Ireland under the Tudors, with a Succinct Account of the Earlier History. Vol. 1 (of 3)

O’Neill temporises

Early in August, Surrey, accompanied by Sir Piers Butler and his forces, entered Farney and punished MacMahon for the assistance given to O’Neill in his attacks on the Pale. O’Neill made some sort of verbal submission, and the Lord-Lieutenant returned to Dublin, where he detected a conspiracy among his soldiers, some of whom found life intolerable in Ireland. Their plan was to seize a small vessel in the river, and by her means a larger one on the high seas, and so to become rovers. The Irish lawyers held that the Viceroy could not hang them; for they had committed no overt act, and his patent did not authorise him to proceed by martial law. It is clear that the Crown was held capable of dispensing with the common law, at least in the case of soldiers.86

Desmonds and MacCarthies

In September an important private war was waged in Munster. James, Earl of Desmond, according to the usual practice of his family, made a perfectly unprovoked attack upon Cormac Oge MacCarthy, the chief of Muskerry. Having secured the assistance of Sir Thomas Fitzgerald, the Earl’s uncle and his own sister’s husband, and of his kinsman MacCarthy Reagh, Cormac Oge defeated Desmond in a pitched battle near Mourne Abbey, to the south of Mallow. The messenger who brought the news to Dublin reported that the Earl had lost 1,500 foot and 500 horse. The Lord-Lieutenant was not sorry, for he had straitly charged Desmond to leave the MacCarthies alone. The fate of the Desmonds has excited much not very well directed sympathy: it would better become Irishmen to remember that they were the worst oppressors of their Celtic neighbours.

When Surrey visited Munster soon after, Desmond met him at Clonmel, and was as loyal in words as Sir Piers Butler had been in deeds. At Waterford he met MacCarthy Reagh and Cormac Oge, who were adherents of Sir Piers, and who had come on his invitation. They spoke fairly, bound themselves to keep the peace and professed themselves loyal, so that they might be protected. Surrey wished to make Cormac Oge a Privy Councillor and a Baron of Parliament, and he calls him a ‘sad wise man.’ Cormac produced a charter under the Great Seal, a copy of which was sent to England with an assurance that it comprised no lands to which the King was entitled.87

Henry speaks boldly to the Irish

It was probably to Cormac Oge that Henry wrote a remarkable letter, which shows his intentions at this time. The Irishman, whether Cormac Oge or another, was willing to surrender his lands and take an estate tail from the Crown at a fair rent. It was the interest of native chieftains to do this, because it secured them as against the Government, while it enabled them to transmit to their children a property which was not theirs at all, but held in trust for the clan at the election of the clansmen. The one fear of Henry’s correspondent was that he should after all be abandoned to Kildare’s vengeance, and he counselled the employment of a large army. To this the King answered that he had no intention whatever of giving up his plans for the reduction of Ireland, that he would not remove Surrey, and that he would not reinstate Kildare in the government. When peaceful means failed it would be time to put forth his strength. In language which reminds us of the royal speech in the ballad of ‘Chevy Chase,’ he remarked that this Irish enterprise was a trifle compared with those which he had in hand against France and Scotland. This was politic language in dealing with a half-civilised MacCarthy, but Henry spoke very differently to his own servants. There was talk of an alliance between Argyll and O’Neill, and of a Scotch descent upon Ireland. The Continent was disturbed, and the burden of three armies would be intolerable. And yet he would try to do justice to Ireland. He was an absolute monarch and above legal trammels, but might even condescend to consider himself bound, if by so doing he could induce Irish chiefs to live by law. If that of England proved too strong for weak stomachs, they might even retain some of their native customs. The Earldom of Ulster was legally his own, but he would not willingly take it by force. If clemency failed, in the last resort he would try the strength of his hand, for realms without justice were but tyrannies, communities of beasts rather than reasoning men. Brave words! but woefully belied in action.88

Surrey is not sanguine

Surrey was not to be deceived, and steadily refused to prophesy smooth things. He believed that Ireland could only be reduced by conquest, and that the easiest method was to master one district at a time, gradually pushing forward the frontier until the whole country was obedient. A permanent army of 500 men might perhaps effect this, while at least 6,000 would be required for a rapid conquest. Edward I. had taken ten years to subdue Wales, and that great king had given almost constant personal attention to the work. Yet Wales was unprotected by the sea, and was not a fifth part the size of Ireland. All artillery and munitions of war would have to be brought from England, and fortresses must be built to bridle each tract of country successively occupied. Nor could a military occupation endure unless accompanied by a large plan of colonisation. Thus only could the natives be brought to labour and settled order. We can see, though Henry VIII. could not, how justly Surrey estimated the magnitude of England’s task in Ireland.89

