the Observation of the English Laws in Ireland which I have already recited in the Reign of King John Hubert de Burgo or Burgh Chief Justice of England and Earl of Kent Splem Gloss 340. was made Earl of Connaught and Lord Justice of Ireland during Life and because he could not personally attend he deputed Richard de Burgo Lord Justice or Deputy to whom the King sent the following Writ March 10. 1227. for establishing the English Laws in Ireland REX dilecto sideli suo Ricardo de Burgo Justiciario suo Hiberniae Prin. 252. salutem Mandamus vobis firmiter praecipientes quatenus certo die loco faciatis venire coram vobis Archiepiscopos Episcopos Abbates Priores Comites Barones Milites libere tenentes Balivos singulorum Comitatuum coram eis publice legi faciatis Cartam Domini J. Regis Patris nostri cui Sigillum suum appensum est quam fieri fecit jurari à Magnatibus Hiberniae de Legibus Consuetudinibus Anglorum observandis in Hibernia praecipiatis eis ex parte nostra quod Leges illas ad Consuetudines in Carta praedict ' contentas de cetero firmiter teneant observent Et hoc idem per singulos Comitatus Hiberniae clamari faciatis teneri prohibentes firmiter ex parte nostra Forisfacturam nostram ne quis contra hoc Mandatum nostrum venire praesumat ' Eo excepto quod nec de Morte nec de Catallis Hibernensium occisorum nihil statuatur ex parte nostra citra quindecem dies à die Sancti Michaelis anno regni nostri duodecimo super quo respectum dedimus Magnatibus nostris Hibern ' usque ad terminum praedict Teste meipso apud Westmonast oct die Maii anno regni nostri duodecimo And at the same Time he received two Writs about the Debts due from the King to the late Lord Justice Archbishop Londres Burlace 20 21. and a third Writ to pay him an hundred Pound per annum out of the Rent of the City of Limerick and fifty Pound per ann out of the Rent of Dublin But this Justice did not continue long in the Government for his Patron Hubert de Burgh falling into the King's Displeasure both the one and the other were remov'd And Maurice Fitz-Gerald was made Lord Justice 1229. In whose Time viz. 14 Hen. 3. happened the great Case of Coparceners to decide which the King sent over by way of Writ what in the printed Statues is called Statutum Hiberniae And tho' the Lord Justice is there named Girald yet it is by Mistake for Girald Fitz-Maurice who was the Lord Justice's Father died anno 1205. And there is another Mistake in that Statute for it is said to be made 24 Regis whereas the Year 1229. could be but the fourteenth Year of his Reign Now came over Stephen the Pope's Chaplain to demand the Tenths of all Moveables to support the Holy See against the Efforts of Frederick the Emperour Hanmer 191. It was so hard a Tax in Ireland that they were fain to part with not only their Cadows and Aquavitae but also with their Chalices and Altar-Cloaths Not long after died William Earl Marshal Prince or Lord of Leinster 1231. who anno 1223 gave a new Charter to his Town of Kilkenny he was buried in the Choire of the Friers Preachers at Kilkenny and was succeeded in his Estates and Titles by his Brother Richard On the second Day of September 1232. the Lord Justice returned out of England but when he went thither or who was Deputy in his Absence non constat On the seventh of April 1233 Holingshead 27. say some but I think 1234 the English and the O Connors c. had a Battle on the Curragh of Kildare 1234. wherein Richard Earl Marshal Prince of Leinster had very foul Play from those of his own Side so that he was there mortally wounded and died in five Days after To atone for this the Lord Justice who went into England to satisfie the King in that Matter offered to build a Monastery and endow it liberally to pray for the Soul of Earl Richard Hanmer 195. And so at length by the intercession of the King and the importunate Entreaties of the Nobility Gilbert Earl Marshal and the Lord Justice were reconciled 1235. It seems the Alarm was very great on Earl Richard's Death for the King to Comfort and Quiet the Citizens of Dublin assured them by his Writ That he summon'd the Great Men of England Pryn 253. to consult about the Safety of England and Ireland and that their Determinations should be speedily communicated to them at Dublin From whence Mr. Pryn observes That the Laws and Ordinances of the King and Parliament of England did bind Ireland in those Days But it seems that about this Time the Spiritual Courts did encroach too much on the Temporal Jurisdiction 1233. and therefore the King sent over the following Writ REX Co. Lit. 141. Comitibus Baronibus Militibus liberis Hominibus omnibus aliis de Terra Hibern ' salutem Quia manifeste esse dignoscitur contra Coronam Dignitatem nostram Consuetudines Leges Regni nostri Angl ' quas bonae memoriae Dominis Johannes Rex Pater noster de communi omnium de Hibern ' consensu teneri statuit in Terra illa quod placita teneantur in curia Christianitatis de advocationibus Ecclesiarum Capellarum vel de laico feodo vel de catallis quae non sunt de Testamento vel Matrimonio vobis mandamus prohibentes quatenus hujusmodi placita in curia Christianitatis nullatenus sequi presumatis in manifestum Dignitatis Coronae nostrae prejudicium scituri pro certo quod si feceritis dedimus in Mandatis Justiciario nostro Hiberniae statutae curiae nostra in Anglia contra transgressiones hujus Mandati nostri cum justicia procedat quod nostrum est exsequatur Teste Rege 28 Octobr. Decimo oct Regni nostri c. mandatum est Justiciario Hibern per literas clausas quod predictas Literas Patentes publice legi teneri faciat In the Year 1234 died Walter Lacy Lord of Meath without Issue Male so that his great Estate was divided between his two Daughters viz. Margaret married to the Lord Theobald Verdon and Matilda married to Geofry Geneville Whilst the Lord Justice was in England the King of Connaught exhibited a grievous Complaint against John de Burgo That he had entred his Country with Forces Hanmer 195. and wasted the same with Fire and Sword humbly beseeching his Majesty to do him Justice and to bridle such rash Attempts Alledging That he was a loyal Subject and payed for his Kingdom an annual Pension Davis 123. amounting in all from his first Subjection to five thousand Marks and desired the King That he would rid him of that base
them to secure the Peace of the Nation And sent them farther private Instructions by Robert Waspail who carried those Letters to whom he commanded them to give Credit And not long after the Lord Justice was removed and David Barry the worthy Ancestor of the Noble Family of Barrymore was made Lord Justice 1267. he so managed the Giraldines that he took from them the Castle of Sligo and all their Lands in Connaught and thereby put an End to those Wars and Differences that were between them and the Burks And in his Time the Friers Preachers were setled at Ross Kilkenny and Clonmel Sir Robert de Vfford was made Lord Justice of Ireland 1268. and began to build the Castle of Roscomon In his Time Cnoghor O Brian of Thomond was slain i.e. murdered by Dermònd mac Monard and Maurice Fitz-Girald not of Desmond as the Annals say but Son of Maurice Lord Justice anno 1272 was drowned between Ireland and Wales And about this Time came over a Writ from the King to levy Aurum Reginae for Elianor the Prince's Wife as was used in England which you may read at large 4 Inst 357. On which I will make but this one Remark That if the Sovereignty of Ireland were in the Prince how comes the King to send the Writ But it will evidently appear by the following Writ That the Prince had not the Sovereignty of that Kingdom CVm Rex per Cartam suam concessit Edvardo 52 Hen. 3. primogenito suo Terram suam Hiberniae cum pertinentiis Lib. GGG c. habendum sibi haeredibus suis Lambeth ita quod non separetur a Corona Angliae idem Edvardus sine Licentia Regis alienationes quorundam terrarum tenementorum spectantium ad Terram praedictam fecerit contra tenorem feofamenti Regis quod idem rex sustinere voluit ideo nunc dedit potestatem mandatum nepoti suo filio Regis Alemani the Son of Richard Earl of Cornwal King of the Romans revocandi omnia maneria terras tenementa quae dictus Edvardus filius Regis sic alienavit post feofamentum praedict c. Richard de Excester 1269. Lord Justice In whose time Othobon the Pope's Legate made excellent Constitutions at London He made a more firm Peace and Reconciliation between the Burks and Giraldines And not long after died and Sir James Audly 1270. or de Aldethel was made Lord Justice and had a very unfortunate Government of it for the Irish were every where troublesome Fragm M. S. Quasi omnes Hiberni guerraverunt omnes munitiones Fortifications in Ophaly praeter Castrum de Lega Ley destructi sunt Anglici inde expulsi magna strages utriusque nationis facta est in Connacia The Irish burn'd spoil'd destroyed and slew as well Magistrates as others and the King of Connaught in plain Field defeated Walter Burk Hanmer 202. Earl of Vlster and killed a great number of Nobles and Knights and particularly the Lords Richard and John Verdon and a great Famine and Pestilence the natural Consequences of War spread over all Ireland and sorely afflicted the whole Kingdom The Castles of Aldleck Roscomon and Scheligah perhaps Sligo were destroyed Nevertheless the Pope without Regard to these Universal Calamities required the Tiths of all Spiritual Promotions for three Years to maintain his Wars against a Christian King viz. of Arragon and tho' the People murmured and their Poverty and Misery pleaded loudly for them yet the rapacious Nuntio would not go empty away On the 23 of June 1272. the Lord Justice was killed by a fall from his Horse in Thomond and Maurice Fitz-Maurice Fitz-Girald was made Lord Justice 1272. and so continued till the sixteenth Day of November at which time the King died in Peace and full of Days in his Palace at London having reigned longer than any King since the Conquest viz. six and fifty Years c. THE REIGN OF EDWARD I. King of England c. And LORD of IRELAND EDWARD the First from the Talness of his Person Nicknamed Long-shanks succeeded his Deceased Father in all his Dominions on the 16th Day of November 1272 but he being at that time absent in the Holy Land the Nobility took care to keep all quiet until his Return and then on the 15th Day of August 1274. he was Crowned by Robert Archbishop of Canterbury Maurice Fitz-Maurice Fitz-Girald continued Lord Justice and to him Ware de pres 34. and to Hugh Bishop of Meath Lord Treasurer and to John de Sandford Escheator was a Writ sent December 7. 1272 Commissioning them to receive the Oaths of Fealty and Allegiance to the new King of all the Nobility Gentry and Commons of Ireland And the Lord Justice had another Writ of the same Date to proclaim the Kings Peace and to preserve it wherein 't is said That the King is willing and able by Gods Help to defend and do Justice to his People great and small And the Government of England being informed Prin. 256. That Avelina Countess of Vlster and Widow of Walter de Burgo had been endowed illegally both as to Quantity and Quality a Writ issued in the Kings Name to the Seneschal of Vlster to rectifie that Matter according to the Law and Usage of England In the mean time the Irish took advantage of the Kings absence from England and thought it an opportune Season to rebel 1273. they destroyed the Castle of Roscomon Aldleek Scheligath and Randon and found means to corrupt some of the Lord Justice Followers whereby he was betrayed into their hands in Ophaly and there taken and imprisoned whereupon Walter Genevil newly returned from the Holy Land was sent over Lord Justice Octob. 1273. to him a Writ was sent not to molest the Archbishop of Cashel for any Debts due from him to the King till his Majesties Return to England The Islanders and Red-shank Scots made a sudden incursion into Ireland and burnt several Towns and Villages killing Man 1274. Woman and Child most inhumanely and got away with vast Booty before the Country could get together or put themselves in a posture to prevent or resist this unexpected Torrent but not long after Richard de Burgo and Sir Eustace le Poer served them in their kind and entred the Islands and burnt their Cabbins and Cottages slew all they met with and smoakt out those that had hid themselves in Caves after the same manner that is used in smoaking a Fox out of his Earth Rosâ—omon-Castle was once again repaired 1275. or rather reedified and Mortagh a strong Tory being taken Prisoner by Sir Walter le Faunt was executed but the Lord Justice being recalled Sir Robert de Vfford was made Lord Justice 1276. in whose time Thomas de Clare Son of the Earl of Glocester came into Ireland and married Juliana Daughter of Maurice Fitz-Maurice Fitz-Girald though some say it was anno 1274. There is little
the King appointed no small Provision was made for so eager a Combat as that was presupposed to have been But when the prefixed Day approached near Vescie turning his great Boast to small Roast began to cry Creak and secretly sailed into France King Edward thereof advertised bestowed Vescies Lordships of Kildare and Rathingan on the Baron of Ophaly saying That albeit Vescie conveyed his Person into France yet he left his Lands behind him in Ireland Mr. Pryn makes an Observation on this Case Pryn 259. as if an Appeal between Vescie and Fitz-Girald in Ireland had been adjourned to England But to make the Remark useful it is necessary not only to consider what he says but also to consult the Records which he cites William Hay 1294. Lord Deputy to whom a Writ was sent to admit Thomas Saintleger Bishop of Meath to be of the Privy Council And not long after John Fitz-Thomas return'd to Ireland big with Glory and Success which transported him to a Contempt of all his Opposers he began with Richard Burk Cambdens Ann. Earl of Vlster whom together with William Burk he took Prisoners in Meath by the assistance of John Delamere and confined them to the Castle of Ley. But he had not so good luck in Kildare which was made the Seat of the War so that between the English and Irish it was entirely wasted the Castle of Kildare was also taken and the Records of that County burnt by Calwagh Brother to the King of Ophaly And these Misfortunes were accompanied with great Dearth and Pestilence William Dodingzel Lord Justice found Work enough to struggle with these Difficulties and the rather because John Fitz-Thomas appeared again with a great Army in Meath But the Parliament soon after met at Kilkenny 1294. and obliged him to release the Earl of Vlster taking his two Sons Hostages for him And it seems that this did not satisfie the Complainants but that they impeached him at the Parliament in England Lib. GGG 23 E. 1. for divers Offences and Felonies done in Ireland Lambeth He protested he could clear himself by Law but because he would not Prin 259. cum ipso Domino Rege placitare he submits himself wholly to the King's Favour 1295. into which he was received upon Pledges for his future demeanour and 't is probable he was also obliged to release his Claim to the Castle of Sligo and other his Lands in Connaught which was the Occasion of all this Stir About Easter the King built the Castle of Beaumorris in Wales 1295. for the better security of a Passage to and from Ireland And about the same time Bishop Vsher's life 34. the King required Aid to marry his Sister to the Emperour and such as did contribute thereunto are mentioned in the Pipe-Rolls of the Exchequer In the mean time on the third Day of April the Lord Justice died and during the Interval of Government the Irish made use of the Opportunity and wasted great part of Leinster burnt Newcastle and many other Towns But at length the Council chose Thomas Fitz-Maurice Fitz-Girald Lord Justice he was nicknamed Nappagh Simiacus or the Ape because when his Father and Grand-Father were murdered Frier Russel M. S. at Calan the Servants on the news of it run out of the House as if distracted and left this Thomas in the Cradle whereupon an Ape which was kept in the House took up the Child and carried him to the top of the Castle of Traly and brought him down Safe and laid him in the Cradle to the admiration of all the Beholders This Lord Justice was Father of the first Earl of Desmond and was so great a Man that he is often styled Prince and Ruler of Munster But it seems he supplyed the Place of Lord Justice but a very short time for John Wogan 1295. Lord Justice arrived from England on the eighteenth of October He made a Truce for two Years between the Burks and the Giraldines and received a Writ to take the Fealty of the Abbot of Owny in the County of Limerick and having called a Parliament which it seems setled Matters to his Mind he went with a smart Party to aid the King in Scotland His Majesty nobly feasted them at Roxborough Castle and they in requital did the King very good Service But that you may see what sort of Parliaments were in Ireland in those Days I will present the Reader with a List of this Parliament Richard de Burgo Earl ofVlster Geofry de Genevil John Fitz-Thomas afterwards Earl of Kildare Thomas Fitz-Maurice Nappagh Theobald le Butler Theobald de Verdun Peter de Brimingham of Athenry Peter de Brimingham of Thetmoy Eustace de Poer John de Poer Hugh de Purcel John de Cogan John de Barry William de Barry Walter de Lacy. Richard de Excester John Pipard Water L'enfant Jordan de Exon. Adam de Stanton Symon de Phipo William Cadel John en Val. Morris de Carew George de la Roch. Maurice de Rochfort Maurice Fitz-Thomas of Kerry William de Ross 1296. Prior of Kilmainham was left Lord Deputy to Wogan but either the Irish did not fear him being a Clergyman or they thought this a time of Advantage whilst the Lord Justice and many of the Nobility and best Soldiers were in Scotland and therefore to improve it as they were used to do they rose in Rebellion in several Places Those of Slewmargy burnt Leighlin and other Towns 1297. But O Hanlon and Mac Mahon met with more Opposition in Vrgile for they were both slain John Wogan 1298. Lord Justice returned again from Scotland in October and throughly reconciled the Burks and the Giraldines and kept every thing so quiet that we hear of no Trouble in a great while except some Disturbance the Irish gave to the Lord Theobald de Verdun in attacking his Castle of Roch. Pollard Mony was now decryed both in England and Ireland 1300. and the King did again enter Scotland and sent to Ireland for Aid and wrote not only to the Lord Justice but also sent particular Letters to every one of the Nobility to attend him Whereupon the Lord Justice accompanied by John Fitz-Thomas Peirce Brimingham and many others made a second Expedition into Scotland with good Success In the mean time part of the City of Dublin and particularly S. Warberg's Church was burnt on S. Colme's Eve and the Irish were again at their usual Pranks taking Advantage of the Lord Justices absence who I suppose did again depute William de Ross and in Winter assaulted and burnt Wicklow and Rathdan 1301. but they were well paid for their pains and in Lent had been ruin'd but for the Dissention and Discord of the English and in the Harvest before some of the Irish also had their share of Civil Discord for they fell out amongst themselves so that the O Phelims and O Tools slew three hundred of the Birns
to defend the Realm against the Scots was sent for to England and Sir Theobald de Verdon was made Lord Constable or Justice of Ireland Prin 259. 31 Dec. 1314. In whose time the King sent John de Hothum Clerk into Ireland to treat with the great Men there about the Kings Affairs and by him sent Writs in the Nature of Letters of Credence to Richard Earl of Vlster and all the rest of the Nobility by Name and a general Writ or Letter to the Lord Justice and the great Officers of State to the same effect Ibid. 260. and another Writ to assist him and to summon the Nobility to a general Meeting that Hothum might communicate the Kings Pleasure unto them He also sent Writs to the Lord Justice the Earl of Vlster and several other great Men to attend his Parliament in England and to appoint a sufficient Deputy or Keeper of Ireland till their Return Prin 261. And because the Words Vestrumque Concilium impensuri are omitted Mr. Prin observes rightly that these Irish Lords went as Commissioners or Agents from Ireland to inform the King and Parliament of the state of Affairs there and did not go to serve in Parliament as my Lord Cooke would have it 4 Inst 350. I do not find whether the Lord Justice went or not nor if he did what Deputy or Keeper of Ireland was appointed in his room but whoever had it did not keep the Office long for on the 27th of Febr. Sir Edmond Butler Frag. 5. 1315. Lord Justice returned and soon after viz. on the 25th of May 1315 Edward Bruce and six thousand Scots Landed near Carigfergus in Vlster with them joyned several of the Irish and together they marcht to Dundalk which they took and burnt on the 29th of June they also spoil'd Vrgile and drove most of the English out of Vlster To oppose them an Army was rais'd which rendezvouz'd at Dundalk July 22. But whether it were that the Scots were retired or that the English Commanders could not agree the Lord Justice return'd to Dublin and left the Earl of Vlster to pursue the Scots with whom that Earl had a Battel near Colrain Camb. 169. on the 10th of September and was defeated and many of the English slain and William Burk John Stanton and others were taken Prisoners This great Loss could not be recompensed with the slaughter of forty Scots which was performed by some English Mariners and therefore Bruce to follow his Blow caused his Army to besiege Carigfergus Septem 15. and sends his Brother William Bruce into Scotland for a Supply 1315. In the mean time the Irish every where insult over the unfortunate English and generally rebel throughout Vlster and Connaught they burnt Athloan October and Randan and Cathol Roe O Connor razed three Castles of the Earl of Vlster's in Connaught In November following the English under Roger Mortimer 1315. had another Battel with the Scots at Kenlis in Meath and were routed with great Slaughter by the Treachery of the Lacies Hereupon Bruce burnt Kenlis Granard Finagh and Newcastle and came to Loghsendy where he kept his Christmas and afterwards also burnt it thence he marched through the County of Kildare unto Rathingan Kildare Castle-Dermond Athy Raban and Sketheris where the Lord Justice accompanied by the Lord John Fitz-Thomas and many others encountred him on the 26th of January and was defeated by reason of some unhappy Fewds and Misunderstandings in the English Army Hereupon the Irish of Munster and Leinster rose in Rebellion and the Birns Tools and Moors burnt the Countrey from Arclow to Leix but the Lord Justice gave them a Rebuke and brought fourscore of their Heads to the Castle of Dublin Ireland being in so tottering a condition the King sent Sir John Hotham over again to take the Oaths and Hostages of the Nobility and Gentry that still remained loyal which was accordingly performed by the Lord John Fitz-Thomas afterwards Earl of Kildare Cambd. 171. Richard de Clare Maurice afterwards Earl of Desmond Thomas Fitz-John Poer Arnold le Poer Febr. 4. Maurice Rochford David and Miles de la Roch and many others 1315. And now both Armies were early abroad The Scots having burnt the Castle and Church of Ley did on the 14th of February rendezvouz at Geashil as the English did the same day at Kildare But the Scots for want of Provision were forced to return to Vlster nevertheless in their way they took Northburgh Castle and then sate down in their Quarters to that degree of quietness that Bruce kept Court and held Pleas there as if it were in times of the most profound Peace For the English Army had work enough nearer home and therefore the Lord Justice on the Scots retreat did likewise return to Dublin and there summoned a Parliament or general Assembly which reconciled some great Men then at odds cleared Walter Lacy of the Treachery imputed to him and established the Measures of carrying on the War And it was wisely done to begin with the Moroughs Tools and other Mountaineers of the County of Wicklow because they daily infested the City of Dublin and had destroyed both the Town and Country of Wicklow and because the Army was not strong enough to secure the City and at the same time to pursue the Scots 1316. the Success justified their Conduct for in April the Tories were defeated However the Scots were not so much neglected but that the Lord Thomas Mandevil was appointed to have an eye to them but he could but skirmish with them which he did valiantly Camb. 172. and kill'd Thirty Scots in one Encounter and was himself slain in another But Bruce came over with fresh Supplies from Scotland and so despised the small force of the English that in May he caused himself to be Crowned King at Dundalk 1316. and thereupon grew so insolent that he spared neither Churches nor Abbeys Women or Children found no Mercy at his hands but on the contrary he destroyed all that opposed him or that belonged to the English and he burnt great part of the Countrey as the Irish did the Church of Athird It was high time to encourage the English to their defence and the defence of the Kingdom and therefore as well to reward for Services past 1316. as to engage them for the time to come Selden 838. says Kildare's Patent is the ancientest Form of Creation he had seen the Lord Justice was made Earl of Carrick and John Fitz-Thomas was made Earl of Kildare May 14. 9 Ed. 2. and others received other Favours from the King The Burks and Geraldines were reconciled and every one in his station set himself manfully to the preservation of the Kingdom Richard de Clare and Bremingham had the better of the Irish in Connaught and slew many of them and about Whitsontide made a Sally into Munster and kill'd three hundred Irish there and the
Andrew Birmingham Nicholas de London and many others were slain and though the Lord Justice lost his Son Richard Lord of Athenry who died about this time yet all this did not hinder him from attending the King but he left in his place Ralph de Gorges Lord Deputy or Governor who continued so until the Second Day of February 1323. and then he was superseded by Sir John Darcy 1323. Lord Justice in whose time Philip Talon and his Son Fragm 7. and eight and twenty others were kill'd by Edmond Butler Rector of Tillagh and amongst the Records in the Tower of London Anno 15. E. 2. This notable Memorandum is to be found viz. In Abbathia Melifontis talis inolevit Error Lib. GGG quod nullus ibi admittatur in domum praedictam nisi primitus facta fide quod Non sit de genere Anglorum About this time Sir Henry Traherne took Mac Morough and kill'd O Nolan and four and twenty of his Followers It seems the King was muâ—h in the Favour of Pope John the twenty second for besides the aforesaid Release of the Peter-Pence the Pope did this Year 16 Edw. 2. impose a Disme on the Irish Clergy for two Years Lib. GGG payable to the King and commanded the Dean and Chapter of Dublin to levy it but the Prelates and Clergy refused to pay it to them unless they would shew the Original Bull. But on the the twenty fourth of November Vide postea ad annum 1344. at Notingham the King by assent of his Council made and published most excellent Ordinances for the Reformation of Ireland Pryn. 264. which are to be found at large in Mr. Pryns Animadversions on the fourth Institutes and are to this effect I. That no Officer of the Kings in Ireland whilst in Office shall purchase Lands or Tenements within their Jurisdiction on Pain of forfeiting the same II. That no Man by colour of his Office take Victuals or any other thing without the consent of the Party unless in case of Necessity for the Publick and then he must have the Advice of the greatest of the Council and a Writ out of the Chancery or unless he have the King's Letters or an Order from the Chancery of England III. That the Exportation of Corn to England or Wales be not hindered the Party paying the usual Customs be he Native or Stranger and giving Security not to carry it to our Enemies IV. That the Lord Justice take but four Pence for the Seal and two Pence for the writing of a Bill of Grace and that the Marshal take but four Pence for a Commitment V. No Protections or Pardons to be granted to Felons without special Order under one of the Seals of England VI. No Writs to be obeyed except such as are under the great Seal or the Seal of the Exchequer if the matter concerns that Court Lastly That the Lord Justice shall not adjourn Assizes before him unless he be present in the same County nor for any longer time than he continues there And at the same time a Writ issued to the Chancellor of Ireland Ibid. 26â— to Publish Enrol and Observe the aforesaid Ordinances and to send the Exemplifications of them to the rest of the Courts By reason of the fourteen Years Truce the King had made with the Scots 1325. there was not much other Disturbance in Ireland than what was occasioned by private Murders Walter de Valle and his Son were slain near Nenagh and the Lord John Barry of Hely a very stout Man was murthered by the O Kerals and therefore to fill up this Space I will insert the Famous or rather foolish Story of Alice Kettle in the Words of my Author In those Days lived in the Diocess of Ossory Holingshead 69. the Lady Alice Kettle whom the Bishop ascited to purge her self of the Fame of Inchantments and Witchcraft imposed unto her and to one Petronil and Basil her Complices She was charged to have nightly Conference with a Spirit called Robin Artisson to whom she sacrificed in the High-way nine red Cocks and nine Peacocks Eyes Also that she swept the Streets of Kilkenny between Complin and Twilight raking all the Filth towards the Doors of her Son William Outlaw murmuring and muttering secretly with her self these Words To the House of William my Son Hie all the Wealth of Kilkenny Town At the first Conviction they abjured and did Penance but shortly after they were found in Relapse and then was Petronil burnt at Kilkenny the other twain might not be heard of she at the Hour of her Death accused the said William as privy to their Sorceries whom the Bishop held in Durance nine Weeks forbidding his Keepers to eat or drink with him or to speak to him more than once in the Day but at length through the Suit and Instance of Arnold le Powre then Seneschal of Kilkenny he was delivered and afterwards he corrupted with Bribes the Seneschal to persecute the Bishop so that he thrust him into Prison for three Months In rifling the Closet of the Lady they found a Wafer of Sacramental Bread having the Devil's Name stamped thereon And a Pipe of Oyntment wherewith she greased a Staff upon which she ambled and galloped through thick and thin when and in what manner she listed This Business about these Witches troubled all the State of Ireland the more for that the Lady was supported by certain of the Nobility and lastly conveyed into England since which Time it could never be understood what became of her At Whitsontide 1326. the Parliament met at Kilkenny and thither the Earl of Vlster and most of the Nobility came what they did does not appear Lib. GGG saving that five thousand Quarters of Corn were sent out of Ireland to Aquitain for the King's use about this time and it is probable they raised Mony to pay for it Cambden tells us That the Earl of Vlster made a great Feast at this Parliament and that not long after he died But we must make a step to England before we can come to an end of this Unfortunate Reign and there we shall find the King for his Male administration in Disgrace with his People and which was worse reduced under the Power and Scorn of an Adulterous Wife the consequence of these things was That he was first imprisoned and afterwards murthered in Berkly Castle In this King's Reign flourished the famous Irish Philopher Johannes Dunus Scotus commonly stiled Doctor subtilis And it was in the same Reign that the Lord Mortimer Owner to Proprietor of Leix now Queens County being obliged by his Inclination or Business to reside in England did entrust one of the Omores with the management of his Estate but in process of time the Irishman sets up for himself and for a long time enjoyed that Country and still pretends a Right to it although his Claim is built on this perfidious and ungrateful Foundation Davis 198
Year And it seems there was also a Parliament at Dublin this Year Prin 266. wherein it was ordained That the King's Peace should be fully kept and that every Nobleman and Chieftain should keep in his own Sept. Retinue and Servants Roger Outlaw Prior of Kilmainham was made Lord Deputy 1330. and kept the Kingdom quiet ' all the Summer and the Winter was so stormy and wet that nothing could be done till January and then the Macoghegans began to be troublesome again in Meath but the Earls of Vlster and Ormond gave them a Defeat near Loghynerthy about Lent whereupon they were so enraged that they burnt fifteen Villages but they paid for it in another Skirmish wherein three Irish Lords Sons and one hundred of their Followers were slain This Year a Parliament was holden at Kilkenny Pryn 267. at which were present Alexander Archbishop of Dublin the Earls of Vlster and Ormond the Lord William Birmingham and the Lord Walter Burk of Connaught and each of these brought a considerable Power with him to pursue O Brian and expel him from Vrkiffe near Cashil It seems this great Army march'd to Limerick and that the Burks did prey some of the Giraldines Lands in their March whereupon such Fewds arose between those Families that the Lord Justice was necessitated to confine the Earl of Vlster and Maurice of Desmond to the Custody of the Marshal at Limerick but Maurice quickly found means to escape and thereupon 't is probable the Earl was also enâ—arged It seems that both of them went to England But what became of this mutinous Army Frag. 9. I find no mention save that an anonymous Author reports Quod nihil perfecerunt But the next Year was more propitious 1331. for on the twenty first of April the English gave the Irish an Overthrow in O Kensâ—le And in May the English at Thurles defeated O Brian and slew many of his Followers And about the same time O Tool came to Tullagh and robbed the Archbishop of Dublin took three hundred of his Sheep and killed some of his Servants Upon notice of it Sir Philip Britt and others sallied out of Dublin but they were too forward and careless so that they fell into an Ambush in Culiagh and were most of them slain whereupon the Irish were elevated to that degree Cambd. 184. that they attacked the Castle of Arklow and took it but the Lord Birmingham with a smart Party undertook them and mortified them to the lowest degree of Submission and might have ruined them if he had not trusted to their false Promises Sir Anthony Luey 3 June 1331. a Man of great Authority in England was sent over Lord Justice he brought with him the Lord Hugh de Lacy who was now pardoned and in some Favour He also brought the King's Letters to the Earl of Vlster and others of the Nobility to give their best assistance to him the Lord Justice The Lord Justice designed by a severe Government to correct and reform the Distempers of those Times but alass it was too great an Undertaking for one Man and required more time than he had to spend in Ireland However his Government was auspicated with a Victory which those of the English Pale on the eleventh of June obtained over the Irish at Finnagh in Meath And though there was a great Dearth and Scarcity still continuing yet it was somewhat moderated by the great Plenty of large Fishes called Thurlehides sent by Providence into the Bay of Dublin in a prodigious number for the relief of the Poor A Parliament was summoned to meet at Dublin at Mid-summer by which it is manifest that they did not hitherto practise the formality of forty Days Summons the Appearance was so thin that the Parliament was adjourned to Kilkenny to the seventh of July And thither came Thomas Earl of Kildare and others that were not at Dublin and were freely pardoned what was past being first sworn on the Holy Evangelists and the Reliques of the Saints to Allegiance and Preservation of the peace for the future But in August the Lord Justice received the bad News That the Irish had taken and burnt the Castle of Ferns Whereupon he grew jealous That some of those English Lords that absented themselves from the Parliament at Kilkenny did underhand abet the Irish or else they durst not so frequently rebel and therefore he resolved to apprehend as many of them as he could get And first Henry Mandevil was by Warrant from the Chief Justice taken in September and Maurice of Desmond being arrested in Limerick in the beginning of October was by warrant from the Lord Justice and Council brought to Dublin Walter Burk and his Brother were seised in November and William and Walter Birmingham were secured in Clonmel in February following and afterwards sent to Dublin It seems there was more than bare Suspicion in this Matter for the Lord William Birmingham who had often done good Service for his King and Country was nevertheless executed the eleventh of July 1332. and his Son Walter had not escaped but that he was in Orders and Maurice of Desmond was likewise kept in Prison a Year and a half and then discharg'd upon very great Bail and sent into England to the King But let us look back to the third of March 1331. at which time the King and Parliament of England made Ordinances and Articles for the Reformation and Tranquility of Ireland and sent them thither in haec verba REX Justic Pryn 267. Canc. Thes suis Hibern salutem Mandamus vobis quod articulos subscriptos quos pro emendatione status Terrae nostrae Hiberniae quiete tranquilitate populi nostri ibidem per advisamentum Concilii nostri in ultimo Parliamento nostro apud Westmon tento ordinavimus in dicta Terra Hiberniae quantum ad vos attinet teneatis observetis per alios fideles nostros dictae Terrae teneri observari faciatis Tenor autem articâ—â—â—orum praedictorum talis est Imprimis Justiciarius qui nunc est vel pro tempore fuerit non concedat Cartas Pardonationis de morte hominis nec roberiis incendiis aliquibus nisi de roberiis incendiis ante festum Paschae anno regni Domini Edwardi Regis Angliae tertii post Conquestum quinto perpetratis Et quod de caetero certificet Regem de nominibus hujusmodi Pardonationes petentium de avisamento suo quod Rex faciat inde voluntatem suam quod nullus in Terra Hiberniae ex nunc faciat tales Pardonationes infra libertatem extra sub gravi forisfactura Domini Regi Item Quod dictus Justic de caetero non concedat tuitionem pacis felonibus ad silvam existentibus Item Quod una eadem lex fiat tam Hibernicis quam Anglicis excepta servitute Betagiorum penes Dominos suos eodem modo quo usitatum est in Anglia de Villanis Item
to the Lord Justice 1422. whose Servants were on the Seventh of May attacked and defeated by the Irish Purcel Grant and five and twenty English more were slain and ten taken Prisoners and two hundred escaped to the Abby of Leix and to revenge this the Lord Justice invaded O Mores Country and defeated his terrible Army in the red Bog of Asby he relieved his own Men and burnt and preyed the Rebels Lands for four days until themselves came and sued for Peace And it seems O Dempsy notwithstanding his Oath of Obedience invaded the Pale and took the Castle of Ley from the Earl of Kildare which the Lord Justice had justly restored to the Earl whereupon Campion makes a severe Remark on the Irish That notwithstanding their Oaths and their Pledges they are no longer true than they feel themselves the weaker In the mean time Mac Mahon play'd the Devil in Vrgile and burnt and spoil'd all before him Camp 97. but the Lord Justice also revenged that Prank and forced Mac Mahon to submit and many other Noble Exploits did this good Governor for whose Success the Clergy of Dublin went twice every week in solemn Procession praying for his Victory over those disordered Persons which now in every Quarter of Ireland had apostatiz'd to their old Trade of Life and repined at the English And when I have mentioned a Deed made 9 Hen. 5. which is to be found Lib. GGG 24. at Lambeth whereby this Earl of Ormond constituted James Fitz-Girald Earl of Desmond his Seneschal of the Baronies or Signiories of Imokilly Inchicoin and the Town of Youghal during his Life I have no more to add but that this Victorious King after he had conquered France submitted to the common Fate on the last Day of August 1422 in the Flower of his Age and the Tenth Year of his Reign THE REIGN OF HENRY VI. King of England c. And LORD of IRELAND HENRY the Sixth was but nine Months old at the Death of his Illustrious Father 1422. and therefore the deceased King had by his last Will appointed John Duke of Bedford to be Regent of France Humphry Duke of Glocester to be Governour of England and Thomas Duke of Excester and Henry Bishop of Winchester to be Guardians of the Young King's Person All which was duly observed and the Infant King was proclaimed in Paris and the Nobility that were there swore Allegiance to him James Earl of Ormond continued Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and upon a Petition preferred by the House of Commons to the King about the manifold Murders Robberies Rapes Riots and other Misdemeanours committed by the Irish in England Lib. M. it was enacted there That all Persons born in Ireland should quit England within a time limited except Graduates in either University Clergymen beneficed those that have Land in England or are married there or those whose Parents are English and even such are to give Security of their good Behaviour And not long after came over Edmond Mortimer 1422. Earl of March and Vlster Lord Lieutenant He died afterwards of the Plague at the Castle of Trym which was his own Inheritance And in his stead came John Lord Talbot 1425. Lord Justice In whose time the Barretts a Family of good account near Cork did by Indenture covenant to be obedient to the Earl of Desmond who was exceeding Powerful and lorded it over great part of Munster with a high Hand This Governour resigned to James Earl of Ormond 1426. Lord Justice In whose time John Duke of Bedford 4 Instit 360. Regent of France obtained a Patent for all the Mines of Gold and Silver within England Ireland c. rendring to the Church the tenth Part to the King the fifteenth Part and to the Owner of the Soil the twentieth part And then Sir John de Gray 1427. Lord Lieutenant landed at Hoâ—th the thirty first of July and was sworn the next Day but no mention is made of any thing he did but that he went for England and left Edward Dantzy Bishop of Meath 1428. his Deputy He was for a time Treasurer of Ireland and dyed the fourth of January 1428. Upon Notice whereof Sir John Sutton Lord Dudly was sent over Lord Lieutenant He held a Parliament in Dublin Friday next after the Feast of All Saints 1429. at which it was enacted That the Sheriff upon Pain of Amercement should add to the Panel of Jurors the Place Estate and Mistery of every Juror And in the Preamble to this Act the Lord Lieutenant is Styled The Right Noble and Right Gracious Lord. And on the sixth of the same November the King was crowned at Westminster And soon after the Lord Lieutenant returned and left Sir Thomas Strange 1429. Lord Deputy in whose time the King was crowned at Paris 1431. and took the Oaths and Homage of the Nobility and People there And now happened the famous Case of the Prior of Lanthony which was That a Judgment in the Common Pleas being removed to the Irish Parliament was affirmed there Whereupon a Writ of Error was sent from England but the King's Bench in England would not take cognizance of a Judgment in the Parliament of Ireland to reverse it And therefore the Prior petitions the King That the Record may be transmitted to the House of Lords in England to be examined there Sir Thomas Stanly was made Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1432. and it seems that he called a Parliament which enacted two Statutes that were afterwards repealed by 11 Jac. 1 cap. 5. And then he went to England leaving Sir Christopher Plunket Lord Deputy 1432. he was afterwards Baron of Killine in Right of his Wife Heir of the Cusacks and his second Son became Baron of Dunsany But Sir Thomas Stanly 1435. Lord Lieutenant returned and gave a Check to the Irish who were insolent beyond Measure and incroaching everywhere on the Pale making the best Advantage of the King's Minority and the Absence of the Military Men in France but the Lord Lieutenant with the Power of Meath and Vriel took Moyle O Donel Prisoner and slew a great many of the Irish And afterwards about Michaelmas he went again to England and left Richard Talbot Archbishop of Dublin 1436. Brother to the Earl of Shrewsbury Lord Deputy he was sometime Lord Chancellor of Ireland and was elected Primate of Armagh but he refused to change his Bishoprick Lion Lord Wells 1438. Lord Lieutenant in whose time a second Law was made in England Lib. M. obliging the Irishmen to return into their Native Country And another Statute was made in Ireland to stop the Passage of any more into England And on the twelfth of June 17 Hen. 6. Robert Fitz-Geofry Cogan granted all his Lands in Ireland being half the Kingdom of Cork to James Earl of Desmond and gave a Letter of Attorney to put him in Possession of Kyrrygrohanmore Lib. G. Downdrinane
Faghil Abbot of Derry and Richard O Craghan 1531. who in the behalf of their Master perfected Indentures and swore Fealty to the King in presence of the Lord Deputy Davis 105. at Tredagh on the sixth of May 1531. And at the same time it is probable he made the Proposal mention by Sir John Davis Quod si Dominus Rex velit reformare Hiberniam He and His would gladly be governed by the Laws of England O Sullevan tells us a Story Sullevan 77. with great Ostentation That an English Ship took a Spanish Vessel that was fishing on the Coast of Ireland near the Dursies And that his Grand-Father Dermond O Sullevan Prince of Bear and Bantry having notice of it manned out a small Squadron of Ships and took both the Englishman and the Spaniard and hanged the English Captain but set the Spaniard at Liberty By which may be easily perceived What sort of Inclinations that sort of Men bear to an Englishman and what kind of Loyalty they paid to their King when they murdered his Subjects and cherished his Enemies But the Animosities and Feuds between the Lord Deputy and the Earl of Kildare did every Day increase and at length came to that height that they reciprocally impeached each other in England and Kildare did wisely to sail thither and personally solicite his own Affairs which he managed so successfully that Skeffington was superseded and Girald Earl of Kildare made Lord Deputy in his stead He also procured Alan the Lord Chancellor a Creature of Wolsies to be removed and Cromer Primate of Armagh to be placed in the Chancery July 5. 1532. in his room Nevertheless lest Kildare should grow too powerful the King to ballance him gave the Lord High Treasurers Staff to James Lord Butler who notwithstanding that he was Kildare's Nephew was nevertheless his bitter Enemy and heartily espoused the Quarrels of his Father the Earl of Ossory as it was his Interest and Duty to do But the Earl of Kildare having again gotten the Supreme Power into his Hands little valued the Opposition of his Enemies On the contrary he was transported with the Contemplation of the prodigious Success he had hitherto met with and presumed so far on its continuance that he precipitated himself into many vain and unaccountable Actions for he not only married two of his Daughters to O Connor and O Carol obstinate Enemies to the Crown of England but also with his Forces invaded Kilkenny and destroyed all he found belonging to the Earl of Ossory and his Friends he also persuaded his Brother John Fitz-Girald and O Neal to invade the County of Louth which they burned and preyed without Resistance And all these Extravagances contributed to the Destruction of a Noble Family and to leave this Earl of Kildare an Example to Posterity of the great folly of using Power immoderately On the nineteenth of May 25 Hen. 8. which was anno 1533 and not 1534 as is mistaken in the printed Statutes the Parliament met and enacted I. That sturdy Beggars should not leaze Corn nor any Body out of his Parish And that no Body should give Sheaves of Corn for Reaping or Binding And in all these cases the Corn may be taken away from the Transgressor II. That the Parsonage of Galtrim should be appropriated to the Priory of S. Peter's near Trim. III. That the Royal Fishing of the Banne be resumed into the King's Hands Ware 's Annals 130. But this last Act is not printed At this Parliament the Controversie was renewed between Cromer Primate of Armagh and Allan Archbishop of Dublin about Precedency in Dublin which was determined in favour of the Primate O Carol that married Kildare's Daughter was Tanist and Brother to the deceased O Carol and by the Law of Tanistry claimed the Signiory but the Son of the Desunct being of Age and a brisk Man would not be so served and therefore as Heir to his Father he seized on the Castle of Bi r which the Lord Deputy in favour of his Son-in-Law undertook to besiege and did so but it was in vain for at that Siege he received a Shot in his Head which sent him back faster than he came out and though he regained his Health yet he never recovered his Intellectuals but was ever after as we say A little crackbrained It is reported That when he was wounded he sighed deeply which a Soldier that was by observing he told his Lordship That himself had been shot three times and yet was recovered To whom the Earl replyed Would to God thou hadst also received the fourth Shot in my stead About this time John Allen who had been Clerk of the Council and was now Master of the Rolls a Creature of the deposed Chancellor Alans was sent by the Council into England about Publick Affairs Lib. 〈◊〉 His Instructions were To acquaint the King with the Decay of the Land and that neither English Order Tongue or Habit nor the King's Laws are used above twenty Miles in compass That this Decay is occasioned by the taking of Coyn and Livery without Order after Men's own sensual Appetites and taking Cuddees Garty and Caan for Felonies and Murder Alterages Bienges Saults and Slanciaghs c. And that they want English Inhabitants who formerly had Arms and Servants to defend the Country but of late the English Proprietor hath taken Irish Tenants that can live without Bread or good Victuals and some for Lucre to have more Rent and some for Impositions and Vassalage which the English cannot bear have expelled the English and made the Country all Irish without Order Security or Hospitality Formerly English Gentlemen kept a Retinue of English Yeomen according to the Custom of England to the great Security of the Country but now they keep Horsmen and Kernes who live by oppressing the poor People The great Jurisdiction of the Nobility is another Cause of destroying the King's Subjects and Revenue And the Black Rents which the Irish exact enriches them and impoverisheth the Englishman Also the making of a Native chief Governour and often change of the Lord Deputy are great Faults And ill keeping of the King's Records and putting unskilful Clerks in the Exchequer do occasion much Mischief But the Alienation of the Crown Lands so that the King's Revenue is not sufficient to defend the Realm is the greatest Grievance of all It is probable that these Instructions were kept secret from the Lord Deputy for it cannot be imagined That he would have consented that Articles which in effect were an Impeachment of himself should be communicated to the King and in truth Allen's Errand was to accuse the Deputy and he was imployed so to do by the Archbishop of Dublin the Earl of Ossory Ware 131. Sir William Skeffington and others and he performed his Commission so effectually that the Lord Deputy was sent for by the King's Letter to repair to England and answer the Crimes that were objected against him Kildare
Parliament in Ireland till the Eleventh Year of this King's Reign Sullivan 211. and that Sullivan himself brings this very Neal Garuff on the English side again Anno 1608. But to proceed Sir ARTHUR CHICHESTER was sworn Lord Deputy on the Third of February 1604. and soon after establish'd a new Circuit for Judges of Assize for the Province of Connagh 1604. and retrived the Circuit of Munster Davis 265. which had been discontinued for Two hundred Years It must be observed That until this time the Papists generally did come to Church and were called Churchâ—Papists but now the Priests began to be seditious and did not only scandalize the Publick Administration of Affairs but also took upon them to review and decide some Causes that had been determin'd in the King's Courts and to oblige their Votaries on pain of Damnation to obey their Decision and not that of the Law they did also forbid the People to frequent the Protestant Churches and they publickly rebuilt Churches for themselves and erected or repaired Abbies and Monasteries in several Parts of the Kingdom and particularly at Multifernam in the County of Westmeath Killconell in the County of Gallway Rossariell in the County of Mayo Buttivant Kilkrea and Timoleague in the County of Cork Quin in the County of Clare Garinlogh in Desmond and in the Cities of Waterford and Kilkenny Sullivan 206. Intending says Mr. Sullivan to restore the Splendor of Religion And as many as pleased sent their Children to Foreign Seminaries without control And perhaps all this might have passed if they had not as foolishly as impudently publish'd every where and in all Companies That the King was of their Religionâ— 1605. But then the Government was necessarily obliged for the Vindication of his Majesty and to prevent the Growth of Popery and suppress the Insolence of the Papists to publish a Proclamation on the Fourth of July 1605. commanding the Popish Clergy to depart the Kingdom before the Tenth of December following unless they would conform to the Laws of the Land But this Proclamation being too faintly executed as Laws against Popery have hitherto always been produced more Noise than Effect so that it did little service in Ireland and yet furnished the Irish Papists with matter of Complaint beyond Seas where they usually make a great Clamour for a small Matter But on the Fifth of November was discovered the Damnable Popish Plot well known in England by the Name of The Gunpowder Treason the Design of it was to blow up at once the King the Nobility and the Principal Gentry of that Kingdom then assembled in Parliament The Papists did for some time with great Artifice and Confidence impose upon the World that this was a Plot of Cecill's making but finding at length that that Cobweb Pretence was too thin and was easily seen through they laid the blame upon a few desperate Villains as they always do when the Fact is too notorious to be denied But now that Matter is pretty well setled by the Confession of * Wilson Hist of K. James p. 32. Weston of the Earl of Castlehaven the Lord Stafford and Peter Walsh This Year the barbarous Customs of Tanistry and Gavelkind were abolish'd by Judgment in the King's Bench Davis's Reports and the Irish Estates thereby made descendible according to the Course of the Common Law of England and the City of Cork and the Liberties thereof were separated from the County of Cork and made a distinct County of it self reserving nevertheless Places in the City for a Gaol and a Court-house for the County at large In the Year One thousand six hundred and six 1606. the famous Robert Lalor Vicar-General of Dublin and other Diocesses in Leinster for disobedience to the aforesaid Prolamation was apprehended in the City of Dublin it being the Custom of these Ecclesiastical Spies to lurk about the Metropolis of every Kingdom he was in Michaelmaâ— Term indicted upon the Statute of 2 Eliz. cap. 1. for advancing and upholding Foreign Jurisdiction within this Realm but he humbled himself to the Court and voluntarily and upon Oath on 22d December 1606. made a Recognition in haec verba First He doth acknowledge that he is not a lawful Vicar General in the Diocess of Dublin Kildare and Fernes and thinketh in his Conscience that he cannot lawfully take upon him the said Office Item He doth acknowledge our Soveraign Lord King James Davis Rep. 83. that now is to be his Lawful Chief and Supream Governor in all Causes as well Ecclesiastical as Civil and that he is bound in Conscince to obey him in all the said Causes and that neither the Pope nor any other Foreign Prelate Prince or Potentate hath any Power to controll the King in any â—ause Ecclesiastical or Civil within this Kingdom or any of his Majesties Dominions Item He doth in his Conscience believe that all Bishops ordained and made by the Kings Authority within any of his Dominions are lawful Bishops and that no Bishop made by the Pope or by any Authority derived from the Pope within the Kings Dominions hath any Power or Authority to impugne disannul or controll any Act done by any Bishop made by his Majesties Authority as aforesaid Item He professeth himself willing and ready to obey the King as a good and obedient Subject ought to do in all his lawful Commandments either concerning his Function of Priesthood or any other Duty belonging to a good Subject Upon this Confession he was indulged with more Liberty and the free Access of his Friends and would undoubtedly have been enlarged the next Term if he had not privately denied what he had publickly done protesting that his Confession did not extend to the Kings Authority in Spiritual Causes but in Temporal only this being told to the Lord Deputy it was resolved to try him upon the Statute of 16. R. 7. cap. 5. of Premunire and it was discreetly done rather to Indite him upon that than upon any new Statute made since the Reformation Davis Rep. 85. that the Irish might be convinc'd That even Popish Kings and Parliaments thought the Pope an Usurper of those exorbitant Jurisdictions he claim'd and thought it inconsistent with the Loyalty of a good Subject to uphold or advance his unjust and unreasonable Incroachments on the Prerogative of the King and the Priviledge of the Subject which tended to nothing less then to make our Kings his Lacquies our Nobles his Vassals and our Commons his Slaves and Villains Upon this Indictment he was tryed and found Guilty and upon his Tryal his aforesaid Recognition which he made upon Oath was publickly read which netled him exceedingly and the rather because he was asked whether he had not denied this Confession to some of his Friends to which he answered that he had not but only told some of them that he had not own'd the Kings Supremacy in Spiritual Causes which he said was true for the word
in this great Adversity the Kingdom of Leinster would be lost for ever Fitz-Stephens answered That the English had forsaken their Dearest Friends and Native Soyl for his sake that they had burnt their Ships and had already ventured their Lives in his Quarrel and therefore happen how it would they would live and dye together Be you true to us said he and we will not be false to you Your Royal Courage should contemn these Accidents which will soon be at an End for either Death which is the common Fate will in a little time deliver us with Honour from these Streights or a glorious Victory will place us above all those Difficulties which now seem so terrible Dermond was much encouraged by this Speech however because his Army was much inferior in number to that of his Enemies he did by Fitz-Stephens his Advice retreat to an inaccessible Fastness by Ferns which by plashing of Trees and making Entrenchments he soon rendred impregnable But Rotherick wisely considering the Difficulty of the Attempt and the incertain Events of War tryed severally and apart both Dermond and Fitz-Stephens to persuade them by fair means to an Agreement to Fitz-Stephens he sent Presents in the nature of a Bribe together with Lettâ—rs to this effect THE Britains may not by Law of Arms Hanmer 115. display their Ensigns in Foreign Possessions nor dispossess the Lawful Heirs of their Inheritance but they are with Licence of the Irish to pack Home It is a Blemish to their Nation to give Aid to a shameful Fact Neither may the Lechery of Dermond be mantled under British Cloaks Wherefore depart and forsake him that is forsaken of God and Man and here by my Messenger receive to defray your Charges and transport you to your Native Soyl. But the Monarch was mistaken in the Man for Fitz-Stephens returned this Answer YOur Present I will not accept nor will I break the Faith and Troth I have promised to my Friend Dermond he forsakes not me I will not forsake him neither leave him distressed You speak of Lechery what is that among Martial Men I hear you have Bastards your self To what End is your Embassie If Rotherick give Counsel we need it not if he prophesie we credit not his Oracle if he command as a Prince we obey not his Authority if he threaten as an Enemy a Figg for his Monarchy So finding himself out in his Politicks he prepares to force them to that which he could not persuade them to and to encourage his Soldiers suggests to them That Dermond designed to extirpate the Irish Nation and to that end had brought in the most hateful Enemies they had that he was more cruel than a Beast and no Mercy was to be expected from him that unless this Civil War was by their Valour immediately ended it would prove the Ruine of their Nation that their Enemies were easily to be subdued whilst their Number was few and their Means inconsiderable and that if they lost this Opportunity their Country was lost for ever Dermond in like manner made a Speech to his Followers setting forth That they had Powerful and Brave Assistants the English whose Valour has been approved and that their Faithfulness was undoubted because they had sworn it had burnt their Ships and could expect no Mercy from their Enemies That their Cause was Just in defence of their Prince and Country that Rotherick was a Tyrant had three Wives then alive and eleven Bastards he murthered his Natural Brother was guilty of innumerable Murders Thefts Lyes and Debaucheries and had no other End in all his specious Pretences than the enslaving them and their Children But after all this the Reputation of the English kept Rotherick in Fear and obliged him to continue his Endeavours for Peace and Dermonds Condition and approaching Wants obliged him likewise to make a Peace he never designed to keep any longer than he needs must so by the Mediation of some Good Men they at last came to this Conclusion First That Dermond renewing his Homage should be restored to his Kingdom of Leinster Secondly Lib. P. Lamb. That he should dismiss the English as soon as he was setled But this Article was private Thirdly That his Son Cothurne should be Hostage for performance thereof and as soon as the English were gone then Dermond's Son should be married to Rothericks Daughter The Hostage was accordingly delivered and all quiet when Maurice Fitz-Gerald landed at Waxford with ten Knights twenty Esquires and one hundred Archers with which Recruit Dermond marched to Dublin to reduce that Rebellious City which was without much Resistance surrendred upon Articles and so they renewed their Oaths of Allegiance and gave Hostages for their future Obedience In the mean time Rotherick with his Army went to demand Chief Rent of Danald Prince of Limerick who was Dermond's Son-in-Law but Dermond under-hand procured Fitz-Stephens who stay'd behind him to build his Castle of Carrick near Waxford to step to Danald's Assistance and the Issue was That Rotherick was baffled and forced to return without without his Chieffry With this Success Dermond was encouraged to Higher Designs Hanmer 119. and daily consulted with the English Lib. P. Lamb. how he might recover the Monarchy of Ireland which his Ancestors formerly enjoyed and to which he pretended a Title He offered his Daughter Eva to Fitz-Stephens and Fitz-Gerald and made them many large Promises if they would recruit their Forces and assist in the Design but they were married and could not accept the Offers nor were they able to go through with so great an Undertaking and therefore they advise him to solicit Strongbow once more to so noble an Exploit It seems Strongbow was hindred by the King for upon receipt of Dermond's Letters he went to his Majesty desiring Leave to seek new Territories in Ireland or to be restored to his old Estate in England Campion 59. The King wearied with his Importunity said to him in Passion I wish you were gone Which Strongbow takes for a Licence and away he goes and prepares as fast as he can for his Irish Voyage Before him he sent Reymond Le Gross 1171. with ten Knights forty Esquires and eighty Archers who came in May 1171 and landed at Dondowrough eight Miles east of Waterford and entrencht themselves as well as they could The Waxfordians and their Neighbours to the number of three thousand under Mac-Kelan Prince of Ophelan and O Rian of Odrone came down by Land and Water attack'd the English Hanmer 120 and beat Reymond into his Entrenchment but the English rendred desperate by the Danger made a second Salley and the Enemy being negligently and disorderly scattered they slew five hundred of them and took seventy principal Citizens whom by the Advice of Hervey immediately they drowned Strongbow came on the twenty third of August and landed in the Haven of Waterford 1171. with two hundred Knights and more than one thousand Soldiers
Fastnesses of that Country at a Place called the Earls Pace he was briskly assaulted by O Rian and his Followers but O Rian being slain by an Arrow shot at him by Nichol the Monk the rest were easily scattered and many of them slain It was here that Strongbow's only Son a Youth about seventeen Years old frighted with the Number and Ululations of the Irish run away from the Battle and made towards Dublin but being informed of his Fathers Victory he joyfully came back to congratulate that Success but the severe General having first reproach'd him with Cowardize caused him to be immediately executed by cutting him off in the Middle with a Sword so great an Abhorrence had they of Dastardliness in those Days that in imitation of the Old Romans they punish'd it with a Severity which how commendable soever it may be in a General was nevertheless unnatural in a Father The Tomb both of Father and Son is yet to be seen in the Body of Christ-Church in Dublin whereon formerly was this bald Epitaph alluding to this Story Nate ingrate Hanmer 147. mihi pugnanti Terga dedisti Non mihi sed Genti Regno quoque Terga dedisti When Strongbow came near Wexford he received the ill News of Fitz-Stephens his Misfortune as also that the Irish had burnt Wexford and were retired to the Island Begory or Betherni and were resolved to kill Fitz-Stephens if they were farther pursued Wherefore he turned aside towards Waterford and march'd to that City where he met Hervy who was returned with Letters from the King wherein the Earl was ordered immediately to repair into England Strongbow presently obeyed and met the King at Newnham near Glocester on his Journey towards Ireland with an Army The Earl behaved himself so dutifully that the King was soon appeased for Strongbow did not only renew his Fealty but did also surrender to the King the City of Dublin and two Cantreds adjoyning and all Forts and Towns bordering on the Sea And on the other side the King was contented that the Earl should enjoy all the rest to him and his Heirs to be held of his Majesty and his Successors and so they marched by Severn-side through South Wales to Pembrook August 1172. and at length embarqu'd at Milford Haven In the mean time O Rorick and the King of Meath took Advantage of Strongbow's Absence in England and Reymond's at Waterford and with their united Forces besieged Dublin But Miles Cogan had the Courage to sally and the Good Fortune to defeat them with the Slaughter of Orourk's Son and many of his Followers On the eighteenth of October Regan M. S. King Henry arrived at Waterford with four hundred Knights and four thousand Soldiers The People of Wexford came with the first to make their court and complimented him with their Prisoner Fitz-Stephens whom the King continued in Prison and smartly chid him for invading Ireland without his Majesties special Licence But this was but a piece of King-craft to ingratiate with the Irish and to get the City of Wexford which Fitz-Stephens was forc'd to part with and to make his humble Submission and then at the King 's second coming to Waterford he was restored to his Liberty and the rest of his Estate To the King at Waterford came Dermond Mac Carthy King of Cork and voluntarily submitted and swore Allegiance He also agreed to pay a certain annual Tribute which being done the King marched to Lismore and thence to Cashel near which on the Banks of the Shure came Daniel O Bryan Prince of Limerick who in like manner submitted and swore Allegiance Whereupon Garrisons were sent to Cork and Limerick and the King returned to Waterford In like manner submitted Daniel Prince of Ossory O Phelin Prince of Decyes and all the great Men of Munster And the King gave each of them a Present and to all of them gracious and kind Reception All the Archbishops Brady 360. Bishops and Abbots of Ireland came unto the King of England at Waterford and received him as King and Lord of Ireland and sware Fealty to him and his Heirs and from every Archbishop and Bishop he received a Chart by which they acknowledged and constituted him King and submitted unto him and his Heirs as their Kings for ever And according to their Example the foresaid Kings and Princes received him as King and Lord of Ireland and became his Men and swore Fealty to him and his Heirs against all Men. These Charters were transcrib'd and the King sent the Transcripts to Pope Alexander who confirm'd by Apostolick Authority to him and his Heirs the Kingdom of Ireland according to the Form of those Charters as aforesaid The King left Robert Fitz-Barnard and his Houshold at Waterford and marched to Dublin through Ossory by the way he received the Submissions of the Prince of Ossory O Carol O Rurk O Chadess O Toole and several others but Rotherick the Monarch came no nearer than the Shannon-Side where Hugh de Lacy and William Fzadeline by Commission received his Oath of Allegiance and agreeed with him for a Tribute and as the rest did he likewise gave Hostages for his Performance so that there was no Prince or great Man in any part of Ireland except Vlster but by his Deputies or in Person did submit to the King Then did the King command to assemble a Synod at Cashel whereunto the Archbishop of Armagh consented afterwards though by reason of his great Age he was not present at the Synod Where after Christmas appeared Christianus Bishop of Lismore the Pope's Legate Donagh Archbishop of Cashel Laurence Archbishop of Dublin and Catholicus Archbishop of Tuum with their Suffragans and Fellow Bishops with divers Abbots Archdeacons Priors Deans and other Prelates And the King sent thither Ralph Abbot of Buldewais Ralph Archdeacon of Landaff Nicholas the Chaplain and divers other good Clerks and they made these following Canons First Cambrensis cap. 35. It is Decreed That all Good Faithful and Christian People throughout Ireland should forbear and shun to marry with their near Kinsfolk and Cousins and marry with such as lawfully they should do Secondarily That Children shall be Catechiz'd without the Church Door and Baptiz'd in the Font appointed in the Churches for the same Thirdly That every Christian Body do Faithfully and Truly pay yearly the Tithes of his Cattle Corn and other his Increase and Profits to the Church or Parish where he is a Parishioner Fourthly That all the Church-Lands and Possessions throughout all Ireland shall be free from all Secular Exactions and Impositions and especially that no Lords Earls or Noblemen nor their Children nor Family shall extort or take any Coyn and Livery Cosheryes nor Cuddyes nor any other like Custom from thenceforth in or upon any of the Church-Lands and Territories And likewise That they nor no other Person do henceforth exact out of the said Church-Lands Old Wicked and Detestable Customs of Coyn and Livery
to raise a Monarchy for himself Whereupon he was recalled and the Government committed unto John Constable of Cheshire May 1181. Baron of Halton-Castle and Richard de Peach Lord Bishop of Coventry Lords Justices of Ireland But they continued in that Dignity but three Months for Lacy behaved himself with that Discretion and Modesty and gave the King such Satisfaction in all Matters objected against him That Hugh de Lacy August 1181. Lord Justice was again sent over with Robert of Shrewsbury a Clergy-man his Assistant and about the same time the famous Courcy also returned being Dignified with the Titles of Lord of Connaught and Earl of Vlster and accompanied with his Brother S. Laurence There were some who reported That these two fought a successful Battle with the Irish Brady 367. at the Bridge of Ivora near the Hill of Hoath where the Valour of S. Laurence was so conspicuous that it got him both the Land and Title of Hoath which last continues to this Day in his Name and Family We left Cogan and Fitz-Stephens in the peaceable Enjoyment of their Kingdom of Cork but we shall not find them so for Cogan and young Fitz-Stephens at the Persuasion and Invitation of one Mac Tirid made a Journey to Lismore to treat with the Men of Waterford about some Controversies that were between them they were to lodge at Mac Tirid's House but he perfidiously took his Opportunity and unexpectedly fell upon them and murdered them and five of their Company Immediately the whole Country was up in Arms and conspired a general Rebellion Donald More in Curraugh Mac Carthy whom the Irish still called King of Cork got his Forces together and laid Siege to the City not doubting but that he had now a favourable Opportunity to expel the English thence The Poor Old Fitz-Stephens was in a sad Condition distressed by Enemies without and Suspicions of Traytors within he had no Hopes of Relief or Assistance saving only from Reymond le Gross who lay at Wexford to him a Messenger was sent and without Delay put to Sea with twenty Gentlemen and one hundred Archers and entred the River of Cork whereupon the Enemy dispersed and all was set at Rights again Nevertheless as soon as the King heard of the aforesaid Treachery he sent Richard Cogan Philip Barry Giraldus Cambrensis and a Good Party of Horse and Foot to help Fitz-Stephens by their Assistance the City and Kingdom of Cork were kept in Quiet for some Time but the Old Fitz-Stephens had but little Benefit of it for being much broken with Age and Misfortunes he first lost his Senses and not long afterwards his Life But Lacy the Lord Justice was again become suspected for as he grew Great his Enemies grew Envious and the King Jealous so that he was once more sent for and Philip of Worcester September 1184. Lord Justice or Governour of Ireland came over with a smart Party of Horse and Foot he also brought with him Hugh Tirrel a Man of ill Report He was not long in the Government before he seized on the Lands of O Cathesie to the King's Use though Lacy had formerly sold them He also went a Circuit to visit the Garisons and in March came to Armagh where he exacted from the Clergy a great Sum of Mony thence he went to Down and so to Dublin loaden both with Curses and Extortions Tirrel took a Brewing-Pan from the poor Priests at Armagh and carried it to Down but the House where he lay was burnt and so were also the Horses in the Stable so that he was fain to leave the Pan for want of Carriage and Philip had a severe fit of the Gripes like to cost him his Life both which Punishments they say were miraculously inflicted upon them for their Sacrilege In July came over John Comin Archbishop of Dublin to prepare for the King 's youngest Son John Earl of Moreton to whom the Kingdom of Ireland was assigned towards his Portion Brady 369. Some say that he was made King of Ireland at the Parliament held at Oxford 4 Inst 360. anno 1177. his Father having obtained Licence from the Pope to make which of his Sons he pleased King thereof saving to the See of Rome the Peter-pence and the rest of its Rights And it seems Pope Vrban the Third sent Cardinal Octavianus and Hugo de Nunant his Legates to crown John King of Ireland and by them sent him a Crown of Peacocks Feathers But King Henry better considered of that matter and either because he would not seem to derive his Son's Title from the Pope or because he was loath to trust his Son with that Royal Stile having already suffered by the like Indulgence to his eldest Son or because he saw it Inconvenient and Illegal to separate Ireland from the Crown of England It is certain he found means to carry the Legates with him into Normandy and thereby prevented that once designed Coronation So that the Impression of the Great Seal of Ireland was no more than this Johannes Filius Regis Angliae Speed 478. Domini Hiberniae Earl John was then about twelve Years old when on Wednesday in Easter-week 1185. anno 1185 with about four hundred Gentlemen most Normans some Clerks and particularly Giraldus Cambrensis and a great Company of others he took Shipping at Milford-Haven being accompanied to the very Ship by Randulph Glanvile principal Counseller of the King and Kingdom and Justiciary of England The Irish Potentates flock'd to their new Prince but their Trouses and Mantles their Glibbs and Behaviour were derided by the Normans who used them scurrilously one pats the Irish Prince on the Pate another pulls him by the Mantle a third pricks him in the Breech with a Pin a fourth shuts the Door upon his Heels every Body abuses them Wherefore away they get as fast as they can and every-where publish'd the Ill Usage they received at Court Rotherick O Conner Mac Carthy and O Bryan were then preparing for their Journey but upon this News they better considered it and confederated to raise a general Rebellion There were many Reasons why Earl John's Voyage to Ireland was not successful The Superstitious People observ'd That he had not pay'd his Devotions at S. Davids before he imbarqued and attributed it to that Others blamed him and his Followers more for their Rude and Ungenteel Abuse of the Irish Lords and Gentlemen Others imputed all to the Debauchery of the Soldiers who by the example of their Captains were grown Idle and Insolent Wherein they were the more indulged because they were ill paid To these may be added the Litigiousness of the Natives in Towns and Cities who were perpetually wrangling with and suing such new Inhabitants as came to settle among them But there was a greater Cause than all these which arose from the different Interests then in Ireland which inâ—luenced the Normans English Welch and the Natives The Normans were most in
