EEATIFG'S 
 
 GENEEAL HISTOEY 
 
 OP 
 
 IRELAND. 
 
 Translated from tlie original Irish, with many enrious AmeDdmeiiis 
 taken from the Psalters of Tara and Cashel, (&c., 
 
 BY DEEMOD O'CONNOE, Esq. 
 
 BOSTON COLLEGE LiBRAKi 
 CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. 
 
 SJtIAK BOIROIHME, KING OF MUNSTKH, 
 
 DUBLIN: 
 :rAMES DUFFY, WELLINGTON QUAY, 
 
 AND 
 
 22, PATEHNOSTER HOW, LOI^DON. 
 
 BOSTON v^^mm tjbrakt 
 
 CEEBTI-iUT HiLL, MASS. 
 
Dubliu t Pi'Inted by Pattlsoa Jolly, 
 2-, Efe^^-x-iit. West. 
 
K^5 
 
 TO Tnri! 
 MOST NOBLE AND PUTSS VNT LORD, 
 
 WILLIAM O'BRYEN, 
 
 H-ir.L ^\JfD BAROX OF IXCIIIQUIN, AXD BARON' OF BaKREN, IS THE COU:^r<r 
 OF CLAKii, IX THE KINliDOM OF IBEI^VND. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 The following General History of Ireland humbly addresses your Loi*d- 
 sbip for protection ; a History deduced, with great ndelity, from the 
 most early accounts of time, and abounding with relations of the most 
 memorable events and heroic exploits of the ancient Irish, among whom 
 the royal ancestors of your Lordship have filled the throne of Ireland 
 for twenty-nine successions, (as appears from the subsequent genealogy 
 of your Lordship's most illustrious house,) and with signal bravery have 
 repelled the invasions of foreign enemies, and gave a fresh supply of 
 life and vigour to the cause of their expiring country. 
 
 Were the translation of this work proportionable to the dignity of it3 
 •subject, it might naturally hope for countenance from your Lordship, 
 whose noble and warlike progenitors shine with unrivalled lustre tlu'ough 
 many pages of tliis collection ; which I humbly request your Lordship 
 to look upon with an eye of favour, not only as it delivers down to pos- 
 terity an unexceptionable account of your Lordship's most noble family, 
 but as a most sacred refuge for the following history, from the censured 
 of illiterate and unjust men, who insolently attempt to vilify and tra- 
 duce the lineal descendants of the great Milesians, (a martial, a learned, 
 and generous race,) as a nation ignorant, mean-spirited, and supersti- 
 tious. 
 
 It has ever been the distinguishing practice of your Lordship's most 
 noble family not only to preserve inviolafble the genealogies of your own 
 renowned line, but to express a just veneration and regard for the pub- 
 lic records and annals of your native country, which I declare openly to 
 the world, are faithfully translated in this history, without fraud or false- 
 hood ; and therefore I am farther encouraged to inscribe my labours t(? 
 your Lordship's name and patronage. 
 
 And never, may it please your Lordfehip, was any man more ambi- 
 tious of proper ra*^aii3 to publish to after a^es the antiquity aud gran- 
 
 1 Q^IQ 
 
IV DKPIO^TION-. 
 
 dour of your Lordsliip's extracciou. which flows in a direct line from 
 the brave Gadelians, the great founders of the Irish name ; and Pro- 
 vidence has at last gratified the passionate desire I have always had, of 
 paying my due respects to your Loidship, though 1 despair of paying 
 my just acknowledgments ; and though I was never able to produce 
 ftny thing of my own, worthy of your Lordship's view, yet that mis- 
 fortune is relieved by the present opportunity of offering a translation 
 of the genuine and venerable antiquiues and monuments of Ireland 
 to your Lordship's candid approbation. 
 
 To pray for the prosperity and continuance of your Lordship's illus- 
 trious life, and that your noble line may for ever flourish, as a security 
 for the blessing of peace and liberty to their country, as it is ray duty, 
 60, my Lord, it is my ambition to appear upon all occasions, 
 
 Your Lord-sliip's most obedient, 
 
 and Oioat devoted humble servani, 
 
 DEi.MOD 0'Cu.>x.O.[l 
 
THE PEDIGREE 
 
 / 
 
 OF THE 
 
 RIGHT HON". WILLIAM, O'BRYEX, 
 
 i:a:il of ixcii;q:in. 
 
 To Ki3i(j MiLESlUS, OF hlM. 
 
 William O'Bryen, the fourth earl of Inchiquiu, married to Lnly 
 
 Anne Hamilton, eldest daughter and coheir to George HamiUoa, 
 
 earl of Orkney ; son of 
 William O'Bryen, third earl of Inchiquin, married Mary, daughter la 
 
 Sir Ed. Villiers, knt., and sister to the earl of Jersey ; son of 
 "William O'Bryen, second earl of Inchiquin, married Lady Margaret 
 
 Bojle, daughter to Roger Boyle, first earl of Orrery ; son of 
 Morough O'Bryen, fifth lord baron of Inchiquin, created first earl of 
 
 Inchiquin married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir VVm. St. Leger, knt., 
 
 lord president of Munster, son of 
 Dermod O'Bryen, fourth lord baron of Incln'qiiin, married EUer, • 
 
 daughter of Sir Edmond FitzGerald, of Ballimaloe, knt. ; son of 
 "Morough O'Bryen, third lord baron of Inchiquin, married Margaret 
 
 daughter of Sir Thos. Cusiack., knt., lord chancellor, and one of 
 
 the lord justices of Ireland ; son of 
 Morough O'Bryen, second lord baron of Inchiquin, married to Mablc. 
 
 daughter of Christ. Nugent, lord baron of Delvin ; son of 
 Dermod O'Bryen, first lord baron of Inchiquin, married to Lady Mar- 
 
 garet, daughter to Doiiough, second earl of Thomond ; son of 
 Morough O'Bryen, fourth son to the last prince of Thomond, raarriol 
 
 to Eleanor, daughter of Thos. FitzGerald, called Knight of Valley ; 
 
 8011 of 
 
 Turlough O'Bryen, prince of Limerick and Thomond, married to Joan 
 Fitz Maurice, daughter to Icrd Fitz Maurice, alias Vulgu liaibus, 
 lord baron of Kerry and Lixnaw ; son of 
 
 Tt'ige an Condaig O'Bryen, married to Aunabellu Bourk, daughter to 
 ft Lac William; tiuu wf 
 
VJ rKDIGiiEE. 
 
 Turlougli O'Eryep, married to Slany, daughter to LogMen Ladir Mac- 
 
 r.amara ; son of 
 Pryeii Cuthaneny O'Bryen, married to Slanyiu Maciiamara ; son of 
 Mahou O'Bryen, married to tlie daughter of the prince of Leinster, of 
 
 the lineal descent of Dairy Barrach, son of Cathaoir More, monarch 
 
 of Ireland ; son of 
 Muiriertagh O'Brien, married to Sarah ; daughter to O'Kennedy ; 
 
 son of 
 Turlough O'Bryen, married to Amina, daughter to Daniel More 
 
 Macarty ; son of 
 Teige O'Bryen, married to Fynwola, daughter to Kennedy ; son of 
 Connor na Suidini O'Bryen, married to More Macnamara ; soii of 
 Donogh Cairbreagh O'Bryen, married to Sarah, the daughter of 
 
 Donough O'Keimedy ; son of 
 Daniel More O'Brien (vixit temp. Henrici 11). hing of Cashel and 
 
 Limerick 30 years, married to Orlucam, daughter to Mac Morough ; 
 
 son of 
 Turlough O'Bryen, king of Munstcr 6 years, married to Nariait, 
 
 daughter to 6'Fogherla ; son of 
 Dermod O'Bryen, king of Muuster 4 years, married Sarah, daughter 
 
 of Teig Macarty ; son of 
 Turlough O'Bryen, ruled as monarch of Ireland 12 years, married 
 
 More, daughter of O'Heyne ; son of 
 Teige O'Bryen, married to More, the king of Leinster's daughter ;. 
 
 son of 
 Bryen Boiromh, monarch of Ireland 12 years. He was slain in tl o 
 
 great battle of Clontarf, and was married to Gormfhlath, daughter 
 
 to Morough Mac Fiinn ; son of 
 Kennedy, king of Munster 18 years, married to Beibhion, the daugh- 
 ter of Archadh, son of Morough, lord of West Conacht ; son of 
 Lorcan, king of Thomond 6 years ; son of 
 Laghtna, king of Thomond 3 years ; son of 
 Core, king of Munster 17 years j son of 
 Anluan, prince ot Munster ; son of 
 
 Mahon (vixit circa septimum sseculm post nat. Christi) ; ssn ol, 
 Turlough, king of Munster 36 years : son of 
 Cathal, king of Thomond 7 years ; son of 
 .(,odh Caomh, king of Thomond 41 years ; son of 
 <:^onall, prince of Thomond ; son of 
 Eochaidh Baldearg, king of Munster 29 years ; son of 
 Carthan Fionn, king of Thomond 45 years ; son of 
 Bloid, king of Thomond 16 years ; son of 
 Cas, king of Thomond 16 years ; son of 
 Conall Eachluath, king of Munster 13 years ; son of 
 Luighaidh Mean, king of Munster 27 years ; son of 
 Aongus Cinaithreach, king of Munster 30 years ; sou of 
 Fearchorb, king of Muuster 16 years ; son of 
 i-!odh Chorb, king of Munster 27 years : son of 
 Cormac CaSj^ king of Munster 12 yeava; son of 
 
PPDTGREE. VI! 
 
 OHioll Olum, king of Munster 27 years ; son of 
 
 Eog-an More, king of Munster 15 years ; son of 
 
 Modha Neid, king of Munster 23 years ; son of 
 
 Deary, prince of Munster ; son of 
 
 Deirgthine, half king of Munster 13 years ; son of 
 
 Eana Munchaoiu, half king of Munster 10 years ; son of 
 
 Luig heach More, king of Munster 2 years ; son of 
 
 Modhafeibhis, prince of Munster; son of 
 
 Muireach, king of Munster 17 years ; son of 
 
 Eochaidh Garbh, king of Munster 36 years; son of 
 
 Duac li Donn Dalta Deagha, monarch of Ireland 10 years ; son ot 
 
 Cairb re Cuisgleathan, king of Munster 28 years ; son of 
 
 Luighaidli Laighne, monarch of Ireland 5 years ; son of * 
 
 Jonadhmhar, monarch of Ireland 3 years ; son of 
 
 Niad h Seadhamhuin, monarch of Ireland 7 years ; son of 
 
 Adamhar, monarch of Ireland 5 years ; son of 
 
 Fearchorb, monarch of Ireland 11 years ; son of 
 
 Modhchorb, monarch of Ireland 7 years; son of 
 
 Cobhthaig Caomh,.kihg of Munster 29 years ; son of 
 
 lleachta ilighdhearg, monarch 20 years ; son of 
 
 Lughaidh Laighe, monarch 7 years ; son of 
 
 Eochaidh, monarch 7 years ; son of 
 
 Oilioll Fio an,, monarch 9 years ; son of 
 
 Art, monarch 6 years ; son of 
 
 Luighaidh Lamhdhearg, monarch 7 years ; son of 
 
 Eochaidh Vairceas, monarch 12 years ; son of 
 
 ]juighaidh Jardhoinn, monarch 9 years ; son of 
 
 Eadhna Dearg, monarch 12 years ; son of 
 
 Duach Fionn, monarch 5 years ; son of 
 
 Se.idhna Jonaraice, monarch 20 years ; son of 
 
 Breasrigh, monarch 9 years ; son of 
 
 Art Imleach, monarch 22 years ; son of 
 
 Elim, monarch 1 year ; son of 
 
 Rotheachta, monarch 7 years ; son of 
 
 Eoane, prince of Ireland; son of 
 
 Failbhe, king of Munster 26 years ; son of 
 
 Cas Cead Chaigneach, king of Munster 36 years ; son of 
 
 Aildergoid, monarch 7 years ; son of 
 
 Muiuiieamhoin, monarch 5 years ; son of 
 
 Casclothacht, king of Munster 13 years ; son of 
 
 Irereorda, prince of Ireland ; son of 
 
 llotheachta, monarch 25 years ; son of 
 
 Glas ; son of 
 
 Nuagatt Deaghlamh ; son of 
 
 Kosa, prince of Ireland ; son of 
 
 Eochaidh Faobhargias, monarch 20 years ; son of 
 
 Coumaol, monarch 30 years ; son of 
 
 Heber Fionn, half monarch of Ireland one year ; son of 
 
 Milesius, king of Spain 
 
THE LIFE 
 
 THE REV. JEOFFRY KEATING, D.D 
 
 Very little information can be obtained at present of tlie early years of tlio 
 Rev. J. Keating, till his departure to Spain, where he studied in the college vi 
 Salamanca for twenty- three years. On the return of this memorable di\'iiie, iie 
 was received with singular respect by all ranlsrs of his countiymen, and his 
 native parish, Tybrud, conferred on him, which he afterwards resigned to th>3 
 Rev. Eugene Duhy. This Duhy, like a second Moses, prayed with uplifted 
 hands, whilst our Rev. author fought the enemy of the souls and the characte.- 
 of his countrj'men, for many years, which reflects infinite honour on his memory, 
 and renders the Irish nation for ever indebted to him. He appeared always 
 cheerful and pleasing, and the fervent zeal of his soul suffered no moment of 
 nis life to pass unemployed in the service of his God, but was either praying, 
 preaching, or writing ; his amitible conversation was ever blended with edifying 
 examples and instruction ; his shining virtues charmed and captivated the 
 nn"nds of the worthy and benevolent, insomuch that nuiny of the Protestant 
 religion contributed to erect a parish chapel for him, which still remains in 
 the same yard with their o^vn church. His zealous discharge of his sacerdotal 
 duties endangered his life; a lady, kept by a gentleman, was excommu- 
 nicated by him ; furious with rage, this wicked man tlu-eatened the life of 
 our author, who, in order to avoid the effects of his malice, was obliged to 
 conceal himself in the Avood of Aharla, situated between the mountain Gailte 
 and the town of Tipperary. During his concealment there, he wrote the 
 histoiy of Ireland. -.5 
 
 Of the writers which Ireland has produced, none was more disinterestbi 
 than our Rev. author. Although perfectly skilled in the English language, 
 he chose the Irish, the language of his country, not only for his history, but 
 for his numerous valuable works, which still exist, and are superior to it. 
 Labouring from no lucrative view, he cheerfully bestowed his productions to 
 confirm and edify his countrymen. 
 
 In the f(^llowiiig verses the Irish language is thus described by him : — 
 
 As milis an teanga an Ghaoidhilge, 
 Guth gan, chabhair, choigchrithc, 
 Glor gle, gling, ga:?da, 
 Sein'h, suairc, sult-bLlasda. 
 
X THE LlFiC OF Tt'E REV. JEOFFRt SEATING, D.D. 
 
 Cia Eabhra teanga as seannda, 
 Cia Laidion. isfteagliauta, 
 Uatha iiirthe nior frith ling, 
 Tuairem focail do chomaoin. 
 In EugUsh : 
 
 The Irish is a language completely UAveet, 
 In aid of Avhich no foreign e'er did meet ; 
 A copious, free, keen, and extending voice, 
 And mellifluent, brief; for mirth most choice. 
 Although the Hebrew language be the first, 
 And that, for learning, Latin be the best. 
 Yet still, from them, the Irish ne'er was found 
 One word to borrow, to make its proper sound. 
 The following inscription, in raised letters, is placed over the door of the 
 churcii of Tybrud, where those venerable divines, the Kev. Eageue I>uhy 
 and the liev. J. Keating, are interrecL 
 
 t- IMaria 
 
 1 I— I S ^ 1 R 
 
 or.>.Tl<;j rroAiabg p. Eugenij : Duhj vie. de Tybrud : et -. Doct. 
 oiIf. keariiig huiQ sacelli FuadaToru : necno eiprooibg alija 
 Ta sacerd. Quani Laicis qaora corpa. in eou. jacex sa. a? Doui 
 
 The foregoing inscription is thus plainly expressed. 
 
 Orate pro aniinabus Parochi Eugenli Duhy, Vicarii de Tubrud^ et Divi- 
 nitatis Doctoris Galfridii Keating, hujus Sacelli Fundatorum ; nee non et 
 pro omnibus aliis, tarn Sacerdotibus quam Laicis, quorum Corpora in eodem 
 jaoent Sac^jUo. Anno Dommi 1644. 
 In English : 
 
 Prav for the souls of the Priest Eugenius Duby, Vicar of Tybrud,* and 
 of Jeoffry Keating, D.D,, Fomiders of this Chapd ; and also for all others, 
 both Priests and Laity, whose Bodies lie in the same Chapel. In the yeyr 
 of our Lord 1G44. 
 
 On our author the following epitaph also has been written: 
 In one urn in Tybrud, hid from, mortal eye, 
 A poet, prophet, and a priest doth lie ; 
 All these, and more than in one man could be, 
 Coceutcred wei-e in famous Jeoffry. 
 
Tira 
 
 TEANSLATOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 NonviTHSTANDixo the gi-eat length of the original preface of Dr. Keating, I 
 am obliged to detaia the reader by a short account of this translation, the induce- 
 ments that led to it, and the objections made against it. 
 
 The genuine merit of the folloAving history is so far from being questioned by 
 the learned Irish, that the nobility and gentry of the kingdom have preserved it 
 as an invaluable collection of antiquity, and the author has said so much in its 
 \indicatiou, that I submit it to the impartial and judicious, only desiring it 
 might be read "with that degree of candour which justly belongs to a subject that 
 runs through so many dark and unlearned ages. This chronicle of Ireland is 
 not offered to the world as an infallible record, perfectly free from errors and mis- 
 takes, for it is impossible that the true origin of any kingdom or people in the 
 world can be discovered at this remote distance ; and it is certain that the his- 
 tories of all nations, the higher they are traced, the more they are encumbered 
 with fictions, and often with relations utterly incredible. But does it foUowthat 
 the whole of these accoimts is nothing but fable, because some matters are re- 
 corded which carry an air of falsehood ? If this rule be admitted, no history cr 
 chronicle in the world, except the inspired writings, would escape ; for human 
 compositions, notwithstanding all imaginable care, can never claim a right to 
 infallibility. 
 
 It is weU known that a translation of Dr. K eating's history has bem often 
 attempted, but without success ; nor did the design miscarry from any discou- 
 ragements it met with, but being a work of great expense, and written in a diffi- 
 cult and mysterious language, it did not come to maturity before this time, to 
 the great disappointment of the nobility and gentry of the kingdom, who had 
 the original in that esteem, that they thought it justly deserved a translation, 
 and resolved to support it. It was some years ago when I entertained the first 
 thoughts of this undertaking, and I communicated myself to Dr. Anthony Ray- 
 mond of Dublin, who approved of my design, and promised to assist me in it : 
 but some misfortunes falling upon his own private affairs, I desisted from prose - 
 cuting my resolution at that time. "NVTien I arrived in England I could have no 
 prospect, in a strange country, of encouragement to publish so chargeable a 
 work, but was again solicited, by the importunity of friends, to resume my design 
 of a translation, to offer it to the world by way of subscription ; I tmdertook the 
 work and finished it, and have met T^ith encouragement beyond my expectation. 
 The most noble personages in the kingdom of Ireland, for birth, quahty, and 
 learning, have done me the honour of their names, which is an evidence of the 
 high esteem tlioy entertained of die isriginal, and that they judged it so far from 
 
Xil TRANSLATOTIS rnEFACE, 
 
 being an old insipid legend of fables, that they valued it as the choicest colloc- 
 lion of ancient records that possibly can be i-ecovered from the ruins of time, to 
 support the honour of their ancestors, and to give the world a just idea of the 
 dignity of the countiy where they were ^om. 
 
 There is an author, who has concealed his name, that has, with great ignoranfi 
 and envy, attempted to explode and ridicule the labours of the great Dr. Keating, 
 and to stigmatize the following history as a fictitious and romantic compositiim 
 He has likewise bestowed some flowers of his oratory in representing the weak 
 ness of my abilities, and my incapacity for the work 1 had undertaken. WJia 
 relates to myself, being entirely persona!, and weak, insignficant scandal, is be- 
 k;\v the concern of the reader and my own, and therefore 1 shall only In this 
 place, answer an objection or two, wherein he has aspersed the character of my 
 author, and vindicate the reputation of this history", whose intrinsic worth, in tiit 
 opinion of men of learning, is placed beyond the reach of his malice, thougLi 
 among the injudicious, and before the pubhshlng of this translation, his yplccJi 
 h.id in some measure the effect he desired, and in a small degree prejudiced me 
 in my subscriptions. 
 
 The prefacer to the Memoirs of the Marquis of Clanricarde promisies'the world, 
 in his pompous title-page, a learned dissertation, wherein was inserted a digres- 
 sion containing several curious observations concerning the antiqmties of Ireland, 
 And he has fulfilled his word so far as to labour In the proof that there are no 
 real antiquities in the kingdom of Ireland ; that their records are not genuine, 
 but the invention of bards or dmids, who, in the times of ignorance and super- 
 stition, Imposed upon the world ; and that the chronicle of Dr. Keating is a col- 
 lection from those spurious and romantic compositions, whose authority he knew 
 to be invalid, and to whose testimony he never gave any real belief. But the 
 insolence of this censure appears, not only by destroying in one breath the evi- 
 dence of all the national chronicles of Ireland, but as it proceeds from a person 
 who never had in his possession one of those ancient records, which, if he had, 
 his ignorance and Avant of skill in the language made him incapable to under- 
 stand. It is certain that the abilities of this prefacer in the Irish tongue extend 
 no farther than the knowledge of a school-boy, and a small acquaintance with 
 the modern characters of that language ; and the utmost of his learning consists 
 only in turning over some fabulous tracts, of a late date, such as Brulghean 
 Chaorthuin, Eachtra an Ghiolla Dheachair, Cath Fionntragh, (Sbc, which, by the 
 way, was the true reason, why he never performed his promise to the world, of 
 publishing a histoiy of Ireland from the ancient records, for he was sensible h;5 
 Ignorance of the original Irish language rendered him incapable to fulfil it ; and 
 therefore it is no wonder that he has traduced those venerable antiquities, as false 
 and incredible fictions, having no other way to make a tolerable excuse to thotse 
 persons whom, for many years, he put In expectation of an Irish history. I con- 
 fess I have, in one sense, done him an irreparable damage, by publishing this 
 translation, because he can no longer Impose upon his friends, by amusing thein 
 with a histoiy of Ireland, and consequently he must be sensibly afiected by the 
 discontinuance of the many favom-s he has received upon the merits of that pro- 
 spect. However it must always be esteemed a malicious and ungenerous prac- 
 tice, for a man to throw aspersions upon the public records of a nation, upon 
 whose character he has been supported for many years, and upon whose autho- 
 rity he laid a scheme for his future subsistence. 
 
 It is with great confidence asserted, by this prefacer, that there is no such por- 
 fion in this ago, as an antiquary, throughoiit the kingdom of Ireland when it is 
 rao^^t evident, and I call upon thousands to attest it, that there are numbers of 
 them, whose employment it is to transcribe the ancient chronicles, and to instruct 
 
TRANSLATORS PlilFACE. XUl 
 
 the yoiitli in the proper la.igiiaixe of the countiy : and his malice is <2qaally con- 
 spicuous where he says, that the only remaining copy of Dr. Keating's his- 
 tory is in the bands of the Baron of Cathir, since it is unquestionably certain, 
 t>!at many copies have been transcribed, and the manuscripts are preserved in 
 several hands, and scattered through most parts of the kingdom. 
 
 Dr. Lloyd, it seems, we are told with great triumph, in his catalogue of Irisli 
 manuscripts he found in Trinity College, Dviblin, makes no mention of the Ptyal- 
 ters of Cashel and Tara ; from whence it is inferred, that there are no such re 
 cords, and consequently to pretend to quote them is an imposition and an abus( 
 upon mankind. In answer to this charge it must' be obsei-ved, that Dr. Lloyd 
 ffas a professed stranger to the old manuscripts of that kingdom, as he generously 
 ■confesses in his Ai-chteologia Britannica; and it is well knoA^^l that there is a 
 large folio, in fine vellum, fairly -written some hundred years ago, in Ballimore, 
 in the county of Meath, which contains the historical transcript of those Psalters, 
 the Book of Ardmagh, and other valuable antiquities. This choice record is now 
 presei-ved in Trinity College, which I had the favour of perusing, and I kept it 
 in my custody for six months. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude 
 to the learned Dr. Anthony Eaymond, of I'rim, fur the favour he did me in 
 entering into a bond of a thousand pounds, as security for my restoring this 
 ancient manuscript after my perusal of it. 
 
 What this prefacer observes, ccncerhkig a translation of Dr. Keating's histoiy, 
 hj the procurement of the Right Honourable the Earl of Orrery, grandfather to 
 the present earl, is true iu fact, and I confess that this chronicle was translated 
 by Timothy Roe O'Connor, the father of Conn O'Connor, lately deceased , but 
 the reflection made upon it, that the earl suppressed this translation, out of 
 justice to the world, which he resolved not to abuse with hes and fables, is a 
 charge as false and malicious. For the true reason wliy that noble lord refused 
 to let that translation come abroad, was to enhance the value of it, and to make 
 bis manuscript the greater curiosity, which would have lost much of its esteem 
 if it had been printed and published. 
 
 Thus far have I followed and detected the ignorance and peevishness of this 
 writer, whose envy and disappointments have carried him into manifold errors,, 
 and into the lowest of personal reflections. But I leave him to be corrected bj 
 the torment of his own mind, and the contempt of his former friends, who, justly 
 sensible of his ungenerous proceedings, his invincible malice, and his notorious 
 w;u:t of capacity, have banished him their acquaintance, as an infamous renegado 
 and wicked libeller upon the glojy and honour of his native countiy. 
 
 For want of a more convenient opportunity, and because the following infor- 
 mation came too late to be inserted in the body of the history, the account I 
 liave received shall be communicated in this place. 
 
 There has b^en a dispute among learned men, whether the ajicient kings of 
 Ireland, of the Milesian race, wore crowns of gold, after the manner of other 
 nations. We are informed by Hector Boetius, in his second and tenth book, that 
 tlie kings of Scotland, from the time of Feargus to the reign of Achaius, used a 
 plain crown of gold, militaris valli forma, "in the' form of a mihtary trench;" 
 and it is more than probable that in this practice they followed the Irish moii- 
 archs, from whom they derived their descent and customs. And this conjecture 
 is still rendered more reasonable by a golden cap, supposed to he a provincial 
 crown, that was found in the year 1G92, in the county of Tipperarj^, at a place 
 called Bamanely by the Irish, and by the English, the Devil's Bit ; it was dis- 
 covered about ten feet under ground, by seme workmen that were digging up 
 turf for firing. This cap or crown weighs about five ounces ; the border and the 
 head is raised in chase-\^ork. and it stenss to bear some resemblance to the closje 
 
XIV TRANSLATORS PREFACE. 
 
 nrown of tne eastern empire, -wliich vras competed of the helmet together vrllh f 
 diadem, as the learned Seldeu observes in liis Titles of Honom*, Part I. chap, h 
 
 Some of the antiquarians of Ireland have imagined, that this was the ctoav n 
 worn by some provincial kings, under the command of Biyen Boiroimhe, who 
 beat the Danes in so many battles •, others are rather inclined to believe that it 
 belonged to the Irish monarchs, before the planting of Christianity in that kin.; 
 dom ; and they give this reason, because it is not adorned with a cross, whicti 
 was tlis common ensign of Christian princes. However, it is a valuable piece of 
 curiosity, and would unavoidably have beer, melted down, had it not 'been pre- 
 served by Joseph Comerford, Esq., a curious gentleman, descended from a younger 
 brother of Comerford, in the county of Stafford, who attended King John in hi? 
 expedition into Ireland, and there married the niece of Hugo de Lacy, a great 
 favourite of that king ; ever since which thne the family has flourished in that 
 countiy, and were formerly barons of Danganmore. This gentleman being ren- 
 dered incapable, by reason of his religion, to purchase lands in his own countiy, 
 has bought the marquisate of Anglure, with a good estate upon the river Axile, 
 in Champaigne, which he has settled in default of issue from himself, upon his 
 brother Captain Luke Comerford, an officer of great esteem in the French ser-v'ice, 
 and his heirs male, and in default of such. issue, upon his kinsman Sir John 
 Comerford (a major-general, and colonel of a regiment of foot, in the service of 
 the king of Spain), and his male issue. Sir George Sldddy, a near relation to 
 Mr. Comerford, has likewise acquired a good estate in France. This gentlemau 
 is a great-grandson to Sir George Skiddy, formerly of Waterford, and of Skiddy'i* 
 C&stle in the countv of Cork, is a kjiight of the military order of St. Lewis, a;vl 
 
 coior.el of foot. 
 
DR. KEATING'S PBEFACE 
 
 WnOErER uiidertakes to write the history of any nation or kingdom, ought to 
 jive a true and impartial account, not only of tlie eounfcry and the laws, but also 
 of the customs and manners of the people ; and therefore, having undertaken to 
 deduce the history of Ireland from the most distant ages, I think myself obliged 
 wO remove beforehand, those false and injurious represeiLtations which have been 
 'lublished concerning the ancient Irish, who for above these three thousand years 
 have inhabited this kingdom, as well as what relates to the old English who have 
 been settled here ever since the reign of King Henry II. 
 
 The English historians, who have siiice that time vncote about the affairs of Ireland, 
 have industriously sought occasion to lessen the reputation of both ^ as appears 
 by Giraldus Cambrensis, Spencer, Stanihurst, Morrison, Campion, and others 
 who, when they write of Ireland, seem to imitate the beetle, which, when enh- 
 vened by the influence of the summer heats, flies abroad, and passes over tha 
 delightful field?, neglectful of the sweet blossoms or fragrant flowers that are in 
 its way, till at last, directed by its sordid inclination, it settles upon some nauseous 
 excrement. Thus the above-mentioned authors proceed when they write of this 
 kingdom : what was worthy or commendable in the Irish nobility and gentry, 
 they pass over. They take no notice of their piety, learning, and courage, of 
 their charitable disposition to buUd churches and religious houses, or of the 
 great privileges and endowments they conferred and settled upon them : they 
 omit to speak of the protection and encouragement they gave to then* historio- 
 graphers, and to other men of learning, to whom their liberality was so abound- 
 ing, that they not only relieved the indigency of those who made their applica- 
 tions to them, but made public invitations to find an opportunity to bestow 
 gratifications upon persons of merit and desert. They forget to mention their 
 vhtues and commendable actions ; but, in their accounts of this kingdom, these 
 authors dwell upon the manners of the lower and baser sort of people, relate idle 
 and fabulous stories, invented on purpose to amuse the vulgar and ignorant, and 
 pass over aU that might be said with justice, to the honour of the nobihty and 
 gentry of this nation. 
 
 It is certaui that the old Irish, before the English invasion, were a generous 
 and brave people, as appears particidarly by the trouble they gave the Romans, 
 and by the assistance they afSardecl the Scots, and by obliging the Britons to 
 eject a wall of a vast extent between England and Scotland, to defend themseh'es 
 from the terrible incursions of the Scotch and Irish ; and though the Romans 
 were obliged to keep up an army of 62,000 foot and 300 horse, to preserve tho 
 boundaiies and to secure the limits of their conquests, and likeM^se had in con- 
 stant pay a body of 23,000 foot and 1300 horse, to protect the sea-coasts and 
 other parts of the coruitry from the hostilities of the Scots and Ticts, yet the 
 
Tvi pr;.face. 
 
 bravery of the ancient Irish broke through their lines and fortification,?, and oTia^ 
 defeated the whole pi.wer of the Roman army, and carried otf imniense booty 
 from the inhabitants, as Samuel Daniel, an English historian, in his chronicle 
 expressly testifies. 
 
