Volume II Part 21 (1/2)

Thus, for example, in a report presented (1631) from the diocese of Elphin, then ruled by Bishop Boetius Egan, it can be seen that although all the churches, including the cathedral, had been destroyed or taken possession of by the Protestants, there were at the time forty priests at work in the diocese; the decrees of the Council of Trent had been promulgated; the parishes had been re-arranged, and the learning of the parish priests appointed had been tested by examination; regular synods, visitations, and conferences of the clergy were being held, and steps had been taken to ensure that the people should be instructed fully in their religion.[49]

In the Parliament of 1641 the Catholics were in the majority, and they insisted that the ”Graces” must be confirmed. The king granted their demands, and the bill was actually on its way to Ireland when the Lords Justices, Parsons and Borlase, who administered the government of the country prorogued the session. They wished for no settlement with the Catholics lest a settlement might put an end to their hopes of a plantation, and the Earl of Ormond tried also to block the pa.s.sage of the bill in the hope of saving the king from the odium which he would incur in England and Scotland by granting toleration to the Irish Catholics. The Catholic n.o.blemen of Ireland, whether Irish or Anglo-Irish, had good reason to complain. They had seen the Catholics driven out of the good lands of Ulster to make way for English and Scottish planters, and they well knew that the danger of similar transactions in Connaught, Munster, and Leinster had not pa.s.sed away with the death of Strafford. They had seen the operation of the Court of Wards, and they could not fail to realise that as a result of its work the landowners of Ireland would soon be dispossessed or Protestantised. They knew something of the Protestant Inquisition courts as run by the ministers and bishops, of the persecution of their clergy, the fees and fines levied on the unfortunate Catholic peasantry, and of the still graver danger that lay before them in case the Covenanters and the Puritans were to overthrow Charles I., or to succeed in forcing him to accept their policy. Were they to remain pa.s.sive, they believed, they could have no hope of redress or even of safety, and hence many of them made up their minds that the time for negotiations had pa.s.sed, and that they could rely only on force. Never again were they likely to get such a favourable opportunity. England was torn by internal dissensions; the disbanded Irish soldiers, who had been trained for service against the Scots, were still in the country; and with so many distinguished Irishmen scattered through the countries of Europe there was good hope that they might get a.s.sistance from their co-religionists on the Continent. The distinguished Waterford Franciscan, Father Luke Wadding, who had founded the College of St. Isidore in Rome and had taken such a prominent part in the foundation of the Irish College, was in Rome ready to plead the cause of his countrymen at the Papal Court. His fame as a scholar was known throughout Europe, and his active support could not fail to produce its effect in Europe, and particularly in Spain where he was esteemed so highly by Philip IV.

Owen Roe O'Neill, who had achieved a remarkable distinction in the army of Spain by his gallant defence of Arras against the French, Colonel Preston, uncle of Lord Gormanston, and a host of others, who had learned the art of war in France, Spain, and the Netherlands, were willing to return to Ireland and to place their swords at the disposal of their country.

Early in 1641[50] Rory O'More, who was closely connected with both the Irish and the Anglo-Irish n.o.bles, suggested to Lord Maguire of Enniskillen the idea of an appeal to arms, and hinted at the possibility of a union between the Irish n.o.bles and the Lords of the Pale. In a short time most of the important leaders of the North, Sir Phelim O'Neill, Turlogh O'Neill, Lord Maguire, Hugh MacMahon, Arthur MacGennis of Down, Philip and Miles O'Reilly of Cavan had come to an understanding. The war was to begin in Ulster on the night of the 23rd October 1641, and on the same night an attempt was made to seize Dublin Castle. The latter portion of the programme could not be carried out owing to the action of an informer who betrayed Maguire and Hugh MacMahon to the Lords Justices; but at the appointed time the Irish Catholics of Ulster rose almost to a man, and in a very short time most of the strong places in the province were in their hands. In such a movement it was almost impossible for the leaders to prevent some excesses, particularly as many of the men who took part in it had been driven from their lands to make way for the Planters, and had suffered terribly from the harshness and cruelty to which they and their families had been subjected. Naturally they seized their own again, and in some cases they may have used more violence than the situation required, but it is now admitted by impartial historians[51]

that the wild stories of a wholesale ma.s.sacre of Protestants are without any more solid foundation than the fact that the Protestants were for the most part driven out of Ulster in much the same way as the Catholics had been driven to the mountains thirty years before.