take any notice of Ireland and therefore we take no further notice of him than to give this brief Account of the Reason of our Silence in that Particular Hugh de Lacy was made Lord Justice of Ireland as aforesaid And as soon as he arrived he sent Imperious Letters to Courcy to discharge him of his Command and behaved himself so insolently that all was in Disorder Which the Irish perceiving and also that the King of England was preparing for a Voyage to the Holy Land they thought this an happy Opportunity to extirpate the English to which End they had a General Meeting and resolved unanimously to fall upon them Hanmer 169. and in order to it they entred into a League or Association and solemnly swore First To be true to one another and to the common Cause Secondly Never to yield any Obedience to the English again Ibid 162. And to begin the Business they fell upon Roger Poer Governour of Leighlin and barbarously murdered him and most of the Garrison Cormock O Connor Son of Rotherick King of Connaught commonly called Crove Darig because his Hand was red was the chief of the Conspirators he was an Active Valiant Gentleman and of so great Reputation that he was able to assemble twenty thousand Men of his own and the Confederates with which Army he designed first to clear Connaught then Vlster and afterwards the whole Kingdom In the mean Time Courcy Lord of Connaught and Earl of Vlster considering that he should have no Aid nor Help from the Lord Justice endeavoured to strengthen himself the best he could and to that End sent for his Brother S. Lawrence who made more Haste than good Speed for he came away with thirty Horse and two hundred Foot and at Knockmoy in the County of Galway fell into an Ambush the King of Connaught had laid for him and tho' they fought so valiantly that they killed one thousand Irish Men yet the Issue was That this small Army was totally destroyed not one escaping And tho' O Connor in Remembrance and Ostentation of this Victory did there build the Abbey de Colle Victoriae yet when he had well considered the prodigious Valour of that Handful of Men and his own Loss he thought himself necessitated to sue to Lacy for Peace which he soon obtained upon reasonable Conditions About this Time Robin Hood and Litle John were Famous Robbers in England but their Company being dispersed and Robin Hood taken Litle John fled to Dublin and shot an Arrow from Dublin-Bridge to the litle Hill in Oxman-Town thence called Litle John's Shot He was called Litle John Ironically for he was not less than fourteen Foot long believe it who will Hector Boetius affirms The Hole of his Huckle Bone was so big that he could thrust his Hand through it He fled from Dublin to Scotland where he dyed This Year Isabel 1189. only Daughter of Strongbow by Eva Prencess of Leinster was married to William Lord Maxfield Earl Marshal of England He was a great Favourite to King Richard and at his Coronation carried the Regal Scepter whereon was a Cross of Gold He was afterward by King John Hanmer 177. created Earl of Pembrook and had five Sons who were successively Earls and all died without Issue and he had five Daughters among whom his Estate was divided viz. to Joan the County of Waxford to Matilda the County of Caterlough to Isabel the County of Kilkenny to Sybilla the County of Kildare and to Eva the Mannor of Downmass in Leix now the Queen's County in all which they exercised Palatine Jurisdiction Of this Family Thomas Mills in his Catalogue of Honour gives this Account That Richard Earl of Chepstow was nick-named Strongbow because of his exceeding Strength so that he drew an traordinary Srong Bow his Arms were so long that he could stand upright and with the Palms of his Hands touch his Knees That his Daughter Isabel was fourteen Years a Ward to Henry II That her Husband William Earl Marshal was created Earl of Pembrook 27 May 1199 and that she dyed anno 1221 and was buried at Tintern Abbey and that he dyed 16 March 1219. They had five Sons and five Daughters William married Elianor Sister of Henry III and died the sixth of April 1231. Richard died the sixteenth of April 1234. Gilbert married Margaret Daughter of William King of Scotland 1235 and died by a fall from his Horse the twenty eighth of May 1242. Walter died 1245 in Wales and Anselm died the same Month viz the twenty first of December Maud successively married Hugh Earl of Norfolk William Earl of Warren and Walier Lord Dunstanvil Joan married Warren Lord Montchensy the richest Baron in England Isabel married Gilbert Earl of Glocester and afterwards Richard Earl of Cornwal King of the Romans Sybil married William Earl of Ferrers and Darby and Eve married William de Brees Lord of Brecknock and Partition was made between these Noble Coparceners at Woodstock Lib. G. May 3. 31 Hen. 3. About this Time 1190. viz. Anno 1190 the City of Dublin was burnt by Accident 1191. so that it was almost totally destroyed and the Kingdom was governed by William Petit Burlace 11. who held it a very short Time before William Earl of Pembrook and Earl Marshal of England came over Lord Justice or Governour of Ireland he was the third of the Temporal Assistants King Richard had left to the Bishop of Ely for the Government of England he was a Valiant Man and had a great Estate in Ireland 1191. and therefore was thought the fittest Governour for that Country in this Critical Time whilst King Richard was Prisoner in Austria and Earl John was engaged in Troublesome and Ambitious Designs in England In the Year 1194. the Reliques of S. Malachy Bishop of Clareval Cambden 151. were brought into Ireland and with great Reverence and Devotion deposited in the Abby of Mellifont and other the Monasteries of the Cistersian Order It seems the Reputation or Power of this Noble Governour was sufficient to keep Ireland quiet 1197. for we read of little or no Disturbance there during his Time which was about six Years And then he resign'd to Hanno de valois a Gentleman of Suffolk Lord Justice of Ireland who continued in that Government until the Death of King Richard which happened at Chalons in France on the sixth Day of April anno 1199. John Earl of Moreton and Lord of Ireland did on the Death of King Richard without Title ascend the Throne of England Hubert Archbishop of Canterbury was a great assistant to this Usurpation he told the People That John had the Crown by Election which the King did not then gain-say it being no fit Time to dispute the MANNER so he had the THING he aimed at but the Right was in his Nephew Arthur whom he afterwards got into his Hands and caused him him to be murdered as was at that Time generally reported
the first and third Year of his Reign he did confirm them and in the eleventh Year he sent the following Writ which I recite at large because I find it curtail'd both in Calvin's Case and my Lord Cooks first Institutes 141. b. And what else King Henry did in this Matter shall be mentioned in the Account of his Reign REX Lib. GGG c. Baronibus militibus aliis libere tenentibus Lageniae salutem c. Satis ut credimus vestra audivit discretio quod cum bonae Memoriae Johannes quondam Rex Angliae pater noster venit in Hiberniam ipse duxit secum viros discretos legis peritos quorum communi consilio ad instantiam Hibernensium statuit praecepit Leges Anglicanas teneri in Hibernia ita quod leges easdem in scriptis redactas reliquit sub Sigillo suo ad Scaccar Dublin Cum igitur Consuetudo Lex Angliae fuerit quod si aliquis desponsaverit aliquam mulierem sive viduam sive aliam haereditatem habentem ipse postmodum ex ea prolem suscitaverit cujus clamor auditus fuerit infra quatuor parietes idem vir si supervixerit ipsam Vxorem suam habebit tota vita sua custodiam Haereditatis Vxoris suae licet ea forte habuerit Haeredem de primo viro suo qui fuerit plenae aetatis vobis mandamus injungentes quatenus in loquela quae est in Cur. Wilm Com. Maresc inter Mauritium Fitz-Gerrald petent Galfridum de Marisco Justiciarium nostrum Hiberniae tenentem vel in alia loquela quae fuerit in casu praedicto nullo modo justitiam in contrar facere presumatis Teste Rege apud W. decim Decemb. And thus King John having exceeding well acquitted himself in Ireland and thereby in a great measure attoned for Miscarriages of his former Voyage he departed thence on the thirtieth Day of August 1210. having first appointed John Gray Bishop of Norwich Lord Justice who kept the Kingdom in so good Order that he was able to spare three hundred Foot besides Horse 1211. to aid the King in France where they did good Service and yet most of them safely returned to Ireland About this Time happened the famous Story of John de Courcy 1212. which I will give you in the very Words of Hanmer because he expresses it much better than it is in Cambden's Annals Not long after Hanmer 184. there fell some Difference between John King of England and Philip King of France for the Right of some Fort in Normandy who to avoid the shedding of Christian Blood agreed of each Side to put it to a Combat Of King Philip's part there was a French-man in Readiness King John upon the sudden wist not what to do for a Champion to encounter with him at length one attending upon his Person enformed him That there was one Courcy in the Tower of London the only Man in his Dominions if he would undertake it to answer the Challenge King John joyful of this sent the first yea the second and third Time promising large Rewards and rich Gifts and that it stood him upon as far as the Honour of his Crown and Kingdom did reach to make good the Combat Courcy answered very frowardly the which was taken in good Part in regard of the urgent Necessity That he would never fight for him neither for any such as he was That he was not worthy to have one Drop of Blood spilt for him That he was not able to requite him the Wrongs he had done him neither to restore him the Hearts-Ease he had bereav'd him of Yet notwithstanding all the Premises he was willing and would with all Expedition be ready to venture his Life in Defence of the Crown and his Country Whereupon it was agreed He should be dyeted apparelled and armed to his Content and that his own Sword should be brought him out of Ireland The Day came the Place appointed the Lists provided the Scaffolds set up the Princes with their Nobility of each Side with thousands in Expectation forth comes the French Champion gave a turn and rests him in his Tent They sent for Courcy who all this while was trussing of himself about with strong Points and answered the Messengers That if any of their Company were to go to such a Banquet he would make no great haste However forth he comes gave a Turn and went into his Tent. When the Trumpets sounded to Battle forth came the Combitants and viewed each other Courcy beheld him with a wonderful stern Countenance and passed by The French-man not liking his grim Look the strong Proportion and Feature of his Person stalked still along and when the Trumpets sounded the last Charge Courcy drew out his Sword and the French-man ran away and conveyed himself to Spain Whereupon they sounded Victory the People clapt their Hands and cast up their Caps King Philip desired King John That Courcy might be called before them to shew some Part of his Strength and Manhood by a Blow upon a Helmet it was agreed a Stake was set in the Ground and a Shirt of Male and a Helmet thereon Courcy drew his Sword looked wonderful sternly upon the Princes cleft the Helmet Shirt of Mail and the Stake so far in that none could pull it out but himself Then the Princes demanded of him What he meant to look so sowerly upon them His answer was If he had missed his Blow upon the Block he would have cut off both the Kings Heads All that he said was taken in good Part and King John discharged him of all his Troubles gave him great Gifts and restored him to his former Possessions in Ireland It is written further That hereupon he sailed into England came to Westchester offered himself to the Sea and was put back again fifteen times by contrary Winds which rose upon a sudden to the English Shore And in the Book of Houth it is delivered That upon every Repulse the Night following he was admonished in a Vision Not to attempt the Seas for to sail into Ireland and that he should never set Foot upon any Land there and withal that the Reason was yielded thus Courcy thou hast done very ill for thou hast pulled down the Master and set up the Servant for he had translated the Cathedral Church and the Prebendaries of the Blessed Trinity in Dune into an Abbey of Black Monks brought thither from Chester and consecrated the same to the Honour of S. Patrick Whereupon remembring himself That he had done very ill in taking the Name from God and giving it to a Creature he gave Sentence upon himself That he was worthily punished and immediately he altered his Course went into France and there died But 't is Time to return to our Lord Justice who was sent for into England and ordered to leave the Government in the Hands of Henry de Londres Archbishop of Dublin Lord Justice July 23. he had
publickly opposed the King's Alienation or Resignation of his Dominions to the Pope 1213. He governed the Kingdom very well but at the end of two Years he went to Rome either to solicit Aid for the King against the Barons or to be present at a General Council He left Geofry de Marisco 1215. Lord Keeper of Ireland to whom nevertheless Sir Edmond Butler was Assistant or Coadjutor It was about this Time the Citizens of Dublin obtained a Licence to build a Bridge over the Liffy where they pleased And not long after they also got a Fee-Farm of the City of Dublin from the King at a certain Rent but I take that to have been anno 1217. and if so the King here meant must be Henry III. It seems these Times were very Quiet for I find no mention of any War or Rebellion except some small Stirs in Connaught which were not so Great or Considerable as that the Particulars should be transmitted to posterity In the mean Time William Earl Marshal who came to Ireland anno 1207. was employed in building his Castle of Kilkenny and the Abbey of Black-Fryers there He also incorporated that Town by the Name of Sovereign Burgesses and Communalty and granted them a Privilege to be quit of Toll Lastage and Pontage and all other Customs throughout Leinster and afterwards went to England And thus stood the Government of Ireland during the Life of King John who died at Newark the nineteenth Day of October 1216. 1216. THE REIGN OF HENRY III. King of England And LORD of IRELAND c. HENRY the Third not then Ten years old succeeded his Deceased Father in all his Titles and Estates 1216. and in the presence of the Popes Legate William Earl Marshal and others he was declared King and Crowned at Glocester by the Bishops of Winchester and Bath and at the same time he did Homage to Pope Innocent and the Church of Rome Brady 522. for the Kingdoms of England and Ireland and swore to pay yearly the Thousand Marks which his Father had promised to the Holy See William Earl Marshal who was also Earl of Pembrook was Protector of the King and Kingdom Ib. 523. and by Proclamation encouraged the Nobility Gentry and other the Kings Subjects to continue faithful to him which they were the more easily perswaded to because Lewis Prince of France and his Party began to decline and were solemnly excommunicated or rather the same Excommunication was published and denounced every Sunday and Holy-Day There likewise issued a Writ to the Kings Subjects in Ireland in haec verba REX Archiepiscopis Prin 250. Episcopis Abbatibus Comitibus Baronibus Militibus libere tenentibus omnibus fidelibus suis per Hibern constitutis Salutem Fidelitatem vestram in Domino commendantes quam Domino Patri nostro semper exhibuistis nobis estis diebus nostris exhibituri Volumus quod in signum Fidelitatis vestrae tam praeclarae tam insignis libertatibus Regno nostro Angl. Ã Patre nostro nobis concessis de gratia nostra dono in Regno nostro Hibern gaudeatis vos vestri Haeredes in perpetuum quas distincte in Scriptum redactas de communi consilio omnium fidelium nostrorum vobis mittimus signatas Sigillis Domini nostri G. Apostolicae Sedis Legati fidelis nostri Com. W. Maresc Rectoris nostri Regni nostri quia Sigillum nondum habuimus easdem processu temporis de majori Consilio proprio Sigillo signaturi Teste apud Glouc. 6 die Februar And the Entry on the Roll is Homines Hiberniae habent libertates Angliae And another Writ Brady Append. 143. under the Test of the Earl Marshal was sent to Hugh de Lacy to invite his Return in this Writ which runs in the Name of the King his Majesty condescends to expostulate with Lacy that he the King ought not to be blamed for his Fathers unkindness to Lacy and assures him that he shall have Restitution and Protection if he would come back and upon Receipt of it Lacy did readily comply with the Kings Desire Geofry de Marisco continued Lord Justice or Governor of Ireland Burlace 15. to whom on the 16th of April following Henry de Londres was added as Assistant or Co-adjutor at least in Ecclesiastical Matters 1217. and for the Reformation of the Church The King sent a Writ to the Lord Justice giving him thanks for his faithful Service to the deceased King John and desiring that he would persevere in the like to himself especially during his Monority when he stood in need of the Lord Justices assistance and advice Prin Hist H. 3. fol. 38. and requires him to take the Oath of Fealty of the Nobility of Ireland and all others that are obliged thereto and assures them they shall enjoy the same Liberties in Ireland as he hath granted to his Subjects in England There was also another Writ sent to the Lords Spiritual and Temporal to assist the Lord Justice in the Kings Service And there was yet another Writ for a thousand Bacons Lib. GGG Lambeth two Ship-load of Corn and a Ship-load of Oats Mandatum est Justiciario Hiberniae quid mittet in Angliam mille Bacones duas Navatas Frumenti unam Navatam Aveni So that England must not deny but that it has at some time been beholden to us About this time William Earl Marshal incorporated the Town of Calan and gave it the following Charter COncessi Burgensibus meis de Calan omnimodas Libertates quas decet Burgenses habere mihi licet conferre viz. quod nullus Burgensis trahatur in causam vel respondeat de ullo placito quod proveniat infra Metas Burgi in Castello Lib. in Lambeth vel alibi nisi in hundredo villae exceptis placitis quae sunt de hominibus hospitii mei Concessi etiam eisdem Burgensibus Matrimonium contrahere sibi filiis filiabus viduis sine licentia Dominorum suorum nisi forte forinseca tenementa teneant de me in capite extra Burgum Lucas de Netervil was chosen by the Chapter Archbishop of Armagh 1217. and went to the King for Confirmation but could not obtain it Ware de Fresul 17. because the Election was made without the Kings License Whereupon the Monks compounded with the King for three hundred Marks of Silver and three of Gold and so they took out a Conge de esâ—ier and repeated the Election and then Netervil was consecrated by Langton Archbishop of Canterbury About this Time viz. 2 Hen. 3. the King wrote to Ireland for Aid to pay off a Debt due from him to Lewis Son of the King of France Soon after Henry de Londres was by Pope Honorius the Third made Legate of Ireland and held a Synod at Dublin which made many good Canons But the Lord Justice had displeased the King by his male-administration of Affairs in Ireland or perhaps had
Officer under the King that entred very poor could in one Year heap up more Wealth than Men of great Estates in many Years And III. How it chanced since they were all called Lords of their own that the Sovereign Lord of them all was never the richer for them The King who knew what they aimed at was very unwilling to restore the Lands and Jurisdictions he had resumed and therefore tryed all other ways to reform the Kingdom and please the People He turned out many of his Judges and Officers that were most obnoxious particularly Elias de Ashbourn whose Estate he caused to be seized Thomas de Montepessulano and Henry Baggott Judges of the Common Pleas He sent a Writ to the Lord Deputy to certifie the Qualities Services Fees Number and Behaviour of his Officers in Ireland He ordered that all Pardons or Suspensions of the King's Debts that were by green Wax or otherwise except Pardons or Releases under the great Seal should be vacated and the Debts levyed He also commanded the Lord Justice Darcy or his Deputy to employ no others in any considerable Office than such Englishmen as had Estates in England and to turn out all that were not so qualified And also enjoyned him not to alien or grant any of the King's Lands until he be fully informed of the Circumstances by Inquisition And whereas the Treasurer of the Exchequer did claim a Privilege to dispose of any Sum under one hundred Shillings toties quoties as he pleased without Voucher or Account the King supersedes that evil Custom and orders him to account for what is past since the beginning of his Reign and to issue no more Mony without the Presence or Consent of the Lord Justice Lord Chancellor and Council And whereas the Treasurer used to name Sheriffs that Nomination is conferred on the Chief Governour and Chancellor and Council who are enjoyned to put in Persons fit for the Office And whereas the Treasurer for Rewards used to forbear the King's Debts so that many of them were lost that Practice is also prohibited for the future And the Treasurer is ordered Not to receive the King's Mony in his Chamber or elsewhere privately but only in the publick Office The King also sent a Writ to be certified of the Particulars which were seized by virtue of the aforesaid Writ of Resumption And John Darcy Senior had an Order to have his Part of those Lands restored The Lord Justice the Deputy and the Chancellor or any two of them were authorized to supervise and regulate the Exchequer And yet all this and whatever else the King could do did not quiet the Kingdom until there was a general Restitution of these resumed Estates which was done 26 Edw. 3. And it must not be forgot that Walter Archbishop of Ardmagh Pryn 277. being in the time of Edw. 2. advanced to that See by the Popes Provision wherein were some Clauses prejudicial to the Crown the King refused to restore the Temporalities unto him until he had renounced all Clauses in the Pope's Bulls prejudicial to the King or his Kingdoms and engaged to pay a Fine of one thousand Crowns for that Misdemeanour but the Archbishop died before the Fine was paid And about this time Process issued to levy the same on the Temporalities of his Successor but it was irregular and illegal and therefore the King superseded that Process and directed that it should be levyed of the Heirs or Executors of the said Walter And about this time John Larch Prior of the Hospital of S. John of Jerusalem in Ireland and Mr. Thomas Wogan were sent to the King by the Prelates Earls Barons and Commons of Ireland with a long Catalogue of the Grievances of those Times to be seen at large together with the King's Answer in Mr. Pryns Animadversions 279. But Whether these Agents were sent from the Parliament at Dublin or the discontented Assembly at Kilkenny non constatâ— But 't is certain that not long after the Lord Justice was removed and Sir Ralph Vfford came over Lord Justice 1334. he married the Countess Dowager of Vlster and was a grave severe Man and the likeliest Person of that Age to reduce the Seditious to their Duty however the Irish and the old English speak very hardly of him and after they had given him the worst Character imaginable they add That there was a continual Tempest in Ireland from the time of his landing to the Day of his Death Camb. 189. 'T is certain they hated him so that in Sight of the People and at noon-day he was robbed of his Cloaths Mony Plate and Horses by Mac Cartane at Emerdullin no Body endeavouring to help or rescue him nevertheless he afterwards raised the Men of Vrgile and gained the Pass and entred Vlster On the twenty fourth of November the King and Parliament at Notingham made Ordinances for the Reformation of Ireland which are the same mentioned already 17 Edw. 2. ante pag. 112. which is there mistaken for 17 Edw. 3. as I suppose for though both my Lord Cook and Mr. Pryn quote 17 Edw. 2. yet I rather believe both their Books are misprinted than that the same Ordinances should be repeated at the same Place and in the same Year of both Kings But however that be my Lord Cook adds this Clause Volumus praecipimus quod Nostra Terrae nostrae negotia praesertim majora ardua per Peritos Conciliarios ac Praelatos 4 Inst 350 351. Magnates quosdam de discretioribus Hominibus i.e. the Commons in Parliamentis tractentur disâ—utiantur terminentur Vide postea ad annum 1357. And this he says does regulate the Parliaments of Ireland according to the Institution of England for before this time the great Meetings in Ireland were rather general Assemblies of the Great Men than properly Parliaments I find it asserted in the Argument of a Case about the Precedency of the Lord of Kerry before the Lord of Slane 12 Jac. 1. that the first regular Parliament in Ireland was held anno 12 Edw. 3. but I do not find any other Authority that there was any Parliament held that Year at all Certainly the greatest Assembly that was at any time in either of these King's Reigns at Parliament was anno 1302. being 30 Edw. 〈◊〉 the Number upon the Parliament Roll amounting to no less than one hundred fifty six The Parliament 8 Edw. 2. was nevertheless more considerable because of the Quality of the Persons for there were the four Archbishops ten Bishops the Abbot of S. Thomas the Prior of Kilmainham and the Dean and Chapter of Dublin There were also many Irish Lords as O Hanlon Duke i.e. Dux Captain or Chief of Orry O Donel Duke of Tyrconnel O Neal Duke of Tyrone c. and almost all the English Nobility in Ireland Others make a distinction between Grand and Petit Parliaments Lib. M. Lambetâ— the former were properly Parliaments and in them the
Deputy who held that Place and discharg'd it worthily until Sir Thomas Rokeby 1353. Lord Justice returned he brought with him ten men at Arms and twenty Archers which were allowed him by the King over and above the ordinary Retinue of twenty Men. About this time lived Sir Robert Savage a very considerable Gentleman in Vlster who began to fortifie his dwelling House with strong Walls and Bulwarks but his Son derided the Fathers Providence and Caution affirming that a Castle of Bones was better than a Castle of Stones and thereupon the old Gentleman put a stop to his Building It hapned that this brave Man with his Neighbors and Followers were to set out against a numerous Rabble of Irish that had made Incursions into their Territories And he gave Orders to provide plenty of good Cheer against his return but one of the Company reprov'd him for doing so alledging that he could not tell but the Enemy might eat what he should provide to whom the valiant old Gentleman replied That he hoped better from their Courage Camb. 193. but that if it should happen that his very Enemies should come to his House he should be asham'd if they should find it void of good Cheer The Event was suitable to the Bravery of the Undertaking Old Savage had the killing of three thousand of the Irish near Antrim and return'd joyfully home to Supper But let us return to the Lord Justice of whom it is recorded that he us'd to say That he would rather eat his Meat in wooden Dishes and pay Gold and Silver for it than to eat in Golden Dishes and make wooden Payment However on the 20th day of July 1355. he did resign to Maurice Fitz-Girald 1355. Earl of Desmond Lord Justice he obtained so much favour in England Lib. M. that he had this Office granted to him for Life which expired the 25th day of January he was so just a man that he spared not his very Relations when they were criminal And about this time the Barons of the Exchequer were reduced to Three Lib. CCC 10. 29 Ed. 3. and John de Pembrook Chancellor of the Exchequer was made the third Baron Sir Thomas Rokeby 1356. Lord Justice returned again to Ireland and held a Parliament at Kilkenny at which many good Laws were enacted In his time a Memorable Writ was sent to the Lord Justice and Chancellor reciting That whereas the Subject found great difficulty to get Restitution according to Law of such Lands as were at any time seized into the Kings Hands Prin. 286. 29 Ed. 3. And whereas they refused in Parliaments here to take cognizance of erronious Proceedings in the Kings Courts but put the Subject to the trouble and charge of prosecuting a Writ of Error in England the King orders amendment and Reformation in both those Cases And not long after this worthy Lord Justice died at the Castle of Kilkea and was succeeded by Almaricus de Sancto Amando 1337. Lord Justice in whose time a great Controversie happened between the Archbishop of Armagh and the Regulars but at length by the favour of the Pope the Friers got the better of the Bishop To this Lord Justice the King sent a Writ or Commission Prin 294. authorizing him with the Advice of the Chancellor and Treasurer to give a special Pardon to as many English or Irish as he shall think fit for all Crimes except Treason Moreover for the better instruction of the People and because of the Non-residence of their Pastors Ibid. the King by his Sovereign Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Authoriz'd and Licenc'd the Archbishop of Dublin to constitute perpetual Vicars in all Benefices and Prebendaries belonging to his Archbishoprick and of the Kings Patronage with certain proportions of greater and lesser Tithes and other Profits to those who should reside upon them But which was more than all this the King by advice of his Council made most excellent Ordinances in England for the better Government of the Church and State of Ireland and the maintenance of the good Laws and Statutes of England there established they are to be found at large in Prins Animadversions on the 4th Instit pag. 287. and therefore are omitted here being very long though also very good only this must be observed that the Clause formerly quoted ad annum 1344 out of the 4th Instit is by my Lord Cooke mistaken both as to Time and Form as to the Time it was not 17 Edw. 3. as he says but it was 31 Edw. 3. And as to the Form it is thus VOlumus praecipimus quod Nostra ipsius terrae Negotiâ—a praesertim majora ardua in Conciliis per peritos Conciliarios nostros ac Praelatos Magnates quosdam de discretioribus probioribus hominibus de partibus vicinis ubi ipsa Concilia teneri contigerit propter hoc evocandos In Parliamentis vero per ipsos Conciliarios nostros ac Praelatos Proceres aliosque de Terra praedict prout Mos exigit secundum Justitiam Legem Consuetudinem Rationem tractentur c. But to return James 1359. Earl of Ormond Lord Justice was commonly stiled The Noble Earl because he was of the Royal Blood being great Grand-son to King Edward the first In his time 34 Edw. 3. the King ordered Proclamation to be made in Ireland That no Meer Irishman should be Mayor Bayliff or Officer of any Town within the English Dominion i.e. the Pale nor be advanced to any Ecclesiasâ—â—cal Benefice or Promotion 35 Edw. 3. but the next Year the King by his Writ explains the former Proclamation Pryn 296. and orders that it shall not extend to any Irish Clerks who have done him Service or are Loyal to him But it seems that the Lord Justice was sent for into England and until his Return Maurice Fitz-Girald March 30. Earl of Kildare was constituted Lord Justice 1360. by Patent under the Great Seal of Ireland he was to have the usual Sallary of five hundred pound per annum maintaining thereout Ninteen Horsemen besides himself but he did not continue long in this Station before James Earl of Ormond March 15. Lord Justice return'd and the King intending to send his Son to Ireland 1357. with a good Force summoned the Duchess of Norfolk and all other Noble and Gentle Men and Women that held Lands in Ireland to appear in Person or by Proxy 4 Instit. Pryn 296. before him and his Council to advise concerning the Defence of Ireland and to repair to that Kingdom in Person with all the Forces they could raise by a certain Day or to send their sufficient Deputies to assist the Kings Son in Defence of the Country And the same Day issued a Writ or Proclamation prohibiting the transporting of any Corn or Victuals out of Ireland on pain of Forfeiture and another Proclamation or Writ to seize all the Lands or Tenements purchased
Pound six Shillings and eight Pence per annum Lib. G. and obtained an Order from the King and Council That all those who had Lands in Ireland should repair thither or send sufficient Men in their Room to defend the Country on Pain of forfeiting their Estates Nevertheless this Lord Justice was so far from subduing the Irish that he confessed he could never get access to know their Countries or Habitations and yet he had spent more time in the Service of Ireland than any Englishman then living So finding he could do no good he resigned to James Earl of Ormond July 24. 1376 Lord Justice In whose time the Counties Cities and Burroughs of Ireland sent Commissioners to the King to Treat and Advise about the Affairs of that Kingdom and not to the English Parliament as some have mistaken it Pryn. 305. And the King did Issue a Writ to the Lord Justice and the Chancellor requiring them to levy the reasonable Expences of these Commissioners from the respective Places that chose them by Writ under the great Seal of Ireland And accordingly John Draper who served for Cork had a particular Mandate to the Mayor and Bayliffs of that City to pay him his reasonable Expences as aforesaid It will not be unuseful to recite this Lord Justice his Commission because the Reader will thereby perceive what Authority he had and will also note the Difference between this brief Commission and the prolix Forms that are now used REX omnibus ad quos Ibid. c. Salutem Sciatis quod commisimus dilecto consanguineo nostro Jacobo le Bottiler Comiti de Ormond officium Justic nostr Hibern Terram nostram Hibern cum Castris aliis pertinentiis suis custodiend quamdiu nobis placuerit percipiend per ann ad Scac. nostrum Hibern quamdiu in Officio illo sic steterit quingent libras pro quibus Officium illud terram custodiet erit se vicessimus de hominibus ad arma cum tot equis coopertis continue durante commissione supradicta c. But by a subsequent Patent the sixth of August he had Power to Pardon all Offences generally or to particular Persons and by consent of the Council to remove or displace any Officer those made by Patent under the great Seal only excepted Ibid. 307. And by another Writ of the same date the former Commission was explained not to extend to the Pardon of any Prelate or Earl for any Offence punishable by loss of Life Member Lands or Goods And the same time Alexander Bishop of Ossory was made Treasurer of Ireland and a Guard of six Men at Arms and twelve Archers at the King's Pay allowed him I have seen a Copy of a Commission to Maurice Fitz-Thomas Lib. G. 13. Earl of Kildare to govern Ireland till Sir William Windsor's return it bore date the sixteenth of February 50 Edw. 3. and Stephen Bishop of Meath was appointed to oversee Munster but because I find no other mention of his being in the Government about this time I have therefore omitted to name him as Lord Justice And so we are come to the twenty first Day of June 1377. 1377. on which Day this victorious King died at Shene in Surry in the sixty fourth Year of his Age and of his Reign the one and fiftieth Lib. M. His Revenue in Ireland did not exceed ten thousand Pound per annum though the Medium be taken from the best seven Years of his Reign THE REIGN OF RICARD II. King of England c. And LORD of IRELAND RICHARD the Second only Son of Edward commonly called the Black Prince Eldest Son of King Edward the Third was by his Grandfather declared to be his Heir and lawful Successor and accordingly succeeded him in the Throne on the 21st of June and was Crowned at Westminster the 16th of July following 1377. His tender Age being but eleven years old required a Protector and because it seemed dangerous to commit that great Authority and Power to a single Person it was given to the Kings Unkles the Duke of Lancaster and the Earl of Cambridge and others who thought fit to continue in the Government of Ireland James Earl of Ormond Lord Justice he kept the Kingdom in as good order as those dangerous and troublesom Times would admit of Baker 141. for both the French and the Scots took advantage of the Kings Infancy to disquiet his Dominions but especially the Realm of England This Lord Justice according to the Usage in those days held Pleas of the Crown Lib. G. Lambeth and Gaol-delivery at the Naas on Monday after Valentines Day 1378. and not long after surrendred to Alexander Balscot Bishop of Ossory Lord Justice who continued in the Government until November following Lib. G. and then gave place to John de Bromwick 1379. Lord Justice in whose time Beauchamp Earl of Warwick was by the Parliament of England made sole Protector of the King and Kingdom And then was made that first Act or Ordinance against Absentees Lib. M. Lambeth 138. by the Assent and Advice of the Lords and Nobles of England Davis 38. 199 being in Parliament Whereby it is Ordained That all that have Lands 4th Instit. 356 360. Rents or Offices in Ireland shall return thither but if they have reasonable cause to absent that then they shall send sufficient Deputies to defend their Castles and Estates or contribute two Thirds of the yearly value towards the defence thereof but that Students and those in the Kings Service and those absent for reasonable Cause by Licence under the Great Seal of England shall be excused for one Third of the yearly Profit of their Estates This Act was confirmed afterwards Lib. F. 19 Edw. 4. and by vertue hereof the Mannor of Ballymaclo in Meath was seiz'd into the Kings Hands for the absence of William de Carew but was the next year restor'd to him on his Petition Prin 308. Septemb. 27. 1380. And it is to be remembred That this Act was occasioned by a Petition from Ireland and that it is mentioned in the Body of the Act that the Loss of Ireland would be a Disinherison to the King and his Crown of England Ibid. At the same Parliament at Westminster there was another Irish Petition for Mine and Coigne which I take to be a Liberty to dig Mines and a Mint to coyn Money For the Kings Answer is That for six years to come every one may dig in his own Grounds for any Mineral whatsoever even Gold and Silver paying the Ninth part thereof to the King and sending the rest to the Kings Mint at Divelin for the Coynage of which they shall pay the usual Rates but must transport none to any place except England on pain of forseiting it if it be seized or the Value if he be convict of it unless the Party had special Licence under the Great Seal of
List of all that did pay this scandalous Contribution Lib. P. 174. and yet I am not willing to conceal from him the Account I have met with which is as follows lib. The Barony of Lecale to O Neal of Clandeboy per annum 20 The County of Vriel to O Neal 40 The County of Meath to O Connor 60 The County of Kildare to O Connor 20 The King's Exchequer to Mac Morough 80 Marks The County of Wexford to Mac Morough 40 The Counties of Kilkenny and Typerary to O Carol 40 The County of Limerick to O Bâ—â—an 40 The County of Cork to Mac Carty of Muskry 40 And whilst the English were engaged in England the Irish advantaged themselves of the Opportunity and without Colour of Right usurped many considerable Estates as they had done before in the time of Richard II and these two Seasons set them so afloat that they could never since be cast out of their forceable Possessions holding by plain Wrong the most part of Vlster and upon very frivolous Pretences great Portions of Laâ—d in Munster and Connaugh And so we are come to the end of this unfortunate Reign which determined some Years before the King's Life for he did not dye until the twenty first Day of May 1472. And it must not be forgot That one of the Articles against this King was That by the Instigation of divers Lords about him he had wrote Letters to some of the Irish Enemy whereby they were encouraged to attempt the Conquest of the said Land of Ireland THE REIGN OF EDWARD IV. King of England c. And LORD of IRELAND EDWARD Earl of March 1460. Son and Heir of Richard Duke of York immediately after his Fathers Death at the Battle of Wakefield betook himself with all Diligence to gather an Army near Shrewsbury and having got twenty three thousand Men together on the second of February he defeated the Earls of Ormond and Pembrook near Mortimers-Cross and killed three thousand eight hundred of their Soldiers and although the Queen not long afterward defeated the Earl of Warwick at Bernard-Heath near S. Albans yet he wisely made slight of that Misfortune and without any Regard to it marched directly to London where on the fourth Day of March by vertue of the aforementioned Act of Parliament he was proclaimed King by the Name of Edward the Fourth He was as to his Person the goodliest Man of his Time and he was not less Valiant than beautiful On the twelfth of March he advanced against his Enemies and on Palm-Sunday with an Army of forty thousand and six hundred Men he encountred with sixty thousand and obtained so great a Victory that thirty six thousand seven hundred and seventy two of his Adversaries were slain And so being safe in his Throne 1461. he thought it time to put the Crown upon his Head which was solemnly performed on the twenty eighth Day of June In the mean time Thomas Earl of Kildare was on the thirtieth of April chosen Lord Justice by the Council of Ireland and continued so until Sir Rowland Fitz-Eusâ—ace 1462. Lord of Portlester and Treasurer was appointed Deputy to the Duke of Clarence He held a Parliament at Dublin Friday before S. Luke's Day which enacted That ten Pound per annum Davis 96. be received out of the Profits of the Courts to repair the Castle hall It seems that one William O Bolgir was made Denizen about this time Lib. G. and that on the fourth of May 1463. Robert Barnwal was made Baron of Trimlets-Town and it must not be forgot That the Earl of Ormond was beheaded at Newcastle and attainted by Parliament in Englaâ—d ◠〈◊〉 4. and that that noble Family was in Disgrace all this â—eâ—gn for their firm adhesion to the House of Lancaster This Lord Justice was long after this in a very old Age made Viscount Baltinglass by King Henry VIII and now was forced to resign to George Duke of Clarence the King's Brother who was made Lord Lieutenant for Life and deputed his Godfather Thomas Earl of Desmond Lib. M. Lord Deputy in whose time Mints were established at Dublin Trim Drogheda Waterford and Galway to coyn Groats two Penny pieces Pence Halfpence and Farthings And not long after it was ordered That English Mony should advance a fourth Part in Ireland viz. That an English Nine Pence should pass for a Shilling in Ireland and a Shilling for sixteen Pence and so proportionably And it seems the Gold Noble coyned in the time of Edward III. was inhanced higher than the rest for it was ordered to pass for ten Shillings And this was the first time any difference was made in the value of Mony between England and Ireland This Lord Justice held a Parliament at Weys Friday before S. Martin's Day 1463. which the Thursday after was adjourned to Waterford to be held the Monday following It was again on Saturday before the Feast of Edward the Confessor adjourned to Naas Irish Statutes 19. to be held Monday before S. Matthias Day and thence on the Friday after it met there it was adjourned to Dublin to be held Monday before S. David's Day and there on the Saturday after it was dissolved having first enacted I. That all Parliament Men should have Priviledge forty Days before and forty Days after every Sessions And II. That the Attorneys Fees be regulated And III. That clipped Mony should not be currant He held another Parliament at Trim 1465. on Wednesday after S. Lawrence his Day at which it was enacted I. That the like Challenge may be had against the Feofee as against cestuy que use II. That any Body may kill Thieves or Robbers Repealed 11 Car. 1 c. 6. or any Person going to rob or steal having no faithful Men of Good Name in English Apparel in their Company III. That the Irish within Pale shall wear English Habit take English Names and swear Allegiance upon pain of forfeiture of Goods IV. That English and Irish speaking English and living with the English shall have an English Bow and Arrows on pain of two Pence V. That there be a Constable and Butts in every Town And Lastly That no Foreign Vessels fish on the Rebels Coast on pain of Forfeiture And every one that fisheth on the Coast of the Pale to pay a Duty But this Lord Justice who was the greatest Man that ever was of his Family began now to decline in the King's Favour and was obliged to give place to John Lord Tiptoft 1467. Earl of Worcester Treasurer of England and Constable of England for Life Lord Deputy of Ireland he was one of the most learned and eloquent Men in Christendom and held a Parliament at Drogheda At which it was enacted I. That the Governour for the time being may pass into Islands II. That none shall purchase Bulls for Benefices from Rome under great Penalty III. That the King's Pardon to Provisors be void IV. That the
grand Captain four shillings a petit Captain two shillings and an hundred Harquebusses I suppose on Horseback half at eight pence and the other half at nine pence a day makes three pound sixteen shillings and ten pence per diem and an hundred and seven pound eleven shillings and four pence per mensem and per annum 1402 04 02. Mr. Brereton's Retinue a grand Captain four shillings a Captain three shillings a petit Captain two shillings and an hundred and fifty Archers at six pence apiece is four pound four shillings per diem and one hundred and seventeen pound twelve shillings per mensem and per annum 1533 00 00. The Knight Marshal's Retinue a grand Captain four shillings and twenty nine Horsemen at nine pence a day is one Pound eight shilling per diem eleven Pound eighteen shillings per mensem and per annum 0511 00 00. Clerk of the Cheques Retinue ten Horsemen at nine pence and himself a shilling is eight shillings six pence per diem eleven Pounds eighteen shillings per mensem and per annum 0155 02 06 The Treasurers Retinue forty Horse at nine pence and himself at six shillings and eight pence per diem is per annum 0669 03 04 The Lord Deputy's Stipend is per annum 0666 13 04 Master of the Ordnance's Stipend per annum 0048 13 04 Charge of the Ordnance besides what comes out of England is per annum 0040 00 00 7982 06 08 It seems the reason why they had so little Foot was because the Lords and Gentlemen of the Country were bound by their Tenures to assist the King with a certain number of Men at every Hosting or rising out as they call it and as for the Artillery it was so contemptible that I find by one of the Letters from the Council at the Camp that the Army had but one broken Piece and therefore they desire another may be sent them But before we proceed farther in the Affairs of Ireland it will be fit to pay that respect to the Memory of the late Lord Deputy the Lord Grey as to give some Account of his Misfortunes and Destiny He had certainly performed considerable Atchievments in Ireland and great Commendations of him are contained in most of the Letters from the Council to the King and his Majesty did so well approve of his good Services that he Created him Viscount Grany and although the Earl of Ormond the Lord Chancellor Allen the Vice-Treasurer Brabazon and Sir John Travers went with him or immediately followed him into England to impeach him yet he was kindly received by the King and and carried the Sword before him on Whitsunday Nevertheless he was in a short time after imprisoned in the Tower and accused of very many Articles the principal of which are these First That O Connor feasted him and mended Toghercroghan for him and that in favour of O Molloy a Rebel he took a Castle from Dermond O Molloy whose Father-in-Law O Carol was a good Subject for which the Lord Grey had a Bribe and Stephen ap Harry had twenty Cows Secondly That he took the Castle of Bi r from a Loyal O Carol and gave it to a Rebel O Carol who married the Earl of Kildare's Daughter and also took Moderhern a Castle belonging to the Earl of Ormond and gave it to the Rebel O Carol and wasted the Earl of Ormond's Lands for which he had an hundred and forty Kine and Stephen ap Harry had forty and Girald Mac Gerrot had a black Hackny Thirdly That he took forty Kine from O Kenedy a Tenant of the Earl of Ormond's and his Son for Hostage Fourthly That he held secret and private familiar Correspondence with James of Desmond and went to visit him in his Tents in his Night-Gown and forced the Abbot of Owny to give him forty Pounds sterling to preserve that Abby from Ruine and O Brian to give him thirty Kine and Hostages Vlick Bourk a Bastard gave him 100 Marks to have Ballimacleere-Castle and to be made Mac William and that he carried the Artillery in a small Vessel to Galway and made the Town of Galway pay thirty four Pounds for that Carriage Fifthly That the Exploits at Bryans Bridge c. were in favour of O Bryan a Rebel Desmond's Son-in-Law and to the prejudice of Donough O Bryan a good Subject and that he took a Bribe of eighty Kine from Macnemarra Sixthly That trusting Desmond and O Bryan he hazarded the King's Army in a long and dangerous Journy wherein Desmond quarrelled and deserted him and O Bryan sent but one man with a Battle-Ax to guide him Seventhly That he rifled the Abby of Ballyclare and left neither Chalice Cross nor Bell in it Eighthly That he destroyed the Castles of Lecagh and Derriviclaghny in favour of Vlick Burk though the rightful Proprietor offered Submission and Rent to the King Ninthly That he had secret Conference with and received a Horse from O Connor Roe who was the chief Instrument in conveying away the young Fitz-Girald Tenthly That he took eighty Kine from O Maddin and forced O Mlaghlin's Son from Mr. Dillon whose lawful Prisoner he was for which he had seventy Kine And there was a Commission sent to Ireland to examine Witnesses and they say that these Articles were proved by the testimony of above seventy Persons whereof some were of Quality that is some of them swore to one Article and some to another so that the Lord Grey who was Son to the Marquess of Dorset and Viscount Grany in Ireland but no Peer in England being tried by a common Jury thought it his best way to confess the Indictment in hopes of the King's Grace and Pardon but in that he was mistaken and although his Services did infinitely over-balance his Faults yet he was publickly Executed on the twenty eighth day of July 1541. There are four other Articles mentioned by others Holingsh 102. to be laid to his Charge Ware 162. 1. His Partiality to his Nephew Fitz-Girald afterwards Earl of Kildare whom they say he might have taken 2. That his Servants pillaged the Gentlemen in Munster that entertained them 3. That he had inveigled Thomas Fitz Girald to submit by Promises which he had no Commission to perform and that he did it to destroy that Lord that his own Nephew might come to be Earl of Kildare as afterwards he did 4. His Sacrilege at Down But however that be it was not long after his Execution before a Commission was directed to Archbishop Brown and Cowly Master of the Rolls to make an Estimate or Survey of the Lord Grey's Estate in Ireland and to deliver it to the Lord Deputy Saintleger to be disposed of as the King shall direct Sir William Brereton 1540. Marshal of Ireland was sent by the Lord Deputy into Munster to take the Submission of James Fitz-John Earl of Desmond and to bring him to Dublin but the Marshal died at Kilkenny nevertheless the Earl on the
the Ordinances already mentioned The Seventh Article is That if any of their Followers break the Peace they will prosecute and pursue him till he make amends And the Eighth is That they will not exact any Black Rents for the future from the Inhabitants of Cork Youghal or Kingsale And it seems that about this time Commissioners were appointed in every Province to decide the Controversies instead of Brehons viz. in Connaught the Bishops of Tuam and Clonfert and the Captains Wakely and Ovington in Munster the Bishops of Cork and Waterford and the Mayors of Cork and Youghal and in Vlster the Archbishop of Armagh and Lord of Louth And it is to be noted Davis 215. That these Submissions were so universally made all over the Kingdom that there was not a Lord or Chieftain of any note in Ireland but submitted in this or the like Form for they made no scruple to renounce the Pope when once they had resolved to obey the King And by these Means the Kingdom was so quiet and there was so great a Prospect of a Settlement that several of the Principal Lords of the Irish took Patents for their Estates and desired Titles of Honour according to the Law of England which hitherto they had despised But alass Ireland is an unfortunate Country that cannot be happy any considerable time and notwithstanding these dawnings of Felicity it must expect nothing but War and Desolation and this fourth general Submission of the Irish will be as vain and ineffectual as the other three and will manifest to the World That that Kingdom is not to be governed by Kindness but by Force But let us not anticipate our Misery by dreadful Prognostications of War but rather enquire into the management of Affairs during the short interval of Peace And first we shall find the great O Neal in September sailing toward England accompanied with the Bishop of Clogher and attended with many Gentlemen his Followers He came to the King at Greenwich where he was well received and having surrendred his Estate to the King and covenanted 1. To renounce the Name of O Neal. 2. That he he and his Followers should use English Habit Language and Manners 3. That their Children should learn English 4. That they should build Houses and husband their Land in English manner 5. That they should obey English Laws and not Cess their Tenants nor keep more Gallowglasses than the Lord Deputy allows And 6. That they should answer all general Hostings as those of the Pale do and shall not succour any of the King's Enemies On the first of October his Estate was regranted to him by Patent and he was created Earl of Tyrone for Life with remainder to his Son Matthew who for the present was made Baron of Dunganon in Tayl and two of his Followers Denis and Art Mac Genis were knighted and the Bishop of Clogher was confirmed and the Earl after his return was on the seventh Day of May sworn one of the Privy Council of Ireland In like manner the Earl of Desmond pursuant to his Promise repaired into England where he was graciously received and having made his Submission he returned with Orders likewise to be of the Privy Council In the mean time the Lord Deputy on the twenty fourth Day of May made an Order of Agreement between the Macgenis's and did the like between the O Carols on the second of July And on the fourth of July the O Birnes did submit by Indenture and granted the Town and Castle of Wicklow to the King and also surrendred to his Majesty the Castle of Mac Eningham and all spiritual Livings in their Possession Lib. D. They also covenanted to find one hundred and twenty Gallowglasses and their Servants for three Months when the Counties of Carlow and Kildare do so and twelve Horse and twenty four Foot at every Hosting and to raise their whole Force and keep them three days on any emergency And it is allowed by the Deputy that O Birn shall have twenty four Kerns called Kerne Tee for this year at the Charge of the Country as is usual wherewith he promises to aid the Sheriff and if O Birn misbehave himself the Lord Deputy may give the Kerns next year to whom he pleases And 't is agreed That no body shall keep Idlers but in his own House and concludes Quod si posthac ad morem Hibernicorum resilierit vel cum Hibernicis aliis susurraverit confederaverit vel consentierit impedire vel obstare Reformationi Hiberniae quam Dominus Rex intendit that then they will forfeit all And it seems that at the same time they proposed to have their Country made a County Davis 104. by the Name of the County of Wicklow and that in consideration thereof they would divide it into eight Plow-Lands and pay ten Groats per annum for ever to the King out of each Plow-Land On the 19th of November Thomas Butler was made Baron of Cahir and in the beginning of the next year Maurice O Bryan 1534. and Vlick Burk induced by the Example and Success of the Earl of Tyrone went to wait upon the King in England and having made their Submissions and surrendred their Estates O Brian obtained a Grant of all his Lands in Thomond and all the Abbies and Patronage of Benefices in the King's Gift within his Precincts to him and his Heirs Males and he was made Baron of Insiquine to him and his Heirs and Created Earl of Thomond for Life with a remainder to Donough O Bryan and his Heirs for ever who for the present was made Baron of Ibracane but whether this Donough were Nephew or Natural Son of the Earl's is not very plain This Lord of Ibrahcan had also an Annuity of twenty Pounds per annum granted to him in Tail and the Abby of Insula Canonicorum and half the Abby of Clare and the King bore the Earl of Thomond's Charges and gave him an Order to be of the Privy Council As for Vlick Burk he had likewise his Charges born and was Created Earl of Clanrickard and his Estate was regranted to him and the Abbies and Patronage of all Benefices within his Precincts The Cocquets of Galway were excepted in the Patent but in lieu of them the Earl had a Pension of thirty Pound per annum and the third part of the First-Fruits and the Abby of Via Nova or Confert And about the same time the Lord of Upper Ossory obtain'd a Grant for Fairs and Markets and the House of the Friars at Haghevo and the Monastery of Hackmacart and to each of these four Noblemen Davis 219. viz. the Earls of Desmond Tyrone Thomond and Clanrickard the King gave a House and a Parcel of Land near Dublin to encourage them to make their Appearance frequently at Court And it is to be noted Council Book of Ireland fol. 73. That many times the chief Governors of Ireland instead of Risings out and
the preposterous Courses they took For they were taught That the Pope was by Divine Right Universal Monarch and Governor of the World P. W. Remonstrance in Preface 6 7. and had Independent Sovereign Authority over Kings and Subjects in Temporal as well as Spiritual Concerns That he might Deprive and Dethrone Kings and had Power of both Swords to which every Soul upon pain of eternal Damnation was bound to give Obedience That he had power to absolve from all Oaths and that those who are slain in the Quarrel of the Church against an Excommunicated Prince die true Martyrs of Christ and their Souls fly to Heaven immediately So that it is no wonder that a People for the most part abounding in Ignorance and Bigotry tempted by the Hopes of Profit in the Plunders and Success of the War and stimulated by a National Malice against the British should be guilty of all that Cruelty and Treachery which they thought Meritorious and was in their Opinion conducive to their main Design of Extirpating the Protestants This tedious and bloody War which was at first begun by the Papists against the Protestants to support the King's Prerogative and suppress the Puritans as they pretended met with such prodigious Turns and Vicissitudes in the Progress of it that the most virulent Faction of the Papists joyn'd with the Puritans and fought for them against the King and against one another and all the Parties in the Kingdom which were * King Ormond Parliament Cooâ— Covenanters Lord of Ardes Supreme Couucil Preston Nuncio Owen Roe Five did one time or other in the War fight against the Faction it had formerly sided with But because this War was on the King's part managed by the Marquis since Duke of Ormond first in the Quality of Lieutenant General and afterwards as Lord Lieutenant it is necessary that according to my former Method I give some Account of Him which perhaps cannot be better done than from a MS. I accidentally met with wherein there are some short memorable Strokes of Him and his Family not unfit to be communicated to the Reader and therefore I have transcribed it as followeth 1. He was born at Clerkenwell in London on the Ninteenth of October 1610. and died at Kingstonhall in Dorset-shire on the 21th of July 1688. This was the 78th Year of his Age in which time he had seen Four Kings and served Three of them for 57 Years with an unshaken Zeal to the Crown 2. That he had seen Three Generations above him as maâ—â—ely his Father Thomas Viscount Thurles his Grandfather Walter Earl of Ormond and his great great Uncle Thomas Earl of Ormond who being a Black Man was commonly called by the Irish Thomas Duff This Thomas who was also Earl of Ossory was a Man of high Courage and Endowments and much favoured by Queen Elizabeth as being also Kinsman to her Mother He was Knight of the Garter Lord Treasurer of Ireland and General of the Army there He lived to the Age of Eighty seven Years and in the Reigns of Five Kings and Queens and died in 1614. So also had his Grace seen Three Generations below him as namely his Son Thomas the Renowned Earl of Ossory his Grandson James the present Duke and his great Grandson Thomas who was playing in the Room before him but a few Hours before his Death 3. That he had for some Years sat with Two of his Sons the said Thomas Earl of Ossory and Richard Earl of Arran in the House of Peers in England and his eldest Son was Knight of the Garter at the same time with Himself 4. That if the Siding and Partaking with the House of Lancaster in the Ancient Quarrels with the House of York which divided and at one time or other involved the whole Nation may pass for nothing it will not appear in all the Records that any Staln of Disloyalty was ever imputed to any that were the Chief Branch of this Family for Five hundred Years 5. That his Grace not to count what Titles they had before was the Twelfth Earl of Ormond and the Seventh of that Name of James He who was the Second James and styl'd The Noble Earl as being by his Mother de Bohun Great Grandson to King Edw. I. was thrice Lord Justice of Ireland And the Fifth James being by Hen. VI. made also Earl of Wiltshire Knight of the Garter and Lord Treasurer of England was Five times made Lord Deputy and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and had a Patent of it for Twelve Years His late Grace the Seventh James was Lord Lieutenant Four times which in all took in about Twenty four Years And if we shall reckon how many of this Family and how often they have been concern'd in that Government it thus appears That from the 31 Hen. 3. 1247. when Theobald Butler Lord of Carrick was made one of the Lords Justices to 1 Jac. 2. 1684. that his Grace was dismist from being Lord Lieutenant there have in the space of Four hundred thirty seven Years been Ten of this Family who have Seven and twenty times been either Lords Justices Lords Deputies or Lords Lieutenants of that Kingdom These Instances are perhaps sufficient to give the Reader some farther Curiosity to know by what Steps this Great Man grew up into the World who had a various and difficult Part in those Revolutions that befel Three Kingdome and the Monarchs thereof And inasmuch as they seem to reflect some Light on part of the following Story I will venture to add what I also found in the same Manuscript as followeth That the said Thomas Duff having no other Issue than his Daughter the Lady Elizabeth he first married her to his Nephew Theobald Viscount Tullough who was a Protestant as well as himself But he soon dying Childless and the young Widow being made very considerable in her Fortune by the Father's Indulgence there came Sir Richard Preston a Scotchman who being much favoured by King James and fortified by His Credentials he obtain'd the Lady and was made thereupon Lord Dingwell in Scotland and Earl of Desmond in Ireland This Earl soon began to stretch and enlarge his Pretensions to the Estate But Earl Walter the Heir at Law opposed him King James was pleased to take upon Him the Arbitration between them but did it with such partiality as Earl Walter thought that he chose rather to be thrown into the Fleet as for Contempt than to submit There he lay a Prisoner for Eight years together his whole Estate Sequestred and Extended his County Palatine of Tipperary which had been Three or Four hundred years in the Family seised by Quo Warranto into the King's Hands and he reduced to a shameful Want The Duke of Buckingham was active in this Oppression but the Cry of it grew so lowd at last that the King relented for what he had done In these Troubles it was that his Grace's Father Thomas Viscount Thurles coming over to prosecute in
their Solicitations and Attempts with an unshaken Steadiness It was pity so true a Nobleman should not fall into better Times and among a better People he might then have been as Eminent for doing of Good as now he appears Valuable in the resisting of Evil. And thus we are come to the End of a War which as it was rashly and cruelly begun so was it by the Confederates with such Cowardise and Folly carried on that excepting One Defeat given to the Scots they never had Advantage in any One Pitch'd Battel over the British And what could be more Tragical and Infamous to them at last than that they should from the Hands of those they always villified be compell'd to beg and glad to accept the worst of all Terms namely Transplantation to such as staid and of Banishment and Transportation to the rest But how surprising are the Revolutions of this World that from these Ashes and thus scatter'd to the Four Winds there should be a Foundation laid for that Fortune which the wandring Irish found by meeting in Foreign Parts the succeeding King and the Duke of York and by their Indulgence to be able not only to set up again but as at this day to expel their Conquerors and even to menace the Tranquillity of England The Links of this Mysterious Chain are so wonderful that I can hardly forbear a short Prospect of them in the Particulars following As first to observe How the Monarch of Three Kingdoms King Charles the First sat peaceably here at Home when Scotland began to Invade him How a great Number in England siding with the Scots put His Majesty into some Straits How the Irish taking advantage hereof fell to the murthering of His Protestant Subjects in that Kingdom How his Majesty sent presently His Authority and Commissions to suppress those Rebels while He at home was by others opprest and at last overthrown and His Children driven into Banishment How in consequence hereof the same Usurpers pass into Ireland and there compleating what His said Majesty's Commission could not they there subdue and drive the Irish into the like Banishment Here then the Crysis began That both Prince and Rebel-Subjects being forced to depend on Strangers and both driven by the same Hand into a State of Common Misery it was natural enough to forget how Things before had stood between them and only to look forward either how to be reveng'd or how to subsist King Charles the Second being at the Usurper's Instance expelled also from France he makes Conditions with Spain and calls to Him from other Services all His scattered Subjects and in this it must be allow'd the Irish made a Considerable Part. But if it be true that with these New Friends He then secretly grew reconciled unto their Religion also 't is no wonder if they got farther into Favour than what before they had deserv'd 'T is also easie to believe That as His Majesty's Restauration drew nigh the Irish obtain'd from Him all the good Words imaginable so that when He came into England He lay under this Contradiction of having promis'd to the Protestants of Ireland whose Commissioners met Him at Breda the Security of all they had gotten as to the Irish before the Re-possession of all they had lost The English spared not on their part to fortifie the Promise they had by a Charge of general Guilt on the Irish And the Irish were as lowd in the Justification of their Innocence So that to reconcile this Perplexity there was Advantage taken from what Both averr'd in persuading the English to restore what might belong to an Innocent and the Irish to forego their Hopes if upon Trial they should appear to be Guilty However to make this go easier down on either side there was a Notion set up and strangely imbib'd of a prodigious Stock of undisposed Acres which were sufficient to satisfie not only the Disappointments of some but even the Expectations of all Upon this an Act is fram'd by the English and tho' by the Tenor and Contexture of it nothing was more improbable than the Qualifications of Innocence yet by Favour in a Majority of Commissioners sent and instructed how to execute that Law the Irish prov'd fortunate beyond all expectation The Duke of York was always more open and avowed in his Patronage of them from the beginning and frequent Essays were made by his Power with the King to advance and distinguish them by Marks of Favour But the King was so cautious of His own Safety and He Reigned so long that the English had time to flourish For there was an Army kept up of Seven thousand Protestants and all the Commands and Offices both Civil and Military were in the Hands of the English However as His Royal Highness drew nigher to the Throne and as his Influence with the King increas'd so began this Flourishing State of the Protestants to be undermin'd And no sooner had he gotten the Scepter but he began openly to execute what surely was before intended and the whole Frame and Contexture of the English Government was subverted and dissolv'd However we live to see as at this day how dearly King James hath paid for that Experiment and for the Hopes He had and the Attempts he made of an equal Success in England And this also is worthy of some Remark That those very Protestants in the Army of Ireland who were driven out by His Command and took Refuge in Holland should so soon return under the Prince of Orange out now Happy King and assist in driving Him not only out of England but to take Refuge in Ireland Where these Windings and Revolutions will end God Almighty only knows but since we have so hopeful a Prospect that they may determine to the Honor of His Majesty to the Advantage of the English Nation the Restauration of the Irish Protestants and the Re-establishment of True Religion in that Kingdom I see no Reason to doubt but that I may be able to give you a joyful Account of all these Things in my Third Part. AN APPARATUS OR Introductory Discourse TOUCHING The Controverted Points in this HISTORY BECAUSE contrary Interests have perplexed this Affair and prevailed with a Party sometimes to stifle and sometimes to disguise the Truth and because the Papists have represented several Parts of this History not only in another manner and in a more soft and palliating Stile than I have done but have reported sundry considerable Matters of Fact quite contrary to what I have related it will be necessary to make a particular Examination of their most material Allegations and a strict scrutiny into my Assertions and the Proofs of them or Reasons for them and because I would not interrupt the Series of the History with these inquiries I thought it convenient to insert them here by way of Introduction But before I descend to particulars it is necessary to settle this great Preliminary that will run through the whole and
Twenty six before they came to Ireland and Fifty one in Ireland whereof Twenty four were Monarchs and Thirty three in Scotland and so succeeded by Hereditary Right from his Illustrious Irish Ancestors Now I say that they have gotten such a Rightful Hereditary King Analecta Hiberniae the Reader must not expect to hear of any more Irish Rebellions but on the contrary that their peaceable and Loyal Deportment will distinguish between Rightful and Usurping Princes Consanguinei Regis analecta Hib. 208. and that now theâ—â— own Kindred is restored to them we may expect to find that they will take pleasure and delight and a conscionable Pride as they phrase it to be Ruled and Commanded by their own Relations Ib. 276. Germen Hibernorum spes seminis jubar sanguinis and that their great Endeavours for the Kings of England of that Line to whom they are tyed by the Bond of * Cui obligati sumus vinculo sanguinis Consanguinity will be the Work of a Simpathy of Blood if there be any Truth in the Reports or Flatteries of the late Irish Historians or in the Speech of the present Recorder of Kilkâ—nny But alas these thin Pretences which in Ireland are thought Stratagems are easily seen through in England where it is believed that there is something more Criminal in Heresie then can be expiated by Extraction and therefore they expect that the Royal Family of the Stuarts whilst it continues Protestant must have their share of opposition and disturbance even from their own Irish Country-men and with as malicious Circumstances as any other Protestant Princes have had and how far they were in the right of it is Summarily related in my Epistle to the Reader but shall here be more at large explained JAMES VI. King of Scotland 1602. Succeeded the Deceased Queen Elizabeth on the Throne of England by unquestionable Right Ir. Stat. 2. Jac. 1. cap. 1. I say unquestionable notwithstanding the Book published against his Title and Right of Succession by Parsons the Jesuit under the name of Doleâ—an for the material Allegations of that Author are notoriously false and which is worse himself knew that they were so as Peter Walsh hath assured us Letter to the Bishop of Lincoln p. 212. and it is manifest to all the World that the King was the only Son of Mary Queen of Scots Daughter of King James the Fifth Son of James the Fourth by Margaret his Wife who was the eldest Daughter of Henry the Seventh by Elizabeth Heiress of the House of York and so was Heir to both the Families of York and Lancaster And was therefore Proclaimed King without any opposition Secretary Cecill himself reading his Title as also Queen Elizabeth's Will at Whitehall Gate on the 24th day of March 1602. And as to Ireland CHARLES Lord MOUNTJOY continued Lord Deputy 1603. and was afterwards made Lord Lieutenant of that Kingdom and having received Letters from the Council of England with a Proclamation of the new King he first Signed the Proclamation and all the Council did the like in Order and then with great Solemnity they published and proclaimed the same in Dublin on the Fifth of April and about the same time he received kind and gracious Letters from the King then in Scotland by one Mr. Leigh whom therefore the Lord Deputy Knighted The Earl of Tyrone who was brought to Dublin in Company with the Lord Deputy on the 4th day of April could not refrain from Tears on the News of Queen Elizabeths Death nor can we blame him for it for besides the unsecurity of the Pardon or Protection he relyed on being derived from a Princess that was Dead and an Authority that was determined before it was executed He had also lost the best opportunity in the World either of continuing the War with advantage or of making a profitable and meritorious Submission to the new King nor did he want Pretences and Circumstances that would have made his free Submission highly valuable and exceeding honourable however since he had missed the Season of doing better he thought it prudent to do the best for himself that his Circumstances would permit and to secure the Protection and Estate that were promised him and accordingly the 6th day of April the Lord Deputy did not only renew his Protection in King James his Name but soon after gave him Liberty to return to Ulster to settle his Concerns but first the Earl put in his Hostages and also renewed his Submission in a set Form of Words wherein he abjured all foreign Power and Jurisdiction in general Morison 279. and the King of Spain's in particular and renounced the Vraights of Ulster and the name of O Neal and all his Lands except such as should be granted to him by the King and he promised future Obedience and to discover his Correspondence with the Spaniard And at the same time he wrote to Spain for his Son Henry but without effect for he was afterwards found strangled at Brussels no Body knows how and on the 15 th day of April O Rourk in like manner by his Letters humbly offer'd to submit to his Majesties mercy which Offer was accepted These Great men having thus submitted and the Kingdom but especially Ulster being so wasted and destroyed that the Famine encreased to the degree of eating one another as I have already mentioned in my former Part. And the number of the Irish being exceedingly lessened by their many tedious and obstinate Rebellions and those that remain'd except Cities and Towns being so poor that the very estated Men had not wherewithal to stock or cultivate their Land nor had any improvements left upon their Estates Bello peste inedia fatigati Analecta Hib. 207. except perhaps a dismal Castle and a few pittiful Cabins One might expect that this miserable Condition which required a long interval of Rest and Peace to amend it would oblige these People to live peaceably and Loyally under this new King of their own Lineage And perhaps it might have done so if the Universities of Salamanca and Validolid had not about this time sent over their Determination of that knotty Point that Vexata Questio Whether an Irish Papist may obey or assist his Protestant King Which they resolved in the Negative by two Assertions Sullevan's Cath. History 203. 1. That since the Earl of Tyrone undertook the War for Religion and by the Pope's Approbation it was as meritorious to aid him against the Hereticks as to fight against the Turks And 2. That it was mortal Sin any ways to assist the English against him and that those that did so can neither have Absolution nor Salvation without deserting the Hereticks and repenting for so great a Crime But this New Declaration of two such famous Universities and the Impatience of their busie Priests set them a madding again so that they wanted nothing but Power to make a more general and formidable
