THE AGE OF CHRIST, 1581. The Age of Christ, one thousand five hundred eighty-one.
Turlough, the son of Donough, son of Conor, son of Turlough, son of Teige O'Brien, who had been kept in prison by the English for more than a year, was hanged on the 26th of May.
The son of the Earl of Clanrickard, i.e. William Burke, son of Rickard Saxonagh, son of Ulick-na-gCeann, son of Rickard, son of Ulick of Cnoc-Tuagh, was hanged at Galway, the third day after the execution of Turlough O'Brien; that is, Turlough was hanged on Thursday, and William on Saturday. It happened that William was joined with his relatives in the war when they demolished their castles, as we have already mentioned; that he grew sorry for this, and went to Galway, under the protection of the English, the month before his execution; but some tale was fabricated against him, for which he was taken and hanged. Such of his followers as went in under this protection were also hanged.
Forty-five persons were hanged in Dublin for crimes of treason.
Barry More (James, the son of Richard, son of Thomas, son of Edmond), who was in captivity in Dublin, died. This James was of the true stock of the Barry Roes. He was a man who had suffered much affliction and misfortune in the beginning of his career, and who had at first no hope or expectation of obtaining even the title of Barry Roe. But, however, God bestowed upon him the chieftainship both of Barry Mael and Barry Roe; and this was not all, but he was elected chief over the Barry Mores, after the extinction of those chieftains whose hereditary right it was to rule over that seigniory till that period. His son, David Barry, was afterwards called the Barry by the Earl of Desmond; and his second son was by law lord over the Barry Roes.
Mac Gillapatrick (Brian Oge, the son of Brian, son of John, son of Fineen, son of Fineen, son of Fineen, son of Donnell), who was likewise imprisoned in Dublin, died. He was a man who had been brought up in England in his youth,
O'Carroll, i.e. William Odhar, the son of Ferganainm, son of Mulrony, son of John, who was likewise confined in Dublin, was set at liberty by the English and the Lord Justice; and he set out for his native territory. But on his way he was met by some of the young men of the descendants of O'Conor Faly; and they were rejoiced (to be able) to put him unsparingly to the sword, and detested (the thought of) shewing him quarter or mercy. They slew him, and left his body under the talons of ravens and the claws of wolves. His son, John-an-Fhasaigh, was then styled O'Carroll.
The Lord of Desies, James, the son of Gerald, son of John, son of Garrett More of Desies, son of James, son of Garrett the Earl of Desmond, died.
Mac Donough, Owen, the son of Donough-an-Bhothair, son of Donough Mac Donough, died in Limerick, where he had been imprisoned by the English.
Donnell of the County, the son of Teige, son of Cormac Oge, son of Cormac, son of Teige Mac Carthy, Tanist of Muskerry, and its leader in battle, died.
The English and the Geraldines were at war and strife with each other; nor was there a truce of one night, or a friendship of one month, between them, from the commencement of the war to this time. No account, enumeration, or description of the injuries done between them can be attempted.
A hosting was made by John, son of James, son of John Fitzgerald of Desmond, in the month of May, eastwards across the Suir; and he totally destroyed some of the towns lying on the brink of the Suir, namely, Ard Maile and the monastery of Athassel. And he proceeded westwards across
Another hosting was made by John, the son of James, in the month of June, against Mac Carthy More; and he remained two or three days plundering and traversing his territory, from Muskerry to Ui-Rathach; and he (then) returned with preys and spoils to Magh-gCoinchinne. Those who beheld them declared that they had never before seen such a great prey of cattle in one place.
The Earl of Desmond was encamped at Achadh-da-eo; and at that time an English captain, namely, Captain Siuitse, was appointed by the Queen and the Lord Justice to preside over Desmond and Kerry. This captain marched day and night with a party of cavalry to make an attack on the camp of the Earl of Desmond; and it was on a Sunday morning that he arrived at the camp. The Earl and all those who were with him were at this time buried in deep sleep, and profound slumber, for they had remained vigilant and on the watch all the night, and until that time. The captain immediately and alertly attacked all those whom he found standing in the streets, and slew them without mercy; nor did he wait for battle or engagement, but proceeded directly till he reached Castlemain. The following were amongst the freeborn persons slain by the captain at Achadh-da-eo on that day, i.e. Thomas Oge, the only son of Thomas; the son of Maurice Duv, son of the Earl; Mulmurry, the son of Donough Bacagh, son of Mulmurry, son of Donough Mac Sweeny; and Teige, the son of Dermot, son of Cormac of Magh-Laithimh.
A hosting was made by the Earl of Desmond, at the end of the month of September, into the plains, lying far and wide around Cashel, in Munster, and into Cashel itself. His forces seized upon great quantities of all sorts of property, such as copper, iron, clothing, apparel, and great and small cattle; so that they plundered all those territories. As they were carrying off these spoils
Upon one occasion a bold and merciless body of the soldiers of Adare, having been divided into two parties, went forth, one by water, the other by land, to traverse Kenry and the lands lying along the side of the Mangue, to seek for fight or booty from some of the plunderers. These two parties, having met together in the neighbourhood of Baile-Ui Chathlain, were encountered by David Oge, the son of David of the Lake, son of Thomas, son of John, son of Thomas, son of Philip, son of the Knight, and his forces, who charged them, and proceeded to pierce and surround them, so that he left them but a heap of bloody trunks and mangled carcasses; so that not many of them escaped without being slaughtered on that spot by David and his people. When the news of this reached Adare, the captain of that town assembled the soldiers of Kilmallock, and set out at the head of a vigorous and merciless body of troops to traverse Kenry, in order to see whether he could find man or men upon whom to wreak his vengeance for the slaughter of his people. He arrived at Baile-Ui-Chathlain, one of the castles of Purcell, who had assisted the Crown from the very commencement of the war between the English and the Geraldines to that time. The captain slew one hundred and fifty women and children, and of every sort of persons that he met with inside and outside of that castle.
The David already named, who had slain the captain's people, was a man
Kilfeakle was taken by John, son of the Earl of Desmond, on the fourth day after Christmas; and he removed in the course of two days to Eatharlach all the copper, iron, clothes, treasure, and corn, that he found within it, and then demolished the castle.
The Receivers of the Geraldines, namely, Nicholas, son of William, son of Nicholas, was slain by the soldiers of Adare.
Doctor Saunders died in the woods of Claenglaise. He was the supporting
The son of O'Sullivan Beare (Donnell, the son of Donnell, son of Dermot, son of Donnell, son of Donnell, son of Dermot Balbh) gave a defeat to the people of Carbery in the month of December. It was thus effected: Captain Siuitsi set out from Cork, through Carbery, for the monastery of Bantry. He sent the sons of Turlough, son of Mulmurry, son of Donough Mac Sweeny, Dermot, son of O'Donovan Donnell, the son of Teige, son of Dermot, and some others of the heads of tribes and gentlemen of Carbery, to plunder the son of O'Sullivan. These parties sent by the Captain seized great preys and much booty. Donnell thought it shameful to suffer his property to be carried away, he himself being alive; and he attacked the Irish bands around the booty, and proved on that day that it is not by the numbers of men that a battle is gained, for Donnell slew nearly three hundred of the Carbery-men, though his own forces in that engagement scarcely exceeded fifty men able to bear arms.
Padraigin and Edmond, the two sons of Mac Maurice of Kerry (Thomas, the son of Edmond, son of Thomas, son of Edmond), made their escape from the King's Court in Limerick, the Council having resolved to put them to death. God, however, was not at that Council. These sons were for some time sheltering themselves in the woods of Clann-Cuilein, and from thence they proceeded to Clann-Maurice; and those two, who had come out of the prison of Limerick with but a small company, soon found themselves supported by hundreds of kerns. They spent the remainder of the year in acts of pillage and insurrection.
