I did only keep up a Bussel till the King and Cromwel had decided their Quarrel He therefore again sate down before Limbrick with a powerful Army on the County of Limbrick side I with what Force could be drawn together March'd to Killalow and there Encamped He kept a Guard on his side the River as I did against him at Bryans-Bridge and Castle Conel We lay in this manner a long time he attempting nothing either on the Town or River which was not yet for deable in any place My Lord Deputy being at Galway sent me a Letter in all hast to come to him On my Arrival he told me that the Abbot of St. Katherine was in the Harbour and in his Company many Officers with a quantity of Arms Ammunition and other Materials for War That they were sent by the Duke of Lorrain who pretended by some agreement to be Protector Royal of the Kingdom of Ireland with Power over all our Forces and Places And that he was to continue that Title and Dominion till after the War ended he were reimburst all his Expences and his Damages satisfied I was much startled at this News For though I strugled to keep up a Bussel I never intended to buy it so dear as to give Footing or colour of Pretence or Title to any Foreign Prince And having heard my Lord all out I took the boldness to ask him how far he was concerned in this matter He protested before God and upon his Honour that he never gave Commission for any such Treaty and as to the thing he knew no more than what he had told me other then that the General Assembly then sitting in the Town were in great joy for this Succour and prest him earnestly for the reception But I found him entirely against it Being thus satisfied I desired him to leave the matter to me and let me deal with the Assembly Immediately therefore I went and found them on the Debate To which in my time I spake and with much Detestation of the thing declared all Traytors that were for receiving this succour on those terms and that I would not sit more to hear of this Stuff but return to my Forces knowing what I had to do My Lord Deputy was much pleased with this round Discourse and publickly approved it So the Abbot with what he had returned from whence he came At my return which was without delay to Killalow I found all quiet And whether Ireton had Information of this Passage I know not but by a Trumpet I received from him a long Letter four sides of Paper close written in a small hand The drift was to set forth the justness of the Parliaments proceedings their great Power how short a time I could subsist what ill Company I was with and threw what durt he could on the King I served but concluded with great value of my person pitying my Condition and offering me that if I would retire and live in England privately I should not only enjoy my Estate but remain in safety with the esteem and favour of the Parliament I immediately shewed this Letter to Father Peter Walsh my then Ghostly Father whom I had always found faithful to the King and a lover of his Country With his advice by the same Trumpet I answered all his Points and rejected his proposition concerning my own person desiring him withal to send no more Trumpets with such Errands if perhaps he would not have the Messenger ill Treated From this time there was an end of all Messages and Letters between us Now Ireton remained still and quiet without any action or attempt expecting the coming of Sir Charles Coot on my back or the fall of the River Both came together and besides that a third unlucky accident For now some days I had kept Guards towards Conaught when Ireton by Treachery of the Officer one Captain Kelly made himself Master of Bryans-Bridge 'T is called so though there be no Bridge Whilst I was hastening with some Troops to oppose having left the defence of the Pass at Killalow to Colonel Fennel he cowardly or Treacherously quitted it and with all his Party fled into Limbrick Where upon the rendition of the Town which was not long after Ireton with more than his ordinary justice hanged him Some say he was carried to Cork and that it was done there He pleaded for his Defence not only this Service but how he had betrayed me before Toughal But his Judges would not hear him on his Merit but bid him clear himself of the Murders laid to his charge Now receiving Letters from my Lord Deputy of Sir Charles Coots approach I hastened to him with what Troops I had left viz. about three hundred Horse and found him drawn into Loghreah with his Forces not being able to keep the Field against Coot who was twice his number The Enemy did not think fit to attempt him and were gone by before my coming About this time Athlone gave up to them and so did Limbrick to Ireton some few Months after In the mean while my Lord Deputy and my self with what Troops we had retired towards Jerchonnoght under the Covert of the River that runs by Galway and so shifted up and down till Sir Charles Coot came before the Town on Loghreahs side and