in the Confession was Ecclesiastical Whereupon the Attorny General Learnedly descanted upon the words Ecclesiastical and Spiritual and exposed the Knavery and Silliness of the Prisoners Equivocation and then Mr. Justice Sarsfeild pronounced the Sentence of the Law against him which nevertheless was never Executed upon him that I can find However to attone for this seeming Severity and to quiet and oblige the Irish the King issued out a Commission of Great under the Great Seal of England to confirm the Possessors of Estates in Ireland against all Claims of the Crown by Granting new Patents to them But the Irish are a People that seldom beaâ— good Fortune with any Moderation or Temper and the King and Council of England were mightily deceived when they thought that Lenity and Commissions of Grace would oblige them to Loyalty and Obedience on the contrary it always makes them think the Government weak and never fails to put them upon Action So true is that of the Poet Unguentem pungit pungentem Hibernicus Ungit And just so it happened after this Commission of Grace for on the 7th of May a Letter directed to Sir William Usher Clerk of the Council was dropt in the Council Chamber Temple 2. which discovered a Conspiracy of the Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnel Macguire O Cahan the Lord of Delvin and almost all the Irish of Ulster to surprize the Castle of Dublin and Murder the Lord Deputy and Council and to set up for themselves Lib. C. They had sent a Baron to the Arch-Dukes to sollicite Assistance and probably had employed some Body else to Spain but as soon as they had Notice that their Plot was discovered the Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnel and the Lord Macguire fled beyond Seas to get Spanish Aid 1607. and the rest did shift for themselves as well as they could but some were taken and executed And not long after Justice Sibthorp and Baron Eliot attended by some of the Kings Council were sent into the Counties of Donegall and Tyrone with a Commission of Oyer and Terminer and so Indictments were found against these Conspirators and all those that fled were Out-law'd thereupon But because those Earls did alledge Lib. M. that they were persecuted for Religion and had been injuriously dealt with the King on the 15th of November 1607. published a Declaration wherein he affirms That they had not their Creations or Possessions by any Lineal or any lawful Descent from Ancestors of Blood or Virtue but were for Reasons of State preferred before others of better Quality and Birth in their Countrey and Protests they had not the least shadow of Molestation nor was there any purpose of proceeding against them in Matters of Religion their Condition being to think Murder no fault Marriage of no use nor any Man valiant that does not Glory in Rapine and Oppression and therefore 't were unreasonable to trouble them for Religion before it could be perceived by their Conversation they had any and that in all Matters of Controversie they were favoured except in such Cases where they design'd to Tyrannize over their fellow Subjects that they did stir up Sedition and intestine Rebellion in the Kingdom and sent their Instruments Priests and others to make Offers to Foreign States for their Assistance And that under the Condition of being made free from English Government they resolved also to comprehend the EXTIRPATION of all those Subjects now remaining alive within that Kingdom formerly descended of English Race In December 1607. The Lord Deputy and Council sent Sir Anthony Saintleger Master of the Rolls to the Lords of the Council in England to inform them that the Omores would by next May be transplanted from Leix into Munster and that it was fit the O Connors should be so too that the Lord Delvin must be severely persecuted because frequent Pardons do encourage Irish Rebellions that his Castle of Cloghouâ—er is taken and so is his Son and himself left as desolate as a Wood Keâ—n and to desire to be instructed what to do with those that refuse the Oath of Supremacy and to inform that they have stopt the Quo Warranto's because the Corporations will submit to the Customs if their Arrears be forgiven that there is a great Propensity in the Irish at this time to Rebel and that it were fit to send over Twenty thouthousand Pounds to lye dead for such an Accident and that the King would be pleas'd to decide the great Controversie between the Earl of Kildare and Sir Robert Digby which is now ready for Sentence in the Castle-Chamber and also to represent the State of that poor Kingdom c. But notwithstanding all the Care that was taken to keep the Kingdom quiet 1608. the Hopes and Expectations of Aid from Spain easily put the Rebellious Spirits in a ferment insomuch that Sir Cahir O Doharty Proprietor of Inisowen a Gentleman of great hopes but of few years not exceeding One and twenty was by Assurances from the Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnel of speedy and effectual Aid perswaded to begin the War his main Design was upon Derry which he surprized and burnt Sullevan 210. he also Murdered the Governor Sir George Pawlet and all the Protestants except the Bishops Wife that was ransomed he also surprized Culmore and the Magazine there Spretis centum argenti libris quibus pseudo Episcopus eos redinere Cupiebat and burnt Two thousand Heretical Books as he call'd them refusing to let them be redeem'd for an hundred pound And this Rebellion became the more formidable because it was fomented and encouraged by the Priests who affirm'd That all were Martyrs that died in the Service But for the better understanding of this matter it is necessary to inform the Reader that Queen Elizabeth finding it convenient to plant a Garison at Loghfoyle made several Attempts to that purpose but they all miscarried until Sir Henry Dockwra Landed at Kilmore or Culmore and erected a small Castle there and a Month after he took Derry without Resistance and built two Forts and a good House there but afterwards viz. Anno 1617. that place was built by the Londoners and became a fair and strong City well known by the Name of London-Derry This Sir Henry Dockwra also built the Castles of Dunalong and Lifford and afterwards assigned the Government of Derry to Sir George Pawlett a Hampshire Gentleman and the Command of Culmore to Captain Hart a Man of great Courage After Sir John O Dogharty's Death his Son Cahir shewing great Inclinations to the English and being a Youth of great hopes was not only Graced with Knighthood and made a Justice of Peace and a Commissioner in most of the Commissions that came to that Countrey but was also treated with all due Respect upon all occasions and he on the otherside contracted an intimate Friendship with the Chief of the English and particularly with Captain Hart Governour of Culmore to whose Son he was
Name of THE CASE OF TENURES and was excellently reported in Print by Baron Barry afterwards Lord Chief Justice of Ireland and Baron of Sautry This Grand Inquisition was counted so great a Master-piece of the Lord Deputies and so beneficial to the King and advantagious to the English Interest That some Persons who went to England to complain of it were there not only discountenanced but imprison'd and afterwards sent back to be dealt by as the Lord Deputy should think fit which it seems produced their Submission And not long after the Lord Deputy having first received Orders to Grant the Impropriations belonging to the King to the use of the Clergy and to Grant to Trinity Colledge near Dublin Lands equal in value to the Pension they had from the Crown of 388 l. 15 s. per Annum went to England to give his Majesty a Triumphant Account of his glorious Successes in Ireland which he performed to Admiration First to the King in a private Audience and afterwards publickly at the Council-board He there told the King and Council That he had found the Irish Exchequer of Paper but he had made it of Treasure and that he had not only improv'd the Patrimony of the Church of Ireland but had also brought it to be Conformable to that of England both in Doctrine and Government by the Acceptance of the Thirty Nine Articles there That before his going to Ireland the Lord Justices wrote That the Expence exceeded the Income 24000 l. per Annum and they had no ways to raise it but by the Levying Nine pence a Sunday on Papists for not coming to Church but that now it was far otherwise without that Persecution And he advis'd That the Army should rather be encreased than diminshed it being an excellent Minister and Assistant in Execution of the Kings Writs and the great Peace-maker between the British and the Natives and the best security of past and future Plantations That by the Statutes of Wills and Uses there will more advantage arise to the Crown of England than by the six Subsidies because thereby the insant Heirs of all great Families in the Kingdom will unavoidably come under the Guardianship of the King whereby they will be bred Protestants and of what Consequence this Superintendency is doth in part appear in the Person of the Earl of Ormond formerly the Kings Ward who if bred under the Wing of his own Parents had been of the same Affections and Religion with his other Brothers and Sisters whereas he is now a firm Protestant and like to prove a great and able Servant to the Crown and a great Assistant as well in inviting others to be of his Religion as in the Civil Government it being certain That no People are more apt to be of the Religion of their great Lords than the Irish are That by the Statute of fraudulent Conveyances the Irish are prevented in their cunning Disigns by secret and sleeping Conveyancies so that the King will have his Forfeitures and Wardships and the English be encouraged to purchase of them That before his time the Pirates infested the very Harbours and a Ship was fired by them in the Port of Dublin in sight of his Majesties Castle and the Pirates were robbing the Ship two days together without opposition the Reason was because our Sea-guard for want of Money did not come till August before which time the mischief was done but now they are well Paid and come in March and that now the Exportation is double to what is imported into the Kingdom That he discourag'd Woollen and encourag'd the Linen Manufacture and had sow'd 1000 l. worth of Holland-Flax Seed and set up six or seven Looms and doubts not Success because the Irish can under-sell France or Holland Twenty per Cent. And then he laments That the English of Ireland are treated as Aliens First In the Imposition of 4 s. per Tun on Coal Secondly In the Prohibition to transport Horses or Mares hence without excessive Custom Thirdly In the Imposition of 3 s. and 4 d. per Head for every live Beast exported thence and afterwards he procur'd a Privy Seal to supersede these pro tempore Lastly That tho' he was represented more like a Basha of Buda than the Minister of a Pious Christian King yet severity was not natural to him but assumed because it was necessary for the Restoration of a Despoyled Crown Church and People from the Claws of those that had been used to the Paths of an uncontroled Liberty and Oppression But to proceed ADAM LOFTUS Viscount ELY 1636. Sir CHRISTOPHER WANDESFORD Master of the Rolls were Sworn Lords Justices on the 3d. day of July 1636. and immediately some Fryars notwithstanding the former Proclamation had a publick Meeting and passed unpunish'd for the Lord Deputy wrote over That he held it not convenient to rub upon that Sore till they were provided for a thorough Cure These Lords Justices had Orders to call upon Corporations for a return of their pretended Priviledges to issue Money to finish the Fort of Galway to suspend the Lord Courcyes Pension to quicken the Admeasurement in Conaught and not to let any Soldiers be Transported But on the 23d of November THOMAS Viscount WENTWORTH returned Lord Deputy and then the aforesaid Case of Tenures was argued but the Judgment That the Letters Patent were void Husbands Collections 2 Part 245. did so Alarm the whole Nation that it was found necessary to delay the Execution for a time and afterwards Anno 1640. on private Conference with the Irish Committee then in England for it was not made an Article amongst the Grievances publickly complain'd of the King quitted the benefit and advantage thereof and so the vast Expence of this Grand Office and Inquisition which amounted to at least 10000 l. was in effect lost and this terrifying Bug-bear did not add one Acre to the Possessions of the Crown nor one English Plantation to the Kingdom as was at first design'd In the Year 1636 1636. John Atherton was preferred to the Bishoprick of Waterford and Lismore by a Symoniacal Contrivance as was believed says the Writer of Bishop Bedells Life pag. 144. but that is not probable because that Bishoprick was then so Poor that it was too small a Temptation to so great a Sin it is more likely that being a bustling Man of active Parts and a bold Spirit he was thought a fit Instrument of State to promote some Designs that were then on Foot and as proper for the Recovery of the ancient Possessions of his See as any Body that could be pitcht upon and accordingly we find him a fierce Adversary to the Earl of Cork and a severe Prosecutor of the Bishop of Killalla which last nevertheless lived to be his Successor And tho' Atherton did answer the Expectation of his Benefactors for a time yet his Tragical end by the hands of the Common Executioner on the 5th of December 1640. for a Crime
other Stewards of the British Farmers and Inhabitants of the City and County of London-Derry ☞ by means whereof the worthy Plantation of that Country is almost destroyed and the Inhabitants are reduced to great Poverty and many of them forced to forsake the Country the same being the first and most useful Plantation in the large Province of Ulster to the great weakning of the Kingdom in this Time of Danger the said Plantation being the principal Strength of those Parts IX The late Erection of the Court of High-Commission for Causes Ecclesiastical in these necessitous Times the Proceedings of the said Court ' in many Causes without Legal Warrant and yet so supported as Prohibitions have not been obtained though legally sought for And the excessive Fees exacted by the Ministers thereof and the Encroaching of the some upon the Jurisdiction of other Ecclesiastical Courts of this Kingdom X. The exorbitant Fees and pretended Customs exacted by the Clergy against the Law some of which have been formerly represented to your Lordship XI The Petitioners do most heartily bemoan that His Majesty's Service and Profit are much more impaired than advanced by the Grievances aforesaid and the Subsidies granted in the last Parliament having much increased His Majesty's Revenue by the buying of Grants and otherwise And that all His Majesty's Debts then due in this Kingdom were satisfied out of the said Subsidies and yet His Majesty is of late as the Petitoners have been informed in the House of Commons become indebted in this Kingdom in great Sums And they do therefore humbly beseech That an exact Account may be sent to His Majesty how and in what manner his Treasure is issued XII The Petitioners do humbly conceive just and great Fears at a Proclamation published in this Kingdom in Anno Domini 1635. prohibiting Men of Quality or Estates to depart this Kingdom into England without the Lord Deputy's Licence whereby the Subjects of this Kingdom are hindred and interrupted from free Access to Address to His Sacred Majesty and Privy-Council of England so declare their just Grievances or to obtain Remedies for them in such sort as their Ancestors have done in all Ages since the Reign of King Henry the Second and great Fees exacted for every of the said Licences XIII That of late His Majesty's Attorney-General hath exhibited Informations against many ancient Burroughs of this Kingdom into His Majesty's Court of Exchequer ☜ to shew cause by what Warrant the said Burroughs who heretofore sent Burgesses to Parliament should send Burgesses to the Parliament And thereupon for want of an Answer the said Privileges of sending Burgesses were seised by the said Court Which Proceedings were altogether coram non Judice and contrary to the Laws and Privileges of the House of Parliament and if way should be given thereunto would tend to the Subversion of Parliaments and by consequence to the Ruin and Destruction of the Commonwealth And that the House of Commons hath hitherto in this present Parliament been deprived of the Advice and Counsel of many profitable and good Members by means thereof XIV By the Powerfulness of some Ministers of State in this Kingdom the Parliament in its Members and Actions hath not its natural Freedom XV. And lastly That the Gentry and Merchants and other His Majesty's Subjects of this Kingdom are of late by the Grievances and Pressures before said and other the like brought very near to Ruin and Destruction And the Farmers of Customs Customers Waiters Searchers Clerks of Unwarrantable Proceedings Pursuivants and Gaolers and sundry others very much enriched whereby and by the slow Redress of the Petitioners Grievances His Majesty's most faithful and dutiful People of this Kingdom do conceive great Fears that their Readiness approved upon all Occasions hath not been of late rightly represented to His Sacred Majesty For remedy whereof the said Petitioners do humbly and of right beseach your Lordship That the said Grievances and Pressures may be speedily redressed and if your Lordship shall not think fit to afford present Relief that your Lordship might admit a select Committee of this House of Persons uninteressed in the Benefit arising of the aforesaid Grievances to be licensed by your Lordship to repair to his Sacred Majesty in England for to pursue the same and to obtain fitting Remedy for their aforesaid and other just Grievances and Oppressions And upon all just and honourable Occasions they will without respect of particular Interest or Profit to be raised thereby most humbly and readily in Parliament extend their utmost Endeavors to serve His Majesty and comply with His Royal and Princely Occasions And shall pray c. As soon as the Lord Deputy had notice of this Remonstrance and perceived the Fury of the Irish Parliament he took occasion to Prorogue it on the Twelfth day of November but whatever he could do was ineffectual to stem the Tide which now ran too violent against him And therefore being heart-broken with his own and the Earl of Strafford's Misfortunes he died suddenly on the Third day of December 1640. Whereupon ROBERT Lord DILLON of Killkenny-West afterwards Earl of Roscomon Sir WILLIAM PARSONS Knight and Baronet Master of the Court of Wards were on the Thirtieth of December sworn Lords Justices 1640. But the Lord Dillon beings for his Intimacy and Alliance with the Earl of Strafford obnoxious to the aforesaid Irish Committee he was at their Instance removed and Sir WILLIAM PARSONS Master of the Court of Wards Sir JOHN BORLACE Master of the Ordnance were sworn Lords Justices on the Tenth of February to whom the King by his Letters of the Fourth of January before sent Orders at the Request of the Irish Committee That the Irish Subsidies which heretofore were Forty thousand Pounds should be reduced to a less Sum than formerly and that all Letter 's sent to the Chief Governor or other Publick Officers touching Publick Affairs or the Subjects Private Interests should be entred in the Signer-Office in England to the end the Subjects upon occasion might take Copies thereof and that all Dispatches from Ireland should be safely kept apart for the easier and readier recourse thereto and that His Majesty approves of the Repair of His Subjects to appeal to Him notwithstanding any Prohibition in Ireland to the contrary and orders That no body be prosecuted or molested on that score and that the Irish Committee shall have Copies of all Records Certificates Orders of Council Publick Letters or other Entries that are necessary to manifest or prove their Grievances And this Letter was on the Tenth of February 1640. by the Irish Parliament then sitting ordered to be entred amongst the Records and Ordinances of that House And soon after Rushw 15. the Irish Parliament did vote the following Grievances to be transmitted to their Committee in England which it seems were couched in Two Petitions one to the King and the other to the Parliament and both carried over by John Bellew
had scarce a fair Pretence for that Cavil yet to satisfie them those words were by a Second Proclamation of the 29th of October explain'd to extend to none but such as were in Rebellion Their Second Attempt was at the Session of Parliament on the Sixteenth of November where they endeavoured to Palliate the Rebellion and smooth and soften their Protestation against it and complain'd at the Shortness of the Session whereby they were hindred as they said of means to suppress the Insurrection But finding neither of these sufficient they had afterwards Recourse to other as ill grounded Complaints hereafter mentioned and in the mean time they excused themselves to the State that they were not able to raise Men according to their Commissions of Government by which Answer and some other Passages the Lord Justices perceived That even those of the Pale were Tainted with the infection and therefore they recalled the Arms they had delivered out to them and by a great deal of industry they recovered about Nine hundred of them and the rest were treacherously made use of against the State that had too credulously trusted the Roman Catholicks with them at so critical a Juncture In this extremity and want of all things especially Money Application was made to the Corporation of Dublin but that famous City the Metropolis of the Kingdom would not advance more than Fifty Pounds tho' upon so great an Emergency whereby the State was convinc'd that the Rebellion was Universal and that even those the Citizens that did not dare to appear openly in it were yet secretly Well-wishers to the Cause and in their Hearts devoted to the Persons and Designs of the Rebels And this was the more manifest because the Popish Citizens did rarely if at all administer any the least Comfort to the poor and plunder'd English insomuch that the Protestants perished in such Multitudes at Dublin that the Church-yards being full of Graves the Lords Justices were fain to provide two large Pieces of Ground for new Burying-places for them The Lords Justices by their Proclamation of the Twenty seventh of October caused Michaelmas Term to be adjourned and sent Four hundred Musquets by Sea to the Lords Viscounts of Clandeboys and Ardes and also sent Commissions to them to raise the Scots and to receive Submitting Rebels to Mercy and they also wrote to the Lords President of Munster and Connaught to be on their Defence And because of the great Concourse to Dublin and the danger that City was in upon the Complaint of the Magistrates thereof all Strangers were commanded by Proclamation to depart the City upon pain of Death but no body was punished for disobeying that Order altho' there was a second Proclamation against the Harbourers of such Strangers But how general soever this Rebellion was and how cruel soever the Authors of it were Vid. Appendix 10. altho' the very Women and Children were active in stripping and murdering the distressed English yet the Execution could not be so great nor with so little Loss to the Irish but that the English were wheedled to put a Confidence in their Irish Landlords Tenants Servants and Neighbors with whom they had lived kindly and to whom they had given no manner of Provocation and so neglecting the proper Means of defending themselves they were miserably betrayed and perfidiously destroyed by those they trusted it being esteemed a Mortal Sin amongst most of the Rebels to relieve or protect a Heretick But in some places the English to considerable Numbers were embodied together and being in a condition to make some Resistance were promised Quarter and good Articles upon Oath But as soon as they submitted they were also treacherously murdered And thus they were served at Loughell Temple 41. Armagh Belturbet Longford Tullogh New-Town Burlace 71. Sligo and many other Places At first the Rebels did pretend to spare the Scots and to make a Difference between them whom they professed a Kindness for because they were Strangers and their Religion likewise persecuted by the parliament and the English against whom they expressed a most bitter and inveterate Hatred and to disguise their Designs they did actually Forbear them for about ten days till the English were destroyed and then they fell upon the Scots also and made no farther distinction between British Protestants By the First of November the Protestants had very little left in Ulster except Londonderry Colerain and Iniskilling and half the County of Down and part of the County of Antrim which the Government was in an ill Condition to provide for or relieve and had no hopes of retrieving that part of Ulster which was lost and so deeply drench'd in innocent Blood otherwise than by Force of Arms but as to the Counties of Meath West-Meath Longford and Louth which were not yet so deeply plung'd in Robberies and Murthers the Lords Justices had hopes of their Submission and therefore did issue their Proclamation of Pardon to all that would submit within Ten days Freeholders and Murderers only excepted But whilst these things were doing viz. on the First of November the Parliament of England voted a Supply of Fifty thousand Pounds for the Relief of Ireland and that all the Papists of Quality in England be secured and that none except Merchants shall pass to Ireland without a Certificate and that a Pardon be offered to the Irish Rebels and that Owen O Conally the Discoverer of the Plot should have Five hundred Pounds in Money and Lands worth Two hundred Pounds per Annum setled upon him And this Order was 12 November printed in Dublin and dispersed all over the Kingdom but without any Effect For now the Rebels were elevated and had formed a Design against Tredagh whereof Doctor Jones afterwards Bishop of Meath gave timely notice so that it was prevented for tho' the Lord Moor had made a seasonable Entry into that Town nevertheless the Inclination of the Townsmen and of Sir John Nettervill who had a Foot Company there in the King's Pay being manifestly favourable to the Rebels the Place was not safe without a stronger Garison and therefore Sir Henry Tichbourn with a Regiment of Foot and two Troops of Horse was sent from Dublin the third day of November and came safe to Tredagh the next day On the Fourth of November Sir Phelim O Neale and Rory Macguire from their Camp at Newry published That they had a Commission from the King under the Great Seal of England for this Insurrection And one Harison having taken the Seal from an old Patent of the Lord Cawfeild's at Charlemont and fixed it to a forged Commission they sent attested Copies of it in Letters to their Confederates thereby blacking their Insurrection with the worst of Circumstances viz. by laying it to the Charge of His Majesty who upon all Occasions expressed his Detestation of it and by this means they raised more Enemies to the King and created more Jealousies in the Minds of His Protestant Subjects
thousand did again besiege it and tho' Captain Vaughan with One hundred Foot and Fifty Horse did kill Forty of the Enemy and raise the Siege yet the Place being so remote could not at all times be relieved and therefore by Order of Council was demolished But the Parliament of England were desirous to manage the War of Ireland by a Committee at least till the Lord Lieutenant should go over but the King opposed that as needless because the Lord Lieutenant was just then ready for the Voyage But whether it was thought that he would not be propitious to the Cessation and Peace with the Irish which were then in design or for what other Reasons he was delay'd it is hard to determine but this is certain That tho' he was always going yet he never went And indeed the Differences between the King and the Parliament were grown to that heighth that each Side prepared for War and at length it came to a Battel at Edge-hill that very day Twelve-month on which the Irish Rebellion broke out viz. 23 October 1642. And in this Fight the Loss seem'd equal and each Party boasted of the Victory whilst both of them were thereby hindred from sending necessary Relief to Ireland and so the unfortunate English suffered every where and were destroy'd by one another in the Civil War in England and by the Common Enemy in that of Ireland However the Parliament did not totally neglect Ireland but on the Fourteenth of October sent over Mr. Robert Godwin and Mr. Robert Reynolds Husbands's Collections 2 part 249. Two Parliament-men and one Captain Tucker from the City of London to inquire into the Condition of the Army and the State of the Kingdom and to see how their Money was disposed of They brought with them Twenty thousand Pounds in Money and some Ammunition and arrived safe on the Twenty ninth of October and on the Second of November presented themselves to the State and being received with Respect were placed on a Form behind the Council and sate covered They did good Service in Ireland and particularly gave great satisfaction to the Army that Care was taken for Pay and Supplies They also made a Book which contained a Subscription of most of the Officers in the Army to take Debentures on the Forfeited Lands for a certain Proportion of their Pay as believing they would fight the better and end the War the sooner if they were interested in the Fruits of the Victory as well as in the Quarrel But the King disliked that Course because it might take up so much of the Rebels Lands that would hinder all Hopes of a peace with them which His Majesty began to have some Hopes of and therefore several Officers well enough inclined to the Proposal omitted to subscribe and some that had subscribed desired to retract So that at length these Commissioners were so sharply threatned that they delivered up the Book to be cancelled Nevertheless they promoted the March of the Army to enlarge their Quarters which afterwards produced the Battel of Ross but some of the Cavalier-party looking upon these Commissioners as Spies procured a Reprimand to the Lords Justices for suffering them to sit covered in the Council-chamber and the King 's positive Orders for their Return which was performed the Twenty seventh of February to the very great prejudice of the Affairs of Ireland and to the great disgust of the Parliament of England In the mean time the Irish under their General Preston had besieged Ballynakill and Colonel Monk with Six hundred Foot and Two Troops of Horse was sent to relieve it He marched out of Dublin the Fifth day of December and upon his approach the Enemy withdrew from the Siege and politickly marched to a Place of Advantage between the English Army and Dublin Battel of Tymachoo to intercept them in their Return But the Rebels had not so much Courage as Cunning for tho' they were Fourteen hundred Foot and Three hundred Horse yet upon the loss of about Threescore that were slain upon the first Volley they basely ran away and left the Road open for Monk to march to Dublin In like manner Sir Richard Greenvill with Two hundred Horse and One thousand Foot on the Twentieth of January marched to raise the Siege of Athloan and carry Supplies to that Garison both which he effected but in his Return he was encountred by Three thousand four hundred Foot Battel of Raconell and Six Troops of Horse at Raconell in a place of great disadvantage to him Nevertheless he had the good fortune to defeat the Rebels with the slaughter of Two hundred and fifty of their Men and to take the General Preston's eldest Son and some other Prisoners But that which rendred this Victory the more valuable was an ancient Prophecy That whoever won the Battel of Raconell should gain all Ireland therefore this Victory troubled and discouraged the Superstitious Irish exceedingly But we must return to the Lords Justices who in November 1642. transmitted to His Majesty a Petition from the Confederates by the Name of The Roman Catholicks of Ireland desiring His Majesty to appoint Commissioners to hear their Grievances And accordingly a Commission was brought over by Thomas Burk one of the first Rebels and by him confidently delivered at the Council-Board to the admiration of the State It impowered the Marquis of Ormond the Earls of Clanrickard and Roscomon Sir Maurice Eustace and others to hear and report their Complaints and in order to it the Three last went to Trim where the Lord Gormanstown Sir Lucas Dillon Sir Robert Talbot and John Walsh the Confederates Agents on the Seventeenth of March 1642. presented a Remonstrance of Grievances which one truly calls an Infamous Pamphlet and contains so much false Reasoning and Arguments ex post facto and downright Untruths as clearly manifests That the Irish first resolved to rebel and then set their Lawyers and Divines on work to fish for Arguments to justifie or at least excuse it But there was an Answer printed 1644. entitled An Answer to the false and scandalous Remonstrance of the inhuman and bloody Rebels of Ireland which sufficiently confuted all their vain Pretences and both of them being essentially necessary to this History are in substance added Appendix 5 6. But this Remonstrance met with better Fortune in the Irish Parliament which sat the Ninth of April for the English were then unluckily dividing into the Factions of Protestant and Puritan and some of the former very unwisely to back their Arguments against that Remonstrance compared it with the Scots Covenant which engendred such Heats in the House that the Parliament was prorogued to the Sixth of May 1643. However the Protestant Army did not neglect to sollicit their Affairs in England but by their Agents Sir James Mongomery Sir Hardress Waller Colonel Hill and Colonel Mervin they Addressed first to the Parliament to whom the King had committed the Care of Ireland and afterwards
Cessation pretending that they were just then come to hand and that he was sorry they did not come sooner 2. By the like Action in continuing the Siege of Castle Coot after notice of the Cessation as aforesaid 3. By Publishing the Pope's Bull after the Cessation which was an Encouragement to the Rebels to persist in their Rebellion and did seduce others of the Papists that were not then engaged in it 4. By taking 369 Head of Cattel from the Suburbs of Dublin on the 18th of September 5. By seizing on the Black Castle of Wicklow and murdering the Protestants there And 6. In not sending any formed Troops or Regiments to the King's Assistance as they promised to do And lastly In not paying the 30800 l. according to Agreement But if we are curious to know what was done in England in reference to the Affairs of Ireland we may find That on the 5th of May Sir Robert King Mr. Jepson and Mr. Hill waited on His Majesty with a Bill For a speedy Payment of Moneys subscribed towards the Reducing the Rebels in Ireland Husbands 2. Part. 161. which yet remains unpaid which they prayed Him to pass into an Act but His Majesty desired first to be satisfied how the rest of that Money was disposed of and how he should be secured that what is yet unreceived shall not be misemployed and whether it be fit to compel voluntary Subscribers by a greater Penalty than was at first made known to them viz. The loss of what they have already paid and whether the Power given by this new Bill to Warner Towse and Andrews whose Integrity he has no assurance of be not too great and whether Purchasers and Creditors may not be prejudiced by the Extents mentioned in this new Act. And on the 16th of June both Houses issued a Declaration purporting That the Kingdom of Ireland is in a sad condition but that the Papists are in as much want as the Protestants and therefore if the later were well supplied the former would be easily subdued that their Ambition to be independent from England and their inveterate Hatred against the Protestant Religion Ibid. 217. have been the causes of their Barbarousness to the English that they have been assisted by the Catholicks of other Countries And can it be say they that God's Enemies should be more violent and indefatigable for restoring Idolatry in a Kingdom foreign to theirs than we zealous in propugning God's Truth in our own against Barbarous Traytors and Monstrous Idolaters Shall the common Incendiaries of both Kingdoms strip themselves of all they have to accomplish our Destruction by devouring that rich and fruitful Island And shall the good People of this Nation of the same Blood and Religion with them think any thing too dear to redeem them seeing thereby we secure our selves by preventing the Rebels from coming hither We will therefore even in this distracted time assess 200000 l. on the Kingdom of England to be paid in two Years which will give credit for the present Relief of the Starving condition of Ireland and shall be reprized to the several Counties in the nature of the Adventurers for Land in Ireland Therefore we cannot doubt of chearful Submission hereunto since we cannot expect that God should bless us if we be wanting to our distressed Brethren and indeed to our selves for the malice of the Rebels is such that if they can root us out of that Kingdom they will not despair of extirpating us out of this and therefore we recommend all well-affected persons to a liberal Contribution to such a pious and commendable Work And on the 14th of July they issued another Declaration Ibid. 233. for the farther encouragement of Adventurers And on the 25th of July the Parliament publish'd their long Declaration which deduces the Affairs of Ireland historically from the beginning of the King's Reign and concludes that the Irish Rebellion was projected and incited by those Councils then prevalent with the King and that the Queen and her Priests and the Papists of all the three Kingdoms have been principal Actors and Sticklers therein And on the 5th of September they made an Ordinance That no man upon pain of losing his Ship do transport any Person out of Ireland into England without license c. And on the 18th they made an Ordinance for a Collection for the Clergy of Ireland and on the 18th of October they made a Weekly Assessment for the Support of such Forces in Ireland as oppose the Cessation and on the 24th they order That no Irish man or Papist born in Ireland shall have Quarter in England and in November they ordered That the Solemn League and Covenant should be taken in Ireland But the Cessation being confirmed by Patent under the Great Seal the Lieutenant General pursuant to His Majesty 's repeated Orders was busie in sending Forces to the Kings Assistance in England and because the Soldiers were generally very unwilling to fight against their own Country men whilst the Irish Rebels would insult over their distressed Companions and Relations that should be left behind there was an Oath of Fidelity contrived Sâ—e it Burlace 133. which every one of them were forced to take and several Penal Edicts were published against those who should desert or return and so in January the Regiments of Sir Michael Ernly Sir Richard Fleetwood Colonel Monk Colonel Gibson Colonel Warren c. were sent from Leinster as Sir William Saintleger and Colonel Myn were from Munster and though most of the former met with their Destiny at Nantwich and the later at the Siege of Glocester yet the arrival of these and other Forces out of Ireland did influence the Parliament to consent to the Treaty at Uxbridge which nevertheless did not produce that happy effect which all good men desired And little more than this was done in Ireland except Contests about setting out of Quarters and other Executions of the Articles of Cessation which shall be mentioned in each Province apart and the Preparations for the Treaty at Oxford which shall also be taken notice of in our account of that matter until the 21th day of January at which time JAMES Marquis of ORMOND was sworn Lord-Lieutenant at Christchurch in Dublin and took the following Oath Viz. You shall swear That you shall faithfully and truly to your power serve our Sovereign Lord the King's Majesty in the Room and Authority of Lord Lieutenant and Chief Governor of this His Realm of Ireland you shall maintain and defend the Laws of God and the Christian Faith you shall to your power not only keep His Majesty's Peace amongst His People but also maintain His Officers and Ministers in the Execution and Administration of Justice you shall defend His Majesties Castles Garisons Dominions People and Subjects of this Realm and repress His Rebels and Enemies you shall not consent to the Damage and Disherison of His Majesty His Heirs nor Successors neither shall you
Parliament take Advantage to incense the English against the King Queen and Prince if we should shut all our Doors against them That the Pope has sent the Irish Forty Thousand Pistols and Mazarine will send Six Thousand more c. These Letters being read Mr. Baron said his Embassy was on two Points First To excuse the not sending Three Thousand Men to the King of France according to Promise which he had done to Content and the second was to sollicit Aids from the Queen which at first she promised sufficient to bring the War to the wished Period but at the second Audience she was quite off from it being so persuaded by her Protestant Councillors And that Cardinal Mazarine sent them Twelve Thousand Livres which is all he could procure The year 1647. 1647. began with the * * March 30. Arrival of Colonel Castle 's Regiment which was sent by the Parliament to the Marquis of Ormond's Assistance and was followed by Colonel Hungerford's * * April 30. Regiment and Colonel Long 's and by the Commissioners themselves who landed the 7th of June and brought with them 1400 Foot and 600 Horse and immediately they proceeded to the Treaty which was on the 18th of June concluded on the Articles mentioned Appendix 39. And the same day the Marquis of Ormond Extrema necessitate compulsus says Mr. Beling page 47 surrendered Dublin Tredagh and his other Garisons unto them but kept the Regalia until the 25th of July and then delivered up them also and went to England This Action of the Marquis of Ormond's hath some Resemblance to that of King Henry the 7th in marrying his eldest Daughter to the King of Scotland they were both Actions of great Foresight and Prudence and as the later hath united Scotland to the rest of Great Britain so the former hath preserved Ireland in obedience to the Crown of England and therefore the Confederates especially the Nuncio Party whose Designs were diametrically opposite to that which happened do hate the Name of Ormond above all others and have written * * Deserter of Loyal Friends by Bishop of Fernes and Vindiciae eversae by John Ponse and the bleeding Iphigenia c. Volumes of Scandals and unjust Reproaches against him for preferring the English before the Irish whom they call his own Country-men But we must look back and see what the Confederates did to prevent this Agreement with the Parliament and in truth they did but little of themselves for their Talent was greater in breaking Articles of their own making then those that were made by others I cannot find they did any thing more than send a Letter of the 28th of March to Invite the Lord of Dunsany and Sir Nicholas White to a Conjunction with them and with part of their Army besiege the Castle of Carlow on the 18th of April of which last Ormond immediately sent notice both to the Lord Lisle in Manster and to Monroe in Ulster in hopes that they would make some Excursions to save the place by Diversion which they could not and so it was surrendered upon Articles But there happened a lucky opportunity if they would have embraced it of making a Peace with the King notwithstanding that some of the Parliament Succors were arrived for the Parliament Commissioners when they came over brought Bills of Exchange that were not authentick and in the mean time Winter Grant a Papist and a subtile Man was sent over to Ireland by the Queen to hasten a Peace if possible and his Instructions in order to it were to be varied used or rejected as the Lord Lieutenant upon the place should think fit and to deliver or suppress the Letters he had to the Nuncio and to the Confederates as Ormond should advise by whom he was to be governed in all things and he brought with him 14 Blanks to be filled up as the Lord Lieutenant should please and he was to know Ormond's Opinion whether the Prince should come to Ireland or not Hereupon Winter Grant on the 15th of April went to the Supreme Council with Directions to promise the Confederates That if they agree to a Cessation the Lord Lieutenant will not receive any more of the Parliament Forces in three weeks from the 18th Instant but they would not consent to so short a Truce but on the 10th of May they did write That they must insist on the Propositions of the Congregation at Waterford but are willing to make good the Propositions made by Dr. Fennel and will readily assist to preserve Dublin for the King against the Parliament And it seems they had wrought upon Winter Grant for he by his Letter of the 13th of May presses the Conclusion of the Peace and offers that the Irish Armies shall drive back the Parliamentarians But to these Instances Ormond returned this Answer to Mr. Grant on the 15th of May That the two first of Dr. Fennell's * * See them ante Page 185. Propositions are fit between Neighbouring Princes in a League Offensive and Defensive but not between Subjects and their King and that there is no possibility of a Peace whilst they insist on the Propositions of the Congregation at Waterford and that these feigned Offers are for vile Ends either to Calumniate if we dont or Deceive us if we do Accept them However he wrote more moderately to the Confederates but they never vouchasafed to send him a Reply And it ought to be noted That the Lord Lieutenant carried himself so well in this matter that even the Queen and Prince did approve of what he had done and in evidence thereof afterwards sent him over to the Government of Ireland anno 1648. and Sir Robert Talbot Mr. Oliver Darcy Mr. Beling and Mr. Thomas Dungan did confess to the Lord Digby That Ormond could not avoid doing as he did which I should not have mentioned Vindiciae eversae 48. but that some of the Confederates in word and in writing with the greatest Malice and Bitterness imaginable without considering the King's Directions in the Case or the insuperable Necessity of that Action have accused the Marquis of Disloyalty in delivering up the King's City and Sword to His Majesty's Enemies and for saying Si alterutris ex perduclibus necessario tradenda essent se Anglis potius quam hibernis consignaturum Vindiciae eversae 63. That if he must surrender it to any of the Rebels he would rather do it to the English than the Irish But perhaps a curious Reader may be inquisitive to know the Mystery of Ormond's keeping the Regalia almost five weeks longer than he did the City and it was this There were many Anti-Nunciotists amongst the Confederates who were willing to leave the Kingdom and be transported into France under the Command of the Marquis of Ormond and Monsieur Talon was every day expected with French Ships to that purpose but he did not come within the time and after it was expired Ormond could
Irish Rebels and finding how they are in all likelihood in danger to be overborn by the power and potency of their said Adversaries do in all humility beseech your Lordships first to call to mind that his Majesty hath by his Royal assent unto an Act of Parliament obliged himself not to grant any Pardon or terms of Peace to the aforesaid Rebels without the consent of his Parliament of England and accordingly that your Lordships would not suffer any part of his Majesties Honour to be betrayed to calumny in assenting to such packed terms of Peace as they have already contrived to draw your Lordships unto without the consent of the said Parliament of England and without admitting your Petitioners to a free and full debate of the cause whereby they may vindicate his Majesty and themselves from that unnatural aspersion which the Irish would maliciously fasten on them by making the one the fauter and the other the occasion of their Rebellion And that the matter may not be carryed with such indulgency towards them as that to extenuate their real enormities your Petitioners must be made guilty of imaginary crimes and undergo a heavier censure for demanding Justice than they for perpetrating all their Treasons and that their Lives Fortunes and Posterities and which is dearest their Religion may not be sold or sacrificed to the malice of the Irish Papists or if this lawful favour shall be denied them that they may have leave to protest against any such fatal and destructive conclusions as are in hand to be made with the aforesaid Irish Rebels without consent of the King and Parliament or your Petitioners privity and that their fictious pretences of assisting his Majesty wherewith they have too long already abused himself and his Ministers on purpose to protract the War in England may not be a sufficient wile to delude your Lordships any longer but that your Petitioners and not Persons disaffected to their Religion and Nation now to be preserved or ruined may be heard to plead in this cause before any Judgment be given therein and that the Examples of their former and frequent breaches of the Cessation yet unrepaired may be accounted a reasonable caution to your Lordships to expect little better observation of any Peace that shall abridge them of their devilish designs And your Petioners shall ever Pray for your Lordships increase of Honour and Happiness Signed by the Lord Broghill the Magistrates of Cork Kinsale Youghall and Bandonbridge and above Three Hundred other Persons Append. XXVI The Articles between Sir Knelme Digby and the Pope Articles to be sent to the Lord Rimucini to be put in Execution in Ireland with Power to add to and take from them according to the present State of Affairs and as need shall be which will be better understood there upon the place 1. THAT the King of Great Britain do effectually grant in the Kingdom of Ireland the free and publick Use of the Roman Catholick Religion allowing the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy to be restored to the Catholicks with all the Churches and Revenues according to the Custom of the said Religion And as to the Monasteries pretended to have been released to the Possessors by Cardinal Pool Legate in the Time of Queen Mary that it be debated in a free Parliament in Ireland what may or can be done in that Point as likewise touching the three Bishopricks that of Dublin and the other two which are in the Hands of the Heretick Protestants under the Obedience of the King 2. That he annul and repeal all the Penal Laws and others whatsoever made aginst the said Catholicks on the Account of their Religion from the beginning of the Defection of Henry the Eighth to this Day 3. That for the better establishing the free and publick Exercise of the Catholick Religion and to add more Force and Security to the Repeal of the said Laws the King do call a Parliament in Ireland independent on that of England 4. That the Government of the Kingdom of Ireland and the principal Offices there be put into the Hands of the Catholicks and that Catholicks be made capable and promoted to Offices Honours and Degrees in that Kingdom in like manner as the Protestants have been till this Time 5. That the King do put into the Hands of the Irish Catholicks or at least such English Catholicks as the Supream Council of Ireland shall approve of the Town of Dublin and the other two which are held in his Name in Ireland 6. That he join his Forces with those of the Irish to drive the Scots and Parliamentarians out of Ireland 7. This being performed by the King and what else may in Ireland be added or altered in these Articles by the Lord Rimucini His Holiness is willing to pay to the Queen of Great Britain a Hundred Thousand Crowns of Roman Money 8. That the said King do repeal all the Laws made against the Catholicks of England and particularly the two Oaths of Supremacy and Allegiance so as they may enjoy their Revenues Honours Liberties and Priviledges as other the Gentlemen of that Kingdom do so that their being Catholicks shall be no manner of prejudice to them and that in the first Parliament or other Settlement of the Affairs of England His Majesty do approve and confirm the aforesaid Repeal and in the mean Time that they do actually enjoy all manner of Equality with the Protestants 9. That an Agreement be made between the King and the Supream Council of Ireland to transport into England a Body of an Army of Twelve Thousand Foot under Irish Commanders and Officers to whom shall be joyned Three Thousand or at least Two Thousand Five Hundred English Horse under Catholick Commanders upon such Conditions to be adjusted between them concerning the Government of the Army the Ports of their Landing and Places of Security as shall be adjudged just and convenient 10. When the said Forces shall be entred into England and joyned together in any Place His Holiness will pay the first Year a Hundred Thousand Crowns of Roman Money by a Monthly Proportion the same to be continued the second and third Year as â—â—is Forces shall stand and according to the Advantage that shall â—e made by the said Army 11. And lastly because the first six Articles may speedily be put in Execution His Holiness will expect the performance of them in six Months from the Date of these Presents and as to the Eighth and Ninth that require perhaps longer Time he will stay four Months more besides the Six beyond which he will not be tyed to this present Promise At Rome the 30 th Day of November 1645. Append. XXVII The Articles made by the Earl of Glamorgan WHereas much time hath been spent in meetings and debates betwixt His Excellency James Lord Marquess of Ormond Lord Lieutenant and General Governour of His Majesties Kingdom of Ireland Commissioner to His most Excellent Majesty Charles by the Grace of God King of
REX ET REGINA BEATI HONI · SOIT · QVI · MAL · Y · PENSE · R. White scul Printed for Ioseph Watts in S t Pauls Church Yard HIBERNIA ANGLICANA OR THE HISTORY OF IRELAND From the Conquest thereof by the ENGLISH To this Present Time WITH An Introductory Discourse touching the Ancient State of that Kingdom and a New and Exact Map of the same PART I. By RICHARD COX Esq Recorder of Kingsale Ardua res est vetustis novitatem dare obsoletis nitorem obscuris lucem dubiis fidem Plin. Attamen audendum est veritas investiganda quam si non omnino Assequeremur tamen propius ad eam quam nunc sumus tandem perveniemus LONDON Printed by H. Clark for Ioseph Watts at the Angel in St. Paul's Church-Yard MDCLXXXIX TO THEIR Most Excellent Majesties WILLIAM AND MARY By the Grace of God King and Queen OF England Scotland France and Ireland Defenders of the Faith c. May it please Your Majesties I Should not presume to lay this Treatise at Your Royal Feet but that it concerns a Noble Kingdom which is one of the most considerable Branches of Your Mighty Empire It is of great Advantage to it that it is a Subordinate Kingdom to the Crown of England for it is from that Royal Fountain that the Streams of Justice Peace Civility Riches and all other Improvements have been derived to it Campion 15. so that the Irish are as Campion says beholding to God for being conquered Davis 2. And yet Ireland has been so blind in this Great Point of its true Interest that the Natives have managed almost a continual War with the English ever since the first Conquest thereof so that it has cost Your Royal Predecessors an unspeakable Mass of Blood and Treasure to preserve it in due Obedience But no Cost can be too great where the Prize is of such Value and whoever considers the Situation Ports Plenty and other Advantages of Ireland will confess That it must be retained at what rate soever because if it should come into an Enemy's Hands England would find it impossible to flourish and perhaps difficult to subsist without it To demonstrate this Assertion it is enough to say That Ireland lies in the Line of Trade and that all the English Vessels that sail to the East West and South must as it were run the Gauntlet between the Harbours of Brest and Baltimore And I might add That the Irish Wool being transported would soon ruine the English-Clothing-Manufacture Hence it is that all your Majesties Predecessors have kept close to this Fundamental Maxim Of retaining Ireland inseparablely united to the Crown of England And though King Henry II may seem to deviate from this Rule by giving the Kingdom to his Son John yet this is to be said for him That he thought the Interest and Expectations his Son had in England would be security enough against his Defection and the rather because he could not then keep Ireland without continual Aids and Supplies from hence However this very Example was thought so dangerous that Ireland was never given away since that time except once by Henry the Third and then only to the Prince who was his Heir apparent and on this express Condition Ita quod non separetur a Corona Angliae I do not mention that unaccountable Patent to Robert de Vere Earl of Oxford and Duke of Ireland not only because there was a Tenure by Homage reserved so that it was not a total Alienation and because it was but for Life and cum mixto Imperio but chiefly because it never took effect so that it was but Vmbratilis Honor cito evanuit But it is needless to tell your Majesties That Ireland must not be separated from England or to solicit your speedy Reduction of that Kingdom since the loss of it is incompatible with Your Glory and to suffer the Ruin of four hundred thousand Irish Protestants meerly for their adherence to Your Majesties and their Religion is inconsistent with your Goodness But in Truth the Recovery of Ireland was not proper for Your Majesty's Undertaking until it became difficult beyond the Hopes of others any Body can do easie things but it is Your Majesty's peculiar Talent to atchieve what all the rest of the World think Impossible Your Majesty did so in buoying up a sinking State and restoring it to a more Glorious Condition than ever it was in before And Your Majesty did so again in retrieving from Ruine two expiring Kingdoms that were at their last Gasp and the Recovery of the third is all that remains to consummate your Glory and make You the Darling both of Fame and of Fortune And when that is done Madam the bright Example of your Majesty's Virtue and Piety will influence that degenerate Nation to such a degree of Reformation and Religion as will restore that Kindgdom to its ancient Appellation and Ireland will again be called Insula Sacra That Your Majesty's Glorious Designs for the Advantage of England and the Recovery of Ireland for the Propagation of the Protestant Religion and for the Good of Mankind may be blessed with Success suitable to Your Majesty's Generous and Pious Intentions And that Your Majesties long and happy Reign here may be crowned with Everlasting Happiness hereafter shall be the fervent as well as daily Prayers of May it please Your Majesties Your Majesties most Dutiful most Loyal and most devoted Subject R. COX TO THE READER SInce Ireland is reckoned among the Principal Islands in the World and deserves to be esteemed so whether you consider the Situation of the Country the Number and Goodness of its Harbours the Fruitfulness of the Soil or the Temperature of the Climate it is strange that this Noble Kingdom and the Affairs of it should find no room in History but remain so very obscure that not only the Inhabitants know little or nothing of what has passed in their own Country but even England a Learned and Inquisitive Nation skilful beyond comparison in the Histories of all other Countries is nevertheless but very imperfectly informed in the Story of Ireland though it be a Kingdom subordinate to England and of the highest importance to it This could never be so if there were extant any compleat or coherent History of that Kingdom which indeed there is not those relating to the Times before the Conquest being Fabulous and those since but Scraps and Fragments As for those Histories that treat of the Times before the English-Conquest Doctor Keating's is the best and is exceedingly applauded by some that did and others that did not know better Prospect in Pref. 13. Peter Walsh thinks 't is the only compleat History that we have of all the Invasions Conquests Changes Monarchs Wars and other considerable Matters of that truly ancient Kingdom But after all it is no more than an ill-digested Heap of very silly Fictions And P. W's Prospect which is in effect the Epitomy
Ophaly till he made him consent to accept of worse situated Land in lieu of it He made his Nephew Walter Almain a corrupt beggarly Fellow says Cambrensis Seneschal of Wexford and Waterford who received Bribes from Mac Morough of Kensile to prejudice the Fitz-Geralds and so Mercenary was Fitz-Adelm himself that the Irish flock'd unto him as to a Fair to buy their Demands At last having neither done Honour to the King nor Good to the Country he was revok'd and in his Room the King appointed Hugh de Lacy 1179. Lord Justice of Ireland to whom Robert le Poer the King's Marshal Governour of Waterford and Wexford was made Coadjutor Counsellor or assistant The King Lib. G. Lamb. at a Parliament held at Oxford anno 1177 had given the Kingdom of Cork The Patent from the River next Lismore running between that and Cork i.e. the River Bride to Knock-Brandon near the Shenin and so to the Sea unto Cogan and Fitz-Stephens Tenendum of him and his Son John per sexaginta feoda militaria except the City of Cork and the Cantred adjoyning which was the Eastmens He also gave the Kingdom of Limerick to the Brothers and Nephew of Richard Earl of Cornwal but they finding they could not get Possession in a little Time surrendred their unprofitable Grant Whereupon the King bestowed it upon Philip de Broase to be held of the King and his Son John by sixty Knights Fees and the City and a Cantred adjoyning were likewise excepted out of this Grant These three Adventurers joyned their Forces together and came to Waterford in November and so coasted it to Cork where they were kindly received by Richard de Londres the Governour Cogan and Fitz-Stephens agreed with Mac Carthy and the Irish Gentry That they should hold four and twenty Cantreds paying a small yearly Rent and of the seven Cantreds near Cork Cogan had the four Southern and Fitz-Stephens the three that were on the East-side of the City The Kingdom of Cork being thus setled they marched with Broase to Limerick with sixty Gentlemen one hundred and fifty Horse and a smart Party of Foot As soon as the Citizens perceived them they set the Town on Fire at which desperate Barbarity Broase was so offended that he could not be prevailed upon by any Arguments to settle there or to have any thing to do with such Rash and Heathenish People and therefore they returned to Cork which for some Time after Cogan and Fitz-Stephens joyntly and happily governed This Kingdom of Cork descended to Daughters Hooker 46. Hanmer 158. Brady 369. and so came by Marriage to Robert de Carew and Patrick de Courcy about the twentieth Year of the Reign of Henry III. Courcy's part of it was afterwards subdvided among many Daughters who were Heirs General of that Family so that a very small Proportion of it remains with the Heir-Male of that Name who was anciently Baron of Ringrone but now has the Title of Lord Baron of Kingsale As for the Carews they were Marquesses of Cork and built the Castles of Ardtully Dunkeran and Down Marque but they removed out of Ireland in the Time of the Civil Wars between York and Lancaster and others intruded into their Possessions and Estate and keep them to this Day except what they have sold or forfeited About this Time Sir Thomas de Clare obtained a Grant of Thomond Davis 122. as Otho de Grandison did of Typerary and Robert le Poer of Waterford and William Fitz-Adelm also got a large Proportion of Connaugh But it is time to return to the valiant John de Courcy Brady 368. who was engaged in Vriel on this Occasion he had sent into England for Victuals Ammunition and other Necessaries the Ship by Stress of Weather was driven into a Creek called Torshead O Hanlon and his Followers immediately came on Board the Vessel and murdered all that were in it and seized on the Cargo As soon as Courcy had Notice of this Misfortune he drew his Men together being above a thousand and marched towards the Newry on the Way he received Advice That the Irish were encamped near Dundalk in a great Body to the Number of seven thousand Courcy sent a Fryer to them and instructed him to tell them That there were great Forces arrived at Drogheda from England and that they were very near them and to justifie this Story the English did march with the greatest Shew and Appearance they could make and made a great Shout wherewith the Enemy was so daunted that they fled towards the River in great Confusion but the Tide being in many were drowned and more were slain However O Hanlon and the greatest part of his Army got over the River but the Frier guided the English over a Ford so that they came to a second Encounter wherein the Irish were so desperate That the English Foot were forced to retire but the Valiant Sir Armorick came in seasonably to their Rescue and persuaded them to rally and to make another Charge which they performed so briskly that the Irish were obliged to withdraw to the Fews as the English also did to Dundalk neither Party much boasting of the Victory because the Slaughter was great on both sides About this time two Cardinals come to England to invite the English and Irish Bishops to the Council of Lateran There went from hence Lawrence Archbishop of Dublin Catholicus Archbishop of Tuam and others but all of them first swore Not to procure any Damage to the King or his Dominions Sullevan Which Oath Lawrence did not very religiously observe for he not only spoke vehemently in the Council against the King's Administration of Affairs in Ireland but as the Irish say he obtained a Bull of Revocation from the Pope annulling the former Bulls granted to the King But this is not probable because no such Bull is extant and if there were it would be void but it is certain he was an inveterate Enemy to the English and gave them all the Opposition and Disquiet he could However he was reputed a very Holy Man being zealously addicted to the Superstitious Devotion Hanmer 163. so that he was canonized by Pope Honorius III. This is recorded of him That he was so grateful to the See of Rome for his Pall or so great an abhorrer of Immodesty that he refused to absolve the Priests convicted of that Sin insomuch that he sent one hundred and forty of them to Rome to pay for their Absolution there But it is time to return to the Lord Justice Lacy who govern'd very well and built many Castles in convenient Places and particularly Castle-Dermond Leighlin Leix Delvin 1180. Carlow Tullaghphelim and Kilka and Courcy was no less diligent in raising that kind of Fortification in Vlster However Lacy had given just Cause of Jealousie by marrying the Daughter of Rotherick King of Connaught whereupon his Enemis impeached him suggesting that he confederated with the Irish
Annum for the other two parts saving and reserving to the King two Cantreds with the Inhabitants and liberty of building Castles therein The King liked the Proposal well enough and communicated it to the Lord Justice and referr'd it to him adding That it would do well if the Lord Justice could squeeze a Fine of four hundred Marks from the King of Connaught together with a yearly Tribute of Cows 1208. to supply such Castles as should be built in those Cantreds Hugh de Lacy was made Lord Deputy upon the Lord Justice his going to England and soon after viz. the Eighth of November the King by Patent Dated at Woodstock whereunto Meyler Fitz-Henry Lord Justice is Witness did confirm to William Fitz Philip Barry the three Cantreds of Olethan Muskry Dunegan and Killedy which Fitz Stephens had given his Father in the Kingdom of Cork 4 Inst 359. to be held of the King by Ten Knights Fees Lib. GGG and he also granted to William Marshal the Marshalship of Ireland in Fee as also the Cantred of Kilkenny About this time Jeofry Morison or Mac Moris was troublesome in Munster wherefore the Lord Deputy invaded Typerary Hanmer 186. and took Thurles he also took Castlemeyler and demolished it but the Irish say he lost more men in this Expedition than he brought back And now the King finding many Complaints of Thieves Tories and Robbers which were become a Nusance in Ireland sent the following Writ for their expulsion REX Meyler Prin 250. fil Henr. Justic Hiberniae c. omnibus aliis Baron fidelibus suis Hibern c. Sciatis quod ad voluntatem consilium dilectorum fidelium nostrorum Com. W. Maresc Walteri de Lacy aliorum Baronum nostrorum Hibern qui nobiscum fuerunt in Angl. per consilium fidelium nostror Angl. volumus statuimus quod Latrones Hibern expellantur de Terra nostra Hibern quod ipsi receptores eorum deducantur secundum Legem Angl. ideo vobis mandamus quod ita fieri faciatis in hujus rei testimonium has Literas nostras Patent vobis mittimus Teste Meipso apud Southhampt 23 Die Martii But Lacy was so elevated with the aforesaid Victories how dear soever they were bought that he look'd on all below him with Contempt and became so impatient of Competition that he was outragious against all his Enemies and particularly against John de Courcy Lord of Raheny and Kilbarrock Natural Son of the great John de Courcy whom the Lacies basely and barbarously caused to be murdered whereupon great Stirs and Dissatisfactions arose in Ireland even among the British Temple 6. whereof the Irish made their advantage Hanmer 187. and under pretence of being burdened with Taxes there was a general Defection throughout all the Realm Dublin was inhabited mostly by a Colony of Bristol Men 1209. and it was customary with them for love of Sport and Air to walk abroad toward Cullenwood every Easter-Monday but now being unarmed they were surprized by the Mountaneers of Wicklow the Birnes and Tooles c. who murdered three hundred of the Citizens wherefore that Day is ever since called Black Monday and for a long time after was solemnly observed by the Mayor Sheriffs and Citizens of Dublin in a brave and splendid manner and to supply this Loss the City of Bristol sent a new Colony to replenish Dublin But the King as well to secure his goverment from the ambition of Lacy whereof he grew exceeding jealous as also to suppress the Rebellion of the Irish found it necessary to make a Voyage to that Countrey and therefore with a considerable Army he sailed thither and on the Eighth Day of June landed at Waterford 1210. where O Neal and above Twenty other Irish Potentates came and made their humble Submissions and did Homage and Fealty unto him The Lacies conscious of their Demerits durst not abide the Arrival of the King but secretly fled into France where in Disguise they served the Abbot of St. Taurin in the quality of Gardeners till their unskilfulness manifested they were not educated in that way which gave the Abbot some suspicion of them and that led him into so strict an Enquiry that to satisfie the Abbot they were obliged to discover the Truth Speed 508. The good man did so sympathize with their Misfortunes and pitied their Distress that he effectually interceded with the King for their Pardon which at length he obtain'd Walter paying for Meath 2500 and Hugh for Vlster 4000 Marks Cattalus or rather Carolus O Conner alias Crovederg the Valiant and Active King of Connaught was the only Man of Note that opposed King John but he was an unequal Match for the King of England Cambden 152. and therefore was easily subdued and taken Prisoner Wherefore the King having no more of Military Matters to execute in Ireland seriously set himself to mend the Civil State of that unfortunate Country and first he caused Money to be Coyned ad Pondus Nummi Angliae and made it currant in both Kingdoms by his Proclamation which was the first Sterling Money that was Coyned in Ireland Lib. M. 25. and this done he set himself to establish the English Laws in that Kingdom For though King Henry had done as much to introduce the English Laws there as that Season and other Circumstances would permit yet partly for want of Sheriffs and the Distribution of the Kingdom into Counties but chiefly because of the unsetledness of the Country and the rebellious humour of the Irish it could not at that time be fully effected Wherefore King John to supply those Defects as far as he was able divided Leinster and Munster the only part he had in quiet and actual possession into the Counties of Dublin Kildare Meath Vriel Caterlogh Kilkenny Wexford Waterford Cork Limerick Typerary and Kerry and appointed Sheriffs and other Officers for them after the manner of England He also caused an Abstract of the English Laws and Customs to be drawn in writing Inst 141. b. 4 Inst 349. whereunto he affixed his Seal and left it in the Exchequer in Dublin and by general consent in Parliament and at the instance of the Irish he ordained that the English Laws and Customs should thenceforward be observed in Ireland Temple 6. and in order to it he erected Courts of Judicature at Dublin But the Brehon Law and the other Irish Customs indulged more to the Tyrannie of the great Men and yet did not hold the Commons to a strict and regular Discipline as the Laws of England did and therefore the very English were so corrupted by ill Example that the English Laws were not regarded nor had in Estimation as they ought but were look'd upon both by the Irish and degenerate English Davis 90. lib. M. as a Yoke of Bondage so that Henry III was necessitated oftentimes to enjoyn the Observation of them In
Flames but the Devout Citizens first made a Collection for the Repair of the Church and then set themselves to the re-edifying their own Houses And so we come to a Trial 1284. very unusual in Courts of Justice in Ireland tho' too frequent in the Field viz. that of Battle Ware presul 142. for Jeofry Saintleger Bishop of Ossory in a Writ of Right for the Mannor of Sirekeran in Ely O Carol recovered the same and the Trial was by Battle between the Bishops Champion and the Champion of his Adversary The Lords and Potentates of Ophaly were grown strong enough to take and burn the Castle of Ley 1285. and it seems Theobald Verdon going to revenge that Injury lost both his Men and his Horses which was followed with a greater Misfortune for the next Morning Girald Fitz-Maurice was betrayed by his Followers and taken Prisoner Nor had the English better Success at Rathdod for in an unfortunate Skirmish there Sir Gerard Doget Ralph Petit and many more were slain and the Lord Geofry Genevil had much ado to save himself by Flight Amidst these Disturbances Burlace 31. the Lord Justice obtained from the King a Pension of five hundred Pound per annum for his Expence and Charge in the Government to continue as long as his Justiceship but if any extraordinary Accident should require more Expence than the Writ prescribes That a Vice-Treasurer be appointed to receive and pay the Revenue as the Lord Justice and the Court of Exchequer shall think fit But the next Year was more favourable 1286. so that Philip Stanton in November burnt Norwagh and Ardscol and other Towns and the great Rebel Calwagh was taken at Kildare which superseded these Stirs for a Time Nevertheless this Year was fatal to many Noblemen viz. Maurice Fitz-Maurice who died at Rosse as Girald Fitz-Maurice Oge did at Rathmore and the Lord Thomas de Clare could not escape the Common Fate to which the Lord Justice himself was forced to submit So that John Sandford 1287. Archbishop of Dublin was chosen Lord Justice His Government was the more uneasie to him because Richard Burk 1288. Earl of Vlster and Walter Lacy Lord of Meath confederated against Theobald de Verdon and Besieged him in the Castle of Athloan and came with a great Army as far as Trim However this was in a great measure recompenced by the Plenty of the Year which was so great even in England that a Bushel of Wheat was sold for four Pence It was usual in this King's Reign To send the new English Statutes in some reasonable time after they were made to be proclaimed and observed in Ireland Thus in the thirteenth Year of his Reign he sent by Roger Bretun the Statutes of Westminster the first of Glocester of Merchants and of Westminster the second to the Lord Justice Fulborne to publish and notifie them to the People And this Year the like was done by the Statute called Ordinatio pro Statu Hiberniae which was enacted in England and sent to Ireland to be observed there and is to be seen in French in the second part of the Ancient Statutes printed at London 1532. And the Statutes of Lincoln and of York were also sent to Ireland Ex lib. Alb. Scac. Hib. to be enrolled in the Chancery and to be published and notified to the People 20 Novemb. 17 Edw. 1. And it is to be observed That after Parliaments were held in Ireland yet the English Statutes did extend to Ireland as the eleventh of Edward III Lib. M. Lamb. of Drapery and the twenty seventh of Edward III of the Staple and the fourth of Henry V cap. 6-touching the Promotion of Clerks of the Irish Nation and many more But it is time to return to the Lord Justice whose Service the King had occasion to make use of in England and in several Foreign Embassies in all which he behaved himself honourably He was succeeded in Ireland by William Vescy 15 Novemb. 1290. Lord Justice Whose Government was disturbed by O Hanlon in Vlster and O Mlaghlin in Meath who were again in Rebellion but Richard Earl of Vlster had the good Fortune to suppress O Hanlon with a few Blows and the Lord Justice did as much for O Mlaghlin and pursued him so close that at last he was taken and slain by Mac Coughlan who grew so proud upon that Service that he set up for himself and gave a great Defeat to William Burk at Delvin and to the English in Ophaly And tho' the King in the thirteenth Year of his Reign had a Grant from the Pope of the Tenth of all Ecclesiastical Revenues in Ireland for seven Years toward the Holy War which was followed with a Grant of a Fifteenth from the Temporality yet now upon the Expiration of that Grant he wrote to the Bishops and Clergy for a Dism of their Spiritualities to defray his Debts in redeeming his Nephew Charles But they unanimously answered Quod concessioni petitionis praefatae minime supercederent But Cambden assures us That the Temporality granted another Fifteenth To this Lord Justice Cambden 78. Baliol King of Scotland did Homage for some Lands he held in Ireland and about the same time it was ordered 4 Inst 356. That the Treasurer of Ireland should account yearly at the Exchequer of England 1293. And the same Year came over Gilbert de Clare Earl of Glocester whose Wife Joan of Acres was the King's Daughter But now there arose great Feuds between John Fitz-Thomas Fitz-Girald Lord of Ophaly and the Lord Justice whereupon the Lord Justice did underhand encourage the Irish to do all the Prejudice they could to Fitz-Girald and his Partisans hence arose mutual Complaints and reciprocal Impeachments so that both of them went or were fent for into England But it will not be unpleasant to the Reader to have the Particulars of this famous Controversie in the Words of Holingshead The Lord Justice hearing many Complaints of the Oppressions the Country daily received Holingshead 35 which he thought reflected on him and insinuated his male Administration therefore to disburthen and excuse himself he began in misty Speeches to lay the Fault on the Lord John Fitz-Giralds Shoulders saying in parable wise That he was a great occasion of these Disorders in that he bare himself in Private Quarrels as fierce as a Lyon but in these Publick Injuries as meek as a Lamb. The Baron of Ophaly spelling and putting these Syllables together spake after this Manner My Lord I Am heartily sorry that among all this Noble Asembly you make me your only Butt whereat you shoot your Bolt and truly were my Deserts so hainous as I suppose you would wish them to be you would not labour to cloud your Talk with such dark Riddles as at this present you have done but with plain and flat English your Lordship would not stick to impeach me of Felony or Treason for as mine Ancestors with
