THE LAST OF THE IRISH PRINCES.
The accession of James I. produced a delirium of joy in the Catholics
of the south. Their bards had sung that the blood of the old Celtic
monarchs circulated in his veins, their clergy told them that as
James VI. of Scotland he had received supplies of money from the
Roman court, and above all Clement VIII. then reigning, had sent to
congratulate him on his accession, having been solicited by him to
favour his title to the crown of England, which the Pope guaranteed
to do on condition that James promised not to persecute the Catholics.
The consequence was that the inhabitants of the southern towns rose
_en masse_ without waiting for authority, forced open the gates of the
ancient churches, re-erected the altars and used them for the public
celebration of worship. The lord deputy was startled by intelligence
to this effect from Waterford, Limerick, Cork, Lismore, Kilkenny,
Clonmel, Wexford, &c. The cathedrals, churches, and oratories were
seized by the people and clergy, Father White, Vicar-Apostolic of
Waterford, being the leader in this movement, going about from city
to city for the purpose of 'hallowing and purifying' the temples which
Protestantism had desecrated.
The mayors of the cities were rebuked by Mountjoy as seditious and
mutinous in setting up 'the public exercise of the Popish religion,'
and he threatened to encamp speedily before Waterford, 'to suppress
insolences and see peace and obedience maintained.' The deputy kept
his word, and on May 4, 1603, he appeared before Waterford at the
head of 5,000 men, officered by Sir R. Wingfield, and others who had
distinguished themselves during Tyrone's war. 'There is among the
family pictures at Powerscourt,' says Mr. Meehan, 'a portrait of this
distinguished old warrior, whose lineal descendant, the present noble
lord, has always proved most generous to his Catholic tenantry.' The
reverend gentleman gives an amusing sketch of a theological encounter
between the old warrior and Father White and a Dominican friar,
who came forth to the camp under a safe-conduct, both wearing their
clerical habits and preceded by a cross-bearer. The soldiers jeered
at the sacred symbol, and called it an idol. Father White indignantly
resented the outrage, when Sir Richard Wingfield threatened to put
an end to the controversy by running his sword through the
Vicar-Apostolic. 'The deputy however was a bookish man, at one period
of his life inclined to Catholicity, and he listened patiently to
Father White on the right of resisting or disobeying the natural
prince; but when the latter quoted some passage thereanent in the
works of St. Augustine, Mountjoy caused to be brought to him out of
his tent the identical volume, and showed to the amazement of the
bystanders, that the context explained away all the priest had
asserted.' The noble theologian told Father White that he was a
traitor, worthy of condign punishment for bringing an idol into a
Christian camp and for opening the churches by the Pope's authority.
Father White appeared in the camp a second time that day, making
a most reasonable request. He fell on his knees before the deputy,
begging liberty of conscience, free and open exercise of religion,
protesting that the people would be ready to resist all foreign
invasion were that granted; and finally beseeching that some of the
ruined churches might be given to the Catholics, who were ready
to rebuild them, and pay for them a yearly rent into his majesty's
exchequer. But the deputy was inexorable, and all he would grant was
leave to wear clerical clothes, and celebrate mass in private houses.
Mountjoy entered Waterford, received from the citizens the oath of
allegiance, and made over the city churches to the small section
of Protestants. At the same time he sent despatches to other towns
ordering the authorities to evict the Roman Catholics from the places
of worship. And then proceeding to Cork, and thence through Cashel
to Dublin, he undid all that the clergy had done with respect to the
churches, 'leaving perhaps to future statesmen,' writes Father
Meehan, 'living above the atmosphere of effete prejudices, the duty of
restoring to the Catholics of Ireland those grand old temples, which
were never meant to accommodate a fragment of its people.'[1]
[Footnote 1: Page 30.]
When Mountjoy returned to Dublin he found that he had been created
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland with two-thirds of the deputy's allowance,
Sir George Carew, appointed deputy during his absence in
England, receiving the other third together with his own pay as
treasurer-at-war. Mountjoy was also informed that the royal pardon had
been granted to Tyrone under the great seal, and that all other grants
made to him by the lord deputy had been confirmed. The king concluded
by requesting that he would induce Tyrone to go with him to London,
adding, 'as we think it very convenient for our service, and require
you so to do; and if not that at least you bring his son.' Along with
these instructions came a protection for O'Neill and his retinue. It
was supposed that James felt grateful to the Ulster chieftain for the
services he had rendered him during the late queen's reign; and it is
stated by Craik that after the victory of the Blackwater, he sent his
secretary O'Hagan to Holyrood, to signify to his majesty that if he
supplied him with money and munitions he would instantly march on
Dublin, proclaim him King of Ireland, and set the crown upon his head.
