translated by Matthew J. Byrne
Electronic edition compiled by Benjamin Hazard
Funded by University College, Cork and
The HEA via the LDT Project
2. Second draft.
Extent of text: 79760 words
Distributed by CELT online at University College, Cork, Ireland.
Text ID Number: T100060
Availability [RESTRICTED]
Available with prior consent of the CELT programme for purposes of academic research and teaching only.
Matthew Byrne translated the sections of Philip O'Sullivan's History of Ireland dealing with the reign of Elizabeth Tudor, consisting of Tome 2, Book 4; and Tome 3, Books 1–8. The digital edition contains Byrne's translation. His appendix about 'Irish Arms' is included for its explanatory value. Under each chapter of his full table of contents, the editor lists all references to subject matter contained in contemporary accounts. These are available in the electronic file, along with the appendix concerning place-names and sobriquets.
CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts
The present text represents Byrne's editorial preface (v–xviii ); Philip O'Sullivan's introduction (xxiii–xxvii ); and the main text (1–187). Text supplied by the editor is tagged sup resp="MB".
Text proofread twice.
The electronic text represents the edited text. Where the editor's word division, hyphenation or spelling is idiosyncratic, or where there is an error in the edition, it has been normalized according to current usage. Corrections are marked sic corr="".
Direct speech is tagged q.
Soft hyphens are silently removed. When a hyphenated word (hard or soft) crosses a page-break or line-break, this break is marked after the completion of the hyphenated word.
div0=the history; div1=the Tome; div2=the Book; div3=the Chapter. Page-breaks are marked. Folio numbers of the manuscript are not indicated in the printed edition.
Dates are standardized in the ISO form yyyy-mm-dd.
Names are not tagged, nor are terms for cultural and social roles.
This text uses the DIV3 element to represent the Chapter.
Created: Philip O'Sullivan Beare (before 1621)
Beatrix Färber (ed.)
Beatrix Färber (ed.)
Beatrix Färber (ed.)
Julianne Nyhan (ed.)
Peter Flynn (ed.)
Beatrix Färber (ed.)
Beatrix Färber (ed.)
Benjamin Hazard (ed.)
Benjamin Hazard (ed.)
Benjamin Hazard (data capture)
‘Translation in itself is, after all, but a problem, how two languages being given, the nearest approximation may be made in the second to the expression of ideas already conveyed through the medium of the first. The problem almost starts with the assumption that something must be sacrificed, and the chief question is, what is the least sacrifice.’ So wrote Cardinal Newman, in the preface to his Church of the Fathers, and of course, this problem had to be solved by me, as best I could, before penning a word of the following version of O'Sullivan's history.
I found the brothers Langhorne, the popular translators of Plutarch's lives, commending Amiot, because he ‘had, indeed, acquitted himself in one respect with great happiness. His book was not found to be French-Greek. He had carefully followed that rule, which no translator ought ever to lose sight of, the great rule of humouring the genius, and maintaining the structure of his own language.’ For themselves they said: – ‘Sensible that the great art of a translator is to prevent the peculiarities of his author's language from stealing into his own, they have been particularly attentive to this point, and have generally endeavoured to keep their English unmixed with Greek... Where something seemed to have fallen out of the text, or where the ellipsis was too violent for the forms of our language, we have not scrupled to maintain the tenor of the narrative, or the chain of reason, by such little insertions as appeared to be necessary for the purpose.’
The plain reading of these propositions would seem to be that the translation should be written as an original work, plagiarised, as it were, from the author, whose writings were being 'done into' English, and these rules seem to have the approval of Boileau, Lord Bolingbroke, Beloe —
On the other hand, Dr. Bloomfield in the preface to his translation of Thucydides (i. xi.), emphatically lays it down: ‘It has, indeed, ever been the opinion of our greatest critics, that what are called free translations of ancient prose writers, whose matter is of high authority, and, therefore, whose sense requires to be ascertained with precision, ought not to be tolerated. Indeed, how instruction or gratification can be obtained from a translation of an antient writer which does not faithfully represent the original, it is not easy to see. But besides fidelity, good taste requires that the translator should preserve the manner and characteristics of his author, without which the utmost verbal accuracy will but inadequately represent the original. As to the style and phraseology of prose versions of antient writers, few will fail to see that they should not be neoteric, otherwise the effect thereby produced will be such as cannot but shock a correct taste.’
This latter rule has the support of our own O'Donovan in his introductory remarks to that monumental work The Annals of the Four Masters (xl.), and in all his published translations with which I am familiar. It has been followed by Dr. Todd ( Wars of the Gael and Gaill, etc.), and Mr. Hennessy ( Chronicon Scotorum, lii., liv.), and other translators from the Gaelic, and also by translators for Bohn's excellent versions of the Classics.
In a letter to Mr. Cromwell, Pope says of translation: ‘Let the sense be ever so exactly rendered, unless an author looks like himself, in his habit and manner, it is a disguise and not a translation.’ Hence, Montesquieu thanks Dr. Nugent, ‘for rendering my work into English so well. ... It would seem that you intended to also translate my style; for there is exactly that resemblance, qualem decet esse sororum.’ ( Spirit of Laws i., Introduc.)
Weighing as best I could the arguments pro and con I finally decided, in the words of the classical Mitford, to prefer, ‘occasionally running the risk of some uncouthness of phrase, to those wide deviations from the original for which French criticism allows large indulgence.’
I believe I was mainly influenced by the following considerations, which may be my apology to those who dissent from my judgment.
I.—A profound reverence for O'Donovan.
I imagine it almost impossible that anyone pursuing for eighteen years—as I have done—with ever increasing interest and assiduity, the study of Irish history, could fail to be impressed with an affectionate awe of those Herculean labourers in this field—O'Donovan and O'Curry. It is really not too much to say that nothing written in the English language is of any real authority on the pre-Norman period of our history, which has not passed through either of their hands. None were so satisfied of this as Todd, Petrie and others whose scholarship gilded, indeed, and, perhaps, refined the output of these miners but to them belongs the credit of the discovery, and of the raising of the ore. Take away their work and only the dross remains; take away the works of all others, and yet the precious metal remains more or less unpolished, according to the time it spent in the masters' hands. I believe that after a while one regards the name of O'Donovan or O'Curry as the hall-mark of authenticity in our Gaelic history, and distrusts all material not so marked.
The respect I entertained for these patient and persevering labourers, as historians, easily extended to them in other capacities.
II.—The danger of sacrificing accuracy to an attempt at elegance, and so substituting an English composition by myself, for the history of O'Sullivan. I had in mind Dr. Johnson's censure on Pope's version of Homer, and the severe strictures on Dr. O'Connor's Latin translation of our annals, passed by Drs. O'Donovan and Todd. I was also struck by some observations of Dean Butler in his preface to Thady Dowling's annals, published by the Irish Arch. Society (viii.), and of Mr. Leslie Stephen, ridiculing the simplicity of those middle-aged romancers, who transferred to the classical or Hebrew histories the customs of chivalry. ( English Thought in the 18th Century, ii., 445.)
III.—Being myself rather a student of History, than of histories, I regard O'Sullivan's work more in the light of material for an Irish history of the reigns of Elizabeth and James I., than as itself supplying that want. In this view, accuracy as to dress, arms, currents of thought, and the like, are of equal importance with the chronicling of actual events. Hence I translate 'leaden bullets' and use such words as 'gunmen' to show the Irish had at such times the use of firearms, etc. Hence, also, the importance of adjectives. A single short sentence will well illustrate my argument. ‘Elizabetha regina non immerito
Now, viewing O'Sullivan merely as an historian, the only fact in this sentence is that Elizabeth was excommunicated by Pius V. Regarding O'Sullivan, however, as an exponent of the sentiments of his countrymen of that age, we have two other important facts, namely, that they approved of this excommunication,—'non immerito'; and regarded it with awe, as of dreadful effect,—'mucrone percussa'. It is canvassed by Moore and others how far religious opinions affected the wars of these times, and on this question side-lights are often of more importance than the direct statements of partisan writers.
Again, an author's credibility is often tested by his style. A bombastic and fulsome eulogy is regarded more as evidence of the partisanship of the writer, than as an accurate description. Hence, the importance of imitating style.
IV.—And finally, I am desirous rather of encouraging the reading of O'Sullivan's own work, than of offering a dissuasive substitute.
I am, indeed, in the words of Cardinal Newman, ‘very sensible what constant and unflagging attention is requisite in all translation to catch the sense of the original, and what discrimination in the choice of English to do justice to it; and what certainty there is of shortcomings after all.’ I can only plead with Horace:
- — Si quid novisti rectius istis,
Candidus imperti.
I have at this tedious length, discussed the basis of my translation, because, should this volume find favour, I purpose to offer similar versions of Lombard, Rothe, and other contemporary writers of events in Ireland during the reign of Elizabeth, and this preface may serve as an introduction to a series of Tudor historians.
The printed materials for an Irish history of our author's times, so far as they have come under my notice, consist mainly of the following:
I.—The State Papers, calendars of which have been officially published, and especially the calendar of Carew Manuscripts.
These calendars are now so numerous, that official guides to their use are periodically published, and the student would do well at the outset to read the late Sir
II.— The Liber Munerum Publicorum Hiberniae, compiled by Mr. Rowley Lascelles, and the reports and indices of the Deputy Keeper of Irish Public Records, and of the Historical Manuscripts Commissioners. Here, too, the search will be for a needle in a bundle of straw without some preliminary training in the method of indexing, etc.
III.—The State Trials, and Sir John Davies' law reports and statutes of the realm. Only the existing statutes are published in the revised editions. The student must consult the statutes at large, published by authority of the Irish Parliament in nineteen folio volumes with two index volumes. These, from the historian's point of view are like detached pieces of a mosaic—one needs the plan to fit them in their places. The student must have a general knowledge of the history of the times before examining these records.
IV.—Beside the official publications there are many excellent collections of State Papers and such like contemporary documents, published by private persons, and arranged in a readily intelligible manner. Such are:— Cardinal Moran's Spicilegium Ossoriense (vols. i. and iii.); Mr. E. P. Shirley's original letters, etc., illustrating Church of Ireland history; Dr. Maziere Brady's State Papers concerning the Irish Church, temp. Eliz.; Rev. Edmond Hogan's Ibernia Ignatiana; Mr. Hore and late Dr. Graves The Social State of the Southern and Eastern Counties of Ireland in the 16th Century; Sydney Papers (letters, etc., from Lord Deputy Sydney), Folio, London, 1746; Bush's Desiderata Curiosa Hibernica (vol. i.); Mr. Gilbert's Facsimilies.
V.—The contemporary writers on the Irish side whose chronicles have been printed, are:— The Four Masters, whose Annals of the kingdom of Ireland as translated and annotated by O'Donovan, are the basis of all Irish History. Vols. v. and vi., of O'Donovan's edition comprise our period.
O'Clery's Life of Hugh Roe O'Donnell, recently published with a translation, by Rev. Denis Murphy, whose last work, Our Martyrs, contains excerpts translated from many contemporary accounts of those who suffered for the Roman Catholic Faith, between 1535 and 1691; our Author, Philip O'Sullivan, whose history is the most readable and complete of the works of the Irish writers of his time; Peter Lombard, Archbishop of Armagh,
David Rothe, Bishop of Ossory, 1618-50, whose Analecta Sacra, etc., has also been republished by Cardinal Moran. Part III. of this work deals with our period.
The second volume of the Annals of Loch Cé, as published in the Rolls series.
Fr. Meehan's Rise and Fall of the Franciscan Monasteries, seems to aim at being a free translation of Donatus Mooney's co-temporary history of the Irish Franciscans. I have never met this latter book, and believe it has not been printed. I understand there is a manuscript copy in the Maynooth library.
Dominic O'Daly, O.P., a translation of whose Rise and Fall of the Geraldines has been published by Fr. Meehan.
O'Duffy's Apostasy of Myler Magrath, a translation of which, by O'Daly, has been published.
On the English side we have:
Ware's and Camden's Annals of the Reign of Elizabeth, Camden's Britannica, which contains Fr. John Good's description of Ireland about the year 1566.
Spencer's View of the State of Ireland.
Fynes Morison's Ityniraie, Part II. I understand this part has been separately published under the title of Moryson's History of Ireland, 2 vols., Dublin, 1735.
Carew's Pacata Hibernia, which has recently been republished with valuable notes, by Mr. Standish O'Grady.
Stanihurst's description, and Hooker's history, both published in Hollinshed's chronicles.
Bingham's services in Connaught, and Dowcra's in Lough Foyle, both printed in The Celtic Society's Miscellany, 1849.
John Derrick's Image of Ireland, republished in 1883, by Mr. Small, Edinburgh.
Payne's Brief Description of Ireland, published in the Irish Arch. Society's Miscellany, 1841.
Dymmok's Treatise of Ireland, in same Society's Miscellany for 1842.
Dowling's Annals, published by same Society, in 1848.
Campion's history has only a brief reference to Shane O'Neill's and Fitzmaurice's insurrection and nothing else belonging to our period.
The History of Sir John Perrot, K.C.B., London, 1728.
Barnaby Rich Description of Ireland, published in 1610, small 4 to.
Fr. E. Hogan, S.J., has published an anonymous description of Ireland, written in 1598 with copious notes, and the Public Record Commissioners have issued with the volumes of State Papers, Henry VIII., dealing with Ireland, two old maps and a map of Munster. These maps show the territories of the principal Irish clans. See also a list of Descriptions of Ireland in Fr. Hogan's book, p. xii.
Most of the foregoing sources of history are out of print, and to be picked up only at second hand book-stalls, or occasionally at auctions.
I am afraid the time for writing the History of Ireland is still as far off as when O'Curry died, but in the hope of facilitating the future historian, I have collected in the table of contents, under each chapter, all references to its subject matter, contained in contemporary accounts which the kindness of my friends or my own shelves supplied.
Words introduced into the text and not in the original are printed in italics. The names of persons and places are given in present-day form when I was able to identify them, otherwise they are given as in the original text merely dropping the Latin termination.
In conclusion, I have to thank my subscribers, and many friends for kind encouragement and generous assistance in my work, and especially are my thanks due and tendered to The Most Rev. Dr. O'Doherty, Bishop of Derry, himself a master in the science of which I am a devoted student; Mr. T. D. Sullivan our National Bard; and to my life-long, sincere and valued friend, the Very Rev. Father James F. Murphy, Provincial of the Jesuits in Ireland.
‘THE family of O'Sullivan,’ says Sir Bernard Burke, ‘deduces its descent from Olioll Ollum, king of Munster, who reigned A.D. 125.’ Mr. O'Hart in his Irish Pedigrees, traces their genealogy still further back (4th ed. i., 243.)
Until 1192 the O'Sullivans were seated in South Tipperary, on the banks of the Suir, between Clonmel and Knockgraffan, on which was their principal fort, celebrated in the third century as the residence of their progenitor, king Fiacha, who compelled Cormac MacArt, the Ardrigh, to send hostages thither from Tara ( Annals Four Masters, iii., 94-95, n.; Book of Rights, 91, n.; O'Callaghan's Irish Brigades, 374; Lewis's Topographical Dictionary, 239.) The Anglo-Norman invaders gradually expelled this family from its ancient territory, and compelled it to seek a home in that wildest part of south-west Cork and Kerry, skirting the Atlantic, and now comprised in the baronies of Beare and Bantry, County Cork, and baronies of Iveragh, Dunkerron and Glanlough, in Kerry ( Book of Rights, 46-91, n.; Annals Four Masters, iv., 1132; O'Callaghan's Irish Brigades, 374;) The family became divided into two great sections—O'Sullivan More, in Kerry, and O'Sullivan Beare, in Cork ( O'Callaghan's Irish Brigades.)
Mr. Joyce tells us ( Irish Names of Places, i., 134), that our author's district acquired its name from Beara, a daughter of Heber, king of Castile, and whom Olioll Ollum's father, Owen More, married. On his return from Spain with his bride, Owen More called the harbour 'Beara' in her honour. This harbour is now Bearhaven, the island which shelters it is the Great Bear Island, and the neck of land between Bearhaven and Kenmare Bay is the barony of Bere or Bear. Prefixed to the second volume of State Papers Henry VIII. (Ireland) are three curious
The O'Sullivans appear to have been settled in their new home early in the fourteenth century, as in 1320 we find them founding a Franciscan monastery at Bantry, in which they and many other nobles chose burial places Annals Four Masters, iii., 523). A century later the line of cleavage between the two families is marked by an entry in the Annals of the Four Masters, iii., 566-7, that O'Sullivan More chose a burial place in another Franciscan monastery founded by The MacCarthy More, on a site near the lower lake of Killarney, which an old legend relates to have been miraculously pointed out. At what time our author's family assumed the cognomen 'Bear', I have not been able to ascertain. It first occurs in the Annals of Four Masters under the year 1485. The name is now always spelled O'Sullivan, but our author wrote O'Sullevan. The Irish word is O'Suilebhain ( O'Hart's Irish Pedigrees). To count up the various spellings in the patents, etc., of James I., and Elizabeth would be a tedious and profitless task. The deeds of derring-do of the historian's father, and the unhappy dissensions in his family, form part of his history, so need not be anticipated here. Apparently the only materials for a biography of our author are contained in his own works. Harris, the continuator of Sir James Ware, seems to have been unable to discover any others, ( Irish Writers, 110.)
From the Catholic History we learn that his father's name was Dermot (Tom. ii., lib. iv., cap. xv., et passim), that his grandfather was also a Dermot, and was The O'Sullivan Bear (Tom. ii., lib. iii., cap. iv., et passim); that his father was a younger son appears from the fact that he was not The O'Sullivan Bear, whose name was Daniel, and to whom our author refers as his 'patruelis' (Tom. iv., lib. iii., cap. iv.); that he was born in Dursey Island, off Crow Head (Tom. i., lib. i., cap. iv.); that in the year 1602, while yet a boy, he was sent to Spain with his cousin, son of the O'Sullivan Beare, and who was going as a hostage to Philip III (Tom. iii., lib. vii., cap. i.), that he was educated by a Jesuit Father, Synott, ‘one of his own people,’ and by Roderic Vendanna, a Spaniard, and other professors (Tom. iii., lib. vii., cap. i.); that he obtained a commission in the Spanish Navy from Philip III. (Dedication of History); and that in 1618 he fought a
The first-mentioned letter is reprinted at page 391 of The Celtic Society's Miscellany (Dub. 1849.)
From a poem prefixed to another of his works, Decas Patritiana, we learn that he was one of seventeen children; that thirteen of his brothers having reached man's estate perished in the dark days of Ireland, meaning the wars of the closing years of Elizabeth's reign; that after what he calls the sad fall of Ireland, the remaining four emigrated to Spain, whither also came his parents; that he was educated at Compostella; that Synott taught him Latin; Vendanna enlightened him on physics; Marcilla instructed him in divine wisdom; then he engaged in the wars of His Catholic Majesty, serving in the army and navy; that his brother Daniel also served in the navy, and after many vicissitudes perished in the war with the Turks, and was buried at sea; that his sister Helena, was drowned returning to Ireland; that his father, the son of Sheela FitzGerald, lived to the great age of nearly one hundred years, and was buried in Corunna; and that his mother soon followed her husband to the grave; that her maiden name was Johanna McSwiney; that her mother (Margaret), was of the MacCarthy More family; and that when he wrote this poem, only his sister Leonora and himself remained of all his family, the former being a nun in the convent of Stelliferi.
From the Decas Patritiana (1646) we learn that Philip learned the rudiments of his religion in Ireland from Donagh O'Cronin, who was martyred in Cork in 1601. (See Our Martyrs, p. 212.)
Mr. Webb says ( Compendium of Irish Biography), O'Sullivan died in 1660, relying on a letter from Peter Talbot to the Marquis of Ormonde, saying: ‘The Earl of Birhaven is dead, and left one only daughter of twelve years to inherit his titles in Ireland and his goods here, which amount to 100,000 crowns.’ Mr. Webb does not show how he identifies the Earl of Birhaven, nor what our author's Irish titles were; and I should imagine the letter refers to the cousin, the son of The O'Sullivan Bear. (See Catholic History, III., viii., 5.) The historian must have been about ten years of age when, in 1602, he emigrated to Spain, as he was able to translate Irish into Latin, and
The only works of which I have any knowledge were:—
1. The Compendium of the History of Catholic Ireland, written in Latin, and published at Lisbon in 1621.
2. Letters to The O'Sullivan Bear, Fr. Synott, and Patrick Trant, also in Latin, describing his doings whilst in the navy, and printed with the history.
3. Decas Patritiana; or A Life of St. Patrick, divided into ten books of ten chapters each, published in Madrid, 1629. There is a neatly bound copy of this rare work in Marsh's Library, Dublin. The first book gives a summary description of Ireland, the birth, education, and early life of St. Patrick, whom he states to have been born in Armoric Gaul. The second book opens with an account of the learning and arts in Ireland before St. Patrick's arrival, and asserts the knowledge of letters. Here also is a relation that a description of the person and passion of Our Saviour was given by a pilgrim eye-witness to King Connor MacNessa. O'Sullivan asserts that the Apostle James preached the faith here, and that his father, Zebedee, was our first Archbishop. In this second book he relates the mission and first successes of St. Patrick. Then follow five books dealing more particularly with the mission in the several districts, a separate book being devoted to Meath, Connaught, Ulster, Munster, and Leinster respectively. The eighth book deals with miscellaneous acts, such as the expelling of serpents, etc., and also relates his preaching in England and the Isle of Man, his miracles and death. The ninth book is devoted to Patrick's Purgatory, to which also he gives up the second book of his Catholic History. The tenth book is a glorification of the Irish for their steadfastness in the creed preached by St. Patrick.
4. In the same volume as the Decas Patritiana are Latin elegies in the author's praise by Don Geo. Mendoza and Don Antonio Sousa, with O'Sullivan's verses in reply and the long poem on his family which I have already cited. Mendoza's poem, after congratulating O'Sullivan on the publication of his history, refers to the other works still lying in darkness, and hence we know of the following works: —
5. A confutation of the histories of Giraldus Cambrensis, and Stanihurst as calumnies on the Irish. This work was called Zoilomastix. I do not know if it be now extant.
6. A work on astronomy.
7. Various lives of Irish saints. O'Sullivan himself tells
8. With the Decas Patritiana he published a reply to the famous Archbishop Ussher's censure on his history, which reply he called Archicornigeromastix. As Ussher's work would not be allowed into Spain, being heretical, O'Sullivan was obliged to answer what he had not seen. The entire tract is simply an abuse of Ussher, to whom he applies every coarse epithet he could command. This work reflects little credit on its author, and it is a pity it did not give place to some worthier effort.
9. To the Dempsterian controversy as to Ireland's title to the ancient name of Scotia, O'Sullivan contributed his Tenebriomastix vindicating Ireland's title.
O'Flaherty, of Ogygia fame, tells us ( Ogygia Vindicated, 69) he had a copy of this work, and that it was not published. He describes it as ‘a large volume in Latin, not yet printed, where he also inveighs against all the Scotch impostures whereof I have a copy.’ Lynch, the celebrated Gratianus Lucius, quotes ( Cambrensis Eversus, cap. xxv., ii. 662) from this work, and gives this description of it, ‘Philip O'Sullivan ... has already crushed and utterly demolished Camerarius in a work consisting of six books, which is as much superior to his adversary's in nervous eloquence as it is in the justice of its cause. His ardour was indeed too vehement for my tastes; but a son of Mars must get some indulgence for virulent invectives, as those who live in the camp generally resent injuries more indignantly and punish them more severely than others.’
10. Bound with the Patritiana Decas is a long letter to an Irish Jesuit, Cantwell, urging him to publish a history of Ireland he had undertaken. This letter is in reality an essay on the writing of history. Colgan speaks very highly of O'Sullivan ( Acta, 791).
11. Harris never saw the Zoilomastix, but says O'Sullivan was supposed to have drawn up the account of Irish affairs presented to the king of Spain by Florence Conroy, Archbishop of Tuam.
12. There are occasional references in the history to some other work from which our Author takes extracts. See Chapters 11 and 19 of Book IV., Tome II. If these excerpts are typical of the lost work, we might conjecture it was a martyrology of the reign of Elizabeth. These
Most potent Monarch! I venture to commit this, my Compendium of Irish Affairs, to the patronage of your Catholic Majesty, for many reasons. I pass over its being due to you in earnest token of a grateful spirit, by me who, in an honourable commission all too generously bestowed by your royal father, bear arms in your fleet: I refrain from dwelling on yourself or pleading the course becoming your officer: I omit enumerating the generous and noble succours to the Irish people afforded by yourself and the mighty monarchs, your father, and grandfather.
But there is one reason I cannot refrain from mentioning: You are the strongest bulwark and protector of the christian family: Ireland for christian piety and devotion to the holy faith is overwhelmed with the most tremendous load of calamities. You are striving to spread amongst all peoples, and far and wide to propagate, the worship and splendour of the holy and apostolic religion, and to enlarge the confines of the Roman Church: Ireland has never swerved from that law which Christ our Redeemer instituted, the blessed Apostles preached, and the Roman Pontiffs instructed us to cherish. You are ever a barrier to the pestilence of hellish heresy: Ireland is overwhelmed with the most violent fury of heresy. You are the refuge of Catholics: Ireland turns to you as to an asylum. You above other kings are most justly styled 'Catholic': Ireland stands forth Catholic, amidst the monstrous confusion of the errors of the north.
Add to these the singular piety of your disposition and the eminently admirable spirit wherewith in the very beginning of your reign you commenced so excellently to establish your sway, forbidding all apostates from the Catholic faith access to your kingdoms, and determining that the Batavians and other assertors of nefarious doctrines and persons ill-disposed to the christian law should be reduced by force to proper obedience to the church, so that the holy faith of our Saviour should appear practised and honoured, not only in those realms which were handed down to you by your ancestors, but, also, it is hoped that your labours and zeal will in a short time under happiest auspices restore and re-establish it in its former splendour, authority and dignity in other realms in which, dishonoured by the crimes of impious men, it has fallen to the lowest depths. For these reasons I have thought that this History of Catholic Ireland, which 'till now hath lain in the dark, should go forth into the light under the patronage of your royal majesty. Long live your invincible majesty.
Philip O'Sullevan.
Don Philip O'Sullevan of Bear in Ireland to the Catholic Reader
ALTHOUGH, Catholic reader, in ancient times and even at this present day, there have been many and various affairs of the kingdom of Ireland well worth knowing and commemorating, yet its records, either wholly unpublished, lurk in darkness shrouded in the thickest mist, or are so much written in the Irish language that they are confined to the home circle and have not been sufficiently published by anyone in Latin.
And so those who have compiled the church histories of our times have either altogether passed over that island in silence, or recorded the fewest and most meagre particulars of it, notwithstanding that it endured for the preservation of christian piety the severest trials-aye, greater than is generally known.
Hence, some foreign writers justly complain that there is no Irish historian bringing to light the knowledge of his country's affairs, and placing them before the eyes of foreign people, and this is all the more strange because at this very time there are many religious and secular Irishmen distinguished for their talents in theology, philosophy, canon and civil law, and the study of other sciences.
Verily, unless I am deceived in my judgment, the current of present events, and the accumulation of many calamities deter our people from the attempt. For we are so distracted and tossed about on the most turbulent waves and by the confusion of all our affairs that there is no leisure for writing. Whence might be said of us that verse which Ovid sings of himself; —
- Though were my soul with fortitude sustained,
As great as his whom Anytus arraigned:
Yet, since the wrath of Gods so far transcends,
The utmost rigours to which men's extends;
Wisdom itself, falls shattered by its weight:
And even he whom 'wise man' Delphi hight,
Unnerved–would fail to write in my sore plight.
However, I resolved to save from oblivion and destruction the fame of the greatest and most distinguished Irishmen, who displayed great virtues, both in fighting for the Catholic faith and in peace; for men celebrated in history, after the body is turned into dust, live as if endowed with a kind of immortality, as the same poet happily testifies:
- In song is valour made immortal,
And rescued from death's gloomy portal.
It's fame lives on through generations.
