CHAPTER IX.

FROM THE ACCESSION OF HENRY VIII. TO THE YEAR 1534.

[Sidenote: Accession of Henry VIII., 1509. Kildare remains in power.]

Henry VIII. was proclaimed without opposition, and amid great rejoicings

in all the principal towns, but his accession made no immediate

difference to Ireland. Kildare prepared to go to the new King, but the

Council, who felt their helplessness without him, chose him Lord Justice,

and constrained him to stay. His patent as Lord Deputy was not long

withheld, and other official men were for the time continued in

authority. The Earl was summoned to Court, but excused himself on the

grounds that he could not be spared, and, as the Council sustained him,

the King made no objection. Attended by the chief men of the Pale he

invaded Munster, and, being joined by O'Donnell, penetrated into Desmond

and took Castlemaine, as well as the so-called palace of the MacCarthies

near Killarney. He met with scarcely any resistance, and seems to have

had no higher object than plunder. Near Limerick, Kildare was joined by

Desmond's eldest son with the main force of the southern Geraldines and

the MacCarthies of Carbery and Muskerry. The Lord Deputy passed into

Clare by a wooden bridge which the O'Briens had erected near

Castleconnell, and which he broke down behind him. Here he was met by

Tirlough O'Brien, the chief's son, accompanied by the Macnamaras and the

Clanricarde Burkes. The hostile armies bivouacked at such close quarters

that they could hear each other talking at night. At daybreak Kildare

retired along the right bank of the Shannon, and reached Limerick in

safety with the bulk of his plunder. The Munster Geraldines, with their

Irish auxiliaries, marched in the van as not being over trustworthy.

In the rear, the post of honour in a retreat, were the O'Donnells and the

men of the Pale. Such was the settlement of differences between

Geraldines and De Burgos, which the chief governor had alleged as the

main obstacle to his attendance upon his sovereign. It was indeed his

interest to be always at war, for he had obtained a grant in tail of all

such possessions as he could recover from any rebel in Ireland.[76] This

method of paying a viceroy with letters of marque cost the Crown nothing,

but the greatest ingenuity could hardly have devised a plan more fatal to

an unfortunate dependency.

[Sidenote: Activity of Kildare, 1512, 1513.]

During the next year Kildare kept pretty quiet, but was soon again in the

field. Crossing the Shannon at Athlone he plundered and burned all before

him to Roscommon, where he placed a garrison, and then prolonged his

destroying course to Boyle. Here he met O'Donnell, who came to him over

the Curlew Mountains. This chief had lately made a pilgrimage to Rome,

and spent four months in London going and as many more on his return. He

was well received by Henry VIII., but we have unfortunately no details.

In this same year Kildare invaded Ulster, took the castle of Belfast, and

spoiled the land far and wide. In the following summer he marched against

Ely O'Carroll, but while watering his horse in a stream near his own

castle of Kilkea he was shot by one of the O'Mores, and died soon

afterwards.[77] His son Gerald was at once chosen Lord Justice by the

Council, and the King continued him in authority[78] on the same terms,

and with a similar grant of all lands he could recover from the rebels.

[Sidenote: The Earldom of Ormonde in abeyance.]

The rival house of Ormonde was at this time depressed by the loss of its

head without male issue. Early in 1515 died Thomas, the seventh Earl, the

only Irish peer whom Henry VII. or Henry VIII. called to the English

House of Lords, who was reputed the richest subject of the Crown, and is

said to have left the enormous sum of 40,000_l._ in money, besides

jewels. He had two daughters, who inherited his personal property and

seventy-two manors in England. Ann, the eldest, was married to Sir James

St. Leger, Margaret, the younger, to Sir William Boleyn, by whom she had

Sir Thomas, who became grandfather to Queen Elizabeth. Sir Piers Butler,

a descendant of the third Earl, was heir male to the title and to the

settled Irish estates, which at once became matters of dispute between

him and the ladies St. Leger and Boleyn. With the full approval of the

Irish Butlers, Sir Piers at once assumed the title of Earl. He had

married Lady Margaret Fitzgerald, sister of the new Lord Deputy Kildare,

a woman of lofty character and stature, to whom Irish tradition, with an

endearing irony, has given the name of Magheen or Little Margaret. In

compliance with letters from the King, Sir Piers was ordered to appear

before his brother-in-law and the Irish Council; but he sent his wife

instead, to urge that he was busy fighting. The lady, who must have had a

delicate task between her husband and her brother, procured an

adjournment, and it was stipulated that no rents should be paid in the

meantime. The late Earl's daughters appeared by counsel in due course,

and it is evident that Henry leaned strongly to their side. They offered

evidence of title, but Sir Piers staid away and left all to his wife and

his lawyers. The latter contented themselves with practically demurring

to the jurisdiction, and prayed to have the case tried at common law;

which would probably have secured a decision for their client. The Lord

Deputy referred all back to the King, and the tenants continued to pay no

rent. Kildare wished to command Sir Piers on his allegiance to appear

before the King in England on a certain day; but he was overruled by the

Council, who believed that this would drive Butler into rebellion; and as

its acknowledged chief, he could command all the forces of his family. He

chanced, moreover, to be at peace with the reigning Desmond, and he had

strengthened himself by alliances among the Irish. These considerations

prevailed with the King or with Wolsey, and the case remained in

abeyance; but it had gone far enough to cause an irreparable breach

between Kildare and the rival chief.[79]

[Sidenote: Kildare visits England in 1515. His restless policy.]

Meanwhile, the Lord Deputy trod in his father's footsteps. He made

successful raids on the O'Mores and O'Reillys, and for slaying many of

the latter had a grant of the customs of Strangford and other places in

Down. A visit to England in 1515 resulted in permission to hold a

Parliament in the following year, but it produced no legislation of

importance. He took and dismantled Leap Castle, the stronghold of the

O'Carrolls, which his father had failed to gain, and he surprised Clonmel

by a sudden march, though we know not what offence that town had given

him. When he was busy in the north, where he destroyed O'Neill's castle

at Dungannon and stormed Dundrum, which was defended by Magennis, the

O'Carrolls rose again and invaded Meath. Again Kildare visited Ely and

destroyed another castle. The history of two viceroyalties may indeed be

told in a single sentence. Every year or two the Earl of Kildare harried

some Irish country, and then reported such and such execution done upon

the King's enemies. There was no attempt to keep the peace among the

natives, the highest policy being the setting of one chief against

another. The O'Neills and O'Donnells continued their everlasting feuds,

and nearly every tribe was constantly at war. Occasionally they made

foreign alliances, as in the case of O'Donnell, who was a travelled man.

A French knight coming on a visit to St. Patrick's Purgatory was

hospitably received by the chief, and offered to recover Sligo from the

O'Connors. The offer was accepted, and in due course an armed vessel

appeared in Killybegs Harbour. Sligo was battered from the sea, the

O'Donnells co-operating by land, and the castle surrendered. We hear no

more of the mysterious Frenchman.[80] Ware says that Ireland was

peaceable during the year 1518, but the Irish annalists tell a very

different story.[81]

[Sidenote: Miserable state of the country.]

The chiefs of English race were almost as restless as the Celts whom

they affected to despise, and the state of the Pale was as bad as bad

could be. John Kite, a Londoner, who had been promoted to the throne of

Armagh by Wolsey's influence, informed his patron that he tried to

comfort the people by promising that the King would soon come to reform

the land. He insisted very reasonably that the King was as much bound to

maintain order and justice in Ireland as in England herself. The sea was

no safer than the land, and the ship which brought the Archbishop from

Chester had been attacked by two pirates; but the men of Drogheda--no

thanks to the Government--had captured the rovers. Even the Countess

Dowager of Kildare, who was the daughter of an English knight, complained

that her stepson allowed O'Neill to levy tribute on her lands, and that

her property and that of her dependents was laid waste. Portions that had

escaped the Irish were seized by the Earl's own steward. Kildare had many

other accusers, and was at length summoned over to give an account. He

was allowed to appoint a Deputy, and nominated his cousin, Maurice

Fitzgerald of Lackagh, who was soon afterwards killed by the O'Mores. But

the cry of the land had been heard at last, and Henry resolved to send

over a governor whom he could trust. The lot fell upon Thomas, Earl of

Surrey, the son and companion in arms of the victor of Flodden, whose

influence at Court probably made his absence desirable to Wolsey.[82]

[Sidenote: Thomas Earl of Surrey, Lord-Lieutenant, 1520. Anarchy.]

The first thirty pages of the printed State Papers are taken up with a

report to the King on the state of Ireland, founded on an earlier

document, but corrected and brought down nearly to the date of Surrey's

appointment. It discloses a state of things calculated to try the ablest

governor. In Ulster and Connaught, in the counties of Waterford, Cork,

Kilkenny, Limerick, Kerry, Carlow, Westmeath, and Wicklow, and in parts

of Kildare and Wexford, there was neither magistrate nor sheriff.

Districts wholly or partially peopled by men of English race were under

black-rent to the native chiefs. This odious tax was paid by the Savages

of Lecale in Down to the O'Neills of Clandeboye. The great chief of

Tyrone levied his dues in Louth. Meath and Kildare were tributary to

O'Connor Faly, Wexford to the Kavanaghs, Kilkenny and Tipperary to

O'Carroll, Limerick to the O'Briens, and Cork to the MacCarthies.