 Cormac Mac Cuillenan, king of Munster, and arciibishop of Cashel, gives an 
 account in his Psalter, that the in-esistible valour of the Irish and Picts compelled 
 the Britons three several times to give up, as a sacrifice, the chief commander of 
 the Romans, in order to stop the fury of their arms and obtain their friendship. 
 Nor is it to be forgotten into what miseries and distress the Britons were reduced 
 by the Irish, in the reign of Vortigern, who found himself obliged to retain Hen- 
 gist, and his German auxiliaries, to defend him from tlieir incursions ; as the 
 fame English annalist particularly asserts. The same author relates that the 
 Romans, who called themselves the conquerors of die world, were forced to eroct 
 fourteen strong garrisons, to protect them from the hostilities of the Scots and 
 Picts, who harassed them with continual inroads, and cut off numbers of their 
 .egionary soldiers, notmthstanding tliey were assisted by'^he whole power of the 
 Britons, ft-om the time of Julius Cassar to the reign of Valentinian, the third 
 emperor of that name, which consisted of the space of 500 years. The Rom ms 
 lost' the command of Britain in the year of our redemption 4-11 ; before wiuch 
 time it was, that the contest happened between Theodosius and Maximus, wSiicii 
 obliged the latter to transport with him a considerable number of Britons, iatrj 
 that part of France called Armorica or Little Britain ; the natives of that country 
 he expelled, and fixed the Britons in their possessions, whose posterity are known 
 in that place to this day. 
 
 I'here are authors in being of some antiquity, who are veiy solicitous to blem- 
 ish the character of the ancient Irish ; particularly Strabo, who in his fourth book 
 asserts, that they were cannibals, and lived upon human flesh. In answer to 
 this opprobrious charge, it is to be observed, that Strabo had no opportunities to 
 inform himself of the disposition and manners of the Irisii ; nor is there any 
 chronicle relating to that nation, which gives the least encouragement to this 
 opinion, or any instance of this practice to be found in the ancient records, ex- 
 cept of a lady, whose name was Eithne, daughter to a king of Leinster, that 
 was nursed in the country of Deisies, in the province of Munster, -whose fos- 
 terers fed her with the flesh of children, in order to make her the sooner ripe for 
 matrimonial embraces. But the reason of this, it must be observed, was to ac- 
 complish a prediction, which foretold that the fosterers of this lady should Im 
 fixed in the possession of large territories by the prince Vv^ho was to be her hus- 
 band, who proved to be Aongus Mac Nadfaoieh, king of Munster, as will be taker, 
 notice of in the body of the following history. 
 
 But is this candid, to pronounce upon the mannei's of a Arhola nation from one ex- 
 ample? and if such barbarity was consistent with the general disposition of the peo- 
 j le, is it not strange, that this instance of Eithne siiould stand by itself upon record, 
 which it would have been impertinent to mention, if the body of the old Irish con- 
 curred in this savage practice? The testimony of this author, therefore, is not 
 to be regarded, who asserts, that the eating of human flesh was a custom in thia 
 nation, which is inlpossible to be pn^vad but from one single instance ; and even 
 this action was committed in the times of paganism and idolatry, and upon a 
 particidar occasion. The authority of Strabo is well known by the learned. n'>t 
 to be sacred, nor will tliis aspersion afi"ect the humanity of the ancient Irish 
 amoug sober and impartial judges. 
 
 Never was any nation under heaven so traduced by malice and ignorant-e as 
 the ancient Irish. Among other falsehoods and absuriiities, Solinus in his 
 twenty-first chapter asserts, that there are no bees in tiie-^sland, that the male 
 ciuidreu receive the (irst food they eat from the poiu.} ot a sword, and scuudai- 
 
PI.EFACE, XVi* 
 
 ons!y reVitcs, that the Iri^-h T^ ash their faces with the blood of their enemic3 
 ^in.!m they slew in battle; and these facts are positively laid down, without evi- 
 dence or qtiotation, and with no other design, than to stigmatise a nation he 
 bated to all posterity. 
 
 Pompouius Mela, a wTiter of the same authority, speaking in his tbirrt book 
 of the ancient Irish, gives them the character of a people* "ignorant of all vir- 
 tues." Other writers might be produced, who fixed the same false imputation 
 upon the Irish, without the least certainty ; which made the judicious Camdey., 
 ■\\hen he spoke of the manners of the Irish, express himself thiis, with great 
 truth and integrity ; " We only mention the names of these writers, for we have 
 no •\^^tnesses to depend upon, worthy of credit or belief."! The same Camden 
 refutes expressly one of the falsehoods of Solinus, who asserted, that there wore 
 no bees in Ireland ; where he says, " So great is the multitude of bees in that 
 country, that they are to be found, not only in hives, but in the hollow places 
 of trees, and of the earth.";]: The Englis>i writers particularly, have never failed 
 to exert their malice against the Irish; and represent them as a base and servile 
 people. I shall here mention some remarkable instances of their falsehoods, as 
 they have transcribed them from that ignorant and malicious writer, Giraldua 
 Cambrensis, the great patron of these mercenary and sordid Idstorians. This 
 positive writer asserts, -with an air of certainty, that the kingdom of Ireland paid 
 tribute and chiefry to King Arthur, who obliged them to this acknowledgment of 
 subjection in the city of Leon, in the year of our Lord 519 ; as Campion observes, 
 in the second chapter of the second book of his Chroni<^'c, where he says, that 
 one Giollamara was king of Ireland at that time. Notwithstanding the author of 
 the Policronicon, and other English writers of a later date, make mention of Giol- 
 lamara, king of Ireland, yet I challenge the malice and industry of the most in- 
 veterate of our enemies, to find, in the antiquities of Ireland, that there ever waa 
 a king of that name, unless they are deceived by the analog}^ of the so^md, and 
 intend Murthough More Mac Area, who was monarch of the Island in king Ar- 
 thur's time, and sent six of his brothers into Scotland, one of whom, Feargus 
 More Mac Area, aftei-wards became king, and raised himself to the sovereigTity 
 of that country. It is certain, that King Arthur himself fell by the sword of the 
 Scots and Picts ; and of equal credit it is, that the Feargus above-mentioned was 
 the first king of the Scots ; though Hector P>oetiuiPli fabulous wi-iter, labour.s to 
 evince the contrary, and to prove, that twenty-nine kings sat upon the throne of 
 that kingdom before Feargus wore the crown. He relates likewise, with the 
 same certainty, that Feargus, the son of Fearagher, king of Ireland, was the first 
 king of the Scottish race ; w^hich is an assertion without suppoj t, for never was 
 there a mionarch of Ireland of the name of Fearagher ; and therefore Feargusr 
 Iliac Fearagher was not king of Scotland, as Hector I3oetius confidently lays 
 down. It is certain that Murtough More, king of Ireland, was pleased that Ids 
 brother, Feargus Mac Area, should wear the cro-mi of Scotland, but tjpon con- 
 dition to pay homage to Murtough, who in the annals of Ireland is called rex 
 Scotorum, king of the Scots ; to intimate that he possessed the sovereignty ovei 
 the two kingdoms of Scotland and Ireland, and therefore was a prince of more 
 superior nole than to submit or confess himself a tributary to king Arthur. 
 
 Speed, ill his Chronicle, with gi-eater justice observ-es, that the king of Ireland 
 ov.-ned no manner of chiefry or tribute to King Arthur, but that both princes en- 
 gaged in a league ofi'enaive and defensive against all their enemies. This he 
 calls jus beih socialis, the right of a social war, in the same manner as the treatv 
 
 * Omnium virtntem isTiari. 
 
 * iuiiuin C[iiPe corpmemDrMmns. diiiii'^s fide t'stes non li«bpraM3, 
 
 t ^] um est tanfa ir.uitfltudo, ui non solum ai^aaribus sed etiam in arborum ei (;. ra 
 CRVHUiis rejioriaiit'ir. 
 
xviii prefacp:. 
 
 concluded between the king of Spain and the emperor ; not that it was iatendsd 
 as if the emperor was to pay a tribute to the king of Spain, or the king of Spain 
 was under any acknowledgments of chiefry to him, but they were mutually bound 
 to support one another against all attempts. The same friendship and stipula 
 lation was established between King Arthur and Murtough ; they were equally 
 obliged to defend each other, but under no testimonies of submission on either 
 side. ,Aiid the truth of this efiuality between the two kings is abundantly con- 
 firm 3d by the testimony of ISTubigensis, who, in the twenty-sixth chapter of the 
 second book of his history has this expression, concerning the kingdom of Ire- 
 land ;* " Ireland nerer lay under a foreign power." And Cambrensis himself 
 agrees with this opinion, in his forty-sixth chapter, where he thus speaks to the 
 same purpose. f " Ireland from the beginning remained free from the incursion 
 of foreign nations.'' From whence it is evident, that neither King Arthur, nor 
 any other power, received tribute, or any servile acknowledgment, from the king- 
 dom of Ireland, until they submitted to King Henry II. Nor is it to be sup- 
 posed, that the Britons could lay claim to any authority over this island, since 
 the hardy Romans could never make her tributaiy ; so fa.r from that, that in- 
 stead of losing her liberty, she not only preserved her o^vn freedom, but was a 
 safeguard and protection to other nations, and a scourge to the Romans and 
 Other oppressors, wherever she displayed her banners. 
 
 The learned Camden gives tt'^ testimony in his Britai\i-\Aa,t ""When the Romans 
 had extended their empire on all sides, many, no doubt, out of Spain, France and 
 Britain, removed into Ireland, in order to avoid the most unjust yoke of the 
 Romans." From this evidence it is to be collected, not only that the Romans never 
 extended their conquests into Ireland, but that the miserable people of the neigh- 
 bouring countries found a refuge from the oppressions of the Romans among the in- 
 \'incible Irish, who were never subdued. Whoever so much envies the glory of the 
 ancient Irish, as to assert that they were under the power of the Romans, let him 
 have recourse to the same judicious writer, who says,|| "It will be the utmost 
 difficulty to make me believe, that the country of Ireland was at any time un- 
 der the dcminion of the Romans." •- 
 
 Cambrensis (an inexhaustible fund of falsehood) injuriously relates, in his 
 ninth chapter, that the Irisij^en succeeded in their brother's bed, and manied 
 the women who had been before married to their brothers, and that tithes were 
 never paid to the clergy in Ireland, till the arrival of Cardinal John Papiriou 
 from Rome ; which will appear to be a forgery, and an imposition upon man- 
 kind, not only in the body of this history, but in this preliminary vindication 
 now before us. The same author, speakuig in his seventh chapter of the natural 
 curiosities of Ireland, writes, that there is a fountain in the province of Munster, 
 ■which instantlj'" makes the hair of the head gray when it is dipped into it ; and 
 that there is another fountain in Ulster, of a quite contrary quality, that upon 
 wetting it restores the hair to its genuine colour ; though upon a survey there 
 are now no footsteps, not even in the traditions of the people, remaining of such 
 w^ells, nor were they in the days of Cambrensis, who imposes upon the world 
 with his fabulous rarities, and amuses his readers at the expense of his own cre- 
 dit and veracity, t* Equally worthy of belief is what he relates in his twenty- 
 second chapter, that when the gentlemen of Ireland, who had been at variance, 
 vrere willing to become friends, they used the custom of kissing the relics of 
 
 ♦ Hibernia nuTiquam subjacuit extenias ditioni. 
 
 t Hibernia ab initio ab omni alienarum gentium incursu libera permanslt. 
 
 t Cum suum Romani imperium undique propagassent, multi proculdabio ex Hispania, 
 Gallia et Britannia hie se receperunt, ut iiiiquissimo komanoru'm jugo colla subduceru.".t, 
 
 II Ego animum vix inducere possum ut hanc regionem la Romanorum potestatciu ullo 
 teiopore uoncessisse credam,. 
 
?r)::;ts ill the preieuce o a L'-:uOi), a.^ a soieuui testimony of tnel'r reconciliation , 
 but what ibilows is monstrous and incrediole, that they took a draught of each 
 other's blood. This is boldly asserted, with his usual effrontery, and without proot 
 or foundation ; for if this practice had been received among the Irish, how should 
 the professed antiquaries and historians of the kingdom be silent and take no 
 notice of it, who were bound to record such a custom, if it had been used, unde» 
 no less penalty, than for the omission to be degraded and deprived of then- patri- 
 monies ? So that 'this romantic writer is to be stripped of the character of a true 
 historian, and to be placed among the vain authors of fables. In his tenth chap- 
 ter he entertams us with a notorious falsehood, andgive.sa character of the Irisli, 
 that they are a penm-ious and poor-spirited people; bis expression is,* "The 
 Irish are an inhospitable people.'' But Stanihursi gives a quite contrary testi- 
 mony, and sufficiently confutes this scandal : his svor*.b are,t " The Irish are 
 tlie most hospitable men, nor can you oblige them more tl;an by visiting them ■ 
 frequently, at their own houses, of your own accord, and without invitation." 
 
 This Cambrensis has perverted a fact of great consequence in the Irish histoiy, 
 where he a.sserts positively that it was the queen of i\Jeath who ran away from 
 her husband with Dearmud Nangall, king of Leinster ; but the universal testi- 
 mony of the Irish antiquaries is against him upon this subject, who agree una- 
 nimously that that lascivious lady was the wife of Tiernan O'Rourke, king of 
 Briefny ; that her name was Dearbhurgill, and that she was daughter to Mur- 
 rough INIac Flom, king of Meath. He writes that the rivers Suir, Feoir, and 
 Bearow, flow out of the mountain of Sliabh Bladhma, which is a manifest false- 
 hood easy to be disproved ; for it is evident that the Bearow rises out of the east 
 point of Sliabh Bladhma, and that the Siur and Feoir proceed out of the east 
 point of Mount Aildium, otherwise called Sliabh Bearnain, in the territory of 
 Cuirnin. He abuses the world, in the twenty-fifth chapter of his history^b/ 
 eaying, that the ceremony of inauguration, in making kings of the family uf 
 O'DonUl, was performed in this manner : all the inhabitants of the country were 
 assembled upon a high hill; here they killed a white mare, whose flesh they 
 boiled in a great cauldron, in the middle of a field, when it was sufficiently boiled 
 the king was to sup up the broth with his mouth, and eat the flesh out of his 
 hands, without the assistance of a knife or any dj^ifir instrument, but with his 
 teeth only ; then he divided the rest of the flesh among the assembly, and after- 
 wards bathed himself in the broth. This is a fiction not to be paralleled, com - 
 jiounded of ignorance and malice, and directly opposite to the testimony of the 
 Irish antiquaries, who have delivered to us an express description of this cere- 
 mony. These writers inform us that the Irish kings of the fine of O'Donill, sat 
 upon the summit of a hill, surrounded with the principal nobility and gentry of 
 their country ; one of the chief of them, advancing towards him, presented hiin 
 with a straight Avhite wand, and upon the deliveiy of it he used this form : — 
 "Receive, O king, the command of thine own country, and distribute justice 
 impartially among thy subjects." The ceremony of the rod was attended with 
 an excellent moral ; for it was straight and white, to recommend uprightness ia 
 judgment, and to intimate that a prince should rule with clean and unspottei/ 
 hands, should keep them white, and never stain them Avith the blood of his peo* 
 pie. So that the confidence of Cambrensis is the more astonishing, who conceals 
 so rational and laudable a custom, and introduces in the room of it a savage and 
 abommable practice, that has no foundation in truth or in history, but is the 
 effect of inveterate malice, which iirges him on into absurdities and monstrous 
 
 * I.SD autem gens htec gens iuiiospita 
 
 t Sunt sane homines hospitalissiini, neque illis "Ta. in re magn: > gratnflcart pot(?s qtian; 
 Vtj! spoiico ac YOluntate eorum liomus frepueniarj. 
 
rdatlons, wlileli ('-^rive mors blemislK's unon the character of h'3 h!stf»ry th n 
 u])on the ancient Irish, whom at all hazards he resolves to traduce. It is cer- 
 tain that that royal family has produced persons of the first order for religion 
 nnd piety, and many of this illustrious line have retired from the world, ami 
 ended their days in privacy and devout contemplations, particularly St. Columbe, 
 whose memory among the Irish will be ever saci-ed. Nor is it to be supposed, 
 that the nobility of Ireland, who were a polite 'and civilised people, would per- 
 mit the kings of O'Donill to m.ake use of this abominable custom, had they been 
 so disposed; and it is unjust to charge this family with such a savage inclination, 
 since they were princes of strict piety and exemplary virtue, and abhorred ;i 
 ceremony so odious, which Vi^as inconsistent with the religion they professed, and 
 savoured so strongly of pagan superstition. This, therefore, is another falsehood 
 of Cambrensis, which ought to destroy- his credit for ever among lovers of trutli^ 
 and brand on him an indelible mark of infamy to all posterity. 
 
 There is one Spencer, a writer of a chronicle, who, in the thirty-third page of 
 h'S history, asserts, with great injustice, that Eigfrid, king of the Protombi, and 
 Edgar, king of England, exercised a civil jurisdiction over the kingdom of Ire- 
 land ,• but he brings no evidence to support this opinion, and as it opposes the 
 a;;thentic records of the kingdom, it must be manifestly false : besides it is well 
 known, that the English authors themselves are forced to confess that the Saxons 
 destroyed all the public monuments and chronicles of that nation, aud defaced or 
 melted dowrn all the coins before their own time, with a design that there should 
 no certain memorial remain of the transactions of former ages. And Daniel 
 agrees, that the principal part of the British antiquaries are lost, as Glldas com- 
 plains in the fourth part of his histoiy. 
 
 I remember that Rider, a Latin lexicographer, in treating of the word Brigaine, 
 is of opinion, that Britannia does not i-eceive its derivation from Brutus, be- 
 cause it should then with more propriety be called Brutia or Brutica ; and this 
 etymology would scarce have escaped the observation of Julius Ciesar, Cornelias 
 Tacitus, Diodorus Siculus, the learned Bede, or other writers, who have had 
 occasion frequently to relate the transactions of Britain, and yet make no men- 
 tion of this derivation. Spencer, therefore, should rather have searched into the 
 name of his own country, ap^f^ttempted to clear some dark and incredible pas- 
 sages in the Eny;lish history, than to take upon him to write of the affairs of 
 Ireland, which it was impossible he could ever come to the knoAvledge of. But 
 what is most surprising in this avidacioixs W'riter, is, that he should undertake ta 
 !ix the genealogies of many of the gentry of Ireland, and to pretend to derive 
 them originally from an English extraction. He particularly takes notice of 
 seven families of note in this kingdom, the families of Mac Mahon, Swynies, 
 Shyhies, Slacnamaras, Cavanaghs, Tuathallaghs, and Byrns; and says, that 
 froiii Ursa, Fitz Ursula, or Bears (sirnames that are in England), descended the 
 "Mac Ttlahons of Ulster, and that Beare and Mahon are of the same signification; 
 and coiiseq'-iently, that the Mac Mahons aforesaid are derived from that house 
 in luigland. 
 
 Sly answer to this assertion is, that it is as reasonable, by the etymolog}' of 
 the word, that tlie Mac Mahons of Thumond,' or the O'Mohunys of Cairbr}', 
 should descend from thence, as the Mac Mahons of Ulster. And since it is cer- 
 tain that those of Thumond or Cairbry did not descend from thence, it may be 
 concluded that the Mac Mahons of Ulster are not descended from the house of 
 Ursa, or Fitz Ursula, in England, but are lineally derived from Colla da Chrioch, 
 Ron of Eochaidh Dubhlein, son of Cairbre Liffeachair, monarch of Ireland, of t1:e 
 A)yal line of Heremon. 
 
 _ The Swynies, he wouhJ likewipe persuade li's rf-.-iifis, are origijiaily of ;;a 
 liali deitfciit, and are derived from a houoe called }:• }'< in H"^ l^n's^dojaj 
 
P.i.-FAGE. 
 
 XXI 
 
 bnt tliis assertion has no more fousaation tl'.an the formpr, for it may he ques- 
 tioned whether there ever was such a family iu England, and there is not an 
 antiquary in Ireland but knows, and can demonstrate that the Swynies are a 
 genuine hrar.ch of the race of Ileremon. 
 
 The family of the Shyhies this writer pronounces of an English extraction: 
 but this is a falsehood so easily evinced, that it appears, by their successive 
 genealogies, that they are lineal descendants from Colla Uais ; and that Shi- 
 ghagh Mac Faghduin, Mac Allasdruim, Mac Donill (from whom descended the 
 Blac Donills of Scotland and Ireland), was the gi'eat ancestor to whom the 
 JIac Shyhies owe their original. 
 
 "With the'' same freedom and ignorance he deduces the family of the Mac- 
 namaras frum a house in England called Mortvmier ; but there is no manner 
 of analogy in the sound to prove this opinion, and it is certain, that this 
 family are the genuine offspring of a person called Cumara, from whom they 
 were distinguished by the title of Clan (which signifies the children of) Mac- 
 ramara. The proper sirname of this tribe is Siol Aodha, that is the issue of 
 Aodha, and they came originally from Caisin, Mac Caiss, Mac Conilleaghluath, 
 of the posterity of Eivir, or Hiberus. 
 
 This confident author attempts to prove that the sirnaraes of the BjTns, of 
 the Tuathallaghs, and the Cavanaghs, were first brought out of Britain into 
 Ireland, But the e\'idence is very inconclusive by which he supports this 
 lOnjecture ; for he is deceived by the similitude of the sound, which made him 
 b ilieve that these names were derived from words in the British language ; 
 for instance, the word Brin, he says, is the same as woody in English ; but 
 supposing this to be true, yet the family of the Byrns are not derived fi-om 
 the word Brin, but from a person whose name was Branmuit. The word 
 Toll, he says, signifies hilly, by which means the Tuathallaghs from thence 
 must derive their name, as he affirms. But notwithstanding Toll and Hilly 
 we allow to be the same, yet Toll and Tuathall are vastly different. Besides 
 it is well known, that the ancient family of the Tuathallaghs is descended 
 from a person whose name was Tuathall, and therefore this supposition of 
 Spencer is false and ill-grounded. This writer is equally absurd in his con- 
 jecture relating to the family of the Cavanaghs. The word Cavanagh, he says, 
 signifies strength or strong, and from hence he declares that the family of the 
 Cavanaghs are derived ; but he shoidd have considered likewise, that the word 
 Cavan signifies a person of a mild and good-natured disposition, and the tribe of 
 the Cavanaghs descended lineally from Daniel Cavanagh, Mac Dermod ne Ngal., 
 to whom this name of distinction was given, because he had his education in a 
 plate called Cillcaovan, in'Hhe lower part of the province of Leinster ; which 
 tribe, according to their sirname, are derived of the same race with the Cinsa- 
 laghs. But that they are of an English extraction is so far from being true, 
 that they are originally Irish, as expressly appears by their genealogies ; and 
 &re derived from Charles the Great, king of Ireland. It is surprising to me how 
 fcpencer could advance such falsehoods, as carry with tliera theu- own confuta- 
 tion. He was a Avriter that was unable to make himself acquainted with the 
 Irish affairs, as being a stranger to the language ; and besides, being of a poeti- 
 cal genius, he allowed himself an unbounded licence in his compositions It 
 was the business of his profession to advance poetical fictions, and clothe them 
 Tyith fine insinuating language, in order to amuse his readers without improving 
 them, and to recommend his fables to the world, when he designed to concea , 
 or found he coidd not come at the truth. 
 
 Stanihurst is likewise justly to be censured, for his misrepresentations in re- 
 lating the affairs of Ireland, He asserts that the country of Meatu was the 
 di\ision that anciently fell to Slain^e, Mac Dela, Mac Loigh; but this is faiiely 
 
aiivunced, because an ancient treatise, called Leabhar Gabhala, or the Boolt ot 
 Conquests, observes that the country of Meath, in the time of Slainge, consisted 
 but of one territory, that lies iu the neighbourhood of Yisneagh, and did not 
 extend farther till the time of Tuathal Teachtrahar. He says, Hkewise, that the 
 river of Slainge, that passes through the middle of the pro\-ince of Leinster, and 
 runs to Wexford, received its name from that Slainge ! and therefore it appears 
 to him, that the codutry of Meath was the division he obtained from his bre- 
 thren ; and for a reason equally invaKd, he declares, that Dimiha Slainge (other 
 wise called Dion Riogh, situated upon the bank of the Bearow, between Catharlagh 
 and Laghhn, upon the west side of that river), had that name from the Slainge 
 above mentioned, whose mansion-house he asserts it was, and the^lace where 
 he died. But these notions are the genuine otTspring of his own brain ; for he 
 was ignorant of the antiquities of Ireland, he had no opportunities of consulting 
 the ancient records, and therefore he must be a stranger to the concerns and the 
 transactions of the kingdom. 
 
 For will any man persuade me, that this writer made a strict search and in- 
 crJry into the chronicles of that nation, when he says, that Kossmacruin lies in 
 tlie province of Munster? And so utterly unacquainted was he with the di- 
 vl-ioa of the kingdom, that he positively asserts that Meath was a province, 
 when Cambrensis (whose ignorance or maUce carried him into notorious false- 
 hoods) never gives it that appellation, but agrees so far with the pubHc chroni- 
 cles, as to call it only a division of the country taken out of the other provinces. 
 This Stanihm-st with great confidence di\ides the kingdom of Ireland into two 
 parts, the one inhabited by English, the other possessed by English and Irish ; 
 and with uncommon elFrontery asserts, that the meanest Fingallian in Ireland 
 would esteem it a corruption of his blood to m.any his daughter into the best 
 families among the Irish. The words he uses in his chronicle are,* "The mean- 
 est CuilHneach, that lives in the English province, would not give his daughter 
 iu man-iage to the most noble prince among the Irish." But where is the fide- 
 lity of this author, when it is evident, that many noblemen of the first quality, 
 who are originally of English extraction, have married into Irish noble famihes, 
 ATriithout any diminution of their honour, or blemish to their posterity. Among 
 many instances that might be offered, it will be sufficient to mention the Earl of 
 Kildare, who man-ied into the family of Mac Carty Reogh and O'Neill, and by 
 that means is related to many gentry in the kingdom ; the Earl of Ormond con- 
 tracted into the family of O'Bryen and Mac Gully Patrick ; the Earl of Desmond 
 is allied to the tribe of Mac Carthy More, and the Earl of Conacht to the family 
 of O'Rourke ; not to speak particularly of viscounts, barons, and gentlemen of 
 English descent, and as nobly extracted as any Cuilbneach in Fingall, who have 
 not disdained to marry among the original Irish, and upon ail occasions to cul- 
 tivate an alliance with them. 
 
 I hit in order the more effectually to invalidate the testimony of Stanihurst, 
 that false historian, it must be observed, that he was the most improper to \^^^lo 
 a chronicle of Ireland, because he was ovemm with prejudice, and set to work by 
 persons who naturally abhorred an Irishman, and urged liim on to misrepresent 
 them, at all adventures, as a worthless and ignominous people. This author was 
 a renegado from his own countiy, as well as from integrity and truth, and with 
 the first air which he drew in England, where he received his education, he con- 
 ceived an inflexible aversion to the Irish, which he discovered upon his return, 
 when he undertook, without any abilities or proper materials, to write the hi^;- 
 tory of Ireland. This doughty performance he waa big with for some years, and 
 
 » rulinomm omnium u'timns qui in An^tia rrnvincia habitat, tiliain suaui liobiiiiiiimo 
 whiclpi Ilihernoruia in niatfimonium ooa durct. 
 
PREFAca. xxifi 
 
 by the help of spleen and ill-natuve, was at last delivered of, to tV great joy of 
 his English patrons, who bought him off from his honesty with large biibes, 
 and are much more industrious to stigmatise the Irish, than to deliver the me- 
 morials of their own nation uncorrupt to posterity. As one notorious instance 
 of the hatred this author bore to the people of Ireland, he remarks, that thar 
 Cuillineachs of Fingall were highly to blame for not expelling the Irish language 
 out of that part of the country, when they drove out the inhabitants, .and forced 
 them to look out for new settlements ; and the more to express his virulency he 
 observes, that notwithstanding the great encomiviras bestowe(f upon the Irish lan- 
 guage, whoever makes himself acqiiainted with it will soon discover the rudeness 
 and incivility of those who speak it. What can be the design of these reflections, 
 but to intimate, that the English, when they got the sovereignty of the kingdom 
 into their hands, ought to have extirpated the Irish race, and, like Pagan con- 
 querors, have rooted out the very name and language from off the earth? What- 
 ever people carry their arms into another country, and subdue it, if they ara 
 Christians, are contented with the submission of the inhabitants, and with trans- 
 planting colonies of their own country among the natives : but the practice of 
 the Pagans was, after they had reduced a country to obedience, to extirpate tha 
 native possessors, and compel them to look out for new abodes in foreign coun- 
 tries. Thus, according to the basbarity of this author, ought the English to ha-s'a 
 carried on their conquests, to have shaken hands with the principles of humanity 
 and religion, and put all the Irish to the sword, A conqueror, who has any sen- 
 timents of Christianity within him, never suppresses the language of the nation 
 he overcomes ; and in tliis manner the English were treated by William of Nor- 
 mandy, When he made a conquest of that kingdom, he permitted the people to 
 retain their language, by which means it is continued by the inhabitants with 
 some alterations to this day : but Hengist the Saxon, when by the success of his 
 arms he became formidable in England, compelled the inhabitants to forsake tha 
 country, and transplanted people of his own in their room ; by which means tho 
 native language was extii-pated, and the new colonies introduced another of their 
 own. This Pagan conqueror acted consistent with the cruel sentiments of Stani- 
 hurst, who laments that the Irish language was not banished the island ; which 
 could not have been done unless the inhabitants Avho used it had been expellee, 
 which had been an act so barbarous and wicked, that no poHtician but Stani- 
 hurst would have suggested it, and no conqueror unless a Pagan would have put 
 it in execution. Such, therefore, we perceive, was the irreconcilable hatred of 
 tbis writer to the nation of the Irish, that the principles of Inimanity and rehgion, 
 and law of nature and nations, are to be violated, to destroy the native Irish, 
 and in the general massacre the people and ihi language are to be rooted out. 
 
 This writer, among other reflections, condemns the judges for their methods of 
 administering justice, and censures the physicians of Ireland as unskilful, and of 
 the meanest capacity in their profession. Those aspersions are unpardonable in 
 one who had not the least knowledge of the Irish language, and by conseqxxence 
 must be a stranger to the method they used in their judicial proceedings ; he 
 mvLst be ignorant of the laws and customs of the country, nor is he able to form 
 a judgment of the abilities of one profession of men in it. This was the case of 
 Stanihurst, who neither was able to read or understand the Irish tongue, and 
 might with great justice be compared to a blind man, who finds fault with the 
 colour of a piece of cloth, when it is impossible he should have an idea of 
 colours, or know the difference between black and blue. The same impropef 
 judge is this writer, to pronoimce sentence upon the arts and sciences, the laws 
 and customs of tho Irish, when he understood not a word in the language, could 
 n')t read their boolcs, nor converse with the learned professors in their owl 
 tongue. 
 
