THE CHURCH IN IRELAND DURING THE REIGNS OF MARY AND ELIZABETH
(1553-1603)
See bibliography, ii. Hamilton, /Calendar of State Papers,
Ireland/, 4 vols. /Calendar of State Papers/ (Carew), 6 vols.,
1867-73. /Archivium Hibernicus/, vols. i., ii., iii. (1912-14).
Moran, /Spicil. Ossor. Id./, Editions of the /Commentarius de
Regno Hiberniae/ (Lombard), 1863, and of the /Analecta/ (Rothe),
1884. O'Sullevan, /Historiae Catholicae Iberniae Compendium/ (ed.
Kelly), 1850. Bruodin, /Passio Martyrum/, 1666. Molanus, /Idea
togatae constantiae . . . cui adjungilur tripartita martyrum
Britannicarum insularum epitome/, 1629. Shirley, op. cit. Brady,
/State Papers Concerning the Irish Church in the Time of Queen
Elizabeth/, 1866. Cotton, /Fasti Ecclesiae Hiberniae/, 6 vols.,
1851-78. Hogan, /The Description of Ireland, etc., in 1598/, 1878.
O'Daly-Meehan, /The Rise, Increase, and Exile of the Geraldines,
Earls of Desmond/, etc., 1878. Spenser, /View of the State of
Ireland/, 1633. Lynch-Kelly, /Cambrensis Eversus/, etc., 3 vols.,
1848. /Liber Munerum publicorum Hiberniae/, 1152-1824, 2 vols.,
1848. Gilbert, /History of the City of Dublin/, 3 vols., 1859.
Id., /Facsimiles of National MSS. of Ireland/, 4 vols., 1875.
Lodge, /Desiderata Curiosa Hibernica/, etc., 2 vols., 1772.
/Pacata Hibernia/, 1633.
The death of Edward VI. (6 July 1553) and the accession of Queen Mary
put an end for the time being to the campaign against the Catholic
Church. The party of the Earl of Northumberland made a feeble attempt
in Ireland, as they had done in England, to secure the succession for
Lady Jane Grey, but their efforts produced no effect. On the 20th July
the privy council in England sent a formal order for the proclamation
of Queen Mary, together with an announcement that she had been
proclaimed already in London as Queen of England, France, and Ireland,
Defender of the Faith, and on earth Supreme Head of the Churches of
England and Ireland.[1] This command was obeyed promptly in Dublin and
in the chief cities in Ireland. In Kilkenny Lord Mountgarret and Sir
Richard Howth ordered that a Mass of thanksgiving should be
celebrated, and when Bale refused to allow such idolatry they informed
the clergy that they were no longer bound to obey the bishop. Mary was
proclaimed in Kilkenny (20 Aug.), and on the following day the clergy
and people took possession of the Cathedral of St. Canice. Crowds of
the citizens proceeded to attack the palace of the bishop, so that it
was only with the greatest difficulty that the Mayor of Kilkenny was
able to save his life by sending him to Dublin at night under the
protection of an armed escort. From Dublin Bale succeeded in making
his escape to Holland, from which he proceeded to Basle, where he
spent his time in libelling the Catholic religion and the Irish clergy
and people.
Shortly after the coronation of Queen Mary Sir Thomas St. Leger was
sent over to Ireland as Deputy with instructions that he was to take
steps immediately for the complete restoration of the Catholic
religion. Primate Dowdall was recalled from exile, and restored to his
See of Armagh; the primacy, which had been taken from Armagh in the
previous reign owing to the hostile attitude adopted by Dowdall
towards the religious innovations, was restored, and various grants
were made to him to compensate him for the losses he had sustained.[2]
In April 1554 a royal commission was issued to Dowdall and William
Walsh, formerly prior of the Cistercian Abbey of Bective, to remove
the clergy who had married from their benefices. In virtue of this
commission Browne of Dublin, Staples of Meath, Thomas Lancaster of
Kildare, and Travers, who had been intruded into the See of Leighlin,
were removed. Bale of Ossory had fled already, and Casey of Limerick
also succeeded in making his escape. O'Cervallen of Clogher, who had
been deposed by the Pope, was driven from his diocese, and an inquiry
was set on foot at Lambeth Palace before Cardinal Pole to determine
who was the lawful Archbishop of Tuam. Christopher Bodkin, Bishop of
Kilmacduagh, had been appointed to Tuam by the king in 1536, while two
years later Arthur O'Frigil, a canon of Raphoe, received the same See
by papal provision. At the inquiry before Cardinal Pole it was proved
that though Bodkin had contracted the guilt of schism he had done so
more from fear than from conviction, that he had been always a stern
opponent of heresy, and that in the city and diocese of Tuam the new
opinions had made no progress. Apparently, as a result of the inquiry,
an agreement was arranged whereby Bodkin was allowed to retain
possession of Tuam.[3] The other bishops were allowed to retain their
Sees without objection, a clear proof that their orthodoxy was
unquestionable.
In place of those who had been deposed, Hugh Curwen, an Englishman,
was appointed to Dublin, William Walsh, one of the royal
commissioners, to Meath, Thomas Leverous, the former tutor of the
young Garrett Fitzgerald, to Kildare, Thomas O'Fihil, an Augustinian
Hermit, to Leighlin, and John O'Tonory, a Canon Regular of St.
Augustine, to Ossory, while John Quinn of Limerick, who had been
forced to resign the See of Limerick during the reign of Edward VI.,
was apparently restored. The selection of Curwen to fill the
archiepiscopal See of Dublin was particularly unfortunate. However
learned he might have been, or however distinguished his ancestry, he
was not remarkable for the fixity of his religious principles. During
the reign of Henry VIII. he had acquired notoriety by his public
defence of the royal divorce, as well as by his attacks on papal
supremacy, though, like Henry, he was a strong upholder of the Real
Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and of Transubstantiation. Like a
true courtier he changed his opinions immediately on the accession of
Queen Mary, and he was rewarded by being promoted to Dublin and
appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland (1555). The Cathedral Chapter of
St. Patrick's that had been suppressed was restored to "its pristine
state;" new dignitaries and canons were appointed, and much of the
possessions that had been seized were returned.[4]
The Mass and Catholic ceremonies were restored without any opposition
in those churches in Dublin and Leinster into which the English
service had been introduced. A provincial synod was held in Dublin by
the new archbishop (1556) to wipe out all traces of heresy and schism.
