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IC^rturpH 0n Jnsl| I|tst0rg
COPYRIGHT 1915
BY MESSENGER PRINTING AND PUBLISHING CO.
WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS
A
COURSE OF LECTURES ON IRISH HISTORY
ARKANGED BY
THOMAS A. McAVOY
STATE HISTORIAN ANCIENT ORDER HIBERNIANS FOR MASSACHUSETTS
DELIVERED IN THE HALL OF THE
ANCIENT ORDER HIBERNIANS
WORCESTER, MASS.
PUBLISHED BY
THE MESSENGER PRINTING AND PUBLISHING CO.
WORCESTER, MASS.
1915
BOSTON (JOLLKGK LI BRAKY CHESTNUT HILL, MASS.
TO ALL
AMERICANS
OF
IRISH DESCENT
^'^S'S»^
.ir2506
FOREWORD
Publishing the following Lectures in book form needs no apology nor formal introduction. The An- cient Order of Hibernians have ever stood steadfast for the rights of the Irish people, and they have very zeal- ously labored in season and out of season in all parts of the world to make better known and appreciated Ire- land's proud chapter in the history of the world. As an important aid in this good work the Order, assem- bled in national convention, appointed a chairman on Irish history in every state in the union to further this good work — to urge the teaching of Irish history in the schools, the introduction of works upon Irish history into public libraries, to refute and rebuke vile slanders and malicious falsehoods in the public press, and to dis- seminate authentic information relative to Ireland and the Irish people by means of public lectures. The state historian for this state has been very active along these lines, and his efforts have been highly successful and productive of much good. As an important contribu- tion to this good work he planned and brought to suc- cessful issue an admirable course of lectures which were delivered in the A, 0. H. hall in the city of Wor- cester, Mass., during the winter of 1913-14. These lec- tures were largely attended and they received heartiest words of appreciation and praise from large audiences and from the thoughtful and discerning when they ap- peared in the public press of the city when delivered. Many people in the higher walks of intellectual life pro- nounced them too important and valuable not to be giv- en wider circulation in more permanent form, and yield- ing to their urgent appeals they are now launched upon the great book-world ocean where it is hoped that they will be as favorably received and with the same bene- ficial results as when they were delivered.
Ancient Order of Hibernians in At
NATIONAL OFnCEDS
JAMES J REGAN. P.^ ■ Si P.uI M.oi.
JOSEPH McLaughlin, v p,o Ph,i^. p.
CHAS J. FOY. CM«ii.ii VPm..Pcnl..Oiu.Cu. P J SULLIVAN. S«,, . Tk«mp««..,Il,. Com, Hoo T H MALONEV. Tvat. Council Blu«.. U.
NATIONAL DIRECTORS
REV WM T McLaughlin, Un.on Hill. N.J PATRICK T MORAN Wuhmjio.. O C
M F POWERS . • Ci.cid R^kU, M,ch WM J DOHERTY . Lk,c«b. HI
MICHAEL J BARRY - Colunbo.. Oh»
RIGHT REV JOHN P CARROLL. Bi^op
. MooUOA. ChapUi
ST. PAUL, MINTN., July ■'2, loH.
C. J. Crahan, Janager, Catholic Messenger, .Vorchester, Maes.
Decir tir. Crahan:
I am pleased .to eajr that at a meetlnp of the National Cfficere and Board of Directors of the Ancient Order- of Hibemlans In America, held during the National Conventlor at Norfoia, firelnia. In July 1914, it was unanimouslv voted that the National President be authorized upon behaltf of the Board to endorse and commend the book to be published by the ilessenger Printing and Publishing Company, of -Voroester, JaEtachusetts, which will contain the series of lectures on Irish Hisitory and-kindred subjects which were delivered In the Irish History course of the, Worceoter Hibernians during the fall and winter of 1913-1914 at V/orceeter, UaBsachusetts. It Is there- fore with pleasure that I hereby unqualifiedly indorse and recoranend the said book to all the members of our glorious order and to all the lovers of our beloved motherland in America as a most excellent summary of I'-ish History for popular reading among our people.
Frateannlly yours.
OH.
Ladles' iluxiiiarv. jfMcicBi (^titr of |)ibcrRian$
fN AMERICA
NA TIONAL orricEKS
MR3 eLLE-J RV*M JOLL
WI6S S A UABONeY. VIC
URS. AOCLIA OBRISTV. StcAKfAKI
:*» Deckef Areooa Cles*
MftS- MARy C CONNELLY. TatxSOi
NATIONAL DIRECTOftS
I. Sy.
Fasrt-aoiret , R. I. Janoary 20, 1315.
Uaaseager Printlag aod publishing Co. fforcsster, Meas,
Gentleiaen:-
It la with a great degree of pleasure that I offloially endorse your Irish Leotare Books I feel tr.at by eo doing I em dolig no more than this exoellect wors deaerves, I had the good fortana to attend se7eral of the leotcres and etiggeeted on more than one occasion that they ahojld be pat In book form In order chat all those of the true blood might have an opportunity to become faiiiliar trith the ccciderful lessona they tsaeh.
The official endorsement given the Lectures at the Annual Convention of the Order at Baltimore, after the Committee on Irish Elstory had unqualifiedly endorsed them, la In itself the best tribute they oonld receive.
I hope that every Hibernian sister in the Dnited States and Canada will purchase a copy of the book when It la placed on the market, and that you 5?111 be forced to print many editions of eo brilliant a work,
I wish yoa sacoess in the enterprlaa you have 80 nobly displayed.
Touxa in the oausa -
national President
Thomas A. McAvoy
Thomas A. McAvoy was born in Worcester, Mass., son of .James McAvoy and Jane (Connolly) McAvoy. He was educated in the pnblic schools of his native city, graduating from the Worcester Classical High School. After graduation he was employed as a book- keeper. Thereafter he entered Yale University and was graduated from the College in 1902. While pur- suing his law studies he was admitted to the Massachu- setts Bar in August, 1904. After graduation from Harvard Law School in 1905 he opened his office in AVorcester, where he has since practiced.
Mr. McAvoy has been a member of Division 34, A. 0. H., of Worcester, for several years. He served as chairman of the United A. 0. H. Societies of Worces- ter in 1909. In 1913, Mr. McAvoy was appointed Chair- man of the Massachusetts Committee of the A. 0. H. on Irish History. He arranged for the course of six- teen lectures on Irish History given in A. 0. H. Hall, Worcester. The first took place on September 14, 1913, and the closing lecture was given April 12, 1914.
J^_.^^ "^^a^^^
John J. Rogers
John J. Kogers was born in Ballyfarnon, County Eoscommon, Ireland, March 22, 1869, and was educat- ed in the schools of his native town. At the age of sev- enteen he emigrated to the United States. He obtained employment at the Crompton Loom Works, Worcester, Mass., and mastered the machinist trade, at which he worked for several years. In 1903 he became proprie- tor of the Waldo House, Worcester, and has remained in the hotel business. Mr. Rogers was married July 12, 1904, to Kathryn Theresa Morrilly, daughter of Thomas and Kathryn (Mulkeen) Morrilly of Fitehburg, Mass.
Mr. Rogers has been a member of the A. O. H. for more than a quarter of a century, having held member- ship in Division 3 of Worcester since 1888. Has been Captain of Co. A, Hibernian Rifles of Worcester, for many years, and for six years was president of the Worcester County A. 0. H. August 29, 1906, he was elected president of the Massachusetts A. 0. H., and has been Adjutant General of the military branch of the A. 0. H. for several vears.
John T. Flanagan
John T. Flanagan is a native of Worcester, Mass. He was born May 25, 1869, son of Edward Flanagan and Hannah M. (Mahoney) Flanagan. Both parents are natives of Ireland. Mr. Flanagan was educated in the grammar schools and the Worcester Classical High School. For seventeen years he was connected with the T. H. Buckley Company. In 1909 he entered the nndertaking business.
Mr. Flanagan has been a member of the Worcester Democratic City Committee and served as Representa- tive in the Massachusetts Legislature in 1911, 1912, 1913 and 1914, from the 16th AVorcester District.
Mr. Flanagan became a member of Division 3, A. 0. H., of Worcester in 1897. He was president in 1911 and 1912. Was treasurer of the United Divisions, A. 0. H. of Worcester in 1910 and 1911, and was chosen president of the Worcester County A. 0. H. in 1912. On Julj^ 30, 1902, Mr. Flanagan was married to Eliza- beth Frances Tansey, daughter of Michael and Julia (Hanahan) Tansey.
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Rev. Edward J. Fitzgerald
Rev. Edward J. Fitzgerald, pastor of the Church of the Holy Rosary, Clinton, Mass., was born in Wor- cester, Mass., March 4, 1868, son of Michael R. and Anastatia (Cohen) Fitzgerald. He attended the gram- mar schools and completed his studies at the Worcester Classical High School in 1885. He graduated from Holy Cross College in 1888. His theological studies Vv'ere made at Brighton Seminary. He took a post- graduate course at the Catholic University, Washing- ton, 1892-1894.
In 1892, Father Fitzgerald was ordained priest in St. Michael's Cathedral, Springfield, Mass., by Right Reverend Thomas D. Beaven, Bishop of Springfield. This was the first class Bishop Beaven ordained after liis consecration as head of the Springfield Diocese. Father Fitzgerald was stationed for seven years at the Church of the Holy Name, Chicopee, Mass., and ten j^ears at St. John's Church, Clinton, Mass., as assistant priest, and was appointed the first pastor of the Church of the Holy Rosary, Clinton, Oct., 1910.
For sixteen years, Father Fitzgerald has been chaplain of Division 8, A. 0. H., of Clinton. He has been spiritual advisor of the Worcester County A. 0. H., and in 1912 was appointed chaplain o^ iho Massa- chusetts A. 0. H.
<i^^^>^r^-tf^
J^agan JrrlanJi
B. C. TO 532-3 A. D.
BY
REV. EDWARD J. FITZGERALD
No nation lias suffered so much from the ''conspiracv against truth," which is known as modern history a 5 the Irish nation. For centuries every writer has taken his shy at Ireland, reading into her history his own prejudices, presuming that be- cause of adverse political conditions and loyalty to a proscribed religion the Irish nation of today and yesterday has been the supply for the "huers of wood and the drawers of water" — that this nation and great ethnic family that it represents., !he Celtic, has in it no greatness and has always occupied the inferior po- sition it today is just emerging from.
Learned college professors, in learned books, overladen with pseudo learning, will tell you that the Celt has not the pow- er to build politically an enduring national life, that lie can but serve others, he cannot, because of a certain lack in his national character, be a leader. Yet history tells us in the golden period of Ireland's life that she was a leader, and that for centuries she preserved and disseminated the learning that she rescued from the cataclysm of the tottering Eoman domination. School histories will dilate upon the great work of civilization that England and Scotland have done, but Ireland, if mentioned at all, is spoken of only as a place for exploitation by Cromwell, who so kindly brought to Ireland the blessings and benefits of civilization, or a field in which the robber Saxon king might stop the clamor of his hungry camp followers by awarding them lands he never owned or conquered.
But our task tonight is to speak of the ancient j.agan Ire- land, so long neglected, and to try and reconstruct ber ancient pagan life so that we may see from what modern Ireland sprung
18 PAGAN IRELAND
and find in her ancient pagan life an explanation of niach of her Christian and modern development, and also lack of develop- ment.
We have plenty of data for onr inquiry which of late years have been made the subject of close scrutiny. The i?ianuscript remains of Ireland, more numerous than of any other European country, have given us not only a true picture of ancient Ireland but also of the great Celtic family of which Ireland is the most distinguished modern development. To be sure these manu- scripts are not earlier than the eighth century of onr era, l)at they record events and customs of pre-Christian times, and al- though, like documents of their kind, they need the discriminat- ing critic who can separate the truth from the chaff of mythical fancy, yet when this work has been done we have historical doc- uments that merit and have received the attention and credence of the scholar world. This work has been done and is being clone today not only by that race to whom it is a labor of love, but by the German and French scholars as well.
Eugene 0 'Curry, in those epoch-making lectures which he delivered before the student body of the short-lived Irish uni- versity, presided over by the great English churchman, has given us ample historical data upon which to reconstruct the ancient Irish life, and the work ho so brilliantly began has been carried on till today and the A. 0. H. chair of Celtic in the Catholic University of AVashington will soon contribute to this great work by the publication of a critical edition of the Tain- Bo-Cuailnge, the great Irish Illiad.
It will be upon such sources, properly weighed and critic- ally appreciated, as they are the only original and autiientic so-.irces, that we will base our remarks tonight.
To be sure, to try and tell the story of a nation within the compass of a single hour's talk, would be futile. Asl that can be hoped is to give a sketch, the merest outline of the home, political, religious and intellectual life of a people. Ireland has had many names in her long history, some fanciful and po- etic, others merely geographical. Hibernia, Inisfail, the Isle of Destiny, Scotia and later Scotia Major, to distinguish it from Scotland, Banba and Erin are the best known . The name Sco- tia comes from the name of the Eg^qitian wife of one of the early Irish chieftans, Scota, and the name Miletians from a chief of the name ]\Iiledth. and from Graidel, another famous chief, the Irish people receive the appelation Gails. The An- nals of the four masters gives this origin for the Irish nation.
The first colony of Ireland was planted by the Parthalon- ians, who, 2500 years before Christ, came from Greece. They
REV. EDWARD J. FITZGERALD 19
Tvere followed by the Nemedians, who took possessioti after the island was depopulated by a terrible plague and had remained a solitude for thirty years. The Nemedians were harassed by the Formorians, a band of sea robbers and pirates from Africa, who eventually obtained the upper hand.
The Firbolgs were the third colony, coming to Ireland from Northern Greece and were a recolonization, for thes' were the descendants of Simon Brec, a Nemedian chief, who had fled from Ireland to escape the cruelty of the Formorian invasion. Enslaved in Greece they were obliged to bring soil from the rich lowlands to enrich the rocky highlands of their adopted coun- try in leather bags, hence their name Fribolgs or bag men. Tir- ing of their servitude, they fled from Greece under the five sons of Dela and conquered Ireland and divided it into fi\ e provinc- es, one for each brother, a division that has perseveicd till to- day. They held sway for less than half a century, to be succeed- ed by the De Dannans, who likewise came from Greece as a re- colonization, being descended from the Nemedian Cliief Ibach, who, fleeing from the Formonian pirates, had settled about Athens. They returned to Ireland by way of Scandinavia and Scotland and by magic in which they were adepts, gained en- trance to the country and eventually conquered it.
The Miletians followed. Coming from Scythia their first migration was to Eg^^^t. Then after many viccissHudes they came to Spain, where they dwelt many years, and finally under the eight sons of Miled they came to Ireland and eventually conquered the De Dannans, and from thenceforth Miletian king? ruled Ireland till Eoderick O'Connor.
These accounts are of course largely mythical and fabulous, except the Firbolgs, who existed and were probably kindred to the warlike Belgae of Gaul, whom Caesar eucountere I in battle, and the ]\Iiletians, who are certainly historical; the rest of the peoples and their story belong to the realms of fancy The date of their coming to Ireland is uncertain. They wero Celts and probably ca4ne from Gaul to Britain and from Britain to Ire- land rather than directly from Spain, says D 'Alton. I give this account of the old analist because while much of it is fabulous it has formed the basis of so many of the tales and poems of Ireland that at least the nomenclature and origki is of some in- terest.
Though the Irish were pagans they were spared Hie degra- dation that overtook cultured and refined Greece. The pagan Irish had not the debasing worship of impure love. The Irish worshipped the celestial bodies with minor gods, u:ount?ains, trees, etc. They offered sacrifice to their gods, but the charge
20 PAGAN IRELAND
that they offered human sacrifice has never been established. Their temples were the oak groves oi which Ireland boasted in the pagan davs. They had a belief in a future life and in the immortality of the soul, and were not degraded by tijeir relig- ion to an extent that they could not appreciate the licauties of a higher code of belief and practice when it was exposed to them. The wholesome sweet worship of nature gave them a love for the world in which they lived and a great joy in the ''out of doors" which to them was their temple and their God. The progress upward from nature to nature's God then was no»; difficult when the message of tidings of great joy was delivered to them by the saintly Patrick.
"Whether the pagan Irish were acquainted with the art of writing is a question that is now difficult or impossible to deter- mine," says Dr. Joyce, speaking of the manners, customs and ancient institutions of the Irish. The coming of St. Patrick found many circumstances that indicated literary activity. All authorities concur that there were in the country literary and professional men, druids, poets and antiquarians. It is certain that immediately after the establishment of Christianity in the fifth century the Irish committed to writing in their native lan- guage not only the laws, bardic or historical, and poems, etc., of their own times, but those which had been preserved from times preceding whether traditionally or otherwise, says Petrie. This general widespread use of writing would be hard to ac- count for were there not a previous knowledge of letters.
D 'Alton indeed says without restriction that beside the Og- ham writings there was had a knowledge of letters. But the best opinion seems to be that precluding from the Ogham script the pagan Irish did not have writing. The Ogham writing was invented by the Irish themselves and founded with considerable skill upon the Latin and antedated any of the vellums or manu- script. It was used particularly for inscriptions on monuments and gravestones. It answered well for lapidary inscriptions, but was too cumbersome for the facile creation of a literature though the professional jDoets may have carried with them on the tablet-staves, as the manuscripts call them, the catch words of many j^oems, sagas and genealogies. More than 200 Ogham inscriptions exist today. Ogham was criptic also; intended only for the initiated, and to make it more unintelligible to the out- siders, inversion of syllables, introduction of extra letters, etc., was practiced. However, with the introduction of Christianity Roman letters were introduced and with the whole power and authority of the Church behind it, soon became universal in its use.
REV. EDWARD J. FITZGERALD 21
Tlie law system of the Irish was complete and detailed at a very early age. Committed to writing as it was in the time of Patrick it was revised under his auspices and purged of the pagan features and Christianized. This work was done by three kings, three Bishops, of whom Patrick was one, and three poets and antiquarians. The original Brehon law was the law of na- ture and was set forth probably in verse. The Brehon or ex- pounder of the law was obliged to give long years of prepara- tion for his task, and the pleading of a case was an intricate and difficult matter; moreover the Brehon was liable for dam- ages for any unjust decision he might make. At first the legal profession was open to all who would give the required time to its study and acquirement, but in later times the profession became hereditary but never ceased to demand long and care- ful preparation on the part of the aspirant to judicial honors. The Brehons were a very influential class of men attached to the chief's retinue and receiving from him land which remain- ed in their family for generations. Some were not attached to any house and lived from their fees, and it is related that many Brehons waxed rich from their fees alone.
Many quaint and interesting stories are told on the old Brehon lawyers who administered the law not according to justice. One was said to show mottled spots on his cheeks, and another of the first century used to wear a metal ring about his neck, and when he delivered an unjust decision the ring tight- ened until it all but choked him, while when he dealt justly with the case it relaxed and allowed him full freedom to breath and talk.
The Brehon law was crude, of course, but was far above the law of retaliation which prevailed elsewhere, and whose dictum was ' ' an eye for an eye. ' ' As there was no central gov- ernment strong enough to enforce the law there was no offence against the State or crime as we know it today, but all offence was against the individual, torts, and had to be prosecuted by the individual or his friends, else the oft'ender got away scot- free.
The houses of the ancient Irish were of wood, strong posts being set in the ground and the wall formed of interlaced wat- tles, some times of stout planks. The wickerwork sides were of- ten plastered and the plaster was whitened and some times tinted. The roofs were conical supported by a central pillar and thatched. The Irish had no knowledge of cement, and all their stone work was laid dry. They also, like the Greeks, did not know the principle of the arch, iDut in spite of these handi- caps they built many huge works in stone, some of which re-
22 PAGAN IRELAND
main today to testify to their genius as builders. The houses were grouped together and were surrounded usually for pur- poses of defense with a clay wall thrown up from a deep circu- lar trench which was filled with water as an additional protec- tion when possible. The house consisted of one large room us- ually, for the men at least, and around the sides of the room were sleeping couches. This room was used for sleeping, eat- ing, and lounging. Seats were provided and the nicest and most exact etiquette was observed in seating the inmates, the rights of precedence being very rigidly enforced. Separate rooms for the women were had frequently in the most sheltered and sunny part of the abode and sometimes separate buildings were erected for the women alone. The remains of the old circum- vallations exist today, but the wooden houses have of course decayed. Often times, too, carefully constructed subterranean vaults lined with stone have been unearthed in these Duns, which were probably storehouses used while the place was be- sieged.
The army was a prominent activity with the early Irish. The troops were of two sorts — heavy armed Gallowglasses and light armed Kerns — a division found also among the Greeks, as every schoolboy reader of Xenephon knows. The former were mighty men encased in armor sometimes, though not al- ways, for the old chroniclers tell us the Irish used to deem it more honorable to fight in a saffron colored jerkin than encased in bronze. Their special weapon was the battle axe, which they wielded with one hand, guiding the stroke with the finger ex- tended along the handle, and in later times no steel armor could resist the stroke of the Gallowglasses' axe. A thigh fully en- cased in steel armor has been sheered oif by a single blow of these dread weapons. The Kerns had their short swords and javelins. That the early Irish had bows and arrows and could use them with skill we know, for we have in our mu- seums flint arrow-heads and bronze arrow-heads, but very little mention, if any, is made of them in the early manuscripts.
