Chapter I: Part 1

An Essay On The

Ancient and Modern State

Of Ireland

With the Various Important Advantages

Thereunto Derived,

under the auspicious Reign of His most sacred Majesty

King GEORGE the Second.

Including a particular Account

of the great and glorious

St. Patrick

By

Henry Brooke

Dublin: Printed

London: Re-Printed

for R. Griffiths.

MDCCLX.

CONTENTS

Dedication. Essay. The Farmer’s Case Of The Roman-Catholics Of _Ireland_. Footnotes

DEDICATION.

TO

MATTHEW MC. NAMARA,

Of _LIMERICK_, Esq;

COUNSELLOR at LAW.

Justly sensible, Sir, how sincerely You have the Character and Esteem of our Native Country at Heart, I take Leave to offer to Your Perusal, and commend to Your favourable Acceptance, the following Sheets.

What gave them Rise, was my happening, some Time since, to have fallen into Company with two or three sprightly young Gentlemen, then just returned from their Continental Rambles,—who—altho’ little burthened with the Religion, Laws, Learning, Policy, Customs, Habits, Manners, or Languages of any, or the several Countries they had scampered thro’, affected, nevertheless, an high Contempt for this,—their Native.

I listened with silent Indignation, and determined to contribute my Mite towards giving such unattentive, uninformed Youths, a more adequate Idea of this Kingdom, under its ancient and under its present happy Establishment.

The common Accidents of Time must lead them by better Authority to clearer Knowledge: In the mean while, I profess my Obligations to them, as they have given me this Opportunity of declaring my Regard to my Country in general, and the particular Attachments that ever bind me, in the strictest Sense of Fidelity and Esteem, to a Friend so worthy as You have been to,

Sir, Your very obliged, and Most obedient Servant.

ESSAY.

In a Nation, where almost every Gentleman is better acquainted, and more conversant, with the Nature and Circumstances of other Countries than those of his own, the Publication of such Hints as may somewhat contribute to remove so odd an Inattention, and induce those far better qualified to render a Subject so interesting some Justice, will not, I hope, be deemed an Impertinence; in one especially who, by this Essay, however feeble, hath nothing beside the Honour and Advantage of _Ireland_ in View, a Kingdom whereof he is, without Vanity, proud of being a Native.

As the Story of Savages and Barbarians can contain nothing instructive, or entertaining, the _Antemilesian_ Inhabitants of this Land having been mostly such, and all surviving Accounts of them almost totally overcast with Fable, we are therefore, in treating of the antient _Scotia_, or modern _Ireland_, to refer principally to three distinguished æras, whereof the _first_ is, its being peopled by an _Iberian_ or _Spanish_ Colony: The _second_, truly glorious, the Arrival of St. _Patrick_, in his most salutary Mission: The _third_ and last, its Cession to _Henry_ the Second, King of _England_, (the first of the Royal Race of _Plantagenet_) partly from a pretended Title of _Adrian_ the Fourth, Pope of _Rome_; partly from the restless and insatiable Desires of _Henry_; _more_ from the manifold Infirmities of the then reigning _Irish_ Chiefs—but above all, from the peculiarly adverse Fate of _Roderick_, the last of our Kings.

The assiduous, exact, and candid Author of the _Dissertations_,(1) lately published, on the Origin, Government, Letters, Sciences, Religion, Manners and Customs of the antient Inhabitants of this Country, hath put all those Matters in so clear and happy, and, at the same Time, in so strong a Light, by the Powers of various foreign Testimonies, of undeniable Authenticity, coincident with our own, that scarce any Thing new can be offered on the same Subject.

It may, however, in general be observed, that _Milesius_, a _Spanish_ Prince, so far back as the Reign of _Solomon_ (instigated by Necessity, or induced by Ambition) with a considerable Number of Associates and Followers, landed from the Western Parts of _Spain_, on the Southern Coasts of this Island, where it is probable they met little, or but faint Opposition, from wild and undisciplined Inhabitants.

Those People, from their early Knowledge of the _Phœnician_ Arts and Letters, imported such Rudiments of Government and Learning, as those primitive Times admitted; a Truth visible from the Similarity or rather Identity of the _Phœnician_ and _Scotic_ Alphabet.

This antient Colony quietly settled here, remote from the Storms and Revolutions of the greater World, and secured by Situation from its hostile Incursions, there is no Doubt but the Cultivation of Religion, Philosophy, Politicks, Poetry, and Musick, became the chief Objects of popular Study and Application: The Spirit of Ambition in succeeding Ages, with its unhappy concomitant Train of Sedition, Faction, and Violence, the foreign Invasions, and often the intestine Oppressions and Calamities, to which our neighbouring Nations were subject, calling forth the protective or conciliating Aids of those ancient Heroes, made them great Masters also in the Art military.

The Pentarchy originally formed by those _Iberian_ or _Celtic Spaniards_, with a popular Right of Election, was certainly a Kind of Government extremely consistent with the Essence and Genius of true Liberty, and a System derived from the Patriarchs themselves. For when the various Necessities of Society required a Subordination, together with some stated Maxims to go by, to avoid the confused and promiscuous Intercourse in a State of Nature; then did the People elect the most Virtuous and Wise, to lead and conduct them in Times of War and Trouble; to govern, inform, and protect them, in milder and more auspicious Seasons. Then was the Motto of the Crown, or of the chief Ensign of Pre-eminence, _Digniori detur_, and so continued till the Degeneracy of Time, and the baneful Growth of Avarice and Pride, with the feverish Lust of Power, perverted it to—_Rapiat Fortior_!

Such, thro’ a long Succession of Ages, was the Condition, and such at length the Fate of this Kingdom, destroyed after a longer Continuance than any other can boast, by the Abuse of its own Powers; a sure Argument that all created Beings, all sublunary Institutions, however wisely composed, in the very Essence of their Creation, and in the very Rudiments of their Formation, comprehend, at the same Time, the Seeds of Dissolution: Yet it is not more remarkable than true, that in the most boisterous Periods of this Kingdom’s antient Establishment, the Arts and Sciences, with the fundamental Principles of Constitution, were preserved and cherished with inviolable Assiduity. The Priests, Philosophers, Advocates, Annalists, Poets and Musicians, were obliged to preserve Religion, political Wisdom, Law, History, _&c._ hereditarily in their respective Tribes, and to educate in these different Branches the Chiefs and Nobles of the Land, for which they were graciously maintained in secure and splendid Tranquillity: Those Sages attended the National Conventions, where all publick Acts were religiously recorded, and all Abuses of Power and Government retrenched or reformed; nor were they permitted, except in Case of extraordinary Necessity, or uncommon Merit, to deviate from their proper and primitive Spheres of Action: Since, where an harmonious Subordination of Rank and Order hath not been duly preserved, even in free Estates, Liberty itself (wisely attempered, the greatest of all social Blessings) hath often, from Abuse and Neglect, sickened into Licentiousness, the immediate lewd Mother of Anarchy! In the visible Creation, the direct Result of infinite Wisdom, the lesser Planets do not interfere with, much less shock or oppose the Motions and Revolutions of the greater; they constantly keep the Distances first prescribed them, and all move regularly to their respective Ends. The most verdant and fragrant Meadows may, from the too frequent Irruption of muddy Waters, degenerate into noxious Marshes, if some Care was not taken to divert those impure Gushings into their proper Channels. Hence it may be inferred, that laying open the most honorary, as well as important and useful Professions of Society, to the Intrusion, or rather pyratical Invasions, of the Scum and Dregs of the People, cannot, however varnished over with the fictitious Colourings of pretended Liberty, consist with true Political Wisdom.

