two years before, without going through the form of passing a law through the Irish Parliament; and partly owing to measures taken to forward the cause of the Reformation within the Pale. Lord Grey of Wilton was directed to put down this rebellion, but, owing to Lord Grey his rashness, his army was almost annihilated. defeated. He had landed at Dublin, and thence led his army south into Wicklow, to attack Baltinglass. He was caught by the allies in a narrow mountain pass, and completely beaten.

Leinster

In October, 1580, a small force of about seven hundred Spaniards and Italians arrived in Ireland, to help in the contest against the English. Lord Grey, furigarrison ous at his former defeat, bombarded Fort Dunmassacred. anore, where the Irish were intrenched, until it surrendered, when he massacred the whole garrison, an act which excited indignation even throughout England. He continued this barbarous campaign through the year 1581, until the queen, realizing the lasting harm which was being worked by these savage methods, caused his recall in 1582. Affairs in the Geraldine camp had been End of the growing worse and worse. The army was too weak to accomplish anything, and most of its leaders had been killed or captured. The great Earl of Desmond, head of the Geraldine family, was roaming the woods as an outlaw, with a price on his head. He was finally killed in 1583.

rebellion.

SUMMARY

In 1534, by the Act of Supremacy, Henry VIII had himself proclaimed Supreme Head of the Catholic Church in his own dominions, and the English Church was declared independent of the Pope. By an act passed in Ireland in 1536, Henry VIII was further declared Supreme Head of the Irish

Church; as a result, the monasteries, which refused to recognize his authority, were suppressed. The Irish Parliament of 1541 gave him the title of "King of Ireland.”

Edward VI tried to enforce the doctrines of the Reformation; also inflicting upon the Irish the abuses of colonization and the tithe system. There was a short respite during Queen Mary's reign, followed by a period of persecution under Elizabeth, 1558-1603, when the teachings of the Reformation were enforced by stricter measures.

The difference between English and Irish law in the matter of succession to estates was the cause of the rebellion of Shane O'Neill, which broke out in 1551 and lasted until his death in 1566. The continued efforts to impose the Protestant creed, and projects of Protestant colonization, brought about the formation of the Second Geraldine League in 1567, which was followed by the Geraldine rebellion in 1569-82. In this struggle, the Butlers fought on the side of the English, while the Geraldines secured aid from Spain. Munster and Leinster were devastated.

CHAPTER XVII

CLOSE OF THE TUDOR PERIOD

1583-1603

ENGLISH SOVEREIGN: Queen Elizabeth, 1558-1603

142. Lord-lieutenancy of Sir John Perrott, 1584– 1588. After the suppression of the Geraldine rebellion, Queen Elizabeth appointed a new lord lieutenant, Sir John Perrott, a man of great ability, who had the interests of Ireland at heart. His first act was to proclaim a general amnesty to all those who returned to their allegiance to the English government. He even sent the Earl of Desmond's son to England to be educated. His leading idea was that English law should be put in force all over Ireland to the exclusion of the traditional Brehon law; and he won over most of the native chieftains to his view. He further planned to maintain a large standHis policy. ing army, regularly paid; and to strengthen the English position by building forts, garrisoning towns, and repairing bridges. These plans were, however, defeated by the shortsightedness of the English queen, who habitually sent only a half or a quarter of the money that was absolutely necessary.

In carrying out his plan for introducing English law, Sir John Perrott incurred much opposition among the native tribesmen, because of the ignorance and tactlessness of his agents. He made a very serious mistake when, in 1587, he treacherously captured Hugh Roe, the

son of O'Donnell, chief of Tyrconnell, and imprisoned him in Dublin Castle along with the two sons Capture of of Shane O'Neill, because O'Donnell had re- Hugh Roe. fused to allow the English law-agents and sheriffs to enter his territory. After several unsuccessful attempts, the boys escaped and made their way back to Ulster. This act of Perrott aroused the lasting hatred of the O'Donnells, who had hitherto been well disposed toward him. As a consequence, they joined the next great attack on the Dublin government. The position of the English forces in Ireland was the more critical, as the great Spanish Armada was already being prepared by Philip II of Spain to attack the dominions of his sister-in-law, Queen Elizabeth.

New

organized.

In 1584, Sir John Perrott divided the province of Ulster into seven counties, Armagh, Monaghan, Tyrone, Coleraine (which was later changed to Derry), Donegal, Fermanagh, and Cavan. The two countles counties of Antrim and Down in Ulster had been formed some years before. These counties, together with those we have previously named, and Wicklow, which was separated from Dublin a little later, in 1605, complete the number which exist to-day, thirtytwo in all.

143. Hugh O'Neill. The Dublin government had supported Matthew O'Neill, Baron Dungannon, against Shane O'Neill, thus causing the latter to rise in arms in defence of his cause. Matthew left a son, Hugh, who began his career in the army of Queen Elizabeth, Early and, through her favor, in 1587, obtained the career. earldom and estates of Tyrone, which had been confiscated on the death of Shane. Hugh had to agree to one condition that he would surrender a district on the bank of the northern Blackwater for an English fort.

This fort, called Portmore, was built to command the ford across the river, which was the usual road from Armagh to Tyrone.

Duplicity

Hugh O'Neill now tried to make friends with both sides. He married a sister of Sir Henry Bagenal, military commander of Ireland, a warm partisan of the English government.

It was noticed, at the same time, that he was continually drilling his men, and that he had large quantities of lead brought to his castle, ostensibly to repair the roof, but really to be cast into bullets. Meanwhile he en

tered into close relations with Hugh Roe O'Donnell, whose escape from Dublin Castle he had assisted; and while not openly helping Maguire, then

in arms against the Dublin government, he refrained from opposing him. By the end of 1594, though still protesting loyalty to Elizabeth, he was carrying on a correspondence with Philip of Spain.

144. Beginning of Hugh O'Neill's rebellion, 1595. Early in the following year, an army of about three thousand men arrived in Ireland under Sir John Norris. O'Neill decided to take action without further delay, and instructed his brother to seize Portmore, while he himself attacked the English at Cavan.

Portmore taken.