Primate Dowdall had convoked previously a synod of the Northern
Provinces at Drogheda to undertake a similar work. In this assembly it
was laid down that all priests who had attempted to marry during the
troubles of the previous reign should be deprived of their benefices
and suspended; that the clergy who had adopted the heretical rites in
the religious celebrations and in the administration of the Sacraments
should be admitted to pardon in case they repented of their crimes and
could prove that their fall was due to fear rather than conviction;
that all the ancient rites and ceremonies of the Church in regard to
crosses, images, candles, thuribles, canonical hours, Mass, the
administration of the sacraments, fast days, holidays, holy water, and
blessed bread should be restored; that the Book of Common Prayer,
etc., should be burned, and that the Primate and the bishops of the
province should appoint inquisitors in each diocese, to whom the
clergy should denounce those who refused to follow the Catholic
worship and ceremonies. Arrangements were also made to put an end to
abuses in connexion with the bestowal of benefices on laymen and
children, with the appointment of clerics to parishes and dignities by
the Holy See on the untrustworthy recommendation of local noblemen,
with the excessive fees charged by some of the clergy, with the
neglect of those whose duty it was to contribute to the repairs of the
parish churches, and with the failure of some priests to wear a
becoming clerical dress.[5]
In July 1556 Lord Fitzwalter was sent to Ireland as Deputy. "Our said
Deputy and Council," according to the royal instructions, "shall by
their own good example and all other good means to them possible,
advance the honour of Almighty God, the true Catholic faith and
religion, now by God's great goodness and special grace recovered in
our realms of England and Ireland, and namely they shall set forth the
honour and dignity of the Pope's Holiness and Apostolic See of Rome,
and from time to time be ready with our aid and secular force, at the
request of all spiritual ministers and ordinaries there, to punish and
repress all heretics and Lollards, and their damnable sects, opinions,
and errors." They were commanded, too, to assist the commissioners and
officials whom Cardinal Pole as papal legate intended to send shortly
to make a visitation of the clergy and people of Ireland.[6] On the
arrival of the new Deputy in Dublin he went in state to Christ's
Church to assist at Mass, after the celebration of which he received
the sword of state from his predecessor before the altar, and took the
oath in presence of the archbishop. "That done, the trumpets sounded
and drums beat, and then the Lord Deputy kneeled down before the altar
until the /Te Deum/ was ended."[7]
The new Deputy was instructed to take measures for summoning a meeting
of Parliament in the following year to give legal sanction to the
restoration of the Catholic religion, and to deal with the
ecclesiastical property that had been seized. Possibly in the hope of
securing some of these again for the Church a commission was issued to
the Archbishop of Dublin, the Bishop of Kildare, and a number of
clerics and laymen "to inquire concerning the chalices, crosses,
ornaments, bells, and other property belonging to the parish churches
or chapels in the county of the city and county of Dublin and of sales
made thereof to any person or persons, the price, in whose hands they
then remained, and also in whose possession were the houses, lands,
and tenements, belonging to those churches." Similar commissions were
issued to others for the counties of Drogheda and Louth, Kildare,
Carlow, Wexford, Kilkenny, Meath, Westmeath, Waterford, Tipperary,
Limerick, Cork, and "for the county of Connaught."[8]
In June 1557 the Irish Parliament met. A Bull of absolution from the
penalties of heresy and schism was read by the Archbishop of Dublin on
bended knees, while the Lord Deputy, officials, and members, both
Peers and Commoners, knelt around him. When this ceremony was finished
all retired to the cathedral, where the /Te Deum/ was sung in
thanksgiving, and all pledged themselves as a sign of their sincere
repentance to abolish all the laws that had been passed against the
Holy See. The acts prejudicial to the rights of the Pope enacted since
the year 1529 were abolished. The title of supreme head of the church,
it was declared, "never was or could be justly or lawfully attributed
or acknowledged to any king or sovereign governor, nor in any wise
could or might rightfully, justly, or lawfully, by the king or
sovereign governor of the same realms, be claimed, challenged, or
used." "All Bulls, dispensations, and privileges obtained before the
year 1529 or at any time since, or which shall hereafter be obtained
from the See of Rome, not containing matter contrary or prejudicial to
the authority, dignity, or pre-eminence royal or imperial of these
said realms or to the laws of this realm" were allowed to be "put in
execution, used, and alleged in any civil court in Ireland and
elsewhere." The jurisdiction of the bishops was restored, the laws
against heresy passed in the reign of Richard II. and Henry IV. were
renewed, and the payment of First Fruits was suppressed. Care was
taken, however, to avail of the dispensation granted by the Holy See,
whereby those who had obtained possession of the property of churches
and monasteries should not be disturbed, although it was enacted that
none of the laymen who had obtained such grants could plead the rights
of exemption enjoyed by some of their former owners against the
jurisdiction of the bishops, and that notwithstanding the Statutes of
Mortmain those who then held "manors, tenements, parsonages, tithes,
pensions or other hereditaments" might bequeath or devise them to any
spiritual body corporate in the kingdom, such clause to have the force
of law for twenty years.[9]
From no quarter was the slightest opposition offered to the
restoration of Catholic worship, and consequently there was no need to
have recourse to persecution. There was no persecution of the
Protestants of Ireland by fire or torture during this reign. "In
truth, the Reformation, not having been sown in Ireland, there was no
occasion to water it by the blood of martyrs; insomuch that several
English families, friends to the Reformation, withdrew into Ireland as
into a secure asylum; where they enjoyed their opinions and worship in
privacy without notice or molestation."[10] Yet in spite of this
tolerant attitude of both the officials and people of Ireland an
absurd story, first mentioned in a pamphlet printed in 1681, is still
to be found in many books dealing with Mary's reign. According to this
story the queen appointed a body of commissioners to undertake a
wholesale persecution in Ireland, and she entrusted this document to
one of the commissioners, a certain Dr. Cole. On his way to Ireland
the latter tarried at Chester, where he was waited upon by the mayor,
to whom he confided the object of his mission. The landlady of the
inn, having overheard the conversation, succeeded in stealing the
commission and replacing it by a pack of cards. Dr. Cole reached
Dublin and hastened to meet the Lord Deputy and council. "After he had
made a speech relating upon what account he came over, he presents the
box unto the Lord Deputy, who causing it to be opened, that the
secretary might read the commission, there was nothing but a pack of
cards with the knave of clubs uppermost." Dr. Cole assured them that
"he had a commission, but knew not how it was gone." Then the Lord
Deputy made answer, "Let us have another commission and we will
shuffle the cards in the meanwhile." The messenger returned promptly
to England, "and coming to the court, obtained another commission, but
staying for a wind at the waterside, news came unto him that the queen
was dead. And thus God preserved the Protestants of Ireland."[11] This
ridiculous fabrication was first referred to in a pamphlet written by
that well-known forger, Robert Ware, in 1681, and was reprinted in his
"Life" of Archbishop Browne (1705). Its acceptance by later writers,
in spite of its obvious silliness, and unsupported as it is by the
official documents of the period, or by any contemporary authority,
can be explained only by their religious prejudices.[12]
But though Mary restored the Mass and re-asserted the jurisdiction of
the Pope, her political policy in Ireland differed little from that of
her father or her brother. She was as determined as had been Henry
VIII. to bring the country under English law, and to increase thereby
the resources of the Treasury. It is true that she allowed the young
Garrett Fitzgerald, who had found a refuge in Rome, to return to the
country, that she restored to him his estates and honoured him with a
seat at the privy council. Brian O'Connor of Offaly was also released
from prison and allowed to revisit his territories. During the time
St. Leger held office he followed the old policy of strengthening
English influence by conciliation rather than by force. But the Earl
