Clonroad. Donal made no resistance. He fled with his family for protection to Maguire of Fermanagh. Sussex then publicly proclaimed Conor Earl, with full feudal rights over all Thomond, in return for which Conor renounced the Dalcassian title; and others of the leading men of the O'Brien clan with him solemnly vowed fealty on the relics, and with bell, book, and candlelight, as the heralds' certificate declares,1 to the English Queen, in the cathedral of Limerick after High Mass on the 10th of July, A.D. 1558. Thus the cathedral built by one of his ancestors, a King of Munster, was witness of the voluntary surrender of all Irish rights to a foreign potentate. Now for the first time did the reality of the great change in their condition break in on the minds of the people, not only of Thomond, but of all Ireland. They were, in the graphic words of the Four Masters, "seized with horror, dread, fear, and apprehension of danger; and the descendants of Con and of Cathoir, the descendants of Heremon and Heber, of Ir and Ith, were alarmed at this change."

As might well be expected, this surrender on the part of Conor met with violent opposition. The first to resist were the sons of that same Morogh who was himself the first to yield obedience to the English. Of these, Donogh held possession of the castle of Inchiquin, while the other, Teigue, went to seek assistance from his cousin, the Earl of Desmond. Conor besieged the castle, but the approach of the Earl of Desmond's forces compelled him to raise the siege, and he withdrew to Galway to claim the aid of his kinsman and co-earl, Clanrickard. Their united forces returned to the fray. Desmond, after advancing as far as Inchiquin, and finding that castle relieved, turned back and rested for the night at Ballyalla, where the two earls came up with him. In the early morning both armies began skirmishing,

of the Fergus, which in those days, not being hemmed in by dams, frequently overflowed its banks, turning the flat stretch of country towards and above Ennis into a lake. It was from its position, a place of such importance, that after the English occupation it gave its name to the whole country.-O'Donovan's Four Masters.

1 Lenehan's Hist. of Lim.

keeping up a running fire-the first that is mentioned in the Annals-on each other, with a view to secure the advantage of position. At the place now incorrectly called Spancil Hill, Desmond and Teigue O'Brien gave battle. The latter gained a very decided victory. The numbers slain are not given, but the Four Masters say that very many of note fell on the side of the two earls, among them not only O'Briens and MacNamaras, but also MacSwineys, who are called constables of Clanrickard and Thomond. Probably that clan, like the Swiss,2 lent their swords in those days for pay. It is hard otherwise to account for their presence. This was the first time, too, as the Four Masters remark, that the Dalcassians yielded in the fight to the Geraldines; but with the latter there was a strong contingent of his own race under Teigue O'Brien. Desmond returned in triumph; and Donogh and Teigue remained unmolested in Inchiquin. This battle of Spancil Hill was fought in the month of June 1559, during the reign of Elizabeth, who had ascended the throne the previous 17th of November.

1 It should be "hill of the cold wood."-O'Donovan's Four Masters.

2 This appears almost certain from the fact that, in the following year, in a battle between the O'Briens of Arra in the county of Tipperary, and the O'Carrolls of Ely, there fell "O'Brien's constable, Heremon MacSwiney." -Four Masters.

CHAPTER XVI.

FROM 1559 TO 1576.

--

Internal Conflicts - The Castles of Ballyalla and Ballycar captured by the Earl of Thomond and the English- Introduction of Clan Sheehy and Clan Sweeney Subdivision of Clare between the Contending Parties - Execution at Tuaclea, near Lisdoonvarna— Morogh of Ara, the stripling, first Protestant Bishop of Killaloe -Malachy O'Molony, Cornelius O'Mulryan (Maol-Ryan), Catholic Bishops-First Assize at Ennis Monastery, A.D. 1570.

THE opening of 1560 found the fortunes of those who strove for the old order of things on the wane. Teigue the son of Donal, who fled to the Maguire country, died there, and the other Teigue, who had, with Desmond, defeated the Earl of Thomond at Spancil Hill, was captured at Limerick, as was believed, through the treachery of the earl, and carried prisoner to Dublin. The latter, following in so far the bad Irish custom, made raids on the O'Flaherties of Connemara, who were the enemies of his ally Clanrickard, and on the O'Connors Kerry and FitzGeralds along the Shannon from below Limerick to Glin, but with very little success. Soon other work was cut out for him. Donal, who had fled to Fermanagh, re-entered Clare with Teigue, who managed to escape from Dublin, and both took up arms against the earl. Then again Clare became the theatre of a furious and destructive civil war, while the English looked on with, doubtless, no little satisfaction.

