Chapter IX (2)

[Sidenote: But the Cardinal has perhaps been misrepresented.]

Such is the received story. Yet Wolsey, who is represented as thirsting for Kildare's blood, was not even disposed to remove him from the viceroyalty. This forbearance arose from no love for the troublesome Earl, but it was thought that if he were detained in England and treated with some show of favour, his Irish adherents would be afraid to move. In case the King should nevertheless resolve to remove Kildare, then Wolsey advised that Sir Piers should again be made Deputy, the real government being in the hands of his son. Henry, however, thought that James Butler was too young for so great a charge, and that the noblemen of Ireland would disdain to be led by one who was junior to them all.[108]

[Sidenote: The Earldom of Ormonde.]

While Kildare's fortunes were thus clouded, his rival was at Court looking after his own interests. The Earldom of Ormonde, to which he was the true heir male, had been conferred, together with that of Wiltshire, on Sir Thomas Boleyn, grandson, through his mother, of the late Earl. Sir Piers, who was too prudent to oppose the father of Anne and Mary Boleyn, and who perhaps thought one earldom nearly as good as another, was content to accept the title of Ossory. Five years before, Henry had thought to reconcile the rival claimants by marrying James Butler to Anne Boleyn, but the negotiation had come to nothing, and the King now destined the lady for himself.[109]

[Sidenote: Sir Piers Butler is created Earl of Ossory.]

The new creation was made at Windsor with great pomp. Arriving late in the evening from London, Sir Piers, who was in delicate health, lay at his own lodgings in the town, as being warmer and more comfortable than the rooms of the Lord Chamberlain, with whom he breakfasted next morning. We are particularly told that good fires were lit after mass. The Marquis of Exeter and the Earl of Oxford led the new peer into the presence chamber, the Earl of Rutland bearing the sword. The grandees dined together at the King's expense after the investiture, and then, having changed his dress, the Earl was again conducted into the royal presence by the Marquis of Exeter. Having taken leave of Henry and of the Queen and Princess, and having duly feed the waiters, Ossory returned to London, where he paid a parting visit to Wolsey, and then returned into his own country.[110]

[Sidenote: The Vice-Deputy Delvin is captured by the O'Connors, 1528.]

Leaving Kildare in the Tower, we must now go back to Ireland, where Richard Nugent, seventh Baron of Delvin, had been acting as Vice-Deputy, Sir James Fitzgerald, whom Kildare had left in charge, having been superseded by the Irish Council. When Archbishop Inge and Chief Justice Bermingham heard of Kildare's imprisonment, they wrote to Wolsey regretting the Earl's absence, and expressing their doubts as to whether he was guilty of any such practices as were charged against him. They considered Delvin incompetent, for he had no great fortune of his own to eke out the scanty revenue of Ireland. The people were more heavily taxed than ever, and they were not defended; for the armed bands which were always at Kildare's beck and call would serve no one else. As the Pale was desolated by the absence of one Earl, so were Tipperary and Kilkenny by the absence of another; and the worst was to be feared unless they both speedily returned. These gloomy forebodings were soon fulfilled; for Delvin, against the advice of the Council, withheld the black-rent which O'Connor, Kildare's son-in-law, had been used to receive from Meath. The aggrieved chief surprised the Vice-Deputy on the march, killed most of his men, and took him prisoner. Lord Butler, who was present, had prudently provided himself with a safe-conduct; he lodged that night with the victorious O'Connor, and was allowed to have an interview with his distinguished prisoner. The chief and his brothers were present, and the two noblemen were not allowed to speak English nor to confer in private. Speaking in Irish, O'Connor insisted on having his black-rent again, or being paid a ransom for the Vice-Deputy, and on receiving a distinct promise that the men of the Pale should not avenge his overthrow. But Butler's diplomacy was not yet exhausted. By the advice of a Mr. White, who was among O'Connor's guests, he sought a private interview with Cahir, the chief's brother, who of course had a party of his own among the clansmen. Cahir readily agreed to escort Lord Butler out of his brother's country, and was afterwards persuaded to visit Lord Ossory at Kilkenny. He professed loyalty and was ready to prove it by his actions, if only he could be sure that Kildare would not sooner or later return and have his revenge--that was his only fear.[111]

[Sidenote: The Geraldines still in the ascendant.]

