1570 AND 1571.
[Sidenote: Fitton, President of Connaught.]
Pollard's illness had delayed the formation of a presidential Government
in Munster, but Sir Edward Fitton was appointed to Connaught, with Ralph
Rokeby for a Chief Justice. When the decadence of the southern rebellion
enabled him to begin work, he did not show much talent for government,
being an ill-tempered, quarrelsome man, not at all fitted for the
delicate duty of turning Irish into English order. The townsmen of Galway
he found loyal and peaceable enough, but the people of the province were
cold in religion, and inclined to superstition. By way of encouragement
he burned the 'idols' in the churches. The friars were nominally
expelled, really driven into hiding. More praiseworthy were his efforts
to make the clergy either put away or marry their female
companions--efforts extended to the laity, who, from the Earl of
Clanricarde downwards, seem to have held canonical marriage in contempt.
Malefactors were executed, a kind of census taken, and a provost-marshal
appointed to hang out of hand all who could find no one to answer for
them. 'Such as do come unto us, we cause to cut their glybbes, which we
do think the first token of obedience.' Clanricarde and O'Connor Sligo
professed some agreement with Fitton's course, but O'Rourke held aloof,
while Thomond gave every possible opposition, even to the extent of
detaining Captain Apsley and his men on their return from Kerry, and of
threatening to capture the President himself. Proclamation had been made
for holding assizes at Ennis, where the sheriff, Teig O'Brien, made store
of provisions for the President. Thomond, who was at Clare close by,
refused to attend, and when the assizes were over friendly partisans
conducted Fitton through the Burren Mountains, the Earl hanging on his
skirts and skirmishing as far as Gort. He was said to be acting under
orders from the Duke of Norfolk, and no doubt his conduct had reference
to the rising in the North, and to the general attack on those whom
Fitzmaurice called Huguenots. Fitton was shut up in Galway, and John
Burke, Clanricarde's rebellious son, rode up to the gate, but refused to
enter. Gilbert having departed, Fitzmaurice gathered a new force, entered
and spoiled Kilmallock; and there seemed every prospect of a
conflagration throughout the West. Sidney resolved to take Ormonde at his
word, and to employ him in putting down this fresh disturbance.[178]
[Sidenote: Ormonde is reconciled to Sidney,]
'My Lord Deputy and I,' Ormonde wrote to Cecil, 'brake our minds at
Leighlin last together before some of our trusty friends, and after
promising never to call quarrels past to rehearsal, we vowed the renewal
of our old friendship. So, for my part, I will bring no matter past to
rehearsal.' Thereupon he begged the intercession of Cecil and other
statesmen for his misguided brothers. Edward was still at large.
'I think,' said Sidney, 'God have ordained him a sacrifice for the rest.
What honour were it to that house if the Earl would bring in that
brother's head with his own hands? That were indeed a purging sacrifice.'
It was a sacrifice which Ormonde did not feel called upon to offer; but
he was willing enough to serve the Queen, and received a commission to
reduce his cousin, the Earl of Thomond.
[Sidenote: and receives a commission.]
He received an ample commission, having power to proclaim rebels, to
parley, protect, or prosecute as he might think expedient. After a
month's preparation he was in a condition to take the field. He had no
help from the Government but 300 kerne and a battering-ram, which he did
not use. The Mayor of Limerick made difficulties about boats to convey
the guns across the Shannon, and Ormonde marched into Thomond without
them. The terror of his name and the knowledge that artillery was behind
did all that was necessary, but he complained that nothing was done
unless he did it himself, and that Sir Thomas Roe Fitzgerald was
particularly useless. Thomond at once offered to give up all prisoners,
English and Irish, to surrender all castles, provided he might be allowed
to go to England and plead his own cause with the Queen, and to serve at
once against James Fitzmaurice. He stipulated for life and liberty for
himself, that Ormonde should have the custody of his country, that his
enemy, Teig MacMorragh of Inchiquin, should be no longer sheriff, that
the Lord Deputy and Lord President should not prejudice his case with her
Majesty, and that he should be allowed five days' law before being
proclaimed traitor, in the event of Sidney refusing to ratify the
articles. Ormonde took possession of all the castles at once, garrisoned
them, and secured the prisoners, cutting passes through the wood to
Bunratty in case further fighting should be necessary. The rest he left
to the Lord Deputy. Sidney would have preferred that Thomond should come
before him, but agreed to let him go to the Queen, on condition that he
should give the names of all his accomplices at once and start for
England before May 27.[179]
[Sidenote: Thomond goes to France. Intrigues there.]