had taken a Castle a little above on the River Then we retired into Galway Where we had not long been before we heard of the Kings Defeat at Worcester A man now would think that this Noble Lord had discharged his part Yet his Zeal carried him farther He dispatch'd me for France to the King by the way of Iniss-bofin for the River of Galway was full of Parliament Ships with orders to set out the ill state of his Majesties Affairs in that Kingdom And that nevertheless to serve his Majesty he intended after Galway should be lost to make a Mountain War and give the Enemy trouble for some time if his Majesty would but send him five hundred Barrels of Powder with Match and Bullets proportionable and some Arms and appointed me to return with them to Iniss-bofin a fit place for our Magazine it being a large Island lying of Jerchonnoght three Miles into the Sea in which we had a strong Garison 'T is surrounded with Rocks and has but one entrance where there is a pretty good Harbour for Frigats and small Men of War I here Shipped my self and landed at Brest ordering the Frigate that brought me to expect my orders The Captain was Antonio Vandersipp of Brugis We had a sharp fight with an English Ship that we met in the way but foul weather parted us No great hurt was done other than that the Bishop of Down was Killed in the Cabbin 't is thought by the Wind of the Bullet or Fear for he had not the least sign of any hurt and lived near a quarter of an hour Being Landed I took post for St. Germains where I found the King Queen-Mother and my
1642. My Lord of Ormond after this being to Pass with his Army just by my Door some of his people being of my acquaintance came Galloping before assuring that my Lord of Ormond would be with me in half an hour On which my Lady Dutchess and my self be-stirred our selves and having two or three Cooks a good Barns Door and plenty of Wine we patcht up a Dinner ready to be set on the Table at my Lords coming in But some that came with him turned this another way magnifying the entertainment beyond what it was and Publishing through the Army that it was a mighty Feast for my Lord of Mount-Garrett and the Rebels and this through the English Quarters past for Currant I believe it was much the Cause of that under-hand villanous proceeding against me mentioned in my Brothers Letter My Lady Dutchess and my Lord of Antrim soon left me going into their own Country in the North. For a while I Tided it out alone till my Brother fetcht me to Dublin You have seen by my Brothers Letter how I was Imprisoned and no hopes of any relief from either the King or Parliament sitting in England So that after twenty Weeks that I had remained in Prison I was ordered to be removed to the Castle of Dublin Which Startled me and brought to my thoughts the proceedings against the Earl of Strafford who confiding in his Innocency lost his head I concluded then that Innocency was a scurvy Plea in an angry time Besides I looked upon the Justices and most of the Council to be of the Parliaments persuasion Wherefore I resolved to attempt an Escape and save my self in the Irish Quarters Which I did in this manner After the Battel of Killrush there was one George Lidwidge an Irish-man and Trooper left wounded in my house who being recovered in acknowledgment of Kindnesses received often visited me in Prison I found so much Fidelity in the man towards me that I trusted him with my design desiring his assistance which he promis'd I then giving him Mony ordered him to buy me three Horses for my self and two Servants with Sadles and Pistols which he did And the next night just as the Maid was to shut the Door it being dark I slipt into the Street leaving my two men in the house and appointing them where they should find me in the Morning About Nine of the Clock they came out of the house bidding the Maid make no noise pretending that I was not well and had not rested that Night They coming to me the Guards of the Town withdrawn and the Pattroles come in were sent before with the Son of the Trooper to the place where our Horses stood to have them ready the Trooper and my self soon following but I as his Man carrying a Saddle under my Arm. To be short we Mounted all on Horseback March'd as Troopers carelesly out of the Town and took our way by Temple-Oage towards the Mountains of Wicklow Where being come I cared little for the Justices But before Dinner my Escape was discovered by the people of the House and on Notice given to the Justices I was pursued by a Party of Horse taking their way to my house at Madingstown In the Night they invested it but not finding me after having possest themselves of what I had within and without they killed many of my Servants and Burnt the House I kept on my way towards Kilkenny as much through the Fast Country as I could till I arrived Where I found the Town very full and many of my acquaintance all preparing for their Natural defence seeing no