The early Irish had no cavalry division of their army, though the chiefs were mounted and were very discriminating in horseflesh. The chariot, however, was well known in early Irish warfare, sometimes scythe-bearing, sometimes not. The chief was attended by his charioteer when he went to battle and the general use of the chariot in warfare as well as in peaceful pursuits acquaints us with the fact that all over Ireland there were good roads, of course for the times. The Irish soldier in pagan times, as today, was of the highest valor and address. The political arrangement of the country, however, robbed him
REV. EDWARD J. FITZGERALD 23
of much of the fruits of his valor. The clan and tribe system of the Celt kept the country in a constant turmoil and the inter- necine strife that was continued for centuries robbed Irish valor of its dearest right, a fatherland safe from invasion, and al- though oceans of the best and bravest blood was poured out it was for the aggrandizement of some ambitious, restless prince- ling, rather than the permanent advancement of the nation. Hostile critics, however, are at one in bearing testimony to the valor and address of the Irish soldiers and had Erin boasted a Philip of Macedon, an Alexander the Great, or a Caesar, as an Ard-ri and organizer, the exploits of Brennus or Breunan the Celt, who captured and sacked Kome with his unmatched sold iery, we might have had permanent results. The old chroniclers give us a description of an Irish king at a feis of Tara, and when we recall that there were 250 such with their retinue or tails, we may easily conclude that the sight of the Irish army assembled in union and concord was a sight for gods and men.
The description referred to is in an old manuscript, quoted in the Book of Bally wote, 0 'Curry gives us a Bardic picture of an Ard-ri of Ireland, Cormac-mac-art, and although the bard's fancy has colored the picture some, still it remains substantial- ly true. The writer tells us that Cormac's hair was slightly curled and of golden color; he carried a scarlet shield with en- graved devices and golden hooks and clasps of silver; a wide folding purple cloak covered him, with a gem set gold brooch over his breast, a gold torque was around his neck, a white col- lared shirt embroidered with gold upon him; a girdle with gold- en buckles studded with precious stones encircled him; two spears with golden sockets, and many red bronze rivets were in his hands, while he stood in the full glow of beauty, without de- fect or blemish, you would think it was a shower of pearls that were set in his mouth; his lips were rubies; his symmetrical body was as white as snow, his cheeks were like the mountain ash-berry; his eyes were like the sloe; his brows and eye lashes were like the sheen of a blue-black lance.
Another manuscript, Tam-Bo-Cooley, describes a King Conair Mor, as a "tall illustrious chief with cheeks dazzling white with a tinge like that of dawn upon stainless snow, sparkling black pupils in blue eyes glancing and curling yellow hair." It is historically certain that any bodily blemish unfit- ted a man for chief place among the Irish, and any one who has read the requirements of head, foot and body demanded for entrance to the Feena or national militia founded by Finn Mc- Cool, the strong man of Cormac-mac-art, need fear no contradic- tion when he says that on that Easter morning, 433, 8t. Patrick
24 PAGAN IRELAND
stood ill the presence of as fine a body of men, glowing with every physical manly charm, as ever the, sun looked upon.
The land question was always a crux for Ireland, and even hi pagan times the system of land tenure kept Ireland back from the development she should have reached. The land was held in commoUj for the most part, by the tribe, although cer- tain private grants were made to individuals and the king him- self had his private estates. Then there took place at uncertain intervals a redistribution of all the tribal lands which robbed the individual of all ambition and initiative and checked the progress of the nation in consequence. This communistic ex- l)erience of the ancient Irish, together with their tribal arrange- ment and the excessive and exaggerated loyalty to house and tribe, kept Ireland from being the strong power she might have become had she been blessed with a strong central government, and an Ard-ri in fact as in name, for while theoretically the subordinate kings paid deference and tribute to the high king, yet in practice they paid such deference only when the high king was strong enough to ''come and take it."
The art of Ireland in pagan times was crude and meagre. k5ome skill in building, a rather high development in metal work, gold, silver and enamel, and a very remarkable skill in music are her chief claims to an artistic reputation. Her mar- velous skill in manuscript illumination was of Christian origin and of painting and sculpture we have no records. Her build- ings we have already described, noted for their solidity perhaps rather than for any special beauty. In metal work, however, even in pagan times, the Irish excelled, and splendid carved spear heads, sword hilts and blades, brooches, etc., testify to this. The later development in crosses, chalices, etc., which Isave aroused the admiration of the art loving world, do not be- long to our period, but found their germ no doubt in pagan times and are but the growth and development of this native ability. In music, however, the Irish native, pagan and Chris- tian has a special endowment from God. It is somewhat diffi- cult to distinguish between poetry and music in the old ac- counts, as the words are used interchangeably and the musician was most always the poet as well. The Irish poetry was the most melodious of all poetry. The meter and rhythm was most intricate, resembling the double acrostic. It was musical to a degree, but was so artificial in form that the sense was sacri- ficed to mere sound too often, and the poet was hampered and prevented from great flights of imagination.
• Of course there were no long sustained musical pieces like the modern opera, oratorio or sonata. The tunes were short
REV. EDWARD J. FITZGERALD 25
and while tliey boasted a harmony it was of a simple sort but very exquisite by reason of the perfect blending of sound. The favorite instrument was the harp, and from the very earliest dawn of historical record the harp is closely allied with the Irish national life. The harp was of 30 strings, played upon with the fingers or finger nails, and was of various sizes from the small hand harp to the bardic harp of six feet in height. The bagpipes were also well known in early times, but the pipes were rather the instrument of the poorer people, while the harp was the instrument of the nobility, and it was part of the ac- complishment .of every noble gentleman to be able to sing a sonnet to his lady's eyebrow to the accompaniment of the harp.
While there was in the old Irish music a tendency to sad- ness, yet the great majority of Irish music and song was glad- some. It fell into three classes; the musical compositions to arouse merriment, dance music, etc., those to arouse sadness, the keens and death tunes, and the slumber songs and lulla- bies. The Irish had also occupational tunes which accompanied them at their work. The ploughman had his quaint, soothing whistle which gave peace and content to the plough horse, the milkmaid had her sweet, melancholy milking song, under whose ^•entling influence the cows submitted all the more willingly in the milking barns. The blacksmith had his song, which echo- ed and re-echoed with the clang of the hammer and the ster^ torous pufifing of the bellows, etc. This music was never writ- ten, of course, and much of it perished, but much of it remains, being set down in later days and put to new^ words, and many a popular song today masquerading in modern dress is but an old Irish motif developed according to the modern musical science of harmony.
Public assemblages of the people for purposes of trade and pleasure and culture was a custom of the early Irish. These assemblages or fairs, called Aenach, were annual or triennial, as the case might be, and had their origin in the funeral games that were common in ancient Ireland, as also they were cus- tomary in Greece. At first they were held in ancient cemeteries in which were interred the bones or ashes of some noted king, <3hief or hero of history or legend. In pagan times the Druids conducted some sort of religious services, kindling the sacred fire and burning the sacrifices. Important affairs of various kinds, national or local, were transacted at these meetings. Laws were promulgated, councils and courts were held to con- sider various questions of right and privilege, disputes about property, taxes, etc., were settled. Acts of tyranny of the pow- erful over the weak were righted, the repair of the roads, the
26 PAGAN IRELAND
levying of army enlistment, etc., all these and nnmerons other questions were considered and settled by these unofficial ple- becita. Athletic games also formed a part of the gatherings of the people, horse racing, contests in music and poetry being common. It was a great place to settle marriage also, bachelors and maidens being kept apart till the parents had bargained for the marriage settlement, the dot, and had arranged the details.
The feis or convention at Tara triennially held, was of an- other sort. Originally it was connected with funeral rites and games, for there was a famous cemetery at Tara. Although it was supposed to be triennial in fact it was held only once in the reign of the Ard-ri, usually at his inauguration into office. The feis was a convention of the leading persons, as the aenacli was a convention of the common people. The provincial kings, the minor kings and chiefs, the distinguished representatives of the learned professions, the ollaves or doctors of history, law and poetry made up the gathering. For seven clays they convened and the formal matters of consideration were dis- cussed in the banquet hall. Elaborate precautions to prevent quarreling were taken. Anyone who struck another, wounded another, used insulting words even, or stole anything, was lia- ble to death.
Besides the athletic games and contests in soldierly skill and adeptness, mention is made very early of the game of chess in many manuscripts, and a chess board and a finely carved set of men was a gift fit for a king or a popular poet who had sung the glories of a chief or his house to the satisfaction of the clan. The funeral rite which had so much to do with Irish life, being the occasion, as we have said, in the early times, of the aenachs and the consequent intercourse and recreation that the fairs were the occasion of, were of varied sorts. Three modes pre- vailed of disposing of the dead: inhumation as at present, the body being laid to rest recumbent, burial of a king or hero standing upright or astride a horse fully accoutred and armed, defying his enemies even in death, and incineration or crem.a- tion, the body being reduced to ashes and the ashes placed in an urn of baked clay. These urns were placed in rude ,stone cof- fins sometimes, or under huge burial chambers made by great stone slabs superimposed upon upright stones, the whole called cromlechs, which remain today scattered all over Ireland, and in which are found skeletons and burial urns containing burnt bones. Over the graves of many heroes great heaps of stones called cairns were reared, each friend, clansman or passerby furnishing a stone to the structure.
"Let me write a couutrv's songs and I care not who writes.
REV. EDWARD J. FITZGERALD 27
her laws," is the seutmient of a modern writer. Some such conviction seems to have been deep rooted in the ancient Irish, for the poet's office was held in the highest veneration among them, and the head bard ranked as high if not higher than the head Brehon, though the two offices were often combined, as the most ancient form of the Brehon law was versified. The office of bard was no sinecure. Eleven years of severe study was the preparation demanded for the bard. A comx~>lete knowl- edge of poetical form, thousands of verses committed to mem- ory, and the ability to improvise on the spur of the moment, made the iJards ever welcome to the chief's board, where he could entertain the chief's guests and flatter the family pride of his patron at the saiue time. Not the greatest hero but the best sung hero is the one the world crowns. Fontenoy outranks Cremona because a Davis took it for the theme of one of his most stirring poems; Balaklava, an insignificant engagement, outranks the charge of the Cuirassiers at Waterloo because a poet laureate chanted "Half a league, half a league, half a league onward." Who has not heard of Paul Eevere and his midnight ride because Longfellow sang his deed of daring, but who knows of William Dawes, who dared as much and more, because he followed a more diflicult and dangerous route, on the 18th of April in '75 f
Many an old pagan chieftan is remembered today because some old saga or bardic remains has handed his name down to posterity. The bards were not unmixed blessings, however. While they could perpetuate the grand deeds of valor and cast a glamor about them even when somewhat commonplace, they were an irritable, touchy lot, and could satirize as well as praise when the mood was on them. They increased in numbers and arrogance and became a real incubus upon the land, demanding shelter, food and largess as a right, not a privilege. Many moves were made to put an end to the order, but they were never put into execution. During the Anglo-Norman invasion they were proscribed by the law, but the people sheltered them and they finally expired with Carolan, the last of the bards. We might consider some other institutions peculiar to the an- cient Irish, fosterage, right of sanctuary, etc., but perhaps we have seen enough to construct a picture fairly complete and historically correct.
The ancient Irish, then, were a pastoral people of splendid physique, living close to nature, in which they found an an- swer to all the higher religious aspirations of their being, and trained in the hard school of adversity to a strength, persever- ance and courage that adversity alone can give. Of an un-
Rev. Bernard S. Conaty
Eev. Bernard S. Conaty, pastor of St. Joseph's Church, Pittsfield, Mass., was born in Taunton, Mass., October 14, 1855. His early education was received in tbe schools of his native city. For three years he was at Montreal College for his classics, then at Holy Cross College for a short period, but completed these studies in the College of Propaganda, Borne. For reasons of health. Father Conaty, in May, 1878, was obliged to go from Eome to Aix en Provence, France. His theolog- ical studies were finished in the Grand Seminar j^ of that place.
April 11, 1882, Father Conaty was ordained priest by Archbishop Forcade. He served from November 4 of that year to March 3 of the next, as assistant priest at the Church of the Sacred Heart, Gardner, Mass. He was next assigned to St. Mary's Church, Spencer, Mass., and in 1888 was appointed rector of St. Mich- ael's Cathedral, Springfield, Mass. In January, 1897, he became pastor of the Church of the Sacred Heart, Worcester, Mass., remaining there until July, 1913, when he was transferred to the Pittsfield Church.
For a number of years Father Conaty was Director of the Worcester Free Public Library. For more than a quarter of a century he has been a member of the Springfield Diocesan C. T. A. Union and was president in 1899, and again in 1907 and 1908.
3nt0 Jr^lani
433—597 BY
REV. BERNARD S. CONATY
When I was kindly asked some time ago by the gentleman who so graciously presides at this gathering if I would consent to prepare an evening's talk on some interesting period of Irish history, I must confess that my first strong natural impulse was to decline.
I feel indeed how poorly equipped I am to speak intelli- gently and interestingly on a subject so seemingly foreign to my every day work. I could not, however, refuse whatever en- couragement my feeble voice and mj still more inexperienced pen may lend to so high and noble an educational plan as that so wisely outlined by those who have inaugurated this series of popular lectures.
I console myself with the thought that in this forum of the people even an itinerant "soggarth" like my humble self may be vouchsafed a hearing. "The introduction of Christianity into Ireland and its marvelous development under St. Patrick" is the subject assigned to me. It is one that might easily af- fright a greater than I, so sublime is its character and so far- reaching its scope.
I may be wrong, but I have a feeling that to paint a perfect morning scene requires more of the exquisite genius-like touch of the master artist than any other of Nature's myriad won- ders.
To reproduce upon the canvas the dazzling splendor of that perfect King of day as slowly, yet majestically, he appears above his mountain or ocean couch, scattering, as he ascends
30 THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY INTO IRELAND
along the heavenly highway with a wantonly lavish hand, liis nncoiintable wealth of warmth and light bedecking earth and sky with the most gorgeous robe of beauty, making instinct with life and joy the whole creation, has time and again baffled the best directed efforts of many a patron of palette and brush.
But I ask you what think you of man 's efforts to faithfully picture not the glories of a dawning day, in which the physical world is alone portrayed, arrayed in the vari-colored tints of the material sun of earth, but that all divinely beauteous morn when over the restless crest of ocean and above the lofty moun- tains there rose upon that Western Isle of Erin the eternal Sun of Justice — Christ — with an effulgence borrowed from the very bosom of the Almighty? Eloquently and in the most becoming manner, Fr. Fitzgerald, a fortnight ago, described to you the singularly peaceful and advanced civilized condition of the Irish people prior to the time of which I am to speak, the fifth centur^^ of our era. He showed you how in a most admirable manner God was preparing the way for the coming of the great apostle of the Irish race, St. Patrick, unconquered by Eoman arms, the Irish, while sleeping in the dark night of paganism, yet held to certain teachings that helped them to welcome the dawning of the day of perfect light, belief in one God, in the immortality of the soul and in reward and punishment in an after life were safe beacon lights leading them on the haven of truth.
The high sense of personal and civic honor and justice as displayed in their private lives and incorporated into their gov- erning codes formed a natural national character upon which the more easily the divine life and spirit of Christ could be en- grafted.
It would be erroneous to suppose that the heaven born blessings of Christianity were totally unknown and unenjoyed in Ireland before the fifth century. IVhile it is true that the en- tire nation did not come under the beneficient sway of Christ and His church until that period, yet there were Christians found among the Irish from the very earliest Christian days, verifying the saying of Tertullian, that there were localities in the far off British Isles inaccessible to the Eoman arms where Christ found willing subjects.
While we have ample historical evidences of Christianity in Ireland even in the early ages of the church, at least in indi- vidual cases, and while the number of Christ's true followers had considerably augmented by the beginning of the fifth cen- tury, yet the great body of the people were at that period pa- gans.
In 431 we find Pope Celestine consecrating a Eoman-dea-
REV. BERNARD S. CONATY 31
con, by name Palladiiis, and with a band of zealous missionaries sending him "to the Scots" (that is the Irish) "to be their first bishop. ' '
After effecting a landing and laboring for a short while in Wicklow such opposition arose that St. Palladius and his band were forced to seek refuge in the land of the Picts, where the holy bishoi3 soon afterwards died. Celestiue, nothing daunted, looked for another who might take up the glorious work of evangelizing the Irish nation and winning it to Christ. The new apostle chosen by the Vicar of Christ was St. Patrick. He was selected to be God's true light bearer to the Irish people. Through his blessed apostolic zeal Pagan Ireland under God's merciful grace soon became Christian Ireland ever to remain.
It would carry us too far afield to even attempt to consider the details of the marvelous work wrought under God in a few short years by St. Patrick.
There are characters in the world's history that have so impressed themselves upon their time as to elicit the admira- tion of all the people and of all times. Such is St. Patrick, yet whence came his power of conquest? He had been a lowly slave on the very hilltops of Erin. He gathered not about him the strength of multitudes. He commanded no invading army. He was simply God's annointed sent by the successor of the humble fisherman of Galilee bearing the uplifted cross of Christ and surrounded by a few lowly clerics.
Boldly he kindled on one of the hill tops the Easter fire in honor of Christ's victory over sin and death. It was this bright light in whose glorious shining the apostle made his triumphal march as a captive of Christ to the very hall of the Kings and the sages there, like Paul at Athens, to win a hearing for his crucified Master. Would we pause here to inquire avIio this Envoy to the Irish nation might be and what were his antece- dents"?
Like the apostle of England, Augustine, and the Apostle of Germany, Boniface, nothing absolutely definite is known as to the exact locality or even country where St. Patrick was born. The late Cardinal i\roran, a most learned Irish scholar, inclined strongly to the belief that he was born at Dumbarton, in Scot- land. Dr. Langigan, a renowned church historian, with many others, clings to the belief that the apostle saw the light of day in BoulogTie Sur-Mer, in sunny France. In his Confession — a document written by his own hand — we read the following:
"I, Patrick, a sinner the most unlearned and the last of all the faithful, and held in contempt by very many, had Cal- phurnius, a deacon, for my father, the son of Potitus, who lived
32 THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY INTO IRELAND
in Bennaven Taberniae. He had close by a small villa, where I was taken captive when I was nearly sixteen years of age."
Just where Bennaven Taberniae was is a tangle in the skein that neither you nor I can unravel. His captivity was in An- trim in Ireland and lasted six years. These were years of ex- traordinary youthful piety and of consequent jDreparation of heart and mind for his future apostolate. With the burning- love for Christ consuming his very soul he besought the Lord to hasten the day of deliverance from the slavery of paganism of the Irish nation. Once freed he set himself to the task of fit- ting himself to become a missionary of the church of Jesu& Christ among those children of the Gael whose mysterious pleadings for his return among them he strangely heard.
He received the most careful training under his kinsman, St. Martin of Tours, and in the great monastic schools of Lerius Marmoutier, as well as under the saintly guidance of St. Ger- manus of Auxerre. Such was the high esteem in which St. Ger- manus held the saintly learning and zeal of his beloved pupil, Succat, or Patrick, that he recommended him to Pope Celestine for the Irish missions. As he set out on his journey to Eome Probus tells us that St. Patrick prayed thus :
''0, Lord Jesus Christ, lead me, I beseech Thee, to the seat of the holy Eoman Church, that receiving authority to preach with confidence Thy truths, the Irish nation may through my ministry, be gathered to the fold of Christ."
The four masters write : ' ' St. Patrick was ordained to the Episcopacy by the Holy Pope Celestine the First, who com- missioned him to come to Ireland and preach and give to the Irish the precepts of faith and religion." The period of pre- paration for this glorious missionary work covered a period of over thirty years so that the apostle, according to the best au- thorities, had reached at least sixty years of age when in the autumn of 431 he landed on Ireland. What marvels were wrought during the sixty years of extraordinary apostolate! Peruse the pages of the glorious history of the church and find if you can any parallel record. The north, the east, the west, the south, all the land visited by the intrepid apostle of Christ — clan after clan yields to the mastery of the cross, struggles there were beyond computing, while it is singularly true that the apostolic martyr's blood crimsoned the virgin soil of Erin's church, yet it would be folly to contend that the cause of Christ triumphed without encountering fierce storms.
Yet what was the spectacle the great apostle beheld be- fore he closed his eyes to the things of earth on that blessed 17th of March, 493? When he landed on Ireland, the people,.
REV. BERiNARD S. CONATY 33
with few exceptions, professing the Holy Koman Catholic faith dotted the fair land everywhere — bishops and priests ordained and settled among all the clans and striving after virtue in its very highest forms — the sowing in a year of a divinely product- ive seed when were germinating already Saints of the most ascetic type. Who can look upon Ireland in this marvelous apostolic period and not recall the early church when all were of one mind and one heart — praising God and giving thanks for the one great blessing of the faith of Jesus Christ?
To speak of St. Patrick and not to mention St. Bridget (the Mary of Ireland) his spiritual daughter, would be not to complete the story of Ireland's glories in the fifth century. This Irish maid was inspired with burning love of Christ, re- ceiving a snow white habit as a nun. Together with a few other young virgins of Erin, she foimded the first Irish convent at Kildare, and thus began that remarkable religious woman apos- tolate of Ireland, that continues so marvelously the world over to this very day.
But I must not weary you longer. One thought — It is bor- rowed from that historical incident related in St. Patrick's life. We are told that among the first converts of St. Patrick in Ire- land, was a handsome youth named Benignus. As St. Patrick journeyed to Tara he became exhausted and threw himself up- on the bare ground near the banks of a river. As he slept, Be- nignus, under an impulse of love for the saint, gathered all the fragrant flowers he could and placed them in the bosom of the sleeping saint. St. Patrick awoke, and caught by the innocence and guileless simplicity of the boy, foretold his future sanctity and greatness, and said, * ' He will be the heir of my kingdom. ' ' He did become the successor of St. Patrick in the see of Ar- magh.
