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IRELAND UNDER THE STUARTS

VOL. II.




_By the same Author_


  IRELAND UNDER THE TUDORS

  Vols. I. and II.--From the First Invasion of the
  Northmen to the year 1578.

  8vo. 32_s._

  Vol. III.--1578-1603. 8vo. 18_s._

  LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO.
  London, New York, Bombay, and Calcutta




IRELAND

UNDER THE STUARTS

AND

DURING THE INTERREGNUM

BY
RICHARD BAGWELL, M.A.
AUTHOR OF 'IRELAND UNDER THE TUDORS'

VOL. II. 1642-1660

_WITH MAP_

LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
NEW YORK, BOMBAY, AND CALCUTTA
1909

All rights reserved




CONTENTS

OF

THE SECOND VOLUME


  CHAPTER XXI

  MUNSTER AND CONNAUGHT, 1641-1642

                                                             PAGE

  The rebellion spreads to Munster                              1
  The King's proclamation                                       3
  St. Leger, Cork, and Inchiquin                                3
  State of Connaught                                            5
  Massacre at Shrule                                            6
  Clanricarde at Galway                                         7
  Weakness of the English party                                 8
  State of Clare--Ballyallia                                   10
  Cork and St. Leger                                           12


  CHAPTER XXII

  THE WAR TO THE BATTLE OF ROSS, 1642-1643

  Scots army in Ulster--Monro                                  14
  Strongholds preserved in Ulster                              16
  Ormonde in the Pale                                          17
  Battle of Kilrush                                            18
  The Catholic Confederation                                   19
  Owen Roe O'Neill                                             20
  Thomas Preston                                               21
  Loss of Limerick, St. Leger dies                             22
  Battle of Liscarrol                                          23
  Fighting in Ulster                                           23
  General Assembly at Kilkenny                                 25
  The Supreme Council--foreign support                         27
  Fighting in Leinster--Timahoe                                29
  Parliamentary agents in Dublin                               29
  Siege of New Ross                                            31
  Battle of Ross                                               32
  A papal nuncio talked of                                     34


  CHAPTER XXIII

  THE WAR TO THE FIRST CESSATION, 1642-1643

  The Adventurers for land--Lord Forbes                        36
  Forbes at Galway and elsewhere                               38
  A pragmatic chaplain, Hugh Peters                            40
  Forbes repulsed from Galway                                  41
  A useless expedition                                         42
  Siege and capture of Galway fort                             43
  O'Neill, Leven, and Monro                                    44
  The King will negotiate                                      46
  Dismissal of Parsons                                         47
  Vavasour and Castlehaven                                     48
  The King presses for a truce                                 48
  Scarampi and Bellings                                        49
  A cessation of arms, but no peace                            50
  Ormonde made Lord Lieutenant                                 51


  CHAPTER XXIV

  AFTER THE CESSATION, 1643-1644

  The cessation condemned by Parliament                        53
  The rout at Nantwich                                         54
  Monck advises the King                                       55
  The Solemn League and Covenant                               55
  The Covenant taken in Ulster                                 57
  Monro seizes Belfast                                         59
  Dissensions between Leinster and Ulster                      60
  Failure of Castlehaven's expedition                          60
  Antrim and Montrose                                          61
  The Irish under Montrose--Alaster MacDonnell                 62
  Rival diplomatists at Oxford                                 64
  Violence of both parties                                     66
  Failure of the Oxford negotiations                           68
  Inchiquin supports the Parliament                            69


  CHAPTER XXV

  INCHIQUIN, ORMONDE, AND GLAMORGAN, 1644-1645

  The no quarter ordinance                                     72
  Roman Catholics expelled from Cork, Youghal, and Kinsale     73
  The Covenant in Munster                                      74
  Negotiations for peace                                       75
  Bellings at Paris and Rome                                   76
  Recruits for France and Spain                                77
  Irish appeals for foreign help                               78
  Siege of Duncannon Fort                                      80
  Mission of Glamorgan with extraordinary powers               84
  Glamorgan in Ireland                                         87
  The Glamorgan treaty                                         88


  CHAPTER XXVI

  FIGHTING NORTH AND SOUTH--RINUCCINI, 1645

  Castlehaven in Munster                                       90
  Fall of Lismore, Youghal besieged                            93
  Relief of Youghal                                            94
  Coote in Connaught                                           95
  Rinuccini appointed nuncio                                   96
  Scope of his mission                                         97
  King and Queen distrusted at Rome                            98
  Rinuccini at Paris                                           99
  His voyage to Ireland                                       100
  Arrival in Kerry and welcome at Kilkenny                    102


  CHAPTER XXVII

  THE ORMONDE PEACE, 1646

  Glamorgan and Rinuccini                                     103
  Arrest of Glamorgan                                         104
  Charles repudiates him                                      106
  Mission of Sir Kenelm Digby                                 107
  Ireland must be sacrificed                                  108
  Sir Kenelm Digby's treaty                                   109
  Glamorgan swears fealty to the nuncio                       111
  Ormonde's peace with the Confederacy                        112
  Lord Digby's adventures                                     114
  The peace proclaimed at Dublin                              115
  Siege of Bunratty                                           115
  Battle of Benburb                                           117
  Scots power in Ulster broken                                120
  Rejoicings in Ireland and at Rome                           121
  Rinuccini opposes the peace                                 122
  Which the clergy reject                                     123
  Riot at Limerick                                            125
  Ormonde at Kilkenny                                         126
  Triumph of Rinuccini                                        129
  Quarrels of O'Neill and Preston                             130
  Lord Digby's intrigues                                      134
  Rinuccini loses his popularity                              136
  Discords among the Confederates                             137


  CHAPTER XXVIII

  SURRENDER OF DUBLIN AND AFTER, 1647

  Dublin between two fires                                    140
  Mission of George Leyburn                                   141
  Ormonde's reasons for surrendering to Parliament            143
  Digby's last plots in Ireland                               144
  Glamorgan as general                                        145
  His army adheres to Muskerry                                146
  Preston routed at Dungan Hill                               148
  Parliamentary neglect                                       149
  Victories of Inchiquin                                      150
  Lord Lisle's abortive viceroyalty                           151
  Sack of Cashel                                              153
  Mahony's _Disputatio Apologetica_                           154
  Rinuccini and O'Neill                                       155
  Battle of Knocknanuss                                       157
  Declining fortunes of the Confederacy                       158
  Fresh appeals for foreign aid                               159
  Inchiquin distrusted by Parliament                          161
  Ormonde goes to England and France                          162


  CHAPTER XXIX

  INCHIQUIN, RINUCCINI, AND ORMONDE, 1648

  Inchiquin deserts the Parliament                            164
  His truce with the Confederacy                              165
  Rinuccini dependent on O'Neill                              166
  Who threatens Kilkenny                                      168
  O'Neill, Inchiquin, and Michael Jones                       170
  O'Neill proclaimed traitor at Kilkenny                      170
  Ormonde returns to Ireland                                  171
  His reception at Kilkenny                                   172
  Monck master in Ulster                                      173
  The Prince of Wales expected                                174
  The Confederacy dissolved                                   175
  Rinuccini driven from Ireland                               176


  CHAPTER XXX

  RINUCCINI TO CROMWELL, 1649

  Ormonde's commanding position                               179
  Charles II. proclaimed                                      180
  Milton and the Ulster Presbyterians                         180
  Monck, O'Neill, and Coote in Ulster                         182
  Inchiquin takes Drogheda                                    183
  Ormonde defeated by Jones at Rathmines                      184
  Charles II. has thoughts of Ireland                         186
  Prince Rupert at Kinsale                                    187
  Broghill consents to serve Parliament                       189
  Cromwell leaves London                                      189


  CHAPTER XXXI

  CROMWELL IN IRELAND, 1649

  Cromwell restores discipline in Dublin                      191
  Storm of Drogheda                                           193
  Ormonde's treaty with O'Neill                               196
  Death and character of Owen Roe O'Neill                     197
  Cromwell at Wexford                                         198
  Storm of Wexford                                            200
  Cromwell takes New Ross                                     201
  Cork, Kinsale, and Youghal join Cromwell                    203
  Operations after New Ross                                   204
  Siege of Waterford                                          205
  Siege raised                                                206
  Death of Michael Jones                                      206
  Cromwell winters at Youghal                                 208
  Broghill's campaign                                         208
  Carrickfergus taken                                         209
  The Clonmacnoise decrees                                    210


  CHAPTER XXXII

  CROMWELL IN IRELAND, 1650

  Cromwell's declaration                                      212
  A lady's experience at Cork                                 213
  Cromwell's southern campaign                                214
  Operations in Leinster--Castlehaven                         216
  Cromwell takes Kilkenny                                     218
  Siege of Clonmel, assault repulsed                          220
  The town capitulates                                        222
  Battle of Macroom, Cromwell leaves Ireland                  223
  Submission of Protestant Royalists                          225


  CHAPTER XXXIII

  ORMONDE'S LAST STRUGGLES, 1650

  Dissensions among Irish Royalists                           226
  O'Neill succeeded by Bishop Macmahon                        227
  Englishmen turned out of the army                           228
  Battle of Scariffhollis                                     230
  Assembly summoned to meet at Loughrea                       232
  Ormonde excluded from Limerick                              232
  Clanricarde excluded from Galway                            233
  Surrender of Tecroghan and Carlow                           234
  Waterford capitulates                                       235
  Charlemont taken                                            236
  Meeting of bishops at Jamestown                             237
  Ormonde's adherents excommunicated                          238
  Charles II. repudiates the Irish                            239
  A conference at Galway                                      241
  The excommunication maintained--no Protestant governor      242
  The Loughrea assembly can do little                         243
  Ormonde leaves Ireland, Clanricarde Deputy                  243


  CHAPTER XXXIV

  CLANRICARDE AND IRETON, 1651

  Plague and famine                                           245
  A regicide government                                       246
  Hugh O'Neill at Limerick                                    247
  Charles IV., Duke of Lorraine                               249
  Taaffe's mission to Charles II.                             251
  A Lorraine envoy in Ireland                                 253
  Extent of Lorraine succours                                 254
  Terms of agreement with the Duke                            256
  Condemned by Ormonde and Clanricarde                        257
  No help after Worcester                                     258
  Ireton passes the Shannon                                   261
  Coote and Reynolds elude Clanricarde                        262
  Desperate defence of Gort--Ludlow                           263
  Siege of Limerick                                           263
  Ludlow in Clare                                             266
  Broghill's victory at Knockbrack                            268
  Capitulation of Limerick                                    271
  Treatment of the besieged                                   273
  Death and character of Ireton                               277


  CHAPTER XXXV

  LAST PHASE OF THE WAR, 1652

  Galway holds out                                            278
  The Irish in Scilly                                         279
  Meeting of officers at Kilkenny                             280
  Horrors of guerrilla warfare                                280
  Capitulation of Galway                                      283
  "Tame Tories"                                               284
  Clanricarde's last struggle                                 285
  Castlehaven leaves Ireland--his memoirs                     286
  Clanricarde goes to England--his character                  287
  Submission of Irish leaders                                 289
  Siege of Ross Castle                                        290
  The Parliament an avenger of blood                          292
  The Leinster articles                                       293
  Richard Grace                                               294
  Ludlow's last service in the field                          295
  Arrival of Fleetwood                                        298


  CHAPTER XXXVI

  END OF THE WAR, AND ITS PRICE

  Last stand at Innisbofin                                    298
  Last stand in Ulster                                        299
  Exhaustion of the country                                   300
  Treatment of priests                                        301
  Swordsmen sent abroad                                       303
  Fleetwood commander-in-chief                                304
  Sir Phelim O'Neill tried and executed                       305
  Alleged commission from Charles I.                          307
  Lord Muskerry acquitted                                     308
  Primate O'Reilly pardoned                                   310
  Lord Mayo tried and shot                                    311
  The Crown bound by the Adventurers' Act                     312


  CHAPTER XXXVII

  PEACE, SETTLEMENT, AND TRANSPLANTATION, 1652-1654

  Magnitude of the problem                                    315
  Effect of the 1641 evidence                                 317
  The Act of Settlement                                       317
  Lambert's abortive appointment as Deputy                    319
  Expulsion of the Long Parliament                            320
  Barebone's Parliament--Irish members                        321
  Casting lots for Ireland                                    322
  Claims of the army                                          322
  The Act of Satisfaction                                     324
  Transplantation proceeds slowly                             325
  The Protectorate established                                326
  Fleetwood Deputy                                            327
  Cromwell's first Parliament--Irish members                  328
  Transplantation--Gookin and Lawrence                        329
  Tories, name and thing                                      330
  The Waldensian massacre                                     332
  Difficulties of transplantation, Loughrea and Athlone       333
  Worsley and Petty--the Down survey                          334
  Clarendon on the settlement                                 338
  Desolation of the towns                                     339
  Proposed transplantation of Presbyterians                   341


  CHAPTER XXXVIII

  HENRY CROMWELL, 1655-1659

  Henry Cromwell supersedes Fleetwood                         343
  Deportation to the West Indies                              344
  Henry and the sectaries                                     346
  Reduction of the army                                       347
  Oliver and his son                                          348
  Cromwell's second Parliament--Irish members                 349
  The oath of abjuration                                      350
  Henry Lord Deputy                                           352
  Henry made Lord Lieutenant by his brother                   354
  Ireland in the Parliament of 1659                           355
  Petty and his detractors                                    356
  Henry recalled by the restored Rump                         359
  Attempted estimate of Henry Cromwell                        360


  CHAPTER XXXIX

  THE RESTORATION

  Provisional government, John Jones and Ludlow               362
  Monck interferes                                            363
  End of the revolutionary government                         364
  The Irish army proves Royalist                              365
  Monck gains Coote and Broghill                              366
  Ludlow's last efforts                                       366
  Impeachment of Ludlow and others                            368
  New commissioners of Government appointed                   369
  General convention and declarations of officers             370
  Charles II. proclaimed in Dublin                            371




MAP


  Ireland, to illustrate the Cromwellian settlement      _to face p. 1_

[Illustration: IRELAND

to illustrate the

CROMWELLIAN SETTLEMENT]




IRELAND UNDER THE STUARTS




CHAPTER XXI

MUNSTER AND CONNAUGHT, 1641-1642


[Sidenote: The rebellion spreads to Munster, December, 1641.]

[Sidenote: St. Leger's raid.]

There was no outbreak in Munster during November, but Lord President
St. Leger knew that he had no real means of resisting one. The Lords
Justices had drawn off most of the soldiers, the rest were occupied as
garrisons, and practically he had only his own troop of horse to depend
on. Before the end of the month the Leinster rebels had come nearly to
the Suir, and he repaired with what men he could collect to Clonmel
lest Lady Ormonde, who was at Carrick, should fall into the invaders'
hands. The gentlemen of Tipperary came to meet him, but could or would
do nothing. 'Every man stands at gaze, and suffers the rascals to rob
and pillage all the English about them.' Ormonde's own cattle were
driven off. St. Leger's brother-in-law having been pillaged, he took
indiscriminate vengeance, and some innocent men were probably killed.
He as good as told the Tipperary magnates that they were all rebels.
In the meantime the Leinster insurgents had crossed the estuary of the
Suir in boats, and ravaged the eastern part of Waterford. St. Leger
rode rapidly through the intervening mountains, though there was snow
on the ground, and fell upon a party of plunderers at Mothel, near
Carrick. The main body were pursued to the river, and for the most
part killed. About seventy prisoners were taken to Waterford and there
hanged. He returned to Clonmel and thence back to Doneraile, for he
could do no more. 'My horses,' he told Ormonde, 'are quite spent;
their saddles have been scarce off these fourteen days; nor myself nor
my friends have not had leisure to shift our shirts ... the like war
was never heard of--no man makes head, one parish robs another, go home
and share the goods, and there is an end of it, and this by a company
of naked rogues.'[1]

[Sidenote: Mountgarret invades Munster.]

[Sidenote: Another mock commission.]

St. Leger's rough ways might furnish an excuse, but had no real effect
upon events. The flame steadily spread over the whole island, and
the contest fell more and more into the hands of extreme men. The
Tipperary insurgents were soon enrolled in companies, the leading
part being taken by Theobald Purcell, titular baron of Loughmoe, and
Patrick Purcell, who rose to distinction during the war. At the end
of January Mountgarret, who acted as general, invaded Munster with a
heterogeneous force. He was assisted by Michael Wall, a professional
soldier, and accompanied by Viscount Ikerrin, Lords Dunboyne and
Cahir, all three Butlers, and the Baron of Loughmoe. Kilmallock was
easily taken, and the Irish encamped at Redshard, near Kildorrery, at
the entry to the county of Cork. Broghill reckoned them at 10,000, of
whom half were unarmed. The President, who had 900 foot and 300 horse,
thought it impossible to dispute the passage, and preferred to parley.
Mountgarret demanded freedom of conscience, the preservation of the
royal prerogative, and equal privileges for natives with the English.
St. Leger answered that they had liberty of conscience already, that
he was not likely to do anything against the Crown, from whom he held
everything, and that he himself was a native. At last, on February 10,
articles were agreed upon by which the President agreed to abstain
from all further hostilities, both sides covenanting to do each other
no harm for one month. St. Leger was induced to grant these terms
mainly by the sight of a commission from Charles with the Great Seal
attached, but Broghill believed that this was a mere trick, and the
document fabricated. The President withdrew to Cork and Mountgarret
into Tipperary. The armistice was ill kept by the Irish, who were under
the influence of Patrick Purcell. Mountgarret never showed any military
ability.[2]

[Sidenote: Muskerry joins the Irish.]

[Sidenote: The King's proclamation.]

[Sidenote: Cork beleaguered by the Irish.]

[Sidenote: Inchiquin's first exploit, April 13, 1642.]

St. Leger had long cherished the belief that Donough MacCarthy,
Viscount Muskerry, would remain staunch. Muskerry, who had great
possessions, and who was married to Ormonde's sister, seems to have
tried the impossible part of neutral, but was soon drawn into the
vortex, and it was to him that the supposed commission to raise 4000
men had been made out. He tried to stop plundering, and even hanged a
few thieves, but the open country soon became untenable for English
settlers. Many flocked to Bandon, which was held by Cork's son Lord
Kinalmeaky. Others fled to Cork, Kinsale, and Youghal, to which latter
place Sir Charles Vavasour brought the first reinforcement of 1000 men.
Vavasour carried over the King's proclamation of January 1 against
the rebels, of which only forty copies had been printed, and Cork
immediately forwarded it to the Lord President. 'I like it exceedingly
well in all parts of it,' said St. Leger, 'save only that it is come
so late to light ... it were very good that we had some store of them
to disperse abroad, for of this one little notice can be taken.'
Cork maintained himself at Youghal and his sons in other places. St.
Leger, as soon as he had received reinforcements, relieved Broghill at
Lismore, and took Dungarvan from the Irish. Of all the old nobility
Lord Barrymore, who had married Cork's daughter, alone stood firm and
refused all offers from the Irish. On March 12 St. Leger wrote that he
was practically besieged in Cork by a 'vast body of the enemy lying
within four miles of the town, under my Lord of Muskerry, O'Sullivan
Roe, MacCarthy Reagh, and all the western gentry and forces to the
number of about 5000.' The nominal chief of this army was Colonel
Garret Barry, an experienced soldier, but without originality, and
more fit for a subordinate than for a chief command. On April 13,
two days before Ormonde's victory at Kilrush, Inchiquin--who was
married to St. Leger's daughter, and had studied war in the Spanish
service--persuaded his father-in-law to let him make a sally. With
only 300 foot and two troops of horse he surprised the Irish camp at
Rochfordstown, routed the ill-disciplined host completely, and pursued
them for some miles towards Ballincollig and Kilcrea. Muskerry's own
luggage fell into the victor's hands, and a great stock of corn,
which was very welcome. The only serious fighting was in the attack
of a small enclosure desperately defended by Florence McDonnell,
called Captain Sougane, perhaps in memory of the last Desmond rebel.
Inchiquin's loss was little or nothing, and he was soon able to ship
guns and take castles which obstructed the navigation of Cork harbour.
The southern capital was relieved from all immediate danger.[3]

[Sidenote: Limerick.]

[Sidenote: Waterford.]

Limerick did not at first take any decided part, but stood upon its
defence. Clonmel and Dungarvan admitted the Leinster insurgents in
December, a few days after St. Leger's raid. A party commanded by
Ormonde's brother Richard came to the gate of Waterford on the day
after Christmas, but the mayor, Francis Briver, refused to let him
in. Two other attempts were made before Twelfth Day. The mob of the
town and a majority of the corporation were opposed to the mayor, but
he held his own for some time, received English fugitives within the
walls, and kept them there till shipping could be had for themselves
and such property as they had been able to carry away. His own life
was frequently in danger, and his hand was badly bitten by a rioter who
resisted arrest. On another day, says Mrs. Briver, who took an active
part, 'when I heard so many swords were drawn at the market cross
against my poor husband, I ran into the streets without either hat or
mantle and laid my hands about his neck and brought him in whether he
would or no ... This and much more the mayor has suffered seeking to
let their goods go with the English.' Mountgarret was excluded, but in
April his son Edmund was admitted with 300 men, and the townsmen gave
up their cannon.[4]

[Sidenote: State of Connaught. Ranelagh and Clanricarde.]

[Sidenote: Events at Galway.]

[Sidenote: Hesitation of the Galway gentry.]

Roger Jones, created Viscount Ranelagh, was Lord President of
Connaught, and lay at Athlone with only a troop of horse and two
companies of foot. The government of the county of Galway was vested
by special patent in the Earl of Clanricarde, who positively refused
the request of the Roscommon gentlemen to take command of their county,
and thus ignore the Lord President's authority. Mayo was entrusted by
the Lords Justices to Lord Mayo and to Dillon, Viscount Costello, who
were both at this time professing Protestants. Sir Francis Willoughby,
the governor of Galway fort, was in Dublin when the rebellion broke
out, and his son Anthony, who was young and violent, commanded in his
absence. Clanricarde was at Portumna when he heard of the outbreak,
and he at once warned the mayor of Galway to be on his guard. The
Lords Justices refused to send arms from Dublin on the ground that
the passage was not safe, but told him to take what he could find
at Galway. A hundred calivers, many of them unserviceable, and as
many pikes were all that could be had. His own castles of Portumna,
Loughrea, and Oranmore were in a defensible state, and he came to
Galway on November 6. Richard Boyle, Archbishop of Tuam, took refuge
in the fort, and Clanricarde's castle of Aghenure, on the western
shore of Lough Corrib, was seized by the O'Flahertys. On the 11th a
town-meeting was held, and the citizens resolved to hold Galway for
the King. During the next three months there were frequent acts of
violence on both sides, Willoughby treating the citizens as conquered,
and they retorting by capturing and confining his stray soldiers. On
December 29 the lords of the Pale invited the nobility and gentry of
the county of Galway to join them, urging the legal grievances under
which Roman Catholics laboured, and the severe measures of Coote and
others. This did not make Clanricarde's task easier, but he came to
Galway on February 5, and patched up an accommodation. On the 11th he
left the town for a fortnight, and during the interval an outrage was
committed in the neighbourhood which rivalled the worst of the Ulster
atrocities.[5]

[Sidenote: The Shrule massacre, Feb. 1641-2.]

[Sidenote: Humanity of Walter Burke.]

According to the Rev. John Goldsmith, there were about 1000 English
and Scotch Protestants in Mayo, many of whom tried to save themselves
by going to mass. He had a brother a priest, and it was owing to the
Jesuit Malone and an unnamed friar that he escaped with his life.
Several Protestants, including one Buchanan of Strade, and John
Maxwell, Bishop of Killala, sought the protection of Sir Henry Bingham
at Castlebar, but he refused to admit Goldsmith, who was a convert from
Rome, lest his presence should increase the animosity of the Irish.
Lord Mayo promised to convoy the whole party safely to Galway fort,
and they set out on February 13, Malachy O'Queely, Roman Catholic
Archbishop of Tuam, 'faithfully promising the Lord of Mayo to accompany
them with his lordship and several priests and friars, to see them
safely conveyed and delivered in Galway, or at the Fort of Galway.'
The first night was spent at Ballycarra, the second at Ballinrobe, the
third at the Neale, and the fourth at Shrule, where a bridge joins
the counties of Mayo and Galway. Lord Mayo seems to have declined all
responsibility outside of his own county, and on Sunday the 17th he
dismissed his followers except one company commanded by Edmund Burke,
who proposed to go with them a few miles, and hand them over to an
escort of the county Galway. Burke's men began to plunder the unarmed
fugitives before they were out of Lord Mayo's sight, and he sent his
son Sir Theobald to keep order; according to Theobald's own account he
ran over the bridge with his sword drawn to help the English, but was
fired at and afterwards 'conveyed away for the safety of his life.'
The promised escort, consisting of two companies of the O'Flahertys,
then came up and joined the Mayo people in an indiscriminate massacre
of men, women, and children. The Bishop of Killala and a few others
were saved by the exertions of Ulick Burke, of Castle Hacket, but
those killed were not far short of a hundred, including Dean Forgie of
Killala and five other clergymen, of whom John Corbet was one. Thomas
Johnson, vicar of Turlough, escaped to the house of Walter Burke, who
treated him kindly and defended him. Young priests and friars asked
Stephen Lynch, prior of Strade, in his presence whether it was not
lawful to kill him as a heretic, and Lynch answered that it was as
lawful as to kill a sheep or a dog. The insurgents threatening to burn
Burke's house if he kept Johnson any longer, he managed to convey him
to Clanricarde's castle at Loughrea, and he 'ever after that time lived
by the noble and free charity of that good earl, until of late his
lordship sent him and divers other Protestants away with a convoy.'[6]

[Sidenote: Murders at Galway.]

[Sidenote: Clanricarde and the clergy.]

Clanricarde returned to Galway on March 1. After a fortnight's argument
he succeeded in getting both town and fort to make declarations of
loyalty and of peaceable intentions towards each other. As soon as his
back was turned the flames fanned by the clergy broke out afresh. A
party of armed townsmen disguised as boatmen seized an English ship,
murdered some of the crew, and towed her off in spite of Willoughby's
fire. When Galway surrendered to Coote in 1652 the perpetrators of
the outrage were specially excepted from pardon. The malcontents then
closed the gates, disarmed all the English within the walls, took an
oath of union, and invited the O'Flahertys and the Mayo insurgents
to join them. Willoughby burned some of the suburbs to prevent
the O'Flahertys from occupying them, and this military precaution
still further exasperated the citizens. But Clanricarde collected a
quantity of provisions at Oranmore and relieved the fort. His castle
of Tirellan, which commanded the river, enabled him to blockade the
town, the neighbourhood being constantly patrolled by cavalry. Supplies
ceased to reach the market, and before the end of April the leading
citizens were tired of resisting. While negotiations were proceeding
a man of war arrived with powder and provisions, and Clanricarde then
took high ground. In vain did the warden Walter Lynch, whom Rinuccini
afterwards made a bishop, fulminate the greater excommunication against
all who agreed to Clanricarde's articles. The mayor signed them
nevertheless, agreeing that all soldiers harboured in the town should
be sent away, that access to the town should be free and open, that
the Anglican clergy should enjoy their legal rights, and that no arms
or powder should be sold without Clanricarde's orders. The gates were
accordingly thrown open on May 13, the young men of the town laid down
their arms, and Clanricarde received the keys publicly from the mayor's
hands. Ormonde approved of these proceedings, but the Lords Justices
thought the rebellious town had been too leniently treated.[7]

[Sidenote: Order against intercourse with the Irish.]

[Sidenote: Sir James Dillon at Athlone.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde relieves Athlone.]

[Sidenote: An English party destroyed.]

Contrary to Ormonde's own judgment, though he signed with the rest,
the Lords Justices issued an order against holding any intercourse
with the Irish living near garrisons and against giving protection to
any of them. The soldiers were to prosecute the rebels with fire and
sword, and whenever Ormonde established a garrison the order in council
was to be sent to the commanders with directions for ensuring its
observance. This order bound both Ranelagh and Clanricarde, but neither
of them approved of it, and indeed it involved a censure upon the
latter's pacification at Galway. Athlone had since Christmas been beset
on the Leinster side by a mixed multitude under the general direction
of Sir James Dillon, who had made a truce with the Lord President so
far as to allow free access to the market. The castle, which stands
on the Connaught side of the Shannon, was thus provisioned and made
safe against assailants who had no battering train. After a time the
garrison began to make incursions into Westmeath, and this was regarded
by Dillon as a breach of faith. He had been distrusted by the Irish
for his moderation, but without gaining him the confidence of the
Government, and he thought it would be better to have at least one side
heartily with him. He accordingly seized the town on the Leinster side,
and threw up a work which prevented the garrison from crossing the
bridge. When he heard that Ormonde was coming to relieve the castle he
withdrew into the county of Longford. Ormonde left Dublin on June 14,
Mullingar and Ballymore being burnt at his approach, and on the 20th he
was at the village of Kilkenny, about seven English miles from Athlone.
There Ranelagh met him and took charge of the 2000 foot and two troops
of horse provided to reinforce him under Sir Michael Earnley. Ormonde
then returned to Dublin at once, though Clanricarde was most anxious
to meet him. Ranelagh put the new troops into various castles, three
hundred of them, under Captain Bertie, being assigned to a convent of
Poor Clares on Lough Ree. The nuns had been hurriedly conveyed away by
Dillon to an island in the lake, but the vestments remained and the
cellar was full. The soldiers drank the wine, and were masquerading
in the vestments when they were attacked by a party sent by Dillon.
Bertie fought bravely, but he and most of his men were killed. The Lord
President then concentrated his forces at Athlone and the open country
was left at the mercy of the Irish.[8]

[Sidenote: Dissensions amongst the English.]

[Sidenote: Fight at Ballintober, July 1642.]

[Sidenote: The Irish grow stronger.]

Ranelagh showed no energy, but he was in bad health and in want of
money and supplies. He said Earnley's men were rogues and gaol-birds,
and that he longed for a commission to raise men of his own country.
In the meantime he neglected to requisition the provisions available
in the neighbourhood, and the soldiers died of want and neglect. Coote
provided ten days' bread, and pressed him to do something while a few
men were left alive, whereupon he ordered an attack on Ballagh, which
was not taken without loss, and which Earnley says was quite useless.
Afterwards he joined his forces to those of Coote at Roscommon, and
Sir James Dillon attacked Athlone in his absence with 1500 men, but
was beaten off by the remnant left behind. A considerable Irish
force under O'Connor Roe and others assembled after some skirmishing
at Ballintober, where they were routed with a loss of six hundred
men. Coote and Earnley were not allowed to follow up the victory,
and Ranelagh refused to feed the latter's men any longer. They were
therefore dispersed among the garrisons which Coote commanded. Ranelagh
made no further attempt to keep the field, and in October he made
a truce for three months with the Irish. Clanricarde approved of
this, and would have been glad to have its operation extended, for
vengeance 'need not be so sharp here, as where blood doth call for
deserved punishment.' But the Lords Justices were all for war to the
knife, though they had not the means to wage it successfully, while
Lord Forbes and Captain Willoughby did their best to prevent peace.
The English Parliament were too busy at home to do much, while arms
and ammunition from the Continent poured in through Wexford and the
Ulster ports, with 'most of the colonels, officers, and engineers that
have served beyond seas for many years past ... which furnish all
parts of the kingdom but those few that adhere to me for his Majesty's
service.'[9]

[Sidenote: The rebellion in Clare, 1641-2.]

[Sidenote: Defence of Ballyallia, Feb.-Sept. 1642.]

Strafford's proposed settlement of Clare was never carried out, but
the Earls of Thomond were Protestants, and encouraged English tenants,
so that a considerable colony had in fact been established. Inchiquin,
who had agreed to the abortive plantation, threw his influence in
the same direction; but the great mass of O'Briens, Macnamaras, and
others favoured the insurgents. The outbreak in the north and the
attempt on Dublin were known at the fair of Clare on November 1, but
it was not till the end of the month that certain news came of the
insurrection having spread to the part of Tipperary near the Shannon.
Barnabas Earl of Thomond, who had an English wife, tried to keep the
peace, and adopted a trimming policy, but soon lost all control over
the country, though he held Bunratty and some other places. Robberies
of the Protestants' cattle soon began, and by Christmas the owners
were generally on their guard in castles, of which thirty-one were in
friendly hands. Three weeks later the troops raised by Thomond were
siding openly with the rebels. Ballyallia Castle, on a lake near Ennis,
belonged to Sir Valentine Blake, of Galway, who was a noted member of
the Catholic confederacy, but was leased to a merchant named Maurice
Cuffe, and became a place of refuge for at least a hundred Protestants.
Others from the neighbourhood escaped to England in a Dutch vessel.
About a thousand of the Irish encamped near the castle and built
cabins, but without coming to close quarters. They captured Abraham
Baker, an English carpenter apparently, and with his aid constructed
a 'sow,' such as was frequently used during the war. It was a house
35 feet by 9 feet, built of beams upon four wheels, strengthened with
iron and covered by a sharp ridge roof, and was moved by levers worked
from inside. The whole was kept together by huge spike-nails, which
cost 5_l._, 'being intended for a house of correction which should
have been built at Ennis.' Captain Henry O'Grady summoned the castle,
pretending to have his Majesty's commission to banish all Protestants
out of Ireland. Whereupon 'a bullet was sent to examine his commission,
which went through his thigh, but he made a shift to rumbel [_sic_] to
the bushes and there fell down, but only lay by it sixteen weeks, in
which time unhappily it was cured.' A girl who fell into the hands of
the besiegers was tortured until she confessed that the shot was fired
by the Rev. Andrew Chaplin. The Irish had no artillery, but devised
a cannon made of half-tanned leather with a three-pound charge. The
breech was blown out at the first fire, and the ball remained inside.
The sow was soon taken and those within killed. A kind of loose
blockade lasted from the beginning of February until near midsummer.
The besieged often suffered much from want of water, but sometimes
they ventured to skirmish in the open, joining with the garrison of
Clare Castle and capturing cattle. Baker, who was taken in the sow,
joined his captors, whereupon 'the Irish immediately hewed in pieces
his son, Thomas Baker, a proper young man, who was with them in their
camp.' After the fall of Limerick Castle one piece of artillery was
brought against Ballyallia, but the gunner was at once shot, and little
was done. After this the siege was much closer, famine and sickness
reducing the garrison by one half. They got horseflesh at times, but
were driven to eat salted hides, dried sheepskins and cats, all fried
in tallow. At last they were forced to capitulate, and the terms were
ill-kept, but in the end the survivors escaped to Bunratty, nearly all
ill and stripped of everything.[10]

[Sidenote: Cork and St. Leger, 1642.]

[Sidenote: Youghal, Lismore and Bandon.]

Cromwell is reported to have said that if there had been an Earl of
Cork in every county the Irish could never have raised a rebellion.
All his resources were expended in resisting it, and St. Leger, though
he co-operated with him, could not but feel bitterly the inferiority
of his own position. The Lords Justices never communicated with him,
and though they allowed him to levy forces, sent no money to pay them;
and indeed they had none to send. Earnest applications for cannon,
'six drakes and two curtoes,' were made in vain, and to take the
field without guns was impossible. 'If they have not wholly deserted
me,' he wrote to Ormonde, 'and bestowed the government on my Lord of
Cork, persuade them to disburden themselves of so much artillery as
they cannot themselves employ.' He died a few weeks later, leaving
the presidential authority in Inchiquin's hands. In the meantime Cork
himself had held Youghal, securing a landing-place for all succours
from England. His son Broghill defended Lismore, and Kinalmeaky was
governor of Bandon, which his father had walled and supplied with
artillery. Clonakilty was an open place, and the Protestant settlers
there and in the country round about escaped to Bandon, where the
townsmen made them pay well for their quarters. 'They were compelled,'
said Cork, 'to give more rent for their chamber or corner than my
tenants paid me for the whole house.' After Kinalmeaky's death at
Liscarrol Sir Charles Vavasour became governor, and the town was never
taken; the Bandonians making frequent sallies, like the Enniskilleners
in a later age. Lord Cork, who had enjoyed a rental of 50_l._ a day,
lost it all for the time, and was often in difficulties, but he saved
the English interest in Munster from total destruction.[11]

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Carte's _Ormonde_, with the letters in vol. iii. of November 8,
13, 16, 18 and 22, and December 11. _Lismore Papers_, 2nd series,
vol. iv. St. Leger's letters of November 7, 10, and 28, and December
2 and 17. Bellings says 'some innocent labourers and husbandmen
suffered by martial law for the transgression of others,' and Carte
gives instances. St. Leger's letters from November 1 to December 11 in
_Egmont Papers_, i. 142-154.

[2] The best account of this episode is Broghill's letter printed in
vol. ii. of Smith's _Hist. of Cork; Bellings_.

[3] _Bellings_, i. 76; St. Leger's letters of February 26, March
26, and April 18, 1641-2, in _Lismore Papers_, 2nd Series. _Divers
Remarkable Occurrences_ by Thomas Baron, Esq., who lived fifteen years
six miles from Bandon and arrived in London July 2. This last contains
a curious dirge on Captain Sougane, beginning, 'O'Finnen McDonnell
McFinnen a Cree' which has these lines:--

    Thy general Barry of three pounds a day,
    With armed Lord Muskerry did both run away.
    We Cork men bewail dee, but yet for dy glory
    Tank heaven to have pulled de from purgatory,
    For all our priests swear dou art not in hell,
    Dear Finnen McDonnell McFinnen farewell.


[4] Lords Justices and Council to Leicester, _Confederation and War_,
ii. 28; Letters from Mr. and Mrs. Briver, _ib._ 7-22.

[5] A good account in Hardiman's _Hist. of Galway_. Clanricarde's
letters, November 14 to January 23, 1641-2, in Carte's _Ormonde_, vol.
iii., and the lords of the Pale to the Galway gentry, December 29,
_ib._ Clanricarde's correspondence with the Roscommon gentry is in
_Contemporary Hist._ i. 380.

[6] Deposition of Goldsmith in 1643 in _Hickson_, i. 375. Other
witnesses in 1653, _ib._ i. 387-399 and ii. 1-7. Henry Bringhurst's
evidence, as being rather favourable to Lord Mayo, has been chiefly
followed for the massacre. See also Hardiman's _Hist. of Galway_, p.
110, and the letters in Clanricarde's _Memoirs_, 1757, pp. 77, 80. The
Galway men tried to throw the blame on their Mayo neighbours, for fear
of Clanricarde.

[7] Clanricarde to Essex, May 22, 1642; Ormonde to Clanricarde, June
13, in Carte's _Ormonde_. Hardiman's _Hist. of Galway_, p. 111.

[8] Order in Council, May 28, 1642, in _Confederation and War_, ii. 45.
Earnley's account, _ib._ 134; _Bellings_, i. 85. Carte's _Ormonde_, i.
345.

[9] Sir Michael Earnley's Relation (soon after July 20, 1642) in
_Confederation and War_, ii. 134. Clanricarde's letters of July 14 and
20, and October 26, in his _Memoirs_, pp. 190, 197, 281.

[10] Narrative of Maurice Cuffe, printed by T. Crofton Croker, _Camden
Society_, 1841. Joseph Cuffe to H. Jones, November 12, 1658, MS. in
Trinity College, 844, No. 37. Burnet says (i. 29) guns partly made of
leather were used with effect by the Scots at Newburn.

[11] St. Leger to Ormonde, May 12, 1642, in Carte's _Ormonde_, iii.
Appx. No. 78. Inchiquin to Cork, November 24, 1642, with the answer, in
Bennett's _History of Bandon_, chap. vii.




CHAPTER XXII

THE WAR TO THE BATTLE OF ROSS, 1642-1643


[Sidenote: A Scots army in Ulster.]

[Sidenote: Major-General Monro.]

When Charles received the news of the Irish insurrection, he at once
called upon the Scottish Parliament to aid him in suppressing it. They
replied that Ireland was dependent on England, that interference on
their part would be misunderstood, and that they could only act as
auxiliaries to the English people by agreement with them. Early in
November the Parliament at Westminster resolved to send 12,000 men from
England, and to ask the Scots to send 10,000 more. But Episcopalian
jealousy was aroused, and the demand on Scotland was reduced to 1,000.
Nothing was done for the moment, but on January 22, by which time some
of the English troops had reached Ireland, both Houses agreed to ask
for 2,500, and to this the Scots Commissioners in London assented. The
King hesitated about giving up Carrickfergus to the Scotch regiments,
but the Commissioners hoped that his Majesty, 'being their native king,
would not show less trust in them than their neighbour nation,' and
this appeal was successful. Money and military stores were stipulated
for, and it was agreed that if any other troops in Ulster should join
the Scots, their general was to command them as well as his own men,
and he had also power to enlarge his quarters to make such expeditions
as he might think fit. The Scottish estates had before offered 10,000
men, but nothing like that number ever went. A little later the command
was given to Leven, who stayed but a short time and did nothing. The
expeditionary force remained in the hands of Major-General Robert
Monro, who had been employed to keep order at Aberdeen, and did so with
no light hand. He set up, says Spalding, 'ane timber mare, whereupon
runagate knaves and runaway soldiers should ride. Uncouth to see sic
discipline in Aberdeen, and more painful to the trespasser to suffer.'
Monro will live for ever in the form of Dugald Dalgetty, for whose
portrait he was the chief model. Sir James Turner, who contributed some
touches to the picture, says his great fault was a tendency to despise
his enemy. Monro's training was that of the Thirty Years' War, and
Turner, who belonged to the same school, thought he carried its lessons
too far.[12]

[Sidenote: The Scots land April 1642.]

[Sidenote: Newry retaken.]

[Sidenote: Sir Phelim O'Neill burns Armagh.]

Monro landed at Carrickfergus on April 15 with about 2500 men, Lord
Conway and Colonel Chichester retiring with their regiments to
Belfast. On the 28th he marched towards Newry, leaving a garrison
behind him, and was joined by Conway and the rest, making up his army
to near 4000 men. The Irish under Lord Iveagh were posted in a fort
at Ennislaughlin near Moira, but were easily dislodged next day, and
fled into the Kilwarlin woods. No quarter was given, to which Turner
strongly objects. On the third day they marched through Dromore, where
only the church was left standing, to Loughbrickland, where there was
a garrison in an island. Monro bribed six Highlanders to swim across,
and one of these succeeded in bringing away the only boat. The island
was then occupied and all the Irish there killed. No attempt was made
to defend the town of Newry, but the castle gave some trouble, and
Monro was unwilling to assault or burn it, lest the prisoners confined
there should suffer. The garrison were allowed to march out without
arms on May 3, but over sixty townsmen, including a Cistercian monk
and a secular priest, were hanged next day in cold blood. Turner
criticises Monro's conduct, and claims to have saved nearly 150 women
whom the soldiers proposed to kill. At least a dozen women were shot
or drowned, notwithstanding his interference. The natural result of
Monro's system was to make the Irish desperate, and O'Neill burned
Armagh, 'the cathedral with its steeple and with its bells, organ, and
glass windows, and the whole city, with the fine library, with all the
learned books of the English on divinity, logic, and philosophy.' Many
lives were also taken by the Irish in revenge for Monro's severities.
After leaving a garrison at Newry the army marched through the Mourne
mountains, and from one end of Down to the other. Turner mentions a
frightful storm attributed by the superstitious to Irish witches, which
if true he considered a good proof that their master was really prince
of the air. Some of the soldiers died from sheer cold. On the twelfth
day Monro returned to Carrickfergus. A detachment which he had left
in the outskirts of Belfast had been attacked during his absence and
driven off. A large number of cattle had been taken from the Magennises
and Macartans, but the English soldiers everywhere complained that the
Scots got most of the plunder.[13]

[Sidenote: Sir Frederic Hamilton.]

[Sidenote: His severities.]

[Sidenote: Sir W. Cole at Enniskillen.]

[Sidenote: The Laggan army.]

Sir Frederic Hamilton was at Londonderry on October 24. On hearing
of the outbreak he rode hard with a dozen mounted servants, who made
a great show by blowing trumpets and carrying two lighted matches
each. The little party reached Donegal unmolested, succoured the
English settlers there, and at Ballyshannon killed some rogues on
the road, and reached Manor Hamilton in safety. Connor O'Rourke,
sheriff of Leitrim, visited Hamilton on the 31st, but his professions
of loyalty did not last long. The arrival of a few stray Scots
soldiers, some from Carlisle direct, increased the garrison to fifty
men. By December 4 twenty-four prisoners were taken, and to avenge
the deaths of Englishmen at Sligo, eight of them were hanged upon a
conspicuous gallows. Fifty-six persons, including one woman, died thus
by martial law between December 3, 1641, and February 18, 1642-3.
Hamilton complained bitterly that he was not supported by Sir William
Cole, and their quarrels became the subject of an inquiry by the
English Parliament. Cole held Enniskillen throughout, and without
much difficulty, while Captain Ffolliott maintained the important
post at Ballyshannon. Meanwhile the brothers Sir William and Sir
Robert Stewart, who were both professional soldiers, were active from
Rathmelton in Donegal to Newtown Stewart in Tyrone. Their levies grew
into an army which came to be known as the Laggan forces from a name
locally given to the district. Londonderry and Coleraine also held out,
and were never taken during the war.[14]

[Sidenote: Ormonde wastes Kildare, April, 1642.]

[Sidenote: George Monck.]

[Sidenote: Battle of Kilrush, April 15.]

Ormonde returned to Dublin in the middle of March, and on April 2 set
out again with 3000 foot, 500 horse, and five guns to waste the county
of Kildare. Captain Yarner, with two troops, burned ten or twelve
villages under the Wicklow mountains, and killed about the same number
of armed men. A trumpeter was killed by a shot from Tipper Castle,
near Naas, whereupon Coote blew up the house and put all to the sword.
Ormonde garrisoned Naas, established a Protestant corporation there,
and advanced to Maryborough, whence he sent most of his cavalry by
forced marches to relieve Burris in Ossory and Birr, and to return by
Portnahinch. The old men, women, and children of about sixty families
were brought away safely and settled at Naas. Monck, who now appears
for the first time in Ireland, was sent to secure their return passage
over the Barrow. Other detachments were sent to relieve Ballinakill,
Clogrennan and Carlow, and on the twelfth day Ormonde was back at Athy
without any loss except of a few over-ridden horses. Great numbers
of cattle were taken, and Coote gave 300 milch cows to the fugitives
at Naas on condition of selling milk to the troops at a halfpenny a
quart and making butter and cheese, and bread, he supplying corn at
ten shillings the Winchester barrel. Ormonde found that the enemy had
concentrated in the meantime at the ford of Mageney on the Barrow
with a view to intercept him on his return. Mountgarret and Roger
O'More were both present, as well as Hugh MacPhelim O'Byrne, who
was retreating from Drogheda to the Wicklow mountains, and they had
more than 6000 men, but badly armed and with very little powder.
Ormonde left Athy early in the morning of April 15, his force being
considerably reduced by the garrisons left behind. The Irish were
soon visible to the eastward trying to reach the pass at Ballyshannon
before him. As they had no baggage they would probably have got there
first, but Ormonde was superior in horse, and he sent on all that he
had under Sir Thomas Lucas. The Irish finding themselves forestalled,
had to fight in a less advantageous position at Kilrush. They had no
real head, and the Munster and Leinster men disputed about the division
of the spoil before the battle was won. The English cavalry had it all
their own way, Coote charging like a man of thirty. He lost his cap,
'but bare-headed scoured about the field, crying "Kill! kill!" and with
his hand gave the example, while my Lord of Ormonde secured the cannon
and victory with some divisions of foot, and beat their van into a
speedy retreat.' There was very little fighting, the Irish soon taking
refuge in a bog near at hand. The number of killed on their side is
uncertain, but it included some persons of rank, and the army simply
ceased to exist. O'More and his brother fled to their home at Ballina
near the Boyne, Mountgarret and others to Tullow, and the O'Byrnes
to their Wicklow mountains. Ormonde lost some twenty men. That night
he slept at Castlehaven's house at Maddenstown, where Antrim and the
Duchess of Buckingham were staying, and Coote 'to pleasure the lady,'
fired a salute of artillery and musketry. According to an Irish writer
Sir Charles boasted of the day's victory. The men were silent, but
the Duchess upbraided him as being less loyal than the Irish, and as
'a poor mechanical fellow, raised by blind fortune, as informer and
promoter against all that is just and godly, being chief instrument of
the shedding of many innocent blood [_sic_], and of the commencement
of the new distempers.' Coote, who was of a good old family, had served
three sovereigns faithfully both in peace and war, and fell three weeks
later fighting bravely against enormous odds.[15]

[Sidenote: The Irish Parliament purged.]

[Sidenote: Beginning of the Catholic Confederation.]

[Sidenote: The oath of association.]

On June 22 that part of the House of Commons in Dublin which accepted
the oath of supremacy expelled forty-one 'rotten and unprofitable
members' who were either in open rebellion or indicted of high treason.
Of these Richard Bellings, who sat for Callan, was the most important.
Among the others were Rory Maguire the northern leader, Sir Valentine
Blake of Galway, who was Clanricarde's friend, and Sir James Dillon. In
the meantime what claimed to be a new legislature was being gradually
formed. On May 10, 11, 13, and 14 a congregation of the Roman Catholic
hierarchy sat at Kilkenny. There were present three archbishops, six
bishops and the procurators of four more, with several abbots and other
dignitaries; and the plan of the proposed confederation was sketched
out. The prelates declared that the war had been justly undertaken
for religion and for the King, against sectaries and especially
against Puritans. Any province, county, or city making separate terms
with the enemy was to be held excommunicate. A number of lords and
gentlemen joined the prelates, and out of their joint deliberations
grew the Supreme Council in its first shape--two members out of each
province with Mountgarret as president. An oath of association was
framed binding the confederates to obey the council and to do nothing
without their consent. The main object was the establishment of the
Roman Catholic religion 'in as full and ample a manner as the Roman
Catholic secular clergy had or enjoyed the same within this realm at
any time during the reign of Henry VII.' Significantly, the regular
clergy are not mentioned at all. The secular clergy were to enjoy all
temporalities 'in as large and ample a manner as the late Protestant
clergy respectively enjoyed the same on October 1, 1641.' All laws to
the contrary made since 20 Henry VIII. were void. Before a more regular
assembly could meet Preston had landed in the south and O'Neill in the
north, and their arrival gave events a new turn.[16]

[Sidenote: Owen Roe O'Neill.]

[Sidenote: O'Neill lands in Ulster, July 1642.]

Owen Roe O'Neill was son of Art MacBaron, the great Tyrone's brother,
whence he was often called Owen MacArt. In the Spanish service he was
known as Don Eugenio O'Neill. He was a captain in Flanders in Henry
O'Neill's Irish regiment as early as 1607, and colonel of the regiment
about 1633. With the rank of _maître de camp_ he commanded the garrison
of Arras during the siege in 1640, and marched out with the honours
of war on August 9. For some time before the outbreak he had been in
frequent communication with the Irish leaders, but perhaps without
any well-formed intention of going over himself. When he heard that
the plot to seize Dublin had been discovered 'he was in a great rage
against O'Connolly, and said he wondered how or where that villain
should live, for if he were in Ireland, sure they would pull him in
pieces there; and if he lived in England there were footmen and other
Irishmen enough to kill him.' It was less than eight years since
another Irish colonel, Walter Butler, had murdered Wallenstein. O'Neill
then asked his general Francis de Mello to let him go to Ireland, and
the Spaniard answered that he should go and be well supplied for the
enterprise if he could find a safe landing-place in his own country.
It was, however, given out that he was in disgrace with the Spanish
authorities, and years afterwards, when Hyde was at Madrid, Don Luis
de Haro kept up the mystification and spoke of him as a deserter from
his sovereign's service. Where Spain was concerned there were always
long delays, and the summer of 1642 was well advanced before O'Neill
announced to Luke Wadding that he was about to start. Everything, he
said, was going on well in Ireland, but there was sad want of powder.
If the Pope knew, he said, how fatal that powder would be to heresy and
heretics he would make haste to procure a plentiful supply. O'Neill
sailed from Dunkirk round Scotland, and landed in Lough Swilly about
the last day of July. He captured two prizes at sea and detached a
small vessel to Wexford with arms, which arrived safely. O'Neill
brought to Ulster 'ammunition, arms and a few low-country officers and
soldiers of his own regiment,' and he sent his ships back to Flanders
for more. Sir Phelim sent 1500 men to join his kinsman, who went round
by Ballyshannon to Charlemont, where he arrived without having met an
enemy.[17]

[Sidenote: Preston lands at Wexford, August 1642.]

[Sidenote: His rivalry with O'Neill.]

[Sidenote: Attitude of Richelieu.]

Thomas Preston, a son of the fourth Viscount Gormanston, was fifty-six
years old when the Irish rebellion broke out. He was a captain in the
same regiment as Owen Roe O'Neill in 1607, but was never on good terms
with him. They were rivals in recruiting during the reign of Strafford,
who favoured the man of English descent as far as he could. In 1635
Preston distinguished himself in the defence of Louvain against the
combined forces of France and Holland, and in 1641 in the defence of
Genappe against Frederick Henry of Orange. In 1642 his nephew, Lord
Gormanston, urged him to return to Ireland. In March of that year
Mountgarret sent Geoffrey Barron, Wadding's nephew, to Paris, and in
July he met Preston there. Richelieu, who had not forgotten Rochelle,
did not declare himself openly, but he discharged all the Irish
soldiers in the French service, allowed war material to be purchased in
France, and let it be understood that help would be forthcoming to the
extent of a million of crowns. Preston sailed from Dunkirk, accompanied
by several officers, and arrived in Wexford harbour at the beginning of
August. Here he was joined by at least a dozen vessels laden with war
material from St. Malo, Nantes, and Rochelle. He reconnoitred Duncannon
fort, which he thought could be taken in fifteen days, and then went
to Kilkenny, where the confederates were still assembled. Public
opinion quickly designated him as the fittest person to have military
command in Leinster, and Mountgarret, who was no soldier, was very
willing to yield the place to him.[18]

[Sidenote: Limerick Castle taken, June 1642.]

[Sidenote: Death of St. Leger. Inchiquin vice-president, June 1642.]

[Sidenote: Battle of Liscarrol, Sept. 1642.]

The army which Inchiquin had driven from before Cork came together
again at Limerick, and St. Leger had no force to molest it there. After
standing neutral for a time the city had joined the confederates, but
the castle was held by Captain George Courtenay with sixty men and
very little powder. Supplies were ordered by Parliament, but did not
reach the garrison. The Irish stretched a boom across the river, which
prevented any relief by water, and ran mines under the works, while
the garrison were harassed by a continual fire from the walls of the
cathedral. Courtenay capitulated on June 21, and Barry and Muskerry
went south again with three pieces of cannon taken in the castle.
Among these was a thirty-two pounder weighing about three tons, which
was laid in the scooped-out trunk of a tree and dragged up hills and
through bogs by twenty-five yoke of oxen. The whole county of Limerick
was soon in Irish hands. St. Leger died on July 2, and the sole
command then devolved on Inchiquin. His position as vice-president was
confirmed by the Lords Justices, who associated Lord Barrymore with him
for the civil government, but the latter died at Michaelmas. Patrick
Purcell, acting as major-general under Barry, took up a strong position
at Newtown near Charleville, but was beaten out of it by Inchiquin
with very inferior numbers. This check caused a long delay, but at
last Barry advanced with six thousand foot and five hundred horse and
sat down on August 20 before the strong castle of Liscarrol. Here he
was joined by Lord Dungarvan, who had just taken Ardmore Castle and
hanged 117 men, leaving the women and children at liberty. A garrison
of thirty men could do little against the fire of heavy guns, and
Liscarrol surrendered on September 2. On the 3rd, Cromwell's lucky day,
Inchiquin advanced, as he supposed, to their relief. His force of 3000
foot and 400 horse was about half of Barry's, but much better armed and
disciplined. The Irish, having a good position under the walls of the
castle, were at first successful against the charge of a small division
of horse consisting of Cork and Bandon men, without even helmets; but
Lord Cork's son Kinalmeaky, 'who was clothed with armour of proof'
was shot dead. Though one else fell, his followers were driven back
in confusion and the battle seemed lost, but the foot stood firm,
and Inchiquin, coming up with some more regular cavalry, succeeded
in rallying the fugitives. He killed Oliver Stephenson, the Irish
cavalry leader, with his own hand, and had himself more than one narrow
escape, being wounded in the head and hand. The Irish were routed and
'recovered Sir William Pore's bog near Kilbolaine,' where they were
out of reach. Inchiquin only lost some twelve men killed, and Barry is
said to have lost seven hundred, but the victory was not of much use,
for there were neither money nor provisions to follow it up. Liscarroll
Castle was reoccupied, and three pieces of cannon brought from Limerick
were taken. Inchiquin then fell back to Mallow, and dispersed his men
in garrisons, while the Irish went to their several homes.[19]

[Sidenote: The Scots in Ulster, June 1642]

[Sidenote: Kinard burned.]

[Sidenote: Charlemont retained by the Irish.]

There was perpetual fighting in Ulster during the summer of 1642. Monro
marched on June 17, with about 2000 men, from Carrickfergus to Lisburn,
where he was joined by Lord Montgomery and others with some 1100 foot
and four troops of horse. Lord Conway brought his regiment and five
troops of horse. Next morning the Scots general, with his own foot
and nearly all the horse, marched through the plain to Dromore, while
Montgomery cleared the woods of Killultagh, most of the Irish flying
across the Bann with their cattle and 'burning the country all along.'
The fighting was not severe, and the two divisions coalesced somewhere
near Banbridge. Monro, being short of provisions, decided not to follow
the enemy into Tyrone, and went off with some troops of cavalry towards
the Mourne mountains, leaving the other leaders to do the best they
could. Three hundred cows were captured, and the bulk of the army came
to Kinard. A priest was also taken, 'Chanter of Armagh and a prime
councillor to Sir Phelim O'Neill, who was since hanged, but would not
confess or discover anything.' The chief had gone to Charlemont, and
his men ran away who 'for haste did not kill any prisoners,' so his
house was burned, which was 'built of free stone and strong enough
to have kept out all the force we could make.' Two hundred miserable
captives were released, in rags and with faces like ghosts. The plunder
was considerable, including Sir Phelim's plate, which was on carts
ready to carry off. News was heard of Lady Caulfield, who was 'kept at
a stone house near Braintree woods,' and here Captain Rawdon found her
with her children, just in time to prevent the rebels from taking her
off into the forest. Rawdon was not so successful in the case of Lady
Blaney, who had been carried away into the wilds of Monaghan the night
before he came on the scene. As he rode through Kinard the second time
there was 'nothing left quick but angry dogs and embers.' Charlemont
had been strengthened with some skill, and there was no possibility of
taking it without guns, though Sir Phelim was nearly captured trying to
go there, and had to fly into Tyrone. Dungannon was afterwards taken
and garrisoned, with the usual hangings, Sir William Brownlow and
other prisoners there having overcome the rebel guard 'with the help
of some Irish that had formerly had relation to them.' Two brass guns
were taken, but they were not heavy enough to make the difference at
Charlemont, and on the eighth and ninth days the army returned from
Armagh through Loughbrickland to Lisburn. A great many cattle had been
taken, and all not eaten or stolen were divided among the men, one to
every four foot soldiers and to every two troopers.[20]

[Sidenote: Desultory character of the war.]

On June 25 Clotworthy left Antrim with 600 men in twelve boats built
for the service on Lough Neagh. On the flat Tyrone shore little
resistance was made, and Mountjoy was taken with no loss. Here he
entrenched himself strongly, and 'notwithstanding the next was the
Lord's day' spent it in building huts for his men. Before leaving it
to be maintained by a garrison of 250 men he scoured the woods as well
as he could, and lost very few men, though the pressure of hunger was
severe, for he could not catch cows without cavalry, and there were 500
rescued British prisoners of both sexes and every age to feed along
with the soldiers. The want of horse was partly supplied by making
200 men strip to their shirts for lightness, and they did not object,
thinking it mean to wear armour against men that had none. Generally
speaking the Irish would not stand against them, but they seemed to
have ammunition enough, which was said to come from Limerick. One
hundred cows were taken near Moneymore, after which the soldiers fared
better, but there was much sickness from want of proper food, and from
having to sleep on the ground.[21]

[Sidenote: A general assembly meets, Oct. 1642.]

[Sidenote: The name of Parliament avoided.]

[Sidenote: The Catholic Church first.]

[Sidenote: The King second.]

[Sidenote: The Supreme Council.]

[Sidenote: Four generals appointed.]

The provisional supreme council, which had been formed at Kilkenny
in the early summer, did what they could to give their organisation
something of a legal shape. 'Letters,' says Bellings, 'in nature of
writs were sent from this council to all the Lords spiritual and
temporal, and all the counties, cities, and corporate towns that
had right to send knights and burgesses to Parliament.' The general
assembly so constituted met on October 24, a year and a day after the
first outbreak in Ulster, at the house of Robert Shee, heir to Sir
Richard Shee. The Lords spiritual and temporal and Commons sat in
one room, Mr. Pat Darcy bareheaded upon a stool representing all or
some that sat in Parliament upon the woolsack. Mr. Nicholas Plunket
represented the Speaker of the Commons, and both Lords and Commons
addressed their speech to him. The Lords had an upper room for a
recess for private consultation, and upon resolutions taken the same
were delivered to the Commons by Mr. Darcy. The name of Parliament
was eschewed, and Plunket was called prolocutor or president, and
not speaker. Burgesses were to be paid five shillings a day, and
knights of the shire ten shillings during the session, and for ten
days before and after. The first act of the assembly was to establish
the Roman Catholic Church as it had been in the time of Henry VII.,
and the statute law was to be observed so far as it was 'not against
the Catholic Roman religion.' Allegiance to King Charles came second.
For the protection of the King's subjects against murders, rapes and
robberies 'contrived and daily executed by the malignant party, and for
the exaltation of the Holy Roman Catholic Church and the advancement
of his Majesty's service,' a Supreme Council was appointed, with both
executive and judicial authority; control over all officers, even
generals, in the field; and power to hear and determine all matters
capital, criminal or civil, 'except the right or title of land.' Owen
Roe O'Neill was appointed general for Ulster, Preston for Leinster, and
Colonel Gerald Barry for Munster. For Connaught, Colonel John Bourke
was named lieutenant-general only, in the hope that Clanricarde would
be induced to join. There were some bickerings between Owen Roe and
Sir Phelim, who had just married Preston's daughter, and who wished to
be in command of his own province, and between Rory O'More and other
Leinster gentlemen, but they were smoothed over for the time. All the
generals had seen service on the Continent.[22]

[Sidenote: Constitution of the Supreme Council.]

[Sidenote: Provincial Councils.]

The Supreme Council consisted of twenty-four persons, four taken from
each province. Of these only four, an O'Neill and a Magennis from
Ulster, an O'Brien from Munster and Lord Mayo, were not sworn in at the
time. Lord Mountgarret was appointed president, Bellings secretary, and
Richard Shee clerk. Of the whole twenty-four four were peers and five
bishops. Provincial and county councils were also constituted, but they
had no real existence, or a very shadowy one. That for Leinster was
appointed, but was overshadowed by the Supreme Council, and events soon
showed that military force and not new-fangled civil departments was
the determining quantity during the revolutionary period.

[Sidenote: Protestants and neutrals to lose their estates.]

[Sidenote: Church property to be transferred.]

The assembly decreed that lands taken from their owners since October
1, 1641, should be restored on pain of the new possessor being treated
as an enemy; provided that if the old owner 'be declared a neuter
or enemy by the supreme or provincial,' then the land should be
surrendered not to him, but to the council, 'to be disposed of towards
the maintenance of the general cause.' The war was a religious one,
and thus the lands of all who were not prepared to espouse the Roman
Catholic cause were to be forfeited, or at the least sequestered.
English, Welsh and Scotch Roman Catholics were to be treated as well
as natives of Ireland. All Church temporalities were at one stroke
transferred from Protestants to Roman Catholics. It must have been from
the first evident to all cool observers that no accommodation on these
terms could ever be made with any settled English Government. After
sitting for about a month the assembly adjourned till May 20 next. They
had ordered 4000_l._ worth coin to be struck, and 5820 men to be raised
as the Leinster contingent. The Kilkenny government never had any real
authority, except in the south-east of Ireland.[23]

[Sidenote: The royal authority slighted.]

[Sidenote: Flags.]

[Sidenote: Coinage.]

[Sidenote: Indulgences and excommunications.]

[Sidenote: Free trade.]

The Supreme Council assumed sovereign power, the King figuring
largely in negotiations with Ormonde, but seldom appearing in
documents intended for home consumption. Flags were devised with
various religious emblems and mottoes; but in each case there was
an Irish cross on a green field, 'Vivat Rex Carolus' below, and
C R with a crown imperial above. Francis Oliver, a Fleming, was
appointed vice-admiral, and letters of marque to prey upon 'enemies
of the general Catholic cause' were freely granted. Half-crowns and
shillings and copper money were struck with Charles I. on one side
and St. Patrick on the other, but this was not done without much
opposition, for the coinage was unnecessary, and was an evident
encroachment upon the Crown. Agents were accredited to the Emperor,
the King of France, the Pope, the Duke of Bavaria, the Viceroy in
Belgium, and the Governor of Biscay. The Franciscan Luke Wadding, a
native of Waterford, was agent at Rome, and as this was emphatically
the Pope's war, the instructions to him are of special interest. The
first thing asked for was a supply of indulgences for the confederates
and of excommunications for all opponents and neutrals. The Pope was
requested to send letters in their favour to the Queen of England,
to the Catholic princes of Germany, Spain, France, Portugal, Poland,
and Bavaria, to Genoa, and to the Catholics of Holland. Wadding was
directed to impress upon his Holiness that the Catholic cause in
Protestant countries would be much advanced by the success of the
confederates. Free trade with France, Spain, and Holland was solicited
through the Pope's mediation. In general he was to be asked to give the
council power over ecclesiastical patronage, and not to admit appeals
during the war. In particular Thomas Dease, Bishop of Meath, had been
suspended by the provincial synod of Armagh for refusing to approve of
the war, and his appeal was to be rejected without trial. The Supreme
Council thus engrossed to themselves all the chief prerogatives of the
Crown which they professed to defend.[24]

[Sidenote: Preston's first action, Dec. 1642.]

Preston's first service in the field did not augur well for his
success as a general. Ormonde was anxious to relieve the garrison
of Ballinakill on the borders of Queen's County and Kilkenny, and
in December he sent Monck with a convoy and enough men to guard it.
This service was duly performed, but Preston and Castlehaven, with
a thousand foot and three troops of horse, attempted to cut him off
on his return to Dublin. Monck passed by Timahoe, where there was a
confederate garrison, who lined the hedges by the roadside; but hearing
that he was pursued, he avoided the snare by drawing aside to some
level ground backed by a hill, where he placed his foot to serve as
support in case the horse were worsted. The contrary happened, and
after the first charge the whole of Preston's force was driven under
the shelter of Timahoe. The numbers engaged on each side were about
equal, but a crowd of spectators on a distant hill were mistaken for
reinforcements, and Monck prudently continued his journey to Dublin.
Castlehaven thought most of the Irish foot would have been destroyed
had the enemy pursued their advantage.[25]

[Sidenote: Parliamentary agents in Dublin.]

[Sidenote: Lisle and Grenville.]

'The check at Timahoe,' says Castlehaven, 'made us pretty quiet till
towards the spring following,' when the Lords Justices resolved upon
an expedition into Wexford. The sympathies of Parsons, who was the
ruling spirit, were certainly with the Parliament, but the event was
uncertain, and even after Edgehill it was hard to say whether the
King would succeed or not. Since the end of October there had been a
committee from the Parliament in Dublin consisting of Robert Reynolds
and Robert Goodwin, members of the House of Commons, and of Captain
William Tucker, agent for the English adventurers in Irish land. Part
of their business was to induce soldiers to take debentures in lieu of
pay. By the advice of the Chancellor Bolton these three were admitted
to sit at the Council board. Tucker kept a journal of the proceedings,
and it is clear that he was not much impressed by the wisdom of
the Irish Government. The sittings were generally occupied in mere
talk, and very little was done in the field. Thus, when Sir Francis
Willoughby took Maynooth Castle Tucker reports that the rebels ran away
after one day's siege, that four or five men were killed on each side,
and 'no service done at all, but only expectation and the gain of one
ass.' In the middle of January Lord Lisle, the Lord Lieutenant's son,
proposed to relieve the empty treasury by leading out fifteen hundred
men to live upon the enemy's country. Lisle was general of the horse,
and Sir Richard Grenville major of Leicester's own regiment, and it
was intended that these two officers should command in the field.
Grenville, according to Clarendon, was noted for his cruelty, but he
had served with credit at Kilrush, and he was major of Leicester's
regiment of horse. In January came a commission from the King giving
power to Ormonde, Clanricarde, and others to treat with the Irish, and
the Lords Justices supposed that the field would thus be left clear for
Lisle.[26]

[Sidenote: Ormonde takes the field, March, 1642-3.]

When the King's letter was read at the Council board Ormonde, according
to his chaplain's account, said he had no wish to be a commissioner to
hear Irish grievances, 'for I know that nothing grieves them more than
that they could not cut all our throats,' but that as general he would
command in the field. His right could not be denied, and he had lately
endeared himself to both officers and soldiers by his exertions to
obtain their pay and other advantages for them. But the Lords Justices
and the parliamentary commissioners, who had advanced money for Lord
Lisle, were not at all pleased. Tucker, indeed, held that the money
could not be decently denied to Ormonde, but his career and that of his
colleagues in Ireland was cut short before the campaign actually began.
In the middle of February came a letter from the King directing that
the committee should no longer be admitted to the Council-chamber, and
fearing arrest they returned to England before the end of the month.
On March 1 Ormonde set out with 2500 foot and 800 horse, and with two
siege-guns and four field-pieces.[27]

[Sidenote: Bloody affair at Timolin.]

[Sidenote: New Ross besieged.]

[Sidenote: Battle of Ross, March 18, 1642-3.]

[Sidenote: Effective artillery.]

[Sidenote: Defeat of Preston.]

At Timolin, which was reached on the third day, the Irish defended
the castle and an old church. One culverin reduced the former, and
all the men were killed before night. The besiegers had about thirty
killed and wounded in a premature attempt to storm, Lieutenant Oliver,
the only engineer in the army, being among the slain. The church
tower held out till next day, but the whole garrison, except one man,
were killed by shot or falling stones. The garrisons of Carlow and
Athy were strong enough to prevent Preston from being reinforced by
the Wicklow insurgents, but the latter had some prisoners whom they
proposed to exchange with the survivors of Timolin. 'There be not many
of them alive now,' said Monck, 'and what there is take you with you.'
According to Bellings, who is generally fair, part of the garrison
were slaughtered by the soldiers of Lisle's regiment after quarter had
been given by Ormonde. On the seventh day from Dublin the army passed,
without further fighting, through Clohamon in Wexford, where a fair
was being held, and some cattle were swept off by the soldiers. On the
tenth day New Ross was reached, 'where,' says Ormonde's chaplain, 'we
saw flags set up on the walls and the inhabitants making ready for a
siege.' Women and children were sent over the Barrow into Kilkenny,
and men were introduced in their places, so that the number of the
garrison soon equalled that of the besieging army. One culverin was
turned upon the south gate near the river, and a breach was soon made,
but the defenders dug a great trench inside, and attempts to storm
were frustrated. Another culverin was in position at the north end of
the town, but the shot failed to reach those who were maintaining the
breach, and Ormonde's soldiers suffered sorely from rain as well as
from musket balls, and no doubt envied the enemy, for they could see
the women plying them constantly with drink. Meanwhile there were two
English vessels of 120 and 60 tons, with eight guns between them,
lying in the tideway below the town. They could neither escape nor
get near enough to do much service, and when artillery was brought to
bear they were scuttled and abandoned. The victuals and ammunition
sank or were captured by the enemy, but the sailors joined Ormonde and
did excellent work afterwards as gunners. The supply of provisions
was very limited, and at the approach of Preston's army the siege
was practically raised. Six hundred men under Sir James Dillon came
from Westmeath as far as Ballyragget in Kilkenny, but few or none of
them ever joined Preston, having been attacked by the garrison of
Ballinakill on St. Patrick's night. 'They being very merry for honour
of their saint, and for that they expected a great victory the next
day, and being full of drink,' were cut to pieces or dispersed, and
all their arms taken. On the morning of March 18 Ormonde's army were
encamped on a heathy hill half a mile to the eastward of Old Ross,
but before ten o'clock they had taken up a position some three miles
to the north-west and a little short of a village called Ballinafeeg.
Mr. Brian Kavanagh voluntarily gave his services as a guide. The deep
glen of Poulmonty lay a little further on. Preston with 5000 foot and
600 horse had passed the Barrow at Graiguenemanagh, and now advanced
across the glen to attack Ormonde. Cullen and others tried to dissuade
him from fighting, pointing out that the English army was short of
provisions and must needs retire through a very difficult country to
Carlow, and that there would be many opportunities of attacking it at
great advantage. Ormonde had six guns with him, which he placed on a
rising ground behind his main body. The opposing armies did not come to
close quarters until after two o'clock in the afternoon. Preston's men
came up by a narrow lane, and on their serried masses every shot told.
The guns were admirably served by eleven of the sailors whose ships had
been destroyed, and who fired six rounds from each piece, right over
the heads of their friends. As the Irish horse came out into the open
Ormonde ordered his own cavalry under Lisle and Grenville to advance,
fire one round, and then fall back. This movement was punctually
executed, but some of the Irish horse mingled with them as they
retired, a panic followed, and they galloped off to the rear. Lisle
called out 'Ten pounds, twenty pounds for a guide to Duncannon,' and an
old apothecary, named Silyard, who was attached to the army, and who
was in his proper place among the baggage-waggons, reproached him for
running away, and a veteran officer named Morris, who lay wounded in a
litter, offered to rally the men if Lisle would lend him a horse. Then
Sir Richard Grenville clapped my Lord Lisle on the shoulder: 'Come, my
lord,' said he, 'we will yet recover it.' 'Never while you live,' said
Mr. Silyard, and to his friends that stood by "I mean his credit," said
Mr. Silyard.' Cullen got up to the guns, on one of which he laid his
hand saying, 'This is mine,' but he was soon surrounded by infantry and
taken prisoner, his life being saved by Ormonde's personal exertions.
The rout of Preston's army was completed by the return of Lisle and his
cavalry. 'A man might see them,' says the chaplain, 'through the smoke
of the gunpowder run twinkling like the motes in the sun.' The pursuit
was continued until darkness came on, with great loss to the defeated
army, who escaped into Kilkenny by the way which they came. Ormonde,
who spent the night on the ground, lost only about a dozen men.[28]

[Sidenote: Ormonde returns to Dublin.]

[Sidenote: Preston takes Ballinakill, May 1643.]

Ormonde encamped on the second night at Graiguenemanagh, and on the
third at Burris, where his artillery oxen were stolen by 'two lusty
young clowns' of the Kavanaghs. Fresh beasts were obtained from
Carlow, and Dublin was reached on the 27th, without further fighting.
Lord Moore, hearing that the Irish had gathered from all sides, and
expecting to catch Ormonde in a trap, took advantage of the defenceless
state of Cavan and drove off much cattle without resistance. A great
part of Preston's army dispersed every man to his own village, but
Sir James Dillon, who had not taken part in the battle, joined him
with a strong unbroken regiment, and he made some pretence of pursuing
Ormonde in order to lessen the popular disgust at his defeat. What
he really did was to besiege Ballinakill, where Sir Thomas Ridgeway
had planted an English colony, and established ironworks. There being
thus no want of hands, Ridgeway's castle had been strengthened and his
fishponds utilised for filling wet ditches. The Protestant farmers on
the estate had driven in their cattle, and there was food enough for
all. Preston lay for about seven weeks before this place, where he
lost 100 men, and he could not have taken it but for the arrival of
two twenty-four pounders and a mortar from Spain. A shell fell on the
roof and penetrated the floors below, while 'the women within very
fearful, as not accustomed to such pastimes, cried out with every shot,
to the exceeding comfort of the assailants, and mighty disgust of the
defendants.' The contest had been carried on with great bitterness,
the garrison throwing the heads of their prisoners over the works,
while the besiegers stuck the heads of theirs upon poles within sight
of the wall. The place became untenable after the arrival of the
battering train, and capitulated on May 5, but Preston was glad to give
fair terms, and Castlehaven escorted all the English safely to the
neighbourhood of Dublin.[29]

[Sidenote: Clanricarde on the situation.]

[Sidenote: First proposal to send a nuncio.]

[Sidenote: The Pope would be welcome.]

There were cool-headed Irish Catholics at home and abroad who saw
the essential weakness of the Confederates' position. Clanricarde
was Walsingham's grandson. Alone among men of his creed he held the
King's commission, and knew the real interests of the Crown, as well
as the impossibility of separating Ireland from England. Among the
insurgents were many who had been 'instruments of foul and horrid acts;
there being yet some who do boast and glory in those inhumanities. And
if God's judgment and wrath be not first appeased, it is much to be
feared there will be a long expectation of a more settled time.' The
Jesuit O'Hartegan, in daily communication with his countrymen and
with the nuncio at Paris, had none of Clanricarde's scruples, but he
had misgivings of his own. The hatred of the heretics would stop at
nothing, and the faithful had gone too far to retreat. Men and money
were available, but there was no head, no order or discipline; 'one of
our birth-attributes is never to submit ourselves willingly to any of
our own nation, to live as companions or equals, and think ourselves
as worthy of any command and of superiority as each other of our
compatriots.' Foreigners were always thought much of, even when there
were better men at home; and it was necessary to send a stranger to
take charge. He should be 'of long experience, of good learning, and
charitably affected for compassionating our infirmities, and it is
unquestionable these conditions do concur in an Italian best of all
nations.' Ireland could support 100,000 men, but a head was necessary.
To support this army O'Hartegan proposed to seize all Crown revenues
and rights; all goods of English, Scotch and Dutch heretics; all goods
of Irish heretics such as Ormonde, Kildare, Thomond, Barrymore and
Inchiquin; and of Catholic neutrals like Clanricarde and Antrim; all
Church lands and all lands confiscated from natives, including the
Desmonds. In such a cause, too, the people would readily pay heavy
taxes and submit to monopolies. In the absence of a supreme head every
commander and nobleman would cut and carve for himself, 'and every mere
Irish pretend his ancestors were illegally dispossessed.' A nuncio of
the highest rank, even the Pope himself, could be made comfortable at
Wexford, Waterford, Kilkenny, Clonmel, or Limerick.'[30]

FOOTNOTES:

[12] Sir James Turner's _Memoirs_, pp. 26, 28; Spalding's _Memorials_;
_Burton's History of Scotland_, chap. 73; May's _Long Parliament_, p.
431; _Rushworth_, iv. 407, 501; Gardiner's _History of England_, x. 70.

[13] Monro's despatch to Leslie, May 18, printed in _Contemporary
History of Affairs in Ireland_, i. 419; Sir James Turner's _Memoirs_,
22; Roger Pike's narrative in _Ulster Archæological Journal_, viii. 77;
O'Mellan's narrative in Young's _Old Belfast_, p. 211.

[14] _An exact Relation of the good service of Sir Frederick Hamilton_,
1643, _Information of Sir Frederick Hamilton_ ... to the committee of
both kingdoms, 1645. Audley Mervyn's _Relation_, 1642. The first of
these contains a letter from O'Connor Sligo, who urged Hamilton to
capitulate, all Sligo, Mayo, and Leitrim being against him. Hamilton
answered: 'Your loyalty to your King, your faith to your friends,
once broke, never more to be trusted by me, but revenged as God shall
enable the hands of him who was loving to your loyal predecessors,
whose course will contribute to your destruction, for extinguishing the
memory of their loyalties. Thus I rest with contempt and scorn to all
your base brags. Your scourge, if I can.--F. H.'

[15] _Bellings_, i. 80, with a plan of the battle; _Aphorismical
Discovery_, i. 31; Carte's _Ormonde_; Captain Yarner's _Relation_, May
4, 1642. Yarner, who was personally consulted, testifies that Ormonde
made all the dispositions himself. He guesses at 500 as the probable
number killed; but Bellings says 'scarce one hundred and no prisoners.'

[16] Bellings' narrative and documents in _Confederation and War_,
ii. 34, 47, 210. The acts of the ecclesiastical congregation are in
English, but the Latin version (probably the original form) is in
_Spicilegium Ossoriense_, i. 262.

[17] State Papers, _Ireland_, July 22, 1607 (No. 297); Aphorismical
Discovery in _Contemp. Hist._ ed. Gilbert, with the evidence of Henry
MacCartan, _ib._ i. 396, and O'Neill's letter to Wadding, _ib._ 476;
Colonel O'Neill's Journal in _Desiderata Curiosa Hibernica_, vol. ii.;
Clarendon's _Hist._ xii. 108; _Clarendon S.P._ ii. 144.

[18] Bellings in _Confederation and War_, and the documents there, i.
xxxix.; ii. 67; Carte's _Ormonde_; Martin's _Hist. de France_, chap. 70.

[19] _Bellings_, i. 92; Carte's _Ormonde_, i. 343; Smith's _Hist.
of Cork; A most exact Relation of a Victory_, &c., London, October
3, 1642; _Digitus Dei_, or a miraculous victory, London, September
20. The latter writer notes that Stephenson had 'an exceeding rich
saddle.' _A Journal of the most memorable passage in Ireland_, London,
October 19, 1642, by an eye-witness, notes that 'almost all the Lords
of Munster were present'--Roche, Muskerry, Ikerrin, Dunboyne, Brittas,
Castleconnell, and one of Ormonde's brothers. As to Ardmore, besides
the Journal, see _A True Relation of God's Providence in Munster_,
which says between seventy and eighty were hanged. The letter quoted in
_Several Passages_, &c., London, September 16, says 116, adding, 'this
is most true.'

[20] _A Relation from Viscount Conway_, from June 17 to July 30,
London, 1642. This was sent to a worthy M.P., who published it; it is
well written, but badly printed.

[21] _A True Relation of the Taking of Mountjoy_, &c., June 25 to July
8, London, August 4, 1642; _A Relation from Belfast_, London, August
17, carries this a little further. A good many cows were caught, and
the country, without taking Charlemont, was swept for some twelve miles
from Mountjoy.

[22] Bellings in _Confederation and War_, i. 111; Acts of General
Assembly, _ib._ ii. 73; Richard Martin's letter of December 2, 1642, in
Clanricarde's _Memoirs_, 296.

[23] Acts of General Assembly, _ut sup._ ii. 88.

[24] Letters from the Supreme Council to foreign powers, November
and December 1642, _Confederation and War_, ii. 99-129. The oath of
association of the Confederates, _ib._ 210; also in _Cox_, appx. xiv.
and (omitting the last paragraph) in Walsh's _Remonstrance_, appx. i.
p. 31. The latter, dated July 26, 1644, is evidently not the earliest
form. In _Vindiciæ Catholicorum Hiberniæ_, Paris, 1650, p. 6, is a much
shorter Latin oath, which places the Church first, the King second, and
the national liberties third, but is called 'associationis juramentum,'
like the others.

[25] _Bellings_, i. 90; _Castlehaven_, 35.

[26] Tucker's Journal in _Confederation and War_, ii. 189, January 30,
1642-3. The Commission, dated January 11, is in Carte's _Ormonde_, iii.
No. 117. _Castlehaven._

[27] Tucker's Journal in _Confederation and War_, ii.; Creichton's
faithful account, _ib._ ii. 248.

[28] Creichton's _Faithful Account_ and that of Bellings, p. 130, give
the official views on the two sides. The _Aphorismical Discovery_ is
much to the same effect, adding the usual bad language, and describing
Preston as 'either drunk, a fool, or a traitor.' Creichton exaggerates
the number of Preston's army; while Bellings unduly diminishes the
number of slain. 'Scarce one hundred slain upon the place' takes no
account of the pursuit. See also _Truth from Ireland expressed in Two
Letters_, London, April 22, 1643.

[29] _Bellings_, i. 149-151; _Aphorismical Discovery_, i. 65;
_Castlehaven_, p. 36.

[30] Clanricarde to Gormanston, December 21, 1642, in Carte's
_Ormonde_, iii. No. 115; O'Hartegan (Paris) to Wadding (Rome), November
7, 1642, in _Roman Transcripts_, R.O.




CHAPTER XXIII

THE WAR TO THE FIRST CESSATION, 1642-1643


[Sidenote: The Adventurers for Irish land.]

To gain possession of the land in English hands was at least one
main object of the Irish rebellion. Much property had been acquired
by various confiscations and plantations, but there was no idea of
abandoning that policy. The war would be extremely costly, and the
Irish were to be made to pay for it by giving up some of the land
which was still theirs. It was assumed that at least 2500 acres of
good land would be forfeited; and upon that security a large sum was
subscribed by Adventurers, as they were always called. It was provided
that the money should all go to the reduction of Ireland; but necessity
has no law, and much of it was spent in making head against the King
in England. It was not till the quarrel at home was settled that
Parliament could act effectively on the other side of St. George's
Channel.[31]

[Sidenote: Expedition of Lord Forbes, July 1642.]

[Sidenote: Gallant defence of Rathbarry.]

In June 1642 the Adventurers determined to send an expedition to
Ireland. The arrangements were completed in a fortnight by a committee
of fifteen under the presidency of Sir Nicholas Crispe, afterwards the
noted Royalist, who had subscribed 1500_l._ Ten ships were hired, each
of which carried or towed a flat-bottomed barge for landing men and
ascending rivers. The admiral was Captain Benjamin Peters, with the
famous Rainsborough, one of the committee, a vice-admiral, and Captain
Thompson, also a member of the committee, as Rear-Admiral. Hugh Peters
was chaplain. One thousand soldiers were embarked under Alexander Lord
Forbes, and the expedition sailed from Dover on July 1, having lost two
of the barges in an easterly gale. In Mount's Bay they spoke a King's
ship with the late garrison of Limerick Castle on board. In mid-channel
a vessel was detached with a letter to St. Leger, reciting a commission
from the King and both Houses to raise additional forces, and asking
the Lord President to say where the expedition could be most usefully
employed. St. Leger had died before the letter was written, and Forbes
turned a deaf ear to Inchiquin's entreaties for help. On July 11 the
squadron was off the old head of Kinsale, and the town was found to
be full of justly suspected Irish and of Protestant refugees, 'living
in miserable holes and huts.' Lord Kinalmeaky came in from Bandon, of
which he was governor, and Peters preached on a Thursday. Next day
Forbes marched to Bandon with 600 men, of whom 100 were seamen, and two
small brass guns. Seven thousand English, including many clergymen, had
gathered round Kinalmeaky, many of them being in great distress. Peters
notes that the river was full of salmon. Next day Forbes went to the
relief of Captain Freke, who had been beset at Rathbarry ever since the
middle of February. About 1800 sheep, 200 cows, and 50 horses had been
captured by the troops and driven as far as Clonakilty, through which
the line of march lay. Forbes foolishly divided his force, leaving
three companies to guard the cattle. As soon as the main body were
out of sight the Irish attacked the detachment, and Captain Weldon
was killed with a great part of two companies. Captain Groves, whose
men were part of the Bandon garrison, and understood the work better,
fought his way through the enemy to a rath on the Rosscarbery road, and
there maintained himself till he was relieved. The Irish fled towards
the sea, and many of them were killed on the shore. After rescuing
Groves, Forbes went back to Bandon, and left Freke in worse case than
ever, for most of his men took the opportunity of deserting. A few sick
soldiers were left in their places, 'and so factious that I and my
servants were often endangered of our lives among them, and some that
had fled from the fight at Clonakilty much discouraged us with that
relation.' They held out, enduring almost incredible hardships, for
eleven weeks longer, when relief came under a more capable commander
than Forbes.[32]

[Sidenote: Ill conduct of Forbes's army.]

[Sidenote: Forbes at Galway.]

[Sidenote: The mayor appeals to Clanricarde.]

Forbes was repulsed with loss from Timoleague Castle. Lady
O'Shaughnessy, whose husband, Sir Roger, was loyal, offered to
surrender it to Kinalmeaky and Sir William Hull, but not to strangers.
The soldiers then burned the town and abbey containing a thousand
hogsheads of wine. Two spies were taken, but, says Ensign Jones, 'the
rogues slight death, for we could get nothing out of them; so our men
mangled them to pieces.' So Forbes returned to Kinsale, and on July 25
sailed to Castlehaven. The Irish appeared in force on the hills, and
the castle of their chief, O'Donovan, was blown up with one barrel of
powder. It was sixty feet high with very thick walls, but it fell half
on one side and half on the other. O'Driscol's castle at Baltimore was
burned, and the neighbouring islands harried. About 100 camp-followers
of the worst kind followed Forbes's wake. They entered and plundered
houses without provocation, and even killed children within sight of
the soldiers. Meanwhile Forbes had been summoned to Galway, without
Clanricarde's knowledge, by Willoughby, who having a commission to
execute martial law from the Lords Justices, had hanged a sergeant
in Lord Clanmorris's company for extortion. Clanmorris retaliated
by hanging some soldiers of the fort who had strayed into the open
country. The Lords Justices sent Captain Ashley with his frigate to
Galway, and he and Willoughby combined to seize corn, cattle, and
timber upon requisition. Only tickets were given in exchange, and
Clanricarde's friends and tenants were injured. Forbes anchored off the
town on August 9, Willoughby and Ashley coming on board the same night,
and at once sent letters to Ranelagh, Clanricarde and the corporation
of Galway. The lieutenant-general of the additional forces by sea
and land, so he styled himself, proposed to join hands with the Lord
President, and so to subdue the rebellion. Ranelagh answered that he
would come from Athlone to Galway, though at some personal risk. 'I
observe,' he said, 'in your lordship's letter an inclination to make a
distinction of persons; and truly, my lord, if that course shall not be
held, I see little hope of a speedy reducing this kingdom to obedience,
seeing most men are possessed of an opinion that an utter extirpation
is intended, and that conceit being fomented by the priests and friars,
all are falling into such a course of desperation, that being once
engaged and their counsels and force united, will certainly be an
occasion to lengthen the war, and draw a vast charge upon the Crown to
make a complete conquest.' The only chance of peace, he thought, was in
'a just distinction between practick and passive rebels, with severity
to the one and moderation to the other.' Of the citizens of Galway
Forbes demanded that they should lay down their arms, admit a garrison,
and place themselves under his protection, submitting absolutely to
the King 'and the state of England, under whose blessed government
they had enjoyed a sweet and long-continued peace.' The mayor in reply
urged his grievances against Willoughby, and declined all further
answer till Clanricarde had been consulted, under whose government and
by whose mediation they had lately enjoyed some degree of peace. To
Clanricarde himself Forbes made much the same proposals as to Ranelagh,
with the additional suggestion that he should allow him to garrison
Tirellan as a basis of operation against the O'Flahertys, whom the Earl
had acknowledged to be 'out of protection and fit persons to receive
chastisement.' The invitation to give up a convenient private residence
to the soldiers who had burned his cousin's town of Timoleague was
politely declined, but Clanricarde was ready to come from Loughrea and
to receive Lord Forbes as a guest.[33]

[Sidenote: Clanricarde's difficulties.]

[Sidenote: Forbes harries co. Galway.]

Peters thought Clanricarde's letter in which he excused the Galway
people and laid the blame on Willoughby was well written and showed
the writer to be 'a man of wisdom and parts.' In the meantime John de
Burgo, titular bishop of Clonfert, let the head of his family know
that no one would fight for him if he sided with Forbes. While the
correspondence proceeded, a detachment from the English squadron was
landed on the Clare shore, and harried the lands of Daniel and Tirlogh
O'Brien, who had both helped to provision the fort. Peters says they
burned 'a whole town.' Two demi-culverins were landed on the west side
of Galway, but it was 'as strong and compact as most towns in Europe
for houses and walls.' Forbes said he would raze the latter if the
townsmen did not agree to his terms, but the task did not prove easy.
In the meantime Forbes's men landed at various points on the north side
of Galway Bay, burning every house and hamlet that they could reach as
in an enemy's country.

[Sidenote: The pragmatic chaplain.]

The country was so little safe that Clanricarde went to meet Ranelagh
at Carrowreagh ford on the Suck with 200 horse. Ranelagh brought
the same and as many foot, but no attack took place, and with the
horse only they rode the first night to Clonbrock and the second to
Loughrea. Clanricarde then sent to invite Forbes to dinner at Tirellan,
but he did not care to venture so far inland, and proposed that the
place of meeting should be the fort. Clanricarde, who took his stand
upon the royal commission to him as governor of Galway, objected to
this as beneath his dignity, especially after Forbes had refused his
hospitality, and also because some attempt might be made to detain
him. Ranelagh, who thought it unwise to stand upon mere points of
honour, and who did not believe any one would dare to touch him, made
no difficulty about entering the fort. He found Forbes much under the
influence of Peters--a 'pragmatic chaplain from London'--who urged him
to attack the town. In the meantime soldiers both from the fleet and
the fort ravaged the coast, many men and some women were killed, and
Clanricarde had the pleasure of seeing his tenants' houses burning.
Forbes propounded large schemes of conquest with the aid of the Scots
army in Ulster, over the impracticability of which Ranelagh and
Clanricarde had a good laugh together. The President tried to persuade
Forbes to go to Sligo, or to Tralee, whence help might be given from
the sea, but he preferred to press Clanricarde to admit his garrison
to Tirellan. Some forty guns were landed, but there was no wood to
make platforms, and Forbes soon recognised that he could not take
Galway, where every house was like a castle. Sir Charles Coote had been
expected, but he did not come. Clanricarde returned to Loughrea and
Ranelagh to Athlone, while Willoughby remained in command of the fort,
and on the worst terms with the townsmen.[34]

[Sidenote: Forbes repulsed from Galway.]

[Sidenote: Tralee taken.]

[Sidenote: The Earl of Thomond.]

[Sidenote: Glin taken.]

[Sidenote: Result of Forbes's campaign.]

[Sidenote: Opinions of Hugh Peters.]

The officers knew that a strong town could not be taken with the means
at their disposal, but the sailors were 'readier to fall on nakedly
than forsake the work, and the soldiers no way backward.' The guns were
taken on board, and Forbes departed to the Shannon. Askeaton, which had
made so gallant a stand in the last Desmond war, surrendered without a
blow. Sir Edward Denny continued to press for the relief of his castle
at Tralee, but Forbes wasted two or three days in harrying the poor
islands of Arran, and when at last he arrived off Ballingarry in Kerry
it was only to hear that Tralee had fallen, the garrison having been
reduced to eating hides. The expedition then returned to the Shannon,
and captured a great piece of ordnance called 'roaring Meg' with which
the Irish had taken most of the castles thereabouts. The gun was found
in one boat and the carriage in another, so that this was an easy task.
It was then proposed to destroy Sir Daniel O'Brien's house at Clare
Castle on the ground that he was no friend to the Parliament. Yet he
acted in strict unison with the loyal and Protestant Earl of Thomond.
Even the latter was doubted, 'and in truth,' says Peters, 'his case is
nice, the chief of the country being his kindred and himself without
power saving fifty horses in his stable.' He was, however, unwilling
to see his country laid waste, and declined to join in the work. The
Limerick shore was devastated instead. The Knight of Glin sent a letter
of recommendation from Clanricarde, and offered to give cattle for
the use of the squadron. Glin Castle was nevertheless battered and
stormed, the defenders being short of bullets. 'Most matters,' says
Peters, 'fell as at the last siege forty years since,' but in shorter
time and with the loss of only four men. 'The plate and silver were
gone for Limerick, which receives most of which is in Ireland.' A
garrison was put in, and guns mounted on the walls. This was done on
September 26, and so the expedition ended, for the ships had only been
hired till Michaelmas. Five vessels had been taken worth 20,000_l._,
including one from Barbadoes with a cargo of tobacco, and corn to the
same value had been destroyed. Many Irish towns had been burned, and
many English relieved. Thousands of cattle had been taken or spoiled,
and a diversion had been made on the west coast. This is Peters's
own summary, and it does not amount to much. It is more certain that
Forbes did everything in his power to aggravate the bitterness of a
war which was already sufficiently horrible. The pragmatic chaplain's
political remarks are interesting. He had been assured that a million
of English had been murdered, and he hoped many more Irish slain. The
cause of the war was Popery on the one side and profaneness on the
other. The royalism of the Irish was a mere catchword. 'An Irish rebel
and an English cavalier in words and actions we found as unlike as an
egg is to an egg,' he adds rather ambiguously. Among the English there
were many abuses both in ecclesiastical and civil government, many
unfaithful ministers, and many scurrilous and ignorant congregations.
Ireland, he prophetically concludes, will be reduced 'when soldiers
and commanders there shall rather attend the present work than the
continuance of their trade.'[35]

[Sidenote: The King praises Clanricarde,]

[Sidenote: and repudiates Forbes.]

[Sidenote: Galway fort besieged.]

[Sidenote: The fort surrendered.]

[Sidenote: Galway occupied by the Irish, Aug. 1648.]

When Clanricarde returned from the conference at Trim he found things
in a bad way at Galway. Little or no support was given him from Dublin,
while agents of the confederates did all in their power, 'both by
spiritual and temporal practices,' to seduce his men and to sap his
great local influence. He was somewhat comforted by a letter from the
King, who approved of his conduct, protested that Lord Forbes had no
orders from him, and declared that he would support him rather than
'those who pretend that they do really serve us by rebelling against
us.' Colonel John Bourke was acting as lieutenant-general for the
confederates on Christmas Eve, and the question of closely besieging
the fort was at once entertained. Willoughby had exasperated the
townsmen by firing into their houses, and many were ready to retaliate,
though the more prudent hesitated. His necessities forced him to
drive cattle wherever he could, and he was not particular about the
exact opinions of the owners. On one occasion fifty of his men were
intercepted by a party from Galway, several being killed and others
taken prisoners. From accounts given by the latter general Bourke was
convinced that the fort might be starved out, and breastworks were
erected on the points at the mouth of the river to prevent relief by
sea. Chains were afterwards drawn across the channel. Of relief by
land there was little chance, for Clanricarde's castle of Claregalway
had been betrayed to the Irish, and it was as much as he could do to
provide for the safety of Loughrea and Portumna. Bourke had a garrison
at Athenry, and some of his troops watched Roscommon so as to prevent
Ranelagh from making any move. Preston had occupied Banagher, and
Inchiquin, though he wrote civil letters, could find neither men nor
money. Early in May Bourke besieged the fort in force, with about 1000
men, but he made no approaches, and trusted to famine. On or about
June 10 Captain Brooke, who commanded a man-of-war in the bay, sent
in a flotilla of boats to attempt the relief of the fort, but they
were beaten back by boats from the town, assisted by the fire from the
breastworks. Willoughby believed this to be his last chance, and as
a choice of evils proposed to surrender his post into Clanricarde's
hands. This could not be done without the consent of the Irish, and the
terms offered by Bourke were such as Clanricarde could not in honour
entertain. He held the King's commission, and yet he was required to
take the confederate oath of association, and to do nothing without the
consent of the corporation of Galway, and of several other persons,
the betrayer of Claregalway being one. Negotiations upon this basis
necessarily failed, and Willoughby capitulated on the 20th without
making Clanricarde a party. The garrison marched out with the honours
of war, and were allowed to go on board ship. The post at Oranmore,
which belonged to Clanricarde, was surrendered on the same terms
without his consent. The day after the capitulation was signed a
squadron sailed into the bay, which had it come sooner would have
been able to relieve the fort. On August 6 Galway opened its gates to
Bourke and granted him 300_l._, which enabled him to proceed to the
siege of Castle Coote. The castles of Athlone and Roscommon in the Lord
President's hands, Loughrea, Portumna and Kildogan in Clanricarde's,
were the only other places in Connaught of which the Irish were not by
this time masters.[36]

[Sidenote: Owen Roe and Sir Phelim O'Neill.]

[Sidenote: Leven leaves Ireland.]

Owen Roe O'Neill had been appointed general of Ulster by the
confederates, but it was some time before he was fully acknowledged,
for Sir Phelim was very unwilling to yield the first place. It was
found necessary to send primate O'Reilly as a peacemaker. Leven
arrived in Ireland soon after O'Neill, but attempted little, and
left the country in November, driven out, as Turner believed, by the
insubordinate action of the officers. O'Neill claimed him as an ally
if he was for the King, but would consider him an enemy if he was for
the Parliament. 'I charitably advise you,' he wrote, 'to abandon the
kingdom and defend your own native country.' According to O'Neill's
panegyrist this letter drove him away, but perhaps he really went
because the Parliament of England invited him. According to Turner he
appropriated 2500_l._ sent to him from England for the use of the army;
'and truly this earl who lived till past fourscore, was of so good a
memory that he was never known to forget himself, nay, not in extreme
old age.' When leaving Ireland he told Monro that O'Neill would be too
much for him, if ever he succeeded in getting an army together.[37]

[Sidenote: O'Neill and Monro.]

[Sidenote: O'Neill defeated at Clones]

[Sidenote: O'Neill in Meath. Lord Moore killed, Sept. 12.]

O'Neill could get as many men as he wanted, but arms and ammunition
were not so plentiful. He succeeded, however, in equipping a force of
about 1500 men during the winter. In May 1643 Monro attacked him with
superior numbers near Charlemont, but without much result, though he
himself fought on foot to encourage his men, calling out 'Fay, fay,
run away from a wheen rebels.' A second attack some weeks later also
ended in nothing, but in July O'Neill was defeated by Robert Stewart
near Clones, with the loss of 150 men. Shouts of 'Whar's Macart?'
showed that the great object was to capture the Irish leader, and he
had a very narrow escape. O'Neill afterwards made his way to Mohill
in Leitrim, where he procured a small supply of arms from Kilkenny
and then encamped near Boyle. This camp was surprised in August by a
small English force, and about 160 men killed and wounded, the sentries
having been made drunk by Irish sutlers who brought them spirits from
the neighbouring garrisons. Immediately afterwards O'Neill was ordered
by the Supreme Council to join Sir James Dillon in Meath with as many
men as possible. He succeeded in collecting 3000, with whom he marched
across Cavan, taking castles on the way, till he came to Portlester
near Trim. The castle near the ford was taken after a short cannonade,
and O'Neill prepared to defend the passage of the Boyne against Lord
Moore, who was approaching from Dublin with a superior force. A short
fight took place, and Moore was cut in two by a cannon-ball, the gun
being laid by O'Neill himself, with the assistance of a 'perspective
glass.' The attempt to cross was then abandoned and the cessation was
agreed to three days later.[38]

[Sidenote: The King decides to negotiate, Jan. 1642-3,]

[Sidenote: but is not prepared to concede much.]

[Sidenote: Conference at Trim, March, 1642-3.]