Stone nor iron, time's depredations
May resist; and all must yield to age:
Yet long will live the written page.
The record tells of Agamemnon:
And tells us also about each one,
Who fought against him, and who for him;
Were Thebes not sung in ancient rhythm,
Who now would know the chieftains seven?
And so e'en older things are proven,
And later tales preserved till now.
E'en gods (if reverence will allow),
With all their might, need poet's song,
To sing what meeds to them belong.
In a less lofty strain, however, I will commence describing the nature of the Island; the origin of its people; their
IMMEDIATELY on the death of the Catholic Queen Mary, she was succeeded by her sister Elizabeth, the daughter of Henry VIII. and Anne Boleyn, and who became queen in the year of our Redeemer 1559. As soon as she wielded the sceptre, imitating her father, she excited the most violent and fierce storms against the professors of Christian truth. In England she nearly extinguished the Catholic faith and religion; then she set herself to detach the Irish from the faith. The system of her persecutions has been
WHAT Alanus Copus Nicholas Harpsfield and Father Henry Fitzsimons, of Dublin, have related about John Travers, an Irish doctor of sacred theology, who fell in Henry's or Elizabeth's time (I have not definitely ascertained which) is worth repeating. This man wrote something
GREATER butchery of ecclesiastics was prevented by various risings of the nobles, some of which are now to be related, and in the first place those excited by Shane O'Neill, chief of Tyrone,1 which are as follows:—Con O'Neill, chief of Tyrone, having paid the debt of nature, left two sons, Shane and Fardorch, born of different mothers. Shane succeeding on his father's death as chief of Tyrone, was held in great esteem amongst the Irish, old as well as new, of which latter race was his paternal grandmother, the daughter of the Earl of Kildare: nor was his jurisdiction narrow, for he annexed to Tyrone a great part of Tyrconnell as a ransom for Calvagh O'Donnell, chief of Tyrconnell, when he was taken prisoner, as I related above. The English, therefore, greatly feared him as they were not ignorant that the power of this Catholic hero would resist the persecution of Catholics which they were plotting and had already begun to carry out. Wherefore desirous of diminishing his power, they eagerly seized an opportunity which offered. Between him and his brother Fardorch there arose a dispute about their father's property. The
O'Donnell who, though a Catholic, introduced heretics into the holy town to defile holy things, also quickly suffered meet punishment. When, after the destruction of these English, he was leading against O'Neill a large army of his own clansmen, he suddenly fell dead from his horse, overtaken by some sudden disease in the heyday of his health and vigour. His brother Hugh O'Donnell succeeded, and O'Neill carrying on hostilities against him as against the deceased, surprised and having raised some troops, surrounded him, ill-protected by a few attendants. O'Donnell having lost a few of his men sought safety in flight, but, on the same day having rallied his forces, he returned again to fight the victor with a determination to be avenged. Many fell on both sides fighting stoutly. At length O'Neill, his line having been broken and his forces destroyed, with difficulty escaped with a few followers, no whit however disspirited, for on the eighth day after, having quickly collected forces, he encountered the queen's troops and obtained that famous victory which is called 'of the red coats', because among others who fell in battle were four hundred soldiers lately brought from England and clad in the red livery of the viceroy. Although made famous by this victory, he unluckily fell not long after. That he might have greater forces against the queen and O'Donnell, he had brought a regiment of Scots from Scotland, and,
The chieftaincy of Tyrone was thereupon added to the queen's dominions, but to little purpose as Turlough O'Neill forthwith took possession of it, worn with war and for the most part wasted. Against Turlough the queen afterwards excited Hugh O'Neill, son of Fardorch, aided the latter and honoured him first with the title of baron and then of earl. This will later on be shown by us in its proper place.
AFTER the pitiable murder of John O'Neill, Richard Burke, Earl of Clanrickard, whose estates in Connaught stretched far and wide, was cast into prison by command of the queen, for it had been determined and resolved by the English that the Irish nobles whom they well knew would be assertors of the Catholic faith should be rooted out completely. The earl's sons, Ulick and John, provoked by the queen's injustice, declared war and did not desist from their proceedings until their father was restored to his former liberty. He afterwards dying left them surviving, the one as Earl of Clanrickard and the other as Baron of Leitrim.
NOT long afterwards Leinster was convulsed with tyranny and confusion. The chieftaincy of Leix was (as we have seen above) taken from O'More and added to the royal crown. Rotheric Rory, son of O'More, ill brooking this, endeavoured to recover his patrimony by arms in a
WHEN disturbances were allayed tyranny used ever increase. Francis Cosby, governor of Leix, and his son Alexander raged savagely against the entire Catholic body. He summoned the men of his province to Mullagh Mast for a convention to discuss matters of administration. He suddenly surrounded the assembly with armed bands, and of the family of O'More killed on the spot one hundred and eighty unarmed and unsuspecting men. He lived mostly at Stradbally, where before his doors grew a tree of great height and abounding in spreading branches. From this he was accustomed to hang not only men but also women and children for no crime. When women were hanging from the tree by a halter he took an incredible pleasure in at the same time hanging by the mother's long hair their infant children. It is said that when the tree was without the corpses of Catholics hanging from it, he was wont to say—‘You seem to me, my tree, shrouded with great sadness, and no wonder, for you have now long been childless. I will speedily relieve your mourning. I will shortly adorn your boughs with corpses.’
ENRAGED by this cruelty Cathal O'Connor renewed the rising, inflicting great devastation on the English, and often vainly attacked by them. At last MacFort, an Englishman, opened a treaty of peace with him. He said he would not trust his safety to the promises of MacFort unless the latter produced the order and warrant of the queen. A day was arranged between them on which MacFort should produce the warrant. When the day arrived, MacFort on horseback and Cathal and Conal MacGeoghegan on foot (as arranged) came to a parley, no safe pass having been given. Nor did this seem necessary since the horseman could easily escape from the foot, and
BUT not even the Munsters enjoyed immunity from English injustice. The FitzGeralds of Munster were provoked to take up arms there. In order to understand how this came about we shall say something of their origin. We have elsewhere shown that there were in Ireland two families of FitzGeralds, one in Leinster of which we have spoken above, the other in Munster, and of which we are now to treat. The chief of this family on its first introduction into Ireland was called MacThomas, which name was changed by the English to the title of Earl of Decies or Desmond (which is the same). Now John FitzGerald, Earl of Desmond, had three sons—James the eldest, Maurice the second, and John the youngest. The two
SOON after James' rising was calmed down a war broke out between Earl Gerald and Donald MacCarthy, Chief of Clancarthy and earl of Valencia, and at the river Maine a battle was fought which was rather a slaughter than a fight; for while some illustrious gentlemen of MacCarthy's fell, and amongst others Murrough and Eugene MacSweeny, whose assistance James had formerly employed against the heretics; of FitzGerald's forces only Colus, brother of Maurice, succumbed. Shortly after, James, thinking (as it seems to me would have been the case), that on account of the English he would be very unsafe in Ireland, crossed over to Spain with his wife and two young children.
IRELAND was long miserably convulsed by these misfortunes. When the turmoil of war was becalmed the English had, after the old fashion, nothing but fury against holy bishops, friars and priests. About this time was arrested the
Richard O'Melchrebus, commonly called Creagh, and by some writers Cravaeus, was the son of a merchant of the town of Limerick in Ireland, of well-known integrity and respectability, and after the manner of his people receiving a Christian education and instruction in letters in his childhood, he became inflamed with piety and zeal for divine knowledge. As a young man engaged in his father's business, he, in company with other merchants, sailed for Spain in a trading vessel laden with a cargo. Having sold his goods there and bought others to traffic with, and these being shipped, and all prepared for the return journey, a favourable wind blowing, the hour was appointed at which all merchants should embark. On this day when at early morning they came to the ship, Richard said to his companions that he must hear the holy Mass before he embarked, and that having heard it he would join without delay. Intent on seeing the celebration of the holy Mass he was left behind by his companions, who shortly weighed anchor and set sail. Seeing them from the land and calling them, he saw them together with the ship and cargo suddenly sink within the very harbour. Greatly struck by this incident he gave thanks to God that he himself had been preserved, and resolved to lead another life less perilous to his body and far safer for his soul. He applied himself therefore entirely to study. Excelling in piety, and by no means unskilled in learning, he was in a short time ordained priest and consecrated Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of Ireland. He returned immediately to his native land, bringing the fruits of divine wisdom and sanctity instead of worldly and paltry merchandise, that with these helps he might afford a salutary aid to the souls of his people stricken by a most vehement persecution under Elizabeth. The holy bishop entering upon his sacred office was arrested by the English priest-hunters and sent into England. Cast into the Tower of London, and whilst in chains long and frequently pressed by bribes and threats and assailed with menaces he never would desert the Catholic religion. Amongst others let us make known this remarkable incident. The archbishop was brought before the tribunal of the Privy Council, a plan having been previously arranged and concerted by the heretics that the keeper's daughter should charge the bishop with having made an assault upon her to violate her chastity. The holy bishop standing before the tribunal
NO milder course was taken with Patrick O'Healy, Bishop of Mayo, and his companion, Connatius O'Rourke, of whom I have already written as follows:—In that most doleful time during which Elizabeth, Queen of Britain, after destroying the church in England, was assailing the Catholic religion in Ireland also with the utmost violence, there flourished Patrick O'Healy, an Irishman of by no means humble origin, who having embraced the order of the Seraphic Francis, in Spain, stayed some years diligently studying in that most famous academy of Complutus. Then after he had elsewhere and finally at Rome, in the convent of Ara Coeli, proved to all the innocence of his life and his sincerity by many evidences of holiness and penance, he was consecrated bishop by Pope Gregory XIII. in the year of our Redeemer 1579, and laden with gifts was sent into Ireland, that country requiring him to assist it struggling against the deadly contagion of English heresy. When he reached Paris on his journey he earned in public debates in the university then widely famous a reputation for great ability and very uncommon learning. With
AS it is right that these holy and glorious men who attained by their merits the highest praise on earth and eternal happiness in heaven should be celebrated in books and records, so on the other hand the wicked and abandoned men
Consecrated a priest and endowed by the Pope with no little power and authority, he set out from Rome to Ireland as if he were going to denounce the new dogmatic errors of the English, but, perhaps, thinking otherwise in his mind; for from the time he reached England, I am informed, he used to carry the apostolic letters in a large and beautiful pyx or locket which hung openly from his neck and was obvious to everyone, for no other purpose but that he might betray himself and his calling. Being arrested by the ministers of justice, he was brought, together with the apostolic letters, before Queen Elizabeth or her council, and deserted with little unwillingness the Catholic religion, readily embracing the Queen's sect and bribes before he performed the least duty. Then made pseudo-bishop of Cashel, he right away in unholy union wedded Anna Ni-Meara. She upon a Friday would not eat meat. ‘Why is it wife,’ said Miler, ‘that you will not eat meat with me?’ ‘It is,’ said she, ‘because I do not wish to commit sin with you.’ ‘Surely,’ said he, ‘you committed a far greater sin in coming to the bed of me a friar.’ The same woman asked by Miler why she wept: ‘Because,’ said she ‘Eugene who was with me to-day assured me by strong proof and many holy testimonies that I would be condemned to hell if I should die in this state of being your wife, and I am frightened and cannot help crying lest this be true.’ ‘Indeed,’ said Miler, ‘if you hope otherwise your hope will lead you much astray, and not for the possibility but for the reality should you fret.’ Not long after Anna died consumed with grief. This Eugene who then, as at many other times, had endeavoured to bring her back to a good life was O'Duffy, a Franciscan friar, some of whose rather incisive poems, written in Irish against Miler and other heretics, are extant. Well, the wicked Miler married a second wife, and now lives sinning, not in ignorance but wilfully. He does not hunt priests nor endeavour to detach Catholics from the true religion. He is now nearly worn out with age.
OF far different moulds were Miler and Thomas O'Herlihy, bishop of Ross, who was present at the famous Council of Trent. Returning to Ireland his lot was also cast in the reign of Elizabeth. It is almost incredible with what zeal he laboured there against heresy, by preaching, administering the sacraments, and ordaining priests. Long and diligently sought by the English, he was at last arrested, sent to England in chains and cast into the Tower of London. Thence brought before the Privy Council, he with marvellous learning and skill pleaded his cause and refuted charges. However, he was not on that account the less maltreated, but was sent back to the same prison. Thence again brought before the council and accused he spoke not a word. When asked by the councillors the cause of his silence, ‘If,’ said he ‘justice and right had been done there would now be no need of my pleading, since I have already sufficiently cleared myself of the crimes alleged, and proved my innocence, but since not by law but by your will I am to be dealt with, it seems to me useless to endeavour to legally exculpate myself where justice and law avail nothing to the accused.’ Thrown into his former bonds he was long tortured with hunger, thirst, and fetid darkness, and his body from filth covered with vermin, and the soles of his feet gnawed by rats. At last he was released, some of the Queen's councillors thinking he was a fool and an idiot. I do not know if it be true, as I heard, that some of the Queen's councillors were corrupted by a bribe from Cormac McCarthy, son of Thady, Irish chief of Muskerry, to free the bishop. Freed from his chains, for some years he discharged his holy duty, and at length fulfilled his holy mission.
ABOUT this time Leinster was convulsed with no inconsiderable disturbances, the origin of which may be gathered from what we now relate. The Leinstermen ill-brooked that the celebration of the holy mass and sacraments of
The Earl of Kildare, who could have taken up arms, took the matter easily, submitted himself to the judgment of the English, by whom he was thrown into chains, and after a short time he died in prison. The viscount and Fiach with some associates endeavoured to save their lives and liberty with their swords. They fought a memorable battle at Glenmalure, where they defeated Grey, an Englishman, the viceroy of Ireland. They killed eight hundred soldiers, and amongst them the cruel butcher of Catholics, Francis Cosby, governor of Leix, of whom we made mention above. Carrying on war as opportunity offered during two years, they laid waste the neighbourhood, but after numerous raids and receiving not a few wounds, they were deserted by their men and reduced to straits. The viscount and his brother flying to Spain were received by Philip II., that most pious king, and whilst they lived they were supported and honoured by the generosity of the munificent king. Thus fell the sons of Rowland, Viscount Eustace and his family, as that ghostly verse, which I cited above, foretold to himself: —
- What greedy lust the church's rights usurped,
That will with blasting blight thy fields oppress,
And quickly cause that all thy sproutings warped,
Shall leave an airy space for leaves to dress.
Fiach did not lay down his arms until promised safety, and was left in possession of his property.
WHILST these events were taking place in Ireland, James FitzGerald, of whom we have written rather a full account, upon his arrival in Spain explained the position of affairs in Ireland to his Catholic Majesty Philip II., and sought aid from him for the Catholics. Thence he went for Rome through France, where at that time was Conor O'Ryan, a Franciscan bishop of Killaloe, and an Irishman, and Thomas Stukely, who by some is said to have been an illegitimate son of King Henry VIII. of England, by others to have been born of an English gentleman and an Irish mother, by others he is called an Irishman altogether. This man professedly in aid of the Irish was harassing the English, either incensed against them or moved by piety, or desirous of revolution and war, in hope thereby to gain something, or perhaps aspiring to rule as a man born of royal blood. At the same place was Sanders, an honour to the English race, flying from their tyranny after he had written a book on the English schism.
At that time some bands of brigands grievously pestered Italy; sallying from the woods and mountains in which they hid, they destroyed villages in midnight robberies and raids, and blocking the roads despoiled travellers.
James besought Pope Gregory XIII. to assist the Catholic Church in Ireland, then almost overwhelmed, and at length obtained from him pardon for these robbers on condition of their accompanying him to Ireland, and from these and others he got together about one thousand soldiers. The Pope appointed them generals; Hercules Pisano, a brave man and famed for his skill in military matters, and other Roman soldiers who embarked with Cornelius, the bishop, and Doctor Sanders. James ordered Stukely to make for Lisbon and await him there until his wife whom he left in France, should arrive. Stukely steering his ships from Italian shores for Lisbon, with favourable winds, arrived during those days in which Sebastian, the famous king of Lusitania, was fitting out an expedition against Mauritiana.
The king asked Stukely to accompany him into Mauritiana, promising on his return that either he himself would cross with Stukely into Ireland or at least would give him additional forces to assert the liberty of that island. Stukely freely accepting this promise fell by the forces of the barbarians in that well-known slaughter of Lusitanians—a famous race—together with the illustrious king Sebastian. The Italians who survived the massacre returned to Spain, where James also had now arrived, and he having enrolled the Italians who survived the massacre of Mauritiana, had, with a few Cantabrians given by his Catholic Majesty, eight hundred soldiers. According to Michael of Isseltus, one Sebastian San Joseph was appointed commander of the soldiers by order of the Pope.
These embarking in six ships with a large commissariat, batteries, arms for four thousand Irish, James, Cornelius, the bishop, and Doctor Sanders, sailed from Spain for Ireland and after a prosperous voyage arrived in the harbour of Ardnacantus, which is called Smerwick by the English, and is opposite the town of Dingle. There is in that port a rock, which the natives call the 'Oilen-an-oir,' well fortified by nature, partly washed by the tide, partly fenced by high rocks, and joined to the mainland by a wooden bridge. This was in the charge of Peter Rusius, a citizen of Dingle, who had there a guard of three or four youths. James finds out where Peter is, and having seized him and bound him, cocked him atop the roof of a sow,2 and by his soldiers pushes it towards the rock. Peter shouting out orders his men to surrender the rock. James quickly threw into it six hundred soldiers under command of Lieutenant Sebastian San Joseph. He fortified it during six days of continuous work. Moreover, on the mainland in front of the rock he constructed a trench and mound, and stationed there cannons taken from the ships. It was a very strong fortress, almost impregnable. He gathered from the neighbourhood wine, oil, beer, sea-biscuits, and meat. He sent back the ships with the remaining two hundred men. In the meantime his cousin, John FitzGerald, brother of Earl Gerald, and other noble youths joined him. To these he explained that he had been sent by, the Supreme Pontiff to aid the Irish in asserting the rights and liberty of the Catholic Church against the heretics. On this account he carried the keys inscribed on his banners, because they were fighting
The news of James' death having spread, the majority of the Irish participators in his plans lost hope and failed to take up arms. Sebastian San Joseph was privately alarmed. The English, on the other hand, plucked up spirit, and applied for aid from England. The Queen ordered an abatement of persecution. She sought to stir up the Irish. The earldom of Desmond is said to have been promised to Thomas Butler, Earl of Ormonde, if he would speedily bring the war to an end. She was afraid that Eugene O'Sullivan, chief of Bear, my kinsman, would join in the war, and so ordered him to be seized unexpectedly and put into prison, nor was he released until the war was over. A garrison under command of Fenton, an Englishman, was placed in Dunboy, the castle of his chieftaincy. With the Earl of Ormonde and other Irish troops, although they were Catholics, especially Anglo-Irish of Meath and their English followers, Grey, an Englishman, the Viceroy of Ireland, got together about one thousand five hundred soldiers, forces very inadequate to storm such a fortification as the Golden Fort. Nevertheless with these and two or three transport ships he blockaded Sebastian by land and sea with a double line, and, having placed his cannon, made an attack. The assailed made small account of the attack, being not only well furnished with artillery and arms, but also thoroughly protected by the nature of the place. Already the heretic had for about forty days in vain plied his cannon on the fort, wasting his strength to no purpose. He was tried by the inclemency of winter at sea and in the open camp, where he was without houses, under shelter of a few camp tents; he was being deserted by the Irish, who were brought thither against their will; and he was losing some English troops, killed by the fire of the artillery, and amongst others John Shickius Shinkwin qy., a man of great standing amongst them. However, not to abandon the enterprise which he could not achieve by force, he tried strategy. He sent a flag to demand a parley. Plunkett endeavoured to prevent a conference with the English, a callous and treacherous race of men, by whom Sebastian,
Sebastian, with whom the command rested, thought a conference should not be refused, and so, having got a safe pass, he approached the viceroy in his camp, with Plunkett as interpreter, and, speaking with his head uncovered, showed himself a man of cringing disposition. The interpreter, however, kept himself covered. The viceroy and commandant proposed peace to each other. Plunkett interpreted their speeches opposite ways, making the commandant say to the viceroy that he would lose his life rather than surrender, and making the viceroy say to the commandant that he was determined to give no quarter to the besieged. The commandant perceiving the false translations of the interpreter by the inconsistency of the viceroy's face, ordered Plunkett to be carried back to the fort and cast into prison, and negotiated with the viceroy through another interpreter. Then returning to his men he informed them that he had obtained from the viceroy very fair terms of capitulation. Plunkett shouted from his chains that the Pope's fort was perfidiously betrayed; that the viceroy would soon be forced by the winter's rigour to raise the siege; that John FitzGerald was coming to the rescue; that all the Irish would desert from the English if the commandant held the fort; that there was enough victuals for the besieged for many months; and finally that there was no trusting the heretics. To the same effect spoke the captains of the Cantabrians and Hercules Pisano, saying that they would not only defend the fort, but even engage the enemy in the open if necessary. The commandant persuaded the soldiers to side with him, and so through the cowardice of this timid general the valour of the others was overcome, and he who was more anxious to save his life than win glory lost both. He surrendered the fort in the month of December on the one condition, which was secured to the besieged by the oath of the viceroy, that he might march out safe with soldiers, arms, bag and baggage. However the heretical faithlessness held itself bound neither by honour nor the sanctity of an oath nor by the laws held inviolate amongst all people civilized and barbarous. The fort being surrendered, the defenders were ordered to lay down their arms, deprived of which they were slain by the English except the commandant, who being let off is said to have gone to Italy. Plunkett was for a short time reserved for a more cruel death. Shortly afterwards he was put to death, having had his bones
Grey returning thence to Dublin placed garrisons in the Munster towns, and applied to the Irish and to England for aid against John FitzGerald. He ordered his lieutenants to do their utmost to bring the war to a speedy termination, and not to rest until they either took or killed John. The Earl of Ormonde and other Irish nobles hating the pride and power of the FitzGeralds were easily drawn to serve against them. John with his brother James, his kinsmen and followers, the spirited young men of the MacSweenys (those who were cut off in McCarthy's war being sorely missed by the FitzGeralds), Dermot O'Sullivan, my father, who led the infantry of Bear, and others, endeavoured to protect himself, and at the same time harass the enemy.
From the very beginning of the war Earl Gerald did not dare to approach the royal camp or trust his person to the heretics, being mindful of the long imprisonment in which he had formerly been kept by them; but, on the other hand, he did not openly break with them or assist his brothers and kinsmen. Moreover, his too accommodating wife had surrendered their only son, James, as a hostage to the Queen that his father would continue friendly. Nevertheless, the Earl was considered the latter's enemy and his towns laid waste with fire and sword. To defend them he took up arms. He had not long taken up arms, and been rather successful at the start, when the Queen offered him pardon and his former privileges and other honourable terms of peace on the one condition that he would surrender to her authority Dr. Sanders, who was an Englishman. Gerald replied that he would never be the betrayer of the holy priest, who not being protected by any of his own people had fled to the supreme Pontiff, and thence had come into Ireland, attracted by its renown for the Catholic faith and the piety of the Irish. When they could not agree about this condition a bloody war commenced, which was fought out during three years with various and varying fortune. We shall relate some of the more important events. At Springfield, Tarbert Herbert qy., an Englishman, with four companies, and
After a few days Malby, an Englishman, president of the province of Connaught, passing through Limerick city, arrived at the place called Eanach-beg (the little marketplace). He was at the head of five hundred English soldiers and more numerous Irish auxiliaries, amongst whom were Ulick and John Burke, sons of the Earl of Clanricarde, and Peter and John Lacy. John hastened to meet them and when he had halted in the distance a few of his men charged the enemy in a disorderly manner and drove them into the nearest fort. Thence the royal troops again sallying forth, despising the smallness of the Catholic forces, boldly attacked and put them to flight, until John came to their rescue. There were slain on that day, of the Catholics, Thomas FitzGerald, son of John, cousin of the earl, and Thomas Brunnus Browne, gentleman, with twenty-three foot.
The royal cavalry from the town of Kilmallock followed John as he went from Clonish to Aherlow, and he successfully skirmished with them. At Pea Field (Goart-na-pisi), Earl Gerald, after he had taken up arms, destroyed ten companies of the Queen's troops. A short time afterward he invaded and ravaged the Butler's country. The Butlers, following, came up with him at Knockgraffan with a numerous army, under command of Edward and Peter Butler, brothers of the Earl of Ormond, MacPiers, Baron of Dunboyne, and Purcell, Baron of Lochmogh, but were defeated by Gerald, and the flower of the Butler army cut off.
Daniel O'Sullivan, a young man who was afterwards made chief of Bear, carried on war against the English for the protection of the Spaniards. At the monastery of Bantry he destroyed a company of English, overwhelming them with stones; and at Lathach-na-ndaibh (the slough of the oxen), slew Dermot O'Donovan, who, by order of the English, was wasting Bear. Gerald ravaged the country of Cashel and in endeavouring to restrain him, Roberts,
James FitzGerald, brother of the earl, having gone to ravage Muskerry on account of an old grudge, was taken by Cormac MacCarthy, son of Thady, chief of Muskerry, and, being sent to the English at Cork, was put to death. Another James FitzGerald, son of John, uncle of the earl, was slain in an encounter by Brian O'Brien, an Irish gentleman. Earl Gerald, ravaging MacCarthy More's country had, with a few men, halted at Aghadoe, while his brother John was making an incursion, when Zouch, an Englishman, coming out of the town of Dingle with sixty horse and a troop of foot following, surrounded the Earl unawares, and encompassing the houses of the unfortified town, slew Maelmurray MacSweeny, a captain, Thady MacCarthy, lord of Coshmang, and David FitzGerald, gentleman. The Earl himself, half asleep, fled to his castle, whence, sallying forth, having got together some troops, and following Zouch he rescued the captive women and spoils
By the deaths of John, Maelmurray, and others whom we have mentioned, Earl Gerald was deprived of a great part of his resources, and broken down, and nearly altogether worn out and exhausted of his power. However, he protracted the war nearly a year longer, and then, reduced to extremities and the greatest poverty, he was gradually deserted by all, and, maintained by his lieutenant Geoffrey MacSweeny, hidden in caves or woods. Geoffrey, submitting to the English, and arrested by Earl Ormond, was questioned about Gerald but replied he knew nothing. A witness who had seen him with Gerald was produced. When the fact had been proved by an eye-witness, Geoffrey,
Then Gerald, with four or five companions, sought a very dense wood in his own country, which is called Glenagenty (The wood of the Wedge), and lurking here he was surprised and beheaded. In memory of this, the place which was then stained by his blood is to-day said to be of bloody hue. The guides of those who tracked him were two brothers, servants of his, and upon whom he is said to have conferred many favours, Eugene and Daniel, who, perhaps, looking for someone else, fell upon him in company with the Queen's minions; but they perished miserably, being hung, the one in England, for I know not what crime, the other in Ireland during the great war, (of which I am to write later on) by Fitzmaurice, baron of Lixnaw, for this foul crime.