MacMurrough Kavanagh, who in the eyes of the natives represented the

ancient royalty of Leinster, actually received eighty marks out of an

almost empty exchequer. The sum of the several black-rents amounted to

740_l._, and this was at a time when a soldier received fourpence a day.

Dublin was in constant danger, and one of Henry's first acts was to grant

20_l._, a year to the citizens for repairing their walls, which had

crumbled through decrease of population, pestilence, and Irish violence.

A line drawn from Dundalk to Kells, from Kells to Kilcullen Bridge, and

thence by Ballymore Eustace, and Tallaght to Dalkey, enclosed the whole

actual Pale, upon which fell all the expenses of an establishment

intended to meet the wants of all Ireland. The King's taxes had to be

paid, coyne and livery were extorted, horses and carriages were

requisitioned for the public service; and with all this the Government

could give no protection, no judge went circuit, and black-rent was

perforce paid in addition. 'The King's army in England,' said Henry's

informant, 'is the commons, the King's army in Ireland is such as oppress

the commons.' The nobility and gentry copied the Government, and it was

more than suspected that they dreaded any reform which would force them

to obey the law; 'for there is no land in all this world that has more

liberty in vices than Ireland, and less liberty in virtue.' The Church

showed no better example than the lay magnates; 'for there is no

archbishop nor bishop, abbot nor prior, parson nor vicar, nor any other

person of the Church, high or low, great or small, that useth to preach

the Word of God, saving the poor friars' beggars.' Some Irish chiefs kept

better order than the Government; 'but not to the intent that his

subjects should escape harmless, but to the intent to devour them by

himself, like as a greedy hound delivereth the sheep from the wolf.'

[Sidenote: Remedies suggested.]

Ireland has never lacked physicians, though she has often been nothing

bettered by them. The most obvious means to strengthen the English power

was to make the men of the Pale keep arms and practice their use; and

this had been the constant cry of governors and legislators for many

generations. Henry had directed Kildare to get an Act passed obliging

every merchant trading from England to Ireland to bring a pound's worth

of bows and arrows for every 20_l._ of wares, so as to prevent the King's

subjects from applying themselves to Irish archery. Patrick Finglas,

Baron of the Exchequer, was less sanguine than the writer of the State

Paper which has been so largely quoted. That reformer ventured to

prophesy that if his advice were taken the war of Ireland would cease for

ever, the King would recover Constantinople and die Emperor of Rome, and

Ireland once reduced to order would be 'none other than a very paradise,

delicious of all pleasance.' But Finglas admitted that reform must

necessarily be gradual, and advised the King to confine himself at first

to the reclamation of Leinster. He recommended that the chief abbeys and

castles should be entrusted to Englishmen, from Bray Head round the coast

to Dunbrody on the Suir, and inland from Baltinglass and Carlow along the

Barrow to Ross. The Wicklow Highlanders would be thus bridled and unable

to attack Kildare. Athy and other places were to be held against the

O'Connors and O'Mores. The Butlers seem to have been thought able to take

care of themselves. It would not do to give up the castles to men who had

great possessions in England, and who would never encourage English

farmers to become their tenants. At first settlers would have to be

protected, but in time would take care of themselves. There would be no

difficulty about tilling the soil, 'for there be no better labourers than

the poor commons of Ireland, nor sooner will be brought to good frame, if

they be kept under a law.'[83]

[Sidenote: Irish exactions.]

Besides the payment of black-rent, the commons of Ireland were oppressed

by innumerable exactions, of which the principal may be described once

for all. Bonaght was a tax imposed by a chief for the support of his

mercenary horsemen, gallowglasses, and kerne. The name was often

transferred from the tax to those who were maintained by it, and Bonaght,

or Bony, became the generic name for an Irish mercenary or for one from

the Scotch isles. Sorohen was an obligation on certain lands to support

the chief with his train for twenty-four hours once a quarter, or,

according to another account, as often as once a fortnight. Coshery was

the chief's right to sponge upon his vassals with as many followers as he

pleased. Cuddies, or night-suppers, were due by certain lands upon which

the chief might quarter himself and his train for four days four times a

year. Shragh and mart were yearly exactions in money and kine

respectively, apparently imposed at the will of the chief. Worse than any

of these was coyne and livery--that is, the taking of horse-meat and

man-meat from everyone at the will of the chief; in other words, the

right of the strongest to take what he liked. Coyne and livery were not

the invention of an Irish chief, but of one of those Anglo-Normans who

knew how to better native instruction. Maurice Fitz-Thomas, Earl of

Desmond, is said to have begun it under Edward II. as the only available

means of coping with Edward Bruce. Originally a contrivance for carrying

on war at the enemy's expense, it came to be used by all great men at all

seasons. James, the ninth Earl of Desmond, has the credit of first

imposing it on loyal subjects, but the Crown was primarily to blame for

neglecting to keep order. Lords Deputies showed no better example than

private oppressors.[84]

[Sidenote: Surrey finds all in confusion.]

Surrey landed with his family at Dublin on May 23, bringing 100 men of

the royal guard as a peculiar mark of favour. He found the country in

rather more than its usual confusion. He sent Archbishop Rokeby to

Waterford, who succeeded in preventing Sir Piers Butler from fighting

with Desmond, and he himself marched into Leix with his English soldiers,

120 Irish mercenaries, and 300 kerne. The English of the Pale, who, from

love or fear of Kildare, usually mustered so strong on these occasions,

contributed only forty-eight horse and 120 foot. Surrey made war in the

usual Irish fashion, and burned Connell O'More's country. He was joined

by Sir Piers Butler, who brought a strong contingent, including Mulrony

O'Carroll, whom he induced to take the oath of allegiance. O'Carroll had

latterly done great harm in the Pale, and he was considered the best

leader among the Irish. He refused to take the oath until Surrey rashly

promised that Kildare should never be Deputy again. On being pressed

about a letter which the Earl was said to have written to him, he at

first said that he would not inform even were he to receive the viceregal

pavilion full of gold; but in spite of all this bravado he allowed his

brothers to be examined, and they both swore that they had stood by and

heard the letter read. Surrey never saw the document itself, nor has it

been preserved. According to the report which we have, Kildare had

directed O'Carroll to keep the peace till the arrival of an English

Deputy, and then to make war on all Englishmen except the writer's

friends. The object was to make all government but his own

impossible.[85]

[Sidenote: O'Donnell is friendly.]

On his return to Dublin, Surrey found O'Donnell waiting for him. That

chief had probably pleasant recollections of his visit to the English

Court, and was not unwilling to strengthen himself against his rival

O'Neill. He told Surrey that his powerful neighbour had urged him to make

war on the Pale, and had declared his own intention of doing so, in

compliance with Kildare's directions. O'Donnell promised to invade Tyrone

if the Lord-Lieutenant would do likewise from the opposite quarter, and

remarked emphatically that if the King ever set Kildare in authority

again he might as well convey Ireland to him and his heirs for ever.

[Sidenote: O'Neill temporises.]

Early in August, Surrey, accompanied by Sir Piers Butler and his forces,

entered Farney and punished MacMahon for the assistance given to O'Neill

in his attacks on the Pale. O'Neill made some sort of verbal submission,

and the Lord-Lieutenant returned to Dublin, where he detected a

conspiracy among his soldiers, some of whom found life intolerable in

Ireland. Their plan was to seize a small vessel in the river, and by her

means a larger one on the high seas, and so to become rovers. The Irish

lawyers held that the Viceroy could not hang them; for they had committed

no overt act, and his patent did not authorise him to proceed by martial

law. It is clear that the Crown was held capable of dispensing with the

common law, at least in the case of soldiers.[86]

[Sidenote: Desmonds and MacCarthies.]

In September an important private war was waged in Munster. James, Earl

of Desmond, according to the usual practice of his family, made a

perfectly unprovoked attack upon Cormac Oge MacCarthy, the chief of

Muskerry. Having secured the assistance of Sir Thomas Fitzgerald, the

Earl's uncle and his own sister's husband, and of his kinsman MacCarthy

Reagh, Cormac Oge defeated Desmond in a pitched battle near Mourne Abbey,

to the south of Mallow. The messenger who brought the news to Dublin

reported that the Earl had lost 1,500 foot and 500 horse. The

Lord-Lieutenant was not sorry, for he had straitly charged Desmond to

leave the MacCarthies alone. The fate of the Desmonds has excited much

not very well directed sympathy: it would better become Irishmen to

remember that they were the worst oppressors of their Celtic neighbours.

When Surrey visited Munster soon after, Desmond met him at Clonmel, and

was as loyal in words as Sir Piers Butler had been in deeds. At Waterford

he met MacCarthy Reagh and Cormac Oge, who were adherents of Sir Piers,

and who had come on his invitation. They spoke fairly, bound themselves

to keep the peace and professed themselves loyal, so that they might be

protected. Surrey wished to make Cormac Oge a Privy Councillor and a

Baron of Parliament, and he calls him a 'sad wise man.' Cormac produced a

charter under the Great Seal, a copy of which was sent to England with an

assurance that it comprised no lands to which the King was entitled.[87]

[Sidenote: Henry speaks boldly to the Irish.]

