Part 30 (2/2)
The O'Connors of Offaly were for nearly two centuries the most heroic, and therefore the most dangerous, of the ”Irish enemies.” Maurice O'Connor Faly and his brother, Calvagh, were the heads of the sept. The latter had obtained the soubriquet of ”the Great Rebel,” from his earnest efforts to free his country. He had defeated the English in a battle, in which Meiller de Exeter and several others were slain; he had taken the Castle of Kildare; therefore, as he could not be taken himself by fair means, treachery was employed.
The chiefs of Offaly were invited to dinner on Trinity Sunday, A.D.
1315, by Sir Pierce MacFeorais (Peter Bermingham). As they rose up from table they were cruelly ma.s.sacred, one by one, with twenty-four of their followers. This black deed took place at Bermingham's own Castle of Carbury,[344] county Kildare. Bermingham was arraigned before King Edward, but no justice was ever obtained for this foul murder.
In the year 1308, Piers Gaveston, the unworthy favourite of Edward II., was appointed Viceroy. The English barons had long been disgusted by his insolence, and jealous of his influence. He was banished to France--or rather a decree to that effect was issued--but Ireland was subst.i.tuted, for it was considered a banishment to be sent to that country. Gaveston, with his usual love of display, was attended by a magnificent suite, and commenced his Viceroyalty in high state. He was accompanied by his wife, Marguerite, who was closely connected with the royal family.
The Templars had been suppressed and plundered by royal command; but though this evil deed was accomplished without much trouble, there were Irish clans whose suppression was not so easily effected. The O'Tooles and O'Briens, styled by the Anglo-Normans ”les Ototheyles et les Obrynnes,” stood their ground so well, that they had put the late Viceroy to flight this very year, and promised some active employment for his successor.
Edward appears to have had apprehensions as to the kind of reception his favourite was likely to receive from the powerful Earl of Ulster; he therefore wrote him a special letter, requesting his aid and counsel for the Viceroy. But De Burgo knew his own power too well; and instead of complying with the royal request, he marched off to Drogheda, and then to Trim, where he employed himself in giving sumptuous entertainments, and conferring the honour of knighthood on his adherents. The favourite was recalled to England at the end of a year. Edward had conducted him to Bristol, on his way to Ireland; he now went to meet him at Chester, on his return. Three years later he paid the forfeit of his head for all these condescensions.
In 1309 De Wogan was again appointed Governor. The exactions of the n.o.bles had risen to such a height, that some of their number began to fear the effects would recoil on themselves. High food rates and fearful poverty then existed, in consequence of the cruel exactions of the Anglo-Normans on their own dependents. They lived frequently in their houses, and quartered their soldiers and followers on them, without offering them the smallest remuneration. A statute was now made which p.r.o.nounced these proceedings ”open robbery,” and accorded the right of suit in such cases to the crown. But this enactment could only be a dead letter. We have already seen how the crown dealt with the most serious complaints of the natives; and even had justice been awarded to the complainant, the right of eviction was in the hands of the nearest n.o.ble, and the unfortunate tenant would have his choice between starvation in the woods or marauding on the highways, having neither the _dernier resort_ of a workhouse or emigration in that age.
The Viceroy had abundant occupation suppressing the feuds both of the Irish and the colonists. Civil war raged in Th.o.m.ond, but the quarrels between the Anglo-Norman settlers in the same province, appear to have been more extensive and less easily appeased. In a note to the Annals of Clonmacnois, MacGeoghegan observes, that ”there reigned more dissentions, strife, warrs, and debates between the Englishmen themselves, in the beginning of the conquest of this kingdome, than between the Irishmen; as by perusing the warrs between the Lacies of Meath, John Coursey, Earle of Ulster, William Marshal, and the English of Meath and Munster, Mac Gerald, the Burke, Butler, and Cogan, may appear.”
The famous invasion of Ireland by Bruce took place on the 16th of May, A.D. 1315. On that day Edward landed on the coast of Ulster, near Carrickfergus, with six thousand men. He was attended by the heroes of Bannockburn; and as a considerable number of native forces soon joined them, the contingent was formidable. Although a few of the Irish had a.s.sisted Edward II. in his war against Scotch independence, the sympathies of the nation were with the cause of freedom; and they gladly hailed the arrival of those who had delivered their own country, hoping they would also deliver Ireland. It was proposed that Edward Bruce should be made King of Ireland. The Irish chieftain, Donnell O'Neill, King of Ulster, in union with the other princes of the province, wrote a spirited but respectful remonstrance to the Holy See, on the part of the nation, explaining why they were anxious to transfer the kingdom to Bruce.
In this doc.u.ment the remonstrants first state, simply and clearly, that the Holy Father was deceived; that they were persuaded his intentions were pure and upright; and that his Holiness only knew the Irish through the misrepresentations of their enemies. They state their wish ”to save their country from foul and false imputations,” and to give a correct idea of their state. They speak, truthfully and mournfully, ”of the sad remains of a kingdom, which has groaned so long beneath the tyranny of English kings, of their ministers and their barons;” and they add, ”that some of the latter, though born in the island, continued to exercise the same extortions, rapine, and cruelties, as their ancestors inflicted.”
