus visited 
 their nation. The clergy, scarcely more enlightened 
 than their ignorant Hock, had fonned some crude 
 notions of the miraculous interpositions of Provi- 
 dence, and concluded that the present calamity must 
 be the consequence of such uitei*position, and or- 
 dahied as a punishment of some particidar offence. 
 The laity were corrupt and vicious, and the clergy 
 shared deeply in the vices of the time. Yet, ut- 
 terly at a loss to conceive w hat this particidar offence 
 might be, which had brought down such an heavy 
 judgment upon their land, they convened a formal 
 synod at Armagh, to enquire into this interesting^ 
 point, as if they were to be favoured with so?ne ex- 
 traordinary connnunications of the divine will. 
 After a long and grave debate, it was suggested, and 
 unanimously agreed by the synod, that the real 
 cause of the divine displeasure, which Ireland now 
 experienced, could be no other than their unchristian 
 practice of purchasing and selling Englishmen as 
 slaves, an iniquity which the Almighty seemed now 
 to punish by English invaders, who threatened to 
 reduce all Ireland to slavery. By the spiritual autho- 
 rity of the synod it was ordained, that every English 
 bondsman should be immediately set at liberty. 
 Whatever was the case in the Saxon times, their 
 uumliers at this period were probably not so consi- 
 dera])le, nor the traffic g-enei-al. Yet this solemn de- 
 termination served to raise the people from their de- 
 jection, as they superstitiously conceived that they 
 had now discovered and removed the latent cause of 
 their calamity, 
 Ann. And in effect their affairs now assumed a more 
 
 4 \U^. favourable aspect. Dermod, elated by his successful 
 MSS. progress in Meath^ insolently ventured with a detach - 
 
 meat 
 
Ch.2. henry II. 51 
 
 Tnrnt of liis forcf^s to pursue his enemy O'Ruarc in- 
 to his territory of Brefhiey ; where he was twice de- 
 feated, and ol)lif>ed to consult his safety by a pre- 
 cipitate retreat. But, what was of more consequence, 
 the fame of the exploits ajid success of earl Strong- 
 ])ow had spread throuo-h Eng-land, and was convey- 
 ed to kin<^ Henry. He learned that his subjects in 
 Ireland had made a progress so rapid and so exten- 
 sive, as seemed to promise a speedy reduction of the 
 whole island, an atehievement which he reser\ ed tV)r 
 himself Jealous of their success and particularly 
 of the «i^rowino- power of Stron<;'bow, who by his al- 
 liances in Eno'land, his acquisitions, and his mani- 
 Ro;'e in Ireland, mi^ht be enabled to dety his autlio- 
 rity, and soon obtain an independent soa ereiguty ofoirald. 
 formidable extent, he now affected the utmost in-^-;""''- 
 ■diill^uation andresentmentattho.se hostilities which 
 his liegemen had ])resumed to carry on in Ireland. 
 He issued his royal edict, strictly- prohibitin«>' any 
 Eiig-lish vessel from passiu*;- into that island ^ith 
 men, arms, or provisions ; and commanding;' all his 
 subjects now resident in Ireland, of every order and 
 dej^ree, to return to their native country before the 
 ■ensuing' feast of Easter, on pain of forfeiting' their 
 lands, and being declared traitors. 
 
 Nothing could !)e dcnised more distressing to 
 the British adventurers than this severe and peremp- 
 tory edict of ihew sovereign. They were cut oti' 
 i'vom all supplies iu the midst of enraged enemies, 
 and in danger of bein^- forsaken by those who had 
 attached themselves to their success. The fairest 
 hopes they could entertain, if the king should prove 
 Implacable, were those of securing their retreat and 
 retiring at the time prescribed, abandoning their 
 Tiew-acquired possessions, and loaded VNith disap- 
 pointment and disgrace. Strongl)ow maturely re- 
 volved the danger, and the means of averting it. 
 Well-acquainted with the character of Henry, and Ibii, 
 no stranger to the real cause of his present res(mt- 
 ment, he determined to send Raymond Le Gross, 
 on whose prudence and fidelity he had the utmost 
 
 reliance 
 
^ HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. T. 
 
 roliance, m ith letters to the kin^now residing in Ac- 
 (fuitain. With the most humble and dutit'id ex- 
 }>ressions of loyaltj, he entreated that his royal mas- 
 ter would be pleased to allow him to 2,i\e a tavom-- 
 able interpretation of his conduct, without listening- 
 to the envious representations of his enemies. He 
 had engag-ed, he said, in the service of the princn 
 of Leinster, his vassal, by his royallicence as he 
 conceived, and for the sole purpose of advancing his 
 hiterests ; he and his fellow-soldiers v. ere iighthig 
 only for ihcW sovereign, to reduce the stubborn 
 spirits of the Irisli to his obedience : whatever they 
 had gained was gained for him, and should remain 
 at his disposal as the natural and rightful lord of the 
 present possessors, w hose lives and fortunes were at 
 his devotion, and who were still ready to obey his 
 royal mandate, if this should be deemed necessary 
 to the interests of the throne. 
 €t\rM. Raymond proceeded to execute his commission, 
 
 Ca.nbr and was received by Henry with the severe dignity 
 of an offended monarch, not displeased with his re- 
 presentations, but not yet disposed to give him an 
 explicit, much less a favourable, answer. From day 
 today Raymond attended on the court, while the 
 affairs of his associates became ever^^ day more dis- 
 tressful and alarming. Ir this juncture of expecta- 
 tion and anxiety, intelligence is received of the death 
 of Becket. The king is thrown into the utmost 
 consternation, and has neither leisru'e nor inclination 
 ilo attend to the less interesting aflairs of Ireland. 
 Here the adventurers, left to their ditliculties and 
 apprehensjons, are alarm ;^d by another incident par- 
 ticularly inconvenient in their present situation, the 
 Ann. death of their ally Dermod. The Irish annalists, by 
 4 Mag. their account of this event, plainly shew their de- 
 ^^^•, testation of the man, who, as they express it, first 
 MSS shook the foundations of his country. They repre- 
 sent his death as the miraculous eiTect of divine 
 wrath poured upon his guilty head, at the interces- 
 sion of every Irish saint. His disease, they say, was 
 strange and tremendo'is, and rendered him an odious 
 ' and 
 
Ch. 2. HENRY II. SS i 
 
 and offensive spectacle of iniseiy ; that he was dc- j 
 
 serted in his extremity by every friend, and expired j 
 
 withont any spiritual comforts, in a state of horrid ! 
 
 impenitence. ] 
 
 i^HE deatli of tlie prince of Leinster was imme- 
 diately succeeded by an almost total defection of the 
 Irish (mm Earl Strong-bowand his associates. Donald Regan. ■ 
 
 Kevanagh, and one or two other petty chiefs, were 
 the only natives who still adhered to them, or on 
 whose services they could rely in this state of their j 
 
 distress, ^hen they were abandoned by their king-, I 
 
 deprived of all supplies, and threatened by the storm ! 
 
 now collectino; round them. 
 
 And scarceh^ had they time to concert any mea-Girald. ' 
 
 sures of defence, when Hesculph, who had lately t!amb. 
 escaped from Dublin, once more appeared at their ^j" "' ^'"*- '< 
 gates at the head of a considerable force, consisting^ 
 of troops collected in the northern islands, armed in 
 the Danish manner, and in numbers superior to i 
 
 the garrison. The Dane had landed his men with- < 
 
 out opposition, and bent the force of his assault i 
 
 against the eastern qiiarter of the city with the spirit 
 of a man determined to retrieve his own honor, -i 
 
 and to regain the seat of his countrymen and ances- 
 tors. Strongbow had been called away to AVater- 
 ford. Milo de Cogan, who commanded in his ab- i 
 
 gence, supported the attack witli becoming bravery, j 
 
 and maintained a violent and bloodj^ contest at the ' 
 
 eastern gate, till the numbers and obstinate valour 
 of the besiegers threatened to bear down all oppo- i 
 
 sition. In the very moment when he was on the ■ 
 
 point of yielding, his brother Richard issued from 
 the southern quarter with a select party, arrived at i 
 
 the field of battle, and charged the enemy in the 
 rear, who, in the first violent surprize of inexperi- 
 enced troops imagined that the garrison had re^ \ 
 ceived some powerful reinforcement. Their terror 
 and confusion encreased every moment, while their ! 
 assailants on the other hand redoubled their efforts, [ 
 i\l\ the disorder of the besiegers at length ended in 
 
 a pre- 
 
54 inSTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 a precipitate flight. The conquerors were now join- 
 ed by a neig^hbourin*^ Irish chieftain whose assist- 
 ance in the engag^ement tliey could not venture to 
 accept ; and the routed enemj^ were pursued to the 
 sea with considerable slaughter. Ilesculph their ge- 
 neral was taken prisoner, and led in triumph to Dub- 
 lin, where his pride and violence were insulted by 
 the joy expressed at this victory. He insolentlj^ ad- 
 vised the conquerors to reserve their triumph for 
 the final issue of a war now but commenced. A new 
 and formidable armament was prepared ; and he 
 hoped ere long to meet them once more in the 
 fields with a force more than sufficient to crush those 
 who found it so difficult to sustain his present assault. 
 This insolence and vanity Mere made the prett^nce 
 for destroying a dangerous and incensed enemy with- 
 out the appearance of premeditated cruelty. Milo 
 declared that the man who thus presumetl in his 
 captivity to menace and insult his conquerors, 
 should at least find his own purposes of revenge ef- 
 fectually prevented ; and ordered the Dane to hn- 
 mediate execution. 
 Regan. The Britous, however, were soon convinced 
 Camb ^^^^ their captive had but too good reasons for his ar- 
 rogant menaces. The period which Henry had as- 
 signed for their return was now elapsed : Raymond 
 had been obliged to depart without an explicit an- 
 swer, and found earl Strongbow returned to Dub- 
 lin in the utmost dejection^ cut ofl' from all supplies, 
 and already considerably streightened to maintain 
 his army. The Irish chieftains were no strangers to 
 his distress. Laurence, arcjibishop of Dublin, whose 
 sanctity of character gave weight to his representa- 
 tions, iflew from province to province, to every in- 
 ferior district, ai|d every chieftain, entreating, ex- 
 horting, and commanding them to seize the pvesent 
 opportunity, to take arms against a common enemy, 
 and to exterminate the dangerous foreigners, now 
 worn out by their distresses, and ready to sink for 
 ever under the first vi^^orous assault. Not contented 
 
 with 
 
Cii. 2. HENRY II. m 
 
 with raisin*^ a spirit of indignation and valour in his 
 countrymen, the politic and indcfati«^able prelate, 
 in conjunction with Roderic, dispatched emissaries 
 to Gothred king- of the island of Mann, as well as 
 to other princes of the northern isles, who made 
 the most atiecting representations of the cruelty and 
 ambition of the Britons, whom no bounds could 
 restrain ; entreating their assistance against an enemy 
 who would not confine their injurious attempts to 
 Ireland, but extend their usurpations, and at last fall 
 with their whole weight on those who no^y seemed 
 most remote from danger. 
 
 In this application for foreign assistance, Laurence, 
 like a wise .statesman, addressed himself to those who 
 had been taught by frequent experience to dread the 
 progress of roving adventurers, who were brave and 
 iiardy, but by no means so powerful and ninnerous 
 as ever to over-run the country to which they were 
 invited. Their fears were so far alarmed, and their 
 hopes so fluttered by the promises of Roderic, that 
 these islanders consented to assist their neighboni^, 
 and soon blocked up the harbour of Dublin with 
 thirty ships, while the confederated Irish took their 
 several stations at the same time, so as to surround Re-raR, 
 the city. Roderic with his provincial troops en-Gimkl. 
 camped westward, at Castleiiock. O'Ruarc and ^'^'n^- 
 O'Carrol placed themselves north of the harbour, 
 near Clontarf; * the lord of O'Kenselagh possessed 
 the opposite side; while the ])rince of Thomond 
 who had deserted his Leinster allies, and again unit- 
 ed with Roderic, advanced to Kilmainham, within 
 less than a mile from the walls. Even Laurence 
 himself now appeared in arms, and commanded his 
 particular troop, an instance of martial spirit not un- 
 usual 
 
 * The lord so called was probably the same who had been vasted by 
 Roderic with the government of Leinster on the first expulsion of Der- 
 mpd ; or the chief who had been elected successor by the Irish, on the 
 death of this prince, in defiance of the pretensions of Strongbow, who 
 claimed the sovereignty of this proyiuca by rirtue of tlve appointment of 
 his father-in-law. 
 
5a HlStOtlV OF IRELAND. B. L 
 
 Usual to the prelates of those days, but uot always 
 exerted iu a cause so honourable as the present. 
 Their numbers, which are variously related, and 
 highly exago^erated, were certainly great and formi- 
 dable ; but instead of forming one body, actuated 
 by one spirit, and directed by one absolute com- 
 mander, they were divided into separate and inde- 
 pendent armies, conmianded by distinct leaders, 
 neither united among themselves, nor implicitly 
 obedient to their monarch ; distracted by mutual 
 jealousies and rivalries, and each indifi'erent at least, 
 to the interest and honour of his associates. When 
 the sudden flame of zeal had once subsided, they 
 expected that this handful of foreigners would sub- 
 mit without waiting for the assault ; and for two 
 whole months contented themselves w ith investing 
 the city, and depriving the besieged of all possibility 
 of supplies. 
 Regan. This inactive conduct hovever was sufficient to 
 9"!^!u' reduce earl Strongbow to the ntmost diilicnlties. 
 Every day he became more and more distressed for 
 provisions, and his men of consequence grew weak 
 and distempered. At the first alarm of danger he 
 had sent for succours to Fitz-Stephen, who readily 
 supplied him with a small reinforcement ; when the 
 men of Wexford, seizing the advantage of Robert's 
 weakness, and encouraged by the accounts received 
 of the distresses of his countrymen, rose suddenly in 
 arms, and besieged him in the fort of Carrig. And 
 now Donald Kevanagh arrived at Dublin, and pass- 
 ing with the utmost difficulty through the quarters 
 of the besiegers, brought the alarming intelligence 
 of the present danger of Fitz-Stephen, declaring, 
 that if not effectually supported within three days, 
 the gallant Briton must fall into the hands of his im- 
 placable enemies ; that his w ife, the sister of Fitz- 
 Gerald, and all her children were involved in his dis- 
 tress, and implored relief from that merciless and bru- 
 tal violence \\hich threatened them. 
 
 Oppressed 
 
 Cauib. 
 
Ch. 2. HENRY IL 57 
 
 Oppressed with these accuinulated misfortunes, 
 eurl Stroiii;])ow siimiiioiied a coiiiioil ofwar to deli- 
 berate on the measures necessary to be taken in this 
 desperate einergeney. It was readily determined, 
 as the most obvious expedient, to enter into treaty 
 with Roderic upon any terms not totally servile and 
 oppressive. The prchiti; of Dni:)[in il was supposed 
 would willingly undertake the otHce of mediator, so Piegan. 
 suitable to his character; and to him they addressed 
 themselves. With the fairest expressions of his 
 readiness and solicitude to prevent the efliision of 
 Christian blood, he came to receive their overtures. 
 Strongbow proposed to acknowled«>e Roderic as his 
 sovereign, and" to hold the province of Leinster 
 from the Irish monarch, provided he would raise the 
 siege, and accejit him as his vassal. Laurence en- 
 gaged to bear this proposal to Roderic, and soon 
 returned with an answer, probably framed by him- 
 self He entered the council with the composure 
 of secret triumph and exultation, and with a firm 
 tone and aspect, declared that the only terms which 
 his monarch was disposed to grant were these : that 
 Dublin, Waterford, and Wexford, with all the forts 
 possessed by the Britons, .should be immediately 
 surrendered into his hands; and that the earl and his 
 associates should with all their forces depart from 
 Ireland by a day assigned, leaving- every part of the 
 island free from their usurpations, and absolutely 
 renouncing* all their pretended claims. On these 
 conditions they were to be spared, but the least re- 
 luctance or delay would determine the besiegers to 
 storm the city. 
 
 As the Britons were now supposed to be absolute- 
 ly in the power of the besieger.s, these terms were 
 neither severe nor insolent ; but on the contrary ap- 
 pear, wlien impartially considered, to do honor to 
 the spirit of the prelate, as well as to the judgment of 
 the minister. Notwithstanding all tlie rigours and 
 cruelties of their success, no revenge was attempted. 
 To prevent the effects of their disp^ir, they were 
 
 Vol, I. H assured 
 
HISTOUY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 aspiired of safety ; they were allowed to depart un- 
 molested, and Avere only to resig-n what they were 
 supposed to have usurped and injuriously detained. 
 But they Av ere terms insupportably mortifyini^ to in- 
 dio-eiit and aspiiinj^ adventurers; and their leaders, 
 now left to consider these disa«»;reea])le tenns, looked 
 upon each otiier with silent shame and consternation, 
 till Milo de Co«;an, starting; suddenly from his dis- 
 may, declared his resolution to die bravely, rather 
 tlian submit to the mercy of barbarous enemies. 
 'The s])irit of desperate valour was soon caught by 
 his associates. Fitz-Gerald, Raymond, and the 
 other leaders, all with one voice concurred in the 
 generous jjinpose of resting' their whole fortune on 
 the event of one brave eftbrt, which at the Avorst, 
 would end in an honorable death, more eligible 
 than to perish Avith famine, or to resign themselves 
 to those Avhose perfidy they had too good reason to 
 suspect. The resolution once formed, they proceed- 
 ed Avith greater calmness to concert the necessary 
 operations. It Avas determined that their impres- 
 sion should be made on that quarter Avhere Roderic 
 lay encamped. They reinforced themselves by a 
 considerable body of the toAvnsmen, Avhom they per- 
 suaded to take ]yAri in this des])erate enterprise, by 
 possessing- them Avith dreadful apprehensions of the 
 cruelty of their besieg-ers ; and uoav marched out in 
 good order, and with determined spirits, against an 
 enemy who expected nothing" less than such a bold 
 attack. Raymond led the adAanced-guard, Milo 
 commanded the second division, and Avas folloAved 
 bv the earl and Fitz-Gerald with the most con.sider- 
 able pai t of their force. They found this quarter 
 of their besiegers without discipUne or order, secure 
 and careless, and scarcely Avith any military appear- 
 ance; and their assaidt Avas furious. They quickly 
 bore doAvn the first feeble resistance, forced their 
 way Avith terrible slaughter throug"h the confused 
 crouds, and filled the Avhole camp with consterna- 
 tion. The Irish fled from the danger, which their 
 
 surprize 
 
Cu.2. HENRY II. 59 
 
 surprise had majn;-nifird, witli the most precipitate 
 dismay; and their monarch liimself. >vho in perfect 
 ease and confidence had retired to his hath, escaped 
 only by starting' from his retirement half naked, 
 and joining the general ront. The chieftains of 
 the other stations, not timely apprized of this at- 
 tack, or, what is more probable, not zealonsly dis- 
 posed to snpport their monarch, heard the confusi- 
 on, caught the panic, and while the victors continued 
 their pursuit, broke up their camps precipitately. 
 Thus the Britons, who in the morning were on the 
 point of total desperation, saw in one day their nu- 
 merous enemies flying on all sides, and leaving the 
 plunder of their camps to a small enfeebled garri- 
 son, who thus, besides other advantages, gained 
 provisions sufficient to support them tor a year*. 
 
 Dublin being thus freed, Strongbow committed 
 the government of it to Milo de Cogan, resolving- 
 to proceed immediately to Wexford, in order to re- 
 lieve Fitz-Stephen. But unhappily he was by thisGirald. 
 time in the hands of his enemies. He had de-^'^'>'t». 
 fended himself at Carrig with the utmost bravery, 
 and repeatedly foiled his besiegers in their boldest 
 
 attempts ; 
 
 * The Irish annalists pass over this whole transaction in silence, or 
 
 at most touch slightly upon a victory gained by Milo (^e Cogan over i 
 
 O'Ruarc and his associates. And they who rely most on their authority, i 
 
 deny the truth of the circnmstantinl relation of Cambrensis, together i 
 
 with the detail found in the translation of the Lambeth manuscript, as- ^ 
 
 cribed to Maurice Regan, or at least contend that this siege was formed i 
 
 not by Roderic but O'Ruarc. Had these annalists furnished any accounts J 
 
 contradictory to those extant, and usually admitted as authentic, they j 
 
 would have deserved an impartial attention. But their silence is of no ^ 
 weight against the authority of a cotemporary writer. And if we should 
 
 allow him to have mistaken the name of the Irish general who was sur- ' 
 
 prised and defeated, the point will probably be deemed of very little i 
 consequence by all those who are not, from national partialities, or other 
 
 circumstances, interested in the reputation of Roderic O'Connor. And ] 
 
 it is to be observed, that we have in Giraldus an account of another at- ; 
 
 tempt made on Dublin by O'Ruarc, in which Ite wa.s defeated by 1 
 Cogan, immediately before the landing of Henry the Second. 
 
60 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. 1. 
 
 attempts ; when at leiiii^th, we are told by Giraldiis, 
 they had recourse to a stratagem, if ^^e may call the 
 most horrid perjury by tliat name, which proved 
 surccsst'ul. A parley was desired, and a company 
 Qt' We?itbrdians admitled to confer with Robert. 
 With an appearance of the utmost friendship they 
 assured him that earl Strongbow had at length suf- 
 fered the punishment of hjs temerity ; that Rode- 
 ric had marched his powei^ to Dublin, stormed the 
 city, and put ail the Britons to the sword ; that the 
 monarch was now upon his march to Wexford, im- 
 patient to extirpate every remains of the British 
 adventurers, and particularly breathing revenge 
 against Fitz-Stephen, who first pointed his covmtr^-- 
 men the way into Ireland. Atibcted as they were 
 to him more favourably than to any of his associ- 
 ates, they deteriiined that he should not be the 
 pnly person ignorant of the fate of his unhajipy 
 countrymen, and his own impending danger. To 
 assist him was impossible ; l)ut to favor his escape 
 was an olHce which his kindness had justly merited. 
 They urgently pressed hun to commit himself to 
 their protection, solemnly promising to convey him 
 and his garrison into Wales, before the arrival of 
 Roderic should frustrate their amicable intentions. 
 
 RoBEnr doubted and hesitated: to remove 
 his suspicions they produced two reverend bishops in 
 their robes of ceremony, bearing the cross, the 
 host, and some reliques, and laying their hands on 
 these swore a solemn oath in confirmation of all they 
 had asserted. F'itz-Stephen, cifectually deceived by 
 this solemnity, resigiied himself and his followers to 
 the mercy of their mortal enemies, who, instead of 
 conducting him to the sea, cast him into chains, dis- 
 armed his men, and practised every wanton cruelty 
 upon them that insolence and barbarity could de- 
 vise ; maiming, tormenting, and killing them. In 
 the midst of this horrid triumph intelligence is re- 
 ceived that the victorious Britons are on their 
 rfiarch to rescue their companions, and must soon 
 
 arrive. 
 
Ch. 2. HENRY II. 61 
 
 arrive. They set fire to the town of Wexford^ and 
 retirhij^ witli Fitz-Stephen, and those other priso- 
 ners who yet survived their cruelty, take their post, 
 in an island in the middle of the harbour, called the 
 Holy Island. 
 
 Strongbow in the mean time proceeded on his 
 march, but not w ithout an opposition more vigorous 
 than any he had yet encountered. He Mas to pass 
 tlirougli a defile in a country then called Hi-drone, Girald, 
 situated in the present county of CarloW. And hereCamb. 
 O'Rian, lord of this district, waited in ambush to ®^^"' 
 receive him with a considerable force. No sooner 
 were the British troops hemmed in on all sides by 
 woods, precipices, and morasses, than they found 
 themselves suddenly and unexpectedly attacked 
 The surprise, the violence of the onset, the hideous 
 ululations of the Irish, and the inconvenience of the 
 situation, soon cast them into considerable disorder, 
 mid obliged the leaders to exert their utmost ef- 
 forts to prevent a total overthrow^ Meiler Fitz- 
 Henry, one of their bravest commanders, in at- 
 tempting to bring up his men was stricken to the 
 ground, and with difficulty rescued ; and the Irish, 
 animated by the success of their first impression, 
 w ere on the point of gaining a decisive victory, when, 
 a monk called Nicholas, who served in the British 
 army, discharged an arrow so successfully against 
 their leader O'Rian, that he fell down dead, and his 
 men, confounded at his death, fled, and left their 
 enemies masters of the field. Giraldus assures us that 
 the earl regained the plain in safety, with the loss of 
 only one young man:*. The 
 
 * In this expression of Giraldus a reader fond of refining Hiight 
 possibly discover an allusion to a -well-known Irish tradition. It is said 
 that the son of Strongbow, a youth of seventeen years, was so terrified 
 at the first onset of the Irish army, that he fled to Dublin in the utomst 
 consternation, declaring that his father and all his forces had perished; 
 that, when convinced of his mistake, he appeared before the earl, and 
 congratulated him upon his victory, the father rigidly condemned him to 
 death for cowardice, and suffered the sentence to be executed; or, as it 
 is more horridly related, executed it with his own hand, by cutting his 
 son in two. This tradition receives spme countenance from the ancient 
 
 xconumeflt 
 
6^ HISTORY OF IRELAND. B.I. 
 
 The earl proceeded to Wexford, saw the desola- 
 tion of the city, and heard of the captivity of Fitz- 
 Stephen. To distress and mortify him still further, 
 the Irish, who had retired to the Holy Island, sent 
 Giraid. a deputation to assure him that the least attempt to 
 Camb, molest them in their present situation should in- 
 stantly determine them to strike otithe heads of all 
 their prisoners. He knew the violence of these 
 men ; turned aside, and marched to Waterford. 
 Here the mutual animosities of some petty chiefs 
 Kegan. threatened to involve him in new contests. On the 
 return of his good fortune, O'Brien prince of Tho- 
 mond affected a strict attachment to his kinsman. 
 He had conceived some resentment against the lord 
 of Ossory; and, as the surest means of gratifying 
 his revenge, represented him to Strongbow as a pes- 
 tilent and implacable adversary to his power and 
 authority, whom his interest and honor equally- 
 obliged him to reduce : for which purpose he made 
 a tender of his own assistance, that the common 
 enemy of their house might at length meet the pun- 
 ishment due to his repeated treasons. So artful 
 were his representations, that Strongbow agreed to 
 march against this lord ; and having encreased his pre- 
 sent force to two thousand men, by the junction of 
 O'Brien's troops, proceeded on his expedition. The 
 Ossorian, who had already experienced the formida- 
 ble valour of the Britons, determined to avert the 
 danger by a timely submission. He represented to 
 earl Strongbow by his deputies, that, however tra- 
 duced by the malice of O'Brien, he had continued 
 
 ever 
 
 monument in tlie cathedral of Dublin, in which the statue of the son of 
 Strongbow is continued only to the middle, with the bowels open, nnd sup., 
 ported by the hands. But as this monument was erected some centuries 
 after the death of Strongbow, it is of the less authority. The Irish an- 
 5[ialists repeatedly mention the earP? son as engaged in several actions 
 posterior to this period. There is therefore the utmost reason to suspect 
 that the whole narrativ-e hath no other foundation than the fiction of some 
 Irish bard or romancer, who invented for a people delighting in the mar- 
 vellous and affecting. 
 
Ch 2. HENRY II. 63 
 
 ever since his treaty >vith kiiif^ Dermod, and was 
 still disposed to continue, in dutiful allegiance to 
 the throne of Leinster; that he desued but a safe - 
 conduct ; was ready to appear before the earl, and 
 to convince him both of his own rectitude, and the 
 falsehood of his enetnv. The proposal was accept- 
 ed : the British lords and the prince of Thoniond en- 
 o-ao-ed in the most solemn manner that he should 
 come and depart in security : and Penderoast, his 
 old ally, who had returned with Strongbow,, was 
 now aj)pointed to conduct him to the camp. Here 
 he pleaded his cause boldly against his virulent 
 accusers, who clamorously insisted on his guilt, and 
 Avere preparing to put him to death, when the gene- 
 rous Pendergast, notwithstanding the injuries he 
 had once received from the Ossorian, drew his 
 sword, and with an oath declared that no violence 
 should be offered to the man who had entrusted him- 
 self to their good faith; that he had conducted him 
 to their presence, and would conduct him back 
 again. The earl assented ; the chieftain was con- 
 veyed into his own territory ; O'Brien retired in the 
 spleen of disappointment, and Strongbow proceeded 
 to Perns, where for some days he exercised a royal 
 authority, rewarding his friends, and punishing the 
 disaffected. The chieftain of the O'Birnes, who had 
 originally sacrificed his personal connexions wilh 
 Dermod to the public cause, and had ever since uni- 
 formly opposed the interest of the foreigners, could 
 no longer escape the officious malice of his enemies. 
 He was brought in a prisoner, and condemned to 
 death. The like sentence is said to have been exe- 
 cuted on a son of Donald Kevanagh, notwithstanding 
 the services of the father, who still continued his ad- 
 herence to the Britons, and was rewarded by Strong- 
 bow with the grant of a considerable district, called 
 by the historian the Plains of Leinster. 
 
 But this new sovereign of Leinster, was soon 
 called off to more important objects. Henry king of 
 EnHand had recovered from his consternation at 
 
 ^ the 
 
64r HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 the death of Becket ; liis vigilance and policy had 
 proved too powerful for the machinations of his 
 enemies ; and notwithstanding their practices at 
 Rome to drive the pope to the severest exertions of 
 !iis spiritual jurisdiction against the supposed mur- 
 derer of the prelate, he contrived to avert, at least 
 to suspend, the danger of papal indignation, and 
 resolved no longer to defer his long-projected expe- 
 dition into Ireland, whose success might restore that 
 lustre to his character which had been impaired ])y 
 his transactions with the hierarchy. He was now in 
 England, making the necessary provisions for this 
 expedition; and as his jealousy of the adventurers 
 was encreased by their success, and as the time was 
 come when he could himself undertake the reduc- 
 tion of Ireland, he utterly disavowed their proceed- 
 ings, expressed the utmost resentment at their pre- 
 Girald. sumption and disobeilience, and by a second message 
 Camb. summoned earl Richard to appear instantly before 
 him. The earl determined to obey this mandate, 
 and stationing his governors in Dublin and Water- 
 ford, and making such other dispositions as the 
 time permitted, embarked, and met the king at 
 Newnham, near Gloucester. Whatever resentment 
 Henry affected was soon allayed by the submissions 
 of the earl, who repeated his professions of allegi- 
 ance, and yielded all his Irish acquisitions to tiie 
 disposal of his royal master: the king sutfered him- 
 self to be entreated by Hervey of Mouutmorres, who 
 had summoned the earl to his presence, and now 
 attended with his nephew. The scene of dissimula- 
 tion was closed by a treaty, in which it was agreed 
 that the city of Dublin and a large adjoining do- 
 main, together with all the maritime towns and 
 forts acquiretl by Strongbow, should be surrendered 
 absolutely to Henry, who on his part graciously 
 consented that the earl should have all his other Irish 
 possessions granted in perpetuity, and to be held of 
 the king and his heirs. Strongbow thus restored to 
 favor, attended his royal master in his progress 
 
 by 
 
Cit. 2. HENRY II. 65 
 
 1>y the Severe sid<» ami western coast of Wales to 
 Pembroke, wliere th<' kino- resided >vhile his forces 
 were asseinl)lin<i- at Milford. 
 
 Here again Henry assumed all the terrors of of- Giral.^. 
 fended majesty a«;ainst the Welslnncn who had^*"^^^' 
 abetted the presuuiption of tlieir countrymen, and 
 assisted them in their unwarranted invasion of Ire- 
 land, as if tliey were sovereii;n and independent, 
 and had a right to engao-e in t'oreign quarrels, not 
 only without his permission, but contrary to his ex- 
 press connnand. Such Hagranl contempt of his au- 
 thority, and disaflectioti to his government, it seems, 
 were not to be pardoned, until he had seized every 
 castle of every lord within their provhice, and filled 
 them with his own forces. 
 
 And now while Strongbf»w attended on the king. Ibid' 
 and Raymond Le Gross was engaged at Waterford, 
 a vigorous etlbrt was mode ])y O'lluarc, of Bretfney 
 against the garrison of Dublin. The spirit of his ^^S^"' 
 attempt proved that the forces of one Irish chieftain, 
 united and obedient, were really more formidable 
 than much more considerabh^ numbers, collected 
 from ditlerent provinces, witliout mutual harmony 
 or subordination. Milo De Cogan could not repel 
 his attack without considerable loss ; but the first 
 impres^sion ])roviug nnsuccessful, the Irish, as usual, 
 considered the battle as desperate ; and the defeat of 
 O'Ruarc was embittered by the loss of his son, who 
 fell upon the field of action. 
 
 Such successes, how ever inconsiderable, served to 
 confirm the natives in the tcM'rible ideas they had 
 formed of British valour, and contri])uted to that 
 helpless suspence with which the fame of Henry's 
 intended expedition was received. A powerful and 
 renow ned prince, who claimed a Hght of sovereignty- 
 over their whole island, and afii^cted the utmost re- 
 sentment at those British leaders who had borne 
 arms in Ireland, as if they had in^aded his domi- 
 nions, and made war upon his sH!>jects, vns now 
 
 VoL. I. 1 rendv 
 
G6 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 ready to appear in porso5i, and assert his pretended 
 rights at the head of a consideralile force. Yet, 
 neitlier the laineofhis intended expedition, nor the 
 actual march of his troops, nor the king's gradual 
 progress through A Vales, aj3pear to have produced 
 any ferment or extraordinary motions in Ireland, 
 any measures of defence, any consultations for re- 
 pelling the connnon danger, any exertions on the 
 part of Roderic, or any associations among the sub- 
 ordinate chieftains. Each seems to have confined 
 his attention to his own interest and the interest of 
 his tribe, with a sordid purpose of deriving what ad- 
 vantages he might from the invasion, at least of 
 averting the evils that might attend it, from himself. 
 They saw the power of their own monarch on the 
 point of total dissolution; and they saw it with 
 mdillerence, if not with an envions and malignant 
 satisfaction. Some were even ready to prevent their 
 invader, and to submit before he yet appeared 
 upon their coast. The men of Wexford, w ho had 
 possessed themselves of Fitz-Steplien, resolved to 
 avert the consequences of their late perfidy and 
 cruelty by the forwardness of their zeal for the ser- 
 vice of the king of England, and the readiness of 
 Regan, their submissions. Their deputies were sent to 
 Pend)roke, who in the name of their fellow-citizens 
 cast themselves at Henry's feet, and w ith the most 
 passionate expressions of obedience humbly entreat- 
 ed that he would acce])t them as his faithful vassals, 
 ready to resign themselves, their lands, and })Osses- 
 sions to his absolute disposal. " They had already 
 " endeavoured to approve their zeal by seizing 
 " Robert Fitz-Stephen, a traitor to his sovereign, 
 " who had lately entered their territory by force of 
 " arms, without any due warrant or fair ]3retence ; 
 *' had slaughtered their people, seized their lands, 
 " and attempted to establish himself independent 
 '' of his liege-lord. They kept him in chains, anti 
 '' were ready to deliver him to the disposal of his 
 *' sovereign.'' The king received then^ with ex- 
 pressions 
 
Ck. 2. HENRY II. 67 
 
 expressions of the utmost grace and favour ; com- 
 mended their zeal in repressing' the unwarrantable 
 attenij)ts of Fitz-Stephen; declared that he should 
 soon enquire into his crimes, and the wrongs they 
 had sustained, and intlict condign punishment upon 
 every oftence committed hy his undutiful subjects. 
 Thus were the Irishmen dismissed in the utmost joy 
 and exultation; and the artitice of Henry, while it 
 inspired these men with favourable dispositions to his 
 Interests, proved also the most effectual means of sav- 
 jug Fitz-Stephen from their capriciouii cruelty 
 
 CHAP 
 
eS HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 C II A P. III. 
 
 Uevry the Secoml clrrives at Waterford.. . . The Wcxfordians 
 ora'iniisfi/ received. . . . Submissions of the cJiieflaiu n/Des- 
 ))io)!d.. ..Short progress of the Mug.. , .Submissions of 
 
 other Irish princes. . . . Fit -^-Stephen set at Woerti/ Henry 
 
 marches to Duhlin. . . . lieceivei the homage of several Irish 
 lords.. ..Jitcr.ipts to reduce Roderic. ..Feasts the Irish 
 lords in Dub/in. . . . Si/nod of CasheL . ..Its constitutions. 
 . . .Adulation of the clergi/.. . .Meaning of a submission to 
 Henry and his heirs. . . . Laws of England hoxD far esta- 
 b/ished in Ireland. . . . Not as a model for a new polity. . . . 
 Rights of the English adventurers secured. . . . Settlement of 
 Dublin. . . . Grant to the Ostmen of Waterford. . . . Counties^ 
 Sheriffs, and officers of state established in Ireland. , . . P70- 
 vision in case of the death of a chief governor. , . . Henry 
 recalled to Normandj/. . . . His dispositions and grants in 
 Ireland. . . . He embarks at Wexford. . . . Treats icith the 
 legates. . . , Threatens to return to Ireland. . . .Is reconciled 
 to the pope. . . . Grant of the sovereignty of Ireland confrmed 
 by pope Alexander. 
 
 Girald. J;^ ENR Y Fitz-Eiiipress having- completed tlie pre- 
 Rc"an. pai'ations necessaiy for his expedition into Ireland, 
 and performed his solemn devotions in the chnrch 
 of St. David, to implore a blessing- npon an enter- 
 prize undertaken by the anthorit} . and in the 
 cause of the church, embarked at Milford, attended 
 by earl Strongbow, William Fhz-Andelm, Hum- 
 phry De Bohun, Hugh De Lacy, Robert Fitz- 
 Bernard, and other barons, four hundred knights, 
 and about four thousand soldiers. His fleet con- 
 Ann.Ult.^^^^^^n ^^ two hundred and forty ships, an aweful 
 MSS. and formidable object to those on whose coast 
 thej appeared, entered the port of Waterford, and 
 his forces were landed on the feast of St. Luke, in 
 October, of the year eleven hundred and seventy- 
 two 
 
Cii. 3. HENRY 11. 
 
 two. The professed designed of his expedition was 
 not to conquer^ but to tal^e possession of a country 
 granted to him by the pope, and to exercise a sove- 
 reignty which he attected to believe must ])e ac- 
 knowledged and obeyed without the least difficulty 
 or ix?hictance*. 
 
 Amidst the acclamations of joy at the arrival Qiiaid. 
 of this new sovereign, earl Strongbow made a for-Camb, 
 mal surrender of Waterford, and did homage to 
 Henry for the principality of Leinster. The men 
 of Wexford were at hand with their prisoner Fitz- 
 Stephen, whom they presented to the king, repeat- 
 ing their accusations, and imploring justice against 
 their tyrant and oppressor. Henry received them 
 with an affected commiseration of their wrongs, too 
 gross to impose on any but the rude and inexperi- 
 enced ; assured them of his protection, and sternly 
 reproaching Fitz-Stephen for his presumption, re- 
 manded him to prison. The Irish were rejoiced to 
 find that they had not only escaped the punishment 
 due to their perfidy and cruelty, but that they had 
 involved their enemy in danger and disgrace ; and 
 Fitz-Stephen was the less mortified, as he well knew 
 the purchase of his liberty^ and that h(J must of 
 
 necessity 
 
 * This was the idea which the Irish subjects of later times entertain- 
 ed. There was a tradition in the reign of Edward the Second, whicli 
 though not uncxceptionably cstabHshed, yet shews what were their con- 
 ceptions at that period. It was said that while Henry's fleet was yet at 
 sea, an Ostman lord of Waterford, who supposed that the descent must 
 be made upon his lands, and was solicitous to secure his property from 
 depredation, drew some chains across the harbour, in order to divert the 
 fleet to some other quarter ; that as the obstacle was soon ovi'rconie, 
 Henry immediately on his landing seized this lord and his accomplices, 
 whose crime was that they had presumed to treat him as an invader, not 
 as the rightful sovereign of Ireland ; that he therefore dealt with them 
 not as enemies who had acted in a fair course of open war, but as rebel- 
 lious subjects ; that they were tried in what he called the king's court, the 
 act of rebellion proved, and sentence of high-treason cxecutt?d upon 
 Ihem. Placit. Corona?, 4 Edv. II. Turr. Bermingh. 
 
70 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 necessity resign all his Irish acquisitions to the 
 king". 
 
 The fame of his intended expedition had for 
 sometime been spread through Ireland, and its in- 
 iiuence upon the several toparchs was soon disco- 
 Girald. vered. Dermod jMac-Arthy, prince of Desmond, 
 Caipb, ^vas the hrst chieftain who submitted and acknow- 
 ledged the sovereignty of Henry. On the very 
 day after his arrival this Irish prince attended at his 
 court, resigned his city of Cork to the king, did 
 him homage, and stipulated to pay a tribute for the 
 rest of his territory, which on these conditions he 
 was to enjoy without further molestation or restraint. 
 An English governor and garrison were immedi- 
 jitely appointed to take possession of his capital, 
 while the king displayed his power and magnifi- 
 cence by marching to Lismore, where he chose a 
 situation, and gave the necessary orders and direc- 
 Rcgan. tion for building a fort. From thence proceeding 
 to Cashel, we are told he had an intervierw with the 
 archbishop of this see; and possibly might have 
 deemed it useful to possess this prelate, the first of 
 (he Irish clergy who appeared before him, with an 
 opinion of his gracious intentions to his country, 
 and his zeal for the regulation of its church. No^ 
 were these short excursions without their inttuence, 
 in striking the inhabitants vvith an awful and terri- 
 l)le impression of his power. A formidable army 
 hovering about the districts of each petty chieftain^ 
 when each was left to his own resources for defence^" 
 fjuickened their resolves, and conquered every re- 
 mains of pride, or relucfance in submitting to the 
 invader. O'Brien of Thomond thought it dan- 
 gerous to delay, and meeting Henry on the banks 
 of the Sure, surrendered his city of Limerick, and 
 did homage for his other territory, engaging to 
 Girald. ^^y i^jj^^ tribute. Donchad of Ossory dreading the 
 ^"^ ' advantages which his rival might acquire by this 
 forward zeal, hastened to the King, and submitted 
 to become his tributary and vassal. O'Faolan^ of 
 
 the 
 
Cii. 3. HENRY 11. 71 
 
 the Decies followed these examples, and all the In- 
 ferior ehiefs of Munster vied with each other in 
 the alacrity of their submissions. All v, ere received 
 with o-racious assurances of favour and protection, 
 entertained with maf^^niticence, loaded with presents, 
 and dismissed m ith deep impressions of the i^randeur 
 and condescensions of this powerfid monarch. 
 
 Re returned to ^Vexford ; and here, as it was noGiraW, 
 lon«;er necessary to keep up the appearance of re- '"^^ " 
 sentment to Pitz-Stephen, his barons Avere permit- 
 ted to intercede for a brave su])ject, who had not 
 willingly or intentionally oltended, for whose future 
 fidelity they were all ready to become svn-etie.s, and 
 who was himself prepared to give the best surety for 
 his alleg-iance, by a formal resignation of all hislrisli 
 possessions to his sovereign. Fitz-Stephen was set 
 at liberty, and surrendered Wexford and its territo- 
 ry to the king, doing- homag-e for the rest of his 
 acquisitions, which he was allowed to retain from 
 Henry and his heirs. 
 
 And nov/, having provided for the security of 
 Munster, and stationed his garrisons in the cities of 
 Limerick, Cork, Waterford, and \Vexford, Henry 
 determined to proceed to Dublin, to take possession 
 of this city in due form, which had been surrender- 
 ed by earl Richard. He led his troops through Ibid. 
 Ossory, in a slow and stately progress, so as to strike 
 the rude inhabitants with the splendor and magni- 
 ficence of his royal army, and to give their chief- 
 tains an opportunity of repairing to his cam]), and 
 acknowledging his sovereignty. Their indifference 
 to tiie interests of Roderic, as v,ell as their terror 
 of the English arms, soon determined them to 
 make their peace with Henry The Irish lords of ^nn. 
 Leinster deemed his service more honourable than a ^^^^ 
 subjection to Strongbow, whose severity' had render- 
 ed him an object of horror to the Irish, even from 
 his first landing. As he advanced tov/ards Dublin, 
 the neighbouring lords all appeared and submitted ; 
 O'Carrol of Ar^ial, a chieftain of still greater 
 
 power 
 
72 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 power and consequence, repaired to his camp, and 
 111 due form engaged to become his tributary : and 
 to complete the mortification of Rodcric, his old 
 and intimate associate O'Ruarc of Rreitney, whose 
 interests he had supported, whose personal injuries 
 he had revenged, whom he had made lord of a con- 
 siderable part of Meath, so that Giraldus calls him 
 king of Meath, abandoned his falling friend and 
 ally, and became the willing vassal of this new 
 sovereign. 
 
 Rod ERIC, though confounded at the defection of 
 his tributaries, and the formidable progress of his 
 ^°"- ^'^''- invader, harassed by the factions of his province, 
 and afflicted by the dissensions of his family, yet 
 could not at once resign his title to the monarchy of 
 Benedict l»'eland. And though sensible of the danger of 
 Abb. encountering an English army, and little enabled by 
 vol. I. such numbers as he could collect to march out 
 against the royal invader, he yet collected his pro- 
 vincial troops, and, entrenching himself upon the 
 banks of the Shannon, seemed determined that his 
 own territory at least should not be sacrificed to the 
 ambition of Henry. Unencumbered by a crowd 
 of faithless, discontented, and disobedient followers, 
 he now appears to act with a spirit and dignity more 
 suited to his station. Hugh de Lacy and William 
 Fitz-Andelm, were commissioned to meet this re- 
 fractory prince, and either to jiersuade or force him 
 to a submission*. But Roderic was too strong, 
 
 and 
 
 * Giraldus indeed asserts that Rodeiio yielded to the instances of De 
 Lacy and Fitz-Andelni, swore allegiance to Henry, and gave hostages 
 as a security for the faithful payment of his tribute. But the Irish annal- 
 ists acknowledge no such submission ; and the abbot of Peterborough 
 declares ingenuously diat the king of Connaught still continued to main- 
 tain his independence, agreeing in this with the artless historical stric- 
 tures of Ireland, which distincUy mark the extent of Henry's present 
 acquisitions, without the least appearance of disguise or partiality, and 
 represent their monarch as still exercising an independent sovereignty, 
 opposing the invaders, and at length treating with Henry at the time 
 and in the manner stated on record; as tlie reader will find in the ensu- 
 ing chapter. 
 
Cii. 3. HENRY II. 7 
 
 and too well posted to be assailed by a detachment 
 from the Enolish army ; and he at least affected to 
 believe that his fortune was not yet so totally despe- 
 rate as to warrant an immediate resig-nation of his 
 dig^nity and anthority, while his own territory remain- 
 ed inviolate, and the brave and powerful chiefs of 
 Ulster still kept retired in their own districts without 
 any thonoht of submission. 
 
 The Irish chieftains who accepted Henry as their Girald. 
 sovereii^n, and attended at his court, were received Camb. 
 w ith all those conciliatino' expressions of favour, the 
 common artifice of ambition, but which were pecu- 
 liarly flattering to a people equally proud and inex- 
 perienced. It was the feast of Christmas, a season 
 of general festivity, for which Henry prepared with 
 such elegance and pomp as his present situation 
 might permit, and such as was perfectly stupendous 
 to his Irish followers. Thc}^ flocked to Dublin from 
 all quarters, in the eagerness of surprise and ex- 
 pectation. As the city aflordt d no building capa- 
 ble of receiving the royal train, and the numerous 
 assembly of guests, a temporary structure was raised 
 with hurdles, after the Irish fashion, in the south- 
 eastern suburbs, of large dimensions, and richly orna- 
 mented ; and here the vassal-lords of Ireland were 
 admitted freely, and feasted sum])tuously. Piles of 
 silver, costly meats, generous wines, dress, music, 
 and attendants, all conspired to possess (Ikmu with a 
 vulgar admiration of their invader. Dazzled by his 
 grandeur, and intoxicated by his condescensions, 
 they forgot the baseness of their sul)mission, and 
 fancied themselves exalted to a degree of conse- 
 quence by being allied to such magnificence and 
 splendor. 
 
 If we are to believe the English historians, the 
 clergy of Ireland were still readier, and more abject 
 in their submissions to king Henry than the lords 
 and toparchs. The abbot of Peterborough asserts, 
 and is followed by Iloveden and others, tliat im- 
 mediately on the king's arrival at Waterfoid. the 
 
 Vol. I. K w]io\q 
 
74 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 whole body of the hierarcliy af tended him, received 
 him as sovereign lord of Ireland, and swore fealty to 
 him and his heirs ; and that from each prelate he 
 received a charter or instrument of their respective 
 submissions, which the king took care to transmit to 
 Rome. Giraldus, who was studious to display cxery 
 particular which might do lionor to his royal mas- 
 ter, takes not the least notice of a transaction so ex- 
 traordinary, and the Irish annalists ^re equally silent 
 pn that head. 
 
 But it is asserted with more probability, and on 
 better authority, that Henry, having been acknow- 
 ledged sovereign by a considerable part of the island, 
 unmolested by those who had not yet submitted, 
 and prevented by the severity of the season from any 
 attempt to reduce them by force, affected to display 
 his zeal and solicitude to fulfil the conditions of his 
 grant from pope Adrian, by turning his attention to 
 the church of Ireland, and labouring for the refor- 
 Girald. mation of jts supposed abuses. A synod of the 
 Carab, clergy was siunmoned in his name, and assembled 
 at Cashel bj his order, to enquire into the present 
 state of morals and religion. But whether this wa§ 
 a general assembly of all the Irish prelates may be 
 fairly doubted. Gelasius, the primate of Armagh, 
 a man highly reverenced by his countrymen; and 
 who derived considerable influence from the sanctity 
 of his character, certainly did not attend, and as an 
 apology is said to have pleaded his age and infirmi- 
 ties ; though these did not prevent him ti-om holding 
 another synod, convened soon after, in Connaught, 
 Ann. |3y the authority of Roderic, and probably in oppo- 
 MSS sition to that now summoned by Henry*- The 
 
 prelates 
 
 * Giraldup asserts that Gelasius some time after came to Dublin, an4 
 gave hii kuU assent to the transactions and ordinances of this synod. The 
 Irish annalists on the contrary declare that he was constantly employed 
 in regulating the ecclesiastiaal affairs in the Western awd Northern parts 
 of the island until his deatn, which happened in eleven hundred and 
 seventy-four. While the writers of each nation are solicitous to claim 
 thi:> venerable prelate to their own party, they agree in one particular, 
 ■ which 
 
Ch. 3. HENRY II. 
 
 prelates of Ulster followed the example of their 
 metropolitan. And if the prelate of Tuam, or 
 Laurence of Dublin, who had so zealously contend- 
 ed ag-ainst the English, obeyed the summons, they 
 might have deemed their presence necessary to pre- 
 serve the honor of their church, to them a point 
 of moment, from injurious representation ; and by 
 a readiness to correct what might really be found 
 amiss, to deprive the invader of the great pretence 
 for extending his hostilities. 
 
 Christian bishop of Lismore presided in thisGirald. 
 assembly as the pope's legate ; in which character^^"^^' 
 he had, about twenty years before, presided in the|y|°"^|-j 
 grand assembly of kings, prelates, and nobility, con-T. i, 
 vened by order of cardinal Paparon. The abbot of 
 Buldwais, the archdeacon of Landaft] and some 
 others of the English clergy attended on the part of 
 Henry, to forward the purposes of their master, and 
 to observe the conduct of the Irish prelates. The 
 professed design of this synod was, in obedience to 
 the sovereign pontifF, to devise remedies for igno- 
 rance and wickedness, to eradicate every fibre of de- 
 pravity and iniquity, and to restore the purity of 
 their ecclesiastical constitution, now contaminated 
 and disgraced. And the ordinances which were to 
 answer such important purposes we find forbidding 
 marriages within the prohibited degrees of consan- 
 j^uinity ; directing that baptism should be publicly 
 administered, youth instructed, tythes regularly paid, 
 the lands of the clergy exempted from secular exac- 
 tions ; that all true sons of the church should have 
 power by will to distribute their effects in due pro- 
 portion between their wives and children, and be 
 decently interred in hallowed ground. Such was 
 
 the 
 
 wlilch suited their understandings, and is therefore carefully recorded 
 that Gelasius, in every progre* through the kingdom, was con- 
 stantly attended by a white cow, a particular favourite, which supplied 
 him with milk, the chief sustenance of the pious and abstsmioua pri- 
 mate. 
 
76 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. T. 
 
 the plan of reformation which required the interpo- 
 sition of the pope, which obliged him to transfer the 
 sovereignty of Ireland to a foreign prince, and de- 
 manded the prestnice of the English monarch and a 
 royal army to enforce ! as if the same futile ordi- 
 nances had not been repeatedly enacted in every 
 synod, held almost annually by the Irish clergy, 
 . from that of Paparon to tliis of king Henry. The 
 
 4 Mao-, whole ridiculous scene w as closed by a declaration 
 MSSf highly flattering to the king, and expressed in terms 
 of the most abject servility. It directs that the di- 
 vine service in the church of Ireland shall for the 
 Camb future be in all things conformable to that of the 
 church of England. "For it is meet and very 
 "just," say these reverend flatterers, '• that as Ire- 
 " land hath by Providence received a lord and king 
 " from England, so she may receive from the same 
 " a better form of living. For to his royal gran- 
 " dour are both the church and realm of Ireland 
 '" indebted for whatever they have hitherto obtain- 
 " ed, either of the benelits of peace, or the encrease 
 " of religion. Sincje, before his coming into Ire- 
 " laud, evils of various kinds had from old times 
 " gradually overspread the nation, which by his 
 
 " power and goodness are now abolished." 
 
 Happy had it been for the peace j\Tid welfare of 
 ages, had Henry by a few months residence in Ire- 
 land, been really able to produce such blessed eflfects ! 
 But the adulation of these ecclesiastics is a subject 
 too contemptible to dwell upon. 
 
 There are other acts of government which Hen- 
 ry exercised in Ireland that deserve more particular 
 attention, Matthew Paris writes that he convened 
 Paris Ed ^ council at Lismore, in which the laws of England 
 Watts, were by all gratefully accepted and established by 
 p. 120'. the sanction of a solemn oath. Whether the histo- 
 rian hath mistaken the place of assembling, and in- 
 stead of a synod held under the bishop of Lismore, 
 hath supposed another asseod:>ly in the town so nam- 
 ed, seems of little moment. But the real nature of 
 
 this 
 
Ch. 3. HENRY II. 77 
 
 this grant and general acceptance of the laws of 
 England deserves to be considered. And to this 
 we shall be naturally led by a few reflections on what 
 hath been already related, as well as to tlie true pur^ 
 port of some suosequent transactions. 
 
 We have seen the princes and petty chieftains of 
 Ireland submitting to king Henry with a readiness 
 the less surprising, when we consider that to them it 
 was not unusual to be visited by a superior poten- 
 tate, who demanded a recognition of his sovereign- 
 ty, obliged them to become his tributaries, and to 
 give hostages for their fidelity, and even sometimes 
 to resign a portion of their territory. So that Henry 
 demanded no more than the}^ had frequently grant- 
 ed to others with great readiness, and g-enerally with 
 little sincerity, scarcely considering the concession as 
 dishonourable, much less an essential diminution of 
 their local power and authority. Nor is there any 
 authentic evidence to prove, with whatever confi- 
 dence it may have been asserted, that "the Irish ^'1' ^■' 
 *' made no terms for their own form of govern- ^^.^^ *" ' 
 *' ment, but wholly abolishing their ov,n, they con-Molyneus 
 *' sented to receive the English laws, and submitted?- 22. 
 " entirely to the English government." It is scarce- 
 ly conceivable that a whole people should at once 
 be either forced or persuaded into so extraordinary 
 a revolution ; unless they, of all the human race, 
 rude and barbarous as they are represented, -were 
 alone exempt from strong partialities in favor of 
 their laws and customs. Nor is it probable that a 
 politic and sagacious prince should fonn a scheme in 
 his present situation so extravagant, because of all 
 others the most dangerous to attempt, and the most 
 difficult to etliect, that of obtruding in a moment an 
 entire new svstem of laws and polity upon a number 
 of communities, none of which he had subdued. 
 But that no such design was either attempted or ef- 
 fected, will appear not only from the manifold 
 proofs which must necessarily be produced in the 
 
 progress 
 
78 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B.I. 
 
 progress of this history, but from the transactions 
 aheady related. We have observed that by an or- 
 dinance of the synod of Cashel it was provided, that 
 the clergy should for the futin-e be free from all se- 
 cular exactions. Here it is necessary to produce 
 this ordinance at large. 
 
 *' ALL the ecclesiastical lauds and possessions 
 '' shall be entirely free from every exaction of se- 
 *' cidar men. And especially no petty kings or 
 *• lords, or any potentates of Ireland, nor their 
 '' children or families, shall for the future exact 
 '' maintenance or entertainment, according to cus- 
 *' tom, in the ecclesiastical territories, or presume 
 " to extort them by violence. And that detestable 
 " entertainment, which is four times a year requir- 
 *' ed by neighbouring lords, shall not for the fu- 
 " ture be demanded from the ecclesiastical towns. — 
 '' And moreover, in all cases of homicide commit- 
 '' ted by the laity, as often as they shall compound 
 " for the same with their adversaries, the clergy 
 " who are their relations shall pay nothing on this 
 *' account ; but as they had no part in the perpe- 
 " tration of the homicide, so shall they be fre^ from 
 ^' contributing to the fine." 
 
 It cannot be supposed that the execution of the 
 Irish laws should be thus regulated, if these laws 
 were entirely abolished. If the clergy were to be 
 exempt from Coyn, Coshering, and other like ex- 
 actions, it is evident that the petty kings and lords 
 w^ere still to demand them from others. If the 
 clergy were not to contribute to the Eric in cases of 
 murder, it follows that this compensation was still 
 to be paid by the laity ; and of consequence that the 
 old Irish polity was not only to subsist, but warrant- 
 ed, secured, and regulated, in an assembly convened 
 by the authority of Henry. Here then, were there 
 no other, we have a direct proof of a regular com- 
 pact between this monarch and the Irish chieftains. 
 They stipulated to become his vassals and tributa- 
 ries. He was to protect them in the administration 
 
 of 
 
€h. 3. HENRY 11. 79 
 
 of their petty ^governments accordinf^ to their o^vn 
 model: andthns we shall tind that tlieiroovernments 
 
 were aetiially administered.— '' They governed 
 
 " their people" saitli Sir John Davies, " by the 
 " Brehon law ; they made their own magistrates 
 '' and otlieers ; they pardoned and punished all 
 '^'malefactors within their several countries; they 
 '' made war and peace one with another without 
 '' controulment ; and this they did not only dur- 
 '' ini»' the reign of Henry the Second, but after- 
 " wards in all times, even until the reign of 
 '' queen Elizabeth." Not originally by the con- 
 nivance of their new sovereign, or in opposition to 
 his authority, but by his sanction and allowance, as 
 appears from the acts of an assembly which derived 
 their authority from his ratification. 
 
 It is in the next place observable, that the con- 
 cessions of the Irish lords were vmiforinly made to 
 Hem'y and his heirs. And as England was now con- 
 fessedly the first and capital member of his do- 
 minions, by his heirs we must imderstand his law- 
 ful successors to the crown of England. So that the 
 intention of his treaties with the Irish chieftains ap- 
 pears to be, that the kings of England should for 
 ever become lords paramount of the territories which 
 these chieftains retained, and inheritors of those 
 which they absolutely resigned ; not that Henry 
 should be warranted to grant or transfer his Irish 
 dominions, or to sell his Irish vassals as villains of the 
 soil, but that the stipulated obedience should be paid 
 to the kings of England in lawful succession ; and the 
 territories resigned should remain for ever annexed 
 to this kingdom, and appendent on this dignity. Or, 
 to express it in the lano'uage of the patent of Henry Rya-.er. 
 the Third to his son Edward, that they shoidd notT ip. 
 be separated from the Crown, but wholly remain to'^^^" 
 the kings of England for ever. 
 
 By his transactions both with the natives and 
 the original adventurers, Henry had now acquired 
 
 the 
 
so HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 the absolute dominion of several maritime cities^ 
 and their dependencies. The province of Leinster 
 was claimed by Strongbow, as the heir of king Der- 
 mod, and he consented to hold it of the king and 
 his heirs. The acquisitions in Meath appear also 
 to have been ceded to the king; nor did the Eng- 
 lish acknowledge any rightful sovereign of this dis- 
 trict since the death of Ma-Laghlin ; so that Henry 
 had now a considerable territory, and a number of 
 subjects in the island, and had the utmost reason to 
 expect a speedy encrease of both. And to these his 
 subjects, he indeed granted the English laws, ac- 
 cording to the testimony of Matthew Paris, not as 
 a model whereby they might govern themselves, 
 and frame their own polity ; for then they had no need 
 to express their gratitude to the king for what they 
 might have adopted themselves, if, by their change 
 of situation, they had lost the privileges of English 
 subjects; neither in this case was there any propri- 
 ety or necessity tor an oath to the king, whereby 
 tliey were bound to the observance of these laws. 
 On the contrary, it was declared by this transaction, 
 by their grateful acceptance of the English laws, 
 and their solemn engagements to obey them, that, 
 as they resigned their Irish acquisitions, and re- 
 newed their allegiance to the king, he, on his part, 
 consented that they should still be considered as the 
 subjects of his realm, and still retain the advantages 
 of that constitution, which, as subjects, they^ former- 
 ly enjoyed, and which he graciously declared that 
 they should still retain in the same capacity, without 
 any diminution of their rights, or any change in their 
 relation to the king. Hence the necessity of a new 
 oath, whereby they were bound in due allegiance 
 to Henry and his heirs, and to the faithful ob- 
 servance of the laws of his realm in their new set- 
 tlements, thus made a part and member of this 
 realm, inseparably Qonqectcd, and intimately conso- 
 lidated with it. 
 
 Let 
 
Cii. 5. HENRY II. " 81 
 
 Let it be sufTtcient to state these points briefly 
 for the present, \vhich, as they frequently recur, 
 must be repeated and enforced in the progress of 
 this histor}^ And agreeal)ly to the representations 
 now made, it appears, that soon after he had taken Chart, in 
 possession of Dublin, and before his departure ^■"'^h-^'^- 
 from this city, Henry granted it * by charter to ^ ' 
 the inhabitants of Bristol, to be held of him and 
 his heirs, with the same liberties and free customs 
 which they enjoyed at Bristol, and throughout all 
 his land f. And by another charter executed sponMSS. in 
 after, he confirm« to his burgesses of Dublin all man- Bibl, 
 ner of rights and immunities throughout his whole ^^^'"'^^ 
 land of England, Normandy, Wales, and Ireland, 
 where-ever they and their eflects shall be, to be fully 
 and honourably enjoyed by them as his free and 
 
 Vol. 1. * L faithful 
 
 * Ex Archivis Civ. Dub. 
 
 Ilearicus rex AngliiE, dux Normamiiae & Acquitaniae, comes Ande- 
 gaviic Arcliiepiscopis, episcopis, abbatibus, comitibus, barcnibus, jus- 
 ticiariis, vicecomitibus, miuistris, & omuibus tidelibus suis Frauds, 
 Anglicis, & Hiberiien^ibus, totius terrae suae sulutein. Sciatis me de- 
 disse & concessisse, ik, pre-seuti cliarta confirnias.^e homiuibas uieis da 
 Bristow, civitatem uieain de Diveliu, ad iuliabitandum. Quare volo i; 
 firmiter praecipio ut ipsi earn iahabitent & teiieant illam de uie & here- 
 dibus meis beue & iii pace li!)ere & quiete, iutegre^c pleaarie Sc hono- 
 ritice, cum omnibus libeitatibus Sc liberis cousuetudinibus, quas hotli- 
 nes de Bristow habeut apud Bristow, & per toiam terram mea^n.^ Tes- 
 ■tibus Willo. de Braosa. Regin de Curtenar. Hug. de GuudvlTK Wilio. 
 Filio Andelmi, Rand, de Oanvilta. Hug. de Creissi. Reg. de Pavill. 
 Apud Divehn. 
 
 + E Mauuscriptiri in BibliotU. quondam epi^copi Sterne. 
 
 Henricus rex, &c. archiepiscopis, ^c. salutem. Sciatis me con- 
 cessisss burgensibus meis de Diveliu quod siut quieti de Tiiolouio ic 
 Passagio et Pontagio k. omnibus cousuetudinibus per totam terram 
 ineam Augliae & Norinanuiae, Walli<e & Hiberuim, ubicunque veneriut 
 ipsi k, res eorum. Quare volo ic firmiter priecipio quod habeant om- 
 nes libertates & quietancias «^ liberas consueludines suas plene >fc liouo- 
 rifice sicut mei hberi & fideles homines, iS: siat quieti de Tholonio vie 
 Passagio & Pontagio & omni alia consuetudine, Et prohibeo ne qui* 
 COS super his deturbet, contra banc chartam meam, super decern librai iiiiv 
 forisiaetaraiy. Teslibus, kc. Apud sanctum Laudiuuiu 
 
S2 History of Ireland. b. i, 
 
 faithful snl)jects. And as it was not easy to induce 
 his English subjects immediately to settle in these 
 maritime towns, he permitted the Ostmen to take 
 possession of Waterford*, to whom he granted a 
 Charr. particular charter of denization, whereby they were 
 Turr. mvested with the rights and privileges of free sub- 
 Berming. jects, and for the future to be governed by the laws 
 ^" of his realm ; w hich, by the way, affords a convinc- 
 ing proof that the benefit of these laws was consi- 
 dered as a special grace, and that they were by no 
 means granted in general to those who submitted, 
 much less obtruded on any, as the great mark of 
 conquest f 
 
 For 
 
 * Constat. Anno. 1 1. Edv. I. in Turr. Bermingh. Dublin. 
 
 Kdvardus, Dei gratia, rex Angliae, dominus Hiberniae, & dux Acqni- 
 taniac, justiciario suo Hibernian & omnibus aliis ballivis & fidelibus suis 
 in Hibernia ad quos praBseutes literae pervenirent. Salutem. Quia per 
 iiispectioiiem Chartie doinini Henrici regis filii Iinperatricis quondam 
 Domini Hiberniae proavi nostri, nobis constat quod Oustmanni nostri 
 Watertbrd legem Anglicoruin in Hibernia habere, & secundum istam 
 legem judicari ac deduci debeiit ; vobis mandamus, quod Gillechrist 
 Macgilleniory, Willielnmm & Johannem Macgillemory, iV alios Oust- 
 inannos de civitate k comitatu Waterford, qui de praedictis Oustman- 
 iiis praedicli domini Henrici proavi nostri originem duxerint, legem An- 
 giicorum in partibus illis, juxta tcnorem Chartae praedictas habere, & eo.s 
 secundum ipsam legem, quantum in nobis est, deduci faciatis, donee aliud 
 de con«ilio nostro iiiduxerinuis ordinandum. Teste nieipso, apud Acton- 
 Burnell. quintodieOctobris, Anno regni nostri undecimo. 
 
 + It appears I'rom several ancient records, that on the gradual submis- 
 sion of the Irish lords to the crown of England, some of the most dis- 
 tinguished among them were admitted, though with some restrictions, to 
 the benefit of EngHsli laws, as an especial grace and favour. Thus in the 
 archives uf Berminghani Tower, Ann. 3. Ed 11. there is the following 
 plea, which I find copied in the Lambeth MSS. M. No. 617. — Praedic- 
 " tus Gulielmus O'Kelly est Hibernicus & non de sanguine aut progenie 
 *' eorum qui gaudeant lege Angiicana, quoad brevia portaitda. Qui sunt 
 " O'Ncale de Ultonia, O'Connocluir deConnaghta, O'Brien de Thot- 
 " inondia, O'Malaclilin de Midin, & Mac^Morrough deLagenia." And 
 in the pleaii of the crown during this reign, there is repeated mention of 
 the Five families, " Quinque sanguines, quigaudgnt lege Angiicana." — 
 
 It 
 
Ch. 3. HENRY 11. 83 
 
 For the better execution of the laws of Eng- Antiq. 
 laiul, it appears that Henry made a division of tlie p"; ^**" 
 districts, now sabject to him, into shires or counties, 
 whicli was afterwards improved and enlarg-ed, as 
 the extension of the English settlements, and the 
 circumstances of the country required. Sherilfs 
 were of consequence appointed both for the coun- 
 ties and cities, with judoes itinerant, and other 
 ministers of justice, otiicers of state, and every 
 appendag-e of English g-overnment and English law. 
 And these institutions seem to have been a part of 
 Henry's first compact with the adventurers, and to 
 have immediately attended his grant of their old 
 polity and privileges ; (or in the first charter to the 
 citizens of Dublin, executed before his departure 
 from this city, vve find mention of his Justices, 
 Siieriflfe, and other Officers. To complete the whole 
 system, a chief governor, or representative of the 
 king, was necessarily appointed, who was to exercise 
 the royal authority, or such parts of it as might be 
 committed to him, in the king's absence ; and as Stat. An, 
 the present state of Ireland, and the apj)rehensions^i^'^^^^' 
 of war or insurrection made it peculiarly necessary 
 to guard against sudden accidents, or extraordinary 
 contingencies, it was provided, by what is called a 
 Statute of Henry Pitz-Empress, that in case of the 
 <leath of any chief governor, the chancellor, trea- 
 surer, chief justices, and chief baron, keeper of the 
 rolls 111 kiag's scrjeant at law, should be empow- 
 ered, with consent of the nobles of the land, to elect 
 a successor, who was to exercise the full power and 
 authority of this ofiice, until the royal pleasure 
 should be further known. Heiny had now the 
 
 more 
 
 It is not asserted either in history, or in any record that I have seen; 
 but it setnns probable that Henry the Second set the example oi' s^r-.xuUD-^ 
 this especial and di.->tingiiished privilege to the most eminent oftlie lris:x 
 famihe-s who sul)niitted to him ; for we shall Hnd O'Brien of ThonronU. 
 remindwl that by his subirii->ion to this prince, he \va< adiuitted lo the 
 Bute and diijnity ot' the kiDj;;'s burou. 
 
*^ HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 more leisure to project sncli schemes of government, 
 
 Giraid ^^ "^ rcmarkablv^ severe and tempestuous ^^ inter 
 
 Camb. prevented him from any attempts to reduce those 
 
 parts of Ireland, \vhich had not yet ackno\Yled«^ed his 
 
 authority. 
 
 The co^itinual storms having' put a stop to all 
 navigation, tlie king had not for a considerable 
 Ibid. time received the least intelligence from England 
 or Normandy ; till, at length, on his arrival at VVex- 
 ford, after a residence of three months in Dublin, 
 he met coiuiers, who brought the most alarming 
 advices ; That two cardinals, Albert and Theodine, 
 delegated by the Pope, had arri\ ed in Normandy 
 the year before, to make infjuisition into the death 
 of Becket ; that waiting the arrival of Henry, 
 until their patience was exhausted, they now sum- 
 moned him to appear without delay, as he would 
 avert the dreadful sentence of excommunication, 
 and preserve his dominions from a general interdict. 
 Such denunciations were of too much consequence 
 to admit a longer residence in Ireland. He ordered 
 his forces, and the officers of his household, to 
 endmrk without delay, reserving three ships for 
 the conveyance of himself and his immediate at- 
 tendants. 
 
 He was now to leave a country which, from his 
 first appearance, aftbrded him the fairest prospect of 
 success; but of which, a very considerable part, in- 
 cluding all the western and the northern quarters of 
 the island, he had not yet visited, much less reduced. 
 He had built no number of forts to secure the ac- 
 qui.">itions already made, or to awe the turbulent and 
 fickle inhabitants; and lie was to leave earl Richard 
 behind, a powerful su])ject, to strengthen and en- 
 crease his inilueuce in a country where it was 
 already formidal)le, whose concessions were suppos- 
 ed not to have been the effects of duty and attach- 
 ment, and who waited but for the absence of his royal 
 nmster (as tlie jealousies of Henry suggested) to im- 
 prove the advantages he had ac(juired, and to as- 
 STiiue an independent sovereignty. lu this perplex- 
 
Ch. 3. HENRY II. S3 
 
 ing- situation, he had but a few days to make the 
 necessary dispositions for the Security of his Irish 
 interests. He addressed himself to the original 
 English adventurers, and by grants and promises 
 lal.oured to detacii them from Strongbow, and bindGiraid. 
 them firmly to himself, and to his service. ToCamb. 
 make amends for v.hat he had taken from Fitz- 
 Steplien, he granted him a considerable district in 
 the neighbourhood of Dublin, to be held by 
 knight's-service, at the same time entrusting the 
 maritime towns, with especial caution, to his own 
 immediate dependents. Waterford was committed Regan, 
 to Humphry de Bohun, Robert Fitz-Bernard, and 
 Hugh de Gundville, with a train of twenty knights. 
 In Wexford were stationed William Fitz-Andelm, 
 Philip of Hastings, and Philip de Braosa. with i 
 like number of attendants. Before his departure 
 from Dublin he had promised, and now executed, 
 an important grant to Hugh de Lacy of all the ter- 
 ritory of jMeath, where there was no fortified place, 
 and where of consequence no particular reservation P;it. 20 
 was necessary, to be held of him and his heirs, by^^*-'"- ^^• 
 the service of fifty knights, in as full a manner as 
 it had been enjoyed by Murchard Hu-Melaghlin, 
 or any other. He also constituted this lord his 
 governor of Dublin, with a guard of twenty 
 knights. Robert Fitz-Stephen, and Maurice Fitz- 
 Geiald, were made his coadjutors, with an equal 
 train; and these, with others of the first adventu- 
 rers, under the pretence of an honorable appoint- 
 ment, were tlius obliged to reside at Dublin, sub- Regan, 
 ject to the immediate inspection of De Lacy, inj^""''^- 
 whom Henry seems to have placed his chief confi- 
 dence. In the neighbourhood of each city, lands 
 were assigned for the maintenance of the knights 
 and soldiers. A castle was directed to be built in 
 Dublin, and fortresses in other convenient places; 
 and sensi])le of the advantages to be gained by the 
 valour and activity of private adventurers, the king 
 readily yielded to the request of John de Courcy, a 
 
 baron 
 
m HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 baron distinguished by his enterprizin^ genius and 
 ^^^S^"- abilities in war^ and granted him the entire province 
 of Ulster, provided he could reduce it by force of 
 arms. 
 
 Having thus made his dispositions in Ireland as 
 effectually as the short space of three weeks could 
 permit, Henry turned his attentiou to more press- 
 ing, and at present more important objects. In 
 granting large tracts to the most enterprizing of 
 Irts nobles, he pursued the same measures which 
 William the Cou([ueror had taken for extending 
 his territories on the Marches of England. It was 
 a method evidently well calculated for making con- 
 quests without expence to the crown, not for pre- 
 serving peace in a country once subdued, or quiet- 
 ing the jealousies of an absent prince, who had 
 learned suspicion from his experience of mankied. 
 The misfortunes which Ireland felt for ages, n»ay be 
 fairly imputed to the present fatal interruption of 
 Henry's progress. The folly and the insolence, the 
 injustice, baseness, and ingratitude of his avowed 
 and secret enemies recalled him from an engage- 
 ment worthy of his abilities. He embarked at 
 A. D. Wexford oji the feast of Easter, and landed in 
 V"^" Pembrokeshire, where it was the first care of this 
 Cainb P»'i'>ce, who lay under the heavy displeasure of the 
 church, to march on foot to the Cathedral of Saint 
 David, and there perform his devotions, with an 
 ostentation of piety and humility. Hence he passed 
 on with the utmost speed, and with his eldest son, 
 whose secret practices against an indulgent father 
 he had but too good reasons to suspect, proceeded 
 to meet the cardinals in Normandy. Their first 
 lequisitions were so haughty and exorl>itant, that 
 IltMiry broke up the assembly, declaring that he 
 Mould return to Ireland, where he had juuch to do, 
 and leave them to execute their legantiue commis- 
 lluvedt'ii. gjQi^ ag they might. This .spirited answer produced 
 another congress, and another treaty, upon terms 
 less unreasonable and injurious. And when the 
 articles of accomniodatioa were adjusted, the king's 
 
 sub- 
 
Ch. 3. HENRY II. 87 
 
 submissions accepted, and his absolution pronounc- Brompton 
 ed. Pope Alexander readily consented to seal this re- 
 conciliation, by confirming the grant of Ireland 
 made by Adrian. His brief recites the propriety 
 of allowing the just acts of his predecessors, and 
 the gifts made by the late pope to Henry, of the 
 dominion of Ireland : ratifying the same with the 
 reservation of Peter-pence, and on the former con- 
 dition of reforming the barbarous natives^ and re- 
 gulating their disordered church. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
gS HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 CHAP. IV 
 
 .Disposition of the Irish chieftains.. .Marriage and death 
 of. De Qiiinj/.. .Lacy confers <ri(h O' Ruarc. .Death of 
 CRuarc. .Rebellion of Henrys sons, and general insur- 
 rection against the king. . . Strongbozo recalled from Ire- 
 land.. .Revolt oftfie Irish lords.. . The king's foires dis" 
 tressed and discontented. . .Mutual Jealousies of HerxcTj 
 and Raymond. . . Strongbow chief governor. . . He appoints 
 Raymond general. . . His successes. . . He retires in discon- 
 tent. . . Expedition to Munster. . . Defeat of the Ostmen. . . 
 Raymond recalled.. .Insur-rection and massacre at Water- 
 ford. . . Raymond espouses the sister of earl Strongbow. . . 
 Desolation ofMeath by Roderic. . . His retreat. . . Limerick 
 taken . . . Subjnission a>id treaty of Roderic. . . Henry alarm- 
 ed by Mount jnorres. . .Raymond commanded to attend him 
 . . . Prepares to depart. . .Limerick besieged by O'Brien. . . 
 Raymond prexailed on to march against him. . . His success^ 
 es in Thomond and Desjnond.. .Death of Strongbow. . '. 
 Perfidy of O^Brien. . . Generous observation of king Henry 
 . . . Character of Strongboii- by the Irish an?ialisls. . .and by 
 Giraldus. . . Raymond and Fitz-Andelm chief governors. . . 
 Arrival of Vivian the legate.. .Bulls of Adrian and Ah. r- 
 ander promulged. . . Characttr and conduct of Fitz-Andelm. 
 Ejcpcdition of De Coiirey into Ulster. . . His exploits. . . In- 
 vasion ofConnaught by Cogan unsuccessful.. .Divisions of 
 the Irish chieftains. . .And miserable condition of the whole 
 island, 
 
 A. a Henry at his departure, as Davies justly 
 1773. observes, left not one true subject behind 
 1 1; .-^Thim, more than he found on coming over. The 
 ^ Irish chieftains who had submitted to become his 
 vassals with so much levity and inditference, were 
 little solicitous to adhere to their submissions any 
 longer tlian terror or necessity might oblige them. 
 But as the impression made by the power and great- 
 ness 
 
Ch. 4. HENRY II. 8: 
 
 ness of their new sovereign was yet lively and forci- 
 ble; as their local feuds and jealousies had never 
 been suspended ; and as the English settlers had not 
 as yet discovered any desi*]^n of extending their ac- 
 quisitions, the territories of the new adventurers were 
 for awhile unmolested, and seemed to wear an ap- 
 pearance of security and peace. Strongbow found Girald. 
 himself at leisure to retire to Ferns, in order to so- 
 lemnize the marriage of his daughter with Robert 
 de Quiny, one of the nobles who had engaged in 
 the Irish war, whom he created constable and stan- 
 dard-bearer of Leinster, with a considerable grant Regaa. 
 of lands. But Quiny did not long enjoy his ho- 
 nours and estate ; for the earl, some time after, be- 
 ing obliged to march into Ofally, to exact his tri- 
 bute from a refractory vassal ; his forces on their 
 return were attacked in the rear, and the standard- 
 bearer with some others fell in the fury of the first 
 sudden assault. 
 
 Lacy proceeded, in consequence of his late I'^i'i 
 grant, to make such dispositions in Meath as might 
 secure the subjection of this district. He parcelled 
 out his lands to his friends and adherents, in order 
 to establish a powerful English settlement, and be- 
 gan to erect forts to keep the old inhabitants in 
 awe. In the provinces ceded to Henry or his sub- 
 jects, or afterwards gained by their arms, certain 
 Irish natives, of the most distinguished families, 
 were by the king's licence and command sufl^ercd to 
 reside and enjoy certain portions of their old posses- 
 sions, to pay tribute to the crown, as feodaries, but 
 were not as subjects governed by the law of Eng- 
 land. Thus some of the descendants of the family 
 of Mac Murchad were for many years resident in 
 Leinster, as well as some inferior chiefs, who pro- 
 fessed at least to be tributaries to the king of Eng- 
 land, but governed their different septs according 
 to their old native institutions. This, which is ex- 
 pressly affirmed by Pinglas, in his Breviate of Ire- 
 land, appears evidently from the tenor of history. 
 
 Vol. I, M and 
 
90 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 and from innumeral)le public records of this king- 
 dom. In like manner, notwithstanding the exten- 
 <ii\c gram" of Meadi to Hugh de Lacy, O'Ruarc of 
 Breffney still enjoyed the eastern part of this pro- 
 vince by virtue of the arrangements made by Rode- 
 ric. And this proud and violent chieftain could not 
 but regard the present project of an extensive Eng- 
 lish settlement in ]\f eath with an indignant jealousy. 
 He found, or sought some occasion to complain of 
 injuries done to his interests or property hy the new 
 Girald. settlers. He repaired to Dublin, and demanded re- 
 dress from Lacy ; but the pretensions on each side 
 being discussed without any final agreement, a day 
 w as appointed for another conference to be held on 
 the hill of Taragh. This was agreeable to the old 
 Iri.sh custom, of adjusting accidental difl'erences by 
 a meeting- of the chiefs, at a distance from their res- 
 pective residences, and on some eminence where 
 they might be most secure from treachery. The Eng- 
 lish historians formally relate, that the night before 
 this conference, Griffith, nephew to Maurice Fitz- 
 Gerald, dreamed that he saw a number of wild boars 
 rush on Lacy and his uncle, and that one more 
 horrid than the rest would have slain them, if he 
 had not rescued them by killing the monster ; that, 
 alanned by this dream, he would have dissuaded 
 them from the iiiiended interview; but that Lacy 
 slighted his superstitious fears. It indeed required 
 no dream or vision to create fears and suspicions on 
 occasion of these parleys, which frequently ended in 
 bloodshed, and to which the parties always came 
 prepared against violence or treachery. The chiefs 
 arrived on the place appointed, and engagements 
 being made on each side to preserve peace and ami- 
 ty, tiiev met, with a few attendants, while the rest 
 of their respective trai?is were appointed to retire at 
 due distance. Griffith is said to have been so pos- 
 sessed with liis dream, that he chose out seven of 
 his associates of distinguished valor, whom he 
 drew as near to the place of interview as he might 
 
 without 
 
€ii. 4. HENRY IL 91 
 
 without suspicion , ready to advance, if there should 
 be occasion for their service. In the mean time 
 they continued, under the pretence of amusement, 
 to ride in tournament round the fieUl. Lacy and 
 Pitz-Geraid on one side, and tlie Irish cliicftain on 
 the other, proceeded in their conference without any 
 prospect of accommodation, 'till O'Ruarc retiring, 
 as it is said, under tlte pretence of necessity, gave 
 the sinnial to his party, who rushed up the hill, while 
 their leader returned with a countenance of deadly 
 wrath and fury. Fitz-Gerald drew his sword ; ancl 
 scarcely had he called to Laey to defend himself, 
 when O'Ruarc assailed him iiniously with his bat- 
 tle-axe. His interpreter interposed, and Mas slain ; 
 Lacy was twice beaten to the i^round, but rescued 
 by Fitz-Gerald : the English party was at hand, and 
 soon repelled the assailants. O'Ruarc in his retreat 
 attempted to gain his horse, but, as he mounted, 
 was killed by Griflith. His three equerries shared 
 the same fate; and his whole train was pursued with 
 considerable slaughter. The circumstance of the 
 dream, and tlie minuteness with which this transact 
 tion is related, might create some suspicions that 
 the English party were not entirely clear from being 
 the aggressors, and that care was taken to frame 
 their narrative, or at least to aggravate the miscon- 
 duct of the Irish. However tliis may be, the event 
 was particularly favourable to Lacy, as it freed him 
 from a turbulent and dangerous rival. O'Ruarc was 
 considered as a traitor and rebel, and his head sent 
 into England to the king. 
 
 Incidents of tliis kind, however plausibly repre- 
 sented, were by the natives considered in the most 
 odious light. Tliej^ Marndy retorted tlie charge of 
 treachery upon the foreigners ; and every dav pro- 
 duced complaints of their injustice, cruelty, and o])- 
 pression, wherever they had any intercourse with 
 the native inhabitants. In many instances such 
 complaints must have been just; for several of the 
 English leaders were proud, indigent^ and rapacious ■ 
 
 bi5t 
 
02 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 but whether just or uo, at. the same time that they 
 discovered the enmity of the Irish, they also served 
 to contirm and inflame it; and the present criticarl 
 situation of king Henry gave both opportunity and 
 encouragement to these proud and restless natives to 
 avow their animosity. 
 Hume, The spirit and address which had extricated him 
 ll^pin. ft-om his controversy' with the pope, seemed to con- 
 firm his grandeur and felicity. A numerous pro- 
 geny gave both lustre and authority to his crown. 
 The king's precaution in establishing the several 
 branches of his family seemed well calculated to 
 prevent all jealousies among the brothers, and to 
 perpetuate the greatness of his royal line. He had 
 ordered Henry, his eldest son, to be crowned king, 
 and had appointed him successor to the kingdom of 
 England, the dutchy of Normandy, and the coun- 
 ties of x\njou, Maine, and Touraine ; to Richard 
 and Geothy w ere assigned their respective territories; 
 and Ireland was probably destined for the appanage 
 of John, his fourth son, although the king might 
 not as yet have declared his intentions. He also 
 negotiated a marriage in favor of this last prince 
 with Adelais, daughter of the count of Savoy and 
 Maurienne, and was to receive as her dowry very 
 considerable demesnes in Piedmont, Savoy, Bresse,. 
 and Dauphiny. But this exaltation of his family 
 excited the jealousy and envy of his neighbours; 
 and these very sons, w hose fortune he was so anxious 
 to establish, were made the means of disturbing his 
 government, and embittering his future days. 
 
