Irish History
And
The Fighting Irish
And
The Fighting Irish
( The English Invasion )
It
was in 1171 that Henry the Second invaded Ireland.
Seventeen years earlier he projected an invasion. And from the newly elected English Pope, Nicholas Breakspeare
Adrian the Fourth, he had received an approving Bull. He had represented to Adrian that in Ireland morals had become corrupt, and religion almost extinct, and his purpose was to bring the barbarous nation of Irish within the fold of the faith and under church discipline. Pope Adrian replied to the King:
Adrian the Fourth, he had received an approving Bull. He had represented to Adrian that in Ireland morals had become corrupt, and religion almost extinct, and his purpose was to bring the barbarous nation of Irish within the fold of the faith and under church discipline. Pope Adrian replied to the King:
" Adrian, bishop and servant of the servants of God, to the most dear son in Christ, the illustrious King of England, greeting, health, and apostolical benediction.
Thy greatness, as is becoming a Catholic prince, is laudably and successfully employed in thought and intention, to propagate a glorious name upon earth, and lay up in heaven the rewards of a happy eternity, by extending the boundaries of the church, and making known to nations which are uninstructed, and still ignorant of the Christian faith, its truths and doctrine, by rooting up the seeds of vice from the land of the Lord and to perform this more efficaciously, thou seekest the counsel and protection of the Apostolical See, in which undertaking, the more exalted thy design will be, united with prudence, the more propitious, we trust, will be thy progress under a benign Providence, since a happy issue and end are always the result of what has been undertaken from an ardour of faith, and a love of religion.
It is not, indeed to be doubted, that the kingdom of Ireland, and every island upon which Christ the sun of justice hath shone, and which has received the principles of the Christian Faith, belong of right to St.Peter and to the holy Roman church ( which thy majesty likewise admits ) from whence we the more fully implant in them the seed of faith, that seed which is acceptable to God, and to which we, after a minute investigation, consider that a conformity should be required by us the more rigidly.
Thou dearest son in Christ, hast likewise signified to us that for the purpose of subjecting the people of Ireland to laws, and eradicating vice from among them, thou art desirous of entering that island; and also of paying for each house an annual tribute of one penny to St. Peter; and of preserving the privileges of its churches pure and undefiled.
We therefore, with approving and favourable views commend thy pious and laudable desire, and to aid thy undertaking we give to thy petition our grateful and willing conscent, that for the extending the bounderies of the church, and restraining the prevalence of vice, the improvement of morals, the implanting of virtue, and propagation of the Christian religion, thou enter that island, and pursue those things which shall tend to the honour of God and salvation of his people; and that they may receive thee with honour, and revere thee as their lord; the privilege of their churches continuing pure, and unrestrained and the annual tribute of one penny from each house remaining secure to St. Peter and the holy Roman Church. If thou therefore deem what thou has projected in mind possible to be completed, study to instil good morals into that people, and act so that thou thyself, and such persons as thou wilt judge , from their faith, words and actions, to be instrumental in advancing the honour of the Irish Church, propagate and promote religion and the faith of Christ, to advance thereby the honour og God, and salvation of souls, that thou mayest merit an everlasting reward of happiness hereafter, and establish on earth a name of glory, which shall last for ages to come. "
Thy greatness, as is becoming a Catholic prince, is laudably and successfully employed in thought and intention, to propagate a glorious name upon earth, and lay up in heaven the rewards of a happy eternity, by extending the boundaries of the church, and making known to nations which are uninstructed, and still ignorant of the Christian faith, its truths and doctrine, by rooting up the seeds of vice from the land of the Lord and to perform this more efficaciously, thou seekest the counsel and protection of the Apostolical See, in which undertaking, the more exalted thy design will be, united with prudence, the more propitious, we trust, will be thy progress under a benign Providence, since a happy issue and end are always the result of what has been undertaken from an ardour of faith, and a love of religion.