The rebel Earl, who was probably conscious of intrigues of which Ormonde
knew nothing, neglected, without actually refusing, to go to the Lord
Deputy, allowed the day of grace to pass, and went quietly on board a
French ship which lay in the Shannon. Thomond was pacified entirely at
Ormonde's charge, and the work was done but just in time, for many of his
men had been engaged in the late rebellion, and were fighting with
halters round their necks. The moment their protections expired they left
their chief, who had no power to extend them, but they seem to have
returned on the Lord Deputy giving them six weeks longer. The principal
men of the O'Briens submitted, and the O'Loughlins and O'Mahons followed
suit. There were a few executions, but Ormonde preferred clemency to the
policy of Gilbert or even of Sidney. 'The Queen,' he said, 'hath many
good subjects here if they were but cherished and not over-pressed.' His
reception in France not answering his expectation, Thomond thought it
prudent to report himself to the English ambassador, representing himself
as a loyal subject driven mad by Fitton's harshness. He professed great
anxiety to see the Queen, but feared the Lord Deputy. He had come by
France, as the direct road to London was closed. Norris advised lenity in
dealing with one who was evidently rather a tool than a ringleader--a
barbarian whose cunning was neutralised by his vaingloriousness, and
whose simple talk could deceive no diplomatist. 'Promise what you list,'
said the ambassador, whose great object was to coax the refugee out of
France into England, 'and having him there perform what you list.'
[Sidenote: Diplomacy.]
The Queen lent no countenance to this Machiavellian advice, and told
Norris that the Irish lord was of small value but by her favour, and not
the best of his name in the estimation of his own countrymen. By her
advice he gave a written personal undertaking that Thomond should not be
imprisoned on his promising, also in writing, to make no further attempt
against the Queen. He had from his arrival intrigued with the French
Court, and had nearly succeeded in captivating Henry III.; but Marshal
Vielleville reminded his sovereign that he had debts, and persuaded him
not to meddle with castles in Ireland. Catherine de' Medici tried to
prevent Thomond from going to England, and gave him 200 pistoles. Fearful
lest he should go to Spain, Norris added 100, and after spending a month
in Paris, the Earl was induced to go to his natural sovereign and make
humble submission. He was pardoned in due course and sent back to
Ireland, where he bound himself in the sum of 10,000_l._ to be of good
behaviour for the future.[180]
[Sidenote: Sidney's policy. Edward Butler cannot be caught.]
While Ormonde showed his zeal in the West, the Lord Deputy remained in
Dublin preparing to meet Parliament. He begged to be recalled, or at
least to have the comfort of his wife's society, for that he was living
very uncomfortably, and at intolerable expense to himself, though saving
much to the Queen. To his repeated cries her Majesty answered that he
should be relieved as soon as possible, but that it was very difficult to
find a fit successor for him, or a fit governor for Munster. She approved
of his fortifying policy in Ulster. Irishmen were to be encouraged to
take estates of the Crown, and Englishmen to settle in Ireland, and 'we
would have good regard that the inhabitants there do not engross many
farms into few hands, whereby hospitality must decay.' Edmund and Piers
Butler were to be committed; Edward caught, indicted, and arraigned; and
all three were to be made to surrender their estates, and have judgment
passed on them, to be executed or not according to their behaviour. Their
inferior agents in rebellion were to 'taste the reward of justice.'
Edward Butler could not be caught, though he had at least one narrow
escape from his brother's men, but the other two had remained in Dublin
since their submission, and now humbly awaited her Majesty's
pleasure.[181]
[Sidenote: Final submission of the Butlers, 1570. Parliament.]
Sidney found his Parliament in more submissive mood than at its first
meeting, the Irish party having been cowed by his vigour, and by the
sight of unsuccessful rebellion. The influence of a Speaker must needs be
considerable, and Stanihurst was devoted to the Government, which
received valuable support from his grave and conciliatory demeanour. The
Lord Deputy opened the session with a pithy speech, in which he earnestly
prayed the members to show their activity by amending Bills brought
before them, but not by rejecting necessary measures. An Act was then
passed reciting the Queen's efforts to establish order and justice,
notwithstanding which 'the wicked, better acquainted with darkness than
light, have chosen to wallow in their own filth and puddle of tyranny,
oppression, rape, ravine, and spoil.'
[Sidenote: Attainders.]
Clancare, Fitzmaurice, Ormonde's three brothers, and several other
Butlers of less note, were then attainted by name as 'vile and ingrate
traitors;' and treasons committed within a limited time were
prospectively included in the attainder. The Queen stayed the execution
of this Act, but Ormonde objected to it on general grounds, and
especially to its prospective effect. 'Alas,' he said, 'what availeth
life, and to live with infamy (as I perceive my brethren must do coming
to arraignment)! But the Queen's staying of their judgment and execution
is an exceeding mercy, far above their deserts of late days ... and for
the stain of my house I confesseth it nippeth me to the heart. But what
remedy the best is they may, with the Queen's goodness, live to requite
this evil with good service hereafter.... My brother Edmond was not his
own man since he was bewitched. Myself have not escaped free by means of
a drink given me by some unhappy hand. I recovered hardly by drinking
salt and oil, bleeding very much, and being purged. I bled forty ounces
at twenty-one times.... This act is very general, and so perilous that
the judgment is given before the offence committed. Many innocents may be
indicted upon malice, and peradventure have no notice of the proclamation
to come to justify themselves according to the law.'