Most of the few who were killed were probably struck down while attempting to defend their homes, and in no case is there evidence to prove that the leaders countenanced unnecessary violence or murder. If the historian wishes to look for organised lawlessness and murder he can find it much more easily in the campaign of the infamous Sir Charles Coote or in the raids carried out by the forces of the Scotch Covenanters of the North. The Catholic Lords of the Pale hastened to Dublin Castle to offer their services against the Northern rebels, but they were received so discourteously by the Lords Justices that they recognised the absolute necessity of joining with the Catholics of Ulster. In announcing their defection the Lords Justices positively gloated over the splendid prospect of having the province of Leinster planted with English settlers (Dec. 1641).[52] The action of the English Parliament in decreeing that for the future there should be no toleration allowed to Irish Catholics (Dec. 1641) and in putting up for sale two million five hundred thousand acres of fertile land in Ireland, the proceeds to be expended in a war of extermination, strengthened the hands of the Irish leaders, and helped to bring over the waverers to their side.

The Catholic clergy had sympathised with the movement from the beginning, but they had exerted themselves particularly in moderating the fury of their countrymen, and in protecting the Protestants, both laymen and clerics, from unnecessary violence.[53] But, as there was a danger that the movement would break up and that the Irish forces would be divided, it was necessary for the bishops to take action.

Religion was nearly the only bond that was likely to unite the Irish and the Anglo-Irish n.o.bles, and the Church was the only inst.i.tution that could give the movement unity and permanency. A meeting of the bishops and vicars of the Northern province was held at Kells (May 1642) under the presidency of Dr. Hugh O'Reilly, Archbishop of Armagh.

They prescribed a three days' fast, the public recitation of the Rosary and the Litanies, and a general Communion for the success of the war, issued a sentence of excommunication against murderers, mutilators, thieves, robbers, etc., together with all their aiders and abettors, denounced the Catholic Irishmen who refused to make common cause with their countrymen, and ordered all bishops, vicars-general, parish priests, and heads of religious houses to spare no pains to raise funds immediately for the support of the soldiers.[54] In May (1642) a national synod was held at Kilkenny. It was attended by the Primate of Armagh, the Archbishops of Tuam and Cashel, by most of the bishops either personally or by procurators, and by representatives of the religious orders and of the secular clergy. They declared that the war was being waged for the defence of the Catholic religion, for the preservation of the rights and prerogatives of the king, for the just and lawful immunities, liberties, and rights of Ireland, for the protection of the lives, fortunes, goods, and possessions of the Catholics of Ireland, and that it was a just war in which all Catholics should join. They condemned murder, robbery, and violence, advised all their countrymen to lay aside racial and provincial differences, took measures for the restoration of the cathedrals and churches to their owners, exhorted all, both clergy and laymen, to preserve unity, and called upon the priests to offer up Ma.s.s at least once a week for the success of the war.[55]

During the year 1642 the war had spread into all parts of Ireland, and most of the prominent n.o.bles, with the exception of the Earl of Clanrickard, had taken the field. Owen Row O'Neill and Colonel Preston had arrived with some of the Irish veterans from the Continent, and had brought with them supplies of arms and ammunition. Urban VIII. had forwarded a touching letter addressed to the clergy and people of Ireland (Feb. 1642) and had contrived to send large supplies of weapons and powder. A general a.s.sembly of Irish Catholics was called to meet at Kilkenny in October 1642. There were present, eleven spiritual peers, fourteen lay peers, and two hundred and twenty-six representatives from the cities and counties of Ireland, under the presidency of Lord Mountgarrett. Generals were appointed to lead the forces in the different provinces, as unfortunately owing to the jealousy between the Anglo-Irish and the Irish n.o.bles Owen Roe O'Neill could not be appointed commander of the national army. Arrangements were made for sending amba.s.sadors to the princ.i.p.al courts of Europe, for the establishment of a printing-press, for raising money, and for the promotion of education. The Irish Franciscans of Louvain were asked to transfer their press and library to Ireland to help in the creation of a great school of Irish learning. Father Luke Wadding was appointed the Irish representative at the Papal Court, and agents were dispatched to France, Spain, the Netherlands, and to several of the German States. Urban VIII., yielding to the entreaties of the Irish amba.s.sador gave generous a.s.sistance, and wrote to nearly all the Catholic rulers of Europe recommending them to a.s.sist their co-religionists in Ireland.