 To cement his accommodation with the French 
 king, Henry had consented that the ceremony of 
 crowning his eldest son should be repeated, toge- 
 ther with his consort Margaret, a princess of France ; 
 and allowed them to visit their father-in-law at Paris, 
 who sought this opportunity of inflaming the ambi- 
 tion of young Henry. Although it had been the 
 constant custom of France, ever-since the accession 
 of the Capetian line, to crown the son during the 
 
 life- 
 
Ch. 4. HENRY II. 93 
 
 life-time of the father, without conferring' on him 
 any present participation of royal domhiion, yet 
 Louis took pains to persuade his son-in-law that he 
 had now a title to real soa ereignty, and prevailed 
 on him at his return to make a formal demand, that 
 either the crown of England or the dutchy of 
 Normandy, should be immediately resigned to him. 
 The extravagant proposal was rejected ; the prince 
 expressed his discontent in terms highly undutiful ; 
 and returning clandestinely to Paris, was protected 
 and supported by the French monarch. 
 
 In the first surprize and alarm at this erent, from 
 which king Henry expected some distressing con- 
 sequences, he received intelligence of new misfor- 
 times. Eleanor his queen, provoked at the infide- 
 lities of her husband, seized this occasion of inter- 
 esting her sons Richard and Geoffry in her resent- 
 ments; persuaded them that they also were intitled 
 to present possession of the territories assigned to 
 them, engaged them to fly secretly to the court of 
 France, and was herself meditating an escape to the 
 same court, when she was arrested by Henry's 
 order in her disguise of man's apparel, and confined. 
 The combination of these princes against an indul- 
 gent father had been projected, and was openly 
 countenanced by Louis. Princes were not ashamed 
 to espouse their unnatural quarrels. Barons, dis- 
 gusted by a vigilant government, were more desirous 
 of being ruled by young princes, ignorant of public 
 affairs, remiss in their conduct, and profuse in their 
 grants ; and as the king had ensured to his sons 
 the succession to every particular province in his do- 
 minions, the nobles had no dread of adhering to 
 those who, they knew, must sometime become their 
 sovereigns. Prompted by these motives, many of 
 the Norman nobility had deserted to his son Henry. 
 The Breton and Gascon barons embraced the quar- 
 rel of Richard and Geofliy. The disaflection had 
 spread through England. The earls of Leicester 
 and Chester, in particular, dcclart^d openly against 
 
 the 
 
94 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. E 
 
 the king. The counts of Flanders, Bologne, Blois, 
 and En, were prompted by jealousy of Henry's 
 greatness, and the hopes of advantage from the in- 
 considerate promises and grants of an ambitious 
 youth, to unite with the king of France. William 
 king of Scotland, also joined in the confederacy ; 
 so that Henry now saw the storm of war and rebel- 
 lion rising in every quarter of his extensive domi- 
 nions. Although the pope had been prevailed on to 
 denounce his censure against the rebellious princes 
 and their adherents, yet Henr\^ soon found that his 
 effectual resource must be in his own activity and 
 valor. He employed those treasures he had pru- 
 dently reserved, in hiring twenty thousand of those 
 mercenary troops called Brabancons, whose profes- 
 sion it was to fight for any prince Mho would engage 
 them. At the same time he found it necessary to 
 withdraw several of his garrisons from Ireland, as 
 well as to claim the attendance of some of his barons 
 and commanders in this country. Earl Richard flew 
 to his assistance in Normandy with such alacrity and 
 zeal, that Henry, convinced of his attachment, en- 
 trusted him with the government of Gisors. 
 fiirald. The first accounts of a powerful confederacy 
 formed against the king of England were received 
 by the Irish chieftains with the utmost joy ; and no 
 sooner had earl Richard and the other English lords 
 de[7arted, than they openly disavowed their late sub- 
 missions, and boldly denounced the vengeance of an 
 injured people against the remains of their invaders. 
 The English army was not only weakened, but mu- 
 tinous and discontented. It had been entrnsted to 
 the command of Hervey of Mountmorres, io whom 
 Raymond le Gross was second in authority; and 
 these leaders were by no means united with that 
 firmness and cordiality which their common interest 
 required. Hervey was proud, impatient of a rival, 
 and jealous of his influence; rigid and severe in his 
 discipline, he restrained the soldiers fi*om plunder- 
 ing, a liberty which they claimed as in some sort. 
 
 necessary 
 
Ch. 4. HENRY II. 95 
 
 necessary to supply the deficiencies of their pay. 
 Raymond^ of more conciliating manners, more in- 
 dulgent to the passions and necessities of the soldiery, 
 for Avhose welfare and security he appeared eminent- 
 ly solicitous; gentle to their faults, and affecting 
 rather to appear their companion than their com- 
 mander ; neither delicate in his fare, nor curious in 
 his apparel, cheerfully sharing all the hardships of 
 a military life. He was of consequence more be- 
 loved ; and the envy of Mountmorres was enflamed 
 by his popularity. Their mutual jealousies pre- 
 vented any effectual opposition to the spirit now 
 raised among the Irish princes, and might have 
 proved fatal to the English interest, had not Henry 
 been soon enabled to provide"a remedy for the evil. 
 He summoned earl Strongbow to attend him at 
 Rouen, and communicated his intentions of com- 
 mitting the affairs of Ireland to his sole direction. 
 The earl expressed the utmost alacrity to serve his 
 royal master; but observed, that he had already ex- 
 perienced the envy and malignity of his secret ene- 
 mies ; that, if he should appear in so distinguished a 
 character as that of the king's deputy in Ireland, 
 their insidious practices would be renewed, and his 
 conduct misrepresented and maligned. He therefore 
 requested that a colleague might be appointed in 
 the commission, and recommended Raymond as a 
 person of approved loyalty and abilities, as well as 
 highly acceptable to the soldiery. Henry replied, 
 with an appearance of regard and confidence, ex- 
 torted from him by his present circumstances, that 
 he had his free consent to employ Raymond in any 
 service he should deem necessary, not as a colleague, 
 but an assistant ; that he relied entirely on the carl, 
 and implicitly entrusted every thing to his direction. 
 To reward his services, and enliven his zeal, he 
 granted him the town of Wexford, together with a 
 fort erected at Wicklow ; and thus dismissed him 
 with the most gracious expressions of favor. 
 
 The 
 
96 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 The earl landed at Dublin, where he was re- 
 ceived with the respect due to the royal commission. 
 Regan. He signified the kin<^'s pleasure that Robert Fitz- 
 Bernard, with the g^arrison of Waterford, should in- 
 stantly embark, and repair to Normandy ; and that 
 Robert Fitz-Stephen, and Maurice de Prendergast, 
 should attend the service of their liege lord in Eng- 
 land ; and agreeably to the king's instructions took 
 on him the custody of Dublin and Waterford, as 
 well as of his own city of Wexford. Hugh de 
 Lacy, and Milo de Cogan, were, with the other 
 lords, commanded to repair to England for the 
 Bervice of the king ; and while the forces, who were 
 to support the government of earl Strongbow, were 
 thus considerably weakened, their discontents were 
 at the same time enflamed to the utmost, and he had 
 the mortification to hear the boldest remonstrances 
 against the conduct of his uncle Mountmorres. The 
 soldiers presented themselves in a body before the 
 Girald. earl, requiring that Raymond le Gross should be 
 appointed to command them ; if not, they threat- 
 ened to return to their native country, or to engage 
 in the service of the Irish chiefs, who were now in 
 arms, and ready for hostilities. Strongbow was too 
 sensible of the difiiculties of his present situation not 
 to comply with these demands, however insolent, 
 and not only to grant their favoiu'ite general, but 
 also to engage them in some expeditions which might 
 afford plunder, as he had improvidently dissipated 
 A. D. the sums assigned for their pay. Raymond was 
 1169. therefore appointed to march into Ofally to chastise 
 the defection of some petty lords of this district. 
 He over-ran, and ravaged the country without resist- 
 ance ; and proceeding with his booty to Lismore, 
 committed the like depredations in this city and the 
 adjacent lands. On liis return by the sea-side, he 
 found some vessels at anchor, which he directed to 
 be laden with the spoil, in order to convey it to the 
 town of Waterford. The wind was for some time 
 contrary, which encouraged the men of Cork, who 
 
 had 
 
Ch. 4. HENRY II. 07 
 
 had ])een acquainted with these transactions, to form 
 the design of destroying; this little fleet of transports. 
 The necessities of Henrv having obliged hiin to 
 withdraw the English garrison from this city, it had 
 been resumed by iMacarthy of Desmond ; and noAv 
 the inhabitants, to manifest their zeal against his 
 enemies, hastily fitted out thirty barks, and fell with 
 the utmost fury on the English detachment, which 
 had not yet weighed anchor. Their assault, how- 
 ever sudden and unexpected, was sustained with due 
 spirit ; and the death of their commander, who fell 
 by the arm of a gallant Welshman, soon decided 
 the contest in favor of the English. They took 
 eight vessels from the enemy, and sailed in triumph 
 to their place of destination. Raymond had been 
 informed of this action, and was hastening to the 
 support of his party with a select body of twenty 
 knights and sixty horsemen, when he suddenly 
 found himself encountered by the prince of Des- 
 mond, who on his part was equally solicitous to sup- 
 port his vassals of Cork. The Irish chief, how- 
 ever, was soon obliged to retire ; and Raymond 
 after some inconsiderable attempts to disturb him 
 in his march, and to seize his prey, entered Water- 
 ford in all the pomp of a victorious general. 
 
 Trivial as these actions were, they confirmed the 
 opinion which the soldiery had conceived of their 
 new general, served to supply their present necessities, 
 and seemed the prelude to more important successes. 
 Raymond himself appears to have entertained no 
 indifi'ercnt opinion of his own services. He was 
 now in the very height of popularity, and deter- 
 mined to avail himself of this advantage. He had Regan, 
 conceived a passion for Basilia, sister to earl Richard, 
 and took the present occasion to demand her in 
 marriage, together with the post of constable, and 
 standard-bearer of Leinster, during the minority of 
 a daughter of Robert de Quiny, the late son-in-law 
 of Strongbow. The earl^ probably from a jealousy 
 
 Vol. i. N ' of 
 
98 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B.I. 
 
 of the rising power and influence of this lord^ 
 received his overture with a coldness and reserve 
 which sufficiently expressed his disapprobation. Ray- 
 mond, provoked and mortified, retired abruptly 
 into Wales, under pretence of takin«^ possession of 
 some lands devolved to him by the death of his 
 father; and the army was once again entrusted to 
 the command of Ilervey of Mountmorres. 
 Girald. Hervey was but too sensible how much his own 
 
 character had been obscured by the superior lustre 
 of his rivalj and now determined to eng-age in some 
 brave enterprize, which might regain him the af- 
 fections of the soldiery, and emulate the successes 
 of le Gross. He represented to earl Strongbow the 
 necessity of speedily repressing that spirit of revolt 
 and insurrection which had appeared among the Irish 
 princes; and as the dispositions lately made in 
 Meath seemed to have established an effectual barrier 
 a2:ainst the king of Connaught, he advised him to 
 bend his whole force against the insurgents of 
 IMunster, and by chastising their revolt, and reduc- 
 hig them to due obedience, to strike terror into 
 those who were equally disaffected, but had not yet 
 dared to commence hostilities. The earl, whose 
 genius was better fitted to adopt and execute, than 
 to form a plan of operations, readily yielded to 
 these instances, and in conjunction with Mount- 
 morres, led a considerable body of forces to the city 
 of Cashel. When their troops had been here re- 
 viewed, and information received of the posture 
 and numbers of the enemy, Hervey prevailed upon 
 him, in order to give their armament a more bril- 
 liant and formidable appearance, to dispatch his 
 orders to Dublin, that a considerable party of the 
 garrison, consisting of Ostmen, who had engaged 
 in the service of the English, should, without de- 
 lay, join their main body. As this detachment 
 advanced, the fame of its motions spread through 
 the country, and was conveyed into the quarters of 
 
 the 
 
Cii.4. HENRY II. 99 
 
 the enemies. O'Brien of Thomond^ a valiant and 
 sagacious chieftain, and imphicably averse to the 
 English interests, conceived the design of cutting 
 off this body, as the most eflectiuil means of weak- 
 ening and dispiriting the enemy. He suftered theAnn.UIt 
 Ostmen to advance as far as to Thurles, and there MS. 
 to encamp in a state of careless security, when fall- 
 ing suddenly upon them, he w reaked his fury upon 
 men utterly unpi-epared for defence. Four hundred 
 of the detachment, together with their four princi- 
 pal commanders, were slaughtered upon the field ; 
 and, to complete the triumph of O'Brien, earl 
 Ricliard, on receiving the intelligence of this mis- 
 fortune, retired witli a!l the precipitation of a rout- 
 ed general, and threw^ himself for safety into Wa- 
 terford. 
 
 This disgrace of the English arms, wliich was 
 magnified by fame into a decisive victory obtained 
 over Strongbow and his united j^owers*, served as 
 a signal to the disafiected Irish to rise up in arms. 
 Several of the Leinster chieftains, who had lately 
 made their submissions, and bound themselves to 
 the service of king Henry, openly disclaimed all 
 their engagements. Even Donald Kevanagh, sou 
 of the late king Dermod, wlio had hitherto adhered 
 to the English even in their utmost difficulties, now 
 declared against them, and asserted a title to the 
 kingdom of Leinster; while Roderic, on his part 
 was active in uniting tlie princes of Ulster, thena-Re^an. 
 tive lords of jMeath, and other chiefs, against their 
 common enemy. 
 
 Stkongbow 
 
 * The Irish annalists assure us, that on the report of Strongbow's 
 march into IMiinster, Roderic advanced with an army into Onnond, in 
 order to oppose liini : that the news of" his approacli dotHrmined the Eng- 
 lish leaders to send to Dublin for a reinforceuicnt; that this reinforce- 
 ment arriving safe, Stronc;bow led his powers to the plain of Durlus; 
 that he here engaged O'Brien and Dal-cais, the army of Jer-Con- 
 naught, and the invincible army of Gil-Muired!iy, under the coiu;nand 
 of Connor Moenmoy, son of Roderic, and w.is defeated with the loss 
 of seven hundred (or seventeen hundred) men. Ann. Lngen. MS. 
 
100 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 Ann. Strongbow was well acquainted with the lickle- 
 
 ^^^^' iicss ot" the Irish ; and justly sensible of the conse- 
 quences of being' reduced to act on the defensive^ 
 instead of seeking his enemies in their own territo- 
 
 Regan. ries. He had also reason to apprehend a revival 
 of discontent and mutiny amonj^st his own soldiers. 
 He therefore, without the least hesitation or delay, 
 
 Girald. sent iuto Wales, earnestly entreating' Raymond to 
 return with such forces as he could procure, and 
 freely offering to gTatiiy him in all his late demands. 
 Nothing could be more flattering- to Raymond than 
 this application. He was called to relieve his coun- 
 trymen from the distress in which they had been 
 invoh ed by his rival ; he was acknowledged to be 
 their great resource in all alarming circumstances; 
 and the earl, who had proudly refused to grant him 
 his sister in marriage, was now reduced to court him 
 to accept her hand. He made his preparations 
 with all the speed and alacrity of a man prompted 
 by the powerful motives of love, pride, and ambi- 
 tion ; and collecting thirty leaders of his own 
 kindred, one hundred horsemen, and three hundred 
 archers, all hardy and well-appointed AYelshmen, 
 embarked in twenty transports, and steered his 
 course to Waterford. 
 
 If we may believe Giraldus, nothing could have 
 been more critically seasonable than his arrival. The 
 townsmen, naturally averse to the English invaders, 
 provoked by their rigorous oppressions, and en- 
 couraged by their present weakness and apparent 
 distress, are said to have formed the desperate jmr- 
 pose of freeing themselves from their masters by a 
 general massacre; but at the very moment of exe- 
 cution, Raymond's fleet appeared in the harbour, 
 and sus:pended the attempt. AVhether they were 
 either bold enough, or strong enough to have really 
 formed such a scheme against a considerable, and to 
 them a formidable army, certain it is that they en- 
 tertained a malignant aversion against the English, 
 and waited but a fair occasion to discover it, as was 
 
 soon 
 
Ch. 4. HENRY II. 101 
 
 soon exprrionced. At the first interview between 
 Raymond and earl Richard, it was agreed to niareh 
 withont delay to Wexford, probably to give some 
 eheek to the spirit of rebellion, which had appeared 
 in Leinster. The garrison left at Waterford, little 
 suspecting any violence or treachery within the 
 Avails, acted with the confidence of men surrounded 
 AS ith Iheir friends and adherents, and thus favoured 
 the designs of their secret enemies. Their com- 
 mander crossing the Sure in a small bark, was, with 
 his few attendants, nnn*dered by the mariners; and 
 no sooner had the news of this massacre reached the 
 town, than all the Englif^h who could be found un- 
 armed, were suddenly assailed, and slaugjitered with- 
 out distinction of age, sex, or condition. Those of 
 the garrison, who had opportunity to take arms, 
 joined their associates in the citadel, called Reginald's 
 Tower, and there not only defended Ihemselves, but 
 annoyed their besiegers with such spirit and address, 
 as at length drove them from the city and reduced 
 them to sue for peace with tlie most abject submis- 
 sion. They glossed over tluMr late barbarity by such 
 pretences as they could invent, and gladly complied 
 w ith the most rigorous terms of accommodation that 
 could be proposed. 
 
 Wexford, in the mean time, was a scene of joy 
 and festivity. Basilia, sister of earl Strongbow, had 
 arrived thither with a magnificent train from Dub- 
 lin, and was solemnly espoused by Raymond, who 
 received a large portion of lands as her dowry, and 
 was invested with the oifice of constable, and 
 standard-bearer of Leinster. But even in the midst 
 of the nuptial rites, intelligence arrived, that Rode- 
 ric, at the head of a large confederate army, had 
 suddenly passed the Shannon, entered the territory 
 of Meath, where Hugh Tyrrel commanded in the 
 absence of Lacy, expelled the English colonists, 
 laid their settlements waste, obliged Tyrrel to aban- 
 don the forts lately erected, and burned them to the 
 ground ; so that the fury of his incursion had been 
 
 felt 
 
102 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 felt even to the walls of Dublin. The occasion 
 was too pressing to admit of the least delays so 
 that, the very morning- after the celebration of his 
 nuptials, the bridegroom was obliged to put on his 
 armour. He led his troops to Dublin, determined 
 to seek these invaders ; but the Irish chieftains, 
 actuated by sudden and transient impressions of 
 passion, rather than any reasonable and settled prin- 
 ciple of duty or public spirit, were contented with 
 the devastation committed in Meath, and by no 
 means inclined to continue their hostilities. Rode- 
 ric, the leader of this undetermined, ungoverned, 
 and ill united body, found himself obliged to re- 
 treat into his own province and leave the enemy to 
 repair the havoc he had made. The earl and Ray- 
 mond arrived time enough to precipitate the flight 
 of some of the Irish parties, by falling on their rear, 
 and killing one hundred and fifty. The settlements 
 
 Began, ji^ Meath were re-established ; and Tyrrel had the 
 charge of rebuilding those forts which the Irish had 
 destroyed. 
 
 This success, together with the death of Donald 
 Kevanagh, who had been killed in an engagement 
 with a party of his countrymen in the English ser- 
 vice, awed the sph'it of disaffection in Leinster, and 
 established an appearance of order and tranquillity 
 through the English territories, so as to leave earl 
 Richard at leisure to advert to the afllairs of Muns- 
 ter, and to take measures for reducing the prince of 
 Thomond, who possessed hims|clf of Limerick, and 
 continued to bid defiance to the English power. 
 
 Guald. The siege of Limerick was undertaken by Ray- 
 mond, who, with a chosen body of about six hundred, 
 marched against the revolted chieftain. They arriv- 
 ed without opposition at tlic banks of the Shannon, 
 which surrounds this city ; but here found the bridges 
 broken, and their further approaches stojjpcd by the 
 rapidity of the stream. Two of their boldest knights 
 adventined to pass where they conceived the river to 
 
 be 
 
Ch.4. henry II. 103 
 
 be fordable, and with success, but returning to en- 
 courage and conduct their associates, one of Iheni 
 was drowned. A third passed safely, but found 
 himself unsupported, and exposed to the enemy; 
 till Raymond advancing from the rear, spurred 
 boldly through the river ; and his forces, thus en- 
 couraged, followed their leader without fiirther he- 
 sitation, and gained the opposite bank, with the loss 
 of two only of their body. The enemy, who were 
 pouring down to oppose their passage, stopped with 
 astonishment at this intrepidity, and fled at once 
 without striking a blow. They were pursued by 
 the English with considerable slaughter, who thus 
 became masters of the city without resistance. The 
 soldiers were enriched by plunder, and the reputa- 
 tion of their favourite general was encreased by this 
 bold and successful adventure. 
 
 In the mean time, Roderic, convinced by re- 
 peated experience of the instability and perfidy of 
 his subordinate chieftains, and the ineftective nature 
 of a vassal army, despaired of contending any long- 
 er, and determiued to save his own province at least 
 from the depredations of an incensed and victorious 
 enemy, by a submission. Yet not unconscious of 
 his dignity, he declined all application to earl 
 Strongbow, and determined to treat immediately 
 with the king of England, This monarch had, by 
 the most extraordinary exertions of vigour and abi- 
 lities, happily eluded all the attempts of his ene- 
 mies on the continent. His English rebels were 
 subdued, his sons had submitted, the king of Scots 
 had been defeated, was taken prisoner, and obliged 
 to purchase his liberty at the expence of the antient 
 independency of his crown ; and Henry now seated 
 peaceably in England, was forming schemes of le- 
 gislation for improving a,nd perpetuating the wel- 
 fare of his kingdom, when he was attended at 
 Windsor by three deputies of Roderic, Catholicus, 
 archbishop ofTuam, the abbot of saint Brandan., 
 
 and 
 
vol. 1. 
 
 i04 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 and master Laurence, as lie is styled, chancellor to 
 the king of Connaiight. 
 Rymer, TuE terms of accommodation are still extant, 
 and shew what were Henry's ideas of a conquest, 
 and what kind of dominion he esteemed suthcicntto 
 denominate him lord of Ireland. 
 
 Rode'ric, on his part, consented to do homage, 
 and pay tribute, as liege-inan to the king of Eng- 
 land ; on which conditions he was allowed to hold 
 the kingdom of Connaught, as well as his other 
 lands and sovereignties in as ample a manner as he 
 had enjoyed them before the arrival of Henry in 
 Ireland. His vassals were to hold under him in 
 peace, as long as they paid their tribute, and con- 
 tinued faithful to the kinir of EnHand ; in which 
 Iloderic was to enforce their due obedience^ and 
 for this purpose to call to his assistance the English 
 government, if necessary. The annual tribute to 
 be paid was every tenth merchantable hide, as well 
 from Connaught as the rest of the island, excepting 
 those parts under the immediate dominion of the 
 king of England and his barons, Dublin with its 
 appurtenances, Meath with all its appurtenances, 
 Wexford and all Leinster, and Waterford with its 
 lands, as far as to Dungarvan inclusive ; in all 
 which districts, Roderic was not to interfere, nor 
 claim any power or authoiity. The Irish who had 
 fled from hence, were to return, and either to pay 
 their tribute, or to perform the services required by 
 their tenures, at the o}>tion of their immediate 
 lords; and if refractory, Roderic, at the requisi- 
 tion of their lords, was to compel them to return. 
 He was to take hostages from his vassals, such as 
 he and his liege lord should think proper ; and on 
 his part to deliver either these or others to his lord, 
 as Henry should appoint. His vassals were to 
 furnish hawks and hounds annually to the English 
 monarch, and were not to detain any tenant of his 
 
 immediate 
 
Cn.4. HENRY IL 105 
 
 immediate demesnes in Ireland, contrary to lilg 
 royal pleasure and command*. 
 
 This treaty was solemnly ratified in a grand conn- Hovedefl. 
 cil ot" prelates and temporal barons, among- whom 
 we find the archbishop of Dublin one of the subscrib- 
 ing witnesses. As metropolitan of Leinster, he was 
 now become an English subject, and was probably 
 summoned upon this occasion as one obliged to at- 
 tend, and who had a right to assist in the king's 
 great council. It is also observable that Henry now 
 treated with Roderic not merely as a provincial 
 prince, but as monarch of Ireland. This is evi- 
 dently implied and supposed in the articles; al- 
 though his monarchical powers and privileges were 
 little more than nominal, frequently disregarded, 
 and opposed by the Irish toparchs. Even by their 
 submissions to Henry many of them renounced and 
 disavowed the sovereignty of Roderic, in effect. 
 But now hisf supremacy seems to be industriously 
 acknowledged, that the present submission might 
 appear virtually the submission of all the subordinate 
 princes, so as to invest Henry with the complete so- 
 vereignty of the whole island. But the marks of 
 this sovereignty were no more than homage and tri- 
 bute ; in every other particular the regal rights of 
 Roderic are left inviolate. The English laws and go- 
 vernment (as hath been already observed) were evi- 
 dently to be enforced only in the English pale; and 
 even within this district the Irish tenant might live 
 
 Vol. I. O in 
 
 * At the same time that this treaty was concluded, Henry, as a mark 
 of his sovereignty, invested Augustin, an Irish ecclesiastic, with the 
 bishopric of Waterford, then vacant, and directed him to be consecrated 
 by the archbishops of Dublin and Cashel. Hoved. Brompt. 
 
 + This is the idea which the Irish entertained of this treaty, as ap- 
 pears from the following extract from their annals. 
 
 " An. 1175. Catholicus O'Dubhy came out of England from the 
 empress's son ; with the peace of Ireland and the royal sovereignty of 
 aU Ireland to Rory O'Connor, and his own Coigedh (province) to each 
 provincial king in Ireland, and their rents to Rory." Ann. Lagen. Mis. 
 
106 HISTORY OB^ IRELAND. B. I- 
 
 in ])eacc, as the subject of the Irish monarch, bound 
 only to pay his quota of tribute, and not to take 
 arms against the kinii;of England. 
 
 This submission of Roderic, and his solemn re- 
 cognition of Henry's sovereignty, promised additi- 
 onal strength to tlie Eng-lish interest in Ireland. But 
 the jealousy and suspicion swhich the king was ever 
 ready to conceive of his barons in this kingdom^ 
 once more threatened to embarrass and distress them. 
 Hervey of Mountmorres, by marrying the daugh- 
 ter of Maurice Fitz-Gerald, and cousin-german of 
 Raymond, seemed to have formed a stricter and 
 more friendly connexion with this lord.* A daugh- 
 Girald, ter of Strongbow was also gnven m marriage to a 
 youth of the house of Fitz-gerald. Maurice him- 
 self had lately returned from Wales, and was in- 
 dulged witli a grant of Wicklow-castle, added to a 
 district which Henry had already given him in 
 Offally. Other leaders of reputation were rewarded 
 by valuable possessions ; so that the English lords 
 seemed to Ijc united more firmly than ever, and ail 
 nearly interested in extending and securing their set- 
 tlements, l^ut Giraldus assures us that the enyy 
 and discontent of Hervey stiil rankled in his breast; 
 that he purposedly sought an alliance Vtith the 
 daughter of Fitz-Gcrald, to insinuate himself into 
 the confidence of Raymond, and watch the motions 
 and designs of his old rival. Whether he had re- 
 ally observed any thing alarming in his conduct, or 
 whether malice and jealousy had invented matters 
 of complaint against him, his emissaries were se- 
 cretly dispatched to Henry, by whom lie made tlie 
 most U-nfa\oural)le representations of Rv^ymond'.s 
 conduct. They assured liic king, that this lord 
 
 e\idently 
 
 * Giraldus makes- the sou cf Witliam Fuz.-Geriild marry the earl'-s- 
 daiighter by the princess of LeinstCT, aa infant of about four years old. 
 But all historians, and authentic records, agree, that this young lady 
 (ihe only child \vhich Strongbow loft by Eva) was ut the age of four- 
 teen, married to William earl Marshal. 
 
Ch. 4. HENRY II. 107 
 
 evidently aspired to an independent sovereignty iii 
 Ireland ; that for this purpose lie had practised all 
 the arts of factious popularity with too great suc- 
 cess, and was no longer solicitous to conceal his 
 disloyal schemes; that he had secured Limerick to 
 himself, and in this and other cities had stationed 
 garrisons devoted to Jiis service, and sworn secretly 
 to support his designs ; that the infection had spread 
 through the whole army, which waited but the com- 
 mand of Raymond to engage in any enterprize, 
 however repugnant to the interest av\d authority of 
 their prince. Such representations, urged Mith a 
 plausible appearance, and fair profession of loyalty, 
 by a baron of distinguished character and particular 
 credit with the king, and countenanced by the late 
 tumultuous declarations of the army in favour of 
 Raymond, made the intended impression upon a 
 ]3rince who had ever dreaded this consequence from 
 the enereasing power and success of the adventu- 
 rers in Ireland. Four commissioners were inunedi- 
 atciy dispatched to Dublin, Robert de Poer, Csbert 
 of IJercford. William Bendcger, and x\dam of Ger- 
 many ; two of whom were to conduct Raymond to 
 the king, and two to remain in order to inspect the 
 afiairs of the kingdom, to watch the conduct of 
 Strongbow, and to learn the dispositions of the 
 other lords. 
 
 The commissioners were received with due re- Giralii. 
 ppect. Raymond, who saw tjie n»achinations of hi.^ Z^- ^^• 
 secret enemy, declared his readiness to obey the 
 pleasure of jjis liege lord, and prepared for his de- 
 partiu'e ; but was for some tim(3 detained by con- 
 trary winds. In this interval intelligence arrive!^ 
 that O'Brien of Thomond, the vigorous and formi- 
 dable enemy of the English power, had laid siege to 
 Limerick, that the garrisoii stationed there under 
 the conunand of Pvleyler of St. David's had ex- 
 hausted vheir provisions, were cut off from all tnr- 
 ther supplies, and must inevitably perish either by 
 
 fnuiinc. 
 
108 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 famine, or the sword of an implacable enemy, if not 
 immediately relieved. This intelligence was the 
 more distressing- to earl Strongbow, as he himself 
 laboured under great bodily infirmity, and was to 
 be deprived of a commander on whom he had the 
 greatest reliance in this critical emergency. He^ 
 however, mustered his forces, and prepared for the 
 relief of Limerick with all the alacrity in his power, 
 when the soldiers once more clamoured for Ray- 
 mond, insolently refusing to march against O'Brien, 
 unless their favourite general were to command. 
 The king's commissioners were consulted, and rea- 
 dily agreed that they should delay their departure, 
 and that Raymond should undertake the conduct of 
 this expedition. The utmost reluctance was affected 
 on his part; he was solicited and entreated both by 
 the earl and the commissioners; and at length 
 yielded, with conscious triumph over his malig- 
 nant enemy. 
 G'npld. His forces were composed of fourscore knights, 
 two hundred cavahy, and three hundred archers, 
 together with the Irisli troops of Kenselah and Os- 
 sory, whose chieftains united with the English on 
 this occasion, from a violent personal hatred and 
 jealousy of O'Brien. As he advanced to Munster, 
 he was informed that the prince of Thomond had 
 abandoned the siege of Limerick, and leading his 
 forces to Cashel, had strongly entrenched himself 
 in a defile, through which the English were to pass, 
 and there waited their approach. He was soon wit- 
 ness of the situation of the enemy, and saw himself 
 opposed by no inconsiderable army, posted to ad- 
 vantage behiiid their works. He disposed his troops, 
 and prepared tor the assault. His Irish forces were 
 struck witli the appearance of the enemy, and be- 
 gan to suspect the resolution of their allies, who 
 marched to action, not with the violence and tumult 
 to which they had been accustomed, but with the 
 calmness of experienced and determined valour. 
 The prince of Ossory thought it incumbent on him 
 
 to 
 
Ch. 4. HENRY IT. 109 
 
 to remonstrate Avith the Englishj and to shew them 
 the necessity of exerting- themselves. He bluntly 
 told them that they nnist conquer or be destroyed ; 
 for that they were far from refuge or support ; and 
 should they presume to give way, he and his coun- 
 try men would instantly join the enemy. The only 
 answer to this insolence was a bold and vigorous 
 onset, which, though received with becoming- spirit, 
 was finally successlul ; the men of Thomond were 
 driven from their entrenchments Avith consideral^le 
 slaughter ; and in their flight spread the utmost ter- 
 ror and dismay through the Iv'i^h of Minister. 
 O'Brien, wearied out by an unsuccessful contest, de- 
 termined to make his peace, and to this end pro- 
 posed an interview with the English general. At 
 the same time Roderic, in pursuance of his late 
 treaty, repaired to Raymond, to deliver his ho.stages, 
 and take the oaths of fealty ; so that in one day this 
 lord had the honor of receiving- the submissions of 
 the king- of Connaught, and of the prince of Tho- 
 mond, who renewed his engagements to the king- of 
 England and his heirs, and gave hostages as a secu- 
 rity for his future allegiance. 
 
 An unnatural {pjarrel in the family of Mae Ar- Giraid. 
 thy, prince of Desmond, not unusual among the 
 Irish chieftains, afibrded Raymond a fair occasion 
 of continuing his progress in Munster, and added to 
 the honor he had already acquired. Cormac, eld- 
 est son of this prince, had risen in rebellion against 
 his father, deprived him of his territory, and im- 
 prisoned him. INIae Arthy, A\ho had sworn allegi- 
 ance to the king of England, represented h.is wrongs 
 to Raymond, and required his protection, promising 
 considerable advantages to this general and his as- 
 sociates, if, by their assistance, he should be restored 
 to his dominions. The English knights, ever ready 
 to engage in any enterprize which promised to en- 
 rich them, earnestly prest their leader to march with- 
 out dela}^ to the assistance of this injured prince, and 
 soon prevailed. They entered the territories of 
 
 Desmond 
 
110 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 Desmond in tin hostiie manner^ ravaging; and plun- 
 dering' without, mercy, 'till Cormac was compelled 
 to stop their progress by a submission. His father 
 was re-instated in his territories; and to requite 
 the bas;ene?s of his son, cast him into that prison 
 from which he himself was rescued, and soon after 
 ])ut him to death. By this expedition Raymond 
 not only supplied liis forces and the garrison of Li- 
 merick with provisions, but obtained from Mac Arthy 
 a valuable giant of lands in that part of Desmond 
 called Kerry, v. inch he enjoyed unmolested, and trans- 
 mitted to his posterity. 
 
 But now^ in the midst of his success, he receive!? 
 the alarming intelligence of the death of earl Strong- 
 bow, who expired in Dublin after a tedious indispo- 
 sition, occasioned by a mortification in his foot. 
 
 AniT. The fickleness of the Irish, tlieir real abhorrence of 
 
 MSS. their invaders, notwithstanding their pretended sub- 
 missions, and their precipitation in revolting and 
 taking ar?ns on any extraordinary emergency, were 
 l)Ut too well known, and made it necessary for the 
 Englisli government to keep this event concealed, 
 till their forces were collected from the distant quar- 
 ters of the kingdom ; and lest the secret should be 
 discovered by any miscarriage of the letter which 
 Basilia now sent to her husband, it was conceived in 
 mysterious terms. She informed him, that her great 
 
 Giiald. tooth, which had ached so long, wan at hist iailen 
 out, and therefore entreated him to return to Dublin 
 with all imaginable speed. 
 
 Raymond, who perfectly understood the meaning 
 of this enigmatical expression, and the importance 
 of a cautious and judicious procedure on an occa- 
 sion so critical, returned instantly to Limerick, 
 and there held a secret consultation with a few se- 
 
 Ibid. lected friends. It was readily agreed that tlie death 
 of the chief governor, at a time when the next 
 man in command was summoned into England, re- 
 quired an immediate attention to the peace and se- 
 curity of the English province; and thar no troops 
 
 coidd 
 
Ch. 4. HENRY II. Ill 
 
 could be spared from this first and necessai-y service. 
 It had cost Raymond much pains and labour to 
 gain tlie city of Limerick, and it was now peculiarly 
 mortifying to find himself obliged to abandon this 
 hardly acquired conquest. But the garrison could 
 by no means be left behind. He therefore sent for 
 Donald O'Brien ; and with an affected ease and con- 
 fidence acquahited him, that by his late submission 
 he was become one of the king's barons, and enti- 
 tled to the confidence of his liege lord ; and there- 
 fore, as a mark of distinction due to his exalted 
 rank, he entrusted him with the custody of Li- 
 merick which might give him an occasion of ap- 
 proving his attachment, and meriting additional ho- 
 nours and rewards. The Irish chieftain received 
 this proposal with a secret exultation, concealed un- 
 der the appearance of the most profound humility,, 
 and dutiful allegiance. He was solemnly sworn, 
 with the most horrid dissimulation, to take custody 
 of Lunerick fur the king of England, and to re- 
 store it peaceably at the royal will and pleasure. 
 Raymond and his troops proceeded to evacuate the 
 tow n ; but scarcely had they passed over one end of 
 the bridge, when the other was broken down ; and 
 they had the mortification to behold the city, whicli 
 they had taken such pains to fortify, and supply 
 with stores of every kind, set on fire in four differ- 
 ent quarters by order of O'Brien, who declared that 
 Limerick should no longer be the nest of foreigners. 
 We are told that when this transaction w as reported 
 to king Henry, possibly in order to possess him with 
 an unfavourable opinion of Raymond, this prince, 
 too generous and too wise to judge by the events 
 observed, that the first gaining of Limerick was a 
 noble e?:ploit, the recovery of it still nobler; but 
 that the only act of wisdom was the abandoning 
 their conquest in this manner. 
 
 The obsequies of earl Strongbow^, wliich had Ann. St. 
 been deferred till tlie arrival of Raymond, were per- Mar>> 
 formed under the direction of this lord and arch-^lg^ 
 
 bishop^ 
 
U2 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 bishop Laurence, with all due solemnity and ma«^-- 
 nificence. The io-norance and superstition of the 
 Irish clergy, which inlkt those lax and imperfect re- 
 cords they have left behind them, impute the death 
 of this earl to the divine vengeance judicially indict- 
 ed on his enormities, and especially those devastati- 
 ons which he had committed in their churches. 
 ^""•^^" Since the days of Turgesius, the savage Dane, Ire- 
 eralibi. ^'*^^^^y sav they, never knew so cruel and imrelent- 
 ing an oppressor. Remorse and horror attended 
 his dissolution ; and in the awful moment of his de- 
 parture, he confessed that he had been smitten by 
 the saints of Ireland, Such invectives are naturally 
 to be expected, when in suj^port of what he deemed 
 his rightful inheritance, and the interests of his mas- 
 ter, policy, or w hat is called by that name, obliged 
 him to a severe and rigorous exertion of his power 
 over those, whose hatred of their invaders was fre- 
 quently savage and perfidious. It is equally natural 
 to expect that the English writers should be more 
 favourable to the character of this earl. We have 
 a particular and no unpleasing description of him by 
 Giraldus. Earl Strongbow, saith the historian, w^as 
 of a complexion somewhat sanguine and spotted ; 
 his eyes gre\^ his countenance feminine, his voice 
 small, his neck slender, but in most other particu- 
 lars he was well formed, and tall; liberal and cour- 
 teous in his manners ; and what he could not gain 
 by power, he frequently obtained by an insinuating 
 address. In peace he was more disposed to obey 
 than to govern. His state and authority were reserv- 
 ed for the camp, and here supported with the utmost 
 dignity. He was diffident of his own judgment, 
 cautious of proposing his own plans of operation ; 
 but in executing those of others, undaunted and 
 vigorous. In battle, he was the standard on which 
 his soldiers fixed their eyes; and by whose motions 
 they were determined either to advance or to re- 
 treat. His temper was composed and uniform; not 
 dejected bv misfortune, nor elated by success. 
 
 By 
 
Ch. 4. HENRY II. 113 
 
 By the death of this earl, the English coLincil at 
 Dublin were to exercise an inipolant power vested 
 in them by Henry, "that of electing' a chief gover- 
 nor, until the king's pleasure should be known. 
 Every circumstance determined them to confer this 
 office upon Raymond, the favourite of the army, 
 and the terror of the Irish enemies. The king's 
 commissioners readily concurred in this choice, and 
 embarlced in full persuasion that they had provided 
 most effectually for the interests of their royal mas- 
 ter, by leaving them to the conduct and direction 
 of this lord. 
 
 But the jealousies of Henry were by no means 
 allayed by the most favourable representations which 
 these commissioners could make of Raymond and 
 his conduct. He therefore determined to entrust Girald, 
 the government of Ireland to William Pitz-An- 
 delm a nobleman allied to him by* blood, and of 
 approved allegiance. He sent him into Ireland 
 with a train of twenty knights; and at the same 
 timef John de Courcey, Robert Fitz-Stephen, and 
 
 Vol. I. ' P Milo 
 
 * Arlotta, mother of tlie conciueror, u as married to Harlowen de Bur- 
 go, b)' whom sh.e liad Robert earl of Cornwall, whose two sons were 
 Andelra and John. Andelm had issue this William Fitz-Andelm; 
 John was the father of Hubert de Bnrgo, chief justiciary of England. 
 Cox. 
 
 + Giraldus asserts that Courcey was joined in commission with Fitz- 
 Andelin. But that this is a mistake of the historian (worthy to be no- 
 ted, only to shew that he is not to be implicitly relied on) appears from 
 the commission itself, which is still extant, and of which the following 
 is a copy from an old parchment roll in possession of the earl of Meath. 
 
 " Henricus Dei gratia, rex Angliap, doaiinus Hiberniae, dux Norman- 
 niae & Acquitaniae, & comes AndegavicE, Archiepiscopis, episcopis, regi- 
 bus, comitibus, baronibus, & omnibus lidelibus suis Hibernian, saiu- 
 tem. Sciatis me Dei gratia sanum esse & incolumem, et negotia mea 
 bene & honorifice procedere. Ego vero cj\iamcitopotsro vacabo mag- 
 nis negotiis meis Hibernias. Nunc autem ad vos mitto Willielmui-n ti- 
 lium Andelmi c'apiferum meum, cui commisi negotia mea tractanda & 
 agenda inei loco et vice. Quare vobis mando & firmiter prajcipio quod 
 ei sicut mihimet iatendatis de agendis meis, & faciatis quicquid vobis 
 ipse diicrit ex parte mea, sicut amorem meum habere desideralis, & per 
 
 fidem 
 
114 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. L 
 
 Milo de Cogan, were appointed to attend the new 
 o'overnor, with a train of ten knights to each. 
 With these embarked Vivian, tike pope's legate, and 
 Nicholas Wallingford, an English ecclesiastic, with 
 the brief of pope Alexander, lately granted to king 
 Henry, in confirmation of his title to the dominion 
 of Ireland. Fitz-Andelm and his attendants landed 
 at Wexford, where Raymond was at hand to receive 
 him with the reverence due to his commission-. He 
 resigned his state to (he new governor, together 
 with the towns, hostages, and other trusts which he 
 held for the king by virtue of his temporary com- 
 mission ; and thus having assumed the reins of go- 
 vernment, Fitz-Andelm began his administration 
 by a stately progress along the coast, in order to in- 
 spect the forts and cities immediately vested in the 
 king ; while the ecclesiastics were on their part ac - 
 Hanmer. ^i^s in the service of their master. An assembly of 
 the Irish clergy was convened at AVaterford, in which 
 the brief lately gi-anted by Alexander, and the bull 
 of Adrian, were solemidy promulged, and the king's 
 title to the sovereign dominion of Ireland asserted 
 and declared in form, with dreadful denunciations 
 A. D. of the severest censiu'es of the church, against all 
 1177. those who shovdd impeach the grant made by th& 
 holy see, or resist the sovereign authority of Henry, 
 thus constituted rightful loixl of Ireland. 
 
 But whatever might have been the influence of 
 such denunciations, a vigorous and resolute com- 
 mander was still necessary to defend the interests of 
 the English monarch against a turbulent and in- 
 censed enemy. The territory of Meath had but just 
 itow been tlie scene of desperate hostilities. Richard 
 
 Plcmming, 
 
 fideiii quarn mihi debetis. Ego quoqueraium habeo & firmum quic- 
 quid ipse feGevit taiiquam egoiuet fecissem, & quicquid vos fecerilis ei- 
 fi;;i cum, stabile liaboo. Testibus Galfrido archidiacorto Cantuai-iaj, & 
 Ricaido arcliidiacoao Pictavice, k Ricardo coa&fabulario. Apud Ya- 
 
 luoias.'"'^ 
 
Ch.4. henry H 115 
 
 Flemming, an Englishman, ^vho commanded theA^nn. 
 castle of Siany, wantonly presuming" on his strength, ^^§' 
 had provoked the neighbouring- chiefs by his depre-y^^Jj 
 dations, who in revenge fell suddenly njion him Anon, 
 with their united forces, slaughtered his followers ^'►''^^ 
 without mercy or distinction ; and pursuing' the re- 
 mains of his garrison even to the very walls of Dub- 
 lin, Vv^ere lefl at full liberty to demolish every fort 
 which the English had erected in their territory : 
 ]3ut far from repressing or revenging- such incur- 
 sions, Fitz-Andeim seems to have had neither dispo- 
 sitions nor abilities suited to a government, which 
 was to be supported by a vigilant and a martial 
 spirit. He came into the island with a jealousy of 
 the original adventurers, which possibly had been 
 infused into him by Henrj^, and which he had not 
 temper to conceal. At his very first interview with 
 Raymond, he is said to have looked ^itli a malig- <^'iiakl. 
 nant eye upon the numbers and galiinit appearance 
 of his train; and, turning to his followers, was weak 
 enough to threaten that he shouhl soon find means 
 to quell their pride. If we are to believe Giraldus, 
 lie was sensual and corrupt in his manners, and of 
 consequence rapacious. The object of his adminis- 
 tration was to enrich himself, not by the force and 
 terror of his arms, but by the less hazardous and 
 baser means of craft, fraud, and circumvention. To 
 preserve peace with the Irish chiefs, he had recourse 
 to atiected courtesy and tlattery, which they had 
 discernment enough to discover and despise ; and to 
 his own cou.ntrymen, the aj^parent insincerity of his 
 fairest prol'essions, and the designs he manifested 
 against their interest and properties, rendered him 
 an object of detestation. 
 
 The death of Maurice, head of the family of 
 Geraldines, which derived weight and respect from 
 the dignity of his character, encoin*agcd and en- 
 abled the chief governor to discover his designs 
 against the first adventurers. He had the addrej-.s 
 to prevail upon the sons of Mauiice to exchange 
 
 tiieir 
 
116 HISTORY OF lUELAND. B. I. 
 
 their peaceable station in (he fort of Wicklow for 
 the castie of Ferns^ where they were more exposed to 
 the incursions of the natives. Raymond le Gross, 
 and Robert Fitz-Stephen, were also seduced by ar- 
 tifice, or compelled by violence, to resign their set- 
 tlements granted by the king, for others, by their 
 situation, more liable to invasion. Walt^^r Almain, 
 his kinsman and creature, was stationed in Wex- 
 ford, where he endeavoured to provide for his se- 
 curity by forming a connexion with the Irish chief- 
 
 Stamhursttain of O'Kcnselah, who is said to have prevailed 
 on him by the force of bribes to demolish some con- 
 siderable works lately erected for the defence of the 
 English plar«iation. Thus, while all advantages 
 were engrossed by the governor and his depen- 
 dants, the perilous and laborious duties of defence 
 were imposed on the original adventurers, a hardy 
 race, untainted with the luxuries and debaucheries 
 of Fitz-Andelm and his Normans; but proud and 
 irritable, and justly impatient to see the fruits of 
 their labours seized by these new settlers. The 
 strong, and aggravated representations of their his- 
 torian and panegyrist Giraldus, plainly mark their 
 discontent and indignation ; and this unhappy divi- 
 sion of the English, with the mutual jealousies and 
 animosities of contending parties, could not fail to 
 cast a shade of dishonor and reproach on the admi- 
 nistration of Fitz-Andelm. The lords avowed their 
 hatred ; the soldiers were unpaid, and ill appoint- 
 ed ; of consequence nuitinous and discontented. 
 The Irish natives crowded eagerly to a court which 
 received them with the most flattering attention, and 
 which is said not to have been inaccessible to bribes. 
 
 (Jiiald. Their claims and complaints were heard with favour 
 by the chief governor, and always decided against his 
 rivals, which served to encrease their confidence, 
 without lessening their disaffection. 
 
 The English lords had all left their native lands, 
 from the hopes of valuable settlements and acquisi- 
 tions in Ireland ; and they who had not as yet re- 
 ceived 
 
Ch. 4. HENRY II. H; 
 
 ceived their rowardsj were particularly displeased 
 with Fitz-Aiidelm, and impatient of an administra- 
 tion unfriendly to the spirit of adventure. John decirald. 
 Courcey was the first to express his dissatisfaction. 
 An extraordinary ^^trength of body, and vigour of 
 constitution, together with a violent and precipitate 
 valour, had rendered him the admiration of his war- 
 like and unpolished countrymen. His own utter 
 insensibility to danger made him the readier to pro- 
 pose the most hazardous and desperate enterprizes ; 
 and his manners, which were rather those of a com- 
 mon soldier than a commander, gave him the easier 
 access to the passions and prejudices of the soldiery. 
 He laboured to enflame them against the gover- 
 nor ; he represented the distress to which they were 
 exposed by his avarice, which deprived them of 
 pay, and the timidity of his government, wliicli 
 jjrecluded them from supplying their necessities at 
 the expence of their enemie;; ; rennnded them that 
 king Henry had formerly granted him such lands of 
 Ulster as he should acquire by the sword; and freely 
 promised to share his fortune with those who pre- 
 ferred a gallant enterprize to a state of distressful 
 indolence ; and thus prevailed on a * small body of 
 the boldest and most adventurous, to attend him into 
 the northern parts of Ireland, where the English 
 arms had not as yet penetrated. 
 
 Arm GRIG of St. Laurence, a valiant knight, Ilanmer. 
 with whom he had been connected in the strictest 
 bands of friendship, determined, on this occasion, 
 to share the fortune of his old associate. Robert de 
 la Poer, a young soldier, who had lately been dis- 
 tinguished in the wars of Leinster, took the same 
 part ; and such leaders gave both strength and cre- 
 dit to the enterprize. The marriage of de Courcey, 
 with the daughter of Gothred, king of Man, freed 
 him from the apprehensions of any opposition from 
 
 this 
 
 * Giraldus reckons up no inorothan twenty kni^'iits, and three hun- 
 dred commcn soldiers. But his numbers »re iitterward^ rated ir.ueh 
 hi-her. 
 
118 HISTORY OP IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 this quarter, where the Irish had often found an ef- 
 fectual resource ; and his own ignorant superstition 
 served to confirm his hopes of a permanent and ex- 
 Girald, tensive conquest. He had discovered in the pro- 
 phecies of Merlin, that the acquisition of Ulster was 
 reserved for his valour; and his Irish adherents 
 supplied him with another prophet, who declared 
 that Down (the immediate object of his enterprize) 
 was to be subdued by a stranger mounted on a 
 white horse, with a shield charged with painted 
 birds. He accoutered himself according to this de- 
 scription, and marched to take possession of his des- 
 tined conquest. 
 
 On the fourth day of his march he arrived at 
 Down, the seat of Dunleve. prince of Uladh, who, 
 unprovided lor defence against an invasion so unex- 
 pected, fled precipitately at the first appearance of 
 hostilities. His people, thus exposed to the rava- 
 ges of an indigent and rapacious enemy, were re- 
 duced to a state of helpless consternation, at the 
 havock of invaders whouj they had not provoked, 
 and from whom they thought themseh es secured ])y 
 solemn treaty. In this distress their prince had re- 
 course to the interposition of Vivian the legate, 
 who, in his progress through the island, now chanc- 
 ed to reside at Down, and was witness of the pre- 
 sent devastation. He instantly addressed himself to 
 de Courcey, represented the injustice and cruelty of 
 his present enterprize, reminded him of the treaty 
 which the king of England had but just now con- 
 cluded with the whole body of the Irish, in tJie per- 
 son of their monarch, declared that tlui men of Ul- 
 ster w^ere ready to pay their quota of tlie stipulated 
 tribute, and entreated him to spare a people who 
 had provoked no resentment, and who, instead 
 of being the object of hostilities, had a fair claim 
 to protect iori. 
 
 VVhatever deference de Courcey might affect 
 for the person and character of Vivian, it plainly 
 
 appeared 
 
Cii.4. HENRY 11. 119 
 
 appeared that he paid no attention to his remon- 
 strances; for his hostilities were continued. HeGul. Neu- 
 fortified himself in Down, and seemed determined ^"S' 
 to maintain the possession he had acquired. The 
 legate is said to have been so provoked at this injug- 
 tice, and so affected by the sufferings of an unof- 
 fending people, that although the cliief part of his 
 commission was to prevail on the Irish to acknow- 
 ledge the supremacy of king Henry, yet he now 
 boldly advised Dunleve to have recourse to arms, 
 and to exert himself as became a brave prince, in 
 order to rescue his territories from these rapacious 
 invaders. His forces were collected ; the neigh- 
 bouring chiefs invited to his assistance ; even Ro- 
 deric was called upon to rise up against this outrage- 
 ous violation of faith ; and the cause was too im- 
 portant to be entirely neglected^ even amidst all 
 those private quarrels which still continued to weak- 
 en and distract the Irish princes. A tumult aaryj^nuya^ 
 army, said to consist of ten thousand men^ was col-MSS. 
 lected, and inarched under the command of the 
 prince of Uladh, to disj)ossess these foreigners. DeQi^aid. 
 Courcy wisely determining not to abide a siege in 
 a city scantily provided, and hastily fortified, march- 
 ed out to meet the enemy with an affected contempt 
 of their superiority ; at the same time chusing such 
 a situation as might render their numbers less effec- 
 tual. The charge was furious, and the battle main- Hanmer. 
 tained for a considerable time with equal bravery 
 on both sides; till at length, a disciplined, well- 
 armed, and well-conducted body, proved superior 
 to irregular, ill-appointed, and undirected numbers. 
 De Courcey, by the total overthrow of his oppo- 
 nents, was for the present left at full liberty to par- 
 cel out his lands, project and build his forts, and 
 make all necessary provisions for the security of his 
 conquest. 
 
 In the summer of the same year, however, the 
 contest was renewed by a formidable army of the 
 confederated Irish; but with the same success. No ibid, 
 less than fifteen thousand men are $aid to have ad- 
 vanced 
 
180 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 vanced to tlie walls of Down, and to have been de- 
 feated ])y De Courcey, with the loss of several of 
 their bravest chieftains. 
 
 Yet neither their hatred of these invaders, nor 
 their hopes of exterminatin<^ them, had as yet sub- 
 sided; though some of the neiohbouring- Irish lords 
 iseemed to court the fortune of De Courcey, and 
 gave him flattering assurances of attachment. Of 
 these, one named Mac Mahon had so effectually 
 recommended himself to the English commander, 
 and had bound himself so solemnly to his interests 
 by the sacred Irish band of Gosshipred, that he was 
 admitted into his councils, and entrusted with two 
 forts lately erected, together with their adjoining 
 domain. The Irishman soon levelled these forts to 
 the ground ; and when questioned for this sudden 
 breach of faith, answered, with a sullen insolence, 
 that '' he had not engaged to keep stone walls, and 
 '" that he scorned to confine himself within such 
 '' cold and dreary enclosures, while his own native 
 '' woods lay so convenient for his reception." This 
 naturally produced an invasion of his territory, the 
 usual punishment of treachery or revolt ; and here 
 De Courcey executed his revenge without controul, 
 and prepared to return with a numerous prey of 
 cattle, the ordinary riches of the island. Three 
 large herds, each attended by a distinct body of the 
 English forces, formed a line of three miles, through 
 a deep and narrow road, which lay through thick 
 woods, where an Irish army, said to consist of no 
 less than eleven thousand, waited in ambush ; and 
 rushing suddenly from their concealment, fell on 
 each division in the same moment, and cast the 
 whole English army, thus incumbered by their 
 booty into the utmost confusion. At once assailed 
 vigorously by the enemy, and trodden down by 
 the cattle, their total destruction seemed inevita- 
 ble ; nor could the utmost exertion of their 
 leaders secure a retreat, without considerable loss. 
 With the remains of this shattered army, De 
 
 Courcey 
 
Ch.4. henry II. JSl 
 
 Courcey was now to force his way through a coun- 
 try possessed by victorious enemies^ who harassed 
 him without respite. He repeatedly obliged them 
 to retire with the loss of some noted chief Mac 
 Mahon himself fell in the last attack; and de Cour- 
 cey had the good fortune to gain one of his own 
 forts, well entrenched and garrisoned ; while the 
 enemy^ still resolv ed to pursue their advantage, en- 
 camped at the distance of half a mile from his en- 
 trenchment. At midnight, Armoric of Saint Lau- 
 rence, ventured out to view the posture of the 
 enemy, whom he found, as he suspected, in a state 
 of careless security. He represented to de Cour- 
 cey, that instead of waiting to be surrounded by 
 the Irish, who would certainly renew the assault on 
 the next morning, and could not fail to reduce his 
 inconsiderable body, either by force or famine, he 
 should now seize the critical opportunity of attack- 
 ing them in their camp, with all the advantage 
 which their confidence and total want of discipline 
 afforded. The scheme was instantly adopted, and 
 executed with full success. The Irish were surpriz- 
 ed, and slaughtered without resistance. Scarcely two 
 hundred of their body is said to have escaped the 
 carnage, while two only of their assailants were lost 
 in the tumult of the night. 
 
 While John de Courcey was engaged in Ulster, 
 the spirit of enterprize seized others of the English 
 leaders, who despising the government of Fitz- 
 Andelm, and pressed by their own distresses, grew Ann. 
 impatient to adventure into those parts of Ireland, I-^agen. 
 which had not yet experienced their invasions. The '■}""' 
 ambition and turbulence of Murrough, son of Rode-j^gg. 
 ric O'Connor, bad involved his family and province 
 in considerable disorder. In revenge of some sup- 
 posed injury, or to favor some factious purpose, he 
 seized the opportunity of his father's absence in a re- 
 mote part of his t<3rritory, and iuA ited Milo Cogan 
 to march into Connaught, with an assurance of great 
 advantages from such an expedition. The invita- 
 
 Vol. I. Q tiou 
 
iw HISTORY OF IRELAND. B.I. 
 
 tion was rradily obeyed ; and Milo, full of liopes^ 
 instanlly collected from Daliliiij and the adjacent 
 district, a body of forty knights^ two hundred 
 horse, and three Inindred archers, and advanced 
 without molestation 'to Roscommon. Here he was 
 joined by Murrongh, his new ally, who engaged to 
 conduct him thro' the province. Some plausible 
 pretext seems to have been alleged by Milo for 
 (his incursion (possibly that of reducing some re- 
 fractory lords, who refused to pay tribute to ihi 
 English government) ; for he dispatched a messen- 
 ger to Roderic, notifying his amval, and summon- 
 ing him, upon his allegiance, to join the English 
 forces. The sunnnons however, was neglected ; and 
 as it v.as well known that the English adventurers 
 sought to enrich themselves by plunder, the inhabi- 
 tants, on the first notice of their approach, drove 
 away their cattle, secreted their valuable effects, and 
 reduced the whole country to a desert. 
 
 The monkish annalists of Ireland make the most 
 atfecting complaints of the destruction of churches, 
 by the English in all their expeditions. They seem 
 willing to represent them as a race of savage barba- 
 rians, who spared nothing sacred or venerable, and 
 were even possessed with a heathenish aversion to 
 all religious houses. But the truth is, that in Ire- 
 land (every part of which had been a scene of con- 
 stant hostilities) it had long heen a custom for the 
 inhabitants to deposite provisions, and effects of 
 greater value, in the churches, where they lay secure, 
 amidst all their domestic quairels, as in a kind of 
 GiraM, sanctuary, which it was deemed the utmost impiety 
 to violate. But the English had no such supersti- 
 tious scruples; and their necessities were generalh^ 
 too pressing not to seek ])roYisions wherever they 
 miglit be found. The churches they considered 
 as their sure resource ; and opposition sometimes 
 occasioned ha\ ock and devastation far beyond their 
 intention. To remedy this iiK'.t):aveiiience, Vivian, 
 
 the 
 
Cir. 4. HENRY II. 123 \ 
 
 the legate, procured an ordinance in a synod held in j 
 
 Dublin, that the Eiii»lish. when eng-aoed in any ' 
 
 expedition, should have liberty to take provisions \ 
 
 deposited in the churches, provided they paid their ,' 
 
 just value. 
 
 But in the present incursion into Connaught, the ■] 
 
 Irish themselves, to deprive their invadei-s of this 
 resource, burnt down (heir own churches (as their Ann. : 
 
 annals express it) in spite to the foreigners ; who in^"p^'- j 
 
 the vexation of disappointment, could only connnit" ' I 
 
 some useless ravai^'es. Reduced to the utmost dis- i 
 
 tress for subsistence in an enemy's country^ left by 
 Roderic to encounter ail the consecjuences of their ; 
 
 precipitation, and threatened with a formidable at- 
 tack from the united forces of Coniiau^'ht and i 
 Munster, they had no measure to pursue, but that 
 of a mortifying and dis^^raceful retreat. In this 
 they were oblit^ed to sustain ihe repeated assaults 
 of the Comiacians ; but at Icuij^-th reo-aiued their 
 quarters at Du.blin. t]iou.i;]i not without considerable 
 loss, leavins^ tlieir aily Murrough, to the resentment ^ 
 of his countryuAen, who sentenced him, with tiic con- \ 
 currence of his own father, to have his eyes put out ' 
 for his practices with the Ka^^lish, and his cncou- j 
 ra«;ement of their invasion. i 
 
 The imperfect and jc^june accounts which remain \ 
 
 of the local dissensions and provincial contests in 
 Ireland, at this period, <^ive a shocking idea of I 
 
 the state of this indiapjjy country. Desmond and j 
 
 Thomond in the southern ])rovince were distracted 
 by the jealousies of contending chiets, and tlie 
 whole land wasted by unnatural and bloody c(uar- Ann. xar. 
 rels. Treachery and murder were revenged byMSS. 
 treachery and murder, so as to perpetuate a suc- 
 cession of outrages the most horrid and disgraceful ! 
 to humanity. The northern province was a scene J 
 of like enormities, though the new English settlers, j 
 who were considered as a common enemy, should i 
 have forced the mitives to mutual imion. A voujjg 
 -prince of the Hi-Nial race, and heir-apparent to 
 
 the 
 
324 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 the rights of that family, fell by the hand of a rival 
 lord ; this rival was killed in revenge ; the partizans 
 on each side, as the several powers prevailed, were 
 butchered with every circumstance of triumphant 
 barbarity. In Connaui^ht, the bhnded son of Ilode- 
 ric was rescued from prison by his partizans, and the 
 flame of dissension re-kindled. Nor were the Irish 
 toparchs in Leinster more peaceable, or less barba- 
 rous in their contests. All were equally strangers 
 to the nobler virtues of humanity. Nor was reli- 
 gion in the form it then assumed, calculated or ap- 
 plied to restrain their violences, or to subdue their 
 brutal passions. An effectual conquest, and general 
 subjection of the whole island to one reasonable and 
 equitable government, must have proved a singular 
 blessing to these unhappy people. But Providence 
 was pleased to ordain that their enormities should 
 continue much longer to prove their own severe 
 punishment. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
€115. HENRY II. 125 
 
 CHAP. V 
 
 Acti of Fitz-Andelni's government. . . . He is recalled. . . . 
 Character of Hugh l)e Lacjj his successor. , . . John con- 
 stituted lord of Ireland. . . . Grants hy king Henry in Tho- 
 mond, Desmond, and Connaught . . . explain the nature of 
 his cession to prince John. . . . Milo De Cogan, and Robert 
 Fits- Stephen, settle in Desmond. ... Philip De Braosa 
 alarmed. . . . Jiesigns his grants. . . . Conduct of Hugh De 
 Lacy. . . . He is recalled to England. . . . Restored to his 
 government. . . . His excellent administration. . . . John De 
 Courcey engaged in Ulster. . . . Defeated. . .yet, maintains 
 his settlemetits. , . . Miserable situation of Connaught. . . . 
 Death and character of Laurence O' Toole.. .. His si/c- 
 cessor.. . .Massacre of Milo De Cogan and Ralph Fitz- 
 Stephen.. . .Robert Fitz- Stephen relieved by Raymond Z,e 
 Gross.. . .Melancholy situation of Robert.. . .Arrival of 
 Cambrensis and John Comyn in Leland. . . .Altercations of 
 the English clergy with the Lish ecclesiastics. . . . Lacy 
 again recalled.. . .Conduct of Philip De Braosa.. . .Earl 
 John knighted. . . . The Pope ojjers to crown him king in 
 Ireland. . . .Henry declines the offer. . . . Sends John to the 
 government of Ireland with a splendid train. . . . His atten- 
 dants. . . . His arrival. . , . Insolence of his courtiers to the 
 Irish lords . . , A general spirit of insurrectionraised through 
 Ireland. . . . Enjiamed by the attendants of prince John. . . . 
 He builds some forts. . . . Insurrection of the Irish natives. 
 . . . Several of his barons surprized and slain.. . .Behavior 
 of his courtiers.. . . Distressful state of the country . . .and 
 of John and his court.. ..John is recalled. . . .Assassination 
 of Hugh De Lacy. . . . John De Courcey appointed deputy. 
 . . .His activity and valor.. . . State of Ulster. » .and of 
 Connaught. . . . Expedition of De Courcey into Connaught. 
 . . . His retreat. , . . He suppresses the commotions in Ulster 
 and Argial.. , .Fatal effects of rtbtllion in the family of 
 
 Roderic 
 
im HISTORY OP IRELAND. B. I, 
 
 Roderit O'Connor. . . . Death of Henri/ the second. . . .Acts 
 of power exercised in Ireland hy earl John during the 
 reign of Richard.. , .Hugh De Lacy the younger ap- 
 pointed his deputy. . , , De Courcey discontented. . . . Insur- 
 rection of the Irish. . . . Cathal, the Bloody-handed^ gains 
 the kingdom of Connaught. . . .Is joined by the princes of 
 Thomond and Desmond., .t, Intercepts Arnwric of Saint 
 Laurence, and his party. . , .A desperate engagement. . . . 
 Armoric and his men killed. . . . Cathal elated. . . . Burning 
 of Dublin, and disorders of the neighbouring country... . 
 Earl Marshal appointed to succeed De Lacy. . . . English 
 defeated by Daniel O'Brien. .. .Death of Daniel. . .and 
 cruelties exercised on his family. . , Cathal marches ' into 
 Munster., . .English driven out of Limerick.. . .Cork 
 threatened with a siege. . . .Surrendered to Mac A) thy. . . . 
 Ilamo De Valois appointed deputy in the place of Earl 
 
 Marshal. . . . His quarrel with the Archbishop of Dublin 
 
 Death of Roderic O'Connor Death of Richard thefrst 
 
 . . . .and accession of king John, 
 
 1 HE complaints occasioned by an indolent and 
 cornipt administration were too yiol<:?nt to be long 
 concealed from the Eng^lish monarch, and deter- 
 mined him to remove Fitz-Andehii from the go- 
 Glrald vemment of Ireland. Both Giraldus and the Irish 
 Camb. monks speak of this governor and his conduct with 
 the utmost disrespect. They agree that his admi- 
 nistration was distinguished by one act only of a 
 commendable nature ; and this was nothing more 
 important, than the removal of what they call the 
 Staff of Jesiis; a relique on which the superstition 
 of the time had stamped an inestimable value, from 
 the cathedral of Armagh to that of Dublin. The 
 peculiar merit of committing this precions deposite 
 to the care of the clergy of Dublin rather than those 
 of Armagh, is not distinctly explained. Possibly, 
 as Ulster was now a seat of war, it was deemed a 
 place not of sufficient security for so valuable a 
 treasure. However this may be, these clerical his- 
 torians seem to do injustice to the merit of Fitz- 
 
 Andelm^ 
 
Ch. 5. HENRY 11. 127 
 
 Andelin, by passing over in silence another instance 
 of his j3ious attention to the chnrch, that of found- 
 ing and endowing the monastery of Saint Thomas 
 the Martyr, in the western suburbs of Dublin, still 
 known by the name of Donore*. The late prelate 
 
 of 
 
 * The curious reader is here presented with the charter of the foun- 
 dation, together Avith that of Henry, in confirmation of the grant of his 
 deputy. 
 
 E Hotulo antiquo penes Comitem Midiae. 
 
 " Wilhehnus fihus Andelmi, domini regis Dapifer, universis Christi 
 iidelibus, sahitem. Sciatis me in praesentia Yiviani cardinalis, & Lau- 
 rentii archiepiscopi DubHn, & pluriniorum episcoporum Hiberniae, dedis- 
 se <& obtuhsse Deo & ecclesize beati Thomae Martyris Christi unam ca- 
 rucatam terrae, quas vocatur Dononer, cum molendino & prato, & om- 
 nibus pertinentiis ejusdem terrae, tarn in hosco quam in piano, pro ani- 
 ma Galfridi comitis Andegaviae, patris Henrici regis & matris ejus im- 
 peratricis, Sc antecessorum ejus, & pro ipso rege Henrico & fijiis ejus, 
 in perpetuam ic puram Eleemosynam. Quare volo, & ex parte domi- 
 ni regis praicipio, ut quicunque in honorem Dei et beati Thomae Marty- 
 ris Christi & voluntate domini regis Anghae custos fuerit, omne prasdic- 
 tum tenementum teiieat adeo hbere, et quiete, et honorifice, et pure, et 
 integre, siciit aUqua ecclesia aliquod tenementum liberius tenet, infra An- 
 gliam vel infra Hiberniam. Teste Eugenio Midiae episcopo, Noemia 
 episcopo de Kildare, Augustino Waterfordiensi episcopo, Milone d« 
 Cogaii, Galfrido de Constantin, Waitero de llidlesford, Roberto de Ber- 
 minghain, Reymundo filio Wiihehni, Meilero tilio Henrici, Phihppo le 
 Poher, Roberto de sancto Michaell, Johanne de Clahull, Gilberto de la 
 Warre, Thoma la Martre Andahiin, Rogero fratre Hayme, Ricardo de 
 Dere, Wilhelmo Bermingham," 
 Ex eodem rotulo. 
 
 " Henricus, Dei gratia, rex AnglicB, dux Normandiae & Acquitani» 
 & comes Andegavias, episcopis, abbatibus, justiciariis, vicecomitibus, 
 ministris & omnibus Iidelibus suis, Francis, &c Anglis, «fe Hibernensibus 
 salutem. Sciatis me concessisse & dedisse, & praesenti charta confirmas- 
 »e Deo & ecclesiae beati Thomae Martyris unam carucatam terrae de Do- 
 liuurer quam Wilhelmus lilius Andelmi Dapifer meus, ex parte mea de- 
 dit eidem ecclesiae, quam idem Wilhelmus fundari fecit extra portam oc- 
 cidentalem apud Dublin, pro salute mea & ipsius & antecessorum & - 
 successorum meorum. Quare volo &: firmiter praecipio quod eadem ec- 
 clesia ipsam carucatam terrae habcat & teneat in liberam & perpetuam 
 Eleemosynam, bene, Sc in pace, &: integre, cum omnibus pertinentiis^ 
 libertatibns & liberis consuetudinibiis. Testibus ipso VV'ilhelmo filio 
 Andelmi, Reginaldo de Curceny, Hugone de Lascy, Thoma Basset, 
 Roberto de Poher. Apud Oxenford." 
 
1?8 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 of Canterbury haA^ing just now received his high 
 titles of saint and martyr from Rome, was become 
 the fashionable object of devotion ; and Henry 
 ' himself, with an affected reverence to Ijis memory, 
 instantly confirmed the endowment of Fitz-Andelm 
 by his own royal charter. 
 
 But the present situation of affairs in Ireland re- 
 quired a chief g'overnor, whose attention should 
 not be confined to the care of reliques, or the found- 
 ing of monasteries. Hugh de Lacy was therefore 
 appointed to this station, for which he had already 
 approved himself eminently qualified. A man well 
 acquainted with the circumstances of the country in 
 which he was to preside, the characters of those he 
 was to govern, the grievances he was to redress, and 
 the irregularities he was to correct; vigorous in 
 establishing and extending the English interest, 
 wisely providing for the security of the new settlers 
 by multiplying forts, and strengthening every part 
 of the English territory against the turbulence and 
 jealousies of the Irish ; at the same time restoring 
 those of both nations, who had been unjustly driven 
 from their lands, and acting equally to all, upon the 
 principles of a just and generous-spirited admini- 
 stration. 
 
 At the same time that the government of Ire- 
 land was assigned to Lacy, the king found himself 
 at leisure to make several regulations relative to 
 this kingdom, and for this purpose he summoned 
 the principal adventurers to attend him in Eng- 
 
 Hoveden. land. What was of most consequence, he is said to 
 have made a formal and solemn appointment of his 
 son John to the lordship of Ireland; an appoint- 
 ment which has been the subject of much discus- 
 sion; writers of different parties and opinions 
 wresting it to their several purposes, and represent- 
 ing it as might best suit their speculations. As 
 Hoveden expresses it, Henry came to Oxford ; and, 
 in a general council held there, constituted his son 
 
 Coke. John king in Ireland ; a title which he never as- 
 sumed . But however confidentlv it may be asserted 
 
 that 
 
Cii. 5. flENRY II, 129 ! 
 
 that lie used the style of lord ol" Irelaiul in conse- 
 quence of being possessed of liie crown of England, chart, 
 nothing- is more certain, than that, during the life-var. j 
 
 time both of his father and of his brother, John 
 constantly and invariably used this style in all his 
 pu!)lic acts, by virtue of the present grant. But, I 
 
 althouoh the g-rant was made in what the historian j 
 
 calls '' concilium generale," this aftords neither | 
 
 proof nor presumption that it was made by autho- ! 
 
 rity of parliament. The grant to John appears to 
 have been the free grace of his father, without any 
 solicitation of concurrence or assent; declared in a j 
 
 public assembly, possibly for the greater notoriety j 
 
 and solemnity. The transaction (as the abbot of \ 
 
 Peterborough expresses it) was '' coram episcopis j 
 
 & principibus terrae." And among these, several lay j 
 
 lords and bishops of Ireland were assessors, if we \ 
 
 may believe the Irish annalists. ] 
 
 Henry at the same time granted to Milo deHoveden. ; 
 Cogan and Robert Fitz-Stephen, as a reward of^"^^^'^- ! 
 
 their faithful services, the kingdom of Cork as it is j 
 
 called, from the river of Lismore to the sea, to be | 
 
 held by the service of sixty knights of him and of 1 
 
 his son John and their heirs, with an exception of the | 
 
 city of Cork, and an adjacent district, which the 
 king reserved to himself and his heirs. To Here- , 
 
 bert Fitz-Herebert he granted the kingdom of I 
 
 Limerick by the like tenure, and with the like reser- 
 vation of the city of Limerick and its district ; to 
 William Fitz-Andelme the greatest part of Con- 
 naught; to Robert de la Poer the territory of Wa- a 
 terford, with a reservation of the city and the | 
 cantred of the Ostmen, renewing also his former 
 grant to Hugh de Lacy of all Meath, which he 
 was now to hold of the king and of his son John, by | 
 the service of one hundred knights. 
 
 By these grants it appears that Henry conferred ^oveden, 
 something more upon his son than a mere title of 
 honor, or temporary authority; something per- 
 manent and hereditary. At the same time they \ 
 afford an indisputable proof that it was bv no means ' 
 
 Vol. I, R 'his 
 
ISO HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 his intention to resign the entire sovereignty of Ire- 
 land, or to transfer the rights he had there acquired, 
 fully and absolutely to his son. His Irish subjects 
 w ere to hold not of John only as their sole rightful 
 liege lord, but of the king and of his son as a sul)or- 
 dinate power; and most of the lands and cities which 
 in the late treaty with Roderic had been exempted 
 from the jurisdiction of the Irish king, were now, 
 by a like reservation, to continue as the immediate 
 demesnes of Henry, independent of that delegated 
 authority which was to be established in the other 
 parts of tlie island. These grants then afford a 
 proof that it was the intention of this prince that 
 the heir to the crown of England should ever enjoy 
 the sovereignty he had acquired in Ireland. But 
 this was an appointment which did not derive its 
 validity from any ordinance or act of legislature. 
 Had it been thus formally declared and established^ 
 there would not have been that danger of its be- 
 ing forgotten, altered, or su1)verted, which Giraldus 
 Girald. ex{)resses in the reign of John, nor any occasion 
 Epist. fQY pvesen ing a memorial of it by an amiiial tri- 
 bute, which he recommends to be carefully exact- 
 ed for this purpose. 
 
 John and his heirs, it should seem, were by the 
 present grant to stand in tlie pl«ce of Roderic, 
 whose rights Henry appears by no means solicitous 
 to preserve, notwith.^itanding the formality of his 
 stipulations. He had good reason to conclude that 
 all such rights or i^retens^ions must gradually become 
 obsolete, as the English settlements should be ex- 
 tended through the island ,- and that John would 
 thus become, in eilect, at least, what Roderic was 
 styled in the late treaty, " Rex sub eo, & paratus 
 " ad servitumi suum." Time and vicissitudes, then 
 unforeseen, have reduced such discussions as the pre- 
 sent to points of mere historical curiosity. They 
 who are disposed to o-ive them greater consequence, 
 will possibly fiud the idea of this transaction, as here 
 stated, sufticiently supported in the progress of this 
 historv. 
 
 It 
 
Ch. 5. HENRY II. 131 
 
 It is not clear by what right Henry naw disposed 
 of tlie sonthein provinces, and other parts ot.In?- 
 hmd, or how these late grants were reconcileable to 
 the treaty he had concluded with Rodoric. The 
 old historians speak ot" them with the same eas^e and 
 indifference with which they were made, and with 
 as little solicitude to preserve the least appearance 
 of equity and good faith. But if Henry thought it 
 beneath him to adhere to his stipulations, the Irish 
 chiefs of Thomond and Desmond were, on their 
 parts, very reluctant to yield up their territories at 
 his demand, though weakened by their mutual quar- 
 rels, and Utile able to rise up against an English 
 government, which now ])roniised vigour and abi- 
 lities. As Fitz-Herebert had resigned the grant iianmer. 
 made to him of the principality of Limerick, where Glrald. 
 the Irish were supposed to be most hostile, it was 
 given to Philip De Braosa, a num not much more 
 disposed to adventiire, l^ut who was persuaded to 
 court his fortune in Ireland; and collectiug a con- 
 siderable body of Welshmen, desperate in their 
 fortunes, and profligate in their manners, (so they 
 are described) he embarked with De Lacy and the 
 other lords; attended Cogan and Fitz-Stephen into 
 tlie southern parts of Ireland; and as the city of A. D. 
 Cork was now possessed by an English garrison com- ^^''^• 
 manded by an English governor, the new claimants 
 here found a kind and liospitable reception. But 
 when they came to produce their charters of dona- 
 tion, and to demand their lands, those Irish chiefs, 
 who had not yet forfeited their rights by any act of 
 avowed rebellion against the power of Henry, re- 
 monstrated boldly against this intrusion, and insist- 
 ed on retaining their native possessi(^ns. As there was 
 not on either side sufficient strength or confidence 
 to rely upon the decision of the sAvord, some incon- 
 siderable hostilities were succtHded by a treaty, in 
 M hich both parties were obliged to recede from their 
 original demands. The Irish chiefs on their part 
 allowed Cogan and Fitz-Stephen a settlement in 
 
 their 
 
m HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 tlieir country, yielded to tlicm seven cantreds of 
 land (as they were called) contii^'uous to the city ; 
 and on this condition were allowed to reserve the 
 remaining territory, consisting' of twenty-four can- 
 
 Hanmcr, trcds, to thcniselves. And thus having accommo- 
 dated their ditferences with an appearance of mntnal 
 amity, Cogan and Fitz-Stephen led Braosa and his 
 train to take possession of their portion. They 
 marched towards the city of Limerick in military 
 array, and with an appearance sntficiently respecta- 
 ble. Bnt this city was pos!-,essed by enemies the 
 most inveterate and determined. It was instantly set 
 on fire at the first approach of the English. Braosa 
 was shocked and confounded. His follovvers, how- 
 ever eager to ein'ich themselves, were too dissolute 
 and too devoid of all sense of military glory to en- 
 counter danger with steadiness and perseverance. 
 No persuasion could prevail upon them to attack 
 an enemy, who had given such proofs of sav age 
 violence. Tliey retired with horror, and sought 
 their security among their coimtrymen in the city 
 of Cork. 
 
 In the mean time, Hugh De Lacy proceeded to 
 the administration of his government with abilities 
 and vigor. On his arrival at Dublin, he seems to 
 have found the garrison considerably distressed for 
 provisions, which it was his first care to supply. 
 
 Ann. He made an incursion into Connaught, say the Irish 
 
 -^*o-^^^- annalists, in order to destroy the churches of Clon- 
 onaenoise ; which sufliciently marks the purpose of 
 liis expedition to have been nothing else but to pos- 
 sess himself of the stores deposited in these churches, 
 and wiiirh he had now the sanction of ecclesiastical 
 autlioritv to take for their just value. He retired. 
 
 Ibid. say the same aimalists, for fear of the Irish chief^;. 
 More probably he had proceeded without any hos- 
 tile intentions, and returned, because he had ob- 
 tained his object. The Irish, no less than his own 
 countrymen, had reason to be satisfied with his con- 
 duct; tor his influence, so far as it extended, was 
 
 employed 
 
Cii. 5. HENRY II. 133 j 
 
 nnployod in protecting tlicm from opposition, soft- II''"m<?'". | 
 rning- their a\ersion to the new settlers, reconciling ^"^^^'^" I 
 them to civility, and teaching them the arts of peace. j 
 At the same time he was no less carefnl to guard \ 
 against the insidious and turbulent spirit of these 
 natives, \vhicli injustice and oppression had indeed 
 frequently provoked, and which liad frecpiently 
 broken forth v.ith a dangerous and destructive vio- 
 lence. He stationed some of the bravest of the I 
 original adventurers \vhere they might be most ser- j 
 viceable in guarding against incursions. He was *> 
 indefatigable in raising his forts in every part of ' 
 Leinster, as he had formerly in Meath ; and these i 
 were entrusted to English lords of assured courage i 
 and fidelity. He administered justice with lenity i 
 and impartiality; and is said to have set the ex- ■ 
 pinple of a politic; coalition l)et\veen the natives of * i 
 each kingdom, by marrying the daughter of Ilo- ! 
 deric O'Connor. ] 
 J3uT the popularity naturally arising from the i 
 genius and spirit of his administration served to ex- | 
 pose him to envy and malignity. Doubts and sus- Benedict j 
 picions were suggested to llenry, and but too favour- ^^^- j 
 ably received. His jealousy of a powerful sul)ject, ^^"^''* ] 
 which had operated peculiarly in the case of all the 
 great adventurers in Ireland, disposed him to ap- I 
 prehend that Lacy, invested as he was with ho extcn- ' 
 sive a domain, and such important powers, might | 
 shake oft" his allegiance, and erect himself into an 
 independent sovereign. This lord was suddenly 
 and unexpectedly recalled to England ; and John, 
 Constable of Che^-hire, and baron of Halton castle 
 and llichard De Peach, bishop of Coventry, were j 
 apj)ointed to the government of Ireland, strangers I 
 to the country, and little qualified for this important 
 trust. Such mistaken conduct might have proved j 
 as prejudical to the interests of llenry, as it was j 
 dishonourable to his policy^ had not the error been ] 
 corrected within the .short space of three months. j 
 Thti readiness with which Lacy resigned his state, ! 
 
 and 
 
134 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 and appeared before his royal master^ the candid 
 explanation, of his conduct, and the conviction 
 which it afforded of his zeal and loyalty, dissipated 
 the suspicions of Henry in a moment ; and Lacy 
 was again remanded to his government. Robert of 
 {Shrewsbury, a domestic chaplain, in whom the king 
 placed peculiar confidence, attended him as a coad- 
 jutor, or rather an inspector of his actions ; which 
 StanihurstLacy himself is said to have requested, that the 
 king might be thus authentically informed of all his 
 conduct, and his interests carried on, without any in- 
 terruptions from ignorant or factious rumour. 
 
 In resuming his government, Lacy pursued the 
 same measures which had hitherto been attended 
 with such good eftects ; and while he was busily em- 
 ployed in strengthening and settling the province of 
 Leinster, John DeCourcey with equal dibgence con- 
 tinued to extend and to secure his setllements in the 
 northern province, notwithstanding the vigorous and 
 obstinate resistance of the natives. They had taken 
 every occasion to harass and distress jiini with the 
 implacable resentment of me;i impatient of his usur- 
 pation, and determined in their revenge. They had 
 repeatedly attacked, and claimed the honor of de- 
 j^nn. feating him. Near the town of Newry, in particu- 
 MSS. var.lar, a chieftain of Argial had provoked his resent- 
 Hunmcr. ment, by destroying one of his ships, which had re- 
 turned from England laden with stores and provi- 
 sions, and massacring the whole crew. John in- 
 stantly collected a thousand men, and marched 
 against the assassin ; but soon learned that this scheme 
 of outrage and cruelty was but a feint to draw him 
 from his fastness, and that the nortliern chiefs lay 
 ready to receive him at Dundalk, with an army of 
 seven thousand men. A council was held in this 
 dangerous emergency; and by the advice of Ar- 
 moric of St. Laurence (for Courcey himself seems to 
 have had more valour than address) a friar was 
 employed to assure the Irish leaders that a reinforce- 
 fTient had lately been received from England, which 
 
 rendered 
 
Ch. 5. HENRY 11. 135 
 
 rendered the numbers of their enemy highly formi- 
 dable. To aid this deception, the English forces 
 were so disposed as to make the best and most ii- 
 larniing appearance in their march, and advanced 
 with every mark of confidence and security. The 
 Irish were thus eflectually deceived, and fled with 
 precipitation, till stopped by a deep andirapid river, 
 in which several perished. But as the English pur- 
 sued their advantage with an inconsiderate violence, j^j^^^^ 
 they turned, and engaging them in the fury of de-Lag«B» 
 spair, obliged them to retire with considerable loss ; MS, 
 but by their own disorder and confusion were unable 
 to improve their victory. If we are to believe the 
 Irish annalist, De Courcey lost on this occasion four 
 hundred and fifty of his numbers; his enemies, but 
 one hundred. Yet neither this, nor another action 
 still more decisive in favour of the Irish, could force 
 him to relinquish his possessions. His progress was 
 retarded ; but his settlements were still maintained. 
 
