PR 4964 .M42 B3 1827 ^^.^ O M < .<:,vf». \,^ DESCRIPTIVE POEM; /■ ^Y JOHN M'CAF.RAN, OF LONDONDERRY, ESQ IVITH HXSTOIIICAZ. HOTES, (-7>¥STRATirE OP SOME OF '^HE SPLENDID EVENTS THAT ■AV| SHED SUCH REFULGENT LUSTRE ON THK IIEIGN OF BRIAN BOROIHME, KING OF IRELAND ; BY GEORGE PEPPER OF NEW YGRk', Let Erin remember the days of old Ere faitiiless sous betrayed her •, When Kennedy wore the collar of gold, Which ho won from he proud invader : When her King, with standard of green uiifurrd, Led the Red Branch Knights to danger Ere the Emerald gem of the Western World Was set in the crown of a stranger. — = ^ Hrmted «nd Published, and to be had of the several Beol«e^ lers throughout the Union. ./. SrLoiigklin, Print. 1-827 of W45r^\^^ ^'^^'^'% ^-x Soiiiho'n jDi-/r;V/ rf New York. ss. BE It remembered, that on the 17th day of May. A. D, 182"/. iu the 51. St year of ths lad^pendence of tlie United States of Ameri- f.ai, Daoiel Tiniony, of the said District, hath dve shed such refill >rent lustre on the reijnof Urian Boroihme,King oflreljkid: By George Pcppcr,of N. York. Let Erin remember the days of old E:e faithless sons betray'd her; When Kennedy wore tlic collar of cold, Which he won from the protul invader: When her Kirgwilh standard of greeu urfurl-J, Led the P..ea Branch Knights to danger Ere the Emerald green of the Western World Was set in the crown of a Stranger. In conformity to the Act of Congress of the United S;atcE,^entitled '^ An Act for the encouragu'*.snt of Learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the nnthors and proprietor? of such copies, during the time therein nientioned." And also to an Act, entitled "An Act, supplementary to an Act, entitled an Act for the encouragement of Learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Book?, to the author* and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned, and extending the benefits tber'!of to the arts of designing, ensraving, and etching historical and other prints." FRED. J. BETTS, J«ne L ClrrJi of the S;ovlhern Disinct rf^U■lv York. P 4n INTRODUCTIOIN. An ardent and enthusiastic love of country is an in- herent characteristic of the Irish people. — No matter in what clime an Irishman may be cast by destiny, — no matter whether he loiters in the floral bowers of prosperity, or struggles, like Sisyphus, in the unavailing effort of rolling the stone of poverty against the moun- tain of adverse fortune, still the compass of his recol- lection continually points to his native land, — his own dear Ireland! — the illumined polar star to which his fondest wishes turn with all the prejudice of national feeling, and patriotic affection. H3 is often compell- ed by ruthless oppression and vindictive peisecution to tear himself from the arms of connubial love, pater- nal affection, and the sacred ties of friendship; to aban- don the home of his father^s, and go in search of that bread, which the task-m'^sters oi' his country deny him ; but under any circumstance, he can never forget the dear scenes of his 3'outh, the happy days of other times, when the flowery landscape of life was seen decked in prismatic hues, and illuminated by the brilliant rainbow of anticipated delights I — Whether •nslaved in the eastj or free in the west, the pastoral * INTRODUCTIOP?. /alley — ibc babbling rivulet — the moss clad ruius o^' the mouldering abbey, in which *' Many a saint, and many a hero trod;" die grove-sheltered cottage, where he first awoke frona the tranquil slunxbers of existence, and the green hills of his school-boy amusements — with alt the soft and endearing associations which they awaken, never cease to warm his imagination-, nor, to his latest hour, d^ they depart from his memory. The patriotic and elegant productions of Lady Morgan often sooth© the sorrows of his exile, while viewing the pristine glories of his country, in her splendid pages ; and the sublime and enrapturing strains of Moore, like the melody of seraphs' lyres, thrill his soul with the re- membrance of home, and communicate to his heart the electric spark that kindles the tenderest, and most delightful sympathies, which can irradiate the gloom of regret. • After the publication of my remarks in the Nation- al Advocate, under the signature of Finival, or the derisive, and burlesque mek)-drama of Brian BoRoiHME, (lately exhibited at the Chatham Theatre in an insulting manner, more calculated to give hila- rity to the midnight orgies of Bacchanalians than te contribute to the intellectual amusement of an intelli- gent Irish audience,) the following Poem was pre- sented to me, with a request that I would, in addition to my farmer comments on the splendid reign of the illustrious Brian, illustrate the description of the Bat- tle of Clontarf with historical notes that should wipe away the stigma, which the manager of the Cil^tham Thea-TRE attempted to fasten on the m,e~ ^TRODUCTION. 5 mory of the greatest monarch that ever sat on the Irish throne. To naaligu, distort, and misrepresent the Irish' character have been, since the invasion of Henry II., the alpha and omega of English prejudice. We, who sent forth Teachers in the sixth century to enlighten the darkness of Europe* — to diffuse the blessings of religion in Scotland, and to tame its savage Picts by the discipline of civilization and instruction ; we, who carried the terror of Our arras, under a FiNGAL,aCoNN, and an O'Niall, to the extremities of Europe; — we, who defied the Roman power in the zenith of its jlory ;t we, who produced Usher, Swift, Boyle, Gold- smith, Sterne, Grattan, Sheridan, Curran, and Burke; * "So much fame did the School of Armagh and Clonard acquire, that tlie Kings of France, Spain, and Denmark, sent their children to them for instruction. In the School of Clo- nard in the year 525 there were three thousand students." — Co Igan^s Annals of Ireland. '• The great Charlemagne was educated by an Irish Teacher.'' Ilanmers Chronicle. t Agricola when Governor of Britain wrote a letter to Cor- mack King of Ireland, demanding of him to make submission and pay tribute to the Roman- Government, which so incensed tlie Irisli Monarch that he sent a message of defiance to the Koman General ; and ordered a large body of troops to go with the utmost speed to the assistance of the Picls, who were then harrassed by the Roman legions. The expedition was commanded by the King's brother, a Prince of skill and brave- ry, who fiercely attacked the R6mans, and made a successful incursion into South Britain, took several captives and returned home with an immense acquisition of spoil and trophies. — Ta- citus, whose authority must be acknowledged irrefragible, says, that the ports of Ireland were better known from com- merce, through commercial men, than those of Britain. "That Ireland was well known to the ancients is proved by 1* X I.NTRODUCTJOI^ iind we that can now boast of having a ModRE, Labt Morgan, Miss Edg worth, Mr. Plunkett, Judge Bush, Mr, O'Connell, and the eloquent Sheil,* to be set he best authorities. — Diony£.ius in his Geography mentions Isrne as a country famous for its immense woods of Oak, Pto- lemy says the SHme. Apuleius, in his Book De Mundo, on the authority, as he says, of Aristoile ; and Theophrastus speaks of it as a country of rich soil rind temperate climate. Polybius hag made several allusions in his writings to Ibernca. Strabo stated that Ireland was a cold country. Plutarch said the Irish were of Cettic origin." — Irish Antiquarian Researchea. Dublin, 1826- '* Althoagh EnLgH&h dominion, like the deadly Upas Tree, blasted the germinating buds of Irish talent ; although its into- lerance was employed to arm passion and prejudice against the country. " in sf>he of these and many other obstacles, the moral strength of Ireland, a pation always distinguished for the natural endowments ot its population, rose superior to the cruel pressure of its political iuflictions ; and the domestic ac- tivity and intellectual improvement of the people — slow and limited as they appear, whea compared with the advances of the sister kingdom — proceeded with a rapidity little short of miraculous, under so stulitfying a system of legislation and government. It was then (1800) that the light of JiAtional ge- nius concentrated its lo.ng scattered rays to a point, and shining steadily from its proper focus, threw out those inex- linguishable sparks of moral lustre — " Which are wont to ffive Light to a world, and make a nation live." — it was then that the powerful collision of active, ardent and energetic minds produced that brilliant burst of talent, which for something more than a century, flung over the political darkness of the land, a splendour to which her struggles and Iier misfortunes served only to give a stronger relief, and a more resj)lendent effect. For the last century England had a running account with Ireland, for dramatic contributions when ber own resources had, by being too largely drawn upon, near INTRODUCTION. 