Again it is related that when St. Patrick visited the home of the parents of this boy, Benignus, as the child would rest no more but at the saint's feet, which he tenderly kissed, and how when morning came and the saint rose to depart, Benignus again embraced his feet and with many tears implored permis- sion to follow him, and from that hour he became the companion of the apostle in his labors and triumphs.
May we in our honest, childlike simplicity of deei) intelli- gent faith, imitate Benignus; gathering flowers to place fre- quently with all our heart's warmest affections upon the bosom of the great saint to whom under God, we are indebted for the pearl without price, our Holy Roman Catholic faith, and may ever seek to sit at His holy feet and accompany Him through life that we may inherit His Kingdom above. — The Catholic Messenger, Worcester, Mass.
2II|^ ^atttta nnh ^rljnkra
(IRELAiND IN HER GLORY) 600—800
BY
REV. JOHN J. KEATING
One bright summer day in the latter part of the eighth century, two learned Irish scholars, Clement and Albinus, land- ing in a great seaport city of France, went through the market- place, attracting the attention of the bartering crowd in a very novel way by calling out loudly, "Hear! hear! Whoever wants wisdom let him come to us; for 'tis we that have it to sell!"
This questionably modest boast, which the great Emj^eror Charlemagne afterwards found to be borne out by the scholarly erudition of the travellers in this particular case, might well have been the advertising copy of all the great Irish schools in those days, had international advertising been so well establish- ed then as now, for the schools that flourished in Erin during the period from the sixth to the ninth centuries, which we are about to consider, have left a glorious record of golden gifts bestowed alike with open-hearted Irish generosity upon all classes of the Irish people and upon the learned world-weary strangers who sought the scholastic quiet of Ireland's saintly shore. Well might the poet sing the praises of those ancient schools :
' ' I would the great world grew like thee Who grewest not alone in power And knowledge, but by year and hour In reverence and in charity."
Reverence for the laws of God and man, reverence for all rightly constituted authority; charity for friend and foe, — these have ever been the ideals in schools under Irish patronage.
Rev. John J. Keating
Rev. Joliu J. Keating was born December 4, 1879, in Worcester, Mass. A product of Worcester schools, he was graduated from the English High School as orator of the class of 1899. After receiving his degree at Holy Cross College in 1903, he went to Montreal for a year of study in French and philosophy at the Maison de Philosphie, an institution under the direction of the Sulpician Fathers, and affiliated with the Montreal (fraud Seminary.
In 1904, Father Keating was sent to Belgium by Eight Eeverend Thomas D. Beaven, Bishop of Spring- field, for a three years' course in theology at the Ameri- can College, one of the many institutions of the Univer- sity of Louvain. In 1906, a Gaelic Class was organized with headquarters at the American College, and Father Keating was among those enrolled. Father Keating- was ordained a priest in Louvain, July 14, 1907. He is now assistant to the Eev. William H. Goggin, LL. D., in St. Paul's Parish, Worcester, Mass.
REV. JOHN J. KEATING 35
Religion played a leading part in their origin and devel- opment, as nearly all the great schools of this period were ec- -clesiastical. Such, for example, were those founded even before the seventh century by St. Benignus at Kilbennan, St. Mel at Ardagh, St. Ciaran at Clonmacnoise, St. Ibar in Ulster, St. De- clan at Ardmore, St. Ida at Killeedy, and St. Bridgid in Kil- dare, where St. Finnen taught and preached before he founded Clonard. Many of the masters are numbered among the Irish saints, some of whom undoubtedly received popular rather than formal canonization. The most learned scholars of the day ap- plied themselv>es to the study and teaching of the Gospel and their auditors were both clergy and laymen.
The curriculum of these early Christian schools did not, however, stop short with theology and scripture. While we may point with pride to the theological attainments of great Irish minds of this period like Sedulius and Donatus who taught in Italy, we must also remember that literature and the fine arts were not forgotten. Music was cultivated by scholars and peo- ple; psalmody in the schools and traditional tunes among the layfolk. The Irish scholars seem also to have been in demand as teachers of music. In the seventh century, Gertrude, the daughter of Pepin, engaged Saints Foillan and Ultan, brothers of Irish St. Fursa of Perrone, to teach psalmody to the religious of her convent at Nivelle in France. In Charlemagne 's time, the cloister schools of St. Gall with their Irish monks were famous for their teaching of Gregorian music. In the latter half of the ninth century, the same schools, under the direction of Maen- gal, an Irishman, acquired a high reputation for music studies and later produced Notker Balbulus, one of the most celebrated of mediaeval musicians.
The classical languages were taught in most of the schools^ ■^ * The Renaissance, ' ' says Darmesteter, ' ' began in Ireland seven hundred years before it was known in Italy." At a period when so learned a man as Gregory the Great had little or no knowledge of the Greek classics, Ireland had such men as Col- umbanus, born in the year 543, of whom the great French phil- ologist, Arbois de Jubainville, says: ''It is sufficient to glance at his writings immediately to recognize his marvelous super- iority over Gregory of Tours and the Gallo-Romans of his time. He lived in close converse with the classical authors " Such was the passion of Irish students for Greek that they often transcribed the Latin of the Scriptures in Greek characters. It was the classical culture of the ninth century that made possible the scholarship of the Irishman, John Scotus Erigena, the most learned man of his day in Europe, and the only scholar in Paris
3€ THE SAINTS AND SCHOLARS
who was able to translate the Greek writings of the pseudo- Dionysius.
Geography and history were taught in Gaelic poetry. There is extant an interesting geographic poem in Irish written by one of the teachers of the school of Eoss in Northwest Munster in the tenth century. It was intended to be learned by heart,- and the poetry is probably better than the geography judged by present day standards. The ' ' Navigatio Brendani, ' ' a man- uscript which relates the adventures of St. Brendan during his seven years' voyage in the Atlantic, is a writing that attracted much attention on the part of the mediaeval scholars. Manu- script copies of the work are found in Paris, Leipzig and the Vatican Library dating variously from the ninth to the thir- teenth centur}^ Brendan was one of the "Twelve Apostles of Ireland." He founded the famous Irish School of Clonfert on the Shannon about 556, and is said to have made the seven years' voyage in three vessels, carrying one hundred twen- ty men, who set out to find the Beautiful Island of the Western Sea, spoken of in old pagan traditions. It has been claimed by some that he discovered America, but the claim must be ranked with other improbable geographic legends of pre-Columbian discoveries of our continent.
The history of Ireland had been preserved for the Christ- ian schools by the bards, who, from the earliest days, had sung the name and fame of their kings or chieftans. The writings of the monks added to these records the lives of the Irish and foreign saints.
Calligraphy, the art of making beautifully decorated man- uscripts, was highly cultivated in the Irish monasteries from the time of Columba. Hundreds of monks were occupied day by day in the work of transcribing the Holy Scriptures as well as the teachings of the Early Fathers of the Church and in writing the lives of the saints. Copies of these works were dispersed throughout Europe by monks who came from England and the Continent to borrow the priceless parchments or to make copies for their own monastic libraries. Nor were the Greek and Latin authors slighted by the calligraphers. Beautifully illuminated manuscripts of these classics were reproduced, sometimes with a commentary in Irish, like that priceless copy of Horace which modern research has discovered in the library of Berne. The greatest archeologists and philologists of modern times, like Zeuss, Keller and Beeves, have studied, admired and quoted the Irish manuscripts that are found in Continental and Anglo- Saxon libraries. Jubainville states that one thousand nine Gaelic manuscripts copied before the year 1600, are found iu
REV. JOHN J. KEATING W'
Continental and British libraries, not counting those in private collections nor those destroyed. The vastness of the destruction may be surmised from the fact that the School of Clonard alone was plundered and destroyed twelve times and burnt, either wholly or in part, fourteen times. What must have been the destruction of valuable documents in this case alone! Douglas Hyde quotes a German authority as estimating that the liter- ature of Irish production before the year 1600 would fill one thousand octavo volumes, — law, medicine and science being therein comprised.
Shall we s^y that these schools had elective courses'? In the sense of "snap courses," they had none; but there were certain men who specialized in some particular branch. One of these was Dungal, the Astronomer, who elicited the admira- tion of Charlemagne in the early part of the ninth century, by addressing a treatise on the solar eclipse to that famous patron of learning who had already put our old friends Clement and Albinus in charge of two of his seminaries. Many of the early saints, like Bishop Fortchern, were skilled artificers in bronze and metal. In fact, so much is to be said of the arts of calli- graphy, carving, metallurgy and architecture, that a complete lecture on the subject has been arranged for in this series.
The prime purpose of the monastic schools was to prepare men for the priesthood; consequently Holy Scripture and theol- ogy were the principal studies. As a foundation for deeper study, they had to learn all the psalms by heart. Reciting these, day by day in choir, and meditating upon their beauties as ex- pounded by the learned fathers of the monastery, the Irish monks came to a knowledge and understanding of the Sacred Scriptures that could not be attained by mere technical exe- gesis. Their eighth and ninth century manuscripts of the New Testament, "covered with Irish glosses, and Irish poems and Irish notes," says Prof. Stokes, "have engaged the attention of paleographers and students of the Greek texts for the last two centuries." They form the basis of Dr. Eeeves' assertion that the Irish school of this time ' ' was unquestionably the most advanced of its day in Sacred Literature. ' '
We cannot too strongly emphasize the fact that lessons were conducted in the Gaelic tongue during the sixth century, when in no other country of Europe had the vernacular been sufficiently cultivated to be a suitable medium for literary and scientific instruction. Remember that Ceadmon, the Anglo- Saxon poet whose name is associated with our earliest English literature, belonged to a monastery that was not founded till 657; Dante, the morning star of Italian literature, will not shine
3-8- THE SAINTS AND SCHOLARS
forth till the end of the thirteenth century ; Chaucer is not born till 1340; yet, in the sixth century, Ireland is thronged with scholars who come to hear her learning poured forth in the Irish tongue. All the early saints and masters had been educat- ed from boyhood in the Gaelic, and the most distinguished teachers were at the same time poets who wrote in Gaelic.
The scope of the great monastic schools of the sixth and especially of the seventh century was broad enough to meet the wants of the layman who desired to become an ollamh or master in literature, architecture, law, history or medicine. This fact explains the recorded accounts of the large number of lay students who joined with the clergy in seeking wisdom. Thus we have record of 3000 monks and students at one time in the sixth century, attending the School of Bangor in Ulster and living under the rule of St. Comgall; and in Cork, Eoss-Ailithir, *Hhe wood of the pigeons," received its name from the throng of students that flocked hither, while Emiligh under St. Ailbhi had so many students about the year 740, in the reign of Cathal (i. e. Cahill) McFinguine, that 'Hhey were forced to live in huts in the neighboring fields." Indeed it may be safely said that the students of many Irish schools in the sixth century and for some time after found lodging in individual tent-like houses or huts constructed somewhere in the vicinity of the master's cell or oratory. Even the great monastic schools of a much later date were not at all like the mediaeval monastic settlement, * ' a noble pile of buildings with stately church rising in the cen- ter surrounded by beautiful cloisters, doimitories and kitchen," — the cottages of the villagers clustered close to the protecting monastery walls. Some authorities say that stone buildings were not at all common in Ireland even in the seventh century, and that the majority of the churches were built of wood, al- though there are some few stone churches that date from the sixth century. But there was no need of college buildings such as libraries, laboratories and gymnasia. The instruction in the sixth century Irish school was chiefly oral. There were no books and the manuscripts were but few and highly prized. In- struction was often given in the open air, the preceptor taking his stand on the summit of a hill, his auditors seated round on its slopes — thus hundreds and even thousands could be accom- modated.
Many of the students were transients, travelling from school to school, and getting their food and lodging from the country folk in return for entertainment. Many's the bit of his- tory and folk-lore was passed on from generation to generation through these travelling scholars. Those who stayed on at the
REV. JOHN J. KEATING 39
school throughout the year built their own huts, planted, herd- ed the cattle or ground corn at the quern between study periods. Many a saint intending to spend his life in solitude soon found his cell in the wilderness surrounded by the huts of scholars brought hither through the fame of his learning to become his disciples.
The sons of gentlemen were trained by their tutors in horse- manship, chess, swimming and the use of the spear. Football and polo were not yet developed, but there was plenty of athlet- ic exercise even in the comparatively peaceful days of the sev- enth and eighth centuries. Parties of noble youth would some- times leave the school and ride away into the neighboring countryside to chastize someone who had insulted or injured some member of the clan. Thus we read of Prince Cathal (Ca- hill), the second son of the king of Connacht, leaving Clonard in the year 645 at the head of a party of twenty-seven students of his own people to avenge the murder of his father. The monks themselves, when occasion demanded, could lay aside books for bucklers and were not at all averse to taking part with their students and clansmen in whatever battle was waging for the honor of the clan. So, peaceful as the seventh and eighth cen- turies were, no student or warrior need die of ennui if he pre- ferred to die of a spearwound. It was only in the year 697 that Adamnan, the tenth abbot of lona, secured the passage of the Law of the Innocents, forbidding women to enter battle.
How tame and peurile are the college rivalries of modern days, when we read that in the eighth century two hundred men of the school of Darrow perished in a battle with the neighbor- ing scholars of Clonmacnoise; and the old annalists record that eight hundred monks took part in a battle that was fought in the year 816.
A passage from the Brehon laws leads us to surmise that there may have been quite a few ''gayboys" among the college students even in those days. The law relates to the wearing of brooch-pins, and you members of the legislature will observe that there is nothing original in the new hatpin law which our gallant guardians of the peace permit to be ^'more honored in the breach than in the observance;" for what do we find the farsighted lawyers on ancient Erin setting forth in the sixth century law code but the following: ^'Men are guiltless of pins worn upon their shoulders, provided they do not project too far; but if they should, the case is to be adjudged by the crimin- al law. ' ' Now what sweet consolation to any twentieth century lady who has ever been informed by a hyper-observant member of the traffic squad that the Damascus blades of her headgear
iOk THE SAINTS AND SCHOLiARS
are unsheathed! We trust that the women of that day took exceptional care to see that the law was enforced — on the men.
At the Feis of Drom Ceata in 575, the laws and the general system of education were revised so as to conform more closely to the Christian standards set forth by St. Columba (Colum- cille) and one hundred twenty of his monks whom King Aedh (i. e. Hugh) had called from the island monastery of lona to participate in the discussion. A feis in those days was a gen- eral council, and the great question of the Feis of Drom Ceata was the fate of the bards. The bardic schools were distinct from the monastic and far more ancient than Christianity itself in Ireland; but the bards had deteriorated and finally had be- come a crowd of educated vagabonds and a heart-scald to the country. So thought King Aedh and he had fully determined to suppress them and to revoke their ancient privileges; but the bards' cause was championed by St. Columba before whose im- passioned eloquence the king and his advisers were forced to retreat.
The deliberations of the Feis resulted in the formation of a new system of schools intended to dit^use the learning of the bards throughout the kingdom. Twenty bishops, forty priests, besides Columba 's retinue, thirty deacons, a multitude of other clerics, a vast throng of bards and many nobles were at hand to be heard from and to offer suggestions. Not mine to picture that flow of eloquence! But, after some months, special oUamhs of teaching or doctors of literature were assigned to the mon- arch, the provincial kings, and to the chiefs and lords of terri- tory. To each ollamh they granted free lands and inviolability of person. The Royal Poet Eochaidh, who afterwards wrote the ''Elegy on the Death of Columba," was appointed head of the system; and, assigned to the different provinces as super- visors were Aedh or Hugh the Poet for Meath, Urmael for Munster, Seanchan (i. e. Slianahan) MacCuairfertaigh for Con- nacht and Ferfirb MacMuiredhaigh (Murray) for Ulster. En- dowments were also placed at the disposal of the ollamhs or masters to afford gratuitous education to those men of Erin who desired to become learned. Who says, then, that the Irish hadn't college scholarships in the sixth century? Moreover, at lay schools, where several pupils lodged at the master's house, the sons of the tenant class waited on the sons of the gentry, receiving tuition and maintenance. So, waiting on college ta- ble for tuition is a tradition of early Irish college days. ^
An extract from one of the law manuscripts in Trinity Col- lege, Dublin, will show the relations established by law between teacher and pupil. ''The union," says the legal writer, "which
REV. JOHN J. KEATING 41
is recognized between the pupil and the tutor, or instructing father, as he is called, is this: the tutor bestowed instruction without reservation and correction without violence upon the pupil; and he supplied him with food and clothing as long as he continued to pursue his legitimate studies if he did not re- ceive them from anyone else." The pupil, on his part, was legally bound to assist or relieve his tutor in case he was needy in his old age. The tutor was entitled to the profits arising from literary or other work of the pupil during his time of schooling, and to the first fees of the ollamh's professional career.
An interesting reference to these filial duties is found in a text of Aengus the Culdee, dating from the early part of the ninth century. As explained by a very ancient scholist, it gives a pleasing instance of kindly obedience to the law, bidding pu- pils cherish the old age of their instructors. Maelruan (Mul- rooney) of Tallaght near Dublin, had been the master of Aengus who thus alludes to the tender care lavished on the aged mas- ter by his former pupils:
^'Maelruan, after our nursing him,
The shining sun of Meatli 's southern border,
At his undefiled sepulchre
The wounds of all hearts are healed. ' '
Here is an extract from the Brehon Law showing the in- demnity of the master for damage done by his charges: ''The poet commands his pupils. The man from whom education is received is free from the crimes of his pupils if they be children of natives, even though he feeds and clothes them and that they pay him for his learning. He is free, even though it be a stranger that he instructs, feeds and clothes, provided it is for God that he does it. If he feeds and instructs a stranger for pay, it is then that he is accountable for his crimes.'' That's what you may call a "law of hospitality!"
This warm Irish hospitality was appreciated and accept- ed. ' ' For three centuries, Ireland was the asylum of the higher learning which took sanctuary there from the uncultured states of Europe. At one time, the religious capital of Christian Ire- land was the metropolis of civilization. ' ' The quotation is from Hyde's Literary History of Ireland. The Litany of Aengus the Culdee invokes the name of many a saintly and scholarly stranger who had come to Erin's classic shore to find such peace as Dante sought within the cloister of Era Hilario. Romans, *Gauls, Germans and Britons find mention in this document, and
42 THE SAINTS AiND SCHOLARS
even Egyptian monks, of whom seven are listed. The greatest number of foreign students came from Great Britain. They came in '^ fleet-loads," according to a letter written about the year 705 by Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherborne to Eadfrid, Bishop of Lindisfarne. The Venerable Bede, himself an English priest, tells us that the scholars of his country went over to Ireland in great number in the year 664, the time of the great i^lague, and were warmly received by the Irish, who provided them with food and gratuitous education.
In the ninth century we find Alcuin sending letters from the court of Charlemagne to his friends at the school of Clon- macnoise. Dagobert II, King of France, spent eighteen or twen- ty years of his youth in the School of Slane in Meath, near the residence of the high kings of Ireland. The English prince, Albert of Northumbria, was educated in Erin, and Aldhelm the Abbot of Malmesbury, expressed the sentiment of other English scholars when, in a Latin epistle, he congratulated the king on his good fortune in obtaining an Irish education. The same Aldhelm is also authority for the statement that the Eng- lish scholars were swarming like bees to the Irish schools, while the great school of Canterbury was far from overcrowded. King Aldfrid, when leaving Ireland, composed the following poem:
''I found in Inisfail the Fair In Ireland, while in exile there. Women of worth, both grave and gay men. Learned clerics, heroic laymen.
I travelled its fruitful provinces round, And in every one of the five I found. Alike in church and palace hall Abundant apparel and food for all."
St. Willibrord, a noble Saxon educated in Ireland, became the Archbishop of LTtrecht. Agilbert, a Frank by birth, became Bishop of Paris after his studies in Ireland. And now, just a little pedagogical touch before we come to speak of Columba.
The Irish schoolmaster has always been a firm believer in the efficacy of corporal punishment as a balm to the feelings of both master and pupil. From the days when the saints them- selves were teachers down to the days of the hedge schoolmas- ter who made some of our more proximate ancestors smart, the sentiment of Irish instructors has been thoroughly in accord with the latest findings of a great pedagogical authority as re- cently made known to the teachers at their convention in Chi-
REV. JOHN J. KEATING 43
cago. It might be given to the pedagogical world as the an- cient golden precept of Irish school discipline: Swat while your ire is hot!
An application of said rule and an illustration of its bene- ficent results comes to hand in the story of St. Baothin. When this young scion of a noble race, — for in truth he was a nephew of St. Columba, — was studying in the school of St. Colman Ela, his voluntary dullness so tried the patience of the saint that one day the latter without word or warning suddenly smote the young blockhead hard upon the jowl and was endeavoring to make even more of an impression, when Baothin, taking the first blow for marching orders, quickly hied him to the neighboring woods. There he became interested in the work of a man who was building a house by weaving rods one after another between posts that had been set up in the ground. Baothin moralized on the manner in which the house was rising slowly but surely through the rods being woven in one by one, and thought how he, too, might have built the edifice of learn- ing had he but applied himself to the work. Came a rain storm, and the Desolate Baothin, standing in the shelter of an oak tree, observed the rain, falling drop by drop from one leaf upon a particular spot, and pressing his heel upon this spot he made a hollow which soon filled up by the constant dripping of the rain. Then he spoke this lay:
''Of drops a pond is filled,
Of rods a house is built ;
The house which is favored of God,
More and more numerous will be its family.
''Had I attended to my own lessons At all times and in all places. Though small my progress at a time. Still I would acquire sufficient learning.
"It is the single rod which the man cuts And which he weaves upon his house: The house rises pleasantly, Though singly he sets the rod.
' ' The hollow which my heel hath made, Be thanks to God and St. Colman, Is filled in every shower by the single drop; The single drop becomes the pool.