WE must not here omit to mention the death of Dr. Sanders. He was seized before the end of this war with dysentery of the bowels. Up to that time he had been healthy, and though in everyone's opinion he was in no danger, yet at the beginning of the night, he thus addressed Cornelius, bishop of Killaloe:—‘Anoint me, my good lord, with the last Unction of the dying, for tonight I am to depart this life, being summoned by my Creator.’ ‘Surely,’ said Cornelius, ‘you are strong in the robustness of your constitution, and do not seem to me to require anointing, or look as if you were dying.’ However, being more
THESE are the most memorable events of this war, as to which I must not omit the letter Pope Gregory XIII. sent to the Irish: —
Gregory XIII. to all and every the Archbishops, Bishops, Prelates, and Princes, Earls, Barons, Clergy, Nobles, and People of the kingdom of Ireland, Health and Apostolic Benediction.A few years ago we exhorted you by our letters to recover your liberty and against the heretics to hold and defend the same under James FitzGerald, of happy memory, who with great zeal was planning to raise the heavy yoke of servitude put upon you by the English deserters from the holy Roman Church; and in order to encourage you all, and nerve him to meet the enemies of God and of yourselves, and incite you to the more readily and zealously aid him, we granted to all who were sorry for, and confessed their sins, and joined the army of the said James in defence and maintenance of the Catholic Faith, or aided him by advice, countenance, supplies, arms and other warlike things, or in any other way encouraged him in the expedition, a plenary indulgence and remission of all their sins, like as was usually granted by the Roman Pontiffs to those
who went to war against the Turks, and for the recovery of the Holy Land. But we have lately, with great grief, learned from you that the said James has fallen (so it pleased the Lord) fighting bravely with the enemy, but that our beloved son, John FitzGerald, his cousin, has succeeded him in this undertaking with singular piety and greatness of soul (may God prosper his cause), and has already achieved many noble and commendable feats for the Catholic faith. Wherefore, with the greatest earnestness we can command, we, in the name of the Lord, exhort, require, and urge all and every of you to aid the said John and his army against the heretics in every way, as you did the said James whilst he lived, and by the omnipotent mercy of God, and the authority of his Blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul, to us confided, we grant and extend by these presents the same plenary indulgence and remission of all sins, as was granted to those who fought against the Turks and for the recovery of the Holy Land, and was contained in said letters, to all you who confess and communicate and aid the said John and his army; and after his death, if this should chance (which God avert), to those who adhere to and support his brother James, and this indulgence shall continue as long as the said brothers, John and James, live and maintain the war against the said heretics. And because it is difficult to bring these, our letters, before all whom they concern, we will that copies under the hand of a Notary public, and attested by the seal of an established ecclesiastical authority, be accepted everywhere as fully authenticated, and as if these presents were produced and shown.Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, under the fisherman's ring, the 13th day of May, 1580, in the eighth year of our Pontificate. Caes Glorierius.Entered by the Lord General of the Holy Council of the Cross, John de la Rumbide.
The foregoing letters were taken from the originals, corrected and compared by me, Alphonsus de Serna; by the Apostolic and Ordinary's authority, a Notary public of the Archives of the Roman Court, in this town of Madrid, Diocese of Toledo, the 14th day of October, 1580.
To accommodate this letter to our history one must know that the Pope's 'Jacobus' and my 'Jaimus' following the Irish pronunciation, denote the same person.
FROM what we have seen above, it may be clearly gathered with what great zeal and diligence the English endeavoured the destruction of the Irish, and how largely the Irish themselves aided their own destruction by assisting the English in order to injure one another. This will appear more strikingly clear in the example which I shall subjoin. Ulick and John Burke, sons of the Earl of Clanrickard, by different mothers, disputed the inheritance of their deceased father. The English regarded this occasion as affording an opportunity for the destruction of both, and by a secret warrant in writing authorised one to slay the other with impunity. It is agreed by all that Ulick had very little affection for his brother. John, fearful on this account, when he was entertained by a kinsman of both in his castle, kept a wary man of his own followers on guard at his bedchamber whilst he slept, and caused the keys of the castle to be given to him. But there is no security where perfidy exists. His host, a perfidious and inhuman man, having provided a feast and produced his cups, made the guards drunk, and whilst they slept, soaked with wine, the keys were abstracted and the doors thrown open, as arranged, admitting to the castle during the night an armed band of Ulick's, by whom two noble gentlemen, retainers of John's, were surprised asleep and put to the sword. John, who was sleeping in the next room, roused by the clamour and uproar, quickly threw on his cuirass over his shirt, and with drawn sword hastened to defend the entrance to his room. He kept all at bay until it was agreed that he should be delivered safe to his brother Ulick, who was at the gates; but there is no trusting the perfidious. Scarcely had he given up his sword, and taken off his cuirass, when he was slain by the assassins in the very chamber, and with cruel wounds in the same year in which the Earl of Desmond was beheaded. He left two sons of whom we treat more fully hereafter, Raymond, Baron of Leitrim, and William.
WHEN these wars in which our Island suffered so pitiably were over, a new danger sprang up, far more miserable and monstrous, namely the tyranny exercised against priests and other Catholics. The first who fell under this persecution was Dermot O'Hurley, Archbishop of Cashel, of whom we have already written, as follows: —
Dermot O'Hurley was by birth an Irishman, the son of a gentleman, and in his boyhood was, under the care of his parents, politely brought up, and instructed in the rudiments of letters. As he grew older he made such progress at Louvain and Paris in the higher studies that, if confronted with men of his own age, he was second to scarcely anyone as a grammarian; he was equal to the most eloquent as a rhetorician; superior to most in jurisprudence; and in theology inferior to few. Having obtained the degree of Doctor in Theology and Civil and Canon Law, he for four years publicly taught law at Louvain. Uniting to these accomplishments a splendid presence, dignity, and gravity of mind, he seemed to the Supreme Pontiff, Gregory XIII., after he had spent some years at Rome and taken Holy Orders, worthy of being consecrated Archbishop of Cashel. As soon as this office was imposed upon him, he returned to Ireland, to perish in that most doleful time for his country when its sceptre was swayed by Elizabeth Tudor, Queen of England, who was not only infected with the stain of most foul heresy, but was also the bitterest enemy of the Catholic Faith and of holy bishops and priests.
The cruelty of their Princess in persecuting the Catholics was carried out by the Royalist governors and ministers, not only in England, where they had now destroyed the splendour of the Faith, but also in Ireland, where the natives, even to this day, patiently endure all extremities for Christ's sake. However, our Archbishop, with the greatest pains and zeal, administered the Sacraments to the flock of his jurisdiction, and expounded the Gospel of the Lord, confirming all in the Faith, and for nearly two years vainly sought after by the English, being protected by the care and devotion of the Irish, and disguising his identity and calling by wearing secular apparel. In this guise other priests also, in Ireland, Scotland, and England, are going
The Bishop being brought to Dublin, the chief city of the kingdom, was kept many days in chains in a dark, dismal, and fetid prison, until that day in the following year, which is kept under the name of the Lord's Supper, on which day he was attacked by the heretics in this manner: First he was brought before Adam, the Chancellor, and Henry, the Treasurer, and civilly and kindly invited to follow the tenets of the heretics, and promised large rewards on condition of abjuring his sacred character; relinquishing the office received from the Pope, and (O villainy!) entering upon the Archbishopric under the Queen's authority. He told them that he was bound and resolved never to desert the Church, Faith, or Vicar of Christ Jesus for any consideration. Then the Chancellor and Treasurer endeavoured to deceive him by cunning arguments, straining every nerve to establish the truth of their falsehoods. Dermot
When, however, in this savage way, the tyrants had failed to break the unconquerable spirit of the martyr by their more than Phalaric cruelty, he was by their order, brought back to his former prison, a foul place, filled with a dense fog, ready to endure worse torments, if such could be devised.
There was at this time in Dublin, Charles MacMoris, a priest of the Society of Jesus, skilled in medicine and chirurgery, who, because he was of the Faith of Christ, had been imprisoned by the English, and again discharged by them on account of curing some difficult cases for certain noblemen. This man visited the holy Bishop in prison, and gave him such medical treatment, that on the fourteenth day he was able to get up from his bed for a little while. The Chancellor and Treasurer, learning of this, and that
Which being done, out of all the citizens, he was met by only two and a certain friend who had been extremely faithful to him, and had made him his particular care from the time of his capture. These followed him; and before he was strung up the Archbishop, seizing the hand of his friend, and strongly squeezing it, is said to have impressed on the palm, in an indelible red colour, the sign of the cross—a rare and holy pledge of his gratitude to his most faithful friend. Thereupon he was hung by a halter made of plaited osiers, and in a short time strangled, and, so dying, acquired eternal reward in heaven in the year of Our Lord, 1584, on the seventh day of the month of June.
It is said that on the spot where Dermot perished, a noble lady was delivered from a wicked devil, by whom she had been long tormented. William Fitzsimon, a citizen of Dublin, removed the body of the martyr from the place where the heretics had buried it, and placing it in a wooden coffin, interred it in a secret grave. Richard, a famous musician, has celebrated this suffering and death in a plaintive and pathetic piece called 'The Fall of the Baron of Slane.'
HAVING told what I know about that unconquerable martyr, the Archbishop of Cashel, I will now more briefly narrate a few incidents concerning Gelatius O'Culenan, an abbot, and Hugh O'Mulkeeran, a priest. Gelatius O'Culenan was born of no mean family, and being educated at Louvain, went on to Rome. Returning thence to Ireland, he entered the holy Order of Saint Bernard. Increasing daily in virtue, he was deemed worthy of the Abbacy of Boyle by the Pope, and his holy Order. Shortly
NOR was this persecution confined to priests, but was also exercised against other Catholics. Richard Bingham, Knight, an Englishman, and the Queen's President of the Province of Connaught, began his administration with such mildness and moderation that he was most acceptable to all, and the Connaught men gave him the honourable title of the Kind President. However, this
Flying from this cruelty, two gentlemen of the Burke family betook themselves and their families to a castle in a lake belonging to them. Thither in boats and pontoons came Bingham, accompanied by a guard of soldiers. When he disembarked on the island, the Burkes, sallying from the castle, charged him. The heretics turned tail and rushed to get on board their pontoons. The Burkes pressing on, Bingham threw himself into the water and narrowly escaped by swimming. Driven by the same barbarous cruelty, Fergus O'Kelly concealed himself and a few companions in a thick wood. Frequently sallying forth, he attacked the English and was in turn often attacked by them. At last Bingham pardoned him and received his allegiance, but shortly afterwards, when Fergus was on Christmas night happily taking his supper at home, he was unexpectedly surrounded by a magistrate and band of soldiers sent by Bingham. While the heretical barbarians were detained breaking open the doors, Fergus sent away his family through an underground passage, which, fearing such an event, he had long previously dug up from his house. He, himself, having loaded a gun, addressed the magistrate by name, as if he were going to beg for mercy from the barbarian, and as the latter was replying Fergus shot him with two bullets. Having loaded a second gun, he killed another soldier, and the house being set on fire by the heretics, he followed his family through the underground passage and safely escaped. Whether he be still living or not, I do not know.
IN the Munsters, also, the English did not fail to utterly destroy generous men, with barbarous brutality, thirsting for human and Catholic blood. Beginning with my uncles, Gelatius and Brian MacSweeny, they put them
Shortly after this, Dermot accompanied by five retainers fell in with one of the Queen's magistrates accompanied by fourteen soldiers, and a sharp fight took place. Finally, Dermot was struck down covered with many wounds, two retainers were killed and three wounded. Nor was the fight a bloodless one for the enemy of whom no fewer fell with their leader, before it was terminated by some men coming up from the nearest hamlets. Dermot and the other wounded men were cured by most attentive nursing. Daniel MacCarthy, son of The MacCarthy, flying from the barbarous fury of the English, haunted wild and inaccessible places, and at times saved himself only by a strong band of armed men. He had a wonder, fully intelligent dog called Kiegan (Keegan geir), which, whilst his master slept, always kept watch, and whenever he scented anyone coming or passing by he used to awake MacCarthy, and going before him, point out a way of escape. When Daniel had thus for some time secured his safety, Thady, a woodsman, who was ill-disposed towards him, slew the dog with a sword although the animal was not doing any harm. For this iniquitous deed Thady quickly suffered meet punishment, for he was hanged from a tree by Daniel.4.
The following also, Posterity, which will judge of the old man's actions generously and dispassionately, may, perhaps, regard as an instance of cruelty and ingratitude.
Donough MacCarthy, surnamed the White, an Irishman well known amongst his own people for his hospitality and generosity, entertained the English President of the Munsters not only in a sumptuous and splendid banquet, but also had his servants perform dances and sports. A few days afterwards the President ordered his host, when he came to Cork, to be put to death, alleging that an honest and frugal man could not support so large a retinue and would have no need of so many servants unless for robbery, rapine, and other illegal practices (of which there was no proof.)
IT was not the least of the misfortunes which afflicted that unhappy island, that the Irish chiefs levied war against each other, and the English, with whom the government of the country rested, not only permitted these feuds, but fanned and encouraged them, as we have already seen on several occasions. Here again some other instances should properly be mentioned in the order of time.
Between Turlough O'Neill, chief of Tyrone, and Hugh O'Neill, who was afterwards surnamed the Great, Baron of Dungannon, and son of Fardorch, there was a bitter dispute as ho the chieftaincy of Tyrone, which the Queen was so far from preventing breaking out into war that actually royalist forces were supplied to each to enable them to carry on the war. The Baron pitched his camp at a place called Carricklea (the Grey Rock) having with him 2,000 men, a great portion of whom were royalists. Thither hastened the O'Neill with 800 men, of whom two companies were royalists under William Mostyn and Surdan Parker?, the majority of the rest were led by the MacSweenys of Munster:—Murrough, surnamed Na-mart, the son of Melmurry, and Murrough, the son of Owen, kinsmen of mine, who, having a taste for war or adventure or flying from the tyranny of the English in Munster, had a few days before led some bands of foot from Munster to Ulster. The armies being confronted, the royalist troops on each side seemed to attack each other perfunctorily and without spirit, neither suffering nor inflicting any injury. The Munstermen routed the other forces of the Baron, put them to flight, and killed many, contrary to all expectations, seeing the former were so very much inferior in point of numbers. A mutual arrangement as to the principality was subsequently entered into, and the Baron was created Earl, for the English thought it expedient that one should be a check on the other, so that neither should be able to do anything against the Crown. And not only in war but also in legal
On the appointed day, they entered the lists in the presence of Perrot and others, and fought vigorously and skilfully on both sides, inflicting many deadly wounds of which Cathal died within a few days.
IN this most lamentable state of things, the English, fearing that the Irish roused by their wrongs and for the sake of their persecuted religion might rebel, extorted hostages from many of them, and dreaded Hugh O'Donnell, Chief of Tirconnell and other Ulster chiefs, from whom they had not hostages. They dare not, however, ask hostages from these, lest they irritate men ready for rebellion, and whom they knew well would no more give hostages than pay a tribute to the English crown. What they could not accomplish openly they endeavoured to effect underhand and by treachery. John Birmingham, an Anglo-Irish merchant of Dublin, was induced by the Viceroy, partly by bribes and promises, and partly by threats, to load a ship with merchandise and embark therein fifty soldiers supplied by the Viceroy, and sailing from Dublin he was carried by favourable winds between Ireland and Scotland into Lough Swilly in O'Donnell's country.
On the news of the strange merchant some young chiefs came down, of whom the principal was Hugh O'Donnell, surnamed 'Roe,' eldest son of the O'Donnell, then aged fourteen years. Accompanying him were Owen MacSweeny, surnamed 'Oge,' chief of Tuath, and Owen O'Gallagher a gentleman. These the merchant invited on board to inspect his wares, but when they came on board they were seized by the fifty soldiers and clapped under the hatches. MacSweeny Fanad was released upon his giving them as a hostage his son, Donnell MacSweeny surnamed Gorm. MacSweeny, Tuath was also released upon giving as a hostage a youth of humble birth dressed in his son's clothes. Owen O'Gallagher likewise gave as a hostage Hugh O'Gallagher, his nephew, the son of his brother Cormack. Birmingham returning to Dublin handed over to the Viceroy the four hostages, Roe, Gorm, Hugh, and the peasant youth whom the Viceroy dismissed when he ascertained he was not Tuath's son. The three noble youths were committed to the castle of Dublin with the other hostages.
WHILST Ireland was thus pitifully ruined by the quarrels of the chiefs both between themselves and with the royal crown, and the blood of ecclesiastics was spilled by the English, the chiefs, either worn out by their factions and now exhausted of their resources, or hostages, for many of them being in the hands of the English, seemed little likely to take up arms in defence of the Catholic religion. Hereupon a persecution broke out against the faith of Christ, and the tyrant, Queen Elizabeth, ordered that all should entirely abandon the Catholic faith, forsake the priests, accept the teachings and doctrines of heretical ministers, embrace the Queen's sect, and on holydays attend the services in the churches. And to this were they compelled by fear, terror, punishment and violence. This terrible attack on the Catholic faith was now the more severe and dangerous because just at this time more than ever since the reception of the faith, were Irishmen ignorant of theology, philosophy, and jurisprudence, so that they were unprepared for controversy and for preserving the people in the true religion of Christ Jesus, because through their factions, the confusion of affairs, and the barbarous fury of the heretics, their schools were gone to ruin and scarcely was there anyone able to teach publicly the higher studies. The holy communities of friars were for the most part scattered and banished, and in many places priests could not easily be found to baptise infants; in many places the younger folk knew only so much of the faith as they had learned from their mothers and nurses, and some, indeed, were so ignorant of the evidences of the faith that they knew not how to prove or explain anything beyond that they themselves firmly believed whatever the Roman Catholic Church believed; that with it was the true doctrine of the Catholic faith; and that they had very little trust in the doctrines of the English whom they believed to be ill-disposed to the faith. The royalist towns suffered more through this want of instruction and ignorance
IN these straits the great and good God, who never deserts his own in the last pinch, sent to the aid of the Irish Thady O'Sullivan, a doctor in Theology, and a light of the Seraphic Order. This man, having studied Divinity in Spain, returned to Ireland amidst the blaze of this persecution. He visited Dublin, Waterford, Cork, Limerick, and other royalist towns. He travelled the countries of the chiefs, and all Ireland; expounding the evangelical law, preserving the people in it, and keeping them away from the new errors. So elegant was his Irish, so great his learning, so innocent his life, and such his success, that the Irish called him the second Patrick, because through him, God preserved them in the Catholic faith which He gave them through St. Patrick. When the fame of this great preacher had spread over all Ireland and reached the English, and when he was eagerly sought for by them, my kinsman Owen O'Sullivan, chief of Bear, concealed him until the search was somewhat abated, and saved his life by seizing two abandoned wretches who had made up their minds to betray him to the heretics. Finally, Thady died a holy death a few days before the beginning of the great war about which I am to write later on.
I WILL relate here some events of this persecution in which will be shown both the constancy of the Irish and how empty and unstable their own sects appeared to the heretics themselves. To begin with: the noble Irish youths who were held by the English as hostages in Dublin being brought to church on a day which was observed by the heretics as a festival and holyday, set up a great shouting and bawling when the ministers commenced their hymns and music, preventing them from being heard, and obstructing the heretical ceremonies, nor did they desist until they were carried out of the church and sent back to their former prison, whence they were never again summoned to wicked rites.
On the day on which the Feast of the Lord's Supper is commemorated, the heretical ministers arranged in a ring or circle, and on bended knees, a large crowd of Irish farmers and rustics whom they forced into church, and one minister bearing a large mass of wheaten bread vainly offered a piece to each! Another tendered drink out of a large bowl of wine. The first of the rustics who accepted the bread helped himself with the left hand, and immediately taking the cup of wine poured the whole liquor over his long and unkempt beard, pretending that he had drunk it all. But when the second boor found the glass empty, ‘Why, comrade,’ said he, addressing the first, ‘have you not left me any wine?’ whereupon the former, striking the latter in the face with his piece of bread, cried out ‘If I have drunk all the wine do you eat all the bread.’ Hereupon mocking laughter, shouting and uproar, broke out and put an end to the whole plan of heretical Communion despite all the ministers could do.
In a certain village near the town of Drogheda, dwelt an English minister, who greatly annoyed the Catholic priest of the village, and other Catholics: now endeavouring to seize the priest, anon complaining of his neighbours, and wanting to be present at marriages, baptisms, funerals, and other sacred rites. Once it happened that a certain neighbour died whose body the rest wished to bury, with
The same minister consoled his wife, whom the children of the district used to hoot as she walked along the streets and sometimes cover with spits and slavers, calling her the priest's wife, with this observation: ‘That she was not a clergyman's wife, nor himself a clergyman, although enjoying the benefice of a Protestant minister, which he held to support himself, and that Catholics might live more freely and Catholically under him than under others.’
There was a certain pretended English Bishop (Lyons) who being informed by spies where there was a Catholic priest, secretly sent a messenger to warn the priest to quit that place lest he be arrested by the soldiers, and when he was not found there, the Bishop had the infamous spies severely reprimanded, and warned not to bring him any more falsehoods.
A certain priest, being enamoured of a woman, committed himself more than once, and being cautioned by the clergy and rebuked for his crime, he would not do penance, but finally, when the priests endeavoured to inflict a salutary remedy for his public wickedness, went to the heretic Bishop and promised that he would follow the Queen's sect, and give the Bishop satisfaction if he were enrolled in the ranks of the ministers and got an ecclesiastical benefice. The heretic Bishop, however, asked him, ‘What objects induce you, what persecution compels you, to forsake your old religion? Is it not cherished by others more pious and more holy, and every way more eminent than yourself? It is great folly to desert a religion without reason. Do you think that we will place confidence in you who so easily change your early and up to now settled convictions? With the same inconstancy would you abandon us also. I am, indeed not ignorant that it is not for love of the Queen nor zeal of her religion. nor any other reason than the lust for a woman whom you do not wish to give up that you come to us. But we think less of you than if you remained true and steadfast amongst your own.’
AMONGST the miracles occurring during this tyranny, some of which I have in part related, and others of which I will partly detail, although passing over many of them, yet I cannot pass over the following on account of the importance of the affair.
In Leinster an English Bishop of the Diocese of Ferns, at the head of his heretics, invaded a church dedicated to St. John the Baptist, near the village called Castle Ellis, which is in O'Murphy's country, and destroyed statues
TO bring to light every instance of this tyranny would be tedious. Throughout the whole island this violent tyranny produced immense confusion. The Catholics struggling against the sway and orders of the ministers, shunning their doctrines, and avoiding their deadly rites; sometimes beating the ministers with cudgels, and terrifying them by night and day. On the other hand, the ministers bringing the matter before the magistrates, the Catholics were thrown in to prison and fined by the magistrates. The Queen and her councillors and magistrates directed all their zeal and plots to despoil the Irish of their goods, to gradually overthrow them and take away their lives. This they had often before tried, being of opinion that the Catholic religion could not be stamped out in any
And so the destruction and annihilation of the whole island and Catholic faith were imminent. This was the state of things when that great war began, which it is now time for us to relate.
THE combatants were very unequal in their resources. In the first place, the entire power of the heretical kingdom of England backed the Queen and the propagation of her doctrines, and she was also supported by all the resources of that part of Ireland which is called Finegald, or the English province, the majority of the inhabitants of which although they are Catholics, yet are not only of English
Befriending the same side were the municipalities and towns of Ireland, because merchants and men, addicted to trade and commerce and arts of peace, are not easily induced to take up arms to which they are unused, even for liberty and Catholicity, which they, nevertheless, faithfully profess. The chiefs and nobles of Ireland, who are not only very warlike, but place the chief glory of this life and rest all things in arms, were divided into two great and powerful factions, the one siding with the English and royalists; the other with the Irish and Catholics.
The race of mixed English and Spanish blood, that is the new Irish, influenced by the favour and gifts of the Kings of England, for the most part took sides with the heretics, although themselves Catholics, preferring the cause of kith and kin to the Catholic religion, which they embrace and revere. Some of the most illustrious of these shall be named:
The new Irish Chiefs who adhered to the Queen's Party:
Munstermen—Thomas Butler, surnamed Duff, Earl of Ormond; Barry More Viscount Buttevant; MacPierce, Baron of Dunboyne; MacPadrig, Baron Courcy; Burke, Baron of Castleconnell.
Connaughtmen—Ulick, and his son, Richard Burke, Earls of Clanricard; Theobald Burke, son of Richard, surnamed Na-long, claimant for the chieftaincy of the MacWilliam's country; MacPhoris or Bermingham, Baron of Dunmore.
Leinstermen—Henry, William, and Gerald FitzGerald, Earls of Kildare; St. Lawrence, Baron of Howth.
Meathmen—Preston Viscount Gormanstown; Nugent, Baron of Delvin; Fleming, Baron of Slane.
Meathmen—O'Melaghlin. The following Meathmen, as to whom there is some question whether they be old or new Irish, also aided the Queen:—Barnewall, Baron of Trimblestown; Plunkett, Baron of Louth; Plunkett, Baron of Dunsany; Plunkett, Baron of Killeen.
Those above named we shall call the Irish of the English or royalist party, to whom should be added the Ulster Anglo-Irish who inhabit Uriel Louth and others.
IN defence of the Catholic Faith, the old Irish deriving their descent from Spain, not only held the first place, but were the mainstay and bulwark of the war. Of these the most illustrious were the following:
Ancient Irish who fought for the Catholic Faith.
Ulstermen—Earl Hugh O'Neill, Chief of Tyrone, with his followers, namely:—Magennis, Chief of Iveagh; MacMahon, Chief of Oriel; Maguire, Chief of Fermanagh; O'Kane, Chief of Oireacht-Aibhne; James and Randal MacDonnell, Chiefs of The Glynns; O'Hanlon, Chief of Orior. O'Donnell, Chief of Tyrconnell with his followers:—MacSweeny, Chief of Fanad; MacSweeny, Chief of Banagh O'Doherty, Chief of Inishowen; O'Boyle.
Munstermen—O'Sullivan, Chief of Beare and Bantry; Daniel O'Sullivan More, whose father, the Chief of Dunkerron, was prevented by old age from taking up arms; O'Conor Kerry of Iraghti, Connor; Donough MacCarthy, son of Cormac MacDonough, claimant to the Chieftaincy of Duhallow; Dermot MacCarthy, son of Owen MacDonough, another claimant to the Chieftaincy of Duhallow; O'Driscoll, Chief of Corca-Laighe; O'Mahony of Carbery; O'Donovan; O'Donohoe of Eoghanaght or Onaght; O'Donohoe of the Glen.
Connaughtmen—O'Rourke, Chief of Breifny; MacDermot, Chief of Moylurg; O'Kelly, Chief of Hy-Many.
Leinstermen—Although none of the Leinster Chiefs deserted the Queen, nevertheless, many noblemen took up arms for the Faith, especially of the four families of whom the chief were the Kavanagh's, the O'Conors of Offaly, the O'Mores of Leix, the O'Byrnes.
Meathmen—MacGeoghagan, the Chief.
Some of the new Irish nobles followed these.
Munstermen—Roche, Viscount Fermoy; Richard Butler Viscount Mountgarret; MacMaurice, Baron of Lixnaw; Thomas Butler, Baron of Cahir; Patrick Condon, Chief of Condons; Richard Purcell, Baron of Loughmoe; William FitzGerald, Knight of Kerry and Lord of Rathannan, Edmund FitzGerald, Knight of Glin; Edmund FitzGerald, the White Knight.
I have here recounted only those who were in possession of their properties and estates when they took up arms for the faith. Others also, I will mention in the course of my history, who either deserted the English after they had lost their properties or who acquired during the war estates they had not previously been in possession of. Such were Florence and Daniel MacCarthy, who for a while held the chieftaincy of Clancarthy; O'Conor, Chief of Sligo; James FitzGerald, Earl of Desmond MacWilliam Burke; Raymund Burke, Baron of Leitrim; Owny O'More.
These were the most eminent of those who declared war for the Catholic religion, and whom we call the Irish and Catholic party. All, however, did not confederate at the same time, but when some had laid down their arms, others took them up. When some were annihilated, others renewed the war. If all had joined together at one time, they would either have conquered, or at least given the heretics a much greater task.
There were other noblemen, many of them little inferior in rank to many of those we have mentioned and more renowned in actions, although not chiefs of septs or of the countries where they lived. Such were Niall O'Donnell, Garve; Cornelius O'Driscoll, son of O'Driscoll More; Dermot O'Sullivan, my father; Fiagh O'Byrne; Cormac O'Neill; Cornelius O'Reilly; Dermot MacCarthy Reagh; William Burke; Brian O'Kelly; Richard Tyrrell; Brian O'More; Walter FitzGerald; Dermot O'Conor; Peter Lacy; Edmund O'More; James Butler; Murrough MacSweeny; Ulick Burke; Daniel MacSweeny; Richard MacGeoghagan; Manus MacSweeny; Maurice O'Sullivan; Thady O'Mahony, Carbery; and very many others on both sides, whom I pass over here, as it would be too tedious to name them.