In compliance with the sovereign's request, Mountjoy, with a brilliant
suite, accompanied by Tyrone and Rory O'Donel, embarked in May 1603,
and sailed for Holyhead. But when they had sighted the coast of Wales,
the pinnace was driven back by adverse winds, and nearly wrecked in a
fog at the Skerries. They landed safe, however, at Beaumaris, whence
they rode rapidly to Chester, where they stopped for the night, and
were entertained by the mayor. The king's protection for the O'Neill
was not uncalled for. Whenever he was recognised in city or hamlet,
the populace, notwithstanding their respect for Mountjoy, the hero of
the hour, pursued the earl with bitter insults, and stoned him as he
passed along. Throughout the whole journey to London, the Welsh and
English women assailed him with their invectives. Not unnaturally, for
'there was not one among them but could name some friend or kinsman
whose bones lay buried far away in some wild pass or glen of Ulster,
where the object of their maledictions was more often victor than
vanquished.'[1] The king, however, gave the Irish chiefs a gracious
reception, having issued a proclamation that he had restored them to
his favour, and that they should be 'of all men honourably received.'
This excited intense disgust amongst English officers who had been
engaged in the Irish wars. Thus Sir John Harrington, writing to
a bishop, said: 'I have lived to see that damnable rebel, Tyrone,
brought to England, honoured and well liked. Oh, what is there that
does not prove the inconstancy of worldly matters! How I did labour
after that knave's destruction! I adventured perils by sea and land,
was near starving, eat horseflesh in Munster, and all to quell that
man, who now smileth in peace at those who did hazard their lives
to destroy him; and now doeth Tyrone dare us old commanders with his
presence and protection.'
[Footnote 1: Father Meehan.]
In fact the favour of the king went to an excess fatal to its object,
by conceding powers incompatible with his own sovereignty, leading
to disorders and violence, and exciting jealousy and mortal enmity in
those who were charged with the government in Ireland. The lords of
the Privy Council, with the king's consent, gave O'Neill authority for
martial law, 'to be executed upon any offenders that shall live under
him, the better to keep them in obedience.' It was ordered that the
king's garrisons should not meddle with him or his people. The king
also invested O'Donel with all the lands and rights of ancient time
belonging to his house, excepting abbeys and other spiritual livings,
the castle and town of Ballyshannon, and 1,000 acres adjoining
the fishing there. He also received the style and title of Earl
of Tyrconnel, with remainder to his brother Caffar, the heirs male
apparent being created Barons of Donegal. He was formally installed
in Christ Church Cathedral on the 29th of September following, in
presence of Archbishop Loftus and a number of high officials. Tyrone,
however, was dogged by spies while he was in London, and one
Atkinson swore informations to the effect that he was in the habit
of entertaining a Jesuit named Archer, who was intriguing with the
foreign enemies of England, and who was held by Irish royalists for
'the most bloody and treacherous traitor, who could divert Tyrone
and all the rest from the king, and thrust them again into actual
rebellion.'
In the meantime, Sir George Carew was pursuing a policy in Ireland
which must of necessity involve the north in fresh troubles. In his
letters to England, he complained that the country 'so swarmed with
priests, Jesuits, seminarists, friars, and Romish bishops, that if
speedy means were not used to free the kingdom of this wicked rabble,
which laboured to draw the subjects' hearts from their due obedience
to their prince, much mischief would burst forth in very short time.
For,' he said, 'there are here so many of this wicked crew, that are
able to disquiet four of the greatest kingdoms in Christendom. It is
high time they were banished from hence, and none to receive, or
aid, or relieve them. Let the judges and officers be sworn to the
supremacy; let the lawyers go to the church and show conformity,
or not plead at the bar; and then the rest by degrees will shortly
follow.'