It was probably to Cormac Oge that Henry wrote a remarkable letter, which

shows his intentions at this time. The Irishman, whether Cormac Oge or

another, was willing to surrender his lands and take an estate tail from

the Crown at a fair rent. It was the interest of native chieftains to do

this, because it secured them as against the Government, while it enabled

them to transmit to their children a property which was not theirs at

all, but held in trust for the clan at the election of the clansmen. The

one fear of Henry's correspondent was that he should after all be

abandoned to Kildare's vengeance, and he counselled the employment of a

large army. To this the King answered that he had no intention whatever

of giving up his plans for the reduction of Ireland, that he would not

remove Surrey, and that he would not reinstate Kildare in the government.

When peaceful means failed it would be time to put forth his strength. In

language which reminds us of the royal speech in the ballad of 'Chevy

Chase,' he remarked that this Irish enterprise was a trifle compared with

those which he had in hand against France and Scotland. This was politic

language in dealing with a half-civilised MacCarthy, but Henry spoke very

differently to his own servants. There was talk of an alliance between

Argyll and O'Neill, and of a Scotch descent upon Ireland. The Continent

was disturbed, and the burden of three armies would be intolerable. And

yet he would try to do justice to Ireland. He was an absolute monarch and

above legal trammels, but might even condescend to consider himself

bound, if by so doing he could induce Irish chiefs to live by law. If

that of England proved too strong for weak stomachs, they might even

retain some of their native customs. The Earldom of Ulster was legally

his own, but he would not willingly take it by force. If clemency failed,

in the last resort he would try the strength of his hand, for realms

without justice were but tyrannies, communities of beasts rather than

reasoning men. Brave words! but woefully belied in action.[88]

[Sidenote: Surrey is not sanguine.]

Surrey was not to be deceived, and steadily refused to prophesy smooth

things. He believed that Ireland could only be reduced by conquest, and

that the easiest method was to master one district at a time, gradually

pushing forward the frontier until the whole country was obedient. A

permanent army of 500 men might perhaps effect this, while at least 6,000

would be required for a rapid conquest. Edward I. had taken ten years to

subdue Wales, and that great king had given almost constant personal

attention to the work. Yet Wales was unprotected by the sea, and was not

a fifth part the size of Ireland. All artillery and munitions of war

would have to be brought from England, and fortresses must be built to

bridle each tract of country successively occupied. Nor could a military

occupation endure unless accompanied by a large plan of colonisation.

Thus only could the natives be brought to labour and settled order. We

can see, though Henry VIII. could not, how justly Surrey estimated the

magnitude of England's task in Ireland.[89]

[Sidenote: Activity of Surrey.]

In July 1521 the Irish bordering on the Pale took their usual advantage

of the season. O'Connor, O'More, and O'Carroll, the latter all unmindful

of his last year's oath and of more recent promises, collected a great

host and prepared to attack the Pale. Surrey, who had lately prorogued

his Parliament after a ten days' session, was in Dublin, and by his

promptitude averted the danger. O'Connor's castle, near Edenderry, was

soon in his hands, being unable to resist the fire of three pieces of

heavy ordnance for a single day. It became an axiom in Irish warfare that

the Government could always make its way with artillery. Surrey proposed

to hold O'Connor's stronghold permanently, and to use it against the

Irishry as Berwick was used against the Scots. He destroyed all the corn

far and wide, the people with their cattle flying before him, while Sir

Piers Butler played the like part in Ely O'Carroll. The vigour shown by

the Lord-Lieutenant had the effect which vigour generally has in Ireland,

and the confederacy gave him little further trouble. Meanwhile, the North

was in a blaze. O'Donnell professed loyalty, but was not trusted by

Surrey, who, however, thought it wise to humour him. O'Neill was willing

to be on good terms with the Government, and was on his way to Dundalk

accompanied by Magennis and a large force, when the O'Donnells attacked

him in the rear. Fifteen hundred cows were driven off and seventeen of

the Magennis' villages burned, so that the allies were forced to retrace

their steps. The chief of Tyrconnell feared that if his great neighbour

were once at peace with the Pale he would be too strong for him in the

everlasting private war of Northern Ulster.[90]

[Sidenote: Uncertainty of English policy.]

It is not the least of Ireland's misfortunes that her rulers have ever

been subject to hot and cold fits. In the autumn of 1521 Henry suddenly

changed his mind. Disgusted at the apparently almost fruitless expense,

he not only relieved Surrey at his own earnest request, but also

abandoned his policy. War broke out between Charles and Francis, and the

reformation of Ireland, which had but lately seemed so necessary a work

for a Christian king, was lightly postponed to a more convenient season.

Surrey is the first of a long series of able men whose efforts, generally

very ill seconded at home, in the end brought Ireland under the English

sceptre. His means were inconsiderable. In the expedition against O'More,

which he undertook very soon after landing, his whole force seems not to

have exceeded 700. He then asked the King for eighty horsemen from the

North of England, and for leave to discharge as many of the guardsmen as

he might think fit. Many of these were well-to-do householders, and liked

Ireland so little that they were content to leave it on receiving

twopence, or even a penny, a day. One hundred horsemen were accordingly

sent, under the command of Sir John Bulmer, who was Surrey's personal

friend, and fifty more were added from Wales. The captain received

half-a-crown and the lieutenant eighteenpence a day. On their arrival 117

guardsmen were discharged upon a penny a day. Fourpence appears to have

been a soldier's ordinary pay in Ireland, and Surrey maintained that this

was not enough. Neither Welshmen nor Northumbrians proved to his taste,

most of them being mounted archers and not spearmen. He thought better

men might be had in the country, and Henry was willing to give him much

latitude, though he cautioned him against employing too many Irishmen,

lest the sword should hurt his hand. The King gave his Viceroy the power

of life and death, reserving noble personages, and the right of making

knights. A golden collar was sent for O'Neill, and it was supposed that

such cheap defences would avail against a chief who could easily raise

1,600 men. Of two evils Surrey chose the less; he discharged most of

Bulmer's men, whom he pronounced ill-looking, worthless rascals, and took

Englishmen of the Pale in their places. The difficulty of buying forage

was thus obviated, as native horsemen could find it for themselves.[91]

[Sidenote: Parliament of 1521.]

A Parliament sat in Dublin for ten days in June 1521, and after many

prorogations was not finally dissolved till March 1522, when Surrey had

left Ireland. There appears to be no record of the peers who attended, or

of the places represented, and so little mention is afterwards made of

this Parliament that the interest attaching to it was probably slight.

Acts were passed making arson treason, forbidding the exportation of

wool as the cause of a 'dearth of cloth and idleness of many folks,' and

providing against the failure of justice through lack of jurors.[92]

[Sidenote: Want of money.]

The Irish Government had no command of money, the judicious employment of

which might enable them to dispense with troops. Surrey's expedition to

Munster was near failing for want of means to pay his men. Before the end

of August the exchequer was habitually empty; no taxes were due till

Michaelmas, nor leviable till Christmas; and nothing was to be had except

for ready money.[93] The King sent 4,000_l._, but would not face the

necessities of the case. It seemed to him monstrous to have to spend

1,600_l._ or 1,700_l._ a year merely for the defence of the Pale. His

remittances were mere palliatives, and Surrey was in difficulties during

his whole term of office.

[Sidenote: Surrey recalled at his own request, 1521.]

Surrey had to cope with disease as well as poverty. It was scarcely

possible to find healthy quarters for soldiers, and the people fled

everywhere into the fields, leaving unburied bodies behind them. No place

in Ireland was safe, and the Lord-Lieutenant, who lost three of his

servants, was anxious about his wife and children. Sir John Bulmer never

had a day of health in Ireland, and was glad to get home safe without

having seen any service. In the second year of his government, Surrey

himself was affected with the fever and diarrhoea which have often been

fatal to the English in Ireland, but his prayers were heard at last, and

he was recalled in time to save his life. He was much regretted by the

inhabitants of the Pale, who recognised his good nature, integrity, and

ability. Those who best knew the subject believed that he really saw how

the country might be reduced to order, and it was hoped that he would

return with sufficient means. Meanwhile, the Irish Council entreated

Wolsey to be guided by his advice.[94]

[Sidenote: He leaves a great reputation.]

Beloved by the King's subjects and feared by rebels, Surrey left one of

the fairest names among those who have ruled Ireland. He paid in full for

everything, so that the market followed him wherever he went, and he

declared that he would rather eat grass than feast with the curses of the

poor. His retinue had orders to behave in Ireland as they would at home.

So generous was he that the common people thought him the King's son. Nor

was he less just, for he gave full notice of his intended departure, and

discharged all debts due by him or his. It was thought that he never

offended within the compass of the seven deadly sins during his stay in

Ireland; tradition, with a fine contempt for facts, adds that 'in his

time was corn, cattle, fish, health, and fair weather, that the like was

not seen many years before.' We know from his own letters that corn was

dear and sickness prevalent, and we may be very sure that the weather was

not always fair.[95]

[Sidenote: Sir Piers Butler is made Lord Deputy, 1522.]

Henry had too much respect for Surrey's opinion to hand back Ireland at

once to Kildare; but he had resolved to reduce expenses, and was

therefore obliged to place the government in the hands of someone who had

the strength to make authority respected. No one satisfied this condition

except Sir Piers Butler, and Surrey was allowed to appoint him Deputy,

retaining the office of Lord-Lieutenant himself. There were objections to

Sir Piers, as to every Irish governor. The Butlers would not take the

field except under him or his eldest son, and he was generally laid up

with gout all the winter. Lord James, as the heir was called, was active

enough, but young and inexperienced. The choice, however, lay between

Ormonde and Kildare, and Sir Piers was so cautiously handled, that he

abstained from driving a hard bargain.