I also pass over many of the Irish Chiefs who stood idly by and in observing a neutrality, effectively aided the victors.
OF these magnates who aided the heretics, three or four were heretics, but conscious of their heresy and time servers. The rest were Catholics, who resolutely professed all articles of Catholic belief; who harboured Catholic priests, educated in faith and morals, in Spain, Italy, Germany and Belgium; who were wont to receive the most Blessed Body of Christ Jesus, with the greatest veneration; and who revered all the rites of the Catholic Church. This being so, one would naturally ask, how such illustrious and Catholic Princes? how so many Catholic and pious citizens, municipalities and cities? how such Christian soldiers? should not only help heretics, but even assail Catholics fighting for the rights and liberties of the Catholic Church.
In truth, I think, this must have been a punishment of God on Ireland for the crimes of Irishmen. The municipalities and towns lay the blame on the old and new Irish chiefs of the English faction who did not secede from the heretics, and on their Catholic priests, who were far from exhorting them to war. Moreover, they say that they felt aggrieved at being so despised and looked down on by the chiefs and nobility of the Catholic faction, that the latter would not seek their friendship or company. The Irish chiefs of the English faction do not all give the same reason for not deserting the Queen: some say they were cowed by the disasters of those who had in former times withdrawn their obedience from the kings of England; that they despaired of the Catholics succeeding, as they were not assisted by the Pope or the Kings of Spain or France; that they hoped the Queen, a woman of many years, would soon die, and that it would be wiser for them to await her soon expected death, than risk themselves and their fortunes; they had no doubt but that when the war was finished those, by whose aid and valour the Queen would have conquered, would obtain from her as a reward for their services, liberty to live as Christians and Catholics; that they feared the power of the Irish chiefs lest if these conquered, themselves would be deprived of their properties; that they had persuaded themselves right and justice were on the side of the English in this and other wars which, with the permission of the Pope, former Catholic Kings of England
The Pope, on being informed of these Irish factions, by his decree ordered all Irish, not only to abstain from oppressing the Catholic chiefs, but to assist them. By the supporters of the other faction it was objected that the Pope's letter had been obtained on a false representation. This question was at too late a stage, referred to the famous Universities of Salamanca and Valladolid, where all the doctors agreed that the letter had not been obtained surreptitiously, and the opinion of the Irish priests of the English party was condemned in the year 1603, after the war had been nearly finished, as we shall show at greater length in its proper place. If this judgment of the Universities had been obtained at the beginning of the war, doubtless it would have turned against the heretics the arms which were taken up for them.
HOWEVER, the Irish and Catholic party was defeated, not by the valour of the enemy nor by the arms of the heretics, but by various crafts and stratagems. Not the least of the English stratagems was, that as soon as the war broke out they at once ceased persecution and tyranny and did not harass or annoy either the Irish priests of the English faction nor the Irish laymen of their province, although they never tolerated the open profession of the Catholic religion.
By this indulgence they retained the friendship of the Irish chiefs of the English faction, and of some of the priests and cities. For it is the custom of the English, and the policy of the Irish government in war and critical times and difficulties not to provoke the Irish with the least injustice, to make much of them, and load them with presents: in peace and prosperous times, they kill, destroy and ruin. They endeavoured with great assiduity to persuade the Finigald or English province, and the Irish chiefs of the new race that they would be expelled from their possessions and properties by the old Irish who were fighting for the Catholic Faith, if these conquered, and by this misrepresentation they rendered credulous men not only obedient to themselves but made many of them active against the Catholics.
The English Governors and clergy by themselves and their followers declaimed against the unheard of cruelty of the Spaniards, and unjustness of their laws, in order to deter the Irish from friendship with them, but there is at this day no Irishman who does not know perfectly well that the truth is otherwise.
The Irish, if they deserted the English a thousand times during the war, were nevertheless as often received back into friendship and all their former offences forgiven and themselves oftentime richly rewarded. But those who deserted once in times of peace were put to death, and the English, that they might not seem to break faith, falsely charge them with some new offence, and however trivial might be the charge it is sufficient to have them adjudged to death. Indeed, I am not surprised that an equal punishment should await those who never deserted from them, although they were Catholics. For although the English may not hate them more, assuredly they do not love more those Irish who are heretics, however friendly, graciously and plausibly they may behave towards them, when they require their assistance and help to destroy Catholics. When the Catholics are destroyed they then mete out the same punishment to heretics whom they know esteem the Catholics and are heretics not from conviction, but in appearance only and through fear. Actuated by a like spirit against the Scots, they spare no Scotchman.
Nor should another Protestant device be omitted—namely, the plan of laying waste the Catholics' lands, towns, crops and cattle with fire and sword, so that those whom they could not overcome by valour, they conquered by
Brass coin was, by order of the Queen, sent to Ireland in the year 1601, by which on the one hand the Queen replenished the exhausted resources of her army, and on the other withdrew Irish gold and silver. As soon as the war was finished this brass money became valueless, to the great injury of the Irish and of the Queen's tax-payers, especially merchants. Indeed the Protestants held that the Irish war would never have been finished while the Irish had victuals or gold or silver to procure them, and that their own army should be supplied from England. These were the reasons why so great a number of ruined Irish inundated foreign nations, especially Spain and France.
THE Catholics might have been able to find a remedy for all these evils, had it not been that they were destroyed from within by another and greater internal disease. For most of the families, clans, and towns of the Catholic chiefs, who took up the defence of the Catholic Faith, were divided into different factions, each having different leaders and following lords who were fighting for estates and chieftaincies. The less powerful of them joined the English party in the hope of gaining the chieftainship of their clans, if the existing chiefs were removed from their position and property, and the English craftily held out that hope to them. Thus, short-sighted men, putting their private affairs before the public defence of the holy faith, turned their allies, followers, and towns from the Catholic chiefs and transferred to the English great resources, but in the end did not obtain what they wished for, but accomplished what they did not desire. For it was not they, but the English, who got the properties and rich patrimonies of the Catholic nobles and their kinsmen; and the holy faith of Christ Jesus, bereft of its defenders, lay open to the barbarous violence and lust of the heretics. There was one device by which the English were able to crush the forces
This hope turned Con and Henry, sons of the chief Shane O'Neill, and Art, son of Turlough, against O'Neill. The same greed for chieftaincy prompted Niall O'Donnell, surnamed Garve, to effect the destruction of Tyrconnell by levying war against O'Donnell. The same envy drove Owen O'Sullivan against his cousin The O'Sullivan Bear. The same ambition set Thady O'Rourke against The O'Rourke, his brother. The same lust excited the English Maguire against The Maguire. Why should I narrate the dispute between Florence, Dermot and Daniel as to the chieftaincy of Clancarty? Why should I recall how Earl James FitzGerald was stripped of his resources by the faction of the other James? Why repeat six hundred examples of the same thing? Assuredly, my countrymen, however high they may stand amongst the nations in the profession of, and devotion to, the Catholic faith and Divine religion, yet during this war, were far worse than Turks or heretics in faction, dissension, ambition and perfidiousness. Wherefore, it could not be otherwise than that by so many and so great distractions, Ireland should be utterly destroyed, for as the holy Evangelist has it, ‘Every Kingdom divided against itself shall be destroyed.’ Indeed my wonder is how it should have so long withstood so many divisions, so many wars, such incendiarism. And, indeed, had it not been accomplished by God, I do not think that the few Catholics could have so often overcome the multitude of Protestants and their allies; that half-armed soldiers could have been able to defeat armies thoroughly equipped with all kinds of arms; that the attenuated resources of the Catholics could have withstood during fifteen years the wealth and power of the Queen of England; that from small beginnings a war should have, beyond all expectation, swelled to such dimensions that the heretics were nearly on the point of losing all Ireland.
AT this time Daniel MacCarthy, chief of Clancarty and Earl of Valencia, more anxious for peace than war, and
The truly brave family of the Munster Geraldines was nearly extinct. Two other powerful chiefs of Munster (with shame be it said) fell under the contagion of heresy. O'Sullivan, chief of Bear, and his kinsman Owen were quarrelling about property. In Connaught, Ulick Burke, Earl of Clanrickarde, after he had killed his brother John, was so odious to many of the Irish that he not merely failed to secede from the English, but even kept many Connaught men in obedience to them. Other Burkes quarrelled about the chieftaincy of the MacWilliam's country. The Leinster Irish chiefs who used most constantly take part against the heretics were for the most part extinct. The Earl of Kildare, brought up a heretic from his cradle, offered no hope to his country. The Anglo-Irish chiefs of Leinster and Meath seem never to have plucked up spirit. In Ulster, Turlough O'Neill, chief of Tyrone, and Hugh O'Neill, created Earl of Tyrone by the Queen, stood jealously out against one another, so that neither did any harm to the English. We have seen that hostages against rebellion had been wrung from Hugh O'Donnell, prince of Tyrconnell and other Ulster chiefs. The more powerful being thus divided and hampered, who would believe the weaker would venture anything? Yet, although as we have shown above, there was little to hinder truculent persecution, a certain fear of the Irish chiefs haunted the heretics when they attacked the Catholic faith, after they had extirpated it in England.
PHILIP II., that most far-seeing King of the Spains, pitying the misfortune and the darkened state of England, over which, having married Queen Mary, he had reigned for a short time, got together a splendid fleet and valiant army under the command of the Duke of Mitina Sidonia, and despatched them to that island, where undoubtedly they would have destroyed the deadly pest of heresy in its very cradle, if they had landed safely. But our sins rising against us, in the year of our Redeemer 1588, partly by the skill of the heretics, but principally by a storm which arose, the fleet was scattered far and wide and portion of it returned to Spain; part caught by the storm between England and Belgium was carried round Scotland and Ireland; while a great part of it was wrecked. Some ships were driven by the storm on the coasts of Ireland and Scotland, and these striking on jutting rocks and sinking, had some of their men drowned, while some narrowly escaped by swimming or scrambling. The English killed such of the strangers as they caught. Alfonsus Leiva, a Spanish nobleman, having sailed round these islands, became distressed for want of provisions, and took his ship, shaken
The Spaniards who afterwards escaped from the shipwreck to the Irish coast, were sent by the Irish to Scotland, to Earl Bothwell, commander of the Scottish fleet, and by him were sent to France or Belgium.
The Queen having ordered that O'Rourke's and Tueth's disobedience should be punished by force, Richard Bingham, an English knight, Governor of Connaught, proceeded to attack O'Rourke, and got together a few English and many Irishmen. Amongst others, Ulick Burke, Earl of
When Murrough's wound had healed and the war seemed about to be renewed he was not able to do anything. For he had lost his left eye and was still more blinded by the beauty of Gorumplath O'Rourke, O'Rourke's niece by his brother Conn, whom he abducted, violated, and then dismissed. O'Rourke, indignant at this foul deed, ever afterwards considered the author of this crime unpardonable. O'Rourke being about the same time deserted by Murrough and by his own mercenaries, was driven to Tueth, by whom he was received not only with kindness but with great and unheard of magnificence.
Tueth surrendered to his rule his towns and whole country, transferring to him the entire legal administration, and himself serving in the army as a captain under O'Rourke.
O'Rourke, having received this power, had two of MacSweeny's most intimate followers hanged, and when on account of so severe a punishment for a trivial offence, Tueth's friends remonstrated with him for having given all his authority to O'Rourke, ‘Do not be surprised,’ said Tueth, ‘he is assuredly more worthy of a chieftaincy who knows how to execute justice, than I who, perhaps, should allow crimes to go unpunished.’ The royalist army pursuing O'Rourke after he had been driven from his own country, turned the entire weight of the war against Tueth.
This army was a large one, composed of some Englishmen but principally of Irishmen, who thought they would not be safe in disobeying the Queen when there appeared to be no means of resisting her. O'Rourke, worried and fretted by the loss of his possessions, went, against Tueth's wish and advice, to Scotland to hire Scots for the purpose of recovering his country. Here he was seized by James Stuart, King of Scotland, who afterwards became King of England also, and sent in chains to London, to Elizabeth Queen of England.
There he was brought before the Privy Council and asked by one of the Councillors, why he did not bend the knee, ‘I am not accustomed to do so,’ said he. ‘But,’ said the Councillor, ‘do you not genuflect before images?’ ‘Certainly,’ said he. ‘Why then,’ said the Councillor, ‘not do the same now? ’ ‘Because,’ said he, ‘between God and his saints, whose images I respect, and you, I have ever thought there was a great difference.’ Shortly after he was put to death. When this became known, his son Brian was proclaimed O'Rourke, by the clansmen, and the war in Connaught being renewed, he endeavoured to recover his patrimony with the assistance of Tueth, in a successful campaign.
ABOUT this time the English Protestant oppressors of the Catholic religion putting into execution the royal commands and grievously harassing the Leinster-men, petty disturbances arose in Leinster. Walter FitzGerald, surnamed Reagh, of the Earl of Kildare's family, flying from this persecution, betook himself to the village of Gleran, amidst the dense woods adjoining the country of Fiach MacHugh O'Byrne, son of Hugh, whose daughter this Walter had married. This Fiach, like his father, was the bitterest enemy of the Protestants. He had joined Viscount Eustace's conspiracy against them, as we have seen above, and having returned to his allegiance, he afforded protection to Catholics who fled to him from Protestant oppression. Some he concealed; others he openly rescued. For this he was attacked by the royalists, but partly by valour and partly owing to the thickness of his woods, he kept himself safe until promised pardon and protection, which
Traversing, by unfrequented roads, large tracts of Leinster and Meath, he reached Lough Swedy, a town of Meath, in which lived many opulent Englishmen, the doors of whose houses were broken in by night, and he and his comrades entering slew the men and returned home laden with booty. Finally, seeing he had done so much injury to the Protestants, and could not be easily captured, on account of his daring and the shelter of thick woods, and to prevent greater troubles, the English thought it best to pardon him and forgive all his crimes. Negotiations being opened and having got a safe-pass he went to Dublin to John Perrot, Viceroy of Ireland. When the brothers and relations of Dudley Bagnal heard of his arrival they surrounded the house in which he was with an armed band. Reagh, putting on his helmet and a shield on his left arm, defended the door by himself, with a drawn sword, until the Viceroy coming up, put an end to the fight, and sent him home safe, with pardon for his deeds.
NO sooner were the risings of O'Rourke and Tueth quelled than the Queen was distracted by greater events. For Hugh O'Neill, surnamed Gavelock, (because of his being born while his mother was a captive in chains) the son of the Chief, Shane, returning from Scotland to Ireland
Tyrone then went to Dublin to the Viceroy, and thence to England to the Queen, seeking pardon, which he obtained, having, as it is believed, bribed some, and the Queen, perhaps, thinking it wiser to maintain him, even if guilty, as a rival to Turlough O'Neill, chief of Tyrone, for which reason he was supported and petted. And so returning to Ireland, bail was given by Earl Ormond and Christopher Hatton, Privy Councillor in England, that he would attend in Dublin before the Viceroy whenever called to account. A few days after the Viceroy summoned him to Dublin, that he might keep him in perpetual imprisonment. He preferred to risk himself rather than his sureties, and so he set out for Dublin, having sent before him his House Steward who provided a splendid and magnificent banquet, to which he invited the leaders of the nobility and Queen's army. Tyrone himself dismounted at nightfall at the gate of Dublin Castle where the Viceroy was staying, and entered. The Viceroy greeted him, bid him refresh himself that night after his fatiguing journey; not to miss his banquet; and to wait on him (the Viceroy) next day. Tyrone on leaving the Castle turned his horse into the field, as if he
A FEW days afterwards, some of the Ulster hostages, viz.: Hugh O'Donnell Roe, Daniel MacSweeny Gorm, and Hugh O'Gallagher, of whom we have spoken above, fled from Dublin Castle. Roe, however, fell into the hands of Felim O'Toole, an Irish gentleman, and the Queen's officers. Felim desired to release him despite the Queen's officers, and though he knew he would imperil his property and get into difficulties. Dreading this misfortune, Rosa O'Toole, Felim's sister and wife of Fiach O'Byrne, persuaded her brother to consider at once his own, and Roe's safety, and to this end to detain Roe with himself that night in Castlekevin until he should be liberated, against Felim's wish, as it were, by her husband Fiach, coming with an armed band, for she thought her brother should be more cautious than her husband who was already used to rebellion, and had devoted his life to fighting against the Protestants, and in support of their enemies. This advice being approved of, Fiach hastened with an armed band to rescue Roe. The Viceroy being also informed in Dublin, sent a company to bring in Roe in chains. That night it rained so heavily that the waters of an intervening river overflowed its banks and inundated the adjoining country, so that Fiach could not possibly cross the ford. Meantime the English, who were not obstructed by the river, carried off Roe to Dublin, where he was more closely guarded in the same castle, and even put in chains.
After some days had passed, he again planned a dash for freedom with Henry and Art O'Neill, sons of the chieftain Shane, who were confined in the same prison. This plan he also communicated to a youth—Edward Eustace a friend of his, and to Fiach the most inveterate enemy of the Protestants. The lad Edward promised
The two youths, who flying all day, had not taken any food were famished with hunger, but worn out with the journey, passed the night sunk in a deep sleep. And now the second day had dawned and no one came from Fiach. The third day of fast was running out, ‘Art,’ said Roe, ‘see how the brute beasts feed on plants and leaves, let us also, who though endowed with reason are nevertheless also animals, assuage our hunger in the same way until food is supplied by the faithful Fiach.’ And so he plucked leaves from the nearest tree and eat them, but Art refused those offered to him. Meantime Fiach left no stone unturned to supply them with food. but was
AT this time Willis, an Englishman with two companies, was levying tribute in Tyrconnell, and was attacked by MacSweeny, as soon as ever the latter had heard of Roe's safe arrival. Willis betook himself to the monastery which is called the fort of the strangers Donegal. Being surrounded there he surrendered to Roe by whom he was dismissed in safety with an injunction to remember his words, that the Queen and her officers were dealing unjustly by the Irish; that the Catholic religion was contaminated by impiety; that holy bishops and priests were inhumanly and barbarously tortured; that Catholic noblemen were cruelly imprisoned and ruined; that wrong was deemed right; that himself had been treacherously and perfidiously kidnapped; and that for these reasons he would neither give tribute nor allegiance to the English.
The O'Donnell being an old man, resigned the chieftaincy, which he had held for nearly twenty years, and asked that the government and command should be entrusted to his son Roe, whom he named The O'Donnell,
O'Donnell, by which name we shall henceforth call Roe, was inaugurated in the usual way, and then directed all his plans and thoughts to this one end, namely, to liberate his native land and the Catholic religion from the heresy and tyranny of the English, forming a confederacy with those who followed him either by custom or in right of his Chieftaincy.
These were Owen MacSweeny, surnamed Oge, chief of Tuath, who had already rebelled in order to save the Spaniards; Donough MacSweeny, Chief of Banagh; Daniel MacSweeny, Chief of Fanad; John O'Doherty, Chief of Innishowen; O'Boyle; and others of lesser note, from whom should by no means be omitted, O'Rourke, Chief of Breifny in Connaught, who lost no opportunity of avenging the death of his father, who was killed by the Queen.
O'Donnell did not doubt but that Earl Tyrone would also take up arms for the Catholic religion, unless prevented by a great dread of Turlough O'Neill, his kinsman and Chief of Tyrone, who mindful of ancient feuds seemed unlikely to let pass any chance of injuring the Earl. And Turlough might be easily deposed as the leaning of the Tyrone-men was towards the Earl. Desirous of removing this obstacle, O'Donnell, first of all attacked O'Neill, and putting his capital—Strabane—in the hands of the Earl, drove Turlough into a small island in a lake. Here until his death, two years afterwards, O'Neill maintained himself midway between O'Donnell and the Earl, indifferent to the war, either because he was worn out by age, or because the clansmen would not side with him against the Catholics, or because he himself, a Catholic, did not wish to help Protestants.
AT the end of the following autumn, Hugh Maguire, Chief of Fermanagh, was forced to take up arms against the
About this time Edmund MacGauran, Primate of Ireland, Archbishop of Armagh, was conveyed from Spain by James Fleming, a merchant of Drogheda, bearing a message to the Irish from the King of Spain, to declare war on the Protestants in defence of the Catholic Faith, and informing them that he would very speedily send them aid. The Primate going to Maguire who was already at war and a man of warlike propensities, had no difficulty in persuading him to continue the struggle on the faith of his Catholic Majesty's assurances, and reliance on his sending assistance.
Maguire with the Primate and slender forces crossed O'Rourke's country of Breifny and again attacked Connaught. On hearing this, Richard Bingham, an English Knight, Governor of Connaught, sent against him William Gilbert, an Englishman with a small force. They met at a place anciently called the shield of miracles (skieth na bhfeart). The cavalry of both parties preceded the foot battalions, covering the wings. The day was very dark owing to a thick mist, so that they did not see one another until they came face to face. The trumpet suddenly giving the command, precipitated both into battle. Maguire, who never in the least lost his presence of mind, ran Gilbert through with a spear, killed him, and routed and put his cavalry to flight. The foot closely followed Maguire. The Primate was mounted on horseback and accompanied by only two
WHILE these events were in progress, the two armies which the Queen had ordered to be mobilised against Maguire, were got together. One was led by Henry Bagnal, knight, Marshal of Ireland, and Governor of Ulster, who had under him far from contemptible forces from Irish and English garrison troops and recent Irish levies. He had 700 horse, the greater part of which, as well as a considerable part of the foot, was commanded by Earl Tyrone, who thought it would be very unsafe for him not to assume the appearance of obeying the Queen's orders. Maguire, much alarmed at the impending danger, besought O'Donnell to help him. He got from O'Donnell a few Irish gallowglasses and Scottish bowmen and armed some of his own mercenaries, of whom nearly 100 were cavalry, but he was still very inferior in strength to the enemy. Bagnal
AFTER the retreat of the royal armies, O'Donnell determining to avenge Maguire's losses, without delay, and being especially incensed by the cruel slaughter of the old men, women and children, hastened to besiege and storm Enniskillen. As he had no brass cannon to batter the Castle it was easily defended by the English. O'Donnell perceiving this, and thinking within himself that it would be hard to liberate Ireland and the Catholic religion from the heresy and tyranny of the English without the help of foreign princes, he sent James O'Healy, Archbishop of Tuam, a man of approved learning and innocence of life, as ambassador to lay before Philip II., Monarch of the Spains, the state of affairs in Ireland, to beseech him to send to the well nigh failing Catholic faith in Ireland, the succour he had promised through the Primate of Ireland, and to assure him of the co-operation and allegiance of O'Donnell and other Irish chiefs. The bishop was most graciously and with more than royal generosity, received by the King, to whom he explained the feelings of O'Donnell and other Irish chiefs towards the Spaniards; their faith; constancy; bravery and military skill. Also the island's climate, salubrity, fertility, harbour accommodation, rich cities and towns, beauties of river and lake and many other advantages, adding, what now no one who knows the island doubts, that Ireland once possessed, Scotland, England, Holland or Batavia, and all Belgian France might with little difficulty be assailed and conquered. He then begged the king (as was the end and object of his mission) to help the Catholic religion. The King could at first scarcely credit the bishop's speech because of the contradictory reports on Ireland spread by the English who hid its glories in a cloud of lies, lest that most promising island celebrated for its many indigenous charms, and from which England, the nurse of error, might be destroyed, should be sought after by the Spaniards. He therefore summoned to his presence, Richard Stanihurst, who, to curry favour with the English, had published a book in disparagement of Ireland, but he would not contradict the Bishop in anything he had said, for it was entirely true, and the King then believing the Bishop's account began to admire and pay
Meanwhile O'Donnell, confident that his Catholic Majesty, the greatest bulwark of Christianity, would send help to the Irish in good time as he had promised by the Primate, made no delay in enrolling Irish and Scotch troops and cut off Enniskillen from supplies.
PETTY risings of Leinstermen again took place, occasioned by Peter FitzGerald, a heretic. This man was, on account of his inhuman cruelty, made a magistrate by the English, and put to death not only men but, such was his brutality, even women and children. He especially thirsted for the blood of Walter Reagh FitzGerald and suddenly surprised the latter's town of Gleran with a band of assassins, but to no purpose as Reagh was at the time from home and his wife who was there fled for safety. Shortly after this, Reagh with Turlough, Felim and Raymund O'Byrne, sons of Fiach, his kinsmen, with 12 horse and nearly 100 foot unexpectedly attacked Peter's castle, and having first set fire to the doors and then to the rest of the house, burned him and his family. Meantime the English neighbours with a troop of horse and some, foot surrounded Reagh, but he charging and wounding a few of them, put the rest to flight. Hereupon Reagh and the sons of Fiach were proclaimed enemies and were diligently and closely pressed by the English. Reagh being unexpectedly surrounded in his town of Gleran by Protestants and Irish auxiliaries,
MEANWHILE O'Donnell continued the siege of Enniskillen, and Earl Tyrone became daily more irritated against the Protestants and suspected by them. In the first place the Queen's thanks were sent to Bagnal for the victory obtained over Maguire at the ford of Belacooloon, but no acknowledgments were offered to Tyrone, at which he was indignant, nor was he so vexed at being defrauded of his due as at Bagnal's reward, exultation and triumph therein. Indeed for many reasons these men hated one another with inextinguishable hatred. As Governor of Ulster, Bagnal was regarded by Tyrone as encroaching on the clansmen's rights and to be resisted. Tyrone captivated by Bagnal's sister, a remarkably fine and beautiful woman, had abducted and married her and converted her from the Protestant to the Catholic faith, and he complained that her allotted dowry was withheld from him by Bagnal. Bagnal had often said that his sister and family were not as ennobled by the illustrious rank of her husband as disgraced by the rebellion and recent perfidy of the Papist, and that he had step-children to whom, and not to his sister's issue, in case she had any, should his vast estate descend. On this and other accounts they challenged one another to single combat in Dublin, and probably would have fought had not friends prevented them. Hence Bagnal omitted no chance of harassing Tyrone, and of exciting the Queen's jealousy against him. Moreover Tyrone reflected on the recent cruel death of MacMahon and his name attainted by act of Parliament, and he recalled the destruction of other Irish chiefs. But to a Catholic, the liberty of the Catholic religion especially appealed. To these other misgivings were soon added.
When Shane O'Neill, Chief of Tyrone, was treacherously destroyed by his own Scottish soldiers (as we have shown above), his possessions were forfeited to the Queen, although ineffectually, because Turlough O'Neill retained them. Amongst these, Farney, a town of Ever MacMahon's, was specifically forfeited to the Queen as it had belonged to Shane and been given by the Queen to the Earl of Essex, an Englishman. But up to now neither the forfeiture nor grant had been enforced as Ever withheld possession of his property. Subsequently, after this Earl's death, his son granted Farney to one John Talbot, an Anglo-Irishman, and Talbot was put into possession of the castle and patrimony of Farney by decree of the Queen, the Catholics vainly protesting against his having unjustly procured from the heretics in his iniquitous action the property of Ever, a Catholic. Now Ever's sons, thinking it a suitable opportunity while O'Donnell was up in arms, got together a company of friends and attacked Farney Castle by night. They unexpectedly applied fire to the doors, Talbot who was within the castle was awakened by the smoke and clad only in his shirt slipped out of bed and threw open the doors. Having hid behind the door, he escaped naked, when Ever's sons and their band rushed in, and fled for safety. His family, also, stripped and turned out, followed him. The English blamed Tyrone for this act, asserting that without his connivance Ever's sons would not have dared to do it. About the same time the English who had garrisoned Armagh, the seat of the Primate of Ireland, determined to enter the Church and threw into chains the Sacristan, who resisted them, and other priests. Brian O'Neill who chanced to be in the town at the time, took up the quarrel and liberated the priests, and ordered twelve of the English soldiers to be hanged. The rest of the garrison fled, and the Protestants felt perfectly certain that Tyrone was the instigator of this action.