They remind the Pontiff that ”it is to Milesian princes, and not to the English, that the Church is indebted for those lands and possessions of which it has been stripped by the sacrilegious cupidity of the English.”
They boldly a.s.sert ”it was on the strength of false statements” that Adrian transferred the sovereignty of the country to Henry II, ”the probable murderer of St. Thomas a Becket.” Details are then given of English oppression, to some of which we have already referred. They state the people have been obliged to take refuge, ”like beasts, in the mountains, in the woods, marshes, and caves. Even _there_ we are not safe. They envy us these desolate abodes.” They contrast the engagements made by Henry to the Church, and his fair promises, with the grievous failure in their fulfilment. They give clear details of the various enactments made by the English, one of which merits special attention, as an eternal refutation of the false and base charge against the Irish of having refused to accept English laws, because they were a lawless race. They state (1) ”that no Irishman who is not a prelate can take the law against an Englishman, but every Englishman may take the law against an Irishman.” (2) That any Englishman may kill an Irishman, ”falsely and perfidiously, _as often happened_, of whatsoever rank, innocent or guilty, and yet he cannot be brought before the English tribunals; and further, that the English murderer can seize the property of his victim.” When such was the state of Ireland, as described calmly in an important doc.u.ment still extant, we cannot be surprised that the people eagerly sought the slightest hope of redress, or the merest chance of deliverance from such oppression.[345] In conclusion, the Irish princes inform his Holiness, ”that in order to obtain their object the more speedily and securely, they had invited the gallant Edward Bruce, to whom, being descended from their most n.o.ble ancestors, they had transferred, as they justly might, their own right of royal domain.”
A few years later Pope John wrote a letter to Edward III., in which he declares that the object of Pope Adrian's Bull had been entirely neglected, and that the ”most unheard-of miseries and persecutions had been inflicted on the Irish.” He recommends that monarch to adopt a very different policy, and to remove the causes of complaint, ”lest it might be too late hereafter to apply a remedy, when the spirit of revolt had grown stronger.”
The accounts of Bruce's Irish campaign have not been very clearly given.
The Four Masters mention it briefly, notwithstanding its importance; the fullest account is contained in the Annals of Clonmacnois, which agree with the Annals of Connaught. Dundalk, Ardee, and some other places in the north, were taken in rapid succession, and a good supply of victuals and wine was obtained from the former place. The Viceroy, Sir Edmund le Botiller, marched to attack the enemy; but the proud Earl of Ulster refused his a.s.sistance, and probably the Justiciary feared to offend him by offering to remain. Meanwhile, Felim, King of Connaught, who had hitherto been an ally of the Red Earl, came over to the popular side; and the English forces suffered a defeat at Connor, in which William de Burgo and several knights were taken prisoners. This battle was fought on the 10th of September, according to Grace's Annals, and the battle of Dundalk on the 29th of July.
After the battle of Connor, the Earl of Ulster fled to Connaught, where he remained a year; the remainder of his forces shut themselves up in Carrickfergus. Bruce was proclaimed King of Ireland, and marched southward to pursue his conquests. The Earl of Moray was sent to Edinburgh to invite King Robert over, and the Scotch armies prepared to spend the winter with the De Lacys in Westmeath.
When the Christmas festivities were concluded, Bruce again took the field, and defeated the Viceroy at Ardscull, in the co. Kildare, In the month of February some of the chief n.o.bles of the English colony met in Dublin, and signed a manifesto, in which they denounced the traitorous conduct of the Scotch enemy, in trying to wrest Ireland from their Lord, ”Monsieur Edward,” taking special care to herald forth their own praises for loyalty, and to hint at the compensation which might be required for the same.
But the Irish were again their own enemies; and to their miserable dissensions, though it can never justify the cruelties of their oppressors, must be attributed most justly nearly all their misfortunes.
Had the Irish united against the invaders, there can be no doubt that, with the a.s.sistance of the Scotch army, they would have obtained a complete and glorious victory, though it may be doubtful whether any really beneficial results would have accrued to the country should disunion continue. When Felim O'Connor joined Bruce, Rory O'Connor and his clan commenced depredations on his territory. Felim returned to give him battle, and defeated him with terrible slaughter. Thus men and time were lost in useless and ign.o.ble strife. Rory was slain in this engagement--a fate he richly merited; and Felim was once more free to fight for his country. He was joined by the O'Briens of Th.o.m.ond, and they marched together to attack Athenry, which was defended by Burke and Bermingham. A fierce conflict ensued. The Irish fought with their usual valour; but English coats-of-mail were proof against their attacks, and English cross-bows mowed down their ranks.
The brave young Felim was slain, with 11,000 of his followers; and the Irish cause was irretrievably injured, perhaps more by the death of the leader than by the loss of the men. This disaster took place on the 10th of August, 1316.
