320 IRELAND. 



The Irish, after Richard's death, still retained a warm affection for 

 the house of York ; and, upon the revival of that family's claim to the 

 crown, embraced its cause. Edward IV made the earl of Desmond 

 loM-lieutenant of Ireland for his services against the Ormond party 

 and other adherents of the house ot Lancaster, and, he was the first 

 Irish chieftain that obtained this honour. Even the accession of 

 Henry VII to the crown of England did not reconcile the Irish to 

 his title as duke of Lancaster : they therefore readily joined Lam- 

 bert Simnel, who pretended to be the eldest son of Edward IV ; but' 

 for this they paid dear, being defeated in their attempt to invade 

 England. This made them somewhat cautious at first of joining 

 Perkin Warbeck, notwithstanding his plausible pretences to be the 

 fluke oi York, second son of Edward IV. He was, however, at last 

 recognised as king by the Irish ; and in the preceding pages, under 

 the history of England, the reader may learn the event of his pre- 

 tensions. Henry behaved with moderation towards his favourers, 

 and was contented with requiring the Irish nobility to take a fresh 

 oath of allegiance to his government. This lenity had the desired 

 effect during the administration of the two earls of Kildare, the earl 

 of Surry, and the earl of Ormond. Henry VIII governed Ireland by 

 supporting its chiefs against each other: but the emperor Charles 

 V, endeavouring to gain them to his interest, Henry made his natural 

 son, the duke ot Richmond, his lord-lieutenant. This did not pre- 

 vent the Irish from breaking cut into rebellion in the year 1540, under 

 Fitzgerald, who had been lord-deputy, and was won over by the em- 

 peror, but was at last hanged at Tyburn. After this the house of 

 Austria found their account, in their quarrels with England, to form 

 a strong party among the Irish. 



About the year 1542, James V, king of Scotland, formed some 

 pretensions to the crown of Ireland, and was favoured by a strong 

 party among the Irish themselves. It is hard to say, had he lived, 

 what the consequence of his claim might have been. Henry under- 

 stood that the Irish had a mean opinion of his dignity, as the kings 

 of England had hitherto assumed no higher title than that of lords 

 of Ireland. He therefore took that of king of Ireland ; which had a 

 great effect with the native Irish, who thought that allegiance was 

 not due to a lord : and, to speak the truth, it is somewhat surprising 

 that this expedient was not thought of before. It produced a more 

 perfect submission of the native Irish to Henry's government than 

 ever had been known; and even O'Neil, who pretended to be succes- 

 sor to the last paramount king of Ireland, swore allegiance to Henry, 

 who created him earl of Tyrone. 



The pope, however, and the princes of the house of Austria, by 

 remitting money, and sometimes sending over troops to the Irish, 

 still kept up their interest in that kingdom, and drew from them vast 

 numbers of men to their armies, where they proved as good soldiers | 

 as any in Europe. This created inexpressible difficulties to the 

 English government, even in the reign of Edward VI ; but it is 

 remarkable, that the reformation took place in the English part of 

 Ireland, with little or no opposition. The Irish seem to have been, 

 very quiet during the reign of queen Mary ; but they proved thorns 

 in the side of queen Elizabeth.. The perpetual disputes she had 

 with the Roman-catholics, both at home and abroad, gave her great 

 uneasiness ; and the pope and the house of Austria always found 

 new resources against her in Ireland. The Spaniards possessed^ 