While his son was thus by policy undermining the Irish enemies of his house, Ossory was busy looking about for Irish allies. Hard pressed by the Desmonds and O'Briens, he wished to avoid a rupture with the O'Connors, and tried the efficacy of smooth speeches. As the price of an alliance against this possible foe O'Carroll demanded 40_l._, besides anything that the King or Deputy might give. O'More claimed the help of the Butlers against Kildare, and a money reward also. MacGilpatrick stipulated that Ossory should release him from debts amounting to 400 marks. The Earl agreed to these terms; but his immediate object was not attained, for Delvin remained a prisoner until early in the following year. In the meanwhile Sir Thomas Fitzgerald, Kildare's brother, acted as Deputy, and the Geraldine policy was practically successful.[112]

[Sidenote: Kildare is accused by Cowley and others, 1528.]

The late Lord-Lieutenant, now Duke of Norfolk, attributed all the woes of Ireland to the quarrel between Butlers and Geraldines, and he was on the whole in favour of maintaining the latter faction in power. Ossory and his son were loyal enough, but they could scarcely hold their own against the Desmonds and O'Briens, and could do nothing in the Pale, where they had no natural authority and where public opinion was against them. They would be entirely dependent on their own followers, who would eat more than their services were worth. On the other hand, Robert Cowley, Ossory's faithful agent, was always at hand to prevent Henry and Wolsey from yielding too completely to Norfolk's advice. It is said that on one occasion he complained of Kildare to the Council, and that he shed tears in the course of his speech 'for pity,' as he said, 'upon his father's son.' 'He is,' retorted the Earl, 'like the plover taken in setting his snares, and waiting for his desired purpose, his eyes being against the wind and the water dropping out. So many plovers as he taketh he knocketh their brains out with his thumb, notwithstanding his watery tears of contemplation. Even like doth Mr. Cowley with me; his tears cometh down; he layeth shrewd matters or articles to my charge.'[113]

[Sidenote: The Duke of Richmond Lord-Lieutenant, 1529. His Deputy, Sir William Skeffington.]

If this story be true we must assign it to the autumn of 1528, when Cowley was certainly in London. O'Connor had just invaded the Pale, and evidence afterwards came to light which connected Kildare with his son-in-law's proceedings. Early in August, Kildare's daughter Alice, the wife of Lord Slane, came to Ireland and went straight to O'Connor's house. Sir Gerald MacShane Fitzgerald afterwards swore before the Irish Council that Melour Faye had revealed to him a secret agreement between himself and Kildare, and that Lady Slane's arrival was the preconcerted signal that her father was detained in England. Ossory was at war with Desmond when O'Connor made his attack, but abandoned his expedition and hurried off to defend the Pale. He took occasion to remind Wolsey of the hereditary policy of the house of Kildare. By stirring up rebellion in Ireland when he was detained at Court the late Earl had made himself chief governor for life; his son had followed suit, and the Pale had practically transferred its allegiance from the King of England to the Earl of Kildare. Henry thought it prudent to give the Earl his liberty, but resolved to have a Viceroy who should hold Ireland for the Crown only. He made his son, the Duke of Richmond, Lord-Lieutenant, thereby giving the Emperor great offence, and assigned him as Deputy Sir William Skeffington, a Leicestershire man, who had been long in the public service. Meanwhile the sovereign had frowned. In the month following that in which Skeffington was appointed, Wolsey saw Henry at Grafton for the last time, and three weeks later he was indicted in the King's Bench. Kildare remained in London, for he was one of those who signed the famous letter to Clement VII., in which the English notables reproached the Pope for his partiality, and laid upon him the responsibility of a disputed succession, with all its terrors and troubles.[114]

[Sidenote: Skeffington's instructions.]