The Coarb of St. Senan, i.e. Calvagh, the son of Siacus, son of Siacus Mac Cahan, died.
John Oge and Con, two sons of John, son of Con Bacagh, son of Con, son of Henry, son of Owen O'Neill, proceeded with an army into Breifny O'Reilly, and plundered and totally devastated every part of Breifny through which they passed. The son of O'Reilly, i.e. Philip, the son of Hugh Conallagh, son of Maelmora, son of John, and a large muster of the forces of the country, who had come in pursuit of the spoils, overtook them. The Kinel-Owen were not the better of that day's attack for many years, for the Reillys recovered the booty, and defeated them. Con, the son of John O'Neill, was taken prisoner; and, as John Oge would not yield himself a prisoner to the heroic bands, he was speedily slaughtered, and unsparingly slain. The fate of this good man was afflicting, for there was not one man of the race of Milesius to whom this John was not worthy to have succeeded as heir.
A hosting was made by O'Neill (Turlough Luineach), to take vengeance on the Reillys for this battle. He pitched a warlike, extensive, well-fortified camp in the very centre of Breifny O'Reilly, and then proceeded to destroy the country, including cattle, corn, and mansions. O'Reilly then made peace with him, and set Con at liberty without a ransom, and agreed to settle by adjudication the reparation to be made for the death of John and his people.
Great dissensions arose between O'Donnell (Hugh, the son of Manus, son of Hugh Oge, son of Hugh Roe) and the son of his brother (Con, the son of Calvagh, son of Manus, son of Hugh Oge), upon which Con went over to the
The courage and high-spiritedness of Con O'Donnell were such, that if O'Neill (Turlough) and O'Donnell (Hugh) were on one side, he would engage with them; but now that he and O'Neill were on the same side, he was more than a match for O'Donnell. O'Donnell advanced with his forces vehemently and boldly towards the camp of O'Neill, without waiting or delaying to draw up his men into any regular order or array. O'Neill proceeded to reconnoitre them before they came up to him; and he inquired of the Clann-Sweeny, who were along with him (and especially of Turlough, the son of Rory), and of Con O'Donnell, what their opinion was as to the probable result of that day's engagement. One of them, namely, Turlough, the son of Rory, made answer, and said: ‘ If these people draw breath (i.e. take time), drink water, and form in regular order and array, it is certain that they will defeat us, and would were we even more numerous than we are; but if they come on without order, and without taking time to slake their thirst, thou and we shall defeat them ’.
They now came on with boisterous vigour, regarding the Kinel-Owen as of little account; for the Kinel-Connell had been accustomed to defend their rights successfully against them in every place they contended until then. But it happened that, when they met together on this occasion, a furious and desperate battle was fought between them; and the celebrated proverb was verified on this occasion, i.e. lively is each kinsman when fighting against the other. O'Donnell and his forces were at length defeated, and a great many of his people were slain. Among these were Mac Sweeny Banagh (Mulmurry, the son of Hugh), with his sons, namely, Murrough and Turlough Meirgeach; and Niall Modardha, the son of Niall Oge Mac Sweeny; in short, fifteen of the Mac Sweenys of Tir-Boghaine were slain, and a great number of the people of Fanad, and of the O'Boyles; also a great number of the O'Gallaghers, under the conduct of Farrell, son of Turlough, son of Tuathal Balbh, and many others besides these. Mac Sweeny Fanad was taken prisoner in this battle. It was in consequence of the curse of Bishop O'Freel that they suffered this defeat; for a party of the Kinel-Connell had plundered Kilmacrenan the day before the battle, and the Bishop had prayed that their expedition might not be successful. This defeat was given on the 4th of July.
Calvagh, the son of Donnell, son of Teige, son of Cathal Oge, son of Donnell, son of Owen, son of Donnell, son of Murtough O'Conor, the only son of O'Conor Sligo, died. He was the more lamented in the territories, because the noble couple from whom this free-born shoot sprang had no hope or expectation of any other child after him. That tract of territory from Magh gCeidne to Ceis-Corainn, and from the River Moy to the boundary of Breifny, was awaiting him as its only inheritor and coarb, if he should survive his father.
Cathal Oge, the son of Teige, son of Cathal Oge O'Conor; Maelmora, the son of Mulmurry, son of Owen; and Fearganeagla, his kinsman, with a great number of the chief men of the territory, were slain in Lower Connaught by some Scots who happened to be traversing the country, at the instance of Nicholas Malby. And the constable of these Scots was Alexander, the son of Donnell
The sons of the Earl of Clanrickard were reconciled to the English in the summer of this year, after the demolition of their towns and the execution of their kinsmen. They agreed to this peace on condition that there should be no taxes, fines, bondage, or other impression imposed on their country, or on their allies in war, so long as they remained peaceable, they paying only the Queen's rent twice in the year. Mahon O'Brien was included in the peace of the sons of the Earl. Two companies of soldiers were billeted in Thomond by Captain Diring Deering, from Allhallowtide to the festival of St. Patrick.
THE AGE OF CHRIST, 1582. The Age of Christ, one thousand five hundred eighty-two.
Margaret, daughter of Hugh Duv, son of Hugh Roe, son of Niall Garv, son of Turlough of the Wine O'Donnell, and wife of O'Reilly (Maelmora, the son of John, son of Cathal), died in the spring of this year. There was scarcely
The Earl of Clanrickard (Rickard Saxonagh, the son of Ulick-na-gCeann, son of Rickard, son of Ulick of Knocktua, son of Ulick Meadhonach, son of Ulick of the Wine), he who had been taken prisoner by the Lord Justice, Sir Henry Sidney, in the year of the age of Christ 1576, and who, after being taken, had been imprisoned for a year in Dublin, and for all the rest of the time to this year in London, fell into a lingering consumption in the summer of this year. His physicians and doctors said that it was more probable that he would die than recover from this disease, and that, if he wished to recover his health, he could recover it only by visiting his patrimonial inheritance, and breathing the air of his native country. In consideration of his ill health the Earl was permitted to proceed to Ireland, the Sovereign and the Council consenting; and he brought his sons a pardon and forgiveness for all the injuries they had done. He landed first at Dublin, from whence he set out for Athlone, and from thence he went to the town of Galway, and in that town he was received with enthusiastic welcome. There he remained to rest and recruit himself after the fatigues of his voyage; and he was visited by his friends and relatives, and by his English and Irish allies. When however he was desirous to go home to his people, territory, and children, his sickness and disease increased, so that at last he died, in the month of August. His funeral ceremony was performed in that town by his merchant friends; and his body was conveyed to be honourably interred in the town of Loughrea. As to his sons, they had been till then at peace with each other; but now they repaired to impugn and oppose each other before Sir Nicholas Malby, who was Governor of the province of Connaught. Both went to Dublin to the Chief Council; and peace was established on that occasion between them, on these conditions, to wit, Ulick to be Lord and Earl, in the place of his father, and the barony of Leitrim to be given to John. Their other lands, towns, and church livings, were accordingly divided between them, so that they were publicly at peace, but privately at strife.
Teige, the son of Conor, son of Turlough, son of Teige, son of Brian Chatha-an-Aenaigh O'Brien, also died in the month of August, in the same week with
Donough, the son of Murrough, son of Turlough, son of Teige, son of Turlough, who was son of Brian Chatha-an-Aenaigh O'Brien, was put to death in an ignoble manner, that is, he was hanged in Thomond by Captain Mortant, who was Marshal in the country, and by the Sheriff, Sir George, the son of Thomas Cusack. The year before he had formed a league with the sons of the Earl of Clanrickard, but, having repented, he returned back under protection. The others detected a flaw and a defect in the form of the protection, so that they seized on Donough, and hanged him, as we have before stated, in the gateway of Limerick, on the 29th of September, which fell on Friday. His body was conveyed to his native territory, and interred at Ennis.