IN this state of things, the garrison of Enniskillen castle, surrounded by O'Donnell, was pinched with hunger, so
AT this time O'Donnell honourably entertained a Connaught nobleman, Theobald Burke, surnamed The Bald (Theobald na-gCeann), the son of Walter, and nephew of The MacWilliam, and who having been despoiled of his ancestral estates by the English and imprisoned in Athlone had escaped a few months previously. O'Donnell persuaded him to attempt the recovery of his father's estates by force of arms, and Na-gCeann, having got from O'Donnell a few soldiers, returned to Connaught and besieged the castle of Belleek. This was held by a garrison under John MacKinnily, an Irish Catholic, but loyal to the Queen, and when it seemed as if he must soon perish from want of provisions, the Protestants resolved to come to his aid. Between those of Duke's army who did not desert after the defeat at the ford of Biscuits, garrison troops summoned from the town of Galway, and recent levies in Connaught from the village of Clonacastle, there were in all fourteen companies of foot and three troops of horse, over which Fullerton, an Englishman, was placed in command. The principal captains were Tuite, an Anglo-Irishman; Hugh and William Moystyn, sons of an English father and Irish mother; and George Bingham Oge and Minch, Englishmen. These were ordered to throw supplies into Belleek
THESE risings increased daily. There is in Ulster a river which the Irish call the Abhainn-mhor, and the English the Blackwater, either because it is more turbid than other Irish rivers, which are usually clear and pellucid, or because the English often met with defeat and disaster on its banks. On this river there was a fort, famous on many occasions in this war, as will appear later on, called by the English, the Blackwater fort, and by the Irish, Portmore, that is to say the great fort. It was situated three miles beyond Armagh, the seat of the Primate of Ireland, and seven miles south of Dungannon, Earl Tyrone's chief town. From this fort the Queen's English garrison and heretical minister were expelled by certain Irishmen. Moreover, some of the MacMahons besieged Monaghan castle, the capital of Oriel, unjustly taken, as we have seen, from that family by the Viceroy's decree and fortified by an English garrison. The besiegers cutting off all supplies, it seemed as if the garrison must surrender from want. A quarrel having broken out in Armagh, as we have seen, between the Catholic priest in charge of the principal church and some English soldiers, a certain Irish nobleman, who at the time chanced to be there, cleared the town of all the Queen's garrison who were well punished, some severely wounded and some killed. For all these things the English laid the blame on O'Neill.
BY these risings of the Catholics, commotions, and defeats, Elizabeth, Queen of England, was sorely worried, and strained every nerve to quiet Ireland and break down the Catholic forces. In the year 1594 she appointed William Russell viceroy instead of William Fitzwilliam, who had held that office but had resigned. She recalled from France the English veterans who were employed there against His Catholic Majesty, Philip II., and ordered a levy in England and Ireland. John Norris, an English knight, with 1,800 English veterans from France, speedily landed in Ireland. Such royalist troops as he found in Ireland—veterans and raw recruits alike—he summoned to his standard, and hastened into Ulster as if to relieve Monaghan castle which, as above mentioned, was surrounded by the MacMahons.
At this time died Turlough, who had been The O'Neill, and who was regarded as the impediment to the Earl of Tyrone's making war on the English. On his death
THE great General Norris, with his army, entered Oriel in MacMahon's country and came to a place not far from Monaghan which is called Clontibret (Cluoin Tiburuid), where he displayed his forces to the enemy. O'Neill, not less skilful as a general, but inferior in strength, came against him. Here for the first time the two far-in-a-way most illustrious Generals of the two most warlike islands
WHILE this campaign between O'Neill and Norris was in progress in that part of Ulster which adjoins Meath and faces England there was no lack of activity between O'Donnell and Richard Bingham in that other part of Ulster which adjoins Connaught and in Connaught itself.
In Connaught George Bingham Oge held Sligo Castle with 200 foot, of whom some were Irish. Leaving this in charge of Ulick Burke, son of Raymond, an Irish chief, with some of the soldiers, Bingham himself with the rest sailed round to Ulster in two ships and raided Rathmullan, the chief town of MacSweeny Fanad who was then absent; dismantled the Carmelite Convent and forced the monks to fly to the castle. Laden with booty, he returned to Sligo. Ulick thought that the Irish soldiers were defrauded in the division of the booty and took council with them as to how they should be revenged on Bingham and the English. He arranged to wrest the castle from them on a certain day, and when it came round the Irish attacked the English. Bingham was poniarded by Ulick and the others were either killed or seeking safety in flight, paid the penalty of their sacrilege in raiding the home of the holy Carmelites. The castle was surrendered to O'Donnell, who appointed Ulick commander of it. About this time Tomaltagh and Cathal MacDonough took Ballymote castle from George Bingham the Elder.
In the following autumn, about the time of Norris's defeat by O'Neill, Richard Bingham made an incursion to recover Sligo and take vengeance on Ulick for the slaughter of his kinsmen. He besieged Ulick locked up in Sligo castle. Ulick sallying out every day with the defenders fought before the walls. O'Donnell hastened with 1,600 troops to raise the siege. He pitched his tent at Duraran within view of the enemy. On the first two
IN the following year the English proclaimed O'Neill an enemy and traitor to his country, and now, thoroughly incensed against him, Russell the Viceroy and Norris, commander of the Queen's army took the field.
There is in Ulster a town called Newry, which the English always kept strongly garrisoned. Thence the royalists with all their forces sallied forth, fully determined to capture the city of Armagh, the seat of the Primate of Ireland. However, they had gone scarcely eight miles when at Kilcloney, O'Neill met them with half as numerous forces, and accompanied by Maguire, O'Kane, the sons of O'Hanlon and other noblemen. Here a battle commenced after midday, and the royalists having suffered severely, were forced to retreat to Newry. On this day the Catholics had 200 and the Royalists 600 killed.
Bingham on his side was by no means asleep. He summoned the Irish earls of Thomond and Clanrickarde, and made a levy in Connaught. He collected the garrisons and Anglo-Irish gentry of Meath, and with 24 standards attacked and blockaded Sligo. Ulick Burke and his garrison advancing outside the ramparts fought stoutly, but at last
SINCE the Royalists were unsuccessful in the field, they made truces with O'Neill and O'Donnell and opened negotiations for peace. Henry Wallop, Treasurer of Ireland, and Robert Gardner, Chief Justice, came to them to ascertain with what terms they would be satisfied. O'Neill complained that the reward of his labours and merits had been intercepted by Bagnal, and that he had been falsely accused of crimes, and also complained bitterly of other wrongs. Amongst other terms he asked a full pardon for all offences and that he and his people should be allowed to profess the Roman Catholic faith, and that the Queen's judges and ministers should never enter his country. O'Donnell and others made the like demands, first complaining much of their wrongs.
Meantime 1000 English foot who were hired in Belgium by the Batavians against the Spaniards, were recalled and sent into Ireland. Russell the Viceroy and Norris quickly marched into Ulster these and the veteran English and Irish troops from France and Ireland, as well as the English recruits in Munster, Leinster and Meath, and so called Anglo-Irish:—a regular army three times the size of O'Neill's. Without any resistance they entered Armagh, the most celebrated and holiest metropolitan city of Ireland, expelled the monks, priests, and holy nuns, and other townspeople, the town being without natural protection and entirely defenceless.
They entered and profaned the churches, turning them into stables and to profane uses. They fiercely destroyed images of the saints and in the height of their delight went on not doubting but that with so strong an army they would on this single expedition crush O'Neill and all the Catholics and cow their resolution. However, they had not gone more than a mile and a half from Armagh when O'Neill at the head of his slender forces met them, later than, perhaps, he would have wished, as he would have desired to keep them out of Armagh. At Beal antha Killotir Kilcreevy Otra? O'Neill blocked the road and vigorously attacking the English veterans from France and Belgium in the midst of their triumph, he threw them in to confusion and drove them before him, and pursued them as with broken ranks they retreated to Armagh, killing and wounding many. The Catholics lost only forty, amongst them two noblemen, Farmodirrhy O'Hanlon and Patrick MacGuilly. The Royalists leaving 500 soldiers under Francis Stafford, knight, at Armagh, returned and halted not far from Dundalk, whence the Viceroy leaving the entire management of the war against O'Neill to Norris, returned to Dublin to look after affairs in Leinster and Connaught.
NEGOTIATIONS for peace were again opened. The Queen offered fair and honourable terms to the Catholic clergy and laity. Hostages were given by O'Neill and O'Donnell and other Irishmen that they would agree to fair and honourable terms and not prosecute the rebellion any further. But before peace was concluded or arms laid down Cobos and other ambassadors of Philip II., King of Spain, reached O'Neill and O'Donnell, bidding the Irish in the King's name to be of good heart, that an army would be sent to their assistance by His Catholic Majesty without delay. The result of this embassy was to break off negotiations for peace, and the war was renewed on both sides. O'Hanlon, Magennis, and all Ulster except the Royalist garrison towns and the Anglo-Irish of Louth, joined the Confederation.
O'Neill was so sorely vexed at the holy city of Armagh being contaminated by heretics, that he determined to cut it off from provisions, not daring to assault it while so strongly garrisoned. St. Patrick, however, the Patron and Guardian of Ireland, and who was the first to consecrate this city to God, would not put off the punishment of the crime which impiously defiled the sacred town with heretics. It is believed that he was the Bishop who, clad in pontificals, frequently and plainly appeared to the English at night and threatened them; took away the iron tips of their spears; and extracted the bullets and powder from their guns. Rowley, an English captain, was so terrified by these portents, that he became almost insane; and Baker, an English adjutant, being carried by the Bishop to the pinnacle of the church, swore he would never again profane churches and dreading Divine vengeance, he abandoned the army, was converted to the Catholic faith, and began to do penance. Meditating on this incident, I cannot restrain my tears or refrain from deploring the state of things in these times and the perverse behaviour and madness of not merely the new, but even of many of the ancient Irish who, although they were Catholics, assisted the English heretics who had placed a garrison in the holy city of Armagh and defiled it, laying impious hands on the images of St. Patrick, the Patron of Ireland, and of other saints and expelling God himself as present in the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, trampling them under foot or hacking with their swords when pursued. Nor do I bewail so much the folly of laymen as the crass stupidity of our parochial guides and masters and other clergy who during this war yielded obedience and afforded assistance to the heretics. Baker, an English heretic soldier, swears to Saint Patrick that he will never again violate churches in Ireland, and, lest he be compelled to break his oath, he gives up the army, his pay, rank and glory, and (O shame!) the Anglo-Irish Catholic priest will not influence Irish Catholics against assisting the English heretics who have desecrated the Church of Saint Patrick and attacked its defenders.
TO return to our subject. A great swarm of lice afflicted the garrison of Armagh and many perished of this plague. Famine soon followed. The Royalists, exercised by this circumstance, sent three companies of foot and one troop of horse with supplies. O'Neill with eight companies and some horse intercepted these at Mount Bued, routed them in a night attack, and captured the provisions. At dawn the next day he dressed some of his own cavalry and foot in the English uniform and ordered them to go towards the city carrying the captured standards and the provisions. He, himself, followed with the rest and commenced a feigned attack. The cavalry on both sides dexterously encounter and break their spears on one another's cuirasses: guns are briskly fired at the report and flash of which soldiers fall as if wounded. Stafford the Governor of Armagh garrison, seeing this, sent half of the garrison to assist those conveying the supplies. There is a monastery within a gunshot of Armagh, having passed which the garrison were attacked in the rear by Con, son of O'Neill, who had been placed in ambush in the monastery with some foot, and in front O'Neill with all his men who had been engaged in the feigned fight bore down and destroyed them under Stafford's eyes. Not long after this Stafford was compelled by want of food to surrender Armagh to O'Neill, and as agreed, was sent to his own people.
Twenty-four miles from Armagh and eight from Newry is Carlingford castle, overhanging the river and fortified by nature and art. It was now held by half a company of English with whom were Thomas Kellody and eight other Irishmen. Thomas and the eight Irishmen, as arranged with O'Neill, suddenly attacked the English and killed six and drove the rest out of the castle. O'Neill had promised Thomas that he would be at the castle at cock-crow that night and Thomas waited for him in the castle until near dawn, but O'Neill delaying too long, Thomas left the castle and fled. At break of day O'Neill halted with his men before the castle, and fearing lest it was held by the English did not venture too close, until
AGAIN Norris with all his forces seeks Armagh deserted by O'Neill, and places there a garrison of four companies under Henry Davers, a knight. Thence he makes for Portmore and occupies that place also; the fort having been dismantled and the buildings burned by O'Neill. He was prevented advancing further by O'Neill's appearance with his army, encamped on the road where he could not be attacked with advantage. Norris commenced to erect a fort which he called after himself Mount Norris. O'Neill endeavoured to obstruct him. Fighting went on for some days, some falling on both sides but the Royalists suffering most. At last Norris retired, leaving a garrison under Williams in the new fort. After his retirement O'Neill soon reduced this fort and Armagh into his possession by cutting off the garrisons from supplies. He sent the garrisons safely away as agreed. Norris again set out in force to recover Armagh. At Mullaghbrack, in Orior, O'Neill ventured a battle and routed and scattered the enemy, who reorganised by Norris, renewed the fight. Again they were defeated by the skill and valour of O'Neill's gunmen and of Maguire, his master of the horse. For a second time reanimated by Norris they renew the combat, and for the third time are compelled to retire before the fierce attack of the Catholics, and to retreat, Norris himself receiving a bullet wound, according to many. The gentlemen of both parties justly conceded the honours of this day to Maguire.
I DO not find that after this day Norris again faced O'Neill. Setting out for Connaught he halted at Athlone and assembled all his forces. Thither came the Earls of Thomond and Clanrickarde; Na-long; and other Irish chiefs of the English party; The Anglo-Irish; the levies of Munster, Leinster and Meath; Irish and English veterans; and the reinforcements recently sent from England. He is said to have had about 10,000 horse and foot. O'Donnell mustered his forces of 5,000 against him. At this time there accompanied O'Donnell out of Ulster, the three MacSweenys and O'Doherty, bound to him by ancient ties of fealty, and the ever valiant Maguire; out of Connaught came O'Rourke, MacWilliam, O'Kelly, MacDermott, O'Connor Roe, O'Dowd. With him came also Murrough MacSheehy, a Munster gentleman of birth, with 300 men, who had been for about two years lurking in the woods in Munster and there raiding the heretics as opportunity offered and going through many trials in harassing them. There were also some ecclesiastics, especially Raymond O'Gallagher, Bishop of Derry, and Vice-Primate of Ireland, who absolved from the ban of excommunication those who went over from the Royalist army to the Catholics. Norris advancing from Athlone with his great and well-ordered army came to the village of Ballinrobe in MacWilliam's country and halted there to the south of the river as O'Donnell was encamped on the other side thereof. On the first day and following night a brisk fire was kept up on both sides. On the following day Norris beat a parley, to which O'Donnell agreed. Out of the conference arose negotiations for peace. Every day under truces terms of peace were discussed, and the entire nights were spent in fighting, making attacks on one another's camps, capturing outposts and scouts and fighting hand-to-hand and at long range. It happened that on one night when Na-long was on sentry, three hundred Royalists were killed. Some fled from Norris to O'Donnell, especially Thady O'Rourke, The O'Rourke's brother, who had lived with his kinsman the Earl of Ormond from his childhood. In treating for peace Norris offered O'Donnell, O'Rourke, MacWilliam and others, great advantages if they would return to the Queen's allegiance. The treaty was delayed by the arrival at this time in Donegal of a Spanish ship
NOW I must notice events in Leinster which, although provided with meagre resources, yet joined the Catholic
AT the close of the year of Our Lord 1597 Thomas Baron Borough, a man of generous disposition and open hand, inured to war and of gracious manners, was sent as Viceroy to Ireland and on his arrival won over some of the Leinstermen and other Irish by his courtesy and graciousness. He effected a month's truce with O'Neill, O'Donnell and others, but being unable to agree on terms of peace, commenced a more vigorous campaign against O'Neill. He had a large army composed of the troops formerly serving under Russell and Norris and those lately sent from England, with which he invaded Ulster. He was followed by the Meath Anglo-Irish and regular troops under Barnwall, Baron of Trimblestown. These latter were met at Crickstown by Richard Tyrrell with 400 foot, sent by O'Neill to spread disaffection in Leinster or promote it in Meath. This Tyrrell was an Anglo-Irishman, but a Catholic, like
Borough occupied Armagh and Portmore, which O'Neill had deserted. He unsuccessfully tried to advance, but was stopped by O'Neill, who blocked up the roads with two camps. In one was MacMahon and Cormac, brother of O'Neill and Art, encamped on Drumflugh within two gunshots of the enemy's road to Benburb. In the other camp O'Neill himself and James MacDonnell of the Glens pitched their tents at Tobermesson. The Viceroy being blocked on his march began to reconstruct Fort-Norris, which O'Neill had dismantled and in order to obstruct this work there were fought by day and night many skirmishes of cavalry and infantry, and especially with missiles both at long range and close quarters. O'Donnell came to O'Neill's assistance and his cavalry had the better of the enemy's horse and of Turlough O'Neill son of Henry and uterine brother of O'Neill, but who espoused the Queen's side. On a night in which the Catholics had attacked the Royalist camp there was a rumour that the Viceroy had been wounded, which I will not take on myself to say was true or false, but, leaving the Earl of Kildare in command he retired from the camp and died in a few days.
Kildare, delighted and flushed with his authority, endeavoured to effect what the Viceroy had been unable to do, namely to advance further.
Proceeding through a wood and bye-ways with his leading gentlemen and best soldiers, he had got over the worst of his road when the Catholics heard of his move and coming up attacked him and slew 60 royalist gentlemen including Turner, the Paymaster-General of the Queen's army, Francis Vaughan, the Viceroy's brother-in-law, and Thomas Walen, all Englishmen. Kildare thrown from his horse by a stroke of a lance and again mounted by two brothers—O'Hickey, Irishmen, sons of his fostermother, was badly bruised and fled wounded and died in a few days after The O'Hickeys while mounting their master, were themselves surrounded and slain. Many
ON Borough's death, Thomas Butler, surnamed The Black, Earl of Ormond, an Irishman, was appointed commander of the royal army. Adam Loftus, Chancellor of Ireland, and Robert Gardiner, a judge, discharged the functions of Viceroy, and in their time occurred many memorable incidents.
O'Neill, understanding that the garrison of Armagh were in want of provisions, resolved to cut them off from supplies. In the Spring he called out his men from their winter quarters to Mullaghbane, fifteen hundred paces from Armagh and pitched his camp over against Newry, believing the royalists would go that way to Armagh. He stationed his brother Cormac at Armagh with 500 soldiers to prevent the garrison sallying out. Henry Bagnal, an English knight, Marshal of Ireland, and Governor of Ulster with 24 companies of foot and 10 troops of horse, left Newry to relieve the besieged, and O'Neill did not doubt but that he would meet him on the road. However, Con, an illegitimate son of O'Neill's who had been vexed by his father a few days previously, fled to the English, and Turlough O'Neill, son of Henry, and uterine brother of O'Neill's, who was already with the English, being both well acquainted
WINTER ensuing, John Chichester, an English knight, who held Carrickfergus with a strong garrison sallied out to forage, with 500 foot and a troop of horse. At Aldfreck he fell in with James MacDonnell, Chief of the Glens, with 400 foot and 60 horse. The gunmen on each side attacked one another. The royalists were driven back by the Catholics. John coming to the rescue with his cavalry, his gunmen renewed the fight and forced the Catholics to retire. James then brought up his horse, rallied his musketeers and charged John. He was struck by three lances but saved by his corslet. John was killed and fell
FOILED in his attempt to cut off supplies from the garrison of Armagh, O'Neill at once set about reducing Portmore by starving it out. During the siege O'Donnell, who had come to his assistance, persuaded him to try an assault on the fort. Having calculated its height scaling ladders of proper length and wide enough for five men to mount abreast were made and advanced to the fort. The besieged hastened to drive off the assailants at first with a heavy discharge of artillery and as they came closer the musketeers opened fire, which was returned by the assailants. The ladders were brought forward to the Castle, but the besieged, who had learned that these ladders were being made, had deepened the ditch which surrounded the castle so that most of the ladders did not reach to the parapet and those who got to the top of them and could not get farther on account of the shortness of the ladders fruitlessly attacked the besieged. Those ladders which did reach to the top of the fort were so few that the first to ascend were easily slain before they could be succoured by their comrades. One hundred and twenty Catholics perished, and amongst them Murrough Kavanagh, a Leinster nobleman and stout soldier who had distinguished himself in Belgian wars. The others being tired out abandoned the assault and besieged the fort in the old way.
At this time Owny O'More seeing that he was unable to withstand the enemy's forces, came to Ulster and asked O'Neill to aid Leinster. Meantime Brian O'More took on the conduct of the war in Leinster and seven times successfully encountered the English and their Anglo-Irish allies from Wexford, capturing seven standards and fourteen military drums.
THE double anxiety of the insurrections in Leinster and the failure of provisions in Portmore, in addition to other matters oppressed Elizabeth, Queen of England, and she earnestly commanded her men to prevent a double mishap and to quell the risings in Leinster and relieve Portmore. For these purposes recruits were sent from England, the garrisons were called out, a muster was made in the Irish provinces, and about 8,000 horse and foot of every kind were got together. Of these those who were decrepit with age or appeared too young for war were dismissed. The English recruits lately raised were placed in garrison towns. Of the remaining Irish and English 4,500 foot and 500 horse were selected for their stoutness and skill to relieve Portmore. Two thousand of the Irish allies and some regular Irish troops and the English, of whom few were cavalry, were entrusted to Ormond to quell the Leinster rising. With these Ormond was confident he could reduce Leix and put down all insurrections in Leinster. Leix, in which there appeared to be most difficulty, was first attacked. Brian O'More, who had but 300 foot, was placed in the greatest peril, but did not hesitate to harass Ormond by blocking the narrow passes. Ormond sent against him 1,000 foot, English and Irish, under James Butler, his nephew, son of his brother Edward. Brian, relying on the nature of the ground, did not hesitate to fight. James, dividing his forces into two divisions, advanced. In this way Brian was forced to quit his advantageous position and encountered the division in which James himself was, on the level ground with missiles and especially with musketry, and being wounded by a bullet his spirit became rather heightened than cowed and he all the more zealously encouraged his men to fight. James, pierced by two bullets, perished miserably—a Catholic of illustrious birth fighting for heretics. On his fall the rest fled, and the other division was also routed as it was coming to the rescue. Brian, pursuing the fugitives effected a great slaughter, and would have done greater execution had not Ormond come up and shielded the panic-stricken, and leaving the rebellion unsettled, departed out of Leix. Brian died of
We have already shown how John Burke, Baron of Leitrim, when slain by his brother Ulick with the sanction of the English, left an infant son Raymond, and the government of the Barony was adjudged to the Queen because according to English law the wardship of chiefs during minority vests in the Queen. The government of the barony was, however, bestowed by the Queen on Fenton, an Englishman and secretary of the Irish Privy Council, and from him Ulick, Earl of Clanrickarde, uncle of Raymond, had purchased the barony and thus getting into possession he refused to restore the barony to Raymond who was now of age and out of wardship. Raymond went to law and got judgment from the English and the Queen, but on account of the war breaking out before Raymond got possession, the English failed to carry their judgment into execution lest in such dangerous times they excite the ill-will of so powerful a man as the Earl. Raymond therefore turned to O'Neill for assistance to recover his patrimony. O'Neill was so engaged in the defence of Tyrone that he put off helping him and with faint hope of success Raymond set out for Leinster with Owny, who was also accompanied by Dermot O'Connor, a Connaught Chief. These were followed by all the Connaughtmen who having been driven from their homes were staying with O'Neill. Richard Tyrrell, also, of whom we have made mention already, was brought along by Owny who with these entered Leix on the same day on which Brian had fought the enemy, but not able to assist in the battle or come up with Ormond on his retreat.
WHILE these events were taking place in Leinster, Henry Bagnal, an English knight, Marshall of Ireland, and President of Ulster, arrived in the town of Newry, in the
On this day the Catholics numbered 4,500 foot and about 600 horse, amongst them O'Donnell, who brought about 1,000 Connaught mercenaries under the MacWilliam Burke, and 2,000 of his own men of Tyrconnell and others. The rest were followers of O'Neill, his brother and kinsmen, and chiefs who were bound to him by ancient ties. In a word, there were assembled here nearly the entire youth of the nobility of Ulster and many young Connaughtmen of by no means ignoble birth. They were, however, very inferior in equipment, for both horse and foot were light armed, except a few musketeers, who had heavy guns. For this reason O'Neill being informed of the enemy's equipment, the strength of their army, and the resolution of their general, was in doubt whether a wise man would give ground until Fearfeasa O'Clery, an interpreter of Irish Prophecies, assured him, the holy prophet Ultan had foretold that in this spot the heretic would be routed, and showed him the prophecy written in Irish verse in a book of holy prophecies. Reassured by this prophecy O'Neill stimulated his men to the fight with this speech:—‘Most Christian and fearless men, the Great and Good God has this day in His Divine generosity more than granted our most earnest and frequent prayers and petitions. We have ever been praying to God and his Saints to grant us to fight the Protestants on equal terms. For this have we offered up our prayers; for this have we made our offerings, and now we are not only equal, but actually superior in numbers. Therefore, you, who have, when inferior in numbers, routed the heretical columns, are now in superior numbers pitted against them. I, for my part, hold that victory lies not in senseless armour, nor in the vain din of cannon, but in living and courageous souls. Remember how often when you were not so well equipped or disciplined you have overcome greater generals and forces, and even Bagnal himself. The English never could compare with the Irish in spirit, courage or steadfastness in battle, and the Irish who will be fighting against you will be dispirited by the consciousness of their crime and schism in fighting against the Catholic faith. This very Catholic faith will stimulate your valour. Here you are to defend Christianity, father-land, children and wives. Here must well-deserved
Bagnal on the other side then addressed his men:—‘Trusting in your valour, my most invincible comrades in arms, I have chosen you as my associates, and that the glorious victory I have promised myself might be accounted your work, I have stationed the unskilled and untrained in the garrisons and left to the Earl of Ormond the base and the infirm through whose degeneracy I thought this campaign might be imperilled. Indeed I have ever had such proof of your spirit and valour that I cannot but feel assured and most confident of victory this day. And I believe you have escaped safely with such providential good hap so many misfortunes, so many trials, that on this day you should crown your whole lives with a happy victory and avenge the misfortunes and deaths of your comrades, of Norris and Borough, cut off by rebels and traitors. What! Dare they, unless mad, encounter with naked bodies, armed men, men superior both in bodily strength and stoutness of spirit? I am a fool if they abide the bare look of you, and if you do not this day reduce all Ulster to your sway and subdue all Ireland to the Queen and your selves reap an immense spoil. Remember your valour who under my command succoured Armagh and stripped O'Neill of a considerable part of his camp at Mullaghbane. Whoever brings me, before evening, the head of O'Neill or O'Donnell, I promise a thousand pounds of gold, and to everyone I will give according to his deserts thanks and acknowledgments both on the Queen's and my own behalf. Come, then, let us make haste and not delay our victory.’
Having finished his harangue Bagnal raised his camp at Armagh, before sunrise about the fifteenth day after Lord Ormond's defeat by Brian O'More.
The pikemen were divided into three columns which were preceded and followed by the wings of horse and musketeers.
It was a fine pleasant day when unfurling their banners they marched without opposition over the smiling plain, to the sound of the trumpet, the music of pipes, and the beat of military drums, stimulating man and beast to combat. Presently the road became more difficult, lying between shrubs, which, however, were low and thin. Bagnal having entered this road about 7 o'clock a.m. was assailed with a close fire kept up along the entire cover by 500 beardless youths armed as musketeers and sent by O'Neill. These skirmishers, standing beside the shrubs and shifting amongst the trees,7 brought down horse and foot at long range and this with all more impunity in that the royalist cavalry on account of the shrubs could neither assist their own men nor resist the Catholics, and because the ground was more favourable to the skirmishers already in possession than to the approaching royalists. From these straits Bagnal, with much difficulty, at last extricated his forces, severely harassed by the sharp skirmish and annoyed at seeing themselves attacked with impunity by the skirmishers who seemed such a boyish and silly sort of men. An open plain extending to the Catholic camp came next and as soon as Bagnal gained this the royalist cavalry charged the Catholic skirmishers at full speed. However, O'Neill had dug numerous pits and trenches in the first portion of the plain, especially on and around the road itself, and covered them in with brambles and hay. Into these the mailclad and incautious cavalry tumbled and in this pell-mell fall the legs of the horses and riders were broken and the Catholic skirmishers did not allow them to be relieved by their comrades without a struggle. By this stratagem the royalist army reached the less obstructed plain not only dispirited but having some of their cavalry and foot lost and wounded. Here O'Neill's wearied skirmishers were supplanted by fresh and sound troops and Bagnal also advanced to the fight his skirmishers and heavy armed musketeers. These the Catholic light cavalry charged. The mailclads, too secure in the protection of their armour, held the field.