of Sussex was of a different mind. He marshalled his forces and made
raids into the Irish districts, for the princes and inhabitants of
which he entertained the most supreme contempt. It was during the
reign of Mary that the plan of the English Plantations was first put
into force by the removal of the native Irish from large portions of
Leix and Offaly to make room for English settlers. And yet, in spite
of the warlike expeditions of Sussex, the country went from bad to
worse, so that Primate Dowdall could write to the privy council in
England (1557) that "this poor realm was never in my remembrance in
worse case than it is now, except the time only that O'Neill and
O'Donnell invaded the English Pale and burned a great piece of it. The
North is as far out of frame as it was before, for the Scots beareth
as great rule as they do wish, not only in such lands as they did
lately usurp, but also in Clandeboy. The O'Moores and O'Connors have
destroyed and burned Leix and Offaly saving certain forts."[13]
On the death of Queen Mary in November 1558, her sister Elizabeth
succeeded to the English throne. Although she had concealed carefully
her Protestant sympathies, and had even professed her sincere
attachment to the old religion during the reign of her predecessor,
most people believed that important changes were pending. As soon as
news of her proclamation reached Ireland early in December, the small
knot of officials, who had fallen into disgrace during the reign of
the late queen, hastened to offer their congratulations and to put
forward their claims for preferment. Sir John Alen, formerly Lord
Chancellor and Chief Commissioner for the dissolution of the
monasteries, wrote to Cecil to express his joy at the latter's
promotion, enclosed "a token," and reminded him of what he (Alen) had
suffered during the previous five years. Sir John Bagenall,
ex-governor of Leix and Offaly, recalled the fact that he had lost
heavily, and had been obliged to escape to France for resisting papal
supremacy. He petitioned for a free farm worth £50 a year. Bishop
Staples, in a letter to Cecil, took pains to point out that he had
been deprived of his See on account of his marriage, and had incurred
the personal enmity of Cardinal Pole because he presumed to pray "for
his old master's (Henry VIII.) soul."[14] For some time, however, no
change was made, and Catholic worship continued even in Dublin as in
the days of Queen Mary. The Lord Deputy Sussex went to England in
December 1559, and entrusted the sword of state to the Archbishop of
Dublin and Sir Henry Sidney, both of whom took the oath of office
before the high altar in Christ's Church after Mass had been
celebrated in their presence.
But the strong anti-Catholic policy of the new government soon made
itself felt in England, and though the ministers were more guarded as
far as Ireland was concerned, it was felt that something should be
done there to lessen the influence of Rome. In the instructions issued
to the Lord Deputy (July 1559) he was told that "the Deputy and
Council shall set the service of Almighty God before their eyes, and
the said Deputy and all others of that council, who be native born
subjects of this realm of England, do use the rites and ceremonies
which are by law appointed, at least in their own houses."[15] In the
draft instructions as first prepared a further clause was added "that
others native of that country be not otherwise moved to use the same
than with their own contentment they shall be disposed, neither
therein doth her Majesty mean to judge otherwise of them than well,
and yet for the better example and edification of prayer in the
Church, it shall be well done, if the said councillors being of that
country born, shall at times convenient cause either in their own
houses or in the churches the litany in the English tongue to be used
with the reading of the epistle and gospel in the same tongue and the
ten commandments."[16] Although Cecil struck out this clause with his
own hand, it helps to show that the government feared to push things
to extremes in Ireland.
On the return of the Earl of Sussex he paid the usual official visit
in state to Christ's Church, where apparently the English Litany
(probably that prescribed by Henry VIII.) was sung after the Mass. In
connexion with this celebration a story was put in circulation by
Robert Ware in 1683 that the clergy, dissatisfied with the change in
liturgy, determined to have recourse to a disgraceful imposture to
prevent further innovations. On the following Sunday when the
Archbishop and Deputy assisted at Mass, one of their number having
inserted a sponge soaked in blood into the head of the celebrated
statue of the Redeemer, blood began to trickle over the face of the
image. Suddenly during the service a cry was raised by the trickster
and his associates, "Behold Our Saviour's image sweats blood." Several
of the common people wondering at it, fell down with their beads in
their hands, and prayed to the image, while Leigh who was guilty of
the deception kept crying out all the time, "How can He choose but
sweat blood whilst heresy is now come into the Church?" Amidst scenes
of the greatest excitement the archbishop caused an examination to be
made; the trick was discovered; Leigh and his accomplices were
punished by being made "to stand upon a table with their legs and
hands tied for three Sundays, with the crime written upon paper and
pinned to their breasts"; and to complete the story, a recent writer
adds, "the Protestants were triumphant, the Roman party confounded,
and Curwen's orders to have the statue broken up were obeyed without
demur."[17] Needless to say there is no foundation for such a tale. It
first saw the light in that collection of gross inventions, /The
Hunting of the Romish Fox/, published by Robert Ware in 1683, and is
unsupported by any contemporary witnesses. It was not known to Sir
Robert Ware, from whose papers the author pretended to borrow it; it
was not known to Sir Dudley Loftus who devoted himself to the study of
Irish history, and who, as nephew of Elizabeth's Archbishop of Dublin,
would have had exceptional opportunities of learning the facts, nor
was it known to Archbishop Parker, to whom, according to Ware, a full
account was forwarded immediately.[18] The author of it was employed
to stir up feeling in England and Ireland so as to prevent the
accession of James II., and as a cover for his forgeries he pretended
to be using the manuscripts of his father.
For so far the Catholic religion was the only one recognised by law in
Ireland, and consequently when Elizabeth instructed the Deputy to see
that her English born subjects in Ireland should use the English
service in their private houses, she took care to promise that none of
them should be impeached or molested for carrying out her
commands.[19] But her Deputy was instructed to summon a Parliament in
Ireland "to make such statutes as were lately made in England /mutatis
mutandis/."[20] The Parliament met in Dublin on the 11th of January
1560. According to the returns[21] seventy-six members representing
several counties and boroughs were elected. Dublin, Meath, Westmeath,
Louth, Kildare, Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford, and Tipperary
were the only counties represented, each of them having returned two
members. Of the boroughs represented seventeen were situated in
Leinster, eight in Munster, two, Athenry and Galway, in Connaught, and
one only, namely, Carrickfergus, was situated in Ulster. Twenty-three
temporal peers were summoned to take their seats, all of whom belonged
to Anglo-Irish families except O'Brien of Thomond and MacGillapatrick
of Upper Ossory. According to the record preserved in the Rolls'
Office, three archbishops and seventeen bishops took their seats, the
only absentees being Clogher, Derry, Raphoe, Kilmore, Dromore,
Clonmacnoise, Achonry, Kilmacduagh, Kilfenora, and Mayo. Armagh was
vacant, Primate Dowdall having died in August 1558, and his successor
not having been appointed by Rome till February 1560. But for many
reasons it is impossible to believe that the twenty bishops mentioned
in this list were present at the Dublin Parliament. At best it is only
a rather inaccurate account of those who were summoned to take their
seats, as is shown by the fact that for seven of the Sees no names of
the bishops are returned; and that Down and Connor are represented as
having sent two bishops although both Sees were united for more than a
century. If it be borne in mind that according to the returns in the
State Paper Office four archbishops and nineteen bishops are
represented as having attended the Parliament of 1541,[22] although,
in his official report to the king, the Deputy stated expressly that
only two archbishops and twelve bishops were present;[23] and also
that gross errors have been detected in the lists of spiritual peers
supposed to have been in attendance at the Parliaments of 1569[24] and
1585,[25] it will be obvious to any unprejudiced mind that the return
for the Parliament of 1560 cannot be accepted as accurate.