[Sidenote: The Butlers pardoned.]
Sir Edmund, who was certainly of an excitable nature, felt the disgrace
so keenly that he was actually out of his mind for a time. Later on, when
it was proposed to print the Act in London, Ormonde complained bitterly
that the praise of suppressing the rebellion was given in general terms
to Sidney, and begged that 'the odious discourse' might be kept back.
Some Butlers were, indeed, by God's visitation induced to act beyond
their reason, and the family honours had been spotted for the first time;
but the head of the House had brought them back, and the tree now bore
its accustomed good fruit. Edward Butler at last submitted to the Earl,
but seems never to have put himself into Sidney's power. In 1573 the
three brothers were pardoned, but it seems that by some omission they
were never restored in blood. The legal stain remained, but the moral
stain was removed by much after good service.[182]
[Sidenote: First attempt at national education.]
[Sidenote: Opposition to Government Bills.]
An Act was passed in this session for the erection of a free school in
every diocese at the cost of the diocese, with an English master
appointed by the Lord Deputy, except in Armagh, Dublin, Meath, and
Kildare, where the Bishops were made patrons. The foundation was
Scriptural and Protestant, for the Elizabethans could not understand the
possible permanence of any but the State religion. Henry VIII.'s system
of parochial schools having never come into being, this must be
considered as the first attempt at national education. Salaries were to
be fixed by the Lord Deputy, but paid by the clergy, one-third by the
ordinary, and two-thirds by the general body. The results of the diocesan
schools, as they came to be called, fell far short of what some expected,
and it is probable that in many dioceses they were never founded at all.
But Sidney's measure was well meant, and was not entirely inoperative
like the mediæval attempts at Irish universities. A Bill to compel the
residence of spiritual persons was thrown out by the Commons, as well as
one to abolish the extortionate demand of meat and drink; the majority of
members probably having a personal interest in supporting the old abuse
in either case. A Bill for limiting interests which had been acquired by
lessees in entailed property was also thrown out, the real object of it
being to restore to Ormonde those lands of his family which had been
improvidently alienated. Sidney did not oppose the measure, but foresaw
that it would fail. He was ready to do what he could to meet Ormonde's
views, but only so far as was consistent with ordinary process of law.
'If the gentlemen that have lands of his in the English Pale, in fee
farm and otherwise, do not consent in all points to his lordship's
liking, having law on their side, I cannot use compulsory means to wrest
justice, nor, I hope, it is not required in my place.' Wise words, but it
would have been better for Sidney's reputation had he been equally
careful in guarding prescriptive rights against Sir Peter Carew.[183]
[Sidenote: Commercial legislation. Monopolies.]
The Butlers having returned to their right mind, and Fitzmaurice being
reduced to wandering with a few followers, Sidney busied himself chiefly
with the affairs of the North. His marvellous power of despatching
causes, his extraordinary knowledge of Irish septs and alliances, and his
untiring industry, were the theme of general admiration; and the
lightning rapidity of his movements struck terror into Irish hearts.
Before he could bring the Northern chiefs to any settlement offering a
chance of permanence, he had to hold two more sessions of Parliament, and
to make arrangements for the Presidency of Munster, as he had already
done for Connaught. The legislation attempted was chiefly commercial.
Thus a Bill, which was at first thrown out in the Lower House by an
effort of untutored common sense, was pressed successfully forward by the
Government, who thought it important that the ancient staple commodities
wool and wool-fells, raw or manufactured, wax, and butter, should not be
exported except by the merchants of the staple towns. Such exportation
had been already restrained by duties with a view of encouraging Irish
manufactures, but the law had not answered expectation, having had the
natural result of throwing the trade into French, Scotch, Spanish, and
other foreign hands. Instead of repealing the Act which had done so much
harm, the true protectionist policy of further restraint was adopted.
Manufactured articles, to which linen yarn was added, might be exported
by the merchants of the staple at Dublin, Drogheda, Cork, and Waterford,
and by the merchants of other borough towns, on paying the custom; and
all power of dispensing with the law was taken away from the Irish
Government. The raw material had continued to be exported to some
extent, but the intention to benefit Irish manufactures by forcibly
retaining it was again recorded, and infringement of the monopoly was
made felony; the Government being in this case also declared incapable of
dispensing with the Act. It was soon discovered that trade could not be
forced in this way, and the Queen was besieged by applications for
patents, the projectors pretending to cure the evils of one monopoly by
creating another. Lancashire and Cheshire had benefited much by Irish
yarn, 4,000 hands being employed in weaving it at Manchester alone. The
embargo, it was urged, had nearly ruined Manchester, and had not
benefited Ireland, where the weavers were few, and the people naturally
given to idleness; spinning, of course, requiring no industry. It was
admitted that the lack of lawful outlet for the cloth had something to
say to the want of weavers, but as the suitors for patents were
Englishmen, that side of the question was not pressed.[184]
[Sidenote: Monopolies. Prototype of Wood's halfpence.]