Skeffington had long served as Master of the Ordnance, whence the Irish, who may have been offended at the appointment of a commoner, gave him the name of 'the gunner.' He was accompanied by Edward Staples, a Lincolnshire man, whom the King had appointed Bishop of Meath, and brought with him 200 horse and a sum of money. He was instructed in the first place to reconcile, if possible, the conflicting interests of the Earls of Kildare, Ossory, and Desmond. He was not to make any serious attack on the wild Irish without the consent of the majority of the Council, especially when it would involve charging the country with the support of an army. The established custom of taking provisions for the ordinary movements of troops was, however, allowed. Skeffington was to hold a Parliament, but was to get all the money he could by way of subsidy before it met, and to pay the gross levy into the Vice-Treasurer's hands. Kildare's loyal promises were to be taken as sincere, and the Deputy was enjoined to help him in his enterprises as if they were undertaken in the King's name. The Earl might retain half the proceeds, provided the remainder were handed over to the Vice-Treasurer.[115]

[Sidenote: The O'Tooles chastised, 1530. Ulster invaded, 1531. Submission of O'Donnell.]

Kildare returned to Ireland some months after Skeffington's arrival, and his first exploit was to chastise the O'Tooles, with the help of 200 archers supplied by the city of Dublin. Next year Ulster was invaded. A treaty had already been concluded at Drogheda, by which O'Donnell promised the King allegiance, and bound himself to assist Skeffington against all his Majesty's enemies. He covenanted for O'Reilly, Maguire, and MacQuillin, as well as for himself, and Skeffington bound himself to give them such help and protection as was due to the King's subjects. In pursuance of this agreement Skeffington, accompanied by Kildare and Ossory, ravaged Tyrone on both sides of the Blackwater, from Clogher to Caledon, and penetrated to Monaghan, which was undefended. There O'Donnell and some malcontent O'Neills met them, but they did not venture to meet the tyrant of the North in the field, a measure of the weakness of government at that time.[116]

[Sidenote: Skeffington is overshadowed by Kildare.]

It clearly appeared that the Lord Deputy was in a false position as regards Kildare. When the Butlers were out on a foray, the Geraldines attacked their camp, killed the officer on guard, and carried off horses, arms, and provisions. It was even said that the Earl of Kildare displayed his banner openly, and led his men to the attack. With great difficulty and at Skeffington's earnest request, Ossory prevented his followers from retaliating, but he poured complaints into Cromwell's attentive ears. Kildare allowed his adherents to seize the titular Baron of Burntchurch in Kilkenny, while passing through Castledermot, on his way to attend Parliament. The Baron was a Fitzgerald, but on friendly terms with Ossory, who would have rescued him in spite of Kildare but for the Lord Deputy's express prohibition; as it was, the poor man lost his horse, money, and apparel without redress. 'This,' said Ossory, 'is a good encouragement to malefactors to commit spoils, having the advantage thereof without punishment or restitution.' It was not the first nor the last time in Ireland that the friends of law and order have been less safe than its enemies, and that the Government has hampered those whom it could not protect. Indeed, the Kilkenny borough members fared no better than their neighbours, for they were seized at the gate of Athy by Murtagh MacOwney, who wished that he had the King in the end of a handlock, and the Deputy in the other end, as surely as he had the worthy burgesses. In fact, Skeffington had scarcely any power. Kildare detained the hostages of the natives, in spite of direct orders to send them to Dublin, and thus let it be clearly seen that the King's representative was a mere instrument in his hands.[117]

[Sidenote: Kildare goes to England, 1532, and regains favour.]

It was commonly said in Ireland that all the parchment and wax in England would not bring the Earl of Kildare thither again; but this saying turned out not to be true. So well had the Earl managed his affairs, that he ventured across the Channel early in 1532, and, after a six months' residence at Court, returned with the legal as well as the real power of a Chief Governor. Sir John Rawson, Prior of Kilmainham, and Chief Justice Bermingham, supported Kildare's counter-charges against Ossory, and accused Skeffington of partiality in his favour. There was an attempt to show that Ossory's hostility arose from the fear that Kildare would support Wiltshire's claims upon the Ormonde estates. But Ossory maintained that he had long since compromised all claims against his property, that Kildare's advocacy of Wiltshire's pretensions was collusive and fraudulent, and that the King would be the real loser of the possession, if such castles as Arklow and Tullow were given to the too powerful Geraldine under colour of another man's sham title. Anne Boleyn's star was now at its zenith; her father was fond of money, and perhaps saw a chance of extorting it from opposite quarters. It is clear that any claim of his was likely at this time to be favourably regarded, and it may be in this way that the lately waning influence of Kildare was restored.