In the meantime Charles had made up his mind to treat with the Irish.
As early as July 31, 1642, the nobility and gentry assembled at
Kilkenny had petitioned the King for an interview where they might
affirm their loyalty, and explain the grievances which had induced
them to take up arms. This was forwarded through Ormonde, who was
warned that if he refused to transmit it he would be held 'guilty of
all the evils that may ensue.' He first communicated with the Lords
Justices and Council, who agreed to forward a copy of the petition to
the King with remarks of their own, but as they took a long time about
it Ormonde sent over the original himself, 'being well assured that
his Majesty's judgment is not to be surprised with any colours these
rebels can cast upon their foul disloyalty.' Charles took no notice of
the document, and in December the Roman Catholics sent fresh petitions
both to the King and Queen. They asked to have a place appointed where
they might state their grievances at length. The result was a royal
commission, dated January 11, to Ormonde and others, authorising
them to meet representatives from the rebels and hear what they had
to say. Thomas Burke, one of the Irish Parliamentary Committee who
contributed to Strafford's condemnation, brought over the packet and
was himself joined in the commission, which made a very bad impression
on the Protestants, since he was believed to have been an abettor of
the original outbreak. 'We have not thought fit,' Charles wrote to
Ormonde at the same time, 'to admit any of them to our presence, who
have been actors or abettors in so odious a rebellion.' He also sent a
paper pointing out that an abrogation of the penal laws would be asked
for, but that nothing more could be granted than a mild administration
of laws which were never severe. A repeal of Poynings' Act, or any
measure tending to make the Irish Parliament independent, was refused
beforehand. Inquiries into forfeitures or titles could not be carried
further back than the beginning of the reign, and Recusants were never
to hold the majority of official posts. Drogheda was at first designed
as the place of meeting, but this was objected to by the Irish, and the
conference took place at Trim on March 17. Ormonde was absent in the
field, but the statement was received by Clanricarde, Moore, Roscommon,
and Sir Maurice Eustace, and by them transmitted to the King.[39]

[Sidenote: Irish Remonstrance.]

[Sidenote: Attack upon Parsons,]

[Sidenote: who is dismissed.]

The Remonstrance presented to Clanricarde and his colleagues at Trim is
an able paper, but it hardly afforded a basis for lasting peace between
parties whose objects were radically different. The remonstrants
objected to the penal laws, which resulted in driving all professors of
the old faith from the service of the state, and in employing in their
stead upstarts whose great aim was to enrich themselves. The attacks
upon property which Strafford had begun were continued after his death,
and Sir William Parsons in particular had incurred the gravest odium by
using his position as Lord Justice and Master of the Wards to oust the
old proprietors from their estates. They demanded a free Parliament,
that is, a Parliament in which they would have an overwhelming
majority. The Protestant party had never been the most numerous, and
with the country in military possession of their opponents they could
only hope to return very few members. The immediate result of the Trim
meeting was that Charles superseded Parsons and appointed Sir Henry
Tichborne Lord Justice in his stead. A few days later he authorised
and commanded Ormonde to conclude a truce for one year with the
Confederates, and when that was done to carry the Irish army over to
Chester.[40]

Inchiquin had not much to fear in Munster from such a general as
Barry, but he had no money to support an army in the field. He sent
one part of his force to Kerry, where means of subsistence were found,
and another under Sir Charles Vavasour to the borders of Tipperary,
while he himself sat down before Kilmallock. He had no hope of being
able to effect anything without money or stores. Vavasour took
Cloghleagh Castle, near Mitchelstown, and after the surrender some of
his followers slaughtered the defenders, and apparently some women and
children with them. In the meantime Castlehaven received a pressing
invitation from some of the Cork gentry, who had no confidence in
their own general. He persuaded the council at Kilkenny to give him
money, with which he soon raised a body of horse, and on June 4 he
routed Vavasour near Kilworth. On Castlehaven's side only cavalry were
engaged, Barry, with the main body, being more than two miles off,
and the result was due to panic. Vavasour's horse for the most part
escaped, but he himself was taken prisoner and his force routed. This
action was important, because it was the first victory of the Irish in
the field since the beginning of the war, for the affair at Julianstown
scarcely counted as a battle. Cox, with all his prejudices, says it
was a just judgment on Vavasour and his followers, 'for suffering some
inferior officers to violate the quarter they had given to the garrison
of Cloghleagh.'[41]

[Sidenote: King and Parliament.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde and Preston.]

[Sidenote: Arrest of Temple and other Privy Councillors, Aug. 1643.]

[Sidenote: Arrival of Scarampi,]

[Sidenote: who opposes any truce.]

[Sidenote: Bellings opposes Scarampi.]

During the spring and summer Charles continued to press for a cessation
of arms, full discretion as to terms being given to Ormonde. The
commission to him sets forth that the two Houses of Parliament 'to
whose care at their instance we left it' to manage the Irish war,
had long failed to support the army and to defend loyal subjects.
The general assembly of the Confederates met at Kilkenny on May 20,
and appointed commissioners with powers to treat, but nothing was
actually done for more than a month, when they delivered their first
proposition at Castlemartin in Kildare. Ormonde gave his answer within
a week, and the commissioners then asked for an adjournment till July
13. Time was in their favour, for the treaty would confirm each party
in possession of what they held, and they were gaining ground. On the
appointed day the commissioners returned a dilatory answer, and Ormonde
resolved if possible to try conclusions with Preston in the field. He
collected 5000 men and succeeded in retaking Edenderry and some other
strong places, but his opponent evaded a general action, and scarcity
of provisions soon forced him to return to Dublin. On August 1 orders
arrived from the King to arrest four Privy Councillors who sided with
the Parliament as much as they could, and against whom charges had been
brought. Sir John Temple, Sir Adam Loftus, and Sir R. Meredith were
accordingly shut up in the Castle, Parsons being excused on making
affidavit that confinement would injure his health. The opposition
was thus silenced, and Ormonde found himself complete master. In the
meantime Pier-Francesco Scarampi, an Oratorian, arrived at Kilkenny
with a commission from the Pope, and immediately threw his weight into
the scale against peace. The Confederates, he urged, appeared to be
winning, and if they continued to fight vigorously they would probably
get control of the country. Nothing was to be expected from the justice
of any English party, but if they made themselves formidable they might
extort respect from the victors, whether King or Parliament. Instead of
giving money to Charles 'to be converted by his ministers, our enemies,
to their own use,' it would be much better to employ their resources in
driving the Scots out of Ulster. The Scots would not be bound by the
cessation, which would be a sham as long as it was necessary to fight
them. Foreign princes would be offended if arms supplied by them were
laid down without their consent. The real object of Scarampi's mission
was to 'reinstate the Catholic religion and worship throughout the
whole country, and to restore to the entire island the splendour of
its ancient sanctity,' and not to beg an uncertain truce for a year.
Bellings, on the contrary, who expressed the official view taken by the
Supreme Council, argued that it was above all necessary to show that
they were no rebels, to join with the English to drive out the Scots,
and 'that the Catholic Church may, in safety and freedom, by a tacit
licence from the King, exercise her rights and jurisdiction among us.'
There was a great difference between what ultramontane priests were
determined to get, and what laymen, and especially lay landowners,
were willing to accept. There can be no doubt that Scarampi, and
Rinuccini after him, had plenty of justification for refusing to trust
the King, who could do nothing unless he were victorious in England,
and who would then be able to defy everyone.[42]

[Sidenote: Ormonde unable to continue the war.]

[Sidenote: The cessation concluded, Sept. 15.]

[Sidenote: A truce not a peace.]

[Sidenote: The Confederates make a grant to the King.]

Ormonde offered to continue the war, in spite of the King's wishes, if
the Privy Council could find any means of feeding the army. This he
knew they could not do, and the Confederates knew it too. All the chief
officers declared that a truce was necessary. Both sides were fighting
in the King's name, and it did not suit either of them to disobey his
direct orders, so that the conference was renewed at Sigginstown, near
Naas, and there the terms of cessation were agreed to on September
15. The King's commission being to Ormonde personally, he signed the
articles alone on the one part. Ten persons signed on the part of the
Confederates, of whom Lord Muskerry, Sir Robert Talbot, and Geoffrey
Brown were perhaps the most notable. A meeting of the Privy Council was
held immediately afterwards, and the articles were solemnly approved.
Clanricarde and Inchiquin were present. In the articles of cessation
none of the grievances so often brought forward by the Confederates
were touched upon at all. On the other hand they refused to make any
stipulation as to sending an army to England. This they were willing
to do, but declined to bind themselves until after the conclusion
of a truce. There was a cessation of hostilities for one year and
nothing more, based upon the actual condition of affairs. All places
in possession of the King's Protestant or Roman Catholic subjects
respectively were to remain so during the year, and trade was to be
free. Prisoners were to be mutually restored. The practical meaning of
this was that Ormonde retained the coastline from below Bray up to and
including Belfast, and a strip of territory, including Naas, Navan, and
Lisburn, with detached garrisons at Athboy, Maryborough, and Carlow in
Leinster. In Ulster Londonderry, Coleraine, and Enniskillen were also
held by the Protestants, and in Munster they had the ports of Cork,
Youghal, Kinsale, and Courtmacsherry, and the valley of the Blackwater
from above Mallow to the sea. In Connaught Clanricarde, though not a
Protestant, yet adhering to Ormonde, retained Loughrea and Portumna,
while the Lord President kept the castle of Athlone, Roscommon, and
Castle Coote. Monro and his Scots held Carrickfergus and Lough Larne,
and all the rest of the island was in the hands of the Confederates.
Within a week the cessation was proclaimed at several places in the
Pale, and at the three Connaught fortresses, and directions for doing
the like were sent to all principal officers. On September 16, the
day after the signing of the articles, the Confederate commissioners
granted the King 30,000_l._, half in cash and half in bullocks, payable
by instalments extending over six months. A further sum of 800_l._ was
to be paid within two months to maintain the garrison at Naas.[43]

[Sidenote: Ormonde made Lord-Lieutenant, Nov. 1643.]

[Sidenote: The English Parliament against the cessation.]

[Sidenote: The Irish Government insist on the truce,]

[Sidenote: Parliament having failed to support the war.]

In April 1642 Ormonde had received a jewel and the thanks of the House
of Commons for his services against the 'wicked, bloody rebels.' In the
following August, a few days after the raising of the royal standard,
Charles made him a marquis. After the cessation he was appointed Lord
Lieutenant, and the farce of Leicester's viceroyalty came to an end.
The latter was a very good but very weak man, and his vacillations
prevented his being trusted by any party. Meanwhile Ireland had been
left to substitutes without either the ability or the position required
to command success. The ruling party in the English Parliament,
whatever their shortcomings may have been, were opposed to the
cessation. The King having informed them of his commission to Ormonde,
they retorted that they had 'just cause to suspect an impious design on
foot to sell for nought the crying blood of many hundreds of thousands
of British Protestants, by a dishonourable, insufferable peace with
the rebels, and then to lay the blame and shame of this upon the
Parliament, a plot suitable to those counsels that have both projected
and fomented this unparalleled rebellion'; for those who contrived the
powder treason intended to lay it on the Puritans. The Lords Justices
and Council informed both King and Speaker that their position was bad
in the extreme, and that this was owing mainly to Parliament having
failed to send the necessary supplies. To this the two Houses replied
that they had made great efforts, and that in any case the direction
of the war belonged to them, as well as the privilege of acting as
bankers to the Irish Council. Full control had been conferred on them
by Act of Parliament, and the King had no power to deprive them of it.
This joint-letter is dated July 4, but was not delivered in Dublin
till October 6, after the cessation had been actually concluded. The
Lords Justices, with Ormonde and thirteen others of the Irish Council,
rejoined in greatest detail, reviewing all that had passed between the
two Governments. Such was the lack of money, after the great local
efforts, that the sack of Dublin by the unpaid soldiery was a calamity
daily expected. The parliamentary ships had failed to guard the coasts,
so that the Confederate cruisers often intercepted such scanty supplies
as were sent; and even captains employed by Parliament prevented the
passage of necessaries from Liverpool to Ireland. A cessation was
the only means of self-preservation, 'and seeing that the charge of
this war was referred to and undertaken by the Houses of Parliament
of England, and that by those despatches they fully understood the
condition of affairs here, we offer it to any man's consideration
whether or no we had not just cause to conceive and accordingly to
express, that our difficulties were occasioned through the Houses of
Parliament in England.'[44]

FOOTNOTES:

[31] Act for the speedy and effectual reducing of the rebels, &c.,
_Scobell_, i. 26. The royal consent was given March 19, 1641-2.

[32] Arthur Freke's Narrative, printed from the _Sloane MSS._ in
the Journal of the Cork Historical Society, 2nd series, i. 1; _True
Relation of God's Providence in Ireland_, by Hugh Peters, November 18,
1642; Day's edition of Smith's _Cork_, ii. 153, 1894; _Exceeding Good
and True News from Ireland_, London, August 20, and _Exceeding Joyful
News_, August 27.

[33] Hugh Peters and Smith's _Cork_, _ut sup._; Clanricarde's
_Memoirs_, August 1642, pp. 203-215.

[34] Clanricarde's _Memoirs_, August and September, 1642; _Bellings_,
i. 139-148; Hugh Peters, _ut sup._

[35] Hugh Peters, _ut sup._ The narrative was ordered to be printed by
a committee of the House of Commons immediately after Forbes's return.
Two letters from Forbes to the two Houses, dated Glin, September 27 and
28, were brought over by Peters and published October 11. He says the
Irish were 'so impudently bold as to father their rebellion upon his
sacred Majesty,' though they had never seen any warrant. Their 'priests
and prime commanders' tried to make them fight desperately by saying
there was no hope of pardon.

[36] Clanricarde's _Memoirs_, April to August; _Bellings_, i.

[37] Sir James Turner's _Memoirs_, p. 25; _Aphorismical Discovery_,
i. 45; O'Neill's _Journal_; _Bellings_, i. 116. Leven was back at
Edinburgh, November 30, 1642, Spalding's _Hist. of the Troubles_, ii.
100.

[38] O'Neill's _Journal_; _Bellings_, i. 152; _Aphorismical Discovery_,
i. 72; Letter of Monck and other officers, September 12, in
_Confederation and War_, ii. 363. Some wit produced the following:--

    'Contra Romanos mores, res mira, dynasta
      Morus ab Eugenio canonizatus erat.'


[39] Ormonde to Nicholas, August 13, 1642, in appendix to Carte's
_Ormonde_; _Confederation and War_, ii. 50, 129, 139, 243.

[40] Remonstrance of grievances, March 17; the King's letters and
Commission, April 23, _Confederation and War_, ii. 248, 265.

[41] Inchiquin to Cork, May 25, in Smith's _History of Cork_;
_Castlehaven_, p. 41.

[42] Commission dated Oxford, April 23, in _Confederation and War_, i.
267; Propositions of the Confederates, June 24, with Ormonde's answer,
June 29; Bellings' reasons in favour of a cessation and Scarampi's
answer, July and August. The above are in _Confederation and War_,
ii.; _Bellings_, i. 160; Carte's _Ormonde_. See the observations in
Gardiner's _Great Civil War_, chap. xi.

[43] _Confederation and War_, ii. 364-384; _Bellings_, i. 156, 163;
Declaration of Clanricarde, Inchiquin, and fifteen others that the
cessation was necessary, printed by Cox, ii. 133.

[44] Lords Justices and Council to the King, May 11, 1643, and to
the two Houses, October 28; the Speakers of both Houses to the Lords
Justices and Council, July 4--all in Clarendon's _Hist. of the
Rebellion_, book vii. 334, 366. Ormonde was appointed Lord Lieutenant
November 13, and sworn in January 21 following. As to Leicester, see
the preface to Blencowe's _Sydney Papers_ and his letter of complaint
to the Queen in Collins's _Sydney Papers_, ii. 673.




CHAPTER XXIV

AFTER THE CESSATION, 1643-1644


[Sidenote: The cessation condemned by Parliament.]

[Sidenote: Changed relations of parties.]

[Sidenote: Troops sent to England.]

[Sidenote: The rout at Nantwich, Jan. 1643-4.]

After the cessation had been concluded, but before its actual terms
were known in London, the two Houses published a declaration against
it, as destructive of the Protestant interest, and for the benefit
of the 'furious, bloodthirsty <DW7>s.' Protestant opinion even in
Ireland was certainly against the cessation, and yet it was evidently
a military necessity. If the troops left Dublin the Irish would be
able to take it, and in the meantime, being unpaid, they robbed and
plundered almost as if they had been in an enemy's city. The general
result was that Ormonde and the thoroughgoing Royalists were henceforth
engaged, not in endeavouring to suppress a rebellion, but in trying to
make terms with misguided belligerents. Those Protestants who thought
more of religion and less of loyalty gravitated towards the Parliament.
Ormonde lost no time in obeying the King's order about sending troops
to England. Before the end of October one regiment from Munster had
landed at Minehead, and another at Bristol, under Vavasour and Paulet.
They were, says Clarendon, very good and excellently officered, but not
many in number, and they went to swell Hopton's ill-fated army. The
common men sympathised largely with the Parliament, though discipline
and the hope of reward kept them together. About the middle of November
2500 men from Leinster landed at Mostyn, in Flintshire. About the
same number came partly to Beaumaris and partly to the Dee early in
the next year, but before that the first detachment had suffered a
great disaster. Nantwich was garrisoned for the Parliament, and Sir
William Brereton faced Lord Byron in the field. Hawarden, Beeston, and
Northwich quickly fell into the hands of the Royalists, and about
the beginning of January Byron summoned Nantwich, which was soon hard
pressed. Fairfax spent his Christmas in Lincolnshire, and after the
capture of Gainsborough a message from Stamford informed him that
Brereton was hard pressed in Cheshire. At Manchester, which he did
not reach till January 12, he collected every available man, and on
the 21st marched towards Nantwich with 2500 foot and 28 troops of
horse. Byron's force was about the same or perhaps a little stronger.
Fairfax gained a complete victory, a large part of the contingent from
Ireland being captured in Acton church. Seventy officers and about
1600 men were taken prisoners, including Monck, who was present as a
volunteer, Colonel Warren, who commanded his late regiment, being also
taken. 'Warren's regiment,' says Sir Robert Byron, 'though they had
their beloved Colonel Monck in the head of them, was no sooner charged
than they broke, and being rallied again, the next charge ran quite
away.' Their hearts were not in the work, and some 800 men chiefly from
this regiment afterwards took service under the Parliament. They were
Englishmen and Protestants, but this was not generally believed, and
nothing made the King's cause so hopeless as the imputation of having
brought an army of Irish <DW7>s into England. Lord Byron wished that
reinforcements should be 'rather Irish than English' because they would
have no seditious sympathies and he did not see why the King should not
employ them, 'or the Turks if they would serve him.'[45]

[Sidenote: Ormonde breaks with the Parliament.]

[Sidenote: Monck's advice to the King.]

Ormonde had misgivings about the royalism of his army, and events
showed that they were well founded. To make things as safe as possible
he obliged all who went to England to sign a protestation of allegiance
to the King and the Church, with a promise to hold no communication
with Essex or any other parliamentary officer. The soldiers were so
anxious to get out of Ireland, where they had been starving and in
rags, that they made no difficulty. Colonel Monck and Colonel Lawrence
Crawford were the only officers who refused. Crawford, who was a
covenanted Scot, was threatened with imprisonment, and took refuge
with Monro. Monck, who objected to political pledges, was deprived
of his regiment and allowed to go to Bristol, where he was arrested
by direction of Ormonde in a private letter, but was soon allowed to
go to the King at Oxford. Digby procured him an audience in Christ
Church garden, where he told Charles that the war was ill-managed, and
that the army should be reduced to 10,000 men, thoroughly equipped
and with professional officers trained in the Low Countries. A
commission was given him to raise a fresh regiment with the promise of
a major-general's command. Not having done the work before Nantwich,
he preferred to fight there in the ranks, and when taken was sent to
the Tower, where he remained in a destitute condition for two years,
writing his book on military affairs and making love to Ann Radford.
Charles, who had little to spare, once sent him 100_l._, a kindness
which Monck never forgot.[46]

[Sidenote: The Solemn League and Covenant.]

[Sidenote: Ireland a party to the Covenant.]

While Ormonde was negotiating with the Confederates under the title
of 'His Majesty's Roman Catholic subjects now in arms'--he had not
allowed them to style themselves 'Catholics' simply--a common danger
was drawing the Scottish estates and the English Parliament into a
closer alliance. One week after the conclusion of the Irish cessation
the solemn League and Covenant was published by order of the House
of Commons. The word League was introduced by Vane to emphasise the
political character of the compact, for the growing Independent party
had no idea of submitting themselves to the strict yoke of Presbyterian
polity. Making this reservation and reducing the sum promised to
30,000_l._, we may accept Baillie's account: 'The authority of a
General Assembly and Convention of Estate was great; the penalties
set down in print before the Covenant, and read with it, were great;
the chief aim of it was for the propagation of our Church discipline
to England and Ireland; the great good, and honour of our nation;
also the Parliament's advantage at Gloucester and Newbury, but most
of all the Irish cessation, made the minds of our people embrace that
means of safety; for when it was seen in print from Dublin, that in
July his Majesty had sent a commission to the Marquis of Ormonde, the
judges, and committee there, to treat with these miscreants; that
the dissenting commissioners were cast in prison; that the agreement
was proclaimed, accepting the sum of 300,000_l._ sterling from these
idolatrous butchers, and giving them, over the name of Roman Catholic
subjects now in arms, a sure peace for a year, with full liberty to
bring in what men, arms, money they could from all the world, and
to exterminate all who should not agree to that proclamation;--we
thought it clear that the Popish party was so far countenanced, as it
was necessary for all Protestants to join more strictly for their own
safety; and that so much the more, as ambassadors from France were come
both to England and us, with open threat of hostility from that Crown.'
Monro refused to be bound by the cessation, but abstained from open
hostilities until orders came from Scotland. 'Here,' says Turner, 'was
strange work, a man not able to prosecute a war, yet will not admit of
a cessation. It cost us dear, for since the King's restoration, all our
arrears were paid us by telling us we were not in the King's pay, since
we refused to obey his commands; and very justly we were so served.' By
a clever stroke of the politicians rather than the theologians Ireland
was made a party to the Covenant as 'by the providence of God living
under one King, and being of one reformed religion,' thus excluding the
Irish confederates from the rights of subjects.[47]

[Sidenote: Jealousies among the Confederates.]

[Sidenote: Antrim's nominal command.]

The confederate assembly sat at Waterford in the early part of
November, and summoned O'Neill to meet them there. It was determined
to attack Monro, and indeed a chief object of the cessation was to
have their hands free for so doing. Their great difficulty was about
the choice of a general. O'Neill was the ablest officer available,
but they feared to put so much power into his hands, and were
influenced by 'that ancient and everlasting difference' between
the North and South. They could not name Preston, between whom and
General Owen O'Neill there was 'such an antipathy as, from their first
apprenticeship in soldiery, which they had passed at least thirty
years before, notwithstanding their having served for all that time
the same princes, and been employed in the same actions of war, could
not be removed.' After much discussion Castlehaven was chosen, for he
was generally liked, and no one suspected him of personal ambition.
O'Neill was pleased at the rejection of his enemy, but he wished to
be general-in-chief, and the evils of divided command were not long
in showing themselves. In the mean time Antrim came to Waterford, and
there were some who thought good might be done at the English Court by
giving him the title of Lieutenant-General. It was, however, expressly
stipulated that he should have no real military authority in Ireland.
He did not so understand it himself, or perhaps he only pretended not
to understand, and proposed to carry into England the very forces which
had been provided for the invasion of Ulster. This claim was quickly
set aside, and Castlehaven was ordered to continue his preparations.[48]

[Sidenote: The Covenant taken in Ulster.]

[Sidenote: A deputation from the General Assembly.]

Early in December, Owen O'Connolly arrived in Ulster with instructions
from Westminster, and at once invited the English to take the Covenant.
Lord Montgomery, his uncle Sir James, Sir Robert Stewart, Sir William
Cole, Colonels Arthur Chichester, Hill, and Mervyn, and Robert
Thornton, mayor of Londonderry, met at Belfast on January 2 and decided
not to do so, but to consider themselves under Ormonde's orders, which
involved acceptance of the cessation. In writing to the Parliament they
merely asked for money to prosecute the war against the rebels. But
the bulk of the men composing what were called the British regiments,
as distinguished from Monro's Scots, were of Scottish origin, and were
induced to take the Covenant by the Presbyterian ministers, who were
vigorously supported by Sir Frederick Hamilton. All were required
at the same time to repudiate Strafford's black oath and to confess
their fault in taking it. A deputation of four ministers, one of whom
was William Adair, was sent over by the Scotch General Assembly, and
reached Carrickfergus at the end of March. Monro readily embraced the
Covenant with all his officers and soldiers except Major Dalzell,
whom Adair calls an 'atheist,' and who afterwards served in Russia,
where he learned methods of warfare which made him no less odious as
a persecutor than Claverhouse or the Laird of Lag. The country people
followed the example of the soldiers. At Belfast, where Chichester
commanded, the ministers met with some opposition, for he had published
the proclamation against the Covenant by Ormonde's orders; but
everywhere else they were received gladly. At Coleraine, Colonel Audley
Mervyn and Sir Robert Stewart were at first hostile, but the majority
were favourable. At Londonderry Adair and his colleagues appeared in
the market-place while the Church of England service was going on in
the principal church, and the mayor and others,'coming from their
sacrament, stood somewhat amazed,' but did not molest the meeting. At
Enniskillen they were equally successful, Sir William Cole, after some
little hesitation, taking the Covenant himself. They went as far west
as Rathmelton and Ballyshannon, and on their return to Londonderry
Mervyn took the Covenant, the soldiers greeting him with shouts of
'Welcome, Colonel.' Sir Robert Stewart followed suit at Coleraine.[49]

[Sidenote: Monro commands in Ulster for the Parliament.]

[Sidenote: He seizes Belfast, May 14, 1644,]

[Sidenote: and secures general obedience.]

Towards the end of December the English Parliament resolved to put the
British and Scottish forces in Ulster under one commander, and Leven
was named. He did not return to Ireland, but was authorised to appoint
a lieutenant, and so at the end of April 1644 Monro obtained the full
command. Some of his unfed and unpaid troops had gone back to Scotland,
but the remonstrances of the Ulster Protestants prevailed, and the
policy of withdrawing from Ireland was not persevered in. The colonels
of the British regiments met at Belfast on May 13 to deliberate as to
what degree of obedience they would give Monro, and he resolved to
anticipate their decision. In spite of Chichester and his proclamation
the Covenant was popular in Belfast, and had many friends among the
soldiers. Scouts were sent out during the night after the meeting
of the colonels in consequence of reports as to hostile intentions
on Monro's part. They returned about six in the morning, saying
that they had been within three miles of Carrickfergus and had seen
nothing, the probability being that they had met the Scots and come
to an understanding with them. At seven Monro appeared, and Captain
MacAdam's sergeant, who commanded the guard, at once opened the gate.
Monro marched through the town unopposed, seized the gate at the other
end, and took possession of all the cannon. Chichester was allowed to
remain in the castle, which was his own house, with 100 men, but the
other regiments were quartered outside the town. As soon as Belfast was
secured, Monro marched on to Lisburn, but there he found the garrison
on their guard and devoted to Ormonde. The English regiments were left
in possession, but Monro succeeded in getting all the Protestant troops
in Ulster to serve under him. On the last day of June he had collected
10,000 foot and 1000 horse at Armagh, and with these he marched to
Cavan.[50]

[Sidenote: Expedition to Ulster under Castlehaven, July, 1644.]

[Sidenote: Leinster and Ulster cannot agree.]

[Sidenote: The expedition a failure.]

Castlehaven's army of 6000 foot and 1000 horse were in the meantime
ordered to assemble at Granard, but not more than half had arrived
when Monro's approach was announced. He left Mountgarret's brother,
John Butler, to defend the passage into Leinster at Finnea between
Lough Sheelin and Lough Kinale. According to an Irish writer, Butler
was given to carousing at critical times, and he failed to maintain
his position. Monro advanced as far as Carlanstown Castle, which he
burned, but finding that Castlehaven and O'Neill had joined forces at
Portlester in Meath, he withdrew northwards again. He had started with
provisions for only three weeks. Castlehaven then called on O'Neill
to perform his promise of co-operating in an invasion of Ulster with
4000 foot and 400 horse, and O'Neill assured him that he should have no
reason to complain when actually operating in the northern province.
During the greater part of August and September, Castlehaven lay at
Charlemont and Monro at Tanderagee, but there was no general action,
and O'Neill was ill nearly all the time. In a skirmish at Scarva on
the borders of Down and Armagh, Captain Blair was taken, and about
100 Scots killed. In another encounter between Benburb and Caledon
three of O'Neill's officers fell, Colonel Ffennell looking on with
some of Castlehaven's horse, but doing nothing to save them. There was
evidently no love lost between the Leinster and Ulster men, and at
last, about the beginning of October, Castlehaven returned to his own
province. O'Neill upbraided him with the conduct of his officer, 'a
gentleman I see here, Lieutenant-Colonel Ffennell, with the feather,
a cowardly cock, for seeing my kinsmen overpowered by the enemy, some
of them hacked before his face, and a strong brigade of horse under
his command, and never offered to relieve them.' Castlehaven had very
little help from the Ulster Irish, except in the way of provisions.
'O'Neill,' he said, 'began to be very weary sometimes of assisting me
with cows,' and attributes the ill-success of the whole expedition to
the 'failing, or something else, of General Owen Roe O'Neill.' On the
other hand, we are told that O'Neill went to Kilkenny and demanded an
inquiry, saying that the foreign residents would think very little
of the Confederacy if neither general lost his head. A committee sat
accordingly, but no report transpired.[51]

[Sidenote: Designs of Antrim.]

[Sidenote: His agreement with Montrose, January 1643-44.]

Having failed to acquire any real influence at Kilkenny, Antrim went
to England, and arrived at Oxford December 16, 1643. He talked about
providing an army of 10,000, but was not at first taken very seriously.
'We know the person well,' said Digby, 'and therefore wondered to find
those probabilities which he made appear unto us of his power with
the Irish.' But Montrose was at Oxford, and saw his chance at once.
On January 28, an agreement was made between Montrose, 'his Majesty's
Lieutenant-General' for Scotland and Antrim, 'his Majesty's General
of the isles and highlands of Scotland,' binding both to appear in
arms by April 1. Antrim's share of the work was to levy all the men he
could in Ireland and in the Scottish isles, 'and with the said forces
invade the Marquis of Argyle's country in Scotland.' The witnesses were
Digby, Robert Spotswoode, and Daniel O'Neill. The King himself directed
Ormonde to give Antrim every possible assistance, and Daniel O'Neill
was sent with him 'by way of ballast,' and as 'the fittest person to
steer him.' It was very hard to bring the King to this point, for he
distrusted Antrim and disliked O'Neill. But Digby was in his element,
and he persuaded Charles to give Antrim a marquisate, which he vainly
imagined would make him Ormonde's equal, and to appoint O'Neill a
Gentleman of the Bedchamber, which was his great object of ambition.
At Oxford Antrim talked chiefly of the moderate courses to which he
intended to lead the Irish, but at Kilkenny he had encouraged them to
hope that by his interest all their objects would be easily gained.[52]

[Sidenote: The Confederates hesitate to send troops to England.]

[Sidenote: Antrim raises a small force,]

[Sidenote: under Alaster Macdonnell,]

[Sidenote: who joins Montrose.]

Antrim and O'Neill reached Kilkenny on February 23. In obedience to
the King's instructions, their first business was to persuade the
Confederates to send him '10,000 men, well armed, to be transported
into England with all possible expedition,' and to provide them with
artillery, ammunition, and shipping. The Supreme Council replied
that they would wait until they had a report from their agents at
Oxford. Prince Rupert's application for muskets and powder was also
set aside, but some were sent in the following autumn. The expedition
to the Scottish isles was agreed to, and the Council undertook to
provide '2000 muskets, 2400 pounds of powder, proportionable match, 200
barrels of oatmeal, by May 1, upon knowledge first had that all other
accommodations be concurring, and a safe and convenient port provided
in Ulster; provided the same port be commanded by Walter Bagenal.'
Ormonde objected to put Carlingford or Greencastle into the hands of
the Confederates' nominee, and also to Bagenal's being made governor of
Newry, the rather that he had hereditary claims there which might prove
awkward. After much wrangling, the Council agreed that the expedition
should embark at Passage in Waterford harbour, but the flotilla,
consisting of two Flemish and one Irish vessel, did not sail till June
27. The delay was aggravated by the difficulty of finding shipping, and
by the necessity of watching the parliamentary cruisers. According to
Antrim's own account, the number of men sent was about 1600, and 800
more were discharged for want of shipping. Three weeks later Ormonde
informed Digby that Antrim had sent 'from Waterford and other adjacent
places,' 2500 men well armed and provisions for two months. The chief
of the expedition was Alaster, or Alexander McColl MacDonnell, often,
but incorrectly, called Colkitto. He was a man of great courage,
remarkable for his strength and stature, and Leven thought him the
most formidable leader of the Irish. On the way to Scotland several
prizes were taken, on one of which were three ministers named Weir,
Watson, and Hamilton, being among those who had gone over to administer
the Covenant. Weir and Watson died in prison after enduring dreadful
hardships, but Hamilton lived to be exchanged after ten months'
confinement. MacDonnell reached the Sound of Mull in safety, and
seized upon the castles of Mingarry and Lochaline. The prospect was so
unpromising that he thought of re-embarking; but Argyle, with the help
of two English vessels, mastered his ships, and he was forced to go on.
The Flemings surrendered at once, but the Irish sailors, who fought
desperately, were all killed and their ship burned to the water's
edge. He harried all the Campbell territory that he could reach, and
afterwards that of the Mackenzies, and then tried to recruit his forces
on the Spey. In the meantime Montrose had entered Scotland and summoned
MacDonnell to meet him at Blair Athol. The Irish contingent took part
in the victory of Tippermuir on September 1.[53]

[Sidenote: Importance of the Irish to Montrose.]

[Sidenote: Their barbarous proceedings.]

[Sidenote: Alaster Macdonnell deserts Montrose.]

[Sidenote: Cruelty of the Covenanters.]

The epic of Montrose belongs to Scotland, but it should be remembered
that the Irish, as they are always called, formed the nucleus and the
only stable part of his army, and that when Alaster Macdonnell forsook
him, victory forsook him too. Antrim was Tyrone's grandson, and the
remains of the Ulster clans had no objection to follow him, though some
of his levies were islemen or Hebrideans settled in Ireland. Patrick
Gordon calls them 'strangers and foreigners,' adding that they showed
no pity or humanity, nor made any distinction between man and beast,
'killing men with the same careless neglect that they kill a hen or
capon for supper. And they were also without all shame, most brutishly
given to uncleanness and filthy lust; as for excessive drinking, when
they came where it might be had, there was no limit to their beastly
appetites.' Spalding, who was present when Montrose sullied his fame
by allowing the sack of Aberdeen, says they murdered and ravished for
four days. The corpses lay unburied until women ventured to move them,
for no man could show himself: 'the wife durst not cry nor weep at
her husband's slaughter before her eyes, nor the mother for the son,
nor daughter for the father; which if they were heard, then were they
presently slain also.' As long as the business consisted in harrying
Campbells or Mackenzies, Alaster Macdonnell had no difficulty in
getting recruits from his fellow tribesmen on the main land, but after
Kilsyth he and his Highlanders, who were gorged with plunder, deserted
Montrose that they might carry their acquisitions home. No commands or
entreaties of their general could prevail, says Sir James Turner, 'to
Cantire they would go, and to Cantire they did go.' They cared nothing
for Lowland or English politics. Some 500 Irish remained faithful
'because they had no place of retreat,' and these were cut to pieces
at Philiphaugh, 300 of their wives being butchered there, and many
others later at Linlithgow, where the horrors of Portadown bridge were
repeated with the parts reversed. Those who are disposed to deny the
Ulster massacres may ponder the words of Spalding and Gordon, while
nothing can excuse the cruelty practised in retaliation.[54]

[Sidenote: Confederate agents at Oxford, March 1644.]

[Sidenote: Protestant agents follow, April.]

[Sidenote: The Irish Government separately represented.]

As early as November 1643 the Supreme Council of the Confederates,
acting by order of their General Assembly, nominated seven
commissioners as agents to attend the King and to state their
grievances to him. The persons chosen were Lord Muskerry, Antrim's
brother Alexander Macdonnell, Sir Robert Talbot, Nicholas Plunket,
Dermot O'Brien, Geoffrey Brown, and Richard Martin. There is some
doubt about Martin, but all the others went over. The Lords Justices
granted them a safe conduct in January, but there was considerable
delay first at Kilkenny, and afterwards in waiting for a wind at
Wexford. They landed in Cornwall and reached Oxford March 24. As soon
as it was known in Ireland that the King would be likely to receive
the Confederate agents, the more zealous Protestants began to prepare
for a counter-mission. Charles expressed himself ready to hear both
sides. Lords Kildare, Montgomery, and Blayney were the chiefs of the
Protestant movement, and a deputation waited on Ormonde the day after
he was sworn in as Lord Lieutenant. Michael Jones was the spokesman.
Ormonde answered that he was somewhat taken by surprise, but 'for
you English and Protestants, I assure you both of assistance and
protection, and that, if need be, to the hazard even of my life and
fortunes.' The envoys first chosen were Sir Francis Hamilton, Captains
Ridgeway and Jones, and Fenton Parsons. Jones, whose parliamentary
sympathies led him to avoid the Court, refused to go, and Sir Charles
Coote was substituted with the King's consent. A petition of the
Protestants was read in the Irish House of Commons on February 17, and
approved by the House. The agents did not reach Oxford till April 17,
and the King received them next day 'in the garden at Christ Church,'
and desired them to prepare definite proposals. Charles had sent to
Ireland for Chief Justice Lowther, Sir Philip Perceval, Sir William
Stewart, and Mr. Justice Donnellan, who arrived about this time,
accompanied by Sambach, the Irish Solicitor-General. Sir H. Tichborne
and others went over later. Strafford's old secretary, Radcliffe, who
was already at Oxford, was ordered to join in their consultations. The
whole case was then handed over to a committee of the Privy Council,
consisting of the Earls of Bristol and Portland, Lord Digby, Secretary
Nicholas, Colepepper, and Hyde.[55]

[Sidenote: Attitude of Hyde, Digby and others.]

[Sidenote: Revised demands of Confederates.]

Hyde and Colepepper were hostile to the Confederates' demands, and
Radcliffe was even violent, 'which,' says a correspondent of Ormonde,
'makes the Irish swagger very severely.' Digby, who was much more
favourable to them, said their first propositions were scandalous,
and that all negotiations would have to be broken off unless they
amended them. Muskerry, on the contrary, had assured Ormonde that
their demands were an irreducible minimum. 'Neither,' he said, 'is
the highest of them such a rock, but that the King may find a way
to satisfy his people in Ireland without prejudice to his party in
England. And the real advantage of the assurance of our kingdom,
and of a nation so faithfully affected to his service, is much more
considerable than the fears and jealousies to discontent a party.'
Unfortunately for this argument, Ireland was divided into parties
quite as much as England, and concessions to Irish national feeling
were certain to deprive the King of all effective English support.
In spite of Muskerry's assurance, Digby found him and his colleagues
'beyond expectation counsellable, and they have this day, instead of
the former, presented these enclosed propositions, which though in many
things unreasonable for the King to grant, yet are not very scandalous
for them to ask.' Ormonde wrote to Muskerry advising moderation, and
foretold that the time might come when 'his Majesty might with more
safety grant, than he can as yet hear propounded' such of the agents'
desires as were in themselves just. The amended propositions demanded
the repeal of all penal laws affecting the Roman Catholics, their
relief from disabilities of every kind, and that a free Parliament,
entirely independent of the English legislature, should at once be
called. All proceedings of the Irish Parliament since August 7,
1641, should be annulled, as well as all outlawries, attainders, and
other acts affecting the Roman Catholics prejudicially since that
date. All forfeitures to the Crown in Connaught, Clare, Tipperary,
Limerick, Kilkenny, and Wicklow since 1634 were to be abandoned, and
the ancient possessors confirmed by law, the Court of Wards abolished,
and trained bands established in every Irish county. The other demands
were of less importance. Among the proposals waived by the agents
was one which virtually placed all titles to land created since the
beginning of Elizabeth's reign at the mercy of the Irish Parliament.
Another clause proposed to deprive the King of all right to maintain
a standing army in Ireland. It was also required 'that the present
Government of the said Catholics may continue within their quarters and
jurisdictions until the Parliament, and after until their grievances
be redressed by Acts of Parliament, and for a convenient time for the
execution thereof.' The original propositions were such as might
have been dictated by the victors to a conquered country. The amended
propositions, though containing many things 'in themselves just,'
involved the complete subjection of the Protestants in Ireland, and
could never be granted by an English Government. If the King granted
them it would only be because he had no longer any real power. The
Irish Privy Councillors at Oxford, though more moderate than Coote and
his colleagues, held that the toleration of Romish priests had been the
cause of the rebellion, that what was called a free Parliament would
contain few or no Protestants, most of them having been murdered or
exiled, and that Poynings' Act was one of the wisest ever made and 'one
of the precious jewels of his Majesty's imperial diadem.'[56]

[Sidenote: Protestant proposals equally extreme.]

[Sidenote: No compromise appears possible.]

If the propositions of the Confederate agents seemed scandalous to
Digby, those of Coote and his colleagues will not seem less so to
modern readers. They demanded, among other things, that all penal laws
should be strictly executed, that all the Roman Catholic clergy should
be banished out of Ireland, that the oath of supremacy should be taken
by every member of Parliament, mayor, sheriff, or magistrate; that no
lawyer refusing to take that oath should be allowed to practise; and
that there should be a 'competent Protestant army.' After a few days,
the Protestant agents were summoned to meet Ussher, Henry Leslie,
Radcliffe, and others. Radcliffe, on behalf of the Committee of
Council, said their proposals were unreasonable, and that peace could
never be made on any such terms. The agents then agreed to modify the
demands, but still insisted firmly on the full execution of the penal
laws, on maintaining the existing Parliament and Poynings' law, on the
encouragement of plantations, and on disabling lawyers who refused the
oath of supremacy. They waived the expulsion of Roman Catholic priests
and the oath _ex officio_, and also the demand that all churches
should be restored to them, rebuilt and refitted 'at the charge of the
Confederate Roman Catholics.' A week later the agents were summoned
before the King in council. Charles asked them whether they wanted
peace or war. They said they preferred peace, but only upon honourable
terms; and the King answered that he also would choose the hazard of
war rather than that they should suffer by a peace of his making. He
could not, he added, help them with men, money, arms, ammunition, or
victuals, nor could he allow them to join with those who had taken
the Covenant. It was consistent with Charles's love for tortuous ways
that he had tried to prevent Coote and his friends from knowing what
the propositions of the Confederate agents were. They had oozed out,
of course, and, making a virtue of necessity, the King now gave them
a copy and requested their answers. This was done, and the absolute
incompatibility of the two sets of agents was conclusively shown.[57]

[Sidenote: Failure of Oxford negotiations.]

[Sidenote: Both parties are referred to Ormonde,]

[Sidenote: who is authorised to make peace.]

[Sidenote: An impossible task.]

Muskerry and his colleagues left Oxford first, and were followed by
the Protestant agents on the last day of May. Both missions were
dismissed civilly enough, but neither had gained their point. Percival
told Ormonde that the failure of the Council to make any decision
was reported to be the work 'of one that labours to be commanded to
Ireland, and hopes to rule all there.' This points unmistakably to
Digby, who probably encouraged the King to refer everything back to
Ormonde. This was done by a commission dated June 24, and to enable
the Lord Lieutenant to arrive at a decision, all the propositions by
both sides during the Oxford negotiations were sent to him, and also
the King's answer to the Confederate agents. They were told that the
King would not 'declare Acts in themselves lawful to be void,' but that
the penal laws had never been harshly executed; and that if his Irish
subjects would live peaceably and loyally, they should be as moderately
administered 'as in the most favourable times of Queen Elizabeth and
King James.' He would allow a new Parliament to assemble, but 'would
by no means consent to the suspension of Poynings' Act.' Many lesser
demands were wholly or partly conceded, but religious toleration and
the Irish Parliament would still depend on the King's will. If the
Confederates could be got to accept such terms, Ormonde was authorised
to conclude peace upon that basis, and to go further if he found it
consistent with the present preservation of the Irish Protestants. If
peace could not be had on reasonable terms, then he might renew the
cessation for as long as he thought expedient. Ormonde lost no time in
informing Muskerry and his colleagues that he was commissioned to treat
for a peace or truce, and asked them to prepare the ground among their
friends. 'Let me tell you,' wrote that astute courtier Daniel O'Neill,
'that our friend the Marquis of Ormonde has a hard task put upon him:
for it is imposed upon him to end that in Ireland which all the Council
durst not look upon in England.'[58]

[Sidenote: Inchiquin visits Oxford,]

[Sidenote: and returns discontented.]

[Sidenote: He sides with the Parliament,]

[Sidenote: and secures Cork, Youghal, Kinsale and Bandon.]

During St. Leger's illness and since his death, Inchiquin had been
acting-President of Munster. His services had been great, and he
was not willing to see anyone put over his head. 'If the King,' he
wrote to Ormonde from Cork, 'have bestowed the 'presidency on any
other (though more worthy) personage, I hope your lordship will not
command my stay longer here.' Ormonde disliked his going, but gave no
direct order, and Inchiquin was at Oxford early in February. It soon
appeared that the King had many years before promised the presidency
to Portland, and though Radcliffe and Digby were in despair, the most
that could be obtained for Inchiquin was the reversion. As Portland
would not waive his claim, this really amounted to nothing. Inchiquin
received a warrant for an earldom; but that was not what he wanted,
and he did not use it. Hopes were held out to him of commanding the
Munster troops in England; but his best regiments had been assigned to
Hopton and others, and he saw no chance of anything in that direction.
At Oxford he dissembled his ill-humour, but before the end of March
it was generally known in Ireland that he 'came discontented from
Court.' Ormonde's idea was to keep the presidency of Munster vacant,
so that Inchiquin should be kept quiet by seeing the great prize
always dangling before him. Portland's object was to sell his interest
without going to Ireland; but he does not appear to have offered it to
Inchiquin, who kept pretty quiet during the spring and early summer.
When the result of the Oxford negotiations was known, he and the other
Munster officers declared strongly against a peace which could not be
had without abandoning the Protestants. As a proof of their danger,
they cited a Franciscan named Matthews who had been executed as a spy
after having confessed that he was concerned in a plot to betray Cork
to Muskerry. Ormonde had heard reports that there was some plot. After
Marston Moor it became evident that the King was powerless to protect
the Irish Protestants, and Inchiquin resolved to throw in his lot with
the Parliament. Broghill afterwards told Ludlow that he persuaded
him without much difficulty to take this step. The letter in which
Inchiquin declared himself--for he assured Ormonde that this was his
first advance--was signed also by Broghill as governor of Youghal, and
by the governors of Cork, Kinsale, and Bandon. Each of the subscribers
offered to go on board a parliamentary ship as a hostage, there to
remain until all four towns were in sure hands. A letter with the same
signatures was also sent to the King, who was urged to come to terms
with the Parliament as the only means of saving the Irish Protestants.
Aware that he might be distrusted, Inchiquin reminded the governor of
Portsmouth that he was forsaking a plentiful fortune 'for the good of
the cause,' and that he was ready to make room if another commander was
thought fitter to subdue the Irish rebels. Bandon was easily secured,
for it was a Protestant place; but Inchiquin took the strong step of
expelling the Irish inhabitants from Cork, Youghal, and Kinsale. This
was a very harsh measure, especially for a chief of the O'Briens; but
it may be defended on military grounds, the only defence of the Munster
Protestants lying in the four garrisons, without which they would be
quite cut off from England. Inchiquin's brother Henry, after making
great professions of attachment to the King, surrendered Wareham on
August 24 and brought his regiment over to serve the Parliament in
Ireland.[59]

FOOTNOTES:

[45] Bell's _Memorials of the Civil War_ (Fairfax Correspondence), i.
68; Dugdale's Journal in his _Short View_. Fairfax's report to Essex
is in _Rushworth_, v. 302; the accounts of Byron and his brother
Robert in Carte's _Original Letters_, i. 36-42. See also Fairfax's
_Short Memorials_ in Somers Tracts, v. 387; Clarendon's _Hist. of the
Rebellion_, vii. 403; and Gardiner's _Civil War_, i. 346.

[46] Gumble's _Life of Monck_, 18; Carte's _Life of Ormonde_, i. p.
468. Crawford wrote an account of his proceedings under the title of
_Ireland's Ingratitude to the Parliament of England_, &c., which was
published by order of the House of Commons, February 3, 1643; and see
_Carlyle_, i. 173.

[47] Text of the Solemn League and Covenant in _Rushworth_; Baillie's
_Letters_, ii. 102-103; Sir James Turner's _Memoirs_, p. 29.

[48] Colonel O'Neill's _Journal_; _Castlehaven_, p. 46; _Bellings_,
iii. 3-7.

[49] Rev. Patrick Adair's MS. in Reid's _Presbyterian Church_, ii.
439-454. Adair's narrative was published at Belfast in 1867.

[50] Benn's _Hist. of Belfast_, 103-109; Turner's _Memoirs_, p. 33;
Report to Ormonde, May 27, 1644, in _Contemp. Hist._ i. 586.

[51] Castlehaven's _Memoirs_, 48-53; O'Neill's Journal in _Contemp.
Hist._ iii. 202-4; British armies in Ulster to Ormonde, _ib._ i. 602.
The abusive account in the _Aphorismical Discovery_ may be neglected;
it absurdly states that Castlehaven was 'no soldier,' _ib._ i. 84.
_Bellings_, iii. 11.

[52] The agreement between Montrose and Antrim is printed from the
original in Hill's _Macdonnells of Antrim_, 267. If the date, January
28, be right, then the King's and Digby's letter to Ormonde of the 20th
were not despatched for several days. Digby to Ormonde, February 8,
1644-5, in appendix to Carte's _Ormonde_. The intrigues at Oxford are
amusingly described by Clarendon, _Hist. of the Rebellion_, book viii.
264-278.

[53] The King's instructions to Antrim, January 12, 1643-4, in
_Confederation and War_, iii. 88; Negotiation at Kilkenny, _ib._ 112;
Bellings to Ormonde, _ib._ iv. 276; Letters of Daniel O'Neill in
_Contemp. Hist._ i. 569; Antrim to Ormonde, June 27, 1644, in appendix
to Carte's _Ormonde_; Ormonde to Digby, _ib._ July 17, and to Nicholas,
July 22; Narrative by one of Macdonnell's officers in Carte's _Original
Letters_, i. 73; Reid's _Presbyterian Church_, i. 459-464; Napier's
_Memoirs of Montrose_, chap. 22. Turner (_Memoirs_, 39), who, however,
was not present at Tippermuir, says Montrose won with 'a handful of
Irish, very ill-armed.'

[54] Spalding's _Hist. of the Troubles_, ii. 265-7; Patrick Gordon's
_Abridgment_, 65, 133, 161, 181. Wishart thinks Alaster 'Macdonaldorum
res privatas impendio curasse: de publico parum solicitum.' See also
Napier's _Memoirs of Montrose_, chaps. 22-27, and Gardiner's _Civil
War_, chaps. 26, 30, 33, and 36; Turner's _Memoirs_, p. 240.

[55] _Bellings_, iii. 6, and in the same volume, Safe conduct for
agents, January 4, 1643-4, and letter to Bellings, April 7-10;
Michael Jones's speech, January 22, in appendix to Carte's _Ormonde_;
_Rushworth_, v. 897-900. The names of the Committee of Council are
given by Carte, but in the first letter to Bellings, mentioned above,
Cottington is added and Hyde omitted. It appears from Rushworth that
both attended the Committee.

[56] The original propositions are in _Confederation and War_, iii.
128; the amended ones in _Rushworth_, v. 909. See also the following
letters in appendix to Carte's _Ormonde_: Arthur Trevor to Ormonde,
March 25, 1644; Radcliffe to Ormonde, April 2; Digby to Ormonde,
April 2; Muskerry to Ormonde, March 29; Ormonde to Muskerry, April
29. Statement by the delegates of the Council of Ireland in _Egmont
Papers_, i. 212-229, which seems to have been read or spoken by Lowther
or one of his colleagues to Charles's Privy Council.

[57] _Rushworth_, v. 901-917. A manifesto published in French at Lille,
January 26, 1642-3, and intended for foreign consumption, contains the
following demands of the Confederates: '(1) That the Catholic religion,
the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and the religious orders be restored, and
no sect or heresy tolerated, except that of Protestants existing (_qui
a vogue_) in England, Germany, and some other provinces; that there be
no bishop other than Catholic; that the priests enjoy all benefices
and Church revenues; and that the Protestant ministers enjoy only such
bishoprics [_sic_] or benefices as those of their sect shall procure
them for a living. (2) That we be governed by a Catholic President,
Council, and officers; that all governors of castles, fortresses,
towns, and districts be Catholics,' &c. Reprinted in _Confederation and
War_, iii. 336.

[58] Sir Philip Percival to Ormonde, May 23, in appendix to Carte's
_Ormonde_; the King's commission to Ormonde, his instructions, and his
answers to the Confederate agents, in _Confederation and War_, iii.
175, 198, 208; Daniel O'Neill to Arthur Trevor, July 26, in Carte's
_Original Letters_.

[59] Inchiquin to Ormonde, January 3 and February 10, 1643-4, in
appendix to Carte's _Ormonde_, and in the same volume letters from
Radcliffe and Digby to Ormonde, February 8-20, and Ormonde to Digby,
March 8; _Bellings_, iii. 14, and one of March 29 from the Supreme
Council to Ormonde; Inchiquin to Ormonde, July 23 and August 4,
in Calendar of _Clarendon S.P._; Letters of Inchiquin, Broghill,
and others to the King and Parliament, and Declaration of Munster
Protestants, July 17 and 18, in _Rushworth_, v. 918-924; Ludlow's
_Memoirs_, ed. Firth, i. 85. Besides those in _Rushworth_, Inchiquin's
letters to Jephson, governor of Portsmouth, to Colonel St. Leger, and
to Sir J. Powlet were published in pamphlet form in 1644. For Henry
O'Brien, see Walker's _Discourses_, p. 46, and _Bellings_, iv. 10.




CHAPTER XXV

INCHIQUIN, ORMONDE AND GLAMORGAN, 1644-1645


[Sidenote: No truce with the Parliament.]

Protestants in Ireland complained with reason that they got little help
from England during the truce, while communication with the Continent
was quite free to the Confederates. There were parliamentary cruisers,
but not nearly enough to do the work, and a Spanish captain named
Antonio was engaged by Castlehaven to keep them at a distance. His
frigate of 400 tons and sixteen guns appears to have been cast away at
Dungarvan; but he commanded other ships and was active to the very end
of the war. Letters of marque were issued from Kilkenny, and it was
long before even the port of Waterford was closed. The numerous inlets
on the west coast it was impossible to blockade at all. There were
endless complaints on both sides as to breaches of the truce, but the
recriminations on this subject are scarcely worth discussing. After he
had once taken the Parliamentary side, Inchiquin gave himself a free
hand.[60]

[Sidenote: The no-quarter ordinance]

On October 24, 1644, both Houses at Westminster passed an ordinance
to the effect that no quarter should be given to any Irishman, nor to
any <DW7> born in Ireland, taken in hostility against the Parliament
in England and Wales or on the high seas. All officers by land and sea
were therefore ordered to leave all such Irishmen and <DW7>s out of
every capitulation, agreement, or composition. If taken, they were to
be 'forthwith put to death.' When the French National Convention made
a similar order about British prisoners, French officers refused to
carry it out; and the majority in the Long Parliament evidently feared
such a refusal, for they declared that every officer neglecting to
observe their ordinance should be 'reputed a favourer of that bloody
rebellion in Ireland,' and liable to such condign punishment as both
Houses might inflict. Pym and Hampden were dead, and it is uncertain
under whose influence this savage decree was passed; but it seems that
Captain Swanley and others had anticipated it by throwing prisoners
into the sea, and that they had been blamed for so doing, as there
were many English prisoners in Ireland upon whom it would be easy to
retaliate.[61]

[Sidenote: Inchiquin at Cork and Kinsale.]

[Sidenote: Harsh treatment of the citizens.]

[Sidenote: Broghill at Youghal.]

[Sidenote: The Covenant.]

[Sidenote: The Queen on Irish Protestants.]

Cork had some time ago agreed to give 4000_l._ for the support of the
army, and a part of this sum still remained unpaid. Inchiquin's first
order during the last week in July was that the citizens should pay the
balance or make up its value in provisions and bedding. All the Roman
Catholic inhabitants were ordered to leave the town, except the mayor
and aldermen and their families, one hundred men selected by the rest,
the widows of aldermen, and the sick. They were to carry out nothing
with them, but if the supplies required were provided, they were to be
allowed to return from time to time and carry off all their property,
but not to remain in the town during the night. Robert Coppinger, the
mayor, made the best fight he could, but, according to his own account,
Inchiquin exacted more corn and money than was owing, and was very
harsh in other ways. He gave warrants, says Coppinger, to enter the
houses of the banished inhabitants, to carry off almost everything
that might be useful to the garrison, 'leaving all the doors of the
houses wide open, and exposed, with all the rest of the goods therein
remaining to the insolency of the common soldiers.' When the people
came back for their property, according to the proclamation, there was
very little left. From the nature of the case, and from what we know
of Inchiquin, it is not likely that the work was very gently done;
but it is nowhere alleged that any life was lost. Similar measures
were taken at Youghal and Kinsale. Broghill was governor of the former
town, and he forbade all officers, soldiers, and others 'to break open
the houses of any persons who have in obedience to my proclamation
left this town,' or to plunder any Irish <DW7>s 'on pain of death.'
On August 24 eleven parliamentary ships entered Cork harbour, while
seven appeared at Youghal and six at Kinsale. Proclamation was at once
made that all civilians should leave Cork unless specially licensed
to remain, giving security to keep themselves in provisions for six
weeks. All Irish Roman Catholics were henceforth to leave the town at
six until Michaelmas, and at five after that day, so that the garrison
might be always ready to resist an attack. A market was established
outside the north gate. The Youghal people took the Covenant, and
Inchiquin told Ormonde that he should be compelled to do the same,
unless the Lord Lieutenant put himself at the head of the Protestant
movement. A stringent oath was at the same time administered to
Protestants, who declared themselves allied for defence and swore never
to make peace until the terms were approved by Parliament as well as
by the King. Colonel Brockett, governor of Kinsale, wrote to Ormonde
in commendation of Inchiquin's zeal, and announced that a ship laden
with provisions had come from Middleburgh to Cork for the relief of
the distressed Protestants. A little later in the year there was a
curious intrigue, the object on both sides being probably to see how
far Ormonde would go. Major Muschamp, the governor of Cork fort, let
Muskerry know that he had Royalist leanings and might be induced to
surrender his post to the Lord Lieutenant. Muskerry forged an order
from Ormonde to deliver the place to him. Muschamp said the order
must be placed in his hands; but this Muskerry refused for obvious
reasons. The plot came to nothing, and Muschamp told the whole story
to Inchiquin in presence of his staff. Ormonde was doing his best to
serve the King without betraying the Protestant cause, but he had
little thanks from anyone. That Henrietta Maria should call Inchiquin
a miserable knave was not to be wondered at. As to Ormonde, she is
reported to have said it was hard to trust him or 'any Irishman that is
a Protestant, for every Irishman that goes to church does it against
his conscience, and knows he betrays God.' The letter containing
this passage was intercepted, and a certified copy came to Ormonde's
hands.[62]

[Sidenote: First negotiations for peace, September 1644.]

The result of Ormonde's application to Muskerry and his colleagues
in the Oxford business was a letter from the general assembly of
the Confederates appointing commissioners to treat for peace. The
Oxford agents, all lawyers except Muskerry, Antrim's brother, and
Colonel O'Brien, were nominated, with the addition of Mountgarret,
Antrim, Archbishop Fleming, Sir Richard Everard, Patrick Darcy, and
John Dillon. Of these commissioners, Martin, Dillon and Barron were
afterwards proposed by the Confederates as judges of the superior
courts, and nearly all the others as Privy Councillors. Ormonde
objected at once to 'your Archbishop of Dublin, who, though a man as
free from exception (as unto his person) as any we could expect to be
treated with, for we have heard exceeding much good of him, and we
do believe no less, so as if we were to admit any of his function he
should be the man.' He had already announced that he would not treat
with any clergyman, and the Confederates gave way. Some delay had been
caused, and the commissioners did not meet Ormonde until September 1,
when they practically repeated the Oxford propositions. The cessation
was at once prolonged to December 1, and questions of statute law and
of title to land being involved, a committee of lawyers was appointed
to assist the Lord Lieutenant. The chief demands were the repeal of the
penal laws, the suspension of Poynings' Act, and the power of their
'free Parliament' to try offences. They were all rejected.

[Sidenote: Ormonde's difficult position.]

The negotiations were then suspended for a time. Sir Henry Tichborne,
who thought the cessation very dishonourable, left Oxford on December
31. He and others were taken at sea by one of Swanley's captains, and
were sent to the Tower. Tichborne was soon released, and afterwards
sided definitely with the Parliament in Ireland. About the same time
Swanley intercepted some correspondence between the Confederates
and their foreign allies, and he sent copies to Ormonde, cautioning
him about the dangers hanging over his 'truly honoured family' and
his ambiguous position with regard to the Protestants. The Lord
Lieutenant's task was indeed a hard one. The question of a universal
act of oblivion was left undecided, the Confederates contending that
their oath of association precluded all exceptions, while Ormonde was
unwilling to pardon criminals merely because the country had been in a
state of war. In the end, Charles conceded the act of oblivion to 'all
treasons and offences, capital, criminal, and personal' on land, and to
piracy and its attendant crimes in the Irish seas.[63]

[Sidenote: Confederate diplomacy.]

[Sidenote: Bellings at Paris. Mazarin.]

[Sidenote: Bellings at Rome. Rinuccini.]

[Sidenote: Attitude of Innocent X.]

[Sidenote: Barren sympathies.]

The negotiations dragged along slowly and intermittently throughout
1644 and 1645, but peace, as between Ormonde and the Confederates, was
preserved by frequent renewals of the cessation. In the meantime the
Kilkenny government sought eagerly for foreign support. Bellings left
Galway on the last day of December 1644 with credentials addressed to
Louis XIV., Anne of Austria, Henrietta Maria, Mazarin, Innocent X.,
the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cardinals Grimaldi and Bentivoglio, and the
Governments of Venice, Genoa, and Belgium. He had not intended to visit
anyone at Paris except Henrietta Maria; but the Jesuit O'Hartegan, who
was resident agent for the Confederates, persuaded him to see Mazarin.
The Cardinal was very inquisitive, and might stop Bellings in France if
thwarted. He did not like the application of the Confederates to Rome,
because Innocent X. was much under Spanish influence; but Bellings
answered that though his employers were bound to neutrality as among
Catholic princes, yet their natural leaning was to France, where their
exiled Queen had found shelter. Bellings himself had certainly French
sympathies, and told Mazarin that it was from France that Ireland
really expected help. 'And in truth,' he adds, 'the promises given now
and often before, had they been performed, might well have satisfied
our expectation.' On reaching Rome, Bellings found that Rinuccini was
already appointed nuncio. The two men disliked each other from the
first. When Bellings found that Innocent was sending a moderate sum of
money, he importuned for more, but was told that the late war in Italy
and preparations against the Turks had exhausted the papal treasury. He
then loudly proclaimed that he was quite satisfied with the Pope, lest
his backwardness should be an excuse for others. Innocent was at least
liberal with his briefs, but they had no effect either at Florence or
Genoa. Bellings did not even visit Venice, the Cretan war being excuse
enough for the republic. On his return to Paris he found that there
was little or no hope from France without assuming a hostile attitude
to Spain. As the final result of his long expedition Bellings reported
that 'all men wished well to the cause, but no man was in condition to
assist it.' He accompanied Rinuccini to Ireland.[64]

[Sidenote: French and Spanish crimps.]

[Sidenote: Foisset and Monnerie.]

Bellings understood that the help of France and Spain 'rather seemed a
traffic for men and a gratification for the levies made in Ireland for
the service of both crowns, than marks of a royal bounty and a real
will to assist them.' Early in 1643 the Confederates allowed Spain
to recruit in Ireland, the number of men, after some haggling, being
fixed at 2000. Philip IV. then made them a present of 20,000 crowns,
which was laid out in arms and ammunition. With the Parliamentarians in
command of the sea, it took a long time to get the men away, and they
could not be spared till after the cessation. Then it became necessary
to promise the same number of soldiers to France. At last, in February
1643-4, the Spanish agent or envoy was received by the Supreme Council,
and told that he should have his men by June 25. He was a Burgundian
named Foisset, and came, not from Spain, but from Don Francisco de
Melo in the Netherlands. Next day the French representative, De la
Monnerie, was received and had exactly the same answer. Monnerie was
a gentleman of the bedchamber, and his sole business was to get as
much food for powder as possible in Ireland. It would seem that both
agents were privately told that the great object of the Council was to
favour their respective sovereigns. Meanwhile their lawful King was
calling for Irish troops in vain. Monnerie did manage to get off 1300
men from Galway early in 1645, not being able to get shipping for more
in Ireland, and Mazarin failing to send the vessels which he promised;
but the recruiting still continued. Monnerie seems to have done better
than his rival, and reported that 'the Spaniard who is here' began to
lose heart and to declare loudly that the Supreme Council was quite
French. It was Mazarin against Don Luis de Haro. A Colonel Plunket was
promised forty crowns by Ottavio Piccolomini for every man he could
land in Flanders, but the Kilkenny authorities would not let him do the
work.[65]

[Sidenote: Confederate envoys. Talbot and O'Sullivan.]

[Sidenote: Hugh Bourke.]

[Sidenote: The story told abroad.]

[Sidenote: Heresy to be extirpated.]

Immediately after the outbreak in 1641 the Irish of Western Munster
had sent Francis O'Sullivan, a Franciscan, to solicit the help of
Spain. A little later, James Talbot, an Augustinian, was sent on the
same errand, and returned with 3000_l._ in silver, 4000 muskets,
four pieces of cannon and other stores, purchased with the 20,000
crowns obtained from Philip IV., but not without much bickering as to
whether the Celtic O'Sullivan or the Anglo-Norman Talbot deserved the
credit. In acknowledgment, it was proposed to send 1000 men to Spain;
but there was a difficulty about transport, and they never started.
Talbot was sent again in June 1643 with an offer of two thousand and
directions as to how he should spend any further sum he might receive.
The landing of the money and arms at Dungarvan during the negotiations
for a cessation made Ormonde's task harder; but the Spanish Government
had transferred the matter to the Governor of the Netherlands. Talbot
went there instead of to Spain, and returned with Foisset. He perhaps
thought it the best thing to do, but the Supreme Council never fully
trusted him afterwards. It was found that unauthorised persons had been
begging in Spain for the Irish cause, and had kept the money received,
and it was thought expedient to cancel all former credentials and to
send a new envoy to Spain. The person selected was Hugh Bourke, a
Franciscan, who had been doing good service in the Netherlands, whence
he was transferred directly. He went by Paris, where he met Rinuccini
on his way to Ireland, and impressed him by his cleverness and energy.
The instructions to Bourke, dated December 12, 1644, throw great light
upon the position of the Confederates. The war was represented as being
purely a struggle 'for the Catholic Church in its splendour.' Nothing
at all is said about the Ulster barbarities, but the Protestant party
are simply described as 'taking advantage, before we were provided of
arms and ammunition, to destroy many thousands of people unarmed, and
exercise barbarous cruelties against man, woman, and child, sparing
none that did come within their power, and intending to extirpate the
whole nation.' Nevertheless, the Confederates, having received some
arms from abroad, had re-established the Catholic religion in full
splendour and been victorious everywhere except 'in some particular
places and parts of the kingdom.' Among those particular places,
unfortunately, were Dublin, Cork, Youghal, and Kinsale, Londonderry
and Coleraine, Carrickfergus and the rising settlement of Belfast.
If the Spaniard inquired why such a victorious party had agreed to
a truce with Ormonde, Bourke was to reply that it was thought wise
to be on terms with one hostile party so as to be free to crush the
other. Nor had the calculation been unsuccessful, for Ormonde had sent
12,000 men to England, most of whom had been killed. As to the Oxford
propositions, the Confederates had thought it expedient to ask for
freedom of religion only, and 'you may inculcate the reason (which God
knows to be true), it was to win time, and our construction shall be
freedom in splendour if holpen with possibility of subsistence.' The
ultimate goal was to be an Ireland whose victorious soldiers 'would
not rest satisfied, but try their valours elsewhere for religion, as
long as any heretics did remain in the neighbouring provinces.' The
duplicity of Charles I. was rightly complained of by the Confederates;
but it was not greater than their own.[66]

[Sidenote: Siege of Duncannon, Jan.-March 1644-5.]

[Sidenote: Parties in the garrison.]

[Sidenote: The cessation ignored.]

[Sidenote: Lord Esmond's difficulties.]

[Sidenote: A rival governor]

[Sidenote: The Covenant.]

[Sidenote: Charles I. characterised.]

Duncannon Fort in Wexford guards the approach both by the Suir to
Waterford and by the Barrow to New Ross. Every large ship must
necessarily pass under the guns, but the place is very weak on the
land side, being commanded by higher ground. The defences had been
strengthened in 1611 by Sir Josias Bodley, a younger brother of Sir
Thomas, who founded the Oxford library. Bodley was a skilful engineer,
and was fully aware of Duncannon's weak point, though he probably
considered his works strong enough to resist a purely Irish attack.
When the rebellion broke out the governor of the fort was Laurence Lord
Esmond, a strong Protestant Royalist, and he held it for the King; but
the majority of his men were much more inclined to the Parliament.
Summoned by the Confederates to join them as the loyal party, Esmond
refused to do so without orders from the Lords Justices, and those
orders were of course never given. He made great efforts to maintain
discipline, but as he could neither pay nor feed his men they were
forced to drive cattle and otherwise spoil the country. With the
help of some English ships they burned Dunmore in Waterford, which
was too near a neighbour, but in an attempt to seize the Hook Tower,
their over-enterprising leader, Captain Aston, and some sixty of the
garrison, were taken or slaughtered, having been surrounded in a fog
by a large number of the natives. This was as early as July 1642, and
it settled the question as to whether the fort was really friendly to
the Confederates or not. The garrison continued to plunder in 1643
and 1644 without regard to the cessation, and it was soon resolved at
Kilkenny that the fort must, if possible, be reduced. Among Esmond's
officers two should be mentioned, Major Ralph Capron, who said he
was 'too old to forego his loyalty,' and Lawrence Larcan, lieutenant
of Esmond's own company of foot, who made no secret of his adhesion
to the English Parliament. Esmond made great efforts to obtain relief
from Ormonde, but nothing effectual could be done for him, and early in
August Inchiquin sent Captain Smithwick to induce him to declare for
the Parliament. This he steadfastly refused to do, but told Ormonde
that his life was not safe 'among so desperate and mutinous a pack,'
as the garrison had become. 'Poverty is the cause of this, and to tell
truth, my lord, they are indeed naked.' A month later Captain Bright
arrived in the Parliamentary vessel _Jeremie_, and anchored off the
fort. He brought with him the Covenant and a commission from Inchiquin
appointing Larcan to the command. The Covenant was eagerly subscribed
by all but Esmond himself, Capron, Richard Underwood the principal
chaplain, and perhaps one or two other officers. Captain Bright
promised supplies, and the soldiers refused to obey Capron, whom Esmond
accordingly sent with despatches to Dublin. Larcan, who is described as
active and witty and a leader of men, said 'the King was a tyrant, an
extortioner, an oppressor of the subject, and a <DW7>,' and he hoped
that the Parliament would soon 'scour' him. In the meantime Larcan
did what he could to scour the country, while Parliamentary captains
were busy at sea. The fort became such a scourge that the Confederates
resolved to besiege it.[67]

[Sidenote: Preston at Duncannon. A French engineer.]

[Sidenote: Failure to relieve from the sea.]

[Sidenote: An unsuccessful assault.]

[Sidenote: Vice-Admiral Smyth's advice.]

[Sidenote: The fort capitulates.]

[Sidenote: High mass]

Preston sat down before Duncannon on January 20, 1644-5, with about
1500 foot. He had both cannon and mortars, and the wonder is that the
place held out at all. There was a garrison of about 150 men with
twenty-two guns, but no proper supply of water inside the fort, and no
doctor or surgeon. A French engineer named Lalue directed the siege
operations, which dragged out to a great length. Three weeks after
the first investment Inchiquin wrote to say that he could give no
relief unless help first arrived from England, and he pointed out that
the Confederates might have easily mastered all the Munster towns if
they had not exhausted their strength in the Ulster expedition under
Castlehaven. Admiral Swanley wrote about the same time from Milford to
say that he was sending a collier under convoy to give the garrison
fuel, and also shipping to convey reinforcements for Inchiquin, but
that 'as for the soldiers from this country (England), they are not
to be drawn from this service without an inevitable prejudice.'
Inchiquin could hardly hold his own, nor could he trust unpaid men.
Communications between the fort and the sea were never interrupted,
and small supplies were sent in from time to time, and thirty-eight
seamen took their part in the defence on shore. At the beginning of
the siege an attempt was made by the Parliamentary ships to drive the
assailants from their works, but very few shot went even near the mark.
Fire from a floating platform is seldom satisfactory against an enemy
on a hill. As Lalue drew his lines closer and advanced his guns, still
less could be done from the sea. On February 19, five ships anchored
under Credan Head in full view of the fort, but their commanders dared
not come within reach of the plunging fire, by which one Parliamentary
vessel had already been sunk. Frequent sallies of the garrison annoyed
the enemy, who suffered from bad weather and from the labour of making
approaches in the rocky ground. Lalue contrived an infernal machine
which appears in advance of his time. A trunk filled with explosives
and calculated to go off when opened was left near the gate of the
fort. Esmond suspected a snare, and advised that the trunk should be
soaked in the sea for some hours, but the soldiers were too impatient,
and the explosion took place. The besiegers heard the noise and
expected great results, but only one person was killed, a woman who had
drawn near out of curiosity. There were some men in the fort who sided
secretly with the besiegers, and when the trenches approached the ditch
communicated with them by letters tied to bullets and flung by hand. At
last an assault was made, but, says Bellings, the musketeers who were
to cover the storming party had their pieces rendered unserviceable
by a whirlwind which blew away the priming and filled the pans with
gravel. The assailants were beaten off with great loss, but Larcan, who
had been the soul of the defence, was hit by a stone which a round shot
had displaced. A surgeon might have saved him, but there was none, and
he died. The sap went on until a mine was brought up to the rampart,
and the second assault was likely to be successful. Vice-Admiral
Smyth with the _Swallow_ and other vessels lay in the offing, and to
him Esmond made a last appeal. 'Your lordship,' the sailor quaintly
answered, 'hath but two things to consider of: first, the potency of
the enemy; next, your abilities to subsist. For, before any relief can
overtake you, it will be ten or eight days at soonest. Now, if you find
in your strength a disability, then our Saviour Jesus Christ gives you
the best counsel, who sayeth: agree with thy adversary quickly while
thou art in the way.' If they waited for the assault, he argued, they
would all be put to the sword, but if they capitulated so many gallant
men would be available for future service, and might perhaps even have
a hand in recapturing the fort. As for the guns, they must go with the
place, for if they were 'all of beaten gold' there was no means of
embarking them. The poor old governor could only lament that he had
been encouraged to hope for help which had never come, and replied that
he would try one stratagem more by asking for a Protestant garrison
named by Ormonde. Two days later he still defied Preston, and declared
that he would not surrender without the direct orders of the King or
the Lord Lieutenant. Larcan being gone, the other officers prepared to
take Smyth's advice, and Esmond was at last forced to ask for a parley.
Preston was not bloodthirsty, and on March 19, being the fifty-ninth
day of the siege, the garrison marched out with the honours of war, and
were allowed to go to Dublin, Bristol, or Youghal, as they themselves
preferred. A few men took service with Preston. Esmond waited till
a carriage could be got, but died at Adamstown on the road to
Enniscorthy. The fort was not without provisions or ammunition at the
time of surrender, but the want of fresh water was very pressing. There
had been torrents of rain, but either from want of time or from want
of vessels it had not been sufficiently utilised. Only about thirty
men had been killed, though the besiegers had burned 19,000 pounds of
powder. Duncannon was taken on March 19, and on Lady Day Scarampi came
in and said high mass. The Confederates boasted much of their success,
in announcing to their friends at Paris the capture of what they call
the 'impregnable fort of Duncannon.'[68]

[Sidenote: The Glamorgan mission]

[Sidenote: An extraordinary patent, April 1644.]

Charles had handed over the reduction of the Irish rebels to Parliament
early in the day, and had told the Protestant agents at Oxford that
he would rather have war than peace at their expense. As long as
negotiations were entirely in Ormonde's hands this was no empty
promise, but when the King decided to employ a private envoy as well,
the situation was a good deal modified. The person selected was
Lord Herbert, eldest son of the Marquis of Worcester, who had made
immense sacrifices for the royal cause. Both father and son were Roman
Catholics, and ardent champions of their faith. In history the latter
is best known as Earl of Glamorgan, and so Charles styled him, though
the creation was never formally made. On April 1, 1644, when the Irish
agents were at Oxford, the King had granted him under the Great Seal
a patent of so extraordinary a character that its main provisions
must be repeated, though perhaps no episode in English history has
been more thoroughly discussed. By this document he was constituted
generalissimo with extraordinary powers of three armies, English,
Irish, and foreign, and admiral of a fleet at sea; with authority to
raise money by pledging wardships, customs, woods, and other hereditary
property of the Crown. 'Persons of generosity' were to be encouraged
to subscribe in return for titles of honour, 'for whom,' the King
wrote, 'we have intrusted you with several patents under our Great
Seal of England, from a marquis to a baronet, which we give you full
power and authority to date and dispose of without knowing our further
pleasure.' Charles solemnly bound himself to ratify all the patentee's
acts, and and to give his daughter Elizabeth to Glamorgan's son
Plantagenet 'with 300,000_l._ in dower or portion, most part whereof we
acknowledge spent and disbursed by your father and you in our service.'
Finally he was promised the dukedom of Somerset with power to 'put on
the George and blue ribbon' at his pleasure, and to bear the garter
in his coat of arms. The affixing of the seal to this patent may have
been an amateur performance, the joint work of Endymion Porter and of
Glamorgan himself, 'with rollers and no screw press,' but the document
was genuine, and the king knew all about it.[69]

[Sidenote: Introduction of Glamorgan to Ormonde.]

[Sidenote: Three commissions Jan.-March, 1644-5]

[Sidenote: Glamorgan's instructions.]

His sanguine hopes of Irish and foreign forces having been dashed, and
Marston Moor having been fought, Charles turned to Glamorgan again. The
latter had married Lady Margaret O'Brien, the late Earl of Thomond's
daughter, and his many Irish connections might give him influence.
Ormonde was informed that 'Lord Herbert'--the title of Glamorgan was
dropped here--had business of his own in Ireland, and that he might be
found incidentally useful in bringing about a peace. 'His honesty or
affection to my service,' says the King in a cypher postscript, 'will
not deceive you; but I will not answer for his judgment.' Yet to this
man of more than doubtful discretion were given three commissions,
the first of which authorised him to levy an unlimited number of men
in Ireland and other parts beyond sea. By the second Charles promised
'in the word of a King and a Christian' to confirm all Glamorgan
might do, whatever irregularities might appear when his powers came
to be criticised. The third was a royal warrant to treat with the
Confederate Roman Catholics of Ireland, proceeding with all possible
secrecy. Ormonde was warned by friends in England to be on his guard
against Glamorgan, who left Oxford soon after receiving the last
commission, but circumstances changed a good deal before the latter
reached Ireland. He sailed from the Welsh coast, but was chased by a
Parliamentary ship and driven to Lancashire, whence he made his way to
Skipton Castle, and there stayed for three months, during which Naseby
was fought. In his instructions to Glamorgan which preceded the first
of the three commissions above mentioned, the King promised solemnly to
ratify whatever should be 'consented unto by our Lieutenant the Marquis
of Ormonde,' but authorised him to supply if possible anything 'upon
necessity to be condescended unto and yet the Lord Marquis not willing
to be seen therein, or not fit for us at the present publicly to own.'
Glamorgan seems to have given a verbal promise to consult Ormonde in
everything, but there is no evidence that the Lord Lieutenant knew
this, and it is only known to historians because Glamorgan, after his
failure, was reproached by the King for not having done so.[70]

[Sidenote: Charles lays down conditions of peace,]

[Sidenote: but soon changes his mind.]

[Sidenote: Still sanguine after Naseby.]

A few days after giving Glamorgan his instructions, Charles wrote to
Ormonde defining clearly the extreme point of his possible concessions
to the Roman Catholics. He promised that 'the penal statutes should not
be put into execution, the peace being made and they remaining in their
due obedience. And further that when the Irish give me that assistance
which they have promised, for the suppressing of this rebellion, and I
shall be restored to my rights, then I will consent to the repeal of
them by a law. But all those against appeals to Rome and _Præmunire_
must stand.' A month later the orders were that Ormonde should hasten
the peace upon the terms already granted, but that if he could not do
so he was to avoid a rupture and to continue the cessation. Only three
days later came a 'command to conclude a peace with the Irish, whatever
it cost, so that my Protestant subjects there may be secured and my
regal authority preserved.' Charles said he would not think it a hard
bargain if the Irish could be heartily engaged on his side in England
or Scotland, upon condition of repealing the penal laws at once, and of
suspending Poynings' Act for that and kindred purposes. But he did not
tell Ormonde whether he still considered the statutes against foreign
ecclesiastical jurisdiction part of his 'regal authority,' and he
directed him to 'make the best bargain he could, and not to discover
his enlargement of power till he needs must.' The King's position
remained substantially unaltered during the spring and early summer,
but four days after Naseby he told Ormonde that Irish help was more
necessary than ever. 'If,' he wrote, 'within two months you could send
me a considerable assistance, I am confident that both my last loss
would be soon forgotten, and likewise it may (by the grace of God) put
such a turn to my affairs, as to make me in a far better condition
before winter than I have been at any time since the rebellion began.'
The Lord Lieutenant was to conclude the peace as quickly as possible,
and then to come over himself at the head of an army. The course of
events was destined to be very different.[71]

[Sidenote: Glamorgan in Ireland. August 1645.]

[Sidenote: The Glamorgan Treaty, August 25.]

[Sidenote: An army offered in payment.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde is kept in the dark.]

When Glamorgan reached Dublin about the beginning of August, he
found no peace signed and no army ready to embark. As Charles's
necessities grew, so did the demands of the Irish bishops, and the
King's orders to conceal his powers prevented Ormonde from saying at
once what was the furthest point to which he could go. Glamorgan was
present at some of the meetings between the Lord Lieutenant and the
Confederate commissioners, and he then went to Kilkenny. Ormonde told
his brother-in-law Muskerry, who went there also, that the news of
Naseby had made the conclusion of peace more needful than ever. He
urged him to help Glamorgan, but at the same time acknowledged his
independence, and to some extent deprecated the idea that he was
acting in concert with him. 'I know,' he wrote, 'no subject in England
upon whose favour and authority with his Majesty, and real and innate
nobility you can better rely than upon his lordship's.' Muskerry, who
was anxious to come to terms with the King, no doubt made full use of
this testimonial, and so Glamorgan, relying entirely on his commission
of March 12, proceeded to 'engage his Majesty's royal and public
faith' for the due performance of the articles known as 'the first
Glamorgan treaty.' Ormonde was no party to them in fact or in name.
'Free and public use and exercise of the Roman Catholic religion' was
granted to all without exception. All churches possessed by the Roman
Catholics at any time since October 23, 1641, were granted to them,
'and all other churches in Ireland other than such as are now actually
enjoyed by his Majesty's Protestant subjects.' All jurisdiction of the
Protestant clergy over Roman Catholics was taken away, and an Act of
Parliament was promised to abrogate the penalties for breaches of the
Acts of supremacy and uniformity. Glamorgan also promised 'on behalf
of his Majesty,' confirmation to the Roman Catholic clergy of all
temporalities possessed by them at any time since the fatal October 23,
two-thirds of the profits for three years or during the continuance
of the war being applicable to the royal service and one-third to
the support of the clergy. Glamorgan afterwards explained that he
intended the immediate wants of the Protestant clergy to be provided
for out of the two-thirds reserved to the King. That any English
Protestants at that time were willing to grant unlimited toleration
may well be doubted, but it is certain that there were none ready to
confirm everything that had been done against their own clergy since
the rebellion began. The consideration offered by the Confederates was
10,000 men, armed one half with muskets and one half with pikes, to be
shipped by Glamorgan to any port he might choose. These troops were
to be kept together in one entire body under the Earl's leadership,
all other officers being appointed by the General Assembly or Supreme
Council. Ten days later Glamorgan solemnly swore to tell the King
everything, and 'not to permit the army entrusted to his charge to
adventure itself, or any considerable part thereof, until conditions
from his Majesty and by his Majesty be performed.' In the meantime the
treaty was kept secret, and the negotiations between Ormonde and the
commissioners of the Confederates went on pretty much as before.[72]

[Sidenote: Copies of the treaty are secretly circulated,]

[Sidenote: and thus becomes public.]

[Sidenote: Charles writes to the Pope.]

Glamorgan soon returned to Dublin, leaving the original of his treaty
in the hands of the Confederates, but Archbishop Walsh ordered copies
to be given to several ecclesiastics, and the secret was not very long
kept. Meanwhile the negotiations with Ormonde dragged their slow length
along, and the arrival of Lord Digby, who in those days was an Anglican
champion, did not make concessions on ecclesiastical matters more
probable. The appearance of a papal nuncio at this stage was the one
thing needful to make the situation hopeless. After Rinuccini landed in
Kerry, but before he reached Kilkenny, Archbishop Queely was killed in
a skirmish before Sligo, and a certified copy of the Glamorgan treaty
was found upon his person. As early as the previous April Charles had
written two letters, one to the nuncio and one to the Pope, and had
entrusted them to Glamorgan for delivery. He promised Rinuccini to
perform all that he should agree upon with Glamorgan, whom he praises
in exaggerated language. 'This,' he concludes, 'is the first letter
that we have ever written directly to any minister of the Pope, hoping
that it will not be the last, but that after you and the said Earl have
done your business, we shall openly show ourselves, as we have assured
him, your friend.' When the King wrote this dangerous letter, Rinuccini
was already at Genoa on his way to Ireland.[73]

FOOTNOTES:

[60] Castlehaven to Ormonde, November 7, 1643, in _Confederation and
War_, iii. 40; La Boulaye Le Gouz, _Tour in Ireland_ (1644), p. 35.

[61] Husband's _Collection_, p. 576; Gardiner's _Great Civil War_, i.
396; La Boulaye Le Gouz, _Tour_, pp. 2, 135.

[62] For the expulsion of the Cork citizens see _Confederation and
War_, iii. 221-230 and 235-247; for Broghill's proceedings Caulfield's
_Youghal Council Book_, p. 545; Calendar of _Clarendon S.P._, July
31-November 27, 1644. For the Protestant oath and for Henrietta Maria's
opinions, as reported by the Jesuit O'Hartegan, see _Confederation and
War_, iv. 49, 84; Muskerry to Ormonde, February 2, 1644-5, in appendix
to Carte's _Ormonde_.

[63] Ormonde to Digby, October 1644, in _Confederation and War_, iii.
29, with the documents referred to at foot; and see _ib._ v. 296;
Brabazon, Tichborne, and Ware to Ormonde, January 5, 1644-5, _ib._
iv. 116, and Swanley's letter, 121; Tichborne's letter to his wife,
appended to _Temple_, pp. 327, 330.

[64] _Bellings_, iv. 1-6, and Monnerie to Mazarin, February 20, 1644-5,
in the same volume.

[65] Receptions of Foisset and Monnerie, February 1643-4, in
_Confederation and War_, iii. 102, 106; Monnerie to Mazarin, February
20, 1644-5, _ib._ iv. 147.

[66] _Aphorismical Discovery_, i. 32, 49; _Bellings_, iii. 8, and the
receipt to Talbot for the Spanish money in the same vol., p. 273. For
Bourke's mission, _ib._ 126 and iv. 90; Rinuccini's _Embassy_, 106, 307.

[67] Bodley to Salisbury, October 15, 1611, in State Papers, _Ireland_,
and to Carew, in _Carew Cal._ 123; preface to _Confederation and War_,
iv. xxvii-xl, and in the same vol. 381-2; Captain Thomas Aston's _Brief
Relation of passages at Duncannon since June 8_, July 22, 1642, written
very shortly before the writer was killed.

[68] Preface to _Confederation and War_, iv. xl-xlvii, and in the same
vol., which contains three plans of Duncannon, a diary of the siege,
written by Bonaventure Barron, the famous Latinist, in his favourite
tongue, 189; Depositions of officers and soldiers, 210-237; Letters of
Supreme Council, 203-209; Letters of Smyth, Swanley, &c., and articles
of capitulation, 177-183. The author of the _Aphorismical Discovery_,
i. 102, says 'the defendants behaved themselves exceedingly well.'

[69] Dated Oxford, April 1, 1644: 'and for your greater honour and in
testimony of our reality we have with our own hand affixed our Great
Seal of England unto these our commission and letters, making them
patents.' Printed in Birch's _Inquiry_, p. 22, and elsewhere; S. R.
Gardiner in _English Historical Review_, ii. 687.

[70] The instructions to Glamorgan are dated January 2, 1644-5, the
three commissions referred to in the text being of January 6 and 12
and March 12 respectively. The King to Ormonde, December 27, 1644, in
Carte's _Ormonde_, appendix to vol. ii., No. 13.

[71] The King to Ormonde, January 18, 1644-5; February 16, February 27,
May 21, 1645; June 18 and 26--all in Carte's _Ormonde_, appendix to
vol. ii.

[72] Carte Papers, vol. xv., from which the letters, &c., are printed
in _Confederation and War_, v. 62-79; and the treaty dated August 25,
1645, printed from Husband's _Collection_, p. 821. When examined before
the Lord Lieutenant and Council, Glamorgan said he 'did not consult or
advise with any person whatsoever concerning any the matters contained'
in the treaty, _ib._ 220.

[73] Charles I. to Rinuccini, April 30, 1645 (in French), printed by
Birch from the Holkham MS. Archbishop Queely was killed on October 17.




CHAPTER XXVI

FIGHTING NORTH AND SOUTH--RINUCCINI, 1645


[Sidenote: Castlehaven in Munster.]

[Sidenote: Cappoquin]

[Sidenote: Mitchelstown.]

[Sidenote: Action near Castle Lyons.]

Military operations in Munster, though contributing towards the general
result of the war, did not at the moment interrupt the negotiations
between Dublin and Kilkenny. As Lord President of Munster for the
Parliament, Inchiquin was not bound by any truces but those of his
own making, and Broghill as governor of Youghal was practically in
the same position. Duncannon being taken, and the truce expiring soon
after, Castlehaven invaded Munster with 5000 foot and 1000 horse.
'The enemy,' wrote Castlehaven long afterwards, 'in this province had
always been victorious, beating the Confederates in every encounter ...
every gentleman's house or castle was garrisoned, and kept the country
in awe. To begin, therefore, this field I made my first rendezvous
at Clonmel, and the army encamped not far from it. Thither came Dean
Boyle, now Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and then married to my Lord
Inchiquin's sister; his business was to persuade me to spare Doneraile
and other houses and castles not tenable.' They parted friends, but
Castlehaven made no promise, and marched to Cappoquin, where he
summoned the castle, believing that the failure to take it before
had been owing to the town being attacked first. Here and elsewhere
his terms were fair quarter in case of immediate surrender, but 'no
quarter at all' in case of prolonged resistance. Cappoquin preferred
the first alternative, but the commandant was afterwards executed by
court-martial for cowardice. According to Broghill and others, articles
of capitulation were not always well observed, but from what we know
of Castlehaven this may have been the fault of his subordinates. The
possession of Cappoquin bridge enabled him to pass the Blackwater at
will, and Inchiquin was too weak both in men and supplies to oppose him
seriously. Youghal was summoned with the boast that mass should be said
there in six days, but Broghill replied that God should be worshipped
there for six months. Mitchelstown refused the first summons, but soon
yielded at discretion, when 'two or three,' says Bellings, 'of which
one was a minister, that were charged to have been upon several actions
cruel to the Irish were hanged for their unsoldierly obstinacy.' The
logic or morality of this is not very clear. Dromana surrendered, as
well as Knockmone, which Sir Richard Osborne had defended since the
beginning; but Lismore held out under Major Power. In the meantime a
strong body of horse under Broghill had crossed the Blackwater by the
ford of Fermoy, and Purcell persuaded Castlehaven to detach his own
cavalry, 'which I count certainly among my other follies.' As Purcell
came on, Broghill retired over the river and faced about at Kilcruig,
half-way between the ford and Castle Lyons, with a scrubby wood between
him and his pursuers. The Irish straggled through the covert, and
before they had time to reform, Broghill charged and defeated them
with great loss. The main body of Castlehaven's army being visible in
the distance, he retired to Castle Lyons and sent all the men he could
spare to Inchiquin.[74]

[Sidenote: Castlehaven generally successful,]

[Sidenote: but Inchiquin holds his own,]

[Sidenote: and Youghal still resists.]

From Fermoy Castlehaven proceeded to clear the country north of the
Blackwater. Mallow, Doneraile, and Liscarroll were taken with little or
no resistance, but Milltown, which had made a brave defence in 1641,
threatened to give trouble. Some boys who made a hole in the courtyard
wall to steal cattle found a way into the castle: soldiers followed,
and the place was taken by assault. Annagh Castle, which was then
surrounded by bog, made a brave resistance under Lieutenant Fisher.
A breach was made with the artillery and the garrison was put to the
sword. The English account says this was done in cold blood after
Fisher had been treacherously killed during a parley in sight of his
own men. Bellings acknowledges the slaughter, but says it was during
an assault. While Castlehaven was busy to the north of the Blackwater
Inchiquin fell upon the district of Imokilly between Cork and Youghal.
Rostellan and Castle Martyr both held for his uncle Edmond Fitzgerald.
In the final division of the spoils the first fell to his lot, and the
second to Broghill's, and no doubt both leaders intended something of
the kind from the first. At Rostellan, says Bellings, 'Sir Richard
Meagh, the Catholic Dean of Cork, and Captain William FitzJames Barry
were hanged, which actions, how justifiable soever by arms, yet made
a great noise and increased the animosities between them, the clergy
of both sides being therein concerned. Hearing of Inchiquin's raid,
Castlehaven hurried to the relief of Castlemartyr, but was delayed by
a flood at Fermoy, and when he passed the river met the late garrison.
He thought that 140 men with plenty of arms and provisions ought to
have made a better fight. He found the castle burned, and having just
failed to intercept part of the Youghal garrison who retreated with
their guns at his approach, he seized Cloyne and Aghada and recaptured
Rostellan after a short struggle. Thomas Barham, Dean of Ross, was
hanged to match the other dean, and Inchiquin's brother Henry, 'one
of the most malicious of our enemies,' would have had the same fate,
but that the officers preferred to reserve him for special judgment
by the King. This was just before Naseby. Ballyhooly and Castle Lyons
were also taken, and at Conna Castlehaven made an example 'by putting
to the sword some, and hanging the rest.' He believed that the siege
of Youghal would 'rather be a work of hours than days,' but there were
plenty of men there, and the sea was open. Broghill hurried off to
England for help and to place his wife and his sister, Lady Barrymore,
with the young Earl, in a place of safety.[75]

[Sidenote: Two baronies depopulated.]

[Sidenote: Fall of Lismore.]

[Sidenote: The Naseby prisoners.]

[Sidenote: Siege of Youghal.]

[Sidenote: Broghill relieves Youghal,]

[Sidenote: and Castlehaven's army is dispersed]

Castlehaven reported that he had cleared the baronies of Imokilly and
Barrymore completely both of people and cattle. 'I conceive in this I
have done my Lord of Inchiquin more mischief than in killing a thousand
of his men,' for this source of supply was quite cut off. He hoped to
take Youghal and to besiege Cork before harvest, but this sanguine
letter was written two days after Naseby. Lismore was taken at last
after a gallant defence by Major Power, and the garrison admitted to
quarter. Templemichael capitulated, Castlehaven undertaking the safe
custody of the garrison to Youghal, but Broghill complains that he
kept them for a fortnight and sent them in when nearly starved. The
general's proceedings at Mogeely and Strancally were also objected
to, but both banks of the Blackwater from Mallow to the sea were in
his hands before the end of June. Several hundreds of the King's
soldiers taken at Naseby were sent to relieve Youghal, but the curious
experiment was hardly successful, for when provisions ran short they
deserted. 'I could wish,' writes a zealous Protestant, 'no more might
be sent over. They are brutes, void of reason or understanding, or
they would never hasten so much to the herd of unclean beasts.' Some
of them, however, might have taken the oath of allegiance devised for
the benefit of Protestant Royalists, involving the independence of
the Irish Parliament and co-operation with 'the Confederate Catholics
(saving in the freedom of religion).' About the middle of July an
Irish vessel reached Nantes with the news that Youghal had fallen,
and that Castlehaven was on his way to Cork, but the wish was father
to the thought. Inchiquin sent some reinforcements from Kinsale, but
the _Duncannon_ frigate with many men was blown up in Youghal harbour
during an artillery duel with one of the Confederate batteries. After
this Youghal was effectively blockaded on both sides of the river, but
the besiegers never came to close quarters. At the beginning of October
Preston came with his army, but finding that in Munster he would be
only second to Castlehaven, went back in dudgeon to his own province,
leaving the country, as Bellings mildly puts it, 'much offended at the
unusual liberty the soldiers assumed in his return.' Youghal was no
longer in danger, having been relieved early in September by Broghill,
who brought over reinforcements from England. Inchiquin also was
able to send supplies from Cork and Kinsale, and the Parliamentary
Vice-Admiral Crowther commanded the sea. After Preston left him,
Castlehaven attempted to take the great island in Cork harbour, which
was of the highest importance to Inchiquin. The bridge at Belvelly
appears not to have been then in being, and the attempt to cross the
narrow channel failed, both horses and men sticking in the mud. After
some indecisive skirmishing in the direction of Blarney, Castlehaven
returned to Youghal, where he found his army dwindling away, and
disheartened by Preston's desertion. Those who remained were dispersed
into winter quarters, and Youghal was left to itself. So far as Munster
is concerned, this failure may be called the turning point of the
war.[76]

[Sidenote: Three presidents of Connaught.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde and the Scots.]

[Sidenote: Activity of Coote]

[Sidenote: Sligo taken, July 8]

[Sidenote: Battle of Sligo, October 17.]

[Sidenote: Four days later Rinuccini landed in Kerry.]

While Castlehaven was in Munster the Scots threatened Connaught, where
there were now virtually three provincial presidents--Lord Dillon
of Costello for the King, Sir Charles Coote for the Parliament, and
Archbishop Queely for the Kilkenny Confederacy. Ormonde steadfastly
abstaining from denouncing the Scots as rebels, for many who had taken
the Covenant were really Royalists, and those who had refused it were
still worse disposed to the Parliament, whose promises of help had not
been kept. The hard treatment of the King at Uxbridge and Montrose's
successes in Scotland had a great effect in Ulster, and for a moment
Ormonde thought it possible to unite the English and Scots forces
there under his own banner. The officers of the British forces in
Ulster--excluding Monro and the new Scots--met at Antrim on May 17 and
agreed to receive commissioners from the Parliament. They proposed, in
spite of all the misery they had undergone, to continue the war until
the conclusion of a safe and honourable peace by consent of King and
Parliament, but, they significantly added, they 'called heaven and
earth to witness that it was not their fault, if they were forced to
take any other way whatever for their preservation and subsistence.'
Five days before this Coote, who was in England, received a commission
as President of Connaught. He hurried over to Ireland, and the presence
of so resolute an officer with the necessary authority soon changed the
aspect of affairs. First he entered his province at Ballinasloe and
ravaged the country almost up to Galway. His next thought was to take
Sligo, which was held by Teige O'Connor with a colonel's commission
from the Confederates. Four thousand foot and 500 horse assembled
at Augher in Tyrone on June 17, consisting both of English and old
Scots, and battering guns were sent to Sligo by sea. At the instance
of Clanricarde, Ormonde gave a commission to Lord Taaffe, authorising
him to raise troops and resist all who invaded Connaught in breach
of the cessation, and Lord-President Dillon was directed to use his
services in the last resort; but the appointment was ineffectual for
the immediate purpose. Ten days later cannon were brought to bear upon
Sligo Castle, and O'Connor surrendered. The town was defended a little
longer, but was carried by assault with great slaughter. The Irish
accounts say that men, women, and children were killed after quarter
had been promised, 'so as never a man escaped but two men and two
women'; but these charges were generally made by both sides during the
war, and it is not always possible to test them. The Sligo district
was now at the mercy of Sir Frederick Hamilton and his allies, but
recruits flocked to Taaffe's standard in considerable numbers, and he
turned his attention to Roscommon. Tulsk was taken by storm, and Major
Robert Ormsby, a redoubtable partisan of the Parliament, was taken
prisoner. Carrigdrumrusk and Boyle also fell, and then Lord Taaffe was
recalled to Dublin. The chief authority in Connaught was for a short
time in Archbishop Queely's hands, but Major Luke Taaffe appears to
have commanded the force which attempted to recover Sligo in October.
A priest is out of place at the head of any army, and probably some
of the evils attending a divided command were felt. At all events a
very bad look-out was kept. On October 17 a cavalry detachment from
Sir Robert Stewart's army, under Lord Coloony and another Coote, fell
upon the Irish and put them to flight. Sir Frederick Hamilton came up
in time to take part in the pursuit, and there was great slaughter.
Archbishop Queely was killed, and upon him was found the copy of the
Glamorgan treaty which played so important a part.[77]

[Sidenote: The nuncio Rinuccini.]

[Sidenote: His instructions.]

[Sidenote: The Curia imperfectly informed.]

[Sidenote: Scope of the nuncio's mission]

Giovanni Battista Rinuccini was of a good old Florentine family, and
had been carefully educated. He was in his fifty-third year, and had
been Bishop of Fermo since 1625. In 1631 he refused the archbishopric
of Florence, telling the Grand Duke Ferdinand II. that he was too much
attached to his flock to leave them. When the Irish Confederacy begged
for a regular nuncio, Luigi Omodei, afterwards a cardinal, was first
chosen, but passed over as a Spanish subject, whose appointment might
be disagreeable to France. This was the reason given, and it seems
sufficient, but according to Bellings Rinuccini was preferred to please
Ferdinand, and that the revenues of Fermo might be applied for a time
in liquidation of the bishop's debts. He was given almost unlimited
ecclesiastical authority and patronage in Ireland, with power to visit
all monasteries and nunneries, even exempt jurisdictions, and to settle
disputes between the various orders. He was directed to be chiefly
guided by the advice of archbishop Queely and Bishop Emer Macmahon,
and he was to establish the Tridentine decrees firmly. With regard to
church lands in lay hands, he was to use his own discretion, treating
each case on its merits, and giving grants or leases as he thought
best, but always with the proviso that a sufficient part of the profits
should be retained for the support of the clergy. About ecclesiastical
matters in Ireland the Roman court was very well informed, Luke Wadding
being at hand to answer every question. But political affairs were less
well understood. Rinuccini was told, for instance, that the Parliament
had 'bound themselves by a sacrilegious oath to maintain and defend
what they called the true reformed Protestant religion against all
Popish inventions and innovations, and determined to extinguish every
spark of the Catholic religion, by extirpating all who adhered to that
faith, not only in England and Scotland, but even in Ireland. This
dreadful sentence came to the knowledge of the Irish at a time when
four thousand men were in arms, who had been levied for the service of
the King of Spain, but were then detained in Ireland by order of the
Parliament.' The detention of the troops was indeed one great cause of
the outbreak in 1641, but the men had been levied originally not for
any foreign prince, but to enable Charles and Strafford to crush the
English Parliament and their Scots allies. Parliament was undoubtedly
ready to oppress the Roman Catholics, but there is no evidence of any
intention to extirpate them. The friars persuaded the people that
this had been determined on, and the argument was too convenient to
be neglected. The main object of Rinuccini's mission was to 'restore
and re-establish the public exercise of the Catholic religion in
the island of Ireland, and further to lead her people, if not as
tributaries to the Holy See, such as they were five centuries ago, to
subject themselves to the mild yoke of the Pontiff, at least in all
spiritual affairs--thus to gain over souls innumerable to the glories
of Paradise.'[78]

[Sidenote: Opinion held of Ormonde.]