The fighting commenced with a nocturnal attack on the earl's forces at Ballymacregan, in the parish of Dysert. Many of them were slain, and some spoils captured. The O'Deas came to the aid of the earl, and, pursuing the victors, came up with them at MacGorman's Fort close by, where the conflict was renewed. A running fight was kept up from

thence over Scoolhill to Rath-Blathmac.1 Here a fierce engagement took place, in which the earl's force was defeated with great loss. Many prisoners were taken; among them Brian Duv, grandson of Conor-na-Srona, for whose ransom2 the castle of Shallee, where his grandfather held his court as prince of the Dal-Cas, was delivered over to Teigue O'Brien. This occurred A.D. 1563. In the year following, the Earl of Thomond renewed the conflict. The English came to his aid with some cannon from Limerick, with which he battered and demolished the castle of Ballyalla, which remained in the possession of Teigue and Morogh O'Brien since their victory at Spancil Hill. Ballycar also fell into his hands. The county was now rather evenly divided, the eastern portion, from Ennis on, mostly supporting the earl, while the western and north-western supported the claims of his rivals.

In the midst of all this clamour, MacBrody, Ollav of Ibricken and Inchiquin, who lived undisturbed in the midst of the contending parties at Ballybrody, near Dysert, went to his account, and was succeeded in his office by his brother.

Donal, the returned prince, and Teigue his brother, who had been chosen Tanist of Thomond, united their forces with those of Morogh and Teigue of Inchiquin, and assumed once more the offensive. It appears that the Earl of Thomond was then residing at Rosroe in Clancuilean,3 relying a good deal on the support of the MacNamaras. A swoop was made. in that direction, with the hope of capturing him as well as plundering Clancuilean. About one hundred of his troops were slain, but he escaped. The whole country, as the Four Masters put it, from Cratloe to Kilkeady, and from Rinanna to Scariff, flew to arms. The invaders, however, made good their retreat without loss, carrying with them great booty.

1 So called from the old church of Rath, near Corofin, dedicated to St. Blathmac, whose feast used to be celebrated on the 9th of July. --Calendar of the O'Clerys. Feeluire Aenguis.

2 Four Masters.

3 A place still well known, lying between Quin and Six-Mile-Bridge. The old Irish name-Sliebh Oidheadha-an-Righ-is given by the Four Masters. It was so called because of the death there of Crimhthan, monarch of Erinn, by poison, in the latter part of the fourth century.

It is apparent that the English-made earl was not warmly supported even by those over whom he held nominal sway. No attempt was made to pursue the victors. These did not return to the attack, but they procured, probably through the intervention of their ally, the Earl of Desmond, the services of the Clan Sheehy and Clan Sweeny from beyond the Shannon; who, as mercenaries, raided over East Clare, and succeeded in taking with them more of the cattle of the country than they left behind them. It was a sore humiliation to the clans of East Clare. To put an end to this state of things, the earl had to enter into terms of peace with his opponents, leaving Morogh and Teigue in quiet possession of what they held, and giving to Donal full sway over Corcomroe, some plundered Church livings, among them the rich Abbey of Corcomroe, and other lands in various parts of Thomond. Neither the O'Connors of Corcomroe nor the O'Loughlins of Burren were of the Dalcassian race. They were of the Ulster Rudricean race, a colony of whom had settled down in that district about the time that Luighaidh Meann had driven out the Firbolgs. It may be inferred that they welcomed among them Donal, on the ground that he was the elect of the DalCas, to whom they were subordinate for so many centuries. He resided in, and probably built, the castle of Ennistymon.

A branch of the O'Briens of Tromora had settled down in Aran since the period of the treaty, already referred to, between them and the merchants of Galway, for the protection of that port. Mahon, their chief, had in 1560 made a raid into Desmond, but, on returning, his vessel was wrecked on the Galway shore, over a hundred men being lost; only Mahon, with three others, escaping.2 In 1565 he was treacherously slain by some of his own people. The merchants of Galway sought to avenge the murder of their protector. The guilty parties fled before them in their ship. from Aran, and took refuge in Corcovaskin, landing in the Bay of Ross, near Loop Head. Donal, hearing this, determined to assert his sovereign authority. Hastening southwards, he captured the greater number of the murderers, probably with the aid of the MacMahons, and brought them back prisoners 1 Hardiman, Hist. of Galway, p. 52, note d. 2 Four Masters.