spending of their Blood in their Sovereigns Quarrel aspired to this Type of Honour in which at this Day God and my King be thanked I stand So your Lordship taking the nigher Way to the Wood by charging me with Treason would gladly trip so roundly on my Top that by shedding of my Blood and by catching my Lands into your Clutches that butt so near upon your Mannors of Kildare and Rathimghan as I dare say they are an Eye-sore unto you you might make my Master your Son a proper Gentleman A Gentleman quoth the Lord Justice thou bald Baron I tell thee the Vescies were Gentlemen before the Giraldins were Barons of Ophaly yea and before that Welsh Bankrupt thine Ancestor he meant Sir Maurice Fitz-Girald feathered his Nest in Leinster And whereas thou takest the Matter so far in Snuff I will teach thee thy Lyripups after another Fashion than to be thus malapartly cocking and billing with me that am thy Governour Wherefore albeit thy Taunts are such as might force the patientest Philosopher that is to be choakt with Choler Yet I would have thee ponder my Speech as though I delivered it in my most sober and quiet mood I say to the Face of thee and I will avow what I say unto thee That thou art a Supporter of Thieves a bolsterer of the King's Enemies an Upholder of Traytors a Murderer of Subjects a Firebrand of Dissention a rank Thief an arrant Traytor and before I eat these Words I will make thee eat a piece of my Blade The Baron bridling with might and main his Choler bare himself as cold in Countenance as the Lord Justice was hot in Words and replied in this wise My Lord I Am very glad that at length you unwrapt your self out of that Net wherein all this while you masked As for mine Ancestor whom you term a Bankrupt how Rich or how Poor he was upon his repair to Ireland I purpose not at this time to debate yet thus much I may boldly say That he came hither as a Buyer not as a Beggar he bought the Enemies Land by spending his Blood But you lurking like a Spider in his Cobweb to intrap Flies endeavour to beg Subject's Livings wrongfully by despoiling them of their Innocent Lives And whereas you charge me with malapertness in that I presume to chop Logick with you being Governour by answering your snappish Quid with a knappish Quo. I would wish you to understand now that you put me in mind of the Distinction that I as a Subject honour your Royal Authority but as a Nobleman despise your Dunghil Gentility Lastly Whereas you charge me with the odious Terms of Traitor Murtherer and the like and therewithal you wish me to resolve my self that you rest upon Reason not upon Rage if these Words proceed from your Lordship as from a Magistrate I am a Subject to be tried by order of Law and am sorry that the Governor who ought by vertue of his publick Authority to be my Judge is by reason of private Malice become mine Accuser But if you utter these Speeches as a private Person then I John Fitz-Girald Baron of Ophalie do tell thee William Vescie a singe-Sole Gentleman that I am no Traytor no Felon and that thou art the only Buttress by which the Kings Enemies are supported the mean and Instrument by which his Majesties Subjects are daily spoiled Therefore I as a Loyal Subject say Traytor to thy Teeth and that shalt thou well understand when we both shall be brought to the Rehearsal of these Matters before our Betters Howbeit during the time you bear Office I am resolv'd to give you the Mastery in Words and to suffer you like a brawling Cur to bark but when I see my time I will be sure to bite These biting Speeches passing to and fro great Factions on both sides were raised with high and mighty words and deep Oaths till in time either part appeas'd his own The Baron of Ophaly not sleeping nor slacking his Matter scudded with all haste into England where he was no sooner inshoared than Vescie after he had substituted William Hay in his room was imbarked making as hot foot after the Baron as he could The King and his Council understanding the occasion of their sudden Arrivals to the end the Truth should be brought to light appointed a set Day for the deciding of their Controversie and that each of them should speak for himself what he could Whereuon Vescie being commanded to begin spake to this effect My Dread Sovereign AS I must acknowledge my self somewhat aggrieved to be entangled in so intricate a Matter so I am glad as heart can think that so weighty a controversie is brought to the deciding of so upright an Umpire And whereas it stood with your Majesties Pleasure with the Advice of this your Honourable Council That I as unworthy should have the Government of your Realm of Ireland and during my Time your Majesties Subjects have been I may not deny it diversly annoyed for my Discharge as I said in Ireland So I avow here in England that he kneeleth here before your Highness pointing to the Baron of Ophaelie that is the Root and Crop of all these Enormities for it is well known that he beareth that stroke with the Irish as if he once but frown at them they dare not be so hardy as once to peak out of their Cabbins And whereas his Force doth greatly amaze them think you but his Countenance doth wonderfully encourage them To the furtherance of which it is apparently known and it shall be proved that he hath not only in hucker mucker by sundry Messages imboldned your Majesties Enemies to spoil your Subjects but also by his personal Presence in secret Meetings he gave them such Courage as neither the Royalty of your Highness nor the Authority of your Deputy neither the force of your Laws nor the strength of your puissant Army was able to quench the Flame of these Hurly-burlies that through his traiterous drifts were enkindled These and the like Enormities through his privy packing with Rebels being daily committed to bring me your Majesties Governour in the hatred of the People his Adherents both secretly muttered and openly exclaimed against me and my Government as though the Redress of all these Harms had wholly lain in mine hands Whereupon being in conference with such as were the Chieftains of your Realm of Ireland albeit I took it to be expedient to point with my Finger to the very Sink or Head-spring of all the Treasons that by secret Conspiracies were pretended and practised against your Majesty and your Subjects yet notwithstanding having more regard to Modesty than to the Deserts of the Baron of Ophalie I did but glance at his packing in such secret sort as none or very few of the Company could guess whom with my misty Speeches I did touch And as commonly the galled Horse doth soonest kick so this Gentleman being prickt as it should seem
under the Notion of Thieves or Tories Neither was Munster free from the like Calamity for it felt the heavy hand of Walter le Poer who burnt and wasted great part of it Davis 93. Nevertheless the Justices in Eyre sate this Year at Tredagh And it seems that in those days as well Common Pleas as those of the Crown were tried before the chief Governor for I find this Entry 32 Ed. 1. A die S. Martini in quindecim dies de Commun Placit apud Dublin coram Johanne Wogan Justiciar Lib. G. Lambeth Hiberniae and sometimes they did it by Commissioners as 6 Ed. 2. Coram Waltero de Thornbury Cancellario Willielmo Alexander assignatis loco Edmondi le Butler Custode Terrae Hiberniae alibi in remotis agendis John Wogan Lord Justice 1302. being return'd call'd a Parliament the Effects whereof I find not but on the 17th of January issued a Commission to Richard Earl of Vlster the Lord Justice and Tho. Cantock Lord Chancellor to ask a Subsidy from the Clergy pro salvatione Coronae suae c. And the King wrote particular Letters to them but all to no purpose Nevertheless Pope Boniface would not be so served for he obtain'd or exacted from them a three years Disme to aid the Church against the King of Aragon The Lord Edmond Butler recovered the Mannor of Holywood in Fingal from the Archbishop of Dublin by Fine or Concord between them in the Kings Bench says Cambden and the same Archbishop took great pains to reconcile the two Churches of St. Patrick's and Christ-Church in Dublin Ware de Presul 110. and made Articles between them which were not observed in the mean time Says an 1300. Hugh de Lacy preyed the Estate of Hugh Verneil I suppose for some private Injuries Richard Burk 1303. Earl of Vlster accompanied with Eustace le Poer and a good Army went to aid the King in Scotland and the Earl made thirty three Knights in the Castle of Dublin before he set out and it is observable that in all Commissions and even in the Parliament-Rolls this Earl is always named before the Lord Justice This Year died Gerald 1304. eldest Son of the Lord John Fitz-Thomas as also the Countess of Vlster and William de Wellesby and Sir Robert Percival were slain in October also an Order issued to pardon Maurice de Carew Four hundred pound Arrearages he owed the King for his Lands in Desmond Lib. F. Lambeth because he was serving the King in Scotland and now again was a great part of Dublin accidentally burnt The next Year produced abundance of Villany 1305. for Jordan Comin with his Complices murdered Mortagh O Connor King of Ophaly and Calwagh his Brother and some others at Pirece Brimingham's House in Carbry in the County of Kildare and some Irish-men did the like by Sir Gilber Sutton Seneschal of Wexford at the House of Heymond le Grace and Heymond himself had much ado to escape and this year there was an Inquest of Trailbaston It seems the Mayor of Dublin had made some Complaints to the Irish Parliament against the Treasurer and Barons of the Exchequer 4 Inst 350. which was adjourned or transmitted to England and the Mayor was committed to the Tower and fined because he could not make out his Acusation The Year 1306. 1306. was not less bloody than the former for on the 13th of April the O Dempsyes made great Slaughter of the O Connors near Geashil in Ophaly and O Dempsy Captain of the Regans was there slain Soon after which O Bryan King of Thomond was murdered and Daniel Oge Mac Carthy did as much for his Father Donald Roe King of Desmond to which we may add that Pierce Brimingham was defeated in Meath May 12 and Ballymore was burnt by the Irish and Henry Celse was there kill'd Hereupon great Wars ensued and the English were summoned out of other Provinces to the Relief of Leinster they had a notable Battel at Clenfel where Sir Thomas Mandeville fought valiantly till his Horse was kill'd under him but what the Event of the Battel was is not recorded About this time Thomas Cantock Chancellor being consecrated Bishop of Emly made the greatest Feast for poor and rich that ever was seen in Ireland to that day This Year Murchod Ballagh was beheaded near to Merton 1307. by Sir David Canton or Condon who was afterwards hang'd for it in Dublin anno 1309. And on the first of May the Oscheles perhaps O Kellyes in Connaught routed and slew many Englishmen and the Tories of Ophaly razed the Castle of Geashil and on the 6th of July burnt the Town of Ley and besieged the Castle but at length they were dispersed by John Fitz-Thomas and his Son-in-Law Edmond le Butler In the mean time on the 7th of July this Noble and Victorious King died of a Dysentery at Barough upon the Sand in the five and thirthieth year of his Reign and of his Age the sixty eighth THE REIGN OF EDWARD II. King of England c. And LORD of IRELAND EDWARD the Second stiled of Carnarvan 1307. the Place of his Birth began his Reign on the seventh Day of July 1307. with great Applause both of Nobility and People but he soon disappointed their good Expectations and not only recalled Gaveston contrary to his Fathers Express and Last Commands but also gave him the thirty two thousand Pound which his Father had specially appointed for the Holy War Baker 109. moreover he went to Bulloign and married Isabel Daughter of Philip the Fair King of France on the twenty second Day of January 1307 without any Portion in Mony And on the twenty fourth Day of February both he and she were crowned at Westminster by Henry Bishop of Winchester with exceeding Pomp. As to the Affairs of Ireland they were little regarded at this time so that there were small or no Alterations in that Government and Sir John Wogan still continued Lord Justice and in Decem. received an Order to suppress the Knights Templars which was effectually executed here on the third Day of February as it had been in England the seventeenth Day of January before Cambden 165. so that the King got four hundred Pounds Worth of their Goods which it seems was a great Sum in those Days This Year proved very unfortunate as well by the Death of the famous Peter de Breminghan on the twelfth of April as by the Rebellious Disturbances of the Irish amongst whom William mac Balthar was most active for he and his Complices burnt the Castle of Kenun on the eleventh of May and slew most of the Ward they also burnt the Town of Courcowly and on the sixth of June discomfited the Lord Justice near Glandelory where John de S. Hogeline John Norton and John Breton were slain and being elevated with this Success on the sixteenth of June they burnt Tobir Danlavan and many other Villages But the Lord
Quod Justic nec aliquis alius Minister de caetero det alicui custodiam vel maritagium alicujus haeredis ad regem pertinentis nec pardonet debita Regis seu fines amerciamenta vel catalla forisfacta sed quod Justiciarii alii Ministri hujusmodi custodias maritagia vendant aliud comodum Regis inde fac juxta discretiones suas Item Quod Vic. Coronatores de caetero eligantur per Communitates Comit. non alio modo quod catalla forisfacta remaneant in custodia Villar Item Quod Justic seu aliquis alius Minister non recipiet aliquem magnatem in pleg vel manucaptor versus Dominum regem nisi quatenus pro commodo Regis viderint faciendum Item Quod Justic obsides pro conservatione pacis sive liberatos in carceris Domini Regis fac salvo custodire ad sumptus suos proprios quod si ipsi qui posuerunt hujusmodi obsides conditiones conventiones quas fecerunt non observent Justic faciant Judicium de hujusmodi obsidibus Item Quod Justic seu aliquis Magnus Hibern non concedat protectiones alicui contra pacem Regis existent Item Quod nullus Minister Regis de caetero recipiatur in pleg vel manucaptorem versus Dominum Regem Item Quod fines de vaccis de caetero pro redemptione non capiantur sed denarii Item Quod Treuga capta capienda inter Anglicos Hibernicos de caetero observetur quod neutra pars damnum alteri durante hujusmodi Treuga inferat si fecerit pro felone habeatur Item Quod nullus ut lagatus in Gildabili receptetur infra libertates nec e converso inde fiat Ordinatio per Justic alios Ministros Dominos libertatum Item Quod Vic. alii Ministri computent quolibet anno semel ad minus si comode fieri poterit Item Quod Seneschallus alicujus Domini in Hibern non ponatur in aliquo Officio Regis Item Quod Thes vel aliquis alius Minister Regis ubi ipse intendere non potest supervideat quolibet anno castra Regis statum eorundem quod emendare fac defectus eorundem Item Quod vic in Turnis quae faciunt de Brevibus Domini Regis ponant nomina sua ita quod quilibet Vic. de exitibus forisfacturis aliis proficuis quae requiruntur sub nomine Vic. oneretur ad Scac. pro tempore suo proprio Item Quod extranei non assignentur Collectores Custumorum Regis sed Burgenses Villarum ubi tales Custumae colligi debent assignentur ad eas colligendas hoc fiat de potentioribus discretiorbus Item Quod Justic fac inquirere quolibet anno de Ministris Domini Regis eorum factis quod puniat delinquentes pert concilium avisamentum Canc. Thes aliorum de concilio Regis amoveat insufficientes Item Quod nullus manuteneat neo ducat Kernes nec Gentes vocat Idle men nisi in Marchis suis propriis ad custus eorundem nec faciat prizas Item Quod omnes Ministri Regis qui tenentur ad computandum non habent Terras seu Tenementa sufficientia in Hibernia invenient manucaptionem in Hibern ad respondendum Regi de compotis suis ibidem Item Quod habentes Terras Tenementa in Hibernia tam religiosi quam alii praemuniantur quod resideant in iisdem si sint in Marchis vel alibi vel ponent sufficientem Custodiam pro conservatione pacis in iisdem citra Fest S. Petri ad vincula prox futur si non fecerint quod Rex in eorum defectum Terras Tenementa illa in manum suam capiet de sufficiente custodia eorundem ordinabit Item Quod nullus cujuscunque status seu conditionis manuteneaâ— foveat nec defendat Hibernicos seu alium quemcunque contra pacem Domini Regis insurgentem si aliquis sic fecerit inde convictus fuerit pro Felone habebitur c. And at the same time the King sent another Writ Prin 269. commanding them to observe the Law of England in case of wardships without regard to the Custom or Usage of Ireland In July the Irish razed the Castle of Bunratty to the ground but in lieu of that 1332. the English on the 8th of August took the Castle of Arcklow and re-edified it They had also the good fortune to defeat the O Bryans Mac Carthyes and other Irish in Munster and to kill a great many of their Men and they also took the Castle of Coolmore The Irish Hostages that were kept at Limerick and Nenagh made notable Attempts to surprize and seize both those Castles and they pursued the Project so far as to get both of them into their possession but the English were resolved to regain them which they perform'd in a very short time and the Hostages at Limerick were put to death for their Treachery and those at Nenagh were still kept in durance But the O Tools of Leinster made a more successful Attempt on the Town of Newcastle in the County of Wicklow for they not only took it but also burnt it In the mean time Cottons Rec. 9. at the English Parliament holden in September principally for the Affairs of Ireland and the Kings Expedition thither it was fully agreed that the King should pass to Ireland in person Ibid. 10. and that in the mean time a Power should be sent to that Country and Commandment was given that all such as have Lands there should repair thither for defence of that Kingdom and that all such Learned in the Law as shall be sent as Justices or otherwise to serve in Ireland shall have no Excuse and that Search be made amongst all the Kings Records to see what hath been done for the Amendment of the Irish Lib. Z Z. And soon after a Writ was sent to William de Burgo and others to attend the King to consult of his Voyage to Ireland but because the time of year did not serve for the Kings Voyage nothing more was done than that the Lord Justice was recalled in November and in February after came over Sir John Darcy Lord Justice to whom the King gave the Mannors of Louth and Ballyogany which Simon Earl of Eu had forfeited by adhering to the French King Soon after his coming the Birminghams took a Prey of two thousand Cows from the O Connors in the County of Sligo But this small Success was quickly over-ballanced by a great Misfortue 1333. for William Burk Earl of Vlster was on the 6th of June basely murdered by his own perfidious Servants at Carigfergus whereupon his Wife and only Daughter sailed to England the Daughter was afterwards Married to the Duke of Clarence and had one only Daughter who was Wife to Roger Mortimer Earl of March and Lord of Trim And from her the Earldom of Vlster and Lordship of Connaught came by descent to be
annexed to the Crown But two of the Burks seized upon most part of the Estate and divided it between them and knowing they could not hold it by the Law of England they confederated with the Irish and changed their Language Apparel Customs and Manners Nay their very Names were altered into those of Mac William Eighter and Mac William Oughter and by these means they have made a shift to keep some part of that mighty Estate for many score years The Lord Justice to revenge the Murder of the Earl of Vlster which made a great noise in Ireland call'd a Parliament by whose advice he went by Sea to Carigfergus on the first of July and by help of the Country People he destroyed the Murderers and their Abettors and thence with his Army he sailed into Scotland where he did very good Service But the Parliament sitting in England Cottons Rec. the 15th of March it was there resolved That because the Kings Affairs required him in France his Irish Voyage should be postpon'd for a year so as Aid might be sent in the mean time but it seems that the Scots so allarm'd him in the North that he performed neither the one nor the other Voyage And though both Houses apart advised the King to send Supplies of Men and Money to Ireland and gave him one Disme and one Fifteenth to that purpose yet I do not find that any considerable Recruits were sent thither but instead of that a Commission was sent to treat with the Rebels Prin 270. Whilst the Lord Justice was beyond Seas the Government was managed by Thomas de Burgh Lord Treasurer but it was not long before Darcy return'd with honour and releas'd Walter de Birmingham out of Prison in February following and soon after Sir Simon Archdeacon and others were slain by the Irish in Leinster Ibid. And the young Lord Roch prevail'd with the King to reduce to ten pounds a Fine of two hundred Marks impos'd on his Father for absenting himself from the Parliaments of 20 Edw. 2. and 2 Edw. 3. to both which he was summoned Maurice Fitz-Girald broke his Leg by a Fall from his Horse and was thereby hindred from repairing to England as he had promised and designed 1335. but now being recovered he went thither and was well received by the King and created Earl of Desmond 1336. 9 Ed. 3. On the 9th of August the English gave the Irishmen a great Defeat in Connaught Campion 88. and with the loss of one man slew ten thousand of their enemies and not long after the Lord Justice was removed and Sir John Charleton came over Lord Justice 1337. and brought with him his Brother Thomas Bishop of Hereford Lord Chancellor John Rice or ap Rees Lord Treasurer and two hundred Welsh Soldiers he called a Parliament at Dublin to which the Archbishop of Armagh designed to come Pryn. 409. and in order to it made great Preparations at S. Mary Abby but the Archbishop of Dublin would not permit him to advance his Cross in that Diocess till the King sent his Writs as well to the Archbishop as to the Corporation of Dublin not to molest the Primate Thomas Charleton 1338. Bishop of Hereford Governour of Ireland he caused Sir Eustace Poer and Sir John Poer to be imprisoned in the Castle of Dublin on the third Day of February And this Winter there was so great Frost and Snow from the second Day of December to the tenth Day of February that they Plaid Danced and roasted Fish on the Ice upon the River of Liffy And now again 1339. were all the Irish in Arms especially in Munster but the Earl of Desmond so well managed Matters there that he slew one thousand two hundred Men in Kerry and took Nicholas Fitz-Maurice Lord of Kerry Prisoner and kept him in Durance till he died Cambden 187. because he had joyned with the Irish against the King and the Earl Nor had the Earl of Kildare worse Success in Leinster for he pursued the O Dempsies so close that many of them were drowned in the River Barrow and the greatest Booty that ever was taken in that Country was brought by the Lord Justice and the English from Idrone in the County of Caterlogh about the latter end of February and in April following the Lord Justice being sent for to England resigned to Roger Outlaw 1340. Prior of Kilmainham Lord Justice he died the February following and by the Kings Patent constituted John Lord Darcy L. Justice during Life but he came not afterwards into Ireland but in May following sent over Sir John Morris 1341. Lord Deputy to whom the Inhabitants of Ireland did not pay that respect which was due to his Character for the English Irish were how grown so proud that they disdain'd to be under the authority of a Knight And therefore to mortifie them it was resolved to make a general Resumption of all Lands Liberties Signiories and Jurisdictions which this King or his Father had granted in Ireland QVia plures excessivae Donationes Terrarum Tenement 15 E. 3. m. 14 Libertatum in Terra Hibern ad minus veracem subdolem suggestionem potentium quam per Ed. 2. quam per Regem nunâ— facta sunt c. Rex delusorias hujusmodi Machinationes volens elidere de concilio peritorum sibi assistent omnes donationes Terrarum Tenement Libertat praedict duxit 〈◊〉 c. quousque de meritis personarum ac de causis conditionibus donationum praedict fuerit informat ideo Mandâ—â— est Justiâ— regni Hibern quod omnia Terras Ienementa c. praedict perdict Reges Justic aut locum tenentes suos quibuscunque personis fact seisire facias c. It cannot be expressed what Fewds Davis 138. that it was by good advice Heart-burnings and Dissatisfactions this one unadvised Act did create it was the rise and occasion of a distinction between the English of Blood and the English of Birth which had like to be fatal to the whole Kingdom Pryn. 272. all the old English were disobliged by this procedure and without their assistance the King could not keep much less enlarge his Interest in Ireland To qualifie this Matter and to allay these Heats 1342. a Parliament was summoned to meet at Dublin in October but the Earl of Desmond and other Great Men of that Faction openly refused to come and on the contrary they confederated with the Corporations and some Cities and the rest of the Male-contents and without consulting the Government they appointed a General Assembly at Kilkenny in November following and there they did accordingly meet and the Lord Justice had not Power to hinder them nor did he dare to come to them This Assembly sent Messengers to the King with their Complaints couched in these three Queries I. How a Realm of War could be governed by a Man unskilful in all war-like Service II. How an
England There was also another Petition for a free intercourse of Trade between Ireland and Portugal Ibid. whereunto the King gave a Gracious Answer And it seems that the State of England was intent upon the Recovery and Improvement of Ireland for Sir Nicholas Dagworth was sent thither to survey the Possessions of the Crown Davis 201 and to call the Officers of the Irish Revenue to account and the more to humour the Irish who thiink themselves disgraced when ignoble Men are put in the highest Authority over them Edmond Mortimer Earl of March and Vlster Jan. 24. 1380. was sent over Lord Lieutenant Sometime before he came viz. in Jun. 1380. the French and Spanish Gallies which did much Mischief on the Coasts of Ireland were by the English Fleet forced to retire into the Harbour of Kinsale where they were assailed and vanquished by the English and Irish so that their Chief Captains were taken Paâ—ata Hiberniae 360. and four hundred of the Enemies slain there were also taken four of their Barges and one Ballenget and one and twenty English Prizes were recovered I cannot find but that Ireland was pretty quiet during the Government of this Lord Lieutenant which did not continue very long for he died at St. Dominicks Abby near Cork on the 26th of December 1381. and the next day John Cotton then Dean of St. Patricks Ware de Praesulibus 28. and Lord Chancellor afterwards Achbishop of Armagh was chosen and sworn Sord Justice 1381 in the Convent of Preaching Friars at Cork Pryn 309. but it seems he did not long exercise that Office for in Mr. Prins Animadversions on the 4th Institut we find a Writ Dated the 29th Day of March anno 1382. viz. 5 R. 2. Directed to Roger Mortimer Earl of March Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whereby he is directed to call a Parliament there for the good Government of that Country and the support of the Kings great Charge and Expence but it is probable that this young Lord could not manage that unruly Kingdom and therefore Philip de Courtny the Kings Cousin was sent over Lord Lieutenant 1383. he had a great Estate in Ireland and therefore was the fitter for that Government He came over on good terms for he had a Patent to hold that Office for ten years nevertheless he behaved himself so ill Lib. M. Lamb. that he was not only superseded but also was arrested whilst he was Lord Lieutenant and afterwards grievously punished for the wrongs and oppressions he had done in Ireland Davis 201. In his time hapned a great Mortality called the Fourth Pestilence and upon the removal of him the Government of Ireland was given to the great Favourite of that Age Robert de Vere Earl of Oxford afterwards Marquess of Dublin Decemb. 1384. and Duke of Ireland Lord Lieutenant The English Parliament to get rid of him gave him a Debt of thirty thousand Marks due from the French King upon condition that after Easter he should pass into Ireland to recover the Lands the King had given him there he had five hundred Men at Arms at twelve pence per diem and a thousand Archers at six pence apiece a day appointed him for two years super conquestum illius Terrae He was trusted with the whole Dominion of the Realm during his Life without paying any thing therefore or making any Account for it He had Power to pass all Writs under his own Test and to place and displace all Officers how great soever even the Chancellor Treasurer Admiral c. and to name his own Deputy and all other Ministers And it seems that he had afterwards a larger Patent 4th Instit 357 9 Rich. 2. whereby the King granted him Totam Terram Dominium Hiberniae Insulas eidem Terrae adjacentes ac omnia Castra Comitatus Burgos Villas Portus Maris c. una cum Homagiis Obedientiis Vassallis Servitiis Recognitionibus Praelatorum Comitum Baronum c. cum Regaliis Regalitatibus Libertatibus c. omnibus aliis qnae ad Regaliam Nostram pertinent cum Mero Mixto Imperio adeo plene integre perfecte sicut Nos ea tenuimus habuimus tenuerunt habuerunt Progenitorum nostrorum aliqui ullis unquam temporibus retroactis Tenendum per Homagium Ligeum tantum c. But that which is most strange is That those illegal Letters Patents should be authorized by Parliament Assensâ— Praelatorum Ducum aliorum Procerum Communitatis nostri Angliae in Parliamento but nullum violentum est perpetuum novus iste insolitus umbratilis honor cito evanuit But it is time to return to the great Minion the Earl of Oxford who came as far as Wales and the King with him but they could not be perswaded to part and therefore this Lord Lieutenant never went to Ireland but deputed Sir John Stanly 1385. Lord Deputy in whose time the Bridge of Dublin fell and at the Parliament held at Westminster Roger Mortimer Earl of March Son of Philippa Daughter of Lionel Duke of Clarence Third Son of Edward the Third was established and soon after proclaimed Heir Apparent to the Crown and yet he was but Heir Presumptive but this Lord Justice was sent for and Alexander de Balscot April 26. alias Petit 1387. Bishop of Meath who had been Treasurer and Chancellor did execute the Office of Lord Justice until the return of Sir John Stanly 1389. Lord Deputy to the aforesaid Earl of Oxford Lib. D. Lambeth to him O Neal and his Sons made an humble Submission in Writing wherein they renounced the Bonaught of Vlster they also promised Allegiance and gave Oaths and Hostages for the performance thereof And it is to be noted 1390. That almost in every Parliament of this Reign held in England the King did desire Aid from them for the carrying on the War in Ireland But at length the English Parliament did so vigorously prosecute the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland that he was forced to fly beyond Seas and not long after died miserably at Brussels and thereupon James Earl of Ormond July 25. was made Lord Justice and the Archbishop of Dublin was constituted Lord Chancellor 1392. This Lord Justice beat the Mac Moyns at Tascoffin in the County of Kilkenny and slew six hundred of them And now the State of England began to think seriously of the Recovery of Ireland and finding that that Country was poor and almost depopulated by the mighty Concourse of Irish into England whereby the Kings Revenue was decayed and the Power of the Irish Rebels increased it was thought fit to revive the Law against Absentees and to issue a Proclamation requiring all those whose Habitations were in that Kingdom to repair home Also some Recruits of Men and Money were sent to Ireland and the King had by Indenture agreed with Thomas Duke of Glocester to be Lord Lieutenant of
Pretence was Ridiculous because there were others of the same Lineage before him in the Pedigree and it was notorious That the Right of Succession was in Ann Daughter of Roger Mortimer Earl of March Son of Philippa Daughter of Lionel Duke of Clarence third Son of King Edward III. and accordingly her Grand-son afterwards possest the Kingdoms by the Name of Edward IV. And also finding that it was more vain to claim by Conquest when there was no fighting he was at last forced to rely on the Consent and Election of the People which was the Title his Embassadors insisted upon in the Courts of Foreign Princes Thus was the Foundation laid of those tedious and bloody Wars that afterwards ensued between the Houses of York and Lancaster commonly distinguished by the Appellations of the Red-Rose and the White that being the cognizance of the House of Lancaster and this the Badge of the Family of York This King was crowned on the thirteenth Day of October anno Dom. 1399. 1399. and Ireland was committed to the Care of Sir John Stanly 1399. Lord Lieutenant who came over thither Cotton's Records 390. on the tenth Day of December In his time the King obtained a Subsidy in England for three Years to provide for the Affairs of Ireland c. And about Whitsontide the Constable of Dublin-Castle and others near Strangford in Vlster encountred the Scots at Sea 1400. but with very ill Success for many Englishmen were there slain and drowned About this time the Town of Kilkenny was walled by Robert Talbot 1401. And about May the Lord Lieutenant repaired to England leaving his Brother Sir William Stanly Lord Deputy who on the twenty third Day of August surrendred unto Stephen Scroop Lord Deputy to the King's Son Thomas Duke of Lancaster who it seems came over only to provide and prepare for the Reception of Thomas Duke of Lancaster Seneschal of England and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland who landed on S. Bines-Day And on the fifth of July John Drake Mayor of Dublin with a Band of Citizens encountred and defeated four thousand Irish Outlaws near Bray in the Borders of Wicklow and slew four hundred ninety three of their best Men. This Lord Lieutenant held a Parliament in Dublin 1402. in September during which Sir Bartholomew Verdon James White Christopher White and Stephen Gernon slew John Dowdal Sheriff of Louth in Vrgile and committed sundry other Felonies and Robberies for which they were Outlawed and their Estates disposed of by Custodiam Cotton's Records 431. but afterwards the King pardoned them their Lives and restored them their Estates during their respective Lives only In October Daniel O Birne Lib. D. for him and his Sept or Nation submitted to the Lord Lieutenant and promised Allegiance and good Behaviour and to manifest his Sincerity he granted to the King the Castle of Mackenigan with the Apurtenances And on the thirteenth of December the Lord Lieutenant by Indenture set the Ferny in the County of Louth except the King's Castle to Aghy mac Mahon for Life Davis 48 at the Rent of ten Pound per Annum and Mac Mahon covenanted to be a good Subject And in February following O Reyly covenanted with the Lord Lieutenant and also swore to perform to the King during the minority of Mortimer all the Covenants he was obliged to perform to Roger Mortimer Earl of March and Vlster In May Sir Walter Betterly Steward of Vlster 1403. and thirty English were all slain And on the eleventh of November following the Duke returned to England and left Sir Stephen Scroop Lord Deputy 1404. who on the twenty sixth Day of October resigned to James Earl of Ormond 1405. Lord Justice who in April 1405 held a Parliament at Dublin and there the Statutes of Dublin and Kilkenny were confirmed as also the Charter of Ireland And this good Act was followed by good Success for in May two Scotch Barks were taken near Greencastle and another near Dalkye with their Captain Macgolagh Moreover the Merchants of Droghedae made Incursion into Scotland and brought thence both Pledges and Preys And the Dublinians also entred Scotland at S. Ninian and behaved themselves valiantly They also did the Welsh much harm and brought from thence the Shrine of S. Cubins which they placed in Christ-Church Dublin However the Irish burnt Oghgard and on the sixth of September the Lord Justice died at Gauran and was succeeded by Girald Earl of Kildare 1406. who probably was chosen Lord Justice by the Council In his time the Dublinians and their Neighbours on Corpus Christi-Day vanquished the Irish Enemies and took three Ensigns and brought to Dublin the Heads of those they had slain And the Prior of Conal had as good Success in the Plains of Kildare for with twenty Englishmen he defeated two hundred Irish and killed many of them But after Michaelmas came over Sir Stephen Scroop Lord Deputy He held a Parliament at Dublin in January which in the Lent after ended at Trim And about the latter end of February Meyler Birmingham slew Cathol O Connor About May the Lord Deputy 1407. accompanied with the Earls of Ormond and Desmond the Prior of Kilmainham and other Captains and Gentlemen of Meath set out from Dublin and invaded the Territory of Mac Morough at first the Irish had the better but at length the Constancy and Resolution of the English prevailed and O Nolan and his Son and others were taken Prisoners and after this was done they marched speedily to Calan in the County of Kikenny upon some Intelligence they had of the Rebels being thereabout and they so surprized them that the whole Party was routed and O Carol and eight hundred Men slain upon the Place But in June the Lord Deputy went to England and the Nobility and Council elected James Earl of Ormond Lord Justice In whose time a barbarous Tory called Mac Gilmore who is reported to have destroyed forty Churches and was never Christened had taken Prisoner Patrick Savage a Gentleman of great Esteem in Vlster they agreed upon his Ransome to be two thousand Marks and his Brother Richard was to become Hostage for it But this Subtle Barbarian managed the matter so that he received the Ransome according to Agreement and afterwards he murdered both the Brethren This Lord Justice held a Parliament at Dublin 1408. which confirmed the Statutes of Dublin and Kilkenny and also the Statute against Purveyors And on the second of August Thomas Duke of Lancaster came over Lord Lieutenant It seems that the Terms on which he undertook the Government were these First Lib. G. He was to hold the Place for seven Years Secondly He was to have five hundred Men at Arms and one thousand Archers for three Years Thirdly To have a Years Pay in Hand and afterwards to be paid every half Year Fourthly One thousand Marks per annum for himself and to be paid the Charge of Transportation
to and from England Fifthly That a certain Fund be appointed for their Pay Sixthly That at the King's Charge he might have a Family or two out of every Parish in England to inhabit Ireland Seventhly To have Power of granting Benefices and of making a Deputy And Lastly That the Demesnes of the Crown may be resumed and the Acts of Absentees may be executed The Lord Lieutenant within a Week after he came to Dublin caused the Earl of Kildare and three of his Family to be arrested and suffered the Earls Goods to be rifled and spoiled by the Duke's Servants and kept the Earl himself in Prison in Dublin Castle until he paid three hundred Marks It is recorded that the Lord Lieutenant was desperately wounded in an Encounter at Kilmainham and hardly escaped with Life but it is not mentioned how nor by whom but it seems he design'd to revenge it and to make a general Hosting for he made Proclamation that all such as ought by their Tenures to serve the King should assemble together at Ross He also held a Parliament at Kilkenny for a Tallage to be granted but what Success he had in these Assemblies is not so manifest as it is that he went to England on the 13th of March leaving Thomas Butler 1409. Prior of Kilmainham his Deputy in whose time the King gave the Sword to the City of Dublin and changed their PROVOST into a MAYOR and not long after the Barbarous Mac Gilmore being routed and pursued by the Savages fled to the Church of the Friers Minors at Carigfergus which he had formerly defaced but they got into the Windows whence this Tory had formerly taken the Iron Bars and there they put an end to his Villany and his Life In Vlster Jenico de Artois the famous Gascoigne behaved himself briskly and slew eighty of the Rebels in a Skirmish he had with them But on the twenty first of May or rather the thirteenth of June the Parliament began at Dublin 1410. and made it Treason to take Coyn and Livery Lib. D. and on the tenth of July the Lord Justice took the Castles of Mibraclide in Offerol and De-la-mare It seems he proceeded to invade O Birns Country with fifteen hundred Kerns or Irish Souldiers and the Consequence was that they betrayed him and half of them went over to the Enemy so that it had gone hard with the Lord Justice if the Power of Dublin had not been there and yet he escaped not without loss for John Derpatrick was there slain The next Year was probably more quiet 1411. for there is nothing recorded of it except some considerable Marriages amongst the Grandees On the tenth of April 1412. O Connor did much Mischief in Meath and took an hundred and forty English and O Tool and Thomas Fitz-Maurice Sheriss of Limerick kill'd each other in a Duel About this time the King granted the Town and Ferry of Inishonan Lib. G. to Philip de Barry and it is to be noted that almost in every Parliament holden in England during this Reign the danger of Ireland is remembred although very little was done for it because of the frequent Troubles in England and so we come to the 20th day of March on which the King died at the Abbot of Westminster's House in the fourteenâ—h Year of his Reign and of his Age the forty seventh He died so very poor that his Executors refused to administer and therefore the Archbishop of Canterbury who is Ordinary to the Court where-ever it is exposed the Kings Goods to Sale and King Henry the Fifth bought them for the value to be paid the Executors to be disposed of according to his Fathers Will Rolls Abr. 906. but it seems he never paid the Money for it was afterwards ordained in Parliament 4 Inst 335 that the Executors should not be sued by the Creditors The Bishop of Meath is said to have been Lord Justice about the Year 1402. But because I do find him omitted by others and do not find that he did any thing worth mention I have therefore not inserted him as Lord Justice in Order THE REIGN OF HENRY V. King of England c. And LORD of IRELAND HENRY the Fifth succeeded his Father without any opposition and all the Nobility taking it then for a Law that the Crown belonged to the Heir of him that died last seized swore Homage and Allegiance to him before Coronation 1412. which was not usual in those days but this Magnanimous Prince was so taken up with Designs against France that Ireland was but little regarded in his Reign For the present He continued in the Government Thomas 1413. Prior of Kilmainham who did not long remain therein before he surrendred unto Sir John Stanly Lord Lieutenant he Landed at Clantarf the 7th of October and on the 6th of January after died at Ardee whereupon on the 11th of February the Nobility elected Thomas Crawly Lord Justice He was twice Chancellor and then Archbishop of Dublin and was a Man of fingular Piety and Learning and it is to be noted That the Parliament sate at Dublin the 26th of February so that it could not have above fifteen days of Summons though the Day of the Lord Justice his Admittance to the Government and the Day of the Session be included the Irish burnt the Pale during this Parliament as they used to do and therefore a Tax or Tallage was demanded but not granted and so that Parliament was dissolved after it had sate fifteen Days However 1414. the valiant Jenico de Artois invaded the Territory of Macgenis but was so unfortunate to lose many of his Men at Inor whereupon the Irish grew so insolent that the Lord Justice was necessitated to go out in person However he went no farther than Castledermond and there entrusting the Army with the Military men he remained with his Clergy in Procession and at Prayers for the Success of his small Army and the Event answered his expectation for the English slew an hundred of the Irish near Kilkea but that small Victory was soon over-ballanced by a Defeat which the English of Meath received from O Connor on the 10th of May to the Loss of Tho. Maureverar Baron of Shrine and many others and to the imprisonment of Christopher Fleming and John Dardis This Loss discovered the necessity of sending a Martial Man to the Government of Ireland and therefore on the 10th day of September Sir John Talbot Lord Furnival Lord Lieutenant Landed at Dalkye and immediately made a Circular Progress round the Pale in warlike manner He began with the Birns Tools and Cavenaghs on the South and so passing to the O Moors O Connors and O Ferrals in the West and ending with the O Relyes Mac Mahons O Neals and O Hanlons in the North he brought them all to the Kings Peace but he brought no Forces with him out of England and therefore though he had Strength enough to
discourage the Transportation of Bullion the King shall have twelve Pence Custome out of every Ounce Upon his Return to England the Lord Lieutenant accused the Earl of Ormond of Treason Burlace 78. before the Duke of Bedford Constable of England in the Marshal's Couâ—t but the King abolished the Accusation Richard Talbot 1447. Archbishop of Dublin Lord Deputy he wrote a Tract de Abusu Regiminis Jacobi Comitis Ormondiae dum Hiberniae esset locum tenens Caâ—ton chron And it seems Thomas Fitz-Thomas Prior of Kilmainham was on the Archbishops side for he accused the Earl of Ormond of Treason and the Combat was appointed between them at Smithfield in London but the King did interpose and prevent it Hitherto the English had made but a bordering War in Ireland and that it self but very unluckily and the small Army that was kept on foot was ill paid and therefore more hurtful to the Subject by their Oppression than to the Enemy by their Valour so that it was necessary to send some great Man thither and no Body so fit for it as Richard Duke of York Earl of Vlster March Rutland and Cork Lord of Conagh Clare Trim and Meath for besides his Quality and Valour he had a great Estate in that Kingdom and it answered another Design of the Cardinal of Winchester who did then in effect govern England which was to remove this Duke from the Regency of France to make room for the Duke of Somerset and so he was made Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1449. and landed at Hoath the fifth of July 1449. But the Duke of York who fathomed their Designs and had other Intrigues of his own would not accept of the Government of Ireland Davis 51. but upon very advantagious Conditions which were reduced to Writing by Indenture betwixt the King and him and are recorded by Act of Parliament in Ireland and were to this effect I. That he should be the King's Lieutenant in Ireland for ten Years II. That to support the Charge of that Country he should receive the whole Revenue certain and casual without Account III. That he should be supplied with Treasure out of England in this manner viz. four thousand Marks the first year whereof he should be imprested two thousand Pounds before-hand and for the other nine years he should receive two thousand Pounds per annum IV. That he might let the Kings Lands to Farm and place and displace all Officers at his Pleasure V. That he might Levy and Wage what Number of Souldiers he thought fit VI. That he might make a Deputy and return at his Pleasure I do not find that this Lord brought over any considerable Forces with him or that he was able to keep any such on foot here not only because his Allowance was but small but also because that small Allowance was ill paid as appears by his passionate Letter to his Brother-in Law the Earl of Salisbury which is to be found Registred by Mr. Campion pag. 99. At his first coming 1450. the Irish were very insolent but he won upon them strangely Lib. M. partly by force and partly by their own Art of Wheedling He held a Parliament at Dublin in October Friday before S. Lukes Day and the Bishops of Leighlin Ossory Down and Limerick were fined for not coming to it This Parliament Enacted many good Laws viz. 1. That no Marcher or other keep more Horsemen or Foot than they can maintain and will answer for and that they give in a List of their Names to the Sheriff c. 2. It suppresseth Coynees Rep. 11. Car. 1. c. 6. Cuddies and Night-suppers and well sets forth the Grievances of those Times 3. That the Accuser shall give Security to pay the Damages of the Defendant if the Impeachment be found untrue 4. That every man may kill Robbers and notorious Thieves and shall have a Penny out of every Plow-land and a Farthing from every Cottage for his Reward 5. That the great Officers of the Kingdom shall not give Protections to any other than their Menial Officers and Attendants This Lord Lieutenant also held another Parliament at Drogheda in April on Friday before S. Mark 's Day which Enacted 1. That if the Remembrancer issue Process against any body that is discharg'd on Record in the Exchequer he shall forfeit his Office and treble Damage 2. That the Chancellor Treasurer and Judges or one of them be present at all Commissions of Oyer and Terminer in the Counties of Dublin Kildare Meath and Vriel 3. That no body shall sell Liquor but by Sealed Measures It seems that some of these Statutes were occasioned by a doleful Letter sent from Cork which the Irish Historians place in the Reign of Henry the Fourth and yet direct it to the Earl of Rutland and Cork and therefore it will be more properly applied to this Time when he was Lord Lieutenant and follows in haec Verba IT may please your Wisdoms to have pity of us Camp 94. the Kings poor Subjects within the County of Cork or else we be cast away for ever for where there was in this County these Lords by Name besides Knights Esquires Gentlemen and Yeomen to a great number that might dispend yearly eight hundred pounds six hundred pounds four hundred pounds two hundred pounds one hundred pounds one hundred Marks twenty pounds twenty Marks ten pounds some more some less to a great number besides these Lords following First The Lord Marquess Carew his yearly Revenues were besides Dorsey-Haven and other Creeks two thousand two hundred pounds sterling The Lord Barnewale of Bear-haven his yearly Revenues were besides Bear-haven and other Creeks sixteen hundred pounds sterling The Lord Uggan of the great Castle his yearly Revenues were besides Havens and Creeks one thousand three hundred pounds sterling The Lord Balram of Emforle his yearly Revenues were besides Havens and Creeks one thousand three hundred pounds sterling The Lord Courcy of Kilbreton his yearly Revenues besides Havens and Creeks one thousand five hundred pounds sterling The Lord Mandevil of Barnhely his yearly Revenues besides Havens and Creeks one thousand two hundred pounds sterling The Lord Arundel of the Strand his yearly Revenues besides Havens and Creeks one thousand five hundred pounds sterling The Lord Baron of the Guard his yearly Revenues besides Havens and Creeks one thousand one hundred pounds sterling The Lord Sleynie of Baltimore his yearly Revenue besides Havens and Creekss eight hundred pounds sterling The Lord Roche of Pool Castle his yearly Revenues besides Havens and Creeks one thousand pounds sterling The Kings Majesty hath the Lands of the late young Barry by Forfeiture the yearly Revenues whereof besides two Rivers and Creeks and all other Casualties is one thousand eight hundred pounds sterling And at the end of this Parliament your Lordship with the Kings most Noble Counsel may come to Cork and call before you all these Lords and other Irishmen and bind them in
this he did because he was then in Rebellion against Henry the Sixth and to encourage his Partizans to repair to him in Ireland and by vertue of this Act he Executed William Overy Esq who was Servant to the Earl of Ormond And now the Abettors of Lambert Symnel and Perkin Warbeck which are the Lads mentioned in the new Statute excused themselves upon the aforesaid Act and therefore it was now repealed and all Receivers and Maintainers of Traytors are by this Act made guilty of Treason and Obedience is commanded to be paid to the Great Seal and Privy Seal of England and to Letters Missive under the Kings Signet IV. The Famous Statute commonly called Poyning's Act That no Parliament should for the future be holden in Ireland until the Chief Governor and Council do first certifie the King under the Great Seal of that Land as well the Causes and Considerations as the Acts they design to pass and till the same be approv'd by the King and Council and a Licence thereupon do issue from the King to summon a Parliament and that all Parliaments hereafter holden in other manner be void and of none effect And it is to be noted That this Act was by the Statutes of 28 Hen. 8. c. 4. c. 20. suspended as to that Parliament and by the Statute of 3 4. Philip and Mary it is very excellently and at large explained and by the Statute of 11 Eliz. c. 1. Poyning's Act was again suspended or superseded as to that Parliament in confidence that their most worthy Governour Sir Henry Sydny would not pass any Bills prejudicial to the Queen or the Kingdom but because they had not the same Assurance of their future Governours they did upon second thoughts and in another Session make a Law 11 Eliz. c. 8. That no Bill should for the future be certified into England for the Repeal of Poyning's Act until first such Bill should be approved of by the Majority of both Houses of Parliament in Ireland nevertheless whenever it shall happen that the English and Protestant Interest in Ireland shall overtop its Enemies and make a Majority in Parliamentary Assemblies that Act of Poyning's which was made only to help the English when too weak for the Irish will be obsolete and useless when the Irish Popish Interest becomes inconsiderable V. That all the Statutes against Provisors made in England or Ireland be put in execution here VI. That no Citizen or Townsman receive Livery or Wages from any Nobleman or Gentleman neither engage themselves by Indenture or otherwise to any Lord or Gentleman on pain of being disfranchis'd and expell'd the Corporation and the chief Magistrate to forfeit Twenty Pounds if he fail to punish the Transgressors of this Law and that no Lord or Gentleman shall retain any other but his Officers and Menial Servants on pain of Twenty Pounds VII That none be Aldermen Jurors or Free-men in any Town but such as have been Apprentices or constant Inhabitants there and that no man be Mayor but one known to be Loyal nor no Lord or other be made privy to their Consultations except their Recorder on pain of an hundred Marks and all their By-Laws contrary to the Kings Prerogative and Jurisdiction to be void and that this Act be recorded in every Corporation VIII That the Statutes of Kilkenny be confirm'd and executed except those about the Irish Language and riding on Saddles IX That the Subjects keep Bows and Arrows X. That the Captains of Marches do present the Names of their Retinue by Indenture that they may answer for their Defaults and that it be Felony to succour or willingly suffer Rebels or Enemies to pass and re-pass the Marches and that every Proprietor of Land in the Marches do reside thereon or appoint a sufficient Deputy to do so on pain of losing his Estate during his Absence and that all People near the Marches from Sixteen to Sixty be ready on warning in their best defensible Array to defend the same XI That no man compound for the Death or Murder of his Friend or Relation nor revenge it but according to Law XII That no man keep Fire-Arms after Proclamation on pain of Twenty Pounds XIII That it be Treason to stir up the Irishry to make War on the English or any body to make war against the chief Governour of Ireland XIV That one of the Realm of England be Constable of the Castle of Dublin and the like of Trim Lexlip Athlone Wicklow Green-Castle Carlingford Castlefergus repeal'd 11 Car. 1. c. 6. And hence arose the vulgar Error That no man can be Lord Lieutenant of Ireland but an Englishman born XV. An Act about the Records of Vlster Conaught and Trim. XVI That the Lords appear in their Robes every Parliament on pain of one hundred Shillings XVII That no man shall make Peace or War without the Consent of the Chief Governour on pain of one hundred Pounds c. for it is to be noted that before this time every Lord made War or Peace as he pleased without Pay or Commission XVIII That no man take Money or Horsemeat by colour of Gift Reward or otherwise by reason of any Menace and if he do the Giver is to forfeit an hundred Shillings unless he complains seasonably and the Taker is to suffer the Punishment appointed for the Takers of Coyn and Livery XIX That the Souldier shall pay three halfpence a Meal and his Man a Penny and a Penny for six Field-sheaves of Oats and Litter according and whoever refuses to quarter Souldiers at this Rate forfeits twelve pence a time unless he be a Man of twenty Marks Estate per annum and except Cities and Corporate Towns XX. That the Words Cromabo and Butlerabo and such like Words of Faction be abolished XXI That wilful Murder be High Treason XXII That all the Statutes late made in England concerning or belonging to the Publick Weal be henceforth good and effectual in Ireland And XXIII That the Statutes made by the Lord Gormanstown aforesaid he repeal'd and null There were many other Statutes made at this Parliament Lib. D. although they are not Printed Davis 171. One was That the King should have a Subsidy of twenty six shillings and eight pence out of every sixscore Acres of Arable Land in lieu of Purveyance which it seems was together with Coyn and Livery supprest by that Act Rot. Parl. c. 4. And another Act gave Power to the Lord Treasurer to govern the Kingdom on the Death or Surrender of the Chief Governor until the Kings Pleasure were known There was also an Act made in favour of the Knights of St. John's of Jerusalem to resume all their Possessions alienated by Prior Keating or his Predecessor Thomas Talbot and to restore the Jewels and Reliques they had pawn'd to depose the Preceptors they had placed in the Commanderies and that no man but an Englishman should be Prior for the future Another Act made a general
Resumption of all the Grants made by the Crown since the last day of the Reign of King Edward the Second Lib. G. except some Particulars mentioned in the Act and another Act Rot. Parl. c. 41. attaints the Earl of Kildare and his Brother James for High Treason for corresponding with O Hanlon and seizing the Castle of Caterlogh for extorting Coyn and Livery and for treating with the King of Scotland however he was afterward acquitted in England and received into favour and perhaps there was another Act to dissolve the Fraternity of S. George for it is certain that about this time that Brotherhood fell and so I have done with this Famous Parliament when I have told you that it is a Mistake in the Printed Statute-Book to place it anno 1495 because it is manifest That November 1494 was in the tenth Year of this King's Reign It is scarce worth mentioning Ware 43. That during this Parliament the Lord Deputy made another Expedition into Vlster because the Irish fled into their Fastnesses so that he reaped but small Fruit for his Journey In his Absence he left a Commission with the Chanchellor to continue adjourn prorogue or dissolve the Parliament as he saw cause About this time Cormock mac Teige mac Carthy of Muskry 1495. was basely murdered by his Brother Owen Ancestor of the Mac Carthyes of Cloghroe and was buried in the Abby of Kilcrea which he himself had founded But let us return to Perkin Werbeck who set sail from Flanders with about six hundred Men and arrived on the Coast of Kent but he found ill treatment there for one hundred and sixty of his Men were taken Prisoners and afterwards executed Thence he sailed to Ireland where he staid some time in Munster probably at Cork but finding the Irish unable to give him any considerable Assistance and fearing the Forces of the Lord Deputy he went thence into Scotland and by that King's Consent married the Earl of Huntly's Daughter who was nearly related to the Crown of Scotland The King of Scots did invade England in favour of Perkin but finding that none of the English came to assist the Impostor he wasted Northumberland and returned And thus Sir Edward Poynings drove Perkin out of Ireland and suppressed his Abettors and established many good Laws which though for the present they extended no further than the Pale yet their Effect and Influence increased and inlarged as fast as the King's Authority did so that those Statutes are at this day in full force over all the Kingdom And the King finding Ireland in so quiet a condition recalled the Lord Deputy and for his good Service made him Knight of the Garter And in his place appointed Henry Dean 1495. Bishop of Bangor Chancellor of Ireland and afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury 1496. to be Lord Justice and on the twenty sixth of April William Ratcliff was made Vice-Treasurer and John Pimp Treasurer at War and on the twenty fifth of June the Lord Delvin was made General for defence of the Pale and in July Octavianus Archbishop of Armagh held a Synod at Droghedah the Acts whereof are not to be found and in August Hugh O Donel being returned out of Scotland encountred and defeated O Connor near Sligo Whereupon he besieged the Castle of Sligo but without Success for being frightned with the News of the Approach of the Burks of Clanrickard he raised the Siege and retired in hast towards Tyrconnel But Burk was not so satisfied but burnt and destroyed all the adjacent Territories that belonged to O Donel's Partisans But the Earl of Kildare was still kept in Prison in England for Grief whereof his Countess died The Earl was accused of burning the Church of Cashel and many Witnesses were ready to prove it when contrary to all their Expectations he readily confessed the Fact and swore by Jesus That he would never have done it but that he thought the Archbishop was in it Which being uttered with a bluntless peculiar to this Lord did exceedingly work upon the King for whilst the Earl did so earnestly urge that for his Excuse which was the greatest Aggravation of his Crime the King easily perceived That a Person of that Natural Simplicity and Plainness could not be guilty of those Finesses and Intrigues that were objected against him It is reported of this Earl That he desired the King to permit him to have Council to manage his Cause since he was altogether unqualified to deal with such cunning Knaves as his Adversaries The King told him He should have what Counsel he would choose and that it concerned him to get Counsel that were very good for that he doubted his Cause was very bad The Earl replied That he would pitch upon the best Counsel in England Who is that said the King Marry even your Majesty quoth the Earl Whereat the King laughed But nevertheless he so requited Kildare for his Complement that when the Adversary concluded his Oration That all Ireland could not govern this Man the King took that occasion to make reply That therefore he was the fittest Man to govern Ireland Ware 49. And so for his Jest-sake made him Lord Lieutenant of that Kingdom by his Letters Patent of the sixth of August and restored him to his Honour and Estate Nevertheless the King kept the Earls eldest Son Girald as Hostage of the Father's Fidelity which proved to be a matter of Caution rather than of Necessity for no body could behave himself with more Loyalty to his Prince nor more Vigor against the Irish than the Earl of Kildare did from henceforward But to proceed Girald Earl of Kildare 1496. being made Lord Lieutenant in a short time after he had received the Sword marched towards Thomond against O Brian he went through the City of Limerick and took the Castle of Feyback from Finin Mac nâ—marra and afterwards took and rased the Castle of Ballyniti or Ballynice and so returned to Dublin and was reconciled to the Archbishop of Armagh to their mutual Ease and Quiet and to the great Advantage of Publick Affairs which often suffer especially in Ireland by the private Animosities of the Grandees But the Bishop of Bangor was recalled into England and Walter Archbishop of Dublin was made Lord Chancellor in his stead This good Archbishop in a Synod at Dublin anno 1492 procured a Pension for a Divinity-Reader there to be paid by him and his Suffragans and their Successors for ever And it is reported of him That being present when a famous Orator made a most eloquent Speech to the King his Majesty asked the Archbishop How he liked the Oration The good old Man replied That he saw no other Fault in it but Flattery As God shall love me quoth the King That is the very Fault I my self espied The King by advice of the Lord Lieutenant resolved to pardon those great Men that had been concerned with Perkin Warbeck lest Despair might induce
H. Lambeth to this effect That the Irish were not to be reduced but by Conquest and that if the Army undertook but one Province at once then two thousand five hundred Men would suffice but their Conâ—ederacies would make it necessary to attack them in several Places at once and then less than six thousand would not do the Business all which must be paid and victualled out of England That Ireland is five times as big as Wales and therefore the Conquest would not be perfected in ten Years And that when it is conquered it must be inhabited by a new Colony of English for the Irish will relapse do what you can In Munster there were great Fewds between James Earl of Desmond and Cormock Oge Lader Mac Carthy of Muskry Ware 's Annals 104 says Mac Carty Riagh but is mistaken the Archbishop of Dublin and other Commissioners went to Waterford to appease them but in vain for Desmond persisted to burn and prey Mac Carthy's Lands And Cormock Oge was not backward to revenge the Injury for being Confederate with Sir Thomas Desmond the Earl's Unkle and yet implacable Enemy they fought a Battle with the Earl in September killed one thousand of his Men put himself to Flight and took two of his Unkles John and Gerard Prisoners But the Lord Lieutenant January 1521 Lib. H. being weary of the Government or indisposed in his Health obtained the King's leave to return and left behind him a good Reputation and by the King's Orders his intimate Friend Pierce Earl of Ormond February Lord Deputy who fearing the Defection of the Irish because the Earl of Surry had carryed with him all the Forces he brought out of England whereby the Army was left exceeding weak And being also doubtful of an Invasion from the Scots he desired of the Cardinal That six of the King's Ships might be ordered to cruise between Ireland and Scotland I have seen a Patent of Denization to Charles Mac Carthy of Castlemore too long here to be recited though there are many things observable in it particularly the Proviso Quod idem Cormacus homagium ligeum nobis faciet ut est justum And I suppose the like Proviso was in all other Patents of that sort and imported that the should have the Benefit of the Law no longer than they persisted in their Allegiance But though the King's Army was not in Action 1522. yet O Neal's and O Donel's were for the last Years Injury manet alta mente repositum However they managed their Wars rather like Tories than Soldiers for after some light Skirmishes O Neal pretending a Retreat on a sudden rushed into Tyrconnel where he burnt and demolished all he could find and particularly O Donel's best Castle of Ballyshanon Which he in the mean time revenged by an incursion into Tyrone and thence returned loaden with Prey and Prisoners And thus these valiant Princes made War almost fatal to both sides without Blows or Battle But let us leave the Camp and a while turn to the Court Lib. H. where we shall find an Irishman sent by Mac Gilpatrick Chief of Vpper Ossory to the King to complain against the Deputy He met the King going to Chapel and delivered his Embassie in these Words Sta pedibus Domine Rex Dominus meus Gillapatricus me misit ad te jussit dicere Quod si non vis castigare Petrum Rufum ipse faciet bellum contra te This Year was fatal to Ireland no less by the Plague than the Sword it raged especially at and about Limrick the Mayor whereof died of that Distemper And about this time died the famous Poynings and at Christmas the City of Rhodes was forced by the Turk The Earl of Kildare who returned in January last got leave of the Deputy to invade the Country of Leix 1523. and being accompanid with Jons Fitz-Simons Mayor of Dublin and some Citizens he entred the Country and burnt a few Villages but he was intercepted by an Ambush and lost a great many of his Followers and with some Difficulty made his Retreat And now Jealousies and Discords began to arise between the Earls of Ormond and Kildare which were so maliciously fomented by evil Instruments that the Affinity between them was little considered nor did their Animosities determine otherwise than by the Ruine of one Family and the Infancy of the other Among all their Followers James Fitz Gerald had most Credit with Kildare and Robert Talbot of Belgard was the chief Favorite of Ormond This Talbot was going to keep his Christmas at Kilkenny with the Deputy but being met by James Fitz Gerald near Ballymore was by him slain or rather murdered which so exasperated the Earl of Ormond that he immediately sent to England an Impeachment against Kildare Hereupon a Commission issued to Sir Ralph Egerton 1524. Sir Anthony Fitz-Herbert and James Denton Dean of Litchfield to examine that Matter with Instructions That if the Earl of Kildare purged himself of the Crimes objected that then they should depose the Deputy and place Kildare in his room This Commission and Instructions were procured by the Marquess of Dorset Kildare's Father-in-Law and the Success was according to his Desire for after a slight Enquiry into this Affair the Commissioners made a formal Agreement between both Earls by an Indenture dated the twenty eighth of July and in a little time after deprived Ormond of the Government and placed in his stead Gerald Earl of Kildare Lord Deputy It seems that his Patent and other necessary Circumstances were prepared beforehand for the Indentures made between the King and this Earl bear date the fourth of August 16 Hen. 8. and import That he took the Government as from Midsummer before and that the Earl of Ormond should receive the Revenue till that time That the Earl shall support the Government of Ireland with the Revenue of the Country and shall not take Coyn and Livery Lib. H. but at Hostings and then his Soldiers shall be content with Flesh Bread and Ale on Flesh-Days or two Pence in lieu of it and Fish or Butter on Fish-Days or two Pence in lieu of it the Foot Soldiers shall be content with three half Pence a Day in lieu of the said Allowance and Boys shall be content with what they can get or a Penny in lieu of it and each Trooper shall take but twelve Sheaves of Oats a Night or two Pence in lieu thereof The Day this Lord Deputy was sworn Con O Neal carried the Sword before him to Thomas-Court where he entertained the Commissioners at a splendid Banquet And so these Commissioners having determined this great and some lesser Controversies returned into England and according to their Instructions carried with them the aforesaid James Fitz-Gerald as a Prisoner The Cardinal Wolsy the implacable Enemy of the Giraldines was glad of this occasion to affront that Noble Family and therefore caused this James Fitz-Gerald to be carried through the
he substituted his Brother Thomas Fitz Girald of Leixlip Lord Deputy but he in a very little time was forced to quit the Sword to Richard Nugent 1527. Lord Baron of Delvin Lord Deputy who could the easier keep the Kingdom quiet because the great Enemies and Competitors the Earls of Kildare and Ormond were both in England and about this time it hapned that the Title of Ormond was taken from Sir Pierce Butler who in lieu thereof was with great Pomp created Earl of Ossory 1528. at Windsor the 23d of February And whoever is curious to see the Copy of the Patent Ware says 1527. and a large and full Account of the whole Solemnity may find it Lib. G. 121 Baker says 1529. in the Library at Lambeth and particularly that he gave the Trumpeters twenty Pounds whereas the great Earl of Tyrone gave them but forty Shillings About the same time Sir Thomas Bullen who had married one of the Daughters and Co-heirs of Thomas Earl of Ormond was as it were Selden's Tit. of Honour 840. in her Right Created Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond and though there is but one Patent for both Titles yet there are several Clauses of Investiture several Habendums and several Grants of Creation-Money It has been already observed That many Irish Potentates had received Pensions for many years on the account of giving Protection to the King's Subjects or at least of sparing them from Plunder and although this scandalous and dishonourable Tribute was duly paid yet the Irish did not perform their Engagements but made frequent Sallies and Incursions as they had opportunity and particularly this very Spring O Connor made an irruption into the Pale 1528. and carryed away much Prey and Plunder into Offaly it seems the L. Deputy was too weak to revenge this Outrage by force Ware 's Annals 121. all that he could do was to withold O Connor's Pension which he did Hereupon the Rebel complained as if he had received the greatest Injury and desired to have a Parly with the Lord Deputy about it on the 12th of May the Lord Deputy consented and came at the time appointed not doubting but that he should convince all the World and even O Connor himself of the unreasonableness of his Demand but alas he was mistaken O Connor did not intend to argue the Matter fairly but was resolved to help himself by a Stratagem as they call it for he perfidiously set upon the Deputy and took him Prisoner and killed and wounded many of his Attendants And thereupon the Council chose Pierce Earl of Ossory Lord Deputy who being returned from England came to Dublin accompanied with O More O Carol and one of the O Connors and a numerous Train The first thing he did was to send a Message to O Connor to enlarge the Lord Delvin but he received a flat Denial and therefore the Lord Deputy and Council did by Act of State suspend the aforesaid Pension and not long after all those Pensions and the like Irish Exactions were suppressed and for ever extinguished by Act of Parliament Ware 122. The Sweating Sickness called Sudor Anglicus was fatal to many of the Irish this Year amongst the rest the Lord Chancellor died of it and was succeeded by the aforesaid Alan a Creature of Wolsy's raised by him to this Office purposely to oppress the Earl of Kildare That unfortunate Earl continuing his Enmity against the Earl of Ossory sent his Daughter the Lady Slane from Newington into Ireland to excite his Brothers and Friends O Neal and O Connor and whomsoever else she could to oppose the Lord Deputy and she was unhappy in being successful in her Negotiation for she procured much Mischief to the Lord Deputy and great Devastations on his Lands which afterward occasion'd great Trouble and Danger to her Father as aforesaid The Famous Emperor Charles the Fifth sent his Ambassador Gonzagues to the Earl of Desmond to stir him to Rebellion The Emperor's Instructions bear Date at Tolâ—do Feb. 24. and are 1529. to treat with Illustrissime il Conde de Desmond c. But this Embassie was ineffectual because that Earl died at Dingle the eighteenth of June 1529. He left one only Daughter who was afterwards married to James the sixth of that Name Earl of Ormond so that he was succeeded in the Earldom of Desmond by his Unkle and Enemy Thomas Moyle And now was the King's Divorce publickly ventilated in England and the Pope revoked his Legates and resumed the Cause to himself which enraged the King and was the Ruine of Cardinal Wolsy In the mean time the King made his Natural Son Henry Fitz-Roy Duke of Richmond and Somerset Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and sent over Sir Willian Skeffington Lord Deputy he arrived in August with Mony and with two hundred Horse accompanied by the Earl of Kildare freed from all his Troubles and were received by the Citizens of Dublin with great Joy His Instructions were I. To preserve the Peace between the Earls of Kildare Desmond and Ossory that so they might be the better able to assist the Deputy and the common Cause II. To be on the Defence only III. To make no Hostings without Advice of Council IV. To assist the Earl of Kildare privately I suppose in his Designs against the Irish V. To moderate the Exactions of the Soldiers VI. To subject the Lands of the Clergy to their part of the Publick Charge VII To call a Parliament And Lastly which is the strangest of all to endeavour to get a Subsidy before the Parliament sit About the same time Edmond Butler Archbishop of Cashel indicted a Provincial Synod at Limerick at which were present Nicholas Bishop of Lismore and Waterford John Bishop of Limerick Ware 125. and James Bishop of Killaloo they gave Power to the Mayor of Limerick to imprison Ecclesiastical Debtors until they pay their Debts without incurring any Excommunication of which Constitution or Canon the inferior Clergy grievously complained alledging That it was a Breach of their Priviledge But let us return to the Lord Deputy who invaded the Territory of Leix 1530. to suppress the Insolencies of O More and O Connor and their Confederates he destroyed O More by slight but frequent Skirmishes And so having preyed the Country he returned with these happy First-Fruits of his Government In the mean time the great Minster of State Cardinal Wolsy came to Disgrace in England and died the last Day of November And about the same time great Jealousies and Misunderstandings began to arise in Ireland between the Lord Deputy and the Earl of Kildare Nevertheless The Lord Deputy took that Earl to his Assistance in his Expedition into Vlster and there they took the Castle of Kinard and returned loaden with Prey and Plunder according to the Custom of those Times And with this Atchievment Hugh O Donel was frighted into a Submission which being himself sick he performed by his Delegates Con O
