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Chapters towards a History of Ireland in the reign of Elizabeth (Author: Philip O'Sullivan Beare)

Chapter 1

On the Wreck of the Spanish Fleet; Alfonsus Leiva; O'Rourke; MacSweeny Tueth and others.

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

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as it was by the storm, into an Ulster port in the country of MacSweeny Tueth. Three hundred other Spaniards, whose ship had been wrecked off Sligo, a part of Connaught, sought the protection of Brian O'Rourke, surnamed More, chief of Breffny, who was not far off. As soon as Elizabeth, Queen of England, and her Viceroy, John Perrott, had learned this, they required O'Rourke and MacSweeny Tueth to suffer the royalist ministers to try the Spaniards. To this requisition O'Rourke and Tueth replied that the Catholic religion, which they professed, would not allow them to hand over Catholics to death, and moreover that it would be incompatible with their honour to betray those who had fled to their protection. And hereupon O'Rourke provided a guide and provisions for the three hundred who had come to him and sent them to Tueth, with whom Leiva was staying while his ship was being repaired. Others also, who had been shipwrecked in different places in Ireland, flying from the English, flocked to him, the Irish supplying them with guides and provisions. Already there were with Tueth nearly 1,000 Spaniards under command of Leiva. Tueth, elated by the number of Spaniards, and relying on their valour, urged Leiva to declare war against the English in Ireland; that he would arm his mercenaries; that O'Rourke would do the same; that all the Irish would join in defence of the liberty of the Catholic faith; that the Queen had neither means nor sufficient forces nor fortified places; that having first gained Ireland, England might then be easily conquered. Leiva replied that this would not be at all right for him, as he had not received orders to that effect from his own king, but that when he got to Spain he would urge the king to send a stronger army to assert the freedom of Ireland. And so, being supplied with provisions by Tueth, he embarked all his soldiers in his ship, now repaired. But scarcely had he set sail, when in the sight of the mourning Tueth, the ship, burthened with the multitude of men, went to pieces and sank with all hands.

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

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Clanrickarde, accompanied him. O'Rourke had some time previously hired Murrough MacSweeny, surnamed Na-mart, with his band of two hundred Munstermen; and had, shortly before, armed many mercenaries, and he had no more forces when, in the village of Drumahaire, he was surrounded by the enemy's cavalry and gunmen to whose assistance a division of pikemen were coming up. Murrough, when it seemed as if he must not only suffer defeat, but even perish unavenged, if he gave battle with such scanty forces to so numerous an enemy, arranged his ranks and evacuated the village, he, himself, bringing up the rear, encouraging his men and sustaining the enemy's attack, in which he received a wound from a leaden bullet, which passing from the end of his nose across his cheek, put out his left eye. He suffered so much from this wound that he was unable to discharge his functions, and a panic seizing the rest, they seemed on the point of breaking their ranks, when my uncle Roderic MacSweeny—a young man—quickly assumed the command and taking up the colours and arms from his kinsman Murrough rallied the panic stricken and brought off the rear ranks.

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.

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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.