Donough, the son of Turlough, son of Murtough, son of Mac-I-Brien of Ara, having been a long time disobedient to his father, and obedient to the Earl of Desmond, came in under protection; but his own brother, Turlough, revengefully followed him, and slew him.
O'Carroll (John-an-Bhealaigh, the son of William Odhar, son of Ferganainm, son of Mulrony, son of John), was slain by abominable and unprofitable treachery, by Mulrony, the son of Teige Caech, son of Ferganainm; and this murder did not turn out to prolong the life of Mulrony, for he himself was slain by his kinsman, Calvagh, the son of William Odhar, upon which Calvagh was appointed in his brother's place.
The four sons of Roche, namely, the sons of David, son of Maurice, son of David, son of Maurice, were slain by traitors, in the month of April; but although they were cut off by the one party, it was not on the one day that they were killed; for Redmond and Theobald, with a great number of the chiefs of their people and of their chief constables, were slain, while in pursuit of the spoils of that part of the country where they had met those traitors, by the
The Barry, i.e. David, defeated Maurice, the eldest son of Roche, in a conflict; and Maurice escaped from the fight, after having lost many horses and men.
The Seneschal before mentioned and Padraigin Condon came, about the ensuing Allhallowtide, into the western part of Roche's country. The two young sons of Roche, namely, John and Ulick, and all the inhabitants of the country, rose up at their shouts, and gained the first battle over the traitors. They proceeded to pursue them, beyond the boundary of the territory, into the vicinity of their fastnesses in the woods and forests; but the plunderers turned upon the two sons of Roche, and slew them, and all those who were about them; and though a slaughter does not usually take place without some person escaping, a very small number only of those who had come in this pursuit escaped, for whole tribes, families, heads of districts, servitors, and soldiers of the territory, were slain. The constables of the Clann-Sweeny were also slain: in short, not more than fourteen men of the people of the territory who bore arms outlived this engagennent; so that Roche and Maurice had afterwards to bring strangers from other territories to inhabit the territory.
The Son of O'Molloy, i.e. Donnell, the son of Theobald, was slain. His death was the less lamented because he had commenced to depose his father, and to expel him, and to set himself up in his place.
The son of the Earl of Desmond, i.e. John, the son of James, son of John, son of Thomas the Earl, fell by his enemies, unrevenged. The following is the true account of the manner in which he came by his death. John set out, accompanied by four horsemen, for the woods of Eatharlach, to hold a conference with Barry More, with whom he had entered into a plundering confederacy. He proceeded southwards across the River Avonmore, in the middle of a dark and misty day, and happened to be met, front to front and face to face, by Captain Siuitsi, with his forces, though neither of them was in search of the other. John was mortally wounded on the spot, and had not advanced the space of a mile beyond that place when he died. He was carried crosswise on his own steed, with his face downwards, from thence to Cork; and when brought to that town he was cut in quarters, and his head was sent to Dublin as a token of victory. Were it not that he was opposed to the crown of England, the loss of this good man would have been lamentable, on account of his liberality in bestowing jewels and riches, and his valour in the field of conflict. James, the son of John, son of Garrett, son of Thomas the Earl, was taken, along with John, son of the Earl, and hanged a short time afterwards, together with his two sons.
Catherine, the daughter of Teige, son of Donnell, son of Cormac Ladhrach Mac Carthy, and wife of Mac Maurice of Kerry, died. She passed her last days upon the lake of Lean Linfhiaclaigh, moving from one island to another, through fear of the plunderers; and she was interred in the monastery of Airbheallach.
Great wind, constant rain, lightning, and much tempestuous weather, prevailed successively in these two years.
There was a great abundance of nuts also in this year.
A company of foot soldiers, and half a company of cavalry, of the people of Captain Siuitsi, were quartered at Ardfert in Kerry from the beginning of the autumn of the past year to the September of the present year; and though they had received a great quantity of provisions and stores from the Sovereign, they never ceased consuming and spending the country around them; and they compelled the son of every head of a tribe in the country to be delivered up into their hands.
Patrickin, Edmond, and Robert, the sons of Mac Maurice, had sided with the Geraldines in the war from the time of their escape from Limerick till then. One night they went to Ardfert, and on the next morning they seized upon the spoils of the town. The captain of the cavalry, i.e. Captain Hatsim, rose up suddenly to meet them, without waiting for his soldiers; but he was actively responded to, dismounted, and put to the sword in the first onset. The sons of Mac Maurice then returned with their prey, and afterwards encamped around the town, to besiege the soldiers. A gentleman of the Clann-Sheehy, i.e. Murtough, the son of Edmond, son of Manus, son of Edmond Mac Sheehy, who was along with the sons of Mac Maurice at this time, was slain in the doorway of the monastery of Odorney, by the sons of the Bishop of Kerry, who were aiding the Queen's people on that occasion. Mac Maurice himself, and the greater number in his country, had been hitherto obedient to the law; but when he saw his territory plundered, and when he heard that the captain had been slain by his sons, he at once destroyed Leacsnamha, Lis-Tuathail, Biaille, and Baile-an-Bhuinneanaigh. He afterwards went to join his sons. He was not joined in this evil career by the inhabitants of Baile-mhic-an-Chaim, or of Baile-Ui-Chaeluighe, or the Clann-Pierce. Mac Maurice took his sons away from the town of Ardfert, and they all went back to the woods; and
Captain Siuitsi went to England in the month of August in this year, after having left another captain as governor over the Munstermen. This captain took all the surviving soldiers of Ardfert with him to Cork, so that there was not at that time, or until the end of this year, a company or half a company of soldiers to be seen traversing the country of the Geraldines, or encroaching upon their territory.
Captain Siuitsi was slain in a conflict in England, before he could return to Ireland.
The Earl of Desmond remained from the middle month of the autumn of the preceding year to the end of this year between Druim-Finghin, Eatharlach, and Coill-an-Choigidh, heeding or caring for neither tillage nor reaping, excepting the reaping i.e. cutting down of the Butlers by day and night, in revenge of the injuries which the Earl of Ormond had up to that time committed
In the summer of this year the Earl of Desmond proceeded to the east of Munster, and the western part of the country of the Butlers. He was met on this occasion at Fidh-ard by the two young sons of the Earl of Ormond, namely, Edmond an-Chaladh and Edward; the two sons of James, son of Pierce Roe, son of James, son of Edmond, and brothers of the Earl of Ormond that then was, namely, of Thomas; and these were they whom the Earl had left over the country, to protect his country, on his departure for England. They had with them in that town (Fethard) a vigorous body of cavalry, and select bodies of gallowglasses and Giomanachs horseboys. Those courageously rose up at the shouts, and entered the same field with the Earl. They marched on from Fethard to Knockgraffon, being on their guard of each other, and without coming to any engagement. At the latter place (however) the Earl turned round upon these warriors, and defeated the Butlers, who left a great part of their cavalry, and all their foot soldiers, at the mercy of their enemies, and the discretion of their foes, so that the hill on which they fought was speckled with the bodies of men slain by the Geraldines in that engagement. In this battle was slain on the side of the Butlers one whose death was the cause of great lamentation, namely, Colla, the son of Mulmurry, son of Donnell Oge Mac Sweeny, chief constable of the Butlers. There was slain on the other side only Gerald, the son of John
In the autumn of this year the Earl of Desmond made an incursion into Kerry, and remained nearly a week encamped in the upper part of Clann-Maurice. His foot-soldiers went forth to collect spoils in Pobal-Ui-Chaoimh. O'Keeffe and the neighbours of that vicinity pursued them, and continued during the course of the day to follow them through the sloping fields of Luachair-Deaghaidh, until they had come near the Earl's camp. When the Earl heard the bustling of the kerns, and the report of their ordnance, he rose up suddenly, rushed upon O'Keeffe, and routed him back the same passage by which he had come; and almost all the pursuers were slain. O'Keeffe himself, i.e. Art, the son of Donnell, son of Art, and his son, Art Oge, were taken prisoners; and Hugh, another of his sons, was slain. The son of the Vicar O'Scoly was also taken prisoner on this occasion, and was afterwards hanged.
