northern lords; and they shunned, as much as they could, to admit any sheriffs, or any English among them.*"

CHAP. V.

The first causes of Tirone's insurrection.

UPON the execution' of M'Mahon, and the jealousy thence conceived against the English, Macguire, a northern lord, about the year 1593, began to declare himself discontented, and to stand upon his defence. He alleged, that he had given three hundred cows, to free his country from a sheriff, during the lord deputy's government; and that, notwithstanding, one capt. Willis was made sheriff of Fermanagh; having for his guard, one hundred men, and leading about some hundreds of women and boys, all living upon the spoil of the country; upon which, says my author, Macguire, who was chieftain of Fermanagh, taking his advantage, set upon them and drove them into a church, where he would have put them all to the sword, if the earl of Tirone had not interposed his authority,‡

1 Morrisson's, ib. fol. 12.

• "The unhappy M'Mahon, for an offence committed before the law, which declared it capital, had been established in his country, was tried, condemned by a jury, said to be formed of private soldiers, and executed in two days, to the utter consternation of his countrymen. His estate was distributed to sir Henry Bagnal and other adventurers, together with four of the old Irish sept. The condemnation of this chieftain, confirmed the Irish in their aversion to the English polity; which they considered as a system of hateful cruelty and tyranny."-Leland's History of Ireland, vol. ii. p. 317.

"A great part of that unquietness of O'Donnel's country, came by sir William Fitzwilliams placing one Willis there to be sheriff, who had with him three hundred of the very rascals and scum of that kingdom, which did rob and spoil that people, ravish their wives and daughters, and made havoc of all; which bred such a discontent, as that the whole country was up in arms against them, so as if the earl of Tirone had not rescued and delivered him, and them, out of the country, they had been all put to the sword."-Lee's memorial to queen Elizabeth, MSS. in Trinity College.

"Hugh O'Nial lived sometimes in Ireland, and much in the court of England, and was supported against Tirlough Lynogh O'Nial, with the title of baron of Dungannon, by his father's right. He had a troop of

and made composition for their lives, upon condition that they should all leave the country. Upon this occasion, the lord deputy Fitzwilliams sent the queen's forces* into Fermanagh, took Macguire's castle of Enniskillen, and proclaimed him a traitor. The Irish avow, that his lordship let fall, some speeches against the earl of Tirone himself, calling him a traitor also, (notwithstanding his late service,) which speeches coming to that earl's hearing, he ever after said, were the first causes that moved him to misdoubt his safety, and to stand upon his defence; now first combining himself with O'Donnel, and the other lords of the north, to defend, adds Mr. Morrisson, their honors, estates, and liberties.

This combination, however, was for some time kept secret; for Tirone still served, with the queen's forces, against Macguire, and once valiantly fighting, was wounded in the thigh. But he ceased not to complain daily of the lord deputy's and marshal's envy against him; and of wrongs done him by the garrison soldiers :‡ and these wrongs not being

2 Morris. ib. fol. 13. 3 Id. ib.

horse in queen Elizabeth's reign, in the late wars of the earl of Desmond, in which, and on all occasions, he behaved himself so valiantly, as the queen gave him a yearly pension of one thousand marks. In an Irish parliament he put up his petition, that by virtue of the letters patent granted to his grand-father, his father and his heirs, he might there have the place and title of earl of Tirone, and be admitted to his inheritance; the title and place there were granted to him, but the inheritance (in regard the kings of England, by the attainder of Shane O'Nial, were thereof possessed) was referred to the queen's pleasure; for the obtaining whereof sir John Perrot, then lord deputy, upon O'Nial's promise of a great rent to be reserved to the crown, gave him his letters of recommendation into England, where he so well knew how to humour the court, as in the year 1587, he got the queen's letters patent under the great seal of England for the earldom of Tirone, without any reservation of the rent he had promised to the lord deputy.”—Morris. Hist. of Ireland, fol. 7.

The earl of Tirone had, at that time, in conjunction with the English marshal of Newry, the command of all the queen's forces sent against Macguire.-Irish Annals.

The earl of Tirone, with all the alacrity of a faithful subject, joined the standard of Bagnal (his mortal enemy); and in an action in which the Irish associates were defeated, distinguished himself with such zeal, that he received a wound in the thigh.”—Leland's Hist. vol. ii. p. 329.

The queen had long before this, frequently, but in vain, ordered this grievance to be removed. "For that our subjects of that realm,"

C

redressed, together with the ill government of the church, the extortions of sheriffs, and the army's oppressing the subject, and by that means driving many daily into rebellion, made him at last resolve to temporize no longer."* But what first provoked him to break out into open acts of hostility against the government, I shall now briefly relate.

In the year 1594, sir William Fitzwilliams being recalled into England, sir William Russel succeeded him in the government of Ireland. To this new deputy, the queen had been prevailed upon to give private orders, to seize upon Tirone, and make him a prisoner, if ever he should get him in his power. Tirone had often refused to come to Dublin, on the invitation of the late lord deputy, from a distrust of his lordship's honour, and on account of his known enmity to him; but sir William Russel having sent him a protection, which was an assurance of safety on public faith; he soon appeared before him at the castle, and declared, that the reason of his not having obeyed the like orders from the late deputy, was because he knew," that he had laid snares for his life, which it was but natural for him to avoid." He added, " that the accusations against him were false and malicious; that he desired nothing more, than a fair and impartial trial, by which, he was confident, his innocence would fully appear; and, for

says she, in her instructions to sir John Perrot, anno 1583," have been grievously oppressed by the outrages and insolences committed by certain ill affected of our garrisons serving there, which hath been partly a cause of the alienation of the good will, which they before bare unto us, we cannot (as a principal matter, wherein we look to have redress) but give you an especial charge, to see that our garrisons serving there, be kept in better discipline than heretofore they have been.-And that such abuses as have hitherto been committed by such captains, as have had heretofore. more regard to their particular profit, than to the discharge of their duties, may be met withal, and the party offending, severely punished." -Desiderata Curiosa Hibern. vol. i. p. 36.