[Sidenote: The Queen distrusted,]

[Sidenote: as well as the King.]

The nuncio was informed that the cessation and its various renewals
had done no good, and that peace was unlikely because Ormonde would
'never yield save by force to the wishes of the Catholics.' The Lord
Lieutenant's Protestantism was sincere, but in Rinuccini's secret
instruction a lingering hope is expressed that he might be gained over,
perhaps through the Queen or 'any particular predilection of which
advantage might be taken.' He had one predilection, the supremacy of
the Crown in Church and State. The same secret instructions declared
that Henrietta Maria must be kept out of Ireland, because Royalist
heretics would flock round her and make the Irish suspicious, and
because queens are expensive people to maintain. The Pope would give
no help to the faithful in England except on condition that all
disabilities affecting them should be taken away, the oath of supremacy
abolished, and no peace made until these concessions were confirmed by
Parliament. 'To secure these conditions all the fortresses in Ireland
must be put into the hands of English and Irish Catholics, because
without some such pledge, their Majesties' promises can not be depended
on.' No Irish army was to be landed in England if of less force than
10,000 men, 'who may be able to defend themselves without danger of
being cut to pieces by the English who serve under the King ... the
Irish Catholics are so hated by the English Protestants that they would
be in constant danger of treachery, if marching with cavalry, commanded
by Protestant officers,' and therefore the provision of a body of
English Catholic cavalry proportionate to the Irish infantry was a
condition precedent to the latter serving in England, and there is much
more of the same kind. Had Charles known what ideas prevailed at Rome
there would have been no Glamorgan treaty, no royal letters to the Pope
or nuncio, and very probably no battle of Naseby.[79]

[Sidenote: The nuncio's journey to Paris.]

[Sidenote: French parties.]

[Sidenote: Effects of Naseby.]

[Sidenote: Attitude of Mazarin and Henrietta Maria.]

Rinuccini travelled by Florence and Genoa, where the Doge's attentions
much delighted him, to Marseilles, and thence by Lyons, where the
cardinal archbishop was barely civil, and he reached Paris at the
end of the third week in May. He had strict orders not to linger
long in the French capital, 'lest the ill-affected should warn the
Parliament of the enterprise.' They were not likely to be ignorant,
for the English merchants at Leghorn had plotted to intercept him at
sea between Genoa and Cannes. He carried with him the golden rose,
which was a dead secret, and he was ordered not to deliver it to Anne
of Austria unless he was sure that it would be well received. There
was some ill-feeling on account of the Pope's late refusal to make
Mazarin's brother a cardinal, and this was increased by the mistake
of a secretary who infringed diplomatic usage by neglecting to inform
the nuncio at Paris of Rinuccini's mission. The refusal to give up
Beaupuis, who was implicated in the conspiracy of the _Importants_,
and had been arrested at Rome at the French queen's instance, made
matters worse, and Rinuccini soon determined not to offer the rose,
which would probably be refused under the circumstances. The Irish
flocked to the nuncio with requests and advice, but the French were not
enthusiastic. The Duke of Orleans, indeed, and the Prince of Condé,
were friendly, the latter expressing the most extravagant devotion to
the Holy See, but Mazarin was merely smooth and cautious. Jealousy
of Spain was much more apparent in Court circles than sympathy with
Ireland, but the devout Duke of Ventadour promoted a subscription of
100,000 crowns. After the news of Naseby the French became cooler than
ever, but Henrietta Maria begged Rinuccini to bring about peace between
the Irish, saying that she was empowered to do this by her husband. The
persons trusted by her in the matter were the Jesuit O'Hartegan, whom
Charles considered a knave; Bellings, who had reached Paris soon after
the nuncio; and the inevitable Jermyn. Scarampi in the meantime was
writing from Ireland that 'the peace, if concluded, would be fatal.'
Rinuccini's long stay in France was so far favourable to Scarampi's
views that the Confederates were unwilling to conclude anything until
he arrived, and in the meantime the King's necessities grew more
pressing. 'I have observed,' says the nuncio, 'that many in France are
anxious to assist the King of England, but would rather it should be by
the help of others, and consequently they would greatly like he should
be aided by the Irish. Mazarin, who made some difficulty about an
audience, gave vague promises, but was very cautious. Henrietta Maria
offered to see Rinuccini privately, but he declined anything short of
an official reception. It is perhaps true that she tried to prevent
him from going to Ireland, for Scarampi showed from her letters that
she was 'always ready to treat of peace without one word concerning
religion,' and indeed it was quite impossible for her to act so as to
alienate Protestant Royalists. It was equally impossible for her to
please all parties.[80]

[Sidenote: Rinuccini leaves Paris.]

[Sidenote: The voyage to Ireland.]

[Sidenote: The nuncio lands in Kerry, October 11/21]

[Sidenote: The journey to Limerick.]

[Sidenote: Reception at Kilkenny.]

Bellings, who is a very hostile witness, says Rinuccini disliked the
idea of Ireland, and tried to get himself appointed nuncio to France
instead of Monsignor dei Bagni, and Mazarin seems to have been of the
same opinion. However that may be, it is certain that he lingered for
more than three months in Paris, and that he was severely reprimanded
by the Pope for doing so without showing a sufficient reason to vary
his original instructions on that point. At the date of that reproof
he had got as far as Tours on his way to the coast. He succeeded in
wringing 25,000 crowns from Mazarin, and persuaded Bellings to go to
Flanders in the hope of preventing him from getting first to Ireland.
O'Hartegan had letters in his possession which showed that Charles was
trying to use the Irish for his own purposes, and had taken care that
they should be known in Ireland, his object being to prevent any peace
without extraordinary securities. Rinuccini sailed at last from the
island of Rhé, more than six months after leaving Florence, accompanied
by Bellings and about twenty Italians, of whom the most remarkable was
Massari, Dean of Fermo. A nephew of the great Spinola, who soon died
at Kilkenny, was sent before to explain or excuse the delay. There had
been much difficulty about shipping, but the frigate _San Pietro_ was
obtained with Mazarin's money. The cardinal said the French flag would
protect all on board, but this turned out not to be the case. Rinuccini
carried with him a considerable sum in specie and a large quantity of
arms purchased in France, a consignment of swords, pistols, and muskets
with 20,000 pounds of powder having preceded him to Ireland. The total
amount received from Rome and from Mazarin was about 200,000 dollars,
and of this nearly one-half had been laid out in arms and other warlike
material. At sea the nuncio was chased first by an English squadron
and afterwards by Plunket, a notorious rover or pirate, who, having
become 'a Puritan,' was trusted by the English Parliament. Superior
speed averted the first danger, but Plunket would have succeeded had
not a fire broken out in his galley. 'The frigate,' says Rinuccini,
'was dedicated to St. Peter, whose gilded image was placed at the poop
... and truly I see the hand of the Saint in the miraculous issue
of this pursuit.' In spite of this it was thought too dangerous to
approach Waterford, and after six days at sea the _San Pietro_ at
last found shelter in Kenmare bay. The nuncio's first letters are
dated from Ardtully, about four miles to the eastward of Kenmare. 'And
here,' he writes, 'I may give your Eminence another proof of the Divine
providence towards me in having discovered and touched land on October
21 and 22, which seem to be consecrated to an archbishop of Fermo, as
on the 21st my Church celebrates the feast of Saint Mabel, one of the
11,000 virgins, whose head we have at Fermo, and whom we believe on no
slight grounds to have been of Irish birth; while on the 22nd we also
celebrate the martyrdom of St. Philip, Bishop of Fermo.... My first
lodging was in a shepherd's hut, in which animals also took shelter.'
The arms were temporarily stored in Ardtully Castle, and to avoid
Inchiquin, Rinuccini proceeded by Macroom and Millstreet through the
mountains to Limerick. The ruggedness of the roads and the steepness
of the passes were, he says, indescribable, but the faithful flocked
to meet him, and Ormonde's brother Richard, specially sent by the
Supreme Council, was among those who escorted him. At Limerick he found
Scarampi, who had succeeded in making the hitherto neutral city declare
itself, and heard of Archbishop Queely's death. He reached Kilkenny
on November 12, and was received with much pomp, which he evidently
enjoyed. The Supreme Council held a special sitting in the Castle, and
the nuncio had a chair covered with 'red damask enriched with gold and
handsomer than the president's,' but Mountgarret did not leave his
place either at the beginning or end of the ceremony. The arrangements
were made by Bellings, who would be sure to preserve the dignity of the
civil power.'[81]

FOOTNOTES:

[74] Castlehaven's summons to Cappoquin is dated April 14, 1645,
_Youghal Council Book_, 552. Mitchelstown fell May 7 or 8, _ib._ lii.
Castlehaven's _Memoirs_, 54-56. For Castlehaven's effort to make his
soldiers respect capitulations, see _ib._ 61. _Bellings_, iv. 8.
Writing to the Parliament, Broghill says Colonel 'Ridgway, though
drunk, killed nine men that day with his own hand. His drunkenness
was owing to two tumblers of ryley ale, which he had from the Irish
sutler'--Smith's _Cork_, ed. Day, ii. 88.

[75] Smith's _Cork_, ed. Day, i. 289, ii. 87, where the Egmont MS.
is cited; _Bellings_, iv. 8-11; Castlehaven's _Memoirs_, pp. 58-60;
Castlehaven to the Supreme Council, June 17, 1645, in _Confederation
and War_, ii. 281-4. Lady Broghill was Lady Margaret Howard, daughter
of the second Earl of Suffolk, and is supposed to have been the heroine
of Suckling's delightful lines, 'I tell thee, Dick, where I have been,'
&c.

[76] Rinuccini, _Embassy_, p. 45; Broghill's _Letter-book_, Additional
MS. 25, 287; _Bellings_, iv. 11-16; Castlehaven to the Supreme Council,
June 17, 1675, in _Confederation and War_, iv. 281. As to the bad
relations between Preston and Castlehaven, Bellings agrees with the
_Aphorismical Discovery_, i. 196: 'Two generals with unsubordinate
power in one and the same army, neither obeying the other, or either
said by a council of war.' _Youghal Council Book_, lii.

[77] Carte's _Ormonde_, i. 54; _Confederation and War_, iv. 353;
_Bellings_, iv. 16; _Aphorismical Discovery_, i. 93. The authorities
are collected in the two modern histories of Sligo by Archdeacon
O'Rorke and Colonel Wood-Martin. Scarampi wrote: 'Posteaquam se pactis
dediderant, occiderunt barbare præsidium nostrum circa ducentorum
militum necnon omnes pueros et mulieres'--_Spicilegium Ossoriense_, i.
293. The Irish Cabinet containing the captured papers is in Husband's
_Collection_, p. 782, reprinted in _Harl. Misc._ v. 485, and in _Somers
Tracts_, v. 542. _Good News from Ireland_, communicated to Parliament,
January 12, 1645-6, and printed by authority, January 15. As to Coote's
first movements, Clanricarde to Ormonde, May 6, _Carte MSS._ vol.
lxiii. f. 443.

[78] Papal brief of March 15, 1645 (Latin), in _Embassy in Ireland_,
xiii. Instructions to Rinuccini, _ib._ xxvii.

[79] Secret Instructions to Rinuccini in _Embassy_, li.; Memoranda for
him, _ib._ lvii.

[80] _Embassy in Ireland_, pp. 8-52, particularly Rinuccini's letters
of August 4 and 11; Scarampi's letter of May 8, _ib._ 553; and of July
14, in _Spicilegium Ossoriense_, i. 292; _Aphorismical Discovery_, i.
91.

[81] Rinuccini's _Embassy_, p. 90; _Bellings_, iv. 5-7. See also the
translation of a paper preserved at Rome, reprinted in appendix to
Meehan's _Confederation_, from the _Dublin Review_ for 1845.




CHAPTER XXVII

THE ORMONDE PEACE, 1646


[Sidenote: Glamorgan and the nuncio.]

[Sidenote: Digby in Dublin.]

[Sidenote: Rinuccini and the Confederates not in accord.]

[Sidenote: Attitude of Henrietta Maria.]

While at Rochelle waiting for his ship, Rinuccini had seen Geoffrey
Baron, treasurer of the Confederation, who told him that no peace had
yet been made in Ireland, and who brought a letter from Glamorgan.
Baron, 'a cavalier of excellent countenance and very affable manner,'
was on his way to Paris to succeed O'Hartegan, who seems to have
returned to Ireland a little later. Glamorgan returned from Dublin
to Kilkenny one week after the nuncio's arrival, and in due course
delivered the King's letter to him. Of that to the Pope he only showed
the address, but he disclosed the contents of two 'patents in which
the King gives him secret but full powers to conclude a peace with the
Irish, on whatever terms he thinks advisable.' In the meantime Lord
Digby, who bore the now empty title of principal secretary of state,
had arrived in Dublin. It was characteristic of Charles's diplomacy
that his English minister was even more ignorant of Glamorgan's
business than his Irish viceroy. Glamorgan was sanguine that the nuncio
would agree to everything required; but Ormonde calls him 'the Italian
bishop,' and an 'unbidden guest,' which he would not have done had he
known of the King's letter to him. Rinuccini found that the majority of
the Confederates were inclined to accept Ormonde's political articles,
and to leave the religious question for later consideration. Noblemen
and lawyers saw plainly enough that the King could not grant what would
satisfy the Pope without making his position in England hopeless, and
they wished to save their properties with the hope of later concessions
in church matters. The certain ruin of the royal cause was the worst
thing that could happen, for from the Parliament nothing but evil was
to be expected. Some, says Rinuccini, 'audaciously declare that the
Catholic interest could not fail to prosper under the government of a
nobleman so warmly attached to the cause of Ireland as the Marquis of
Ormonde; others are not ashamed to say that it is sufficient to perform
the Catholic service in secret, provided it can be done in safety, and
that to expect more than this from the King, restricted as he is at the
present moment in his liberty, would be open injustice; and finally,
that it is not lawful to contend with him in this cause. No one holds
forth more loudly in favour of this doctrine than that priest Leyburn
sent here six months ago by the Queen, and whose words almost amount to
sedition.' Leyburn's mission was known and feared at Rome, where it was
well understood that Henrietta Maria was willing to make peace 'without
one word concerning religion,' and considered 'the whole well-being of
the Catholics to depend on peace with the Protestants.' A still greater
obstacle to peace on Rinuccini's terms was the personal popularity of
Ormonde, and the fact that the Council 'were mostly relations, friends,
clients, or dependants of his house.'[82]

[Sidenote: Arrest of Glamorgan.]

[Sidenote: Examination of Glamorgan.]

[Sidenote: His answer.]

[Sidenote: The Irish Government horror-struck.]

A copy of the Glamorgan treaty came into Ormonde's hands, and was shown
to Digby, who was in Dublin before the end of November. Glamorgan
himself reached the Irish capital on Christmas Eve, and on St.
Stephen's Day he was arrested at Digby's instance, and closely confined
to the Castle, 'yet with needful attendance and accommodation,' and
not as Rinuccini heard, 'without even a servant left to attend him.'
The prisoner being brought before the Council, Digby produced copies
of the treaty, of the 'pretended authority' of March 12, 1644-5, and
of the oath taken by Glamorgan. The King complained at this time that
Ormonde had been long without writing, the fact probably being that
he knew just enough to make him cautious and not enough to enable
him to advise. The fatal papers were read to the Irish Council, Digby
declaring that the commission was either forged or obtained by fraud,
or at the very least limited by other instructions. It was 'destructive
both to his regality and religion,' and such as the King would
never grant to save his Crown or life, or the lives of his wife and
children. Next day Glamorgan was examined on interrogatories, framed
so as to shield Charles while accumulating blame upon his agent. It
was not sought to prove that he had forged the King's commissions of
January 12 and March 12, for probably both Ormonde and Digby knew in
their hearts that they were genuine, though they had not seen them
before the conclusion of the treaty. The fourth interrogatory was as
follows: 'Did your lordship grant, conclude, and agree, on the behalf
of his Majesty, his heirs and successors ... that the Roman Catholic
clergy of Ireland should and might from thenceforth for ever hold and
enjoy all and every such lands, tenements, tithes, and hereditaments
whatsoever by them respectively enjoyed within this kingdom, or by
them possessed at any time since October 23, 1641, and all other such
lands, tenements, tithes, and hereditaments belonging to the clergy
within this kingdom, other than such as are now actually enjoyed by his
Majesty's Protestant clergy?' In reply Glamorgan acknowledged the words
of the treaty, while considering them 'not obligatory to his Majesty.'
He was afterwards allowed to add the words 'and yet without any just
blemish of my honour, my honesty, or my conscience.' At the end of four
days Glamorgan was released from close imprisonment, but confined to
the walls of the Castle for more than three weeks longer. In reporting
to the King the Lord Lieutenant and Council confess that they were
'stricken with most wonderful horror and astonishment to find so sacred
a majesty so highly scandalled and dishonoured.' And, said Ormonde for
himself, 'it is manifest that the retarding of the peace is no way
on the part of me the Lieutenant, but ought rather to be attributed
to that underhand dealing of the said Earl, whereby that party have
been encouraged to hope for such concessions as they themselves had
before receded from, as wanting confidence to insist on matters so
unreasonable.' It was pointed out that Glamorgan had mis-recited
the commission authorising Ormonde to treat for peace, that he had
acknowledged Mountgarret's 'usurped style and title' as Lord President
of the Supreme Council, and that 'he had strangely misinterpreted the
facts of the case when he discerned the alacrity and cheerfulness of
the said Catholics to embrace honourable conditions of peace.' They had
shown their loyalty by 'entertaining a nuncio from the Pope,' and at
the same time negotiating with a messenger from the King of Spain, 'and
how comely it is that such treaty with foreigners should be held at the
same time that they are in treaty with his Majesty's commissioners we
humbly submit to his Majesty's high wisdom.'[83]

[Sidenote: Charles repudiates Glamorgan.]

[Sidenote: Negotiations for peace interrupted.]

[Sidenote: Glamorgan released on bail.]

As soon as Charles heard of the proceedings in Dublin, he proceeded
characteristically to repudiate Glamorgan, to whom, he said, he had
given a commission to raise and employ troops, 'and to that purpose
only.' All his other doings were without warrant, and 'framed of his
own head.' For himself the King was quite ready to go to London and to
confer with the two Houses on the basis of making no peace in Ireland
without their consent. Failing such a conference, Ormonde was to make
a treaty which would preserve the Irish Protestants and the Crown,
without being derogatory to the King's honour and public professions.
With chivalrous loyalty, which cannot be too much commended, Glamorgan
kept silence under this undeserved rebuke. He had already shown Ormonde
the original and given him an attested copy of a document which was
probably the patent of April 1, 1644, strictly charging him to keep
it secret. It might be useful to the Lord Lieutenant for his 'future
warrantry to his Majesty,' but publication would not be for the King's
service. Ormonde sent a copy of this paper to the King, describing it
as 'of an extraordinary nature and way of penning,' but expressing
no doubts of its genuineness. The Supreme Council at Kilkenny said
negotiations could not go on nor Chester be relieved until 'a nobleman,
so highly esteemed by the nation, and chosen general of that army
by the unanimous vote of the Confederate Catholics, were released.'
To Ormonde Charles averred 'on the word of a Christian' that he
never intended Glamorgan to do anything without his approbation. A
prosecution of the Earl was necessary to clear his Majesty's honour,
but he had been actuated by mistaken zeal. The King was quite satisfied
with the Lord Lieutenant, and begged him not to sentence Glamorgan,
unless he found it too dangerous not to do so. Glamorgan was liberated
after nearly a month's detention, but bound to appear within thirty
days after summons, bail being given for 40,000_l._, half on his own
part and half on that of the Earls of Clanricarde and Kildare. Both the
sureties had houses in Dame Street, where service was declared good.
Glamorgan went back to Kilkenny, entering the town late 'to avoid the
vanity' of popular demonstrations in his favour, and Rinuccini was
rather sorry to see him, because his return removed one obstacle to the
conclusion of peace. The interest of Rome was to continue the war, and
the nuncio pleaded hard for delay, at least until the articles came to
which the Pope had agreed.[84]

[Sidenote: Mission of Sir Kenelm Digby.]

[Sidenote: The Queen's religion.]

[Sidenote: The broken reed to be sacrificed.]

In the spring of 1645 Henrietta Maria sent Sir Kenelm Digby to Rome.
The choice of this fantastic genius was not a happy one, and the
cool-headed Italians soon found that he was not a serious diplomatist.
He could show no authority from the King, and that derived from an
exiled Queen, who was hated in England and not much loved in Ireland,
hardly afforded security enough. He received an order for 20,000
Roman crowns to be laid out in munitions of war, and carried with him
articles to which he undertook to get the royal consent. He left Rome
in December for Paris, where he was to see the Queen. After that he
proposed to visit the King in England and the nuncio in Ireland. He
was at Nantes at the end of January and on the point of sailing for
Ireland, but returned to Paris instead, whence he made his way back to
Rome a few months later. 'Let him say what he will,' wrote Bonaventure
Barron to Wadding, 'this is certainly true that excepting going to
mass, the Queen has no other religion than the Lord Jermyn's, and
that both are all agreeing in this, that while there is any hope of
relieving the King by a Protestant, a Catholic shall never be admitted
to his succour, and while they think the Scots can do it, the Irish
shall never be admitted to a communication in the work, much less to
any good conditions for our nation, which is equally hated by the King,
Parliament, Scots, Queen, and Jermyn.' This was written in May, after
Charles had left Oxford on that sad journey which ended in the Scotch
camp, but the learned Franciscan was well informed, and had perhaps
seen some of the letters received by the Queen. In January the King had
told his wife that Ireland 'must at all times be sacrificed to save the
crown of England, Montreuil assuring me that France, rather than fail,
will assist me in satisfying the Scots' arrears.' His later letters to
her are in the same spirit, and with some reason from his own point of
view, he declares the Irish wanting in generosity. Colepepper about the
same time pronounced Ireland to be a broken reed, and the same simile
was applied at Rome to the heretics upon whom King and Queen alike were
disposed to lean.[85]

[Sidenote: Sir Kenelm Digby's treaty.]

[Sidenote: Protestants to be excluded from office.]

[Sidenote: An Irish invasion of England.]

[Sidenote: The nuncio throws over Glamorgan,]

[Sidenote: who gives up his treaty.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde's reflections on the business.]

A copy of the articles agreed to with Digby was sent to Rinuccini
early in November 1645, and reached him in due course. This paper
was unsigned, and differed in some respects from the formally
authenticated version entrusted to Sir Kenelm himself, but the main
points were the same. Seven articles applied to Ireland, and by
them the King was required to grant the free and public exercise of
the Roman Catholic religion, and to restore the hierarchy, with all
churches and church property. The abbey lands 'pretended' to have been
confirmed to lay grantees by Cardinal Pole were to be left to a free
Parliament, and so were the bishoprics in the King's hands. All penal
laws passed since 'the defection of Henry VIII.' were to be first
abrogated by the King and then repealed by a free Irish Parliament,
'independent of that of England.' The viceroy and all the chief
placeholders were to be Catholics, and all towns, including Dublin,
to be placed in Catholic hands, and the King was to join his forces
with those of the Confederate Catholics so as to drive the Scots and
the Parliamentarians out of Ireland. When the King had done these
things, 'and whatever else Monsignor Rinuccini may add to or alter in
these articles,' the Pope would give the Queen 100,000 Roman crowns.
In England all penal laws were to be repealed and all disabilities
removed, and the kingdom was to be invaded by 12,000 infantry under
Irish chiefs, who were to be assisted by at least 2,500 English cavalry
with Catholic officers. As soon as a landing and junction had been
effected the Pope was to pay his money in twelve monthly instalments,
a like sum to be paid in the second and third year if circumstances
justified it. By an article added afterwards six months were given
for the ratification of the Irish articles, and ten for the English,
'after which his Holiness will not be bound by his present promise.'
Rinuccini received this document in February while the General Assembly
was sitting at Kilkenny. Glamorgan, not without some wry faces and
much to the disgust of his friends, at once agreed to abandon his own
treaty and to adopt Sir Kenelm Digby's. It was an excuse for delay that
the original had not yet come to hand, and that was the nuncio's main
object. Glamorgan was reminded that he had exceeded his instructions,
that he had talked at Dublin about what he had orders to keep secret,
that he had spoken of using an Irish army to force the King's hand,
and in short that he could only cast off his load of responsibility
by submitting to the Pope. It was evident that he could do nothing by
himself, and that his promises had melted into air, 'Lord Digby having
declared that the Protestants would rather throw the King out of window
than permit his Majesty to confirm them.' Speaking in the assembly
Rinuccini said that Glamorgan's treaty was worthless because its
confirmation depended on the will of another, and that the Roman treaty
was every way preferable. Both were really waste paper, and everyone
at Kilkenny knew it except the clergy and the clericals. Ormonde
reminded Glamorgan that the chief object of the peace was to relieve
Chester, and that could not be done unless troops were sent at once.
To this the poor man answered that the Queen's powerful hand effaced
the 'clandestine hopes' of his own endeavours. A burnt child, he said,
dreads the fire, and he would most willingly leave treaty-making to the
Lord Lieutenant, who could not as 'a great and public minister of State
and real Protestant' appear publicly, but who might give a hint to his
friends at Kilkenny to deal with the nuncio. For himself he proposed
to raise 100,000_l._ in Catholic countries, which was impossible if
the Pope were 'irritated,' or the nuncio 'disgusted.' Rinuccini, he
added, had agreed to let 3000 men go at once for the relief of Chester,
and he believed shipping could be readily had. When this was written
Chester had fallen, and a rumour had reached Ormonde when he penned
an answer in his best manner. 'My Lord,' he said, 'my affections and
interests are so tied to his Majesty's cause that it were madness in me
to disgust any man that hath power and inclination to relieve him, in
the sad condition he is in, and therefore your Lordship may securely
go on in the ways you have proposed to yourself to serve the King
without fear of interruption from me, or so much as inquiring into the
means you work by.' For himself he had a commission to treat with the
Confederates, and he intended to do so without venturing 'upon any new
negotiation foreign to the powers he had received.' In the meantime
the proposed succours were likely to be too late.[86]

[Sidenote: Glamorgan's oath of fealty.]

[Sidenote: Conclusion of peace.]

Glamorgan was not satisfied with abandoning as worthless the treaty
which had cost him so much, he must needs swear fealty to the nuncio in
terms such as perhaps no other English layman has ever used. 'I swear,'
he wrote, 'to obey all your commands readily without reluctance and
with a joyful mind. I make this perpetual protestation on my bended
knees to your most illustrious and reverend lordship, not only as the
Pope's minister but also as a remarkable personage, and as witnesses
of the purity of my intentions I invoke the Blessed Virgin and all the
Saints of Paradise.' The result of this alliance was the consent of the
Supreme Council to prolong the cessation till May 1, so as to give time
for the arrival of Sir Kenelm Digby's original articles. Neither Digby
nor the documents ever reached Ireland, for the Queen did not choose
that they should, and peace was concluded with Ormonde on March 28,
on the understanding that the terms were not to be divulged until May
1, Rinuccini failing to get a further postponement. 'I command you,'
Charles had written, 'to conclude a peace with the Irish, whatever it
cost; so that my Protestant subjects there may be secure, and my regal
authority preserved. But for all this, you are to make the best bargain
you can, and not to discover your enlargement of power till you needs
must.' This was early in 1645. Six months later, after Naseby, the King
'absolutely and without reply,' commanded Ormonde to make the peace,
with the consent of his Council if possible, but to make it anyhow.
The contracting parties were Ormonde alone on the King's part and the
following commissioners for the Confederate Catholics: Ormonde's uncle,
Viscount Mountgarret, and his brother-in-law, Viscount Muskerry, Sir
Robert Talbot, Tyrconnel's eldest brother; Colonel Dermot O'Brien;
Patrick Darcy of Plattin; Geoffrey Brown and John Dillon, two lawyers
who were designated as future judges. The conditions of a peace
which was no peace might seem hardly worth dwelling on, but that
they mark clearly the furthest point to which Charles would openly,
if not altogether willingly, go in his dealings with the Irish Roman
Catholics. A few weeks after the peace was signed, and before it was
published, he ceased to be a free agent, and the desperate expedients
of a prisoner scarcely count. The articles occupy twenty-two printed
pages, but the principal points may be clearly brought out in a short
abstract.

[Sidenote: Summary of the articles.]

1. The oath of supremacy to be abolished, so far as concerns Roman
Catholics, in the next Irish Parliament; and an oath of allegiance
substituted. All statutory penalties and disabilities to be repealed
by the same Act. 'That his Majesty's said Roman Catholic subjects be
referred to his Majesty's gracious favour and further concessions.'

2. An Irish Parliament to be held before November 30, when all the
articles were to be performed by law, the King undertaking to make no
alterations under Poynings' Act.

3. All legal acts done against Roman Catholics since August 7, 1641, to
be vacated. Debts to remain as they stood before the outbreak.

6. Titles to land to be confirmed under the graces of 1628.

7. All educational disabilities affecting Roman Catholics to be removed.

8. All offices, civil and military, to be open to Roman Catholics.

9. The Court of Wards to be abolished on payment of 12,000_l._

10, 11. Peers without estates in Ireland to have no votes. Irish
Parliament to be as independent as it ever had been.

12. Titles to land to be decided by law and not by the Council.

13. Acts in restraint of trade to be repealed.

14. Viceroys to hold for a limited term of years and not to acquire
estates.

15. An Act of oblivion for all offences civil and criminal since
October 23, 1641, with some exceptions to be hereafter specified.

16. Officials and judges to have no interest in the revenue.

17. Monopolies abolished.

18. To regulate the court of Castle-chamber.

19. 'That two Acts lately passed in this kingdom, prohibiting the
ploughing with horses by the tail, and the other prohibiting the
burning of oats in the straw, be repealed.'

20. Breakers of the cessation or of this peace to be punished.

21, 22. Simplification of legal remedies.

23, 24. Quit-rents increased by Strafford to be reduced again.

25. Commissioners named to raise and transport to England 10,000 men
for the King's service, and to collect overdue taxes.

26, 27. Commissioners named to appoint to judicial offices until
Parliament meets, but without power to decide questions of title, and
no other judges to have power within the Confederate quarters.

28. The _status quo_ as to garrisons.

29. Further details as to taxation.

30. The judicial commissioners to have jurisdiction in every case,
including murder, arising since September 15, 1643.[87]

[Sidenote: Delay fatal to Charles.]

[Sidenote: Digby repulsed from Scilly.]

[Sidenote: The nuncio's opinion of Charles I.]

[Sidenote: Glamorgan's forlorn condition.]

[Sidenote: The peace proclaimed at Dublin, July 30, 1646.]

These articles when duly executed were placed in Clanricarde's hands,
to be kept secret until such time after May 1 as Ormonde might choose
for their publication. Before that day the Parliamentary fleets had
begun their summer cruises and the sea was entirely at their mercy.
Chester having fallen, it was almost out of the question to land
men in Wales. Six thousand of the promised troops were ready, and
orders were given for levying the remainder, but shipping could not
be provided, and there was no money either at Dublin or Kilkenny. The
attempt to put down the English people with Irish troops failed as it
had failed in the days of Strafford, and as it was destined to fail
in the days of Tyrconnel. In the meantime Lord Digby found a plan of
his own for bringing the Prince of Wales to Ireland and rallying round
him there all the forces opposed to the Parliament. Rinuccini dreaded
the success of this scheme, but it was not he who prevented it. Digby
sailed with two small frigates and 300 men to Scilly, where the Prince
remained from March 4 to April 16, but did not get there till after the
latter date. 'The men of the island,' wrote Plunket to Ormonde, 'put
themselves in arms and loudly cried that no Irish rebels should land
there, the Lord Digby thereupon parted thence with one frigate, and one
hundred of the men to Guernsey or Jersey.' The other frigate with the
remaining men returned to Waterford. According to Daniel O'Neill, the
King's principal secretary was 'drunk nine days out of ten with white
wine' during the preparation of his little expedition, which may have
had something to do with its being late. The Confederates depended
on Glamorgan's treaty for relief to their religion further than that
promised by Ormonde. It was true that both sets of articles depended
really upon the King's word and upon his ability to keep it, but as
professed Royalists they could not reject the first nor assume the
permanent absence of the second. Rinuccini, who had no duties except to
the Church, very rightly held that Charles's word was worth nothing,
and it was evident to him that if the royal power was destroyed in
England it could not long survive in Ireland without foreign help. The
King had justified the nuncio's opinion by repudiating Glamorgan, and
when this was known at Kilkenny he lost all credit, 'with the merchants
in particular, so that he really had not enough to live upon.' He
spoke to the French agent Dumoulin about leading the troops intended
for England into Louis XIV.'s service, but there was no chance of that
being allowed. The nuncio's position was strengthened by a royal
letter to Ormonde written from Newcastle under Scotch influence. 'We
think fit,' the King said, 'to require you to proceed no further in
treaty with the rebels nor to engage us upon conditions with them after
sight hereof'; the alleged motive being anxiety for the safety of the
Irish Protestants. This came to Ormonde's hands three months after the
signature of the Dublin peace. A very few days later Digby returned
from France, where a letter had been received from the King in which he
declared that he was no longer free, and that Ormonde was to proceed
as before. Digby accordingly publicly declared the Newcastle letter to
be a forgery or written under duress. This satisfied the Council, and
the peace was proclaimed in Dublin on July 30. On August 3 the Supreme
Council at Kilkenny followed suit. 'We require,' they wrote, 'the
above proclamation to be printed, and do order and require the same
to be published, and due obedience to be given thereunto by all the
Confederate Catholics of Ireland.'[88]

[Sidenote: Siege of Bunratty, March-July, 1646.]

[Sidenote: The castle in its grandeur]

[Sidenote: Fight at Sixmilebridge, April 1.]

Barnabas O'Brien, sixth Earl of Thomond, had endeavoured to stand
neutral during the early years of the war, and to live quietly in
Clare. As a Protestant his natural leaning was to Ormonde, who could
not protect him; and in October 1644 the Kilkenny assembly, treating
neutrals as enemies, ordered his tenants to pay no rent, and took steps
to sequestrate his vast estates for the benefit of the Confederacy.
Finding his position intolerable, Thomond surrendered Bunratty to
the Parliament in March 1646, and soon went himself to England. A
Parliamentary fleet under Penn lay in the Shannon, and there was no
difficulty about putting a garrison of 700 men under Colonel MacAdam
into Bunratty Castle, which lies upon the estuary of the Ogarney river.
It is now the most melancholy of ruins; but Rinuccini, who beheld it
in its days of grandeur, thought it the finest thing he had ever seen,
and Bellings's description bears him out. 'It is,' he says, 'a noble
structure, reputed strong when engines of battery were not so frequent,
and before time and experience had brought the art of taking in places
to perfection. On the south it hath the river of the Shannon, distant
from it about a mile of marsh and meadow ground. On the east it is
washed by the river which falling to the Shannon at the end of a goodly
plain, ebbs and flows with it. To the north at some distance from the
castle it is environed with an eminent ridge of earth, which bounds a
goodly park, save that it wanted the ornament of timber trees; it was
then stored with the largest deer in the kingdom.' Glamorgan, who was
now entirely in the nuncio's hands, went to Limerick and busied himself
about preparations for the recovery of Bunratty; but the garrison were
at first successful. A party of Irish, consisting of 120 horse and 300
foot, came from Sixmilebridge and burned a few houses, but were routed
by a sally and lost eighty men, their commander, Captain Magrath,
and his lieutenant, being taken prisoners. In the afternoon of the
same day the victors, amounting to fifty horse and 600 foot, went to
Sixmilebridge and attacked the Irish camp. About 1400 men were strongly
entrenched there, but were driven out and took to the woods. A few were
slain, but a more important success was the capture of 250 barrels of
meal, which supplied the garrison of Bunratty with bread for six weeks.
Next day they went as far as Ballyquin, where the Irish had first
encamped, burned a large store of corn, and returned with some plunder
to Bunratty. Magrath and his subaltern both died of their wounds and
were buried with military honours.

[Sidenote: Muskerry presses the siege.]

[Sidenote: Rinuccini joins the besiegers.]

[Sidenote: Bunratty capitulates, July 14.]

It was not till the middle of May that the Irish began to press the
siege by taking the outlying castles of Cappagh and Rossmanagher. The
works of Bunratty itself were strengthened by the labour and skill
of the sailors, but it became difficult to supply the garrison with
food and ammunition. The besiegers encamped in the park, where the
underwood supplied material for gabions and fascines, and ate the deer,
which they roasted with the dry wood of the palings. Muskerry arrived
at the end of the month, and after that the siege became closer.
Letters were received from Broghill, but no relief came. Rinuccini came
to Limerick about the middle of May, where he had the satisfaction
of superintending the rejoicings for Benburb, but he found that the
siege of Bunratty was likely to be raised for want of money to pay the
soldiers. There were frequent sallies from the garrison, but nothing
decisive on either side. The nuncio went himself to the camp at the
end of June with all that remained of the Pope's money, to which he
added some of his own, and the attack was after that pressed with more
vigour. Colonel MacAdam was killed by a stray round shot which came in
at a window, and his loss proved fatal to the defence. Eighteen bags of
money and some of Thomond's plate had been guarded by the commandant;
but this treasure was now divided among themselves by the officers
who found it, in spite of Penn's remonstrances. When Muskerry's men
succeeded in getting heavy guns down to the shore where the action of
the defenders was weak, ships could no longer lie near, and want of
provisions soon became felt. On July 14 the garrison capitulated, and
were carried off in Penn's boats. Rinuccini was satisfied that his
presence and assistance during the siege would cause 'the people to
recognise it as an apostolic undertaking,' and a _Te Deum_ was sung in
the cathedral, where ten captured colours were displayed.[89]

[Sidenote: Battle of Benburb, June 5, 1646.]

While Rinuccini was at Limerick, and before Bunratty was taken, O'Neill
gained his great victory at Benburb. The tidings were peculiarly
grateful to the nuncio, in that success was entirely due to the Ulster
Irish, and in no sense to the Supreme Council or to any who favoured
Ormonde's peace. And, moreover, the efficiency of O'Neill's army
was mainly due to the Pope's money, brought over and distributed by
Rinuccini himself.

[Sidenote: Monro plans an attack on Kilkenny.]

[Sidenote: Over-confidence of the Scots.]

[Sidenote: Owen Roe's speech.]

In the early summer of 1646 the Confederacy was so weakened by internal
dissensions that Monro thought it possible to take Kilkenny. It was
arranged that Sir Robert Stewart's army should enter Connaught while
he engaged O'Neill. In the event of both attacks being successful, he
could then march southwards without any great probability of meeting
an enemy that could stop him. He had 3400 foot 'effective under
arms,' with eleven troops of horse and six field pieces. Campbell
of Auchinbreck was left in command at Carrickfergus. The general's
nephew, Colonel George Monro, was to join him at Glaslough in Monaghan,
bringing 240 musketeers and three troops of horse from Coleraine. Monro
left the neighbourhood of Belfast on June 2, and spent the night of the
3rd at or near Dromore. On the following morning he detached a troop
of horse, under Daniel Monro, with orders to cross the Blackwater at
Benburb and meet his namesake at Dungannon. At Armagh Daniel learned
from a prisoner that O'Neill was concentrating his forces at Benburb,
and the fear lest George Monro should be cut off probably accounts for
the Scottish general's subsequent proceedings. The army spent the night
of the 4th at Hamilton's Bawn, and in the morning Monro went through
Armagh to view the bridges and ford at Benburb. Both are commanded by
high rocks crowned by Shane O'Neill's castle, and it was impossible
to attempt the passage in front of the Irish army. Monro then marched
to Caledon, where he crossed the Blackwater, doubled back on the left
bank, and faced the enemy late in the afternoon. After the long march
it would have been prudent to halt till the morning; and, moreover, sun
and wind were in the eyes of the Scots, but they were overconfident of
victory. 'All our army,' says Monro, 'foot and horse, did earnestly
covet fighting, which was impossible for me to gainstand without being
reproached of cowardice.' Sir James Turner, however, declared that his
greatest fault as a general was a tendency to underrate his enemy.
O'Neill had with him about 5000 men, including 500 horse, 'such as they
were,' and took up a position on hilly ground to the west of Benburb.
He detached the greater portion of his mounted men to intercept George
Monro, but they scarcely did more than neutralise that skilful leader.
The two armies met at Drumflugh, between the Oona brook and Benburb.
O'Neill made a short speech to his men, reminding them that they
were the ancient inhabitants of Ulster, professing the same faith as
those who first brought Christianity into Ireland. 'You have arms in
your hands,' he said, 'you are as numerous as they are; and now try
your valour and your strength on those that have banished you and now
resolve to destroy you bud and branch. So let your manhood be seen by
your push of pike; and I will engage, if you do so, by God's assistance
and the intercession of His blessed mother and all the holy saints in
heaven, that the day will be your own. Your word is _Sancta Maria_; and
so, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, advance, and give
not fire till you are within picket-length.'[90]

[Sidenote: The Scots completely defeated,]

[Sidenote: with great slaughter.]

[Sidenote: Monro's apology.]

[Sidenote: An old soldier's comments.]

The battle did not begin till about six in the evening, by which time
the sun was well in the eyes of the Scots. The wind was also against
them, and there were clouds of dust and smoke. Monro's guns were placed
on high ground, but they did little damage, the round shot going over
the heads of O'Neill's men as they descended into the plain, which
was full of bushes and scrubby timber. Monro's front was too narrow,
and there were no proper intervals for his rear divisions to come
out in front. So learned a general might have remembered something
about the Roman maniples. Overcrowding resulted in confusion, and
this was increased by a squadron of his own cavalry, 'consisting,'
as he says, 'for the most part of Irish riders, although under the
English command, who did not charge, but retreated disorderly through
our foot, making the enemies' horse for to follow them at least one
squadron.' He thought they were at least half traitors. The foot fought
on bravely till sunset, when they broke and fled. The majority sought
the neighbouring ford of the Blackwater, where Battleford Bridge now
is, and the slaughter there was frightful. Sir Phelim O'Neill, who
commanded the horse, specially charged his men to take no prisoners
and to give no quarter. Others fled towards Caledon, and many of them
were drowned in Knocknacloy Lake. Of those who crossed the river a
large number were killed in passing through the county of Armagh.
Most of the horse escaped with Monro, who acknowledges a loss of 500
or 600 men; but the Irish accounts say that from 3000 to 4000 bodies
were counted. A long train of carts followed the army, so that many
camp-followers were probably killed, and the truth is likely to be
somewhere between the two extremes. The Irish slain were under forty,
and the wounded under 250. George Monro got back to Coleraine without
the loss of a man. Monro's wig, cloak, sword, and cap fell into the
victor's hands with thirty-two colours and the standard of the cavalry.
Even those who escaped for the most part threw away their arms, which
enabled O'Neill to enrol fresh men. Lord Blayney, who commanded the
artillery, was killed, all his guns being taken. Lord Montgomery of
Ardes, who led the cavalry during the battle, was taken prisoner with
about twenty other officers. Monro's army was not annihilated, but it
was to a great extent disarmed, and ceased to be an aggressive force.
Over-confidence was certainly one main cause of his defeat. 'The Lord
of Hosts,' he says himself, 'had a controversy with us to rub shame
on our faces, as on other armies, till once we shall be humbled; for
a greater confidence did I never see.' The 'British Officer' agrees
that this was the chief cause of disaster; also mentioning the sun and
wind and the long march, and that the soldiers, who had had little
rest or refreshment since leaving Lisburn, stood to their arms for at
least five hours. Another reason, he adds, is 'that the Irish pikes
were longer by a foot or two than the Scottish pikes, and far better to
pierce, being four square and small, and the other pikes broad-headed,
which are the worst in the world. Withal to my knowledge, the soldiers,
I mean some that were not strong in the British army for his pike on a
windy day, would cut off a foot, and some two, of their pikes--which is
a damned thing to be suffered.'[91]

[Sidenote: Small results of the victory.]

[Sidenote: Rejoicings at Limerick,]

[Sidenote: and at Rome.]

[Sidenote: The nuncio's donative.]

Military authorities are agreed that the general who wins a great
victory ought to pursue his beaten enemy to the uttermost. One reason
why O'Neill did not do this may have been that he was afraid of Sir
Robert Stewart falling upon Tyrone in his absence; but he was a man of
few words, and it does not appear that he ever said as much. He raised
new regiments, which he armed with the spoils of victory, and waited
for orders from Kilkenny. Want of money was no doubt a cause of delay.
His appearance at Augher caused Stewart to retire towards Londonderry,
and O'Neill lay inactive, first at Tanderagee and then at Loughanlea in
Cavan. Four days after the battle he sent Boetius MacEgan, an eminent
Franciscan, to Limerick with a letter to Rinuccini, who was quite
certain that a miracle had taken place. The Jesuit O'Hartegan, who had
returned from France, followed with the captured colours, which were
carried in procession through Limerick to the cathedral. The people
filled the streets and windows, the _Te Deum_ was sung by the nuncio's
choir, and high mass afterwards by the Dean of Fermo in the presence of
four bishops and of the civic magistrates. When the news reached Rome,
Innocent X. attended at Santa Maria Maggiore and heard a _Te Deum_ sung
there also. Rinuccini was sure that if he had only money enough he
could make the greater part of Ireland obedient to the Pope. All his
letters declare that money would do almost everything in Ireland; but
it was a scarce commodity, and without it even the clergy could not
'keep the soldiers quiet and united.' The nuncio had still a little
left, and he despatched Dean Massari to Ulster, who gave three rials to
each soldier and larger sums to the officers. The donative was small,
but it tended to foster the notion that it was the nuncio's war, and
that little regard need be paid to the viceroy or to the Council at
Kilkenny, where Anglo-Irish influences were in the ascendant.

[Sidenote: Roscommon taken.]

[Sidenote: O'Neill forced to let his men plunder.]

Preston had also been successful in Connaught, but the capture of
Roscommon, though important, paled before the glories of Benburb.
Neither general was in a condition to attack Sligo. Preston had no
ammunition for a siege, no means of drawing his guns over the Curlew
hills, and no money to pay his men. Even the sums promised--for they
had not arrived at the end of July--were not enough to last for a week
on active service. The country was so wasted that everyone would have
to carry a month's provisions with him, and this could only be had
for ready money. Ormonde urged Preston to reduce Connaught before the
summer season slipped away, but admitted that little help in money
for the Leinster army could be expected from Leinster. Both Preston
and O'Neill offered Rinuccini to march on Dublin, looking no doubt to
him for the means; but he refused because Dumoulin, the French agent,
was there, lest the Pope might be embroiled with the Most Christian
King. The part of that province which bordered on Ulster was overrun
by O'Neill's men, who plundered all classes and creeds impartially, so
that they appeared as conquerors rather than allies. Ormonde attributed
it 'to the necessities imposed on General O'Neill for want of means to
go on or to keep his men in better order where he is.'[92]

[Sidenote: Rinuccini works against the peace.]

[Sidenote: The clergy at Waterford.]

[Sidenote: The peace not proclaimed at Waterford.]

Want of money and ill-feeling between the native and Anglo-Irish
notables prevented the greatest of Irish victories from having any
permanent results. Rinuccini left the Supreme Council at Limerick
under the impression that he would not object further to Ormonde's
peace, but he continued to counter-mine it while they despatched
Muskerry, who would have been more useful in Munster, to be present
at the proclamation in Dublin. Arriving at Waterford at the beginning
of August, the nuncio summoned the clergy to meet him there in order
to take steps for constituting a national synod. When he had got them
together, they immediately fell to debate the peace; and this had, no
doubt, been his real object. Scarampi, who had not yet sailed, was
authorised to write letters urging the municipalities of Limerick,
Cashel, Clonmel, Kilkenny, Galway, Wexford, and New Ross not to allow
the peace to be published. In the meantime, Ulster King-at-Arms had
arrived at Waterford with orders from Ormonde to proclaim the peace
there. The mayor and aldermen refused him permission on various
grounds. They had already been warned by the previous appearance of a
pursuivant, who had to give a little boy sixpence to show him the way
to the mayor's house, and who declared that there were 'by imagination
about a thousand priests and friars gazing' upon him and Ulster when
they had succeeded in getting an interview with the corporation. After
two days they were allowed to go in peace to Kilkenny, not without
covert threats of violence if their departure were longer delayed.
Scarampi's letters were written before they left Waterford, though the
attitude of the civic authorities was nominally due to the fact that
proclamation had not been first made at Kilkenny and by order of the
Supreme Council. Waterford was preferred on the ground that it was the
most ancient city of Ireland after Dublin; but perhaps Ormonde hoped
that his herald would create dissension enough to break up the clerical
assembly.[93]

[Sidenote: The clergy reject the peace.]

[Sidenote: Peace proclaimed at Kilkenny.]

[Sidenote: Callan, Fethard and Cashel follow Kilkenny.]

[Sidenote: Clonmel follows Waterford.]

The Supreme Council at Kilkenny transmitted the original articles of
the peace to Waterford by the hands of Nicholas Plunket and Patrick
Darcy. The nuncio had not seen them before, though he was, of course,
well acquainted with their substance. After several days' debate it
was decided 'that all and singular the Confederate Catholics, who
shall adhere to such a peace, or consent to the fautors thereof, or
otherwise embrace the same, be held absolutely perjured: especially
for this cause, that in these articles there is no mention made of
the Catholic religion, and the security thereof, nor any care had for
conservation of the privileges of the country as is found promised in
the oath [of association]; but rather all things are referred to the
will of the most serene King, from whom in his present state nothing
certain can be had.' In the meantime everything remained subject to the
authority of Protestant officials, 'to free ourselves from which we
took that oath.' And it was plainly hinted that excommunication would
follow in due course. The document was signed by the nuncio himself,
by two archbishops, ten bishops, and many vicars-general and heads
of religious houses. It professes to be absolutely unanimous; but
Archbishop Bourke of Tuam, Bishop Dease of Meath, and the Franciscan
Peter Walsh, whose stormy career in Ireland now begins, did not sign,
though they took part in the debates and were among those to whom the
question was referred. On the same day the peace was proclaimed at
Kilkenny 'in the presence of the mayor and the magistrates only, the
people not choosing to appear,' according to Rinuccini, who says the
Supreme Council terrorised the city with soldiers. At Callan, Fethard,
and Cashel proclamation was made in spite of clerical opposition, but
there was no popular enthusiasm. The corporation of Clonmel declared
that they would do as Waterford had done. The town had received
supplies of arms from the nuncio and was subservient to the clergy,
though some of the more prudent inhabitants would have complied. The
most the herald could obtain was a promise to reopen the question after
proclamation had been made at Limerick.[94]

[Sidenote: A herald's adventures at Limerick.]

[Sidenote: The drum ecclesiastic.]

[Sidenote: Gaol the only safe place.]

[Sidenote: The nuncio approves of the riot.]

The proclamation at Kilkenny was an open declaration of war with the
nuncio, who immediately sent Dean Massari to Rome to explain that both
clergy and people were against the peace, and that its few supporters
could do no harm. Meanwhile, Ulster went on his way to Limerick.
Arriving after the gates were shut, he was refused admittance, and had
to pass the night in an old house outside. Next day he was received by
Sir John Bourke, the mayor, and at first it seemed that all would go
smoothly; but the civic authorities went on arguing the question till
the following day was well advanced, and time was thus given for a
formidable agitation to grow. James Wolfe, a Dominican friar, harangued
a mob in the streets, and declared that all who adhered to the peace
would incur the penalties of excommunication. The chief citizens
assembled at the mayor's house, where Dr. Walter Lynch, warden of the
Galway college, employed his eloquence in the same cause. A third
priest 'carried a great crucifix through the streets on the top of a
pole.' The mayor, nevertheless, favoured the proclamation and tried to
protect the herald while doing his office, but stones flew like hail,
and his house was wrecked. He was himself knocked down and nearly
murdered, while Ulster was hunted from the room, the friars calling out
in Irish, 'Kill, kill! I will absolve you.' He received two serious
wounds on the head and one in the hand, while his body was covered
with cuts and bruises. Dr. Thomas Arthur, a famous physician, who had
succeeded twenty years before in curing Archbishop Ussher of a disease
which had puzzled the London faculty, did what he could to pacify his
co-religionists and to save the herald's life at the risk of his own.
Appeals to the law of nations which protects heralds were fruitless,
and the more moderate citizens were forced to carry Roberts to gaol for
safety and to give out that he was dead. He and his companions were
detained for ten days, when Rinuccini said they might be discharged.
Bourke was deposed from the mayoralty, and Thomas Fanning, a leader
of the rioters, was installed in his room. The new mayor received the
nuncio's thanks and apostolical benediction for his good conduct in the
matter.[95]

[Sidenote: Ormonde and the Protestant hierarchy.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde at Kilkenny.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde and Owen Roe O'Neill.]

While the Congregation at Waterford were fulminating their censures
against all who adhered to the peace with Ormonde, the Protestant
clergy who had taken refuge in Dublin were congratulating him on having
'preserved not only in this city, but also in all the out-garrisons,
the free and full exercise of the true reformed religion.' They
besought him to continue in this way as the only means to make Ireland
obedient to the King, and to provide them with some maintenance until
they could return to their benefices. 'If any of our number,' they
concluded, 'be found disaffected to the religion, book of service,
public worship, government of the Church, his Majesty's service, or
disturbers of the present peace, we do not supplicate for such, but
leave them to your lordship to be proceeded with as you shall find
convenient.' This was signed by eleven archbishops and bishops and by
seventy-seven other clergymen, many of whom afterwards rose high in the
Church. Ormonde's loyalty to the Church of England was incompatible
with Rinuccini's views; but it did not prevent the Council at Kilkenny
from inviting the King's representative to his own town and castle.
He left Dublin on August 28 and reached Kilkenny on the 31st, where
he was received with triumphal arches and many demonstrations of joy;
and even succeeded in collecting some of his long-lost rents. Ormonde
left 1500 foot at Gowran, under Sir Francis Willoughby, and took 500
horse on with him, whom he quartered about Bennetsbridge. In passing
Naas he took the precaution of borrowing eight barrels of powder from
Sir John Sherlock, the governor, and they proved very useful. Digby
and Clanricarde accompanied him to Kilkenny. His previous negotiations
with Preston led him to believe that that general would keep the
victorious Ulster army at a distance. Ormonde's last act before
leaving Dublin was to send Daniel O'Neill to his uncle, Owen Roe,
with power to make him great offers if he would adhere to the peace.
These included the custody of all lands in O'Neill-land belonging to
men who questioned the King's authority and of all Lord Caulfield's
estate, and confirmation in his command. These were promises, while the
nuncio was able to give hard cash, without which an army could not be
moved--4000_l._ at first out of the Pope's money, and 5000_l._ later
from the contributions of the faithful, or by means of an advance from
the Spanish agent.[96]

[Sidenote: Rinuccini denounces the peace.]

[Sidenote: O'Neill and Preston.]

[Sidenote: Limitation of Irish loyalty.]

After staying a few days at Kilkenny, Ormonde went to his other house
at Carrick, so that he might be near Waterford and in a position to
confer with the clergy; but they were past the reach of argument.
Rinuccini issued a decree ordering them all to denounce the peace
publicly and to threaten actual excommunication by himself of all
who favoured it. He had seen, he said, 'with grief of heart that the
Protestant ministers in some places appear, and threaten that they will
recover both the churches and the exercise of their religion.' Finding
that nothing could be done on the Waterford side, Ormonde set out for
Cashel, intending to encourage those who had proclaimed the peace
there; but he was met on the road by a messenger from the mayor begging
him not to draw down upon the town the vengeance of O'Neill, who was
already at Roscrea. Piers MacThomas Fitzgerald, with the Munster horse,
'appeared upon a hill to the left hand, near Clonmel.' Preston had been
summoned to attend, but he pleaded ill-health, and a few days later
declared that, though he distrusted the Ulster army, he had 'received a
positive inhibition from the clergy that neither myself nor any of my
commanders, upon pain of excommunication, shall obey any orders from
my Lord lieutenant.' The position of Ireland could scarcely be better
described than in this letter of Preston's. The Confederates had all
along professed loyalty to the Crown, and had never denied that Ormonde
was the King's representative. But when it came to a trial of strength
between the viceroy and the papal nuncio, it was the latter that they
were forced to obey.[97]

[Sidenote: Ormonde driven back to Dublin.]

[Sidenote: The many-headed monster.]

Castlehaven was sent to sound the clergy at Waterford, but he found
them impracticable, rejoined Ormonde near Cashel, and persuaded
him to get back to Dublin as quickly as possible, lest he should
be intercepted and captured. Castlehaven argued that the clerical
party was getting stronger every day, 'and that the Supreme Council
were dissolved on the proclamation of peace, and consequently of no
authority to make good the public faith.' Other advices were to the
same effect, and it seemed probable that O'Neill's object was to get
between the viceroy and his capital. Castlehaven tried in vain to gain
over MacThomas, who followed Ormonde as far as Callan, but without
coming to blows. Orders were sent to Willoughby to seize the fortified
pass over the Barrow at Leighlin Bridge with his infantry. Colonel
Walter Bagenal, who was in command there, offered no opposition, and
Ormonde joined the main body at Kilcullen. He had sent Castlehaven
and his brother-in-law, Sir George Hamilton, to the corporation of
Kilkenny, offering to stand by them if they wished it and would adhere
to the peace, but they begged him to pass on his way. The mob plundered
his baggage, and the very men, says Bellings, 'who a fortnight before
had employed both cost and invention in erecting statues and triumphal
arches adorned with inscriptions, setting forth his own actions, and
the trophies of his ancestors, were suddenly as busy in pulling them
down, and defacing the monuments of his solemn entry, lest the northern
army, which could have easily mastered, might be incensed to their
destruction.' Willoughby, when expecting an attack, found that the
bulk of his powder, which had been given in part payment of 30,000_l._
by the Confederates at the first cessation, was so bad as to be quite
useless, and but for the eight barrels lately borrowed from Sir John
Sherlock he would have been in no condition to fight.[98]

[Sidenote: Lord Digby's proposals.]

[Sidenote: Triumph of Rinuccini,]

[Sidenote: who imprisons the Supreme Council.]

[Sidenote: O'Neill and Preston at Kilkenny.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde ignores Glamorgan.]

Digby remained at Kilkenny and made one more effort for the King. He
proposed that the nuncio and three or four bishops should give an
undertaking in writing to support the peace and unite with Ormonde
against the common enemy, on condition of receiving a firm private
assurance that the penal laws should be repealed and that they should
not be disturbed in their church possessions until a meeting of a new
Parliament to carry out the articles. Rinuccini would hear of nothing
less than Glamorgan's treaty fortified by part of Sir Kenelm Digby's.
Of the latter he never received the official text, and his instructions
were not to proceed without it. He entered Kilkenny in triumph and took
the city into his protection, relieving it from the interdict which
Roth, Bishop of Ossory, had proclaimed. O'Neill's army encamped in the
immediate neighbourhood and made all resistance impossible. Rinuccini
then proceeded to imprison the old Supreme Council. Mountgarret's
eldest son Edmond, Bellings the secretary and historian, and Lord
Muskerry, the viceroy's brother-in-law, were among those confined
in the castle. Geoffrey Brown, who had been conspicuous among the
commissioners for concluding the peace, and was intended to be a judge,
was arrested at Galway, but the citizens refused to send him to the
nuncio. O'Neill and Preston both entered Kilkenny, and assisted 'the
lord nuncio and congregation of the clergy' in choosing a new council
of seventeen members. Four were bishops, Walsh of Cashel, Bourke of
Clonfert, Macmahon of Clogher, and French of Ferns; among the others
were Glamorgan, who was appointed general of Munster in Muskerry's
place, Owen Roe O'Neill, Preston, and Sir Phelim O'Neill. The great
object was now to take Dublin, and Ormonde was told that he had no
chance of defending himself against 17,000 foot and 1700 horse. If
the city was taken by assault it was likely that neither man, woman,
nor child would be spared, but this might be averted if Ormonde would
adhere to the Glamorgan treaty. 'If,' was the Lord-Lieutenant's answer,
'I could have assured the clergy my lord of Glamorgan's conditions, I
had not retired hither. They are things I have nothing to do with, nor
will have. If they be valid in themselves, they need no corroboration;
if invalid, I have no power to give them strength.' After this
Rinuccini concluded that if he wanted Dublin he would have to get it
taken, while Ormonde, who felt his weakness, opened communications with
the English Parliament.[99]

[Sidenote: O'Neill threatens Kilkenny.]

[Sidenote: His army.]

[Sidenote: O'Neill and Preston on bad terms.]

[Sidenote: A clerical commissary.]

[Sidenote: The nuncio and his generals.]

Rinuccini wished O'Neill to attack Dublin before Ormonde could return
thither; but the Ulster general excused himself on the ground that
he had no artillery, and came to Kilkenny instead. Benburb had been
fought and won by men who were defending a strong position in their own
country, and the means for a serious siege were wanting. An officer who
was with the northern army near Birr described it as consisting of 5000
infantry, of which rather more than half were pretty well armed, 'the
rest as the rabble used to be in the beginning of the distractions.'
The horse were under 400, good and bad, and there were only five
field-pieces 'of about a foot and a half long.' When O'Neill was at
Kilkenny a month later Ormonde learned that his army was composed of
8000 foot, more than half of them without muskets, and seventeen or
eighteen small troops of miserable horse 'whereof not above two armed
with pistol, and none with defensive arms.' About 8000 'of the Ulster
families, unarmed,' accompanied the troops. Preston's cavalry were
well appointed, but it was estimated that the combined armies could
not in any case exceed 13,000, with five pieces of artillery and very
few stores of any kind. The two generals acted quite independently.
O'Neill took all the castles and towns in Queen's County, and made
himself master of Athlone. Preston temporised, and both were much
more intent upon outwitting each other than upon taking Dublin. The
Leinster people did not like to see the hungry northerns devouring
their province, and they flocked to Preston's standard, so that he
became as least as strong as his rival. Early in October Rinuccini went
to Kilkea, then in the possession of Robert Nugent, provincial of the
Jesuits, to whom it had been granted for the use of the Society by his
kinswoman Elizabeth Countess of Kildare. Nugent lent 1500_l._ to the
nuncio, and voluntarily undertook the task of victualling the army;
but this clerical commissary was not more successful than a clerical
general proved to be later on. 'The good man,' says Bellings, 'how
perfect soever his mathematical demonstrations might have been, failed
in the practice, which affords a thousand circumstances that commonly
lie out of the road of divinity and speculation.' The two armies were
together, though not united, in the neighbourhood of Kilcock, whence
they advanced by Harristown and Naas to Lucan, within seven miles of
Dublin. The Leinster men thought O'Neill's object was to conquer them,
while he believed, or perhaps only professed to believe, that Preston
was conspiring with Ormonde to place him between two fires. Successful
joint action under these circumstances was impossible, and it appeared
to the nuncio that 'arms at first devoted to religion were about to
minister to private passions alone.' The two generals met at Lucan, but
could not agree, and Rinuccini joined them there in hopes of at least
preventing a collision between Leinster and Ulster.[100]

[Sidenote: Ulster and Leinster irreconcilable.]

[Sidenote: Dublin in danger.]

[Sidenote: Negotiations with the Scots,]

[Sidenote: and with the Parliament,]

[Sidenote: but nothing is settled.]

'Besides the hatred of the generals,' Digby wrote from the midst of
Rinuccini's partisans, 'their men have a greater animosity one against
another, than those at Dublin have against either.' But for this the
capital might probably have been taken, for the defences were very
weak, ammunition was scarce, and famine was always in sight. The
fortifications were, however, repaired as well as possible, the ladies,
with the Marchioness of Ormonde at their head, setting an example
to the citizens by carrying baskets of earth. Ormonde had destroyed
the bridges over the Liffey, and the mills, so that the Irish had
great difficulties about food. Negotiations were opened by the Lord
Lieutenant with the Ulster Scots, but they ended in nothing, for the
survivors of Benburb were too few and too much discouraged to play an
active part. Colonel George Monro, whose Royalist proclivities were
doubtless known to Ormonde, apologised for his enforced inactivity.
The Lord Lieutenant suggested that 500 Scots should come to Dublin,
but the officers did not see their way to go so far south, though they
were willing to act as a garrison for Drogheda. The Lord Lieutenant
was not likely to accept such an offer, for Drogheda was in no danger.
Negotiations had also been opened with the Parliament, whose fleet
lay out in the bay. Sir Francis Willoughby, Sir Gerald Lowther, Chief
Baron, and Sir Paul Davis, clerk of the Council, sailed on Michaelmas
Day, and reached London a fortnight later. They were heard by a
committee of the Commons, and five commissioners, of whom Sir John
Clotworthy was one, reached Dublin on November 12 with power to treat
for its surrender. The negotiations lasted for ten days, failing at
last mainly because Ormonde would not deliver up the sword of state
without actual orders from the King, and thus dissolve the remnant of
the Irish Parliament on which the Protestants relied. The other points
upon which the Lord Lieutenant insisted and the commissioners failed
to satisfy him, were that they could give him no assurance for their
estates 'to the <DW7>s who adhered to his Majesty's Government since
October 22, 1641'; that the Covenant should not be pressed, nor the
Book of Common Prayer suppressed; and that official vested interests
should be preserved. Ormonde was perhaps less anxious to come to terms
because the mere appearance of the commissioners had averted the danger
of a siege, and because he had been allowed to procure powder from the
Parliamentary ships. The supplies intended for Dublin were carried by
Clotworthy and his colleagues to Ulster.[101]

[Sidenote: Vacillation of Preston.]

[Sidenote: One of Digby's schemes.]

[Sidenote: Preston's mental reservations.]

The conduct of Preston throughout the whole of these proceedings
showed the weakness of the Confederate position as well as of his
own character. First he gave Ormonde to understand that he would
prevent O'Neill from marching southwards, and then he let the nuncio
persuade him to join forces with the northern general in the attempt to
intercept Ormonde and in threatening Dublin. On August 26 he wrote to
invite the Lord Lieutenant's commands as to the disposition of troops
to prevent O'Neill from entering Leinster. On September 5 he excused
himself from personal attendance. On the 17th he lamented that clerical
threats of excommunication prevented him from obeying any of the Lord
Lieutenant's orders. On October 10 he found that the peace published
in his camp and by his authority was 'destructive to my religion and
liberty of the nation,' and contrary to his oath as a Confederate. On
the 21st he swore solemnly to aid O'Neill in attacking Dublin, to 'use
and exercise all acts of hostility against the Lord Marquis of Ormonde
and his party,' and to damage him in every possible way. Digby, who was
a sanguine man, thought it possible to kidnap O'Neill and Rinuccini
and carry them to Dublin, and to spike Preston's guns, and he was also
inclined to believe that something might be done with that vacillating
general. Ormonde was less hopeful, but his patience was inexhaustible,
and he resolved to make another effort, and Preston took care to let
him know privately that he was not really irreconcilable, and would not
join O'Neill, and that if he captured towns or castles it was only to
prevent the Ulster general from getting them. Clanricarde was sent for
from Portumna, and came to Luttrellstown, where he was in a position to
communicate with all parties.[102]

[Sidenote: Extreme demands of the nuncio.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde's distrust of the Confederates.]

[Sidenote: Agreement between Digby and Preston.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde does not adopt it.]

[Sidenote: Proposed treatment of Protestants.]

[Sidenote: Dublin cannot be taken.]

Preston never really co-operated with O'Neill, but he joined him
in making certain proposals to Ormonde in which the nuncio's hand
can be very clearly seen. The first was that the Roman Catholic
religion should be exercised in every part of Ireland as in Paris or
Brussels. The third was 'that Dublin, Drogheda, Trim, Newry, Carlow,
Carlingford, and all the garrisons within the Protestant quarters be
garrisoned by the Confederate Catholics.' They were to be held for
the King, but only in name. 'The madness of their propositions to
you,' Digby wrote to Ormonde after he had joined Clanricarde, 'makes
him almost despair of doing any good with Preston.' Ormonde did not
condescend to discuss the propositions at all, but contented himself
with asking who composed the Council of the Confederates and by whose
authority they were established. 'These questions,' says Bellings,
pithily, 'were too knotty to be resolved on the sudden, and therefore,
as it is the custom in such cases, they were not answered.' Four days
later Clanricarde was at Tecroghan, near Trim, and at once opened
communications with Preston. Safe-conducts were granted to him and
Digby, but to the latter, who was still nominally Secretary of State,
not without great difficulty. 'I conjure you,' said Ormonde, '(as you
expect to serve our master, or his hereafter) not to venture any more
among so faithless a generation, if you have any probable hope of
getting away from thence. For, if I have any judgment, your coming will
be fruitless.' And fruitless it was. Two days later the Parliamentary
commissioners reached Dublin, and O'Neill, probably fearing to be
caught in a trap, threw an extempore bridge over the Liffey at Leixlip,
collected his men by firing a gun, and passed them all over to the left
bank. It was thought that Sir Phelim O'Neill, who was jealous of Owen
Roe's supremacy in Ulster and who had married Preston's daughter, might
be induced to join the latter. Digby's plan was to make Clanricarde
general, who would thus be in a position to make the best terms for
his own Church, while loyally co-operating with the Lord Lieutenant.
Preston and his friends bound themselves most solemnly to embrace the
peace in consideration of such additional securities as Clanricarde
undertook to procure. These included the repeal of the penal laws and
enjoyment by Catholics of such churches and ecclesiastical possessions
as they held at the conclusion of the peace, until a settlement by
a free Irish Parliament, 'his Majesty being in a free condition
himself.' To confirm these promises Clanricarde was to procure an
engagement under the King's hand as well as from the Queen and Prince
of Wales and the French crown. The peace once concluded on these
terms the Catholics were to be 'forthwith invested in such commands
by his Majesty's authority, both in field and garrison, as may pass
for a very sufficient part of the security.' Ormonde was no party to
this treaty, which could not be performed without his help, and he
was not anxious for it after he had got rid both of O'Neill and the
Parliamentary commissioners. Rinuccini's influence was at work all the
time, and it was insisted that the first thing should be the admission
of a Prestonian garrison into Dublin. Ormonde insisted on the original
peace being first accepted, and so the negotiations fell through.
Digby thought that if Preston had been promptly dealt with he would
have attacked O'Neill, but his judgment is not for a moment to be
set against Ormonde's. Preston was satisfied, and in a letter to the
mayor and citizens of Kilkenny, urged the acceptance of Clanricarde's
terms. What the ultimate position of the Protestants would have been
may be judged from this document. 'We have,' he said, 'by the divine
Providence, wrought the splendour of religion to that extension as
from Bunratty to Dublin there is Catholic religion publicly professed
and exercised, and from Waterford to the lower parts of Tyrone,
and confined heresy in this province to Dublin, Drogheda, Dundalk,
and Trim, these places which in four days will be garrisoned by my
army, by God's help; and then think you in what posture of religion
these parts are in, for us and ours, having all penal laws against
Catholics repealed; all in our own hands, churches and church livings
secured till the King in a free Parliament declare the same for us;
the government in the Catholics' hands; petitions of right allowed
the parties grieved; and, to make this good, our arms in our own
hands.' This was written under the impression that Dublin would soon
be in his hands, though in the same letter he admits that he could
not take it even with O'Neill's help. Rinuccini and his council had
already left the camp, and Preston's officers were soon induced to
break with Clanricarde on the ground that no concessions would be of
any use without a garrison in Dublin. 'That being denied did beget a
desperation of future performances.'[103]

[Sidenote: The popular tide turns against Rinuccini.]

[Sidenote: The Supreme Council released.]

[Sidenote: The Confederate constitution breaks down.]

[Sidenote: Officers not 'excommunication-proof.']

[Sidenote: Preston submits to the nuncio.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde in Westmeath.]

The nuncio, says Bellings, entered Kilkenny, 'very incognito in his
single litter without guards or attendance, and the council and
congregation dropped in one after another without pomp or ceremony.'
The tide had turned, and the odium which so often attaches to authority
in Ireland, especially when it fails to make itself feared, was borne
by the clerical party. Rinuccini, yielding very unwillingly to Nicholas
Plunket and fearing lest the mob should do it without his leave,
allowed the old council to be liberated, and devoted his attention
to the elections for the next general assembly. All over the country
the clergy administered oaths to candidates binding them to reject
the peace. Absolution for other sins was denied to those who refuse
to take such an oath, and O'Neill's soldiers were everywhere called
in to enforce the clerical decrees. The vacant places in the Ulster
returns were filled up from the creaghts or nomad herdsmen whom Owen
Roe had planted in the Queen's County--'nay,' says Bellings, 'with
such an overcharge of supernumeraries, as for some boroughs three
have been returned and actually voted.' When the session began, the
verification of these returns proved to be impossible, and after much
wrangling the assembled members turned as they were to other business,
'and all formalities, how necessary soever, were quite omitted.' In
the meantime Preston had again gone over to the nuncio. On December
10 Walter Bagenal wrote by his orders to Ormonde, pressing him to
advance at once so as to join forces against the northern army, all
the nobility and gentry being ready to support him. 'If you fail or
delay,' Bagenal concluded, 'you ruin us all and yourself in us.' On the
same day that this was written, Preston made his submission to the
nuncio, who had threatened excommunication. Ormonde advanced to the
neighbourhood of Gowran, which was to be the place of meeting. He found
reason to believe that there was another plot to cut him off. A letter
from Preston to Clanricarde was brought to him at Grangebeg in which
the general said that 'his officers not being excommunication-proof,
were fallen from him to the nuncio's party.' On first receiving this
Clanricarde had so far forgotten his usual serenity as to call Preston
traitor. It was followed by a similar letter to Ormonde, and by an
abject declaration of obedience to the nuncio's commands. Ormonde
professed to believe that the letter, which was printed and circulated,
was 'a forgery, as also the reports raised that some of your army
are gathered in a body at Castle Dermot, with intent to intercept
my return, or destroy the remainder of my quarters.' He withdrew
into Westmeath and Longford, where there was still some country
undevastated by O'Neill, and where he maintained good discipline among
his men. Dublin was relieved for a short time without distressing
the country, and the Westmeath gentry actually scraped together a
voluntary contribution of 1000_l._ At Kells an attack was made upon
some of Ormonde's men by a party of O'Neill's soldiers. Ormonde
says two officers were barbarously murdered. Bellings admits that a
very bad impression was made, but O'Neill was hardly a party to the
negotiations. After conferring with the Lord Lieutenant, Clanricarde
went to Kilkenny in the vain hope that he might to some extent
counteract the nuncio and induce the assembly to embrace moderate
ideas. Ormonde soon found it necessary to reopen communications with
the English Parliament.[104]

[Sidenote: Discord at Kilkenny.]

[Sidenote: A clerical majority.]

[Sidenote: The things that are Cæsar's.]

[Sidenote: Mazarin supports the peace,]

[Sidenote: but it is rejected publicly, Feb. 2, 1646-7.]

The Confederate assembly met at Kilkenny on January 10, 'with all those
signs,' said Rinuccini, 'of discord and intrigues which generally
reign in such meetings.' The tempers of the old council had not been
improved by imprisonment, while the clergy, knowing that they had a
majority, were in no conciliatory mood. Bellings admits that former
assemblies had been turbulent 'and loud in their ayes and noes, yet now
it was grown clean another thing.' Edmond Dempsy, Bishop of Leighlin,
who was a famous preacher, and had probably a good voice, sat upon a
lofty bench which recalls the revolutionary Mountain. He had only to
wave his hat to raise a storm, the mass of members, 'like a set of
organ-pipes, as senseless and louder, depending for their squeaking,
or being still, on the hand of another.' After a few days the turmoil
partially subsided, and then the nuncio demanded an audience. He was
received with the same ceremony as at first, and proceeded to justify
his assumption of dictatorial power. He declared in plain terms that
the ecclesiastical authority was superior to the temporal, 'and that
ignorance of the true source of power had ruined the neighbouring
kingdom.' Above all things he urged the assembly to reject the peace
with Ormonde, and to take a fresh oath adverse to it. A letter was
read from Dumoulin, the French agent, who had positive orders from
his government to press for confirmation of the peace, but this had
no effect, though a letter from Mazarin had been previously received
urging them to merit help from France by re-establishing the King of
England. A remarkable speech of Walter Bagenal's has been preserved by
Bellings, in which he urged them to remember how strong England was
and how certainly they would be overwhelmed if they did not support
the King. Ormonde sent Lord Taaffe and Colonel John Barry to represent
him at Kilkenny, but the clericals would listen to nothing, and it
soon became evident that the peace would be rejected publicly. This
was done after three weeks' wrangling, but by no means unanimously,
and Scarampi started at once to carry the news to Rome. It was found
necessary at the same time to declare that the commissioners and others
who had a hand in the peace had 'faithfully and sincerely carried and
demeaned themselves in their said negotiation pursuant and according to
the trust reposed in them, and given thereof a due acceptable account
to this assembly.' This important matter being settled, a new and
stringent oath of association was taken by which all bound themselves
to make no peace without the consent of the General Assembly. One of
the conditions precedent was that the Roman Catholic clergy should
enjoy all churches and church property in as ample a manner as the
Protestants enjoyed them on October 1, 1641, in all places which the
Confederates should at any time possess 'saving the rights of Roman
Catholic laymen according to the laws of this kingdom.' The law, in
other words, was to protect Roman Catholics, but not Protestants.
All this referred to the secular clergy only, for the question of
abbey-lands was too dangerous to touch. To avoid the appearance of an
open breach with the Lord Lieutenant, Dr. Fennell and Geoffrey Baron,
who had just returned from France, were deputed to see him. Their
proposals for a sort of offensive and defensive alliance with Ormonde
came to nothing, but successive truces were patched up until April
10.[105]

FOOTNOTES:

[82] _Embassy in Ireland_, November and December, 1645, pp. 98,
103, 554, 569. Correspondence between Glamorgan and Ormonde in
_Confederation and War_, v. 197-200; 208-210. It appears from
Dumoulin's letters to Mazarin that Leyburn was at Limerick in April
1645, _ib._ 314, 325.

[83] Lord Lieutenant and Council to Secretary Nicholas, January 5,
1645-6, printed in appendix to Carte's _Ormonde_ and in _Confederation
and War_, v. 234. Interrogatories, etc., _ib._ 211-222. Digby's letter
to Nicholas, January 4, 1645-6, was one of those which Fairfax rescued
from the sea at Padstow, _Husband_, p. 816.

[84] The King's declaration, January 24, 1645-6, printed (from Reliquiæ
Sacræ Carolinæ) in _Confederation and War_, v. 252. Glamorgan to
Ormonde, January 7, 20 and 29, _ib._ 244, 255; Supreme Council to
Ormonde, January 16, _ib._ 246; _Embassy_, p. 115; the King to Ormonde,
January 30, _Carte MSS._ vol. lxiii. _f._ 386.

[85] Rinuccini to Pamphili, March 5, 1645-6, in _Embassy_; Fr. Barron
to Wadding, May 11, 1646, in _Spicilegium Ossoriense_, ii. 24; Charles
I. to Henrietta Maria, January 8 and February 8, 1645-6. Nuncio's
Memoirs (April or May) in Birch's _Inquiry_--"Pamphilius et nuncius
in hoc negotio caste et sincere partes egerunt suas; alii vero Regem
Reginamque impulerunt ad deferendum tractatum pontificium, et spem in
baculo arundineo, hæreticorum brachio, collocandam." Colepepper to
Ashburnham, Feb. Cal. of _Clarendon S.P._ 2135.

[86] Sir Kenelm Digby's articles were printed by Birch, and are also
in _Embassy_, pp. 573, 577. The nuncio's advice to Glamorgan, _ib._ p.
120, and his speech, p. 122; Ormonde to Glamorgan, February 3, 1645-6,
_Carte MSS._, vol. lxiii. f. 354; Glamorgan to Ormonde, February 8, in
_Confederation and War_, v. 258, and Ormonde's answer, February 11, in
appendix to Carte's _Ormonde_. Chester surrendered on February 3.

[87] The articles were printed in London in September 1646, and are
reprinted in _Confederation and War_, v. 286. Glamorgan's oath of
allegiance to Rinuccini, February 16, 1645-6, is given (Latin) in
Gardiner's _Civil War_, ii. 420. The King to Ormonde, February 27,
1644-5; May 22, 1645, in Carte's _Ormonde_, iii. and July 31 in
Halliwell's _Letters of the Kings of England_. On August 24, 1646,
Charles wrote to his wife: 'I have returned two messengers into Ireland
with my approving the peace there, to which I shall firmly stick,'
_Charles I. in 1646_.

[88] N. Plunket to Ormonde, May 7, 1646, in _Confederation and War_ v.
335; Digby's Declaration, July 28, and Proclamation of Peace, July 30
and August 3, _ib._ vi. 55-60; Daniel O'Neill to Ormonde, April 18, in
_Contemp. Hist._, i. 671; Rinuccini's letter, March 22, in _Embassy_,
p. 153; the Newcastle letter, June 11, in Birch's _Inquiry_, p. 208.

[89] There are accounts of this siege in _Bellings_, v. 20-24; in
Penn's _Memorials_, i. 165-210; and in Rinuccini's _Embassy_, pp.
182-191; and see Frost's _Hist. of Clare_, pp. 371-376.

[90] All the contemporary accounts mention O'Neill's short speech,
which evidently made a great impression. None say whether it was in
English or Irish. The 'British Officer' has been followed in the
text, 'MacArt spoke in the front of his own men these words, as I was
told, or to that effect.' The much longer speech in the _Aphorismical
Discovery_ is obviously a mere grammarian's figment containing allusion
to Gratian, Hannibal, Scipio, Plutarch, Polybius, the Maccabees, etc.
The number of Monro's army are given from his account, but the 'British
Officer' thinks the foot were near 5000. The numbers of the Irish are
from O'Neill's journal, and O'Mellan says nearly the same.

[91] The battle is described by Bellings and in the _Aphorismical
Discovery_. In _Contemp. Hist. of Affairs in Ireland_, i. 676-686, are
printed (1) a short notice from _Carte Papers_, xvii. 25; (2) Monro's
despatch to the Scotch estates; (3) a London tract dated June 15, 1646;
(4) Rinuccini's account (Italian) published as a tract at Rome and
Florence; (5) the 'British Officer's' account from _Hist. of the Wars
in Ireland_. An eighth account is in Colonel O'Neill's journal, _ib._
iii. 204. A ninth--not the least valuable--is in Young's _Old Belfast_,
being a translation from the Irish of O'Mellan the Franciscan, who was
chaplain to Sir Phelim O'Neill. The Rev. W. T. Latimer, in his _Hist.
of Irish Presbyterians_ (Belfast, 1893) identifies the localities from
O'Mellan and from his own local knowledge. I have satisfied myself by
actual inspection that he is right. A tenth account is in O'Neill's
letter (Latin) to Rinuccini printed in _Confederation and War_, v.

[92] Officers of Preston's army to the Supreme Council, July 27, 1646;
Ormonde to Preston, August 3, and to Bellings, August 10--all in
_Confederation and War_, vi. Rinuccini's _Embassy_, pp. 173, 181, 189;
_Bellings_, v. 16; O'Mellan's _Narrative_.

[93] William Roberts, Ulster, to Ormonde, August 11, 1646; Declaration
of William Kirkby, pursuivant; Letters by Scarampi--all in
_Confederation and War_, vi. 67, 110, 126. Rinuccini in _Embassy_, pp.
192, 197; _Bellings_, vi. 16.

[94] Decree of Ecclesiastical Congregation, August 12, 1646, in
_Confederation and War_, vi. 69; _Bellings_, _ib._ 17; Roberts to
Ormonde, August 17, _ib._ 115; _Embassy_, p. 198.

[95] Narratives of Roberts and Kirkby in _Confederation and War_, vi.
119-130; Rinuccini's letter, August 22, _ib._ 96; _Embassy_, p. 200.

[96] Carte's _Ormonde_, i. 580-587; Remonstrance of the bishops and
clergy, August 13, 1646, _ib._ ii. appendix No. 471.

[97] _Bellings_, vi. 18; Decree of Excommunication, September 1, 1646,
in _Confederation and War_, vi. 132; Sall, Mayor of Cashel, to Ormonde,
September 10, _ib._ 134; Preston to Ormonde September 5 and 17, _ib._
132, 139.

[98] _Castlehaven_, p. 66; _Bellings_, vi. 19; _Aphorismical
Discovery_, i. 125; Carte's _Ormonde_, iii. 580-583.

[99] _Bellings_, vi. 21. Order by Rinuccini and the generals, September
26, 1646, in _Confederation and War_, vi. 144; Carte's _Ormonde_, iii.
583.

[100] Rinuccini's letters, September 21 to December 29, 1646, in
_Embassy_, pp. 204, 224 _sqq._ The nuncio was with the two generals
at Lucan on November 11. Sir Robert Talbot to Ormonde, September 10;
Captain Cadogan to same, September 12; Ormonde to the Council, October
11--all in _Contemp. Hist._, i. 703-713. Digby to Ormonde, October 13,
in Carte's _Ormonde_, iii. 506. _Bellings_, vi. 22, 36.

[101] The negotiations between Ormonde and the Parliamentary
commissioners are given fully in _Rushworth_, vi. 418-444. Bellings
(vi. 28-35) gives the correspondence with the Ulster Scots. Digby to
Ormonde, October 13, 1646; Ormonde to Digby, October 12 and November
20, in Carte's _Ormonde_, vol. iii.

[102] Preston's letters, of which the dates are in the text, are all in
_Confederation and War_, vol. vi. Ormonde to Digby, October 22, 1646,
and all Digby's letters at this time in Carte's _Ormonde_, vol. iii.

[103] Preston and O'Neill to Ormonde, November 2, 1646, and the answer,
November 4, in _Contemp. Hist._ i. 713; Ormonde to Digby, November 10,
in Carte's _Ormonde_, iii. 512, and all the letters there till November
26. Negotiations between Preston and Clanricarde in _Confederation and
War_, vi. 151-162. Preston's letters to the mayor of Kilkenny (from
Lucan), November 24, _ib._ 162; Theobald Butler to Ormonde, _ib._ 165.

[104] _Bellings_, vi. 46; vii. 18. Papers of December 1646, in
_Confederation and War_, vi. 164-168, and in Carte's _Ormonde_, vol.
iii. _Embassy_, p. 347; Walter Bagenal to Ormonde, December 10, _Carte
MSS._, vol. lxiii.

[105] Rinuccini's narrative and speech in _Embassy_, pp. 241, 244,
250; _Bellings_, vii. 1-12. The new oath of the Confederacy in
_Confederation and War_, vi. 168; Declaration by the General Assembly
against the peace, February 2, 1646-7, _ib._ 177; overtures of Fennell
and Baron, March 3, _ib._ 185.




CHAPTER XXVIII

SURRENDER OF DUBLIN AND AFTER, 1647


[Sidenote: Ormonde determined to surrender Dublin.]

[Sidenote: An emissary from the Queen.]

[Sidenote: Hostilities resumed.]

Rinuccini's attempt on Dublin had completely failed, but Ormonde's
position there was nevertheless made worse. The two armies had
descended like locusts upon the districts from which he had drawn his
chief supplies. Excise could no longer be levied, and the citizens were
reduced to penury for the support of the garrison, and yet the soldiers
were half paid and half fed. As soon as it became evident that the
Kilkenny assembly would reject the peace Ormonde offered to surrender
the sword and his garrisons to the Parliament on the terms lately
offered by their representatives. The despatch was long delayed upon
the road, but the Parliamentary commissioners in Ulster at once agreed
to the terms proposed. English or Anglo-Irish soldiers who had hitherto
obeyed Ormonde found no difficulty in following where he led. Sir Henry
Tichborne was continued as governor of Drogheda, and 'embraced it with
cheerfulness.' In the meantime George Leyburn, whose diplomatic name
was Winter Grant, visited Ireland for the second time with powers
from Henrietta Maria and the Prince of Wales 'to renew,' in Ormonde's
words, 'motions of peace or accommodation.' He was a learned English
priest, educated chiefly at Douai, and one of the Queen's chaplains
since 1630. He had been for a time in the Tower, and knew Monck, whose
future greatness he foretold. Leyburn was sent to Dublin, but was
driven by wind to Waterford, and found that the assembly at Kilkenny
had just broken up. He had letters for the nuncio and clergy, but was
forbidden by his instructions to deliver them until after showing them
and all his other papers to Ormonde. The Queen would have made peace
on almost any terms, but the clerical party at Kilkenny maintained
their position. Dr. Fennell and Geoffrey Brown, who were despatched to
Kilkenny, would not commit themselves so far as to make proposals in
writing, nor even sign what Ormonde took down from their mouths. He
asked for a continuation of the truce, but this was refused, and on
April 10, the day on which it ended, Preston invested Carlow, which
resisted only for a few days. Still Ormonde professed himself willing
to delay the reception of Parliamentary troops in consideration of a
truce, but to this no answer was given. Both parties were anxious to
have the credit of making the last peaceful overture, the Confederates
because they were alarmed at Inchiquin's progress, Ormonde in order
to make it clear that he did not close with Parliament till the last
possible moment.[106]

[Sidenote: Mission of Leyburn.]

[Sidenote: A truce refused.]

[Sidenote: Leyburn and the nuncio.]

[Sidenote: Proposals from O'Neill.]

[Sidenote: Lord Digby's schemes.]

[Sidenote: He is driven abroad.]

At Kilkenny Leyburn attended the council, where his chair was placed
next to Antrim's, who presided. He told them that the Queen and Prince
were anxious for peace, without which the Catholic religion would
be ruined, but that he must see Ormonde first of all. Horses were
provided and he was passed on to Dublin. The Lord Lieutenant, says
Leyburn, expressed himself ready to cast away one son if necessary
for the King's service, but would 'give up those places under his
command rather to the English rebels than the Irish rebels, of which
opinion he thought every good Englishman was. To this I answered
nothing.' It took the inexperienced diplomatist two days to decipher
his instructions, which he then presented to Ormonde, who requested
him to go back to Kilkenny and obtain a truce for three weeks from
April 17 if possible, without binding him not to receive fresh
Parliamentary forces during its continuance. Leyburn consulted the
French agents Dumoulin, De la Monnerie, and Tallon, according to his
instructions, but he found the Council sanguine about the probable
successes of their army, and they refused any truce for less than six
months. There were already two thousand Parliamentarians in Dublin,
and Leyburn did not think it prudent to re-enter the city; but he was
in constant communication with Digby, who had found quarters in Sir
Nicholas White's house at Leixlip, and who professed to know Ormonde's
mind. Leyburn accompanied Bishop Macmahon to Kilkenny, and informed
the nuncio that the conditions of peace concerning religion had been
referred to France, and that Ormonde would not treat except on the
basis of the peace which the clergy had already rejected. Rinuccini
said he wished for peace, but was against a preliminary truce, which
Ormonde, who had already once deceived him, wanted only to gain time,
and that he could not trust him. 'I could see,' says Leyburn, 'he was
not my Lord Lieutenant's friend.... I found in him great animosity to
my Lord of Ormonde's person, my Lord of Clogher being a better hider of
his thoughts.' The Council of the Confederates as well as the clergy
came to Clonmel about the beginning of June, and Daniel O'Neill brought
a proposal from his uncle to establish a sort of joint government
between the Lord Lieutenant and the Council; but he was arrested for
not having a pass. Leyburn handed in the paper for him, but all these
delays had been fatal, for a letter came to Digby to say that the
Parliamentary commissioners had landed at Dublin with 1500 men, and
that Ormonde would now be forced to conclude matters with them. Leyburn
could come to no terms with the clergy, who would have nothing to say
to the rejected peace, while Ormonde would treat on no other basis.
They said God was not once mentioned in it, and he could only reply
that questions of religion might be settled later. He continued to
discuss matters with Digby and his secretary, Edward Walsingham, who,
according to Nicholas, was 'a great babbler of all his most secret
employments,' but it all led to nothing. Leyburn, however, persuaded
Clanricarde not to leave Ireland, which he had made up his mind to
do. In the end the best he could do for Digby was to procure him a
safe-conduct through the Confederate quarters, and he escaped to France
with some difficulty. At his earnest request Leyburn himself remained
in Ireland, and was sheltered by Clanricarde at Galway from August 1647
until the following March. In November he received a letter of recall
from the Queen dated three months back, and in February another from
Digby to the like effect. He sailed in the same ship with Glamorgan and
his wife, who had now become Lord and Lady Worcester, and reached Havre
in five days.[107]

[Sidenote: Leyburn's opinions.]

[Sidenote: Effect of the cessation.]

Leyburn, who was a very honest as well as intelligent man, favoured the
peace of 1646. The demand for a Catholic governor, he says, was one
which the King could not grant, and the objection to Ormonde's religion
was therefore invalid. He thought the divisions of Irish parties made
effective action hopeless, and that the hatred of the Leinster men to
O'Neill and the old Irish 'overbalanced their reason.' The cause of
the rebellion and of its savage character was that the 'Irish had not
enjoyed such a pleasant bondage under the English, but that they had
contracted ill will enough against their masters ... they ran hastily
and furiously to all kind of bloody executions, and as their rebellion
was without order so were their actions without measure, none that
was called English and was within reach escaping their fury ... they
either killed the English or forced them to forsake their habitations.'
The men of the Pale joined in because they had no arms, and were not
trusted by the Government. The massacres had been amply revenged
with much cruelty, the one committed 'by a rude, headless multitude,
the other by soldiers under order and command.' Insurgent slaves, he
says, seldom make good soldiers, and the Irish were always beaten
until Charles drew away to England the army which had been 'with his
consent employed against them by the Parliament,' which is perhaps the
strongest argument against the cessation of 1643.

[Sidenote: Ormonde's reasons for surrender.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde leaves Ireland.]

'The marquis,' says Clarendon 'in his defence of Ormonde, believed
it much more prudent, and agreeable to the trust reposed in him, to
deposit the King's interest and right of the Crown in the hands of the
Lords and Commons of England, who still made great professions of duty
and subjection to his Majesty, and from whom (how rebellious soever
their present actions were) it must probably revert to the Crown, by
treaty or otherwise, in a short time, than to trust it with the Irish,
from whom less than a very chargeable war would never recover it, in
what state soever the affairs of England should be; and how lasting
and bloody and costly that war might prove, by the intermeddling
and pretences of foreign princes, was not hard to conclude.' To
the Lord Lieutenant Ireland was essentially part of the same State
as England, and the King being temporarily in abeyance, the actual
wielders of power were trustees for the Crown. Parliamentary troops
began to be received in Dublin at the end of March, and on June 7 the
new commissioners arrived. At their head was Arthur Annesley, son of
Strafford's Mountnorris, and afterwards well known as Earl of Anglesey.
Other forces followed, and arrangements were soon made. Ormonde sailed
from Dublin on July 28, having left the sword of state in the hands
of the Parliamentary commissioners. 'He was,' says Carte, 'attended
by the prayers of the distressed clergy, great numbers of whom, with
their wives and children, had been kept from perishing through want by
his and his lady's bounty, and landed on August 2 at Bristol.' Colonel
Michael Jones became governor of Dublin for the Parliament. His father,
the Bishop of Killaloe, had died there just nine months before.[108]

[Sidenote: Digby and Ormonde.]

[Sidenote: Parliament prevents foreign enlistment.]

Lord Digby's schemes were always unsuccessful, but he continued
plotting to the last moment. After a meeting at Leixlip with Bellings,
Sir Robert Talbot, and others of the Confederates who were more or less
opposed to Rinuccini, Digby urged Ormonde not to leave Ireland after
delivering the sword, but to go to Rathfarnham or some other country
where his presence would be a protection to the well-affected. He
might raise a force and transport it to France with Muskerry's help,
who was absolute in Munster. In this way he would avoid all appearance
of joining with the English Parliament. Ormonde received this strange
proposal only five days before he sailed. He replied that Preston and
the rest who refused his help while he still possessed an army and
fortresses would not be much impressed by his arguments in a private
capacity, that the Parliament commanded the seas, and that the very
worst way to get their leave to transport troops was to put himself
into the power of the Confederates. For himself, he could always go
from England to France, but to go from France to England would be
virtually impossible. True to the policy which had prevailed since
Strafford's time, the dominant party in England refused to allow troops
to be sent from Ireland into the service of any foreign prince. It was
evident that they might be used against England if France or Spain
were to espouse the King's cause. Yet it is probable that unrestrained
foreign enlistment would have gone far to settle the Irish question,
and might have made Cromwell's terrible campaign unnecessary.[109]

[Sidenote: Glamorgan as general.]

[Sidenote: Character of his army.]

[Sidenote: He is ousted by Muskerry.]

[Sidenote: Rinuccini forced out of Leinster.]

At the beginning of 1647 Clanricarde reported that Glamorgan was
despised and dejected, and Ormonde said it mattered little what became
of him or of Antrim 'if it were not for a natural propension in this
people to love their cozeners.' But the Kilkenny assembly had made
Glamorgan general of Munster, and an effort was required to make the
appointment a reality. He told the King that he had been forced to
undergo a seeming commission which should put him at the head of 12,000
foot and 2500 horse, but that his enemies never rested and that he had
small hope of success. Rinuccini and his council moved to Clonmel at
the beginning of June, and for a moment it seemed as if they were going
to have their own way. Glamorgan, though not much of a soldier, had
had some experience in raising troops, but in Munster he did little,
finding it easier to multiply officers under the King's commission of
January 6, 1644-5, so that later on it was difficult to 'dissolve even
this airy structure, and to proportion the officers to the men the
province was able to contain.' Rinuccini, with the help of these new
colonels and captains, thought he could establish clerical supremacy
in Munster and displace all who adhered to Ormonde's peace. Of these
last Muskerry was by far the most important, for he had the confidence
of the soldiers, and the nuncio had been unable to exclude him from
the council. But his life was thought to be in danger, for three
Dominican chaplains suggested that it would be no harm to murder him or
the Munster commissioners. This kind of casuistry, as Rinuccini saw,
'made the impression to be expected on these idiots.' Muskerry came to
Clonmel and took his seat amongst the hostile clericals, but feared
a second arrest, and escaped to the camp. He found the old officers
friendly and afraid of being superseded by Glamorgan's creatures.
Moreover they professed themselves excommunication-proof, and declared
that they were ready to live and die with Muskerry. The men were then
mustered, and it was explained to them that their pay would be diverted
to the new officers, for that the province could not bear both. They
gladly followed suit, joyfully repeating Muskerry's name with cheers
and casting up of hats. 'And thus,' says Bellings, 'was the army, in
the space of one hour, without noise, save what witnessed their public
satisfaction, placed under his command.' Their resolution proved
irrevocable, and though the nuncio himself might be respected, his
adherents could not venture into the camp. Rinuccini therefore went to
Galway, and the Council returned to Kilkenny.'[110]

[Sidenote: Preston's army.]

[Sidenote: A sluggish general.]

[Sidenote: Preston's vacillations.]

[Sidenote: Design against Dublin.]

While Ormonde was making his arrangements with Annesley and Jones,
Preston was at Monasterevan collecting an army with which he hoped to
neutralise the Parliamentarians in Dublin. Digby still struggled to
make this force available for the King's service, and his secretary
Walsingham wrote from Monasterevan that he had been cherished and
received as an angel of peace. When mustered a few days later on the
Curragh of Kildare, Preston's army amounted to 7000 foot and 1200
horse, well officered and well appointed. Leyburn says the foot were
'as lusty appearing men, and as well accoutred with arms and clothes
as ever I did see,' and the horse up to the average. Jones, with a
much inferior force, advanced to Naas, while Preston encamped on the
left bank of the Liffey not far off. Jones drew back to Johnstown,
and then detached some cavalry to go round by the south of Naas and
intercept some of Preston's men. Leyburn had warned the latter of the
danger he incurred from the superiority of the English horse, but
there was a moment when they might have been annihilated between Naas
and Johnstown, and Bellings himself remonstrated with the sluggish
general, but it was then too late, and Jones was allowed to rally all
his men in safety on a hill near Kill, whence they reached Dublin
without further fighting. Preston's next encampment was at the Boyne
close to Trim. Walsingham came there by appointment, but found that
the political wind had changed, and that the general had changed with
it as usual. The presence of Bishop French was probably fatal to any
negotiation, and the unfortunate private secretary returned to Dublin.
Trim was held by an English garrison, and Preston wished to take, while
Jones was anxious to relieve it. Hearing that the Ulster Protestants
had come as far as Dundalk on their way to join Jones, but that they
would be obliged to retire in ten days for want of provisions, Preston
withdrew to an unassailable position at Portlester, where he intended
to remain until the invasion was passed. But Bishop French and Sir
Nicholas Plunket advised him to take active measures lest his own
supplies should run short. Jones, who in Bellings's words 'fought but
for bread and elbow-room about Dublin,' could not have kept the field
long, and Preston, by taking the advice of a priest and a lawyer on a
military question, lost the advantage of dividing his enemy's forces
and perhaps beating them in detail. Sir Henry Tichborne and others came
to Skreen with nearly 2000 men and two guns, and the united forces
marched through Trim. Jones mustered his army at the famous hill of
Tara, and found himself almost equal in strength to Preston, and rather
superior in horse, of which he despatched 500 under Major Harman to
reconnoitre at Portlester, but they lost their way. Preston left his
almost impregnable position and marched to Agher, south of Trim, where
he again took up strong ground. But news came from Leixlip that there
were only 500 soldiers in Dublin, and the Irish general, as rash as he
was generally supine, decided to make a dash for the capital through
Maynooth, which had already 'by especial Providence' voluntarily
surrendered to Jones. Preston left Agher on August 8, Harman with
his troopers hanging upon his skirts, and causing as much delay as
possible.[111]

[Sidenote: Battle of Dungan Hill, August 8, 1647.]