 Some excursions from Thomond threatened toAnn. 
 disturb the peace of the English province; but Anon 
 were quickly repelled, without any considerable loss. ^^' 
 In Desmond the late partition of lands was still 
 maintained, without any apparent discontent. In 
 Connaught, the attention of the Irish chieftains 
 was confined to their own factious quarrels. The 
 sons of Roderic, those implacable disturbers of his 
 government, had given a free course to their brutal 
 ambition, and converted his whole territory into a 
 scene of the most desperate hostilities. No less 
 than sixteen young lords, heirs of the ruling fami-jbi^, 
 lies in this province, fell in one battle. We do not 
 learn that the vmhappy Rodei'ic ever solicited assist- 
 ance from the English government; though by his 
 treaty with the king of England, he was to be sup- 
 ported against all his refractory vassals ; yet by the 
 Eunishment inflicted on his son, it seems to have 
 een considered as odious and abhorrent to public 
 virtue, to call in the English at all into the province, 
 
 or 
 
yj(5 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B.I, 
 
 or to admit them to any share in their disputes. A 
 contrary conduct must have evidently ^iven occasion 
 to the new settlers to extend tlieir power and domi- 
 nion. But tlie quarrels in Connanolit^ by findiui^ 
 employment for several turbulent Irish lords, and 
 preventing' them from making- any incursions 
 through the territories of iMeatli, favoured tlie im- 
 mediate object of Lacy's government, that of im- 
 proving and defending the province of Leinster. 
 Here the effects of a wise and strenuous administra- 
 tion became every day more conspicuous, in the 
 peaceable and flourishing situation of the whole 
 country. 
 Ann.var. The winter of the year 1181 was distinguished 
 MSS. i^y ^|jg jg^llj ^^' Lam-ence O'Toole, the prelate of 
 Dublin ; a man held in higli reverence by his sn- 
 Surius. perstitious countrymen, who have ])een more care- 
 Hanmer. f^i ^q preserve the legends of his pretended mira- 
 cles, than the history of his political conduct. And 
 yet we may collect from the short and obscure memo- 
 rials of this period, that he took no inconsiderable 
 part in those contests which attended the first esta- 
 blishment of the Englisli power in his country. His 
 father, a lord of some distinction in Leinster, had 
 been obliged to d(»liver him in his early years to 
 king Dermod as an hostage, by whom he was assign- 
 ed to the custody of the abl)ot of Glendalagh. 
 Thus habituated to retirement and discipline, he 
 soon acquired a taste for a devotional and monastic 
 course. His monastic virtues recommended him to 
 the high station he enjoyed, in which the nol^ility of 
 his birth, and sanctity of his manners, engaged tha 
 attention and respect of all the higher orders of his 
 coimtrymen, and necessarily involved him in public 
 affairs. His temperance and purity were softened 
 by an extensive hospitality, that virtue of peculiar 
 praise in an unrefined age and country. His guests, 
 while feasted with the utmost magnificence and li- 
 berality, saw the prelate himself adhering to the 
 strictest rules of abstinence and self-denial. The 
 
 influenc* 
 
Ch. 4. HENRY II. 
 
 influence whicli ho thiis acrjuii-ed^ liC is said to have 
 eniph:>yed not only in regnlaliiig' his churchy and 
 f^'overnin«^ his clergy ])y the strictest discipline, biit 
 in moderatin«>^ and composing the dissensions of" that 
 rabble of Irish lords, whose barbarous am])ition 
 spread an.archy and confnsion throngh their country. 
 His o]3position to tlie English interest was strenuous 
 and determined, so long as opposition could be made 
 with any prospect of success. To Roderic he prov- 
 ed, not only a wise counsellor, but a diligent and 
 active emissary; and his patriotic zeal appears the 
 more amiable, as it was attended with the modera- 
 tion of his ecclesiastical character, instead of being 
 disgraced by the treachery and cruelty of too many 
 of his countrymen. His love of his own nation wem 
 ever predominant, even after he had found it neces- 
 sary to submit to Henry. Deeply affected with the 
 arbitrary and inicpiitous conduct of some English 
 governors, he made a journey to this prince, pur- 
 posedly, to lay before him the injuries and oppres- 
 sions wdiich his countrymen sustained. On this oc- 
 casion w^e are told, that an extraordinary and whim- 
 sical incident had w ell nigh proved fiital to this pre- 
 late. He w^as officiating in tfie church of Canter- 
 bury, when a man of unsound mind, struck sud- 
 denly by the circumstances of the place, the appear- 
 ance, and the occupation of the archbishop, seized 
 the thought of honoring him with the crown of 
 martyrdom ; and for this pnqiose assaulted him v.ith 
 the utmost violence ; nor w as Laurence rescued from 
 his attack till he had been desperately w^ounded in 
 the head. The w retch was seized ; and would have 
 suffered capitally for this act of madness, had not 
 the prelate interceded, and prevailed on the king to 
 pardon him. From England he was summoned to 
 the council of Lateran, in the year 1179, where, 
 by Henry's permission, he attended ; and althougli 
 it be asserted that he w^as bound by a solemn oath 
 not to attempt anv thing on this occasion derogatory 
 Vol. I. ' S to 
 
Crede 
 
 338 HISTORY OF lUELAND. B. 1, 
 
 to tlie king's dignity and authority,' yet he still 
 thought himself at liberty to display his zeal against 
 the injustice of the English govemoi's in Ireland, 
 and made the most affecting representations in this 
 council of the wrongs and calamities of his country- 
 men. He is also said to hare so far influenced the 
 fathers, that some decrees were made m faror of 
 the Irish nation*. 13iit this zeal was so oftensive to 
 Henry, that he sent him a mandate forbidding him 
 to return to his pastoral charge ; ^ that Laurencd 
 died an exile in Normandy. 
 Girald. He was succeeded by John Comyn, an English^ 
 man, whom Henry nominated to the clergy of Dub- 
 lin, and whose election was ratified ])y pope Lucius, 
 with a confinftation of the grants made of the rights 
 and possessious of the sec f . The new prelate was 
 chosen by the king' as a man addicted to his inter- 
 ests, and who promised vigor and abilities no less 
 m temporal aflairs than those of hh particular func- 
 tion. Men of abilities indeed, both in war and 
 politics, were now sought out, and sent to Ireland^ 
 to repair the losses lately sustahied of some of the 
 A. l>. bravest and most distinguished of the original ad- 
 Gif Td 'venturers. Five yeai-s had elapsed since Cogan and 
 Fitz-Stephcn enjoyed their settlements in Desmonds 
 The latter, though deeply affected by the death of 
 a favorite son, seemed to have the prospect of a 
 peaceable repose provided for his old age. A ge- 
 neral intercoui-se with the Irish natives apparently 
 reconciled him to the new settlers: he lived and 
 consorted with them in the utmost confidence, little 
 suspecting that malignity which lay concealed under 
 
 the 
 
 * However tliis may be, Laurence vras not inattrnbve to hk own in- 
 terests and those of tiis see; for he jiroctired a coiiliiDiation from pope 
 Alexander ot' all his rights nnd possessions to him and his successord, by 
 a tKief dated Later. 12'. K. MaiJ Indict. 12\ A. D. 1179. Poutif. 
 20'"'. E. Libro voc. Crede raihi, tbl. 80. 
 
 + Daf. VeUitii, Id. Ap. Indit 1 15, 11S2. Pontif. r°. Ibid, 
 
Cii. 5. HENRY II. 
 
 the fairest appearanees of friendship. INIilo de Co- 
 gun, who had occasion to hold some conference ^vith 
 the citizens of Waterford, went to^vard Lismore, 
 the place appointed for their interview, attended by 
 Ralph, another son of Fitz-Stephen, who had mar- 
 ried his daughter. They w ere, by appointment, to 
 have spent the next night at the lionse of an Irish' 
 man called Mac Tire, with whom tliey had been 
 particularly connected. But this wretcli, who, at 
 the very moment of his hospitable invitation, har- 
 boured the most treacherous and bloody purpose, 
 tell suddenly upon them in the midst of their secu- 
 rity, assassinated both Cogan and his son-in-law, 
 with five other.s of their compnny, and fled to his 
 countrymen to boast of this exploit, and to persuade 
 theui to rise up againt the foreig'uers, iMac-Arthy 
 instantly took arms; and renouncing" allegiance (o 
 tlie English government, with the usual levity of 
 his countrymen, ntarclied to Cork; where Fitz- 
 Stephen was obliged, in the mid.st of grief and con- 
 sternation, to provide for his defence against an encr 
 my much superior in numbers, and obstinately bent 
 on his destruction. 
 
 RAYMOND Le Gross, now seated in Wexford, 
 was not inattentive to his uncle's danger; and con- 
 trived, by a small embarkation of chosen troops to 
 reinforce the garrison of Cork ; and by the terror 
 of his name, and the skill and vigor of his opera- 
 tions, forced tlie men of Desmond to raise the sieg-e, 
 and at length to submit and sue for pca^^e: thus 
 displaying to the last, a spirit superior to that of 
 his rival, Ilervcy of Mountinorres, who about tliis 
 time engaged in a religious life, and hid lum.self in 
 a monastery, the usual retreat of spleen and disap- 
 pointment. Fitz-Stephen was not sensible of this 
 important service. Grief, vexation, and fatigue, 
 had proved too heavy for his years, Jvnd depJ•i^ed 
 the ludiappy veteran of his reason. 
 
 To sup])ly the loss sustained in Desmond, Henry q;^,^^ 
 gent Richard, brother to the late MUo de Cogan,Car.h." 
 
 who 
 
119 IIIfcTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 who led a chosen body of forces into Ireland; and 
 was followed by Philip Barry, another brave com- 
 mander, \vith .a new and valuable reinforcement. 
 Girald Barry, an ecclesiastic, better known by the 
 name of Cambrensis, attended his brother Philip in 
 this expedition, on whose abilities Henry had such 
 reliance, that he entrusted him with the tutelage- of 
 his son John, and now sent hiin to 2;ain such infor- 
 mation, and to assist in such dispositions as might 
 be convenient to this prince, destined to assume the 
 reins of government in Ireland. For the same pur- 
 pose was the archbishop of Dublin commanded to 
 repair to his diocese. 
 
 These English ecclesiastics seem to have passed 
 into Ireland with that sovereign contempt of those 
 with whom they were to converse, and that perfect 
 conviction of their own superiority, which bespeak a 
 contracted mind, and which a contracted mind is 
 not careful to conceal. While Cambrensis seemed 
 desirous to inform himself, from his Irish brethren, 
 of the state and circumstances of their ecclesiastical 
 constitution, he could not refrain from mortifying 
 them by invidious observations on their church, 
 which they were thus picqued to defend and extol 
 with greater zeal. They recounted the illustrious 
 acts of those holy men, whose piety and learning 
 had adorned the church of Ireland, and the large 
 catalogue of saints it had produced. " Saints !" 
 saicl Girald, with the utmost self-sufficiency, " Yes, 
 " you have your saints ; but where are your mar- 
 " tyrs? 1 cannot find one Irish martyr in your Ca- 
 " lendar." '' .\las!" replied the prelate of Cashel, 
 who pro!)ably looked on the death of Becket as a 
 real martyrdom, "It must be acknowledged that 
 ■' as yet our people have not learned such enormous 
 " guilt, as to murder God's servants; but now that 
 " Englishmen have settled in our island, and that 
 *' Henry is our sovereign, we may soon expect 
 '' enough of martyrs to take away this reproach 
 " fi-om our cbiirch." 
 
 Arrogance 
 
Ch.5. henry IL Ml 
 
 Arrogance naturally begat hatred; and recri- 
 niinatiou was the neeessary coiiseqiienee of violent 
 invectives. In their yynodical meetings, these pro- 
 fessors of the religion of peace were chiefly em- 
 ployed in all the bilterness of mutual reproach. The 
 al)])ot of Bahinglass preaching on the subject of cle- 
 rical continence, took occasion to extol the exem- 
 plary chastity of his brethren before they had been 
 infected by the contagion of English foreigners ; 
 and described the lii)idinous excesses of these new 
 clergy, with an ofiensive acrimony. He was an- 
 swered by Cambrensis with still greater acrimony, 
 who, while he allowed the praise of chastity to the 
 Irish ecclesiastics, charged their whole order with 
 revelling, falsehood, barbarity, treachery, and dis- 
 simulation. The warmth whicJi an Irish bishop ex- 
 pressed at such virulence served but to excite the 
 ridicule of the other party, who obsfrved, >^ith a 
 contemptuous triumph, how ill such spirit suited the 
 etteminancy of his appearance. Contemptible as 
 such altercations may appear, they had a danger^ms 
 innuence in propagating and fomenting animosities 
 between two people, who, circunistanced as they 
 now were, could find their real interests only in a 
 rational and equitable union. 
 
 A^D as if all measures were to be taken to pro-tiirald 
 voke the Irish natives to tlie utmost, Henry, with^^"""'^""- 
 an instability not very accountable in so great a 
 cliaracter, once more listened to the suggestions 
 of those who represented the dangerous pow- 
 er of his Irish vicegerent, Isis ansbition, and his 
 alarming connection with the king of Connaught, 
 recalled Lacy from his government, and appoinled 
 for his successor Pliilip De BraoFja, or Philip of Wor- 
 c<"ster as he is called, a man wliose sole object was 
 to enrich himself by plunder and oppression. His 
 first act of power was to wrest some valuable lands 
 fi'om proprietors who had ])nrchased of Lacy, un- 
 der pretence of appointing them for the king's pro- 
 visions. He Uiaiched through ditierent parts of 
 
 the 
 
H2 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 the kingdom with a formidable body of troops, en- 
 forcing his exactions with the utmost vigor. At 
 Armagh he spent six days feasting and revelling in 
 mid-lent, to the great scandal of this seat of piety, 
 and extorting money from the clergy with the most 
 unrelenting severity. In vain did the sutferers 
 plead, that by the articles of the synod of Cashel 
 they were exempt fi'om military exactions; they 
 had no resource but to denounce the judgments of 
 Heaven against their ravager. A sudden ht of sick- 
 ness, which seized him at his departure, was confi- 
 dently declared to be the effect of such denuncia- 
 tions. An accidental fire in the quarters of Hugh 
 Tirrel, one of his attendants, was converted into 
 a miraculous punishment of his sacrik>ge, in robbing 
 one of the religious houses of their lurnuce. This 
 ignorant superstition served to confirm the preju- 
 dices, and enflame the aversion of the natives; en- 
 couraging them to hope, that they should still find 
 some favourable occasion to exterminate those, who 
 were the declared objects of Divine wrath. 
 
 But the pov.cr which Philip exercised with such 
 odious violence was not of long duration ; for prince 
 ^lohn now prepared to exercise that authority in Ire- 
 A. D. land, which Henry's late donation had conferred 
 usk upon him. He received the order of knighthood 
 from his father's hand ; and a splendid train wa.^ 
 provided to attentl him to his seat of government. 
 promp- The Uoman pontiff, who assumed the right of cre- 
 ton. ating kings, is said to have formerly given Henry 
 
 l^oveden. j^jg permission to appoint which ever oi' his sons he 
 should chuse king of Ireland ; and now the same rir 
 diculous arrogance was repeated, under the pre^ 
 fence of favour and indulgence to the English mor 
 narch, although he dad but just refused to go to the 
 Holy Land, at the ui-gent instances of the pope, 
 A legate was sent to England, who made a graci- 
 ous tender of his services to wait on the prince, and 
 to perform the cei*emony of his coronation in Ire- 
 Sand; 
 
Cii. 5. HENRY II. m 
 
 land ; presenting him at the same time with a curi- 
 ous diadem of peacock's feathers, hallowed by the 
 benediction of the sovereign pontiff But Henry, 
 who possi])ly disliked this officious interference of 
 the pope, wlien it was not necessary to his purposes, 
 and possibly apprehended that too great exaltation 
 might encourage his young son to such acts of dis- 
 obedience as he had already experienced in his fa- 
 mily, declined this gracious offer, and sent John to Girald- 
 his government without any additional title or cere- Camb. 
 monial, but with a considerable force, and a magnifi- 
 cent attendance. 
 
 A COMPANY of gallant Normans in the pride of 
 youth, luxurious and insolent, formed the splendid 
 and the favorite part of this prince's train; and 
 were follov> ed by a number of Englishmen, strangers 
 to the country tliey were to visit, desperate in their 
 fortunes, the consequence of a life of profligacy, 
 and filled with vast expectations of advantage from 
 their present service. Tliose hardy Welshmen, who 
 had first adventured into Ireland, and now attended 
 to do homage to prince John, were but disagreea- 
 ble mates to his gay courtiers; nor had the yoimg 
 prince sufficient judgment and experience to treat 
 them with due attention. Glanville, a sage and emi- Girald. 
 nent lawyer, had been sent by Henry to assist and 
 direct his son. Several grave ecclesiastics were also 
 appointed to accompai^.y him; and among these 
 Cambrensis, who had acquired some knowledge of 
 the .state of Ireland, and returned in order to attend 
 his master Bnt men of sage and reverend charac- 
 ters were considered only as the formal appendages 
 of a court, where a prince, yet in his boyish years, 
 was engrossed ])y young associates, who flattered his 
 levity, and provided for his pleasures. The whole 
 assembly embarked in a fleet of sixty sliip.s, and ar- 
 rived at Waterford after a prosperous voyage, fill- 
 ing the whole country round with surprize and ex- 
 pectation. 
 
 The 
 
144 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 The fame of this osiiharkatloii had a happy iiiihi- 
 Giralcl once upon the Irish chietlalns, of whom several, 
 the most refractory, now determined to do homage 
 to the king's son, terrified ]>y the magnificent repre- 
 sentations of his force, and recoiiciled to sid^missioii 
 by the dignity of his birth and slation But tiiose 
 native lords of Leinstev, wlio had ever adhered to 
 the English government, were the hrst to pay tlieir 
 duty to the prince, and to congratulate his arrival. 
 They quickly flocked to Waterford, and exhibited 
 a spectacle to the Norman coiuliers, Avhich could 
 not fail to provoke their contempt and ridicule. 
 They saw men clothed in a manner totally different 
 from their own, with hair of a different form, bushy 
 beards, and all the marks of what they readily pro- 
 nounced to be rudeness and barbarism. These un- 
 fashionable figures, who neither spake their lan- 
 guage, nor were acquainted with their manners, ad- 
 vanced with great ease through the glittering circle, 
 and according to their own customs and notions of 
 respect, attempted to kiss the young prince. His 
 attendants stepped in, and prevented this horrid 
 violation of decorum, by rudely thrusting away the 
 Irish lords. The whole assem]>ly burst into peals of 
 laughter, plucked thel^eards, and committed various 
 personal indignities upon their guests and allies, to 
 demonstrate their own superior elegance of manners, 
 and gratify the childish petulance of their master. 
 Such were the tempers and understandings that were 
 to regulate the affairs of a disordered kingdom, to 
 protect their adherents, to conciliate the unfriendly, 
 and to reduce the disobedient. 
 
 The Irish lords, amidst all this disgusting plain- 
 ness and novelty of appearance, were spirited and 
 proud ; tenacious of their state, and of all men most 
 Ibid. impatient of the slightest mark of contempt. They 
 turned their backs upon the court, boiling with in- 
 dignation ; they met others of their countrymen 
 hastening to the prince; they related the manner of 
 
 their 
 
Cii.5. HENRY II. H5 
 
 their own reception; they enflamed them to the 
 highest pitch of resentment ; they returned to their 
 habitations, collected their families and substance^ 
 and repairing", some to the chiefs of Connaught, 
 others to those of Thomond and Desmond, enlartred 
 on the indignities they had sustained, expressed their 
 own determined purpose of revenge, entreated the 
 more powerful lords to unite bravely against an ene- 
 my possessed w ith an obstinate and implacable aver- 
 sion to their whole nation, in despite of every con- 
 cession or submission; requesting them seriously to 
 consider what treatment they w ere to expect who 
 had discovered any reluctance in yielding to the 
 English invaders, when those who had been the first 
 to submit, found their services repaid with con- 
 temptuous insolence and outrage. The flame was 
 readily caught. The chieftains agreed, instead of 
 proceeding to do homage to prince John, to forget 
 their private animosities, to unite in support of their 
 independence, and to bind themselves in solemn 
 league to exert their utmost endeavours to free their 
 country from these imperious foreigners. 
 
 To enflame this dangerous spirit yet further, the 
 attendants of prince John thought themselves every 
 where privileged to harass and oppress. Even in 
 the maritime towns, which king Henry had peculi- 
 arly reserved to himself, new grants w ere pretended, 
 and new claims advanced against the citizens, to 
 deprive them of their possessions ; so that, instead 
 of doing martial service, these vet^-ans were wholly 
 engaged in vexatious litigation, to guard against 
 the attempts of rapaciousness and fraud. The Irish- 
 men who had peaceably submitted to live under 
 English lords, and held the lands assigned to them 
 for their senices by En.glish tenures, were treated 
 with still less reserve. They were at once driven 
 from their settlements with the most disdainful inso 
 lence, to make way for these luxurious courtiers, or 
 their minions. They fled to the enemy with the most 
 rancorous aversion to their oppressors; informed 
 Vol. I. T them 
 
U6 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 ilieni of the situation aiid circuiiistance of the Eii"-- 
 lish settlt^ments ; Uuij>,lit them those arts of war, 
 wliich they liad learned ])Y a long' intercourse with 
 the foreigners, and directed where their attacks 
 might be most effectual and distressing. 
 
 While th.e storm of war was thus collecting", 
 John kept his state in idle pomp, and his attendants 
 indulged in their usual excesses. The clergy soli- 
 cited for grants to tlie church ; the soldiers urged 
 Rot. ant. the necessity of defence. The religious house of 
 penes Saint Thomas the Martyr received additional dona- 
 M°idicE *i^^i>s; «ii(l three castles were ordered to be raised 
 Girald. iit Tipperary, Ardfinnin, and Lismore, as a kind 
 Cainb. ^ of barrier to the English province. But the noise 
 Ami. MS,Qf insurrection soon became terril)le to this young- 
 prince and his luxm-ions train. The alarm of hosti- 
 lities and disasters poured in from every quarter. 
 The lately erected castles, and other places of 
 strength occupied by the English, were suddenly 
 attacked. At Lismore, Robert Barry was surprised 
 and slain with his whole troop ; Ardfinnin was at- 
 tacked by the prince of Limerick ; the gamson se- 
 duced into an ambush by the hopes of prey, and 
 put to the sword without mercy. The brave Ro- 
 bert de la Poer was surprised and slain in Ossory. 
 Canton and Fitz-Hugh, two other English lords of 
 distinguished valor, met with the same fate in their 
 difierent quarters. Mac-Arthy of Desmond march- 
 ed against Cork ; but Mas boklly opposed by Theo- 
 liald Fitz-Walter, who had accompanied Fitz-An- 
 delm into Ireland, and proved the founder of the 
 noble house of Ormond. He is said to have sud- 
 denly attacked the Irish prince while in conference 
 with certain men of Cork at some distance from the 
 town, and to have slain him willi his whole party. 
 Such nudti])lied incursions could not but astonish 
 and confound the English government. The land 
 was laid waste; lamentations were every where 
 heard, and aftecting reports e^ery day received of 
 some carnage or commotion. Even in ^leath, which 
 
 the 
 
Cii. 5. HENRY II. 147 
 
 the wise precautions of Do Lary had apparently sc- 
 cnrccl from dangtn-, a desperate inroad threatened 
 to lay Avaste tlio whole distriet, and was with diffi- 
 culty repelled by \\'il!iani Pi'tit, a l)ra\ e eoniniander, 
 who sent the heads of one hundred of the invaders 
 to Dublin. The on'y vig'orous opposition to these 
 incursions was made by tlie ori<^ii\al adventurers ; 
 for the En<>lish forces, which had lately arrived, 
 w ere little accustomed to such kind of war ; nor 
 were the heavy arms of a Norman knioht well 
 calculated to repel these sudden and desultory 
 attacks, much less to pursue an enemy into their 
 woods and morasses, who disappeared as soon as 
 they had executed their innnediate purpose. After 
 some misncces.sful attempts a<i,ainst their invaders, 
 these «>ay soldiers, sinartin*;' witli loss and disgrace, 
 shrunk into their fortified towns, where they lived 
 in riot, while the open country was a scene of ha- 
 vock and cojifusion. Tillaj^e and cultivation were 
 entirely at an end. The imjirovitient younij; prince 
 had lavished the sums appointed to pay his army ; 
 so that a dreadful dearth of provisions threatened to 
 follow close upon profuseness, war, and luxmy. 
 
 Eight months of disorder had elapsed, befpre 
 Henry was fnllv informed of the dang-erous situation 
 of his Irish interests, and determined to recal young- 
 John from a government so weakly and wantonly 
 administered. The king' had aboiU this time been 
 ue.happily deprived of the services of Hugh De 
 Lacy. The late incursions into Meath had not beencjirald. 
 repelled without consideral>lo damage to his lands, Cainb. 
 which, when the country luul licen once composed, 
 he was indefatiga])le in repairing. He proceeded 
 without delay to rebuild the old, and to erect new 
 forts, in every situation which required strengtli. 
 PJarnestly intent on these important works, his cus- 
 tom \yas to oversee the labourers, among w hom were 
 many of his Irish teuivnts, to point out their busi- 
 ness, and oftentimes to labour in the trenches witii 
 his oAyn hands, for their greater eucouragemeiit 
 
 and 
 
148 
 
 HISTORY OF IRELAND. 
 
 B. I. 
 
 Ann. 
 
 Anon, 
 
 MSS. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 Giraid. 
 Camb. 
 
 A. D. 
 
 1186. 
 
 Hanmer. 
 
 Giraid. 
 Camb. 
 
 and direction. One of these forts he was proceed- 
 ing' to erect at Dorrovve, or Derwarth, as the histo- 
 rians call the pLice, upon the site of a venerable 
 abbey. The Irish were shocked at such profanation 
 of this antient seat of devotion, a residence of one 
 of their most renowned saints; and the hatred of 
 their invader, enflamed by this superstition, operat- 
 ed upon one of the workmen even to a degree of 
 phrensv. He seized the moment when Lacy was 
 employed in the trenches; and as he stooped down 
 to explain his orders, drew out his battle-axe, w hich 
 had been concealed under his long' mantle, and at 
 one vigorous blow smote off" his head. He was too 
 much favoured by his countrymen not to effect his 
 escape. The ffariie of insurrection was instantly re- 
 kindled in jMeath. The news of Lacy's death wag 
 eagerl}^ spread abroad, and joyfully received. The 
 ignorant clergy represented it as an act of vengeance 
 executed by the holy Kolomb-kill on this sacrilegi- 
 ous usurper of his abbey, and ravager of Iiish 
 churches. The people were thus taught to exult 
 and triumph in tliis treacherous assassination ; anfl 
 the L'ish insurgents of all parts were confirmed and 
 encouraged in their hostile purposes. As the robust 
 and boisterous valour of De Courcey seemed to be 
 Henry's best resource in this dangerous situation of 
 affairs, he v» as entrusted with the Irish government ; 
 and John returned to England with his giddy train, 
 who seemed pleased to escape from a country of 
 turbulence and danger. 
 
 De Courcey thus left with the old adventurers, 
 proceeded to the business of war, for which he was 
 best calciilated, with indefatigable vigour. In con- 
 junction with young Lacy, son to the late lord, he 
 is said to have taken severe vengeance for the mur- 
 der of his gallant countryman. He kept his tbrces 
 in continual action, repelling his invaders, and ter- 
 rifying them b}^ the fame of his valour, and the 
 spirit of his operations. And in this defensive war 
 (for to such was he reduced) many circumstances 
 
 concurred 
 
Ch.5. henry II. 149 
 
 concurred to favor him, and to preserve the Eng- 
 lish power from that total extirpation with which it 
 had been lately threatened. TJie native Irish, in aU 
 the mischiefs they had wrought, acted from sudden 
 fits of passion and violence, which time nalurally al- 
 layed. Their national pride still made them too 
 insensible to the progress of the English, and tlie 
 real consequence of their settlements, even at the 
 very time when they vowed the most desperate at- 
 tempts against them. They who in the provinces 
 most distant from the seat of English government, 
 felt least from their invaders, soon forgot the com- Ann. var. 
 mon danger, when not immediately impending, and MSS. 
 turned their attention to those particular quarrels 
 which still raged among themselves. In the nor- 
 thern parts of Ireland, instead of bending their 
 whole force against the Eiiglish settlements, the 
 chiefs were engaged in thebloodiesthostilitiesagahist 
 each other. In Connaught, the rebellions sons of 
 Roderic at length prevailed, deposed the unhappy 
 father, and obliged him to seek refuge from a life 
 of turbulence and vexation, in the venerable mo- 
 nastery of Cong. Old claims to the nominal sove- 
 reignty of Ireland were revived. One pretender Ann. 
 of the O'Loughlan family was deposed; another. ^^^^ 
 succeeded, ended his short career in a violent death,' "^' 
 and his rival was restored ; but falling in a skirmish 
 with one of the English garrisons of Ulster, left the 
 futile object of dispute to produce new disorders. 
 Factions and local feuds were thus multiplied ; and ibid. 
 in the rage of jealousy and revenge, the weaker 
 party sometimes sought assistance even in the Eng- 
 lish settlements. 
 
 De Courcey was thus better enabled to support 
 his government against a divided and distracted 
 enemy. But of a temper too bold and violent to 
 be long contented with acting on the defensive, he 
 resolved to make an attempt upon the disordered 
 province of Connaught. He collected his bravest Ibid, 
 knights, and the most considerable part of his Eng- 
 lish 
 
IjO history of IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 lish forces^ and marched with more valor than cir- 
 cumspection, into a country Mhere he expected a 
 complete conquest, without resistance. He soon 
 learned, however, that Connor Moienmoy, the 
 reig-ning son of Roderic, and O'Brien, the Munster 
 prince, were preparing- to attack him with numbers 
 much superior to his own, and considerably im- 
 proved both in arms and discipline, by their contests 
 and intercourse with the English. Dc Courcey was 
 at once determined, by this alarming- intelligence, 
 to put an end to his rash adventure, by a speedy 
 retreat into Ulster. But scarcely had he proceeded 
 to the execution of his purpose, when he was in- 
 formed that another pov» erful army lay in an advan- 
 tageous situation, ready to oppose his progress. 
 He retumed to his fornicr camp, when the confe- 
 derate army of Connaught and Thomond iinmedi- 
 ateiy appeared, and threatened to overwhelm him. 
 The courage of the Engli«h was here put to a se- 
 vere trial. The eriemy prest upon tliem; nor did 
 they repel their repeated assaults without consider- 
 able loss. Their only hopes were to secure a re- 
 ti'eat; and in forcingh their way throng the Irisli 
 army, scAcrai of their brave knights were slaughter- 
 pd ; a retreat, however, was ctrectcd ; and the eiu'- 
 my were contented with the glory of dris ing De 
 Courcey from the province. 
 Ann. 'pu,.. (Hsgrace of the English arn^s (for su.ch it 
 
 l^si' "^^ ''^^ esteemed by those who were not judges of the 
 *' merit of this retreat) encouraged the chieftains of 
 
 T lister and Ar^ial to attack the English settlements 
 in their territories. A survivor of the family of 
 O'Loughhin fell in his rai>h attempt on one of the 
 parrison.s oi^ Ulster. O'Carrol, the Irish prince of 
 Argial, was defeated in a like attack : and the chief- 
 tain of Feniianagh, his associate, slain in the pur- 
 suit. To suppres.s these petty commotions, De Cour- 
 cey marched once more into Ulster ; stormed and 
 biirned the town of Arniagh, where his enemies had 
 assembled, terrified them" by the violence of his ex- 
 ec ution^ 
 
Ch.5. henry II. 151 
 
 ecutioii, and re-established an appearance of tran- 
 quillity throug'h the whole province, without any op- 
 position from his enemies of Connaught. Here 
 Connor Moienmoy fell by the hand of an assassin 
 hired by his own ambitions })rother. This brother 
 w as slain in revcn«^e by a son of Connor ; and the 
 province once more involved in anarchy and slaugh- 
 ter, the dreadful consequences of unnatural rebel- 
 lion among- the sons of Roderic. And thus by his 
 own vigor, and the dissensions of his enemies, 
 John De Courcey was enabled to maintain the au- 
 thority of English government ; and to support the 
 acquisitions already made in Ireland, by vigilance 
 and courage, though not to extend them by recon- 
 ciling those who submitted with a sullen rancor, or 
 subduing the more open and avowed contemners of 
 his authority. 
 
 Such was the situation of afl'airs in Ireland, when 
 Henry the second, harassed by the treachery of his 
 vassals, the macliinations of France, and the disobe- 
 dience and revolt of his sons, sunk under those ac- 
 cumulated vexations which he had so long support- 
 ed with magnanimity and vigor, and died at Chi- 
 non, in July of the year 1189; a prince, whom 
 imj)artial judgment and reflection must rank among 
 the first cliaracters of history. They who conceive 
 that rightful power must ever have a pure and right- 
 ful origin, have been at considerable pains to defend 
 his invasion of Ireland upon tlie ])rinciples of jus- 
 tice ; and have supported his claims to the sove- 
 reignty of this country with a seriousness and so- 
 lemnity as ridiculous as the pains which their anta- 
 gonists have taken to invalidate them. Henry 
 himself was too discerniiig to ransack the fa])ulous 
 histories of Britain, or the forged annals of tlie Sax- 
 on reigns, or to recur to the lormal donations of 
 the po})e, for any other purpose but to give his en- 
 terprize some colour of pretence, or some degree of 
 plausibility ^vith the vulgar, the prejudiced, and the 
 superstitious. But whatever were the original pre- 
 tences. 
 
152 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 teiices for his cnterprize, the aiii])ition of his youth 
 and prosperity would have proved of singular advan- 
 tao'e to a disordered natioii, had the incidents of his 
 reign permitted him to eftcct a real conquest, and of 
 consequence the establisliment of a wise and equita- 
 ble form of government in Ireland. 
 
 Circumstanced as he was, upon the first appli- 
 cation of the Leinster prince, the only prudent 
 measure he could have taken, was to encourage pri- 
 vate adventurers to court their fortune in his ser- 
 vice. Their rajiid progress might, in time, have 
 completed the subjection of the whole couutry. But 
 the acquisition would have been their own. The 
 policy of Henry is, therefore, not impeached by 
 discouraging and controling them. His personal 
 appearance in Ireland promised a speedier and more 
 etlectual establishment of his dominion, had he been 
 suffered to continue there. Nor can we reflect, with- 
 out indignation, that a prince of such abilities as 
 Henry, was diverted from a purpose of such real 
 moment, by the contemptible insolence of a pope, 
 and the disobedience of an ungrateful son. TliG 
 measures he pursued, in consequence of this fatal in- 
 terruption, were those of good policy controled by 
 necessity; but such as neither tended to allay his 
 jealousy of the growing pow er of his vassals, nor yet 
 to advance the progress of their arms. Extensive 
 grants and privileges, necessary as they might have 
 been, tended to create independence. A change of 
 deputies, and a succession of new settlers, raised jea- 
 lousies and animosities between the English them- 
 selves. The original adventurers were piquetl at 
 the partiality shewn to the new settlers ; the new 
 settlers envied the original adventurers; and the 
 consequence might have proved fatal, had not their 
 enemies been still more disunited. The very terms 
 of his treaty with Roderic O'Connor shew, that 
 Henry was obliged to yield to the necessity of his 
 affairs, and to accommodate the transactions in Ire- 
 land to his more pressing interests. At least, it is 
 
 more 
 
Ch. 5. HENRY II. 153 
 
 more honorable to his policy, to suppose that his 
 original purpose was somethint^ of greater valne 
 than to acquu-e a sovereignty marked by nothini[^ 
 but a formal homage, and an inconsiderable tri- 
 bute. 
 
 Cambrensis calls his history of the transactions 
 now related, that of the Conquest of Ireland ; a 
 ridiculous flattery of his master Henry, which has 
 frequently been echoed by succeeding w riters. The 
 court chaplain of the twelfth century may be par- 
 doned ; but when the professor of laws in the eigh- 
 teenth, asserts in form that Ireland was conquered 
 by Henry the second, and hence proceeds to establish 
 the formidable rights of conquest, it may not be 
 impertinent to state the real matter of fact. And 
 thus it seems to be. 
 
 Some English lords, with their vassals, engage 
 in the service of an exiled prince in one of the Irish 
 provinces. They have towns and lands assigned to 
 them for their service, in assisting him to recover his 
 dominions. They resign their acquisitions to Hen- 
 ry, and are again invested with most of them, which 
 they consent to hold as his liege subjects, by the . 
 
 usual English tenures. Henry, on his part, promis- 
 ing that these his subjects in their new settlement, 
 shall, with all their dependencies, enjoy the advan- 
 tage of their old constitution, and be governed by 
 the laws of England. Several of the Irish chiefs also 
 submit to pay homage and tribute to Henry ; and 
 in consequence of their cessions receive his promise 
 to enjoy their other rights and privileges. Roderic, 
 who claims a superioiity over the others, after hav- 
 ing bidden defiance to the English monarch for a 
 .while, at length, by a treaty regularly conducted and 
 executed, engages on his part to become his liege- 
 man, and to pay him tribute ; on w hich condition 
 it is expressly stipulated that he shall enjoy his rights, 
 lands, and sovereignties, as fully as before the king 
 of England ever appeared, or interfered in Ireland. 
 No contracts could be more explicitly or precisely 
 
 Vol. L U ascer- 
 
154 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. T, 
 
 ascertained. Accordingly, the English adventurers 
 govern their district by their own model ; the native 
 chiefs, through far the greater part of Ireland, act 
 independently of the English government; make 
 war and peace, enter into leagues and treaties 
 amongst each other ; punish malefactors, and govern 
 by their own antient laws and customs. It requires 
 but a moderate attention to the records of these 
 times, to know what degree of real power Henry 
 acquired in Ireland ; and but a moderate skill in 
 politics to decide what rights he acquired either 
 over the English adventurers, or the native Irish, 
 by his federal transactions with each ; whether we 
 consider the grounds of his invasion, or the natiu'c 
 and extent of their submissions, or the purport of 
 his stipulations. 
 
 Richard, on his accession to the throne of Eng- 
 land, was too much engaged, by more brilliant ob- 
 jects, to enquire minutely into the royal claims in 
 Ireland ; and too indulgent to his brother John to 
 question the power and authority he derived front 
 his father's grant, and exercised in this country. 
 
 Chartae rpj^^ style which Johu uow assuuicd was that of 
 John, earl of Moreton, and lord of Ireland. By 
 this latter title ho had formerly granted lands to the 
 monastery of Saint Thomas the Martyr at Donoure, 
 as well as the customs of beer and mead, which, as 
 it is expressed in the charter, he used to receive 
 from the publicans of Dublin. And one of the 
 first acts of authority which he now exercised, was 
 
 ChartsE v^Q grant to this religious house a tenth of the re- 
 
 qq^^P^"*^ venue of his city of Dublin, as it is expressly called. 
 
 Midile. By another charter it was invested with several pri- 
 vileges and possessions, with immunities from alt 
 exactions and secular services, excepting only — in 
 hiis qicce ad rvglam coronam pertinent ; w ith a power 
 of holding a court for all pleas and complaints, 
 
 tbid, nisi dehiis quce ad regiam coronam spectaverint. To 
 the city of Dublin he granted franchises and liber- 
 ties,, to be held of him and his heirs. He granted 
 
 lands 
 
Ca. 5. RICHARD I. 15^ 
 
 lands to be held by knights service, of him and his Lib. Nig. 
 heirs, witli liberties and free customs, and with a ^Jj'jjjJ^P* 
 reservation of church-lands, donations of bishop- ^„t Lit^ 
 rics and abbeys, and pleas belongini^ to the crown. Patent. 
 He confirmed a grant of lands to the abbot of Lib m,^. 
 Glendalao-h, and united the see of <«lenda1a<rh to ^''i v^;^- 
 
 ttT 11' rrtt 1 • • 1 Dublin. 
 
 that or Dubhn. The deputies appointed to govern Regisi. 
 in Ireland during tlie reign of Richard, were ap- vocat, 
 pointed by John; as we learn from the monitory ^"i^*:^^- 
 of pope Innocent IH. addressed to John, in which Eplgj, De- 
 he calls Hamo de Valoniis Officialis nobilis, viri co- cret. Edit. 
 mitis de jMauritania, and commands him to oblige a Baluz. 
 this his minister to restore whatever he had taken 
 from the church of LeighUn. Hoveden also calls 
 Hamo de Valoniis S^ c^teros custodes llibernice, ho- 
 jmnrs comilis Jo/ia?inls fralris Ricardl regis Anglite. 
 We see then what essential acts of power John 
 exercised in Ireland, dm'ing the reigns of Ins father 
 and of Richard. Yet whatever pompous idea the 
 name of lord of Ireland may convey, he was certainly 
 lord of Ireland in no other sense, than the English 
 governors appointed by Henry had been gover- 
 nors of Ireland, In the parts of this kingdom 
 not immediately possessed by the English, his 
 authority was not acknowledged even by fo- 
 reigners. For when king Richard had pre^ ailed 
 on the pope to send liis legate, in order to solicit J^/'^^^'- 
 contributions for Iiis expedition to the Holy Land, '^"^ 
 this legate was commissioned to exercise his juris- 
 diction in England, Wales, and those parts of Ire- 
 land, in which John, earl of Moreton, had power 
 and dominion. John himself .speaks in the same Lib. Nig. 
 manner; for in his charter of franchises to the '^""^'''''l'- 
 citizens of Dublin, he grants them immunities, not 
 through all Ireland, where they could not be ac- 
 knowledged or enjoyed, but, as he expresses it, 
 per totnm terrain &; potesfatem ineam. And Eva, Regist, 
 the heiress of king Dermod, speaks with still more y^'^*!}- 
 precision. She confirms the grants made to the see jJJi^* 
 
 of ' 
 
156 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 of Dublin by earl John, and other good men of 
 Leinster, the proper and immediate seat of English 
 power*. 
 
 While John reserved the exercise of the above- 
 mentioned powers to himself, the administration of 
 affairs in Ireland, and the support of his authority 
 in this kingdom, were entrusted to the English de- 
 Hanmer. puties. On the accession of Richard, Hugh De 
 Lacy the younger had so effectually recommended 
 himself to earl John, that he was enabled to sup- 
 plant De Courcey, and obtained his government. 
 The rough uncourtly soldier could not conceal his 
 indignation to find the merit of his services thus 
 slighted. He retired to Ulster, resolving to avail 
 himself of the grants he had received fi'om Henry, 
 and to confine his attention to his own immediate 
 interests, as a private adventurer. By detaching 
 himself from the new deputy, he betrayed the real 
 weakness of the English government, a system of a 
 fair and plausible appearance, but unable to support 
 the jealou.sies and contes.ts of rival lords. The Irish 
 natives were not insensible of their advantage ; nor 
 had the national spirit, though frequently snppress- 
 ed, been yet entirely extinguished by their private 
 quarrels. 
 
 Among the survivors of the rebellious house of 
 Roderic O'Connor, Cathal, surnamed the Bloody- 
 Handed, now stood highest in the esteem of his 
 
 conn- 
 
 * E registro vocato Crede Mihi, fol. 90. 
 
 " Omnibus tain praBsentibus quam i'uturis, ad quos prsBsens charta 
 pervenerit, Eva comitissa haeres regis Dermitii, salutem 
 
 " Noverit iiriiversitas vestra me, pro salute animas meae & domini mei 
 qomitis Ricardi & autecessorum, concessisse, & praesenti charta confir- 
 ma?3e Deo & ecclesiaB Dubliniensi, & Johanni ejusdem ecclesias archie- 
 piscopo, & successoribus suis, omnes possessiones & eleemosynas, tamin 
 ecclesiasticis quam in inundanis lenementis, quas eis comes Johannes & 
 ahi boni viri de Lagenia, pia largitione contulerunt. Et volo quod prae- 
 fata ecclesiae et ejusdem ecclesiae archiepiscopi eas teneant & habeant li- 
 bere, quiete, & honorifice, & iiitegre, cum onmibus pertinentis 3uis in, 
 perpetuam eleomosynam, sicut charta donatorura testantur. Testibus,, 
 &c." 
 
Ch. 5. RICHARD I. 157 
 
 countrymen ; and by the assistance of a powerful 
 faction had been invested with the royal dignity of 
 Connaught. An elevation obtained by intrigue 
 and violence was to be supported by those qualities 
 which strike the multitude most forcibly. Cathal 
 soon discovered an extraordinary passion for military- 
 glory ; declared himself resolved to assert the anti- 
 ent honors of his family, his province, and his 
 country ; and particularly breathed the most despe- 
 rate and determined vengeance against those fo- 
 reigners who had usurped some of the fairest pos- 
 sessions in the nation, deformed the land, and in- 
 sulted the inhabitants by their castles and fortifi- 
 cations, and threatened to extend their oppressions 
 through the whole island. Applause and popularity 
 were the consequence of such declarations. His 
 provincials admired, and therefore followed and 
 obeyed him with an alacrity not always commanded 
 by the mere regal title The chieis of Munster 
 respected a young warrior, who promised to lead his 
 countrymen to victory and glory. They readily 
 consented to form an alliance with him. That they 
 might act with more vigor against a common enemy, 
 the lords of Thomond and Desmond agreed to bury Ann. 
 their old quarrels in oblivion, and to conclude aln"'^*- 
 formal treaty of peace upon amicable and equita- ' 
 ble terms. 
 
 De Courcey, who perceived the rising storm, 
 was solicitous to strengthen his settlements in Ul- 
 ster, which were threatened with a formidable attack. 
 He could expect no succour from De Lacy, and 
 therefore determined to collect all the forces he 
 could command of his own immediate followers. 
 Armoric of Saint Lawrence, his trusty friend andHanmer. 
 counsellor, was instantly called oft' from some petty MSS. 
 enteq^rize, in which he had engaged, and marched ^^JJ^*^^^- 
 without delay to the assistance of De Courcy, withgQg f] 52 
 a little body of two hundred foot, and thirty caval- 
 ry. Cathal, through part of whose province they 
 
 were 
 
158 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I, 
 
 were to march, was informed of their motions, and 
 resolved to intercept them. The brave English 
 kni«^ht soon found he had incautiously fallen into an 
 ambush, where an army, vastly superior to his own 
 inconsiderable troop, lay ready to destroy him. To 
 contend with any hope of success would be madness ; 
 to surrender, dishonourable and danoerous. In this 
 desperate emergency the love of life so far prevailed 
 upon the cavalry, that they resolved to trust to the 
 fleetness of their horses before they were entirely 
 surrounded, and leave their companions to their 
 fate. The infantry were soon informed of this reso- 
 lution; and with the brotlier of Armoric at their 
 head, gathered round their companions, and re- 
 proached them with their ignoble purpose; re- 
 minded them of the many toils and danger in whicli 
 they had supported each other, the friendships and 
 affinities they had nuitually formed, the attach- 
 ment and fidelity they had mutually experienced 
 from each other ; conjuring them by every tender 
 and affecting motive not to disgrace their former 
 conduct, nor to abandon their fellow -soldiers and 
 their brethren to the fury of a barbarous and re- 
 vengeful enemy. The heroic spirit was readily 
 excited. Armoric drew his sword, and plunged it 
 into his horse; the cavalry followed his example, and 
 with one voice declared that they would share the 
 fate of their companions ; that death was now inevi- 
 table, and that they would meet it boldly with their 
 weapons in their hands, rather than stain their honor, 
 by submitting to the mercy of an enemy they had so 
 often vanquished. 
 
 Men thus determined ai*e dangerous antagonists. 
 They proceeded to the execution of their purpose 
 with firmness and composure. Two, the youngest 
 of their body, were ordered to retire to a neighbour- 
 inff eminence, there to view the eng-aijement, and to 
 Ibid. bear a faithful report to John De Courcey of the 
 conduct of his friends in this their last hour of 
 
 desperate 
 
Ch.5. RICHARD I. \59 
 
 desperate encounter. The rest marched forward 
 with a confidence astonishing- to the Irish army. 
 Cathal at first imagined that they must have received 
 a formidable reinforcement, and that he was now 
 to engage a regular army; but soon found this 
 little troop hi the midst of his collected forces, with- 
 out support or resource. They rushed desperately 
 upon the enemy ; they forced their way with terri- 
 ble havock through the crowds of their assailants, 
 of whom a thousand are said to have fallen under 
 their furious impression. As they were completely 
 armed, they sustained repeated onsets before they 
 could be wounded ; and the wounded still ol)stinate- 
 ly persevered in supporting and encouraging each 
 other, till they fell under the oppression of a contest 
 so desperate, not one deigning to survive the car- MSS. 
 nage. An advantage gained with such difficulty, Lambeth, 
 and so little honor, was yet sufficient for the levity g,;^!^^- 
 and vanity of Cathal. He founded an abbey upon Ann. kf 
 the field of action, called de Colle Victoria; and Abb. 
 by this weak and inconsiderate mark of triumph ^^^^' 
 raised a trophy to the romantic valour of his ene- 
 mies. 
 
 The reports of insurrections and confederacies 
 were soon conveyed to England, and alamied carl 
 John, amidst the still more interesting schemes of 
 his ambition, for the security of his Irish govern- 
 ment. To encrease the public confusion and distress 
 in this kingdom, the city of Dublin was almost to- 
 tally destroyed by an accidental fire; and the neigh- 
 bouring districts were infested by robbers^ who an- Hanmer 
 noyed the inhabitants without restraint or correc- 
 tion*. Public 
 
 * Doctor Hanmer has preserved an old tradition, importing, that on 
 tlie dispersion of the troop headed by the famous Robin Hood, some 
 of his followers fled to Ireland as a place of disorder, and of eonse- 
 cjuence fitted for their shelter as well as the practice of their usual vio- 
 lences ; that, of these, one known among the old popular rhymers of 
 England by the name of Litde John, appeared publicly in Dublin, and 
 astonished the inhabitants by his f«uta of archery, umil his robberies 
 
 became 
 
IGO HISTORY OF IRELAND, B. t 
 
 Public disorders, and the alarm of wars and 
 commotions, served to cast a suspicion of some 
 want of abilities and vigor on the administration 
 of de Lacy. William Petit was substituted in his 
 place, and was soon succeeded by William, earl 
 marshal of England. This nobleman had married 
 Isabella, daughter to earl Strongbow, by the prin- 
 cess of Leinster ; and of consequence was invested 
 with large possessions in Ireland ; a circumstance 
 which seems to have made him the readier to accept 
 his present charge. A nobleman so connected with 
 the country was likely to be received with favor ; 
 and the dignity of his rank and character promised 
 weight and consequence to his administration. 
 
 And a government of extraordinary vigor was 
 now absolutely necessary. The prince of Con- 
 naught had by his late success, which was industri- 
 ously magnified, raised a dangerous spirit among the 
 Irish chiefs, his confederates. Daniel O'Brien, the 
 reigning prince of Thomond, that he might not be 
 outdone by his countryman and ally, levied a con- 
 siderable force, and declared hostilities against the 
 Ann. English borderers. The contending parties encoun- 
 \fih tered at Thurles, where victory declared in favor 
 of the troops of Thomond. This disgrace, how- 
 ever, did not prevent the English from continuing 
 the war, ravaging the territories of O'Brien, and 
 erecting several forts to keep their enemies in awe, 
 and to secure their own settlements. They even 
 extended their depredations into Desmond, where 
 the Irish leaders, notwithstanding all their boasted 
 schemes, proved unable to oppose their invaders ; 
 and while they submitted to see their country forti- 
 fied against themselves, found no better pretence to 
 palliate this supineness, than to charge their late 
 ally, the prince of Thomond, with perfidy, in se- 
 cretly 
 
 became so notorious and provoking, that he was driven for safety in- 
 to Scotland. 
 
 MSS. 
 
Ch. 6. mCHARD 1. 161 
 
 cretly favoring- and assisting the common enemy. 
 Such suspicions miiz:ht have prodnced a bloody con- 
 test between the provincial chiefs, had not the eftects 
 been prevented by the death of Daniel O'Brien ; 
 an event which gave new confidence to the English, 
 and enabled them, in the confusion of the province, 
 and the distractions arising from a contested succes- 
 sion, to pierce into the very heart of Thomond, 
 If we are to believe the Irish annalists, they exer- 
 cised the utmost cruelties in their triumphant pro- 
 gress, and especially upon the family of O'Brien ; 
 one of whose sons was blinded, and another drag- 
 ged from sanctuary, and massacred in tlie fury of 
 their resentment. Such representations might be 
 at once rejected as the forgeries of national pre- 
 judice and aversion, did not the abbot of Peterbo- 
 rough expressly declare, that the successor of O'Brien 
 was deterred from submitting to the English by the 
 miseries of his people, and the barbarities exercised 
 by their invaders. 
 
 But an advantage so shamefully abused was not 
 of long duration. Cathal, the Connaught prince^ 
 was informed of the bloody progress of his enemies, 
 and entered Munster at the head of a formidable 
 army, which the English were utterly unable to op- 
 pose. They retired precipitately at his approach ; 
 and Cathal, with all the triumph of a victorious 
 prince, rased their castles to the ground, to the sur- 
 prize and admiration of his countrymen, who ex- 
 pected nothing less than the utter extirpation of 
 their enemies from a young warrior, in all the pride 
 of fortune and popular favour. But this chief, 
 who had neither judgment to concert, nor real 
 power to execute any masterly plan for the subver- 
 sion of the English establishments, contented him- 
 self with the honor of defying and insulting the 
 enemy, and retired to his province, leaving them to 
 repair the havock he had made. And scarcely had 
 they attempted this necessary work, when they 
 found themselves again exposed to the attacks of 
 
 Vol. I. X Mac- 
 
162 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 Mac-Arthy of Desmond; wlio with a valor less 
 Ann. o-Iariiig, but more determined than that of Cathal, led 
 MSS^ ids forces ag^ainst the Englisli upon their return to 
 Munster, defeated them in the field, and pursued his 
 advantage till he had driven them out of Limerick, 
 and confirmed his superiority, by twice defeating 
 their attempts to recover this important place. 
 
 Cork was noAv the only considerable post of 
 strength in Munster, which remained in the posses- 
 jsion of the English. And as the garrison were sur- 
 rounded by their enemies of Desmond, it was not 
 possible for them to subsist, much less to maintain 
 their station, without some powerful support. The 
 occasion was too striking not to command the at- 
 tention of the English government. A considera- 
 ble force was detached into the south to check the 
 dangerous progress of the enemy ; yet not suffici- 
 ently numerous to encounter tlie Desmonians, now 
 reinforced by (he troops of Connaught, headed by 
 their warlike prince, those of O'Loughlan, chief of 
 :^""- the ancient house of the northern Hi-Nial, and those 
 MSS ^^ some other Irish lords. Tlie English army i'*^- 
 ceived a total defeat ; and the garrison of Cork, 
 cut off from all resources, seemed destined to im- 
 mediate destruction. But the secret jealousies of 
 their enemies served to suspend their fate. Cathal 
 and O'Loughlan, the heads of two great rival 
 houses, however they appeared to unite in one com- 
 mon cause, envied and hated eacli otlier. The ris- 
 ing fame and power of Cathal Averc particularly 
 offensive to a competitor filled with the pride of 
 family, impatient of his present inferiority, and 
 sensible that the current of success could not fail to 
 swell the power and influence of the prince of 
 Connaught. In the spleen of jealousy and envy, 
 he practised secretly with INIac-Arthy; and to the 
 utter confusion and astonishment of the confederate 
 army, ]>revailed on him to raise the siege of Cork 
 The English oarrison were thus saved from imme- 
 
 diate 
 
Ch. 5. RICHARD T. 165 
 
 «!iate destruction ; but without succours or provi- 
 sions, cut off from all intercourse with their country- 
 men^ and perpetually harassed by their enemies- 
 they were in a short time oblio'cd to capitulate , 
 and Cork was siurendered to the prince of Des- 
 mond. 
 
 The loss of this important place too plainly in- 
 clicated the weakness of a government, which could 
 not even defend those maritime towns that king' 
 Henry had reserved to himself as of greatest con- 
 sequence. The feeble attempts made to regain the 
 English interests in INlunster served only to discover 
 the real superiority of their enemies. Though 
 dissensions in the family of O'Brien, and the am- 
 bitious designs of one of the sons of Daniel to 
 supplant the rightful heir, gave the English an op- Ibid, 
 portunity of again invading* Thoniond ; and al- 
 though repeated attempts were made upon the ter- 
 ritory of ]3esmond, yet the whole cft'ect of such 
 expeditions was to waste and ravage the country, 
 without any acquisition of real and permanent ad- 
 vantage. 
 
 SuH was the progress of events, during the ad- 
 nunistration of the earl Marshal ; when Hamo De 
 Valois was appointed to succeed him in the year 
 1197, a period of the utmost public confusion and 
 distress ; when John De Courcey, and Hugh De 
 Lacy, were employed in their respective provinces, 
 independent of the English government, almost all 
 INlunster evacuated by the English, and tlie province 
 of Leinster with dithculty maintained. To s\ipply 
 the urgent necessities of a distressed and enfeenlc^d 
 govermnent, Hamo could devise no more immediate 
 and effectual expedient than an invasion of the ec- 
 clesiastical possessions. He began his administration 
 (possibly by the instruction ofearlJolm) with seiz- 
 in"^ several lands which had been granted to the sec 
 of Dublin ; an act of violence the most odious and^Q^^pj^^ 
 offensive, at a time when the rights of ecclesiastics 
 were accounted infinitely more siicred than those of 
 
 other 
 
1^* HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 other subjects. Coiiiyn, the archbishop, was too 
 nearly intereated, not to invei<^h anainst such usur- 
 pation with the utmost bitterness. He remonstrated^ 
 he expostulated, he denounced the vengeance of 
 heaven against the abominable sacrilege, yet without 
 redress. He professed to consider such obstinacy as 
 a violent expulsion from his pastoral charge, and 
 resolved to abandon his diocese, rather than seem to 
 acquiesce in the profane usurpation of its rights. 
 He repaired to his cathedral, in all the solemn af- 
 fliction of a confessor weighd down by persecution. 
 Books, chalices, images, and all the gaudy appara- 
 tus of public service were removed. With a strain 
 of blasphemous hypociisj^ he ordered the crucifixes 
 to be crowned with thorns, and laid prostrate on the 
 ground, (as if the passion were renewed, and the 
 majesty of heaven dethroned by a contest about the 
 paltry property of an ecclesiastic) and laying the 
 tremendous sentence of interdict upon his diocese, 
 departed from the kingdom. A miracle was de- 
 vised, to affect the minds of the ignorant and super- 
 stitious still more deeply. One of those prostrate 
 crucifixes was shewn, with all the marks of agony 
 impressed upon it; the face inflamed, the eyes drop- 
 ping tears, the body covered with sweat and blood, 
 and water issuing from its side. The exiled pre- 
 late received this wonderful declaration of heaven 
 in his favour, solemnly attested by his clergy, to be 
 laid before the Roman pontift'. Yet his enemies 
 were still obdurate. His suffragans were too anxi- 
 ous for the preservation of their own properties to 
 provoke the civil government, by espousing the 
 quarrel of their metropolitan*. His earnest ap- 
 plications to earl John, and those to king Richard, 
 
 were 
 
 * Hamo did not confine his depredations to the see of Dablin. When 
 that of Leighlin became vacant, he would not suffer the abbot of Rosse- 
 val, who had been elected bii^hop by the clergy, to be consecrated ; and 
 seized the temporalties to his own use, or that of the state. This pro- 
 duced a monitory epistle from pope Innocent the third ; ^vhich may be 
 
 found 
 
Ch. 5. RICHARD L 1^5 
 
 were equally neglected. Nor was it till some years 
 after that Hamo de Valois felt eompimction for liis?f»'^^* 
 offence, and granted to the see of Dublin twenty Rg^j/f^ 
 carucates of land, in atonement for the depredati-vorat. 
 ons he had committed in the course of his so vern-^/^^<^^'™- 
 
 hi. Lib. 
 Niff. Ar- 
 
 ment. 
 
 During these disorders, Roderic O'Connor, lastdViepis" 
 of the Irish monarchs, died in extreme old age, inDn'^iin. 
 the monastery of Cong, where he passed twelve ^""- ^^'"• 
 years of quiet, unnoticed by the contending factions^ x)* 
 of his province. The brilliancy of his conduct, ii98, 
 on first acquiring the monarchical dignity, if duly 
 sustained, might have established his authority on a 
 firmer basis than the suttrage of a trimnphant fac- 
 tion, which conferred the title, and left him to de- 
 fend it. A generous and enlarged policy must have 
 prompted him to gain over his old opposers by 
 every conciliating means. But Roderic iiad not 
 this policy. The power which he acquired was 
 employed to revenge his former quarrels, and op- 
 press the partizans of his former rival; and this 
 produced that momentous event, the first English 
 invasion. 
 
 Nor doth his military character, so rolelirated by 
 his countrymen, appear to any advjuitage in his 
 contests with the English. Yet it would be rash to 
 form the severest opinion of this part of his conduct, 
 as we are not distinctly inforiufd of tljc obstacles 
 and difficulties he encountered. The Irish anna- 
 lists, who record his actions, were little acquainted 
 with intrigues of policy or faction, and liUle attentive 
 to their operations. They confine themselves to 
 the plain exposition of events ; tell us of an insur- 
 rection, a victory, or a retreat ; but never think of 
 developing the secret cau.ses that produced or in- 
 fluenced these events. We knovv that Roderic led 
 great armies against Dermod and his English allies: 
 but they were collected by inferior chiefs, many of 
 
 whom 
 
 found in the edition of Baluzius ; and by some expression:^ seems to in- 
 timate, that earl Julm still wisht'd or expected to receive ihy tit'e of 
 king of Ireland from the pope. 
 
Ju6 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 whom hated and envied him. They were not im- 
 plicitly obedient to their monarch ; they were not 
 paid ; they were not oljliged to keep the field ; bnt 
 were ready to desert him on the most critical emer- 
 gency, if the appointed period of their service 
 shonid then happen to expire. The disorders of 
 his own family commenced almost with his reign. 
 Their progress was desperate and bloody, and must 
 have proved an atliicting embarrassment in all his 
 actions and designs. If Henry the second, with his 
 vast abilities and resources, was driven almost to the 
 brink of ruin by the rebellion of his son, we are the 
 less to wonder, that a like unnatural defection of 
 the sons of Roderic could meet with such support, 
 and be attended with such success, as to deprive him 
 of his throne. A monastic retreat might have af- 
 forded him a shelter from outrage, but not repose 
 of mind ■ unless he were a total stranger to the 
 transactions of his province, or totally insensible to 
 the most affecting incidents. While he was em- 
 ployed in formal prayers and penances, his sons 
 were butchering each otlier, and deluging the land 
 Avith blood. If he were touched with these mis- 
 fortunes and excesses, and yet incapable of inter- 
 posing to prevent them ; we cannot well imagine 
 an object more pitiable than a helpless, unfriended, 
 unsupported prince, at the age of almost ninety, 
 immured by rebellious children, without power or 
 authority to restrain their outrages, now tin*ned 
 against each other, and afflicted at the miseries of 
 those who had deposed him. His last period of 
 life, however, was somewhat comforted, by find- 
 ing the cruel dissensions of his family end in the 
 dominion of a young warrior of his own blood, 
 who promised to exterminate the invaders, and re- 
 trieve the honors of his country. If he entertain- 
 ed such hopes, happily he did not survive them. 
 The death of a king is generaih' attended with some 
 ♦interesting consequences ; but that of Roderic, who 
 had long since ceased to exercise the regal power, 
 
 wasi 
 
Ch. 5. RICHARD I. IG7 
 
 was one of those indifferont and unaffccting' inci- 
 dents, which arcjnst related and foro-otten. 
 
 By the demise of Richard the first in the succeed- 
 ing year, and the accession of his brother, the rifi^hts 
 transferred to John as lord of Irehmd, reverted, 
 with the tith^, to the crown of England, 
 
 CIIA? 
 
168 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B.I. 
 
 C H A P. VI. 
 
 State of government in Ireland at the accession of king 
 John., , . Metier Fitz- Henri/ succeeds to Hamo De Va- 
 lois. . , . Disaffection of John De Courcey, . . . I^oth he and 
 Hugh De Laci/ affect independence. . . . Grants to Braosa 
 and De Burgo. . . . Progress of De Burgo. . . , He de- 
 thrones Cathal king of Connaitght. . . . Defeats O^Nialy 
 De Cource?/, and De Lacy in their attempt to restore 
 Cathal. . . . His progress in Munster. . . . Cathal practises 
 with De Burgo., , .Defeats and kills his rival.. . .Is re- 
 stored. . , . His ingratitude. . . . Meiler marches to reduce 
 De Burgo.. . .Is joined hy Cathal and by O'Brien.. , . 
 De Bui go surrenders, and returns to his allegiance. . . . The 
 chiefs of Connaught and Thomond give hostages to Met- 
 ier. . . . Two parts of his province ceded by Cathal. . . , 
 Cause of the revolt of the English barons in Ireland. . . . Vi- 
 olence ofDe Courcey. . , .Is accused by Hugh De Lacy to 
 ling John. : . . The Lacies commissioned to reduce De 
 Courcey. . . . Who is obliged to abandon Ulster. . . . Re- 
 ceives the king's safe-conduct.^ and repairs to England. . . . 
 Romantic detail of De Courcey' s being betrayed into the 
 hands of Hugh De Lacy. . . . Of Hugh's indignation at the 
 treachery, and his punishment of the agents. . . . Of De 
 Courcey and the French champion. . . . Of the surprizing 
 proof of his bodily strength.. . .Remarks on this detail.. . . 
 Hugh gains the earldom of Ulster .... Repairs to the king 
 .. . .Aid for the recovery of Normandy demanded from the 
 Irish clergy. . . . Pope Innocent's controversy with John 
 begins in Ireland. . . . Dispute about the succession to the 
 see of Armagh. , , . John prevailed upon to acknowledge and 
 admit the pope's prelate. . . . Soon experiences the dreadful 
 consequences. ...In the midst of his contest with the pope 
 he undertakes an expedition into Ireland. . ..State of Ireland 
 at this period. . . . Cause of John's displeasure against the 
 Lacies. . . . and against William De Braosa. . , . The Lacies 
 
Ch. 6. JOHN. 169 
 
 JIj/ from Ireland at the arrival of John. . . . fic grants his 
 Irish subjects a charter of laws. . .zi'hich is deposited in the 
 Exchequer of Dublin. . . .He males a neio division of coun- 
 ties., , . The zcife and fandlij of William De Braosa impri' 
 soned. . . . The I Aides distressed in France. . . . Are restored 
 to favor, and reinstated in their possessions. , . .John departs 
 from Ireland.. . . Administration of John Ue Grey.. . .Cir- 
 cumstances favorable to his government. . , . Interposition of 
 ling John in favor of Caihal.. . .John strives to gain the 
 Irish piinces by courtesy. . . . Henry De Londres, prelate 
 of Dublin, acts as an English baron.. . . ExpiTsses his in- 
 dignation at the conduct of Pandulf . . . His transactions in 
 the congress of Runingmede. . . .Accession of Henry the 
 third. . . . Requisitions of his barons in Ireland. . . . Letter of 
 Henry to Geoffry De Maurisco. . . Grant of the great char- 
 ter of liberties to his subjects of Ireland. 
 
 An undisputed succession to the crown of Eng-- 
 landj and a peaceful sovereigntv^ might have prov- 
 ed an happy incident to Ireland^ by enabling 
 John to apply his present accession of power to the 
 complete settlement of an island, harassed and af- 
 flicted by a variety of contests and competitions^ 
 oppressed by avarice, and mangled by faction. But 
 John, who had seized the throne in prejudice to the 
 claim of Arthur of Bretagne, son to his elder bro- 
 ther, had all the difficulties of an usurpation to en- 
 counter. His continental interests were to be se- 
 cured, his refractory barons to be gained, the in- 
 trigues of France to be defeated, Arthur and his 
 partizans to be reconciled or reduced ; so that at the 
 very commencement of his unhappy and inglorious 
 reign, he was involved in cares and difficulties ; and 
 amidst the more interesting objects of his concern, 
 had neither leisure nor inclination to attend to the 
 affairs of Ireland. 
 
 Some former grants indeed were renewed, at the^j^g^^ 
 instance of those who had obtained them, as well nes Com 
 
 Vol. I. Y toMid.Mss 
 
ITO HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 Rot.Tiirr. to the cliurch as to the lay barons; and Hamo De 
 ^^^ ' Valois, who from harassing- the ecclesiastics^ pro- 
 ceeded to connnit depredations on the laity, and 
 amassed considerable riches at the expence both of 
 MSS. the subjects and the crown, was removed from his 
 Lambeth, crovern men t \\ith disgrace, and obliged to pay the 
 king one thonsand marks, as a discharge from his 
 accounts. Meiler Fitz-Henry, natural son of Henry 
 the First, and one of the most distinguished ba- 
 rons who had originally adventured into Ireland, 
 was appointed to succeed him ; but unassisted by 
 the king, and ill supported by the great lords, who 
 enjoyed their Irish grants and actjuisitions, he was 
 confined to the seat of government, without a force 
 for any brave: attempt worthy of liis valor and abili- 
 ties. John De Courcey, and Hugh De Lacy, two 
 of the most powerful settlers in Ireland, had for 
 some time atlected a state of independence. The 
 former had lived in almost perpetual hostilities w ith 
 the cliiefs of Ulster; aud though sometimes de- 
 feated, particularly l)v his most active and powerful 
 Ann. opponent, Hugh O'Nial of Tir-Ovven, yet, by an 
 Anon. obstinate and indefatigable valor, he still main- 
 tained his acquisitions. But far from acknowledg- 
 ing allegiance to king John, he openly and boldly 
 impeached his title to the crown ; and seemed ra- 
 ther to assume the port of an Irish chieftain, than 
 Ibid, of an English baron. Both he and De Lacy entered 
 into treaties with the neighbouring lords, and assisted 
 in their local and provincial contests, which were im- 
 mediately resumed, as soon as any advantage gained 
 over the English enflamed their p rid e^ and allayed 
 the sudden fit of national resentment. 
 Cox. Among the grants renewed by John, were those 
 
 of the lands of Thomond to Philip De Braosa, and 
 William his son, excepting the city of Limerick, 
 which, with the lands formerly granted in Con- 
 naught, was assigned to the custody of William De 
 Buro'o, a baron of the family of Fitz-Andelm. And 
 
 these 
 
Cii. 6. JOHN. in 
 
 these lords now appeared with a fbrmidal3lc train of Ann. 
 followers to support their elaiins. De Burg'o, who ^jg°^"* 
 seems to have acted witli peeuliar vigor, soon con- 
 trived to possess himself of Limerick, and to form 
 a settlement which threatened all iMunster, dis- 
 tracted as it was by the barbarous quarrels of rival 
 chieis. The like factious competitions in Con- 
 naught enabled him to assert his claims in this pro- 
 vince. Cathal the Bloody-handed, who at the tirst 
 beginnings of his reign, had promised such prodi- 
 gies of successful valor, found himself suddenly 
 controled by the secret j)ractices of his enemies, 
 his popularity declining, his partizans revolting with Ibid, 
 their usual fickleness, and an enterprising and sub- 
 tle rival laboring to supplant him. Carragh O'Con- 
 nor, a chieftain ot] his own blood, aspired to the 
 royal dignity of Connaught, formed a party in sup- 
 port of his pretensions, but, instead of j^roceeding 
 with the usual violence and precipitation of his coun- 
 trymen, addressed himself secnMly to DeBurgo; and Ware ex. 
 promising to invest him with tliose lands which lie^j^^ 
 claimed by the grant of John, engaged him in his 
 service against a prince, who, by his former conduct, 
 Mas judged to be peculiarly averse to the admission 
 of such claims. Their enterprize was conducted with 
 ability and vigor, and was attended with success. 
 Cathal, suddenly attacked even in his own court, and Ann. 
 utterly unprovided for defence, fled precipitately from Anon, 
 the province, and left his rival Carragh in possession ^' ^^• 
 ofthe regal dignity. \{,jg/ 
 
 The news of this sudden and extraordinary revo- 
 lution was received by the neighbouring cjiief- 
 tains Viith astonishment. The exiled prince Ih^d to 
 O'Nial of Tir-Owen; made the most pathetic re- 
 presentations of his wrongs, and entreated his assist- 
 ance against this injurious usurj)ation. He was re- 
 ceived, commiserated, and consoled with the assu- 
 rance of an ettectual support. A confederacy ^vaslbid. 
 formed, and a powerful army raised, by the influ- 
 ence of the northern chief Taught by the example 
 
 of 
 
172 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. t 
 
 of Carragh^ they sacrificed their national prejudices 
 to the interests of the present enterprize, entered 
 into treaty with De Courcey and De Lacy, and pre- 
 vailed on them to unite their forces in the cause of 
 Cathal. Thus were English lords engaged against 
 each other^ in the local factions and contentions of 
 the natives, so deeply were they already tainted by 
 their contagious manners. The usurper and his 
 English allies, commanded by De Burgo, marched 
 out to meet their invaders, and encountered them 
 
 A. D. w ith the utmost bravery. The conflict was obsti- 
 
 1200. nately supported ; but victory at length declared in 
 favor of the troops of Connaught, and those of 
 Ulster and Meath were pursued with considerable 
 slaughter. To aggravate the misfortune of O'Nial, 
 whose power, like that of other Irish princes, was 
 maintained, or at least considerably affected by opi- 
 nion, his subjects, in the vexation of their defeat 
 passionately renounced his authority; and in his 
 
 Ann. place substituted another chieftain of Tir-Owen; 
 
 Anon, who, in his eagerness to impress them with a fa- 
 vorable idea of liis valor, fell in an engagement 
 w ith the forces of Tir-Connel ; an event w hich, as 
 usual, involved his territory in factions, usurpati- 
 ons, and massacres. If the Irish annalists dwell on 
 the shocking detail of such excesses, it seems to be 
 imputed, not so much to any natural defect of sen- 
 sibility, as to superstition, that fatal corrupter of our 
 generous and humane affections. No chief was ever 
 slain either by war or assassination, but was found to 
 have by some means offended one of their renown- 
 ed saints. His death was the vengeance of heaven ; 
 and was to be distinctly noted, in order to display 
 the power of this otlended saint, and the glory of 
 his dealing destruction from, the regions of peace 
 and love. 
 
 De Burgo, whose fame and power were consi- 
 derably increased by his late successes, tempted by 
 the liojies of new acquisitions, and encouraged by 
 the weakness of English government, forgot his 
 
 allei;iance 
 
 MSS. 
 
Ch. 6. JOHN. US 
 
 allegiance to the crown, and made war and peace by 
 his own proper authority, as a sovereign and inde- 
 pendent chief. Limerick was made the seat of his 
 power ; from whence he first issued forth against the 
 Irish lords of Thomond, one of whom, Connor Ann, 
 Ruadh, a factious aspirer to the principality, helnnisf. 
 seized and confined; and still extending his ambiti-^^^^- 
 ous yiews^ proceeded to alarm the chiefs of Des- 
 mond by a vigorous inciu'sion. After some hosti- 
 lities, the authority of the clergy, together with a 
 legate of the pope, now residing in Desmond, pre- 
 vented the calamities of war. A treaty was com- 
 menced by their interposition, and speedily con- 
 cluded between the Desmonians and de Burgo, who 
 had the honor of receiving hostages from the Irish 
 lords as a security for the due performance of their 
 stipulations, and returned peaceably to Limerick, 
 but soon found new employment for his enterpriz- 
 ing genius. Cathal, the Connaught prince, who 
 had been deposed by his arms, had still a consi- 
 dera])le faction in his favor, and still entertained 
 hopes of recovering his dominion. The present si- 
 tuation of his English allies in INIeath and Ulster 
 deprived him of all hopes of any further assistance 
 from these (piarters. O'Nial, his associate, of Tir- 
 Owen, was in circumstances similar to his own, de- 
 posed, and now laboring to be re-established. As 
 his last resource, he conceived the design of apply- 
 ing to de Burgo ; with a subtilty of address, which 
 an active temper soon learns from contention and 
 misfortune, he laboured to detach this lord from the 
 interests of his rival; and by flattery and promises 
 so effectually prevailed, that he now declared against 
 the prince whom he had just established; and in 
 conjunction with Cathal marched into Connaught 
 to depose him. Carragh, though surprised, and ill Ibid, 
 provided for defence^, encountered his invaders with 
 becoming spirit; and when overpowered by num- 
 bersj disdaining to survive the loss of royalty, fell 
 
 bravely 
 
Innisf. 
 MSS, 
 
 174 HISTORY OP IRELAND. 
 
 bravely in the field. Cathal thus restored, was now. 
 to perform the promises he had lavished on his new 
 ally. De Burgo had been too much dazzled by the 
 hopes of laro^e and valuable cessions in his province, 
 to discern the insincerity of this prince; and was 
 now confounded to tind all his rapacious views ut- 
 terly disappointed, and his services repaid with 
 treachery and ingTatitude. His demands were dis- 
 dainfully rejected; and when he had recourse to 
 arms for his redress, the superior force of Cathal 
 soon obliged him to consult his safety by a precipi- 
 tate and dishonoral^le flight. 
 
 In order to revenge this perfidy, and to retrieve 
 Ann. the honor of his arms, de Burgo made another in- 
 road into Connaught ; but was speedily recalled to his 
 head-quarters by the alarm of a new and formida- 
 ble enemj^ Meiler Fitz -Henry had by this time 
 been enabled to raise a considerable force ; and just- 
 ly conceiving that it was his first duty to support 
 the authority of his royal master against his revolted 
 subjects of iEngland, bent his march towards Lime- 
 rick, declaring his resolution to chastise the disloyal- 
 ty of its present governor. The Irish princes feared 
 and hated de Burgo ; and at the same time were just- 
 ly alarmed at an appearance of vigor and activity in 
 the English government. Cathal determined to se- 
 cure himself against the revenge which he had just- 
 ly provoked, by treating with Meiler, and ofi^'ering 
 his assistance against their common enemy. O'Brien 
 of Thomond made the like tender of his services ; 
 so that an English governor was now, for the first 
 time, seen at the head of the native Irisli, march- 
 ing against his own countrymen. JMeiler thus re- 
 inforced, formed the siege of Limerick with an 
 army which de Burgo was utterly unable to resist. 
 He had no resource but to capitulate, and return to 
 his allegiance. His submission was accepted, and 
 his homage renewed ; and iNIeiler was now at leisure 
 to enter into a more regular and formal treaty with 
 his new Irish associates. They had both been ha- 
 rassed 
 
Lond, 
 
 Cn. 6. JOHN. 175 
 
 rassed by faction and contention in their different 
 provinces, and therefore were the readier to seek 
 for sheher in the protection of the Enj^lish govern- 
 ment. OBrien made snch concessions as seem to 
 have shocked the pride of his countrymen, and 
 f^ave hostao'es as a security for the peaceable and 
 faithful performance of his stipulations. The con- 
 cessions of Cathal were still more important. He 
 consented to surrender two parts of Connaught to 
 king' John, and to pay one hundred marks annually 
 for the third part, which he retained, and was to Archir, 
 hold in vassalage. The king- was even allowed to J'"';'*,- 
 chuse his portion in the most improved, conveni- 
 ent, and best iidiabited parts of Connaught. At 
 least he directsthat the choice should be thus made, 
 in his letter to Meiler Fitz-Henry, whom he invests 
 with all the issues and profits of his portion, to be 
 expended on fortifying' and improving it*. 
 
 The 
 
 * Ex Arch. Turris Loiidinensis. 
 
 " Rex, &c. dilecto & fideli suo Meilero fiJio Henrici jusliciario Hib- 
 erniae salutem. Mandastis nobis per literas vestras & nuncios nostros & 
 vestros, quod rex Conaciae nobis quietas clamasset duas partes Conaciaj, 
 ita quod tertia pars ei remaneret tenendum hereditarie per centum mar- 
 cas nobis & haeredibus nostris inde reddendas annuatim. Et quia 
 videtur nobis & concilio nostro hoc nobis expedire, si vobis ita vido- 
 tur vobis mandamus quod hoc ita fieri faciatis, ita quod ehgatis illa?t 
 duas partes ad onus nostru7u sicut mehus videritis expedire, in fide qua 
 nobis tenemini, ubi scilicet meliores villae & portus fuerint, & loca com- 
 petenciora ad coininodurn nostrum, & ad fortes' domos firmandas. Et 
 depraidicto rego obsides& quascunque potcritis securitates capitatis, quod 
 fidehs nobis cxistrit ; & remaneat ei praidicta tertia pars Conacia; per prse- 
 dictum sur/itium; & etiiciatis quod omnes nativi <te fugitivi qui ex dua- 
 bus partibus quae nobis remanserint, exierint, revertantur cum omnibua 
 catallis & sequela sua ; et in iisdem partibus nostris castellas firmetis, & 
 Tillas constituatis, & redditus assideatis, & commodum nostrum sicut 
 melius expedire videritis faciatis. Et ad hoc faciendum, cxitus ejusdem 
 terrae, si opus fuerit, & redditus nostros capiatis, & cum no!)is mauderitii* 
 quid inde fecentis, secundum quod nobis mandaveritis, eidem rcgi char- 
 tarn nostraiii fuciemus." Teste, &c. 
 
1"G iiiSTORY OF IRELAND. B. I, 
 
 The spirit of independence and disaffection which 
 had lately appeared among- the English barons of 
 Ireland, had been excited not only by their large 
 grants, and extensive settlements, but by the cir- 
 cumstances and situation of the English monarch. 
 Like the other lords of his realm, they were neither 
 reconciled to his succession, nor satisfied with his 
 conduct. Readily imbibing the sentiments of their 
 countrymen, they learned to despise the meanness 
 of his treaty with France ; they were prevoked at 
 his oppressions in England, confounded at the death 
 of Arthur; and secure (as they supposed) by their 
 distant situation, vented their invectives against his 
 supposed murderer with the g-reater freedom and 
 jj^^ virulence. The violent and artless temper of John 
 Marib. De Courcey was particularly enflamed by the un- 
 Hanmcr. happy fate of a youngs prince, whose pretensions to 
 the crown he had originally approved, and whose 
 death he now resented in such terms of reproach, as 
 suited his unrefined integrity. Hugh de Lacy, 
 more flexible and temporising-, and secretly envying- 
 the growing power of this lord, seized the advan- 
 tage of this indiscretion, and delated him to the 
 king; urging the danger of a revolted subject at- 
 tended with a large and warlike train, in a station 
 of considerable strength ; and who, not contented 
 with renouncing his allegiance, openly and boldly 
 accused his sovereign as the assassin of his nephew, 
 and rightful liege lord. 
 A. D. John was stung with this reproach, and provok- 
 
 1203. ed at his revolt. He summoned him to repair to 
 his presence, and do him homage. De Courcey 
 treated his mandate with contempt ; so that, about 
 the same time that Meiler Pitz-Henry was prepar- 
 ing to reduce De Burgo, De Lacy and his brother 
 . Walter had commission to subdue this refractoiy ba- 
 ron, and to send him prisoner to the king. The hopes 
 and passions of a rival were effectually gratified by 
 this commission ; which the brothers proceeded to 
 execute with the utmost alacrity. De Lacy led on 
 
 his 
 
Ch. 6. JOHN. 17T 
 
 his troops, pierced into Ulster, and is said to Iiave^-03. 
 come to an engaii;e!nent with De Covn'cey at Down^ 
 in which he was Vorced to retire ^^ith disgrace, and 
 no iuconsidcra])le loss. The Ulster lord, however, 
 conscious that he could not lon«^ maintain a war 
 ag^ainst such forces as the English government might 
 command, and dreading to be despoiled of his va- 
 luable acquisitions, consented to submit and do Ann. 
 Jiomage to John, demanding a safe conduct, and giv--^^"^"- 
 ing hostages and sureties for his peaceable depar- ^^^l^j^^ 
 ture and appearance before the kin*^. The Irish Turr. 
 annalists mention nothing more of the transactions Lond. 
 of these contending lords, but that Lacy compelled 
 John De Courcey to depart from Ulster ; and that 
 he obtained the safe-conduct of Tir-Owen. The 
 archieves of the Tower furnish us with the mandate 
 of John to the Ulster barons who had become sure- 
 ties for their chief, directing* them to cause him to 
 appear and perform his service, by a term to be as- 
 signed by his lord justice of Ireland ; together w ith 
 the king's safe-conduct to De Courcey, and the names 
 of the hostages delivered on his part. But the Eng- Hen. 
 lish writers have (upon the acknowledged authority ^^^^'^^•.^ 
 of Irish narratives) delivered a fuller, and more cir-fjanmer.* 
 cumstantial detail of these transactions, and the for-Cox, &e. 
 tunes of John De Courcey ; which, romantic as it 
 appears, shall not be passed over, as it appears to be 
 not unworthy of some remark. 
 
 Immediately afler the defeat at Down, (as these 
 annalists deliver) De Courcey offered the combat to 
 Hugh De Lacy, which this lord, in respect of his 
 commission from the king, refused to luidertake 
 against a rebellious subject ; but, by proclamation, 
 promised a large reward to those who should seize 
 and deliver him up alive or dead. When this 
 proved ineffectual, he in the next place practised se- 
 cretly with some of the attendants and followers of 
 De Courcey, and by bribes and promises prevailed 
 upon them to betray their master. Having chosen 
 their opportunitv. when he was doing penance near 
 
 Vol. I. ^ Z the 
 
IIISTOUY OF IRELAND. B . i. 
 
 the clmrcli of Do^vn, unsuspecting and unarmed, 
 they attacked and killed some of his retinue, par- 
 ticularly two sons of Annoric of Saint Laurence, who 
 rose up to defend their uncle ; and although De 
 Courcey Avith his usual prowess seized a large 
 Svooden cross, and with this weapon killed thirteen 
 of his assailants, yel the survivors overpowered, 
 bound, and led him captive to DeLacy ; demanding 
 the reward of their treachery. But this lord, with a 
 generous abhorrence of such agents, ordered them 
 to embark on board a vessel which he had provided ; 
 Avith a passport not to be opened imtil they should 
 land ; in w hich he related their perfidy to their mas- 
 ter, and forbad the king's subjects to receive or pro- 
 tect them. Exposed to the sea without pilot and 
 without provisions, they were at length driven into 
 Cork ; and there these wretched men were hanged 
 by order of De Lacy. 
 