Carew was succeeded as deputy by Sir Arthur Chichester, descended
from a family of great antiquity in Devon. He had served in Ireland
as governor of Carrickfergus, admiral of Lough Neagh, and commander
of the Fort of Mountjoy. Father Meehan describes him as malignant and
cruel, with a physiognomy repulsive and petrifying; a Puritan of the
most rigid character, utterly devoid of sympathy, solely bent on his
own aggrandisement, and seeking it through the plunder and persecution
of the Irish chieftains. That is the Irish view of his character. How
far he deserved it the reader will be able to judge by his acts.
He was evidently a man of strong will, an able administrator
and organiser; and he set himself at once, and earnestly, to the
establishment of law and order in the conquered territories of the
Irish princes. He sent justices of assize throughout Munster and
Connaught, reducing the 'countries or regions' into shire-ground,
abolishing cuttings, cosheries, spendings, and other customary
exactions of the chiefs, by which a complete revolution was effected.
He issued a proclamation, by the king's order, commanding all the
Catholics, under penalties, to assist at the Church of England
service; proscribing priests, and other ecclesiastical persons
ordained by authority from the see of Home; forbidding parents to send
their children to seminaries beyond the seas, or to keep as private
tutors other than those licensed by the Protestant archbishop or
bishop. If any priest dared to celebrate mass, he was liable to a fine
of 200 marks, and a year's imprisonment; while to join the _Romish_
Church was to become a traitor, and to be subject to a like penalty.
Churchwardens were to make a monthly report of persons absent from
church, and to whet the zeal of wardens and constables, for each
conviction of offending parties, they were to have a reward of forty
shillings, to be levied out of the recusant's estate and goods.
Catholics might escape these penalties by quitting the country, and
taking the oath of abjuration, by which they bound themselves to
abjure the land and realm of James, King of England, Scotland, France,
and Ireland, to hasten towards a certain port by the most direct
highway, to diligently seek a passage, and tarry there but one
flood and ebb. According to one form, quoted by Mr. Meehan, the oath
concluded thus: 'And, unless I can have it (a passage) in such a
place, I will go every day into the sea up to my knees, essaying to
pass over, so God me help and His holy judgment.'
The deputy found some difficulty in bending the consciences of the
Dublin people to the will of the sovereign in matters of faith; but
the said will was to be enforced _circa sacra_ at all hazards; so he
summoned sixteen of the chief citizens and aldermen before the Privy
Council, and censured them for their recusancy, imprisoned them in the
castle during pleasure, inflicting upon six a fine of 100 l. each, and
upon three 50 l. each. The king was delighted with this evangelical
method of extending reformed religion in Ireland. Congratulating his
deputy, he expressed a hope that many, by such means, would be brought
to conformity in religion, who would hereafter 'give thanks to God for
being drawn by so gentle a constraint to their own good.' The 'gentle
constraint' was imposed in all directions. The Privy Council decreed
that none but a member of the Church of England could hold any
office under the Crown. The old Catholic families of the Pale humbly
remonstrated, and their chief men were flung into prison. Sir Patrick
Barnwell, their agent, was sent to London by order of the king, and
was forthwith committed to the Tower for contempt. Henry Usher, then
Archbishop of Armagh, carried out the system of exclusion in his own
diocese, which included the territories of Tyrone. All 'Papists' were
forbidden to assist at mass, on pain of forfeiture of their goods and
imprisonment. In a like manner, the Catholic worship was prohibited
even in the residence of the Earl of Tyrconnel. He and Tyrone strongly
remonstrated against this violation of the royal word, that they and
their people might have liberty for their worship in private houses.
The answer was decided. His majesty had made up his mind to disallow
liberty of worship, and his people, whether they liked it or not,
should repair to their parish churches.
In addition to this religious grievance, which excited the bitterest
feelings of discontent, the two earls were subjected to the most
irritating annoyances. They complained that their people were
plundered by sheriffs, under-sheriffs, officers, and soldiers; and
that even their domestic privacy was hourly violated, that their
remonstrances were unheeded, and their attempts to obtain legal
remedies were frustrated. At the same time their vassals were
encouraged to repudiate their demands for tribute and rent. Bishop
Montgomery of Derry was a dangerous neighbour to O'Neill. Meeting him
one day at Dungannon, the earl said: 'My lord, you have two or three
bishopricks, and yet you are not content with them, but seek the lands
of my earldom.'