44- THE SAINTS AND SCHOLARS
"I make a vow that while I live
I will not henceforth my lessons abandon;
Whatever the difficulty may be to me,
It is cultivating learning I shall always be,"
We may well suppose that the poem, and especially the resolution, restored the youthful Baothin to the good graces of St. Colman; and we have convincing evidence that the resolu- tion was kept, for when the great abbot and founder of lona was laid to rest, it was Baothin who became head master of the school and abbot in his stead.
The greatest man of this period, and probably the great- est Irishman known to history, is St. Columcille, or Columba. Unlike St. Patrick, he was an Irishman, born in Garten, County Donegal, Dec. 7, 521. He was of royal blood, being a descendant of Niall of the Nine Hostages, that restless warrior king of Ire- land who ravaged Britain in the fourth century. Columba was a poet, a statesman, a warrior and a great missionary saint. * ' His name, ' ' says Healey, ' ' is dear to every child of the Scotic race in Erin and in Alba, — and, what is stranger still, monk and priest though he was, his memory is cherished" by Catholic and Protestant alike. In his youth he was sent to the monastic school at Moville, for Ireland, since the death of Patrick some half century previous, had produced a large number of such small colleges. Here he stayed imtil ordained deacon; then went to study in Leinster under the bard Gemman, and hence to Clonard to St. Finnian, who had studied in Wales and who taught Columba the traditions of the Welsh church.
Clonard was a famous school in Columba 's day. It had been founded by St. Finnian about 520, the fact being com- memorated in the breviary on St. Finnian 's feast by an old Lat- in hymn whose jingling metre would fit it perfectly to the tune of one of our popular patriotic songs, —
"Reversus in Clonardiam Ad cathedram lecturae Apponit diligentiam Ad studium scripturae,"
Finnian is rightly called the ''Tutor of the Irish Saints." From his school came the Twelve Apostles of Ireland: Ciaran of Clonmacnoise and Ciarn of Saigher; Brendan of Birr, "the Prophet," and Brendan of Clonfert, "the Navigator;" Columba of the Churches, i. e. Colum-cille of whom we are speaking, and Columba of Tir-da-Glas; Mobhi of Glasnevin and Rodan of
REV. JOHN J. KEATING 45
Lorrha; Senanus of Inniseatliy, Ninnidh of Lock Erne, Lasser- ian and finally St. Cainnech of Kilkenny, known in Scotland as St. Kenneth. It was men of this type that Columba met at Clon- ard, engaged in study, labor, prayer and fasting. It is related that one day Finnian said to his beloved disciple Senachus, * ' Go and see what each of my disciples is doing at this moment." Senachus went on his errand and found them all busy at their various tasks. ''Some were engaged in manual labor," says the ancient manuscript, ' ' some were studying the Sacred Scrip- tures, and others, especially Columba of Tir-da-Glas, he found engaged in prayer with his hands stretched out to heaven and the birds came and alighted on his shoulders. ''He it is," said Finnian, "who shall offer up the Holy Sacrifice for me at the hour of my death, "^ — for his, it seems, was pre-eminently the spirit of holy prayer and meekness.
Leaving Clonard, Columba went to the school of Mobhi at Glasnevin near Dublin, where some fifty students were at work. Driven thence by the plague, he went northward to the home of his cousin, the Prince of Aileach, near Derry. The Prince of- fered him the so-called Island of Derry, a rising plot of ground of oval shape, covering some two hundred acres, along the- slopes of which flourished a splendid forest of oak trees, giving the place its name of Derry or the Oak Grove. This grove was a perpetual joy to Columba, who was a great lover of the beau- tiful in nature. He changed the intended position of his church when he found that some of the trees must be felled if the orig- inal plan of placement were carried out. He gave strict orders that his successor should spare the lovely grove and that if any of the trees should be blown down, part of the wood should be stored as fuel for their own guest-house and the rest be given to the poor.
Years after, on the desolate island of lona, Columba re- called the peaceful, happy days spent at this, the first monas- tery of his founding, and wrote the poem on Derry:
"That spot is the dearest on Erin's ground For the treasures that peace and that purity lend, For the hosts of bright angels that circle it round Protecting its border from end to end.
"My Derry, my Derry, my little oak grove. My dwelling, my home and my own little cell, May God the Eternal in Heaven above Send death to thy foes and defend thee well. ' '
4 6 THE SAINTS AND SCHOLARS
Columba was only twenty-five when he founded Derry. Within the next seventeen years he established the still more celebrated schools of Durrow in King's County and Kells in JMeath. A description of him at this time is given by an an- <;ient writer who says he was "a man well formed with power- ful frame; his skin was white; his face was broad and fair and radiant, lit up with large, gray, luminous eyes; his large and well shaped head was crowned with close and curling hair, ex- cept where he wore his frontal tonsure. His voice was sweet with the sweetness of the bards, clear and resonant so that he could be heard at 1500 paces ' ' — what would be his record with a modern megaphone! In temijerament he was quick and passionate. His activity was wonderful. ' ' Not a single hour of the day, ' ' says Adamnan, * ' did he leave unoccupied without en- gaging in prayer or in reading or in writing or in some other work." He took jDart in the manual labor of the monastery, cooking or looking after his ploughmen. He was an unwearied scribe and poetry was his delight. His followers were ever oc- cupied in transcribing his literary works, and we read in his Irish life that he himself wrote "three hundred gifted, lasting, illuminated, noble books."
Scotland became the home of Columba in 563. His motive in leaving his native Ireland is given by his ninth century suc- cessor and most noted biographer, Adamnan, as "the desire to carry the Gospel to a pagan nation and to win souls to God." Other authorities enter into more detail and declare with con- siderable probability that Columba was carrying out a severe penance imposed on him by his confessor, St. Molaise: to leave Ireland and preach the gospel so as to win for Christ as many souls as had perished in the battle of Cooldrevney, where Col- umba's clansmen the NeilPs, supported by his prayers and in- cited by his counsels, had defeated the warriors of King Diar- mait in the year 561. With twelve companions Columba crossed the sea in a currach of wickerwork covered with hides, and land- ed on the barren, craggy island of lona on the eve of Pentecost, May 12, 563. For the next 600 years lona was virtually an Irish island occupied by Irish monks and scholars. As soon as Co- lumba and his followers had built their monastery, they went forth to preach Christianity to the Northern Picts. Many me- morials of their saintly work are found in Northern Scotland, the Great Glen and the country to the eastward into Aberdeen- shire. Montalembert 's "Monks of the West" furnishes a wealth of information on Columba 's missionary work. His feast is kept in Scotland on the ninth of June, for Holy Mother Church observes the feast day of a saint not on the date of his
REV. JOHN J. KEATING 47
birth, which marks his entrance into "this vale of tears," but on the date of his death, which marks the triumphal ending of his time of probation.
On the eve of his death, which occurred in 597, he was en- gaged in the work of transcription. Earlier in the day he had viewed the gardens and buildings of the monastery in com- pany with Diarmait, his attendant; he had blessed the work of his followers for the last time and was returning from the barn to the monastery when he was overcome with fatigue and sat down by the roadside to rest. And the chronicler tells us that " as he sat there resting his aged limbs, the old white horse that used to carry the milkpails from the byre to the monastery came up and put his head on the saint's shoulder as if the ani- mal knew that his master was to leave him. The saint, deeply moved, blessed the poor, faithful horse and said, 'It is God that has made known to him through instinct that he will see me no more. ' ' ' Entering the cloister he went directly to his cell and sat there copying the Psaltery. But as soon as he came to the eleventh verse of the thirty-third psalm in the Vulgate, where it is written : ' ' Inquirentes autem Dominum non deficient omni bono, ' ' he laid down the pen and said, * ' Here I must stop ; Boa- thin will write the rest. ' ' At the midnight hour, when the bell for matins summoned the monks to chapel, they found their dy- ing abbot prostrate in prayer before the altar; they raised him gently, and in a few moments he expired in the arms of his com- panion Diarmait, breathing blessings on lona and his disciples.
The best history of Columba's life is the Latin one written by Adamnan, his ninth successor in the abbacy of lona. "It is, ' ' says Pinkerton, ' ' the most complete piece of such biography that all Europe can boast, not only at so early a period, but even through the whole Middle Ages." This admirable work has been preserved to us through the scholarship and research of Stephen White, a learned Irish Jesuit Father of the seventeenth century.
lona became a celebrated shrine. Kings and princes come hither on pilgrimages as Columba has foretold. Niall Frassach gave up his crown, took the pilgrim's staff and died at lona in 778. Artgal, son of Cathal, King of Connaught, camo here to "make his soul" in 791; and many princes of the Picts and Saxons did the same in later years.
The spiritual linage of Columba numbers one hundred twelve saints. Would that time permitted us to enter into an account of some of these great lives, — the martyr St. Blaith- mac, the exegesist Marianus Scotus, Flathbhertach O'Brol- chain of Derry, St. Comgall of Bangor, St. Columbanus, St. Mai-
48 THE SAINTS AND SCHOLARS
achy, and Dungall, the theologian, astronomer and poet, would well repay our study. From the School of Cork we should take St. Finbar; St. Fintan and Aengus the Culdee, from the School of Clonenagh; St. Kevin and St. Moling from Glendalough; Sts. Colman and Gerald from the School of Mayo ; St. Jarlath from Tuam; St. Nessan from Mungret, St. Cronan from Koscrea and St. Coimin from the School of Inniscaltra.
The Irish scholars abroad in this period would furnish an- other interesting and illuminating chapter, from Virgilius,. Archbishop of Salzburg, to Sedulius the theologian in Italy. For an account of these, we refer the student to Healy's valua- ble work, ** Ireland's Ancient Schools and Scholars."
It would be unpardonable to close this sketch without sum- marizing the work of the great Irish missionaries of the period. Their highest compliment and the most unprejudiced estimate of their work comes from the populace of those nations to whom they devoted their lives. Let us present it on the authority of the scholarly Stephen White, S. J. *'The nations they con- verted, edified and civilized have placed upon the altars of the churches where they labored 150 of these saints, of whom 36 were martyrs, in Germany; 45, of whom 6 were martyrs, in Gaul ; 30 in Belgium ; 13 in Italy ; 8, all martyrs, in Norway and Iceland ; ' ' and Montalembert quotes an ancient writer enumerat- ing the monasteries founded by Irish monks on foreign soil as 13 in Scotland, 12 in England, 7 in France, 12 in America, 7 in Lorraine, 10 in Alsatia, 16 in Bavaria, 15 in Ehetia, Helvetia and Allemania; — there were many in Thuringia and the left bank of the lower Ehine, and finally 6 in Italy.
For a profound study of this important period, scholars may be referred to 0 'Curry's Manuscript Material for Ireland's Ancient History, La Revue Celtique, and the recent articles of Morris in Irish periodicals; for the general reader there is a long list of interesting works to be had in our own excellent public library; and for all of us who are proud of our Irish blood, the i^resent very imperfect survey will amply vindicate the claim of Ireland to that title which she received centuries ago from the learned men of the world: *' Insula Sanctorum et Doctorum," — "Island of the Saints and Scholars." — The Catholic Messenger, Worcester, Mass.
Thomas E. McEvoy, M. D.
Dr. Thomas E. McEvoy is a native of Hopkinton, Mass., and was born July 27, 1859, son of Patrick Mc- Evoy and Mary (Daw) McEvoy. He attended the grammar schools and was prepared for college at Phil- i])s Exeter Academy, from which he was graduated in 1886. He entered Yale College, graduating in 1890, and was graduated from Yale Medical School in 1892.
Dr. McEvoy is a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society. In 1896 he served as a member of the School Committee, Worcester, Mass. He joined Division 1, A. 0. H., of Worcester, in 1896, and for twelve years was physician for the Division. June 12, 1900, Dr. McEvoy was married to Mary Spencer 0 'Day, daughter of James and Margaret Spencer of Worces- ter.
yC^-</ ^. M^(t.^ %o
®I|^ g^truggb Mitlj tlj^ ian^s
800 — 1169 BY
THOMAS E. McEVOY, M. D.
The period of Irish History that falls within the beginning of the ninth and the middle of the twelfth century is, perhaps, the most fruitful for study than that of any other period of the annals of Ireland. For, up to this time, our Irish people with slight or no influence from without met those problems, incident to the development of a people from barbarism to a position of the most enlightened of the known world, and solved those problems in such a manner as to leave its impress upon the character of our people, which impress can be discerned in our time, though at an interval of one thousand years.
Ireland at the beginning of the ninth century had an es- tablished form of government, excelled in her institutions of learning, eminent in art, law, illumination of manuscripts, metal working, music, while a most commendable attempt in a native school of architecture, assiduously developed during this peri- od which we are considering, to a beautiful promise is very evi- dent from the few but inspiring examples of the so-called IRISH ROMANESQUE style of architecture. It was during this period that Ireland furnished that famous scholar, the most learned man of his time, John Scotus Erigena, who is considered to have founded an Irish School of Philosophy. It was during this period, furthermore, that Ireland's fame as the land of saints and scholars was spread broadcast through all Christen- dom.
What was the rest of Europe occupied with at this time? Charlemagne had just secured the Western Empire for himself, an achievement made possible by Charlemagne's grandfather, Charles Martel, with his Catholic Christian army, who, in 732, at Poitiers, checked the hitherto onward march of Moslemism
50 THE STRUGGLE WITH THE DANES
and saved Europe from oriental civilization. Ever since the fall of Eome, in the latter part of the fifth century, until the commencement of the ninth, the continent of Europe knew no uniform system of government and, consequently, disorganiza- tion of society took place. Christianity's problem became not to teach the word of God only, but it had to teach husbandr}", agriculture, secular learning and special sciences, as medicine, and to inspire the great barbarian host to unite and to repel Moslemism, at the same time to accept the teachings of Christ as the foundation of their social fabric. Into this work, with exceptionally well equij^ped missionaries, Ireland pushed with such zeal a.^d energy that it is well within the truth to main- tain that Ireland's influence was the breakwater that walled off the threatened inundation of paganism and saved for Europo the Christian civilization which we all now enjoy.
Before leaving this cursory review of conditions in other lands than Ireland, a word about the neighbor, England, across the channel, may not be out of place. England's plight was worse than that of the continent. Charlemagne brought peace to the Western Empire. The English people and the tribes of the Angles were divided and warring among themselves, to such an extent that in vain did Alcuin, the great English monk, spread a written appeal to the English to make common cause against the pagan Danish invaders. The Britons were shut up in Cornwall and Wales, while the rest of England was divided into seven kingdoms, called the Heptarchy. These seven king- doms, while at war with one another, suffered from internal strife, each in its own kingdom, a hopeless condition, until in 824, when Egbert, king of Wessex, united the seven kingdoms under his rule. During all this bloodshed, the Christian relig- ion, through its monks, nobly struggled to introduce and make permanent Christian civilization among these barl^arians, the Angles and the Saxons; for the seven kingdoms or heptarchy was composed of tliese peoples. Having some idea of the an- archy, barbarity, ignorance and atrocity of these times in the countries other than Ireland, it will enable us to understand why Ireland's condition is of so great interest.
Politically, Ireland was divided into five provinces, Lein- ster, Munster, Connaught, Meath and Ulster. These provinces were divided in turn, into tuaths, or sections containing aliout 177 square miles. In some instances, several tuaths would com- bine and were known as a mortuath. The tuaths, mortuaths, and provinces were ruled by petty kings, while the high king, or Ard-ri, ruled over all. The kings of the provinces ruled over the kings of the tuaths and mortuaths in their respective prov-
THOMAS E. McEVOY, M. D. 51
inces. In all Ireland at this period, there were about 184 tuaths.
The kings of the provinces paid tribute to the Ard-ri and were obliged to give service in time of war. These kings, from the Ard-ri to the petty king, were subject to law like their own subjects. The tuaths and mortuaths paid tribute and gave ser- vice in time of war to the provincial kings. Thus, we see, that the Ard-ri was a limited monarch. Under this systematized gov- ernment, Ireland, throughout the centuries preceding the Dan- ish invasion, progressed in all lines of industry, made constant progress in the arts and sciences, and in both civil and religious life. In industry, Ireland had intercourse with foreign nations through commerce from the days of Tacitus, the first century of the Christian era, exporting and importing commodities just as we do at the present time. The exports consisted in part, of furs, wool and woolen goods, linens, cereals, fish and salted hogs. They imported, for their own use, articles of luxury, dresses, gold and silver ornaments, swords, shields and staves. There were to be found mills for grinding corn, persons occu- pied with carding, spinning, weaving and dyeing of wool, the art of embroidery, leather tanning, manuscript writing, tilling and pastoral duties and the casting and bronzing of metals.
The civil life is well illustrated by the Brelion laws admin- istered by the Brehons, or judges, and these laws regulated the obligations of the free tiller of the land. These laws take their beginning before the advent of Christianity, their roots lying deeply hidden in pagan times. The Book of Eights was pre- pared under the auspices of St. Patrick, and was considered by all Erin, in due course of time, as the supreme law of the land. The Book of Eights bore the same relation to the Brehon Laws as the United States Constitution and the constitutions of the several states bear to the great body of the law of the land.
Chastity and modesty were highly prized among the an- cient Irish people of this epoch. The husband and wife were on terms of equality in regard to property and also in a Brehon Court. AVomen were to be found among the physicians and judges. Polygamy was very rare.
Ireland's development of architecture, during this period, took on a most noble promise, and it is well to notice reached the height of its peculiar Eomanesque style. If we compare the temple of St. Molaise, at Inniscurry, Sligo, St. Finian's oratory at Innisf alien. Temple Senin of Aranmoore, with Cormac's cha]:)el, on the rock of Casliel, the beautiful ruin of Devenish Is- land, Lough Erne, the truth of this statement can easily be seen. There, one can study the development of the so-called Irish Eo-
52 THE STRUGGLE WITH THE DANES
manesque Style of Architecture. Closely allied to this subject is the industry of stone carving, and masonry; the one seen in Celtic crosses still preserved, while the art of masonry is well exemplified in the existing round towers with their conical tops, beautiful symmetry, and wonderful stability.
The wonderful art of illuminating manuscripts, in which our ancestors were pre-eminent, claim our admiration as works of this period. Previous to the eleventh century, books were very prevalent, a partial list of which is as follows: —
Book of the Dun Cow.
The Yellow Book of Slane.
The Book of Innis.
The Book of Monasterboice.
The Book of Flann.
The Book of Dun Given.
The Book of Downpatrick.
The Book of Derry.
The Book of Sab-ha Patrick.
The Book of 8t. Mologa.
The Yellow Book of Mailing.
The Yellow Book of MacMurrough.
The Yellow Book of Armagh.
The Bed Book of MacEgan.
Long Book of Leinster.
The Book of Scoba and Clonmacnoise.
The Book of Clonsost.
In these books are found beautiful specimens of illuminat- ive art. This art has been divided into four groups: The Geo- metrical Design, Zoomorphic Design, Phyllomorphic Design, Figure Design. The geometrical ornament relates to the varie- ties of straight, curved and broken lines. The zoomorphic de- signs are the representation of animal life. The phyllomorphic design is illustrative of plant life. The figure design depicts the human form.
Celtic illuminative art is at once the pride and delight of the student of history. It ranks today as it ranked at the be- ginning of the eleventh century, as the very highest type of il- luminative art in the world. The oldest of all these books, ac- cording to Joyce, is the book of the Dun Cow, transcribed by Mail Muri Mac Kelleher, who died at Clonmacnoise in 1106. Interlinear notes pervade the whole work. This book contains 134 folio pages, a mere fragment of the original work. Sixty- five pieces of various kinds, several of which are imperfect on account of missing leaves, are f oi\|id ; a copy of Amra, or elegy
THOMAS E. McEVOY, M. D. 53
on St. Columbkille, composed by Dallon Forguil, about 592, and an imperfect copy of the voyage of Mail Dunne.
In our city library, in the reference department, are many volumes illustrating these beautiful books, especially the book of Durrow. The subject of these books leads us up to the great monastic establishments, their cloisters and schools. These es- tablishments were the most renowned, best equipped, just pre- vious to the invasion of the Danes, of any in existence. The schools of Bangor, Clonard, Clonmacnoise, St. Malaise, St. Oobban and Glpnfert are worthy examples. Oswald and Alfred, kings of Northumbria, England, and Dagobert, king of France, were educated at some of these noted institutions, in this man- ner demonstrating the wide influence of Irish Culture. In aii parts of the country, were monasteries with schools attached to the greater number. In these schools and monasteries, were the libraries containing the books and manuscripts. History narrates that several of these schools had each a registration of three thousand pupils, very many, from one thousand to fifteen hundred each, and so on down to St. Mobi, with but fifty pupils. From this, you can infer what a large number of books must have been written yearly to supply these monastic libraries.
From these schools, there went forth between the eighth and tenth centuries, such missionaries as Alcuin, Clement, John Scotus Erigena, Dungal the Poet, theologian and astronomer, whose letter to the Emperor Charlemagne discloses his knowl- edge of the inclination of the plane of the moon's orbit to the plane of the ecliptic, and asserted that for an eclipse to occur, whether of the sun or moon, it is necessary for the moon to be in the plane of the ecliptic. He was a lecturer at the school of Charlemagne, and afterwards founded and became head of the school of Pavia. In 825, an Irish scholar, Dicuil, wrote a com- plete geography of the world so far as it was then known, and this work has recently been published by the Royal Irish Acad- emy. Virgilius, Bishop of Saltzberg, publicly taught the world was a sphere and that people dwelt at the antii3odes. Angus, the culdee, the great poet, St. Malachy, the noted physicians O'Callahans of Desmond, O'Briens of Thomond, O'Cassidys of Fermanagh, O'Lees of Connaught, Kennedys of Ormond and the McNamarahs of Clare, were of this period. The reputed author of the chronicle of the Scots, MacLaig, the poet and close friend of Brian Boru, with the co-operation of Errard MacNoise compiled the chronicle, ' ' The Wars of the Gael With the Gaul. ' ' This work contains 121 chapters.