"Where it was your majesty's pleasure," says Lee, in his memorial to the queen, "he (Tirone) should have great encouragement given him, by thanks for his last great service against Macguire, it was held from him; and instead of that, they devised all means and policies to aggravate matters against him to your majesty; which is credibly made known unto him: and more, that upon what security soever, he should come in, your majesty's pleasure is to have him detained."-Desid. Cur. Hib. vol. i. p. 10.

that purpose, he declared, (as if, says Cambden, he thought himself sufficiently secured by the testimony of a good conscience,) that he would renounce all claim to his letters of protection, in case the aforesaid accusations of his enemies could be proved against him."

This matter being seriously debated in the council, some of that board were of opinion, that O'Nial should be then made a prisoner, notwithstanding his protection, in order to answer a charge of high treason, which his known, and inveterate enemy,* sir Henry Bagnal, had newly prepared against him. But the majority of the council, † either, says my author, out of a vain scruple of violating the public faith, or through. some secret affection for Tirone, declared, that he ought, in justice and honor, to be then dismissed; and that his trial should be deferred to another time. Of the subject of this

6 Cambden, ib. 7 Ib. id.

This same Bagnal had formerly urged some articles of treason against him, which, says Morrisson, were believed in England, till Tirone offered, by his letters, to stand to his trial either in England or Ireland. Accordingly, adds my author, he answered to the said articles, before the lord deputy and council at Dundalk, in such sort, as they who had written into England against him, now on the contrary, wrote that he had sufficiently answered them. Whereupon, the lords of England, wrote to the earl of Tirone, that they approved his answers, and that, in their opinion, he had wrong to be so charged.—At the same time, their lordships wrote to the deputy, taxing him and the marshal (Bagnal) that they had used the earl of Tirone against law and equity."-Hist. of Ireland, fol. 12.

+ How little confidence was to be had in the promises of the English on such occasions, appears from the following among many other instances, Some English officers having assured certain Irish chiefs, that upon surrendering themselves to the government, they would obtain their pardon. "These chiefs embraced the counsel, submitted, and consented to attend the lord deputy St. Leger into England: but here, the only favor grant ed was, that they were not brought to immediate execution. They were committed to prison, their lands declared forfeit, and granted to those, by whose counsel they had surrendered."-Lel. Hist. of Ireland, vol. ii. p. 189.

O'Sullivan Beare, in a letter to a Spanish minister,

requests either speedy relief, or the speedy sending of a ship to receive him, his wife, and children; to save them from the hands of those (as he calls them) most merciless enemies; making choice (says he) rather to forsake my ancient inheritance, friends, followers, and goods, than any way trust to their most graceless pardon or promise."--Pacata Hibernia.

debate, Tirone was privately informed by the Earl of Ormond,* and thereupon immediately fled from Dublin; and although he was quickly followed by the deputy's order to stop him, which was sent to all the towns through which it was thought he was to pass, yet by the assistance of his friends, and the swiftness of his horses, he escaped in safety to Ulster.

O'Donnel's first cause of disaffection to the government, happened very early. While he was yet a lad, of the age of twelve or thirteen years, a ship freighted with several curiosities, was, by the then lord deputy's order, sent to the bay of Tirconnel; where the master having found O'Donnel, and some of his companions, seduced them, with a display of his curiosities, to come on board his vessel; and after entertaining them there for some time, with much seeming affection and respect, he privately ordered his mariners to sail back for Dublin, having got the prey they came for. As soon as they arrived there, O'Donnel, and his companions, were closely confined in the castle of that city, where they remained prisoners, under many wants and cruel restraints,† for more than seven years; and at last made a desperate attempt to escape, which by the assistance of their friends, and their own resolu

8 Lombard. Irish Annals.

* This earl had some time before received the like private orders, with respect to some Irish gentlemen to whom he had granted protection; but he was so far from obeying them, that he wrote a letter to lord Treasurer Burleigh, in which he told him, that these orders appeared very strange to him; that the Irish gentlemen in question had, according to her ma❤ jesty's instructions, delivered pledges to do good service, and put in assurances of their loyalty; and then he declares his resolution in these words: "My lord, I will never use treachery to any man, for it will both touch her highness's honor, and my own credit too much; and whosoever gave the queen advice thus to write, is fitter for such base service than I am. Saving my duty to her majesty, I would I were to have revenge by my sword, of any man that thus persuadeth the queen to write to me."-Carte's Orm, vol. i. fol. 56.

"His manner of usage, says Lee, was most dishonorable and discommendable, and neither allowable before God or man. For he (O'Donnel) being young, and being taken by this stratagem, having never offended, was imprisoned with great severity, many irons laid upon him, as if he had been a notable traitor and malefactor, and kept still among those who were ever notorious traitors to your majesty."-Memorial to the queen, Desid. Hib. vol. i. p. 96.