'My lord,' replied the bishop, 'your earldom is swollen so big with
the lands of the Church, that it will burst if it be not vented.' If
he had confined his venting operations to the chiefs, and abstained
from bleeding the poor people, it would have been better for
Protestantism. For we read that he sent bailiffs through the diocese
of Raphoe, to levy contributions for the Church. 'For every cow and
plough-horse, 4 d.; as much out of every colt and calf, to be
paid twice a year; and half-a-crown a quarter of every shoemaker,
carpenter, smith, and weaver in the whole country; and 8 d. a year for
every married couple.'
This bishop seems to have been greatly impressed with the
'commodities' of O'Cahan's country, which he describes with much
unction in a letter to the Earl of Salisbury. He said that the country
was 'large, pleasant, and fruitful; twenty-four miles in length
between Lough Foyle and the Bann; and in breadth, from the sea-coast
towards the lower parts of Tyrone, 14 miles.' He states that O'Cahan
was able to assist the Earl of Tyrone, during his war, with 1,200
foot and 300 horse, the ablest men that Ulster yielded; and, by the
confession of gentlemen of the first plantation, had oftener put them
to their defence than any enemy they had to do with, not suffering
them to cut a bough or build a cabin without blows. When Tyrone was
driven to his fastness, Glenconkeine, O'Cahan sent him 100 horse and
300 foot, and yet made good his own country against the army lying
round about him, adding, that his defection 'did undo the earl, who,
as he had his country sure behind him, cared little for anything the
army could do to him.' The bishop was, therefore, very anxious that
Tyrone should not have any estate in O'Cahan's country, 'since he was
of great power to offend or benefit the poor infant city of Derry, its
new bishop and people, cast out far from the heart and head into the
remotest part of Ireland, where life would be unsafe until the whole
region was well settled with civil subjects. If this be not brought to
pass, we may say: "_fuimus Troes,--fuit Ilium_."'[1]
[Footnote 1: Meehan, p.79.]
The defection of O'Cahan was, no doubt, a very serious matter to
O'Neill. Their case was referred for adjudication to the lord deputy,
Chichester, before whom they personally pleaded. Their contradictory
statements, and the eagerness of each for the support of a ruler whom
they regarded as a common enemy, accounts for the facility with which
their power was ultimately destroyed. They at the same time throw much
light on the condition of Ulster before the confiscation of James I.,
proving that it was by no means so poor and wild and barren a region
as it is generally represented by modern writers. The two chiefs had a
personal altercation at the council table, and O'Neill so far lost his
temper as to snatch a paper out of the hand of O'Cahan. Whereupon Sir
John Davis remarked: 'I rest assured, in my own conceit, that I shall
live to see Ulster the best reformed province in this kingdom; and
as for yourself, my lord, I hope to live to see you the best reformed
subject in Ireland.' To this the haughty chief replied with warmth,
that he hoped 'the attorney-general would never see the day when
injustice should be done him by transferring his lands to the Crown,
and thence to the bishop, who was intent on converting the whole
territory into his own pocket.'
Acting under the advice of the bishop, O'Cahan employed a skilful
hand to draw up a statement of his case, which was presented on May 2,
1607, in the form of 'the humble petition of Donald Ballagh O'Cahan,
chief of his name,' addressed to the lord deputy and council. He
declared that for 3,000 years and upwards, he and his ancestors had
been possessed of a country called 'O'Cahan's country,' lying between
the river Bann and Lough Foyle, without paying any rent, or other
acknowledgment thereof to O'Neill, saving that his ancestors were wont
to aid O'Neill twice a year if he had need, with risings of 100 horse
and 300 foot, for which O'Cahan had in return O'Neill's whole suit of
apparel, the horse that he rode upon, and 100 cows in winter. He also
paid 21 cows every year in the name of _Cios'righ_, the king's rent,
or the king's rent-cess. He alleged that Queen Elizabeth had granted
him his country to be held immediately from her majesty at the
accustomed rent, by virtue of which he enjoyed it for one whole year
without paying, or being craved payment, of any rent or duty, until
the Earl of Tyrone, on his return from England, alleged that he had
got O'Cahan's country by patent, from the king, who had made him
vassal to Tyrone and his heirs for ever, imposing the annual payment
of 100 cows, with the yearly rent of 200 l. He had also claimed the
fishing of the Bann; he preyed yearly upon other parts of his country,
and drew from him his best tenants. He therefore prayed for the
protection of the lord deputy against these unjust demands and
usurpations.