In 1643 the well-known Oratorian, Father Francesco Scarampi, landed in Wexford as the accredited agent of the Pope, bringing with him supplies of money and arms. Hardly, however, had he arrived, when he discovered that though the Irish armies had met with considerable success both against the Royalist forces in Dublin and the Scotch Covenanters in the North, negotiations had been opened up for an extended truce. The Anglo-Irish n.o.bles had never been enthusiastic for the war as an Irish war. They fought merely to preserve their estates and to secure a certain degree of liberty of wors.h.i.+p, but in their hearts they were more anxious about the cause of the king than about the cause of Ireland. The Marquis of Ormond, whom the king had created his Lord Lieutenant in Ireland, had many friends amongst the Lords of the Pale, and by means of his agents he succeeded in bringing about a cessation (Sept. 1643). The Irish Catholics were to send agents to the king for a full discussion of their grievances, and were to help him with supplies. Anxious to secure the help of the Irish Catholics, and fearing to give a handle to his parliamentary opponents by granting religious toleration, Charles was in a very difficult position, and to make matters worse Ormond was determined not to yield to the demands of the Catholics. He was prepared to make a conditional promise that the laws against them would not be enforced, but beyond that he was resolved not to go.

After long and fruitless negotiations with Ormond the war was renewed (1644). Representatives from France and Spain had arrived in Kilkenny, and it was thought that if the Pope could be induced to send a nuncio such a measure would strengthen the hands of the Irish amba.s.sadors on the Continent. At the request of Sir Richard Bellings, Secretary to the Supreme Council, Innocent X. consented to send Giovanni Battista Rinuccini as his representative to Ireland (1645). The latter landed at Kenmare in October, and proceeded almost immediately to Kilkenny.

In the meantime Charles I. was being hard pressed in England, and as he could have no hope of inducing Ormond to agree to such terms as would satisfy the Catholics of Ireland, he commissioned the Earl of Glamorgan, himself a Catholic, and closely connected with some of the Irish families by marriage, to go to Kilkenny and to procure a.s.sistance from the Catholic Confederation at all costs. Shortly after his arrival he concluded a treaty in the name of the king (Aug. 1645) in which he guaranteed ”the free and public exercise of the Roman Catholic religion.” All churches possessed by the Irish Catholics at any time since October 1641 were to be left in their hands, and ”all churches in Ireland other than such as are now actually enjoyed by his Majesty's Protestant subjects” were to be given back to the Catholics.

All jurisdiction claimed by Protestant bishops or ministers over Irish Catholics was to be abolished, and all temporalities, possessed by the Catholic clergy since October 1641, were to be retained by them, two- thirds of the income, however, to be paid to the king during the continuance of the war. Charles had already addressed a letter to the nuncio promising to carry out whatever terms Glamorgan would concede, and adding the hope that though this was the first letter he had ever written to any minister of the Pope it would not be the last.[56] The terms were to be kept a secret, but in October 1645 Archbishop O'Queely of Tuam was killed near Sligo in a skirmish between the Confederate and Parliamentary forces, and a copy of the treaty which he had in his possession fell into the hands of the enemy. As soon as it was published it created a great sensation in England, and Charles immediately repudiated it. Glamorgan was arrested in Dublin by Ormond, but was released after a few weeks, and returned coolly to Kilkenny to conduct further negotiations.

Since his arrival in Kilkenny (1645) the nuncio was anxious to break off negotiations with Ormond, and to devote all the energies of the country to the prosecution of the war. But the Anglo-Irish of the Pale were bent upon accepting any terms that Ormond might offer; and soon the Supreme Council was divided into two sections, one favouring the nuncio, the other supporting Ormond. Negotiations had been opened directly with Rome by Queen Henrietta through her agent Sir Kenelm Digby. In return for promises of men and money the latter signed a treaty even much more favourable to the Irish Catholics than that which had been concluded with Glamorgan (1645), but as the original of this treaty had not come to hand, and as it was feared that there was little hope of its being put in force, the Supreme Council patched up an agreement with Ormond (March 1646). Although the latter had got a free hand from the king he granted very little to the Catholics. The oath of supremacy was to be abolished in the next Parliament, as were to be also all statutory penalties and disabilities; ”his Majesty's Catholic subjects were to be recommended to his Majesty's favour for further concessions;” all educational disabilities of Catholics were to be removed, and all offices, civil and military, were to be thrown open to them. Even this treaty was kept a secret, but in the meantime the Confederation should send troops to the a.s.sistance of the king.