No reliable account of the proceedings of the Parliament of 1560 has
as yet been discovered. It met on the 11th January, was adjourned on
the following day till the 1st of February, when it was dissolved.[26]
It is more probable, however, that it lasted till the 12th February.
According to the Loftus manuscripts the Parliament was dissolved "by
reason of [its] aversion to the Protestant religion, and their
ecclesiastical government." "At the very beginning of this
Parliament," according to another distinguished authority, "Her
Majesty's well wishers found that most of the nobility and Commons
were divided in opinion about the ecclesiastical government, which
caused the Earl of Sussex to dissolve them, and to go over to England
to consult Her Majesty about the affairs of this kingdom."[27] This
latter statement is confirmed by the fact that the Earl of Sussex
certainly left Ireland in February 1560. And yet, according to the
accounts that have come down to us, it was this assembly that gave
Protestantism its first legal sanction in Ireland. It abolished papal
supremacy, restored to the queen the full exercise of spiritual
jurisdiction as enjoyed by Henry VIII. and Edward VI., enjoined on all
persons holding ecclesiastical or secular offices the oath of royal
supremacy under pain of deprivation, imposed the penalty of forfeiture
of all goods for the first offence on those who spoke in favour of the
Pope, the punishment laid down for /praemunire/ in case of a second
such offence, and death for the third offence, and enjoined the use of
the Book of Common Prayer in all the churches of the kingdom. Any
clergyman who refused to follow the prescribed form of worship was
liable to forfeit one year's revenue and to be sent to prison for the
first offence, to total deprivation and imprisonment at will for the
second, and for the third to perpetual imprisonment. The laity were
obliged to attend the service under threat of excommunication and of a
fine of twelve pence to be levied off their goods and chattels by the
church-wardens. The First Fruits were restored to the crown, and the
formality of canonical election of bishops was abolished. For the
future in case of a vacancy the right of appointment was vested
directly in the sovereign.[28]
In view of the fact that the cities and counties from which the
members were returned resisted stubbornly the introduction of the
English service, that most of the lay peers clung tenaciously to the
Mass, some of them, like the Earl of Kildare, being charged with this
crime a few months after the dissolution of Parliament, and that the
bishops with one or two exceptions, opposed the change, the wonder is
how such measures could have received the sanction of Parliament.
According to a well-supported tradition they reached the statute book
only by fraud, having been rushed through on a holiday, on which most
of the members thought that no session would be held. Later on, when
objection was taken to such a method, the Deputy, it is said, silenced
the resisters by assuring them that they were mere formalities which
must remain a dead letter.[29]
It is sometimes said that the Irish bishops of the period acknowledged
Elizabeth's title of "supreme governor in spirituals," and abandoned
the Mass for the Book of Common Prayer. Nothing, however, could be
farther from the truth. With the single exception of Curwen, from whom
nothing better could have been expected considering his past
variations, it cannot be proved for certain that any of the bishops
proved disloyal to their trust. There is some ground for suspicion in
case of Christopher Bodkin of Tuam and Thomas O'Fihil, both of whom
were represented as having taken the oath, but the strong
recommendation of the former to the Holy See by the Jesuit, Father
David Wolf, and the fact that the latter is consistently passed over
by contemporary writers in their enumeration of the Protestant
bishops, show clearly that their lapse, if lapse there might have
been, was more or less involuntary. The fact that some of the bishops,
as for example Roland Fitzgerald of Cashel, Lacy of Limerick, Walsh of
Waterford, De Burgo of Clonfert, Devereux of Ferns, O'Fihil of
Leighlin, and Bodkin of Tuam, were appointed on government commissions
does not prove that they had ceased to be Catholics, just as the
appointment of Browne on a similar commission during the reign of
Queen Mary[30] does not prove that he had ceased to be a Protestant.
That the Irish bishops remained true to the faith is clear from some
of the official papers of the period. In 1564 two of the
commissioners, who had been appointed to enforce the Acts of Royal
Supremacy and Uniformity of Worship, reported that there were only two
worthy bishops in Ireland, namely, Adam Loftus, who had been intruded
into Armagh but who dare not visit his diocese, and Brady, who had
been appointed by the queen to Meath. "The rest of the bishops," they
say, "are all Irish, we need say no more." In the following year it
was announced that Curwen of Dublin, Loftus, and Brady were the only
bishops zealous "in setting forth God's glory and the true Christian
religion"; and in 1566 Sir Henry Sidney reported that, with the
exception of Loftus and Brady, he found none others "willing to reform
their clergy, or to teach any wholesome doctrine, or to serve their
country or common-wealth as magistrates."[31] In a document[32] drawn
up by one of Cecil's spies in 1571 the bishops of the province of
Armagh, Cashel, and Tuam are all described as /Catholici et
Confoederati/, while in the province of Dublin, Loftus, Daly,
Cavenagh, and Gafney, the three latter of whom had been intruded by
the queen into Kildare, Leighlin, and Ossory, are described as
Protestants, as is also Devereux of Ferns, about whose orthodoxy there
may be some doubt, though unfortunately there can be very little about
his evil life.