 In the mean time, John De Courcey was con- 
 veyed to England, and condemned to perpetual 
 imprisonment; where he remained unnoticed, until 
 a champion of Philip king of France appeared at 
 the court of John, and proposed to assert his mas- 
 ter's clainj to Normandy, or to some castle of this 
 province (for it is variously related) in single com- 
 bat. John, mortified to find no subject of his 
 realm prepared to encounter this boisterous chal- 
 lenger, is reminded that his prisoner de Courcey 
 promised by his valor and bodily strength to prove 
 more than equal to the French champion. De Cour- 
 cey is invited to support the honor of his country; 
 and, after repeated denials, is at length prevailed 
 upon, not for the sake of John who had treated him 
 so injuriously, but for the honor of his crown and 
 kingdom, to accept the challenge. He desires his 
 own sword to be l3roiight from Ireland ; the rigors 
 of his confinement are softened ; and his strength 
 restored by due care and nourishment. The day of 
 this important decision arrives : the princes and no- 
 bles of each nation are assembled in the most anxi- 
 ous 
 
Ch. 6 JOHN. 179 
 
 oils impatience for the event : the Frenchman first 
 appears : De Conrcey prepares with a composure 
 and delil)eration highly provoking' to those who are 
 to conduct him ; to whom he observes with a sullen 
 ease^ that it" any of them wer(; invited to such a 
 banquet, they would make no great haste: ami 
 Avhen he at length enters the lists, the Frenchman 
 having' surveyed him minutely, and Ijeing- terrified 
 by the stern aspect, the g-igantic size, and strong- 
 proportion of his antagonist, declines the combat^ 
 and flics into Sj)ain. 
 
 The two kings, who are said to have been wit- 
 nesses of this triumph of De Courcey, now entreated 
 him to give some proof of his bodily strength, as 
 they had been disappointed in their expectations of 
 liis hardy combat wkh the Frenchman. In com- 
 pliance with their desire, we are told, that he or- 
 dered a stake to be driven into the ground, on which 
 >Acre placed a coat of nuul and helmet. Then draw- 
 ing his sword, and looking with a stern and threat- 
 ening aspect on the jjriiices, he struck it through 
 the armour so deeply into (he stake, that no one but 
 himself covdd draw it out. The princes expressed 
 their astonishuK^nt not only at his vigor, but at the 
 strange and menacing looks which he liad darted at 
 them both; to whom lie answered with a rude and 
 sullen violence, that had he missed his blow, be 
 should have stricken off their heads. The impor- 
 tance of his present sen ice atoned for these pa.ssio- 
 nate expressions. John gave him his liberty, re- 
 stored him to his possessions, and it is added, that on 
 (his occasion, lie, at the request of De Courcey, 
 granted to him and his heirs the privilege of stand- 
 ing covered in their first audience with the king of 
 England. 
 
 To heighten the marvellous of thi:« narrailive still 
 further, we are assured, upon the authority of the 
 Book of llowth, that when this lord attenqited to 
 return into Ireland, he was repeatedly driven back 
 by contrary winds, v.hich rose in sadden gusts, on 
 
 every 
 
iSO HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 every embarkation : that he Mas as often warned in 
 a vision, thai ail his attempts to visit Irehmd were 
 vain, for that he had grievously otfended, by depriv- 
 ing the master^ and scUitig up the servant : and that, 
 recollectinii^thathe had formerly translated tliechurch 
 of Down dedicated to the Holy Trinity, into an abbey 
 of black monks, consecrated to the honor of Saint 
 Patrick ; he acknowledged his offence, retired into 
 Prance, and there died. 
 
 They who reject the superstitious addition, have 
 yet adopted the romantic part of this narrative with- 
 out scruple ; though both evidently stand upon the 
 same original authority. The story of the seizure 
 and captivity of De Courcey is confuted by a public 
 record, which agrees with ihe short stricture of the 
 manuscript I have quoted, and is of infinitely more 
 authority than the longest train of annalists and his- 
 torians, each echoing the tale of his predecessor. 
 The champion and the challenge is framed in con- 
 formity to the manners of this age, in which the 
 rights of princes were frequently decided by suigle 
 combat. But before the date of John's safe-con- 
 duct granted to De Courcey, Normandy had been 
 lo.st, and even Roan its last remaining city, aban- 
 doned by his shameful conduct. The proof of 
 vigor whicli the Ulster lord is said to have exhibit- 
 ed before the two kings, is equally repugnant to the 
 tenor of authentic history. From the time of his 
 departure from Ireland, there is no period in the 
 whole reign of John, in which these sovereigns 
 could have held a personal conference either in 
 France or England. The general nature and form 
 of this narrative, the circumstantial minuteness with 
 which it is delivered, and the poetical colouring by 
 which it is enlivened, render it suspicious even at 
 first view: public records detect some part of it; the 
 most authentic and incontested histories of this 
 reign destroy the credit of others, and indeed leave 
 nothing that claims any reasonable or plausible 
 support 
 
 But 
 
Ch. 6i JOHN. 181 
 
 But it would not be worth while to detain the 
 reader by this romantic tale, merely for the sake of 
 refuting it^ if we did not conceive it to be a speci- 
 men not unworthy of regard, of the narrtitive of 
 Irish bards and romances, and the liberties they as- 
 sumed of enlarging and embellishing the real inci- 
 dents of their times. They who lived in earlier 
 times are not so easily detecfed. But we see with 
 what caution we are to receive their narratives, when 
 in times less obscure, and, when confronted by other 
 evidence, this order of men have hazarded such 
 bold fictions, and with such ease and such success, 
 have obtruded the marvellous and the aflecting up- 
 on their unrefined hearers, for real history. But as 
 we find in these instances that the talcs of the Irish 
 bards were founded upon facts, we may reasonably 
 conclude that (lieir predecessors took the same 
 course : that they sophisticated the truth by their 
 additions, but were not entirely inventors. Their 
 %'ery fictions seem to prove that some solid founda- 
 tion of true history lay at the bottom of their gaudy 
 superstructures. The tradition of the death of earl 
 Strongl)ow*s son may liave been merely the inven- 
 tion of a popular rhimer, but we may fairly collect 
 i\'om it, that the earl was ligid in his temper, and 
 sc^vere in his discipline: and the narrative noM^ recit- 
 ed, aflbrds an additional evidence that John De Cour- 
 cey, so famous in the annals of Ireland, was robust, 
 valiant, and boisterous, disafi'ectcd to king John^ 
 forced from Ulster by De Lacy, and obliged to sur- 
 render, and attend the king in England. 
 
 Upon the death of this lord, which seems toHanm. 
 have happened soon Jifler his departure from Ire-^'ox. 
 land, (or possibly upon his first disgrace) the earl- 
 dom of I'lster was granted to Hugh De Lacy, in 
 prejudice to the claim of Milo, son of De Courcey, 
 and one of those hostages lie had sent to John. And 
 this seems to prove that John De Courcey had not Arch. 
 l)een reconciled to the king, nor restored to favor. '!'""■. 
 On the contrary, his honors and possessions, trans- ^°'^^' 
 
 ferred 
 
182 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I 
 
 ferred to another lord, by the indiscreet and capri- 
 cious bounty of the king-, served to s\vell the pride, 
 and raise the po^ver of the Lacys to a formidable 
 height. Their inveteracy against their late rival 
 (the cause of which is not particularly explained,) 
 and their apprehensions that his posterity might at 
 some time regain what was now bestowed on ihem^ 
 operated with such uin*elenting' severity, that a na- 
 tural son of De Courccy, lord of Raheny, a district 
 in the neighbourhood of Dublin, is said to have 
 Hanm. been assassinated by their contrivance. And possibly 
 their violences might have extended still further, to 
 Feb. the father-in-law of this lord, the king of Mann ; for 
 1204-5. we find that about this time, he was obliged to sue 
 Rymer. ^^ king John for protection against his enemies, 
 which he received by a formal patent, for himself, his 
 lands, and people. 
 
 And now, as the distresses of John required the 
 presence and assistance of his most trusty and fa- 
 vorite baron , both Hugh De Lacy, and Meiler 
 Eymeh Fitz-Henry, were called into England, and the go- 
 vernment of Ireland entrusted to Walter De Lacy, 
 together with the archdeacon of Stafford, who, pos- 
 sibly from his function, was deemed a proper agent 
 to solicit the subsidy which John now demanded 
 from the clergy of Ireland, in order to enable him 
 to oppose the progress of Philip, and to recover 
 Normandy: a pretence which served him to harass 
 his subjects with oppressive demands, exacted with- 
 out mercy, and lavished without honor or advan- 
 tage ; till the ambition of pope Innocent the third 
 roused him from that scandalous insensibility, with 
 which he had beheld the loss of his continental do- 
 ^pist. minions. This politic and aspiring pontiff, though 
 s^'' ^ a little before the accession of king John, he had 
 been openly and boldly opposed even by a prince 
 of Desmond, in his attempt to confer the bishopric 
 of Ross, yet found another opportunity of making 
 experiment of his power in Ireland, before he de- 
 clared his designs against the church and state of 
 England. 
 
Ch. 6. JOHN. 183 
 
 In most of the grants made to the English ad- 
 venturers in Ireland, there \\as an express reserva- 
 tion of the donations of bishoprics and abliies to 
 the lord of Ireland. So that on the decease of Tho- 
 mas O'Connor, prelate of Armagh, king John as- 
 serted his privilege, and nominated an Englishman 
 named Humphry De Tickhull to the see. But the^'^'aiede 
 suffragan bishops, and some clergy of the diocese, * 
 probably by the practices of a legate now resident in 
 England, proceeded wiihout regard to the royal 
 mandate, to elect Eugene one of their own country- 
 men. John, incensed at this contempt of his au-Pryn. 
 thority, addresses an appeal to the Irish legate, ^Z^^'^- 
 against this irregular election : while Eugene in thcLoud 
 mean time repairs to Rome, and is confirmed by 
 the pope. The king, still more provoked, sends a 
 peremptory mandate to the clergy of Armagh, and 
 another directed to all the faithiid in this diocese, 
 strictly forbidding them to receive Eugene, or to 
 acknowledge him as their prelate : and, still reso- 
 lute in defence of his rights, on the death of Tick-^^^^^' 
 hull, nominates the archdeacon of Meath as his^^^'^^P' 
 successor. Thus was the contest protracted for a 
 considerable time : the clergy of Armagh adhering 
 to the pope, and receiving Eugene; the king insisted 
 on his privileges, and with-holding the temporalties 
 of the see. 
 
 In this contest the clergy had the popular favor 
 and opinion entirely on their side ; an advantage of 
 some moment. The English competitors for the 
 primacy had their sole reliance upon court-favor. 
 Unnoticed in their own country, they had sought 
 that preferment in another, ^hich they could not 
 claim by their merits where they were better known, 
 and obtained it by some fortunate incidents, or con- 
 nexions. Eugene, on the conti-ary, had recom- 
 mended himself by a long course of exemplary con- 
 duct, which raised the utmost indignation at the pre- 
 tensions of his rivals, and cast an odium on the op- 
 position of John. AVhen he repaired to England, 
 
 in 
 
Anon. 
 MSS 
 
 lat HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 in order to make liis peace with fliis prince, hi» 
 countrymen could not conceive that a pTelate of 
 such transcendent woi-th and holiness had any mo- 
 tive for this journey, bui the welfare of the nation ; 
 and their annalisty, equally prejudiced, represent 
 
 Ann. him as undertaking- ii, painful journey to the court 
 of Eijo'land, on purpose to lay open the irregulari- 
 ties of the English settlers, and to plead against their 
 avarice and oppression. 
 
 But the length to which this dispute had been 
 protracted, and tlie intervention of ai^airs much 
 more important, operated in favor of Eugene and 
 his pretensions, more than the superiority of his 
 
 Pryn. character. A]>ove all, three hundred marks of sil- 
 ver, and one hundred marks of gold, presented to 
 the king, in his necessities, without the apparent in- 
 terference of the prelate, softened the violence of 
 John, and at length prevailed upon him to invest 
 Eugene with all the rights of the see ; so that In- 
 nocent thus g-ained an advantage, which he took 
 effectual care to improve in his contest about the 
 succession to the see of Canterliuiy. The pride and 
 passionate violence of John, here, bore up for a 
 while against the resolute and determined rigor of 
 the pontiff. His claims were received with indig- 
 nation ; the sentence of interdict revenged by the 
 severest oppressions of the English clergy ; and when 
 the bishop of Exeter had with others of his brethren 
 declared for the pope, and abandoned his diocese, 
 the Irish prelate of Armagh, whose election thekin^ 
 had but just now opposed, was called into England, 
 and entrusted with his pastoral charge. But the 
 dreadfid sentence of excommunication, the apparent 
 disaffection of his subjects, and the well-grounded 
 fear of a conspii-acy, at length, so far prevailed over 
 the king's usual indolence that an army was raised 
 by pillaging the miserable Jews, to give lustre to his 
 government, and to intimidate his enemies. And 
 as Scotland and Wales, which were first threatened, 
 took care to avert the storm of war by a timely sub* 
 
 mission. 
 
Ch. 6. JOHN. 185 
 
 mission, the last pretence for affecting an appearance 
 of vio'or/ and keeping up a military force, was the 
 situation of affairs in Ireland, and the reduction of 
 his enemies in this country. 
 
 The present condition of Ireland was not ap- 
 parently so critical and alarming as to require the 
 immediate presence of the king, and his royal army. 
 The vigor and activity of Meiler Fitz-Henry in 
 the southern expedition against De Burgo, had given 
 the English interest a firmer establishment in this 
 part of Ireland, than it had obtained for some years. 
 Not only Limerick but Cork had been recovered ; Ann. 
 and a strong fort added to this latter city, which ^Jgg^* 
 kept the Desmonians in due subjection: and the^ 
 death of Daniel Mac-Arthy, their warlike chief, 
 together with their own intestine broils, which never 
 were suspended, weakened this people ; and of 
 consequence gave strength to the English. Mea- 
 sures were concerted by Meiler for adding splen- 
 dor and consequence to the English government. 
 At his instances, John's mandate was received for^'"'^^*^* 
 building a tower in Dublin for the security of his^^^^'^jj 
 treasure, which the deputy was empowered to en- 
 large into a royal palace, if he should find it expe- 
 dient: and three hundred marks, a fine due fi-om 
 one of the king's barons of Ireland, were assigned 
 towards defraying the expence. A dreadful plague, 
 however, which had spread through many parts of Ann. 
 Leinster, raged with particular violence in Dublin :j^™^* 
 and as such calamities are often aggravated by the 
 outrages of the desperate and necessitous, the depu- 
 ty received a special order to expel all robbers andPrynn. 
 plunderers from the king's lands of Ireland, and to 
 execute the English laws on such delinquents. A 
 melancholy instance of such outrages is recorded by 
 historians, and hath its annual memorial continued 
 to this day. During the festival of Easter, a timeHanmer. 
 of sport and festivity, the citizens of Dnbim assem-^°^^'"S^' 
 bled for recreation at a distance fi-om the town, when 
 some lawless septs issued horn theu' mountains in 
 
 Vol. 1. 2 A the 
 
iS6 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. 1. 
 
 the neij^hboiirhood of Wicklow, fell with the ut- 
 most fury on this company, and slaughtered three 
 hundred of their number, A new colony from 
 Bristol soon supplied this loss, and exerted them- 
 selves so etfectually^j that their inhuman raragers 
 were broken and suppressed ; and the peace o( the 
 English territory restored : while the great Irish 
 chiefs, in the remoter parts of the island, still adhe- 
 red to their submissions and engagements, and were 
 considered as so faithfully and peaceably affected, 
 that in the year 1208, when Meilei', after some in- 
 terval of absence, was sent to resume his goveni- 
 
 Rymer, ment, John's letters of credence were addressed to 
 the king of Connaught, and all tlie other kings and 
 chiefs of Ireland. So that w^hatever private com- 
 plaints or local contests might subsist, the king had 
 no object considerable enough for leading an army 
 
 Hanmcr. into Ireland; and therefore, from the want of a 
 fairer pretence, denounced his vengeance against the 
 overgrown power of the Lacys, which had indeed 
 tempted them to relax their attention and defer- 
 ence to John ; and which, like others of their 
 countrymen, they had exercised with an oppressive 
 violence. 
 
 Among the nobles from whom John had de- 
 manded hostages, at the time when the sentence of 
 
 Matth. interdict and excommunication had possessed him 
 
 Par. with the fears of a conspiracy, was William De 
 Braosa, lord of Brecknock, who had received consi- 
 derable grants in Thomond. To the king's mes- 
 sengers who came for this purpose^ the wife of 
 
 Braosa 
 
 * Hence it grew a custom for the magistracy and citizens to hold an 
 annual feast upon the place where the massacre had been committed, 
 in defiance of the invaders; who, by a formal proclamation, were chal- 
 lenged to meet them in the field, or to submit to the king. To express 
 the greater contempt of their power, this challenge and defiance were 
 Afterwards appointed to be made by the singing boys of their cathedral, 
 as if they ^vcre sufficient to defend the city against these septs. And 
 the choirs are annually regaled at this place, called the Wood of C'vllon, 
 and make the same ridieuloua ehallenge, to this day. 
 
Ch. 6. JOHN. 187 
 
 Braosa answered with an indiscreet and passionate 
 severity, that her children never shonld be entrusted 
 to the man who had murtliered liis own nephew. 
 Vengeance was denounced against William, altliough 
 he is said to have reproved his wife's intemperance, 
 and promised obedience to the royal will. The ar- 
 rears due to the king from his lands in Ireland were 
 instantly demanded ; and, on the first default of 
 payment, orders issued to seize his lands and castles, Rymer, 
 and to secure his person. William, justly dreading 
 the cruelty of an incensed and vindictive tyrant, 
 fled to Ireland, with his wife and children, where 
 they were protected by De Lacy, in defiance of the 
 king's displeasure: nor was John ashamed, in the ibid, 
 meanness of his revenge, to assign the necessity of 
 reducing" this out-law and his adherents, as the rea- 
 son for his expedition into Ireland. 
 
 He arrived at Dublin in June of the year twelve ISIatth, 
 hundred and ten: and the English writers assure us, Paris. 
 that innnediately on his landing, more than twenty 
 Irish dynasts attended to do him homage : while his 
 English barons, Hugh and Walter De Lacy, dread- 
 ing the consequences of their lawless oppression, 
 and their enibezzlenient of the king's revenue, iled 
 to France; where William de Braosa also sought Hanmer. 
 shelter from John's resentnient, leaving his wife and 
 children still concealed in Ireland. Cathal, king of 
 Connaught, agreeably to his former stipulations, 
 now presented himself before John ; and with him, 
 O'Nial. ])rince of Tir-owen, who had long proved 
 a formidable enemy to John De Courcey, and had Ann. 
 been latelj^ reinstated in his territory, was prevailed ^""'^/• 
 upon to attend the king; but not before two hos-^ ^** 
 tages had been given as a security for the safe-con- 
 duct of this haughty chieftain. The terms of Ca- 
 thal's submission had been settled some years before 
 and his present purpose was but to renevv'his engage- 
 ments. Those ottered to O'Nial were apparently 
 accepted, and the chief peaceably dismissed ; but 
 
 with 
 
188 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 with the usual sickleness of his countrymen, he 
 seems to have instantly repented of his submissions. 
 Ann. No additional concessions of territory were made by 
 Vl^^^' the Irish lords of Desmond; though by the Eng- 
 lish settlements in this district, and particularly in 
 the city of Cork, they were prevented from giving 
 any disturbance, and left to slaughter each other, in 
 their mutual dissensions. In Thomond, Murtagh 
 O'Brien, who had submitted to Meiler, seems to 
 Ibid. have so far provoked his countrymen, by what they 
 deemed an ignoble concession, that a new compe- 
 titor was raised up against him, who deprived him 
 of his government, and held him in captivity. And 
 the influence of John could now extend no further, 
 than to procure the enlargement of this subject and 
 ally ; on which condition, his rival Donald Car- 
 bragh O'Brien was allov^ed to enjoy the kingdom. 
 Notwithstanding the late agreement of O'Nial with 
 king John, yet, no sooner had he reached his 
 own territory, than he absolutely refnsed to give 
 hostaiires, and treated the messeno-ers sent to de- 
 mand them with an insolence and contempt, Avhich 
 John passed over unnoticed, or at least unpunished. 
 In the chronicle of Harding, the earls of Ulster, 
 that is, the Irish petty princes of this province, are 
 said to have made their submissions to king John ; 
 and it is probable, that most of them consented to 
 pay him tribute, but without investing him with 
 their lands, resigning their sovereignties, or accept- 
 Ibid ing the English laws. Neither was the very pro- 
 vince of Leinster without its independent chiefs, in 
 Ossory, in Olialy, and other districts, who, while 
 they gave no molestation to the English, claimed 
 the right of administering their o^vn petty govern- 
 ments, according to the old Irish laws and customs 
 The English arms, however, had by this time, 
 penetrated into every province, and overspread the 
 whole island with new settlements, exhibiting a spe^ 
 cious appearance of dominion more than sufficient 
 
 for 
 
Ch. 6. JOHN. J89 
 
 for the mean and illiberal vanity of John : who ima- 
 gining that his power was employed to purposes of 
 sufficient dignity^ while he exterminated some incon- 
 siderable septs of marauders immediately round his 
 seat of government, and struck a general terror by 
 the severity of his executions, enjoyed the state and 
 consequence of a sovereign lord, and projected 
 schemes of improvement and legislation. 
 
 Henry the second, by his stipulations with those 
 English lords who had at first adventured into Ire- 
 land, guarded against their growing power, and the 
 danger of erecting themselves into independent so- 
 vereigns, by obliging them to do homage and fealty 
 to him and his successors. And at the same time 
 that he thus secured their allegiance, the agreement 
 on his part was equitable and reasonable, that they 
 sliould, in their new settlements, enjoy the advan- 
 tages of their former civil constitution, and still be 
 governed as his subjects, by the laws of England. 
 But the dispositions made by him for this purpose, 
 w ere necessarily imperfect and inaccurate, from his 
 short residence in Ireland, and the more pressing 
 objects of his attention. It doth not appear that 
 any code or charter had been provided by Henry, 
 or assigned for the direction of his Irish subjects; who 
 were bred to arms, many of them illiterate, and pro- 
 bably, none perfectly informed in the system by which 
 they were to be governed. Many who held lands fi'om Lib. Ni- 
 the crown, were even ignorant of the nature of their ger. Cath. 
 tenure, and the manner in which their service should ^"^• 
 he performed. In cases more difficult and critical,, 
 doubts and controversies must have been frequent 
 and embarrassing ; and at present, the only remedy 
 was to resort to England for decision. 
 
 For the more effectual information, therefore. Rot. Pat. 
 of his Irish subjects, John now came attended with^i Hen, 
 men learned in the laws of his country, by whose^^^' 
 counsel and assistance, a regular code and charter of 
 laws was at the general desire of his liege-men of 
 
 Ireland 
 
190 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 Ireland ordained and appointed in this kingdom,, 
 and deposited^ for their direction in the Exchequer of 
 Rot. 30. Dublin, under the king's seal, for the common benefit 
 Hen. Ill, of the land, (as the public records express it) that 
 is, for the common benefit of all who ackiiowledged 
 allegiance to the crown; and for the union of the 
 king's lands, as his subjects of both kingdoms were 
 thus united under the same head, and the same sys- 
 tem of polity. And for the regular and efl'ectual 
 execution of these laws, besides the establ-^^hment of 
 the king's courts of judicature in Dubll :, there was 
 now made anew and more ample division of the 
 king's lands of Ireland into counties, where sheriffs, 
 and other officers, were appointed. Historians ge- 
 nerally enumerate twelve such counties established 
 by John ; Dublin, Meath, Kildare, Argial now 
 called Lowth, Katherlagh, Kilkenny, Wexford, 
 Waterford, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary ; 
 which marks the extent of the English territory as 
 confined to a part of Leinster and of Munster, and 
 to those parts of Meath and Argial which lie in the 
 province of Ulster, as now defined. And this divi- 
 sion seems to accord with the Irish annals, in prov- 
 ing that the chiefs in the remoter districts of Ulster 
 had not given John the dominion of their lands. As 
 Cathal had made so absolute a resignation of two 
 parts of his province, it seems not easy to assign the 
 reason why no county was established in Con- 
 naught. If there were such an omission, (which is 
 scarcely to be supposed upon the authority of very 
 inaccurate writers) it was in sometime after supplied ; 
 Rolls, 32, for in the reign of Edward the first, there are records 
 ^^^,4- j' which mention the sheriff of Connauo-ht, and tha 
 Rem.'of- sheriff also of Roscommon, as a distinct county ; 
 fice. nor must it be omitted, that in a patent of the same 
 reign, we have mention of the county of Des- 
 mond. 
 
 While John was engaged in the regulation of 
 his Irish government^ those barons who had fled 
 
 frora 
 
Ch. 6. JOHN. 191 
 
 from his resentment, were reduced to the utmost 
 distresses. Matilda, the wife of William De Braosa, 
 soon found that Ireland could not afford her a 
 secure retreat ; and, flying into Scotland, was there 
 seized by one of John's agents, and with her family 
 conveyed back again, to answer for the offences of 
 her husband, or rather to bear the punishment of herRymer 
 own intemperance. As she could not pay the exor- 
 bitant demands of arrears claimed fi'om her hus- 
 band's lands in Munster, she and her children were 
 sent prisoners to the castle of Bristol. William, 
 alarmed at the situation of his family, returned to 
 England, endeavored to make his peace with 
 John ; but, as this could not be effected, he was again 
 obliged to retire. The lady is also said to have ad-gpeed^ 
 dressed herself to the queen, and attempted to pur- 
 chase her mediation, by an extraordinary present 
 from her Irish demesnes, of four hundred kine, all 
 milk-white, except the ears, which were red. But 
 the avarice and malignity of John were not so easily 
 appeased. The unhappy mother, with her unof- Matth, 
 fending children were still confined, and are said Paris, 
 to have perished in their prison by want. Such se- 
 vere representations of the conduct of king John, 
 we may reasonably suspect to be heightened and 
 aggravated by the monkish historians. In the pre- 
 sent case, at least, we are not to suppose that his 
 cruelty extended to the utter destruction of the 
 whole family of Braosa; for Lucia the grand -Collecta« 
 daughter of this lord, who was married to an nea auto- 
 English baron called GeofTry De Canville, was at^jV^P^^ 
 length restored to the lands given to her by herj^g^'' 
 grandfather. 
 
 The Lacys were more fortunate in extricating 
 themselves from their present difficulties. They areHanmer. 
 said to have been reduced even to engage in the Speed. 
 menial employment of gardeners to the abbot of^°°^^^^ 
 Saint Taurin : a circumstance by no means impro- 
 bable ; as Philip De Comines was witness of some of 
 the noblest lords of England degraded by their 
 misfortunes to the condition of lacquies, during the 
 
 contests 
 
192 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 contests of York and Lancaster. The demeanor 
 of these his new servants^ soon convinced their em- 
 ployer, that they could not be men of ordinary 
 rank ; which led him to a strict inquiry into their 
 fortunes : and this produced on their part, a full 
 confession of their real state and quality, and the 
 occasion of their present difficulties. The good ab- 
 bot is so affected by their story, that he becomes in- 
 tercessor with the king in behalf of his offending sub- 
 jects ; and to his mediation it is imputed, that John 
 was finally prevailed upon to reinstate the Lacys in 
 their possessions, on condition of receiving from Wal- 
 ter 2,500 marks for Meath ; and from Hugh, 4,000 
 marks for Ulster. It is added, that these lords were 
 by no means ungrateful to their benefactor. They 
 knighted his nephew^ and invested him with a 
 considerable lordship in Ireland. Several of his 
 monks also were persuaded to attend them on their 
 return, and met with a favorable reception and es- 
 tablishment in their territories. 
 Trivet. The reduction of the forts belonging to these 
 Speed, lords in Meath and Ulster, is the only military ex- 
 ploit we can ascribe to John during a three months 
 residence in Ireland. The English historians indeed 
 assure us that he reduced the king of Connaught by 
 force of arms. But public records prove that this 
 prince made a peaceable submission ; and confirm 
 the representations of the Irish annals. And when 
 we know that he discovered the basest supineness, 
 upon the most important occasions, we are the less 
 surprized to find Hugh O'Nial, a petty Irish prince, 
 Ann. at the very time when John was marching through 
 ^^^' his territory, boldly defying his power^ and renounc- 
 ing his sovereignty, without the least attempt made 
 to reduce a chief who by this conduct violatedhis 
 solemn engagements. 
 Matth. Upon the departure of the king, the administration 
 Paris, of iiis government in Ireland was committed to 
 John De Grey, bishop of Norwich, who agreeably 
 to bis instructions, caused money to be new coined, 
 
 of 
 
Cir.6. JOHN. 105 
 
 of the same weight witli tliat of England, for the 
 convenience of traffic between the two kingdoms, 
 and wiiich by royal proclamation was made current 
 in England as well as Ireland. And this prehite is 
 said to have administered ins government with such 
 vig'or, that instead of living in any awe or fear ofHollinn:9. 
 the disattbcted, he was enabled at the time whenHaamer. 
 England was threatened by an invasion from the 
 king- of France, in order to execute the pope's sen- 
 tence of deposition, to send a company of knights 
 with three himdred well-apjiointed infantry Irom 
 Ireland, to the assistance of his royal master. And 
 indeed, though Ireland was by no means in a state 
 of (general tranquillity, yet its disorders were prin- 
 cipally confined to those districts most remote from 
 the seat of English government. Hugh O'Nial, ^"at 
 in Ulster, was the declared enemy of the English, ^j^""* 
 But the garrisons on his frontiers were left to en- 
 counter him ; and although he gained repeated ad- 
 vantages over them, yet he had not strength suffici- 
 ent for an extensive irruption. Without assistance 
 or confederates, he could but harass the enemy by 
 occasional excursions, returning to his own territory, 
 and there enjoying the honor of his petty victories. 
 His neighbouring chieftains, like the Desmonians 
 in the opposite quarter of the island, were employed 
 in rifling each other. In Desmond, indeed, the 
 disorders sometimes required the interposition of 
 the English stationed in Cork: and the severities 
 they executed on those who altem]3ted to molest Ann, 
 their settlements, (as the Irish annalists represent ^'"*^^- 
 them) })lainly shew that they had by this time im-' ' 
 bibed but too much of the ferocity of their neigh- 
 bours, if not of their treacherous and vindictive 
 spirit. 
 
 But besides the disorders arising from pro\nnciaI 
 or local factions, there were others proceeding from 
 the liberal grants made by the crown, the claims of 
 the new settlers, and the opposition of the old 
 natives. The lands ceded in Connauglit seem to 
 have been the occasion of particular contest: the 
 
 Vol. I. 2B English 
 
104 IirSTOTlY OF IRELAND. B, I. 
 
 English l)oin«^ anxious to improve their grants ta 
 the utmost, and t"reqnentlyeneroachino])eyond their 
 just l)ounds; the Irish natives elamorino- at then* 
 usurpations, and tlying- to their own chieftain 
 ♦or redress. Cathal, who had lost his powei* 
 «ould but appeaJ to the justice of the English 
 government. The oppressors of his vassals were 
 of consequence incensed against their advocate. Hr& 
 remonstrances they affected to impute to his disloyal- 
 ty, and represented his zeal for the interest of the 
 natives as an overtm'e to rebellion. This degraded 
 prince, essentially injured, and, at the same time, 
 ini justly maligned, threatened with hostilities, and 
 unprovided for defence, had no resource but in the 
 pow er of John, to whose protection he had a right- 
 t'ni claim ; and to whom he was now^ obliged to sue 
 ^^ith all the humility of a dependent vassal^ who, 
 but a few yciivn before, liad bidden defiance to the 
 whole English power, and threatened to exterminate 
 the foreigners from eveiy quarter of the kingdom. 
 Rymcr, John, who probably was well iuformed of the in- 
 jurious atteijfpts made upon this prince and his re- 
 served domahi, by letters patent directed to his lord 
 justice, oflicers, or other faithft7l subjects in Ireland, 
 granted his protection to Cathal, directing that he 
 should be supported and tlefended, that no injury 
 should be oHered to him, either in his person, or 
 possessions ; and that no unfavorable suggestions 
 of his enemies should be received or believed, so 
 long as he adh( red to his jjllegiance and attachment 
 to the king-. It seems to have been considered as a 
 point of sound policy, to take every method of 
 concilialing the affections of those chiefs who had 
 become feodaries to John. They had been turbu- 
 lent enenn'es, were hardly reconciled, and from a 
 long experience of the natioual temper, it was found 
 thai they were to be retained most effectually by an 
 appearance of kindness, attention, and respect. 
 Among- other means used for this puipose, the pa- 
 tent now granted to Cathal was attended with an 
 order addressed to the archbishop of Dublin, to buy 
 
 sucib 
 
 Ibid. 
 
Ch 6. JOHN. 395 
 
 such a quantity of .<€arlets as he slioiikl judge sufli- 
 cient to make robes to be presented to tlie kings of 
 Ireland, and others of the king's liege-nien, natives 
 of this kingdom. Prol)ably these robes were made 
 after the English mode. If so it was by no means 
 a contemptible device, to endeavour to habituate 
 these chiefs to the Eu^glish garb, and by their exam- 
 ple, to render it fashionable in their territories. 
 • Men's apparel," saith Spencer, speaking of this View of 
 country and its manners, *' is connnonly luade ac-'^''^-*^''^'"^ 
 " cording to their conditions; and their conditions 
 '• are oftentimes governeil by their garmeids: for 
 " the person that is gowned, is by his govvne put 
 '' in mind of gravitie; and also restrained from 
 '' lightnes, by the very unaptnesse of his weed." 
 And the gentler and less otfeusi\e method of intro- 
 ducing an advantageous ehange of apparel, gradu- 
 ally and impeix^eptibly, under the appearance of 
 grace and favor, had it been pursued with steadi- 
 ness, and address, might have proved more eilectu- 
 al than the penal laws of later times: which, by an 
 avowed and violent opposition to the manners of the 
 Irish, provetl too odious to be executed. 
 
 The archbishop above-n^entioned, was Henry deWarede 
 Londres, who succeeded to John Coniyn in the year^^""- ^'^^'** 
 \2\3, and was now invested with the king's govern- 
 ment of Ireland ; which was, liowever. for the most 
 part administered by his deputy Geotlry Morris, or 
 de ^laurisco, an endn(,Mit EngHsh setth^rin Munster. 
 Henry himself was obliged to attend the service of 
 his royai master in England, and is an instance of 
 a prelate in the Irish church, adudtted to the king's 
 councils, and acting as a sj)iritual baron of his 
 realm, in Jolm's most important transactions. AVheuMauj^^ 
 his contest with pope Innocent ended in his shame- Paris. 
 ful subndssion, the prelate of Dublin is named tirst;\"'^- 
 of those lords -wlio were present at the execution of ^ JJ'^'^i 
 the deed, by which John resigned the kingdoms ofMattii*. 
 England and Ireland to the see of Rome, and con- Pari*. 
 sented to hold them as a licfj by the service of one 
 
 thousand 
 
190 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 tlioiisand marks to be paid annually, seven hundred 
 for England ; and for Ireland, three hundred. He 
 was present when John did homage to Pandolf, with 
 all the odious circumstances of hmniliation ; and 
 Matth. ^*^ honorably distinguished on this occasion, as 
 Paris. the only prelate who ventured to express his indig- 
 nation at this shameful transaction, and the enor- 
 mous insolence and haughtiness of the legate. It 
 Epirit. lu-i^ immediately pertinent to the present subject to 
 Ba~ observe, that soon after the arrival of the bisliop of 
 
 noc, 
 
 ud. 
 
 Frescati in England attended with a letter of cre- 
 dence from the pope, conceived in the most horrid 
 terms of blasphemous hypocrisj^, and when John 
 had made a second resignation of his kingdoms. 
 Innocent, with an audacious ostentation of favor 
 and condescension to his royal vassal, addressed a 
 letter to the prelates, princes, lords, and people of 
 Ireland, notifyijig the total reconciliation made by the 
 blessing of HP'ivxm between the royal state of Eng- 
 land and the holy see ; expressing the tenderest con^ 
 cern for his beloved son in Christ the illustrious 
 ,, . , king John, whose realms, by his ^rant, were right- 
 " ' ' fully invested in the Roman church, and conunand' 
 ing and directing them by his apostolical mandate, 
 to persevere in their allegiance to the king and his 
 heirs, who were now the objects of his paternal care 
 and favor. 
 
 These transactions were succeeded by the famous 
 contest betv/een John and his barons. And here 
 again, we find the archbishop of Dublin admitted 
 to the king's councils, attending the congress of 
 Runingmede, encamped on the king's side, with 
 the few lords who still appeared to adhere to him, 
 and taking place inmirdiately after the archbishop 
 of Canterl3ury. In the preamble to the Great 
 Charter, he is mentioned as one of those prelates 
 Johai). and barons by whose counsel it is alleged to have 
 been granted. With the other prelates, he pro- 
 tested, on occasion of a clause in this charter, by 
 which it was apprehended that the being of all 
 forests might be endangered, andjoine^d in declar- 
 
 Chart 
 
Cii.6. JOHN. 197 
 
 ing' the real intention of both parties. In like Arch, 
 manner, he is united with the prelates of England, Tur. 
 in a protest against the refusal of the barons to certi-^^"^^* 
 fy their submission and allegiance by an instrument 
 under their seals. But although this prelate, and 
 William earl Marshal, a baron of great weight and 
 extensive property in Ireland, were both attendant 
 on the king, and intimates in his councils, it doth 
 not appear upon this great occasion, that any parti- 
 cular requisitions were made in behalf of his sub- 
 jects in Ireland, or any measures taken for including 
 them specifically in the present grants of the crown. 
 But when the turbulent and distracted reign of John 
 ended in the succession of an infant heir, the Irish 
 lords thought this a favorable period for explain- %"'er. 
 ing their grievances, and petitioning the throne for 
 uew graces. For this purpose, they made use ofprynn. 
 the intervention of Ralph of Norwich, one of the 
 king's chaplains. Among their complaints, were 
 those of the late severities exercised b}- John towards 
 some of his barons, <ind his violent seiziu'e of their 
 lands; and among their demands, was one of great 
 consequence, and which, if obtained, might have 
 proved of singular advantage to the English interest ; 
 that either the queen dowager, or the king's brother, 
 should be sent to reside in Ireland. " The people 
 *' of this land," saith Davyes, '' both English and 
 " Irish, out of a natural pride, did ever love and 
 '' desire to be governed by great persons," — And 
 at tliis particular period, when the acrimony of the 
 natives was sensibly abated, the presence of a royal 
 personage promised to have the happiest influence ; 
 and seems to have been desired, from a thorougli 
 knowledges of tlie Irish character, and a full convic' 
 tion of its utility. The answer of king Henry the 
 third desrrves a place in the body of this History; 
 and isj therefore, here translated from the origi- 
 nal 
 
 The 
 
198 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I. 
 
 Claus. 1. '■ The King to Geoffry de Maiirisco, Justiciary of 
 Hen. III. ^' Ireland, greeting. 
 
 VV E return our manifold thanks, for your good 
 " and faithful service performed to John, late king 
 ^' of England, our fatlier, of blessed memory, and 
 " to us, to be continued, and for those things you 
 '' have signified to us, by our trusty Ralph of Nor- 
 '• wich, clerk. 
 
 " Seeing then, that by his will, in whose hands 
 *' are the issues of life and death, our lord and 
 *' father had happily departed this life, (whose soul 
 *' may the heavens receive!) We will you to know, 
 *' that, the royal obsequies being first solemnly and 
 " duely performed in the church of the blessed 
 '' Mary of Winchester, there were convened at 
 '' Gloucester the greater number of the nobles of 
 '' our realm, bishops, abbots, earls, and barons, 
 " who adhered faithful and devoted to our father 
 " during his lifetime, and very many others : 
 " where, on the feast of the a])ostles Simon and 
 '"^ Jude, in the church of Saint Peter, Gloucester, 
 '' with the acclamations of clergy and laity, we 
 •"" were, by the hands of the lord Gualon, by the 
 " title of St. Martin, presbyter, cardinal and 
 '' legate of the apostolic see, and those of the 
 " bishops then present, with invocation of the Holy 
 " Spirit, publicly anointed, and crowned king of 
 '^England: fealty and homage being of all per- 
 ^' formed to us. Which we have judged necessary 
 *' (o communicate to yon as our liege subject, that 
 ■' you may share the joy of our honor and happy 
 " supcess. 
 
 " And whereas we have heard that some resent- 
 '' ment hath arisen between our lord and father 
 ^' aforesaid, and certain nobles of our realm, and 
 '' for some time subsisted ; whether with cause or 
 *' without cause, we know not ; our pleasure is, 
 '' that it shall be for ever aliolished and forgotten, 
 '' so as never to remain in our mind ; and in order 
 ^' that the eftect may cease \uth the removal of the 
 
 cause. 
 
Ch,6. JOHN. 199 
 
 " cause whatever resentment was conceived^ or 
 " subsisted against liim^ we are ready and w illing to 
 *' the utmost of our power, to atone for, by yield- 
 '' ing- to all persons what reason shall suggest, and 
 '' the good counsel of our subjects direct, abolish- 
 " ing all evil usages from our realm, and by the 
 " restoration of liberties and free customs, so as to 
 '' recal the gracious days of our ancestors, grant- 
 '' ing to all our subjects what each may fairly and 
 " reasonably claim. For this purpose, know ye 
 '' that a council being lately convened at Bristol, in 
 " which were present all the prelates of England, 
 *• as well bishops and abbots as priors, and many, 
 " as well earls as barons, they did homage and 
 '' fealty to us, publicly, and generally ; and, receiv- 
 '' ing a grant of those liberties and free customs first 
 '' demanded and approved by them, departed in 
 '' joy^ ready and willing to do our service, each to 
 " his particular residence. 
 
 '' We further hope, and trust in the Lord, that 
 " the state of our realm, shall, by the divine mer- 
 '' cy, be changed considerably for the better. 
 
 '" As to .sending our lady the queen-mother, or 
 " our brother, into Ireland, our answer is, that tak- 
 '' ing the advice and assent of our faithful subjects, 
 '' we shall do that which shall be expedient to our 
 '' interest and the interest of our realm. 
 
 '' We therefore desire you our beloved, that as 
 " you have been fiiithful and devoted to John our 
 '' father, of blessed memory, so you may be the 
 " more careful to continue in fidelity to us, as you 
 '' know that in this our tender age we have the 
 "' more occasion for your assistance and counsel ; 
 '' and that you receive the homage of the princes 
 '' of Ireland, and all others who ought to do it 
 " unto us. 
 
 " We retain at our court Ralph of Norwich, 
 '' that by his means, we may signify our pleasure 
 '' to you, more fully, in these and other matters. 
 *' And our pleasure is^ that you and our other faith- 
 
 *Mi4 
 
^0 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I, 
 
 '' fill subjects of Ireland shall enjoy the same liber- 
 '" ties which we have granted to our subjects of 
 "' England ; and these we will grant and confirm 
 '' to you." 
 
 The grant to his other subjects here alluded to, 
 ■\vasthe Charter of Liberties executed on the twelfth 
 of November, in the first year of this prince's 
 Ann. reig^n ; when, at a great council, held at Bristol, 
 Waver, j^^^j Composed of prelates, nobility, and others, in 
 Glouc. S^eat numbers, the pope's legate absolved them 
 from their oath of allegiance to prince Louis, who 
 had been invited to support them against the 
 treachery of John, and obliged them to swear fealty 
 to young Henry: who in return, formally and 
 solemnly renew ed the Great Charter granted by his 
 father, with such alterations and amendments as the 
 circumstances of the times had made necessary. 
 Lib. Rub. Among the nobles assembled on this occasion, 
 and members of the kino's great council, we find 
 the name of Walter de Lacy, an Irish baron lately 
 restored to favor, and reinstated in his possessions. 
 Such were the condescensions paid to this great 
 family, that the king addressed a letter particularly 
 to Hugh entreatino* him to forget all former ani- 
 MSS. mosities, and assuring him of his future favor and 
 Lamb, protection. The royal grace was also extended to 
 the whole body of Irish subjects. And on the 
 sixth of February after signing the English charter, 
 a duplicate was transmitted to Ireland under the 
 seals of the legate, and William, earl of Pembroke, 
 the protector, for the benefit of the king's faithful 
 subjects in this kingdom, and with those alter- 
 ations only which the local necessities of Ireland re- 
 quired, it still remains extant hi the Red Book of 
 the Exchequer at Dublin ; it was attended by the 
 follow ing letter from king Henry. 
 
 Thsi 
 
 Sacc. 
 Dublin. 
 
Ch.1. JOHN. 201 
 
 '^ The king to all archbishops, bishop?, abbots, P^t. i. 
 " earls, barons, knights, and free tenants, and all ^^'^"• 
 " our faithful subjects settled throughout ireiand, 
 " Greeting. 
 
 W^ I T H bur hearty conrimendation of your fi- 
 '' delity in the Lord, which you have ever exhi- 
 '' bited to our lord father, and to us in these our 
 '' days dre to exhibit, oiir pleasure is, that in 
 "^ token of this your famous and notable fidelity, 
 '' the liberties granted by our father, and by us, 
 " of our grace and gift, to the realm of England, 
 '' shall in our kingdom of Ireland, be enjoyed by 
 *' you and by your heirs for ever. AVhich liber- 
 " ties, distinctly reduced to writing by the general 
 '' counsel of all our liege subjects, we transmit to 
 '' you, sealed with the seals of our lord Gualon, 
 '' legate of the apostolical see, and of our trusty earl 
 ^' William Marishal, our governor, and the go- 
 " vernor of our kingdom; because, as yet, we 
 " have no seal. And the same shall in process 
 '' of time, and on fuller counsel, receive the sig- 
 " nature of our own seal. Given at Gloucester 
 "' the sixth day of February." 
 
 Thus were the rights and privileges of the Irish 
 settlers completely ascertained and established. They 
 were not only to be governed by the same monarchs, 
 and the same laws with their ancestors, but to com- 
 plete their union with their fellow subjects in Eng- 
 land, they are now included in the concessions ex- 
 torted from the throne, to circumscribe the prero- 
 gative, and correct the severities gradually intro- 
 duced by the foedal system : they appear in tlie same 
 honorable light with their brethren in the neigh- 
 bouring realm, making the same requisitions, and 
 obtaining the same grants wliich are to this day 
 revered as the basis of English liberty. But if the 
 requisition of the English charters proceeded rather 
 from an aristocratic spirit, than the love of true li- 
 berty, the same spirit, it must be acknowledged, 
 
 y'ot. I. 2 C was 
 
202 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. I, 
 
 was still more predominant in Ireland: where the 
 barons^ remote from the supreme seat of majesty, 
 uncontrouled by a delegated authority too often 
 weak and ill-supported, invested with enormous ter- 
 ritories and dangerous privileges, were tempted l)y 
 tlieir i^trength and enabled by the situation of the 
 kingdom, to pursue the objects of their avarice and 
 ambition, without regard to justice, and sometimes 
 without even the appearance of respect to govern- 
 ment. As the same passions possessed them all, they 
 of consequence lived with each other in a perpetual 
 state of rivalship, envy, and dissension : and as their 
 claims were to l3e supported by force of arms, their 
 own vassals as well as the native Irish, felt the 
 severest consequences of their pride and oppression. 
 Odious as such representations may appear, they 
 will be found but too fully justified in the progress 
 of this History. And it may be no useless task, dis- 
 tinctly to point out the source of those calamities 
 under which the nation groaned for so long a period, 
 and to exhibit those facts in full view, which prove 
 that tliey were originally derived from the vices of 
 individuals, not from any inequitable or oppressive 
 principles in English government. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
Ch. 1. HENRY III. 203 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 Slate of Ireland durtTtg the first years of thereign of Henry 
 the third, . . , Ilenry DeLondres sent into Ireland, . . .His 
 conduct, . . .Death of earl of Pembroke. . . .Contest be- 
 tween his successor and the Lacies .... Grants made by 
 Henry. . . .Commotions in Connaught, . . . Ambition of De 
 Burgo . . , . Opposed by Fedlim prince of Connaught* . • , 
 His spirit. . . .His application to tlte king, , . .D-cath of 
 William Marishal, . . .Richard his s:itc<essor suspected by 
 ihc king* . . .Assisted in Ireland. . . .Is invested zcith his 
 lands and dignities .... Opjwses the administration of th€ 
 bishop of Winchester . . . .Retires to Wales ^ ,-. .Confede- 
 rates with Lewellin .... Fruitless attempts to reduce him. . . , 
 The minister projects a scheme to destroy himt , , .Letter to 
 the lords of Ireland. . . . Eari Richard'' s arrival in this king- 
 dom. , . .Insidious practices of Geoffry De Maurisco, , ^ , 
 Expedition of Richard . . . ..He treats zcith the lords of Ire- 
 land. , . .Is betrayed. . . .His tragical decith, , . . Effects of 
 this incident. . . .Meanness of the king. . ^ . Disgrace of 
 Winchester .... Commotions in Irel/md on the death of 
 Richard, . . .Maurice Fitzgerald seeks a recojiciliation Kith 
 his successor .... Fedlim repairs to the king .... His success 
 . . . .Irish loparch? invited to assist the king in his intended 
 expedition into Scotland, . . . Complicated disorders of Ire- 
 land. . . . Henry obliged repeatedly to enforce the obser- 
 vance of the English lazes. » . .The benefits of these urxs 
 sued for by some particulars , , . . But denied to the Iiish in 
 general. , , ^ True cause of this exclusion .... Grant of the 
 lordship' of Ireland to prince Edicard^ . . .This kingdom, 
 deprived of the advantages of Jus abilities, . . .Commotions 
 in the North . , , ,In Desmond, , , . The Geraldines de- 
 pressed, , . .Recover their potcer. . . .Quarrel with De 
 Burgo. . . .Maurice seizes and imprisons the chief governor '■ 
 ... Who is enlarged by an assembly convened al Kilkenny. 
 
 Ex' 
 
m HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 Excesses of De Bur go, . . .Defeated h^ jEdh O'Connor. 
 .... Exactions of the king .... Those of the Pope siill 
 more oppressive. . . .Remonstrances of the Irish clergy 
 against the admission of foreigners into their Church. . . . 
 Equalli/ averse to the English as to the Italians .... Theix 
 remarkable ordinance against the English clergy .... Rc" 
 scinded by the Pope . » . <> Irish clergy endeavor to enlarge 
 the jurisdiction of their courts. . . .Statute of Merton. . . . 
 Insolence of the Irish ecclesiastics . . , .They excommunicate 
 the magistrates and citizens of Dublin. . . • Who appeal to, 
 the council. . » .Ridiculous meanness of their submission. 
 
 j^ PERIOD of almost fifty years from the ar- 
 rival of the British adventurers in Ireland, hath hi- 
 therto afforded a succession of events which may 
 i>ive occasion to some useful reflections, and seem 
 iiot unworthy of i\ fairer and more distinct exposition 
 than they have hitherto received. As we advance, it 
 will be sometimes found necessary to confine our- 
 selves to a moie general view of the aflfairs of Ire- 
 land, without an exact adherence to the order of 
 time, and without dwelling; on particulars which nei- 
 ther interest nor instruct. The writers of the History 
 of England have been obliged to adopt this method, 
 in treating of the particular period to which we are 
 now arrived. In the present work it is still more al- 
 lowable, for reasons too obvious to be explained ; 
 even if the monkish annalists of Ireland, or the pub- 
 lic records during the long reign of Henry the third 
 had afiorded more historical materials. 
 
 The gradual progress of the English power had 
 by this time considerably weakened that of the old 
 Irish chieftains ; x^liose dominions had been circum- 
 scribed, and their nationaL vanity mortified, by their 
 Ann concessions to the crown of England. It was now 
 \l«!S^ only a few of their most distinguished characters that 
 & Ana. their annalists could extol as the terror of the Gauls 
 (so the English are stiled) and destroyers of their cas- 
 ikSj who never oice paid frihtte ar submission to the, 
 
 foreigners^^ 
 
 var 
 
Ch. 1. HENRY IIL 20§ 
 
 foreigners. They were reduced to an humble style, 
 and in the utmost warmth of panegyric, could but 
 represent their hero as yieUling to the English, only 
 what was just and right. Some inconsiderable dis-Ann. 
 orders in the North were soon repelled by the En.g-^g°g* 
 lish settlers of this district, and the fall of some tur- a. d, 
 bulent chieftahis served to strike new terror, andi^is. 
 check the progress of commotion. The English, 
 >yho saw the government of the young king and 
 realm of England administered with abilities and 
 vigor by William Marishal earl of Pem.broke, a no- 
 bleman of vast possessions in Ireland, and of conse^ 
 quence attached to their interests, were encouraged 
 by the expectation of his support, and at the same 
 time restrained by the authority of his station and 
 character, from all irregularities, of which they were 
 sensible he would be faithfully informed. So that 
 the first year of Henry's reign passed undistinguish- 
 ed by any events in Ireland worthy of note : the 
 Irish frpdaries confining themselves, for the most 
 part, to their own districts, the English conducting 
 their government, and managing their interests 
 without disorder or interruption, GeofTry De Mau-Rymer. 
 nsco was continued in the administration, and Hen-^''y""", 
 ry De Londres, the prelate of Dublin, was sent into 
 Ireland under the pretence of assuming his pastoral 
 charge, but really as coadjutor to Geoflry. The 
 king's letter addressed to his liege-barons of Ireland 
 express the reluctance with which he parted with this 
 prelate, and how necessary his presence and coun- 
 sels were to him and the realm of England ; direct- 
 ing them to consult with him and the chief governor, 
 in every thing pertaining to the regulation of the 
 kingdom. 
 
 And although this prelate v»as chiefly distin- 
 guished by his political conduct, yet in his ecclesias- 
 tical character, he exerted himself with sufficient 
 abilities. Soon after his arrival he held a synod at legist 
 Dublin, the constitutions of which are still extant, ^'Jj^l^- 
 and do no dishonor to the temper and principles wjij^'ins 
 of De Loudres. But his private conduct, if we may Cone. 
 
 beiieye 
 
206 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. 11. 
 
 believe the Irish relaters, was insolent and odious. 
 Haamer. We are told that he summoned the tenants of his 
 see to produce the instruments by which they held 
 their lands, which he had no sooner received under 
 pretence of examining- their titles, than in an af- 
 fected passion he cast them into the fire. The first 
 fit of astonishment at this impudent treachery was 
 succeeded by a violent tumult, in which some of the 
 bishop's domestics were grievously wounded : he 
 Iiimself was saved only by flight, and to allay the 
 commotion, found it necessaiy to confirm their 
 tenures to the aggrieved parties. Nor could this 
 condescension efface the odium of his attempt. He 
 was branded with the name of Burn-Bill, and ever 
 after known by this appellation ; a circumstance 
 which seems to confirm the truth of this incident. 
 And it is a striking example of the contempt with 
 which the rights of the subject in Ireland were, in 
 these times, treated by the more powerful of the 
 neighbouring kingdom. 
 
 The death of the great earl of Pembroke in the 
 year 1219, deprived Ireland of an useful and power- 
 ful patron : from this period, at least, her disorders 
 seem to have revived. Hugh De Lacy, whose ava- 
 rice and ambition had not been suppressed by his 
 misfortunes, deemed this incident favorable to his 
 purposes, and commenced a contest about some 
 lands which the earl had possessed, and which Hugh 
 now claimed as his right As the grants made to 
 these English lords had raised them to a degree of 
 sovereignty, and as they assumed the power of mak- 
 ing v>^ar and peace, independent of the English go- 
 vernment, De Lacy knew full well that the dispute 
 A^n- must finally be brought to the decision of the sword : 
 MSS ^*^*^^ ^^ be the better provided for this event, he 
 courted the alliance of O'Nial, the turbulent chief- 
 tain of the North, and the avowed enemy of his 
 liege-lord. William the young earl was suddenly 
 called into Ireland to defend his lands: Leinster 
 and Meath were exposed to the calamities of war, 
 by the inciu'sions of these lords, who ^s each pre- 
 vailed. 
 
Ch. 1. HENRY in. 207 
 
 vailed, pursued his adversary, and laid his territo- 
 ries waste. Trim, the principal city of Meath, wasHanmer. 
 besieged by William, and with difficulty maintained. 
 Leinster, on the other hand, was harassed by O'Nial, Ann. 
 till the contending parties were wearied out into an Anon. 
 accommodation, or at least a suspension of hostilities. ^^^'^' 
 
 Geoffry, the English governor, was in the 
 mean time obliged to make an expedition into Des- 
 mond, to suppress the insurrection of the Mac- 
 Arthys; and terrified the country by the severity of 
 his execution. Donald O'Brien of Thomond, amidst Ann, 
 these storms was solicitous to secure his own domain Ini^i^/. 
 from the rapine of his countrymen, and the oppres- ^'^^^ 
 sive violence of the English, and as the most effec- 
 tual method, petitioned and obtained a grant from Rymer, 
 king Henry, of the kingdom of Thomond, (as it^^^^y^*- 
 is called) to be held of the king during his minori- 
 ty, by a yearly rent of one hundred pounds, and a 
 fine of one thousand marks. With less equity, and 
 less attention to the tranquillity of the kingdom, 
 Henry also granted to Richard De Burgo, represen-Pat. 3 
 tative of that lord who had proved so dangerous in^^" ?^^' 
 the reign of John, the whole kingdom of Con- '^^^''* 
 naught after the death of Cathal the bloody-handed, 
 who still maintained his state in this province. It 
 doth not appear whether the present grant was re- 
 concileable to the stipulations formerly made with 
 Cathal. But as Hubert De Burgo, justiciary of Eng- 
 land, and governor of the king, was now in the 
 meridian of his power, it is probable that his kins- 
 man was gratified, witiiout a scrupulous attention 
 to the claims of an Irish chieftain little known or 
 regarded in the court of England. 
 
 The death of Cathal soon gave Richard an op -A. D„ 
 portunity to plead his grant.' But the Irish, ac-^223. 
 cording to their own customs, proceeded to elect a^J^^ 
 successor: and by the powerful intercession ofMss. 
 O'Nial, Tirlaugh, brother of the late prince, was 
 invested with the royal dignity of Coniiaught. A 
 
 nomi- 
 
208 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II, 
 
 nomination procured by the open and inveterate 
 opposer of the English government, and supported 
 by his arms, was particularly offensive to Geoffry 
 De Maurisco. He led an army into Connaught, but 
 without attempting directly to support De Burgo in 
 his claims, contented himself with expelling Tir- 
 laugh, and establishing Mdh, a" son of Cathal in 
 his room. The usual subject of contention in this 
 Ann. disordered province was thus revived. The succes- 
 Anon. aor grew insolent, was provoked by the demands 
 MSS. made upon his territory by the English, resisted 
 them by force, was supported by his countrymen^ 
 and proved so successfid as to tiike a son of Geoffry 
 prisoner^ who seems to have marched with an in- 
 considerable force to oppose him. Being soon re- 
 duced to extremity, he was obliged to come in per- 
 son to treat with the governor; when a dissension 
 arising between some of his Irish train and the do- 
 mestics of Geoffry, Mdh was unhappily killed ini- 
 the tumult*. His uncle and rival reassumed the 
 \^1S. sovereignty, but was soon deposed by Richard De 
 Burgo, who succeeded Maurisco in the government, 
 and deemed it more consistent with his views, to in- 
 vest another son of Cathal called Fedlim, with the 
 royal title. This chief, more vigorous and politic 
 than his immediate predecessors, had the spirit to 
 oppose the claims made on his territory by De Bur- 
 go, in a manner the more peremptory and imperi- 
 ous, ats he was now in the plenitude of power, tni- 
 patient of opposition from his creature, he de- 
 nounced 
 
 * It is scarcely worthy of notice thai the death of this prince is va- 
 riously related. SoYne annalists tell us that the wife of one of the go- 
 vernor's attendants entertained him with particular kindness, prepared a 
 bath to refresh him, and was assiduous in all the little offices and atten- 
 tions of an hospitable matron, iEdh, after the manner of his own coun- 
 try, expressed his gratitude by kissing his benefactress. In this act, 
 which possibly Avas rendered more suspicious by an artless unpolished 
 warmth of aflection, he was surprised by her husband, who in a violent 
 rage of jealousy determined to destroy him, and effected his purpose by 
 a treacherous assassination. Geoffry w'iis just enough to execute the 
 law of EiJglaud on the offender. 
 
Ch. 1. HENRY III. 209 
 
 nounced the terrors of his vengeance agahist him, 
 commenced hostilities, and even made him captive. 
 Yet Fedlim had tlie good fortune to escape, collect- 
 ed a considcral)le body of his adherents, marched 
 against his rival now supported by the English 
 governor, defeated, slew him, and re-assumed his 
 sovereignty. 
 
 Happily for this Irish prince. Hubert was nowCL 17 H. 
 in disgrace; his kinsman was, of consequence, re-JJ^y^-^- 
 moved from his government, and Maurice Fitz- 
 Gerald appointed his successor, in return for the 
 services of his noble familv. Fedlim, with a sa- 
 gacity not unusual to his countrymen, determined to 
 iinprove this favorable conjuncture. Sensible. that 
 he could not long support his dignity by any power jbid. 
 of his own, he addressed hiuiself to the king ofRymer. 
 England. In a submissive and affectuig manner, ^^""• 
 he represented his own inviolable attachment as weir^yj^gg* 
 as that of his father to the English government; 
 the great and valuable cessions they had made, 
 which yet were not capable of satiating the avarice 
 of a disloyal baron, wlio had seized the king's forts, 
 made war upon his vassals, and aimed at a degree of 
 power inconsistent with his allegiance, and danger- 
 ous to the interests of his liege-lord; earnestly 
 entreating permission to repair to England, to cast 
 himself at the king's feet, that he might explain 
 more particularly his own cruel injuries, as well as 
 the enormities of his enemy De Burgo. 
 
 Henry could not but feel surprise at an applica- 
 tion, which so little accorded with the accounts of 
 Irish transactions received at his court. He had 
 been assured * that the late disorders of Connaught 
 
 Vol. I. 2 D had 
 
 * This account is found in Mattli. Paris, who prol)ab1y received it 
 on the authority of some artful inteUigonce sent into England, without 
 considering or knowing the absurdity of it. The monk was so ill in- 
 formed, that he makes this stupendous victory to have been gained by 
 Geoffry the chief governo/, a considerable time after Geolfry was re- 
 moved from the government of Ireland. V. pg. 366. Ed. Watts, 16 JO, 
 
mo HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. 11. 
 
 had proceeded froin a general rebellion of the na- 
 tive Irish ; that, led by the chief of Connaught, 
 a declared enemy, to his royal authority, they iiad 
 entered the king's lands with fire and sword ; that 
 his faithful barons had risen up, repelled the invasi- 
 on, pursued the enemy to their head-quarters, where 
 by their address and valor, Fedlim had lieen de- 
 feated mth the loss of twenty thousand men. A- 
 larmed at the reports of the insolence and power of 
 de Burgo, antl taught to dread the excesses of a 
 discontented baron, but at the same time doubting* 
 the representations of the Irish chief, he resolved 
 Rymer. to act with cautiou. * He addressed a letter to 
 CI. 17 H. IMaurice Fitz-Gerald, in which he informed him of 
 ^^' the application of his liege-man, son of the late 
 king of Connanght ; that in answer to his petition 
 for a safe-conduct, he had recommended that his 
 joimiey to England should be deferred, until he had, 
 witli the concurrence of his chief governor, en- 
 deavoured to reduce the castle of Melick, now^ in 
 possession of De Burger, the detention of which, 
 probably had been represented as a striking instance 
 of the disloyalty of this baron; that, when this 
 
 should 
 
 * " Rex dilecto & fideli siio Mauritio Filio Gerardi Justiciario suo 
 Hibernias, saluteiu. 
 
 " Significavit nobis dilectus & fidelis noster F. filius carissimi quon- 
 " dam regis Connac. qnod proposuit ad nos venire in Angliam, causa 
 " nos videndi & nobiscum loquendi de negotiis uostris & suis. Et nos 
 '' reHUnciavinius ei, quod, ante adventunisuum, iaboretde consilio ves- 
 *' tro, ad captionem castri do Miloc quod est in manu Hicardi de Burgo: 
 *' & cum dictum castrum captum tuorit & vobis conimissum, et terra 
 " ConnHc. sedata iSc vobis fuerit liberata, bene placet nobis, & volumus 
 " quod ad nos veniat in Angliam, aimul cum nunciis vestris quos ad 
 " nos mitfetis in Angliam. 
 
 " His igi»ur, nt prtedictum est expeditis, salvum & securum conduc- 
 " turn pnefato F. habere faciatis, causa veniendi ad nos in Angliam, in 
 "•cujusetiam adveiitu nuncios vestros cum eo mittatis, viros videlicet 
 '' discretos, quide statu ternu nostra? Hibernise nos sciant & velint signi- 
 " licaie. Teste meipso aj)ud Tookisbir, 28vo die Mail, anno re^ni 
 ^' noatri dcfiino septimy."' Hymer, torn, 1, p. 328. 
 
Cii. I. HENRY III. Sll 
 
 should be effected, and tlie province of Connau^ht 
 peaceably settled and delivered to the king's deputy, 
 he had declared his readiness to grant his petition, 
 and admit him to his presence. At the same time 
 
 ' Fitz-Gerald is diix^cted that, some trusty agents, on 
 whose discretion he could rely, should be sent with 
 the Irish prince, who might inform t!ie kin^ authen- 
 tically of the real state and condition ot Ireland, 
 that he might not be deceived by interested reports, 
 or the suggestions of jealousy and envy, lliis 
 answer was sufficient for the immediate purpose of 
 Fedlim. He was acknowledged as the king's liege- 
 man ; he had the royal comnussion to act against De 
 Burg'O; and his countrymen were deterred from 
 any factious attempts against a chieftain w ho boasted 
 the support of the English monarch. So that he 
 enjoyed his petty sovereignty for a time, umnolested 
 by any Irish rivals, or English claims; while ano- 
 ther and a more important object engaged the at- 
 tention of the great barons in Ireland, and involved 
 the kingdom in considerable disorder and confu- 
 sion. 
 
 0\ the death of William IMarishal, son to the A. D. 
 protector, his estates and honors devolved on his'^^^* 
 
 throther Richard, a young- lord actuated with all thepjfj.ig * 
 bold and independent spirit of an English baron. 
 Both the king, aTul Hu])ert who was now in power, 
 w^ere acquainted with his dispositions, and dreaded 
 their effects : so that when he came to deniand pos- 
 session of his lands, it was at first denied, on pre- 
 tence that his brother's w ife was pregnant. When 
 this device proved ineflectual, it was, in the next 
 place, alfeged tliat Richard had held a treasonable 
 correspondence w ith the king-'s enemies in France ; 
 and therefore be was conunanded to depart from 
 the realm within fifteen Days^ on pain of perpetual 
 imprisonment. Without the least hesitation or de- 
 lay, he bent his couise to Ireland, whein^ his family 
 was held in the utmost revei-enee. Descended by 
 his mother's side from an Irish king, by his father's 
 
 tVoni 
 
21 g HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. IT. 
 
 from the renowned Strongbow, he was equally dear 
 to the inhabitants of Leinster, both of the Irish and 
 English race. He was readily invested with his 
 lands and castles, received the homage of his vassals, 
 and, collecting a considerable force from Ireland, 
 possessed himself of the castle of Pembroke, as if 
 resolved to assert his patrimonial claims by arms : 
 a conduct which wrought so forcibly on the timidity 
 and inconstancy of the king, that he consented to 
 accept his homage and fealty, and to invest him 
 peaceably v»'ith all his rights. 
 Matth. It soon appeared that Henry's apprehensions of 
 
 J'ans. ij^g dangerous spirit of this lord were but too well 
 founded. When the administration had been im- 
 happil}^ committed to the prelate of Winchester, and 
 the land groaned under the oppression of this tyran- 
 nous and head-strong minister, earl Richard was the 
 first to remonstrate boldly, and even haughtily to 
 the king, on the inuninent danger to the laws and 
 liberties of the realm, and of consequence to his 
 own crown and dignity, from the precipitate and 
 imperious conduct of his favorite, and the inunda- 
 tion of foreigners which overspread the land. He 
 declared that he and others of his peers would no^ 
 longer deign to attend the king's councils, while 
 numbers of insolent and contemptible Poictevins 
 were allowed to engross the royal favor and atten- 
 tion. A sharp reply provoked him and his adhe- 
 rents to absent themselves from parliament. They 
 are summoned : they pretend to be apprehensive 
 for their personal safety, and disobey the mandate : 
 tiiey are proclaimed traitors, and their lands assigned 
 to foreigners. The cause of these discontented 
 lords had all the advantage of popular favor and 
 applause, and was at first honored with the concur- 
 irence of Richard, brother to the king. But as he 
 was speedily reconciled, and other lords were bribed 
 by the minister to forsake their party, the eart 
 Marishal was left almost singly, to support a despe- 
 rate contest with his sovereign : yet still disdain- 
 iiig a submission, he retired to Wales, and there 
 
 confed.e^ 
 
Ch. 1. HENRY 111. 215 
 
 confederating with Lewellin, and other chieftains 
 of this province, declared his resohition of defend- 
 ing' his lands and castles against any hostile attack 
 whatever. Some attempts which were made to re- 
 duce him, ended only in the disgrace of the king's 
 arms. Where Henry commanded in person, (for he 
 was obliged to lead his forces against this refractory 
 Ibrd) earl Richard with an afligcted reverence de- 
 clined to take any part in the engagement. When 
 an advantage was gained over his countrymen, 
 they were treated with the utmost lenity: to fo- 
 reigners quarter was never granted. A successfld 
 insurrection, professedly pointed against an odious 
 and arbitrary minister, could not fail to gain new 
 friends and adherents. In vain did the English 
 prelates entreat the king to stop the spreading dis- 
 order, by a just redress of grievances, and to seek 
 an accommodation with those discontented lords, 
 who might at least plead, that they had been con- 
 demned and banished, without a fair trial by their 
 peers. The imperious minister declared that they 
 were entitled to no such privilege, and affected to 
 Avonder at their presumption in assuming the same 
 consequence with the peers of France. As violent 
 and sanguinary measures were more suited to his 
 genius, with the assistance of his minions, he now 
 concerted a scheme for the destruction of earl 
 Richard, head and leader of this dangerous con- 
 federacy. 
 
 Letters under the king's seal, as well as the^auk 
 signature of the minister, and eleven of his crea- P^""^- 
 tures, were directed to Maurice Fitz-Gerald the Irish 
 vicegerent, Hugh and Walter De Lacy, Geoffry De 
 Maurisco, Richard De Burgo, and some other infe- 
 rior lords, purporting that Richard, late earl 
 Marishal of England, had, for his manifest treason, 
 by sentence of the king's court been banished from 
 the realm, his estates forfeited and seized, yet that 
 he still persevered in obstinate rebellion against his 
 liege-lord. It was therefore signified to these the 
 king's faithful subjects, that if the aforesaid Richard 
 
 should 
 
Paris. 
 
 gl4 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. H. 
 
 should land in Ireland, they should endeavour to 
 secure and send him to the king alive or dead. In 
 return for which service, his majesty granted them 
 all the lands which Richard had enjoyed in Ireland, 
 and were now forfeited by his disloyalty, to be di- 
 vided amongst them, and be possessed by them and 
 Iheir heirs for ever : for the full eft'ect of which pro- 
 mise, they who attested these letters made themselves 
 sureties, on condition that the required service should 
 be duly and faithfully performed. 
 
 The division of a vast district in a part of Ire- 
 land the best improved, was a tempting allinement 
 Mattb. iq these lords, whose darling objects w ere riches and 
 influence; and who were not always scrupulous and 
 delicate in their pursuit. The insi<:liousness, with 
 which they are charged on this occasion by a co- 
 ten)porary writer, was by no means agreeable to the 
 open generous character of English nobles, but was 
 in some sort palliated and disguised by the appear- 
 ance of loyalty and zeal for the service of their 
 sovereign. Care was in the first place taken to con- 
 vey intelligence to earl Richard, that the barons of 
 Ireland had seized some of his castles, and ravaged 
 his lands in Leinster. As a suspension of hostilities 
 in Wales had allowed him to attend to his Irish in- 
 terests, he embarked with fifteen attendants rely- 
 ing on a sufficient support from his vassals and ad- 
 herents in Ireland. Inmiediately on his arrival, ho 
 tvas attended by Geoflfry De Maurisco, who, under 
 pretence of attachment and devotion to his service, 
 affected to comntiserate his wrongs, and applaud 
 iiis generous contest against injustice and opprcs- 
 Fion : he observed how easily and effectually he might 
 distress the king by the vigor of his operations in 
 Ireland ; that, supported as he was by numerous 
 adherents, and in a cause favored in general by 
 both kingdoms, he could not fail of success, and 
 might even reduce all Ireland to his obedience, by 
 a due exertion of that spirit which had distinguished 
 Jiis illustrious progenitors. The earl was prevailed 
 
 upoa 
 
Ch. 1. HENRY HI. 215 
 
 upon with little reluctance to adopt, a sclicme so 
 flattering- to his pride, and apparently so favorable 
 to his cause. His forces were collected ; hostilities 
 commenced; his own castles readily recovered; 
 Limerick taken after a siege of four days ; and the 
 citizens obliged to bind themselves by solemn oath 
 to his service ; and still extending his irruptions, he 
 ravaged the lands, and seized several castles both of 
 the king and his barons, 
 
 De Burgo, the Lacys and other lords who should 
 have opposed these violences, fled before him with 
 an aft'ected terror ; while his successeji only served to 
 drive him into the toils of his enemies. They Matthew 
 now employed agents to represent to him, that, as"^"^ 
 liege-men to king Henry, they could not look on 
 tamely, while he reduced the lands which had been 
 entrusted to their custody. But, to prevent the 
 effusion of blood, they desired a truce ; promising 
 that, if succours were not speedily received from the 
 king, they should consider him as relinquishing his 
 power and authority in the island, and on their parts 
 should peacea])ly resign it to earl Richard, with 
 whom they desired an interview on tiie plains of 
 Kildare, ih order to adjust the terms of this truce, 
 and to effect an equitable and amicable agreement. 
 Richard consented to appear at the place appointed, 
 attended by a force nearly equal to that of his op- 
 ponents; but, by the insidious advice of Geoffry, 
 liaughtily refused to grant a truce. The barons 
 replied that the sv. ord should then instantly decide 
 the contest. Eacii side prepared to engage ; when, 
 in the moment of onset, Geoffry coldly told the 
 earl, that his only measiu*e was to yield to the de- 
 mands of the barons ; lor as Walter De Lacy was 
 married to his sisler, ho could by no means' fight 
 against his kinsman ; and thus instantly marched 
 away with foin\score of the earl's company, vvlio 
 had been bribed to this desertion. Richard was 
 now left with his fifteen brave followers of Wales, 
 to support the ^ock of one hundred and forty 
 chosen merr. The laws of romantic honor forbad 
 
 hiyi 
 
216 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 him to fly. He turned tenderly to his young bro- 
 ther, took an affecting farewell, entreating him, as 
 he was of too tender years to share a desperate en- 
 counter, to consult his safety by retiring to a neigh- 
 bouring castle. The enemy's attack was chiefly 
 directed against his person : the barons themselves 
 would not appear to take any part in this unequal 
 engagement : their followers assailed the earl, and 
 at length unhorsed him, though not without blood- 
 shed and difficulty ; when one of them^ pointing a 
 dagger at his back, where he was not defended by 
 his armour, plunged it into his body to the hilt. 
 The unfortunate earl was conveyed to one of his 
 castles which Pitz Gerald had in the mean time re- 
 duced, and expired in a few days after this fatal 
 rencounter. 
 
 The news of the death of earl Richard, a popu- 
 lar and favorite lord, was received in England with 
 the deepest consternation, and the most violent re- 
 sentment against the prelate of Winchester, who had 
 sacrificed this noble victim to his revenge. Every 
 circumstance of his death was aggravated by the 
 Matthew rage of party, and every report propagated that 
 ^*^'^' could encrease the odium of the minister. It was 
 even suggested that the basest treachery had been 
 practised in the care of his wound ; and that he 
 might have happily recovered, but for the villainly 
 of a surgeon, who purposely tortured, and threw 
 liim into an ardent fever. An Irish agent was so 
 foolish as to confess in London, that he had taken a 
 principal part in the death of this earl, and, by this 
 indiscretion, so provoked the popular fury, that he 
 was inmiediately assassinated. The discontented 
 nobles led the general clamor ; affected the utmost 
 indignation, and the utmost terror for their own 
 persons. The king, justly dreading the effects of 
 the present temper of tlie people, with a meau 
 dissimulation expressed the deepest sorrow at the 
 death of Richard, praised his great merits and 
 endowments, lamented his own loss of so invalua- 
 ble a subject, and ordered his chaplains to per- 
 
 fprm 
 
Cir. 1. HfiNRV HI. 217 
 
 form a solemn sen ice for Hie repose of his departed 
 soul. A sudden iuid striking- event, which aliected 
 all orders of his subjects, proved of more force than 
 all the temperate remonstrances of his real friends, 
 or even the violent o])position of a few barons. The 
 seceding- lords were invited to return to his coun- 
 sels, and had the security of the prelates for their 
 safe-conduct. Giliiert, brother and successor of the 
 late earl, was knighted, and invested with his lands, 
 tog-ether with the otHce of earl INIarishal. A con- 
 vention of the nobles was held, to consider of the 
 distracted situation of the realm. In this assembly, 
 the archbishop of Canterbury produced a copy of 
 the king's letter sent to the lords of Ireland, and 
 signed by the minister and his creatures. The king, 
 perceiving its etlect, rose up, and basely denied that 
 he had any knowledge of it, confessed that the bi- 
 shop of Winchester had compelled him to affix his 
 seal, but declared his own total ignorance of the 
 purport of this letter, whicli he confirmed by a so- 
 lemn oath, in all the mortihed abasement of a prince 
 who had lost the confidence of his subjects. The 
 bishop was summoned to a-jpear, l^ut, with some of 
 his friends involved in the same disgrace, fled for 
 sanctuary to tlie church of AVinchester. The whole 
 fabric of power, which this proud foreigner had been 
 so long raising, was in an instant u.tterly subverted. 
 His creatures were banished or imprisoned; the 
 court no longer filled with foreigners; the natives 
 restored tcj favor; and the primate of England, a 
 man of temper, prudence, and etjuity, admitted to 
 a principal share of power and conhdencc with the 
 king. 
 
 In Ireland, the general temper of the people was 
 ecpially inflamed by the death of earl Richard, and 
 especially in that province where his fanniy had pos^ 
 se-ssed the first rank of dignity, and had been consi- 
 dered as the .sovereigns of Leinster. The citizens 
 of Dublin, an Knglish colony, fraught with a full 
 portion of the national spirit, echoed clamors 
 
 Vol. I. 2 E ot 
 
^18 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 Prynn. of tlicir brethren of Eni^land, inveiohed loudly 
 against the treachery and cruelty of the minister, 
 and seemed ripe for some act of violence. Heniy 
 even deigned to address a letter to these rough and 
 turbulent burghers. He as.sured them of his inten- 
 tions to convene the nobles of his realm, that every 
 measure should be taken, on mature advice, for the 
 pacification and welfare of both kingdoms : he re- 
 commended to them to v^ait the result of his in- 
 tended deliberations, which he graciously assured 
 them should in due time be transmitted, and he 
 doubted not, ])ut would give them perfect satisfac- 
 tion and content. 
 
 TiiE great lords of Ireland in the mean time 
 proceeded to divide the spoil of earl Richard's lands 
 with the most rapacious violence, envying and op- 
 Math, posing each other, harassing and ravaging their in- 
 Paris. feriors. Their outrages were continued with the 
 greater boldness, as Gilbert the present earl had 
 soon fallen under the displeasure of Henry having 
 taken the same measures with his late brother, on 
 the relapse of the king into his former oppressions 
 and unjust partiality to foreigners. His marriage 
 with the daughter of Alexander king of Scotland 
 served to swell his pride ; but less able, and there- 
 fore less respected than his l)rother, he was treated 
 by Henry with greater harshness, and soon obliged 
 to sue for a reconciliation ; which by the intercession 
 of the king's brother was effected, and served to 
 check the depredations committed on his Irish 
 lands. Maurice Fitz-Gerald, dreading the conse- 
 quences of hi.s resentment, thought it ex])edient to 
 repair to London, that by the mediation of the king 
 he might be reconciled to a i^owerful young lord, 
 now restored to the royal favor, and prevent the 
 consequences of a dangerous family feud. In the 
 presence of Henry and his nobles, he exculpated 
 himself by oath from auy part or concurrence in the 
 death of Richard ; yet, for the sake of peace, and 
 restoration of amity between tlieir noble houses, pro- 
 posed without delay to found a well-endowed mo- 
 nastery. 
 
Ch. 1. HENRY in. 219 
 
 nastery, furnished with a reverend conventual body, 
 to offer up their constant prayers for the soul of this 
 unhappy earl. 
 
 A FORMAL reconciliation was thus affected^ and Math. 
 Maurice w^as preparing to depart, when Fedlim, P^ns. 
 prince of Connaught, suddenly appeared at the 
 court of England, having at length obtained an op- 
 portunity of pleading his giievances, and display- 
 ing the oppressions of De Burgo. This lord, soon 
 after the death of earl Richard, had, by the resto- 
 ration of his kinsman Hubert to some degree of fa- 
 vor, been encouraged jo repair to England, and 
 attend upon the king, who received him with an 
 appearance of favor, (hough not uninformed of 
 the violence of his conduct, and the many instances 
 in which he had presumed to despise the royal au- 
 thority. He only vent\u'ed to insinuate in a letter CI. 19. 
 >vith which this lord was honored soon after his re-^^^^' ^^^• 
 turn, that he should be Cctveful, by a more punctual 
 and ready corjpiiance with his orders for the fu- 
 ture, to obviate all suspicions which might be en- 
 tertained of his disloyalty. But little aticcted by 
 this gentle rebuke, he coutiiuied to indulge his am- 
 bitious views, and particularly to extend liis settle- 
 ments in Connaught, with an insolent contempt of 
 any rights or claims of tlie Irish natives. Pretences 
 for hostilities were readily found or invented : and 
 De Burgo had the address to gain Fitz-Gerald, the 
 chief governor, to support his interested schemes. 
 Under the pretence of repressing insiu'rections or Ann. 
 enforcing the demands of government, they unitedAjiun. 
 \n an invasion of the territories of Fedlim, wliich^^^^* 
 ended in the purpose for which it was underlaken, 
 the usurpation of a oonsideral)le part of this district. 
 The injured chieftain had no resource but to re-jieat 
 bis application to the throne ; he artfully avoided 
 to involve the chief governor in his accusation, con- 
 fined his complaint to the excesses of De Burgo, and 
 so effectually did he plead his cause^ that the king, 
 ^ow happily dispose^ to redress all wrongs, ordered 
 
 Fitz- 
 
290 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 Fitz-Gcrald to take the speediest and most effectual 
 measures tor repressing the outrag-es of this proud 
 ])aron, and re-establishing the Irish prince in full 
 possession of bis rights. 
 
 This appearance of equity, and attention to the 
 rights of his Irish tributaries seem to have been 
 • considered by tlic king as a matter of no small me- 
 Byraor. j-j^ i^ ^^^^ soon succeeded by a recpiisition to* all 
 the toparchs Avho had submitted, or were supposed 
 to be M ell-af}e(;ted to him, to repair to his standard 
 wilh their forces, in order to assist him against th^ 
 king of Scotland ; as they hoped to find resourc^ 
 in liim, in their necessities, and that he should ex- 
 tend his grace to them, on their petitions. A sud- 
 den acconnnodation prevented liim from discover- 
 ing the etlect of his letters, which were addressed to 
 several chiefs, who, notwithstanding any former eU" 
 gagements, were disaiiiected, if not his open and 
 1^45. avowed adversaries. In the following year, how- 
 i\non ever, Fedlim had an opportunity of approving Jiis 
 MSS. gratitude by attending Fitz-Gerald into Wales, and 
 performing good services against prince David. In 
 which he had the greater merit, as he was the only 
 chief either of the Irish or English race who obeyed 
 
 the 
 
 * The kinn'b letter and the names of the Irish chiefs, arc here given 
 from Rymer; (torn. i. p. 420.) atid the list of names possibly compre- 
 hends all or most of tliose (plusquam viginti reguli) -who had submitted 
 to king John. 
 
 " Rex Donnaldo regi de Tercnrnell, [i. e. Tiroonnel], salutem, 
 , " Cam provQcante nos injuria regis SeotiiE, jam nos j)raeparaverimus 
 '■' insurgere in ipsum pro pjuribus transgressionibus, quas nobis fecit, 
 *' tilcisceudis nisi, ipsas gratis nobis emoiidare vohierit: de dilectione 
 " vc^tra confidentes, quod in hac cxpeditione nostra auxilium vestrum 
 " nobis denegare noii velitiiS, vobis mandamus, quatenus una cum Jus- 
 •:' ticiario nostro Hiberniae, & aliis fidelibus nostris Hiberniae, qui in 
 " proximo ad partes Scotias veiituri sunt, ad inimicos nostros ibidem 
 " gravandos, talem & tam potentem succursufn nobis impendere velitis, 
 " personaliter veniendo cum ipsis, bona gente muniti, quod, in necessita- 
 ^' te vestra, ad nos conlidentius confugere debeatis. Nosque pro succur- 
 *' su vestro, ad preces nostras nobis impendendo, gratiam quam a nobis 
 
 " petiei^itis, 
 
Cii.J= HENRY HI. ' 221 
 
 the king's summons upon this occasion ; although 
 the governor was directed to address himself toRymer. 
 eacli to sound their dispositions^ and to assure them 
 of the royal favor on their compliance, and a share 
 of such conquests as might be made by their assist- 
 ance. 
 