The light-armed excelling in dexterity and speed and
The mail-clads fought at close quarters with lances about 6 cubits 9 feet long, resting on their right thighs. The light-armed, having longer lances which they grasped in the middle and held above the right shoulder, rarely struck except at advantage, at other times hurling wooden darts tipped with iron and about four cubits long. Thus Bagnal advanced often compelled to halt by O'Neill's lightarmed, and as often repulsing them, until about eleven o'clock he halted not far from the Catholic camp. Now the plain was here bounded on both sides by a marsh and between these bogs O'Neill constructed a low light ditch four feet high and a quarter of a mile long with a rather deep trench inside more to impede the enemy than assist himself. Midway between the ditch and royalist army oozed the discoloured waters flowing from the bogs, whence, perhaps, the place was called according to many the Yellow Ford (Beal atha bui) although according to others it is called the Ford of Saint Buianus. The fight was renewed at the ditch with great vigour by the cavalry and gunmen of both armies. In the heat of the fight an English gunman who had used up all his powder was taking some more from the barrel in which it was and accidently put in the hand which held the lighted tow match; the light being put into, the barrel ignited it and the two nearest barrels also full of powder and blew up some of the soldiers. Meanwhile Bagnal had got into position against the Catholic's ditch and columns his brass cannon, one of which when charged with powder and ball and fired off burst in pieces with the charge of powder and killed some who were standing round.
With the rest Bagnal broke down the ditch and the Catholic cavalry and musketeers exhausted from their defence of the ditch offering no further resistance, the enemy opened his cannon on the uncovered columns of Catholic pikemen. Some parts of the ditch he levelled to the ground and drove the troops from it. Through these breaches the two first divisions of the royalists rushed, one against O'Neill and another against O'Donnell, who held the left wing, and some files crossed the ditch, to whose support Bagnal brought up the rear division. At the same time the royalists, cavalry and musketeers pursued the cavalry and musketeers of the Catholics whom they drove from the ditch, and now both sides fought fiercely on the
OWING to this victory and the opportune arrival of Owny O'More many of the Leinstermen plucked up spirit and took up arms for Faith and Freedom, especially Donald Kavanagh, surnamed the Spaniard, because he had lived about four years in Spain. Owny reduced the whole of Leix to his sway except Maryborough and two other forts. Daniel, the Spaniard, wasted with fire and sword a great part of Meath, because it had not joined the confederacy
WHILST the events we have so far recorded were taking place in Ulster, Leinster, and Connaught, MacCarthy More died leaving Helena, his daughter, betrothed to Florence, son of MacCarthy Reagh, and they disputed with the Queen of England the deceased's estates. Moreover Daniel, an illegitimate son of More's, considered himself no ways unworthy of his father's estate and that his sister Helena should not be preferred to himself, but he did not trust his case to the English, whom he did not expect would be fair judges towards him. However it is suspected that he would have promised them his support were it not that O'Neill was assisting him to obtain his father's chieftaincy. In addition there were James and John FitzGerald dissatisfied at seeing themselves deprived of the Earldom of Desmond since their father Thomas had adhered to the royalists against his brother Earl Gerald.
Therefore, it is said, they turned to O'Neill for assistance. Dermot and Donough MacCarthy were at law about the Chieftaincy of Duhallow, and not satisfied with the decision and rulings of the royalist judges. Others also were ill-affected towards the English both on the general ground
IN this state of things Peter Lacy a Munster gentleman of birth, full of courage and of some eloquence, fled from the English against whom he had committed some crime and came to Owny O'More in Leinster and persuaded him to make an incursion into Munster, representing that most of the Munster men eagerly desired this and were anxious to rebel; that all the Geraldines would make James FitzGerald Earl of Desmond and follow his lead; that the MacCarthys would elect for themselves a Chief of Desmond. Owny approving of this advice, and O'Neill consenting, he brought round to his views his friends who were carrying on the war in Leinster. These were Raymond Burke, Baron of Leitrim, and MacWilliam his brother; Dermot O'Connor and his two brothers Carbery and Con, and Richard Tyrrell. Owny, at the head of 800 foot and about 30 horse, hastened into Munster sooner than anyone had expected, leaving his brother Edmond to look after Leix. Earl Ormond, general of the royalist army, was expected to oppose his progress, but he did not turn up, either surprised by Owny's celerity or because he dreaded to venture a battle. Thomas Norris, an Englishman, President of Munster, perceiving the necessity of driving the enemy from his province, got together such forces as the shortness of time would permit, from the garrisons of his province, the muster of Munstermen, and chief persons of Munster, and summoned all to Mallow,
WHATEVER English were in the countries of those who took up arms against the Queen, were plundered of their goods and expelled. Some of their forts were stormed but were of little importance, if we except Molahiff Castle which was held by 30 royalists under Nicholas Brown, an English knight. William Burke, Thomas FitzGerald, surnamed Oge, and some of the MacCarthys who lived on the river Maine, attacked this castle with 300 foot, pouring in shot on battlements and windows and compelling the besieged
WHILE the Catholics of Munster were thus fighting and exhausting one another, Thomas Norris, President of
NORRIS prepared another expedition against the Catholics, and at the head of 2400 foot and 300 horse entered Viscount Roche's country, and occupied Bridgetown, a castle which, unfortified by nature or art, had been abandoned by the Viscount. Thence he proposed to make for Castletown Roche, half a mile off, but which was better protected by nature and by a garrison. The Viscount determined to defend this to the death and opportunely there came to his aid Daniel MacCarthy, who had obtained the Chieftaincy of Clancarthy, Earl Desmond, Dermot O'Connor, and William Burke, with about 2500 foot and less than 100 horse. Pitching their camp between Norris and Castletown Roche, they resolved to withstand his attempt. As soon as he marched his army they drove his wings back on the main body and compelled the entire army to return to camp. When the musketeers
SOME months later Thomas Burke, brother of Baron Castleconnell, and who had seceded from the English, got some soldiers from Baron Raymond and his brother William and attacked an ill-fortified fort in Muskerry. Norris and his army being in this district, hastened against Thomas with more than 200 horse and 1000 foot and came up with him and his cavalry and gunmen at Kilteely. Thomas, who had only 200 foot, meditated retreating. Norris not satisfied with this charged with his cavalry his rear ranks.
On this attack Thomas faced about and John Burke, a Connaughtman of birth, struck Norris with a spear through the helmet and left the iron point of his lance in Norris's head. Norris suffering from this wound, retired to Mallow where he died within fifteen days. Dermot O'Connor, accompanied by 100 men was marching through the country of Richard Burke, Baron Castleconnell, when he was surrounded by the Baron and his brother Thomas, now reconciled to the English, at the head of 300 hired troops and three companies of royalists sent from Limerick. Compelled for his life to attack these in the desperate straits in which he found himself, Dermot routed and put them to flight and killed the Baron and his brother Thomas.
WHILE these events were, going on in Ireland, Dermot O'Connor was litigating before an unjust tribunal in England his claim against the Queen to the chieftaincy of Sligo and neither obtaining his entire country nor getting leave to return to Ireland lest in these troubled times when many were in rebellion he should try to recover by arms the property which was withheld from him. The Queen was conceding to him Ballymote castle but not Sligo; but when Sligo was captured by O'Donnell, then he was offered it instead of Ballymote. When both were lost by the Queen, she granted both to Dermot and allowed him to return to Ireland and to recover and hold for ever whatever of his chieftaincy he was able. O'Connor reached Conyers Clifford, an English knight, at the time he was preparing an expedition against O'Donnell with 4000 men amongst whom were Irish auxiliaries of no mean rank:—the Earls of Thomond and Clanrickarde and Murrough O'Brien, Baron Inchiquin. With this army he marched to besiege Ballyshannon, a castle of O'Donnell's. Proposing to cross Ballyshannon ford which was held by O'Donnell, he attacked Ath-Culuain. In the very ford, as elsewhere, O'Connor and Baron Maurice disputed the palm of valour and while each endeavoured to get before
MEANTIME in Leinster Owny O'More having cut Maryborough off from supplies had reduced it to great extremities. Earl Ormond, general of the royalist army left Dublin with more than 4000 cavalry and foot to relieve this fort, and reached a small stream called the Blackford, where Owny at the head of about 1500 men attacked him in the open plain. They fought fiercely and stubbornly. Owny frequently drove the enemy's wings back on his main body, but was in turn driven off by the numbers of the foe. On this day Ormond lost 600 men whose bodies he placed in houses and burned, so that the full extent of his losses might not be known, for it is the English custom to conceal their own dead, and expose their slain enemies in public places. Sixty Catholics fell and about 80 were wounded. Ormond forcing a passage by dint of numbers, victualled the fort. Cahir, Murrough and John O'Connor, gentlemen of Offaly, with 100 foot surprised and scaled with long ladders, Castle Croghan in Offaly held by a garrison under Thomas More, knight, and Sifford, both Englishmen, and slew the defenders.
Again Earl Ormond, commander of the royalist army and Owny O'More, drew out their forces and faced one another. There was at this time with Owny Father James Archer of the Society of Jesus, an Irishman most zealous to spread the Catholic religion and consequently very bitter against the heretic enemy and therefore held in the greatest hatred by the English. And, indeed, he was most useful first to O'Neill and afterwards to Owny and subsequently to O'Sullivan and other Catholic opponents of base dogmas by his zeal, advice, pains and industry. Even by his own influence he often got Catholics to turn their arms against the heretics. This religious, actuated by a hope of bringing Ormond to reason, sought an interview with him. Ormond
THINGS had now for so long gone against so many royalist generals and armies that the English determined to annihilate the Catholics with overwhelming forces. To this end
Essex made another expedition against the O'Connors of Offaly and the O'Moores against whom he had little success and daily diminished his army, so that he asked assistance from England to enable him to proceed against O'Neill.
AT this time, Clifford, the Governor of Connaught, resolved to fight O'Donnell, by land and sea, and in the first place to attack Sligo and rebuild the castle O'Donnell had dismantled. To this end O'Connor Sligo went round amongst the Connaughtmen on the Sligo side of the Curlew mountains, exhorting and beseeching them to desert O'Donnell. A troop of O'Donnell's horse accidently met this O'Connor accompanied by a few horse, and engaging him, forced him with the loss of a few men to take refuge in Collooney fort, where he was surrounded and attacked by O'Donnell. O'Connor stoutly defended the fort for about forty days, when it appeared he should surrender from want. Clifford becoming aware of this, hastened his expedition in order to recover Sligo, as he had already purposed, and on his way to succour O'Connor, he ordered Theobald Burke, surnamed Na-long (the naval) claimant to the MacWilliam's country to sail from Galway with the fleet which was conveying the provisions, cannon, lime and other materials for reconstructing the Castle, whilst himself with the rest of the forces took the overland road. O'Donnell, well aware of this plan, placed 400 foot under MacSweeny Fanad and Mac William to garrison Sligo. He ordered O'Boyle to continue the siege of Collooney fort with 200 horse, while he himself with the foot and O'Doherty held the Curlew mountains through which Clifford's road lay. There were two roads through this mountain, one very narrow and difficult, the other wider. He placed three companies in the more difficult road with orders to prevent the enemy's advance until he sent others to their aid. On the more open road himself
‘By the help of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, we will this day utterly destroy the heretical enemy whom we have always heretofore worsted. We fasted yesterday in honour of the Virgin, and to day we celebrate her feast. Therefore in Her name let us fight stoutly and bravely the enemies of the Virgin and we shall gain the victory.’
The soldiers being greatly inflamed to war by this speech, he sent on 600 musketeers under Eugene MacSweeny, Tuath, and Hugh and Tuathal O'Gallagher, with orders to attack and delay the enemy, while himself brought up the gallowglasses. The enemy had climbed out of the narrow passes to the middle and open part of the mountain, and about 11 a.m. the rain was ceasing when the gunners came up with O'Donnell's men. There on account of the favourable nature of the ground and the great spirit of the young men, a fierce encounter with leaden bullets at long range commenced, and many wounds were inflicted on both sides. The Irish gunners are giving way; their leaders remonstrate at this baseness, and at their fighting with such faintheartedness for the Virgin. Stung with shame by these reproaches, and roused by zeal to fight earnestly for the Virgin they renew the contest. It is scarcely credible with what spirit and perseverance and skill the musketeers of both parties fought. The royalist gunners were driven back on the pikemen's division, and that division itself, overwhelmed with a shower of darts, and wounded, changed its front and from one side to another turned round three times in a circle, not knowing what it was doing. O'Rourke coming up with 140 foot to the support of the Catholics added terror to the already disorganised, and on seeing him the whole royalist army turned tail leaving behind a great heap of arms. The Catholics pursue. Although O'Donnell had hurried up with the gallowglasses yet he did not find the fight going on. I do not believe the royalists would have been put to flight by the gunners, had it not been for the aid of the Virgin Mother. The Catholics hung on the rear of the terror-stricken fugitives for three miles. Clifford was carried for some time by two Irish soldiers to whom he promised a large reward, but was eventually overtaken and killed by a pike-thrust in his side. The felled trees and obstructed roads were great obstacles to the fugitives, and they left there not only their arms but even their garments. The Baron of Dunkellin had a narrow escape. Griffin with all the cavalry came out a mile from Boyle to the rescue of the fugitives, and put to flight the first of the Catholics, who were pursuing and slaughtering the enemy without any order; but O'Rourke, supporting the Catholics, and rallying them, and withstanding the enemy, received two bullet wounds, one in the right hand and the other in the right thigh, and made the cavalry retire. The Catholics again pursued as far as Boyle, into which Griffin betook himself. Of the royalists there perished with their leader
IN the following month of September, Earl Essex, receiving reinforcements from England, invaded Ulster. O'Neill, putting himself and his forces in evidence sought for a conference, through O'Hagan. Essex replied that he would be found in battle array on the morrow. On this day cavalry and musketeers advanced by both sides engaged in some slight skirmishing. O'Neill again asked for a parley which Essex did not think ought to be any longer denied. Both coming down alone to the banks of a river which lay between them, spoke from thence. Here it was arranged that they should meet again on the 8th of September each accompanied by eight of the principal men of his army and they made a truce to the kalends of May of the following year on condition that either might renew the war on fourteen days previous notice to the other. In a short time Essex received very bitter letters from the Queen, upbraiding him for managing things so badly and sharply admonishing him, whereupon he crossed to England on the 28th of September and was cast into prison. O'Neill sent a message to the English that there would be no truce if the management of affairs was changed and Essex cast into prison who had made and promised to observe the truce and that he would look to his own interests and let them beware of him when the fourteen days had expired. Essex was put to death not long after this.
A FEW days after these events, Brother Matthew d'Oviedo, a Spaniard, and Archbishop of Dublin, and Martin Cerdo, a Spanish gentleman of birth, arrived in Ulster bringing from the Pope indulgences and remission of sins to all who would take arms against the English in defence of the Faith; and to O'Neill a plume of Phoenix feathers, and bringing from His Catholic Majesty, Philip III (Philip II. was now dead) 22,000 pieces of gold to pay the army.
When the Spanish legates had returned home, O'Neill, leaving strong garrisons in Tyrone, set off for Munster in the middle of winter, accompanied by some of his allies in war and at the head of by no means despicable forces. His object was both to see the piece of the Holy Cross which is said to have been in Holy Cross abbey, and to sound the dispositions of the Irish and perhaps to defy the enemy. He pitched his tent in County Cork. Here Maguire, sallying out from the camp accompanied by Edward MacCaffrey, his standard bearer, Neill O'Dorney, and one priest, fell in with Wareham St. Leger, an English knight, and President of Munster, at the head of 60 horse. Between these two there was in addition to the general grounds of hostility a personal jealousy because Maguire was universally recognised as the bravest and best horseman amongst the Irish and Wareham amongst the English. Maguire seeing the number of the enemy's cavalry did not think it consistent with his honour to fly or surrender, but setting spurs to his horse rushed into the midst of his foes. As he was brandishing his spear Wareham shot him with a leaden bullet from a pistol. Nevertheless Maguire aimed his spear at Wareham, and he wishing to avoid the blow by bending his head, was pierced through the helmet, and Maguire leaving the spear hanging from his head escaped with drawn sword through the midst of the enemy followed by his two comrades also wounded, and by the priest. Again wheeling his horse and charging he routed and put the band to flight, but did not pursue them
THE English being in the greatest danger of losing Ireland and knowing that help would be sent to the Catholics from Spain, were distracted with various councils how to meet this disaster.
Finally, they resolved to reduce the whole of Ireland to the utmost poverty and want. They gained over to themselves the very Irish on certain terms and those who would not be conciliated they destroyed by artifices and practices inciting them one against another. In this, fortune favoured the English. First of all brass money was sent to Ireland by which all Irish gold and silver was withdrawn to England while the brass money itself soon became worthless. In this way the Irish were defrauded of their own money and reduced to the utmost poverty. Moreover the corn was cut down and other devastations were committed.
OWNY O'MORE with an inferior number of men came up with the Viceroy Blount on his way to victual Maryborough,
THE Munstermen were, so far, too well equipped for war to be easily defeated by English arms, but were overcome by this device:—Florence, son of MacCarthy More, was as we have seen, disputing the Chieftaincy of Clancarthy with the Queen. The Queen gave him leave to wrest the chieftaincy, if he could, from Daniel MacCarthy and hold it for ever. Florence was hailed by his followers, mercenaries and friends, and Daniel was deserted, not even the Earl of Desmond coming to his assistance. However in a short time Florence himself was seized and sent by the English into England, where he was thrown into prison in the Tower of London, and Daniel having no forces surrendered to the English on getting a pardon. Thus half the force of those who were carrying on the war in Munster was broken down.
Another young James FitzGerald, son of Earl Gerald, was released from the confinement in which he had been kept in England, and being instituted Earl of Desmond by the Queen, was sent into Ireland in opposition to James then Earl of Desmond, and was received by many of the Irish. However the Catholic Earl made so stout a resistance, the English promised a large reward to Dermot O'Connor, his lieutenant, to betray the Earl to them. Dermot was gained over both by the bribes and for the sake of the young Earl whose sister he had married, and imprisoned the Catholic Earl in Castle Lisin in order to deliver him thence to the English. A report of this having got abroad, Fitzmaurice, Baron of Lixnaw, Dermot MacCarthy Reagh, The Knight of Kerry, William Burke, Brian O'Kelly, and Peter Lacy at the head of 1,800 men stormed the Castle. Dermot was not far off, but being inferior in numbers
William Burke disagreeing with the Earl as to his hire be took himself to his brother the Baron in Eliogarty. While the Catholics were unsettled and weakened by these domestic feuds, Carew bombarded with cannon and reduced Glin Castle, the fortress of the Knight of Glin. Desmond having only 600 men set off for Eliogarty and joined Raymond the Baron, and William, who had possessed themselves of a great part of that country. This expedition cost him little more than the loss of Maurice his illegitimate son, who fell fighting bravely. Afterwards, while suffering from fever and being nursed in hiding, he was betrayed by the White Knight to the English, by whom he was committed to the Tower of London, where he died. Before his death, his rival the young Earl was recalled to England, having served the purpose. Fitzmaurice, Peter Lacy, and others fled to O'Neill. The rest submitted to the English and so the war in Munster was at an end.
THE Ulstermen of O'Neill's party, whose countries had been the seat of war were now exhausted of their means and resources, and therefore quite unable to carry on the fight any longer. They begged and pressed O'Neill to
O'DONNELL alone kept his forces intact until they were in great part destroyed on him in this way:—As he had preserved his country by successful battles on land, making Connaught the seat of war, a fleet was organised in England which, sailing between Scotland and Ireland, put into Lough Foyle in O'Donnell's country. In this fleet was no Irishman of standing except Maelmurray MacSweeny Tuath who had quarrelled with and deserted O'Donnell. He had fought against him at Ballaghboy on the day Clifford was slain and having distinguished himself by his valour in Leinster, had been knighted by Essex and had subsequently crossed to England.
However, on the night in which the English reached this port, he jumped overboard, swam ashore, and coming to O'Donnell begged his forgiveness on bended knees and got restored to all his possessions. The English, who were 4,000 under Henry Dowcra, a knight, landed and occupied the unfortified town of Derry, the famous episcopal seat of Saint Columba, overhanging the lough and fortified it with works and batteries. On the second day after their landing O'Donnell came up and carried off 168 of their horses and again the Catholics seized some horses grazing near the town, which the English pursued. A cavalry fight ensued. Hugh O'Donnell, surnamed Oge, wounded Dowcra, piercing his helmet with a spear and breaking his head. An English gentleman fired a pistol placed close up to Daniel O'Gallagher, an Irish gentleman, and though the bullet grazing the eye passed out through the nose, yet
On another day Roderick accompanied by two horsemen fell in with eight English foot soldiers who came out of Derry to gather wood, and attacking them, slew six, releasing one whom he captured but who said he was a Briton. The eighth who was sergeant of a company, held out with great valour, being often struck by Roderick's spear and thrown down but again quickly getting up unwounded, as he was protected by a jerkin of oxhide, he attacked Roderick with drawn sword and got in sixteen thrusts on Roderick's right arm, which was, however, protected by the sleeves of the cuirass. When Roderic was unable to hurt his enemy with his spear, and he seemed likely to escape, the former attacked with his sword but this also was unable to penetrate the hide, whether owing to the toughness of the leather or to some spell, I do not know. Finally the sergeant tried to cross the nearest stream but as he was crossing Roderick struck him with his spear in the back and kept him down under the water until he was drowned.
Ships carrying provisions from Derry to Lifford were pursuing the even tenor of their way over the lough, when, near Lifford, where the lough narrows, they were attacked by the Catholics showering missiles on the boats from the banks. The garrison of Lifford coming out to the fight were driven back to the town and the boats, provisions and clothes were captured. Many of the royalists perished on this day. Roderic was slightly wounded in the thigh by a bullet.
About this time O'Connor, Chief of Sligo, being suspected by some persons of plotting mischief against O'Donnell, was imprisoned by the latter. O'Doherty ended his
O'Donnell was now in great straits, having lost Derry, Lifford and Innishowen, and deprived of the aid of O'Connor, whom he kept in prison. Moreover the Connaughtmen whom he had hired became disaffected and mutinous. However he invaded Innishowen where Cahir's party had a great quantity of arms stored in Birt which was strongly defended by its natural position and by ancient fortifications. O'Donnell determined to assail this and the Cahirites decided to defend it. The Connaughtmen would not form the first line as ordered by O'Donnell. A company of Tyrconnellians placed in the van broke into the fortress but were not supported by the Connacians, and therefore this company, which was very inferior in number to the Cahirites, was overwhelmed with showers of bullets and being partly destroyed, escaped with difficulty from another portion of the fort. Meantime Garve, burning with a great desire for the Chieftaincy of Tyrconnell, was by no means idle. A man of bold spirit, and particularly well acquainted with the roads, he secretly conducted Irishmen of his faction and Englishmen over land and water from Lifford and surprised the monastery of Friars Minors called Donegal, and occupied it, and fortified and placed a garrison in the dismantled castle which stood an arrow-flight off, and in another monastery of Franciscans of the Third Order which is called Maherabeg, half a mile away, from which the monks fled and which up to that day had ever been regarded as sacred and inviolable sanctuaries. By this move O'Donnell was forced to send his moveables and baggage into Sligo while himself and his army surrounding Donegal disputed with Garve during nearly three months the monastery and castle, now advancing mantlets to the walls, now setting up against them sows10 and breastworks. But the royalists suffered for their violation of the monastery, for one night the powder, either by means of some one detailed by O'Donnell, or by accident, or providentially fired, suddenly burned up the monastery and partly blew it into the air. The defenders were partly consumed by the fire, and partly crushed by the falling roof and walls. O'Donnell
On the other side, Earl Clanrickarde by command of the Queen, made an incursion against O'Donnell and led the royalist forces against Elphin, an episcopal town. O'Donnell advanced to meet him. For some days there were cavalry and musketeer skirmishes and the Earl then returned without having effected anything.
WHILE O'Neill and O'Donnell were in these straits, they nevertheless sent over 1,000 men under Donough MacCarthy, claimant to the chieftaincy of Duhallow, Thady O'Rourke, and Raymond, Baron of Leitrim, to renew the war in Munster and assist Earl Desmond, whose forces were now shattered. However, while on the march, Donough was unfortunately killed by a leaden bullet fired by one of two musketeers who fired from ambush two shots, at the army as it passed, and it was rumoured that Desmond had been captured. Hereupon Thady and the Baron abandoned the journey to Munster. Earl Clanrickarde, to prevent
Amongst the Catholics' misfortunes at this time must be accounted the death of a most upright and illustrious man, Dermot MacCarthy, Bishop of Cork and Cloyne, who had for more than 20 years laboured with great pains to preserve the faith in this Island and had displayed much zeal and energy during this war in animating the Catholics to take up arms for Christian piety. By his death the resources of Irishmen were not a little weakened. For his services to the Church of God and realm of Ireland, his head was long vainly sought for by the English, who offered a large sum of money to whoever would slay or arrest him. With such insatiable hatred did they pursue him that they did not hesitate to destroy his kinsmen. Amongst these they seized Thomas MacCarthy, the Bishop's nephew by his brother, Thomas, and endeavoured by threats and bribes to make him desert the Catholic faith. Disappointed in this attempt they beheaded this man of noble and Catholic spirit. But since we have alluded to the bishop, we must not omit mentioning this great and peculiar trait of his, that although he wrote with the greatest difficulty, and no one ever saw him write even one letter otherwise, nevertheless he turned out so accomplished and learned that he was advanced to Doctor in utroque jure, and publicly taught Sacred Theology at Louvain for some years, for such was his intellectual keenness and so strong his memory that even as a pupil he had no occasion to take notes. He left to posterity a work on Christian doctrine written in Irish, whose precepts the youth still study in that Island.
WHILST these events were taking place in Ireland, his Catholic Majesty, Philip III, solicitous to assist the Irish, raised such an efficient army as O'Neill and O'Donnell
Having returned from the Azores, Diego Brochero, a noble Spanish gentleman, of the Order of St. John, and distinguished in the art of war on land and sea, took Aquila on board the King's fleet, which he commanded, and sailed for Ireland.
When he got out to sea a storm arose, and divided his fleet into two portions. One portion, consisting of seven ships, followed the vessel of Peter Zubiaur, the second in command, and after drifting about some time on the ocean, was driven by the winds into Corunna, a town of Gallicia. The other division, which was larger, followed the Admiral's flag, and in the month of September, 1601, reached Kinsale, a town of Munster, which overhangs a large and excellent harbour facing to the south. Also overhanging the harbour are two forts, one on either side, and if these were fortified with cannon, access to the harbour could not easily be gained in opposition to them. On one side rises a hill, artillery planted on which might easily either assail or defend the town. The river washing it on the west afforded a landing-place for the auxiliary force.