Activity of Surrey

In July 1521 the Irish bordering on the Pale took their usual advantage of the season. O’Connor, O’More, and O’Carroll, the latter all unmindful of his last year’s oath and of more recent promises, collected a great host and prepared to attack the Pale. Surrey, who had lately prorogued his Parliament after a ten days’ session, was in Dublin, and by his promptitude averted the danger. O’Connor’s castle, near Edenderry, was soon in his hands, being unable to resist the fire of three pieces of heavy ordnance for a single day. It became an axiom in Irish warfare that the Government could always make its way with artillery. Surrey proposed to hold O’Connor’s stronghold permanently, and to use it against the Irishry as Berwick was used against the Scots. He destroyed all the corn far and wide, the people with their cattle flying before him, while Sir Piers Butler played the like part in Ely O’Carroll. The vigour shown by the Lord-Lieutenant had the effect which vigour generally has in Ireland, and the confederacy gave him little further trouble. Meanwhile, the North was in a blaze. O’Donnell professed loyalty, but was not trusted by Surrey, who, however, thought it wise to humour him. O’Neill was willing to be on good terms with the Government, and was on his way to Dundalk accompanied by Magennis and a large force, when the O’Donnells attacked him in the rear. Fifteen hundred cows were driven off and seventeen of the Magennis’ villages burned, so that the allies were forced to retrace their steps. The chief of Tyrconnell feared that if his great neighbour were once at peace with the Pale he would be too strong for him in the everlasting private war of Northern Ulster.90

Uncertainty of English policy

It is not the least of Ireland’s misfortunes that her rulers have ever been subject to hot and cold fits. In the autumn of 1521 Henry suddenly changed his mind. Disgusted at the apparently almost fruitless expense, he not only relieved Surrey at his own earnest request, but also abandoned his policy. War broke out between Charles and Francis, and the reformation of Ireland, which had but lately seemed so necessary a work for a Christian king, was lightly postponed to a more convenient season. Surrey is the first of a long series of able men whose efforts, generally very ill seconded at home, in the end brought Ireland under the English sceptre. His means were inconsiderable. In the expedition against O’More, which he undertook very soon after landing, his whole force seems not to have exceeded 700. He then asked the King for eighty horsemen from the North of England, and for leave to discharge as many of the guardsmen as he might think fit. Many of these were well-to-do householders, and liked Ireland so little that they were content to leave it on receiving twopence, or even a penny, a day. One hundred horsemen were accordingly sent, under the command of Sir John Bulmer, who was Surrey’s personal friend, and fifty more were added from Wales. The captain received half-a-crown and the lieutenant eighteenpence a day. On their arrival 117 guardsmen were discharged upon a penny a day. Fourpence appears to have been a soldier’s ordinary pay in Ireland, and Surrey maintained that this was not enough. Neither Welshmen nor Northumbrians proved to his taste, most of them being mounted archers and not spearmen. He thought better men might be had in the country, and Henry was willing to give him much latitude, though he cautioned him against employing too many Irishmen, lest the sword should hurt his hand. The King gave his Viceroy the power of life and death, reserving noble personages, and the right of making knights. A golden collar was sent for O’Neill, and it was supposed that such cheap defences would avail against a chief who could easily raise 1,600 men. Of two evils Surrey chose the less; he discharged most of Bulmer’s men, whom he pronounced ill-looking, worthless rascals, and took Englishmen of the Pale in their places. The difficulty of buying forage was thus obviated, as native horsemen could find it for themselves.91

Parliament of 1521

A Parliament sat in Dublin for ten days in June 1521, and after many prorogations was not finally dissolved till March 1522, when Surrey had left Ireland. There appears to be no record of the peers who attended, or of the places represented, and so little mention is afterwards made of this Parliament that the interest attaching to it was probably slight. Acts were passed making arson treason, forbidding the exportation of wool as the cause of a ‘dearth of cloth and idleness of many folks,’ and providing against the failure of justice through lack of jurors.92

Want of money

The Irish Government had no command of money, the judicious employment of which might enable them to dispense with troops. Surrey’s expedition to Munster was near failing for want of means to pay his men. Before the end of August the exchequer was habitually empty; no taxes were due till Michaelmas, nor leviable till Christmas; and nothing was to be had except for ready money.93 The King sent 4,000l., but would not face the necessities of the case. It seemed to him monstrous to have to spend 1,600l. or 1,700l. a year merely for the defence of the Pale. His remittances were mere palliatives, and Surrey was in difficulties during his whole term of office.