Those ancient _Sophi_ and _Literati_ enjoyed their Places with the greater Security, that they were uninvadable by the inferior Classes of Mankind; with the greater Content and Chearfulness, that much Esteem and Emolument were connected with them: The Priest and Advocate informed and directed the Conscience and Conduct; the Historian and Annalist recorded the Institutions; the Poet and Musician celebrated and sung the Exploits of their Kings and Leaders: No Wonder then this Kingdom should have been revered at Home, and admired Abroad; when Religion formed, Erudition nurtured, Philosophy strengthened, History preserved, Rhetorick adorned, Musick softened, and Poesy refined, the National Wisdom and Accomplishments; to all which was added, a thorough Knowledge of Tactics, and great Skill and Agility in all the athletick Arts, and bodily Exercises.

In the Versions of some original Codes exported by our Countryman, the learned and pious St. _Fiechry_, still extant in the _Navarre_ Library at _Paris_, the Constitutional Wisdom of _Ireland_ appears in a clear and happy Light: Persons, Things, Actions, and Expressions, were cautiously attended to, by the Laws; _Persons_, in their Minority, Youth, and Manhood, according to their different Ranks in the State, so as by Care, Education, and Discipline, to render them, some subservient, others useful, some beneficial, and others ornamental thereunto. _Things_, so carefully, as to prevent, by prohibatory Laws, Wastes of whatsoever Kind, and to ascertain to each Individual, as well as Society, their proper and distinct Rights. _Actions_, by directing those in general, and particular, to the Honour of the Deity and Welfare of the Community: _Expression_, by the penal Interdiction of prophane Cursing and Swearing, Obscenity, Scurrility, Calumny, and Detraction, yet with a full Indulgence of proper Satire against such as merited popular Reprehension, or Contempt; the Satirist’s Pen in those Days being as much dreaded, or rather more so, than the Magistrate’s Rod, and consequently as diligently avoided by a Demeanour absolutely irreproachable.

It appeareth that, under the antient Government of _Ireland_, the Education of the landed Gentry, when Luxury, with its wasteful Catalogue of Vices, had not rendered Property so mutable and wavering as in modern Ages, was provided for; whether by the immediate Care of Parents, or essential Attention of Guardians, by the Laws of the Land; in order that Gentlemen should, to the Antiquity of Birth and Possession, add the important Dignity of Learning, and social Refinement of Arts: Since a Man at the Head of an original Estate, who should want the necessary Cultivation of Letters, was considered only as a Peasant in Disguise, and not more respected than a Hewer of Wood, or Drawer of Water.

In these Writings of St. _Fiechry_, the legislative Wisdom of _Olam-Fodla_; the philosophically-religious Capacity of _Cormac-O Quin_, who, from the pure Light of Nature, in a great Measure defeated the absurd _Polytheism_ of the _Druids_; the consummate Integrity and Impartiality of _Federach_ the Just, and _Moran_ his Chief Justice; the Magnanimity of _Con-Ked-Cathagh_; the Conquests of _Kineth Mac Alpin_; the long, glorious, and peaceful Reign of _Conary_ the Great, _coæval_ with the Birth of our Blessed Lord and Saviour _Jesus Christ_, (undoubtedly the happiest, brightest, and most blissful Period the World ever saw;) are all displayed in a copious masterly Style, yet with strict chronological Exactness.

This learned St. _Fiechry_ was Founder of the University in _Paris_, in the Beginning of the 8th Century. The better to enable him to carry on that noble Work, he obtained of _Charles_ the Great a Tax on all Wheel-Carriages, within the Barriers of that City: Whence, a Hackney-Coach is at this Day technically term’d _Fiacre_.

_Charles_ the Great, in order to repair the cruel and truly lamentable literary Dilapidations of the ferocious North-men, invited Numbers of the learned and pious _Irish_ to the Continent, where he established and entertained them with Dignity, Tenderness, and Respect. In a curious Manuscript of _Nicholaus Gurtlerus_, (now in the _French_ King’s _Parisian_ Library) Author of the _Origines Mundi_, where he alludes to these Times, you find the following favourable, but true Account of _Ireland_.—_Temporibus illis, barbaris Normannorum Cohortibus undequaque irrumpentibus, Religio, Fides, Philosophia, Virtus, Hospitalitas, Fortitudo, Castitas, necnon et Amœniores omnium generum Artes, Hibernia solummodò natali, veluti Solo, viguerunt_; little Wonder that _Ireland_ should have been esteemed the _Ierne_, or sacred Isle of the _Greeks_, the _Insula Sanctorum_, or Island of Saints of the _Romans_.—Would to Heaven our Countrymen had, upon all considerable Occasions, recollected those deserved Encomiums, thereby to approve them worthy their applauded Origin, and native Soil!

We now proceed to consider _Ireland_ in her happiest and brightest View, after the Admission and Propagation of Christianity. It is certain there were many Christians in _Ireland_, before the Arrival of _Palladius_ in 431, or of St. _Patrick_ the Year following: St. _Kieran_, St. _Ailbe_, St. _Declan_, and St. _Ibar_, whom _Ussher_ calls the Precursors, or Forerunners of St. _Patrick_, are pregnant Proofs of this; they were of the Birth of _Ireland_, from whence they travelled to _Rome_, in Search of Education and Learning, where they lived some Years, were ordained, and returned Home about the Year 402.

