242 



IRELAN 



H if lory. 



whose 

 strength in. 

 aca.cs. 



OrmomVs 

 measures & 

 gainst them. 



Their de- 

 feat. 



Scotch 

 troops land 

 in Ulster. 



tic immediately to quell it. Hitherto the Catholics of 

 the pale had refused to join the insurgents ; but, being 

 left unprotected, and thus exposed to their ravages and 

 contributions, they wavered in their allegiance, and 

 were at length decided in their resolution to join them, 

 in consequence of a victory they obtained over the 

 royal forces near Drogheda. Had the administration 

 of "Ireland, at this period, been conducted by men sin- 

 cere in their attachment to government, and of mode- 

 rate capacity and activity, the rebellion might have 

 been quelled, even after it had spread thus far, and ta- 

 ken such deep root ; but neither the civil nor the mi- 

 litary measures of the lords justices were of such a na- 

 ture as the exigencies of the times required. The 

 force which they possessed was weakened, and render- 

 ed of little effect, by petty and insulated attacks on the 

 subordinate and distant forces of the rebels, instead of 

 being brought to bear, in one body, on their most vulne- 

 rable points. The soldiers were thus harassed and dis- 

 pirited, while Moore and his associates gained strength 

 and spirits daily. Eren Dublin was threatened by 

 them ; and it is probable that they might have taken it, 

 if they had not delayed their march, and laid siege to 

 Drogheda. Against this place they were unsuccessful, 

 in consequence of the approach of Ormond, who would 

 have prosecuted his success had he been allowed by 

 the lords justices. 



As soon as the Catholics of the pale received intelli- 

 gence of the success of Ormond, they offered to desert 

 the cause of the rebels, which they had reluctantly 

 joined, and to which they had never been sincerely at- 

 tached ; but they were not received by the lords justices 

 as sincere in their wishes. On the contrary, they were 

 prosecuted with the utmost violence, it is supposed 

 with a view to render the forfeiture of lands more ex- 

 tensive ; and in this plan they were encouraged by the 

 English House of Commons, who looked forward to 

 the sale of the forfeited lands, as the means of enabling 

 them to prosecute the war against the king. Thus 

 driven to despair, the Catholics of the pale were forced 

 to violent measures ; and, having formed an army of 

 8000 foot, and some troops of horse, they attacked Or- 

 mond near Kilrush ; but though superior, they were 

 not able to make any impression on his better disci- 

 plined troops, and the contest ended in their precipi- 

 tate retreat. 



This defeat, saved the city of Cork, which had been 

 besieged by the insurgents of Munster ; for, during the 

 dismay which it occasioned, being attacked by the gar- 

 rison, they also were routed. The consequences of 

 these defeats of the rebels, however, were not nearly 

 so advantageous as they might have been, if the royal 

 armies had been properly supported. The rebels also, 

 about this period, were still further excited against the 

 English by the fanaticism of Hugh Peters, who accom- 

 panied Lord Forbes, a general appointed by the parlia- 

 ment. 



The English House of Commons at last became sen- 

 sible of the necessity of taking vigorous measures for 

 the reduction of the rebels ; and accordingly they con- 

 cluded a treaty with the Scotch parliament, by which 

 the latter agreed to send 10,000 men into Ulster ; but 

 these troops were more active in plundering the coun- 

 try, and exporting the cattle to Scotland, than in pur- 

 suing the rebels. The English forces, therefore, in this 

 part of Ireland, were obliged to trust entirely to their 

 own unassisted efforts ; the first success of which seem- 

 ed to open up the prospect of more permanent and de- 

 cisive advantages, when the arrival of Owen O'Neil 



from Dunkirk, with 100 officers, and a large supply of History, 

 arms and ammunition, directed their attention to the < *~""Y"" >/ 

 necessity of checking him.* In this enterprise they 

 were again disappointed, in not beingv assisted by the 

 Scotch, though the Earl of Leven, their commander, 

 was now at the head of 20,000 foot and 1 000 cavalry ; 

 but, instead of acting, he contented himself with send- 

 ing a message to O'Neil, and soon afterwards embark- 

 ed for Scotland. 



This inactivity on the part of their opponents, joined National 

 to the arrival of supplies from France, gave great con- conentio 

 fidence to the rebels, who now prepared to give con- ? f , the re " 

 sistency and colour to their proceedings, by the hold- S ' Q l( .^ 

 ing of a national convention. This accordingly met at 

 Kilkenny, in October 1642. It consisted oYthe Catho- 

 lic lords and clergy, besides deputies from the counties 

 and towns in each province. By them were chosen 

 24 persons, who were styled the Supreme Council of 

 the Confederate Catholics of Ireland. To this council 

 the conduct of the war, and the choice and command 

 of all officers, civil and military, were committed. 



The convention professed themselves faithful to the Their pro- 

 king, but they denied the authority of his Irish govern- edings k 

 rnent. The rights of the Catholic church were to be 

 supported; and the law of England, so far as it did not 

 contravene those rights, was, in conjunction with the 

 statutes of Ireland, to form the guide of their public 

 conduct. Generals were immediately appointed for 

 the conduct of the war ; but among these were not in- 

 cluded Moore, or the other original leaders of the in- 

 surrection. 



Opposed to this union of the Catholics, the loyal Parties 

 party, as they were styled, would have been weak, even am B tn 

 if they had not been divided ; but, in consequence of Io y* li5ts - 

 the contests between the king and his parliament, they 

 were split into two parties. The lords justices, and 

 those whom they influenced, adhered to the cause of 

 the parliament ; whereas Ormond, and the greatest 

 part of the army, were royalists. These hoped that the 

 insurgents might be induced to co-operate with them ; 

 and they were, indeed, so disposed ; but the lords jus- 

 tices had hitherto prevented their petition from reach- 

 ing the king. Ormond at last interfered ; their petition 

 was laid before the king, and a commission was ap- 

 pointed to confer with the principal insurgents, and 

 transmit their proposals. Charles was urged to this 

 step, from the hope, that if he could gain them over, he 

 might draw a large force from Ireland in support of 

 his cause ; while the parliament, on the other hand, 

 were as anxious to prolong the disturbed state of that 

 country. To effect this object any longer by intrigue, 

 the lords justices now found would be impossible ; they 

 therefore agreed to permit Ormond (who, while the 

 negociation with the insurgents was pending, deemed 

 it proper still to act against themj to attempt the re- 

 duction of Ross and Wexford, after having in vain en. 

 deavoured to place one of their own party at the head 

 of his army. Ormond immediately laid siege to Ross, 

 but was repulsed in an assault ; and the supplies of 

 provisions which the justices had promised not arri- 

 ving, he was compelled to raise it. He was now in a 

 perilous situation, and, had the enemy kept possession 

 of a defile in which they were posted, his ruin would 

 have been certain and complete ; but they left it, and Batt!e o f 

 Ormond, attacking them with impetuosity, defeated ROSS, 

 them, and effected his escape. His victory would have A.. D. 1C43 

 been more complete, if he had not been abandoned by 

 the English cavalry under Lord Lisle. 



After much delay and many difficulties, the negocia-t 

 1 