The wheel of a waggon which came off at a ford delayed Preston's march,
and the bulk of the enemy's cavalry gradually drew up to Harman's
support, while their whole army was visible in the distance. Jones was
upon Lynch's Knock or Summerhill, and Preston upon Dungan Hill, after
which the battle is generally named. It was evident that Maynooth
would never be reached without fighting, and Preston prepared for
battle in what he thought was a good position. Without any preliminary
cannonade the Parliamentary army advanced across the interval between
the two hills. The Irish horse were routed at the first charge, having
been posted in a narrow lane with high quickset hedges and without
power of forming line to the front. Perhaps the real cause of their
misfortune was that they were commanded by Lord Costello instead of by
their well-tried leader MacThomas Fitzgerald. Costello knew nothing of
war, but he was a recent convert, and that seems to have been thought
sufficient. A large part of the infantry stood in some very tall wheat,
where they were useless. Battalions were separated from each other by
high banks, and no manoeuvring was possible. The best fight was made
by four hundred Scotch Islanders under a Glengarry, but most of them
were killed. The bulk of the infantry took refuge in a bog, where they
were first surrounded, and then 'our foot,' says Jones, 'followed into
the bog, where they put to the sword all not admitted to quarter; such
of the rebels as left the bog fell into the power of our horse.' There
is the usual dispute as to whether men were slain after quarter given
or not. Bellings says 'most of the officers and some soldiers repaired
to the red colours, and to preserve them Colonel Flower commanded his
regiment to stand to their arms in a body; and having brought them to
Colonel Jones, they had quarter.' Jones's own account tallies pretty
well with this, for he says ninety-five commissioned officers were
taken prisoners, and only about 300 non-commissioned officers and men.
Five thousand four hundred and seventy bodies were counted on the
field, and many stragglers were afterwards killed by the troopers. No
mercy was shown to any English, nor to such of the Anglo-Irish as had
changed sides. Jones thought scarcely 500 of the infantry escaped.
The English lost three officers, of whom one, Captain Gibbs, really
died of drinking ditch-water when heated. The total number killed was
under twenty. Four twelve-pounders with sixty-four draught oxen, and
what was even more important, Preston's papers fell into the victor's
hands. All the colours were taken, which Jones 'could not be persuaded
to be brought into Dublin in triumph, as savouring (said he) of
ostentation, and attributing unto men the glory of this great work due
to the Lord only,' but there was a public thanksgiving in all the city
churches.[112]

[Sidenote: The Parliament neglect Ireland.]

[Sidenote: Victories of Inchiquin.]

[Sidenote: Dungarvan.]

[Sidenote: Bunratty.]

[Sidenote: Adare.]

The House of Commons voted 1000_l._ each to Jones and to Fenwick, who
commanded at Trim, 500_l._ to Colonel Conway, 200_l._, to Tichborne,
who commanded the rear guard, and 100_l._ to Colonel Culme, who
brought the letter. They also talked about sending provisions, but
these were long delayed. One thousand five hundred pounds borrowed on
personal security was looked upon as a god-send. Preston retired to
Carlow, giving up Naas and other places in Kildare, and busied himself
in collecting another army. In the meantime Inchiquin had become
formidable in Munster. Early in May 1647 he took Cappoquin, where there
was no powder to fire a shot, and Dromana, where the garrison only
fired four or five. Inchiquin had studied these places, and in 1642 had
pointed out how easy it would be to take Dromana and how troublesome
to take Dungarvan. The latter did in fact make a stout resistance, but
Inchiquin made himself master of the water-supply, which soon settled
the matter. All the garrisons were allowed to march out with military
honours, 'but some twenty Englishmen of the red-coats that had run to
the rebels were hanged.' Three thousand cows and two thousand sheep
were cut out from under the walls of Waterford. Dungarvan, being a
seaport, completed Inchiquin's chain of posts from Kinsale to the mouth
of the Suir, and its loss was much felt by the Confederates. The victor
has a bad name, but many grumbled at his comparative lenity. Rinuccini
attributed these disasters to general dissension among high and low,
and to the non-payment of the soldiers. About midsummer Inchiquin
invaded the county Limerick, and destroyed many castles, forced the
passage of the Mulkear at or near Barrington's Bridge, and plundered
the country up to the Shannon. A party crossed where O'Brien's Bridge
had once stood, and the terrified Irish of Clare burned Bunratty, which
had been so troublesome to take. Inchiquin then returned to Cork to
rest his troops, who were 'generally barefooted and extreme naked,'
but scarcely hungry after driving homewards 8000 cows and 5000 sheep.
In the meantime Colonel Byron, starting from the new base at Dungarvan
and Cappoquin, took Castle Grace in Tipperary, 'put the rogues to the
sword,' entered Limerick and stormed Adare 'where four friars were
burned and three took prisoners.' Byron's party also drove off between
two and three thousand cattle. Seven thousand pounds were voted to
Inchiquin by Parliament about the same time, and Preston's defeat at
Dungan Hill greatly increased his relative strength.[113]

[Sidenote: Lord Lisle appointed Lord Lieutenant.]

[Sidenote: Inchiquin will not obey Lisle.]

[Sidenote: The officers support Inchiquin.]

[Sidenote: Lisle leaves Ireland.]

In January 1646 the House of Commons resolved that the Government of
Ireland should be vested in a single person of honour, and that there
should be a fresh appointment every year. In April Philip Lord Lisle,
who as Leicester's son might be supposed to have some claim, was made
Lord Lieutenant accordingly, with power to appoint officers for two
regiments of foot and one of horse, and with the command of all troops
raised and to be raised for the reduction of Ireland. The Parliament
exercised the power of naming a chief governor, and perhaps that was
the real object, for no attempt was made to provide him with the means
of doing anything. Lisle lingered in England for a year, and arrived at
Cork on March 9, 1647, George Monck being one of those who accompanied
him. Sir Adam Loftus and Sir John Temple were sent as commissioners for
the civil government of Munster, but Lisle's appointment expired on
April 15, and Inchiquin dissembled until then. Lisle lost no time in
reporting that he was equally ready to return to England or to remain
in Ireland if his commission were prolonged, but that he could do
nothing to reduce the rebels without further supplies. Then Inchiquin,
who had been expecting to be arrested, exhibited his own patent as
Lord President under the Great Seal, declared Lisle a private person,
and hinted at putting him under restraint if he interfered any further
with the troops. Most of the officers sided with him in spite of all
the efforts of Broghill, Loftus, and Temple. Lisle, finding himself
powerless, proposed to sail with his baggage on Vice-Admiral Crowther's
ship, but here again he was foiled. Crowther said he would do nothing
without the Lord President's orders, which were not given until Lisle's
trunks had been searched, and in the end the late Lord Lieutenant
was glad to get out of Ireland with his property and ten officers
who refused to serve under Inchiquin. Among them was Monck, who soon
returned to command all forces, both English and Scotch, in Ulster,
except those in charge of Sir Charles Coote. Broghill, Loftus and
Temple went with Lisle, Parliament having in the meantime decided not
to send a chief governor. The whole authority in Munster, both civil
and military, remained in Inchiquin's hands.[114]

[Sidenote: Taaffe and Inchiquin.]

[Sidenote: Inchiquin takes Cahir, &c.]

[Sidenote: Sack of Cashel, Sept. 4.]

When Ormonde left Ireland, Lord Taaffe, who had been and was to be his
adherent, took the oath to the Confederacy. Muskerry, having got rid
of Glamorgan, thought he could counteract Rinuccini most effectually
by attending the Council regularly; and he handed over the command
in Munster to Taaffe. The new general, who was perhaps not very sure
of his troops, invaded the county of Cork, but avoided an encounter
with Inchiquin, who disregarded him and made a dash into Tipperary,
which had hitherto suffered little by the war, and where there were
cows to be lifted and towns to be sacked. He reported the capture of
twelve castles, of which Cahir was the most important. There were a
hundred men in this strong place, which might have defied him if it
had been bravely defended. One of his soldiers was wounded and taken
in a plundering affray, and Colonel Hippesley, who had some skill in
surgery, obtained access to him in the guise of a doctor. He used his
opportunity to notice that there was a weak point in the courtyard
wall, and that a timorous spirit prevailed among the garrison. The
outer wall was carried by storm, and the castle surrendered on
condition that the soldiers' lives should be spared. The moral effect
of this success was great, for it was supposed then, and it has often
been said since, that Cahir held out for two months against Essex.
It is true that that ill-starred favourite wasted several weeks in
Munster, but his siege of Cahir lasted only three days. On September
4 Inchiquin came before Cashel, where there was a garrison of four
hundred men. A panic was caused by the fate of Cahir, and the soldiers
with a large part of the inhabitants took refuge on the famous rock,
which was well supplied with water and surrounded by strong walls.
Others wisely distrusted the acropolis, and hid themselves in the
woods and fields. Inchiquin offered to let the garrison march out with
the honours of war, without any conditions for the clergy and citizens;
but the officers bravely refused. The assailants had no cannon, but
trusted to fire within the walls. One account says Inchiquin piled turf
against the defences; another, that firebrands were thrown over the
battlements. The fine September weather did the rest. The assailants
swarmed in over the north wall, and a terrible carnage ensued. About a
thousand of the besieged perished, some women being killed and others
stripped. 'Three of the secular clergy, the prior of the Dominicans,
and one of our society (the Jesuits) fell in the performance of their
sacred duties.' A bishop who was present managed to hide himself,
as did the mayor and some others; but no respect was paid to the
church or even to the altar. According to the account most favourable
to Inchiquin, he tried to stop the slaughter as soon as he reached
the cathedral, but is said to have donned the archiepiscopal mitre,
boasting that he was governor of Munster and archbishop of Cashel too.
Ludlow says he 'put 3000 to the sword, taking the priests even from
under the altar: of such force is ambition when it seizes upon the
minds of men.' The soldiers sold the plunder, including the sacred
vessels, to the people who flocked in from the neighbouring villages
'as if to a fair.' Pictures of saints were used as horse-cloths, and
insults were offered to statues of the Virgin.[115]

[Sidenote: Rinuccini without money.]

[Sidenote: _Disputatio Apologetica._]

[Sidenote: The book publicly burnt at Kilkenny,]

[Sidenote: and condemned at Lisbon.]

Money was expected from Rome at the beginning of the year, but did not
come for twelve months, during which Rinuccini's influence waned; and
to this delay he attributed the expulsion of Glamorgan, the action
of Muskerry, and the defeat of Preston. Six thousand crowns would
have prevented it all. With eight thousand more O'Neill could have
retaken Sligo, subdued Connaught, and 'marched into Ulster to reduce
the fort of Enniskillen, and to take possession of the Holy Place of
St. Patrick's Purgatory, now about one hundred years in the hands of
the heretics.' Having seen Ormonde safe out of Ireland, the nuncio
himself withdrew to Galway, where his presence would still have some
of the charm of novelty and where he might expect less resistance than
at Kilkenny or Clonmel. But Clanricarde carefully avoided paying him
any attention, and he was confronted with a new difficulty immediately
after his arrival. A Jesuit named Cornelius Mahony, a native of Cork
but living at Lisbon, published in 1645 what he called an 'apologetic
disputation,' with an exhortation to his countrymen. He proves to his
own satisfaction that the English Crown had no claims upon Ireland,
having broken the conditions of Adrian's bull, and urges the Irish to
'elect a Catholic king, a vernacular or natural Irishman.' 'You have
already,' he says, 'killed 150,000 enemies in these four or five years,
as your very adversaries' howling openly confess in their writings,
and you do not deny. I think more heretic enemies have been killed:
would that they had all been! It remains for you to slay all the other
heretics, or expel them from the bounds of Ireland, lest they infect
our Catholic country with their heresies and errors.' A copy of this
incendiary production reached Ireland from France, and others followed
from Portugal. At Kilkenny the book was publicly burned, and close
search was made at Galway. Rinuccini expressed no disapproval of its
doctrines, and refused to punish John Bane, parish priest of Athlone,
with whom a copy was found. He attributed the outcry against it to
those who were in possession of ecclesiastical lands, and to those
who hated O'Neill, the only possible 'natural and vernacular' hero
who could be chosen king. The Portuguese kingdom had only lately been
re-established, and Mahony argued that the Irish had just the same
right to upset a heretic dynasty as the Portuguese had to drive out
their Castilian oppressors. Nevertheless, King John condemned the book,
and the possession of a copy was forbidden under grievous penalties.
Peter Walsh preached nine sermons against it on five successive Sundays
and holidays in St. Canice's Cathedral, and had no difficulty in
showing that loyalty to a Protestant king was an essential part of the
Confederacy's political creed.[116]

[Sidenote: The nuncio dislikes O'Neill.]

[Sidenote: The Church held responsible for Ulster savagery]

[Sidenote: Mutiny in O'Neill's army.]

[Sidenote: Devastation of the Pale.]

[Sidenote: Munster refuses O'Neill's help.]

Rinuccini, though O'Neill was his only champion, came to hate him
almost as much as he hated Ormonde. He even made excuses for Preston,
whose intrigues with the latter might be explained by O'Neill's
ambition 'under cover of religion.' After Benburb, the northern
general had increased his army without orders, and he thirsted for the
plunder of Leinster. Monck took care that he should have no supplies
from Eastern Ulster. 'If I had not sent my confessor to dissuade him
from so unjust a resolution,' said the nuncio, 'Kilkenny would have
been sacked and much innocent blood shed.' Wherever O'Neill went, the
Ulster soldiers, 'barbarous enough by nature, although good Catholics,'
spread terror and destruction around. The worst of it was that they
called themselves the army of Pope and Church, and when they 'perform
any act of cruelty or robbery, the sufferers execrate his Holiness
and me, and curse the clergy, whom they consider the patrons of this
army.' Two regiments harried the property of Mountgarret, who brought
a crowd of women to the nuncio's house, 'where they made a dreadful
uproar with howls and lamentations, thus giving it to be understood
that I countenanced the cruelties perpetrated by the Ulster men.'
After the failure of the attack on Dublin, O'Neill was made general of
Connaught, and devoted himself to the affairs of that province. He was
at Boyle, preparing to march against Sligo, when the news of Dungan
Hill reached him, with a pressing summons to enter Leinster again, so
as to prevent Inchiquin from joining hands with Jones. Muskerry was a
party to this, for he could see no other means of safety; but O'Neill
refused to move. The personal entreaties of Bishop Macmahon at last
prevailed, but many of his officers, with Alexander MacDonnell at their
head, refused to obey. Partly by persuasion and partly by turning his
guns on the mutineers, the general pacified them for the time, and
established his quarters at Castlejordan in Meath, until November 1647.
He had then collected about 12,000 foot and 1500 horse, and with these
he proceeded to make a famine round Dublin. Tichborne followed the
northern army everywhere, and cut off many stragglers. The destroyers
passed near the scene of Preston's defeat to Dunboyne and Clonee,
and all southern Meath was burned or spoiled. Turning northwards,
they went almost to Balbriggan. Two hundred fires were counted at one
time from St. Audoen's steeple in Dublin. On the sixth day, between
Ratoath and Garristown, Jones and Tichborne showed themselves; and the
latter wished to fight, but was overruled, so that O'Neill returned
to Castlejordan without having to strike a blow. He offered to
quarter 4000 men in Munster, who were to spare the Confederates while
galling Inchiquin's partisans; but the provincials refused such help.
Inchiquin's methods of making war were not gentle, but there was some
excuse for doubting whether the deliverers would be much better.[117]

[Sidenote: Inchiquin's soldiers hungry,]

[Sidenote: but anxious to fight.]

[Sidenote: Battle of Knocknanuss Nov. 13.]

[Sidenote: Alaster Macdonnell again.]

[Sidenote: Inchiquin completely victorious.]

[Sidenote: Death of Macdonnell.]

Having access to a sea which their friends commanded, neither Jones
nor Inchiquin were easy to assail. They could always retire into their
coast towns and exist there somehow. Yet the Munster Protestants were
in miserable state enough. 'It would make your soul bleed,' writes a
resident in Cork to his cousin in England, 'to see the poor common
soldier march out with never a whole rag to his back, nor shoe to his
foot, feeble and faint for want of what should suffice nature.' The
prospect of a battle was a relief, and 'those that were sickish skipped
for joy.' Taaffe, says the author of the 'Aphorismical Discovery,' 'was
a well-spoken man of both art and delivery, a fencer, a runner of a
tilt, a brave, generous gamester, and an exceeding good potator in
any liquor you please.' He was a brave soldier, but more diplomatist
than general. In the King's interest, Digby had urged him to avoid a
general action, but Fabian tactics require a Fabius, and probably he
was forced to fight by the feeling which Inchiquin's doings at Cashel
had excited. At all events, he drew his forces together early in
November, when Inchiquin concentrated his at Mallow, and went to look
for him. Taaffe, with 7000 foot and 1200 horse, was strongly posted on
the hill of Knocknanuss, about three miles to the eastward of Kanturk.
A bog and stream ran along his front. Inchiquin with a much smaller
force advanced to a place called Garryduff on November 12, where he
received a letter from Taaffe, who declared that he was fighting in
the King's cause, and proposed a contest between 2000 foot a side,
'more for recreation' than for any serious military reason. Inchiquin
retorted that Taaffe was not really preserving the King's interest, and
that he would wait till the morning before engaging in a battle for
recreation. He sheltered his army in a wood for the night, and when the
first light disclosed Taaffe's position, suggested in his turn that he
should descend from his hill, cross the stream, and fight 'upon a very
fair piece of ground.' Taaffe answered verbally that he was soldier
enough to improve the advantage that he had. He refused to abandon his
position, but did what was nearly as bad by shifting his men in sight
of the enemy and finally posting them so that the bend of the hill hid
his two wings from one another. The right, under Alexander MacDonnell,
consisted of Scots islanders and Ulstermen, the Munster troops being
on the left, where Taaffe himself stood. Inchiquin began the attack
with his artillery, but the Highlanders, having fired a volley, threw
away their muskets and rushed sword-in-hand upon the guns, of which
they retained possession for an hour. Inchiquin's left was driven
back towards Mallow, but on the right he was completely victorious.
Rupert's faults were not his, and he did not pursue, but turned back
to look after his defeated wing. The Highlanders and Purcell's horse,
believing the battle won, were scattered all over the country, and
made no effective resistance. Half of Taaffe's army were slain, the
remainder flying to Liscarroll and Newmarket; while Inchiquin lost
only about 150 men. 'We were killing till night,' he says; and few
prisoners were made, except among the officers. The arms of 6000 men
strewed the field, and Taaffe's commission from the Confederates as
general of Munster was taken with his baggage. Bellings had heard
that Alexander Macdonnell was killed by an officer in cold blood,
after quarter given; but the English accounts give no hint of this;
and Rinuccini says distinctly that he refused quarter. The result of
the battle was to place all Munster at Inchiquin's discretion, except
Limerick, Waterford, Clonmel, and Kilmallock. He received the thanks of
Parliament, and 1000_l._ were voted to buy horses.[118]

[Sidenote: The dwindling Assembly at Kilkenny.]

[Sidenote: The nuncio's party outnumbered]

[Sidenote: A property qualification.]

The General Assembly of the Confederates met at Kilkenny on November
12, the day before the battle of Knocknanuss. In the previous year
there had been seventy-three members to represent Ulster, and these had
given Rinuccini his majority. This time, 'from poverty or some other
cause,' only nine appeared, who claimed to hold proxies for the whole
number. This claim was disallowed, and Munster and Connaught, being
under-represented owing to the difficulties of travel, the powers lay
with 'the mob of Leinster, many of them the minions of Muskerry.' On
the very day of meeting, apparently, the Assembly proceeded to pass
what was in effect a new constitution. This document, extending to
fifteen printed pages, and no doubt carefully prepared beforehand,
begins by setting forth the ruin wrought by military violence. To
repress this for the future a new Supreme Council was appointed,
consisting of twelve from each province; but the real power was given
to a committee of twelve 'residents,' three for each province, chosen
out of the larger number. Bellings was one of the twelve, only two
of whom were bishops; of these, Edmund O'Dwyer, Bishop of Limerick,
was a pronounced Ormondist; while Emer Macmahon of Clogher was by
no means averse to treating with the Lord Lieutenant. When seven,
being an absolute majority of the committee, came to any decision,
the dissidents were to sign as if they had been assenting parties.
Elaborate orders were made for the repression of malefactors, for
raising money, and for the arming and training of a militia consisting
of all men between sixteen and sixty, 'forcing such as are able to
provide for themselves swords and muskets, and the rest pikes and
skeyns.' It was recited that in all former assemblies many of the
members had been 'serving-men and men uninterested in the kingdom,'
and ordered that only estated gentlemen should be eligible in future.
Finally, orders were given for the regulation of the 'creaghts' or
nomad herdsmen of Ulster, who had followed Owen Roe O'Neill into the
other three provinces and settled upon them like locusts, turning the
cultivated country into a desert.[119]

[Sidenote: The Queen's opinion about Ireland]

[Sidenote: Envoys sent to Rome,]

[Sidenote: to Spain,]

[Sidenote: and to France.]

'I wonder,' wrote Henrietta Maria to her husband a few days before the
Assembly met at Kilkenny, 'that the Irish do not give themselves to
some foreign king; you will force them to it in the end, when they see
themselves offered as a sacrifice.' Many in Ireland were of the same
opinion, and Rinuccini feared that Louis XIV. would be chosen. His own
sympathies were rather Spanish, but he could not deny that France was
likely to be the best paymaster and the most vigorous protector. A
neutral would be preferable, and, like a good Florentine, he suggested
the Grand Duke Ferdinand II. who had sent or promised some arms. But
the Assembly had no thought of repudiating the English Crown, though
they eagerly sought help from Continental sovereigns, and even from
the Dutch States-General. None of the envoys chosen were such as
Rinuccini approved. Bishop French and Sir Nicholas Plunket were sent
to Rome, and in this case he could say that the object of the Council
was to get good men out of the way. They were to represent generally
the fidelity of Ireland and her need of help, and in particular to beg
the Pope's intercession with the Queen and Prince, with the sovereigns
of France and Spain, and with all other Christian princes. If all else
failed, they were empowered to invite Innocent to be himself protector
of Ireland, and they were to ask his help even if matters should be
accommodated with the Queen and Prince. Sir Richard Blake, a decided
opponent of the nuncio, was sent to Spain with instructions to offer
the protectorship to the King; but only in the last resort and after
they had heard the result of the Roman mission. The same instructions
were given to those who went to France. Viscount Muskerry, Bishop
Emer Macmahon, and Geoffrey Brown were at first chosen; but Macmahon
positively refused to go on the grounds that the Queen hated him, that
Jermyn and Digby had threatened his life for opposing the Ormonde
peace, and that he spoke neither French nor English. The latter can
hardly have been strictly the case, but perhaps he did not speak well
enough for diplomacy. It was nevertheless carried by a majority that
he should be compelled to go. 'He then rose,' says Rinuccini, 'and,
with much displeasure, added the following words: "You, sirs, have
gained your victory, but I say that under no circumstances will I go
to France."' More than fifty members left the hall, exclaiming that
the Confederation was at end; but a bishop said that the disaffection
of one need not dissolve the union of others. Muskerry, Taaffe, and
Preston wished to imprison Macmahon, but the mayor sheltered him.
There was a cry that O'Neill was coming, and the city gates were shut.
Preston went to look for soldiers, and when Macmahon returned to the
Assembly next day he was driven away as being himself under discussion.
The lawyers said a bishop might be imprisoned, but the clergy objected,
and the Council contented themselves with forbidding him to leave the
city. In the end, Antrim was substituted for the bishop as envoy to
France, and the matter dropped for the time.[120]

[Sidenote: Inchiquin's bare-footed army]

[Sidenote: is everywhere victorious.]

[Sidenote: Flight of the Supreme Council.]

[Sidenote: Inchiquin ill-supported by Parliament,]

[Sidenote: which he resolves to desert.]

On December 16 Inchiquin marched out of Cork with 1000 foot and a few
horse, 'and was fain to have a gathering among the poor inhabitants
to get so much monies as to buy them brogues to keep their feet from
being cut to pieces by ice.' Owing to the difficulty of feeding men
and horses, he could not increase his force materially. But, small
as it was, Rinuccini reported at the end of January that it met with
no resistance anywhere. A few days later Inchiquin relieved Cahir,
occupied Carrick, and repaired the bridge there; threatened Waterford,
where Rinuccini then was, and, turning northward, took Callan by
assault. No artillery was used, all the gates being blown down with
petards, and three hundred men were put to the sword, 'besides some
women, which the soldiers' mercy would not extend to, notwithstanding
orders to the contrary.' The victors were unpaid and half starved,
and even the officers underwent 'intolerable extremities.' Fethard
was also in Inchiquin's hands, and the Council of the Confederates
fled in haste to Kilkenny from Clonmel, whither they had gone to
compose local differences. Rinuccini went to Waterford, and Inchiquin
raised contributions up to the very walls of Kilkenny. Perhaps he
did not really want to take it, being already suspected of a wish
to turn against the Parliament which had supplied his wants so ill.
His officers continued to protest their fidelity, but dwelt upon the
'improbable successes' which they had attained without help. The
Derby House Committee promised money and clothes, which either never
came or came in ridiculously small quantities, showing that they were
distrusted. They would be obliged to make terms with the rebels, unless
Parliament sent shipping to fetch them off. The officers' remonstrance
was not read in the House of Commons until March 27, but Inchiquin had
been for some time in communication with Ormonde. This did not prevent
him from attempting a junction with Jones, which was prevented by
O'Neill, or from sending Major Patterson to Edinburgh, offering to join
the Scots with 6000 men if they would declare for the King against the
English Parliament.[121]

[Sidenote: Ormonde in England, Aug.-Feb., 1647-8.]

[Sidenote: He escapes to France.]

[Sidenote: The Irish envoys at Paris, March, 1647-8.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde advises an evasive answer.]

On landing in England, Ormonde went for a few days to Acton, near
Bristol, where he stayed with his uncle, Sir Robert Poyntz. Having
received a pass from Fairfax, he went to London and to the King at
Hampton Court, to whom he presented an elaborate account of his
proceedings in Ireland. He had a friendly meeting with Fairfax at
Putney, and lived for some time at Kingston, to be near the King; but
the army became jealous of the Royalist confabulations at Hampton
Court, and on October 9 he had to take leave of Charles, whom he
never saw again. He returned to Acton, which was conveniently near to
Ireland, and sent, first, Colonel John Barry, and then Edward Synge,
afterwards Bishop of Cloyne, to negotiate with Inchiquin. Fearing that
he might be arrested, he crossed the country to Hastings and escaped in
a fishing-boat to Dieppe. Many believed that he had gone to Scotland.
He reached Paris early in March where he met Glamorgan and Antrim, each
of them hoping to be the 'Catholic viceroy' for whom Rinuccini had so
long contended. Muskerry and Brown reached St. Malo on March 14, and
on April 2 made written proposals to the Queen and Prince. They were
debarred from considering religious matters until the return of the
envoys from Rome, and were content to stand for the present upon the
terms of the Ormonde peace. In the case of property they were more
specific, insisting that all lands forfeited since the first year of
James and reconquered since October 23, 1641, from 'any of the party
adverse to us' should be confirmed to the actual holders, that all who
had lost their estates since the accession should be allowed to recover
them, no statute or patent being pleadable to the contrary. No king of
England could have granted these terms, and Henrietta was surrounded
by English Protestants. Ormonde advised a friendly answer without any
definite promises, and this course was taken. The Queen and Prince
regretted the violation of the late peace, declined to discuss matters
of religion with men who were not authorised to treat, and promised
to send someone to Ireland empowered to 'condescend to whatever may
consist with justice and with his Majesty's honour and interest to
grant unto the said Confederated Catholics.' This answer was not given
till May 13, by which time the situation in Ireland had materially
changed.[122]

FOOTNOTES:

[106] George Leyburn's _Memoirs_, 1722; Tichborne's _Letter_ to his
wife, June 8, 1657; _Bellings_, vii. 15 _sqq._

[107] Leyburn's _Memoirs_; Digby's letters in Carte's _Ormonde_, vol.
iii., appendix.

[108] All the material facts for this paragraph are in Carte's
_Ormonde_, and Rinuccini's _Embassy_, pp. 276-329; Clarendon's _Hist.
of the Rebellion, Ireland_, p. 39. The garrisons surrendered with
Dublin were Drogheda, Naas, Trim, Dundalk, Carlingford, Narrow-water,
Newry, Greencastle, Slane.

[109] Letters of Digby and Ormonde in Carte's _Ormonde_, iii. 17-23,
July.

[110] Clanricarde to Ormonde, January 8, 1646-7, with Ormonde's
answer of same date, in Carte's _Ormonde_, iii.; _Bellings_, vii.
21-27; Rinuccini's _Embassy_, June 18 and August 22, 1647; Muskerry
to Clanricarde, June 17, 'from the camp, near Kilmallock,' in
_Confederation and War_, vii. 203; Glamorgan to the King, March 31,
_Additional MSS._, 28,938, _f._ 129.

[111] _Bellings_, vii. 27-32; Culme's Diary referred to below;
Leyburn's _Memoirs_.

[112] _Bellings_, vii. 32, 349; Jones's account in _Rushworth_, vii.
779; Rinuccini's account in _Embassy_, p. 306; Borlase's _Rebellion; A
Diary of Passages_, August 1-10, 1647, brought to London on August 18
by Lieut.-Colonel Arthur Culme, who was present, and presented by him
to Parliament, to which a list of prisoners is appended, giving the
names of 101 commissioned and twenty-five non-commissioned officers,
with 241 privates not named. Lord Westmeath is at the head of the list.

[113] Culme's _Diary_, _ut sup._; Lismore Papers, 2nd series, p. 111;
_Rushworth_, vi. 486, 562, 632 and vii. 787 (Letter of August 12, 1647)
_Two letters_ from Lord Inchiquin to the Speaker, May 4 and 10, 1647,
ordered to be printed May 18.

[114] _Rushworth_, vi. 248, 455; _Whitelock_, March 9, 1646-7;
_Confederation and War_, iv. 19-25; Blencowe's _Sydney Papers_, pp. 6,
13, 17; _A True and Brief Relation_ of Lord Lisle's departure (a letter
from Cork), 1647. Monck's Ulster appointment was made in July 1647.

[115] For the sack of Cashel I have chiefly followed Father Andrew
Sall, S.J., who was a native of the place, and who appears from
internal evidence to have been at least in the neighbourhood. A
translation from his Italian narrative is printed in Murphy's _Cromwell
in Ireland_, pp. 388-392. The _Aphorismical Discovery_ (i. 182) says
thirty priests and friars were killed; Carte says 'near twenty.'
Carte's _Ormonde_, ii. 7; Ludlow's _Memoirs_, ed. Firth, i. 85;
Lenihan's _Limerick_, p. 161.

[116] I have used the very scarce Dublin reprint of the _Disputatio
Apologetica_: the original is, of course, still scarcer. Nearly all
that is known of Mahony is in Walsh's _Remonstrance_, part ii. sec. 22.
The Portuguese decrees are in _Contemporary Hist._ i. 739; Rinuccini's
_Embassy_, p. 321.

[117] Rinuccini's report on O'Neill's proceedings, 1647, in _Embassy_,
p. 281. For the great and increasing hatred excited by the Ulster
troops, _ib._, 290, 309, 324, 347, 353-4, 357, 359; O'Neill's Journal,
1647, in _Contemporary Hist._, iii. 206; Sir H. Tichborne's _Letter_ to
his wife; Sir Maurice Eustace to Ormonde in _Confederation and War_,
vi. 207.

[118] Letters in _Rushworth_, vii. 916, 947; Inchiquin's letter to
Taaffe is in Meehan's _Confederation of Kilkenny_; Carte's _Ormonde_,
ii. 9; Smith's _Cork_; Rinuccini's official account of battle in
_Embassy_, p. 335, and further particulars at p. 519; _Bellings_, vii.
34, 350; Inchiquin to Lenthall, November 18, 1647, ordered by the House
of Commons to be printed, November 30. _A Perfect Narrative_ of the
battle of Knocknanuss, by an officer present, 1647; _A Mighty Victory_
in Ireland, November 29, 1647, being a letter from William More written
in the field on November 13.

[119] Rinuccini's _Embassy_, p. 343; _Confederation and War_, vi. 208,
232.

[120] The Queen to the King, December 1/11; 1647, in Bruce's _Charles
I. in 1646_; Rinuccini's _Embassy_, pp. 330, 332, 340, 343; _Bellings_,
vii. 36. Instructions for the agents to Rome, France, and Spain in
_Confederation and War_, vi. 223-227. Speech of the agent in Holland,
_ib._ 232.

[121] Letter in _Rushworth_, vii. 947; _ib._ 1006, 1029, 1041;
Rinuccini's _Embassy_, pp. 367, 370; _Thurloe_, i. 93; _Bellings_, vii.
36-39.

[122] Carte's _Ormonde_, ii. 15. Ormonde's report on Ireland to the
King is _ib._ iii. appendix No. 565; _Rushworth_, vii. 795. The Paris
negotiations in _Confederation and War_, vi. 228-232. _Bellings_, vii.
37.




CHAPTER XXIX

INCHIQUIN, RINUCCINI, AND ORMONDE, 1648


[Sidenote: Inchiquin and the Parliament.]

[Sidenote: He is distrusted,]

[Sidenote: and voted a traitor, April 14, 1648.]

Inchiquin's espousal of the Parliamentary cause had been generally
attributed to his disgust at the King's foolish appointment of
Portland to be President of Munster over his head. But the motives of
men are, for the most part, mixed, and he may have thought, as was
indeed the fact, that he was taking the best course to protect the
Protestants of southern Ireland. Ormonde could do little for them,
and the masters of the sea could do much. But Parliament was torn
by factions, and help was sent to Ireland grudgingly. Having gained
two great victories and successfully maintained the three seaports,
Inchiquin thought he deserved better treatment. Besides all this, he
disliked the Independents and dreaded their growing power. In November
1642 he assured Ormonde that he was no Roundhead; and in August 1645,
after Naseby and after his expulsion of the Roman Catholics from
Cork and Youghal, he told his brother-in-law, Michael Boyle, that
he would waive all dependence on Parliament if he could see safety
for the Protestants by any other means. Even before the battle of
Knocknanuss he was distrusted in Parliamentary circles, and after it
he began to draw towards Ormonde. The Confederacy was evidently on the
decline, and there was some chance of a general combination against
Owen Roe O'Neill. Purely selfish considerations would probably have
confirmed him in his allegiance to the Parliament; for since Cornet
Joyce's raid it was easy to see that the 'Roundheads' were going to
win. On March 30, after the letter from Inchiquin's officers had been
considered, three members of the House of Commons were appointed to go
as commissioners to the Munster army. A fortnight later Major Elsing,
one of the officers who refused to follow their general, reported his
defection to the House, who thereupon recalled their commissioners,
cancelled all Inchiquin's powers, and voted him a rebel and traitor.
Before declaring himself openly he had taken the precaution of
bespeaking a welcome in France in case the worst came to the worst.
Broghill, his rival in Munster, was also intriguing with Ormonde and
the Queen; but in his case it came to nothing. His cousin, Sir W.
Fenton, and other officers who refused to declare for the King, had
been imprisoned by Inchiquin, and this may have tended to prevent
Broghill from joining him.[123]

[Sidenote: Inchiquin's truce with the Confederacy]

[Sidenote: Rinuccini's opposition.]

[Sidenote: The truce condemned by the bishops, April 27.]

Inchiquin having declared himself a Royalist, there was nothing to
prevent those who had made the Ormonde peace from coming to terms
with him also. When the late raid was fresh in his memory, even
Rinuccini had seen the necessity of doing something of the kind. Now
that Kilkenny and Waterford seemed safe he strenuously opposed any
cessation or truce on the ground that it would leave things as before.
Inchiquin's change of front had left him without allies, and this
was the time to crush the author of the Cashel massacre. The Supreme
Council urged that they were in no condition to maintain a war, and
that even if they were it would be bad policy to drive Inchiquin to
desperation. The result would be to deliver Cork, Youghal, and Kinsale
to the Parliament, who would always grant him fair terms for such
valuable possessions. Inchiquin was certainly very anti-Catholic,
'yet, as we are informed, he suffers our priests to live and mass to
be celebrated within his quarters,' and he would allow tithes to be
paid in Tipperary and 'Cashel and all the churches which were profaned
there' to be restored to their old uses. Michael Jones was making
great preparations in Dublin, and the Confederacy would soon have to
reckon with him. 'Your lordship knows by experience,' they reminded
the nuncio, 'that when the enemy insulted over your lordship at the
walls of Waterford, and stood at defiance with us at the gates of
Kilkenny, how slow our forces were drawing to a head, when after
orders upon orders, ten times at least, issued by us, one on the neck
of another, to General Preston, General O'Neill, and the Lord Taaffe,
scarce three thousand men could be brought into the city before the
enemy retreated.' But Rinuccini above all things dreaded the return
of Ormonde, and persisted in opposing a truce 'with any of a contrary
religion,' though he was willing to agree to an 'accommodation,
confederacy, or some such like contract,' based not upon the _status
quo_, but upon a distinct advantage to be gained. He held a meeting of
fourteen bishops, who decided that no one could with a safe conscience
agree to the truce. There was a minority of six, but, according to the
custom on such occasions, they signed with the rest.[124]

[Sidenote: Rinuccini goes to the Ulster army.]

[Sidenote: The truce concluded in his absence, May 20.]

[Sidenote: Interdict and excommunication follows.]

'The nuncio,' says Bellings, 'seeing that no opposition he could give
was of force to interrupt the cessation, judging it, perhaps, unfit
for him to be present at the publishing of it, left the town in such
a manner as might well persuade the people somewhat had been plotted
against his person, for, passing through the garden of Mr. Shea's
house, where he lived, and mounting to the town wall by a ladder,
he went out at the gate, and thence to the northern army in Leix,
where the Ulster creaghts, from the time Owen O'Neill had taken the
fort of Maryborough on his advance to the siege of Dublin, had been
planted.' Bishop Macmahon left Kilkenny next day. Some monks had told
the nuncio that a plot against his life had been revealed to them
under the seal of confession. Somebody may have said this to drive him
away, but that there was such a plot is quite incredible, and it may
be doubted whether Rinuccini believed it himself. He fled to O'Neill
at Maryborough, and when he was gone the truce was quickly concluded.
The Council, more for the sake of popularity than because they wished
for his presence, made great efforts to induce him to return, but he
was irreconcilable, and was destined never to see Kilkenny again.
The truce was concluded without his consent on May 20, to last until
November 1, upon the basis of each party retaining its own and of a
mutual exchange of prisoners. Inchiquin's quarters were defined as
the counties of Cork, Kerry, and Waterford, with the proviso that he
should not tax the baronies of Glenaheiry, near Clonmel, and Gaultier,
near Waterford, nor the towns of Dingle and Tralee. He undertook not
to interfere with the free exercise of religion outside his garrison
towns. A week later the nuncio excommunicated all who accepted the
truce, and laid an interdict on towns and villages receiving it.
Macmahon and four other bishops signed the document, and the penalties
of excommunication were declared to be incurred by all who removed or
defaced it.[125]

[Sidenote: The Supreme Council appeal to Rome.]

[Sidenote: O'Neill supports the nuncio.]

[Sidenote: Tyrone's sword.]

[Sidenote: Preston and O'Neill at war.]

'The lord nuncio's excommunications,' says Bellings, 'had now by his
often thundering of them, grown more cheap.' A sense of this may have
been the reason why he made it as stringent as possible, though he was
without books or canonists, and therefore open to criticism in point
of form. In the letters written at the time he admits that the result
varied very much in different places, but in the narrative composed
after he left Ireland he says he 'knew of no occasion when the censure
has better deserved the name of a thunderbolt,' and that it had at
once sent 2000 of Preston's soldiers over to O'Neill. The paper was
publicly posted in Kilkenny, and the Supreme Council at once appealed
to Rome. O'Neill and his officers declared unreservedly for the nuncio,
professing to believe that Ormonde was really a partisan of the
Parliament, and that those who adhered to him were inclined the same
way. The Council thereupon revoked his commission as general of Ulster,
and advised him and his officers by letter. O'Neill collected these
missives and burned them publicly in the presence of Bishop Macmahon
and others, and proceeded to increase his forces as fast as possible.
Some money brought from Rome by Dean Massari enabled him to do this.
The Dean had also brought a sword from Luke Wadding, which was said to
have been Tyrone's, and for which he had a splendid scabbard made at
Paris. As a former Pope had sent Tyrone a crown of peacock's feathers,
so this was thought to be a confirmation of the report that Owen
O'Neill was designated as king in Mahony's pamphlet. The sword never
came into O'Neill's hands, and there is no evidence that he had any
such ideas, though the nature of his ambition must always be somewhat
questionable. Things came to a head about the end of July, when James
Preston, the general's son, besieged Athy, which was held by Shane
O'Hagan against the Confederates, and where O'Neill had established a
bakery for ammunition-bread. Summoned by O'Hagan to his relief, the
northern general came from Longford without meeting much resistance,
and passed the flooded Barrow by felling an oak tree across it. Preston
drew off at his approach, and he encamped a few days later in Lord
Mountgarret's park at Dunmore with 10,000 foot and 500 horse. His men
ate the deer and drank the good ale in the lodge. He made no attempt on
the town, about which Preston had collected some troops, and after a
stay of five days drew off into Queen's County, Inchiquin following him
with a much inferior force.[126]

[Sidenote: Panic at Kilkenny, May-August.]

[Sidenote: Inchiquin urges Ormonde to return.]

While O'Neill's tents were visible from the walls of Kilkenny there
was great confusion inside. Some churches were shut; others, in
defiance of the interdict, remained open. A letter was intercepted in
which Paul King, guardian of the Franciscans and a special confidant
of the nuncio's, invited the northern general to take possession.
The Council imprisoned King and made Peter Walsh guardian. Walsh was
employed to draw up queries and answers, which were afterwards signed
by Bishop Rothe, against the validity of Rinuccini's censures. 'I
remember very well,' writes the learned friar, 'how (besides others)
Richard Bellings, Esq., a leading member and chief secretary of the
said Council, came several times from them to my chamber to hasten my
despatch, and to tell me of the great danger of delay, being the enemy
was in sight and the people so divided.' He worked for five days and
nights consecutively without closing his eyes, and preached in the
cathedral at the end of it. A respectable number of divines followed
Rothe and Walsh, but it was evident that the Confederacy could not be
restored. O'Neill, who alone of the Irish generals had the prestige
of victory, openly defied the authority of the Council and adhered to
the nuncio. Jones was gradually growing stronger in Dublin, and it was
evident that no one except Ormonde could have the weight necessary.
Inchiquin had urged him to come as soon as the truce was concluded.
'Divers of my men,' he said, 'have died of hunger, after they had a
while lived upon cats and dogs, as many do now. And if, while I am in
this condition, the Parliament shipping should arrive according to our
expectation, grounded upon good advertisement, with some officers,
money, clothes, and victuals, and make tender thereof unto our
soldiers, if they will give up the officers they have now, a greater
strait than I shall be in cannot be imagined.'[127]

[Sidenote: Activity of O'Neill, August-September.]

[Sidenote: He is generally unsuccessful.]

After leaving Kilkenny, O'Neill marched to Borrisoleigh in Tipperary.
Here he received an invitation to visit Clare, and went to Killaloe,
whence he detached Rory Maguire to surprise Banagher. He then turned
back into Tipperary, and sent another detachment to Nenagh, which was
taken by storm. From Silvermines he went to Birr, where he heard that
Athy was again closely besieged by Preston, and sent a party to relieve
it. Inchiquin, in the meantime, recovered Nenagh by undermining the
wall, while his men were sheltered with wooden barriers. The garrison
surrendered before the mine was fired, and Inchiquin then went to
Banagher, where he was joined by Clanricarde and Taaffe. They were so
well posted that O'Neill was unable to raise the siege, and retired
by Tullamore to the neighbourhood of Belturbet in Cavan. Athlone was
already in Clanricarde's hands, so that the party opposed to Rinuccini
had been successful all along the line. O'Neill's object had been
to reach Kerry, which had not been devastated and where there were
harbours to receive foreign supplies, and mountains suited to his
peculiar tactics. He remained inactive in Ulster for the rest of the
year.[128]

[Sidenote: O'Neill makes advances to Inchiquin,]

[Sidenote: and to Michael Jones,]

[Sidenote: and denounces the Confederates.]

[Sidenote: O'Neill proclaimed traitor, Sept. 30.]

Early in September O'Neill employed Rory O'More, the original plotter
of the rebellion, on a mission to Inchiquin. He offered to leave him
the whole of Munster without any condition but that of non-interference
in the other provinces. Adopting Rinuccini's view that anything was
better than the Supreme Council, he also entered into negotiations
with the governor of Dublin. Jones was represented by his brother,
the Bishop of Clogher, while Macmahon, who claimed the same see, was
hand-and-glove with O'Neill. The General Assembly declared that 'as
Owen Roe and the Bishop of Clogher (Macmahon) mislead those adhering
unto them with deep protestations of their loyalty, and desires to
advance the Catholic religion, and his Majesty's interests, and his
aversion to Jones and his ways; so of the other side Jones with his
Protestant Bishop of Clogher, by the same acts and illusions (while
they be practisers with Owen O'Neill) endeavours to persuade his
officers and soldiers that he intends to prosecute him as a pestilent
blood-sucker, and a sworn enemy to the English nation and Government;
and we are informed that when despatches come from Owen O'Neill, and
the messengers of Vicar-General Edmond O'Reilly are seen at Dublin,
Jones gives out that they are sent from the Council at Kilkenny.' In
his declaration against the truce with Inchiquin O'Neill denounced the
Confederates for surrendering all to Ormonde, 'the great personage whom
in their souls they know to be wholly disposed to betray the kingdom to
the Parliament.' It is hard to believe that O'Neill thought any such
thing; at all events, he heartily congratulated the great personage
on his safe arrival in Ireland. 'None,' he said, 'shall be found in
the kingdom more obedient and dutiful to his Majesty, and consequently
to your Excellency.' Ormonde replied that he would have no reason to
complain if his actions were agreeable to his professions. In the
meantime the Supreme Council had proclaimed O'Neill a traitor, along
with Bishop Macmahon, Vicar-General O'Reilly, Dominic Fanning, and
others, and had ordered all their adherents to lay down their arms
before October 25 on pain of being held traitors likewise.[129]

[Sidenote: Ormonde lands at Cork, Sept. 29.]

[Sidenote: The King's orders to him.]

Ormonde reached Cork harbour on Michaelmas Day. Inchiquin begged him
to come, with or without money, but to multiply the real sum by four
so as to encourage the soldiers. What he actually brought was thirty
pistoles, his slender resources having been expended through various
accidents and delays before he left France. He issued an address to
the Munster army, declaring that he had come 'to employ his utmost
endeavours for the settlement of the Protestant religion, for defence
of the King in his prerogatives, and for maintaining the privileges
and freedom of Parliament, as well as the liberty of the subject.'
Independency he would do his best to suppress. He had still all the
legal authority of a viceroy, but his special powers to treat with the
Irish had been exhausted in 1646. He had fresh powers from the Prince
of Wales, but they might be objected to, and the King was applied to
for their confirmation. 'I must command you two things,' wrote Charles
from Newport, 'first, to obey all my wife's commands; then, not to
obey any commands of mine until I send you word that I am free from
restraint. Lastly, be not startled at my great concessions concerning
Ireland, for that they will come to nothing.' Ormonde stayed a few days
at Cork, and then went to his own house at Carrick, so as to be near
Kilkenny.[130]

[Sidenote: Riot at Galway, July.]

[Sidenote: The archbishop defies the nuncio.]

[Sidenote: The General Assembly denounce the nuncio's party,]

[Sidenote: and welcome Ormonde to Kilkenny.]

The mayor of Galway attempted to proclaim the truce, as Kilkenny had
done, but Rinuccini opposed him in person, and in the riot which
followed some lives were lost. The mob generally sided with the
nuncio, and he had the bell of the Carmelites' church taken down,
that order having opposed him. Two priests were posted at the door
'to keep Catholics from the mass, to the great scandal of Catholic
religion in the country, where there are many Protestants that, by
good example, might be converted to the Catholic faith.' Archbishop de
Burgo reached the town at this juncture, and demanded the production of
the warrant under which Rinuccini acted. 'I won't show it,' said the
nuncio. 'And I won't obey you,' replied the archbishop, and ordered
the church doors to be forcibly opened by a man who got in through
a hole in the roof. The archbishop celebrated mass in spite of the
interdict. In order to neutralise the action of the Kilkenny Council,
Rinuccini summoned a national synod to meet at Galway on August 15;
but Clanricarde, who had the assistance of Inchiquin, surrounded the
town and quite prevented any episcopal gathering there. No letters
reached the nuncio, and it was with great difficulty that he despatched
any. On August 30 he published a declaration, which was signed by six
bishops and some other dignitaries, setting forth that adhesion to the
truce with Inchiquin was 'a deadly sin against the law of God and His
Church.' This did not prevent the Assembly from meeting at Kilkenny
on September 4, who denounced the malice and irregularity of those
who signed the declaration, and pronounced them guilty of the late
bloodshed at Galway. A few days later they sent John Roe, provincial
of the barefooted Carmelites, to Rome with letters for the Pope. They
had fought, they said, for the faith for seven years, and their reward
was to have the papal thunders loosened upon their heads by the nuncio.
As soon as Ormonde arrived they congratulated him, and announced their
willingness to conclude 'a well-grounded and lasting peace' with him.
Commissioners, of whom Sir Phelim O'Neill was one, were appointed to
carry on the negotiations. Early in November Ormonde was invited to
Kilkenny, and entered the town with great pomp, the members of the
Assembly going out along the road to meet him and conducting him to his
own castle. It was just three years since Rinuccini had been received
with equal or greater rejoicing.[131]

[Sidenote: Antrim tries to thwart Ormonde]

Antrim was much disgusted at not being made Lord Lieutenant, and
reached Ireland about the same time as Ormonde, with the intention of
thwarting him. He was not trusted by the Confederates, and the most
important part of the Paris negotiations had been hidden from him.
Wexford favoured the nuncio, and Antrim collected about a thousand
men there with a view of making a diversion in aid of Owen O'Neill.
They consisted of a battalion of Highlanders, under Macdonald of
Glengarry, and of levies made among the O'Byrnes and Kavanaghs. They
were attacked on the road between Wexford and Arklow by the Confederate
forces, and routed by MacThomas and his cavalry. This is what Antrim
in his autobiographical memoir calls 'living privately at Wexford and
Waterford.' He escaped by boat to Arklow, and thence to O'Neill's
garrison at Rebane in Kildare. In the following year he became a
pensioner of Cromwell.[132]

[Sidenote: The Parliament masters of Ulster.]

[Sidenote: Monck takes Carrickfergus and Belfast, September.]

In the meantime the aspect of affairs in Ulster had changed very much.
Coote was governor of Londonderry, but much straitened by the fort
of Culmore, which was held by Sir Robert Stewart. Stewart was now a
decided Royalist, and his guns commanded the channel of the Foyle
so that supplies reached the city with difficulty. Monro still held
Carrickfergus and Belfast, while Monck held O'Neill in check from
Dundalk and Lisburn. When Monro's nephew George, who had escaped so
narrowly at Benburb, went over to Scotland for the King, he took with
him men from most of the Scottish regiments. This was done with his
uncle's connivance, and Monck had strict orders from the Parliament to
seize Belfast. During the night of September 12 he arrived accordingly
before Carrickfergus with a strong force. The captain of the guard
opened the gate, Monro was taken in his bed, and sent over to England.
Belfast then surrendered without resistance. The thanks of Parliament,
which was in good humour after Preston, were given to Monck, who was
voted 500_l._, and made governor of Belfast and Carrickfergus. A few
weeks later, Coote was equally successful, and he also received the
thanks of Parliament. Stewart was inveigled into Londonderry to attend
a christening, and was seized, along with Audley Mervyn. They were sent
over to England, and Culmore fort soon surrendered to Coote, as did
Lifford and some other places. With the exception of Charlemont, which
the Irish had held since 1641, every fortified place in Ulster was in
Parliamentary hands by the end of the year.[133]

[Sidenote: Mutiny in Inchiquin's army.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde at Cork, November.]

[Sidenote: The Prince of Wales expected.]

While Ormonde was negotiating at Kilkenny, a serious mutiny occurred
among the cavalry of Inchiquin's army. Many of the officers were not
Royalists, and many of the men had received no pay. It was true that
their wants had been neglected by Parliament; but the Houses had at
least the means of becoming prompt paymasters, while Ormonde could only
give promises. The proceedings in Ulster showed that the Parliamentary
cause was gaining ground. By simultaneously seizing several of the
chief officers, by offering an indemnity for the past, and by promising
to detain no man against his will, Inchiquin quelled the mutiny; but it
was thought desirable that Ormonde should visit Cork, and he left the
Assembly sitting at Kilkenny. Richard Fanshawe reached Kinsale at this
juncture with letters from the Prince of Wales and power to announce
that Rupert was coming with his fleet and supplies. The Duke of York
was expected at once, and his elder brother as soon as he had recovered
from an attack of smallpox. Ormonde urged the Prince of Wales to come,
for his presence was the one thing necessary to restore the confidence
of 'a discouraged rather than disaffected army.' Money and additional
men would be very useful, but Charles himself much more so. Having done
what he could in Munster, the Lord Lieutenant returned to Kilkenny
within a fortnight as he had promised.[134]

[Sidenote: No help from Rome.]

[Sidenote: Peace concluded, January, 1648-9.]

[Sidenote: Commissioners of Trust appointed.]

Ormonde was ill after his return to Kilkenny, and the discussions
about the peace were suspended till December 19; but the Confederates
were in no condition to drive a hard bargain. Bishop French and
Sir Nicholas Plunket had returned from Rome empty-handed, the Pope
alleging troubles in Crete and a possible invasion of Italy by the
Turks as reasons for turning a deaf ear to Ireland. The agents were
also reminded that no account had been given of the large sum sent
over by Massari. The Remonstrance of the army in England became known
at Kilkenny about the same time, and it had a very sobering effect.
The Assembly receded from its extreme claim in the matter of religion,
and on January 17 a peace was concluded which differed but slightly
from that made in 1646 and afterwards rejected by Rinuccini's advice.
Everything was referred to a free Parliament to be held in Ireland
in six months, or as soon after as possible, and no man was to be
molested for any matter of religion in the meantime. The Confederacy
was dissolved and the powers of a provisional government were vested
in twelve lay notables, of whom three were peers, afterwards known as
the 'Commissioners of Trust.' The peace was signed at Kilkenny and
proclaimed on the same day, and a circular letter was also sent out by
nine bishops. These prelates advised their co-religionists to accept
the peace loyally. 'In the present concessions,' they said, 'and in the
expectation of further gracious favours from his Majesty's goodness, we
have received a good satisfaction for the being and safety of religion;
and the substance thereof, as to the concessions for religion, is
better than the sound; by the temporal articles lives, liberties, and
the estates of men are well provided for ... you fight fiercely against
sectaries and rebels for God and Cæsar, and under those banners you may
well hope for victories.'[135]

[Sidenote: The nuncio loses all credit.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde on ultramontane politics.]

While Ormonde was negotiating at Kilkenny, Rinuccini was in low
estate at Galway. 'For eight months,' he wrote, 'I have seen none
of my attendants, and am reduced to such a point, that however bad
the vessel, the sea is almost safer for me than the land.' He sent
his confessor, Giuseppe Arcamoni, a Theatine, to Rome in order to
counterbalance the efforts of the Carmelite Roe. The Confederates
had gone so far as to order him out of Ireland to make his defence
before the Pope in person, and to forbid him in the meantime to
'intermeddle directly or indirectly' in Irish affairs. A duplicate of
this letter was sent to the Corporation of Galway, and both original
and copy were accompanied by a long statement of charges against the
nuncio. The corporation were peremptorily ordered to have no further
dealings with the 'lord archbishop of Fermo.' He was accused generally
of arbitrary and tyrannical conduct, of endeavouring to subvert
fundamental laws and to withdraw the people from their allegiance to
the Crown, and of plotting to 'introduce a foreign, arbitrary, and
tyrannical government.' In a paper drawn up about this time Ormonde
says, 'the nuncio is a foreigner, and no subject of his Majesty's;
therefore not at all interested in any agreement between his Majesty
and his subjects, and may have aims prejudicial to both, wherefore his
satisfaction may be as difficult as unnecessary.'[136]

[Sidenote: Rinuccini leaves Ireland, February 1648-9.]

[Sidenote: Reasons of his failure.]

[Sidenote: What was thought at Rome.]

Rinuccini was completely beaten, though the great bulk of the clergy
were with him. He could claim seventeen bishops against eight, and the
vast majority of the religious orders, excepting the Jesuits. He had
with him the Celtic population, as represented by Owen Roe O'Neill,
and the poorer classes generally, who cared much for the Church and
very little for the Crown. But the nobility and the legal profession
were against him. 'A few days,' he wrote, 'after my arrival in Kilkenny
some lawyers inquired from Father Scarampi if I were going to erect a
tribunal. When he said yes, they replied that they would not put up
with it by any means.... In the public assembly Viscount Muskerry said
that the day of my arrival was a fatal one for the country; in short,
they have shown in every action that they cannot endure the authority
of the Pope; they are even not ashamed to say in private and in print
that his succours were mere empty hopes, vanity, and vexation. It may
be therefore by the will of God that a people Catholic only in name,
and so irreverent towards the Church, should feel the thunderbolt of
the Holy See, and draw upon themselves the anger which is the meed of
the scorner.' Rinuccini declared that a nuncio to a heretic viceroy
was an absurdity, and prepared to leave the country. With difficulty
he succeeded in securing the very _San Pietro_ on board of which he
had first come. Plunket and French went to Galway to report the result
of their Roman mission, but he did not await their arrival, and it
was thought that he feared orders from the Pope incompatible with his
late proceedings. He sailed on February 23, crowds of weeping people
accompanying him to the ship; the poor were much better Catholics
than the lords and lawyers. The demonstration on his arrival had been
less than 'on the completion of his mission to a poor and persecuted
minister, and could not be ascribed to the hopes of assistance which
they entertained.' He thought the corrupted nations nearer Rome should
'journey to a distant clime where the sun is never seen, that they may
fully comprehend the due subjection of the faithful to their head.'
In the meantime he sent his confessor to Rome with instructions to
press for certain specific measures. The authorities were called upon
to suspend Bishop Rothe of Ossory, to summon Archbishop de Burgo to
Rome, to call Peter Walsh 'before the Inquisition or any other tribunal
in Rome,' to summon the chiefs of the recalcitrant Carmelites, and
to order Malone, provincial of the Irish Jesuits, out of Ireland.
Arcamoni arrived in March, but Rinuccini lingered long in France and
in his native Florence, and did not reach Rome till the second week
in November. No one there approved of his proceedings in Ireland, and
the Pope accused him of rashness. More than two years before he had
abstained from making him a cardinal, though urged to do so by Bishop
Macmahon.[137]

FOOTNOTES:

[123] _Bellings_, vii. 37; _Rushworth_, vii. 1060; Carte's _Ormonde_,
ii. 24-31.

[124] _Bellings_, vii. 37-58, where the documents are all given. The
episcopal declaration is dated April 27. Rinuccini's _Embassy_, pp.
380-391. The printed declaration and protestation of Lord Inchiquin and
his officers, dated May 6, 1648, attributes their action to the fact
that the Independents had denied them supplies.

[125] Rinuccini's _Embassy_, p. 393. The articles with Inchiquin in
_Confederation and War_, vi. 235; the Excommunication in _Aphorismical
Discovery_, i. 194; _Bellings_, vii. 69.

[126] O'Neill's _Journal_; _Bellings_, vii. 98, 104; _Aphorismical
Discovery_, i. 240.

[127] Walsh's _Remonstrance_, xlvi.; the Queries, _ib._, appendix 1;
_Bellings_, vii. 103-12; Inchiquin to Ormonde, May 29, 1648, in Carte's
_Ormonde_, iii.

[128] _Bellings_, vii. 104-108; O'Neill's _Journal_, September, 1648.

[129] Documents in _Contemporary Hist._, i. 745-754, September and
October, 1648.

[130] Carte's _Ormonde_, ii. 39-41; the King to Ormonde, October 28,
in Carte's _Original Letters_; Ormonde to Sir R. Blake, Walker's
_Discourses_, p. 71.

[131] Rinuccini's _Embassy_, August and September; Hardiman's _Hist. of
Galway_; Letter to the Pope, September 17, in _Confederation and War_,
vi. 280; _ib._, 300.

[132] Hill's _Macdonnells of Antrim_, pp. 278-303; _Bellings_, vii.
114; Carte's _Ormonde_, ii. 42.

[133] Benn's _Hist. of Belfast_, p. 122; _Rushworth_, vii. 1277, 1282,
1386; Lodge's _Peerage_, vi. 244.

[134] Ormonde to the Prince of Wales from Cork, November 27, 1648, in
_Confederation and War_, vii. 149; Carte's _Ormonde_, iii. 44-47. On
December 12, Digby reported, but without believing the story, that a
'she correspondent' of Jermyn had told him that Inchiquin had agreed
with the Derby House Committee and promised to give up Ormonde, _Carte
MSS._ vol. 63, _f._ 565.

[135] Articles of peace, proclamation of same, and circular of
prelates, January 17, 1648-9, in _Confederation and War_, vii. 184-213.
The Commissioners of Trust were Viscounts Dillon and Muskerry, Lord
Athenry, Alexander MacDonnell (Antrim's brother), Sirs Lucas Dillon,
Nicholas Plunket, and Richard Barnewall, Geoffrey Brown, Donogh
O'Callaghan, Turlagh O'Neill, Miles O'Reilly, and Gerald Fennell
Esquires.

[136] Rinuccini's _Embassy_, October 31, 1648; Sir Richard Blake to
Rinuccini and to the town of Galway, October 19, with enclosure, in
_Confederation and War_, vi. 294; Notes by Ormonde in _Contemp. Hist._
i. 756.

[137] Rinuccini's _Embassy_, pp. 436, 467. The Pope's words to
Rinuccini, as reported by Father Roe to Peter Walsh, were _Temerarie
te gessisti_,--_Hist. of the Remonstrance_, xxxiv. Castlehaven alludes
to them, and may have had his information from either Roe or Walsh.
Macmahon to the Pope in _Spicilegium Ossoriense_, i. 303; Robert
Meynell to Hyde and Cottington, Rome, October 18, 1849, in _Clarendon
S.P._, and Father Roe to Hyde, Nov. 27, _ib._




CHAPTER XXX

RINUCCINI TO CROMWELL, 1649


[Sidenote: Ormonde's commanding position.]

[Sidenote: He tries to gain O'Neill.]

[Sidenote: O'Neill, Jones and Coote.]

Having pacified the Confederates and driven away Rinuccini, Ormonde was
now for the moment almost master of Ireland. If he could only regain
Dublin before Cromwell was ready, the chances of war and politics might
yet turn in the young King's favour. He attempted to win over O'Neill,
who had still 5000 foot and 300 horse, though many chiefs had deserted
him and 2000 of his men had gone to Spain under O'Sullivan Bere.
O'Neill was willing to accept the peace if he might be allowed 6000
foot and 800 horse at the expense of the country, but the Commissioners
of Trust, with whom all such questions rested, would not agree to more
than 4000 foot and 600 horse. When at last they yielded it was only on
condition that the regiments of Sir Phelim O'Neill and others who had
deserted the Ulster general should form part of the force. Suspecting
ill-faith, Owen O'Neill turned to Jones and Monck, from whom he might
expect a supply of powder, and the former actually sold him some.
Ormonde then approached Michael Jones, but he refused to abandon those
from whom he held his command. Coote professed himself ready to obey
the King's orders as soon as his Majesty was in a position to enable
him to do so safely. He was, however, deserted by some of Sir Robert
Stewart's old officers, who seized Enniskillen, imprisoned Sir William
Cole, and declared for the King. Ormonde pressed Charles to come to
Ireland, but Scotch influences proved too strong.[138]

[Sidenote: Charles II. proclaimed, February.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde and Jones.]

[Sidenote: Attitude of Jones.]

[Sidenote: Milton and the Ulster Scots.]

[Sidenote: The Scots a hired army.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde and Cromwell compared.]

[Sidenote: All the treaties with the Irish condemned.]

Ormonde went to Cork early in February in order to communicate with
Prince Rupert. At Youghal on his return he heard of the King's
execution, and immediately proclaimed Charles II. The same was done
wherever his authority extended, and the new sovereign lost no time in
renewing his commission as Lord Lieutenant with the fullest powers.
His negotiations with O'Neill at this time had no result, but he had
some hope that the King's execution would detach Michael Jones from
the Parliament. There was, he said, an evident intention to abolish
monarchy, 'unless their aim be first to constitute an elective kingdom
and Cromwell or some such John of Leyden being elected then by the
same force to establish a perfect Turkish tyranny.' Nothing better
could be expected from 'the dregs and scum of the House of Commons
picked and awed by the army,' which was all that remained of the
ancient constitution. Jones in his answer pointed out that the peace
just concluded scarcely gave any protection to Protestants, and that
none was to be expected from a <DW7> army. His business was not to
meddle in affairs of State, but to carry out the work for which he was
appointed. The intermeddling of Irish governors with English parties
had always had the effect of weakening the colony, and Ormonde himself
had provided a case in point by sending most of his English army across
the channel, and thus very nearly abandoning Ireland to the rebels.
The English interest could evidently only be preserved by the English,
and it was upon that ground that he had surrendered Dublin to the
Parliament, 'from which clear principle I am sorry to see your lordship
now receding.' Jones said nothing either in approval or condemnation
of the King's execution, but he did not allow it to affect his action.
The Scots in Ulster, while condemning it unreservedly, did not think
it a reason for supporting Ormonde. The Presbytery of Belfast were
chiefly anxious to overthrow the sectaries who had departed from the
Solemn League and Covenant, and even showed an intention of tolerating
all religions, even 'paganism and Judaism.' But they were scarcely
less bitter against those who 'combined themselves with <DW7>s and
other notorious malignants.' Milton, who was just beginning his
career as Latin secretary, was employed by the House of Commons to
answer both Ormonde and the Ulster presbyters. With the latter he had
little difficulty, for they admitted that Ireland was dependent upon
England and not upon Scotland. 'The Presbytery of Belfast, a small
town in Ulster,' said the poet, should have enough to do in overseeing
their own flock, without meddling in affairs of State. The House of
Commons were accused of seizing upon the King's person, 'but was he
not surrendered into their hands an enemy and captive by their own
subordinate and paid army of Scots in England?' And Knox, who was
the founder of Scotch presbytery, 'taught professedly the doctrine
of deposing and of killing kings.' Ormonde on his part made a great
mistake in comparing Cromwell to John of Leyden, for never was any
man more unlike the Puritan chief than the polygamous scoundrel who
had enjoyed a brief royalty at Münster. Cromwell, said Milton, had
'done in few years more eminent and remarkable deeds whereon to found
nobility in his house though it were wanting, and perpetual renown to
posterity, than Ormonde and all his ancestors put together can show
from any record of their Irish exploits, the widest scene of their
glory.' Dealing with the articles of the peace in greater detail than
Jones had done, Milton shows that the Protestants of Ireland were
really left at the mercy of those who were more or less responsible for
the massacres. The cessation of 1643 and the abortive articles of 1646
were open to the same objection, but this last treaty went further in
proposing to give an Irish Parliament power to repeal Poynings' Act,
and by abandoning the militia, 'a trust which the King swore by God at
Newmarket he would not commit to his Parliament of England, no, not for
an hour.' Nor did Milton omit to notice the article 'more ridiculous
than dangerous' which provided for the repeal of laws against ploughing
by the tail and burning in the straw, showing how 'indocible and averse
from all civility and amendment,' the Irish rebels were.[139]

[Sidenote: O'Neill and Monck.]

[Sidenote: They combine against Ormonde and Inchiquin.]

[Sidenote: O'Neill helps Coote.]

George Monck was governor of Ulster for the Parliament. Being deserted
by the Scots under Sir Robert Stewart and Sir George Monro, he found
it hard to maintain himself, but he was able to victual Londonderry,
Coleraine, Greencastle, and Lisburn. He himself lay at Dundalk, where
he feared to be attacked on all sides. To keep O'Neill from joining
with Ormonde was therefore his chief object. Sooner or later O'Neill
would have had to accept the Lord Lieutenant's overtures, for he was
entirely cut off from the sea and had no other means of replenishing
his stock of powder. Monck, who knew that help was coming from England,
resolved to give the necessary powder on condition of an offensive and
defensive alliance for three months, during which O'Neill bound himself
to make no terms with Ormonde or Inchiquin or with any opponent of the
Parliament. Each of these two silent men, who were soldiers and not
politicians, thought the preservation of his army the first object.
O'Neill was responsible to no one; but Monck took the precaution
of reporting all he had done to Cromwell, who would understand the
military argument, and see that political prudery was out of place in
the midst of war. The immediate result of the treaty was to reduce the
activity of the Scots by whom Londonderry was beset. Later on Coote
followed Monck's example, and O'Neill's help enabled him to hold out
until relief came from England. Ormonde, on the other hand, drove
O'Neill out of Leinster, Maryborough, Athy, and other garrisons being
taken by Castlehaven during the month of May.[140]

[Sidenote: Ormonde before Dublin, June.]

[Sidenote: Rupert gave no help.]

[Sidenote: Inchiquin takes Drogheda, June 28.]

[Sidenote: Monck gives powder to O'Neill,]

[Sidenote: but Inchiquin captures it.]

[Sidenote: O'Neill relieves Londonderry.]

On June 19 Ormonde, with 7000 foot and 3000 horse, advanced almost to
the walls of Dublin, and fixed his camp at Finglas, about three miles
north of the town, his tents being visible to the besieged. Jones
had nearly as many foot, besides armed citizens, but only about 500
horse. Outside the capital Parliament now held only Drogheda, Trim, and
Dundalk in Leinster. Jones had no hay or oats for horses and oxen, and
was short of provisions, there being neither fish nor flesh in the
market; but while the sea was open that was not likely to last, though
a more enterprising general might perhaps have succeeded in a sudden
attack. The army, however, as it turned out, was not a very good one,
and doubtless Ormonde knew it. Rupert was at Kinsale with his piratical
fleet, and Ormonde urged him to blockade Dublin, but the prince either
could not or would not comply while the possibility existed, and after
Blake's arrival on May 22 even the possibility ceased. Pressed probably
by want of forage Jones sent most of his cavalry to Drogheda, but
they were attacked on the road by Inchiquin and suffered great loss.
Inchiquin was then detached with 2000 foot and 1500 horse to beleaguer
Drogheda, and on the 28th it capitulated. The garrison were allowed to
go where they pleased, and a few joined Jones, but the greater part
went over to Ormonde. O'Neill's chief strength was at this time in
Cavan and Monaghan, and at the beginning of May he held a provincial
council at Belturbet, where it was decided to help Coote if he would
give the necessary ammunition. This negotiation failed at the time,
and in June O'Neill drew down with 3000 men to the neighbourhood of
Dundalk, where he encamped. Monck was ready to give the powder if
O'Neill would bring it off, and Colonel Ferral with the requisite
carts and an escort of 500 men was sent on this duty. From the town to
the camp was only about seven miles, and the road was open. Inchiquin
found out what was going on, and sent Colonel Trevor with a strong
body of horse to attack the convoy. The Irish soldiers had got drunk
in Dundalk, and made but a poor resistance, so that the stores were
captured and most of the escort killed or taken. O'Neill immediately
fell back to Clones and renewed his negotiations with Coote, who was
now willing to give thirty barrels of powder with sufficient match, and
either three hundred beeves or 400_l._ in money. As soon as O'Neill
approached Londonderry the Scots marched away, and the bulwark of the
North was threatened no more. Inchiquin was left free to deal with
Dundalk, which Monck had no idea of surrendering, had his men allowed
him to hold it. But they were hungry, they were unpaid, and to their
eyes it seemed that their chief was engaged in an unholy transaction
with the authors of the Ulster massacre. Dundalk opened its gates and
Monck was allowed to go where he pleased. He went to England to tell
his own story.[141]

[Sidenote: Ormonde encamps at Rathmines.]

[Sidenote: Inchiquin is detached to Munster.]

[Sidenote: Battle of Rathmines, August 2.]

[Sidenote: Total defeat of the Royalists.]

After Drogheda and Dundalk were taken Ormonde crossed the Liffey and
established his camp at Rathmines, leaving Lord Dillon at Finglas
with a small force. On the same day Jones received a reinforcement of
1500 foot and 600 horse under Reynolds and Venables, and the chance
of taking Dublin was proportionately diminished, for the garrison
had become more numerous than the besieging army. 'We had it,' says
Ormonde, 'from many good hands out of England and from Dublin, that
Cromwell was at the seaside ready to embark for this kingdom, and that
his design was for Munster.' Lest Cork, Kinsale, and Youghal should
fall while Dublin was still untaken it was decided by a council of war
to send Inchiquin to Munster with three regiments of horse. This proved
fatal, but it was supposed that Cromwell meant to land the greater part
of his army in the south, and his intention was made known by some who
came in the ships which brought fresh troops to Jones. Ormonde realised
that if he did not take Dublin before Cromwell came he was not likely
to take it after. He diverted the conduit which brought the Dodder
water from near Templeoge to Dublin, and thus stopped the mills, though
there was still enough to drink from other sources. Wheat was selling
in Dublin at 5_l._ 10_s._ a quarter and rye at 4_l._ 10_s._, yet the
garrison would hardly starve while they had command of the river, but
it was different with the horses who depended upon the grazing of the
meadows between Trinity College and the mouth of the Dodder. Having
first reduced Rathfarnham, which annoyed his rear, Ormonde decided to
fortify Baggotrath Castle, which stood near the point where Waterloo
Road now joins Upper Baggot Street, and thus deprive Jones's cavalry
of their supply of fodder. Soon after dark on the night of August 1 he
sent Purcell with 1500 men to occupy the place, which had already been
examined carefully, and he expected to find tenable entrenchments there
in the morning. The distance was scarcely a mile, and Purcell had been
at Baggotrath during the day; but he wandered about all night, and when
the morning broke nothing had been done. This was attributed to the
treachery of a guide, and Peter Walsh says Edmund O'Reilly, afterwards
Archbishop of Armagh, had been engaged in conducting an intrigue
between Owen O'Neill and Jones, and that he was guilty of betraying the
camp at Rathmines. Ormonde sat up during the night to write despatches,
but rode to Baggotrath with the first light. He found very little
progress made with the entrenchments, while the garrison of Dublin were
evidently on the alert and busily moving about under shelter of their
works. Jones had 4000 foot and 1200 horse under arms, having at first
no intention but to prevent the Royalists from establishing themselves
on the shore, but the first encounter gradually developed into a
general engagement, when the superior quality of the Parliamentarian
troops soon became manifest. Expecting no attack, Ormonde had lain down
to rest about nine o'clock, and some of his officers left their posts,
so that the troops were partly surprised. He himself was roused by
the firing about ten, and most of his men made but slight resistance,
'many of them running away towards the hills of Wicklow, where some
of them were bred, and whither they knew the way but too well.' The
fighting continued for about two hours and ended in a complete rout,
the cavalry dispersing after the death of their commander, Sir William
Vaughan. Jones's loss in killed was not above twenty, and he reported
that he had taken 2517 prisoners and that 4000 Royalists were killed;
but the latter figure is doubtless much exaggerated. A vast quantity
of arms and stores of all kinds fell into the victor's hands. Ormonde
escaped with very few followers, having totally failed to rally his
broken regiments, but that portion of his army which had remained on
the north bank of the Liffey escaped to Drogheda and Trim. Many of
Inchiquin's old soldiers afterwards took service with Jones, and not
a few of Ormonde's did the same, declaring with loud shouts that they
would return to their own countrymen. Jones secured all the guns, and
Ormonde lost his papers, besides 'velvets, silk, scarlets, wines,
grocery, and some convenient quantity of money.' He went to Kilkenny,
and a week after started for Drogheda with 300 horse. Jones, who had
moved northwards to attack that town, thereupon withdrew into Dublin
and awaited Cromwell's arrival. Rathfarnham, Maynooth, and other strong
places near Dublin fell into the victor's hands, but Ormonde took
Ballyshannon immediately after the battle, persuading the governor that
Dublin had surrendered. When the truth was known Inchiquin's soldiers
in Munster began to desert and enter the Parliamentary ranks.[142]

[Sidenote: Charles II. invited to Ireland.]

[Sidenote: But Scotch influences prevail.]

The peace was signed on January 17, and on the 22nd Ormonde sent Lord
Byron to invite the Prince of Wales to Ireland. If he could bring money
and supplies with him he would be doubly welcome, but in any case his
presence would be of the greatest value. All England and Scotland
were either engaged in rebellion or subdued by the rebels, otherwise
Ormonde would not have invited the Prince 'so far from the more vital
part of his hopes.' Byron found Charles at the Hague nearly two months
later surrounded by Scotch lords, who were for the most part opposed
to an Irish venture, though Montrose strongly favoured it. On his way
through Paris Byron had seen Henrietta Maria, who thought the change
of her son's condition from prince to king 'an argument rather to
hasten than <DW44> his repair thither.' Charles himself was anxious
to go, but he had no money and the States would give none unless he
would go to Scotland and take the Covenant. Among the Scots the extreme
Presbyterians even insisted on his parting with Montrose. The idea of
going to Ireland was not abandoned for some months, but the means were
wanting, and Charles spent some time at St. Germains, where he divided
his attentions between Lucy Walter and Mademoiselle de Montpensier.
He reached Jersey in the middle of September, and there heard for the
first time of the defeat at Rathmines. Henry Seymour, who carried a
garter for Ormonde, was sent to find out how things were really going
in Ireland, but the news of the fall of Drogheda and of Cromwell's
progress arrived before he could start. When he reached Ireland he
found Ormonde still anxious for the King's appearance, but he must have
seen that the cause was hopeless. Seymour was back in Jersey about
the end of January 1650, and Charles left the island, which he had
found intolerably dull, about a fortnight later. He went to Breda to
make arrangements for becoming a covenanted King of Scotland and for
denouncing Ormonde's treaty with the Irish Confederates, with which he
had before declared himself highly satisfied.[143]

[Sidenote: Prince Rupert at Kinsale.]

[Sidenote: His behaviour in Ireland.]

[Sidenote: Blockaded by Blake.]

Prince Rupert left Helvoetsluys January 21, 1649, with 'three
flagships, four frigates and one prize ... in company with the
_Amsterdam_, a Dutch ship of 1000 tons, and two others of less burden.'
His own second-rate had but forty sailors and eighty soldiers instead
of the normal complement of 300. The frigates, whose business it
was to prey upon merchantmen, were a little better manned. The Duke
of York was invited to sail with this fleet, but Hyde says he was
dissuaded by 'his old Presbyterian counsellors.' Rupert was blown as
far as Crookhaven, but by the end of the month he had collected his
ships at Kinsale. Fanshawe was at hand to receive such part of the
expected plunder as might help to fill the exiled King's exchequer,
and Hyde impressed upon him the importance of maintaining friendly
relations between Rupert and Ormonde. The Prince of Wales wrote to
the same effect, but Rupert preferred to play an obscure game of his
own and to intrigue with Antrim, O'Neill, and the Irish generally
against the Lord Lieutenant. As a sea-rover he was at first successful
enough, keeping a squadron at Scilly, which had revolted from the
Parliament, and announcing his intention to make a second Venice of
the little archipelago. A great many prizes were taken, but Rupert
lost one frigate, taken at sea by Parliamentarian cruisers. His great
difficulty was want of men, but he picked them up wherever he could
about the Irish coast in sufficient numbers to man some extra ships.
The depredations upon commerce lasted until May, when a powerful fleet
under Deane, Popham, and Blake came before Kinsale. Towards the end of
June Rupert made a show of attempting to break through the blockade,
but had to draw back without fighting. He had greatly strengthened the
fortifications at the harbour's mouth, which prevented the republican
squadron from entering. Then provisions and crews began to dwindle
again, and nothing more was attempted throughout the summer. In
October Blake was driven off the coast by a storm. Rupert seized the
opportunity to slip out, and Ireland knew him no more. His presence at
Kinsale had no real influence on events.[144]

[Sidenote: Cromwell sent to Ireland.]

[Sidenote: Broghill persuaded to serve.]

When there had been a difficulty about getting soldiers for Ireland
in the spring of 1647 the officers in Saffron Walden church, had
shouted 'Fairfax and Cromwell and we all go.' Skippon was chosen, much
against his will, but he never crossed the channel. It was not till
March 1649 that Cromwell was appointed, and he hesitated to accept
the command. He was ready to go where Parliament sent him, but could
hope for no success unless the soldiers were satisfied as to their pay
and arrears. He was much impressed with the importance of reducing
Ireland, lest England should be attacked by Presbyterians and <DW7>s
at once. He would rather see the Cavaliers triumphant than the Scots,
but a predominant Irish interest would be the most dangerous of all.
The money difficulties were got over, and it was decided to send
12,000 men to Ireland, the regiments casting lots for the danger or
honour. No individual was forced to go against his will, but those who
refused were dismissed from the army, and their places easily filled by
volunteers. The troubles with the Levellers followed, and it was not
till July that Cromwell was ready to start. His first idea was to land
in Munster, where the allegiance of Inchiquin's troops was known to be
shaken, but reinforcements were sent to Jones, which enabled him to win
the battle of Rathmines. In the meantime Broghill, who had been for
some time inactive and thought of joining Charles abroad, was gained
over by Cromwell on the understanding that he was expected to fight
only against the Irish.[145]

[Sidenote: Cromwell leaves London, July 10.]

[Sidenote: Lands at Dublin, August 15.]

On July 10 Cromwell left London 'in very noble equipage, with
coaches and six horses apiece, his lifeguard of eighty, who had all
been officers, and a great number of attendants.' Many well-wishers
accompanied him as far as Brentford. It was fifty years and a few weeks
since Essex had started on his ill-fated expedition with the same title
of Lord Lieutenant. Cromwell was at Bristol four days later, where
he spent some days with his wife and other members of his family. A
hundred thousand pounds, the want of which had doubtless caused this
delay, was despatched at the end of the month, and he then pushed on
to Milford Haven, where he saw Monck, who probably dissuaded him from
going with his whole force to Munster. Cromwell was on board ship on
August 13, and 'as sea-sick,' says Hugh Peters, 'as ever I saw a man
in my life,' but before sailing he had the news of Rathmines, which he
described as 'an astonishing mercy.' He reached Dublin two days later,
with about 3000 men in thirty-five vessels. Ireton, with a second and
stronger division, contained in seventy-seven ships, went as far as the
mouth of Youghal harbour, where he, perhaps, expected a welcome; but
the pear was not yet ripe, and he was soon driven by stress of weather
to Dublin. By the middle of September the whole force was assembled in
and about the Irish capital.[146]

FOOTNOTES:

[138] Carte's _Ormonde_, iii. 55-65; Owen O'Neill to Ormonde, March
24, 1648-9; to Plunket and Barnewall, March 25; Relation from Ireland,
April 13--all in _Contemp. Hist. of Affairs_.

[139] _Observations on the Articles of Peace_, May 1649, in Milton's
prose works, Bohn's ed. ii. 139. The articles with Ormonde's and
Jones's letters and the Representation of the Belfast Presbytery are
given in full.

[140] Agreement between Monck and O'Neill, May 8, 1649, with other
papers, reprinted in _Contemp. Hist._ ii. 216 _sqq._

[141] O'Neill's _Journal_; Monck's letters _ut sup._; _The Present
Condition of Dublin_ (two letters), London, June 22, 1649.

[142] Ormonde's account is in a letter to the King, August 8, and in
one to Lord Byron, September 29, Carte's _Original Letters_, ii. 392,
407; and see his answer to the Jamestown prelates, October 2, 1650,
in appendix 48 to Cox's _Hibernia Anglicana_. Colonel John Moore to
Fairfax, August 4, _Egerton MSS._ 2618, _f._ 36. Jones's account,
dated August 6, is in Cary's _Memorials of the Civil War_, ii. 159;
Clarendon's account is virtually Ormonde's, _Hist. of the Rebellion,
Ireland_, pp. 77-79; Walsh's _Hist. of the Remonstrance_, p. 609; the
account given by _Bellings_, vii. 127, does not differ materially
from Clarendon's. The discipline of Ormonde's heterogeneous army was
probably bad. The author of the _Aphorismical Discovery_, ii. 102,
says the Lord Lieutenant 'kept rather a mart of wares, a tribunal of
pleadings, or a great inn of play, drinking, and pleasure, than a
well-ordered camp of soldiers.' For the topography of the battle I
have used Mr. Ellington Ball's article in the _Journal of the Royal
Society of Antiquaries of Ireland_, vol. xxxii. For the plunder taken
see _Contemp. Hist._ iii. 158, and a version of Jones's account rather
fuller than that given by Cary in Z. Grey's _Examination of Neal_, iv.
appendix 6. As to the state of the garrison _see Two Great Fights in
Ireland_, London, 1649, and a _Bloody Fight at Dublin_, July 4.

[143] Ormonde to the Prince of Wales, January 22, 1648-9, in appendix
to Carte's _Ormonde_, No. 601; Lord Byron to Ormonde, March 30 and
April 1, 1649, N.S., in Carte's _Original Letters_, i. 237, and October
12, _ib._ 319; Charles II. to Ormonde, February 2, 1649-50, in Carte's
_Ormonde_, i. 108.

[144] MS. quoted in Warburton's _Life of Rupert_, iii. 281; Hyde to
Fanshawe, January 21, 1648-9, _ib._ 279; Rupert's letter of April 12,
ib. 288; Prince of Wales to Ormonde, _Carte MSS._ vol. lxiii. _f._ 570;
letters of Blake and Deane, May 22, July 10, _Leyborne-Popham Papers_,
pp. 17-21; Carte's _Ormonde_, ii. 65; Relation taken at Havre, April
13, 1649, printed from the Clarendon MSS. in _Contemp. Hist._ ii. 204,
where it is noted that Rupert had met Ormonde at Cork; Sir W. Penn's
_Memorials_, i. 291.

[145] Cromwell's speech to the officers is in _Clarke Papers_, ii. 200,
and in the appendix to the new edition of _Carlyle_. For the episode of
the Levellers, which hardly belongs to Irish history, _see_ Gardiner's
_Commonwealth_, chap. 2, and as to Broghill, _ib._ i. 106.

[146] It is evident from the dates collected in Gardiner's
_Commonwealth_, i. 115, 116, that Monck went from London to Milford and
back again between August 1 and 10. Cromwell's letter to his daughter
Dorothy, August 13, 'aboard the _John_'; Robert Coytmor to Popham,
August 25; Blake to same, September 10; Deane to same, September 14, in
_Leyborne-Popham Papers_, Hist. MSS. Comm.




CHAPTER XXXI

CROMWELL IN IRELAND, 1649


[Sidenote: Reception of Cromwell in Dublin, August 1649.]

[Sidenote: He restores discipline.]

[Sidenote: Civil liberty for peaceful people.]

Jones had pretty well cleared Dublin of all but Protestants, and
it is, therefore, not surprising that the new Lord Lieutenant was
received with much rejoicing. He made a speech, of which no full
report is extant, promising favour and reward to all who helped
'against the barbarous and bloodthirsty Irish, and all their adherents
and confederates, for the propagating of the Gospel of Christ, the
establishing of truth and peace, and restoring of this bleeding nation
of Ireland to its former happiness and tranquillity.' And the people
shouted 'We will live and die with you.' When he had had a week to
look about him, he found that profane swearing and drunkenness were
prevalent, and issued a declaration to the citizens against them.
These offences were forbidden both by civil and military law, and all
officers and soldiers were ordered under the severest penalties to
co-operate with the mayor in suppressing them. A separate declaration
to the army recited the too frequent practice of 'abusing, robbing,
pillaging, and executing cruelties upon the country people.' He was
resolved, he said, to put down such wickedness by the most stringent
enforcement of the articles of war, and officers found negligent would
be cashiered. A free market was granted to all in every garrison, and
ready money was to be always paid. A general protection was granted
till January 1, during which time the inhabitants of the country would
have time to make up their minds. Those who intended to plough and
sow were to apply to the Attorney-General or other authorised persons
for further protection. Some officers who appeared incorrigible
were actually got rid of, and proper discipline was henceforth
established.[147]

[Sidenote: The garrison of Drogheda.]

[Sidenote: Sir Arthur Aston.]

[Sidenote: Cromwell's advance.]

Ormonde's first care when he had rallied after Rathmines was to
garrison Drogheda with about 2000 foot and 300 horse, the flower of
his remaining force, and to victual it for a long siege. Ludlow and
Bate say the majority of the garrison were English, but this has been
denied by modern critics, and there is really no satisfactory evidence
on the point. The choice of a Roman Catholic governor may be thought
to indicate that the defenders were mainly Irish, but Sir Arthur Aston
had been governor of Oxford under the late King's immediate eye, and no
Royalist would be likely to take offence at his appointment. Wood says
he brought 'the flower of the English veterans' to Ireland. Aston was
a brave soldier, and had made a good defence of Reading against Essex,
but he was an unpopular man, and Clarendon, who was at Oxford during
his command there, has little good to say of him. He lost a leg from
the effects of a fall 'when curvetting on horseback in Bullingdon Green
before certain ladies.' At Drogheda he had much trouble with ladies
who insisted on corresponding with Jones. A boy was employed to carry
letters, 'whom, I fear, is of too small a size to be hanged.' Ormonde
did not think there was any serious plot, expressing an opinion that
'woman is given much to make little factions.' On September 2, Aston
sent out men to seize the neighbouring castles, but Cromwell's advanced
parties were beforehand with him, and no outlying obstacle could be
raised against his main body. Next day the infantry made its appearance
with some small field-pieces, and the Boyne was forded at Oldbridge,
but the garrison sallied forth and drove them back. In announcing this
small success to Ormonde the governor hoped 'shortly to understand of
his Excellency's march with a gallant army.'[148]

[Sidenote: Siege of Drogheda, Sept. 3-11.]

[Sidenote: The town carried by storm.]

[Sidenote: No quarter.]

[Sidenote: An avenger of blood.]

On August 31 Cromwell mustered a field force consisting of eight
regiments of foot and six of horse, with some dragoons, in a field
three miles north of Dublin. He marched next day and encamped next
night at Ballygarth on the Nanny River, very near Julianstown, where
the English forces had been routed eight years before. On September
3, Cromwell's lucky day, he was close to Drogheda, where there was a
week's delay before the batteries could be got ready, and the heavy
guns landed below the town. On the 7th, Aston made a successful sally,
but without in any way interrupting the assailants' preparations.
On the morning of the 10th Cromwell summoned the town in the name
of Parliament. 'To the end,' he wrote, 'effusion of blood may be
prevented, I thought fit to summon you to deliver the same into my
hands to their use. If this be refused you will have no cause to
blame me.' Aston did refuse, and a cannonade was opened against the
south-east angle of the town, one battery being against the east, and
the other against the south side of St. Mary's Church. The steeple
fell, but the breach did not prove practicable until the next day. Some
of the siege guns carried shot of sixty-four pounds weight, and the
cannon of the defenders must have been quite overmatched. No regular
approaches were necessary, and about five on the second day the breach
was assaulted. The stormers were repulsed once, according to Cromwell
and Ludlow, twice according to Royalist accounts. The general entered
the breach himself at the head of a reserve of infantry, who carried
the church and some trenches which the defenders had made inside
the walls. These inner works really helped the assailants, for they
prevented Aston from using his cavalry. The bank was too steep for
the English horse, but the foot soldiers seized the entrenchments and
drove a large part of the garrison 'into the Mill-mount, a place very
strong and of difficult access, being exceeding high, having a good
graft and strongly palisaded; the governor, Sir Arthur Aston, and
divers considerable officers being there, our men getting up to them
were ordered by me to put all to the sword; and, indeed, being in the
heat of action, I forbade them to spare any that there were in arms in
the town.' This is Cromwell's own account, and he estimates the slain
at about 2000. A part of the defenders were driven across the bridge
and as far as St. Sunday's Gate, at the far end of the town, where a
tower was occupied, as was another near the west gate. About a hundred
took refuge in St. Peter's Church tower, which was fired by Cromwell's
orders. The parties near the two gates surrendered next day, and in
one case, where fatal shots had been fired, 'the officers were knocked
on the head, and every tenth man of the soldiers killed and the rest
shipped for the Barbadoes; the soldiers in the other tower were all
spared as to their lives only, and shipped likewise for the Barbadoes.
I am persuaded that this is a righteous judgment of God upon these
barbarous wretches, who have imbrued their hands in so much innocent
blood, and that it will tend to prevent the effusion of blood for the
future, which are the satisfactory grounds to such actions, which
otherwise cannot but work remorse and regret.' Sir Arthur Aston was
known to be fond of money, and it was rumoured that much was hidden in
his wooden leg. This turned out not to be the case, but 200 gold pieces
were found in his belt. According to Wood's account he was actually
despatched with this wooden leg. Several friars were in the town, and
they were all killed. That some others of the slain were not soldiers
is at least highly probable, for Cromwell himself mentions 'many
inhabitants,' and in this the case of Drogheda does not differ from a
hundred others, in which no special blame rests on the general. Ormonde
says not a word about women having suffered; but Bate, who was not in
Ireland, states in a book published in the following year that 'there
was not any great respect had to either sex.' The stories attributed to
Thomas Wood, the great antiquary's brother, rest entirely on hearsay
evidence, and Thomas was a noted buffoon.[149]

[Sidenote: The carnage lasted for two days.]

[Sidenote: Richard Talbot.]

[Sidenote: Demoralisation of Ormonde's followers.]

That a garrison duly summoned should be put to the sword after the
storming of their works was not contrary to the laws of war in those
days. Ormonde speaks of 'the book of Martyrs, and the relation of
Amboyna,' but the case of Magdeburg would have been more to the point.
Ludlow says 'The slaughter was continued all that day and the next,
which extraordinary severity, I presume, was used to discourage others
from making opposition,' but he says nothing more, though he did not
love Cromwell. 'And truly I believe,' wrote Oliver to Bradshaw, 'this
bitterness will save much effusion of blood.' The charge that many
were killed after quarter given may be founded on fact, but if quarter
was anywhere promised it was by persons not authorised to give it, for
Cromwell himself says that he forbade it immediately after entering the
town. English and Irish alike were treated as accomplices in the Ulster
massacre, though very few even of the latter could have had anything
to say to it. Among those who escaped was Cornet Richard Talbot,
afterwards Duke of Tyrconnel, who owed his safety to the humanity of
Colonel John Reynolds. According to Hugh Peters the total number slain
was 3552, the loss to the Parliamentarians being only sixty-four,
while Cromwell estimates his killed at under a hundred, but with many
wounded. Aston expected to be relieved, and was himself expected to
hold out much longer. He complained that ammunition ran out fast, but
it was certainly not exhausted when Cromwell forced the place, and
Ormonde expressly states that there was enough for a long siege. He
was not in a position to do anything, though he had about 3000 men,
for they were demoralised by the Rathmines disaster, and decreased
daily, either by going to their own homes, 'or by the revolt of some
officers and many private soldiers, the rest showing such dejection
of courage, and upon all occasions of want, which are very frequent
with us, venting their discontent in such dangerous words, that it
was held unsafe to bring them within that distance of the enemy, as
was necessary to have kept him united, and consequently, one side of
the town open to receive continual supplies.' As many as forty-three
troopers deserted in one batch. Colonel Mark Trevor, with a strong
party of horse, was in charge of ammunition and provisions at Ardee,
but was unable to approach Drogheda on the north side.[150]

[Sidenote: Ormonde's treaty with O'Neill, Oct. 20.]

[Sidenote: Terms of their agreement.]

Even before the loss of Drogheda, Ormonde saw clearly that his only
chance was in an alliance with Owen Roe O'Neill, who could still
dispose of 6000 foot and 500 horse. He wrote to him immediately after
the battle of Rathmines, and a few days later sent John Leslie, Bishop
of Raphoe, and Audley Mervyn to confer with him. They were followed by
the ubiquitous Daniel O'Neill, who was believed to have influence with
his silent uncle. Immediately before the attack on Drogheda, Charles
II. wrote from St. Germains to the Irish general, urging him to return
to his allegiance, and Father Thomas Talbot, an elder brother of the
more famous Richard, was sent by him to Ireland. Talbot was directed by
Ormonde to carry his letters to Owen O'Neill, along with others for his
nephew, 'and to proceed by the said Daniel his advice and direction,
and not otherwise.' The negotiations ended in a treaty, but this was
not concluded until October 20, and a great deal had happened in the
meantime. The terms finally agreed upon were that the Kilkenny peace
should include Ulster, and that O'Neill should be general of that
province with 6000 foot and 800 horse. In case of his death or removal,
the provincial nobility and gentry were to nominate a successor for
the approval of the King's Lord Lieutenant. A part of the Ulster army
co-operated with Ormonde, but O'Neill was already ill and unable to
lead them himself after the capture of Drogheda.[151]

[Sidenote: Dundalk and Trim abandoned]

[Sidenote: Carlingford, Newry, Lisburn, and Belfast taken.]

[Sidenote: Coleraine taken.]

[Sidenote: Death of O'Neill, Nov. 6.]

[Sidenote: His last letter to Ormonde.]

[Sidenote: His character.]

Ormonde had given directions to burn and abandon Dundalk and Trim,
but the garrisons fled in too great haste, leaving their guns behind
them. Having secured these important places Cromwell sent Venables to
join Coote, while he turned his own steps southwards. Carlingford,
which contained the largest magazine in Ulster, capitulated after
some well-directed shots had been fired at Captain Fern's frigate;
seven cannon and a thousand muskets, with much powder and many pikes,
fell into the victor's hands. Newry also surrendered on articles. At
Lisburn, Trevor with his cavalry surprised Venables' camp by night and
very nearly gained a complete victory, but the trained soldiers soon
recovered from their panic, and re-formed in a position where horsemen
could not reach them. Trevor had to fall back as far as the Bann, and
Belfast capitulated soon afterwards, leaving guns and powder to the
enemy. A large number of the Scotch inhabitants were driven out. Coote
made himself master of Coleraine, and by the end of November Ormonde
reported that Carrickfergus, Charlemont, and Enniskillen were the
only considerable Ulster garrisons still in Royalist hands. Before
that time Owen Roe O'Neill had died at Cloughoughter, in Cavan. In
the previous May he had likened Ormonde to Baal, and rejoiced that he
was one of those who had not bowed the knee; but he saw clearly that
it would be necessary to join either the King's or the Parliament's
party, though opposed to both, unless help came from abroad. He was
driven to extremity, and could not otherwise support his army, which he
regarded as the last hope of Ireland. It was with this object that he
had dealings with Coote, Monck, and Jones, and was driven finally to
unite with Ormonde, to whom he wrote only five days before his death.
'Being now in my death-bed,' he wrote, 'I call my Saviour to witness
that, as I hope for salvation, my resolution, ways, and intentions from
first to last of these unhappy wars tended to no particular ambition or
private interest of my own, notwithstanding what was or may be thought
to the contrary, but truly and sincerely to the preservation of my
religion, the advancement of his Majesty's service, and just liberties
of this nation, whereof, and of my particular reality and willingness
to serve your Excellency (above any other in this kingdom), I hope that
God will permit me to give ample and sufficient testimony in the view
of the world ere it be long.' He concludes by recommending his son
Henry to Ormonde's care. As a soldier all accounts agree in praising
O'Neill, whose word was always kept, and who is not charged with any
acts of cruelty or unnecessary severity. Of his patriotism there can
be no doubt, but of Ireland as a separate nation he seems to have had
no definite idea. He was a Royalist, and his natural leaning would
have been towards Ormonde as the special representative of the Crown.
But he was above all things attached to the religion of Rome, and
Rinuccini's ban weighed heavily upon him. It was this that separated
him so long from his natural ally, while it did not prevent him from
helping Monck and Coote. 'The Bishop of Raphoe and Sir Nicholas
Plunket,' wrote Daniel O'Neill, 'have agreed upon an expedient about
the excommunication which has so troubled that superstitious old uncle
of mine in his sickness that I could render him to no reason.' The
expedient was a letter signed by Plunket and Barnewall on behalf of the
nuncio's opponents in the late Confederation, who agreed to petition
the Pope to remove his censure, and also to write a sort of apology 'in
a loving and friendly manner' to Rinuccini himself.[152]

[Sidenote: Siege of Wexford, Oct. 1-11.]

[Sidenote: Ulster troops in the town]

[Sidenote: Proposals of the governor.]

[Sidenote: Terms offered by Cromwell]

After a few days' rest in Dublin, Cromwell marched towards Wexford.
Fortified posts near Delgany, at Arklow, 'which was the first seat
and honour of the Marquis of Ormonde's family,' and at Limerick, 'the
ancient seat of the Esmonds,' were taken without firing a shot. Ferns
and Enniscorthy also surrendered without resistance, and on October 1
the army came before Wexford, where there was a garrison under Colonel
David Synnott, who was an old adherent of Preston, and therefore not
very popular with the townsmen, who had favoured the nuncio. Two days
later a summons was sent in the usual terms 'to the end effusion
of blood may be prevented,' and Synnott was willing to parley, but
Cromwell refused any truce during negotiations, 'because our tents
are not so good a covering as your houses.' It was arranged that four
persons should come out under safe conduct, but while Cromwell was
expecting them Castlehaven managed to introduce 1500 Ulster foot on
the north side of the town, and Synnott then changed his mind. The
safe conduct was withdrawn, and in the meantime Jones led a party
of horse and foot round to the long point of Rosslare, at the end
of which was a fort whose defenders at once took to the water and
were all captured by the Parliamentary fleet. The weather was rough,
and it took some days to land the siege train, but all was ready by
the evening of the 10th. The battery was placed at the south-east
corner of the town opposite the castle, which was outside the wall,
Cromwell seeing that if it was once taken the town could make little
further resistance. After nearly a hundred shots had been fired, 'the
governor's stomach came down,' and he sent out four representatives on
safe conduct with written propositions, which Cromwell forwarded to
Lenthall 'for their abominableness, manifesting also the impudency of
the men.' The principal demands were that the inhabitants should for
ever have liberty publicly to profess and practise the Roman Catholic
religion, retaining all the churches and religious houses without
interference, that Bishop French and his successors should have full
jurisdiction in the diocese of Ferns, that the garrison should march
out with flying colours, and be escorted to Ross with all their arms
and other possessions, and that the townsmen should be guaranteed
their municipal privileges, lives, and properties. Cromwell engaged to
protect the civilians, to give private soldiers leave to go home, 'with
their wearing clothes,' on condition of bearing arms no more against
Parliament, and to spare the lives of the officers, they remaining
prisoners of war.[153]

[Sidenote: Dissensions among the garrison.]

[Sidenote: The castle surrendered.]

[Sidenote: Great slaughter after the assault.]