Hardly had the Acts of Royal Supremacy and Uniformity been passed when
a commission was addressed to a number of judges and officials to
administer the oath of supremacy. Of the bishops within the sphere of
English jurisdiction at this period Curwen had already given his
adhesion to these measures, William Walsh of Meath promptly refused,
as did also Thomas Leverous of Kildare (Feb. 1560).[33] Later on, when
the Lord Deputy returned from London, another attempt was made to
induce these bishops to change their minds, but without success. In
reply to the Deputy the Bishop of Kildare declared that all
jurisdiction was derived from Christ, "and since Christ did not deem
it right to confer spiritual authority on women, not even on His own
Blessed Mother, how, he asked, could it be believed that the Queen of
England was the supreme governor of the Church?" Thereupon the Deputy
threatened him with deprivation and the consequent loss of his
revenues unless he made his submission, but the bishop reminded him of
the words of Sacred Scripture, "What shall it profit a man to gain the
whole world if he suffer the loss of his own soul?"[34] He was driven
from the See, and for a time taught a private school in the County
Limerick, but he returned to his diocese, where he died near Nass
(1577).[35] The Bishop of Meath continued to oppose the religious
policy of the government. In 1565 he was summoned once more by the
commissioners, but "he openly protested before all the people the same
day that he would never communicate or be present where the service
should be ministered, for it was against his conscience and against
God's word." As he was a man "of great credit among his countrymen,
upon whom in causes of religion they wholly depend," he was thrown
into prison,[36] where he languished in great suffering till 1572,
when he contrived to make his escape to France. Later on funds were
supplied by the Holy See to enable him to continue his journey to
Spain. He died amongst his brethren, the Cistercians, at Alcalá in
1577. John O'Tonory, too, who had been appointed to Ossory after the
precipitate flight of Bale, seems to have given offence to the
government. Though the latter preferred to devote himself to
historical studies after the accession of Elizabeth rather than to
entrust himself to the tender mercies of the people of Kilkenny, his
rival does not seem to have been regarded by the government as the
lawful Bishop of Ossory. His name does appear on a list of
ecclesiastical commissioners appointed in 1564,[37] but this seems to
have been a mistake on the part of the officials or possibly a bait
thrown out to induce O'Tonory to make his submission. At any rate it
is certain that in 1561 the Bishopric of Ossory was returned as
vacant, and it was suggested that the appointment should be conferred
on the Dean of Kilkenny,[38] and in July 1565, before the death of
O'Tonory, in the instructions drawn up for Sir Henry Sidney and
corrected by Cecil, her Majesty is made to say that the "Bishopric of
Ossory has been long vacant."[39] As this can refer only to the death
of Bale, who died in 1563, it is clear that O'Tonory was bracketed
with Walsh and Leverous as far as Elizabeth's ministers were
concerned. Had it been possible for the government to do so, similar
measures would have been taken against the bishops in the other parts
of Ireland, but, faced as it was with Shane O'Neill in the North and a
threatened confederation of the whole Geraldine forces in the South,
it was deemed prudent not to precipitate a crisis by a violent
anti-Catholic propaganda in those parts of the country not yet subject
to English influence.[40]
Commissioners were appointed to administer the oath of supremacy to
the bishops, the judges, and higher officials, to the justices of the
peace, etc., in Kildare (1560), and to the officials in Westmeath.[41]
But unless bishops could be found willing to take the place of those
who refused to accept the new laws, no progress could be made. Curwen
of Dublin, following his old rule of accepting the sovereign's
religion as the true one, submitted to the Act of Supremacy and the
Act of Uniformity. In accordance with the queen's instructions he
removed the pictures and statues from Christ's Church and St.
Patrick's, blotted out the paintings and frescos on the walls, so as
to cover up all signs of "idolatry" and to prepare a back-ground for
carefully assorted Scriptural texts. He was not, however, happy in his
new position. He petitioned to be transferred from Dublin to Hereford,
basing his claim on the fact that "he was the man that of his coat
hath surlyest stood to the crown either in England or Ireland."[42]
But his petition was not granted. Two years later Adam Loftus, who
though nominally Archbishop of Armagh feared to visit his diocese,
charged Curwen with serious crimes which he was ashamed to
particularise, and probably as a result of this the queen instructed
her Deputy to induce him to resign on the promise of an annual pension
of £200 (1563).[43] But Curwen, fearing that "the leaving of the
archbishopric and not receiving another" might lead people to believe
that he was deprived, stood out boldly for better terms. Hugh Brady,
the queen's Bishop of Meath, then proceeded to attack him. According
to him everybody in Dublin from the archbishop to the petty canons
were "dumb dogs," "living enemies to the truth," "neither teaching nor
feeding any save themselves," and "disguised dissemblers."[44] As this
did not produce any effect, he wrote once more, demanding that the
authorities should "call home the old unprofitable workman," a
petition in which he was supported by Adam Loftus.[45] Their prayers
were heard at last, and Curwen was translated to Oxford. When the news
of his recall was announced to him he merely expressed the wish that
he could get "the last half-year's rent of the Bishopric of Oxford,"
and that he should be allowed to change quickly so that "he might
provide fire for the winter and hay for his horses."[46]
The See of Armagh which was vacant by the death of Primate Dowdall was
conferred by the Pope on Donat O'Teige (Feb. 1560). The latter was
consecrated at Rome, and arrived in Ireland probably towards the end
of the same year. In the summer of 1561 he was present at Armagh with
the army of Shane O'Neill whom he encouraged to go forward boldly
against the forces of the Deputy. Needless to say such a primate was
not acceptable to Elizabeth who determined to appoint one Adam Loftus,
then a chaplain to the Earl of Sussex. Loftus was a young man only
twenty-eight years of age, who had made a favourable impression on the
queen as well by his beauty as by his learning. Letters were
dispatched immediately to the Chapter of Armagh commanding the canons
to elect him, but as they refused to obey the order, nothing remained
except to appoint him by letters patent (1562). As he dare not visit
the greater part of his diocese he applied for and received the
Deanship of St. Patrick's, Dublin, and about the same time he became a
suitor for his brother that he might get the rectory of Dunboyne. In
1563 Elizabeth thought of changing him to Kildare, and in 1566 the
Deputy recommended him for Meath, believing that "he would thankfully
receive the exchange, and willingly embase his estate to increase so
much his revenue." But Loftus had set his heart on securing the
Archbishop of Dublin. Time and again he made the most damaging charges
against Curwen so as to secure his removal, although when the removal
was arranged he learned to his surprise that the authorities intended
to promote not himself, but his fellow-labourer, Hugh Brady of Meath.
In April 1566, when he thought that Brady had no chance of succeeding
to Dublin, he had recommended him for the appointment, but in
September, when he learned that there was danger of his recommendation
being followed, he wrote to warn Cecil that "if it would please his
honour to pause a while he could show such matter as he would, except
it were for the Church of God's sake, be loath to utter by any means,
but least of all by writing, upon knowledge whereof the matter, he
knows, should go no further." Brady having learned that Loftus had
gone to England wrote to Cecil to put him on his guard against
believing any charges against him that might be made by the Primate.
He returned in November without having succeeded, only to find that
Shane O'Neill had overrun his diocese so that it was not worth more
than £20 a year. He petitioned to be allowed to resign, "for," he
said, "neither is it [Armagh] worth anything to me, nor [am] I able to
do any good in it, for that altogether it lieth among the Irish." At
last in 1567 his wishes were granted, and he became Archbishop of
Dublin. But he was still dissatisfied. As the diocese, according to
him, was worth only £400 (Irish) a year (over £30,000) and had only
two hundred and forty acres of mensal land, he insisted that he should
be allowed to hold with it the Deanship of St. Patrick's, a request,
however, that was refused peremptorily by the queen.[47] In Dublin he
continued the same policy of grabbing everything for himself, his
relatives and dependents until at last the chapter, weary of his
importunities, obliged him to promise not to ask for anything more.
Fortunately his guarantee was entered in the records, as he appeared
soon again to solicit one last favour.
In place of Dr. Walsh of Meath, who refused to take the oath of
supremacy, Hugh Brady was appointed (1563). In his letters to Cecil he
complained that the payment of his fees and the expenses of the
consecration would beggar him, that he was opposed by both the clergy
and laity of his diocese in such a stubborn way that he would "rather
be a stipendiary priest in England than Bishop of Meath in Ireland,"
and that unless her Majesty pardoned the debts she was claiming he
must lose all hope, as he was very poor and obliged to entertain right
royally, "for these people," he wrote, "will have the one or the
other, I mean they will either eat my meat and drink or else myself."
The relations existing between Loftus of Armagh and the Bishop of
Meath were of the most strained kind. When Brady learned that Loftus
had been made Dean of St. Patrick's he addressed an indignant protest
to Cecil, but as both Loftus and himself aspired to become Archbishop
of Dublin, both united to attack Curwen so as to secure his removal.