David-an-Chomhraic, the son of John Oge, son of John Fitz-Gibbon, Lord of Coill-mor, died.
James and Gerald, the sons of the Bishop of Kerry, i.e. the sons of James, son of Richard Fitzmaurice, were slain by the sons of Edmond Mac Sheehy, in revenge of their brother, Murtough, whom the sons of the Bishop had slain some time before.
Thomas, Gerald, and John Oge, the sons of John, son of Edmond, son of Thomas Fitzgerald of Claenglais, died this year, by the sword or by a natural death.
Owen, the son of Mulmurry, son of Donough, son of Turlough Mac Sweeny, Constable of Desmond, a sedate and tranquil man in the drinking-house and at the meeting, but obstinate, furious, and irresistible in battle and in the field of contest, died.
Turlough Oge, the son of Turlough, son of Mulmurry, son of Donough, son of Turlough Mac Sweeny, died. There had not been of his tribe, of his years, in his time, any who had less refused any man than he.
Sir Nicholas Malby went to England this year, and returned in the winter of the year following; and Captain Brabazon had the government of Connaught during this period. This captain went to Tirawley in the spring of this year, and plundered and devastated the whole territory, from one extremity to the other, for he continually moved from one camp to another among them. Neither the sanctuary of the saint nor the poet, the wood nor the forest-valley, the tower nor the bawn, was a shelter from this captain and his people, until the whole territory was destroyed by him.
Mac Sweeny Banagh (Mulmurry Oge, the son of Mulmurry, son of Hugh, son of Niall Mac Sweeny) and Donnell, the son of Murrough, son of Rory More, son of Donnell-na-Madhmann Mac Sweeny, were slain on the fourth day of the month of June, on the margin of Lough Foyle, whither they had gone to attend a meeting and conference between O'Neill and O'Donnell, who had two extensive and populous camps on the borders of the lake. These lamentable deaths happened thus: a party of strange Scots from O'Neill's camp went into the boat which was used for ferrying passengers across the straits of Lough Foyle; and it being supposed that they had come on some other embassy, they were permitted to land near the prow of the boat, where those noble constables were, attended only by a small party, and unprepared for hostilities, awaiting the termination of the conference. They the Scots unsparingly put them to the sword, and then escaped themselves, without receiving a wound, or losing a single drop of blood.
O'Doherty (John, the son of Felim, son of Conor Carragh), Lord of Inishowen, died on the 26th of May. He was a person for whose ransom (if he
Mary, the daughter of Con O'Neill, and wife of Sorley Boy Mac Donnell, died.
Naghtan, son of Con, who was son of Calvagh O'Donnell, was slain on the 5th of September.
Mac Clancy of Dartry (Cathal Oge) was slain by his own kinsman, Teige Oge.
The sons of Walter Fada, son of David, son of Edmond, son of Ulick Burke, namely, Theobald and Meyler, went to Tirawley in search of booty, at the instance of Mac William, their father's brother, i.e. Richard-an-Iarainn; and they seized some cows. Rickard Burke, son of Edmond, son of Ulick of Castlebar, rose up at the shouts, and overtook them; and they fought a sharp and fierce battle, in which Rickard and the greater number of those around him were slain. The sons of Walter Fada carried off the prey in triumph.
The son of Mac William Burke, namely, Rickard Roe, the son of John, son of Oliver, son of John Oge, was slain in the winter of this year by Thomas Wideos, a gentleman of the Queen's people; and all said that he was not fairly slain.
The Dean O'Grady, i.e. Donough Oge, son of Donough, son of Donough, son of Nicholas, a man of great power in Church and State, died.
Mac Brody (Maoilin, the son of Conor, son of Dermot, son of John), Ollav to O'Brien in history, died; and his kinsman, Gilla-Brighde, was elected in his place.
Dermot Ultach, son of John, died.
Mac Conmidhe (Brian, the son of Donough) died on the 13th of June.
THE AGE OF CHRIST, 1583. The Age of Christ, one thousand five hundred eighty-three.
Con, the son of Calvagh, son of Manus, son of Hugh Duv, son of Hugh Roe O'Donnell, died on the 13th of March. He was an accomplished and truly hospitable man, a sedate and affable man, the supporting pillar of the literati and the kerns; a man who had spent much of his wealth in the purchase of poems and panegyrics; a man by no means the least illustrious in name and character of the descendants of Niall of the Nine Hostages; so that after his death Kinel-Connel might have been likened to a harp without the Ceis, to a ship without a pilot, or to a field without shelter.
The Earl of Ormond, i.e. Thomas, the son of James, son of Pierce Roe, was Governor of the two provinces of Munster in this year; and the Earl of Desmond became confirmed in his treason and insurrection; and he proceeded to ravage the country in his neighbourhood during the winter, and the spring of the following year. His people, however, were so much in dread and awe of the law and the Sovereign of England that they began to separate from him, even his own married wife, children, and friends, so that he had but four persons to accompany him in his movements from one cavern of a rock or hollow of a tree to another, throughout the two provinces of Munster, in the summer and autumn of this year. When however the beginning of winter and the long nights had set in, the insurgents and robbers of Munster began to collect about him, and prepared to rekindle the torch of war. But God thought it time to suppress, close, and finish this war of the Geraldines, which was done in the following way: a party of the O'Moriartys of the Mang's side, a family of the race of Aedh-Beannan, took an advantage of the Earl of Desmond,
It was no wonder that the vengeance of God should exterminate the Geraldines for their opposition to their Sovereign, whose predecessors had granted to their ancestors as patrimonial lands that tract of country extending from Dun-caoin in Kerry to the Meeting of the Three Waters, and from the Great Island of Ard-Nemidh in Hy-Liathain to Limerick.
Murrough Bacagh, the son of Edmond, son of Magnus Mac Sheehy, died at Ardfert, a short time after the Earl of Desmond, and some say that it was of grief for him the Earl he died.
Godfrey Carragh, the son of Donough Bacagh, son of Mulmurry, son of Donough, son of Turlough Mac Sweeny, was slain by the kernes of Inis-caoin, in the tanist's portion, a week before the death of the Earl of Desmond. It was remarked that the death of Godfrey was an omen of that of the Earl.
John Oge, the son of John, son of Thomas, the Earl, died at an advanced age in captivity in Limerick having been confined there, because his sons had joined the Earl of Desmond.
Roche (David, the son of Maurice, son of David, son of Maurice) and his wife, Ellen, the daughter of James, son of Edmond Mac Pierce, died in the one month in the Spring of this year. There did not exist, of all the old English in Ireland, a couple, possessing only a barony, of more renown than they.
O'Molloy (Theobald) died.