Kingdom and concludes with Commendations of the Lord Grey and desires he may be Lord Deputy and have Orders to call a Parliament What that Letter mentions of O Neal has reference to a Treaty between the Lord Deputy and him for when he understood that the Lord Deputy design'd an Expedition against him into the North to prevent it he desired a Parly and on the first of July by his Agent Gillaspick O Donel he concluded an Agreement with the Lord Deputy which afterwards was confirmed by Con O Neal himself at Drogheda on the twenty fifth of the same Month. In the mean time the Lord Deputy finding that Fitz-Girald had retired to Munster sent after him the Lord Grey Sir William Brereton and others who had several Skirmishes with his Party wherein nothing was got but Blows whereupon Brereton's Advice on the one side and Fitz Girald's Necessity on the other side produced a Parly the effect whereof was That Fitz-Girald surrendred to the Lord Grey and rode with him to Dubliu By the Lord Deputy's Letter to the King of August 24. he acquaints his Majesty That Fitz Girald and O Connor had submitted the former without any Condition or Promise of Life Lands or Goods and that he intends to send him over by the Lord Grey whilst himself in person goes to assist O Donel against his Son Manus But the Council by their Letter from the Camp to the King of the 27th of August inform his Majesty That O Connor an Abettor of Fitz-Girald's has given Hostages to abide the King's Pleasure and that Fitz-Firald submitted on the encouragements they gave him to expect Pardon for his Life That the Lord Grey is going with him leaving the Lord Butler in his room and they desire the King to thank the Lord Grey for his good Service Nevertheless others say That Fitz-Girald was by the Lord Grey absolutely promised his Pardon but if it was so it was more than he had Comission for and therefore no regard was given to that Pretence but the King being implacably enraged at this dangerous Rebellion caused Fitz-Girald to be arrested in the way to Windsor and afterwards viz. Febr. 3. 1537. he and five of his Unkles were executed at Tyburn although three of them had for a long time opposed their Nephews Extravagancies And thus ended a Rebellion Lib. CCC 85. which cost the King twenty thousand some say forty thousand Pound At which great Expence the King was so disturb'd that he called this Victory a new Conquest and put the Question to his Council how Ireland should be managed to bear the charge of its own Preservation and whether by Act of Parliament every mans Estate should not be made liable to contribute its proportion or whether by vertue of this Conquest the King might not seize on all the Estates in that Kingdom Temporal and Spiritual By a Letter from Stephen ap Harry who was afterward a great man with the Lord Grey of the sixth of October from Waterford directed to Mr. Thomas Cromwel Secretary of State he informs his Honour That the Lord Leonard Grey was gone to England with Fitz Girald and that the Lord James Butler marched to Clonmel where his Lordships Brother-in-Law Garret Mac Shane who could not speak one Word of English met him That thence they marched to Dungarvan which surrendred unto him and thence to Youghal where he had a Gallon of Gascoyn Wine for four pence and thence to Cork where the Lord Barry made great Complaints of Cormock Oge of Muskry and Mac Carty Riagh the former was willing to submit to the Award of the State but Mac Carty Riagh answered That what he got by the Sword he would keep by the Sword The like Controversie was between James Grandson of Thomas last Earl of Desmond and Sir John Brother of that Earl the young man offered to go to England and to submit to his Majesties Pleasure but Sir John said He scorned to contest with a Boy That they marched thence to Mallow and so to Kilmallock and thence to Lymerick where the Lord Butler's Brother-in-law O Brians Son desired Aid against his Father and Unkle and that the Lord Butler would besiege Carrigonel but he could not do it for want of Artillery and therefore marched to Cashel and thence to Clonmel having worthily behav'd himself all this Journey It seems the Lord Deputy had sollicited for the King's leave to return to England by reason of his Age and Infirmities but the King in his Answer thanked him for the taking Fitz-Girald but wished it had been done in another manner viz. by force and tells him That he must continue in the Government of Ireland notwithstanding his Age and Sickness and orders a Parliament to be called as â—â—on as conveniently might be but it is probable that soon after those Letters arrived the Lord Deputy died at Kilmainham in the latter end of December and was honourably buried in St. Patrick's Church And thereupon the Council chose Leonard Lord Grey 1535. Lord Deputy who was but newly returned from England and probably did not bring over so much Treasure as the Army both expected and needed and therefore the Souldiers mutined in January and thereupon the King by his Letter of the twenty fifth of February desires to know who were the Ringleaders of it and orders that as many of the Army as can be spared may be disbanded Lib. H. To which Letter the Lord Deputy and Council return'd for Answer That after the imprisonment of Fitz-Girald they had disbanded five hundred men but that his Unkles being at that time out and the Earl of Desmond O Brian and O Connor linked in a Confederacy it was no proper time then to dismiss any more but that they have now borrowed four hundred Pounds Irish and therewith have disbanded two hundred and fifty Foot and fifty Horse That the Revenue of the Kingdom was but five thousand Pounds per annum whereof a thousand Pound was then insolvent they advise the King to grant a Pardon to the County of Kildare to the end the People of that County may return to their Habitations and they advise That the Kings Lands may be set for a Term of one and twenty years and that a Mint may be erected in Ireland and none but Sterling Money be currant and thereby every Mark of the King's Revenue will be a Pound But I must interrupt the Series of this Discourse to give the Reader an Account of the miraculous preservation of one of the remaining Branches of the Noble Family of Kildare a Child of thirteen years old Brother of the Lord Thomas and Son of the deceased Earl who happened to be sick of the Small Pox at Donoare in the County of Kildare when his Unkles were apprehended whereupon his careful Tutor Thomas Leverouse afterwards Bishop of Kildare had the Child wrapt up warm and in a Cleef or Basket conveyed him into Offaly and after he was recovered he travelled into Thomond
indented with him That he should be Baron of Colthil and Castleton and have the Lands in Vpper Ossory granted to him at three Pound per annum And these Commissioners caused the Earl of Kildare's Estate to be surveyed Lib. H. and it amounted to eight hundred ninety three Pound eleven Shillings and eight Pence half Penny per annum which was a mighty Revenue in those Days And in the latter end of the Year viz. the twenty second of February the Earl of Ossory was restored to the Title of Earl of Ormond which was afterwards confirmed to that Noble Family by Act of Parliament anno 1541. On the twenty fifth of July 1538. 1538. the Lord of Trimletstown who was also Lord Chancellor departed this Life and in his stead Sir John Allen Master of the Rolls was first made Lord Keeper of the Great Seal by the Lord Deputy and Council and afterwards on the eigteenth Day of October was made Lord Chancellor by the King In the mean time in the beginning of May the Lord Deputy marched from Trim to pursue O Reyly but he prevented it by his Submission And thereupon the Deputy marched against Savage a degenerate Englishman into Ards and Lecale and there he took Mac Genis his Castle of Dundrum and seven Castles more and wasted and preyed all that Country and which was worse he burnt the Cathedral Church of Downe and defaced the Monuments of the Saints Patrick Bridget and Columbus and committed many other Sacriledges And about the same time Images were every where defaced or taken away and particularly the famous Image of the Blessed Virgin at Trim was burnt and the Oblations and Treasures which many superstitious Votaries had offered there were also taken and carried away And it seems That whilst the Lord Deputy was engaged in the North O Connor on the one side and O Toole on the other fell upon the Inhabitants of the Pale and committed what Robberies and Depredations they pleased and returned Home without Loss But when the Lord Deputy came back and understood what they had done he resolved to be revenged of O Connor and immediately invaded Ophaly and took the Castles of Braghnal and Dingen And in his Letter to the King of the twelfth of August he writes That he forced O Carol and O Magher to give Hostages and that O Carol paid him three hundred Marks to redeliver his Son and desired to take a Patent from the King for his Country but it is not fit to grant it to him because he is False And that the English do now so well understand the Irishmen and Country that if the King will send them Mony they will manage the Irish as he Pleases And in his Letter of the twenty first of March he acquaints the King That Brian O Connor submitted in the open Fild and that he pursued Cahir O Connor until he forced him to come to Dublin to make his Submission there In the mean time the Reformation of Religion went on but very slowly in Ireland for although Archbishop Brown was very zealous for it yet the Primate Cromer was as industrious against it as will appear by the following Letter from Archbishop Brown to the Lord Cromwel Right Honourable and my singular good Lord I Acknowledge my bounden Duty to your Lordships Good-Will to me April 8. 1538. next to my Saviour Christ's for the Place I now possess I pray God to give me his Grace to execute the same to his Glory and his Highness's Honour with your Lordship's Instructions The People of this Nation be Zealous yet Blind and Vnknowing Most of the Clergy as your Lordship hath had from me before being Ignorant and not able to speak right Words in the Mass or Liturgy as being not skilled in the Latin Grammar so that a Bird may be taught to speak with as much Sense as several of them do in this Country these Sorts though not Scholars yet crafty to cozen the poor Common People and to disswade them from following his Highness's Orders George my Brother of Armagh doth under-hand occasion Quarrels and is not active to execute his Highness's Orders in his Diocess I have observed your Lordship's Letter of Commission and do find several of my Pupils leave me for so doing I will not put others in their Livings till I do know your Lordship's Pleasure for it is meet I acquaint you first The Romish Reliques and Images of both my Cathedrals in Dublin took off the Common People from the true Worship but the Prior and the Dean find them so sweet for their Gain that they heed not my Words therefore send in your Lordship's next to me an Order more full and a Chide to them and their Canons that they might be removed Let the Order be That the Chief Governors may assist me in it The Prior and Dean have written to Rome to be encouraged and if it be not hindred before they have a Mandate from the Bishop of Rome the People will be bold and then tug long before his Highness can submit them to his Grace's Orders The country Folk here much hate your Lordship and despitefully call you in their Irish Tongue The Black-Smith's Son The Duke of Norfolk is by Armagh and the Clergy desired to assist them not to suffer his Highness to alter Church Rules here in Ireland As a Friend I desire your Lordship to look to your Noble Person for Rome hath a great Kindness for that Duke for it is so talked here and will reward him and his Children Rome hath great Favours for this Nation purposely to oppose his Highness and so have got since the Act passed great Indulgences for Rebellion therefore my Hopes are lost yet my Zeal is to do according to your Lordship's Orders God keep your Lordship from your Enemies here and in England And in May after he wrote the following Letter Right Honourable MY Duty premised It may please your Lordship to be advertized Sithence my last there has come to Armagh and his Clergy a private Commission from the Bishop of Rome prohibiting his Gracious Highness's People here in this Nation to own his Royal Supremacy and joyning a Curse to all them and theirs who shall not within forty Days confess to their Confessors after the publishing of it to them That they have done amiss in so doing the Substance as our Secretary hath translated the same into English is thus I A. B. from this present Hour forward in the presence of the Holy Trinity of the Blessed Virgin Mother of God of S. Peter of the Holy Apostles Archangels Angels Saints and of all the holy Host of Heaven shall and will be always obedient to the Holy See of S. Peter of Rome and to my Holy Lord the Pope of Rome and his Successors in all things as well Spiritual as Temporal not consenting in the least that his Holiness shall lose the least Title or Dignity belonging to the Papacy of our Mother Church or to
the Regality of S. Peter I do Vow and Swear to Maintain Help and Assist the just Laws Liberties and Rights of the Mother Church of Rome I do likewise promise to confer defend and promote if not personally yet willingly as in Ability able either by Advice Skill Estate Mony or otherwise the Church of Rome and her Laws against all whatsoever resisting the same I further vow to oppugn all Hereticks either in making or setting forth Edicts or Commands contrary to the Mother Church of Rome and in case any such to be moved or composed to resist it to the uttermost of my Power with the first Convenience and Opportunity I can possible I count all Acts made or to be made by Heretical Powers of no force or to be practised or obeyed by my self or by any other Son of the Mother Church of Rome I do further declare him or her Father or Mother Brother or Sister Son or Daughter Husband or Wife Unkle or Ant Nephew or Neece Kinsman or Kinswoman Master or Mistriss and all others nearest or dearest Relations Friend or Acquaintance whatsoever accursed that either do or shall hold for time to come any Ecclesiastical or Civil above the Authority of the Mother Church or that do or shall obey for the time to come any of her the Mother Church's Opposers or Enemies or contrary to the same of which I have here sworn unto so God the Blessed Virgin S. Peter S. Paul and the Holy Evangelists help c. His Highness the Vice-roy of this Nation is of little or no Power with the Old Natives therefore your Lordship will expect of me no more than I am able This Nation is poor in Wealth and not sufficient now at present to oppose them It is observed That ever since his Highness ' s Ancestors had this Nation in Possession the Old Natives have been craving Foreign Powers to assist and rute them and now both English Race and Irish begin to oppose your Lordship's Orders and do lay aside their National old Quarrels which I fear will if any thing will cause a Foreigner to invade this Nation I pray God I may be a false Prophet yet your good Lordship must pardon mine Opinion for I write it to your Lordship as a warning And about Midsummer one Thady Birne a Franciscan Fryer was apprehended and was to be sent Prisoner into England to the Lord Privy Seal but the cowardly Sophister being told That he would certainly be hanged was seized with such a pannick Fear that he murdered himself in the Castle of Dublin on the twenty fourth Day of July and among other Papers the following Letter was found about him My Son O Neal THou and thy Fathers were all along faithful to the Mother Church of Rome Life of Bishop Brown 11. His Holiness Paul now Pope and the Council of the Holy Fathers there have lately found out a Prophecy there remaining of one S. Laserianus an Irish Bishop of Cashel Wherein he saith That the Mother Church of Rome falleth when in Ireland the Catholick Faith is overcome Therefore for the Glory of the Mother Church the Honour of S. Peter and your own Secureness suppress Heresie and his Holiness's Enemies for when the Roman Faith there perisheth the See of Rome falleth also Therefore the Council of Cardinals have thought fit to encourage your Country of Ireland as a Sacred Island being certified whilst the Mother Church hath a Son of Worth as your self and those that shall succour you and joyn therein that she will never fall but have more or less a holding in Britain in spite of Fate Thus having obeyed the Order of the most Sacred Council we recommend your Princely Person to the Holy Trinity of the Blessed Virgin of S. Peter S. Paul and all the Heavenly Host of Heaven Amen Episcopus Metensis And it is not to be doubted Ware 151. but the Irish had Solicitations from many others besides the Bishop of Mets for in the beginning of the following Year O Neal began to declare himself the Champion of the Papacy and having entred into a Confederacy with O Donel Macgenis Ocahane Mac William O Hanlon and others they joyntly invaded the Pale and marched to Navan burning that and Athirde and all the Country as they marched and thence they came to the Hill of Taragh where they mustered their Army with great Ostentation and so having taken a vast Prey and done abundance of Mischief they designed to return home But the Lord Deputy who foresaw this Storm 1539. had sent to England for Aid Holingsh 101. and Sir William Brereton who was newly returned to England was immediately sent back with two hundred and fifty Cheshire-Men It is reported of him That he broke his Thigh in two Places by a Fall from his Horse as he was exercising his Men and that nevertheless he was so Valiant and Zealous that he caused himself to be halled into the Ship by Pullies that the Succours might not be detained any longer In the mean time the Deputy Ibid. with the Forces of the Pale and the Mayors and Citizens of Dublin and Drogheda in May marched to Bellahoa where O Neal was encamped on the other side the River they marched all Night to surprize the Enemy and came to the River by break of Day The valiant Baron of Slane led the forlorn and having first substituted Robert Betoa his Standard-bearer instead of the cowardly Robert Halfpenny who declined the Adventure because of the Danger he rushed into the River and being well seconded by Mabe of Mabestown who was there slain though the Inconveniencies of passing the River were very great yet they at length got over routed the Gallowglasses slew Macgenis defeated O Neal and recovered all the Prey of the Pale and continued the Pursuit till Sunset The Deputy exceeded the rest as much in Courage as Authority and behaved himself exceeding bravely and after the Battle knighted Chief Justice Ailmer Talbot of Malahide Fitz-Simons Mayor of Dublin and Michael Cursy Mayor of Drogheda in the Field and well they deserved it for their good Service in obtaining so great a Victory which broke the Power of the North and quitted the Borders for some Years and yet there were not above four hundred of the Rebels slain But whilst the Deputy was in Vlster O Connor and O Toole made Incursions into the Pale and though they did much Mischief yet the Country suffered more by unseasonable Weather for the Summer was so hot that even some Rivers were almost dried up and the Autumn was very Sickly and Unwholesome and the Winter so excessive cold that multitudes of Cattle perished by reason thereof And now began the Abbots and Priors upon Assurance of Pensions Ware 152. during their respective Lives to surrender their Abbies and other Religious Houses to the King it would be too tedious to give a Catalogue of all that did so but these following should not be pretermitted because
Title of Captain General brought over six hundred Horse and four hundred Foot whose Pay came to twelve hundred and twenty six Pound per Month viz seven hundred and seventy Pound for the Horse and four hundred fifty six Pound for the Foot and about Midsummer they landed at Waterford and being joyned by the Lord Deputy they invaded the Countries of Leix and Offaly and proclaimed O More and O Connor Traytors and having dispersed the Forces of the Rebels the Lord Deputy repaired the Fort of Dingen and built the Fort of Campaum alias Prolector now called Maryburgh whereupon O More and O connor were forced to submit and Bellingham was knighted and made Marshal of Ireland The Castle of Athloan was likewise repaired and garrisoned by Special Orders from England and the Vice-Treasurer Brabazon had the Care and management thereof and performed it effectually in spight of the great Opposition he met with from Dominick O Kelly and other Great Men of Connaught And this auspicious Year did also produce the mighty Victory which the English obtained over the Scots at Mussleburgh But as the Reformation proceeded in England 1538. so the Popish Zeal and Superstition increased in Ireland Ware 180. and the Pale it self began to be disturbed with it for Richard Fitz-Eustace and Alexander his Brother Sons of the Viscount Baltinglass were busie forming a Rebellion in the County of Kildare but the Presence of the Lord Deputy without Blows brought them to a Submissiom and stifled this Infant Conspiracy in the Cradle and it was well it did for this rebellious Distemper was very infectious and in a little time would have spread over the whole Kingdom the Lord of Baltinglass himself was a little tainted with it but by the means of Sir Edward Bellingham when Lord Deputy the Viscount was pardoned In the mean time the Lord Deputy Saintleger was sent for to England and carried with him O More and O Connor as Prisoners but upon their Submission they were received into Favour and honoured with a Pension of one hundred Pound per annum out of the Exchequer during their Lives which O More enjoyed not very long for he died within the Year suddainly at London Sir Edward Bellingham who had been sent into England with an Account of the Submission of the County of Kildare was now sent back Lord Deputy he landed at Dalkye on Whitson-Eve and two Days after he received the Sword at Christ-Church according to Custom He was a Zealous Protestant and a brave Soldier and by his means Sir John Allen was again made Lord Chancellor As soon as he was setled Davis 62. he marched into Leix and Offaly against Cahir O Connor and others that were brewing new Treasons there and forced them to submit and brought the Country to that degree of Subjection that he is said to be the first Man since Edward the third's time that enlarged the English Borders beyond the Pale and from Offaly the Lord Deputy marched to Delvin against Mac Coughlan whose Country he totally destroyed The Lord Deputy had express Orders to set up a Mint at Dublin which he did but it continued but a very little time for want of Bullion And this Year on the twenty second Day of April the City of Dublin which at first was governed by a Provost and by King Henry the Third subjected to a Mayor and Bayliffs and by Henry the Fourth was honoured with a Sword obtained their Bayliffs to be changed into Sheriffs and John Rians and Robert Eyons were the first two Sheriffs that were chosen or appointed for that City In the mean time Sir Francis Bryan who had married the Countess Dowager of Ormond and was made Marshal of Ireland and Governour of the Counties of Typerary and Kilkenny could by no means agree with the Lord Deputy their Differences grew at length to that height that Sir Francis impeached the Lord Deputy in England and prevailed to have him sent for to answer the Accusation But whilst that affair was transacting Ware 182. Teige O Carol plyed his own Business diligently and after a stout Defence he took and demolished the strong Castle of Nenagh and drove the English out of that Country In Vlster Manus O Donel quarrelled with his Son Calvagh and at length it came to Blows so that on the seventh Day of February Calvagh was routed and Manus Mac Donough O Cahan and many of his Followers were slain In the Lower Delvin Teige Mac Mlaghlin and Edmond Fahy with their united Forces did all the Mischief they could and almost totally destroyed that part of Mac Coughlans Country Nevertheless the Lord Deputy sent an Irish Brigade under the command of Donough O Conner accompanied with the Sons of Cahir O Connor to aid the King in his War against Scotland On the eighteenth of November Cormock Roe O Connor who was proclaimed Traytor came to Dublin and with Tears in his Eyes begged Pardon of the Lord Deputy and Council in Christ-Church and had it But being of a turbulent Spirit he soon after relapsed into Rebellion and being taken by the Earl of Clanrickard he was sent to Dublin and hanged so true is that Observation of Caesar Williamsons Nec gentem ullam reperies Cui peccare slere magis naturale est It is worthy Observation Holingsh 109. That though the Earl of Desmond for his Quality and vast Estate was made Lord High Treasurer yet he was not of the Privy Council nor indeed qualified to be so for he was Rude and Savage both in Apparel and Behaviour he had neither Learning nor Manners but lived after a barbarous fashion in the Country among the Wild-Irish and perhaps had not so much as a Glass-Window to his Houses and yet he was the best landed Subject in the King's Dominions About Christmas the Deputy sent for him to Dublin but he refusing the Lord Deputy himself with about twenty Horse made that haste to Munster that he took the Earl sitting by the Fire in his own House not at all suspecting that Expedition And it was well for him that he was so surprized for he was not only brought to Dublin and instructed in his Duty to his Prince and in good Manners and Civility towards his Fellow-Subjects but was also by the Lord Deputy's means pardoned and restored to the King's Favour so that he continued a good Subject ever afterwards during his Life and was so grateful to his Benefactor the Lord Deputy that he would pray for him constantly after every Meal And now it happened that the Earl of Tyrone Macguire Fylemy Roe O Neal 1549. and others referr'd all their Differences to the Lord Deputy and Council who on the twentieth day of June made their Decree wisely ordering Independency on O Neal. Therere are Copies of all these Decrees at Lambeth Lib. D. And they are to the same effect as that of Macguire's viz. Quod erit liber Ware 184. exemptus ab omni subjectione
this Journey the Deputy received the Submissions of some of the Irish and drove others of them into Fastnesses About this time the Name of the King at Arms who was formerly called Ireland was changed to that of Vlster and Nicholas Narbon Richmond Herald in England was the first King at Arms by the Name of Vlster Ware 192. and upon his Death Bartholomew Butler succeeded him June 21. anno 1552. But upon the Lord Deputy's Return to Dublin Matthew Baron of Dungannon complained to him against his Father the Earl of Tyrone whereupon that Earl was imprisoned which enraged his other Sons to that degree that they burnt and destroyed that part of the Country which belonged to Matthew On the other side the Baron being assisted by the English resolved to revenge that Injury and at length it came to a Battel which was doubtful for some time but ended in the Defeat of Matthew and the Slaughter of two hundred of his Soldiers English and Irish Nevertheless the Earl of Tyrone remain'd confin'd to stay within the Pale until at the end of three Months he gave Hostages in February and returned to Vlster And about the same time O Connor made his escape out of the Tower of London but was retaken and again imprisoned but Mac Coghlan being weary of wandring in the Woods made his Submission and was restored to his Territory of Delvin And the Publick Records were removed from Birmingham's Tower to S. Patrick's Library in Dublin The Year 1552 1552. was propitious to the Noble Family of the Giraldines for Girald Son of the last Earl of Kildare whose miraculous Preservation hath been already mention'd was now received into Favour and on the twenty fifth of April was restored to Minooth and good part of his Estate and about two years after in the Reign of Queen Mary viz. on the thirteenth of May 1554. he was Created Earl of Kildare Lib. G. and Baron of Ophaly at Westminster But Donough Earl of Thomond who had that Title confirmed to him and his Heirs Males in January last had great Contests with his Unkle Daniel who claimed the Estate by Tanistry but at length by the Mediation of the Lord Deputy they came to an Agreement which is mentioned in an Indenture Tripartite between the Deputy the Earl and Daniel O Bryan Dated May 9 1552. In the mean time Sir Nicholas Bagnal was sent against Hugh Mac Morough and they came to a Battel which was so well fought on both sides that the Loss as well as the Victory is uncertain But the Garrison of Athloan had better Success at Cluan macnoise where they robbed or destroyed all they met with not sparing even the Church-Books The Lord Depury marched to Vlster and repaired and garrison'd the Castle of Belfast but it seems he brought but a small Army in expectation that the Baron of Dungannon would joyn him with his Forces and indeed the Baron designed it and endeavoured it but his Brother Shane O Neal surprized his Camp by night and routed his Army with a great Slaughter Whereupon the Lord Deputy returned to Dublin and intended for England but he was stopped for a while by Sir Henry Knolls whom the King sent over with Intelligence that the Queen of Scots had sent O Connor's son to Ireland to raise new Commotions but as soon as it was understood that his Negotiation was ineffectal the Lord Deputy prosecuted his former Resolution and embarked at Houth on the fourth of December and pursuant to the King's Letter of the seventh of November Sir Thomas Cusack Lord Chancellor and Sir Girald Ailmer Lord Chief Justice were chosen Lords Justices on the sixth of December and soon after one of the O Neals was imprisoned in Dublin for spreading false News about the late Lord Deputy but he was on the thirtieth of December enlarged on Bail In the mean time on the twenty eighth of December Lib. D. Hugh Mac Neal Oge of Clandeboy made his Submission to the Lords Justices or rather to the King and swore Allegiance and Agreed and Covenanted by Indenture to forfeit all if he ever relapsed or apostatized again Whereupon the King granted to him the Abby of Carrigfergus and Liberty to keep three Secular Priests as also the Castle of Belfast But Ireland was unhappy not only by the Civil Dissentions in Vlster between the Earl of Tyrone and his Son Shane O Neal and by the Scarcity of Provisions insomuch that a Kilderkin of Wheat was sold for four and twenty shillings which in the following year was sold for five shillings but also by the Death of Sir William Brabazon who died in July and was one of the most faithful men to the English Interest that had appeared in Ireland from the Conquest to that day The King was advised to lower the Value of Brass Money and to make the Bell-Groat currant at two pence and no more and also to build a Castle at Baltimore to oblige the Fishermen to pay Tribute the former he performed but the later as unpracticable was neglected or postponed The Earl of Thomond and his Unkles Donald and Trelagh were again at open Wars notwithstanding the aforesaid Agreement made between them by the Government February They took the Town of Cluanroad but the Earl defended the Castle for a time but not long after he was murdered by his Unkle Donald and was succeeded by his Son Cnogher whose Mother was Helen April Daughter of Pierce Earl of Ormond 1553. About the same time Teig Roe O Mlaghlin murdered Neal Mac Fylemy of the same Family coming from Molingar but the Murtherer was not long after slain in Battel by the Baron of Delvin and the Garrison of Athloan and in Connaught Richard Burk was at variance with the Sons of Thomas Burk Buckagh the issue whereof was that Richard was taken Prisoner and an hundred and an fifty of his Men slain Nor were the Contests less between Richard Earl of Clanrickard and John Burk the Earl besieged John's Castle but Daniel O Bryan came to John's Relief and forced the Earl to raise the Siege But whilst these things were doing the King died at Greenwich on the sixth Day of July in the seventh Year of his Reign aud the sixteenth Year of his Age. THE REIGN OF MARY QUEEN OF England France AND IRELAND MARY 1553. eldest Sister of the deceased King notwithstanding King Edward's Will and all the Endeavours that were used against her did succeed her Brother in the Throne and although she was Kept out of Possession by the Lady Jane about twelve Days so that she was not proclaimed at London until the nineteenth Day of July Yet there being no Interregnum in England her Reign must be computed from the sixth of July being the Day of her Brother's Death It may seem strange That the Protestants did so easily submit to her or that the Kingdom of Ireland should at all own her for their Queen Because I. She was the Issue
Enemy's Camp and it succeeded according to his Desire for O Neal's Army being over-confident of their Numbers and despising the Weakness of their Adversaries had made no preparation to resist an Assault which they did not suspect and wanting such Scouts Out-guards and Centinels as Martial Discipline required and as was usual in all well-governed Armies they were easily surprized and defeated and Shane O Neal himself was forced to make use of his Heels As to Ecclesiastical Affairs there was a Provincial Synod held at Dublin Anno 1555 which made some Constitutions about the Rites and Ceremonies to be used in the Church and afterwards the Church-Goods and Ornaments were restored and particularly those belonging to the Churches of Dublin and Drogheda and although many Gleabs continued Lay-Fees during all the Reign of Queen Mary yet at the Request of Cardinal Poole her Majesty restored the Possessions of the Priory of Kilmainham and Oswal Messemberg was confirmed Prior by Patent dated the eighth of March 1557. but afterwards he fled beyond Seas and the Possessions of that Priory and of that Order in Ireland were by Act of Parliament annexed to the Crown in Queen Elizabeth's Reign There was also a Provincial Synod held at Drogheda this Year by Archbishop Dowdal and therein Leave was given to Husbandmen to work certain Days in Harvest The Lord Justice having on the twenty fifth Day of April received the Submission of O Reyly and his Fealty or Oath of Allegiance 1558. did on the twenty seventh surrender the Sword to Thomas Earl of Sussex Lord Deputy who brought over with him five hundred Soldiers and an Order to coyne Brass-Money and to make it currant by Proclamation which he did On the fourteenth of June he began his March to Munster against Daniel O Brian he came to Limerick and advanced forwards into Thomond he scattered the Rebels and took the Castles of Bunratty and Clare and then restored the Country to the Earl of Thomond who together with the Freeholders of that Country did on Sunday the tenth day of July swear on the Sacrament Lib. NNN and by all the Relicks of the Church as Book Bell and Candelight they are the very Words of the Herald's Certificate to continue Loyal to the Queen and to perform their Agreements with the Lord Deputy On the twenty first of June the Earl of Desmond made his Submission to the Deputy at Limerick and on the twenty sixth the Lord Deputy was God-father to the Earl's Son whom he named James Sussex and gave the Child a Chain of Gold and gave another Chain and Pair of gilt Spurs to Dermond Mac Carthy of Muskry whom he also knighted The Lord Deputy caused a Soldier to be nailed to a Post for drawing his Sword in the Camp contrary to Proclamation and then marched to Galway where he was well received especially by the Archbishop of Tuam and the Bishops of Clonfert and Clonmacnoise who with the Clergy met him in Procession On the fifteenth day of September the Lord Deputy shipped his Army at Dalky and sailed to Raghline and though he lost one Ship in the Storm yet he pursued his Design and took the Island and placed a Colony and a small Garrison in it and thence he invaded and wasted Cantire in Scotland Nor did the Islands of Aran and Comber escape the like Desolation and he intended as much against the Island of Ila but he was by ill Weather forced to put in at Carigfergus and so having burnt many Villages which were possest by the Scots in Vlster he returned to Dublin on the eighth day of November Sir Henry Sydny was sworn Lord Justice on the eighteenth of September by virtue of a Patent dated at Richmond the fourth of August and now when the Earl of Sussex return'd he was sworn anew on the tenth of November and had a new Patent bearing date the seventeenth day of August 1558. The Lord Deputy had a new Great Seal sent him out of England and also new Seals to the other three Courts which he delivered to the Lord Chancellor Chief Justices and Chief Baron in the Council Chamber and about the same time a Party of the Islander Scots that came into Connaught to the Assistance of one of the Burks was defeated by the Earl of Clanrickard and most of them slain And because the Author quotes the Most Reverend and Learned Primate Vsher and the Memorials of the Most Noble and Industrious Richard Earl of Cork for the following Story I will insert it verbatim as it is already printed in the Life of Archbishop Brown Queen Mary having dealt severely with the Protestants in England about the latter end of her Reign signed a Commission for to take the same Course with them in Ireland and to execute the same with greater Force she nominates Dr. Cole one of the Commissioners Sending the Commission by this Doctor who in his Journey coming to Chester the Mayor of that City hearing that her Majesty was sending a Messenger into Ireland and he being a Church-Man waited on the Doctor who in discourse with the Mayor taketh out of a Cloak-Bag a Leather-Box saying unto him Here is a Commission that shall lash the Hereticks of Ireland calling the Protestants by that Title the good Woman of the House being well affected to the Protestant Religion and also having a Brother named John Edmunds of the same then a Citizen in Dublin was much troubled at the Doctor 's Words but watching her convenient time whilst the Mayor took his Leave and the Doctor complementing him down the Stairs she opens the Box and takes the Commission out placing in lieu thereof a Sheet of Paper with a Pack of Cards the Knave of Clubs faced uppermost wrap up The Doctor coming up to his Chamber suspecting nothing of what had been done put up the Box as formely The next day going to the Water-side Wind and Weather serving him he sails towards Ireland and landed on the seventh of October 1558. at Dublin then coming to the Castle the Lord Fitz-Walters being Lord Deputy sent for him to come before him and the Privy Council who coming in after he had made a Speech relating upon what account he came over he presents the Box unto the Lord Deputy who causing it to be opened that the Secretary might read the Commission there was nothing save a Pack of Cards with the Knave of Clubs uppermost which not only startled the Lord Deputy and Council but the Doctor who assured them He had a Commission but knew not how it was gone Then the Lord Deputy made answer Let us have another Commission and we will shuffle the Cards in the mean while The Doctor being troubled in Mind went his way and returned into England and coming to the Court obtained another Commission but staying for a Wind at the Water-side News came unto him That the Queen was dead And thus God preserved the Protestants in Ireland This Queen died on the seventeenth day of
was not to be given to Irish or Scots The Earl was to be Captain-General for seven years and was to plant his Part as well as the Queen should hers until there should be a thousand English Inhabitants on each Moyety And so being made Earl-Marshal of Ireland he set about the necessary Preparations for his Irish Voyage and to that end borrowed ten thousand Pounds of the Queen on a Mortgage of his Lands in Essex But the Lord Deputy being unwilling to have any body independent on him in that Kingdom especially so great a man cloathed with such a large Authority and accompanied with such considerable Forces gave all the opposition he could to this Noble Undertaking of the Earls until at length this Medium was found out That the Earl of Essex should take a Commission from the Lord Deputy to be Governor of Vlster wherewith both Parties were satisfied or at least they acquiesced in the Expedient In the mean time Mr. Edward Tremain was sent over to the Lord Deputy 1. To know why he desired so earnestly to return to England Lib. c. 2. To enquire what was the yearly Charge of that Kingdom what number of Men in Pay and how disposed of when any were disbanded or dead and when their rooms supplied and how many more there be than was appointed in March was twelve-month 3. To know what has been received of the Impost of Wines since Michaelmas last and what is in Arrear and if he could not discover it then to move the Deputy to certifie the Quantum of each 4. To know of the Deputy and Lord President in what state Munster is and how to be preserv'd 5. To know what is done or intended to be done with Desmond and his Brother John and how their Creditors in England shall be paid 6. To enquire how Connaught stands and how the Castles of Athlone and Roscomon are and the condition of the Earl of Thomond and Clanrickard and his Sons 7. To enquire into the Outrage committed against Sir Barnaby Fitz Patrick and the taking away his Wife and Children and how the Offenders are punished and how the Birns and Cavenaghs stand affected 8. To tell the Deputy that the Earl of Essex with two thousand Men will in August next come to inhabit the forfeited Lands in the Glins Routs and Clandeboy that in the mean time the Deputy guard the Frontiers of the Pale that way and Publish that Essex comes to repel the Scots and not to hurt the Irish 9. To tell the Deputy not to raise more Forces but if his Ormond's and Kildare's Forces are not sufficient against the O Mores and Connors to borrow two or three hundred from Essex for that Expedition and pay them 10. To preserve the Corn c. in the Ardes till Essex comes 11. To know why he gave Commission to Sir John Perrot to sell Marul's Ship wherein was Goods of all Nations The English had a very hopeful Prospect of the Earl of Essex's undertaking in Vlster so that many Persons of Quality and abundance of Gentlemen concerned themselves in the Expedition The Lords Darcy and Rich Sir Henry Knowles and four of his Brothers Michael Carves and his Brother John and Henry William and John three Sons of the Lord Norris and many others accompanied the Earl in this Voyage and they Landed together at Carrigfergus in the latter end of August 1573 and assoon as they Landed Bryan Mac Phelimy waited on the Earl and in most submissive manner tendred his Duty to the Queen and his Service to Essex but assoon as he perceived that the Earl's Forces were not so considerable as was reported he presently apostatized and joyned in Rebellion with Turlogh Lynogh About the same time or rather a year sooner Sir Thomas Smith sent his Natural Son together with one Chatterton to make a Plantation in the Ardes Cambd. Eliz. 190. but young Smith was murdered by Neal Bryan Artho who was afterwards killed by Sir Nicholas Malby and so that Design became unsuccessful and the Earl did not speed much better for after the Expence of much Treasure and a years time he returned to England This year the Money sent by the Queen into Ireland Lib. H. since she came to the Crown was computed and it amounted to four hundred and ninety thousand seven hundred and seventy nine Pounds seven shillings and six pence halfpeny and the Revenue of Ireland in the same period of time came to no more than one hundred and twenty thousand Pounds It is reported of Bryan Mac Fylemy that he had thirty thousand Cows besides other Cattel and it is certain that the Lord Rich within a Month after he came to Ireland returned to England on his private Occasions and Henry Knolls was by Sickness forced to do the like and many others upon frivolous Pretences left the Earl of Essex and went back to England Cambd. Eliz. 202. besides his Soldiers were raw and it was late in the Year and his Commission was not yet sent him being purposely delayed by the Deputy so that all these and some other Difficulties concurr'd to make Essex's Expedition unfortunate Nevertheless he took the Castle of Liffer from Con O Doâ—el and in a Skirmish he killed two hundred Irish and took Bryan Mac Fylemy and his Wife and his Brother Rory Oge Prisoners In the mean time 1574. the Earl of Desmond notwithstanding his Oath to be a true Prisoners made his escape out of the Castle of Dublin whereupon the Deputy marched into Munster to prevent new Coâ—â—â—otions and ordered the Earl of Essex to guard the Borders of Vlster which very much hindred his Progress in building Fortifications in Clandeboy however he obeyed and at length the Earl of Desmond was prevailed upon to reconcile himself to the Government Sir Henry Sydny 1575. Lord Deputy arrived on the twelfth of September and was sworn on the eighteenth at Tredagh to which Place he went directly from the Skyrries because the Plague raged in Dublin It is observable of this great and good man that although he did most excellent Service in Ireland yet he was but ill rewarded for it in England and therefore he was with great difficulty prevailed with to accept the Government this seventh and last time for as he expressed himself in his Letter he cursed hated and detested Ireland above all other Countries not that he had any dislike of the Country but that it was most difficult to do any Service there where a Man must struggle with Famine and Fastnesses inaccessible Bogs and light-footed Tories and yet when these and all other Difficulties were surmounted no Service in the world was less reputed valued or requited than that and it is farther remarkable of him that though he was four times Lord Justice and three times Lord Deputy of Ireland yet he never purchased a Foot of Land in that Kingdom The Lord Deputy's Instructions were to find means to pay the Queens Debts if possible
Superstition that the Irish Priests who are the most ignorant Clerks in the World could lead these Noblemen by the Nose into the greatest Folly Ingratitude and Disloyalty that ever was known so that henceforward we must expect to find these English Lords in open Rebellion with the Irish against the Crown of England The victorious Malby encamped that night by the Abby of Monaster Neva and after two or three days removed to Rakele and encamped there a Party of the Earl of Desmond's came confidently within a Mile of the Camp but were well beaten for their pains and some that were taken Prisoners discovered many of Desmond's Designs and that he had been in the Field ever since the Battel of Monaster Neva but they needed not to be so nice in their Examinations for that very Night put the Matter out of doubt and Desmond and his Brother did personally assault the English Camp but came off as they used to do with Loss and Disgrace however the Marshal thought it necessary to remove to Askeaton having first setled a Garrison at Rakeal and he performed what he designed although the Enemy did frequently skirmish with him in his March and then having notice of the Deputy's Death he placed Sir William Stanly and Captain Carew at Adare and sent the rest of the Army to other Garrisons Hereupon the Rebels insulted at a great Rate bragging that they would take all the Garrisons and Sir John of Desmond with four hundred Foot and fifty Horse actually besieg'd Adare so that the Garrison durst not peep abroad till their victuals failed them and then Necessity whetted their Courage and made their Swords as sharp as their Stomachs so that Sir John was forced to retire The English had but one small Cot which would hold about eight Men and by help of it an hundred and twenty Men of the Garrison of Adare were wafted over the River Hooker 162 into the Knight of the Glinns Country and being unexpected there they did great Execution but they staid so long that the Knight of the Glin and Sir John Desmond had got together thirty Horse and four hundred Foot some Irish and some Spaniards and overtook them and entertain'd a brisk Skirmish for about eight hours nevertheless the English made good their Retreat without any considerable Loss and killed about fifty of the Enemy Sir William Pelham Lord Justice was chosen by the Council 1579. and sworn in Christ-Church Dublin on the eleventh of October and immediately he Knighted the Lord Chancelor Gerard and youg Edward Fitton After Dinner Cambd. Eliz. 239. the Council sate and directed Letters to all the considerable Irishmen to confirm them in their Loyalty particularly to Pheagh Mac Hugh Sir Hugh O Reily Sir Hugh Macguire Turlogh Lynogh c. and they also appointed the Earl of Ormond to be Governor of Munster and Sir Warham Saint-Leger to be Provost Marshal thereof and ordered Desmond's Son to be conveyed to the Castle of Dublin to be safely kept The Lord Justice having dispatched the Chancellor to England to inform her Majesty how Matters stood in Ireland and having committed the Care of the North-Borders to the Earl of Kildare marched into Munster taking with him the three Bands lately brought from Berwick by the Captains Walter Case and Pikeman he came to Kilkenny the nineteenth of October and kept Sessions two Days and sate in Person insomuch that Edmond Mac Neil and other notable Traytors were then executed and he also reconciled the Earl of Ormond and the Lord of Upper Ossory At Cashel the Earl of Ormond came to him with two hundred and thirty Men and hence his Excellency sent Letters to the Earl of Desmond to repair to him that he might reconcile him and Sir Nicholas Malby thence he went to Limerick where he was well received and the Mayor Presented him with a thousand Armed Citizens here also he was met by Malby and the Army and the next day he went to a Village called Fannings where he gave Orders for a General Hosting or Rising out and thither came the Countess of Desmond with Letters from her Husband Hereupon the Earl of Ormond was sent to expostulate with Desmond upon sundry Articles whereto he returned a trifling Answer on the the thirtieth of October complaining of old Injuries c. Wherefore other Letters were sent from Crome where the Lord Justice then was but to no purpose for though Desmond protested Loyalty yet he would not come to the Camp nay he was known to act rebelliously even while he was writing his Protestation for the Lord Justice being removed to Rakeal was allarm'd by some Rebels whereof four being killed one was found to be Desmond's Butler and himself was not far off wherefore he was Proclaimed Traytor in the Camp the second day of November 1579. unless he should surrender himself in twenty days and immediately the Army proceeded to destroy his Country with Fire and Sword And it must not be omitted that the Lords of Gormanstown and Delvin who were of the Council and attended the Lord Justice in this Expedition were so tainted and corrupted with Popery that they refused to sign the Proclamation against Desmond for which they were afterwards severely reprimanded by a Letter from the Lords of the Council in England On the third of November the Lord Justice removed to Puble O Bryan and Mustered the Army and so leaving two hundred and fifty Horse and eight Ensigns of Foot with the Earl of Ormond he returned to Limerick The Earl of Desmond thought to divert the Army from farther prosecution in Conilogh by making an Incursion into Imokilly and being there at the request of the Seneschal of Imokilly he attack'd Youghal and finding small resistance he easily took and afterwards plundered that Town whereupon the Earl of Ormond sent Captain White and a Company of Soldiers in a Ship from Waterford and they valiantly entred into the Town by the Water-gate but being over-powered by the numerous Forces of the Seneschal's White and most of his Men were slain and the rest with great difficulty escaped to their Ship Hereupon Desmond grew so insolent November 20. 1579. that he wrote an arrogant Letter to the Lord Justice importing that he and his Brethren were entred into the Defence of the Catholick Faith under the Protection of the Pope and the King of Spain and advised the Lord Justice to joyn with him and nine days after he wrote Circular Letters to such of the Lords and Gentlemen of Leinster as he thought to be rebelliously inclined the Form of which Letters may be seen in the following Letter which he sent to Pheagh Mac Hugh MY well beloved Friend I commend me to you It is so that I and my Brother are entred into the Defence of the Catholick Faith and the overthrow of our Country by English Men which had overthrown the Holy Church and go about to over-run our Country and make it their own and to make us
with nineteen Spaniards and fifty Irish under one Julio an Italian Engineer The Lord Justice coming to view it had like to have been killed with a Musquet Shot nevertheless he persevered in his Resolution and caused the Castle to be battered with three Cannon a Culverin and a demy-Culverin till a Breach was made at which Captain Macworth entred and took the Castle putting fifty to the Sword and six he took and executed them in the Camp the Captain Julio was preserved two or three days for certain Considerations and then not complying with the Lord Justices Expectations he was Hanged On the third of April 1580. the Army sat down before Askeaton which is a very strong Castle built upon Rocks and of very difficult Access nevertheless the cowardly Garrison were so frightned with the example of Carrigifoyl Cambd. Eliz. 240. that they basely deserted the Castle the first night of the Siege having first layed a train of Powder which burned great part of the Castle but did not prejudice the principal Towers The same day George Carew and others with three Companies attempted Ballyloghane another Castle of Desmond's which the Garrison upon sight of them likewise deserted but not so timely but that being closely pursued many of them were slain Now was Desmond dispossessed of all his Castles and therefore the Lord Justice leaving four Companies at Askelon returned to Lymerick on the fifth of April as Ormond did to Kilkenny Malby to Connaught and others to Dublin However the Army tho in Garrison was not ildle but behaved themselves effectually as they found Occasion even the Lord Justice himself went by Sea from Lymerick to Adare and sent Captain Case by Land and both returned after the slaughter of many Traytors with a Prey of twelve Hundred Cows and many Sheep At Lymerick the fifteenth of May the Lord Justice received a Comâ—ission from the Queen to be Lord Justice and another 〈…〉 Sir William Burk Baron of Castleconnel with a Yearly Pension of an hundred Marks during Life On the thirteenth of May Sullevan 101. Walsh ' s Loyal Remonstrance Pope Gregory the thirteenth granted to all the Irish that would fight against the Queen the same plenary Pardon and remission of all their Sins as to those that are engaged in the Holy War against the Turk On the seventeenth of May a separate Commission of Martial Law was granted granted to the Lord Rooh and Sir Cormack Mac Teig of Muskry with Power to give Protection for fifteeen days to any other than the principal Rebels On the fourteenth day of June the Lord Justice invaded and destroyed Clanawliff and thence marched through Slevelogher to Kerry and on the fifteenth took a Prey of two Thousand Kine and many Sheep and mist but little of surprizing the Earl of Desmond and Doctor Sanders this last being fain for haste to leave his Gown behind him he took another Prey the next day at Castlemange nevertheless the Army being ill payed began to Mutiny and some of them refused to march with the Earl of Ormond into the Mountains of Kerry but by the Lord Justice's Discretion this Sedition was appeased and the Mutineers were Pardoned On the eighth of July the Popish Lords of Munster appeared before the Lord Justice at Limerick and being charged with Correspondence with the Rebels and negligence in Prosecuting them all of them except the Lord Barry submitted and promised future Loyalty and were ordered to maintain two thousand Men during the War and to give Pledges of Performance but the next day they thought the Charge too heavy and therefore were confined to their Chambers till they sent their Pledges soon after Sir Cormock Mac Teig was dismissed with Favour and an Order to the Country to assist him in his Attempts against the Rebels because he had promised to do some considerable Service which he very luckily effected for James of Desmond on the fourth of August invaded Muskry and took a Prey from Sir Cormock Mac Teig Cambd. Eliz. 240. then Sheriff of the County of Cork whereupon his Brother Daniel Mac Teig assembled what Force he could get together to rescue the Prey it was briskly disputed between them and the issue was the Desmonians being an Hundred and Fifty were beaten and most of them slain and Sir James being taken Prisoner was brought to Sir Warham Saint Leger and Captain Rawleigh who caused him to be Hanged Drawn and Quartered at Cork In August Ormond dislodged from Adare and marched to Buttevant where a strange kind of Sickness called afterward in England The gentle Correction seized the whole Army it took them in the Head and for two or three Days they lay Senseless and then recovered few or none died of it though by the Violence of the Disease it was not expected that many could recover Ormond divided his small Army into two Parts and marched with one half to Castle-Island and the other he sent to Traley in Kerry where all met and then dividing into three Parts marched to Dingle and as they went they drove the whole Country before them whereby they took a Prey of eight thousand Cows besides Garrons Sheep c. and slew a great many People and had slain more but that Sir William Winter who was then in the Harbour of Ventry with some of Her Majesties Ships gave many of them Protections This Winter was Vice-Admiral of England and came to cruise about the Coast and to prevent the Spaniards Landing if they should come but he had not the Patience to stay or else believed they would not come in the Winter so he returned home before they came In the mean time the Earl of Desmond was reduced to great Extremity more of his Followers having perished by the Famine than were destroyed by the Sword so that the Countess came with Tears in her Eyes to intercede for her Husband August and Sir John Desmond and Doctor Sanders endeavoured to fly to the Lord of Baltinglass who was up in Leinster but they were like to be intercepted by the Garrison of Kilmallock who met them and their two Servants and took the Servants whilst the Masters escaped so they were forced to return to Kerry and had been taken there but that a false Brother gave them notice of the Design however they took two Fryers and a Prey of two hundred and thirty Kine and slew divers of the Rebels In the mean time the new Lord Deputy landed at Dublin on the twelfth of August and immediately sent for the Sword but the Lord Justice did not think fit to part with it until he personally surrendred it which he made no haste to do but instead of going directly to Dublin having left Sir George Bourchier Collonel of Munster with two thousand eight hundred and twenty Foot and three hundred ninety five Horse and given him and others proper instructions he rode to Killalow where the unconscionable Bishop demanded thirty Pound for one Nights grazing for an Hundred
Kerry to the Sheriff and the Lord of Lixnaw with the Lord President of Munster he returned to Dublin the 9th of August 1584. In his way he took Pledges from Pheagh Mac Hugh and appointed Sir Henry Harrington to take the like from O Birne O Toole and the Septs of O More and O Connor and committed the Kings County to the care of Sir George Bourcher and of the Queens County to Sir Warham Saint Leger he also appointed Commissioners to take Hostages of the Cavenaghs and when he came to Dublin he decided a Controversy between Philip and Sir John O Reyley to both their Satisfaction About this time the Lord Deputy published Orders to be observed by Justices of the Peace one whereof was lodged with every Custos Rotulor Lib. C. the most material of them were to keep Sessions Quarterly to enquire into Penalties of Statutes forfeited Recognizances Contempts Breach of Peace winking at Malefactors Confederacies and Parlies with Tâ—â—ytors or notorious known Theives that all Men and Women from Sixteen to Seventy be Booked and Sworn to Allegiance else committed to Goal to have General Musters every year and see the People are Armed according to Law to have Buts and common Pounds to make two High-Constables Substantial Gentlemen in every Barony and printed Books of their Duty to be sent them and also two petty Constables in each Barony to send to Goal all Spies Carrows Bards and Idlers c. To appoint two Searchers for every Parish to Search the Houses and Persons not Gentlemen for Beef Pork or Mutton and if any such be found and no notice was given to the Searcher of the Killing thereof the Party shall be punished by Fine and to cause all Cattle to be marked with Pitch or Ear-mark on pain of Forfeiture On the 25th of August The Deputy with One thousand Foot some Kearns and the Risings out of the Pale and some Lords of Munster and well accompanied with Officers and Persons of Quality set out from Dublin and came the 29th to Newry where Turlogh Lynogh submitted and put in Pledges as did also soon after Macgenis Mac Mahon Turlogh Brasilogh and others The Lord Deputy having thus secured the Country ordered some Ships to Loghfoyle to attack the Scots that way which they got notice of and immediately retired and went off to Scotland almost in sight of the English Ships and their escape was imputed to the negligence of the Sea-Commanders However the Deputy proceeded to the Ban himself Ormond and the Nobility kept Clandeboy side and General Norris and the Baron Dungannon kept Tyrone side The Deputy spoiled Brian Carrows Country and forced him and Surleboy to fly to Glancomkeane with their Creights and Cows Norris took a prey of 200 Cows from Ochane which gave great relief to the Army but 100 of his stragling Boys and Servants were cut off by Brian Carrows men and some that came to their Rescue were wounded and soon after Mr. Thomas Norris was wounded in the Knee with an Arrow and Oliver Lambert was taken Prisoner in Ochanes Country nevertheless the Rebels fled from the English and were worsted in most encounters so that Captain Meriman brought a good Prey from their fastness and Norris scour'd Glancomkene-wood preyed Brian Carrows Country and slew them that were put to defend it Hereupon Ochane submitted and put in Hostages and was the first Rebel in Arms that was pardoned since the Deputy came over then went the Deputy to besiege Dunluce and sent Artillery by Sea to Skerries portrush and thence by men it was drawn two miles it soon brought the Ward to parley and to surrender this impregnable place and the fame of this Exploit made the Warders desert Donfert and these losses forced Surleboy to submit and put in Hostages and to beg Pardon which was granted him Whilst the Deputy abode in Vlster O Donell and O Toole submitted themselves unto him and there happening some Controversies between Turlogh Lynogh and others of the O-Neals he caus'd them to implead one another by Bill and Answer that so those Contests might be regularly decided he also gave them an Oath of Allegiance and drew the Grandees of Vlster to a Composition for the maintenance of 1100 Soldiers at their own charge the Queen allowing every 100 men 250 Pounds Lib. M. per annum also they agreed to surrender their Estates and take new Patents and in like manner the Lady Camphell and Donell Gorme made their Submismissions at the Camp near Dunluce on the 18th of September and obtain'd a Grant of that part of the Glinns formerly Massets paying 50 Bieves yearly and supplying 80 Soldiers to serve the Crown when required And so the Deputy left 200 Foot and 50 Horse at Colrain and came to Newry on the 28th of September to which place Turlogh Lynogh brought Henry Son of Shan O Neal and delivered him prisoner to his Lordship Con mac Neal Oge was forc'd to content himself with the upper Clandeboy and the Lieutenancy or Government of Vlster was divided between Turlogh Lynogh the Baron of Dungannon and Sir Henry Bagnall and this great Service being thus effected the Deputy return'd to Dublin the 11 of October Hence the Deputy gave an account to the Lords of the Council in England of his great Success and proposed that for 50000 per annum added to the Revenue for three years he would wall seaven Towns Athloan Dingle Colrain Liffer Sligo Newry and Mayo and build seaven Castles at Black-water and Ballishannon Bellick Broad-water in Munster Castlemartine in the Routs Galin in the Queens County and Kilcomane and erect seaven Bridges at Colrain Liffer Ballishannon Dundalk Fermoy Veale near Slevelogher and Kells in Clande-boy and with the help of the Vlster Composition he would likewise maintain 2000 Foot and 400 Horse during that time he desired 600 Soldiers and a Chief Justice might be sent over that Tamistry might be abolished and the Irish Lands pass'd in Patent to the Proprietors on English Tenures to all which he received a smooth but dilatory Answer and therefore wrote again to the Parliament of England the 17 of January 1584. to the same effect and with like success Nevertheless this active Governour proceeded to doe what he could to repair the broken and miserable Estate of Ireland he encouraged the Bishops to the Repair of Churches and wrote to England that no more Bishopricks might be granted in Comendam and he also divided Vlster into Counties and placed Sheriffs Justices of Peace Constables and other Officers in them And then he summoned a Parliament to meet the 26th of April 1585. at Dublin and caused the Irish to conform to the English Habit to which they have a great aversion because they esteem it a mark of Subjection The Irish Lords were obliged to wear Robes and the better to induce them to it the Deputie bestowed Robes on Turlogh Lynogh and other principal men of the Irish which they embraced like fetters so that one of
levying Forces two year before to distrain for Rent he pretended due to him in the Ferny Camd. Eliz. 447. The Irish say he had hard measure and instance much foul practice in the Prosecution and Tryall but however that be the poor Gentleman was hang'd and his Countrey divided between Sir Henry Bagnall Cap. Henslow and four of the Mac Mahouns under a yearly Rent each of them giving considerable Bribes to the Deputy as they said in their Complaint to the Council of England but the Lord Deputy in his Answer did vindicate himself from these unjust Aspersitions or at least endeavour to doe so however it must be observed that from henceforward the Irish loathed Sheriffs and the English Neighbourhood as fearing in time they might all follow the Fate of Mac Mahoun and therefore in the great Treaty near Dundalk in Jan. 1595. they all desired to be exempted from Garisons Sheriffs and other Officers In May 1590. the Earl of â—â—â—one went for England where he was in an easie manner râ—â—trained of his Liberty because he came over without the Deputy's Licence but upon his submission he was discharged of his Confinement and came to a new Agreement with the Queen which is to be found at large Morison 9. and offered Hostages thereof provided they might be kept in some Merchant's House in Dublin or some Gentleman's House in the Pale and be exchanged every three Months The reason why he was so much favour'd and trusted was because he advised the suppression of the Name of O Neal which was really of great importance and he was believ'd to be sincere because being the Son of a Bastard he could have no pretence to it and it stood not with his interest that any body else should have it and so his Power and Authority was in England thought to to be a Bridle upon Turlogh Lynogh and the Sons of Shane O Neal. On the 28th of May 1590. seaventy one Soldiers of Sir Thomas Norris's Company mutinied for want of Pay they came arm'd to the Castle Gate The Deputy offered them two month's Pay but they insisted upon all whereupon he courageously caused the Gate to be opened and sent them a Message that whoever entered the Castle should be hanged as a Traitour they answered that they did not intend to enter upon that the Deputy rode out to Church Sir Geo-Carew Master of the Ordnance bearing the Sword before him the Mutiniers made a Guard for him and begg'd his Lordship would consider them but he briskly rode up to one of them and finding many Gentlemen behind him he ordered them to disarm the Mutiniers but they prevented it by laying down their Arms and placing themselves on their Knees supplicated his Lordship's favour and though they were tied two and two together and sent to Newgate to vindicate the Authority which they had affronted yet because their Indigencies were great I suppose they came off without much severity About December four considerable Prisoners escaped out of the Castle of Dublin December 1590. not without the privity of a great Man well bribed as was supposed viz. the two Sons of Shane O Neal O Donell's Son and Philip O Reily but the Weather being very bad and the Journey tedious Art O Neal one of the Prisoners dyed by the way but the rest escaped to Vlster where the two other Sons of Shane O Neal fell into the power and possession of the Earl of Tyrone anno 1594. who kept them Prisoners and would by no means enlarge them or deliver them to the Deputy Tyrone on the 9th of August appeared at Dublin and confirmed the Agreement he had made in England but when he was urged to the performance of it the used many shifts and delays and desired the like security might be requir'd of his Nighbours This Winter Turlogh Lynogh's Men were wounded by Tyrone's and the next Summer the Marshal Bagnall's Sister was taken away and married to the Earl of Tyrone so that he became again obnoxious to the State and odious to the Marshal because he had another Wife then living Wherefore on the 16th of July he wrote to the Lords of the Council in England that Turlogh's Men were preying his Country and were killed by their own fault and in October following he wrote to the Deputy that the Marshal's Sister married him voluntarily and that he was lawfully divorced from his former Wife In the mean time viz. July 1591. Tyrone was made a County and divided into eight Baronies Dungannon being appointed for the Shire-town which amongst other things and particularly the Authority of Marshal Bagnall so fretted Tyrone that 't is believed it was this Summer confederated between him and the rest of the Irish to defend their pretended Rights and Religion against all Heretical Opposers and not to admit Sheriffs into their Countries This Winter Commissioners sate at Monaghan in order to settle the Country on the Queen's Patentees and had 100 Soldiers for their Guard they were allarmed and disturbed at the rumour that Con Tyrone's Son was appoaching for which Tyrone was blam'd but he answered That they were frighted at the sight of two Horsemen there being no more near them at the time of the Allarm However the State grew every day more and more jealous of him and the â—ather because he entertained a Friendship with Hughroe who escaped out of Dublin Castle as aforesaid and was now the O Donell his Father being dead and had surprized the Castle of Montross nor did Tyrone's pretence that he did this in order to make O Donell a good Subject give any satisfaction to the State although at the same time he craftily desired the Lords of the Council to interpose so that he might have the Marshal's Love and that they might live friendly together On the 12th of July a Commission issued to Sir Thomas Norris Sir Robert Gardiner Sir Nicholas Walsh 1592. Roger Wilbraham and James Gold to compound with the Inhabitants of Munster for Cess and Purveyance c. and thereupon in September following the Commissioners did make a Composition for three years which amounted yearly to the following Summs viz. The Barony of Orrery 20 00 00 Condons 06 00 00 Kinalea 15 00 00 Ibawne 25 00 00 Fermoy 25 00 00 Ivelegham and Gormlehan alias Barrymore 42 00 00 Clanmorris 50 00 00 Desmond 30 00 00 County of Waterford Poers Country 45 00 00 Decyes 35 00 00 Â Coshmore Coshbride 12 00 00 Â Ifeagh 18 00 00 Â Imokilly 60 00 00 Â Barretts 23 00 00 Â Conrâ—yes 05 00 00 Â Duhallow 30 00 00 Â Muskry 35 00 00 Â Bear and Bantry 13 06 08 Â Carbry 80 00 00 The Barony of Connilo was to pay 25 s. for every quarter of Land and small County but five Shillings per annum and the rest of the County of Limerick 10 s. per annum for every Plow-land The Barony of Kyrricurry was to pay 1 6 8 in lieu of all charges
Pledges and pay such reasonable Fine as Her Majesty shall think fit and so he sign'd a Submission and swore Obedience His Pardon was sign'd the 12th of May and sent to Sir Edward Moor to be delivered I suppose on the receipt of Hostages and on the 31st Tyrone sent the State a kind Letter he had received from the King of Spain but made the Messenger swear that no Copy of it should be taken The Queen was wonderfully pleased with the Pacification of Vlster 25 May 1596. and by her Letters to the Council commended Norris for that great service she upbraids Her Officers in Ireland with the monstrous Accusations brought against them by the Irish and declares she will subdue the stubborn by the Sword but will govern the oppressed by justice therefore she commands them to Unanimity in her Service and to commission Norris and Fenton to settle Connaugh and to examine the many Complaints that are made against Sir Richard Bingham Sir Edward Moor who carried Tyrone's Pardon could not find that Earl who purposely went out of the way to avoid it for three Pinaces with about 200 men and some Powder arrived from Spain in May consigned to O Donell with promise of farther supply as is most probable whereupon the Vlster Lords were so far from observing the late Peace that Tyrone took upon him to make an O Reily and entertain'd a correspondence with Pheagh Mac Hugh and other of the Rebels of Leinster Lib. M. Lambeth and on the 6th of July Tyrone O Rourk Mac William c. sent the Clan-shyhyes to stir up Rebellion in Munster and sign'd a general Letter or Credential to that effect he delay'd taking his Pardon till the 22th of July and even then refused to renounce foreign Aid upon Oath however he put in his Pledges and protested Loyalty and Obedience only to delay the War a little longer for which he was not yet so fully prepared as he desir'd for he had not an answer from Pheagh Mac Hugh till the latter end of August and then he received one to his content For in the beginning of August Pheagh Mac Hugh although he was under protection enter'd into open Rebellion Lib. B. 2. Lambeth and by surprise took and raz'd the Fort of Ballyne Cor and great suspicion was had of the O Moors and some of the Butlers there was noise also of some Spaniards at Sea so that the Lord Deputy complaining that he was not countenanced nor credited in England as he ought to be petitioned to the Lords of the Council there to be a means to remove him from the Government However these Misfortunes were somewhat alleviated by the quiet and peaceable condition of Connaugh which the General Norris and Sir Geoffry Fenton had reduced to terms of Submission The Deputy marched out of Dublin the 18th of September to prosecute Pheagh Mac Hugh and for some time encamped at Rathdrome he took many Preys and slew some Rebels and on the 16th of November caused two of the Pledges which Pheagh Mac Hugh had put in for his good behaviour to be executed in the Camp In like manner the Earl of Ormond effectually prosecuted the Butlers as Sir Anthony Samtbeger did the O Moors and O Connors In the mean time Tyrone is not idle but notwithstanding his Submission and his Pledges Camd. Eliz. 515. he attempted to surprise Armagh and killed 35 men of that Garison he oppos'd the Convoy that carried the Victuals thither and murthered eight of the Garison that went out for Wood his Son in Law Henry Oge made Incursions into the Pale as far as the River Boyne he also endeavour'd to surprise Carlingford Castle and contrary to his Covenant refused to suffer any relief to be brought to the Fort of Blackwater Whereupon the Lord Deputy and Council wrote him a smart Letter on the 30th of November which he answered the 4th of December and alleadg'd that he had just provocation to doe what he did because his Allie and Confederate Pheagh Mac Hugh was prosecuted by the State This was but a lame excuse for that Rebel was not at all comprehended in Tyrone's Articles however General Norris so far espoused O Neal's Quarrel that he wrote to the Council Board that one good Letter would have prevented the danger Armagh is in whereby he covertly reprehended the Deputy's severity But the Board sent him a smart answer and since he understood Tyrone's Humor best they left it to him to relieve Armagh by Force or Treaty as he thought fit On the 30th of December Captain Lea had a Rencounter with Pheagh Mac Hugh and had the good fortune to kill thirty of the Rebels and sent most of their heads to Dublin On the second of January Sir Richard Bingham being a severe Governour and perhaps therefore obnoxious to the Irish who were frequent Transgressours was upon their repeated complaints removed from the Government of Connaugh and Sir Conyers Clifford substituted in his room On the 15th of January General Norris accompanied by Bourchier and Fenton marched from Dublin to re-victual Armagh and on the 22d met with Tyrone who complemented the General at a great rate applauded his Moderation and thank'd him for his Friendship offered to suffer Armagh to be re-victualled as it was without opposition and made all the Protestations of Loyalty and offers of Submission that could be devis'd and desired that the General would procure a new Commission to conclude an everlasting Peace with him which accordingly was granted to Norris Bourchier and Secretary Fenton whereof they gave notice to Tyrone and appointed him to meet on the second of April but he by his Letter of the 15th of March alleadged many frivolous Excuses and though they by their dispatch of the 22d assured him of all reasonable satisfaction 1579. yet he still persisted in his Excuses wherefore they wrote to him again the tenth of April and he by his answer of the 15th made many triviall Complaints and particularly he questioned the General 's Power to make good what he should promise for that possibly the new Deputy should not approve of what they should agree to and therefore he desired a farther day whereupon the General finding too late that he was baffled and abus'd by that cunning Traitor he exclaimed against his Perfidiousness and broke off the Treaty In the mean time O Donell had invaded Connaugh in January and drew most of the late pardoned Rebels into a new Revolt so that Clifford was oblig'd to hasten to that Government Some of the Rebels of the Brenny attempted the Town of Kells but by the Valour and Vigilance of Captain Street they were disappointed and lost 35 of their Company The Deputy made a Journey to Caterlogh and thence to Kilcor and staid thereabouts pursuing Pheagh Mac Hugh and his Abetters from the 18th of February to the 15th of March Lib. B. 2. Lambeth on the 12th of which month 140 Barrels of Powder took fire at