On the 23rd of the same month, O'Neill made a counter statement to the
following effect: O'Cahan had no estate in the territory that was by
a corruption of speech called O'Cahan's country; nor did he or any of
his ancestors ever hold the said lands but as tenants at sufferance,
servants and followers to the defendant and his ancestors. His
grandfather Con O'Neill was seised in fee of those lands before he
surrendered to Henry VIII., 'and received yearly, and had thereout,
as much rents, cutting, spending and all other duties as of any other
lands which he had in demesne,' within the province of Ulster and
territory of Tyrone, and that after Con's surrender the territories
were all re-granted with the rents, customs, duties, &c. as before.
He was ready to prove that the ancestors of O'Cahan never enjoyed the
premises at any time, but at the will and sufferance of O'Neill and
his ancestors. A few days after, he despatched a memorial to the king
setting forth his grievances, in which he stated that there were so
many that sought to deprive him of the greatest part of the residue
of his territory that without his majesty's special consideration he
should in the end have nothing to support his 'estate' or rank. For
the Lord Bishop of Derry, not content with the great living the king
had bestowed upon him, sought to have the greater part of the earl's
lands, to which none of his predecessors had ever laid claim. And
he also set on others to question his titles which had never before
before doubted. He therefore humbly besought the king to direct that
new letters patent should be made out re-conveying to him and his
heirs the lands in dispute, being, he said, 'such a favour as is
appointed by your majesty to be extended to such of your subjects of
this kingdom as should be suitors for the same, amongst whom I will
during my life endeavour to deserve to be in the number of the most
faithful, whereunto not only duty, but also your majesty's great
bounty, hath ever obliged me.'
This was dated at Mellifont on May 26, 1607. It does not appear that
any answer was received to his appeals to the king, nor is it likely
that it served his cause, for it is seldom safe to appeal from an
agent or deputy to the supreme authority. The Privy Council in Dublin,
however, made a report confirming to some extent the claims put forth
by Tyrone. A jury had been appointed to inquire into the boundaries
and limits of the lands granted by Queen Elizabeth, and they found
that they extended from the river Fuin to Lough Foyle, and from Lough
Foyle by the sea-shore to the Bann, and thence to the east of Lough
Neagh. Within these limits they found that there existed the territory
called O'Cahan's, Glenconkeine and Killetragh, which were not the
lands of the O'Neills, '_but held by tenants having estates in them
equivalent to estates of freehold_.' The jury could not determine what
rents the tenants of said lands were accustomed to pay, but they found
generally that all lands within the limits of Tyrone, except the lands
of the church, rendered to O'Neill bonnaght or free quarters for armed
retainers, 'rising out, cutting and spending.' The parties, however,
did not abide by the decision of the privy council, but kept up their
contention in the courts of law. It was quite clear that matters could
not remain long in that unsettled state, with so many adventurers
thirsting for the possession of land, which was lying comparatively
idle. It was thought desirable to appoint a president of Ulster, as
there had been a president of Munster. The Earl of Tyrone applied to
the king for the office, evidently fearing that if Chichester were
appointed, he must share the fate of the Earl of Desmond. On the other
hand, it was felt that with his hereditary pretensions, impracticable
temper, and vast influence with the people, it would be impossible to
establish the English power on a permanent basis until he was got out
of the way. This was not difficult, with unprincipled adventurers
who were watching for opportunities to make their fortunes in those
revolutionary times. Among these was a person named St. Lawrence,
Baron of Howth. This man worked cunningly on the mind of the lord
deputy, insinuating that O'Neill was plotting treason and preparing
for a Spanish invasion. He even went so far as to write an anonymous
letter, revealing an alleged plot of O'Neill's to assassinate the lord
deputy. It was addressed to Sir William Usher, clerk of the council,
and the writer began by saying that it would show him, though far
severed from him in religion, how near he came home to him in honesty.