Elizabeth, no doubt for some valuable consideration, granted a patent to
one Thomas Moore to export 3,000 packs of linen yarn from Ireland in five
years. The Corporations of Dublin and Drogheda objected on the grounds
that Ireland did not produce 600 packs a year, that Moore was to pay them
no custom, that many men in Ireland had sunk their substance in setting
up looms on the faith of a very recent statute, and that if the Queen
persevered they would all be ruined. She then reduced the amount to 200
packs a year; but Irish vested interests were unappeased, and seven of
the most eminent Queen's counsel in Dublin were very clearly of opinion
that letters patent were waste paper as against an Act of Parliament. In
the end Tremayne effected a compromise, of which the terms are not
stated, between the patentee and the municipalities of Dublin and
Drogheda, and the latter prayed Burghley to intercede with her Majesty
against the passing of any such patents in future.
[Sidenote: Dutch weavers in Ireland.]
The intercession was not successful, for in 1578 Lord Chancellor Gerrard
obtained a similar monopoly, which he assigned to one Middlemore. Both
patentee and assignee had disputes with Dublin and Drogheda, their
evident object being to be bought off as dearly as possible. 'I caused to
plant,' said Sidney, 'above forty families of the reformed churches of
the Low Countries, flying thence for religion's sake, in one ruinous town
called Swords. It would have done any man good to see how diligently they
wrought, how they re-edified the spoiled old castle and repaired almost
all the same, and how goodly and cleanly they and their wives and
children lived. They made diaper and ticks for beds and other good stuff
for man's use, and excellent good leather of deer skins, goat- and
sheep-fells, as is made in Southwark.' And he spoke with becoming
indignation of the infringement of a law which he had caused to be made
for the benefit of Ireland, and which he had restrained himself and his
predecessors from contravening. In the forgotten story of these
monopolies we have a foreshadowing of Wood's halfpence, and it is
possible that the Drapier was not ignorant of the precedent.[185]
[Sidenote: Sir John Perrott, President of Munster, 1571.]
Sir John Perrott, of an ancient Pembrokeshire family, but supposed by
some to be a son of Henry VIII., was the person selected for the task of
reducing Munster. He had been made a Knight of the Bath along with
Ormonde at Edward VI.'s coronation, had served at St. Quentin, and in
1560 had again been the Earl's companion in the tilt at Greenwich, where,
in presence of the French ambassador, he maintained Elizabeth's quarrel
against all comers. In running a course with Mr. Cornwallis both riders
lost their tempers and fell to tilting in the Queen's presence with sharp
lances and without armour--a pastime which she soon put a stop to. The
story is characteristic of the gallant but imprudent man who played so
great a part in Irish history. His taste and magnificence, perhaps his
extravagance, may be guessed from his additions to Carew Castle--a manor
which had been granted to him by Mary in spite of his Protestantism and
of his refusal to persecute other Protestants. Ormonde now declared that
his old comrade should be Lord President even against his will, and to
judge by the delay he was neither anxious for the honour nor in a hurry
to begin the work.[186]
[Sidenote: Perrott's instructions.]
The salary of the Lord President was fixed at 133_l._ 6_s._ 8_d._, as in
the case of Connaught, and he was allowed thirty horse and twenty foot in
the Queen's pay. The first Chief Justice, with a salary of 100_l._, was
James Dowdall, afterwards Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench. Nicholas
Walshe, afterwards Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, was second justice,
with a salary of 100 marks. Thomas Burgate was the first Clerk of the
Council, which originally consisted of the Archbishops and Bishops of
Munster and of the Earls of Ormonde, Thomond, and Clancare, power being
reserved to the Lord Deputy to appoint additional councillors at his
pleasure. The Council had all the judicial authority of a Court of
Assize. The Lord President was not to be out of his province for more
than six days without the Deputy's license; but special leave was given
to Sir John Perrott to visit his estate in Pembrokeshire and to return
within one month. The liberties of Tipperary were not to be needlessly
infringed, but those of Kerry were declared to be null and void. The Lord
President and Council were to assist all officers, civil and
ecclesiastical, to maintain their proper authority, and the following
curious provision was made in furtherance of religion as by law
established:--
'The said Lord President shall have and retain one chaplain or minister
that shall and can preach and read the Homilies; who shall be allowed his
diets in the household of the said Lord President, and shall receive the
entertainment of one of the house assigned to the President; to whom the
Lord President shall cause due reverence to be given, in respect of the
office that he shall have for the service of God.'
The Lord Deputy and Council were generally charged to look after all the
rights of the Crown in Munster, but were not to infringe the liberty of
the subject by quartering unnecessary men on the country, the Lord Deputy
and Council being the judges of what were cases of necessity.[187]
[Sidenote: Sidney goes to England. Sir W. Fitzwilliam is Lord Justice.]