 ^ 
 
>fXiV PREFACE. 
 
 f. iUiiWy tojDe exploded is the testimony of this writer, when he passes a cen 
 sura upon the musicians of Ireland, and contemns them aa ignorant of that divino 
 art, and strangers to that harmony which belongs to it. With what face could 
 Stanihurst assert this falsehood, who had no notion of music, of harmony, or 
 distinction of sounds, and no capacity to judge of the notes Siwi excellency of 
 Ihat art But malice and prejudice have betrayed him into ignorance to all im- 
 partial judges ; for it is well known to all who have conversed in the least with 
 the ancient chronicles of Ireland, that no people in the world had a better tast^j 
 of music, and took' more delight or ■employed more of their time in the pleasures 
 of it. Their laws, their systems of physic, and other sciences, were poetical com- 
 pitsitions, and set to music, which was always esteemed the most polite part of 
 learning among them. This author, therefore, is rash and ignorant in his cen- 
 sures, when he traduces the Irish as a rude and unharmonious nation, when their 
 genius peculiarly inclined them to music, in which they became excellent profi- 
 cients, and improved the art to a wonderful advantage. I admire that he had 
 not upon this occasion consulted Giraldus Cambrensis, who gives a different cha- 
 ractei- of the Irish, and particularly applauds them for their accomplishments in 
 music. In tiie nineteenth chapter of his history he has this expression :* " I 
 f lid the commendable diligence of that nation to be particularly employed in 
 musical instruments, with which they are incomparably furnished above any 
 other nation that I have seen." But Stanihurst overlooks whatever tends to 
 raise the character of the Irish, and thrOAVs scandal and invective in an abundant 
 manner, and even in his spleen exceeds the falsehoods of Cambrensis himself, who 
 had more modesty than to oppose truth so notoriously evident as that the Irish 
 are naturally lovers of music, and have a polite taste of that art. The same 
 author bestows a great encomium upon the Irish music in tlie same chapter :t 
 " The melody is completed and rendered agreeable by so sweet a swiftness, by so 
 vmequal a parity of sound, by so disagreeing a concord." From these citations, 
 taken from a writer who renounced all partiality in favour of the Irish, it ap- 
 pears that what Stanihurst adv^ances concerning the Irish music is the effect of his 
 malice ; and of the same certainty with the character which he gives of the musi- 
 iians of Ireland, whom he calls a set of blind harpers; whereas, if he had in- 
 fiuired at the time when he wrote his romantic history, he would have found, 
 that for one musician that was blind there were twenty who had their perfect 
 sight, and could see clearly into the malice of his rotten heart, when he under- 
 tooiv to vilify and traduce the Irish, and represent them in the blackest coloai^ 
 t'> posterity. 
 
 It ought to be observed in this place, that Stanihurst was, for three unan- 
 pwerable reasons, utterly unqualified to write a chronicle ; and therefore he had 
 no right to the title of an historian, nor ought by men of learning to be esteemed 
 as such. In the first place, he was so young when he undertook this work that 
 his years would not allow him to read and examine the ancient chronicles of the 
 kingdom, or to arrive at the least knowledge of the genealogies of the people 
 whose history he proposed to write. Secondly, if his years would have permitted 
 him to peruse the public records of the kingdom, he had not the least acquain- 
 tance Avith the Irish language, in Avhich all the memorable transactions and the 
 pt.-digrees of the inhabitants were originally written. And thirdly, he had re- 
 roimced tliat impartiality which is essentially necessary to an historian; for, 
 bring a person of an ambitious nature, and solicitous of applause, those who 
 iii-ged him vn to engage in his design courted him with large gifts and prounses 
 
 • In niusicis solum in strum en tis commendabilem invenio gentis istius diligentiam, In 
 qnibas pra; omni nations qnam vidimus incoinpriraialiter est instructa. 
 
 i Tarn suavi velocivate, tarn dispari paritate, tam discoiJi coiicoi-auo, consoua redditui 
 Ct comi'ietur meiodid. 
 
J. advan'cemeat, upon condition he Avould blacken the Irish nation ; so that his 
 tuteffrity was corrupted by bribes, and therefore he was disabled, unless ho 
 would betray his trust and disappoint his patrons, to write the truth, and be just 
 in his representations. It is certain that Stanihurst was faithful to those ^'ho 
 employed him, and the history which he drew up fully answered their expecta- 
 tions ; but he lived to repent the injustice he had been guilty of, and when 
 afterwards he entered into holy orders, he promised, by a formal recantation, 
 pubhcly to revoke all the falsehoods he had recorded in that work ; and for that 
 pui'pose, as I am credibly informed, a wi-iting was drawn up, in order to bo 
 printed in Ireland, and laid before the world ; but if it was ever pubhshed, I 
 ^^•ould never find a copy of it, and, therefore, am apt to believe that it was bv 
 oome means or other utterly suppressed. If this recantation had seen the ligh':^ 
 among infinite mistakes that would have been corrected, his history, I am per- 
 suaded, would have been purged of this ignorant blunder, where he says that 
 the Irish when they are fighting cry out, Pharo, Pharo, Pharo, which word, with 
 great stupidity, he imagines, is derived from Pharaoh, king of Egypt ; whereas 
 the word is the same mth Faire, Faire, which in the English signifies Watch, 
 Watch, and imports as much as is intended by the French, who cry out Garda, 
 Garda, when they apprehend their friend, whom they value, is in imminent; 
 danger. 
 
 Doctor Hanmcr likewise, in his chronicle, has been guilty of great mistake;:. 
 He asserts that one Bartolinus was the commander of the Milesians when the-' 
 first came into Ireland. Partholanus is the name he means in this place ; and 
 it is evident by the Irish chronicles that there was more than the distance of 
 700 years between the coming of Partholanus and the landing of the Milesians 
 an Ireland. Partholanus discovered the coasts 300 years after Noah's flood, and 
 it was 1080 years after the Flood when the sons of Milesius set foot upon the 
 Irish shore. And, as the great Camden justly obsei-ves, more regard is to be 
 paid to the old records of the kingdom than to the testimony of Hanmer, whose 
 authority is far from being infallible. " Detur sua antiquitate venia," was the 
 saying of that learned antiquary, whose ojnnion it was, that the antiquities of 
 Ireland are much more valuable, and of more authority, than those of any other 
 nation in the world. When he speaks of Ireland, in his Britannia, he has this 
 expression :* " This island was not without reason called the ancient Ogygia by 
 Plutarch ;" and the reason he gives is,f "for they begin their histories from tlu! 
 most profound memory of antiquity, so that the antiquity of all other nation; , 
 in respect of them, is mere novelty." From whence it may be reasonably con- 
 chided that the public chronicles of Ireland are of uncontested authority, and 
 sufficient to overthrow the testimony of Ilamner, or any modern writer what- 
 soever. 
 
 Ihere are some writers who expressly assert that Froto, king of DenmaviC, 
 was king of Ireland at the time when Christ was bom ; and among the rest 
 Hanmer gives into this opmion. But this assertion has no fomidation, for tiie 
 ancient records of the kingdom observe that Criomthan Niadhnar was the mon- 
 arch of the island at the birth of Christ ; and Hanmer, who was an English- 
 man, and never saw nor understood the chronicles of Ireland, could never know 
 v/hat particular prince had the sovereignty of the island at that time ; and no 
 wonder, when it was out of his power to discover who was the king of Britain 
 at so great a distance of time as the birth of Christ. Daniel, Gildas, Rider, and 
 many other authors, who have attempted to write the history of Britain, con- 
 fess that they can come to no certainty concerning the transactions of that king- 
 
 * Kon immerito h£ec insula O^ytiia pem;.f:iqua a Plntarclio dicta fait, 
 t A profundissima enim antiquimtis meinoria liistovias suas auspicantur, aaco ut pr< 
 "lii oiuniB omnium gentium imtiq^uitas sit novitas. 
 
 B 
 
d.jta before the arrival of the Saxons and Normans ; which gave occasion to the 
 learaed Camden to observe, that he could not absolutely determine so much a3 
 from whence the country of Britain received its name, and therefore is contentud 
 to. give us his conjecture among other writers. Fi'om hence I infer, that if 
 Ilanmer, and other English historians, found it impossible to discover who 
 reigned in the kingdom of Britain at the distance of so many ages as the birth 
 (,t Christ, it is presumption and ignorance in him to assume a right of asserting, 
 positively, that Froto, the king of Denmark, was the monarch of Ireland when 
 our Saviour lirst appeared in the world: it was impossible for him to arrive at 
 any knowledge of the Irish affairs, and therefore what he says is no more tha^i 
 conjecture, and Ins authority of no account. 
 
 Nor is this writer to be less censured, for declaring, that St. Patrick had no 
 right to be called the Irish apostle ; that he was not the first who planted tha 
 Christian faith in {lie kingdom of Ireland, neither was he the first who dis- 
 covered St. Patrick's cave in the island of purgatory. These actions he igno^ 
 rantly ascribes to another Patrick, an abbot, who lived in the year of Christ, 
 850. But there is no foundation in truth for this assertion ; and to prove this, 
 the words of St. Ciiesarius, who lived 600 years after the birth of Christ, ami 
 150 before Patrick the abbot v/as born, are of great consequence : this autin)^ 
 in the thirty-eighth chapter of his book, entitled, Liber Dialogorum, has tins 
 expression ;* " Whoever doubts of purgatory, let him go to Scotland, and ha 
 will no longer question the pains of purgatcrj'-." From hence it evidently ap- 
 pears that St. Patrick's cave, in the island of purgatory, could not be originally^ 
 uiscovered by the abbot above mentioned, but by St. Patrick, who is jusiiy 
 called the apostle of the Irish ; for to say otherwise would be to confess, tha t 
 Patrick the abbot found this cave 250 years before he was born ; since it ia 
 evident, that Cfesarius speaks expressly of Patrick's purgatory 250 years belbra 
 that abbot lived, and, consequently, that cave received its name from fet. 
 -Patrick, the apostle of the Irish. Besides the ancient records and traditions of 
 the kingdom agree unanimously, that St. Patrick, originally found out the cav(; 
 in the island of purgatory, which is authority of sufiicient weight to overru!;o 
 the opinion of Hanmer, who, from his aversion to the Irish, advanced this false- 
 hood, and that the Irish might have the least title to favour in diat cave. 
 
 Another observation of equal credit is made by this author Vi his twenty- 
 fourth page, where ho declares, that Fionn Mac Cumhaill was originally of 
 British extraction. In this assertion he is opposed by the ancient records of 
 Ireland, which pronounce him of Iiish descent ; that he came from NuadhaNeacht, 
 king of Leinster, who sprang from the royal line of Heremon, son of Milesiu'^, 
 king of Spain.^ With the same falsehoodhe asserts, that the Irish authors maki 
 mention of one Giollamarra, that Avas king of Ireland, who he says was son to 
 the king of Thumond. I shall content myself with what has been already said 
 with regard to this fiction, and take no further notice of it, since it carries hi 
 own confutation. The account he gives, in his chronicles, of the battle of Fiona 
 Iragha, I suppose was designed to ridicule the authority of the Irish record?', 
 and to persuade the world that their testimony ought to be esteemed of no 
 weight, since it is evident to the meanest capacity, that the battle of Fionn 
 Tragha, though it be related in some of the chronicles of Ireland, yet is no 
 more than a poetical fiction, designed to entertain and divert the reader, and not 
 related as a matter of fact ; which answer is sufiicient to destroy the credit of 
 what he m; rites of some other transactions which lie has recorded, particularly 
 what he apeaks of Fiana Eirionn, &c 
 
 * Qui (,1i pnrgnt.oilo dubifat Scolir-m pcvgii et a;::; lius Ue p'jeais purjntorii nontUibl- 
 
8OST0N COLLEGE LfBRABv • 
 
 rRE.icK.CHesTNUT H/u. mII^^'^^-'' 
 
 Among other notari jus falsehoods of this author, he assorts, that Slainge, the 
 sou of Dela, thssoa of Loich, was kin^j of Iralaad thirt}'- years ; but this is con- 
 tradicted by our autheatic chronicles, which determine that one year was tho 
 A\ hole extent of his reign. Nor is he to be believed, when he declares that the 
 archbishop of Canterbury exercised a jurisdiction over the clergy of Ireland, 
 from the time of Augustine the monk ; since Ihe chronicles of Ireland observe 
 expressly, that the archbishop of Canterbury never claimed any authority over 
 the Irish clergy till the reign of William the Conqueror ; and even then he did 
 not pretend to a power that extended farther than the clergy of Dublii), Wer- 
 ford; Waterford, and Cork, who descended originally from the Danes, and Avere 
 called Normans, from their affection to the people of Normandy, and put them- 
 selves under the jurisdiction of the ai'chbishop of Canterbury, out of an inflexible 
 aversion to the Iri--h, and to introduce a foreign power among them. Besides, 
 there is good authority to believe that that part of the cler^cy acknowledged no 
 sub'ection to the see of Canterbury, but during the government of three arch- 
 blsiDps, Rodolph, Lanfranc, and Anselm : so that what Hanmer advances in 
 this place, that the Irish clergy were un:ler the archie^iiscopal see of Canterbury, 
 from the time of Augustine the monk, is a falsehood as ignorant as malicious, 
 and deserves no credi 
 
 Nor is he to be beUeved, when he writes that Morough, the son of Coghlaa, 
 v/as king of Ireland in the year of our redemption lOtiO ; for it is evident beyond 
 denial, that Roderick O'Connor was the monarch of the island at that time, 
 which was four years before the English landed upon the coasts. He likewise 
 asserts that Comhghall, the abbot of Beannchuir, was born in Great Britain, 
 wliich is entirely a hction of his own ; for it appears, in the account of his life, 
 that he was born at a place, in the province of Ulster, called Dail na Ruighe, 
 and that he descended from the family of the Dail na Ruighes in that country : 
 but this writer had a design in making this abbot of British extraction, which 
 mu'st be detected ; for it must be observed, that the pious Comhghall was the 
 founder of the abbey of Beaoncliuir, in the province of Ulster, which was the 
 mother of all the monasteries in Europe. The same religious person raised a 
 monasteiy in Wales, near West Chester, called Bangor ; so thiit if this doughty 
 historian could persuade the world, that Comhghall was of a British descent, 
 whatever foundations he laid, and structures he erected, would contribute to the 
 glory of the English nation, and the Irish would be fobbed of the honour of 
 them. The same inveterate eaemy of the Irish asserts farther, that Farsa 
 .Faolan, and Uitan, were illegitimate children of the king of Leinster ; but this is 
 a malicious perversion of fact, for the chronicles of Ireland speak expressly, that 
 th^y were the sons of Aodh Beanin, king of Munster. Were I to enumerate all 
 the errors arising either from malice or ignorance, which Hanmer has committed 
 in his chronicle, I should enlarge this preface to au improper length, and weary 
 the patien(fe of the reader, who, by these instazices, may judge of tiie capacity of 
 this author, and his qua'.ihcations for an historian, anl'therefore I shall cease to 
 pursue him any farther. 
 
 John Barclay, speaking of the country of Ireland, has these words :* " They 
 build slight houses of the height of a man, which are in common for tiiemselves 
 and their cattle." But this writer imitates the sordid disposition of the beetle, 
 who stoops to excrements for his diet, and neglects the fragrant flowers, and a 
 more deUcate nourishment. In like manner Barclay describes the mean and con- 
 temptible abodes of the lowest of people, and passes over in silence the stately 
 palaces, and magniticent structures, erected from time to time by the nobiUty 
 and gentry of Ireland, equal to, if not surpassing, in grandeur and expense, the 
 
 « i'rtigiles do.n'03 adaltitu.iiaa.n ho.mnis escitant sifti et pecoribus comrQuaea. 
 
X.XVIII PI^EFACE. 
 
 most costly and splendid fabrics of the iieiglibouring naticns. This partiality is 
 suificient to overthrow the testimony of this author, among learned judges, and 
 to invalidate his evidence, wlien he attempts to derive a scandal and reproach 
 upon the state and magnificence of the ancient Irish, 
 
 Morison has given himsrelf wonderful diversion, and fancies he delightfully en- 
 tertains his reader, by writing in a ludicrous manner of the customs and man- 
 ners of the Irish ; but notwithstanding his fluency of style in the English lau- 
 ^age, his pen contradicted his knowledge, and he was sensible, that under a 
 humorous way of expressing he disguised the truth, and imposed fables in the 
 room of it. Such a writer is not worthy the name of an historian, who attempts 
 to give an account of the inhabitants of any country, and yet conceals whatever 
 is praiseworthy and honourable relating to them ; and with the most abusi^'e 
 partiahty records only what gives them a mean and despicable character, and 
 tends to reproach and lessen them in the eyes of posterity. This author had 
 conceived the utmost prejudice, and a most cordial detestation of the Irish, and 
 was urged on to write by professed enemies to the glory of that nation ; and 
 therefore it is not to be wondered that he describes them, as abase and contemp- 
 tible people. It were an easy matter, were it consistent with the rules of true 
 history, to rake among the di-egs of any nation, and enlarge upon the rudeness 
 and incivihties of their manners ; but this is not the business of an historian^ who 
 sinks beneath his proper character, when he stoops to such low arts, and prosti- 
 tutes his pen upon so insignificant a subject. Take a survey of the obstinate 
 and unruly temper of the common people in Scotland, the ungoveraable disposi- 
 tion of the English populace, the proud and insolent peasants in France, and 
 the lordly mechanics of Flanders, the vanity and pride of a poor Spaniard, and 
 boorishness of the Germans ; go into Italy, and inquire into the most learned 
 and polite parts of Europe, and it would swell volumes to describe the rude man- 
 ners and customs of the meaner sort, though it is below the dignity of an histo- 
 rian to take notice of them, since it discovers tlie malice and partiality of the 
 writer, and tends rather to corrupt than to improve mankind. Whoever 
 attempts to treat in general of the manners of a country, and describes only the 
 cUsposition of the uncivihzed populace, without giving an accoimt of the nobility 
 (ind gentry, ought not to retain the name of an historian, but of a libeller and 
 pamphleteer, who conceals the truth, to oblige the party that employ him, 
 which was the case of Morison, Campion, and some others. 
 
 Nor is the learned Camden free from the imputation of partiality, when he 
 Bpeaks of the inhabitants of Ireland. He asserts, that it is a custom in that 
 country, that the priests, with their wives and childr-en, have their dwelling 
 in the churches consecrated to divine use, where they feast, and riot, and play 
 upon music ; by which means those holy places are desecrated, and used to 
 profane purposes. In answer to this charge, it must be observed, that this 
 in-eligious custom was introduced after the reformation, by Henry *r^lIL king 
 of England ; nor has it been practised for many ages, but in the most unci- 
 vilized part of the kingdom, and by a sort of clergy, who pretend to be exempt 
 from the authority of ecclesiastical superiors, and placed beyond the reach of church 
 discipline. Giraldus Cambrensis has given a satisfactciy account of the piety 
 and devotion of the Irish clergy, and sufficiently refutes this falsehood of Cam- 
 den. The expression he makes use of is this :* " If any dedicate themselves 
 to religion, they govern themselves with a religious austerity, in watching 
 and praying, and mortifying themselves by fasting." And the same author, 
 in his twenty-seventh chapter, speaking particularly of the Irish clergj'', givea 
 
 • 8i qui relipioni se consecrant, reiigiosa qaadani austeritate se continent, vigilando, 
 oraurta, et jejuniis se inauarando. 
 
■ I'BEFACE. Xxix 
 
 them tlis character ;* " The cleray are safiicieHtly commendable for iLeir reli- 
 gion, unci, iJinong ether \'irtues that are perspicuotis in them, their chastity is 
 most eminently tligtingnished." From -Rhence the partiality of Camden ap- 
 pears, hy charging the whole body of the Irish clergy- with that indecent and 
 1 rofane custom. Stanihurst, who was never partial in favour of the Irish, has 
 this expression in his histoiy of Ireland, written in the year 1584 ;t "The peo- 
 ]>le of Ireland, for the most part, are of a very religions disposition ;" so that 
 this practice could not be justly charged upon, the clergy^ of Ireland, but upon 
 such of them as denied the authority of their supericrs. and indulged tbemsehes 
 in many rude and unjustifiable actions, without control or restraint. 
 
 This English anticpiary asserts farther, that the people of Ireland made no a& 
 count of matrimony, except such as lived in cities, and in the civilized part of 
 the kingdom. This is an. accusation, not only false and invidious, and highly- 
 reflecting upon the nobility and gentry, who are natives of the island, but upon 
 the English, who have settled and obtained possessions in the country. I con- 
 fess, indeed, that scm^e of the meaner sort are of a wild and untractable nature ; 
 and, like the populace in all parts of the world, are ungovernable in their a];>pe- 
 tites, and not to be restrained by any laws, either civil or ecclesiastical. It is an 
 mipardonable instance of partiality, therefore, in Cam.den, to condemn the whole 
 body of the Irish nobility and gentiy, who live in the coimtiy, remote from towns 
 snd cities, as if they AviicCy followed the rides of lust, without any rcsjiect to ma- 
 trimonial contracts ; since it is evident, that a few only of the baser sort are 
 guilty of this abominable practice, and indulge themselves in such bestial liberties. 
 It is barbarity for a whole nation to be aspersed for the guilt of a lew, and those 
 the veiy dregs of the peopl-e. 1 pay a great respect in ctber cases to the memoiy 
 of Camden, and confess the value of his writings, but I cannot acquit him of 
 piejudice, in laying this savage custom to the whole nation of Ireland, who are, 
 generally speaking, a polite and virtuous people, and just to their matrimonial 
 engagements ; and desers^e not to sufi'er. for the sake of a few, who, like the vulgar 
 in all countries, allow themselves unchristian freedoms, and fly in the face of the 
 laws which attempt to correct them. With regard to what is charged upon the 
 Irish by other v. riters, that they very religiously cbserv^e their matrimonial con- 
 tracts for the space of a year, and think they may lawfully dissolve them, it is. 
 sutiicient to reply, that this opinion prcAailed only among the nide and xmpolished 
 jart of the people, who despised the disciplme of the Churcli, and denied the au- 
 thority of their ecclesiastical superiors. 
 
 Campion, in the sixth chapter of the first bcok of his luster}^, with great in- 
 justice remarks upon the Irish, that they are so weak in their judgments, as to 
 bdieve implicitly whatever is declared to them by their spuitual guides, whom 
 they obey without reserve, and who have it in their power to impose upon and 
 lead them which way they please ; and to support this charge he relates a fabu- 
 kus story to this effect. "There was," says he, " a very covetous prelate in 
 Ireland, who had the art to impose upon his people, and make them believe what- 
 ever he pleased, however monstrous and incredible. This bishop, upon a time, 
 V, anted a sum of money, and in order to obtain it from his congregation, he teUs 
 tbem, that some years ago St. Patrick and St. Peter had a very violent contest 
 about an Irish Golloglach, that St. 1 atrick designed to introduce into heaven ;, 
 but St. Peter opposed him, jftid in his passion struck' St. Patrick with his key, 
 ar.d broke his head, so that he desired their contribution : by which means the 
 jjcople were prevailed utgn to part with theii money, :*nd the bishop obtained liia 
 
 ♦ Fst aiitem clerus satis relidoTie comrnenclatjiis, et inter varias quibus pralucet virtu- 
 tofi, < f.M'itas \ rarcgativa i if. < niiiitl. 
 t ilibs^niic: ttiam ma^ua rx pu-iu; sunt religionis smurue toieiiiCK. 
 
pr-rp'>5«" Tlr"s is tl\3 f^tory re' ile I In- Ua !i;)iou, who, like ai u.Jtar upon Cd 
 ill. J,, iirtposoj Lii)ou the worlcl vviiu tictions that coakL not possibly have anv fc.iir.- 
 clacioi! ill nature. For can it be supposed, that a Christian of the meanest ciipa- 
 ( ity v/oulcl believe, that St. Patrick, v/ho died above a thousand years ago, and 
 Sr. L'eter, shnuld q.uarrel and come to blovfs, and that St. Patrick should havo 
 Ills head broke with St. Peter's key ; as if the key hid been made of iron, which 
 e\'ery \yody knows to be n )thln'^ material, but iuipUes only a power of binding 
 auii lo-osing ? Besides, thid fa!)ulous writer, to show his accomplishmerits, con- 
 fesses, in his epistle prefixed, that he spent but ten weeks in compiling his history 
 i)f Ireland; which is sufficient to convince impartial judges of the merits of hid 
 peri'ormance, and how impossible it was in so short a time to provide mattei for 
 t!ie work ; or if the materials were ready to his hand, to dispose themiinto method 
 iiiid form, and to judge of the ttuth of facts, which in Ms liurry he wrote at all 
 a-lveutures, and insolently calls his book tlie History of Ireland. 
 
 There was an English priest, wiiose name was Good, that taught a school iu 
 Lirnerick, in the year of Christ 156(5, and upon the strictest survey and inrpiiry 
 gives this account of the people of Ireland.* " They are a people robust and 
 of great agility of body, of a stout and magntinimous disposition, of a sharp 
 and warlike genius, prodigal of fife, patient of labour, of cold, and of hunger, 
 :>f an amorous inclination, exceeding kind and hospitable to strangers, constant 
 m their love, implacable to their enemies, easy to believe, impatient of reproach 
 and injury." And Stanihurst gives them the following character :f " In labours 
 t;ie inost patient of jriaakind, and seldom despairing under the greatest diifioul- 
 ties." 
 
 One John Davis, an English author, takes apon him to censure the laws and 
 usages of Ireland, particularly he rernatks how unjust the customs are, that the 
 brother of a deceased person should succeed in the inheritance of the estate 
 bef )re the son ; that the estate of & favnily should be divided equally among the 
 brothers, and chat the law will accept of a satisfaction in money and cattle from 
 the murderer when a person is Idlled. In answer to the complaint of this writer, 
 it must be observed, that the laws and customs of countries generally diifer, and 
 are variable in their own nature, as the exigency of aftairs requires ; and like- 
 wise that these three customs were not originally admitted into the body of Irisii 
 laws, but were introduced when the natives fell into civil dissensions among them- 
 solves in every part of the kingdom, so that they were killing and plundering 
 one another, with the utmost cruelty, without mercy or distinction ; for which 
 reason, the nobiUty and gentry of the island, who were best acquainted with the 
 Irish laws and constitutions, wisely considered what fatal consequences might 
 follow, and with great prudence thought fit to establish the three customs above- 
 mentioned. First, they thought proper tliat the estate should descend to thi 
 brother, in order that every family might be supplied with an able and expe- 
 rienced commander, to defend them and lead thenx into the field : for if the sua 
 ^v•a;^ to succeed in the command of his (h'ceased father, it must sometimes una- 
 v'Jda!)!y happen, that he will be an infant, or of too raw years to defend the 
 family from the attemjits of then- enemies. Secondly, the custom of dividing 
 estates among the brothers could not well he avoided in Ireland, for otherwise 
 the rent of every country would be insufiicient to pay the number of soldie) i 
 tiiat was necessary for its defence; but when the lands were divided, the^brotticr 
 who had the least lot, would be as able to defend his count/'lj'' as the chieftain 
 
 * Gens hrec corpoi-e valida, efc iraprirais a^ilis, animo fortis, et elata, mgenio acris et 
 l)!'ilicosa, vitae prodiga, iaboris et frigoris efc inediae patieiis venori iudulgens hospitibas, pei'- 
 h ii'saa, ti'.nore constims, inimico hnplacabilis, credulitaLe levis, coutumeUa et iajurue iiu- 
 
 l...,tU',llS. 
 
 1 iulaboris ex omni hominum generc patieatiisimi, in ronnn aiiyuitiis raro fratti. 
 
himself : and thirdly, it was necessary that money or cattle should be adnuitcd, 
 iia satisfaction for a person killed ; becauj.*; if the murderer could find means to 
 escape into the next country, he avoided tlie hands of justice, and it was impos- 
 sible to punish him ; and therefore the law ordained, that the friends of the 
 deceased should receive satisfaction from the relations of the murderer, which was 
 a sum of money, or a number of cattle ; for it would have been injustice, if the 
 relations, who were not accessary to the fact, should answer it with their lives, 
 if the principal was not to be found. So that it was not candid in Davis to 
 reflect upon the Irish laws for those customs ; the two former of which the Irish 
 constitution could not possibly subsist without, and they were absolutely neces- 
 sary to the support of the public peace ; the last, ! am informed, is now practised 
 in England, and therefore Davis might have looked at home, and first have re- 
 formed the laws of his own country, before he attemped to censure and reflect 
 upon the inoffensive customs of the Irish. 
 
 The learned Camden, whUe he writes of Ireland, has this expression :* "These 
 noblemen have their la^vvyers, whom they call Brehons ; their historians, who 
 describe their exploits ; their physicians, their poets, whom they call bards, and 
 musicians, and all of a certain and several family ; that is, the Brehons are of 
 one tribe and name, their historians of another, and so of the rest, who instruct 
 their children and relations in their several arts and professions ; and they ara 
 always their successors, to whom they leave the estates and revenues assigned 
 them." From this testimony of Camden it appears, that the Irish mstituted a 
 proper method to preserve and improve the liberal arts and sciences ; for they 
 appointed a suitable maintenance and provision for every person, who excelled 
 in the art which he particularly professed ; and the artist so distinguished, had 
 authority and jui-isdiction over the several members of the same art or profes 
 sion, and was principally esteemed, and more honom-ably provided for by thg 
 patron that retained lum. So that these Sctlaries and revenues, being settled upon 
 the learned professors, occasioned an emulation, and pi-ovoked the industry of all 
 the youth in the kingdom ; who, encouraged by the rewards annexed, endea- 
 voured with the iitmost application to arrive at perfection in their several studies. 
 And this establishment among the Irish, preserved the state of learning and art 
 in a flourishing condition ; insomuch, that the neighbouring nations were sup- 
 plied with professors from thence, who instructed the youth, and propagated 
 their knowledge over the greatest part of the western world. And the nobiUtf 
 and gentry of Ireland did not only confer a handsome maintenance and support 
 upon their learned j?rofessoi-s, but it was established by the laws, that the land- 
 and patrimonies belonging to them should be esteemed sacred, and not to be 
 vii)lated, and they were allowed as a refuge and asylum to all who fled thithet 
 fir sanctuar5\ So that when many fierce wars fell out between the English and 
 Irish, the learned and their scholars were exempt from plundei' and military 
 executions, and never felt the calamities of war. 
 
