Ireland under the Tudors Part 24

[241] St. Leger to the King, Feb. 21, 1541. The submission was signed at Cahir, Jan. 16. For the names of the notaries and of the chief spectators, see _Carew_, vol. i. No. 153.

[242] St. Leger to the King, Feb. 21, 1541; list of those who attended Parliament, 1541, in S.P., vol. iii. p. 307; O'Brien to the King, vol.

iii., No. 352.

[243] St. Leger to the King, Feb. 21, 1541; MacWilliam to the King, March 12, 1541; MacGillapatrick's submission, &c., S.P., vol. iii., No. 336; the King to MacWilliam, May 1.

[244] St. Leger to the King, June 26, 1541; Lord Deputy and Council to the King, June 28; printed _Statutes_, 33 Henry VIII.; Lodge's _Parliamentary Register_; Parliamentary lists in _Tracts Relating to Ireland_, No. 2.

[245] Alen to St. Leger in 1537, S.P., vol. ii., No. 182; Staples to St.

Leger, June 17, 1538; Lord Deputy and Council to the King, Dec. 30, 1540.

The proclamation of the King's style is in _Carew_, vol. i., No. 158. The author of the _Aphorismical Discovery_, who wrote about 1650, says Henry 'revolted from his obedience to the Holy See' by a.s.suming the royal t.i.tle. There is an abstract of the King's t.i.tle to Ireland in _Carew_, vol. i., No. 156; Adrian's grant is mentioned as one of seven t.i.tles, some fabulous, some historical. For the proceedings in Dublin, see St.

Leger's letters already cited, June 26 and 28, 1541; for the style itself, see the King's letter in S.P., vol. iii., No. 361; for the Seal, see Lord Deputy and Council to the King, June 2, 1542, and Henry's answer.

[246] See the ordinances in _Carew_, vol. i., No. 157.

CHAPTER XIV.

1541 TO THE CLOSE OF THE REIGN OF HENRY VIII.

[Sidenote: The O'Carrolls.]

The attendance of Irishmen during the session of Parliament was not altogether barren of immediate results. Fergananim O'Carroll, chief of Ely, having become blind, was murdered in Clonlisk Castle by Teige, the son of his old rival Donough, with the help of some of the Molloys. The claimants to the vacant succession voluntarily submitted to the arbitration of the Lord Deputy and Council, and a curious award was given. According to Irish law John O'Carroll, as the eldest, would have been the natural chief. He was set aside as unfit to rule, but received his lands rent free and forty cows annually out of the cattle-tribute payable to the chief. Fergananim's son Teige was also p.r.o.nounced incompetent, but was nevertheless established as ruler of half the country by way of propitiating Desmond, who was his uncle by marriage.

Calvagh or Charles O'Carroll was made lord of the other half, and it was provided that if either procured the other's death he should forfeit all to the sons of the deceased.[247]

[Sidenote: Submission of O'Donnell, 1541.]

Soon after the prorogation St. Leger went to Cavan to meet O'Donnell.

Leaving his boats on Lough Erne, the chieftain came boldly to the appointed place with a dozen followers, and made little difficulty about the terms of peace. He agreed to serve the King on all great hostings, to attend the next Parliament or send duly authorised deputies, to hold his land of the Crown, and to take any t.i.tle that might be given him. He not only renounced the usurped primacy and authority of Rome, but promised industriously and diligently to expel, eject, and root out from his country all adherents of the Pope, or else to coerce and constrain them to submit to the King and his successors. He more than once asked to be made Earl of Sligo, and to have Parliament-robes as well as 'that golden instrument or chain which n.o.blemen wear on their necks.' Henry was willing to create O'Donnell Earl of Tyrconnell, but the creation was deferred until the reign of James I.[248]

[Sidenote: St. Leger chastises the O'Neills.]

O'Neill still refused to come to Dundalk, or in any way to submit to the Lord Deputy. He was, he said, waiting to hear from the King, and he made the curious complaint that St. Leger would not let him send hawks as presents to his Majesty. Diplomacy failing, the Lord Deputy prepared for an invasion of Ulster. He was joined by O'Donnell, O'Hanlon, Magennis, MacMahon, who had lately made submission in the usual form, Phelim Roe O'Neill and Neill Connelagh O'Neill, nephews and opponents of the chief of Tyrone; by the Savages of Ards; and by many others, both English and Irish. Twenty-two days were spent in destroying corn and b.u.t.ter; but no enemy appeared, and the cattle had been driven off into the woods.