more than 50. There were a great many Projects in England for the Plantation of Ulster 1610. but many things that seem'd speclous in the Theory were afterwards found disadvantageous or impracticable Sir Francis Bacon's Notion was signified by his Letter to the King and is to be found in his Reâ—â—scitatio pag. 255. but it is not so exact as rest of that Great Man's Works However the Lands designed for the Undertakers were this Year disposed to them and two Books of Articles were printed for their better direction and it was particularly mention'd in their Agreements That they should not suffer any Labourer that would not take the Oath of Supremacy to dwell upon their Lands But the incomparable City of London was the Soul and Life of the intended Plantation and therefore the Lords of the Council in his Majesty's behalf entred into Articles with that City the Twenty eighth day of January 1609. to this effect First That Twenty thousand Pounds be levied by the City Fifteen thousand Pounds of it to be expended in the Plantation and Five thousand Pounds in clearing and buying Private Titles Secondly That Two hundred Houses be built at Derry and room for Three hundred more and Four thousand Acres profitable Land to be laid thereto and that the Bishop and Dean shall have convenient Plots for their Houses Thirdly That a hundred Houses be erected in Colerain and room for Two hundred more and Three thousand Acres to be annexed thereto and the King to maintain a Bridge for ever Fourthly That the whole County of Colerain be cleared by the City from all Claims except three or Four Irish Free-holders and the Bishop and Dean of Derry and the City to have the whole Territories of Glancanken and Killetragh and the Patronage of Churches Fifthly That the aforesaid Four thousand and three thousand Acres pay a Fee-farm Rent of Fifty three Shillings and four Pence and be held in Free Burgage and all the rest in Common Socage Sixthly That the City shall have all Customs Tonnage Poundage c. for Ninety nine Years at Six shillings eight pence per Ann. and the Fishing of the Ban and Laghfoyl as far as it ebbs Seventhly The City to have liberty to transport Prohibited Goods growing on their own Lands and the Office of Admiralty in the Counties of Tyrconell and Colerain Eighthly That no Flax Hemp Yarn or Raw Hides be transported from Derry or Colerain without Licence of the City-Officers Ninthly That their Land be freed from all Patents of Privilege and all Compositions and Taxes Tenthly That they have the Castle of Culmore keeping a Ward in it Eleventhly That the Liberties of each Town shall extend three Miles each way and shall have such farther Liberties as shall be thought fit on view of the Charters of London Cinque-Ports Newcastle and Dublin Lastly That the King shall keep necessary Forces a convenient time and that the City shall have Seven years to make demand of any thing reasonable and necessary which cannot be now foreseen and that an Act of Parliament shall pass to ratifie these Articles and the City to build sixty Houses in Derry and forty in Colerain with sufficient Fortifications by November next and to finish all by November 1611. But afterwards on the Twenty eighth of March 1611. the Londoners finding that they could not possibly accomplish their Undertaking within the appointed time petitioned the King that they might be permitted to proceed in their Buildings at Colerain and leave alone Derry till the next Year which was granted provided they would finish Colerain that Summer and fortifie or rather inclose Derry It seems the King and Council of England resolved to proceed effectually to the Reformation of Ireland by making Laws and by putting those that were made in execution and by putting that Kingdom under a regular and methodical Government and in order to it on the twenty fourth day of June 1611. the Lord Carew was sent Commissioner to Ireland to inspect Affairs there and to endeavor to lessen the Publick Charge and to inhance the King's Revenue and to provide for a Parliament He had Five Pounds a day allow'd him from the twentieth of May and Four hundred Pounds Imprest he received in England and was to sign next to the Deputy all Orders of Council-board And tho' the Lord Deputy complain'd that the Forts of Halbowling Castle-ni-park Duncannon Gallway and the Castle of Limrick were not finish'd and repair'd and that the Londoners did not proceed to build at Derry tho' they did at Colerain and that it was necessary to keep a considerable Force in the Kingdom nevertheless the Lord Carew and Council did proceed to lessen the King's Charge 13893 l. by reforming the Army which they reduc'd to 176 Horse 1450 Foot and 123 Warders contrary to the Deputy's Opinion who was therefore traduc'd as partial to Military Men and it seems that immediately the Fort of Castle-ni-park that is the Stone-work of it was built and afterwards a Blockhouse was also erected down lower and almost level with the Water and they also setled the Customs in all parts of the Realm On the thirteenth of July 161â— the former Proclamation of the fourth of July 1605. against Titular Bishops Jesuits Friars c. was reviv'd but so faintly executed that I find mention only of the Titular Bishop of Down and four Friars to have been apprehended thereupon There were also Orders issued to tender the Oath of Supremacy to all Magistrates Justices of the Peace and other Officers and to displace those that would not take it And in August there was an Inquisition by Jury to discover the Breaches of Articles made by the Planters and Undertakers in Munster and particularly Whether any Irish contrary to the Plantation-Covenants were permitted to inhabit or dwell on the Lands granted to the Undertakers Moreover there was a general Muster of the Signiory-men or English Inhabitants on the Plantation-Lands at which no body was found so well supplied with British Tenants as Sir Richard Boyle afterwards Earl of Cork for there were mustered of his own Tenants at Tallow Eighty Horsemen One hundred eighty six Pikemen Two hundred and fifty Shot and Six Halberdiers It is observed That all the Goods and Merchandizes exported and imported this Year did not exceed the Value of 211000 l. and before this time there was so little Foreign-Trade that Seven Years Customs probably from the beginning of the King's Reign to April 1609. did amount to no more in the several Ports than as followeth viz. Â l. s. d. Seven Years Customs in Wexford 36 08 10 Ross 53 10 09 Drogheda 215 02 08 Carigfergus 399 06 07 Youghall 70 00 00 Kingsale 18 02 03 Derry Ballyshanon 35 03 10 Cork 255 11 07 Dingle 01 06 06 Waterford 716 03 07 Dublin 1890 02 01 Dundalk 65 19 06 Gallway 72 17 06 Limrick 141 09 06 Dungarvan 00 13 11 But it seems that this was only the Custom of Prohibited Goods and the
above two thirds of it at most Sâ—ptima mobilum imobilium vero anui proventus quinta pars And so the Parliament was by Proclamation dissolved in October 1615. This Year also was held a Convocation at Dublin which established Articles of Religion in 104 Paragraphs or Sections and among them the Nine Articles agreed on at Lambeth November 20. 1655. are almost verbatim to be found Because of the 〈◊〉 of some Popish Lawyers in the House they were not permitted to practise in Michaelmas Term whereupon the Lord of Rylline and Sir Christopher Plunket petition'd the Lords of the Council in England That the Statute of 2 Eliz. does not extend to the Lawyers that they had spent their Time and Patrimony in Study and they and their Predecesors have done acceptable Service to the Crown in encouraging the ignorant Multitude to embrace the Freedom and Fruition of the Common Law which in comparison of the 〈◊〉 Law is of inestimable value unto them Besides 't is prejudicial to their Clients who have acquainted them with their Evidences some of which have neither English Language nor Money to imploy or instruct others and that it would force them to breed their Children abroad Secondly That the Statute of 2 Eliz. is illegally executed viz. by Indictment so that the Fees are five times the Penalty of the Statute and so two Punishments for one Thing and in stead of Twelve pence Fine designed to the Poor Ten shillings is exacted by Clerks and Officers for Fees Besides the Forfeiture being appropriated to the Poor the Clerk of the Peace has no Right to intermeddle Thirdly That the Judges of Assize do 〈◊〉 into all Forfeitures since last Assize whereas there are Sessions 〈◊〉 wherein perhaps the Party has been punish'd and so may be punish'd twice Fourthly That the Ministers do exact Money for Marriages and Christnings tho they don't officiate and the Ordinaries exact great Sums for Commutation of Penance And in all these Particulars they pray Relief By Virtue of the King's Letter of the 12th of April 1615 a Commission issued to enquire into his Majesties Title to the Counties of Longford and Letrim whereupon a Jury was impanelled and the Inquisition return'd that the Territory of Annaly now the County of Longford containing Nine hundred and Ninety Cartrons of Land was by King Henry the Second granted to Hugh de Lacy who built Castles and planted English there and that they were ousted by the O Feralls in the time of Edward the First and that Faghan O Ferall surrendered that Territory to Queen Elizabeth the 13th of November in the Twenty ninth Year of her Reign and that her Majesty regranted it to him 20 Decemb. 30 Eliz. Proviso the Patent to be void if the Queen had any other Title than that Surrender and it finds the Statute of Absentees And by another Inquisition taken about the same time it appears that the Brehny i. e. the County of Letrim was by King John given to Walter de Lacy who likewise planted it with English which were afterwards violently dispossessed by the O Rourks and Mac Grannells and that O Rourk had three Legitimate Sons and six Bastards that Teige one of his Bastard Sons succeeded him in the Estate and that he had Issue Teige who had Issue Daniel now living and that Brian Second Son of O Rourk had Issue Sir Brian who surrendered that Territory and agreed to take out a Patent but never did it He was executed in England and it was his Son Teige that submitted and took out a Patent Anno 1603. And this Teige married Mary Daughter of Hugh mac Manus O Donell whose two former Husbands Sir Moylmurry mac Swiny and Sir Donell O Cohan were still living by whom the said Teige had Issue Brian and died and whether Brian be a Bastard or not Juratores predict ignorant And the like Inquisition was found about the Territory of Ely O Caroll whereby it appear'd that that Signiory containing Ninety three Plow-lands was surrendred to Edward the Sixth who regranted it to Teige O Caroll and made him Baron of Ely and he dying without Issue his Bastard-son Sir William O Caroll intruded and surrendred to the Queen 28 July 20 Elizabethae and had it regranted to him in Fee-simple and that he died leaving one Daughter Joan Mother of Redmond Burk pretended Baron of Letrim that Sir Charles O Caroll Bastard-son of Sir William intruded and that Joan releas'd to him but he dying without Issue Moelroony mac Teige another Bastard-son of Sir William's intruded and married Margaret O Dwin whose first Husband Tirlagh Ballagh O Coâ—nor was then living and by her had Issue John O Caroll and whether he be a Bastard or not ignorant In the latter end of August came over a Commission bearing date the Fifth of that Month under the Great Seal of England impowering and authorizing the Lord Deputy and others or any Seven of them Quorum the Deputy to be one to Bargain Sell and Conclude for any the King's Mannors Lands Tenements and Hereditaments Spiritual or Temporal within the Realm of Ireland Whereupon many People past Patents wherein was reserved a small Quit-Rent and a Halfpenny an Acre for Waste-land after it be made Arable and Relief as amongst Common Persons The Patentees had free liberty to transport the Produce of the Land to any Part of England or Wales and they had a Clause of Exoneration from Cess Cudyes Coyn Livery Cuttages Resections Kearneâ—y Cosnery Gilletinny and Gillecon and all Impositions except Royal Compositions and Risings out About this time another Plot was discovered to Sir Thomas Phillips of Lemavaddy 1615. by one Teige O Lenan It was contrived by Alexander Mac Donell Bryan Cross O Neal and other principal Irish-men in Tyrone and Tyrconnell the Design was to seize Charlemont and other Forts in Ulster and to murder the Protestants there and elsewhere whil'st the chiefest of the Nobility and Gentry were at the Parliament and they were promised considerable Aids from France Spain and Rome Mr. Sullivan tells us Sullivan 269. That this Lenan was a Criminal Gamester bribed by the Deputy to this Service which is their common Pretence when the Fact is Sworn for he confesses that Lenan gave Evidence against them and that they were by Jury convicted and that Bryan O Neale Art O Neale Roger O Cahan Jeofry O Cahan Alexander Mac Surly Patrick O More Con O Kahan and two Priests were executed for that Treason Regiminis Ang. in Hib. defensio adversus Analect Pag. 54. But Doctor Rives assures us that both Bryan O Neale and Roger O Cahan consessed it in the very same manner and order as Lenan had discovered it And in Dececember Sir Oliver Lambert was sent to the Island of 〈◊〉 to reduce some Scots that were troublesom and Seditious there which he performed by taking the strong Castle of Dunaveg Lib. C. and other less considerable places And soon after it seems that the Lord-Deputy
Displeasure resolv'd to send them into Ireland and therefore a Commission under the Great Seal of England was directed to Sir Dudly Digs Rushworth 55. Sir Thomas Crew Sir Nathaniel Rich and Sir James Perrot and others to inquire of sundry Matters concerning his Majesties Service in Ireland as well in Point of Government Ecclesiastical and Civil as of Revenue and to inspect the State of the Kingdom and propagate Religion settle the Government and improve the Exchequer The Pretence of this Commission was the many Complaints of the Irish against the Lord Deputy not that there was any just occasion for those Accusations but that it is always their Custom to complain of any Governour That is a good Protestant and a good Englishman as this Lord Deputy was in perfection and is therefore to the last Degree hated and scandaliz'd by the Irish Papists and it is no wonder it should be so for their Interests are Diametrically opposite to that of an English Protestant and therefore it does necessarily follow that whoever Is faithful to the English will be odious to the Irish and subject to their Clamours and Contempts However the Lord Deputy was not wanting to his own Vindication and therefore wrote to the King that he met a Cloud of malicious Enemies instead of good Subjects and that even some of the Privy Council were Spies upon him and took occasions to lessen him tho' they had no other Provocation for doing so but his Examination of a certain Patent according to his Majesties special Order and his righting the Church against their Depredations And tho' the King in Answer August 1621. assur'd him That his Reputation stood without blemish and that his Majesty had sent him some Propositions which he was ordered to observe yet the Deputies Enemies not only prevail'd to have the aforesaid Commission of inspection issued but having gain'd that Point they urged that the Commission could not have any considerable Effect whilst the Lord Deputy continued in the Government and therefore procured that a Successor should be nam'd and that being also accomplish'd in the Choice of the Lord Viscount Falkland The Lords of the Council on 25th of January did advise the King by Letter to re-call the Lord Deputy immediately and to appoint Justices till the new Deputy could go over but the King from Nâ—wmarket on the 28th of January Answers That it were dishonourable to serve one in that eminent Station so unkindly without a Crime and that the new Deputy will be there before the Commissioners can be ready to enter on Business and with his own Hand adds this Postscript It was never wont to be my Fashion to disgrace any Ancient Minister of mine before he were heard To this the Lords of the Council on the Tenth of February reply That they design no Disgrace to the Lord Deputy nor do propose but what is usual and what was done on the removal of the Lord Chichester The King answer'd again That it was so done in the Case of the Lord Chichester because he had not resolv'd who should be the Successor However the Lords of the Council prevail'd and tho' the Lord Deputy did on the Ninth of February 1621. write to the Duke of Buckingham That he is content Publick Proclamation should be made That if he had done any wrong he might suffer for it so confident he was of his Innocency yet he suspected the Design of the intended Commission was to scandalize him and to that end the Commissioners were partial and therefore desires that iâ— the Bent of that Commission be against him then indifferent Men should be employ'd and if only Publick Good were design'd by it that then he might be one of the Commissioners yet he could not prevail in any of his Requests but was in May following remov'd tho' he was afterwards found not only Innocent but so deserving that he was soon after his Return created Viscount Grandison of Limbrick in Ireland Baron Trogose of Highworth in England Lord High Treasurer of Ireland and Privy-Counsellor of both Kingdoms ADAM LOFTUS Viscount ELY 1622. Lord Chancellor RICHARD WINGFIELD Viscount POWERSCOURT were sworn Lords Justices on the Fourth day of May and soon after received a Letter of the 29th of May from his Majesty ordering them to allow the new Lord Deputy Falkland his full Entertainment and all Perquisits c. from the day the Lord Grandison surrendred the Sword abating thereout for themselves at the Rate of 2000 l. per Annum for the time till he receives the Sword and that the House and Grounds of Kilmainham and the Port Corn be likewise reserved for the New Lord Deputy And it seems that these Lords Justices had seised the Lord Grandison's Papers after his removal for on the Eighteenth of June the King sent them a Letter to restore the Papers to that Lord's Servants and another Letter of the Twenty fourth of October was sent to the new Deputy to pay the Lord Grandison 230 l. for the Charges of his Voyage to England And on the 24th of July the King reciting That by a former Patent of the Second of November 1620. he had granted unto Sir William Irwing Two third parts of the forfeited Recognizances of Alehouse-keepers which his Majesty did intend to resume he therefore orders the Lords Justices to accept of Sir William's Surrender and in lieu thereof and for his Services to grant him the Fifth part of all the Profit of Ale-Licences for Twenty one Years commencing from the making of the Act of State for paying Three shillings six pence for every Licence But these Commissioners that went to Ireland were very busie in inquiring into the Misgovernment that was so loudly and bitterly complain'd of but they found by experience Rushw 17â— that too many of the Irish will complain without Cause However they publish'd new Instructions in print for the more orderly Government of the Courts of Justice and did declare That for the future the Council-Table should not administer an Oath in Matters of Interest or Title or in Complaints between Party and Party but should keep it self within its proper Bounds and afterwards November 7. 1625. a Proclamation was published to the same Effect These Commissioners did also make an Estimate of the Revenue and thought that it might be improved to 17067 l. 6 s. 8 d. more than it was in Harps i.e. Nine-pence pieces stamped with a Harp on one side which passed for a Shilling in Ireland so that Twenty shillings Irish was but Fifteen shillings Sterling but how much they were mistaken in their Computation will appear by a Table of their Estimate and an Account how the Revenue stood Anno 1632. 1622. 1632. First They supposed that the Officers of the Presidency might be paid out of the Profits of their respective Courts and so there would be saved per Annum 2657 l. 6 s. 8 d. But the Profits of those Courts do not amount to near that Sum and whatever they
of March 1625 having in his Life-time created the Irish Nobility hereafter mentioned viz. February 23d 1603. Rory O Donell Earl of Tyrconnel February 23d 1615. Sir Arthur Chichester Baron of Belfast since Earl of Donegal July 14th 1616. Brabazon Baron of Ardee since Earl of Meath September 29th 1616. Sir Richard Boyle Baron of Yough-hall afterwards Earl of Corke May 25th 1617. Ridgeway Baron of Galenridgeway since Earl of London-Derry July 20th 1617. Moor Baron of Melefont since Earl of Drogheda Septemâ—er 6th 1617. Touchet Earl of Castlehaven and Baron Orior February 17th 1617. Lambert Baron of Cavan since Earl of Cavan Ibid. Bourk Baron of Brittas May 8th 1618. Hamilton Baron of Strabane January 31st 1618. Blunt Baron Mountjoy Ex. June 29th 1619. Mac Donald Viscount Dunlucâ— since Earl and Marquess of Antrim February 19th 1619. Sir Richard Wingfeild Viscount Powerscourt July 1620. Preston Earl of Desmond Viscount Dunmore Ex. May 1621. Dockwray Baron of Culmore Ex. Ibid. Blany Baron of Monaghan March 1st 1621. Henry Power Viscount Valentia Ex. Theo. Butler Viscount Tullagh THE REIGN OF CHARLES I. KING OF England Scotland France AND IRELAND CHARLES the only surviving Son of the Deceased King James 1625. by undoubted Right succeeded his Father in all his Dominions on the 27th day of March 1625 and was accordingly Proclaimed the same day and on the 23d day of June following he was Crowned at the Abby of Westminster with great Solemnity and as to Ireland HENRY Viscount FALKLAND was continued Lord Deputy and other inferior Officers likewise were confirmed in their respective Places but the Affairs of England being not a little out of Order the Irish took advantage thereof to be very high and insolent at home to which they were much encouraged by the Bull of Urban the 8th of the 30th of May 1626. to the English Catholicks exhorting them rather to loose their Lives then to take Noxium illud illicitum Anglicanae fidelitatis Juramentum 1626. quo non Solum id agitur ut fides Regi servetur P. W. Remonstrance 11. sed ut sacrum Universae Ecclesiae sceptrum eripatur Vicariis Dei Omnipotentis that pernicious and uâ—lawful Oath of Allegiance of England which his Predecessor of happy Memory Paul 5th had condemned as such Hereupon it was found necessary to increase the Army to the number of Five thousand Foot and Five hundred Horse the Charge whereof amounted unto 64240 l. 1 s. 2 d. which was more then the Kings Revenue out of which the Civil List was nevertheless to be paid so that it was necessary to find out some other Bund for the support of the Army and until that could be done the Lord Deputy and Council on the 14th of September by their Letters did recommend several Troops and Companies of the Army to the Counties and Towns of the Kingdom to be maintained for three Months and so from three Months to three Months until the last day of March 1628 and this whole Charge or Incumbrance on the Countrey was estimated at 36951 l. 6 s. 7 d. ½ and in the King's Letter of the 22d of September 1626. to raise this Army and that the Countrey should maintain it with Money Cloaths and Victuals his Majesty promises in lieu thereof to Grant certain Graces to the Countrey and particularly to suspend the Composition But the Gentlemen that were Agents from Ireland did to ease the Kingdom from that oppression offer to pay 40000 l. a Year for three Years in the nature of three Subsidies and to pay it quarterly from the first of April 1628. which was accepted of and the same was Paid accordingly until the first day of October 1629. On the 16th of May 1626. 1626. The King reciting a Complaint of Sir Samuel Smith's against the Lord Chancellor and that there was difference between the Lord Deputy and Chancellor 1. Because the Chancellor refused to Seal some Patents offered to him 2. Because he denied to appoint Judges for Circuits when thereunto required by the Deputy 3. Because he refused to appoint Justices of Peace at the Lord Deputies Nomination and made one Justice of the Peace against his Express prohibition to which the Lord Chancellor made Answer That in the first Case there was matter of Equity Convenience of State and Question in Law unresolved and that in the sesond Case he had directions in the time of King James and that in the third Case it was the Priviledge and Jurisdiction of his place Therefore the King orders That the Chancellor bear fitting respect to the Lord Deputy who is his Majesties Representative and as to the Matters in Debate if the Chancellor refuse to Seal any Patent in question for Reasons of State that the Cause be debated in Council and if then they think it fit and the Chancellor still refuses till he has appeal'd to his Majesty as he may it shall be at his Peril if the State suffer by his delay if the Question be in Law that the Judges decide it and if the Chancellor be not satisfied therewith he ought to appeal to the King for farther Directions and particularly about the Patent for Tanning Leather As to the Second if the Chancellor will not appoint Judges as the Lord Deputy desires that then it be refer'd to the Council-board and their Sentence be definitive as to that And as to the Third the Chancellor will not refuse to make any Man a Justice of the Peace recommended by the Lord Deputy if he does that then the Order of the Council-Table shall govern that Matter and in all these Cases it becomes the Chancellor to repair to the Deputy and acquaint him with his Reasons whenever he refuses And as for Sir Samuel Smith's Complaint his Case was that he had the sole Nomination of those that should be Licensed to Sell Aquavitae and did set that Priviledge to one Miagh for the County of Cork the King appoints the Chief Justice Chief Baron and Sir John King to Arbitrate that Matter and to make Reparation to Miagh whose Patent must be called in because he is an infamous Person and unfit for that Trust and a new Patent for that County must be Granted to whom Sir Samuel Smith shall name In the same Month of May the King sent an Order to the Lord Deputy to make a Lord High Steward c. for the Tryal of the Lord of Dunboyn by his Peers upon an Indictment found against him in the County of Typerary for killing a Man and in January after the Earl of Marleburgh Duke of Buckingham and the Lords of Pembrook Dorset Grandison Conway and Carlton and Sir Richard Weston were made Commissioners or rather a Committee for Irish Affairs And on the Eighth of February Edward Brabazon Baron of Ardee was ordered to be Earl of Catherlogh but for what Reasons I know not he had not that Title but was afterwards made Earl of Meath And on the Second of March his Majesty sent an Order
that Our Realm are to be admitted to Sue their Liveries Ouster le Mains and other Grants depending in Our Court of Wards taking only the Oath here under expressed and any other Oath to be forborn in that Case And the Natives of that Kingdom being Lawyers and who were heretofore Practisers there shall be admitted to practise again and all other Natives of that Nation that have been or shall be Students at the Inns of Court in England for the space of Five Years and shall bring any Attestation sufficient to prove the same are also to be freely admitted by the Judges there to practise the Law taking only the said Oath I A. B. do truly acknowledge profess testifie and declare in my Conscience before God and the World That our Sovereign Lord King CHARLES is Lawful and Rightful King of this Realm and of all other His Majesty's Dominions and Countries And I will bear Faith and true Allegiance to His Majesty His Heirs and Successors and Him and Them will defend to the uttermost of my Power against all Conspiracies and Attempts whatsoever which shall be made against His or Their Crown and Dignity and do my best endeavor to disclose and make known unto His Majesty or His Heirs and Successors or to the Lord Deputy or other Governor for the time being all Treasons and Traiterous Conspiracies which I shall know or hear to be intended against His Majesty or any of Them And I do make this Recognition and Acknowledgment heartily willingly and truly upon the true Faith of a Christian So help me God XVI All Compositions in the Court of Wards or Alienations made bona fide for valuable Considerations Intrusions Primier Seisins Ouster les Mains and Liveries are to be reduced and limited to the Eighth part of the true Value of the Lands and Hereditaments so to be Compounded for And all Wardships and Custodies of Lands during the Minority of Our Wards are to be moderately valued according to the Discretion of the Judges of that Court Provided That if any Alienations shall be made whereby We shall be prevented of Primier Seisin and Relief of Wardship and that sufficiently proved In all such Cases Our said Court of Wards is not to be restrained to the limitation of the Rates of the Alienations as aforesaid but our Officers of the same are to impose such reasonable Rates and Values as may recompence Us in some measure of those Duties and Profits which otherwise should have accrued unto Us if no Alienation to Uses had been made XVII Our Court of Wards is not to make any Inquiries further then to the last Deceased Ancestor except it be by Special direction from Us. XVIII All Escheators and Feodaries are to be specially directed where any Freeholders Estate in Land doth not exceed the worth of Five Pound English yearly in the true improved value to return the Offices taken of such Land into the proper Courts without Charge to the Subject or other Fees to any Court or Officer save only Ten Shillings Sterling to the Officer that shall take and return the Office but no Charge is to be set upon the said Lands nor any Process to issue upon the said Inquisitions but only for our Reliefs due upon the Tenures Provided that if any such Freeholder have the value of one Hundred Marks English in Chattels Real or Offices then this Grace is not to be extended to him although his Estate in Land be under Five Pound per Annum XIX In General leading Cases that Court is to be regulated according to the Laws and Courses practised here in England whereof Our Judges here shall deliver their Opinions if it shall be desir'd And our Judges of that Court there are to nominate some of the best Quality of the several Counties to be joyned in Commission with the Feodary or Escheator to take Inquisitions XX None of the Clerks or inferior Ministers of that Court or Servant to any of the said Court is to be a Commissioner for taking Offices Not intending hereby to exclude the Officers of the said Court and others who by their Places are to be Commissioners XXI No Grants of Intrusions or Alienations or Leases of Mens Lands are to be made out of that Court to any before the Party interessed shall have personal warning and Affidavit returned thereof who is to be preferred before any other if he come in the next Term after the Office is returned and will accept it at the Rates thought fit by the Court. XXII Upon a Contempt in that or any other Court the first Attachment is to be directed to the Sheriff and if he make not a good return and the Party come not in during that Term to purge his Contempt then the further Process is to be directed to the Persuivant and no further in our Court of Wards Our Exchequer in this Point is to proceed according to the Law and Ancient Custom of that Court and our other Ancient Courts are to bold their Ancient Course and not to permit any Innovations of sending Messengers or other Officers XXIII For reducing and moderating of Fees taken by Officers and Clerks in our Courts there whereof great Complaint is made It is Our Pleasure That a Commission be directed under our Great Seal of that Our Realm to the Persons nominated in a List Signed by Us and herewith sent unto you for the regulating of Fees of all Courts Spiritual and Temporal according to the Form of a like Commission Granted here in England to some of Our Council here and others whereof a Copy is transmitted unto you upon return whereof an Act of State to pass for Establishing the same accordingly untill there may be an Act of Parliament XXIV For the better settling of our Subjects Estates in that Kingdom We are pleased That the like Act of Grace shall pass in the next Parliament there touching the limitation of our Titles not to extend above Sixty years as did pass 21 Jacobi Regis wherein are to be excepted the Lands whereunto We are intituled by Offices already taken and those already disposed of by our Directions And We are further Graciously pleased for a more ample Testimony of Our Goodness to Our Subjects of that Kingdom to direct hereby That from henceforth no advantage be taken for any Title accrued to Us Sixty years and above Except only to such Lands in the Kings County and Queens County whereunto We are intituled by Offices already taken within the said Term of Sixty years and which are not yet Granted nor Lawfully conveyed from Us and Our Crown XXV And We are Graciously pleased and accordingly do hereby require You That You give present Order for the Inhabitants of Conaught and County of Clare to have their Surrenders made in the time of our late most Dear Father inrolled in our Chancery there as of the time of our said Father according to the Date of the said Surrenders and allowing what Fees were formerly paid for
the Judges of Assize in Open Court calling to their assistance at least Four of the Justices of the Peace and that only in Cases where all the Points and Circumstances limited by the Statute in that behalf shall be proved the same to be presented by the Jury so as none of the Jurors be of the Hundred where the Fact was done XXXVII All the Nobility Undertakers and others who hold Estates or Offices in that Kingdom are to make their Personal Residence there and not to leave it without Licence such Persons only excepted as are imployed in Our Service in England or attend here by Our special Command And in the Subsidies and all other Payments towards the Charge of Our Army there all those who hold Titles of Honour and no Estates in that Kingdom are to be rated and to contribute and pay equally as the rest of the Nobility of the like Degrees that have Estates and reside in Ireland for which We will give further Order upon an Assessment to be made and transmitted to Us from you XXXVIII No Judges nor Commissioners shall grant Reprieval to notorious Malefactors but with the Advice of the Justices of the Peace of the County then assisting or a competent Number of them XXXIX Where Undertakers have built upon Glebe-lands they are to sue forth Commissions out of the Chancery or Exchequer to select Commissioners to be named by the Undertakers and the Incumbent or if the Incumbent will not agree then the Court to make choice of indifferent Commissioners who are to set an indifferent Yearly Value of the said Parcel of Glebe-land and return the same to the Court who are to order the Incumbents successively to accept of the same from the Undertakers as a Yearly Rent for the said Parcel and for other Lands recovered against the Undertakers as Church-lands the Parties grieved are to sue in the Exchequer for Abatement of their Rents proportionably XL. All Scotishmen Undertakers in Ulster and in other Places there ar to be made Free Denizens of that Our Kingdom and no Advantage for want of Denization to be taken against the Heirs or Assigns of those that be dead XLI For examining what Rectories and Impropriations are now in Lay-mens Hands out of which there have been anciently Vicarages endowed with competent Maintenance for the Vicars which now are by Laymen possessed whereby the Service of God is neglected and for Reformation of that great Abuse you are forthwith to issue Commission to some Persons of Worth and Integrity free from that Imputation to examine and reform the said Abuse And such Persons as have great Rectories whereunto there are Chapels of Ease belonging somewhere six or seven Miles distant from the Mother-Church are to be enjoyned to keep Preaching Ministers in those Parts having competent Allowance to defray the same XLII No Person against whom any Judgment or Execution hath past in Course of Common Law or Decree in Chancery upon matter of Equity is from henceforth to have any Protection granted him nor any Person flying out of England into Ireland to defraud or shun the Prosecution of his Creditors is to be sheltred or protected from the Justice of the Law under colour of being a Soldier in any of Our Companies in that Our Kingdom XLIII No Witnesses between Party and Party at Sessions or Assizes or before any Commissioners whatsoever are to be bound over to the Castle-Chamber and if Information be put in against any such then a Relator to be named who shall be thought sufficient to answer a Recompence to the Party informed against according to the Award of the Court if sufficient Ground shall not appear of the Information XLIV Soldiers accused of Capital Crimes are to be left to be proceeded withal according to the Law and the Commissions for Reforming and Restraining the Abuses and Oppressions of Soldiers such as have lately issued under Our Great Seal there are to be directed especially to Persons of Quality having Freehold and Residence in the County And such Matters as cannot be ordered by them to be especially determined by a Committee of the Judges and others of Our Council to be nominated by you of which none are to be Captains of Horse or Foot XLV The New Corporations as well as the Ancient are to be assessed towards all General Country Charges and all Impropriations and Temporal Lands of Ecclesiastical Persons shall bear equal Contributions in Publick Charges in the Country and the Towns XLVI Such of the Barony of Carbery in the County of Cork as have Assignments from Sir James Simple Knight and have not as yet past their Patents accordingly are to be admitted to take out their Grants notwithstanding Our late Dear Father's Restriction of Grants and in their Tenures they are not to be prejudiced by any Office taken since the said Assignments from Sir James Simple unless the said Office be grounded upon some ancient Patent or Office upon Record before the Date of the said Assignments Nevertheless you are to provide That by pretext of this Our Grace no new Grants be made of any Lands within that Barony that are already passed by Letters Patents to any Person whatsoever XLVII Sheriffs are not to take above Three pence Fine upon any Person for not appearing at their Leets and if they appear then to take nothing at all And to such as are once sworn to the Allegiance they are to give a Ticket and of those no Fee to be demanded afterward for Swearing of them And for such as have been heretofore or shall hereafter be sworn and cannot produce their Ticket if they take Oath that they have been once sworn then they are not to be sworn again nor pay any more Fee And the Justices of Peace are not henceforth to give any Warrant for the Collecting or Levying of any Fines whatsoever but in Publick Sessions and by Extent under the Seal of the Quarter-Sessions XLVIII For delivering Possessions upon Judgments at Common Law Decree in Chancery or other Legal Injunction the Sheriffs are not to exact or take any other Fee than is limited by the Statutes in England for like Causes and that to be Irish Money And if any Sheriff shall demand or take more he is to be proceeded against and censured for Extortion XLIX No extraordinary Warrants of Assistance toâ—ching Clandestine Marriages Christnings or Burials or any Contumacies pretended against Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction are to be issued by the Lord Deputy or any other Governors nor executed Nor are the Clergy to be permitted to keep any private Prisons of their own for these Causes but the Delinquents in that kind are henceforth to be committed to Our Publick Gaols and that by Our Officers according to the Ordinary Proceeding of the same And all unlawful Exactions taken by the Clergy are to be reformed and regulated by the Commission there before mentioned L. If any Person shall be Outlawed upon an Action of Debt and thereupon a Seisure issued or a Custodium
Lord Deputy He was sworn on the Third of April and was an intimate Friend of the Lord Lieutenants and was suspected to have imployed Agents to raze out of the Journal-Book of the House of Commons some Instructions that were agreed upon by that House for a Committee to Impeach the Earl of Strafford but it is certain he did what he could to hinder that Committee from going to England And besides Persuasions Rushw 469. he proceeded to forbid them that voyage upon their Allegiance Nevertheless they all got away privately some from one Port and some from another and came safely to England This Committe were the Lords Gormanstowne Killmallock Costilo and Baltinglass for the Upper House Nicholas Plunket Sir Robert Digby Richard Fitz-Gerrald and Nicholas Barnwall for Leinster Sir Hardress Waller John Welsh Sir Donough mac Cartby for Munster Robert Linch Geoffry Browne and Thomas Burk for Connught and Sir William Cole and Sir James Mountgomery for Ulster and they carried with them a Remonstrance from the Irish Parliament against the Earl of Strafford whom they prosecuted effectually and were under-hand so to do by the Discontented part of the Parliament of England And because this Remonstrance contains a great part of the History of those Times I have thought necessary to add it in haec verba To the Right Honourable the Lord Deputy The Humble and Just Remonstrance of the Knights Citizens and Burgesses of the Parliament Assembled SHEWING THat in all Ages since the happy Subjection of this Kingdom to the Imperial Crown of England Rushw 11. it was and is a Principal Study and Princely Care of His Majesty and His Noble Progenitors Kings and Queens of England and Ireland to the vast Expence of Treasure and Blood that their Loyal and Dutiful People of this Land of Ireland being now for the most part derived from British Ancestors should be Governed according to the Municipal and Fundamental Laws of England that the Statute of Magna Charta or the Great Charter of the Liberties of England and other Laudable Laws and Statutes were in several Parliaments here Enacted and Declared that by the means thereof and of the most prudent and benign Government of His Majesty and His Royal Progenitors this Kingdom was until of late in its growth a flourishing Estate whereby the said People were heretofore enabled to answer their humble and natural Desires 〈◊〉 comply with His Majesty's Princely and Royal Occasions by their Free Gift of One hundred and fifty thousand pounds Sterling and likewise by another Free Gift of One hundred and twenty thousand pounds more during the Government of the Lord Viscount Faulkland and after by the Gift of Forty thousand pounds and their free and chearful Gift of Six intire Subsidies in the Tenth Year of His Majesty's Reign which to comply with His Majesty 's then Occasions signified to the them House of Commons they did allow should amount in the Collections unto Two hundred and Fifty thousand pounds although as they confidently believe if the Subsidies had been Levied in a moderate Parliamentary way they would not have amounted to much more than half the Sum aforesaid besides the Four intire Subsides granted in this present Parliament So it is may it please Your Lordship by the occasion of the ensuing and other Grievances and Innovations though to His Majesty no considerable Profit this Kingdom is reduced to that extream and universal Poverty that the same is lesâ— able to pay Subsidies than it was heretofore to satisfie all the before-recited great Payments And His Majesty's most Faithful People of the Land do conceive great Fears that the said Grievances and Consequences thereof may be hereafter drawn into Precedents to be perpetuated upon their Posterity which in their great Hopes and strong Beliefs they are persuaded is contrary to His Royal and Princely Intention towards His said People Some of which said Grievances are as followeth I. The general apparent Decay of Trades occasioned by the new and illegal raising of the Book of Rates and Impositions upon Native and other Commodities exported and imported by reason whereof and of extreme Usage and Censures Merchants are beggar'd and both disenabled and discouraged to Trade and some of the Honourable Persons who gain thereby are often Judges and Parties and that in the conclusion His Majesty's Profit thereby is not considerably advanced II. The Arbitrary Decision of all Civil Causes and Controversies by Paper Petitions before the Lord Lieutenant and Lord Deputy and infinite other Judicatories upon Reference from them derived in the nature of all Actions determinable at the Common Law not limited into certain Time Cause Season or Thing whatsoever and the Consequences of such Proceedings by receiving immoderate and unlawful Fees by Secretaries Clerks Pursuivants Serjeants at Arms and otherwise by which kind of Proceedings His Majesty loseth a great part of His Revenue upon Original Writs and otherwise and the Subject loseth the Benefit of his Writ of Error Bill of Reversâ—l Vouchers and other legal and just Advantages and the ordinary Course and Courts of Justice declined III. The Proceedings in Civil Causes at Council-board contrary to the Law and Great Charter not limited to any certain Time or Season IV. That the Subject is in all the Material Parts thereof denied the Benefit of the Princely Graces and more especially of the Statute of Limitations of 24 Jac. granted by His Majesty in the Fourth Year of His Reign upon great Advice of the Councils of England and Ireland and for great Consideration and then published in all the Courts of Dublin and in all the Counties of this Kingdom in open Assizes whereby all Persons do take notice that contrary to His Majesty's Pious Intentions His Subjects of this Land have not enjoyed the Benefit of His Majesty ' Princely Promise thereby made V. The Extrajudicial Avoiding of Letters Patents of Estates of a very great part of His Majesty's Subjects under the Great Seal the Publick Faith 〈◊〉 the Kingdom by Private Opinions delivered at the Council-board without Legal Evictions of their Estates contrary to Law and without Precedent or Example of any former Age. VI. The Proclamation for the Sole Emption and Uttering of Tobacco which is bought at very low Rates and uttered at high and excessive Rates by means whereof thousands of Families within this Kingdom and of His Majesty's Subjects in several Islands and other Parts of the West-Indies as your Petitioners are informed are destroyed and the most part of the Coin of this Kingdom is engrossed into particular Hands insomuch that your Petitioners do conceive that the Profit arising and engrossed thereby doth surmount His Majesty's Revenue Certain or Casual within this Kingdom and yet His Majesty receiveth but very little Profit by the same VII The universal and unlawful Encreasing of Monopolies to the Advantage of a Few the Disprofit of His Majesty and Impoverishment of His People VIII And the extreme cruel Usage of certain late Commissioners and
Commission to the Earl of Ormond and him to Govern the County of Kilkenny of the same Tenor as Appendix 8. they thought to colour their Proceedings thereby and therefore invited him to be their General And it seems his Lordship was ready to embrace the Offer for in the latter end of January he came with Fifteen Companies to Cashell and being assisted by Purcell Titular Baron of Loghmore to whom likewise the Lords Justices had sent Arms and by the Lords of Ikerin Dunboyn Cahir and Castleconell they took Ballyowen and blockt up Gowlin and Knockordan and then marched to Kilmallock and so towards Mallow but near the Mountain above Donerayl the Lord president faced the Rebels He had with him the Lords Barymore Dungarvan and Broghill Sir Hardress Waller Sir Edward Denny Sir John Brown Major Searle and Captain Kingsmill and about Six hundred Foot and Three hundred Horse Whilst he staid there the Rebels did not dare to advance but his Presence being necessary at Cork he was after eight days stay thereabouts obliged to retire to that City whereupon the Irish advanc'd to Mallow and took the short Castle there upon Articles which they did not perform At Mallow there arose a Difference amongst the Irish about the Supreme Command of the Army The Lord Roch and others of Munster thought they ought to have a General of their own Province and to avoid Competition amongst the Lords they pitch'd upon Garret Barry and appointed the Lord Muskery and other Great Men to be the Council of War Hereupon the Lord Mountgarret return'd to Typerary where he met the News That the Men which were in Gowlin Castle had escaped into the Mountains where most of them were murdered by James Butler of Ruskagh for which Fact he was tried before Colonel Sanky Anno 1653. and afterwards hang'd and that the Women and Children left in the Castle were likewise inhumanly butcher'd by the Irish for which Barbarity Peirce Butler and his Son Thomas James Butler of Boyton-Rath and Thomas Kent were likewise tried condemned and executed Anno 1653. As for the County of Cork which by the noble Plantations made by the Earl of that Name became the best inhabited with English of any County in that Kingdom it was in a great measure preserv'd by the Generosity and Diligence of that Earl who was then newly return'd out of England he rais'd Two Troops of Horse under his Sons the Lords of Kinalmeky and Broghil and Four hundred Foot all which he maintained for some Months as his own Charge and sent a hundred of them to Asketon a hundred to Lismore and kept Two hundred with himself at Youghall Nevertheless that County was not without its share of Disturbance tho' it was the last County wherein the Rebellion broke out and they began it as elsewhere by robbing and plundring bare-fac'd and at Noon-day and in Multitudes and afterwards committed some Murders but not so many as in other Places because the English were powerful in this County and therefore the Rebels were in more fear to be called to account for their Exorbitances However at Glandore they gagg'd several English to death and in another place they ty'd an Englishman's Guts to the Post and made him dance round it till he died they broil'd a piece of a Scotch Minister's Breech and made him eat it they hang'd Robert Scot of Newcestown and his two Daughters in Muskery tho' he went voluntarily there to a Friend for Protection and in like manner John Burrows was serv'd at Ballynorohur by his Landlord Mac-ni-crimin who was tried and executed for it afterwards at Bandon They hang'd Andrew a Servant of Mr. Hazell's and which was worse than all he rest Mr. Linscomb Sovereign of Cloghnikilty having much Intimacy with the Irish staid behind his Neighbors in confidence of Protection but contrary to his Expectation and their Promises they first made him drunk till he vomited and then made him eat it up and immediately hang'd him at his own Door and having by Promises of sending her safe to Kinsale persuaded his Wife to discover 120 l. in Money she had hid at Muckrus as soon as they got it they threw her and her Sister into a deep Pit and there they left them till they were starved And altho' there were not many downright Murthers committed in this County yet by reason of the universal Robbing and Plundring and the great Want and Hardships this Insurrection exposed the miserable English to many thousands of them perished and particularly in the Town of Bandon there died above a Thousand in the first Year of this Rebellion and great Numbers likewise met with the same Fate at Cork Kinsale and Youghall To stop this Torrent the Lord President raised a Regiment of Foot and Two Troops of Horse and did what he could to prepare for his Defence And it was but needful to do so for the Rebels being extraordinary numerous thought themselves able to besiege Cork Kinsale and Bandon at the same time In order to this Mr. Long High Sheriff of the County of Cork form'd a Camp at Belgooly about Two Miles from Kinsale and to him came Mac-Finin's Brother called Captain Sugane and march'd from Kerry through Muskery and Carbery to the Camp and Dermond ni Glack of Littergorman with another Party march'd down to Kilgoban-Castle on the River of Bandon and surprized it This Camp at Belgooly continued the rest of this Winter and was supplied with Ammunition and other Necessaries even from some of the Popish Inhabitants of Kinsale but at length half the Lord Baltinglass his Company being Forty five Men arrived by Sea at Kinsale on the Fifth of April and brought with them Eight Barrels of Powder whereof Six were the next day sent to Bandon guarded by the Bandon Troop which fell into an Ambuscade but the Kinsale Troop just then parted from them return'd seasonably to their Succour and between them they kill'd Eighty of the Rebels and then each Troop return'd safe to their respective Garisons and the next day the Camp at Belgooly was dissolv'd and most of the Soldiers went to reinforce the Blockade at Cork And about the same time viz. in February Mac Carthy Riagh who had dissembled the Matter and pretended Loyalty and that he would side with the English until he got some Arms from the Lord Viscount Kinalmeky and then declared the very next day with about Three thousand raw Men and ill armed came to besiege the Town of Bandon But the valiant Bandonians scorned to be pent up by such a pitiful Rabble and therefore having form'd themselves into Four Companies under the Captains Watkins Woodhouse Jefford and Hooper and One Troop Battel of Knockagarane under their Governor the Lord Kinalmeky they sallied out and whilst the Foot marched up the direct Road to Cloghnakilty the Horse went round by Castlemahon so to fall on the Rear but the Foot came up first and one Company led by Captain Watkins within-side the Ditch
thousand five hundred Pounds yet for the better furthering of the Service we desire Ten thousand Pounds if it may stand with your Convenience 6. That their Pay which was condescended unto from the Eighth of December be presently advanced to the Eighth of February next against which time we are confident they shall be ready to march 7. That a Man of Wâ—r or some Mâ—rchants Ships be sent from Bristol Westchester or Dublin to 〈◊〉 for a Safe Convoy and Guard of the Passage because they 〈…〉 Boats may be subject to Inconveniences from the Enemy 〈…〉 we hear are towards that Coast 8. That the sending 〈…〉 thâ—se Men be without prejudice to the Proceeding of the Treaty which we desire may go on without any delay Westm 24. Jan. 1641. JA. PRYMROSE Which Proposals were approved of by Both Houses but the King disliked the Third Article as appears by His Answer viz. His Majesty having perused and considered these Eight Propositions presented by the Scots Commissioners doth willingly consent to them all except only the Third which His Majesty doth not approve and wisheth the Houses to take that Article again into Consideration as a Business of very great Importance which His Majesty doubts may be prejudicial to the Crown of England and the Service intended And if the Houses desire it His Majesty shall not be unwilling to speak with the Scots Commissioners to see what Satisfaction he can give them therein And the next day they waited upon him and told him That since it was only Matter of Trust that was in debate they hoped that he who was their Native King would not shew less Confidence in them than the English Nation had done Whereupon His Majesty consented rather than the necessary Supplies for Ireland should be delay'd And on the Fourteenth of February a Committee of Both Houses went with a Message to the Spanish Ambassador to this effect That the Parliament were informed Husbands 79. That some Vessels in Dunkirk laden with Arms and Ammunition were designed for Ireland and that if they or any such Ships were suffered to go thence it should be interpreted a Breach of the Peace between England and Spain To which the Ambassador answered That he would be careful to continue the League between both Crowns and did assure them that those Ships were not bound for Ireland And on the same Fourteenth day of February His Majesty sent a Message to Both Houses in which are these Words For Ireland in behalf of which His Majesty's Heart bleeds as His Majesty hath concurred with all Propositions made for that Service by His Parliament so He is resolved to leave nothing undone for their Relief which shall fall within His possible Power nor will refuse to venture His own Person in that War if His Parliament shall think it convenient for the Reduction of that miserable Kingdom And in the same Month the Parliament knowing that the Sale of the Rebels forfeited Estates was the best way to prevent future Rebellions by English Plantations in Ireland and to raise Money for suppressing of this did vote as followeth viz. THe Lords and Commons taking into their serious Considerations Husbands 84. as well the Necessity of a speedy Reducing of the Rebels of Ireland to their due Obedience as also the great Sums of Money that the Commons of this Realm have of late paid for the Publick and Necessary Affairs of the Kingdom whereof the Lords and Commons are very sensible and desirous to embrace all good and honorable Ways tending to His Majesty's Greatness and Profit the Setling of that Realm and the Ease of His Majesty's Subjects of England And whereas divers Worthy and Well-affected Persons perceiving that many Millions of Acres of the Rebels Lands of that Kingdom which go under the name of Profitable Lands will be confiscate and to be disposed of and that in case Two Millions and a half of those Acres equally taken out of the Four Provinces of that Kingdom may be allotted for the Satisfaction of such Persons as shall disburse any Sums Money for the Reducing of the Rebels there it would effectually accomplish the same have made these Propositions ensuing 1. That Two Millions and a half of those Acres may be assigned allotted and divided amongst them after this Proportion viz. For each Adventurer of 200 l. 1000 Acres in Ulster 300 l. 1000 Acres in Conaught 450 l. 1000 Acres in Munster 600 l. 1000 Acres in Leinster all according to English Measure and consisting of Meadow Arable and profitable Pasture the Bogs Woods and barren Mountains being cast in over and above These two Millions and a half of Acres to be holden in free and common Soccage of the King as of his Castle of Dublin 2. That out of those two Millions and a half of Acres a constant Rent shall be reserved to the Crown of England after this Proportion viz. Out of each Acre thereof in Ulster 1 d. Conaught 1 ob Munster 2 q. Leinster 3 3. That for the erecting of Mannors settling of Waste and Commons maintaining of Preaching Ministers creating of Corporations and regulating of the several Plantations one or more Commissions be hereafter granted by Authority of Parliament 4. That Monies for this great Occasion may be the more speedily advanced all the Undertakers in the City of London and within 20 Miles distance thereof shall under-write their several Sums before the Twentieth day of March 1641. and all within Sixty Miles of London before the First day of April 1642. and the rest of the Kingdom before the First day of May 1642. 5. That the several Sums to be under-written shall be paid in at four Payments viz. one fourth part within ten days after such under-writing and the other three parts at three Months three Months and three Months all to be paid into the Chamber of London 6. That for the better Securing of the said several Sums accordingly every one that doth so under-write shall at the time of his Subscription pay down the twentieth part of the Total Sum that shall be by him then under-written And in case that the residue of his first fourth part be not paid in to such person or persons as shall be appointed to receive the same within the ten days before limitted then such Party shall not only forfeit the twentieth part of the Sum total formerly deposited but so much more of his first fourth Payment to be added thereunto as shall make up the one Moyety of the said first Payment And if the same Person shall fail in any other of the three Payments he shall then Forfeit his entire first fourth and all the Benefit of his Subscription which Forfeiture shall accrue to the common Benefit of the rest of the Undertakers The Lords and Commons upon due and mature Deliberation of these Propositions have approved of them and given their consent unto the same and will become humble Petitioners to His Majesty for His Royal Approbation thereof and
and attacked them so briskly that they quickly fled but by reason of the adjacent Bog and the harrass'd Condition of the English Horse there was not much Execution done the number of the Slain not exceeding Five hundred amongst which were the Lord Dunboyn's Brother the Lord Ikerin's Son and Colonel â—â—vâ—nagh and on the English side not above Twenty killed and Forty wounded However it was an entire Victory all their Powder and Amunition the Generals Waggon drawn with Eight Oxen his and the Lords of Ikerin's Sumptures and Twenty Colours being taken and for this great Service the Lieutenant General had a Letter of thanks from the Parliament of England and a Jewel worth 500 l. Soon after arrived at Dublin Philip Lord Lisle Lieutenant General of the Horse and his first Essay was to relieve the Castle of Geashill which with Three hundred Horse and One hundred and twenty Foot he easily effected he was accompanied by old Sir Charles Coot in this Action who at a Council of War told the rest that if they made haste they might easily pass the Defiles and Causeways before the Enemy could get together to oppose them whereto another reply'd that perhaps that might be so but when the Countrey was Alarm'd how should they get back I protest said Sir Charles Coot I never thought of that in my Life I always considered how to do my business and when that was done I got home again as well as I could and hitherto I have not mist of forcing my way and accordingly they went and their march was so swift that they came unexpectedly to Phillipstowne and took it and on their return they followed some of the Popish Lords of the Pale to Trim and forced that place likewise and by Coot's advice resolved to make it a Garison and therefore in order to settle this Affair with the Lords Justices the Lord Lisle guarded by some of the Horse went to Dublin but the next night after he was gone the Irish to the number of Three thousand came in the dead of the night to surprise Trim but the Centinel gave the Alarm and thereupon Sir Charles Coot with all the Horse he could get being not above Seventeen issued out of the Gate and was followed by others as fast as they could get ready The Success was answerable to so generous an Undertaking and the Irish were routed without any other considerable Loss on the English Side except that of Sir Charles Coot himself who was shot dead but whether by the Enemy or one of his own Troopers is variously reported Upon his Death the Government of Dublin was given to the Lord Lambert on the Twelfth of May and tho' in July Colonel Monk had it by the Lord Lieutenant's Order yet as soon as the King was informed that it had been predisposed to the Lord Lambert Monk was removed and the Lord Lambert was confirmed And on the Twenty third of May the Marquis of Ormond publish'd a Proclamation against the Exorbitances of the Soldiers and to supply their Necessities the Lords Justices gave them Custodiums on the Villages in the Irish Quarters which produced good Effects both in relieving the Soldiers and in annoying the Rebels On the first of June came over some Regiments under the Conduct of Sir Foulk Hunks and Lieutenant Colonel Kirke whereupon the Earl of Ormond with Four thousand five hundred Foot and Six hundred Horse marched to the Relief of Athlone and in his way took in the Castles of Knocklinch Trimletstown and Kinkelfe and beat Five hundred Rebels from Ballynecurr but upon his approach the Rebels burnt Molingar and Bullymore and Sir James Dillon and the Irish Army thought fit to withdraw so that the Lord President of Connaught with Fifty Horse and Two hundred Foot met the Marquis of Ormond Five Miles from Athlone and received from him Two Regiments of Foot and Two Troops of Horse and then both these Lords return'd the one to Athlone and the other to Dublin About the same time viz. in June Colonel Monk marching to reinforce the Lieutenant-General took Castleknock and killed Eighty Rebels besides some that he hanged and a while after he took the Castles of Rathroffy and Clongowswood in the County of Kildare and did good Execution upon the Enemy and of Seventy which he had taken Prisoners most of them being murdering Rebels were afterwards executed at Dublin And on the Twentieth of the same Month Colonel Gibson made a prosperous Incursion into Wicklow and killed many of the Confederates and brought home a considerable Prey But on the Twenty first of June the Irish Parliament sat according to the Prorogation and the Lower House voted That the Oath of Supremacy should be tendred to all their Members that so the Rotten ones may be cut off and new ones chosen in their room and to that purpose a Bill was prepar'd and sent into England and it seems that they did proceed to chuse new Members for the Corporations and Counties within their power in stead of those that were in actual Rebellion which was one of the Grievances the Confederates afterwards complain'd of And it is worthy Observation The Proclamation Burlace Append. p. 57. That the Lords Justices and Council finding the Rebellion to be so general that all Degrees and Conditions of the Irish had with hateful and bloody obstinacy either publickly or privately contributed to the Destruction and Extirpation of the Protestants and that those under Protection abused that Favour to murder and rob the English the more slily and securely they did by their Order of the Nineteenth of August revoke repeal and annul all Protections that had been given to any Rebel before that time which was one of the wisest Acts that was done in the whole War for nothing is more experimentally true than this That the English never or very seldom suffered by the Irish at open Defiance but have been often destroyed by their Perfidiousness and Treachery But to proceed In August the Lord Moor Sir John Burlace junior and Colonel Gibson with Fifteen hundred Men two Pieces of Battery and two Field-pieces marched into the Counties of Louth and Meath and took the strong Castle of Sedan with the Slaughter of Five hundred Rebels whereat the Lords Gormanstown and Nettervill were so frightned that the former quitted the Fort of Nabar and the other deserted the Castle of Newtown whereby those Counties of Louth and Meath were cleared of the Enemy And this good Success was followed by more of the same sort for the Captains Piggot and Grimâ—s defeated a Party of Eight hundred Rebels near Athy and killed Two hundred of them and the Lord Lisle in the midst of September marched without controul through West-Meath and Cavan and destroyed the Country burnt the Earl of Fingall's House and his Town of Virginia and at last sat down before Carrickmacross which after one days Battery was deserted by the Cowardly Ward But in October the Rebels to the number of Two
consent upon whatsoever Pretence to a Toleration of the Popish Profession there or the Abolition of the Laws now in force against Popish Recusants in that Kingdom His Majesty hath further thought fit to advertise His Parliament That towards this Work He intends to raise forthwith by His Commissions in the Counties near Westchester a Guardâ— for His own Person when he shall come into Ireland consisting of Two thousand Foot and Two hundred Horse which shall be Armed at Westchester from His Magazin at Hull at which time all the Officers and Soldiers shall take the Oaths of Supremacy and Allegiance The Charge of Raising and Paying whereof His Majesty desires His Parliament to add to their former Undertakings for that War which His Majesty will not only well accept but if their Pay be found too great a Burthen to His Subjects His Majesty will be willing by the Advice of His Parliament to sell or 〈◊〉 any of His Parks Lands or Houses towards the Supplies of the 〈◊〉 of Ireland with the Addition of these Levies to the former of English and Scots agreed upon in Parliament he hopes so to appear in this Action that by the Assistance of Almighty God in a short time that Kingdom may be wholly reduced and restored to Peace and some measure of Happiness whereby he may chearfully return to be Welcomed home with the Affections and Blessings of all His good English People Towards this good Work as His Majesty hath lately made Dispatches unto Scotland to quicken the Levies there for Ulster so he heartily wishes That His Parliament here would give all possible Expedition to thâ—se which they have resolved for Munster and Conaught and hopes the Encouragement which the Adventures of whose Interest His Majesty will be always very careful will hereby receive as likewise by the lately signing of a Commission for the Affairs of Ireland to such Persons as were recommended to Him by Both Houses of Parliament will raise full Sums of Money for the doing thereof His Majesty hath been likewise pleased out of His earnest desire to remove all Occasions which do unhappily multiply Misunderstandings between Him and His Parliament to prepare a Bill to be offered to them by His Attorney concerning the Militia whereby He hopes the Peace and Safety of this Kingdom may be fully secured to the general satisfaction of all Men without violation of His Majesty's just Rights or prejudice to the Liberty of the Subject If this shall be thankfully received He is glad of it if refused He calls God and all the World to judge on whose part the Default is One thing His Majesty requires if this Bill be approved of That if any Corporation shall make their Lawful Rights appear they may be reserved to them Before His Majesty shall part from England He will take all due Care to entrust such Persons with such Authority in His absence as He shall find to be requisite for the Peace and Safety of this Kingdom and the happy Progress of this Parliament To which the Parliament returned the following Answer May it please Your Majesty YOur Majesty's most Loyal and Faithful Subjects Husbands 141. the Lords and Commons in Parliament have duly considered the Message received from Your Majesty concerning Your Purpose of going into Ireland in Your own Person to prosecute the War there with the Bodies of Your English Subjects lâ—vied transported and maintained at their Charge which You are pleased to propound to us not as a Matter wherein Your Majesty desires the Advice of Your Parliament but as already firmly resolved on and forthwith to be put in Execution by granting out Commissions for the Levying of Two thousand Foot and Two hundred Horse for a Guard for Your Person when You shall come into that Kingdom Wherein we cannot chuse but with all Reverence and Humility to Your Majesty observe That You have declined Your Great Council the Parliament and varied from the usual Course of Your Royal Predecessors That a Business of so great Importance concerning the Peace and Safety of all Your Subjects and wherein they have a special Interest by Your Majesty's Promise and by those great Sums which they have disbursed and for which they stand ingaged should be concluded and undertaken without their Advice Whereupon we hold it our Duty to declare That if at this time Your Majesty shall go into Ireland You will very much endanger the Safety of Your Royal Person and Kingdoms and of all other States professing the Protestant Religion in Christendom and make way to the Execution of that cruel and bloody Design of the Papists every where to root out and destroy the Reformed Religion as the Irish Papists have in a great part already effected in that Kingdom and in all likelihood would quickly be attempted in other Places if the Consideration of the Strength and Union of the Two Nations of England and Scotland did not much hinder and discourage the Execution of any such Design And that we may manifest to Your Majesty the Danger and Misery which such a Journy and Enterprize would produce we present to Your Majesty the Reasons of this our humble Opinion and Advice 1. Your Royal Person will be subject not only to the Casualty of War but to Secret Practices and Conspiracies especially Your Majesty continuing Your Profession to maintain the Protestant Religion in that Kingdom which the Papists are generally bound by their Vow to extirpate 2. It will exceedingly encourage the Rebels who do generally profess and declare That Your Majesty doth favour and allow their Proceedings and that this Insurrection was undertaken by the Warrant of Your Commission and it will make good their Expectation of great Advantage by Your Majesty's Presence at this time of so much Distraction in this Kingdom whereby they may hope we shall be disabled to supply the War there especially there appearing less Necessity of Your Majesty's Journy at this time by reason of the manifold Successes which God hath given against them 3. It will much hinder and impair the Means whereby this War is to be supported and increase the Charge of it and in both these respects make it more insupportable to Your Subjects And this we can confidently affirm because many of the Adventurers who have already subscribed do upon the knowledge of Your Majesties Intention declare their Resolution not to pay in their Money and others very willing to have subscribed do now profess the contrary 4. Your Majesties Absence must necessarily very much interrupt the Proceedings of Parliament and deprive Your Subjects of the Benefit of those further Acts of Grace and Justice which we shall humbly expect from Your Majesty for the Establishing of a perfect Union and mutual Confidence between Your Majesty and Your People and procuring and confirming the Prosperity and Happiness of both 5. It will exceedingly increase the Jealousies and Fears of Your People and render their Doubts more probable of some force intended by some evil
Counsels near Your Majesty in opposition of the Parliament and favour of the Malignant Party of this Kingdom 6. It will bereave Your Parliament of that advantage whereby they were induced to undertake this War upon Your Majesties Promise that it should be managed by their Advice which cannot be done if Your Majesty contrary to their Counsels shall undertake to Order and Govern it in Your own Person Upon which and divers other Reasons We have resolved by the full and concurring Agreement of both Houses that We cannot with discharge of our Duty Consent to any Levios or raising of Soldiers to be made by your Majesty for this your intended Expedition into Ireland or to the Payment of any Army or Soldiers there but such as shall be employed and governed according to Our Advice and Direction and that if such Levies shall be made by any Commission of your Majesty not agreed too by both Houses of Parliament We shall be forced to interpret the same to be raised to the Terror of your People and disturbance of the publick Peace and hold our selves bound by the Laws of the Kingdom to apply the Authority of Parliament to suppress the same And We do further most humbly Declare That if your Majesty shall by ill Counsel be perswaded to go contrary to this Advice of your Parliament which We hope your Majesty will not We do not in that Case hold Our selves bound to submit to any Commissioners which your Majesty shall chuse but do Resolve to preserve and govern the Kingdom by the Counsel and Advice of Parliament for your Majesty and your Posterity according to Our Allegiance and the Law of the Land Wherefore We do most humbly Pray and Advise your Majesty to desist from this your intended Passage into Ireland and from all Preparations of Men and Arms tending thereunto and to leave the managing of that War to your Parliament according to your Majesties Promise made unto Us and your Royal Commission Granted under your Great Seal of England by Advice of both Houses in Prosecution whereof by God's Blessing We have already made a prosperous Entrance by many defeats of the Rebels whereby they are much weakened and disheartened and have no probable means of Subsistence if Our Proceedings shall not be interrupted by this Interposition of your Majesties Journey but that we may hope upon good Grounds that within a short time without hazard of your Majesties Person and so much dangerous Confusion to your Kingdoms which must needs ensue if you should proceed in this Resolution We shall be enabled fully to vindicate your Majesties Right and Authority in that Kingdom and punish those horrible Outragious Cruelties which have been committed in the murthering and spoiling so many of your Subjects and bring that Realm to such a Condition as may be much for the advantage of your Majesty and this Crown the Honour of your Government and the Contentment of your People For the better and mâ—re speedy effecting whereof We do again renew Our humble Desires of your Return to your Parliament and that You will please to reject all Counsels and Apprehensions which may any way derogate from that Faithfulness and Allegiance which in Truth and Sincerity We have always born and professed to your Majesty and shall ever make good to the uttermost with our Lives and Fortunes To this Answer The King made the following Reply We are so troubled and astonished to find the unexpected Reception and mis-understanding of our Message of the Eighth of April concerning our Irish Journey that being so â—â—ch disappointed of the Approbation and Thanks we looked for to that Declaration We have great cause to doubt whether it be in Our Power to say or do any thing which shall not fall within the like Interpretation but as we have in that Message called God to witness the Sincerity of the Profession of Our only Ends for the undertaking that Journey So We must appeal to all our good Subjects and the whole World whether the Reasons alledged against that Journey be of weight to satisfie Our understanding or the Counsel Presented to disswade Us from it be full of that Duty as is like to prevail over Our Affections For Our Resolving of so great a business without the Advice of Our Parliament We must remember you how often by Our Messages We made the same offer if you should Advise Us thereunto To which you never gave Us the least Answer but in your late Declaration told Us That ye were not to be satisfied with Words So that we had Reason to conceive you rather avoided out of regard to our Person to give Us Counsel to run that hazard than that you disapproved the inclination And what greater Comfort or Security can the Protestants of Christendom receive tâ—â—n by seeing a Protestant King venture and engage his Person for the defence of that Profession and the Suppressing of Popery to which We Solemnly protested in that Message never to Grant a Toleration upon what Pretence soever or an Abolition of any of the Laws there in force against the Professâ—rs of it And when We consider the great Calamities and unheard of Cruelties Our poor Protestant Subjects in that Kingdom have undergone for the space of near or full Six Months the growth and increase of the Strength of those barbarous Rebels and the evident Probability of foreign Supplies if they are not speedily suppressed the very slow Succours hitherto sent them from hence That the Officers of several Regiments who have long time been allowed Entertainment from you for that Service have not raised any Supply or Succour for that Kingdom That many Troops of Horse have long lain near Chester untransported 〈◊〉 the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland on whom We relyed principally for the Conduct and managing of Affairs there is still in this Kingdom notwithstanding our Earnestness expressed that he should repair to his Command And when We consider the many and great Scandals raised upon Our Selves by report of the Rebels and not sufficiently discountenanced here notwithstanding so many Professions of Ours And had seen a Book lately Printed by the Order of the House of Commons Entituled A Remonstrance of divers remarkable Passages concerning the Church and Kingdom of Ireland Wherein some Examinations are set down which how improbable or impossible soever may make an impression in the Minds of many of Our weak Subjects And Lastly when We duly weigh the Dishonour which will perpetually lye upon this Kingdom if full and speedy Relief be not dispatched thither We could not nor cannot think of a better way to discharge Our Duty to Almighty God for the defence of the true Protestant Profession or to manifest Our Affection to Our Three Kingdoms for their Preservation than by engaging Our Person in this Expedition as many of Our Royal Progenitors have done even in Foreign parts upon Causes of less Importance and Piety with great Honour to themselves and advantage to this Kingdom and