It seems that those early Preachers confined their Labours to particular Places, in which they had considerable Success, but fell very short of converting the Body of the Nation: However, they sowed the Seed which St. _Patrick_ came after to water: And it is certain that St. _Patrick_ was so well satisfied with the Progress they made, in their particular Districts in _Munster_, that this was the last Province in _Ireland_ he thought proper to visit. That there were many Christians in _Ireland_, at this Period, seems to be confirmed by _Prosper_, who, in giving an Account of the Mission of _Palladius_, says, that he was ordained by Pope _Celestin_, and sent the first Bishop to the _Scots_ believing in Christ. This Passage can mean nothing else, but that _Palladius_, born in Britain, was sent to the Scots [i.e. the _Irish_] who had already formed Churches under _Kieran_, _Ailbe_, _Declan_ and _Ibar_; and so the Bishop of St. _Asaph_ expounds it. This then was the next Attempt that was made for the Conversion of the _Irish_: _Palladius_ engaged in a more ample and extensive Design than his Predecessors, yet he failed in the Execution of it, stay’d but a short Time in _Ireland_, and did little worth remembring; he converted, however, a few, and is said to have founded three Churches; but he had neither Courage to withstand the Fierceness of the heathen _Irish_, nor Abilities, for Want of the Language, proper for the Work.

_Nathi_, the Son of _Garcon_, an _Irish_ Prince, opposed his preaching; upon which _Palladius_ left the Kingdom, and died in the Land of the _Picts_, on the 15th of _December_, 431. This glorious Work was reserved for St. _Patrick_, to whose holy Life, divine Mission, and extraordinary Success, I refer the Reader. This great Apostle of the _Irish_ founded and built the Cathedral Church of _Ardmagh_, about the Year 444, or 45, which, from that early Period to this, hath continued the Metropolitan Church of all _Ireland_. So that 1194 Years passed away from the Founding of the City of _Rome_, to that of _Ardmagh_.

The various and most signal Blessings derived to this Nation, from the salutary Mission of this illustrious Saint, require, in Gratitude, our giving the Reader yet a further Account of the Author of such Happiness and Glory to _Ireland_.

He was born in the extreme Bounds of _Britain_, (in that Part thereof which is now comprehended within the Limits of the modern _Scotland_) at a Village called _Banaven_, in the Territory of _Tabernia_, (as he himself saith in his Confession) in _Vico Banaven Taberniæ_, &c. He tells us that he was born of a good Family. _Ingennuus fui secundum Carnem._ His Father was _Calphurnius_, a Deacon, who was the Son of _Potitus_, a Priest; from whence may be clearly inferred that the Clergy were not restrained from Matrimony in that Age. He was just advanced into his sixteenth Year, when he was taken Captive, the Manner of which is thus related by St. _Evin_ and others: His Father, Mother, Brother, and five Sisters, undertook a Voyage to _Aremorick Gaul_, (now called _Bass Bretagne_) to visit the Relations of his Mother _Couchessa_. It happened about this Time, that the seven Sons of _Factmude_, a _British_ Prince, were banished, and took to the Sea; that, making an Inroad into _Aremorick Gaul_, they took _Patrick_ and his Sister, _Lupita_, (some say _Tigrida_ also) Prisoners. They brought their Captives to the North of _Ireland_, and sold _Patrick_ to _Milcho Mac Huanan_, a Prince of _Dalaradia_: Others tell the Story in a different Manner, and with a stronger Degree of Probability. That the _Romans_ having deserted _Britain_, to preserve their own Country from the barbarous Incursions of the _Northern Hive_, the _Irish_ made frequent Conquests, in _North Britain_ especially, whence returning victorious, in one of those Expeditions among others brought _Patrick_ Captive. But in this they all agree, and he himself confirms it, that he continued Prisoner in _Ireland_ six Years; he was sold to _Milcho_ and his three Brothers, which gave Occasion of his changing his Name into _Cathraigh_, or rather _Ceathir-Tigh_, because he served four Masters; _Ceathir_ signifying four, and _Tigh_ a House or Family. _Milcho_ observing the Care and Diligence of his new Servant, bought out the Shares of his Brothers, and made him his own Property. He sent him to feed his Hogs on _Sliev-Mis_. And St. _Patrick_ himself tells us his Behaviour in this Office.

“My constant Business was to feed the Hogs. I was frequent in Prayer; the Love and Fear of God more and more inflamed my Heart; my Faith was enlarged, and my Spirit augmented, so that I said an hundred Prayers by Day, and almost as many by Night. I arose before Day to my Prayers, in the Snow, in the Frost, and in the Rain, and yet I received no Damage; nor was I affected with Slothfulness; for then the Spirit of God was warm within me.” It was here he perfected himself in the _Irish_ Language, the wonderful Providence of God visibly appearing in this Instance of his Captivity, that he should have the Opportunity in his tender Years of becoming well acquainted with the Language, Manners, and Dispositions of that People, to whom he was intended as a future Apostle. He continued six whole Years in Servitude, and in the seventh was released. There seems to have been a Law in _Ireland_ for this Purpose, agreeable to the Institution of _Moses_, that a Servant should be released the seventh Year.

Having parted from his Master, after a great Variety of Distresses, he at length arrived to his Parents, who received him with extraordinary Joy; with these he remained two Years, and probably would much longer, had he not by a Vision been quickened to a more active and glorious Life. In this he thought he saw a Man coming to him from _Ireland_, whose Name was _Victoricus_, with a great Number of Letters; that he gave him one of them to read, in the Beginning of which were contained these Words, _Vox-Hiberionacum_, the Voice of the _Irish_: While he was reading this Letter, he thought the same Moment, that he heard the Voice of the Inhabitants who lived near the Wood of _Foclut_, in the Barony of _Tyr-Awley_, and County of _Mayo_, hard by the Western Sea, crying to him with an audible and distinct Voice, “We intreat thee, holy Youth, to come and walk among us.” He was greatly amazed at this Vision, and awoke; it animated him, however, to his future Studies and heavenly Progress; so far even, that he tells us himself, he thanked God, that after many Years he had dealt with the _Irish_, according to their crying out.

These early Scenes of this great Saint’s Life, should, among many others, serve as lessons of Charity, Consideration, and Humility, to the Rich, the Great, the Proud, and the Wanton; who may recollect that, altho’ he was well born, he was nevertheless, in the most vigorous Season of Life, a Slave and a Swine-Herd: Happy, though wretched Servitude! In which, his leisure Hours, mostly employed in Christian Confidence and Prayer, made him so signally the Favourite of Heaven, that from those cloudy Dawnings, he in Process of Time became a learned Doctor, a sanctified Missioner, a venerable Prelate, an eminent Primate, a national Apostle, and the bright Instructor of Kings! Such were the fruitful Rewards of uninterrupted unshaken Devotion, Piety, and Zeal! From this Time he formed the steady Resolution of converting the _Irish_; and, the better to accomplish the heavenly Task, he undertook a laborious Journey to foreign Countries, to enrich his Mind with Learning and Experience.