[Sidenote: The experiment is not successful.]

[Sidenote: O'Neills and O'Donnells.]

The experiment was not very successful; for the Geraldines were

all-powerful in the Pale, and the new Lord Deputy, when in Dublin, was

separated from his own country by his rival's dominions. He took the

oath on March 26, 1522, but the O'Mores, who had heard that Kildare was

on his way to restore the good old times, soon began to threaten the

Pale. In the North a war broke out on such an unusually large scale as to

make it probable that O'Neill had promised Kildare to give the new Deputy

as much trouble as possible. Indeed, when Kildare did actually return, he

at once went to O'Neill's aid. The chief of Tyrone may have required

little persuasion to attack his hereditary foes, but the number of his

allies was very uncommon. MacWilliam of Clanricarde, Tirlough O'Brien,

Bishop of Killaloe, with many of his clansmen, O'Connor Don and O'Connor

Roe, MacWilliam of Mayo, and MacDermot of Moylurg, all agreed to assemble

on the southern border of Donegal. O'Neill brought to the trysting place

Magennis, O'Rourke, and MacMahon, and many Scottish mercenaries in the

hereditary service of his family. 'Great numbers,' we are told, 'of the

English of Meath, and the gallowglasses of the province of Leinster, of

the Clan-Donnell and Clan-Sheehy, also came thither, from their

attachment to the daughter of the Earl of Kildare, who was O'Neill's

mother.' To oppose this vast host, O'Donnell had only the clans

immediately subject to him, O'Boyle, O'Gallagher, O'Dogherty, and the

three septs of MacSwiney, hereditary gallowglasses of Tyrconnell. He

mustered his forces near Trim, on the Tyrone side of the Finn, and there

awaited the onset. But O'Neill adopted tactics very usual in Irish

warfare, passed by the northern shore of Lough Erne, reached Ballyshannon

without fighting, and slaughtered the garrison of MacSwineys there.

O'Donnell retaliated by sending his son Manus to ravage the nearest

districts of Tyrone, and himself hurried in pursuit of O'Neill across the

pass now called Barnesmore Gap. Again declining battle, O'Neill turned

back, spoiled the country between Donegal and Letterkenny, and encamped

on the hill which overlooks Strabane. O'Donnell returned very quickly

over Barnesmore, and, having been rejoined by his son, faced the enemy

near Lifford. There he held a council of war, and his followers in

desperation resolved on an immediate fight. Leaving their horses behind,

the O'Donnells crept up unperceived, drove in the outposts, and entered

the camp pell-mell. In the darkness and confusion faces could not be

distinguished, and many O'Neills fell by the hands of their brethren.

Nine hundred dead bodies were counted in the morning, including many of

the Leinster men who had come for the love of Kildare. Celtic war always

presents the same features, and the victorious O'Donnells quickly

disbanded with the horses and armour, the strong liquors and the rich

drinking vessels of the vanquished.[96]

[Sidenote: O'Donnell is stronger than O'Neill.]

When he had again collected his men, O'Donnell recrossed Barnesmore,

passed between Lough Melvin and the sea, and encamped at the foot of

Benbulben, the bold hill which tourists admire from Sligo. The Connaught

men were besieging that place when they heard of O'Donnell's victory, and

of his near approach. They offered to negotiate, and, having thus gained

time, they broke up from Sligo and retreated rapidly to the Curlew

mountains, where they separated. The panegyrists of the O'Donnells sing

pæans over two victories obtained without the help of English or Scotch

allies, and remarkable in Irish warfare, the one for its slaughter, the

other for its bloodlessness. Next year O'Donnell carried the war into

Tyrone, which he ravaged as far as Dungannon. At Knockinlossy he

destroyed a beautiful herb-garden, which must have been a rare thing in

those days, and from Tullahogue, where he established a temporary camp,

he spoiled the land far and wide. All the plunder was carried off safely,

and the invaders then returned for more; but peace was made instead, and

they turned their arms against O'Rourke. Fermanagh was wasted as Tyrone

had been, and we cannot be surprised that chiefs who thus preyed on each

other should fail to make head against the English Government.[97]

[Sidenote: Sir Piers Butler is thwarted by the Geraldines.]

During his short tenure of office, Sir Piers Butler undertook but one

warlike expedition. He chastised the O'Briens, and killed one of their

leaders at the ford of Camus on the Suir. But Kildare had returned to

Ireland, and was active in the field, acting at first in apparent unison

with the Lord Deputy. Supported by O'Neill, to whose arbitration

differences were submitted, he reduced to quiet the clans on the border

of the Pale. With both Butlers and Geraldines, the main object was to

enlarge and secure their hereditary territories; but the former sought

support in England, the latter among the wild tribes of Ulster. Lady

Kildare, a daughter of Grey, Marquis of Dorset, whom the Earl had married

during his late visit to England, complained bitterly to Wolsey that Sir

Piers oppressed her husband, spoiled his tenants and friends, and made

alliances with the wild Irish. She attributed this to Kildare's refusal

to act partially in the dispute with the Boleyn family. Sir Piers Butler

had married Kildare's sister, and he might not unreasonably count upon

his brother-in-law's assistance; but throughout the contests of this

century personal considerations were of little power compared with those

of clanship and family pride. Kildare's brother James killed Robert

Talbot of Belgard, on his way to Kilkenny, and it seems that the

Geraldines regarded all gentlemen of the Pale who opposed them as no

better than spies. But Sir Piers was naturally incensed at the outrage on

his friend and visitor.[98]

[Sidenote: Kildare in Ulster.]

The general lawlessness is well shown by an expedition which Kildare

undertook against O'Neill of Clandeboye, partly, as he owned, in revenge

of the damage done to his property there, and partly, as he told the

King, to punish attacks upon English merchants. At Carrickfergus he found

a Breton ship which had just landed a cargo of Gascon wine. England and

France were at peace, but the foreigners were fain to avoid capture by

putting to sea without having been paid for their goods. The taste for

claret was early developed in Ireland, and this relief from payment may

have had a charm like the exemption from legal duties in more modern

times. A Scotch vessel laden with provisions, which lay out in Belfast

Lough, was attacked by the Geraldines in boats and forced ashore. Hugh

O'Neill, who had 1,500 Scots with him, rescued the crew, and in revenge

Kildare destroyed Belfast and two other castles, and burned the country

for twenty-four miles round. The Mayor of Carrickfergus and three of the

chief townsmen were sent prisoners to England for trading with the French

and Scots. If we are to believe Kildare's account, the Lord Deputy took

the opportunity of handing over his castles to the O'Connors, of making a

league with O'Carroll, and of carrying off 500 stud mares and colts from

the county of Kildare.[99]

[Sidenote: Kildare is restored.]

It became evident at last that Sir Piers Butler was not strong enough to

govern without Kildare's help, and Henry reverted to his father's policy

of entrusting all Ireland to the man whom all Ireland could not govern.

One more effort was made to reconcile the rivals by sending over royal

commissioners, who prevailed upon them to make an agreement under seal as

the basis of mutual concession. Kildare's stud mares had been taken by a

namesake of his own, but Sir Piers covenanted to give them up if they

came within his power. The subsidy payable by Tipperary to Kildare when

he was Deputy was forgiven, as was half the subsidy paid by the county of

Kildare to Butler during his tenure of office. In general, everyone was

to behave well, to keep the peace, and not to make friends with Irish

rebels.[100]

[Sidenote: Arrangements for local government.]

Butler and Kildare, and the principal gentlemen living on the marches of

the Pale, were bound at this time to adopt a certain order in their

countries, the two greater chiefs under penalties of 1,000 marks each,

and the others in sums varying from 200 marks to 40_l._ They made

themselves liable in general for their own acts and for those of their

sons and brethren, covenanting not to use the Brehon law nor those Irish

exactions which usually accompanied it, and to repress crime as far as

their power reached. Kildare, on his appointment as Deputy, covenanted

with the King not to make war or peace with Irishmen at the public charge

without consent of the Council. This was intended to prevent another

Knocktoe. Coyne and livery for the public service were to be reduced to

fixed rules. Householders were to be allowed to compound by paying

twopence a meal for a footman, and threehalfpence for a horseman or

groom; twelve sheaves of oats for a trooper, and eight for a draught

horse was to be the allowance, and not more than one boy was to accompany

each horse. If the Earl travelled on private business, or on his way to

attend Parliament, he was not to take coyne and livery save from his own

tenants; and in no case except for the actual use of soldiers, nor for

more than one night in one place, nor for successive nights within a

distance of nine miles. It had been the custom to charge the farmers for

'black men,' that is, for soldiers who only existed in name and as a

means of extortion. Treaties with Irishmen were not to be made to

prejudice the Crown, nor were pardons to be given without the consent of

the Council. The King's castles were to be kept in repair, and the Earl

was to do his best to make the people of the Pale speak, dress, and shave

like Englishmen. The salaries of the judges were to be paid; and Kildare

promised if possible to have sheriffs, escheators, and coroners appointed

in Meath, Dublin, Louth, Wexford, Kilkenny, Tipperary, and Waterford, and

to provide for the holding of Quarter Sessions in due course.[101] It is

noteworthy that the counties of Kildare and Cork are not mentioned, and

that Tipperary is; the probability being that the two former were

purposely excluded as being under Geraldine influence. As to the Butler

Palatinate of Tipperary, it is possible that only the ecclesiastical

portion or cross was intended, but it is more likely that Kildare

purposely placed his rival's district in a worse position than his own or

those of Desmond. On the other hand, he promised not to go to war with

the Butlers, or with their allies the Darcys and Nugents, without the

consent of the Council. The new Lord Deputy promised not to purchase

during his tenure of office any lands of which the title was in dispute.

