IRELAND. 



fefRons of the Iiifli ; woiilJ have led tKem to demon (Irate 

 that they were the proteftors and bencfaftors, not the arbi- 

 trary mailers of ihofe Iridi natives wliom they held in fub- 

 jedion ; and to convince tlie inoft obllinate infurgents, that 

 an honourable fiihmiirion to the king of England was the 

 only means of refcuing them from the miforiei of their own 

 petty factions and tyrannies ; a glorious exchange of the 

 rudenefs, tiie diforders, and dii'^rclFes of anarchy for the 

 peace, the dignity, and the valuable advantages of focial 

 and civil hfe." 



The next attempt thit was made to reduce Ireland was 

 by Richard II., who, in 1394, went there with an army of 

 4000 men at arms, and 30,000 arcliers, attended by a num- 

 ber of dillinguifhed noblemen. The prefence of fuch an 

 army induced all the chieftains to nuike lubmifTion in a 

 formal manner, with which Richard was contented. By 

 this expedition he did not extend the En^hlh jnrifdiclion, 

 nor add to Uk revenue ; and he had no fooner departed tlian 

 the Irifli lords laid afide their mailis of humility, arid fcorn- 

 ing the weak forces which the king had left behind liim, 

 began to infeil the borders, and in defence of tiiefe, Mor- 

 timer, the king's lieutenant, and heir apparent of the crown, 

 was (lain. To revenge his death, Richard went to Ireland 

 a fecond time with a great force; but during his abfeace, 

 an infurredlion took pbce in England, which terminated in 

 his depolition. During the reigns of Henry IV. aiid V. 

 nothing was atte.npted beyond the defence of the Ei^glidl 

 pale, including four counties, viz. Dublin, Kildare, Mtath, 

 and Louth ; and during the early part of the reign of 

 Henry VI., fo much had the Irl(h, and thofe Englilli who 

 had adopted tlieir cullonis, increafed in llrenglh, that even the 

 defence of thofe cour.tries was become a matter of great 

 difHculty. Towards the latter end of the reign of Henry 

 VI., Richard, duke of York, was appointed cliief go- 

 veriior, who, rfiough he gamed httle advantage over tiie 

 Irifli, fucceeded in attaching to himfelf not only the lords 

 of the pale, but others of Enghfn race, numbers of whom 

 engaged warmly in the fupport of his claim to the crown. 

 An attachment to his defcendants long continued to influ- 

 ence the Anglo-Irifli, as was confpicuous in the reign of 

 Henry VII. Durmg the period of the civil wars, the 

 ftate of Ireland v/as very bad, in confequence of the neglecl 

 of the Englifli government ; and the exaftion of coin and 

 livery, whicli grew excefllvc and intolerable. Such was the 

 violence of faflion, that the earl of Defmoiid, the moll 

 powerful nobleman in Ireland, was feized and beheaded 

 under the pretext of offences which were generally com- 

 mitted with impunity. In 1474, the earl of Kildare, being 

 lord deputy, formed an aflociation of the principal noble- 

 jnen and gentlemen within the pale for its defence againft 

 fudden invalion, called the '•' Brotherhood of St. George," 

 and this continued till tlie tenth year of Henry VII. This 

 prince, as foon as he found leifure to attend to the affairs 

 of Ireland, was determined to break the power of thofe 

 lords who, by their infiuence in the country, had hitherto 

 managed eyery thing as fnited their own private views. For 

 this purpofe he fent hr Edward Poynings as lord deputy, 

 itcompanied by an Englilh chancellor and treafurer, and 

 Englifli judges. In a parliament held at Droghcda, by this 

 deputy ia 1495, moil of the ftatules of Kilkenny were 

 rrvived and conlirmed, with many others tending to icilen 

 the influence of the great lords, and to reform the niauncrs 

 ()f the pale. Amonglt others was a Ilatute, which has iince 

 been the fubjed of much difcuffion, under the name of 

 Poynings' law. T'his enabled, that no parliament fljOuld be 

 held witiiout the king's previous; permilTion, and that no 

 afts fhould be pafled until they had been previou/ly fub- 

 ^Voi. -XIX. 



mitted to the king and his council in England, approved 

 by them, and returned under the great feal of tliat realm. 