Cormac, the son of Teige, son of Cormac Oge Mac Carthy, Lord of Muskerry, a comely-shaped, bright-countenanced man, who possessed most white-washed edifices, fine-built castles, and hereditary seats of any of the descendants of Eoghan More, died. The people of the country were at strife with each other after the death of Cormac; for some of them supported Callaghan, the son of Teige, who sought to get possession of the territory on account of his seniority;
The Bishop of Kerry died, namely, James, the son of Richard, son of John. This bishop was a vessel full of wisdom. He was of the stock of the Clann-Pierce, i.e. of the race of Raymond, the son of William Fitzgerald. This William was brother of the Maurice, who came from the King of England, at the time of the first invasion of Ireland, to assist Dermot Mac Murrough, King of Leinster, and from him most of the Geraldines of Clann-Maurice are descended.
O'Keeffe (Art the son of Donnell, son of Art, son of Owen), an eminent man, was slain; and his son, Art Oge, was installed in his place.
The son of Mac Auliffe (Donough Bane, the son of Melaghlin, son of Dermot, son of Melaghlin) and his brother's son, Teige, the son of Conor, mutually slew each other.
John Carragh, the son of William, son of Theobald Burke, heir to Cois-Siuire, who had been hitherto in treason i.e. in rebellion, came in under protection. After the death of the Earl of Desmond he went into the country of
Mac Teige of Ormond, i.e. Conor of the Harbour, the son of Teige, grandson of Mahon Don O'Kennedy, died. He was a ready, tranquil, and domestic man, without reproach from his birth. Philip, the son of Dermot O'Kennedy of Ropalach, was then styled Mac Teige.
The son of Mac Coghlan (Garret, the son of John, son of Art, son of Cormac), an intellectual youth, was, on his first assumption of chivalry, slain by the son of O'Kennedy Fin, namely, by Murrough, the son of Brian, son of Donnell.
The Countess Roche, namely, Eveleen, the daughter of Maurice, son of David Roche, and wife of the Earl of Thomond (Donough, the son of Conor O'Brien), died in the Summer of this year at Clonroad, and was buried in the Monastery of Ennis.
Honora, the daughter of Donnell, son of Conor, son of Turlough O'Brien, and wife of O'Conor Kerry (Conor), died, and was interred in Inis-Cathy.
A great army was led by the people of Sir Nicholas Malby, and the sons of the Earl of Clanrickard, Ulick and John, into Iochtar-Tire and Umhall-Ui-Mhaille, and took a countless number of cattle spoils on that occasion, and also burned and totally destroyed Cathair-na-Mart.
The son of the Earl of Clanrickard, namely, John Burke, the son of Rickard Saxonagh, son of Ulick-na-gCeann, son of Richard, son of Ulick of Cnoc-tuagh, was unfraternally slain in an assault at night, by his brother Ulick
Mac William Burke, i.e. Richard-an-Iarainn, the son of David, son of Edmond, son of Ulick, a plundering, warlike, unquiet, and rebellious man, who had often forced the gap of danger upon his enemies, and upon whom it was frequently forced, died; and Richard, the son of Oliver, son of John, was installed in his place.
O'Reilly (Hugh Conallagh, the son of Maelmora, son of John, son of Cathal), a man who had passed his time without contests or trouble, and who had preserved Breifny from the invasions of his English and Irish enemies as long as he lived, died, and was buried in the monastery of Cavan. His wife, Isabella Barnewall, died about the same time. The son of this O'Reilly, namely, John Roe, then exerted himself to acquire the chieftainship of the territory, through
The son of O'Conor Sligo (Cahir, the son of Teige Oge, son of Teige, son of Hugh) was treacherously slain by a party of Muintir-Airt the O'Harts.
The son of O'Conor Don, i.e. Turlough, the son of Dermot, son of Carbry, son of Owen Caech, son of Felim Geangcach, died.
Teige Oge, the son of Teige O'Rourke, died in captivity with i.e. in the custody of O'Rourke, i.e. Brian, the son of Brian, who was son of Owen.
Oilen-na-dTuath (i.e. Port-an-Oilen) was taken by Mac Sweeny-na-dTuath (Owen Oge, the son of Owen Oge, son of Owen, son of Donnell) from the sons of Donnell, the son of Donough, who were slain on the occasion.
The town of O'Neill (Turlough Luineach), namely, Srath-ban, was burned by O'Donnell (Hugh, the son of Manus); and great injuries were done to O'Neill, besides the plundering of the town; for it was on this occasion that O'Coinne, the son of Mac Hugh, and many others besides them, were slain by O'Donnell.
Donough, the son of Calvagh O'Donnell, was slain by a Scottish fleet.
Brian, the son of Donough, son of Cuconnaught, son of Cuconnaught Maguire, a man renowned for nobleness and hospitality, died.
Great depredations were committed on Sorley Boy, the son of Mac Donnell, by Hugh, the son of Felim Bacagh O'Neill, by Mac Quillin, and the English. Sorley Boy and his kinsmen went in pursuit of the preys, defeated those who were before them, deprived them of the preys, and slew Hugh, the son of Felim Bacagh, and a company or two of the English. The remainder went away without prey or victory.
Turlough, son of Donnell O'Brien, and John Roe, the son of Hugh Conallagh, son of Maelmora O'Reilly, went to England, and were invested with the order of knighthood on the one day, in the summer of this year, in presence of the Sovereign, Elizabeth.
Donough, the son of O'Boyle (Turlough), was slain on Inis-Caoil, by the O'Malleys.
Fearfeadha, the son of Turlough Meirgeach Mac Sweeny, died in the town of Mac Sweeny Banagh.
O'Neill (Turlough Luineach) was stationed at Strabane, having a great party of Englishmen along with him; and they were menacing and threatening to go to plunder Tirconnell, in revenge of the burning of Strabane some time before. When O'Donnell (Hugh, the son of Manus) heard of this, he expeditiously assembled his forces to meet them, and proceeded without delay to Druim-Lighean, where he encamped, precisely in the month of June. A troop of O'Neill's cavalry occasionally went to offer skirmish and battle to O'Donnell's cavalry; and as O'Donnell's people would not refuse their challenge, great numbers were slain between them each day. On one occasion the choicest part of O'Neill's cavalry set out with vigour, fury, contempt, and arrogance, against the Kinel-Connell, and never halted in their course until they crossed the Finn and Port-na-dtri-namhad, and advanced to the borders of O'Donnell's camp. O'Donnell's people were unprepared at that time for an engagement ; nevertheless, they immediately sent out their squadron of cavalry to attack them. An obstinate and merciless contest and conflict ensued between them, which lasted for a long time. In the end the cavalry of O'Neill were routed as far as the River Finn, over which they had come; and they were hotly, and without intermission, pressed in the pursuit, and so surrounded and environed, that they were not able to make their way to any ford, so that they were forced to face the river at the point where they, torrent-like, rushed upon it. On this occasion numbers of O'Neill's people were both drowned and slain, among whom were O'Gormly ( Cormac), and Mac Hugh, and Mulmurry, the son of Dermot, son of Mahon, son of Tuathal O'Clery, the only hostage of O'Neill and the Kinel-Owen, for his father and O'Neill himself were born of the same mother; and he had O'Neill's various treasures under his control, on account of his relationship to him; and O'Neill would have given three times the ordinary quantity
THE AGE OF CHRIST, 1584. The Age of Christ, one thousand five hundred eighty-four.
The son and heir of the Earl of Kildare, i.e. Garrett, died in England.
Sir Nicholas Malby, Governor of the province of Connaught, died at Athlone, about Shrovetide. He was a man learned in the languages and tongues of the islands of the West of Europe, a brave and victorious man in battles fought throughout Ireland, Scotland, and France, in the service of his sovereign; and this was a lucrative service to him, for he received a suitable remuneration from the Queen, namely, the constableship of the town of Athlone, and the governorship of the province of Connaught, which he enjoyed for seven years before his death, and a grant in perpetuity of the towns of Roscommon and Ballinasloe, for himself and his heirs; but he himself had previously acquired Ballinasloe from the sons of the Earl of Clanrickard. Captain Brabazon held the place
Turlough, the son of Owny, son of Melaghlin O'Loughlin of Burren, was, in the beginning of the month of March in this year, taken prisoner on Muicinis, by Turlough, the son of Donnell O'Brien, and put to death at Ennis, by Captain Brabazon, at the ensuing summer sessions.