Meanwhile O'Neill tried the bold but not uncommon experiment of attacking the Pale in the absence of its defenders. The new Lord Louth handled the local force so well that the invaders were ignominiously routed, while O'Donnell ravaged not only Tyrone but a great part of Fermanagh, the very islands in Lough Erne being ransacked by his flotilla.[249]

[Sidenote: Success of a winter campaign.]

After a month's respite St. Leger made a second raid, and this time captured some hundreds of cows and horses. Another month elapsed, and then a third attack brought O'Neill to his knees. He sent letters to Armagh in which he threw himself on the King's mercy, which he preferred to the Lord Deputy's, gave a son as hostage, and offered to come in person not only to Dundalk but to Drogheda. O'Neill had never been known to give a hostage before, and great importance was attached to this.

Three thousand kine besides horses and sheep were taken in spite of the natives, but not without much suffering on the part of the soldiers, who had to lie without tents on the wet ground. Many horses died, and many more were lamed. The pastime, as St. Leger called it, of a December campaign can never be very pleasant, but he proved, as Sidney proved afterwards, that it was the right way to subdue the O'Neills. There was not gra.s.s enough in the woods to keep the cattle alive, and when they came into the fields the soldiers easily captured them.[250]

[Sidenote: Submission of O'Neill.]

Ultimately O'Neill made a complete submission. He agreed to behave like the Earls of Ormonde and Desmond, praying only that he might not be forced to incur the danger and expense of attending any Parliament sitting to the west of the Barrow. He not only renounced the Pope, but promised to send back future bulls, if ecclesiastics already provided from Rome would do likewise.[251]

[Sidenote: The Council advise the King to accept it.]

The Council advised Henry to accept O'Neill's submission, seeing that his country was wide and difficult, and now so wasted as to be incapable of supporting an army. It might perhaps be possible to expel Con, but he would certainly be succeeded by a pretender as bad as himself, and extreme courses might lead to despair, and to a universal rebellion. They admitted that the winter war had been proved to be 'the destruction of any Irishmen,' but the loss of men and horses was great, and might lead to risings in other places.[252]

[Sidenote: Henry's ideas about Ireland.]

The King disliked the wholesale grants of land for small consideration, which were favoured by St. Leger. He rebuked his servants in Ireland for thinking too much of Irish submissions, and here he saw more clearly than they did. He was now King in Ireland, and required a revenue in proportion. For that purpose he divided Irishmen into two cla.s.ses, those who were within easy reach of his arm, and those who were not. The former were to be treated sternly, but the latter tenderly, 'lest by extreme demands they should revolt to their former beastliness.' The near neighbours were to be brought to the same terms as Tirlogh O'Toole. A proper rent was to be exacted, and knight-service insisted on for the sake of the wardships and liveries. In the obedient districts monastic lands were to be let on lease for the best possible rent. In more distant quarters the chiefs were to be coaxed into suppressing the religious houses by promising them leases on easy terms.[253]

[Sidenote: Ireland at peace, 1542. Submission of many chiefs.]

At the beginning of the year 1542 the Council were able to make the strange announcement that Ireland was at peace. They praised St. Leger for his diligence, patience, and justice, and for his liberal entertainment of those on whom, for the public good, it was necessary to make favourable impression. Following up his Dublin success, he now met Parliament again at Limerick, where the princ.i.p.al business was to make terms with the O'Briens. Murrough agreed to give up all claims to the territory of Owney Beg, a poor district lying under Slieve Phelim, which retains its reputation for turbulence to the present day. The possession of this tract had made him master of the western part of Limerick, whence he exacted a black-rent of 80_l._, and of Tipperary as far as Cashel. The whole country was waste through plunder and extortion, and no one could travel peaceably from Limerick to Waterford through fear of a gang of robbers called the 'old evil children,' who held a castle near the Shannon. Desmond expelled these brigands and handed over their hold to MacBrien c.o.o.nagh, who held it at his own expense for two years. St.

Leger's observations during the session at Limerick led him to believe that little rent or tribute could be got out of the Irish. The sums promised to Grey were withheld on the ground that promises had been forcibly extorted. By holding out hopes of gentler treatment, St. Leger brought them to accept his own much easier terms. Tipperary was a.s.sessed at 40_l._ yearly, Kilkenny at 40_l._, and Waterford at 10_l._ MacBrien Arra agreed to pay sixpence a year for each ploughland, and to furnish sixty gallowgla.s.ses for a month. MacBrien of c.o.o.nagh promised 5_l._, O'Kennedy and MacEgan in Ormonde 10_l._ each, O'Mulryan forty shillings and sixty gallowgla.s.ses for a month, and O'Dwyer eightpence for each ploughland and forty gallowgla.s.ses for a month. These sums are small, but seem larger when we reflect that the Government gave no consideration, either by keeping the peace or administering justice, and that the people were extremely poor.[254]

[Sidenote: Further submissions.]