[Sidenote: Kildare again Deputy.]

Having secured the much-coveted patent, Kildare hastened to Dublin and relieved Skeffington, who, having arrears of business to transact, was allowed to dance attendance among other suitors in his successor's ante-chamber. On the very day of his arrival, the new Lord Deputy took the Great Seal from his enemy Archbishop Alen, and gave it to the Primate Cromer. As a sop to the opposite faction, Lord Butler was made Lord Treasurer by the King; but the Deputy was supreme in the Council, and those who were not his friends thought only of saving themselves from his anger. Thus relieved from all restraint, and perhaps thinking himself indispensable, as indeed he well might, the Earl turned upon his hereditary enemy. While his brother Sir John Fitzgerald was helping O'Neill to ravage Louth, the lawful guardian of the Pale devastated Kilkenny; his men were allowed to plunder the peaceable folk resorting to Castledermot Fair, and to murder a due proportion. He used the sword which the King had committed to him 'utterly to extinguish the fame and honour of any other noble man within that land ... shadowed with that authority, so that, whatever he did, it should not be repugned at.'[118]

[Sidenote: The O'Carrolls.]

There was at this time a fierce dispute as to who should succeed Mulrony O'Carroll, who among southern chiefs in his time 'destroyed most in regard to foreigners and improved most in regard to Gaedhill.' A brother would in the usual course have succeeded to these glories; but there was always a strong tendency to substitute the hereditary for the elective principle, and a claim was advanced on behalf of Mulrony's son Fergananim, to whom Kildare, choosing his time, had just given his daughter. Ossory of course espoused the cause of the brothers, but was defeated with the loss of several small pieces of cannon. On the same day the old chief died, and, as he favoured his son's pretensions, this was numbered among his victories. Having been a man of blood, and having lavished some of his plunder upon the clergy, he was rewarded after death with hyperbolical praises. 'He was,' the 'Four Masters' inform us, 'a protecting hero to all; the guiding firm helm of his tribe; a triumphant traverser of tribes; a jocund and majestic Munster champion; a precious stone; a carbuncle gem; the anvil of the solidity, and the golden pillar of the Elyans.' Fergananim was at first acknowledged as chief, but his uncle soon occupied Birr and other castles, and ravaged the country from thence. The Lord Deputy came in person before Birr, and received a bullet wound in the side. As he groaned with the pain, a kerne is reported to have encouraged him by saying that he himself had three bullets in him, and felt none the worse. 'I wish,' replied the Earl, 'you had this one along with the others.'[119] He was less fortunate than his follower, for the bullet, which came out of itself some months later, lamed him for life, and affected his speech. Birr Castle was, however, taken.[120]

[Sidenote: Parliament of 1533. Miserable state of the country.]

Kildare held a Parliament in Dublin in 1533, but we know nearly as little about it as about that held by Surrey. The most important law passed appears to have been one for the punishment of those who stole corn under colour of taking wages for harvest work in kind. This meeting of Parliament gave rise to a renewal of the old dispute about precedency between Armagh and Dublin. Alen could no longer rely upon the patronage of Wolsey, and it is certain that Kildare's influence would be exerted against him. But the Deputy had been making so many enemies, that the increased hostility of Alen would not count for much. A heavy reckoning had been scored up; and John Dethyke, or Derrick, a prebendary of St. Patrick, gave voice to the prevailing discontent. With bitter irony he assured Cromwell that the people were excellently disposed and full of abstinence. Their accustomed ceremony was to abstain from flesh on Wednesday, but their devotion had so much increased that they now abstained likewise on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. 'I trust to Jesu,' he continued. 'Ye shall hear that there shall be many saints among them; but they play the fox's part, shy of hens when he could not reach them.' All the butchers in Dublin had not as much meat between them as would make a mess of broth, and those who owned no cattle were driven to dry bread. Marauders entered the suburbs of Dublin, and one butcher had lost 220 beasts. No one could safely ride a mile out of town, and it was useless to complain; for the Deputy was visited with that distressing form of deafness which affects those who do not wish to hear. The poor butchers had accordingly shut up their shops, and taken to making leather breeches, as if it were perpetual Lent. And not only did the Viceroy do nothing, but he took the opportunity of removing the King's artillery from Dublin to his own castles. Meanwhile, the O'Byrnes actually entered Dublin Castle, and carried off prisoners and cattle, 'insomuch as nightly since great watch is in the city of Dublin, fearing that the same should be pilfered, prostrate, and destroyed, whereof they never dreaded so much.' Even Sir James Fitzgerald complained that his brother oppressed him cruelly for having done good service under Skeffington, and Norfolk's tenants in Carlow were in no better plight.[121]