D 'Alton writes that metal working was an industry in Ire- land long before Christianitv was introduced and continued on
54 THE STRUGGLE WITH THE DANES
down through the centuries to the period under consideration and became so well developed that the bell and its shrine, the croziers beautifully wrought swords and brooches, now extant, amjily testify. The chariots were ornamented with gold and silver and fitted with iron tires. The arms for warfare and in some cases, covers for the books, were of metal, likewise chal- ices and crosses. The shrines for the books of Durrow and Kells have been lost, but that of St. Malaise is still preserved in the Museum of Science and Art in Dublin. The bells made in the tenth and eleventh centuries, such as the bell of Cumosach, were made of caste bronze. The shrines were made of brass, gold, silver and ornamented with precious stones and inlaid with fine threads of gold and silver. The brooch of Tara is a fine specimen of the brooches, of which there must have been a countless number, as they were worn by all.
Ireland was well in the forefront of Christian civilization, previous to the advent of the Danes, and devoted to those arts which shed an everlasting glory on our forbears. As for music, the beautiful melodies are still preserved for us, together with the harp, bag pipe, violin and trumpet, while in other lands were to be found teachers of music from Ireland. Yet, through it all, Ireland was continually torn with civil strife between the pro- vincial kings and the petty kings. For instance — in Munster, the king of Desmond fought with the king of Thomond, and the struggle was handed on to their successors. One fruitful cause of strife was the imposition of a tribute on the conquered, putting the obligation to collect it on the victor. A noted in- stance of this custom is that of the tribute imposed on Leinster. Twice in the eighth century, was Leinster at war with the Ard- ri Fergal and his successors on account of it. Thus, the country was divided in sentiment, though a homogeneous people, when the foreigner was about to enter their land, the first time in history, for the purpose of conquest. These foreigners were the Danes ,or Northmen, whose home was in the Scandinavian Pen- insula and Denmark. The coasts of France, Scotland, England and Ireland were the objective points of their attacks. They were pagan pirates, whose sole object in Ireland at first seems to have been plunder. Ireland's reputation for wealth can be grasped frotn the following description taken from a French writer of the tenth century: —
"That very wealthy country, in which there were twelve bishoprics and a king, and which had its own language and Latin Letters."
On came these iron clad robbers in the year 795, whose gods were the gods of silver and whose gods were the gods of
THOMAS E. McEVOY, M. D. 55
gold. The island of Lambay was looted and thereupon followed the plundering of Downpatrick, 798, lona 806, when 68 monks were put to death.
In 807, Innismurray was sacked. In 811, islands oft" the coast of Kerry, 812, the county of Mayo was invaded. The coast line from Wexford to Cork and Kerry was devastated in the year 822. The famous school of Bangor was pillaged in the year 824 and nine hundred of its monks were killed. To show that the Danes did not tind everything easy for them, Egin- hard, the tuto^* of Charlemagne, who was living at this time, records, ''The fleet of the northmen, having invaded Hibernia, the island of the Scots, after a battle had been fought with the Scots, and after no small number of the Norsemen had been slain, they basely took flight and returned home." Many sim- ilar examples might be quoted. This defeat took place near Killarney, in 812. Armagh, Louth and the greater part of Ul- ster were ravaged in 830. Up to this time, the purpose of the Danes was plunder and slaughter, with no e^adent desire of gaining a foothold in the country. Their method was to enter some exposed point with their shallow vessels, upon which they made their home, sack and ravage that section, quickly with- draw to their boats when danger threatened, sail away, only to appear suddenly at some distant part of the country and repeat their killing and robbing" the people who, usually, were wholly unjDrepared, or, as in many instances, were monks who offered but a passive resistance.
As the voice of Alcuin failed to unify the inhabitants of England to meet effectively the invading Danes, so, likewise, in Ireland, interprovincial warfare rendered abortive any attempt to unite all Ireland to meet this brave, daring, cruel stranger from the north. As an example at this time, we find the Danes established at Limerick and on the Clare side of the Shannon making incursions into Munster, while the provinces of Mun- ster, itself, Thomond and Desmond, were at war with one an- other. Again, the exaction from Leinster of the tribute, which consisted annually of 150 cows, 150 sheep, 150 pieces of cloth, 150 caldrons, 150 couples, male and female, for servitude, and 150 maidens, one of whom must be a daughter of the king of Leinster, kept Leinster at war with the Ard-ri. With these drawbacks, however, the northmen were defeated off the coast of Kerry in 811, at Hy Kinsella in 827, again at Shanna Golden in Munster.
In 832, the war under the Dane Turgesius, took on the form of conquest. Turgesius brought all the Danes in Ireland under his leadership and then conceived the idea of subduing the
56 THE STRUGGLE WITH THE DANES
whole country and bringing it under his rule. He first pushed into the north where he made his headquarters. In West Meatli, within two miles of Castle Pollard, still stands a circular fort which was once occupied as a residence by Turgesius. From Dundalk to Limerick and up the Shannon, the boats of Tur- gesius swept sacking all Connaught, the kingdom of Meath, and capturing Dublin in 832. That he did not succeed in his set pur- pose, is due to the Ard-ri, Malachy the First, into whose hands Tergesius fell, and who drowned the Dane in the river Shannon about the year 845.
During the first century of the Danish wars, a fleet would arrive from the north at an interval of about eight years. Ev- ery battle ground was a shamble, where lay the flower of both defenders and invaders. Victory for the Danes meant transpor- tation for the young of Ireland. Those remaining were pil- laged and placed under tribute, their schools, churches and mon- asteries sacked. Every eight years during this century of wor- fare, the men of Erin had to face fresh arrivals coming in hordes from the northern seas in this seemingly endless strug- gle.
The churches and monasteries, besides being rich in their own possessions, were used as safety deposits for the people, because these were held as sacred precincts. From the death of Tergesius until 879, the Danish arms suffered many reverses and then succeeded an interval of 35 years of comparative free- dom from foreign invasions.
It must be understood that nowhere in the world was there such a thing as a nation in the modern sense. The present na- tions of the world had not come into being, and it is not sur- prising to find the idea of Ireland for her people not even dawn- ing upon our forefathers. And so, instead of ]n'ofiting by ex- perience, hopeless discord occurred during this respite. Flann, the son of Malachy, attacked and overran Munster. Connaught was at war with ^leatli, and Ossory was at war with the Diesii. In 906, a battle was fought between Cormac, king of Munster, and the combined forces of Flann and the king of Leinster, where Cormac was defeated with a loss of 6000 men. Thus, can be appreciated the short sighted policy pursued by our ances- tors. Fresh swarms of northmen invaded Ireland in 915 under Eagnal. Munster was plundered and the fight unto death went on as before. Dublin was again captured, the Ard-ri Nial Glen- duff was killed and the whole country, described by Mac Laig, as follows: —
"They killed the kings and the chieftans, the heirs to the crown and the royal princes of Erin; they killed the brave and
THOMAS E. McEVOY, M. D. 57
i;lie valiant and the stout champions and soldiers and young lords; and the greater part of the heroes and warriors of the Gael; and brought them under servitude and tribute. They re- duced them to bondage and slavery. Many were the blooming women and comely maidens and blue eyed young women and well brought up youths and valiant champions they carried in- to bondage over the broad green sea. Also, many and frequent were the bright and brilliant eyes that were suffused with tears and dimmed with grief and despair at the separation of son from father, aijd daughter from mother, and brother from broth- er, and relatives from their race and tribe." The leading men of the Danes met the same fate as the leaders of their foe, and it is not an uncommon occurrence to find families for three gen- erations furnishing leaders for the invaders whose bodies were all left on the battlefield of Erin. The son of Nial Glenduff fought the Danes for twenty years, obtaining a soldier's death at the battle of Arobe. He was succeeded by his son, Congal- acli, who fell fighting in 956. Then, came a respite from strife until 980, a period of twenty-four years, whereupon, Malachy the Second became Ard-ri. The Danes, for the first time, felt the heavy hand of a master. Olaf, king of Dublin, was forced to withdraw to lona, where he died a Christian' s death, and the Danes in Dublin were put under tribute. At this time, Tho- mond, the north province of Munster, was ruled over by Mahon, the son of Kennedy, the grandson of Lorcan. Mahon had a younger brother named Brian. For a long time, this province had been a prey for the Danes of Limerick, so much so that Mahon proposed peace with the Danes. Brian, the younger brother, would not consent to a treaty of peace with their tra- ditional enemy, and, from a small band of fifteen followers, be- came sufficiently strong in numbers so that he slowly but surely overcame the Danes of Limerick, and the province of Thomond regained its position of power in Munster. His brother, Mahon, was treacherously put to death by one Donovan, and Brian be- came king of all Munster, in 978, by defeating the king of Des- mond.
Brian now made known his determination to become high king of all Ireland by gradually extending his dominion until he aroused the sus]^icion of the Ard-ri Malachy the Second. It was not until 1002 that Brian became Ard-ri, and in 1005, after marching through Ireland, disbanded his army. He immediate- ly set about repairing the damage to the country of two centur- ies of war. This was the period of |)eace and plenty, and respect for law and order prevailed. Moore's poem entitled, ''Rich and Eare Were the Gems She Wore," was inspired by Warner's de-
58 THE STRUGGLE WITH THE DANES
scription of this period of Brian's reign. There was one act of Brian that sowed the seed for future trouble. He re-imposed the tribute on Leinster, and hence he is sometimes called ^ ' Brian of the Tribute, of Brian Boru." This drove Leinster to throw in its lot with the Danes and with whatever enemies the Ard-ri had among his own subjects. This action brought about con- cord and harmony between Malachy the Second and Brian.
In 1014, clouds began to darken the pleasant prospect of peace, and the great test of strength occurred at Clontarf, Leinster, when the Danes collected from Dublin, Isle of Man, the Orkneys, Norway, Sweden, Shetland Islands, Northumbria, Skye, Lewis, Cantire, and Cornwall, threatened Ireland. The forces of Brian were strengthened by Donal, Great Steward of Mar from Scotland. The Danes wore armor, using as weapons the spear, sword, shield, bow and arrow and the battle-axe. The Irish soldier wore no armor. His weapons consisted of the bow and arrow, long and short spears, the mace, the battle-axe i]]'A the shield. He was protected by a leathern corselet, leath- ern greaves and a leathern hemlet. They did not make use of cavalry. The soldier, at this period, was the kern, or light aiujed infantry man. These battles were hand to hand en^ gagements, frightful slaughter resulting from the blows of the battle-axes. The forces at Clontarf were about equally divided, twenty thousand, or thereabout, in each army.
It may well be said that the great commander of the fight- ing men of Erin at this time spent his whole life from the cradle to the grave opposing the Dane. His father, Kennedy, met his death fighting the northmen in the province of Thomond in 949. His grandfather, Lorcan, met a soldier's death in this Danisli strr^ggle. His brother, Malion, like himself, inherited the piracy of the Danes on the borders of his province, and con- stant fighting was his portion. Brian was of the Dalcassian strain, whose founder was Cormac Cas, the grandson of Owen More. Owen More was the rival of Con of the hundred battles in the second century for the position of high king of Ireland. They settled their dispute by dividing Ireland into two por- tions, north and south. The dividing line was from Dublin to Galway Bay. The province of Thomond came to the O'Brien's by inheritance.
The greatest representative of the Dalcassian race must have realized very early in his career the great need of the time, namely, the concentration of the sovereign power in the hands of one person. This he had accomplished before the men of Erin met the foreigrn army on that Good Friday morning nine hundred years ago. Both armies were drawn up facing one one
THOMAS E. McEVOY, M. D. 53
another with the width of a four horse chariot between them. The Daleassians, under Murdach, son of Brian, held the centre 130sition. Brian's nephew, Conaing, commanded the left wing, while the men from Connaught held the right wing. There are several accounts of this battle, which can be obtained at the pub- lic library. One of these is supposed to be Malachy's account of it. The contest lasted until darkness set in, when the Danes ran for their boats, whereupon, the daughter of Brian is report- ed to have said to the Danish king's sou, "It appears to me that the foreigners have gained their inheritance." ''"What mean- est thou. Oh woman?" said Amlalf 's son. "The foreigners are going into the sea, their national inheritance. I wonder is it heat that is upon them; but they tarry not if it is,"
It is estimated that 7000 lives were lost by the enemy, and 4000 Irish soldiers, and these the very best in all Ireland. Brian was 88 years of age, and, while not taking an active part in the battle, he remained in the rear of his army, where he received reports and gave his orders during the battle. Brian met his death while at j^rayer for the success of his army, at the hands of a retreating Danish chieftan. In the hearts of the Irish peo- ple, no doubt, Brian was first in war, first in peace, and per- haps, first in the hearts of his countr^Tuen. His son and his nephew were both killed and Malachy became Ard-ri again, high king of all Ireland. Brian Boru's defeat of the Danes is in marked contrast to the success of the Danish arms in England and France. Three years after the battle of Clontarf, the Eng- lish people were overpowered, and Canute, the Dane, became King of England in 1017. In France, under Eollo, they ob- tained the province of Normandy in 911. It is, then, with all honor to the valor of our forefathers, that after two and a half centuries of fighting, they accomplished what neither England nor France had been able to do. The danger from Danish sub- jugation of Ireland had now passed. Malachy died in 1022, his reign being marked by constant war with Leinster and its allies. The Danes in Ireland became incorporated with the Irish people, had become Christianized, devoted themselves to com- merce, and henceforth are to be considered as part of the Irish people.
The interval between the victory of Clontarf and the invas- ion of the Normans, D 'Alton describes as a long period of dis- cord. While the kings of the various provinces were at war with one another, the tuaths, or petty kings, found sufficient cause, or liberty, if you will, to engage in war between them- selves. Brian's two surviving sons, Donogh and Teige, fought one another for the kingship of Munster. Teige met his death
60 THE STRUGGLE WITH THE DANES
in this quarrel and Donogh became king of Munster and tried to become Ard-ri, high king. In 1023, he became king of Meath, Bregia, Leinster, Ossory and Munster. In 1024, he conquered Breffni, Connaught in 1060. He died at Rome in 1064. The :grandson of Brian, Teige, succeeded Donogh, but remained a provincial king. He died in 1086. His fame, however, spread to England. The Archbishop of Canterbury, of those days, de- :scribed him as the Magnificent King of Ireland. From the death of Malachy then, until the great king of Connacht, Roder- ic O'Connor became Ard-ri about 1169, there had been no liigli king of Ireland. The period was marked by continuous strife, no petty king being powerful enough to succeed Malachy. The Fourmasters record, "That Ireland was a trembling sod."
However, Ireland continued to send her great teachers to the continent of Europe, among whom might be mentioned Mar- ianus Scotus, or IMarion the Irishman, who established an Irish Monastery at Ratisbon, from which as a parent monastery were formed monasteries at Wurtzburg 1143, Nurnberg 1140, Con- stanz 1142, St. George in Vienna 1155, Eichstadt 1183, St. Maria in Vienna 1200.
The monasteries of Clonmacnoise, Lismore and Derry enjoyed a moderate degree of prosperity during this stormy time. In 1132, there came into the religious life of Ireland Malachy O'Morgair, known afterwards as Malachy, Archbishop of Armagh. Civil and religious life suffered a great deal in its contact of two and a half centuries with the Danes. The peo- ])le lost regard for their institutions and traditions of their former greatness and in many instances became despoilers of their own schools and churches. In some cases, the princes as- sumed control of large church sees, appropriated the revenues for their own private ends, and possessed mistresses as well as wives. The church became so demoralized that D 'Alton, in con- trasting the condition with its former grandeur, says that in the days of Columba, or Columbkille, "The Irish church of that day might be likened to a splendid ship equal to the most ardu- ous voyage and fearing neither wind nor tide. In the twelfth century, she had become a battered hulk aimlessly drifting in the sea." St. Malachy gave his life to reforming the church, restoring to the church the sees taken away, brought harmony between the church and the rest of Christendom, and finally strengthened and placed the church in that high position which she has ever since maintained. He became papal legate and as such traveled all over Ireland, settling disputes, checking strife, introducing the Cistercian order into Ireland and building for them a monastery at Mellifont in 1142. He made two pilgrim-
THOMAS E. McEVOY, M. D. 61
ages to Rome. In 1152, Cardinal Paparo, special representative of the Pope, was present at the synod of Kells and conferred four palliums on the Archbishops of Armagh, Cashel, Dublin and Tuam, and at this sjTiod, thirty-eight dioceses were estab- lished. St. Malachy died at Clairvaux while on a pilgrimage to Rome. St. Bernard, of Clairvaux, a warm personal friend of St, Malachy, wrote a biography of him, a copy of which is in the public library. In this work the description of the church at this time in Ireland has been rather darkly drawn. In regard to which, the late John Henry Newman, the Cardinal, wrote as follows : —
''We are far indeed from taking to the letter all that he says of the Irish. We believe that, as in other passages of his history, his ardent temper carried him beyond the truth. We believe that the statements contained in his well known life of St. Malachy are exaggerations. Still, it must not be forgotten that he was a personal friend of St. Malachj^, who had visited him at Clairvaux on his way to and from Rome, whither St. Malachy repaired expressly on the Ecclesiastical affairs of Ire- land." None the less, can we get away from the fact that the people became brutalized to a certain degree, and had fallen away from that steady progress so well marked at the beginning of the Danish invasion. The most marked effects during this long period were the utter lack of a strong centralized govern- ment; the constant civil strife in the presence of a powerful enemy; the custom of exacting tribute from one another's prov- inces; no sign of anything like a national idea; failure to meet the invaders on sea as well as on land.
Brian Boru, while checking the Danish threatened usurpa- tion, in other respects left affairs as he found them; internal strife, pillaging of churches, besides establishing the ]">recedent of seizing the sovereign power by force. Nothing that was worthy in Irish life, the arts, sciences, industries, and religious life, escaped the blighting effect of the invaders. All that was near and dear in their social life suffered profound changes, leaving deep traces when Ireland was called upon to face the one struggle which she is still carrying on and which has so embittered the last seven centuries of Ireland's history.
The record of our forefathers has been preserved in an al- most miraculous manner. It is to be found not only in Ireland in her relics and ruins, but also in very many thousands of man- uscripts scattered through the libraries of the world. We know but a fragment of this record, for manuscripts, covered with the dust of centuries, await the scholars to lay before us their hid- den secrets, and silence the slander to be found on the page of
Hon. John H. S. Hunt
John H. S. Hunt was born March 14, 1879, in Wor- cester, Mass., the son of Frederick P. Hunt and Bridget (Cosgrove) Hunt. He studied in the Worcester public schools and was graduated from the Worcester English High School, in 1898. Mr. Hunt received his legal edu- cation at the Boston University Law School and was admitted to the practice of his profession in 1904. He is a member of the American Bar Association and of the Massachusetts State Bar Association.
Mr. Hunt represented the First Worcester District, ^rhich comprises the larger part of his native city, in the Massachusetts State Senate during 1911 and 1912. He has been a member of the Worcester Democratic City. Mr. Hunt has held membership in Division 3, A. 0. H., of Worcester, for several years.
Qlnnt^at Utth tl|^ Nnrmana
1169—1367 BY
» HON. JOHN H. S. HUNT
The arrival of the Normans in Ireland was the introduction of the feudal system. A comparison of this system and the Irish tribal system will throw a light on the Norman invasion, an in- vasion which never reached the dignity of a conquest, an in- vasion which differed from the Norman conquest of England in one particular at least, in that the invaders were assimilated by the Irish people and in time drank in some of the aspiration of the Irish people, and came under the influence of its traditions so that they in turn fought for the perpetuation of Irish ideals. To understand the conflict between the Irish and the Anglo- Normans you mus-t search out the differences between the trib- al system as it existed in Ireland under the Brelion laws down to its subjugation and the feudal system.
In Ireland land was owned in common by each clan or sept of the same name, and a chief or leader (the toparch) was elect- ed to ruie over them. He alloted the land among the different families according to the number of children they possessed. The state being dependent upon the perpetuation of the family life, it was recognized even then by the Irish race that race suicide was detrimental to the life of the tribe and nation, and so in this manner they furnished an incentive for large families. The land was held to be the foodstock of the whole people, a common heritage in which every household had the right of use in proportion to the number of its inmates. No man could own land save the man who cultivated it, and he only so much as his domestic responsibility entitled him to. A portion of the land was marked off as in common for grazing, and another portion with a large house built thereon, for the reception and care of every traveler, where he could be assured of food and shelter. The occupants of the land paid a fixed tax of tribute
64 CONTEST WITH THE NORMANS
apart from service duty rendered the chief and a share of the farm might be sublet. Agriculture had always been the pride of the Irish people. It has been the fashion to regard the tribal system as the mark of a barbarous people. This was not true of the Celtic people. Their idea of a state or a nation may have been different from that of the mediaeval world of Europe, but it was not uncivilized. The law of the people was the law of the nation. How modern that sounds. Yes the people did rule. They never lost their faith in the law of the people and they never exalted a central authority, for their law did not need the sanction of a central authority. The administration of the law of the land was parceled out among different self-govern- ing communities. All through its history to this time the forc- es of union have not been material but spiritual, and the life of the people consisted not in its military cohesion but in its joint spiritual inheritance. Such an instinct of national life does not lose but rather gains by comparison with the much praised feudalism of the middle ages in Europe. It must at least be conceded that the Irish tribal scheme of government contained as much promise as the feudal scheme which became the politi- cal creed of England, but never of Ireland. Of a different age and different conditions, yet the make up of the political system of Ireland bears a similarity to the make up of the United States. Each tribe, as each state, was supreme within its own borders, and in those affairs of local application; it elected its own chief and could depose him if he acted against the law, thus giving us an early example of the method of impeachment and recall. The chief had no power over the soil save as the elected trustee of the people. The privileges of the various chiefs, judges, captains, historians, poets, and so on, were hand- ed down from one generation to another.