 Wlioever reads the sixth chapter of the sixth book of the Comnw^ntarips 
 of Julius Csesar, will 'find, that their sages and men of learning, Avho went 
 frnm other parts of Europe to teach in France, were indulged in the same 
 jrivOeges, which perhaps were originally copied from the practice of the Irish. 
 This introduction would be too tedious and prolix, should I particularly reflect 
 upon all the malicious and ignorant falsehoods related by PJnglish writers, in 
 what they call their histories of Ireland ; for most of them are so monstrous 
 
 * TTnhent enim hi macrnfites suos juriclicos quos Brehones vocant; suos historicos qiil 
 "s Kestas describunt; medicos, poetas, quos barrios vocant, et cirharasdos, efc certae ct sm- 
 rulae fainilise; scilicet, Brehoni unius stirpi.s et nominis, historici alterius. et sic de cxteris, 
 ;;■!! anosliberos, sive cognates, in sua qualibet arte erudiiuit; et semper successorcs Iiabeat 
 qribns singulis sua Drredia assignata sunt. 
 
diui i-jcreuible, that they cany vrith t'lem their own c:):)f!itatlon.; and 
 ought farther to he considered, that whatever these writers dehver, in di'Spraisf- 
 of "the Irish nation, has no other authority, than the bare relation of persons, 
 who bors an inflexible hatred to the Irish name, and were ignorant of the 
 transactions of that kingdom, by reason of their unskilfulness in the language, 
 and by consequence must unavoidably be mistaken, and impose fal*ph>')(.la 
 upon the world 
 
 Camden, who bears the principal character amf)ng these historians, ii ;• 
 very blind Information to support what he observes of the affairs of Irelariiv 
 He has not taken tlie least notice of the conquest of the Tuatlia cle Danaui, 
 who held the sovereignty of the island 197 years; and en-oneously fixes 
 the first invasion of Ireland to be that of Caesar, which the public chroniclea 
 of the kingdom never mention under the name of comjuest, thougli they 
 give a particular account of it : so tliat the design of this English antiquary 
 could be no less than to throw a blemish upon the Irish, both ancient and mo- 
 dern. Besides, it must be observed, that this writer had but a very shor 
 time to search mto the chronicles of Ireland ; he continued in the country 
 but the space of a year and a half, and then returned to England: his hh- 
 tor}'-, when he left Ireland, was so far from being finished, that a year Avoidd 
 not serve to complete it, and he was obliged to leave it to the care of h'n 
 companion, whose name wis Bertram Verdon, who was as unacquainted wit'i 
 the genuine chronicles of Ireland as himself. Upon the wh >le, it is left to all 
 impartial judges to consider, whether I have unjustly censured Cambrensis, an i 
 the English authors, who followed his steps, and copied his falsehoods ; and i > 
 pronounce impartially, whether my history does not stand upon a bettei' foot o'" 
 credit, than any relations of theirs, which they received only by tradition, an I 
 recorded upon that authority only. And it cannot be improper upon this occa- 
 sion, to observe, that, with regard to myself, I am a person of an advanced age, 
 and have acquired a more valuable experience, by understanding tjie public 
 chronicles and ancient authors in their original language, than they (being of 
 other countries, of minor years, and not having time to digest, or capacity to 
 understand the ancient records) could possibly arrive at. It Is not from a prin- 
 ciple of love or aversion, nor that I am moved by the importunity of friends, or 
 the strong influence of rewards, that I undertook to wi'ite the following history 
 of Ireland, but was urged on by reflecting, that so noble a country as the king 
 dora of Ireland, and so worthy and generous a people wha possessed it, oui^ht 
 not to be abused by fabulous relations, or have their memories buried in obli- 
 vion, without being transmitted, and the antiquity and names of the inhabi- 
 tants recorded with honour to posterity ; and I humbly conceive that my 
 liistory shoaid the rather take place, because I trace the antiqixity of the Irish 
 mach higher, and with better authority than other writers, and give a particular 
 account of the most ancient Irish, the Gadelians : and if any one should suppose 
 that I bestow too large encomiums upon that brave and illustrious tribe, or speak 
 Ynth partiality of their exploits, let it be considered that I have no temptation 
 to be unjust, being myself originally of an English extraction, 
 
 I have observed, that every modern historian, who has undertaken to -wTite of 
 Ireland, commends the country, but despises the people ; which so far raised my 
 resentment and indignation, that I set out in this untrodden path, and resolved 
 to "indicate so brave a people from such scandalous abuses, by searching into 
 original records, and from thence compiling a true and impartial* history. It 
 gTieved me to see a nation hunted down by ignorance and malice, and recorded 
 as the scum and refuse of mankind, when upon a strict inquiry they have made 
 AS good a figure, and have signalised themselves in as commendable a manner 
 to posterity, as any people in i'Lui-opa Tiie valour and unshaken braveuy of the 
 
old Irish, and particularly their fixed constancy in tlie Clurfstlan religion, and 
 the Catholic faith, ought to be honourably mentioned, as a proper standard and, 
 example for ages that foUow. I have no occasion to speak particularly of tbe 
 number of saints and holy persons that this island has produced, exceeding in 
 proportion any country in Europe ; aU histories allow that Ireland wa^ the 
 established seat of learning, that annually afforded numbers of professors, who 
 were sent to cultivate and improve the neighbouring nations of France, Italy, 
 Germany, Flanders, England and Scotland ; as appears abundantly from the 
 preface before the book that treats of the lives of St. Patrick, Cojumba, and 
 Bridget, that is written 'ui English. 
 
 If it be objected, •'■tiat the chronicles of Ireland are liable to suspicion, and 
 may be justly questioned, let it be observed in reply, that no people in the world 
 took more care to preserve the authority of their public records, and to delive. 
 them uncoiTupt to posterity. The chronicles of the kingdom ^vere solenmly 
 purged and examined every three years, in the royal house of Tara, in the pre- 
 sence of the nobility and clergy, and in a full assembly of the most learned and 
 eminent antiquaries in the comitry : and to prove thi^ the undernamed books of 
 the first note, that are to be seen at this day, are inaisputabie authorities : the 
 book cf Ardmach, the Psalter of Cashd, written by the holy Cormac Mac Cuil- 
 lenan, king of Munster ana archbishop of Cashel ; the book entitled Leabhar 
 na huachhugabhala ; the book called Leabhar chluana liifmach, Psalter na rann, 
 Leabhar glindaloch, Leabhar nagceart, written by St. Beningus ; Yighir chia- 
 rain, written in Cluain mac naios ; Leabhar bnidhe, or The yellow book of 
 JMoling ; the black book of Molaige, and Fionntan a 'laoghis. The particular 
 titles and contents of many ancient books are as follow : Leabhar gabhala, signi- 
 fied, The book of conquests; Eehabharna geoigeadh. The book of provincial- 
 iSts ; Reim riogradh, otherwise called The roll of the kings ; The book of ages, 
 tlie book called Leabhar comhsiorgachta, or An accoimt of the people who lived 
 in the same age ; The book of antiquity, the book caUed Coranmach, or of 
 Etymologies ; the book called Uracept, that was written by the leared Cionn 
 Fola ; the book called The \asions of Columba, written by Dalian ForguiU, 
 soon after the death of that saint ; An account "why the woods, the hills, the 
 rivers and lakes in the kingdom, were distinguished by the names tbev bear, 
 The pedigi-ees of women, and many others 
 
 The treatises that are to be seen at this day' In the Irish language, contain 
 particular relations of all the memorable battles and transactions that happened 
 in Ireland from the first accovmt of time, and give an account of the genealo- 
 gies of the principal families in the island ; an d the authority of these public 
 records cannot be questioned, when it is consid ered that there were above two 
 hundred chroniclers and antiquaries, whose busi ness was to preserve and record 
 ell actions and affairs of consequence relating to the public ; they had reveni;ea 
 and salaries settled upon them for their maintenaj\ce, and to support the dignity 
 cf their character ; their annals ?nd histories werp. submitted to the examination 
 and censure of the nobility, clergj- and gentiy, who wece most eminent for learn- 
 ing, and assembled for that veiy purpose, which is evfdence sufficient to evince 
 their authority, and to procure them, upon the account of what has been men- 
 tioned, a superior esteem to the antiquities of any o ther nation, except the 
 Jewish, throughout the world. 
 
 ^'or are we to omit in this place to observe, that the chronicles of Ireland re- 
 ceive an additional value from this consideration, that they were never suppressed 
 by the tyranny and mvasion of any foreign power; for tiioikb the, Danes occa- 
 sioned great troubles in the kingdom of Ireland for many age- yet the number 
 of these pvxblic registerers, whose office was to enter upon rei ord the affairs of 
 the kingdom, were so many, that the Danes could not possil y destroy them 
 
all, though it must be confessed that some of the chronicles of those times did 
 actaally perish. No other country in Europe, that I kaow of, can justly boadt 
 of the same advantage ; for though the Romans, the Gauls, the Goths, Saxons, 
 Saracens, Moors and Danes generally were careful to sappress tlie public records 
 in their respective incursions, yet it was impossible that the antiquities of Ireland 
 should be involved in the same fate, because copies of them were lodged in bo 
 many hands, and there Avcre so many antiquai'ies to take care of them. And 
 this Gambrensis, in his forty-sixth chapter sufficiently confirms ; his words are,* 
 " Ireland, from the beginning, was free from the incursions of other nations ;" 
 by which is intended, that Ireland was never so far mider the yoke of any foreign 
 power, as to confess itself conquered, or that the public antiquities of the king- 
 d)m were suppressed, wliich is a privilege that no other nation in Europe can 
 nistly pretend to 
 
 I have taken the liberty, in the following history, upon good grounds, to 
 change the number of years that are applied to the reigns of some of the pagan 
 Irish kings, and have varied from the account I have met with in some of tJie 
 annals of the kingdom ; and the reason is, because I cannot reconcile the time 
 allotted them, to any chroiPology since the creation to the birth of Christ ; 
 besides, there must be mistakes which no history can consist with, particularly 
 with regard to the reign of Siorna Saogalach, who, if we are directed by the 
 ancient annals of the kings, reigned monarch of the island 250 years. The 
 chi-onicles as'sert, that Siorna when he began to reign, was fifty years old : so 
 that if I had relied wholly upon the authority of the old records, this king would 
 liave lived 300 years, which is utterly incredible ; for this reason I thought it 
 proper to allow him a reign of twenty-one years, which I collected from an old 
 verse, that expressly declares 'his reign to be of no longer a date. Cobhthach 
 CaolmOreac is said, in the ancient records, to be Idng of Ireland fifty years, 
 yet it is impossible reasonably to allow hhn any more than thirty ; for it mu?t 
 he considered, that Moriat, the daughter of Scoriat, king of Concaduibhne, fell 
 in love v/ith Maoine, otherwise called Lab.ira Loingseach, a youth and a stranger 
 that was entertained in her father's house : she was at that time very young, 
 and after she was married she bore him many children; so that if the length 
 of fifty years was properly the reign of Cobhthach, it would follow that Moriat 
 Was sixty years of age when she bore those children to Labhra Loingseach, 
 ^vhich is scarcely possible to suppose ; for which reason the reign of Cobhthach 
 must be shortened, and reduced to the space of thirty years. For other reasons, 
 of equal force Avith these mentioned, I have changed the date of the reign 
 of some other kings in the times of paganism, but I rnay venture to acquit 
 the public antiquaries and original chronicles from being blamed for these mis . 
 takes: they certainly are wth greater justice to be imputed to the ignorance 
 of some transcribers, who 'copied their works, and were incapable to mend 
 those defects. 
 
 It must be lamented, that the Irish, since the Englisn got possession of 
 the kingdom, have omitted the ancient and laudable custom of purgmg and 
 examining into their chronicles ; and the reason seems to be because the pub- 
 lic antiquaries and historians desisted from their employments, their privileges 
 being destroyed, and their estates seized and alienated, so that there was no 
 encoviragement for men. of learning to pursue their studies, oi a competeu*' 
 maintenance to support them. The nobihty and gentrv' of the kingdom Avith 
 drew their contributions, and there arose so many violent quaiTels and dis- 
 j>utes among the Irish and English, that the kingdom was often ir. confli- 
 siuji, and so embroiled, that the antiquaries had neither encouragement hv* 
 protection to carry on the business of their profession. 
 
 * llibernia ab initio ab omni aliennriim gentiiim iiicursu ijoena p<;ruia.naas. 
 
ri;EFACF. XXXV 
 
 It TV-ill not seem strange that the chronology in the following historj'- may in 
 some cases be imperfect and defective, if it be observed what disagreement tliero 
 is among authors, in their computation of time from Adam to the birth of 
 Chi-ist, insomuch, that the most learned chronologers in the world have diflcred in 
 their accoinits, as will abundantly appear by taking a survey of some of th 
 most distingiushed in that study, who are as follow : — 
 
 Amongst the Hebrews. Amongst the Greeks. Amongst the Latins. 
 
 YE.^KS. TEARS. I'KAnS 
 
 Paul Sedecholin counts, 3518 Metrodorus i^ 5000 St. Hierom 394 
 
 The Talmundistes 37S4 Eusebius .5199 St. Aut;ustin 53;.l 
 
 The new Rabbins S760 Theophilus 5476 Isidorus 527') 
 
 T^abbi Naasson 3740 Orosius 5190 
 
 Rabbi Moses Germidist, 4580 Beda 3952 
 
 Jobephus 4192 Alphonsus, 59«4 
 
 These are axithors of principal note for chronological computations, and it ia 
 easy to observe the notorious variations there are in their several accounts, so 
 that it is not to be wondered at, if the Irish chronicles differ in that point : yet, 
 were I to decide this controversy, I think it would be the most plausible stan- 
 dard to allow 4052 years between Adam ard the birth of Christ. My desigr., 
 therefore; is to follow the computation that comes nearest to the account I have 
 mentioned, with regard to the reign of the Irish monarchs, petty princes, and 
 chieftains of the island, and the public concerns and transactions of the kingdom. 
 
 If it should seem surprising, that the following history is diversified with s;) 
 many quotations out of ancient poetry, to prove several matters of fact advanced, 
 and to adjust the chronology of the Irish history ; it must be considered, parti- 
 cularly, that the authors of the Irish chronicles composed their work generally 
 in verse^ that their records might be the less subject to coiTuption and change, 
 that the obscurity of the style might be a defence to them, and that tiie youths, 
 who were instructed in that profession, might be the better able to commit thenx 
 to memoiy. The Irish compositions in verse, or dann, that were of principal 
 note, were called in the Irish language Psalter na Teamhrach, which was always 
 preserved in the custody of the chief antiquaries of the kings of Ireland ; the 
 Psalter of Cashel was written by Comiac Mac Cuilleanan ; and as the word 
 psalm in English, and dnain or dann in the Irish, are of the same signification, 
 so a psalter (in Latin psalterium) is a book that contains many particidar 
 poems ; and since most of the authentic records of Ireland are composed in dann, 
 or in verse, I shall receive them as the principal testimonies to consult in com- 
 piling the following histoiy : for notwithstanding that some of the chronicles of 
 Ireland difter from those poetical records in some cases, yet the testimonj^ of the 
 •annals that were written in verse, is not for that reason invalid, because all the 
 pubhc chronicles, as well in verse as in prose, were submitted to a solemn correc- 
 tion and purgation, and therefore it is reasonable they should be esteemed e t 
 equal authority. 
 
 I have often heard it pronounced impossible, that the genealogy^ of anj- person 
 coidd be lineally traced so high as Adam; but this seeming difrlcidty -Kill 
 vanish, by observing tliat it was easy for the Irish to keep exact pedigrees from 
 the time of Gadelas. The Irish were furnished with a learned body of men, 
 called druids or soothsayers, whose peculiar oflice it Vfas to take a strict account 
 of the several genealogies, and to record the most memorable transactions that 
 Iiappened in the kingdom ; it will appear by the course of this histor}-, that 
 these priests or druids were sufficiently accomplished for this business; pj^rticu- 
 larl}- that Niu3, the father of Gadelas, obtained all his riches and honour upon 
 the account of his learning and exquisite art, from whom were derived, not oiii;,' 
 
iXXVl PREFAC1S ^ 
 
 the streams of learning and knowledge, but a sufficient skill to adjust the pedi- 
 grees of families, and to transmit them uncorrupt to after ages. 
 
 I shall instance in this place, an example taken from a Welsh author, whose 
 name was Asherus, where he gives the pedigi-ee of one of the kings of Britain, 
 and traces it as high as Adam, which I mention as an evidence of the possibility 
 of the thing, and to take off the wonder how the Irish could be masters of such 
 an art, or depend upon the certainty of it. 
 
 Elfred, the son of Neulrof, son of Egbert, son of Ethalmund, son of Ewan, son of 
 Indild, son of Corenred, son of Ceulavald, son of Chatwin, son of Elianlera, son 
 of Cinriff'e, son of Creda, son of Cerdy, son of Ellisa, son of John, son of Brond, 
 son of Verdon, son of Frealde, son ff Frealse, son of Fradawoulfe, son of Cread, 
 son of Cruturaz, son of Bean, son of Seldouin, son of Hewnoi*, son of Heremon, 
 son of Hatra, son of Hinula, son of Berdatrius, son of Japliet, son of Noah. 
 
 Upon the whole, I am persuaded, that whoever consults this history with 
 candour, and with such proportion of allowance as seems dae to the obscure and 
 unfrequented track I have pursued, may find satisfaction ; and if he will far- 
 ther give himself the trouble of searching into the ancient chronicles of Ireland, 
 lie will be convinced, that 1 have been just and faithful in the use I have made 
 of them ; but if it should so mifortunately happen, that my labours should be 
 despised and the following history be esteemed of uo value, I must confess, that 
 it exceeded my abilities to give another account, for I did my best. I take my 
 leave, therefore, and ask pardon of the reader, if I have in any case led him ou* 
 of his way ; assuring him, that the mistake was not the effect of malice in me, 
 but because 1 wanted skill to direct him better. 
 
 OEOFFRY KEATING. 
 
J-i^j(L<: 2 ^sZ 
 
 ■rus 
 
 GENERAL HISTORY OF IRELAND 
 
 FROM THE FIRST INHABITING TireRfeOF 
 
 The first name of Ireland, which we meet with, was Inis na 
 bhfiodhbhuidhe, which signifies a woody isle ; and was so called 
 by a messenger, that was sent thither by Nion, the son of Pelus, 
 to discover this isle, who, finding it all covered with wood, except 
 the plain of Moynealta, gave it that name. This plain was so 
 called from the number of fowl which came there to bask them- 
 selves in the sun. It is now called Clountarffe ; where Brian Boi- 
 romhe, monarch of Ireland, with his Irish army, gave the last 
 total defeat to the Danes. This monarch, with one of his sons 
 and grandsons, had the hard fate to be slain. The Irish, not- 
 withstanding, gained a most signal victory ; and by it freed them- 
 selves from the continual troubles and incursions of the Danish 
 forces, as shall be hereafter mentioned. 
 
 2. Ireland was also called Crioch na bhfuineadhach, which is to 
 say, the neighbouring country, as it stood in the neighbourhood 
 of one of the three parts of the world that was then inhabited. 
 
 3. Its third name was Inis alga, that is, the noble island ; and 
 this name they enjoyed in the time of the Firbolgs, an ancient 
 colony of people, who were settled here before the Scythians or 
 Gadelians, of whom, in the pursuit oi: this history, we shall take 
 particular notice. 
 
 4. The next name appropriated to tJiis island, was Eire, i. e., 
 Ireland ; so called from the wortl vEria, a nafeie by which formerly 
 Crete, now Candia, was called. Egypt from whence the Gadelians 
 came, was called by that name : and the same author is of opinion, 
 that the isle. of Crete was called /Eria, because the Gadelians re- 
 mained there, after the time when Sru, the sou of Easru, with all 
 the Gadelianp^ were banished out of Egypt. Most of the ancient 
 
 c 
 
50 THE GENERAL HISTOnY 
 
 authors, however, are of opinion, that it took the name of Eire, 
 from a queen of the Tuatha de Danans, (a colony, so called from 
 their great skill in necromancy, of whom some were so famous 
 as to be styled gods,) whose name was Eire, and the wife of Mao 
 Greine, who was king of this isle when the sous of Milesius first 
 invaded it. 
 
 o. Fodhla was the fifth name it received from another queen 
 of the same colony, so called, who was the wife of Mac Ceacht. 
 
 6. It was after this called Banba, from the »ame of a third 
 queen of the same colony, who was wife to Mac Coill. These 
 three queens were three sisters, and married to three brothers ; 
 amongst whom there was an agreement, that each brother should 
 alternatively take his year of government, and that, during tlie 
 year of his reign, the isle should be called after the name of his 
 queen. And if you find it more frequently called Eire than 
 Fodhla "or Banba, it was by reason that the husband to queen 
 Eire, from whom the island was called Ireland, happened to be 
 king at the time it w£^s conquered by the sons of Milesius. 
 
 7. From the colony of the Tuatha de Danans before mentioned 
 it received, after this, the name of Inis fail j from a stone that 
 was brought by them to Ireland, called Lia fail, and by some, 
 the fatal stone. Hector Boethius, in his history of Scotland, 
 calls it Saxum fatale. This was esteemed an enchanted stone, 
 and in great veneration for its admirable virtue, which was, to 
 make a terrible noise, resenibling thunder, to be heard at a great 
 distance, when any of the royal race of the Scythians should seat 
 themselves upon this stone to be crowned, as it was then the 
 custom, upon the decease of the former king ; but, if the person 
 elected was not of the royal blood of Scythia, not the least emo- 
 tion or noise proceeded from the stone. But all idols and dia- 
 bolical charms lost their force and virtue upon the birth of our 
 Saviour, and such was the fate of this stone. 
 
 AH the monarchs of Ireland, upon their succession, were 
 crowned on this stone,- until Fergus, son of Earca, (the first king 
 of Scotland of the Scythian race,) sent to his brother Mortough, 
 then king of Ireland, to desire that he would please to send him 
 that stone to Scotland, that he might be crowned theron king of 
 that nation ; believing that the crown would be more firmly 
 fixed to him and his posterity, by the innate virtue there was 
 in that extraordinary stone. The king of Ireland complied with 
 his request ; and, about the year of Christ 513, Fergus upon it 
 received the crown of Scotland. This stone was kept with great 
 \re at the abbey of Scone, in Scotland ; and it was customary 
 
OF "UrLAND. 51 
 
 for the kings of that country to be crowned thereon, until King 
 Edward I. of England had it brought from Scotland. It is now 
 placed under the coronation chair, in Westminster Abbey ; of 
 which we shall speak more fully hereafter, as well as of the pro- 
 phecy which attended it. 
 
 8. The sons of Aiilesius were designing to land on this island, 
 when, appearing in sight of Wexford, the forementioned Tuatha 
 de Danans assembled together, and, by their magical enchantments, 
 made the isle appear no bigger than a hog's back ; whereupon 
 «;hey gave it the name Muicinis, that is, the hog's isle. 
 
 9. Its ninth appellation it received likewise from the sons of 
 Milesius, who named it Scotia, from their mother's name, Scota, 
 who was the daughter of Pharaoh Nectonebus, king of Egypt ; 
 or perhaps from themselves^ they being originally of the Scy- 
 thian race. 
 
 10. It was also, by these sons of Milesius, called Hibernip j 
 some say from a river in Spain called Iberus ; but as others con- 
 jecture, from Heber the son of Milesius j though the holy Charles 
 Mac Cuillenan is of opinion, that it was so called from the Greek 
 word Hiber, which may signify Insula occidentalis, or the wes' 
 tern island. 
 
 11. Ptolemeus calls this isle Juernia, Solinus names it Juerna, 
 Claudian styles it Jerna, and Eustathius, Verna : audit is the gene- 
 ral opinion, that these authors, nob perfectly understanding the 
 derivation of the word, varied it according to the particular sense 
 of each. 
 
 12. Diodorus Siculus, supposed to aim only as the others did, 
 at the signification of the word, gave it the twelfth name, Irin. 
 
 13. It was likewise called Fonn no fearon Ir, that is Irlandia, 
 or the land of Ir ; from Ir, who was the first of the sons of Mile- 
 sius that was buried in this isle, from whence the island received 
 that name ; Irlandia signifying, in the Irish language, the land 
 of Ir. And that thus it obtained this name, we have reason to 
 believe, because it is particularly mentioned in the book of Ard- 
 mach, that this island was called Ireo, which is as much as to say, 
 the grave of Ir. 
 
 14. Plutarch calls it Ogygia, which signifies in Latin, Insula, 
 perantiqua, that is, the most ancient isle, which is a very suitable 
 name to Ireland ; it plainly appearing, from the ancient annals 
 of the kingdom, preserved by the antiquaries, and impartially 
 transmitted by them to posterity, that several ages have past since 
 it was first inhabited, which shall be more fully explained in the 
 course of this history. 
 
52 TFE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 THE FIRST DIVISION OF IRELAND 
 
 Partliolanus, originally a Scythian, came from Greece, and first 
 invaded this island, about three hundred years after the Deluge. 
 
 He soon divided the country into four parts ; allotting an equal 
 share to each of his four sons. To Er, he gave all the land from 
 Oileach Neid, in the north of Ulster, to Dublin, in Leinster, 
 From thence to a part of Munster called the island of Barrimore, 
 he assigned to his son Orua. From thence to Athcliath Mea- 
 ruidhe, near Galway, he bestowed on his son Fearon. From that 
 place backwards to the before-mentioned Oileach Neid, he gave to 
 the possession of his fourth son, Fergua. 
 
 THE SECOND DIVISION OF IRELAND. 
 
 Beothach, Simon, and Britan, the sons of Nimedius, being 
 the three chief commanders, divided Ireland into three parts, 
 which they shared amongst them. All the land from Toirinis, 
 in the north of Conacht, to the river Boyne, in Leinster, was 
 given to the possession of Beothach. To Simon's share fell all 
 from thence to the meeting of the three streams near Cork, in 
 Munster ; and Britan enjoyed all the remainder, round to the 
 forementioned Toirinis, in Conacht. 
 
 THE THIRD DIVISION OF IRELAND. 
 
 This country was divided into five parts, by the five sons of 
 Dela, (the son of Loich, named Firbolgs,) which at this time 
 are called the five provinces of Ireland. Cambrensis confirms 
 this, in the account he gives of this country, in these words : * 
 *^Into five almost equal parts this country was anciently divided 
 viz., the two provinces of Munster, (Desmond southward, and 
 Thoumond towards the north,) Leinster, Ulster, and Conacht." 
 The five commanders of the Firbolgs, who governed those five 
 provinces, were, Slainge, Seangann, Gann, Geanann, and Eugh- 
 caidhe. Slainge possessed the province of Leinster, from 
 Drocheda to a place called Comarna dtri nuisgeadh, which sig- 
 Qifies the meeting of the three streams : Gann presided over the 
 province of Eachach Abhradhruadh, which began at the meeting 
 of the three streams, and extended to Bealach Conglais : Sean- 
 gann governed the province of Conrigh Daire, from Bealach 
 Cono-lais to Limerick : Geanann had for his share the province 
 of Conacht, from Limerick to Drobhaois j and Kughraidhe, for 
 
 * In quinque enim portiones fere jequales antiquitus hsec regio divisa fuit ; 
 videlicet, in Momoniam duplicem, boroaieai et australam, Lageniam, Ultoniam, 
 et Couaciam. 
 
OF. TR! LAND. 53 
 
 his, the province of Ulster, trom Drobhaois'to Drocheda afore- 
 said. 
 
 Some historians perhaps may imagine, that Ireland was 
 divided into three equal parts, between the sons of Cearmody 
 Milbheoil of the Tuatha de Danans j but this can hardly be 
 supposed, because we have grounds to believe that these princes 
 governed alternately, and reigned annually, in their turns, over 
 the whole island. And this appears, from the reasons that are 
 given above, why Ireland was more frequently called by the 
 name of Eire than of Fodhla or Banba. 
 
 THE FOURTH DIVISION OF IRELAND, BY THE SONS OF MILES! US, KING OF 
 
 SPAIN. 
 
 I am sensible that some antiquaries are of opinion, that Ire* 
 land was divided between Eabhear-Fionu, and Ereamhon, called 
 Heremon, in this manner : the whole country from Dublin and 
 Galway southward, to Eabhear-Fionn, or Heberus-Fionn ; and 
 the rest, that lay northward, to Ereamhon ; and Eisger Reada 
 was agreed to be the boundary between the two kingdoms. 
 But it is certain, that Ireland was never thus divided ; for the 
 two provinces of Munster, at that time called Deisiol Eirionn, 
 that is, the south of Ireland, were given to Eabhear-Fionn ; the 
 provinces of Conacht and Leinster, to Ereamhon ; and the 
 province of Ulster to Eabhear, the son of Ir, their brother's sou. 
 The Spanish nobility, and military forces, that came over in 
 this expedition, were likewise divided between these three princes, 
 who severally received them as subjects, and took them as the 
 supports and ornaments of their new kingdoms. 
 
 THE FIFTH DIVISION OF IRELAND, BY CEARMNA AND SOBPIAIRCE. 
 
 These two princes were of the posterity of Ir, and divided the 
 island between them : Sobhairce possessed all the country from 
 Drooheda to Limerick northward : and Cearmna had, for his 
 share, the whole territory southward. Each of them built a 
 royal palace in his own kingdom, and called it by his own name ; 
 the northern seat was called Dun Sobhairce, and the southern; 
 Dun Mac Patrick, which is in Curcies country to this day. 
 
 THE SIXTH DIVISION OF IRELAND. BY UGAINE THE GREAT. 
 
 Ugaine, who was called the Great, divided Ireland into 
 twenty-five parts, and allotted shares to each of his twenty-five 
 children ; as wp shall have occasion to mention more particularly 
 in the progress of this history. 
 
5i THE GENERAL -HISTOIIY * 
 
 THE SEVENTH DlVISICf^r OF IRELAND, BETWEEN CONN, CALLED. OF Tilg 
 HUNDRED BATTLES, AND EOGAN MOR, THAT IS, EUGENIUS THE GREAT. 
 
 Con^ and Eogan Mor, who had the title likewise of Mogha 
 Nuagatt^ or the strong labourer, divided the island equally 
 between them : all the country northwards from Dublin and 
 Gal way, belonged to Conn ; and from thence southward, to 
 Eogan Mor ; Eisgir Reada was the limits of their several king- 
 doms. From this division, the north part of the country was 
 called Leath Coinn, that is Conn's share ; and the south, Leath 
 Mogha, that is, the share of Mogha ; by which distinctions those 
 two parts of the kingdom are known by those names to this 
 time. 
 
 The seven divisions of the island, which I have mentioned, 
 are related faithfully, in a chronological order, from the ancient 
 annals of the kingdom, where the revolutions that happened in 
 the government are recorded. I shall now look back to the 
 division of the country since the time of the Firbolgs, and their 
 first arrival in Ireland ; because the island, to this very day, is 
 divided into the same five provinces, which are still called by the 
 same names. There was a stone erected at Visneagh, in Meath, 
 as the centre where the several provinces met, which remained 
 till Tuathall Teachtmhar ascended the Irish throne, and cut off 
 a part from each province, where he built a royal palace for the 
 monarchs of the island, and appointed this territory as a support 
 and revenue to the house of Tara. This tract of the country is 
 now called the county of Meath and Westraeath ; as will appear 
 hereafter, when I come to the history of Tuathall's reign. 
 
 THE PARTICULAR DIVISIONS OF MEATH. 
 
 Before I treat of the Irish provinces, I shall first describe the 
 particular divisions of Meath, because it was the royal seat of 
 the kings of Ireland, and a standing revenue for the support of 
 the house of Tara; a territory, as the records of the kingdom in- 
 form us, exempt from all taxes, laws, and contributions, and 
 independent of all the monarchs and princes of the island, as 
 will be observed hereafter in its proper place. Meath, from east 
 to west, contained eighteen tracts of land, thirty towns in each 
 tract, twelve plough-lands in every town, sixty acres in every 
 plough-land; so that every tract contained 360 plough-landi, 
 which, in the whole, by that computation, makes up 6180 plough- 
 lands in all Meath. 
 