Surrey recalled at his own request, 1521

Surrey had to cope with disease as well as poverty. It was scarcely possible to find healthy quarters for soldiers, and the people fled everywhere into the fields, leaving unburied bodies behind them. No place in Ireland was safe, and the Lord-Lieutenant, who lost three of his servants, was anxious about his wife and children. Sir John Bulmer never had a day of health in Ireland, and was glad to get home safe without having seen any service. In the second year of his government, Surrey himself was affected with the fever and diarrhœa which have often been fatal to the English in Ireland, but his prayers were heard at last, and he was recalled in time to save his life. He was much regretted by the inhabitants of the Pale, who recognised his good nature, integrity, and ability. Those who best knew the subject believed that he really saw how the country might be reduced to order, and it was hoped that he would return with sufficient means. Meanwhile, the Irish Council entreated Wolsey to be guided by his advice.94

He leaves a great reputation

Beloved by the King’s subjects and feared by rebels, Surrey left one of the fairest names among those who have ruled Ireland. He paid in full for everything, so that the market followed him wherever he went, and he declared that he would rather eat grass than feast with the curses of the poor. His retinue had orders to behave in Ireland as they would at home. So generous was he that the common people thought him the King’s son. Nor was he less just, for he gave full notice of his intended departure, and discharged all debts due by him or his. It was thought that he never offended within the compass of the seven deadly sins during his stay in Ireland; tradition, with a fine contempt for facts, adds that ‘in his time was corn, cattle, fish, health, and fair weather, that the like was not seen many years before.’ We know from his own letters that corn was dear and sickness prevalent, and we may be very sure that the weather was not always fair.95

Sir Piers Butler is made Lord Deputy, 1522

Henry had too much respect for Surrey’s opinion to hand back Ireland at once to Kildare; but he had resolved to reduce expenses, and was therefore obliged to place the government in the hands of someone who had the strength to make authority respected. No one satisfied this condition except Sir Piers Butler, and Surrey was allowed to appoint him Deputy, retaining the office of Lord-Lieutenant himself. There were objections to Sir Piers, as to every Irish governor. The Butlers would not take the field except under him or his eldest son, and he was generally laid up with gout all the winter. Lord James, as the heir was called, was active enough, but young and inexperienced. The choice, however, lay between Ormonde and Kildare, and Sir Piers was so cautiously handled, that he abstained from driving a hard bargain.

The experiment is not successfulO’Neills and O’Donnells

The experiment was not very successful; for the Geraldines were all-powerful in the Pale, and the new Lord Deputy, when in Dublin, was separated from his own country by his rival’s dominions. He took the oath on March 26, 1522, but the O’Mores, who had heard that Kildare was on his way to restore the good old times, soon began to threaten the Pale. In the North a war broke out on such an unusually large scale as to make it probable that O’Neill had promised Kildare to give the new Deputy as much trouble as possible. Indeed, when Kildare did actually return, he at once went to O’Neill’s aid. The chief of Tyrone may have required little persuasion to attack his hereditary foes, but the number of his allies was very uncommon. MacWilliam of Clanricarde, Tirlough O’Brien, Bishop of Killaloe, with many of his clansmen, O’Connor Don and O’Connor Roe, MacWilliam of Mayo, and MacDermot of Moylurg, all agreed to assemble on the southern border of Donegal. O’Neill brought to the trysting place Magennis, O’Rourke, and MacMahon, and many Scottish mercenaries in the hereditary service of his family. ‘Great numbers,’ we are told, ‘of the English of Meath, and the gallowglasses of the province of Leinster, of the Clan-Donnell and Clan-Sheehy, also came thither, from their attachment to the daughter of the Earl of Kildare, who was O’Neill’s mother.’ To oppose this vast host, O’Donnell had only the clans immediately subject to him, O’Boyle, O’Gallagher, O’Dogherty, and the three septs of MacSwiney, hereditary gallowglasses of Tyrconnell. He mustered his forces near Trim, on the Tyrone side of the Finn, and there awaited the onset. But O’Neill adopted tactics very usual in Irish warfare, passed by the northern shore of Lough Erne, reached Ballyshannon without fighting, and slaughtered the garrison of MacSwineys there. O’Donnell retaliated by sending his son Manus to ravage the nearest districts of Tyrone, and himself hurried in pursuit of O’Neill across the pass now called Barnesmore Gap. Again declining battle, O’Neill turned back, spoiled the country between Donegal and Letterkenny, and encamped on the hill which overlooks Strabane. O’Donnell returned very quickly over Barnesmore, and, having been rejoined by his son, faced the enemy near Lifford. There he held a council of war, and his followers in desperation resolved on an immediate fight. Leaving their horses behind, the O’Donnells crept up unperceived, drove in the outposts, and entered the camp pell-mell. In the darkness and confusion faces could not be distinguished, and many O’Neills fell by the hands of their brethren. Nine hundred dead bodies were counted in the morning, including many of the Leinster men who had come for the love of Kildare. Celtic war always presents the same features, and the victorious O’Donnells quickly disbanded with the horses and armour, the strong liquors and the rich drinking vessels of the vanquished.96