 The 
 
 '* libentius vobis Icneamur Impertiri, cum speciali gpatiarum actione. 
 " Teste rege, apud ^taiii'tbrd septiino die Julii. 
 " Eodeni modo scribitur, 
 Felmixo filio quondam Regis, (sci. Connachtaj & Hiberniae mo- 
 narch, nomine.) 
 O'Raly. 
 
 UnANLUR, (i. e. O'H ANLON.) 
 
 Bren O'Nel regi de Kinelun, (i. e. Kinel-eogain slve Tir-Oiven.) 
 
 O'Chatan, (i. e. O'Catiian.) 
 
 O'Hynery. 
 
 DoXEXALD MaC-DaXIEL. 
 
 Mac-Anegus, (i. e. Macginnis.) 
 
 Mac-Kartan. 
 
 Mac-Gillemuri, (dux O'Niallorum de Clanneboia in agro Dunen- 
 
 G. Flex regi de Turteri (i. e. O'Fltxx regide Hy-Turtria regione 
 
 in comitatu Antrim lacui Neacli contermina.) 
 Mac-Maciiaxax, (i. e. Mac- Mahox.} 
 Mac-0'Calmery, (principem esse suspicor Oritmannorum "Waterfor- 
 
 diensium.) 
 CoxonoR O'Brix [filius Dunecan Carbragh de Thodmend, (i. e. 
 
 CoxxoR O'Briex de Thomond.) 
 CoRMACLETHAx Macardiiy de Desscmou, (i. e. Cormac Mac-Ar- 
 
 THY de Desmond.) 
 Ros O'Falaxer de Dessia, (i, e. 0'Faoi>ax de Desies baronia in 
 
 comitatu Waterford.) 
 RiCARDO Maciiermeken dc Dcssia.) 
 
 Cort-Othexxer de Fermuy, (potius O'Coxdox de Fermoy regi- 
 one in comitatu Cork.) 
 Shoxether O'Caffercy de Corrac. 
 Matiuji-axbc O'Kellie de Ochonill, (O'Keli.y de Criocli-Cualan 
 
 rt^gione in modenio comitatu de Wicklow,.) 
 MuRciiAD Mac-Brix de Natherlach (potius de Raxilogii regione 
 
 de O'BRiXsin com. deAVicklow.) 
 " Pra^dicta nomina, cpioad licuit, duximus exponenda, in gratiam rei 
 '■'■ Ilibernicae studiosorum." Harris. 
 
g82 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 The delay of Fitz-Gerald in leading his suc- 
 cours into Wales, to which Henry affected to im- 
 Matb. piite the disgraces and distresses of his expedition, 
 Paris. jg gaid to be the cause of his removal from the Irish 
 government, by which, a popular lord, with a pow- 
 erful following, indifferent to the interests of a so- 
 vereign by whom he was disobliged was sent into 
 the South to raise new commotions among the most 
 turbulent and inveterate of the Irish natives. He 
 had no occasion to enter into plots or confederacies, 
 to disturb the public peace. The Geraldines and 
 their associates only proceedec^ to enlarge their set- 
 tlements, and to extend their encroachments on the 
 Ann. bloody sept of Mac-Arthy, and all the rage of war 
 l5S«^* was instantly kindled in their quarter of the island. 
 Mbb. ^.jj^ ^^^^^ ^^ Richard De Burgo, Hugh De Lacy, 
 and Geoffi-y De Maurisco, which happened nearly 
 at the same period, produced new commotions. The 
 chiefs of Tirconnel in the North had taken arms 
 immediately on the departure of Fitz-Gemld to the 
 Ann. war in Wales; but at his return were, by the assist- 
 Anon, ance of Fedlim, soon reduced. They were now 
 M^S* encouraged to resiune their hostilities, which the 
 new gx)vernor, son of Geoffry, was immediately 
 called to suppress ; and found an obstinate enemy, 
 which it was the whole business of his administrati- 
 on to subdue : nor was this effected but by the 
 concurrence of some neighbouring Irish chiefs, who 
 thus revenged tlieir private quarrels on the prince 
 of Tirconnel. Nor did the western part of Ireland 
 tiontinue to enjo}^ the advantages of Henry's pro- 
 y. ^ tection. Walter, successor of Richard de Burgo, 
 ^^^** had married the daughter and heiress of Hugh De 
 Lacy ; and being of consequence invested with the 
 earldom of Ulster, was enabled by so vast a,n acces- 
 ^on of power to assert the claims of his family in 
 , Connaught with the more imperious violence. Fed- 
 lim was on some pretence of disaffection once more 
 driven from his territory, and once more had the 
 spirit to regam it by force of arms, and to maintain 
 
 his 
 
Ch, I. HENRY III. 23S 
 
 his rights against the great Englisli lords. The Ann. 
 rising disorders of England encouraged them to de-^'Jf^ 
 spise the royal authority ; on the encrease of these " 
 disorders their confidence rose gradually to the high- 
 est pitch : they were ever the secret enemies, some- 
 times the avowed adversaries of each other ; and in 
 many places, where they had obtained settlements, 
 the natives were first driven into insurrections by 
 their cruelty, and then punished with double cruelty 
 for their resistance. 
 
 In a country thus oppressed by severity, and 
 harassed by mutual competitions, the first symp- 
 toms of a disorder which proved so fatal to Ireland, 
 could not fail to mark this wretched period of petty 
 tyrannies. The English laws which had been so 
 solemnly accepted and established, were soon found 
 to be a system unfriendly to oppression. Too se* 
 vere in punishing these outrages which subvert the 
 peace of society, and too indulgent to the rights 
 and properties of inferiors, they v.ere scorned by 
 an imperious aristocratic faction, who, in the phrenzy 
 of rapine and ambition, trampled on the most salu- 
 tary institutions ; and by oppressing those immedi- 
 ately below them, taught them to become oppres- 
 sors, and to stop that current of equity and justice 
 which was their own most effectual security. So 
 early as the year 1228, a remonstrance appears to 
 have been made to the king against this dangerous 
 neglect and suspension of the laws ; so that he judg- 
 ed it necessary to transmit his mandate to the chief 
 governor for suppressing this innovation. * HeCL 12, 
 directed tliat the whole body of nobility, kniHits, .^- J,^^* 
 
 'free-'"^'''^- 
 "^^ Lond. 
 
 * " Rex dilecto & fideli, suo ftiii'HJiTtlo de Bur?-o justiciarlo suo IIh 
 " berniae, salutein. Mandamus vobis firmitep fr'n . ^)iente3, quatenua 
 " certo die & loco, facialis venire coram vobis archiepiscopos, episco* 
 " pes, abbate!^, priores, comites, & barones, milites, & libere-tenentes, & 
 " ballivos sinn^ilorum comitatuum, & coram eis publice legi faciatis car- 
 *' tarn domini Johannis regis, patris nostri, cui sigillum siuim est, quam 
 " fieri fecit & jurari a raagnatibus HiberniiE, de legibus & consuetudi- 
 '' nibu^ Aiigliae consciyandi)? in Hibernia, Et prsecipiatis. cis ex parte 
 
 " Qostra 
 
224 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 free-tenants, and bailiffs of the several counties, 
 should be convened ; that the charter of English 
 laws and customs received from king- John, and to 
 ^vhich they were bound by oath, should l)e read 
 over in their presence ; that they should be directed, 
 for the future, strictly to observe and adhere to 
 these ; and that proclamation should be made, in 
 every county of Ireland, of this royal mandate, 
 strictly enjoining obedience on pain oF forfeiture of 
 lands and tenements. How little effect was pro- 
 duced by this order, and how justly the opposition 
 to the course of English hnv is imputed to the great 
 lords of Ireland, we learn from a mandate of the 
 CI. 30. same kind in the year 1246, in which the barons are 
 ^- I^^- commanded, that for the peace and tranquillity of 
 the land they may* permit it to be governed by the 
 laws of England. 
 
 And while these powerful lords thus subverted 
 the peace and security of the English territories, 
 with respect to the Irish natives, they were still less 
 restrained in their violences, as these neither claimed 
 
 nor 
 
 " nostra quod leges illas & consTietudines in carta praedicta contentas,de 
 " cfEtero firmiter tencant & observeut. Et hoc idem persinguloscomitatus 
 *' Hiberniae clamari facialis & teiieri,prohibentes finniter ex parte no^^^tra, 
 " et super forisfacturam nostram ne qui.i contra hoc mandatiim nostrum 
 " venire pvae^umat. Eo excepto, quod nee de morte nee de catalHs Hiber- 
 " nensiuui occisorum niliil statuatur ex parte nostra citra quindecim dies 
 " a die Sancti Miclia^hs, anno regni nostro duodecimo, super quo res- 
 " pcctumdcdimusmagnatibus nostris Hiberaia: usque adterminumprae- 
 . " dictum. Teste nie ipso apud Westm. 8vo die Maii anno regni nostri 
 " 12mo." Pryn. Anim. 252. 
 * " Rex, dilecto, &c. 
 
 " Quia pro comrauni utiUtate terrae Hibei-niae, & pro unitate terrarum 
 «< re"is, rex vult & de communi consilio regis provisum est quod omnes 
 " leges &: consuetudines qua3 in regno AnglicBtenentur in Iliberuia tene- 
 " antur, et eadem terra eisdein legits suhjaceat,,^: per easdem regatur, 
 *' sicut dominus Johannes rex cum ultimo esset in Hi hernia statuit & fieri 
 *' mandavit. Quia etiam rex vult quod omnia brevia de comnmni jure 
 *' quae currunt in Anglia similiter currant in Hibernia sub novo sigillo 
 " regis. Mandatum est archiepiscopis, &c, (piod pro pace & tranquil- 
 " litate ejusdem terras, per easflem leges oos deduci .Sc regi penniltant, & 
 *' eas in omnibus sequantur.- In cujus, 6w'c,'' Pryiui. 
 
Ch. 1. HENRY III. 225 
 
 nor enjoyed the benefits of the English constitntion. 
 It hath ah'eady appeared that in their earhest stipu- 
 lations with Henry the second, the cnrreiicy of 
 their own old laws and cnstoms was provided for, 
 by those who became tributaries to the crown of 
 England. And these laws and customs, and these 
 only were continneib even in the territories of those 
 chiefs who were best affected to the English govern- 
 ment. Fedlim, the petty king of Connaught, was 
 so far from conceiving that he or his people had 
 acquired the valuable rights of English subjects, in 
 their full extent, that, in a remonstrance to the king 
 against the damages he had sustained by Walter DeRymer, 
 Burgo, he charges the burning of churches and the^^^""* 
 massacre of his priests and monks, at three thousand te,aniin' 
 marks. As the English power was extended, thisuiTurr. 
 motley mixture oif Irish tributaries and English Lond- 
 subjects, proved of the most essential prejudice to 
 the peace and welfare of the nation. The rights, 
 properties, and even lives of the natives were par- 
 ticularly at the mercy of aspiring and rapacious 
 barons, who, if too insolent to allow to their fellow- 
 subjects those privileges which they justly claimed, 
 had still less renxorse in taking advantage of the 
 weakness of those who claimed no such privileges, 
 and making them feel the most afflicting conse- 
 quences of their inferiority. The Irish were not 
 long insensible of this disadvantage; they had 
 learned by melancholy experience the superior 
 security which their neighbours enjoyed, and ha- 
 rassed as they were on every side, by their native 
 chiefs, and the more powerful English lords, we 
 have instances in this reign of a few the most peace- Prynn. 
 able among them suing for a royal patent, by which Cl. 37 
 they might enjoy the rights of Euglisli. subjects, ^^"- ^^'° 
 and on their plea of fidelity and good services ad- 
 mitted by the king to a participation of these rights, 
 notwithstanding they were denied to their country- 
 men in general*. 
 
 Vol. i. 2 F Extra- 
 
 * There are innumerable records of these grants made to individuals 
 /«f the Irish race. I produce the earliest we find in thi^ reign, as it 
 
226 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. IL 
 
 Extravagant and absurd as we may deem this 
 general exclusion of the natives from the protection 
 of the English laws, yet it arose neither from the 
 * want of equity, nor of discernment in the English 
 
 monarchs. The necessities and pressing emergencies 
 of the reign of Henry the second prevented the 
 reduction of the island, and produced a treaty 
 whereby the Irish were left in possession of their 
 antient jurisdiction. Whatever may have been the 
 representations of political and historical writers, 
 it is too evident that at that time they neither de- 
 sired nor accepted the English laws. They neither 
 knew the superior advantages of another constitu- 
 tion, nor traced their distresses to the in'egularities 
 and imperfections of their own; which had been 
 sanctified by the usage of ages, by the fabulous or 
 exaggerated traditions of their famous kings and 
 lawgivers, was inextricably interwoven with their 
 manners, and with these, had taken too deep and 
 extensive root to be at once removed by the greatest 
 violence : and violence was neither originally exert- 
 ed, nor intended, for this purpose. Time, indeed 
 and a continued intercourse with the new settlers, 
 
 taught 
 
 shews evidently how far the benefits of English law were extended, or 
 meant to be extended in Ireland: and that tliey were neither granted, 
 originally nor claimed, nor enjoyed by the Irish in general. A point too 
 evident to be so often repealed and enlarged on in this history, bnt for the 
 confusetl and mistaken representations of some political vyriters who de- 
 duce the most important conseqaences from their own erroneous concep- 
 tions. 
 
 " Jlex justiciario Hiberniae salutcm. Monstravit nobis Mamorch 
 " O'Fertbierum & Rothericiis frater ejus quod antecessores stii, & ipsi 
 *' (licet Ilibernenss) semper tamen firmiter fuerunt ad fidem & servitium 
 " nostrum & predecessorum nostrorum regum Angl. ad conquestum ; 
 " una cum Anglicis faciendum super Hibernenscs: & ideo vobis man- . 
 " danms, quod si ita est, time non permittas ipsos M. & R. repelh quia 
 " possint terras rindicare in quibus jushabent, sicut quilibet Anghcus, 
 " quia si ipsi & antecessores sui sic se habuerunt cum Anglicis, quam- . 
 " vis Hibernenscs, injuslum esset licet IIibernknses sikt, quod 
 " ExcEPTioNE QUA UErKLLUNTUR IIiBERNENsES a vindicatioiie teiTa- 
 •' rum fit aliis repellantHf." 
 
Ch. 1. HENRY. HI. 22: 
 
 taught some among them to sacrifice their national 
 prejudices to their interest and security; pointed 
 out the superior advantages of their English neigh- 
 bours, and drove them to seek shelter fi'om their 
 wrongs, within the pale of English law: and the 
 readiness of Henry the third in receiving them, 
 ilirecls us plainly to the true cause, \^ hich for a long 
 time fatally opposed the gradual coalition of the 
 Irish and English race, under one form of govern- 
 ment. The great English settlers found it more 
 for their immediate interest, that a free course should 
 be left to their oppressions ; that many of those 
 whose lands they coveted should be considered as 
 aliens ; that they should be furnished for their petty 
 wars by arbitrary exactions ; and in their rapines 
 and massacres be freed from the terrors of a rigidly 
 impartial and severe tribunal. They had the op- 
 portunity of making such representations, as they 
 pleased, to the court of England, and such descrip- 
 tions of the temper and dispositions of the Irish, 
 as might serve their own purposes most effectually. 
 Those few who forced their way to the throne in 
 search of protection, were received ^ulh sufficient 
 grace. But in times ot" general tuibnlence and 
 anarchy, it is not surprizing that the royal grace 
 ghould not always prove effectual. For we are not 
 to imagine that this dangerous sjiirit of oppression 
 was peculiar to the barons seated in Ireland. They 
 but- shared in the vices of the times, and followed 
 the pernicious example of their brethren in Eng- 
 latvl^, who despised and insulted the weakness of the 
 throne, opposed the execution of the laws, and by 
 the public contentions and disorders degenerated 
 gradually into a band of outrageous plunderers, 
 ravaging each other, and tyrannizing over their 
 inferiors, in all the meanness of despotic insolence. 
 To repress the violences of his barons in Ireland, 
 some feeble eflbrts were made by Henry, by send- 
 ing a succession of Englishmen to the government, 
 unconnected with the powerful settlers, without 
 
 partiali- 
 
J28 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. IT. 
 
 partialities or private views, but addicted solely to 
 Hanmer. the service of their master. We find the names of 
 Alan de la Zouch, Stephen Longespee, William 
 Den, Richard de Capella, David Barry, Robert de 
 UfFord, Richard de Exeter, James Aiidley, all en- 
 trusted with the administratioR of i^overnment in 
 this kingdom, and succeeding each other at such 
 short intervals as plainly indicate distraction in 
 English councils, as well as an irregular and dis- 
 ordered state of things in Ireland. But in the year 
 1253, a measure was pursued, which might have been 
 attended with important consequences, had England 
 been more composed, or the advantages of a regular 
 and peaceable establishment of Ireland, justly and 
 Mqtth. distinctly considered. On the marriage of the 
 ^^'^' gallant prince Edward with the Infanta of Spain, 
 the king vested him, among other territories, with 
 the whole land of Ireland (except the cities of 
 B-yw^r. Dublin and Limerick, with their counties, the town 
 of Athlone, and some inferior districts lately grant- 
 ed or promised ; excepting also the lands of the 
 church, and custody of vacant chiu'ches) to be 
 held by him and his heirs: provided that the lands 
 thus granted should not be separated from the 
 Fymer. crown, but remain for ever to the * kings of Eng^ 
 land, and lield by a delegated authority. The 
 cities and counties reserved in this first grant were 
 by a subsequent deed ceded to the prince, together 
 with the debts and arrears due to the crown, and the 
 issues and revenues of all the lands, except those 
 arising from the vacancies of cathedrals, crosses, 
 and abbies : and the whole grant at first executed 
 in Gascony, was afterwards duly ratified and con- 
 firmed imder the great seal of England. So that 
 Kymfr the lands possessed or claimed by the king's subjects 
 cxCanier-in Jrclaud, were now called the lands of lord Ed- 
 Scac, ward, 
 
 * Such are the very words of the charter. — " Ita tamen quod prae- 
 dictas terrae & castra omnia nunquain soparentur a corona, sed inte*. 
 ^re reinaneant regibus Angliae in perpetuum." 
 
Ch. 1. HENRY III. 229 
 
 ward, the officers and ministers of government were 
 stiled the officers of Edward lord of Ireland, and Davys, 
 the writs ran in this prince's name. 
 
 Some time after these grants, Edward was direct-Rymer. 
 ed by his father to entrust the province of Gascony 
 to liis officers, and to repair to his Irish government, 
 for the more efiectual reformation and settlement 
 of the state. And happy had it been, if a young 
 prince of such disiinguished abilities had really as- 
 sumed the reins of government in Ireland, and 
 exerted himself effiectually in the reformation and 
 settlement of this kingdom. But the disorders and 
 misfortunes of his father's reign found sufficient 
 employment for his active spirit. So that the aflkirs 
 of Ireland were conducted by deputies, without 
 sufficient force or support ; and every act of the 
 prince's government was watched narrowly by those 
 who ruled in the king's name, and were alarmed at]\iattb. 
 the spirit of his son. They sometime superseded Paris, 
 his writs as irregular and illegal : sometimes, com-p,ynn, 
 manded that his officers and wardens of castles Brady, 
 should not be admitted or obeyed, without the 
 king's letters patent ; controled him in his attempt 
 to appoint a deputy: and commanded de la Zouch, 
 to acknowledge no superior but the king, nor to 
 resign his authority without the royal mandate. la 
 the latter and more composed part of this reign, 
 when Edward might have influenced the afiairs of 
 Ireland most essentially even by his presence, the 
 passion for crusades, at this time the favorite obr 
 ject of the noble and the brave, drove him into the 
 East, where he endangen3d his life in a romantic 
 pursuit of honor, instead of acquiring the real 
 and solid honor of civilizing, and rescuing, a dis- 
 ordered people from the bitterness of oppressioa 
 and intestine tumult. 
 
 Ireland in the mean time, felt all the melan^ 
 choly eftects of a feeble government, an aspiring 
 nobility, laws suspended and controled, factions 
 engendered by pride and oppression, the anarchy of 
 
 • "the[ 
 
230 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II, 
 
 the old natives, the injustice of the new settlers, local 
 Ann. feuds, and barbarous inassaeres. Brian O'Nial of 
 rnnjsf. Tir-Ovven, who with his principality inherited an in- 
 veterate aversion to English government, rose up 
 in arms, compelled some neighbouring chiefs to 
 join his standard, and spread confusion through all 
 the North. Stephen Longespce was called out to 
 oppose him, and notwithstanding some advantage 
 gained in the field, would have found it difficult to 
 suppress this insurrection, had not the Irish prince 
 fallen by the treachery of his own people. In the 
 South, the Geraldines had for some time kept the 
 state of an independent sept, supporting themselves, 
 shice the removal of Maurice Fitz-Gerald from the 
 government by their own power, and making war 
 and peace by their own authority. They had mor- 
 Jbid. tified the Desmonians by their increasing conse- 
 quence, and provoked them by their severities. But 
 the fierce and warlike race of Mac-Arthy, encourag- 
 ed by the death of Maurice, suddenly took arms, 
 and threatened his family with the most desperate 
 vengeance. Each party was eager to take the field, 
 where a desperate engagement was at leng'th finally 
 decided in favor of the Irish, who pursued their 
 advantage with all the rage of implacable animosity 
 ^anmer. Thomas Fitz-Gerald and his son, eighteen barons, 
 fifteen knights, and many of inferior note were 
 slain on the part of the Geraldines : w}io thus lost 
 their power, and for some time lived in perpetual 
 terror of the Irish sept. 
 
 In this contest, the Mac-Arthys affected only to 
 
 [defend their rights against the invasion of a neigh- 
 
 iKJuring clan, and were so far from openly declaring 
 
 against the English government, that at the very 
 
 Ann. time of their greatest success, a new deputy landed 
 
 innisf, on their coast, was received with the reverenpe due 
 
 MrfS. ify j^is commission, and passed unmolested to the 
 
 seat of government. The conquerors proceeded 
 
 to demolish the castles erected by their rivals; and 
 
 elated with success, turned their arms against some 
 
 Iri-h 
 
Ch. 1. HENRY III. 231 
 
 Irish septs who had proVoked their resentment. 
 Walter De Burgo was soon involved in these petty 
 quarrels which interfered with the pretensions of I 
 
 his family, or pronnsed to give them possession of 
 some districts wliich he claimed or coveted. He J 
 
 marched against the Mac-Arthys, slew their leader, ^ I 
 
 ravaged their country, and obliged them to give Ann. 
 hostages for the performance of such severe condi-^""'^ 
 tions as he was pleased to impose. The Geraldhu^s ' i 
 
 seized the advantage of this reduction of tlieir ene- \ 
 
 mies, revived their old claims, assumed their former ] 
 
 port ; but soon found they had a new and pow- ! 
 
 erful adversary to encounter. De Burgo, whose I 
 
 object was the same with theirs, and who fought for 
 the aggrandizement of his family, deemed both his 
 honor and his interest concerned in quelling these i 
 
 aspiring rivals. Their feuds were violent and ; 
 
 bloody, and for a long time continued to spread 
 distraction and calamity, to the utter disgi'ace of the 
 English government. The deputy attempted to in-^^^ ' 
 
 terpose his authoriiy ; when Fitz-Maurice and Pitz- *^^^^^^" 
 Thomas, heads of the Geraldine faction, suspecting 
 bun of too great partiality to their antagonist, pro- '^ 
 
 ceeded to an act of violence which even the Mac- | 
 
 Arthys had scrupled to commit ; seized his person at 
 a conference, and sent him with Richard De Burgo^ 
 son of Walter, and some other lords, prisoners to one 1 
 
 of their castles. ! 
 
 Such an outraoeous defiance of authority^ raised ! 
 
 a just and general alarm. The enemies of the Ge- ' 
 
 raldines in particular inveighed loudly against their 
 dangerous insolence. An assembly was convened \ 
 
 at Kilkenny to consider of the remedies to be ap- ; 
 
 plied to the disorders of the kingdom : and at their I 
 
 requisition, the imprisoned nobles were set at liberty. 
 Henry, who received the most affecting representa-lbid, ' 
 
 tions of these excesses, could inteq^ose no farther 
 than by writing to the rival lords, and commandingCox- 
 them to suspend their animosities, and to preserve \ 
 
 the public peace. Barry, an active deputy, seized 
 
HISTORY OF IRELAND. 
 
 B.II. 
 
 Ann. 
 Innisf. 
 MSS. 
 Haamer. 
 
 Ann. 
 
 Innisf. 
 
 MSS. 
 
 Pryn. 
 Put. U 
 Hen. Ill 
 
 Pat. & 
 Ci. var. 
 
 Haam. 
 
 the castles of the Geraldines, and employed the 
 forces of the state in confining them within such 
 bomids as might prevent all danger and disturbance : 
 while De Burgo, more the object of royal favor, was 
 so elated as to make the most extensive demands up- 
 on the territories of Connaught, and bid defiance to 
 all the rights and properties reserved by the native 
 chiefs, ^th O'Connor, successor of Fedlim, rose up 
 against his encroachments ; which was represented 
 as an open and audacious rebellion against his liege 
 lord king Henry. Walter marched against him, but 
 had the mortification to receive a signal defeat: nor 
 did he long survive this disgrace. 
 
 The example of these great rival lords was 
 naturally followed by their immediate inferiors. 
 Claims, pretensions, and contests, multiplied with- 
 out number ; and all quarters of the kingdom were 
 filled with petty feuds, the result of avarice and 
 pride. Dearth and disease were the inevitable con- 
 sequences of such extensive confusion, which en- 
 creased by seasons remarkably severe and tempestu- 
 ous, aggravated the misfortunes of the kingdom, with- 
 out suspending those animosities which produced 
 such malignant eifects. 
 
 To heighten the calamities of this dreary period 
 yet further, the severest exactions were made on Ire- 
 land, both by the king, in his real or pretended neces- 
 sities, and by the pope, in prosecution of his schemes 
 eicher of avarice or ambition. In the year 122(3, a 
 fifteenth of all cathedral churches and religious 
 houses, and a sixteenth of all other ecclesiastical re- 
 venues, were demanded by the king, with the concur- 
 rence of the pope. His quarrels with the Scots^ with 
 the Welsh, with France, with the king of Castile, 
 were all made the occasions of large demands both 
 on the clergy and laity. But those of the see of Rome 
 were still more grievous and oppressive : in England 
 they were odious; in Ireland, utterly intolerable. Here, 
 the wretched laity were stripped even of their very 
 
 neces- 
 
Ck.l. HENRY III. 233 
 
 necessaries, tJie clmrdios of all tlieir ornaments, td 
 supply the rapacious derriauds of legates aud nun- 
 cios. * The king, however solicitous to secure the 
 I'avor and support of Rome, and of consecjuence 
 disposed to couutena.nce those feiactions, yet some- 
 times found it necessary to yield to the general cla- 
 mor, and to control them not only in England 
 but in Ireland. Legates were sometimes refused CI. 29 
 admittance into Ireland without the royal licence. ^I'"^,]^^- 
 *rhey pleaded the necessity of repairing thither, toHcu^ IIL 
 confer absolution on those who in the public com- 
 motions had laid violent hands upon the clergy ; a 
 spiritual power not to be entrusted but to, the im- 
 mediate delegates of the sovereign pontiff. The pre- 
 tence could not be absolutely rejected in these times 
 of superstition ; but strict injunctions were sent to 
 government, that the leoantine authority should be 
 confined to this single object,- so that these minister^ 
 of oppression were obliged to recur to private and 
 clandestine management, when the rapacious de- 
 mand could not be openly avowed. 
 
 With the same effrontery as in England, at- 
 tempts were made to overspread the kingdom with 
 Italian ecclesiastics. The boldest remonstrances Cl. 29 
 vvere made to the king against this scandalous abiise ^^' 
 of investing proud and luxurious foreigners with 
 the dignities and revenues of the Irish church, who 
 contemptuously refused to engage in the duties of 
 their function, or to reside in the country whicK 
 they pillaged by their extortions. The complaint, 
 appeared so just and urgent, that the king, who 
 had scarcely power to maintain a regular govern- 
 ment in Ireland, much less to support measures uni- 
 versally obnoxious, was obliged to interpo.se his au- 
 thority, and, by letter to his chief governor, di- 
 rected that the pope's agents should not only be 
 prevented from extorting money from the ecclesias- 
 tics, but from making such shameful dispositions of 
 their benefices. But the clergy had not only the 
 partialities of the pope, but those of Henry himself 
 
 Vol. I; 2G to 
 
234 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 to contend \vith. The neglected, the worthless, or 
 the depressed, among' their English brethren, sought 
 refnge in the church of Ireland ; to the utter mor- 
 tification and discontent of the whole body of eccle- 
 isiastics, both of the Irish and the English race, who 
 regarded them as aliens, and deemed the invasion 
 of what they called their own rights equally oppres- 
 sive, whether Italy or England furnished this series 
 of emigrants. Thougli forced to submit to the 
 royal authority, strengthened by that of the pope, 
 they yet delcuinined to exert all the power they had 
 left, against the invasions of these strange clergy *. 
 By a bold and violent ordinance, it was agreed^ 
 
 that 
 
 * The- Irish clergy vfere possessed with exalted ideas of the dignify 
 snid glory of th^-ir own duipeh. They triumphed in their long cata- 
 logue of saints, and the legendary histories of their piety, purity, rigid 
 discipline, and stupendous miracles: and affected to scorn these new 
 intruders, and to dread iheir contamination. To swell this spiritual 
 prrde, Ijaurerice O'Toole, their famous archbishop of Dublin, had 
 been some time since canonized by pope Honorius. But what were the 
 iVvanners, at leaai of some among them, and how dangerously they had 
 been infected by the popular vices of these unhappy times, we learn 
 from the following curions petition of a widow, in the reign of Edward 
 the first. Vid. Prynn. vol. iii. p. 243. 
 
 " Margaret le Blunde, of Cashel, petitions our lord the king's grace, 
 that she may have her inheritance which she recovered at C'lonmell be- 
 ♦' fore the king's judges, &c. sgainst David Macmackerwayt bishop of 
 " Citshel. 
 
 " Item, the said Margaret jjetitlons redress on account that her father 
 " was killed by the said bishop. 
 
 " Item, for the imprisonment of her grrrndfathor and mother^ 
 *' whom he shut up ai>d detained in prison until they perisiied by fa- 
 ^ mine, because they attempted to seek redress for the death of their 
 " son, father o-f your petitioner,, who luid been killed by the said bishop. 
 ''• Item, for the- death of her six brothers and sisters, who were starved 
 ' to deatii by the said bi.-shop, because he had their inheritance in his 
 " hands at the time lie killed their father. 
 
 . " And it is to be mvts-d, that the sitkl bishop had built an abbey in the 
 " city of I'ashel, on the king's lands granted for Uiis purpose, which 
 "■ he hath lilled with rubbers, who murder the English, and depopulate 
 
 * the country ; and that when the council of our lord the king attempts 
 
 * to take coL'.iii/.anoe of the offence, he fulmiuutei the sentence of ex- 
 ' comic 'iv.iwuiicu :i^a;«,Ht thcjiu 
 
Ch. I. HENTIY III. 235 
 
 that no man of the English nation sliould be ad- Rymer ex 
 mitted or received into a canonicate in anyone of the Autogr. 
 Irish churches: nor could the king repress this spi- j^^^^^* 
 rit but by application to the pope ; who, in his bull 
 addressed to the prelates and chapters of Ireland^ 
 represents their ordinance as the etiect of envy and 
 unchristian partiality, and a design to establish here- 
 ditary right in God's sanctuary; commanding that 
 it should be formally rescinded, within the space of 
 one month, and in case of a refusal, threatening to 
 rescind it by the plenitude of his authority, and to 
 commission the prelates of Dublin and Ossory to 
 declare it, in his name, absolutely null and void. 
 
 Nor is this the only instance in which the daring 
 spirit of these ecclesiastics was experienced. Inde- 
 fatigable in their encroachments on the civil power, 
 and zealous in their attempts to extend the jurisdic- 
 tion of their courts, they were ever seeking occasi- 
 ons of dispute and litigation, and artfully contrived 
 to draw every suit into the sphere of their own tri- 
 bunals; so that the king was obliged to direct his Pat. 18 
 deputy to confine them to the cognizance of causes ^^•^^^• 
 testamentary or matrimonial. The case of bastaixiy, 
 it is well known, was in England violently agitated 
 in this reign. Children born before wedlock, were 
 by the common law ac^judged incapable of inherit- 
 
 tng, 
 
 " It is to be noted also, that the aforesaid Margaret has five tiines cross- 
 '■ ed the Irish sea. Wherefore she petitions for Go4'ssake, that the king's 
 *' grace will have compassion, and that she may be admitted to take poa- 
 *' session of her inheritance. 
 
 " It is further to be noted, that the aforesaid bishop hath been guiUy 
 ^' of the death of many other Enghshnien besides that of her father. 
 
 " And that the aforesaid Margaret hath many t,itmes obtained writs of 
 " our lord the king, but to no elF«^ct, by reason of the influence and 
 " bribery of the said bishop. 
 
 " She further petitions, for God's sake, that she may have costs and 
 *' damages, &c. 
 
 \Vhat a prelate was this, even supposing the allegations a^gravatei^ 
 
23a; HISTORY QF IRELAND. B. IL 
 
 Jilg, as iJlcg;itimato; tlie canon law pronounced 
 them legitimate and legal inheritors; and of conse- 
 quence, when the spiritual coipls were directed by 
 writ to try the legitimacy of any suitor, their sen- 
 tence was conformable to the canon law, in direct 
 Stat. Mer- opposition to that of (he realm. The civil courts 
 ton. were thus obliged to change the nature of their writs^ 
 and confined the clergy to an enquiry into the sim- 
 ple fact, Avhether the party had been born before or 
 after wedlock The prelates complained of the 
 innovation, and demanded in a parliament held at 
 Merton, that the common law should be reduced 
 Prynn, to a coufomiity with the canon. The answer they 
 ^- J^- received is famous : Nolumiis leges Aiiglics inutari : 
 >' ■■ ' such was the spirited decision of the English nobi- 
 lity. The same contest subsisted in Ireland, and 
 an application was made to the king's courts in 
 Pngland; to decide on this point, as we\l as on 
 some others involved in it, where the real nature 
 and purport of the common law were not clearly de- 
 lined. Tjie statute of Merton was therefore trans- 
 initted into Ireland for the direction of the king s 
 subjects, and the regulation of their judicial pro- 
 ceedings in this kingdom. 
 
 The very exactions made on the Irish clergy 
 were the means of encreasing their turbulence and 
 presumption. In return for the sums extorted from 
 ihem, the king thought himself obliged to profess 
 the utmost zeal for the defence of their rights and 
 Cl. 11. liberties. The civil power was directed to give the 
 H. HI. ga,me support to their sentence of excommunication 
 as tliC law allowed to the clergy of England : and 
 this instrument of ecclesiastical vengeance was le- 
 velled without mercy against all who presumed to 
 dispute their authority or oppose their pretensions. 
 Autbg^'" In imitation of their brethren in England, they ex- 
 K. 1232, communicated the most^ dignified personages of 
 ' • ' ' ■ the 
 
 "* Stephen Longespee the king's own ruitural brother, was excom- 
 municated with all his train, by the archbishop of DiibHn, as appears by 
 a close roll of the Sfith of this reign. But Hanmer, and other writers, 
 have recorded an instance still more extraordinary, of the insolence 
 
 of. 
 
Ch. I. HENRY m. 237 
 
 the kingdjom the moment they presumed to dispute 
 the litiq-ious claims of the church : so that the pope 
 was ohhged to interpose and control this inordi- 
 nate abuse of spiritual authority. As the oppressi- 
 ons they endured^ drove them to make reprisals on 
 the laity, extravagant impositions were exacted un- 
 der the name of oblations of the faithful. The ma- 
 gistrates and citizens of Dublin presumed to inter- 
 fere on this occasion, and to circumscribe the re- 
 venues of their cathedral. The archbishop instantly Regist. 
 fulminated a solenin excommunication against these Jif^^|- 
 sacrilegious invaders of his church, and laid the j^^,[|j^-- 
 whole city under an interdict. Cardinal Ottobon =* 
 was at hand to conhrrn the tremendous sentence. 
 The citizens remonstrated ; and the cause receivt^d 
 ^ Ibrmal hearing before the lord-deputy (Uffordj 
 and the council. But here the clergy proved tri- 
 umphant ; and the citizens were reduced to a com- 
 position, ridiculously abject and mortifying. It was^^if?^ 
 agreed that, in case of any open and notorious of- 
 fence, (in which, no doijbt, was included the olience 
 of opposition to the clerical power or interest) a 
 comnmtation, for the first time, should be made in 
 inoney: that, in the second instance, the otl^ender 
 
 should 
 
 pf a bishop of Ferns, who excommunicated the great earl of Pembroke, 
 on the pretence that lie had disseized his church of two manors. On 
 the death of this carl, the bishop appeared before the king and claimed 
 these manors. Henry ordered him to pionounce sentence of absolution 
 at the earl's tomb. The bishop attended him thither, and in the presence 
 of the king had the insolence to pronounce with an ailected dignity and 
 solemnity: " O William, thou th^it here liest wrapped in the bonds 
 " of excommunication, if what thou hast injuriously taken away bo re- 
 *' stored by the king, cr thy heir, or thy friends, v/ith competent sati.-jfac- 
 " tion, I absolve thee. Otherwise, I ratify the sentence, that bein^ 
 " wrapped in thy sins, thou mayest remain damned in hell for ever." As 
 the heir would iioi give uji the manors in dispute, the bishop confirmed 
 l)is curse. A nd tlie superstitious vulgar were taught to believe, that the 
 earl and his four brethren died without issue, by the immediate sentence 
 of Heaven, in courirmation of that pronounced by its minister. 
 
HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. H. 
 
 should be cudgelled round the church; in the 
 third, that the same discipline should be repeated 
 publicly at the head of a procession ; and that in case 
 of further obstinacy, they should either be disfran- 
 chised, or cudgelled through the city. Such were 
 the citizens, whom a king of England thought it ne- 
 cessary to pacify by an apology for his conduct, and 
 a promise of redress of grievances ! 
 
 CHAF 
 
Ch^. EDWARD I. 239 
 
 CHAP. 11. 
 
 Accession of Edward thejirst, . . , Maurice Fitz-Maurice his 
 Irish deputy, ,, »Is betrayed and tahen prisoner . . . Mien- 
 zill his successor defeated, . . . Ulster infested by the Scots, 
 . . ., Contest between the Geraldines and O'Brien. . . , 
 Distress of the Geraldines. . . , Edward provoked at the dis- 
 orders of Ireland. . . .Irish petition to be admitted to the 
 benefits of English law .... Favorable answer of the king. 
 .... The petition defeated. , . . Second application equally 
 unsuccessful. . .Insurrections. . . Feuds of the English lords 
 .... Edward applies to the subjects of Ireland for subsidies 
 .... Refused by the clergy .... Granted by the laity .... 
 Expectations from the administration of De Vescey . . . . 
 He quarrels with the baron of Oplially. , . .Resigns his 
 lands. . . .Parliament of Sir John Wogan, ,, .Its statutes 
 .... Feuds of the English lords composed. . . . Edward's ex- 
 actions in Ireland. . . . FitZ'Thomas of Ophally attends the 
 king's service in Flanders .... Earl of Ulster embarks for 
 the Scottish war. . . .Effects of their absence from Ireland. 
 
 W E are not to expect that the state of Ire- 
 land should appear essentially improved by thcj^ya 
 accession of Edward the first to the throne of 
 England. Though the high office he had enjoyed 
 of lord of Ireland gave him opportunities of knowing 
 its various grievances and disorders, and though he 
 had discernment and abilities to apply the most ef- 
 fectual remedies, yet ])oth the political and military 
 talents of this renowned prince found sufficient em- 
 ployment in regulating and improving the disordered 
 state of England, in reducing Wales, in contending 
 with the Scots, and in the otiier occupations of his 
 active and distinguished reign. 
 
 The administration of Irish government had, some . 
 lime before the death of Henry, been committed to ]v/JJ[;ifef, 
 Maurice Fitz-Maurice; who seems to h&vc been MS. 
 appointed by the council upon the sudden death oi 
 
 And Icy 
 
iM HISTORY OF IRELAND. fe. H 
 
 , Audley by a fall from his horse. On (he demise 
 of Henry, he received a letter in the name of his 
 
 Rymer. successor, notifyitig" his accession to the i hrone, stricl- 
 ly enjoining that the kind's peace should be main- 
 tained and preserved through the land of Ireland, 
 and dcclarino' that tlie rights and properties of h'ni 
 subjects in this kingdom should be defended by the 
 throne, against injurious attempts of every kind. 
 At the same time, it was enjoined that the nobility, 
 knights, and free-tenants, should take the usual 
 oaths to their new sovereign. But such formal acts 
 of government had so little tendency to control or 
 terrify the disatlected, that Maurice was immediate- 
 ly obliged to march against some insurgents who 
 had destroyed several castles, and pierced even into 
 the most flourishing parts of Leinster. And so well 
 supported were the invaders, and such was the weak- 
 ness of the governor, that his own followers be- 
 trayed him to the enemy. With an insolence of 
 which he had himself set the exarnple, he was seiz- 
 ed in Ophally, arid committed to prison : nor had 
 his successor Glenvill, who had married a daughter 
 
 m? of Walter t)e Lacy, much better success. The very 
 seat of government was insulted, and in his attempts 
 to suppress such audacious inroads, he had the mor- 
 
 ^ox, titication to receive a signal defeat. Ulster in the 
 mean time, was at once enhlbroiled in civil dis.^enti- 
 ons, and infested by marauders from the Scottish 
 isles, who carried on their depredations with impu- 
 nity, while petty factions, composed both of Eng- 
 lish and Irish, pursued their private schemes of in- 
 terest and revenge, and bad defiance to all legal au- 
 thority. Maurice Fitz-Maurice, when released from 
 his confinement, retired to his own lands, ouly to 
 raise new commotions. Uiiting with the lord The- 
 obald Butler, he made a private vv^ar upon the Irish 
 of Munster, and forced the O'Briens, who had of 
 late discovered a pacific disposition, to take up arms 
 against the invasions of a turbulent and ambitious 
 neidibotir. 
 
 The 
 
en. 2. EDWARD I. 241 
 
 The power of the Geraldines had been consi-^I^- 
 derably encreased by ihe marriage of Juliana, 
 daughter of Maurice, with Thomas de Clare, son 
 of the earl of Gloucester, a young lord of martial 
 spirit, to whom Edward granted considerable lands 
 in Thomond, and who now led a powerful train of 
 followers into Ireland to support his claim. Such 
 grants precipitately made, olttained by false sug- 
 gestions or unreasonable solicitations, provoked the 
 pride, and sometimes the just resentment of the 
 natives, who were thus harassed and hunted from 
 every quarter of the land. The O'Briens exclaimed Ana. 
 loudly against the encroachments of this new colo-tjgg 
 ny : the young English lord treated their remon- 
 strances with disdain ; and the contest, as usual, was 
 soon brought to the decision of the sword. A 
 signal defeat sustained by the Irish, in which the 
 chief of the O'Briens fell by the treachery of his 
 own people, as his coimtrymen alleged, seemed to 
 promise the complete establishment of the victors. 
 But O'Brien had left two warlike sons, who exerted 
 themselves with the utmost vigor to avenge their 
 father's death, and assert the honor and interest of 
 their sept. The war, which was renewed with 
 double fury, ended in the total overthrow of the 
 Geraldines: Many of their bravest knights were 
 slaughtered. De Clare with his father-in-law was 
 driven for immediate shelter into an inaccessible 
 momitain ; where being blocked up l)y the enemy, 
 and reduced to the severest distress of famine, they 
 were at length obliged to capitulate on the most 
 mortifying terms : the O'Briens were acknowledged 
 sovereigns of I'homond ; hostages were given as a 
 security for the eric, or satisfaction demanded for 
 the death of their late chieftain, according to the 
 Irish custom, and the castle of Roscommon, lately 
 ])uilt and strongly fortified, and which the Geraldines 
 held in custody for the king was surrendered to the 
 victorious enemy. 
 
 Vol. I. 2 11 De 
 
24g HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 De Clare, who had now no resource but in the 
 royal authority, sent the most pathetic representati- 
 ons to the kin»', of his distress and supposed injuries. 
 Edward had lately transmitted his mandate to the 
 
 Rymer. prelates of Ireland, to interpose their spiritual au- 
 thority for allaying- and coniposing' the public dis- 
 orders : and now the news of civil w ar in Munster 
 was followed by the most alarming accounts of in- 
 surrections in Coanaught, and the slaughter of the 
 Irish prince of tliis province by a rival chieftain. 
 Provoked !)y these multiplied vexations, he passion- 
 ately recalled the chief governor, UfFord, into 
 England ; who, leaving the administration in the 
 
 Hanmer. hands of Fulbume, a friar, encouraged tlie disaf- 
 fected in Leinster to renew their outrages ; and 
 having readily satisfied the king, who was intent on 
 more pressing, and to him more important objects,, 
 than the settlement of this unhappy kingdom, was 
 remanded to Ireland, to repress the commotions 
 which his absence had excited. 
 
 In the midst of various disorders public and 
 private, where eveiy little district shared in the ge 
 neral distress, and every individual was exposed to 
 danger and depredation, those Irish, who by their 
 situation held a constant intercourse with the Eng- 
 lish, who lay contiguous to the county lands, or 
 whose settlements intersected those of the king's 
 subjects, found perpetual occasions to lament the 
 manifold disadvantages of those old native institu- 
 tions to which they were abandoned, and which ren- 
 dered their lives and properties more precarious 
 than those of their English neighbours, so as to 
 provoke the injustice of their enemies, at the same 
 time that they were deprived of the necessary de- 
 fence. All hopes of extenninating the English 
 were long since resigned. The only rational pur- 
 pose now^ to be pursued, was that of acquiring the 
 rights and ]3rivileges enjoyed by those with whom 
 they were thus connected, and to change the state of 
 vassals and tributaries to the king of England for 
 
 the 
 
Cii. 2. EDWARD I. 243 
 
 the security and advantag^e of English subjects. Prynn. 
 An application was made to Uffbrd the chief govern- ^•^^• 
 or, and eight thousand marks offered to the king, ^ '^" 
 
 f)rovided he would grant the free enjoyment of the 
 aws of England to the whole body of the Irish in- 
 habitants. A petition, wrung from a people tor- 
 tured by the painful feelings of oppression, in itself 
 so just and reasonable, and in its consequences so 
 fair and promising, could not but be favoral)ly re- 
 ceived by a prince possessed with exalted ideas of 
 policy and government, and, where ambition did 
 not interfere, a friend to justice. The answer re- 
 turned by Edward is too memorable not to be here 
 inserted at large. 
 
 '' Edward by the grace of God, king of England, 
 " lord of Ireland, and duke of Aquitain, to our 
 " trusty and well beloved Robert de Ulford, jus- 
 '' ticiary of Ireland, greeting. 
 
 ^' 1 HE improvement of the state and peace of 
 " our land of Ireland, signified to us by your letter, 
 '' gives us exceeding joy and pleasure. We entire- 
 '' ly commend your diligence in this matter, hoping, 
 '' (by the divine as.sistance) that the things there 
 '" begun so happily by you, shall as far as in you 
 '' lietli, be still further prosecuted with the greater 
 " vigor and success. 
 
 '' And whereas the * community of Ireland hath 
 ^' made a tender to us of eight thousand marks, on 
 
 condition 
 
 * Whatever general expressions the lung might have been accustomed 
 to employ, yet it seems not only improbable but impossil)le that the ap- 
 plication could have been really made, unaniinou-^ly, by all of the Irisli 
 race, in every quarter of die island. They had at this time no natio- 
 nal council ; nor did any band of union subsist between the dillerent 
 septs. Nor could those who had but their local interests to pursue, and 
 were in a constant state of war with each other, be easily prevailed on, 
 (even if the proposal could have been communicated) to enter into any 
 amicable conference, or concert any measiu'cs for the general advantage 
 of all the unooimecled and discordant septs. Nor did those who lived 
 
 niObt 
 
«44 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 " condition that we grant to them the laws of Eng- 
 *' land to be used in the aforesaid land, we will you 
 ■' to know, that inasmuch as the laws used by the 
 *' Irish are hateful to God, and repu^a^nant to all 
 •^^ justice, and having held diligent conference and 
 '' full deliberation with our council on this matter, 
 ■' it seems sutiiciently ex{>edient to us and to our 
 ' ' council, to grant to them the English laws ; pro- 
 
 vided 
 
 most detached from tlie English, perceive any advantage in exchanging 
 their old iiistitiuions for another system. On liie contrary, it was with 
 the utmost labour and difficuhy, and the most obstinate reluctance on 
 their part, that the Eiiglii^h law could be obtruded on them, some cen- 
 turies after the present period. 
 
 The petition, it is to he observed, was for a grant of the English 
 law to be used in the land of Ireland. It is expressly called in anothe;: 
 record, immediately to be cpioted, the petition of the Irish of that land. 
 In like manner, the king's deputies are frequently said to be entrusted 
 with the custody of his land of Ireland ; or to undertake the custody of 
 his land. By this phrase, I conceive we are to understand no more 
 than the district possessed by the English subjects, or what is generally 
 called the English pale. That this is not a mere conjecture, apjiears 
 trom the following passage of a record in the reign of Elizabeth. (Rot. 
 Cane. Hib. () Eliz. Dorso.) '• Item, forasmuch as no small enormities 
 " doo grow within those shires [viz. Cork, Limerick, and Kerry] by 
 *' the continual recourse of certain idle men of lewd demeanor called 
 ** rymers, bardes, and dice-players, v/ho, under pretence of their tra- 
 " vail, dop bringe privy intelligence, between the malefactours inhabi- 
 " ting in those several shires, as well as within the lande, &c. 
 
 Here, the lande is evidently used as the well-known denomination of 
 the district called the Pale. In this district several septs of Irishry had 
 been perniittcd to dwell, even from the time of Henry the second, who 
 professed a peaceable submission to English government, without being 
 admitted to the privileges of Euglish subjects. In Wicklow, even 
 close to the seal of governijient, in Ophally, in Leix, and other places 
 bordering on the English settlements, were many considerable chief- 
 tains with their warlike followers. All theee, by their situation, held 
 constant intercourse, had frequent contests and Ihigations with the 
 i.i^ig's sui)jects. They every day experienced that their lives and pro- 
 perties were less defensible than those of their neighbours ; and that 
 this ini'eriority every day provoked injustice and oppression. It was 
 natural ior them to desire that they all might be peaceably united with 
 those around tlunn, under that equitable government which by this 
 tune \\ us establishca too tirmly to be overthrown. 
 
Cn.2. EDWARD I. 215 
 
 '' vided ahvays that the general consent of our 
 " people, or at least of the prelates and nobles of 
 '* that land, well affected to us, shall uniformly 
 " concur in this behalf. 
 
 " We therefore command you, that having- en- 
 *' tered into treaty with these Irish people, and ex- 
 " amined diligently into the wills of our commons, 
 '' prelates, and nobles, well affected to us, in this 
 " behalf, and having agreed between you and 
 *' them on the highest fine of money that you can 
 " obtain, to be paid to us on this account, you do, 
 *' with the consent of all, at least of the greater 
 '' and sounder part aforesaid, make such a compo- 
 " sition with the said people, in the premises, as 
 " you shall judge in your diligence, to be most ex- 
 '' pedient for our honor and interest. Provided 
 '' however, that these people should liold in readi- 
 " ness a body of good and stout footmen, amount- 
 " ing to such a number as you shall agree upon 
 '' with them for one turn only, to repair to us when 
 '' we shall think fit to demand them." 
 
 W^E see the just and honorable dispositions of 
 Edward, notwithstanding his attention to make this 
 incident subservient to his allairs. But his wisdom 
 and rectitude w ere fatally counteracted, and by (hose 
 w ho should have ran foremost in the prosecution of 
 a measure, which would have prevented the calami- 
 ties of ages, and which was obviously calculated for 
 the pacification and effectual improvement of their 
 country. But it would have circumscribed their 
 rapacious views, and controlcd tlieir violence and 
 oppression. As the petition could not be openly 
 opposed upon any principles of reason, justice, or 
 sound policy, every subterfuge was employed, and 
 every evasion practised to prevent a convention of 
 the king's barons and other subjects in Ireland. 
 Edward was assured that an immediate compliance 
 with his commands was not possible in the present 
 state of things ; that the kingdom w as in too great 
 ferment and commotion ; that far the greater num- 
 ber 
 
246 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II 
 
 Prynn. ber of baroiis were dispersed on the necessary busi- 
 A^iim, p. j^ggg Q^ ^|j^^ state, and defence of their own and of 
 the king's lands; that many of them were under 
 age and in guardianship, so that an assembly could 
 not be formed sufficiently numerous and respecta- 
 ble, to decide upon a point so weighty. And such 
 pretences were sufficient, where the aristocratic fac- 
 tion was too powerful, and the king too deeply 
 engaged in more urgent affairs. But the cry of 
 ojipression was not immediately silenced : the ap- 
 plication of the Irish was renewed, and the king 
 A. D. repeatedly and urgently solicited to accept them as 
 1280. his faithful subjects. * So that two years after, we 
 find him summoning the lords spiritual and tempo- 
 ral, and the whole body of English subjects in the 
 land of Ireland, to assemble and deliberate on this 
 
 petition, 
 
 * " Rex, archiepiscopis, episcopis, abbatibus, prioribus, comitibus, 
 *'• haronibus, militibus, & omnibus A nglicis de terra Hibernice, saluteni. 
 " Ex parte Hibernicoruin de terra pradicta nobis oxtitit humiliter sup- 
 " plicaUim, quod sibi de gratia nostra concedere dignaremur, ut eisdein 
 ** legibus & consuetudinibus communibus uti & gaudere possint in ter- 
 " KA, quibns Anglici ibidem utuntur & gaudent, & secundum easdem leges 
 " ctcoiisuettidinesdeduci valeantin futurum. Nos auteni, quia hujusmodi 
 " concessionem absque conscientia vestra iis ad praesens non duxirnqs 
 " faciendam, vobis mandamus, quod ad certo> dies, quos ad hoc provi- 
 •- deritis; videlicet circa festum nativitatis beatas Mariai Virginis, in ali- 
 *•' quibus locis opportunis, convuniatis, & inde diligentem tractatum inter 
 " V03 habeatis, utri^m sine praejudicio vestri & libertatuni & consuetudi- 
 *' n\im vestrarum & etiam dampno vestro dictam concessionem facere 
 *' possimvis eisdem, nee ne: «fe de omnibus aliis circumstantiishujusmo- 
 ^' di concessionem contingentibus, et de hoc quod inde feceritis nobis ci- 
 'f tra proximum parliamentum nostrum quod erit apud Westmonasteri-: 
 " um a die Sancti Micliaelisin unum mensem, sub sigillo justiciarii nos- 
 ** tri Hiberniag vel ejus locum tenentis & sigillo dilecti & lidelis nostri 
 *^ Roberti Bagot, distincte & aperte una cum consilio vestro constare 
 " facialis. Et hoc propter absentiam quorundam de paribus vestris, 
 ^' quos ibidem interesse non contigerit, vel ill«rum qui sunt infra aetatem 
 " & in custodia, nullatenus omittatis; ut nos ex tunc habita super hoc 
 ** deliberatione pleniori inde provider! faciamus quod nobis & concilio. 
 " nostro magis videatur expedire. In cujus, &c. Teste rege, aputi 
 *' Westipoa. 10 die Septembris, Pryn. Anim. p. 267." 
 
Ch. 2. EDWARD I. 247 
 
 petition, which he declares that he does not judge 
 proper to be i^ranted without their consent ; assign- 
 ing- a particular season for their convention, directing 
 them to transmit their sentence and decision, and 
 strictly enjoining a peremptory compliance with this 
 his mandate, notwithstanding the absence or mino- 
 rity of any number of their peers : thus plainly point- 
 ing out the pretences formerly alleged for not com- 
 plying with his commands, and expressing an impa- 
 tience and displeasure at their reluctance to take an 
 affair of such moment to the kingdom into innnedi- 
 ate and impartial deliberation. 
 
 Whether the parliament was convened in conse- 
 quence of this order, and had the folly or effrontery 
 to declare against the expediency of the proposed 
 grant, or whether insidious artifices were still practis- 
 ed to evade the royal mandate, doth not appear 
 from any authentic record: but certain it is, that 
 the wise and just intentions of Edward were defeat- 
 ed, and that during the course of his reign, indivi- 
 duals of the Irish race were obliged to sue for parti- 
 cular charters of denization, which we find granted 
 several, particularly on their intermarriage with the 
 English. 
 
 It is natural to imagine that this repeated opposi- 
 tion to their endeavors to become peaceable and 
 useful subjects, could not but irritate the spirits of 
 the Irish, give new edge to their resentments, and^"°p 
 foment the local jealousies and contests which sub-^^S, 
 sisted betv»een tliem and their English neighbour*. 
 They soon appeared in arms, but without power, 
 
 union, 
 
 * " As loiig as they [the Irish] were out f the protection of the 
 " law," (saith the judicious Sir John Davis) " so as everie Englishman 
 " might oppresse,spoile, and kill them without controuhnent, howe was it 
 •' possible they should be other than out-Iawes and enemies to the crown 
 *' of Englande ? If the king woulde not admit them to the condition of 
 " subjects, how could they learne to acknowledge and obey him as their 
 " sovereigne ? When they might not converse, or commerce with any ci- 
 " yjl men, nor enter into any towne or citty without perrill of their 
 ♦' lives, whither should th«y Hye but into the woods and mountains, and 
 
 there 
 
§48 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 union, or address, to form any scheme of g-eneral 
 confederacy ; so that these insurrections served but 
 to ravage the several districts exposed to their fury, 
 to raise a temporary confusion, or to revenge parti- 
 cular Cjuarrels. In Desmond, indeed, the discon- 
 tented Irish formed a more reg'ular scheme of 
 opposition. The IMac-Arthys, ever implacable 
 enemies to the English, proceeding- with a dark and 
 determined rancor. assend)led secretly, discussed the 
 pretensions of their several lords quietly and pati- 
 ently, parcelled out the lands of Desmond, assign- 
 ing what they now possessed or expected to recover, 
 according to their own notions of justice and equity, 
 founded on antient arrangements and possessions. 
 They agreed in the election of a prince called 
 Daniel Roadh, marched under his conduct against 
 the English of their province, and were so success- 
 ful as to seize some castles, and to drive the enemy 
 from several of their settlements. The O'Briens, 
 their neighbors, less subtile, and more precipitate, 
 were at the same time ready to draw the sword 
 against each other, on the usual subject of Irish war, 
 the succession to the sovereignty of their province : 
 Thomas De Clare, by a sudden revolution of fortune, 
 by no means surprising in the present state of Ire- 
 llymerexland, had regained his power and now appeared 
 Hot. Wal-a lord of such consequence that when Edward 
 I'f,' V^- solicited an Irish loan in support of his war against 
 *"*-I- Wales, 
 
 *' there live in a^vilde and barbarous manner ? If the English magistrates 
 " would not rule them by the lawe which doth punish murder and trea- 
 " son and theft \\ith death, but leave them to be ruled by their own 
 " lords and lawes, why shoulde not they embrace their own Brehon lawe, 
 *' which punisheth no offence but with a line or ericke? If the Irish bee not 
 *' permitted to purchase estates of freeholds or inheritance, which might 
 *' descend to their children, according to the course of our common lawe, 
 "must they not contiime their custom of tanistrie, which makes all their 
 *' possessions uncertaine, and brings confusion, barbarisme and incivility? 
 *' In a word, if the English woulde neither in peace governe them by the 
 *' lawe nor in war root them out by the SAVorde, must they not needes be 
 " prickes in their eyes, and thorned in their sides, till the world's endeT' 
 Pavys's Di;3C0verie, 
 
Ch. 5. EDWARD t. 2W 
 
 Wales, he addressed himself particularly to De 
 Clare, and appointed him his pnncipal agent for 
 transacting this business with the g'eneral convention 
 or parliament of his subjects in Ireland This lord 
 now judged it convenient to his interests, to espouse 
 the cause of one of the competitors of Thomond ; 
 armed in favor of his pretensions, and obliged his A. t). 
 countrymen to accept him as their chief His ri-^'^*^-- 
 val, still supported by a powerful faction, provoked 
 at this odious interposition of the English, ani- 
 mated his followers to a brave resistance, collected 
 his forces, and prepared to wage a bloody war Ann. 
 ag-ainst this new created chief; when Mac-Arthy,Inni>f. 
 hearing of these rising commotions, suddenly aiuP^^^* 
 secretly passed into Thomond, and exerted all his 
 address to restrain the blind rage of his country- 
 men. He entreated them to consider that they 
 were arming against their own brethren, preparing 
 to depopulate their own lands, blowing up the 
 flame of civil dissension, which had already wasted 
 their unhappy country; that they had a common 
 enemy, industriously to take advantage of their dis- 
 orders, and to subdue them by their own weapons ; 
 that their own interest, and that of all their country- 
 men, called loudly upon them to compose their 
 private difterenees, and wait with patience, leaving 
 the folly of civil dissension to the English, till 
 weakened by their mutual rivalry and jealousy they 
 might afford the injured Irish a fair occasion to 
 unite, and by one eflectual blow to vindicate their 
 native rights, and avenge their oppressions. His 
 mediation was successful ; and indeed the pi-esent 
 state of things gave but too great force to his 
 representations. 
 
 The English lords and principal settlers in every Hanmer. 
 part of Ireland, in the lust of power and possessions, f-ox. 
 were become the bitterest and most implacable ene- 
 mies to each other. Barret and Cussack, two Eng- 
 lishmen of figure, settled in Connaught by De 
 Burgo, drew their swords against each other, and 
 Vol. I. 2 1 committed 
 
250 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. 11. 
 
 committed the most alarming slaughter and desola- 
 tion, which ended in the destruction of the former. 
 The power of lord Theobald De Verdon, possessed 
 of a considerable domain in Meath^ by right of his 
 marriage with a daughter of Walter De Lacy, ex- 
 cited the envy of Gerald Fitz- Maurice, baron of 
 Ophaly, who attacked his castles, defeated his 
 forces, was himself defeated in turn, and made a 
 prisoner. Lord Geoflry Genneville and his follow- 
 ers in another part of Meath, were stho driven from 
 their possessions. These petty broils were multi- 
 plied, and continued- for some years unnoticed, or at 
 least unrestrained by the king's vicegerents. The 
 ^Ac,F' death of Maurice, and Gerald Fitz-Maurice, with 
 that of lord Thomas De Clare, all in the same year, 
 promised to depress the power of the Geraldines, 
 and left Richard De Burgo, carl of Ulster, in an 
 undisputed rank of eminence : and so considerable 
 was the port of this nobleman, and so great his 
 authority in these times, that in the king's letters 
 we find his name frequently mentioned before that of 
 the chief governor. But his power was employed 
 in oppressing and destroying those who stood m 
 the way of his insatiable ambition. He claimed the 
 lamls of Mcath possessed by Verdon, and with a 
 tumultuotps troop of followers, invaded, and be- 
 sieged this lord in one of his castles. The Irish of 
 Meath and Ulster, impatient to take advantage of 
 these disorders, aggravated the general distress by 
 their insurrections, and often-times were the victims 
 of their own precipitation. 
 
 This confusion in the state of Ireland little cor- 
 responded with the views of Edward, and the neces- 
 sities of his government. He had already been en- 
 gaged in war; liad contracted debts by his negotia- 
 f u"T* ^'^^"^ ^" ^•''^ continent ; the troiddes of Scotland 
 511, weit! commenced, and the king possibly had good 
 reasons to piovide for taking all advantages that 
 might be derived from them. He had already, by 
 the interposition and assistance of the pope obtained 
 a tenth of all their revenues from the Irish clergy, ou 
 
 pretence 
 
Cu. 2. EDWARD I. S51 
 
 pretence of providino; for an expedition to the Holy 
 Land. Bnt not contented with this snpply, ani 
 determined to try the exertion of his own authority 
 in Ireland, before he made a like attempt in Eng- 
 land, in his own name, and witliout any participa- 
 tion of the holy see, he demanded an additional tif- 
 teenth of all tiie spiritualties in that kingdom. TheRyin> 
 clergy were neither disposed to give countenance tot- iii. j 
 
 this innovation, nor well enabled to comply withP* ^ 
 the severe demand. They therefore appealed to : 
 
 Rome, and desired the protection of the sovereign ^ 
 
 pontiff against this encroachment on his authority. 
 At the same time, in the humblest manner, they re- 
 presented to the king the distressed condition of 
 their church, arising from the wars and commotions \ 
 
 of the realm; expressing a concern for their inabi- 
 lity, but at the same time peremptorily refusing to \ 
 comply with the requisition. Edward had not yet ' 
 learned to treat these refractory ecclesiastics with ' 
 the severity which he practised, some time after- ^ 
 wards, on his English clergy. He addressed him- 
 self to the laity of Ireland, and he found them more 
 complying. After some altercation anxl delay, they 
 granted a fifteenth of their effects. * 
 To enforce these demands, and to allay the pub-ib.p. iss. \ 
 lie commotions, William De Vesey was entrusted \ 
 with the government of Ireland, an English lord, A. D. 
 who l)y his spirit and activity, joined with a rigid I'^'-^o* 
 and inflexible temper, seemed well iitted for the j 
 management of a disordered state. In his opposi- j 
 tion to the Irish insurgents he was sulliciently suc- 
 cesgtul : but wluin he proceeded to trace the present 
 evils of the nation to their source, and to re})ress I 
 the violences of ]the great English lords, he pro- ' 
 voked the resentment of John Fitz-Tliomas Fitz- 
 Gerald, baron of Ophaly, which produced a lasting 
 animosity, and at length ended in a formal accusa- | 
 tion of each other; the governor alleging beforepeily 
 the comicil, that Fitz-Gerahl had c-alunmiouslyl-iacP. '\ 
 charged liim with an attempt to revolt from his al- ^ 
 
 legiance, j 
 
252 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II, 
 
 legiaiicCj and to gediice othei's into a re])ellious con- 
 federacy ; the baron den3'in<^ the charge^ but ac- 
 cusing Vesey of some seditions and disloyal expres- 
 sions uttered in Eti^-land, the combat was de- 
 manded jHid accepted; and if we are to believe 
 iloilino'shead, before the day appointed for the 
 ticcision, Vesey lied to France, and his lands in 
 Leitister were bestowed upon his rival. But tlie truth 
 is, that the kin*^, informed of this contest, sum- 
 moned the parties to appear before him at West- 
 minster; where, after various pleadings and adjoiuii- 
 ments, the whole process was at length annulled as 
 informal and irregular; and that Vesey afterwards 
 resigned his manors, castles, and county of Kildare 
 to tlie king, which he held by marriage with one 
 of the coheiresses of the family of the earl Marishal, 
 and in whklj his right was contested by the other 
 daughters. It is equally certain that Fitz-Gerald, 
 on his returil to Ireland acted with the usual vio- 
 lence of a great English lord; opposed his rivals, 
 asserted his claims, and enlarged his possessions, by 
 force of arms. \\c even proceeded to attack the 
 earl of Ulster, with whom he disputed the right of 
 some lands in Connanght, concpiered him in the 
 field, became master of his person, and had the 
 hardiness to confine him in prison, still continuing 
 his incursions and hostilities, to the great terror 
 and annoyance of the richest and most fliourishing 
 districts of the kingdom. In consequence of these 
 outrages he was formally impeached, appeared be- 
 fore the king, submitted absolutely to his mercy, 
 and was o]>ligcd to give security for his future 
 peaceable and loyal demeanor. 
 Hanmcr. Tke most effectual attempt to reform the wretch- 
 Cox, pj^ s.(j^j^g Qf jj.jj^l^ affairs in this reign was made by 
 Sir John AVogan, appointed to the government in 
 the year 1295, who might have proved of singular 
 advantage to the nation, if the corruption of man- 
 ners had not been at this time irresistibly superior 
 lo the best and wisest institutions. With a temper 
 and discretion unknown to several of his predecessors, 
 
 he 
 
Ch. 2. EDWARD I. §^3 
 
 he applied himself in tlie first place to compose the 
 dissensions of the great lords by every lenient and 
 conciliating^- method. He fonnd the houses of do 
 Buro-o and Fitz-Gerald still at variance with each 
 other; and still engaged in petty hostilities; and 
 although he could not entirely reconcile two nobles 
 equally imperious and aspiring, he yet prevailed on 
 them to suspend those animosities which cast the 
 land into such dangerous convulsions ; so that in all 
 the forms of contending potentates, they at length 
 agreed to make a truce for two years, that the go- 
 vernor might have leisure to apply some remedy 
 to the general disorder of the realm. For this pur- 
 pose, a parliament was sununoned more regularly 
 than such assemblies had hitherto been convened in 
 Ireland. Besides the writs to the lords spiritual apd lh^ -^-^ 
 temporal, those sent to the sheriffs directed them toEcc. Triu 
 return two knights for each of the counties and li- Uublin. 
 berties (as they were called) ; and although several 
 declined to attend, and the assembly was inconsi- 
 derable in point of numbers, yet by the ordinances 
 here enacted, the public grievances seem to have 
 been maturely weighed, and with a serious intention 
 of providing the most effectual redress in their 
 power. The acts of this assembly seem to deserve 
 some notice, as they afford a distinct view of the more 
 notorious irregularities and abuses of this period. 
 
 The peace and security of the English territory, 
 the great and indeed the sole object of^ deliberation, ibid. 
 required, in the first place, that strict and regular 
 execution of the laws of England which had been 
 neither countenanced nor supported by the nobles 
 and piincipal settlers. And to this necessary and 
 valuable purpose, it was found that the division of 
 counties hitherto established was by no means fa- 
 vorable. The county of Dublin in particular was 
 too extensive and confused, comprehending not 
 only the greatest part of Leinster, but of Meath 
 and Ulster. It was therefore ordained that each of 
 these latter should have it fparticular shcrifl"; and 
 
 that 
 
254 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 that Kildare which liad formerly been a liberty ap- 
 pendant upon Dublin, should now be erected into 
 a distinct county *. 
 
 Particular encouragement had been given to 
 the incursions of the Irish ])y the absence of the 
 lord marchers who living a life of indulgence upon 
 their manors, in the securer and more composed 
 parts of the kingdom, abandoned their charge up^ 
 on the borders: by which their countrymen were 
 cither driven from their settlements, or reduced to 
 a state of vassalage by their invaders. The march- 
 ers therefore were enjoined to maintain their neces- 
 sary wards for the future, on pain of forfeiture of 
 their lands. 
 
 In the present situation of the country, it is na- 
 tural to suppose that every English tenant should 
 be trained to arms, and that the whole collection of 
 settlers should have been one regular, w ell-formed^ 
 and well-appointed militia. And yet we find thai 
 their settlements were frequently surprised in an 
 helpless state, without arms or any provisions for 
 defence : a grievance considerably increased by a 
 number of lords who lived entirely in England, 
 without any attention to the security of their Irish 
 tenants, and without contributing to the general de- 
 fence of their countrymen. It was therefore enact- 
 ed that tenants of every degree should provide ac- 
 cording to their rank, towards a military establish- 
 ment ; and that absentees should assign a competent 
 portion of their Irish revenues for this necessary 
 purpose. 
 
 It appears also, that in cases of particular in- 
 cursions of the Irish, the neighbouring settlei-s, far 
 from being united in the bands of cordial affection 
 with their countrymen, frequently looked on with 
 indifference, sometimes with an envious satisfaction 
 at their distress, without attempting to assist them, 
 
 or 
 
 * Hence it appears that the enumeration of the counties appointed in 
 the reign of .John, as it iy generally stated by historians, is really inao 
 curate ; as hath been already hinted. 
 
Ch.2 EDWARD I. 25S 
 
 or to repel the invasion. In snch cases of wilful 
 neglect it was enacted, that tlic aggrieved party 
 should be entitled to danuiges from their neigh- 
 bours. 
 
 As the fi-equent militaiy expeditions of the great 
 lords were a capital grievance, and their unnatural 
 dissensions not only weakened the English interest, 
 and encouraged the common enemy, but oppressed 
 the subject by grievous and arbitrary exactions, it 
 was also ordained, that for the future, no lord 
 should make war but by licence of the chief go- 
 vernor,^ or by special mandate of the king. And to 
 restrain the numbers and disorders of tlieir idle re- 
 tainers, or Kernes (as they are called,) every per- 
 son of whatever degree was forbidden to entertain 
 more of these than he could himself maintain ; and, 
 in case of any violent exaction or forcible depreda- 
 tion made by these lawless followers, their lord was 
 to pay the damage, and the kern to be impri^soned, 
 until he found sutiicient security for his good beha- 
 viour. 
 
 It appears to have been an usual artifice of the 
 Irish, when any particular district was the object of 
 their hostilities, to make a truce for a certain time 
 with other contiguous settlements", that so they 
 might execute their hostile purposes without con- 
 trol : which generally ended in their falling upon 
 those who had consented to tlie suspension of arms. 
 It was therefore enacted, that no truce should be 
 ever made with the Irish but what was general and 
 equal ; and that those w ho made such partial and 
 separate engagements, should be considered and 
 treated as accouiplices in the havock that might en- 
 sue: at the same time, it was provided that the 
 Irish themselves should not be molested, when they 
 liad once conchided a fair and general truce, bv 
 any insidious incursions or hostilities, which had 
 frequently produced the bloodiest reprisals, and in- 
 volved the innocent in the consequences of their 
 revenge. 
 
 And 
 
S56 HISTORY OF lUELxlND. E. IL 
 
 And, as in cases of sudden insurrections of the 
 Irish, ^vhen the chief governor was at a distance, 
 and could not immediately issue the necessary orders 
 for repressino^ them, the English were frequently 
 inactive and remiss, it was enacted, that from the 
 moment that any hostilities were commenced, the 
 county or liberty attacked should, instantly and 
 without further orders, rise in arms, and maintain 
 the war at their own proper charges, without inter- 
 mission or suspension, till the enemy should be re- 
 duced or consent to a cessation, or the chief go- 
 vernor should otlierwise direct. And, to deprive 
 the enemy of their usual shelter, every lord w as di- 
 rected to repair and clear the roads throug'li his 
 woods and forests, to make bridges, pathways, and 
 other provisions, for traversing- the country with 
 readiness and security, and pursuing the insurgents 
 into their retreats. 
 
 It appears also, from the ordinances of this as- 
 sembly, that so early as the reign of Edward the 
 first, the English had begun to conform to the dis- 
 ordered and licentious manners of the Irish natives. 
 Living in a state of perpetual confusion and hosti- 
 lity, they learned the compendious method of vio- 
 lence and rapine, in order to supply their necessi- 
 ties, or to gratify their passions : and impatient of 
 the salutary restraints which their own laws imposed, 
 they contrived an easy method to elude their force. 
 They affected the garb and outward appearance of 
 Irishmen ; who, as they shared not the security, so 
 neither were they restrained by the penalties, of 
 English law. Such w ere the beginnings of a dege- 
 neracy so fatal in its progress. And, what shews 
 the infatuation of these corrupted English, the or- 
 dinances of this assembly recite, that, by thus wear- 
 ing their garb, and fashioning their hair according 
 to the Irish mode, they were frequently mistaken, 
 and their lives reduced to the same precarious hazard 
 with those of the old natives ; that they were fre- 
 quently killed, and no cognizance taken of their 
 
 deaths 
 
Ch 2. EDWARD I. S57 
 
 (loath, according (o the English polity : so that dead- 
 ly feuds arose between the relations and friends of 
 each party, both the perpetrator and the sufferer. It 
 was therefore enacted, that all Englishmen sliould 
 conform strictly to the garb and tonsure of their own 
 countrymen, at least in the fashion of their hair; that 
 if in this latter, obvious and striking mark of distinc- 
 tion they presumed to take the appearance of Irish- 
 men, they should as such be treated, and not be en- 
 titled to remedy, in case of any plaint or suit, but 
 what was granted to the Irish : in the mean time they 
 were to be compelled to conform to the tenor of this 
 ordinance on pain of seizure of their lands and chat- 
 tels and imprisonment of their persons. 
 
 And, lastly, two lords were appohited to every 
 county and liberty in which Irishmen were resident, 
 who in the absence of the chief governor, should 
 have full power to treat with the Irish, and make 
 such stipulations with them as might secure their 
 district from molestation or disorder. 
 
 These ordinances were devised with equity and. 
 propriety ; but could not have complete and lasting 
 influence upon a people crumbled into a number of 
 detached bodies, separate interests, and rival facti- 
 ons ; led by nobles impatient of subordination, and 
 habituated to the violences and outrages of war. 
 Yet on their first establishment they do not seem to 
 have been entirely destitute of effect: they served to 
 give some check to the disorders of the realm,, 
 though not to terminate or subdue them. The incur- Cox, 
 sions of the Irish were for a time repressed : the 
 earl of Ulster, by the repeated mediation of the 
 chief governor still continued to live in peace with 
 the Geraldines. John Fitz-Thomas confiding iuRof. Tur, 
 the pacific disposition of his rival, departed fi*omRe"n. 
 the kingdom, and with a considerable train attended^' I^' 
 the service of the king, in Flandei's. Edward, en- 
 couraged by the appearance of greater tranquillitj 
 in Ireland, ventured to repeat his application to theprynn. 
 clergy for a subsidy; with what success we are nott. III. p. 
 
 Vol, I. 2 K informed. 864, 
 
258 HISTORY OF IRELAND. BJI. 
 
 informed. The tenths formerly granted for the 
 Rymer, service of the Holy Land, and which Boniface the 
 872. ^ present pope took upon him to collect, were seized 
 by the king's order in the hands of the Romish 
 agents, and applied to the exigencies of his govern- 
 ment. The pontifl^ who had experienced the firm- 
 ness and spirit of king Edward, ventured only to 
 expostulate with gentleness, and affected to make 
 him a free p-esent of the revenue of these tenths 
 which the king had already secured to his own use. 
 The renewal of his war with Scotland during the 
 regency of John Commin, obliged him to have re- 
 course to every expedient to strengthen and support 
 his operations. His Irish subjects were repeatedly 
 enjoined to confer and to devise the means of assist- 
 Reily, jng his intended expedition. John Fitz-Thomas 
 mer' ^^ttended his standard in Scotland ; and the earl of 
 Ulster, that he might not be outdone in zeal and 
 loyalty, soon afterwards assembled a gallant train in 
 Dublin, created thirty knights, and embarked for 
 P,^"- the Scottish war, in which he performed distinguish- 
 ^''^^- ed services. 
 
 The absence of such powerful lords produced 
 its natural effect in Ireland, in encouraging a licen- 
 tious spirit of insurrection, and giving free course to 
 the treachery and turbulence both of the English and 
 the Irish inhabitants. Several feuds broke out with 
 new violence, and petty wars were carried on, to 
 the utter desolation of the finest and most valuable 
 of the English settlements ; the disorder extended 
 even to the seat of government ; and the utmost ef- 
 forts of the chief governor and the well-affected 
 lords, were scarcely sufficient to defend the province 
 of Leinster. 
 
 CHAP, 
 
Ch.3. EDWARD 11. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Accession of Edward the second. . . »Gaveston chief governor 
 of Ireland, » . . Popular and successful. . . . Envied and op- 
 posed by the earl of Ulster. . . .Suddenlj/ recalled. , , .Earl 
 of Ulster favored , , , .His quarrels with the Geraldines. , . , 
 ffe is defeated and taken prisoner, . . .Reconciliation of 
 the great lords .... Origin of the Scottish invasion .... 
 Edward Bruce invited into Ireland hy the northern chief 
 tains, . . .Lords of the English race summoned to a parlia- 
 ment in England. , . , Landing of the Scots, . . .Barbarous 
 progress of Edward Bruce .... Earl of Ulster undertakes 
 the war, . . .Joined by Fedlim O'Connor, . • .Bruce prac- 
 tices with Fedlim. . . . TFho returns to Connaught, , , .Earl 
 of Ulster retires before the Scots .... Edward Bruce as- 
 stones the style and authority of hing of Ireland., . , .His 
 distress .... Fedlim assisted by the English government 
 against his rival, . , . Ungratefully deserts to Bruce, .... 
 who is crowned at Dundalk, . . .Joined by his brothery 
 , . , ,who suddenly ix'turns to Scotland, . . .Irish and dege- 
 nerate English crowd to Edward Bruce, . . .He reduces 
 Carrickfirgus , . . .Marches southward. , . .General famine 
 ....Association of the English lords, .. .Bermingham 
 marches into Conmiugl[t. . . .BaflJe of Athunree. » . .The 
 capital threatened by Bruce, . . .Consternation of the citi- 
 zens. . . .Earl of Ulster suspected and seized. . . .Prepara- 
 tions against Bruce, . . .He retires into Ulster. * . .Is not 
 pursued. . . .Conduct of Mortimer the mw chief governor. 
 English interest revives .... The king and the northern 
 Irish severally apply to the pope .... Horrible distresses 
 of the Scots. . . .Bermingham marches against them, . . . 
 Precipitation of Bruce. . . .He is defeated and slain. . . . 
 Miserable consequences of the Scottish war. . . . Petition for 
 annual parliaments .... Degeneracy of English fanjilics. 
 . . . .Subsidy demanded, , . .Irish clergy evade the demands 
 
 ol the pope. 
 
 ^ ^ ^ THE 
 
260 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 1 HE accession of Edward the second to the 
 throne of En«;land was an event equally fatal to 
 the honor of that realm, and to the welfare and 
 tranquillity of Ireland ; although the weakness of 
 the new kiiij»', and his partiality to an unworthy fa- 
 vorite proved of some momentary service to this 
 country, which might have been permanent and 
 extensive, had not his folly and insincerity been car- 
 ried even to the utmost degree of infatuation. His 
 sudden dispersion of a gallant army collected by his 
 father to chastise the revolt of Robert Bruce, and 
 his childish retreat from Scotland, taught his own 
 English nobles to despise him : and his shameful 
 breach of promise to a dying parent, by recalling 
 Gaveston from banishment, provoked them to op- 
 pose him. The favorite who received his mimerit- 
 ed honors without temper or discretion, quarrelled 
 with the new queen, and insulted the nobility. A 
 powerful combination^ formed and supported by 
 Thomas earl of Lancaster, cousin-german to Ed- 
 ward, peremptorily required the banishment of Ga- 
 veston : the l3oId demand was enforced by the con- 
 currence of a parliament : the king at length yielded 
 with a reluctance arising from a blind passion for 
 his minion, not from a sense of this insult on his 
 llynier, authority: but instead of dismissmg him at once to 
 t. iii. p. his nati\ e residence in France, he contrived to dig- 
 ^2. nify his exile, by appointing him vicegerent in Ire- 
 ^ j^ land, with such powers as might give respect and 
 1308. honor to his government. 
 
 The most crhninal, or at least the most obnoxious 
 part of this favorite's character seems to have 
 l)een an olfensive pride and insolence, peculiarly in- 
 supportable to the haughty and determined spirit of 
 the English barons. His person was amiable, his 
 endowment^ graceful and engaging; he was gallant 
 and courageous, to his inferiors liberal and obliging ; 
 and in a country where he had as yet made no 
 personal enemies, these qualities shone out with full 
 advantage. A princely port ard a magnificent 
 reti'uie served to captivate the general eye, and 
 
 raised 
 
Cii.3. EDWARD II. SCJ 
 
 raised expectations of some extraordinary effects 
 from his i^overnment : and such expectations were 
 speedily confirmed by his conduct. Not like some 
 former deputies, waiting to be insulted in the very 
 seat of government, and shrinking behind the walls 
 of Dublin, from the violence of neighbouring insur- Campion, 
 gents, he at once marched out against the turbulent 
 septs, drove them from their retreats, and pursued 
 them with severe execution, until they were com- 
 pletely broken and dispersed. His soldiers, pleased 
 with his valor and gained by his liberalities, fol- 
 lowed his standard with the utmost chearfulness and 
 confidence. An Irish chieftain of no inconsiderable 
 power, called O'Dempsy, who had the hardiness 
 to encounter him, w as slain on the field of battle ; 
 and his forces totally defeated. No insurgents pre- 
 sumed to appear throughout the province of Leiu- 
 ster. He pierced into Thomond, and here con- 
 firmed the reputation of his valor, by defeating 
 and subduing the chieftain O'Brien, who had been 
 encouraged to hostilities by the weakness of former 
 administrations, and the frequent disgraces of the 
 English arms : and as he had now no enemy to en- 
 counter, he vigorously proceeded to repair the 
 havock made by former insurrections, to erect cas- 
 tles, and open communications through the English 
 territory. 
 
 But the envy of the great lords of Ireland, and 
 his own insolence and imprudence threatened to in- 
 terrupt this successful progress, A govcnmient oflbid, 
 weight and splendor seemed to lessen the imj)or- 
 tance of those barons of the English race, who had 
 been used to look down with contempt upon the 
 king's vicegerent, and if they could not reduce him 
 to become the instrument of their purposes, to pro- 
 secute their schemes of private interest witli a total 
 disregard of his authority. Richard earl of Ulster 
 in particular was alarmed at the consequence whic]. 
 the new governor assumed. And as he was con- 
 iessedly the most powcrjiil of the whole body of 
 
 nobility. 
 
962 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II 
 
 nobility, and bad frequently been treated by the 
 throne as superior to its representative, and one 
 whose influence and power were necessary to the 
 support of Irish government, Gaveston soon learned 
 to regard him as a rival. The governor assumed 
 all the pride and state of superiority. The earl 
 with equal pride and state atiected to vie with the 
 governor. His numerous followers were collected, 
 and appeared not only a magnificent, but a formida- 
 ble body. He held his court at Trim with a pa- 
 rade and ostentation highly offensive and alarm- 
 ing. He feasted his attendants with all the splenr 
 dor of a sovereign, and conferred the honor of 
 knighthood on two persons of the family of De La- 
 cy: he is said to have even threatened Gaveston 
 with open hostilities. But before their jealousies 
 could produce any violent effect, the favorite was 
 suddenly recalled, and left the kingdom to its usual 
 distresses of a weak government and imperious 
 nobility. 
 Campion. SiR John Wogan who succeeded to the adminis- 
 tration, was principally employed in holding con- 
 ventions, and ordaining laws, which the subjects of 
 Ireland were too corrupt to obey, and which their 
 governor had not the power to enforce. While 
 the land was depopulated, and oppressed by every 
 species of outrage, his parliaments were thought 
 worthily employed in hearing a ridiculous contort 
 for precedence between the prelates of Armagh and 
 Dublin, and deliberating whether a bishop should 
 have his crosier borne erect or depressed, in some 
 particular districts: a point of such serious moment 
 l^lll^^' as could not be contested by the parties without vi- 
 g6. ^ olence and bloodshed ; and in which the king of 
 England himself was obliged to moderate. The 
 great lords, in the mean time enjoyed the full ad- 
 vantage of a feeble and despised government. They 
 avowed their contempt of the royal authority, and 
 carried on their private wars without fear or con- 
 trol. The earl of Ulster had lately received a ne^y 
 
 mi. 
 