7 up as targets for the poisoned arrows of calumny ani defamation, is an act of cruel and aggressive injustice^ for which England must some day or other, suffer oa the burning altars of retributive expiatiOxNT ! Some of the illiberal and unlettered Editors of this City, borrowing their impressions from the intolenant London newspapers, often indulge in silly tirades against the Irish character, who, while they so quickly descry the mote in our eyes, are insensible of the beam in their own. The Americans are in the habit of making, what have been called. Bulls as well as the Irish ; and any reader of discernment may find as ludicrous blunders in the Commercial Advertiser y and in the N.Y. American^ as any that can be selected from Miss Edgeworth's Collection. Let me enumerate a few of the prominent Bulls of New- York — viz. For instance, " The Marble Manufacturing CoinjJanyl' (icliat a felicitous idea ! ) " Quill Manufactory y' ''Blind Factory;'^ '- Cash tStort -" In John-street the following notice was exhibited in a window a feu days ago — '' l^'iis house and store loill be removed over the 2cay, on the first of May ;^^ and on the Sign board of a Teacher in Cherry-street, is painted — ^^ Book- keejiing taught here by Grammar P^ While on this subject I will quote the opinion of a literary traveller of great eminence, who lately visited Ireland. — " The \y become bankrupt. — Ireland produced almost all tlie best dramatic u-riters on the British stnge: Congreve, Howard f^outher, Steele, Faiquahr, Phillips, Kelly, Jones, Orrery, Tatc^ Concanen, Dobbs, Bickerstafll', Broof<, Cetitlivre, Gi iffiihs, Jcp- son, Murphy, Macklin, West, Goldsmith, SliCiidan, Sheil, ■ = '^?. Mafurin. &,c. Sic," — Vide Lady Morgan's Akscn(€iisnK. ^ INTRODUCTION. native Irisliman/' says be, " commits no more biiin- tJers than his neighbours, when he speaks in the lari- gunge which he perfectly understands. His humour^ however, in any language, is always inexhaustible, and his errors are never the errors of the heart. Th©' Irisfi is so very idiomatic, and posesses so little in common with the other languages of modern Europe, except the Celtic, and at the same time so very figu- rative, that it is difficult for any one who thinks in it not to make Bulls. It is partly on this account that an unlettered Irishman speaks in glowing and metapho- rical diction. It is impossible for him to separate the language of his early years from his habits of thinking ; he, therefore, very naturally accommodates the acquired tongue to the idiomatic constr.'ction and phraseology of his own, and imperceptibly enriches it with ail the tropes and figures with which his mind is familiar. Besides, the Irish have an ardour of mind, an enthusiasm and impetuosity, which hurry them along, and produce that confusion of ideas in which hulls chiefly consist." The ancient history of Ireland, like that of man} other countries, is involved in the dark mists of fabu- lous obscurity, and I fear that no new lights can ever dawn that will dispel the impenetrable gloom of ob- livion that shrouds it. For our Manuscripts have been carried off by th(i Danes, and St. Patrick, in his zeal to annihilate every memorial of paganism, caused all the Druidical Books to be committed to the flames. Oar claims to very remote antiquity, are, however, founded on the immovable basis of historical proofs. Ware, Boale, and the Scottish historian. Buchannan. INTRODUCTION. 9' concur in tbe opinion that Ireland n'as first iuliabitetl by the descendants of Japhet, about three centuries after the flood. According to their authority Par- tholanus, the grand son of Gomer, having collected a fleet, resolved on setting out on an expedition of dis- covery, and after a protracted voyage succeeded in landing on the western coast of tlie Island, on the 14tli ofMay, with one hundred soldiers, and a great num- ber of Greek women. But it is said that about three hundred years after the country was thus colonized all the inhabitants were swept awr«y by a dreadful plague, which utterly destroyed every human being on the Is- land. Shortly after this catastrophe another colony arrived from the east, under the direction of Nemi- ©lus, a man renowned for courage and military genius. He was elected King by his followers and the coun- try flourished under his sway. He was daring and ambitious, and he engaged in an unsuccessful war with some African pirates, the result of which proved disastrous to him and his subjects; for the pirates, hav- ing a large naval force, found no difficulty in subjuga- ting the whole Island under the yoke of their despotism. The tyranny of the victers was so cruel and insup- portable, that the Irish were happy when they ob- tained permission to leave the country. Camden states that they embarked on board a fleet of 11 30 ships at Waterford, under the command of the three grandsons of Nemkdius, and sailed for Greece. Af-** ler a lapse of 200 years the descendants of Nemedius returned from Greece to Ireland. They were con- ducted by five Princes of eminent reputation, and no sooner had they landed than they commenced hostili- ties. ?>nd trained so manv brilliant » •^^'r»ri<»s that the ig liNTRODUCIlOiH. ^ inhabitants recognized them as sovereigQS, and iUa Island was divided into five kingdoms for them. The subjects of these Kings were called Firbolgs. ^ The Firbolgs were, according to historical assertion, ver}' active, learned and valiant men ; and Lave left in the mounts and round towers of Ireland lasting monu- ments of their skill in military' architecture. The Firbolgs were in process ef time expelled, or finally subdued by the Tuathde Dennans, a warlike nation ef Necromancers, who came from Attica and Boetia. As soon as they were landed they burned all their shipping to intimate to the natives the resolution the}^ Iiad formed of never again returning to the country of their birth. The learned biographer of poor Der- niody (Dr. Raymond) has written several ingenious essays in support of the opinion, that the Druidical order was first established in Ireland by this Phoeni- cian colony. Mr. Lhuyd, the celebrated Welsh An- tiquarian, has brought strong historical testimony to sustain the conjecture. The Tuath de Dennatis were so completely versed in the art of magic, it is said, that they could even restore the dead to life, and by waving their necromantic wands, they could raise ful- ly armed those warriors who had fallen in battle tlu; day before. They had many curiosities which pos- sessed the power of enchantment. These were a sword, a spear, a cauldron, and the celebrated marble chair, or " stone of destiny,''^ on which the kings of Ireland and afterwards those of Scotland, were crown- ed.* But neither their witchery nor magic spells *This estraordinary ?toDe wliich possessed such miraculous powers, was brought by the Tualh de Dennan colony frnm the chivalric courage of a champion. Possessing a "great army, and a nu- merous navy, his power was so formidable, tht it was courted and dreaded by ail the Monarchs of Europe. He was passionately fond of military glory, and immediately after his accession, he sought an ""opportunity of gratifying his towering ambition. The Caledonians, at that juncture, being greatly oppress- ed and harrassed by the Romans, offered to become tributary to the Irish Monarch, on condition that he Ivould drive the invaders out of their country, and ■ ()rotect them from future aggression. This offer was joyfully received by Niall, who instantly sailed for Scotland at the head of a formidable army, with which he soon drove the Roman legions into Britain. He made a compact with the Albanian Scots, which sti- pulated that an Irish prince should be their sovereign,, md that the country, which was then called Alhania^'^ * That Scotland is indebted to Ireland for her orig-in, is an sucontestible fact, which even Buchannan has admitted. To «^S the Scotch are indebted for letters and religion : to us the(r owe the nobility of their blood, and the lustre and eminence of their families. We have the authority of Camden, Routh,jind Usher, that Scotland "continued tributary to the mother sove. reignty, till released from such impost by the authority and in fluence of tlie presumptive heir to the Irish crown, the great Columb Kille, (the dove of the church,) whose sanctified men^ tal sublimity preferred the renowned mission of becoming the ^?postle of the gospel light to the Picts, or, as Dr. Johnson has It, *'to roving clans and savage barbarians," to the transient Way of the sceptre of Ireland ; and that at length, upon the -Jemise of the Albanian, the Scottish, or Irish dynastj' prevai! LXTRODt CTIO'N. •should ever after assume the appellation of ^'ScotLO M.inor,''^ in order to perpetuate and preserve their ori- gin and descent from Ireland, which at that time, and for ages before, was designated ^^ Scotia Major. '^' Hav- ing settled the affairs of Scotland, and allayed the spi- -iitof turbulence and sedition in that country^ he fitted out a large fleet, in which he embarked with a great army for Gaul, where he gained several victories ; after which he returned in triumph to Ireland, with the spoils and caj)tives of his conquest. Among the captives was Patrick, afterwards the renowned Apostle of Ireland. Some illiberal Scottish writers have asserted, in the face of historical truth, that the Irish were immersed in barbarism, when St. Patrick arrived in Ireland. This is a mere bubble of Scotch ^prejudice and envy, which the breath of historical evidence has long since bursted, as the literature, philosophy, and arts of the Irish Druids shone with, a, through which the present king of Great Britain derives his right and title to the throne." — Transactions of the Ucclic Society, vol I. p. 11. St. Coiumb Kil!e was a truly apostolic character. He wa^ lineally descended from. (he great Niali, of the nine hostage.