O’Donnell is stronger than O’Neill

When he had again collected his men, O’Donnell recrossed Barnesmore, passed between Lough Melvin and the sea, and encamped at the foot of Benbulben, the bold hill which tourists admire from Sligo. The Connaught men were besieging that place when they heard of O’Donnell’s victory, and of his near approach. They offered to negotiate, and, having thus gained time, they broke up from Sligo and retreated rapidly to the Curlew mountains, where they separated. The panegyrists of the O’Donnells sing pæans over two victories obtained without the help of English or Scotch allies, and remarkable in Irish warfare, the one for its slaughter, the other for its bloodlessness. Next year O’Donnell carried the war into Tyrone, which he ravaged as far as Dungannon. At Knockinlossy he destroyed a beautiful herb-garden, which must have been a rare thing in those days, and from Tullahogue, where he established a temporary camp, he spoiled the land far and wide. All the plunder was carried off safely, and the invaders then returned for more; but peace was made instead, and they turned their arms against O’Rourke. Fermanagh was wasted as Tyrone had been, and we cannot be surprised that chiefs who thus preyed on each other should fail to make head against the English Government.97

Sir Piers Butler is thwarted by the Geraldines

During his short tenure of office, Sir Piers Butler undertook but one warlike expedition. He chastised the O’Briens, and killed one of their leaders at the ford of Camus on the Suir. But Kildare had returned to Ireland, and was active in the field, acting at first in apparent unison with the Lord Deputy. Supported by O’Neill, to whose arbitration differences were submitted, he reduced to quiet the clans on the border of the Pale. With both Butlers and Geraldines, the main object was to enlarge and secure their hereditary territories; but the former sought support in England, the latter among the wild tribes of Ulster. Lady Kildare, a daughter of Grey, Marquis of Dorset, whom the Earl had married during his late visit to England, complained bitterly to Wolsey that Sir Piers oppressed her husband, spoiled his tenants and friends, and made alliances with the wild Irish. She attributed this to Kildare’s refusal to act partially in the dispute with the Boleyn family. Sir Piers Butler had married Kildare’s sister, and he might not unreasonably count upon his brother-in-law’s assistance; but throughout the contests of this century personal considerations were of little power compared with those of clanship and family pride. Kildare’s brother James killed Robert Talbot of Belgard, on his way to Kilkenny, and it seems that the Geraldines regarded all gentlemen of the Pale who opposed them as no better than spies. But Sir Piers was naturally incensed at the outrage on his friend and visitor.98

Kildare in Ulster

The general lawlessness is well shown by an expedition which Kildare undertook against O’Neill of Clandeboye, partly, as he owned, in revenge of the damage done to his property there, and partly, as he told the King, to punish attacks upon English merchants. At Carrickfergus he found a Breton ship which had just landed a cargo of Gascon wine. England and France were at peace, but the foreigners were fain to avoid capture by putting to sea without having been paid for their goods. The taste for claret was early developed in Ireland, and this relief from payment may have had a charm like the exemption from legal duties in more modern times. A Scotch vessel laden with provisions, which lay out in Belfast Lough, was attacked by the Geraldines in boats and forced ashore. Hugh O’Neill, who had 1,500 Scots with him, rescued the crew, and in revenge Kildare destroyed Belfast and two other castles, and burned the country for twenty-four miles round. The Mayor of Carrickfergus and three of the chief townsmen were sent prisoners to England for trading with the French and Scots. If we are to believe Kildare’s account, the Lord Deputy took the opportunity of handing over his castles to the O’Connors, of making a league with O’Carroll, and of carrying off 500 stud mares and colts from the county of Kildare.99

Kildare is restored

It became evident at last that Sir Piers Butler was not strong enough to govern without Kildare’s help, and Henry reverted to his father’s policy of entrusting all Ireland to the man whom all Ireland could not govern. One more effort was made to reconcile the rivals by sending over royal commissioners, who prevailed upon them to make an agreement under seal as the basis of mutual concession. Kildare’s stud mares had been taken by a namesake of his own, but Sir Piers covenanted to give them up if they came within his power. The subsidy payable by Tipperary to Kildare when he was Deputy was forgiven, as was half the subsidy paid by the county of Kildare to Butler during his tenure of office. In general, everyone was to behave well, to keep the peace, and not to make friends with Irish rebels.100