Considering the state of affairs, Cromwell's terms were not very
hard, but there were divided counsels in Wexford. Synnott did not
command confidence, and Ormonde, who appeared near the river, sent
Sir Edmund Butler to supersede him with a further relief of 500 men.
There was no truce during negotiations, and Captain James Stafford, who
commanded in the castle, was so much alarmed that he surrendered his
post before Synnott's answer was given. The men on the nearest part
of the town wall were panic-stricken when they saw what had happened,
and the Cromwellians scrambled over the battlements with the help
of their pikes. Sir Edmund Butler had just arrived, but had no time
to ferry over his men, and was killed by a shot while attempting to
rejoin them by swimming. Barricades and cables had been drawn across
the streets, and the passage of the assailants was hotly disputed by
the garrison and by many armed citizens. The final contest was in
the market-place, and the total number slain between soldiers and
townsfolk was not far short of 2000. The loss of the besiegers was
trifling, perhaps not more than twenty. For this slaughter Cromwell
is not personally liable as he is for Drogheda, and he expresses some
regret for it, but not very much. He mentions two instances in which,
as he was informed, the Wexford people showed little mercy to others.
'About seven or eight score poor Protestants were put by them into
an old vessel, which being, as some say, bulged by them, the vessel
sank, and they were all presently drowned in the harbour. The other
was thus: they put divers Protestants into a chapel (which since they
have used for a mass-house, and in which one or more of their priests
were now killed), where they were famished to death.' A very large
number of guns and several valuable ships were taken. As at Drogheda,
little or no mercy was shown to priests or friars, the deaths of seven
Franciscans being particularly recorded. As to the tradition of 300
women being slaughtered, the story first appears in Macgeohegan's
history, published in 1758, and Bishop French, writing in 1673, made no
mention of anything of the kind. A contemporary account says 'There was
more sparing of lives of the soldiery part of the enemy here than at
Drogheda.' An empty town remained in the victors' hands.[154]

[Sidenote: New Ross taken, Oct. 19.]

[Sidenote: Cromwell on liberty of conscience.]

[Sidenote: Inchiquin's men join Cromwell.]

Less than a week after the capture of Wexford, Cromwell marched to
New Ross, on the right bank of the Barrow, below its junction with
the Nore. There was then no bridge, and Ormonde with Castlehaven and
Lord Montgomery of Ards were able to ferry over 2500 men into the
town, many of them under Cromwell's very eyes. The governor was Lucas
Taaffe, who made some show of resistance when Cromwell appeared and
sent the usual summons 'to avoid effusion of blood.' Two days later a
breach was effected, and Colonel Ingoldsby was chosen by lot to lead
the stormers. Taaffe knew very well that the case was hopeless, and
accepted the very liberal terms offered. The garrison were to march
away with colours flying and with their arms, leaving the artillery
behind, and 'protection from the injury and violence of the soldiers'
was guaranteed to the inhabitants. Those who wished to depart with
their goods were given three months to think it over. 'For what you
mention,' wrote Cromwell, 'concerning liberty of conscience, I meddle
not with any man's conscience, but if by liberty of conscience you mean
a liberty to exercise the mass, I judge it best to use plain dealing,
and to let you know, where the Parliament of England have power, that
will not be allowed of.' He told Lenthall that there was nothing to
prevent the garrison from recrossing the river without his leave. About
500 English soldiers of the garrison, many of them from Munster, here
joined Cromwell, as they had probably been long anxious to do. There
was a considerable delay after this, for Oliver was determined before
moving to make a satisfactory bridge for access to Kilkenny and the
interior generally. Before the work was completed Cork and Youghal
surrendered, and Inchiquin's once formidable army practically ceased to
exist.[155]

[Sidenote: Broghill adheres to Cromwell.]

[Sidenote: Broghill and Inchiquin.]

[Sidenote: Cork, Kinsale, and Youghal join Cromwell. November.]

Lord Broghill had played a very important part in the earlier years
of the civil war, his last considerable exploit being the relief of
Youghal in September 1645. He was never on very cordial terms with
Inchiquin, but could work with him as the champion of the Protestant
interest in Munster. The scene changed when Inchiquin deserted the
Parliament, and Ormonde was fain to ally himself with the Kilkenny
Confederates. Broghill retired to Marston Bigot in Somersetshire,
which his father had bought for him, and waited there for the times
to disentangle themselves. The execution of Charles I. seems to have
been too much for him, and the Royalist idea prevailed so far that he
was preparing to go to Spa, nominally for the gout, but really to be
within reach of Charles II. According to the Rev. Thomas Morrice, who
is the sole and not very trustworthy authority for this passage of
Broghill's life, Cromwell visited him at this juncture, and offered
him his choice between the Tower and a general's command in Ireland.
He accepted the latter on the understanding that he was not expected
to fight against any but the Irish. It is at all events certain that
he was with Cromwell not very long after his arrival in Ireland, and
that he told Inchiquin that he served upon some such terms and would be
glad to do him personal service, 'though, perhaps, I might not believe
it.' The promise of a general's commission is doubtful from what
Ludlow says, but work was soon found for Broghill, who, in Cromwell's
own words had 'a great interest in the men that came from Inchiquin.'
At the beginning of November 1649, he was at Cork and Youghal as a
commissioner for Munster, along with Sir William Fenton, the two famous
seamen Blake and Deane, and Colonel Phaire, who was on duty at the
late King's execution. The military authority was at first in Phaire's
hands, but a troop of reformadoes--that is, unemployed officers--was
given to Broghill, and before Christmas he was in command of at least
1200 horse. Kinsale was the first Munster garrison to declare for
Cromwell; Cork soon followed, and commissioners from the English
inhabitants were with him before he left Ross. Their first request,
'out of a sense of the former good service and tender care of the Lord
of Inchiquin to and for them,' was that he should enjoy his estate
and have his arrears paid up to the last peace, and that an Act of
oblivion should be passed in his favour. This article Cromwell refused
to answer, but promised that Inchiquin's defection should not be
remembered to their prejudice, and that their charter should be renewed
in its old form. Similar terms were given to the Youghal people, who
abstained by Broghill's advice from making any conditions. He informed
Cromwell that he and his colleagues were received at Youghal 'with all
the real demonstrations of gladness an overjoyed people were capable
of.'[156]

[Sidenote: Inchiquin attempts a diversion,]

[Sidenote: but is defeated.]

After the capture of Ross Cromwell lay there for about a month, his men
being occupied in making a bridge of boats over the Barrow, below its
junction with the Nore. He ordered the invalided soldiers in Dublin
to march along the coast to Wexford, which they did to the number of
1200, of whom nearly one-third were cavalry. Many of them were but
imperfectly recovered. At Glascarrig near Cahore Inchiquin set upon
them with a greatly superior force, the detachment sent to meet them
not arriving in time. 'But it pleased God,' says Cromwell, 'we sent
them word by a nearer way, to march close and be circumspect,' so that
they were not entirely surprised. Inchiquin overtook their rear, but
the passage was narrow between high sand-hills and the sea, so that the
number of his cavalry was of comparatively little advantage. After a
sharp fight the Dublin party were victorious, and pursued Inchiquin's
men for a short distance, after which they proceeded to Wexford without
further molestation. Not many fell on either side, but Colonel Trevor,
who had showed so much enterprise as a cavalry leader, was dangerously
wounded.[157]

[Sidenote: The bridge at Ross.]

[Sidenote: Carrick-on-Suir taken.]

Cromwell was very ill during a part of his stay at Ross, but the bridge
greatly impressed the Irish with a sense of his power as Cæsar's
had impressed the Germans in an earlier age. 'A stupendous work,'
says the author of the 'Aphorismical Discovery,' 'for there were two
main rivers, Nore and Barrow, joining there unto one bed, and the
sea-tide passing over the town in the said rivers six or seven miles,
he was building this bridge upon this swift and boisterous-running
tide-water with barrels, planks, casks and cables.' Ormonde had a
superior force in the neighbourhood, but the dissensions between his
officers and between the English and Irish elements of his army made
it impossible to risk a pitched battle. Taaffe made an unsuccessful
attempt to destroy the unfinished bridge, and Cromwell lost no time in
fortifying Rosbercon, on the Kilkenny bank. Ireton and Jones occupied
Inistioge without fighting, but found the bridge at Thomastown broken
down and the walled town garrisoned, while the bulk of Ormonde's army
retired towards Kilkenny. The road into Tipperary was, however, open
from Inistioge, and Reynolds was detached with a body of cavalry to
Carrick-on-Suir. While he was parleying with the garrison at one gate,
a part of his men surprised the other and took more than a hundred
prisoners, the remainder escaping in boats over the Suir. The castle,
'one of the ancientest seats belonging to the Lord of Ormonde,' made
no further resistance, and Cromwell with the main body of his army,
having taken Knocktopher by the way, passed through Carrick towards
Waterford, which he summoned on November 21.[158]

[Sidenote: Siege of Waterford Nov.-Dec.]

[Sidenote: Castlehaven relieves Duncannon,]

[Sidenote: but is refused admission to Waterford.]

Waterford was unassailable from the left bank of the Suir, and
Cromwell, like Mountjoy before him, had to cross at Carrick. Before
the naval superiority of the Parliament could be made available it was
necessary to secure the forts at Duncannon and Passage below the city.
Duncannon had been in the hands of the Confederates since 1645, and was
commanded by Captain Thomas Roche, a very incompetent officer. Jones
was detached from Ross with 2000 men to besiege the place, and he took
Ballyhack, commanding the ordinary communication between the Fort and
Waterford. Parliamentary ships lay near, and seeing that Duncannon was
in danger Ormonde sent Captain Edward Wogan to supersede Roche. As a
deserter from the Parliamentary army Wogan fought with a rope round
his neck, and he restored the courage of the garrison. Ormonde then
sent Castlehaven to Passage opposite Ballyhack, whence he managed to
get to Duncannon in a boat. After consultation with Wogan, Castlehaven
returned, and that night embarked eighty horses without riders in
boats, which slipped into Duncannon on the tide. Wogan mounted officers
and picked men on the horses thus provided, and immediately attacked
the Parliamentary camp. The appearance of cavalry where there had
been none before seemed to indicate the approach of an army, and the
siege was raised next morning. After this piece of service Ormonde
made Castlehaven governor of Waterford with 1000 men, but the citizens
refused to admit him or his soldiers.[159]

[Sidenote: Ormonde garrisons Waterford.]

[Sidenote: Inchiquin repulsed from Carrick, Nov. 24.]

While Cromwell was threatening Waterford, Ormonde brought his whole
army to Carrick, the recapture of which he left to Taaffe and
Inchiquin, while he marched on with the tidal river between him and
the Parliamentary host. The city was open on the river side, and
there was no difficulty in ferrying over 1500 Ulster soldiers with
Lieut.-General Ferrall as governor. Jones had previously succeeded in
occupying Passage, 'a very large fort with a castle in the midst of
it, having five guns planted in it, and commanding the river better
than Duncannon.' The garrison surrendered on condition of quarter only,
and Ballyhack being already in Cromwell's hands, Waterford was pretty
thoroughly cut off from the sea. The attempt to recapture Carrick
failed, perhaps for want of a good engineer, for the assailants' mine
exploded to their own injury, and without damaging the wall. Reynolds's
men spared their ammunition and defended themselves mainly with stones.
The gates were burned, but quickly barricaded inside with rubble,
and Inchiquin, having no stock of provisions, was forced to retreat
with heavy loss. Ormonde on his return was very nearly captured, for
he expected to find Carrick in the hands of friends, and had to ride
twenty miles round to join his men at Clonmel. He met the Tipperary
rustics flying in all directions with their portable goods, so as to
escape being plundered by the soldiers.[160]

[Sidenote: The siege of Waterford raised, Dec. 2.]

[Sidenote: Death of Michael Jones.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde's difficulties.]

Ormonde said that if the weather 'proved but as usual at this time of
the year,' Cromwell might be repulsed from Waterford. Two days later
the siege was abandoned for this very reason, a great part of the men
being sick, and Cromwell marched to Kilmacthomas on 'as terrible a day'
as he had ever known. He found poor quarters, but in the morning was
encouraged by a messenger from Broghill, who lay at Dungarvan, which
had lately surrendered to him, with about twelve or thirteen hundred
men. Michael Jones died at Dungarvan of 'a pestilent and contagious
spotted fever,' contracted during a cold and wet march, and Cromwell
lamented his loss both as a friend and as a public servant. The
Parliamentary cause certainly owed him a great deal, though there is
reason to believe that he did not approve of the execution of Charles
I. At the moment Ferrall made an attempt to recover Passage, the loss
of which made it very difficult to victual Duncannon, but Colonel
Sankey was despatched with 320 men from Cappoquin, and after a sharp
fight succeeded in taking about the same number of prisoners. Ferrall
retreated into Waterford, where Ormonde was himself present, though
the mayor absolutely refused to let his troops cross the river, saying
that an increase of the garrison would cause a famine in the town. It
was proposed to quarter them in huts outside the walls, but even this
was rejected, and Passage remained in the enemy's hands, though an
overwhelming force was ready to attempt its relief. Wogan was among the
prisoners taken by Sankey, and Cromwell seriously thought of hanging
him; but he was sent to Cork, whence he soon escaped, and went to
England to seek the adventure which has made him famous.[161]

[Sidenote: Ormonde's apparent superiority in numbers.]

[Sidenote: Cromwell in Munster.]

[Sidenote: He is reinforced.]

When Cromwell broke up from before Waterford on December 2, he had not
more than 3000 effective infantry in the field, the garrisons taking
up many and sickness accounting for more. Ferrall had as many men in
Waterford as there were besieging him, and the whole of Ormonde's
army was ten or twelve thousand including O'Neill's men, who were at
least 7000 and all effective, 'these being the eldest sons of the
Church of Rome, most cried up and confided in by the clergy.' The rest
were old English, Irish, some Protestants, some <DW7>s, and other
popish Irish. The interests of Ormonde, Clanricarde, Castlehaven,
Muskerry, Taaffe, and the rest provided a formidable force, who could
live on the country, for there were scarce twenty natives favourable
to Parliament. 'God hath blessed you,' Cromwell wrote, 'with a great
tract of land in longitude, along the shore, yet it hath but a little
depth into the country,' and the inhabitants were so robbed by their
neighbours that they could give little help. Therefore it was still
necessary to send money and stores from England, and to maintain a
strict naval blockade, lest supplies should reach the enemy from
abroad. But Ormonde had to disperse his men in winter quarters for
want of means to support them in the field, and Cromwell did the same,
his headquarters being at Youghal. He spent the short winter days in
visiting Cork and other Munster garrisons. The tradition is that he
went to Glengariffe, where the ruins of 'Cromwell's bridge' may still
be seen, but there seems to be no evidence of his having gone further
west than Kinsale. His applications to Parliament for help were not in
vain, for 1500 fresh men were sent to Dublin about this time, and a few
weeks later Henry Cromwell came to Youghal with further reinforcements,
followed by thirteen ships laden with oats, beans, and pease. The sick
men recovered with rest and dry lodgings, and by the end of January
Cromwell was able to take the field again.[162]

[Sidenote: Broghill's campaign, November.]

[Sidenote: Cork.]

[Sidenote: Kinsale and Bandon.]

[Sidenote: Baltimore, &c.]

Broghill, who was now Master of the Ordnance, left Youghal about the
middle of November with 500 foot and 300 horse. A fort with three
guns on the Corkbeg peninsula partially commanded Cork harbour, and
had annoyed Blake's ships. Captain Courthope, 'who knew not only the
commander of it, but every particular soldier in it, so well persuaded
and terrified them that they delivered up the fort' without fighting.
At Belvelly, commanding the strait between the mainland and the island
on which Queenstown now stands, Colonel Pigott had a strong castle and
three Irish companies. Broghill had formerly 'particularly well known'
this officer, and in half an hour's private conversation satisfied
him that it was a national quarrel. At Cork, Broghill found 700 armed
inhabitants and 500 foot soldiers, who received him 'with as great a
joy as is almost imaginable.' A messenger came from Kinsale to offer
that town to the Parliament, and a detachment was sent strong enough to
check the garrison of the fort. At Bandon, Colonel Courtney, 'who had
ever been my particular friend,' stood for the King; but the townsmen
and most of the soldiers were English Protestants, and he could but
surrender. Broghill armed the inhabitants, and nearly all the officers
and soldiers ultimately joined him. The people showed 'at least an
equal joy to our reception at Cork.' The bridge at Bandon enabled
Broghill to march straight to the south side of Kinsale harbour, where
Rupert had greatly strengthened the fort, which was held by 400 Irish
under a Scotch governor. The works were too strong to attack before
the return of Blake's fleet, but the regiment inside was commanded by
'an Irish Protestant, a great sufferer by the rebellion; an ancient
dependant of our [the Boyle] family, and one particularly recommended
to my care by my father,' who set the governor aside, and persuaded the
soldiers to capitulate. After this Baltimore, Castlehaven, Crookhaven,
and Timoleague surrendered without giving Broghill the trouble of
a march, and Mallow did the same, thus securing the only bridge
over the Blackwater, except that at Cappoquin, which was already in
Parliamentary hands. Colonel Crosby was detached to see what could
be done in Kerry. Cromwell might well say that Broghill had a great
interest in the men and in the districts which were lately Inchiquin's,
and that there could have been no rebellion if every county had
contained an Earl of Cork.[163]

[Sidenote: Surrender of Carrickfergus, Nov. 2.]

While Cromwell was building his bridge at New Ross, Dalziel was
closely besieged in Carrickfergus by Coote and Venables. It was the
most important place in Ulster, and the Scotch veteran made good terms
for himself and his men, agreeing to surrender on December 13 if not
relieved in the meantime. A few days before that date Sir George Monro
with Lords Montgomery and Clandeboye, collected a force which Coote, on
the report of deserters, estimated at 2000 foot and 800 horse, their
object being to relieve Carrickfergus. On December 1 they were at
Comber and next day at Newtownards. After a good deal of manoeuvring
Coote took up his quarters at Lisburn, while Monro crossed the Laggan
somewhere between that place and Moira. On their return upon the
Antrim side of the river, Coote allowed them to pass him, and then
attacked their rear 'upon a boggy pass on the plain of Lisnesreane.'
Sir Theophilus Jones, who had come out of Lisburn with his cavalry, met
with little resistance, and during a pursuit of ten miles over 1000
were killed with scarcely any loss to the victors. Monro and Montgomery
fled to Charlemont, most of their Scots followers leaving them, and
Carrickfergus was then surrendered in due course.[164]

[Sidenote: The Clonmacnoise decrees, Dec. 4.]

[Sidenote: Toleration not to be expected.]

[Sidenote: "Idle Boys" excommunicated.]

Rinuccini having departed and O'Neill being dead, the Irish were as
sheep having no shepherd. Stubborn resistance was made in detail,
but there was very little concerted action after Cromwell's arrival.
The remains of the Confederacy still adhered to Ormonde, but it
became evident after the last peace that he could never rally the
native population. Under these circumstances twenty bishops, with
the procurators of three others, the abbot of Holy Cross and the
Provincials of the Dominicans and Franciscans, met at Clonmacnoise
on December 4, of their own mere motion as they were careful to set
forth. After some days' deliberation they announced that nothing could
be done without unity, and that past differences must be laid aside.
It was, they said, the evident intention of Cromwell and his masters
to root out the Catholic religion, which could only be done by getting
rid of the people and recolonising the country, 'witness the numbers
they have already sent hence for the tobacco islands and put enemies
in their places.' Cromwell had told the governor of Ross that he
meddled with no man's conscience, but that a liberty to exercise the
mass would nevertheless not be allowed of. This was naturally quite
enough for the clergy, and doubtless for most laymen also. The formal
decrees of Clonmacnoise were embodied in four articles. By the first
fasting and prayer were ordered 'to withdraw from this nation God's
anger, and to render them capable of his mercies.' By the second
the people were warned that no mercy or clemency could be expected
'from the common enemy commanded by Cromwell by authority from the
rebels of England.' By the third the clergy were ordered under severe
penalties to preach unity, 'and we hereby manifest our detestation
against all such divisions between either provinces or families, or
between old English and old Irish, or any of the English or Scotch
adhering to his Majesty.' The last decree was one of excommunication
against the highwaymen called Idle Boys, and against all who relieved
them. Clergymen were forbidden on pain of suspension to give them the
Sacrament or to bury them in consecrated ground.[165]

FOOTNOTES:

[147] The two declarations, August 23 and 24, are in the new edition of
Carlyle's _Cromwell_, i. 455 and iii. 410.

[148] Wood's _Fasti_, ed. Bliss, 77, and his _Life and Times_, ed.
Clark, i. 110. The correspondence between Aston and Ormonde, from the
Carte MSS., August 25 to September 10, is in _Contemp. Hist._ ii.
233-261. As to the composition of the garrison see also Gardiner's
_Commonwealth_, i. 124, and the note to Murphy's _Cromwell in Ireland_,
p. 86.

[149] The chief authority for the storm is Cromwell's own letter to
Lenthall, dated September 17; Ormonde's account is dated September
29. The above, with those of Ludlow, Bate, and Wood, are collected in
_Contemp. Hist._ ii. 262-276. For Cromwell's battering train see Mr.
Firth's _Cromwell's Army_, p. 170. Elaborate accounts of the siege,
with maps, are in Gardiner's _Commonwealth_, chap. v., and in Murphy's
_Cromwell in Ireland_, chaps. vii. and viii.

[150] Letters of Peters and Cromwell, September 15 and 16, in
_Whitelock_, iii. 110, which were read in Parliament; letters of
Ormonde and Aston, _ut sup._ For Talbot's obligations to Reynolds see
Clarke's _Life of James II._ i. 326. Hugh Peters says shortly 'Aston
the governor killed, none spared.'

[151] The terms of the treaty between Ormonde and O'Neill from the
Carte papers is in _Contemp. Hist._ ii. 300, the negotiations, _ib._
237 _sqq._ The first mention of O'Neill's illness is in his letter of
September 19, 'an unexpected fit of sickness in my knee, whereof I am
not fully cleared yet.'

[152] Summons to Dundalk, September 12, 1640, in Carlyle. Venables to
Cromwell, September 22, in _Contemp. Hist._ ii. 267; Brief Chronicle,
_ib._ iii. 157; Ormonde's report on the state of the armies, _ib._
ii. 465; O'Neill's last letter to Ormonde, November 1, _ib._ 315;
_Aphorismical Discovery_, chap. xiv. In _Spicilegium Ossoriense_, ii.
33, are four letters from O'Neill, dated May 18, 1649, to Rinuccini, to
Dean Massari, and to Cardinals la Cuena and Pamphili. Daniel O'Neill's
letter of October 6 to Ormonde is in _Contemp. Hist._ ii. 294. There is
no reason whatever to suppose that Owen Roe O'Neill was poisoned.

[153] Cromwell's letters are in _Carlyle_, and the terms demanded by
Synnott in Cary's _Memorials_, ii. 181. Castlehaven's _Memoirs_, p. 80.

[154] Cromwell's despatch of October 11, 1649, in _Carlyle_. There are
elaborate narratives of this siege in Murphy's _Cromwell in Ireland_,
chaps. xiii. and xiv., and in Gardiner's _Commonwealth_, chap. v. There
is a candid note by Father Meehan in the appendix to his _Franciscan
Monasteries_, 4th ed., 1872, p. 296. See also Carte's _Ormonde_ and
Castlehaven's _Memoirs_, p. 80. Peters wrote on October 22, 'It is a
fine spot for some godly congregation, where house and land wait for
inhabitants and occupiers; I wish they would come,' in _Collections of
Letters_, &c., London, November 13, 1649. _The Taking of Wexford_, a
letter from an eminent officer (R. L.), London, October 26, 1649.

[155] The correspondence between Cromwell and Taaffe is in _Carlyle_.
The articles of surrender, dated October 19, are printed in Murphy's
_Cromwell in Ireland_, p. 188, where there is a full account of the
whole affair.

[156] Morrice's Memoir prefixed to _Orrery State Letters_, i. 18;
Inchiquin to Ormonde, December 9, 1649, in _Clar. S.P._; Ludlow's
_Memoirs_, February 8, 1651. The authorities as to the revolt of Cork
and Youghal are collected from various sources in the new edition
of Carlyle's _Cromwell_, some in the Supplement. Lady Fanshawe's
_Memoirs_, p. 53. Blake to Popham, November 5, _Leyborne-Popham
Papers_, p. 49. Cork and Youghal declared for Cromwell about November
1, Kinsale a few days later.

[157] Cromwell to Lenthall, November 14, 1649, Ludlow's _Memoirs_, i.
239; Carte's _Ormonde_.

[158] Cromwell to Lenthall, November 14 and 25, in _Carlyle_; Ormonde
to Charles II., November 30, in _Contemp. Hist._ ii. 329.

[159] Castlehaven's _Memoirs_, p. 81. The siege of Duncannon was raised
November 5.

[160] Cromwell to Lenthall, letter 116, in _Carlyle_; Carte's
_Ormonde_. The attempt on Carrick was on November 24.

[161] Ormonde to Charles II., November 30, _Contemp. Hist._ ii.
330; Cromwell to Lenthall, December 19, 1649, in _Carlyle_; Carte's
_Ormonde_, ii. 103. Concerning Jones see a note in Gardiner's
_Commonwealth_, i. 160. For Wogan see _Clarke Papers_, i. 421.

[162] Cromwell to Lenthall, December 19, 1649, in _Carlyle_. Brief
Chronicle published by authority in 1650, and reprinted in _Contemp.
Hist._ iii. 157; Gardiner's _Commonwealth_, i. 163. note; Murphy's
_Cromwell in Ireland_, chap. xx.

[163] _Relation of the Particulars of the Reduction of the Greatest
Part of the Province of Munster_, &c., London, 1649 (containing
Broghill's letters of November 22 and 26, and the Remonstrance and
Resolution of the Protestant Army at Cork, October 23); Caulfield's
_Council Book of Kinsale_, pp. 55, 357-363; Bennett's _Hist. of
Bandon_, chap. xii.

[164] _Two Letters_ from William Basil, A.G., to Bradshaw and Lenthall,
London, December 12, 1649; _War in Ireland_, p. 100; MacSkimin's
_Carrickfergus_, p. 16, where Dalziel's articles are given; _Two
Letters_ of Sir Charles Coote to Lenthall with Scobell's imprimatur;
December 8 and 13, London, 1649. Coote notes that 'Colonel Henderson
that betrayed Sligo was killed.'

[165] _Certain Acts and Declarations_ made by the ecclesiastical
congregation, &c., printed at Kilkenny and reprinted at London, 1650.
Printed also, with some slight verbal differences, in _Spicilegium
Ossoriense_, ii. 38-42.




CHAPTER XXXII

CROMWELL IN IRELAND, 1650


[Sidenote: Ormonde and the Clonmacnoise decrees.]

In their published utterances the bishops were careful to say nothing
alarming to Protestants, and to lay stress upon the royalism or loyalty
of those for whom they spoke. In writing to Rome they were silent
about the King, but urged the necessity of union among Catholics.
Ormonde, who had no illusions, thought it much that there had been no
public demand for his own removal; but this too was to come later. He
knew that Antrim had been intriguing to obtain such a declaration,
and he begged the King to recall him before his position became quite
untenable. Charles directed him to hold on as long as possible, and to
leave Ireland when he was finally convinced that nothing more could be
done.[166]

[Sidenote: Cromwell's Declaration, Jan. 1649-1650.]

[Sidenote: Liberty of conscience.]

[Sidenote: The laws of war.]

[Sidenote: Cromwell misunderstood Ireland.]

The printed proceedings of the Clonmacnoise prelates reached Cromwell
at Youghal, and he lost no time in answering it. The task of uniting
clergy and laity, he said, was only necessary because the distinction
had been invented by 'the Antichristian Church' of Rome, and maintained
by her priests as the foundation of their own power. Their royalism
was a 'fig-leaf of pretence,' whereas they really fought for their
own supremacy. Cromwell had a right to say that they began the war,
but he much exaggerated the goodness of the terms on which English
and Irish had lived before the outbreak. No doubt there were some
friendships, but all competent observers had long realised that the
Ulster settlement would be disturbed whenever the children of the
dispossessed natives had the chance. As to liberty of conscience, he
took his stand upon the purely English ground that the mass had long
been prohibited by law, and that he could not extirpate what had no
root. He reiterated his statement to the governor of Ross and said
plainly, 'I shall not, where I have power, and the Lord is pleased
to bless me, suffer the exercise of the mass where I can take notice
of it.... As for the people, what thoughts they have in matters of
religion in their own breasts I cannot reach; but think it my duty if
they walk honestly and peaceably, not to cause them in the least to
suffer for the same.' He defended the raising of money by mortgaging
lands which rebels would forfeit, but denied that there was any
intention to extirpate the people. He defied anyone to give an instance
since his arrival in Ireland of 'one man not in arms, massacred,
destroyed, or banished' with impunity. Those who had been exiled to the
West Indies were all in fact liable to be put to the sword according to
the laws of war. All who had not been actors in the rebellion should
be spared and protected. 'And having said this,' he concluded, 'and
purposing honestly to perform it,--if this people shall headily run
on after the counsels of their prelates and clergy and other leaders,
I hope to be free from the misery and desolation and blood and ruin
that shall befall them; and shall rejoice to exercise utmost severity
against them.' Cromwell's ideas about toleration were in advance of
his age, but his knowledge of Ireland before 1641 was derived from the
published histories of May and Temple.[167]

[Sidenote: Lady Fanshawe at Cork, Nov. 1649.]

When Lady Fanshawe joined her husband, a few weeks before Cromwell's
landing, she found Cork an agreeable place of residence enough, and
so it remained for about six months. She lived in the old Augustinian
Friary called the Red Abbey, which then belonged to Michael Boyle,
Dean of Cloyne, who vied with Inchiquin and Roscommon in civility to
her. She calls the latter Lord Chancellor, but he is not generally
included in the list. 'My Lord of Ormonde had a very good army, and
the country was seemingly quiet.' And so it continued outwardly for
some time, though Inchiquin's power had been gradually wasting away
since Rathmines. Suddenly one night, at the beginning of November, Lady
Fanshawe was roused from her bed by the sound of cannon, and by screams
and cries outside. Opening the window, she saw a crowd, who informed
her that they were 'all Irish stripped and wounded and turned out of
the town by Colonel Jeffries.' Hurrying off to the Colonel she reminded
him of her husband's former civilities to him, which he handsomely
acknowledged, and at once granted a free pass. She passed 'through
thousands of naked swords' with her family, 1000_l._ in cash and other
light property, and got to Kinsale where she was safe for the moment.
Cromwell was much annoyed at Fanshawe's papers having thus escaped
him.[168]

[Sidenote: Cromwell's campaign in the South, Jan.-March, 1650.]

[Sidenote: Surrender of Fethard, Feb. 3.]

The Parliamentary managers were alarmed by the negotiations of Charles
with the Scots. They knew, too, that Fairfax could hardly be trusted to
lead an attack on the Presbyterian kingdom, and they resolved to recall
Cromwell. The letter was written on January 8, but it did not reach him
until he was already in the field again, and he thought proper to treat
the reports of its coming as Nelson treated the signal at Copenhagen.
On January 29 he set out from Youghal with twelve troops of horse,
three troops of dragoons, and between two and three hundred foot.
Reynolds and Ireton, with about the same number of horse and dragoons
and 2000 foot, were sent to Carrick to threaten Ormonde's quarters
at Kilkenny. Cromwell himself marched towards Mitchelstown, took
Kilbenny Castle, Clogheen, and Rehill, near Cahir, and went from there
to Fethard. The last-named walled town surrendered after a night's
discussion 'upon terms which we usually call honourable; which I was
the willinger to give, because I had little above two hundred foot,
and neither ladders nor guns nor anything else to force them.'

[Sidenote: Cashel protected.]

[Sidenote: Callan taken.]

[Sidenote: Enniscorthy surprised and retaken.]

[Sidenote: Ardfinane.]

[Sidenote: Cahir surrendered, Feb. 24]

The besiegers had not fired a single shot. The honourable terms were
that the garrison should march away with arms and baggage, and that the
inhabitants, including priests, should be fully protected. Some Ulster
foot at Cashel, hearing of Cromwell's arrival at Fethard, ran away in
confusion, and he protected the townsfolk at their own request. He
then went onto Callan, which he found already in Reynolds's hands. The
garrison of two castles 'refusing conditions seasonably offered were
put all to the sword.' Those in a larger castle surrendered, and were
allowed to march away without their arms. Among the prisoners taken in
a skirmish was one of those who had betrayed Enniscorthy, and he was
hanged. Some Irish gentlemen had feasted the garrison and sent in women
to sell them spirits. When most of the soldiers were drunk the enemy
rushed in and killed all, except four who had been bribed to open the
gates. Colonel Cooke, the governor of Wexford, soon retook Enniscorthy
by storm, and in his turn put all the garrison to the sword. Reynolds
was despatched to take Knocktopher, and after a fortnight in the field,
Cromwell returned to Fethard, 'having good plenty of horsemeat and
man's meat' in that rich district. Ireton took Ardfinane, of which
Henry II. himself had chosen the site, and which was important to
bring guns 'ammunition, and other things' from Youghal and Cappoquin.
Cromwell came before Cahir, which was surrendered without costing
a man. He was told that it had stood an eight weeks' siege against
Essex, but that most incompetent of heroes really took it in two days.
Kiltinan, Goldenbridge and Dundrum were also taken, and the county of
Tipperary submitted to a contribution of 1500_l._[169]

[Sidenote: Operations in Leinster, Dec.-March, 1649-50.]

[Sidenote: Ballisonan taken, March 1.]

The regicide John Hewson was governor of Dublin with a numerous
garrison, consisting chiefly of sick and wounded. A division of
these half-recovered invalids had won the fight at Glascarrig and
joined Cromwell, and by the end of the year a good many more were
fit for service, and some reinforcements had also arrived from
England. Kildare, the hill of Allen, Castle Martin and other places
were occupied, but Kilmeague was found too strong to attack without
artillery. When his provisions were spent Hewson returned to Dublin,
where he received a curious proposition from the strong garrison of
Ballisonan or Ballyshannon near Kilcullen. This he describes as 'having
double works and double moats full of water, one within another, and
a mount with a fort upon it, most of the officers with me esteeming
the taking of it to be unfeazable.' After the rout at Rathmines some
of Ormonde's fugitive cavalry had summoned this formidable stronghold,
which surrendered to them under the impression that Dublin was taken.
The defenders now offered to join the Parliament, on condition of being
made a regiment with their own officers, liberty of religion, and two
priests as chaplains. Their arrears since May were to be paid, Taaffe
and Dillon to be excluded from any accommodation with the Parliamentary
party. In fact, they preferred Cromwell to Ormonde, which shows how
desperate the latter's position had become. Such terms were of course
unacceptable, and Hewson attacked Ballisonan with a force of 2000 foot
and 1000 horse, with two guns and a mortar. An entrenched battery was
erected, but the place capitulated before any breach had been made.
Hewson was glad to give easy terms, as Castlehaven was at Athy, and
might make an attempt to raise the siege. The garrison marched out
with the honours of war, Maryborough and Kilmeague were abandoned by
the Irish, and all Kildare except the extreme south was in Hewson's
power.[170]

[Sidenote: Ormonde withdraws into Clare, February.]

[Sidenote: Castlehaven commands in Leinster.]

[Sidenote: The net drawn round Kilkenny.]

After consulting the Commissioners of Trust, Ormonde allowed agents to
meet at Kilkenny in January for the discussion of grievances affecting
the different districts, but nothing was reduced to writing, and there
were, as he expected, no results. The agents proposed an adjournment
to Ennis, and to this he agreed. The approach of Cromwell's forces on
the south and of Hewson's on the north had doubtless something to say
to this, and the plague which began to rage in the town still more.
Cromwell made a strong reconnaissance towards Kilkenny, where a Captain
Tickle had been bribed or in some other way induced to undertake that
one of the gates should be opened, but the plot was discovered and
the captain hanged; so that Cromwell had to retire. In spite of the
plague and of enemies within and without, Castlehaven used to go out
fox-hunting in the early morning. Ormonde met him in the field, told
him that it was decided to withdraw into Clare, and appointed him,
much to his disgust, general of Leinster. Ormonde himself went to
Limerick during the first week in February, and was not destined to see
Kilkenny again until after the Restoration. Cromwell, having failed
in the plot with Tickle, waited patiently and let the plague do his
work. Castlehaven had one success, surprising Athy and taking Hewson's
garrison of 700 men, but he found the place untenable. 'Not knowing,'
he writes, 'what to do with my prisoners, I made a present of them to
Cromwell, desiring him by letter to do the like to me ... but he little
valued my civility, for in a very few days after he besieged Gowran,
where Colonel Hammond commanded, and the soldiers mutinying and giving
up the place, he caused Hammond with some English officers to be shot
to death.' Cromwell's own account confirms this, and he adds that
Hammond was 'a principal actor in the Kentish insurrection,' and so
not entitled to mercy more than Lucas or Lisle. A priest who acted as
chaplain to the Roman Catholic soldiers was hanged. 'I trouble you with
this the rather because this was the Lord of Ormonde's own regiment.'
At Gowran Cromwell was joined by Hewson, who had taken Castledermot,
Lea, Kilkea, and other castles in the meantime, he himself having
taken Thomastown. Castlehaven did not find himself strong enough to
meet Hewson in the field. Lord Dillon promised to join him with about
3000 men, but they never came, and all he could do was to provision
Kilkenny and leave it with a garrison of 1000 foot and 200 horse. Soon
afterwards an Ulster regiment, which was nearly half his army, deserted
on account of the plague, saying that they were ready to fight against
men but not against God. Having tried to relieve Kilkenny in vain he
gave orders to the governors of the town and castle to make the best
terms they could, and not to attempt to hold the latter after the
former had surrendered. Cromwell and Hewson corresponded about this
time by letters enclosed in balls of wax, so that the messenger might
swallow them if necessary. Some of these reached Castlehaven, but only
served to show him that he was hopelessly overmatched.[171]

[Sidenote: Capitulation of Kilkenny, March 27.]

[Sidenote: Citizens and soldiers]

[Sidenote: Fair terms granted.]

Cromwell approached Kilkenny by Bennet's Bridge and sent in his summons
on March 22. Sir Walter Butler, a cousin of Ormonde's, was governor of
the town, and briefly replied that he held it for the King. A battery
with three guns was accordingly planted at St. Patrick's Church, and
on March 25 about a hundred shot struck the wall near the castle.
An attempt to carry the breach failed with the loss of a captain
and twenty or thirty men, the garrison having erected earthworks
and palisades inside. At the same time a thousand men were detached
to attack the Irish town near the cathedral, where the wall was but
weakly defended by the townsmen, and the Cromwellians entered with a
loss of only three or four men. After this, the walled portion of the
town on the other side of the Nore was easily taken, and the victors
endeavoured to enter the main city over St. John's Bridge, but they
were driven back with a loss of forty or fifty men. In the meantime
fresh guns were brought up, and the mayor sent to represent the
difficult position of the citizens. No doubt, he wrote, Cromwell would
be willing to grant them fair terms, but they were in the power of the
garrison, and so 'in danger of ruin as well from our own party as
from that of your Honour's,' and it was reasonable that the soldiers
should be included. To avoid further loss, and perhaps to get away
from the plague, Cromwell after some discussion acquiesced in this
view, and on the next day Butler saw that further resistance would be
useless. Considering that Kilkenny had been the very centre of the
lately powerful Confederacy, the terms granted were liberal enough. The
garrison marched out with the honours of war, surrendering their arms
two miles out of town and then going where they pleased. The citizens
submitted to a payment of 2000_l._ in two instalments, in consideration
of which Cromwell had 'made it death for any man to plunder.' Those
who wished to remove themselves or their property might do so,
'none excepted,' within three months. There was no armistice during
the negotiations, and the garrison of Cantwell Castle, now called
Sandford's Court--'very strong, situated in a bog, well furnished with
provisions of corn'--surrendered, though specially ordered by Sir
Walter Butler to abandon their post and strengthen the scanty garrison
of Kilkenny. They were allowed to go beyond sea.[172]

[Sidenote: The town not plundered.]

[Sidenote: Damage to the churches.]

[Sidenote: Death of Bishop Rothe.]

Leaving the plague-stricken city with a small garrison, Cromwell went
to Carrick. 'The goodness of God,' says a contemporary newswriter,
'was exceedingly manifested in preventing the plunder of the place,
which must needs have hazarded the army by infection.' None of the
soldiers, in fact, suffered, which was 'the Lord's own doing and
marvellous in our eyes.' The clergy were not in any way excepted from
the terms granted to the citizens, and there is no evidence that
violence was done to any priests. But the churches suffered terribly,
Bishop Ledred's beautiful painted windows, which even Bale had
spared, were broken in pieces, and Thomas Earl of Ormonde's splendid
tomb was totally destroyed. A special interest attaches to the fate
of the bishop, the learned David Rothe, who had opposed Rinuccini.
There is nothing to show that he suffered from violence, but he was
seventy-eight years old, and it is not surprising that he died in great
discomfort, and in concealment. Bishop Lynch, who wrote from Clonfert
in August, says he was stripped and mocked by the soldiers, but allowed
to enter the nearest house, where he died within three weeks of old age
and disease. Archbishop Fleming, who was also in Ireland, and who wrote
in June, says much the same thing.[173]

[Sidenote: Siege of Clonmel, May.]

[Sidenote: Vain appeals to Ormonde,]

[Sidenote: and to Preston.]

[Sidenote: Clonmel is assaulted.]

[Sidenote: Cromwell repulsed.]

In the meantime Ennisnag Castle was taken, 'where were gotten a
company of rogues which had revolted from Colonel Jones. The soldiers
capitulated for life and their two officers were hanged for revolting.'
Adjutant-General Sadleir, with two guns, took all the castles in
the Suir valley from Clonmel to Waterford without resistance except
at Poulakerry, five miles below the former town. This was taken
by assault, thirty or forty being killed, 'and the rest remaining
obstinate were fired in the castle.' On April 27 Cromwell came before
Clonmel, and offered favourable terms, which were promptly rejected by
the governor, Hugh Boy O'Neill, a nephew of Owen Roe, who had about
1500 Ulster men with him. O'Neill, whom Cliffe describes as 'an old
surly Spanish soldier,' had expected to be attacked as far back as
February, and Ormonde had written from Ennis at the beginning of March
to say that he would 'draw all the forces of the kingdom into a body
for the town's relief.' But he could do nothing, for the Commissioners
of Trust were more anxious to thwart him than Cromwell, and would not
allow a levy to be made in the county of Limerick. An attempt to send
an expedition from the county of Cork was foiled by Broghill, and
Clonmel was left to its fate. Preston had promised, but failed, to send
ammunition from Waterford, and with Carrick in an enemy's hand it is
not easy to see how he could have done so. O'Neill and the mayor, John
White, made a last appeal to Ormonde. The long threatened attack had
come at last, and the preservation of the town was almost Ireland's
last hope. 'It is,' they wrote, 'our humble suit that the army, if in
any reasonable condition, may march night and day to our succour.' But
no such army was available, and Cromwell planted his battery without
hindrance. Reynolds and Theophilus Jones had a force in the field
sufficient to prevent Castlehaven from giving any trouble. Approaches
were made from the north side of the town, and there were many sallies
and much fighting before the breach was practicable. A comparison of
extant accounts fortified by local tradition seems to indicate that the
spot was near a gate which stood a little to the eastward of St. Mary's
Church. The assault was made about eight in the morning of May 9, and
the storming party entered without difficulty, but found that their
work was still to do. O'Neill had manned the houses and erected two
breastworks of 'dunghills, mortar, stones and timber,' making a lane
about eighty yards inwards from the breach with a masked battery at the
end. The 'British Officer,' who got his facts 'not only from officers
and soldiers of the besiegers,' but also from the besieged, describes
what followed. The stormers poured in and found themselves caught in a
trap. Those in front cried 'Halt,' and those behind 'Advance,' 'till
that pound or lane was full and could hold no more.' Two guns hailed
chain-shot upon this dense mass, while a continual fire was kept up
from the houses and the breastworks. Volleys of stones were thrown, and
great pieces of timber hurled from slides which O'Neill's ingenuity had
provided, 'so that in less than an hour's time about a thousand men
were killed in that pound, being atop one another.' Colonel Culham, who
led the stormers, and several other officers were among the slain, and
the survivors were driven out again through the breach. Contemporary
accounts estimate Cromwell's total loss at Clonmel at somewhere from
1500 to 2500. This repulse, said Ireton afterwards, was 'the heaviest
we ever endured either in England or here.' His own regiment lost most
of all. It is stated that Major Fennell, who commanded the few cavalry
within the town, had plotted, like Tickle at Kilkenny, to open one of
the gates. This was certainly believed at the time, but if there was
such a plot it came to nothing.[174]

[Sidenote: The garrison escape,]

[Sidenote: and the town capitulates.]

O'Neill had not ammunition to continue the defence, and he knew that
there was no hope of relief. About 9 o'clock the same night he slipped
out quietly by the bridge and made his way to Waterford, advising the
mayor to make the best terms he could. White accordingly capitulated
both for the inhabitants and for the garrison. All arms and ammunition
in the town were surrendered, the civil population being guaranteed
protection 'for life and estate, from all plunder and violence of the
soldiery.' Next morning the besiegers marched in, and though Cromwell
was angry at being outwitted, the conditions were kept. The garrison
were pursued and stragglers cut off, amongst whom there were probably
some women and at least one priest. On reaching Waterford admission
was denied by Preston to O'Neill's men. There was plague both in his
camp and in the city, and after a time he ordered his foot soldiers to
shift for themselves. He and Fennell, with the horse, made their way to
Limerick.[175]

[Sidenote: Inchiquin and Broghill march.]

[Sidenote: Battle of Macroom, April 10.]

Inchiquin was in Kerry in January, whence he invaded Limerick with
three regiments of cavalry, sweeping away the cattle and devastating
most of the county. Broghill and Henry Cromwell fell upon his camp
towards the end of March, and drove him across the Shannon 'with more
cows than horses.' Inchiquin's men were chiefly English, and some of
the officers were shot as deserters from the Parliament. After this
Broghill joined Cromwell, who was then preparing to attack Clonmel, and
was detached by him to deal with a force of 4000 foot and 300 horse
which had been raised in Kerry, chiefly by the exertions of Boetius
Egan, Bishop of Ross, an Observant friar promoted by Rinuccini. The
Irish, bent on relieving Clonmel, advanced to Macroom, and garrisoned
Carrigadrohid Castle on the Lee, which Broghill reached on April 8.
He had 1500 cavalry, and hurried on, leaving a like number of foot to
guard his rear. He seems to have had no guns with him, but the Irish
probably thought he had, for they burned Muskerry's castle at Macroom,
and assembled in the park. They were raw levies and probably badly
armed, for they were routed in a very short time, 'though in a place,'
says Broghill, 'the worst for horse ever I saw, and where one hundred
musketeers might have kept off all the horse of Ireland.' Several
hundred were killed, and among the prisoners were the bishop and Lord
Roche's son, the high sheriff of Kerry, who was in equal authority with
him. Carrigadrohid was taken by parading pieces of timber with teams
of oxen, as if they were guns. 'I gave orders,' says Broghill, 'that
if the garrison in it delivered it not up, we should hang the bishop
before it. The former not being done the latter was.... The bishop
was wont to say there was no way to secure the English but by hanging
them. That which was his cruelty became his justice.' The castle was
then surrendered on fair terms, and Broghill went back to the siege of
Clonmel.[176]

[Sidenote: Cromwell leaves Ireland, May 26.]

[Sidenote: His plans of reform.]

Cromwell quitted Ireland on May 26, leaving Ireton as his deputy. His
last extant letter before going was to Hewson, in favour of young Lord
Moore, son of the brave soldier who was killed at Portlester, and
grandson of Lord Chancellor Loftus. Moore had fought against Cromwell,
who nevertheless ordered that he should be 'fairly and civilly
treated, and that no incivility or abuse be offered unto him by any
of the soldiery, either by restraining his liberty or otherwise; it
being a thing which I altogether disprove and dislike that the soldiers
should intermeddle in civil affairs farther than they are lawfully
called upon.' Necessity afterwards devised the major-generals, but it
was to civil justice, to a Matthew Hale rather than a Desborough, that
Cromwell looked for real improvement. It was a crime, he said, 'to hang
a man for six and eightpence, and I know not what--to hang for a trifle
and commit murder.' In Ireland particularly much might be done for the
poor people by the cheap and impartial administration of justice. They
had suffered more by the oppression of the great than any 'in that
which we call Christendom. And indeed they are accounted the bribingest
people that are, they having been inured thereto.' And he rightly
considered that the best guarantee for purity was to pay good fixed
salaries to the judges and to get rid of the fees and perquisites which
had been a 'colour to covetous practices.'[177]

[Sidenote: Inchiquin charged with treachery]

[Sidenote: Submission of Protestant Royalists.]

[Sidenote: Easy terms given.]

[Sidenote: Safe conducts rejected by Ormonde and Inchiquin.]

Some papers, which Broghill thought important, were found in Bishop
Egan's possession. An anonymous correspondent of Hyde's says one of
them was a letter in which Inchiquin proposed during the latter part
of 1649 to go over to Cromwell. Carte, without giving his authority,
says that some such letter was forged by Antrim, who was perhaps
tricky enough to do it, and the editor of the Clarendon State Papers
adopted Carte's account. Probability seems against Inchiquin having
made any such overtures, but his position after Rathmines was very
uncomfortable, for his men left him and he knew that the Irish would
always hate him for his proceedings at Cork, Cashel, and elsewhere.
He admitted that he had talked too freely to one of the enemy's
trumpeters, and it may be that he asked questions which gave rise to
the idea that he was wavering. But in April 1650, when Kilkenny had
fallen and Ormonde had no army in the field, Protestant Royalists
grew tired of the hopeless struggle, and Cromwell was ready enough to
meet them halfway. Nor did Ormonde make any difficulties. Sir Robert
Sterling, Colonel Daniell, and Michael Boyle, Dean of Cloyne, made
the first advances 'on behalf of the Protestant party in Ireland now
under the command or obedience of the Lord Marquis of Ormonde.' They
were all, whether soldiers or civilians, allowed to go where they
pleased on engaging not to act against the Parliament, taking all
their movable property except horses, arms, and ammunition, and even
these they might sell to the army or to English Protestants. Questions
of land were reserved for the decision of Parliament, and until that
was given were referred to the Commissioners for Revenue, and those
who gave assurance of fidelity to the Parliament might enjoy their
estates in the meantime. Colonel Wogan and the officer who helped him
to escape from Cork were the only persons excepted. Lord Montgomery
surrendered at Enniskillen, Sir Thomas Armstrong at Trim, and Colonel
Daniell at Doneraile. Dean Boyle had strict orders not to make any
overtures on behalf of Ormonde or Inchiquin, but Cromwell nevertheless
sent them both passes to go beyond seas. Admiral Penn, whose squadron
lay in the Shannon, was directed to make it easy for any of the
Protestants who came in his way. Ormonde contemptuously rejected the
safe conduct, which was civil enough in point of form, adding that if
he ever had to return the compliment he would not use it 'to debauch
any that commanded' under Cromwell. Inchiquin was angry, but his wife
had already been allowed to depart with her family and servants under
convoy to Middleburgh.[178]

FOOTNOTES:

[166] Letter from Clonmacnoise signed by the four archbishops and seven
bishops, including the secretary of the congregation, to the Pope,
December 12, 1649, in _Spicilegium Ossoriense_, i. 327. Ormonde to
the King, December 15 and 24, and the answer from Jersey, February 2,
1649-50, in Carte's _Original Letters_, ii. 417-425.

[167] Declaration of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland for the undeceiving
of deluded people, January 1649-50, in _Carlyle_, ii. 1, and see the
strictures on this 'remarkablest State paper' in the notes to the 1904
edition and in Gardiner's _Commonwealth_, i. 163-166; the Declaration
was first printed at Cork and reprinted in London, March 21.

[168] Lady Fanshawe's _Memoirs_, p. 53, ed. 1907. Sir Richard Bolton
died about a year before the revolt of Cork, after which the Great Seal
of Ireland may have been placed irregularly in the hands of Roscommon,
who had married Strafford's sister.

[169] Cromwell to Lenthall, February 15, 1649-50, and to Bradshaw,
March 5, in _Carlyle_; also letters in the Supplement, pp. 54-56. In
the articles for the surrender of Fethard (No. 55) it is stipulated
that the garrison might retire to 'any place within his Majesty's
quarters.' When Cromwell signed this, he either did not notice the
draftsman's expression, or thought it did not matter. For Enniscorthy
see Whitelock's _Memorials_, p. 437.

[170] _Bellings_, vii. 129. _Several Letters from Ireland_, March
18, 1649-50. This tract is reprinted in the _Kilkenny Archæological
Journal_, new series, i. 110, with a contemporary plan of Ballisonan,
but the latter must have been drawn to illustrate the capture of the
place by Jones in September 1648.

[171] Castlehaven's _Memoirs_, pp. 83-86; Cromwell to Lenthall, April
2, 1650, in _Carlyle_. And see Murphy's _Cromwell in Ireland_, chaps.
24 and 25, and Lord Dillon's apologetic letter in _Contemp. Hist._ ii.
373; Clarendon's History, _Ireland_, p. 96.

[172] Articles for surrender, March 27, in Murphy's _Cromwell in
Ireland_, p. 301. All the letters extant are printed by Carlyle, vol.
ii., see especially that of Cromwell to the mayor on March 26. The
_Aphorismical Discovery_, ii. 69, states that the townsmen capitulated
behind the governor's back, and that the garrison were not mentioned in
the capitulation, which shows the untrustworthiness of the writer. And
see Carte's _Life of Ormonde_, ii. 113.

[173] Cromwell's letter of April 2, in _Carlyle_, ii. 48, with the
notes; Grave's and Prim's _Hist. of St. Canice's Cathedral_, pp. 74,
138, 296; Letters of Fleming and Lynch in _Spicilegium Ossoriense_, i.
341, 348; Murphy's _Cromwell in Ireland_, chaps. xxv. and xxvi.

[174] Seven contemporary accounts of this siege, including one from
Bates's _Elenchus_, are printed in _Contemp. Hist._ ii. 408-415. See
Murphy's _Cromwell in Ireland_, chap. xxviii.; Ireton to Cromwell,
July 10, 1651, _Milton State Papers_, p. 72. Cromwell's own account is
wanting, but the notes to letter 132 in Carlyle may be consulted. In
the churchyard of St. Mary's, very near the breach, is a large stone
inscribed NL ET SOCII, and the tradition is that fifty of Cromwell's
soldiers lie beneath.

[175] Authorities as for last paragraph; _Aphorismical Discovery_, p.
616; Dillingham to Sancroft in Cary's _Memorials of the Civil War_,
ii. 217. The articles of surrender are printed in Murphy's _Cromwell
in Ireland_, p. 341, with the date May 18, but the letter in Whitelock
(456) says May 10. Certainty is unattainable, but Cromwell's battery
was probably near the railway station on the <DW72> of Gallows Hill.
Since the above was written I have read the account of this siege in
Rev. W. S. Burke's _Hist. of Clonmel_, 1907, but have not thought it
necessary to alter the text.

[176] Broghill's letter, dated April 16, is printed in Murphy's
_Cromwell in Ireland_, p. 324; Borlase's _Irish Rebellion_, p. 240; the
Brief Chronicle printed in _Contemp. Hist._ iii. 165, says Roche was
'condemned to be shot to death by a council of war'; Cox's _Hibernia
Anglicana_, ii. 16, where the date is erroneously given as May 16.

[177] Cromwell to Hewson, May 22, 1650, in _Carlyle_, Supplement 61; to
John Sadler, December 31, 1649, _ib._ appendix 17. The latter letter
offers Sadler, a master in Chancery in England, 1000_l._ a year as
Chief Justice of Munster. Sadler did not go, but the place was given to
a vigorous law reformer, John Cook the regicide.

[178] Broghill's letter of April 16; Letter among the _Clarendon
MSS._, July 6, o. s., endorsed by Hyde as from 'J. Barn.' (perhaps
Barnewall).; Carte's _Life of Ormonde_, ii.; Gardiner's _Commonwealth_,
i. 153, 168. It is remarkable that in Hill's _Macdonnells of Antrim_
nothing is said about the alleged forgery, though the writer can hardly
have been ignorant of Carte's statement. Cromwell's articles granted to
the Protestants, dated April 26, are printed in _Contemp. Hist._ ii.
393, where the other letters may be found, pp. 401-408, 410, and 411,
and see Supplement 58 to _Carlyle_.




CHAPTER XXXIII

ORMONDE'S LAST STRUGGLES, 1650


[Sidenote: Hopeless dissensions among Irish Royalists.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde meets the bishops at Limerick, March.]

[Sidenote: Limerick excludes Ormonde's garrison.]

The Anglo-Irish Catholics had been drawn into the war against their
will in many cases, and in many others only in the hopes of obtaining
religious toleration. They were genuine Royalists, though the interests
of the sovereign did not always seem to be theirs. But the Celts
cared extremely little for the Crown and a great deal for the Church;
even more perhaps for the land which they had lost. Rinuccini's whole
influence went to widen the difference between the two sections. The
dominant faction among the clergy were quite ready to submit to a
foreign protector, and Ormonde's last struggles were with the bishops.
The Clonmacnoise decrees having failed to secure union, he summoned
twenty-four prelates along with the Commissioners of Trust to meet
him at Limerick, whither he went after finally leaving Kilkenny. They
met accordingly on March 8, and five days later presented him with
a paper of advice. They suggested that a Privy Council should be
appointed consisting of 'peers and others, natives of this kingdom, at
once spiritual and temporal,' to sit daily with the Lord Lieutenant
and determine all weighty affairs. The answer to this was easy: that
the appointment of Privy Councillors belonged to the King alone, and
that in the actual condition of affairs the Commissioners of Trust
were quite Council enough. There were vague charges of preferring
Protestants to Catholics, and suggestions made as to the rendering of
accounts and the administration of justice, very suitable for peaceful
times, but not at all applicable to the desperate state of affairs
really existing. Ormonde's immediate object was to place a garrison in
Limerick, and there all was refused to him, Lord Kilmallock, Catholic
though he was, being imprisoned by the citizens for quartering part of
his own troop within the walls by the Marquis's orders. Some of the
bishops made a faint attempt to reconcile the townsmen; but Ormonde
went away to Loughrea on March 18, and the prelates and Commissioners
followed him thither next day. It had been represented to him by some
of them that all would be right if he would only get rid of Inchiquin;
while others told the latter that he, as a chief of the ancient Irish,
was the proper person to command, if only he would separate from
Ormonde. The two lords compared notes, and easily perceived that the
real object in view was to get rid of them both.[179]

[Sidenote: A successor to Owen Roe O'Neill.]

[Sidenote: Bishop Macmahon appointed, April 1.]

By the fourth article of his agreement with Owen Roe O'Neill, Ormonde
was bound to give the command in Ulster to the person nominated by the
nobility and gentry of that province, who assembled for that purpose
at Belturbet in March, under the presidency of Eugene Swiney, who
had been Bishop of Kilmore since 1628. Antrim, who had already been
in communication with Cromwell and was soon to be in alliance with
Ireton, was a candidate, and had many supporters among the officers.
It was thought that Sir George Monro and his Scots might follow him,
though they would dislike an Irish and especially a clerical general.
Hugh O'Neill, who would have been by far the fittest man, was absent
in Munster; and Daniel O'Neill was practically disqualified by being
a Protestant. The other candidates were Sir Phelim O'Neill, who had
never shone as a soldier, Owen Roe's son Henry, General Ferrall, and
Bishop Macmahon of Clogher. The bishop professed no great anxiety for
the post, but there seems little doubt that he left no stone unturned.
These intrigues were successful, and Ormonde signed his commission on
April 1. He was, says the 'British Officer,' 'a great politician, but
no more a soldier fit to be a general than one of Rome's cardinals.'

[Sidenote: Englishmen turned out of the army.]

Before the end of April, Monro surrendered Enniskillen to Coote 'for
500_l._ and other trivial things.' At the beginning of May the Bishop
began his active campaign. Toome, at the foot of Lough Neagh, was
surprised, and, though it was retaken not long after, this prevented
Coote from besieging Charlemont; and the Irish army got between his
garrison at Londonderry and that of Venables at Coleraine. A council
of war was held at Loughgall in Armagh to decide whether the attack
should be on the Belfast district or on Londonderry. According to the
'British Officer,' the latter course was taken owing to the secret
practices of Sir George Rawdon, who wished to keep the war away from
his own country. Macmahon summoned Dungiven, which was defended by
Colonel Beresford with about sixty men, to whom he wrote, 'if you shed
one drop of my soldiers' blood, I will not spare to put man, woman,
and child to the sword.' The place was taken by assault, the soldiers
mounting the ramparts by means of short sticks thrust into the sods,
and all found in arms were killed, except Beresford himself, who was
sent wounded to Charlemont, where he recovered. The women, among whom,
according to the 'British Officer,' were Lady Coote and Mrs. Beresford,
were sent safely to Limavady, which was maintained by the successor of
Sir Thomas Phillips. The Bishop hoped that some Scots would join him on
Royalist grounds; but he got rid of all Englishmen, and a declaration
was published by himself and the Bishop of Down, which was signed by
twenty-nine officers, every one of them with Celtic names.[180]

[Sidenote: Over-confidence of Bishop Macmahon,]

[Sidenote: who divides his forces,]

[Sidenote: and rejects Henry O'Neill's advice.]

[Sidenote: Battle of Scariffhollis, June 21.]

[Sidenote: An old soldier's comments.]

The Bishop of Clogher styled his followers 'the confident, victorious
Catholic army of the North,' but its career of success was not long.
Ballycastle, on the northern shore of Antrim, was taken without
resistance, and garrisoned; but it could be of little use, and the
army, amounting at this time to about 4000 foot and 400 horse, returned
through the mountains. The Foyle was crossed at a little-frequented
passage below Lifford, Coote being encamped higher up with a much
inferior force. A smart skirmish took place in which the Irish had the
best of it, Captains Taylor and Cathcart being killed. If the Bishop
had followed up this success, he might have gained a great victory,
for Coote had to retire by a narrow causeway through bogs. The Scotch
settlers were numerous between Lifford and Londonderry, and agreed to
give some provisions to the Bishop's army; but Coote persuaded them
all to retire into Inishowen with their cattle, so that there was
little left for the enemy to eat. Macmahon occupied Lifford, which
Major Perkins surrendered as soon as he saw Ormonde's commission, and
remained there for a week, when supplies began to run short. He then
imprudently weakened his force by sending a large detachment to take
the remote castle of Doe on Sheephaven, and smaller ones to forage
about the country, so that when he took up a position at Scariffhollis
on the Swilly, some two miles above Letterkenny, he had not with him
more than 3000 foot and 400 horse. In the meantime, Coote was growing
stronger: 1000 foot, under Colonel Fenwick, came to him from Venables
at Belfast, and every available man was drawn out of Enniskillen, so
that he had a large force by the fatal 21st of June. The principal
officers in the Irish army were for adhering to the Fabian tactics of
their late chief, his only son among them. Their arguments were sound
and based on experience; but we may be sure that the speech put into
Henry O'Neill's mouth is very different from that uttered by him. The
report occupies little more than a page, but in it are mentioned by
name Mars, Ulysses, Ajax, Antiochus, Hannibal, Fabius Cunctator, Scipio
Africanus, Scanderbeg, Spinola, and Maurice of Nassau. The Bishop
retorted by actually accusing him of want of courage; and after that
there was nothing left but to fight. They were, says Coote, posted on
a mountain-side, 'inaccessible to either horse or foot,' but descended
on the enemy's appearance into ground 'which was extreme bad,' but yet
possible to traverse. The infantry on both sides were perhaps nearly
equal, but the English had a great superiority in cavalry, so that when
the Irish broke after an hour's hard fighting it was easy to pursue
them in all directions. About 3000 were killed, including a large part
of the officers, and few unmounted men can have escaped. Sir Phelim
O'Neill got away to Charlemont, and the Bishop managed to keep some
200 horse together, with which he fled southwards. All his colours,
arms, ammunition, and baggage fell into the victors' hands. Coote's
casualties of all sorts were under a hundred, and only one officer
was killed outright. Colonel Fenwick, who fell at the first fire,
afterwards died of his wounds. 'Now the reader may observe,' says the
British Officer, 'the sequel of making the Bishop a general that was
nothing experienced in that lesson, nor becoming his coat to send men
to spill Christian blood; and how that for want of conduct and prudency
in martial affairs he lost himself and that army that never got a foil
before he led them.'[181]

[Sidenote: The Bishop is captured.]

[Sidenote: and executed.]

[Sidenote: O'Neill put to death.]

One of the Maguires, who knew all the short cuts, hurried off to
Enniskillen as soon as he saw the result of the fight, and warned Major
John King that the Bishop was coming his way. King got out one hundred
fresh horsemen and fell upon the fugitives, who were in no condition
to resist. Macmahon's leg was broken in the scuffle, and he was taken
prisoner. During his captivity he made a good impression, bewailing his
many shortcomings and foretelling the course of events. King tried to
save his life, but he was hanged after some weeks and his head fixed
upon one of the gates of Londonderry. The responsibility for this must
be shared between Ireton and Coote, but particulars are wanting. 'I do
not know,' says the historian Lynch, 'what the Bishop foretold, but
I am certain that our nation never experienced worse calamities than
she has done since he was taken from our midst.' Ormonde praised him
long afterwards as a truthful man who kept to his agreements. Several
officers of rank were put to death by Coote after the battle, some
of them, if we accept O'Neill's Journal, with circumstances of great
brutality. Henry O'Neill was among them, who reminded Coote that his
father had saved him when he was near having to surrender Londonderry.
To this Sir Charles replied that those services had been paid for at
the time, and that he owed him nothing. The Irish accounts say that
these officers had all been received to quarter and should have been
treated as prisoners of war; and it is remarkable that the English
accounts say nothing about it, though Ludlow notes that there were few
prisoners, 'being for the most part put to the sword.' It is never
possible to ascertain exactly what happened in a battle, but the
probability is that immediate quarter for life given on the field was
not supposed to cover acts of treason or rebellion, and all Coote's
victims would have come within those qualifications of the subsequent
Act of Settlement which barred pardon for life and estate.[182]

[Sidenote: Ormonde is unsupported.]

[Sidenote: Assembly at Loughrea, April 27.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde kept out of Limerick,]

Ormonde has been blamed by many Irish writers for not supporting the
Bishop of Clogher; but he had no army with him and no means of raising
one. Inchiquin's force had disappeared in the manner already described,
and Castlehaven could do little with his small following. Meanwhile,
the Shannon estuary was at the mercy of the Parliamentary fleet.
Kilrush and Tarbert were burned and all country boats destroyed, so
that Clare was cut off from the rest of Munster. The possession of
Limerick was absolutely necessary to keep up the communications between
Connaught and the other provinces, and Limerick was contumacious.
To those who criticised him for keeping the few soldiers he had in
scattered country quarters instead of concentrating them in important
garrisons, the Lord Lieutenant sarcastically answered that the towns
themselves were responsible, 'wherein we cannot yet prevail, nor ever
could, till by the enemies' lying at one end of the town we were, not
without articling and conditioning, permitted to put such men as we
could then get in at the other end.' He summoned a general assembly
to meet at Loughrea on April 27, enclosing a copy of the young King's
letter, which permitted him to leave Ireland if he could not secure
obedience. He had a vessel ready in Galway Bay, but the conciliatory
attitude of the assembly, owing to the presence of a lay element,
induced him to dismiss her and to stay on in Ireland a little longer.
The Archbishop of Tuam and Sir Lucas Dillon went to Limerick with
directions to settle matters between the town and Ormonde, who in
consequence received a rather halting invitation from the mayor, John
Creagh. He came within four miles of Limerick, and agreed to visit the
city on condition that he should be received with the respect due to a
Lord Lieutenant; that he should have military command within the walls,
and that he should be attended by his own guard of fifty horse and one
hundred foot, all Roman Catholics and old soldiers of the Confederacy.
The mayor would have agreed, but Dominick Fanning and a friar named
Wolfe possessed themselves of the keys, collected a number of young
men, who had already distinguished themselves by plundering Ormonde's
papers on board a ship, and admitted Colonel Murtagh O'Brien with an
Irish regiment consisting largely of recruits. Clanricarde, supported
by the Commissioners of Trust, called upon the Bishop of Limerick to
excommunicate Fanning and O'Brien; but, of course, this was not done.
Ormonde offered to remain in Limerick during the coming siege and take
his chance with the rest, provided he was allowed to put in a proper
garrison and strengthen the works as he thought fit; but his efforts
were all in vain, and Galway was equally determined not to admit
Clanricarde.[183]

[Sidenote: and Clanricarde out of Galway.]

[Sidenote: Progress of Ireton.]

[Sidenote: Tecroghan taken, June 25.]

[Sidenote: Castlehaven failed to relieve it.]

While Ormonde persevered in his hopeless task, Ireton was gradually
reducing the few strongholds which held out to the east of the Shannon
after Cromwell's departure. The first to fall was Tecroghan, in the
south-west corner of Meath, which capitulated on June 25, only four
days after the disaster at Scariffhollis. That strong castle belonged
to Sir Luke Fitzgerald, whose daughter married the ill-fated Henry
O'Neill, and had been Ormonde's headquarters when Cromwell came to
Drogheda. Reynolds besieged Tecroghan about the middle of May, the
garrison being commanded by Sir Robert Talbot, a kinsman of Lady
Fitzgerald, under Ormonde's orders. This appointment displaced Major
Luke Maguire, and the everlasting jealousy between the native Irish
and the men of the Pale caused great dissension between the partisans
of the late and present governor. In order to relieve the place,
Clanricarde came to Tyrrell's Pass with 2000 foot and 700 horse, under
Castlehaven's command. Several miles of bog had to be crossed, and a
council of war was disinclined to move; but Castlehaven offered to
march with the foot, leaving the cavalry to distract the enemies'
attention, if possible. The latter part of the advance was along a
narrow causeway with deep ditches on either side, and the rearguard,
under Captain Fox, was ordered to face about and protect the convoy.
'He turned to his men,' says Castlehaven, 'and spake something in
Irish that I did not know, and, marching two or three hundred paces in
such a fashion that I could not tell whether he intended fighting or
running away. At last he did run away, and all his party followed.'
The van marched on into Tecroghan, but without the provisions and
ammunition; and Castlehaven with difficulty got back. Fox was tried by
court-martial and shot. No further attempt could be made to relieve
Tecroghan, which capitulated on honourable terms, the garrison marching
out with the honours of war, and protection was given for the property
of Lady Fitzgerald and some of her friends. By a special article, half
the guns in the castle were to remain with Talbot, provided he took
them within eight weeks. Carte says this was not done, and calls it a
shameful breach of faith; but it is very likely that the pieces were
not claimed within the specified time.[184]

[Sidenote: Surrender of Carlow, July 24.]

Ireton summoned Carlow on July 2, having already thrown a bridge
over the Barrow. Major Bellew, who commanded a garrison of about 200
men, asked for three days' truce, which were granted, to communicate
with the Bishop of Dromore and with Preston at Waterford. Further
negotiations then took place, and it seems evident that the news of
Scariffhollis had greatly damped the ardour of the defenders. Ireton
took the bulk of the army with him to Waterford, leaving Sir Hardress
Waller to take Carlow, which capitulated as soon as a tower near the
bridge had been battered and carried by assault. The terms were as good
as those granted to Tecroghan, and Ireton, says Ludlow, 'caused them
punctually to be executed, as his constant manner was.'[185]

[Sidenote: Surrender of Waterford, Aug. 10.]

[Sidenote: Ireton's military justice.]

[Sidenote: Waterford capitulates,]

[Sidenote: and Duncannon also.]

After the fall of Clonmel and the departure of Cromwell, Waterford
was almost isolated, though Duncannon was still in Irish hands, and
communication by the river could not be altogether prevented. But
Ireton had control of all the county of Waterford and of Carrick, where
was the lowest bridge over the Suir. It was therefore practically
impossible to relieve the city, and a small force encamped at some
distance was probably enough to stop the introduction of cattle or
other provisions by land. When Carlow was once invested, Ireton could
spare a larger force, and he left that place early in July to press the
siege of Waterford, having first sent a summons to offer fair terms.
The garrison were to march out and surrender their arms within four
miles of the town, officers and gentlemen retaining their swords and
pistols. Cannon were not to be removed. Private property of all kinds
was protected, and two months given to carry it away. Civilians were
to be disarmed, but not otherwise interfered with in any way, and the
soldiers might go where they pleased on promising not to serve against
the Parliament in England or Ireland. No obstacle was placed in the
way of taking service under any foreign government. These terms were
rejected, and a further summons was sent after the surrender of Carlow.
Preston or his son, Sir James, then made a sporting offer to admit
Ireton's infantry and let them do what they could inside the town.
There is a good deal of grim humour in the letters exchanged on this
subject, Ireton suggesting that 'old General Preston' must be dead. Of
course, this came to nothing. More importance attaches to the murder
of a man named Murphy, who was going out of Waterford into the country
with 80_l._ in his pocket. A major and a cornet were implicated, and
Ireton had them both shot. At last, after much correspondence, Sir
James Preston and others came out upon safe conduct dated the last of
July. The place of meeting was then called New Cross, just outside the
town on the south-east side and close to the Suir. It was probably the
news of Carlow having fallen that decided Preston to surrender, for
Ireton seems not to have been ready for an assault, though he could
annoy the town with his artillery. The terms were virtually the same
as those offered a month before, and on August 10, says Ireton, 'there
marched out about 700 men, well armed, the townsmen more numerous than
before we believed, and the town better fortified in all parts and
more difficult to be attempted than our forces conceived, there being
many private stores sufficient to have maintained them a long time.'
Duncannon, which it was now evidently useless to defend, capitulated
seven days later.[186]

[Sidenote: Surrender of Charlemont, Aug. 14.]

[Sidenote: A desperate defence.]

[Sidenote: Sir Phelim O'Neill.]

Having taken a fortnight's rest after Scariffhollis, Sir Charles Coote
proceeded to besiege the strong fort at Charlemont, which had been
in Sir Phelim O'Neill's hands since the first outbreak in 1641. As
Sir Phelim had accepted the peace of 1649 it was reckoned as a royal
fortress, and was the last to hold out for the King in Ulster. Venables
joined Coote, and a hot fire was kept up with guns and mortars; but it
was not till near the middle of August that a practicable breach was
made. The garrison made a desperate resistance, assisted by many women,
'who more appeared like fighting Amazons than civilised Christians.'
The storming-party were assailed not only with shot, but with scalding
slops and hot ashes, and were beaten back after two or three hours'
fighting. Venables had a narrow escape, but Coote, who commanded in
chief, remained 'a spectator, smoking of tobacco at distance.' The
total loss of the besiegers was not less than 500 men, but O'Neill's
ammunition was running short, and only thirty men out of 140 were able
to bear arms, all the rest being killed or wounded. He went out himself
to confer with Coote, while Colonel Audley Mervyn, afterwards Speaker
of the House of Commons, and Major King, afterwards Lord Kingston, were
sent in as hostages. The garrison marched out with arms and baggage,
Sir Phelim having leave to go beyond sea, and Coote undertaking to find
him a vessel. Unfortunately for himself, O'Neill remained in Ireland,
while Venables returned to Carrickfergus and Coote to Londonderry. A
Parliamentary garrison was left in the fort which had been so dearly
won.[187]

[Sidenote: Meeting of bishops at Jamestown, Aug. 6.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde rebukes the prelates.]

While the strong places of Leinster, Munster, and Ulster were being
reduced, Ormonde was struggling to maintain the semblance of royal
authority beyond the Shannon. The Loughrea conferences had led to
no good result, and the bishops assembled on their own account at
Jamestown in Leitrim on August 6. They announced their intentions to
Ormonde through the Archbishops of Dublin and Tuam, who reminded him
of what he knew only too well--that there was no army and no money,
and that the enemy were actually drawing large contributions from
Irish Catholics, whose country was in their hands; so that 'we are in
a fair way for losing our sacred religion, the King's authority, and
Ireland.' They invited the Lord Lieutenant to send a representative
to Jamestown, but he answered with perfect truth that this would be
useless after what had already happened. 'Ancient and late experience,'
he said, 'hath made evident what power those of your function have
had to draw the people of this nation to what they thought fit.' Yet
they had been unable or unwilling to give him possession of Limerick,
without which successful military operations east of the Shannon were
quite impossible. But he wished the Jamestown assembly all success,
especially if the object of the prelates was, as they themselves
admitted, to clear their own consciences. He had endeavoured to show
'that the spring of our past losses and approaching ruin arises from
disobedience, and it will not be hard to show that the spring of these
disobediences arises from the forgeries invented, the calumnies spread
against government, and the incitements of the people to rebellion by
very many of the clergy.'[188]

[Sidenote: The bishops order Ormonde out of Ireland.]

[Sidenote: His adherents excommunicated.]

[Sidenote: Another fruitless conference.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde predicts increased confusion.]

The Jamestown congregation met as announced, and after three or four
days' deliberation they despatched Bishop Darcy of Dromore and Charles
Kelly, Dean of Tuam, to Ormonde with full powers to explain their
views. They had observed with 'grief and admiration' that he threw
some of the blame upon them, showed to their own satisfaction that
they were not in fault, and left it to their emissaries to declare
what they believed to be the only possible means of preserving the
country. Ormonde prudently required the plenipotentiaries to put their
message upon paper; and the result was a peremptory notice to him to
quit Ireland forthwith. The writers plainly said that he was of no use
there, but that his great position and experience might avail something
if he was by the King's side. In the meantime, he was to leave the
viceregal authority in the hands of someone 'trusty to the nation, and
such as the affection and confidence of the people will follow.' On
the day before this message was delivered the assembled prelates had
actually excommunicated all who adhered to the Lord Lieutenant, so that
there was little sincerity in sending the Bishop of Dromore and his
colleague at all. The excommunication, with the declaration prefixed,
though dated August 12, was withheld from publication until September
15, so that Ormonde's answer might be first received. The Commissioners
of Trust persuaded him to summon the bishops to another conference at
Loughrea on August 26, and he went there himself; but they only sent
the Bishops of Cork and Clonfert, with no instructions except to demand
an answer to their order for his leaving the kingdom. In giving this,
Ormonde pointed out that he had returned to Ireland from a sense of
duty, that he had been prepared in April last to make room for a Roman
Catholic viceroy, but that many of the prelates themselves had then
begged him to stay; and that he waited now because the King's position
in Scotland was hopeful and orders might come which he would be sorry
should arrive in his absence. 'We plainly observe,' he added, 'that
though the division is great in the nation under our government, yet
it will be greater upon our removal; for which in a free conference we
should have given such pregnant evidence as we hold not fit this way to
declare.' The best chance of prevailing upon Charles to send supplies
was to be able to tell him how obedient and dutiful the people were.
A majority of the Commissioners of Trust, all Roman Catholics, wrote
in much the same strain, urging that disloyalty on the part of the
clergy would reflect upon the nation at large, and could only result in
general ruin.[189]

[Sidenote: Charles II. repudiates the 'bloody Irish rebels,' Aug. 16.]

[Sidenote: The King's mother idolatrous.]

[Sidenote: And Ormonde's peace exceeding sinful.]

[Sidenote: Commissions to Cavaliers revoked.]

[Sidenote: Opinions of Clarendon, Carte, and Walker.]

On August 16, four days after the decree of excommunication was
passed at Jamestown, an event happened in Scotland which was alone
sufficient to destroy all Ormonde's plans. It is less famous and was
less important than the Glamorgan treaty, but it shows that Charles
was his father's son, and he even contrived to better the instruction.
At Dunfermline on August 16, he was induced to sign a declaration in
which he professed himself 'deeply humbled and afflicted in spirit
before God' for his father's sin in opposing the Covenant, 'and for
the idolatry of his mother, the toleration whereof in the King's
house, as it was matter of great stumbling to all the Protestant
churches, so could it not but be a high provocation against Him who is
a jealous God, visiting the sins of the father upon the children.' He
further declared his conscientious conviction of the 'exceeding great
sinfulness and unlawfulness of that treaty and peace made with the
bloody Irish rebels, who treacherously shed the blood of so many of his
faithful and loyal subjects in Ireland.' For the future he would prefer
affliction to sin, and employ no one who had not taken the Covenant;
and he 'recalled all commissions given to any such persons.' The
baseness of this declaration can hardly be matched in our history, but
George IV. tried to emulate it when he authorised Mr. Fox to inform the
House of Commons that he was not married to Mrs. Fitzherbert. Clarendon
can only say that Charles was 'absolutely forced to consent' and other
apologists take the same line, but Carte, with all his royalism, was
not deceived by sophistry of this kind. He makes every allowance for
Charles's youth and difficulties, but with the scathing reflection that
'if a man once gets over his natural magnanimity he is afterwards fit
for anything; and having done one mean thing, is capable of doing ten
thousand.'[190]

[Sidenote: Charles had confirmed the peace.]

[Sidenote: His apology.]

[Sidenote: Effect of Charles's declaration in Ireland.]

[Sidenote: The Commissioners of Trust support Ormonde.]

The articles of the peace had been brought by Lord Byron to the
Hague early in March 1649, and Charles had written twice to confirm
them, declaring himself 'extremely well satisfied.' These letters
were found by Carte among Ormonde's papers, as well as the latter's
acknowledgment, so that their delivery is not doubtful. Charles did
not deny the facts, and he sought for the means of neutralising them
as much as possible. The emissary chosen was Dr. John King, Dean of
Tuam, who had taken refuge in Scotland, and we have his own account of
the interview where he received his instructions. 'The Scots,' said
Charles, 'have dealt very ill with me, very ill. I understand you
are willing to go into Ireland. My Lord of Ormonde is a person that
I depend upon more than anyone living. I much fear that I have been
forced to do some things which may much prejudice him. You have heard
how a declaration was extorted from me, and how I should have been
dealt withal, if I had not signed it. Yet what concerns Ireland is
no ways binding, for I can do nothing in the affairs of that kingdom
without the advice of my council there; nor hath that kingdom any
dependence upon this, so that what I have done is nothing.' It is only
fair to say that after Dunbar had been fought he took the opportunity
of another trusty messenger to express his gratitude, begging Ormonde
not to run any unavoidable personal risk, but to leave Ireland whenever
he pleased. He had already advised him that Scotland was not safe,
and that he should seek France or Holland. It took Dr. King about
two months to get to Ormonde, and he at once undertook 'through
much hazard' to take the answer back to Scotland. The Dunfermline
declaration was already known in Ireland through other channels, and
Ormonde at first thought the report was a fabrication circulated by the
Scots politicians for their own purposes, but the Dean of Tuam brought
a printed copy with him, and there was no longer room for doubt. This
was on October 13, and Ormonde at once summoned the Commissioners of
Trust to meet him at Ennis on the 23rd, and by their advice convened
an assembly to sit at Loughrea on November 15. To the Commissioners
he explained in writing that the Dunfermline declaration had been 'by
some undue means obtained from his Majesty' upon one-sided assertions
of the peace being unlawful and without hearing the other parties. For
himself he was determined by every means in his power to maintain the
validity of the peace as binding the King and all his subjects until
the authorised representatives of the Irish nation should have 'free
and safe access unto his Majesty,' provided always that the Jamestown
declaration forbidding obedience to him as Lord Lieutenant should be
revoked, that the bishops should acknowledge that they had invaded his
Majesty's prerogative, and that he and the necessary forces under his
command should be freely admitted into all garrisons. The Commissioners
of Trust accepted the excuses made for Charles, whose declaration
they had read with 'inexpressible grief,' and for themselves agreed
to the Lord Lieutenant's provisoes. In order to prepare matters for
the 'assembly of the nation,' they asked and obtained leave to go to
Galway, and to confer with the standing committee of bishops there.[191]

[Sidenote: A conference at Galway.]

[Sidenote: The bishops will not have a Protestant governor.]

[Sidenote: The excommunication maintained.]

Six bishops met the Commissioners accordingly, among them being Darcy
of Dromore, French of Ferns, who was Ormonde's bitter enemy, and Lynch
of Clonfert, who had protested even against the short delay interposed
between the decree of excommunication and its publication. Bellings
and his colleagues suggested that the peace and the maintenance of
the royal authority were the only means of preserving union, and to
this end they asked that the excommunication and declaration should be
withdrawn with a promise not to renew them. It was understood by both
parties that Clanricarde was Ormonde's only possible successor, but the
bishops could and did argue irresistibly that Charles had withdrawn
his own authority 'and thrown away the nation from his protection
as rebels.' With less wisdom they declared in the baldest way that
it was a scandal to have a Protestant governor over Catholics, and
that in the abortive agreement between the Pope and Henrietta Maria
this had been provided against. They positively refused to annul the
excommunication or to promise not to renew it, and they reiterated
the complaints of bad administration already so often made against
Ormonde. In conclusion they agreed that Clanricarde should govern
with the consent of all parties and with 'the King's authority from
the Lord Lieutenant which he conceives is in him' until a free and
lawful assembly should otherwise order. If such a body decided to treat
with the enemy the Church would acquiesce, though she would be the
heaviest loser, but they conjured the Catholics of Ireland to imitate
the Maccabees, whose fears were greater for the Temple than for their
nearest and dearest kinsfolk. The result of this preliminary conference
was not very hopeful, but the compromise was accepted by Darcy, who two
months before had been authorised to demand that Ormonde should put the
viceregal authority into commission, the commissioners being all Roman
Catholics nominated by the bishops. This he had of course refused to
do, and Clanricarde was the only alternative.[192]

[Sidenote: Assembly at Loughrea, Nov. 25.]

[Sidenote: A Deputy to be appointed. Clanricarde.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde leaves Ireland.]

The assembly began to meet at Loughrea on November 15, but did
not constitute themselves until the 25th, when Sir Richard Blake
was elected chairman. The lay element from the first asserted
itself, and some bishops, who in purely ecclesiastical manifestoes
considered themselves bound by the majority, showed a certain amount
of independence. On December 7 an agreement was rather unexpectedly
arrived at, and probably this was hastened by the fact that Ormonde
was on shipboard and might leave Ireland without delegating his
authority. First the prelates were induced to say that they had no
intention at Jamestown of usurping the royal authority, and no aim
but the 'preservation of the Catholic religion and people.' The
assembled 'Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Gentry' then declared
their conviction that the royal authority was the best bond of union,
and that no body of men in Ireland had any power to impair it. It is
to be observed, and no doubt Ormonde did observe, that the deposing
power of the Pope is not referred to. They then besought the Lord
Lieutenant to leave his authority in some person faithful to his
Majesty 'and acceptable to the nation,' to whom they promised ready
obedience. And they fully acknowledged that the retiring viceroy had
risked person and property for the royal cause, and that, even when
unsuccessful, he had 'faithful intentions and hearty affections to
advance his Majesty's interests and service.' This manifesto reached
Ormonde at Gleninagh in Clare, where he had put in before taking his
final departure. He wrote to say that he was not fully satisfied, but
that he had sent a commission as Deputy to Clanricarde, and he left it
to him to get further explanations and to accept or reject the charge
according to their tenor. This was his last act in Ireland until after
the Restoration and, having refused Ireton's offer of a pass, he sailed
on December 11 in a very fast vessel of twenty-four tons and four
guns which the Duke of York had provided for him in Jersey. He was
accompanied by Inchiquin, Bellings, Daniel O'Neill, and many officers,
and it was three weeks before they reached land at Perros Guirec in
Brittany. Forty men in a boat of twenty-four tons in the open Atlantic
and in midwinter must have endured very great hardships. Ormonde made
his way to Caen, where his wife and children were, and from thence
to Paris. A second ship with Sir George Lane and others reached
France, and a third with servants and baggage was lost at sea. The
distinguished exiles were from the first in the direst distress.[193]

FOOTNOTES:

[179] Clarendon's _Hist. Ireland_, 97-106; Cox's _Hibernia Anglicana_,
appx. 45.

[180] Ormonde's Commission in Borlase's _Hist. of the Rebellion_,
ed. 1743, p. 311, and in the _Parliamentary Hist._ xix. 297; Sir C.
Coote to Lenthall, July 2, _ib._ appx. 28; British Officer's _Warr
of Ireland_, 115-119; O'Neill's Journal in _Contemp. Hist._ iii.
212; Declaration of the Ulster Party, May 20, _ib._ ii. 418; Bishop
Macmahon to Beresford, May 30, _ib._ ii. 422. In the English official
account, _ib._ iii. 166, the Bishop's army is described as 'all Irish
or <DW7>s, not a Protestant among them, having taken up an opinion
that they should never prosper till they had cleared their army of
all Protestants.' A letter from Nantes, May 26, 1650, in _Spicilegium
Ossoriense_, i. 340, says: 'Decreverunt Catholici nostri nullam dare
auctoritatem ulli Anglo, et specialiter Protestanti, quia experti sunt
eos semper fuisse perfidos in omni occasione, et ita deduxisse nos in
ultimam fere ruinam.'

[181] English official narrative in _Confed. and War_, iii. 166.
Coote's account seems pretty faithful in his letter to Ireton of
July 2, _ut sup._ The British Officer's _Warr of Ireland_ gives some
details. _Aphorismical Discovery_, ii. 86, can hardly be trusted, but
it condemns the idea of an episcopal general as much as the last.
An extract from a Latin narrative by John Lynch, printed from the
Carte Papers in _Confed. and War_, iii. 154, says Coote had double
his opponent's number of infantry and treble of cavalry, and that the
Bishop gave battle 'concilio bellico refragante.' There is a good
account in Ludlow's _Memoirs_, ed. Firth, i. 255, but it is certain
that the Bishop was executed long after the battle.

[182] Lynch's MS. _De Presulibus_ as above; O'Neill's Journal in
_Contemp. Hist._, iii. 212. Both Lynch and the Aphorismical Discovery
mention the Irishman (nefarius aliquis), who carried the news to
Enniskillen, 'per viarum compendia,' and the latter says his name was
Maguire. See Cox's _Hibernia Anglicana_, p. 23, and Borlase's _Hist. of
the Rebellion_, ed. 1743, p. 313.

[183] Charles II. to Ormonde from Jersey, February 2, 1649-50, in
Carte's _Life of Ormonde_, ii. 107. The general assembly to Ormonde
from Loughrea, April 30, 1650, and his answer (same place), May 1, in
app. 46 to Cox's _Hibernia Anglicana_. Ormonde's correspondence with
Limerick, June 12, in Clarendon's Hist. of the Rebellion, _Ireland_,
117-121, and his instruction to Hugh O'Neill and John Walsh, June 29,
in _Confed. and War_, ii. 430. Ormonde's letter of June 14 to the mayor
of Limerick is printed by Cox, ii. 22. Captain W. Penn to Cromwell,
April 5, 1650, _Milton State Papers_, p. 5.

[184] Castlehaven's _Memoirs_, p. 91; Carte's _Life of Ormonde_,
ii. 115; Dillon and others to Ormonde, May 16, in _Contemp. Hist._,
411, and the articles of surrender, _ib._ 489. The account of the
Aphorismical Discovery, who saw treason everywhere, is hardly to be
trusted, but he notes that the cannon were not sent for within three
or four weeks, and for a wonder does not accuse Reynolds of bad faith,
_ib._ ii. 95.

[185] The summons and articles are in Borlase's _Hist. of the
Rebellion_, ed. 1743, appx. 26. Ludlow's _Memoirs_, ed. Firth, i.
255. The Diary of one of Waller's officers printed in _Confed. and
War_, iii. 218, says 'a passage over the Barrow was by one bridge of
bulrushes and another of timber.'

[186] Ireton's account is in _Parliamentary Hist._, xix. 336. Diary of
a parliamentary officer employed in the parleys in _Contemp. Hist._,
iii. 219. Most of the letters are in the diary of Mr. Cliffe, who was
Ireton's secretary, printed in Borlase's _Hist. of the Rebellion_,
ed. 1743, appx. 32-45. Sir James Preston always signs as governor,
and perhaps his father, whose patent as Viscount Tarah is dated
Ennis (where Ormonde was), July 2, 1650, considered himself as still
general-in-chief. He stayed for some time in Waterford after the siege.
A round shot, which from its position may have come from the other side
of the Suir, still sticks in the tower built by Reginald the Dane,
which formed the south-east angle of the walls.

[187] British Officer's _Warr of Ireland_, p. 131. Archbishop of Armagh
and others to Ormonde, August 18, 1650, in _Contemp. Hist._, iii. 173.

[188] The letter of the two archbishops, July 24, and Ormonde's answer,
August 2, are in Clarendon, _Ireland_, 130-132.

[189] The Jamestown congregation to Ormonde, August 10, and the
Bishop of Dromore's statement, August 13, in Clarendon, _Ireland_,
133-137; Ormonde's answer, August 31, in Cox, ii. 32, where the date
is misprinted; eight Commissioners of Trust (none of the names Celtic,
Bellings one) to the Archbishop of Tuam, September 2, in _Contemp.
Hist._, iii. 179. Fourteen bishops and the procurators of several
others signed the Jamestown declaration. Among the other subscribers
were representatives of the Franciscans, Dominicans, and Augustinians.
The Jesuits refused to sign on the ground that they were not allowed to
meddle in politics and affairs of State, _Spicilegium Ossoriense_, i.
359.

[190] The Dunfermline declaration is in the _Parliamentary History_,
xix. 362, and in Walker's _Historical Discourses_, p. 170. Whitelock's
summary leaves out the Irish part. Sir Edward Walker, who was with
Charles at the time, remarks, 'What induced him to do it I cannot say.'

[191] The papers concerning Dean King's mission, August to October
1650, are in Carte's _Original Letters_, i. 391-399; the King's second
letter to Ormonde, September 13, _ib._ ii. 444, and his two letters
confirming the peace, March 9 and 20/30, 1648-9, _ib._ i. 363, 368. The
Ennis negotiations with the Commissioners of Trust are in P. Walsh's
_Hist. of the Remonstrance_, appx. 123-126.

[192] Proposals of six Commissioners of Trust (Bellings being one),
October 29, and the six bishops' answers, November 5, in Walsh's _Hist.
of the Remonstrance_, appx. 127-135.

[193] The Act of the Loughrea assembly, dated December 7, is printed
by Cox, ii. 51. For Ormonde's movements see Carte's _Life_, ii. 136,
and Clarendon, _Ireland_, 175; Ormonde to Sir E. Nicholas from Caen,
January 9, 1650-51, in _Nicholas Papers_, i. 215. Cox says Ireton
was advised to send a pass to Ormonde by a great man still living in
1688--this might seem to point to Ludlow, who, however, was not in
Ireland at the moment.




CHAPTER XXXIV

CLANRICARDE AND IRETON, 1651


[Sidenote: The plague and famine.]

When Ludlow landed in Ireland a few weeks after Ormonde left, one of
his first acts was to sign a proclamation prohibiting the slaughter of
calves and lambs. The waste of the war had been so great that there was
a danger of depleting the country of its stock. Starvation was imminent
everywhere, and to this the plague was added, which first appeared in
Galway and was supposed to be imported from Spain. The Aphorismical
Discovery relates with something like glee that the first house visited
was that of Sir Richard Blake, which had been cursed by Rinuccini,
and that the contagion flowed thence 'as from a channel, the divine
vengeance of high power unto the respective provinces of Ireland,
except Ulster, as not guilty of either censure, curse, or ejection of
my lord nuncio.' Ludlow says simply that it reached most parts, and
Bishop O'Brien of Emly that it was in every corner. It was very bad in
the south, Kilkenny, Waterford, and Limerick being severely scourged.
Bishop Comerford of Waterford estimates the deaths in his own diocese
at 5000, and many priests were taken. 'Our sins,' he adds, 'have
provoked this scourge.'

[Sidenote: A devoted friar.]

At first the English soldiers were nearly exempt, but suffered equally
afterwards; as a punishment, Ireton thought, for trusting in the
carnal arm and not giving God the glory. The bishops and the clerical
politicians generally do not show to advantage in their disputes
with Ormonde, and the narrative of a poor friar is much better worth
reading. Having visited in disguise Kilkenny, Ross, and many other
places he came to Waterford, where many were dying of the plague. 'Here
have I been,' he says, 'these six weeks ministering indifferently to
poor and rich, and here I intend to stay until plague or gallows ends
my life. I had no confessor until God sent an English priest to this
city, who, coming lately out of Spain into England, was pressed for
military service by the Parliamentarians, who did not know he was a
priest, and sent with others to Ireland, where he escaped and is now
in hiding here. I go freely about the city as gardener of its chief
heretic, and even work at carrying burdens with the porters. I am
indifferent whether God continues thus to hide me or not, but if I can
get away unrecognised I will go to Dungarvan and Youghal and so round
Ireland until He pleases to take me to Himself. Our father Gregory is
within fifteen or twenty miles, but being known and unwieldy he cannot
come to me, nor can I go to him or account of the scarcity of priests
in these parts, all the native clergy being driven out.'[194]

[Sidenote: A regicide government.]

[Sidenote: Ludlow and Cromwell.]

[Sidenote: Instructions to the Commissioners, Oct. 1650.]

Ireton was Lord Deputy, and commanded the army, but the Council of
State found it necessary to give him help in the civil government.
After some discussion, Edmund Ludlow, Miles Corbet, John Jones, and
John Weaver were appointed to settle the affairs of Ireland 'with
the advice and approbation of General Cromwell, Lord Lieutenant
thereof, and Henry Ireton, Esq., his deputy, or either of them.' Of
these commissioners the first three were regicides, while Weaver had
been appointed one of the late King's judges, but had never acted.
Ludlow was also general of the cavalry, and his friends suggested
that Cromwell only wished to get him out of the way, 'but I,' he says
himself, 'could not think myself so considerable and therefore could
not concur with them in that opinion.' He was not anxious to go, but
Cromwell declared that he was the fittest man, and that private affairs
must yield to those of the public. The Commissioners were instructed
to advance religion and to suppress 'idolatry, popery, superstition,
and profaneness,' executing the statutes against Recusants and taking
care that <DW7>s should have no public employment, nor be allowed to
'practise as counsellors at law, attorneys, or solicitors, nor to keep
schools for the training up of youth.' They were to study the revenue
and reduce expenses as soon as the progress of the war allowed, and to
take especial pains as to the administration of justice. Ludlow and his
colleagues were all at Waterford before the end of January, and Lady
Ireton, who travelled with them, joined her husband there.[195]

[Sidenote: Ireton a dilatory general.]

[Sidenote: Hugh O'Neill at Limerick.]

[Sidenote: Athlone town occupied, Sept. 16.]

After the surrender of Waterford, Galway, Limerick and Athlone were
the only walled towns still held by the Irish, and the next work
awaiting Ireton was to find a passage over the Shannon. Vast quantities
of cattle, some stolen, had been driven into the Wicklow mountains,
which were diligently searched by Ireton's parties. In Glen Imale,
where the Royal Artillery now practise, a great herd was captured, and
part of it was handed over to Sir Hardress Waller, who was detached
at the beginning of September to summon Limerick, and to blockade it
as far as that could be done from the left bank of the Shannon. By
his defence of Clonmel Hugh O'Neill had earned the respect of his
foes, and civilities passed between him and Waller, but he declared
his resolution to maintain the city to the death, 'for the use of his
Majesty King Charles.' The citizens were well disposed to resistance,
but the unfortunate governor had no soldiers, and the corporation
would admit none. He himself was not 'excommunication-proof,' to
use Preston's phrase, and he thought it best to keep quiet until
circumstances changed. His personal safety even was doubtful, and
he begged Ormonde's pardon for not going to bid him farewell, since
he 'gloried in nothing more than to be esteemed a faithful observer
of monarchical government.' If Ireton had been a great commander he
would not have divided his army, and probably he could have taken
Limerick by pressing it resolutely when no preparations had been made
for resistance, and while dissensions were rife within the walls.
Instead of this he went to Athlone, where the garrison abandoned
the town on the Leinster side. Sir Charles Coote established a camp
among the half-burned houses, and Ireton occupied himself in reducing
scattered garrisons, which might safely have been neglected. The most
important was Birr, which was deserted by its garrison on the approach
of the army and occupied on September 28. Roscrea, Thurles, Cashel,
and Thomastown near Tipperary were visited, and on October 4 Ireton
encamped near the old Desmond stronghold at Lough Gur, whence he
approached Limerick on the western side. He asked for a passage through
the city, which he would then protect, but of course this was refused,
and on October 9 the Deputy went to see what could be done about making
a bridge at Castle Connell.[196]

[Sidenote: Clanricarde invades Leinster, October.]

[Sidenote: Slaughter at Meelick, Oct. 25.]

Axtell left Kilkenny with 800 men on October 6, and marched towards
Athlone, from which Coote had withdrawn northwards. While he was on his
way Clanricarde crossed the Shannon with over 3000 men, took Ferbane
and besieged Kilcolgan in King's County. In the face of a superior
force Axtell was unable to cross the Brosna, and drew back to Roscrea.
The Irish then summoned Birr, taking Streamstown and two other castles
near it, but retired again before a fresh advance of Axtell, whose
force was trebled in a few days by the arrival of contingents from
Tipperary and Wexford. On October 25 the Parliamentarians advanced to
the Shannon, where they found the enemy strongly posted in the island
or peninsula of Meelick, near Banagher, which was then accessible
only by one passage flanked with bogs and defended by three separate
entrenchments one behind the other. The two first were carried pretty
easily, but at the third it came to a hand-to-hand fight. Axtell's men
burst into the island and the slaughter was very great, five hundred
being driven into the river and drowned in one body. Out of at least
3000 men only 300 escaped by swimming across. Clanricarde, who thought
there was no danger, was away, but his waggon and tent fell into the
victors' hands. The lately captured castles were abandoned, and Axtell
returned to Kilkenny, having sent a part of his force to help Ireton
in besieging Nenagh. The latter place surrendered on October 30, its
garrison of 108 men marching out without arms, and the army soon
afterwards went into winter quarters at Kilkenny.[197]

[Sidenote: Charles Duke of Lorraine.]

[Sidenote: A belated condottiere.]

Charles IV., Duke of Lorraine, who, according to Voltaire, spent his
life in losing his dominions, had been a lover of the open-hearted
Duchess of Chevreuse, for whose sake his state was made the focus
of intrigue against Richelieu. Louis XIII. when dying ordered this
mischievous lady to be kept out of France, and Mazarin afterwards
noted how disaster had dogged her footsteps in Lorraine and everywhere
else. Her sojourn in England preceded the rebellion there, her voyage
to Madrid was followed by the loss of Portugal and Catalonia, and her
stay at Brussels coincided with the progress of French arms at the
expense of Spain. Acknowledging the suzerainty of the Emperor and
repudiating that of the French king, the Duke of Lorraine had visions
of an eighth electorate, and of a commanding military position like
that of Wallenstein. He lost his duchy, he did not gain his electorate,
and the mercenaries whom he gathered from all sides, and supported by
plunder or by forced contributions, were used by the Emperor or the
King of Spain with very little regard for the permanent interests of
their leader, who, however, made money by the business like an Italian
condottiere of the fifteenth century. At the beginning of 1646 he gave
a commission to Colonel Thomas Plunket to raise an Irish regiment for
service in Flanders, and sought the assistance of Ormonde in so doing.
Plunket brought letters to the Confederate Catholics, also, with money
enough for recruiting purposes, and with a gift of four field pieces,
thirty barrels of powder, and some pikes and muskets. Through the
Spanish ambassador in London he had also obtained a safe conduct for
himself and a passage for his men through the places held for the
Parliament, and he was allowed to carry some of his levies to Flanders.
As the Parliamentarians had command of the sea, it was easy for Ormonde
to say that he countenanced nothing against the French court, and that
there was little chance of Irish recruits being obtainable for the
service of Louis XIV.[198]

[Sidenote: The Duke's objects.]

[Sidenote: Mission of Bishop French.]