distinction made or safety but in Arms. To this end they had chosen amongst themselves out of the most eminent Persons a Council and gave it the Title of the Supream Council of the Confederate Catholicks of Ireland and formed an Oath of Association by which all were bound to obey them They had made Four Generals of the Four Provinces Preston of Leinster Barry of Mounster Owen-roe O Neal of Vlster and one Burk of Conaught and being to give Commissions they caused a Seal to be made which was the Seal of the Council I was sent for to this Council to tell my Story which I did And then being askt what I intended to do I answer'd To get into France and so to England Upon which they told me their condition and what they were doing for their preservation persuading me to stay with them being I was beloved in the Country had three Sisters Married amongst them was persecuted on the same score they were and ruined so that we had no more to lose but our Lives I took two or three days to think of this Proposition examining the Model of Government they had prepared against the meeting of the General Assembly and most particularly their Oath of Association Which Oath I judged to be very reasonable as the Case stood it being as here followeth The Oath of Association I A B. Do Profess Swear and Protest before God and his Saints and his Angels that I will during my life bear true Faith and Allegiance to my Sovereign Lord Charles by the Grace of God King of Great-Britain France and Ireland and to his Heirs and Lawful Successors and that I will to my power during my life defend uphold and maintain all his and their just Prerogatives Estates and Rights the Power and Priviledge of the Parliament of this Realm the Fundamental Laws of Ireland the free Exercise of the Roman-Catholick Faith and Religion throughout this Land and the Lives Just Liberties Possessions Estates and Rights of all those that have taken or shall take this Oath and perform the Contents thereof and that I will obey and ratifie all the Orders and Decrees made and to be made by the Supream Council of the Confederate Catholicks of this Kingdom concerning the said Publick Cause and that I will not seek directly or indirectly any Pardon or Protection for any Act done or to be done touching this general Cause without the Consent of the Major part of the said Council and that I will not directly or indirectly do any Act or Acts that shall prejudice the said Cause but will to the hazard of my Life and Estate Assist Prosecute and Maintain the same Moreover I do farther Swear that I will not accept of or submit unto any Peace made or to be made with the said Confederate Catholicks without the consent and approbation of the General Assembly of the said Confederate Catholicks And for the preservation and strengthening of the Association and union of the Kingdom that upon any Peace or accomodation to be made or concluded with the said Confederate Catholicks as aforesaid I will to the utmost of my Power insist upon and maintain the ensuing Propositions until a Peace as aforesaid be made and the matters to be agreed upon in the Articles of Peace be Established and secured by Parliament So help me God and his holy Gospel SECT II. He takes
good Correspondence and the small War we had was chiefly in cutting off of Convoys My Provisions came much harder to me than his to him and O Neal began to be very weary of sometimes assisting me with Cows So that after two Months I resolved the endeavouring to gain my own Country seeing no hopes of any forces from O Neal. Which to Effect for I did not desire fighting I caused a Tougher or great way to be cut through the Bog near the Fort leading to Toinregaoh by which their Provisions came This way being finisht I knowing their days took my time to pass most of my Horse and some Foot shewing them beyond the Tougher as if that night I intended straight for Toinregaoh Monro having this Intelligence posted away a great Party of Horse and Foot to secure his Convoy But the night being come I turned and in stead of Marching towards Toinregaoh past over the Bridge with the whole Army leaving my Cannon and Baggage in the Fort with a strong Garison plenty of Ammunition and all the Provision I could possibly scrape to put in That night I March'd and all the next day taking a great round before I could have my own Country on my back which having obtained in the County of Cavan I faced towards the Enemy about five or six Miles from them Which Monro knowing and finding that I lay easier for my Provisions then he did raised his Camp and March'd to his own Country It being now late in the year I thus Free of him sent a Party of Horse and Foot to bring off my Cannon and what I left in the Fort and so March'd to Fienaegh where I met Commissioners from the Supream Council to receive the Army and lodge them on the three Provinces together with fifteen hundred Vlster men which on my Order came to me out of