The townsmen, expelling the English garrison, conducted the Spanish general and his army (2,500 foot) into the town with great enthusiasm and open arms (as they say). Aquila, thinking he would not be long here, placed a single company as a garrison in Ringcurran, one of the two forts which commanded the harbour. He took from the ships only one piece of artillery, as he had embarked the artillery assigned him in the ships under Zubiaur's command. Jealousies and disputes arose between him and his captains, and Matthew Oviedo, Archbishop of Dublin. Daniel O'Sullivan, chieftain of Bear and Bantry, sent a messenger to Aquila to say he and his friends had 1,000 armed men and as many unarmed men enlisted, and that if Aquila would only supply arms for them they would block the Viceroy's road and prevent a siege until O'Neill and O'Donnell came to his assistance. Aquila
Blount, Viceroy of Ireland, was at this time in Athlone, where he had mobilised his forces, not ignorant that the Spaniards would make a descent on Ireland, as English spies had advised. Now making for Kinsale, with the Earl of Clanrickarde, the Anglo-Irish, the Irish Privy Council, and all the Queen's forces—amounting to 7,000 men—he surrounded and besieged Aquila, and stormed Ringcurran without much difficulty. Placing cannon on the hill, he vigorously attacked Kinsale. The Earl of Thomond, who was at this time in England, was sent to Blount's assistance with 8,000 English recruits. The Queen's fleet occupying the harbour, battered the town on the other side with their cannon. The Spaniards, no way discouraged, bestirred themselves to defend the town with the cannon they had taken from their fleet and two others which were in the town. On one side they drove off the English ships from the attack, and on the other side attacked the enemy's camp and destroyed their tents. By day they fought stoutly and bravely on the walls, and by night made frequent sallies, slew the watches and sentinels and spiked the cannon. In this way more English than Spanish were killed, because the Spaniards are famous for the steadiness with which their infantry maintain their ranks. Charles MacCarthy, captain of an Irish company which had come from Spain, fell fighting bravely against the English, having first slain two English captains and spiked a cannon. At the commencement of the siege O'Sullivan, chieftain of Bear, had refused to answer the Viceroy's summons, alleging that he had to look after himself at home, to defend his country from neighbouring enemies, and he began a mock war which he got up with some of his followers.
ZUBIAUR, with the seven ships laden with ammunition and supplies, soon followed Aquila, and was in some danger, drifting near the rocks of Castlehaven (Cuan an Caishlean,
At their arrival the English were daunted and remained in their ships, and Zubiaur, elated and emboldened, took his cannon from the vessels and for two days right vigorously bombarded the English fleet. Finally, the balls rendered red hot by the rapid firing, pierced the English ships which they struck from stem to stern, hurling men and planks into the sea. The admiral's ship especially, riddled with numerous cannon shots, was destroyed. Zubiaur's first shot into this ship killed 60 men, who, were seated at table, and under the succeeding shots, soldiers and sailors fell right and left. Upon this, soldiers flocked to its assistance from the other ships. At last this ship being nearly destroyed, the others, in confusion, cut their cables, abandoned their anchors, and took to flight when a favourable and light breeze arose, having, indeed, waited so long only because they had been forced to do so by contrary winds.
In this battle 575 English fell. Of the Catholics, one Spaniard, a kinsman of Zubiaur's, was killed, and two were wounded–one a Spaniard, the other an Irishman.
After this Dermot O'Sullivan, my father, conducted Vasco Sahavedra, a Spanish captain and his company to Dunboy, supplying them with provisions and beasts of burthen, and by O'Sullivan's order delivered to them the principal castle and the harbour of the Chieftaincy of Bear, and provided him with about two month's victuals. Thither also he caused to be transported in boats, which he sent therefore to Castlehaven, artillery, brazen balls, powder, lead, tow-match, and other ammunition, so that he might keep open for the Spanish fleet access to that harbour, which is a safe and much frequented one, and keep out the enemy therefrom. O'Driscoll also admitted a Spanish garrison into his harbour and fort for the good of the cause.
O'DONNELL and his allies, O'Rourke, M'Dermot, MacSweeny Tuath, O'Kelly, Baron Raymond Burke, his brothers Roderick and Caffrey O'Donnell Daniel, brother of O'Connor Sligo, and William Burke, brother of Baron Raymond, marched 3,000 men, of whom 400 were horse, to Aquila's assistance. Carew, the English President of the Munsters, hastened to meet them, leading 4,500 foot and 500 horse from the Viceroy's camp into Ormond's country, where he blocked up the passes and narrow roads. O'Donnell having lit large fires to present the appearance of a camp, led his army safely past Carew by night, and in different places for forty days awaited O'Neill's arrival. Carew, completely foiled in his object, marched his forces back to the Viceroy's camp before Kinsale.
O'Neill, finding an opportunity, invaded Meath, where he ravaged the English and Anglo-Irish far and wide, and returned home laden with booty, having slain Darcy of Platten, who had followed provoking a battle. Thence he made for Kinsale in mid-winter. Accompanying him were M'Mahon, Cuconnacht, brother of Maguire, who had been killed in Cork, Ranald M'Donnell, chief of The Glens, Fitzmaurice, Baron of Lixnaw, Richard Tyrrell, and others of his retainers, amounting in all to 2,600 foot and 400 light armed horse. With these O'Neill joined O'Donnell in Orriria Barria Barry Oge's country?, and both then pitched their camp in that part of Carbery which
In the first place, Aquila sent many letters again and again, urgently pressing O'Neill to form a junction with him. O'Neill, O'Sullivan, and others thought this risk ought not to be run, but that they should rather await the coming over of the Irish and the flight of the enemy. O'Donnell and several others were of a different opinion, and so the majority in numbers overruled the more prudent. A day was appointed, on dawn of which O'Neill was to draw up near the enemy's camp, so that Aquila, making a sortie from the other side, should unite with him. Aquila's letters to O'Neill on this arrangement were intercepted by the viceroy. O'Neill, with his forces arranged in three columns, set out for the place agreed on. The English, who were well aware of the Catholics' plan, went by night to the spot whither O'Neill was to proceed, and feigned a battle with beat of drum and sound of trumpet and report of musketry. Aquila's scouts are said to have informed him that this was a mock fight. O'Donnell with his column wandered about all night owing to his guides' ignorance of the route, and was far off. The columns of O'Neill and O'Sullivan, hearing the sound of fighting, and thinking Aquila had advanced to the appointed spot, quickened their pace, and arrived there at night. Thereupon the enemy retired behind their fortifications, and when the camp was seen perfectly quiet and silent, the Irish perceived the stratagem, and after waiting a little under arms, and it being now daybreak, they advanced a little beyond the appointed place, and the front of O'Sullivan's column, which was in the van, halted not far from the trenches, although not seen by the enemy, as a low hill cut off their range of vision.
When it was quite lightsome, O'Neill, wondering why Aquila did not come out, nor give the signal for battle, went up to the top of the hill with O'Sullivan, the Spanish captains and a few others, and closely examined the enemy's camp. It was very strongly fortified with a trench, ditch, towers and cannon; the soldiers were under arms, and the horses were bridled. Moreover, they were superior in numbers to the Irish, many of whom, especially Munstermen, were absent, having on the previous day left the colours to forage and get corn. O'Donnell with the third column had not arrived. In this state of things O'Neill, according to the captains' advice, putting off the enterprise
Thus all were panic-stricken, or, rather, scattered by Divine vengeance. The royalist cavalry did not venture to pursue the fugitives, fearing they might be drawn into a snare. Many Irish gentlemen who had adhered to the English, vainly reassured the Catholics, coaxing them to return to the fight, and promising themselves to help them. O'Neill and O'Donnell could not recall their men to the fight. O'Sullivan, Tyrrell, the Spanish captains, and a few who returned in part, withstood the enemy's attack. On this day, of O'Neill's army, 200 foot perished. Of the English, three noblemen fell. The Earl of Clanrickarde was for his valour dubbed a knight by the Viceroy.
O'NEILL, who, after the loss he had sustained, was no weaker, wished to continue the war against the enemy in the old way, but he was wholly unable to get his followers to agree to this. For O'Rorke returned to defend his country against his brother, Thady O'Rorke, whom he had left in Breiffny, and whom he had heard was now disposed to possess himself of the chieftaincy. Ranald followed suit, and others were influenced by their example, and forced O'Neill also to retire, much against his will. O'Donnell, delegating his authority to his brother Roderick, set out
O'Sullivan, collecting his own Munstermen and the Spaniards received from Zubiaur, and taking into his pay Richard Tyrrell and William Burke, resolved to cut off the English supplies, and force them to raise the siege, and abandon their camp. He wrote to Aquila not to lose courage or be dispirited, and not to surrender the town, but Aquila struck a bargain with the enemy, whereby he and his army and all their effects were at liberty to return to Spain, and the town was not to be surrendered until the Viceroy had provided ships and sailors, and Aquila had sailed, giving pledges for return of the ships. And so Aquila returned, having lost in this expedition 500 foot, and the English in the whole siege of Kinsale having lost more than 8,000, who perished by the sword, hunger, cold and pestilence. O'Neill and Roderick, brother of O'Donnell, having left the Munsters, parted from each other on the road, and O'Neill arrived in Tyrone.
AS Roderic was passing by Lough Sewdy, a town in Meath the town artisans and English mechanics, and Anglo-Irish garrison, thought they would do a brave feat and prove their loyalty by pursuing him and so they rashly engaged in battle armed, some with staves, some with swords, some with spears, but at the first onset of Roderic's cavalry they quickly turned tail. The garrison endeavoured to rally the fugitives, but being surrounded by the cavalry, about 200 of them were cut off, scarcely enough to tell the tale escaping the slaughter. Roderick, having returned home, suffered for some months from dysentery. Meanwhile the royalists made expeditions by land and water from Donegal, and without opposition besieged and battered with cannon Ballyshannon fort. Tuathal O'Gallagher, who held the fort with 56 Irish and 4 Spaniards, made a brave and protracted defence to maintain the walls and when these were broken down fled with his men by night, leaving only one sick man, Owen O'Dwyer, who on the following day, as the royalists entered, killed one of them with a gunshot and brandished his spear until promised quarter, but
Although the English abhorred the titles and names of Irish chiefs and had often issued proclamations to abolish them, nevertheless they were sometimes content to create chiefs in order that they might ruin one another. Thus Richard Burke, the son of Deamhan-an-chorrain, was made The MacWilliam by the royalists, and cut off in battle by Roderick. Meantime an army was being assembled in Spain to be sent into Ireland with O'Donnell, but he most unfortunately died, and on hearing of his death Roderic's comrades were filled with grief and despair of any aid from Spain. MacSweeny Banagh joined Garve. Tuath took his own course. Roderic, exhausted of powder and other ammunition, made peace with the Queen, and so did O'Connor Sligo and others. Garve had himself inaugurated O'Donnell by O'Ferrall, and for so doing was imprisoned in Derry by the English, who hate the Irish titles and wished to abolish such inaugurations. Garve escaped to a thick wood where he assembled his forces and party. Roderic and Dowcra, joining their forces, stripped him of his goods and shattered his resources. Hence it came to pass that of his party 4,000 men, women and children died of famine, and himself reduced to poverty fled into England less valued now by the English than Roderic.
AFTER the return of the Spaniards, Blount recruited the remains of his army during the winter and sent Samuel Bagnal to provision the garrison of Armagh. O'Neill with 1,000 men attacked him and his 15 companies and 3 troop of horse at Mullaghcros. First the cavalry, then the musketeers, and finally the pike-men of both sides rushed into the fight. Samuel came to the rescue, but he lost 700 men and O'Neill about 70.
In the following spring Blount moved his forces, increased by Anglo-Irish auxiliaries, into Tyrone. He began to rebuild the fort of Portmore, calling it Charlemount after his own name. O'Neill, by some successful skirmishes, prevented him advancing further. However, O'Neill learning of O'Donnell's death, and now deserted by his own clansmen, was reduced to want and despair. Accompanied, therefore, by only 400 men, he concealed himself in the thickly wooded valley of Glenconkeine, and there endeavoured to defend himself. The enemy burned his towns and cut down his crops. Con and Henry O'Neill, sons of the Chieftain Shane, assisted the English and acted as guides for them and many of the Tyrone men followed suit. The powder and ammunition placed in a strong fort and entrusted for safe keeping to Patrick O'Donnelly, was put upon pack-horses and carried off to the English. At this time—it being now the year 1603—Elizabeth, Queen of England, died.
On her death bed the English Council had obtained authority to make a treaty with O'Neill, and he, although he had by two successful skirmishes prevented the English entering the valley, nevertheless being exhausted of his resources; his ammunition gone; and himself surrounded on all sides, without any hope of aid; and ignorant of the Queen's death, accepted terms of peace. O'Rourke still preserved his country and stood out against the English and was joined by Mac William. Con Maguire was set up as The Maguire against his kinsman Maguire, by the royalists, and was called by the Irish the English Maguire. He seduced Maguire's followers and mercenaries, so that the royalists got possession of Fermanagh and Maguire was driven to O'Rourke. MacGeoghegan also held out.
AFTER Aquila's treaty, O'Sullivan sent into Spain, to beg speedy assistance, Dermot O'Driscoll, a man of tried fidelity and prudence, and his eldest son, Daniel as a pledge of and hostage for, his father's fidelity. With these went other noble youths and myself, then a boy, and we were most graciously received by Count Carazena, Governor of Gallicia, a distinguished man of ancient and noble lineage, and very much attached to the Irish people. There I learned grammar and humanities and skill in Latin from Patrick Synott (Patric oig Sinot), one of my own countrymen; Philosophy from Roderic Vendanna, a Spaniard of keenest intellect; and other subjects from other masters.
Meantime, O'Sullivan thought by every plan and device to defend himself against the enemy's attack until assistance would come to him from Spain. To his aid came Daniel MacCarthy, son of the Chief of Clancarthy; Daniel, son
To him fled O'Connor Kerry; Fitzmaurice, Baron of Lixnaw; the Knight of Kerry; the Knight of Glin; and John FitzGerald, brother of the Earl of Desmond, and James Butler, brother of the Baron Cahir, both of whom in the previous war had been dispossessed of their belongings. O'Sullivan having also enlisted William Burke, Richard Tyrrell, and other mercenaries for pay, had, with his allies, about 2,000 picked young men. With these in this winter he possessed himself of Carriganass Castle (Carraig an neasaig), which was the only castle in Bantry held by Owen O'Sullivan, who had always adhered to the Queen's side, reducing it partly by raising a rampart, partly by towers, mantlets, sows and gabions, and partly battering it with brass cannon. He ravaged the countries of O'Donovan who had gone over to the English, and other helpers of the English. He drove the Queen's Munster forces, terror-stricken, into fortified towns and castles.
THE English were much distressed and uneasy at these achievements and determined to direct against O'Sullivan the greatest force they could command.
George Carew, president of the Munsters, summoned the Royalist forces to Cork and called up the Irish auxiliaries. He had with him some Anglo-Irish, the levies of Ormond's county, auxiliaries sent by various persons, and the following Munster magnates without whom he could have done little to hurt O'Sullivan—namely, Donogh O'Brien, formerly chief of Limerick and Earl of Thomond; MacCarthy Reagh, chief of Carbery; Charles MacCarthy, chief of Muskerry; Barry More, Viscount Buttevant; O'Donovan; the White Knight; Owen O'Sullivan, who, although a kinsman of O'Sullivan's, was his bitterest enemy; Dermot, brother of O'Sullivan More; Donogh and Florence, brothers of MacCarthy, and who had deserted O'Sullivan. The whole
The rest were Irish and Anglo-Irish who in the existing desperate circumstances, thought it would be very unsafe and dangerous for them to disown the Queen.
With these forces, Carew, setting out from Cork in the month of March, 1602, unexpectedly arrived in Bantry; threw a garrison of eight companies into Whiddy Island, by means of ships and boats which he had sent round beforehand; and quickly returned again to Cork. In Whiddy the Royalists fortified themselves behind a ditch and trench. O'Sullivan getting together shipping, resolved to attack this garrison. Meantime, the Royalists having remained two months in the island, cut off from assistance by O'Sullivan, and filled with alarm, abandoned the island, and under the guidance of Owen O'Sullivan, took the road to Cork.
O'Sullivan pursued and captured the baggage, but killed only a few, because the fugitives were met near Bantry by Carew and his whole army coming to their rescue. Dermot MacCarthy was ravaging the lands of the English abettors in Carbery, when, as he was driving off the prey, he met his kinsman, MacCarthy Reagh, accompanied by a few men, and having embraced one another in all friendliness they parted. Reagh having assembled a larger band of soldiers again sought out Dermot, and fired on him at a distance. Dermot, a man unsullied by crime, restraining both parties from fighting, and calling on Reagh by name, was shot by a dastardly trooper, leaving to O'Sullivan a sad loss.
CAREW, having increased his forces to over 5,000 men, again resolved to crush all O'Sullivan's resources, and, entering Bantry, encamped in the open plain at Gurteenroe, purposing to penetrate from thence to Bear and attack Dunboy fort and other castles of O'Sullivan's. O'Sullivan, occupying the road, pitched his tents half a mile from the
After the Royalists had entered the fort, Richard, who was still alive, when he heard the voice of the English, recalled his fading spirit, and tried to set fire to the gunpowder, of which, there was no mean store in the fort, and undoubtedly he would have blown up the enemy were it not that before he accomplished his object life failed him. The treaty and compact was kept with English scrupulosity, for men and women were hanged. All are not agreed as to the numbers of the assailants who perished some say 600; some say less, others more.
During the days on which the castle of Dunboy was being attacked, Owen O'Sullivan and John Bostock, an Englishman, sailed over to the Island of Dursey, in which was a monastery, built by Bonaventura, a Spanish Bishop, but dismantled by pirates; a church dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel, and a fort built by my father, Dermot, which was garrisoned by a few of Cornelius O'Driscoll's men. The inhabitants were terrified by the sudden arrival of the enemy; some sought the protection of the altars, some ran to hide, some betook themselves to the fort, which the few armed men surrendered on the enemy's promise of safety, as it had no cannon or fortifications. The English, after their wonted manner, committed a crime far more notable for its cruelty than their honour. Having dismantled the fort and fired the church and houses, they shot down, hacked with swords, or ran through with spears the now disarmed garrison and others, old men, women, and children, whom they had driven into one heap. Some ran their swords up to the hilt through the babe and mother, who was carrying it on her breast, others paraded before their comrades little children, writhing and convulsed, on their spears, and, finally, binding all the survivors, they threw them into the sea over jagged and sharp rocks, showering on them shots and stones. In this way perished about 300 Catholics, the greater part of whom were mercenaries of my father, Dermot.
Having accomplished these feats, the Royalists sailed from Bear and returned to Cork, carrying off Dominick O'Colan Collins, a lay brother of the holy Society of Jesus, who had been sent by the garrison of Dunboy as a messenger to those in the island. He was in vain tempted by the Protestant clergy with cunning arguments, and offers of great rewards, especially ecclesiastical dignities, to desert Christ's religion and profess the Anglican doctrines. Spurning these, he was dragged at the tails of horses, hanged with a halter, and, his breast being cut open with sharp knives, he rendered his soul to God in the year 1602, on the last day of October.
In his youth he had served as a cavalier in campaigns in France under King Henry IV. Converted to a better use of life, he dedicated himself in religion. He was born of citizens of the town of Youghal in Ireland.
DURING the days in which these disasters befell O'Sullivan, Dermot O'Driscoll returned from Spain and brought O'Sullivan from his Catholic Majesty 20,000 gold pieces to pay his soldiers, and letters promising assistance and ammunition. But after the loss of the castle, O'Sullivan sent Cornelius O'Driscoll, son of O'Driscoll More, to Spain to press for speedier succour. Meantime, he himself, no way dispirited, led into Muskerry, towards Cork City, 1,000 men, and reduced into his power two forts, Carrignacurra and Dundareirke, setting up against them gabions and sows. He forced the inhabitants who surrendered to join him in rebellion, and compelled O'Donoghue of the Glens, whom he had captured, to surrender the castle of Macroom and join the confederacy. Whilst he tarried at Macroom, south of the river Lee, Charles Wilmot and Samuel Bagnal, with 2,000 men, crossing this river from the north to the same side as O'Sullivan, halted at Carrigadrohid, not further than one league from the fort. On these days a great storm suddenly arose, and so unusually swollen were the waters that they carried away the bridges, so that it seemed improbable the royalists would venture to recross the river.
O'Sullivan seized this opportunity, and, leaving a garrison at Macroom, swam across the river with his forces and wading the River Laney (?), whose waters came over the men's shoulders, he ravaged Cork country far and wide, and drove off a great booty to Bear. After his return the royalists advanced from Carrigadrohid to Macroom, and besieged the castle. The garrison fired the buildings round the fort lest they should afford a vantage point to the besiegers. The fire spread from these buildings to the fort, so that it could not be in any way saved. From the fort itself, thirty soldiers who garrisoned it, fled (as usually happens in misfortune) from fire to sword, and, bursting through the midst of the serried ranks of the enemy, happily escaped wholly unhurt through the clouds of smoke, their agility, the nearness of the wood, and their own valour.
AT this time Donogh and Florence, brother of MacCarthy, shifted their dislike from O'Sullivan to the English. The sons of Thady MacCarthy likewise went over to him, but these having got some of the Spanish money, again went over to the English, denouncing Charles MacCarthy, Chief of Muskerry, as secretly friendly to and treating with O'Sullivan. Whereupon Charles was imprisoned in Cork and in danger of his life.
Owen MacSweeny, a youth in years, but in courage more than manly, and six other followers, resolved to rescue him, and for their master's sake to peril themselves. Owen, getting into Charles's cell by night, as if on some other business, cut with a file the leg fetters and freed the feet from one another, and enabled him to escape through the window.
Holding out before the gates a lighted lamp, Owen gave his six comrades the signal to approach and catch Charles as he jumped down. But as Charles was long hesitating and afraid to throw himself from so high a window, Owen threw him out and himself escaped safely another way. The six confederates caught Charles unhurt in the air, and before he touched ground in a cloak spread out for the purpose, and stealthily made for the town walls. The fugitive's fetters, striking some stones roused the guards, who pursued with a mob of the neighbours, and now there was uproar throughout the whole city and calls to arms. Lamps and torches flared up in the streets and windows of the houses. Meantime, two of Charles's six men halted, and, with drawn swords, for a short time withstood the attack of the pursuers. Of the other four, two jumping down from the wall, caught Charles, let down by the other two, and the remaining four, leaping from the high walls, and all six carrying Charles over the fords of the river Lee, surrounding the town, escaped partly by swimming and partly by wading. Charles mounting a horse which had been in readiness on the bank of the river, fled to O'Sullivan.
O'Sullivan, learning of this event from general flying rumours, hastened with half of his army to meet the
This and the other two forts of Carrignacurra and Dundareirke, which were in the chieftaincy of Muskerry O'Sullivan handed over to Charles to be garrisoned by him. O'Sullivan himself ravaged the Cork Country to the town's suburbs and, distributing his soldiers in winter quarters amongst the villages and killing the Protestant officers of justice, he returned to Bear laden with booty. At this time, Charles Wilmot held Dunkerron Castle with a garrison of 1,000 men, and three captains, and other English and Anglo-Irish of birth and considerable military rank coming to him from Askeaton were intercepted and annihilated by Daniel, son of O'Sullivan More.
IN the heat of this war word of O'Donnell's death was brought to Ireland, whereupon those who were following O'Sullivan lost hope of Spanish aid and became dispirited. First of all Charles MacCarthy deserted, with the three castles which he had received from O'Sullivan and the rest of the chieftaincy of Muskerry. Daniel MacCarthy the Knight of Kerry, Daniel O'Sullivan, and others sought favour from the English. Tyrrell with his troops, of which he was commander, betook himself to Connaught. By these defections the English were emboldened, and, assembling the Munster magnates, the Anglo-Irish, and all the royalist forces, they got together about 5,000 men of whom scarcely 500 were English. Charles Wilmot an Englishman, was made governor of Bear, and marched this army to Glengariff, where O'Sullivan then was, and pitched his camp at Gortnakilly, and issued a proclamation in which pardon was promised in the Queen's name to all deserting O'Sullivan. O'Sullivan reduced to a few armed men, fought with the enemy continuously for four days, in which time he was being daily more and more deserted by his followers, so that he had left few more than 300, of whom by far the greatest number were Connaught men. And now the Connaught-men with one accord quitted the camp and watches at night, and took themselves off to Connaught. O'Sullivan, O'Connor, Dermot O'Sullivan (my father), William Burke, and other nobles followed them, accompanied by a few men, and with them fled more than 200, whom they could not prevent as they preferred flight to falling unprotected into the hands of the enemy. Thus O'Sullivan was driven out of Glengariff with the loss of scarcely fifteen men, whilst in these four days 300 of the enemy perished by the sword, cold, or sickness. The royalists laid waste all Bear, replete as it was with various riches, and received the surrender of the castles of Ardee and Carriganass. O'Sullivan's wife, Johanna Sweeny, my mother, and other gentlewomen concealed themselves in the gorges and the tops of the mountains.
AT this time the two Donoghs and Florence MacCarthy; Dermot, son of O'Driscoll; Thady, son of O'Mahony, Carbery; Maur, and other gentlemen of the MacSweenys were in Carbery, and against them came towards Cork, Maurice FitzGerald, the White Knight, Taaffe, an Anglo-Irish Captain of a troop of horse, the infantry of Muskerry and Fermoy, and some English, in all about 400. The former were inferior in point of numbers. They encountered at Clodagh wood, with little success on either side. On the first day, Thady, charging the Muskerry infantry, killed 14, and put the rest to flight. On the next day also, MacCarthy's foot, Dermot and the MacSweenys, attacking a crowd of the enemy's infantry, slew about forty of them. At the same time the others of MacCarthy's foot, scattered about, were surrounded by the royalist cavalry, and twenty of them cut off, and the rest routed. The White Knight pressed eagerly on the rear of the fugitives, and, having followed Thady O'Crowley, surnamed Furiosus (?), into ground unsuitable for horse, he dismounted, and, attacking with his sword, was deprived by Furiosus (?) of two fingers of his left hand, his signet ring, ear, and horse. During this confusion, Owen MacEgan, a priest of most spotless and innocent life, who had lately returned from Rome, honoured with the degree of Doctor in Sacred Theology, and appointed by the Pope, Bishop of Ross, was struck down with a sword blow, and mortally wounded by the Royalists, even clad as he was, in his holy vestments, and carrying in his hands his spiritual weapons—the Breviary in one hand, the Rosary in the other. To those friends who murmured and mourned him as slain by the royalists, he said: ‘To me these unhappy people have brought life; for themselves they have earned death.’ When he breathed forth his soul, a bright halo is said to have appeared over his mouth and face. Dermot MacCarthy, surnamed Roe, a priest and son of Conald, was captured and carried off to Cork by the royalists, as, prompted by piety, he went around absolving from their sins in their
After this encounter the MacCarthys and their comrades, as soon as they heard that O'Sullivan was driven off, owned allegiance to the Queen, except Thady O'Mahony, who, being captured by treachery, was put to death. Fitzmaurice, accompanied by a few comrades, fled from the pursuing royalists through Slieve Lougher, and, inflicting loss on the English, with some difficulty obtained pardon and restoration of his barony. And thus the war in Munster was ended.
NOW let us see the fortunes and perils and trials which O'Sullivan suffered in his flight from the hands of the enemy. He had to accomplish a long journey of about 100 leagues; the winter weather was most unsuitable therefore. His soldiers little exceeded 400 in number, of whom thirteen were cavalry, the others infantry, pikemen, musketeers, and a few targets. He had a large crowd of women and sutlers. All the roads were beset with enemies, and a large sum of money was promised to whoever would slay him. Hence it came to pass that he endured almost incredible toils and faced tremendous risks. I will briefly relate these circumstances in their order.
On the 31st December, in the year of our Redeemer's birth, 1602, O'Sullivan set out from Glengariff, and at night pitched his tents twenty-six miles away in Muskerry country, at a place which the natives call Augeris.
On the next day, the 1st of January, 1603, starting off in the early morning, he reached, before midday, the populous village of Ballyvourney, dedicated to Saint Gobnata.
