CHAPTER IX

THE CONFEDERATION OF KILKENNY.-PART II

The Papal Nuncio.-The conflict in Ireland had naturally excited much interest at Rome, and Pope Urban VIII had already employed an agent amongst the Catholics. Urban's successor, Innocent X, resolving on a further step, arranged to send a regular accredited nuncio to the Confederates, and he selected for the mission John Baptist Rinuccini, Archbishop of Fermo. The Nuncio was both a skilled diplomatist and an excellent judge of men and of political situations. On his way to Ireland he stayed a while in Paris and obtained from Cardinal Mazarin, who now ruled France for the child-King, Louis XIV, a sum of 25,000 crowns for the Confederates. He landed at Kenmare (October 21st, 1645), and proceeded at once to Kilkenny, where he was received with the greatest honour.

About the same time that the Nuncio arrived in Ireland, an accident revealed the secret of the Glamorgan Treaty to Ormond and the English generally. In an attack made on the Parliamentarians in Sligo, Malachy O'Queely, Archbishop of Tuam, who was with the Royalist general Taaffe, was killed and, on his baggage being examined, a copy of the treaty was found in it. Ormond at once had Glamorgan arrested, and wrote to the King an account of the whole affair. Charles disclaimed Glamorgan's proceedings, saying he had never intended him to act without Ormond's knowledge and advice. He insinuated that the warrant under which the Earl claimed to act was surreptitiously obtained or a forgery. Charles' disclaimer was not believed by either the English or the Irish. Indeed, though the former part of his statement may have been true, the latter was almost certainly false. Glamorgan was, after a few months' imprisonment, released.

Rinuccini had been instructed by the Pope to abstain from meddling in politics, and to confine himself to endeavouring to obtain complete toleration, at least, and the withdrawal of all civil disabilities, for the Irish Catholics. To any idea of shaking off their allegiance to the King, should the Irish conceive such, he was to lend no countenance. Before

he had been long in Ireland, however, the Nuncio had come to understand that to separate religious from political questions was impossible, and that he must either stand aside altogether, or plunge boldly into the sea of turmoil.

On learning the terms of the peace which the Supreme Council proposed to make with the English Royalist party, he at once declared the articles relating to religion to be unsatisfactory, and, therefore, condemned the peace as a whole. Negotiations had for some time been in progress between Henrietta Maria, Charles' exiled queen, and the Pope, regarding a peace. This agreement, generally known as "the Queen's Peace," Rinuccini regarded as much more satisfactory, and he wished the Council to consider it. He must, however, have been well aware that the terms offered would never be agreed to by the English people, and that the Queen had no power to enforce their performance. Most probably he desired in reality the breaking off of all negotiations with any of the English parties, and the resumption of the war with whole-heartedness and spirit on the part of the Confederates. This, too, was the desire of the old Irish party, with whom the Nuncio was now fully in accord.

The Ormond Peace.-Unfortunately, the majority of the members of the Supreme Council had listened to the deceitful words of Ormond and were playing into his hands. On March 28th, 1646, the peace was signed, without the knowledge of Rinuccini.

The "Ormond Peace," as it is generally called, comprised 30 Articles, of which the most important were: (1) That only an Oath of Allegiance, and not the Oath of Supremacy, should be required from Catholics. (2) That Catholics should have the right of holding all offices. (3) That Acts against Catholics, passed since August 1641, should be annulled. (4) That there should be an Act of Oblivion for all offences committed during the Rebellion, except in the case of persons guilty of murder or other serious crimes. (5) That land titles should be confirmed, and the Plantation schemes regarding Connacht, Tipperary, etc., abandoned. (6) That a Parliament should be summoned to pass the Clauses of the Peace, and that there should be no power to alter the Acts of this Parliament in England. (7) That 10,000 men should be raised for the King's service, and others for the defence of Ireland itself.

It will be seen that the Articles of the Peace, while they, if observed, would redress the chief grievances of which the Catholics had complained from almost the beginning of James I's reign, fell considerably short of guaranteeing the complete religious freedom promised them by the Glamorgan Treaty. Also, it should not be forgotten that Charles was now defeated and helpless, so that there was little prospect that he would be able

to carry out the undertakings given in his name. Moreover, the sending of the 10,000 troops, which would have been so helpful to his cause a year or so previously, had now been delayed till they could not reach him, since all the English ports were in the hands of the Parliament, and would have been of little use if they had done so. If the Anglo-Irish party believed that the triumph of the Royalist cause would contribute to the ends they had in view, they should not have postponed their aid till this cause was hopelessly ruined, and the King reduced to such a pass that he was powerless to repay their assistance, even had he desired to do so.

At the beginning of the cessation, Eoghan Ruadh had, in obedience to the orders of the Council, marched his troops back from Meath to Ulster and had established himself at Charlemont (Co. Armagh). There was another army under Preston, composed mainly of Leinster men.

The Battle of Benburb.-Now, when the peace had been concluded, it was thought that some military enterprise should be attempted against the Parliamentarians, and especially against Munroe, who had made preparations to march southward and invade Leinster. He hoped to effect a junction at Glasslough (Co. Monaghan) with his brother George's forces, and subsequently with those of Sir Robert Stewart. This junction O'Neill resolved to prevent. He marched his troops from Cavan, pitched his tents at Benburb on the Blackwater, and there awaited the enemy. Munroe hurried south from Armagh, and early in the morning of June 5th (1646), the two armies were face to face on the same side of the river. O'Neill had selected his position with care. His centre was posted on and about the little bushy hill of Knocknacloy; his right wing was protected by a bog; his left by the river Oona, which just there joins the Blackwater. His forces amounted to some 5,500 men, and probably exceeded by a little those of Munroe; they were also of better quality. But he had no artillery, with which the English and Scotch troops of his opponents were well provided.

