I E E L A N D. 
their lives as dearly as pofiible. The cavalry, plunging 
their fwords into their horfes to deprive the enemy of the 
booty, were embodied with the foot; and this little band 
advanced with fuch compofure and confidence as to afto- 
nifh the hoftile army. Turning back to back when they 
were furrounded, they defended themfelves with all the 
'fury of delpair, fo that a thoufand Irilh corpfes beftrewed 
the field, together with thole of the Englilh heroes. Elated 
with this inglorious advantage, Cathal founded an abbey 
on the fpot, and thus, by this weak and inconfiderate 
mark of triumph, railed a trophy to the romantic valour 
of his enemies. 
At this difaftrous period, to the horrors of which was 
added the deftrudlion of almoft all Dublin by an acci¬ 
dental conflagration, Hugh de Lacy was recalled from 
his government, and William Petit, earl marlhal of Eng¬ 
land, appointed in his place. Petit’s adminiftration 
proved more unfortunate than that of any of his prede- 
ceffors. Confederacies were every where formed againft 
the Englilh ; the latter were every where defeated, their 
towns taken; and their power would certainly have been 
annihilated, had not the Irilh, as ufual, turned their arms 
againft each other. 
In this defperate fituation matters continued during 
the whole reign of king Richard, and part of the reign of 
John, while the diftreffes of the country were increafed 
by the difienfions and difaffeftion of the Englilh lords, 
who afpired at independence, and made war upon each 
other like Irilh chieftains.. The prudent conduit of a 
governor named Meiler Fitz-Henry, however, at laft put 
an end to tbefe terrible commotions ; and, about the year 
1208, the kingdom was more quiet than it had been for 
a long time before. In 1210, John came over to Ireland 
in perfon with an army, with a delign, as he faid, to re¬ 
duce his refractory nobles to a fenfe of their duty. More 
than twenty Irilh chiefs waited upon him immediately to 
do him homage; while three of theJSnglifh barons, Hugh 
and Walter de Lacy and William de Braofa, fled to 
France. The king, at the delire of his Irilh fubjedts, 
granted them, for their information, a regular code and 
charter of laws, to be deposited in the exchequer of Dub¬ 
lin, under the king’s feal. For the.effectual execution of 
thefe laws, befides the eftablilhment of the king’s courts 
of judicature in Dublin, there was now made a new and 
more ample divifion of the king’s lands of Ireland into 
counties, where fheriffs and many other officers were ap¬ 
pointed. Thefe counties were, Dublin, Meath, Kildare, 
Argial, now called Lowth , Katherlagh, Kilkenny, Wex¬ 
ford, Waterford, Cork, Kerry, Limeric, and Tipperary; 
which marks the extent of the Englifh dominions at this 
time as confined to a part of Leinlter and Munfter, and 
to thofe parts of Meath and Argial which lie in the pro¬ 
vince of Ulfter, as now defined. Before his departure, 
the king gave liberty to John de Grey, bilhop of Nor¬ 
wich, whom he appointed governor, to coin money of 
the fame weight with that of England; and which, by 
royal proclamation, was made current in England as well 
as Ireland. 