Still the Irish were not daunted. The O'Tooles and O'Byrnes rose in Wicklow, the O'Mores in Leix. Robert Bruce came over to Ireland. The Franciscan friars, always devoted to their country, made themselves specially obnoxious by encouraging their countrymen to die in defence of their country. They were threatened and cajoled by turns, but with little effect.[346] Edward Bruce again appeared before Carrickfergus.
The siege was protracted until September, when Robert Bruce arrived, and found the English so hard pressed, that they ate hides, and fed on the bodies of eight Scots whom they had made prisoners.[347] In the year 1317, the Scottish army was computed at 20,000 men, besides their Irish auxiliaries. After Shrovetide, King Robert and his brother crossed the Boyne, and marched to Castleknock, near Dublin, where they took Hugh Tyrrell prisoner, and obtained possession of the fortress. There was no little fear in Dublin Castle thereupon, for the Anglo-Normans distrusted each other. And well they might. The De Lacys had solemnly pledged their fidelity, yet they were now found under the standard of Bruce. Even De Burgo was suspected; for his daughter, Elizabeth, was the wife of the Scottish King. When the invading army approached Dublin, he was seized and confined in the Castle. It will be remembered that Dublin had been more than once peopled by the citizens of Bristol. They were naturally in the English interest, and disposed to offer every resistance. They fortified Dublin so strongly, even at the expense of burning the suburbs and pulling down churches, that Bruce deemed it more prudent to avoid an encounter, and withdrew towards the Salmon Leap; from whence he led his forces southward as far as Limerick, without encountering any serious opposition.
But a reverse was even then at hand. An Anglo-Irish army was formed, headed by the Earl of Kildare; famine added its dangers; and on the 1st of May Robert Bruce returned to Scotland, leaving his brother, Edward, with the Earl of Moray, to contend, as best they could, against the twofold enemy. In 1318 a good harvest relieved the country in some measure from one danger; two Cardinals were despatched from Rome to attempt to release it from the other. On the 14th October, in the same year, the question was finally decided. An engagement took place at Faughard, near Dundalk. On the one side was the Scotch army, headed by Bruce, and a.s.sisted (from what motive it is difficult to determine) by the De Lacys and other Anglo-Norman lords; on the other side, the English army, commanded by Lord John Bermingham. The numbers on each side have been differently estimated; but it is probable the death of Edward Bruce was the turning point of the conflict. He was slain by a knight named John Maupas, who paid for his valour with his life.
Bermingham obtained the Earldom of Louth and the manor of Ardee as a reward for Bruce's head; and the unfortunate Irish were left to their usual state of chronic resistance to English oppression. The head of the Scottish chieftain was ”salted in a chest,” and placed unexpectedly, with other heads, at a banquet, before Edward II. The English King neither swooned nor expressed surprise; but the Scotch amba.s.sadors, who were present, rushed horror-stricken from the apartment. The King, however, was ”right blyth,” and glad to be delivered so easily of a ”felon foe.” John de Lacy and Sir Robert de Coulragh, who had a.s.sisted the said ”felon,” paid dearly for their treason; and as they were Anglo-Normans, and subjects of the English crown, the term was justly applied to them, however cruel the sentence. They were starved to death in prison, ”on three morsels of the worst bread, and three draughts of foul water on alternate days, until life became extinct.”
Since this chapter was written, Mr. O'Flanagan has kindly presented me with his valuable _History of Dundalk_, from which I am permitted to make the following extracts, which throw much additional light upon the subject:--[348]
”'In the ninth year of King Edward's reign,' writes Hollinshed, 'Edward Bruce, brother to Robert Bruce, King of Scots, entered the north part of Ireland, with 6,000 men. There were with him divers captains of high renown among the Scottish nation, of whom were these:--The Earls of Murray and Monteith, the Lord John Stewart, the Lord John Campbell, the Lord Thomas Randolf, Fergus of Ardrossan, John Wood, and John Bisset.
They landed near to Cragfergus, in Ulster, and joining with the Irish (a large force of whom was led out by Fellim, son of Hugh O'Conor). Thus a.s.sisted, he conquered the Earldom of Ulster, and gave the English there divers great overthrows, took the town of Dundalk, spoiled and burned it, with a great part of Orgiel. They burned churches and abbeys, with the people whom they found in the same, sparing neither man, woman, nor child. Then was the Lord Butler chosen Lord Justice, who made the Earl of Ulster and the Geraldines friends, and reconciled himself with Sir John Mandeville, thus seeking to preserve the residue of the realm which Edward Bruce meant wholly to conquer, having caused himself to be crowned King of Ireland.'
”Dundalk was heretofore the stronghold of the English power, and the head-quarters of the army for the defence of the Pale. At the north, as Barbour preserves in his metrical history of Robert Bruce:
”'At Kilsaggart Sir Edward lay, And wellsom he has heard say That at Dundalk was a.s.sembly Made of the lords of that country.'
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