^. His life was written by Manus O'Donnell, prince of Tyrcon- iiell, in 1520. St. Columba was the son of Felim O'Donnell, jirince of Ulster; he was born in tlie^year 521. Bede makes n very honourable mention of him. He erected many abbeys-; among them the monasteries of Kells, in the country of Meath .; Ardee, in the county of Louth ; Slane, in the county of Meath, and also the celebrated abbey of Columkille, in the island of lona, which had been granted to him by the king of the Pict« He was the apostle of the Caledonians, whom he converted tc Ohristianity .—inWi AiUiquarian Ixcscarchcs. \o\. l.y^. 118- LNtROlDUCTmN. iP refulgent britrhtness, when Albania was benighted in the gloom of ignorance. Camden says that Coi'' mack, the law-giver, the father-in-law of Fingal, in his famous book of ^^ Advice to Kings,-' which he wrot« for his son Garbrary, displayed such sound maxims of political wisdom and legislative justice, a? ^vell as literar}' taste, as would reticct honour on the most enlightened legislator of Greece.'^ The old Irish fostered and protected genius, and the order of the Bards was held by them in the highest venera- tion,* and was liberally supported by every chieftain : and its influence, because it was intellectual, in many '^ases, was superior to that of the chief himself. Their soft or sublime effusions, which powerfully touched the passions, while they made the heart of the fiercest warrior glow with emotions of tender- ness and love, or animated, and roused with resistless energy to the martial combat, were regarded not merely as the inspirations of genius, but as the still loftier conceptions of beings whose intuitive minds * "There is no country in which poetry and music were held ■in higher estimation, or cultivated to a greater extent, than in Ireland. Well might it be called ' the land of song and story/ Deivars visil io Ireland. ' No nation under heaven (says the most patriotic and talent ed woman Irelad ever produce»i, Lady Morgan,) was evermore ^enthusiastically attached to poetry and music, than the Irish. Formerly every family had its poet, or bard, called FUea Cro- farit : and indeed (he very language itself seems most felici- tously adapted to be the vehicle of poetic images ; for its en- ergy, strength, expression, and luxuriancy, never leave the bard at a loss for apposite terms to realize the thick coming fancies of his genius.' The illustrious Bacon dec^^ares, in his Sfflva, that ' do Tiarp has the sound so melting and so prolonged., as the Irish hart> 25 IJNtRODUCIlON. were under tlie peculiar impulse of supernatural power. They alone could confer immortality in '•^ deathless verse,'^ and emblazon the deeds of the 'lero by the brilliant "light of song.'' The manners of these bards were polished, and the tone of their moral feeling elevated and improved, and their sii- Idime and touching poetry was fraught with the en- thusiasm of a sublime superstition, that impelled the people to the exercise of ev*3ry manly virtue, to hero- ism, and military exploits. It is said that St. Patrick found us a pagan people. The assertion is false and unfounded,* for he has himself admitted, that our ''Druids were remarkable for their learning and in- genuity." In difTasing the mild and purifying religion of the Gospel over Ireland, the talents of the Druids often frustrated his benign efforts. lie however suc- ceeded, in spite of their opposition, in dispelling tlie mists of druidical superstition from the understand- ing of our progenitors,! by opening the sacred vo- The celebrated Geminiani declared, after hearing the soft and enrapturing strains of the Irish Orpheus, (Carolan.) ' that he found no music, on the west side of the Alps, so original, plain" tive, and affecting, a§ the Irish.' The melancholy airs are uncom- tnonly pathetic, so much so, Tsays the eloquent and accomplish ffd Charles Phillips,) that I have heard of a distinguished Italian of gr eat musical taste, who, after listening to some of them, suddenly exclaimed, ' that tnnst be the music of a people uho have lost their freedom ." * In the year of the incarnation, 423, Palladius was s ent to he the first Bishop of the Scots, by Celestine, the Roman Pon- tiff."— jBerfe. f " It is universally admitted, thafcthere were Christian coxj prepjations in Ireland before the mission of Palladius, which INTRODUCTION. ;• iiini<2 of inspiration, and declaring the divine connscl of Heaven. When the meek and pious St. Patrick established the Christian dispensation in Ireland,* the Monarch committed to his charge the archives of Tara, in which there were several hundreds of vo- inmes, and many Ossianic manuscripts. The first Suggestion of his active zeal, was to purge the archives of all those books tha< related to heathen worship, or druidical mystery, and thus consign to eternal oblivion every trace and relic of the hitherto pro- vailing superstition. "On this occasion we are told, that near four hundred volumes of our ancient lite- rature were condemned to the flames, to the eternal regret of posterity.'' The Rev. Mr. O'Connor, in bis late admirable work, (The Ancient Chronicles of 'ook pljice in A. D. 431 ; of which, were there no other proof, the testimony of Prosper forms sufficient evidence, for in his ChronicJe of that year, he says that Palladius was sent to the Scots, (the I; ish,) belitving in Christ." — Lanigan's Hhtory oj ^^reland, vol. I. p. 9. " St. Irenaens, Bishop of Lyons, in the second century, 'at- firms, that the apostles propagated Christianity as far ait the ^Jirlil of the sun, and particularly specifies Iberia.^' — Auliqiift rian Researches. ■" Looghaire was then king of Ireland. The apostle visifeo 'lis court at Tava, produced his credentials from the Pope, and defended his doctrine with such forcible arguments, that num- bers were converted, and the Queen herself was of the number. St. Patrick died in the year 493, in the 121st year of his age, ofter governing the Irish church, with unexampled piety and moderaiion, for sixty one years. He was interred in the abbey of DownpatricU, which was founded by himself. In his toml: •vere afterwards placed the bodies of St. Bridget and St. C*? \iy>y'h?..—'0' Hallorah's History of Ireland, :i-2 INTRODUCTION. Ireland) advances strong and acute arguments ir:- support of the supposition, that Ossian's autograp"h manuscript of his poems was consumed with the' other books. It would be contrary to my purpose to expatiate on the long and wasting wars which took place be- 'vvcenthe Irish and the Danes, prior to the accession of the illustrious Brian Boroihme to the throne of •Munster, in 965, as such a dissertation would swell tomes o{ histor3\ Brian was richly endowed with very mental and personal quality requisite in the N3rmation of the character of a magnanimous and ;7atriotic King. Brave and accomplished, he seemed ro be destined by nature to wield a sceptre, and wear a crown. At an early period of his life, he became Captain of (he Dalgais,* and at the head of that gal- * None but the sons of gentlemen would be admitted in this 'inliant legion. The dresses of the officers and soldiers were rich and gorgeous in the extreme. As it was considered the Jiighest honoiar to be a member of this invincible body of ifoops, the following qualifications were essential to an admis- sion to it, as it was constituted like Fingal's famous Irish Mili- tia : ' every candidate must have ia poetical genius, and be well ^acquainted with Irish and classic literature. He was to stand at the distance of nine ridges of land, with only a stick and a - his palace, so elated with his brilliant successes, that he began to estimate himself far superior to Brian, oii whom he looked with the jealous eye of a rival. In order to make the King of Munster feel the power of his resentment, he lost no time in organizing a power- ful confederacy of the provincial Kings against him. AnjoDg the Princes who joined in this coalition wer«? *2-$. mXRODDCTIOr^. O'Phelaiijkiiig of Deasles, the Prince of Ossory, and two Danish Chiefs. Brian seeing the storm of inter- nal commotion ready to burst upon his head, lost no time in opposing its rage. He quickly entered the field, and on l>is approacii, the King of the Deasies, who commanded the allies, dreading the genius and bravery of his gallant adversary, sought safety in a- precipitate retreat towards Watcrford : thither Brian followed him by forced marches, and speedily brought him to actioQ near that city. The Dalgais ever foremost in tire battle, charged the allied army with such heroic valour as to break their ranks and throw them into the greatest confu- sion. Finding themselves defeated at all points, thev betook themselves to flight in the utmost trepidation ; the victorious Dalgais closely pursued them, and en- tered Waterford pellmel}" with the vanquished fugi- tives. The allied Princes seeing that all further re- sistance was useless, implored Brian to grant them peace on any terras he might think proper to pre- scribe. The monarch never refusing the olive branchy received the submission and hostages of the King of Leinster^ the Prince of O^sory, the King of Leath, Mogha, and other chiefs of the cenfedaracy, together with their respective tributes. Brian after these events marched into Meath to receive the homage and subsidies of the King of that country ; he thence, proceeded to Connaught, where Maurice O'Connor, after suffering a defeat at Athlone, was obliged to pay a heavy contribution, and swear fealty, to the Mamo-, nian monarch. The valour, magnanimity, and patri- ?{hm of Brian were the theme of general. praise : aijft IISTRaDUeTlON. 