 There are two reasons to be given, why this part of the island 
 was called Meath ; the firsts because the parcel of land, that was 
 
OF IRELAND. 55 
 
 Beparated from every province by Tuathall Teachtmhar, to mako 
 this tract, was called, in Irish, Meidhe gach Coigeadh, that is, 
 the neck of each province, for the word Meidhe signifies a neck; 
 from whence it came afterwards, by corruption, to be called 
 Meath, t|;iough among the ancient Irish it still retains its proper 
 name of Conde na Meidhe. Others derive the name from Midhe, 
 a son of Bratha, son of Deaghatha, who was the principal druid 
 or high priest to the royal family of JSTeimhidh or Nemedius. 
 This druid was the first that kindled a fire in the island, after 
 the arrival of these foreigners, who for this signal service re- 
 warded him with a tract of land near Visneach, the place where 
 the fire was first kindled j which tract, from the name of the 
 druid, was called Midhe. The whole extent of Meath was no 
 more at first than this small territory, till the munificence of 
 Tuathall Teachtmhar enlarged its bounds. 
 
 TEE BOUNDARIES OF MEATH, AS TIIEY WERE IMPROVED BY TUATHALL 
 TEACHTMHAR. 
 
 The river Shannon, it is observed, runs west of DubliD, to the 
 river Abhain Righe, and so westward to Cluanconrach, to the 
 French mills' ford, to Cumar Cluana Hioraird, to Tochar Carbre, 
 to Cranaigh Geisille, to Druim Cullin, to Biorra, to Abhaiu 
 Carra northwards, and so to Loch Ribh. All the islands upon 
 the Shannon, as far as Lochbodearg, belong to Meath ; and from 
 thence to Athlone, to Sgairbh Vachtarach, to Cumar, to Lin 
 Cluana Heodhais, to Loch da Ean, to Magh Cnoghbha, to Duib- 
 hir, Atha an Doill, on the mountain Sliabh Fuaid ; from thence 
 to Magh an Chosnamhaidh, in a place called Cill Isleibhe ; so to 
 Snamh Eagnachair, to Cumar, and to the river Liffee, as an old 
 bard thus elegantly describes it. 
 
 From Loclibodearg to Biorra, from thence to the seaside. 
 
 To Cumar Ckiana Hioraird, and to Cumar Cluana Hoirde, 
 
 The poets celebrate, in lasting verse. 
 
 The thirteen tracts in Meath : fair Breagmhuigh 
 
 Has five well known in the records of fame. 
 
 fertile Meath, and most delightful Breag, 
 
 Your praise for ever shall adorn my song- ; 
 
 Whose fat'ning soil along the Shannon's side 
 
 Extends, tiU in the ocean's rugged waves 
 
 Her streams are lost : northward, the tract of Meath 
 
 Reaches to Teabhtha, for heroes famed ; 
 
 And so to Carbre, marked for men of ivar ; 
 
 And thence to Casan Breag, a place reno\\Ti'd 
 
 For noble blood, and troops that never fled, 
 
 And men of learning faithful to the truth. 
 
^<) TH^'': GENKKAL iilSTORT 
 
 Meath was afterwards divided by Aodha Oirndighe, monarch 
 of Ireland, between the two sons of Dinnis, the son of Daniel, 
 who had been king of the island before him ; their names were 
 Connor and Olioll : he gave the west of Meath to one of them ; 
 and the east, wherein was the royal seat of Tara, to the other. 
 
 THE DIVISIONS OF CONACHT. 
 
 The province of Conacht, from Limerick to Drobhaois, con- 
 tained 900 towns or villages and thirty territories, thirty towns 
 in each territory, twelve plough-lands in every town, and 1 20 
 acres in every plough-land ; so that there are 1008 plough-landt^ 
 in the whole province. It received its name, as some suppose, 
 from a trial of necromancy between Cithneallach and Conn, two 
 druids of the Tuatha de Danans : the prize fell to Conn, who, 
 by his magical skill, covered the whole country of Conacht with 
 snow ; Connsneachta signifying the snow of Conn, from whence 
 it obtained the name of Conacht. Others derive the word from 
 Conn iachta, that is, the children of Conn (iocht signifying chil- 
 dren y) because Eochaidh Moighmheadhoin and his posterity, 
 who were descendants from Prince Conn, inhabited that part of 
 the island ; which may be a reason why the country was called 
 Conacht. The province of Conacht was afterwards divided by 
 Eochaidh Feidlioch, between three petty prmces : from Fid- 
 heach to Limerick, to Fidheach, the son of Feig ; from Galway 
 to Dubh, to Drobhfi.ois, he settled upon Eochaidh Alath, jorrus 
 Domhnan ; from Galway to Limerick, upon Tinne, the son of 
 Coanmch, he bestowed Magh Gainibh, and the old lands of 
 Taoidean, from FidheeuhtoTeamhairBhrothaniadh; and Crua- 
 chan was the royal seat of the three princes. 
 
 THE DIVISIONS OF ULSTER. 
 
 The province of Ulster, from Drobhaois to Inbher Colpa, con- 
 tains thirty-six territories, 900 towns or village's, and 12,960 
 plough-lands are in the whole province. It was called Uladh, 
 that is, Ulster, , from the word Ollsaith, w^hich implies land 
 abounding with plenty of fish of all kinds, and the other neces- 
 saries of life ; for the w^ord Oil signifies great, and Saith signifies 
 wealth, as the poet long ago observed in the following verses •. 
 
 Ceadaoin doluigli Judais tar ord; ar lorg deamhain diodliuil gharg, 
 Ceadaoin do ghabh saint urn shaith Ceadoin do biiraith Josa ard. 
 
 Wednesday the traitor Judas, for his guide 
 Made choice of Catau and the fiends helov/ ; 
 \A1ien, blinded %vith desire of Avealth, that day- 
 He basely sold his master. 
 
OF irklAnd. ^ 57 
 
 Or perhaps the province received its name irom Oiiamii 
 Fodiila, whicii tiie poet intimatea in tiie;ie verisea, 
 
 OUamh Fodhla Feoehair Ghoil uaide do hai nmhiagh Ulladh^ 
 Jar biiiri'eas Teauihi-acli ua dtreabli as leis ar dtus do hoirneadb.. 
 
 From Ollamh Fodhla, Ulster had its name, 
 A wise and valiant prince, who first asseUibled 
 The royal parliament of Tara. 
 
 There were two royal seats in the province of Ulster, Emhain 
 Mliacha and Oileach Neidh. 
 
 THE DIVISIONS OF LEINSTER. 
 
 The province of Leinster, from Inbher Colpa, now called 
 Drocheda, to the meeting- of the three streams in the bounds of 
 Manster, consists of thirty-one territories, which contain 93U 
 towns or villages, and 11,760 plough-lands. The province re- 
 ceived its name from Laighin, that is, the long spears, which 
 were the weapons the Gauls made use of, when they invaded the 
 island under Labhra Loiug seach, when first they came on shore 
 in this part of the kingdom, which afterwards was called Laighin, 
 that is a spear. These foreigners slew, in Dinrigh, Cobhthach 
 Caolmbreace, monarch of Ireland, with one of thciie weapons, 
 which gave occasion to these lines of the poet, 
 
 Da chead ar f hithid ceid Gall go Laighnibh leathna leo anall, 
 Ona Laighnibh Sin gan oil diobh Kohaimnuigheadh Laigiun. 
 
 From the broad spears of the invading Gauls 
 The province had its name. 
 
 The royal seats that were in Leinster where the kings of the 
 counti-y kupt their coart were Dinrigh and. the Naas. 
 
 OF THE PROVINCE OF EOCHAIDH ABHEADHRUaDH. 
 
 The province of Eochadh Abhradhri^dh, reaching from Cork 
 to Limerick eastward, and so to the meeting of the three streams, 
 contains thirty-five territories, in which are 12,600 plough-lands. 
 It is called east Munster ; and the two royal seats, where the 
 kings of the province kapt their court, were Dungcrott and Dun- 
 jasg. 
 
 OF THE PR0\^NCE OF CONRIGH MACDAIRI. 
 
 This province, extending from Bealach Conglais, by the counties 
 
 oi (Jc;rk and Limerick, to tne west of Ireland, contained thirty. 
 
58 TIIH GENERAL IIISTJRY 
 
 five territories, in wliich were 1050 towns or villages ; there were 
 12,600 plough-lands in all the west of Munster ; the two palaces 
 where the princes of th? province gave audience, were Dunclaire 
 and Duneochairmhaghe. The two divisions of Munster were 
 governed by two families, that descended from Dairine and Deirg- 
 thene, till the reign of Oilioll Ollum, who was of the posterity 
 of Deirgthene. This prince after he had banished Macon, who 
 Was of the line of Dairine, out of the island, assumed the govern - 
 mont of both provinces, and settled the succession upon two of 
 his own issue ; under this restriction, that the posterity of his two 
 sons, Eogan Mor and Cormac Cas, should succeed alternately ; 
 that is the eldest of these princes was to reign during his life, 
 but upon his demise, his son was not to inherit, but his brother, 
 if alive, or the next heir of his family, and then the crown was 
 to return again ; and this limitation was observed for many ages, 
 without any dispute or quarrel between the two houses. The 
 four royal seats, that I have mentioned, were the places where 
 the kings of Munster resided, till the time of Core, son of Luidh- 
 dheach, who governed that province ; and in his reign it was that 
 Cashel was first discovered, after this manner. The place, which 
 is now called Carrick Patrick, where the royal palace of Cashel 
 was built, was originally covered with woods, and called Cioth- 
 dhruirn, being wholly desert and uninhabited, and used only as 
 a pasture for beasts. It so happened that two herdsmen, Ciolara 
 and Durdre, the one belonging to the king of Ely, the other to 
 the king of Muscrie Tire, which we call Ormond, drove their herds 
 into the wood to feed ; and, when they had continued there for 
 some time, upon a certain evening, they discovered a most beau- 
 tiful person, who, advancing toward them, began to sing with a soft 
 and melodious voice ; and then, walking solemnly about, he conse- 
 crated, as it were, that spot of land whereon the palace of Cashel 
 ^ was built, prophesying aloudof the coming of St. Patrick, soon after 
 which he vanished. The herdsmen, surprised at so unusual a 
 sight, when they came to their homes, related what they had 
 seen, till at length it reached the court of Core, son of Luigh- 
 dheach, king of Munster. This prince, from a sense of religion, 
 repaired immediately to Ciothdhruim, afterwards called Cashel, 
 and built there a most stately palace, calling it Lies na Laoch- 
 ruidhe, which he made the seat of his residence. He receiyed 
 the taxes and revenues of his kingdom upon Carraic Patrick, that 
 is Patrick's rock, but then called Caisiol, or Cios oil ; for Cais 
 signifies rent, and Oil, in Irish, is a rock or stone ; and, therefore 
 the king of Munster receiving his rents and taxes upon that stone, 
 
OF lEELAND. 59 
 
 by joining the words cais and oil, this royal palacs came after- 
 wards to be called Cashel. 
 
 THE PARTICULAR DIVISIONS OF THE PROVINCE OF MCNSTER. 
 
 When Oilioll Ollum governed the two provinces of Munster^ 
 he divided them into five parts, called in general the province of 
 Munster. Thumond, which is the first part, extends in length 
 from Leim congculoin to Slighe dhala., called Bealach mor, in 
 Ossery ; the breadth of it is from Sliabh Eachtighe to Sliabh 
 Eibhlinne. All the country from Sliabh Eachtighe to Limerick 
 belonged originally to the province of Conacht, till Liiighuidh 
 Mean, who descended from Cormac Cas, made a conquest of it 
 by his sword, and added it to the province of Munster. This 
 tract was called Grabh Fhearon Luigheadh, that is, the lands of 
 Luigheadh. This country, to Dailgeais, was exempt from all 
 tributes and taxes, and paid no revenue to any of the kings o:f 
 Ireland. The second division called Urmhumha, that is, Ormond, 
 extends in length from Gabhran to Cnamhchoill near Tipperary, 
 and its breadth is from a place called Bearnan Eile to Oilead Vib- 
 hric. The third part called Meadhon Mummhoin, or middle 
 Munster, reaches in length from Cnamhchoill to Luachesir dhea- 
 ghadh. The fourth part is distinguished by the name of Jarmhum- 
 hoin, that is, west Munster ; and its length is from Luachaird- 
 heaghadh westward to the main ocean, and its breadth from 
 Glenrouchty to the Shannon. The last division, called Ceasm- 
 humhain, or south Munster, extends in length from Sliabh 
 Caoiii southward to the sea. The two provinces of Munster are 
 called, in the Irish language, Da Coigeadh Mumban, from the 
 word Mumho, which signifies great or of large extent ; because 
 they include a greater tract of land than any other province in 
 the whole island. For though I have mentioned, that the pro- 
 vince of Ulster contained thirty-six territories, yet it consisted but 
 of thirty-three, till the kingdom was divided into provinces, thetl 
 it was that Carbi-e Niadhnar, king of Leinster bestowed all the 
 country from Loch an Choigeadh to the sea, upon Connor, the 
 king of Ulster ; and, contrary to the practice of latter ages, added 
 it to his province as a reward for obtaining his daughter in mar- 
 riage ; as will be more particularly observed in the course of this 
 history. 
 
 In the whole kingdom of Ireland were 185 territories, or tracts 
 of land, containing 5550 towns, in which were 66,000 plough- 
 lands, according to the land measure of the ancient Irish, which 
 V as much larger than what was observed in England ; for one 
 
60 THE GINERAL IliST ilY 
 
 acre in Ireland would make two or three acres of the English, 
 RR they are now computed. 
 
 OF THE ARCHBISHOPRICS AND BISHOPRICS IN IRELAND. 
 
 There are four archbishops in the kingdom of Ireland ; the 
 archbishop of Ardmach, primate of the whole kingdom, the arch- 
 bishop of Dublin, t^ archbishop of Cashel, and the archbishop 
 of Tuam. Under the primate is the bishop of Meath, called by 
 Camden, the bishop of AolnaMirion, from a large stone that stands 
 in Yisneath, by the name of Aolna Mirion. This stone was the 
 boundary of the five provinces of Ireland, before a part was taken 
 from each province to form the country of Meath ; and because 
 it was erected as a land-mark, to distinguish the limits of each 
 province, it was called Aolna Mirion ; for the word Mir, or Mir- 
 ion, signifies, in the Irish language^, a share or part of a thing, 
 and Aol signifies a stone : it was likewise styled Clock-na-Gcoi- 
 geadh, or the provincial stone, because it was fixed centre at the 
 meeting of the five provinces. Under the jurisdiction of the 
 primate are also the bishop of Dunda Leithghlas, the bishop of 
 Glocher or Louth, the bishop of Rathboth or Rapho, the bishop 
 of Rathbuck, the bishop of Dailniachair, and the bishop of Derry. 
 
 The archbishop, of Dublin has under him, the bishop of Glen- 
 daloch, the bishop of Fearns o Fearna, the bishop of Ossery, the 
 bishop of Leithghlin, and the bishop of Kildare. 
 
 The following bishops are under the government of the arch- 
 bishop of Cashel : the bishop of Killaloe, the bishop of Limerick, 
 the bishop of Iniscatha, the bishop of Kilfenore, the bishop of 
 Emly, the bishop of Roscre, the bishop of Waterford, the bishop 
 of Lismore, the bishop of Cloine or Cluain nam aigh, the bishop 
 of Cork, the bishop of Rosscarbry, and the bishop of Ardfeart. 
 
 The jurisdiction of the archbishop of Tuam extends over the 
 l>ishop of Kill Mach Duach, the bishop of Maigheo or Mayo, 
 the bishop of Anaochduin, the bishop of Gill iarthair, the 
 bishop of Roscomon, the bishop of Cluainfeart, the bishop ot' 
 Achoury, the bishop of Cillaiuidh, the bishop of Conaine, th3 
 bishop of Gill Mac Duacht, the bishop of Cill monuach, and the 
 bishop of Eplin. The archiepiscopal sees were first erected iti 
 the year of Christ 1152, according to Camden ; from whom I 
 have given an account of many bishoprics, that are now no wher3 
 to be found, either because th'ey are wiioliy abolished, or unite i 
 to other sees ; as the bishoprics of Lismure and Waterford ar3 
 Fiow but one diocess, and the sees of Cork and Cluain are under 
 one bishop. 
 
OF IRKl AND CI 
 
 THE SITUATION CF IRELAND 
 
 The kingdom of Ireland is bounded by Spain on the south- 
 west, and by France on the south-east ; England lies due east, 
 Scotland north east, and the main ocean due west of it. The 
 island is observed by Maginus, in notes upon Ptolomy, to resemble 
 the form of an egg, situated between 51 and 55 degrees of lati- 
 tude : according to the same author, the longest day, in the south- 
 east part of the kingdom, is sixteen hours and three quarters, 
 and in the north, fall eighteen hours. The length of the island 
 is computed from a place called Carn ui Neid, in the south, to 
 Cloch and Stacain, in Ulster ; and the breadth from Inbher Mor 
 to Hiarus Domhnonn. It is not the proper business of this his- 
 tory to describe particularly the cities, towns, harbours, and creeks 
 of the kingdom of Ireland, because Camden in his new chronicle, 
 has given a full account of them ; and they will fall under consi- 
 deration, as far as is necessary, when we come to speak ot the 
 invasion of this island by the English.. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE FIRST INHABITANTS OF IRELAND, EXTRACTED FROM 
 THE MOST ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS OF THE KINGDOM. 
 
 To give a regular account of the first inhabitants of Ireland, I 
 am obliged to begin at the creation of the world ; but it is not 
 to be expected, that at the distance of so many thousand years, 
 I should omit taking notice of some remarkable passages, which 
 may be censured as fabulous, and it would be severe treatment 
 to judge of the value of this history, by the credibility of such 
 relations ; however, the ancient ma^nuscripts of the kingdom are 
 the guides I shall chiefly follow. It is impossible for me to have 
 uther lights, which, how obscure soever, are to be regarded for 
 their antiquity, and to be used with candour, considering the 
 superstition and ignorance of those dark ages. 
 
 Adam, the first of human race, was created upon the sixth day 
 of the age of the world ; and when he lived fifteen years he 
 begat Cain, and his sister Colmana ; thirty years after his crea- 
 tion he begat Abel, and Delbora his sister ; and when he was a 
 hundred and thirty years old he begat Seth ; according to the com- 
 putation of the Welsh in. the Policlironicon. 
 
 THE GENEALOGY OF NOAH TO ADAM, AND THE DISTANCE OF TIME FBOM 
 ADAM TO THE DELUGE. 
 
 Noah was the son of Lamech, son of Methuselah, son of 
 Enoch, son of Mahalaleel, sen of Enos, son of Sethj son of 
 
G2 Tai<: cexl'Hal history 
 
 Adam, the great ancestor of mankind, whose descendants inha- 
 bited the earth till the general deluge, when the whole posterity 
 were reduced to the small number of Noah's family. The dis- 
 tance of time, from Adam to the Flood, was sixteen hundred 
 and fifty-six years j as the poet observes in the following distich. 
 
 Cead aimser an bheatha bhin otha Adhamh go Dilion, 
 Se bliadhiia caogad radhnglc ar se cheadiiibli ar mhile. 
 
 From the sixth day, when Adam first was fonn'd, 
 Till God's avenging wrath drown'd all the world, 
 Was fifty-six and sixteen himdrcd years. 
 
 Another author of great antiquity agrees with this account. 
 Ilis verse is rough, according to the poetry of those times, and 
 may thus be expressed in English. 
 
 Six hnndred and a thousand years, 
 And fifty-six, it plain appears^ 
 Was all the time the world had stood 
 From the Creation to the Flood. 
 
 The age of jSToah, and of his forefethers, is thus computed. 
 Noah lived 950 years, Lamech 777, Methuselah 969, Enoch 369, 
 Tared 962, Mahalaleel 895, Cainan 910, Enos 905, Seth 912, 
 and Adam 930 years. 
 
 THE nVIEIOX OF TEE WCRLD BETWLEN TBE SONS OF XOAH. 
 
 The wicked Cain, by the murder of his righteous brother, 
 did not only derive a curse upon his own head, but his poste- 
 rity were also marked by God with a brand of infamy ; inso- 
 much, that the descendants of Seth were expressly forbidden 
 to contract any friendship or alliance with them, and were com- 
 manded to avoid them, as persons abandoned by Heaven,, and 
 wholly out of the care of Divine providence. But this injunc- 
 tion was soon disobeyed by the family of Seth, who married 
 promiscuously into that ciirsed line ; and, by their sins, brought 
 down the vengeance of God upon their own heads, and upon 
 all the inhabitants of the earth, by a general deluge, the family 
 of Noah only excepted. This man found favour in the sight of 
 God j who, for his piety and obedience to his commands, pre- 
 served him and his children in that dreadfnl visitation. He 
 with his v/ife Cobha, and his three sons, Shem, Ham, and 
 Japhet, with their three wives, 011a, Olvia, and Olibana, sur- 
 vived the drowning of the world ; which was afterwards divided 
 
OF IRELAND. C>3 
 
 h)t;0 three parts, by Noah, the monarch of the universe, and 
 bestowed upon his three sons : to Shem* he gave Asia, to liam 
 Africa, and Europe to Japhet. This division of the whole 
 earth is thus recorded by an ancient poet. 
 
 Sem do gliabh an A.sia ait, Cam ghon acloin an Afraic, 
 Japhet sa nihic asiad do ghabh an Eoruip. 
 
 Shem over Asia did the scepter bear. 
 Ham governed Africa for heat severe. 
 And Japhet ruled in Europe's cooler air. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE POSTERITY OF THE THREE 50XS OF NOAH. FROM 
 WHOM DESCENDED THE 72 FAMILIES THAT ATTEMPTED THE BUILDING 
 OF THE TOWER OF BABEL. 
 
 Shem was the father of twenty-seven sons, from whom came 
 Arphaxed, Assur, and Persuir, and from them descended the 
 nation of the Hebrews. Ham had thirty sons, and Japhet had 
 fifteen. The posterity of Japhet inhabited most of the northern 
 countries of Asia, and all Europe ; Magog, one of the sons of 
 Japhet, was the great ancestor of the Scythians, and the several 
 families that invaded the kingdom of Ireland after the Flood, 
 before the Milesians made a conquest of the island ; and this 
 will m.ore fully appear in the body of this history. 
 
 OF THE FIRST INVASION OF IRELAND BEFORE THE FLOOD 
 
 It has been a general complaint of historians, that, in searching 
 into the beginning of kingdoms, and discovering the first inha- 
 bitants of countries, they are always perplexed with insuperable 
 difficulties ; and the higher they pursue their inquiries, and the 
 nearer they come to the origin of a nation, the more obscure and 
 involved are the antiquities of it ; and all, at last, ends in 
 romantic and fabulous relations, that are scarce worthy of a 
 place in historical writings. But yet, all authors, for want af 
 better information, and for the sake of method, are obliged U 
 mention the accounts they meet with, how uncertain or incre- 
 dible soever j and it is for the same reason that I shall trans- 
 cribe what is observed by the old antiquaries, concerning the 
 first invasion of Ireland before the Flood ; not that 1 would be 
 thought to give credit to such chimerical traditions, or would 
 impose them upon the belief of others, but I shall offer them 
 faithfully, as they are recorded in the most ancient manuscripcs 
 that treat of the first inhabitants of this kingdom. 
 • \arious are the pinions concerning the iirst mortal that set 
 
54 TH^ GENERAL Hl&TGRY 
 
 a toot upon this island. We are told by some, that three of the 
 daughters of Cain arrived here several hundred years before the 
 Deluge j and the old poet gives us this account. 
 
 Tri hingiona chaidhin Chain mar aon ar Seth mac AdhamK 
 Ad chonairc an Banba ar vius ar meabhair liom aniomtliius. 
 
 The three fair daughters of the cursed Cain, 
 With Seth, the sou of Adam, first beheld 
 The isle of Bauba. 
 
 The White book, which in the Irish is called Leabhar 
 dhroma sueachta^ informs us that the eldest of these sisters 
 was called Banba, who gave a name to the whole kingdom. Af- 
 ter them we are told that three men and fifty women arrived in 
 the island ; one of them was called Ladhra, from whom was de- 
 rived the name of Ardladhan. These people lived forty years in 
 the country, and at last they all died of a certain distemper, in 
 a week's time ; from their death, it is said, that the island was 
 uninhabited for the space of 200 years, till the world was 
 drowned. 
 
 We are told by others, that the first who set foot upon the 
 island were three fishermen, that were driven thither by a storm 
 from the coast of Spain. They were pleased with the discovery 
 they had made, and resolved to settle in the country; but they 
 agreed first to go back for their wives, and in their return were 
 unfortunately drowned by the waters of the Deluge, at a place 
 called Tuath Inbhir. The names of these three fishermen were 
 Capa, Laighne, and Luasat ; and for this tradition we have the 
 authority of the poet, who says, 
 
 Capa, Laighne ar Luasat ghrinn, bhadar bliadhain ria ndilion, 
 For Inis Banba na mban, bhadar go calma comhlann. 
 
 , Twelve months before the Flood, the noble isle 
 
 Of Banba first was seen, by Capa, Laighne, 
 And Luasat, men of strength, and fit for war. 
 
 Others again are of opinion, that Ceasar, the daughter of Bith, 
 was the first who came into the island before the Deluge. The 
 poet speaks thus, to the same purpose. 
 
 Ceasar inghion Bheatha bhuain dalta SabhuiU mac aionuaill, 
 An chead bhean chalnia do chinn, an Inis Banba ria ndilion. 
 
 Ceasar, daughter of the g^ood Beatba, 
 Kur.:ed by the careful hand C'T ??cbbaiJl, 
 
OF IRELA.ND. aO 
 
 Was the first woman, in the list of fame, 
 That set a foot on Eanba's rugged shore 
 Before the world was drowned. 
 
 The manuscripts of Ireland, though not credited by their an- 
 tiquaries, give this account of Ceasar'a first coming into this 
 island. When Noah was building the Ark, to preserve himself 
 and his family from the Deluge, Bith, the father of Ceasar, sent 
 to him to desire an apartment for himself and his daughter, to 
 Bave them from the approaching danger. Noah, having no 
 authority from Heaven to receive them into the Ark, denied his 
 request. Upon this repulse, Bith Fiontan, the husband oi 
 Ceasar, and Ladhra, her brother, consulted among themselves 
 what measures they should take in this extremity; but, coming 
 to no resolution, Ceasar thought it proper to apply to an idol, 
 and know how they could secure themselves and their families 
 from the Flood, which, by the preaching of Noah, they found 
 would drown the whole world. They consented unanimously to 
 this advice (and as the Devil ever attempted to ape and imitate 
 Almighty God) the oracle enjoined them to build a ship in the 
 form of the Ark that Noah was preparing, and that when they 
 had laid in provisions for a long voyage, they should commit 
 themselves to the mercy of the waves ; but the idol had no 
 knowledge of the time when the rain should begin to desce:3d 
 upon the earth : they immediately applied themselves to the 
 work, and with great labour and application at length fitted out 
 the vessel, and put to sea. The persons that went on board in 
 this manner were Bith, Ladhra, and Fiontan, with their wives 
 Ceasar, Barran, and Balbha, and fifty of the most beautiful 
 women that would venture along with them. These raw sailors, 
 for want of skill in navigation, were tossed and driven fi.'om sea 
 to sea, for the space of seven years and a quarter, till they 
 arrived at last upon the western coast of Ireland, and landed at 
 Ji place called Dun. na mbarc, in the barony of Corchadu ibhne ; 
 as we may observe in the following verses : — 
 
 As ann gbabhadar port ag Dun na mbarc an bhanntracht, 
 Agcuil Ceasrach agcoch charin acuig deag dia siathniin. 
 
 The trembling fair now unknown climes explore, 
 And sea-sick land upon the western shore 
 Of Ireland, in Ceasara's wood. 
 
 They came into the island forty days before the waters began 
 to overspread the earth. Another old poet gives the sama: 
 
66 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 account of these adventures, with this additional circumstauce 
 that they began their voyage from an eastern part of the wor jd. 
 
 Do luig anoir Ceasar, ingliion Bheatha an bhear- 
 Goiia caogad inghion agus gonadh triar fear. 
 
 Ceasar, the fair daiighter of Beatha, 
 Sailed from the east, with fifty women more 
 Attended by these men for valour famed. 
 
 When the ship came close to the shore of Dun na mbarc, on 
 the western part of the island, the first that set foot upon the 
 land was Ladhra ; the first mortal that ever was upon the island, 
 according to those antiquaries, who say that Ireland was never 
 inhabited before the Flood but by Ceasar, and those who fol- 
 lowed her fortune in that voyage. The mountain Sliabh Beatha 
 received its name from Beatha ; Feart Fiontan, a place near 
 Lochdeirg, was so called from Fiontan ; and from Ceasar a place 
 in Conacht was called Carn Ceasar. These new inhabitants, 
 when they had all landed, began to make discoveries in the island ; 
 and they travelled together till they came to the fountain-head 
 of the rivers Steur, Feoir, and Berbha ; here it was, that the 
 three men agreed to divide the fifty women between them. Fion- 
 tan, besides his wife Ceasar, had seventeen for his share ; Bith 
 had his wife Barran, and seventeen more ; and Ladhra had his 
 wife Balbha, and v/as satisfied with the sixteen that remained. 
 After this division Ladhra set out with his share of the women, 
 and came to Ardladhron, where he settled and died. His wife, 
 with the women that belonged to her, thought fit to remove and 
 return to Ceasar ; these women were divided between Bith and 
 Fiontan : Bith took his number to Sliabh Beatha, where he 
 died. The women that he left applied themselves to Fiontan, 
 who, unable to comply with the expectations of his seraglio, re- 
 solved to leave them ; and so ran away and came to Leinster. 
 His wife, Ceasar, upon the loss of her ^husband, removed to a 
 place called Ceasar's wood, in Conacht, where, out of grief for 
 her husband's absence, and the death of her father and brother, 
 she broke her heart. This happened but six days before the 
 Deluge ; as the poet observes in the Psalter of Cashel. 
 
 As iad Can iar nuair bhoachta andaoigeadha animheachta, 
 
 Ki laibh acht Seaehtmhain na ndliia uaithuibh gus an geathracha. 
 
 And thus they died, as fate decreed they should, 
 Sis days before the rising of the Fioo<L 
 
OF IRliiAXD. . G7 
 
 This is thought^ by the Irish annalS;, to be an unaccountable 
 relation, which it is impossible to give the least credit to ; nor 
 have I inserted it, in the beginning of this history, with any 
 design that it should be believed, but only for the sake of order, 
 and out of respect to some records of the kingdom, that make 
 mention of it ; but from whence intelligence could be had of what 
 passed in this island before the Flood, it is out of my power to 
 conceive ; and I never read of any monuments or inscriptions 
 upon pi'llars, to inform posterity of such transactions. To say 
 that Fiontan preserved himself alive in the time of the Deluge, 
 is incredible in itself, and contrary to the authority of Scripture, 
 wdiich mentions but eight persons that survived the Flood, and 
 every one knows that Fiontan was not one of those persons. 
 We have indeed some ancient .manuscripts, that give a legendary 
 account of four persons, Fors, Fearon, Andord, and this Fiontan, 
 that, as they say, lived before and after the Deluge, and after- 
 wards divided and possessed themselves of the four parts of the 
 world ; but our antiquaries, that are best acquainted with the 
 ■history of Ireland, reject such fables with just indignation, sup- 
 posing that those authors who thus endeavour to deceive man- 
 kind, have no other design but to bring the genuine antiquities 
 of this kingdom into contempt. As for such of them, who say 
 that Fiontan was drowned in the Flood, and afterwards came to 
 life, and lived long to publish the antediluvian history of the 
 island, what can they propose by such chimerical relations, but 
 to amuse the ignorant with strange and romantic tales, to cor- 
 rupt and perplex the original annals, and to raise a jealousy, 
 that no manner of credit is to be given to the true and authen- 
 tic chronicles of the kingdom 1 
 
 Besides, supposing it were possible that this Fiontan could 
 preserve himself in the Deluge, and live after it, how came it 
 to pass that no authors of any character have transmitted an 
 account of it to posterity; that no philosophers and men of 
 universal learning of this nation, who were curious in discovering 
 the antiquities of their own country, should omit taking notice 
 of so memorable an event, and pass it over in silence and unre- 
 garded 1 The w^iole account, therefore, is no more than a spu- 
 rious legend, and a poetical fiction, designed to surprise persons 
 of low capacities, and to impose upon the superstitious vulgar, 
 of too weak a judgment to apprehend to detect the falsehood 
 of it. 
 