Grave charges were made by Loftus against Brady in 1566, but once he
had attained the object of his desires, namely his promotion to
Dublin, he had no scruple in attaching his name to a very laudatory
commendation of Brady's labours and qualifications (1567).[48]
A certain Dr. Craik was appointed by Elizabeth to Kildare in
opposition to Dr. Leverous. The new bishop was far from being content
with the honour that had been conferred upon him. Writing to his
patron, Lord Robert Dudley, he complained that he was in continual and
daily torment owing to the fact that he was bishop in a diocese where
he could neither preach to the people nor could the people understand,
and where he had no one to assist him. He succeeded in securing for
himself the Deanship of St. Patrick's in Dublin, and was a strong
suitor for the Bishopric of Meath. Not content with his revenues, he
sold most of the episcopal lands in Kildare so that he reduced the
diocese "to a most shameful state of poverty."[49] Finally, he went
over to England to petition the queen for a remission of his fees, but
he was thrown into the Marshalsea prison from which he was released
only a few months before his death.[50] Donald Cavenagh was appointed
by the queen to Leighlin (1567), where he devoted himself principally
to enriching himself by disposing of the diocesan property; and John
Devereux, who, according to Loftus, was most unfit owing to the fact
that he had been deprived of the Deanship of Ferns "for confessed
whoredom,"[51] was appointed Bishop of Ferns (1566).
With men such as these in charge of the new religious movement it was
almost impossible that it could succeed. In spite of the various royal
commissions appointed between the years 1560 and 1564 to secure
submission to the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity, the people still
clung tenaciously to the old faith. Though Elizabeth and her advisers
were anxious to destroy the Catholic religion in Ireland they deemed
it imprudent to do so immediately in view of the threatening attitude
of O'Neill and of several of the other Irish and Anglo-Irish nobles.
In case of the Act of Uniformity it had been laid down expressly that
in places where the people did not understand Irish the service might
be read in Latin, and as not even the people in Kildare knew English
at this time,[52] it followed that outside of Dublin the Book of
Common Prayer was not obligatory. Indeed outside Dublin, Meath,
Kildare, and portion of Armagh very little attempt seems to have been
made to put these laws into execution. From the draft instructions
drawn up for Sir Henry Sidney in 1565 it is perfectly clear that
outside the Pale territory zealous measures had not been taken to
enforce the new doctrines, and that even within the Pale the
authorities were not inclined to press matters to extremes. In the
various agreements concluded between Shane O'Neill and Elizabeth,
O'Neill was not called upon to renounce the Pope. It was thought to be
much more prudent to pursue a policy of toleration until the English
power could be placed upon a sound footing, and that if this were once
accomplished the religious question could be settled without much
difficulty.
Although the Lord Deputy was empowered to punish those who refused to
attend the English service by imprisonment (1561),[53] he was obliged
to report in the following year that the people were "without
discipline," and "utterly devoid of religion," that they came "to
divine service as to a May game," that the ministers were held in
contempt on account of their greediness and want of qualifications,
that "the wise fear more the impiety of the licentious professors than
the superstition of the erroneous Papists," and that nothing less than
a Parliamentary decree rigorously enforced could remedy the evil.[54]
The commissioners who had been appointed to enforce the religious
innovations reported in 1564 that the people were so addicted to their
old superstitions that they could not be induced to hear the new
gospel, that the judges and lawyers, however, had promised to enforce
the laws, that they had cautioned them not to interfere with the
simple multitude at first but only "with one or two boasting Mass men
in every shire," and that with the exception of Curwen, Loftus, and
Brady, all the rest of the bishops were Irish about whom it was not
necessary to say anything more."[55] In a document presented to the
privy council in England by the Lord Deputy and council of Ireland
(1566) a good account is given of the progress and results of the so-
called Reformation. They reported that Curwen, Loftus, and Brady were
diligent in their pastoral office, but that "howbeit it [the work]
goeth slowly forward within their said three dioceses by reason of the
former errors and superstitions inveterated and leavened in the
people's hearts, and in [on account of] want of livings sufficient for
fit entertainment of well-chosen and learned curates amongst them, for
that these livings of cure, being most part appropriated benefices in
the queen's majesty's possession, are let by leases to farmers with
allowance or reservation of very small stipends or entertainments for
the vicars or curates, besides the decay of the chancels, and also of
the churches universally in ruins, and some wholly down. And out of
their said dioceses, the remote parts of Munster, Connaught, and other
Irish countries and borders thereof order cannot yet so well be taken
with the residue till the countries be first brought into more civil
and dutiful obedience."[56]
In Dublin, where it might be expected that the government could
enforce its decrees, the people refused to conform, and even in 1565,
after several commissions had finished their labours, it was admitted
that the canons and clergy of St. Patrick's were still Papists. From
Meath the queen's bishop received such a bad reception that he
declared he would much rather have been a stipendiary priest in
England than Bishop of Meath. "Oh what a sea of trouble," he wrote,
"have I entered into, storms rising on every side; the ungodly lawyers
are not only sworn enemies to the truth, but also for the lack of due
execution of law, the overthrowers of the country; the ragged clergy
are stubborn and ignorantly blind, so as there is left little hope of
their amendment; the simple multitude is through continual ignorance
hardly to be won so as I find /angustiae undique/." But while Brady
was involved in a sea of difficulties, the Catholics of Meath rallied
round their lawful bishop, Dr. Walsh. According to the report of
Loftus, who ordered his arrest (1565), "he was one of great credit
amongst his countrymen, and upon whom as touching causes of religion
they wholly depended." Loftus petitioned to be recalled from Armagh
because it was not worth anything to him nor was he able to do any
good in it, since it lay among the Irish; and Craik, who was appointed
to Kildare, announced that he could not address the people because
they were not acquainted with the English language, nor had he any
Irish clergymen who would assist him in spreading the new gospel.[57]
In 1564 several bodies of commissioners were appointed to visit
certain portions of Leinster, Munster, and Connaught to enforce the
Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity, and about the same time a royal
proclamation was issued enforcing the fine of twelve pence for each
offence on those who refused to attend Protestant service on Sundays
and holidays. Whether these commissioners acted or not is not clear,
but undoubtedly the commissioners appointed for the Pale made a
serious attempt to carry out their instructions. They brought together
juries chosen out of the parishes situated within the sphere of
English influence "and upon the return of their several verdicts they
found many and great offences committed against her Majesty's laws and
proceedings. But among all their presentments they brought nothing
against the nobility and chief gentlemen, who yet have contemned her
Majesty's most godly laws and proceedings more manifestly than any of
the rest, and therefore they determined to call them before them, and
to minister to them certain articles, unto which they required the
nobility to answer upon their honours and duty without oath. The rest
of the gentlemen answered upon their oaths. And when they brought
their several answers, they found by their own confession, that the
most part of them had continually, since the last Parliament,
frequented the Mass and other services and ceremonies inhibited by her
Majesty's laws and injunctions, and that very few of them ever
received the Holy Communion, or used such kind of public prayer and
service as is presently established by law." "Whereupon," Loftus
added, "I was once in mind (for that they be so linked together in
friendship and alliance one with another, that we shall never be able
to correct them by the ordinary course of the statute) to cess upon
every one of them, according to the quality of their several offences,
a good round sum of money, to be paid to your Majesty's use, and to
bind them in sure bonds and recognisances ever hereafter dutifully to
observe your Majesty's most godly laws and injunctions. But for that
they be the nobility and chief gentlemen of the English Pale, and the
greatest number too; I thought fit not to deal any further with them
until your Majesty's pleasure were therein specially known."[58] So
long as her Majesty required the noblemen of the Pale to fight against
Shane O'Neill and the other Irish chieftains she was too prudent to
insist on strict acceptance of her religious innovations.