29 Ms legislative wisdom and consummate talents, whcr contrasted U'ith the effeminate passion and tempori- sing spirit of Malachy, (^wbo became enerved by luxury and women,) pointed him out as eminently qualified to preside at the head of the nation. His splendid deserts and sterling virtues attracted general admiration, and gave a preponderating weight to his character, in the scale of popular opinion. In a con- vention of chiefs of Munsler, Connaught, and Ulster, it was decided that, as Malachy had given himself up to a life of pleasure and ease that tarnished the repu- tation which he gained at the battle of Tara, cancelled his claim to Irish gratitude ; and having forgotten llie dangers which menaced his country, that Brian should be raised to the throne of Ireland. Malachy heard of these proceedings with surprise and indignation, and on being made acquainted with the resolution of the States, he declared that he would only give up the sovereignty with his life. During this interval Brian, at the head of his gallant MaiPiCnians, was continually chasing and harassing the enemies ef his country from one end of the Island to the other, and depriving the Danes of all their strong holds, amorrg which was Dublin, their chief fortress. Malachy's waning fortunes, hastening to a crisis, he came to a resolution of defending his right to the last extremity. The Princes and Chiefs of the nation having met in Congress, determine^ to send ambassadors to Malachy, to request that he would abdicate the thronq eivilly, otherwise that measures would be resorted to for the purpose of enforcing a co«ipliance with the unanimous wishes of the na'rion. Though Malachv 3#, 30 " INTRODUCTIONS was addicted to indolence and pleasure, yet the iin^ port of this message roused him from his apathy, and kindled again that warlike spirit which beamed so brilliantly at the battle of Tara, and the capture oi Dublin. Like a Phoenix rising with renewed vigom- from the ashes of his inglorious lethargy, he made th^ necessary preparations for maintaining the inviolabi- lity of his crown. At this juncture of his affairs, ht despatched messengers to all the Princes of the king- dom, claiming,as King of Ireland, their allegiance and support. Notwithstanding the urgency of this message. and the imminent difficulties in which the King wa^ involved, the Kings of Ulster and Connaught refused the required succours. The great O'Neill desired ' liie ambassadors to tell the King of Leinster, " that when the royal palace of Tara was possessed by li?s illustrious ancestors of the Heresionian monarchs, that tliey knew how to defend it against all hostile at- tempts; and if Malachy was unable to keep posscssioii of it, he had better deliver it up to the valiant King of Munster, who like a. patriot Prince had reduced the common enemy, restored the liberty of the suhjecf^^ and' employed his time arid abilitiss for the public good. I cannot, therefore, added O'Neill, oppose the MaraoRFans, especially the chivalrous Dalgais\. whose virtues I respect, and whose friendship I de- sire." The defection of several Princes from the eau^e of P»Ialachy, and the refusal of others to co-ope- rate with him in the war against Brian, struck alarm and dismay into the fettered heart of the deserted King. In this strait of the extremity of his fortune, and con- 'vijxce'^ ft ^ere vaia^to resort to force of arms, be wa?r . l?sTRODirCTION. ST ad'vised that the only alternative that remained for his adoption, was to repair to th©-camp of Tara, where Brian was with a great army, and make his submis- sion to the King of Munster. In accordance with this resolution, he went to the camp of Brian, where he was received with all the honour and respect due to his high rank. Here he made a formal surrender af the crown and regtilia of Ireland to Brian, at the same time paying him tribute and homage as his vassal. The generous soul of the monarch was touched witli compassion for the misfortunes of Malachy, and ia order to render them as light as possible, he assigned' him the kingdom of Meath, and on his departure ire made him and his retinue many valuable presents, Brian then made his triumphal entry into Tara, accom- panied by all thOjPrinces in- the Island, who came to offer their submission to him, s« well as by all tlH3 - Nobles and Bishops, that attended to give eclat and pomp to the ceremony of his coronation. Seated on the throne of Heremon, he was solemnly annoiuted, and crowned by the Archbishop of Cashel ; after which it was exultingly announced to the assembla>^ multitude, by the heralds, " That the renowned King Brian, the son of Cineidey the son of Lorcan, the son of Kennedy^ and so on to Milesius, was sole Mo- narch OF ALL Irland,^' which was received by n. loud and simultaneous burst of acclamation by the people, and confirmed by their giving what is called the '^' royal tcar-shont of applause y* * In 1491 Poynirtg's Law was passed in a parliament field in Drogheda, and that legislative assembly, also, then abolishet^ ihft use of the hish war cry, which the ancient Iiish alna^C" 32 introduction: The country was now enjoying the blessings of profound peace, and the expanded intellect of tlic shouted on commencing a battle. The exclamativjn aboo ! was analogous to the Hebrew word Aboi : thus the war cry of the Kildare family was derived from the castlfc of Crom, in the county of Limerick. O'Neill's cry was Lamk drarg aboo .' signifying Huzza for the red hand ! O^Brians cry was Lamh laider aboo! Huzza Jar the strong ha\\' The Earl of Des- mond's cry was Skan ait aboo ! Huzza for the old place ! The Earl of Clanrickard's (Burke's) cry was Gael rudh ahoo '. Husea for the red stranger, (or Englishman.) Fitzpatrick's cry was Gaer laider aboo ■' i.e. the sharp and strong for ever .' O'Carroll's(a) cry was,. Skowet aboo .' The Knight of Kerry's cry was, Farri-buidhe aboo ! Huzza for the yellow troop ! Ware says, the word ahoo signifies a curse. The word is still used in the south of Ireland as an interjection of contempt or defiance, which I believe was the original intention of the ex- pression, and used to excite dread and intimidation in the ene> my. Crom a boo, the cry of the Geraldines, seems to convey something of a more powerfully overawing nature in the ex- pression, than any other of the ancient Irish war shouts. — Ftrf* lltmarks on Irish Literature and Antiquities, by James S. Law, Esq. Hibernian Magazine, 1822. (rt) The sept of the O'Carroll's make a prominent figure iri Irish history : they are, according to our anriquarians, descend cd from Kean, the third son of Olioll Olum, King of Munster, Tiege, the son of this Kean, was a distinguished warrior, who, by killing in battle his three rivals, procured for Cornaac Mac Art the monarchy of Ireland. Cormac rewarded hira with a grant of land in Connaught, and created him Prince of Uriel, in the county of Louth, and Lord of Ely. The family were deprived of all their estates by Cromwell. Charles O'CarrolI was in great favour with^ James II. who, to compensate him for the loss of his paternal estates, made him a grant of a large tract of land in the state of Maryland, in the United States of America, which is still in the possession of his grandson, the s'eR«rable Charles O'CarroU, of Carrollston, who is now in ths mTRODUCliON, 3:J tnoaarch grasped every means that could prolong their continuance. To counteract the designs of the Danes, and to frustrate any future attempt which they might make to disturb the national tranquillity, he kept a standing army in the camps, and set about building three ships of war of an enormous size, with which he intended to invade Scotland. During this naval preparation he sent to Maol-Moniha, King oT Leinster, whose sister Brian had lately married, re- questing as a favour, that three af the finest and lof- tiest masts in his kingdom, might be forwarded for the royal navy. The King of Leinster promptly complied with the solicitation, and in order to en- hance the presents, he resolved to accompany the conveyance of the masts to the court of his brother- in-law. On coming near Kincora the King dressed himself in his royal robes, the most magnificent oi^ which was a rich silk mantle, gorgeously embroidered with gold, and atudded with diamonds of the purest water. This spangled mantle was one of the gifts with which Brian presented him as a token of re- gard and friendship. By some accident the golden clasp which fastened the cape of the mantle at the neck, flew off and was lost. When the cordial greetings of congratulation and welcome were re- ciprocated in the chamber of state, the King of Leinster retired to the apartment of his sister, the Queen, and begged that she might affix another clasp to the mantle, as he wished to wear it at the audience Plst year of his ag^e. He is g^randfather to her Excellency, Marianne, the present Marchioness of Wellesley, and of Lady Jfarvey.