The Ard-ri, or high king, was a representative of the whole national life, but his power rested on the consent of the tribes and the people. He could impose no new law; he could demand no service outside of the law.
Separate and independent as the tribes were, yet all accept- ed the one code which had been fashioned in the course of ages^ by the genius of this great people. The same law was recited in every tribal assembly. The traditions and the learning of the nation were preserved by a class of learned men; the law was expounded by schools of law. Learning, it can be truly said^ was exalted by the Irish people, a people who were held to- gether loosely in a political union, but who, as all history has shown, were bound hard and fast in a spiritual union. The weak points of such a system are quite apparent. A country
HON. JOHN H. 3. HUNT 65
divided in government in those times was weakened for pur- poses of oifence, or for joint action in military matters. Riots and forays there were, among a martial race and strong men of hot passions, bnt this was qnite common, throughout the med- iaeval world. Local feuds were no greater in Ireland than ex- isted in England, even long after the Norman Conquest.
Starting in the latter part of the twelfth century, there came crashing into this country, the aggressive and highly or- ganized military force of the Anglo-Normans bent on conquest and spoliation, and bent on im])osing the feudal system on Ire- land. It is quite evident no two forms of social life could show more contrast than the tribal and the feudal systems. The Eoman Empire engraved on the minds of its subject races the notion of a state held together, defended, governed and policed by a central body or ruler. The sovereign was supreme in the domain of matters pertaining to force and the maintenance of order. The essential life of the nation and its directive force came m turn to be expressed in the will and power of its ruler. The feudal system was a complicated political and military or- ganization. In the feudal system the land belonged not to the tribe as a whole, but to the Crown absolutely. The Crown per- mitted certain individuals by virtue of a contract to possess the land in a limited ownership. The lord ruled his vassals by virtue of his ownership of the land, not as being of their kin or by their election. The vassals had no connection among them- selves, save the accident of standing in the same relation to one lord. They held their lands, not as their own, but upon the performance of military duties and other specified duties. The whole system formed a vast hierachy extending from the sov- ereign at its summit, to the lowest vassal at its base, each oc- cupying a definite position; the system possessing qualities of organization and compactness as a political and military force unknown to the tribal system.
This, then, was the system launched by the English kings at the Irish people in the latter part of the twelfth century.
ANGLO-NORMAN INVASION
Roderic O'Connor at the beginning of this period was rec- ognized as the high king or Ard-ri of all Ireland. He was the last of the long line of Irish monarchs. This king had not been distinguished among his fellow chief tans by virtue of his courage or activity. .But in conmion with the princes and lead- ers of those days in all countries, he did possess at times qual- ities so ferocious as to have led him to commit acts of great
66 CONTEST WITH THE NORMANS
cruelty. Upon tins monarch devolved a tremendous task of grappling with problems, the solution of which was to have a far-reaching effect upon the subsequent history of Ireland, and which was to determine largely the happiness or sorrow of the Irish people. He failed. And the history of mankind was pre- sented with the spectacle of a nation arrested in the develop- ment of her national genius, her national aspirations; prevent- ed from bringing to fruition the great latent powers and quali- ties of her civilization. A sad spectacle, 9 piteous one, yet one that, in the heart and soul of the man who has Irish blood in his veins, arouses, as he traces the hideous events of the suc- ceeding centuries, first, a feeling of sadness, then of despair, and finally of noble rage, as he sees a proud, learned, loving people driven to the verge of madness by wrongs, prosecu- tions and proscriptions.
The reign of Roderic O'Connor began in an auspicious way. He governed with moderation and wisdom. Shortly after he became king he convened a sjTiod at Athboy.in Meatli, where there were gathered 1300 men. Laws and regulations were passed and the policing of the land was so effectively carried out that it might be said of the kingdom that a woman with a new-born infant might travel over the whole island from one sea to the other, without fear of insult. Mindful of the essen- tial part that amusements played in the life of a people^, the king in 1168 re-established the games at Tailton, and in 1169 he founded a professor's chair at Armagh. It was during his reign that an event occurred that brought in its train a series of events fatal to the natural development of the Irish people. Dermot MacMurrough was king of Leinster at the time Roderic O'Connor became high king of Ireland. A description of Der- mot at this time would not be out of place. He was a tall man and quite strongly built; a soldier whose valiant heart was in the fray, held valiant among his own nation. From often shouting his battle cry, his voice had become hoarse. He was a man who liked better to be feared by all than loved by any. One thing that could be said of him is that he was prone to oppress his greater vassals while he raised to high stations men of lowly birth. A tyrant to his own subjects he was hated by strangers; his hand was against every man, and every man's hand against him. He had become king of Leinster in 1135. There had always been more or less friction between him and Tiernan O'Ruarc, the lord of Breffney, in the eastern part of Connaught. This hostility between the two had been intensi- fied by the frequent collisions between their respective clans, and finally an event took place that raised the feeling of animos-
HON. JOHN H. 3. HUNT 67
ity to its highest pitch and was a potent factor in bringing about a series of events fatal to Ireland.
It seems that before her marriage to Prince O'Ruarc, the fair Dervorgilla, the wife of Prince O'Ruarc, had a sweet and kindly feeling for Prince Dermot. By a secret understanding between Dervorgilla and Prince Dermot, while Prince O'Ruarc was away on one of his military expeditions, the parties eloped. The wronged husband appealed to Tordelvach, who was then high king of Ireland. The Irish people have always taken great pride in the purity of their family relations, and this act stirred the nation to its depths. The king marched an army the fol- lowing year into Leinster and recaptured the fair Dervorgilla from her lover and sent her to her relatives in Meath. She sub- sequently retired to a monastery. Some historians place this event in 1166, but as a matter of fact, the affair happened in 1153. So long as King Tordelvach lived, O'Ruarc was sure of a powerful friend, but at his death and as soon as O'Lochlin succeeded to the headship of the Irish people, Dermot 's for- tunes took a leap upward, and he let no opportunity pass with- "out heaping some wrong or insult upon his rival.
However, as soon as Roderic O'Connor became king in 1166 he extended his friendship to O'Ruarc. This read the downfall of Dermot. Here was a prince who had been a founder of religious houses and at Ferns, where he had his own resi- dence, he had built many large and richly endowed monaster- ies and abbys; yet, because of his cruelty and insolence, his munificence was forgotten, and many whom he had trodden on in his prosperity now took advantage of the turn of the wheel of his fortune. He was assailed and attacked from all quarters. Deserted even by his own vassals he retired to Ferns, there practically with his back to the wall, he took the desperate resolution to call to his aid foreigners to retrieve his fallen for- tune. He set fire to the town of Ferns, took flight privately, and embarked for England.
He made his way to Aquitaine in France, to obtain the as- sistance of Henry the Second, of England. He was willing to make any promise or sacrifice to secure his restoration. Henry the Second at that time was not ready to enter personally, but the project pleased him. Here was an opportunity for which he had been looking and waiting. He had for some time looked longingly upon the kingdom of Ireland, and he did not desire to lose such an opportunity to invade Ireland. He gave letters to Dermot authorizing him to recruit adventurers within his jurisdiction. In return for this recommendation, Dermot swore fealty to Henry the Second.
68 CONTEST WITH THE NORMANS
Armed with this letter, Dermot fixed himself in Bristol, England, endeavoring to raise recruits. Here he fell in with Eichard deClaire, known as * ' Strongbow, " whose fortunes were in a bad way, and who was ripe to enter upon any venture worth while to mend his fortunes. His name and unquestioned abilities enabled him to gather round him characters of like daring and high courage. It was finally agreed between the contracting parties, the king, Eichard and Dermot, that, in the ensuing Spring, Eichard should lend his aid for the recovery of Dermot 's kingdom, upon the condition of obtaining the hand of Dermot 's daughter and the succession to Dermot 's kingdom.
About May 1st, 1170, Eobert Fitzstevens landed near Wex- ford, and on the next day Maurice DePrendergast, an independ- ent adventurer with a force of about six hundred men, marched on Wexford. This town, after a short resistance, submitted to Dermot and his allies. Dermot granted the town and the sur- rounding country to Fitzstevens and Maurice. He also granted to others land and possessions lying between Wexford and Waterford to hold to them and their heirs forever. Now arises a singular situation. Here was a tribal chief of the Celts of Leinster, who under the tribal laws of Ireland had no other rights in the land than those he held by consent of the people who had dethroned him, conferring upon two Normans a town and district then occupied by a Danish population as vassals to him and his heirs. The attention of King Eoderic O'Connor was drawn to these movements of Dermot and his allies. He called his chiefs together, and after counsel, resolved to make war upon Dermot. Dermot, alarmed, was eager to make peace. After a conference it was agreed that Leinster should be left under his dominion and rule, and that he in turn should submit to Eoderic as chief king, paying the usual homage and service. There was a secret agreement that no more foreigners should be brought over, and that those in Ireland should be sent back. That was easier said than done. The harm was done and the current of adventurers once set in motion could not be checked. Gradually a large force of Normans gathered in Ireland. Wa- terford was captured. Eichard deClare married Eva, the daugh- ter of Dermot. Here was a situation now confronting the na- tives; a Norman lord claimed succession to the crown of Lein- ster, by a right utterly repugnant to all Celtic law and tradi- tion, and which could only be established by an enforced change in the ideas and customs of the natives, their subjection to the condition of serfs, or their expulsion from the districts. As for Dermot, he thought to use the foreigners, but as time went on he became a mere puppet in their hands, and in the expedition
HON. JOHN H. 3. HUNT 69
against Dublin, which was captured by a treacherous surprise, and other expeditions, he found himself merely accompanying, while his allies conducted the expeditions.
The whole national mind was alarmed by these events, and the clergy gathered at Armagh to search into the sins of their people. As a result of this s\Tiod, it was resolved: "That it appeared to the S^iiod that the Divine vengeance had brought upon them this severe judgment for the sins of the people and especially for this, that they had long been wont to purchase natives of England, as well from traders as from robbers and pirates, and to reduce them to slavery, and that now they also, by reciprocal justice, were reduced to servitude by that very nation. It was, therefore, publicly decreed by the afore men- tioned Synod, and publicly proclaimed by universal accord, that all Englishmen throughout the island, who were in a state of bondage, should be restored to freedom."
What was the trouble? Was the possession of English slaves the cause of this paralysis which seemed to seize upon the energies of the Irish people, making them incapable of stem- ming this invasion? Was it not rather the absence of unity of action, and the ever active presence of individual friction, jeal- ousy and hostility that constantly thwarted the attempt to or- ganize an efficient government along the lines of their national character, and which paralyzed their national action and re- duced the power of the chief king to insignificance. At this crisis of their faith and existence, the Celtic people did not seem to realize that the insubordination of the chiefs, the in- capacity or powerlessness of their kings, their perpetual civi' wars, and their utter political disorganization were strong cases which now rendered these foreigners so formidable. Mark you, it must not be held to their discredit, however, that because by virtue of their political structure they were in those times and under those conditions unable to forge an instrument of offence to meet the trained, mailed-clad military force of the Anglo-Norman. No, as the years rolled on, they were to over- come and disintegrate this military organization and defeat it in detail by the all powerful weapon of assimilation. It took years, but it succeeded. Personal force and attraction more than military or political force move the world. The Irish used that more persuasive and powerful force.
In 1170 when Strongbow came and captured Waterford, matters were becoming more serious. The Ard-ri immediately gathered a large force and marched into Leinster. Dermot and his allies covered Dublin in a rapid march. He found the citizens prepared, and so proposed a parley. Led by the other patriotic
70 CONTEST WITH THE NORMANS
clergy and willing to avoid bloodshed, the citizens met the lead- ers of the beseiging army in their camp. While there deliber- ating, a jDicked body of men from the enemy issued forth, made their way into the city and turned it over to pillage. By means of this treachery, Strongbow obtained a firm footing in the kingdom, and this footing ever remained the center of English activity.
Instead of attacking Strongbow at once, King Eoderic drew off his forces for the purpose of supporting O'Ruarc in his possession and marched them into Meath. Dermot, actuat- ed by the desire to further humiliate his old enemy O'Ruarc, sent Strongbow with a large force into Meath, with the intention of following later with a large force. The course of these allies was marked with the destruction of churches and the ruthless killing of the Irish people. The Irish King was helpless to prevent the fiendish acts of the scourge. Strongbow 's progress was a series of successes. By this time Henry the Second had begun to grow jealous of the successes of his vassals in Ireland. Although two of the chief cities in Ireland had fallen, the Irish people had not abandoned the struggle. Ulster and most of Connaught remained within the Irish control, and even in Mun- ster and Leinster, there was a considerable resistance to the Anglo-Norman. In all the battles with the Anglo-Normans, the Irish warriors, clad in cloth, armed with a short sword, the javelin and battle axe, the last of which was a terrible weapon for close fighting, found it a hard task to oppose men clad in steel armor from head to foot, and armed with formidable wea- pons of office and destruction. But even this handicap would have been overcome had they been united against a common foe.
Because of the fears of Henry the Second, Strongbow was ordered to return to England. Henry, seeing the pos- sibility of a rich prize slipping from his grasp, collected a pow- erful fleet and army and set sail from England in October, 1171. He landed in Waterford, toward the latter part of Octo- ber, where he was received by Strongbow, w^ho did homage as a vassal. This was the serious moment of the Irish life as a na- tion. From this moment dates Ireland's subjugation. Had these Norman invaders united with the Irish people then as they did later, and repelled Henry and his forces, and kept Ireland for themselves, they would, in the end, have become a factor in the uplift and growth of the nation, but the landing of Henry put an end to such a hope. He began immediately to make a royal progress to the partially subjugated parts of Munster and Leinster. Many of the princes gave Henry the ''kiss of peace." In his tour the king was wise enough to ex-
HON. JOHN H. S. HUNT 71
hibit a papal bull, alleged to have been given by Adrian the Fourth, who, by the way, was the only Englishman ever elevat- ed to the head of the Holy See. This bull ceded to the English people the kingdom of Ireland. Now, whether this bull was genuine or not, and there is strong evidence that it was a for- gery, it is amusing that it is the only papal utterance for which the English people express any gratitude. This bull caused some of the clergy to take no decisive or resolute stand against Henry's claim. A desire for peace and a realization that Hen- ry's claim implied a mere recognition of his titular sovereignty and not in admission of his claim to the land, led them to advise King Eoderic to sign a treaty with King Henry, which was done.
Henry the Second was a born politician, and while he was throwing flattery around among the clergy and talking about the ten commandments, he had in his train a number of needy and hungry barons, among whom he proceeded to parcel out the entire island in royal grants.
He gave away to DeLacy the entire kingdom of Meath, comprising about 800,000 acres. When O'Euarc demanded that he be heard, he was invited to attend the conference, where he was murdered by a kinsman of DeLacy. While princes and clergy were waited on by this king, who was to bring law and order to this distracted country, there was at least one shining exception. The patriotic archbishop of Dublin, St. Lawrence 0 'Toole, who seemed to be alone in his comprehen- sion of what this Norman invasion meant to his people, by his advice and counsel, encouraged King Eoderic to resist. But to what avail ! One man could not make the princes of the people heal their feuds, but, had all the prelates preached a war of extermination, the people would have forced their princes to combine and Ireland would have thrown off its yoke. King Eoderick, despite his errors, yet merits honor for his patriotic spirit, for his intentions at least were good.
Leaving his followers to seize on whatever portions of Leinster they could hold, where their work was to spread ruin and dissension for centuries, Henry returned to England. It does seem strange that a few thousand adventurers could ac- complish what they did. But bear in mind, under the makeup of the country and the nature of its social life, it was the fash- ion of every tribe to tight its own battles. When Eoderic made a treaty with Henry the Second it was only the Ard-ri who made the treaty, and when his authority was threatened it was the Ard-ri 's, and not the authority of the individual tribes; for what cared they? .
72 CONTEST WITH THE NORMANS
Henry was no sooner out of the country than the barons began to live up to their true character. Fearless and martial as they were, yet they were nothing but reckless broilers and spoilers. In a short time they had the people up in arms and the tables were turned on them. Strongbow himself was locked up in Waterford and his co-workers were shut up in Dublin, Drogheda and Wexford, and affairs in general began to look bad. As a result of this, a commission was sent over to Eng- land to investigate, after which an Irish delegation went to London. A treaty was entered into between King Eoderic and King Henry by which the former acknowledged the sover- eignty of Henry, and Roderick was recognized as high king of Ireland, except those portions held by the Normans under Henry.
This treaty was soon violated by Henry. A bitter and fierce re]»ellion on the part of the Southern and Western Irish was crushed. Now occurred one of those acts of an individual which, at all times, has aroused the indignation and condemna- tion of the Irish people. Prince ^lurrough O'Connor, thinking his father should be satisfied with the title of high king, rose in revolt, and endeavored to seize the crown of Connaught; but the old king was sustained by his people. Murrough was defeated and in his bitterness of defeat, he allied himself with the Norman DeCogan. King Roderic, his heart wrung with sorrow at the crime of his son, and depressed and disgusted with the hopeless condition of Irish affairs, retired to the mon- astery in Galway, and there, after twelve years, he died on the 29th day of November, 1198, in his 82nd year. He was a good man and a noble king, but the times demanded a man of brain, blood and iron, another Brian Boru.
Meanwhile, every year a fresh swarm of greedy, land-hun- gry adventurers came to Ireland, carrying with them royal patents, granting them large slices of Irish territory for service rendered and to be rendered.
The history of Ireland for the next two centuries is in no wise notable except to show the animus of the English throne toward the Irish people. The sword made good the fiction of titles to land. Kings carved out estates for their nobles. These in turn, had to conquer the territories granted them, and there was to be no trade with the Irish; no intercourse, no relation- ship, no use of their dress, speech or laws, no dealings save those of slaughter and conquest.
Wherever there was a contest between native princes, the fire was fed. Often the Norman would take one side, and when the other was defeated would turn around and overwhelm the
HON. JOHN H. S. HUNT 73
M"ctor. It came to pass that, in law, the Irish were aliens in their own land, and were refused the protection of English law. Shut out from tlie king's ])eace and court were the people who had carried the light and fire of a spiritual religion over Eng- land and Europe, who for four hundred years poured mission- aries through Europe, their monasteries forming rest-houses for the travelers of Europe. This people to which civilization was indebted, this people whose monks taught the Picts to com- pose hymns in their own tongue, who trained the first English poets; this people now saw a political church bearing the sword of the conquerbr planted among them.
From Henry II on, the purpose and aim of the English government was consistently the same. The land of Ireland was a King's land according to English law, but not in fact. So long as the Irish claimed one foot, the war must go on. At no mo- ment was any peace possible for the Irish except by entire re- nunciation of their rights to the actual soil of their country. For the next 200 years, the country was shaken by civil wars, encouraged in a large part by the government officials who represented the English crown. Every Irish chief, surrounded by dangers, was bound to turn his court into a place of arms, thronged by men ready to meet any attack. No tribe dared to disarm, any more than the European countries of today.