James Fitzgerald was carried to England to answer for the death of

Talbot, and led through the streets of London with a halter round his

neck; but was pardoned in defiance of Wolsey's opinion at the

intercession of Denton, Dean of Lichfield, who had been one of the

commissioners lately sent to Ireland.[102]

[Sidenote: The Butlers and Geraldines still quarrel.]

In spite of all precautions, the perennial quarrel of Butlers and

Geraldines was not stopped by the appointment of Kildare. Sir Piers sent

his son James to London to watch the family interests there, in which

task he was to be guided by Robert Cowley. Kildare even asserted that Sir

Piers had given a signet to his trusty adherent, with the aid of which he

might attest any written statement he chose to make. James Butler was

either really too much occupied with the pleasure of the Court, or was

crafty enough to appear so, while waiting for an opportunity. 'Surely,'

his father wrote, 'unless I see your time better employed in attendance

of my great business, than ye have done hither, I will be well advised or

I do send you any more, to your costs.' A chief part of the business was

the prisage of wines, especially at Waterford, which had always formed an

important part of the Butler revenue. Kildare, as Lord Deputy, had

insisted that an account should be given into the Exchequer, and Sir

Piers argued that this was done merely to annoy him, and not at all out

of regard to the King's revenue. He declared that the indentures which

the new Deputy had executed were 'in no point observed,' and, in

particular, that coyne and livery were ruthlessly exacted, two villages

in Kilkenny having to maintain no less than 420 gallowglasses. The Butler

tenants were so impoverished that they could pay no rent and, moreover,

the Deputy had not paid the half-subsidy of 800_l._ as he had bound

himself to do. The King peremptorily ordered payment, but the claim was

still disputed, and it does not appear that the money was ever handed

over. Meanwhile, Lord Leonard Grey, the Deputy's brother-in-law, pressed

many grave complaints upon the royal attention. Sir Piers was accused of

levying coyne and livery for craftsmen as well as soldiers, and for his

hunting establishment. There were separate packs for hare, stag, and

martin, and no less than sixty greyhounds; the whole charge on Kilkenny

and Tipperary amounting to 2,000 marks.[103]

[Sidenote: Recriminations. Great disorders.]

Sir Piers was further accused of illegally occupying Callan and other

royal manors in Kilkenny and Tipperary, but these lands were soon

afterwards specially granted to him and his wife, and to their heirs

male. Kildare charged his rival with helping O'Carroll and lending him

cannon to defend Leap Castle against him. The fact was hardly disputed,

but it had occurred as far back as 1516, and it was alleged in answer

that the attack on O'Carroll was wanton and unprovoked. There were also

accusations of intriguing with the O'Mores, of spoiling a village in

Kildare and slaughtering the people even at the altar, of using the

Castle of Arklow to rob the lieges by land and sea, of levying illegal

taxes, and, in short, of behaving as Anglo-Irish noblemen generally did.

A far graver charge against Sir Piers was the not having punished certain

of his servants who were present at the barbarous murder of Maurice

Doran, Bishop of Leighlin. The murderer was Maurice Kavanagh, his own

Archdeacon, whom the Bishop had reproved for his crimes. It was said,

moreover, that the churches in Tipperary and Kilkenny were ruinous, and

that Sir Piers was in all things under the influence of his wife, the

Lord Deputy's sister. It is satisfactory to know that the Bishop's

tonsured assassin did not escape, for Kildare had him hanged and

disembowelled at the scene of the murder: he was a near relation of Sir

Piers Butler, which may account for the Lord Deputy's anxiety to do

justice in this particular case.[104]

[Sidenote: Kildare again in Ulster, 1524.]

Kildare never ceased to harass such Irish chiefs as he chose to consider

his enemies. In the autumn of 1524 he led an army to help his kinsman

O'Neill against O'Donnell, and encamped near Strabane. Manus O'Donnell,

who had just returned from Scotland, wished to attack at once with his

strong force of Macdonnells; but he was overruled by his father, who

feared the Deputy's artillery. Flights of arrows were directed against

the intrenchments all night, and in the morning Kildare thought it

prudent to make peace and to depart without fighting. His old enemy Hugh

O'Neill attempted to intercept him, but was killed in the skirmish which

ensued. After this Kildare seems to have kept quiet for some months, and

to have endeavoured to make peace among the Ulster clans. O'Neill and

O'Donnell, or O'Donnell's son Manus, visited Dublin; but all efforts to

reconcile them were ineffectual, 'so that they returned to their homes in

strife, and the war continued as before.'[105]

[Sidenote: Butler goes to England, 1526. Kildare sent for the next year.]

In September 1526 Sir Piers Butler went to England to press his various

suits, and to complain of Kildare's conduct. At Bristol he was in great

danger of his life, the citizens having quarrelled with his retinue, who

were probably for the most part Irish in speech and habits. According to

Sir Piers the townsmen were the aggressors, and no provocation was given

to the 600 men who surrounded his lodgings and threatened to set the

house on fire. In spite of the interposition of the mayor and of some of

the King's officers, Sir Piers was obliged to surrender certain of his

men and to find securities for the rest. A grant of considerable

possessions in Ireland rewarded him for the troubles and dangers of the

journey to Court. He accused Kildare of conspiring with Irish enemies to

help Desmond in the foreign intrigues which he was undoubtedly carrying

on, and of neglecting to arrest him when ordered to do so by special

letters from the King. It was said that he entered Munster for the

ostensible purpose of effecting this arrest, but sent private word to

Desmond to avoid him, and to plead his privilege not to attend Parliament

or enter walled towns. It was scarcely fair to expect that the head of

one branch of the Geraldines should willingly imprison the head of the

other; but Kildare was also accused of employing Irish enemies to oppress

the Butlers, was summoned to London, and was at once committed to the

Tower. He was soon brought before the Council, and Wolsey is said to have

assailed him in a violent speech, calling him King of Ireland, a king who

was able to bring back his own from the furthest edge of Ulster, but who

would do nothing against a rebellious lord who had defied the Crown of

England. After a time Kildare interrupted the Cardinal, saying that he

was no orator, and that if he did not answer each charge in detail as it

was uttered, his memory would fail him and his case would thus be

prejudiced. This was considered reasonable, and the Earl hastened to

ridicule the notion that Desmond's liberty depended on him. 'Cannot,' he

asked, 'the Earl of Desmond shift, but I must be of counsel? Cannot he

hide him except I wink?' Then he turned round upon Wolsey, whom he

averred to be quite as much king in England as he was in Ireland. Indeed,

he would willingly change places for one month, and would engage to pick

up more crumbs in that time than could be bought with all the revenues of

his Irish earldom. 'I slumber,' he continued, 'in a hard cabin, when you

sleep in a soft bed of down; I serve under the King his cope of heaven,

when you are served under a canopy; I drink water out of my skull, when

you drink wine out of golden cups; my courser is trained to the field,

when your genet is taught to amble; when you are begraced and belorded,

and crouched and kneeled unto, then find I small grace with our Irish

borderers, except I cut them off by the knees.' Wolsey broke up the

Council in high dudgeon, and sent the Earl back to the Tower until

further evidence should arrive from Ireland. Before leaving Dublin,

Kildare had taken the precaution of seeing each Councillor separately and

binding him by oath to write in his favour.[106]

[Sidenote: Wolsey accused of plotting Kildare's death.]

Wolsey is said to have taken it upon himself to send a death-warrant to

the Governor of the Tower, which arrived while that officer was playing

shovel-board with his prisoner. On reading it the Lieutenant sighed, and

Kildare remarked, 'By St. Bride, there is some mad game in that scroll,

but fall how it will this throw is for a huddle.' On learning the

contents of the paper he begged his gaoler to go straight to the King and

ask his real pleasure. Unwilling to offend Wolsey, but still more

unwilling to obey him, the Lieutenant repaired to Whitehall and was at

once admitted, though it was ten o'clock at night. The King immediately

respited the execution, and is said to have used strong language, calling

Wolsey a saucy, over-officious priest, and threatening him with

unpleasant consequences.[107]

[Sidenote: But the Cardinal has perhaps been misrepresented.]

Such is the received story. Yet Wolsey, who is represented as thirsting

for Kildare's blood, was not even disposed to remove him from the

viceroyalty. This forbearance arose from no love for the troublesome

Earl, but it was thought that if he were detained in England and treated

with some show of favour, his Irish adherents would be afraid to move. In

case the King should nevertheless resolve to remove Kildare, then Wolsey

advised that Sir Piers should again be made Deputy, the real government

being in the hands of his son. Henry, however, thought that James Butler

was too young for so great a charge, and that the noblemen of Ireland

would disdain to be led by one who was junior to them all.[108]

[Sidenote: The Earldom of Ormonde.]

While Kildare's fortunes were thus clouded, his rival was at Court

looking after his own interests. The Earldom of Ormonde, to which he was

the true heir male, had been conferred, together with that of Wiltshire,

on Sir Thomas Boleyn, grandson, through his mother, of the late Earl. Sir

Piers, who was too prudent to oppose the father of Anne and Mary Boleyn,

and who perhaps thought one earldom nearly as good as another, was

content to accept the title of Ossory. Five years before, Henry had

thought to reconcile the rival claimants by marrying James Butler to Anne

Boleyn, but the negotiation had come to nothing, and the King now

destined the lady for himself.[109]

[Sidenote: Sir Piers Butler is created Earl of Ossory.]