 I must own there is a very good reason for me to believe, that 
 there was a VQrj old man, iu the tune of St. Patrick, ^yho lived 
 
Ti^ THE GENERAL HIST'-TtY 
 
 some hundred years before, and gave him a particular account 
 of the history of the island ; not only relating to some of the 
 most remarkable transactions of his own time, but he delivered 
 down the traditions he had received from his ancestors, that 
 concerned the antiquities of the kingdom : but the name of 
 this person was Tuam, the son of Carril, if we believe some an- 
 tiquaries ; or, if we give credit to others, Roanus, that is Caoilte 
 Mac Ronain, who was above three hundred years old, and in- 
 formed Saint Patrick of the observations he had made through 
 the course of a long life, relating to the affairs of his own coun- 
 try. This Caoilte w^as certainly the man that was afterwards 
 called Roanus or Ronanus j for there is not an old record or 
 manuscript of any authority in this kingdom which makes men- 
 tion of Fiontan by those names ;.and, therefore, Giraldus Cam- 
 brensis could have no foundation but his own fancy for calling 
 Fiontan by the name of Roanus or Ronanus ; and, to show his 
 ignorance the more, confounds the names, and understands the 
 one for the other. This author deserves no manner of regard 
 or credit to be given him, and his chronicle is the most partial 
 representation of the Irish history that was ever imposed upon 
 an J nation in the world : he has endeavoured to make the 
 venerable antiquities of the island a mere fable, and given occa- 
 sion to the historians that came after him, to abuse the world 
 with the same fictitious relations. This Caoilte, therefore, must 
 be the person who went afterwards by t^e name of Ronanus ; 
 for the ancient manuscripts of the kingdom always mention him 
 by this name, and he is so called in a book that he wrote him- 
 self, (to be found among the works of Saint Patrick), under the 
 title of Historia Hibernise; for in the title page, where the 
 name of the author is particularly expressed, it is said to be 
 written Authore Ronano. 
 
 There is another falsehood to be met with in Dr. Hanmer'? 
 Cbornicle, which I am obliged to observe in tnis place ; not only 
 to show the partiality of that writer, but to vindicate the Irish 
 nation from those vile aspersions that such retailers of history 
 have fixed upon them, who study to represent them as the most ig- 
 norant and superstitious people upon the face of the earth. This 
 author, for reasons best known to himself, would have us believe, 
 that the Gadelians, or the old Irish, had a great veneration for 
 the memory of this Fiontan, whom he calls Roanus, for the ac- 
 count he gaveof the antiquities of the kingdom. He lived,it seems, 
 before the Flood, preserved himself in the Deluge, and continued 
 alive about two thousaf»d vears after. 
 
OF IRl LAND, 69 
 
 iu iiis travels about tiie island he met with St. Patrick, aud re- 
 lated to him the transactions of many past ages : this saint made 
 a convert of him to Christianity, and baptized him ; about a 
 year after he died. He was buried near Loch Ribh, in a place where 
 he says there is a church dedicated to him by his own name, whicii 
 is now to be found in the calendar of the Irish saints. But there 
 is not an antiquary, or a manuscript of any authority, that en - 
 courages these romantic tales ; and it is a common pratice of the 
 English writers to debase the antiquities, and to raise a charac- 
 ter of their own nation, upon the ruins of the ancient Irish ; but 
 withal they sufficiently expose their own ignorance and incapa- 
 city for historical writings, by reason they give three several names 
 to the very same person. He is called Fiontan, (but Roanus by Gir- 
 aldus Cambrensis,) and Caoilte Mac Ronain, who was baptized by 
 St. Patrick, and discovered to him the original accounts of the island; 
 and Ruan, who consecrated Lothra, in Ormond, near Loch Dierg, 
 not Loch Ribh, as Hanmer would impose upon us. But I have 
 no more time to throw away in refuting the falsehoods of this dis- 
 ingenuous author, or the writers he folio w^ed. As for the name 
 Roanus, I suppose Giraldus^ mistook and at first wrote it for 
 Ronanus, which led others who came after him into the same 
 error ; and so it has been taken upon trust, and delivered down ; 
 and Roanus is the current name with common historians to this 
 day. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE FIRST INHABITANTS OF IRELAND AFTER THE PXOOD. 
 
 The first person, who set foot upon the island after the Deluge, 
 was, according to some antiquaries, a messenger, whose name was 
 Adhna, the son of Beatha, sent by Nion, the son of Pelus, to dis- 
 cover the soil of the country. He landed upon the coast about 
 seven score years after the Flood, but made no stay ; he onjy 
 plucked up a handful of grass as a proof, and returned with it to 
 his master. This adventure is mentioned by an old poet, whose 
 verses are to be found in the Psalter of Cashel, and begin thus, 
 
 Adhna, Beatha's son, we all agi-ee, 
 After the Flood, first tried the irisli sea. 
 He prov'd the soil, and from the earth he tore 
 A handful of rich gi'ass, then left the shore, 
 And so returned. 
 
 Tuis, as our antiquaries observe, ought not, strictly ispeaklng, 
 to fjQ reckoned a Xjeopliiig of the isianu ; Ca.'i;auso the messerjver 
 
70 Tn;c ge::eral uistoui 
 
 made no stay, and left no inhabitants behind him ; but, for tl.e 
 sake of method, it was thought not improper to mention it, the 
 better to introduce the history of the first colony, who settled 
 in and took possession of the country. 
 
 The kingdom of Ireland lay wild and uninhabited for the space 
 of three hundred years after the Deluge, till Partholanus, son of 
 Seara, son of Sru, son of Easru, son of Framant, son of Fathocda, 
 son of Ma^og, son of Japhet, son of Noah, arrived there with his 
 people. This the poet takes notice of after this manner. 
 
 The Tvestem isle three hundred years lay waste, 
 Shice the wide waves the stubborn world defaced, 
 Till Partholamis landed. 
 
 By this computation I am induced to believe, that it w'as about 
 two and twenty years before Abraham was born, that Partholanus 
 c"^me into Ireland, and in the year of the world 1978; as the poet 
 observes. 
 
 A thousand and nine hundred years had past, 
 And seventy- eight, since Adam first was formed, 
 Till righteous Abraham was born. 
 
 I am not of the opinion of those authors, who imagine that 
 Partholanus landed in the island about 1002 years after the 
 Flood ; and at the same time allow that he was in Ireland in the 
 time of Abraham. We are satisfied by Scripture, that Abraham 
 was no more than the eighth in a direct descent from i>J'oah in- 
 clusive ; and it is not to be supposed that a thousand years should 
 include no more than seven generations : so that we have more 
 authority to believe that Partholanus reached the Irish coast about 
 three hundred years after the Deluge. He began his V03^age from 
 the country of Migdonia, in the middle of Greece, and steered 
 towards Sicily ; leaving Spain upon the left, he came into the 
 Irish sea, and landed upon the fourteenth of May, at a place called 
 Inbher Sceine, in the v/eet of Munster ; as the poet observes in 
 these lines. 
 
 The fourteenth day of May the Greeks came o'er 
 And anchors cast, and landed on the shore 
 Of Inbher Sceine. 
 
 The persons that attended Partholanus in this voyage, v/ere 
 his wife Dealgnait, and his three sons, Eughraidhe, Slainge, and 
 Laighline, with their three wives and a thousand soldiers ; as we 
 have the ac3ount from Ninus and the Psalter of Cashel. The 
 place where Partholanus fixed his residence was at Inis Same?;, 
 
OF IRELAND. 7) 
 
 near Earae, and it received that name from a greyhound winch 
 Partholanus killed in that isle : the place, therefore, was so called 
 from Inis which signifies an isle ; and Samer being the dog's name 
 it was styled Inis Samer, or the Dog's isle. The death of thi? 
 greyhound was occasioned by the passion and resentment of Par 
 tholanus, who was informed of the loose behaviour of his wife 
 v^ith one of her footmen, whose name was Togha. This lady i 
 seems was of a perverse disposition, and having disgraced her- 
 self with her menial, sought to palliate her misconduct by some 
 highly indecorous observations. 
 
 When reproached by Partholanus, she replied to him in a 
 strain quite at variance with all morality. She made light of 
 her crime and, as it were to justify it, quoted some licentious 
 verses from a profane poet, who was as ignorant as he was disre- 
 gardless of a woman's dignity and duty. As yet, hoTvever, Ire- 
 land lay plunged in idolatry and superstition, and we are not to 
 wonder if in the absence of Christianity, many of the inhabitants 
 were given to the practices so inveterate and cherished amongst the 
 heathens. 
 
 This incident is recorded by the poet : 
 
 Partholanus, astonished at her audacious reply, in a fit of pas- 
 sion seized upon her favourite greyhound, and threw it with all 
 his force upon the ground, and it died upon the spot. The name 
 of the greyhound was Samer, as we observed before, and the place 
 is called Inis Samer to this day. This is the first instance of 
 jealousy and female falsehood in the Irish history. Seventeen 
 years after Partholanus landed in Ireland, one of his followers 
 died, whose name was Feadha, the son of Tartan ; he was the 
 first person that died in the island, and from him Magh Feadha 
 rece-ived its name. 
 
 The reason, why Partholanus left his own country, and under- 
 took this voyage, was, because he slew his father and mother in 
 Greece, in order to obtain the crown, and hinder his elder bro- 
 ther of the succession ; but the vengeance of God overtook the 
 inhuman parricide, and destroyed sometime after nine thousand 
 of the posterity of his colony by the pestilence : they were car- 
 
72 THE GFXEHAL HTCTOTlf , 
 
 ried off ^iihin the space of a week, at Binncadair, ixow called the 
 Hill of Hoath, near Dublin. 
 
 Tliere is an account in some authors, though of no credit with 
 the Irish antiquaries, of a sort of inhabitants in the island, before 
 Partholanus brought over his colony. These people were under 
 the government of Ciocall, the son of Nil, son of Garbh, son of 
 Uadhmoir, (who gave a name to the mountain Sliabh,) whose 
 mother was Loth Luaimhneach, and they lived two hundred 
 years by fishing and fowling upon the coast. Upon the arrival 
 of Partholanus and his people, there was a bloody battle fought 
 between them at Muigh Jotha, where Ciocall and his whole army 
 were destroyed. The place where Ciocall landed with his fol- 
 lowers is said to be Inbher Domhnonn ; he came over in six ships, 
 and had fifty mfen and fifty women in every ship ; as the poet ob- 
 serves iu the following verses : 
 
 The brave Ciocall, Avith three hundred men. 
 Cast anchor in the bay of Inbher Domhnon ; 
 But, fighting to repel the bold invaders, 
 Were all cut off. 
 
 In the time of Partholanus, seven lakes broke out in the island, 
 which were these ; Loch Measg, inConacht, Loch Con, and twelve 
 years after his arrival Loch Diechiodh began to flow ; and a year 
 after, Slainge, one of his sons, and the fourth great officer in the 
 government, died, and was buried at Sliabh Slainge ; Laighline, 
 another son, died about a year after that, and as his grave was 
 digging, the Loch Laighline sprang out of the hole, from whence 
 it was called Loch Laighline : the next year Loch Eachtra broke 
 out, between Sliabh Mudhoirn and Sliabh Fuaid, in Oigialladh ; 
 then flowed Loch Eughraidhe, where Rughraidlie, another son 
 of Partholanus was drowned ; and in the same year Loch Luain 
 began to flow. Partholanus found but nine rivers and three 
 lakes in the whole island : the lakes were Loch Luimhnidh, in 
 Desmond ; Fion Loch Cearra, at Jerrous Domhnonn, in Coiiacht ; 
 and Loch Foirdreamhuin, at Sliabh Mis, near Tralee, in Munster. 
 This is observed in a poem in Psalter na ran, which begins thus, 
 Acliaomh chlair chuin chaomhslieang, and the verses are these : 
 
 Tliree pleasant lakes at first adorned the isle, 
 
 Loch Foirdreamhuin, Loch Lumnigh, and Fionn Loch, 
 
 The nine rivers were, Buas, between Dalnaruidhe and Dai^-. 
 riada, this river is called Ru^atch ; Liffee, which rims throiigl) 
 
 >. > >N ^ 
 
OF IRELAND. 73 
 
 jrftrt of Leinster to Dublin ; Lagi or Lee, that passes through 
 part of Munster to Cork ; SligOj Samerand Muaidh, in Coimciit ; 
 Mudhorn, that runs through Tireogain ; Buas, th^t passes, 
 f>otween Tireogain and Tirconuill, and the river Banna, 'rvhose 
 streams flow between Lee and Eiile ; as the poet mentions in a 
 ])Com that begins in this manner, Adhamh athair smith ar sluagh 
 (fee. 
 
 Tlie ancient streams, that made the country fruitful, 
 
 \7ere Leoi, Buas, Danna, Bearbh, 
 
 Saimer, Sligo, Mudhom, Muadh, and BilFee. 
 
 Four yearo after the first flowing of Loch Murthola, Partho- 
 ianus died, in the plains of Moyneaita, where he was buried ; the 
 place was called Sean-mhagh-ealta Eadair, because the soil was 
 barren, and not so much as a shrub v/ould grow upon it ; for the 
 word Sean-m?iagh-eaka signifies a barren plain ; it^was likewise 
 called Maghnealta or Moynealta, fi'om the number of fowl that 
 used to flock thither to bask themselves in the sun, as was before 
 observed. The death of Partholanus happened thirty years after 
 liis arrival upon the island, and, as some antiquaries say, in the 
 year of the world 2628 ; though I am induced rather to follow the 
 other computation, which makes it appear that it was in the year 
 of the world 1986. Others imagine, that there were 520 years 
 between the death of Partholanus. and the destruction of his 
 people by the j)lague ; but the learned antiquaries are of another 
 opinion, who allow that the island lay waste and uninhabited 
 but thirty yea,rs, after the posterity of Partholanus and his foi- 
 i'-wers were thus destroyed, till Nemedius landed upon the coast ; 
 as we are informed by the following verses : 
 
 A dreadful plague laid all the island waste, 
 Thro' ev'ry house and ev'jy to^vTiit pass'd: 
 Not one remain 'd alive. For thirty years 
 The country desolate and wild appears, 
 Till new inhabitants arrived. - 
 
 We are informed by Charles Mac Cnillenar, in the Psalter of 
 Cashel, that it was three hundred years from the time that Par- 
 tholanus arrived in Ireland till the plague swept away the pe<">ple» 
 and for his opinion he refers to the authority of Eochaidh 6 Fhim. 
 a poet of some repute, who has left us these lines ; 
 
 Three hundi-ed years this warlike progeny 
 Possess'd the island, till the plague destroy'd 
 TL' inhahitants, and left the couutry waste. 
 
71 THE GENERAL HISTOHY 
 
 The most learned antiquaries have always allowed of this com- 
 putation ; and therefore they who reckon above 500 yearsbetweeii 
 she death of Partholanus and the destruction of his people by 
 the pestilence, must be mistaken in their account of time ; for 
 it seems incredible, that the country should be inhabited above 
 500 years, and that the number of souls should amount to no 
 more than 9000 of both sexes ; especially when it is considered 
 that Partholanus brought over with him 1000 wlien he first took 
 possession of the island. 
 
 THE DIVISION OF IRELAND BETWEEN THE FOUR SONS OF PARTHOLANUS 
 THAT WERE BORN IN IRELANP 
 
 The four sons of Partholanus were Er, Orbha, Fearon and 
 Feargna ; and we are to observe that Milesius had four grand- 
 sons of the same name. These four divided the kingdom into 
 four parts, and shared it between them. Er possessed all tha 
 country from Oileach Neid, in the north, to Dublin, in Lein- 
 eter, Orbha governed all from thence to the isle of Barrymore, 
 in Munster ; Fearon enjoyed all from thence to Gal way, in Con 
 acht, and Feargna ruled the whole tract back to Oileach Neid 
 aforesaid. Eochaidh 6 Flinn, an antiquary, and poet of great 
 note amongst the Irish, gives a particular account of these divi- 
 xions in this manner : 
 
 It was an honour to the aged monarch, 
 The djnng Partholanus, that his sons, 
 Four valiant youths, deserv'd the kingdom after him. 
 These princes equally the island shared ; 
 'The}'- lived in friendship and without ambition • 
 Their love in early infancy appear'd, 
 And rose as childhood ripen'd into man. 
 Ireland was then a wilderness, untiil'd, 
 O'errun with brambles, and perplex'd vrith thomj, 
 Till by the mutual pains and hard fatiguo 
 Of these young heroes, it began to bear 
 And yield a harvest suited to their hopes. 
 Er was the eldest, noble, wise, and brave, 
 lie governed northward from Oileach Nfeid 
 To Dublin ; and from thence to Barrj'more, 
 A pleasant isle, the bounds of his command, 
 Orbha possessed, 
 
 Fearon, fi-om the grave of great ^JTemedius, 
 Enjoy'd the fruitful tract, vdth plenty stored, 
 To Galway ; and from thence Feargna rided 
 A spacioiLS territory to Oileach Neid. 
 These youtlis were, by th' indulgent care of heaveii, 
 Design 'd as blessmgs on their native isle. 
 
OF IRELAND. 73 
 
 Tlie persons of distinotioii that attended Partholanus into Ire- 
 land were Tochacht, Tarbha, Trenjomus, Eathachbeal, Cul, 
 Dorcha, and Damhliag. There were four learned men brought 
 over in this expedition ; their names were Lag, Leagmhadh, 
 Jomaire, and Eithrighe. The first that promoted hospitality 
 aud good neighbourhood was Beoir, who made an entertainment, 
 and introduced the custom of feasting into the island, which 
 gave occasion to Samaliliath to invent the use of cups for the 
 conveniency of drinking. Breagha recommended the pernicious 
 practice of duelling and single combat. The three principal 
 druids were Fios, Eolus, and Fochmair ; and their most expert 
 generals, who had distinguished themselves in battle, were Muca, 
 Mearan, and Municneachan ; the merchants who first began to 
 establish a trade were Biobhal and Beabal. 
 
 Partholanus had ten daughters^ whom he married to husbands 
 of the first quality among his own countrymen j the posterity 
 of Partholanus, and his followers, transported with him, conti- 
 nued in the island 300 years, from the time that this prince 
 arrived in the country, till the whole number of the inhabitants, 
 who were 9000 persons, were destroyed by the plague, at the 
 Hiil of Hoath, in that kingdom. It was 300 years after the 
 Deluge that Partholanus landed upon the coasty which makes 
 up 600 years from the Flood till this colony perished by that 
 dreadful visitation. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF XllE SECOND PEOPLING OF IRELAND, BY. NEMEDIUS AND 
 
 HIS SONS. 
 
 Ireland, we observed, continued without inhabitants for thirty 
 years after the death of the Partholanians, till Nemedius, the 
 son of Adnamhain, son of Paim, son of Tait, son of Seara, son 
 of Sru, son of Easru, son of L'raimaint, son of Fathochta, son of 
 Magog; son of J aphet, son of Noah, arrived upon the coast. All 
 the original inhabitants of the island were the descendants of 
 Magog : for the learned antiquaries are of opinion that the 
 account of Ceasar that we have mentioned is ftibulous, and de- 
 serves no credit. The relation between Partholanus and Ne- 
 medius is to be carried no higher than to Sru, the son of Easru ; 
 the Firbolgs, the Tuatha de Danans, and the Gadelians were 
 the posterity of Seara, and are several branches of the same 
 family. These tribes, notwithstanding they were dispersed into 
 different cnimtrios, retained the same language, which was Scot- 
 bhearla, or the Irish, and it was spoken as the mother tongue 
 by every tribe. This we have reason to believe from the iyj^ti-> 
 
7<> 
 
 TFir: Gi-Ni'liAL niST"l:Y 
 
 fnony of authentic writers, who relate, that when Ithus, the sot? 
 of Breogan, arrived in Ireland, from Spain, he conversed witli 
 the Tuatha de Danans in their own language j as will more 
 particularly appear in its proper place. 
 
 Othei's are of opinion that' Nemedius descended from one of 
 the sons of Partholanus, called Adhla, who was left behind in 
 Greece, and did not attend his father in the Irish expedition. 
 Nemedius began his voyage from the Euxine sea, which is tke 
 boundary between the north-west part of Asia and the north- 
 east of Europe. He passed by the mountains of Sleibhte Rife, 
 on the left hand, and came to a place called Aigen, in the north ; 
 from thence arrived upon the coast of Ireland. His fleet con- 
 sisted of four-and- thirty transports, and he manned every vessel 
 with thirty persons. Nemedius had four sons, who followed 
 his fortune ; their names were Stairn, Jarbhainiel Faidh, Ainnin, 
 and Fergus Leathdhearg. 
 
 There broke out four lakes in the island in the time of Nem.e- 
 dius ; Loch Breanuiu, at a place called Magh na Sul Anuibh 
 Niallain ; Loch Muinramhair, at Magh Sola, in Leinster ; and, 
 ten years after his arrival. Loch Dairbhreach, and Loch Ainnin, 
 at Magh Mor, in Meath, began to flow : the lake Ainnin sprang 
 out of the gra-ve that was digging for Ainnin, the son of Neme- 
 dius, and was called after his name. The poet gives this account 
 of these lakes : 
 
 • Then the four lakes began to flow, 
 And water'd all the plains below ; 
 Loch Dahblu-each, and Loch Breaunuin, 
 Lech Miunramhah", and Loch Ainnhi, 
 
 Macha, the wife of Nemedius, ,^ied before her. son Ainnin, 
 after she had been in Ireland about twelve years ; from her 
 Armagh received its name, because she was buried in that place. 
 Nemedius built two royal seats in the island, which were called 
 Cinneich, at Joubhniallain, and Raith Ciombhaoith, in Seimhne. 
 These places were erected by the four sons of Madain Muin- 
 reamhair, who were called Fomhoraicc ;* their names were Bog, 
 Robhog, Rodin, and Ruibhne. These master builders, and then' 
 
 * The apparent difference between our translator and General Vallancey, in 
 toe translation of this word, may be easily reconciled. Fomhoraicc, or Fo muir- 
 eaig, with O'Connor, sea-robbers, is by General Vallancey rendered, marine 
 sovereigns ; yet, in early ages, there was, perhaps, httle difiference betwee^j 
 pirates and sovereigns of the sea — See Geu. Vallencey's Irish Grammar, p. 13 
 note Dub. 1781< 
 
country men, were distinguislied by tbe name Fomhoraicc, be- 
 cause they were a sort of pirates or sea-robbers, that came ori- 
 ginally from Africa, and settled from that time in the north of 
 Ireland. The next morning after these palaces were finished, 
 ISTemedius commanded the four builders to be slain, out of jea- 
 lousy, lest they should afterwards erect other structures that 
 should exceed his in state and magnificence. These brothers 
 were killed at a place called Doire Lighe, and there they w^ere 
 buried. 
 
 Nemedius, designing to improve the soil of the country, cut 
 down twelve woods of a very large extent, and laid the land 
 open j their names were, Magh Ceara, Magh Neara, Magh Culle 
 Tolla, Magh Luirg, in Conacht ; Magh Tochair, in Tireogaiu ; 
 Leacmhadh, in Munster ; Magh Breasta, in Leinster ; Magh 
 Lughaidh, at Jobh Turtre ; Magh Seireadh, at Seabhtha j Magh 
 Seimne, at Dalnaruidhe ; Magh Muirtheimhne, at Breagmhuigh, 
 and Magh Macha, at Oirgialladh. 
 
 Those African pirates, called Fomhoraicc, were the descen- 
 dants of Shem j they fitted out a fleet, and set sail from Africa, 
 and steering toward the western isles of Europe, landed upon 
 the Irish coast. The design of their voyage was to separate 
 themselves from the posterity of Ham, who was cursed by Noah, 
 his father, lest they should be involved in the same punishment, 
 which they thought they should avoid by flying and settling in 
 another country. But, some time after they arrived, Nemedius 
 engaged them in three bloody battles, and came off" conqueror ; 
 the first battle was fought at Sliah Blaidhmia, the second at 
 Boss Fraochain, in Conacht, where Gan and Geanan were slain, 
 the two principal commanders of the Africans. They fought 
 the third battle at Murblrjg, in Dailraidah, where Stairn, th-e 
 son of Nemedius, was killed by Conning, the son of Faobhar 
 But, in the fourth battle, which was the most bloody and despe- 
 rate, and was fought at Cnamhruis, in Leinster, Nemedius was 
 defeated^ and his forces, which were most of the men he had 
 in his kingdom, were cut to pieces, ximong the slain was Arthur, 
 the son of Nemedius, born in Ireland, and Jobhchon, the sou 
 of his brother Stairn. This misfortune broke the heart of Ne- 
 medius, who died soon afterwards, with two thousand of his 
 subjects, men and women, with him, at a place called Oilean 
 arda Nemhid, now called the isle of Barrymore, in the coun y 
 of Cork, in the province of Munster. 
 
 The Africans, upon the death of Nemedius, a prince of great 
 bravery and courage, and w^iose very name before had beeu a, 
 
78 TH ; GCls^tTiAL iilETCmY 
 
 terror to those pirates, pursued their victory, and made an en- 
 tire conquest of the country. They resolved to revenge ujjou 
 the Nemedians the loss they had sustained in so many bloody 
 battles, and, taking advantage of the death of the Irish general, 
 thoy immediately assembled their forces, and \vith small diffi- 
 culty made themselves masters of the whole island. So that these 
 vagabond Africans, who settled at Tor Inis, or (as some call it 
 Tor Conning) in the north of Ireland, entirely subdued the old 
 inhabitants, and made them tributaries. 
 
 More, the son of Dela, and Conning, the son of Faobhar, (which 
 gave the name to Tor Conning,) to support themselves in their 
 new conquests, fitted out a fleet, and strengthened them- 
 selves with a standing army, and by these military motho^.is ha- 
 rassed the unfortunate Nemedians, and obliged them to bring the 
 tax and contributions they laid upon them, from the several parts 
 of the island, to a place called Magh Goeidne, between Drobhaois 
 and Eirne, and to deliver their tribute punctually upon the hrst 
 da}^ of November every year. These conquerors were very cruel 
 and severe in their exactions npon the vanquished j for they de- 
 manded. two parts of their children, of their cattle, of their milk, 
 butter and wheat, which was collected in this manner. The 
 Africans employed a woman to be the general receiver of their 
 tribute, and she obliged every family in the isla^id to pay three 
 measures of wheaten meal, three measures of cream, and three 
 measures of butter every year, and compelled them to bring 
 their contributions to Magh Gceidno before mentioned. This 
 place receives its name from the violence that was used upon 
 the JMemedians in the collecting of their taxea ; for the word 
 Magh signifies a field or plain^, Gcsidne sigmties compulsion oi 
 force ; and the two words, when they are joined, make Maghce- 
 idne, which signifies the field v/hereiuthe Nemedians were forced 
 to pay the tribute that their masters, the barbarous Africans, 
 thought fit to e::act ; as the poet observes in tlieso linas, 
 
 Throe measures of a larger size, 
 
 Of cream and butte.v scarce auiilce, 
 
 Tlie haughty victor's avarice. 
 
 Aa many measures they demand 
 
 Of wheaten meal, as tribute for tbeir laud. 
 
 The Ncmedians, unable any longer to bear the oppression of 
 these tyrants, resolved to shake off the yoke, and to make ov:e 
 vigorous effort to" recover their liberty ; the principal of them 
 met and concortod measures for a general revolt ; they agreed 
 
OF ir.LLAMD- 
 
 ) sumraon nfl the force they were al;lf?, an'l to try the fortune of 
 a pitched battle with the Africans ; acccrdinglj th.ey formed an 
 army under the coranmnd of three expert generals, whose names 
 were Beothacli, the son of Jarbhanell, Fathach, the son of Ne- 
 medins, and his brother Fergus Leathdhearg ; and to give their 
 men the greater courage, there were three brothers, who app^^ared 
 in the field, and were officers of more than common bravery and 
 conduct, Earglan, the son of Beoan, son of Stain, son of Neme- 
 diuvS, and his two brothers. !Manntan and Jarthacht ; these were 
 champions of the Nero.edians, who ofiered to expose themselves 
 in the hottest of the engagement, and to repel the fury of the 
 enemy. Their army by land consisted of thirty thousand able 
 men, and thej^ had the same strength by sea ; as the poet ob 
 serves in this manner : 
 
 Xr-w the ^STemedians bravely make a pfand. 
 Eager of fight, and only wait command, 
 With sixty thousand men by sea and laud. 
 
 The Nemedians fell desperately upon the enemy, anda bloodv 
 battle ensued, wherein Conuing^ the Afri<?an general, with all 
 his children, was slain ; and his garrison, which be had fortified, 
 was taken and destroyed. 
 
 During this attempt of the T^emedians to free themselves 
 from slavery, More, the sm of Dela, was absent with his fleet 
 in Africa ; but ho returned soon after the battle, and landed at 
 Tor Inis with sixty sail, and a numerous arm}'- on board j and 
 as they attempted to come on shore, the Nemedians opposed 
 them, and a most desperate fight followed. The two armies 
 fought with equal courage, upon the strand, without any sign of 
 victory on either side, and the greatest part of their men were 
 slain. The action was so hot, that they did not observe how 
 the tide flowed in upon them, till they were quite surrounded, 
 and when they offered to retire upon the land, they were hin- 
 dered by the depth of tlie waters, so that those who had escaped 
 the sword were drowned. More, the son of Dela, had the good 
 fi^n'tune to make his way to his shipping, and having the advan- 
 tage of his fleet, with the remams of his forces took possession 
 of the whole island. Of the Nemedians, no more than thirty 
 bravo ofnce^s and three principal commanders escaped, in a 
 sloop, out of the whole army. The names of the three generals 
 were, Simon Breac, the son of Stairn, the son of Nemedius ; 
 •iobhath, son of Beothach, sou of Jarbhannell Fathach, son of 
 
so TilE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 Nemedius ; and a grandson of Nemedius, called Briotan Maoi, 
 the son of Fergus Leathdearg. 
 
 The chief of the Nemedians, upon this unfortunate defeat, after 
 they had consulted among themselves, resolved uuanimousl}^ to 
 quit the island, rather than submit again under the yoke of tho 
 Africans ; but they were seven years before they had an oppor- 
 tunity to put this design in execution. Then these three gene- 
 rals divided the shijDping, which JSTemedius first brought into the 
 island, between them, and receiving as many of their people as 
 would venture to follow them, they weighed anchor, and stood 
 out to sea. The Nemedians that remained in the country, 
 were miserably oppressed by the tyranny of the conquerors, and 
 lived in this state of servitude, under the government of ten 
 pi'incipal commanders, till the Firbolgs landed in the island. 
 