How much Sidney hated the Irish service may be learned from his letters,
almost every one of which contains a prayer for recall. Yet Fitzwilliam,
the second string to the English bow in Ireland, hinted that he was
unwilling to retire. Fitzwilliam always declared himself loth to accept
the high but thankless office, but both these able men may have been more
attached to power than they would confess to themselves or to their
friends. The establishment of presidencies had been Sidney's great
panacea, and he waited only till Munster as well as Connaught was
provided for. In the meantime he made arrangements for Northern affairs,
which under the presidency system were to be peculiarly the care of the
Lord Deputy. Tirlogh Luineach entered into a treaty of peace with all the
Queen's subjects to be inviolably observed until the Queen's further
pleasure should be known. Tirlogh Luineach claimed Maguire and MacMahon
as his 'urraghs'; but this the Lord Deputy refused, agreeing, however, to
give them the temporary benefit of the peace. Tirlogh Luineach's wife was
a party to this treaty, who informed Morton that she was the real author
of it, and begged him to support her husband's messenger at the English
Court. The Scots were thus held in check for the time, and Sidney further
secured the Pale by an agreement with the O'Farrells, whereby they
covenanted to surrender all their lands and receive them back from the
Queen, to pay a quit rent, to attend hostings, and to have their whole
district treated as shire ground, paying the subsidy of 13_s._ 4_d._ for
each plough land. O'Farrell Bane, the principal chief, is described as of
that 'place called Pallas in the county of Longford,' where Oliver
Goldsmith was born.
Arrangements for the surrender of their lands and for taking them back by
grant were also made with MacBrien Arra in Tipperary, and with the
Kavanaghs; and Sidney, having installed Perrott in his Presidency, and
thus provided both a scourge for the rebels and a counterpoise for
Ormonde, sailed for England, and left the government in the hands of Sir
William Fitzwilliam.[188]
[Sidenote: Fitton cannot govern Connaught.]
While Ormonde was reducing the rebellious O'Briens, Lord President Fitton
was practically shut up in Galway, and Sidney sent a force under Basnet
and Collyer to relieve him. With their help and with that of Clanricarde
he was able to besiege Shrule Castle, the key of Lower Connaught; but
Shane MacOliver Burke, claiming to be MacWilliam Iochtar, collected the
youth of Mayo and Connemara, and attacked Fitton's camp with great
determination. He had also some Scots mercenaries. 'They resolved that if
the son or kinsman of one of them should be slain, they would not stop
with him, but pass over him at once.' The President's Irish and Scotch
auxiliaries were driven in, and the Burkes chased them for two miles,
when the English cavalry, who had remained in reserve, turned the tide by
charging them in the rear. Both sides claimed a victory, but the success
was Fitton's. The Burkes retired, and the castle which they had come to
relieve was at once taken.
[Sidenote: A chieftain's dilemma.]
Though badly supported by his followers, Clanricarde did excellent
service on this occasion, but Sidney was unable to feed or arm a large
force, and the victory could not be practically followed up. Fitton could
do nothing without English soldiers, and they could not be maintained
without cessing the country. The people hardly knew how to choose between
imposts in the Queen's name and the exactions of their own chiefs. A poor
woman complained to Shane MacOliver of the intolerable burden of his
Scots mercenaries, whereupon 'he fell into a study, and after some pause
said openly, "I am in a miserable case. If we stand out altogether and
maintain Scots for our defence, I see the destruction of the country;
again, if I shall take upon me the name of MacWilliam, I shall be driven
for maintenance thereof to spoil it myself, and if we shall submit
ourselves to the English nation, they will be as burdensome as either
MacWilliam or Scots. God give me grace to do the likest."'[189]
[Sidenote: It is doubtful whether English law or Irish custom is best.]
Fitton says Shane MacOliver's speech grieved him to the heart, for he
could not deny its truth, and yet he thought the presence of the soldiers
was of some use in keeping the peace. The country was as safe to travel,
he said, as the English Pale, but 'I and my men also live most part
without any money, and they almost without clothes for lack of money.'
Peace was maintained on very precarious terms. O'Connor Don lay in
Athlone Castle as security for all his clan, but some of his friends
brought one of the light Shannon boats or 'cots' under the walls, into
which he stepped and bid farewell to his host. Fitton sallied forth next
day, took and garrisoned his chief castle of Ballintober, and declared
that that stronghold, along with Shrule and Longford, would have to be
always held. O'Connor Don and MacDermot and all the gentlemen of Mayo
were indicted, with the view of entitling the Queen to the northern half
of Connaught; and Clanricarde's sons were indicted also. But the
O'Connors, having got their chief out of prison, cared nothing for the
lawyers, and ranged the country at will. Their men, who between Scots and
natives were not less than 1,000, never showed themselves except when
numerically superior. Mr. Moore, lieutenant to Captain Maltby, was
wounded in a skirmish, and sixty-four of his troopers deserted; very
naturally, considering the way in which they were treated. They seem to
have made their way to Dublin, where Fitzwilliam punished a few, and
persuaded the rest to return. In surrendering the sword, Sidney had not
the satisfaction of seeing his favourite project of presidencies entirely
successful.[190]
[Sidenote: Tremayne's report on Ireland.]