The new creation was made at Windsor with great pomp. Arriving late in

the evening from London, Sir Piers, who was in delicate health, lay at

his own lodgings in the town, as being warmer and more comfortable than

the rooms of the Lord Chamberlain, with whom he breakfasted next morning.

We are particularly told that good fires were lit after mass. The Marquis

of Exeter and the Earl of Oxford led the new peer into the presence

chamber, the Earl of Rutland bearing the sword. The grandees dined

together at the King's expense after the investiture, and then, having

changed his dress, the Earl was again conducted into the royal presence

by the Marquis of Exeter. Having taken leave of Henry and of the Queen

and Princess, and having duly feed the waiters, Ossory returned to

London, where he paid a parting visit to Wolsey, and then returned into

his own country.[110]

[Sidenote: The Vice-Deputy Delvin is captured by the O'Connors, 1528.]

Leaving Kildare in the Tower, we must now go back to Ireland, where

Richard Nugent, seventh Baron of Delvin, had been acting as Vice-Deputy,

Sir James Fitzgerald, whom Kildare had left in charge, having been

superseded by the Irish Council. When Archbishop Inge and Chief Justice

Bermingham heard of Kildare's imprisonment, they wrote to Wolsey

regretting the Earl's absence, and expressing their doubts as to whether

he was guilty of any such practices as were charged against him. They

considered Delvin incompetent, for he had no great fortune of his own to

eke out the scanty revenue of Ireland. The people were more heavily taxed

than ever, and they were not defended; for the armed bands which were

always at Kildare's beck and call would serve no one else. As the Pale

was desolated by the absence of one Earl, so were Tipperary and Kilkenny

by the absence of another; and the worst was to be feared unless they

both speedily returned. These gloomy forebodings were soon fulfilled; for

Delvin, against the advice of the Council, withheld the black-rent which

O'Connor, Kildare's son-in-law, had been used to receive from Meath. The

aggrieved chief surprised the Vice-Deputy on the march, killed most of

his men, and took him prisoner. Lord Butler, who was present, had

prudently provided himself with a safe-conduct; he lodged that night with

the victorious O'Connor, and was allowed to have an interview with his

distinguished prisoner. The chief and his brothers were present, and the

two noblemen were not allowed to speak English nor to confer in private.

Speaking in Irish, O'Connor insisted on having his black-rent again, or

being paid a ransom for the Vice-Deputy, and on receiving a distinct

promise that the men of the Pale should not avenge his overthrow. But

Butler's diplomacy was not yet exhausted. By the advice of a Mr. White,

who was among O'Connor's guests, he sought a private interview with

Cahir, the chief's brother, who of course had a party of his own among

the clansmen. Cahir readily agreed to escort Lord Butler out of his

brother's country, and was afterwards persuaded to visit Lord Ossory at

Kilkenny. He professed loyalty and was ready to prove it by his actions,

if only he could be sure that Kildare would not sooner or later return

and have his revenge--that was his only fear.[111]

[Sidenote: The Geraldines still in the ascendant.]

While his son was thus by policy undermining the Irish enemies of his

house, Ossory was busy looking about for Irish allies. Hard pressed by

the Desmonds and O'Briens, he wished to avoid a rupture with the

O'Connors, and tried the efficacy of smooth speeches. As the price of an

alliance against this possible foe O'Carroll demanded 40_l._, besides

anything that the King or Deputy might give. O'More claimed the help of

the Butlers against Kildare, and a money reward also. MacGilpatrick

stipulated that Ossory should release him from debts amounting to 400

marks. The Earl agreed to these terms; but his immediate object was not

attained, for Delvin remained a prisoner until early in the following

year. In the meanwhile Sir Thomas Fitzgerald, Kildare's brother, acted

as Deputy, and the Geraldine policy was practically successful.[112]

[Sidenote: Kildare is accused by Cowley and others, 1528.]

The late Lord-Lieutenant, now Duke of Norfolk, attributed all the woes of

Ireland to the quarrel between Butlers and Geraldines, and he was on the

whole in favour of maintaining the latter faction in power. Ossory and

his son were loyal enough, but they could scarcely hold their own against

the Desmonds and O'Briens, and could do nothing in the Pale, where they

had no natural authority and where public opinion was against them. They

would be entirely dependent on their own followers, who would eat more

than their services were worth. On the other hand, Robert Cowley,

Ossory's faithful agent, was always at hand to prevent Henry and Wolsey

from yielding too completely to Norfolk's advice. It is said that on one

occasion he complained of Kildare to the Council, and that he shed tears

in the course of his speech 'for pity,' as he said, 'upon his father's

son.' 'He is,' retorted the Earl, 'like the plover taken in setting his

snares, and waiting for his desired purpose, his eyes being against the

wind and the water dropping out. So many plovers as he taketh he knocketh

their brains out with his thumb, notwithstanding his watery tears of

contemplation. Even like doth Mr. Cowley with me; his tears cometh down;

he layeth shrewd matters or articles to my charge.'[113]

[Sidenote: The Duke of Richmond Lord-Lieutenant, 1529. His Deputy, Sir

William Skeffington.]

If this story be true we must assign it to the autumn of 1528, when

Cowley was certainly in London. O'Connor had just invaded the Pale, and

evidence afterwards came to light which connected Kildare with his

son-in-law's proceedings. Early in August, Kildare's daughter Alice, the

wife of Lord Slane, came to Ireland and went straight to O'Connor's

house. Sir Gerald MacShane Fitzgerald afterwards swore before the Irish

Council that Melour Faye had revealed to him a secret agreement between

himself and Kildare, and that Lady Slane's arrival was the preconcerted

signal that her father was detained in England. Ossory was at war with

Desmond when O'Connor made his attack, but abandoned his expedition and

hurried off to defend the Pale. He took occasion to remind Wolsey of the

hereditary policy of the house of Kildare. By stirring up rebellion in

Ireland when he was detained at Court the late Earl had made himself

chief governor for life; his son had followed suit, and the Pale had

practically transferred its allegiance from the King of England to the

Earl of Kildare. Henry thought it prudent to give the Earl his liberty,

but resolved to have a Viceroy who should hold Ireland for the Crown

only. He made his son, the Duke of Richmond, Lord-Lieutenant, thereby

giving the Emperor great offence, and assigned him as Deputy Sir William

Skeffington, a Leicestershire man, who had been long in the public

service. Meanwhile the sovereign had frowned. In the month following that

in which Skeffington was appointed, Wolsey saw Henry at Grafton for the

last time, and three weeks later he was indicted in the King's Bench.

Kildare remained in London, for he was one of those who signed the famous

letter to Clement VII., in which the English notables reproached the Pope

for his partiality, and laid upon him the responsibility of a disputed

succession, with all its terrors and troubles.[114]

[Sidenote: Skeffington's instructions.]

Skeffington had long served as Master of the Ordnance, whence the Irish,

who may have been offended at the appointment of a commoner, gave him the

name of 'the gunner.' He was accompanied by Edward Staples, a

Lincolnshire man, whom the King had appointed Bishop of Meath, and

brought with him 200 horse and a sum of money. He was instructed in the

first place to reconcile, if possible, the conflicting interests of the

Earls of Kildare, Ossory, and Desmond. He was not to make any serious

attack on the wild Irish without the consent of the majority of the

Council, especially when it would involve charging the country with the

support of an army. The established custom of taking provisions for the

ordinary movements of troops was, however, allowed. Skeffington was to

hold a Parliament, but was to get all the money he could by way of

subsidy before it met, and to pay the gross levy into the

Vice-Treasurer's hands. Kildare's loyal promises were to be taken as

sincere, and the Deputy was enjoined to help him in his enterprises as if

they were undertaken in the King's name. The Earl might retain half the

proceeds, provided the remainder were handed over to the

Vice-Treasurer.[115]

[Sidenote: The O'Tooles chastised, 1530. Ulster invaded, 1531. Submission

of O'Donnell.]

Kildare returned to Ireland some months after Skeffington's arrival, and

his first exploit was to chastise the O'Tooles, with the help of 200

archers supplied by the city of Dublin. Next year Ulster was invaded. A

treaty had already been concluded at Drogheda, by which O'Donnell

promised the King allegiance, and bound himself to assist Skeffington

against all his Majesty's enemies. He covenanted for O'Reilly, Maguire,

and MacQuillin, as well as for himself, and Skeffington bound himself to

give them such help and protection as was due to the King's subjects. In

pursuance of this agreement Skeffington, accompanied by Kildare and

Ossory, ravaged Tyrone on both sides of the Blackwater, from Clogher to

Caledon, and penetrated to Monaghan, which was undefended. There

O'Donnell and some malcontent O'Neills met them, but they did not venture

to meet the tyrant of the North in the field, a measure of the weakness

of government at that time.[116]

[Sidenote: Skeffington is overshadowed by Kildare.]