 Simon Breac, the son of Stairn, the son of Nemedius^ who 
 was one of the three generals that left the country, arrived at 
 Greece with the people he had on board, and instead of finding 
 that liberty which he exjDCcted, he and his followers only ex- 
 changed one slavery for another ; from this Simon Breac, the 
 Firbolgs derive their origin, as will be observed in its proper 
 place. The second general was Jobhath, another grandson of 
 JSTemedius, who sailed, with his men, to the northern parts of 
 Europe ; and some antiquaries are of opinion, that the Tuatha 
 de Danans descended from him. The third general was Briotan 
 Maol, the son of Feargus Leathdhearg, son of Nemedius, who 
 landed in the northern parts of Scotland, and there settled, and 
 bis posterity were long possessed of that country. The number 
 of ships the Nemedians procured, upon this occasion, consisted 
 of eleven hundred and thirty sail of sloops, barks, and boats, 
 Bome of which were covered with leather, and called, in the Irish 
 language, Naomhogs. The posterity of Briotan Maol, and hia 
 followers, continued in the north of Scotland, till the Picts 
 sailed from Ireland, to inhabit that part of Scotland, in the time 
 of Heremon, the son of king Milesius, as will appear hereafter, 
 when Vie come to the reign of that prince. 
 
 We are informed by Charles Mac Cuillenan, in his Psalter of 
 Cashel, that the Welsh, in Britain, descended originally from 
 this Briotan Maol, and the most ancient manuscripts of Ireland 
 give the same account ; as the poet observed in his poem, which 
 begins thus, Adamh athair smith ar sluagh, Adam was our 
 father, kc, tiie verses follow. 
 
OF IRELAND. Ol 
 
 — — ' Tho brave Nemedian train, 
 
 Under Briotan launch into the main ; 
 
 A prince, whom all the ancient annals trace. 
 
 As tLe great founder of the British race. 
 
 Another poet and antiquary makes the same remark in thi,.! 
 manner. 
 
 The warlike Welsh the great Briotan claim, 
 To be the founder of the British najie. 
 
 A nd we have more reason to suppose that the word Britannia 
 was derived originally from this Briotan, than from Brutus the 
 Trojan, which- is a fable that some historians are very fond of; 
 fur if it were so, it would rather be called Brutannia. Besides 
 wo are informed by Geoffry of Monmouth, that the ancient name 
 .ofc" the country was changed by the three sons of Brutus ; his 
 son Laegrus called his part of the kingdom Laegria ; Camber, 
 the second son, distinguished his share by the name of Cambria; 
 and Albanactus, the third son, would have his part known by 
 the name of Albania. So that this account, from the authentic 
 records of the Irish naticUj gives a great light to the name of 
 Britain, and deserves our belief, rather than the fabulous rela- 
 tions of partial and romantic writers, who have been tho bane 
 mid destruction of true history. 
 
 The Nemedians, who remained in Ireland, were sorely 
 oppressed by the tyranny of their African masters, till the pos • 
 tority of Simon Breac, the son of Stairn, the son of Nemedius, 
 who had settled in Greece, came into the island. These people 
 were called FirboJgs, and landed in the country 217 years after 
 Nemedius first arrived upon the coast. This is the ob&ervati'ju 
 of an old poet, who has these lines, 
 
 Seventeen above two hundred years had past 
 Since first Nemediiis lauded on the coast, 
 Till the bold f irbolgs left the Grecian shore, 
 For liberty, and would be slaves no more. 
 
 THE INVASION OF mEL\ND BY THE FIRBOLGS. 
 
 Simon Breac, the son of Stairn, the son of Nemedius, with 
 his followers landed in Greece, where the posterity of these 
 adventurers settled, and in process of time increased to be a 
 numerous people. The Grecians, out of fear they should attempt 
 against the government, and occasion disorders in the state, 
 i-esolved to use them like slaves more than subjects ; they op- 
 pressed them with hard lal'^^i*' iuj the severest drudgery , the^ 
 
82 " THE G. NFP.AL HISTORY 
 
 forced them to sink pits, and dig clay in the valleys, and carry 
 it in leathern bags to the top of the highest mountains, and the 
 most craggy rocks, in order to form a soil upon those barren 
 places, and make them fruitful, and bear corn. The Nemedians, 
 groaning under the weight of this servitude, came to a resolu- 
 tion to shake off the yoke, and to quit the country ; this design 
 was kept so secret, that the chief of the Nemedians seized upon 
 some of the Grecian shipping, as the White book, called Cion 
 Droma Sneachta, gives the account, and with five thousand that 
 followed them they set to sea, and sailed till they arrived upon 
 the coast of Ireland. This tribe, whose ancestors came to 
 Greece with Simon Breac, the son of Stairn, landed ii; the 
 island about 216 years a-fter the death of Nemedius. They had 
 five principal leaders in this voyage, Slainge, Eughraidhe, Gann, 
 Geanann, and SeangauA. These commanders were the sous of 
 Loich, son of Triobhuaith, son of Othoirbh, son of Goisdean, 
 son of Oirtheachta, son of Simon, son of Arglamb, son of 
 Beoan, son of Stairn, son of Nemedius, son of Adnamuin, son 
 of Parap, son of Tait, son of Seam, son of Sru, son of Easru, 
 son of Framaint, son of Fathochta, son of Magog, son of Japhet, 
 son of Noah. They had their five wives with them, Fuaid, Eadair, 
 Anuist, Cnucha, and Labhra ; as the poet records in these lines, 
 
 Those brave commanders, Slainge, Gann, and Seangann, 
 
 With Geanann and Eughraidhe, heroes all, 
 
 And their five wives, the beautiful Fuaid, 
 
 The fair Eadair, Aduist the chaste, 
 
 The virtuous Cnucha, Labhra born for love, 
 
 Cheerfully followed by five thousand men, 
 
 AYho scorn'd the Grecian servitude, set sail, 
 
 And safely landed on the Irish shore. 
 
 These five princes, the chief leaders of the Firbolg?, divided 
 tlifi island between them into five almost equal parts : as tho 
 poet observes in this manner, 
 
 Five warlike chiefs, Geanann, Eughraidhoi, 
 Gann, Slainge, and Seangann, shared the island. 
 
 Slaigne, from whom Inbher Slainge, by Wexford, received its 
 name, had to his share the province of Leinster, from Inbhc;r 
 Colpa, near Drocheda, to the meeting of the three streams, and 
 a thousand persons were allotted to him. Gann possessed all 
 from thence to Bealach Conglais, and .he took his thousand 
 with him. Seangann ruled the country from thence to Limti- 
 
OTi' IR'ELAND. 83 
 
 ricli, and had a thousand for his share. Geanann governed the 
 province of Conacht, from Limerick to Drabhaois, near Droc- 
 heda, he had likewise his thousand : and Rughraidhe, with his 
 thousand followers^ enjoyed the province of Ulster, from Drobhaois 
 to Drocheda. From these five sons of Dela, and the people that 
 followed them, descended the Firbolgs, the Firdhomhnoins, and 
 the Firgailiains, who were so called for these reasons. The 
 Firbolgs were those Nemedians whose business it was, in Greece, 
 to carry those leathern bags of earth before-mentioned, and from 
 hence they received their name ; for the word Bolg signifies a 
 bag, and Fir signifies men, which, compounded, make Firbolgs. 
 The second tribe were called Firdhomhnoins ; their ofiice was 
 to sink deep pits in the earth, and dig out the clay for their 
 fellows to carry ; they were called Firdhomhnoin, because Fir 
 signifies men, and Domhnoin signifies cteep, which relates to tha 
 deep holes they were obliged to dig, and the words when they 
 are joined, sound Firdhomhnoin. The third tribe were always 
 under arms to protect the other tribes in their work, and to 
 guard them from their enemies, who otherwise might come upon 
 them fatigued and unarmed ; they w^ere called Firgailiains, for Fir 
 signifies men, and Gaiiiain signifies a spear, which they used in 
 their defence, which words, put together, make Firgailiain. 
 
 These five sons of Dela arrived in Ireland in the compass of 
 a week ; Slainge landed upon a Saturday at Tnbher Slainge, 
 which for that reason was so called, for Inbher signifies a river, 
 and Slainge sailing up that river, and landing in that place, the 
 stream was afterwards called Inbher Slainge ; this river runs 
 through part of Leinster to Wexford. Gann and Seangann, the 
 Tuesday following came on shore, at Jorrus Domhnoin, in 
 Conacht ; and Geanann and Rughraidhe arrived the Friday 
 Sifter, at a place called Tracht Rughraidhe. The Nemedians, 
 that followed Slainge, were called Firbolgs, and the two thou- 
 sand that belonged to Geanann and Rughraidhe went by the 
 name of the Firdhomhnoins. Some antiquaries are of opinion, 
 that these two princes, with their number of men, landed in tha 
 north-west of Conacht, at a place called Inbher Domhnoin, 
 '.vhich afterwards for that reason, was distinguished by that 
 name ; yet, generally speaking, all the people who followed the 
 f^.ve sons of Dela in this expedition, were known by the name 
 of Firbolgs, and before these five generals arrived in the island, 
 we have no account of any that could properly be called kings 
 of Ireland ; as the poet informs us in these lines : 
 
84 THE GKNiCKAL HIST )RY 
 
 riftysix years the Firbolgs royal line 
 "VVtre kings, ar.d then tlie sceptre they resign 
 'i o the Tuatha de Danans 
 
 AN ACCOUNT •' THE FIRST KINGS OF IRELAND, AS RECOHDED IN THE 
 BOOK OF INVASIONS. 
 
 1. Slainge, the son of Dela, son of Loich, the chief commander 
 Df the Firbolgs, was the first monarch of Ireland ; he reigned 
 one year, and died at a place called Dumha Slainge. 
 
 2. Ilughraidhe, son of Dela, son of Loich, succeeded ; he en- 
 joyed the crown but two years, and was drowned in the Boyne. 
 
 3. Geanann and Seangaun, sons of Dela, ruled the kingdorn 
 together ; their reign lasted but four years, and they died at a 
 place called Freamhain., 
 
 4. Gann, the son of Dela, son of Loich, succeeded his brothers; 
 he governed five years, and was slain by Fiacha Cinnfionnan. 
 
 5. He was succeeded by Fiacha Cinnfionnan, the son of Stairn, 
 son of Riighraidhe, son of Dela, son of Loich ; he reigned five 
 years, and was slain by Riondal, son of Geannan, son of Dela, 
 son of Loich. This monarch was called Fiacha Cinnfhionnanj 
 because most of the Irish, in his time, were remarkable for their 
 white or fair hair; for the word Cinnfhion signifies white heads, 
 which was the occasion of that part of his name. 
 
 6. His successor wa,s Kiondal, the son of Geanann, son of 
 Dela, son of Loich j he enjoyed the crown six years, and was 
 killed in an engagement by Fiodhbhghean, at a place called 
 Craoibhe. 
 
 7. Fiodhbhghean, the son of Seangann, son of Dela, son of 
 Loich, succeeded him ; he reigned four years, and fell in battle, 
 as he fought against Eochaidh, son of Eire, at a place called 
 Muigh Muirtheimhne. 
 
 8. Eochaidh, son of Eire, son of Riondal, son of Geanann, son 
 of Dela, son of Loich, succeeded and enjoyed the crown longer 
 than any of his predecessors, for he reigned ten jesivs. This was 
 a very fortunate, prince ; for in his time the weather was tempe- 
 rate and healthy, the produce of the earth was not damaged by 
 any immoderate rains, and plenty and prosperity prevailed 
 through the whole island. He was the first monarch who re- 
 strained the outrages of his people by laws, and kept them in 
 obedience arid civility by v/holesome pui»,shments. He at last 
 fell in battle, engaging with the three sons of Neimhidh, son of 
 Badhraoi, at a place called Muighe Tuirridh. The names of 
 these brothers were Ceasarb, Luacro and Luaim. In the reign 
 of this prince who was the last monarch of Ireland of the Fir 
 
OF mtl.AND. 8 J 
 
 bolgs race, the Tiiatha de Danans invaded the island. He mar- 
 ried Taiite, the daughter of Maghmore, king of Spain ; when she 
 died she was buried in a place, which from her was called Tail- 
 tean, and it is known by the same name to this day. 
 
 The king of the^uatha de Danans, when they invaded Ireland, 
 was Nuadha Airgiodlamh, that is silver-handed. This prince 
 engaged Eochaidh, and a most desperate battle was fought at 
 Magh Tuirriodh, between the two kings, in which Eochaidh, the 
 son of Eire, was routed, and ten thousand, or according to others 
 an hundred thousand of the Firbolgs were slain. In this action 
 Nuadha Airgiodlamh lost his hand, and the wound was seven 
 years under cure, and he was forced to have a silver hand fixed 
 to his arm, from whence he was called Nuadha Airgiodlamh, that 
 is, Nuadha the silver-handed. The Firbolgs, who escaped this 
 defeat retired to the isle of Arran, Eilie, Rachruin, Inis Gall, 
 aud other places for safety, where they could best secure them- 
 selves from the Tuatha de Danans, and there they remained till 
 the provential times, when every one of the provinces of Ireland 
 was governed by its own king. About that time the Picts ex- 
 pelled them out of these places, and forced them to apply to 
 Carbry Niafer, king of Leinster, who received them, and gave 
 them lands to cultivate as tenants under him ; but he exacted 
 such rents of them, and was so oppressive in the revenues he 
 demanded, that they were obliged to give up their farms, and 
 move to Conacht. They desired the protection of Meidheibh 
 Chrachna, the queen of that province, who prevailed upon her 
 husband Oliolla, to bestow some lands upon them for their sup- 
 port. Anogus, the son of Nuadmor, was the prince of the Fir- 
 bolgs at that time ; and the possessions they enjoyed in Couacht 
 are known to this day by some of the names of that people ; such 
 are Cime, Ceithirchinn, Roinn, Jamhain, Loch Cathro, Rinn, 
 Meadhra, Molinn, Dun Aonguis, in Arran, Carn Conuil, Magh 
 Naduir, Magh Nasuil, Magh Maoin, Loch Uair, and many others. 
 The Firbolgs were dispersed into several islands, and other parts 
 of the country, till Congcuilion and Conuil, Cearnach and Ulster, 
 quite drove them out of the kingdom. We have no account, in 
 our annals, that the Firbolgs, during their continuance in the 
 island, erected any royal seats or edifices of note, or made any 
 great improvements, by clearing the lands of woods, or that any 
 lake or river began to flow since their arrival at first till the time 
 they were finally expelled the country, 
 
 . There are three families in Ireland, as our antiquaries inform 
 us, that are lineal desceudants of the Firbolgs, and net of the 
 
 £ 
 
dtfS THE GENfiRAL llTfcTORY 
 
 Gadelian race, which are Gabhraidhe, in Succa, in Conacbt ; Ui 
 Tairsigh, in Crioch 6 Failge, and Gailiuin, in Leinster. And this 
 is all the account of the Firbolgs that can be extracted from the 
 ancient records of Ireland ; and we have no small assistance, in 
 writing the history of the people, from the famous antiquaiy Ta- 
 nuidhe, 6 Maol Conaire, who begins his poem in this manner , 
 
 Under five chiefs the Firbolgs once possess'd 
 The island, till at last, by force ojjpress'd, | 
 They fled. 
 
 THE INVASION OF IRFXAND BY THE TUATHA DE DANANS. 
 
 The Tuatha de Danans were the posterity of those who followed 
 the third son of Nemedius out of Ireland, when the Africans had 
 usurped the kingdom, and enslaved the inhabitants. This peo- 
 ple, rather than bear the heavy oppressions of those pirates, 
 left the island, under the command of Jarbhainel Faidh, a son 
 of Nemedius, and arrived, if we b^Heve some antiquaries, in 
 Boeotia ; others say that they came to Athens, and settled near 
 the city of Thebes ; yet the truest account is, that they landed 
 in Achaia, a country of Greece, that borders upon Boeotia, an4 
 near it stands the city of Thebes, according to the account of 
 Pomponius Mela. Here it was that the Tuatha de Danans learned 
 the art of necromancy and enchantment ; and they became so 
 expert in magical knowledge, that they had a power of working 
 wonderful feats, so far as seemingly to raise the dead : for when 
 the country of Achaia, and the city of Athens was invaded by 
 the Assyrians, and several battles fought between them, these 
 sorcerers would use their diabolical charms, and revive the bodies 
 of the dead Athenians, and the next day bring them into the 
 field, which so dispirited the Assyrians that they began to de- 
 spair of victory, and thought to, give over the enterprise, and to 
 return into their own country ; for to what purpose was it to 
 fight, and come off conquerors one day, when they were to en- 
 counter the same enemies the next ? and these enchanters were 
 BO dexterous in their art, as, by the assistance of evil spirits, to 
 infuse fresh life 9.nd vigour into the bodies of the slain, so that 
 the Athenians were sure never to be overcome. But the Assy- 
 rians resolved to take the advice of a druid of great learniiig 
 among them, and, if possible, to discover in what manner they 
 could defeat the skill of those necromancers, and break the power 
 of their charms. The druid told them, that after a battle was 
 over, they should thrust a club or a stake of quick-beam wood 
 through every one of the dead bodies, which would have this 
 
OF ICELAND. 87 
 
 effect, iliat if it wns the power of the devil by which they were 
 brought to life, this counter-charm would defeat the skill of the 
 enchanters, and the bodies could never more be revived, but if 
 it was the hand of heaven that brought to pass this wonderful 
 event, it was impossible to withstand an Almighty power, ana 
 their securest way was, to desist from the undertaking. Tlie 
 Assyrians, relying upon the advice of the druid, immediately 
 challenged the Athenians to a pitched battle, when they fought 
 with great courage, and obtained a complete victory ; and after tb.e 
 fight, they drove stakes through the bodies of the dead Athenians, 
 and so the evil spirits had no more power totake possession of thera, 
 and the sorcerers were disappointed. The Tuatha de Danans, 
 perceiving their art to be ineffectual, came to a resolution of 
 quitting the country, for fear of falling into the hands of the 
 Assyrians ; accordingly they set out, and wandered from place 
 to place, till they came to Norway and Denmark, where they 
 were received with great hospitality by the inhabitants, who ad- 
 mired them for their learning and skill in magic, and the won- 
 derful effects of their enchantments. 
 
 The person, who was the principal commander of these people 
 in their travels, was Nuadhah Airgiodlamh, that is, the silver- 
 handed, who descended from Nemedius. The Danes, being a very 
 barbarous and illiterate nation, entertained such a regard for 
 these strangers, that they gave them four cities to inhabit, where 
 they should erect schools to instruct the youth of the country in 
 their diabolical learning. The names of these cities were Falias, 
 Gorias, Finnias, and Murias, In each city the Tuatha de Danans 
 appointed tutors as presidents of these schools ; they were persons 
 of the greatest skill among them ; Moirfhias was to teach in -the 
 city Failias, Arias in i\e city Finnias, Erus in the city Gorias, 
 and Semias in the city Murias. 
 
 When the Tuatha de Danans had continued for some time in 
 this country, they thought fit to move, and lookout for a new settle- 
 inent ; and they arrived in the north of Scotland, where they con- 
 tinued sevoD years, near Dobhar and Jardobliar. "From the four 
 cities which they possessed in Denmark and Norway, they brought 
 Rwo.y four curiosities or monuments of great antiquity. The 
 firbt waB a stone, which was called Lia fail, and was brought from 
 the city of Falias ; from which stone that city received its name. 
 This stone was possessed of a very wonderful virtue, for it would 
 make a strange noise, and be surprisingly disturbed, whenever a 
 jTionarch of Ireland was crowrted upon it ; which emotion it con- 
 tinued to siiow till the bn-tii ot Ctinst, who contracted the pow«r 
 
88 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 of the devil, and in a great measure put an end to his delusions, 
 It was called the Fatal stone, and gave a name to Inis fail, as the 
 poet observes in these verses : 
 
 From this strange stone did Inisfail obtain 
 Its name, a tract surrounded by the main. 
 
 This stone called Lia fail, had likev7ise the name of the Fatal 
 stone j or the Stone of destiny ; because a very ancient pro- 
 phecy belonged to it, which foretold, that in whatever country 
 this stone should be preserved, a prince of the Scythian race, 
 that is, of the family of Milesius, king of Spain, should undoubt- 
 edly govern ; as Hector Boetius gives the account, in his history 
 of Scotland. 
 
 Ni fallat fatum, Scoti quocunque locatum 
 Invenient lapidem, regnare tenentur ibidem. 
 
 In the Irish language it runs thus : 
 
 Cineadh Suit saor an fine munab breag an f haisdine, 
 Mar abhfuigid an Lia fail dlighid flaithios do ghabhail. 
 
 In English : . ' 
 
 Unless the fix'd decrees of fate give way, 
 The Scots shall govern, and the scepter sway, 
 Where'er tliis stone they find, and its dread sound obey. 
 
 When the Scythians were informed of the solemn virtue of 
 this stone, Fergus the great, the son of Earca, having subdued 
 the kingdom of Scotland, resolved to be crowned upon it. For 
 this- purpose, he sent messengers to his brother Mortough, the 
 8on of Earca, a descendant from Heremon, who was king of Ire- 
 land at that time, to desire that he would send him that stone, 
 to make his coronation the more solemn, and to perpetuate the 
 succession in his family. His brother willingly complied with 
 his request ; the stone was sent, and Fergus received the crown 
 of Scotland upon it. This prince was the first monarch of 
 Scotland of the Scythian or Gadelian race ; and, though some of 
 the Picts had the title of kings of Scotland, yet they were no 
 more than tributary princes to the kings of Ireland, from the 
 reion of Heremond, who expelled them the kingdom of Ireland 
 and forced them into Scotland, where they settled. Fergus, 
 therefore, was the first absolute monarch of Scotland, who ac- 
 know! 'dged no foreign yoke, nor p^id any homage to any foreign 
 p iuce Tnis stone of destiny was presened with great venera- 
 
OF IRELAND 89 
 
 tion and esteem, in the abbey of Scone, till Edward I. of Eng- 
 land carried it away by violence, and placed it under the coro- 
 nation chair in Westminster-abbey, by which means the prophecy 
 that attended it seems to be accomplished; for the royal family 
 of the Stuarts succeeded to the throne of England soon after 
 the removal of this stone ; a family that descended lineally from 
 the Scythian race, from Maine Leamhna, son of Core, king of 
 Munster, son of Luighdheach, son of Oilioll Flanbeg, son of 
 Fiacha Muilieathan, iiing of Munster, son of Eogan Mor, son of 
 Oilioll Ollum, king of Munster, who descended lineally from 
 Heberus Fionn, son of Milesius, king of Spain, every prince of 
 which illustrious family successively received the crown upon 
 this stone. 
 
 The second valuable monument of antiquity, that the Tuatha 
 de Danans brought away from the Danes, and carried with them 
 into Ireland, was the sword which Luighaidh Lamhfhada, that 
 is, the Long-handed; used in battle, which they conveyed from 
 the city Gorias. The third curiosity was a spear, which the 
 same prince used to fight with ; it was lodged in the city Finias, 
 but removed by these necromancers into Ireland. The fourth 
 was a cauldron, called Coirean Daghdha, that was carried off 
 ft'om the city Murias. These transactions are recorded in a 
 poem, to be found in the Book of Invasions : the verses are 
 these : 
 
 • Thb Tuatha de Danans, 
 
 By force of potent spells and wicked magic, 
 And conjurations horrible to hear, 
 Could set the ministers of hell at work, * 
 
 And raise a slaughter'd army fi-om the earth, 
 And make them live, and breathe, and tight again. 
 Few coidd their arts withstand or charms unbind. 
 These sorcerers long time in Greece had felt 
 The smart of slavery, till sore oppress'd, 
 And brought in bondage, the bold Jarbhanel, 
 Son of Nemedius, son of Adnomhoin, 
 Resolv'd no longer to endure the yoke 
 Of servitude, a fleet prepar'd, and wandering 
 Long time from sea to sea, at length arrivVl, 
 . With all his followers, on the coasts of Norway. 
 The kind Norwegians receiv'd the strangers. 
 And hospitably lodg'd them from the cold. 
 But, when they saw their necromantic art, 
 How they had fiends and spectres at command, 
 And from the tombs could call the stalking ghosts, 
 And mutter words, and sxxmmon hideous forms 
 From hell, and from the bottom of the deep 
 They thought them gods, and not of raorta,!. race :; ■ --' 
 
90 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 And gave them cities, and'ador'd their learning, 
 
 And begg'd them to communicate their art, 
 
 And teach the Danish youth their mysteries. 
 
 The towns Avhereiu they taught their magic skill 
 
 Were Falias, Finias, Murias, Gorias. 
 
 Four men, well read in hellish wickedness, 
 
 Moirfhias the chief, a wizard of renown, 
 
 And subtle Erus, Arias skilled in charms, 
 
 And Semias fam'd for spells — these foiur presided 
 
 In the four towns, to educate the youth. 
 
 At length these strolling necromancers sail'd 
 
 From Norway, and land(id on the northern sho.'e 
 
 Of Scotland ; but perfidiously convey'd • 
 
 Four monuments of choice antiquity, 
 
 From the four cities given them by the Danes ; 
 
 From Falias, the stone of destiny ; 
 
 From Gorias they brought the well-try'd sword 
 
 Of Lixighaidh ; from Finias, a spear , 
 
 From Mui-ias, a cauldi'on. 
 
 The Taatha de Danans coutinuod seven years in the north of 
 Scotland, and then they reiDioved to Ireland. They arrived 
 there upon the first Monday in the month of May, and imme- 
 diately set fire to their shipping ; as the poet observes in this 
 manner, 
 
 They land upon the shore, and then they burn 
 Their ships, resolving never to return. 
 
 When they came upon the coast, they had recourse to their 
 enchantments to screen them from the observation of the inhabi- 
 tants j and accordingly, by their magic skill, they formed a mist 
 about them for three days and three nights, and in this undis- 
 cemed manner they marched through the country, without be- 
 ing discovered by the Firbolgs, till they came to a place called 
 Sliabh an Jaruin, from whence they dispatched ambassadors to- 
 Eochaidh, son of Eire, and to the nobility of the Firbolgs. to 
 demand the kingdom, or challenge them to a decisive battle. 
 Tnis audacious summons surprised the king, who immediately 
 raised an army, and, with all the forces of his country, he &.d- 
 vanced to give them battle. This prince, and his soldiery, 
 engaged with great bravery against the Tuatha de Danans, and 
 the fight was bloody and desperate on both sides ; but the Fir- 
 bolgs, unable to withstand the enchantments of their enemies, 
 were at last defeated, with the loss of ten thousand, or, as other 
 histories, with more probability, inform us, of an hundred thou- 
 sand, upon the spot. It wa^ the distance of thirty years between 
 
OF IRELAND. 91 
 
 the battle of south Miiighe Tairreadh, and the battle of north 
 Miiighe TuHTeadh ; as the poet computes in these verses : 
 
 Since the sharp fight at south Muighe TuiiTeadh 
 - To the battle fought at north Muighe Tuirreadh, 
 
 Where Ballar, the great general, was slain. 
 Was thirty yeara 
 
 Sorre of the antiquaries of Ireland are of opinion, that the 
 Tiuitba de Danans were so called, because they were the descen- 
 dants of the three sons of Danan, the daughter of Dealbaoith, 
 soja of Ealathan, son of Neid. The names of th6se brothers 
 were Bryan, Juchor, and Juchorba; their grandfather was Deal- 
 baoith, son of Ealathan, son of Neid, son of Jondaoi, son of 
 Ailaoi, son of Tait, son of Tabhairn, son of Eana, son of Baath, 
 son of Ibath, son of Jarbhainel Faidh, son of Nemedius. This 
 colony of people were called Tuatha de Danans, as they were 
 the posterity of the three sons of Danan, who were so expert in 
 the black art, and the mystery of charms and enchantments, 
 that the inhabitants of the country where they lived, distin- 
 guished them by the name of gods ; as appears from an oil 
 poem that begins thus, Eisdig a Eolacha gan on, &c., wherein 
 these three brothers are styled deities ; the lines are these : 
 
 The Tuatha de Danans had their name 
 From the three brothers, Bryan, Juchorba. 
 And Jiichor, slain by Logha, son of Eithiean. 
 
 From Danan, the mother of these brothers, the two hills at 
 Luachair Dheagha, in Desmond, were called da Chidh Danan. 
 
 There is another opinion among learned antiquaries, that the 
 Tuatha de Danans were so called, because they were divided into 
 three tribes. The first was known by the name of Tuatha, and 
 consisted of the nobility and the principal leaders of the colony ; 
 for Tuatha signifies a lord or commander ; and from hence it 
 vras, that the two beautiful women Beachoil and Danan, were 
 >:alled Bantuathachs, that is, ladies ; as the poet remai'ks in 
 this manner : 
 
 Beachoil and Danan, whose charms divine 
 In every air and every feature shine, 
 ♦ Were ladies, deeply versed in magic skill, 
 
 But by decree of fate imtimely fell. 
 
 The second tribe of the Tuatha de Danans was called Doe, 
 fhat is, gods; these were druids or priests. The third tribe 
 
92 THE GENEHAL HISTORY 
 
 was styled Deo Danans, that is, Gods of Danan ; they chiefly 
 applied to the study of poetry, and the art of composing verses ; 
 for Dan signifies art, and likewise a poem or song. The three 
 sons of Danan, Bryan, Juchor, and Juchorba, were called gods, 
 from their surprising performances in the black art ; and they 
 had the name also of Tuatha de Danans, because they were the 
 chief lords and commanders of the whole colony. 
 
 THE GENEALOGY OF SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL NOBILITY OF THE TUATHA 
 
 DANANS. 
 
 The family of Eochaidh Ollamh was descended from Daghdhfe-, 
 Ogma, Alloid, Breas and Dealbhaoith, the five sons of Ealthan, 
 son of Neid, son of Jondaoi, son of Allaoi, son of Tait, son of 
 Tabhairn, son of Eana, son of Bathath, son of Jobhath, son of 
 Beothaidh, son of Jarbhainel Faidh, son of Nemedius, son of 
 Adnamain and Mananan, son of Alloid, son of Dealbhaoith. 
 The six sons of Dealbhaoith were Ogmha, Fiacha, Ollamh, 
 Jondaoi, Bryan, Juchor, and Juchorba, Aongus, Hugh, Cearmad 
 and Midhir, were the four sons of Daghdha. Lughaidh, the 
 son of Cein, son of Dianceacht, son of Easaraig, son of Neid, 
 sons of Jondaoi Gabhneoin ; also Ceidne, Dianceacht, and Luch- 
 tain Cairbry, the famous poet, son of Taro, son of Turril. 
 Bithro, son of Carbrie, Caitchean, son of Tabhairn, Fiacha, son 
 of Dealbhaoith, and his son Ollamh, son of Fiacha Caicer Neach- 
 tain, son of Mamaith, son of Echoaidh Garbh, son of Duach 
 Doill Siodhmall, son of Cairbre Crom, son of Ealcmhuir, son 
 of Dealbhaoith, Eire Fodhla, and Banba, were the three 
 daughters of Fiacha, son of Dealbhaoith, son of Ogma ; and 
 Einin, the daughter of Eadarlamh, was the mother of these three 
 sisters. Their female deities were Badhbha, Macha, and Morio- 
 gan. Their ladies of beauty and quality were Danan and Beo- 
 '. chuill ; Bridhid was a poetess of note. They had two eminent 
 princes, Fea and Mean, who gave the name to Magh Feidh- 
 mhuin, in Munster : they possessed Triathre Tore, from whence 
 Trithtirne, in Munster, was bo called. They defeated the 
 African pirates in the battle of north Muighe Tuirreadh ; and 
 routed the Firbolgs in south Muighe Tuirreadh. In the first of 
 these engagements Nuagatt had his hand cut off, in the latter 
 he lost his head. 
 i 
 
OF IKEL.\NU. 93 
 
 AK ACCOUNT OF THE KINGS OF THE TUATHA DE DANANS, AND THE TIMK 
 OF THEIR REIGN. 
 