Among countless reports on the state of Ireland, one by Edmund Tremayne,
who had been acting as Sidney's secretary, deserves particular notice. In
general, he says, the people had no conscience, but committed crimes
freely; and they had so little morality that they even changed wives
among themselves. Bridges were falling down, churches were roofless, and
no new charities had replaced the old monastic ones. Good schools there
were none, for no teacher could be sure of being paid. In the law
everything was jobbed by certain families, and even the judicial bench
was filled with unlearned men. Bills were therefore badly drafted,
justice was thwarted, and there was general hostility to reform. Bad in
Dublin, matters were worse in the country, where courts of quarter
sessions, courts leet, and courts baron existed only in theory. Every
lord hated the restraints of law, and made himself an Irish chief.
English officials were no better, and there was little apparent
difference between a seneschal and a native captain, disorders being as
great among English soldiers as among Irish kernes and gallowglasses. All
Englishmen made parties among the Irish, and everything tended to go
daily from bad to worse. 'An excellent, unspotted character,' said
Archbishop Loftus, 'is a rare thing in this realm.'[191]
[Sidenote: Ormonde in Kerry. Kilmallock an abode of wolves.]
While Perrott was preparing to enter upon his long and arduous career of
Irish service Ormonde made a winter journey into Kerry, where there were
rumours of a French descent. About the time of the Lord President's
landing Fitzmaurice, who had been lurking about Tipperary with less than
120 'naked villains afoot,' suddenly appeared at the head of a
considerable but almost unarmed force, surprised and burned Kilmallock.
Again there was suspicion of collusion, for he only killed two of the
townsmen, and against those two he had a personal grudge. But the native
annalists say the plunder was great, and they speak in a way which shows
how insecure was Irish life. Plate, they state, was taken, 'and jewels
which the father would not have acknowledged to his heir or the mother
to her daughter on the day before.' The same writer says that Kilmallock
became an abode of wolves, and Perrott advised that the Queen should give
200_l._ to induce the miserable people to return.
[Sidenote: The Butlers again do good service.]
Ormonde might have saved the town but for Sir Thomas Roe Fitzgerald, who
sent him word to guard Dungarvan and Youghal. Considering what afterwards
happened to Youghal, the advice of Sir Thomas may have been honest
enough, and Fitzmaurice was not likely to make him his confidant; but
Ormonde could think of nothing but treason in any member of the rival
House. Later on, when Fitzmaurice had killed four of Sir Thomas's men,
the Earl was more inclined to blame his ally for folly than for
infidelity; in any case, he pronounced him useless. He inspected the
walls of Youghal and found them weak defences, the circuit being too
great to be held by less than 300 men, and the townsmen too poor to
support such a garrison. He left them the few men they asked for, and
made arrangements for mounting what guns they had, but complained that
they were too careless of their own security. Kilmallock deserved to be
punished for its negligence or worse; but Edward Butler recovered great
part of the cattle, and, eager to earn his pardon, pursued Fitzmaurice,
and 'killed one of his dear foster brethren.' Ormonde himself travelled
on foot all over the Aherlow forest, but none of the rebels would even
skirmish, and it was evident that Munster could only be reduced by the
steady pressure of a regular force. Believing that Sidney would lay the
blame for the loss of Kilmallock on him, Ormonde drew the attention of
the Home Government to the fact that he had relieved Youghal, and was
holding castles in Thomond and elsewhere for the Queen at his own
expense, that he had neither English soldiers nor provisions allowed him,
and that his own country was defenceless while he was occupied in the
public service.[192]
[Sidenote: Perrott's first campaigns. Great hardships.]