But before the troops could be sent Charles was driven to take refuge with the Scots at Newcastle (May 1646), from which place he wrote forbidding Ormond ”to proceed further in treaty with the rebels or to make any conditions with them.”[57]

Notwithstanding Rinuccini's earnest entreaties the majority of the Supreme Council insisted on accepting Ormond's terms. The Confederation had been so weakened by dissensions that General Monro thought he could march south and capture Kilkenny, but at Benburb he found his way barred by the forces of O'Neill, and he was obliged to retreat to Coleraine, having left a great portion of his army dead on the field, and his standards, guns, and supplies in the hands of O'Neill (5 June 1646). The news of the great victory was brought to the nuncio at Limerick, where the captured banners were carried in procession through the streets and deposited in the cathedral. General Preston had also scored some successes in Connaught, so that once again the tide seemed to have turned in favour of the Confederates.

Rinuccini was more than ever determined to refuse half measures, such as were being offered by the terms of Ormond's treaty. He summoned a meeting of the bishops in Waterford (Aug. 1646), and after long discussion it was agreed that those who accepted Ormond's terms were guilty of perjury, because they had thereby broken the terms of the oath of confederation. According to this oath the members had pledged themselves to be content with nothing less than the free and public exercise of their religion, while Ormond left nearly everything to the good-will of the king, from whom nothing could be expected considering the state of affairs in England. In spite of all remonstrances the Supreme Council published the Peace in Kilkenny, but their messengers were refused admittance into several of the cities of the South.

Ormond was invited to Kilkenny, where he received a royal reception from his friends. But O'Neill marched south and compelled Ormond to beat a hasty retreat towards Dublin. Rinucinni returned to Kilkenny, and some of the prominent adherents of Ormond were arrested. A new Supreme Council was chosen, and O'Neill and Preston were commissioned to march on Dublin, but, though they brought their armies close to the city, yet, owing to underhand communications carried on between Ormond's agent, the Earl of Clanrickard, and Preston, and the jealousy between the generals, the attack was not made.

A new General a.s.sembly had been elected and met at Kilkenny (10 Jan.

1647). After a long discussion the Ormond Peace was condemned, and a new form of oath was drawn up to be taken by all the Confederates.

Ormond, who could have done so much for his master had he obeyed his instructions and made some satisfactory offers to the Irish Catholics, surrendered Dublin into the hands of the Parliamentarians, and fled to France. To make matters worse Preston was defeated by the Parliamentarians at Summerhill (Aug. 1647), and Lord Inchiquin was carrying all before him in the South. Everywhere he went he had acted with great savagery, and was especially violent in his opposition to the Catholic religion. But early in 1648 he changed his politics, and declared for the king against the Parliament. Immediately the former friends of Ormond on the Supreme Council insisted on making terms with Lord Inchiquin. Rinuccini opposed such a step as a betrayal, and his action was approved by a majority of the bishops. The nuncio left the city and went towards Maryborough, where O'Neill was encamped. In May 1648 the truce with Lord Inchiquin was proclaimed, and in a few days Rinuccini issued a sentence of excommunication against all who would receive it, and of interdict against the towns which recognised it.