— See Irish Ant. Rcsearche/i, yo\. J, \i. 99. S4 INTRODUCTION. which her husband was to give that day to Princes and ambassadors. The Queen, being a woman of true Irish spirit, and lofty pride, tauntingly replied to her brother, '" It is not for the daughter of the Heremonian Mon- archs, on whose majesty centuries of virtue and bra- very iiave shed their lustre, to array and deck out in llic servile livery of subjeclion, the pusillanimous re- presentative of her illustious ancestors, who would sooner die than bend the knee of homage at the foot- stool of a conquerer, or offer, like you, the incense ot' flattery with a craven and sycophantic group of tributa- ry kings. The royal blood of Melesiusj-vvhich warmed with the fire'of enthusiastic courage the bounding hearts uf a legion of heroic kings, has become frozen, degene- rated, and torpid in your veins !" The king appeared like a man struck by a thunderbolt, at this satirical .rebuke from his sister. Though justly maddened with rnge and resentment, at her ungracious treatment, he yet suppressed his anger, and refrained, at that time, fiom making a recriminatory reply. But the next day, as he was looking upon a game at chess, in whicij Morrogh and one of his cousins were engaged, he unfairly, as a stander by, advised a move which caused the prince to lose the game. Morrogh, pro- voked at the intrusive suggestion of the King of Lein- ster, sarcastically remarked " that if his Majesty had much so, that he obtained the estimation of a prophet. Fingal, his son-in-law, commanded his armies, and was the confidential as- sociate of all his stadies,-councils, and achievements. Fingal w-a^^ not more valiant than he was accomplished, as his mind was richly endowed with every liberal art and science prevailing in the age in Avjiich he lived. He eminently distinguished himself when he as- ??isted the Scotch to expel the Roiiian legions from Caledonia. The fame of his heroic military exploits, at the liead of the Dalgais, or ' Idsh militia,^ has afforded a wide scope for the exercise of talent, and the panegyric of poetry. By the daughter of Cormac, he hafl two sons, the famous Ossi.\n and Fergus, who have acquired sucli immortal renown in poetry and arms. Carbary was the eldestson of Cormac, who, on mounting the throne, thought proper to insulf. Ossian, his nephew, at his coronation feast, which so irritated the poet-hero, that he vowed to be revenged of his uncle. The quai vcl raised a barrier of implacable resentment, which proved insu- perable to recombination. Ossian appealed to the Dalgais, and re minded tliem of the triumphs which they gained under his fatbex and grandfather, Cumhal, who fell at the battle of Lugha, in t!i?, year 220, by the hand of Girtl Mac Mornie, the chasipion'of Con-. 4 " * ' ;^8 LNrRODUCTION. rious feats of heroism in the thirty conflicts, in which they had combatted under his own command. ^' Your country/' continued the venerable Monarch, " repo- ses all her hopes on your valour ; she is confident of 3'our zeal and courage, and that you will shield her from the miseries with which the cold-blooded a^d perfidious Danes v/ould devastate her bosom. You know that the}^ are strangers to religion and huma- nity, they arc therefore big with the hope of vio- lating the fairest daughters of the laud, and of en- riching themselves with the spoils of sacrilege and plunder ; for they have impiously fixed on the very day on which the Redeemer of the world was cruci- fied, to destroy his votaries and sacred temples; but that God, whose cause you are to fight this day, will be present with you, and deliver his enemies into yo ur hands." The whole army received this address witii shouts of eiithusiastic exclamation. Brian appeared greatly affected, and was proceeding to take his sta- tion in the centre of the army, when all the Chiel'^ interposed, and implored him, on account of his age and infirmity, to retire to his tent, from the field of battle, and leave the chief command to ihe heroic Morrogh. He reluctantly yielded to their entreaties. naught. The moment they became acquainted with Ossian's re- j quest of assistance, they placed themselves under his orders, andn attacked the troops of Carbary, at Gabrn, in Mealh. The battle was so fierce, that the monarch, and his ally, the lung of Con-: nauo-ht, were mortally wounded on one side, and Oscar, the son of Ossian, and the king of Munster, (the son-in-law of Fingal,) were, killed in the engagement.— Vide Exile of Eriti^s Letters on tke Os- sianic Controversy, in the Nitional Advocate, and Truth Tf.i' 7.ER, March, 1826. INTRODUCTION 3iX So sooner had the pious King withdrawn, than the Irish army, with a united voice, called ontlieir chiefs U) lead them on in the path of glory. The Dalgais raised the '^sun-beam standard of Flngal,^^'^ bearing rlie inscription Victory or Death! and rushed, willi iheir wonted firmness and intrepidity to the charge. * The old Irish poets clenominaled the standard of Fingal, ' Th'; sun-burst.^ In an Ossianic manuscript, the followuig sentence oc- >'urs: " IVe raised the Sun-Burst to the staff,'' which means liU-- rally, brilliancy of siai. -' Fingal made tlie Scotch tributary long before the reign oi Niall. He invaded Caledonia in the year 255, where he planted a i^olony as an establishment for Carbry Riada, his cousin-German Tliis colony was often protected from the power of the Romans by the Irish militia, under the command of Fingal and Ossian, occa- sionally stationed in the circumjacent country ; hence the claim of the Scots to Ossian. "It is remarkable, that the genius of the Ossianic style still prevails over the wild effusions of the modern and unlettered bards of Ireland; while even the remotest of Scottish minstrelsy res- pires nothing of that soul which breathes in " the voice of Cona," and the metrical flippancy which betrays its existence, seems nei- ther to rival, nor cope with, that touching sublimity of measure, through whose impressive medium the genjus of Ossian effuses its inspiration. In Ireland, it has been, and is still, the measure in which the sons of song breathe " their wood notes wild." — Vide Lady Morgaii's Wild Irish Gii-l. Fingal fell in an engagement at Ralhbree, on tlte banks of the Boyne, A. D. 294 ; from whence the name Rathbree was changeut God and freedom, in whose cause you fight. Will bless your arms and grant you heavenly might. Yesj freedom, heaven-born maid, will crown our toil. And our oppressors' blood enrich our soil. Ye Gods ! what Irishman would be so base As stoop to slavery and foul disgrace ? No ! — with our swords let's free old Erin's Isle. The cause is just, and God will on us smile ; Let each maintain his post, and firmly stand, And soon these haughty Danes shall quit our land The warrior sure is bless'd who bravely dies. And for his country falls a sacrifice ! Say then, brave Chiefs, shall we the war provoke. Or live inglorious 'neath the Danish yoke? He ceased : — a Chieftain rose, O'Connor named. For mighty deeds in warfare he was famed ; His glittering armour shone like new born day. His nodding crest did float like streamers gay ; My voice, he cried, great Monarch, is for war. Lead on our troops, the foe shall fly afar ; Our swords and spears with courage let us use. To fight for freedom, who would dare refuse? The coward who would from his colours fly, Shall, by this hand, ingloriously die. Too long in bondage vile we have remain'd- This day let Erin's freedom be regained ; Let each his post maintain, nor quit the ficiJ. Till Denmark's hosts to Erin's sons do yield. He ceased, and forth his trusty sword he drew, To marshal forth his troops the hero flow. >U BATTLE OF CLONTARF. The Prince of Ulster next, a Chieftain bold. Whose arms refulgent shone like polished gold ■. flis mein majestic — the Chiefs he thus addressed, While martial ardour warm'd his noble breast : — Most potent Monarch, and you Chiefs attend. Who here are met your country to defend From the incursions of the daring foe, AVhose barbarous deeds have left poor Erin low : 'brothers in arms ! let us as one unite, And ne'er give back — for freedom fair we fight ; T.ci's pour our hosts on the embattled plain, And live all free, or in her cause be slain ; With Danish blood let's deluge our lov'd isle, And strew their bodies o'er our fertile soil ; A warrior's glory is to meet the foe — Let death or slaughter follow every blow. As for myself, I ne'er will quit the plain. Till freedom smiles, or in her cause tje slam.* He paused — the Chiefs, as if they were inspired, \li drew their swords, and from the tent retir'd To join their troops on the ensanguined fields, .\nd loud and long they struck their bossy shields. The househsld troops of Brian form'd the right, ,\11 chosen men, and well inur'd to fight ; The tribe of Dalgais and princes of the blood. With shining arms, in columns closely stood. ^ lie spoke prophetically, for he fell pierced with wounJs, aftc' liiiving avenged the death of Prince Murrogh, by killing bis cow- ardly assassin, the Danish chief Plait. Tlie gallant king of Ul- ster was the nephew of Brian, and his worthy and faithful com- panion in all his honours. He might truly and emphatically be '.