This ecclefiaftical governor is faid to have managed af¬ 
fairs fo happily, that, during the violent contefts between 
John and his barons, Ireland enjoyed an unufual degree 
of tranquillity. We are not to imagine, however, that 
this unhappy country was at this, or indeed any other, 
period, till the end of queen Elizabeth’s reign, perfectly 
free from diforders ; only they were confined to thofe 
diftrifts raoft remote from the Englifh government. In 
12x3, the commotions were renewed, through the immea- 
furable ambition and contentions of the Englifh barons, 
who defpifed all controul, and oppreffed the inhabitants 
in a terrible manner. The diforders in England during 
the reign of Henry III. encouraged them to defpife the 
royal authority; they were ever the fecret enemies, and 
fometimes the avowed adverfaries, of each other; and in 
many places where they had obtained fettlements, the na¬ 
tives were firft driven into infurreCtions by their cruelty, 
295 
and then pimifhed with double cruelty for their refin¬ 
ance. The Englifh laws, which tended to punifh the au¬ 
thors of thefe outrages, were fcorned by an imperious 
ariftocratic faction, who, in the phrenzy of rapine and 
ambition, trampled on the molt falutary i’nftitutions. In 
1228, a remonltrance was prefented to the king againft 
this dangerous negleCt and lufpenfion of the laws; which 
he anfwered by a mandate to the chief governor, directing 
that the whole body of nobility, knights, free tenants, 
and bailiffs of the feveral counties, fliould be convened ; 
that the charter of Englifh laws and cuftoms received 
from king John, and to which they were bound by oath, 
fliould be read over in their prefence; that they fliould be 
directed for the future ftrictly to obferve and adhere to 
thefe; and that proclamation fliould be made in every 
county of Ireland, ftriitly enjoining obedience, on pain 
of forfeiture of lands and tenements. How little eff'est 
was produced by thig order, we may learn from another, 
dated in 124.6 ; where the barons are commanded, for the 
peace and tranquillity of the land, to permit it to be go¬ 
verned by the law's of England. 
Nothing indeed can be conceived more terrible than 
the ftate of Ireland during the reign of Henry III. Peo¬ 
ple of all ranks appear to have been funk into the loweft 
degree of depravity. The powerful Englifh lords not 
only fubverted the peace and fecurity^of the people, by 
refufing to admit the falutary laws of their own coun¬ 
try, hut behaved with the utmoft injuftice and violence 
to the natives who did not enjoy the benefits of the Eng¬ 
lifh conftitution. The clergy appear to have been equally 
abandoned with the reft; nor indeed could it be other- 
wife; for, through the partialities of Henry himfelf, the 
negleCted, the worthlefs, and the depreffed, among the 
Englifh clergy, found refuge in the church of Ireland. 
What were the manners of thefe clergy, will appear from 
the following petition of a widow to king Edward I. 
“Margaret le Blunde, of Gafliel, petitions our lord the 
king’s grace, that the may have her inheritance which file 
recovered at Clonmell before the king’s judges, &c. againft 
David Macmackerwayt bifhop of Cafhel. hem, the faid. 
Margaret petitions redrefs on account that her father was 
killed by tile faid bifhop. Item, for the imprifonment of 
her grandfather and mother, whom he fliut up and de¬ 
tained in prifon until they perifhed by famine, becaufe 
they attempted to feek redrefs for the death of their fon, 
father of your petitioner, who had been killed by the faid 
bifhop. Item, for the death of her fix brothers and fifters, 
who were ftarved to death by the faid bifhop, becaufe he 
had their inheritance in his hands at the time he killed 
their father. And it is to be noted, that the faid bifhop 
had built an abbey in the city of Cafhel, on the king’s 
lands granted for this purpofe, which he hath filled with 
robbers, who murder the Englifh, and depopulate the 
country ; and that, wdien the council of our lord the 
king attempts to take cognizance of the offence, he ful¬ 
minates the fentence of excommunication againft them. 
It is to be noted aifo, that the faid Margaret has five 
times croffed the Irilh fea. Wherefore, file petitions for 
God’s fake, that the king’s grace will have compaflior\, 
and that (he may be admitted to take poffeflion of her in¬ 
heritance. It is further to be noted, that the aforefaid 
bifhop hath been guilty of the death of many other Eng- 
liflimen befides that of her father ; and that the aforefaid 
Margaret hath many times obtained writs of our lord the 
king, but to no effeit, by reafon of the influence and bri¬ 
bery of the faid bifhop. She further petitions, for God’s 
fake, that fhe may have colts and damages, &c.” 
Matters continued in the fame deplorable ftate during 
the reign of Edward I. with this additional grievance, 
that the kingdom was infefted by'invafions of the Scots. 
The Englifh monarch indeed poffeffed all tlfat prudence 
and valour which were neceflary to have reduced the 
ifland to a ftate of tranquillity; but his project of con¬ 
quering Scotland left him but little leifure to attend to 
the diitraCted ftate of Ireland. Certain it is, however, 
th&6 