The Supreme Council replied by appealing to the Pope. The only result was that the division and confusion became more general. Several of the bishops and clergy were to be found on both sides. The Supreme Council dismissed O'Neill from his office, and afterwards declared him a traitor. The nuncio went to Galway, from which port he sailed in 1649. Though it is difficult to entertain anything but the greatest contempt for the Ormond faction on the Supreme Council, and though Rinuccini was an honest man who did his best to carry out his instructions, still he did not understand perfectly the situation. He allowed himself to show too openly his preference for O'Neill, and displayed too great an inclination to have recourse to high-handed methods. His arrest of the Ormondist faction on the Supreme Council and the censures which he levelled against his opponents, however justifiable these things might have been in themselves, were not calculated to restore unity and confidence.[58]

Ormond returned to Ireland in 1648 and received a great welcome from those of the Supreme Council who were opposed to Rinuccini and O'Neill. In January 1649 he concluded a peace with them by which he guaranteed that in the next Parliament to be held in Ireland the free exercise of the Catholic religion should be conceded; that the Act of Uniformity and the Act of Royal Supremacy should be abolished; that all offices, civil and military, should be thrown open to Catholics provided they were willing to take a simple oath of allegiance; that all plans for any further plantations in Munster, Leinster, and Connaught should be abandoned, that all Acts of Attainder, etc., pa.s.sed against Irish Catholics since October 1641 should be treated as null and void; that the clergy should not be molested in regard to the churches, church-livings, etc., until his Majesty upon full consideration of the desires of the Catholics, formulated in a free Parliament, should express his further pleasure; and that the regular clergy who would accept this peace should be allowed to continue to hold their houses and possessions. Further concessions were to be dependent on the king's wishes.[59] The Catholic Confederation as such was dissolved, and Ormond was installed as Lord Lieutenant to govern the country in conjunction with twelve Commissioners of Trust appointed by the Confederates. But O'Neill and his army still held out against any terms with Ormond, and a large number of the cities refused to hold any communications with him. Still he hoped to capture Dublin from the Parliamentarians before help could arrive from England, but he suffered a terrible defeat at Rathmines (2 Aug. 1649).

Less than a fortnight later Oliver Cromwell[60] arrived in Dublin with a large force to crush both the Royalists and the Catholics.

Cromwell, having taken a little time for his troops to recruit, marched on Drogheda, then held for the king by Sir Arthur Aston, and so earnestly did he push forward the siege that in a short time he carried the city by a.s.sault, and put most of the garrison and a large number of the citizens to death. Over a thousand were slaughtered in St. Peter's Church to which they had fled for refuge, and special vengeance was meted out to the clergy, none of them who were recognised being spared. Similar scenes of wholesale butchery took place at Wexford, into which his army gained admission by treachery.[61] Ormond was unable to make headway against such a commander, and frightened at last by the prospect that opened out before him, he made overtures to O'Neill for a reconciliation. O'Neill agreed to lend his aid against Cromwell. He sent a portion of his army south, and he himself, though ill, was already on the march when he died at Cloughoughter (6 Nov. 1649). His death at such a time was an irreparable loss both to the Catholic religion and to Ireland. Had he lived, and had Ormond and his faction co-operated with him, the campaign of Cromwell might have had a very different termination.

During the closing months of 1649 the situation in Ireland seemed hopeless. Though as an unscrupulous diplomatist Ormond had few equals, he was utterly worthless as a soldier, and to make matters worse he was still distrusted by the great ma.s.s of the Irish people. In the hope of restoring unity and of encouraging the people to continue the struggle a synod of the bishops and clergy a.s.sembled at Clonmacnoise (Dec. 1649). They issued a declaration warning the people that they could expect no mercy from the English Parliament, that the wholesale extirpation of Catholicism was intended, as was evidenced by the actions of Cromwell, and that the lands of the Irish Catholics were to be handed over to English adventurers. They called upon them to forget past differences, to sink racial and personal jealousies, and to unite against the common enemy.[62] But the country distrusted Ormond, and refused to rally to his standard. Another meeting consisting of the bishops and of the Commissioners of Trust was held at Loughrea, in which it was agreed that there should be a general levy of all men fit to bear arms, and the monastery of Kilbegan was fixed as the place of rendezvous. Several of the cities and leading men refused, however, to take any part in a movement controlled by Ormond, and as a last desperate resort, at the meeting of the bishops held at Jamestown (12 Aug. 1650) the bishops declared that there could be no hope of unity unless Ormond surrendered his trust to some person in whom the entire country had confidence.[63] Very reluctantly Ormond agreed to this request and left Ireland in December, having appointed the Earl of Clanrickard as his successor. The latter was a Catholic who had played a very ign.o.ble part throughout the war. Had he displayed years before but half the energy he displayed in its later stages things might never have come to such a pa.s.s.