[Sidenote: Abortive dealings with Ormonde.]

At the beginning of 1646 the Duke proposed to send 10,000 men into
England to help Charles I., but the plan was frustrated, if it was
ever meant seriously, by the unwillingness of France and Holland to
allow the embarkation in their respective territories. Interference
in England would have had sentimental motives mainly, but Charles
had other reasons for looking to Ireland. He was a bigamist, having
children by a second wife during the lifetime of the first, and he
was not of a rank to imitate Henry VIII. His object was to dissolve
the first union and to legitimate the second, and assistance given to
the Irish Catholics might gain him favour at Rome. The Irish officers
in his service would naturally push him in the same direction, and
the Irish clergy assembled at Clonmacnoise in December 1649 deputed
Nicholas French, bishop of Ferns, and William Burke, provincial of the
Dominicans, to ask the Duke's help. French carried a secret commission
signed by some bishops and others under their control, and without
any regard to the viceroy. The strength of England had not yet been
exerted, and the clergy fancied that Ireland could break off with some
foreign help. Many regretted that they had not supported Rinuccini
better. Patrick Rochfort, recorder of Wexford, a partisan of the
nuncio, went to Jersey about the same time to open communications with
Charles II., but he had no authority from anyone holding power in
Ireland. His main object seems to have been to intrigue for Ormonde's
removal from the Irish Government. The Duke of Lorraine's first
idea was to deal with Ormonde as the King of England's unquestioned
representative, and he sent over Colonel Oliver Synnott nominally to
recruit soldiers in Ireland as of old under Ormonde's authority, but
also with letters relating to the more important negotiations. Rochfort
followed Charles to Breda, and proposed to give Duncannon Fort to
the Duke of Lorraine as security for an advance of 24,000_l._ This
negotiation was carried pretty far, but nothing actually came of it,
and Duncannon was in Ireton's hands in the following August. Rochfort
and Synnott reached Ireland in May, declaring that they had thrown
overboard their most secret and important despatches for fear of their
capture by a pursuing frigate. There seemed probability enough in their
story to induce Ormonde to treat with them, and he gave a commission
to Lord Taaffe, Lord Athenry, and Geoffrey Browne to negotiate on his
behalf. Galway was now the object instead of Duncannon, but there
was mutual distrust between Ormonde and Synnott, and they came to no
agreement.[199]

[Sidenote: Taaffe's mission to Charles II.]

[Sidenote: Mazarin and De Retz.]

[Sidenote: An exile at Paris.]

While Synnott's business hung fire, Ormonde sent Lord Taaffe to the
King, and he sailed from Galway Bay on the last day of June, after the
arrival of Charles in Scotland. The Duke of York, who was the next
best authority, gave him a letter of credence to the Duke of Lorraine
at Brussels. Taaffe, whom Carte rightly calls 'a bold and forward
undertaker,' went first to Paris, which he found hard to leave, as
Rinuccini had done before him, and as so many others have done since.
Mazarin was much more anxious to keep on good terms with the Parliament
than to promote an Irish crusade. Moreover, his enemy De Retz was, by
Hyde's account, the best friend Charles had in France, and he certainly
gave him sound advice when he said that the profession of Catholicism,
however desirable for his soul's good, would prevent him from regaining
his kingdom. De Retz had befriended the Queen when he found her at the
Louvre, a few days before her husband's death, without funds or credit,
and obliged to keep the future Duchess of Orleans in bed for lack of
a fire. The coadjutor attributes this destitution to Mazarin, and
exaggerated his own services, but it appears from later researches that
the Queen's or Jermyn's extravagance had much to do with it. The Duke
of Lorraine had hesitated about embarking on an Irish adventure without
knowing the King of England's views, but it was thought impossible to
send a Catholic emissary to Scotland, and Henrietta Maria wrote twice
to that effect, advising the Duke to place the fullest confidence
in Taaffe. Later on she had not so good opinion of him, for without
consulting her he tried to negotiate a betrothal between the Duke of
York and the Duke of Lorraine's infant daughter. After lingering six
weeks in the French capital, Taaffe did not reach Brussels till the end
of November, nearly five months after his departure from Ireland. Want
of means may have been one cause of delay, for he says: 'I was like to
starve at Paris, though every person saluted me with "votre très humble
serviteur jusqu'à la mort!"' It became clear to him that nothing could
be expected either from France or Spain, but there was some chance from
Lorraine.[200]

[Sidenote: A Lorraine envoy to Ireland]

[Sidenote: Bishop French at Brussels.]

[Sidenote: Clanricarde and the Lorraine proposals.]

[Sidenote: What Clanricarde agreed to.]

Ormonde left Ireland in December 1650, and was destined not to return
until 1662. Meanwhile, the Duke of Lorraine sent Stephen de Henin,
Abbot of St. Catherine's, a person much in his confidence, to Ireland,
with letters addressed generally to the men in authority there.
Shortly afterwards he wrote to the Pope claiming to be the Church's
champion, and asking for Innocent's blessing and prayers. De Henin was
accompanied by George Dillon, a Franciscan who was Taaffe's uncle,
and who brought 5000_l._ as an earnest of what might be expected from
Lorraine. They landed at Galway on February 26, when Bishop French,
who hated Ormonde above all created beings, had sailed for France with
a private commission from some of the clergy. He stayed some time at
Paris, went on to Brussels about the end of April, and speedily gained
the Duke of Lorraine's ear. Madame de Chevreuse and the Duchess of
Orleans gave what help they could, and De Henin found the viceregal
authority in Clanricarde's hands, and being, in Clarendon's words 'a
wise man and of phlegm enough,' he refused to treat with anyone else.
Four of the Commissioners of Trust, of whom two had already been
employed by Ormonde, summoned Clanricarde from Banagher, and he gave
the Lorraine envoy a public audience at Tirellan. De Henin handed him
the Duke's letter, and Dillon the two last from Taaffe to Ormonde.
Dillon, who had had opportunities of knowing the Lorrainer's plans, was
called upon to submit proposals, and they were not such as Clanricarde
could possibly agree to. It was suggested that the protectorate of
Ireland should be handed over to the Duke, 'his heirs and successors,'
that Limerick and Galway should be given in pawn for his outlay, that
he should be invited to come over in person, and that in the meantime
Lord Taaffe should 'have as ample commission to treat and conclude
with his Highness, as his Highness's ambassador hath to this kingdom.'
Many of the Commissioners of Trust and several bishops had come to
Galway on hearing of the stranger's arrival, and they drew up fresh
proposals less bold in form, but equally destructive of the viceregal
authority. In the long negotiations that followed, Clanricarde showed
a good deal of diplomatic skill, and had no difficulty in proving
that neither the King alone nor any popular assembly without him
could convey away Ireland as an estate of inheritance. In the end the
Lord Deputy covenanted with De Henin that the Duke of Lorraine should
give 20,000_l._, including what Dillon had already brought, on the
security of Limerick and Galway, and of the whole nation collaterally,
but without binding any man's separate estate. The Duke was to have
the appointment of a commandant in each cautionary town, provided,
nevertheless, that 'in case of pressing necessity for the public
service of the kingdom, the Lord Deputy may make use of his power as
hitherto accustomed.'[201]

[Sidenote: What Charles II.'s advisers thought.]

[Sidenote: Extent of the Lorraine succours.]

[Sidenote: Bishop French's abuse of Clanricarde.]

[Sidenote: The viceregal authority set aside.]

Ormonde, and the rest of the exiled family's chief advisers, with Hyde
at the head of them, had little hope from the Duke of Lorraine, whom
they considered fond of money, very cunning, and very much inclined
to have his pound of flesh. Nicholas saw very clearly that Taaffe was
no match for him, and that he was liar enough to 'deceive the Earl
of Norwich or any man living.' The object was to make a diversion in
Ireland, and so give the King some chance in his Scotch venture. The
Duke of Lorraine did actually give 20,000_l._ for Ireland, but this
was not enough seriously to affect the desperate situation there. If
anything, the expectation of these shadowy succours had the effect
of preventing the Irish from exerting themselves. Bad bargains were
made in buying arms, there was a good deal of waste, and the discount
on bills of exchange was so heavy that 'the sheer money,' to quote
Bellings, 'came far short of the first mouthful.' Dean King reported
that the 20,000_l._ was thus reduced by 6,000_l._ Rumours that more
was coming were sedulously propagated, and great things were expected
as far off as Madrid, and the farce was continued during the whole of
1651. This reliance upon a broken reed probably weakened the efforts of
the Irish. The Duke proposed to send a small army, but neither Spain,
France, nor Holland would allow it passage, and it was arms and money
that were wanted, for of men there were already plenty in Ireland. It
seems probable that the Duke had no intention of doing anything, and
that his real object was to further his matrimonial suits at Rome. To
that end he might be willing to outwit the Irish clergy as well as
the Protestant Royalists and the non-clerical Deputy. In addressing
the Pope he took his stand upon a decree of the Lateran Council under
Innocent III., where legates from England and all other States were
present, which gave the Pontiff power to appoint a protector if any
state fell into heresy. Innocent X., however, was cautious, thought the
Irish nation should be consulted, and that some more powerful prince
might undertake the work. Bishop French told Taaffe and his colleagues
that they derived their authority from the 'withered and accursed
hand of one for several causes excommunicated _a jure et homine_, and
at Rome accounted a great contemner of the authority and dignity of
churchmen, and persecutor of my lord nuncio and some bishops and other
churchmen ... who never joined the Confederate Catholics until he found
the opportunity of bearing down the Pope's nuncio ... comrade-in-arms
with Lord Inchiquin, who not long before dyed his hands in the blood
of priests and innocent souls in the church or rock of St. Patrick, in
Cashel.' He urged the agents to ignore Clanricarde's commission, and
to 'go on cheerfully in the contract with this most Catholic' prince.
Taking advantage of Taaffe's absence from Brussels, Plunket and Browne
did accordingly make an agreement with the Duke of Lorraine without
mentioning the Lord Deputy, and in the name of the 'kingdom and people
of Ireland.'[202]

[Sidenote: Ormonde's opinion.]

[Sidenote: Terms of agreement with Lorraine.]

[Sidenote: A "Protector Royal."]

There was an Irish agent at Paris named Tyrrell, who intrigued with
Madame de Chevreuse and the Duchess of Orleans, but even before the
battle of Worcester Ormonde saw that the Duke would do nothing serious.
'He must,' he wrote, 'sit down with the loss of 20,000_l._, and they
(the Irish) with the state of perfect slavery, the frequent lot of
such as affect immoderate power upon weak foundations. The remaining
consolation is that, if the King recover England, Ireland will soon
follow, without which, if he had it again so peopled as it was, it
would be lost.' The agreement was signed on July 2, but was not
transmitted to Clanricarde until September, after the news of Worcester
had reached Brussels. Taaffe, who had hitherto been so sanguine, now
thought that the Duke of Lorraine would be unable to do anything; and,
indeed, he had probably no further object but to gain credit at Rome
by a show of strong clerical leanings. 'His proposals,' Taaffe wrote,
'discovered more of self-interest than affection to his Majesty.' As
far as the agreement could do it, he was constituted the 'true royal
protector of Ireland, and this to pass to his heirs and successors.'
The army and militia present and future were placed absolutely in his
hands, with power in his absence to appoint a substitute 'professing
Catholic religion, excluding all other whosoever.' All heretics were to
be expelled from Ireland. When these points had been granted, certain
provisoes making a show of preserving the royal authority were hardly
worth the paper on which they were written. Ormonde, who might easily
have been communicated with, never heard of the agreement until a copy
was sent back by Clanricarde from Ireland. At the time of its despatch
Limerick was closely besieged, and within a few days of surrender, but
the corporation of Galway received a direct letter from the Duke of
Lorraine, in which he held out hope of further supplies, and claimed
their help in carrying out the agreement made with Plunket and Browne.
Some powder was sent towards the end of 1651, but it was the 'basest
ever seen, not worth 2_s._ a barrel,' yet the Irish were afraid to
complain for fear of offending the Duke. In 1652 a very small further
supply was sent to Innisbofin. They sent a favourable answer by special
messenger, addressing the Duke as royal protector of Ireland, and when
the Lord Deputy remonstrated they practically refused to make any
excuse. He reported fully to the Queen and to Ormonde, and he could do
no more. The latter at least fully understood the matter. The object of
the Irish clergy, he said, was to call in a Roman Catholic protector,
'from which office to absolute sovereignty the way is straight and
easy,' and they were so intent upon this that they allowed the country
to fall into the power of the English rebels.[203]

[Sidenote: Clanricarde condemns the Lorraine agreement,]

[Sidenote: and Charles II. approves.]

[Sidenote: The Duke of Lorraine's reflections.]

Clanricarde plainly told the Duke of Lorraine that he had been duped
'by the counterfeit shew of a private instrument, fraudulently
procured, and signed by some inconsiderable factious persons.' He
laid the chief blame on French, as the violent and malicious enemy of
royal authority in Ireland, and 'a fatal instrument in contriving and
fomenting all those diversions and divisions that have rent asunder
the kingdom.' He bade Bishop Darcy of Dromore, and the Archbishop of
Tuam, who must have known all about it, to observe the efficacy of
that prelate's powerful spirit in persuading and 'prevailing with the
commissioner to break and betray their trust.' Letters took a long time
in transit, but in February 1652 Charles II. wrote to Clanricarde,
entirely approving of his conduct, expressing full confidence in
him, and allowing him to leave Ireland whenever he thought fit. This
did not reach the Lord Deputy until August, and in the meantime all
negotiations with the Duke of Lorraine had been broken off. 'De Henin,'
says Clarendon, 'returned in the same ship that brought him, and gave
the Duke such an account of his voyage and people that put an end to
that negotiation, which had been entered into and prosecuted with less
wariness, circumspection, and good husbandry, than that prince was
accustomed to use.' While still professing his anxiety to help the
Irish Catholics, the Duke declined to have anything more to say to the
Commissioners, whose factiousness had spoiled all. Charles II. had
reminded him that Clanricarde was 'as zealous for the Catholic religion
as anyone in Ireland, and that he knew the affections and interests of
that people as well as any, whatsoever others pretend.' Of his dislike
to Clanricarde he made no secret, calling him a traitor and base
fellow, whom he would do his best to injure if he came within reach,
and when the Marchioness reached the Continent he regretted that her
sex prevented him from satisfying his feelings of revenge. The remnant
of the Irish in Innisbofin continued to hold the island for the Duke of
Lorraine, and to hope against hope for his arrival until late in the
year 1652.[204]

[Sidenote: Ormonde on the results of Worcester.]

[Sidenote: No help, even from Rome.]

[Sidenote: Ormonde and the Ultramontanes.]

[Sidenote: The Duke of Lorraine's failure.]

When the news of Worcester reached Ormonde he knew that all was over
for a very long time. A Scottish army in England under Charles in
person, a still unsubdued Scotland behind that, and at the same time
enough resistance in Ireland to occupy a large Parliamentary force, all
these made a combination very unlikely to recur. The only chance, and
that a remote one, was that the parties into which England was divided
might fall out among themselves, and so the King come by his own.
'This,' he wrote to Clanricarde, who may never have got the letter, 'I
take to be a remote, lazy speculation, and very near lying in the dirt
and crying God help. God often blesses very improbable endeavours, but
I find not where he promises, or where he has given success to flat
idleness, unless contempt or misery, which are the proper fruits of it,
may be so called.' He thought the only thing to do was to seek foreign
help, and that the best chance was to try to make the Pope a mediator.
Attempts to get money from Rome for the Irish war had already failed,
but it was proposed to send Taaffe there a little later. The Pope
would do nothing unless Charles would satisfy him that he had joined
the Roman communion, and to let this be known would have alienated
England irretrievably. When, in due time, the treaty of Dover was
signed, Ormonde was kept in the dark. Bishop French, who had reviled
Taaffe for not signing the agreement with the Duke of Lorraine, did not
return to Ireland, but he attacked Ormonde long after the Restoration
for preferring Cromwell's protectorate to that of a distinguished
Catholic prince. It was, perhaps, impossible for an Irish Ultramontane
to understand the position of an English Royalist, but it is easy to
see now that Ormonde and Clanricarde were essentially in the right.
Neither they nor their master could help the usurpation, but they would
have destroyed their chances altogether by placing the sovereignty
of Ireland in the hands of a foreign adventurer, who could not call
a single sea-port his own. Two years later the Spaniards seized his
person, and the French annexed his army.[205]

[Sidenote: Hopelessness of the struggle in Ireland.]

[Sidenote: Operations in the midland counties, March.]

[Sidenote: Finnea Castle, March 14.]

The Parliamentary Commissioners knew that the Irish in Connaught
had received arms and money from the Duke of Lorraine, and that they
had great hopes from de Henin's mission. But Ludlow and the rest saw
clearly that the subjugation of Ireland was only a matter of time. They
did not advise any immediate reduction in the army, but a large part
of the country was now contributing to its support, and they saw their
way to diminishing the parliamentary grant for Ireland from 33,000_l._
to 20,000_l._ a month. They hoped that the area still to be occupied
would on these terms be much narrowed by Michaelmas. Provisions and
clothes were scarce, 'yet your poor naked soldiers upon all commands
do go out most cheerfully,' and they were seldom idle. The Irish were
making great efforts to form a strong force out of the remnants of
O'Neill's and Preston's armies in Westmeath, Cavan, and Longford. To
prevent this coming to a head Hewson left Trecroghan on March 14,
marching by Tyrell's Pass to Kilbride, which made some resistance, and
through Mullingar to Donore, where Reynolds had stormed the castle with
much corn and other plunder in it. The two officers here joined their
forces to garrison and repair Lord Netterville's castle at Ballimore,
which had been partly dismantled by the Irish. Ballinalack, which
commanded a passage into Longford, was taken without much trouble, but
a strong stand was made between Loughs Kinale and Sheelin, where Lord
Westmeath had left a garrison in his castle of Finnea. He himself had
retired with all portable property to a stronghold at Termonbarry, in
Roscommon. Colonel Alexander MacDonnell, Antrim's brother, and Philip
MacHugh O'Reilly held the neighbouring village of Togher, where there
was another castle, but there was little discipline, and whisky was
easily obtainable, so that Hewson had an easy victory. O'Reilly, who
had kept his own head clear, could do nothing, and was fain to gallop
away, Sir Theophilus Jones being sent in pursuit of the demoralised
crowd. Many were killed and about 400 prisoners taken, including
the colonel, lieutenant colonel, and major--all MacDonnells, twelve
captains, and twenty-eight subalterns. According to the Irish account,
those who did not die in Dublin were 'transported to St. Christopher
as slaves.' The garrison of Finnea then surrendered on fair terms, the
men marching away under safe-conduct without arms, and Longford and
Cavan were at the mercy of the Parliament. Many still remained in arms
under Lord Westmeath's nominal orders, but they were little better than
brigands, plundering the poor, and even depriving fugitive friars of
such cattle as they had preserved for their sustenance.[206]

[Sidenote: A turning movement in Connaught.]

[Sidenote: Ireton's advice to Castlehaven.]

[Sidenote: Ireton passes the Shannon, June 2.]

[Sidenote: Coote and Reynolds elude Clanricarde.]

Leinster and Ulster being now pretty safe, Coote was directed to cross
the Erne near its mouth, and to turn the line of the Shannon. Reynolds
was sent with a regiment of horse to help him, and there was no force
in Connaught able to repel the invasion. Coote and Reynolds were at
Athenry before the end of May, while Ireton himself advanced to the
Shannon opposite Killaloe, and Hewson to Athlone. Castlehaven was at
Killaloe with what were called ten regiments, 'but nothing answerable
in numbers,' and there he received a long letter from Ireton setting
forth the justice of the Parliamentary cause, speaking slightingly of
the King, and inviting him to retire to England, where he would be well
received. He would thus save his property and be spared a hopeless
struggle in company unworthy of him. Peter Walsh was with Castlehaven,
and by his advice Ireton's offers were spurned, after which all
intercourse ceased between the two generals. Preparations for crossing
at Killaloe, where the bridge was broken down, were openly made, and
more quietly at O'Brien's Bridge, where there had been no bridge for
generations. A few men were sent over in a boat at daybreak, and seized
an old house on the Clare side, under cover of which and of field guns
on the Tipperary shore 500 men were ferried over in one hour. The Irish
were seized with panic, and deserted their entrenchments, while Colonel
Ingoldsby with 300 horse crossed the river unopposed at Castleconnell.
Castlehaven came too late to rally the fugitives, and in his absence
Colonel Fennell deserted his post at Killaloe and fled to Limerick.
Ireton then crossed himself without trouble, while Castlehaven, whose
force had dwindled to 300 horse, lost his plate and other property,
and went northwards in hopes of joining Clanricarde and intercepting
Coote and Reynolds, who had left Londonderry together on May 5, and
who for the first time dragged two pieces into Donegal over Barnesmore
gap, 'till then thought impassable for the lightest carriages.' When
they drew near the Curlew mountains, where Sir Conyers Clifford
was overthrown in the Elizabethan days, their scouts reported that
Clanricarde had occupied the passes, whereupon they turned westward,
and got 'by strange and unexpected ways undiscovered into the county
of Mayo,' near Ballaghdereen, leaving Clanricarde two days' march in
their rear. They were at Athenry on May 31, and outside Loughrea on
June 2, where they lost no time, but pushed on towards Portumna without
fighting. Clanricarde and Castlehaven were together at Loughrea, but
too weak to do anything. They warned all the population to fly with
their property, and retired beyond the Galway river, taking refuge in
the town when Coote appeared on its eastern side.[207]

[Sidenote: Ludlow's march to Portumna, June.]

[Sidenote: Desperate defence of Gort.]

[Sidenote: The laws of war.]

As soon as he heard of Coote's approach, Ireton sent 1000 cavalry and
dragoons to meet him, with whom Ludlow, who volunteered his services,
started northwards through a desolate country. One 'creaght' or
encampment of half a dozen families with their cattle, was sighted,
and the soldiers would have killed these poor people as enemies had
not Ludlow interfered. 'I took a share with them,' he says, 'of a
pot of sour milk, which seemed to me the most pleasant liquor that
ever I drank.' Having marched forty miles in about twenty-four hours,
Ludlow left the bulk of his men comfortably encamped, and hurried on
with sixty troopers to Portumna, which, having repulsed one attack,
surrendered next morning. Coote being safe, Reynolds joined Ludlow with
500 horse, and they pursued Clanricarde as far as Ballinasloe, which
surrendered and was garrisoned. Reynolds then returned to Portumna, and
Ludlow marched through Clare to Limerick. At Gort he found that Sir
Dermot O'Shaughnessy had gone to Galway, leaving his tenants with some
soldiers under an English lieutenant named Foliot to hold the castle. A
countryman employed by Ludlow deserted, and told the garrison that he
had no artillery or other equipage for a siege. But <DW19>s or fascines
were made, and each soldier carried one to use as a shield first, and
afterwards to fill up the ditch. Enraged by the fall of two comrades
the men climbed the twelve foot wall of the courtyard, helping each
other to the top. Some ladders were found inside which gave admission
to more, a window was soon forced open, and the occupants of the room
killed. Foliot fought desperately 'with a tuck in one hand and a
stiletto in the other,' but was soon run through the body. <DW19>s were
piled against the gates and fired, when the garrison, fearing to be
burned alive, hung out a white flag and threw down their arms. Ludlow
gave one of his men twenty shillings to fetch out two barrels of powder
that were near the fire, which could not be put out, eighty men besides
many women and children being rescued by 'skeins of match thrown up
into the chambers.' A few soldiers were put to death as defenders of an
untenable post. Ludlow says he was pressed by his council of war to use
this severity, but O'Shaughnessy's tenants were all dismissed unhurt to
their homes, and the general went on to Ireton, driving before him 500
cattle which his foragers had collected among the Burren hills.[208]

[Sidenote: Siege of Limerick, June-Oct.]

[Sidenote: The bombardment does little harm.]

Ireton came before Limerick on June 3 on the Clare side of the Shannon.
A large number of cattle had been collected at a place called Ferboe,
a little above the town, where there was a narrow pass partly defended
by an old castle. A stout resistance was made here, but Ingoldsby
forced the passage with his cavalry and drove the Irish back to
Thomond Bridge, about 150 being killed or drowned. The cattle formed a
welcome addition to the commissariat, and Ireton marched on without
further opposition. The estuary was in the hands of the Parliament,
and the next few days were spent in landing cannon and mortars. The
word bomb was, perhaps, first applied to the mortar-shells used during
this siege. June 18 was set apart as a day of thanksgiving 'for the
Lord's mercies in bringing us over the Shannon,' and other unexpected
successes, and on the next day Ireton having formally summoned
Limerick, at once began the bombardment. A battery of twenty-eight
guns played upon the castle defending Thomond Bridge. Two mortars,
afterwards increased to four, threw shells into the town, but the
largest, carrying projectiles of two hundred weight, burst, but without
hurting anyone. Ludlow joined Ireton three days later, and found that
a lodgment had already been effected on the great salmon-weir above
Limerick, where a castle still stands. Two guns were brought to bear,
and from one the first shot went in at a window and broke a soldier's
leg. The garrison at once took to their boats, but the fire was so hot
that they all rowed to shore and surrendered, some to Tothill on the
Clare bank, and some to Ingoldsby on the Limerick bank.[209]

[Sidenote: Ireton's justice.]

Ireton, says Ludlow, 'was so great a friend of justice, even where
an enemy was concerned, that, though Colonel Axtell was a person
extraordinarily qualified ... he suspended him from his employment.' A
court-martial had found that he killed prisoners who had been promised
quarter by soldiers, though not by himself. This seems to have been in
the attack on Meelick. Tothill was now charged with the same offence
and deprived of his regiment, his ensign being also cashiered. Tothill
pleaded that he thought no one could grant quarter but the commanding
officer, and that the Lord Deputy would be angry if he showed mercy.
Ireton said the punishment was too little for the offence and the
excuses equally abominable, 'for the base and servile fear pretended
in the latter part, as for the pride of spirit predominate in the
former.' He was somewhat consoled by the fact that Ingoldsby spared all
lives on his side.[210]

[Sidenote: Fruitless negotiations, June.]

[Sidenote: Non-combatants turned out of Limerick.]

[Sidenote: Disaster to the besiegers, June 23.]

[Sidenote: Ireton's explanation.]

On the same day that the castle on the weir was taken, the garrison of
Limerick sent out a drum in answer to Ireton's summons. A truce was
asked for, hostages to be given by the Deputy during the time that
the representatives of the besieged were in his camp. Both conditions
were refused, but Ireton had no objection to treat for a capitulation,
and six commissioners were sent out, two for the garrison, two for
the citizens, and two for the clergy, a like number being named by
the Deputy. Among the former were Major-General Purcell and Geoffrey
Baron, one of the late Supreme Council; among the latter, Ludlow,
Waller, and Colonel Henry Cromwell. They met in a tent between town and
camp, dined together every day, and discussed the terms in a leisurely
way; but Limerick did not yet despair of relief, and the negotiations
came to nothing. Meanwhile, the bombardment continued, two bridges
being thrown across the Shannon, one of wood at Castleconnell and the
other of boats or floats, below the weir. O'Neill tried to reduce the
number of useless mouths by driving non-combatants out of the town. On
one occasion Ireton ordered that four of these poor wretches should
be knocked on the head, but the order was wrongly given, and forty
were killed--'an act much disgusted by his Excellency.' The castle on
Thomond Bridge was stormed after many hand-grenades had been thrown
in; which, strange to say, failed to ignite some barrels of powder
specially laid to blow up the assailants. An open arch under the
drawbridge was filled up with rubbish and <DW19>s, so that the captured
work could be used against the town; but the garrison broke down other
arches, and there appeared to be no chance of entering that way. As
soon as the floating bridge was finished, Ireton fortified the Clare
end of it, and transferred the bulk of his army to the county Limerick
side. More than a dozen boats were laden with men, and an attempt was
made to seize the upper end of King's Island, upon the lower end of
which a large part of Limerick stands; but here the besiegers met with
a serious reverse. Four boats got over safely, under Major Walker, who
had been distinguished at O'Brien's Bridge, and three other officers.
Finding no resistance at first, the men got out of hand and ran through
the enemies' line up to a fort in the middle of the island. The
garrison sallied out and drove them back to their boats and to a fifth
which was just coming ashore, so that nearly all were either shot or
drowned. 'We find missing,' Ireton wrote, 'eighty-six or eighty-seven
men, besides the four commissioned officers aforementioned, and not
more whatever may be reported.' Abundant reinforcements were at hand,
but before order was restored it was broad daylight, and nothing more
could be done. A night attack is always risky, and Ireton acknowledges
that there was mismanagement; but some of Tothill's men who had broken
faith with the enemy were among those who perished, and on that
account, he adds, 'that most justly the Lord hath rebuked us, and cast
reproach and confusion of face upon us.'[211]

[Sidenote: Athlone Castle taken, June 18.]

[Sidenote: Ludlow in Clare, July.]

[Sidenote: Ireton's devotion to duty.]

The next day was set apart as one of humiliation for the sins of the
army, and on the following came the news that Coote had taken Athlone
Castle. Great efforts were made to relieve Limerick. Muskerry had about
5000 men in Kerry, with whom he intended to join Fitzpatrick, who
collected what was left of the Leinster forces at Galbally, near the
Glen of Aherlow. Meanwhile, David Roche was active with some 3000 men
in Clare, and Ludlow was detached to look after him. Roche, who was
besieging Carrigaholt, which had been but lately taken, drew off as
soon as he heard that Ludlow had passed the Fergus, and Captain Lucas
took the opportunity of slipping out with his men, whom he brought
safe to the Parliamentary camp. Roche then occupied the passage of
the river at Inch Cronan, so as to prevent Ludlow from returning
to Limerick; but his party were soon routed by a superior force of
cavalry. Some skirmishing took place among woods and bogs, during which
Connor O'Brien of Leamaneh, who commanded a regiment of horse, and was
perhaps the most considerable person in Clare, was shot. The Irish
were so light of foot that Ludlow could do but little execution; but
Carrigaholt was burned or blown up, whether by him or by Roche does not
seem quite certain; it was too remote to have much effect on military
operations. Having dispersed the Clare gathering and made all safe on
that side, Ludlow rejoined Ireton, and while the engineers were pushing
on the siege works accompanied him to Killaloe, where he repaired or
rebuilt the bridge. The Lord Deputy 'rode so hard that he spoiled many
horses, and hazarded some of the men; but he was so diligent in the
public service, and so careless of everything that belonged to himself,
that he never regarded what clothes or food he used, what hour he went
to rest, or what horse he mounted.' As a cavalry leader he might have
done better by giving heed to Francesco Sforza, one of whose three
leading principles was never to ride a horse that stumbled or cast its
shoes.[212]

[Sidenote: Broghill made a general.]

[Sidenote: His campaign against Muskerry.]

[Sidenote: His victory near Kanturk, July 26.]

[Sidenote: Superstition of Muskerry's men]

Lord Broghill thought his services had been insufficiently
acknowledged, and when Cromwell left Ireland he announced that he would
obey no one but Ireton and Adjutant-General Allen. Ludlow sympathised
with his discontent, though he occupied in command of the cavalry
the very post that Broghill coveted. This, he assured Ireton, he
would never have accepted but as a matter of duty and in obedience to
positive orders. He advised that something should be done to content
Broghill, who, after much discussion, was appointed Lieutenant-General
of the Ordnance, with the rank of a general officer. In July 1651 he
was detached to intercept Muskerry, with not more than 600 foot and 400
horse as a field force; but his own troop, consisting of reformadoes or
unemployed commissioned officers, was particularly efficient. Muskerry
collected nearly 3000 men, of whom about one-third were cavalry or
dragoons, in the woods near Drishane, where he had defeated Colonel
Elsing in the previous winter, and he got over the Blackwater to
Dromagh without fighting. At Castlelyons, Broghill had a message from
Ireton ordering him to use every exertion to intercept the Irish army.
On the 21st he went to Mallow with this object, and next day followed
them towards Castle Ishin, on the border of county Limerick, coming
upon their outposts at midnight in a storm of rain and wind. Muskerry
doubled back to Dromagh, 'but through a place and country that the
very Teigs themselves could hardly march in,' leaving Broghill to bar
the road to Limerick. On the 24th the Irish were at Drishane again,
whither Broghill followed next day, crossing the Blackwater, which
had risen much from the great rain. Unable to bring them to action,
he determined to return to Mallow for fresh provisions and take up a
position at Courtstown, where he could watch the road to Fitzpatrick's
position at Galbally. Before they had marched half a mile the enemy
suddenly appeared on the hills to his rear, and at last their whole
force descended into the plain at Knockbrack, to the south of Banteer
railway station. Broghill's men fought with great alacrity, and he
thought 'better knocking' had never been known in Ireland. One division
of Irish pikemen particularly distinguished themselves, and all fought
well, but, though almost surrounded by superior numbers, the veterans
had the best of it. Broghill narrowly escaped with his life, which was
specially aimed at, the Irish soldiers calling to each other to 'kill
the fellow with the gold-laced coat.' He lost under thirty men killed,
but there were four or five times as many wounded, and he admits
that his force was extremely shattered. Having no means of keeping
prisoners safely, he had given orders to make none, and at least 600
were killed, but a few officers were taken to Cork. The priests had
exhorted the Irish to fight, and fortified their speech with holy
water and charms, many of which were 'found quilted in the doublets of
the dead,' and there was also a large stock of spare ones. A specimen
guaranteeing the wearer against war, water, fire, and pestilence, was
sent for parliamentary inspection: it claimed to have been approved by
the Council of Trent, and it was supposed that the Virgin Mary would
appear to the owner fourteen days before his death.[213]

[Sidenote: The last battle.]

[Sidenote: Ireton and Ludlow in Clare, Aug.-Sept.]

[Sidenote: Guerrilla warfare.]

[Sidenote: Pirates in the channel.]

The fight at Knockbrack was the last in this war which deserves the
name of a battle. There was a prophecy current among the country people
that there would be one on that spot, and that the English would get
the day. Broghill noted that it was like Naseby, fair weather at the
beginning, then a thunderstorm, and then sunshine again. It made the
relief of Limerick impossible, and Ireton was justified in firing
salvoes of artillery and musketry. But guerrilla warfare continued in
many places, and the besiegers were always in danger of being attacked.
At the end of August or beginning of September Ireton and Ludlow were
both in Clare, catching horses and cows, but seldom their masters,
and placing a garrison at Clonroad to curb Clare Castle. Seizing the
opportunity of their absence, two thousand foot sallied out of Limerick
and almost surprised the cavalry guard; but the latter 'immediately
mounted, and being not accustomed to be beaten,' drove them back
into the town. Muskerry again collected some force, but Broghill
easily dispersed them, and the Irish general soon retired to Galway.
Occasionally the Parliamentarians suffered small reverses. Meelick, for
instance, was recaptured by Fitzpatrick at the beginning of August,
the garrison being all asleep. Phelim M'Hugh O'Reilly attacked Finnea
on August 5, but was beaten back with great loss; and there were other
considerable bodies of the Irish still together in Leinster and Ulster.
'I found them unwilling to fight,' says Hewson, 'though their numbers
be great.' But they sometimes surprised and routed small bodies of
troops, and they exhausted the country and made it impossible for the
people to contribute towards the support of the army. The detached
Parliamentary garrisons could just hold their own, but were scarcely
able to act on the offensive. Early in October Venables made an attempt
on Ballinacargy, O'Reilly's chief stronghold in Cavan, but was foiled,
the Irish retreating to a bog whenever he advanced, and watching to
intercept provisions, so that he had to return to Dundalk. It was
evident that nothing of importance could be done as long as Limerick
held out and kept the main strength of the army occupied. Even within
a few miles of Dublin, Sherlock kept 2000 men among the mountains,
and there was no force to attack him. Meanwhile, the coast was but
carelessly guarded, no Government ships being seen between July and
October. At Carrickfergus and at Wexford rovers took many English
vessels out of the harbours, and it was as hard to get in the customs
as the assessments from the country.[214]

[Sidenote: Limerick closely invested, Aug.-Sept.]

[Sidenote: Sufferings of the besieged.]

[Sidenote: The party of surrender prevail.]

After the failure of the boat attack in June, Ireton had been content
to rest his hopes mainly on famine and on the plague which raged
within the walls of Limerick. The garrison sometimes made signals with
fire, but without result, and spies had not much chance. One poor
woman brought a message from Roche, which might have caused a combined
attack by the garrison and by his men in Clare, but she was caught
and 'hanged for fear of giving further intelligence.' All attempts
to escape from the doomed city were ruthlessly repressed. No threats
were strong enough to deter these poor wretches, and an example was
made by hanging two or three and having the rest driven back with
whips. One old man desired to be hanged instead of his daughter, 'but
that,' says Ludlow, 'was refused, and he with the rest driven back
into the town.' A gibbet was then raised in sight of the walls upon
which condemned criminals were hanged, and this stopped the exodus,
but only for a time. Michaelmas came round without starving out the
place, and Ireton, having greatly strengthened his battering train,
resumed active operations, for the winter was approaching, and an Irish
soldier boasted from the walls that snowballs would beat bombshells.
But heavy guns had been brought up from the ships, and the counsels
of the defenders were divided. Overtures were made to Ireton early
in October, but three weeks elapsed and a fresh bombardment began
before the scale turned in favour of the party of surrender. The news
of Worcester had probably destroyed all hope, but an actual breach
was made before the decisive step was taken. A weak spot had hitherto
escaped notice, where there was no counter-scarp in front and no mass
of earth behind, and Ludlow thought it would soon have been untenable;
but Ireton, who had no vanity, thought the sudden surrender 'a mercy
most seasonable at the beginning of winter.' The English and Irish
accounts agree that there were two parties in the beleaguered city, and
it is possible that the weak place was pointed out by a deserter or by
one of the commissioners who had been going and coming between city and
camp. The charter required that a new mayor should be chosen on October
6, and the election resulted in the substitution of Peter Creagh, who
was peacefully inclined, for Thomas Stretch, who had sworn that the
city should be defended during his year of office. After more than two
months of a mere blockade, 'we began our approaches,' says Ireton, 'in
one night, and finished our batteries and planted our guns the second,
and next morning began to batter.'[215]

[Sidenote: Capitulation of Limerick, Oct. 27.]

[Sidenote: Persons exempted from quarter.]

[Sidenote: Excommunication and interdict have no effect.]

[Sidenote: O'Neill surrenders to Ireton.]

[Sidenote: Fate of Fennell]

The articles offered to the besieged in June and July had been on the
whole favourable, but an exception was made as to those who 'committed
the murders and outrages in the first insurrection before the first
General Assembly.' The members of that first Assembly and the clergy
generally were also denied all protection, so that the city contained
many desperate men, who naturally prolonged the siege as far as
possible. This mistake was not now repeated, but twenty-two persons
were excepted by name, who were all known or believed to have deceived
or overawed the generality of the people into 'the obstinate holding
out of the place.' All spies and a single Welsh deserter were also
excepted. Of those named, the most important were Hugh O'Neill, the
governor, the Bishops of Emly and Limerick, Major-General Purcell,
Ormonde's old enemy, Alderman Fanning, and Geoffrey Barron, amongst the
others being a few priests and friars. The corporation and the military
officers met, and decided 'that the treaty should go on, and that they
should not stick for any person exempted, or to be exempted, from
quarter of life or goods'; but when they met next morning to choose
commissioners, the two bishops, accompanied by others of the clergy,
appeared, and threatened to excommunicate them all 'if they should
deliver up the prelates to be slaughtered.' But the danger was too
pressing and ecclesiastical censures had become too common, so that the
commissioners were named nevertheless. The sentence of excommunication
and a perpetual interdict of the city were posted on the church doors,
whereupon Colonel Fennell and others were sent to seize St. John's Gate
and the adjoining tower. O'Neill remonstrated, but Fennell said he had
orders from the mayor and chief citizens. The governor, whose military
authority at least had hitherto been unquestioned, then summoned a
court-martial, but Fennell refused to appear. Lord Castleconnell took
his part, so that no sentence was passed; and Fennell, who had the keys
and some powder from the mayor, turned the guns upon the town, and said
plainly that he would not leave his post until surrender was decided
on. At last Ireton's preparations were complete, and seventeen heavy
shot were discharged with great effect against one spot in the wall,
whereupon a drum was sent out and negotiations began in earnest. Two
hundred 'redcoats' were admitted by Fennell into the gate-tower, and on
October 27 the articles of capitulation were signed. According to one
account, Fennell even threatened O'Neill with a pistol, when that brave
soldier rode out alone and delivered his sword to Ireton himself, who
treated him honourably. Fennell was not among the twenty-two specially
exempted from the benefit of the articles, but they did not protect
him or others 'from prosecution to justice in a judicial way for any
crimes they might be guilty of.' There is perhaps no positive evidence
against him, though he has always been considered a traitor by writers
on the Irish side. He was accused of a plot to give up Clonmel; and
Castlehaven, who is not much given to calling names, accuses him of
cowardice or treachery in quitting his post at Killaloe and flying to
Limerick, after the fall of which, 'Ireton, with more than his usual
justice, hanged him. Some say he was carried to Cork and there pleaded
for his defence how he had betrayed me before Youghal; but his judges
would not hear him on his merits, but bid him clear himself of the
murders laid to his charge.'[216]

[Sidenote: Treatment of the besieged.]

[Sidenote: The Bishop of Limerick escaped.]

[Sidenote: The Bishop of Emly hanged.]

Soldiers and citizens were allowed to go free, and time was given
to remove personal property, but without any guarantee for lands or
houses; and Ireton evidently contemplated a partial colonisation. The
garrison of 2000 had been reduced to about 1200, who marched out after
giving up their arms, and the city contained about 4000 other men
capable of bearing arms, though about 5000 persons had perished 'by
the sword without and the famine and plague within.' He was inclined
to spare those who had not shown themselves irreconcilable; but there
would still be plenty of room for settlers. In the meantime, he had
himself to deal with as many of the excepted persons as he could
catch. Besides the governor, ten of them voluntarily surrendered,
and their fate was reserved for further consideration. Some of the
others were not caught, among them the Bishop of Limerick, who escaped
in a soldier's dress, joined Muskerry in Kerry, and died at Brussels
in 1654. Ireton did not regret this, as he found that he had not
been one of the violent party; he had formerly been well disposed
to Ormonde. The Bishop of Emly took refuge in the pest-house, where
he was quickly taken and hanged by order of a court-martial. He had
been the soul of the defence all along, and has always been regarded
as a martyr by those of his own faith. His head was placed over one
of the gates, as were those of Stretch and of Purcell, who alone
behaved in a pusillanimous manner. Five or six others were executed,
including a priest named Walsh, who served as a captain, Sir Geoffrey
Gallwey, Geoffrey Baron, and Dr. Higgins, a physician who, according
to the military diarist, was 'powder-maker and money-coiner to the
besieged.'[217]

[Sidenote: O'Neill is tried]

[Sidenote: and acquitted]

[Sidenote: He returns to Spain,]

[Sidenote: and claims the earldom of Tyrone.]

Hugh O'Neill was the last of that great clan who played an important
part in Irish history, and he bore himself worthily. Ireton seems
to have treated him personally with courtesy, but he influenced the
court-martial against him because of the blood shed through his defence
of Clonmel. He pleaded that the war had gone on long before he came
upon the invitation of his countrymen, that he had always been a fair
enemy, and that he had often advised the townsmen not to prolong a
conflict which he had seen to be hopeless from the first; that he
had carefully observed the capitulation by surrendering all stores,
'without embezzlement, and his own person to the Deputy'; and that he
was entitled to the benefit of the articles. Many of the officers,
including Ludlow, accepted his defence, and Ireton, 'who was now
entirely freed from his former manner of adhering to his own opinion,
which had been observed to be his greatest infirmity,' allowed a third
vote after sentence of death had been twice passed. He was acquitted,
sent to England in the same ship that carried Ireton's embalmed body,
and well treated in the Tower. After a few months he was released at
the instance of the Spanish ambassador, on the ground that he was born
in Flanders a vassal of the King of Spain, that he was not concerned in
the first outbreak in Ireland 'nor in the excesses which were committed
at that time,' and that he would be very useful in managing the Irish
soldiers whom the Commonwealth allowed to be recruited for the Spanish
service; and in the end this was agreed to. After the Restoration he
wrote to Charles II. pointing out that his cousin John's death had made
him Earl of Tyrone, and asking the King to acknowledge him as such. The
attainder was, of course, not reversed, and O'Neill, who was in bad
health when he wrote, probably died not long after. The title of Earl
of Tyrone was conferred on Lord Power in 1673.[218]

[Sidenote: Geoffrey Barron executed.]

Geoffrey Barron had been sent early in 1642 to solicit Richelieu's help
for the Confederacy, and he had remained throughout one of its most
irreconcileable partisans. He now pleaded that he had fought for the
liberties of his country just as the English Puritans professed to do.
Ireton thought it answer enough to say that Ireland was a conquered
country, that the Irish had been only too well treated under Charles
I., notwithstanding which they had robbed and murdered the English
wholesale, and that in the matter of religion the Puritans fought to
preserve their natural rights, whereas the Roman Catholics 'would not
be contented unless they might have power to compel all others to
submit to their impositions upon pain of death.' The two points of view
were hopelessly opposed, and the court-martial were satisfied with the
Lord Deputy's reasoning. During the short time that was left to him
Barron is said to have looked out a wedding suit of white taffety, in
which he was hanged, in the belief that his soul would 'straight enjoy
the pleasures of heaven, in the consummation of that eternal nuptial
felicity.'[219]

[Sidenote: Reinforcements from England, June.]

[Sidenote: Ludlow in Clare, November.]

[Sidenote: Ireton joins him.]

[Sidenote: Lady Honora O'Brien.]

Starvation had not done its work as Ireton had expected, but no horses
were found in Limerick at its surrender, and they had probably been
eaten. The besiegers commanded the estuary, and were in no want of
provisions, but the waste among the men must have been considerable,
less by actual fighting than by hardship and sickness. Reinforcements
had, however, been poured into Ireland during the summer, and Ireton
makes no complaint of insufficient numbers. An Act passed in April
authorised the impressment of 10,000 men, and was not suffered to
remain a dead letter. As early as June 25 nearly that number had been
landed at Dublin or Waterford. They were of three classes, drafts from
English garrisons, pressed men, and volunteer recruits. Some were too
young for the work, and these were mainly among the volunteers. Money
and ammunition was also ungrudgingly supplied, and no time was lost
in following up the capture of Limerick. On November 1 Ludlow marched
out to Inchecronan with 2000 foot and 1500 horse, and on the 4th,
after some parleying, Clare Castle surrendered. Though very strong,
it was evidently untenable now that the great siege was over. The
guns lost in July were recovered, and about 230 men marched out with
the honours of war and with power to go where they pleased. Those who
desired protection were to have it, 'except Romish priests, Jesuits,
and friars.' Carrigaholt also surrendered and was garrisoned, after
which the whole of Clare was at the mercy of Parliament. Ireton joined
Ludlow, and they visited the barony of Burren, 'where there is not
water to drown a man, wood enough to hang one, nor earth enough to bury
him,' but good pasture between the rocks. In riding through the Corofin
district towards Ennis most of the horses cast their shoes among the
crags; they carried spare ones, yet a single shoe was sold for five
shillings before night. Next morning came Lady Honora O'Brien, youngest
daughter of the late Earl of Thomond and niece of his successor, who
was accused of harbouring the enemies' goods and cattle while herself
enjoying the Lord Deputy's protection. Ireton rebuked her, whereupon
'she burst into tears, promising to mend her ways', and begging
Ludlow's intercession, which was successful. 'As much a cynic as I am,'
said Ireton, 'the tears of this woman moved me.'[220]

[Sidenote: Death of Ireton, Nov. 26.]

The weather was very bad during this journey in Clare, and both
generals caught bad colds. Ludlow's constitution triumphed, and he
lived till 1692, but Ireton succumbed. In spite of entreaties he had
neglected his health during the siege, not putting 'off his clothes
all that time, except to change his linen,' and never resting, though
he was in a burning fever. Sir Robert King wondered that he was not as
mad as a March hare, 'pen, tongue, head or both, or all, incessantly
at work.' Ludlow was not with him when he died, and we have few
particulars. In announcing his loss to Cromwell, the Commissioners
call him an incomparable man, and it is certain that he had a high
sense of duty and that he was not a self-seeker. Clarendon and others
have thought that his republicanism might have prevented Cromwell's
rise to supreme power, but of this there is no evidence. There have
been equally vain speculations as to whether Mirabeau, had he lived,
could have stopped the French Revolution. Ireton had signed the
death-warrant, and as a regicide was of course against restoring the
Stuarts, but he was not a theoretical republican, though he would have
disliked the supremacy of the army.[221]

FOOTNOTES:

[194] Ludlow's _Memoirs_, i. 261; _Aphorismical Discovery_, ii. 97;
Letters (Latin) of the Bishop of Waterford, March 3, 1651, of the
Bishop of Emly, March 29, and of Anthony Nugent, 'capucinus indignus,'
June 30, all three in _Spicilegium Ossoriense_, i. 363-373. Borlase
says 17,000 were reported to have died in and about Dublin. Ireton
and his officers to Cromwell and the army in Scotland, July 10, 1651,
_Milton State Papers_, p. 72.

[195] The instructions to the Commissioners from the Council of State
were laid before Parliament, October 4, 1650, and are given in the
_Parliamentary History_, xix. 406. Corbet was substituted for Salwey,
who had been named but excused at his own request; Ludlow's _Memoirs_,
i. 249, 259.

[196] Hugh O'Neill to Ormonde, September 9 and 15, 1650, in _Contemp.
Hist._ iii. 180; Diary of Parliamentary Officers, _ib._ 220; W. Basil,
A.G., to Lenthall, November 3, _ib._ 265, and to Bradshaw, November 4,
in _Parl. Hist._ xix. 439.

[197] Basil's letters and Parliamentary officers' diary, _ut sup._

[198] Duke of Lorraine to Ormonde, February 8, 1646, in _Confed. and
War_, v. 259; Dumoulin to Mazarin, May and June, _ib._ 346; Cousin's
_Madame de Chevreuse_; Mazarin to Anne of Austria, April 1651, in
Ravanel's _Lettres du Cardinal Mazarin_. I have followed Martin and the
_Biographie Universelle_, as well as the Duke's own agreement with the
Irish, in writing Charles IV.--Gardiner and others call him Charles III.

[199] Nicholas to Ormonde, February 11/21, 1649-50, in Carte's
_Original Letters_; Long to Ormonde, _ib._; Duke of Lorraine to
Ormonde, April 29, 1650, in _Contemp. Hist._ ii. 399; Ormonde to
Synnott, June 25, _ib._ 428. See also Carte's _Ormonde_, book v., and
_Hibernia Dominicana_, p. 695; Clarendon's _Hist._ xiii. 176. Rochfort
reached Jersey January 12, 1649-50, see Hoskin's _Charles II. in the
Channel Islands_, ii. 367. Letters from Charles I. to the Queen, in the
_King's Cabinet Opened_, February-March, 1644-5.

[200] Taaffe to Ormonde, January 3 and 5, 1650-51, in Clanricarde's
_Memoirs_; Letters of James and Henrietta Maria, _ib._ 40-42;
Clarendon's _Hist._ xiv. 66; _Clarendon State Papers_, iii. 128;
De Retz _Mémoires_, part ii. vol. ii. 197, in the Grands Ecrivains
edition. 'Les biographes de Charles nous racontent qu'à cette époque de
sa vie il était revenu à l'idée d'aller tenter au loin quelque grande
aventure et à peu près décidé à céder aux instances que les évêques
catholiques d'Irlande lui faisaient continuellement adresser par le
Pape, afin qu'il leur vînt en aide contre la tyrannie de Cromwell. Ils
nous le représentent comme occupé à signer aux Irlandais réfugiés à
Bruxelles des patentes de colonels et d'officiers dans son armée de
secours, armant des vaisseaux pour passer le détroit et déjà tout prêt
à s'embarquer.'--D'Haussonville's _Hist. de la Réunion de Lorraine_,
ed. 1860, chap. 23, pp. 221-2.

[201] Duke of Lorraine to Innocent X., February 11, 1651, in
_Spicilegium Ossoriense_, ii. 84; _ib._ 92 for French's movements;
Letters in Clanricarde _Memoirs_, February 27, 1650-1 till April
4, when the agreement was signed; Clarendon's _Hist._, xiii. 182.
According to D'Haussonville (chap. 23), the state of French politics
was what really prevented Duke Charles from going to Ireland. He could
not afford to be out of the way just when Mazarin's flight seemed to
give him a chance. Ireton was well informed about these intrigues,
as may be seen from William King's letter to him, March 24, 1650-51,
printed in Z. Grey's _Examination of Neal_, iv. appx. 7.

[202] The Duke of Lorraine's supplies reached Ireland in March 1651,
_Spicilegium Ossoriense_, i. 368; Bellings to Ormonde, April 10,
1651, in _Confederation and War_, vii. 370; Clanricarde _Memoirs_,
April-October; intercepted intelligence from Madrid, May 20, and
from Rome, May 22, in _Milton State Papers_, p. 67. According to the
_Aphorismical Discovery_, ii. 153, French's letter was written early in
July (more probably the end of June, since the agreement inspired by it
was of July 2). In Carte's _Original Letters_ are several from Nicholas
commenting on the Duke of Lorraine's proceedings. Dean King's report to
Charles II., April 1, 1652, in _Contemp. Hist._, iii. 301; Nicholas to
Hyde, April 4, 1651, in _Nicholas Papers_.

[203] Ormonde to Nicholas, August 3, 1651, in _Nicholas Papers_. The
agreement is dated July 2, 1651, and the Duke's covering letter to
Clanricarde, September 10, but they did not reach him till October 12.
The Galway letter to the Duke is of October 15--all in Clanricarde
_Memoirs_. Taaffe to Ormonde, September 30 and November 23, in _Fourth
Rep. of Hist. MSS. Comm._, appx. 569; intercepted intelligence from
Paris, June 14 and 17, in _Milton State Papers_, p. 68; Ormonde to
Hyde, in _Clarendon S.P._, June 30, 1651; Patrick Archer to Ormonde,
January 19, 1651-2, in _Contemp. Hist._, iii. 281. As to the supply
to Innisbofin in 1652, _ib._ 356. Writing to Clanricarde on March 23,
1651-2, Charles H. says other supplies had been stopped 'by some rude
people in Zeland,' Clanricarde's _Memoirs_, part ii. 52.

[204] _Aphorismical Discovery_, 996. Clanricarde's letters in
October to the Duke of Lorraine, to Henrietta Maria, to Ormonde,
Muskerry, Darcy, &c., are in his _Memoirs_, with the answers; Duke
of Lorraine's letter breaking off negotiations, February 14, 1652,
in Clarendon _Cal._ For his hostility to Clanricarde see Hist. MSS.
Comm. Calendar of _Ormonde Papers_, 1902, i. 256; for the difficulties
in corresponding with Ireland at this time see Ormonde's letter to
Muskerry of March 19/21, _ib._ 264; Clarendon's _Hist._, xiii. 176-182.
Other accounts of the whole affair are in Carte's _Life of Ormonde_ and
in _Hibernia Dominicana_.

[205] Unfinished letter from Ormonde to Clanricarde in September 1651;
Carte's _Original Letters_, i. 460; French to Taaffe, August 10, 1651,
and the answer, September 22, in _Clarendon S.P._ French's _Unkinde
Deserter_, published in 1676. 'Quelle destinée pour l'ennemi obstiné de
la cour de France, pour l'infatigable allié de la maison d'Autriche, de
voir au bout de vingt années, ses troupes au service des Français et sa
personne au pouvoir des Espagnols.'--D'Haussonville, chap. 24, p. 296.

[206] Ludlow, Corbet, Jones, and Weaver to Lenthall, March (before the
25th), 1650-51, in Cary's _Memorials_, ii. 253; Hewson to Lenthall,
with the articles for surrender of Finnea, March 14, published by order
of Parliament, London, March 25; _Aphorismical Discovery_, ii. 134-138.

[207] Journal of Parliamentary officer in _Contemp. Hist._ iii. 227;
Castlehaven's _Memoirs_, 95.

[208] Ludlow's _Memoirs_, i. 269-274, May 31 to June 17.

[209] Ludlow's _Memoirs_, i. 274; Ireton's letter of July 15, in _Sad
News from Ireland_, published by order of Parliament, but Scobell's
imprimatur is dated July 4, probably for 24.

[210] Ludlow's _Memoirs_, i. 263-274, and Ireton's letter, _ut sup._
See also Gardiner's _Commonwealth_, ii. 48, 52.

[211] Ireton's letter of July 15 in _Sad News from Ireland_, _ut sup._;
Ludlow's _Memoirs_, i. 274-6; Diary in _Contemp. Hist._, iii. 241,
where the abortive propositions for surrender are given. As Ireton
suspected, greatly exaggerated reports of the repulse at Limerick were
circulated in England, see for example Lord Derby's letter in Cary's
_Memorials_, ii. 287.

[212] _Ludlow_, i. 276-279.

[213] This account is taken from the narrative enclosed in Broghill's
letter to Lenthall, dated Mallow, July 28, and printed by order of
Parliament along with another dated Blarney, August 1. A copy is
abstracted in the Calendar of State Papers, _Ireland_, addenda p.
303. Notes in Broghill's own hand, preserved at Lismore, are printed
in Smith's _Hist. of Cork_, but wrongly placed under 1652. Journal in
_Contemp. Hist._, iii. 246; Ludlow, i. 276. 'My boldest horse being
twice wounded,' Broghill writes, 'became so fearful that he was turned
to the coach.' Some accounts call this the battle of Knocknaclashy.

[214] Hewson to Bradshaw, August 6, 1651, in _Parl. Hist._, xx. 32;
Corbet, Jones, and Weaver to Lenthall, September 18, in appx. to
_Ludlow_, i. 490. A disastrous skirmish near Cullenagh in Queen's Co.
is reported at September 15 by the Diarist, _Contemp. Hist._, i. 252.

[215] Ireton to Lenthall, November 3, 1651, printed by order of
Parliament, November 28; Ludlow, i. 286; Diary in _Contemp. Hist._ ii.
253, 262, 264. In the list of mayors in Lenihan's _Hist. of Limerick_
Stretch's name does not occur; perhaps there was a by-election.

[216] Relation by Dr. William Layles (probably the same as Lawless,
an old Limerick name), endorsed by Clanricarde, calendared among
_Clarendon MSS._ at October 27. The writer was present in the town.
The above is printed in _Contemp. Hist._, iii. 263, and the articles
of surrender are at p. 254. The Aphorismical Discovery, _ib._ 19,
gives even greater importance to Fennell. Castlehaven's _Memoirs_, 95.
Clarendon, _Ireland_, p. 199, says Fennell was executed some months
after the siege, so that it was not Ireton's doing. The crime for
which he suffered appears to have been the murder of Edward Croker
near Youghal on Shrove Tuesday, 1642, _Hickson_, ii. 139. See also the
letter in _Spicilegium Ossoriense_, i. 403, July 1653: 'Those of the
Irish army who forced us to render Limerick upon so base conditions
were hanged at Cork, viz. Col. Ed. Fennell and Lt.-Col. William Bourke,
of Brittas.'

[217] From a comparison of all the accounts it is certain that the
Bishop of Emly, Purcell, Baron, Stretch, Walsh, Fanning, and Higgins,
were executed soon after the surrender. Layles, who was not present,
had heard that two priests, Francis and George Wolfe, also suffered as
well as Fanning's two sons and brother. The _Aphorismical Discovery_
says Fanning was betrayed by a servant, when taking refuge from
the cold among the soldiers quartered in the cathedral. Clarendon,
_Ireland_, 198, says he had been refused food and shelter by his own
wife. See also note to Gardiner's _Commonwealth_, ii. 57. As to the
execution of James Wolfe, a Dominican, there can be little doubt, see
Clarendon, _ut sup._, 199, and _Hibernia Dominicana_, 568.

[218] _Ludlow_, i. 288; Thurloe, i. 212; _Contemp. Hist._ iii.
_passim_. Cromwell is said to have specially recommended O'Neill
to Philip IV., as a good soldier. On February 4, 1652-3, O'Neill
petitioned the Council of State, and on April 1 he was discharged from
the Tower, _Cal. of S.P. Dom._

[219] _Ludlow_, i. 288; _Aphorismical Discovery_, iii. 20.

[220] _Ludlow_, i. 290-293, 278 (with Mr. Firth's note); Diary in
_Contemp. Hist._, iii. 241, 249, 260; Scobell's _Acts and Ordinances_,
ii. 154. 'A lady that went for a maid, but few believed it,' Lady
Fanshawe's _Memoirs_, 57.

[221] See Preface to _Clarke Papers_, i. lxviii.; Irish Commissioners
to Cromwell December 2, 1651, printed in appx. to Firth's _Ludlow_, i.
496, and _ib._ 297; W. Rowe to Cromwell in _Milton State Papers_, p. 17.




CHAPTER XXXV

LAST PHASE OF THE WAR, 1652


[Sidenote: Galway still holds out, Dec. 1651.]

[Sidenote: Ireton's last summons to Galway.]

[Sidenote: Ludlow commander-in-chief, Dec. 1651.]

Ireton wished to press on to Galway, and Ludlow thought it could
easily be brought to surrender while the garrison were 'under a great
consternation by the loss of Limerick.' But there was much sickness
in the army, and officers generally were unwilling to begin another
troublesome campaign in November. Coote, who had been for some
time blockading Galway on the east side, came to the camp and gave
his opinion against immediate action. He did not believe the place
could be taken without attacking it on both sides. A bridge had been
prepared for the short river between Lough Corrib and the sea, but
the right bank was strongly fortified, and it would be impossible
to throw it across. It would be necessary to go all round by Cong,
where Clanricarde lay with 3000 men. Even if the passage were forced
many rivers lay in the way, none of which were fordable in case of
heavy rain, while horses could only be led from Cong to Aghenure near
Oughterard, and from that on to Galway they could not travel at all.
There was no forage in the country, and food and ammunition would have
to be carried on the men's backs. This reasoning prevailed, and Ireton
wrote from before Clare Castle merely to offer the same terms as had
been tendered to Limerick in July: 'I will not,' he said, alluding to
what had happened at Waterford, 'now do you the courtesy to summon
you at such a distance, because your gravity once chid me for it as
unadvisedly, but for the good men's sake of the city who perhaps may
not be so angry in the notion of a soldier's honour, as to understand
the quibbles of it ... though men of your unhappy breeding think such
glorious trifling worth the sacrificing or venturing of other men's
lives.' He desired him therefore on peril of his head to communicate
the offer made to the citizens. It was easy for Preston to answer that
he fought in a good cause and that Ireton was risking men's lives in a
bad one, while his head and those of his friends were as 'unsettled on
their shoulders as any in the town.' The mayor and aldermen answered in
the same strain; and Ireton died a fortnight after the date of their
letter. Ludlow was in Dublin at the moment, and the Commissioners made
him commander-in-chief until the pleasure of Parliament should be
further known.[222]

[Sidenote: The Irish in Scilly.]

[Sidenote: Bishop Leslie's troubles.]

When Axtell left Ireland after his suspension by Ireton, he was
captured by a rover at sea and carried to Scilly, then full of Irish
soldiers who wished to kill him, the cause of his voyage having been
made known by an intercepted letter from Weaver. Grenville or those
about him knew that the islands could not be much longer in Royalist
hands, and they feared retaliation. Axtell was therefore spared, and
was back in Ireland and governor of Kilkenny soon after Ireton's
death. Blake occupied the little archipelago not many weeks later,
Bishop Henry Leslie being among those whom he found there. 'By the
articles,' the Bishop wrote, 'I am to have my pass to go unto the North
of Ireland, that is to say out of the frying pan into the fire; for
there I shall be in more danger of the Scots than of the Parliament
soldiers.' In either company he was sure that his soul would be more
vexed than Lot's was in Sodom. As to the Irish soldiers, it was agreed
that they should be sent to Ireland, recruited up to 2000, and disposed
of as the King wished. Blake offered to take them all into Dunkirk and
keep them there till Grenville could arrange for France or Spain, he
giving his word of honour never to employ them against the Parliament.
This was refused, and Grenville remained in England, most of the Irish
soldiers probably finding their way abroad.[223]

[Sidenote: Meeting of officers at Kilkenny, Dec. 1651.]

[Sidenote: Guerrilla warfare.]

During the winter of 1651 and 1652 there was thought to be some danger
that the Dutch would retaliate for the Navigation Act by landing
foreign troops in Ireland, facilitating instead of opposing the
embarkation of the Duke of Lorraine, who was still expected long after
he had abandoned his scheme. A general meeting of officers was held at
Kilkenny just before Christmas, Coote having already been authorised to
give the same terms to Galway as had already been offered to Limerick,
provided they were accepted by January 9. It was now evident that all
the strong places must soon be taken, and the deliberations at Kilkenny
were chiefly directed against the guerrilla warfare, which was still
formidable. The nature of the problem is set forth with great clearness
in a report by Ludlow and his three colleagues in the Government to the
Council of State. The great bogs were the chief difficulty. There are
in these wastes many dry islands which were then generally wooded, and
between them causeways along which horses could only go in single file.
From such places the rebels could sally out at any time to harry the
protected districts, thus depriving the army of its resources, while it
was easy for them to secure their plunder. They were used to living in
cabins and wading among swamps, where the English soldiers were a prey
to dysentery from wet and cold. Ireton had successfully used rice to
combat this disease, and large quantities were provided later by the
London Government.

[Sidenote: Desperation of the Irish.]

[Sidenote: Means used to subdue armed bands.]

[Sidenote: Ludlow's hunt in Wicklow, Feb. 1651-2.]

The soldiers were always ignorant of the designs and movements of the
combatant Irish, for whom the country people acted as scouts, being
'possessed of an opinion that the Parliament intend them no terms of
mercy and therefore endeavouring to preserve them as those that stand
between them and danger.' It was estimated that 30,000 men were still
in arms among the Irish, a few in garrisons, but for the most part
lurking among woods and bogs. The plan adopted to subdue them was to
make a Pale from the Boyne to the Barrow, and to destroy the means
of subsistence elsewhere. No smiths, harness-makers, or armourers
were allowed to ply their trade outside of garrisons, no beer, wine,
or spirits might be sold nor fairs and markets held beyond those
limits. The county of Wicklow, with parts of Dublin, Kildare, and
Carlow, was outside the new Pale and excluded from protection. All who
resided within the doomed area after February 28 were to be treated as
enemies, but permitted to live and graze their stock upon such waste
or untenanted lands as might be assigned to them in the protected
region. As soon as the appointed day had passed, Ludlow himself went to
Talbotstown to plant a garrison, and then carefully searched Wicklow
with horse and foot. Few people were met with, for they had look-out
men on every hill, but all the houses and stores of corn were burned.
'He was an idle soldier,' wrote one officer, 'that had not either a fat
lamb, veal, pig, poultry, or all of them every night to his supper ...
we have destroyed as much as would have served some thousands of them
until next harvest.'[224]

[Sidenote: Clanricarde's proposals for peace, Feb. 1651-2.]

[Sidenote: Failure to relieve Galway]

The day fixed for the surrender of Galway with the benefit of the first
articles offered to Limerick was allowed to pass, and Clanricarde on
behalf of many of the nobility and clergy 'with the corporation of
Galway' made proposals for a general peace. He was fain to profess,
though he could hardly believe, that succours would come from his
Majesty and allies; if these failed, he and the assembly for whom he
acted were prepared to sell their lives as dearly as possible. Ludlow
answered from Dublin ten days later that it belonged to Parliament to
grant terms, that those who had already long since refused to hear
reason could hardly be admitted at the eleventh hour, and that they
were relying upon 'vain and groundless expectations.' He believed
that moderate terms would still be granted in individual cases,
but refused to grant a safe conduct for commissioners pretending
to represent the general body in arms. Clanricarde did his best to
prolong the resistance of Galway, but left the town when he saw that
the inhabitants were not prepared to endure extremities. A sortie to
gather cattle led to heavy loss, and of two corn ships which attempted
to relieve the besieged one was taken and the other forced upon the
rocks of Arran. The town was, however, not invested on the west, and
there was always a chance that reinforcements or supplies might be
introduced from that side. Coote thought the place very strong, and was
inclined even to exceed his authority in granting comparatively easy
terms.[225]

[Sidenote: Dissensions among the besieged, July-Feb. 1651-2.]

[Sidenote: Improvised colonels.]

[Sidenote: The clergy prefer Parliament to King.]

[Sidenote: Rinuccini's excommunication still in use.]

There were dissensions within the walls of Galway as there had been
at Limerick, and it is not easy to make out exactly what took place.
The indefatigable Dean King left Charles at Stirling in June, just
after Ireton had crossed the Shannon and when Coote had been some
time in Connaught. He landed near Londonderry on the 20th and found
his way to Galway by July 2. Bishop Lynch and others of the clergy
tried to make out that he had not been with the King, and that his
commission was a trick of Ormonde's. This was easily disproved, and
clerical help was promised on condition that the chiefs of the old
Irish in Connaught should be made colonels. Ten were so promoted,
but not one of them could muster over 500 men, and every one thought
of little but defending his own castle. These petty strongholds were
daily taken with the pick of the Irish soldiers inside. The Ulster
forces for the most part disregarded Clanricarde's summons, while
those of Leinster, 3000 foot and 500 horse, dwindled daily and lived
upon the spoil of the country, as there was no money to pay them, so
that he thought it better to let them go back to their own province
under the nominal generalship of Lord Westmeath. The only force upon
which the unfortunate Deputy could rely was raised in his own county
of Galway, and with these he kept an eye upon Coote's army. Dean King
found that the clergy generally, headed by Bourke of Tuam and French
of Ferns, were hostile to the King's government and anxious only for
an accommodation with the Parliament, in which they were supported by
the Prestons father and son, by Sir Nicholas Plunket, and by Geoffrey
Brown. The expectation of the Lorraine succours had paralysed all the
Irish parties, so that no one exerted himself. The little that had been
sent by the ducal pretender had been wasted or embezzled; '20,000_l._
whereof 6000_l._ defalked for the charge of the negotiations,' 1000
stand of arms, 1000 barrels of badly damaged rye, and 'thirty barrels
of powder, the worst in the world.' To make confusion worse confounded,
some of the bishops were using Rinuccini's old excommunication to crush
their opponents. There were nevertheless nearly 30,000 men under arms,
but no means of keeping them together, and there were many harbours
still open in Connaught and Munster through which money and stores
might be introduced. Dean King left Ireland on February 16 and reported
to Charles at Paris on April 1; but the battle of Worcester had been
fought and lost, and no help came.[226]

[Sidenote: Capitulation of Galway, May 12, 1652.]

[Sidenote: Coote offends the Independents.]

[Sidenote: Coote and Ludlow.]

Clanricarde did what he could to prolong the defence of Galway, but the
citizens could not see that there was anything to gain by it. He had
agreed to approach Ludlow with proposals for a general pacification,
but was determined to resist as long as he could. The town therefore
acted without consulting him, though he was in the neighbourhood, and
the articles of surrender contain no mention of King, Lord Lieutenant,
or Deputy. Fear of famine and of hard terms when the inevitable end
came were sufficient inducements to surrender, and there is no reason
to suppose that Galway was betrayed in the common sense of the words,
though in 1656 some of the inhabitants claimed special indulgence on
the ground that they had favoured the English interest throughout the
war, and had thereby 'contracted a malice from those of their own
nation' among whom they had to live. Coote has a bad name on the score
of severity, but he and many of those with him had estates in Ireland,
and some of them in Connaught, and they did not see with the same eyes
as those who were bent upon planting new settlers everywhere. The
extreme Independents called Coote and his men 'Tame Tories,' and there
was jealousy of his position as President of Connaught. Ireton thought
the provincial presidencies should be abolished, as an unnecessary
burden to State and country, and the Commissioners in Dublin were of
the same opinion. One hot-headed captain of the Munster army attached
to that of Connaught wrote to say that Ireland being almost reduced,
there was little left to do but to 'fall on Sir Charles Coote and his
'Tame Rebels.'' The letter was intercepted, and Coote imprisoned the
writer, whose curious defence was that many others agreed with him.
Ludlow released him and blamed Coote for exercising authority over an
officer not belonging to his province. From all this the Royalists had
hopes, and no doubt Coote had never been a republican, but they had to
wait several years for their realisation. In the meantime he was glad
to get hold of Galway upon almost any terms.[227]

[Sidenote: Terms granted to Galway.]

[Sidenote: The terms disliked in Dublin.]

[Sidenote: The articles are amended,]

[Sidenote: but the townsmen protest.]

The conditions actually granted were not hard, and the Commissioners
in Dublin thought them too easy. Quarter and freedom from pillage and
military violence were granted to all, as long as they obeyed the
Commonwealth of England, and were not guilty of murder before March
19, 1642, when a state of war began to exist in Galway. The murderers
of Captain Clark's crew were excepted by name. All who wished to
depart were given six months to sell such property as they did not
carry away. This extended to clergymen provided their names were
given in before the actual surrender, but in their case no protection
was to be given after that time. Where property within the city and
liberties was sold one-third was to go to the State, and the rest to
be freed from extraordinary taxation, and this principle was extended
with qualifications to lands possessed by the townsmen elsewhere. The
charter was maintained until Parliament should otherwise direct; and
Coote promised to get a ratification within twenty days by the Dublin
Government and legislative confirmation in England as soon as possible.
A fort on Mutton Island and another opposite Tirellan were surrendered
at once, and the town, after one week's delay, on April 12, when Coote
took actual possession. The news reached Dublin on the 11th, and the
Commissioners there at once took exception to some of the articles.
They objected, and so far we can sympathise with them, to any indemnity
for murder committed 'by or upon any person not being in arms.' They
insisted on the power of compulsorily purchasing land or houses in
the town when Parliament considered their owners unsafe persons to
remain; in which case they would have to remove within three months.
The protection as to outside property was considered too absolute, and
should be left for parliamentary decision, and some minor matters were
also reserved. An express was at once sent to insist on the amendment
of the articles, with orders that the capitulation should be suspended
until this was done, but when the messenger reached Galway he found
the English garrison installed. The ratification of the articles was
made dependent on the acceptance of the revised terms, but it can
hardly be said that the condition was fulfilled. Only eight heads of
families could be found to sign the certificate of assent, while over
one hundred refused; and there were nearly a hundred absentees. Coote
apologised for his mistake, but maintained that he had nevertheless
done the best thing for the State. If he had not closed with the
besieged there were great chances of the town being relieved, 'so that
it might have kept all your forces this summer in those parts to attend
that service.'[228]

[Sidenote: Clanricarde's last struggles, April-June 1652,]

[Sidenote: Castlehaven leaves Ireland.]

[Sidenote: His memoirs.]

Clanricarde on his part announced that 'Galway having basely and
perfidiously yielded,' he would resist while he could, and gave earnest
of his determination by sending away Castlehaven in his only frigate,
thus leaving himself no means of escape. He summoned Westmeath and
O'Ferrall from Leinster, Muskerry from Munster, and O'Reilly from
Ulster to join him in Sligo or Leitrim and 'unite in one clear score
for God, our King, and country.' Galway Bay was full of Parliamentary
ships, so Castlehaven had to go first to Innisbofin and embark from
there. He was chased, and had a smart fight at sea, but was saved by
thick weather. Arthur Magennis, Bishop of Down, a nephew of Owen Roe
O'Neill, died during the action 'by the wind of a bullet, for fear,'
having no wound. Castlehaven got safely to Brest, and thence to Paris
or St. Germain's, where he saw the King and Queen and Ormonde. As
French affairs then stood nothing could be done, and he joined Condé as
a volunteer, after which he commanded an Irish brigade of about 5000
men. As late as 1680 he published his memoirs, confessedly to show that
he was always a good Royalist and not to be confounded with the Irish
'as a confederate Catholic, which in plain English is a rebel.' Lord
Anglesey, the son of Strafford's Mountnorris, who was a great gainer
by the Restoration settlement, reviewed Castlehaven's pleasant little
book, saying that 'by a providence from heaven to the English the
marquesses of Ormonde and Clanricarde, his Majesty's chief governors,
encouraged the Irish to keep up a war against the English, wherein they
were so much hardened to their ruin, that they were at length entirely
subdued without condition to any save for life, and left to be as
miserable as they had made others in all respects.'[229]

[Sidenote: Charles gives Clanricarde leave to go,]

[Sidenote: but urges him to hold out.]

[Sidenote: He takes Ballyshannon, May,]

[Sidenote: and Donegal.]

[Sidenote: Submission of Clanricarde, June 28.]

[Sidenote: His character.]

It had long been evident to Clanricarde, as well as to Ormonde and
his friends abroad, that the power of the Parliament would establish
itself in Ireland. But it was their policy to keep the flag of
Royalty flying as long as possible, on the chance of some foreign
complication. That this stubborn attitude increased the ultimate
sufferings of the Irish masses is very probable. As early as the
beginning of February, Charles, with many expressions of gratitude
and confidence, gave Clanricarde free leave to quit Ireland when he
thought fit, but adding that 'the keeping up of the war there in any
kind, either offensive or defensive, is of the highest importance to
us and our service that can be performed; as the contrary would be of
the greatest prejudice to all our designs.' Six weeks later he wrote
holding out hopes of further help from the Duke of Lorraine, and
directing that no declaration should be issued which might increase the
friction with the clerical party. The two letters reached Clanricarde
together in the following August, when they were too late to have
any significance. Meanwhile, in May, a second letter was given to
Castlehaven, and forwarded by a sure hand, authorising the Deputy to
leave his post at any time. This letter, though apparently not extant,
probably reached its destination much sooner than the other two, and
justified Clanricarde in making terms when he did. In the meantime,
he succeeded in getting a considerable force together, with which,
after blowing up several castles, he swooped down upon the fort at
Ballyshannon and took it by assault, dismissing the survivors unhurt
and substituting his own garrison of 300 men. He took Donegal also,
but the success was only transient, for he had no means of feeding
his men but by seizing cattle, and thus involuntarily making the task
of the Parliamentarians easier. Venables came up from Down to join
Coote, and they soon took Sligo and retook the other two places, giving
punctual quarter in their turn. At the end of June the Lord Deputy,
who, Ludlow says, was practically surrounded in the island of Carrick,
made terms for himself, but none for his vast estates. He was left free
to go abroad where he pleased with not more than twenty servants, to
remain in Ireland for three months, and to enlist 3000 men for foreign
service. In the meantime he was to divest himself of his viceregal
authority and do no hostile act. Six weeks later he was excepted by
Act of the English Parliament from pardon for life and estate, but was
nevertheless left unmolested at his own place at Somerhill in Kent. His
health had never been good, and was not improved by his campaigning,
but he lived till 1657, and was buried in Tonbridge Church. He was not
a great general, but to most people he appeared, and still appears,
as a loyal and worthy man. To the ultramontane clergy of his own day
he was, as an independent Catholic who cared little for a nuncio's
censures, more hateful even than the heretic Ormonde. Bishop French
says he put Cæsar before God, and Bishop Lynch that the Ulster men
refused to follow him because he disdained to receive absolution from
Rinuccini's excommunication. The British officer so often quoted
says, on the contrary, that the Irish were well satisfied with him
as true both to King and Church, 'being a good Roman Catholic,' and
that he surrendered only because he could not fight Coote and Venables
combined. 'Neither, indeed, was he ever practised in that trade [war],
though a very fine, devout, liberal, hospitable gentleman, as any is in
Ireland in his time, as I have heard many aver.'[230]

[Sidenote: Case of Anthony Geohegan.]

[Sidenote: Loyalty the idol of Dagon.]

Before finally leaving Clanricarde and the Duke of Lorraine something
must be said of the case of Anthony Geohegan, which had no important
results, but which shows how incompatible were the Royalist and
clerical ideals. Geohegan had been preferred by Rinuccini at the early
age of twenty-four to the nominal dignity of the mitred abbacy of
Connall. Towards the end of 1650 he was studying divinity and canon law
at Paris, and in correspondence with Abbot Crelly, who was in London,
hoping against hope that the Parliament would grant toleration to his
Church. He offered to go to Ireland if wanted, and Crelly reported this
to Rome. Dean Massari, Rinuccini's old lieutenant, was Secretary of
Propaganda, and gladly accepted the young priest's offer. He reached
Galway on March 14, 1651, while De Henin was there, with instructions
to further the appointment of a Catholic protector, and he stayed on
after the Lorraine envoy's departure. Clanricarde suspected that he
was working against him, and some of his letters were intercepted, in
one of which he said that 'if the service of God had been as deep in
the hearts of our nation as that idol of Dagon, a foolish loyalty,
a better course for their honour and preservation had been taken in
time.' He had noticed that at Limerick those favourable to Ormonde
had got better terms than others, and he thought the Independents who
professed liberty of conscience more likely to grant reasonable terms
to the Irish than those who maintained the Church of England and the
recusancy laws. Clanricarde would have tried Geohegan as a traitor,
but the clergy took their stand upon the bull _In Coena Domini_, and
maintained that no lay governor or judge could try a priest. They had
their way, and Geohegan was, of course, exonerated from all blame.[231]

[Sidenote: The Irish leaders submit. Fitzpatrick, March 1652.]

Even before the surrender of Galway, the Irish leaders began to make
terms for themselves and their followers. Of these, the first was
John Fitzpatrick, who had lately distinguished himself by taking and
holding Meelick. On March 7 he agreed to transport 4000 foot and 300
horse to a state in amity with the Commonwealth, pay being given to
them in the meantime, and hopes were held out as to his property. He
made no conditions for his father and mother, or for the Catholic
religion; whereupon a declaration was published against him, and
he was excommunicated. 'Some of his party,' say the Parliamentary
Commissioners, 'have been cut off by the enemy, who did also cut off
the ears of some whom they took prisoners.' The men were not popular,
having lived by plunder, and the Government were glad to send them
to Spain. Fitzpatrick and his father were both excluded by Act of
Parliament from pardon for life or estate, but he afterwards married
Ormonde's sister and was restored in 1661 to broad lands in the Queen's
County. His mother, says Ludlow, 'was found guilty of the murder of the
English, with this aggravation, that she said she would make candles
of their fat. She was condemned to be burned, and the sentence was
executed accordingly.'[232]

[Sidenote: O'Dwyer, March 23.]

[Sidenote: Usual terms of surrender.]

The next important chief to surrender was Colonel Edmund O'Dwyer,
who commanded in Tipperary and Waterford. He and his men had quarter
for life and personal property only, with liberty to serve any
friendly foreign State. Murderers of the English, members of the
first General Assembly or Supreme Council, homicides after quarter
given, deserters, and every 'priest or other of the Romish clergy in
orders,' were excluded. By the end of June, when Clanricarde came to
terms, the Parliament had not many enemies left in the field, though
a few strongholds held out for some months longer. The articles of
surrender, or authentic copies, are for the most part extant, and the
terms granted generally amounted to little more than life and personal
liberty to those who had not committed murder. Where priests are not
specially excluded, they are generally left tacitly to the mercy of
the victors. Landed property was to be distributed according to such
qualifications as Parliament might determine. In one case Sir Hardress
Waller undertook 'industriously to solicit' the authorities that
priests who were not charged with any crime except officiating as such
should be free to go beyond seas.[233]

[Sidenote: Siege of Ross Castle, June 1652.]

[Sidenote: Boats brought up from the sea.]

[Sidenote: A flotilla on the Lower Lake.]

There was a Parliamentary garrison at Dingle, which Muskerry made
some effort to take, but otherwise Kerry had for a long time been
in Irish hands. Murtagh O'Brien, when driven out of Clare after the
fall of Limerick, joined his forces to those of Lord Muskerry, and
together they amounted to several thousands. Their chief stronghold
was Ross Castle, in an island or peninsula on the lower Lake of
Killarney, only approachable, as any tourist may now witness, by a
narrow causeway with a bog on either side. Muskerry had been chief
among the anti-nuncionist Catholics, and had never been forgiven by
the priests of his own Church, many of whom had taken refuge in Ross
Castle. When a siege was imminent, the clerical party went out--and
no doubt they acted prudently in this--but a thousand well-armed men
adhered to their general and resolved to hold out as long as possible.
Ludlow, accompanied by Broghill and Walker, came to Killarney very
early in June with 4000 foot and 2000 horse. Dromagh had already
surrendered, so that his rear was exposed to no attack. The woods on
the other side of the lake were full of active enemies, who must have
had boats of some sort to reach Innisfallen, and who supplied Ross
with provisions. Ludlow's fellow-Commissioners were at Cork, and the
mitred Scoutmaster-General at Kinsale, and they quickly provided him
with the means of reducing Ross. Boats were brought to Castlemaine
harbour under convoy of a frigate. Of these some were probably dragged
up the Laune with the help of many men. The two largest, which were
intended to carry guns, were sent from Kinsale in pieces, but so that
they could be put together in two days. In order to make a safe way for
them it was necessary to disperse a strong force of the Irish about
Killagh Abbey, near the mouth of the Laune, while another division
scoured the woods and put those who occupied them to flight. This was
on June 13; five days later several of the boats had been brought to
Ludlow's entrenchments near Ross, and by the 20th they were swimming
on the lake. The whole flotilla was not wanted, for the garrison saw
that resistance was hopeless, and there was an ancient prophecy that
Ross would not be taken until strange ships sailed on Lough Leane. The
fitting and management of the boats was entrusted to Captain Chudleigh,
who had been a ship-carpenter, and many artificers went readily because
he was with them.[234]

[Sidenote: The Parliament as avengers of blood.]

[Sidenote: Few survivors of 1641.]

[Sidenote: Murderers exempted from pardon.]

Even after the surrender of Galway the Leinster army under Westmeath's
command had still an administrative existence; but its leaders saw
no prospect of ultimate success, and were ready to make such terms
as might still be possible. The Parliamentary Commissioners were at
Kilkenny on April 17, and had a conference with the chief officers
of the army, where Dr. Jones, the Scoutmaster-General, produced an
abstract of the depositions taken as to murders committed in the early
days of the rebellion. This document was forwarded to Parliament and
read there on May 18, the Commissioners and officers 'fearing lest
others who are at a greater distance might be moved to the lenity
which we have found no small temptation in ourselves,' forget past
abominations, and make too tender concessions. But very few of the
English who had any personal knowledge of the original massacres were
still living, and it would therefore be hard to bring the guilt home to
individuals. The whole Irish nation had to some extent condoned them,
and Parliament was bound to take order for punishment 'in duty towards
God, the great avenger of such villainies, who hath from the beginning
of the war to this present always in your appeal by war against them
appeared most signally.' Murderers or their aiders and abettors were
not led to expect clemency, but the Commissioners declared that all
persons living in Ireland should have the benefit of the Act dated
September 27, 1650, repealing the clauses in Elizabethan statutes which
imposed penalties for not going to church. This was a step in the
direction of toleration, but the Act had been really intended for the
relief of those who disliked the Book of Common Prayer, and provided
also for the prosecution of those who did not attend some place of
worship, and would be difficult to apply to those who would have
nothing but the forbidden mass.[235]

[Sidenote: The Leinster articles, May 12, 1652.]

After much discussion, it was agreed that eleven regiments of foot
and six of horse should lay down their arms by June 1 at Mullingar,
Maryborough, Carlow, or Kildare. The military articles were liberal
enough, officers retaining horses and arms, non-commissioned officers
and men whose horses were taken receiving compensation. Officers were
allowed to serve any foreign State in amity with the Commonwealth, and
to carry 6000 men with them, the Commissioners undertaking to get leave
for 6000 more if they could. Life and personal estate were secured, and
owners of land were promised 'equal benefit with others in the like
qualification with themselves,' when Parliament had made up its mind.
Murder and robbery of persons not in arms might still be questioned
'according the due course of law,' and the benefit of the articles was
withheld from those who killed Parliamentary soldiers after quarter
given. 'Priests or Jesuits, or others in Popish orders,' were to be
dealt with as the Irish Government thought fit. The Commissioners were
well satisfied with their work, which they had been obliged to do
without positive orders from Parliament, for the Irish, being driven
out of all forts, had nothing to do but range about the country,
'retiring as they saw advantage to their bogs and fastnesses.' The
Parliamentary officers had now for the first time leisure to deal with
Clanricarde and with Muskerry, who had 3000 foot and 600 horse.[236]

[Sidenote: Surrender of Muskerry, June 22.]

[Sidenote: Murder defined.]

[Sidenote: Conformity not to be enforced.]

[Sidenote: Ross Castle evacuated.]

Muskerry and his party accepted the substance of the Leinster articles,
but there was a fortnight's debate on certain points. The Irish
officers feared lest they should be all held liable for the murder of
the English, 'which,' says Ludlow, 'was an exception we never failed
to make.' An explanatory article was therefore granted, limiting the
guilt to those 'who during the first year of the war have contrived,
aided, assisted, acted, or abetted any murder or massacre upon any
person or persons of the English not in arms but following their own
occupation in their farms or freeholds,' and to those who since that
time had taken life knowing that quarter had been given or protection
granted. As to religion, Ludlow and his colleagues would go no further
than declare 'that it is not our intention nor, as we conceive, the
intention of those whom we serve, to force any to their worship and
service contrary to their consciences.' Questions as to real estate
were, at the request of Muskerry and his friends, 'left to the pleasure
of the Parliament,' means being given them for pleading their own cause
in London. They themselves asked for this in preference to the clause
as to qualifications in the Leinster articles. In consideration of the
above, 960 able men marched out of Ross Castle, and at least 3000 more
followed their example. Murtagh O'Brien, with about 200 men, kept at
large in the Kerry mountains until Waller made them untenable, and then
escaped across the Shannon, to give further trouble in Connaught.[237]

[Sidenote: Richard Grace still resists.]

[Sidenote: Submission of Grace, Aug. 14.]

[Sidenote: Grace leads 1200 men to Spain.]

Colonel Richard Grace, whose property was in King's County, did
not accept the Kilkenny articles, but remained at the head of a
considerable force, and burned Birr, which had been partly rebuilt.
Three hundred pounds was offered for his head in a proclamation dated
May 22, but he managed to cross the Shannon, and burned the towns of
Portumna and Loughrea. The country was laid under contribution, and for
some days no enemy appeared. Grace had near 3000 men, but they were
but odds and ends from various quarters, and were easily surprised by
Ingoldsby, who routed the Irish horse and drove the foot into a bog
near Loughrea. Grace had to fly with a few men, after which many of
his followers dispersed or made terms for themselves. This was on June
20. He managed to recross the river into Leinster and again got some
men together, with whom he at last took refuge in a strongly fortified
island in Lough Coura, near Birr. Sankey surrounded the lake and made
preparations for starving out the party, and Grace, who saw there was
no prospect of relief, sued for terms. To avoid a long siege, and
also perhaps out of admiration for a brave enemy, Sankey granted the
substance of the Kilkenny articles and some further indulgence for the
clergy submitting with Grace, who is much praised by the Aphorismical
Discovery for insisting on the latter. The priests concerned had
leave and four months' time to go beyond sea, with protection in
the interval, and a further respite in case of sickness or want of
shipping. In the other cases, they had been left at the disposition of
the Lord Deputy or Commissioners. Grace had had nothing to do with the
original Irish rebellion, but had fought for the King in England until
the surrender of Oxford, so that there was some personal reason for
favouring him. He carried 1200 men to Spain, but the Government there
broke all their agreements with him, and he lost half his regiment by
starvation, desertion, and disease. He attached himself to the Duke of
York, and died at Athlone fighting against William III. in 1691.[238]

[Sidenote: Ludlow's last service in the field, Aug.-Sept., 1652.]

[Sidenote: Fugitives smoked in a cave.]

[Sidenote: A modern instance.]

After the surrender of Muskerry, Ludlow turned his attention to Wicklow
and Wexford, where Phelim MacHugh O'Byrne and others still had a
considerable force under arms. He placed garrisons in suitable places,
who reduced the Irish by destroying their means of subsistence. The
green corn was cut and burned, and in a few months the soldiers knew
every hiding-place as well as the mountaineers themselves. Early in
August, Ludlow turned northwards and garrisoned Carrickmacross. Between
that place and Dundalk he came to a cave where a number of men had
taken refuge. The soldiers tried to smoke them out, and entered when
they supposed them smothered, but the leader was killed by a pistol
from inside. It turned out that the cave was ventilated by a hole some
way off, and Ludlow ordered this to be stopped. After a time groans
were heard, which soon grew fainter, and the man who had fired the
shot was drawn out dead. 'The passage being cleared, the soldiers
entered, and, having put about fifteen to the sword, brought four or
five out alive, with the priest's robes, a crucifix, chalice, and other
furniture of that kind. Those within preserved themselves by laying
their heads close to water that ran through the rock. We found two
rooms in the place, one of which was large enough to turn a pike.'
This is not a nice story; but Ludlow, who wrote in cold blood long
afterwards, does not offer any apology nor show that he thought any
necessary. Nearly two hundred years later the French in Algiers did the
same thing on a much larger scale, but they knew that public opinion
would be against them, and it was. St. Arnaud did not even venture to
tell his own men that five hundred enemies of both sexes and all ages
lay suffocated in the cave.[239]

[Sidenote: The last of the 'creaghts.']

[Sidenote: Arrival of Fleetwood, September.]

After filling the mouth of the cave with large stones, Ludlow
established posts at Castle Blayney and Agher, where he found one of
the O'Neills living with his wife, whom he described as the Duchess
of Artois' niece, and some children. They wandered about with the
cattle as 'creaghts,' seeking for grass and water, and at each halt
building a house 'in an hour or two.' Steps were soon afterwards taken
to abolish this system, as one 'whereby the enemy comes to be relieved
and sustained and the contribution oft damaged.' It was impossible to
catch people who had no fixed abode, and who might even commit murder
with every chance of impunity. Lisnaskea was fortified and small holds
of the Irish at Belturbet and in one of the Lough Erne islands were
taken. Reynolds, who had reduced Leitrim, joined Ludlow at Lisnaskea,
and the news of Fleetwood's arrival reached them there. Ludlow says he
was glad to be superseded, his exertions for the public having been
'recompensed only with envy and hatred,' and he hastened to join the
new commander-in-chief at Kilkenny.[240]

FOOTNOTES:

[222] Diary in _Contemp. Hist._, iii. 260; _Ludlow_, i. 289, 294.
Ireton's correspondence with Galway, December 7-12, 1651, is printed
in Hardiman's _Hist. of Galway_, 129; Corbet, Jones, and Weaver to
Lenthall, and to Cromwell, December 2, in appx. to Firth's _Ludlow_, i.
496.

[223] _Ludlow_, i. 265; Bishop of Down's letters, May 13 and 29, 1651,
in _Nicholas Papers_, i. 250, 255.

[224] _Ludlow_, i. 300-304; the Four Commissioners to the Council of
State, January 8, 1651-2, _ib._ 499; orders by the same Commissioners,
January 13 and February 13, in _Contemp. Hist._, iii. 277, 283.

[225] Clanricarde to Ludlow, February 14, 1651-2. In the text of Ludlow
the date is wrongly given as March 14, but see the appx. i. 505, and
_Contemp. Hist._, iii. 58, with Ludlow's answer in both places, and
another to Sir Richard Blake, who had 'reiterated in effect the former
application,' _ib._ 509.

[226] Dean King's report, April 1, 1652, in _Contemp. Hist._, iii. 300.

[227] Order of the Irish Council as to Dominick Bodkin, &c., May 20,
1656, printed in O'Flaherty's _Western Connaught_, p. 244; W. Heald to
T. Holder, December 12, 1651, in _Contemp. Hist._, iii. 353; Corbet,
Jones, and Weaver to Cromwell, December 2, 1651, in appx. to _Ludlow_,
i. 497.

[228] Corbet, Jones, and Ludlow to Lenthall, May 6, 1652, in appx. to
Ludlow, i. 516. The articles of surrender are in Hardiman's _Hist.
of Galway_, appx. xxix. to xxxiii., along with the strictures of the
Commissioners and the list of those who had accepted or rejected the
latter furnished by Coote, November 26, 1652.

[229] Clanricarde to Philip O'Reilly and Lieut.-General O'Ferrall,
April 4 and 12, 1652, in _Aphorismical Discovery_, iii. 76;
Castlehaven's _Memoirs_, 97, ed. 15, with Anglesey's letter of August
1680, appended p. 39; _Clarendon S.P._, iii. 66.

[230] Charles II. to Clanricarde, February 10, 1651-2 (enclosing one
of February 6 to Duke of Lorraine), and March 23, in Clanricarde's
_Memoirs_, part ii. 51; Castlehaven's _Memoirs_, p. 97; _Clarendon
State Papers_, iii. 66; _Aphorismical Discovery_, iii. 122; Ludlow, i.
317, 323, 527; _Warr of Ireland_, by a British officer, 138; Bishop of
Ferns' letter, April 21, 1651, in _Spicilegium Ossoriense_, ii. 92;
Bishop of Clonfert's letter, August 31, 1652, _ib._ i. 386.

[231] _Aphorismical Discovery_, ii. 138-144; _ib._ iii. 54, 285-293;
Clarendon's _Ireland_, p. 194. See also Gardiner's _Commonwealth_, ii,
46, 59.

[232] The tenour of the articles entered into can be seen from the
subsidiary agreement printed in _Contemp. Hist._ iii. 293, the
declaration of Walter Bagenal and others against him, and the despatch
of Corbet, Jones, and Ludlow in appx. to Ludlow's _Memoirs_, i.
515. For Mrs. Fitzpatrick, _ib._ 340. In his preface to _Contemp.
Hist._, iii. xviii., Sir J. Gilbert says the witness against her
was suborned, but he gives no authority, and in the collection of
massacres appended to Clarendon's volume on Ireland, several murders by
Florence Fitzpatrick are mentioned, Elizabeth Baskerville testifying
'that Mrs. Fitzpatrick blamed the murderers because they brought
not Mrs. Nicholson's fat or grease, wherewith she might have made
candles.'--Lodge's _Peerage_, ed. Archdall, ii. 345.

[233] Most of the articles are printed in _Contemp. Hist._ iii. 293-335.

[234] _Ludlow_, i. 320, and his letter of June 24 to Lenthall, _ib._
526. There is a good memoir on the siege of Ross by J. P. Prendergast
in Kilkenny _Arch. Journal_, iii. 24-35, and a criticism of the same
by Archdeacon Rowan in the _Kerry Magazine_, 1855, p. 101. Chudleigh's
monument at Kinsale says he 'causavit terris velificasse ratem,' which
is rather ambiguous, for no boat could actually sail on land. Perhaps
it is doubtful Latin for 'inland.' Smith, in his _History of Kerry_,
1756, p. 315, says the boats were 'brought up by the river Lane by
strength of men's hands,' and he afterwards mentions one Hopkins,
sexton of Swords near Dublin a few years before, who lived to be 115,
and who was one of the men employed in drawing the boats to the lake.

[235] Ludlow, Waller, Corbet, Jones, Coote and fourteen other superior
officers to Lenthall, May 5, 1652, in appx. to Ludlow, i. 512;
Declaration of May 12 in _Contemp. Hist._ iii. 315; Scobell's _Acts and
Ordinances_, 1650, cap. 27.

[236] The Leinster Articles, May 12, 1652, are in _Aphorismical
Discovery_, iii. 94, 315; Ludlow, Corbet, and Jones to Lenthall, May
13, in appx. to _Ludlow_, i. 520.

[237] _Ludlow_, i. 322, with Mr. Firth's note; Jones and Corbet to
Lenthall July 22, 1652, in _Contemp. Hist._ iii. 339. The articles,
June 22, are printed _ib._ 324.

[238] _Aphorismical Discovery_, with the articles of surrender, dated
August 14, 1652, iii. 128-133, and the note _ib._ 392; Clarke's _Life
of James II._ i. 268; _Memoirs of the Family of Grace_, 1823, 27-34.

[239] _Ludlow_, i. 328, 342; _Aphorismical Discovery_, iii. 125;
Thureau-Dangin, _Hist. de la Monarchie de Juillet_, vi. 343; Kinglake's
_Crimean War_, ii. 8. The French Government argued that conquest must
precede philanthropy.

[240] _Ludlow_, i. 330. Fleetwood landed at Waterford on or just before
September 11.




CHAPTER XXXVI

END OF THE WAR, AND ITS PRICE


[Sidenote: The last stand at Innisbofin.]

[Sidenote: The islands surrendered, Feb. 1652-3.]

[Sidenote: Rory O'More.]

The historian Cox says that he could find nothing that looked like war
during the year 1653, though the rebellion was not officially declared
at an end until September 26. The early part of the year cannot,
however, be considered as peaceful. There was still some resistance
in Ulster, and the Irish also possessed a fortified post in the
island of Innisbofin. To that remote stronghold Murtagh O'Brien had
repaired after Muskerry's surrender, and with the help of some arms and
ammunition from the Duke of Lorraine he continued to give trouble on
the mainland. The fort of Arkin on the great island of Arran had been
surprised through 'the supine carelessness and negligence of Captain
Dyas' shortly before Fleetwood's arrival, and the Irish garrison
under Colonel Oliver Synnot did not surrender until the middle of
January. Among those who took refuge in Innisbofin were Roger O'More,
the original contriver of the rebellion, Bishop Lynch of Clonfert,
Brian MacPhelim O'Byrne, and Colonel Dudley Costello. The governor
was Colonel George Cusack, whose family had property in the Pale, and
he soon came to terms with Reynolds. The islands of Bofin, Turk, and
Clare were surrendered and facilities were given for transporting
1000 men into the Spanish service. The officers retained their arms,
'prelates and clergymen' being allowed to go with the rest. Some of the
articles were more indulgent than usual, but Colonel Jones thought them
'suitable to the difficulty of gaining that place by force.' Only a few
days before, near the neighbouring castle of Renvyle, on the mainland,
270 men who were on their way to attack Bofin fell into an ambuscade
of 800 Irish, and only got through with the loss of four officers and
forty-six men. According to the Aphorismical Discovery, O'More, who
could expect no mercy if captured, was basely deserted by Cusack and
the Bishop of Clonfert. Donogh O'Flaherty, who was also left behind,
was shot by the soldiers; but O'More, after enduring great hardships,
got away to Ulster and lived for some time as a fisherman.[241]

[Sidenote: The last stand in Ulster.]

[Sidenote: Surrender of Cloughoughter, April 27.]

[Sidenote: Murder.]

In the same month of February fighting continued in West Cork and
Kerry among the O'Sullivans and O'Driscolls, some of whom took up arms
after their inclusion in the Muskerry articles; and there were still a
few desperate men for the garrisons of Cork and Limerick to hunt. But
the last stronghold was the island in Lough Oughter, where Bedell had
died in the first year of the war. In February, Colonel Barrow came to
the lake, burned some of the defenders' boats 'with a fiery float,'
and their corn with incendiary missiles, but had the ill luck to be
captured himself and held to ransom. This was probably the work of
some loose band which remained in arms after the capitulation of the
garrison at the end of April. The articles concluded were between Sir
Theophilus Jones and Philip O'Reilly on behalf of himself and the other
Ulster chiefs still remaining under arms. The terms were much the same
as had been granted in other recent cases, and included liberty to make
terms with the Spanish recruiting agents. Priests and others in Roman
orders were given a month to leave the country, on condition that they
did not exercise their function during the interval. Those guilty of
murder, whether lay or cleric, were as usual excluded, and a murderer
was specially defined as one 'who had actually a hand in a particular
murder or did command the same, or was present when a particular murder
was committed by persons under his command by his order.' It was no
murder to have killed a man in fight in the open field at any time
since the beginning of the war.[242]

[Sidenote: Tories to be starved out.]