He was a Catholic, and professed to reveal what he had heard among
Catholic gentlemen, 'after the strictest conditions of secresy.' The
conspirators were, in the first place, to murder or poison the lord
deputy when he came to Drogheda, 'a place thought apt and secure to
act the same.' They thought it well to begin with him, because his
authority, wisdom, and valour stood only in the way of their first
attempts. Next after him they were to cut off Sir Oliver Lambert,
whom for his own judgment in the wars, his sudden resolution, and
undertaking spirit, they would not suffer to live. These two lights
thus put out, they would neither fear nor value any opposite in the
kingdom. The small dispersed garrisons must either through hunger
submit themselves to their mercy, or be penned up as sheep to the
shambles. They held the castle of Dublin for their own, neither manned
nor victualled, and readily surprised. The towns were for them, the
country with them, the great ones abroad prepared to answer the first
alarm. The Jesuits warranted from the Pope and the Catholic king would
do their parts effectually, and Spanish succours would not be wanting.
These secrets greatly troubled the sensitive conscience of Lord Howth.
From the time he was entrusted with them, he said, 'till I resolved to
give you this caveat, my eyelids never closed, my heart was a fire,
my soul suffered a thousand thousand torments; yet I could not, nor
cannot persuade my conscience, in honesty, to betray my friends,
or spill their bloods, when this timely warning may prevent the
mischief.' In conclusion, he said, 'though I reverence the mass and
the Catholic religion equal with the devoutest of them, I will make
the leaders of this dance know that I prefer my country's good before
their busy and ambitious humours.' It is related of this twenty-second
baron of Howth, known as Sir Christopher St. Lawrence, that having
served in Ulster under Essex, and accompanied him in his flight to
England, he proposed to murder Lord Grey de Wilton, lest he should
prejudice the queen's mind against her former favourite, if he got
access to her presence before him; that he had commanded a regiment of
infantry under Mountjoy, and that when that regiment was disbanded, he
became discontented, not having got either pension or employment;
that having gone as a free lance to the Low Countries, and failed to
advance himself there as he expected, through the interest of
Irish ecclesiastics, he returned to England, and skulked about the
ante-chambers of Lord Salisbury, waiting upon Providence, when he hit
upon the happy idea of the revelations which he conveyed under the
signature of' A.B.'[1]
[Footnote 1: Meehan, p.103.]
After some time he acknowledged the authorship of the letter
privately, but refused to come forth publicly as an informer, nor
was he able to produce any corroboration of the improbable story.
Ultimately, however, when pressed by Chichester, he induced his friend
Baron Devlin to swear an information to the same effect, revealing
certain alleged conversations of O'Neill. In the meantime St. Lawrence
cunningly worked upon the fears of the earl, giving him to understand
that his ruin was determined on, and that he had better consult
his safety, by leaving the country. It appears that he received
intimations to the same effect from his correspondents in Spain and
in London. At all events, he lost heart, became silent, moody, and
low-spirited, suspecting foul play on the part of the king, who was
very urgent that he should be brought over to London, in which case
Tyrone was led to believe that he would certainly be sent to the
Tower, and probably lose his head. With such apprehensions, he came
to the conclusion that it was idle to struggle any longer against the
stream.
He had for some weeks been engaged quietly making preparations for his
flight. He had given directions to his steward to collect in advance
one half of his Michaelmas rents, leading the lord deputy to think
that he did so either to provide funds for his journey to London,
or to defray the expenses of his son's projected marriage with the
daughter of Lord Argyle. Meanwhile a vessel had been purchased by
Cu-Connaught Maguire, and Bath, the captain of this vessel, assured
the Earl of Tyrconnel, whom he met at Ballyshannon, that he also
would lose his life or liberty if he did not abandon the country with
O'Neill. On September 8, Tyrone took leave of the lord deputy, and
then spent a day and night at Mellifont with his friend Sir Garret
Moore, who was specially dear to him as the fosterer of his son John.