There the soldiers paid such vows as each one list, gave vent to unaccustomed prayers, and made offerings, beseeching the saint for a happy journey. Advancing thence
The inhabitants in the usual way pursued. The Gibbons, mercenaries of the White Knight, natives of Limerick City, and a few English superior in numbers, but very undisciplined, attacked, not in column, but in a mob. However, they charged boldly and fiercely in front, rear, and baggage, which was carried in the middle, attacking all at once. Both sides fought with guns. Such heavy showers of bullets rained on all sides that O'Sullivan could not, as usual, bury his dead or carry off his wounded. Such a cloud of smoke from gunpowder darkened the air
At this time Dermot, second son of O'Sullivan, aged two, was left in charge in unhappy Bear, where he was secretly nursed for two years by some gentleman of rank, and afterwards sent into Spain. From thence, at break of day, they took the route to Slievefelim, where far larger forces sent by Ormond blocked the way. On learning this the Catholics were filled with terror, but as things were come to such a pass that the enemy could force them to fight against their wills, they resolved to attack the enemy first. When the enemy saw this they were stricken with greater fear and quitted the ground.
Hunger pinching them bitterly, Thomas Burke and Daniel O'Malley, by O'Sullivan's order, made a slight detour, with sixty men to look for booty and food.
These were suddenly attacked by the enemy, Daniel and twenty men killed, Thomas captured, and the rest routed, but saved by O'Sullivan coming to the rescue, and immediately he rescued Thomas flying from the enemy after having broken his bonds, his helmet on, but stripped of his sword, pike, and dagger. He halted in the village of Latteragh, and threw his men into a rather small church and its enclosure. There was in this village a fort from which he was annoyed the whole night with firing and by sallies of the garrison. He withstood the attack from the fort and momentarily awaited with drawn sword, prepared muskets and couched pikes a larger crowd of the enemy assembled not far from the camp; the men going on sentry and to sleep in turns.
It was now the 6th of January, when at dawn, a storm of red-hot balls blazed on O'Sullivan as he advanced. This was, indeed, a daily salutation with which the enemy
Throughout the whole day his rear column was continually engaged in fight and some fell on both sides, nor was O'Sullivan's only disadvantage that with a few he had to meet many, but, in addition, he had to oppose, with wearied and wounded, fresh and staid enemies. The fighting was usually with missiles. Whenever O'Sullivan halted the enemy fled, when he advanced they quickly pursued. Night putting an end to the contest, O'Sullivan reached the village of Brosna.
O'SULLIVAN seemed to be landed here in a very tight corner, as he could not cross the broad and navigable river Shannon since the enemy had removed all boats and ships, and warned every ferryman under the severest penalties not to carry him over. Moreover, the soldiers were nerveless from want. Every heart was hereupon filled with giant despair. In this critical state of things, my father, Dermot O'Sullivan, announced that he would in a short time make a ship and put an end to the soldiers' hunger.
On the following day, which was the 7th of January, they, by Dermot's advice, concealed themselves in the thick and secure wood of Brosna, and having cut down trees, arranged them like a ditch and surrounded themselves with a small trench. In two days they built two ships of osiers and trees, covered with the skins of twelve horses, which they killed, and on whose flesh they all fed except O'Sullivan, Dermot, and Dermot O'Houlaghan. The ship planned by Dermot was made in this way: —
Two rows of osiers were planted opposite each other, the thickest end being stuck in the ground, and the other ends bent in to meet each other's vis-a-vis, to which they were fastened with cords, and so formed the frame of the ship turned upside down. To this frame the solid planks were fixed, and seats and cross beams were fitted inside. Outside it was covered with the skins of eleven horses, and oars and dowels were fitted on. The keel was flat, both on account of the material used and in order
At daybreak, after the soldiers had been got over, Donogh MacEgan, who held the adjoining port of Kiltaroe, surrounded the baggage with an armed band and began to destroy the packs, to sprinkle the earth with the blood of the sutlers and drive the terror-stricken women into the river. Thomas Burke, with about twenty pikes and as many marksmen, had been placed on guard and in ambush by O'Sullivan to protect the others until they were brought over the river, and now rousing his men, he unexpectedly attacked Donogh, whom, with fifteen of his comrades, he slew, and routed the rest, nearly all wounded. The natives, attracted by the report of the guns, flocked down to both banks of the river. Hereupon Thomas, with his guards, women, and sutlers in a great panic, tumultuously pouring into, sank the ship, but so near the shore that no one perished, and the ship being again floated carried over the guards. Some of the sutlers swam across the river; others, not being able to get over on account of the natives coming up, dispersed in different directions and hid themselves. O'Sullivan ordered the ship to be broken up lest it should prove useful to the enemy.
AS O'Sullivan advanced from the banks of the river he was not given one single moment's rest from the attacks
‘Since on this day our desperate circumstances and unhappy fate have left us neither wealth, nor country, nor children, nor wives to fight for, but, as on this instant the struggle with our enemies is for the life that alone remains to us, which of you, I ask in God's eternal name, will not rather fall fighting gloriously in battle and avenging your blood, than like cattle, which have no sense of honour, perish unavenged in cowardly flight? Surely our ancestors, heroes famed for their high spirits, would never seek by a shameful flight to shun an honourable death even when they could fly. For us it will be proper to follow in their footsteps, especially as flight offers no salvation. See the plain stretching far and wide without hindrance of bog, without thick woods, without any hiding-places to which we could fly for concealment. The neighbouring people are no protection for us. There is none to come to our aid. The enemy block the roads and passes, and
O'Sullivan had scarcely concluded this speech when the royalist cavalry were down full tilt upon him, endeavouring to run the foot through with their spears, to trample them under the horses' hoofs, and throw their ranks into confusion. O'Sullivan, avoiding the shock of the enemy's cavalry, marched his column through an adjacent swampy and boggy ground to a thin low copsewood not far off. The royalist cavalry dismounted and joined their pikemen, and both, running through the bog, tried to get before O'Sullivan, and seize the copse, whilst his column was not fully arranged and his ranks were open. The royalist musketeers sharply pressed O'Sullivan's rear. O'Sullivan sent William Burke with forty gunmen against these musketeers, but he was driven back to O'Sullivan by the enemy's numbers with the loss of fourteen marksmen. At this instant O'Sullivan suddenly turned round his division on the enemy's column, which was within a dart's throw, and was followed by the chieftains and the brave though abandoned by cowards and dastards. This sudden and unexpected volte face struck terror in to the royalists, and when ordered to fall into line some fled to the rear ranks and, one following another, they wheeled round in a circle. Some fled.
The chief and bravest, however, held their ground against O'Sullivan. Shortly before he came within a spear's length of them, twenty marksmen, whom O'Sullivan had posted flanking his front ranks, shot down eleven royalists. Forthwith, the advance lines of both parties fell to with drawn swords and couched spears. First of all, Captain Maurice O'Sullivan closed with Richard Burke, but before he had got firm ground he was struck on the
O'Connor, a peer of the bravest in the fight, shouted victory! The conquerors hung on the rear of the enemy. And now those who had not dared to charge with O'Sullivan against the opposing foe, were quick enough to fall on the routed enemy, arrogating to themselves with great blusterings the glory of the victory obtained by others, and anxious by a show of spirit to wipe out the abject disgrace of their ill-timed cowardice.
However, the routed were not pursued far. O'Sullivan ordered a recall to be sounded, having seen John Bostock with some companies coming to the rescue of the fugitives, and who, with the others, betook himself to Aughrim fort. Whilst this was taking place, Malby's musketeers and a crowd of those who, following the Catholics' division, had been annoying them all day with throwing javelins, were engaged in plundering O'Sullivan's baggage, and when the royalist column was routed they also sought safety in flight.
In the battle about 100 royalists fell, the flower of their forces, their general. Malby, Richard Burke, three standard bearers, as many adjutants, more sergeants, and the rest were Irish, Anglo-Irish, and English gentlemen. The conquerors lost the fourteen whom I have mentioned. O'Sullivan, collecting the enemy's arms and colours, fled that evening and following night through a host of surrounding enemies through O'Kelly's country with such haste that he left some soldiers worn out on the road, and overcome with sleep.
AT dawn of the following day O'Sullivan crossed Slieve Murry, and, as he came near the villages, beat the drums and displayed the standards captured from the English at Aughrim, pretending that his men were Royalists and English, so that the food might not be hidden by the inhabitants. However, this device did not avail him, for the flocks and herds were removed, food and drink hidden, or carried into the fort, and MacDavid, the lord of the village, assembling a large, though for the most part unarmed, crowd of men, attacked him from a distance with missiles, and followed annoying, throughout the whole day, and cutting him off from food. At nightfall O'Sullivan concealed himself in the thick woods of Slieve O'Flynn. There, having lit fires, the soldiers, exhausted by the continuous watchings of the previous night and their great toils, had scarcely begun to yield their wearied limbs to rest when a man came to them to announce that the natives had decided and arranged to surround and destroy them at daybreak. Thereupon they kindled larger fires, as if all were encamped there, and quickly moved off, enduring with patience tremendous sufferings of an unseasonable march and time. The rain so poured on them that they were scarcely able to bear the weight of their soaked clothes. Quite tired out, they sank into deep snow as if into pits, and, when lifting one another out, were rather dragged down by their comrades than the latter pulled out. Nor was darkness the least of their trials, for, if any stars did shine, the boughs of the trees, interwoven with one another, formed an unbroken screen and shut out their light, so that they wandered about as if blind, following only the sound of familiar voices. And, moreover, the winds rustling the branches made a louder noise than mere whistling, and made hearing difficult. However, through the skill of their guides, they got through the wood, having covered four miles. When at daybreak the natives, under MacDavid, surrounded the quarters deserted by O'Sullivan, and found nothing but fires, they followed the track of the fugitive, and having come up with him about nine o'clock, attacked with missiles until he reached the top of a high hill. There some of O'Sullivan's men, whose
WHEN day broke, the natives, coming to investigate the strange fire in such a wilderness, spent a long time talking with O'Sullivan, and then brought him a present of food, reporting to Oliver Lambert, President of Connaught, that the fire had been lit by labourers. Here some of the Catholics grew foot-sore from the hard weather and long march. O'Connor suffered intensely. On account of this, O'Sullivan tarried in the wood the following day till night. A night march was necessary for all, but O'Connor was so bad that he could not mount his horse. The highways and horsepaths were here and there blocked by enemies,
‘I know that you are Catholics tried by various misfortunes, fleeing from the tyranny of heretics, that at Aughrim hill you routed the royalist forces, and are going to O'Rourke, who is 15 miles off, but you want a guide. Therefore a desire has seized me to conduct you thither.’
O'Sullivan long pondered whether he could confide in this man, and ordered 200 gold pieces to be given to him. These he took. ‘This gift,’ said he, ‘I accept not as a reward, but in token of my good will towards you, as I have resolved of my own good will to do you this service.’ The darkness of night, the unknown country, the suspected guide, multiplied the fears of those groping along. The feet slipping over loose stones, the snow heaped up by the wind, exhaustion, swollen feet, all tried the unhappy fugitives. O'Connor suffered more than anyone, the causes of his pain increasing. The greater part of his feet and legs was inflamed. Lividness supervened, and in turn gave place to blisters, and these were succeeded by ulcers. He was terribly afflicted and only able to bear up because he suffered for Christ Jesus. In the dead of night they reached the little village called Knockvicar, where they refreshed themselves with fire and purchased food. When they decided to move on, O'Connor, whose ulcers had been crustated by the fire, was not able to stand, much less walk. Four of his comrades carried him on their shoulders until
AFTER O'Sullivan had stayed some days with O'Rourke and refreshed the few soldiers, survivors of his flight, he and Maguire, accompanied by Richard Tyrrell and 300 armed men and several sutlers and unarmed people, undertaking a difficult journey, set off to treat with O'Neill as to renewing the war. Now O'Neill was more than 100 miles off; three rivers, flowing into the famous Lough Erne, and which, it now being winter, could not be forded, had to be crossed. Besides, other places of the intervening country, the whole lough and its islands and Maguire's country round it, was held by a royalist garrison under Cornelius Maguire, surnamed Roe, Maguire's kinsman, who adhered to the English and had been by his own faction elected The Maguire, but by others was called the English Maguire. He had brought over to the Queen's side many Irish, especially mercenaries and followers of Maguire's people, although at the same time he shrank as much as the others from the false religion of the English. O'Sullivan and Maguire
O'Sullivan and Maguire encamped that night six miles beyond the ford. When on the next day they learned that the enemy were away in ambush at the ford, they attacked and captured their camp, which was six miles further away. They stayed there that day and night, hung fifty of the defenders, and got together a great prey of flocks and herds. On the next day Maguire, thinking it a good opportunity whilst the enemy were at the ford 12 miles off, went out of the camp with 200 light armed soldiers to raid the friends and abettors of the English. O'Sullivan, who was left only 100 armed men, fearing lest in Maguire's absence he should be overborne by the rush of a numerous enemy, whose arrival he dreaded, dismantled the camp, burnt the tents, and he took himself with the spoils to the dense wood of Alfarcan. In a very short time the enemy having heard of the storming of the camp and capture of the prey, returned in their ships and disembarked not far off. When they came in sight of O'Sullivan they arranged their column with intent to take vengeance. O'Sullivan placed his armed men in front, the sutlers at the rear, the boys and women, holding long staves for spears, he placed as if in reserve, so as to frighten the enemy by a show of numbers.
The royalists, wondering how confident of success O'Sullivan appeared, and considering his numbers, which rumour magnified, and being ignorant that Maguire with 200 men was absent, spent a great time in doubt as to whether they ought to give battle. Meantime, towards evening, Maguire returned safe with an immense booty. The royalists, cursing their lot that, deceived by O'Sullivan's device, they had let victory escape their hands, retreated to their ships, seeing the camp destroyed and booty lost, and resolved merely to preserve the garrisons which they had in the islands on the lough, until larger forces were sent to their assistance. There was on the route to the ships a deserted old fortress built of small stones, and surrounded by a trench and lofty trees planted on the sides. It was called O'Neill's Fort by the natives because he used to inaugurate Maguire there. The royalists were seen by the Catholic scouts to enter this fort at night, as they could not reach the ships before dark. Thence on the following
Panic-stricken by this sudden and unexpected attack, some jumped into the boats in such haste and confusion that some were sunk; others loaded the nearest ships with such a crowd that they went down with them; others, throwing themselves into the lough, were drawn down by the weight of their armour; others were killed by the Irish. There was one ship a little larger than the rest, which, when filled inside with fugitives, was also surrounded outside with frightened people hanging from the thowels and trying to climb into the ship, and this, being kept where it was by the rope tied to the bank, was deluged with a shower of bullets. However, the rope being cut, it got off, and most of those hanging on were either pierced with javelins or drowned in the lough. The English Maguire, with his two sons and three men, fled for safety in a small boat. O'Melachlin and 40 men perished by sword and water. The Catholics thence sailed to the islands in the lough, took seven garrisons, hanged the defenders, and having put to flight the English Maguire and Esmond, Maguire was restored almost completely.
O'SULLIVAN and Maguire forthwith passed the English garrison, and after a three days' march reached Glenconkeine. There they found that O'Neill was gone for Dublin, having accepted terms of peace as already shown. Maguire accordingly returned home and was received into English favour, like other Ulstermen, on the terms granted to O'Neill. O'Sullivan returned to O'Rourke. O'Connor Kerry, going for Scotland with a single comrade, was most honourably received by King James, and being invited into England, was reinstated in his country. Tyrrell, William Burke, and others went over to the English, stipulating for pardon and reward. In Leinster, Raymond O'Moore, reduced to poverty and deserted by his own, sought safety in making his peace.
MEANTIME, the Munster rising being quelled after O'Sullivan's expulsion, the English assembled an army against O'Rourke out of those troops which had been enlisted against O'Sullivan and of the survivors of the Aughrim slaughter, and got together 3000 Irish and Anglo-Irish under command of Oliver Lambert, Governor of Connaught. In the month of March, 1603, Lambert marched his forces to the south side of the Shannon, not far from Leitrim Castle. Here he was for twelve days foiled in his attempts to cross a ford by O'Rourke, who had assembled a small band of soldiers. On the thirteenth night John Bostock secretly brought over in boats and pontoons seven companies to Gleann-na-mochart, and quickly fortified himself in its chapel with a ditch and rampart. From this post Bostock could easily raid and waste O'Rourke's country, and when he had perceived this on the sixth day after his arrival, he sallied out with 300 men and drove off a prey. O'Rourke came up with him and endeavoured to rescue the booty. A battle ensued and the English were defeated. Some, including Bostock, their captain, were slain; some returned terror-stricken to their entrenchments, bearing tidings of the loss of their captain and spoils. The victors lost only two. Hereupon the English began to regret having crossed so large a river and undoubtedly would have been more sorry had not Fortune, never weary of injuring the Irish, at this time absolutely raged against them. For Thady, brother of O'Rourke by a different mother, and who now adhered to the English party because he was disputing with O'Rourke about his inheritance and patrimony, attacked him on the other side and detaching many followers and mercenaries from his brother, occupied the greater part of the country of Breifny. O'Rourke himself caught a bad fever and died, deserted by those to whom he had entrusted his government, and who made peace. O'Sullivan, with some difficulty, procured a safe conduct for a few days. In this state of things Philip III., King of Spain, sent Martin Cerdo with two ship-loads of powder and other ammunition and 30,000 pieces of gold
AFTER the pacification of Ireland, the death of Elizabeth, Queen of England, who a few days previously had passed away in delirium and great pain, became known. Immediately on receipt of this news, Waterford, Cork and Limerick, cities of Munster, and also intervening towns, not knowing what Prince to obey, took counsel together and hastened to publicly celebrate Mass and carry out the ancient ecclesiastical rites. If they had done this before, when the Irish chiefs and entire Catholic party were flourishing, the English would have been driven out of the whole realm. Now, however, there were none to help or defend them and by themselves they did not seem capable of withstanding the power of the heretics, and this, indeed, turned out to be the case. The English Privy Council with the utmost despatch called James Stuart, King of Scotland, to be their king also. This assuredly, on account of the ancient enmity between the English and Scotch they would never have done, had they not known that England, the home of error, would be maintained in its madness, and had they not been aware that if the Irish, who could never he detached from the Catholic faith nor be brought over to English views, and the Scots, who seemed to claim the sceptre of England as their King's hereditary right, were joined in attacking England, it would go hard with the English between two such warlike races, which in ancient times had conquered and made England subject to them. James having got the sceptre, Charles Blount with the royalist army arrived at Waterford from Dublin. John White, a priest and Doctor of Theology came into his camp
AT this time O'Neill, Roderick, O'Sullivan, Garve, and other Irish chiefs betook themselves into England to congratulate the new king and treat of their own affairs. O'Sullivan could not by any means get pardon or restitution of his country. By the Catholic King, however, to whom he fled, he was granted 300 gold pieces a month and made a Count, and decorated with the Cross of the Equestrian Order of St. James, which was also bestowed on his sons Daniel, who shortly after died from an accidental wound in the head, and Dermot. My father, Dermot, was allowed fifty gold pieces a month, and many others received other grants.
O'Neill was allowed by King James to retain his possessions and directed to be satisfied with the title of Earl of Tyrone. Roderick was left O'Donnell's country, and given the title of Earl of Tirconnell. Garve was awarded
THUS the war was finished. Ireland was almost entirely laid waste and destroyed, and terrible want and famine oppressed all, so that many were forced to eat dogs and whelps: many not having even these, died. And not only men but even beasts were hungry. The wolves, coming out of the woods and mountains, attacked and tore to pieces, men weak from want. The dogs rooted from the graves rotten carcases partly decomposed. And so there was nought but abundance of misery and a faithful picture of ruined Troy as given by Virgil, Book II., Aeneid: —
- That night of slaughter and of gloom
What pen can paint or tears atone?
An ancient city meets its doom:
Its rule of ages is undone.
The streets are strewn with silent dead,
E'en homes, aye God's abodes, are graves.
Not only Trojan's blood is shed;
The foeman's gore the streets belaves,
And Trojan valour smites the Greeks.
Around the cruel anguish spreads,
And all with death and terror reeks.
As a result of this almost total destruction of Ireland, many Irishmen scattered themselves amongst foreign nations. A great number passed into France, and a far larger number into Spain. The Exiles were kindly and generously received by Catholics on account of their faith. So great
IN his Lectures on the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish, Professor O'Curry deals exhaustively with our ancient military organisation and weapons. Mr. Joseph C. Walker, M.R.I.A., etc., in Historical Essay on the dress of the Ancient and Modern Irish, to which is subjoined a Memoir on the Armour and weapons or the Irish, Dublin 1788, has developed the same subject as appearing in later times.
Scattered through many of the old English writers' works on Ireland will be found descriptions of the national mode of warfare, but I transcribe the following as being at once the most complete and succinct of the descriptions of the period of our narrative.
Dymmok's treatise was written in 1600, and applies to the campaign of 1599. It is printed in Tracts relating to Ireland, published by the Ir. Arch. Society., vol. ii., Dub., 1843. He says (pp. 7-8):
Theire forces consist of thre sortes, Horsemen, Gallowglass and Kerne.
The horsemen are armed with headpecces, shirtes of mayle or jackes, a sworde, a skayne, and a speare. They ryde vyon paddes or pillowes without styrvps, and in this differ from ours: that in joyninge with the enemy, they beare not their staves or launces vnder arme, and so put it to the reste, but taking yt by the midle, beare yt aboue arme, and soe encounter.
Every Horseman hath two or thre horses, and to euery horse a knave: his horse of service is allwaies led spare, and his knave, which caryeth his harness and speare, rydeth upon the other, or els upon a hackeney.
The Gallowglass ar pycked and scelected men of great and mightie bodies, crewell without compassion. The greatest force of the battell consisteth in them, chosing rather to dye than to yeelde, so that when yt cometh to handy blowes they are quickly slayne or win the fielde. They are armed with a shert of maile, a skull, and a skeine: the weapon they most vse is a batle axe, or halbert, six
foote longe, the blade whereof is somewhat like a shomaker's knyfe, and without pyke; the stroake whereof is deadly where yt lighteth. And beinge thus armed, reckoninge to him a man for his harnesse bearer, and a boye to carry his provision, he is named a spare of his weapon so called, 80 of which spares make a battell of Gallowglass.The kerne is a kinde of footeman, sleightly armed with a sworde, a targett of woode, or a bow and a sheafe of arrows with barbed heades, or els 3 dartes, which they cast with a wonderfull facility and nearnes, a weapon more noysom to the enemy, especially horsemen, then yt is deadly; within theise few years they have practized the muskett and callyver, and are growne good and ready shott. Some will have the Dalonyes or horseboys to be a fourth sorte for that they take them into the fight; they are the very skumme and outcaste of the countrye, and not less serviceable in the campe for meatinge and dressinge of horses, then hurtfull to the enemy with their dartes.
Appended to Dymmok's Treatice, is an interesting old State paper of 17th November, 1568, on the wages and entreteynment of every sparre of her Majesties Gallowglasses oughte to be. Here every sparre or speare (Hastatus in O'Sullivan) is reckoned two men. The number of men in a battalion or 'battell' varied. This old paper gives the numbers and pay of the Gallowglasses cessed on the different 'countries.'
The skeine was, according to Walker, a dagger (p. 119); sgian is now a common word for a knife.
The poet Spenser gives a short description of Irish arms, in his View of the State of Ireland (Thom's Tracts, I., 479-80), and O'Clery, one of the Four Masters, in his life of Hugh Roe O'Donnell, incidentally gives us an insight into the weapons, etc., then in use. (See Father Murphy's translation, pp. 65, 73, 99, 101, 143, 153, 211-7). See also Pacata Hibernia, pp. 150, 237, 345.
The Irish often flung their skeines ( Pac. Hib., 45), and had thongs attached to their javelins, whereby they might recover them after casting ( Miscel. Celtic Soc. 303). Don Juan remarked that the Irish horses were small ( Pac. Hib., 345), but Derrick, writing in 1578, praises the ‘gallant stouryng steede’ (p. 39).
The following passage relating to an Irish army in 1598, taken from the Life of O'Donnell, (pp. 167-9), may, I think, be added to Dymmok's account: —
‘The weapons and dress of these were different, for the Irish did not wear armour like them (i.e., the English),
And here is a description of a battle in 1599; ‘When they came near each other the Irish discharged against them terrible showers of beautiful ash-handled javelins and swarms of sharp-pointed, whizzing arrows from their long, elastic bows, and volleys of blood-red spherical balls and leaden bullets from their straight-shooting, sharp-sighted guns. They were responded to by the English soldiers in the same way exactly with sharp-wounding leaden balls from their iron-lock guns, and their far-sounding muskets,’ etc., etc. ( Life of O'Donnell, p. 217).
The Kernes have not been without their Fenimore Cooper, and Mr. Small has, in recent years (1883), republished A Discouerie of Woodkarne by John Derricke, 1581, with all the original plates and quaint versified legends.
The first plate shows a horseman, his knave, boy and steed;
- Wherein is bravely paynted forth, a nat'rall Irish grace,
Whose like in eu'ry poynt to vewe hath seldome stept in place.
Amongst the military engines used in attacking fortified places, one of the most usual at this period was that known as the sow. The following quaint description of a 'sow' is taken from Maurice Cuffe's account of his gallant defence of Ballyally Castle in 1641, published by Crofton Croker in Narratives Illustrative of the Contests in Ireland in 1641 and 1690, amongst Camden Society's publications (Lon. 1841, p. 17). It reads refreshingly like Caesar's description of Testudo:— ‘The great sow was 35 foote long and 9 foote broade; it was made upon 4 wheeles mad of whole timbar, bound aboutt with hoopes of iron, there axell trees where one she was run was great round bars of iron, the beames she was bult upon being of timbar. Thaie had cros beames
Mr. Croker thought it necessary to gild this gem with a note (p. 114.) The engine called a sow was at this time well known in Munster and in constant use. ( Pacata Hib., Dub., 1820, p. 124).
For illustrations and descriptions of Gabions, see Lieut. General Sir Charles W. Pasley's Rules for Operations of a Siege 3 Ed. London, 1857. See also Pacata Hibernia, pp. 116, 563, etc., and plan of Glin Castle, where several gabions (wicker-work pillars) are representing flanking cannon.
Fynes Moryson, the secretary of Lord Mountjoy, and who has written an exhaustive account of his master's Irish campaigne, says of the Irish soldiers:—‘The Irish kerne were at the first rude soldiers, so as two or three of them were imployed to discharge one Pieece, and hitherto they have subsisted especially by trecherous tenders of submission, but now they were growne ready in managing their Peeces, and bold to skirmish in bogges and wooddy passages, yea, this yeere and the next following, became so disasterous to the English, and successful in action to the Irish, as they shaked the English Government in this Kingdome, till it tottered, and wanted little of fatall ruine.’ (I. i., 24.)
Writing to the Queen on the 25th June, 1599, Mountjoy himself says:—‘These Rebels are more in number than your Majesties Army, and have (though I doe unwillingly confess it) better bodies, and perfecter use of their Armes, then those men which your Majestie sends over.’ (I. i., 36.)
On the 5th June, 1602, Lord Mountjoy wrote to the English privy Council:—‘At my first arrival, I found the rebels more in number than at any time they had bin since the conquest, and those so farre from being naked people, as before times, that they were generally better armed then we, knew better the use of their weapons then our men, and even exceeded us in that discipline, which was fittest for the advantage of the naturall strength of the country, for that they being very many, and expert shot, and excelling in footmanship all other nations. In regard whereof I presumed that man's wit could hardly find out any other course to overcome them, but by famine.’ (Id. III., i., 2 11.) Mountjoy also speaks of their ‘good art and admirable industry,’ in raising fortifications. (Id. III, i., 213.)
Spencer had advised that famine was the only way to reduce the Irish, and Mountjoy adopted this as his policy. He cut down all the corn and burnt and devastated the country, a terribly graphic account of which and of its awful results is given by Fynes Moryson from what he himself saw, and the reports of the captaines.
On the 11th September, 1602, Mountjoy reported to the English Privy Council, ‘wee found everie where men dead of famine, in so much that O'Hagan protested unto us, that betweene Tullogh Oge and Toome there lay unburied a thousand dead, and that since our first drawinge this yeere to Blackwater, there were above three thousand starved in Tyrone.’ III, i., 237-8. See also Fynes Moryson's account, III, i., 271. 258 et alibi.