Having taken the oath before Sidney in Dublin, Perrott went to Cork,
where he found himself at the head of about 700 men, 200 of which were
Irish. From Cork he went to Kilmallock, where he lodged in a half-burned
house, and issued a proclamation to the townsmen to return and repair
their walls and buildings, which in course of time they did. He then
pursued the rebels, whom he came up with at Knocklong. The Irish fled
into the bogs, whither Perrott's soldiers followed them barefooted,
carrying light cavalry lances instead of pikes. They returned with a
trophy of fifty heads, with which the Lord President decorated the
market-cross at Kilmallock for the edification of those citizens of
Limerick who had complained of losing their goods. Lord Roche's cattle
were restored to him, and Perrott, having made Kilmallock defensible,
marched towards Limerick. A castle belonging to the Burkes of Clanwilliam
blocked his way, but part of the wall fell after three hours' mining, and
the chief's wife then surrendered. Thomond, O'Shaughnessy, and Sir Thomas
of Desmond came to him at Limerick, and he then went to Cashel. His march
was again impeded by a castle, which he took 'by shooting of fire up into
the top, which was covered with thatch.' The blaze and the noise of the
falling roof frightened his picketed horses--he had about 200 mounted
men--who broke loose and ran off into the woods, where they were caught
by the rebels, and in some cases not recovered. At Cashel he hanged seven
Gray merchants for supplying the enemy with provisions, the chief
magistrate of the town hardly escaping the same fate. From Cashel he went
by Fethard and Clonmel to Ormonde's house at Carrick, and thence by
Lismore to Cork, taking the strong castle of Mocollop on the way. At Cork
the President was attended by Clancare and Thomond, who had now made up
their minds as to which was the strongest side, by Lords Barry, Roche,
and Courcy, and by MacCarthy Reagh and Sir Cormac MacTeige. The White
Knight's country was again invaded, his castles taken, and himself driven
into the woods. The Glen of Aherlow was then entered without much result,
and after a few days' rest at Cork Perrott marched against the
MacSwineys. The style of warfare may be gathered from his biographer's
words. 'He slew many of the rebels, and hanged as many as he might take,
whom the Marshal executed always as he went along; so that they took a
great prey, spoiled all the enemy's country, and with continual travel
wore out all their provisions, having no corn in the country left to make
their bread, which the President himself wanted for divers days, their
chief sustenance being the milk of those kine that they had taken.'
[Sidenote: Perrott's personal behaviour.]
The hardships of such warfare must have been very great, Ormonde
recommending Captain Warde and his men to special consideration for doing
such winter service as was never done by soldiers; service from which
they returned bare-footed and bare-bodied. Their sad plight grieved him
to the heart, but he could do nothing for them. The Lord President did
not spare himself. On one occasion his foot hurt him as he was struggling
through a bog in pursuit of the rebels. 'My Lord,' said an officer, 'you
have lost your shoe.' 'It matters not,' said Perrott, 'as long as the
legs last we shall find shoes'; and he called for another pair, and
trudged on again. Another day some gallowglasses roasted a hog whole with
the hair on, 'and in great kindness did reach a piece of it to one of the
Lord President's servants, being a gentleman of good sort, and a justice
of the peace in his county.' Perrott made a jocular remark about the
quality of the meat. 'An' it please you, sir,' said the other, 'it is
good meat here among these men, but if it were at home I would scarce
give it to my dogs.'[193]
[Sidenote: Fitzmaurice still holds out.]
Want of provisions was the great difficulty: all peaceable men having
been robbed of their cows and horses. The MacSheehy and MacSwiney kerne
swarmed everywhere, and just as Fitzmaurice appeared to be at his last
gasp, he managed suddenly to collect a strong force of these idlemen,
obliging the Geraldines to provide for their maintenance. Many of the
native lords sympathised with him, being afraid of losing their
captainries, and they gave him information. Perrott was never strong
enough to divide his own force, and his light-heeled adversary roamed at
will from Aherlow to Castlemaine, and from Glenflesk to Baltimore. No one
was safe for a moment. Thus Miler Magrath, the Queen's Archbishop of
Cashel, having ventured to arrest two friars for preaching against the
Queen's policy, Fitzmaurice ordered their release. The poor friars, he
said, preached the Word of God to people blinded with ignorance for years
for want of good pastors, and the light of salvation, by reason of long
obscurity, was much needed in Ireland. If they were not released all
houses and buildings belonging to the Archbishop should be burned to
ashes. The letter which contained this wise and sober advice, as the
Geraldine leader called it, finished with an invocation of the Blessed
Virgin, and there could be no doubt about the danger of the Church as
established by law. Edward Butler rescued the friars to show his power,
and perhaps to establish communications with the Archbishop, and then
offered to pursue Fitzmaurice with all his might upon condition of
pardon. Magrath and the Dublin officials advised that, though Butler
deserved ten deaths, it would nevertheless be better to accept his
offer.[194]
[Sidenote: Perrott fails to take Castlemaine. An English captain
surprised.]
To the possession of Castlemaine Perrott attached great importance, and
extensive preparations were made for besieging it. The cannon were
delayed by storms on their passage from Limerick. The castle, which stood
on arches in the water, proved stronger than was supposed, and all the
powder was expended without making a breach; there were at the time only
three cwt. in Dublin. In want of almost every requisite for successful
war, Perrott withdrew his famished army after a siege of five weeks. On
returning to Cork he found that Fitzmaurice had not been idle in his
absence. Captain John Morgan, who was to have co-operated with the
President by sea, seeing the rebels driving cattle along the shores of
Cork harbour, landed and rescued them, and followed the foragers till
they reached their supports. Seeing the English sailors, whose behaviour,
as Ormonde said, was more like that of ignorant beasts than of trained
soldiers, at a safe distance from their boats, Fitzmaurice attacked them
vigorously, drove them into a ruined church, and overwhelmed them with
showers of stones. Thirty-three were thus ignobly slain; only two
prisoners were taken, and these were sent back. In consequence of this
disaster, the ships which should have supplied the besiegers of
Castlemaine lay idly at anchor.[195]
FOOTNOTES:
[178] Rokeby to Cecil, Jan. 4, 1570; Fitton to Lord Deputy, Feb. 22; N.