He continued abroad thirty-five Years, pursuing his Studies under the Direction principally of his Mother’s Uncle, St. _Martin_, Bishop of _Tours_, who had ordained him Deacon; and after his Death, partly with St. _German_, Bishop of _Auxerre_, (who ordained him a Priest, and called his Name _Magonius_, which was the third Name he was known by,) partly among a Colony of _Hermits_ and _Monks_, in some Islands of the _Tuscan_ Sea; and he employed a good Part of the Time in the City of _Rome_, among the Canons Regular of the _Lateran_ Church: At length, having his Soul thoroughly tempered with religious Virtue, enlightened with the true Evangelical Faith, and his Understanding enlarged by the most profitable and edifying Studies, he arrived in _Ireland_ about the 60th Year of his Age; and in the Year of our Lord 432, landed in the County of _Wicklow_, where he began his Ministry, by the Conversion of _Sinel_, a great Man in that Country, the Grandson of _Finchad_, who ought to be remembered, as he was the first Fruits of St. _Patrick_’s Mission in _Ireland_; he was the 8th in lineal Descent from _Cormac_, King of _Leinster_, and came afterwards to be enumerated among the Saints of _Ireland_.

From this Country he sailed to an Island on the Coast of the County of _Dublin_, called after him _Inis Phadring_, and by the _English_, _Holm Patrick_ at this Day, where he and his faithful Companions rested after their Fatigues. From _Inis Phadring_, he sailed Northward to that Part of _Ulster_ called _Ulidia_, and put in at _Inbherslaying_ Bay. When he and his Fellow Labourers landed, _Dichu_, the Son of _Trichem_, Lord of the County, being informed that they were Pirates, came out with armed Men in order to kill them: But being struck with the venerable Appearance of St. _Patrick_, he gave him Audience, and listened attentively to the Word of Life preached by him; he changed his wicked Purpose, believed, and was baptized, and brought over all his Family to the Faith: It is further observed of him, that he was the first Person in _Ulster_, who embraced Christianity. He dedicated the Land whereon his Conversion was wrought to the Service of God, where a Church was erected, changed after to an eminent Monastery. He travelled hence by Land to _Clunebois_ in _Dalaradia_, to endeavour the Conversion of his old Master _Milcho_, whose Service he had left thirty-eight Years before; but this obstinate Prince, hearing of the great Success of St. _Patrick_’s preaching, and ashamed to be persuaded in his old Age, to forsake the Religion of his Ancestors, (by one especially who had been his Servant, in a most inferior Station,) made a funeral Pile of his House and Goods, and by the Instigation of the Enemy of Mankind, burned himself therein: Thus ended _Milcho McHuanan_.

Hence St. _Patrick_ returned to _Inis_, the Habitation of _Dichu_, and in his Journey converted great Numbers to the true Faith of _Christ_. In some time, he took his Leave of _Dichu_, and bent his course Southward by Sea, keeping the Coast on his Right-hand, and arrived at Port _Colbdi_, where he landed, and committed the Care of his Vessel to his Nephew _Luman_, desiring him to wait for him there forty Days, while he and his Disciples were travelling in the inner Parts of the Country to preach the Gospel. His Intention in this Journey was, to celebrate the Festival of _Easter_ in the Plains of _Bregia_, and to be in the Neighbourhood of the Great Triennial Convention at _Tarah_, which at this Season was held by King _Leogair_, and all his Tributary Princes, Nobles, _Druids_, _Annalists_, _and Fileas_. St. _Patrick_ wisely foreseeing that whatever Impressions he should make on this august Assembly must have an Influence on the whole Kingdom, and therefore, being supported with invincible Christian Fortitude, resolved not to be absent from a Place where his Presence was so conducive to the Ends of his Holy Ministry.

Never did the Spirit of popular Freedom exert itself more powerfully or harmoniously, than in those truly parliamentary Triennial Conventions of _Ireland_, where the supreme Monarch, the Provincial Kings, the feudatory Lords, the Nobles, landed Men, _Druids_, &c. by the unbiased Suffrages of the People, convened for the Peace, good Government and Security of each particular Province, as well as those of the whole Kingdom. Many Centuries had this wise Constitution subsisted here, before our Neighbours, even of _South Britain_, knew any thing relative to Houses, or Raiment; it being notorious that so late as the Arrival of _Julius Cæsar_ among them, they painted their Bodies, to render them terrible, and lived in the open Fields. It is really somewhat surprzing that People so near in Situation, should differ so essentially in Disposition, as the Inhabitants of those Islands have in all Ages; Hospitality having been the distinguishing Attribute of the _Irish_, and it’s opposite Defect, that of the _Britons_; the Account given of them by _Horace_ 1700 and odd Years ago, _Visam Britannes Hospitibus feros_, being as literally applicable to them at this Day, where the Force of Education doth not operate to mitigate their natural Ferocity.

But to return: St. _Patrick_ in his Way to _Tarah_, took up his Lodgings at the House of the hospitable _Sesgnen_ in _Meath_, who kindly received and welcomed him. St. _Patrick_ preach’d Christ and his Gospel to him; he believed, and was baptized with his whole Family.

From the House of _Sesgnen_, he moved Westward, and arrived on _Easter Eve_ at _Fierta-fir-feic_, on the Northern Banks of the River _Boyne_, where he rested, resolving there to prepare for the next Day’s Solemnity. It was penal for any Person at the Time of the Celebration of this solemn Convention at _Tarah_, to kindle a Fire in the Province, before the King’s Bonfire first appeared. I am of Opinion this was a religious Ceremony, as the chief Deity of the ancient Inhabitants, in exterior Worship especially, was _Bel_, or _Belus_; whence _Apollo_ or _Ap-haul_, the Son of the Sun, whom they emblematically worshipped, by those fiery Offerings; whence the first Day of _May_, peculiarly dedicated to this _Bel_, is even now in _Irish_, called _Lha-Bel-Thinih_, and probably from the same Source may be derived the Custom of lighting up Bonfires, and Sops, on the Eve of the 24th Day of _June_. St. _Patrick_ however, either not knowing or not minding this Ceremony, lighted up a Fire before his Booth, which altho’ eight Miles distant from _Tarah_, was very visible. It was seen with Astonishment from Court, and the _Druids_ informed the King, that if he did not immediately extinguish the Fire, he who kindled it, and his Successors, should for ever hold the Principality of _Ireland_; which hath hitherto turned out a true Prediction of those Heathen Priests, in a Primatial and Spiritual Principality.

The King dispatched Messengers to bring _Patrick_ before him, and gave his positive Orders, that nobody should presume to rise out of his Seat, or pay him the least Honour: But _Ere_, the Son of _Dego_, ventured to disobey this Command; he arose, and offered the Holy Father his Seat. St. _Patrick_ preached to him and converted him. He became a Person of eminent Sanctity, and after some Time was consecrated by St. _Patrick_, Bishop of _Slain_.

