344 



Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



and making reports and inquisitions, prosecuting innocent persons, 

 fining parishes, and confiscating the horse, or mill-wheel, to the Crown. 

 Beside this, any lady of property, who was (as often happened) 

 untimely bereaved of her husband by the wars, was rarely left long in 

 her widowhood, and every extra marriage raised dower questions of 

 fearful complexity. The result of all this paternal government was an 

 unending swarm of little stinging lawsuits, sucking the blood, and 

 breaking the peace of the community. While the English settlers 

 were incessantly worried by English law and government, there also 

 lay around them fierce Irish tribes in the mountains and forests, 

 waiting opportunity for a raid ; while underneath the settlers lay the 

 oppressed Irish serfs, always strong and dangerous the moment the 

 strong hand relaxed.^ Add to all these social ulcers the manors, 

 "worked" by and for the government during minorities, the hostility 

 of the higher native clergy to the English, ^ and the burdens of debt 

 to Italian banking firms, ^ and we have all the material for the 

 collapse before any open break appeared. 



In northern Munster the de Clares figure, especially, as the " evil 

 angels" of this time; their large manors involved them in endless 

 lawsuits, and made the de Burgos and other strong nobles seek to aid 

 the Irish against the unloved house of de Clare. Thomas de Clare's 

 wars with the O'Briens brought the formidable King Torlough with 

 all his tribes down upon eastern Limerick and northern Tipperary, 

 about 1285. Caherconlish Grene, Latteragh, and other towns and 

 castles were reduced to blackened ruins by fire and sword. Gilbert 

 de Clare, owing to his long minority and his early death, took no part 

 in the struggle ; but his brother, Eichard, stirred up another O'Brien 

 war which, after eight years, resulted in the deaths of himself, his son, 

 and his best knights, the destruction of the English colony in Thomond, 



1 I found these deductions on the Irish Pipe Rolls and Plea Rolls (which tell 

 the story of over-government with great clearness), on the Inquisitions, and on 

 <jertain deeds. The "Wars of Torlough" also shows the ill-feeling of various 

 English barons towards each other. The C. S.P.I, give most of the other points 

 in this section. 



2 The Abbot of Magio, e.g., in Pleas of Parliament, Easter, xxxv Ed. I. ; 

 Alienation of the Abbey Goods, chiefly to maintain the hatred of the English 

 tongue (maxime in odium lingue anglicane ad manutenendum), lest English monks 

 should remain. The Abbot ot Wetlieney harboured Irish enemies and rebels of the 

 king, 1290 (C. S.P.I. , vol. iii. (802), &c. 



^ E.g.: I find in the Plea Rolls, 1287, Eliseus de Lucca; in the C.S.P.I., 

 1285-92, the Ricardi ; the Rapundi, the Advocata, the Huberti, and the Cosa of 

 Florence; the Clarentes of Pistoia; the Lucca merchants, Amanati and Chimbardi. 



