Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
Chapters towards a History of Ireland in the reign of Elizabeth (Author: Philip O'Sullivan Beare)
Chapter 9
Disturbance in Leinster renewed. Sundry matters detailed.
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,
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especially Butlers, betook himself with a few armed men into a small fort which in anticipation of sudden emergencies he had surrounded with a trench and ditch. This the enemy attacked. He endeavoured to repulse them. The enemy in great numbers pressing in on all sides, Reagh's brother Gerald was killed by a leaden bullet, fighting bravely. Most of the others were wounded. Reagh, when he could no longer hold the fort and was short of provisions, broke through the midst of the enemy's serried ranks and escaped with a few men. Not long after when at dusk he had distributed his soldiers in the village, he himself with two comrades entered a house some distance from the others and stumbled on 16 of the enemy's soldiers. Swords were drawn on both sides; five of the royalists were severely wounded; one of Reagh's two comrades was killed and he himself was thrown down with his thigh almost broken by a blow of a mallet. His second comrade, one George O'More, lifting his fallen leader from the ground and putting him on his back endeavoured to rescue him from the enemy's hands by flying to his comrades who were staying in the nearest hamlet. When his pursuers gained on him he let Reagh down and fought with four or five until his comrades came to the rescue. Reagh was concealed by these, but while under treatment was betrayed by his guardian who had been captured by the English, and was afraid of his own head. Being brought to Dublin he was impaled on a long sharp iron spike and so perished. After Fiach heard of Reagh's death he successfully attacked the royal troops four times. After these victories, fortune, seldom long favourable to the Catholics, turned the die. It was pretended that Turlough, at once the first in birth and valour of Fiach's three sons, had arranged to betray his father to the English. Fiach believed this the more readily, because Rosa O'Toole, his wife and Turlough's step mother, who was imprisoned in Dublin by the English, sent him the warning, whether merely fearful of her husband's life or deceived by the craft and treachery of the English, is uncertain. Turlough therefore was seized. ‘Because,’ said Fiach, ‘Paternal love will not allow me to inflict fitting punishment on your perfidy, I will give you up to those to whom you would have betrayed me, that as you have experienced paternal affection, so you may test the humanity of the enemy.’ Turlough was sent in chains to Dublin and not only expiated his imaginary crime but shed a lustre on his entire house by his noble death, for though often pressed by the English and offered bribes to subscribe to the
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royalist sect, he preferred to die a cruel death professing the Catholic creed of Christ, than to live denying it. He was a sad loss, especially to his father, who shortly after was betrayed by one in whom he had complete confidence and who guided the enemy to where they surprised him with a few retainers, and beheaded him. However Felim and Raymond, his sons, did not, on this account, fail to carry on the war their father had started.