The Day following, when St. _Patrick_ and two of his Disciples appeared unexpectedly at Court, and preached to the King and his Nobles, _Dubtach_, the King’s Poet Laureat, payed Honour and Respect to the Saint, and was converted by his Preaching. _Fiech_, a young Poet, who was under the Tuition of _Dubtach_, was also converted, and afterwards made Bishop of _Sletty_, and is said to have been the Author of a celebrated Poem, composed in Praise of St. _Patrick_. _Anselm_, Arch-Bishop of _Canterbury_, relates the Conversion of _Tingar_, the Son of _Clito_, (one of the Nobles in this Assembly,) in the same Manner. The Queen also, and many others of the Court, became Christians; and altho’ the King held out for a long Time with great Obstinacy, yet at last he submitted to be baptized. St. _Patrick_ is said here to have wrought many Miracles: There could not truly, even according to the Purposes of human Wisdom, have happened a more solemn or weighty Occasion, for God Almighty’s supporting this Holy Preacher by Miracles, than when the collective Body of the whole Nation was assembled together; from whose Report and Conviction, the Influences of his blessed Works and Doctrine must of Course spread through the whole Kingdom.

His Conduct and Proceedings here, with a particular Detail of the Miracles wrought by him, may be had at large in the History of his Life, published by _John Colgan_.

From _Tarah_, the Saint proceeded next to _Talten_, not far from thence, at the Season of the Royal Diversions: Here he preached to _Cairbre_, and _Conall_, the two Brothers of King _Leogin_; the former received him with great Indignity, and perversely shut his Ears against his Doctrine; but _Conall_ believed, and was baptized, and gave St. _Patrick_ a Place to build a Church on.

This _Conall_ was Great-Grand-Father to _Columb-Kill_. He spent the Remainder of this Year in _Meath_ and _Louth_, and the Districts adjoining, preaching, and converting great Numbers of People. The _Taltenian_ Sports above-mentioned, have been much celebrated by the _Irish_ Historians, and Antiquaries. They were a kind of warlike Exercises, somewhat resembling the _Olympick_ Games, consisting of Racing, Tilts, Tournaments, Wrestling, Leaping, Vaulting, and all other manly and martial Exercises, which gave Rise to the many hyperbolical Tales, formerly related of those _Taltenian_ Sports. They were exhibited every Year at _Talten_, a Mountain in _Meath_, for fifteen Days before, and fifteen Days after the First of _August_. Their first Institution is ascribed to _Lughaid-lam-fadha_, the twelfth King of _Ireland_, who began his Reign _A. M._ 2764 (a sufficient Proof of _Ireland_’s Antiquity as a Kingdom). They were ordained by _Lughaid_, in Gratitude to the Memory of _Tailte_, the Daughter of _Magh-More_, (a Prince of some Part of _Spain_) who having been married to _Eochaid_, King of _Ireland_, took the same _Lughaid_ under her Protection, and had the Care of his Education in his Minority. From this Princess both the Sports, and the Place where they were celebrated, took their Names: From _Lughaid_, the First of _August_ was called _Lugnasa_, or the Memory of _Lughaid_, _Nasa_ signifying Memory, in the _Irish_ Language.

In the Year of the World 2700, _Gideon_ then reigning fourth Judge of the _Hebrews_, appear’d many Heroes, as _Hercules_, _Orpheus_, _Castor_, _Pollux_, the _Argonauts_, _Jason_, _Laomedon_, _Thesæus_, _Dedalus_, &c. The _Amazones_, Heroines of _Scythic_ Extraction, having lost their Husbands in Battle, took up Arms themselves, with a manly Spirit of Resentment, and (inspired with Love of their deceased Husbands, and Grief for so great and irretrievable a Loss!) subdued _Asia_, and built _Ephesus_. _Hercules_ and _Thesæus_ waged War against those Heroines, and defeated them, more to the Glory of the Vanquished than their own, those Matrons having defended themselves with surprizing Resolution. They cut off the Guards set over them, and escaped the Severity and Pride of their Conquerors. _Hercules_, in Honour of such extraordinary heroick Females, instituted the _Olympick_ Games; as likewise did _Thesæus_, the _Isthmian_, in the Year of the World, about 2700, the _Taltenian_ Sports, the very same with the _Olympick_, brought sixty-four Years after from _Spain_ into _Ireland_, by _Tailte_, and her Followers. Now this _Tailte_, Queen of _Ireland_, was the Grand-daughter of an _Amazone_ Princess, those immortal Females having, with their Progeny, Friends and Followers, to avoid the ruinous Hostilities of _Hercules_ and _Thesæus_, sought Shelter in _Spain_, whither they imported the Learning of _Trismegistus_, the Grandson of _Mercury_, and Glory of _Ægypt_, together with all the literary Arts derived into _Greece_, from _Phœnicia_, by _Cadmus_, the Brother of _Europa_, about the Year of the World 2530, _Othoniel_ then reigning the first Judge of the _Hebrews_. The Posterity of this ancient and illustrious Colony, about the Year of the World 3000, (_Solomon_ then reigning with great Splendour, third King of the _Hebrews_) settled in this Kingdom, as before observed: So that, by an impartial Estimate of Dates, Periods, and Facts, our Origin is well ascertained, our early Possession of Letters, wise Policy, and the politer Arts, proved, and the Remark of an _Italian_ Monk in the 7th Century, from the University of _Mongret_, in an Epistle to his Correspondent at _Rome_, justified, _Nil mirum Populum hunc Celtico Scythicum è præclarâ Amazonidum stirpê oriundum, verâ Religionê et __ incorruptâ Fide illuminatum, sapientia Doctrina optimisque Morbidus ornatum, viros fortes et Fæminas castas plerumque procreare_. A Rescript of this Original Epistle still extant, in the _Vatican_ Library, some Years ago in the Hands of Father Don _Levy_, may therefore, I believe, be found in the College of _Lombard_ at _Paris_.

In this shining Period were Cathedrals and Churches erected, Universities founded and established, Colleges, Seminaries and Schools propagated in many Parts of this Kingdom, which, at the same Time, became a peaceful and hospitable Retreat to religious and learned Men, disturbed on the Continent of _Europe_, by the frequent Invasions, and cruel Hostilities of the North-men, whose Piracies and Barbarity, even _Ireland_ could not always escape! For, from the Time of _Artigrius_, Archbishop of _Ardmagh_ in 822, for near 200 Years the cruel _Danes_ miserably ravaged this Kingdom, destroying, by Fire and Sword, every Establishment, as well of Piety as Learning, (to both which, and to all religious Maxims of civilized Society, they had been avowed implacable Enemies) till they were themselves, in 1014, totally defeated at _Clontarf_, by the invincible Arms of the Great Monarch, _Bryan Borou_, from whom descended a Race conspicuous for exemplary Prelates, heroick Leaders, and steady Patriots.