Ch.S. EDWARD II. 263 
 
 and honorable mark of Edward's confidence. He 
 had been appointed plenipotentiary to conclnde a 
 treaty with Robert Bruce; and the Scottish de-Ry^^r, 
 puties had attended him in Ireland: giddy witht. III. p. 
 exaltation, and intoxicated by flattery, he spurned ^^O- 
 at all restraints ; and w ith the insolence of indepen- 
 dent sovereignty marched into Thomond in support 
 of some pretensions which he disdained to assert but 
 by force of arms. Here he had the mortification h. Marlb. 
 to receive a signal defeat from the Geraldines, com- A. D. 
 manded by Richard De Clare. He was made pri-^^^^* 
 soner, w ith several of his most distinguished adhe- 
 rents ; and obliged to submit to such terms as the 
 conquerors imposed. Their accommodation was 
 cemented by the marriage of Maurice, and Thomas 
 Fitz-John, afterwards the heads of the illustrious 
 houses of Desmond and Kildare, to two daughters 
 of the earl of Ulster. And the union of these no- 
 ble families seemed to promise lasting tranquillity 
 to Irebmd, at the moment when new enemies anil 
 new^ disorders were on the point of reducing this 
 unhappy country, to an extremity of distress beyond 
 all its former sufferings. 
 
 The dom-inion gained over Scotland by Edward 
 the first, the most distinguished acquisition of his 
 illustrious reign, had been exercised by this austere 
 prince with that severity, which hastened the revolt > 
 of a spirited and warlike people. Not yet broken 
 by the ill success of Wallace, and exasperated at 
 the ignominious execution of this their renowned 
 partizan, they were impatient to shake off the yoke 
 of English government, and found a new and more 
 fortunate leader in Robert Bruce, son to that Ro-^"'^^,''^"' 
 bert who had been coFnpetitor for the crown. The 
 ardour of this young champion liad just received 
 the mortification of a signal defeat ; when the deatJi 
 of Edward, in that critical moment when Scotland 
 was to be overwhelmed by a numerous army, con- 
 verted his precipitate revolt into a judicious and 
 well-directed effort for the deliverance of his coun- 
 try. He issued from the Western Isles, wliither he 
 
 hud 
 
2$i HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. H. 
 
 had been driven by liis misfortunes, and soon became 
 a terror to his enoinies. Edward the second pur- 
 sued the method dictated by his indok'uce and weak- 
 ness, and to slop his progress, entered into a treaty 
 •with the Scottish prince, which, (as just now hath 
 been observed) was transacted in Ireland by the earl 
 of Ulster, and ended in a truce, which afforded 
 Robert a favourable interval for consolidating his 
 power : was soon violated ; w ar recommenced ; and 
 the contest finally decided in favor of the gallant 
 Bruce, by the victory of Bannockbourn. 
 
 The successful progress of this young warrior, 
 and his victorious acquisition of the crown of Scot- 
 land were events by no means unnoticed in Ireland. 
 They were heard w ith wonder and delight by those 
 natives, who considered themselves allied in con- 
 Fordun. sanguinity to the Albanian Scots, as they were 
 styled ; and of consequence peculiarly interested in 
 their fortunes. They despised the weakness of the 
 English prince ; but were mortified at the reflecti- 
 on, that they alone had not seized the advantage of 
 a contemptible and indolent reign in England to 
 shake off the yoke which had oppressed them, so 
 long and so severely. The chieftains of Ulster in 
 particular grew impatient to take the advantage of 
 the present state of Britain ; and as their situation 
 made it easier to hold a correspondence with Scot- 
 land, they addresed themselves to Robert Bruce, 
 who still pursued his advantage, and ravaged the 
 northern parts of England without control. They 
 pathetically represented the distresses of their coun- 
 try; enlarged on the injuries they had sustained; 
 painted the insolence and oppression of their invad- 
 ers in the most ofFensive colours ; entreating his as- 
 sistance for an unhappy people, brethren and kins- 
 men to the Scots, who wanted but such a leader to 
 execute their vengeance upon the common enemy; 
 and who, rather than languish under their present 
 miseries, were ready to receive a sovereign from 
 Scotland^ and pay due allegiance to a prince who 
 
 had 
 
Ch. 3. EDWARD II. 265 
 
 had valor to rescue tliem from slavery, and equity to 
 receive and treat thcin as his subjects. 
 
 The genius of Robert was naturally formed for 
 bold and adventurous enterprizes ; and success had 
 enflamed the am])ition of his youth. Edward his 
 brother had attended him in all his fortunes, and 
 was distinguished by vigor and intrepidity. Scarce- Fordun. 
 ly had Robert been invested with the royal dignity 
 of Scotland, when this aspiring young lord boldly 
 demanded, as the just reward of his services, to be 
 admitted to an equal share in his authority, A re- 
 quisition evidently dictated by a turbulent and am- 
 bitious spirit, was justly alarming to a prince scarce- 
 ly confirmed in his throne, and sensible of the dread- 
 ful consequence of any civil commotion or insurrec- 
 tion. Edward was for the present apparently satis- 
 fied by being declared and recognized heir apparent 
 to the crown. But Robert, wisely considering the 
 necessity of finding employment for the active tem- 
 per of his brother, presented to his ambition the 
 flattering prospect of a new kingdom ; urged him 
 to take advantage of the present disposition of the 
 Irish lords, and assured him of such effectual sup- 
 port as could not fail to exterminate his rivals, and 
 seat him on the throne of Ireland. Edward was 
 transported at this overture, and at once consented 
 to the enterprize. The chieftains of Ulster were 
 assured that this lord should speedily be sent to for 
 their deliverance with a considerable force. The in- 
 telligence was spread through their province, every 
 where received with joy, and the way prepared for a 
 dangerous and extensive insurrection. 
 
 The impatience of young Edward is ^aid to have Cox. 
 driven him to a precipitate and injudicious attempt 
 upon the Northern coast of Ireland, before a suffi- 
 cient force could be provided for his enterprize ; or 
 his Irish partizans prepared to declare in favor of 
 his cause. The attempt, which was speedily re- 
 pelled, should have given the alarm to an active 
 
 Vol. I. 2 L and 
 
^66 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 and vigilant cjovernment : and lord Edmond But- 
 ler, now deputy to the kino- of En2;liind, actually 
 proceeded to take measures for the delence and se- 
 curity of the realm. But the perpetual remou- 
 strances made to the king- of the partial and irregu- 
 lar administration of justice, the degeneracy of the 
 English, and the other manifold disorders of Ire- 
 Rymer. land, induced him to commission John De llothom, 
 ^'gg' P' a clergyman in whom he placed peculiar confidence, 
 A.b. to confer with the great lords on the state and cir- 
 1314. cumstances of this kingdom. By his advice, as 
 well as that of some of the great officers of state, 
 Richard earl of Ulster, the lords Edmond Butler 
 and Theobald De Verdun, noblemen of distinguish- 
 ed eminence, and whose presence in Ireland was ab- 
 solutely necessary upon any critical or alarming 
 emergency, were summoned to parliament in Eng- 
 land, to treat (as is expressed in the writ) with the 
 king, his prelates, and nobles, about the affairs of 
 lb. 409. ij-eland, and other of the kind's arduous and urgent 
 '^^""' concerns. Happily they returned early in the en- 
 suing spring : and we find lord Edmond Butler, the 
 chancellor, and the treasurer of Ireland, instructed 
 to deliver the result of their deliberation, not only 
 to the prelates, nobles, and magistrates, but to the 
 CI. 8 Ed. pi-iiicipal chieftains of the Irish race; whom the 
 king directs to give due credence to his commissi- 
 oners, and to assist in executing the schemes devised 
 for the general interest, little suspecting the invete- 
 rate aversion harboured by these chieftains, or the 
 pestilent designs now ripening to execution. 
 L^^- On the twenty-fifth day of May, in the year one 
 
 ^^1"^'^^^^ thousand three hundred and fifteen, lord Edward 
 "^'*' 'Bruce appeared on the North-eastern coast of Ire- 
 land, and from a fleet of three hundred barks, 
 landed six thousand hardy Scots, to assert his claim 
 to the sovereignty of this kingdom. The Irish 
 lords of Ulster who had invited and encouraged 
 him to this enterprize, were now prepared to re- 
 ceive their new monarch, flocked with eagerness 
 to his standard, bound themselves by solemn treaty 
 
 lo 
 
Ch. 3. EDWARD II. 267 
 
 to his service^ delivered their hostages, and marched 
 under hi>» command to wreck their vengeance upon 
 the common enemy. The barbarous policy of the 
 Scot, which obliged him to strike terror into all his 
 opponents, and the desperate resentment of the 
 Irish, conspired to mark their progress by desolation 
 and carnage. The English settlers of the North 
 were butchered without mercy, or driven from their 
 foirest possessions in a moment; their castles levelled 
 to the ground, and their towns set on fire. Dun- 
 dalk, Atherdee, and other places of less note, felt 
 the utmost fury of these merciless ravagers ; the 
 fame of whose progress soon reached the mostdistant 
 quarters of the island, and was received with 
 triumph and exultation by all the enemies of Eng- 
 lish government, though the Western and Southern 
 chieftains had not as yet taken arms in favor of 
 the Scottish prince. 
 
 The English lords who should have opposed this Lib. 
 dangerous invasion, were neither cordially united, ^'."'^•^JJ^" 
 b^^ their common danger, nor duly prepared to rcpel"°''"^' 
 it. Richard earl of Ulster, indeed, rose up with 
 such forces as he could collect, in defence of his 
 possessions. He summoned his vassals to attend 
 him at Ro.scommon ; from whence, marching to 
 Athlone, he was here joined by Eodlim O'Connor, 
 the Irish prince of Connaught, with his provhicial 
 troops, So that, issuing forth tlnough the territory 
 of Meath, he entered the Northern ])rovince, wast- 
 ing and desolating the districts which he traversed, 
 to supply the necessities of his army. Butler the 
 lord deputy, at the same time, exerted his diligence 
 to collect the troops of Lei;ister, and joinecl the 
 earl witlj, a considemble reinforcement. Rut Richard, 
 whose declining vigor Mas supplied by a proud aod 
 imperious spirit, and who had been accustou\ed to 
 treat the king's vicegerent as his inferior, disdained 
 this assistance, declared that his own troops were 
 more than sufficient to repel the Scots, and punish 
 their adherents; advising the deputy to return to 
 
 tke 
 
268 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 the seat of government, and confine his attention 
 to the security of Leiiister. Lord Edmond readily 
 acquiesced ; and the conduct of this war was en- 
 trusted solely to earl Richard. 
 
 But the prosecution of the war by no means cor- 
 responded with his magnificent promises; and the 
 operations on both sides were indeed necessarily re- 
 tarded by a season of remarkable dearth and distress, 
 which had been felt through all the British islands. 
 Bruce in the first ardor of success had advanced 
 into the county of Louth. The earl followed ; but 
 without coming to a decisive action, skirmished with 
 the enemy. Bruce thus harassed, and oppressed by 
 intolerable scarcity of provisions, followed the ad- 
 vice of his chief associate, O'Nial of Tirowen, and 
 retreated into Ulster. The earl pursued ; and we 
 Camb ^^'^ ^^^^' ^^^^^ ^^^^^ some inconsiderable actions, a 
 general battle was fought near Colerain, which ended 
 in the discomfiture of Richard. However this may 
 be, the advantage could not be eflf'ectually improv- 
 ed, nor was the earl prevented from carrying on 
 the war. Bruce was therefore obliged to recur to 
 artifice and secret negociation, in order to weaken 
 and divide the forces of his enemy. 
 
 Fedlim, the Irish prince of Connaught, who had 
 Liij united m ith the earl of Ulster, was a youth of about 
 Clonmac- twenty-two years, distinguished by a military genius, 
 noise,MS. spirited, and inexperienced. His present connexion 
 had been formed merely to secure his provincial 
 interests, and to defend him against the attempts of 
 factious rivals. The flattering idea of glory, and 
 the pride of ancestry, w ere still predominant in his 
 mind, and rendered him a proper object for the 
 artifice of Bruce. To him the Scottish prince se- 
 cretly applied : he represented his present union as 
 highly dishonorable to his station, and injurious to 
 his country : he reminded him of the power and 
 possessions which his ancestors had enjoyed, before 
 the usurpations of the English had confined the 
 
 princely 
 
Cii.3. EDWARD II. 269 
 
 princely family of Couuaught wilhiii the narrowest 
 and most inglorious limits; he entreated him no 
 long-er to turn his arms inconsiderately against those 
 who were come to deliver him and his countrymen 
 from oppression and usurpation; promising to re- 
 instate him in the province of Connaught in as am- 
 ple a manner as any of his most distinguished pre- 
 decessors had enjoyed it, provided he would desert 
 the English interest, and unite witli his northern 
 friends, as soon as it could be efiected with safety to 
 himself, and advantage to the common cause. 
 
 The young Irish prince listened to these over- 
 tures with eagerness^ and soon found more than a 
 plausible pretence to detach himself from the carl 
 of Ulster. His absence from his own territory had 
 produced the effect usually experienced by the Irish 
 toparchs; and encouraged Roderic, one of his 
 factious kinsmen, to endeavor to supplant him. 
 The partizans of this leader were collected; his 
 opponents readily subdued; and tluis seizing the 
 Irish district of Connaught, he entered into a ne- 
 gotiation with Edward Bruce, promising to expel the 
 English from the whole proviuce, if he were ac- 
 knowledged as the rightful prince, and supported 
 in the honors and possessions lie had now acquired. 
 Bruc6 readily accepted his services, and received 
 him as his ally; representing at the same time the 
 extreme folly and danger of division, entreating him 
 to leave the possessions of Fedlim unmolested, and 
 to suspend the discussion of all particular claims and 
 pretensions, till the common enemy should be iirst 
 subdued, and the restoration of general peace might 
 allow them to be decided witli due temper and 
 proj)riety. 
 
 RoDERic, little influenced by this counsel, ^on-Lib. 
 tinned to augment his forces, to harass the parti- ^'^p""^**^- 
 zans of his rival, to raze and burn down their"^^'''^' 
 towns, until he had obliged the several septs to ac- 
 knowledge his sovereignty, and to give hostages for 
 
 their 
 
270 HISTORY OF IREI.AND. B. II. 
 
 their faithful attaclunent to his interest; so that 
 Fedlini was obliged to propose to the earl of Ulster, 
 to march with his whole army into Connaiight to 
 expel this injurious usurper. Although the northern 
 enemy were too formidable to permit the earl to 
 comply Avith this overture, yet he could not, with 
 any appearance of equity, detain the Irish chieftain 
 from his immediate interests. Fedlim w as dismissed 
 with his provincials, amusing the earl with flattering 
 assurances of an immediate return, when the dis^ 
 orders of his territory should be once composed. 
 But the Irish prince was soon convinced that the 
 progress of his rival had been too long neglected, 
 and that his power was now too firmly established. 
 The northern Irish, unacquainted with his secret 
 transactions with Bruce, and regarding him as a pesti- 
 lent enemy, harassed him incessantly through his 
 whole march; and no sooner had he reached a 
 place of safety, than he had the mortification to 
 find it necessary to dismiss his weakened and dispirit- 
 ed followers. 
 
 He was soon followed into Connaught by the 
 earl of Ulster and the remaining part of his army, 
 This dismembered body had been obliged to retire 
 before the northern and Scottish forces : nor could 
 the leader secure his retreat without considerable 
 loss. As the general distress of famine prevented 
 Bruce from pursuing his advantage, after some in- 
 efibctual progress, he again retired ; iind as the 
 forces ri^ised by the English government shared in 
 this distress, he remained in Ulster unmolested, as- 
 suming the parade of royalty, holding his courts of 
 judicature, and aflfecting all the state and business 
 of a sovereign, till new incidents enabled him to 
 act a more vigorous and important part. 
 I.ib. On the arrival of the earl of Ulster in Con- 
 
 Clonmac- naught, the party which espoused the cause of Fed-^ 
 iiMse, MS.jjj^ immediately assembled, in full confidence that 
 their chieftain would now receive effectual support. 
 But the shattered remains of a disgraced and dis- 
 comfited 
 
Ch.3. EDWARD II. 271 
 
 comfited army could but enable them to make a pre- 
 datory war upon their antagonist, and to aggravate 
 the distresses of the province^ aheady worn out by 
 pestilence and famine ; till the arrival of Sir John 
 Bermingham, a valiant and distinguished comman- 
 der, with a select body of English forces, enabled 
 Fedlim to meet his rival in the field. An engage- 
 ment, which ended in the total defeat and deadi of 
 Roderic, reinstated Fedlim in his possessions, as well 
 as in the dignity of an Irish prince : and as gratitude 
 had no place in his mind, the very first use made of 
 his re-establishraent, was to declare openly and zeas- 
 lously in favor of the Scottish interest, and to draw 
 the sword against his deliverers. The example was 
 instantly followed by O'Brien of Thomond, and other 
 Irish chieftains of Mimster and Meath. Industri- 
 ous agents were every where employed to foment 
 the spirit of insurrection. The clergy extolled 
 Bruce as the protector and deliverer of their coun- 
 try ; inveighed bitterly against the English govern- 
 ment, and exhorted the ignorant laity to take up 
 arms against the enemies of the church and the op- 
 pressors of the people. To improve these favora- 
 ble impressions, Edward Bruce was solemnly crown- 
 ed at Dundalk. To enable him to support his FordiTa, 
 dignity, his brother Robert landed in Ireland with 
 a powerful army ; and although the general dearth 
 and severity of the season obliged him to return 
 before he could perform any distinguished service, 
 yet that part of his forces which he lie ft behind was 
 no inconsideral)le reinforcement to his brother ; and 
 was still further encreased by a conflux of discon- 
 tented Irish, together with numbers of degenerate 
 English, and among these the Lacies and their nu- 
 merous followers. The town of Carrickfergus, Camb. 
 w hich had long supported the most vigorous assaults 
 of the Scottish troops, and patiently endured the 
 most afflicting want and distress, now surrendered 
 to Bruce ; who quitting his desolated quarters in the 
 remoter districts of Ulster, marched southward with 
 
 a. bar- 
 
27^ HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 a barbarous army^ enflamed to madness by the violent 
 cravings of nature, and prepared to glut their frantic 
 malice, and allay the rage of hunger by the bloodiest 
 hostilities and most ruthless depredations. 
 
 In the mean lime the English lords, alarmed at 
 the danger of their own lands and possessions, as 
 well as that of the realm, proceeded to the most 
 effectual measures in their power to repel the inva- 
 sions with which they were threatened, both from 
 Connaught and from Ulster. Amidst the treache- 
 rous revolts of many English subjects, and some of 
 considerable note, the allegiance of all became in 
 
 Rym.t.iii.some degree suspicious. Several of the most dis- 
 
 p. 346. tinguished lords had therefore entered into an asso- 
 ciation to support the interests of king Edward with 
 their lives and fortunes, and gave hostages to Ho- 
 tham, his commissioner, as a surety for their faith 
 and allegiance. To enliven and propagate this 
 spirit of loyalty, the royal favor was extended to 
 the mo!»t deserving and distinguished amongst them. 
 
 Cha. 9. John Fitz-Thomas, baron of O'Phaly, was created 
 earl of Kildare ; lord Edmond Butler received the 
 title of earl of Carrick. The chiefs of the noble 
 
 Davis, houses of Desmond and Kildare exerted themselves 
 with particular vigor, and took a principal part in 
 the conduct of the w ar, and the provisions necessary 
 for the pid)lic defence. At the same time that 
 they made such preparations as were in their power, 
 to repel the irruptions of the Scots, an army was 
 detached into Connaught, under the command of 
 William De Burgo, brother to the earl of Ulster., 
 and Richard De Bermingham, to chastise the inso- 
 lence of Fedlim O'Connor. This chieftain had 
 seconded the efforts of Edward Bruce, by many 
 
 Lib, spirited irruptions on the English settlements. 
 
 Clomnac- Stephen of Exeter, Milo Cogan, William Pender- 
 
 noise.MS.gast, John Staunton, and other gallant knights, 
 had been surprised and slain in his incursions. But 
 he soon found himself encountered by an army 
 which required all his power and vigor to with- 
 
 stand. 
 
Ch.3. BDWAUD II. 273 
 
 stand. His forces were collected: and, with tlic 
 spirit of a warlike youii^ chieftain, he marched 
 ag-ainst his formidable invaders. The contendinjj ^ 
 
 parties met near the town of Athunree, where a j 
 
 desjierate engai^ement was at length determined in | 
 
 favor of the English army ; and Pedlim ended \ 
 
 his short career by falling upon the field of battle. i 
 
 The loss of tjie Irish in this action is magnilied to ' 
 
 eight thousand men. And the number was cer- ^ 
 
 tainly considerable ; for even the Irish writers de- . j 
 
 clare that no engagement liad ever been so bloody ^ 
 
 and so decisive trom the time of the first English j 
 
 invasion. ) 
 
 The fall of his Irish confederate of Connaught j 
 
 seemed to have little influence on the operations of 
 Edward Bruce, who proceeded in his enterprize,, \ 
 
 and continued his destructive progress, without re- 
 straint or molestation, to tlie very walls of Dublin. 
 Hither the earl of Ulster had retired; and in this Camden* ; 
 time of fear and snspicion, Iiis former inactive and ; 
 
 inglorious conduct added to the circumstance of his ' 
 
 sister being married to Robert king of Scotland, 
 raised such apprehensions of his secret disloyalty, l 
 
 that the chief magistrate of the city seized and im- ; 
 
 prisoned him ; nor could all the authority of Eng- j 
 
 lish government immediately effect his enlargement. ] 
 
 Bruce was now at hand, to encrease the terror and 
 consternation of the citizens. They set fire to the 
 suburbs with such precipitation, that their cathedral 
 did not escape the fury of the flames; and retiring 
 within their walls, made such preparations for a vi- j 
 
 gorous defence, that the Scottish prince deemed it j 
 
 expedient to turn aside towards the territory of Kit- j 
 
 dare ; throngli which he marched with the most ter- I 
 
 rifying execution, under the direction of Walter De 
 Lacy, who had, but just now, solemnly disa\T>wed 
 all connexion with the Scot, and renewed his oath 
 of allegiance to the crown of England. He traversed i 
 
 the territory of Ossory, pierced into Munster; and 
 
 Vol. I. 2 M con- 
 
274 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 continuccl his ravages, not like a gallant conqueror, 
 but a savage driven on furiously by hunger and ne- 
 cessity. 
 
 In this time of distress and confusion, the friends 
 of English government abandoned to their own re- 
 
 CaroK sources, in an exhausted country, surrounded by 
 secret enemies, and every where harassed by petty 
 depredations, could not without the utmost diffi- 
 culty collect a force sufficient to stop the progress of 
 the Scot. An army said to consist of thirty thou- 
 sand, including a vast number of irregular, unpro- 
 vided, and inetfective men, was at length assembled 
 at Kilkenny. The Geraldines, who had now for- 
 gotten all their private jealousies and contests with 
 other noble families, prepared to march out against 
 the ravager, when intelligence arrived that Roger 
 Mortimer of Wigmore, (a nobleman who, in right 
 of his wife, claimed large possessions in Meath, and 
 who is said by some historians to have already taken 
 a part in the present war, and to have been defeated 
 by Bruce,) had arrived at Youghal, with a train 
 of about forty knights and their attendants, to take 
 upon him the administration of government; and 
 "was on his march to join the main body. The mo- 
 tions of his enemies were not unknown to Bruce; 
 who, conscious of his own real weakness, deter- 
 mined to avoid an engai^einent. His only resource 
 was to lead his liarassed army back to Ulster. By 
 forced marches tliey arrived in Meath, unmolested ; 
 and, halting for .some days in the neighbourhood of 
 Trim, from thence proceeded to their northern quar- 
 ters. 
 
 The English forces were unable to pursue the 
 enemy through a desolated country to a remote cor- 
 
 Ibid. ner of the island. The new governor therefore 
 dismissed his army, repaired to Dublin, convened 
 the nobles to deliberate on the measures necessary 
 to be taken, and with their concurrence, prevailed 
 on the magistracy to release the earl of Ulster from 
 his confinement. Thence proceeding to Meath, he 
 
 endea- 
 
Cif.3. EDWARD II. ffi 
 
 endeavoured to compose the disorders of this dis- 
 trict, and particularly to reduce the proud and re- 
 bellious family of De Lacy. They were formally 
 summoned to appear and defend themselves ai^ainst 
 the chari^e of a treasonable intercourse with the 
 king's enemies. But instead of abiding- a judicial 
 examination they treated the sunnnons as an indig- 
 nity to their grandeur, and slew the messenger by 
 whom it was delivered. To revenge this outrage, 
 their lands were invaded, ravaged, and seized, and 
 they themselves driven for shelter into Connaught, 
 where they waited a favorable opportunity to unite 
 once more with their Scottish ally. 
 
 The chief employment of the governor was 
 now to repress the Irisli insurgents of Leinster, to 
 regulate this province, to correct the abuses of 
 former administrations, and to apply the most effec- 
 tual remedies in his power to the manifold distresses 
 which the English subjects had long experienced, as 
 well as the Irish natives. The English interest 
 seemed to revive under a spirited and well support- 
 ed government, while the aflairsof the invaders be- 
 came every day more desperate. The sentence ofHymor. 
 excommunication was thundered from the papal*- '"• p. 
 chair against all the enemies of king Edward. Uo-^^^- 
 bert and Edward Bruce were excommunicated by 
 name. The same dreadful sentence was denounced 
 against the Irish clergy of every order, who had 
 preached with so much zeal to excite their country- 
 men to insurrection. This interposition of the pon- 
 tiff" had been expected ; and to guard against it, 
 those Irish who had imited with the Scots had t]]'- 
 precaution to dispatch their emissjiries to Rome with 
 an aftecting remonstrance presented in the name otVo,'fU,n, 
 O'Nial, on the present state of their nation. andBullur. 
 the cruel hardships they had long endured from ^^^'"• 
 English government. They recited the conditions 
 on which Adrian had first pormilted Henry the se- 
 cond to enter into Ireland. I'rir from shewing the 
 least attention to these, both he and his successors, 
 t]iey alleged^ had loaded the natives with unheard- 
 of 
 
<^76 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 of afflictions and oppressions, reducing them to a 
 stat^ ot" intolerable slavery : in which they had long 
 remained withont compassion or redress; till, no 
 longer able to endure the severity of their sufferings, 
 they had been forced to withdraw themselves from 
 the dominion of England^ and to invite another 
 power to the government of their realm. And such 
 was the effect of this remonstrance upon the pope, 
 that soon after the sentences of exconnnunication 
 were pronudged, he transmitted it to king Edward, 
 attended with an earnest exhortation, to weigh the 
 complaint, and to redress their grievances ; that so 
 the Irish who had taken arms in favor of the 
 Scottish prince might be induced to return to their 
 allegiance, or be left without excuse, should they 
 persist in their revolt. 
 
 This application doth not ajipear to have been 
 attended, nor in the present state of things could it 
 be attended with any inmiediate consequences. In 
 the mean time the distresses of Edward Bruce, in 
 iiis state of inactive retirement, ro.se to a degree of 
 suHerhig, horrible to be related. A country deso- 
 lated by famine, pestilence, and war, atibrded no 
 subsistence to his wretched followers. Every mi- 
 serable provision for the necessities of life had been 
 exhausted by their repeated excursions. They daily 
 fell in great numbers, under the oppression of die- 
 ease and famine. Their carcasses, we are assured, 
 became the subsistence of the Mretched survivors. 
 The hideous incident is related, not only without 
 the least expression of sensibility, but with such 
 Except, hardened indifference, and a folly so provoking, 
 |x Ap. that it is imputed as a judgment on their enormous 
 cfylmo offence of eating meat in Lent. In those parts of 
 MSS. the kingdom where agriculture had not been totally 
 interrupted, the return of a fruitful season proved a 
 Camden, critical relief, and enabled the English to resume 
 their military operations. A defeat which they had 
 sustained in Thoinond, and which had been attend- 
 ed with considerable los:-, obliged them to take 
 
Ch. S. EDWARD II. 277 
 
 vigorous measures to repair the misfortune, and to i 
 
 maintaiu their interest in this province. Their nor- I 
 
 th.ern enemies, ho-svever, were by no means ne- i 
 
 glected. On the return of Mortimer into England, ' 
 
 tiie archbisliops of Cashel and of Dulrlin were suc- 
 cessively deputed to tlie administration. This latter 
 prelate assigned the command of the forvoes destined i 
 
 against the Scots to Sir John Rermingbam, who 
 marched into Ulster with several distinguisbed ofli- I 
 
 cers in bis train, and about fifteen hundred chosen \ 
 
 troops. Bruce, after all bis losses, bad still an 
 army more than double of this number; and weak- 
 ened and disordered as they were, tbe romantic va- 
 lor of their leader was still confident and violent. j 
 He is said to have received advice that bis brotberBuchan. J 
 Robert was on the point of coming to bis assistance, ^ 
 and jealous of admitting him to share bis military 
 lionors, purposedly hastened his marcb to decide 
 the contest by bis own prowess. The two parties-^. D. , 
 met near Dundalk; the Scots and their associates, ^'^^^* ] 
 animated by tbe hopes of putting an happy end to | 
 their distresses, encouraged by the impetuous va- \ 
 lor of their leader, and relying on their superior :- 
 nundjcrs, were impatient to encounter an enemy ; 
 who bad often fled before them. Tbe English ': 
 conducted by an able general, well provided and i 
 appointed, were equally impatient to exterminate 
 those invaders wbo bad so severely harassed and I 
 distressed tbe whole nation. Tbe prelate of Ar- .\ 
 inagb, a zealous partizan of tbe English interests, '' 
 went through their ranks, exborling them to behave Camden, 
 with due valor against the enemies of their nation, 
 and the merciless ravagers of their possessions; dis- 
 tributing bis benedictions, and ]>ronouncing abso- 
 lution on all tbose who should fall in a cause so just 
 and honorable. The conflict was violent, and ' 
 sustained on eacb side vvitb equal bravery ; but at 
 length decided against the enfeebled norlberns. The i 
 body of Maupas, a brave English knight, wbo bad j 
 rushed into the ranks to encounter Edward Bruce, ] 
 was found stretched on that of his untaiionist, who \ 
 
 had ! 
 
27S HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 Buchan. had fallen by his arm. Robert Bruce arrived with 
 his forces only to hear of the defeat of his unhappy 
 Lib. brother, and instantly retired. The English leader 
 ^1^°™- when he had first expelled O'Nial, the chief sup- 
 Rot. Tur. porter of the Scots, from his territory of Tirowen, 
 Benii. led back his victorious troops, and soon after re- 
 ceived the earldom of Louth, and manor of Ather- 
 dee, as the reward of his distinguished services. 
 
 Such was the event of this Scottish invasion; an 
 enterprize rashly undertaken by an aspiring young 
 prince^ who for almost three years had pursued the" 
 wild scheme of his ambition, through danger and 
 calamity, involving the nation which he sought to 
 govern, in greater distress than a distressed and af- 
 flicted nation had experienced for ages ; and closing 
 the bloody roll of those his madness had destroyed, 
 by his own untimely end. Unhappily for Ireland, 
 the calamities which this war had introduced, were 
 of such a kind as could not cease with their imme- 
 diate cause. The dismal effects of war, especially 
 in a country circumstanced as Ireland was at this 
 time, are not to be estimated solely by the troops 
 lost in battle, or the towns taken ; those which his- 
 tory deigns not to record were yet more afflicting 
 and extensive. The oppression exercised with im- 
 punity in every particular district ; the depredations 
 every where committed among the inferior orders 
 of the people, not by open enemies alone, but those 
 who called themselves friends and protectors, and 
 who justified their outrages by the plea of lawful 
 authority ; their avarice and cruelty, their plundcr- 
 ings and massacres, were still more ruinous than the 
 defeat of an army, or the loss of a city. The 
 wretched suflerers had neither power to repel, nor 
 law to restrain or vindicate their injuries. In times 
 of general commotion, laws the most w isely framed 
 and most equitably administered, are but of little 
 moment. But now the very source of public jus- 
 tice was corrupted and poisoned. The distinction 
 maintained between the Irish foedary and the Eng- 
 lish 
 
Ch. 3. EDWARD II. 279 
 
 lish subject, and the different modes of jurisdiction 
 by Avhich each was «roverned, every day demon- ] 
 
 strated, by its misera])le effects, the iniquity of those j 
 
 who had favored this horrid and infatuated po- 
 licy. 
 
 The murder of an Irishman was punishable onlyPryn^ 1 
 
 by a fine ; a slight restraint on the rage of insolence '^"^'"j ] 
 
 and rapine; while the murder of an Englishman ^^' " ' : 
 
 was a capital oflence in the Irish native. On the 
 other hand, the Englishman who robbed or plun- 
 dered one of his own countrymen was condemned 
 to death ; the Irishman convicted of the like crimes i 
 
 was remitted to his Brehon, who might allow him I 
 
 to compound for his oft'ence : an indulgence which 
 tempted nund)ers of disordered English to renounce J 
 
 their name and nation, to adopt the manners, and 
 conform to the wretched polity of the natives; and 
 produced a dangerous relaxation and abuse even in ; 
 
 the English tribunals. The judges, either by the ^ 
 
 force of pernicious example, or from the necessity J 
 
 of a distempered state, assumed an authority of com- 
 pounding by fine even for the crimes of robbery 
 and homicide ; which encreased the number of de- 
 linquents, and gave full scope to their lawless vio- 
 lence, confident that a sum of money could atone ■ 
 for their excesses, and leave them at full liberty to '] 
 wreak the bloodiest vengeance on their accusers. i 
 This evil was so severely felt during the Scottich war, \ 
 that the Irish council represented the pernicious inno- 
 vation to the king of England, with all its dreadful ,> 
 consequences, earnestly petitioning that no pardon j 
 or redemption for any murder or robljeryof an Eng- I 
 lish subject should be granted, but in full parlia- ! 
 ment ; and for tliis purpose particularly, that a parli- ' 
 ament should be held in Ireland once in every year. Coke s,i 
 And there is authority for assei'ting that an ordinance Jjl"^^' ' 
 was made in consequence of this application, and iuj;.^,^^ 
 full compliance with the request. g! G. G. 
 
 But whatever salutary institutions might be or-p-48. 
 dained, a general disinclination in the people to obey 
 
 them^ 
 
280 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 them, and too good gToimds to hope for impunity in 
 their neoiect or resistance, proved sufficient to de- 
 feat their good effects. Such was the ])lind rage 
 with wliich the degenerate Enghsh ruslied into the 
 excesses of rapine, that they renounced their rights 
 as subjects, at the inuninent danger of their lives, 
 which were thus rendered more precarious and de- 
 fenceless; and even the Irish who were denizened, 
 could not at once divest themselves of prejudice and 
 habit. They were astonished to find that felony was 
 to be punished capitally, and absolutely refused obe- 
 Pryn. dience to so severe a jiuisdiction. So that a special 
 Anim. ordinance was made in the fourteenth year of Edward 
 P' ^^^- the second, that all the Irish who had received, or 
 shoidd receive charters of denization, were for the 
 future to be strictly obedient to the English laws in 
 this particular instance. 
 
 But neither a lawless disposition in the people to 
 be governed, nor any irregular and partial execu- 
 tion of justice in the ministers, who appear to have 
 Rymer, been at this time notoriously corrupt and insufficient, 
 t iii. p. were the only evils wliich had arisen during the 
 course of this unhappy war ; for the support where- 
 of as Davis observes, '' the revenue of the land 
 " was far too short, and yet no supply of treasure 
 " was sent out of England." The compendious 
 Irish method of quartering the soldiers on the inha- 
 bitants, and leaving them to support themselves by 
 arbitrary exactions, seemed to have been pointed 
 out by the urgent occasion, was adopted with ala- 
 crity, and executed with rigor. Riot, rapine, 
 massacre, and all the tremendous effects of anarchy, 
 were the natural consecpiences. Every inconsidera- 
 ble party, who under pretence of loyalty, received, 
 the king's commission to repel the adversary in some 
 particular district, became pestilent enemies to the 
 inhabitants. Their properties, their lives, the chas- 
 tity of their families, were all exposed to barbarians, 
 who sought oidy to glut their brutal passions; and 
 by their horrible excesses, saith the annalist, pur- 
 chased 
 
 533 
 
Ch.S. EDWARD U. f8l 
 
 chased the curse of God and man. Tlie English Frat. 
 freeholder abandoned his lands rather than endure ^^yi^"^* 
 the burden of impositions intolerably severe, attend- jylj^*^"^^ 
 ed with such dreadful circumstances of outrage: he 
 fled to the haimts of the Irish insur«^ents, connected 
 and allied himself w ith these, learned their language 
 and manners, and marched out v«ith them against 
 the common enemy ; while his lands w ere resumed 
 by the barbarous natives as their original and right* 
 fnl property. 
 
 The same method of arbitrary exactions (orj^j^^j^^ 
 coyne and Ihery, as it was called) for the main- 
 tenance of the soldiery, was also adopted by lords 
 of considerable note and consequence; and particu- 
 larly, began at this time to be exercised with great 
 severity l3y Maurice Fitz-Thomas of Desmond. His 
 ministers of rapine, in a short time, banished all the 
 English settlers from the counties of Kerry, Lime- 
 rick, Cork, and Waterford ; whose lands were 
 seized by the followers of this lord, a mixed rab* 
 ble, mostly of the Irish race, and all infected with 
 the most pernicious part of Irish manners; Des- 
 mond himself, saith Sir John Davis, taking what 
 scopes he best liked for his demesnes in every coun- 
 try, and reserving an Irish seigniory out of the rest. 
 Possessions thus acquired could not be maintain- 
 ed by the just and equitable law of England, whose 
 sentence must have dispossessed the usurpers, and 
 restored the rightful owners to their lands. Mau» 
 rice and his partizans had therefore but one method 
 to secure their present acquisitions, an utter renun- 
 ciation of English law and government. He dege- 
 nerated into an Irish chieftain, and supported a bar- 
 barous state over all his followers : they soon united 
 into one mass, English and Irish equally disdaining 
 all salutai-y discipline and polity, and sinking into 
 the utmost rudeness of manners: knowing and ac- 
 knowledging no other power but that of their im- 
 mediate chieftain. The pernicious example was 
 followed by other lords: for the power and influ- 
 ence thus acquired bv Maurice was an enviable 
 Vol, I, '^ N object. 
 
282 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. If. 
 
 object. In various quartei*s of the island, the more 
 powerful of the English race, by the same arbitraiy 
 exactions and oppressions, banished the inhabitants, 
 and erected themselves into independent soverei^^ns. 
 The discontented natives were thus^ encouraged to 
 rise up in arms, even in the temtories of Leinster, 
 when the English settlers had been driven either in- 
 to their native country, or to the Irish septs. The 
 Prynn. only measure taken in the distractions of England, 
 Anini. j^^jj the weakness of Irish government, was that of 
 ^ enacting some fiitile ordinances against those impo- 
 
 sitions which had been the cause of all this disorder, 
 without power to enforce obedience. 
 
 In a country where the English interest was thus 
 sensibly declining, one would imagine that few re- 
 sources could be formd or sought, for the necessities 
 of England. Yet the weak and injudicious attempt 
 on Scotland in the year one thousand three hundred 
 and twenty two, was made the pretence for calling 
 off those forces from Ireland which should have 
 been employed against domestic enemies. And the 
 pope, with a composed insensibility to the distresses 
 of a distant country, granted to king Edward a 
 tenth of all the English revenues in Ireland for two 
 years. The laity were duly obedient, and led their 
 troops into Scotland. The clergy were more re- 
 fractory. They might have pleaded the general dis- 
 tress of their nation, and their own total inability. 
 But they had to deal with those who were not to be 
 intluenced by arguments of reason and equity. 
 They had therefore recourse to evasion; they de- 
 manded the pope's original bull ; and as this was 
 not produced, they refused to pay the subsidy. 
 
 The disordered state of England, which had en- 
 couraged this spirit of disobedience, and aggravated, 
 if not originally occasioned all the distresses of Ire- 
 land, ended at length in the ruin of the weak and 
 wretched Edward ; who in the extremity of dis- 
 tress, made a fruitless effort to throw himself into 
 
Ch.5. EDWARD II. 2B$ 
 
 the arms of liis Irish subjects. Had he gained this 
 island, the horrible catastrophe of his death might 
 have been prevented ; and even his deposition at 
 least suspended. But the triumph of his enemies 
 vras complete. Among the articles of accusation 
 urged against the king, they insulted him with the 
 loss of his dominions in Ireland, as if this were not 
 more justly chargeable to their own perfidy and 
 rebellion. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. IL 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 present disorders of Ireland sitnilar to those of England. . , , 
 Attempt to establish a seat of learning in Dublin .... Dis- 
 orders from malice and superstition , , . , State of Ireland on 
 the accession of Edzoard the third. . , , Pride and conten- 
 tion of the English families .... The king interposes .... 
 Irish of Leinster petition for a general denization.^ . . . .but 
 without ejjcct .... Thei/ rise in arms under the leading of 
 O'Brien, . . . Their progress, , . , Their crueltj/ , , . .7?^- 
 pelled hy the citizens of Wexford. * , .Maurice Fitz- 
 Thomas invited to serve against the Irish enemy .... Cre- 
 ated carl of Desmond . , . .His exactions, , . .His power. 
 o • . , Pernicious grants of palatinates, . . , O'Brien still in 
 arms. . . . Vigor of Sir Antony Lucy, . . , Secret abettors 
 of the enemy seized. ., .William Bermingham executed. 
 « • . , Edzcard declares a design of visiting Ireland. . . .Pre- 
 parations for his expedition . , . .His real purpose , , . .His 
 expedition to Scotland, . . . Treaties with the Irish enemy, . . ^ 
 Assassination of the earl of Ulster, . . , Fatal consequences of 
 this event, ,, .Irruptions of O'Nial, , , .Mae-WHliaj)i 
 , . , , Loyalty and zeal of the Geraldines , . . , Edward 
 
 provoked at the disorders of Ireland Rigorous 
 
 edicts, « • ,All of Irish birth disqualified to hold offices, , , . 
 Irish subjects dangerously incensed, . . ,Sir John Morris 
 chief governor despised, . • .Convention of Kilkenny. , . . 
 Spirited remonstrance and petition to the throne favorably 
 received. 
 
 A HE disorders of Ireland which had gradually 
 encreased and extended through the English set- 
 tlements, and been felt in all their severity from 
 the Scottish invasion, dispose us to regard the 
 collection of inhabitants, both of the English and 
 Irish race, as remarkably barbarous beyond the ex- 
 ample of their cotemporaries in any other part of 
 Europe. The gloomy prospect is not relieved by 
 any great and striking objects, by revol tions^ fo- 
 
 veiffn 
 
eH.4. EDWARD III. 285 
 
 reign expeditions, important victories, or extensive 
 conquests. The attention is painfully confined to 
 the worst and most odious part of human conduct, 
 which in times of civility and refinement must be 
 considered, and ought to be represented, with ab- 
 horrence. But it must be observed, for it may be 
 of use in guarding against national prejudice and 
 partialities, that the internal disorders of England 
 during the same period were not only as grievous, 
 but precisely of the same kind, and derived from 
 the same sources w ith those which strike us so forci- 
 bly in Ireland. 
 
 The estate of an English baron was managed by 
 his bailiffs, and cultivated by his villains ; its pro- 
 duce was consumed in rustic hospitality by the baron 
 and his officers; a number of idle retainers, ready 
 for any mischief or disorder, were maintained by 
 him : all who lived upon his estate were absolutely 
 at his disposal. Instead of applying to courts of 
 justice, he usually sought redress by open force and 
 violence. The gTeat nobility w ere a kind of inde- 
 pendent potentates, who, if they submitted to any 
 regulations at all, were less govcn'ued by the muni- 
 cipal law, than by a rude species of the law of 
 nations. 
 
 This is the description of an admired English Hume, r. 
 historian: and if we were to delineate the manners"' 4to, 
 of the most unrefined Irish septs, we might fairlyP' ^^^' 
 adopt the very same terms. Add to this the vices 
 of the English nobility, which the same writer enu- 
 merates, in the reign of Edward the third, the out- 
 rageous and intolerable abuse of jiurveyance, the 
 interruption of the course of law from grants of 
 franchises and immunities, levying exorbitant fines, ibid. p. 
 unjust pardoning of criminals, coni'ederacies formed'23-l, ^237. 
 by great lords in mutual support of their iniquity, 
 and the numberless robberies, murders, and ravish- 
 ments committed by their retainers ; and the whole 
 picture both of the English and the native inhabit- 
 ants of Ireland, is exactly delineated. Their vices 
 were odious; but they were ibe vices of the time, 
 
 not 
 
286 HISTORY OP IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 not the excesses of some peculiarly odious individu- 
 als. These rushed forward with their neighbors in 
 the course of corruption, and were, if possible, less 
 unpardonable, as their temptations were stronger, 
 and the government they insulted less respectable. 
 If a vigorous and renowned monarch could not re- 
 strain the excesses ot a licentious nobility, what 
 should be expected from the weak and unsupported 
 administration of an Irish deputy? 
 Regist. Some few prelates of Ireland laboured, with a 
 Alan.MS. gjpi^ii becoming their reverend function, to give a 
 check to the vices and disorders of the realm, by 
 the introduction of that which in their days was 
 esteemed civility, and that which was honored as 
 learning. Two successive archbishops of Dublin 
 had, in the reign of Edward the second, laboured 
 to establish an university in Dublin, not only for the 
 study of theology, but that of the civil and canon 
 law% then a fashionable part of literature in Europe. 
 The pontificate to which they applied made no dif- 
 ficulty to grant their suit ; and archbishop Bricknor 
 actually proceeded in the year thirteen hundred and 
 twenty to erect and model an academical body in 
 this city, in which degrees were conferred, and 
 studies so long continued, that Edward the third 
 enlarged the original endowment, and by special 
 w rit, granted his protection and safe-conduct to the 
 fetudents, thirty-eight years after the first establish- 
 ment of this seminary. But the penetration of its 
 founder was not equal to his zeal. He chose the 
 most unfavorable season for his undertaking, when 
 every part of the island was remarkably distressed 
 and disordered. The institution languished for 
 ftome years amidst conimotion ^nd anarchy, and at 
 length expired. 
 
 And at the very time, when this upright and in- 
 genuous prelate was exerting himself for the im- 
 provement and refinement of his country, the cause 
 of ignorance and barbarism was not without its 
 abettors^ even among his oi^n order. Richard Led- 
 
 i'<h1 
 
Ch.4. EDWARD III. §87 
 
 red bishop of Ossoiy, a man of violent passions, and 
 a proud and vindictive^ spirit, contrived, from what 
 private motive or provocation doth not appear, to 
 raise snch confnsion in his diocese as soon engaged 
 the attention of the whole island. A woman of Excerpt 
 some distinction, called Alice Ketler, w ith her son ex Ann. 
 and some of her dependents, were accnsed of witch- ^'y"*^*^* 
 craft in his spiritual court. One of these dependents 
 was condemned and executed ; the son confined in 
 prison; the lady, though the charge could not be 
 clearly estalilished against her, yet, on a new accu- 
 sation of heresy, was tried, convicted, and condemn- 
 ed to the flames. Arnold de la Poer, one of the 
 magistrates of Kilkenny, who espoused the cause of 
 these unhappy culprits, was also charged with heresy 
 by the bishop : he appealed to the chief justice, the 
 prior of Kilmainham, who countenanced and pro- 
 tected him : the insolent prelate instantly extended 
 his accusation to the justice, who now found it diffi- 
 cult to secure himself, and left his wretched client de 
 la Poer to expire in prison. A new weapon was 
 thus found to execute the private revenge of indi- 
 viduals, and aggravate the public calamities. Here- 
 sy was a word of horror, even to those who were 
 every day breaking through the most sacred bonds 
 of religion and li.umanity. The oppressor, the 
 ravag-er, the murderer, was zealous to approve him- 
 self a true son of the cliurcli, and to execute herCampiox 
 vengeance on all her enemies. Adam Duff, a man^*"'^* 
 of a considerable Irish family in Leinster, was seized 
 and burnt for heresy. His offence Was aggravated 
 by a charge of horrid and senseless blasphemy ; just 
 as Ketler had her sacramental wafer impressed with 
 the devil's name, and an ointment to convert her 
 staff into a witch's vehicle. At length, the mischief, 
 thus spread abroad, reverted upon its author. The 
 bishop of Ossory himself was by his metropolitan 
 formally accused of heresy, and obliged to make a , 
 precipitate retreat, and to appeal to the apostolic se' <* 
 leaving his country free from the miserable con je- 
 
288 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. IL 
 
 qiiences of folly and superstition operating in favor 
 of personal animosity and revenge. 
 A. D. In the mean time, both the great lords of the 
 
 1327. English race, and the Irish chieftains, on the acces- 
 sion of Edward the third, pursued their several 
 schemes of private interest or ambition, without re- 
 gard to the royal authority, much less to the dele- 
 gated power of an Irish chief governor, Thomas 
 Fitz-John, earl of Kildare, had been constituted 
 jy^^l^^Mord justice of Ireland: and the first symptoms of 
 disorder appeared in the total neglect of his autho- 
 rity, and the insolent affectation of independence in 
 several of the English lords. Kildare, with becom- 
 ing spirit, endeavoured to make them sensible of 
 his authority ; and when his efforts were not suffi- 
 ciently effectual, represented his situation to th6 
 king, and the distress to which he was exposed in 
 his administration, by the insolence of some distin- 
 Ii,_ p.ogg guished subjects of the realm. This produced a 
 letter from Edward to Maurice of Desmond, the 
 earl of Louth, James Butler, Maurice Rochford, 
 and John de la Poer, strictly enjoining them on their 
 allegiance, and at their peril, to pay due obedience 
 and submission to his chief governor^ and to con- 
 cur with him in preservation of the general peace 
 and interests of the crown. 
 
 But the royal mandate was of little moment when 
 Maurice of Desmond had received a personal af- 
 Ann. front. De la Poer had presumed to call him in 
 Clyn.MS.contempt the rymer, an offence not to l)e ex- 
 piated but by a bloody Mar. Maurice, with his 
 associates, Butler and Bermingham, immediately 
 took the field against de la Poer and his confederat« 
 de Bargo. In vain did Kildare interpose, remon- 
 trate, summon them to appear before him, and to 
 submit their contests to a judicial decision : their 
 encounters were bloody, and their ravages exten- 
 sive and severe, De la Poer, the aggressor, was 
 goon defeated and driven from the kingdom^ and 
 ^^is lands and dependents, as weir as those of his 
 a^^socifttes, exposed to all the rage of vindictive. 
 
Ch 4. EDWARD III. 289 
 
 querors. The king, who was informed of their Rymer, 
 violences, commanded them, on pain of forfeiture, * '^• 
 to lay down their arms. The English inhabitants, P* ^^* 
 alarmed at their destructive progress, fortified their 
 towns against them, and prepared to repel their in- 
 roads. Shocked at the havoc which they them- 
 selves had made, and dreading the consequences of 
 the royal displeasure, and the resentment of their 
 countrymen, they at length put an end to those 
 hostilities, which, besides the immediate devastation, Camb. 
 had also encouraged the Irish to rise up in arms, 
 against a divided people and an insulted govern- 
 ment. The old septs of Leinster, under the con- 
 duct of one of the family of Mac-Murchad, ex- 
 tended their ravages even to the neighbourhood of 
 Dublin : but by the provisions of the chief gover- 
 nor were repelled, their chieftain taken prisoner, and 
 the man who effected his escape condemned and 
 executed : when the death of Kildare transferre-d 
 the government to Roger Outlaw, prior of Kilmain- 
 ham, who had been the Irish lord chancellor. 
 
 The administration of this ecclesiastic was ho» 
 norably distinguished by a reconciliation effected 
 between the ffreat contendiuiT^ lords, de Burii^ho, de 
 la Poer, the Geraldines, and Berminghams, which 
 gave considerable strength to the English interest, 
 and served to intimidate the Irish enemy of Leins- 
 ter. This unhappy people, wasted by their own 
 follies and the oppression of their neighbours, 
 smarting with the bad success of their late precipi- 
 tate insurrections, and recalled to pacific measures 
 by the union of the English lords, embraced the 
 present season of general tranquillity to address 
 themselves once more to the throne of England, 
 and petitioned that all those odious distinctions 
 which had so long deluged the land with blood, Pryr.n. 
 should at length be abolished, that the Irish inha-A^"''"- 
 bitants should be admitted to the state and privi-P*^^^' 
 leges of English subjects, without obliging indivi- 
 duals to sue for special charters. The petition, as 
 usual, was remitted to the chief governor Darcy, 
 
 Vol. L 2 who 
 
m HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 who had succeeded to the prior. He was directed 
 to refer it to the Irish parliament; and, as usual, it 
 was either clandestinely defeated, or openly rejected. 
 The resentment of the Irish naturally violent, 
 and now too justly provoked, broke out in an insur^ 
 rection projected with greater concert, and executed 
 with more violence, than for some time had been 
 experienced. O'Brien, the chieftain of Thomond, 
 Caind. "^vas chosen leader of the insurgents ; and under hi3 
 Cox. standard some powerful septs of Leinster determined 
 to execute their vengeance. The flame of war 
 soon raged in Meath, in Mnnster, in the fairest 
 English settlements of Leinster; and the first suc- 
 cesses of the Irish, which were not inconsiderable, 
 inflamed their pride, even to the most outrageous 
 violence. In their triumphant progress, we are told 
 that they surrounded a church where about foiu'score 
 Pry^- persons of English race were assembled at their de- 
 ■^^' votions : these wretches, too sensible of the cruelty 
 of the enemy, and utterly hopeless of escaping their 
 fury, petitioned only that the priest might be sufter- 
 ed to depart unmolested. But the merciless ruffians, 
 instead of complying with this aflfecting supplicati- 
 on, were only provoked to make the priest the very 
 first object of their cruelty. The Host which he 
 held forth, in hopes that the awful object might 
 have some influence upon their minds, was torn 
 from him, and spurned under foot; their weapons 
 were plunged ia him, and the church with all the 
 miserable people cooped up in it, destroyed by 
 fire. 
 
 The horror conceived at such terrible executi- 
 ons, drove those who were most exposed to the fury 
 of these barbarians to an obstinate and desperate 
 defence. The citizens of Wexford had the good 
 fortune to repel them with considerable slaughter. 
 Pat. 3 Ed. ^^"^^s Butler, lately created earl of Ormond, was 
 JIT. not inactive in defending his own territory, and 
 distressing and pursuing the insurgents. The lord 
 justice himself was obliged to take the field, and 
 
 success- 
 
Ch.4, EDWaIiD III. S9I 
 
 successfully encountered the most dangerous of the 
 licinsler enemies. But as the insurrection was too 
 extensive, and the enemy too numerous for the 
 forces of government and the well-aliected lords to 
 suppress, Darcy was soon obliged to invite Maurice 
 of Desmond to his assistance. He treated with him 
 as an Irish chieftain, solicited him as an ally rather 
 than a subject, and left him to conduct his own 
 men, and to maintain them l^y his own methods of 
 arbitrary exaction. An army, said to consist of ten Cox. 
 thousand, was thus raised against the Irish enemy: 
 but the inconsiderable advantages which these forces 
 gained, by no means compensated the severe dis- 
 tresses which they inflicted on the best and most 
 peaceable, of the English districts. Maurice exact- 
 ed his coj-ne and flverij with a detestable violence 
 and oppression, not only unrestrained, but with the 
 tacit assent and connivance of a government utterly 
 unprovided to pay or support his troops by any other 
 expedient. 
 
 So necessary was iMaurice Fitz-Thomas now be- 
 come to the support of government, and of conse- 
 quence so much an object of the roval fiivor, that 
 he was honored with the title of Earl of Des- 
 mond, and with this dignity received a coiitirination 
 of his royal liberties in the county of Kerry; aA. D. 
 dangerous instrument of mischief, by which hisi32y. 
 power had been already aggrandized, and the royal 
 authority considerably weakened, by tlie exclusion 
 of its ministers from a district so extensive. To 
 encrease the evil, in this very year, the earl of Or- 
 mond procured a like grant of royal liberties, and Davis Dis, 
 converted his demesnes of Tipperary into a county 
 palatinate. Thus was the number of palatinates 
 encreased to nine; Carlow, Wexford, Kilkenny, 
 Kildare, and Leix, the portions of the five co-heir- 
 esses of the family of earl Marshal, those of Meath 
 aad Ulster, and those of the earls of Desmond and 
 Ormond. '' Those absolute palatines made barons 
 " and knights; exercised high justice in all points, 
 
 '' within 
 
§S2 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. IL 
 
 " within their territories : erected courts for crimi- 
 *' nal and civil causes^, and for their own revenues, 
 " in the same form in which the king's courts were 
 '* established at Dublin; made their own judges, 
 " seneschals, sheriffs, coroners, and escheators : so 
 " that the king's writs did not run in those coun- 
 '* ties, which took up more than two parts of the 
 " English colonies, but only in the church lands 
 '' lying within the same, which were called the 
 '' Crosse, wherein the king made a sheriff." From 
 this detail of Sir John Davis, it is not difficult to 
 account for the dangerous independence which the 
 great lords affected, for their enormous influence, 
 and the proportionable weakness of government. 
 The land was in effect parcelled out to a number 
 of rival potentates, each zealous to aggrandize his 
 own power, to mark his own superiority over his 
 great neighbours, cold to the interests of the crown, 
 and frequently not displeased at the weakness and 
 distresses of a chief governor. 
 
 In the mean time, O'Brien leader of the Irish 
 insurgents, not yet subdued, found full employment 
 both for the English councils convened to devise 
 the means of reducing him, and for the troops sent 
 out to oppose him. Deliberations were held, and 
 armaments prepared ; but the leaders were divided, 
 aiid their troops employed with little honor or ad- 
 vantage. Sir Antony Lucy, an English knight ap- 
 pointed to the government, was astonished and 
 Rymer. provoked at the insolence of the Irish, and justly 
 suspected that they must be secretly favored and 
 abetted by some great lords. He entered on his 
 administration w ith a determined purpose to support 
 the interests of his royal master, by a vigorous pro- 
 secution of the enemy, and a'Spirited opposition to 
 the insolence and insidious practices of his insincere 
 adherents of the English race. He summoned a 
 parliament to meet at Dublin : his order was ne- 
 Camb. fleeted, and the assembly inconsiderable. It was 
 ^0^- adjourned to Kilkenny ; and here the still decreasing 
 
 number 
 
Cu. 4. EDWARD HI. 293 
 
 number of attending members gave new occasion 
 of suspicion. Intelligence was received of ^ome 
 considerable havoc committed by the Irish. The 
 governor imagining with good reason, and con- 
 firmed in his suspicion by sufficient evidence, that 
 the enemy was secretly encouraged by some lords of 
 English race, determined to strike at the very root 
 of such abuse. He seized the earl of Desmond, 
 Mandeville, Walter de Burgho and his brother, Wil- 
 liam and Walter Bermiugham. The evidence 
 against William Berminoham was full and forcible : 
 he was condemned and executed : his brother es- 
 caped only by his privilege as an ecclesiastic : Des- 
 mond, who had been obliged to submit to this rigor- 
 ous governor, after a long confinement was dis- 
 charged on great surety, and sent into England. 
 
 The power even of the most active chief gover- 
 nor could not have proved equal to this impartial 
 and spirited execution of justice, and this vigorous 
 opposition to the great lords, had not king Edward 
 at this time discovered a more than ordinary atteu- 
 tion to his Irish interests, and declared his design of 
 visiting the realm. Some salutary ordinances Avereprynn. 
 transmitted, for the more regular and effectual exe- Anim. 
 cution of the English laws, in those particulars inP'^^^* 
 which they had been contravened, neglected, or cor- 
 rupted by his officers and other subjects in Ireland. 
 These were soon followed, in the first place, by a 
 resumption of all Irish grants made in his reign 
 during the power of Mortimer and his mother ; Hymer, 
 and soon after, bv a mandate to the earls of Ulster*- i^'- 
 and Ormond, Sir William and Sir Walter de Burgho, P- ^^^• 
 to repair to his court, in order to concert the mea- 
 sures necessary for his voyage, and to attend him 
 into Ireland. All those barons of the realm of 
 England who enjoyed lands in Ireland were also 
 summoned for the same purpose. And though the lb. p. 507. 
 term fixed for this expedition was prolonged, yet an^^P-^'^^- 
 order for arresting all ships in the ports of Ireland, ^'^* 
 and sending them to Holyhead for the convenience 
 of hi§ passage, and another for impressing a number 
 
 of 
 
291 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. It 
 
 of Welsh infantry to attend him, seemed to indicate 
 a settled purpose of complying' with the desires of 
 his parliament, and engai^ing in the reduction of 
 Ireland; a country where the English power had as 
 yet obtained but a partial, a precarious, and a dis- 
 puted settlement. To confirm sUch expectations, 
 all those officers who had been commissioned to at- 
 tend the kiog's service in Ireland, were now strictly 
 enjoined to repair thither without any excuse; and 
 a formal order issued for searching the king's re- 
 Cotton, cords, to see what measures had been taken for the 
 amendment of the Irish. 
 
 But all this was nothing more than a specious 
 pretence for demanding supplies from his parliament, 
 and a veil for covering those designs, which, though 
 loss honorable or justifiable, suited better with the 
 ambitious spirit of young Edward. The Irish had 
 never been subdued ; nor was their country in a 
 worse state than at the accession either of the king 
 or his father. But Edward the second had patiently 
 submitted to see the glorious acquisition of Scotland 
 wrested from him ; and this loss seemed to be con- 
 firmed to his son by the ignominious peace conclud- 
 ed by Mortimer. No sooner had this gallant prince 
 been emancipated from the influence of his mother 
 and her favorite, than he resolved to imitate the 
 vigor of his illustrious grandfather, and in the first 
 place, to recover the dominion of Scotland. In de- 
 spite of treaties and connexions, he first spirited up 
 Edward Baliol to assert the antiquated claims of his 
 family ; indirectly supported and assisted him ; seized 
 the favorable moment to take advantage of his 
 success ; and now, when his parliament had granted 
 a subsidy for the pacification of Ireland, and his 
 troops provided for this service were ready to em- 
 bark, the king at once cast off the mask, which pro- 
 bably had not concealed his real intentions from the 
 most discerning, and ordered these forces to march 
 to the frontiers of Scotland. It was dangerous, he 
 observed, to leave the northern counties defenceless 
 
 while 
 
Ch.4. EDWARD HI. 295 
 
 while their neighbours were in arms; and as his 
 presence was necessary in this quarter, the Irish ex- 
 pedition must of course be for some time suspend- 
 ed. His parliament acquiesced, and indulgently 
 permitted the enterprizing genius of their monarch 
 to take its free course : the battle of Hallidown 
 confirmed their favorable expectations of his con- 
 duct. 
 
 The only measure now taken for the regulation %mer. 
 of Ireland, was that precarious and inglorious one of^ '^^g 
 treating with the adversaries of government. The 507." 
 prior of Kilmainham was commissioned to enter 
 into such conventions with all insurgents both of the 
 Enoiish and Irish race, as he should judge most ex- 
 pedient for the pacification of the realm, and the 
 honor and interest of his master. The great lords 
 received orders to assist him by their advice and 
 countenance ; and the sheriflTs of the several coun- 
 ties and liberties were instructed, that the conferences 
 to be held for this purpose should be protected, 
 without damage or injury to any of the parties. 
 Thus were the turbulent and disaftccted taught their 
 own real power, and the weakness and insufllciency 
 of that government which attempted to controul 
 them. Insidious accommodations were readily con- 
 cluded ; and a number of secret enemies admitted 
 to the royal grace and favor, whose perverse dis- 
 positions were thus cherished, instead of being 
 broken by a steady, firm, and rigorous authority. 
 
 This injudicious condescension to the enemies of^^^.^'^P* 
 the English interest, was attended by an event ofciynJVlS. 
 the utmost danger and most pernicious consequences, 
 that of the death of William, earl of Ulster, who 
 was assassinated by his own perfidious servants at 
 Carrickfergus. His countess, with her infimt daugh- 
 ter, fled in the utmost consternation into England, and'^- ^• 
 the vast demesnes of this illustrious family were left p^^ff^g^g 
 without any suflScient defender. By the law ofBieviate. 
 England, the earl's lands should have been seized 
 into the king's hands as guardian to the infant 
 
 ward : 
 
996 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. XL 
 
 ward : but this law was of little force against the 
 violence of old claimants. The Northern sept of 
 O'Nial, in whom all national animosities were re- 
 vived by this event, seized the occasion of recover- 
 ing- their antient power, rose suddenly in arms, 
 passed the river Bann, and fell furiously upon the 
 English settlers established by the family of de 
 Burgho. Notwithstanding a brave and obstinate re- 
 sistance, the persevering virulence of the Irish pre- 
 vailed in a course of time, so as to extirpate the 
 English, at least to confine them within very narrow 
 bounds. And their extensive possessions now par- 
 Davis. celled out among the conquerors, received the 
 ^^^^- name of the Upper and Lower Clan-Hugh-boy ; 
 from their leader Hugh-boy O'Nial. In Con- 
 naught, some younger branches of the family of de 
 Burgho, intruded into the late earl's possessions; of 
 whom, two the most powerfid contrived to divide 
 the great seigniory between them ; <and conscious 
 that the law of England must oppose this usurpa- 
 tion, and defend the rightful claim of the young 
 heiress, they at once rejected the English law, re- 
 nounced their names, language, apparel, and man- 
 tiers, adopted those of the Irish, called themselves 
 Mac-William Oughter, and Mac-William Eigh- 
 TER. that is, the Fiirihej% and the Nether Mac- Wil- 
 Ham, seduced their countrymen settled in this pro- 
 vince, by their pernicious example, and from thence- 
 forward transmitted their possessions in the course 
 of tainistry and gavel-kind. 
 
 The chastisement inflicted by the chief gover- 
 nor on the murderers of the earl of Ulster was but 
 a slight consolation for the misfortunes that were 
 foreseen, and proved to be the consequences of this 
 event. In proportion as the English were broken 
 by invasion, or divided by faction, the old natives 
 became more turbulent. Accommodations slightly 
 made, were easily and carelesly violated ; and while 
 the open enemy was in arms, the king's vicegerent 
 had a number of private and insidious adversaries 
 of the English race to controul and guard against. 
 
Ch. 4. tmVARD ill. 20f 
 
 ao-ainst. It was found necessary to seize and con-Camb, 
 fine two of the noble house of de la Poer. Nicho-^„,?^- 
 his Fitz-Maurice of Kerry, who avowed his attach- 
 ment to the Irish of Muister, was made prisoner 
 by his kinsman Desmond, and confined for life ; 
 while Kildare, with equal vigilance and spirit, chas- 
 tised the violence of those who had presumed to 
 disturb the peace of Leinster. 
 
 But the rigorous measures now pursued by king^ 
 Edward served to damp the zeal of these noble*, to 
 enflame discontents, and extend division yet further 
 among all the lords of English race. The evils of 
 a distracted state, local feuds and insurrections, vi- 
 olence and ravage. Englishmen renormcing their al- 
 legiance and revolting to the enemy, the enemy 
 strengthened, eml)oldened, and enabled to return 
 with double fury, and re-assume those settlements 
 from whence they had formerly been driven, were 
 soon experienced in an alarming deficiency of re- 
 venue, highly inconvenient to a prince who now 
 meditated his vast designs against France. Edward 
 was necessitated to seek every resource for supplying 
 his exhausted finances. He depended for some as- 
 sistance from Ireland : he was disappointed : and 
 possessed as he was with the glittering objects of his 
 ambition, the disappointment was received with a 
 passionate impatience. Not considering that his 
 enormous schemes of conquest had been the very 
 means of diverting his attention from his Irish in- 
 terests, and consequently the occasion of the dis- 
 tresses of Ireland, and the disappointments he there 
 experienced, he accused his servants and ministers, 
 and denounced the terror of his resentment against 
 all those whom he had employed in this kingdom. 
 Conscious of his own power, and disdaining to at- 
 tend to the passions, tempers, and prejudices of his 
 subjects, in a country where his mandate he con- 
 ceived more than suflficient to secure an immediate 
 and implicit obedience, he at once resolved on the 
 most violent and ofiensive measures. 
 
 Vol. I. 2P He 
 
298 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 Frynn. y[j^ began with declaring- that all suspensions or 
 273 "274. remissions of debts due to the crown, either in hi* 
 * time or that of his ])redecessors (except those which 
 had the sanction of tlie great seal) should be null 
 and void ; and the debts strictly levied without de- 
 lay ; in consideration, as he expressed it, of his ne- 
 cessities arising from the war he was to maintain up- 
 on the continent, and other urgent aft'airs. Hence 
 he proceeded to a more extensive and vigorous re- 
 sumption of all grants made not by him only, but 
 by his father. Those to the prior of Kilmainham, 
 Prvnn. ^^'^^^ ^^^ administered his government with vigor 
 ut.3up. and fidelity, were specifically mentioned. The jus- 
 tices of the king's bench and common pleas, Mount- 
 pesson and Baggot, were suddenly discharged from 
 their offices. He not only dismissed Ashburne, ano- 
 ther of his officers, but seized his estate. The de- 
 puty was forbidden to grant or alien any of the 
 king's lands without a strict inquisition into their 
 circumstances and value. The treasurer of the ex- 
 checpier, who claimed a privilege to dispose of small 
 sums without voucher, was not only prohibited for 
 the future, but obliged to account for such sums 
 from the beginning of tlie present reign : he was for- 
 bidden to take rewards for indulging the king's 
 debtors ; he was abridged of the power of naming 
 sheriffs, a power hitherto annexed to his office : his 
 receipts of the king's rents were ordered to be open 
 and public : and to complete the scheme of refor- 
 mation, the deputy was directed to certify to the 
 king in his chancery of England, the qualities, ser- 
 vices, fees, number, and behavioin* of all his of- 
 ficers in Ireland. But the most offensive and severe 
 of these ordinances was not to be compared with 
 one which crowned the whole intemperate conduct 
 of the king, and afforded just ground of dissatisfac- 
 tion to a people conscious of their own, and 
 the merits of their ancestors, and too power- 
 ful, and too far removed from the seat of roy- 
 alty to conceal their indignation. It is here in- 
 serted 
 
Cir. 4. EDWARD III. 259 
 
 serted at large, that its spirit and purport may be 
 more clearly apprehended. 
 
 '' The king, to his trusty and beloved John Darcy, Prynn. 
 " justiciary of Ireland, greeting : Anun. ^ 
 
 VV H E RE A S it appearefh to us and our coun- 
 ^' cil, for many reasons, that our service shall the bet- 
 " ter and more profitably be conducted in the said 
 " land by English officers having revenues and pos- 
 " sessions in England, than by Irish or Englishmen 
 '' married and estated in Ireland, and without any 
 " possessions in om'realmot England ; we enjoin you, 
 '' that you diligently inform yourself of all our otTi- 
 '' cers greater or lesser within oin* land of Ireland 
 *' aforesaid ; and that all such officers beneficed, inar- 
 ^' ried and estated in the said land, and having no- 
 *' thing in England, be removed from their offices ; 
 " tliat you place and substitute in their room other 
 '' fit Englishmen, having lands, tenements and bene- 
 " fices in England, and that you cause the said ofii- 
 " ces for the future to be executed by such English- 
 ^' men, and none other, any order of ours to you 
 " made in contrarywise notwithstanding." 
 
 Thus were the descendants of those who had 
 originally gained the English acquisitions in Ire- 
 land, who had laboured in a long course of painful 
 and perilous service to maintain them, who daily 
 shed their blood in the service of their monarch, 
 pronounced indiscriminately to be dangerous, and 
 declared incapable of filling any. even the meanest 
 department in administration. The dcoeneracy and 
 disaflTection of a number of subjects of the English 
 race, considered in the most striking and oflTcnsive 
 view, could only have warranted some secret resolu- 
 tions of entrusting the afi^airs of government chiefly 
 to others : but a formal, open, and general sentence 
 of disqualification, was e<jually iniquitous and im- 
 politic. A just prince could have been induced to 
 
 it 
 
SOO HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. If. 
 
 it only by the severest misrepresentations; nor can 
 it be reconciled to the plainest dictates of prudence, 
 unless we suppose that Edward had been made to 
 rcj^ard the country and the people he thus treated, 
 wtih the most sovereign contempt. 
 
 But whatever representations he had received, or 
 conceptions he had formed of the old English inha- 
 bitants, they were too spirited to endure the loss of 
 their lands, and their own personal indignities with 
 an al)ject resignation. The late emigrants from 
 England triumphed over the old race, as if tliey 
 had all forfeited their privileges, and were consoli- 
 dated with those Irish who had been reduced by 
 their arms. The old English, on the other hand, 
 beheld the partiality shewn to those who boasted 
 their English birth, with impatience and indignati- 
 on. Jealousy and dissension were thus excited among 
 those who stjll adhered to English government, and 
 proved the mistaken polic}^ of the king's procedure. 
 The consequences were more alarming as the injure 
 ed party of his Irish subjects were the more power- 
 ful, of more extensive intluence, and better enabled 
 to support the interests of government, or rather 
 absolutely necessary to the very existence of the 
 royal jiuthority in Ireland. Essentially injured and 
 wantonly insulted, they were soon agitated to that 
 degree of ferment which threatens something violent 
 and dangerous. The more powerful among them 
 fomented the discontents of their inferiors; and 
 where the interests of all weie threatened, a com^ 
 mpn cause and general danger readily disposed them 
 to a truly formidable combination. Their violences 
 Davis, were so dreaded, that the chief governor deemed 
 it necessary to summon a parliament at Dublin on 
 this critical occasion. 
 
 Tins chief governor. Sir John Morris, was of 
 no higher note or station than that of an English 
 knight, and not distinguished either by his fortune 
 Of abilities. And the lords he was to govern, re- 
 
 garde4 
 
Cii.4. EDWARD m. SOI 
 
 ga4'ded it not as the least of those insults they had 
 sustained, that the king's authority should be dele- 
 gated to so inferior a person. The spirited Geral- 
 dines were particularly irritated, and espoused the 
 cause of their brethren the old English with ex- 
 traordinary zeal. Their numerous adherents gave 
 them consequence and power, and their consequence 
 and power served to give countenance to these ad- 
 herents, and encouraged them to an open and vio- 
 lent avowal of their dissatisfactions. Desmond, too 
 proud and powerful to be attached to government 
 by any other means but favor and flattery, t!ew 
 through all his numerous partizans of the South, 
 conferred with the nobility who were most attached 
 to him, and practised with those cities and corpora- 
 tions in which he had the greatest influence. Kil- 
 dare, his kinsman and associate, was equally pro- 
 voked and equally active and industrious. So that 
 at the time when the parliament was to meet at 
 Dublin, Morris was alarmed at the intelligence of 
 another independent assembly more numerous and 
 respectable, convened by Desmond at Kilkenny. 
 The}^ sliled themselves the prelates, nobles, aitd 
 commons of the land, were the more formidable as 
 they aftected to assemble peaceably, and prepared a 
 remonstrance to be transmitted to the king. 
 
 The only account which the English annalists 
 have given of their transactions, is, * that by a fewcam^ 
 short strictm-es they intimated the notorious insufti-pjon, 
 ciency of the present chief governor^ as well as^*^'^' 
 
 his 
 
 * By their ir.e5sen_2;er3, say these annalist?, they proposed the follow- 
 ing questions to the king. 
 
 I low a reahn of war could be governed by a man unskilful in all 
 warlike service? 
 
 How an officer under the king, who entered very poor, could in one 
 year amass more wealth than men of large estates in many years? 
 
 How it chanced, since they were all called lords of their own, that 
 the sovereign lord of them aU was not the richer for them ? 
 
S(K HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 his rapaciousness and oppressions ; imputing the dis- 
 tresses of the realm, and the deficiencies of thepub- 
 Prynn. ^^^ revenue, -to the pernicious conduct and counsels 
 Anm. of the king's ministers. But we have a petition of 
 p. 279. the grievances of Ireland, together with the king's 
 answers, among the close rolls of the sixteenth year 
 of this reign, which seems pretty evidently to have 
 been the act of this convention at Kilkenny ; which 
 assembled for the first time in this year, and was too 
 formidable to be despised, or to have their repre- 
 sentations passed over in contemptuous silence. It 
 is said to be the act of the prelates, earls, barons, 
 and commons of the land, without the usual additi- 
 on of their being assembled in a parliament held at 
 some particular time and place; and it contains 
 such bold accusations of the king's ministers, and 
 such insinuations against the chief governor him- 
 self, as seem not likely to have proceeded from an 
 assembly convened by his authority, and possibly 
 consisting for the most part, of that faction which 
 opposed the old English settlers ; favoured, and 
 therefore influenced by the governor. But where- 
 ever it was framed, the petition must not pass en- 
 tirely unnoticed, as it exhibits a distinct and strik- 
 ing view of the irregularities in administration, and 
 the grievances which had for some time enflamed 
 the public dissensions, and weakened the interests 
 of the crown. 
 
 The petitioners begin with representing the total 
 neglect of fortifications and castles, particularly 
 those of the late earl of Ulster, in Ulster and Con- 
 naught, now in the king's custody, but abandoned 
 by his ofticers, so that more than a third part of 
 the lands conquered by his royal progenitors were 
 regained by the Irish enemy : and by their insolence 
 on the one hand, and the excesses of his servants 
 on the other, his faithful subjects are reduced to 
 the utmost distress. Other castles, they observe, 
 had been lost by the corruption of treasurers who 
 withheld their just pay from the governors and 
 
 warders ; 
 
Cii.4. EDWARD III. 303 
 
 warders ; sometimes, obliged them in their necessi- 
 ties to accept some small part of their arrears, and 
 to give acquittance for the whole ; sometimes sub- 
 stituted in their place mean and insufficient persons, 
 contented with any wages they were pleased to al- 
 low ; sometimes appointed governors to castles ne- 
 ver erected, charging their full pay, and disbursing 
 but a trifling part : that the subject was oppressed 
 by the exaction of victuals never paid for, and 
 charged at their full value to the crown, as if duly 
 purchased : that hostings were frequently summon- 
 ed by the chief governor without concurrence of 
 the nobles, and money accepted in lieu of personal 
 service; treaties made with the Irish, which left 
 them in possession of those lands they had unjustly 
 seized; the attempts of the subjects to regain 
 them, punished with fine and imprisonment ; par- 
 tial truces made with the enemy, which, while one 
 country was secured, left them at liberty to infest 
 the neighbouring districts; the absence and foreign 
 residence of those who should defend their own 
 lands and seigniories, and contribute to the public 
 aid and service; illegal seizures of the persons and 
 properties of the English subjects. — All these, with 
 various instances of corruption, oppression, and ex- 
 tortion, in the king's servants, were urged plainly 
 and forcibly, as the just grounds of discontent. 
 
 But chiefly, and with particular warmth and 
 earnestness, they represent to the king, that his 
 English subjects of Ireland had been triukiced and 
 misrepresented to the throne, by those who had been 
 sent from England to govern them ; men, who 
 came into the kingdom without knowledge of its 
 state, circumstances, or interests ; whose sole ob- 
 ject was to repair their shattered fortunes: too poor 
 to support their state, much less to indulge their 
 passions, until they had filled their coflrers by extor- 
 tion to the great detriment and affliction of the peo- 
 ple: that, notwithstanding such misrepresentations, 
 the English subjects of Ireland had ever adhered in 
 
 loyalty 
 
304 HISTORY OF IRELAND. E. U. 
 
 loyalty and allegiance to the crown of England, had 
 maintained the land for the king and his progeni- 
 tors, served frequently both against the Irish and 
 their foreign enemies, and mostly at their own 
 charges. 
 
 " As a reward of these services," say the peti- 
 tioners, '' your progenitors, Sir, and you, have 
 " granted by letters patent to divei-se people of the 
 '' realm, lands, tenements, franchises, wards, mar- 
 *' riages, and pardons of debts, which by virtue 
 '' of such letters patent they have held in peacea- 
 " ble possession ; till lately that your ministers by 
 " orders received from England, as they pretend, 
 " have resumed and taken into your hands what 
 " your progenitors. Sir, and you have so granted^ 
 '' as well what was granted for good and reasona- 
 " ble cause as otherwise ; and this contrary to the 
 " tenor and intent of the aforesaid orders, to en- 
 " damage others for their own private emolument. 
 " Which things. Sir, seem to your liege subjects 
 '•' contrary to reason, as their ancestors and they 
 " have well deserved, and do deserve, by defending 
 '' and maintaining, as much as in them lies, the 
 '* dominion, of the land to our use. For which, 
 " Sir, may it please you to ordain that they be not 
 " ousted of their freeholds without being called in- 
 '' to judgment, according to the provision of the 
 " Great Charter.' 
 
 To the severalgrievances alleged, the answers of 
 the king were now gracious and condescending; 
 - and particularly to this last article, he replied, that 
 the grants of his j)rogenitors should be restored, 
 without diminution; that those made in his own 
 reign should also be delivered up on sufficient surety 
 that they should be again surrendered, if on a legal 
 inquisition they were found resumable, as granted 
 without just cause; and that the pardons of debts 
 should be deemed valid, until the causes of such 
 pardons should be duly tried. 
 
 Such condescensions were at this time the more 
 necessary, as Edward prepared for his expedition 
 
 into 
 
Cir.4. EDWARD III. 505 
 
 into Franco, and now sent his letters to the officers 
 of stnte in Ireland, intimating' that he had aheady 
 applied for succours to the principal lords of this 
 kino'doni, directing' them to treat with these lords, r^^^ 
 and to use their utmost diligence to prevail upont.v.p.sis. 
 them to lead or send their respective vassals into 
 Bretany with all possible expedition 
 
 Vol. L 2 Q CHAP, 
 
W6 HISTORY OF IRELA^p. B. U. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Adimnistralion of UJford. . , .Ilis rigorous treatment of the 
 s^rcat factious lords, . . .Desniond and Kildare reduced and 
 imprisoned. . . .Earl of Desmond escapes and flies, , . . 
 Returns on the death of Ufford, , ^ ,Js restored to far or. . , . 
 y-jtlends the king^s service in France . « . . Earl of Kildare 
 distinguished at the siege of Calais .... Irish parliament 
 grants a subsidy/, , . .Arrogance and sedition of an arch- 
 bishop of Cashel. . . .Integrity/ of Rohehy the lord deputy, 
 ^ . . .He is succeeded by the earl of Desmond. , . .Restored 
 hij the dralk of th^ earl, , . , Ordinances for the regulation 
 of the state of Ireland. ,, .Provision against odious dis - 
 linctions between the subjects of this land. ,, .against the 
 growing degeneracy of the English .... Subjects divided. 
 ,. * .O'Brien and O'Connor in arms . . , ,Tli^ countr// 
 harassed. . . , Lord Lioyiel created chief governor of Ireland. 
 . . • , Preparations for his departure, . . ,His forces, . . . 
 His attendants. . . .His arrival in Ireland, . . .Prejudices 
 of Lord Lionel. , . , He forbids the old English to approach 
 his camp, . . ^Consequences of this order. , . ,The Prince 
 harassed by the Irish enemy, . , ,Is in danger Cor- 
 rects his error, and summons the old English to attend him. 
 . . , ,Gains some advantages, . ^ ,A subsidj/ granted for 
 his suppprt, . . .Discipline of his troops. , . ,Duke of Cla- 
 rence recalled, . . . Factions enjlamcd t>y his eo^iduct. .... 
 He returns to his government, , . .Convenes a parliament at 
 Kilkenny, . , , Object and purpose of this assembly. , . . 
 Statute of Kilkenny .... Influence of this ordinance .... 
 Administration of the earl of Desmon/1. , , .He is succeeded, 
 py Sir William Windsore .... Measures taken against the 
 Jrish enemy .... Their dangerous progress .,, . Instance 
 of the abhorrence conceived of Ireland, , , ,3Iisdemeanor 
 p,lleged against Wiiidsore. . . ,He returns to the government 
 . . . .Is unsuccessful , . . ,P<'nsions paid to the Irish. . . . 
 Representatives from the land of Ireland summoned to 
 Westminster , , , .Answers to the king's writs, , . , Gradual 
 declension of the English interest. 
 
 WHE- 
 
Gh. 5> EDWARD III. 307 
 
 ^Vh ETHER tlie roy^l intentions for the re- 
 dress of grievances were defeated l)y the administra-CaTindeft. 
 tion of the Irish government^ or Avhether the pride ofi-^^ivis. 
 the old nobility of English race was not yet satisfied 
 by his condescensions, faction still continued; and 
 those born in Ireland still retained their jealousies 
 and discontents against the more favoured part of 
 their fellow -subjects, who had lately been transmit- 
 ted from England; while tlie Irish septs of Leinster, 
 taking advantage of dissension^ rose, as usual, in 
 arms, and harassed the province. Edward, hy 
 confining his attention to the vast schemes which he 
 had formed against France, had encouraged, and 
 now contributed to encrease these disorders which 
 required an active^ spirited and vigorous chief 
 governor to suppress. 
 