But there was a force working to defeat the purpose of the English Crown. This force or power was the great power of assimilation of the Irish people. The Norman Colonists and the English Colonists, after a little experience, found the coun- ts y delightful and the people anything but barbarians. They were attracted by the intelligence of its inhabitants. They took to Irish dress and language. They recognized Irish land ten- ures. They employed Irishmen in offices of trust. As the years rolled on, "English born in Ireland," degenerate English, be- came as much feared by the King as the ' ' mere Irish. ' '
Norman lords liacl married daughters of Irish chiefs all over the country, and had made treaties with every province. Many settlers changed their names to an Irish form, and tak- ing up the clan system melted into the Irish population. Grad- ually, Irish names entered into the town houses of the business men. Almost to the gate of Dublin, the center of pure English bigotry, the merchants went riding Irish fashion, in Irish dress, and making merry with their forbidden Irish clients. So, what has been called the Anglo-Norman Conquest of Ireland was not a conquest. The great strength that lay in the spiritual ideal of the life of the Irish peo])le was subjecting the minds of the in- vaders. So long as the Irish language preserved to the people
74 CONTEST WITH THE NORMANS
their own culture, they never failed to absorb into their life every people that came among them. The fusing of the Irish and the Normans brought about and added impetus in Irish trade and commerce. Together they took a prominent part in the commerce that was broadening over the world. Besides ex- porting law materials, Irish made linen and cloth and cloaks and leather, were carried as far as Russia and Naples. Norman lords and Irish chieftans took in exchange, velvets, silks and satins, cloth of gold and embroidery. Irish goldsmiths made the rich vessels that adorn the tables of both Normans and of Irish,
While the relations between the Irish and the invading Normans were becoming closer, the attitude of the English government became more cruel and unjust toward the Irish people. It had taken legal possession of the land, but it found Irish hands and Irish battle blades in the way, preventing the delivery of that property. In order to get possession, the Eng- lish government had to root out the Celtic race. It passed leg- islation prohibiting the marriage of English and Irish. If an Englishman was put in possession of land, he had the right to trespass upon his Irish neighbors. They passed a law declaring that the killing of an Irishman was no felony. Some specific instances on record will point out clearly the attitude of the English law towards the Irish people. At the assizes at Water- ford in the 29th year of Edward the first, a certain Thomas Butler brought an action against Robert de Alwain to recover goods that Robert had stolen from him. It was admitted that he was a thief. The defense put in was that Butler was an Irishman. The issue was submitted to the jury as to whether Thomas was an Irishman or an Englishman. The jury found that Thomas was an Englishman, and so Robert, the thief, was obliged to return the goods. Another case happened in Water- ford. A man named Robert Welch killed an Irishman, John McGilmore. He was tried for manslaughter. Welch admitted that he committed the act, saying, "Yes, I did kill him; you cannot try me for it, however, as he was only an Irishman." Instantly he was led out of the dock, on condition — since the dead Irishman had at the time of his death been in the employ of an English master — he should pay whatever he compelled him to pay for the loss of his services, and the confessed mur- derer might go free. The Irish were forbidden to buy land. If an Irishman made a will and left an acre of land to an Irishman, the moment it was proved he was an Irishman, the property was forfeited to the Crown of England. At one time, a Mrs. Catherine Dowdoll made a will and left some land for charita-
HON. JOHN H. S. HUNT 75
ble purposes to her chaplain, and the land was forfeited because the priest was an Irishman. Further to keep the English in an atmosphere where they would not become affected by Irish charm, it was necessary to fence them up. A part of the land around Dublin consisting of one-half the counties of Dublin, Kildare, Meath, Louth, were set apart and all within that charmed place was called the "pale." Within this fence, no Irishman was allowed to enter; if found there he was killed, and a reward was offered for killing him. Now the culmina- tion of all thes^ restrictive measures came in 1367 when the in- famous and foolish statute of Kilkenny was passed. This stat- ute was directed against those English and Anglo-Normans who had adopted the laws and the costume of the natives, and it is .saturated with that penal spirit that has infected for centuries the legislation of the English. This statute provides that inter- marriages with natives, or any connection with them in the way of fostering should be considered and punished as high treason. Fostering was something that rankled in the minds of the Eng- lish as it tended to produce strong ties and relationship between the Irish and the English,
It further stated that any man of English race, assuming an Irish name, or using the Irish language, apparel, or customs, should forfeit all his lands and tenements; that to adopt or sub- mit to the Brehon or Irish law was treason; that without per- mission of the government the English should not make war upon the natives. But of what avail were their statutes and their laws! The trend of events was too strong; again were the Celts the conquerors. For three hundred years they had fought Danes, they who had been unconquerable in every land they had invaded, fought them and disputed with them every inch of their land, filled every valley in the land with their dead bodies, and in the end drove them back into the sea and wrest- td their land from the dominion of the Danes. Now, confronted by a force with a vastly superior military and political organ- ization, the}' had exposed courageous bodies and dauntless hearts as a bulwark for the preservation of their land, their traditions and their patronomy, and by the nobleness of their character, by the lofty grandeur of their ideals, by the woman- liness of their women, tliey at first attacked and then conquered the hearts and the affections of the martial and fearless Nor- mans who, intended as a weapon for the destruction of the Irish race, became a part of the very woof and fibre of the Irish peo- ple.
Truly the God who watches over the destiny of nations, the God of St. Patrick, Columbkille and Columbas, was mindful
76 CONTEST WITH THE NORMANS
of the great service rendered humanity and in his honor and glorj^ by the Irish people. He moves in mysterious ways his wonders to perform. Wonderful indeed is the story writ large across the pages of the Irish nation. In tracing the rise and fall of the various nations of earth, the rise to splendor of the Gregian cities, the majestic march of Rome and her various institutions, while we view them with admiration, yet when we contemplate this little nation, handicapped by an imperfect po- litical equipment, giving to the world the finest example of a spiritual union that has annihilated time and space, that has drawn within its exalting influence men who have responded to the call of the blood; overcoming measures and methods that have reduced other people to the condition of serfs and slaves, this mighty spirit of the Irish race has breathed over many nations of the earth, and in its sons and daughters has been a valiant sword for the right and a fortress of rest in times of spiritual doubt and unrest, fulfilling even to the present day, the mission for which God intended her, a spiritual leaven for the human race.
Thomas H. Sullivan
Thomas H. Sullivan was born November 12, 1868, in Millbnry, Mass., son of Jeremiah T. Sullivan and Johanna (Horgan) Sullivan. He was educated in the Millbury High School, Holy Cross College, and Boston University Law School. He was graduated from Holy Cross in 1891 and was a Commencement speaker. He received the honor "Magna Cum Laude" at Boston iTniversity Law School. April 18, 1910, Mr. Sullivan married Mary A. Barrett, daughter of Thomas Barrett, of Worcester, Mass.
Mr. Sullivan was the Democratic candidate for District Attorney for the Middle District of Massachu- j'etts, which includes Worcester County, in 1910 and 1913, and reduced the normal Eepublican majority of about 14,000 to 3,000 in 1910 and to 700 in 1913. Mem- ber of the School Committee in Millbury for sixteen years, and chairman for ten years.
Mr. Sullivan is a member of Division 9, A. 0. H., of Millbury, and was president for two years. Has served as Chairman of the Massachusetts Committee of the A. 0. H. on Irish History, and is president of the Past Presidents ' Organization of the Worcester Coimty A. 0. H.
^■^^rfC^jg*^
®1)? iFtgljt Itttn i^atlf
1367—1607 BY
THOMAS H. SULLIVAN
The subject which has been allotted to me for this evening's lecture seems at once easy and hard. It is easy because nothing ought to be more agreeable to the son of Irish parents than to speak of his ancient race when he is assured that his hearers are ever anxious to listen to the recital of the glorious deeds of bravery accredited to an illustrious people of which they are descendants.
It is hard because it has been treated so often and by men of such brilliant parts that any attempt on the part of the speaker will fall far short of the high ideals and memorable speeches which have placed Irish eloquence in the enviable po- sition of being unsurpassed.
No tongue can tell nor mind picture the brilliancy ^ of the achievement of the noble sons of Erin, who, generation after generation, stood firm against alluring promises of bribery and advancement if they would betray their countrjinen and re- ligion. They endured privations too cruel to enumerate, the ty- rant's dungeons and the enemy's steel that their country might be free that they might worship God. according to the dictates of their conscience.
The period assigned for tonight is from 1367 to 1607 and includes the reigns of the following English monarchs: Ed- ward III, Richard II, Henrys IV,V,VI, Edward IV, Richard III, Henrys VII, VIII, Edward VI, Mary, Elizabeth and the beginning of that of James I.
The last lecture brought us to the time of the enactment of the Statute of Kilkenny which re-enacted the prohibition of marriage and foster-nursing, rendered obligatory the adoption of the English language and customs, forbade the national
78 THE FIGHT UNTO DEATH
games of ' ' Imrlings and quoitings, ' ' and the use of the ancient Gaelic code; a code by which the native brehons or judges, of the Irish septs had decided causes among them since the time of the conversion of the race to Christianity in the fifth century. It may assist us at the outset if we go back in our minds' eye and view Ireland is it was at the beginning of the period.
Without going into detail as to the names of the chiefs and the localities over which they held sway, it will answer our pur- pose to state that at the beginning of the fifteenth century Ire- land was divided into two districts- — one known as the English Pale, which comprised the four shires, as they were called, of Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Louth — which was a narrow strip some fifty miles long and twenty miles broad; this was the only part that was in any sense English — the other, the rest of the island, was parcelled among about sixty independent chiefs, who acknowledged no sovereignty but that of strength ; beyond the borders of the Pale the common law of England was of no authority and the King's writ was but a strip of parchment.
Under these conditions it is evident that unrest and upris- ings were the natural order and of frequent occurrence. While the various chiefs fought among themselves they often united against the ursupation of their rights by their common enemy of English government.
Parliament enacted laws; the chiefs and their peoples re- fused to recognize the authority and resisted the execution of these laws by force. Hence, during this period there were many clashes of arms and many persecutions, under the pretense of due process of law, where death and plunder re- sulted.
Time will permit but a cursory glance of some of the im- portant events that history has recorded. Art MacMurrogh Kavanagh was born A. D. 1377 and died A. D. 1417. He was King of Leinster while Richard II and Henry IV and Henry V sat on the English throne. When eighteen years of age he was elected King; he married the daughter of Maurice Fitzgerald, fourth earl of Kildare, and by this marriage violated the Stat- ute of Kilkenny. On this account shortly after the accession of Eichards, the black rents were stopped and the English author- ities seized his wife's estates. Art MacMurrogh resented this and at once set about devastating and burning many districts of Leinster. Things were going from bad to worse in Ireland: at length King Eichard resolved to visit Ireland in person and bring with him an army that would strike terror into the Irish outlaws and compel obedience to his laws by force. He landed at Waterford in the fall of 1394 with an armv of 34,000 men.
THOMAS H, SULLIVAN 79
MacMiirrogh at once attacked and sacked New Eoss, an English settlement, and retreated to a place of safety. King Richard marched to Dublin, but was harassed and attacked all along the line, and lost great numbers of his men. MacMurrogh well knew guerilla warfare and with a handful of men played havoc with a greatly superior force. The Irish chief knew, however, that he could not resist successfully the King's great army. He made terms with the King, and with all the chiefs came for- ward and submitted. Eichard was glad to end the struggle and invited the chiefs to Dublin, where he banquetted them and knighted four »privincial Kings: O'Neill of Ulster, O'Connor of Connaught, MacMurrogh of Leinster, and O'Brien of Tho- mond.
Eichard 's expedition was an expensive failure, for he left conditions in no wise improved when he embarked for England. He left Eoger Mortimer heir to the English throne as his deputy in Ireland.
No sooner had Eichard sailed than the Irish chiefs at once proclaimed that their submission was a sham, that the King had no right to demand it, and that it was might, not right, that compelled them to acquiesce. The fighting was renewed at Kells in Kilkenny; the English were routed, Mortimer was slain and again MacMurrogh was supreme.
When the King heard of the calamity that had befallen his cousin he was enraged at MacMurrogh and resolved at once to set out again for Ireland to avenge Mortimer's death and to overpower and humiliate the great Irish chief. A second time he landed at Waterford with an army as numerous as the pre- vious one. This time he determined to attack MacMurrogh without delay; but again unforeseen obstacles beset him. Bogs, forests, fallen trees, hidden gullies and quagmires in turn de- layed his march. MacMurrogh retreated skilfully, leaving ev- erything barren for the King's foraging parties. Bad weather, lack of supplies, and repeated reverses compelled Eichard to make forced marches to the Wicklow coast, where three vessels laden with supplies awaited him. All along the line of march MacMurrogh would dart in upon them, slaughter the King's men, taken unawares, and then before reinforcements arrived disappear as if by magic to his retreats in the mountains where nature protected him from the overwhelming forces of the ene- my. MacMurrogh then resolved to artifice and sent a messenger to the King with word that he would agree to meet and arrange for the future peace of his country. Eichard was pleased and at once sent the Earl of Gloucester to treat with MacMurrogh. They met. MacMurrogh and the Earl ''exchanged much dis-
80 THE FIGHT UNTO DEATH
course ' ' but did not come to an agreement. MacMurrogh would only agree to "i^eace without reserve."
The news aroused the King's anger; in a rage he offered a large reward for MacMurrogh "dead or alive',' and swore that he would never cease in his warfare till he had Art in his pow- er. Little did he dream that he was looking upon Ireland for the last time. When he returned to England he was stripped of all authority. His expeditions in Ireland had cost him his throne and eventually his life, MacMurrogh continued in his victorious course and afterwards crossed the plain which lies to the north of Dublin and encamped where Eoderic, when he besieged the city, and Brian before the battle of Clontarf, had pitched their tents of old. On this historic spot the Irish chief routed the English of the Pale in his last great battle. From the age of sixteen to his death, forty-four years, he resisted success- fully all attacks from foreign foes. Of him Dr. Joyce says, ^'He was the most heroic and persevering defender of his country from Brian Boru to Hugh O'Neill; and he maintained his in- dependence for nearly half a century just beside the Pale, in spite of every effort to reduce him to submission."
Bagwell says: ''Art MacMurrogh, the great hero of the Leinster Celts, practically had the best of the contest. ' ' What hardships, privations and feats of arms could not effect, treach- ery accomplished. It is recorded that he died of poison at the age of sixty years.
From the death of Art MacMurrogh in 1417 to the rebel- lion of Silken, Thomas, there was a lull in warfare. The Irish chiefs and even the ennobled Butlers and Fitzgeralds used the Irish language, dress and customs; Anglo-Irish lords were as turbulent as the worst native chiefs. The Statute of Kilken- ny became a dead letter. Barriers of race could not be main- tained and intermarrying of Irish and Anglo-Irish went on. The long war with France, followed by the War of the Roses, diverted the attention of England from Irish affairs; and the Viceroy, feebly supported from England, was too weak to chas- tise these powerful lords or put penal laws in force. The hos- tility of the native chiefs was bought off by the payment of ''black rents." The loyal colonists in the "Pale" shivered be- hind this encircling rampart, and when the sixteenth century dawned, the English power in Ireland had almost disappeared.
The Irish Parliament was independent, yet its laws were totally disregarded by all outside the "Pale." It passed acts ordaining that every Irishman dwelling within the "Pale" was to dress and shave like the English and to take an English sur- name— ^from some town, as Trim, Sutton, Cork; or of some
THOMAS H. SULLIVAN 81
color, as Black, Brown; or of some calling, as Smith, Carpenter, etc. — on pain of forfeiture of his goods. Another mischievous measure forbade ships from fishing in the sea of the Irish coun- ties outside the ''Pale;" another made it lawful to decapitate thieves found robbing or ''going or coming anywhere," unless they had Englishmen in their company. The legislators were attempting to discourage marauders, but they opened the way for malicious persons to kill an enemy and go unpunished by setting up the defense that the deceased was caught thieving.
During this state of affairs, the King sent to Ireland as his Lord Deputy,, Sir Edward Poynings. After some military oper- ations which he found to be beset with treachery and difficul- ties— the new lord deputy held a parliament at Drogheda. This was perhaps the most memorable that was ever held in Ireland, as certainly no other Parliament in that country made laws which endured so long as the two which were enacted and were known for centuries afterwards as the Poynings Acts. By the first of these it was ordained that no Parliament should be held in Ireland in future, until the King and Council in England had approved not only of its being summoned, but also of the acts which the Lieutenant and Council of Ireland purposed to pass. By the second, the laws enacted before that time in England were extended to Ireland also. Thus the Irish Legislature was made entirely dependent upon England. The Irish Parliament had no power to originate anything, but was only free to accept or (if they were very bold) to reject measures drawn up by Irish Council and approved already by the King and his Coun- cil in England before they were submitted to discussion. Such was the state of subjection in which the Irish Parliament re- mained by virtue of these laws for nearly three centuries later. The general purposes of the Poynings legislature was to in- crease the power of the King and diminish that of the Nobles, who were the chief sources of danger to the crown. While at the time of their passage the effect of the Poynings' laws did not extend beyond the "Pale," yet at a later date, when English law was made to extend over the whole country, and the Irish Parliament made laws for all the people of Ireland, the Poyn- ings' law, which still remained in force, was felt by the people to be one of their greatest grievances. It was not until 1782 that these laws were repealed through the signal skill, energy, moderation and the splendid eloquence of the famous patriot, Henry Grattan.
During the tremendous struggle between the Houses of York and Lancaster, the Geraldines sided with the House of York and the Butlers with the House of Lancaster. After the
>-82 THE FIGHT UNTO DEATH
civil war was over, one of the Geraldines was appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland. In obedience to the King's mandate, he set out for England and left young Lord Thomas as deputy in his place. The son is known to history as ' ' Silken Thomas ' ' from the gorgeous trappings of himself and his retinue. He was scarcely twenty-one years of age, brave, open and generous, but enemies who hated his clan were plotting for his down-fall. They spread the report that his father, the Lord Deputy, had been beheaded in England, and that all his relations were going to be treated in the same way. This aroused the impetuous young Lord. He, with his retinue, at once rode to St. Mary's Abbey where the Council was in session, and openly renounced his allegiance, delivered up his sword of office and the robes of State. He collected a large force, led them to Dublin, and laid siege to the castle where the leading citizens, including Arch- bishop Allen, had sought refuge on the first appearance of dan- ger. The archbishop was captured and taken to Lord Thomas. He threw himself on his knees for mercy, and the young Lord, pitying him, ordered his attendants to take him away and keep him in custody. They wilfully placed a wrong construction up- on his words and murdered the archbishop upon the spot.
Sir William Skeffington was appointed Deputy by the King to put down the rebellion. He laid siege to the castle of May- mooth, the strongest of the Fitzgerald fortresses. After nine days' siege the castle fell, battered by English artillery, which then for the first time was used in Ireland. The rebellion had brought the English "Pale" to a frightful state as it was sup- plemented by the plague which was raging over the whole country. Lord Gray took command with a vigorous hand and made short work of the rebellion. Lord Thomas and his friend O'Connor made offers of submission. O'Connor was ])ardoned and Lord Thomas was delivered up to Lord Gray on condition that his life be spared. The military commander determined to blot the Geraldines out of existence. He invited five of the uncles of Lord Thomas to a banquet. He knew that three of them had openly opposed the rebellion, nevertheless, the fact that the same red Geraldine blood coursed through their veins was sufficient excuse for their condemnation.
Lord Thomas and his five uncles were executed at Tyburn in 1537. Thus ended the rebellion that originated in treachery and was culminated by the violation of the rules of hospitali-ty — making captive under your own roof the guest whom you have invited, and condemning him to death.
Trouble next arose over a conflict between the feudal laws of England and the old Irish law of Tanistry. Under the form-
THOlVfAS H. SULLIVAN 83
er titles descended to the eldest son; under the latter, to the chief selected by the clan.
Con 0 'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, had taken his title from Henry VIII, subject to the English law of succession; but when Con died the clan O'Neill chose Shane O'Neill, the hero of his Sept to be The O'Neill. Shane at once put himself forward as the champion of Irish liberty, the supporter of the Irish right to rule themselves in their own way without the interference from England.
Matthew, an adopted son, claimed the right to succeed to the earldom \mder the English law. The father repented his preference for Matthew and took Shane's part. The English authorities, favoring Matthew, allured Earl Con to Dublin un- der pretense of imjDortant business, and then kept him captive. Shane was immediately in arms, both to avenge his father's cap- ture and to maintain what he believed was his right against Matthew and the government.
Sir James Croft joined Matthew and made several attempts to subdue the young chief, but was unsuccessful. In the year of Queen Elizabeth's accession, Matthew was assasinated under circumstances which implicated Shane, though he was not pres- ent. The father then died. Shane was elected in accordance with the old Irish custom, and in open defiance to the English law, his right to the earldom was contested. Shane defeated his rivals in turn and overcame the Earl of Sussex, who was sent to subdue him.
Failing to subdue him by force, the Queen resorted to peaceful methods. She sent for Shane and invited him to Lon- don; with his retainers all clad in their strange native attire, Shane appeared in London; he made formal submission to the Queen, received full pardon and had all his expenses paid. Shane managed his affair very adroitly in England ; in the game of craft against craft, the London officials had met their match. But conditions were afterwards submitted to Shane for signa- ture which would compromise his Irish rights and privileges. To sign meant an opportunity to return to his native land; to refuse meant the tower and death. He signed but never kept the conditions; in fact he disregarded them entirely and re- newed the warfare. One of the conditions bound Shane to make war on the Scots and reduce them to obedience. He did make war upon them, but it is believed rather to rid himself of un- desirable and powerful neighbors who were hostile to his clan than to keep the pact he had signed.
He was finally crushed, not by the government, but by the O'Donnells: in this last conflict he was utterly ruined and by
84 THE FIGHT UNTO DEATH
some insane resolution sought refuge with the Scots, whose un- dying enmity he incurred two years before. They received him with apparent show of cordiality, but soon raised a dispute and put to death this valiant warrior, with the remnant of his fol- lowers.
After Shane O'Neill's rebellion his lands were declared for- feited, and his vassals vassals of the crown. English soldiers of fortune were given grants from Shane's escheated territory, but when they attempted to settle they were killed bv the O'- Neill's.
Others under Earl of Essex came and did their best to sim- plify the process of colonization by exterminating the O'Neills, men, women and children. Two years' trial proved unsuccess- ful. But other colonizers came ; some under Peter Carew, siezed on Cork, Limerick and Kerry and sought to hold them by exter- pating the hated natives. It was against these colonizers that the great Geraldine League was formed.
In the reign of Mary, that boy of twelve, whom Henry VIII had not been able to include in the general doom of his house, had been allowed to return to Ireland and resume his ancestral honors. Once more the Geraldines were a great and powerful family in Ireland. With encouragement from Eome and prom- ises of assistance from Spain they rose again under the Earl of Desmond and Sir James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald. They met with some successes at first : but as they had many wrongs to avenge,^ they followed up their victories.
To prevent further uprising Sir Francis Crosby, the Queen's representative, invited the chiefs and their kinsmen to a great banquet at the fort of Mullaghmast, and there massacred them all. Out of 400 guests only one escaped the feast of blood. This inhuman act only served to inflame the minds . of the native tribes who rose in all directions to respond to the Desmond call. Elizabeth at once sent over troops under the new Lord Deputy, Sir William Pelliam. He had with him as an ally Ormond, the head of the house of Butler, hereditary foes of the Geraldines. The English army cut its way over Munster with unexampled ferocity. Ormond boasted that he had put to death nearly 6,000 disaffected persons. Spanish and Italian aid arrived too late.
It was during this uprising that Sir Walter Raleigh and Edmund Spencer held commands. Here it was that Raleigh killed prisoners in cold blood to serve a sovereign and after- wards another rewarded him for his loyalty by having him be- headed.