[Sidenote: Charges accumulate against Kildare.]

The Council did not directly attack Kildare; but they sent over Sir John Alen, the Master of the Rolls, to enlighten Henry upon the true state of affairs. They directed Alen to report that English laws and customs were unknown except within twenty miles of Dublin, and that unless something were done they would soon be driven even from that contracted area. Various errors of policy, such as the practice of entrusting viceregal power to Irish lords and of giving away Crown lands, had so strengthened the Irishry and weakened the Pale, that the King would soon not have revenue enough to maintain a Deputy. Two archbishops, two bishops, four of the great regular ecclesiastics, two temporal peers, and three judges signed the document embodying these severe strictures, and they reminded Henry that unless he looked the better to it, Ireland might be used against him by any enterprising foreign enemy. Even more outspoken was a native of Ireland, closely associated with the Master of the Rolls, who declared that loyal subjects had been ill requited, and that people had come to look upon the viceroyalty as part of Kildare's inheritance. Everyone who opposed him suffered for it, and all his offences were passed over. 'Always after the malice of the Geraldines was resisted and the land staid, the King withdrew his aid from thence, putting the malefactors in his authority; whereas, if he had continued the same there, and suppressed the others, undoubtedly a marvellous profit and commodity should have issued thereby.... What subjects under any prince in the world would love, obey, or defend the right of that prince, which (notwithstanding their true hearts and service toward him) would afterwards put them under the governance of such as should daily practise to prosecute and destroy them for the same?' The question has often been asked in Ireland since then.[122]

[Sidenote: The Geraldines become intolerable.]

The confusion between the Earl of Kildare, in his own character, and in that of Lord Deputy, was not at all conducive to good government. Private opposition to the subject was easily represented as treason to the King in his representative's person, and was indeed likely enough to grow into it. It was believed that the recent murder of Ossory's son Thomas by Dermot Fitzpatrick was not altogether the work of Irishry. Kildare and his sons and brothers provoked attacks on every side. The moral effect of O'Byrne's raid had of course been disastrous, and no one felt himself safe. The principal remedies suggested were the appointment of a Deputy for a long term, Norfolk being preferred, and after him Skeffington, the abolition of Irish customs, and the education of young noblemen and chiefs' sons at the English Court. Local presidencies were also recommended, but the first thing was to get rid of Kildare. The Geraldines indeed did not conceal that their interests were not those of the Crown. 'Thou fool,' said Sir Gerald MacShane to the Earl's brother Thomas, who had some legal scruples, 'thou shalt be the more esteemed in Ireland to take part against the King; for what hadst thou been if thy father had not done so? What was he set by until he crowned a King here; took Garth, the King's captain, prisoner; hanged his son; resisted Poynings and all Deputies; killed them of Dublin upon Oxmantown Green; would suffer no man to rule here for the King, but himself? Then the King regarded him, made him Deputy and married thy mother to him; or else thou shouldst never have had foot of land, where now thou mayst dispend 400 marks by year, or above.'[123]

[Sidenote: Kildare is forced to go to England, 1534.]