(•uozBinated the worthy son of the hero of the nine hostages. -BATTLE OF CLOx\TAftF. '^ ' The Prince of Meath did this division join, His coward soul, incased in steel, did shine. Murrogh and Sitrick had the chief command Of the right wing— a daring, dreadful band. The Con naught troops upon the left were pUic'd, Commanded by great Cathal, in armour casM ; The field he trod like Mars, the god of war, His blood-red plumes aloft did Avave afar ; The living flame shot terror from his eye. His falchion gleam'd a meteor thro' the sky. The centre troops led on by Cian bold, Whose five-fold shield was orb'd with sold gold ; His shining spear did quiver in his grasp, A brazen helmet round his brows did clasp. Thus host on host they pourM along the field. Those armed with spears, these glittering swords di( wield ; With bossy shields of virgin gold so brigkt. Like stars falling on the dark robe of night. In close battalions the dusty field they tread, And each bold tribe their Chieftain at their head. So when the sun does dip the western main, And to their fold the flocks return again ; The sturdy bull does foremost quick advance, Before, behind, around his eyes do glance, And if a wolf or lion does appear. He beats his sides, and bellows forth his fear. So watch'd the chiefs the thick'ning field of war. No dastard fears their mighty souls could scare ; Mars and Bellona took their airy flight From rank to rank^ and kindled up the fight ; BATTLE 01-' CLOM'AKF.. <'he liills re-echoed back the clarion's note .Vnd high aloft the streamers gay did float ; A thousand Cards did in the front appear, The song of war did echo long and clear Each warrior drew his sword, a meteor briglit. And with fresh ardour burned for the fight ; Rank press'd on rank, each to sustain the shock. And shield touch'd shield, a moving brazen rock, . Beiiind whose orbs a wood of spears arise, Whose polish'd heads shot lightning thro' the skies f In order close the warriors firmly stand, Resolved to die, or free their native laud. Now in the front the Monarch does appear, In his right hand he shook a massive spear, A crucifix his left exposed to view, Thus arm'd, from rank to rank the Monarch flew. Behold, he cried, 'tis for your faith you fight, For freedom fair, and old Irene's right ; Your wives and daughters will repay your toil. You guard their honour on your native soil. Should Denmark conquer, to satiate their lust. Your tender wives they'd humble in the dust. As for myself, though silver'd o'er with age. You'll find me in the battle's hottest rage ; Our country calls, the mandate let's obey. May honour guide us through this dreadful dav This having said, he spurr'd his charger on, And in the front his arms refulgent shone ; His great example fir'd the warlike band. They gave a shout that echoed o'er the land. Come ! lead us on they cry, to meet the foe^. Tor Erin's cause let's strike the final blow. BATTLE OF CLONTARF. 53 But fast they cry, good father, quit the field, Your son, great Murrogh, Tan assume your shield : Old Erin's weal your safety does require, Now quit the field, and to your tent retire. Not for myself, replies the Monarch great, From fields of war and carnage I retreat, Cut at your lov'd request I quit the field, And to my eldest son resign, my shield. The burnish'd seven-fold orb he then did place On ]\Iurrogh's arm, the eldest of his race ; Take this, my son, the ancient hero cried. In fields of strife its front has oft been tried ; No feeble arm its bossy studs can sway, Beneath its orb prone many warriors lay : May you, my son, in arms and virtue shine, And leave this shield untainted unto thine. The pious son upon his knees did fall, iMy king, my friend, my father, and my all, •When I this shield resign but with my life, May plagues pursue me thro' the fields of strife ; JBy me your every wish shall be obeyed, Great Brian's son of death is not afraid. Go then, my sire, and in your tent repose, Be mine the task to rout old Erin's foes. Thus having said, he raised the shield on high, The polish'd orb shot lightning thro' the sky ; The glittering belt across his shoulders hung, And with his spear the warboss loud he rung j His troops obey the sound, all firmly stood, Resolved in Erin's cause to spill their blood. Again, O ! Muse, thy mighty aid impart, Let every period shine with thy great art ; -^1 BATTLE OF eLOXTAKFV How Erin's foes advanced, I mean to sing. How spears extended, brazen armours ring. Vhd first, that renegade, Malmordlm named,* On Leinster's fertile fields for valour fam'd, Against his country with the Danes did join, A traitor to his faith, and blood divine ; The chief command he held o'er every Dane, His treacherous deeds do Erin's annals stain. But doom'd on ClontarPs plains to yield his breath,.. Too base a soul for such a glorious death. Denmark and Sweden hardy troops did send, And Norway's frozen coast did succour lend ; ' Britain and Normandy did plough the deep. In native blood our much-loved Isle to steep ; Full sixty thousand, cas'd in armour bright. On ClontarPs plains stood ready for the fight ; O'er these in chief did Leinster's prince command Resolv'd in mind to spoil his native land. Croder, the Dane, commanded on the right, Full well he knew to counter-march and fight ; His height gigantic, dreadful was his look, In either hand a massive spear he shook ; The solid earth did tremble as he trod, He frown'd defiance to both man and God ; *■ The Dalgais, actuated wiih feelings of inveterate revenge jgainst theKing of Leinster, for bis treasonable alliance will, ihe rutiiless enemies of Ireland, singled out the Leinster troops^/ aud charged them so furiouslv, that they fell like grass before. the inower's scythe. Though the King of Leinster opposed them with a fornnidable resistance, yet he could not withstand their overwhelming rage; for not only he, but all his Chiefs, and 300 of his best soldiers were sacrificed in ttus sanguinar^'- BATTLE OF CLONTARF, ^^'■ To drench old Erin's plains in native gore, The haughty infidel had oft-times swore. Upon the left bold Sitrick took his stand, The Danes of Erin bowM to his conamand ; Haughty, unjust, revengeful was the Dane, And many sons of Erin he had slain ; In brazen armour he did shine afar- Unjust he was in peace, but bold in war ; To crush old Erin now he took the field. And swore e'en Brian's race should to him yield. Such were the men old Erin did oppose, All tried in fight, and no inglorious foes. Their chief advanced upon the dusfy field, And raised aloft his seven-fold brazen shield. He spoke : — You Danes, Norwegians, allies, hear Who on this plain in brighest arms appear. Your trusty swords I know have oft been tried, And in the blood of foes have oft been dy'd ; This day I lead you on against a foe, That will return with interest every blow ; Let each his post maintain, and keep his ground. Willi Erin's shining spoils you will be crown'd ;. Each daring soldier well shall be repaid. Who in an Irish heart-does sheath his blade. And now the brazen trumpets from afar. Blew loud and long the dreadful notes of war :. The sons of Erin gather in their pride, .\nd pour along the fieki with martial stride. The Melhian prince now struck with sudden fear," With all his host retreated to the rear, * ' This was the crisis which Malacby chose to revenge hi;it- 0-b BATTLE 07 CLONTAR?'* A shame to manhood and to Erin's race Who thus would shun the battle with disgrace The son of Brian firmly did advance, And in his hand he shook his mighty lance, The Dalgais tribe he quickly thus addressed. While close around their chief the warriors press'd- Friends, fellow-seldiers ! Murrogh loudly cried. Whose swords have oft in Danish blood been dy'd. At length the glorious hour is at hand To drive the Danes from Erin's hallowed land — The Methians have withdrawn — be yours the fame To rout the foe, and gain a glorious name. They answered with a shout, their swords they drew. And through the field of death with ardour flew. High towering in front, like Mars of old. Great Murrogh stood, encased in shining goldy^ His path was dreadful o'er the bloody plain, He ramparts rais'd of dying and of slain, His battle-axe and sword streaming with gore, High in the front his seven-fold shield he bore. Behind his s^vord grim death, with ghastly look, Distaincd with blood, his keen edg'd scythe oft shook : Rank press'd on rank, their spears a moving wood, Their burnish'd armour stain'd with human blood : Their darts, a brazen shower, obscured the sun. And in the sliade their deadly course they run ; The groans of dying men, and victor's cries, With trumpets' dreadful blast did rend the skies, self on the Monarch, for poshing him off the throne of IrelaiJKl. which, though he had quietly acquiesced in, for a dozen oi 5-ears, yet it is plain he had not forgiven it. — JVarner UATTLE OP CLOKTARF. ^'< Sor would the Danes nor would the Irish yield, The blood in torrents pours along the lield. The left brave Cathal leads to meet the foes. Apostate Leinster's King he does oppose ; Their shields in front do form a brazen wall, Each man resolved to conquer or to fall ; Their shining javelins at their foes they fling, And louder still the brazen armour ring ; No ambuscade to dart upon the foe, But man meets man, and blows returned with blow And now from right to left, the closing war Does every man to single combat dare ; Closer and closer still the warriors pressed, Shield joins to shield, and nearly breast meets breast The victors on one side soon victims lie, And all resolve to conquer or to die ; Round all the field the purple blood does flow, And Erin's fate hangs on a single blow. How dreadful to behold such deadly strife^ Where every blow is followed by a life ; Firm and unmoved, just like a solid rock, The Danes and Irish stand the dreadful shock ; From every eye shoots forth the living fire. And man on man does gloriously expire ; jMars, bath'd in blood, the conflict does survey, And adds new horrors to the dreadful day. And now great Murrogh raised his father's shield^ Whose sevenfold orb no feeble arm could wield ; Beneath its^shade, encased in armour bright, Stood Murrogh's eldest son, prepared for fight ; Tho' not fifteen, he followed his great sire, For Erin's rights to conquer or expire. 