[Sidenote: Exhaustion of the country.]

[Sidenote: The plague.]

[Sidenote: Famine.]

Mountjoy had long since proved that the way to subdue Ireland was
to destroy the means of subsistence. As one of the Commissioners of
Parliament, Colonel Jones was of opinion that no lasting peace could
be made 'but by removing all heads of septs and priests and men of
knowledge in arms, or otherwise in repute, out of this land, and
breaking all kinds of interest among them, and by laying waste all
fast countries in Ireland, and suffer no mankind to live there but
within garrisons,' adding that declarations were about to issue for
laying waste all Kerry and Wicklow, and portions--in some instances the
greater part--of seventeen other counties. This was written shortly
before the surrender of Cloughoughter, and after that the guerrilla
warfare degenerated into mere brigandage. We are not to suppose that
the whole ruthless programme was carried out; but no doubt the facts
were bad enough. Ludlow was Jones's colleague, and he speaks of the
'poor wasted country of Ireland,' adding that the Irish had always
exhausted the land by bad cultivation, and of late worse than ever,
'being in daily apprehensions of being removed.' Not long afterwards
Petty found the people living on potatoes, and the cultivation of
that dangerous root must have been stimulated by the confusion of the
past twelve years. It was then and for many years later the practice
to dig out the tubers just as they were wanted. Such a crop could not
well be carried away or destroyed, and if the sowers escaped the sword
they would find something to eat for nine months out of the twelve;
while corn could be easily cut or burned, and cattle still more easily
driven off. The famine caused by war and by the destruction of food in
districts not under protection was accompanied by the plague, which
was rife in Galway and many other places. 'It fearfully broke out in
Cashel,' says Jones, 'the people being taken suddenly with madness,
whereof they die instantly; twenty died in that manner in three days
in that little town.' Dublin did not escape. 'About the years 1652 and
1653,' says Colonel Lawrence, who had every opportunity of judging,
'the plague and famine had swept away whole countries that a man
might travel twenty or thirty miles and not see a living creature,
either man, beast, or bird, they being either all dead or had quit
those desolate places.' He had himself seen starving wretches pick
carrion out of a ditch, and had heard of cases in which human flesh was
eaten. Wolves increased enormously, and rewards were given for their
heads.[243]

[Sidenote: Treatment of priests.]

[Sidenote: Galway.]

[Sidenote: Cloughoughter.]

[Sidenote: A Dominican's experience.]

While the war still raged, Roman Catholic priests were for the most
part either not mentioned in capitulations or specially excluded from
the benefit of them. At Limerick some were excepted by name, and
all were refused protection; but later the terms were not quite so
rigorous. At Galway they were allowed six months to leave the country.
At Roscommon the chaplain was allowed to go out with the garrison.
When the Clare brigade surrendered to Waller, all persons in Roman
orders were excepted, but he covenanted 'industriously to solicit
the Commissioners of Parliament that such of the clergy in orders,
having no other act or crime laid to their charge than officiating
their functions as priests, not being suffered to live in quarters
or protection, shall have passes and liberty to go beyond the seas.'
Reynolds did much the same in Ulster. A large number of the clergy
fled to Innisbofin, and when it was surrendered they were all given
protection for life and goods, with leave to accompany the garrison
abroad. At Cloughoughter, which was the last fortified place, they were
given a month to go, provided they did not officiate in the meanwhile.
Out of a great many extant letters from fugitive priests, that of a
Dominican friar named O'Conor may be singled out. The brethren of his
Order had, he says, continually roused Catholics by preaching to the
soldiers and inciting the nobles to take up arms, living constantly
among them in the woods and mountains, and opposing every proposal for
surrender or capitulation. He himself had been prior of Kilkenny, where
he strenuously supported Rinuccini, and was therefore thrice condemned
to banishment by the Supreme Council, 'having excited the anger of all
heretics and bad Catholics.' After the fall of Kilkenny he became prior
of Burrishoole, in Mayo, where his convent was for three years the
refuge of religious persons. Two attacks were beaten off, but at last
the place was taken by storm. The soldiers were killed and some of the
friars; others fled to the mountains. Accompanied by one boy, he took
a skiff made out of a single log and went six leagues into the open
ocean, almost miraculously making his way to Innisbofin. After a short
time, seven Parliamentary ships with twenty-two boats hove in sight,
and it became necessary to surrender the island. He was transported
with the rest, on pain of death if he revisited Ireland, where an edict
had been published exiling all ecclesiastics on the same terms, with
severe penalties against all who helped them.[244]

[Sidenote: An edict against Jesuits and seminarists.]

The edict mentioned by Father O'Conor and by many other clerical
writers of the same time was an order, signed by Fleetwood, Ludlow,
Corbet, and Jones, setting forth the experience of many years, 'that
Jesuits, seminary priests, and persons in Popish orders in Ireland,
estrange the people from due obedience to the English Commonwealth,
and, under pretence of religion, excite them to rebellion, which gave
rise to the barbarous murders of 1641 and the destructive war which
followed.' They were all to leave Ireland within twenty days, or incur
the penalties of the English Act, 27 Elizabeth, which had never been
the law of Ireland, and which made the priests traitors and their
abettors felons.[245]

[Sidenote: The swordsmen sent abroad.]

[Sidenote: Great numbers take foreign service.]

[Sidenote: Their ill-treatment in Spain.]

[Sidenote: Better received in France.]

[Sidenote: Clarendon's reflection.]

Chichester strove to get the swordsmen of Ulster into the Swedish
service, where they might help the Protestant cause almost without
knowing it. After the disbanding of Strafford's army the English
Parliament had very naturally, but very unwisely, prevented the men
from going to Spain, thus aggravating, if not actually causing, the
outbreak in 1641. Cromwell profited by experience, and saw that even in
the service of the Catholic king the survivors of the Irish war would
be much less dangerous than in their own country. At the beginning of
1653 the Commissioners reported that 13,000 had already gone, but that
there were still left 'many desperate rogues who know not how to live
but by robbing and stealing out of bogs and fastnesses.' By July the
number had risen to 27,000. There were, says Petty, who was in Ireland
at the time and whose estimate is rather under that of his friend
Gookin, 'transported of them into Spain, Flanders, France, 34,000
soldiers; and of boys, women, priests, &c., no less than 6000 more,' of
whom not half had returned in 1672. The Spanish Government broke all
their promises and treated the Irish officers and soldiers very badly,
so that whole regiments passed over from time to time into the service
of France. In both services the dissensions which had been so fatal in
Ireland continued between Celts and Anglo-Irish and between Ormondists
and Nuncionists. Hyde, who knew Spain and had suffered many things
there, excuses the desertions in Catalonia, which were stimulated by
Inchiquin, and the ill-conduct of the Irish at Bordeaux, which caused
the loss of that city, by the extreme ill-usage which they had received
from the Spanish authorities. There were many needy Irish officers in
London who were glad to contract with Cardenas for the transport of
men. Philip found money enough to make this remunerative, but when the
Irish were once landed in his country no further trouble was taken.
'The soldiers, who were crowded more together into one ship than was
fit for so long voyages, had contracted many diseases, and many were
dead and thrown overboard. As soon as they came upon the coast the
officers made haste to land, how far soever from the place at which
they stood bound to deliver their men; by which in those places which
could make resistance they were not suffered to land, and in others no
provision was made for their reception on march; but very great numbers
were starved or knocked in the head by the country people.' All this,
Clarendon adds, 'manifested how loose the government was.' Mazarin
managed much better. The passage to France was shorter, and he took
care that there should be no want of shipping and better accommodation
on landing, so that at least 20,000 Irishmen came into the French
service, though from old associations they would have preferred that
of Spain. And the historian notes that Cromwell had been able to send
abroad 40,000 men who would have been enough to drive him out of
England; while the King's Lieutenant, notwithstanding all the promises,
obligations, and contracts which the Confederate Roman Catholics had
made to and with him, could not draw together a body of 5000 men.[246]

[Sidenote: Arrival of Fleetwood, Sept. 1653.]

[Sidenote: A High Court established.]

[Sidenote: Trials at Kilkenny, Clonmel, and Cork.]

On June 8 Fleetwood married Ireton's widow, and on July 10 his
father-in-law made him commander-in-chief in Ireland. In the following
month he was appointed by Parliament a commissioner for the civil
government along with the regicides Ludlow, Corbet, and Jones, and
John Weaver, the member for Stamford. Fleetwood was in Ireland by the
beginning of September, but there was not much left for a general
to do except to superintend the reduction of the army. The dregs of
the war had to be dealt with first, but the Commissioners were given
great powers in the domain of law and justice, and their first care
was for the punishment of those to whom murder could be brought home.
Doctor Jones had already received orders to collect evidence. A High
Court was erected in Dublin under Chief Justice Lowther, who issued
commissions to find and examine witnesses in the country. Local courts
were also established, the first of which, consisting of Justices
Donnellan and Cook and Commissary-General Reynolds, sat on October 4 at
Kilkenny in the room where the Supreme Council had been used to meet.
Notwithstanding the difficulty of getting evidence eleven years after
the first outbreak, sixteen persons were found guilty at Kilkenny, six
at Clonmel, and thirty-two at Cork; and we are told that most of these
were very considerable men, heads of septs or otherwise important. The
High Court in Dublin did not sit until January.[247]

[Sidenote: Uncertainty as to number executed.]

[Sidenote: Sir Phelim O'Neill.]

It was considered murder to kill persons not in arms or who had been
received to quarter, and this was the general principle on which
prosecutions were based. The record is imperfect, but Cox estimated
that not above two hundred died by the hands of the common executioner,
though many murderers had perished by the sword or by disease. Hearsay
evidence was probably admitted to an extent which would not be dreamed
of in our days, but trials were carefully conducted, and there were a
great many acquittals. Of the original insurgents surviving, by far
the most important were Sir Phelim O'Neill, who had lurked in Tyrone
since the surrender of Charlemont, where his wife remained. Early in
1653 he ventured, with a view of communicating with her, to take up his
abode in an old house on an island in Roghan Lough, near Coalisland,
accompanied by Tirlogh Groom O'Quin and a score of soldiers. His
messenger was a follower named O'Hugh, who was under protection at
Charlemont, and Lord Caulfield's attention was thus roused. The little
lake was surrounded and boats were launched upon it, and the island,
which was very near the shore, was quite indefensible even against
musketry. Sir Phelim surrendered, and was taken to Carrickfergus,
where he was very civilly treated by Venables, who had found him a
gallant enemy. He was sent off to Dublin and tried there upon the last
day of February, his companions, with the exception of O'Quin, being
released.[248]

[Sidenote: Sir Phelim is found guilty.]

[Sidenote: The case of Lord Caulfield.]

O'Neill was sentenced to death for high treason and for four murders
proved against him, according to the judge's notes. That he had
levied war against the King is obvious, and the question is not worth
discussing. He was not accused of murdering any one with his own hand,
but as an accessory before the fact or by giving orders to the actual
assassins. In the case of Lord Caulfield the fragments of evidence
which we possess do not make the facts absolutely clear. The original
capture was treacherous in the highest degree, and the murder was
committed by Sir Phelim's foster-brother. The young lord had been over
five months O'Neill's prisoner at or near Charlemont, and according to
one witness he directed the escort to take him to Cloughoughter, in
Cavan. Sir Phelim's own house at Kinard was the first halting-place,
and there the deed was done, fifteen or sixteen of Caulfield's Scotch
and English dependants being slaughtered at the same time. O'Neill was
not present, but he had used very suspicious language shortly before,
and the assassin was allowed to escape in his gaoler's company, and was
not caught. Of three warders, one who was an Irishman was not punished,
while the other two, being English and Scotch, were duly hanged by Sir
Phelim's orders. The gaoler was restored to his post at Armagh. In all
the cases much of the evidence is hearsay; but the murders charged,
with many others, were committed within a few miles of Charlemont, and
Sir Phelim, who commanded in chief, never punished anybody. Michael
Harrison swore that in December 1641 he heard O'Neill say, 'with great
ostentation, that he would never leave off the work he had begun
until mass should be sung or said in every church in Ireland, and
that a Protestant should not live in Ireland, be he of what nation he
would.'[249]

[Sidenote: Execution of Sir Phelim O'Neill.]

[Sidenote: The alleged royal commission.]

[Sidenote: Sham commissions were shown.]

O'Neill was hanged, drawn, and quartered, one quarter being impaled at
Lisburn, which he had burned; another at Dundalk, which he had taken;
a third at Drogheda, which he had vainly besieged; and a fourth, with
the head, at Dublin, which he had plotted to surprise. Tirlogh Groom
O'Quin, who was captured with him and who had been his close associate
in the early days of the rebellion, was executed later, and his head
set upon the west gate of Carrickfergus. There has been much discussion
as to the exact relation of Sir Phelim and the other original
conspirators to Charles I., and the declaration of Dean Ker in 1681
was long accepted as evidence. Attempts have been made to set aside
Ker's statement, on the ground that he wanted to be a bishop, that he
spoke twenty-eight years after the fact, and that it was impossible
that things which happened in open court should have remained doubtful
for so long. It is certain that he never became a bishop, and there is
nothing to prove that he wished to be one. By his own showing he had
often mentioned the matter to his friend or patron, Lord Lanesborough,
who at last persuaded him to write it down. There is never anything
extraordinary in London being ignorant of what happens in Dublin;
and after the Restoration no one had any interest in recalling the
proceedings of the Cromwellian High Court there. The late King's
position as a saint and martyr was then undisputed, and the Church of
England was not on her defence. A more important difficulty is that the
Dean says he heard Michael Harrison, who only saved his life by acting
as secretary to Sir Phelim, confess in open court that he attached the
Great Seal to a sham commission, and that O'Neill, when pressed by the
judges, answered 'that no man could blame him to promote that cause
he had so far engaged in.' In his sworn deposition Harrison says Sir
Phelim had often spoken of a commission from the King, but he had never
been able to get a sight of it, though it was generally believed to
exist. It seems certain that a sham commission of some sort was shown
not only in Ulster but in Munster; and there is no difficulty about
believing that O'Neill should not have wished to die with a lie in
his mouth, or that hopes of mercy should have been held out to him if
he would implicate Charles. If the commission were forged, it matters
little whether the seal was that of England or Scotland; either would
do to exhibit at a distance. We know from the judge's notes that
O'Neill was believed to have altered a genuine document, and that a
copy was produced in court. It is not impossible that Harrison may have
been employed to affix a seal to some instrument which he had not been
allowed to read. The memory of Charles I. has much to bear, but he
could not have given a commission authorising a general insurrection.
He had been angling for Roman Catholic help before the outbreak of the
rebellion, and many may have been persuaded that they were doing his
will by rising against the Lords Justices; but it is not at all likely
that any of the leaders were of this opinion.[250]

[Sidenote: Lord Muskerry acquitted.]

[Sidenote: His speech after trial.]

Lord Muskerry was not one of the first conspirators, but he joined the
movement soon after it had spread to Munster. After the surrender of
Ross Castle he went to Spain, but he had been a determined opponent
of Rinuccini, and he found the clergy so hostile that his life was
not safe. At Lisbon his reception was little better, and he gave up
his plan of raising troops for the Peninsula, returned to Cork, and
threw himself upon the mercy of Parliament. This was in February 1653,
and he remained a prisoner in Dublin until his trial in December. In
the meantime Lady Ormonde had arrived there, and naturally interested
herself in his behalf. If Carte was rightly informed, Lowther did what
he could by privately informing her of the line which the prosecution
would take, and so enabling the prisoner to be prepared for his defence
at all points. He was not tried for treason, but as accessory to the
murder of Mrs. Hussey and others in 1642; and this resulted in an
acquittal. There was another charge for the murder of William Deane and
others, also in 1642, and it was held that the prosecutors had proved
the facts, but that the prisoner had no real share in what was done,
and was in any case protected by the Ross articles. It was, moreover,
shown that he often acted a humane and merciful part. A separate
count, for the murder of Roger Skinner, also resulted in an acquittal.
Muskerry was not finally discharged for some months, and this delay
may have been caused by the discovery that a printed copy of the Ross
articles produced on the trial differed from the original which had
been retained by Ludlow. He was charged in May 1654 with the murder
of a man and woman unknown, but there was a verdict of 'Not Guilty.'
Muskerry's speech after his acquittal on the Hussey and Deane charges
has been preserved. He admitted that he had had a fair trial, and that
if there had been any leaning it was in his favour. 'I met,' he said,
'many crosses in Spain and Portugal. I could get no rest till I came
hither, and the crosses I met here are much affliction to me; but when
I consider that in this court I come clear out of that blackness of
blood by being so sifted, it is more to me than my estate. I can live
without my estate, but not without my credit.' He raised men for the
Venetian service, and went later to Poland, and regained most of his
property after the Restoration.[251]

[Sidenote: Primate O'Reilly found guilty.]

[Sidenote: O'Reilly pardoned.]

Another remarkable case was that of Edmund O'Reilly, then or later
vicar-general of Dublin and afterwards Primate, for the murder of John
Joyce and others at Wicklow in December 1642. They appear to have
been burned in Wicklow Castle in cold blood. Most of the evidence was
hearsay, and does not perhaps amount to much more than that O'Reilly
made rather light of what had been done. Luke Byrne, indeed, swore that
in a conversation when Joyce was mentioned O'Reilly had advised him
to kill all the English about him, and had afterwards excommunicated
him for favouring them. The prisoner answered that this Byrne was his
enemy, and that he had excommunicated him for living in adultery.
Perhaps the strongest point against O'Reilly was made by Peter
Wickham, who had been High Sheriff of Wicklow, and who stated that
Edward Byrne was put off the jury because he, as foreman, was prepared
to say that Joyce and the rest were murdered. Edward Byrne himself
corroborated this. On the other hand, a witness bearing the English
name of Pemberton swore that O'Reilly had done many acts of kindness
and preserved many English lives, including those of five Protestant
clergymen. These cases were all a good deal later than Joyce's murder,
and it is not improbable that, while favouring the rebellion at first,
he became afterwards disgusted at the outrages that attended it. He
was found guilty, but received a pardon. Peter Walsh, who was bitterly
opposed to O'Reilly, speaks of him as rather a good-natured and
merciful man, but adds that he escaped owing to 'his former services
to the Parliament, especially that of betraying the royal camp at
Rathmines to Jones.' He was certainly engaged in secret negotiations
between Jones and Owen Roe O'Neill in 1648, and it may well be that
there was no wish to deal hardly with him. Walsh says he was under
protection within the Parliament's lines, and in that unsafe position
was rash enough to appear in Dublin as a witness for the prosecution
in a criminal trial. He was recognised and named by a person in court,
who called upon the judge to arrest him as priest and vicar-general and
chief author of seizing and burning in cessation time the black castle
of Wicklow, and consequently too of murdering all those within it. 'Now
whether this accusation was in itself true or false I know not.'[252]

[Sidenote: Trial of Lord Mayo, who is shot.]

Sir Theodore Bourke, third Viscount Mayo, submitted on July 14, 1652,
and was one of the seven who signed on behalf of a large number. Those
guilty of robbery or murder during the first year of the war were
excluded from any benefit by the articles. Lord Mayo was tried at
Galway as accessory to the Shrule massacre by a commission consisting
of Sir Charles Coote and ten others. He was undoubtedly present at the
murders, and he rode away without fighting for the victims, who were
supposed to be under his protection; but there was evidence to show
that he did make some effort to save them, and that he fled only to
secure his own life. Four of the commissioners were for an acquittal,
but he was condemned by a majority and shot.[253]

[Sidenote: Cost of the war.]

[Sidenote: The city of London.]

War is a costly business. First there is the blood-tax, withdrawing
thousands of young men from remunerative work. Then there is the
expenditure on war materials, and the destruction of property, which
may take long to replace. In modern times soldiers are paid punctually,
but some part of the waste has to be met by loans, and so the expense
of war goes on when its causes are half forgotten. In the case of the
Irish rebellion, it was seen at once that the work could not be paid
for out of revenue. Except for a moment under Strafford, Ireland had
never been self-supporting, and Parliament, upon whom the King at once
cast the responsibility, as yet commanded no regular income and could
not pledge the national credit. The city of London was willing enough
to give money, but security for repayment was required, and 2500 acres
of Irish land were hypothecated for this purpose. It was assumed,
judging by the great area affected, and by the experience of former
rebellions, that a very much larger amount would be forfeited. Those
who subscribed would have something to sell as soon as their money had
done its work. In addition to this it proved, just as in Elizabeth's
time, that there was never ready cash enough to pay the soldiers
in full, and their arrears also were made a charge upon the Irish
forfeitures. There were also many miscellaneous creditors who expected
to be paid out of the same fund.[254]

[Sidenote: Charles I. a party to the plan of settlement.]

[Sidenote: Money subscribed for Ireland,]

[Sidenote: but spent in England.]

It is unnecessary to set out in detail the negotiations which led
to the passing of the Act for the speedy reduction of the rebels
in Ireland, but it received the royal assent and was therefore a
legal statute forming the basis of what is known as the Cromwellian
settlement. Charles II. was bound by it, for the original contract
could not be denied. Six hundred and twenty-five thousand acres were
pledged in each province, and the money advanced was to be repaid with
land distributed by lot at the rate of 1000 acres in Ulster for every
200_l._, in Connaught for every 300_l._, in Munster for every 450_l._,
and in Leinster for every 600_l._ Profitable land only was counted,
bogs, loughs, and barren mountains with the woods growing on them,
being thrown in without measurement. A quit-rent was reserved to the
Crown of one penny per acre in Ulster, three halfpence in Connaught,
twopence farthing in Munster, and threepence in Leinster. Patents
and pardons before attainder since the fatal October 23, 1641, were
declared void, and so were assignments made after March 1 in that year.
A special cause of forfeiture was entering after the said March 1 into
'any compact, bond, covenant, oath, promise, or agreement to introduce
or bring into the said realm of Ireland the authority of the see of
Rome in any case whatsoever or to maintain or defend the same.' The
money subscribed was all to be paid in London, and it was specially
provided that no part of it was to be devoted to any purpose except
the reduction of the Irish rebels until Parliament should declare
that the thing was done. But it very soon became evident that there
would be war nearer home and long before the time limited for closing
the collection. One hundred thousand pounds was borrowed by the House
of Commons for their own purposes 'upon the public faith.' Charles
protested, as he had every right to do, but he set up his standard at
Nottingham only nine days later, having already proclaimed Essex a
traitor. The Irish difficulty could not be effectively dealt with until
it was decided who was to be master in England.[255]

[Sidenote: Further financial enactments.]

[Sidenote: The doubling ordinance.]

[Sidenote: Superstitious uses.]

[Sidenote: The settlement suspended by war.]

Three Acts to explain or extend the original one were passed soon
afterwards. By the first special arrangements were made for admitting
Scotch adventurers and Dutch Protestants on or before May 10, 1642; by
the second, subscribers who paid all their money before July 20, 1642,
were to have Irish acres based upon a perch of twenty-one feet, new
contributors and those who were not so prompt, being still confined
to English measure, with a perch of sixteen and a half feet, by the
third corporations and companies were admitted to contribute as well
as individuals. A permanent committee sat in London to watch the
interests of the adventurers. Ordinances affecting them were made from
time to time, of which one of the most important was that of July 14,
1643, doubling the amount of land to be given in Irish acres for an
additional one-fourth to the original subscription, and encouraging
merchants and manufacturers to advance money on the security of the
towns and neighbourhoods of Limerick, Waterford, Galway, and Wexford.
All chantry lands 'given, unto superstitious uses for maintenance
of popish priests and idolatrous masses' were thrown in, and also
all lands 'given for maintenance of lazars and lazarous people and
concealed in possession and occupation of such who are now or shall be
rebels, and have been by their ancestors enjoyed by many descents.'
Some months before this, at the beginning of October 1642, the House
of Commons sent a committee to Ireland consisting of Robert Goodwin
and Robert Reynolds, adventurers and members of Parliament, and of
Captain William Tucker, who was associated with them by the City of
London. They disagreed among themselves, and effected nothing for the
adventurers, but their pretensions gave the King an opportunity of
interfering. Dublin was secured in Ormonde's hands, and so it remained
until Charles was overthrown in England. But civil government was in
abeyance long after that, and it was not until August 1652, when the
Irish war seemed to be nearly over, that Parliament was able to declare
how Irish land should be dealt with.[256]

FOOTNOTES:

[241] _Aphorismical Discovery_, iii. 143; John Jones to Major Scott,
March 1, 1652-3, _ib._ 370; Articles for Arran, January 15, _Contemp.
Hist._, iii. 364; Articles for Innisbofin, February 14, _ib._ See also
O'Flaherty's _Western Connaught_, pp. 78, 116.

[242] Letter from John Jones to Major Scott, March 1, 1652-3, and
another to Morgan Lloyd (without date, but later than May of the same
year), both in _Contemp. Hist._ iii. 370-373; Articles with Ulster
party, April 27, 1653, _ib._ 374.

[243] Two letters of John Jones, _ut sup._; Richard Lawrence's
_Interest of Ireland_, 1682, ii. 86. Many horrors are set forth in
Prendergast's _Cromwellian Settlement_, 2nd ed. 307.

[244] Articles for Limerick, October 27, 1651; for Galway, April 5,
1652; for Roscommon, April 3; for the Clare brigade, April 21; for the
Ulster Irish, September 21; for Innisbofin, February 14, 1652-3; for
Cloughoughter, April 27 to May 18, 1653. The above and many others are
in vol. iii. of _Contemp. Hist._, except the articles for Galway, which
are in Hardiman's _Hist. of Galway_, appx. p. xxix. Father O'Conor's
letter of May 17, 1653, from Brussels, is in _Spicilegium Ossoriense_,
i. 398 (Latin). In another letter from Brussels of May 3, signed by the
Bishops of Raphoe and Clonfert, who were also in Innisbofin, there is
a curious mixture of Virgil and Vulgate: 'hæc est hora hæreticorum et
potestas tenebrarum. Dabit Deus his quoque finem. Via prima salutis,
quo minime remur, Anglo pandetur ab orbe [_sic_],' _ib._ 398.

[245] O'Daly's _Geraldines_ (Meehan's version, 1847), chap. xi.;
Collier's _Ecclesiastical History_, vii. 42. The order is dated January
2, 1652-3.

[246] Clarendon's _Hist. of the Rebellion_, xii. 148, 149; a letter
from Sparke (imprisoned at Madrid for Ascham's murder), March 4,
1652-3, in Cal. of _Clarendon MSS._, mentions 'drovers and sellers
of the King's poor subjects, merchants that now find the miserable
Irishman to be the best commodity in trade ... one went lately hence
with a vast sum of money (pretium sanguinis) laden on mules.' Hyde to
Bellings, August 8, 1653, _ib._, and to Sir Benjamin Wright, September
13, _ib._; letters in _Thurloe_ from June to September, i. 320, 337,
479, 504; Petty's _Political Anatomy of Ireland_, chap. 4. Gookin in
his anti-transplantation pamphlet says '40,000 of the most active
spirited men' enlisted for foreign service.

[247] Cromwell's warrant to Fleetwood in _Thurloe_, i. 212;
instructions to the Commissioners, in _Parliamentary Hist._ xx.
92. Nineteen superior officers to Lenthall, May 5, 1652, in appx.
to _Ludlow_; the Commissioners' letters of October 14 and January
15, _ib._; Carlyle's _Cromwell_, ed. Lomas, ii. 246. See Gardiner's
_Commonwealth_, ii. 164, and _Cox_, ii. 70.

[248] The details as to O'Neill's capture are from the British
Officer's _Warr of Ireland_, p. 144. The writer says 'twenty gentlemen
of Ulster suffered for matters at the beginning of the war, of which
some suffered innocently, as then it was said, where some of those who
were judges were their enemy in war time.' Col. Jones to Scott, March
1, 1652-3, in _Contemp. Hist._, iii. 372. Sir Phelim's third wife was
Lady Strabane, a daughter of the 1st Marquis of Huntly.

[249] Deposition of Michael Harrison, taken February 11, 1652-3, in
_Hickson_, i. 223-233; Notes of the trial with the President's charge
and O'Neill's own deposition or confession, _ib._ ii. 183-190; Note to
Archdall's ed. of Lodge's _Irish Peerage_, iii. 140.

[250] Dean Ker's statement, dated February 28, 1681-2, was first
published by Nalson (ii. 528) in the following year. Nalson says he
had the paper from Ormonde, and probably Lord Lanesborough, who had
been the Duke's secretary, procured it for that very purpose. It is
reprinted in _Contemp. Hist._, iii. 368 and _Hickson_, ii. 370. The
spurious commission in Rushworth, iv. 400, dated October 1, 1641, was
under the Great Seal of Scotland, which could have no value in Ireland.
By it Charles is made to authorise the seizure of all strong places in
Ireland 'except the places, persons and estates of our loving subjects
the Scots; and also to arrest and seize the goods, estates, and persons
of all the English Protestants' to his use. Imagination refuses to
conceive that he could have used such words. For discussions on this
subject see Gardiner's _Hist. of England_, x. 7, 92; Burton's _Hist.
of Scotland_, vi. 347, ed. 1876; _Hickson_, i. 117. The paper called
Antrim's 'Information,' appx. 49 to _Cox_, really proves nothing, and
he was a notoriously loose talker.

[251] Trial in _Hickson_, ii. 192-204, 235; _Ludlow_, i. 341; Fleetwood
to Thurloe, February 16, 1653-4, in _Thurloe_, ii. 94. Notices in Cal.
of _Clarendon MSS._, vol. ii. during 1653 and 1654; Carte's _Life of
Ormonde_, ii. 161. Muskerry married Lady Eleanor Butler, Ormonde's
eldest sister.

[252] Notes of trial in _Hickson_, ii., where the murder is said to
have been on December 29, 1642, which was before the cessation, but
there may have been a local truce; _Bellings_, vii. 104; Walsh's
_Remonstrance_, p. 609.

[253] For the Shrule affair see above. Cox gives the names of the
commissioners and how they voted, with a fair summary of the case.

[254] A paper printed by Mr. Firth in _English Hist. Review_, xiv. 104,
makes the expense of war and settlement from July 6, 1649, to November
1, 1656, amount to about three and a half millions, of which one and a
half was transmitted out of England, the remainder collected in Ireland.

[255] Act for the speedy and effectual reducing of the rebels in His
Majesty's Kingdom of Ireland &c., _Scobell_, i. 26 (Royal Assent, March
19, 1641-2). Resolution of the Commons to borrow 100,000_l._, July 30,
1641, in _Rushworth_, iv. 778, and the King's message from York, August
13, _ib._ 775.

[256] Acts and ordinance in _Scobell_, i. 31-34, 45; _Rushworth_, v.
530; Tucker's Journal in _Confed. and War_, ii. 170.




CHAPTER XXXVII

PEACE, SETTLEMENT, AND TRANSPLANTATION, 1652-1654


[Sidenote: Settlement. Magnitude of the problem.]

[Sidenote: Scheme of two Protestant Pales.]

[Sidenote: Claim of the Adventurers.]

[Sidenote: Meeting of officers at Kilkenny.]

[Sidenote: Effect of the evidence about 1641.]

At the beginning of 1652 the Commissioners in Ireland could see that
the war was near its end, but there were still about 30,000 men in
arms against them. Their first object was to get these fighting men
out of Ireland, in which they succeeded, and after that to begin the
scheme of colonisation which had been contemplated from the first.
They adhered to the original idea of the Act of March 1642, by which
forfeited lands were to be assigned to the Adventurers in each of the
four provinces, the counties earmarked for the purpose being Kilkenny,
Wexford, Carlow, Westmeath, and Longford in Leinster, Limerick and
Kerry in Munster, Cavan, Monaghan, Fermanagh, and Donegal in Ulster,
Clare, Galway, Leitrim, and Sligo in Connaught, as the divisions then
ran, others being held in reserve in case the above-named should be
insufficient. By this means the settlers would be near one another,
and afford mutual protection. It was also proposed to make a permanent
Pale between the Boyne and the Barrow with a strong garrison in
Wicklow, and another between the Suir and the southern Blackwater. The
territory within those rivers could be easily and cheaply protected,
and would soon be well inhabited, and the soldiers who held it were
to be fixed in Roman fashion with reduced pay and farms instead of
arrears, 'provided that such of them as marry with Irish women shall
lose their commands, forfeit their arrears, and be made incapable to
inhabit lands in Ireland.' After the receipt of the Commissioners'
despatch, the Committee of Adventurers were called upon to make
proposals for a speedy plantation. They accordingly claimed 281,812_l._
for original advances, and 12,283_l._ under the ordinance of 1643,
involving grants of 1,038,234 acres. They objected to the suggested
arrangements, and demanded contiguous lands in Leinster and Munster,
including the city of Waterford. The war was not yet over, and Tories
were numerous, so that there would be no safety otherwise, and English
labourers were scarce on account of the disafforestations at home.
They therefore refused to be bound to time or to pay taxes until the
country was really settled, lest they should be ruined while their
highly paid servants grew rich, as had happened in New England. Weaver
was sent over in April to represent the Irish Government, but the
Adventurers stood their ground. Three years from September 29, 1652,
had been proposed as the limit of time to be occupied in planting, but
it would be impossible within it to provide dwellings for 40,000 men
and their families. Less than that number would not do, nor could the
work begin until the counties assigned were 'cleared of Tories or of
other Irish which by the propositions may not be admitted to be in the
plantation, though Protestants.' They only waited till the country was
made safe, and till they knew more accurately what lands they had to
escheat, 'and that all men's estates not forfeited should be cleared
and known.' Otherwise they might be involved in hopeless litigation
with Lord Cork and many others, who were not at all implicated in the
rebellion. On April 17, one month before this answer was given, the
general and field officers in Ireland, including Ludlow, Corbet, and
Jones, met at Kilkenny, where they heard Dr. Jones's abstract of the
depositions taken concerning murders committed during the rebellion.
They were already inclined to think that some of the capitulations had
been too lenient, and the reading of this terrible paper confirmed
them. To many the facts were new, others, who had been in Ireland since
1641, had never known them in so concrete a form, and they feared that
men at a distance might be moved through ignorance to lenity, 'which we
have found no small temptation in ourselves ... and considering that so
many murders have been committed that few of the former English were
left undestroyed (especially men who had any particular knowledge of
the massacre, and of those the greater part are since deceased) so that
few of the rebels can be particularly discriminated by any evidence now
to be produced, as the usual course of justice doth require, yet those
barbarous, cruel murders having been so generally joined in and since
justified by the whole nation, &c.' And they suggested to Parliament
that 'in duty towards God, the great avenger of such villainies,' they
should not delay to decide upon the 'qualifications and exceptions'
desirable. The abstract of evidence which had so greatly impressed the
officers accompanied their despatch, which was read in Parliament on
May 18, and we may well believe that its effect was considerable in
moulding legislation. In the interval between May and August the idea
of transplantation took shape, and Connaught was left out of the area
within which Adventurers and soldiers might seek their reward.[257]

[Sidenote: Classification of Irish delinquents.]

[Sidenote: Exceptions by name.]

[Sidenote: First sketch of transplantation.]

[Sidenote: Existing agreements to be observed.]

The Act of Settlement upon which all subsequent proceedings were
founded declared that it was 'not the intention of the Parliament to
extirpate that whole nation.' Pardon might be extended to the inferior
sort of people on condition of submission and peaceable behaviour.
Those of higher rank, 'according to the respective demerits and
considerations under which they fell,' were divided into ten classes
or qualifications, of which the first five were excepted from pardon
for life and estate. The first comprised all who before November 10,
1642, when the Kilkenny assembly first met, had anything to say to
the rebellion, murders, or massacre. The second clause included all
ecclesiastical persons in Roman orders who had been so concerned, the
penalty in their cases extending to 'violences' less than murder
or open insurrection. The third consisted of one hundred and four
persons excepted by name, including Ormonde, Castlehaven, Clanricarde,
Inchiquin, Muskerry, and seventeen other temporal peers. Bishop
Bramhall came next, and among the rest were Sir Phelim O'Neill, General
Preston, and Roger O'More. The fourth qualification covered those
who at any time after October 1, 1641, had a hand in killing any one
except soldiers, and all Irishmen who, not being soldiers themselves,
had killed Englishmen who were. The fifth clause condemned all who
did not lay down their arms within twenty-eight days of the Act being
published by authority in Ireland. The sixth clause provided for the
banishment of all superior military officers and for the forfeiture of
two-thirds of their estates, the value of the remaining third to be
enjoyed by their wives and children 'in such places in Ireland as the
Parliament, in order to the more effectual settlement of the peace of
this nation, shall think fit to appoint for that purpose.' The seventh
clause empowered the Commissioners to pardon others who had fought and
submitted, and they also were deprived of two-thirds of their property,
but might continue in Ireland upon the equivalent of one-third wherever
the Parliament might assign it. The eighth applied to <DW7>s who
had lived in Ireland since October 23, 1641, 'and had not manifested
their constant good affection to the interest of the Commonwealth of
England'; they were to forfeit one-third, and other persons who might
have helped the Parliament and failed to do so were deprived of only
one-fifth. The ninth clause granted pardon for life and estate to those
who had no land and not more than ten pounds personalty, provided they
laid down their arms within the prescribed time. The tenth clause
swept into the net all estates tail and trusts created after March
25, 1639, but English Protestants who purchased for value before the
beginning of the rebellion were protected. There was a final proviso
granting to all the benefit of any articles granted provided they had
observed them on their part, but the Commissioners had, nevertheless,
power to 'transplant' them to any such place in Ireland as should be
'judged most consistent with public safety,' where they were to have
land equivalent to what they would have enjoyed had they not been so
removed.[258]

[Sidenote: Lambert named for Deputy,]

[Sidenote: but the appointment is not made.]

[Sidenote: Fleetwood at head of Irish Government, July 1652.]

At the end of January 1652, a little more than two months after
Ireton's death, Lambert was named by Parliament as Deputy to Cromwell,
who was still Lord Lieutenant; and he made preparations for filling
the place brilliantly. Mrs. Hutchinson says he laid out five thousand
pounds on his outfit, and gave himself airs of superiority, 'looking
upon all the Parliament men who had conferred this honour on him as
underlings, and scarcely worth the great man's nod.' Weaver's influence
was cast against him, and before Cromwell's commission had actually
expired the House resolved to abolish the Lord Lieutenancy and to
appoint no Deputy. Lambert was told he might command the army as Ludlow
had been doing, sharing the civil power with the other commissioners;
but he refused this offer, and Cromwell, who became Captain-General,
appointed Fleetwood. Ludlow says this was a deep-laid plot on the part
of Cromwell, who was jealous of his steadfast republicanism, and that
he was thus able to secure a useful servant in his son-in-law, and at
the same time to set such a dangerous rival as Lambert against the
Parliament. On the other hand there is evidence that Cromwell thought
him badly treated, and he requested that 2000_l._ of arrears due to
himself as Lord Lieutenant might be paid to Lambert. Ludlow, Corbet,
and Jones remained in Ireland as Fleetwood's colleagues, but Weaver,
though reappointed, became obnoxious to the military party, and never
returned thither. Fresh instructions were issued as soon as the Act of
Settlement had passed, and Fleetwood landed at Waterford in September
1652. The Commissioners were ordered to publish and circulate the Act,
and to put it in force in Ireland, as well as all ordinances affecting
the estates of delinquents and <DW7>s and of the bishops and chapters.
They were to raise a revenue not exceeding 40,000_l._ a month upon
lands and goods in Ireland, and to watch the financial interests
of the State in every way, and they were given power 'to send into
England or such other places as you shall think fit, any persons whose
residence in those parts from which they are so to be removed, you
shall judge dangerous to this Commonwealth.'[259]

[Sidenote: Necessity for further legislation.]

[Sidenote: The Long Parliament expelled, April 20, 1653.]

The Act of Settlement only laid foundations, and further legislation
was required before the work of colonisation could be actually
undertaken. At the end of 1652, although the war was not quite over,
the Commissioners urged upon Parliament the necessity of expedition.
'The two great businesses,' they wrote a few weeks later, 'which now
lie before us are how to lessen your charge and how to plant the
country, but neither of these can be done to any effect till we do hear
your pleasure about the Bill before you for giving satisfaction to
the Adventurers and also to satisfy the arrears of the soldiers.' The
dilatoriness of the sovereign assembly was at least one of the reasons
why Cromwell turned it out of doors. The Lord General and his new
Council in their declaration make no reference to Ireland except that
it had pleased God to reduce the country. It was published a week later
in Dublin, the Commissioners reminding all in positions of trust that
'notwithstanding the present alteration' they were bound to use great
diligence, and that they would be held to strict account. May 4 and 11
were fixed for 'solemn seeking the Grace of the Lord by all his people
in Ireland.'[260]

[Sidenote: The Little Parliament.]

[Sidenote: The Irish members.]

Oliver Cromwell was virtually dictator during the few weeks that
intervened between his dismissal of the much purged House of Commons
and the meeting of that curious assembly sometimes called the Little
and sometimes the Nominated Parliament, but which will always be
remembered in connection with Praise-God Barebone. It was intended
to legislate for the British Islands, and representatives of Scotland
and Ireland were accordingly added. The 140 members were named by the
new Council of State without any pretence of election, and summoned by
Oliver as Lord General. The English members were assigned to various
parts of the kingdom, but the Scotch and Irish, to their respective
countries at large. Five of the Irish members were Colonels, Sir
Robert King, who was born in Ireland, Hewson the regicide, who became
a Councillor of State, John Clarke, Daniel Hutchinson, and Henry
Cromwell. The only civilian associated with them was Vincent Gookin,
whose father had fallen foul of Strafford's Parliament. The Speaker
chosen by the assembly was Francis Rous, author of a metrical version
of the Psalms which still retains some reputation in Scotland. The
House, which had been partly composed according to Harrison's idea of
a Sanhedrin, took care to appoint no officer or servant, 'but such
as they were first well satisfied of their real godliness.' The new
Council of State was reappointed with some alterations, and included
Cromwell and Fleetwood. After these preliminaries were settled the
House spent a summer's day until four o'clock 'in seeking the Lord in
a special manner for counsel and a blessing on the proceedings,' some
twelve members speaking and praying. 'The Lord General was present, and
it was a comfortable day.' His long speech at the opening contains no
special reference to Irish policy.[261]

[Sidenote: Adventurers. Grocers' Hall committee.]

[Sidenote: A lottery for Ireland.]

[Sidenote: The ''49 officers.']

Cromwell handed over the supreme authority to the new assembly, which
by a majority voted itself a Parliament, but he and his Council of
State had already begun to take action on the Act of Settlement.
Methusaleh Turner, linen-draper of London, and eight other persons were
appointed to meet at Grocers' Hall, on June 20, at eight o'clock in
the morning, and there hold a lottery to decide upon the Adventurers'
claims. No one lot was to exceed 10,000_l._, Connaught was excluded,
and the total to be provided for in the other three provinces was
360,000_l._ One penny in the pound was to be deducted for expenses.
Two days after the lottery began a commission was given to Fleetwood,
Ludlow, Corbet, and Jones, declaring the war ended and empowering them
to administer the Acts and ordinances concerning the Adventurers, and
to make a survey for the purpose of all forfeited lands in Ireland.
They were instructed first to take in hand ten counties, namely
Limerick, Tipperary, and Waterford in Munster, King's and Queen's
Counties, Meath, and Westmeath in Leinster, Down, Antrim and Armagh
in Ulster, 'and to divide all the forfeited lands, meadow, arable,
and profitable pasture with the woods and bogs and barren mountains
thereunto respectively belonging into two equal moieties' of which
one was intended for the Adventurers and the other for the soldiers'
arrears. Louth was then to be surveyed separately. The counties
of Dublin, Cork, Kildare, and Carlow were specially reserved, and
the Commissioners were authorised to assign any five counties not
hitherto named to pay arrears accrued since June 5, 1649, of soldiers
to be disbanded. All grants made by 'any Act, ordinance, or order of
Parliament' since November 1, 1641, were excluded from survey, and the
manor of Blarney was specially excepted. Blarney, which was part of
Muskerry's great estate, fell to Broghill's share, and we may infer
that his advice was much followed in all matters connected with the
settlement.[262]

[Sidenote: Satisfaction of the army.]

[Sidenote: Orders to transplant. Penalties for disobedience.]

[Sidenote: Exemption for loyal Protestants.]

When the commission and instructions reached Dublin, the Commissioners
there had begun to negotiate with the officers as to who should
be disbanded and how their arrears should be satisfied 'until the
supreme authority of the Commonwealth were convened.' The army were
not pleased when they heard that their satisfaction was to be limited
to five counties and to those who had served since June 1649. Those
who had been longest in the Parliamentary service seemed to have
greater claims, and they had certainly greater arrears due. It became
necessary to issue further instructions as to the transplantation
contemplated by the Act of Settlement. The Commissioners in Ireland
were to announce publicly that parts of Ireland would be planted with
English and Protestants for their security, and 'to the end that all
persons who have right to articles or to any favour and mercy held
forth by any of the qualifications in the said Act, may enjoy the
benefit intended unto them, and every of them respectively.' These
words at once excluded all who were excepted from pardon for life and
estate by the first five clauses: their lives might for the most part
not be in much danger, but their property was gone. All who had claims
were ordered to transplant into Connaught and Clare before May 1, 1654,
there to receive such portions of land as their qualifications entitled
them to. All who were found east of the Shannon after that day without
licence from the Government were to be 'reputed spies and enemies, and
for the same offence suffer death,' but a little later it was ordered
that the capital penalty should not be inflicted without special order
from the Lord Deputy and Council. All who removed in time were to be
pardoned for every offence except murder; but they were not to possess
arms nor to reside in any town without licence, on penalty of death
by martial law. Ecclesiastical persons in Roman orders were not to be
'pardoned, tolerated, or admitted.' The obligation to transplant was
not extended to Protestants who did not adhere to or join the rebels
before September 15, 1643, nor to any woman married to an English
Protestant before December 2, 1650, on condition of renouncing Popery
and professing Protestantism. Boys under fourteen and girls under
twelve were allowed to remain among the English as servants, their
masters undertaking to train them 'in the true Protestant religion.'
Protestants, whether English or Irish, who had land in Connaught or
Clare, and had 'constantly adhered to the English against the rebels,'
might on application receive an equivalent in one of the English
counties. All transplantable persons were to be gone before May 1,
1654, and within two months of receiving their allotments, which were
only provisional pending a regular survey. On September 12, 1653, these
instructions were transmitted by the Commissioners to their officers in
every part of Ireland, with directions to make them public.[263]

[Sidenote: The Act of Satisfaction, Sept. 27, 1653.]

[Sidenote: Declaration of the Irish Government, Oct. 14, 1653.]

[Sidenote: The basis of taxation and compensation.]

From the Commissioners' letter of April 22, 1653, quoted above,
it is evident that the Bill for satisfaction of Adventurers and
soldiers was before the Long Parliament for some time. The changes
consequent upon its expulsion caused further delay, and it was not
till just before Michaelmas that the action of the Lord General and
Council was legalised, so far as any legal force could attach to the
new Parliament's sanction. The Act confirmed what had been done,
and further empowered the Commissioners to shorten proceedings by
transplanting the Irish at once, 'although their claims be not first
determined or their qualifications distinguished,' and to give them
lands in occupation 'proportionable to the estate by them claimed
or competent to such stock as each of the said persons shall have.'
Adventurers and soldiers receiving lands were relieved for five
years from the payment of quit-rents imposed by the Act of 1642, and
taxation for the same period was not to exceed one-fourth of the annual
value. When the Commissioners in Ireland received the Act with its
final directions they published a declaration for enforcing it. All
who took part in or abetted 'the rebellions, murders, or massacres'
during the first year, all who at any time were in actual arms as
rebels, and all who had any land entitling them to compensation by
the Act of Settlement, were to remove across the Shannon by May 1,
1654. Protestants who had not joined the rebels before the first
cessation on September 15, 1643, were excepted, and so was any woman
who married an English Protestant before December 2, 1650, on condition
of openly renouncing Popery. All persons not excepted, or without
special licence, found east of the Shannon after the appointed day were
to be treated as hostile spies, 'tried by martial law, and suffer
death.' All transplantable persons were to report themselves to the
commissioners of revenue in the precinct where they lived, giving the
names of their families, particulars as to tenants and others who would
accompany them voluntarily, with their ages, colour and height, and an
account of the cattle and tillage 'for which they pay contribution in
the places from whence they remove.' After satisfying themselves that
the information was true, the Commissioners were to issue certificates,
and regulations were made as to how these documents might be converted
into land in Connaught or Clare.[264]

[Sidenote: The transplantation. Slow progress.]

Whatever may be the exact meaning of this declaration, or however it
may be reconciled with the Acts of Settlement and of Satisfaction, it
soon became quite clear that the transplantation could not be effected
by May 1, 1654. As a matter of fact the procedure was applied only to
landowners and their families, and to such tenants as might choose to
go with them. A few did go early in the day, but the vast majority
clung to their homes. Licences to remain were freely granted to the
aged and infirm and to those who could show that they had befriended
the English. Even in cases where the service was too slight to deserve
permanent exemption, Colonel Lawrence assures us that indulgence was
shown for considerable periods, 'that a cup of cold water might not
go unrequited.' The time was extended generally, first to December,
so that seed time and harvest might be included, and afterwards to
March 1655, the doomed proprietors remaining on their old property as
tenants at will to the State. When March arrived most of the work was
still to be done, for the officers and soldiers 'and other faithful
Protestants' of Leinster, petitioned the Irish Government to execute
the 'further instructions' of July 2, 1653, and to transplant 'all
the Irish into Connaught excepting males of fourteen years of age and
females of twelve.' The first reason was lest the settlers should
become idolaters from intermarriage with the natives, many who came
over in Queen Elizabeth's time having thus fallen away and been
concerned in the late murders and massacres. Among many Old Testament
texts the petitioners gave precedence to the verses of Ezra, where the
Israelites were forbidden to take Gentile wives, 'that they might be
strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance
to their children for ever.' If this principle was neglected even
the Parliamentary soldiers might join with the natives to attack
the colonists, having first learned the vices that reigned in the
land, such as swearing, drunkenness, dissembling, and deceiving. The
second argument was 'grounded on the law of nature, which teacheth
self-preservation.' Experience showed that the priests would go to
any lengths to advance their Church, and that the people would follow
them, and Edmund Campion the Jesuit is quoted as to the perfidiousness
of the Irish. The great thing was to get rid of the Tories out of
three provinces, and thus encourage honest men to come from England
and strengthen those who were already committed to Ireland. As things
actually stood the English were confined to garrisons and forced to
fold their cattle, while the Irish occupied the best land, keeping
their flocks and herds in the fields by day and night. When it was a
question of paying taxes they hid their stock in the woods, 'which the
English cannot do, who by that means will be liable to bear a greater
proportion of contribution than the Irish.'[265]

[Sidenote: The Protectorate established.]

[Sidenote: Fleetwood Deputy.]

Cromwell became Protector in December 1653, and Fleetwood was one of
the Council of State. Ludlow takes credit to himself for delaying the
assent of Ireland, but Oliver was nevertheless proclaimed on January
30, the Secretary's name only appearing. The other Commissioners
effaced their signatures when Ludlow refused to add his, and they
seem to have disliked the change. Ludlow rested his case upon the
engagement of January 1650, which he and his colleagues had taken to
support 'the Commonwealth of England as it is now established without
a King or House of Lords.' Afterwards he refused to have any share in
the civil government, while retaining his military command; and this
was attributed by Henry Cromwell and others to his love for pay and
allowances. There is nevertheless a real distinction between acting as
a minister and serving one's country as a soldier, even under a usurped
government. The Anabaptist party, who were hostile to the Protectorate,
showed signs of adopting the discontented general as their leader.
Cromwell sent over his son Henry to report, and he remained about a
month in Ireland, being received with as much honour as if he were
indeed a prince. He found Jones as well as Ludlow discontented, but
made rather light of their opposition, which indeed came to nothing,
William Kiffin and others advising their Baptist friends to accept the
new government. Henry nevertheless suggested that Fleetwood was not
a satisfactory representative, and advised his father to replace him
by Desborough, at least for a time. We have no means of knowing what
passed between father and son after the latter's return, but the result
was to soften the effect of the transplantation policy. Vincent Gookin
was in England, and if he was consulted, as is at least probable, his
influence would have worked in that direction. Fleetwood became Lord
Deputy in August 1654, when the term of the Commissioners came to an
end. Ludlow and Jones were not reappointed to the Irish Council, and
the latter went to England, but Corbet was retained, and others were
sent over. Among the latter were Colonel Robert Hammond of Isle of
Wight celebrity; Richard Pepys and William Steele, eminent lawyers;
Robert Goodwin, who had been over twelve years before; and Colonel
Matthew Tomlinson, who had been appointed one of Charles I.'s judges,
but had declined to act.[266]

[Sidenote: Cromwell's First Parliament.]

[Sidenote: The Irish members.]

[Sidenote: The dispensing power.]

A perfectly regular statute provided that the Long Parliament should
not be dissolved without its own consent, and the usurping House of
Commons, which had killed the King and abolished the monarchy and
House of Lords, was thus able to make some pretence of legality. In
the Parliament elected under the Instrument of Government thirty
members were assigned to Ireland, and Cromwell left it to those on the
spot to decide whether elections were possible in the state of the
country. Fleetwood, Jones, and Corbet replied that several counties
were waste and others very unsettled, and that they did not see how the
business was to be done. The writs were, however, sent over, and Ludlow
persuaded them that even the shadow of representation would be better
than nothing. He says the influence of the clergy secured a few results
not pleasing to the Government; but all the chief officers were chosen,
Broghill being returned for the county of Cork, and Gookin, whose
interests also lay there, for Bandon and Kinsale. Henry Cromwell was
chosen for Cambridge University, and Fleetwood both for Oxfordshire and
for Marlborough. The new Parliament met on Cromwell's lucky September
3, but before that day he had given Fleetwood and his Council power
to 'dispense with the orders and instructions made and given by the
late Parliament or Council of State for the transplantation of the
Irish,' and also with the penalties upon those who neglected or refused
to go. A clause to the same effect had been rejected when the Act of
Satisfaction was passed twelve months before.[267]

[Sidenote: Declaration as to transplantation, Nov. 30, 1654.]

[Sidenote: Vincent Gookin's pamphlet against transplantation.]

[Sidenote: Divisions among Protestants.]

[Sidenote: The earth-tillers indispensable]

The dispensing power remained with the Irish Government, who exercised
it; but Fleetwood was not inclined to make indulgence a matter of
course, and the military party were always pressing him in the
direction of severity. On November 30, 1654, a declaration was issued
repeating the order in the Act of Settlement for the transplantation
of landed proprietors, of those in arms against the Commonwealth since
October 21, 1641, and of those who aided the rebellion during the
first year of the war. They were ordered to be gone with their wives
and families by March 1 following, or to incur the penalties already
declared. How far Oliver was influenced by Vincent Gookin must be
a matter of conjecture, but he certainly liked him, and the latter
would scarcely have appeared in print against the Protector's known
wishes. At the very beginning of 1655 Gookin published a pamphlet
against general transplantation, and sent a copy to every member of
Parliament. He was impressed with the idea that the Irish generally
might be converted to Protestantism, and that this was much more likely
if they were left intermixed with the English. The country had been
conquered, and there were garrisons everywhere, but no ministers, 'as
if our business in Ireland was only to set up our own interest and not
Christ's.' Another difficulty lay in the divisions among Protestants,
who were so bitter against each other that 'the <DW7> sees not
where to fix if he should come to us.' If the Irish remained among
the English they would 'enjoy the labours of godly able ministers,
the encouragement of Protestant professors, and the catechisings of
private Christians,' all which influences would be wanting if they
were crowded together beyond the Shannon. It is hardly worth while to
inquire what might have happened if there had been no Restoration,
but Gookin declares that the priests had 'universally departed' as
well as the most dangerous of the soldiers, and it is possible for
people with a great deal of imagination to argue that Ireland might
have become Protestant if they had all been kept out for ever. What
really prevented the transplantation from being fully carried out was
the impossibility of cultivating the land without the help of the
natives, who might be spared under the first clause of the Act of
Settlement. The Irish, says Gookin, lived on the roots and fruits of
their 'gardens,' that is mainly on potatoes, and sold their corn to
the English to pay the taxes. The country, moreover, was not generally
suited to corn, on account of the uncertain climate and the amount of
labour required, and if the Irish all left no contribution could be
made out of lands east of the Shannon. The women, too, were for the
most part able to spin and weave flax and wool, and there were plenty
of masons 'more handy and ready in building ordinary houses and much
more prudent in supplying the defects of instruments and materials
than English artificers.' Gookin reckoned that a capital of 1500_l._
or 2000_l._ would be required for each thousand Irish acres, and that
it would be impossible to bring over English labour in sufficient
quantity. The Irish might refuse to go into Connaught--indeed, many had
already done so, saying that their position was hopeless and that they
might as well face ruin where they were as travel to look for it. And
he adds, 'there is one thing more which wise men will consider, and
that is, the impossibility of this transplanting ... can it be imagined
that a whole nation will drive like geese at the wagging of a hat upon
a stick?'[268]

[Sidenote: Definition of a Tory.]

[Sidenote: Intolerable taxation.]

Whatever may be the etymology of the name Tory, it was officially
applied in 1647 to masterless men living a life of brigandage and
preying upon all who had anything to lose. No doubt it was in popular
use before that date. Gookin says the English dreaded the Tories 'more
than armies, and woods and bogs than camps,' and he believed that
transplantation would make matters worse. The Irish proprietors would
be unable to support their followers beyond Shannon, the river would
be no barrier, and they would become Tories against their will. They
had already been forced into such courses by the intolerable taxation
necessary to support the Parliament's army, and by the violence and
oppression of some soldiers which often went unpunished. Most of the
really active rebels were dead or exiled, and it was unwise as well
as unjust to assume universal guilt. The Irish nation, indeed, 'were
generally engaged in the rebellion, either through ignorance of the
design and apprehending they acted by the King's commission and for
his and God's service; or through infirmity, partly fearing their
priests' threats, partly their landlords' frowns, partly the violence
of others, of the English who at the beginning reckoned an Irishman and
a rebel tantamount, and on that score forced many into war (who desired
peace) with the Irish in arms, who accounted and declared all enemies
that joined not (at least seemingly) with them, and proceeded with more
severity against dissenting natives than English.'

[Sidenote: Lawrence's answer to Gookin.]

[Sidenote: Everything English had been destroyed.]

[Sidenote: Only landowners and soldiers transplanted.]

[Sidenote: Gookin's rejoinder.]

[Sidenote: The two writers agreed in essentials.]

A month after its publication, Gookin's pamphlet was denounced by
Fleetwood as a 'very strange scandalous book,' and Colonel Lawrence,
'at the request of several persons in eminent place in Ireland,'
undertook to refute it. He was able to show that former settlements had
succeeded only where the colonists were placed near one another, 'as
for instance the barony of Ards, in the county of Down and province of
Ulster, which being entirely planted by British people did preserve
themselves by keeping guards upon their frontiers when all the country
besides was totally ruined.' He gives many horrible details of the
rebellion, 'wherein neither age nor sex were spared.... English cattle
and houses were destroyed for their being of an English kind, and all
this without the least provocation, yet this bloody inhuman act with
all its aggravations were espoused by this people as a national quarrel
and a war waged thereupon'; but admits that some of the Irish gentry
'(whose kindness I hope either hath been or will be rewarded both by
God and man)' did really help the English, so that a few escaped like
Job's messengers to bring the bad news. Lawrence points out that in
all official declarations only landed proprietors and men in arms were
marked for transplantation, and that nothing further was intended, but
he maintains that it was quite possible to extend it greatly without
danger. Gookin's rejoinder is dedicated to Fleetwood, whom he praises
for his kindness to all, whereby the necessary hardships were much
diminished. He shows how very few exceptions there would be among the
Irish if the declaration of October 14, 1653, were strictly acted upon,
acknowledges the authorship of the first pamphlet, and maintains his
position. 'Let no poor sufferer by the Irish betray his reason or
religion to his passion here, to think no evils can be too great to be
brought on the Irish. It was their being cruel makes us hate them so
much: to punish them do not run into their sin, lest God punish thee.
Do not think that he that writes this and the Case of Transplantation
pleads for them, but thy cause; 'tis safe and profitable for thee that
some be removed, not all. This Colonel Lawrence says shall be done and
this I desired might be done: where is my offence against authority
more than his, my love to the Irish more than his, or my care of thee
less than his?' After all there is not much difference between the two
writers. That the English did not think Gookin's ideas hostile to the
settlement may be inferred from their electing him to Parliament, and
proposing to pay his expenses there, an offer which he refused.[269]

[Sidenote: Effect of the Waldensian massacre.]

[Sidenote: Officers in Ireland protest against leniency.]

There can be little doubt that the sufferings of the Waldenses reacted
upon Ireland, the rather that many Irish refugees were concerned in
the massacres. At the end of 1653 it was reported that Irish troops
had passed the mountains from Spain and appeared at Nîmes, where there
was a strong body of Protestants. The priests secured them a good
reception, though they boasted that they would 'tear in pieces and
crucify quick' any Protestants they found there. Some of them were
induced to settle and take wives 'so that they may in a manner in
this town augment and renew the race of that execrable and murdering
nation.' Two months later another detachment were refused admission to
Nîmes because some of them boasted that they had massacred the English
in Ireland, and they went on to Piedmont. Later on it was said that
the Waldensian valleys were to be given up to the Irish. It is not
therefore surprising that the officers in Ireland, with Fleetwood at
their head, should have expressed their horror at the proceedings in
Piedmont, and cautioned the Protector against too great leniency in
Ireland. 'Let the blood of Ireland be fresh in your view, and their
treachery cry aloud in your ears, that the frequent solicitations with
which you are encompassed may not slack your hand to an unsafe pity of
those whose principles in all ages carry them forth to such brutish
and inhuman practices, which consist not with human society; and let
not such be left untransplanted here, or unminded in England, whose
continuance among us do palpably hazard the very being of Protestant
interest in these nations.' And Cromwell himself told the Dutch
Ambassador that the example of Ireland was fresh in his memory, where
above 200,000 had been massacred. So strong was the feeling in Ireland
that the officers contributed a fortnight's pay and the soldiers a
week's pay for the relief of the persecuted mountaineers. A large sum
was also subscribed privately.[270]

[Sidenote: Transplantation proceeds slowly.]

[Sidenote: The Loughrea commissioners.]

[Sidenote: The Athlone commissioners.]

The process of transplantation went on slowly, and was never carried
to its extreme lengths, for very few would have escaped if the Act of
Settlement had been carried out to the letter. But vast numbers did
remove during the year 1654, and it would probably be difficult to
exaggerate the hardships they underwent. In some cases at least whole
districts were depopulated, for it was officially reported that 'no
inhabitant of the Irish nation that knows the country' was left in the
barony of Eliogarty in Tipperary, which contains the town of Thurles,
and orders were given for the return of four families, who might live
near their old homes and assist the surveyors. Those who crossed the
Shannon were provided with land in a temporary way, and two commissions
were appointed to consider claims with a view to more permanent
arrangements. In October 1653 the transplanted were ordered to go
to Galway and inform the commissioners of revenue there as to their
families and the nature of their claims. Afterwards these commissioners
sat at Loughrea, and it became their duty to distribute land in
accordance with the findings of another commission at Athlone. The
latter were appointed on December 28, 1654, as the 'Court of Claims and
Qualifications of the Irish,' and were generally known as the Athlone
commissioners. Their business was to find under which qualification
or degree of guilt each Irish claimant fell, and to give him lands
proportionate to those which he had enjoyed east of the Shannon.
The Loughrea commissioners used the maps and registers made for
Strafford's intended plantation in Connaught and in the northern half
of Tipperary. For the rest of Ireland it was necessary to make a new
survey. Meanwhile transplantation proceeded very slowly, and in March
1656 there were 1000 men under restraint who had borne arms during the
rebellion, but refused to cross the Shannon.[271]

[Sidenote: A fresh survey. Benjamin Worsley.]

[Sidenote: William Petty.]

[Sidenote: Petty's proposals accepted.]

Benjamin Worsley, who had been a surgeon or apothecary in Strafford's
army, came over again in 1652, and was appointed Surveyor-General. He
had been an unsuccessful projector and according to Petty had tried his
hand at universal medicine, gold-making, saltpetre sowing, and other
'mountain-bellied conceptions which ended only in abortive mice,' he
and his friend Sankey being stigmatised as a 'multiloquial pair of
monti-parturists.' He began to make a survey, at which he expected
to be employed for many years, but Petty soon began to criticise his
proceedings and to suggest that he could do the work a great deal
better in as many months. Despatch was of the essence of the business,
for both adventurers and soldiers were clamouring for possession of the
promised lands. Petty had come over at the same time as Worsley, and
the Irish Government very soon found that he was a man of extraordinary
ability and very likely to carry anything he undertook to a successful
issue. Ireton made him Physician-General to the army, and he claimed
to have so reformed the drug department as to get rid of all abuses
and at the same time save the State 500_l._ a year. Worsley's plan was
to survey the forfeited lands without any regard to the established
divisions into baronies, parishes, and town lands, or to the physical
features of the country. He was to be paid only for the profitable
lands, and thus there was a constant tendency to include worthless
tracts. Moreover the subdivision would still have to be done either
at a great charge to the State or at the expense of the grantees. In
the latter case no authentic record would remain, and there would be
no unity of action. Nobody was satisfied at the prospect, and Petty
declared that Worsley's great object 'was so to frame committees
of conceited, sciolous persons, intermixing some of credit and
bulk amongst them, as whereby he might screen himself in case of
miscarriage.' He made proposals of his own, and the rival schemes were
submitted to the judgment of a committee consisting of Sir Hardress
Waller, Colonels Lawrence and Hewson, and nine others, including Petty
and Worsley.[272]

[Sidenote: The Down survey.]

[Sidenote: Surveying dangerous work.]

Petty's plan was approved, though Worsley worked hard against him, and
had at first the help of Sir Charles Coote and some other officers.
Afterwards Coote and Reynolds were added to the committee, and the
final result was a complete victory for Petty. Worsley remained
Surveyor-General, and it was with him that his rival contracted to do
the work. Petty engaged to make in thirteen months a general map of
twenty-two counties, ascertaining and defining the bounds of baronies
so that there should be no future doubt. He undertook within the same
counties accurately to set out all forfeited lands as well as all
Crown lands and the property of bishops, deans, and chapters, 'or any
other officer belonging to that hierarchy,' showing their quality and
physical character, and all civil subdivisions. He was to receive
7_l._ 2_s._ 4_d._ for every thousand acres of forfeited profitable
land that shall be admeasured and actually sent out to 'the soldiery
by him,' and 3_l._ for every thousand acres of unprofitable land. One
of the conditions made by Petty was that those whom he employed in the
survey should be protected from Tories, and this was no superfluous
precaution. Eight surveyors were actually captured near Timolin in
Kildare, carried off to the Wicklow mountains, and there murdered.
In spite of such drawbacks the survey was completed, or very nearly
so, within the specified time, and the distribution of land to the
disbanded soldiers went on in the meantime. Henry Cromwell visited
Kilkenny, Waterford, and Wexford in September and October 1655, and
reported that good progress had been made in the work.[273]

[Sidenote: Progress of the survey.]

[Sidenote: The debentures.]

[Sidenote: English settlers cannot be had.]

Petty claimed to have made lineal measurements to the extent of more
than five times the earth's circumference. The forfeited lands were
indicated to him by what was called the Civil Survey, which was merely
a register of forfeited lands made independently by commissioners and
for the most part before the old proprietors had actually departed.
This made the measuring business dangerous as well as troublesome,
and Petty employed soldiers 'such as were able to endure travail,
ill lodging and diet, as also heats and colds, being also men of
activity that could leap hedge and ditch, and could also ruffle with
the several rude persons in the country, from whom they might expect
often to be crossed and opposed.' He had no difficulty in finding men
who, 'having been bred to trades, could write and read sufficiently
for the purpose.' The more delicate instruments were obtained from
the best London makers, and skilled artificers were found to make the
rest. The soldiers had received debentures for their arrears, and the
idea was to set them down by regiments and companies alongside of the
Adventurers. But it soon became evident that the amount of forfeited
land was insufficient to meet the liabilities of the State. Land had
to be distributed on account, and debentures, including many fabricated
ones, were bought and sold. Very few old soldiers cared to settle down
upon small farms, and there were always speculative officers found to
buy up the claims of their men and so carve out estates for themselves,
Irish tenants and labourers being accepted because the hoped for
English immigration did not take place. The Act of Satisfaction forbade
officers to buy the privates' debentures, but a class of brokers sprang
up and the traffic continued till the Restoration. Great numbers were
sold before any distribution of land had been attempted. Petty himself
tells us that debentures were freely and openly sold at four or five
shillings in the pound, and that a pound so laid out purchased on an
average two acres of land. Later on there was a regulation against
selling at less than eight shillings in the pound, but of course this
was easily evaded. As a transfer of property from Irish to English
hands the Cromwellian settlement had some measure of success, but as a
scheme of colonisation it totally failed.[274]

[Sidenote: Insufficiency of lands assigned to soldiers.]

[Sidenote: The Adventurers' lands.]

[Sidenote: Clarendon's account of the settlement.]

It was at first supposed that the ten counties originally named in the
Act of Satisfaction would provide for both soldiers and adventurers,
but this soon had to be altered, and in the end distribution was made
to the soldiers in twenty-four counties out of thirty-two. Galway,
Mayo, Roscommon, and Clare were given to the transplanted Irish, and
Louth was set aside for the Adventurers. Dublin, Kildare, Carlow, and
Cork were retained by the Government, but about half the latter was
afterwards given up to disbanded soldiers. Nevertheless all arrears
were not paid in full, and some never received more than about twelve
shillings in the pound. Petty's detailed survey did not extend to
the Adventurers' portions, and their committee at Grocers' Hall made
separate arrangements which led to a good deal of confusion. Petty was
called in to disentangle the knot, and he and Worsley were commissioned
in September 1656 to measure the forfeited lands hitherto omitted. The
Adventurers, though numerous, were far fewer than the soldiers, and
they gave less trouble. Most of them probably had no idea of settling
in Ireland, and only wanted something to sell or let on lease. Some
debentures were given out to soldiers or their representatives as
late as the summer of 1658, and perhaps later. Many no doubt were
thoroughly dissatisfied with what they got, but working arrangements
had been made and Clarendon's testimony is conclusive as to the general
feeling of security among the English inhabitants. 'Ireland,' he says,
'was the great capital out of which all debts were paid, all services
rewarded, and all acts of bounty performed.' Buildings, enclosures,
and plantations were everywhere made, private purchases concluded 'at
very valuable rates, and jointures made upon marriages, and all other
conveyances and settlements executed, as in a kingdom at peace within
itself, and where no doubt could be made of the validity of titles.
And yet in all this quiet there were very few persons pleased or
contented.'[275]

[Sidenote: The land will not go round.]

[Sidenote: Security of the coast.]

[Sidenote: Case of Galway.]

[Sidenote: A desolate city.]

It was originally meant to give all the forfeited lands in Connaught
and Clare to the transplanted, reserving the towns and garrisons with
some space about them and a strip four miles wide all along the coast.
In the end Sligo and Leitrim were withdrawn, and the coast reserve was
narrowed to one mile. The amount of land was insufficient, and there
must have been great hardship, for the Government had no machinery for
giving quiet possession if there was any opposition from neighbouring
proprietors or rival claimants. It was a tradition of Irish government
to apprehend a Spanish invasion, and it was for that reason that a
belt of English settlers round the coast was contemplated, but nothing
seems to have come of it. Innisbofin was, however, strengthened and
garrisoned, and the <DW7> inhabitants ordered to leave the town of
Galway, where it was proposed to plant a colony from Gloucester as
a reward for its resistance to Charles I., and from Liverpool to
compensate it for losses during the war. But the inhabitants of those
towns were not tempted any more than those of Bristol had been in the
case of Waterford. 'Poor Galway,' wrote a clergyman in 1657, 'sitteth
in the dust and no eye pitieth her. Her merchants were princes and
great among the nations, but now the city which was full of people
is solitary and very desolate.' There was talk, but only talk, of
introducing a colony of Protestant Dutch. The old citizens were to
receive full value for their property and the settlers to give ten
years' purchase. As the latter did not come, probably the compensation
was not paid, and so the people lingered on or returned after a brief
absence. In November 1655 Henry Cromwell reported that all the Irish
had been cleared out of Galway, yet as late as August 1659, after
he had left Ireland, a fresh order was made to expel 'all the Irish
<DW7>s.' The old trade with Spain, which had been interrupted by
the long war, did not return, and Galway never recovered its old
prosperity. In 1650 a householder had welcomed Lady Fanshawe 'to this
desolate city, where you now see the street grown over with grass, once
the finest little city in the world'; and so it remained for years.[276]

[Sidenote: Difficulties with the towns.]

[Sidenote: Workmen allowed to remain.]

[Sidenote: Character of English settlers.]

[Sidenote: The priests not all expelled.]

By the ordinance of July 14, 1643, with a view to encourage merchants,
Galway, with 10,000 acres of land round it, had been offered for
a price of 7500_l._ and a rent of 520_l._, but the town did not
come into the power of Parliament for many years, and nothing was
done. Similar offers with the same result were made in the cases of
Limerick, Waterford, and Wexford. As the towns were gradually won,
frequent orders were given for the expulsion of the old inhabitants
who adhered to Rome, and who came within the scope of the Act of
Settlement. But here, as in the country, it was found impossible
really to carry out the clearance effectually. Artificers and workmen
could not be done without, since none came from England, and many of
them remained, though no doubt the houses of a better class were left
empty. When Inchiquin expelled the Roman Catholics from Cork in 1644,
three thousand houses were without tenants, and as many in Youghal.
The soldiers who were short of fuel warmed themselves with everything
that would burn, and Ormonde about the same time had to forbid the
practice in Dublin on pain of death. In March 1657 it is clear that
the work of depopulation had not been done, for an order was then
made 'that all Popish Recusants, as well proprietors as others, whose
habitation is in any port-towns, walled towns, or garrisons,' who had
not professed Protestantism before the cessation of 1643 and ever
since, should remove with their families at least two miles from any
such place. In 1650 some ministers and others in New England proposed
to colonise, being tempted by the offer of houses and land at Wexford
at one-tenth of their value before the war. Thousands were ready to
come if encouraged, being 'exiles through the tyranny of episcopacy
for no other offence but professing that truth, which (through mercy),
is now acknowledged.' This apparently came to nothing. Those English
who were attracted to Irish towns by the prospect of getting houses
rent-free, were often without capital, and in no condition to establish
a flourishing commerce. But all the Protestant settlers were not of
this class, for Charles II.'s declaration in 1660 set forth that they
had made improvements at their own charge, 'and brought trade and
manufacture into that our kingdom, and by their settlement there do
not a little contribute to the peace and settlement of that country.'
In any case much of the work was probably done by the old inhabitants,
for if they had not remained in considerable numbers, priests and
friars would not daily have risked their lives in Irish towns.[277]

[Sidenote: Proposed transplantation of Presbyterians.]

[Sidenote: The scheme is not carried out.]

Besides the great transplantation of Roman Catholics to Connaught,
Fleetwood and the sectaries contemplated the removal of Presbyterian
Royalists from Down and Antrim, whose proximity to the Scotch Highlands
was thought dangerous. Five commissioners, of whom Doctor Henry Jones
and Colonel Venables were two, were sent to Carrickfergus to tender
the Engagement of 1650, which bound men to support a government
without King or House of Lords. There were then but seven Presbyterian
ministers in the district, one of them being Patrick Adair, whose
narrative we possess. The commissioners sent parties of soldiers, one
of which seized all Adair's papers indiscriminately, 'there being
none among sixteen soldiers and a sergeant who could read.' The most
important papers were restored to Adair by a maidservant, who stole
them when the sergeant was asleep. None of the seven clergymen would
take the Engagement, and they had much support among the people.
The expulsion of the Long Parliament delayed, but did not stop, the
proceedings, and the Commissioners issued a proclamation against 260
persons, including Lord Clandeboye and Lord Montgomery of Ards, whom
they proposed to transplant to Kilkenny, Tipperary, and the sea coast
of Waterford. They were to receive the full value of the estates
which they lost, with a liberal price for way-going crops, and their
ministers might accompany them and receive salaries, provided they were
peaceable-minded and not scandalous. Sir Robert Adair and other leading
Presbyterians were sent to Tipperary, but the whole scheme came to
nothing, 'for Oliver, coming to the supreme order of affairs, used
other methods and took other measures than the rabble Rump Parliament.
He did not force any engagement or promise upon people contrary to
their conscience; knowing that forced obligations of that kind will
bind no man.' Orders for this transplantation were given, but nothing
was actually done.[278]

FOOTNOTES:

[257] Irish Commissioners to Council of State, January 8, 1651-2,
_Portland Papers_, i. 622, and _Ludlow_, i. 497. In the former the
river 'which goes to Youghal' is called the More, _i.e._ the Avonmore
or Blackwater, not the Nore, as printed in the latter. Statements by
Adventurers' Committee in _Portland Papers_, i. 639, April 5, 1652,
and _ib._ 649, May 14; Irish officers to Parliament, May 5, signed by
Ludlow and eighteen others. See _Prendergast_, pp. 83 _sqq._ Dr. Jones
had a vested interest in the 1641 depositions, Parliament having given
him the sole right to print and reprint his abstract up to March 21,
1641-2, _Somers Tracts_, v. 573. He had a fresh commission to take
evidence after that date, and doubtless the document which caused such
horror at Kilkenny in 1652 contained much additional matter.

[258] Act for the settling of Ireland, August 12, 1652, in _Scobell_,
ii. 197, reprinted in _Contemp. Hist._ iii. 341, and (with date
misprinted and omission of names in clause 3) in Gardiner's
_Constitutional Documents_, 2nd. ed. p. 394.

[259] _Life of Colonel Hutchinson_; _Ludlow_, i. 318; Cromwell's
commission to Fleetwood as commander-in-chief, July 10, 1652, in
_Thurloe_, i. 212; instructions to Commissioners, August 24, in
_Parliamentary History_, xx. 92; Representation of officers in Ireland
against Mr. Weaver, February 18, 1652-3, in _Portland Papers_, i. 671.

[260] Declaration of April 22, 1653, in _Parliamentary History_, xx.;
Commissioners in Ireland to Lenthall, December 3, 1652, January 15,
1652-3, and to the new Speaker, July 20, and their proclamation of
April 29, all printed in appx. to _Ludlow_, vol. i.

[261] _Parliamentary History_, xx. 152-183; Cromwell's opening speech
on July 4, 1653, is the first in _Carlyle_; _Ludlow_, i. 358.

[262] Order of Council of State, June 1, Commission and Instructions
'from the keepers of the liberty of England by authority of
Parliament,' June 22, in _Scobell_, 1653, chap. 12.

[263] Further instructions of July 2, 1653, in _Scobell_, chap. 12.
The letter of the Commissioners dated July 22, was written before the
receipt of this, _Ludlow_, i. 539. Lawrence's _Answer to Gookin_, p. 6.
Order in Council, March 19, 1654-5, _Irish R.O._, A/26.

[264] Declaration dated Dublin, October 14, 1653, signed by Fleetwood,
Ludlow, Corbet, and Jones, reprinted in _English Historical Review_,
xiv. 710, from what is believed to be a unique copy at Kilkenny.

[265] Petition presented March 1655, _ib._ The allusion is to chap.
6 of Campion's _History of Ireland_, first printed in 1587, and
republished by Sir James Ware in 1633, with a dedication to Strafford.

[266] Henry Cromwell to Thurloe, March 8, 1653-4, in _Thurloe_,
ii. 149; Jenkin Lloyd to Thurloe, March 13, _ib._ 162; Fleetwood
to Thurloe, April 8, _ib._ 224; appendix to _Fourteenth Report_ of
Deputy-keeper of Public Records, Ireland, p. 28; _Ludlow_, i. 377, 542.

[267] The names and constituencies of the Irish members of Parliament
are in _Parl. Hist._, xx. 307; _Ludlow_, i. 388. Instructions of August
17, 1654, in _Thurloe_, ii. 508.

[268] _The Great Case of Transplantation_ &c., London, printed for J.
C. 1655, to which Thomasson gives the date January 3. A potato-field is
still called a 'garden' in Ireland. The 'handy-man' who builds with bad
tools out of bad materials, is even now not extinct. The declaration of
November 30, 1654, is not extant, but is recited in a later one, see
_Eng. Hist. Review_, xiv. 722.

[269] Fleetwood to Thurloe, February 7, 1654-5, _Thurloe_, iii. 139.
_The Interest of England in the Irish Transplantation stated_, &c., by
a faithful servant of the Commonwealth, Richard Lawrence, London, 1655,
dated March 9. _The Author and Case of Transplanting, &c., vindicated
against the Unjust Aspersions of Colonel Richard Lawrence_, by Vincent
Gookin, Esquire, London, 1655, published May 12. Petty had a hand in
Gookin's first pamphlet, see his _Life_, by Lord Fitzmaurice. Lawrence
was a brother of the English President of Council; he came to Ireland
with Cromwell and was governor of Waterford.

[270] Letters of November 25, 1653, in _Thurloe_, i. 587; of January 25
1653-4. _ib._ ii. 27; of April 27, 1655, _ib._ iii. 384; Fleetwood and
forty-four other officers to the Protector, _ib._ iii. 466; Nieuport to
the States General, _ib._ iii. 477; Morland's _Hist. of the Evangelical
Churches_, book iii. chap. 3, art. 1.; _Hist. of Down Survey_, p. 66;
Henry Cromwell to Thurloe, January 30, 1655-6, _Thurloe_, iv. 484.

[271] H. Cromwell to Thurloe, March 12, 1655-6, _Thurloe_, iv. 606.

[272] Petty's _Reflections_ on some persons and things in Ireland, ed.
1790, pp. 54, 106; _Hist. of the Down Survey_, chaps. 1 and 2. The name
'Down', comes simply from the particulars being laid down in map form
and not merely described.

[273] Dr. Petty's proposals at p. 9 of _Hist. of Down Survey_; Articles
with Worsley ratified by the Lord Deputy and Council, December 25,
1654, _ib._ 29; H. Cromwell to Thurloe, October 9, 1655, in _Thurloe_,
iv. 73; Prendergast, _Cromwellian Settlement_, p. 206. In consequence
of the delays interposed by Worsley and others, the thirteen months
were made to run from February 1 1654-5.

[274] Brief account of the Survey in _Hist. of Down Survey_, xiii.;
Petty's _Political Anatomy of Ireland_, chap. iv.; Fitzmaurice's _Life
of Petty_, chap. ii.; _Prendergast_, 2nd. edition, 221, where there are
many details as to the sale of debentures to officers, and a facsimile
of one by way of frontispiece. On August 29, 1655, Henry Cromwell wrote
to Thurloe: 'I believe we reduce near 5000 men, and as good soldiers
as are in the three nations. I am afraid few of them will betake
themselves to planting; if you could find out some employment for them
abroad, it would be of good service to the public,' _Thurloe_, iii.
744. State Papers, _Domestic_, December 28, 1654. As late as November
6, 1657, Broghill wrote to Montagu 'if all things move at the rate our
settlement of Ireland has done, I shall think the body politic has got
the gout,' _Thurloe_, vi. 600.

[275] _Hist. of Down Survey_, 53, 198; Clarendon's _Life_, Con. 116;
Fitzmaurice's _Life of Petty_, chap. 2. A list printed by Prendergast,
p. 403, gives the names of 1,360 adventurers.

[276] _Prendergast_, p. 305; Hardiman's _Hist. of Galway_, p. 137;
Lady Fanshawe's _Memoirs_. On January 30, 1655-6, Henry Cromwell told
Thurloe that there were not six families in Galway, and that the houses
decayed daily; he thought it would pay to encourage London merchants to
make a settlement, even if they had the houses rent-free, _Thurloe_,
iv. 198, 483; Rev. R. Easthorp to H. Cromwell, July 17, 1657,
_Lansdowne MSS._, 822.

[277] _Scobell_, p. 47. Thirty priests were ordered to be shipped to
the Continent from Galway on June 15, 1665, Irish R.O., A/60. One
secular priest, one Jesuit, and several friars remained in Dublin
during the whole Cromwellian period, _Spicilegium Ossoriense_, ii. 208.
Many details as to Irish towns are given by Prendergast, chap. vi.
272-307. Letter to Cromwell from New England, October 31, 1650, _Milton
State Papers_, p. 44.

[278] Patrick Adair's _True Narrative_, ed. Killen, 197, 201. The
proclamation for the transplantation dated May 23, 1653, is printed
in Reid's _Presbyterian Church_, chap 16, and the 260 names in the
appendix. See Gardiner's _Commonwealth_, iii. 305.




CHAPTER XXXVIII

HENRY CROMWELL, 1655-1659


[Sidenote: Appearance of Henry Cromwell.]

Though the Protector had not adopted his son's advice by at once
recalling Fleetwood, it soon became evident that he wished for a
stronger man. Before the end of 1654 the Lord Deputy gently complained
that he was kept in the dark about matters of policy, and doubted
whether this was for his Highness's service. A few days later Henry
Cromwell was appointed to the Council in Ireland, having already for
some months held a commission as Major-General of the forces there; but
he did not come over until July 1655. Fleetwood returned to England
some weeks later, but retained the office of Deputy, and continued to
give advice, while Henry became virtual head of the Irish Government.
Fleetwood had come very much under the influence of the Anabaptist
officers, and his supersession marks the decline of their reputation
with the now all-powerful Protector.[279]

[Sidenote: Fleetwood leaves Ireland, Sept. 1655.]

[Sidenote: Action of Ludlow.]

[Sidenote: Cromwell and Ludlow.]

When Fleetwood left Ireland, Henry Cromwell became President of the
Council. The other members were William Steele, Recorder of London, who
did not come over till the next year, Richard Pepys, who became Chief
Justice, Corbet, Goodwin, and Tomlinson. Hammond had died in 1654, and,
five being a quorum, it was necessary that all should be present. To
avoid this William Bury, of Grantham, was added in August 1656. The
Anabaptist party were very sorry to lose Fleetwood, and rejoiced in a
rumour of his probable return, but many superior officers, including
Sir Theophilus Jones, Sir Hardress Waller, and Commissary-General
Reynolds, circulated a petition to the Protector, suggesting that his
son should be Lord Lieutenant. Ludlow had given all the trouble he
could, refusing to surrender his commission to any but the Parliament
who gave it, and circulating pamphlets against the Protectorate, much
to the disgust of Fleetwood. He, however, allowed his commission to
be taken from him in an informal way, giving his parole to do nothing
against the Government until he came into the Protector's presence.
He then proposed to go to England on urgent private affairs, and
gave a second engagement to remain quiet until he had surrendered
to the Protector or the Lord Deputy. On this undertaking Fleetwood
gave him leave to go, and it was one of his last acts in Ireland.
When the Deputy was gone Henry Cromwell opposed Ludlow's departure,
while declining to restrain him forcibly; but he took steps to have
him intercepted at Beaumaris until the Protector's wishes were known,
and he was under arrest there for six weeks. Cromwell saw him after
his arrival in London, and there was much not altogether unfriendly
argument, but Ludlow stoutly refused to acknowledge the Government or
to give any security. As a matter of fact he remained quiet while the
protectorate lasted, and he was not molested.[280]

[Sidenote: Irish girls for Jamaica.]

[Sidenote: They are not sent.]

The infant settlement in Jamaica suffered much from a scarcity of
women, and the English Government suggested that Irish girls might
be sent out. 'Concerning the young women,' wrote Henry Cromwell in
reply, 'though we must use force in taking them up, yet it being so
much for their own good, and likely to be of so great advantage to the
public, it is not in the least doubted that you may have such numbers
of them as you think fit.' The Committee of Council in England voted
that a thousand girls and as many boys should be sent, but there is no
evidence that anything was actually done, and the probabilities are
the other way. The difficulties in Jamaica were great, and perhaps
Cromwell thought that the time for importing settlers had not yet
come.[281]

[Sidenote: Deportation to the West Indies.]

[Sidenote: Deportation not confined to the Irish.]

[Sidenote: Condition of the Irish at Barbadoes.]

Considerable numbers were, however, sent from Ireland to the West
Indies. They were not slaves, but were forced to work for wages, and
could not leave the islands, to which they were sent in the character
of masterless men, vagrants, rogues, and vagabonds. This system
began in 1653, and continued until the Restoration or later. It was
not confined to Ireland, many seditious persons in England having
been treated in the same way. James II. continued the practice after
Sedgemoor. For white men the climate alone was a terrible punishment. A
large number of prisoners were thus treated after Penruddock's rising.
After Dunbar and Worcester English and Scotch captives were sent to New
England, and others were ordered to Bermuda. At the beginning of 1655
the governor of Waterford was ordered to ship Morrice Cleere 'by the
first vessel bound for the Barbadoes, there to work for his living.'
About the same time it was ordered that 'when a peaceable person was
murdered' by any Tory or 'other Irish in rebellion,' three or four of
the chief Irish neighbours were to be shipped to Barbadoes, 'and other
American plantations,' unless they could show that they had done their
best to apprehend the guilty parties. An Irish priest who visited the
West Indies in 1669 enlarges on the state of the Irish sent by Cromwell
'and other fierce enemies of the Catholic Church and faith.' They had
been forced to work in the fields and 'treated cruelly and miserably in
temporal, and much more in spiritual things,' being entirely precluded
from Catholic worship, and from the ministration of their priests.
There were 8000 in Barbadoes, and about 4000 in other settlements. In
the French island of Guadeloupe there were 800, who were even worse
off than in the English possessions, for they lived in the worst parts
of it, and 'though the island was Catholic they had little advantage
by that, on account of the distance, difficult access, and scarcity of
priests.'[282]

[Sidenote: Henry Cromwell and Dublin University.]

[Sidenote: The Anabaptists.]

[Sidenote: Henry Cromwell's moderation.]

Oliver Cromwell became Chancellor of Oxford, and it was natural that
the University of Dublin should confer a like honour upon his son,
Ormonde being outlawed by the Act of 1652. Almost immediately after
his landing Henry was received in state and entertained at dinner by
the vice-chancellor, provost, and others, 'who, with many doctors,
were all robed in scarlet.' The vice-chancellor was Dr. Henry Jones,
who kept his bishopric of Clogher in the background, his services as
scoutmaster-general of the Parliamentary army having secured him in his
place. The provost was Dr. Samuel Winter, who ranked as an Independent,
but was inclined to maintain friendly relations with Episcopalians and
Presbyterians. Very probably his influence was great in determining
Henry Cromwell's tolerant policy towards Protestants of all sorts; but
this did not secure general good-will, for the Anabaptists were 'much
offended with him for coming every Lord's Day to parochial and public
congregations and with his chaplains for preaching against dipping.'
Winter himself preached and wrote in favour of infant baptism, and for
adhering to him 'a godly man' was solemnly excommunicated by the Dublin
Anabaptists, and had no alternative but to join the Independents. Henry
Cromwell's letters are full of complaints about the Anabaptists, and
their opposition in the Government and army was formidable, for they
could count twelve governors of cities or towns, twenty-four field
officers, many captains, two salaried preachers, and twenty-three
officials in civil pay. A clergyman at Galway complained of oppression
by Colonel Sadler, the governor of Galway, his offence being that
he had baptised children, and prevented 'dipping' in his church. He
recalled the tyranny of John of Leyden and Knipperdoling, and lamented
that so notable a town should be abandoned to a 'few mechanic barbers
and tailors.' Fleetwood had encouraged the sectaries more from weakness
than from actual sympathy. Military adventurers, who had enjoyed
despotic power during the war, were disgusted at having to share it
with moderate men, and especially at the re-establishment of regular
courts of law. Henry Cromwell was all for promoting 'the ancient
Protestant inhabitants,' who had been dispersed and were now trying to
return to their old occupations. Vincent Gookin and his friend Petty
were thoroughly in favour of this moderate policy. Of the discontented
people not one in a hundred had any property before the war, the rest
having gained possession of what they could in payment for service or
by buying out Adventurers and soldiers. 'And the confiscation of land
in Ireland,' adds Gookin prophetically, 'is so general, the settlers
and sellers so many, the buyers and takers so few, except them, that
it is certain within a year or two, all these men will have too great
interests in forfeited lands to give them up to Charles Stuart, or any
from him.'[283]

[Sidenote: Reduction of the army, Sept. 1655.]

[Sidenote: A mutiny quelled.]

The reduction of the army in Ireland was a gradual and difficult
operation. In 1652 its total strength was about 34,000 men, which were
reduced to about 24,000 in the following year. In 1655, about 5000
more were disbanded without any disorder, and Fleetwood estimated
that this would reduce the monthly cost to 28,000_l._, a saving of
some 17,000_l._ As much haste as possible was made to provide the
disbanded men with land, but they showed no disposition to settle upon
it. Cavalier plots and military discontents induced the Protector to
seek reinforcements in Ireland, and both Fleetwood and Henry Cromwell
feared lest their garrisons might be unduly weakened, for disturbances
in Great Britain always had their echo beyond the channel. In January
1655, 2300 men were sent to Liverpool, but they embarked very
unwillingly, saying that they had been engaged to fight Irish rebels,
whereas in England they might be employed against their best friends.
One company was cashiered by a court-martial, and one man was hanged at
the masthead. Later on troops were sent from Ireland to Jamaica.[284]

[Sidenote: Oliver Cromwell and his son.]

[Sidenote: Anabaptists and Quakers in the army.]

It may be doubted whether Oliver Cromwell really had any dream of
founding a dynasty. We have his own statement that he wished his sons
to live privately in the country, and that he was only induced to
promote Henry by the earnest persuasion of others. Having placed him
in authority in Ireland he supported him steadily, but in a tentative
way and without doing anything to estrange others. He was civil to
Hewson and others who were inclined to give trouble, and refused to
believe that Fleetwood was in any way disloyal. 'Take care,' he wrote
to his son, 'of making it a business to be too hard for the men who
contest with you. Being over-concerned may train you into a snare.
I have to do with these men, and am not without my exercise. I know
they are weak because they are so peremptory in judging others.' The
Anabaptists were chiefly in his mind, but Henry had troubles with
the Quakers also, and here, too, the Protector might sympathise. The
danger always was that the army would become ill-affected. One of the
most troublesome officers was Hewson, who took the lead in petitioning
the Protector to send back 'our present precious Lord Deputy,' whose
appointment had been 'a refreshment to all the godly in this nation.'
Oliver answered civilly, but without granting the request, cautioning
his son against believing anything discreditable to Fleetwood. Henry
Cromwell also objected to having John Jones sent back to Ireland as
likely to be 'dangerous and prejudicial to the public,' by nourishing
factions, but drew back rather penitently when he found that Jones
was to become his uncle by marrying the Protector's sister. Hewson
was not really dangerous: he made terms for himself, was knighted by
Oliver, and accepted a seat in his House of Lords. But Axtell, Vernon,
Barrow, and Allen laid down their commissions because the Anabaptists
ceased to be the ruling sect, Thurloe attributing their action merely
to disappointed greed or ambition. The army, nevertheless, remained
faithful, and Henry Cromwell did his best to get the soldiers regularly
paid.[285]

[Sidenote: Oliver's second Parliament.]

[Sidenote: Irish members.]

[Sidenote: Intolerance of this Parliament.]

[Sidenote: Oath of abjuration.]

In the summer of 1656 Henry Cromwell had become so weary of calumny
and so disheartened for want of effectual support that he wished
to retire; but Thurloe assured him that the tale-bearers were not
believed in England, and that he might go on with his work. It was
at this time that the Protector resolved to try a second Parliament,
and writs for the Irish elections were sent over. The major-generals
and the decimation tax were very unpopular in England, but in Ireland
the army was so completely master that there was not much difficulty
about getting thirty suitable members. Broghill, who as President of
the Council in Scotland managed the elections there, was returned in
his absence for the county of Cork, Sir Charles Coote for Galway and
Mayo, and Vincent Gookin for Cork and Kinsale. Broghill voted for the
title of king, but Henry Cromwell was against it, thinking little
of the constitutional argument which had such weight with men like
Whitelock, and esteeming it 'a gaudy feather in the hat of authority.'
The Protector refused the crown, and it would have been well for his
fame if he had also insisted on altering the eleventh article of the
Petition and Advice which secured religious liberty, provided 'it
should not be extended to Popery or Prelacy.' This having been admitted
as a principle of government, the logical consequence was to pass an
Act which obliged all suspected persons over sixteen to take an oath
abjuring the distinctive doctrines of the Roman communion, on pain of
having two-thirds of their property--real and personal--sequestered.
Those who afterwards became Protestants might be restored upon taking
the oath, but not unless they have given frequent attendance for
the previous six months at some authorised place of worship, being
subject to renewed sequestration if they relapsed. The same penalties
applied to any Protestant who married a Popish Recusant. 'The oath of
abjuration,' Henry Cromwell wrote, 'begets much disturbance here; for
the Irish, upon apprehension thereof, sell off their cattle to buy
horses, to put themselves into a shifting condition either for force or
flight.... I wish his Highness were made sensible hereof in time.' Dr.
Jones said the same thing, adding that the oath 'was the great engine
by which the Popish clergy stir up the people, and whereby they move
foreign states to their assistance.' Cromwell allowed this oppressive
law to pass, though it was a retrograde measure, and one which he
cannot really have approved. The unfortunate people affected by it in
Ireland were in no condition to give serious trouble, but it must have
led to the multiplication of Tories.[286]

[Sidenote: Royalist plots.]

[Sidenote: Weakness of Spain.]

[Sidenote: Loss of a transport.]

[Sidenote: Dishonest contractors.]

The Cavaliers abroad were constantly plotting against the English
Government and the Protector's life, but these intrigues had scarcely
any direct effect on Ireland. Richard and Peter Talbot were among the
most active conspirators, and the landing of Irish troops was always
regarded as part of the scheme. The exiles were discussing Sexby's
plans at the beginning of 1656, and the Protector, who was always
well informed, thought it possible that some attempt might be made
in Ireland. He directed his son, and the order was promptly obeyed,
to reduce garrisons as much as possible, and to keep a field army in
two or three divisions ready for any alarm. John Davies, who had been
elected for Carrickfergus and Belfast, was known to be an underhand
Royalist worker, and he was not allowed to go to England. It was
in the north that trouble was expected, but nothing happened. Five
thousand foot and nearly half as many horse were held in readiness,
and Henry Cromwell was after this averse to a reduction of the army,
at least until an efficient Protestant militia could be provided.
Helpless and decadent Spain was the enemy whose still remaining force
was overrated by Cromwell. Nevertheless, he failed in Hispaniola, and
dared not attempt Gibraltar, so that his naval strength was mainly
useful to hold Jamaica by occupying the Spaniards near home. The end
of 1656 was marked by Stayner's capture of the galleons, but also by
a disaster on the Irish coast. A fleet carrying reinforcements for
Jamaica was dispersed by a gale, and one ship, the _Two Brothers_,
having sprung a leak, drifted towards a lee shore to the westward
of the Old Head of Kinsale. Four men were detached on a raft 'with
a letter in a pitch box,' and they reached land too much bruised to
move further. The letter was taken to the governor of Kinsale, but the
ship's cable parted in the meantime and she was driven upon a rock.
There were saved only about forty soldiers out of some 250, and sixteen
seamen out of twenty-nine. The Rev. Edward Worth, whose parsonage was
at Ringrone, not far off, thanked God that the wreck was in the barony
of Courcies, 'for the greater part inhabited by English and such Irish
as were never in rebellion; divers of the English and many more of the
Irish attended all that evening on the coast, not to get the plunder,
but to preserve the men whom it should please God to bring to shore.'
It was ebb tide, and as each poor wretch was thrown up by the sea, the
hardy natives ran down and helped him to escape before the next wave.
Worth and his neighbours provided shelter, and the people of Kinsale
vied with each other in providing for the castaways; for the natural
sentiments of humanity had survived the war, and were extended to
the soldiers of the Commonwealth. Another transport, the _Sapphire_,
from Carrickfergus, was driven into Cork harbour in an almost sinking
state, and 260 soldiers, forming her cargo, were quartered in the Great
Island, where they could be prevented from deserting. Both these ships
were the property of contractors, and supposed to be in good trim. When
the paint was off they proved to be 'very unsound and rotten, and I
think,' says Henry Cromwell, 'that those who were employed to contract
for those ships are deeply guilty of the loss of those poor men.'[287]

[Sidenote: Henry Cromwell Lord Deputy, Nov. 17, 1657.]

[Sidenote: Financial difficulties.]

After some hesitation and confusion, Henry Cromwell was appointed
Deputy in November 1657, with a new council of five, of whom Chancellor
Steele was the chief. Sindercome had already put an end to himself,
and Sexby was safe in the Tower, where he died mad a few weeks later.
Royalist plots with Spanish support had ceased to be formidable, and
some reduction of the army in Ireland was possible, if only money could
be had to pay off the soldiers, who were eight months in arrear before
the end of 1657. The Deputy maintained that nothing like an equilibrium
could be established unless 180,000_l._ were transmitted from England.
The regular revenue of Ireland was only about 72,000_l._, which was
absorbed by the ordinary charges of government, and the extraordinary
taxation for the army weighed upon the country. Broghill reported that
some who had been returned to Parliament could not possibly attend the
second session, being impoverished by the expenses of the first, and by
heavy taxes. The usual remittances from England were slow in coming,
and there was also 'extreme trouble and confusion about Spanish and bad
coins which made the soldiers apt to grow licentious in abusing the
country when they levied their contribution.' They naturally decided
questions of exchange in their own favour, 'partly of necessity, and
partly presuming 'twill seem unreasonable to punish severely, and pay
negligently.' Twenty thousand pounds were assessed upon Ireland for war
purposes during the three months ending June 24, 1657, and 9000_l._
a month for the three years then beginning. The monthly contribution
from England and Wales was 35,000_l._, and 6000_l._ from Scotland,
and many thought Ireland disproportionately burdened. Indeed, Henry
Cromwell says in one letter that she paid six times, and in another ten
times too much. The difficulty about money continued to the end of the
Protectorate, for Oliver had not time to summon a third Parliament,
and Richard's was short-lived. Without parliamentary authority it was
impossible to make the State self-supporting on either side of St.
George's Channel.[288]

[Sidenote: The army supports the Protector.]

[Sidenote: An Anabaptist on the constitution.]