It clearly appeared that the Lord Deputy was in a false position as

regards Kildare. When the Butlers were out on a foray, the Geraldines

attacked their camp, killed the officer on guard, and carried off horses,

arms, and provisions. It was even said that the Earl of Kildare

displayed his banner openly, and led his men to the attack. With great

difficulty and at Skeffington's earnest request, Ossory prevented his

followers from retaliating, but he poured complaints into Cromwell's

attentive ears. Kildare allowed his adherents to seize the titular Baron

of Burntchurch in Kilkenny, while passing through Castledermot, on his

way to attend Parliament. The Baron was a Fitzgerald, but on friendly

terms with Ossory, who would have rescued him in spite of Kildare but for

the Lord Deputy's express prohibition; as it was, the poor man lost his

horse, money, and apparel without redress. 'This,' said Ossory, 'is a

good encouragement to malefactors to commit spoils, having the advantage

thereof without punishment or restitution.' It was not the first nor the

last time in Ireland that the friends of law and order have been less

safe than its enemies, and that the Government has hampered those whom it

could not protect. Indeed, the Kilkenny borough members fared no better

than their neighbours, for they were seized at the gate of Athy by

Murtagh MacOwney, who wished that he had the King in the end of a

handlock, and the Deputy in the other end, as surely as he had the worthy

burgesses. In fact, Skeffington had scarcely any power. Kildare detained

the hostages of the natives, in spite of direct orders to send them to

Dublin, and thus let it be clearly seen that the King's representative

was a mere instrument in his hands.[117]

[Sidenote: Kildare goes to England, 1532, and regains favour.]

It was commonly said in Ireland that all the parchment and wax in England

would not bring the Earl of Kildare thither again; but this saying turned

out not to be true. So well had the Earl managed his affairs, that he

ventured across the Channel early in 1532, and, after a six months'

residence at Court, returned with the legal as well as the real power of

a Chief Governor. Sir John Rawson, Prior of Kilmainham, and Chief Justice

Bermingham, supported Kildare's counter-charges against Ossory, and

accused Skeffington of partiality in his favour. There was an attempt to

show that Ossory's hostility arose from the fear that Kildare would

support Wiltshire's claims upon the Ormonde estates. But Ossory

maintained that he had long since compromised all claims against his

property, that Kildare's advocacy of Wiltshire's pretensions was

collusive and fraudulent, and that the King would be the real loser of

the possession, if such castles as Arklow and Tullow were given to the

too powerful Geraldine under colour of another man's sham title. Anne

Boleyn's star was now at its zenith; her father was fond of money, and

perhaps saw a chance of extorting it from opposite quarters. It is clear

that any claim of his was likely at this time to be favourably regarded,

and it may be in this way that the lately waning influence of Kildare was

restored.

[Sidenote: Kildare again Deputy.]

Having secured the much-coveted patent, Kildare hastened to Dublin and

relieved Skeffington, who, having arrears of business to transact, was

allowed to dance attendance among other suitors in his successor's

ante-chamber. On the very day of his arrival, the new Lord Deputy took

the Great Seal from his enemy Archbishop Alen, and gave it to the Primate

Cromer. As a sop to the opposite faction, Lord Butler was made Lord

Treasurer by the King; but the Deputy was supreme in the Council, and

those who were not his friends thought only of saving themselves from his

anger. Thus relieved from all restraint, and perhaps thinking himself

indispensable, as indeed he well might, the Earl turned upon his

hereditary enemy. While his brother Sir John Fitzgerald was helping

O'Neill to ravage Louth, the lawful guardian of the Pale devastated

Kilkenny; his men were allowed to plunder the peaceable folk resorting to

Castledermot Fair, and to murder a due proportion. He used the sword

which the King had committed to him 'utterly to extinguish the fame and

honour of any other noble man within that land ... shadowed with that

authority, so that, whatever he did, it should not be repugned at.'[118]

[Sidenote: The O'Carrolls.]

There was at this time a fierce dispute as to who should succeed Mulrony

O'Carroll, who among southern chiefs in his time 'destroyed most in

regard to foreigners and improved most in regard to Gaedhill.' A brother

would in the usual course have succeeded to these glories; but there was

always a strong tendency to substitute the hereditary for the elective

principle, and a claim was advanced on behalf of Mulrony's son

Fergananim, to whom Kildare, choosing his time, had just given his

daughter. Ossory of course espoused the cause of the brothers, but was

defeated with the loss of several small pieces of cannon. On the same day

the old chief died, and, as he favoured his son's pretensions, this was

numbered among his victories. Having been a man of blood, and having

lavished some of his plunder upon the clergy, he was rewarded after death

with hyperbolical praises. 'He was,' the 'Four Masters' inform us, 'a

protecting hero to all; the guiding firm helm of his tribe; a triumphant

traverser of tribes; a jocund and majestic Munster champion; a precious

stone; a carbuncle gem; the anvil of the solidity, and the golden pillar

of the Elyans.' Fergananim was at first acknowledged as chief, but his

uncle soon occupied Birr and other castles, and ravaged the country from

thence. The Lord Deputy came in person before Birr, and received a bullet

wound in the side. As he groaned with the pain, a kerne is reported to

have encouraged him by saying that he himself had three bullets in him,

and felt none the worse. 'I wish,' replied the Earl, 'you had this one

along with the others.'[119] He was less fortunate than his follower, for

the bullet, which came out of itself some months later, lamed him for

life, and affected his speech. Birr Castle was, however, taken.[120]

[Sidenote: Parliament of 1533. Miserable state of the country.]

Kildare held a Parliament in Dublin in 1533, but we know nearly as little

about it as about that held by Surrey. The most important law passed

appears to have been one for the punishment of those who stole corn under

colour of taking wages for harvest work in kind. This meeting of

Parliament gave rise to a renewal of the old dispute about precedency

between Armagh and Dublin. Alen could no longer rely upon the patronage

of Wolsey, and it is certain that Kildare's influence would be exerted

against him. But the Deputy had been making so many enemies, that the

increased hostility of Alen would not count for much. A heavy reckoning

had been scored up; and John Dethyke, or Derrick, a prebendary of St.

Patrick, gave voice to the prevailing discontent. With bitter irony he

assured Cromwell that the people were excellently disposed and full of

abstinence. Their accustomed ceremony was to abstain from flesh on

Wednesday, but their devotion had so much increased that they now

abstained likewise on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. 'I trust to

Jesu,' he continued. 'Ye shall hear that there shall be many saints among

them; but they play the fox's part, shy of hens when he could not reach

them.' All the butchers in Dublin had not as much meat between them as

would make a mess of broth, and those who owned no cattle were driven to

dry bread. Marauders entered the suburbs of Dublin, and one butcher had

lost 220 beasts. No one could safely ride a mile out of town, and it was

useless to complain; for the Deputy was visited with that distressing

form of deafness which affects those who do not wish to hear. The poor

butchers had accordingly shut up their shops, and taken to making leather

breeches, as if it were perpetual Lent. And not only did the Viceroy do

nothing, but he took the opportunity of removing the King's artillery

from Dublin to his own castles. Meanwhile, the O'Byrnes actually entered

Dublin Castle, and carried off prisoners and cattle, 'insomuch as nightly

since great watch is in the city of Dublin, fearing that the same should

be pilfered, prostrate, and destroyed, whereof they never dreaded so

much.' Even Sir James Fitzgerald complained that his brother oppressed

him cruelly for having done good service under Skeffington, and Norfolk's

tenants in Carlow were in no better plight.[121]

[Sidenote: Charges accumulate against Kildare.]

The Council did not directly attack Kildare; but they sent over Sir John

Alen, the Master of the Rolls, to enlighten Henry upon the true state of

affairs. They directed Alen to report that English laws and customs were

unknown except within twenty miles of Dublin, and that unless something

were done they would soon be driven even from that contracted area.

Various errors of policy, such as the practice of entrusting viceregal

power to Irish lords and of giving away Crown lands, had so strengthened

the Irishry and weakened the Pale, that the King would soon not have

revenue enough to maintain a Deputy. Two archbishops, two bishops, four

of the great regular ecclesiastics, two temporal peers, and three judges

signed the document embodying these severe strictures, and they reminded

Henry that unless he looked the better to it, Ireland might be used

against him by any enterprising foreign enemy. Even more outspoken was a

native of Ireland, closely associated with the Master of the Rolls, who

declared that loyal subjects had been ill requited, and that people had

come to look upon the viceroyalty as part of Kildare's inheritance.

Everyone who opposed him suffered for it, and all his offences were

passed over. 'Always after the malice of the Geraldines was resisted and

the land staid, the King withdrew his aid from thence, putting the

malefactors in his authority; whereas, if he had continued the same

there, and suppressed the others, undoubtedly a marvellous profit and

commodity should have issued thereby.... What subjects under any prince

in the world would love, obey, or defend the right of that prince, which

(notwithstanding their true hearts and service toward him) would

afterwards put them under the governance of such as should daily practise

to prosecute and destroy them for the same?' The question has often been

asked in Ireland since then.[122]

[Sidenote: The Geraldines become intolerable.]