It is not, indeed to be doubted, that the kingdom of Ireland, and every island upon which Christ the sun of justice hath shone, and which has received the principles of the Christian Faith, belong of right to St.Peter and to the holy Roman church ( which thy majesty likewise admits ) from whence we the more fully implant in them the seed of faith, that seed which is acceptable to God, and to which we, after a minute investigation, consider that a conformity should be required by us the more rigidly.
Thou dearest son in Christ, hast likewise signified to us that for the purpose of subjecting the people of Ireland to laws, and eradicating vice from among them, thou art desirous of entering that island; and also of paying for each house an annual tribute of one penny to St. Peter; and of preserving the privileges of its churches pure and undefiled.
We therefore, with approving and favourable views commend thy pious and laudable desire, and to aid thy undertaking we give to thy petition our grateful and willing conscent, that for the extending the bounderies of the church, and restraining the prevalence of vice, the improvement of morals, the implanting of virtue, and propagation of the Christian religion, thou enter that island, and pursue those things which shall tend to the honour of God and salvation of his people; and that they may receive thee with honour, and revere thee as their lord; the privilege of their churches continuing pure, and unrestrained and the annual tribute of one penny from each house remaining secure to St. Peter and the holy Roman Church. If thou therefore deem what thou has projected in mind possible to be completed, study to instil good morals into that people, and act so that thou thyself, and such persons as thou wilt judge , from their faith, words and actions, to be instrumental in advancing the honour of the Irish Church, propagate and promote religion and the faith of Christ, to advance thereby the honour og God, and salvation of souls, that thou mayest merit an everlasting reward of happiness hereafter, and establish on earth a name of glory, which shall last for ages to come. "
But first the opposition of his mother, and then political complications, caused Henry to postpone his project. For centuries now, dispute unending has raged around the two questions whether Ireland had lapsed into irreligion as represented, and whether the Papal Bull was genuine. Undoubtedly the centuries of Danish terror had had a diastrous effect upon religion in the island - and the question arises how far had religious Ireland recovered itself in the century and a half since the Danish power was broken. Those whose duty it was to sustain Henry's claim paint a discouraging picture. But Irish defenders say their picture is ' purposely ' false.
In reply the y point to the wonderful work done during this period for the rehabilitation of religion, by the great primates Cellach, Malachi, and Gelasius; and also the holy St. Lawrence O' Toole; to the synods that were held; to the many beautiful churches and abbeys that were being erected; and to the number of Irish Kings, who resigning their thrones entered monasteries and devoted themselves to God. Many were the princes who went on pilgrimage then. Holy men devoted to the religious life were also flocking abroad to join the noted Irish communities in Germany, that were propagating the faith over Central Europe. That the standard of learning in schools was held high is evident from the fact that Primate Gelasius and twenty-six bishops at the Synod of Clonard a few years before the English invasion, decreed that only graduates of the University of Armagh ( which was directly under Gelasius ) should be appointed professors of theology in the schools of Ireland. A most convincing piece of evidence in point of the Irish still being a religious nation is the admission of Giraldus Cambrensis, tutor or secretary of Prince John, a man not only in the employ of the conquerors, but notoriously posessed of much anti-Irish prejudice, a man who travelled over a third of the Ireland and must have seen for himself the faith of Christ still remained strong in the hearts of the Irish people. He says:
In reply the y point to the wonderful work done during this period for the rehabilitation of religion, by the great primates Cellach, Malachi, and Gelasius; and also the holy St. Lawrence O' Toole; to the synods that were held; to the many beautiful churches and abbeys that were being erected; and to the number of Irish Kings, who resigning their thrones entered monasteries and devoted themselves to God. Many were the princes who went on pilgrimage then. Holy men devoted to the religious life were also flocking abroad to join the noted Irish communities in Germany, that were propagating the faith over Central Europe. That the standard of learning in schools was held high is evident from the fact that Primate Gelasius and twenty-six bishops at the Synod of Clonard a few years before the English invasion, decreed that only graduates of the University of Armagh ( which was directly under Gelasius ) should be appointed professors of theology in the schools of Ireland. A most convincing piece of evidence in point of the Irish still being a religious nation is the admission of Giraldus Cambrensis, tutor or secretary of Prince John, a man not only in the employ of the conquerors, but notoriously posessed of much anti-Irish prejudice, a man who travelled over a third of the Ireland and must have seen for himself the faith of Christ still remained strong in the hearts of the Irish people. He says:
" The clergy of that country are highly to be praised for their religion and among other virtues with which they are endowed, their chastity forms a peculiar feature. Those who are entrusted with the divine service do not leave the church but apply themselves wholly to the reciting of pasalms, prayers and readings. They are extremely temperate in their food, and never eat till towards evening when their Office is ended. "
When the clergy of a country draw from an invading enemy such remarkable testimony to their religious ardour, it is difficult to believe that the people from whom these clergy were drawn, wallowed in the mire of irreligion ( a while later, after the island had been wasted by wars, the British Stanihurst bears this testimony : " The majority of the Irish are very religious. Their priests are dignified, and by their wholesome adomination, the consciences of the people who are docile and respectful are very easily worked upon. " )
If we supposed Ireland to be irreligious then, strange indeed would be the choice of an Apostle in Henry, a man of vicious life, a supporter of anti-Popes, and reasonably suspected of, and all but excommunicated for instigating the murder of the holy Thoams a Becket.
On Dervorgilla, the wife of Tighernan O'Rourke, prince of Breffni is placed the indirect, and on Diarmuid MacMurrough, King of Leinster, the direct, odium of bringing the English to Ireland. Dervorgilla eloped with MacMurrough - when both were of ages not usual to the principles in such escapde, for she was over forty and he was over sixty at the time. The tradition is that Dervorgilla invited MacMurrough to carry her off, on occasion when her husband had gone on pilgimage to St. Patrick's Purgatory in Loch Dearg ( Tir-Conaill ) and MacMurrough quickly complied. Some however say that MacMurrough forced her off against her will, and that Dervorgilla screamed and cried in protest. It was in 1152 that this abduction took place. In the following year O'Rourke was able to move the Ard-Righ ( High King ) Roderick O'Connor of Connaught to go against MacMurrough, which he did, punishing his province, and bring away from his Dervorgilla ( she afterwards entered the Convent at Mellefont and devoted the remainder of a long life to the service of God )
Again 13 years later, when MacMurrough's nothern ally O'Loughlin of Tir-Eoghan died, the injured O'Rourke with Ard-Righ Roderick, the King of the Danes of Dublin, and many Leinster Chiefs who hated MacMurrough for his tyranny, went once more against MacMurrough, overcame and banished him. He fled oversea to Britain, and rested not until he reached Henry II of England who was then fighting in Aquitaine. This King he entreated to aid him in Ireland. The English King, who could then not comply, gave Diarmuid letters authorising any of Henry's subjects who so wished to go to Ireland to aid him. MacMurrough had these letters publicly read in the market place in Bristol. Richard de Clare the Norman Welsh Earl of Pembroke popularly known as Strongbow, a bold and daring warrior, but also a spendthrift, now nursing broken fortunes was interested in the prospect of repairing his fortunes in Ireland. MacMurrough tempted him with the offer of his beautiful daughter Aoife in marriage, and the heirship of the Leinster Kingdom. Strongbow, however, being then in disfavour with Henry, feared to go unless he had the express approval of the monarch.
But in the meantime he recommended that some of his close relatives should help MacMurrough, and de Clare's half-brothers, the knights Robert Fitz Stephen and Maurice Fitz Gerald, undertaking to go to his aid in the spring.
MacMurrough now quietly returned to Ireland and spent the winter in the Monastery of St. Madog at Ferns.