The son of Macnamara, of the western part of Clann-Cuilein, died, Donough, son of Teige, son of Cumeadha, son of Cumara, son of John; a man, of all the Clann-Cuilein, the most dreaded by his enemies in the field of battle.
Rory Carragh, the son of Mulmurry, son of Donough, son of Turlough Mac Sweeny, was executed at Cork.
A general peace was proclaimed throughout all Ireland, and the two provinces of Munster in particular, after the decapitation of the Earl of Desmond, of which we have already made mention. In consequence of this proclamation, the inhabitants of the neighbouring cantreds crowded in to inhabit Hy-Connello, Kerry, and the county of Limerick. There was not a single individual of the race of Maurice Fitzgerald able to bear arms in Ireland, even of all those who had been engaged in acts of plunder and insurrection, who did not become obedient to the law, excepting only Maurice, the son of John Oge, son of John, son of Thomas the Earl of Desmond; and even he came in under peace, on the word of the Earl of Ormond; but he afterwards separated from his people, and fled with a company of five persons across the green-streamed Shannon, northwards, through Thomond, and from one territory to another, until he came to Sorley Boy, the son of Mac Donnell, in Route the territory of Mac Quillin, from whence he proceeded to Scotland, and afterwards to Spain, where he died after some time.
A new Lord Justice, namely, Sir John Perrott, arrived in Ireland on the
The Lord Justice went the next day to Limerick, and was resolved to destroy and reduce a great number of gentlemen on each side of Limerick, until news overtook him that a Scotch fleet arrived in the north side of Ireland, at the invitation of Sorley Boy, the son of Mac Donnell, and that they were plundering and ravaging the country around them. The cause of their coming was: Sorley Boy, who had had the possession of the Route for thirty years before, having heard that the English Council had issued an order and command to the new Lord Justice to restore the Route to its rightful inheritors, and to banish Sorley to his own original patrimony in Scotland; and not only this,
Dissentions arose in West Connaught between the descendants of Owen (O'Flaherty and the descendants of Murrough, the son of Brian-na-nOinseach O'Flaherty. They originated in this manner: the descendants of Owen O'Flaherty, namely, Teige, the son of Teige na-Buile, son of Murrough, son of Owen and the sons of Donnell-an-Chogaidh, son of Gilladuv, son of Murrough, son of Owen, took the island of Baile-na-hinnse from Teige, the son of Murrough of the Battle-axes, son of Teige, son of Murrough O'Flaherty; for the descendants of Owen had been wont to say that that island was their's by right, and that Teige had seized and held it in violation of their right. Be the truth as
On one occasion, in the month of June, as this Teige, the son of Murrough, went with the crew of a boat to the island of Aran, in pursuit of the descendants of Owen O'Flaherty, he overtook them at the break of day, and found them unprepared, in a state between waking and sleeping, at both sides of the forecastle of their boat. He set them a very hostile example on this strand; and indeed the island was not worth all that was done about it on that day, for Murrough, the son of Edmond Oge, son of Edmond Mac Hugh of Leitir-Meallain, who had joined the descendants of Owen O'Flaherty, also the son of the Seneschal of Clann-Maurice, who was with them on this predatory excursion, and Murrough Salach, the son of O'Flaherty (Teige), were slain. Many of the descendants of Owen O'Flaherty were also slain, besides these gentlemen. Thus did they remain at war with each other, until they were mutually reconciled by the English in the ensuing autumn, when the island of Baile-na-hinnsi was given to the descendants of Owen O'Flaherty.
Murtough Garv, the son of Brian, son of Teige O'Brian, died at Craig-Corcrain in the first month of autumn i.e. August. He was a sensible, sedate youth, who never received blame or reproach, disrespect or insult, from his birth to his death. He was buried in the monastery of Ennis.
Cosnamhach, son of Cucogry, son of Dermot, son of Teige Cam O'Clery, a respectable and affluent man, who at one time had kept a house of hospitality in Thomond, and at another time in Tirconnell, died at Fuar-Chosach, in Tirconnell, in the Lent of this year, and was buried under the asylum of God and St. Bernard, in the monastery of Assaroe.
THE AGE OF CHRIST, 1585. The Age of Christ, one thousand five hundred eighty-five.
The Earl of Kildare died in England, namely, Garrett, the son of Garrett, son of Garrett, son of Thomas, son of John Cam. This Earl had been five years under arrest, kept from his patrimonial inheritance, until he died at this time. Henry, his son, was appointed his successor by the English Council. Henry was then permitted to go westwards, to his patrimonial inheritance.
Mac William Burke (Richard, the son of Oliver, son of John) died; and no person was elected his successor; but the Blind Abbot held his place, as he thought, in despite of the English.
Gormly, the daughter of O'Rourke, i.e. of Brian, son of Owen, a woman who had spent her life with husbands worthy of her, a prosperous and serene woman, who had never merited blame or censure from the Church or the literati, or any reproach on account of her hospitality or name, died.
Brian, son of Teige, son of Brian, son of Owen O'Rourke, made an incursion into Dartry Mac Clancy in the very beginning of the month of January, and dispatched marauding squadrons through the fastnesses of Dartry to collect preys; and they obtained great spoils. Mac Clancy, with a numerous body of Scots and Irishmen, pursued and overtook him. Brian proceeded to resist them; and they continued fighting and skirmishing with each other as they moved along, until they came face to face at Beanna-bo, in Breifny. When the men of Breifny and O'Rourke's people heard that Brian had gone to Dartry, they assembled together, to meet him at a certain narrow pass, by which they thought he would come on to them. They perceived him approaching at a slow pace, and with great haughtiness, sustaining the attacks of his enemies; and although they as his own true followers should have succoured him on such an emergency,
Edmond Dorcha the Dark, the son of Donnell, son of Murrough, son of Rory More, and Turlough, the son of Edmond Oge, son of Edmond, son of Turlough Mac Sheehy, were both executed at Dublin.
There was much rain in this year, so that the greater part of the corn of Ireland was destroyed.
Dermot, the son of Donnell Mag Congail (Mac Goingle), died on the 14th of June.
A proclamation of Parliament was issued to the men of Ireland, commanding their chiefs to assemble in Dublin precisely on May-day, for the greater part of the people of Ireland were at this time obedient to their sovereign; and, accordingly, they all at that summons did meet in Dublin face to face.
Thither came the chiefs of Kinel-Connell and Kinel-Owen, namely, O'Neill (Turlough Luineach, the son of Niall Conallagh, son of Art, son of Con, son
To this assembly also repaired Mac Mahon (Ross, the son of Art, son of Brian of the Early Rising, son of Redmond, son of Glasny); O'Kane (Rory, the son of Manus, son of Donough the Hospitable, son of John, son of Aibhne; Con, the son of Niall Oge, son of Niall, son of Con, son of Hugh Boy O'Neill,
Thither came also the chiefs of the Rough Third of Connaught; namely, O'Rourke (Brian, the son of Brian, son of Owen) ; O'Reilly (John Roe, the son of Hugh Conallagh, son of Maelmora, son of John, son of Cathal), and his uncle, Edmond, son of Maelmora, both of whom were then at strife with each other concerning the lordship of their country; also both the O'Farrells, viz. O'Farrell Bane (William, the son of Donnell, son of Cormac), and O'Farrell Boy (Fachtna, the son of Brian, son of Rory, son of Cathal).