Munster was so vigorously laid waste that even Froude de-
THOMAS H. SULLIVAN 8S
clares that ''the lowing of a cow or the sound of a ploughboy's whistle was not to be heard from Valentia to the Eock of Cas- kel." Holinshed says that "a traveller would not meet any man, woman or child, saving in the towns and cities, and would not see any beast ; ' ' and Spencer gives a melancholy picture of the inhabitants ' ' as that any strong heart would rue the same. ' '
The estate of Desmond and his followers was forfeited to the crown, and thus ended another uprising.
The next and last rebellion within the period to which we are giving our attention was that of Hugh 0 'Neill. Hugh 0 '- Neill was borij about 1545; was educated among the English as his father had always been on the side of the government. He began his military life in the Queen's service as a commander of a troop of horse. The Irish parliament made him Earl of Tyrone in succession to his grandfather, Earl Con. O'Neill. In the brilliant Court of Elizabeth the young Irish chief was dis- tinguished for his gifts of mind and body. When of age he was allowed to return to his native land. Once within his own country he assumed the ancestral title of ''The O'Neill" and re- vived all the customs of the independent Irish chieftans. For a long time he took no part in the revolts or uprisings, but re- mained passively loyal to the government. At length the treach- erous capture of Hugh Eoe O'Donnell and his subsequent im- prisonment in Dublin Castle, the refusal of Sir Henry Bagenal, military commander of Ireland, to give Hugh his sister in mar- riage, the subsequent marriage against Sir Henry's will and the enmity it caused, and the ties of friendship and love for his countrymen overcame his loyalty and drove him into ihe rebel- lion which has taken his name. For a long time prior to the ac- tual break he had been drilling men and obtaining ammunition under varying pretenses. There were now alarming signs and rumors of the coming disturbance. Three thousand English soldiers were sent over under Sir John Norris. 0 'Neill regard- ed this as the first step toward the subjugation of the entire country, including his own province of Ulster. He seized and plundered Portmore, Cavan and Monaghan. Lord General Nor- ris marched against him, but without success. Failing to check him by arms, resort was made to negotiate for peace; but O'- Neill insisted that the Catholics should be free to practice their religion. This was refused and the war went on. There were numerous cl/ashes of arms, and Hugh was continuously success- ful. Then came the Battle of Yellow Ford in 1598, where O'- Neill and his followers gained the greatest victory ever won in Ireland over English arms. Two thousand of the English, in-
86 THE FIGHT UNTO DEATH
eluding their commander and most of their officers, were killed. The Irish loss was less than 700.
It was in this battle that Hugh sought out Sir Henry, who had refused him his sister in marriage, that he might slay him in single combat. But fate had otherwise decreed ; before 0 'Neill could reach him, another's bullet had dispatched him. Victory was now at high tide, but the tide was soon to ebb. The Span- ish allies, 3400 strong, entered the harbor of Kinsale on Septem- ber, 1601. The news of their arrival brought Mount joy and Carew, with 12,000 of Elizabeth's troops. O'Neill hastened to Kinsale with 4000 men. It was then mid- winter. The English were encamped outside Kinsale. They found themselves hemmed in between the Irish and the Spaniards. Lack of sup- plies and inability to get them were causing great hardship for the Queen's Army. A council of war was held. Del Aguila, commander of the Spanish, advised an immediate attack — O'Neill counseled delay. It was decided to give the English battle. Hugh drew close to the English lines. Del Aguila, for some unknown reason, failed to carry out his part. Mountjoy 's quick eye caught the situation at a glance; he charged with his cavalry and routed O'Neill completely. The revolution was at an end; but nevertheless Hugh continued the warfare and yielded, after the disaster his Spanish allies had brought on him at Kinsale, only upon condition of being guaranteed his titles and his lands: by this time Elizabeth, who hated him so much and so longed for his destruction, had breathed her last.
No such able chief appeared since the days of Brian Boru. Cool, cautious, vigilant, he laid his plans with care, and knew how to wait patiently for results. Never impulsive, never boastful, wise in council and wary in speech from his long resi- dence in London, he learned dissimulation, and was as crafty as the craftiest English minister. What he might have done had he been loyally supported at Kinsale it is hard to say.
It was during this uprising that Carew with 4000 men be- sieged Dunboy, which was defended by 143 men. The defend- ers fought to the last ditch. English cannon battered the castle but the Irish never yielded till the few survivors were overpow- ered and taken prisoners. Fifty-eight of these were executed on the same day. Taylor, the Irish commander, and fourteen men were reserved to tempt them to give information. They firmly refused to purchase their lives on this condition, and were all hanged. No one of the defenders escaped; they were all either slain, executed or buried in the ruins, so obstinate and resolved was their defense.
After the capture of Dunboy, 0 'Sullivan Beare began his
THOMAS H. SULLIVAN 87
famous retreat. He had kept up the struggle resolutely, but the odds were against him. On the last day of December. 1602, he set out from Glengarriif with 400 fighting men, and 600 women, children and servants. Through the mountains and glens, avoiding the main roads, midst hardship, sufferings and priva- tions, frequently attacked, sick in mind and heart at the scene which was ever before him, he made his way to Leitrim Castle. A fortnight before they set out from Glengarriff 1000 in number, but on that morning, only 35 survived to enter the castle. Such were the hardships and trials of our ancestors in the Emerald Isle. It was during these times that the Ancient Order of Hiber- nians was founded. This organization grew up gradually among the Catholics of Ireland, owing to the dreadful hardships and persecutions to which they were subjected. During the reign of Henry VIII and Elizabeth, Acts of Uniformity and Suprem- acy were passed. The Act of Supremacy invested the King with spiritual jurisdiction, and, in substitution for the Pope, pro- claimed him head of the church. The Act of Uniformity made Protestantism the state creed. In consequence of these and oth- er acts the bishops of the Irish were hunted like wolves, forced to steal in and out of their native land and to beg their bread from the King of Spain or the King of France. Their clergy had no better fate, and for many long decades were tracked pitilessly from glen to mountain, from forest to bog, as though they were a wretched vermin in the body politic. It is a tradi- tion in the Ancient Order that they first started as the body guard of their poor parish priest when he said mass in the open air. And many a rude print still exists representing these men at the mouth of a glen in conflict with the English soldiery. Within the priest finished his mass amid the falling snow, be- fore terrified women and children, while the eternal hills of holy Ireland looked down on a scene of martyrdom not sur- passed by any holocaust of the Collosseum.
It is claimed that Rory 0 'Moore organized and founded Hibernianism in the year 1565 in the County of Kildare, in the Province of Leinster, and gave to his faithful followers the name of ''The Defenders." The necessity of defending the priest by force has rapidly passed away, but the organization still lives and flourishes under its motto, ''Friendship, Unity and True Christian Charity."
Strife, disorder and discontent always interfere with the general pursuit of education and religion. During this period education was not entirely neglected, but did not flourish as in the earlier days when Ireland was the school house of Europe.
Desmond's Irish councilors understood Latin, and Shane
John J. Cummings, M. D.
Dr. John J. Cummings was born in Worcester, Mass., March 16, 1870, the son of Thomas C. Cummings and Margaret (Hunt) Cummings, both natives of Coun- ty "VVaterford, Ireland. He was educated in the public schools and the Worcester Classical High School. He entered Columbia University Medical School, New York City, and was graduated in 1899.
Dr. Cummings is a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society. For twelve years he has held mem- bership in Division 35, A. 0. H., of Worcester, and for a number of years served as physician for the Division. June 30, 1903, Dr. Cummings was married to Nellie G. Donovan, daughter of Jeremiah Donovan and Mary (Daly) Donovan of Worcester.
A^*^'*^-t-^--.>^^*^^t^^ ^<^
i^strurtinn unh i^snlatinn
1608 — 1690 BY
JOHN J. CUMMI'NGS, M. D.
THE FLIGHT OF THE EAELS
Upon the death of Elizabeth in 1603, James, the son of the xmfortunate Mary Stuart, Queen of the Scots, became King of England, and for the first time in their history the Irish people accepted English rule, and gave willing submission to an Eng- lish dynasty, supporting it afterward with their life blood.
James began by a policy of conciliation and toleration, and it looked as if a new era of prosperity was dawning upon Ire- land, He accepted Tyrone's homage and created Kory O'Don- nell. Earl of Tyrconnell. The public worship of the national re- ligion, if not legalized, was at least tolerated.
But a few short years and conditions changed. First a conspiracy developed which involved the two northern Earls, and, although guiltless even in the opinion of the English, they ^ere forced to flee for their lives, first to France, and thence to Home, where they eventually died in exile.
Meanwhile the King in 1607, issued a proclamation, declar- ing forfeit to the crown, the lands and estates of the two Earls, and promising protection to the inhabitants of these counties. A rising, under Sir Caliir O'Doherty, which was limited to In- nishowen, a small portion of Tyrconnell, was made the excuse for the violation of these solemn pledges, — pledges which re- ferred to the Celts of six counties. Then began the movement to root out the natives of these estates and the first steps to- wards the plantations of Ulster had been taken.
THE PLANTATIONS OF ULSTER
James brought in with him from Scotland a host of greedy
90 DESTRUCTION AND DESOLATION
followers, all of whom expected to rise with their king to a. position of wealth and power. England was not wide enough to hold them nor rich enough to satiate their appetites. The puzzled, but crafty king turned to Ireland.
Taking over the forfeited lands of Tyrone and Tyrconnell,. he distributed them with a lavish hand. He did not limit the distribution to soldiers and officers of rank, as had been done in previous plantations, but gave it to English and Scotch adven- turers, and to London trade companies.
He settled it on Protestant colonies whose first use of their power was to evict the former tenants or clansmen, thus effect- ing a complete change in the religious and social aspect of the north, and Ulster became then, and has since remained, a prov- ince occupied and controlled by a people, alien to the country.
Then over into Ireland, James sent his Lord Deputy and his Surveyor General, and they became the heads of his cele- lirated *' Commission for the investigation of defective titles." Most Irish families held possession of their lands by tradition and their rights could not be proven by regular title deeds. A horde of spies was employed under the name of "Discoverers," and these over-ran the country, finding or inventing flaws in the titles by which these Irish families held their possessions.
As a result of the work of the Discoverers, nearly half a million acres were found "by inquisition to be vested in the Crown," "inasmuch as the titles were not such as ought," in their judgment, "to stand in the way of his Majesty's designs.'^
These lands were divided among three classes, the under- takers, who were English and Scotch Protestants; the servitors, who were Protestant Irish; and the old natives. Large grants were also made to Protestant churches and educational institu- tions— Trinity College in Dublin receiving nearly ten thousand acres.
All who had been under arms in Tyrone's war were to be- transplanted with their families and cattle to the waste places in Munster and Connaught. They were so numerous, however, that there was not room for them all there, and many remained as laborers for the new tenants, or became wanderers and fugi- tives near their old homes.
FIRST NATIONAL PARLIAMENT
After a lapse of twenty-seven years, during which no par- liament had been held in Ireland, James I issued writs for the attendance of both houses at Dublin. The work of confiscation and plantation had gone on for several years without the sane-
JOHN J. CUMMINGS, M. D. 9t
tion of the legislature. Normally, there would be a large ma- jority of Catholics in the House of Commons. To offset this majority, over forty fictitious boroughs, each returning twa members, were created by royal charter.
The House of Commons, so constituted, contained two hundred and thirty-two members, of which the supporters of the government claimed one hundred twenty-five; the Catholic party one hundred one; and six absentees. The upper house consisted of fifty peers, of whom twentj^'-five were Protestant bishops. Thus James I gave to Ireland her so-called ' * first free parliament. ' '
Hence long before the death of James I, which occurred in 1625, all the hopes which his accession had raised in the hearts of the Irish had vanished.
They were revived again on the coming to the throne of Charles, the husband of the Catholic princess, Henrietta of France. Charles and his ministers encouraged them in their expectations. In consideration of the payment of one hundred and twenty thousand pounds, in three yearly installments, he promised them certain concessions, known as the ''fifty-one graces. ' '
The Irish Lords had paid over two-thirds of the stipulated amount, and then discovered that the afore mentioned con- cessions had not materialized. Instead there were more brok en promises, more robbing of the natives through the working of the ' ' Court of Defective titles. ' '
Meanwhile, Charles was having his troubles both in Eng- land and Scotland. The Scotch were making their successful fight for the liberty to worship as they pleased.
The Puritans in England were growing in power and at last obtained control of parliament and were in full opposition to the policies of the king. With a Protestant parliament in power, there was little hope in Ireland of any relief and a spirit of unrest began to make itself manifest.
THE REBELLION OF 1641
At the head of this uprising were Roger 0 'Moore, the pop- ular leader, the famous Rory O 'Moore, of song and poetry, Sir Phelim O'Neil, Lord Maguire and others of the gentry. It was agreed that all the forts and arms should be seized, all the gen- try should be made prisoners, but that none should be killed. Many prejudiced historians have stated that this rebellion was characterized by massacre and the ruthless murder of the Eng- lish and Protestant inhabitants. In proof that such was not
92 DESTRUCTION AND DESOLATION
the case, here is the oath subscribed to, by all who joined the rebels : —
1st. ' ' To maintain and defend the public and free exercise of the Catholic religion.'^
2nd. ''To give allegiance to King Charles, his heirs and successors, and to support them against anyone who should attempt injury to their persons or estates."
3rd. ' ' To receive the power and privilege of parliament, the lawful rights and privileges of the subject."
''The remonstrance to the Lord Justices states that wo harbor not the least thoughts of hostility toward his Majesty or purpose any hurt to his Majesty's subjects, in their posses- sions, goods, or liberty." The remonstrance further deplores any acts of lawlessness, or of cruelty imposed upon the English or Protestant inhabitants, with promises to use their best en- deavors to make restitution and satisfaction for any that may have occurred.
Thus we have an account of the aims and objects of the Irish lords in the beginning of this struggle against England's oppression. And so it came to pass, that on the 23rd of Octo- ber in 1641, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, and a few other strongholds, severed itself from England. The failure in Dublin was due to the fact that the officials were warned in time by information given by the informer Owen 0 'Connelly, an Irish Protestant servant, who revealed to his master, the details of the plot.
Out of the confusion and general upheaval in Ireland at this time there finally emerged four more or less well defined parties, each of which had attracted to itself a certain number of followers.
1st. There was the Old Irish which stood for total sepa- ration from England. These were the people who had suffered most from the plantations of Ulster and the subsequent re- ligious persecutions. They were under the command of Sir PhelimO'Neil.
2nd. The Anglo-Irish or Norman, who had suffered in the same way though not so severely. They stood for religious and civil liberty, but political Unity with England. They occu- pied the central and western parts of the country and were commanded by Lord Preston. These two parties were Catholic. 3rd. The Presbyterians and Puritans in Ulster under Monro. These were with the English Parliament and acted with the Scottish covenanters and were the most bitter enemies of the King.
4th. The royalists, the supporters of the King, who were
JOHN J. CUMMINGS, M. D. 93
Protestants, and the oflScial representatives of the Crown. At their* head was Ormond with headquarters in Dublin.
For nearly a year, fighting went on in Ulster with varying success. Sometimes the Old Irish were successful and in turn suffered defeat by the Puritan or Parliamentary army under Monro.
Sir Phelim O'Neil, as general of the Ulster army of the north, had not the attributes of a successful commander. Be- tween himself and Lord Preston, commander of the Catholic army of the west, there was no union but rather a jealous rival- ry.
At the suggestion of the Catholic bishops, a general assem- bly met on the 22nd of October, 1642, at Kilkenny. Eleven Bishops and fourteen lay lords represented the Irish peerage and 226 commoners represented the people.
A celebrated lawyer, Patrick Darcy, a member of the Com- mons, was appointed Chancellor. A Supreme Council, chosen from among the members, was to be the executive branch of the new government. This, then, was the Confederation of Kilkenny, and it undertook to manage, and with some measure of success, the affairs of the Irish Nation.
The Council appointed Gen. Preston in command of the ar- my in Leinster; Gen. Barry in Munster; Sir John Burke in Con- naught; and Owen Roe O'Neil in charge of the forces of the north. Of these four generals, Owen Roe O'Neil was the only one to achieve any signal success, and he won undying fame for himself in his management of his campaign.
OWN ROE O'NEIL was the grandson of Art, brother of the great Hugh O'Neil, Earl of Tyrone. Educated abroad at the college of the Irish Franciscans in Louvain, he afterward went to Spain, where he was trained as soldier and scholar. He rose to the command of the Irish regiments in the Spanish army, during that country's, war with France.
To the Irish he later became a popular idol, and well did he deserve their loyalty. As long as tradition lasts, so long will the children of the Irish be told and retold of the glories of "Owen Roe."
At the breaking out of the Rebellion he was living in Brus- sels, but when after a year's fruitless fighting, his, countrymen sent out a call for his help, he left rank and station abroad, and taking up the sword of his great ancestor, which had been sent to him from Rome, he returned to his desolate Ireland, and bravely did he battle for his God and his country.
He, together with about one hundred other Irish officers,.
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g-ave up their places in the foreign service and sailed for home, landing at Donegal in Jnly, 16-1:2.
He had in him all the qualities that constitute a leader of men, a clear sound judgment, chivalrous valour, bravery in the field, skill in profiting of every advantage offered by the' enemy, and a caution which left nothing to chance. For several years he kept together an army created by his own genius, without a government at his back, without regular supplies, enforcing discipline and obedience, gaining victories and maintaining a native power even in the very heart of the kingdom. Always intent on the welfare of his country, he rose high above the thousand and one petty jealousies and intrigues that surround- ed him. Loved and obeyed by his followers, he was respected and admired by his enemies, some of whom openly regretted that such a good man had become identified with such a bad cause.
Upon assuming command of the Catholic army of the north, he assembled his followers at Dungannon, the hereditary stronghold of his clan, and here he and his men took the oath of obligation to the Catholic Confederation. Then followed four years of unceasing training of his undisciplined army.
With the help of his experienced officers he taught the herdsmen and countrymen the use of the muskets and the pike, involving them only in small battles and skirmishes until they had gained the experience and confidence of an efficient fighting force.
And then in 1646, on the 4th day of June, came the meeting of the army of the Parliament and 0 'Neil's force on the battle- field of Benburb. The battle of Benburb has been often and well described. There was a movement started to unite the Scottish forces and proceed southward to Limerick, there to at- tack the government of the Confederation. Gen. O'Neil with five thousand foot, and five hundred horse, all ' ' good and hope- ful men," to use his own expression, by a forced march reached the northern Blackwater, and pitched his camp on the north bank. Here he was, directly between the two Monroes, who could join their Scottish forces only after dislodging him. Rob- ert Monro, who reached his position first, saw it would be neces- sary to give battle to save the smaller forces of his brother, who were coming from the north. Consequently, he began to move on 0 'Neil's position at dawn on June 5th, 1646, and pres- ently reached the Blackwater, where he found himself face to face with 0 'Neil's army across the river. Here, then, is the spectacle presented by the two armies, marching in parallel lines, on either bank of the river. Coming to a hill, which he
JOHN J. CUMMINGS, M. D. 95
liad previously selected as a strong position, O'Neil retreated, and Monro, fording the Blackwater, was in full pursuit. O 'Neil's stronghold had the center of his army protected by the hill, the right by a marsh, and the left by the Oona Water, and in the foreground flowed the Blackwater.
While fighting was going on at the pass through which O'Neil had retreated and left guarded, he drew up his line of battle. And now the two armies have met beyond the hill and the battle is on. For four long hours in the heat and dust of that June day, O'Neil retreated and shifted, and the Scottish army threw itself time after time on the enemy, who disap- peared behind hedge and rock, and only came forth to repulse an attack. And still O'Neil held his men back. To the mutter - ings and complaints of some of his officers, who had hard work holding the men, he replied, ''Wait for the sun," and when to- wards evening the sun had fallen low enough in the sky to shed its brilliant rays full in the faces of the tired and exhausted Scotch troopers, 0 'Neil gave the long-delayed word to his army.
On they came, in a sweeping movement from right to left, and before them the Scottish cavalry wavered and broke. Still on they came, and following the Irish cavalry came the pike- men. And now it was a hand to hand struggle, — a bayonet charge — and the Scotch forces hemmed in between the two streams, were in dire confusion. Finally, the Irish army reached and stormed the hill where Monro's guns were placed, and the victory was won. The defeat of the Scotch army was a complete rout, and when the sun had set more than three thousand of the Monro's men lay dead on the field. In addition Monro lost all his artillery, tents and baggage, fifteen hundred horses, twenty stands of colors, two months ' provisions, and numerous prison- ers of war. The Irish lost but seventy, incredible as it may seem, but such is the number given by their opponents. After this battle, Gen. Monro writing home says, "The Lord hath rubbed shame on our faces till we are humbled;" and the Irish people welcomed O'Neil with a unanimous joy and acclaim.
"Owen Roe — our own O'Neil!
He treads once more our land: The sword in his hand is Spanish steel.
But the hand is an Irish hand."
Meanwhile, the Confederation and Ormond, representing the King, Charles I, had been parleying for the restitution of the confiscated lands and the repeal of the penal laws. But the King, although anxious to keep the Irish with him as an aid
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against the Parliament, did not dare concede all that was de- manded and held off with promises. Had the issue been forced by the Confederation after the decisive battle of Benburb, Ire- land's history might have been different, but there was delay and indecision, and as the Arab proverb puts it, ''There are three things which cannot be recalled, The sped arrow, The spoken word, The lost opportunity." The Irish had missed their chance.
Later there was an attempt to attack Dublin, and force tlie- Royalists to terms, but dissensions broke out between O'NeiL and Preston, the other Catholic general, and O'Neil, disheart- ened and discouraged and almost betrayed by the Confedera- tion, turned first to Ormond — whom he disliked and distrusted — and then to the Parliament, whom he knew hated and opposed him. They