Title nor Protestation of the Confederates his Prudence and Integrity in continuing the Irish Parliament were highly commended But that he should be able to get a greater Sum of Money from a beggarly Enemy than the Parliament of England had sent over at any one time till then could never be sufficiently applauded and to this effect Secretary Nicholas writes in his Letter of the Ninth of October and adds That it is believed there that the Irish will not observe the Cessation and therefore advises his Excellency to be upon his Guard and to take care the King 's good Subjects do not suffer by their violation of it and that the young Lord Moor pursuant to Ormond ' s Recommendation hath all his Father's Offices granted unto him But the Parliament of England had different Sentiments of this Cessation they inveighed against it as destructive to the dispossest Protestants of Ireland who were kept out of Possession by it another Year at least They said it was a Discouragement to the Adventurers whose Satisfaction was likewise delay'd hereby They said it gave an opportunity to the Rebels to recruit their Forces and to supply all their Wants But that which troubled them most was that they perceiv'd the King design'd to draw some of the Protestant Forces and hoped for some of the Popish Army from Ireland to assist Him against the Parliament In short they were enraged to that degree that they Voted to Impeach the Marquis of Ormond as a Traytor against the Three Kingdoms and to disable him of his Lieutenancy and of all Command in Ireland and they also made a formal Declaration against the Cessation which is inserted at large here Appendix 18. In answer to which the King published The Grounds and Motives of the Cessation which in effect were That the English Army in Ireland could no longer subsist without Supplies and that the Parliament took no care to send any but on the contrary the Earl of Warwick intercepted those that His Majesty sent and that the Parliament endeavor'd to draw the Scotch Army out of Ireland into England So that in fine there was an absolute Necessity of this Cessation as preparatory to a Peace which nevertheless he will never admit unless it be such a Peace as may be agreeable to Conscience Honor and Justice But all this did not satisfie those that were perishing for want of their Estates and Properties which the Rebels possest and were yet farther inrag'd by the fresh Insolences and Violences daily committed by the Confederates so that their Sufferings depriv'd them of that Moderation which at another time would have considered the Distresses of the Crown the Necessities of the Army and the other powerful Motives to this Temporary Agreement In like manner the Estates of Scotland declar'd against the Cessation and the Adventurers at London petition'd against it and even some of the Cavaleers were so dissatisfied at this unfortunate Truce that many of the Earl of Newcastle's Army laid down their Arms and the Earl of Holland withdrew from Oxford Whitlock's Memoirs affirming That after he had heard of the Cessation his Conscience would not give him leave to stay any longer there And some others of Quality afterwards followed his Example And indeed it appear'd by the Sequel that the Cessation was a mere Plot of the Confederates to ruin those by Treaty whom they could not destroy by the War Not that it would have proved so if it had been honestly perform'd according to their Stipulations and Pretences but that by a thousand Tricks and Subtilties they contraven'd every Point of it and besides the opportunity of reinforcing and furnishing themselves which no body blames them for they left nothing undone that could tend to the Ruin of the English For whereas before the Cessation the Army lived mostly upon what they forced from the Enemy that Course being stopped by the Truce there was no way left to support them but the 30800 l. promised by those Articles and which was depended upon for that purpose but most part of that Money was delivered in by such Driblets and so very long after it was due that it did little Service to those that were to receive it But that was not the worst for the Rebels made use of another Stratagem which no body could suspect and that was a Prohibition to all their Party not to sell Provisions to the English even for ready Money There was no Defence against this Flail and therefore many Places were deserted by the Warders who were starved out of them by this Contrivance Carlo Athy Leix Trim Dundalk and Naas suffered much in this Particular but it was worse with the Garisons in Conaught as appears by their Declaration of Grievances sent to the Lord Lieutenant wherein they affirm a Conspiracy amongst the Irish to starve them and that the Irish County Councils had issued out Warrants to seize the Goods and Estates of such Confederates as should buy or sell or use any Traffick with the English as appears Appendix 19. They also committed many secret and some publick Murders Peter St. George was so served at the Castle of Letrim where William St. George was likewise mortally wounded and it is reported but how truly I cannot say of a malicious Jesuit that sheltered himself at Kinnegad well known thereabouts by the name of Father Roe that he committed many Murders even in the Highway but this is more certain that the English were fain to pay Toll or Tribute for passage through the Irish Quarters in many places and that particularly at St. Johnston's Bridge great Sums of Money were extorted upon that score Moreover they had by cunning and secret Intrusions into deserted Castles and old Houses two or three days before the Cessation gotten Possession of much more Land than did belong to them or than they could have kept in time of War nevertheless this Possession though obtained by Fraud or Violence was detained by them under the umbrage of that Treaty They had also another Liberty by these Articles viz. To declare in whose Quarters they would choose to be and by this fetch whole Baronies were lost and particularly the Baronies of Barrymore and Imokilly scituate between Cork and Youghall and which had been always in the English Quarters and under the Protection of those Garisons did a day or two before the Cessation declare themselves to be in the Irish Quarters and so were privileged even to the Gates of Cork and Youghall from Contribution to those Garisons until the beginning of the year 1645. But besides the Breaches of the Cessation in Conaught contained in their Declaration of Grievances and the Complaints of Munster mentioned hereafter Appendix 17 there were several other Violations of those Articles as 1. That the Earl of Castlehaven after he had notice of the Cessation did nevertheless batter the Castle of Desert in the Queen's County and when he had taken and plundered it he shewed them the Articles of the
Lord George Digby That the Protestant Forces that came from Munster were much dissatisfied that the Protestant Agents from Ireland received so little Countenance His Lordship answered That the greatest Kindness he could do them was to call them Mad-men that he might not call them Roundheads for putting in such mad Proposals And he desired to speak with some of them but they refus'd to come to one that had expressed so much Prejudice against them On the Ninth of May these Agents were ordered to attend the King and Council which they did and His Majesty told them They were sent by His Protestant Subjects to move Him in their behalf and desired to know in what Condition the Protestants of Ireland were to defend themselves if a Peace should not ensue They answered That they humbly conceived they were employed first to prove their Petition and to disprove the scandalous Aspersions which the Rebels have cast upon His Majesty's Government and the Protestants of Ireland The King replied That it needed not any more than to prove the Sun shines when we all see it They answered That they thought His Majesty was not satisfied but that those of the Pale were forced into Rebellion by the Governors The King said That was but an Assertion of the Irish and then He renew'd His former Question about their Condition to resist if a Peace did not ensue The Agents desired time to answer but the King told them He thought they came prepared to declare the Condition of the whole Kingdom and asked them Would they have Peace or no The Agents answered They were bred up in Peace and were not against it so that it might stand with His Majesty's Honor and the Safety of His Protestant Subjects in their Religion Lives Liberties and Fortunes Then the Lord Digby interpos'd and said That the Agents desir'd a Peace Yes says the Duke of Richmond and Earl of Lindsey provided it consists with the King's Honor and the Protestants Safety And I would rather says the King that they should have their Throats cut in War than SUFFER by a Peace of my making but I will take Care the Protestants of Ireland shall be secured And then His Majesty told the Agents they should have a Copy of the Irish Proposals and Liberty to answer them but that they were to consider of Two things First That He was not in a Condition to relieve them with Men Money Ammunition Arms or Victuals And Secondly That He could not allow them to joyn with the New Scots or any others that had taken the Covenant The Protestant Agents having got a Copy of the Irish Propositions did on the Thirteenth of May present to His Majesty a full Answer to them recited at large Appendix 23. This Answer being read the King asked Whether they had answered according to Law and Justice or prudentially with respect to Circumstances The Agents replied That they looked upon the Rebels Propositions as they appeared to them destructive to His Majesty His Laws and Government and His Protestant Subjects of Ireland Whereupon the Earl of Bristol interpos'd and said That if they asked what in Law and Justice was due from the Rebels their Answer was full but that the King expected from them what was prudentially fit to be done seeing the Protestants are not in a Condition to defend themselves and the King will not admit them to joyn with any Covenanters The King also asked What would become of the Protestants if the Irish Agents should break off the Treaty which 't is feared they will do if their Propositions for the most part are not yielded unto To which the Agents replied That the Rebels might be brought to better Terms if they were held to it and that they were assured the Lord Muskery refused to come with limited Instructions but would be at liberty to do as he should see cause Whereupon they were ordered to withdraw But the Protestant Agents hearing that Sir Robert Talbot and Dermond mac Teig O Bryan had left Oxford the Twelfth of May and that the Lord Muskery and the rest departed thence the 22th addressed themselves to Secretary Nicholas to know if His Majesty had further Service for them and thereupon on the Thirtieth of May they kist the King's Hand and were told by His Majesty That he had written to the Marquis of Ormond concerning the Protestants of Ireland and that He would use His best Endeavors for them there as He did for Himself here and said He meant His good Protestant Subjects and not Covenanters or their Adherents And thus Reader you have the Secret of this Great Transaction whereby you will perceive That the Irish Agents filled with the Contemplation of their own Power and the evil Circumstances of His Majesty's Affairs thought that the King would purchase their Assistance at any Rate and therefore insisted upon such exorbitant and unreasonable Demands as would have subverted the Laws and Constitution of the Government and would have rendred the Protestant Religion at most but Tolerated and that it self but poorly and precariously On the other side the English Agents did not fail to chastize this Vanity and to mortifie the Confederates with a Scorn and Contempt both of their Conduct and Courage They represented to the King That the Rebels got more by the Cessation than they could do by the War In fine they press'd the Execution of the Laws and demanded Reparation for Damages sustained during the Rebellion and desir'd that the Irish might be disarm'd and reduced to a Condition of not Rebelling any more The Commissioners from the Council would gladly have moderated these matters but they found there was no trust to be reposed in the Confederates and the Irish would not agree to any other terms than what continued the Power in their own hands so that the English should have no other security of their future Tranquility but the Honour and Promise of the Rebels It was very difficult to reconcile these Jarring and Differing Interests and indeed impossible to do it in England and therefore the Irish Agents who were men of Parts and Address having cunningly insinuated to the King That they believed that their Principals when truly informed of His Majesty's circumstances would comply with them so far as to moderate their Demands to what His Majesty might conveniently grant and promised they would sollicite them effectually to that purpose prevailed with His Majesty to send over a Commission under the Great Seal of England to the Lord Lieutenant to make Peace with his Catholick Subjects upon Conditions agreeable to the Publick Good and Welfare that might produce such a Peace and Union in Ireland as might vindicate his Royal Authority there and suppress those in Arms against him in England and Scotland and he also sent Instructions to continue the Cessation for another Year This Commission came to the Lord Lieutenant on the 26th of July but in regard the Confederates chose a Clergyman I suppose the Bishop of
to visit Munster where we shall find the Lord Lisle endeavouring to displace Insiquin and to give the Command of that Province to the Lord of Broghill but Insiquin was so popular in the Army that it required more time to bring this about than the Lord Lisle had to spare for his Commission determined the 15th day of April so that Insiquin kept his Government and the Lord Lisle together with his Brother Algernoon Sydney and the Lord Broghill went for England where this last and Sir Arthur Loftns impeached Insiquin but the Parliament being embroyled with the differences between the Presbyterian and Independant Parties had not leisure to mind the Accusation and so it â—ell to the Ground But on the third of May Insiquin drew out 1500 Horse and as many Foot and took Drumanna and Capoquin and on the 10th of May he took Dungarvan and if his Provisions had lasted he designed to besiege Clonmell but the want of Victuals and Carriages which has been fatal to most of the Martial Undertakings in Ireland did also force him to return to Cork whereof the Parliament of England being advertized they ordered him Thanks and a Train of Artillery But on the 29th of May he marched out again as far as Cappoquin and on the third of June Major Purdam with a detached Party took a Prey near Carrick and brought it to the Army but Captain Power who went with a Party of Horse to discover the Enemy had not so good fortune for some of them got between him and home and cut off 60 of his Men and took 12 Prisoners and so great were the wants of the Army that the Soldiers died by Scores and Insiquin was again obliged to return without doing any great Exploits in this Expedition Nevertheless being reinforced from England he marched out again in the beginning of August and met with great Success for he took Cahir by Surrender and the Rock of Cashell by Storm with great Slaughter of the Enemy whereof above 20 were Priests or Fryers and from thence he went to Carrick where he was civilly treated by the Lady Thurles and he put that whole Country under Contribution and would have besieged Clonmell if the usual want of Provisions had not hindered his design But Insiquin having on the 28th of September received a very large Recruit of some thousands of Men under the Command of the Colonels Gray Needham Temple c. did again take the Field with 4000 Foot and 1200 Horse Battel of Knockinoss and on the 13th day of November he met with the Irish Army under the Lord Taaff consisting of 7464 Foot and 1076 Horse besides Officers and gave them a total Defeat at Knockinoss there were 4000 Irish slain upon the place and 6000 Arms 38 Colours the General 's Tent and Cabinet and all their Baggage and Ammunion were taken and upon notice of it the Parliament voted 10000 l. to be sent to Munster and a Letter of Thanks and 1000 l. for a Present to be sent to the Lord of Insiquin However all this did not hinder him from sending them in January following the Remonstrance mentioned Appendix 39. and not long after he made a Cessation with the Irish as we shall see anon But the loss of the Catholick Army in Munster about three Months after the Defeat at Dungan Hill did so mortifie the Confederates and their Representatives in the General Assembly which was then Sitting at Kilkenny that they grew very desirous of a Peace if they knew where or from whom to obtain it for the King was then Prisoner in the Isle of Wight and there was no Access to him and therefore it was resolved to send Ambassadors to the Queen and Prince then in France to propose Conditions to them whereof one was to be That they should send a Roman Catholick Lord Lieutenant to Ireland and that if the Queen and Prince declined the Affair that then they should seek the Protection of some other Prince and it was also resolved to send to the Pope to inform his Holiness of the miserable State of the Nation c. Accordingly the Marquis of Antrim the Viscount Muskry and Geofry Brown were sent to France and besides their Errand to the Queen and Prince they had Instructions in reference to the Court of France to be found here Appendix 40. And the Bishop of Fernes and Nicholas Plunket were dispatched to Rome with Instructions mentioned likewise Appendix 40. There was also an Ambassador sent to Spain with like Instructions as to France Mutatis mutandis that no Stone might remain unturned that might grind the poor Protestants of Ireland In the mean time the Irish by the aforesaid loss of their Two Armies were left very naked and weak and lay expos'd to the Efforts of the next Summer and therefore did project if possible either to make a Cessation with Insiquin or the Scots And it succeeded beyond their expectation not only because the Nuncio gave his express Consent to it but because Insiquin began to be jealous that the Parliament or rather the prevailing Independent Faction aim'd at turning the Government into a Republick wherein the Nobility would lose their Privileges and their Peerage And this Notion was so well improved by the Loyal Industry of Dean Boyle now Lord Primate that it produced the aforesaid Remonstrance and prepar'd Insiquin to declare for the King upon the first Opportunity And therefore in January he sent them the aforesaid Remonstrance and not long after imprison'd some of his resisting Officers that continued firm to the Parliament and so stood ready to declare for the King Moreover it was considered that the Support of the King was a Branch of The Solemn League and Covenant which therefore Insiquin thought to be infring'd by the Votes of Non-Addresses to His Majesty and that he might be the better inform'd of other Mens sense of this Affair he sent a Messenger into Scotland since it was impossible to correspond with the Presbyterian Party in England and from the Estates of Parliament of Scotland he had full Approbation of what he had done and of the Cessation he intended to make with the Irish in order to advance the King's Service and answer the Ends of the Covenant Whereupon the Parliament voted him a Rebel and a Traytor on the Fourteenth of April 1648. And so we will leave that Affair till I come to resume it in order the next Year As for Connaught it can afford but little Matter for an Historian this Year being intirely in the Hands of the Confederates Sligo and three or four Castles only excepted Nor was there much done in Ulster that I can find most of their Forces being diverted at the Battel of Dungan-hill as hath been already related But it is mentioned in Whitlock's Memoirs pag. 254. That Sir Charles Coot gave the Rebels a great Defeat and killed 1000 of them but where or how I cannot find Finally In this Year was published a most Treasonable
World upon whose Loyalty and Conduct in the Affairs of Ireland His Majesty did most depend But there is yet a greater Mystery in the matter and it was thus Whilst Ormond was in England the Scots * Earl of Lanerick Earl of Lauderdale 〈…〉 Commissioners finding what usage was design'd to the King did endeavour to retreive the Honour of their Nation by doing something extraordinary in his Favour and the Presbyterians every where finding the prevailing Independents did despise the Sanctity of the Covenant and the Supporters thereof began to be Alarm'd so a proper Juncture of doing Service to the King was suddenly expected hereupon Ormond by the Kings Order met the Scotch Commissioners near Marlow and they for Scotland and he for Ireland undertook to promote His Majesties Service and in order to it he went to France and so into Ireland to prosecute this Design and not in Answer to the Irish Ambassy as they sancied and the same Reason prevailed upon Insiquin to joyn with him and it was pursuant to this Treaty that the Earl of Lanerick then Duke Hamilton invaded the Kingdom of England But as soon as the Parliament Commissioners in Ireland understood 27th July that the Marquiss of Ormond intended to return to that Kingdom they did all that was possible to prevent his Design and upon bare Suspicion seized upon Sir Maurice Eustace Sir John Gifford Sir Francis Willoughby Colonel William Flower the Lieutenant Colonels Ryves Capron and Smith Major John Stephens and Captain Peirce and kept them Prisoners in the Castle for some days and then sent them in Custody to Chester and they also kept Sir Thomas Lucas and Colonel Byron Prisoners at Tredagh As for the Military Motions this Year tho' they were not many nor in many Places Munster being entirely quiet and very little either of Leinster or Ulster disturbed yet they may be esteemed very considerable because they were between the Irish themselves for Insiquin had managed his Affairs so prudently by assisting the weaker side and the Nuncio had Acted so rashly in Excommunicating the Supream Council and their Adherents that Owen Roe and Preston and their Followers were engaged in as * Quod quidem ille acrius quam unquam fecerat in communes Religionis Regni hostes in Confederatos presecutus est Beling 118. fierce and as spiteful a War as any that had been since the Rebellion broke out so that Preston assisted by the Marquiss of Clanrickard took Athâ—one and besieged Athy and Insiquin in favour of the Supream Council besieged Fortfalkland and tho' Owen Roe came to relieve it and posted his Army so advantagiously between Insiquin and Munster that the English had certainly been starved if the generous Bounty of the Marquiss of Clanrickard had not supplyed them with Necessaries yet at length Owen Roe was forced to a retreat not much different from a Flight and the Fort was surrendered to Insiquiâ— and with these Losses November and this Disgrace Owen Roe was so netled that he ravaged over the whole County of Roscomon and took Jamestown and so obstinately Stormed Carigdrumrusk that Rory Macguire and most of his Regiment were there slain and in revenge of it the Garison being all Papists were put to the Sword And by this Campaign Owen Roe was so weakned that he offered a Cessation to Colonel Jones and to carry his Army to Spain if Jones would give him Liberty to do so And it seems That the Marquiss of Antrim had some Highlanders in the Counties of Wicklow and Wexford which being joyned with the Birnes and Cavenaghs who were of the Nuncio Faction and rejected the Peace gave such Disturbance to the Supream Council that they were fain to send Sir Edmond Butler and Sir Thomas Esmond to suppress them which at last they effected tho' not without considerable Slaughter on both sides In the mean time Jones took Ballysannon Nabber and Ballyho and many of the Scots being gone to assist Duke Hamilton's Invasion of England Colonel Monk by the means of Sir Price Coghrun and Lieutenant Colonel Cunningham surprized Carigfergus and in it Monroe September whom he sent Prisoner to London and then had an easie Conquest of Belfast and Colerain and Sir Charles Coot had no very hard one of the Fort of Culmore and for those good Services the Parliament Presented Colonel Monk with 500 l. and made him Governour of Carigfergus But in November the Irish Ambassadours to the Pope returned to Ireland and brought with them abundance of Relicks but no Money Beling 196. as may be easily gathered from the following Letter from Sir Richard Blake to Sir Robuck Linch Sir THIS day the Lord Bishop of Fernes and Mr. Plunket gave an account of their Negotiation to the House they made a full Representation to his Holiness of the desperate Condition of the Kingdom that without present and good Supplies which they expected from his Holiness there was no hope of the Preservation of the Catholick Religion or Nation That his Holiness was bound in Justice to do it his Nuncio here having in a General Assembly of the Confederates undertaken That the Sum promised Sir Kenelm Digby for the Wars of England upon good Conditions for Catholicks would be applied to the Service of the Catholick Confederates of Ireland but after four Months attendance their Answer was there being no Intelligence then of our Distance or Divisions with the Lord Nuncio or Owen O Neal That his Holiness hath sent by the Dean of Firmo a considerable Help unto us and that he had no account how that was disposed of That the Turks were in Candia and threatened Italy That there was great Scarcity of Corn in Rome and the adjoyning Territories and that a great Sum of Money must be issued to satisfy the Commoners That his Predecessor Pope Urban had left the Treasury empty and the See deeply charged with Debt That the Cardinals and others who had Pious Intentions to advance our Holy Cause were Poor and hardly able to maintain their own Ports so that nothing could be expected from them And for the Conditions the Agents expected from his Holiness for Religion upon our Treaty with the Queen and Prince he said that it was not proper for the See Apostolick to grant any Articles to Hereticks though it be true that Catholick Princes in Germany and other Kingdoms do it As for the Nuncio's Engagement That the Catholicks of Ireland should be Supplied by his Holiness in their Maintenance of the War that he had no such Commission though it was true that his Holiness would give Money for Conditions of Religion but none upon the Event of War Our Agents heard not of our Disunion and Raptures in this Kingdom until after their taking leave of his Holiness and then when the same was known and published in Rome they heard from some eminent Persons That what his Holiness was resolved to give for our Support he knew not to what Party he
the Duke to proceed by Advice of the General Assembly and all agrieved Parties in case of Inequality to seek Redress from the General Assembly XVIII For Liquidating and Stating the Duke's Disbursements a certain Method shall be agreed on between the Duke and the said Transactors but for the persons to be intrusted in that Charge the General Assembly is to alter them at their pleasure XIX The Duke shall make no Peace nor Cessation without the Lord-Deputy or General Assembly XX. The Lord-Deputy and General Assembly shall make no Peace without the Consent of the Duke ☜ July 12th 1651. Signed Charles of Lorrain But the Secret and Intâ—igue of these Articles lay where one would have least suspected it viz. in the second Article for though it seem to be meer Formality and to contain only matter of Respect and Complement to the Pope yet it was the most effectual Article of all and served the Duke to these two purposes first to oblige the Bishop of Ferns and such other giddy and restless Zealots that were Favourites of the Court of Rome and secondly to delay the Execution of the Agreement until this previous Article should be first performed and accordingly the Duke of Lorrain the Bishop of Ferns the Lord Taaf Sir James Preston and Sir Nicholas Plunket signed a formal submission to the Pope Vide The Submission at large Vindiciae eversae p. 85. in the Name of the Kingdom of Ireland and therein supplicated his Absolution from the Censures and Excommunication of the Nuntio and in the mean time till that could be accomplish'd his Highness thought it enough to Succour the Irish with the following Letters To the Marquess of Clanrickard SIR THE stay which the Gentleman Abbot of St. Katharine made with you and his long Navigation by the Northern Sea having brought much delay as well to his Return as to the disposal of Affairs here I could not sooner dispatch unto you than by this Galliot by which Mr. Plunket and Mr. Brown your Deputies have in charge more at large to give you to understand the conclusion of the Treaty I have made with them to the greatest advantage that one cou'd desire for the Good of the Catholick Religion the Service of the King and Re-establishment of the Kingdom which are the only Ends that I have proposed unto Myself Moreover the satisfaction which the Queen and Duke of York have shewen unto Me shall as I hope be followed by that of all good People the Fidelity of whom hath hitherto appeared without Reproach in a time when it seems they had no other recourse but to themselves I believe they will continue to make it good being as they are invited thereunto by the part which I have taken in their preservation preferring it to that of my own Dominions and to the urgent Necessities of my Affairs touching which and the Assistances which I am with all care and diligence possible preparing I beseech you to make known to the good and faithful Subjects of the Kingdom and in your own particular to take all assurance of the Esteem which I make of your person and the desire which remains with me on all Occasions to acknowledge its merit where I may make Myself known SIR From Bruxells Sept. 10. 1657. Your Affectionate Friend to Serve You Charles Lorrain To the MAYOR COUNCIL and CORPORATION of GALWAY Honoured Sirs OF the Agreements made between Me and the Agents of that Kingdom I leave to them to inform you more particularly of which they have taken the Charge I do not think that they will omit how unchangeable and constant I am notwithstanding the ill Rumours of your Affairs and the great and urgent necessity of my own I choose to prefer your Good before all Private and Publick Occasions of my own as well as I confide that you to the uttermost will remain constant in your Intent to Defend Religion and Country to a high great hope of your Fortitude Bear in mind that the Success of the Enemies is hitherto permitted by the Providence of God to the end to reserve the chief Glory of Vindicating the Kingdom and Religion to you and the Limericians As they have performed their part most nobly I doubt not but when the Occasion of promoting the Cause is offered you also will perform and shew the like Example of Constancy with happy Emulation In the mean time least the delay of supply which proceeded of the slow return of the Abbot of St. Katherine would put you in any doubt of my Mind while with all Care and Diligence to provide and send them Supplies I thought fit to hasten the sending thither of this Barque by which I might assure your hopes of me and for my hope of you Most Worthy People Your most Affectionate CHARLES LORRAIN Dated at Bruxells Sept. 10. 1657. But the Lord-Deputy was not at all satisfied with the Articles of Agreement or these Letters as will appear by his Excellency's Answer which was as followeth May it please your Highness I Had the Honour on the 12th of this Instant to receive a Letter from your Highness dated the 10th of September wherein you are pleased to express your great Zeal for the Advancement of the Catholick Religion in this Kingdom your great Affection to the King my Master and your good Opinion of this Nation and your compassion for their Sufferings and your great readiness to afford them Aid and Assistance even equal with your own nearest Concernments and that your Highness received so great satisfaction from the Queen and Duke of York as did much strengthen those Resolutions so as they might sooner appear but for the stay made here of Monsieur St. Katherine and his long Northern Voyage upon his return and referred what concern'd the Agreement to the relation of those Commissioners I had imployed to your Highness to treat upon that subject of Assistance and Relief for this Kingdom I with much alacrity congratulate your Highness's pious Intentions for the preservation of the Catholick Religion your Great and Princely Care to recover His Majesty's Rights and Interests from his Rebellious Subjects of England and the high Obligation you put upon this Nation by your tender regard of them and desire to redeem them from the great Miseries and Afflictions they have endured and the imminent Dangers they are in And it shall be a principal part of my Ambition to be an useful Instrument to serve your Highness in so Famous and Glorious an Enterprize And that I may be the more capable to contribute somewhat to so Religious and Just Ends First in discharge of my Conscience towards God my Duty to the King my Master and to disabuse your Highness and give a clear and perfect Information so far as comes to my Knowledge I am obliged to represent unto your Highness that by the Title of the Agreement and Articles therein contained made by those Commissioners imployed to your Highness ☞ and but lately come
compared with the Certificates here Also prevent the abuse in Coyning Vending annd Vttering small Moneys 14thly Endeavour to bring all to a Conformity in the Religion by Law Established and acquaint us with what difficulties you meet with therein 15thly Inspect our Forts Castles Magazines and Stores and endeavour to make Salt-Petre 16thly We are informed That small Profit hath heretofore come to our Exchequer by Castle-Chamber Fines tho Misdemeanors proper for punishment in that Court were many we would therefore have you look into the reasons thereof and to resettle and uphold the Honour and Jurisdiction of that Court for the repressing exorbitant Offences wherein our Learned Council are to do their Duty faithfully 17thly The Vice-Treasurer or his Deputy to receive all Money 18thly Reduce the Moneys there to the condition of Sterling and establish a Mint there 19thly Finding some Propositions of the Duke of Ormond recorded in the Register of Council-Causes 1662. fit to be observed we have renewed them with reference to your Government therefore observe them Lastly Several Popish Clergy since the return of the Duke of Ormond hither have exerâ—â—ed their Jurisdictions to the great grief of the Remonstrants If so execute the Laws against the Titular Archbishops Bishops and Vicar-Generals that have threatned or excommunicated the Remonstrants and that you protect such Remonstrants as have not withdrawn their Subscriptions These were the publick Instructions but the Administration of the Government seem'd to have another Foundation for now the Mystery of Iniquity began to appear and the Papists were publickly countenanc'd and indulg'd in Ireland many of them got into the Commission of the Peace and it was attempted also to bring them into the Army but Matters not running so smoothly as the Lord Lieutenant expected he returned to England for new Instructions and left the Government in the Hands of the Lord Chancellor and Sir Arthur Forbus Lords Justices who were Sworn on the 12 th of June and continued in that Office until his Excellency's return which was on the 23 d day of September 1671. In the mean time on the 21 st of February 1670. Collonel Richard Talbot Petitioned His Majesty in the behalf of His most distressed Subjects of Ireland who were outed of their Estates by the late Vsurped Powers which Petition was referr'd to a Committe of the Council to Examine and Report and a State of their Case was given to the Committee in Writing Whereupon on the 28 th of January the Kings Solicitor attended the Committe at the Council-Chamber His Majesty being present and there the Petition and Talbot's Commission from the Irish the State of their Case and the Paper of Instances were read On the 1 st of February the King being present Sir George Lane was call'd in and the first Instance being the Case of Mr. Hore was objected against him but Sir George baffled the Petitioners in that Matter and having prov'd an Agreement with Mr. Hore which His Majesty was pleased to say He remembred That Affair was clear'd to the satisfaction of the King and the Committee much contrary to the Expectation of the Petitioners who perhaps had prevail'd with the King to be there that he might be an Ear-witness of the Wrong that was done them But the King being weary of such Debates did on the 4 th of February in Council appoint the Lords Buckingham Anglesy Hollis and Ashley and Secretary Trevor or any three of them to be a Committee to Peruse and Revise all the Papers and Writings concerning the Settlement of Ireland from the first to the last and to take an Abstract of the State thereof in Writing And accordingly on the 12 th of June 1671. they made their Report at large which was the Foundation of a Commission dated the 1 st of August 1671. under the great Seal to Prince Rupert the Dukes of Buckingham and Lauderdale Earl of Anglesy Lords Ashley and Hollis Sir John Trevor and Sir Thomas Chichly to Inspect the Settlement of Ireland and all Proceedings from first to last in Order thereunto And this was followed by another Commission of the 17 th of January 1672. to Prince Rupert Earl of Shaftsbury the Lord Treasurer Clifford and others amongst whom the Dukes of Ormond was one to inspect the Affairs of Ireland viz. the Acts of Settlement and Explanation and the Execution of them and the disposing of Forfeited Lands and the State of His Majesties Revenue c. But how specious soever the Pretences were for these Commissions the secret Design was to unravel the Settlement and to humble the Duke of Ormond upon whom they always fell when the Popish Interest prevailed for otherwise the pretended Grievances if they had been really true were few and small and it were much better for the publick That even greater Irregularities than were complain'd of should remain unremedied than that the great and common Security of the Nation should be shaken And of this Opinion was the Parliament of England who always concern'd themselves effectually for the English Interest and the Protestant Religion in Ireland and accordingly on the 9th day of March 1673 they Address'd to His Majesty as followeth And this Address occasion'd that the aforesaid Commission of Inspection was Superseded on the 2d of July 1673. WE Your Majesties most Loyal Subjects the Commons in this Present Parliament Assembled taking into Consideration the great Calamities which have formerly befallen Your Majesties Subjects of the Kingdom of Ireland from the Popish Recausants there who for the most part are profest Enemies to the Protestant Religion and the English Interest and how they make use of Your Majesties Gracious Disposition and Clemency are at this time grown more Insolent and Presumptuous than formerly to the apparent Danger of that Kingdom and Your Majesties Protestant Subjects there the consequence whereof may likewise prove very fatal to this Your Majesties Kingdom of England if not timely prevented And having seriously weighed what Remedies may be most properly applied to those growing Distempers do in all Humility present Your Majesty with these our Petitions 1. That for the Establishment and Quieting the possessions of Your Majesties Subjects in that Kingdom Your Majesty would be pleased to maintain the Act of Settlement and Explanatory Act thereupon and to recall the Commission of Enquiry into Irish Affairs bearing date the 17 th of January last as containing many new and extraordinary Powers not only to the Prejudice of particular Persons whose Estates and Titles are thereby made liable to be questioned but in a manner to the overthrow of the Acts of Settlement and if pursued may be the occasion of great Charge and Attendance to many of Your Subjects in Ireland and shake the Peace and Security of the whole 2. That Your Majesty would give order that no Papist be either continued or hereafter admitted to be Judges Justices of the Peace Sheriffs Coroners or Mayors Sovereigns or Portreeves in that Kingdom 3. That the Titular Popish Archbishops
Bryan mac William Farral John mac Edmond Farral John Farral Roger mac Bryne Farral Barnaby Farral James mac Teig Faral his Mark. Morgan mac Carbry Farral Donough mac Carbry Farral Richard mac Conel Farral William mac James Farral James Farral Taghna mac Rory Farral Cormack mac Rory Farral Conock mac Bryne Farral Readagh mac Lisagh Farral Connor oge mac Connor Farral Edmond mac Connor Farral Cahel mac Bryne Farral Appendix IV. A Letter from the Lords Justices and Council to King Charles the First to prevent a Peace with the Irish May it please your Most Excellent Majesty WE your Majesties Justices on the 30 th of January last Receiv'd your Majesties Letter of the 11 th of the same We being then in Council at this Board which Letters we then immediately communicated to the Council as we always do in all matters of Importance concerning your Majesties Affairs here By those Letters your Majesty declared that you had sent a Commission to our very good Lord the Lord Marquess of Ormond and others Authorizing them to receive in Writing what the Petitioners Catholicks of Ireland mentioned in those Letters would say or propound and to return the same to your Majesty And by the same Letters your Majesty Commanded us your Justices to give those Commissioners our best assistance and furtherance as there shall be occasion wherein as in all things else we have always done and shall ever do we shall most readily obey your Majesties Royal Commands with all humble Duty and Submission having nothing more in our Care and Endeavours in these perplexed times than to advance your Service and to preserve your Soveraign Rights and Interests here where so dangerous Attempts have of late been made against them by so Aniversal a Conspiracy of the Papists of this Kingdom We do with much Joy of heart Comfort our selves to see your Majesties gracious inclination to hear your Subjects whatsoever they be in themselves and as therein we behold your goodness so we to whose Care and Circumspection your Majesty hath committed the great Trust of this your Kingdom cannot but esteem it a great breach of Duty and Faith in us to be silent in such things as may give light in this important business and which cannot come to your Majesties knowledge but by your Ministers These Petitioners do affirm That they had recourse to Arms for Preservation of your Royal Rights and Prerogatives which if it were true we should be subject to the full Tax of Treachery if we should not with all Zeal and hearty Affection have joined with them And if that had been the true ground of their entring into quarrel with us it should cost little Mony or Blood to the Kingdom of England to reconcile us They well know that before this Rebellion in the Parliament held here and formerly we opposed them several times where we found them vehemently labour to abridge those Prerogatives and antient Rights of the Crown here and to derogate from your Royal Authority in many Parts thereof as by particulars will appear But we must upon full observation of their Courses and Actions since the First breaking out of this unnatural Rebellion unfeignedly affirm That they do but take up this for an excuse of their most odious breach of Faith and Duty to your Most Sacred Majesty their inward intent being as since hath appeared to deprive your Majesty of all those Prerogatives they spake of and even of your Crown and Kingdom resolving also to destroy and extirpate out of this Island as well the true Protestant Religion as also your Majesties most Loyal Brittish Subjects whom they hate chiefly because they Religiously love your Majesty and your Children and in that love were such leaders of them in all their late seeming Acts of Bounty and Duty towards your Majesty as without shameful bewraying their evil hearts they could not shun the same whereat they often shewed much reluctancy as appeared in reducing the subsidies and other things In Vlster where the Rebellion first broke forth it is testified upon Oath by a Gentleman that was a Prisoner amongst the Rebels that he heard one of the Rebels a man of Note amongst them say That if he had your Majesty where he than spake that he would flea you quick but they would have the Kingdom and their will of you Others there said that they had a King of their own in Ireland Others said that they would have an Irish King and regarded not King Charles the King of England Others that they had a new King and had Commission from him for what they did Others that Sir Phelim O Neal should be their King and that they would give a great sum of Mony to have King Charles his Head these Speeches were uttered in several Counties in that Province and by several Parties also those in Vlster devis'd false Prophesies and dispers'd and publish'd them and amongst others things so devis'd by them one Prophesie is said to be that Tyrone or Sir Phelim O Neal should drive your Majesty with your whole Posterity out of England and that You and your Posterity shall be hereafter Profugi in terra aliena in aeternum to which Phelim O Neal Regal Attributes have been given by some of the Rebels and he hath written in a Regal Stile and did Seal Letters with a Seal whereon there was a Regal Crown which we have seen When the Rebellious Lords and Gentry of the Pale and Leinster and after them those of Munster and Conaugh and the Irish in Leinster rose in Rebellion who appeared not in Arms until those in the Pale brake out those in the Pale declared to Assault your Majesties Castle and City of Dublin where reside your Officers of State and where are the Ensigns and Ornaments of your Royal Authority and Soveraignty here and all the Records of your Revenues and Interest which they purposed to Seize and by holding that Place to take away the means for arrival of English here other than by main force to which intent they Assembled in great numbers near this City within two or three Miles round about it having then also strongly Besieg'd your Majesties Port Town of Droghe da as a step to the gaining of this City presuming all this while that no succour should come out of England and all this done not only by the barbarous Rebels of Vlster but also by the degenerate ungrateful Lords and Gentry of the Pale and when by Gods blessing and your Majesties tender care of the remanant of your poor People left yet undestroyed in sending Forces hither we were enabled by your Majesties Forces to beat off those Multitudes and to raise the Siege of Drogheda then as well the Old English as the Irish all Papists and now Rebels which drew themselves farther off and finding that they had not so ready a way to rent the Kingdom out of your Majesties hands as they at first supposed they then found it necessary to fall
the more Civility or Civil Education these Irish Rebels obtained by the care and pious inspection of the late English Governors which they did to recover and reclaim them the more dangerous Enemies they now found them and the more the English did Enrich Countenance and Favour those Rebels the more Scornful Ungrateful and Mortal Enemies they have shewn themselves unto those their Benefactors They consider farther and now find by dear experience that the Towns and Corporations all consisting of Papists though for the most part old English except Three of Four Towns lately Planted which are Protestants are apt upon every Inferrection against the English to run with the Country and hereby they will be able on the sudden to overwhelm them in lesser Numbers either in Town or Country so as the English can expect no refuge They consider farther that the Irish being Masters of the Body of that Kingdom Arm'd in great numbers for War and full of Malice and now far too Hauglity and Insolent to submit to such terms of Peace as may be safe for England or honourable for so Just and Pious a King as your Majesty and that if the Blood of Peace so unmeasurably shed by the Rebels who have now Enrich'd themselves by the Spoils of the British should be wiped out in a fained Submission it would embolden them and their Postevity hereafter upon all occasions to attempt the like again for their Advantage making the English but Slaves to gather Substance to satiate their cruel Malice and Lust whensoever they find themselves in case to Surprize them as they have done in several Ages They remember that in the best of former times the Irish did so exceed in number as that the Governors never could or durst fully execute the Laws for true Reformation for fear of Disturbance having some hope always by civil and faiâ— intreaty to win them into a Civil and Peaceable Life as if Peace should now be granted them before the Sword of Famâ—â—â—â—ave so abated them in number as that in reasonable time English Colonies might overtop them and and so perhaps frame the reside Into English Manners and Civil course of Life by Trades or other good Industry to take comfort in a quiet Life the English do plainly foresee it can never be safe for them to cohabit with them secure for England to enjoy them or likely that themselves separate from the English can ever digest into a People good to themselves or profitable to their King and Country We hope it will not be conceived out of what we have here written that we are Enemies to Peace nay we do from our hearts desire Peace and do pray the Eternal God of Peace to grant it to your Majesty in all your Dominions as the greatest Blessing on Earth that can be bestowed on the Sons of Men and we shall in due time with all our Power Skill and Industry under the Prudent Conduct and Direction of your Majesty endeavour to fix it here but we humbly crave leave to affirm that the settlement of it in this Kingdom will be of a different consideration from the rest of your Dominions if we observe the present State of these Rebels the temperature and natural inclination of the Irish their Ancestors former deportment to the English in all Ages their antient and unchang'd Resolution to expulse them by Force or Fraud and their obdurate wilfulness to set up and maintain Popery here without permitting the Protestant Religion and although by a present Peace if the Rebels would consent to it we for our parts might hope to gain a breathing time and perhaps for some years a little profit out of our poor Estates here yet we are not so vile as to value any thing that shall concern our own particular when it may not consist with the due care which we ought and ever shall have of your Majesties Honour and Safety and the future safety and happiness of your Posterity and this your Kingdom And howsoever it be true that all the peril and damage we undergo and all the Arms we desire to have used and borne here is but by Gods Blessing to bring on a safe and lasting Peace yet we can no way apprehend that it can be so done till the Sword have abated these Rebels in Number and Power yet not to the utter extirpation of the Nation which is far from our thoughts though some to render us the more odious report so of us but to the Levelling of the Rebels so as they may fully know it is not their strength and Obstinacy but your own gracious Mercy and Indulgence that can make you shew your Princely love to Peace and which shall also put these Irish Rebels into such a Case as not so easily as now to relapse into their ever affected Commotions and Prosecution of their continued purpose to extirpate the English and shall also give your Majesty more liberty of Judgment who are fit objects of your Mercy or Justice to be applied as in your high wisdom you shall find cause We confess we are at this time in a very terrible want of means to support a War as we often and lately to the full declared thither whence only we must expect reinforcement and we foresee that unless Supplies of Mony Munition Arms Cloaths and other Habiliments of War be speedily sent us we have little hope to escape utter destruction and loss of the Kingdom yet seeing the cause of God and the perpetual safety of your Majesty your Prosperity and your Dominions under Gods Providence is the matter and ground of our so deep engagement and having had hitherto such experience of God's mighty Sustentation we cannot despair of his goodness in granting us even some expected aid And being now at a very low ebb through these wants yet having a wonderful comfort in the alacrity and constant courage of our Men of War amidst their exrteam Sufferings we dare say in the confidence of Faithful Subjects and Servants to your Majesty that if those Supplies can in any time come unto us we shall be able by Gods guidance to overcome and avenge the wickedness of these Unjust and Disloyal attempts against your Sacred Majesty and your good People and so find a way to that Peace which may befit the greatness and Wisdom of your Majesty to grant and which we heartily long for being at this time pressed with as much calamity as Men can bear yet not able in our Judgments to perceive that a present Peace can free us and the Protestants here from a certain though perhaps a Lingering Ruine and the dangerous consequences thereof And we in like manner affirm that nothing under God could have brought us to this hard Condition or subjected your Majesties affairs here to the hazard they now stand in but the unexpected failing of Privisions timely ministred unto us without which we always signified thither that this Kingdom could not be sustained out of any subsistance
here These things most Dread Sovereign are of so great and important consideration towards securing the future Peace and Safety of your Sacred Majesty your Royal Posterity your Kingdoms and good Subjects as we could not without breach of Faith and Loyalty to your Majesty forbear thus truly and plainly to represent them and howsoever the Rebels are pleased unjustly to traduce and calumniate us and our proceedings without any cause given on our parts other then our Faithfulness to you our most Dear and Gracious Lord and Master which Reproaches from them we are content for your sake to bear as we are ready to Sacrifice our Lives for you Yet we humbly beseech your Majesty to give us leave with the freedom of Faithful Servants to affirm to your Majesty in the presence of God to whom and to your Majesty we are accountable for uprightness in all our Councils and Actions that we fall upon no Expressions herein out of any hatred to the Persons of them or any of them or out of any sinister ends of advantage to our selves but only out of necessary duty to God and to your Majesty for whom we hope God hath reserved the high honour of that great work of full settlement and reformation of this your Kingdom to which none of your Royal Ancestors could attain although your Royal Father King James of Blessed memory made a fair entrance towards it by a sweet and peaceable way which glorious beginning of his the Rebels have quite overturned and defac'd And now having clearly and in zealous duty laid open our hearts to your Royal Majesty we in all humility submit and intirely depend on your Majesties Commands whether for Peace or War and shall with all fervency imploy our Bodies and Minds to execute whatsoever you shall in your high Wisdom prescribe humbly beseeching the Almighty Guider of all Humane Councils to grant you his Divine Assistance from the Wisdom which is ever about his Throne And so we humbly remain from your Majesties Castle of Dublin the 16th day of March 1642. Your Majesties most Loyal and most Faithful Subjects and Servants William Parsons Jo. Borlace La. Dublin Cha. Lambart Ad. Loftus Ge. Shurley Ger. Lowther J. Temple Tho. Rotheram Rob. Meredith Appendix V. An Abridgement of the Irish Remonstrance of Grievances THAT they being necessitated to take Arms for the Preservation of their Religion the Maintenance of His Majesties Rights and Prerogatives the natural and just Defence of their own Lives and Estates and the Liberties of their Country have often attempted to present their humble Complaints to His Majesty but were prevented therein by the Power and Vigilancy of the Lords Justices c. Who by the Assistance of the Malignant party now in Rebellion in England the better to accomplish the Extirpation of their Religion and Nation have hindred their Access to the Kings Justice which might have prevented much mischief and having notice now of a Commission to hear their Proposals in which are these words albeit we do extreamly detest the odious Rebellion which the Recusants of Ireland have without Ground or Colour raised against us our Crown and Dignity they conceive them to have proceeded from the misrepresentation of their Enemies and do protest they have been therein traduced to the King for that they never entertained any Rebellious thought against His Majesty his Crown or Dignity but are his faithful Loyal Subjects and desire to be owned so and as such they present the ensuing Grievances and Causes of the then present Distempers 1. That the Catholicks whom neither Reward nor Persecution could tempt from their Religion these 1300 Years are by the Statute of 2 Eliz. made incapable of Places of Honour or Trust their Nobles are become contemptible their Gentry debar'd from Learning in the Universities or Publick Schools and their younger Brothers for want of imployment are forced to live in Ignorance and Contempt at home or to their great discomfort and impoverishing of the Country to seek Education and Fortune abroad Misfortunes made incident to the Catholicks only their Number Quality and Loyalty considered of all the Nations in Christendom 2. That Men of mean Condition and Quality for the most part were placed in all Offices of Trust and Honour who being to begin a Fortune built it on the Ruines of the Catholicks and to ingratiate themselves scandalized the Papists and rendered them suspected and odious in England whereby arose the Opposition to the Graces promised or intended to the Natives by His Majesty or his Father and the false Inquisitions on feigned Titles against many Hundred years Possession and no Travers or Petition of Right admitted thereunto nor any Bar to it except Letters Patents which when produced were also declared void so that 150 of them were avoided in one Morning so little regard was had to the great Seal which is the publick Faith of the Kingdom And the Jurors were forced even by infamous Punishments to find such Inquisitions against their Consciences 3. That the Graces granted by the King and his Father were rendered unprofitable and fruitless to the Natives by the immortal Hatred of Sir William Parsons and the impeached Judges and their Adherents so that the publick Faith involved in those Grants was violated 4. That by the many wilful and erronious Decrees in the Court of Wards the Heirs of Catholicks were cruelly dealt with destroyed in their Estates and bred in Dissolution and Ignorance their Parents debts unsatisfied their Brothers and Sisters unprovided for Mesne Tenures unregarded Conveyances for valuable consideration avoided against Law and the whole Kingdom filled with Swarms of Escheators Feodaries Pursivants e. 5. That the Catholicks have without Reluctancy or repining contributed to all the Subsidies Loans and extraordinary Grants made to His Majesty amounting to Well near One Million of Pounds over and above his Revenue and thereunto were the most forward and thereof bore nine parts of Ten yet their Adversaries by the Opportunity of their continual Addresses to His Majesty to increase their Reputation in getting in of those Moneys and their Authority in distribution thereof to His Majesties great Disservice assumed to themselves to be procurers thereof and represented the Catholicks as obistnate and refractory 6. That the Army raised here with great charge was disbanded by the pressing importunity of the Malignant Party in England because they said it was Popish and therefore not to be trusted and although that Malignant Party did invade his Majesties Prerogative and Sir William Parsons and Sir Adam Loftus did declare that an Army of Ten Thousand Scots would come to Ireland to force the Catholicks to change their Religion and that Ireland would never do well without a Rebellion to extirpate the Remainder of the Natives and though Wagers were laid at the Assizes that within a Year no Catholick should be left in Ireland and though they saw the Irish Parliament unjustly incroach'd upon by the Acts and Orders of the Parliament of
even this was sent to the Lord Lieutenant and His Majesties Directions were prayed therein and the like was done by a Paper of Grievances sent by the Lord Mountgarret to the Earl of Ormand at the same time and in August 1642. the Remonstrants sent to the Earl of Ormond a Petition directed to His Majesty which accordingly the Lords Justices transmitted to him That the Lords Justices did endeavour to stop the spreading of the Rebellion and to reduce the Rebels to Obedience by fair means Viz. by their Proclamations of 23 d. of October and 1 st of November promising Mercy to all that should desist from force by imploying a Committee of Parliament to treat with them but they scornfully rejected the Message and contemptuously tore the Committees Letter and the Order of Parliament and by imploying Doctor Cale and some of their own Clergy to treat with them whom they likewise abused and by authorizing the Lord Moor and afterwards Sir Richard Barnwall and Patrick Barnwall to perswade them to Submission and by giving Commissions to the Lord Gormanstown and other of the Remonstrants but whilst they found Success they were deaf to all Perswasions and now that they are baffled they forge Causes of Complaint so that His Majesty is not misinformed nor the Remonstrants unjustly traduced nor misrepresented to the King To the first Article they say that it is too general and generally untrue that Popery is a New Religion midwived into the World by the Council of Trent which ended 1563 and therefore could not be professed by the Remonstrants nor their Ancestors for 1300 Years that the Irish were at first Protestants as Bishop Vsher hath proved at large and in Henry the Eight's Reign were averse to the Papal Usurpations and consented to Laws to suppress them and generally came to Church until 13 Eliz. some of them flew off upon the Bull of Piut V. and 30 Eliz. upon the Arrival of some Spaniards shipwrackt on the Coast of Ireland the Apostasie became more common however the Recâ—sancy of coming to Church was not general until about the middle of King James his Reign But however that be this is certain that the Papists were so far from being persecuted that all Laws against them were suspended and they enjoyed a Connivance little differing from a Toleration so that even their Ecclesiastical Heirarchy publickly executed their Functions and the Clergy swarmed to that Degree that Paul Harris wrote to Pope Vrban 8ht That it was as difficult to number the Friers in Dublin as to reckon the Frogs in the second Plague of Egypt That notwithstanding the Statute of 2 Eliz. there have been ten chief Judges successively and all the inferior Judges of Irish Birth and Education that the first English Judge that came over after that Statute was Sir Robert Gardiner 29 Eliz. That several Irish Papists had commands in the Queen's Army and were Governors of Counties as the Earl of Thomond Clanrickard c. And even now at the Time of the Insurrection Papists were admitted to be High Sheriffs of Counties Justices of Peace Magistrates of Corporations Marshals upon Occasion Councellors at Law Doctors of Physick Clerks Attornies and Sollicitors c. so that none go abroad but for their Improvement as the Gentry of all Countries do or to Seminaries to become Clergymen And these Popish Natives have had their share of His Majesties Favour in dispensing of Honour several of them having been made Lords Baronets and Knights and such as were capable of it by Conformity and Education were preferred in the Church and even those that were unfit for it and were Papists were nevertheless upon an external and partial Conformity only continued in their Spiritual Dignities by Queen Elizabeth notwithstanding the Statute of 2 Eliz. Their Nobility had all the respect and priviledge which good manners and the Law gives to their Quality and by the industry and improvements of their English Tenants lived more Regularly Plentifully and Gentilely than any of their Ancestors ever did or could and that the Popish Youth were never denied admittance into any Free-School nor into the University nor any Question made about their Religion only when they come to be Graduates they must then conform to the Laws of the Land and the Statutes of the Colledge and the Answerers think that the Remonstrants have small reason to complain whilst they enjoy those Liberties and Favours which are denied to the Popish Natives of England who though less in number are much superior to the Remonstrants in Quality Loyalty and Riches But if the Laws of the Land do exclude Recusants from Offices of Trust and Honour they ought to have patience till his Majesty shall think fit to consent to a Repeal of them nay if their Oppressions were without Law their proper Remedy were by Supplication and Petition to the King and not by Murther Rebellion and Depredation To the Second they say it is an aspersion on the King for the ill choice of his Officers and is so undutiful that no Person of Honour will appear in it it was devised by the Popish Clergy and the Jesuited Lawyers who are the Firebrands of these horrible Flames which have almost consumed the Kingdom and it is notoriously false for the chief Government hath been placed either in Men of Nobility or great Estate or in Men of great Merit and in a high Station none of which ever built their Fortune on the Ruine of the Kings Subjects but some of them have been undone by the unjust clamour of the Irish who never endure long any English Governor that endeavours their legal obedience to the Crown So that of One and Twenty chief Governours successively Thirty Privy Councellors Twelve chief Judges and several inferior Judges sent out of England since the Statute of 2 Eliz. not one of them left any Estate there nor were enriched by that Service and even the Earl of Strafford paid great Sums of Mony for what he bought there whereas such of the Natives of that Kingdom as were Judges have left great and visible estates whereby it will appear who built most upon the Ruines of the Natives That the Natives became suspected and odious in England not by any scandals cast upon them but by their degeneracy and frequent Rebellions whereby Ireland whilst managed by them was always in disorder and so poor that it was a continual charge to England whereas since the management of it by English the dependancy of the People is placed in the Crown Legal Properties are secured the Irish pernicious Customs abolished Civility introduced the Kingdom improved so that it was better able to give Ten Subsidies now than one in former times Trade and Commerce increased the Revenue advanced from 8000 to 85000 l. per Annum the Laws duly administred Religion propagated the Army maintained without oppressing the Subject and a Navy kept to guard the Coasts the People are grown Rich and Numerous the breed of Cattle bettered and
side was urged a contrary proceeding to the utter cutting off all the English Protestants where to the Instances of the dismissed Moors it was answered that that was sole act of the King and Queen of Spain contrary to the Advice of their Council which howsoever it might gain that Prince a name of Mercy yet therein the event shewed him to be most unmerciful not only to his own but to all Christendom besides That this was evident in the great and excessive charge that Spain hath been since that time put unto by these Moors and their Posterity to this day All Christendom also hath and doth still groan under the miseries it doth suffer by the Piracies of Argiers Sally and the like Dens of Thieves That all this might have been prevented in one hour by a general Massacre applying that it was no less dangerous to expel the English That these Robbed and Banished men might again return with Swords in their hands who by their hard usage in spoiling might be exasperated and by the hope of recovering their former Estates would be incensed far more than strangers that were sent against them being neither in their Persons injured nor grieved in their Estates that therefore a general Massacre was the safest and readiest way for freeing the Kingdom of any such fears 3. In which diversity of Opinions howsoever the first prevailed with some for which the Franciscans saith this Fryer one of their Guardians did stand yet others inclined to the Second some again leaned to a Middle way neither to dismiss nor kill And according to this do we find the event and course of their proceedings In some places they are generally put to the Sword or to other Miserable ends some restrain their Persons in durance knowing it to be in their hands to dispatch them at their pleasures in the mena time they being reserved eitheir for profit by their Ransom or for exchange of Prisoners or gaining their own Pardons by the lives of their Prisoners if Time would serve or by their death if the worst did happen to satisfie their fury The Third sort at the first altogether dismissed their Prisoners but first having spoiled them of their Goods and after of their Raiment exposed the miserable wretches to Cold and Famine whereby many have perished by deaths worse than Sword or Halter Hitherto of their Councils and the effects of them Now for their intentions all being reduced which God forbid into their Power and thereof they do as by some Law give such peremptory conclusions that it may well be wondred the thoughts of men professing themselves wise should be so vain and herein I do still follow mine Informer First Their Loyalty to his Majesty shall be still reserved Thus say they of the modest sort but both his Revenues and Government must be reduced to certain bounds His Rents none other than the antient Reservations before the Plantation and the Customs so ordered as to them shall be thought fitting Secondly For the Government such as would be esteemed Loyal would have it committed to the hands of two Lords Justices one of the antient Irish race the other of the antient British Inhabitants in the Kingdom Provided that they be of the Romish profession Thirdly That a Parliament be forthwith called consisting of whom they shall think fit to be admitted wherein their own Religious men shall be assistants Fourthly Poinings Act must be Repealed ☜ and Ireland declared to be a Kingdom Independent on England and without any reference unto it in any case whatsoever Fifthly All Acts prejudical to the Romish Reiligion shall be abolished and it to be Enacted That there be none other Profession in the Kingdom but the Romish Sixthly That only the antient Nobility of the Kingdom shall stand and of them Such as shall refuse to conform to the Romish Religion to be removed and others put in their room howsoever the present Earl of Kildare must be put out and another put in his place Seventhly All Plantation Lands to be recalled and the anuient Proprietors to be Reinvested in their formere Estates with the limitations in their Covenant expressed That they had not formerly Sold their Interests on valuable considerations Eightly That the respective Counties of the Kingdom be Subdivided and certain Bounds or Baronies assigned to the chief Septs and others of the Nobility who are to be answerable for the Government thereof and that a standing Army may be still in being the respective Governors being to keep a certain Number of men to be ready at all Risings out as they term it They also being to build and maintain certain Fortresses in places most convenient within their Precincts and that these Governors be of absolute Power only responsible to the Parliament Lastly For maintaining a correspondence with other Nations and for securing the Coasts That also they may be rendred considerable unto others a Navy of a certain number of Ships is to be maintained That to this end five Houses are to be appointed one in each Province accounting Meath for one of them That to these Houses shall be allotted an Annual Pension of certain Thousands of Pounds to be made up of part of the Lands appropriate to Abbies and a further contribution to be raised in the respective Provinces to that end That these Houses are to be assigned to a certain Order of Knights answerable to that of Malta who are to be Seamen And to maintain this Fleet that all prizes are to be appointed some part for a Common Bank the rest to be divided to which purpose the felling of Woods serviceable for this use is to be forbidden The House for this purpose to be Assigned to the Provice of Leinster is Kilmainham or rather Howth the Lord of Howth to be otherwise accommodated provided that he joyn with them that place being esteemed most convenient in respect of Situation For effecting of all which they cast up the Accounts of the whole Forces of this Kingdom ☜ that it is able to make up readily Two hundred thousand able men wanting only Commanders and some expert Soldiers for the present with Arms and Ammunition of all which they expect a speedy supply out of Flanders their own Regiments there Exercised being to be sent over and some Ships from Spain allotted for Service That this Kingdom being setled There are Thirty thousand men to be sent into England to joyn with the French and Spanish Forces and the Service in England performed jointly to fall upon Scotland for reducing both Kingdoms to the obedience of the Pope which being finished they have engaged themselves to the King of Spain for assisting him against the Hollanders And for drawing their followers to some Head and for giving the fairer Gloss to their foul Rebellion it is to be admired what strange and unlikely rumours of their own devising they cast abroad sometimes that many Sail of Spaniards are Landed now at one Port then at another that Drogheda