Conought being of no Army but endeavouring to live by strong hand which I could not admit Thus ended the Vlster expedition like to be so fatal to the Confederate Catholicks of Ireland through the sailing or something else of General Owen Roe O Neal. But after all the three Provinces had no reason to complain of this Campagne For this Army they sent kept them from being troubled either with Scots or Vlster People that year SECT V. Views the Siege of Duncannon how laid and that strong place taken by General Preston Is sent with an Army to Mounster against Inchiquin of late declared for the Parliament Dean Boyle's message Capper-Quin and Michaelstown taken Skirmish of Horse near the Black-water Mallow Donerail and Liscarrol yield Miltown and Conycastle taken by a storm of 3000 Garsoons meer servant Boys that belong'd to the Army A Flood hinders the relieving of Ballimartir Yet he surprizes Rostellan and several Officers in it and then forces Castle-Lions and Lismore to Surrender Marches straight to Cork Blind scustle there by night Returns to Tallow and thence goes to Youghhal In that way all the little Castles submit An unexspected mutinous Accident at one of them What done at Youghal The Snow falling he retires to Capper-Quin and so ends this Campagne HAving thus left the Army with Commissioners on Muster more than eight Thousand strong for I had been recruited with several Companies I took my way to Kilkenny ill pleased that the Treaty of Peace train'd so long and designed not to stir from the Council till I saw it concluded But coming there I found the Supream Council in great Consternation For Duncannon that Commanded the harbour of Waterford was declared for the Parliament as also my Lord of Inchiquin Commanding in Mounster who before had not only submitted to the Cessation but carried with him a considerable number of his Troops into England to serve the King Now taking there some disgust as 't is said because the Presidency of Mounster was given to the Earl of Portland he returns and declares for the Parliament Commanding by their Commission as President of Mounster Those of Waterford now pressed the taking in of Duncannon making great offers to the Council of large assistance Preston is named for this work and sent with three or four Thousand men Miners and a good Train of Artillery it being within his Province And I having the curiosity to see it left the Council and followed him I will relate the particulars of this Siege because the only in form that I saw in Ireland He made not any line of Circumvallation fearing no succour that could come on the Land-side but began his approaches with two Attacks and being come near the place joyned them with a line of Communication and then ran them on divided to the two ends of the Curtain Those within made a good defence and lost nothing in six weeks only the Besiegers had made a lodging in the Ditch At this time two or three Parliament Frigats arriv'd with succour of Men Ammunition and Provisions coming to Anchor within less then Cannon-shot of the Fort. But before they could man out their Boats so horrible a Storm arose that in eight or ten days none could come on shore Whereupon those within being in despair and press'd with some essential want yielded All this while my Lord of Inchiquin over-ran Mounster and coming to Cashel the people retired to the Rock where the Cathedral Church stands and thought to defend it But 't was carried by Storm the Souldiers giving no Quarter So that within and without the Church there was a great Massacre and amongst others more than twenty Priests and Religious men kill'd Towards the Spring the Council ordered me to go against him and to begin the Field as early as I could The Enemy in this Province had always been victorious beating the Confederates in every Place never having received Check but in the mentioned Encounter at Cloghleah So that every Gentlemans House or Castle was Garisoned and kept the Country in awe To begin this Field then I made my first rendevous at Clonmel and the Army Encamped near it Thither Dean Boyl now Lord Chancellor of Ireland and then Married to my Lord of Inchiquins Sister came and there he found me His business was to persuade me to spare Donerail and other Houses and Castles not Tenable I answered that I desired it as much as he though hitherto they had annoyed the Country equally as if they had been strong I told him in short I had order to take all I could and such as I thought not fit to Garison to destroy Yet if he pleased to cause the Garisons to be drawn out and by Letters from the Owners to put them into my hands I would appoint some few men into them with Commanders in whom I most confided and make it my Business to preserve them by interceeding to the Council The Dean and I parted very good Friends But whether he could or no prevail with my Lord of Inchiquin or the Owners I know not I am sure I heard no more from him Soon after that