The learned Author of the _Dissertations_ before-mentioned, charges this Hero with a Violation of the Constitution of his Country: Yet the Violation seems of far earlier Date, when the supreme Monarchy was, by the _Hugonian_ Law, inalienably united to one Family, whose Sovereignty, however founded originally, whether by Birth, or Election, was essential to the public Welfare: For we must allow that the Preservation of the People is the principal Law to which all others are subordinate. _Salus Populi suprema Lex_; and equally, that not only the Necessities, but the Safety also of the People, at that Time of Danger and Distraction, eagerly called forth the Conduct and Valour, the protective and restorative Abilities of that great and virtuous Man, of whom a faithful Historian, in his Detail of the Battle of _Clontarf_, says; _Integrâ prius adept a Victoriâ rebus humanis eodem Diê excessit vir Bellô ac Pacê summus, Justitiæ, Religionis, Literarum, Cultor eximius, et cum Carolo Magno utique comparandus_.

In the 239th Page of the _Dissertations_, the excellent Author expresseth himself as follows:

“I now proceed to give some Account of the second Royal House of _Scots_, the oldest of the _Milesian_ Race, and the Posterity of _Eber_.” This Race then being avowed the oldest, in Respect of Primogeniture, must, of Course, have been prior in Point of Dignity and Sway, or at least, equally entitled to the Election of the People to such Ranks; were not those by violent Measures annexed to the _Heremonian_ Line: Yet, however this might have been, certain it is, that no Houses that we read of, ancient or modern, have produced a greater Number of truly heroick Princes, or of longer Continuance, than those of the North and South _Hy-Nial_; from whom also issued many noble Families of real Worth, and equal Renown. With _Bryan_, the happy Genius of _Ireland_, in a great Measure, expired: For the cruel _Danes_ had, for near 200 Years before, so wofully overturned the Universities of _Ardmagh_, _Dondaleith-Glass_, _Mongret_, and _Lismore_, with all other Seminaries of Piety and Learning, (the only genuine Sources of national Greatness, Concord, good Discipline, and Happiness) had obliged, in the 8th Century, so many learned Men to seek that Shelter and Security on the Continent, which the barbarous Hostilities, and impious Manners of those Northerns, denied them at Home; had made such frequent lamentable Breaches in the antient, wise Constitution of the Kingdom; had, by the fatal Example of their profligate dissolute Lives, so vitiated the national Morality; and finally, had left behind them so many noxious Seeds of Faction and Anarchy, as, in less than two Centuries, gave up a Kingdom, of above 2000 Years Establishment, the unaccountable Prey of a few adventurous _Normans_!

_Patrick_ governed the See of _Dublin_ about ten Years, and, in a Voyage to _England_, perished by Shipwreck, in the _British_ Sea, on the 16th of _October_, 1084; having been sent to _Lanfranc_, Archbishop of _Canterbury_, by King _Tirdelvac_.

_Donat_, or _Dongus O’Haingly_, having spent some Time in the Study of useful Learning in _Ireland_, went over into _England_, and became a Benedictine Monk at _Canterbury_. He was afterwards, (by the Consent of King _Tirdelvac_, and the Clergy of _Dublin_) consecrated, _A. D._ 1085, in the Cathedral of _Canterbury_, by the before-mentioned _Lanfranc_, to whom he made the following Profession of Obedience:

“I, _Donat_, Bishop of the See of _Dublin_ in _Ireland_, do promise Canonical Obedience to you, _O’ Lanfranc_, Archbishop of the holy Church of _Canterbury_, and to your Successors.”

It is evident that the Title of the Kings of _England_ to this Kingdom, by Papal Donation, or Appointment, was very insufficient, if not absolutely trifling: Nor could a Right of Conquest be urged in any Period of the Reign of _Henry_ the Second, or his Descendants. But the Great and Royal Families of _Ireland_, long the Prey of Faction, deliberately preferred a limitted and stipulated Submission to foreign Authority, to the various Evils arising from intestine Feuds and Animosities; and this, had the wise Conditions thereof been constantly attended to, with mutual Observance, had been a sound Title, well and judiciously founded.

True it is, that after the Surrender of the Crown by King _John_ to the See of _Rome_, the Pope exerted some temporal Authority in this Kingdom, instanced in his having created _Mc. Con More Mc. Namaras_(2) Duke of _Klan Cullane_, a Man of great Valour and Piety, supported by ample Possessions in the Baronies of _Tulla_ and _Bunratty_, in the County of _Clare_; which extensive Districts entirely belonged to that ancient, hospitable, martial, and religious Race, of which _Mc. Con More_ was Chief: The _Mc. Namaras_, more or less, have in all Ages made, and still continue to make, a distinguished Figure, as well in the Field, as in the learned Professions; and were formerly so warlike a People, that of themselves they formed an heroic Cavalry, justly stiled the _Phalanx_ of that Part of _Ireland_ wherein they resided.

How our Neighbours came to call us _waild Ayrish_, I am a Loss to conjecture; it being evident we have been a thousand Years, at least, in Possession of Letters, Laws, and Civility, before the Arrival of _Julius Cæsar_ in _Britain_.

I am equally at a Loss to know why a Man should become a standing Jest for his Ignorance in an alien Tongue, almost the constant Fate of our Countrymen in _Britain_, where, whoever is not smartly expert in the _English_ Language, is immediately denominated a _Teague_, a _Paddy_, or I know not what, in the Stile of Derision: At the same Time that the most awkward-tongued _Irishman_ in _London_ speaks _English_ with far more Propriety, and a better Accent, than the smartest _British Petit Maitre_ in _Paris_ doth _French_.

Some dramatick Scriblers, (probably of our own degenerate Growth) the better to qualify them for eleemosinary Dinners, gave Rise to this impertinent Treatment of a Nation, which, from the concurrent Testimonies of all the Dispassionate and Learned, can, in Reality, be as little the Object of Scurrility, as any other.