08 BATTLE OF CLONTARF. AVitli anxious gaze now Blurrogh views the field; And pondering thus — Ye gods ! must Erin yield r Her lovely daughters, humbled in the dust, Shall they, so heavenly fair, yield to their lust ? This lovely isle that decks the western main, Must it be ruPd by any haughty Dane ? My father, brothers, children, must they all Beneath the fury of these tyrants fall ? My wife — but hold, the thought does fire my brain This sea-girt isle shall groan with heaps of slain, Rivers of blood shall flow, whole hosts shall bend. And ghosts unnumbered to the shades Fll send, Ere she, or any daughter of this isle Shall to a Dane submit, or be his spoil. Thus having said, his falchion broad he drew. And 'midst the Danish hosts he quickly flew : So pours a winter's torrent o'er the plain. And in its course sweeps all into the main ; And if to save his grain the farmer tries, The mighty stream overwhelms him and he dies. So Murrogh thro' the Danes with fury broke, His course terrific, death in every stroke ; His eyes shot terror thro' the warring foe, They back recoil to shun the coming blow, His bloody path was strew'd with heaps of dead. And souls in thousands to old Pluto fled; Close by his side his son, young Turlogh stood, His maiden sword redden'd with human blood t To imitate his sire in warlike fight Was all his wish — was all his soul's delight. From right to left the father and the son Their dreadful course of devastation run * BATTLE OF CL0NTARI<\ 'I' The Danes in terror from their fury fled, rheir path was chokM with dying and with dead. (Jarolus and Conmael calPd by name, Two mighty Danes in fields of warlike fame, Their height gigantic, dreadful was their look. And glitt'ring^ falchions in their hands they shook ; Their ample shields were like the coming da}^, , j.nd oft were tried in many a Woody fray. Great Murrogh's dreadful course they mark'd afar^ Where, in the front, he tower'd the god of war ; Thus they commun'd- — Shall Murrogh's single arm Our hosts defy and fill us with alarm ? Our force let's join, and meet him on the field : Shall we, inured to arms, to Murrogh yield ? If forc'd to fly to Denmark's frozen coast. Our honor.'s fled, our hard-earned laurels lost : The beauteous maids we love will us disdain, First let our breathless corses strew the plain, Ere with disgrace to Denmark we return. And cause our warlike sires in tears to mourn. Thus having said, their shining swords they drew^ To stop great Murrogh's course they quickly flew. The hero marked them as they did advance. And at them flung his brazen-pointed lance; Carolus' shield it struck and pierced it througli. And from his side a purple current drew. Prone on his face the Danish warrior lies. He bites the dust, he trembles and he dies ! His mighty soul now seeks the nether world, f>y Murrogh's spear to Pluto's regions hurl'd. And now Conmael threw his vengeful dart, He aim'd it at the warrior's gen'rous heart, hO BATTLE OF CLONTAR*'. It cut the liquid air and struck his shield. And quivering stood within its brazen field. And now the warriors drew their falchions bright- The Danes and Irish trembled at the sight ; Both armies now suspend the work of death, And silent stand on Clontarfs bloody heath. As famish'd vultures snuff and pant for blood, So P>lurrogh and the Danish champion stood ; Tiieir swords gleam'd dreadful o'er the dusky field, And death, grim monarch, hover'd o'er each shield ; At every stroke their armour did resound, .\nd purple torrents pour along the ground ; llis ponderous axe aloft great Murrogh threw, And on the Dane's high crest the weapon flew ; The brazen helmet burst with thundering sound. And rolled afar on the ensanguin'd ground ; The giant's skull was severed with the blow. The spouting blood in purple currents flow^ Groaning he fell on ClontarPs bloody plain. And soon was number'd with his fellows slain. Sitrick Mac Lodair with a chosen band Of hostile Danes, who bow'd to his command, Like a strong torrent pour'd along the field. And of the Irish many had to yield. Mac Lodair in their front, provok'd the war. His mighty falchion glittered from afar. He scattered death throughout the Irish host. And to the shades sent many a shrieking ghost : To stop its course now Murrough quickly flew. And from its sheath his might}'" axe he drew, High gleaming in the air aloft he flung Its mighty head — Mac Lodair's armour rung : BATTLE OF CLOXTARF. <».. iliro' his great body crush'd the weapon went, And with one blow his bones and bowels rent- Prone on the earth he falls, his soul takes flightj And wings her way to shades of endless night. "From morning sun thus did the battle rage, And blood and death did every soul engage ^ The scales of fate hung doubtful o'er the fields •^ And now the Danes and now the Irish yield.'' The sun declined apace toward the main, The solid earth did groan with heaps of slain^ The Irish courage could not be subdued, The work of death they gloriously pursued ; From morning sun, till nearly four o'clock, Tho' one to two, they stood the dreadful shock.. And now one glorious effort for to try, In columns close upon the foe they fly : .\s hungry wolves now prowling for their prey^ Unto the guarded fold do take their way, The watchful mastrff, should he dare to stand, His limbs they scatter o'er the fertile land ; They scale the fold, the flocks they do devour — • *irhus did the Irish on the Danish pour. Their spears extended in a polished line, Their glittering casques with burnish'd steel did shine; No force on earth could stop their bold career — ■ There lay a sever'd head — an arm here. The clash of arms, the victor's dreadful cry ; In heaps promiscuous Danes on Danes do die; In vain they raise their shields their lives to save, The ponderous axe does hurl them to their grave ; in vain they fly to shun the coming death, The whizzing spear o'ertakes and stops their breatii ; ■&2 BATTLE OF CLONTARF. — Rivers of purple gore run o'er the plain, And flow in torrents to the western main-'— Their leaders gone — their brave battalions broke^ Vnd death or slavery sounds in every stroke ; Before the Irish swords they fly afar, And dying groans do mix with shouts of war ; Great Myrrogh thundered o'er the bloody field, With dealing death his sword he could not wield ;* * " His sword he could not wieid." Murrogh, at this time, llirough the uncommon use and exertion of his sword-arm, had hoth hand and arm so swelled and pained, as to be unable to lift them up. In this condition he was attacked, sword in hand, by Henry, a Danish Prince ; but Murrogh, closing in upon him, seized him with the left hand, shook him out of his coat of mail, and prostrating him, pierced his body with his sword, by fixing its pummel on his breast, and pressing the weight of his body on it. In this dying situation, he nevertheless seized the dagger which iumg by Murrogh's side, and with it gave him at the same time, a mortal wound ! The Dane expired on the spot ; but the Irish Prince lived until next morning, when he died like a hero and a Clirislian. — History of Ireland. The celebrated and liberal Dr. Warner gives a different account of the death of the brave and illustrious Murrogh :— " The best blood the Irish paid for the glorious victory of Clon- tarf, was not in open battle, but by treachery; for Murrogh, riding through the dead and wounded, after the flying enemy, was called to by one of the sons of the Danish King, who knew him, and who implored his help. The magnanimous Prince, whose mercy was not inferior to his courage, immediately dismounted ; and as he was lifting the Dane up, in order to give him succour, the perfidi- ous monster stabbed him to the heart. Thus fell the valiant and victorious Murrogh, the eldest son of Brian, who had fought by his father's side, from the early age of 14, with equal glory and success." The victory of Clontarf was purchased at an immense sacrifice ; jbr on the altars of that battle were immolated a Monarcli, who BATTLE OF CLONTARF. Oo Mh sinews swell'd, his sword now useless lies^ Yet lightning flashed with terror from his eyes ; This Henry spied, a Danish Prince of fame, He thought by Murrogh's death to raise his name : At the great hero's head he raised a blow, Though thus disabled, no inglorious foe ; The polished helm received the mighty stroke, And thus the Irish chieftain to him spoke : What tempts you thus on certain death to run, If Denmark you would see, this arm shun, Though useless now my blood-stained sword does lie, VV^ithin my grasp you're certain for to die ; Thus having said, he seized him by the hair With his left hand, and poised him high in air ; Out of his coat of mail he shook the Dane, And threw him prostrate oh the bloody plain; With his left hand he drew his well-tried sword, And waved it gleaming o'er the Danish lord, He clapped the pummel to his manly breast. On Henry's heart the glittering point did rest ; A passage through the crashing bones it found;, The wounded Dane in torment bites the ground. Though wounded thus, and welt'ring in his gore. He seized the dagger which great Murrogh wore, He quickly plunged it in the hero's side. And at the wound out flow'd a purple tide ; might, with justice, be termed the last of the Heherian Kings, as well as his son, Murrogh, and his grandson, the gallant and youth- ful Turloch, several of his nephews, and many other illustrious Chiefs, whose fame Dr. Keatmgand Mr. O'Halloran have inscrih- etl oa tlie historic pillar of immortality. ^34 BATTLE OF CLOXTARF. Great Marroglr falls, his glittering arms resoniKi Tlie purest blood in Erin stains the ground ; Surrounded by his men the warrior lay, Whose sword struck terror through the foe that day Nor could the Danish host the hero scare, -Tie glittered