O'Neill disposed his infantry in two lines with a free space between them. They were armed partly with muskets and partly with very long pikes. The cavalry were posted on the wings. Munroe also arranged his infantry in two lines: the Oona being on his right and the Blackwater at his rear, but his left wing was unsheltered. An attack made on the Irish front by Lord Ards was repulsed by the cavalry led by Henry Ruadh, O'Neill's son. Lord Blaney's artillery succeeded no better, and Eoghan's captains pressed him to order his main body to charge. But he restrained their impatience, and began slowly to mass his best troops on his right wing, and to press on the unprotected British left. To oppose him, Munroe was obliged to order a change of front, and in

executing this manœuvre his ranks fell into confusion. Still refusing to give the much-desired word, O'Neill continued to force the enemy back into the angle formed by the Oona and the Blackwater. The evening was closing in, when at last the General raised his hat and bade the officers around him pass the word to charge. A ringing cheer answered him, and the Irish bore down on their foes. The British resisted bravely, but it was not for long. Soon they turned in flight, and the greatest Irish victory since that of Béal an Áta Burde (Yellow Ford) was won. All the British standards, tents and baggage fell into O'Neill's hands, as well as many prisoners, whom he treated with all courtesy. Over 2,000 of Munroe's men lay dead on the field; Eoghan Ruadh had lost scarcely 200 slain and wounded.

In the south, too, success crowned the arms of the Confederates. In July a force under Lord Muskerry captured the important Castle of Bunratty near Limerick, and in it good stores of arms and ammunition.

Had this tide of victory been taken in the flood, and the campaign been vigorously prosecuted, great results might have been hoped for, but alas! this was not done. Dissensions and jealousies were as rife as ever in the Supreme Council. O'Neill was ordered to march his army. southward, and, obeying, lost most of the fruits of Benburb.

Rinuccini and O'Neill Oppose the Ormond Peace.-At the end of July, the Ormond Peace, which till then had been kept secret, was publicly proclaimed at Kilkenny. Great was the indignation of the Nuncio to find how he had been, as he considered, deceived, and a peace, to which he had in the name of the Pope so vehemently objected, concluded without his consent or even knowledge. He summoned a meeting of the clergy at Waterford, and urged them to formally reject the treaty. Their consent was readily obtained, and armed with this, Rinuccini issued a decree of condemnation. In several of the southern cities the population adopted his views, and drove out those who endeavoured to proclaim the Peace.

So far Eoghan Ruadh, although disapproving of many of the acts of the Supreme Council, had obeyed its decrees. Now, however, he ranged himself with the Nuncio, and acting on a letter received from him, began to march his army towards Kilkenny. Preston, for once, was of the same mind as the Ulster general, and announced his adherence to Rinuccini's side.

Rinuccini and O'Neill, on reaching Kilkenny, threw into prison those members of the Supreme Council who had shown themselves most prominent in promoting the Ormond Peace, and with the rest formed a sort of Provisional Government. The vigorous prosecution of the war was at once resolved on, and the first object to be sought was

the capture of Dublin. For this enterprise O'Neill and Preston were to unite their armies. Eoghan Ruadh marched rapidly by way of Maryborough, capturing many towns and fortresses on his way. Preston's progress, on the contrary, was slow. In truth, his heart was not in the enterprise, and he longed to resume negotiations with Ormond. At Lucan, where they encamped, dissensions broke out between the two Generals, whom the Nuncio vainly strove to reconcile. At length, when it appeared that Preston was in actual communication, through the medium of the Marquis of Clanrickard, with Ormond, O'Neill, feeling that under the circumstances an effective siege of Dublin was impossible, broke up camp, and marched his forces back towards Kilkenny.

Ormond Surrenders Dublin to the Parliamentarians.-In January 1647, the General Assembly of the Confederates met at Kilkenny, and Rinuccini succeeded in inducing it to reject the Ormond Peace by a crushing majority. It soon, however, appeared that of some peace they were most desirous, and in the Spring attempts were made to induce Ormond to cede Dublin to the Confederates. A sufficient force would then be available to hold it against the Parliamentarians. It was evident that, in case a determined attack were made by Jones, the Puritan Commander, the Royalist troops, if unaided, could not succeed in doing this. Ormond, however, although certainly devoted to the cause of the King, could not, it appeared, bring himself to purchase such a doubtful advantage for the Royalists, at the price of procuring a very certain one for the Popish rebels, whom he detested. In the midst of the negotiations, he settled the question by handing over the city to the Parliamentarians (July 28th, 1647), and retiring himself to France.

Dissensions and Jealousies amongst the Confederates: Military Disasters. The departure of Ormond, if it did not improve, certainly simplified the state of parties in Ireland. The Royalists for the time disappear, and there remain only the Confederates; still, however, divided into the two sections of the Anglo-Irish and the Old Irish, and the Parliamentarians. The ascendancy of the Nuncio's party in the Supreme Council did not long endure. The Anglo-Irish soon regained their former preponderating influence, and the result appeared in the conduct of the military operations during the campaign of 1647. Moved by jealousy, the Council gave small opportunity of distinction to Eoghan Ruadh and his forces, whom they kept in inaction on the borders of Connacht. O'Neill was the one man who could have saved the situation for the Confederate and Catholic cause. But the Council crippled his movements and denied him needful supplies, while, at the same time, they placed a splendid and well-equipped army at the disposal of Preston.