Several months pa.s.sed in negotiations with Irish chiefs with the general object of inducing them to submit, to pay rent, and to hold their lands by knight-service; forswearing Irish uses and exactions, and promising to live in a more civilised manner. These terms were accepted by Rory O'More, who had become chief of Leix by the death of his brother Kedagh, by MacDonnell, captain of O'Neill's gallowgla.s.ses, by O'Rourke, and by O'Byrne. All except the last named abjured the Pope, as did the MacQuillins, a family of Welsh extraction long settled in the Route, a district between the Bush and the Bann. The MacQuillins were always oppressed by the O'Cahans, who were supposed to be instigated by O'Donnell, and the valuable fishery of the Bann was a perennial source of dissension. Travers, who soon afterwards became lessee of Clandeboye, held this fishery on a Crown lease with the goodwill of the MacQuillins; but in spite of the O'Cahans, who annoyed his fishermen, St. Leger ordered him to help the weaker tribe. Coleraine was taken by Travers, and after a time the neighbours were reconciled, a pension of 10_l._ being given to each on condition of not molesting those who fished under royal licence. A curious submission was that of Hugh O'Kelly, who seems to have been chief of his sept as well as hereditary Abbot of the Cistercians at Knockmoy, near Tuam. He renounced the Pope, promised to aid the Lord Deputy with a considerable force in Connaught, and with a smaller one in more distant parts, and to bring certain of his kinsmen to similar terms.

In return he was to have custody of the monastic lands and of the rectory of Galway at a rent of 5_l._, paid down yearly in that town. As if to complete the anomaly this abbot-chieftain gave his son as a hostage for due performance.[255]

[Sidenote: Desmond in favour at Court.]

Desmond continued to behave loyally. St. Leger received him hospitably in Dublin, and advised the King to do the same. But Alen cautioned his Majesty not to be too free of his grants, especially in such important cases as Croom and Adare. The Chancellor preferred to give the Earl monastic lands in the Pale, by accepting which he would give hostages to the Crown, or among the wild Irish, who would thus certainly be losers though the King might be no direct gainer. Desmond did not linger long in the Court sunshine, for he took leave of the King in little more than a month from the date of his leaving Ireland. Either he really gained the royal goodwill, or Henry thought it wise to take St. Leger's advice, for he gave him money and clothes, made him the bearer of official despatches, and, after due inquiry, accepted his nominee to the bishopric of Emly.[256]

[Sidenote: The Munster n.o.bles submit. They abjure the Pope.]

With a view to establish order in those portions of Munster under Desmond's influence, St. Leger visited Cork, where the notables readily obeyed his call. They abjured the Pope, and agreed to refer all differences to certain named arbitrators. Henceforth no one was to take the law into his own hands, but to complain to Desmond and to the Bishops of Cork, Waterford, and Ross, who were to have the power of summoning parties and witnesses, and of fining contumacious persons. Difficult cases were to be referred to the Lord Deputy and Council, and legal points reserved for qualified commissioners, whom the King was to send into Munster at Easter and Michaelmas. This was part of a scheme for establishing circuits in the southern province, but it was very imperfectly carried out during this and the three succeeding reigns. The state of the country seldom admitted of peaceful a.s.sizes, and martial law was too often necessary. The Munster gentry now promised to keep the peace, and to exact no black-rents from Cork or other towns. The Anglo-Norman element was represented by Lord Barrymore and his kinsmen, Barry Roe and Barry Oge, by Lord Roche, and by Sir Gerald MacShane of Dromana. The Irish parties to the contract were MacCarthy More, MacCarthy Reagh, MacCarthy of Muskerry, MacDonough MacCarthy of Duhallow, O'Callaghan, and O'Sullivan Beare. St. Leger himself, Desmond, Brabazon, Travers, and Sir Osborne Echingham, marshal of the army, represented the Crown.[257]

[Sidenote: An Earldom for O'Neill.]

O'Neill was at last induced to go to Court to receive the Earldom of Tyrone, the t.i.tle chosen for him by the Irish Government. He would have preferred that of Ulster, but it was in the Crown, and the King refused to part with it. St. Leger did what he could to conciliate O'Neill by attention and hospitality while in Dublin, and rightly attached great importance to the fact that he was the first O'Neill who had ever gone to the King in England. He advised that he should be received with the greatest distinction.

'O'Neill,' say the 'Four Masters,' 'that is, Con the son of Con, went to the King of England, namely, Henry VIII.; and the King created O'Neill an Earl, and enjoined that he should not be called O'Neill any longer.