foremost in the ranks of war ; In peace a friend, both steady- and sincere, Lov'd by his friends, e'en foes did him revere. Ilis drooping men, now joining shield to shield. Raise him thereon, and slowly quit the field ; •Confusion reigned throughout the Danish host, Their leaders gone, their hope of plunder lost : Close at their heels the Irish swords are seeP;; And sever'd legs and arms strew the green ; The Danes in terror fly wide o'er the plain To quit our Isle and ne'er return again. An aid-de-camp of Brian's, O'Corcoran nam'd : Had mark'd the royal standard where it flam'd. Now saw it struck, when gallant Murrogh fell. The tent he enters the sad news to tell ; TJefore a crucifix upon his knees. The aged Monarch bent, O'Corcoran sees ; To horse, he cries, my sire, and quit the plains. For now we are surrounded by the Danes, The battle's lost, I saw our standard ta'en, O! fly and save your life nor here remain. Do you, says Brian, from the Danish fly, This field 1 sought to conquer or to die ; My foes shall never boast I ran away, Nor fell inglorious on this well fought day : This said, he drew his sword, it gleam'd afar. Ilis dear companion in the fields of war : BATTLE OP CLONTARF. . GS^ Kirm and iinmovM the hoary monarch stood, Resolved in Erin's cause to spill his blood. Brodar, the Dane, now with a chosen few, Enters the tent and at the monarch flew. The grey-hair'd champion on his guard does stand, And pierced his heart amidst his Danish band ; ^T\v^ of his soldiers yielded up their breath To Brian's sword, and met a glorious death ; Thus, like a stag at bay, though bow'd with years, Surrounded by his foes, the king appears, He hurl'd his sword around which oft was tried, At equal fight, he all the Danes defy'd. At length a treacherous Dane behind him came, By Brian's death to raise his grovelling name, llis vengeful sv/ord in Brian's sacred side, Transpierced he ran — out flow'd a purple tide ; The Monarch reels — he falls — he gasps for breath,* Erin ! he sigh'd — and closed his eyes in death. * "As though born always to share the same fate in war aboiil the same moment that his brave son mef With his ignoble deatli, Ihe aged Monarch, fatlier of his line, was basely slaughtered in his pavilion by some of the routed Danes, who seeing it un<»-uard- ed, stopped long enough to butcher the helpless, hoary King, and too long to preserve themselves, being all of them cut to pieces. In this deplorable manner ended the glorious many days of Brian, King of Munster, and Monarch of all Ireland. He commanded in more engagements than Julius Caesar; distinguished liimself in all of them with amazing intrepidity, and^ even fought up to the <-haracter of a hero in romance. In short, it may be said of Brian, that he was a progidy of goodness, of understanduig, and of great- ness. To look at him through his piety, one would think he had spent his entire life in a cloister ; to examhie the productions of his genius, we should be inclined to believe that his whole time iiad 6* <''» BATTLE OF CLOXTARF. ,T1jc prince of Ulster now the lent drew near. . Brian's faithful ally and his friend so dear, In quest of Brodar's part\^ — alas ! too late To save the mighty monarch from his fate ; But when he spied the hero as he lay, To grief his manly breast became a prey ; Prone on the monarch's bosom he does fall ^ And cries — my friend, m)'' monarch, and my all Has thy great soul now wing'd her airy flight To joys above, to never-ending night ; Krin may weep, her champion is no more, Again his equal ne'er will tread our shore ; Since thou art gone no longer will I stay, But join thy train in bright realms of day ; The wounds which he in battle did receive Now burst afresh, which did his soldiers grieve : Farewell, my friends he cried, revenge my death, • And by his monarch's side resigned his breath ! Their souls aloft did soar, there to reside ^Midst those who for tiieir faith and country died. Thus fell the immortal Brian, aged eighty-eight, A warrior bold, likewise a statesman great ; In times of peace was gentle as the dove, 11 is soul was tuned to harmony and love ; But when his .country's wrongs required his aid. The brazen front of war he calm surveyM ; Twenty-nine battles on the ensanguined plains, Gi-Qixi Brian led against the haughty Danes ; been occupied in literature and t])e sciences ; and to view him as ;. •ijenei-al and a monarch, he appears to have studied nothing but t ho i!t of ivar and politics, the conquest oi' his enemies, and the easf ind pvosperitv of his subjects!." — Warner-s History of Ireland. BATTLE OF CLONTARF. GT He rais'J this isle from slavery and disgrace To be a glorious and a happy place ; He lovM his country, but his subjects more : He arts encouraged round old Erin's shore ; He to his foes was dreadful in the field, But the oppress'd he'd from oppression shield ; The laws enacted by him were rever'd, And in his reign all robbers disappeared ; Learning and religion flourish'd in our islC; Beneath his sway the rich and poor did smilo ; A christian, statesman, and a soldier great; In council wise, and steady in debate ; All virtues centered in his royal breast. And his loved name by Irishmen is bless'd ; When told the field was lost, the hero shone; Go thou, he cried, I face the foe alone; To die or conquer here I took the field To no inglorious wounds does Brian yield ; My foes shall never boast I fled with fear, " Let come what comes," I stand and rally here , There shone the man who for old Erin's good^ And for her freedom offered up his blood. Read this; degenerate sons^ of such a sire ; Read this and blush, and wonder, and admire z Such was great Brian, such his warriors bold. They died all free, nor favi^n'd for paltry gold ; How glorious was their fate, how just the cause- To die for Erin and her ancient laws ! Their sonls immortal, soar'd to endless light, Where tyrants never go to blast their sight ; O ! Erin's sons, their virtue imitate, For to be good is surely to be great. END OF THE POEM. CHARACTER OF BRIAN BY MR, O'HALLORAN. The following character of Brian is given by ]\Ir. O'Halloran :— " It was the custom in those days, when the Chief of a Clan fell'in battle, to lower the standard belong- ing to his house, as each Chief had his own particu- lar standard. Murrogh, being Brian's son, and Com- mander-in-chief, when he fell, the royal standard was struck ; and in the general deroute, unable to distin- guisli friend from foe, O'Corcoran concluded that the royal army was defeated ; he hastily entered the tent of Brian, who was on his knees before a crucifix, and requested he would immediately mount his horse and escape, for that all was lost. " Then it was that the Hero and the Monarch bla- zed forth in their utmost lustre. " Do you," says he^ " and my other attendants fly ; it was to conquer or to die, that I came here, and my enemies shall not boast the killing me by inglorious wounds." So say- ing, he seized his sword and battle-axe, his constant companions in war, and resolutely waited the event, Tn the general confusion, Brodar, the Dane, and a few followers, entered the Royal tent. Brodar was armed from head to foot, and yet the gallant old Chier^^ 70 CHARACTER OF BRIAN. pierced his body through his coat of mail ; two more • of his attendants met the same fate, and Brian re- ceived his death by a fourth. "Thus fell the immortal Brian in the eighty-eighth year of his age ; the most uniformly perfect charac- ter that History can produce. If we consider him in his military capacity, we should suppose that the study of arms superceded every other object. In twenty-five different rencontres, and twenty-nine pitched battles, did he engage his Danish and other enemies, and victory always attended h'ls standard. " He gave vigour and force to the laws, and the sons of rapine and plunder instantly disappeared. He re-established religion and letters, and was the fust Irish Prince who laboured to reform and convert iiis Danish subjects. He was terrible to his enemies in the field ; he was mild and merciful in the cabinet : and during his whole reign, a single act of cruelty and injustice cannot be laid to his charge. . " In shof-t, as a soldier, a statesman, a legislator, a christian, and a scholar, he had not a superior ; and if any thing can blazon his character higher, it must be his manner of dyin j : at the age of eighty-eight, when the vital forces sensibly decay — at a time when he was requested to retire to his tent from the hor- rors of the day ; under these circumstances he was told all was lost^ and himself requested to flee. Then it was that the hero blazed forth, silvered over with age, surrounded by his enemies, he stood on his guard, aadlaid the Danish Chief, with two of his folio wjersr CHARACTER OP BRIAN. Ti lead at his feet. This was closing the scene with true dignity. With him fell the vitals of the Irish Constitution, and likewise the power of the Danes in Ireland. This battle broke their power, and the survivors took an eternal farewell of Erin, after having maintained a footing in it for near two hun- :l!-ed years.'' 'FINIS. ■\<:' — ^-^' yil'^fUan^^^m- \ V > \ ^ r V*^ "- ^^^^^^ * Deacidified using the Bookkeeper proce: "^/^^ ^ ^ ♦ A^'' '-Ow • myUlifVife ♦ ^^ Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 4 ** -^ '*^^m'^^^ ^y Treatment Date: April 2009 "*"• "^^ " c°^ *• PreservationTechnologie A WORLD LEADER IN COLLECTIONS PRESERVATK 111 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township, PA 1 6066 (724)779-2111