Why should even poor _Teague_ prove so constant a Butt, to Farce-wrights, and Hackney Laughers; when, upon Examination, he is, by a thousand Degrees, preferable to the _British_ Hobbinol, or _French_ Gregoire? For _Teague_ is a very Pattern of Hospitality; so much so, that if a Gentleman should happen to miss his Road, and be nessitated to seek the Shelter of _Teague_’s Cabbin, or Hut, was poor _Teague_ trusting to two Sheep for his worldly Subsistance, he would kill one, and sell the other, at the next Village or Inn, for the better Entertainment of his Guest, and think himself happy in such an Occasion of approving his Generosity and Respect: He would the next Morning abandon his Spade, and chearfully trot ten Miles to shew such bewilder’d Gentleman the right Road. He is naturally civil, generous, and hospitable, (for scarce a Night passeth that poor Travellers are not entertained in his Cottage,) extremely respectful to his Superiors, and to his Lord and Master faithful to Death. The military Annals of _Europe_ proclaim his Capacity and Taste for Fighting; then if you should take this identical _Teague_’s infant Son, and give him a regular liberal Education, it is one hundred to one, but he turns out a Gentleman of Merit, Learning, Worth, and Politeness; whereas it would certainly require more than _Herculean_ Labour to chissel a _French Paisan_, a primitive _Westmoreland_, or _Devonshire_ Boor, not only into the Form of an elegant, but even into that of a sociable Creature.

The Insignificancy of those Jesters and Spatterers, will more clearly appear, if we look back to the wise, free, and truly parliamentary Constitution of this Kingdom; if we recollect the vast Length of its Duration, as a free and independant State; the military Prowess of its Inhabitants in all Ages; their victorious Conflicts with the _Romans_, and with the _French_ under _Henry_ the Vth, and the Black _Prince_; their having founded a Monarchy in _North Britain_, whence, by a Right of Descent, in Addition to every other, his present Majesty, (whom God long preserve,) by the special Providence and infinite Mercy of Heaven, ruleth over us: If we consider the Number of our Universities, Colleges, and Academies, religious Monasteries and pious Seminaries, resorted to from all civilized Parts of _Europe_, our Metropolitical and Diocesan Cathedrals; on such impartial Review, surely, the foregoing Tribe of Sneerers and Flouters must dwindle into deserved Contempt.

I shall close this feeble Attempt on the antient State of _Ireland_, with the Description thereof by _Donat_, Bishop of _Fesulæ_, near _Florence_, in the 7th or 8th Century; referring, at the same Time, to the most authentick _British_ Antiquaries, _Campden_, _Giraldus Cambrensis_, _Buchanan_, _Ware_, &c. for Confirmation of what hath been previously observed on the same Subject.

_Finibus Occiduis describitur optima Tellus,_ _Nomine et Antiquis __SCOTIA__ scripta Libris——_ _Insula dives Opum, Gemmarum, Vestis et Auri,_ _Commoda Corporibus, Aere sole Solo;_ _Melle fluit pulchris et lacteis __SCOTIA__ Campis_ _Vestibus atque Armis, frugibus, arte viris._ _Ursorum Rabies, nulla est ibi; sæva Leonum_ _Semina, nec unquam __SCOTICA__ Terra tulit_ _Nulla Venena nocent, nec Serpens serpit in Herbâ,_ _Nec conquesta canit Garula Rana Lacu;_ _In qua __SCOTORUM__ Gentes habitare merentur_ _Inclita Gens Hominum Milite, Pace, Fide._

Thus Englished by the Ingenius and Reverend Mr. _Dunkin_:

“Far Westward, lies an Isle of antient Fame, By Nature bless’d, and SCOTIA is her Name; Enroll’d in Books: Exhaustless is her Store Of veiny Silver, and of Golden Ore: Her fruitful Soil for ever teams with Wealth, With Gems her Waters, and her Air with Health: Her verdant Fields with Milk and Honey flow; Her woolly Fleeces vie with Virgin Snow: Her waving Furrows float with bearded Corn, And Arms and Arts her envy’d Sons adorn. No savage Bear, with lawless Fury, roves; No rav’nous Lion, thro’ her peaceful Groves; No Poison there infects; no scaly Snake Creeps thro’ the Grass, nor Frog annoys the Lake: An Island worthy of its pious Race, In War triumphant, and unmatch’d in Peace.”

This _Donat_, Bishop of _Fesula_, was an _Irishman_, of the antient and hospitable Family, afterwards _O Hogan_; a Family which held ample and fair Possessions in the Province of _Munster_, and which, in former Times, adorned the See of _Killaloe_, with four very learned and exemplary Prelates; namely, with _Matthew O Hogan_, who succeeded to this Bishoprick, in the Reign of _Henry_ the IIId, and in the Year of our Lord 1267; and who, having much enlarged his Diocese, and done many signal Acts of popular Charity, died in the Year, 1281, and was buried in _Limerick_, in a Convent of _Dominican_ Friars. To this Bishop succeeded _Maurice O Hogan_, who governed this See with peculiar Zeal and Charity, upwards of sixteen Years, and died in 1298, or the Year following, and was buried in his own Church. _Thomas O Hogan_, Canon of _Killaloe_, was consecrated in 1343, and died on the 30th of _October_, 1354; five Days after which, he was buried among his worthy Ancestors at _Nenagh_; as may be seen in the Annals of that Place.

_Richard O Hogan_ succeeded to the See of _Killaloe_, in 1525, and was in 1539 translated to _Clon Mac Nois_: He was a Prelate of great Learning and Capacity, in all spiritual and ecclesiastical Matters.

This antient Family is, at this Time, represented by _Edmund O Hogan_, Esq; High Sheriff of the County of _Clare_, a Gentleman, who, by the whole Tenor of his Life, hath proved Generosity of Heart, Charity, and Hospitality, to be Qualities inherent.

_Dermod Mac Murchad_, sovereign Prince of _Hy-Kinsellagh_, banished by _Roderick O Connor_, King of _Ireland_, for his various and high State Crimes, sought Sanctuary and Redress in the Court of _England_; where, in the Absence of _Henry_, then in _Normandy_, diverse adventurous _Normans_, _Flemings_, _Saxons_, and old _Britons_, (being themselves unsettled, and unestablished) acceded to the Fate and Fortunes of _Dermod_, under the Conduct of _Strongbow_, Earl of _Pembroke_; whose casual Success in _Ireland_, against _Roderick_ (owing _more_ to the general Defection, at that fatal Period, of the _Irish_ Chiefs against their lawful Sovereign, than to any _superior Valour_ or Address of those Adventurers) induced _Henry_ to a deliberate and grand Invasion of a Kingdom, to which he could lay no Claim on the Score of Nature, Reason, or Right, and whither his pretended Mission, on the Score of collecting St. _Peter_’s Dues, (which St. _Peter_ himself never once thought of, or imagined) was as _ridiculous_ as _groundless_. The _Summa Dies_, however, arrived: and the People of _Ireland_, wearied out with intestine Strife, acknowledged _Henry_ for their Sovereign Lord; and a grand Charter of Rights and Covenants, mutual Protection and Allegiance, was entered into, anteriorly to that of _England_. How well this Charter was _observed_ on the _protective_ Side, the absolute Anarchy of near four Centuries, from its original Date and Perfection, to the Reign of Queen _Elizabeth_, demonstrates: A whole Nation, that sought Protection, and that _agreed_ for quiet, regular, and lawful Government, upon rationable Terms, deprived of the Power of ordaining Laws for its own Security and Well-being, and precluded (all to four or five great and favourite Families) from the Benefits and Advantages accruing from those of that Kingdom, to which it had voluntarily united itself; exposed, through such a Length of Time, to arbitary Depredations, and unpunished, unredressed, uncensured Rapine, _Quis talia sando temperet a Lachrymis_!