O'Neill received great honour from the King on this occasion.' The acceptance of a peerage was universally considered a condescension, if not a degradation, for the head of a family who claimed to be princes of Ulster in spite of the Crown. The Irish Government were willing that he should have Tyrone, 'but for the rule of Irishmen, which be at his Grace's peace, we think not best his Highness should grant any such thing to him as yet.'[258]

[Sidenote: His submission.]

It may be doubted whether O'Neill fully understood the scope of a doc.u.ment which was written in English, and which he signed with a mark; but the form of his submission to his 'most gracious sovereign lord' was as ample as even that sovereign lord could wish:--

'Pleaseth your most Excellent Majesty, I, O'Neill, one of your Majesty's most humble subjects of your realm of Ireland, do confess and acknowledge before your most Excellent Highness, that by ignorance, and for lack of knowledge of my most bounden duty of allegiance, I have most grievously offended your Majesty, for the which I ask your Grace here mercy and forgiveness, most humbly beseeching your Highness of your most gracious pardon; refusing my name and state, which I have usurped upon your Grace against my duty, and requiring your Majesty of your clemency to give me what name, state, t.i.tle, land, or living it shall please your Highness, which I shall knowledge to take and hold of your Majesty's mere gift, and in all things do hereafter as shall beseem your most true and faithful subject. And G.o.d save your Highness.'[259]

[Sidenote: He is created Earl of Tyrone. Special remainder.]

One week after the delivery of this submission O'Neill was created Earl of Tyrone, with remainder to his son Matthew in tail male: Matthew being at the same time created Baron of Dungannon, with remainder to the eldest son of the Earl of Tyrone for the time being. This patent afterwards gave rise to infinite bloodshed. Con O'Neill certainly acknowledged Matthew as his heir apparent; but it was afterwards stated, not only that he was illegitimate, which might not have mattered much, but that he was not Con's son at all. There was no doubt about the legitimacy of Shane, and that able savage consistently refused to acknowledge the limitations of the patent. Henry dealt liberally with the new Earl, paying 60_l._ for a gold chain such as O'Donnell had asked for, 65_l._ 10_s._ 2_d._ for creation fees and robes, and 100 marks as a present in ready money. 'The Queen's closet at Greenwich was richly hanged with cloth of Arras, and well strewed with rushes'--no more was then thought of even in a palace--and Tyrone was led in by the Earls of Hertford and Oxford, the latter of whom was summoned specially for the purpose. Viscount Lisle bore the new Earl's sword. Kneeling in the rushes, the descendant of Niall of the Nine Hostages submitted to be girt by the hands of Henry II.'s descendant. The King then gave him his patent, and he gave thanks in Irish, which his chaplain translated into English. Two of his neighbours, Donnell and Arthur Magennis, were knighted and received gifts from the King. A great dinner followed, to which the lords went in procession with trumpets blowing; and Tyrone carried his own patent. At second course Garter proclaimed the King's style and that of the new Earl. The herald who tells the story is careful to note that Tyrone gave twenty angels to Garter, 10_l._ to the College of Arms, and 40_s._ to the trumpeters, with other fees 'according to the old and ancient custom.'

Next day Con was taken to pay his respects to the young Prince Edward, and he soon afterwards returned to Ireland.[260]

[Sidenote: O'Brien created Earl of Th.o.m.ond. Special remainder. MacWilliam Earl of Clanricarde. Knights.]

Murrough O'Brien, his nephew Donough, MacWilliam of Clanricarde, and many other Irish gentlemen of note, went to Court during the summer of 1543.

The three first were raised to the peerage in the same place and with the same ceremonies as O'Neill. Murrough O'Brien was created Earl of Th.o.m.ond, with remainder to Donough, and Baron of Inchiquin in tail male. Donough's right to succeed as tanist thus received official sanction. Donough was made Baron of Ibracken in tail male, and, curiously enough, the same patent created him Earl of Th.o.m.ond for life in case he should survive his uncle. MacWilliam was created Earl of Clanricarde and Baron of Dunkellin.

The Earls were introduced by Derby and Ormonde, the Barons by Clinton and Mountjoy, and the King gave a gold chain to each. The presence of the Scottish amba.s.sadors, who had just concluded the abortive treaty of marriage between Edward and Mary Stuart, added to the interest of the ceremony; and no doubt Henry was glad to display his magnificence to the representatives of the poor northern kingdom. Macnamara, the most important person in Clare after the O'Briens, was knighted at the same time; as were O'Shaugnessy, chief of the country about Gort, and his neighbour O'Grady. Many other favours were conferred on these reclaimed Irishmen, and they all agreed to hold their lands of the King.[261]

[Sidenote: The MacDonnells in Antrim.]