As the result of Alen's efforts, Kildare was summoned to Court. The Earl doubtless felt that his chances would be small if once the Tower gates closed upon him, and he sent his wife over to get the order revoked, on the old ground that he could not be spared. Lady Kildare's diplomacy failed, and her husband was summoned a second time; but was allowed to appoint a Vice-Deputy. This may, or may not, have been a bait to induce him to go quietly, for nothing less than an army could have taken him by force. Skeffington had been working hard against his enemy, and was in constant communication with Cromwell, watching the port of Chester, so as to be in London as soon or sooner than the Earl. He reported that Lady Kildare's servants delayed the King's letters purposely, and that he was most anxious for the moment when he should at last be able to prove his charges against the Lord-Deputy.[124]

[Sidenote: His eldest son remains as Deputy.]

Kildare had now no choice but between obedience and open rebellion. Before embarking at Drogheda he delivered the sword to his eldest son in the presence of several members of Council. Thomas Lord Offaly, better known as Lord Thomas and Silken Thomas, was about twenty years old, and his father advised him to be guided in all things by his uncle, Sir James Fitzgerald; his cousin, Sir Thomas Eustace; his great-aunt, Lady Janet Eustace, and her husband and son, Walter and James Delahide. It is impossible to pronounce on the genuineness of the speech which the chronicler puts into Kildare's mouth, but the advice contained in it would have been well suited to the occasion. He told his son that his youth should be guided by age; his ignorance by experience. He was, he said, putting a naked sword into a young man's hand, and urged him to defer to the Council, 'for albeit in authority you rule them, yet in counsel they must rule you.'[125]

FOOTNOTES:

[76] See his patent of Nov. 8, 1510. Council of Ireland to the King, June 8, 1509, in _Brewer_; _Four Masters_; _Annals of Lough Cé_.

[77] _Earls of Kildare_, p. 69; Ware; _Four Masters_. Kildare died Sept. 3, 1513.

[78] See the grant in _Brewer_, Dec. 2, 1513, and again, March 24, 1516.

[79] Kildare to the King, Dec. 1, and Archbishop Rokeby to Wolsey, Dec. 12, 1515, both in _Brewer_.

[80] _Four Masters_, 1516.

[81] _Ibid._

[82] Kite to Wolsey, May 1 and June 7, 1514, R.O.; Lady Kildare's _Articles of Complaint_, 1515, R.O.; Ware's _Annals_.

[83] The tract by Finglas is in _Carew_, under 1515.

[84] For further details of Irish exactions see Ware's _Antiquities_, and _Presentments of Irish Grand Juries in the Sixteenth Century_, ed. Hore and Graves, p. 266, _sqq._ Articles by Sir William Darcy, June 24, 1515, in _Carew_.

[85] The paper printed by Leland, ii. 132, contains only Donogh O'Carroll's recollections. Surrey to Wolsey, September 6, 1520.

[86] The Lord-Lieutenant and Council to the King, August 25; Surrey to Wolsey, August 27; Surrey to the King, July 29, 1521.

[87] The Lord-Lieutenant and Council to the King, October 6; Surrey to Wolsey, November 3; Surrey to Wolsey, April 27, 1521.

[88] The King to Surrey, No. 12 of the printed State Papers; the King to an Irishman, No. 14 of the same; Instructions for Sir John Petchie, No. 18 of the same.

[89] Surrey to the King, July 31, 1521.

[90] Stile to Wolsey, July 30, 1571; Surrey to the King, July 29 and September 14; Ware.

[91] The King to Surrey, May 1520; Surrey to Wolsey, September 6 and 25; the King to Surrey, S.P. No. 12; Surrey to Wolsey, November 3; Surrey to the King, September 14, 1521.

[92] _Irish Statutes_, 13 Henry VIII.

[93] The Lord-Lieutenant and Council to the King, August 25, 1520. The King to Surrey, Nos. 12 and 19 in the printed S.P.

[94] Surrey to the King, September 16, 1521; to Pace, December 2. The latter letter was written in bed. Surrey to Wolsey, August 2 and November 3, 1520.

[95] The Council of Ireland to Wolsey, December 21 and February 28, 1522; Dowling's _Annals_, 1519; Sir John Davies' _Discovery_; the _Book of Howth_.