The confusion between the Earl of Kildare, in his own character, and in

that of Lord Deputy, was not at all conducive to good government. Private

opposition to the subject was easily represented as treason to the King

in his representative's person, and was indeed likely enough to grow into

it. It was believed that the recent murder of Ossory's son Thomas by

Dermot Fitzpatrick was not altogether the work of Irishry. Kildare and

his sons and brothers provoked attacks on every side. The moral effect of

O'Byrne's raid had of course been disastrous, and no one felt himself

safe. The principal remedies suggested were the appointment of a Deputy

for a long term, Norfolk being preferred, and after him Skeffington, the

abolition of Irish customs, and the education of young noblemen and

chiefs' sons at the English Court. Local presidencies were also

recommended, but the first thing was to get rid of Kildare. The

Geraldines indeed did not conceal that their interests were not those of

the Crown. 'Thou fool,' said Sir Gerald MacShane to the Earl's brother

Thomas, who had some legal scruples, 'thou shalt be the more esteemed in

Ireland to take part against the King; for what hadst thou been if thy

father had not done so? What was he set by until he crowned a King here;

took Garth, the King's captain, prisoner; hanged his son; resisted

Poynings and all Deputies; killed them of Dublin upon Oxmantown Green;

would suffer no man to rule here for the King, but himself? Then the King

regarded him, made him Deputy and married thy mother to him; or else thou

shouldst never have had foot of land, where now thou mayst dispend 400

marks by year, or above.'[123]

[Sidenote: Kildare is forced to go to England, 1534.]

As the result of Alen's efforts, Kildare was summoned to Court. The Earl

doubtless felt that his chances would be small if once the Tower gates

closed upon him, and he sent his wife over to get the order revoked, on

the old ground that he could not be spared. Lady Kildare's diplomacy

failed, and her husband was summoned a second time; but was allowed to

appoint a Vice-Deputy. This may, or may not, have been a bait to induce

him to go quietly, for nothing less than an army could have taken him by

force. Skeffington had been working hard against his enemy, and was in

constant communication with Cromwell, watching the port of Chester, so as

to be in London as soon or sooner than the Earl. He reported that Lady

Kildare's servants delayed the King's letters purposely, and that he was

most anxious for the moment when he should at last be able to prove his

charges against the Lord-Deputy.[124]

[Sidenote: His eldest son remains as Deputy.]

Kildare had now no choice but between obedience and open rebellion.

Before embarking at Drogheda he delivered the sword to his eldest son in

the presence of several members of Council. Thomas Lord Offaly, better

known as Lord Thomas and Silken Thomas, was about twenty years old, and

his father advised him to be guided in all things by his uncle, Sir James

Fitzgerald; his cousin, Sir Thomas Eustace; his great-aunt, Lady Janet

Eustace, and her husband and son, Walter and James Delahide. It is

impossible to pronounce on the genuineness of the speech which the

chronicler puts into Kildare's mouth, but the advice contained in it

would have been well suited to the occasion. He told his son that his

youth should be guided by age; his ignorance by experience. He was, he

said, putting a naked sword into a young man's hand, and urged him to

defer to the Council, 'for albeit in authority you rule them, yet in

counsel they must rule you.'[125]

FOOTNOTES:

[76] See his patent of Nov. 8, 1510. Council of Ireland to the King, June

8, 1509, in _Brewer_; _Four Masters_; _Annals of Lough Cé_.

[77] _Earls of Kildare_, p. 69; Ware; _Four Masters_. Kildare died Sept.

3, 1513.

[78] See the grant in _Brewer_, Dec. 2, 1513, and again, March 24, 1516.

[79] Kildare to the King, Dec. 1, and Archbishop Rokeby to Wolsey, Dec.

12, 1515, both in _Brewer_.

[80] _Four Masters_, 1516.

[81] _Ibid._

[82] Kite to Wolsey, May 1 and June 7, 1514, R.O.; Lady Kildare's

_Articles of Complaint_, 1515, R.O.; Ware's _Annals_.

[83] The tract by Finglas is in _Carew_, under 1515.

[84] For further details of Irish exactions see Ware's _Antiquities_, and

_Presentments of Irish Grand Juries in the Sixteenth Century_, ed. Hore

and Graves, p. 266, _sqq._ Articles by Sir William Darcy, June 24, 1515,

in _Carew_.

[85] The paper printed by Leland, ii. 132, contains only Donogh

O'Carroll's recollections. Surrey to Wolsey, September 6, 1520.

[86] The Lord-Lieutenant and Council to the King, August 25; Surrey to

Wolsey, August 27; Surrey to the King, July 29, 1521.

[87] The Lord-Lieutenant and Council to the King, October 6; Surrey to

Wolsey, November 3; Surrey to Wolsey, April 27, 1521.

[88] The King to Surrey, No. 12 of the printed State Papers; the King to

an Irishman, No. 14 of the same; Instructions for Sir John Petchie, No.

18 of the same.

[89] Surrey to the King, July 31, 1521.

[90] Stile to Wolsey, July 30, 1571; Surrey to the King, July 29 and

September 14; Ware.

[91] The King to Surrey, May 1520; Surrey to Wolsey, September 6 and 25;

the King to Surrey, S.P. No. 12; Surrey to Wolsey, November 3; Surrey to

the King, September 14, 1521.

[92] _Irish Statutes_, 13 Henry VIII.

[93] The Lord-Lieutenant and Council to the King, August 25, 1520. The

King to Surrey, Nos. 12 and 19 in the printed S.P.

[94] Surrey to the King, September 16, 1521; to Pace, December 2. The

latter letter was written in bed. Surrey to Wolsey, August 2 and November

3, 1520.

[95] The Council of Ireland to Wolsey, December 21 and February 28, 1522;

Dowling's _Annals_, 1519; Sir John Davies' _Discovery_; the _Book of

Howth_.

[96] _Four Masters_; _Annals of Lough Cé_, 1522. Stile to Wolsey, April

25, 1522.

[97] _Four Masters_, 1522; _Annals of Lough Cé_.

[98] Ware; Lady Kildare to Wolsey, May 25, 1523.

[99] Kildare to the King, May 24, 1523.

[100] Indentures between Kildare, Ormond (_sic_), the King's

Commissioners, and others, July 28, 1524. The Commissioners were Sir A.

Fitzherbert, Ralph Egerton, and James Denton, Dean of Lichfield. Kildare

to the King, May 24, 1523.

[101] Indentures as above; Recognisances for the Marchers, July 12, 1524.

[102] Indentures between Kildare and the King, August 4, 1524.

Recognisances for the Marchers, July 12, 1574. Ware.

[103] The King to Kildare, May 20, 1525; Articles on behalf of Kildare,

No. 42 in printed _State Papers_; _Presentments of the County and City of

Kilkenny_, 1537, ed. Hore and Graves; Sir Piers Butler to his son, April

22, 1524.

[104] Articles on behalf of Kildare, No. 42 in the printed _State

Papers_; Dowling's _Annals_, 1522-1524; _Hibernia Dominicana_. Bishop

Doran, 'eloquentissimus prædicator,' was killed in 1525.

[105] _Four Masters_, 1525 and 1526; Ware, 1526.

[106] Stanihurst; Lord James Butler to his father, Dec. 27, 1527, in

_Brewer_; Ware; Russell.

[107] Stanihurst; Russell.

[108] Consideration by Vannes and Uvedale, No. 52 in the printed _State

Papers_.

[109] See _Brewer_, introduction to vol. iv., p. 238, where there is a

confusion between Sir Piers and his son.

[110] _Carew_, Feb. 22, 1528.

[111] Inge and Bermingham to Wolsey, Feb. 23, 1528; to Norfolk, May 15;

the Council of Ireland to Wolsey, same date; Lord Butler to Inge, May 20.

[112] The Council of Ireland to Wolsey, May 15; Ossory to Inge, May 21;

to the King, June 10.

[113] Cowley had been in the service of the late Earl of Kildare. _Book

of Howth_.

[114] Instructions for the Lord Cardinal, No. 56 in the printed _State

Papers_; Ossory to Wolsey, Oct. 14, 1528; Instructions by Charles V. to

Gonzalo Fernandez in _Carew_, Feb. 24, 1530 (should be 1529). The letter

to the Pope was July 30, 1530.

[115] Instructions to Skeffington, No. 57 in the printed _State Papers_.

He landed near Dublin, August 2, 1529.

[116] Submission of O'Donnell, May 6, 1531. O'Donnell 'publice proposuit

et fatebatur dominum suum fuisse et esse fidelem et ligeum subditum

Domini Regis;' _Four Masters_, 1531. In his Instructions for Cromwell,

Jan. 2, 1532, Ossory notes that his contingent was better than Kildare's,

and that he bore the whole cost himself.

[117] Ossory to Cromwell, January 2, 1532.

[118] Report to Cromwell, No. 64 of the printed _State Papers_; Lodge's

_Peerage_ by Archdall, art. 'Duke of Leinster.' Ware; Stanihurst.

[119] 'Cui quidam turbarius jocose dixerat, "Domine, cur gemis tam dire,

cum ego semel habui iii bulletos in me, et vides, domine, quam sanus sum

ad præsens?" Cui comes mite respondit (in agonia) quod hunc etiam

bulletum vellet ipsum in se una cum cæteris habuisse.'--Dowling's

_Annals_, wrongly placed at 1528.

[120] _Four Masters_, 1532. _Annals of Lough Cé._

[121] _Jus Primatiale Armachanum_, Part I. No. 361; Dethyke to Cromwell,

Sept. 3, 1533; Report to Cromwell, No. 64 of the printed _State Papers_;

Sir James Fitzgerald to the King, August 31.

[122] Report to Cromwell, printed _State Papers_, vol. ii. p. 174.

Instructions to Sir John Alen, No. 63 in same.

[123] Report to Cromwell, quoted above.

[124] Skeffington to Cromwell, October 25 and November 4, 1533.

[125] Stanihurst.