In May 1169, with a small but efficient body of 30 knights in full armour, 60 horsemen in half armour, and 300 archers, Fitz Stephen ( and his Uncle Herve de Mont Maurice ) landed at Bannow, Wexford - and another knight Maurice de Prendergast with about a company of about 300 men also landed. The main body of the common fighters were Flemings. On receiving the news of their landing, MacMurrough raised a body of 500 from among his Leinster subjects and joined them. Together they marched against the Danish city of Wexford, which after repulsing two assaults, capitulated to the strange army with its armoured horses and horsemen and its wonderfully skilled and disciplined soldiers. . . .
If we supposed Ireland to be irreligious then, strange indeed would be the choice of an Apostle in Henry, a man of vicious life, a supporter of anti-Popes, and reasonably suspected of, and all but excommunicated for instigating the murder of the holy Thoams a Becket.
On Dervorgilla, the wife of Tighernan O'Rourke, prince of Breffni is placed the indirect, and on Diarmuid MacMurrough, King of Leinster, the direct, odium of bringing the English to Ireland. Dervorgilla eloped with MacMurrough - when both were of ages not usual to the principles in such escapde, for she was over forty and he was over sixty at the time. The tradition is that Dervorgilla invited MacMurrough to carry her off, on occasion when her husband had gone on pilgimage to St. Patrick's Purgatory in Loch Dearg ( Tir-Conaill ) and MacMurrough quickly complied. Some however say that MacMurrough forced her off against her will, and that Dervorgilla screamed and cried in protest. It was in 1152 that this abduction took place. In the following year O'Rourke was able to move the Ard-Righ ( High King ) Roderick O'Connor of Connaught to go against MacMurrough, which he did, punishing his province, and bring away from his Dervorgilla ( she afterwards entered the Convent at Mellefont and devoted the remainder of a long life to the service of God )
Again 13 years later, when MacMurrough's nothern ally O'Loughlin of Tir-Eoghan died, the injured O'Rourke with Ard-Righ Roderick, the King of the Danes of Dublin, and many Leinster Chiefs who hated MacMurrough for his tyranny, went once more against MacMurrough, overcame and banished him. He fled oversea to Britain, and rested not until he reached Henry II of England who was then fighting in Aquitaine. This King he entreated to aid him in Ireland. The English King, who could then not comply, gave Diarmuid letters authorising any of Henry's subjects who so wished to go to Ireland to aid him. MacMurrough had these letters publicly read in the market place in Bristol. Richard de Clare the Norman Welsh Earl of Pembroke popularly known as Strongbow, a bold and daring warrior, but also a spendthrift, now nursing broken fortunes was interested in the prospect of repairing his fortunes in Ireland. MacMurrough tempted him with the offer of his beautiful daughter Aoife in marriage, and the heirship of the Leinster Kingdom. Strongbow, however, being then in disfavour with Henry, feared to go unless he had the express approval of the monarch.
But in the meantime he recommended that some of his close relatives should help MacMurrough, and de Clare's half-brothers, the knights Robert Fitz Stephen and Maurice Fitz Gerald, undertaking to go to his aid in the spring.
MacMurrough now quietly returned to Ireland and spent the winter in the Monastery of St. Madog at Ferns.
In May 1169, with a small but efficient body of 30 knights in full armour, 60 horsemen in half armour, and 300 archers, Fitz Stephen ( and his Uncle Herve de Mont Maurice ) landed at Bannow, Wexford - and another knight Maurice de Prendergast with about a company of about 300 men also landed. The main body of the common fighters were Flemings. On receiving the news of their landing, MacMurrough raised a body of 500 from among his Leinster subjects and joined them. Together they marched against the Danish city of Wexford, which after repulsing two assaults, capitulated to the strange army with its armoured horses and horsemen and its wonderfully skilled and disciplined soldiers. . . .