The earl took his leave with unusual emotion, and after giving
his blessing according to the Irish fashion to every member of his
friend's household, he and his suite took horse and rode rapidly by
Dundalk, over the Fews to Armagh, where he rested a few hours, and
then proceeded to Creeve, one of his crannoges or island habitations,
where he was joined by his wife and other members of his family. Sir
Oliver Lambert in a communication to the Irish Government, relating to
the affairs of Ulster, made some interesting allusions to O'Neill. He
states that he had apologised for having appealed to the king in the
case between him and O'Cahan, and said that he felt much grieved in
being called upon so suddenly to go to England, when on account of his
poverty he was not able to furnish himself as became him for such a
journey and for such a presence. In all things else, said Sir Oliver,
'he seemed very moderate and reasonable, albeit he never gave over to
be a general solicitor in all causes concerning his country and people
however criminal.' He thought the earl had been much abused by persons
who had cunningly terrified, and diverted him from going to the king;
'or else he had within him a thousand witnesses testifying that he was
as deeply engaged in these secret treasons as any of the rest, whom
they knew or suspected.' At all events he had received information
on the previous day from his own brother Sir Cormac O'Neill, from the
primate, from Sir Toby Caulfield and others, that the earl had taken
shipping with his lady, the Baron of Dungannon, his eldest son, and
two others of his children, John and Brien, both under seven years
old, the Earl of Tyrconnel, and his son and heir, an infant, not yet a
year old, his brother Caffar O'Donel, and his son an infant two years
old, 'with divers others of their nearest and trusted followers and
servants, as well men as women, to the number of between thirty and
forty persons.'
The Rev. Mr. Meehan gives graphic details of the flight of his two
heroes. Arrived at Rathmullen they found Maguire and Captain Bath
laying stores of provisions on board the ship that had come into Lough
Swilly under French colours. Here they were joined by Rory, Earl of
Tyrconnel. At noon on Friday they all went on board and lifted anchor,
but kept close to the shore waiting for the boats' crews, who were
procuring water and fuel; but they had to wait till long after sunset,
when the boats came with only a small quantity of wood and water.
According to a fatality which makes one Irishman's extremity another
Irishman's opportunity, the foraging party was set upon by M'Sweeny
of Fanad, who churlishly prevented them getting a sufficient supply
of these necessaries. This barbarous conduct is accounted for by Mr.
Meehan, from the fact, that this M'Sweeny had recently taken a grant
of his lands from the crown. At midnight, September 14, 1607, they
spread all sail and made for the open sea, intending, however, to
land on the Island of Arran, off the coast of Donegal, to provide
themselves with more water and fuel. The entire number of souls
on board this small vessel, says O'Keenan in his narrative, was
ninety-nine, having little sea store, and being otherwise miserably
accommodated. Unable to make the island of Arran, owing to a gale
then blowing off the land, and fearing to be crossed by the king's
cruisers, they steered for the harbour of Corunna in Spain. But for
thirteen days, continues O'Keenan, 'the sea was angry, and the tempest
left us no rest; and the only brief interval of calm we enjoyed, was
when O'Neill took from his neck a golden crucifix containing a relic
of the true cross, and trailed it in the wake of the ship. At that
moment, two poor merlins with wearied pinions sought refuge in the
rigging of our vessel, and were captured for the noble ladies, who
nursed them with tenderest affection.' After being tempest-tossed
for three weeks, they dropped anchor in the harbour of Quilleboeuf
in France, having narrowly escaped shipwreck, their only remaining
provisions being one gallon of beer and a cask of water. They
proceeded to Brussels and thence to Louvain, where splendid
accommodation was provided for them. In several of the cities through
which they passed they received ovations, their countrymen clerical
and military having prepared for their reception with the greatest
zeal and devotion. The King of Spain was of course friendly, but to
avoid giving offence to King James he discouraged the stay of the
exiles in his dominions, and they found their final resting-place
at Rome, where the two earls were placed upon the Pope's civil list,
which, however, they did not long continue to burden. Tyrconnel fell a
victim to the malaria, and died on July 28, 1608. 'Sorrowful it was,'
say the Four Masters, 'to contemplate his early eclipse, for he was a
generous and hospitable lord, to whom the patrimony of his ancestors
seemed nothing for his feastings and spending.' His widow received
a pension of 300 l. a year out of his forfeited estates. O'Neill
survived his brother earl eight years, having made various attempts to
induce the King of Spain to aid him in the recovery of his patrimony.
He died in 1616, in the seventy-sixth year of his age. Sir Francis
Cottington, announcing the event from Madrid, said, 'The Earl of
Tyrone is dead at Rome; by whose death this king saves 500 ducats
every month, for so much pension he had from here, well paid him.
Upon the news of his death, I observed that all the principal Irish
entertained in several parts of this kingdom are repaired unto this
court.'