Protestant Subjects And that all the Laws and Statutes established in that Kingdom against Popery and Popish Recusants may continue of Force and be put in due Execution 3. That Restitution be made of all our Churches and Church Rights and Revenues and all our Churches and Chappels re-edified and put in as good Estate as they were at the breaking out of the Rebellion and as they ought to be at the charge of the Confederate Roman-Catholicks as they call themselves who have been the occasion of rhe Deftruction of the said Churches and possessed themselves of the Profits and Revenues thereof 4. That the Parliament now sitting in Ireland may be continued there for the better settlement of the Kingdom and that all Persons duly Indicted in the said Kingdom of Treason Felony or other Heinous Crimes may be duly and legally Proceeded against Outlawed Tryed and Adjudged according to Law and that all Persons lawfully Convicted and Attainted or to be Convicted and Attainted for the same may receive due Punishment accordingly 5. That no man may take upon him or execute the Office of a Mayor or Magistrate in any Corporation or the Office of a Sheriff or Justice of Peace in any City or County in the said Kingdom until he have first taken the Oaths of Supremacy and Allegiance 6. That all Popish Lawyers who refuse to take the Oath of Supremacy and Allegiance may be Suppressed and Restrained from Practice in that Kingdom the rather because the Lawyers in England do not here practise until they take the Oath of Supremacy and it hath been found by Woful Experience that the Advice of Popish Lawyers to the People of Ireland hath been a great cause of their continued disobedience 7. That there may be a present absolute Suppression and Dissolution of all the Assumed Arbitrary and Tyrannical Power which the said Consederates exercise over your Majesties Subjects both in Causes Ecclesiastical and Temporal 8. That all the Arms and Ammunition of the said Confederates be speedily brought into your Majesties Stores 9. That your Majesties Protestant Subjects Ruined and Destroyed by the said Confederates may be Repaired for their great Losses out of the Estates of the said Confederates not formerly by any Acts of this present Parliament in England otherwise disposed of whereby they may the better be enabled to re-inhabit and defend the said Kingdom of Ireland 10. That the said Confederates may Rebuild the several Plantation-Houses and Castles Destroyed by them in Ireland in as good state as they were at the breaking out of the Rebellion which your Majesties Protestant Subjects have been bound by their several Patents to Build and Maintain for your Majesties Service 11. That the great Arrears of Rent due to your Majesty out of the Estates of your Majesties Protestant Subjects at and since Michaelmas 1641 may be paid unto your Majesty by such of the Consederates who have either received the said Rents to the uses of the said Confederates or destroyed the same by disabling your Majesties Protestant Subjects to pay the same and have also destroy'd all or the most part of all other Rents or means of support belonging to your said Protestant Subjects And that your said Protestant Subjects may be discharged of all such Arrears of Rents to your Majesty 12. That the said Confederates may give satisfaction to the Army for the great Arrears due unto them since the Rebellion and that such Commanders as have raised Forces at their own charges and laid forth great Sums of Money out of their own Purses and engaged themselves for Money and Provisions to keep themselves their Holds and Soldiers under their Commands in the due necessary defence of your Majesties Rights and Laws may be in due sort satisfied to the encouragement of others in like times and cases which may happen 13 That touching such parts of the Confederate Estates as being forfeited for their Treasons are come or shall duly come into your Majesties Hands and Possession by that Title your Majesty after the due satisfaction first made to such as claim by former Acts of Parliament would be pleased to take the same into your own Hands and Possession And for the necessary encrease of your Majesties Revenue and better security of the said Kingdom of Ireland and the Protestant Subjects living under your Gracious Government there to plant the same with British and Protestants upon reasonable and honourable Terms 14. That one good Walled Town may be Built and kept Repaired in every County of the said Kingdom of Ireland and Endowed and Furnished with necessary and sufficient means of Legal and Just Government and Defence for the better security of your Majesties Laws and Rights more especially the true Protestant Religion in time of danger in any of which Towns no Papist may be permitted to Dwell or Inhabit 15. That for the better satisfaction of Justice and your Majesties Honour and for the future Security of the said Kingdom and your Majesties Protestant Subjects there exemplary Punishment according to Law may be inflicted upon such as have there Traiterously Levied War and taken up Arms against your Majesties Protestant Subjects and Laws and therein against your Majesty especially upon such as have had their hands in the shedding of Innocent Blood or had to do with the First Plot or Conspiracy or since that time have done any notorious Murder or Overt Act of Treason 16. That all your Majesties Towns Forts and places of Strength destroyed by the said Confederates since the said Rebellion may be by them and at their Charges Re-edified and delivered up into your Majesties hands to be duly put into the Government under your Majesty and your Laws of your good Protestants and that all Strengths and Fortifications made and set up by the said Confederates since the said Rebellion may be slighted and thrown down or else delivered up and disposed of for Protestant Government and Security as aforesaid 17. That according to the Presidents of former times in cases of general Rebellions in Ireland the Attainders which have been duly had by Outlawry for Treason done in this Rebellion may be established and confirmed by Act of Parliament to be in due form of Law transmitted and passed in Ireland and that such Traitors as for want of Protestant and indifferent Jurors to Indict them in the proper County are not yet Indictd not Convicted or Attainted by Outlary or otherwise may upon due proof of their Offences be by like Acts of Parliament Convicted and Attainted and all such Offenders forfeit their Estates as to Law appertaineth and your Majesty to be adjudged and put in possession without any Office or Inquisition to be had 18. That your Majesties Protestant Subjects may be restored to the quiet Possession of all their Castles Houses Mannors Lands Tenements Hereditaments and Leases and to the quiet possession of the Rents thereof as they had the same before and at the time of the breaking forth of this Rebellion and from whence
without due process and Judgment of Law they have since then been put or kept out and may be answered of and for all the mean profits of the same in the interim and for all the time until they shall be so restored 19. That your Majesties said Protestant Subjects may also be restored to all their Monies Plate Jewels Houshold-stuff Goods and Chattels whatsoever which without due Process or Judgment of Law have been by the said Confederates taken or detained from them since the contriving of the said Rebellion which may be gained in kind or the full value thereof if the same may not be had in kind and the like restitution to be made for all such things which during the said time hath been delivered to any Person or Persons of the said Confederates in trust to be kept or preserv'd but are by colour thereof still withholden 20. That the establishment and maintenance of a compleat Protestant Army and sufficient Protestant Soldiers and Forces for the time to come be speedily taken into your Majesties Prudent Just and Gracious Consideration and such a course laid down and continued according to the Rules of good Government that your Majesties Right and Laws the Protestant Religion and Peace of that Kingdom be no more endangered by the like Rebellions in time to come 21. That whereas it appeareth in Print that the said Confederates amongst other things aim at the Repeal of Poyning's Law thereby to open an easy and ready way in the passing of Acts of Parliament in Ireland without having them first well considered of in England which may produce many dangerous consequences both to that Kingdom and to your Majesties other Dominions your Majesty would be pleased to resent and reject all propositions tending to introduce so great a diminution of your Royal and necessary Power for the confirmation of your Royal Estate and protection of your good Protestant Subjects both there and elsewhere 22. That your Majesty out of your grace and favour to your Protestant Subjects of Ireland would be pleased to consider effectually of answering them that you will not give order for or allow of the transmitting into Ireland any Act of general Oblivion Release or Discharge of Actions or Suits whereby your Majesties said Protestant Subjects there may be barred or deprived of their legal Remedies which by your Majesties Laws and Statutes of that Kingdom they may have against the said Confederates or any of them or any of their Party for and in respect of any wrongs done unto them or any of their Ancestors or Predecessors in or concerning their Lives Liberties Persons Lands Goods or Estates since the contriving and breaking forth of the said Rebellion 23. That some fit course may be considered of to prevent the filling or overlaying of the Commons House of Parliament in Irelaâ—d with Popish Recusants being ill affected Members and that provision be duly made that none shall vote or sit therein but such as shall first take the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy 24. That the proofs and manifestations of the truth of the several matters contained in the Petition of your Majesties Protestant Subjects of Ireland lately presented to your Majesty may be duly examined discussed and in that respect the final conclusion of things respited for a convenient time their Agents being ready to attend with proofs in that behalf as your Majesty shall appoint In Answer whereunto it was replyed by the Committee of Lords and others of Irish affairs at Oxford 1. THat their Lordships did not think that the Propositions presented by the Protestant Agents to his Majesty and that Morning read before their Lordships were the sense of the Protestants of Ireland 2. That those propositions were not agreeable to the Instructions given the said Agents by the Protestants of Ireland 3. That if â—hose Propositions were not withdrawn they would lay a prejudice on his Majesty and his Ministers to posterity these remaining on Record if a Treaty should go on and Peace follow which the Kings necessity did enforce and that the Lords of the Committee apprehended the said Agents did flatly oppose a Peace with the Irish 4. That it would be impossible for the King to grant the Protestants Agents desires and grant a Peace to the Irish 5. That the Lords of the Committee desired the Protestant Agents to propose a way to effect their desires either by Force or Treaty considering the condition of his Majesties affairs in England To the First Note the Paâ—â—liament of Iâ—eland was interogated on the point and did declare their concurrence with what their Agents had done the Protestant Agents replyed That they humbly conceived that the Propositions which they had presented to his Majesty were the sense of the Protestants of Ireland To the Second That the Propositions are agreeable to the instructions given to the said Agents by the Protestants of Ireland and conduced to the well settlement of that Kingdom To the Third that they had no thought to draw prejudice on his Majesty or their Lordships by putting in those Propositions neither had they so soon put in Propositions had not his Majesty by his Answer to the Protestant Petition directed the same To the Fourth The said Agents humbly conceived that they were imployed to make proof of the effect of the Protestant Petition to manifest the Inhumane Cruelties of the Rebels and then to offer such things as they they thought fit for the security of the Protestants in their Religion Lives Liberties and Fortunes that the said Protestants had not disaffection to Peace so as Punishment might be inflicted according to Law as in the Propositions are expressed and that the said Protestants might be repaired for their great Losses out of the Estates of the Rebels not formerly by any Acts of this present Parliament in England otherwise disposed of which the said Agents desired might be represented to his Majesty and the Lords of the Committee accordingly To the Fifth that the said Protestant Agents were Strangers to His Majesties affairs in England and conceived that part more proper for the Advice of his Councils than the said Agents and therefore desired to be excused for medling in the Treaty further than the manifesting of the Truth of the Protestant Petition and purposing in the behalf of the Protestants according to the Instructions given them which the said Agents were ready to perform whensoever they should be admitted thereunto Touching which and other particulars there were many motions but the proofs they would have insisted upon by the importunity of other affairs never came to their due discussion Appendix XXII Instructions for the Agents who are to attend His Most Sacred Majesty on the behalf of His Majesties Protestant Subjects of Ireland 1. FIrst most humbly to represent unto His Most Sacred Majesty the Remonstrance or Petition of his truly obedient and loyal Subjects the Protestants of this his Kingdom of Ireland intituled To the King 's Most Excâ—llent Majesty
inconveniencies the Supremacy of Rome and take away or much endanger your Majesties supream and just Authority in Causes Ecclesiastical Administration of Honour and Power not to be endured the said Acts extending as well to seditious Sectaries as to Popish Recusants so as by the Repeal thereof any Man may seem to be left to chuse his own Religion in that Kingdom which must needs beget great Confusion and the abounding of the Roman Clergy hath been one of the greatest Occasions of this late Rebellion Besides it is humbly desired that your Majesty will be pleased to take into your gracious Consideration a Clause in the Act of Parliament passed by your Majesties Royal Assent in England in the 17 th year of your Reign touching Punishments to be inflicted upon those that shall introduce the Authority of the See of Rome in any Cause whatsoever 2. Prop. That your Majesty will be pleased to call a free Parliament in the said Kingdom to be held and continued as in the said Remonstrance is expressed and the Statute of the Tenth Year of King Henry the Seventh called Poyning'â— Acts explaining or enlarging the same be suspended during that Parliament for the speedy Settlement of the present Affairs and the Repeal thereof to be there further considered of Answ Whereas their desire to have a free Parliament called reflecteth by secret and cunning Implication upon your Majesties present Parliament in Ireland as if it were not a free Parliament We humbly beseech your Majesty to represent how dangerous it is to make such insinuation or intimation to your People of that Kingdom touching that Parliament wherein several Acts of Parliament have already past the validity whereof may be endangered if the Parliament should not be approved as a free Parliament and it is a point of high Nature as we humbly conceive is not properly to be discussed but in Parliament and your Majesties said Parliament now sitting is a free Parliament in Law holden before a Person of Honour and Fortune in the Kingdom composed of good loyal and well-affected Subjects to your Majesty who doubtless will be ready to comply in all things that shall appear to be pious and just for the good of the true Protestant Religion and for your Majesties Service and the good of the Church and State that if this present Parliament should be dissolved it would be a great Terror and Discontent to all your Majesties Protestant Subjects of the Kingdom and may be also a means to force many of your Majesties Subjects to quit that Kingdom or peradventure to adhere to some other party there in opposition of the Romish Irish Confederates rather than to be liable to their Power which effects may prove of most dangerous Consequence And we humbly offer to your Majesties Consideration your own gracious Expression mentioned in the Grounds and Motives inducing your Majesty to agree to a Cessation of Arms for one whole Year with the Roman Catholicks of Ireland Printed at Oxford the Ninteenth of October 1643. And let all our good Subjects be assured that as we have for these reasons and with Caution and Deliberation consented to the Proposition to peace and to that purpose do continue our Parliament there so we shall proceed in the accomplishing thereof with that Care and Circumspection that we shall not admit even Peace it self otherwise than it may be agreeable to Conscience Honour and Justice We also humbly desire that such Laws as your Majesty shall think fit to pass may be transmitted according to Poyning's Law and other Laws of Explanation thereof or of Addition thereunto now in force with great Contentment and Security to your Majesties Protestant Subjects but if the present Parliament be dissolved we humbly represent unto your Majesty that so many of your ablest and best Protestant Subjects have been murthered or banished by this Rebellion that few or no Protestant Freeholders will be found in the Countries Cities or Boroughs to elect and chuse Knights Citizens or Burgesses which will be most dangerous to your Majesties Rights and Prerogatives and good Subjects and may beget great disputes in After-times for the repealings of Poyning's Acts notwithstanding their seigned Expressions of their Loyalty yet it plainly appeareth they do not repose such Trust in your Majesties Justice as becomes Loyal Subjects to do and such they pretend themselves to be for that they seek thereby to prevent your Majesty and your Council of England and Ireland of so full a View and Time of Mature Consideration to be had of Acts of Parliament of Ireland before they pass as in prudence is requisite and hath been found necessary by the Experience of well near Two Hundred Years and if their intentions were so clear as they profess we know not why they should avoid the strictest View and Trial of your Majesty and your Councils of both Kingdoms this their desire tending to introduce a grand Diminution to the royal and necessary Power for the Conservation of your regal State and Protection of your good Protestant Subjects there and elsewhere and what special use they aim at in seeking such a repeal your Protestant Subjects as they know not the particular so can they conjecture of none unless the said Confederates have some design by way of surprize to obtrude upon your Majesty in their new desired Parliament some Acts of Justification of their ill-done Actions and for condemning such of your Protestant Subjects as have in their several Degrees most faithfully served your Majesty there which we the rather believe seeing they have vowed by their Oath of Association and the Bull lately published in Ireland since the Cessation the Destruction of the Protestants there when they have the Sword in their hands to put the same in Execution 3. Prop. That all Acts and Ordinances made and passed in the now pretended Parliament in that Kingdom since the Seventh Day of August 1641. be clearly annulled and declared void and taken off the File Answ We humbly desire that they particularize those Orders and Ordinances which may prejudice your Majesties Service for we are well assured that the Parliament now sitting in Ireland on Signification of your Majesties Pleasure therein will give your Majesty full satisfaction or repeal any unjust Orders or Ordinances whatsoever which may be prejudicial to your Majesty And there may be some Orders or Ordinances which may concern particular Persons in their Lives Liberties or Fortunes that may suffer unheard by the admitting of so general a Proposition which is meerly proposed as we humbly conceive to put a Scorn upon your Majesties Parliament now sitting there and to discourage your Protestant Subjects who have faithfully served your Majesty in that Parliament 4. Prop. That all Indictments Attainders Outlawries in the King's-Bench or elsewhere since the said Seventh Day of August 1641. and all Letters Patents Grants Leases Custodiums Bonds Recognizances and all other Records Act or Acts depending thereon or in prejudice of the said Catholicks
or any of them be taken off the File annulled and declared void First by your Majesties Proclamation and after by Act to be passed in the said free Parliament Answ This we conceive to be a very bold Proposition not warranted as we also conceive by any Example and tending to introduce an ill President in After-times for that was never seen that the Records were taken off the File but where there was some Corruption or Fraud or some illegal or unjust Carriage used concerning the procuring or making up of such Records and the same first we 'll proved upon due Examination and that may not only conceal but in some sort seem to justify their abominable Treasons Murders Cruelties Massacres and Plunders acted against your Majesties Person Crown and Dignity upon the Persons of your Majesties most Loyal Protestant Subjects in that Kingdom and encourage the Papists to do the like again besides the discouragement it may beget in your Majesties Officers and Subjects to do their duties in the like Insurrections which may happen hereafter which also may prove very prejudicial to your Majesties Rights and Revenues if the Records to support the forfeitures wherein many of them are or may be grounded should be taken off the File and Cancelled 5. Prop. That inasmuch as under colour of such Outlawries and Attainders Debts due unto the said Catholicks have been Granted Levyed and disposed of and of the other side that Debts due upon the said Catholicks to those of the adverse Party have been levyed and disposed of to publick use that therefore all Debts be by Act of Parliament mutually released or all to stand in Statu quo notwithstanding any Grant or Dispossession Answ We humbly conceive that in time of Peace and most setled Government when the course of Law and Justice is most open and best observed that Debts due unto the Crown actually levyed and paid in to your Majesties use ought not to be restored though the Records of the Forfeitures should be legally reversed which is far from the present Case and this Proposition tendeth to cross that just right of your Majesty and to make the disposition by the Confederate Papist Rebels of Debts due to Protestants and by the said Rebels by Fraud and Force levied and disposed in maintenance of their Rebellion which cunningly they call by the name of Publick use to be in equal degree to the debts owing by the Rebels and by them all forfeited and many of them by Law duly levyed which is a most unequal and unjust thing and the said Proposition cannot nor doth make offer to have the Pope's Confederates cut off from the debts due to them which they have justly forfeited but only for a colour of consideration to have the Protestants lose such Debts justly due to them as have been unjustly taken from them who have done no Act at all to forfeit them 6. Prop. That the late Officers taken or found upon feigned or old Titles since the Year 1634 to intitle your Majesty to several Counties in Connaught Thomond the County of Tipperary Limrick Killkenny and Wicklow be vacated and taken off the File and the Possessors thereof setled and secure in their antient Estates by Act of Parliament and that the like Act of Limitation of your Majesties Titles for the security of the Estates of your Subjects in that Kingdom be passed in that Parliament as was enacted in the One and Twentieth Year of his late Majesties Reign in this Kingdom Answ We know not of any Offices found or feigned Titles nor what the Confederates may demand in respect of any Graces promised by your Majesty which we intend not nor have any occasion to dispute but do humbly conceive that all those who have committed Treason in the late Rebellion subsequent to your Majesties Promise of those Graces have thereby forfeited the benefit thereof together with the Lands to which the said Graces might else have related and so their whole Estates are now justly fallen to your Majesty by their Rebellion which we conceive is of great importance for your Majesties Service to be taken into consideration As First with regard of the Statutes made in the present Parliament of England Secondly that necessary increase of your Majesties Revenue decayed by the present Rebellion Thirdly the abolishing the evil Customs of the Irish and preservation of Religion Laws and Government there Fourthly the satisfaction of the Protestant Subjects losses in some measure Pifthly the Arrears of your Majesties Army and other debts contracted for the War and for preservation of that Kingdom to your Majesty Sixthly the bringing in of more British on the Plantation Seventhly the building of some walled Towns in remote and desolate places for the Security of that Kingdom and your Majesties good Subjects there Eighthly the taking of the Natives from their former dependency on their Chieftains who usurped an absolute Power over them to the diminution of all Regal power and to the oppression of the Inferiors 7. Prop. That all Marks of Incapacity imposed upon the Natives of that Kingdom to purchase or acquire Lands Leases Offices or Hereditaments be taken away by Act of Parliament and the same to extend to the securing of Purchases Leases or Grants already made and that for the Education of Youth an Act be passed in the next Parliament for the erecting of one or more Inns of Court Vniversities Free and Common-Schools Answ This we conceive concerneth some of the late Plantations and no other part of that Kingdom and that the restriction herein mentioned is found to be of great use especially for the indifferency of Trials Strength of the Government and for Trade and Traffick and we humbly conceive that if other Plantations shall not proceed for the setling and securing of the Kingdom and that if no restraint be made of Popish purchasing or buylng of the Protestants out of their former Plantations where they were prudently setled though now cast out of their Estates by the late Rebellion and unable to plant the same again for want of means and therefore probably upon easie Terms will part from their Estates to the Confederates that those Plantations will be destroyed to the great prejudice of your Majesties Service and endangering of the Safety of that Kingdom Touching bearing of Offices we humbly conceive that their now Conformity to the Laws and Statutes of that Realm is the only Mark of Incapacity imposed upon them We humbly conceive that we ought not to expect to be more capable there than the Englssh Natives are here in England In like manner for Schools in Ireland there are divers setled in that Kingdom already by the Laws and Statutes of that Realm if any Person well affected shall erect and endow any more Schools there at their own Charges so that the School-masters and Scholars may be governed according to Laws Customs and Orders of England and the rest of Free-Schools here we cannot apprehend any just exception thereunto But
touching Universities and Inns of Court We humbly conceive that this part of the Proposition savoureth of some desire to become independant upon England or to make aspersion on the Religion and Laws of the Kingdom which can never be truly happy but in the good Unity of both in the true Protestant Religion and in the Laws of England for as for matter of charge such of the Natives that are desirous to breed their Sons for Learning in Divinity can be well content to send them to the Universities of Lovane Doway and other Popish places in foreign Kingdoms and for Civil Law or Physick to Padua and other places which draws great Treasure yearly out of your Majesties Dominions but will send few or none of them to Oxford or Cambridge where they might as cheeply be bred up and become as Learned which course I conceive is holden out of their Pride and Disaffection towards this Kingdom and the true Religion here professed And for the Laws of the Land which are for the Common Law agreable to England and so for the greatest part of the Statutes the Inns of Court in England are sufficient and the Protestants come thither without grudging and that is a means to civilize them after the English Customs to make them familiar and in love with the Language and Nation to preserve Law in the Purity when the Professors of it shall draw from one original Fountain and see the manner of the practice of that in the same great Channel where His Majesties Courts of Justice of England do flow most clearly whereas by separation of the Kingdoms in that place of their principal Instruction where their Foundations of Learning are to be laid a degenerate Corruption in Religion and Justice may happily be introduced and spread with much more difficulty to be corrected and restrained afterwards by any Discipline to be used in Ireland or punishment there to be inflicted for departing from the true Grounds of things which are best preserved in Unity when they grow out of the same Root than if such Universities and Inns of Court as are proposed should be granted all which we humbly submit to your Majesties most pious and prudent Consideration and Judgment 8. Prop. That the Offices and Places of Command Honour Profit and Trust within that Kingdom be conferred upon Roman Catholick Natives in equality and indifferency with your Majesties other Subjects Answ We humbly conceive that the Roman Catholicks Natives of Ireland may have the like Offices and Places as the Roman Catholicks Natives of England have here and not otherwise howbeit we conceive that in the generality they have not deserved so much by their late Rebellion therefore we see not why they should be endowed with any new or farther Capacities or Priviledges than they have by the Laws and Statutes now in force in that Kingdom 9. Prop. That the insupportable Oppression of your Subjects by reason of the Court of Wards and Respit of Homage be taken away and certain Revenue in Lieu thereof setled upon your Majesty without Diminution of your Majesties Profits Answ We know of no Oppression by reason of the Court of Wards and we humbly conceive that the Court of Wards is of great use for the raising of your Majesties Revenues the preservation of your Majesties Tenures and chiefly the Education of the Gentry in the Protestant Religion and in Civility and Learning and good Manners who otherwise would be brought up in Ignorance and Barbarism their Estates be ruined by their Kindred and Friends and continue their depending upon their Chieftains and Lords to the great prejudice of your Majesties Service and Protestant Subjects and there being no colour of exception to your Majesties just Title to Wardships we know not why the taking away of your Court concerning the same should be pressed unless it be to prevent the Education of the Lords and Gentry that fall Wards in the Protestant Religion For that part of this Proposition which concerns Respit of Homage We humbly conceive that reasonable that some way may be setled for that if that standeth with your Majesties good Pleasure without prejudice to your Majesty or your Majesties Protestant Subjects 10. Prop. That no Lord not estated in the Kingdom or estated and not resident shall have vote in the said Parliament by proxy or otherwise and none admitted to the House of Commons but such as shall be estated and resident within the Kingdom Answ We humbly conceive that in the Year 1641 by the Graces which your Majesty then granted to your Subjects of Ireland the matter of this Proposition was in a fair way regulated by your utter abolishing of blank Proxies and limiting Lords present and attending in the Parliament of Ireland that no one of them should be capable of more Proxies than two and prescribing the Peers of that Kingdom not there resident to purchase fitting Proportions of Land in Ireland within five Years from the last of July 1641 or else to lose their Votes till they should make such purchases which purchases by reason of the Troubles hapning in the Kingdom and which have continued for two years and a half have not peradventure yet been made and therefore your Majesty may now be pleased and may take just occasion to enlarge that time for five Years more from the time when that Kingdom may again be setled in a happy firm peace And as to Members of the House of Commons the same is most fit as we humbly conceive to be regulated by the Laws and Statutes of that Kingdom 11. Prop. That an Act be passed in the next Parliament declaratory that the Parliament of Ireland is a free Parliament of it self independant of and not subordinate to the Parliament of England and that the Subjects of Ireland are immediately subject to your Majesty as in right of your Revenue and that the Members of the said Parliament of Ireland and all other the Subjects of Ireland are independant and no way to be ordered or concluded by the Parliament of England and are only to be ordered and governed within that Kingdom by your Majesty and such Governours as are or shall be there appointed and by the Parliament of that Kingdom according to the Laws of the Land Answ This Proposition concerns your Majesties High Court of Parliament both of England and Ireland and is beyond our Abilities who are not acquainted with the Records and Presidents of this Nature to give an Answer thereunto and therefore we humbly desire your Majesties pardon for not answering unto the same 12. Prop. That the assumed Power or Jurisdiction in the Council Board of determining all Manner of Causes be limited to Matters of State and all Patents Estates and Grants illegally and extrajudicially avoided there or elsewhere be left in State as before and the Parties grieved their Heirs or Assigns till legal Eviction Answ The Council-Table hath always exercised Jurisdiction in some Cases ever since the English Government
the said Lord Viscount Mountgarret and the rest of the Persons to be authorised as aforesaid or any Five or more of them and as to his Majesties Rents to grow due at Easter next and from thenceforth the same to be payable unto his Majesty notwithstanding any thing contained in the Article of the Act of Oblivion or in any other Article to the contrary but the same not to be written for or Lewed until a full settlement in Parliament as aforesaid 30. It is further concluded accorded and agreed by and between the said Parties and his Majesty is further graciously pleased That the Commissioners of Oâ—er and Terminer and Goal delivery to be named as aforesaid shall have power to hear and determine all Murthers Manslaughters Rapes Stealths Burning of Houses and Corn in Reek or Stacks Robberies Burglaries Forceable Entries Detainers of Possessions and other Offences committed or done and to be committed and â—one from the 15 th of September 1643 until the First day of the next Parliament These present Articles or any thing therein contained to the contrary notwithstanding Provided that the authority of the said Commissioners shall not extend to question any Person or Persons for doing or Committing any Act whatsoever before the conclusion of this Treaty by vertue or colour of any Warrant or Direction from those in pâ—ublick Authority among the Confederate Catholicks nor unto any Act which shall be done after the perfecting and concluding of these Articles by vertue or pretence of any authority which is now by these Articles agreed on Provided also the said Commission shall not continue longer than to the First day of the next Parliament In witness whereof his Excellency the Marquess of Ormond Lord Lieutenant of Iâ—eland his Majesties Commissioner to that part of these Articles remaining with the said Richard Lord Viscount Mountgarret c. and the said Lord Viscount Mountgarret c to that part of these Articles remaining with the said Lord Lieutenant have put their Hands and Seals at Dublin this 28 th day of March 1646 and in the Two and Twentieth Year of the Reign of our Sovereign King Charles King of Great Britain France and Ireland c. Appendix XXV The Petition of the Protestants of Munster against a Peace with the Irish to the Right Honourable the Lord Lieutenant General and Council of Ireland Humbly Sheweth THAT whereas after a long and happy enjoyment of the Peace and Prosperity under which by his Majesties Gracious Government this Land did lately flourish the Irish Papists of this Kingdom have on or about the Three and Twentieth day of October 1641 entred into a most Wicked and Treacherous Conspiracy to surprise the then Lords Justices and Council together with the City of Dublin and all other his Majesties Forts and Holds within this Kingdom intending thereby totally and at once to extirpate the Protestant Religion and English Nation from amongst them and consequently to alienate this Kingdom from the Crown and Government of England And for those ends although they were by the Divine Providence disappointed in the main point of that Bloody and Cruel design have pursued the same with indefatigable malice into Acts of open Rebellion and most inhumane Barbarism Robbing and Despoiling his Majesties good Subjects of their Lives and Fourtunes in all parts of the Kingdom insomuch as his Majesty for the Vindication of his Protestant Subjects from the cruel Rapines of the said Irish Papists was justly occasioned to denounce and undertake a War in this Kingdom the managing and support whereof he was graciously pleased to recommend to and entrust with his Parliament then sitting in England who having piously begun the great work of Suppressing the Cruelties of the aforesaid Irish were by the unhappy interposition of sundry fatal differences in England somented as may be greatly doubted by the Rebels of this Kingdom diverted from the careful and provident courses requisite in so important an affair By means whereof this Majesty who had undertaken the War for our defence was now constrained for our preservation to treat and conclude of a Cessation of Arms for Twelve Months space in which time he was made believe the aforesaid Irish Papists would submit to some 〈◊〉 and honourable conditions of Peace To when purpose Agents from the aforesaid Irish were admitted to have access to his Royal presence and his Majesty did not only in manifestation of his Pâ—ous and Paternal care of his Proteâ—â—ant Subjects command certain select persons welliâ—ensed and interested in the State and Affairs of this Kingâ—om to atâ—end his Royal Person and give information and assistance in the debate of so weighty a business but did also give admission to such Agents as his Protestant Subjects were able to imploy in representing their particular and general grievanced and sâ—fferings by the said Irish Papists who in the negotiation of that whole matter have endeavoured to make advantage of his Majesties 〈◊〉 and by sinister and corrupt means with a lavish expence of that treasure and those Estates which your Petitioners have been dispoled of by them to raise a Factious Party at the Court to seduce and misguide his Royal Majesty and to beguil his Judgment with a selfe opinion of their inclination to Peace and feigned forwardness to advanâ—â— his Service and to discountance and suppress those whose attendance his Majesty had required and those Agents whom your Petitioneâ—s imployed by which subtil and serpentine courses â—he said Irish Agents having quasht and deprest all opposers and accusers and removed all impediments to their 〈◊〉 ends of exâ—irpaâ—ing the English and before any equal debate of the cause proâ—â—red a transmission of the whole affair unto your Lordships with Power and Commission further to treat and conclude of such conditions as by those deceitful courses they had gained too great hope to be confirmed unto them which for some reasons was not thought fit to be done in England they do now with the same art and subtilty study to trick your Petitioners here before your Lordships and to compound for all their mischiefs multiplied upon the Heads of your Petitioners at their own rates And therefore at a time when neither your Petitioners nor any from them are present when the Agents imployed to his Sacred Majesty are unreturned to this Kingdom and whilst most of your Petitioners evidences of their detestable Treasons and horrible Barbarisms are remaining in England they endeavour to strike up the business with your Lordships upon such terms as your Petitioners who were once a considerable part of this late flourishing and now unhappy Kingdom have not the honour to be made privy unto or to be called or admitted to any debate of the business of that main influence upon themselves and their Posterity Wherefore your Petitioners having seen how far some Persons of Honour have been misguided and by secret and subtil contrivances drawn to become abused properties and instruments to accomplish the wicked designs of the aforesaid
the Rebels was far more numerous than the Rebels is not true for the Rebels were effectually 4000 Foot and 1200 Horse and the Army encamped at Rathmines was not stronger in Horse or Foot We deny not but that the Defeat may reasonably be ascribed to the Faithlessness Negligence Ignorance or Cowardize of some of the Officers and Souldiers Nor have we ever read or heard of any Defeat given where the encountering Numbers were near upon equal but the Defeat was ascribed to one or more of these Failings And yet it is for the most part found difficult and many times unfit to fix the Blame where it may most justly be placed But that the Peoples Belief of this is fortified for that no Search or Inquiry hath since been made by a Court or Council of War of the Deportment of the Officers is an Argument suitable to the Malice and Misconstruction all Our Actions have met with If the Officers were not fit for the Employments given them they were yet of those instanced to Us by the general Assembly And if new raised Men under expertless Officers accompanied with a general want of all things necessary for Support Offence and Defence have been beaten by a like or less Number of old well-armed experienced and continually garisoned Souldiers the wonder is not great nor the Accident rare even in this Kingdom and where We have commanded the prevailing Party If we could have had the Freedom in Election of Officers and Power to have garison'd them and their Souldiers where We might have overlooked them and caused them to have been exercised as We have always in vain desired it might yet have pleased God to have disposed of the Victory as he did but then We might more justly than now have been charged with a Failure on Our Part. But to return to what follows and clear the next Objection it will be necessary that We set down what We did presently after that Defeat When We found it impossible after twelves Miles riding to head any considerable Number of the scattered Horse and that as fast as We could rally them they broke from Us We immediately directed Our Letters to those We had left on Finglass side of Dublin and that had not that Day seen the Enemy being the Lord Dillon's Sir Thomas Armstrong's the Lord Moor's and Lieutenant Colonel Purdon's Regiments of Horse Colonel Warren's Colonel Wall 's and Col. Mich. Byrne's Regiments of Foot to march immediately the one half to Drogheda and the other half to Trym for the Security of those Places and went Our self to Kilkenny to rally what We could of the Army and to raise what new Forces We should be able This was accordingly done and that Day seven-night after the Defeat We marched out of Kilkenny with what Strength of Horse We could make to relieve Drogheda before which Jones was sat down Upon Our Approach to Trim with about 300 Horse which was all that We could in that time rally he raised his Siege and We went unto Drogheda During our being there Cromwel landed with his Army on or about the 15th of August not a full Fortnight after the Defeat at Rathmines It was then plain we were to be on the defensive part of the War and that he would draw forth suddenly to recover those Places we had gained And first we were assured he proposed to attempt Drogheda We therefore applied our uttermost Industry to supply that Place with what it wanted placed in it Sir Arthur Aston as expert and gallant a Governour as we could wish for gave him the same Men and the same number of Men Horse and Foot that he desired and furnished him with the full proportion of Ammunition and other Provisions he demanded judging that if Cromwell could be there foiled of kept before it but for a time it would much advantage us that had so lately received so great a Blow as required time to recover and the Rebels in the Neck of it having received so great a Coountenance and Strength as Cromwell brought with him being the best of the Rebels old Army in England But it pleased God in a few days to give that Town into their Hands and all the Officers and Souldiers that were within it to the Cruelty of their Swords where there were lost 2000 of our best Souldiers with all their Officers who were chosen as the likeliest Men by giving a Check to Cromwell in his first attempt to recover the Kingdom Now that after the Defeat at Rathmines and that great Loss at Drogheda for so it was so powerful and so prevailing an Army as Cromwell's marched without interruption from us that had not above 700 Horse and 1500 Foot and of those some not to be trusted others newly raised and all discouraged from Dublin to Rosse is not much to be wondered at for all the Men we could make were not sufficient to man Wexford which being taken as we have before said there were lost in it others of our best Men to a considerable number That the Rebels might have been prevented in building over their Bridg at Rosse considering the Situation of the Place and the Power their Ordnance had from the Key to and upon the other side of the River we believe they are very ignorant or malicious that will affirm But if it had been a thing as easy as they would have it believed we were so far from being able to attempt any thing that we never all that time had either 24 hours Pay or Provision before hand to keep the Men we had together where they were upon no Duty much less to bring them near an Eneâ—â—â—â— where they must be held to hard Duty close together It should 〈◊〉 also be considered that during Cromwell's March from Dublin to Wexford and those Parts began the Revolt of the Towns and Army in Munster which occasioned very much of Jealousy Distraction and other Interruptions and gave the Rebels leisure to prosecute their Victories When they marched over their Bridg at Rosse towards Carrick it was believed they meant to march to Kilkenny and if we had not been diverted by a false Alarum which coming as it did we had cause to credit of their being gone as far as Bennet's Bridg towards Kilkenny whilst we lay at Thomas-Town and thereby drawn thither for the Defence of that City we had as our purpose was engaged them to fight before their getting to Carrick In what miserable Condition our Army was when we came to Carrick which we were forced to leave meerly for want of Provision to keep it and so much Money as to make necessary Materials to gain that Place is so generally known that it must argue the Contrivers of this Article guilty of a strange degree of Malice to object to us as an Omission that the Rebels Army whilst it lay before Waterford was not attempted or once faced by us And sure we are it is as openly known that in Person we twice
Justice was so vigilant that before the end of August the Rebels were dispersed and their Captain William mac Balthar was taken and hanged In the midst of these Disturbances John Decer Mayor of Dublin who had some time before built the Bridge over the Liffy Ibid. 166. near S. Wolstons and the Chappel of our Lady at the Friers Minors and had also repaired the Church of the Friers Preachers and every Friday feasted the Friars at his own Cost did now build the high Pipe in Dublin But the Lord Justice being sent for into England to give an Account there of the miserable State of Ireland substituted William Burk August 1308. Custos Warden or Deputy of Ireland He was Ancestor of many Noble Families and particularly of the Lords Castleconel and Leitrim In his time the Irish burnt Athy and Richard Talon was murthered by Maurice de Condon Cambden 166. and Candon was served in the same kind by the Roches and Odo mac Cathol O Connor slew Odo King of Conaught But in March following Peirce de Gaveston an insolent Frenchman was by the Nobility of England in Parliament banished that Kingdom whereupon the King to make this Exile of his Favorite as easie as he could gave him the Government of Ireland and assigned to him the Revenue and Royal Profits of that Realm so that thither he came with a great Retinue and he behaved himself so well that he broke and subdued the Rebels in the Mountains near Dublin He slew Dermond O Dempsy a great Irish Captain at Tully he marched into Munster and subdued O Brian in Thomond he rebuilt the new Castle of Mackingham in the Kevins Country and repaired the Castle of Kevin and cut and cleansed the Paces between that and Glendelough he was exceedingly beloved of the Soldiers both for his Liberality and Valour and might have done much Good there if he had staid longer Nevertheless he could not brook Richard Earl of Vlster who was the greatest Lord in Ireland This Earl as it were to nose Gaveston did at Whitsontide keep a great Feast at Trim Camb. 166. and dub'd two of the Lacies Knights and marched as far as Tredagh to encounter the Lord Lieutenant but on better Advertisement he returnd But the King impatient of Gaveston's longer Absence recalled him on the twenty third of June and sent in his Room Sir John Wogan 1309. Lord Justice M. S. Fragm and in October following the Noble Lord 4. says 1308 Roger Mortimer came over with his Wife Heiress of Meath and had quiet Possession of that Country the Grand-father Sir Geofry Genevil entring into a Monastery On the second of February Sir Arnold Poer slew Sir John Bonevil at Arstol but it was found to be in his own Defence Cambded 167. And in the same February there was a Parliament held at Kilkenny before the Earl of Ulster and the Lord Justice according to the Custom and Usage of those times which appeased many Civil Discords and enacted many good Laws which Mr. Pryn says Pryn 259. were printed in Bolton's Edition of the Irish Statutes 1621. And he reckons this to be the first Parliament that was held in Ireland except that of Henry II aforesaid but without question he is mistaken And it seems Pryn 259. That in the beginning of the next Year or the latter end of this there was another Parliament or Assembly of the great Men at Kildare where Poer was acquitted of the Death of Bonevil About this time Wheat was sold for twenty Shillings the Erane Cambded 167. and the Bakers were drawn on Hurdles through the Streets of Dublin for their Knavery In the Year 1310. Richard de Havering who under Pretence of the Popes Provision 1310. had assumed the Title of Arch bishop of Dublin and enjoyed all the Profits of that See without Consecration for four Years and upward was so terrified by a Dream that he resigned his Bishoprick to the Pope that gave it him Ware de praesul 111. And though Alexander Bricknor had the better in the Election the seventeenth of March 1610. yet John Lech by the Power and Favour of the King enjoyed the Bishoprick and begun the Controversie with Rowland Jorse Archbishop of Armagh about elevating his Crosier in the Province of Leinster and managed it so dextrously or rather so violently Hook 65. that he forced the Primate to fly by Night in his Pontificals from Howth to the Priory of Grace Dieu and thence chased him out of the Diocess or rather Province of Dublin and in the same year the Judges of the Court of Kings Bench were reduced to the number of Three The Year 1311 was troublesome enough 1311. for Frag. 4. in May Richard Earl of Vlster invaded Thomond Davis 134. and marched up to Bunratty where Richard de Clare met and defeated him and took him the Lord William Burk and others of his Kindred Prisoners and slew John de Lacy and many more of the Earls Followers and in November following the same Richad de Clare defeated the Irish and slew Six hundred Galloglasses Nor were the Civil Discords less amongst the Irish for Donough O Bryan was murdered by his own Men in Thomond and John Mac O Hedan was slain by O Molmoy and William Roch was murdered by a Tory However the Birnes and Tools were numerous enough to invade Taslagard and Rathcanle and to terrifie Dublin by lurking up and down the Woods of Glendelory Nor could the State suppress them because Robert Verdon began a Riot in Vrgile and was so powerful that he defeated the Lord Justice and his small Army 1312. July 7. 1312. but afterwards upon better consideration he voluntarily submitted himself to the Kings Mercy whereupon the Lord Justice went for England and left in his stead Sir Edmond Butler 1312. Lord Deputy who being now at leisure to deal with the Birnes and Tools he manag'd that Affair so well that he soon forc'd them to submit and then sent his Father-in-Law the Lord John Fitz Thomas afterwards Earl of Kildare General into Munster who at Adare Knighted Nicholas Fitz Maurice afterwards Lord of Kerry and others This Year was famous for two mighty Marriages of Maurice afterwards Earl of Desmond and Thomas Fitz John afterwards Second Earl of Kildare to the two Daughters of the Earl of Vlster But these Rejoycings were soon over 1313. and the Misfortunes of the English in Scotland drew on a Scotch Invasion of Ireland At first the Scots only sent some Boats to prey the Costs of Vlster which were well resisted but before the year was out Edward Bruce came in Person he forc'd and rob'd the Castle of Man and took the Lord O Donel Prisoner it seems he retir'd again to collect a greater Army and the Deputy after he had on Michaelmas day made one and thirty Knights in the Castle of Dublin 1314. and had taken the best care he could
charge for Gallowglasses number and time certain viz. Meat and Drink one day in a Fortnight Soroheen more was an equivalent for the other in Quirrens of Butter and Srones of Oatmeal South alias Tax or Tallage is a Contribution towards the payment of the Lords Debts or any other extraordinary occasion vide Cuttings Stanihurst a Treatise in Latin of the Conquest of Ireland by Richard Stanihurst Sullevan the Catholick History of Ireland written in Latin anno 1621. by Philip O Sullevan Siurirupes Carig ni shure alias Carrick in Com' Typerany T. Termon-lands are Lands belonging to the Church and were priviledg'd from Taxes and it seems the Termon was the Clergy-mans Tenant or Servant Turbarii Kernes Irish Foot-Souldiers lightly arm'd Tagh of Land is 60 acres Tuethia the Territory of Mac Swiny na doo in Com' Donegall Tirconell the County of Donegall Tybrach a Castle within two miles of Carrig and not Typerary as is by mistake supposed pag 40. Trowses are Britches and Stockings made to sit as close to the Body as can be Tate is sixty Irish acres V. Vriell is the County of Louth Vallis Juncosa Slevelogher the Mountain between the Counties of Cork and Kerry W. Ware Sir James Ware 's Annals of Ireland Ware de Presul the same de praesulibus Hiberniae Ware de Antiq. the same de Antiquitatibus Hiberniae ERRATA APparatus pag. 1. read 150 of the same miles broad p. 26. read Squaleing Engine Pag. 9. line 16. read irrita p. 11. l. 24. r. Birne p. 13. l. 11. r. next day p. 18. l. 41. r. inheritance p. 20. l. 28. r. Army was p. 23. l. 7. r. Tuam p. 27. l. 35. r. extirpate p. 37. l. ult r. and he without delay p. 44. l. 33. r. extraordinary p. 52. l. 44. r. Combatants l. 46. r. Nor the strong p. 57. l. 2. r. beholding to Ireland p. 63. l. 3. r. fideli p. 69. l. 38. r. Carbry p. 73. l. 46. r. and tho' the Britton had p. 109 l. 23. r. by methods p. 111. l. 20. r. Lucy p. 117. l. 7. r. and the King by his Patent p. 121. l. 17. r. Custodium p. 129. l. 5. r. and wounded the Earl p. 153. l. 34. r. Athy p. 157. l. 34. r. Heir Male p. 183. l. 21. r. Xeesh p. 190. l. 15. r. from his Journey p. 200. l. 16. r. in the world p. 208. l. 16. r. Clogher p. 211. l. 39. r. blows p 213. l. 19 r. repostum l. 42. r. James p. 234. l. 8. r. sixteen hundred p. 260. l. 9. r. quieted p. 261. l. 1. r. Finin O Driscoll l. 37. r. at four p. 271. l 40. r. if they prove p. 321. l. 43. r. 1565. p. 324. l. 5. r. Alexander Oge p. 325. l. 3. r. by Affane p. 329. l. 13. r. offenders in Parliament p. 367. l. 43. r. Thomas Butler alias Becket p. 368. l. 18 r. combat p. 370. l. 8. r. at wars p. 399 l. 30 r. aspersions p. 417. l. 20. r. gap p. 418. l. 19. r. root p 420. l 8 r. at loose fight p. 421. l. 15. r. O Birnes p 422. l. 9. r. figary l. 31. r. he deposed p. 425. l. 30 r. Barret l. 44. r. hereupon p. 426. l. 32. r. disown'd a Truce I do hereby License a Book written by Mr. Richard Cox intituled HIBERNIA ANGLICANA or The Second Part of the History of Ireland to be Printed and Published Given at the Court at Whitehall the 18 th day of February 1689-90 Shrewsbury Let this Book intituled HIBERNIA ANGLICANA or The Second Part of the History of Ireland be Printed Nottingham Febr. 18. 1689-â—â— HIBERNIA ANGLICANA OR THE SECOND PART OF THE HISTORY OF IRELAND From the CONQUEST Thereof by the ENGLISH To this Present Time By the Author of the First Part. ΕΙΚΩΠΒΑΣΙΛΙΚΗ 61. Indeed that Sea of Blood which hath been cruelly and barbarously shed in Ireland is enough to drown any Man in eternal both Infamy and Misery whom God shall find the malicious Author or Instigator of its Effusion Earl of Clarendon against Cressy 71. Was not the Rebellion begun and carried on by the King's Roman Catholick Subjects Was there one Man but Catholicks that concurr'd in it And did they pretend any other Cause for it but Religion In the SAVOY Printed by Edward Jones for Joseph Watts at the Angel in St. Paul's Church-yard Matthew Gillyflower in Westminster-hall Charles Harper in Fleet-street and Samuel Crouch in Cornhill MDCXC TO THE KINGS Most Excellent MAJESTY GREAT SIR IT is noted by the Lord Bacon in the Life of the Wise and Victorious Prince King Henry the Seventh That it was his Custom to be First or Second in all his Warlike Exploits and that it was his Saying when he heard of Rebels That he desir'd but to see them What Your Majesty has lately published to the Two Houses of Parliament is of the same Spirit and Policy But This is not the only Parallel between Your Majesty and that Great King for He also came from Abroad yet with this Distinction that His Coming was only to assert his Particular Claim whereas the Coming of Your Majesty was of Vniversal Concern it being to free us all who were at the Brink of Idolatry and Bondage To whom then GREAT SIR should I Dedicate this Second Part of the History of Ireland but to Your Majesty who now Dedicates Your Self to the Redemption of Ireland and being thus far in Possession of the Subject I am already preparing to Record all Your Majesty's Glorious Atchievements and am in certain expectation of a greater Theme than ever that Kingdom could hitherto boast 'T is true Your Majesty hath herein the Power of Two Kings to Oppose but 't is no ill Symptom that by what you have already done the One of them has been constrained to send his Plate and the Other his Cannon to the Mint Nor ought we to think better of Irish Armies or Irish Courage than is thought by those who judge Both well paid for when but rewarded with Copper 'T is certain The Bulk of that Nation are already surfeited with the Stratagem of that Imaginary Coin they feel the Fruits of contending for a French Interest by the Slaughter Sickness and Defolation of the Year past so that 't is possible Humane Nature may at length be too hard for the Priest and the Politician too and that when by Your Majesty's Presence they behold their Ruin at hand they may give more Exercise to Your Mercy than to Your Sword It was truly observed by Your Majesty in Your late Gracious Speech That in the speedy Recovery of Ireland the Place and Honor of England did consist and that hereby alone Taxes could cease So that as Your Majesty is now willing to expose Your Person for those Great Ends 't is not to be feared but the Nation will second Your Majesty with such Royal Supplies as may make it a short and not a lingring Work for not only in This but
in many other high Regards 't is Expedition alone that can answer the Anxieties which England must be in for Your Majesty's Absence And seeing Your Majesty will leave behind that Great Pledge Your Royal Consort and our most Gracious Queen Your Majesty will not want Your own Anxieties also for a speedy Return But that it may be with such Laurels as may bring Terror to France with Triumph to Your own Kingdoms and a happy Restitution of Your poor Protestant Subjects of Ireland to their Native Homes is the most fervent Prayer of GREAT SIR Your Majesty's most Dutiful most Loyal and most Devoted Subject and Servant R. COX TO THE READER YOU have here a History of great Variety and much Intrigue It takes in a large Space of Time of above Fifty Years and begins at the End of one War and ends with the Close of another The long Interval between these Two Periods being almost Forty years was spent in a profound Peace the short Commotion of O Dogharty only excepted and in promoting all those Blessings of Plenty and Good Laws which the Industry of the English could accomplish But the subsequent Part of the Time was according to Bishop Usher's Prophetical Sermon Preach'd Anno 1601. turn'd into a Scene of Blood Treachery and Desolation which overturned all The Roots of that so great Cruelty and Universal Defection are already hinted at in the Preface of my Former Part by those Differences there set forth of Nation Interest and Religion Upon King James his Accession to the Crown the Irish were surfeited with War so that all things in that Kingdom had a tendency to Peace And tho' a Rumor spread abroad and believ'd by the Irish That the King was of their Religion put some of the principal Towns into a Commotion yet the Diligence and Expedition of the Lord Deputy did soon appease that Storm and reduce the Disobedient to their Duty And tho' the natural Inclination of that King to Peace was a great Temptation to the Irish to try their Fortune with him in a War and accordingly the Lords Tyrone and Tyrconell and Sir Cahir O Dogharty attempted it yet the Rebels were always baffled in their Undertakings by the Diligence Wisdom and Courage of those to whom the King entrusted his Irish Affairs And indeed both King James the First and King Charles the First did take a particular Care to put the Government of Ireland into such Hands as were worthy of it and underwent the Administration thereof with Advantage to that Kingdom and Honor to themselves The First was the Lord Montjoy whom King James found Deputy and soon after made Lord Lieutenant This Lord was thought in England to be a better Courtier than a Soldier but when he came to Ireland he proved the best Soldier that Kingdom had seen in many Years It was he that found out the true Way of making War with the Irish For being well supplied with Necessaries from England he plainly saw that if he could attack them at a time when they wanted all Conveniences to keep the Field he could meet with very little or no Resistance and therefore he supplied his Frontier Garisons with Men and Provisions and they by their frequent Excursions did such Execution on the Persons and Estates of the Irish that by One Winters War he reduc'd them to the Necessity of eating one another and forced their Ringleader the Earl of Tyrone to submit to his Mercy and so made an end of that Rebellion His Successor or rather Deputy Sir George Cary was Treasurer at Wars and a worthy Gentleman but nothing of extraordinary moment hapned during his Government The next was Sir Arthur Chichester afterwards Lord of Belfast one well experienc'd in the Affairs of Ireland whereof he held the Chief Government for Eleven Years He was a good Soldier and a true Englishman and did Three great Things towards a Reformation The First was his Management of the most stubborn Parliament that ever was in that Kingdom which nevertheless he prevail'd with to Attaint the Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconell Sir Cahir O Dogharty and others and to make an Act of Recognition and to give the King a Subsidy And the Second was the Plantation of the Forfeitâ—d Estates in Ulster which he very much influenc'd and promoted And the Third was the Reviving and Restoring the Circuits for Judges of Assize in both the Provinces of Conaught and Munster The Lords Justices Doctor Jones Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor and Sir Richard Wingfield were Men Famous in their respective Faculties and are Founders of the Noble Families of the Earl of Ranelagh and Viscount Powerscourt And Sir John Denham Lord Chief Justice was not less Renowned than either of Them by reason of his great Learning in his Profession to which the Crown owes the first Advancement of that Considerable Branch of the Revenue arising by the Customs in Ireland The next Lord Deputy was Sir Oliver Saint John afterwards Viscount Grandison a Person Nobly descended and of a generous Temper He had given great Proof of his Courage and Conduct at the Battel of Kinsale and was not inferior to any of his Predecessors in a sincere Concern for the Protestant Religion and the Good of the Kingdom but he hapned in an ill time as did also his Successor the Worthy Lord Falkland whilst the Spanish Match was in agitation So that both these brave Men by the Clamour of the Irish and the prevailing Power of their Popish Enemies came away in Disgrace But their Innocence being afterwards vindicated as it was this Affront was in some measure atton'd for by the subsequent Favour of the King The Lords Justices that received the Sword from the Lord Falkland were the Viscount Loftus of Ely Lord Chancellor one of great Parts and Merit and the Noble Earl of Cork Lord High Treasurer who was one of the most extraordinary Persons either That or any other Age hath produced with respect to the great and just Acquisitions of Estate that he made and the Publick Works that he began and finished for the advancement of the English Interest and the Protestant Religion in Ireland as Churches Alms-Houses Free-Schools Bridges Castles and * Lismore Tallow Cloghnakilty Iniâ—keen Castletown Bandon which last Place cost him 14000 l. Townsâ— Insomuch that when Cromwel saw these prodigious Improvements which he little expected to find in Ireland he declared That if there had been an Earl of Cork in every Province it would have been impossible for the Irish to have rais'd a Rebellion And whilst he was carrying on these solid Works he lived in his Family at a Rate of Plenty that exceeded those who consumed great Estates in the lavish ways of ill-ordered Excess His †God's Providence is my Inheritance Motto shews from whence he derived all his Blessings the greatest of which was the Numerous and Noble * Earl of Burlington and Cork Viscount Kinalmeky Earl of Orrery Viscount Shannon Robert
went into England to give his Majesty a full account of his happy and successful Administration of the Government for I find he was created Lord Baron of Belfast on the 23th of February 1615 and perhaps then made Lord High Treasurer THOMAS JONES Archbishop of Dublin Lord Chancellor Sir JOHN DENHAM Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench were Sworn Lords Justices on the 11th of February 1615. The Archbishop was the worthy Ancestor of the Lords of Ranelagh And Sir John Denham was the first that raised any Profit to the Crown from the Customs in Ireland which were Lett for Five hundred Pounds the first Year and before his Death which happened the 6th of January 1638 they were improved to that degree that they were farmed at Fifty Four thousand Pounds per Annum But the Papists beginning again to grow very insolent it was necessary to hasten the new Lord-Deputy thither and therefore on the 30th of August 1616. Sir OLIVER SAINT JOHN afterwards Viscount Grandison 1616. was sworn Lord-Deputy he behaved himself briskly against the Papists who were at that time very high in Ireland Mr. Sullivan says He was a Bloody Man and that he swore he would in two Years banish all the Priests and that he levied 600000◠from the Papists for Fines and Forfeitures for not going to Church and that in Dublin only he imprisoned Ninety Citizens for denying the King's Supremacy all which is notoriously 〈◊〉 And about the same time a most Scandalous lying Book was published Entituled Annalecta Hiberniae written by David Rooth Vicar Apostolick at the Instigation and Charge of the Lord M And stuffed with innumerable Lyes and malicious Accusations of the King's Government in Ireland and yet dedicated to the Prince of Wales which is a high strain of Impudence and Folly to dedicate to the Son Reflections and Scandals upon the Father and as if that Author intended to mock the Son as well as to abuse the Father and that his Dedication to him should pass for nothing he has added another Dedication by way of Appeal to all Foreign Emperors Kings and Princes wherein he avers That the Irish look for nothing but that the King would use them like a King i. e. not like a Tyrant and when I have added that he compares the King to Julian the Apostate and Cajus Caligula and the English-men to Dogs and Wild-Beasts I have said enough of the Spirit and design of that malicious Author The Exorbitances of the Papists did indeed at this time oblige the Government to keep a stricter hand over them than hitherto they had done and two things were resolved on to humble them one was to banish all their Regulars which did in great numbers swarm almost every where in that Kingdom And the other was to suffer no Magistrates or Officers but what should take the Oath of Supremacy according to Law and in order thereunto there did issue a Proclamation against the Popish Clergy on the 13th of October 1617. Anno Dom. 1617. And afterwards on the 5th of March 1617 Donogh Earl of Twomond Lord President of Munster and Sir William Jones Lord Chief Justice of Ireland did by Virtue of a Commission under the Great Seal bearing date the 23d of January 1617 seize on the Liberties of Waterford and all their Rent Rolls Ensigns of Authority and their publick Revenues which amounted to Three Hundred and Four Pounds Ten Shillings per Annum and kept Assizes in the City for the County of Waterford The cause of this Seizure was because Nicholas White who from Michalmas 1615. to the 20th of October then next following did exercise the Office of Mayor of Waterford did on the 20th day of October 1615. refuse the Oath of Supremacy being then tendered to him by the Lord President by Virtue of a special Commission to that purpose and that upon his refusal the City Elected John Skiddy who Acted as Mayor till the 1st of May 1616. and then refused the same Oath being tendred to him by the Lord President whereupon the City chose Alexander Cuffe and swore him Mayor on the 27th of May who likewise on the 8th of July refused the aforesaid Oath of Supremacy before the Lords Justices whereupon he forbore to Act any farther in the Mayoralty and so it stood till the 1st of April 1617. at which time Walter Cleer was sworn Mayor and so continued Moreover the City had no Recorder since the Death of Nicholas Walsh Anno 1615 and yet in January 1616 there was a Goal Delivery held before the said John Skiddy without any Recorder and one William Person was then Condemned before him and afterwards by his Order executed for Felony And it appeared that the Statute of Elizabeth of Uniformity had not been given in Charge in their Sessions at Waterford for Two years past and all this was found by Inquisition taken the 5th day of September 1617. In the mean time there were sharp Contests between several great Families in Ireland about their Inheritance Lib. F. F. F. 199. the one was between Katherine Lady Power who was Heir General to the Deceased Lord Barry and the then Lord Barry Viscount Buttivant and that was happily Compos'd by the Kings Mediation and the Marriage of the Lord Barry with the Lady Power 's Daughter and the other was between Walter Earl of Ormond and the Lady Dingwell Heir General of Thomas Duff Earl of Ormond who died Anno 1614. Their Case is to be found the very last Case in my Lord Hobert's Reports and was refer'd to the King who Anno 1618. made his Award and divided the Estate between the contending Parties but the Earl of Ormond thought that Distribution so unequal that he refused to submit to it and therefore endured a long Imprisonment and many other Hardships from the Court but after his Death that Controversie was also happily Compos'd by the Marriage of his Grandson the young Earl of Ormond with the sole Daughter and Heir of the Lady Dingwell and that happy Couple improved that divided and shattered Estate to be the greatest and best belonging to any Subject in the Kings Dominions and are well known to the World by the Names of the first Duke and Dutchess of Ormond In the Year 1620. 1620. The famous Doctor Usher was made Bishop of Meath and not long after there arose a Dispute between the Archbishop of Armagh and the Bishop Elect of Clogher about the Exercise of Jurisdiction before Consecration but after some Expostulations the Controversie was peaceably Compos'd The Year 1621. 1621. was famous for the Congregation de Propaganda fide then Erected at Rome the influence whereof the Subjects of Great Britain and Ireland have felt to the purpose and in the same Year Thomas Viscount Thurles Father of the first Duke of Ormond was drowned It was in this Year that the King to mortifie some of the most active Members of the House of Commons that had fallen under his
and Oliver Castells 1. That the Nobility wer over-taxed in the Subsidies 2. And were kept Close Prisoners tho' not Impeach'd of any Capital Crime 3. And could not get Licence to absent unless they leave their Proxy with one of the Chief Governors naming 4. That some have Titles of Honour that have no Lands in the Kingdom 5. That the Nobility were stop from going to Petition the King 6. That Trade is decayed by Illegal Taxes as Twelve pence apiece on Hides 7. That Causes are arbitrarily decided at Council-board and in other improper Judicatories 8. That Paâ—ents are made void extrajudicially on private Opinions 9. The Monopolies of Tobacco Starch Sope Glass Tobacco-pipes c. 10. The Procedings of the High-Commission 11. The exorbitant Fees and pretended Customs exacted by the Clergy 12. The Proclamation against buying Gunpowder but out of the Store and restraining Hunting within Seven Miles of Dublin 13. That the Parliament in its Members and Actions hath not had its natural Freedom 14. That the Subject is denied the Benefit of the Act of Limitation 15. The taking excessive Fees 16. The Seizing of Linen Yarn and Cloth for not being exact according to Rule 17. The Oppressions of Officers And in this Parliament on the Fourth of March Captain Audley Mervin brought up an Impeachment of High-Treason from the Commons to the Lords against Sir Richard Bolton Lord Chancellor John Lord Bishop of Derry Sir Gerrard Lowther Lord Chief Justice of the Common-Pleas and Sir George Ratcliff and made an eloquent Speech on that Occasion The Charge consisting of Three Articles was General for subverting the Laws and introducing Arbittary Government by extrajudicial and unjust Decrees for inflicting infamous Punishments by Pillory c. on Persons of Reputation and subverting the Rights of Parliament But it seems there was a Dispute raised Whether the House of Lords in Ireland had Power of Judicature in Capital Cases Whereupon Captain Audley Mervin made a most excellent Speech in the Lords House in Parliament 24 May 1641. And afterwards he Impeached Sir George Ratcliff then in the Gate-house Westminster in the Parliament of England of the aforesaid Articles and adds That he joyned with the Earl of Strafford in taking out Eighty thousand Pounds out of the Exchequer to buy Tobacco and that he countenanced Papists to build Monasteries c. On the Sixteenth of March 1640. Secretary Vane sent the Lords Justices the following Letter by His Majesty's Command Right Honorable HIS Majesty hath commanded me to acquaint your Lordships with an Advice given him from abroad and confirm'd by His Ministers in Spain and elsewhere which in this distemper'd Time and Conjuncture of Affairs deserves to be seriously considered and an especial Care and Watchfulness to be had therein Which is That of late there have passed from Spain and the like may well have been from other Parts an unspeakable number of Irish Churchmen for England and Ireland and some good old Soldiers under pretext of asking leave to raise Men for the King of Spain whereas it is observed among the Irish Fryars * * In Spain there a Whisper runs as if they expected a Rebellion in Ireland and particularly in Connaught Wherefore His Majesty thought fit to give your Lordships this notice that in your Wisdoms you might manage the same with that dexterity and secrefie as to discover and prevent so pernicious a Design if any such there should be and to have a watchful Eye on the Proceedings and Actions of those who come thither from abroad on what pretext soever And so herewith I rest Your Lordships most humble Servant HENRY VANE In the mean time the Earl of Strafford came to his Tryal in England and it was the most Solemn that ever was in that Kingdom and at length he was Attainted by Act of Parliament and accordingly beheaded on the 12th day of May 1641. and the Earl of Leicester was the same day appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in his stead His Tryal is excellently wrote at large by Mr. Rushworth to which I must refer the curious Reader but because every Man has not that Book by him I have Cursorily extracted so much of it only as I thought pertinent to his History wherein if I have not been very exact it was because the Inquisitive may easily inform themselves as well as I by having recourse to the Original which I had not leisure to examine more carefully than I have done The Third Article which is the First relating to Ireland is that he should say That Ireland was a conquer'd Nation and that the King might do with them what he pleased and that the Charters of the Corporations were worth nothing and did bind the King no farther than he pleased To which the Earl Answers That he never spoke those words and that the Scope and Intent of what he did say was to ingratiate his Majesties Government to the People and that his words were well accepted at that time however they come to be resented now That the Charters of Dublin were Anno 1634. brought before the Council and still are in the hands of the Clerk of the Council because besides other Abuses the Papists of that City engrossed all the Trade and denied Liberty to such as came out of England to set up there which he hath so far remedied as that there are Three Englishmen now in Dublin for One that was there when he came to the Government and the Charters are not Condemned but enjoyed to this day so that he aim'd at a Reformation in favour of the English but did not design the Destruction of the Charters The Fourth Article was That the Earl of Cork having begun a Suit at Law to recover a Possession he had lost by Colour of an Order from the Lord Deputy and Council the Lord Deputy threatned to imprison him unless he would surcease his Suit saying That he would have neither Law nor Lawyers dispute or question his Orders and that he said upon another the like Occasion That he would make the Earl of Cork and all Ireland know that so long as he had the Government there any Act of State there made or to be made should be as binding to the Subjects of that Kingdom as an Act of Parliament and that he question'd that Earl in the Castle-Chamber upon Pretence of a Breach of an Order of Council-Table To this the Earl of Strafford answered That the Council-Table was a Court of Record in Ireland wherein they proceeded formally by Bill Answer Examination of Witnesses c. and therefore the Orders of it are binding and ought to be obey'd he denies he compar'd it to a Parliament and denies that the Earl of Cork was prosecuted for disobedience of an Order of Council only The Fifth Article was That in time of Peace 12th of December 1635. he did give and procure to be given Sentence of Death against the Lord Mountnorris at a Council of War for saying of an Accidental