Thither also repaired the Sil-Murray, with their dependents: namely, the son of O'Conor Don (Hugh, the son of Dermot, son of Carbry, son of Owen Caech, son of Felim Geanncach); O'Conor Roe (Teige Oge, the son of Teige Boy, son of Cathal Roe); O'Conor Sligo (Donnell, the son of Teige, son of Cathal Oge, son of Donnell, son of Owen, son of Donnell, son of Murtough);
Thither went also Teige, the son of William, son of Teige Duv O'Kelly; and O'Madden (Donnell, the son of John, son of Breasal).
Thither likewise went the Earl of Clanrickard (Ulick, the son of Rickard, son of Ulick-na-gCeann); and the two sons of Gilla-Duv O'Shaughnessy, i.e. John and Dermot.
None worthy of note went thither from West Connaught, with the exception of Murrough of the Battle-axes, the son of Teige, son of Murrough, son of Rory O'Flaherty.
Thither, in like manner, went the Earl of Thomond (Donough, the son of Conor, son of Donough, son of Conor, son of Turlough, son of Teige O'Brien); and Sir Turlough, the son of Donnell, son of Conor, son of Turlough, son of Teige O'Brien, who had been elected a Knight of Parliament for the county of Clare.
Thither went Turlough, son of Teige, son of Conor O'Brien; and also the Lord of the Western part of Clann-Coilein, namely, Mac Namara (John, the son of Teige); and Boethius, the son of Hugh, son of Boethius Mac Clancy, the second Knight of Parliament elected to represent the county of Clare.
Thither repaired the son of O'Loughlin of Burren (Rossa, the son of Owny, son of Melaghlin, son of Rury, son of Ana); Mac-I-Brien Ara, Bishop of Killaloe, namely, Murtough, son of Turlough, son of Murtough, son of Donnell, son of Teige; O'Carroll (Calvagh, the son of William Odhar, son of Ferganainm, son of Mulrony, son of John); Mac Coghlan (John, the son of Art, son of Cormac); and O'Dwyer of Coill-na-manach (Philip, son of Owny).
Thither went Mac-Brien of Hy-Cuanagh, namely, Murtough, the son of
To this Parliament repaired some of the chiefs of the descendants of Eoghan More, with their dependents, namely, Mac Carthy More (Donnell, the son of Donnell, son of Cormac Ladhrach); Mac Carthy Cairbreach (Owen, son of Donnell, son of Fineen, son of Donnell, son of Dermot-an-Duna), and the sons of his two brothers, namely, Donnell, son of Cormac-na-hAine, and Fineen, the son of Donough.
Thither also went the two chiefs who were at strife with each other concerning the lordship of Duhallow, namely, Dermot, the son of Owen, son of Donough an-Bhothair, son of Owen, son of Donough; and Donough, the son of Cormac Oge, son of Cormac, son of Donough.
Thither likewise went O'Sullivan Beare (Owen, son of Dermot, son of Donnell, son of Donough, son of Dermot Balbh); O'Sullivan More (Owen, the son of Donnell, son of Donnell, son of Donnell-na-Sgreadaighe); O'Mahony the
Thither likewise repaired Mac Gillapatrick of Ossory (Fineen, the son of Brian, son of Fineen); Mageoghegan (Conla, the son of Conor, son of Leyny); and O'Molloy (Connell, the son of Cahir).
None worthy of note are said to have gone to that Parliament of the race of Laoighseach Leannmor, son of Conall Cearnach; or of the race of Rossa Failghe, the son of Cahir More, from Offaly; or of the descendants of Daire Barach, the son of Cahir More; or of the Kavanaghs, Byrnes, Tooles,
All these nobles assembled in Dublin, and remained there for some time; but the business of the Parliament was not finished this year. They then departed for their respective homes.
The Governor of the province of Connaught, with a number of other men of distinction, and of the Council of Dublin, went to the province of Connaught, to hold, in the first place, a session in the monastery of Ennis, in the county of Clare. Here they enacted unusual ordinances, namely: that ten shillings should be paid to the Queen for every quarter of land in the country, as well ecclesiastical as lay lands, excepting the liberties which they themselves consented
THE AGE OF CHRIST, 1586. The Age of Christ, one thousand five hnndred eighty-six.
A session was held by Sir Richard Bingham and the Council of Connaught in Galway, in the month of January. Seventy men and women were put to
The same Governor, Sir Richard, on the first of March, laid siege to Cluain-Dubhain, then in possession of Mahon, the son of Turlough, son of Mahon, son of Turlough, son of Mahon O'Brien, from whom the Sliocht-Mahon are named. An indefinite number of the Governor's people were left there, besieged the castle for three weeks, and on the twenty-second day of the same month they made
The Governor afterwards proceeded to attack Caislen-na-Caillighe the Hag's Castle, in Lough Mask, which was the stronghold of the province of Connaught. These were they who guarded it at the time: Richard Burke, who was called Deamhan-an-Chorrain, the son of Rickard, son of Rickard, son of Edmond, son of Edmond, son of Edmond, son of Rickard O'Cuairsci; and Walter, the son of Edmond, son of Ulick, son of Edmond, son of Rickard O'Cuairsci. They had gone to this castle to avoid the session, and to protect their persons. The Governor proceeded to lay siege to the castle ; and he sent the crews of four or five boats, of the flower of the choicest men in the camp, to attack the castle in the middle of the day. But their efforts were fruitless, for a number of their men was slain; they left behind one of their boats, and the rest returned, in danger of being drowned, for the camp. After their departure the Burkes resolved that they would not in future defend any castle against the Sovereign of England; and they went in two boats, with their wives and children, to the other side of the lake, opposite the camp. The Governor destroyed the castle after their departure. It was in this camp that he hanged the son of Mac William Burke, namely, Rickard Oge, usually styled Fal-fo-Eirinn, the son of Rickard, son of John of the Termon, after his other brother had been killed, namely, Thomas Roe, the claimant of Caislen-na-nenuighe on Finnloch-Ceara in Connaught.
A Scotch fleet landed in Inishowen, O'Doherty's country, in the north-eastern angle of Tirconnell. These were the gentlemen and chief constables of that fleet: Donnell Gorm and Alexander, the two sons of James, son of Alexander, son of John Cahanagh, son of Mac Donnell; and Gillespick, the son of Dowell, son of Donough Cam, son of Gillespick Mac Ailin Campbell; with many other gentlemen besides. Their name and fame were greater than their appearance.
Hugh, the son of Owen, son of Donnell, son of Owen, son of Donnell-naMadhmann Mac Sweeny, Chief Constable of Clanrickard, died; and the person who then departed was a soldier in stature, and a hero in valour.
Alexander, the son of Sorley Boy, son of Alexander, son of John Cahanagh, son of Mac Donnell of Scotland, was slain by Captain Merryman and Hugh, the son of the Dean O'Gallagher, in the month of May.
A session was held at Galway in the month of December of this year, and many women and men were put to death at it; and Edmond Oge, the son of Edmond, son of Manus Mac Sheehy, and eight soldiers of the Geraldines along with him, were put to death, information having been given against them that they had been along with those Scots who were slain at Ardnarea.
Con, the son of Art Oge, son of Niall, son of Art, son of Con, son of Henry,
Felim Duv, the son of Art, son of Con O'Neill, an accomplished man, from the country of the descendants of Art, and his son, were slain by Hugh, the son of Maguire.
Mac Sweeny Banagh (Brian Oge, the son of Mulmurry) was slain on the 18th of May, by Niall Meirgeach, son of Mulmurry, son of Hugh Mac Sweeny.