 Sir Ralph de IJATord, a man of tliis very charac- 
 ter, ttas entrusted with the administration, and 
 passed into Ireland, possessed with the utmost indig- 
 iiation both against the Irish insurgents and the 
 discontented English ; which prompted him to exe- 
 cute his powers, not wifh zeal only, but with rigour. 
 He instantly commanded the marchers, whose duty 
 it was to guard the English settlements from invasi- 
 on, to repair each to their respective stations, which 
 they had been habituat(^d to neglect; he proclaimed 
 it in the highest degree penal to convey provisions, 
 horses, or arms to the enemy, and strictly enjoined, 
 agreeably to those ordinances which had frequently 
 been repeated, and therefore, we may conclude, were 
 frequently violated, that the king's lands should 
 have but one icar and one peace ; that wherever the 
 attack was made, it should be considered as an in- 
 jury to all, and that all should instantly unite iii 
 one common cause^ and to repel one common dan- 
 ger. 
 
 Nor was the atteiltion of Ufford confined to the 
 suppression of Irish enemies. Desmond, the head 
 of the discontented English, was summoned to at- 
 tend a parliament hi Dii!)lin, as a test ofhisattach- 
 uieiit to the king's government, which he oftentimes 
 
 affected 
 
^08 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II, 
 
 Excerpt, aitected to despise, and to ^vliich he paid at most but 
 exAnrv. a Dreearious^ and occasional obedience. Tht.' carl 
 ^"' proudly slighted the mandate, and sumnwned an 
 assembly of his OAvn at Calan, independent of this 
 English knight sent to govern men of such superi- 
 or dignity. Uffbrd, firm to his purpose, issued a 
 royal proclamation, whereby the nobles and com- 
 mons were forbidden at their peril to attend this 
 unlaATful assembly ; and to enforce this order, col- 
 lected his troops, marched into Munster as against 
 a declared enemy, possessed himself of the earl's 
 lands, seized and executed some of his principal 
 dependents who had most notoriously offended by 
 their arbitrary exactions, and so surprised and ter- 
 rified this refractory lord by the vigour of his opera- 
 tions, that he thought it necessary to submit, ofter- 
 ed to abide a just and honorable trial for any 
 disloyalty objected to him, and found several siu'etie^ 
 of distii^uished rank and character to answer for 
 his appearance. The earl of Kildare, equally ob- 
 noxious to the governor, was in the next place at- 
 tacked as a disaffected and rebellious lord, and M'ith 
 some difficulty reduced, taken, and imprisoned ; to 
 Davys, the utter teiTor and confusion of those great lords 
 of the English race, who had so long despised llie 
 weakness of government, and particularly of the 
 earl of Desmond, who was so shocked at the intre- 
 pid severity of UtFord, and so conscious of his own 
 irregular conduct, that he retired in dismay, and left 
 his sureties to answer for his ungenerous default. 
 
 The spirit of this chief governor might have 
 proved of considerable use in quelling the disobe- 
 dient both of the Irish and Englisli race: but his 
 sudden death deprived his master of a meiit.orious 
 servant, who had suppoiied his interests and con- 
 ducted his government with vigour and success, in' 
 despite of opposition and popular odium. Sir John 
 Morris his successor, acted with greater lenity and 
 condescension. He released Kildare from prison ; 
 and when a violent insurrection in Ulster determined 
 
 ■ the 
 
Cn. 5, EDWARD III. sm 
 
 the king' to substitute Roger Darcy first, and after- Rot. Tur, 
 >vards Walter De Bennin<^ham in his room, Des-Berm. 
 niond \vas again eniboldeiied to a]ipear and remon- 
 strate against the wrongs he alleged to iiave re- 
 ceived from Ufford. Bermingham warmly espoused 
 his cause^ and sent him into England to seek redress 
 from the throne. No season could have been more A. D. 
 favorable to his application. Edward had formed ^3^^- 
 his annament, and was now on the point of embark- 
 ing on his glorious expedition into France. He 
 had two years before summoned this earl, with 
 others of the great English lords of Ireland, to at- 
 tend him with their powers. Desmond was appoint- Rymer. 
 ed to lead tw enty men at arms, and fifty hoblers : 
 Kildare, the same numbei's ; others were to furnish 
 such a umnber of each as suited the extent of their 
 several possessions, so as to complete the number of 
 one hundred and ninety men at arms, and five 
 hundred hoblers. Whether this little band now 
 attended, or that the king procured a greater force 
 fi'om Ireland, doth not appear from record ; but he 
 was at least solicitous to engage Desmond in his 
 service, a nobleman of such extensive follov«'ing, 
 such pow erful connexions, and so great popularity 
 in Ireland. His complaints were received with the 
 most gracious attention: he was assured of a speedy 
 restoration of his lands: he was in the mean time 
 taken into the king's pay : he attended him with a 
 considerable train into Prance ; and by the gracious 
 manner of his reception, the earl of Kildare was 
 afterwards induced to take the same part. In the 
 winter after the victory of Crecy, we find a small 
 TMunber of the English nobility of Ireland again 
 summoned to attend the king'.s standard ; and Kil- 
 dare, particularly, was so distinguished by his valor 
 at the siege of Calais, that he received the bonor^^^ ioj, 
 of knighthood from the king's hand ; and returned Cox. 
 to his country with that consequence naturally de- 
 rived from the royal favor, and the brilliancy of 
 the service in which he had engaged. 
 
 In 
 
sio iiisTonY or iueland. b. ii. 
 
 In the mean time^ the defence of the English 
 territory against the perpetual incursions of the Irish, 
 Rot. Tur. was not neglected by the chief governors Morris 
 Berm. and Bcnningham. We find them frequently com- 
 missioning the principal English settlers of the dif- 
 ferent districts to raise forces^ to make war upon the 
 enemy, or to confer and treat with them, as the 
 public service might require. In order to remedy 
 21 E in ^^^ abuse of coyne and li-Qery, and to relieve the sub- 
 MS.Tiinijcct fi*om the heavy oppression of such demands, it 
 Col. Dub. had been resolved in a parliament held by Berming- 
 ham at Kilkenny, to grant a subsidy for maintenance 
 of the Irish war, of two shillings from every caru- 
 cate of land, and two shillings in the pound from 
 every subject whose personal fortime amounted ta 
 six pounds. An incident which arose from this- 
 grant, marks the nature and effect of those national 
 and party prejudices, which the situation of this 
 country, neglected as it was, and managed without 
 sound policy or integrity, naturally produced. 
 Wc^ede Ralph Kelly, an Irishman, just now promoted 
 jijlj ' to tlM3 see of Cashel, wlio though he had swoni alle- 
 giance, and received his temporalities from the king, 
 yet was possessed with all the vulgar prejudices of 
 his countrymen, and deemed it meritorious to em- 
 barrass the administration of government, deter- 
 mined to give a vigorous opposition to the levying 
 this subsidy through his province. The grant, it 
 seems extended to ecclesiastical persons^ and the 
 tenants of ecclesiastical lands He sunmioned his 
 suffragans of Limerick, Emly, and Lisitiore: and 
 Phc. Cor. ^j^j^ their concurrence, issued an ordinance that all 
 beneficed clergymen who should presume to pay 
 their alloted portion of this subsidy, were to be im- 
 mediately deprived of their benefices, and declared 
 incapable of holding any ecclesiastical benefice within 
 the province ; and that all lay-tenants on the eccle- 
 siastical lands who should comply with the requisition 
 of parliament, were to be excommunicated, and 
 their children disqualified from enjoying any eccle- 
 siastical 
 
Cii. 5. EDWARD III. 311 
 
 «iastical preferment^ even to the third generation. 
 J^or did (his bokl edict satisfy the ilaniing- zeal and 
 violence of the archbishop. He repaired to the 
 town of Clonmel, in all the state of his office, in the 
 habit, and with the attendance suited to the most 
 solemn exercise of his function, so as to strike the 
 minds of the superstitious multitude with greater 
 reverence. lie publicly and solemnly denounced 
 the sentence of excommunication on all those who 
 paid, imposed, procured, or in any manner contri- 
 buted to the exacting of this subsidy from any of 
 the persons or lands belonging to his church, and 
 on Willianj Epworth, by name, the king's commissi- 
 oner in the county of Tipperary, for receiving it from 
 the several collectors. An intormation was exhibit- 
 ed against the prelate for this oflence. He deni- 
 ed the charge : fie pleaded, that, by the great char- 
 ter granted by the crown to England and Ire- 
 land, it was provided that the church both of Eng- 
 land and Ireland should be free; that, by the same 
 jcharter, it was ordained that those ^vho infringed the 
 immunities of the church should be ipso facto ex- 
 communicated; that he had but exercised his spiri- 
 tual power, in consequence of this ordinance, against 
 those who violated the king's peape, or levied mo- 
 ney on the subject w ithout his knowledge and as- 
 sent; and that Epworth in particular had been ex- 
 communicated for refusing canonical obedience to 
 his ordinary. Both the archbishop and his suffra- 
 gans, however, were found guilty ; but though they 
 repeatedly refused to appear in arrest of judgment, 
 they seem to have been too powerful, and their 
 cause too popular, for the offence to receive its due 
 punishment. 
 
 By the attention of the king to prohibit the great Rymef. 
 lords of Ireland from departing at their pleasure 
 from the kingdom, to the utter desertion of their 
 fluties and offices, by the removal of ministers 
 either insufficient or corrupt, but, above all, by the 
 favor shewn to the earls of Desmond and Kildare, 
 the peace of the English territories was for some 
 
 tiR^e 
 
SB HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 time preserved, without any extensive or dangerous 
 irruption ; and the king's deputies left to summon 
 parliaments, and devise means Ibr correcting the 
 abuses and degeneracy of the English inhabitants. 
 A. D. Sir Thomas Rokeby, an f^ngiish knight, who assum- 
 n.j.i. ed the reins of government with an equity and inte- 
 Cdinpion. o'(-ity unknown to many of his predecessors, applied 
 himself to this necessary work with peculiar zeal ; 
 and, by his own disinterested moderation, set a no- 
 l)le example to those lords who had been habituated 
 to pillage and oppress their inferiors. ''I am served/' 
 said the honest Englishman, '' without parade or 
 " splendor ; but let my dishes be wooden, rather 
 '' than my creditors unpaid." But stranger as ho 
 was to the circumstances of the country, and the 
 Rot. Tur. pj^ggj^^-^g jj,^^ interests of those he was to govern, 
 *^" integrity and disinterested zeal could not give the 
 due weight and consequence to his administration. 
 The insurrections of the Irish again grown so con- 
 siderable as to occasion a general proclamation of 
 the royal service, whereby all the English subjects 
 in every quarter of the realm were called to take 
 arms against the common enemy, determined the 
 king to entrust his Irish government to the earl of 
 Desmond, now completely reinstated iti his favor ; 
 and who by his connexions and dependencies, as 
 well as by his warlike disposition, seemed better 
 calculated for governing in the present disordered 
 state of affairs. 
 A. D. j||5 death, which happened soon after his pro= 
 
 ^^^^' motion, restored Rokeby to the administration; 
 whose power vvas confined to the procuring useful 
 ordinances of parliament, pointed chiefly against 
 the degeneracy of the old English. The equity 
 of the crown shewed that attention to the ease and 
 security of the Irish subjects, which their own great 
 lords denied them. In all erroneous proceedings 
 of tiieir courts, they had hitherto been obliged to 
 Pryn. scck rcdress in England ; but their own parlia- 
 Anim. meuts wcrc now to take cognizance of all such 
 p. 286. niatters^ and to decide the rights of the subjects, 
 
 without 
 
€h. 5. EDWARD III, 315 
 
 without exposing them to unnecessary trouble and 
 cxpence. Some other regulations for the better in- 
 struction of the people, and preventing the incon- 
 venience arising from the non-residence of their pas- 
 tors, particularly in the diocese of Dublin, were 
 followed by a solemn ordinance for the regulation 
 both of church and state, and the more effectual 
 execution of the English laws. They begin, as usu-Pryn. 
 ;tl, with a declaration that the liberties and immu- Amm. 
 nities of the church shall be preserved inviolate, and ^' ^^* 
 proceed to point out the legal and regular method 
 for adjusting the general iiiterests and concerns 
 of the state. '' We will and command," saith the 
 king, '' that our affairs, and those of our land,j^ 
 '' especially the great and arduous, shall be referred " ^' 
 ^' to our councils, composed of skillful counsellors, 
 ^* prelates, nobles and other discreet and honest 
 ■^ men, in those ptirts contiguous to the places 
 '' where such councils shall be held, and to be sum- 
 '' moned for this purpose: but in parliament 
 ^' shall be, by our counsellors, prelates, nobles, and 
 '' others of the land aforesaid, agreeably to justice, 
 '' law, custom, and reason, faithfully treated, de- 
 *' bated, discussed, and finally determined, without 
 " fear, favor, hatred, bribe, or any sinister intlu- 
 '' ence." '' By this ordinance," saitli lord Coke,^"^^*"- 
 *' the parliaments of Ireland are regulated accord- '^^^" 
 *' ing to the institution of England ; for before thia 
 " time, the conventions in Ireland were not so pro- 
 " perly parliaments, as as^semblies of great men. " 
 
 Among several provisions for the execution of 
 justice, the administration of government, and the 
 protection of the rights and liberties of the subject, 
 agreeably to the great charter, we find the fol- 
 lowing article worthy of distinct notice, as it shews 
 the present temper of the English subjects of Ire- 
 land, and the real importance of those dissensions 
 which had been raised and fomented among them. 
 
 ''Item, although the English born in Ireland, 
 '' as well as those born in England, be true Ki\g- 
 
 VoL. I. 2 R lishmen. 
 
514 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II, 
 
 ■' lishnien, Hviiio- under our dominion and sove- 
 " reiiifuty, and bound by the same laws, riglits, 
 •^ and cnstoms, yet various dissensions and mainte- 
 '' naiices have arisen among those of both races, on 
 '' account of national distinction, from whence some 
 '' evils have arisen, and still greater are to be apr 
 " prehended, unless a remedy be speedily applied, 
 '' — Onr pleasure is, and we strictly enjoin, that our 
 " lord justice calling to him our chancellor and 
 " treasurer of Ireland, and such nobles as he shall 
 " jnd->e proper to be called ft'oni the neighbouring 
 " districts, where such dissensions have arisen, shall 
 " frequently, and as often as need may be, dili- 
 '' gently enquire into such dissensions, maintenances, 
 " and factions, and the names of those by whom 
 '' they are supported, and causing due process to 
 " be made against the delinquents, shall^ when con- 
 " victed, punish them by imprisonment, fine or 
 " other just method, as such dissensions manifestly 
 " tend to lead our liege people into sedition and 
 '' treason.'- 
 
 But while the royal authority applied remedjes 
 to one disorder, others were ever ready to break 
 out, and elude tlie insufiicient endeavours of go- 
 vernment. The old English indeed, hated their 
 newly arrived brethren; but their pride still pre- 
 vented them from uniting with their brethren of 
 Rot. Tur. tl^e same race. They were ever ready to invade 
 - ""* and harass each other, so as to oblige the king by 
 frequent mandates to forbid their petty excursions, 
 and to compose their brawls. The alliances whicli 
 they formed with Irish families, and the partialities 
 arising from such connexions, introduced a number 
 of secret enemies into the English settlements, rejidy 
 to betray the people they consorted with, industri= 
 ous to seduce tJie subject, and by secret insinuation, 
 or the natural influence of constant i^nd familiar in- 
 tercoiu'se to detach him from his countrymen, and 
 to form his manners and affections by the Irish 
 modeJ. To guard against the treacherous subtilty 
 
 of 
 
Ch.5. lEDWARD Hi. S15 
 
 of the Irish, and to cut off that dan":eroiis corres-P'T"- 
 
 " Aniirt 
 
 295, 231. 
 
 poiidence which the irmwing- dej^v^neracy of the Enf-- Aniiri. p. 
 
 iish had encouraged, it was enjoined by royal man- 
 date, that no mere Irishman should he admitted in- 
 to any otiice or trust in any city, borough, or cas- 
 tie, ill the king's land: that no bishojj or prior, 
 tinder the king's dominion and alkgiancc, should 
 a.dmit any of this race to an ecclesiastical benefice, 
 or into any religious hoiise, on account of consimgni- 
 nity, or other pretence whatever. jMalice and self- 
 interest were careful to take advantage of this order, 
 and to extend it beyond the original intention. The 
 denized Irish were excluded from ecclesiastical pre^ 
 ferments, by virtue of the clause which directed 
 tliat these should be conferred on English clerks. 
 They had the spirit to apply to parliament for relief, 
 and the success to obtain an explanation in favor of 
 their rights. 
 
 Subjects divided, and discontented, engaged by 
 their petty factions and competitions, could not 
 even repel the assaults of their common enemy, 
 much less recover tlsose extensive tracts, from which 
 they had been g'radually eiected by the old natives. 
 O'Nial from the North, O'Brien from the South, 
 made dreadful inroatls on the English settlements, 
 boasted their hostile intentions^ watched every ad- 
 vantage, and fomented and assisted tJje insurrections 
 of other Irish chieftains. A perpetual state of war 
 oppressed and w asted the country. A want of con- 
 cert and union ainong the Irish prevented them 
 from demolishing the \\liole fabric of English powd- 
 er, by one general and decisive assault. On the 
 other hand, the divisions and jealousies of the Eng- 
 lish race, ansl the neglect of those, who, despising 
 the country from whence they drew tlieir revenues, 
 absented themselves in England, left the enemy to 
 harass those whom they could not subdue; and 
 obliged the subject to maintain a number of idle 
 guards and borderers, no less vexatious and oppres- 
 sive than their invaders. 
 
 Edward, 
 
316 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. 11, 
 
 Edward who had been habituated to success and 
 glory, bclield these complicated disorders of hi8 
 Irish dominions with impatience : and deternnned 
 to pursue some vioorous measures, both for subdu- 
 ing- the Irish, and reforming his English sul>jects. 
 Lord Lionel his second son, had been affianced in 
 his tender yeai*s to Elizabeth, daughter of the late 
 earl of Ulster, and claimed that earldom in right of 
 his wife, as well as the lordship of Connau«^ht, with 
 all the valuable and extensive domains annexed to 
 Rymer. these titles. In all these districts, writs had for 
 many years ran in the prince's name. But this was 
 little more than a formal exercise of authority, not 
 generally acknowledged or obeyed; as the Irish 
 chieftains of Connaught and Tirowen had rej^ossessf • I 
 themselves of the greatest part of these lands which 
 tiie late earl enjoyed, and were still labouring to ex- 
 tirpate the remains of his English tenantry. The 
 interest of his son, therefore, as well as the general 
 Rot. Can. welfare of the Irish dominions, determined Edsvard 
 ^' to consign the government of Ireland to Lionel, 
 
 with such powers as might give weight and dignity 
 to his administration, and such a force as might en- 
 able him to carry on his military operations with 
 Rymer. vig^or and succGs-s. With an earnestness and solem- 
 P'yi"- nity which seemed the ))rehide to some great design, 
 the king's writs were issued to all those nobles of 
 England of either sex, who held lands in Ireland, 
 summoning them to appear either in person or by 
 proxy before the king and coimcil, there to deli- 
 berate on the measures necessary for the defence of 
 this realm; and in the mean time, to hold all the 
 force they could command, in readiness, to attend 
 his son. A royal proclamation was also issued in 
 the several counties of England, that all those of 
 inferior rank who held lands in Ireland, should re- 
 ?^Y)* l^'^^' thither to the prince's service. About fifteen 
 1361 hundred men were thus collected. Lord Lionel 
 the general^ was attended by Ralph earl of Stafford, 
 
 James 
 
Ch.5. EDWARD HI. 3tT j 
 
 James earl of Ormond, Sir John Carew, Sir Willi- 1 
 am Windsore, and other knights and leadx^rs of dis- 
 tinction. 
 
 This troop, inconsiderable as it may be deemed | 
 in these times, yet if dniy reinforced and support- ] 
 cd by the great lords of Ireland, niif^ht have jiroved ' 
 of considerable service in repellinj;- and subdnino; {jie • 
 Irish insurgents. But lord Lionel passed into Ire- i 
 land with all those unhappy prepossessions and ialse 1 
 ideas which interested dependents are careful to in- ' 
 I'use into the unguarded minds of princes. Such ! 
 aggravated representations had been made of the j 
 degeneracy of the old English settlers, that he learn- ■ 
 ed to regard the whole race indiscriminately, as un- 
 worthy of his confidence, and utterly disalfected to 
 his father's interests and government. He was sur- 
 rounded by the faction of English birth ; he listen- ] 
 ed to then* suggestions; adopted their passions ;p 
 and by a proclamation dictated by the utmost vio- Arch. ' 
 lence of pride and prejudice, strictly forbad all theTsr. ■ 
 old English, or any of the king's subjects of Irish L^nd. -, 
 birth to approach his camp. Thus he offended J 
 and insulted the most powerful party in the realm ; ] 
 who, while they justly clamoured against this unge- : 
 nerous return to the services of their ancestors, and i 
 their own, at the same time derided the infatuated i 
 policy, which deprived their new governor of the ': 
 only assistance which might give the least prospect ! 
 of success to his operations. 
 
 The prince was thus left with tiiose of Eng- ' 
 lish birth, to traverse a strange country, without ad- 
 
 vice or direction; and to attack an enemy whose ■ 
 
 cliaracter and manner of war were entirely unknown . \ 
 
 As the reduction of the northern province was of ] 
 
 too much consequence to be undertaken until Lein- | 
 
 ster should be first secured against the insurgents of i 
 
 the South, the prince first detennined to cjuell the j 
 
 ravagers of the English province, and bent his ; 
 
 force against the chieftain of Thomond, their prin- j 
 cipal supporter. He marched forward without guid- 
 
 ance 
 
Sm tliSTORY OF IRELAND. fe. IL 
 
 ance or intelligence. The enemy hovered about 
 his camp, suddenly disappeared, and again renewed 
 their desultory assaults. His men were perplexed, 
 and their progress slow. One of his advanced par- 
 tivis w^as surprized and attacked with such success, 
 that a considerable number fell upon the field of ac- 
 tion. To encrease this mortification, numbers of 
 liis soldiers deserted to the enemy. Incidents so 
 alarming roused the prince from his error : and if 
 not too generous, he was at least in too imminent 
 danger to delay the correction of it for a moment. 
 The old English were invited and required by pro- 
 „ clamation to attend his standard* while his father, 
 
 t. vi. p! by a second proclamation, in which the perilous si- 
 350. tuation of lord Lionel was nunutely described, com- 
 manded all those nobles of the English nation, who 
 had not obeyed his former ordei*, to repair without 
 delay to Ireland, and join the prince's troops, on 
 pain of forfeiture of all their lands and possessions. 
 The invitation to the subjects of Ireland, of the old 
 English race, had a speedier and more salutary ef- 
 qI^^\ feet They i-esorted in great numbers to the (bike 
 of Clarence, (for this title had been now conferred 
 on lord Lionel) and by their assistance he gained 
 considerable advantages over the enemy, so as in a 
 great measure to break the spirit and power of 
 O'Brien. 
 
 He returned, after some successful expeditions 
 of less moment than his flatterers ascribed to thein ; 
 and resuming the seat of government in the triumph 
 of a conqueror, conferred the honor of knight- 
 hood on several of his followers. Such favorable 
 sentiments were conceived of his administration, and 
 such sanguine expectations of his success against the 
 j^^^ Irish enemy, that the king's subjects, both laity and 
 Cauc. fl. clergy, granted him two years value of their reve- 
 nues to maintain the war: a liberality the more 
 chearfully displayed, as his forces had ever been 
 Q^^ retained within the strictest rules of discipline, with- 
 out burdening the people by those arbitrary exactions 
 
 which 
 
Cn.5, EDWARD 111. 319 
 
 which had ugually been practised for the mainte-r 
 nance of armies. 
 
 The dnke was however soon recalled into Eng-- 
 land, and left tlicje factions which his own weak con- 
 duct had contributed to enflanie anion^^ the subjects 
 of Ireland, to raise the most dangerous dissensions, 
 English by birth, and English by race, were be- 
 come terms of odious distinction ; and every day 
 produced violences, which gradually became con- 
 siderable enough, to require the immediate interpo- 
 sition of the king. He commanded that no Eng-Rymen 
 lish subject born in England, or in Ireland, should^- y'- V- 
 make or cause dissension, raise debate, or contume-1 p 
 ly, under the penalty of imprisonment for two years. 1 364. 
 
 Clarence was succeeded by the earl of Ormond, 
 who again resigned to the duke: and he as sudden- 
 ly left the administration to Sir Thomas Dale, an 
 English knight, of too little consequence to suppress 
 the dissensions of the English, much less to unite 
 them in any service of real moment. So that in 
 the year 1367, Clarence was once more sent over 
 to stem the torrent of corruption and disorder, bv 
 the authority of his station. Experience had con" 
 vinced him that the effectual reduction of the Irish 
 enemy was an. arduous task, neither to he under- 
 taken precipitately, nor executed without peril, 
 even if the situation of England could allow him a 
 force adequate to such an attempt. He was by this 
 time too well acquainted with the circumstances of 
 the country in which he governed, not to see and 
 know that the first object of his care should be the 
 reformation of the English settlers. And to this 
 great work he applied with zeal and diligence. 
 
 A PARLIAMENT was summoiicd to meet at Kil- 
 kenny, and proved a more respectable and nume- 
 rous assembly than had hitherto been convened in 
 Ireland. The prelates of Dublin, Cashel, Tuani, 
 Lismore, Waterford, Killalloe, Ossory, Leighlin, 
 Cloyne, obeyed the summons of the king's son. 
 The temporal peers and commons clrearfully at- 
 tended. Both estates sat together: and the result 
 
 of 
 
S30 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 of their deliberaticms was that ordinance, known in 
 Ireland by the naine of the Statute of Kilkenny. 
 MSS. q^jiE preamble of this statute recites, with a de- 
 
 ti^^k) vision not withont colour, but yH too general and 
 608, foL indiscrinunate, that the English of the realm of Ire- 
 I. land, before the arrival of the duke of Clarence, 
 
 were become mere Irish in their language, names, 
 apparel, and manner of living; had rejected the 
 English laws, and submitted to those ot the Irish,* 
 with whom they had united by marriage-alliance, to 
 the ruin of the general weal. — —It was therefore 
 enacted, that marriage, nurture of infants, and gos- 
 sipred with the Irish, should be considered and 
 pimished as high-treason. — Again, if any man of 
 English race shall use an Irish name, the Irish lan- 
 guage, or the Irish apparel, or any mode or custom 
 of the Irish, the act provides that he shall forfeit 
 lands and tenements, until he hath given security in 
 the court of chancery, to conform in every particu- 
 lar to the English manners ; or, if he have no lands, 
 that he shall be imprisonet^l until the like security be 
 given. — The Brehon law was pronounced, (and 
 justly) to be a peniiciou** custom and innovation 
 lately introduced among the English subjects. It 
 was therefore ordained that in all their controversies 
 they should be governed by tlie common law of 
 England ; and that whoever should submit to the 
 irisli Jurisdiction, was to be adjudged guilty of high- 
 treason. — As the English had been accustomed to 
 make war and peace with the bordering enemy at 
 their pleasure, they were now expressly prohibited 
 from levying war upon the Iri.sh, without special 
 warrant from the state. — It was also made highly- 
 penal to the English, to permit their Irish neigh- 
 bours to graze their lands, to present them to ec- 
 clesiastical benefices, or to receive them into monas- 
 teries or religious houses ; to entertain their bards, 
 who perverted their imaginations by romantic tales; 
 or their news-tellers, who seduced them by false re- 
 ports. — It was made felony to impose or cess any 
 
 forces 
 
Ck. 5. Edward hi. S21 
 
 forces upon the English subject against his will. And 
 as the royal liberties and franchises were become 
 sanctuaries for malefactors^ express power was given 
 to the king's sheriffs to enter into all franchises, and 
 there to apprehend felons or traitors. Lastly, be- 
 cause the great lords, wheri they levied forces for 
 the pul^lic service, acted with partiality, and laid 
 luiequal burdens upon the suljjects, it was ordain- 
 ed, that four wardens of the peace in every county 
 should adjudge what men and armour every lord or 
 tenant should provide. The statute was promulged 
 w ith particular solemnity ; and the spiritual lords, 
 the better to eriforce obedience, denounced an ex- 
 commimication on those who should presume to 
 violate it in any instance. 
 
 Such were the institutions of this assembly, quot- 
 ed in Ireland with reverence, confirmed and re- 
 newed in after-times, as of most salutary influence. 
 The attention of Clarence and his counsellors was 
 evidently confined to the reformation of the king's 
 Epglish subjects of Ireland. Among these, and 
 these only, the Brehon law was a lewd custoim 
 CREPT IN OF LATER DAYS. Tlicy aud tlicy ouly 
 were forbidden to submit to its decisions, And he, 
 who asserts that this statute was a formal abolition 
 of the Brehon jurisdiction in e.\eij part of Ireland, 
 should consider what were the present circumstances 
 of this kingdom, and what the object and intenti- 
 on of the statute of Kilkenny; what authority Cla- 
 rence or his father claimed, what power tliey pos- 
 sessed, to give this edict such extensive force and 
 influence. Their parliament was not so absurd as 
 to dictate laws to the southern and northern Irish, 
 the declared enemies of their authority, and despe- 
 rate invaders of their lands. Nor had they equity 
 or good policy to endeavour to root out the evil cus- 
 toms of those Irish who submitted to the English go- 
 vernment, and in their room to plant those salutary 
 institutions by which they themselves were governed 
 and defended. Extensive views, liberal sentiments. 
 
 Vol. I. 2S ' and 
 
322 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 and a generous zeul for public happiness, must have 
 prompted them to some measures for conciiiatiH«^ 
 the allections, as well as subduing the persons and 
 possessions of the Irish ; must have led them to de- 
 monstrate that they were the protectors and bene- 
 factors, not the arbitrary masters of those Irish na- 
 tives whom they held in subjection ; and to con- 
 vince the most obstinate insurgents, tht^t an hoiiour- 
 able submission to the kini^ of England was the only 
 means of rescuing* them from the miseries of their 
 own petty factions and tyrannies ; a glorious ex- 
 change or the rudeness, the disorders, and distresses, 
 of anarchy, for the peace, the dignity, and the va- 
 luable advantages of social and civil life. 
 
 But pride and self-interest concurred in regard- 
 ing and representing the Irish as a race utterly ir- 
 reclaimable. The desperate resistance of the op- 
 pressed, or the violences of national vanity, were 
 readily mistaken for the outrages of a natural cruel- 
 ty and barbarism. The task of reclaiming those 
 natives m^ight indee<l have proved ditficuU: and 
 what is not to be projected but by an exalted geni- 
 us, nor executed but by vigour, abilities, prudence, 
 and patience, a contracted mind and indolent spirit 
 readily believe to be impossible, upon the crafty 
 suggestions of those who are interested, or think 
 themselves interested, to defeat the glorious design. 
 The reign of a renowned monarch in England, and 
 the presence of his son in Ireland, the husband of a. 
 lady of Irish birth, and of an illustrious family, an 
 heiress of vast possessions, were circumstances highly 
 favourable to a generous conciliating scheme, whoso 
 apparent equity might warrant the addition of mili- 
 tary vigour against the most desperate and aban- 
 doned. The opportunity was now lost; nor was it 
 recovered for ages. 
 
 Yet still the solemnity with wliich these laws 
 were made and promulged, the severe penalties by 
 which they were enforced, tlie presence of the royal 
 governor, his laudable attention to preserve dis- 
 cipline^ 
 
Ch. 5. EDWARD III. S?3 
 
 ciplinc, and to prevent grievances within the sphere 
 ot his authority, had no inconsiderable eftect. The 
 old English were restrained, and in some dej^ree re- 
 formed ; and tlie consequences appeared in the en- 
 crease of the revenue, and the suspension of those 
 petty hosiihties v»hich the English lords had usually 
 maintained against each other. BiU the wisest in-^<^^- 
 stitutions could have no permanent effect, without 
 an administration respectahle by its strength, and 
 conducted with that vigour necessary to strike a last- 
 ing awe into the proud and turbulent. They had 
 been too long habituated to disregard authority, to 
 support their consequence by the teiTor of their tu- 
 mult uoiis followers, and to decide their controver- 
 sies in tlie field. On the departure therefore of the 
 duke of Clarence, when the young earl of Desmond 
 had been entrusted with the government, the state 
 was once more embroiled by the violences of the 
 family of Bermingham, which the new lord justice 
 in vain endeavoured to suppress. He was obliged 
 to treat with these ravagers as with a foreign power, 
 and to end the brawl by a mutual exchange of pri- 
 soners; while the Irish chieftains of Thomond and 
 Connaught entered into a formidable confederacy, 
 and threatened extensive and desperate hostiliiie.-..P'"y'>- 
 The alarming prospect determined king Edward to 
 renew his orders to all those who absente<i them- 
 selves from their Irish lands, to repair to Ireland. 
 A parliament was summoned to deliberate on the 
 measures most effectual for the security of the king's 
 Irish dominions; and Sir William V/indsore, an 
 English knight, who had serrwl luider the duke of 
 Clarence, was appointed the king's lieutenant. In 
 the parliament which he convened at Kilkenny, a 
 subsidy of three thousand pounds, and another of 
 two tliousand in a follo^'ving session, were granted 
 tor support of the war against the Irish. 
 
 But while this assembly was deliberating and 
 providing, the forces of O'Brien and O'Connor 
 
 were 
 
3S4 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. IL 
 
 were ill the field, without any army to oppose them, 
 but such troops as the borderers and neig'hbouring 
 lor(]s of Munster could collect. The earl of Des- 
 mond, particularly interested to secure his own 
 lands from depredation, was the first to rise up 
 against the enemy. He encountered them near the 
 monastery of Mayo; but his inferior numbers, 
 i)as(ily raised, and ill appointed, received a total de- 
 feat. Their leader was slain, and several of his 
 nohlest followers fell into the hands of the enemy. 
 Tiie lieutenant, whose military operations had as 
 3-et effected nothino- more important than the re- 
 duction of some inconsiderable septs of Leinster, was 
 determined by this intelligence to lead his forces in- 
 to the South. But the enemy, as usual, had re- 
 tired to tlieir inaccessible haunts, when the victory 
 v.iis obtained, and left Windsore to make war on 
 800)*^ inferior chieftains. The only service he could 
 pe- Ari 1 ,v;is that of forcing one of these to give 
 lies ages, as a surety for keeping the peace with 
 some nei^hb -aring English settlements, and to re- 
 store so r T ornaments of which he had plundered 
 the; rhurches. To restrain these numerous insur- ♦ 
 rections, by which every part of the English terri- 
 tories was perpetually infested, the influence not 
 only of the powerful English, but the well-aflected 
 Irish, was employed. Several of these were en- 
 gaged and paid by the khig, to watch the motions 
 of their countrymen, and to oppose their violen- 
 ces. 
 
 On the departure of Windsore, Maurice earl of 
 Kildare succeeded to the administration of a distem- 
 pered raid disordered state. So considerable was the 
 progress of the Irish natives, and ^uch extensive 
 tracts had they recovered from the English settlers, 
 30:^. ^' that the king was obliged to exonerate the lands 
 from scutage which they had seized, and to direct 
 that those only should be charged with this service, 
 which his English subjects stilf retained in actual 
 possession. Such conceptions had been formed of 
 ; ^ ■ - • • ■■ ^ the 
 
 Pryn. 
 Ahim 
 
Cii. 5. EDWARD III. S25 
 
 tlie state of Ireland, and the disorders of its inhabi- 
 tants, tliat even they ^vho had received Irish grants, 
 couhl neither be persnaded to repair thither, nor to 
 send any persons to the custody of their lands, not- 
 withstandino' the reiterated edicts of the king-. The 
 still encreasing tumults in the government of Sir 
 Robert Ashtoii, successor to Kildare, served to en- 
 crease the horror and detestation conceived of this 
 country. The evils of war and commotion are, at 
 a distance, generally related with pathetic force and 
 aggravation : and prejudice and credulity listen to 
 the most extravagant representations. When Sir 
 Richard Pembridge, one of the king's servants, and 
 warden of the Cinque Ports, had been appointed to 
 the government of Ireland, he shuddered at the^*oI'f> 
 thought of ruling in a country overspread with bar-^ 
 barous and malignant savages. He refused to exe- 
 cute his commission ; and it was adjudged that this 
 refusal was strictly legal ; for that residence in Ire- 
 land, even in the station assigned to him, was but, 
 an honorable exile ; and that no man could by law 
 be forced to abandon his country, except in case of 
 abjuration for felony, or by act of parliament. 
 
 The administration of Irish government was 
 therefore again assigned to Sir William ^V'indsore. 
 His former government had not been uniinpeached. 
 It had been represented to the king, that in a par Pryn. 
 liament held by him in Dublin, a proposal had been^^'V'"^- P' 
 made to grant a supply by certain duties highly op- 
 pressive and injurious to the subject ; that the pro- 
 posal had been rejected ; that the minority pre- 
 sumed to assemble separately, as if they were a re- 
 gular parliament, and imposed these duties for three 
 years ; and that Windsore, when this pretended act 
 came to be enrolled, altered the term by his own 
 authority, and made the grant perpetual. But 
 though the king directed that this grievous charge 
 should be examined, and the injurious proceeding.s 
 reversed, yet a misdemeanor, Avhich indicated zeal 
 for the king's service, was easily forgiven ; and 
 
 Windsore. 
 
^^ HISTORY CW^ IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 Wiiidsore was thought so necessary in the present 
 state ot" Iribh aiiUirs^ that he was even allowed to 
 tlictate the conditions on which he would accept his 
 oliice. lie promised only the custody of the king's 
 iiinds; not to make any ofiensive war, nor to reco- 
 ver any of those districts which had been conquer- 
 ed by the Irish. lie obtained a new order for the 
 attendance and assistance of absentees ; together 
 with an annual appointment of eleven thousand two 
 Innidred pounds, to defray the charges of his go- 
 vernment ; a sum which exceeded the whole Irish 
 revenue. For we are assured by Sir John Davys, 
 on the most accuratje research, that the whole reve- 
 nue of the realm of Ireland, certain and casual, did 
 not amount to ten thousand pounds annually, 
 though the medium be taken irom the best se^'en 
 years, duiing the long reign of Edward the third. 
 But neither the vigilance nor success of Sir Wil- 
 liam Windsore corresponded w ith the expectations 
 Froissa.t. formed of his government. Far from repressing the 
 neighbouring insurgents, he coidd not even procure 
 the ncessary information of their haunts, to which 
 they retired after a successful inroad, and from 
 whence they issued, on tlie prospect of executing 
 some sudden scheme of violence w ith impunity. He 
 found no means more effectual to secure the Eng- 
 lish settlements, than to hire the Irish chieftains to 
 oppose their countrymen. Pensions were given to 
 purchase their assistance, and to prevent their hosti- 
 lities. When the stipulated price was at any time 
 <lelayed, they instantly rose in arms with double 
 iury, and forced a prompt paj^ment from the king's 
 exchequer. The same system was continued during 
 the administration of the earl of Ormond, successor 
 to Windriore. A precarious peace was thus pur- 
 chased from the Irish, and perpetually violated by 
 their fakhlcss and precipitate insurrections. 
 
 This 
 
Ch. 5. EDWA-RD lit 4S7' 
 
 This weak and disorderocl state of Irish goveiTi- 
 mcnt, n:ave rise to a transactioii extraordiuai^y, and.,c t> 
 lor several reasons worthy ot notice. It shall be re-ii,jsoii. in 
 lated for the present without coir4incnt or observa-Bib. Rodl. 
 tion. The parliament of Kni^land ^resx uneasy un-9^,""v 
 der the burden of supporting- the kino's Irish do-'"'"'^' '' 
 minions^: they remonstrated ; they solicited tbalRot. Tur. 
 strict enquiry should be nu»de into the dencienciesBerm. 48. 
 of the royal revenues in tliis realm. The king was^^- ^^^• 
 no less impatient to find any part of the supplies 
 destined to his military service^ diverted to a pur- 
 pose which he deemed of much less moment, the 
 support of a disordered i>'overnment in Ireland. An 
 agent called Nicholas Dagworth, was dispatched 
 into this country. His instructions w^ere to re-A. D, 
 present the necessities of tlie crown, and the gTiev-i^7(i. 
 ous deficiencies of the Irish revenue ; to convince 
 tlie king's ministers of the necessity of exerting 
 themselves for the interests of their royal master. It 
 was particularly directed that an Irish parliament 
 should be convened without delay, for the purpose 
 of granting such a liberal subsides as should provide 
 not only for the exigencies of their own state, but 
 for the assistance ot" their sovereign in his foreign 
 wars. The parliament was assembled ; they plead- 
 ed the poverty of the realm, and refused the sup- 
 plies. Edvvanl was provoked. He issued his writs 
 of summons both to the clergy and laity. The 
 bishops were commanded to chuse two of the clergy 
 in each diocese ; the commons to chuse two layniQii 
 of each county, to re{;resent the lords and commons 
 of that county ; the cities and lx)ronghs, in like 
 manner, each to elect two citizens and burgesses. 
 The assembly was directed to repair to the king in 
 England, to treat, consult, and agree with him and 
 his council, as well on the government of the land 
 of Ireland, as the aid and support of the kings 
 war. 
 
 We have the answers of the archbishop of Ar- 
 magh, and of the county of Dublin, to this sum- 
 mons. 
 
S2S 
 
 HISTORY OF IRELAND. 
 
 B 11, 
 
 sup 
 
 IbkU 
 
 MS.Raw-mOns, distinctly recorded. " We are not bound/' 
 'in^on, ut gj^ij ^[jg prelate, " agreeably to the liberties, pri- 
 vileges, rights, laws and customs of the church 
 and land of Ireland, to elect any of our clergy, 
 and to send them to any part of England, for 
 the purpose of holdhig parliaments or councils hi 
 England. Yet, on account of our reverence to 
 our lord the king of England, and the now im- 
 minent necessity of the land aforesaid, saving to 
 us and to the lords and commons of the said land, 
 all rights privileges, liberties, laws, and cus- 
 toms before-mentioned, we have elected repre- 
 sentatives to repair to the king in England, to 
 treat and consult with him and his council. Ex- 
 cept, however, that we do by on means grant 
 to our said representatives any power of assenting 
 to any biu'dens or subsidies to be imposed on Us 
 or oiu' clergy, to which we cannot yield by rea- 
 son of oin- poverty and daily expence in defend- 
 ing the Ifind against the Irish enemy." 
 In like manner we find the county of Dublin at 
 first electing their representatives without power or 
 authority to consent to the imposition of any bur- 
 dens. The king complained of the election as in- 
 sufiicient and irregular; and the sheriff was di- 
 rected to make another return in presence of the 
 treasurer, and chief justice of the King's Bench. 
 Difficulties were started, and delays contrived. 
 At length the nobles and commons " unanimously 
 " and with one voice declare, that according to 
 " the rights, privileges, liberties, laws, and cus- 
 ' toms of the land of Ireland, enjoyed from the 
 '' time of the conquest of said land, they are not 
 '' bound to send any persons from the land of Ireland 
 '' to the parliament or council of our lord the king in 
 " England , to treat, consult, or agree with our lord the 
 '' king in England, as the writ requires. Notwith- 
 " standing, on account of their reverence, and the ne- 
 '•' cessity and present distress of the said land, they 
 " have elected representatives to repair to the king, 
 
 '' and 
 
Ca.5. EDWARD 111. 329 
 
 '' and to treat and consult with him and his council \ 
 " reservin*^ to themselves the power of yield iui;* 
 '' or ai^reeing fo any subsidies." At the same time 
 " protesting, '' that their present compliance is not 
 *' hereafter to be taken in prejudice to the rights, 
 " privilei^es, laws, and customs, which the lords 
 '' and commons, from the time of the conquest of 
 " the land of Ireland, have enjoyed in considera- 
 " tion of the various burdens which the said lords 
 '* and commons have borne, and still do bear, and 
 *' which for the future tliey cannot support — nhi 
 " Dominns Rex manum siiam melius opponere vo- 
 " lueritr 
 
 What was the result of this notable controversy 
 between Edward and his subjects of Ireland, or 
 whether, or how far the king's necessities were sup- 
 plied, we are not distinctly informed. It only ap* 
 pears that the Irish representatives sat at Westmin- 
 ster, and that their wag-es were levied on the dioceses 
 counties, and boroug-lis, which had chosen them. 
 
 In the mean time the state of Irish g-overnment 
 still continued to be disordered and embroiled. The 
 English interest gradually declined ; and the con- 
 nexions of the king's subjects with the original in- 
 habitants, occasioned by their vicinity and necessary 
 intercourse, in despite of all legal injunctions, ob- 
 liged the king to relax the severity of the statutes Rot. Tiir. 
 of Kilkenny, in cases where they proved impracti-^,'^'"- "^^ 
 cable, or oppressive in the execution. It was the 
 perverse fate of Ireland to suffer more from the 
 most renowned than the weakest of English mo- 
 narchs. Kings possessed with vast schemes of fo- 
 reign conquest, had little attention to those com- 
 plicated disorders which required the utmost cir- 
 cumspection to compose, and little leisure to apply 
 the necessary remedies. Their Irish deputies, far 
 from being equal to the momentous design, were 
 generally too weak to subdue, and too prejudiced 
 to conciliate the most offensive disturbers of the 
 public peace. The perpetual hostility in which 
 the different pai'ties lived, effectually prevented the 
 
 Vol. I. 2 T ' intro- 
 
350 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. IL 
 
 Rot. Tur. introduction of those arts, which contribute to the 
 ■F^"^' TTT comfort and refinement of mankind. Even foreio-n 
 
 XjCl. 111. , - . ~ 
 
 merchants could not venture into so dangerous a 
 country, witliout particular letters of protection 
 from the throne. The perpetual succession of new 
 adventurers from England, led by interest or neces- 
 sity, served only to enflame dissension, instead of in- 
 troducing any essential improvement. Ijawyers sent 
 from England were notoriously insufficient, if not 
 corrupt; and as such, had frequently been the ob- 
 jects of complaint. The meanness of the Englisli 
 clergy was only redeemed by their implicit attach- 
 ment to the crown. Even prelates were commonly 
 made the inferior agents of government in collect- 
 ing forces, and raising war against the Irish enemy ; 
 but were not to be enticed into this service, unless by 
 Ibid. remittances from the exchequer. Attendance in 
 parliament they dreaded as the greatest hardship ; 
 and either recurred to mean excuses to avert the 
 penalty of absence, or sued to the king to be ex- 
 empted by patent from contributing or assenting to- 
 those lawsj by which they were to be governed- 
 
 CHAP. 
 
€ii.6. RICHARD II. 331 
 
 C HAP. VI. 
 
 Distresses of Ireland at the accession of Richard the second. 
 « • . . Measures devised to relieve them .... Edmund and 
 Roger Mortimer lords deputies .... Ireland infested by the 
 French and Scots* . . .PhilijJ De Court net/ an oppressive 
 goternor, . , . Earl of Oxford created marquis of Dublin. 
 . . . .Invested with the dominion of Ireland. . . .Supplied 
 nith money and forces. , . .Marches towards his goverw 
 ment .... Returns to London .... Created duke of Ireland. 
 . . . .His disgrace, defeat, and fight. . . .His lordship of 
 Ireland resumed. . . . Stanly and Ormond chief governors. 
 ».,. Maintenance of the English power burdensome. 
 . . . .Duhc of Gloucester prepares to undertake the admi- 
 nistration of Ireland. . . .Prevented by the king. . . .who 
 resolves on an expedition into Ireland, . . .Motives of this 
 expedition. . , .His arrival in Ireland. . . .His forces and 
 attendants. . . , Expectations formed fro7n his presence. . . • 
 Terror and submissions of the Irish chieftains .... Their 
 homage, . . , Their stipulations , . . . The Irish chieftains en' 
 tcrtuined in Dublin, . . . Ilieir behaviour. . , . Their answer 
 to the king's offer to create them knights .... They are 
 knighted, and feasted. , . . Truce granted to the degenerate 
 English. , , .Richard solicited to re turn to England, . . . 
 He commits the government of Ireland to the earl of Marche, 
 and embarks , . , .No real advantages derived from Ids eX' 
 ptedition, . . .Insurrection of the Irish of Leinsier . . , . 
 Earl of Marche slain. , , .Richard resolves to avenge his 
 death. , , .His fatal security. , . .His second expedition in^ 
 to Ireland. . . .Weakness of. his conduct. , . .Art Mac- 
 Murehad, , . .harasses the royal army. , . .Their distress 
 and dejection. . . .Richard retreats. , . .Parley of Mac- 
 Murehad. . . .His interview with the duke of Gloucester. 
 
 , . . .His insolent overtures, . . .Resentment of Richard. 
 
 ....Fatal intelligence received, ,, .Richard bttrayedj, 
 abandoned, and deposed. ' 
 
 THE 
 
233 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. 11. 
 
 1 HE death of Edward the third, and the ac- 
 cession ot" his young grand-son, had no immediate 
 etiect upon the aftairs of Ireland. The Irish, in 
 the remote districts, still continued their hostilities, 
 \s hich had been suspended or resumed, as their par- 
 ticular interests directed, with little respect to the 
 faith of treaties. Thus by surprising, wasting, and 
 harassing the English districts, they forced the in- 
 
 ^^*^^- habitants to abandon their lands, or to hold them in 
 vassalage to the Irish ; so as to encrease the public 
 grievance arising from the desertion and degeneracy 
 of the English, and gradually to confine the royal 
 territories within narrower bounds. The districts 
 more contiguous to the seat of English government 
 were with difficulty maintained, and perpetually 
 disturbed by insurrections, which could not be sup- 
 pressed by the power, nor prevented by the pensi- 
 ons of government. The parliament pf England 
 continued to express their uneasiness, at the ex- 
 pence attending the maintenance of the king's Irish 
 dominions. The subjects of Ireland, on the other 
 hand, repeated their complaints of the vast numbers 
 of nobility and gentry of England, who abandoned 
 their Irish lands, and left the residents unequal to 
 the charge and labour necessary for the public 
 
 Piyn. cause. This grievance was represented to the king ; 
 
 iiyiuer. ^nd by a new law ft was ordained, that the ab- 
 sentees should either repair to their Irish lands, or 
 send sufficient deputies to provide for their detcnce, 
 else be taxed to the amount of two thirds of their 
 . Irish revenues, to be applied to the service of this 
 kingdom; with an exception of those immediately 
 
 A. D. engaged in the king's service, students of the uni- 
 
 1379. versities, and those absent by licence under the 
 great seal of England, who were to be taxed only 
 one third of their revenues At the same time the 
 king granted to his Irish subjects a liberty to dig 
 for mines, paying him a ninth of their produce; 
 to coin money at the royal mint in Dublin , and to 
 hold a free trade with Portugal^ for the great relief 
 pf Ireland^ as the grant expresses it, 
 
 Such 
 
Cu.6, RICHARD II. SSS 
 
 Such devices were the more necessary, as the 
 treasury of England was remarkably exhausted ; 
 while the nation was at war with France, Spain, and 
 Scothmd, which though faintly carried on by each 
 of the contending pow ers, yet required such supplies 
 as obliged the state to have recourse to unusual im- 
 positions on the subject. When the public exigencies 
 required a poll-tax so odious as to produce insur- 
 rection and rebellion, it was natural to consider the 
 deficiencies of the revenue of Ireland with impa- 
 tience, and to take every measure for preventing 
 this part of the king's dominions from being a 
 burden, if it could not contribute to the general in-Dj^^.jg 
 terest. Sir Nicholas Dagworth, an English knight, 
 whose abilities, integrity, and experience in Irish 
 affairs, recommended him to the ro} al confidence, 
 was appointed to repair to Ireland with a commis- 
 sion to survey the possessions of the crown, to en- 
 quire into the conduct of the king's oflicers, and 
 particularly those to whom the revenue had been 
 entrusted. To give the administration grcaterRot. Tur. 
 dignity, Edmund Mortimer, earl of Marche and^^"^* 
 Ulster, son to Lionel duke of Clarence, was ap- 
 pointed vicegerent; and on his death the same sta- 
 tion was conferred on his young son Roger, and the 
 government administered by his uncle and guardian 
 Thomas Mortimer, as lord Deputy. As the pre- 
 sent favorite object was to make Ireland contribute 
 to the exigencies of state, by the king's letters ad- 
 dressed to earl Roger, a grand parliament was direct- 
 ed to be convened in this kingdom, to consult notPryn. 
 only on the internal regulations and ijood govern-^"'™- 
 ment of the Irii^h dominions, but on the means o(\i,.^Z 
 contributing to the exigencies of foreign affairs, and 
 enabling the king to support the burden of his 
 wars. 
 
 His Irish subjects had already suffered by the 
 inroads of the king's enemies. The French and 
 Scots had frequently infested their coasts. The 
 gallies of France and Spain had made very formida- 
 ble descents on Ireland ; so as to call forth the Eng- 
 lish 
 
 Rym&r. 
 
354 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 listi navy to oppose them. In the harbour of Kin- 
 sale^ whither the enemy had been driven by the 
 English licet, an engagement was fought, in which 
 the inhal)itants contributed to the victory. The 
 French and Spaniaids lost a considerable number 
 of their men, several of their galleys, and twenty 
 English vessels which had been made their prizes. 
 But although the Irish subjects had thus found that 
 their immediate interests were concerned to support 
 tlio measures of the throne, yet it doth not appear 
 that their parliament was either disposed or enabled 
 to grant any considerable supply. A minor admini- 
 stration in Ireland was probably Ibund to be attended 
 with the same inconveniences as a minor reign in 
 Enguiiid. At least the young earl was quickly re- 
 called, and the government of Ireland entrusted to 
 Philip I>e Courtney, a noble baron allied to the 
 king^ who was invested with large powers, and by 
 patent allowed to hold his office for ten years. But 
 such was the extreme violence and oppression of this 
 Rymer. g<^vernor, that the king not oidy found it necessary 
 t. vii. to supersede, him, but ordered him to be arrested, 
 p. 504. and his effects seized, to answer for the charges of 
 injustice and oppression, urged by the aggrieved 
 parties. The particulars of this transaction, if dis- 
 tinctly recorded, might possibly have done honor 
 to the spirit of those who prosecuted this injurious 
 "overnor. 
 
 BiiT the situation of king Richard, the weakness 
 of his understamling, and the violence of his pas- 
 sions, soon produced a new and extraordinary change 
 in the government of Ireland. The subjection in 
 which he had been held l)y his ujicles, necessary as 
 it might be to his incapacity^ was yet highly morti- 
 fying to his pride. Disgusted particularly by the 
 restraints which the turbident duke of Gloucester 
 imposed on his weakness, he (led for pefuge into the 
 anns of a favorite ; and, with the usual infatuation 
 of undiscerning and inexperienceil princes, resigned 
 himself implicitly to Robert De Vere^ earl of Ox- 
 ford, 
 
Ch. 6. RICHARD IL S35 
 
 ford, a young' nobleman of g-ay antl captivafing- 
 deportinent, and of siicb corrupt manners as ren- 
 dered him a prompt and complying agent to the 
 kino's pleasures. The pu))lic declarations of at- 
 tachment made b}^ the incautious king soon en- 
 creased the consecpience of tliis lord; flattery 
 endamed his pride, power gave new yioience to his 
 sensual passions; and in the gratification of both, 
 the partiality of his royal master was unbounded. 
 Richard permitted him to repudiate his own kins- 
 woman, whom he had bestowed on him in mar- 
 riage, in order to enable him to wed a foreigner, for 
 whom he had conceived an adulterous ail'ection.Pat. f) 
 At the same time the carl was invidiously loaded I^ic I?- 
 with honors, Avhich, while his vanity was most 
 highly gratified, prepared the way for his ruin. 
 He was first created marcpiis of Dublin ; and to 
 raise the favorite to the highest degree of sovereign- 
 ty in his power, Richard, by the same patent^ 
 granted to him and his heii-s the entire dominion of 
 Ireland, to be held of the crown by liege-homage. 
 Those lands and cities formerly reserved to the 
 crown, and those hereditary to the nobles and barons 
 of Ireland, were indeed excepted ; and the earl was 
 bound as soon as he should complete the conquest 
 of the kingdom, to pay into the English exchequer 
 annually, during his life, the sum of five thousand 
 marks. In every other particular he had the entire 
 government and dominion of the kingdom, was 
 vested witli all the lands he should gain by his 
 arms, and empowered to appoint all officers of 
 state and justice, who were to act in his name^ and 
 by his authority. 
 
 The parliament, possibly not displeased that this 
 lord should be employed at a distance from the 
 king, made little difficulty of approving this im-Arcb. 
 portant grant. They even consented to give ^^Gj^J^-^ 
 marquis a del)t of thirty thousand marks due by ' 
 the king of France^ pi'ovided he should pass over 
 
 into 
 
335 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II, 
 
 into Ireland, and eflfectnally suppress the insurrecti- 
 ons which still ra^sd in many of the Eng-lish conn- 
 ties. Five hundred man at arms, and one thousand 
 archers, were granted to him for the conquest of this 
 land, for two years, while his officers of state, and 
 council in Ireland, were, at the same time, employed 
 in making the best provisions for defence, which 
 an exhausted treasury and a distracted state could 
 permit. The most extraordinary expectations had 
 been conceived from the presence of a nobleman 
 thus dignified and supported, who marched in a 
 stately progress to take possession of his Irish sove- 
 reignty. The king himself accompanied his mini- 
 on ; but when they had proceeded as far as to WalefJ. 
 and were on the point of separating, Richard found 
 his affection too violent to support a trial so severe. 
 The marquis returned to London, and the govern- 
 ment of Ireland was committed to his deputies. 
 
 The inordinate partiality of the king was not 
 satisfied with the honors already conferred upon his 
 favorite. By a new patent, and this also confirmed 
 by parliament, he was created duke of Ireland, with 
 a new grant of the dominion of this realm during 
 his life, with such powers and reservations as were 
 contained in the former patent. Whether this title 
 was his peculiar designation as a peer of England, 
 or that it was found too offensive to be used in Ire- 
 Rot. Tur. land) it is certain that even after this creation his 
 ^'^'"* acts of state in this kingdom were issued in the name 
 of the marquis of Dublin. By this title he renew- 
 ed the treaties formerly made with Mac-Murchad 
 of Leinster, who had consented to keep the peace 
 in consideration of his yearly pension. His let- 
 ters were addressed to several lords of the English 
 race, forbidding them at their peril to maintain any 
 private feuds or dissensions, and commanding them 
 to unite in the general defence against all malefactors 
 Irish or English. His deputies were appointed, and 
 their salaries and retinues assigned by the lord mar- 
 quis, with the assent of his council. 
 
 But 
 
Cii.6. RICHARD It* i^ \ 
 
 But this parade of soverei<>nty was short lived. ■ 
 
 The princes of the blood, and chief nobility of | 
 
 England, soon formed a party against this favourite ' 
 
 and his creaturfs, too powerful to be resisted. The ! 
 
 execution of De la Pole, earl of Suffolk, was the i 
 
 first proof both of their influence and violence; - i 
 
 and was succeeded by a commission, whereby the 
 
 royal authority was delegated to fourteen lords. \ 
 The king, who had been compelled to sign and . I 
 
 swear to the observance of this act, in vain endea- i 
 
 voured to rescind it. The judges pronounced it il- ^ 
 legal ; and to maintain it, treason ; but the lords 
 
 took up arms to support it. The favourite and hispynMjf, i 
 
 friends were denounced enemies to the state. Thet. vii. j 
 
 judges were condemned to die for their extrajudicial P- ^^^' i 
 
 opinion ; but, as a favor and indulgence, some of j 
 
 them were banished, with other enemies of the tri- I 
 
 umphant faction, into Ireland. The duke of Ire- • 
 land^ after some ineffectual attempts to rescue his 
 royal master from the power of these haughty lords^ 
 
 was defeated by the earl of Derby, and driven into j 
 
 the Low Countries ; and the king was obliged to i 
 notify to his Irish ministers, that the late marquis 
 
 of Dublin had forfeited all his grants, that no acls^ ^* • 
 of state were for the future to be executed imder his ^ 
 
 signet; but that the king's great seal was to be re- ; 
 
 assumed, the whole administration of government i 
 
 conducted in his name, and by his immediate an- j 
 
 Ihority, and the royal standards and ensigns only ^'' P- ^^^* i 
 
 used in all military expeditions. I 
 
 The government of Ireland was now committed ' 
 to deputies; to Sir John Stanly first, afterwards to 
 
 the earl of Ormond, who, with such assistance and \ 
 
 support as they conld obtain, acted with becoming j 
 
 vigour, and not without success. O'Nial, the power- ^ 
 
 ful and tm'bulent enemy of the North, either wasted ■ 
 and harassed by a state of perpetual hostility or 
 
 desirous to secure the possessions he had lately ac- ' 
 
 quired by an advantageous treaty, surrendered both ^ 
 
 himself and his son to Stanlv; and with all the ' 
 
 Vol. I. 2 U ' affected 
 
S38 HISTORY OF IRELAND, B. IL 
 
 affected humiliation of a man deeply contrite for his 
 opposition to English g'overnment^ consented to he- 
 come liei^e-man to the king% to restore the duties 
 
 Rot. Tar. ^ ^^^^^1 ^^^ ^<^<^^i^'cd from Ulster to the family of the 
 
 Berm. earl of Ulster^ who formerly enjoyed them ; and 
 gave hostages as a mark of his snl>mission, and a 
 surety of his future fidelity. Onnond was chiefly 
 employed in quelling the insurrections of the South ; 
 and his administration was distinguished by a victory 
 of some consequence, gained near Kilkenny^ over a 
 large army of Irish insurgents. 
 
 But treaties ill maintained, and victories gained 
 at the expence of all that could be torn from the 
 oppressed and ravaged subject, were of little mo- 
 ment in rescuing the land from the evils of war and 
 desolation. The disordered state of Ireland was a 
 constant subject of complaint, and afforded a never 
 failing pretence to Richaixl for demanding subsidies 
 from his parliament. The parliament, on the other 
 hand, ceased not to invei£]:h agrainst the irregularities 
 of Irish administration, or to remonstrate against the 
 
 Cox heavy burden of providing for the exigencies of 
 state, and maintaining the dominion of Ireland. 
 The royal mandate was issued for levying the tax 
 imposed on absentees; commissioners were appoint- 
 ed to enquire into the concealed debts due to the 
 crown in Ireland, and to exact them w itli pnnctuali- 
 
 Rot. Tur.^y . subsidies were demanded in the parliament of 
 ^'^^"* Ireland from particular counties most exposed, and 
 their grants carefully collected : talliages and anti- 
 cipations of the revenue were devised, to supply the 
 pressing exigencies of state. Still the great business 
 of defence was weakly and imperfectly conducted ; 
 and the king frf'quently roused from his voluptuous 
 indolence and dissipation, by afTecting representati- 
 ons of the distresses of his Irish subjects, and the 
 insolence and dangerous progress of the insiu'gents. 
 Gloucester, the king's uncle, made a tender of his 
 services, to repair to Ireland in person, and to labour 
 
 for 
 
Cir. 0. RICHARD II. 538 
 
 for the general pacification of this disordered coun- 
 try. Some forces were ])repared ; the necessary 
 provisions made for the departure of this new vice- 
 roy. The enemies of English government in Ire- 
 land were terrified at the report of a prince of the 
 royal blood, of distinguished abilities, rigid, active, 
 and enterprising, and attended with a considerable 
 force, preparing to chastise their ontra^e.s, and sup- 
 port the authority of the crown of England. Tha 
 expectations of all men were prepared for an ad- 
 ministration of extraordinary strength and vigor. 
 Tlie hopes of those w^ell afiected to tlie crown were 
 elevated at the happy prospect of an end to all their 
 grievances and disorders; the Irish chieftai])s and 
 their adherents were ready to sue for peace; when 
 at the very moment that the duke was to embark 
 with ail his train, he received a letter from his 
 nephew, forbidding his departure, as the king him- 
 self had resolved to make an expedition into Ire- 
 land, and to take this part of his dominions into his 
 own iuunediate care. 
 
 The sudden recollection of the danger to be 
 apprehended from a powerful and popular prince, 
 the head of a. discontented faction, invested with 
 high authority, and now the comu ander of a con- 
 siderable force, might have naturally determined 
 Richard to an act apjjarently so capricious; or, if 
 not possessed witJi that suspicion >\h!ch frequently 
 accompanies an illiberal and malignant spirit, his 
 flatterers, no doubt, were ready to point out the 
 danger, ami to inspire him with the most unfavor- 
 able tsentiments of his uncle. As to his own pro- 
 fessions of engaging in the Iristi war, tiiey might 
 possibly liave been at first merely intended as a pre- 
 tence for raising- subsidies from his people. Histo- 
 rians however assign a motive for this undertaking, 
 not unsuitable to the meanness of his character; weWalsingh 
 are told, that by marrying a princess of Bohemia, l^avis ex 
 he had conceived the vain expectation of l>fj"g''\|^!i 
 elected emperor of Germany; that ambassadors' 
 
 were 
 
3tP HISTORY OF IRELAl^D. B. II. 
 
 were actually sent to solicit his election, from whose 
 negotiations he had been so possessed with hopes of 
 immediate success, that he already assumed the port 
 of his imaginary exaltation, and wasted the vast 
 sums extorted from his people, in a parade the most 
 extravagant and ridiculous. His agents were how- 
 ever finally unsuccessful; and when Richard de- 
 manded the reason of this repulse, they freely told 
 bim, that the electors had refused to confer the im- 
 perial dignity upon a prince who could not recover 
 the dominions gained by his progenitors in France, 
 nor restrain the insolence of liis English subjects, 
 nor subdue the enemies of his authority in Ireland. 
 Richard, it seems was stung with this reproach; 
 and resolving to make some effort to recover his 
 reputation, chose to make Ireland the first scene of 
 his military exploits, as he had there the fairest pro- 
 spect of success. 
 
 The design once conceived, it was necessary, in 
 the first place, to gain supplies. A parliament 
 readily granted money for this service ; the clergy 
 gave hhn a tenth of their revenues, if he should 
 repair to Ireland in person ; otherwise but half that 
 sum : wliicli plainly intimaied that his people sus- 
 pected the sincerity of his professions. Levies and 
 preparations were carried on Mith becoming spirit. 
 In the mean time the death of his beloved queen 
 plunged Richard into the deepest anguish; an 
 event which suspended his preparations for a while, 
 but which is said to have Anally determined him to 
 proceed in bis expedition into Ireland ; in order to 
 fly from the scenes of their former intercourse, and 
 to d. crt his melancholy by the busy occupations of 
 war and government. Sir Thomas Scroop was sent 
 before to notify his approach, and to prepare for his 
 reception: and in the month of October of the 
 year 1394, Richard landed at Watcrford with a 
 royal army, consisting of four thousand men at 
 Davis, arms, and thirty thousand archers : and attended 
 °^° by the duke of Gloucester^ the earls of Notting- 
 ham 
 
Ch.6. RICHARD II. 341 
 
 li^m and Rutland, Thomas lord Piercy, and other 
 distinguished personages. 
 
 The critical period seemed to have now arrived, 
 which was to put an end to all the disorders and 
 distresses of the Irish nation. An army conimanded 
 by some of the prime nobility of England, with 
 the monarch at their head, more than sutticient to 
 subdue the scattered, disordered, and disunited 
 troops of the old natives, the presence of the king- 
 to inspect the conduct of his ministers, to hear and 
 examine the complaints of his subjects, as w ell as 
 of those who affected to have been driven unwilling- 
 ly to hostilities, to do justice equally and impartially 
 to all, without danger of being seduced by artful 
 falsehoods, and interested misrepresentations, were 
 circumstances of considerable moment, if didy im- 
 proved ; and if united with a liijeral and ecjuitable 
 spirit of policy, must have established the authority 
 of English government, and the general pacification 
 and civility of the kingdom, upon the iirmest basis. 
 The Irish chieftains were justly sensible of their own 
 total inability to encounter the royal army. No to- 
 parch could lead into the field any provincial body 
 of troops at all proportionable to such a force; and, 
 imconnected with those of other districts, and in- 
 deed scarcely interested in their fortunes, they had 
 formed no confederacy, nor made any provision for 
 resistance. The Irish enemies of Leinster con- 
 cealed themselves in their woods and mountains ; 
 from whence issuing occasionally, they made some 
 inconsiderable attacks on the advanced guards, or 
 detached parties of the English army ; but soon 
 convinced of their danger, and prompted by the 
 example of their countrymen in other provinces, 
 they sued for peace, and offered to submit in the 
 humblest manner to the king'. The insurgents of 
 Thomond and Ulster were earnest to avert the storm, 
 and readily consented to make their submissions. 
 To do homage to the king, to paj tribute, and to 
 keep the peace inviolate, were the only terms which 
 
 the 
 
54S HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II. 
 
 <hc several chieftains proposed, or that a prince de- 
 *void of exalted sentiments and penetratin*^ views, 
 <?ver thoiioht of requiring;. The pride of the Eng- 
 lish forhad them to ])ropose the generons scheme 
 of receiving all the inhabitants into the body of 
 Engliiih subjects, or of connnunicating the benefits 
 of a free and equitable constitution to those whom 
 they absurdly called their inferiors. However live- 
 ly their own regard to liberty, they accounted it 
 a blessing too precious not to be confined to tliem- 
 selves ; tor they had not yet acquired that extended 
 and comprehensive benevolence, which is the effi?ct 
 of reHnement, and deep moral reflection. On the 
 other hand, the uumediate danger was too pressing 
 to admit the Irish to insist on that demand of the 
 English polity, which they had often made without 
 effect, and which was considered as an important 
 favour. Their propositions were suddenly offered, 
 i)nd precipitately accepted by a weak pnnce, sur- 
 rounded by prejudiced and interested counsellors. 
 
 A LETTER received from O'Nial, the powerful 
 chieftain of Ulster, in which he acknowledged him- 
 self liege-man to the king, imputed the hostilities 
 \*hich he had lately connuenced, to the necessity of 
 defending himself against the injustice and oppres- 
 sion Tif^ the English governors and officers, and 
 oHered his submission with the utmost humility, 
 determined the king to march to Drogheda to re- 
 ceive the homage of this chief, and other nortliern 
 toparch*^. Mowbray earl of Nottingham, and earl 
 marshal of England, was therefore empowered, by 
 a special commission, to receive the homage and 
 fealty of the I^einster chieftains. All the several 
 leaders of those turbulent sepls, whohad longnestled 
 in this province, and proved a perpetual torment 
 to the English settlers, repaired to the earl, who 
 pitched his camp near Carlow ; and by their inter- 
 preters, entered into solenm treaty. They did 
 homage and fealty in all the forms of the amplest 
 submission^ on bended knee-?, their heads uncover- 
 ed. 
 
Cii.G. RICHARD II. as ] 
 
 ed, their arms laid aside, and their g;irdles loo?ed: \ 
 
 and the kiss of peace, to wliich each was admitted ^ 
 
 by the lord-niarslial, confirmed the reconciliation. 
 What was still more important to tlie English in- i 
 
 terest, they bomKl themselves to relin(|iiish to the 
 crown all the lands and settlements wliich they held ^ 
 
 in Leinster, and to serve in ilie kiui^'s wars: who \ 
 
 on his part engaged to pay tliem pensions, and to 
 declare them rightful proprietors of all the lands 
 they should conquer from his enemies in other pro- 
 vinces. Each was by indenture bound in a large \ 
 peualty, ]:>ayable in tlie apostolic chamber, to adhere 
 to their present engagements with true faith and 
 loyalty. And the whole province seemed now com- 
 pletely settled with all possible advantage and secu- 
 rity to the English. i 
 In the mean time the Irish chieftains of the^*^^ '^x J 
 North attended on the kiuii: at Dro«:heda, did ho-V ■: i 
 mage and teally with the same ceremony, and exe- J 
 cuted the same indentures. O'Nial, who assumed 
 the title of prince of the northern Irish, was the 
 first to renew his submissions; and for himself, his 
 sons, his nation, his kinsmen, and all his subjects, be- 
 came liege-man to Richard ; promisiug a full re- 
 nunciation of those duties, which he had levied Ihro' \ 
 the northern province, in favour of the earl of i 
 Ulster, to whom they had formerly been paid. We J 
 may judge of the dismembered and distracted state ; 
 of Ireland, when we find that tlie number of the , 
 Irish lords wiio now submitted was no less than 
 seventy-five ; all of whom exercised a petty royalty 1 
 within their respective districts, governed their sub- : 
 jects, led forth their little armies, were jealous of , 
 their dignity, and blindly attached to their own un- \ 
 refined customs and manners. \ 
 V The vanity of the king was satisfied, by Avhat he ] 
 deemed a complete reduction of the island. He j 
 led his new foedaries to Dublin, where he lived n J 
 that pomp which suited his temper and understand- ] 
 
3U HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. II, 
 
 in«]f, and for which he had prepared^ by transport- 
 ing; all the crown-jewels into Ireland. He treated 
 the Irish chiefs with particular condescension, en- 
 tertained them at his courts displayed all his mag- 
 .pj.(j-ggart.ii^icence before them, and studied to rec6ncile them 
 to the English manners. Henry Castile, a gen- 
 tleman of his court, who had been taken prisoner 
 by the Irish, married a lady of their race, and 
 consorted with her countrymen for some years, was 
 found an useful interpreter on this occasion. But 
 though prejudiced in favor of a kinsman who 
 spake their language, they could not be prevailed 
 on to accommodate themselves to the new forms 
 of habit and diet which he recommended. The earl 
 of Ormond, who also spake their language, and was 
 held by them in particular respect, united his en- 
 deavours and remonstrances, and wrought them to 
 a sullen compliance. The staring courtiers impor- 
 tuned them with such questions, as argued the 
 meanest conceptions of their manners and under- 
 standiuii's, and were answered with indignation and 
 aflected dignity. The four principal chief tarns, 
 O'Nial, OConnor, O'Brien, and M'Murchad, were 
 made especial objects of favor. They were told 
 that the king was willing to confer the h(mour of 
 knighthood upon them. They declared themselves 
 astonished, that he should regard this as any accessi- 
 on to their dignity. It was an honour they had re- 
 ceived in their earliest years, and nov/ stood in need 
 of no new creation. Every Irish king, said they, 
 makes his son a knight at seven years old, or in 
 case of his death, the next near kinsman. We as- 
 semble in a plain. The candidates run with slender 
 launces against a shield erected on a stake. He 
 who breaks the greater number, is distinguished 
 by particidar honours annexed to his new dignity. 
 The proof of such early prowess was acknowledged 
 to be highly honorable ; but all the great and 
 renowned states of Europe, they were told, con- 
 curred in a more solemn form of conferring 
 
 knight- 
 
Oh. 6. RICHARD II. 345 
 
 knighthood. The ceremonial was described mi- 
 liuiely ; and the chieftains at leng^th prevailed upon 
 to sul)init to the formalities. Tliey, with some 
 othei-s, received knighthood in the cathedral of 
 Dublin; and the ceremony was succeeded by a. 
 magnificent feast, at which the four Irish prmces ap- 
 peared in robes of state, and were seated at the 
 king's table. 
 
 The degenerate English who had united witJi 
 the enemy, and of consequence incurred the guilt 
 of treason and rebellion, kept at distaiice from the 
 court, and employed agents to eftect their reconci- 
 liation and pardon. Richard was assured that their 
 offence had been the consequence of oppression and 
 injustice, which had driven them from their allegi- 
 ance, and obliged them to seek the quarters of the 
 enemy, as their only refuge from the violence of 
 the great, the iniquity of those entrusted by the 
 king, the treacherous neglect of their defence, or 
 obstinate denial of redress. Tiieir aliogaiions were 
 in many instances not without foundation ; and Ri- 
 chard was too indolent, and too much delighted 
 with his present course of gaiety and pomp, to pro- 
 secute them with severity. He hastily granted them 
 a truce of some months, and continued to indulge his 
 vanity by a magnificeiit display of sovereign power 
 and dignity in the capital. Possessed with the iui- 
 portance of his atchievemenls. he communicated 
 them in form to the duke of York, Avho had been 
 left regent in England. He pointwl out the tlu*ee 
 distinctions of inhabita?its in Ireland; the Irish ene- 
 mies, the reiiels of both I'aces, and the English sub- 
 jects. The first had submitted, and bex?ame his vas- 
 sals ; the rebels, he apprehended, had received but 
 too just provocations, and was therefore disposed to 
 grant them a general pardon ; but in this point he 
 desired the advice of his uncle. 
 
 York, who plainly discovered the vanity of the 
 king, and the careless and precipitate ease with 
 which he concluded a deceitful and precarious ac- 
 
 VoL. I, 2X connwo- 
 
3i0 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. H. 
 
 commodation, coldly answered, tliathe had fornier- 
 ly declared bis opinion for a vif^orous prosccnlion 
 of the rebels, until they should be completely sub- 
 dued, and broken to a pcaceaWe and dutiful de- 
 meanor. He affected however to ascribe the in- 
 tended induig^ence of the king- to his superior 
 knowledge, acquired by his residence, of all the cir- 
 cumstances and situation of aflairs in Ireland ; and 
 recommended the exaction of proper fines from all 
 those to whom the royal mercy was extended. Ri- 
 jchard hnd asked advice, but expected congTatula- 
 lions. Tiiese however he afterwards received, in 
 all the forms of adulation, attended with an earnest 
 request that he would be pleased to return to En«^- 
 ^Y^lji,, ij knd. This request was enforced by the presence 
 of the archbishop of York, and bishop of London, 
 who v/ere deputed to attend on the king in Ireland, 
 and to represent the danger of the church from the 
 encreasing pronress of the Lollards. These reform- 
 ers had been countenanced by the late queen, and 
 secretly, if not avowedly, supported by several of 
 the nobility. They were even emboldened by their 
 own zeal, and the encouragement of their favorers 
 to apply to the parliament, where the propositions 
 they drew up for an ecclesiastical reform were re- 
 ceived with such attention as alarmed the \\hole 
 body of the clergy. The prelates of York and 
 London earnestly besought the king to defend their 
 church from the dangerous inroads of heresy ; af- 
 fected to place their reliance on his piety and autho- 
 rity, the only human means of preserving the pu- 
 rity of the faith from utter ruin : and pathetically 
 implored him to return without delay. The king 
 was zealous for the established religion, and impa- 
 tient for the honor of extirpating heretical depra- 
 vity. He hastened the conclusion of some dis- 
 positions for the more regular administration of 
 his government in Ireland, revived and ratified 
 such ordinances as had been found most saluta- 
 ry, appointed Roger Mortimer, earl of Marche, 
 Wis vicegerent; and embarked for England, after a 
 
 resi- 
 
Ch.6. RICHARt) li. "A7 
 
 residence of nine months in Ireland^ where bis pre- 
 sence had produced so little solid advantage, and his 
 royal army been so trivolonsly employed, that not 
 the smallest accession of territory had lieen obtained, 
 nor the least extension of the English Pale ; no real 
 advantao-e gained, no effectual remedy applied to 
 the public disorders ; but all afiairs leit precisely in 
 their former state, under a deceitful appearance of 
 tranquillity. 
 
 The only stipidation of real consequeiice which 
 had been made, was that whereby the Irish of Lein- 
 ster were bound to evacnale this province. It now 
 came to be enforced ; but, the terror of a royal 
 army once removed, it was foimd no easy matter to 
 subdue the alfection for their native residences, 
 which possessed the hearts of all the Irish, The 
 agreement had been lightly made, if not insidiously. 
 Pretences were invented, delays atlbcted, objections 
 and difficulties suggested ; and the peremptory re- 
 quisitions of government only served to em-age these 
 boisterous natives, and to drive them into insurrec- 
 tions. Their hostilities were the more violent, ascamdem 
 they had no reason to expect accommodation or Ware, 
 pardon ; and the governor the less proA ided to 
 oppose them, as he had not looked for so sudden 
 an infraction of the late treaty. The flame of war 
 broke out at once in different quarters, aiul raged 
 with destructive fury. Tlie English lords v/ere called • 
 forth against their several isivaders, with such forces 
 as they could collect. Two knights of the families 
 of de Burgo and Berminghaui were dislinguished 
 upon this occasion by no inconsi(leral)le victory over 
 a large party of insurgent:-:. The lieutenant, attend- 
 ed by the earl of Ormond, marched against the tur- 
 ])ulent and powerful septs of O'Byrn, and drove 
 them from their lands in Wicklow. But at the very 
 moment of their triumph, while feasts were held, 
 and knights created, in honor of tiiis success, they 
 were confounded bv the intelligence of a victory 
 gained by the neighbouring sept of O'Toole, who 
 
 slauo'h- 
 
S48 HISTORY OF IRELAND. 13.11. 
 
 Flaiightered a considerable number of the king-'s 
 forces. The O'Byrns, though driven from thcnr 
 habitatior^s^ retired into Ossory, and there obsti- 
 nately continued their hostiUties. IMoiiimer pursued 
 p^ J) them with more bravery than circumspection ; was 
 1398. surprised, defeated, and slain upon the field of 
 battle. 
 
 This petty war, which neither admifs nor merits 
 a detail, was sufficient to provide king- Richard with 
 such a pretence for another Irish expedition, as suit- 
 ed his genius and understanding. A series of arbi- 
 trary and tyrafmical measures, oppressions the moyt 
 severe, exactions of eveiy odious species, and the 
 sums extorted carelessly and wantonly dissipated, 
 murders under the appearance of law, obsequious 
 parliaments formed by intrigue and corruption, and 
 implicitly devoted to the passions of the king, ter- 
 rified the pco])h^, but totally alienated their affecti- 
 ons from a prince, who sacrificed the properties and 
 liTcs of his subject's to luxury, caprice, and malice, 
 with the most careless indifierence. The discontents 
 arising fi'om the vices of his government, fomented 
 by the artifice of faction, had now ])repared the 
 way for a violent revolution : and in that moment 
 of apparent tranquillity which usually precedes a 
 dangerous hurricane in the political system. Richard 
 vainly relying on an established power, formed a re- 
 solution of chastising the insolence of the Irish, and 
 avenging the death of Mortimer. His forces were 
 again prepared, and the sums extorted to support a 
 second expedition into Ireland, confirmed the ha- 
 tred, and afforded a fair pretence for enflaming the 
 discontents of his people. 
 
 In spring of the year 1399, his preparations 
 were completed. The duke of York was left re- 
 gent of England ; and his son, the duke of Aumerle, 
 instructed to follow the king with a rehiforcement. 
 Richard arrived at Bristol, attended by several no- 
 ])les, among whom were the duke of Exeter, earl 
 of Salisbury, some prelates, the son of the duke of 
 
 Glou- 
 
Cu.6. R1€HARD II. oW 
 
 Gloucester, and the yoiin<;' lord Henry of Lancas- 
 ter, sou to the earl of Hereford. The reports of se- 
 cret conspiracies, and intended insm'rections, were 
 even now conveyed to him, and determined him to 
 send a peremptory mandate to the earl of Northnm- 
 herland, a suspected lord, to repair without delay 
 to his standard. The earl refused, in gentle and 
 dutifnl terms, pleadinj^ the dang'er of leavin*^ the 
 northern borders open to the incursions of the Scots, 
 and representinj^ the importance of attendini^to the 
 kini^'s interest in his present station, instead of rein- 
 forcini^ an army already more than suHicient for the 
 intended enterprize. Richard, not yet sufficiently 
 alarmed by this evasion, contented liimself with 
 ])roclaimin|[^ the earl a traitor, and declariui^ his 
 lands forfeited ; proceeded in his endiarkation, and 
 on the thirteenth day of May arrived witli his pow- 
 ers at Waterford. 
 
 The whole process of this vain and futile expe-storyof 
 dition served but to demonstrate the weakness ofRich. ir, 
 the leader. Six days were spent at AVaterford in I"": '"''f 
 the vain parade of receiving the congTatulations of j,^^]!f^^" 
 his Irish subjects. Fourteen more were wasted at By the 
 Kilkenny, expectin«^ the arrival of the duke off«''l of 
 Aumerle, -whose delay manifestly betrayed his secret "*''^^* 
 disaffection. It had never once occurred to the iu- 
 considerate kin^^, that Leinster, which was to be the 
 seat of war, had been for some time wasted by hos- 
 tilities, and could scarcely afford |)rovi^ions for liis 
 unwieldy numbers. But the enemy, who knew full 
 well to what difficulties he must be soon reduced, 
 had the discernment to despise his vain parade ; and, 
 encouraged by his delay and inactivity, trinmphaut- 
 ly declared their resolution to defend their liberty 
 against the injurious oppressors of their country, 
 even to their last breath ; and affected to rejoice that 
 the period was at length arrived, when English usur- 
 pation should receive its final overthrow. 
 
 Richard 
 
350 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B.Il. 
 