In 1560 Pius IV. determined to send a special commissary into Ireland
in the person of the Irish Jesuit, Father David Wolf, who was a native
of Limerick, highly recommended to the Holy See by the general of the
Society. The commissary was instructed to visit and encourage the
bishops, clergy, and chief noblemen of the country to stand firm; he
was to draw up lists of suitable candidates for bishoprics, to
re-organise some of the religious houses and hospitals, and to
establish grammar schools where the youth of the country might receive
a sound education. He left Rome in August 1560, and arrived in Cork in
January 1561. According to his report the people flocked to him in
thousands to listen to his sermons, to get absolution, and to procure
the re-validation of invalid marriages. For so far, he was able to
assure the Roman authorities, heresy had made no progress among the
masses. From Cork he went to Limerick, and from Limerick he journeyed
through Connaught. During the course of this journey he learned a
great deal that was favourable about Bodkin the Archbishop of Tuam and
Roland De Burgo of Clonfert. He visited the greater part of the
country with the exception of the Pale, and, as he found it impossible
to go there, he empowered one of the priests to absolve from reserved
cases, particularly from the crimes of heresy and schism. In 1568 he
was arrested and thrown into prison together with Archbishop Creagh of
Armagh. Pius V. instructed his nuncio in Spain to request the good
offices of Philip II. to procure their release, but apparently the
representations of the Spanish government were without effect. In
1572, however, Father Wolf succeeded in making his escape from prison,
and before setting sail for Spain he had the happiness of receiving
the humble submission of William Casey, who had been promoted to the
See of Limerick by Edward VI. From Tarbet the papal commissary sailed
for Spain. Later on he returned once more to Ireland, and was active
in assisting James Fitzmaurice. He is supposed to have died in Spain
in 1578 or 1579.[59]
Father Wolf had been instructed specially to recommend to the Holy See
those priests whom he deemed qualified for appointment to vacant
bishoprics. This was a matter of essential importance, and as such he
devoted to it his particular care. Thomas O'Herlihy was appointed to
Ross (1561); Donald McCongail or Magongail, the companion of his
journeys, was appointed to Raphoe (1562); the Dominicans O'Harte and
O'Crean were provided to the Sees of Achonry and Elphin in the same
year at his request, and during the time he remained in Ireland his
advice with regard to episcopal nominations was followed as a rule. He
was instructed also to establish grammar schools throughout the
country, and he was not long in Ireland till he realised the necessity
of doing something for education, and above all for the education of
candidates for the priesthood. In 1564 he obtained from Pius IV. the
Bull, /Dum exquisita/,[60] empowering himself and the Archbishop of
Armagh to erect colleges and universities in Ireland on the model and
with all the privileges of the Universities of Paris and Louvain. For
this purpose they were empowered to apply the revenues of monasteries,
and of benefices, and to make use of the ecclesiastical property
generally. Unfortunately owing to the disturbed condition of the
country, and the subsequent arrest of both the archbishop and the
papal commissary, it was impossible to carry out this scheme.
In the earlier sessions of the Council of Trent the Archbishop of
Armagh had taken a leading part. When the Council opened for its final
sessions in January 1562 Ireland was represented by O'Herlihy of Ross,
McCongail of Raphoe, and O'Harte of Achonry. Nor were these mere idle
spectators of the proceedings. They joined in the warm discussions
that took place regarding the Sacrifice of the Mass, Communion under
both kinds, the source of episcopal jurisdiction and of the episcopal
obligation of residence, the erection of seminaries, and the
matrimonial impediments. It is said that it was mainly owing to their
exertions that the impediment of spiritual relationship was
retained.[61] After their return attempts were made to convoke
provincial synods to promulgate the decrees of the Council of Trent.
In 1566 apparently some of the prelates of Connaught assembled and
proclaimed them in the province of Tuam; in 1587 the Bishops of
Clogher, Derry, Raphoe, Down and Connor, Ardagh, Kilmore, and Achonry,
together with a large number of clergy met in the diocese of Clogher
for a similar purpose, and in 1614 they were proclaimed for the
province of Dublin by a synod convoked at Kilkenny.[62]
In 1560, and for several years after, the state of affairs in Ireland
was so threatening that Elizabeth and her advisers were more concerned
about maintaining a foothold in the country than about the abolition
of the Mass. In the North Shane O'Neill had succeeded on the death of
his father (1559), and seemed determined to vindicate for himself to
the fullest the rights of the O'Neill over the entire province of
Ulster. The Earl of Kildare refused to abandon the Mass, and was in
close correspondence both with his kinsman the Earl of Desmond, and
with several of the Irish chieftains. It was feared that a great
Catholic confederation might be formed against Elizabeth, and that
Scotland, France, Spain, and the Pope might be induced to lend their
aid.[63] Instructions were therefore issued to the Lord Deputy to
induce the Earl of Kildare to come to London where he could be
detained, and to stir up the minor princes of Ulster to weaken the
power of O'Neill. By detaining men like the Earls of Kildare, Desmond,
and Ormond in London, by stirring up rivalries and dissensions amongst
Irishmen, and above all by getting possession of the children of both
the Anglo-Irish and Irish nobles and bringing them to England for
their education, it was hoped that Ireland might be both Anglicised
and Protestantised.[64]
The most urgent question, however, was the reduction of Shane O'Neill.
At first Elizabeth was inclined to come to terms with him, but the
Earl of Sussex in the hope of overcoming him by force had him
proclaimed a traitor, and advanced against him with a large force
(1561). He seized Armagh, took possession of the cathedral, and
converted it into a strong fortress. O'Neill soon appeared accompanied
by the lawful archbishop, who exhorted the Irish troops to withstand
the invader. The English army suffered a bad defeat, and after the
failure of several attempts to reduce O'Neill by force, the Deputy
determined to try other methods. He hired an individual named Neil
Gray to murder O'Neill and acquainted Elizabeth with what he had
done,[65] but O'Neill was fortunate enough to elude the assassin. At
length O'Neill was induced to go to England (1562), where he was
forced to agree to certain terms; but, as he discovered that he had
been deceived throughout the entire negotiations, he felt free on his
return to assert his claims to Ulster. Elizabeth was not unwilling to
yield to nearly all his demands, even to the extent of removing Loftus
from the Archbishopric of Armagh and allowing the appointment of
O'Neill's own nominee. The Earl of Sussex, however, was opposed to
peace. Having been forced, against his will, to come to terms with
O'Neill (1563), he determined to have recourse once more to the method
of assassination. A present of poisoned wine was sent to O'Neill by
the Deputy as a token of his good will,[66] and it was only by a happy
chance that O'Neill and his friends were not done to death. The new
Deputy, Sir Henry Sidney, succeeded in stirring up O'Donnell and the
other Ulster princes against O'Neill by promising them the protection
of England. Having been defeated in battle by O'Donnell in 1567, Shane
fled for aid to the Scots of Antrim, on whom he had inflicted more
than one severe defeat, and while with them he was set upon and slain.