White to Cecil, Feb. 9; Clancare to Gilbert, Feb. 22. The assizes at
Ennis were about Feb. 1. Norfolk had been in the Tower since October. The
Bull of Pius V. excommunicating Elizabeth was dated Feb. 25, though not
posted in London till May. An Irishman, one Cornelius, is said to have
helped Felton.
[179] Sidney to the Privy Council, May 4, 1570, with the enclosures; to
Carew, May 28; articles with the Earl of Thomond, April 23, 1570, in
_Carew_.
[180] Ormonde to Sidney, June 4; Thomond to the Queen, July 23; Sir H.
Norris to Cecil, July 22 and 23; to the Queen, Aug. 9 and 11; the Queen
to Norris, July 30; submission of Thomond, December 21, 1570; Morrin's
_Patent Rolls_, September 25, 14 Eliz.; Informations, &c., Nov. 7. Chief
Justice Rokeby went over from Connaught to detail Thomond's misdeeds,
which indeed could not be denied; but he seems to have been thought too
foolish to do much harm. Sidney calls him 'ox' and 'lubber.' Brief
Relation in _Carew_, 1583.
[181] Ormonde to Sidney, April 27; Sidney to Carew, May 28; to the Privy
Council, May 4; the Queen to Sidney, May 17.
[182] The session began May 26. Ormonde to Heneage, July 4, 1570; to
Cecil, July 24, 1569, and Dec. 7, 1570; to Burghley, June 28, 1572;
Sidney to Privy Council, June 24, 1570; Weston to Cecil, June 28. There
is a valuable memoir of Sir Edmund Butler by the Rev. James Hughes in the
_Irish Archæol. Journal_, 4th Series, vol. i. Morrin's _Patent Rolls_,
ii. 640.
[183] Sidney to Cecil, Oct. 17, in the _Sidney Papers_. _Irish Statute
Book_, Note of Bills, May 1570.
[184] Memorandum of Causes, &c., 1572 (No. 49).
[185] Opinion of her Majesty's learned counsel against the legality of
the monopolies, April 11, 1573, signed by R. Dillon, L. Dillon, J.
Dowdall, N. Nugent, J. Plunkett, R. Talbot, and C. Fitzsimon; of whom the
first four had been Attorney- or Solicitor-General. Sidney's Summary
Relation in _Carew_, 1583. The Queen to Sidney, May 29, 1578, in _Carew_;
Mayors of Dublin and Drogheda to the Queen and to Burghley, June 30,
1572; to the Privy Council, Aug.; to Lord Deputy Fitzwilliam, Jan. 6,
1573; to the same, March 25; several letters from Gilbert Gerrard, and
Middlemore in 1578; Lord Deputy Fitzwilliam to Burghley, July 18, 1573.
[186] Naunton's _Fragmenta Regalia_; _Perrott's Life_; Ormonde to Cecil
March 5, 1570.
[187] Formular of Instructions, &c., in _Sidney Papers_, Dec. 14, 1570;
Morrin's _Patent Rolls_, i. 546.
[188] Treaty with Tirlogh Luineach O'Neill, March 3, 1571; with
O'Farrell, Feb. 11; Agnes Campbell (O'Neill) to the Earl of Morton, March
17; O'Donovan's notes to the _Four Masters_, 1570 and 1571; Fitzwilliam
to Cecil, Feb. 5 and 11, 1571. Perrott landed at Waterford, Feb. 27.
[189] Sidney to the Privy Council, June 24, 1570; Fitton to Cecil, August
27. _Four Masters_, 1570.
[190] Fitton to Cecil, Feb. 8 and Feb. 19, 1571; to the Lord Deputy,
March 9 and 11; Fitzwilliam to the Queen, April 7.
[191] _Causes why Ireland is not Reformed_, by E. Tremayne, June 1571;
Loftus to Burghley, July 8.
[192] Ormonde to Burghley, with enclosures, June 18, 1571; to the Lord
Deputy, March 3 and 18; Fitzwilliam to Burghley, March 15; Ormonde to
Cecil, Dec. 7, 1570 and Feb. 27, 1571; to Fitzwilliam, May 1. _Four
Masters_, 1571.
[193] _Perrott's Life._ N. White to Burghley, April 9 and May 15. These
operations were in April and May, 1571.
[194] Fitzwilliam and Weston to the Queen, with enclosures, July 31.
[195] Ormonde to Burghley, June 27, 1571; Brief of Expenses, Sept. 7;
Fitzwilliam to Burghley, July 31. The siege of Castlemaine lasted from
June 21 to July 27. To judge from slight remains, this renowned
stronghold must have been small: probably, as in many other cases, the
garrison ordinarily lived in thatched houses on the mainland.