[96] _Four Masters_; _Annals of Lough Cé_, 1522. Stile to Wolsey, April 25, 1522.

[97] _Four Masters_, 1522; _Annals of Lough Cé_.

[98] Ware; Lady Kildare to Wolsey, May 25, 1523.

[99] Kildare to the King, May 24, 1523.

[100] Indentures between Kildare, Ormond (_sic_), the King's Commissioners, and others, July 28, 1524. The Commissioners were Sir A. Fitzherbert, Ralph Egerton, and James Denton, Dean of Lichfield. Kildare to the King, May 24, 1523.

[101] Indentures as above; Recognisances for the Marchers, July 12, 1524.

[102] Indentures between Kildare and the King, August 4, 1524. Recognisances for the Marchers, July 12, 1574. Ware.

[103] The King to Kildare, May 20, 1525; Articles on behalf of Kildare, No. 42 in printed _State Papers_; _Presentments of the County and City of Kilkenny_, 1537, ed. Hore and Graves; Sir Piers Butler to his son, April 22, 1524.

[104] Articles on behalf of Kildare, No. 42 in the printed _State Papers_; Dowling's _Annals_, 1522-1524; _Hibernia Dominicana_. Bishop Doran, 'eloquentissimus prædicator,' was killed in 1525.

[105] _Four Masters_, 1525 and 1526; Ware, 1526.

[106] Stanihurst; Lord James Butler to his father, Dec. 27, 1527, in _Brewer_; Ware; Russell.

[107] Stanihurst; Russell.

[108] Consideration by Vannes and Uvedale, No. 52 in the printed _State Papers_.

[109] See _Brewer_, introduction to vol. iv., p. 238, where there is a confusion between Sir Piers and his son.

[110] _Carew_, Feb. 22, 1528.

[111] Inge and Bermingham to Wolsey, Feb. 23, 1528; to Norfolk, May 15; the Council of Ireland to Wolsey, same date; Lord Butler to Inge, May 20.

[112] The Council of Ireland to Wolsey, May 15; Ossory to Inge, May 21; to the King, June 10.

[113] Cowley had been in the service of the late Earl of Kildare. _Book of Howth_.

[114] Instructions for the Lord Cardinal, No. 56 in the printed _State Papers_; Ossory to Wolsey, Oct. 14, 1528; Instructions by Charles V. to Gonzalo Fernandez in _Carew_, Feb. 24, 1530 (should be 1529). The letter to the Pope was July 30, 1530.

[115] Instructions to Skeffington, No. 57 in the printed _State Papers_. He landed near Dublin, August 2, 1529.

[116] Submission of O'Donnell, May 6, 1531. O'Donnell 'publice proposuit et fatebatur dominum suum fuisse et esse fidelem et ligeum subditum Domini Regis;' _Four Masters_, 1531. In his Instructions for Cromwell, Jan. 2, 1532, Ossory notes that his contingent was better than Kildare's, and that he bore the whole cost himself.

[117] Ossory to Cromwell, January 2, 1532.

[118] Report to Cromwell, No. 64 of the printed _State Papers_; Lodge's _Peerage_ by Archdall, art. 'Duke of Leinster.' Ware; Stanihurst.

[119] 'Cui quidam turbarius jocose dixerat, "Domine, cur gemis tam dire, cum ego semel habui iii bulletos in me, et vides, domine, quam sanus sum ad præsens?" Cui comes mite respondit (in agonia) quod hunc etiam bulletum vellet ipsum in se una cum cæteris habuisse.'--Dowling's _Annals_, wrongly placed at 1528.

[120] _Four Masters_, 1532. _Annals of Lough Cé._

[121] _Jus Primatiale Armachanum_, Part I. No. 361; Dethyke to Cromwell, Sept. 3, 1533; Report to Cromwell, No. 64 of the printed _State Papers_; Sir James Fitzgerald to the King, August 31.

[122] Report to Cromwell, printed _State Papers_, vol. ii. p. 174. Instructions to Sir John Alen, No. 63 in same.

[123] Report to Cromwell, quoted above.

[124] Skeffington to Cromwell, October 25 and November 4, 1533.

[125] Stanihurst.