It was almost customary for a viceroy to be on ill terms with a Lord
Chancellor, and Henry Cromwell thought that Steele was plotting to
make a separate interest among the Independents. Henry was by many
years the younger man, and he allowed his senior to lecture him,
'supposing that if I got nothing else I should get his measure.' But
Thurloe did not believe his suspicions well founded, and Steele, who
had only accidentally missed being a regicide, had really no course
open to him but to support the Protector. After Oliver dissolved his
second Parliament, calling upon God to judge between him and them,
most of the officers in England and Scotland agreed to an address of
confidence in him. The same course was taken in Ireland, but Major Low,
an Anabaptist, refused to express a wish that 'government should be
settled on such a basis as should be most suitable to the constitution
of these nations,' saying that it implied a return to kingship. Sankey
and others of the same sect said that if kingship were really the most
suitable they would desire it: the Deputy must have seen the writing
on the wall. Ormonde's courageous visit to London, in January, and the
abortive gathering at Ostend caused some momentary alarm, but there
was no disturbance, and a little later the capture of Dunkirk raised
Cromwell to his highest pinnacle of fame. The army remained faithful,
and as long as life lasted it was evident to all that his power would
last also.[289]

[Sidenote: Death of Cromwell, Sept. 3, 1658.]

[Sidenote: Henry Cromwell, Lord Lieutenant.]

Oliver Cromwell died, and Richard succeeded as quietly as if he had
been the legitimate king. The news reached Dublin on October 10, and on
the same day the new Protector was proclaimed. Having been signed by
the Lord Deputy and such Privy Councillors, judges, and chief officers
as were on the spot, the proclamation was printed and dispersed over
the country next day. There was no opposition, Broghill among others
announcing his adhesion. A despatch was sent to Monck promising him the
unanimous support of the Irish army in any difficulty. The machinery of
government went on as usual, but on October 6 Richard made his brother
Lord Lieutenant, and Petty carried the commission over to Ireland. Lord
Harry, as he was called, was not anxious for the higher title; but
having been appointed he kept the same state as Strafford had done,
which caused some amusement. An address from the army in Ireland to the
new Protector was agreed to, the officers being quite or very nearly
unanimous. But Henry was almost afraid to write, knowing that his
letter would be opened, and Fauconberg kept him informed of the plots
against his brother. He dared not leave his post, though much in want
of a holiday. 'I am afraid,' he wrote to Richard as early as October
20, 'to come to your Highness lest I should be kept there, and so your
Highness lose this army, which, for ought I know, is the only stay you
have ... the flood is so strong, you can neither stem it nor come to an
anchor, but must be content to go adrift and expect the ebb.'[290]

[Sidenote: The Lord Lieutenant's difficulties.]

[Sidenote: Elections for Richard's Parliament.]

Henry Cromwell was ill and despondent during the months following
his father's death. He knew in his heart that the system could not
long outlive the man, and Thurloe, whose judgment was not warped by
fanaticism, could give him little comfort. 'The funeral,' he wrote,
'of his late Highness was solemnised this day with very great honour;
but alas! it was his funeral.' When the Lord Lieutenant's commission
came over it was found to contain no clause authorising him to leave
Ireland or to appoint a Deputy, and as if he felt Restoration in
the air he looked to Charles I. for a precedent, and sent over his
letter to Strafford as a model. He had, he wrote, been sentenced by
his enemies to an honourable banishment. Thurloe professed that the
omission was a mere oversight, but Fauconberg said bluntly that his
brother-in-law's presence in London was desired by no one. 'They that
hate you fear you too, and, therefore, oppose it, they that love you
have apprehensions neither Ireland nor Henry Cromwell are secure if
separated.' And Richard was of the same opinion. Moreover, he could
hardly be spared until the elections were over, and writs for the new
Parliament arrived about the middle of December. It had been decided
that thirty members should be sent from Ireland and the same from
Scotland by constituencies grouped upon Oliver's plan. The English
members were to be returned by the old counties and boroughs, giving
up the late Protector's attempt at parliamentary reform, but the
Upper House was left as he had devised it, and separate writs for it
were sent to the Lord Lieutenant, to Lord Chancellor Steele, and to
Lord Broghill. Petty was returned for West Loo, Coote for Galway and
Mayo, and Vincent Gookin for Bandon and Kinsale. Broghill thought a
Parliament necessary, but was not sanguine, and foresaw opposition from
the army.[291]

[Sidenote: Parliament of 1659.]

[Sidenote: Opinions of Irish members.]

The notice for the elections was so short that many or most of the
Irish members could not reach London in time for the opening of
Parliament; but this made little difference, for the House of Commons
was occupied at first in the discussion of the Protector's title,
the constitution of the 'other House,' and the status of the Scotch
members. Parliament met on January 27, and it was not till March 23
that it was debated whether the members for Ireland should continue
to serve. In the meantime they were allowed to speak and, apparently,
to vote. Major Ashton, who represented Meath and Louth, preferred a
separate legislature, partly on the ground that Ireland should have
no share in governing England. Arthur Annesley, who sat for the city
of Dublin, was of the same opinion--mainly, because Ireland would be
overtaxed by an assembly where she was always in a minority. At the
moment, he said, Ireland very unfairly paid 9000_l._ a month while
Scotland paid only 6000_l._, and his prayer was 'that they might
have some to hear their grievances in their own nation, seeing they
cannot have them heard here.' Sir Thomas Stanley, member for Tipperary
and Waterford, said he spoke not for Ireland, but for the English
in Ireland. 'Language, habit, laws, interest being in every respect
the same in kind,' he was in favour of the Union, for free-born
Englishmen beyond the channel had a natural right to representation
in the sovereign Parliament. A hundred and fifty-six voted for the
retention of the Irish members, and a hundred and six against, Thurloe
being one of the tellers for the majority. After this the Parliament
had but one short month of life, during which Irish affairs seem to
have been but little discussed, except in the matter of Petty and his
proceedings.[292]

[Sidenote: Petty and Sankey.]

Petty's great enemy was Sir Hierome Sankey, who had had a varied
career. At Cambridge, where he was a candidate for Holy Orders, he
was more noted for proficiency in athletic games than for study, and
soon rose in the army when he took the Parliamentary side at the
beginning of the Civil War. He became in turns a Presbyterian, an
Independent, and at last an Anabaptist. He migrated to Oxford, where he
became Fellow of All Souls, and was one of the proctors when Fairfax
and Cromwell were made Doctors of Civil Law in 1649. He sat in the
Parliament of 1654 for Tipperary and Waterford, and in that of 1656 for
Marlborough. Henry Cromwell knighted him, and in Richard's Parliament
he represented Woodstock. On March 24 he charged Petty with various
kinds of corruption, but without giving particulars, and in the accused
man's absence. Maynard, who was himself an Adventurer in Ireland and
who touched on his own experience in the Strafford trial, fixed upon
this want of particulars, and he was not without support. The most
that Sankey could do was to sign six articles, all of the most general
character; and these were sent to Petty in Ireland, with orders to
attend in his place that day month. The summons did not reach him until
April 3, so that he had only seventeen days to make his preparations
and travel from Dublin to London. He had some reason to complain of the
short time allowed him.[293]

[Sidenote: Petty's defence.]

[Sidenote: His revenge.]

On April 21 Petty attended as directed, and spoke at length in answer
to the articles. His speech was dignified and moderate, and made a
very good impression on the House. The first charge was that he had
received great bribes. To this he answered that as clerk of the Council
he had never taken anything but the bare salary, and that as secretary
to Henry Cromwell he had been a pecuniary loser, not exacting even the
customary fees, 'merely upon the account of preserving his Excellency's
honour clear, and myself clear from the least appearance of this evil.'
The burden of proof evidently lay upon the accuser. The second charge
was that he had been a wholesale purchaser of debentures, contrary to
the Act of Satisfaction, forcing people to sell as a condition for
having their lands set out to them. To this Petty replied that he
had many colleagues and was well watched, so that he could not use
coercion if he had wished; that the debentures bought by him were under
7000_l._ in value, and that he had got them from brokers, who profited
by the transaction. The third article charged him with the fraudulent
acquisition of much money and land, to which he answered that the
only public payment to him was by contract; that the 17,000_l._ which
the survey cost was well and hardly earned; and that the soldiers had
paid half of it themselves. As to land, he had no more than a fair
consideration for what was owed him. The fourth charge was a general
one of foul and unwarrantable practices, on which he was content to
challenge the production of a single instance. The fifth and sixth
articles accused Petty and his colleagues of malversation generally,
and was scarcely worth answering, since they did not fall particularly
on him. He abstained from recrimination in debate, but took ample
revenge by publishing a report of Sankey's reply, which begins thus:
'Mr. Speaker, you have heard here a long, starched, studied speech;
I say a starched, studied piece. Mr. Speaker, there has been a great
deal of rhetoric; I say a great deal of rhetoric. But I will prove
my charge; I will make it good, Mr. Speaker, from the front to the
rear--front, flank, and rear; Mr. Speaker, that I will,' and so forth.
No real evidence of any kind was adduced, or even mentioned, and the
business was referred to the Lord Lieutenant and Council of Ireland.
Richard's Parliament was dissolved the next day, and we are justified
in believing his brother's oft-repeated assertion that Dr. Petty was a
very honest man.[294]

[Sidenote: Dissolution of Parliament, April 22.]

[Sidenote: The Rump restored.]

[Sidenote: Henry Cromwell recalled.]

Richard Cromwell probably knew quite well that the dissolution of
Parliament was virtually an abdication, and he resisted to the utmost.
But the officers were determined to depose him, and he had no hold upon
soldiers whom he had never led to victory. His brother in Ireland could
only wait upon events, rejoicing 'that our dear father went off in that
glory which was due to his actings.' He sent over Bury, Lawrence, and
Dr. Henry Jones to confer with Fleetwood as to what was to be done. The
Rump was restored in less than three weeks, but so attenuated was that
once formidable assembly that a quorum of forty was with difficulty
got together. Ninety-one members in all were admitted to sit, several
of whom had been elected in an unconstitutional manner, and the number
meeting at any one time never reached sixty. Lenthall, notwithstanding
his new-fangled peerage, was induced to take the chair. Immediately
after the late dissolution Coote had hurried to Ireland with the
news, and Broghill went over about the same time. On June 7 the House
resolved that Henry Cromwell, whose opposition they feared, should come
over to give an account of the state of Ireland, and that on the same
day the government should be handed over to five commissioners. Steele,
Jones, and Goodwin were named at once, Corbet and Tomlinson being added
two days later. Ludlow's name was rejected by twenty-six votes against
twenty-two, but a month later he was appointed to command the army, and
he reached Dublin about the end of July.[295]

[Sidenote: The Royalists endeavour to gain Henry.]

[Sidenote: He prefers private life.]

The rumour of his recall reached Henry Cromwell before he had any
official notice, and he decided to resign without waiting for it.
Great offers had been made to him on the part of the exiled King,
and he seems to have wavered for a moment, though finally he thanked
God for having been enabled to resist temptation. The Royalists had
relied on Fauconberg's powers of persuasion, and Charles expected
Broghill's help, though he prudently avoided making any direct advance
to that astute politician. In his letter of resignation to the Speaker
he complained that he had had 'the unhappiness of late to receive
intelligence only from common fame and very private hands, and to be
forced rather to guess what to do upon all emergencies than to be
intrusted with the clear commands of superiors.' He had secured the
fidelity of the army to the English Government so that that 'dangerous,
numerous, and exasperated people, the Irish natives and <DW7>s,' might
be no cause for anxiety. He warned the Parliament that as they had
been turned out of doors in 1653, so they might well be again and by
the same people. He was himself a lover of peace and of orderly civil
government, but 'I cannot,' he said, 'promote anything which infers
the diminution of my late father's honour and merit.' The Royalists,
having failed to gain him over, were afraid of his heading a separate
interest; and Clarendon, who had been concerned in the abortive
negotiations, says that 'by the jolliness of his humour and a general
civility towards all, he had rendered himself gracious and popular
to all sorts of people.' He left Ireland soon after his resignation,
told his story to the Council of State on July 6, and retired to
Cambridgeshire.[296]

[Sidenote: Public character of Henry Cromwell.]

It is probable that materials do not exist for a full account of Henry
Cromwell. His public career ended at the age of thirty-one, and he
had no opportunity of showing much originality. The confiscation of
Irish land to pay the expenses of conquering the country was decided
upon when he was quite a boy, and he had no voice in the subsequent
legislation. So far as Protestants were concerned, he leaned towards
comprehension, and allowed no sect or party to dominate over the rest.
As to the Roman Catholics, there was little scope for any movement in
the direction of toleration, but he disliked the oath of abjuration. 'I
wish,' he said, 'this extreme course had not been so suddenly taken,
coming like a thunder-clap upon them. I wish the oath for the present
had provided (though in severest manner) for their renouncing all
foreign jurisdiction; and as for other doctrinal matters, that some
means had been first used to have informed their judgments with such
ordinary smaller penalties as former experience has found effectual.
I wish his Highness were made sensible thereof in time.' He was fain
to dispense with the oath, but Thurloe thought this could not be done
without an Act of Parliament, though it might be modified in practice
by those on the spot; and this was just what Henry Cromwell did. In
other political matters he showed good judgment, questioning the real
value of Dunkirk, objecting to penal taxation of the Cavaliers, and
showing how impossible it was to bind a nation by oaths or any other
contrivance. 'To what,' he asked, 'shall men swear? Have you any
settlement? Does not your peace depend upon his Highness's life, and
upon his peculiar skill and faculty and personal interest in the army
as now modelled and commanded?' He was always loyal to his father, but
he had been in love with Dorothy Osborne, and he had no objection to
Royalists as such. It seems that he might have made a party for himself
at the cost of much bloodshed, and he deserves nothing but praise
for preferring to retire quietly. Oliver had warned him against the
temptation to build up a great estate, and though he did not refuse
to take grants of land like everyone else, he had at the end of his
government scarcely money enough to carry him back to England.[297]

FOOTNOTES:

[279] Fleetwood to Thurloe, December 15, 1654, _Thurloe_, iii. 23.

[280] Taylor to Harrison, December 17, 1655 (wrongly placed among
papers of 1654) in _Thurloe_, iii. 29; _ib._ iv. 260, 327; _Clarke
Papers_, iii. 60; _Ludlow_, i. 406 _sqq._, with Mr. Firth's notes for
Ludlow's proceedings. Fleetwood writes on January 3, 1654-5, 'Here hath
been some papers called mementoes spread up and down the army by that
gentleman, who, I had hoped, my friendship would have prevented any
such attempt,' _Thurloe_, iii. 70.

[281] Correspondence between H. Cromwell and Thurloe from September 11,
1655, till January 22 following, in _Thurloe_, iv. 23, 40, 75, 198,
443. See Gardiner's _Commonwealth_, iii. 452.

[282] Minutes of Irish Council, January 22, 1654-5 and March 27, Irish
R.O. A/60. Rev. John Grace's report, July 5, 1669, in _Spicilegium
Ossoriense_, i. 484 (Latin). See Gardiner's _Commonwealth_, chaps. 40
and 44. A shipload was sent to St. Christophers from Kinsale, Robert
Southwell to H. Cromwell, March 6, 1656-7, _Lansdowne MSS._, 821.

[283] _Clarke Papers_, iii. 49, 52; Rev. Thomas Harrison (Independent)
to Thurloe, October 17, 1655, _Thurloe_, iv. 90; Vincent Gookin to
the Protector (written in London), _ib._ November 22, 1656; Stubbs,
_Hist. of the University of Dublin_, p. 90. Winter with two elders and
forty-one other parishioners signed a letter to the Protector praising
Henry warmly for his charity and justice and his countenance 'to all
that fear God though of different judgments,' _Milton State Papers_,
p. 137, June 3, 1656; Rev. R. Easthorp to H. Cromwell, June 11, 1657,
_Lansdowne MSS._, p. 822.

[284] _Ludlow_, i. 360, 402, 415; _Thurloe_, iii. 70, 136, 710, 715,
744; iv. 73.

[285] Oliver Cromwell to Fleetwood, June 22, 1655, _Carlyle_, ii. 451;
to Henry Cromwell, November 21, _ib._ 479; Henry Cromwell to Thurloe,
September 19, 1655 (as to 'Colonel Hewson with his three Anabaptist
sons'), _Thurloe_, iv. 327; December 26, _ib._ 348; February 6 and
April 2, 1655-6 (as to military Quakers), _ib._ 508, 672; and H.
Ingoldsby's letter from Limerick, March 29, 1657, _Lansdowne MSS._, p.
822; Thurloe to Henry Cromwell, January 1, _ib._ 573; Henry Cromwell to
Thurloe (as to John Jones), March 12 and April 2, 1655-6, _ib._ 606,
672; same to same (for the field officers who resigned), December 3,
1666, _ib._ 670.

[286] The Act for convicting Popish Recusants, reciting the form of
oath, in _Scobell_, ii. 443; Henry Cromwell to Thurloe, September 23,
1657, _Thurloe_, vi. 527; Dr. Henry Jones to same, September 30, _ib._
539.

[287] Dr. Worth's letter, October 31, 1656, _Clarke Papers_, iii. 77;
H. Cromwell's letters of November 5 and November 17, _Thurloe_, v. 558,
570, and Col. Moore's to him, November 2, _ib._ 571. For the Royalist
plots referred to, _ib._ 348, 422, 443.

[288] _Scobell_, ii. 424, 491; Henry Cromwell's letters in vols. vi.
and vii. of _Thurloe_, particularly that to the Protector of December
2, 1657, vi. 649; to Fleetwood, April 14, 1658, vii. 71; and to
Thurloe, May 5, _ib._ 144. Broghill to Thurloe, December 11, 1657,
_ib._ vi. 670. On April 27, 1658, Fleetwood wrote, 'If we can get you
30,000_l._ by borrowing, it will be the most,' _ib._ vii. 100.

[289] Henry Cromwell to Thurloe, March 24 and 31, 1658, and May 26 and
June 23; Thurloe's answer, July 13, _Thurloe_, vii. 21, 39, 145, 198,
269.

[290] Henry Cromwell's letter (with the proclamation), in _Thurloe_,
vii. 384, 425, 453; Steele, _ib._ 388; Broghill (from Mallow), _ib._
399; Fauconberg, _ib._ 406, 413, 437, 450; Colonel T. Cooper, _ib._
425; _Liber Munerum Publicorum_, vol. i. part ii. 8; _Clarke Papers_,
iii. 166.

[291] Thurloe to H. Cromwell, November 23, 1658, _Thurloe_, vii. 528;
three letters of Broghill's, December 18 to January 24, _ib._ 573, 597,
600; Fauconberg's letter, _ib._ 528; List of members in _Parliamentary
Hist._ xxi. 262. It does not appear that Petty was returned for any
place in Ireland, as stated in his _Life_, p. 79. Gookin's opposition
to Broghill was unsuccessful, Neal's _Hist. of the Puritans_, iv. 182.

[292] Burton's _Diary_, iv. 237-242; Broghill to Thurloe, January 24,
1658-9, in _Thurloe_, and Neal's _History of the Puritans_, iv. 183.

[293] Wood's _Fasti Oxonienses_, vol. iv. in Bliss's edition, 119, 148,
156; Burton's _Diary_, iv. 244 _sqq._; _Hist. of Down Survey_, p. 292.

[294] Burton's _Diary_, iv. 244, 470; _Hist. of Down Survey_, 290-300,
where Petty gives Sankey's speech 'as near as the memory of such as
were present can recollect.' H. Cromwell to Thurloe, April 11, 1659,
'he has curiously deluded me these four years if he be a knave,'
and another letter to Fleetwood in June, _Thurloe_, vii. 651, 684.
Sankey's speech with some amusing comments may be also read in Petty's
_Reflections_ on some persons and things in Ireland.

[295] Henry Cromwell to Richard, May 23, 1659, and to Fleetwood next
day, _Thurloe_, vii. 674; Broghill to Thurloe, April 29, _ib._ 665;
_Old Parliamentary Hist._, xxi. 372 _sqq._; _Ludlow_, ii. 177 _sqq._

[296] H. Cromwell to the Speaker, June 15, 1659, _Thurloe_, vii. 683,
and to Fleetwood, _ib._ 685; _Clarendon State Papers_, iii. 500;
Clarendon's _Hist. of the Rebellion_, xvi. 16; _Ludlow_, ii. Clarendon
states in a letter that Henry Cromwell had at one time actually
determined to declare for the King, 'but that wretched fellow had no
courage,' to Ormonde, October 25, 1659, in Carte's _Original Letters_,
ii. 242.

[297] H. Cromwell to Thurloe, September 23, 1657, _Thurloe_, vi. 527;
March 27, 1657-8, _ib._ 39; June 30, _ib._ 218; to Fleetwood, June
1659, _ib._ 684. Writing both to Thurloe and Broghill on April 7, 1658,
he mentions that Inchiquin's son came to him without any pass after
three weeks' stay among his father's friends in Munster: 'I will be as
civil as I may be to him, and to all men else,' _ib._ vii. 55, 57.




CHAPTER XXXIX

THE RESTORATION


[Sidenote: Provisional Government, 1659.]

[Sidenote: Position of Ludlow.]

The Commissioners appointed by Parliament carried on the civil
government for about six months after Henry Cromwell's resignation, but
the really important thing was the attitude of the army. Ludlow and
John Jones went over together in July, and on their way to Holyhead
heard rumours of a coming rising under Sir George Booth. Soon after
their arrival in Ireland one hundred men were sent to reinforce
Beaumaris and the neighbouring garrisons. On landing at Ringsend,
'the guard that had formerly attended Cromwell' was waiting under Sir
Theophilus Jones, and escorted the new commander-in-chief into Dublin.
The Commissioners arranged to preside for a month in turn, Ludlow
sitting next the chairman when present, and having precedence at other
times; in official documents he was styled 'Excellency.' He had brought
with him a letter of credit for 30,000_l._, which added weight to his
promise of regular pay for the soldiers. As soon as the insurrection
broke out in Cheshire he was ordered to send over a thousand foot and
five hundred horse; and they were despatched within ten days, under
Sankey's command, two months' pay having been advanced to them. During
the disorderly period which followed they became known as the Irish
Brigade.[298]

[Sidenote: Ludlow purges the army.]

[Sidenote: John Jones in command of the army.]

Ludlow was determined not to be again kept in Ireland as a kind of
exile, and took the precaution of having a clause in his commission
allowing him to return when he chose, and to appoint a substitute in
his absence. Before taking advantage of this he devoted himself to a
reform of the army, for he found 'divers of the officers guilty of
habitual immoralities, many of them accustomed to detain the pay of
the private soldiers, and most of them debauched in their principles
by the late usurpation of the Cromwells.' Many of them, especially in
Connaught and Clare, had married Irish <DW7>s, and some who professed
Protestantism might 'justly be suspected to continue <DW7>s.' Many
were dismissed, and their places filled as far as possible by men
who had been cashiered for adhering to the Parliament as against the
Protectorate. In the meantime the Irish Brigade at Derby supported
Lambert and those who proposed to make him Major-General. Copies of
their petition were sent to Ireland by Sankey, and officers there
were invited to concur; but Ludlow assembled as many as he could and
persuaded them that England would never submit to be governed by
the sword. He then prepared to go to England, and wished to leave
the military as well as the civil authority in the hands of the
Commissioners; but this they refused to accept. He then appointed
Jones, who was one of them, to be his substitute, for he regarded
Waller as a time-server, and Sankey had made himself impossible. As a
member of Parliament and one of the late King's judges, Jones might
at all events be trusted not to favour Charles Stuart. On reaching
Beaumaris Ludlow heard that the Parliament had once more, as Henry
Cromwell had foreshadowed, been turned out of doors by the soldiers.
Lambert, who was in command, had narrowly escaped the Tower, and was
actually deprived of his commission along with Desborough and others.
The Act constituting Fleetwood commander-in-chief in Great Britain
was repealed, and he became one of a commission of seven along with
Ludlow, Monck, and others. Among them was Haselrig, whom Lambert
believed to be thirsting for his blood, and he professed to be acting
in self-defence.[299]

[Sidenote: Monck and Jones, Oct. 1659.]

[Sidenote: Last acts of the Irish Commissioners.]

As soon as Monck heard of what had happened in London he wrote to
Ludlow as his fellow-commissioner for the government of the army,
declaring that the forces under his immediate command were unanimous
for Parliament, and declaring his intention to 'prosecute this business
against ambition and tyranny to the last drops of my blood till they
be restored.' The letter reached Jones in Ireland, and an answer was
sent by him. Cornet Henry Monck, the general's nephew, was in Dublin,
and thought the army neutral, until fourteen field-officers signed
an address to the army in England, by which he observed that all
who inclined to Anabaptism were against the Parliament. The answer
sent to Monck was signed by Jones himself and Sir Hardress Waller,
Colonel Cooper, governor of Carrickfergus, Colonel Lawrence, governor
of Waterford, Colonel Phaire, governor of Cork, Colonel Nicholas
Kempson, Ludlow's brother-in-law, and Dr. Henry Jones. These officers
declared that any division of action or opinion in the army would be
'found in the issue to be nothing else but the opening of a door for
the common enemy to come in,' and the event showed that they were not
far wrong. At the same time Monck was informed by his nephew that he
would have the support of Sir Charles Coote, Sir Theophilus Jones, and
most of the other officers. Sankey, who commanded the Irish Brigade
in England, sided with Lambert; but Colonel Redman, who served under
him, was already in communication with Charles II. While the action of
the army remained uncertain, the Commissioners carried on the civil
government, and there were no serious disturbances. Large numbers of
the transplanted still refused to stir, and the Tories were troublesome
in many places. An order went forth in September to disarm all Irish
<DW7>s in Wicklow and to seize their arms and ammunition. There was
a particularly active gang of marauders about Castledermot. Some
weeks later a seizure was made at the custom-house of Quaker books
which denounced the Government as anti-Christian and the ministers
established by them as 'priests, hirelings, and dumb dogs.' The very
last order of Jones and his colleagues appears to have been one for the
suppression of the Christmas holidays, as giving rise to debauchery
and only calculated to 'uphold idolatry and superstition derived from
the Church of Rome.'[300]

[Sidenote: Revolt of the Irish army.]

[Sidenote: The Commissioners imprisoned]

The order against Christmas was made on December 9, and four days later
the whole face of affairs was changed. Sir Theophilus Jones and some
other officers determined, after Lambert had dismissed the Parliament,
to free themselves from subjection to the Wallingford House party.
They began by petitioning John Jones as commander-in-chief to call a
general council of officers to consider the situation, Sir Hardress
Waller as the next in rank undertaking to take the lead in the matter.
Jones dared not refuse such a request altogether, but the malcontents
intercepted a letter from Fleetwood from which they understood that
the opportunity would be taken to arrest them. There were but five
companies of foot and three troops of horse in Dublin whose fidelity
Jones had little reason to doubt. But Captain Bond persuaded his
own company to seize the Castle gates and make prisoners of Jones,
Corbet, and Tomlinson. A declaration in favour of the Parliament was
cried through the streets next morning and generally approved of. The
officers who had laid the plot were thus in the possession of the only
magazine, which had just been replenished with five hundred barrels of
powder, and no resistance could be attempted. The other garrisons were
quickly mastered, Coote securing Galway, while Broghill held Youghal,
Bandon and Kinsale. The garrisons of Cork, Limerick, Waterford, and
Athlone took the same course; and the submission of Londonderry settled
the question in Ulster. Colonel Cooper, the governor of Carrickfergus,
who might have given trouble in the northern province, died in his
chair within a week. The officers in Dublin at once informed Monck of
what had been done; the news was also sent to London and Portsmouth,
while Coote and Broghill were urged to come to Dublin. Sir Hardress
Waller acquiesced, though he had signed the answer to Monck, and became
for the moment commander-in-chief. The Irish Brigade in England
declared for the Parliament on December 21, and Sankey was arrested by
Monck, who was welcomed by Redman at the head of the troops when he
came to Leicester.[301]

[Sidenote: Monck gains over Coote and Broghill.]

Sir Theophilus Jones had six troops of horse ready to go to Monck's
assistance, but Lambert's star waned so fast that they were not wanted.
Whitelock saw that a restoration was inevitable, and nearly persuaded
Fleetwood to seize the Tower, communicate with the King, and get credit
for what he could not prevent. But Desborough and others reminded him
that he was bound to Lambert, who was at Newcastle, and he refused
to stir without consulting him. 'Then,' said Whitelock, 'you will
ruin yourself and your friends.' 'I cannot help it,' was the answer;
and that exactly represents Fleetwood's attitude. On December 26 the
Rump without his aid retook possession of their House amidst the
acclamations of the very soldiers who had kept them out of it. The news
reached Monck at Coldstream four or five days later, and on January 1
he crossed the Tweed, Lambert being deserted by his army. From Durham
he sent Sir Joseph Douglas to gain over Coote, and he was also in
communication with Broghill; but by this time both were in Dublin, and
fully committed to the cause of the Parliament.[302]

[Sidenote: Ludlow goes to Ireland, December.]

[Sidenote: But is not allowed to land.]

[Sidenote: Ludlow at Duncannon, January.]

Ludlow was a genuine Republican, and his great object was to prevent a
restoration of the monarchy. 'It was,' he says, 'my judgment, that if
either the Parliament or the army should entirely prevail one against
the other in this juncture, it would hazard the ruin of both.' The
Parliament alone could provide regular sustenance for the army which
was necessary for its own protection, and it was by establishing a
balance that Charles Stuart might be kept out. With these ideas, and
with some hopes of furthering them through his position at the head of
the Irish army, he set out for Dublin as soon as the restoration of the
Parliament was practically arranged. He could not but agree with the
decision of the officers in Ireland to co-operate for that purpose with
the generals at Portsmouth, with Monck, and with Vice-Admiral Lawson,
but he distrusted Sir Theophilus Jones, Colonel Bridges, and others
who had supported the protectorate; and Coote's attitude was evidently
suspicious. Ludlow embarked upon the _Oxford_ frigate, and anchored
off his own house at Monkstown on the last of December, but did not
venture to land until he knew what was going on. Before he appeared
upon the coast, Coote and the others had resolved not to admit him as
commander-in-chief without fresh orders from Parliament. Ludlow sent
a letter to Waller and his colleagues, offering to help in the good
work, but they answered that his appearance was very unacceptable,
that they did not believe he was true to the Parliament, and that they
would not resign their power without direct orders from that body. They
also hinted very plainly that they were quite ready to arrest Ludlow
if so directed. Captain Lucas, who brought the letter, suggested that
he should go to the council of officers and adjust all differences by
personal intercourse; but he answered that he knew their principles
much too well to trust himself in their hands, adding that their
attachment to the Parliament was feigned, and their real design 'to
destroy both them and their friends, and to bring in the son of the
late King.' Cavalry were sent to prevent him from landing, and he was
not allowed to get water or provisions. Seeing that nothing could be
done, Ludlow sent letters to London by the ordinary packet, along with
some which he had intercepted, and after three days' waiting, sailed to
Duncannon, Corbet having taken refuge in his ship. They were received
with joy by Captain Skinner, whom Ludlow had appointed governor; but
Waterford was as hostile as Dublin had been, and he was not allowed
even to ship provisions which he had paid for. Attempts were also
made to alienate the garrison of the fort by representing him as a
deserter from the Parliament, and cattle intended for their relief were
driven off by cavalry under Colonel Edmund Temple. A few days later
Duncannon was blockaded by a sufficient force under Colonel Thomas
Scot, the regicide's son; but some provisions were introduced in the
meantime.[303]

[Sidenote: Impeachment of Ludlow and the Commissioners.]

[Sidenote: Ludlow leaves Ireland.]

As he endeavoured to keep terms with the Wallingford House party,
it was possible to represent Ludlow as an enemy or lukewarm friend
to the Parliament. Why, it was asked, had he left London two days
before its restoration? His commission, to be of any value under the
circumstances, should be dated after that event, whereas he depended on
what had been done before the late interval of military violence. In a
letter written during that enforced recess he had addressed John Jones
as 'Dear friend,' and expressed a fear that the Long Parliament would
be 'very high, in case they should be brought in without conditions.'
Two or three days after Ludlow's arrival at Duncannon, the victorious
party in Dublin sent over articles of impeachment against him, Jones,
Corbet, and Tomlinson, which were read in the House on January 19. The
powers of the accused were at once suspended, and they were summoned
to attend, Ludlow being specially ordered to surrender Duncannon to
Coote and Jones. The fort was beset in the meantime, and before the
decision of Parliament was known Captain Skinner complained that the
soldiers outside insulted the garrison with expressions in use only
among the worst kind of Cavaliers, such as 'God damn them!' and 'Go
to your prayers!' Some called for the Parliament of 1641, some for
that of 1647, and some complained that it was reduced to a 'rump,
fag-end, or limb.' There had been earlier orders for Ludlow and the
three Commissioners to go over and give an account of the state of
Ireland, and Monck, whose suggestions at the moment had almost the
weight of commands, pressed for their recall and for the appointment
of Coote, Broghill, and three others. Ludlow sailed from Duncannon in
obedience to the first summons, heard of the impeachment on his way to
London, and took his seat in Parliament along with Corbet on January
30. Tomlinson was a prisoner in Dublin Castle, and John Jones at
Athlone.[304]

[Sidenote: A new Provisional Government, January 1659-60.]

[Sidenote: A general convention.]

[Sidenote: Coote and Broghill approach Charles II.]

[Sidenote: Declaration of Munster officers, February.]

Broghill, Coote, and Major William Bury were appointed Commissioners
for the government of Ireland in January, and by the end of the month
the officers in Dublin had a pretty good understanding with Monck;
but they probably forced his hand by summoning a convention to meet
on February 7. The places represented were as in Strafford's time,
but no doubt care was taken that the assembly should be entirely
Protestant. Sir James Barry, afterwards Lord Santry, was chosen
Speaker, and William Temple sat for the county of Carlow. The Council
of State ordered the convention to dissolve, but this they refused,
while repudiating any idea of separation from England. Sir Hardress
Waller had hitherto gone with the rest; but it became evident that
Royalism was winning, and he had sat regularly as one of the late
King's judges, and signed his death-warrant. He made himself master of
the Castle, and it was believed that he intended to seize Coote and
other leaders who had declared in print for a free Parliament and the
readmission of all the secluded members. The convention had the power
of the purse, and the soldiers in the Castle, who were probably tired
of barrack-revolutions and deferred pay, surrendered Waller and the
few officers who supported him. Coote sent Sir Arthur Forbes, a noted
Royalist who had been with Montrose, to Brussels with an offer of his
services, and Charles gladly accepted them, offering an earldom and
other benefits, and proposing to join him, 'except it be more necessary
that I go for England.' Broghill sent his brother Francis, afterwards
Lord Shannon, about the same time; and, if we are to believe his not
very trustworthy biographer, Charles was on the point of starting for
Ireland by way of Calais when he heard that things were going so well
in England as to make the journey unnecessary. What is more certain is
that Broghill was at Cork three days after Waller's attempt, and there,
at the head of the Munster officers, signed a declaration in favour
of a full and free Parliament, and of readmitting the members ousted
by Pride's Purge. All men, they said, were tired of anarchy and of
authorities constantly changing, and for the moment there was no safety
but in restoring the Long Parliament to its unpurged condition. 'If the
excluded members be readmitted, they must be either the greater or the
lesser number in the House; if the lesser, where is the danger of their
admission? If the greater, where is the justice of their exclusion?
For then it will appear that the minor number keeps out the major.'
Whatever may have been Broghill's secret negotiations, he kept up a
correspondence with Thurloe long after Monck had come to Whitehall,
and repudiated the idea of bringing in the King as late as April 24.
Even on May 8, when Charles was proclaimed in London, he still talked
of preserving 'the just rights we contended for so successfully in the
war,' very truly observing that if no conditions were made before the
then inevitable restoration, it would be next to impossible to make any
afterwards.[305]

[Sidenote: Charles II. proclaimed in Dublin, May 14.]

[Sidenote: Coote and Broghill Lords Justices.]

According to his biographer and chaplain, Broghill was the moving
spirit, and Coote acted under his influence; but this is extremely
doubtful. Broghill loved tortuous ways, and was perhaps anxious to
leave himself a loophole in any case. Foreseeing the importance of the
Convention Parliament in England, he was most anxious to be in it,
and, having married a Howard, he found a seat at Arundel. Coote and
his friends were ready to declare themselves before decisive steps
were taken in London, but it was felt that the restored King might
be embarrassed by premature action, and means were taken to delay
proceedings. Charles II. was not proclaimed in Dublin till May 14,
and on the 25th Broghill was sent with Coote and others to attend the
King. Whatever those in all the secrets may have thought, Coote was
at first much better received by the Royalists generally, who looked
upon his colleague and rival as a trimmer. Three days later the Irish
Convention adjourned till November. Monck was appointed Lord Lieutenant
and Lord Roberts Deputy; but neither of them came over, and at the end
of the year Sir Maurice Eustace, who had been made Lord Chancellor,
was appointed Lord Justice, with Coote and Broghill as colleagues. The
two soldiers were treated as of equal importance, the one being made
Earl of Orrery on September 5, and the other Earl of Mountrath on the
following day.[306]

FOOTNOTES:

[298] _Ludlow_, ii. 104-111.

[299] The Commission was appointed on October 12, and Lambert
suppressed the Parliament next day. _Ludlow_, ii. 119-137, 143; _Old
Parliamentary Hist._, xxi. 453-479; Lord Mordaunt to the King, October
27, in Carte's _Original Letters_, ii. 244.

[300] Monck's letter of October 20, 1659, in _Ludlow_, ii. 449; Henry
Monck's letter of November 3 in _Clarke Papers_, iv. 95, with the
notes; Commonwealth Papers in _Irish R.O._ A/17.

[301] A _Letter sent from Ireland_ to Lenthall, dated December 15,
and read in Parliament January 5, 1659. _A Perfect Narrative_ of the
grounds and reasons moving some officers of the army in Ireland to the
securing of the Castle of Dublin for the Parliament on December 13,
last, London, 1660. _Ludlow_, ii. 184. Sir Theophilus Jones and the
rest to the army at Portsmouth, December 24, 1659, _Portland Papers_,
i. 688. Robert Wood was commissioned to offer 3000 or 4000 men from
Ireland to the Parliament, _ib._ 690. Hoyle and others to Lenthall,
December 31, _ib._ 691; Waller to Monck, December 16, 1659, _Clarke
Papers_, iv. 202; Price's Life of Monck, p. 748 in _Select Tracts_, ii.

[302] Monck to Waller, December 28, and January 1, _Clarke Papers_,
ii. 226, 237; Coote, Broghill, &c. to Lenthall, January 11, _ib._ 241;
_Whitelock_, p. 691, December 22; Price's Life of Monck in _Select
Tracts_, ii. 751.

[303] _Ludlow_, ii. 190-196, 471, 475. Ludlow came to Duncannon on
January 5.

[304] Letter from Waller, Broghill, Coote, and twenty-six others to
Ludlow, January 10, 1659-60, with his answer, _Ludlow_, 453; Monck
to Lenthall, January 16, _ib._ 453; Captain Skinner's Remonstrance,
January, in Cal. State Papers, _Ireland_, p. 717. _A Perfect
Narrative_, p. 13; _Old Parliamentary Hist._, xxii. 55. There are
several letters to and from Ludlow during January in Cal. State Papers,
_Ireland_, pp. 704-716.

[305] Sir Theophilus Jones to Monck, February 1 and 19, 1659-60, in
_Leyborne-Popham Papers_, 141, 155; Sir Charles Coote and the Council
of Officers to Monck, February 16, _ib._ 152; Declaration of Broghill
and the Munster officers, February 18, in _Thurloe_, vii. 817; Broghill
to Thurloe, _ib._ 859, 908, 912; the King to Coote, Breda, March 6/16,
in Carte's _Original Letters_, ii. 314; Orrery's _State Letters_, i.
59, for the Rev. Mr. Morrice's account of Broghill's proceedings,
_Liber Munerum Publicorum_, vol. i. part ii. p. 8. The declaration
of Coote and the other officers, dated February 16, and sent with
the letter to Monck of that day, gave the tone to all subsequent
proceedings. It was printed in Dublin and reprinted in London with
fifty-five signatures, including those of Coote himself, Caulfield,
Theophilus Jones, Henry Ingoldsby, John King, Thomas Scot, and W.
Purefoy.

[306] Orrery's _State Letters_, i. 59; _Liber Munerum Publicorum_, vol.
i. part i. p. 8; Carte's _Life of Ormonde_, ii. 203; Lord Aungier to
Ormonde, May 11/21, 1660, in Carte's _Orig. Letters_, ii. 345.




INDEX

TO

THE SECOND VOLUME


  Aberdeen, 14, 15, 63

  Acton church, 54

  Acton, near Bristol, 162

  Adair, Patrick, 58, 341

  -- Sir Robert, 341

  Adamstown, 83

  Adare, 150

  Adrian's bull, 154

  Adventurers, 36

  Aghada, 92

  Aghenure, 5, 278

  Agher, 8, 11, 296

  Algiers, 296

  Allen, Adjutant-General, 267, 349

  -- hill of, 216

  Amboyna, 195

  Annagh, 92

  Anne of Austria, 99

  Annesley, Arthur, afterwards Earl of Anglesey, 56, 144, 146, 186

  Antonio, Captain, 72

  Antrim, Randal MacDonnell, 1st Marquis of, 18, 25, 35;
    nominal Lieutenant-General, 57;
    sends men to Montrose, 60-64, 141;
    President of Supreme Council, 145, 161;
    at Paris, 162;
    tries to thwart Ormonde, 172, 173, 188, 212, 224, 225, 227

  -- town and county, 95, 210

  Arcamoni, Giuseppe, 176, 177

  Ardee, 196

  Ardfinane, 22, 23

  Ardtully, 101

  Argyle, Archibald, 1st Marquis of, 61, 62

  Arkin, 298

  Arklow, 198

  Armagh, 16, 24, 28, 59, 60, 118, 228

  Armstrong, Sir Thomas, 225

  Arran islands, 41, 282

  Arras, 20

  Artois, Duchess of, 296

  Arundel, 371

  Ashley, Captain, 38

  Ashton, Major and M.P., 356

  Askeaton, 41

  Aston, Captain, 80

  -- Sir Arthur, 192-195

  Athboy, 51

  Athenry, 43, 261

  -- (Bermingham), Lord, 251

  Athlone, 5, 9, 10, 41, 51, 130, 169, 248, 261;
    Castle taken, 266, 295;
    court of claims, 334

  Augher, 95, 121

  Augustinians, 78, 239

  Axtell, Daniel, regicide, 248, 249, 264, 279, 349


  Baal, 197

  Bagenal, Walter, 62, 128, 138

  Baggotrath, 184, 185

  Bagni, Monsignor dei, 100

  Baillie, Robert, 56

  Baker, Abraham, 11, 12

  -- Thomas, 12

  Balbriggan, 15

  Bale, John, Bishop of Ossory, 219

  Ballagh, 10

  Ballaghdereen, 262

  Ballimore, 260

  Ballina, in Kildare, 18

  Ballinacargy, 270

  Ballinafeeg, 32

  Ballinakill, 17, 29, 32, 34

  Ballinalack, 260

  Ballinasloe, 95

  Ballincollig, 4

  Ballingarry, 41

  Ballinrobe, 6

  Ballintober, 10

  Ballyallia, 11, 12

  Ballycarra, 6

  Ballycastle, 205, 229

  Ballygarth, 193

  Ballyhooly, 92

  Ballymore, 9

  Ballyquin, 116

  Ballyragget, 32

  Ballyshannon, in Donegal, 21, 58, 287

  -- or Ballisonan, in Kildare, 16-18, 186, 216

  Baltimore, 38, 209

  Banagher, 23, 43, 169, 248

  Banbridge, 24

  Bandon, 3, 13, 23, 37, 70, 71, 208, 209

  Bane, John, 154

  Bann river, 24, 197

  Barbadoes, 42, 194, 345

  Barebone's Parliament, Irish members in, 321

  Barham, Thomas, Dean of Ross, 92

  Barnesmore, 262

  Barnewall, Sir Richard, 198

  Baron or Barron, Bonaventure, 108

  -- -- Geoffrey, 21, 103, 139, 265, 272, 274-276

  Barrington's Bridge, 150

  Barrow river, 18, 31, 32, 80, 128, 168, 201, 203, 204, 280, 349

  -- Colonel, 349

  Barry, Colonel Garret, 3, 22, 23, 26, 47, 48

  -- -- John, 138, 162

  -- Sir James, 369

  -- Captain William, 92

  -- Robert, titular Bishop of Cork, 238

  Barrymore, David, 1st Earl of, 3, 22, 35

  -- Lady, (Lady Alice Boyle), 93

  Bate, George, 192

  Battleford Bridge, 120

  Bavaria, Irish mission to, 28

  Beaumaris, 53, 97, 362, 363

  Beaupuis, an 'Important,' 99

  Beeston, 53

  Belfast, 50, 57, 58;
    seized by Monro, 59, 118;
    surprised by Monck, 173;
    'a small town in Ulster,' 180, 181, 197, 350

  Belgium, Irish envoy to, 28, 76

  Bellings, Richard, Secretary of the Irish Confederacy, historian, and
      opponent of Rinuccini, 19, 25, 49;
    his foreign mission, 76, 83, 92, 94, 96, 99-102, 115-117, 128, 131,
        136-138, 146, 158, 166, 167;
    leaves Ireland, 243, 254

  Belturbet, 169, 183, 227, 297

  Belvelly, 94, 208

  Benburb, O'Neill's victory at, 117-122, 126, 132, 155, 173

  Bennet's Bridge, 218

  Bentivoglio, Cardinal, 76

  Beresford, Colonel, 228

  Bermuda, 345

  Bertie, Captain, 9

  Bingham, Sir Henry, 6

  Birr, 17, 169, 248

  Biscay, Irish mission to, 28

  Blackwater river, in Ulster, 118, 120

  -- river, in Munster, 51, 91, 93, 209, 268, 315, 317

  Blair Athol, 63

  Blake, Admiral Robert, 183, 188, 203, 208, 209, 279

  -- Sir Richard, 160, 245

  -- Sir Valentine, 11, 19

  Blaney, Lord, 64;
    Lady, 24

  Blarney, 94, 322

  Bodley, Sir Josiah, 80

  Bolton, Sir Richard, Lord Chancellor, 29, 214

  Bond, Captain, 365

  Borlase, Sir John, Lord Justice, chaps. xxi.-xxiii. _passim_

  Borrisoleigh, 169

  Borris, or Burris, in Carlow, 33

  -- in Ossory, 17

  Bourke, Miles and Theobald: _see_ Mayo

  -- or de Burgo, Archbishop of Tuam: _see_ Burgo

  -- Colonel John, 26, 43, 44

  -- Hugh, Franciscan, 79

  -- Sir John, 125

  Boyle, 45, 96, 155

  -- family, 209;
    _see_ Cork, Broghill, Dungarvan, and Kinalmeaky

  -- Francis, 370

  -- Richard, Archbishop of Tuam, 5

  -- Michael, afterwards Primate, 90, 164, 213, 225

  Boyne river, 45, 147, 192, 280, 315

  Bradshaw, John, the regicide, 195

  Braintree woods, 24

  Bray, 187, 251

  Brentford, 189

  Brereton, Sir William, 53

  Bridges, Colonel, 367

  Bright, Captain, 81

  Bristol, 55, 83, 162, 367

  -- Lord, (Digby), 65

  Briver, Francis, Mayor of Waterford, 4, 5

  Brockett, Colonel, 74

  Broghill, Roger Boyle Lord, afterwards Earl of Orrery, 2, 3, 13, 70,
      73, 90-93;
    relieves Youghal, 94, 151, 165, 169, 202, 203, 208, 209, 220;
    victory at Macroom, 222-224;
    victory near Kanturk, 267-269, 291, 322, 328, 352, 354, 355, 366;
    helps the Restoration and becomes Earl of Orrery, 369-371

  Brooke, Captain, 43

  Brosna river, 248

  Brown, Geoffrey, 50, 64, 112, 129, 162, 251, 255, 257, 283

  Brownlow, Sir William, 24

  Brussels, 251, 253, 255, 369

  Buchanan, Mr., 6

  Buckingham, Duchess of, 18

  Bullingdon Green, 192

  Bunratty, 12, 115-117, 135, 150

  Burgo, de, or Bourke, John, Bishop of Clonfert, afterwards titular
      Archbishop of Tuam, 39, 124, 129, 172, 177, 232, 257, 282

  Burke, Edmund, 7

  -- Thomas, 46

  -- William, 250

  -- Walter, 7

  Burren, 276

  Burris: _see_ Borris

  Bury, William, of Grantham, 343, 358, 369

  Butler: _see_ Ormonde, Mountgarret, Dunboyne, Cahir, Ikerrin

  -- Edmund, Mountgarret's son, 5, 29, 200

  -- John, Mountgarret's brother, 59

  -- Richard, Ormonde's brother, 4

  -- Sir Walter, 218, 219

  -- Count Walter, 20

  Byrne, Edward and Luke, 310

  Byron, John, 1st Lord, 53, 54, 186, 187, 240

  -- Sir Robert, 54

  -- Colonel, 150


  Caen, 243

  Cahir, 152, 161, 214, 215

  -- Lord (Butler), 2

  Cahore, 203

  Caledon, 120;
    _see_ Kinard

  Callan, 19, 161, 215

  Cambridge, 356

  Campbell, Sir Duncan, of Auchinbreck, 118

  -- clan, 63, 64

  Canice, Saint, 155

  Cannes, 99

  Cantire, 64

  Cantwell Castle, 219

  Cappagh, 116

  Cappoquin, 90, 91, 150, 207, 209, 215

  Capron, Major Ralph, 81

  Cardenas, Don Alonzo de, 303

  Carlingford, 62

  Carlisle, 16

  Carlow, 17, 31, 33, 51, 141, 149, 234, 235, 293

  Carmelites, 171, 172, 176, 177

  Carrickfergus (Knockfergus), 14, 15, 23, 57-59, 118;
    surprised by Monck, 173, 197, 209, 210, 236, 270, 305, 341, 350, 351

  Carrick in Donegal, 287

  -- on Shannon (Carrigdrumrusk), 96

  -- on Suir, 1, 127, 161, 204-206, 214, 234

  Carrickmacross, 295

  Carrigadrohid, 266, 267

  Carrigaholt, 223, 276

  Carrowreagh, 40

  Carte, Thomas, 144, 229, 240, 251, 309

  Cashel, 124, 127, 128, 152, 157, 164, 215, 224, 255, 300

  Castlebar, 6

  Castleblayney, 296

  Castle Connell, 248, 261, 272

  Castle Coote, 51

  Castledermot, 137, 217, 364

  Castle Grace, 150

  Castle Hacket, 7

  Castlehaven, 38, 209

  -- James Touchet, 3rd Earl of, 18, 29, 34, 48, 57;
    his expedition to Ulster, 59, 60, 72, 82;
    his campaign in Munster, 90-94, 127, 128, 182, 199, 205, 207, 216;
    commands in Leinster, 217, 218, 221, 231, 233, 234;
    at Killaloe, 261, 273;
    leaves Ireland, 285;
    his memoirs, 286

  Castlejordan, 156

  Castlelyons, 91, 92, 268

  Castlemaine, 291

  Castlemartin, 48, 216

  Castlemartyr, 92

  Catalonia, 303

  Cathcart, Captain, 229

  Caulfield, Lord, 126, 305;
    Lady, 24

  Cavan, 33, 45, 59, 121, 183, 197

  Chaplin, Andrew, 12

  Charlemont, 21, 22, 24, 45, 60, 174, 197, 228, 230;
    taken by Coote, 236, 305, 306

  Charles II. repudiates the Irish, 239

  Charles IV., Duke of Lorraine, his schemes concerning Ireland,
      249-259, 280, 283, 287-289, 298

  Cheshire, 362

  Chester, 47, 107, 110, 111, 113

  Chevreuse, Duchess of, 249, 253, 256

  Chichester, Colonel Arthur, 15, 57, 59

  -- Sir Arthur (_temp._ James I.), 302

  Christ Church, Oxford, 55, 65

  Chudleigh, Captain Thomas, 291, 292

  Cistercians, 15

  Clandeboye, James Hamilton, 2nd Viscount, afterwards Earl of
      Clanbrassil, 209, 341

  Clanricarde, Ulick de Burgh, 5th Earl and afterwards Marquis of, 5,
      7-10, 19, 30;
    his unique position, 34, 35, 38-44, 47, 50, 51, 107, 126, 142, 169,
        172, 207, 232, 233;
    Deputy for Ormonde, 243, 248, 249, 253-256;
    rejects the Lorraine proposals, 257-259, 262, 278, 281, 283, 286, 287;
    submits and goes to England, 288-290

  Clare, 10-12, 40, 66, 115, 169, 217, 231

  -- Castle, 11, 12, 41, 269, 276-278

  -- Island, 298

  Claregalway, 43, 44

  Clarendon, Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of, 20, 30, 52, 53, 65, 143, 188,
      192, 239, 253, 258, 259, 303, 304, 338, 360

  Clares, Poor, 9

  Clark, Captain, 7, 284

  Clarke, Colonel, 321

  Claverhouse, 58

  Cleere, Morrice, 345

  Cliffe, 220

  Clifford, 262

  Clogheen, 214

  Clogher, 129, 170

  Cloghleagh, 48

  Clogrennan, 17

  Clohamon, 31

  Clonakilty, 13, 37

  Clonbrock, 40

  Clonee, 156

  Clones, 45, 183

  Clonfert, 129, 220, 238

  Clonmacnoise, 210, 211, 226, 250

  Clonmel, 1, 4, 35, 90, 123, 124;
    Supreme Council there, 142, 145, 146, 154, 158, 206;
    besieged by Cromwell, 220-223, 234, 247, 273, 274, 305

  Clonroad, 269

  Clotworthy, Sir John, afterwards Viscount Massereene, 25, 132

  Cloughoughter, 197, 300, 301, 306

  Cloyne, 92, 162

  Coalisland, 305

  Cole, Sir William, 16, 57, 58, 179

  Colepepper, John, Lord, 65

  Coleraine, 17, 51, 58, 118, 120

  Colkitto, 62

  Colooney (Coote), Lord, 96

  Comber, 209

  Comerford, Patrick, titular Bishop of Waterford, 245

  Condé, Henry, Prince of, 99

  -- Louis, Prince of, the Great, 286

  Cong, 278

  Conna, 92

  Connall, 288

  Conway, Edward, 2nd Viscount, 15, 23

  -- Colonel, 149

  Cook, John, regicide and judge, 244, 305

  Cooke, Colonel, Governor of Wexford, 215

  Cooper, Colonel Thomas, Governor of Carrickfergus, 364, 365

  Coote, Sir Charles, the elder, 6, 17-19

  Coote, Sir Charles, the younger, afterwards Earl of Mountrath,
      President of Connaught from 1645, 8, 10, 41, 65, 67, 68, 151, 173,
      174, 179, 182, 183, 197, 209, 210, 227-231, 236, 248, 261, 262,
      266, 278, 282, 283, 311, 335, 359, 364-368;
    helps the Restoration, 369;
    created an Earl, 371

  Coppinger, Robert, Mayor of Cork, 73

  Corbet, John, 7

  -- Miles, regicide, 246, 304, 322, 327, 343, 359, 365, 367, 368

  Cork, 3, 4, 22, 23, 51, 79, 151, 164, 165, 179, 184, 202, 203, 208,
      305, 340

  Cork, county, 2, 48, 167

  -- harbour, 4, 74, 94, 208, 351

  -- Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of, 3, 12, 13, 23, 209

  Cornwall, 64

  Corofin, 276

  Costello (Dillon), Viscount, 148, 298

  Coura Lake, 295

  Courcies, 351

  Courtenay, Captain George, 22

  Courthope, Captain, 208

  Courtmacsherry, 51

  Courtney, Colonel, 208, 268

  Courtstown, 268

  Covenant, Solemn League and, 55-57

  Cox, Sir Richard, 48

  Crawford, Colonel Lawrence, 55

  Creagh, John, Mayor of Limerick, 232, 271

  Credan Head, 82

  Creichton, George, 33

  Crelly, Cistercian abbot, 288

  Crete, 175

  Crispe, Sir Nicholas, 36

  Cromwell, Oliver, chaps. xxxi. and xxxii. _passim_, 12, 22, 145, 178,
      180, 181, 233, 234, 247, 259, 277, 303, 304, 319, 320, 326, 333, 348

  -- Henry, chap. xxxviii. _passim_, 208, 222, 265;
    an Irish member of Barebones Parliament, 321, 327, 328, 339;
    Commander of the forces, 343;
    Lord Deputy, 352;
    Lord Lieutenant, 354;
    character, 360, 362, 363

  Crookhaven, 188, 209

  Crosby, Colonel, 209

  Crowther, Admiral, 94, 151

  Cuffe, Joseph and Maurice, 11, 12

  Culham, Colonel, 221

  Cullen, Colonel, 32, 33

  Culme, Arthur, 149

  Culmore, 172, 174

  Curlew mountains, 122, 262

  Cusack, Colonel George, 298, 299


  Dalgetty, Dugald, 15

  Dalzell, General Thomas, 58, 209

  Daniell, Colonel, 225

  Darcy, Oliver, titular Bishop of Dromore, 237, 238, 241, 242, 257

  -- Patrick, 26, 75, 112, 123

  Davis, Sir Paul, 132

  Deane, Admiral Richard, 188, 203

  -- William, 309

  Dease, Thomas, titular Bishop of Meath, 28, 124

  Dee river, 53

  Delgany, 198

  Dempsy, Edmond, titular Bishop of Leighlin, 138

  Denny, Sir Edward, 41

  Derby, Irish Brigade at, 363

  Desborough, Major-General John, 224, 362, 366

  Desmond forfeitures, 35

  Dieppe, 162

  Digby, George, Lord, 55, 61, 62, 65, 68, 70, 89, 104, 105, 110, 114,
      115, 126, 128, 133-136, 144, 160

  -- Sir Kenelm, 107-109, 129

  Dillon, Thomas, Viscount of Costello, 5, 94, 148, 184, 216, 218, 298

  -- George, Franciscan, 253, 254

  -- John, 75, 112

  -- Sir Lucas, 23

  Dingle, 167, 290

  Dodder river, 184

  Doe Castle, 229

  Dominicans, 125, 146, 153, 210, 239, 250, 301

  Donegal, 16, 287

  Doneraile, 1, 90, 91, 225

  Donnellan, James, Judge of Common Pleas, 305

  Douai, 140

  Dover treaty, 259

  Down, 16, 60, 228

  Drishane, 268

  Drogheda, 18, 47, 132, 135, 140, 182;
    taken by Inchiquin, 183, 184, 185, 187;
    taken by Cromwell, 192-196, 200, 307

  Dromagh, 268, 291

  Dromana, 91, 150

  Dromore, 15, 238

  Drumflugh, 118

  Dumoulin, French agent, 114, 121, 122, 138

  Dunbar battle, 240, 345

  Dunboyne, 156

  -- (Butler), Lord, 2

  Duncannon Fort, 21, 33, 80;
    taken by Preston, 81-83;
    relieved by Castlehaven, 205, 206, 234;
    surrenders to the Parliament, 236, 251;
    Ludlow's last footing, 367

  Dundalk, 135, 147, 173, 182, 197, 215, 270, 295

  Dundrum in Tipperary, 215

  Dunfermline, 239-241

  Dungan Hill, 148, 150, 155

  Dungannon, 24

  Dungarvan, 4, 72, 78, 150, 246

  -- (Boyle), Lord, 22

  Dungiven, 228

  Dunkirk, 21, 279, 353, 360

  Dunmore, in Waterford, 80

  -- in Kilkenny, 168

  Durham, 366

  Dyas, Captain, 298


  Earnley, Sir Michael, 9, 10

  Edenderry, 49

  Edgehill, 29

  Egan, Boetius, titular Bishop of Ross, 223, 224

  Eliogarty, 333

  Elizabeth, Princess, 85

  Elsing, Major, 165

  Ennis, 11, 241, 276

  Enniscorthy, 83, 199, 215

  Enniskillen, 13, 16, 51, 58, 154, 179, 197, 225, 229

  Ennislaughlin, 15

  Ennisnag, 220

  Erne, Lough, 297

  Esmond, Lawrence, Lord, 80-83

  Essex, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of, 189

  -- -- -- 3rd Earl of, 192, 315

  Eustace, Sir Maurice, 27;
    Lord Chancellor, 371

  Everard, Sir Richard, 75


  Fairfax, Sir Thomas, 54, 125, 162, 189, 214, 356

  Fanning, Dominic, 171, 232, 272, 274

  Fanshawe, Sir Richard, 174, 188

  -- Lady, 213, 214, 277, 339

  Fauconberg, Lord, 354, 355, 359

  Fennell, Major and Colonel, 60, 221, 222, 262, 272, 273

  -- Dr. Gerald, 139, 141

  Fenton, Sir William, 165, 203

  Fenwick, Colonel, 149, 229, 230

  Ferbane, 248, 263

  Ferdinand II., Grand Duke of Tuscany, 96, 159

  Fergus river, 266

  Fermo, 96, 100, 101

  Fermoy, 91

  Fern, Captain, 197

  Ferns, 129, 198, 199

  Ferrall, General, 183, 206, 207, 227

  Fethard, 124, 161, 214, 215

  Finglas, 184

  Finnea, 59, 260, 261, 269

  Fisher, Lieutenant, 92

  Fitzgerald, Sir Luke and Lady, 233, 234

  -- Edmond, 92

  -- Piers MacThomas: _see_ MacThomas

  Fitzpatrick, John, 266, 289

  Flanders, 20, 21, 78, 100

  Fleetwood, General Charles, 297, 302, 305, 319, 323;
    made Deputy, 327, 341;
    leaves Ireland, 343, 344, 347, 348, 366

  Fleming, Thomas, titular Archbishop of Dublin, 75, 220, 237

  Florence, 96, 99

  Flower, Colonel, 148

  Foisset, a Spanish agent, 77, 79

  Foliot, Lieutenant, 263

  Forbes, Alexander Lord, 36-43

  -- Sir Arthur, 369

  Forgie, Robert, Dean of Killala, 7

  Foyle, Lough, 193, 229

  Fox, Captain, 233, 234

  -- Charles James, 239

  Franciscans, 70, 78, 79, 108, 121, 124, 168, 200, 210, 239, 253

  Freke, Captain, 37

  French service, 303, 304

  French, Nicholas, titular Bishop of Ferns, 129, 147, 160, 175, 199,
      201, 241, 250, 253, 255, 259, 282, 288


  Galbally, 266, 268

  Galway, 5-9, 38-41;
    the fort surrendered, 43-44, 78, 95, 129, 146, 154, 172, 176, 241,
        245, 251, 262, 269, 278, 280;
    capitulates to Coote, 283, 284, 292, 301;
    its desolation, 339, 346

  Garristown, 156

  Gaultier, 167

  Genappe, 21

  Genoa, 77, 78, 99

  Geohegan, Anthony, 288-290

  Gibbs, Captain, 149

  Glamorgan, Edward Somerset, called Earl of, after Marquis of Worcester,
      his mission to Ireland, 84-89, 103;
    under arrest, 104;
    repudiated by Charles I., 106-107, 109, 110;
    swears fealty to Rinuccini, 111, 129, 143;
    appointed General, 145, 146;
    at Paris, 162, 239

  Glascarrig, 203, 216

  Glaslough, 118

  Glenaheiry, 167

  Glengariffe, 208

  Glengarry, 148, 173

  Glen Imale, 247

  Gleninagh, 243

  Glin, 41, 42

  Gloucester, 56

  Golden, 215

  Goldsmith, John, 6

  Goodwin, Robert, 29, 314, 327, 343, 359

  Gookin, Vincent, 303, 321, 327;
    in Oliver's Parliament, 328;
    writes against transplantation, 329-332, 347, 355

  Gordon, Patrick, 63

  Gormanston (Preston), Viscount, 21

  Gort, 263

  Gowran, 126, 137, 217

  Grace, Colonel Richard, 294

  Graiguenemanagh, 32

  Granard, 59

  Grangebeg, 137

  Greencastle, 62, 182

  Grenville, Sir Richard, 30-32, 279

  Grimaldi, Cardinal, 76

  Groves, Captain, 37

  Guadeloupe, 345

  Guernsey, 114


  Hague, 186, 240

  Hale, Sir Matthew, 186

  Hamilton, Sir Francis, 65

  -- Sir Frederick, 16, 95, 96

  -- Sir George, 128

  -- a minister, 62

  Hamilton's Bawn, 118

  Hammond, Colonel, 217

  -- Colonel Robert, 327

  Hampden, John, 73

  Hampton Court, 162

  Harman, Major, 147, 148

  Haro, Don Luis de, 20, 78

  Harrison, Michael, 306-308

  -- Thomas, regicide, 321

  Harristown, 131

  Haselrig, Sir Arthur, 363

  Hastings, 162

  Havre, 143

  Hawarden, 53

  Helvoetsluys, 187

  Henin, Abbot Stephen de, 253, 254, 258, 260, 288

  Henrietta Maria, Queen, 46;
    on Irish Protestants, 74-76;
    distrusted at Rome, 98-100;
    her religious opinions, 107, 108, 140-143, 159, 160, 162, 242, 252

  Henry II., 215

  -- VIII., 20

  Hewson, John, regicide, 215-218, 223, 260, 269, 321, 385

  Higgins, Dr., 274

  Hill, Colonel, 57

  Holycross, 210

  Holyhead, 362

  Hook Tower, 80

  Howard, Lady Margaret, 93

  Hull, Sir William, 38

  Hussey, Mrs., 309

  Hyde, Sir Edward: _see_ Clarendon


  Ikerrin (Butler), Lord, 2

  Imokilly, 92

  Inchecronan, 266, 276

  Inchiquin, Murrough O'Brien, 6th Baron, afterwards 1st Earl of, 4, 11;
    Vice-president of Munster, 13, 22;
    victor at Liscarrol, 23, 35, 37, 43, 47, 50;
    at Oxford, 69;
    joins the Parliament, 70, 71-74, 81, 82, 90-94, 141, 150, 152;
    sacks Cashel, 153;
    victor at Knocknanuss, 157, 161, 162;
    deserts the Parliament, 164, 165, 169, 184, 185, 189, 202, 204-206,
        209, 213, 214, 222, 224, 225, 227, 231;
    leaves Ireland, 243

  Ingoldsby, Colonel Henry, 201, 261, 263, 264, 294

  Inishowen, 229

  Inistioge, 204

  Innisbofin, 257, 258, 286, 298, 301, 339

  Innisfallen, 291

  Innisturk, 298

  Innocent III., 255

  -- X. (Pamphili), 76, 89, 97, 98, 103, 106, 109-111, 117, 121, 122, 160;
    rebukes Rinuccini, 177, 178, 242, 253, 255, 259

  Ireton, Henry, regicide, 190, 204, 214, 221;
    Oliver's Deputy, 223, 231, 234, 245-249;
    death and character, 277, 319

  -- Bridget, afterwards Fleetwood, 304

  Italians, Ireland for the, 35, 100

  Iveagh (Magennis), Lord, 15


  Jamaica, 144, 348, 350

  Jamestown, 237, 239, 241, 243

  Jeffries, Colonel, 214

  Jermyn, Henry, afterwards Earl of St. Albans, 99, 108, 160, 252

  Jersey, 114, 187, 243, 250

  Jesuits, 121, 130, 150-155, 176, 293, 326

  Jigginstown: _see_ Sigginstown

  John, King of Portugal, 154

  Johnson, Thomas, 7

  Jones, Henry, Bishop of Clogher and Scoutmaster-General, afterwards
      Bishop of Meath, 246, 298, 300, 304, 322, 359, 362-365

  -- John, regicide, 246, 298, 300, 304, 322, 359, 362-365

  -- Lewis, Bishop of Killaloe, 144

  -- Michael, 64, 144, 146, 147;
    victorious at Dungan Hill, 148, 149

  -- Sir Theophilus, 210, 221, 260, 299, 362, 364, 365

  -- Ensign, 38

  Joyce, Cornet, 164

  -- John, 310

  Julianstown, 193


  Kanturk, 157

  Kavanagh, Brian, 32, 57, 173

  Kells, 137

  Kelly, Charles, Dean of Tuam, 237

  Kempson, Colonel Nicholas, 364

  Kenmare, 101

  Kentish insurrection, 217

  Ker, John, Dean of Ardagh, 307

  Kerry, 47, 167, 169, 204, 274

  Kiffin, William, 327

  Kilbenny, 214

  Kilbolane, 23

  Kilbride, 260

  Kilcock, 131

  Kilcolgan, 248

  Kilcrea, 4

  Kilcruig, 91

  Kilcullen, 128, 216

  Kildare, 216, 293

  -- county, 17, 217

  -- Curragh of, 146

  -- Elizabeth Countess of, 131

  -- George Fitzgerald, 16th Earl of, 35, 64, 107

  Kildogan, 44

  Kildorrery, 2

  Kilkea, 130, 216

  Kilkenny, Catholic Confederation at, 19, 22, 25, 29, 33, 35, 49, 60,
      64, 72, 80, 87, 89, 90, 101;
    Rinuccini's reception at, 102, 107, 109, 110, 122-124, 126-129;
    threatened by Owen O'Neill, 130, 146, 154, 158-161, 165-167, 172,
        176, 196, 202, 204;
    siege and capture by Cromwell, 216-220, 225, 245, 279, 280;
    submission of Leinster by articles, 292-294, 305

  Kilkenny, county, 31, 66

  -- in Westmeath, 9

  Kill, 147

  Killagh, 291

  Killala, 7

  Killaloe, 169, 261, 262, 267, 273

  Killarney, 291

  Killultagh, 24

  Kilmacthomas, 206

  Kilmallock, 2, 48, 64, 158

  Kilmeague, 216

  Kilrush, in Kildare, battle of, 18, 30

  Kilrush, in Clare, 231

  Kiltinan, 215

  Kilwarlin, 15

  Kilworth, 48

  Kinale, Lough, 59, 260

  Kinalmeaky (Boyle), Lord, 3, 13, 23, 37, 38

  Kinard, or Caledon, 24, 120, 306

  King, Paul, Franciscan, 168

  -- Sir Robert, 277, 231

  -- John, Dean of Tuam, 240, 241, 254, 282, 283

  -- -- 1st Lord Kingston, 162, 230, 236

  Kinsale, 3, 37, 51, 70, 71, 73, 74, 79, 150, 165, 174;
    Rupert blockaded by Blake, 188, 203, 208;
    surrenders to Broghill, 209, 214, 291, 351

  Knipperdoling, the anabaptist, 346

  Knockbrack battle, 208, 209

  Knockmone, 91

  Knocknacloy lake, 120

  Knocknanuss, Inchiquin's victory at, 157, 158, 164

  Knocktopher, 205, 215

  Knot, John, 181


  Lag, Robert Grierson, laird of, 58

  Laggan forces, 17

  Laggan river, 209

  Lalue, French engineer, 81, 82

  Lambert, General John, named for Deputy, 319, 363-366

  Lancashire, 86

  Lane, Sir George, afterwards Viscount Lanesborough, 244, 307

  Larcan, Lawrence, 81-83

  Larne, Lough, 51

  Laune river, 291

  Lawrence, Colonel Richard, governor of Waterford and author, 300, 321,
      331, 332, 358, 364

  Lea Castle, 217

  Leamanegh, 267

  Leane, Lough, 291

  Ledred, Bishop of Ossory, 219

  Lee river, 223

  Leghorn, 99

  Leicester, Irish Brigade at, 366

  Leicester, Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of, 30, 51, 151

  Leighlin Bridge, 128

  Leitrim, 16, 45

  Leix, 166

  Leixlip, 144

  Lenthall, William, Mr. Speaker, 199, 201, 359

  Leslie, Alexander, Lord Leven, 44, 45, 58, 62

  -- Henry, Bishop of Down, 67, 279

  -- John, Bishop of Raphoe and Clogher successively, 196, 198

  Leyburn, George (Mr. Winter Grant), 104, 140-143, 147

  Leyden, John of, 180, 181, 346

  Lifford, 174, 229

  Limavady, 228

  Limerick, 4, 12, 22, 25, 35, 41, 42, 101, 102, 117, 122, 123, 158, 159,
      198, 217, 226, 232, 237, 245, 247, 248, 256;
    siege and capture by Ireton, 263-273, 276, 278, 280, 281, 289, 301,
        340

  Limerick county, 66, 150

  Linlithgow, 64

  Lisbon, 154, 309

  Lisburn (Lisnegarvey), 23, 25, 50, 120, 173, 197, 307

  Liscarrol, 13, 22, 23, 91, 151, 158

  Lisle, Philip Sidney, Lord, 30-33

  -- Sir George, 217

  Lismore, 13, 91, 93

  Lisnaskea, 296, 297

  Lisnesreane, 210

  Liverpool, 52, 348

  Lochaline, 62

  Loftus, Lord Chancellor, 223

  Loftus, Sir Adam, 49, 151

  London, City of, 312, 313

  Londonderry, 17, 57, 58, 79, 121, 174;
    succoured by Owen O'Neill, 182, 183, 228, 229, 231

  Longford, 9, 137, 168

  Lorraine: _see_ Charles IV.

  Lot, 279

  Loughanlea, 121

  Loughbrickland, 15, 24

  Loughgall, 228

  Lough Gur, 248

  Loughmoe, 2

  Loughrea, 5, 7, 39, 41, 43, 44, 51, 227, 232, 237, 238, 241, 242, 262,
      294, 334

  Louis XIII., 249

  Louis XIV., 76, 114, 122, 159, 249, 250

  Louvain, 21

  Lowther, Sir Gerald, Chief Justice, 65, 132, 305, 309, 353

  Lucan, 131

  Lucas, Sir Charles, 217

  -- Sir Thomas, 18

  -- Captain, 367

  Ludlow, Edmund, regicide, general and historian, 70, 153, 192, 193,
      195, 202, 231, 234, 245;
    a commissioner for government, 246, 260;
    his service under Ireton, 262-267, 274-277, 280, 281, 285, 286;
    his siege of Ross Castle, 289-294;
    his last military service, 295-297, 300, 302, 304, 317-320, 326, 344;
    his struggles to avert Restoration, 359, 362, 363, 369

  Lynch, John, historian, 231

  -- Stephen, prior of Strade, 7

  -- Walter, titular Bishop of Clonfert, 8, 125, 220, 241, 298, 299

  Lynch's Knock, 148;
    _see_ Dungan


  Mabel, Saint, 101

  MacAdam, Captain, 59, 115, 117

  MacArt: _see_ O'Neill, Owen Roe

  Macartan, 16

  MacCarthy, Reagh, 3

  --: _see_ Muskerry

  MacDonnell, Alaster or Alexander, with Montrose, 62-64, 75;
    killed at Knocknanuss, 156-158

  -- Colonel Alexander (Lord Antrim's brother), 64, 260

  -- Florence, called Captain Sougane, 4

  MacEgan, 121

  MacGeohegan, Abbé, 201

  Mackenzies, 63

  Macmahon or MacMahon, Ever, Heber or Emer, titular Bishop of Clogher,
      97, 142, 156, 159, 160, 166, 167;
    chosen general, defeated, and hanged, 227-231

  Macnamaras, 11

  Macroom, 101, 223

  Macthomas, Fitzgerald, Piers, 127, 128, 148, 173

  Maddenstown, 18

  Magdeburg, 116, 195, 286

  Mageney, 18

  Magennis, 16, 27

  Maguire, Major Luke, 233

  Maguire, Rory, 19, 169

  Maguires, 230, 231

  Mahony, Cornelius, Jesuit, 154, 155

  Mallow, 23, 51, 91, 157, 209, 268

  Malone, William, Jesuit, 6, 177

  Marlborough, 357

  Marseilles, 99

  Marston Bigot, 202

  -- Moor, 70, 85

  Martin, Richard, 64, 75

  Maryborough, 17, 51, 166, 182, 193

  Massari, Dean of Fermo, 100, 121, 122, 124, 167, 175, 288

  Matthews, a Franciscan, 70

  Maxwell, John, Bishop of Killala, then Archbishop of Tuam, 6

  Maynard, Sir John, 357

  Maynooth, 148, 186

  Mayo, 5

  -- Miles Bourke, Viscount, 5-8

  -- Theobald Bourke, 7, 311

  Mazarin, Cardinal, 76-78, 99, 100-102, 138, 249, 251, 252, 304

  Meagh, Sir Richard, 92

  Meath, 45, 156

  Meelick, 248, 264, 269, 289

  Melo or Mello, Don Francisco de, 20, 77

  Meredith, Sir R., 49

  Mervyn, Colonel Audley, 57, 58, 174, 196, 236

  Middleburgh, 74, 225

  Milford, 82, 190

  Millstreet, 101

  Milltown, 91

  Milton, John, 180, 181

  Minehead, 53

  Mingarry, 62

  Mirabeau, 277

  Mitchelstown, 48, 90, 214, 277

  Mogeely, 93

  Mohill, 45

  Moira, 15, 209

  Monaghan, 24, 118, 183

  Monasterevan, 146

  Monck, George, afterwards Duke of Albemarle, 17, 29, 31, 54;
    advises Charles I., 55, 140, 151, 155;
    surprises Belfast and Carrickfergus, 173, 179;
    makes terms with Owen O'Neill, 182-184, 197, 363-368

  Moneymore, 25

  Monkstown, 367

  Monnerie, a French agent, 78, 141

  Monro, Daniel, 118

  Monro, Sir George, 118, 120, 173, 182, 209, 227

  -- General Robert, 14-16, 24, 45, 51, 55, 57-60, 95;
    overthrown at Benburb, 117-121, 132;
    surprised and taken by Monck, 173, 209, 210

  Montgomery, Hugh, Viscount, afterwards Earl of Mount Alexander, 23, 24,
      57, 64, 120, 201, 209, 210, 342

  Montpensier, Mademoiselle de, 187

  Montreuil, 108

  Montrose, James, Marquis of, 61, 64, 95, 187, 369

  Moore, Charles, Viscount, 33, 45, 47

  -- Henry, 1st Earl of Drogheda, 223

  Morrice, Thomas, 202, 370

  Morris, a veteran, 33

  Mostyn, 53

  Mothel, 1

  Mountgarret, Richard Butler, 3rd Viscount, President of the Supreme
      Council, 2, 3, 5, 18, 19, 21, 22, 27, 59, 75, 102, 106, 111, 129,
      155, 168

  Mountjoy Fort, in Ulster, 25

  Mountjoy, Lord, 205, 300

  Mountnorris, Lord, 286

  Mountrath, Earl of: _see_ Coote

  Mourne Mountains, 24

  Mulkear river, 150

  Mullingar, 9, 62, 260, 293

  Murphy, victim of assassination, 235

  Muschamp, Major, 74

  Muskerry, Donogh MacCarthy, Viscount, brother-in-law to Ormonde and
      opponent of the nuncio, 3, 4, 22, 50;
    with the King at Oxford, 64-66, 68, 69, 74, 75, 88, 111, 117;
    imprisoned by Rinuccini, 129;
    ousts Glamorgan from his command, 146, 152, 153, 158-160, 162, 177,
        207, 223;
    routed by Broghill near Kanturk, 266-269;
    defends Ross Castle, 290-295, 298, 299;
    tried and acquitted, 308-310

  Mutton Island, 285


  Naas, 17, 49, 51, 126, 131, 147, 149

  Nanny river, 193

  Nantes, 21, 93, 108

  Nantwich, 53-55

  Naseby battle, 86, 87, 92, 93, 98, 99, 111, 164, 269

  Navan, 50

  Neagh, Lough, 25, 228

  Neale, The, 6

  Nelson, Lord, 214

  Nenagh, 169, 249

  Netherlands, 78, 79

  Netterville, Lord, 260

  Newbury, 56

  Newcastle-on-Tyne, 115

  Newmarket, Charles I. at, 181

  -- co. Cork, 158

  Newport, 171

  New Ross: _see_ Ross

  Newry, 15, 16, 62

  Newtown, near Charleville, 22

  Newtownards, 209

  Newtown Stewart, 17

  Nicholas, Sir Edward, Secretary of State, 65, 142, 254

  Nîmes, 332

  Nore river, 201, 203, 204, 218

  Northwich, 53

  Norwich, George Goring, Earl of, 254

  Nottingham, 313

  Nugent, Anthony, Capuchin, 246

  -- Robert, Jesuit, 130, 131


  O'Brien: _see_ Thomond and Inchiquin

  -- Connor, 267

  -- Daniel, 40, 41

  -- Colonel Dermot, 64, 112

  -- Colonel Henry (Inchiquin's brother), 71, 92

  -- -- Murtagh, 232, 290, 294, 298

  -- Terence Albert, titular Bishop of Emly, 244, 274

  -- Tirlagh, 40

  -- Lady Margaret, 85

  -- -- Honora, 277

  O'Briens, various, 11, 27, 71

  O'Brien's Bridge, 150, 261, 266

  O'Byrne, Brian MacPhelim, 18

  -- Hugh MacPhelim, 18

  -- Philip MacPhelim, 295

  O'Byrnes, various, 173

  O'Connolly, Owen, 20, 57

  O'Connor, Teige, 95

  -- Roe, 10

  O'Conor or O'Connor, Felix, 301, 302

  O'Donovan, 38

  O'Driscol, 38

  O'Driscols, various, 299

  O'Dwyer, Edmund, titular Bishop of Limerick, 159, 272, 274

  O'Dwyer, Colonel Edmund, 290

  O'Flaherty, Donogh, 299

  O'Flaherty clan, 5, 7, 8, 39

  Ogarney river, 115

  O'Grady, Captain Henry, 11

  O'Hagan, Shane, 168

  O'Hartegan, Matthew, Jesuit, 34, 35, 99, 100, 103, 121, 305

  O'Mellan, Friar, 119, 121

  Omodei, Cardinal Luigi, 96

  O'More, Roger or Rory, 18, 26, 170, 298, 299

  O'Neill, Art MacBaron, 20

  -- Daniel, 61, 69, 114, 126, 142, 196, 198, 227, 243

  -- Henry, 198, 231, 233

  -- Hugh Boy, 'an old surly Spanish soldier,' defends Clonmel, 220-222,
      227;
    defends Limerick, 247, 265, 272;
    tried and acquitted, 274, 275

  -- John, titular Earl of Tyrone, 275

  -- Owen Roe MacArt, 20, 21, 26, 44, 45, 57, 60, 61;
    routs Monro at Benburb, 117-122;
    at Kilkenny, 129-131, 133-137, 154, 155;
    ravages the Pale, 156, 159, 160;
    supports the nuncio, 166-169, 176;
    negotiates with Ormonde, Jones, and Coote, 179, 180;
    succours Londonderry, 182, 188;
    his treaty with Ormonde, 196;
    death and character, 197, 198, 207, 210, 227, 260, 286, 310

  -- Sir Phelim, 15, 21, 24, 26, 120, 129, 172, 179, 227, 230, 236;
    trial and execution, 305-308

  -- Shane, 118

  O'Neills, various, 27, 296

  Oona brook, 118

  O'Queely: _see_ Queely

  O'Quin, Tirlogh Groom, 305-307

  Orange, Frederick Henry, Prince of, 21

  Oranmore, 5

  Orleans, Gaston, Duke of, 99

  O'Reilly, Edmund, Vicar-General, afterwards titular Primate, 44, 170,
      185, 310, 311

  -- Philip MacHugh, 260, 269, 270, 299

  Ormonde, Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of, 219

  -- James Butler, 12th Earl of, afterwards Marquis and Duke,
      Lord-Lieutenant for the King from 1643 onwards, 1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 13,
      17;
    victorious at Kilrush, 18, 27, 29-31;
    victorious at Ross, 32-35;
    ordered to negotiate, 46;
    arranges a cessation of arms, 47-52, 53-55, 62;
    dealings with Glamorgan, chap. xxv. _passim_, 94, 95, 98;
    his peace with the Confederates, chap. xxvii. _passim_,
    surrenders Dublin to the Parliament, 140;
    leaves Ireland, 144, 165, 169, 170;
    returns to Ireland, 171, 172-179;
    proclaims Charles II., 180, 181-183;
    totally defeated at Rathmines, 184-188, 192, 195-198, 204-207;
    his struggles with the bishops, 210-242;
    leaves Ireland, 243, 245, 253, 254, 256, 272, 286, 289, 340, 346

  -- Marchioness of, 1, 131

  Ormsby, Major Robert, 96

  O'Rourke, Connor, 16

  Orrery: _see_ Broghill

  Osborne, Sir Richard, 91

  -- Dorothy, afterwards Lady Temple, 361

  O'Shaughnessy, Sir Roger, 38, 263

  Ostend, 353

  O'Sullivan, Bere, 179

  -- Roe, 3

  -- Francis, 78

  O'Sullivans, various, 297

  Oughter, Lough, 299

  Oughterard, 278

  Oxford, 55, 61, 62;
    negotiations with the King, 64-70, 75, 84, 86, 108, 192, 252, 253,
        295, 356


  Pale, a new one proposed, 280, 281

  Pamphili, Cardinal, 108

  Paris, 35, 99, 100, 103, 168, 187, 244;
   Lord Taaffe's experiences, 252, 286

  Parliaments, Irish members in Cromwell's, 321, 328, 349, 355-358

  Parsons, Fenton, 65

  -- Sir William, Lord Justice, 1, 8, 29;
    dismissed, 47, 49, 65

  Passage, Waterford, 62, 205-207

  Patrick's Purgatory, Saint, 154

  Patterson, Major, 162

  Paulet (an officer), 53

  Pemberton, a witness, 310

  Penn, Sir William, 115, 117, 225

  Penruddock's insurrection, 345

  Pepys, Sir Richard, Chief Justice, 327, 343

  Percival, Sir Philip, 65, 68

  Perkins, Major, 229

  Perros Guirec, 243

  Peters, Captain Benjamin, 36

  -- Hugh, 36-42, 190, 195, 201

  Petty, Sir William, 300, 303, 334-338, 347, 354-358

  Phaire, Colonel Robert, regicide, Governor of Cork, 203, 364

  Philip, Saint, 101

  -- IV., 77, 78, 97, 106, 303

  Philiphaugh, 64

  Phillips, Sir Thomas, and his successor, 228

  Piccolomini, 78

  Piedmont, 323

  Pigott, Colonel, 208

  Plattin, 112

  Plunket, Sir Nicholas, prolocutor at Kilkenny, 26;
    with the King at Oxford, 64, 114, 123, 136;
    gives Preston bad advice, 147;
    envoy to Rome, 160, 175;
    at Galway, 177, 198;
    makes a treaty with Lorraine, 255, 257;
    prefers the Parliament to Ormonde, 283

  -- Colonel Thomas, 78, 249

  -- a sea-rover, 101

  Poland, 310

  Pole, Cardinal, 109

  Popham, Admiral Edward, 188

  Pore, Sir William, 23

  Portadown, 64

  Porter, Endymion, 85

  Portland, Weston, 2nd Earl of, 65, 70, 164

  Portlester, 45, 60, 147, 148, 223

  Portnahinch, 17

  Portugal, 154, 309

  Portumna, 5, 43, 44, 51, 262, 294

  Poulakerry, 220

  Poulmonty, 32

  Power, Major, 91

  -- Lord, 275

  Poynings's law, 46, 67, 69, 87, 112, 181

  Poyntz, Sir Robert, 162

  Preston, General Thomas, afterwards Viscount Tarah, his rivalry with
      Owen O'Neill, 20-22;
    commands in Leinster, 26;
    his brush with Monck, 29;
    beaten at Ross, 31-34, 43, 48, 57;
    takes Duncannon, 81-83, 94, 122, 126, 127, 132-134;
    his officers 'not excommunication proof,' 137, 141;
    routed at Dungan Hill, 145-149, 153, 166, 167, 199, 222;
    defends Waterford, 234-236, 247, 260;
    defends Galway, 278, 279, 283;
    abroad, and excepted from pardon, 318

  Preston, Sir James, 168, 235, 236, 283

  Purcell, Major-General Patrick, 2, 3, 22, 91, 158, 184, 185, 265;
    executed, 274

  -- Theobald, titular baron of Loughmoe, 2

  Putney, 162

  Pym, John, 73


  Quakers in the army, 348, 349, 364

  Queely, Malachi, titular Archbishop of Tuam, 6;
    killed at Sligo, 89, 94, 96, 97, 102

  Queen's County, 29, 168, 208

  Queenstown, 208


  Radcliffe, Sir George, 65, 67

  Radford, Ann, Duchess of Albemarle, 55

  Rainsborough, 36

  Ranelagh, Roger Jones, Viscount, President of Connaught, 5, 9, 10,
      38-41, 51

  Rathbarry, 37

  Rathfarnham, 144, 184, 186

  Rathmelton, 17, 58

  Rathmines battle, 184-187, 189, 190, 195, 196, 214, 224, 310

  Ratoath, 156

  Rawdon, Captain, 24

  Reading, 192

  Rebane, 173

  Redman, Colonel, 364, 366

  Redshard, 2

  Ree, Lough, 9

  Rehill, 214

  Renvyle, 298

  Retz, Cardinal de, 252

  Reynolds, Commissary-General John, 184;
    at Drogheda, 195, 204, 206, 214, 215, 221, 233, 261-263, 297, 305,
        335, 343

  Rhé, Isle of, 100

  Richelieu, Cardinal, 21, 249

  Ridgeway, Sir Thomas, created Earl of Londonderry, 34

  -- Captain and Colonel, 65, 91

  Ringrone, 351

  Ringsend, 362

  Rinuccini, Bishop of Fermo, 8, 50, 77, 79, 89;
    sent nuncio to Ireland, 96-104;
    steadily opposes Ormonde, 114-131, 133, 135-138;
    his relations with Leyburn, 139-143;
    driven out of Leinster, 145, 146, 150;
    without money or friends, 152-155, 159-162;
    his excommunications grow cheap, 165-167, 170, 171;
    driven from Ireland, 176;
    rebuked by the Pope, 178, 179, 198, 220, 223, 226, 245, 250, 283,
        288, 301, 309

  Robartes or Roberts, Lord, afterwards Earl of Radnor, 371

  Roche, Lord, 223

  -- David, 266, 267, 270

  -- Captain Thomas, 205

  Rochelle, 21, 103

  Rochfordstown, 4

  Rochfort, Patrick, 250, 251

  Roe or Rowe, John, Carmelite, 176, 178

  Roghan, Lough, 305

  Rome, 28, 107, 108;
    _Te Deum_ for Benburb, 121, 160;
    no help for Ireland, 175, 177, 256, 288

  Rosbercon, 204

  Roscommon, 10, 43, 44, 122, 301

  -- Lord (Dillon), 47, 51, 213

  Roscrea, 127, 248

  Ross, New, 31-33, 199; taken by Cromwell, 201-203;
    his bridge there, 204, 205, 210, 213, 245

  -- Old, 32

  -- Castle, Kerry, 290-294, 309

  Rosscarbery, 37

  Rosslare, 199

  Rossmanagher, 116

  Rostellan, 92

  Roth or Rothe, David, titular Bishop of Ossory, 129, 168, 169, 177, 220

  Rouen, 37

  Rous, Francis, 321

  Rupert, Prince, 62, 157, 174, 179, 183;
    at Kinsale, 187, 188, 209


  Sadleir, Adjutant-General, 220, 346

  Saffron Walden, 188

  St. Arnaud, Marshal, 296

  St. Germains, 187, 196, 286

  St. Leger, Sir William, President of Munster, 1-4, 12, 13, 22, 37, 69

  St. Malo, 21, 162

  Sambach, Sir William, Solicitor-General, 65

  Sandford's Court, 219

  Sankey, Sir Hierome, 206, 207, 295, 334, 356-358, 362-364, 369

  Scarampi, Pier-Francesco, oratorian, 49, 50, 84, 96, 99, 100, 102, 123,
      138, 176

  Scariffhollis battle, 229, 233, 236

  Scarva, 60

  Scilly, 114, 188, 279

  Scot, Colonel Thomas, 368

  Sedgemoor, 345

  Settlement, Exceptions in Act of, 318

  Sexby, Edward, 350, 352

  Seymour, Henry, 187

  Sforza, Francesco, 267

  Shannon river, 9, 11, 41, 116, 150, 222, 231, 248;
    passage of, by Ireton, 261, 263, 265, 295, 323, 324

  -- Lord, Francis Boyle, 370

  Shea, Mr., 166

  Shee, Sir Richard, 26

  -- Robert, 26

  Sheelin, Lough, 59, 260

  Sheephaven, 229

  Sherlock, Sir John, 126, 128, 270

  Shrule massacre, 6, 7, 311

  Sigginstown, 50

  Silvermines, 169

  Silyard, Mr., 33

  Sindercombe, Miles, 352

  Sixmilebridge, 116

  Skinner, Roger, 309

  -- Captain, 367-369

  Skippon, General Philip, 189

  Skipton, 86

  Skreen, 147

  Slane, 37

  Sligo, 16, 40, 89;
    taken by Coote, 95, 96, 122, 154, 155, 287

  Smithwick, Captain, 81

  Smyth, Vice-Admiral, 83

  Sodom, 279

  Somerhill, 287

  Somerset, Plantagenet, 85

  Sougane, Captain: _see_ MacDonnell, Florence

  Spa, 202

  Spain, 34, 99, 178;
    Irish soldiers ill-treated in, 303, 309

  Spalding, John, 14, 63, 64

  Spinola, 100

  Spotswoode, Robert, 61

  Stafford, Captain, 200

  Stanley, Sir Thomas, 356

  Stayner, Admiral Sir Richard, 351

  Steele, William, Lord Chancellor, 327, 343, 352, 353, 359

  Sterling, Sir Robert, 225

  Stewart, Sir Robert, 17, 45, 57, 96, 118, 121, 173, 179, 182

  Stewart, Sir William, 17, 65

  Stirling, 282

  Strafford, Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of, 10, 21, 46, 47, 65, 97, 113,
      114, 144, 145, 286, 303, 311, 321, 354

  Strancally, 93

  Stretch, Thomas, Mayor of Limerick, 271, 274

  Suckling, Sir John, 93

  Suir river, 1, 80, 150, 220, 234, 315

  Summerhill, 148

  Swanley, Richard, commodore, 75, 76

  Swedish service, 303

  Swilly, Lough and River, 21, 229

  Swiney, Eugene, titular Bishop of Kilmore, 227

  Synge, Edward, late Bishop of Cloyne, 162

  Synnott, Colonel David, 199, 200

  -- -- Oliver, 251


  Taaffe, Theobald, Viscount, afterwards 1st Earl of Carlingford, 95, 96,
      138, 152;
    defeated at Knocknanuss, 156-158, 160, 166, 204, 205, 207, 216, 251;
    nearly starved at Paris, 252, 254-256, 259

  -- Lucas, 96, 201

  Talbot, James, 78

  -- Peter, 350

  -- Richard, 195, 350;
    _see_ Tyrconnel

  -- Sir Robert, 50, 64, 111, 144, 233, 234

  -- Thomas, 196

  Talbotstown, 281

  Tallon, French agent, 141

  Tanderagee, 60, 121

  Tara, 147

  Tarbert, 231

  Taylor, Captain, 229

  Tecroghan, 233, 260

  Temple, Colonel Edmund, 368

  -- Sir John, 49, 151

  -- William, 369

  Templemichael, 93

  Templeoge, 184

  Thomastown, in Kilkenny, 204, 217

  -- in Tipperary, 248

  Thomond, Henry and Barnabas O'Brien, 5th and 6th Earl of, 11, 35, 41,
      85, 115, 117, 277

  Thornton, Robert, Mayor of Londonderry, 57

  Thurles, 248, 333

  Thurloe, John, Secretary of State, 349, 353, 355, 356, 360

  Tichborne, Sir Henry, 47, 65, 75, 140, 147, 156

  Tickle, Captain, 217, 222

  Timahoe, 29

  Timoleague, 38, 39, 209

  Timolin, 31, 336

  Tipper, 17

  Tipperary, 1-3, 11, 66, 108, 152, 165, 204, 215

  Tippermuir, 63

  Tirellan, 8, 39, 41, 253, 285

  Togher, 260

  Tomlinson, Colonel Matthew, 327, 343, 359, 365, 368

  Tonbridge, 288

  Toome, 228

  Tories, 316, 330

  Tothill, Colonel, 264, 266

  Tours, 100

  Tralee, 41, 167

  Transplantation, 333, chap, xxxvii. _passim_

  Trent, Council of, 97, 268

  Trevor, Colonel Mark, 183, 196, 197, 204

  Trim, 42, 45, 47, 135, 149, 182, 185, 197

  Trimleston, 110

  Trinity College, Dublin, 184

  Tucker, Captain William, 29-31, 314

  Tullamore, 169

  Tullow, 18

  Tulsk, 96

  Turner, Sir James, 15, 16, 44, 56, 63, 64, 118

  -- Methusaleh, 321

  Tuscany, 76

  Tyrconnel, Richard Talbot, afterwards Duke of, 111, 114, 195, 350

  Tyrone, 17, 24, 25

  -- Earl of, 63, 168, 275

  Tyrrell, Irish agent at Paris, 256

  Tyrrell's Pass, 233


  Underwood, Richard, 81

  Urban VIII. (Barberini), 21, 28, 49

  Ussher, James, Primate, 67, 125

  Uxbridge, 95


  Vane, Sir Henry, the younger, 55

  Vaughan, Sir William, 185

  Vavasour, Sir Charles, 3, 13, 48, 53

  Venables, Colonel Roberts, 184, 197, 209, 229, 236, 270, 287, 288,
      306, 341

  Venice, 76, 77, 188, 310

  Ventadour, Duke of, 99

  Vernon, Colonel, 349

  Voltaire, 249


  Wadding, Luke, Franciscan, 20, 21, 28, 97, 167

  Waldenses, 332, 333

  Walker, Major, 266, 291

  -- Sir Edward, 240

  Wall, Michael, 2

  Wallenstein, 249

  Waller, Sir Hardress, 234, 247, 265, 290, 301, 335, 343, 363-365, 369,
      370

  Walsh, Thomas, Archbishop of Cashel, 89

  -- Peter, Franciscan, opponent of Rinuccini, 28, 124, 129, 155, 168,
      169, 177, 178, 185, 261, 310

  -- priest and captain, 274

  Walsingham, Sir Francis, 34

  -- Edward, 142, 146, 147

  Walter, Lucy, 187

  Wareham, 71

  Warren, Colonel, 54

  Waterford, 1, 4, 28, 56, 57, 62, 72, 80, 101, 123, 124, 151, 158, 165,
      167;
    siege of, abandoned by Cromwell, 206, 207, 222;
    taken by Ireton, 234-236, 245, 276, 316, 340

  Watson, a minister, 62

  Weaver, John, 246, 279, 304, 316

  Weir, a minister, 262

  Westmeath, 9, 137

  -- Richard Nugent, 2nd Earl of, 261, 282, 292

  Wexford, 10, 21, 29, 31, 64;
    taken by Cromwell, 198-201, 215, 295, 340

  White, Sir Nicholas, 142

  -- John, Mayor of Clonmel, 221, 222

  Whitelock, Bulstrode, 349, 366

  Wickham, Peter, 310

  Wicklow, 17, 18, 66, 185, 281, 295, 315

  William III., 295

  Willoughby, Sir Francis, 5, 30, 126, 128, 132

  -- Anthony, 5, 8, 10, 38, 39, 41, 44

  Wogan, Edward, 205, 207, 225

  Wolfe, James, Dominican, 125, 232

  Wood, Anthony, 192, 194

  Wood, Thomas, 194

  Worcester, the 1st Marquis of, 84

  -- the 2nd Marquis of: _see_ Glamorgan

  -- battle, 256, 258, 271, 283

  Worsley, Benjamin, 334, 335, 338

  Worth, Edward, 351


  Yarner, Captain, 17-19

  York, James, Duke of, 174, 182, 243, 251, 295

  Youghal, 3;
    defended by Cork, 13, 24, 51, 70, 73-74, 79, 83;
    Castlehaven fails to take, 90-94, 128, 164, 179, 184, 190, 198;
    admits Cromwell joyfully, 203, 204, 212, 214, 246, 270, 273, 308


END OF THE SECOND VOLUME


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TRANSCRIBERS' NOTES


Page 18, 26: Inconsistent hyphenation of bare(-)headed as in the
    original
Page 23, 380: Inconsistent spelling of Kilbolane/Kilbolaine as in the
    original
Page 40, 383: Inconsistent spelling of Tirlagh/Tirlogh O'Brien as in the
    original
Page 46, 67, 69, 87, 112, 181, 384: Inconsistent spelling of
    Poynings'/Poynings's as in the original
Page 64, 374: Inconsistent spelling of Blaney/Blayney as in the original
Page 67: collleagues corrected to colleagues
Page 91, 92, 268, 375: Inconsistent spelling of Castle Lyons/Castlelyons
    as in the original
Page 91, 225: Inconsistent hyphenation of half(-)way as in the original
Page 96, 376: Inconsistent spelling of Colooney/Coloony as in the
    original
Page 113 (footnote): Febuary corrected to February
Page 122: atributed corrected to attributed
Page 137: neighbourhoood corrected to neighbourhood
Page 150, 161: Inconsistent hyphenation of bare(-)footed as in the
    original
Page 150, 259: Inconsistent hyphenation of sea(-)port as in the original
Page 150, 272: Inconsistent hyphenation of red(-)coats as in the
    original
Page 186 (footnote): Aphorisimical corrected to Aphorismical
Page 209, 377: Inconsistent spelling of Dalzell/Dalziel as in the
    original
Page 210, 379: Inconsistency of Holycross/Holy Cross as in the original
Page 215 (footnote): Cromwall corrected to Cromwell
Page 229 (sidenote): divide corrected to divides
Page 231, 234 (footnotes), 245, 273 (footnote), 295, 298: Aphorismical
    Discoverer standardised to Discovery
Page 239: Dumfermline corrected to Dunfermline
Page 252 (footnote): pres corrected to près; refugiés corrected to
    réfugiés
Page 258: Commisisioners corrected to Commissioners
Page 263, 378: Inconsistent spelling of Ferbane/Ferboe as in the
    original
Page 266, 379: Inconsistent spelling of Inchecronan/Inch Cronan as in
    the original
Page 267, 380: Inconsistent spelling of Leamanegh/Leamaneh as in the
    original
Page 283: Rinucccini's corrected to Rinuccini's
Page 291: accompaned corrected to accompanied
Page 292 (footnote): alterwards corrected to afterwards
Page 296, 375: Inconsistency of Castle Blayney/Castleblayney as in the
    original
Page 299, 383: Inconsistent spelling of O'Driscols/O'Driscolls as in the
    original
Page 323: If corrected to It before became necessary
Page 346, 385: Inconsistent spelling of Sadler/Sadleir as in the
    original
Page 352, 386: Inconsistent spelling of Sindercombe/Sindercome as in the
    original
Page 374: Bennettsbridge standardised to Bennet's Bridge
Page 377: Page for Coura Lake corrected from 293 to 295
Page 378: Page for Ferbane corrected from 243 to 248; page for Glaslough
    corrected from 128 to 118
Page 382: Page for Melo or Mello corrected from 97 to 77
Page 383: Page for Ogarney river corrected from 116 to 115
Page 384: Pugatory corrected to Purgatory; page for Piccolomini
    corrected from 76 to 78
Page 385: Page for Robartes corrected from 370 to 371; page for St.
    Leger corrected from 73 to 37; entry for Rouen as in the original
    but no reference to it on that page
Page 387: Entry for Trimleston as in the original but no reference to it
    on that page





End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Ireland under the Stuarts and during
the Interregnum, Vol. II (of 3), 1642-1660, by Richard Bagwell

*** 