By his disappearance the power of the Irish in Ulster was broken, and
the way was at last prepared for subduing the northern portion of
Ireland.
In the South of Ireland the young Earl of Desmond was in a
particularly strong position, but, unfortunately, he was personally
weak and vacillating, and by playing off the Earl of Ormond against
him Elizabeth was able to keep him in subjection to England, to use
him against Shane O'Neill, and to prevent him from taking part in a
national or religious confederation. In 1567 the Earl was arrested and
sent to London, where he was detained as a prisoner. Although the Lord
Deputy allowed himself to be received at Limerick by Bishop Lacy with
full Catholic ceremonial, still the appointment of Protestant
commissioners to administer the territories of Desmond, and the
intrusion of a queen's archbishop into the See of Cashel (1567) made
it clear that the government was determined to force the new religion
on the people. About the same time the Pope took steps to strengthen
the Catholics of Munster by appointing Maurice Fitzgibbon,
commendatory abbot of a Cistercian monastery in Mayo, to the vacant
See of Cashel. The new archbishop was in close correspondence with the
Desmond party in Ireland, and with Philip II. of Spain. On his arrival
in Ireland (1569) he found that James Fitzmaurice, the cousin of the
Earl of Desmond, was organising a confederation to defend the Catholic
religion. MacCarthy Mor, the O'Briens of Thomond, the sons of the Earl
of Clanrickard, and Sir Edmund Butler had promised their assistance.
The new archbishop came to Cashel, took possession of his cathedral in
spite of the presence of the royal intruder, and even went so far as
to force the latter to attend a solemn Mass in the cathedral. This is
the only foundation for the story that he suffered personal violence
to MacCaghwell or that he captured him and brought him a prisoner to
Spain.[67]
The Earl of Sidney mustered his forces to proceed against the rebels,
and the Earl of Ormond was sent over from England to detach his
brother Sir Edmund Butler from his alliance with the Desmonds. The
Archbishop of Cashel was dispatched into Spain to seek the assistance
of Philip II. (1569), and he brought with him a document purporting to
be signed by thirteen archbishops and bishops, and by most of the
leading Irish and Anglo-Irish nobles in Leinster, Munster, and
Connaught, asking the King of Spain to assist them in their defence of
the Catholic religion, and offering to accept as their sovereign any
Spanish or Burgundian prince whom Philip II. might wish to
nominate.[68] The fact that the Pope had published in February 1570
the Bull, /Regnans in excelsis/ announcing the excommunication and
deposition of Queen Elizabeth served to encourage the Catholics of
Munster, but notwithstanding this sentence the archbishop failed to
obtain any effective assistance either from Spain or from the Pope.
Undaunted by the ill-success of his agent, Fitzmaurice issued a
proclamation addressed to the prelates, princes, and lords of Ireland,
announcing that he had taken up arms against a heretical ruler who had
been excommunicated and deposed by the Pope, that a large body of
English Catholics were in rebellion or were ready to rise, that he had
been appointed by the Pope captain-general of the Irish Catholic
forces, and that it behoved them to rally to his standard to defend
the Catholic faith, to suppress all false teachers and schismatical
services, and to deliver their country from heresy and tyranny.[69]
Fitzmaurice was, however, disappointed in his hopes. The Earl of
Ormond hastened over to Ireland to hold the Butler territories for the
queen. Many of his confederates deserted him or were overthrown, and
after a long struggle he was overcome and obliged to make his
submission (1573-74).
In 1575 James Fitzmaurice fled from Ireland to seek assistance from
some of the Catholic rulers of the Continent. His petitions met,
however, with scant success in Paris, Lisbon, and Madrid, and it was
only from Pope Gregory XIII. that he received any promise of men and
arms. Already an English adventurer named Stukely had been intriguing
with the Pope to obtain a small army and fleet for a descent upon
Ireland, and the celebrated English theologian and controversialist,
Nicholas Sander,[70] who was working at the Roman Court on behalf of
the English exiles, also favoured the attempt. The expedition started
in 1578, but when Stukely, who was in supreme command, reached Lisbon,
he joined his forces with those of the King of Portugal in an attack
on the Moors, in the course of which he was killed, and his army was
destroyed. By the exertions of Sander and of the nuncio at Madrid,
Fitzmaurice was enabled to fit out a small ship, and in 1579,
accompanied by Sander as papal representative, he arrived in Dingle.
At once he addressed an appeal to the people to join him in fighting
for the faith against a heretical sovereign. So terrified were the
vast body of the noblemen by the punishments inflicted on them already
and by the fear of losing all their property in case of another defeat
that the proclamation met with only a poor response. Ormond joined Sir
William Pelham against the rebels, as did also several of the old
enemies of the Geraldines. Fitzmaurice himself was killed early in the
campaign by the Burkes of Castleconnell, and although the Earl of
Desmond at last decided to take up arms, there was no longer any hope
of success. For years the way was carried on with relentless cruelty
by Pelham and afterwards by Lord Grey de Wilton; the crops and the
cattle were destroyed in a hope of starving out the scattered
followers of Desmond, and a force composed of Spaniards and Italians
were butchered after they agreed to surrender the fortress of
Dunanore. Viscount Baltinglass hastened to take up arms against the
Deputy, and with the assistance of Fiach MacHugh O'Byrne he inflicted
a severe defeat on Lord Grey at Glenmalure (1580). But in the end the
rebellion was completely suppressed, and the Earl of Desmond was taken
and murdered (1583). Two years before, Nicholas Sander, the papal
representative, died in a wood near Limerick after having received the
last sacraments at the hands of the Bishop of Killaloe.[71]
After the death of Shane O'Neill Elizabeth's ministers deemed it
advisable to summon a second Parliament (1569). Unfortunately no list
of the members returned for the boroughs and counties has been
preserved, but from the account that has come down to us of the
opening debates it is clear that the most elaborate precautions were
taken to pack the assembly. New boroughs, which had not been
recognised hitherto as corporations, were created; the sheriffs and
deputies appointed by the government returned themselves as fit and
proper persons to sit in Parliament, and in a large number of cases
English officials and lawyers, who had never seen the constituencies
they were supposed to represent, were returned by the sheriffs at the
instigation of the Deputy and his agents.[72] From the list of peers
it would seem as if twenty-three archbishops and bishops took their
seats, but the list is so full of glaring inaccuracies that it cannot
be relied upon. At best it represents merely the number who were
entitled to sit, and was based entirely on the list drawn up for the
Parliaments of 1541 and 1560.[73]