As it was, Cromwell made great progress in the South, though he was forced to raise the siege of Waterford, and suffered a bad defeat at Clonmel from the nephew of O'Neill. He left Ireland in May 1650, and entrusted the command to Ireton. Owing to the state of disunion Ireton was enabled to take city after city. Limerick was taken in 1651, and Terence O'Brien, Bishop of Emly, was put to death. Bishop MacMahon of Clogher, who had a.s.sumed the leaders.h.i.+p of the army of Owen Row O'Neill after the latter's death was defeated at Scarrifhollis (1650).

Later on he was captured, and put to death, his head being impaled on the gates of Enniskillen as a warning to his co-religionists. The submission of Clanrickard in 1652 practically put an end to the war, and before another year had elapsed all effective resistance had ceased.

During the Kilkenny Confederation the Catholic Church was restored to its original position. In the districts controlled by the Confederates the bishops and clergy were allowed to occupy once more their houses and churches wherever these had not been destroyed, and religious communities of both men and women were set up again close to their former monasteries and convents, though at the same time the Catholic Lords of the Pale were alert lest they should be asked to return any of the ecclesiastical or monastic lands that had been granted to them by royal patent. In Dublin and wherever Ormond and the Royalists had authority, both clergy and people enjoyed complete toleration, but in certain portions of the North, and wherever the Puritans and Parliamentarians held sway, persecution was still the order of the day. When Dublin was surrendered to the Parliamentarians (1647) the priests, and later on, all Catholics, were expelled from the city. In the South of Ireland Lord Inchiquin acted in the most savage manner in Cashel and generally in the cities which he conquered, while the Parliamentarian party in the North showed no mercy to the Catholics who fell into their hands. After the arrival of Cromwell the prospect became even more gloomy. Though he announced that he would interfere with no man's religion, he declared that on no account could he tolerate the celebration of Ma.s.s.[64] The clergy were put to the sword in Drogheda and Wexford. The Archbishop of Tuam was killed during the war (1645); Boetius Egan, Bishop of Ross, fell into the hands of Lord Broghill and was put to a cruel death because, instead of advising the garrison of Carrigdrohid to surrender, he encouraged them to continue the struggle (1650); Terence Albert O'Brien, Bishop of Emly, was captured by Ireton after the siege of Limerick, and was hanged; Heber MacMahon, Bishop of Clogher, was put to death by the orders of Coote (1650); Bishop Rothe of Ossory died as a result of the sufferings he endured, and Bishop French of Ferns, after undergoing terrible trials in Ireland, was obliged to make his escape to the Continent.

In arranging the terms of surrender the Cromwellian generals sometimes excluded the bishops and clergy from protection, and at best they granted them only a short time to prepare for leaving the country. The presence of the priests was regarded as a danger for the projected settlement of Ireland, and hence the order was given (1650) that they should be arrested. In 1650 a reward of 20 was offered to any one who would betray the hiding place of any Jesuits, priests, friars, monks, or nuns. At first those clergy who were captured were sent into France and Spain, but later on large numbers of them were s.h.i.+pped to the Barbadoes. Thus, for example, in 1655 an instruction was sent to Sir Charles Coote that the priests and friars then captive in Galway who were over forty years of age should be banished to Portugal or France, while those under that age were to ”be s.h.i.+pped away for the Barbadoes or other American plantations.” For those who returned death was the penalty that was laid down. Since the priests still contrived to elude their pursuers by disguising themselves as labourers, peasants, beggars, gardeners, etc., an order was issued in 1655 that a general search should be made throughout Ireland for the capture of all priests. Five pounds was to be paid to any one who would arrest a priest, and more might be awarded if the individual taken were of special importance. When the jails were well filled, another instruction was issued that the priests should be brought together at Carrickfergus for transportation. Here it was claimed that some offered to submit to the terms of the government rather than allow themselves to be sent away, but as the statement comes from an unreliable source it should be received with caution. In 1657 Major Morgan, representative of Wicklow in the United Parliament of England and Ireland, declared: ”We have three beasts to destroy that lay heavy burthens upon us. The first is the wolf, on whom we lay five pounds a head of a dog, and ten pounds if a b.i.t.c.h. The second beast is a priest, on whose head we lay ten pounds, and if he be eminent, more.