King _Henry_ called back into _England_, to lay the Storms raised by his rebellious Sons, with whom and _Thomas Becket_, Archbishop of _Canterbury_, he was so constantly embroiled to the End of his Life, that he could little attend to the Settlement of the Affairs of this new acquired Sovereignty.

_Richard_ the First, his immediate Successor, called away to the Holy Wars against the _Saracens_, had as little Leisure as his Predecessor to promote the Quiet, or Happiness of _Ireland_.

From the usurped Authority of King _John_, a continued Series of Papal Animosity, Bloodshed, Calamities and Piracies, closed at last by Poison; little beside political Disasters of all Sorts, could be expected.

_Henry_ the Third, through a Reign of Fifty-six Years, was continually involved in Troubles and Hostilities, with his inflexible _English_ Barons.

_Edward_ the First, a great and warlike Prince, was, throughout his whole Reign, engaged in the Reduction of the _Welch_ and _Scots_, and so intent thereon, that he could turn his Thoughts to no other Object.

_Edward_ the Second, indeed, sent _Gaveston_ hither, more to screen him from the implacable Resentments of the stubborn _English_ Nobility, than to render any good Offices to the Inhabitants of this Country; who, indiscriminately, (_Strongbownians_ as well as _Irish_) felt the Severity of that insolent Favourite’s Measures.

_Richard_ the Second visited this Kingdom in Person, with the good Intentions of establishing Peace, Order, and Harmony, in a valuable but long neglected Estate: Yet his own adverse Fate, conspiring with that of this Land, called him back, before he could carry his favourable Resolutions into Execution, to defend his _English_ Dominions from the hostile Attacks of _Henry_, Earl of _Hereford_, who, with the Duke of _Norfolk_, Son to _John_ of _Gaunt_, had some Years before been banished by _Richard_, to prevent a personal Combat: This King, worthy more propitious Stars, long agitated and afflicted by the Turbulence and irreconcilable Obstinacy of his _British_ Subjects, perished at last under the impious Hands of Sir _Pierce_ of _Exton_, who, at the Head of eight barbarous armed Assassins, rushed into his Chamber, and murdered him.

The Reign of _Henry_ the Fourth was short, tumultuous, and bloody; Deluges of noble Blood having been shed by the bare Hands of the common Executioner, to confirm a Throne acquired by abominable Crimes, and Violence! And no sooner had these dreadful Storms begun to abate, than _Henry_ was forced to depart from a Scene he had more adorned, (for he was, without Question, a great and valiant Man) had not his Ambition blindly hurried him beyond the Bounds of Justice and Nature.

_Henry_ the Fifth, his Son and Successor, and truly Inheritor of his Ambition and warlike Genius, imagining himself aggrieved by the _Salique Law_, which excluded his Great Great-Grandmother, _Isabel_, from the Monarchy of _France_, turned his elevated Thoughts intirely to the Conquest of that Kingdom: Wherein, by his own vast Merit in martial Affairs, and the Co-operation of the Queen of _France_, (Consort of _Charles_ the Sixth, then frantick,) and that of the Duke of _Burgundy_, a great and powerful Prince, he so far succeeded, as, after his Marriage with _Catharine de Valois_, Daughter of _Charles_ the Sixth, to be crowned, and acknowledged King of _France_.

To this great and victorious Monarch succeeded _Henry_ the Sixth, who, through a long, various, and constantly clouded Reign, seemed the very Play of Fortune! This Day a King, the next a Prisoner! One Day acknowleged by his Parliament, the next attainted! One Day a Conqueror, and the next a Captive!

Fierce, frequent, and bloody, were the Conflicts between the Houses of _York_ and _Lancaster_, the _White_ and _Red Roses_; the former endeavouring to recover its Loss, the latter to maintain its usurped Authority. In this dreadful Quarrel perished two hundred thousand of private Soldiers; ten thousand of the Nobility, Gentry, and Persons of Distinction; three Kings; and, at last, the entire Race of _Plantagenet_.

_Edward_ the Fourth soon fell, by his natural Intemperance, or rather by the insatiable Cruelty of _Gloucester_; who had already sacrificed his Brother _Clarence_, to pave his Way to the Throne. Nor better fared it with _Edward_ the Fifth, who, by all the Arts of Seduction and Delusion, which his unnatural Uncle and Guardian, _Richard_, practised on the Fears and Weakness of the Queen Dowager; was, with his Brother the Duke of _York_, conveyed with great Pomp to the Tower; where the bloody Tyrant, aided by the Duke of _Buckingham_, soon sacrificed those young, innocent and hopeful Princes to his wicked and boundless Ambition. But he soon after lost his own flagitious Life, and a most cruelly-acquired Crown, on the Plains of _Bosworth_.

To him succeeded _Henry_ the Seventh, and the first of the Race of _Tudor_, a great, wise and valiant Prince, but rather too much inclined to Rigour, and Avarice; Imperfections which extremely blemished his other great Qualities.

In the tenth Year of this Reign, the Parliamentary Constitution of _Ireland_ received a deeper Stab than had ever before, or since, been inflicted thereon, by a Statute Law, commonly called _Poynin_’s Act; by which a new, and, till that wretched Period, an unheard of Order, was added to the three established Ranks of the State. By this Law, the _English_ Privy-Council may impose a _Negative_ on the _free_ and _unanimous_ Parliamentary Ordinances of the representative Body of the Kingdom of _Ireland_; a manifest Injury to the Authority and Dignity of Parliament; and an equal Diminution of the Royal Prerogative, that only should include, and should alone exert, a Power so important.

In Times dark, tumultuated and dangerous, no Wonder extraordinary Laws should pass: _Desperate Diseases_ require _desperate Remedies_: But when the _Fever_ is removed, it certainly is a horrid Management to leave the blistering Plaister _still sticking_ to the _recovered_ Patient’s Back.

The Distempers of this Nation were heavy, complicated and chronic; and finally curable, only by the salutary all-healing Hands of our present King, and present Parliament.