Arrangements for local government

Butler and Kildare, and the principal gentlemen living on the marches of the Pale, were bound at this time to adopt a certain order in their countries, the two greater chiefs under penalties of 1,000 marks each, and the others in sums varying from 200 marks to 40l. They made themselves liable in general for their own acts and for those of their sons and brethren, covenanting not to use the Brehon law nor those Irish exactions which usually accompanied it, and to repress crime as far as their power reached. Kildare, on his appointment as Deputy, covenanted with the King not to make war or peace with Irishmen at the public charge without consent of the Council. This was intended to prevent another Knocktoe. Coyne and livery for the public service were to be reduced to fixed rules. Householders were to be allowed to compound by paying twopence a meal for a footman, and threehalfpence for a horseman or groom; twelve sheaves of oats for a trooper, and eight for a draught horse was to be the allowance, and not more than one boy was to accompany each horse. If the Earl travelled on private business, or on his way to attend Parliament, he was not to take coyne and livery save from his own tenants; and in no case except for the actual use of soldiers, nor for more than one night in one place, nor for successive nights within a distance of nine miles. It had been the custom to charge the farmers for ‘black men,’ that is, for soldiers who only existed in name and as a means of extortion. Treaties with Irishmen were not to be made to prejudice the Crown, nor were pardons to be given without the consent of the Council. The King’s castles were to be kept in repair, and the Earl was to do his best to make the people of the Pale speak, dress, and shave like Englishmen. The salaries of the judges were to be paid; and Kildare promised if possible to have sheriffs, escheators, and coroners appointed in Meath, Dublin, Louth, Wexford, Kilkenny, Tipperary, and Waterford, and to provide for the holding of Quarter Sessions in due course.101 It is noteworthy that the counties of Kildare and Cork are not mentioned, and that Tipperary is; the probability being that the two former were purposely excluded as being under Geraldine influence. As to the Butler Palatinate of Tipperary, it is possible that only the ecclesiastical portion or cross was intended, but it is more likely that Kildare purposely placed his rival’s district in a worse position than his own or those of Desmond. On the other hand, he promised not to go to war with the Butlers, or with their allies the Darcys and Nugents, without the consent of the Council. The new Lord Deputy promised not to purchase during his tenure of office any lands of which the title was in dispute. James Fitzgerald was carried to England to answer for the death of Talbot, and led through the streets of London with a halter round his neck; but was pardoned in defiance of Wolsey’s opinion at the intercession of Denton, Dean of Lichfield, who had been one of the commissioners lately sent to Ireland.102

The Butlers and Geraldines still quarrel

In spite of all precautions, the perennial quarrel of Butlers and Geraldines was not stopped by the appointment of Kildare. Sir Piers sent his son James to London to watch the family interests there, in which task he was to be guided by Robert Cowley. Kildare even asserted that Sir Piers had given a signet to his trusty adherent, with the aid of which he might attest any written statement he chose to make. James Butler was either really too much occupied with the pleasure of the Court, or was crafty enough to appear so, while waiting for an opportunity. ‘Surely,’ his father wrote, ‘unless I see your time better employed in attendance of my great business, than ye have done hither, I will be well advised or I do send you any more, to your costs.’ A chief part of the business was the prisage of wines, especially at Waterford, which had always formed an important part of the Butler revenue. Kildare, as Lord Deputy, had insisted that an account should be given into the Exchequer, and Sir Piers argued that this was done merely to annoy him, and not at all out of regard to the King’s revenue. He declared that the indentures which the new Deputy had executed were ‘in no point observed,’ and, in particular, that coyne and livery were ruthlessly exacted, two villages in Kilkenny having to maintain no less than 420 gallowglasses. The Butler tenants were so impoverished that they could pay no rent and, moreover, the Deputy had not paid the half-subsidy of 800l. as he had bound himself to do. The King peremptorily ordered payment, but the claim was still disputed, and it does not appear that the money was ever handed over. Meanwhile, Lord Leonard Grey, the Deputy’s brother-in-law, pressed many grave complaints upon the royal attention. Sir Piers was accused of levying coyne and livery for craftsmen as well as soldiers, and for his hunting establishment. There were separate packs for hare, stag, and martin, and no less than sixty greyhounds; the whole charge on Kilkenny and Tipperary amounting to 2,000 marks.103