There was much wet weather and unproductive corn, but a great supply of nuts, in this year.
The Parliament of Dublin was finished this year; and the most remarkable Act passed in it, was one by which the inheritance of the Earl of Kildare recte Desmond was annexed to the Crown of England.
Owen Ultach (the son of Donough), i.e. the Doctor, died; and this Owen was a doctor in regard of learning, for he excelled the medical doctors of Ireland in the time in which he lived.
The official Mac Conghail, i.e. Owen Ballagh, died on the festival of St. Bridget.
Cormac, the son of Donnell Mac Conghail, died on the 17th of March.
Five hundred Irishmen left Ireland, in order to assist the Queen of England in the Flemish war; and though the greater part of them were cut off, their name and renown for heroism and bravery spread throughout Europe.
THE AGE OF CHRIST, 1587 The Age of Christ, one thousand five hundred eighty-seven
The son of O'Donnell (Hugh Roe, the son of Hugh, son of Manus) was taken by the English. His capture was first effected thus: the English, with the Justice and the Council in general, had contracted a great dislike to the Earl O'Neill, Hugh, the son of Ferdoragh (although he was obedient to them), in consequence of the accusations and complaints of Turlough Luineach, the son of Niall Conallagh O'Neill, who was always in opposition to him; and because Joan, the daughter of O'Donnell, i.e. of Hugh, the son of Manus, was married to the Earl of Tyrone. Moreover, the name and renown of the above-named
The son of Mac Namara of the western part of Clann-Cuilein, namely, Cumeadha, the son of John, son of Teige, son of Cumeadha, son of Cumara, son of John, died. The wife of that Cumeadha, who was the daughter of Edmond, the son of James Mac Pierce, died.
THE AGE OF CHRIST, 1588. The Age of Christ, one thousand five hundred eighty-eight.
Mac Sweeny Banagh (Niall Meirgeach, the son of Mulmurry, son of Hugh, son of Niall) was slain on Doirinis, on St. Bridget's Day, by Donough, the son of Mulmurry Meirgeach, son of Niall. That event happened thus: after Brian Oge had been slain by Niall Meirgeach, as we have already stated, Donough, with his followers, were, moreover, banished into Connaught by Niall, and he remained for some time with the English, and for some time after that along with O'Neill. At last he made an incursion from a far distance against Niall, what Niall did not expect, for he thought that Donough would not come into the country while he Niall should live in it. Donough, after having passed
John Modardha, the son of Hugh, son of Niall Oge Mac Sweeny, was slain by the followers of Mac Sweeny (Donough).
Hugh, the son of Niall, son of Turlough Bearnach O'Boyle, Tanist of Boylagh, died.
Donnell, the son of Niall Roe, son of Niall O'Boyle, and his son, were slain by Teige Oge, the son of Teige, son of Turlough O'Boyle, on a certain strand in the Lower Third, in the autumn of this year.
Calvagh Oge, the son of Con, son of Calvagh O'Donnell, was slain near the River Finn, by Manus Oge O'Sraithein, one of the followers of Donnell, the son of Hugh, son of Manus.
Mulmurry, the son of Edmond, son of Mulmurry, son of Donough Mac Sweeny, was slain by Niall Garv, the son of Con, son of Calvagh O'Donnell.
The Earl of Tyrone (Hugh, the son of Ferdorcha, son of Con Bacagh, son of Con) mustered a very great army to march against O'Neill (Turlough Luineach). The Earl never halted until he had crossed the Mourne and the Derg, and encamped at Carraic-liath. O'Donnell (Hugh, the son of Manus) came to join the Earl, his son-in-law, with a number of his forces, but, however, he did not come with all of them. O'Neill (Turlough) had on the other hand a great army of unanimously combined forces to oppose the Earl and O'Donnell. These were they who were with O'Neill on this occasion: Art Oge, his son, with a great number of Connaughtmen, namely Captain William Mostin, the son of Robert, with a company of soldiers a party of the Mac Sweenys of Munster,
Mageoghegan, Lord of Kinel-Fiachach, namely, Connla, son of Conor, son of Laighne, son of Connla, son of Hugh, died; and there had not been a long time before any one of the descendants of Fiacha, the son of Niall, who was more generally lamented; and his son, Brian, and Niall, the son of Ross, were in contention with each other for the lordship of the territory.
Owen Manntagh, the son of Edmond, son of Flann, son of Conor O'Heyne, Lord of Hy-Fiachrach-Aidhne, died; and his son, Hugh Boy, was elected in his place. Turlough, son of Rory-an-Doire O'Heyne, Tanist of the same territory, died.
A great fleet, consisting of eight score ships, came from the King of Spain upon the sea in this year. Some say that their intention was to have taken
Sir John Perrott, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, went to England; and Sir William Fitzwilliam came to Ireland as Justice in his stead.
O'Dea (Mahon, the son of Loughlin, son of Rory, son of Muireadhach, son of Mahon Boy), Lord of Kinel-Fearmaic, died.
William, the son of Donnell (i.e. the Doctor), son of Auliffe, son of Donough O'Neillan, was slain in the doorway of the monastery of Ennis, by the sons of O'Greefa, namely, the sons of John, son of John, son of Teige, son of Loughlin.
A great army was mustered by the Lord Justice of Ireland, Sir William Fitzwilliam; Sir Richard Bingham, Governor of the province of Connaught; and Sir Thomas Norris, Governor of the two provinces of Munster; together with the most of the men of Ireland, the people of Ulster excepted, to march against O'Rourke and Mac Sweeny-na-dTuath, who had formed friendship and alliance with some of the Spanish fleet which we have before mentioned.
Hugh, son of the Dean O'Gallagher (who was usually called Hugh, son of Calvagh O'Donnell), was killed by Ineenduv, the daughter of James Mac Donnell, and wife of O'Donnell (Hugh, the son of Manus). It was thus she was enabled to effect this killing: Hugh had constantly sided with the descendants of Calvagh O'Donnell, who were all conjointly leagued with O'Neill (Turlough Luineach), who was always at war with O'Donnell and his son-in-law, the Earl O'Neill (Hugh, son of Ferdorcha). Moreover, her dearly beloved brother, Alexander, had been, as we have before stated, slain by Hugh, son of the Dean, and besides these she had many other causes of enmity towards him; and it was sickness of heart and anguish of mind to her that revenge was not taken of him for his pride and arrogance. She complained of her troubles and injuries to the Scottish auxiliaries, who were constantly in her service and pay, and who were in attendance on her in every place; and they promised that they would be ready at her command, to wreak vengeance upon their enemies, whenever they should meet with them. Hugh one time happened to be coming up, in pride, vigour, and high spirits (without remembering the spite or the enmity against him ) towards the place where she was, at Magh-gaibhlin. When he had come to the town, she addressed her faithful people, i.e. the Scots; and begged and requested of them to fulfil their promise. This was accordingly done for her, for they rushed to the place where Hugh was, and proceeded to shoot at him with darts and bullets, until they left him lifeless; and there were also slain along with him the dearest to him of his faithful people.
The son of Mac Namara, of the eastern part of Clann-Cuilein (Teige, the
The son of O'Conor Roe, i.e. the son of Teige Oge, son of Teige Boy, son of Cathal Roe, was also hanged at Galway.
O'Kennedy Finn (Brian, the son of Donnell, son of Donough) died; upon which Owny, the son of Donough Oge, son of Hugh, son of Auliffe, and Gilla-Duv, the son of Dermot, son of Hugh, son of Rory O'Kennedy, were at strife and contention with each other concerning the lordship ; so that the manner in which they made peace was by dividing the territory in two between them, and the name was conferred on Owny.