 Some alteration was afterwards made in the mode of pro- 

 paring and tranfmitting the bills, but the effci't of this law, 

 wliicli was to render the Irifli government more dependent on 

 England, continued until the reign of his prelent mijeily, 

 king George III. At the time, and long after, this 

 law was conlideredby the Englifh fettled in Ireland as a de- 

 firable check on the chief governor*, who had frequently 

 fnmmoned parliaments, and given aflent to various acts, 

 not only without communication with the fovereign or Iris 

 Englifh council, but even contrary to his interelt, and ti> 

 lerve their own private purpofes. The vigorous admini- 

 flration of tb.e earl of Kildare cfFeftually preferved the pale, 

 and though an ignominious tribute, which had been long 

 paid to many Irifh chieftains, was not yet withdrawn, the? 

 hoflihties of fuch chieftains were oppofed and challifed. 

 The f'.iperiority of the Englifli government over the --ufhol! 

 of Ireland was once more aUerted, and even iome of the 

 moll ferocious chieftains became the avowed friends of the 

 Englidi power. On the other hand, the old Enghfli fet- 

 tlers had becor.e fo conneflcd with the Irifh as to be 

 fcarcely dillinguifiiable from them ; they adopted their lan- 

 guage and culloms, and were even more adverfe to the 

 government than the native Iridi. During the early part of 

 the reign of Henry VIII. no material change took place in 

 the llate of Ireland, which Kildare, with fome little inter- 

 ruption, continued to govern. Tlie great poffefllons of 

 this noblemjn, and his connexions in Ireland, ofpecia'ly 

 with the lioufe of Defmond, another branch of the Geral- 

 dine family, and wi:h the great Iriih fcpt of O'Nial, gave 

 weight to his govern2;ent, whilfl his alliance to fome pow- 

 erful Englifh famihes Itrengthened his iirttrell at court. 

 Francis I. of France, having, however, fent an agent to 

 tamper with Defmond, with a view to diflrcfs Henry, and 

 this having been difcovered, Kildare was ordered to arrefl 

 that nobleman, but was either unwilling or unable to efFeft 

 it. This difpleafcd the king and involved him in difficulties, 

 and the rafnnefs of his fen having involved him in open 

 rebellion, all the members of his family were put to death, 

 except a youth of twelve years old, who efcaped to Italy, 

 and was protected by cardinal Poie, notwithflanding the 

 king's efforts to deftroy him. 



Whilil thefe difturbances took place in Ireland, the king, 

 influenced by very unworthy motives, though his conduCl 

 was attended with.'the moll happy effeft.s, had thrown ofT 

 the yoke of the pope, and had been declared by parliament, 

 and by a convocation of the clergy, " fupreme head, on 

 earth, of the church of England." His new queen was 

 partial to the reformation, and Cromwell, his prime minilter, 

 was ac.live in promotnig it. Henry was refolved to extend 

 Ins new power to Ireland, and Browne, archbilliop of Dub- 

 lin, a creature of Cromwell's, was zealous in promoting his 

 views. Ire'and, however, was much lei's prepared fur inch 

 raeafures than England had been. The contmual liolbhties 

 in which all parties were engaged, prevented the progrels of 

 knowledge and civilization, even within the Englilh pale, and 

 the clergy, cfpecially in remote parts, were amongfl the 

 moil ignorant, and confequently the mofl bigotted, par- 

 tifans of Rome. A decided oppofition was therefore gi- en 

 to the acknowledgment of the king's fupremacy, iieadcd 

 by the primate, and encouraged by the emilTaries of Rom.e. 

 Fear indeed induced the parlmment to pafs tlie propofed a£t, 

 Browne havhig pronounced tliofe, who made any difiiculty 

 of concurring with him, to have no right to be reg.T.rdrd 

 or treated as loyal fubjecls ; but great reliltance wr,s made ' 

 to the carrying of it into effeCl. Lord Leonard Grey, tlw» 

 ^^ G deputy. 