 UiciiARD was at length prevailed on to march 
 against the enemy commanded by Art Mac-Murchad^ 
 / who, notwithstanding- the pensions lie had received, 
 
 and the submissions he had lately made, was still 
 the inveterate enemy of the English ; and in the 
 violence of national pride, enfiamed by the prospect 
 of success, vowed the most desperate vengeance 
 against his invaders. To secure himself from the 
 superior numbers of the enemy he retired to liis 
 woods ; and at their approach, appeared at the 
 head of three thousand men so ^^'V:l\ armed and ap- 
 pointed, and with such an appearance of determined 
 valor, as were perfectly astonishing to the English, 
 who had been taught to despise their rude and un- 
 disciplined violence. The royal army was drawn 
 out in order of battle, expecting a vigorous attack; 
 but the Irish forces, who thougiit of nothing less 
 tlian a regular engagement in the iield, suddenly 
 disappeared; and Richard, elevated l)y this retreat, 
 ordered the adjacent villages and houses to be set 
 on fire, and the royal standard to be advanced, un- 
 der which he created several knights, and among 
 these the young lord Henry of Lancaster, after- 
 wards the illustrious king Henry the fifth, who on 
 this occasion gave the first proofs of his distinguish- 
 ed valor. 
 Story of ^Yo facilitate the pursuit of an enemy who ap- 
 hiriast pf^a'^f^'d to ily, a large body of peasants was employ- 
 being in cd to open a passage through the woods, which tlic 
 Ireland. Irish had by every means endeavoured to render 
 ^Y^l- impassable. As the king's army marched through 
 Totness. ^^^ ^^^^ difficulties of an encumbered road, perpe- 
 tually impeded, and sometimes ])lunged into deep 
 and dangerous morasses, the enemy frequently as- 
 sailed them with loud and barbarous ululation ; 
 cast their darts with such force as no armour could 
 withstand, slaughtered their detached parties, re- 
 tired and advanced with astonishing agility, so as 
 continually to annoy and harass the English forces, 
 thou jh they could not be brought to a general en- 
 gagement 
 
Cii. 6. RICHARD II. St 
 
 i;'ag'ement. Some of the Irish lords, less penetrat- 
 ing- than then- subtile chieftain, and among- those 
 Ills uncle^ were indeed terrified by the ninnbers oi 
 tlie king's forces, and with all the marks of himii- 
 liatioQ submitted to Richard. They appeared be- 
 fore him with halters round their necks, fell at his 
 feet imploring- peace and forgiveness, and were gra- 
 ciously received. Art Mac-i\Iurchad was sum.mon- 
 ed to make the like submissions ; and, to prevail 
 upon him to accept of grace, and return to his al- 
 legiance, Richard was weak enough to promise 
 large rewards, territories, and castles in Leinster. 
 The Irishman, who well knew the dithculties to 
 wliicli the king's army was reduced, and the im- 
 possibility of their subsisting for any time in their 
 present situation, returned a haughty answer of de- 
 fiance, and declared his resolution of opposing the 
 king- of England to the utmost. Richard had the 
 mortification to find that the distress of his soldiery, 
 whicli had encouraged the adversary to this inso- 
 lence, could no longer be concealed, and every day 
 grew more intolerable. Numbers of his men pe- 
 rished by famine ; their liorses, from want and se- 
 verity, grew incapable of service; a general gloom 
 spread through his camp, and his bravest knights 
 murmured at tlieir fate, who were to perish in a 
 service attended with so litde honor, and such se- 
 vere distress. A few ships laden with provision-? 
 fi'om Dublin having landed on the neighbouring 
 coast, the famished soldiers plunged into the sea. 
 seized and rifled them, shedding each other's blood 
 in a furious contest for relief The necessity of de- 
 campin;^^ was too apparent, and too urgent to ad- 
 mit of the least delay. Richard, with his numer- 
 ous forces, was compelled to retire before an in- 
 considerable band of enemies whom he had despised, ^ 
 who pursued and incessantly harassed him in hisjj'^JJ'jJ 
 retreat. his'iast ' 
 
 Mac-Murchad, however amidst all the exul- bein^ in 
 fation of a pursuinj^ enemy, was not so blinded by ['"'^''J"^' 
 his present success, but that he discerned and consi- J[J^ l^ 
 
 deredl 
 
 otne?s. 
 
^^'^ HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. IL 
 
 dercd the real extent of his power. Sensible of the 
 kino's snperiority, and that his present difficuhies 
 must determine with his arrival at the capital, which, 
 though he might retard by his incursions, he could 
 not prevent, he embraced the present moment to 
 attempt an accommodation upon advantageous 
 terms ; and by message to the king desired a safe- 
 conduct, that he might repair securely to his camp 
 to oifer his propositions of peace ; or else that some 
 lords miglit be deputed to confer with him. By ad- 
 vice of the council, Gloucester was commissioned 
 to meet him at a place appointed ; and for this pur- 
 pose marched out with a guard of two hundred 
 iaunces, and one thousand archers. An eye-witness 
 of their interview describes the Irish chieftain, tall 
 of stature, and formed for agility and strength, of 
 an aspect fierce and severe, mounted on a swift and 
 stately horse, without saddle, and darting rapidly 
 from a mountain between two woods adjacent to the 
 sea, attended by his train. At his command they 
 halted at due distance, while their leader, casting 
 (he spear from him, which he grasped in his riglit 
 hand, rushed forward to meet the English lord. 
 The parley was continued for a considerable time. 
 The Irish prince was reminded of his late engage- 
 ments, his grievous infractions, his attack of the 
 king's vicegerent, and the slaughter both of him 
 and his forces. He proudly answered, by defend- 
 ing his conduct upon such pretences as he could de- 
 vise; and, after much del)ate, at last consented to 
 submit, but al^solutely refused to be bound to any 
 special composition or conditions. As such an over- 
 ture was not admissible, the conference was broken 
 off; and Gloucester returned to the king with the 
 provoking intelligence of the result of this inter- 
 view, and the insolence of Mac-Murchad. The 
 pride of Richard was so severely wounded, that he 
 passionately vowed never to depail from Ireland 
 until he had possessed himself of this rebel alive or 
 dieado 
 
 He 
 
Cn. G. RICHASD 11. J5^ 
 
 He had now iirrived at D'lhliu, where iie found story of 
 f^uHiciont relief for his eufeehie'd army, and was atRidi II. 
 Jast reinforced hy Aiiiuerie with his forces, anol)ie-J"": ^^^^\ 
 jnan : i whom he phtced a bhnd couildeiice, and who i','^!"jj^(j" 
 readily a])ok)i4!zed for his deliiy. Here this iil-By the 
 fated priiiee resided for six week?, while some part earl of 
 of his forces were detached afi^ainst the enemy, '^°*"'^'^'^* 
 and tije royal |)roclamation issued ]>romising' three 
 lumdred marks of g'old to any who should seize 
 (heir leader. Tempestuous weatlier 'am] contrary 
 winds had cut liim off from ail intelligence from 
 Englmul diuMnn- this period ; when, at leni;th a 
 bark arrived, and brought the tremendous news of 
 his total ruin. 
 
 From the moment of liis depaHnre to Ireland, 
 attended l)y those lords wlio were deemed most 
 devoted to iiis ser\ ice, Ihc maicontents of Eng^laiid 
 beg-an to digest their schevncs of dctlu-oning hhn. 
 Their conferences ended in an application to the 
 duke of Hereford, to draw the sword against a 
 prince who had particularly provoked his resent- 
 ment, first by capriciously banishing' him from the 
 realm, and then by dqniving hiuj of his inheri- 
 tance, on the death of his father the duke of Lan- 
 caster. Sthnulated by reveng^e and ambition, he 
 landed in England with an inconsiderable troop, 
 was reinforced by daily increasing riumbers ; the 
 reg'cnt deserted, and obliged to retire ; the king- 
 dom in confusion, and the general hopes of all 
 men fixed upon the popular invader; who, fa- 
 voured by th*^' clergy, and, by virtue oi" a papal 
 bull, declared riglitful inheritor of the crov.n, 
 traversed the kingdom v. itl: liis formidable powei*^, 
 executed several of the king's obnoxious ministers, 
 aud, either by artifice or terror, g-ained some of 
 the most considerable subjects to declare in favor 
 of his cause; ainong- these was the duke of York 
 himself, so that the interests of Richard were for- 
 g-otten, and his authority fallen into the ulmo^it 
 contem]3t. 
 
 Vol. I. 2 Y Ricuaro 
 
551 HISTORY OF IRELAND. B. \I. 
 
 Richard lieard the mtasron and progress of his 
 rival with an abject dismay, and, Avith more of 
 peevish resentment tlian any reasonable precanf Joii 
 eomniitted the youn.fj;- lord of Gloucester and lord 
 Henry of Lancaster prisoners to the Castfe of Trim. 
 His council advised tliat he should instantly return 
 to England ; Aumerle prevailed on him to stay 
 until his whole arn\y could be at once trans])orted. 
 Salisbury was sent before, to collect tl*e Welsh- 
 men, who crowded in great numbers to his standard; 
 were impatient for the kings arrival; shocked at 
 his infatuated delay; still disappohited in their ex- 
 ])ectations of his a]>pearance, and dispersed. 
 Richard, when he had at length arrived, fountl 
 the desp<?ration of his allairs complete. He Avas 
 abandoned by his friends, and deserted by his sub- 
 jects. By throwin^^ himself into the town of Con- 
 way, with his few reinaining attendimts, he disco- 
 vered his intentions of returning- for shelter into Ire- 
 laud in his last extremity. But artifice was employ- 
 ed to prevent liim. fie was betrayed into the 
 hands of his rival ; and a reign of weakness, ojjpres- 
 siou, and tyranny, ended hi the solemn deposition, 
 of Richard the Second- 
 
 APPEN. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 NUMBER I. 
 
 £% LIBRO aUBRO SCACCIIARIl DUBLIN. 
 
 MAGNA CARTA HTBERNI^E. 
 
 REGIS HENHICI TERTII. 
 
 XII. DIE NOVEMBHIS, iMyCCXVI. AXNO REGNI 1. 
 
 JrlENRICUS Dei gratia rex Anglie Dominvis Hybernie 
 dux Norniaanie <?t Aqviitanie et comes Andegavie arcliiepisco- 
 pis episcopis abhatibus coniitibus baronibus jiisticlaj-iistbres- 
 tariis vicecoiuitibiis prepositi.s ministris ti\ibus ballivis et lir 
 delibus suis sululeui. Sciatis nos intuit a Dei et pro salute 
 auime nostre et oraiiiun\ antecessoruin et successorum i\o?j- 
 trorum ad honorein Dei et exaJtatiouem sancte ecclesie et 
 eineadatioiiem regni nostri }yex consiliujn venerabilium pa- 
 trum nostrorum domini Gualonis titulo sancti Martini pres- 
 biteri cardinalis Dpostolice sedis legati Petri Wjntion L. de 
 sancto Asaplio J. Bathou' cS: (Uastom' S. Exon' R. Ci- 
 cestr' W. Coventry W. Roffen' 11. J^ndpu' MeneveDn' 
 Bangor' et S. Wygora' episcopovum et nobiiium virorum 
 WiiHehni Mariscalli couiitis Peinbroc' Uanuifi coinitis 
 Cestr' \V'illiehi!i de Ferrar' coniiiis de Derbia Willielmi 
 comiiis de Auboniarle Hubo'ti (ie Hurgo Justiciarii iiostri 
 Savantii deMalo Leone Willieluii linicrie patrif> WiUielmi 
 Briierie filii Roberti de Curienai Falkesii de Breante Re- 
 {^inaldi de Vautort Walteri de Laci }iugonis de Movtno 
 Mari Johannis de Monemiiie Walleri de lit^auciianip V/ai- 
 tcri de ClitTord Roberti de Mortuo IMari Wiliiehr.i de 
 C'antchip' Mathei filii Ilereberti Johannis Mariscalli Alani 
 Basset Philippi de Albiniaco Johannis Exlrar.ei pt alionun 
 tidehuui nostroruin. 
 
 I. Imprimis concessisse Deo ethac prescnti carta nostra 
 coniirraast^e pro nobis 8: htredibns nostrls injierpetuuni (]ucd 
 livBER.vicAXA ecclesja liberal sit et habeat jura sua In- 
 tegra et libertatcs suas illesas. Concessimus ttiani omnibus 
 liberis hominibus c^ regno nostro pro nobis et heredibus 
 jnperpetuuni oirjnes libertates subscriptas habendas et te- 
 
 nendas 
 
So6 APPExNDIX. 
 
 nendas iis et lieredibus suis de nobis et hcredibus nos- 
 tri . 
 
 if. Si ([uis coniitum vel baronum nostrorum sive alio- 
 luiu teiieiuiiini de iiuhiri in capiJe per serviciuin niililare 
 iiiortuus fuerit et cmn decesserit Iterer, suus })lene etfltis 
 t'uerit et relevium dcbeatur habeat bere(i!tatein suani per 
 antiquum lelevium scilicet heres vel heredes couiitis de ba- 
 ronia comitis integra per centvun libras heres vel heredes 
 baronis de i>aronia barouis integra per centum libras hercs 
 vel heredes militis de feudo uiilitis integro per centum so- 
 lidos ad plus ct qui mimts debuerit miutis c(ct secundum 
 antiquam consuetudinera feodorum. 
 
 lil. Si autein heres alicujiis htlinm fuerit infra etateiu 
 doininus ejus nqu habeiU cnstodiani ipsius nee terre sue an- 
 locjii.am liouiagiufu v\ns coperit et postquani talis heres fu- 
 erit ill custodia ad etalem perA'cnerit scilice viginti et unius 
 annorimi habeat hereditatem stiam sine relevio ct siirie fine 
 iia lainen quocl si ipse dum infi'a etatem fuerit miles nichilo- 
 itiiuus terra remaucat in custodia domini sui usque tcrmi- 
 niim predictum. 
 
 IV. CusTOs terrae hujus et horcdis qui iafia elatom fu- 
 erit non capiat de terra heredis nisi rationabites exittis et 
 vationabiles constietudines et rationabilia scrvicia et hoc 
 Fine destructione vel vasto hominnm vel rerum et si nos 
 comrniserimus eustodiam alicujus talis terre vicccoiniti vel 
 alicui alii qui de exitibus terre illius nobis respondere de- 
 bejat et ille destructionem fecerit de custodia vel vastum 
 nos a?) eo capienitis eiueudam et terra ilia committJitur du- 
 ohus fegalibus et discretis hominibus de feodo illo (pii do, 
 exitibus respondeant nobis vel ei cui nos assignaveriuius et 
 si dederimus vel yendiderinius alicui eustodiam alicujus 
 t;dis terre et ille destructionem iiide fln^erit vol vastum 
 amittat eustodiam illara et tradatur duabus legalibus et 
 discretis hominibus de leodo illo qui similiter nobis inde 
 respondeant sicut predictum est. 
 
 V. C'usros autem quamdiu eustodiam terre habnerit 
 sustentet domos parcos vivaria stagna molendina et cetera 
 ad illam terraixi pertinentia de exitibus terre cjusdcm ct 
 reddet heredi cum ad plenam etatem pervcnerit terram 
 suam totam instainatam de carucis et omnibus aliis rebus 
 ad minus secundinn quod iliam recepit. liec omnia ob- 
 serventur de custodia archie})iscopatunm episcopatuum 
 abbatiarum prioratuum ecclesiarum et dignjtatum vacan^ 
 tium excepto quod custodie Inijus vendi non debent. 
 
 \^I. IIeuedes maritentur absque disparagatione. 
 
 VII. Vidua postmortem inariti sui statini et sine dlla- 
 tione aliqua habeat maritagiu'.; sinim ct hereditalem suam 
 iKC ahquid det pro dote sua vel marltagio vel hereditate 
 
 sua 
 
APPENDIX, S57 
 
 «\»a quarn hered'ctateni maritiw situs et ipsa tentterrnnt die 
 obittis ipsitis nmrlh et maweat vi^Uui in domo niariti siii 
 j)er qiuuiraginJa dies ]f)€.st mortem ipsius niariti sai infhi 
 tjaos ei assigoetur dos siut nisi pnvvs ei tiierit ast^ig'iiata vel nis^i 
 donuis ilia tiievit castvuni et si de castro refe^set-it statim pro- 
 vi^k'atur ei donitis Gorn])€tem in qi.ia}>o?sit hoiif-ste morari 
 quous(pie dos sua ei asrfig'ii^ituy see arte ium quod pietliictuni esrt. 
 VJli. Nulla vidua distvingatur ad se umrkandiim dvun 
 volucrit vivere sine maiitcita famen quod seciu'itatem faciat 
 
 lod se non maritabit sine assensu nostro si de nobis te- 
 
 uuerit vel sine assensu domini sui si tie alio teiiHerit. 
 
 IX. Nos vei ballivi nostri non sasiemns terrain aliquam 
 nee redditum pro debito aliquo quanit\in caudla debitoris 
 })re?entia suHiciunt a(t debiting reddendum et ipse debitor 
 paratus iude satistacere ncc plegium ipsius debitoris distrin- 
 gatur quamdiu ipse capitalis debitor sufficit ad solutioneni 
 debiti et si capitalis del)itor defecerit in solutione non haben* 
 unde je<Adat aut reddere nolueril cum possit plegii responde- 
 ant de debito et si voluerlnt habeant terras et redditus de- 
 bitoris qucusque ait eis satistactum de debito quod ante pro 
 eo soHerunt nisi cai)i(alfs debitor monstraverit se esse quie- 
 lum versus easdeui pleoios. 
 
 X. CiviTAS Duhlin' habeat onine*J antiquas libertiite!^ 
 et liberas consuetudincs suas pre,terea vohunus et concedi- 
 jiiius quod omnes alie civitates.* viUe et bnr^i et omnes 
 I>ortus liabeant omnes libertates et liberas Gonsuetiidines 
 suas. 
 
 XI. NuLLUs distringatur qd faciendum ma jus servi- 
 cium i\e feodo militis nee de alio libero tenemento quam 
 iude debetur. 
 
 XII. CoMMUNiA placita non sequantur curiam nostrartt. 
 sed tencautur in aliqiio certo loco. 
 
 XIII. Recogxitioxes de nova disseisina de morte an- 
 tecessoris et de ultima presontatioue non capiantur nisi in 
 suis comitatibus et hoc modo. Nos vel si extra regnnm fu- 
 eriinus capitalis justiciarius noster mittemus duos justiciarios 
 per unuuiquemque comitatum per quatuor vices in anno q\ii 
 c.nn cpiatuor militibus cujuslibet comitatus electis per comi- 
 tatum capiant et in comitatu et in die et loco comitatus as- 
 sisas predictas. 
 
 XiV. Et si in die comitatus assise predicte capi non 
 possunt tot milites et libere tenentes romaneant de ilMs 
 qui inlerfvierunt comitatui die illo per quos possint suffi- 
 cienter judicia fieri secundum quod negotium tuerit majus 
 vel minus, 
 
 XV. Liber homo non am.ercietur pro parvo delicto nisi 
 secundum delicti et pro magno delicto secuudimi magnitu- 
 dinem delicti salvo cont«nemento suo et mercator e<xlem 
 
 mod<» 
 
SS8 APPENDIX. 
 
 Kiodo salva mercandasia sua et \illanes eodem modo 
 amercietur salvo wannagio siio si incident in miseri- 
 cordiam noatram et nulla predictavum niisericordiarum 
 ponatur nisi per sacrauientuni proborum et legaliuni ho- 
 ininiim de visneto. 
 
 XVI. Comixes et barones non amercientur nisi per pares 
 suos et non nisi secundum modum delicti. 
 
 XVII. NuLLUs clericus aniercietur nisi secundum foi»- 
 Ejam predictorum et non secundum quantitatem beneficii 
 aiii ecclesiastici. 
 
 XVI II. N F.c villa nee homo distvingetur facere pontes 
 ad jiparias nisi qui ab antiquo et de jure facere debent. 
 
 XIX. NuLLus vicecomcs cx)nstabulanH3 coronatores vel 
 alii ballivi nosiri teneant [iacita corone nosll^?. 
 
 XX. Si aliquis tenens de nobis laicvun leodum morktur 
 et vicecomes \A ballivus noster ostendat literas nostras p^- 
 ^(fifntes de siunmonitipne nostra de debito quod defunctus 
 nobis debuit liceat vicecomjti vel ballivo nostro attachiare et 
 imbreviare catalla defuncti inyenta in laico teodo ad valen»- 
 tiam illius debit i per visum legalium hominum ita tanien 
 quod nichil inde amoveatur donee persolvatur iK>bis debi- 
 tum quod clarum fueri-t et residuum relinquatur executori- 
 bus ad faciendum testamentum defiuicti et si nichil debe- 
 atur ab ips,o omnia catalla cedaut defuncto salvia uxori sue 
 ct pueris suis ratioi^abilibus pai'tibus suis. 
 
 XXI. NuJULU^ constabidarius vol ejus ballivus capiat 
 blada vel alia catalla alicujus qui non sit de villa ubi 
 castruoi suiim est nisi statim inde reddat denarios vel re- 
 sj3ectiurj inde habere possit de voluntate venditoris si au- 
 tem de villa fuerit teneatur infra trei? septimajias precium 
 ledderc 
 
 XXI L NuLLUs constabularius distiingat aliquem mi- 
 lilem ad dandum denarius pro custodia castri si ipse earn 
 f^icere voluerit in propria persona sua vel per alium probum 
 liominem jji ip^e earn facere non possit pj-opter ri^tionabilem 
 causam ei si lios duxerimus vel miserinnis eum in exercitum 
 erit quietus de cu?todia secip^dum q:uantitaljem temporis quo 
 per nos fuerit in exercitu. 
 
 ^XIII. Nui.r.us victicomes vel ballivus noster vel alius 
 capiat equos vel carectas alicujus pro cariagio faciendo nisi 
 rfeddiit lib^^nitionem anticpiitus statutam scilicet pro carecta 
 ad duos equos decern denarios per dieni et pro carecta ad 
 tres equos quatuordecim denarios per diem. 
 
 XXIV. Ne<; nos nee ballivi nosui capiemus alienum 
 boscum ad castra vel alia agenda nostra nisi per voluntatem 
 ipsius cujus boscus ille fuerit. 
 
 XXV. Nos non tenebimus terras illorum qui convicti 
 fuerint de felonia nisi per unum annum et unum diem et 
 tunc reddantiu' lerrc dominis feodoriun. ^■ 
 
 XXVI. 
 
APPENDIX. 359 
 
 XXVI. Et omnes kydelii deponantur de cetero per to- 
 tam AvENLiCH et per totani Hyberniam nisi per cos- 
 teram maris. 
 
 XXV^II. Breve quod vocatur precipe de ceteio non 
 fiat alicui de alicpio tenemento imde liber umittere !X)Ssit 
 curiam siiam. 
 
 XXVIII. Una mensui-a vini sit per totiim regiuim 
 nostrum S: una mensura cervisie et una mensiua bladi sci- 
 licet cpiarterium Dublin' et una latitude pannorum tincto- 
 rum russettorum haubergettorum scilicet due uhie infi-a 
 listas De })onderibus autem sit ut de mer.suris. 
 
 XXIX. NiciiiL detur de cetero pro brevi inqubiti- 
 onis de vita et membris sed gratis concedatur et non iie- 
 getur. 
 
 XXX. Si aliquis tencat de nobis per feodi lirmaiu vel 
 socagium vel per burgagium et de alio teneat terram per 
 servicium militare nee habebimus custodiam Iieivdis nee 
 lerre sue que est de feoda alterius occasione illius feodi linne 
 vel soccagii vel burgagii nisi ipsa leodi iirma debcat sem- 
 cium militare. Xos non habebimus custodiam lierediis vel 
 terre alicujus quam tenet de alio jier serviciiun militare oc- 
 casione alicujus parve serjantie quam tenet de nobis j5er 
 scrvicium reddendi nobis ciiltellos vel sagittas vel hujus- 
 niodi. 
 
 XXXI. NuLLUS ballivus ponat de cetero aliquem 
 ad legem simplici loquela sine testibus fidelibus ad hoc 
 inductis. 
 
 XXXII. NuELUs liber homo capiatur vel imprlson- 
 etur vel disseisiatur aut utlegetur aut exulet aut aliquo 
 alio inodo destruatur nee super eum ibimus nee super 
 emu mittemus nisi per legale judicium jrariuin suorum 
 vel per legem terre, 
 
 XXXIII. NuELi vendemus miMi negabimus aut dif- 
 ferenjus rt^tum aut justiciam. 
 
 XXXIV. Omnes mercatores nisi publice antea prohibit! 
 fuerint habeant salvum et securum ex.ire de IIyberma et 
 venire in HvHEBMAM et morari et ire per Hyberniam 
 tam per t<'rras quam per aquas ad ementlum et vendendum 
 sine omnibus malis toltis per antiques et rectas consue- 
 tudines preterquam in tempore guerre et si sint de terra 
 contra nos guerrina et si tales inveniantur in terra nostra in 
 principio guerre attachientur sine dauijiuo corporum vel 
 rerum donee sciatur a nobis yc\ a tuipitali jiisticLiiio nostro 
 quomodo mercatores terre nostre tractentur que tunc inve- 
 nientur in terra contra nos guerrina et si nostri saivi sint 
 ibi alii salvi sint in terra nostra. 
 
 XXXV. Si quis tenuerit de aliqua cscacta sicut de 
 honore Walingefbrd Notingeham Bolon' Lancastr' vel 
 
 aliis 
 
S60 APPENDIX. 
 
 aliii? ofH-aetis que sunt in manu nostra et sunt baronie ct 
 obierit heros ejus uon <let aliiid reloviu.iji nee Cjciat nobis 
 aliud serviciuiu quam faccret baroni si terra ilia esset m 
 nuuni baronis et nos eooleni auodo eam ioixibinius quo baro 
 earn tonuit. 
 
 XXXVI. HoMiNT.s qui manent extra fbr.-stajn non 
 veniant de cetero coram justicianis nostris de foresta per 
 conununcs sumrrionition<:s nisi pint in placito vel plegii 
 alicujus vel aliquoruni qm attacbiati F.'mi pro ibresta. 
 
 XXXVII. Omnf.s homines qui fundaA'crint abl^atias 
 unde b.abent cartas regum Anglie vel antiquum teuurani 
 Labeant eannn custodlam cum vacavcrint sicut habere de- 
 bont et sicut supra declaratum est. 
 
 XXXVIII. OniNEs fbrestp que aiTorestate sunt tempore 
 regis Johannis patris nostri statim deatlbrestentur et ita tiat 
 de gruariis que per cundem Johanneai tempore suo posit i 
 sunt in defcnso, 
 
 XXXIX. NuLLUs capiatur vel imprisonetur proptei" 
 appellum femine de morte alterius quau^ viri sui. 
 
 XL. Omnes autem istas consuetudines pr^^dictas et li- 
 bertates quas concessimus in regno nosti'o tenendas quan- 
 tum ad nos }>ertinet erga nostros omnes de regno nostro 
 tarn clerici quam laici conservent quantum ad se pertinet 
 ♦irga suos. 
 
 XLI. Quia vero quedam capitula in priori carta con- 
 tinebantur que gravia et dubitabilia videbantur scilicet de 
 scutagiis et auxiliis assidendis de debitis Judeorum et alio- 
 rum et de libertate exeimdi tie regno ot redeundi in rcgnum 
 nostrum de forestis et tbrestariis de wai'eanisetwarennariisde 
 consuetudinibus comitatuum et de ripariis ot earum custo- 
 dibus placuit supradictis prelatis et magnatibus ea esse in 
 respectu quousque plenius consilium habueiimus et tunc fa- 
 ciemus plenissime tarn de his quam de aliis que occurjerint 
 rmendanda id quod ad communeni omnium utilitatem per- 
 tinuerit et pacem et statum nostrum et regni nostri. Quia 
 vero sigilkiin nondum habuimus preseutem cartam siglliis 
 venerabihs patris nostri domini Gualonis titulo sancti 
 Martini presbyteri cardinalis apostolice sedis legati et Wil- 
 )ielmi Mariscalli comitis Penbrok' recioris nostri et regui 
 iiOrtri iecimus sigillari. Testibus omnibus prenominatis et 
 aliis multis. Dat' per manura predictonun domini legati 
 et WiUielmi Mariscalli apud Hristollum duodecimo die 
 Novenibris anno regiii nostri prmio. 
 
 NUMBER 
 
Appendix, J6i 
 
 NUMBER 11. 
 
 Since this volume was sent to press the following 
 curious Record ajipeared in the Calendar of Ancient Char- 
 ters. Though it varies in some instances from the MS. of 
 the Bodleian Library, quotetl in the rcMgn of Edward the 
 l^hird, yet it seems the completest and most authentic evi- 
 dence of tlie fact as there slated. For the sake of those 
 readers who may not liave an opportunity of recurring to it 
 in the Culendar, &g. 1 have taken the liberty of annexing 
 it to this volume. 
 
 MEMORANDA DE HIBERNIA. 
 
 Annis 49 & 50 E. III. 
 
 De personis ecclesiasticis per Episco})os & Clerum, ac perso*! 
 nis laicis per Communes cujuslibet Comitatus, & per Gives 
 & Burgenses cujuslibet Civiiatis & Burgi in Hiberniaj 
 eligendis, & transmittendis in Angliam, versus dominum 
 Regem, & Consilium suum, ubicunque fuerit, & potes- 
 tatem sulHcientem habentibus, pro jjrajdictis Episcopis & 
 Clero, Magnatibus cvijuslibet comitatus, & Burgensibus 
 cujuslibet Civitatis & Eurgi, ad tractandum, consulen- 
 dnm & concordanduui cum ip^io Rege, & «.jus Consilio, 
 tarn super gubernatione iSc defensione terrse Hibernias, 
 quam super auxilio ibidem levando ad sustentacionem 
 guerrse regis. 
 
 OUM EXCELT^ENTISSIMUS DoMlNUS NOSTER, DoMI- 
 
 Kus Rex Angli.k, nuper transmiserit Nicholaum de 
 Dagworth miiitem, ad terram ipsius domini regis Hibernise, 
 ad qua^duin negotia dicti domini regis, Pnelatis, Magnati- 
 bus, et Communiinxs dicta; terras exponeuda, prout idem 
 Nicholaus [)er dictum dominum regem erat oneratus, prout 
 in literis patentibus de Anglia inde cojitectis, & in cancel- 
 laria dicti domini regis in Hibernia irrotulatis, plenius con- 
 tinetur, ac idem Nicholaiis, in Parliamento tlicti domini 
 regis apud Kilkenn. die Sabbatis in octabis Sancti Mi- 
 cliaelis, anno regni ejiiisdem dmnini regis quadragesimo 
 nono ex causa prsedicta sunnnonito & tento, comparens, 
 inter cetera, tarn in dictis Uteris, quam in quadam inden- 
 tura, per dictum Nicholaum in dicto Parhamento mon- 
 VoL. I. 2 Z strata. 
 
362 APPENDIX. 
 
 sirdfa, & ibideiu perlecta, & po!-:tniodum in cincdlaria 
 })ra*dicta exhibita, contenta; Prelatis, Magnatibns, & Com- 
 munibus ibidem tunc coavocatis^ articuloss stibscrip»o3 ex- 
 posilerlt, videlicet, qualiter dicllis domiiius Kex, tani 
 grandes suiuptus & expensas super susteutatione gucrrie in 
 terra sua pra'dicta, pro salvatione & de dcfensione cjusdem, 
 quales per autea fecit et appositit, pro})ter excessivaiu effu" 
 sionem expensnrum quas circa guerras i-ua'^ aliunde ipsurri. 
 iacere oportevet, diutius non potuit sustinere, unde dictos 
 Prelates, Blagnates & Comuiuncrs diligenter excitando, 
 quod ipsi prreniJBf.is consideratis, ordinarent qualiter quilibet 
 corum jnxta iacultates suas, & status sui esigcntiam, par- 
 tem rationabileui liujusmodi sumptuuin & expensarum^ 
 pro sustentatione guerrae regis in terra prsedicta, ac palva- 
 tione, defensione, & gubernatione ejustleni terra", valeret 
 supportare : &: cum Prelati, Magnates & Communes su- 
 pradicti, sujier jrrromissis se excusssverint, videlicet, qtiod 
 ipsi propter connu insufficientiam & paupcrtatem, aliquani 
 partem hujusmodi sumptuum & expensarum tunc temporis 
 lion possent supportare; eosclem Prelates, Magnates & 
 Communes, -juxta vim & effectltm indenture pradictae, 
 poptmodum oneraverit, quod qviilibet episcopus, duas pev- 
 sonas ecclesiasticas potcstalem snfficientem pro se & clevo 
 suffi diocesis, per literas procuratorias ab ij)'/is episcopo & 
 clero, ac communes cujuslibet coinitatus dictie terra?, duas 
 personas laicas potesiatein snfficientem pro magnatibus & 
 commnnibus cjusdem coiiiitatus, ac cives & bnrgense^y cu- 
 juslibet civitatis & Ijurgi ejusdem terra;, duopv cives & duos 
 burgenses pote.itatem sutlieientem pro se, civibus & bur- 
 gensibus civitatum &; burgorum prirdictorura habentes, 
 versus dictum dominum regem in Anglia, ad tractandum, 
 consulendimi & concordandnm cum dicto domino rege & 
 <jus consilio, taui super gubernatione ejusdem terra?, quam 
 super auxilio & susteutatione guerrre regis, ibidem trans- 
 mitterent: cujus oneris praetextu, & etiam pro eo quod 
 idem dominus rex literas suas de privato sigillo suo Willi- 
 elmo de Wyndesore gubernatori & custodi dicta? terrse Hi- 
 bei-nia', per dictum Nicbolaum transmisit, mandando 
 eideui gubernatori & custodi quod si dicti Prelati, Mag- 
 nates & Commune?!, partem i'ationabilem hujusmodi sump- 
 tiunn t^ expensarum super se assimiere recusarent, tunc 
 idem gubernator & custos, tantum fiiceret, quod quilibet 
 episcopus, ac communes cujuslibet comitatus, ac cives & 
 burgenses cujuslibet civitatis & burgi terras predictte, duas 
 personas in forma prsdicta transmitterent, prout in dic'^is 
 literis de privato sigillo plenius poterit apparere ; de avisi,\- 
 mento dicti gubernatoris & custodis, ac consilii dicti do- 
 mini regis Hiberniaej «xtiut concordajum^ quod brevia 
 
 dumini 
 
APPENDIX. 3Gt 
 
 domini regis Archiepiscopis, Episcopis, vicecomltibus, Se- 
 nescallis, Majoribiis, Superioribus, & Piflppositis, ac om- 
 iiibus aliis ejusdeui terrne, quorum interest, ad electioncin 
 liujusniodi duaruin personavurn, in Angliam in forma pra- 
 <Jicta tiansmittendarum, faciendam, mandari deberent, ut 
 idem dominus rex, ac peritum consilium siunn in Anglia, 
 super electione praedicta &nominibus hujusmodi electorum, 
 ac super cflectu brevium praedictorum, & returnorum eo- 
 rundem ad partes Anglia? trausmittendis, plcuius poterunt 
 informarii 
 
 QvA^ quiderri brevia confecta, &dictis Archiepiscopis & 
 aliis prirdictis missa, & postea in dictam cancellariam re- 
 turnata iiierunt, & ibidem remanent de recordo, qucrum 
 \'ero brevium & returnorum tenores sequumtur sub Irac 
 forma : 
 
 Edwardus Dei gratia rex AnglicB & Franc iae, & do- 
 minus liibernife, venerabili in Christo patri M. eadoni 
 gratia Archiepiscopo Ardmacliano salutem : 
 
 Cum alias oneraviraus dilcctum 8: fidelem nostrum Ni- 
 -cholaum Dagworth miiitein, nuncium nostrum versus ter- 
 ram nostram Hibernire pe^ nos transmissum, quod ipse in 
 quodam Parliamento in terra nostra pra?dicta, prtetcxtu li- 
 terarum nostrarum, dilecto & lideli nostro Willielmo de 
 Wyndesore gubernatori & custodi dictoe terrse nostra? trans- 
 inissarum, convocando, inter ca^tera in cjuadam indcntura. 
 inter nos & dictum nuncium nostrum confecta, contenta, 
 Pra?lati3, Magnatibus, & Communibus terrae nostra* prss- 
 dictae, ad dictum Parliamentum compaventibus, exponi fa- 
 ceret, quod cum nos, tarn excessivas & intolerabiles ex- 
 pensas, circa guerras nostras in terra nostra prtedicta, pro 
 salvatione & defensinne ejusdcm, quales ante ha:c teinpora 
 apposuimus, propter maximam elfasionem expensarum 
 quas circa guerras nostras aliunde nocessario nos apponeie 
 oportebit, de cretero supj3ortare miuime valoanuis ; iideni 
 Praelati, ?.Iagnates & Comirauies & corum quilibet, juxta 
 facultates suas & status sui exigentiam, parteui rationabilem 
 hujusmodi expensarum, pro sustentalione guerne nostras 
 ibidem, & salvatione terrre predictie, faciaat supportare ; 
 8c si iidem Pr»lati, Magnates & Commuucs partem rati- 
 onabilem hujusmodi expensarum sujxr se capcre rccusarent, 
 tunc dictus nmicius noster ipsos ex parte nostra oncraret, 
 quod quilibet Episcojius duas pcrsonas ecclesiasticas idoneas 
 })Otestatem suflicientem pro se & clero suifi diocesis, per li- 
 teras procuratorias ab ipsis cpisco{)0 & clero, ac com- 
 munes cujuslibet comitatus dictte terra^, duas pcrsonas laicas 
 potestatem sufficientem tam pro seij)sis, quam Magnatibus 
 ejusdem comitatus, ac Cives & liurgenses cujuslibet Civi- 
 tatis & Burgi ejusdem terr»j duos Cives & duos Bur- 
 
 geus0» 
 
S64 APPENDIX, 
 
 genses potestatem sufficientem pro se, & Civibus & Biir- 
 gensibus civitatum I'^'C biirgovuni proedictovum habentes, 
 versus nos & consilium nostrum in Anglia, ad tractaiuluni, 
 consulendum & concordanduni nobiscum, tarn super gu- 
 bernationc dictae terra?, q'lam pro auxilio & sustentatione 
 guerrffi ibidem transmitterent. Et licet idem nuncius noster, 
 pra?missa omnia & singula Pnelatis, Magnatibus & com- 
 miuribus in Parliamento nostro apud Kilkenn. in octabis 
 Sancti Michaelis proximis pneteritis, ex causis jmemissiB 
 summonito & tcnto, comparentibus, exposuerit, & ipsos in 
 forma pnedicta oneraverit ; ipsi tamen se per eorum in- 
 sufficientiam excusarunt, quod aliquam partem sumptuum 
 & expensarum, pro guerris nostris ibidem manutenendis, 
 ad praesens nequeaut supportare : ob q\iod, hujusmodi 
 personas versus nos in xingliam, ex causis pra?d{ctis, in 
 forma supradicta, transmitti volentes, vobis mandamus, 
 quod convocato coram vobis Clero vestra? diocesis, duos 
 personas ecclesiasiicas hujusmodi potestatem pro vobis & 
 dicto clero yestro obtineiites, de assensu ejusdem cleri eligi, 
 & coram nobis, & dicto consilio nostro in Anglia ad 
 s\nnptus vestros, & dictl cleri vestri, citra quindenam pu- 
 pticationis beata? Mariae proxim' fatur', ubicunque tunc 
 fuerimus in Anglia, ad tractandum, considendum & con- 
 cordandum, ut pra?dictum est, transmitti facialis, nobis in 
 cancellaria nostra Ilibernia?, de nominibus dictaruni dua- 
 rum personarum, sic per vos eligendarum, citra festimi 
 Sanctae KatcrinaB virginis prox' futur', ubicunque tunc 
 fuerit sub siglllo vestro certificantes, hoc breve nobis tun^; 
 ibidem remittentes, & hoc sub poena centum librarum, de 
 vobis, & dicto clero vestro, ad opus nostrum levandarumj 
 nullatenus omittatis. 
 
 Teste Willielmo de AVyndesore gubematore & custode#' 
 terrae nostras Ilibernise, apud Kilkemi. xxv. die Octobris, 
 anno regni nostri Anglian cpiadragcsimo nono, I'egni vero 
 nostri Francias tricesimo sexto. 
 
 Cujus quidem brevis returni tenor talis est : 
 Pr.etextu istius brevis, convocato coram nobis clerp 
 nostra? diocesis, de nostro communi consilio & assensu re- 
 spondemus, quoad contenta in brevi huic sceduhe consuto, 
 quod non tencmur juxta libcrtates, privilegia, jura., leges & 
 consuetudines ecclesiae, nee terrie Hibernite, alicpios de 
 clero nostro eligere, nee mittere ad partes Anglia;, ad Par- 
 liamenta sen consilia in Anglia tenenda ; tamen, ob reve- 
 rentiam domini nostri regis Angliae illustrissimi, & propter 
 urgentissimam necessitatem dictie terrae jam imminentem ad 
 praBsens, salvis nobis & terra; praedictae Magnatibus & 
 Communibus, juribus, privilegiis, libertatibus, legibus, & 
 (jonsuetudinibus suis supradictis, concedimus domino Jo- 
 
 hanni 
 
APPENDIX. S65 
 
 lianni Cusak & Willielmo Fitz-Adam clericis per nos elecr 
 iis, ad proiiciscenduin ad partes Angiiee, ibidem coram do- 
 mino nostro rege compareiid. plenam potestatem ad trac- 
 tandmn, consulendum & concordandum, super salvatione, 
 defensioiie, & bona gnbernatione terrpe prsedicta;. Except, 
 tamen quod non concedimiis praedictis nunciis sen electis 
 nostris, potestatem concedendi aliqua or.cra sen siibsidia 
 super nos, seu cleriim jnaedictum ad pra?sens, & hoc tain 
 propter paupertatem nostram, & nostrarum dignitatnm & 
 beneticiorum exilitatem, quam propter misas, smnptus & 
 expensas, qnos quasi quotidie, tam in inveniend. homines 
 ad arma liobelarios, & pedites, quam in aUis suinptibus & 
 expensis, quos nos circa defensionem partium nostrarum, 
 & dictffi terrtB necessario apponere oportebit, quae tamen, 
 licet juxta nostrum ac Com. totius terroe predictse posse 
 apponatur, non sufficiunt ad decimam partem sumptuum & 
 expensarum, cpue cnxa guerras & resistentiam inimicorum 
 domini nostri regis & nostrorum, ac defensionem terra? 
 .ejusdem ajjponi oportet, & ob causas pra^dictas, & ahas 
 per pra^dictos electos seu nuncios nostros prcedictos, coram 
 domino nostro rege in Angha declarandas, aiiter ad prffi- 
 sens respondere non possumus. 
 
 CoNsiMiLE breve dirigitur custochbus spirituahtatis 
 archiepiscopatus DubUn. sede vacante, mutatis mutandi.^, 
 eub eadem data. 
 
 Texor returni prjedicti brevis sequitur sub hac forma : 
 
 ExcELLENTissiMo in Christo principi & domino nostro, 
 domino Edwardo Dei gratia iUustri regi Anghae & Fran- 
 ciae, & domino Hiberniai, vestri humiles & devoti Willcl- 
 jmus de Gayslee canonicus ecclesiae Sancti Patricii Dubhn. 
 & Johannes Fitz-Elys archidiaconus Glyndelacen. in ea- 
 dem, custodes spirituahtatis archiepiscopatus Dubhn. sede 
 vacante, sahitera in eo per quem reges regnant & princi]3es 
 dominantur. 
 
 Breve vestrum regium praesentibus annexum, nuper 
 nobis directum, cum omni honore recepimus. Cujus- 
 quidem brevis virtute, su}>er contentis in eodem, convoca- 
 vimiis coram nobis clerum dioc. Dubhn. ac duas per- 
 sonas ecclesiasticas, videhcet me Johannem Fitz-Elys aiUe- 
 dictum, 8c' dominum Thomam Adielard vicarium de Do- 
 nabete, potestatem de qua in thcto brevi vestro fit mentio, 
 plenam, pro nobis & dicto clero optinentes, de assensu 
 ejusdem cleri elegimus, ad comparendum coram vobis, & 
 vestro consilio in Anglia, sumptibus nostris & dicti cleri, 
 citra quindenam purihcationis beata? JMarite proximae fii- 
 turam, ubicunque tunc fueritis in Anglia & ad tractandum, 
 sonsulendum & concordandum, super hiis de quibus in 
 
 diet© 
 
S66 APPENDIX. 
 
 ^Ifcto brevi vestrb plenior fit mentio, de nominibus vem 
 clictarum personarum electarum cancellariam \estram in 
 Hibernia^ citra diem in praefato brevi vestro limitatum cer- 
 tificamus, breve vestruui regium nobis directum remit- 
 tentes, & sic mandatum, vestrum in dicto brevi vestro, 
 adimplevimus cum honore. Vestram excellentiam con- 
 servet AltissimuB, per tempora louga. 
 
 In cujus rei testimonium, sigiilum quo utimur in officio 
 nosti-o, pnesentibus est appensum. 
 
 Dat. Dublin, xii. die mensis Novembris, anno Domini 
 ^lillesimo trescentesimo septuagesimo quinto. 
 
 CoNSiMiLE breve dirigitur arcliiepiscopo Cassellensi, 
 vel ejus vicario generali ipso arcliiepiscopo in remotis 
 agendo, mutatis mutandis, sub eadem data. 
 
 TsvoR returni brevis praedicti sequitur in haec vei'ba : 
 
 Clerus diocesis Cassellensis coram nobis vocatus, de 
 ejusdem cleri unanimi assensu & nostro, elegit dominujn 
 Johaimem Geflfard, canonicum nionastcrii de Osseny, & 
 vectorem eccler^iae de Kiltewenan, Cassellensis diocesis, quia 
 facilitates dict;e diocesis non sufficiunt ad duos nuncios 
 iransmittend. qui Johannes habet potestatem ad tractan- 
 dum, consulendum & concordandum, prout bre\e re- 
 quirit ; salvis libertatibusj ecclesiae 8z liberis consuetudinibuB 
 terrte Hibernicanae. 
 
 Con SIMILE breve dirigitur arcliiepiscopo Tuamensi, qui 
 ruchil inde respondit. 
 
 CoNSiMii>E breve dirigitur episcopo Miden. mutatis mu- 
 tandis, sub eadem data. 
 
 Tewor returni brevis praedicti sequitur in haec verba. 
 
 Stephanus episcopus Miden. dicit prose & clero suo, 
 quod, pro eo quod ipse concessit, pro se & clero suo, prae- 
 dicto domino regi, in auxilium relevationis expensarum su- 
 arum faciend. super sustentatione guerrarum suarum Hi- 
 berniae, in parliamento de c[uo in hoc brevi tit mentio, & 
 per literas siias eidem domino regi & consilio suo in An- 
 glia, per Nicholaum de Dagv/orth militem inde transmissas, 
 centum marcas, solvendas prout in dicta concessione con- 
 tinetur, ncn tenetur aliquos nuncios eligere vel tra«smittere 
 ad partes Angliac, coram domino rege, prout istud breve 
 requirit ; tamen ob reverentiam domini regis praedicti, & 
 urgentissimam necessitatem jam eminentem in terra prae* 
 dicta, praedictus episcopus, magistrum Bartholomeura Dul- 
 lard, rectorem ecclesiae parochialis beatae Mariae de Dro- 
 gfeeda, nuncium suum, ad informandum & consulendura prae- 
 dictuni dominum regem & consilium suum in Anglia, de 
 &: super «tatu & gub^rnatione terras Hiberniae, & remediis 
 inde apponendis^ sa-lvis hbertatibus & consuetudinibxis ter- 
 ^aepredictsej & ecclesiarum ejusdem, ordinandum, pro se 
 
 & clero 
 
APPENDIX. 367 
 
 & tleio suo pi'sedicto, cum sufficienti potestate transmit- 
 tif. 
 
 CoxsiMiLE breve dirigltur episcopo Daren', mutatis mu- 
 tandis, sub eadem data. 
 . Tenor rcturni brevis praedicti seqnitur in h«c verba : 
 
 Pr.etextu hujus brevis, convocalo coram nobis clero 
 nostra? diocesis, idem clerus noster una nobiscura, excepto 
 domino priore iiospitalis Sancti Johannis Jerosolime in H{- 
 bernia, qui, licer niagnam partem ecclesiarum nostrse dio- 
 cesis in proprios usus optineat, nobiscnn\ & clero nostro sil- 
 pradicto in hujusmodi negotio concurrere renuit & recu- 
 Bavit, & quia idem dominus prior, auctoritate Apostoiica 
 i\ nostra jurisdictione penitus est exemptus, ipsum domi- 
 num priorem ad id faciendum compellere non poterimus, 
 Willielmo White decano ecclesize nostrse catbedmlis Daren. 
 & Ricardo White rectori de Donaghda, per nos & dictum 
 clenun nostrum communitcr electis, plenam concessit po- 
 testatem, ad tractandum, informandum, consulendum & 
 concordandum, cum domino nostro rege, & consiho suo, 
 ubicunque fuerit in Angha, ad diem in isto brevi conten- 
 tum, super statu, salvatione & gubernatione terrx suae Hr- 
 bernia: supradictse ; «ed ad ipsum clerum uherius oneran* 
 dum sen obhgandum, ahquibus oneribus sen subsidiis 
 quam onerati sunt, nulio modo vuk concede re jx>testatem, 
 eo quod propjter guerram iniuiicorum & rebeUium domini 
 iKJStri regis, & fidehs po{)uh sui, in diocesi nostra Daren, 
 supi'adicta, de die in diem .... quae pro majori parte est 
 distructa, & propter beneficiorum cxilitatem, ac etiam pau- 
 pertatem & inopiam cleri supradicti, aha qujevis onera 
 quam indies & communiter poi'tat «& sustinet, qusc grandia 
 sunt & importabiha .... debeat sustinere, & supjjortare 
 nequit quoquo modo, prout preedicti procuratoies iiostri, 
 coram domino nostro rege & consiho suo in Angha, 
 si necesse fuerit, ad pleninn declarare potenmt in eventu. 
 
 CoxsiMiLE breve dirigitur episcopo Leiglilynen. muta- 
 tis mutandis, sub eadem data. 
 
 Tenor returni brevis prsedicti sequitur in hsec verba: 
 
 Pr.«textu hujus brevis, convocato clero nostrae diecesis 
 infrascripti, & perlectis coram ipso omnibus, tSc singulis 
 articulis in hoc brevi contentis, qui omnes & singuli de 
 clero nostro antedicto unanimitej- ahegarunt, quod nulla 
 persona ecclesiastica versus domi;«-in regeirf & consilium 
 isuuni Angliap, super articulis proedictis, propter nostrorum^ 
 & eorum insufficicntiam, pauperlatem, & inopiam, quas 
 nos ipsi & communes dictae diocesis, per destructiones, ro- 
 berias, arsiones, & depredationcs Hibernicorum inimicorum 
 indies in ... . perpetratas ante hiec tempera, devenimus, 
 citra quindeaam purificationis beaiac Marise , . . . content. 
 
 sumptibua 
 
368 APPENDIX. 
 
 sumptibuS nostris transmitti possit, prout hoe breve re- 
 qnirit, & maxime, eo quod in diocesi nostra pr;edicta, extra 
 manus Hibernicorum ininiiconmj doniini regis non sunt 
 culta? & maniioperatae prseter qiiatuordecim carucat?e terrxy 
 quod allegat. extitisse in Parliamento ultimo tento aj)ucl 
 Milkenn. per nos & clerum nostrum, ac commuuitatem co- 
 mitatus Catherlagh. coram gubernatore, 8: Nicholao Dag- 
 worth niihte infrascript. ac conslho domini regis, quaruut 
 decim,am partem reputamus minus suiiicientem pro susten- 
 tatione nostra. 
 
 CoNSTMiLE breve dirigitur episcopo Ossorien. mutatis 
 mutandis, sub eadem data. 
 
 Tenor returni brevis praedicti sequitur in hxc verba : 
 Alexander episcopus Ossorien. & Johannes de Acres 
 .... clecti sunt per dictum episcopum & clerum suae dio- 
 cesis, de essendo coram domino rege & ejus consiho in An- 
 gha, ad diem in brevi contentum, ad faciendum prout breve 
 requirit : salvis hbertatibus & hberis consuetudinibus ec- 
 clesiae & terrse Hibernian . 
 
 CoNsiMiLE breve dirigitur episcopo Lismoren. & Wa- 
 terford. mutatis mutandis, sub eadem daU. 
 
 Tenor returni brevis pracdicti sequitur sub hac forma : 
 Nomina duarum personarum ecclesiasticarum pra 
 Thoma episcopo Lismoren. & Waterford. & clero suae di- 
 ocesis electarum, ad comparendum coram domino rege in 
 Angha, ad diem in hoc brevi contentum, ubicunque tunc 
 fuerit in Angha, potestatem pro ipsis episcopo & clero pro- 
 curator, habentivmi, ad tractandum & consulendum cum 
 ipso domino rege, & ad ijisum dominum regem inlbrman- 
 dum super articulis in hoc brevi contentis, videlicet, Tho- 
 mas Lismoren. & Waterforden. episcopus, & magister 
 Phihppus llaye clericus, absque aliqua potestate per ipsos 
 episcopum & clerum, dictis personis concesf^a, ad coii- 
 cordandum in prsemissis. ne libertates ecclesiae terrse Hi- 
 beruicanie infi'ingantur, eo quod hujusmodi potestas con- 
 cordandi, in maximum prsejudicium ecclesise sua;, ac liber- 
 tates ecclesisc & terrse Hibernicans, multum cedere pos- 
 set, prout dictas personae coram ipso domino rege, si ne- 
 cesse fuerit, ad plenum declarabunt. 
 
 CoNsiMiLE breve chrigitur episcopo Fernen. mutatis^ 
 mutandis, sub eadem data. 
 
 Tenor returni brevis ftraedicti sequitur sub hac forma : 
 Clerus diocesis nostrae Fernen. coram nobis convoca- 
 tus, de ejus unanimi assensu & nostro, elegit magistruin 
 Willielmum de Sancto Johanne decanum ecclesiae nostrie 
 Fernen. & Ricardum Whitty clericum, qui plenam po- 
 tQsitateni Uabeant ad faciendum prout istud breve re- 
 quirit i 
 
APPENDIX. :^69 
 
 qnirlt : salvis libertatibus cccleslae, & liberis consuetiulini- 
 biis terra; Hibernife. 
 
 Co xs I MILE breve clirigitur ejuscopo Lymer. mutatis 
 mutandis, sub eadeni data. 
 
 Tenoh returni brevis prxdicti sequitur sub bac forma: 
 
 Nomina duarum personarum idoneatuin pro epistopO 
 it clero diocesis Lymer. electarum, ad tfactandum. con- 
 sidendum & concordaudum, cum domino nostro re^e, 
 ik ejus cousilio, citra quindenam purificationis beatae Ma- 
 riae prox. futur, ubicunque tunc f\i<:rit m Anglia, pront 
 istud breve iequirit, liiagister Johannes Fox & Johannes 
 Route clericus. 
 
 CoNsiMiLE breve dirigitur episcopo Lismoren. mutatis 
 hiutandis. sub eadi?m data. 
 
 Tenor returni brevis praedicti sequitur in h'xC. verba : 
 
 ExcELLENTissiME doiuiue, quoad duas personas eccte- 
 piasiicas per nos mittendas,, cum surticlenti mandato versus 
 Angham, prout vestrum breve prsesens requirit, nullo 
 modo easdem personas mittere valemus, videlicet, propter 
 notoriam & nimiaui paupertatem nostiam, ac cleri nostri, 
 cum nuUum clerum ad prsesens habemus residentem^ ra- 
 tione continues guerrjc & inexlinguil-ilis in diocesi nostra 
 oxistentis, Cxceptis paucis clericis pauptrrinAis manentibus 
 inter inimicos vestros & nostros ; mittemus tamen negotia 
 nostra . . . i cum sufficiente potestate versus Angham, prout 
 continetur in praesenti mandato, per personas ecclesiasticas 
 electas pro clero Lismoren. 
 
 CoN«iMiLE breve dirigitur episco})0 Cork, mutatis mu- 
 tandis, sub eadem data. 
 
 Tenor returni brevis prccdicti sequitur in liaec verba : 
 
 I'Jagister Thomas Rys & magister Johannes White 
 clerici, cathedralis Cork, canonici, simt electi per G. epis- 
 copum Cork. & totum clerum ejusdem diocesis, de es- 
 sendo coram domino nostro rege, & ejus consilio, ubicun- 
 que fiierit in Angha, ad diem in brevi prgedicto con- 
 tentum, ad tractandum, consulend\nn & coricordaudiun, 
 prout breve requirit. 
 
 CoNsiMiLE breve dirigitur episcopo Clon. vcl ejus vi- 
 cario generali ipso episcopo in remotis agente, mutatis mu- 
 tandis, sub eadem data. 
 
 Tenor returni brevis praedicti sequitur in hxc verba : 
 
 Clerus diocesis Clonen. de assensu comuiuni, elegit 
 Thomam priorem Villas Pontis k Johannem Sandy capel- 
 lanum, ad comparendum coram (ioiuino nostro rege in 
 Anglia, citra quindenam purihcafionis beatx ^^ari3e prox. 
 fiitur. ubi tunc fuerit, ad tractandum, consulendum & cou- 
 cordandum, una cum aliis procnratoribus eleclis provinciae 
 Cassellensisj prout idem breve requirit. 
 
 Vol. I. 3 A Consimii-s 
 
•70 APPENDIX. 
 
 CoNsiMiLE breve dirigitur episcopo Kcr. mutatis mu- 
 tandis svib ondem data. 
 
 Tenor letunvi brevis prxdicti sequitiir in ha;c verba: 
 CoNvocATo clero nostroe dioee.-^is, electi sunt duo nun- 
 cii in ^Angliani, secundum tcnovcm brevis, videlicet, Ma- 
 
 gister Gilbertus & Johannes iilius Johannis, ca- 
 
 nonici eath^dialis ecclesis nostrse, qui ibunt ad Anjjjliam 
 do\uino con.cedente. 
 
 Rex vicccomiti Dublin, salutem : 
 Cum alias oneraverinuis, dilecium & fidelem nostnmi 
 Nicholaiuii Dagworth militem, nuuciiun nostnmi versus 
 terram nostram llibernise, &c. ut supra, usc^ue ibi trans- 
 Tuitti volentes, & tunc sk ; tibi praecipinuis, quod convo- 
 tatis coram to magnatibus & communibus comitatus tui, 
 duas personas laicas, hujusmodi potestatem, tarn pro se, 
 quam dictis magnatibus & communibus optinentes, de 
 eorum comnunii assensu, eligi, &c. ut supra, usqu^ ibi 
 remittent', & tunc sic, & hoc sub poena centum mar- 
 caruni, de te & communibus comitatus tui, ad opus non- 
 trum levandum, nuUatenus oniittatis. Teste, &c. ut 
 supra. 
 
 CujusQUiDEM brevis returni tenor talis est: 
 KinioLAis JiouTii &: Ricardus White electi sunt per 
 magnates & connnunes comitatns Dublin, ad comparen- 
 duui coram domino rege, & consilio suo in Angliam, citra 
 quindenam puriiicationis beattc Mariue, undo istud breve 
 facit mentionem, ubicunque tunc fuerit in Anglia, pleuam 
 potestatem, per praedictos magnates, & communes liaben- 
 dos, ad tractandum & cOnsulendum, cum ipso domino 
 rege, & consilio suo, ibidem, ad ipsum dominum regein 
 infbrmandum, super statu & gubernatione terrx- sux Hi- 
 berniae, absque aliqua potestate per praedictos magnates Sc 
 communes, praedictis Nicholao & Ricardo concessa, con- 
 cordand. praedictos magnates & communes, onerare de ali- 
 quibus oneribus super eis imposterum imponendis, propter 
 diversa quai per praedictos Nicholaiim & Hicardum tunc 
 ibidem declarabimtur. Et super lioc, pro eo quod quam- 
 plures de sufficientibus hominibus comitatus Dublin, per 
 quandam petitionem suam, sub eorum sigillis sigillatam, 
 consign, gubernatori &: c\istodi, ac caneellario, & aliis de 
 consilio donuni regis in Hibernia, monstrarunt & ceruK- 
 earunt, quod ipsi electioni dictorum Nicholai & Ricardi 
 non consentierunt, quorum nomina in certidcatione })r<E- 
 dicta, pracsentibus annexa, plenius inseruiUur, de avisa- 
 mento dictorum gubernatoris & consilii, adverten. qualitor 
 discensio & variatio super electione pryedicia interv^nerunt, 
 pro omni altercatione in ea ]>arte amovonda, concordatum 
 luit, quod liter?e domini regis patentes, sub magno sigiilo 
 
 suo 
 
APPENDIX. sn 
 
 siio quo utitnr in Hibernia, fratri Thomae Sciulak abbati 
 tlomiis sancti Thonue Martiiis juxta Dublin, tlicsaurario 
 tiomini regis in Hibernia, i^ Roberto de Preston capitali 
 justiciario de commvmi banco Hiberniee, ad interesseed. 
 election! in Imc parte faciend. & ad earn supervidend. & 
 de fiominibus sic elioendoruni ; & si de communi assensij 
 dictorum magnatum i!s: conimun. vel niajoris jxirtis eorundein 
 f lecti fiierint, necne in amcellaria domini regis in Hibernia 
 ccrtiticand. prout in iiteras prtedictis, prjBsentibus annexis, 
 plenins continetur: ac breve dicti domini regis vicecomiti 
 Dublin, de convocando dictos magnates & communes, in 
 praesentia dictorum tliesaurarii Si. justiciarii, ad electionem 
 In.ijusmodi de eorum commiiui assensu faciend. & de no- 
 ntinibus sic eligendorum, in cancellariam pra^dictam cciti- 
 ticantl. prout in eodein brevi praesentibus similiter anii.exo 
 pknuus poterit apparere, mandavi deberent. Qui quidem 
 tliesaumrius & iusticiaiius, virtute dictarum literarum in 
 dictam <:ancellariain returnarunt, cjuod viginti & quatuor 
 jxM'sona> elegeiunt Nicholaum Houtli & Willielnuim 
 Fitz-AVilliam, <Sc viginti persons? elegerunt prxdictnm 
 iNicholavmi & Ricardum "VVhite, prout in j-eturno inde 
 pr.tsentibus annexo, satis constat : ac dictus vicecomes 
 returnavit, quod magnates &: connnunes meliores dicti co- 
 mitaius elegerunt prsedictos Nicholaum & Ricardum, 
 & alios non tenentur eligere, prqut in returno su})er dicto 
 brevi confecto, & praesentibus annexo plane liquet. Et 
 quia viriis returnis prsdictis, pra?fatit. gubernatori & con- 
 silio constabat, pntdictos Nicholaum & Willieimum -^^er 
 majores & suiiicientes dicti comitatus electos existere, iidem, 
 gubernator ^ consilium electioriem dictorum Nicholai & 
 Willielmi duxerunt acceptandar.i : et super hoc, de avisa-. 
 mento dictorum gubernatoris & con-^ilii, alia* literae pa- 
 tenios ipsius domini regis, piivfatis thesaurario & justiciario 
 niissos tuerant, contincutes quod ipsi, omnos personas prae- 
 dictas, una cum aliis magnatibus & conmiunibus ditci 
 comitatus, coram eis ac vicecomite vel coronatore comita- 
 tus pnedicti venire facerent, i})sosque ad concedend. po- 
 testatem sufficientejn, pn* diclisNicholao &: Willielmo, tarn 
 ad coucordand. quam tractand. & consulend. compellcront: 
 et de eo quod inde facerent, in cancellariam prasdictam certi- 
 ficarent, prout in eisdem literis praesentibus annexis pleniu'^ 
 poterit apparere : quannn (pudem literarum rctunnun ])a- 
 tet in quadam cedula eisdem literis consuta. Et })ro 
 eo, quod dicti magnates & connnunes. in discensione l>: 
 altercatione ut jiraedicitin*, perseverant, ne negotia, regia 
 in liac parte expediend. propter hujusmodi singidar^rn 
 discensionem sive altercaiionem, diutius retardentin*, tarn 
 literae & brevia prsedicta, quam returna eorumdem modis 
 
 quibus 
 
372 APPENDIX. 
 
 qiiibns finnt de avisamento 4ictonim gubernatoris <Ss 
 consiiii, coram doininp rege in AngUam transmittaiitur. 
 
 CoNSiMiLE breve dirlgitur vicecomiti JL.oueth. sub ea- 
 dem data. 
 
 Tenor retumi brevis, prffidicti sequitur in ha?c verba : 
 Pa.*;TEXTiT hnjnsmodi brevis, convocatis niagr.atibus 
 ^c coinmunibus comitatus Loiieth. iideni magnates & 
 comiuunes de eoruni communi essensu, una voce di:;^erunt 
 quod ipsi, juxta jura, privilegia, libertates, leges, & con- 
 suetudiues terr?e Hibenji*, a temi)ore conquestus ejusdeni 
 & ante, usitat. non tenentur eligerp, nee mittere aiiquos 
 de terra prsedicta, ad Parliamenta, ncc consilia in Anglia 
 tenend. ad tractaud. consulend. & concordand. proiit hoc 
 breve requirit ; tameii ob reverentiaui domini nostri regis 
 Angliae, & propter urgentissimam necessitateni dict:^ terra-, 
 & populi fidelis ejusdeni, ad jirxsens, salvis pratfalls coni- 
 munibus juribus, privilegiis, libcrtatibus, legibus, & con- 
 Kuetudinibus praedictis, concedunt IJoge^o Gernon & J\\- 
 cardo Verdon, per ipsos electis, ad transfretanduHi ad par- 
 tes Angliac, ibidem coram domino nostro rege comparend. 
 j)lenam potestatem ad tractand. consulend. 6y: concordand. 
 super salvatione, defensione & bona gubernatione terr?t' 
 }>raedict«. Except, tamen, quod non concedunt pra?- 
 fatis llogcr.o & Ricardo, potestatem concedendi aliqua 
 onera seu subt^idia supev i})sos ad prxsen.g imponen- 
 da. propter paupertateni dictas communitatls, & propter 
 luagnas expensas suas quas cotidie tani in inveuiendo ho- 
 mines ad arnia, hobelarios, & pedites, in defensione 
 riarchiarum dicti comitatus, erga fortiores Hibernicos, 
 Iliberni^, inimicos, & rebelles domini nostri regis An- 
 giia?, & propter illas caiisas & alias, quas prasdicti Ro- 
 gerus & Ricardus coram domino nostro rege & suo con- 
 silio in Anglia, declarabunt, aliter ad pra^sens respon- 
 dere non possunt. 
 
 CoNsiM'iLE breve dirigitur vicecomiti Kildar. sub eadem 
 data. 
 
 Tenor return! brevis prsedicti sequitur in hsec verba: 
 Pr^etextu hujus brevis, convocatis magnatibus & 
 communibus comitatus Kildar. iidem magnates & coumiu- 
 nes, &:c. ut supra, usque ibi ; prout hoc breve recpjirit, 
 & tunc sic ; ob reverentiam tamen domini nostri regis,' 
 & voluntatis suae, ac mandatorum suorum complemen- 
 tiim, ac propter urgentem necessitateni, pro ruina & ino- 
 pia dictae terrse, et populi tidelis ejusdem, domino regi 
 declarand. hac vice, concedunt potestatem Johanni 
 Rocheford & Petro Rowe, per ipsos magnates & com- 
 munes eloctis, ad tractandum, consulendum & concor- 
 dandum^ cum ipso domino rege^ su]7er »tatu & guberna- 
 tione 
 
APPENDIX. 373 
 
 ?'ipnp ejusdem ten-a^, absque aliqua potestate oistlem elociis 
 ,c<)iices.-,a, ad ipsos magnates & conniumes, erga dominuin 
 legem in aliquo oueraiut. Ita taincnquod dicla conccssiosive 
 iiiissio dictis magnatibus & cominunibus, in fiituro, non cedat 
 in prejiidicium^uriuni, piivilcgiorum, libertatuui, leguni & 
 consiK'tndinuin pia^dictonun, quibus ipsi magnates & coui- 
 rnuncs a tempore conqnestusHibernia^inconcuFse & inviola- 
 bililer usi sunt & gavisi. 
 
 Con SI MILE breve dirigitur vicecomiti Catbiilagh. sub 
 eadem data. 
 
 Tenor returni brevis praedicti sequllur in bssc verba: 
 
 PrjETExtu hujus brevis, convocatis coram me apud Ca- 
 ihiilagh. communibus comitates Catli. & perlectis coram 
 ipsis, omnibus & singulis articulis in hoc brevi contentis, qui 
 pnjues & singuli coram me imanimiter allegarunt, quod nul- 
 1am personam laicam, coram domino rege et consilio sno in 
 Anglia, ad tractandum ibidem super articulis })ra;dictis, 
 propter eorum insufiicientiam ct inopiam, ac trequentes de- 
 rtructiones, roberias, & depredationes, quae ante hiec tempora 
 diversimode sustinuerunt et indies sustinent, per Hibernicos 
 inimicos et rebelles domini nostri regis comitatus proedicti, 
 dictum comitatum undique invadentes et destruentes, citra 
 <]uindenam puriHcationis beata? IMaria? in hoc brevi con- 
 lent, ad sumptus ipsius comitatus transmittere poFsunt; ac 
 etiam, }/r3cdicta communitas coram me eorum sacramenta 
 prestitevunt, quod non sunt cuUaj et manuoperatas in comi- 
 tatu pnedicto, in manibus hgeorum domini regis, praetor 
 quatuordecim carucataj terree omnibus comput^tis, et quas 
 quidem insufficientiam et inopiam, Galtridus de Valle et 
 Phillippus de Valle milites, elccti pro communitate comitatus 
 prcedicti, ad comparendum in Parliamento tento apud 
 Kilkcnn. coram gubernatore domini regis Hibernia?, ac 
 c?eteris de consilio ibidem in octab. Scincti Micha^lis prox' 
 J ra^torit', coram gubernatore, et Nicholao Dag- 
 worth milite infrascripto, et dicto consilio allegand. protestan. 
 
 OjUod personam coram domino rege .... dicto coa- 
 
 sllio suo in Anglia, ad sumptus dicta commuuitatis, et causis 
 praemissis, transmittere potuerunt. 
 
 CoNsiMiLE breve dirigitur vicecomiti Waterford. sub 
 eadem data. 
 Tenor returni brevis praedicti sequitur in haec verba : 
 RiCARDUs BoTiLLER et David Cogan sunt electi de 
 communi assensu comitatus Waterford. de essendo coram 
 domino rege, et ejus consilio in Anglia, ad diem in brevi con- 
 tentam, ad faciendum, prout breve requiiit : salvis libertati- 
 bus,juribus, etlegibus, et . , , . consueludinibus ..... terrae 
 Iliberaia?. 
 
 CoNsiMiLE breve dirigitur vicecomiti Weys. sub eadem 
 data. 
 
 Tenoi^ 
 
ST4 APPENDIX. 
 
 Tenor retvinii brcvis prredicti sequitur in haec verba: 
 Nomina duaruni personarum per magnates et communes 
 comitatns Weys. prjetextu istius brevis electarum, ad facien- 
 dum, prout istud breve reqnirlt, videlicet, Ricardus Whittey 
 & Wiliielmus de Sancto Johanne, Clericns. 
 
 CoNSiMiLE breve dirigitur vicecomiti Lymer. sub eadem 
 data. 
 
 Tenor returni brevis prxdicti seqiiitur inhxc verba: 
 Henricus Bercley ct Thomas Kildare sunt electi, per 
 magnates et communes comitatus Lymer. ad transfretandum 
 versus doniintnn rcgem in Angiiam, et consilium suum ibidem, 
 ad tractandum, consulenchmi, et concordanduin, super qui- 
 busdam negotiis, statum et gubernationem terrse dicti doinini 
 legib Hiberni.ie concernentibus, prout breve requirit. 
 
 CoNSiMiLE breve dirigitur vicecomiti Cork, sub eadem 
 .dtvta. 
 
 Tenor returni bre\is praedicti sequitur in h^c verba: 
 l^icARDus DE Wynchedon et Phiiippus blius Roborti 
 White electi6'uit,per magnates et communes comitatus Cork, 
 ad faciendimn et concordandum pro eis in Angha, sumptib\is 
 .eorum, prout breve requirit. 
 
 Rex senescalo libertatis Mid. et vicecomiti Croc, ibiiiem 
 •^^ahltem : 
 
 Cum aliafi oneraverimus, &c. ut supra, usque ibi traivsmitti 
 volentes, et tunc sic, vobis mandamus, quod convocatis coram 
 vobis inagrtatihus, et communibus comiiatis Mid. duas ner- 
 spnas laicas, ts:c. ut supra. Teste, ut supra. 
 
 Tenor returni brevis prxdicti sequitur in hscc vGrba: 
 NoM I N A duarum personarum laicarum per commmiitareni 
 Jitjertatis IVIid. electanun, Williehnus de London' miles et 
 Ricardus Fliuiket, ad comparendum coram domino rege, et 
 consilio suo in Angjia, ad diem in isto brevi contentum, ubi- 
 c\uique fuerit in Anglia, plenam potestatem liabentt^s, ad 
 tractandum et consulendujn, cum ipso domino rege ibidem, 
 jid i})sum dominum ri^geni inlbrmandurn, super statu et gu- 
 bernaiione terrae suae liiberniffl, absque aiiqua potestate )?er 
 pra'dictam communitatem libertii^tispraedictffi, prxdictis dua- 
 bus personis concessa de aliquibus oneiibus super eis impos- 
 teru.m imponendis, propter diversa qua? per prnedictas per- 
 gonas ibic^em declarabuntur. 
 
 Con SI MILE breve dirigitur senescallo libertatis Kilkenn. 
 et vicecomiti Croc, ibidem sub eadem data. 
 
 Tenor returni brevis prsedicti sequitur in haec verba: 
 Alexander episcopus Ossor. et Galfridus Forstall electi 
 sunt, per senescallum libertatis Kilkenn. vicecomitem Croc, 
 ibidem, ac magnates, et communes ejusdem comitatus, de 
 essendo pro eisdem, coram domino rege et ejus consilo, 
 libicunque tunc fuerit in Anglia, ad diem in brevi contentum, 
 
 ad 
 
APPENDIX. J^T5 
 
 ad tractandum, et consulendum, de negotiis, tervam Hiber- 
 iiix, ct dictum comitatuiii tangent ibiis : salvis lihertatibus ac 
 liberis consuetudinibus terr;e Hibernian, ac coniitatiis pr?e- 
 dicti, ita s-.emper, quod dicti Alexander et Galtridus, nee 
 enruni aliquis, nullatenus potestatcm habeant concordandi, 
 ad aliquaonera super dictos senescalhnn, vicecouuteni, mag- 
 nates, seu communes iinponenda, sen quovi.-; modo reci- 
 pienda. 
 
 Et postmodum, pro eo, quod dicti magnates et com- 
 m\ines, non dederunt piMrdiciIs eiectis, potestatem concor- 
 dandi, prout breve domini regis reqnirebat, et etiani pro eo, 
 quod duae Iaic« personse, et non aliqua. ecclesiastica j)er- 
 sona, ad tran.sfretandum, pro dictis magnatibus et commu- 
 nibus versus partes Anglite, juxta mandatum et voluntatem 
 domini regis, extra Angliam eligi debcrcnt, de avisamento 
 gubcrnatoris et custodis terras regi;; Hibernian, et consilii ibi- 
 dem, per breve domini regis, sicut alias, pr3ccc])tum fuitpne- 
 fatis senescallo et vicecomiti, quod dictis magnatibus et com- 
 nuniibus, ex parte domini regis injungerent, quod ipsi de 
 eorum communi assensu eligerent unam laicam }>ersonam, 
 loco dicti episcopi, babentem sutHcientem potestatem, una 
 cum pi-jefato Galfrido, tam ad concordandum quam tractan- 
 dum et consulendum, ut prjedictum est. 
 
 Returni cujus qnidem brevis tenor talis est : 
 
 Walterus tilius Willielmi Coterell de Keuly^, electus 
 est loco Alexandri episcopi Ossar. una cum Galtiido Forstal!, 
 per senescallum libertatis Kilkenn. et vicecomitem Croc, ibi- 
 dem ac magnates, et communes ejusdem comitatus deessendo 
 pro eisdem coram domino rege, et ejus consilio, ad diem in 
 brevi contentum, ubicunque tunc f'uerit in Anglia, ad trac- 
 tandum, consulendum et concordandum, de negotiis, terram 
 HibernijE, et dictum comitatum tangentibus : salvis liberta- 
 tibus et liberis consuetudinibus terra* et communitatis pra?- 
 dictorum; et except, quod dicti Walterus et Galfridus, ncc 
 eoruru aliquis, nullatenus potestatem habeant concordandi 
 ad aliqua onera, sup-er dictos magnates et communes impo- 
 nenda, seu cpiovis modo recipienda. 
 
 CoNsiMiLE breve dirigitur senescallo libertatis Tyar. & 
 vicecomiti Croc, ibiilem sub eadem data. 
 
 Tenor returni brevis praedicti sequitur in hsec verl^a : 
 
 WiLLiELMUS Newebery et Willielmns Yong, sunt 
 electi de communi asseivsu, tam libertatis, quam Croc, de 
 essendo coram domino rege, et ejus consilio in Anglia ad 
 diem in brevi contentum, ad faciendum, prout breve requirit : 
 .salvis libertatibus, juribus, et legibus, et liberis consuetudini- 
 bus terrae Hibernia*. 
 
 CoxsiMiLE breve dirigitur senescallo libertatis Ker. e^ 
 vicecomiti Croc, ibidem sub eadem data. 
 
 Tenor 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Texor returni brevis pncdicti sequitur in hacc verba. 
 (jiiLBERTUs fiUus Walter, et Tliomas Fitz-Danicll del 
 Hath, laici, electi sunt per magnates et communes comilatu.-;. 
 Ker. tarn pro libei-tate, quam })ro Croc, de essendo coram 
 consilio domini regis in (piinden. puvilicationis beat:e Maria? 
 })rox' fatur', in Anglia, ad tractandum, consulendum et coa- 
 tordandum, prout breve reqnirit. 
 
 Rex niajori et ballivis civitatis su» Dublin, salutem : 
 Cum alias oneraverimus, &c. ut supra, usque, ibi trans- 
 mitti volentcs, et tunc sic; vobis maiidamus, quod convo- 
 catis coram vobis civibus ct comraunibus ejusdem civitatis, 
 duos civcs hujusmodi potestatem, &:g, ut supra, sub eadeni 
 data. 
 
 Texou returni brevis prardicti sequitur in hacc verba: 
 Pr.etextu hujus brevis, convocatis civibus et communi- 
 bus civitatis domini regis Dublin, iidem cives et communes, 
 de eorum unanimi assensu, \ma voce dixerunt, cpiod ipsi 
 juxtajura, privilegia, libertatcs, leges, et corusuetudines terriu 
 Hibernian, a tempore conc[uestus ejusdem usitata, non tenen- 
 tur mittere aliqiios de terra pr^edicta, ad Parliamenta ncc 
 consilia in Anglia tenta, nee ad tractandum, consulendum et 
 concordandum, ciun domino recje in Anijlia, iji'out hoc breve 
 requnut ; ob revercntiam tamen dommi regis, et voluntatis 
 sune ac mandatorum suorum complement, et propter urgen- 
 tem necessitatem pro ruina et inopia dictae terra>, et populi 
 fidelis ejusdem., domino regi declarandum,hac vice concedunt 
 .Tohanni Blackboyn et Johanni White civibus civitatis prse- 
 dictffi electis pro civitate praedicta, potestatem ad tractandum^ 
 consulendum et concordandum cum domino rege, et consilia 
 suo in Anglia, super statu et gubernatione ejusdem ternu 
 liiberniaj; potestatem pr<idictorum Johannis et Johanuis* 
 electorum ad ipsos cives et comnmnes, de aliquibus oneribus 
 erga dominum regem onerandis, concedendis in omnibus re- 
 servat. Ita tamen quod dicta concessio sive misfciio, in f uturo, 
 dictis civibus et communibus non cedat in praejudicium ju- 
 rium, privilegiorum, libertatum, legum et consuetudinun> 
 praedictorum, quibus magnates et commune HiberuijE, ac 
 ipsi cives et communes civitatis prxdictae, a tempore con- 
 questus Hibernian inconcusse usi sunt ct gavisi, 
 
 CoNSiMiLE breve dirigitur majori, senescallo, ct balliviS 
 villa? sure deDrogheda, ex utraque parte aqusc, &:g. ututatis 
 mutandis, sub eadem data. 
 
 Tenor returni brevis pmedicti sequitur in hrec verba: 
 Pr^etextu luijus brevis, convocatis bm-geiisibus et com- 
 munibus villcC de Drogheda ex utraque parte aquae, iidem, 
 &c. ut supra, usque ibi hac vice concedunt, et tunc sic po- 
 testatem Williehno White et Nicholao Starkey electis pro 
 villa prxdicta^ ad tractandumj &c. ut supra, mutatis mu- 
 tandis. 
 
 CoxsiMiLE 
 
APPENDIX. 377 
 
 CoNsiMiLB breve dirigitur majori et baHivis clvitatis suae 
 Waterford. mutatis mutandis, sub eadem data. 
 
 Tenor returni brevis proedicti sequitur in hacc verba : 
 Pn^TEXTU istius brevis, convocatis civibus et commu- 
 nibus civitatis domini regis Waterford. de communi assensM 
 et consilio, respondemus quoad contenta in hoc brevi, quod 
 non tenemur juxta libertates, privilegia, jura, leges et con- 
 suetudines civitatis pnedictae, nee terrae liibernicC, aliquos dc 
 civitate praedicta eligere, nee mittere ad partes Angliae, ad 
 Parliamenta seu consilia in Anglia tenenda ; tainen ob re- 
 verentiam domini nostri regis Angliae illustrissimi, & prop- 
 ter urgentissimam necessitatem dicta? terrye jam imminentem, 
 ad praesens ; salvis nobis, & terrae praedictae niagnatibus & 
 communibus juribus, privilegiis, libertatibus, le|;ibus & 
 eonsuetudinibus suis prapdictis, concedimus Willielmo 
 Chaundhuil & Galfrido Forstalis, per nos electis, ad pro- 
 ficiscendum ad partes Angliae ibidem coram domino nostro 
 rege comparend. plenam potestatem, ad tractandum consu- 
 lenduni & concordandum super salvatione Si defensione & 
 bona gubernatione dictae civitatisac terr* predictae ; except, 
 tamen quod non concedimus prjedictis mmciis seu electis 
 ejusdem civitatis, potestatem concedendi aliqua onera seu 
 gubsidia super nos seu cives & communes civitatis jirjclictte 
 ad praesens, & hoc tarn propter paupertatem nostraiii^, quam 
 propter misas, & expensas, ac sumptus, quos quasi potidie 
 mtallagiatos levand- de praedictis communibus dicta? ci vital is 
 quam ni aliis sumptibus & expcnsis, quos circa defensionein 
 civitatis praedictae necessario apponere oportebit : quie tamen, 
 licet juxta civium ac communitatis totius civitatis praedictaa 
 pos^ apponantur, non sufficiunt ad decimam partem sump- 
 ttis & expensarum, quae, circa guerras ac resistentiam initni- 
 corum & rcbellium domini nostri regis, civium ac commu- 
 nitatis,- & defensionem ejusdem civitatis, apponi oj)ortet, 8c 
 ob caiisas praedicta!?, &: alias quarri plurimas })er pr.edicio'^ 
 electos seu nuncios civititis prasdictae, coram domino nostro 
 rege in Anglia declararidas, aliter ad praesens respondcre noj\ 
 possimu.s. 
 
 CoNSiMiLE breve dirigitur majori & baUivis civitatis 
 Lwier. sub endem data. 
 
 Te.vor returni brevis praeilicti seqnitur in hajc verba : 
 Nomina duorum civium electorum, habentimn suilici- 
 entem potestatem, tarn pro se, qui^m pro ciyibus & coninm- 
 nibus civitatis Lymer, ad tractandun^, consuleudum .S: 
 concordandum, cum domino nostro rege, citja ft-stuni puri- 
 ficationis beatae Mariae prox' fiUur', ubicumque time i'nvx'il 
 in Anglia, pront istud breve requirit, videlicet llcuricus 
 Bercley & Thoma;^ Kildare. 
 
 Vol, I. SB Consimile 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 CoNsiMiLE breve dirigitur majori &ballivi9 civitatis suae 
 Cork, sub eadem data. 
 
 Tenor returni brevis praedicti sequitur inhaec verba: 
 
 VViLLiELMUs Dalton, & Joliannes Droupe sunt electi, 
 de esseudo coram tloinino rejre, & consilio suo in Anglia, ad 
 tractanduiu, consulenduni & concordandum, prout breve 
 requirit. 
 
 CoNsiMiLE breve dirigitur superiori & prceposito villaede 
 Kilkenn. &c. mutatis mutandis, ut supra, sub eadem data. 
 
 Texor returni brevis prffidicti sequitur in haec verba: 
 
 RoBERTUs Flode & Joliaunes Ledred electi sunt, 
 per su|>eriorem prjEpositum, & burgenses villae Kilkenn. 
 ad transfretandum versus dominum regem in Anglia & 
 cssend. coram dicto domino rege & consilio suo ibidem, ad 
 diem in hoc brevi contentum, ad faciendum, prout breve 
 requirit : salvis libertatibus & liberis consuetudinibus terra 
 lliberniap, & villae praedicta?. 
 
 CoNsiMiv-E breve dirigitur superiori & btillivig villae de 
 Ro8se sub eadem data. 
 
 Tenor returni brevis praedicti sequitur in haec verba: 
 
 Kxecutio istius brevis facta est in hac forma qua se- 
 quitur, videlicet : 
 
 WiLLiELMus RvKYiiTi & Willielmus Seymor sunt 
 duo electi, ad respondendum pro villa de Rosse, prout breve 
 requirit. 
 
 C'oNsiMiLE breve dirigitur superiori & ballivis villae de 
 Weys sub eadem data. 
 
 Tenor returni brevis prardicti sequitur in hsec verba. 
 
 Jacobus Frevnsh tS: Laurentius Bron burgenses vil- 
 lae AVeys electi sunt, per superiorem, ballivos & communi- 
 latem villK Weys : qui quidem Jacobus et Laurentius po- 
 testatem Itabent, ad tractandum, consulendum, & ordinan- 
 dum, tarn pro seipsis, quam communibus villas praedictse, 
 Si ad essemlum coram domine rege et consilio suo in Anglia, 
 ubicunque tiierit, citra quindenam piuificationis beatae Ma- 
 riae, prout bi^ve requirit. 
 
 CoNsiMiLE breve dirigitur sujjeriori & ballivis villae dn 
 Yogliill sub eadem data;. 
 
 Tenor rettmii brevis pi-aedicti sequitur in haec verba: 
 
 ViRTUTE hujus mandati, eligi fecimus Bernardum Ba- 
 ret &: Ricardum Cristofre, plenam potcstatem nostram ha- 
 bentes, pro nobis & communitate villae de Yoghill, ad trac- 
 tandum, consulondum, & concordandum, coram excellentis- 
 ihiuio domino nostro rege, & discretissimo consilio suo Angliae, 
 secundum {onnam *Sc tenorem hujus infrascripti mandati. 
 
 Et quia prfeliilo gubernatori & custodi, ac consilio Hi- 
 heruiac pradicto vidcbatur majus autenticum esse, ad nego- 
 fiii praedicta veiiius dominum regem, & dictum coiijilium su- 
 
 um 
 
APPENDIX. - 379 
 
 um in Anglia, sub magno sigillo dicti domini regis in Hi- 
 bernia, quam aliquo alio modo transmittend. de avisamento 
 & ordinatione dictorum gubernatoris & custodis, ac consilii 
 regis in Hibernia magnum sigillum domini regis in Hibernia 
 praedicta, prssentibus in prsemissorum testimonium est appo- 
 situm. 
 
 Dat. apud Cassell xx. die Martii, anno regni regis 
 Edwardi Tertii, post conquestum regni sui Angliae quin* 
 quagessimo, & Francis tricesimo septimo. 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
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