 Nuadha Airgiodlamh, or the silver -handed, the son of Each- 
 tach, son of Eadarlamh, son of Ordan, son of Allai, son of Tait, 
 Kon of Tabhran, son of Eana, son of Baath, son of Jobhath, son 
 of Beothach, son of Jarbhainel Faidh, son of Nemedius, son of 
 Adnamain, reigned king of Ireland thirty years, and was slain 
 by Ealadh, son of Dealbhaoith, and by Ballar na Neid, in the 
 battle of north Muighe Tuirreadh. 
 
 BreaSj son of Ealathan, son of Neid, son of Jondaoi, son of 
 Allai, son of Tabharn, son of Eana, son of Baath, son of Ibhath, 
 son of Beothach, son of Jarbhainel Faidh, son of Nemedius, 
 succeeded and reigned seven years. 
 
 Luighaidh Lamfhadha, or the long-handed, was his successor; 
 he was the son of Cein, g-on of Dianceatch, son of Eachtairg- 
 breac, son of Neid, son of Jondaoi, son of Allai, and his reign 
 continued forty years. This prince first ordained the assembly 
 of Tailtean, in honour to the memory of Tailte, the daughter of 
 Magh Mor, king of Sp?iu. She was wife to Eochaidh, son of 
 Eire, the late king of the Firbolgs, and was afterwards married 
 to Duach Doil, a great general of that colony ; she took care of 
 the education of this Luighaidh, in his minority, and had him 
 instructed in the max'ms of government : in gratitude for the 
 favours he had received, from the care and tuition of this lady, 
 he instituted the assembly of Tailtean, and appointed tilts and 
 tournaments as a tribute to her memory. These warlike exer- 
 cises resembled the old Olympic games, and were observed upon 
 the first of August every year ; a day which is still distin- 
 guished by the name of Lughnansa, from this Lughaidh, king of 
 Ireland. 
 
 Daghdah the Great succeeded ; he was the son of Ealathan, 
 son of Dealbhaoith, son of Neid, son of Jondaoi, son of Allai, 
 son of Tait, son of Tabhairn. son of Eana, son of Baath, son of 
 Jobhath, son of Beothach, son of Jarbhainel Faidh, son of Ne- 
 medius ; his reign was seventy years. 
 
 Dealbhaoith, the son of Oghmhagrian Eigis, son of Ealathan, 
 son of Dealbhaoith, son of Neid, son of Jondaoi, son of Allai, 
 son of Tait, son of Tabhairn, son of Eana, son of Baath, son of 
 Jobhath, son of Beothach, son of Jarbhainel Faidh, son of Ne- 
 medius, reigned next ; he was king of Ireland ten years. 
 
 Fiachadh succeeded ; he was the son of Dealbhaoith, son of 
 fialathan, son of Dealbhaoith, son of Neid, son of Jondaoi, son 
 
D4 THK OEN' HAL HISTORY 
 
 of Allai, s.on of Tait, son of Tabhairn, son of Eaua, son of Baath, 
 son of Jobhaith, son of Beothach, son of Jarbhainel, son of Ne- 
 medius ; he sat upon the throne ten yearS; and was slain by one 
 Eogan, at a place called Ard Breac. 
 
 Macuill, Maceacht and Mac Greine, the three sons of Cear- 
 mada Mirbheool, the son of Daghdha, succeeded. These princes 
 reigned thirty years, and some of the Irish antiquaries imagine 
 that the island was divided between the three brothers, into three 
 (n\u3i[ parts : they depended upon the authority of an old poet, 
 <vho says, 
 
 Throe brothers, Macuill, Maceacht, and Mac Grehie, 
 DivLded equally the idle between them 
 
 But this appears to be a mistake, for the kingdom of Ireland 
 was*riever thus divided. These three princes, I confess, ruled al- 
 ternately, one every year, which seems to give occasion for this 
 opinion. The reason why they were called Macuill, Maceacht, 
 and Mac Greine, was, because the idols they severally worshipped 
 were distinguished by these names. Macuill adored for his deity, 
 Cuill, that is, a log of wood ; Maceacht worshipped Ceacht, in 
 English, a plough- share ; and Mac Greine chose Grian for his 
 god, which signifies the sun. But the proper names of these 
 princes were, Eathoir, Teathoir, and Ceathoir. Eathoir, or Ma- 
 ceacht, had Banba for his wife ; Teathoir, or Macuill, was married 
 to Fodhla ; and Ceathoir, who was called Mac Greine, was the 
 husband of Eire. The right name, likewise, of Oirbhsion, was 
 Mananan ; from him Loch Oirbhsion was so called, because, when 
 his grave was digging, the lake broke out ; as the poet thus observes, 
 
 Eathoir, 
 
 A fierce, a ciiiel, but a warlike prince, 
 Paid homage to a log ; his wife was Banba. 
 Brave Teathoir the charming Fodhla chose, 
 A hero, wise and valiant, but ador'd 
 A rusty plough -share for his god ; his brother 
 Was Ceathoir, generous and bold, his queen 
 Was the fair Eire, and his god, the sun. 
 I Oirbhsion properly was Mananan called ; 
 
 From him Loch Oirbhsion received a name. 
 
 The Psalter of Cashel computes the whole time that the Tualha 
 da Danans continued in Ireland, to be a hundred and ninety- 
 seven years ; as the poet expresses it thus, 
 
 A hundred and ninety-seven years complete, 
 Tlie Tuatha ^2 Danans, a famous colony, 
 The Irish scepter sway'd. 
 
OKIGINAL OF THE MILESIANS, 
 
 WITH A SUCCINCT ACCOUNT OF THEIR TRAVELS, GENEALOGIES, AND 
 ADVENTURES, FROM FENIUSA FARSA, KING OF SCYTHIA, TILL THE TliiE 
 OF THEIR FIRST INVASION OF IRELAND 
 
 In order to observe a method and regularity in describing the 
 original of the Scythians, I am to take notice, that they were 
 the posterity of Japhet, the son of Noah ; Moses, in settling the 
 genealogy of the patriarchs, in the tenth chapter of the book of 
 Genesis makes mention of two sons of Japhet, Gomer and Ma- 
 gog. Gomer, he says, had three sons, Ashkenaz, Riphath, and 
 Togarmah, but the sacred penman gives no account of the sous 
 of Magog, who was the great ancestor of the Scythian nation. 
 It is the business of this history, therefore, to be as particular 
 as may be, in tracing the lineal descendants of this son of 
 Japhet, which I find recorded in the Book of Invasions, upon 
 whose authority we may depend ; for the whole account is 
 faithfully collected and transcribed, from the most valuable and 
 authentic chronicles of the Irish affairs, particularly from that 
 choice volume, called Leabhar dhroma sneacbta, or the White 
 book, that was written before St. Patrick first arrived in Ireland 
 to propagate Christianity in the country. 
 
 We are informed by this ancient manuscript, that Magog had 
 three sons, their names were Baath, Jobhath, and Fathochta ; 
 fi'om Bjiath, descended Feniusa Farsa, king of Scythia, who was 
 the founder of the Gadelians, The posterity of Jobhath wer^?, 
 the Amazons, the Bactrians, and the Parthians. Fathochta 
 was the ancestor of Partholanus, who first settled a colony in 
 Ireland after the Flood. Nemedius, the Firbolgs and Tuatha 
 de Danans, the Longorbardians, the Hunus, Goths, and many 
 other nations, descended from Magog, and came originally out 
 of Scythia. Atyla, who called himself the scourge of God, and 
 the terror of the world, was likewise of the posterity of Magog. 
 This warlike Scythian conquered Panonia, and troubled the 
 Roman empire for many years ; he overran Italy, and fought 
 with great bravery against the Germans. Peliorbes, the king of 
 the Hunns, was a Scythian, who made war upon Justinian, the 
 Roman emperor ; the inhy ])itants of Daunia, a part of the coui> 
 
96 THE GENERAL HISTORVT 
 
 try of Apulia, owe their original to the Scythians, as do the 
 gi-eatest number of the people in the Turkish empire. 
 
 Epiphanius is of opinion, that the Scythian monarchy began 
 soon after the Flood, and continued to the captivity of Babylon ; 
 he says, farther, that the la^vs, customs, and manners of the 
 Scythians were received by the other nations as the standards 
 of policy, civility, and polite learning, and that they were the 
 first after the Flood, who attempted to reform mankind into 
 notions of courtesy, into the art of government, and the prac- 
 tice of good manners. Johannes Boemus, in the ninth chapter 
 of his second volume, where he treats of the laws and customs 
 of all nations, remarks, that the Scythians were never corrupted 
 by the rude and savage behaviour of any foreign nation j and 
 Josephus observes, that the Grecians call the Scythians by the 
 name of Magogi, because they were the descendants of Magog. 
 
 It is the observation of Joliannes Nauclerus, that the Scy- 
 thians were always famous for worthy and heroic acts, and that 
 historians, when they speak of them, give them the character of 
 a brave and generous people. Heroc^ptus, in his fourth book, 
 tells us, that Darius the powerful, king of Persia, was expelled 
 by the Scythians out of their country, with infamy and dis- 
 grace ; and this is confirmed by Justin, the abbreviator of Tro- 
 gus, who, enlarging upon the military exploits of the Scythian 
 nation, gives this glorious account of them :* " The Scythians 
 were either always free from the attempts of any other nation, 
 or came off conquerors when they were attacked ; they drove 
 Darius, the Persian king, out of Scythia, who was glad to save 
 himself by a cowardly and ignominious flight ; they killed 
 Cyrus and his whole army ; they fought with the same succ/css 
 against Zopyron, one of Alexander's generals, and destroyed him 
 and all his forces ; they had heard indeed of the arms of the 
 Romans, but never felt them." A character that no other peo- 
 ple of the world so eminently deserved, and which we have no 
 reason to suspect of partiality, as it oame from an author who 
 vvas a Roman, who seldom bestows too large encomiums upon the 
 military exploits of any foreign or barbarous nation. 
 
 The author of the Polichronicon, in the thirty- seventh chap- 
 ter of his first book, informs us, that the posterity of Gadelaa 
 were called Scythi or Scythians. The word Scythi, he says, 
 
 * ScythiB ipsi perpetuo ab alieno imperio ant intacti aut invicti manserunt; 
 Darlum, regem Persarum, turpi ab Scythia smnmovenmt fuga ; Cyrum, cum 
 orani sxercitu, trucidarunt ; Alexandrv magni ducem Zopyrona, pari ratio.nc 
 cum copiis universis deleveruct > Romanorum' audivere sed non sensere arma. . 
 
OF IRELAND. 97 
 
 is derived from Sciut. It is certain, that the Milesians may 
 with equal propriety, be called Scythians, from the word Scuit 
 as the old English in Ireland are styled Goill, from Gallia, which 
 is the country from whence they were originally descended ; so 
 that the Ga.delians may, with the same right, be called Scythians, 
 from Scythia, as the old English are called Goill, from the coun 
 try of Gaul, from whence they came. 
 
 These observations, which I have collected from the learned 
 manuscripts and annals of our own nation, and from the autho- 
 rity of foreign historians, make it evident, I presume, that the 
 Gadelians, and by consequence the Milesians, are properly dis- 
 tinguished by the name of Scythians ; as they owe their original 
 to those illustrious people, and are descendants from a nation so 
 fa^mous for civility, for good laws, and good government ; and 
 their posterity, the Gadelians, always approved themselves wor- 
 thy of so brave ancestors, for they retained the same love for 
 politeness, for learning and learned men, they fought valiantly 
 in the field, were faithful allies, peaceable to their neighbours, 
 but severe revengers of broken leagues and abused faith. Their 
 monarchy continued in Ireland under eighty-one absolute kings, 
 of their own blood, and of the Gadelian family, not to mention 
 a great number of their provincial princes, and other illustrious 
 nobility, by which they may justly claim a relation to the war- 
 like, the civilized, and learned Scythians, who make such a fig-are 
 in history, and are justly esteemed the standards of probity, 
 bravery, and honour, throughout the world. 
 
 Nor are we to forget in this place, that the posterity of Niul, 
 the son of Feniusa Farsa, were generally called Scythians. 
 This Niul was the second son of Feniusa Farsa, and had no 
 share of the government allowed him by his father, or his elder 
 brother, who succeeded. He was sent abroad with a numerous 
 attendance, to travel into foreign parts ; and when became near the 
 borders of Egypt, he ordered his people, whom he designed to settle 
 as a colony in some convenient country, not to forget that they 
 were the natives of Scythia, that they should distinguish them- 
 selves by the name of Scuit or Scots, that their posterity might 
 be ever mindful of their original, and glory in being descendants 
 of the Scythian nation. This young prince had no other portion 
 given him by his father, but the privilege of travelling, the 
 benefit of the public schools, and to improve himself in the 
 seventy-two learned languages, for Feniusa Farsa left his mon- 
 archy entire to Neauul, his eldest son. 
 
98 THE GJi^NEKAL HISTORY 
 
 A PAR.T.1CULAR ACCOLTNT OF THE OEICtINAL OF THE GADICLIANS. AtJlToP 
 THEIR ADVENTUH S TILL THEY IK VADED IRELAND. 
 
 Tlici*e.ai'e" some of the Latin authors, who imagine that Gado- 
 las was the son of Argos or Secrops, who was king of the Argivi, 
 that is,, the Grecians, called in the old Irish Gaoidheal : but 
 this must be a mistake, because St. Austin informs us, tha^the 
 family of Cecrops began about the time that Jacob was born, 
 v/hich was about 432 years after the Deluge ; and the same 
 father allows the crown to continue in that line but 215 years ; 
 by which computation it follows, that about 667 years after the 
 Flood, the government was removed out of their family, and 
 their monarchy expired. It is impossible that Gadelas should 
 be the son of Argos or Cecrops, because Hector Boetius, in his 
 History of Scotland, says, that the Gadeliaus were in Egypt 
 w]xen Moses was vrorking wonder'^' in that country for the delivery 
 of the Israelites ; and the book of the Irish Invasions agrees with 
 that computation. 
 
 The Book of Invasions gives jvn account that about this tima 
 Gadelas was born ; he was the son of Niul, son of Feniusa 
 Farsa^ king of Scythia, son of Baah, son of Magog ; his mother 
 was Scota, the daughter of Pharaoh Cingris, king of Egypt. 
 Moses began to govern the Israelites in Egypt, about 797 years 
 after the Deluge ; and, according to that computation, there 
 were about 355 years from the reign of Cecrops till Gadelas was 
 born ; so that it was impossible for Gadelas to be a son of 
 Cecrops. 
 
 Other authors are fond of insisting that the Gadelians came 
 from Greece into Scythia, and from thence travelled by land into 
 Egypt.* These writers are of opinion, that the word Scythia is 
 as much as to say Jath Sgeach or Sceachach, which they suppose 
 sigiiifies land j but upon comp-iring the word Scythia, in the 
 pronunciation, with either of tht^e, especially the last letters of 
 it, we shall find there is no manner of analogy in the sound, be- 
 tween th, dh, th or ch, and ia, which are the last letters of the 
 word Scythia. This mistake arises from a profound ignorance 
 of some authors in the Irish language, and the forwardness of 
 others to guess and deliver 'their sentiments about what it is 
 impossible they should understand. They will have it, that the 
 Gadelians must come originally out of Greece, because the so- 
 lemnity of the Gadelian triumphs, their sports, tilts and tour- 
 naments, and many other of their customs, bear a very near re- 
 Bemblance to the practice of the Grecians ; from whence the-^ 
 
OP IRELAND 99 
 
 miadvisedly conclude, that the Gadeliaiis were originally natives^ 
 cf Greece : but this similitude of manners and customs will be 
 soon accounted for, if we consider that the several invaders of 
 Ireland, after the Deluge, except Nemedius and the Milesians, 
 took Greece- in their way to Ireland, and resided there for somo 
 time. Partholanus, we have observed, came out of ]!kJidonia, 
 supposed to be Macedonia, in Greece ; the Firbolgs set out 
 fVom Thracia, and the Tuatha de Danans from Achaia, neni 
 Boeotia, and the city of Thebes ; so that those invaders, who 
 either came out of Greece, or travelled through part of it, in their 
 way to Ireland, may be supposed to retain some of the manners 
 and usages of that country ; and we may presume, the Gadelians, 
 when they came to Ireland, learned of the inhabitants they found 
 there, some of those customs which the followers of Partholanus, 
 or the colony of the Firbolgs, had introduced into the island. 
 But to assert positively, that the Gadelians were originally de- 
 scended from the Greeks, is what has no foundation in history, 
 nor the authority of any faithful writer to support it : it is a 
 mere conjecture, built only upon a distant resemblance of certain 
 sports and exercises between the Greeks and the Gadelians, which 
 we have very easily accounted for. It seems strange that any 
 person should attempt to write the history of any nation whose 
 language he is unacquainted with, and who can come at no more 
 knowledge of antiquity than he receives through the corrupted 
 caannel of tradition, or the relation of foreign authors. The 
 ■Irish tongue is obscure, and difficult to be understood ; and the 
 natives of Ireland, who speak it properly enough, can, hardly at 
 tain the knowledge of its characters, especially to read and becom 
 perfectly acquainted with the ancient records ; which ought to dis- 
 courage a foreigner from writing about the origin of the Irish nation^ 
 and likewise render a faithful translation of the Irish manuscripts 
 the more valuable in the opinion of every one who bears any re- 
 gard to the genuine antiquities of the kingdom 
 
 A FULL ACCOUTIT OF THE MOST ILLUSTRL-US FENIUSA FARSA, GRAND- 
 PATHER OF GADELAS, TILL HIS RETURN FROM MAGH SEAN AIR ; WITH 
 THE PARTICULARS OF HIS DEATH. 
 
 The great Feniusa Farsa, king of the Scythian nation, was a 
 prince who appHed himself to the study of letters, and made it 
 his business to understand the several languages of the world, 
 which began from the general confusion of tongues at the tower 
 of Babel. From the time of Adam till the building of that 
 tower, there was but one universal language, which the ancient 
 
100 'i'HE GENERAL, HISTORY 
 
 chronicles of Ireland call Gartigarran, which signifies the human 
 tongue ; hut when Nimrod and his profane confederates at- 
 tempted to erect that structure, Providence thought fit to inter- 
 pose and put a stop to the undertaking, by perplexing the work- 
 men with a diversity of speech, and confounding them with 
 strange languages, which effectually hindered their design, and 
 prevented the finishing of the building : but the wisdom of God 
 thought fit to preserve the genuine and original language, which 
 was the Hebrew, in the family of Heber, from whom it was 
 called the Hebrew tongue. This good man, being informed of 
 the wicked attempts of Nimrod and his accomplices, and that 
 they proposed, by erecting a tower, to secure themselves from a 
 second deluge, which they apprehended would again overflow 
 the world, opposed their design, and refused to assist them in 
 raising the structure. He told them it was a vain and auda- 
 cious enterprise, carried on in defiance of Heaven, whose decrees 
 it was impossible to withstand or disappoint. But this remon- 
 fitrance made no impression upon the projectors, who thought to 
 raise their tower to a height which the waters could never reach, 
 and by that means secure themselves and their families fi'om the 
 danger of another flood ; but a confusion of language broke all 
 their measures, and the faithful Heber, for his piety, was re- 
 warded with a continuance of the original speech in his own fa- 
 mily, who preserved it uncorrupt, and in its native purity de- 
 livered it to posterity. 
 
 Feniusa Farsa, the Scythian monarch, desirous to attain the 
 knowledge of the Hebrew tongue, and to have it taught in th(^ 
 public schools which he designed to erect,' resolved to go in per- 
 son to Magh Seanair, which was near the place where the He- 
 brew was the common language of the inhabitants. After the 
 confusion at Babel, it is supposed, there arose seventy-two- dif 
 ferent tongues, which this Scythian prince designed '• if possible 
 to be master of For this end he dispatched seventy-two per- 
 sons of learning, with a number in case of mortality to supply 
 their places, to the several parts of the known world ; and com- 
 manded them to stay abroad for seven years, that each of them 
 might be perfectly acquainted with the language of the country 
 where he chanced to reside ; then they were to return to Scy- 
 thia, and instruct the youth in the several languages. Upon 
 the return of these learned linguists into Scythia, Feniusa Farsa 
 began his journey to Magh Seanair, and left the government of 
 the kingdom in his absence to Nenuall, his eldest son ; as the 
 poet informs us in his poem that begins thus, Canoimh Bunad- 
 hus na ngaoidhiol, Szc, 
 
OF IRELAND. 101 
 
 One was at first the language of mankind, 
 ^ Till haughty Nimrod, with presumption bliiid, 
 Proud Babel built ; then with confusion struck, 
 Seventy-two difi'rent tongues the workmen spoke. 
 These languages the Scythian monarch strove 
 To learn, and in his schools his youth improve. 
 
 it Wcas sixty years from the building of the tower of Babel till 
 Feniusa Farsa set out from the north, from his country of Scythia, 
 and arrived at Magh Seanair, and there began his schools for the 
 universal languages. This computation we receive from chroni- 
 cles of great antiquity ; and the poet agrees with it in the fol- 
 lowing verses : 
 
 From the confusion at the tower of Babel, 
 Till Feniusa Farsa from the north 
 Arriv'd, was sixty years. 
 
 This learned prince laid the foundation of an university at 
 Magh Seanair, near the city called Athens, whither he invited 
 the youth of the adjacent countries to frequent his schools, in 
 order to attain the knowledge of the universal languages ; as the 
 poet observes in these lines : 
 
 In. Magh Seanair, aftfer the lofty tower 
 
 Of Babel was erected, the first school 
 
 At Athens was erected, where the languages 
 
 Were taught with care, and the industrious youth 
 
 Instructed. 
 
 The persons who had the care of these schools, were Feniusa 
 Farsa, king of Scythia, Gadel, the son of Eathoir, of the poste- 
 rity of Gomer, who was a Grecian ; and Caoh Saion Shreathach, 
 who came from Gudea, and was likewise called Gar Mac Neamha; 
 as the poet writes in this manner : 
 
 The tutors who presided in the schools, 
 Were Gadel, son of Eathoir, and Gar, 
 The learned son of Neamha, the Hebrew 
 And Fenius, the principal of all. 
 
 Another poet is of the same opinion, which he exnresses thus : 
 
 The learned monarch Feniusa Farsa, 
 And Gadel, perfect in the foreign tongues, 
 And Caoih, friend to truth, first took the cnarge 
 Of teaching youth the languages 
 
102 THE GSJERAL HISTORY 
 
 These three eraineut liDgiiists first invented the alphabet, in 
 three principal languages, in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, which 
 they inscribed upon tables of wood ; as the learned Cionthaola, 
 who writ in the time of St. Columbanus, or Colum Cill, justly 
 observed. The same author says, that Nion, the son of Pelus, 
 the son of Nimrod, was then the sole sovereign and monarch of 
 the universe ; %nd remarks farther, that Niul, the second son of 
 Feniusa Farsa, was born at Magh Seanair about that time, for 
 whose sake Feniusa continued twenty years, as the president of 
 the schools he had erected, that he might have his son under 
 his immediate care, and make him perfect in the universal lan- 
 guages. It was in the forty-second year of the reign of Nion, 
 the son of Pelus, (as the Chronicles inform us,) that the king 
 of Scythia first began, to build and establish his schools at Magh 
 Seanair ; so that we may suppose he continued at Magh 
 Seanair ten years after the death of Nion, the son of Pelus ; for 
 all the writers agree that he presided, as a tutor over those 
 schools, for twenty years. It likewise appears, from the com- 
 putation of Bellarmine, in his Chronicle, that the schools at 
 Magh Seanair were first begun by Feniusa Farsa, 242 years 
 after the Flood. The same author, in his Chronicle, computes, 
 that it was in the year of the world 1850, when Nion, the sou 
 of Pelus, began his monarchy, and governed the nation of the 
 Hebrews, which, acGording to the Hebrew computation allowed 
 by Bellarmine, proves that Nion began to reign 200 years after 
 the Flood : for from the Creation to the Deluge, by the account 
 of Scripture, was 1656 years, to which we are to add forty 
 two years of Nion's reign, that were spent before Feniusa Farsa, 
 king of Scythia, began his universal schools : so that by this cal- 
 culation it appears, that the foundation of the schools was laid 
 242 years after the Flood ; and they Were kept open twenty 
 years, ten years ir. the reign of Nion, and ten years afterwards. 
 When Feniusa Farsa, the Scythian king, had presided twenty 
 years over the universal schools he had erected, he returned to 
 Scyt-hia, and began to build seminaries of learning in his own 
 country ; Gadel, the son of Eathoir, he ordained president, and 
 commanded him to digest the Irish language into form and re- 
 gulation, and to divide it into five several dialects. The firs ; 
 was the Finian dialect, which was spoken by the militia and the 
 soldiery of the island ; the second was the poetical, the third 
 the historical, the fourth was the dialect of the physicians, the 
 fifth was the common idiom, or the vulgar Irish, used in general 
 by the people of the country : this dialect received its name 
 
OF IRiiLAMD. '' 103 
 
 from Gadel, the master of the schools, and was called Gaoidhe- 
 alg, that is, Irish, and not from Gadelas, as others imagine. 
 This Gadel, the son of Eathoir, was so highly esteemed by Fe 
 niusa Farsa, thsit, in respect to him he called the young prince, 
 which he had by Scota, the daughter of Pharaoh Cingcris, by the 
 name of Gaodhal, or Gadelas, as the learned Ceanfnoelta mentiona 
 in his history. 
 
 It is a question among authors, from 'whence the word Gaod 
 hal, or Gadelas,- is derived : Bscanus is of opinion, that it comes 
 fi'om Gaodin, or Gaothin, which signifies gentle, and by adding 
 the syllable all, it sounds Gaodhal, which signifies all gentle. 
 Others imagine that it proceeds from the Hebrew word Gadal, 
 which signifies great ; because Gadel, the son of Eathcir, (who 
 was first called Goadhal, that is Gadel,) was a great proficient in 
 learning, and in the universal languages. Our historians inform 
 us. that he was called Gaodhal, or Gadel, from the Irish word 
 Gaoith dil, which signifies a lover of learning ; for learning in 
 English, in the Irish language is Gaoith, and love is the English 
 for the word Dil. The Grecian philosophers explain the word 
 in the same manner, and by Gaoith dil they mean a lover of 
 learning. 
 
 It is not observed by the Irish chronicles, that Feniusa Farsa 
 had any more children than two sons, Nenuall, who was the 
 eldest, and Niul, the younger brother ; as the old poet remarks : 
 
 The aged monarch happy in his sons ; 
 
 The learned Niul, born near the tower of Babel, 
 
 And valiant Nenuall, by birth a Scythi:;n. 
 
 When Feniusa Farsa had reigned two and twenty years over 
 the Scythian monarchy, and had returned home from Mao-h 
 Seanair, he fell sick ; and, when he was near the point of death, 
 he demised the kingdom of Scythia to Nenuall, his eldest son, 
 and left nothing to Mul, the younger brother, but the advantage 
 arising from the public schools he had erected, and the benefit o! 
 instructing the youth of the country in the learned languages. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE TRAVELS OF NIUL, I'ROM SCTTHIA INTO EGYPT, ANI> 
 OF HIS ADVENTURES TILL HIS DEATH. 
 
 This young prince had employed himself for some time with 
 great applause, in educating the Scythian youth, insomuch, that 
 the fame of his learning and accomplishments was carried into 
 distant countries, till at length it reached the ears of Pharaoh 
 Cingcris, king of Egypt. This monarch was so charmed v/ith 
 
104 THF GENERAL HISTOKY 
 
 the report that he had lieard, that he immec'iiately dispatched 
 messengers into Scythia, to invite Niul into Egypt, to instrnct 
 the youth of that country ; as the poet mentions in these lines : 
 
 Th' Eg>'ptian monarch heard of Niul's fame, 
 From cUstant Scythia, and admir'd his learning. 
 
 Niul accepted of the invitation, and when he had been in Egypt 
 a small time, the king, delighted with his learning and the mo- 
 desty of his behaviour, bestowed upon him his daughter Scota, 
 a princess of great beauty, and gave him the lands of Capacirunt, 
 that lie upon the coasts of the Red Sea. This is universally al- 
 lowed by our chronicles, and observed by the poet Giolla Caom- 
 han, in his poem, which begins thus, Gaodhal glas odtaid Gaoid- 
 hilr 
 
 The Scythian soon complied with the request, 
 But, vfhen he came, soft love his heart possess'd, 
 And, for reward, he was with charming Scota bless'd. 
 
 After his marriage with the princess, he erected schools and 
 seminaries of learning in Capacirunt, and taught the sciences and 
 the universal languages to the youth of Egypt. At this time 
 his wife Scota was delivered of a son, who, by the command of 
 Niul, was called Gaodhal, that is Gadelas. 
 
 It may seem strange perhaps, that Niul, (who was the fifth 
 descendant from Japhet,) should be contemporary with Moses, 
 especially considering that it was the space of 997 years from the 
 Deluge, till Moses took upon him the command of the Israelites. 
 This difficulty will be answered, if we observe, that it was not 
 impossible for Niul to live some hundred years ; for in those ages 
 of the world, the lives of mankind were very long, as may be 
 proved by the testimony of Scripture. Heber, the son of Saile, 
 the fourth descendant from Shem, lived 464 years, and Shem 
 himself lived 500 years after his son Arphaxed was born. This 
 account we find in the eleventJi chapter of the book of Genesis ; 
 so that we are not so nauch to admire that Niul should live from 
 the forty-second year of the reign of Nion, the eon of Pelus, to 
 the time that Moses came into Egypt ; and the wonder abates still, 
 if we may give credit to Marianus Scotus, who says, that it was 
 331 years after the Flood, when the confusion of languages hap- 
 pened at the tower of Babel ; and we have the evidence of the 
 most authentic records, to prove that Niu] was born a considerable 
 time after that confusion ; so that the age of this prince is not 
 at all incredible, nor is the testimony of the Scottish author iu- 
 validj who places Niul as contemporary with Moses. 
 
OP lUELA^'D. 105 
 
 During the time that Niul resided at Capacirunt, near the 
 Red Sea^ with his wife Scota, and Gadelas his son, the childrei? 
 of Israel, under the conduct of Moses and Aaron, attempted to 
 free themselves from the slavery of Egypt, and encamped near 
 Capacirunt. JSTiul, somewhat surprised at the number of those 
 itinerants, who had fixed themselves in his neighbourhood, went 
 himself in person, to make discoveries, and to know their business, 
 and to what nation they belonged. When he came to the out- 
 side of the camp, he met Aaron, of whom he inquired the rea- 
 son of their encampment, and the country they were of. Aaron 
 very courteously gave him satisfaction, and beginning the history 
 of the Hebrew nation, related the adventures of that people ; 
 he informed him of the bondage they had endured, for many 
 years, under the taskmasters of the Egyptian king ; and how 
 the God they worshipped had worked wonders and miracles for 
 their deliverance, and had punished, with the most dreadful 
 judgments, the cruelty of that barbarous prince. Niul, affected 
 with this relation, immediately offered his friendship and service 
 to Aaron, and asked whether he had sufficient provision for so 
 numerous a people ; and, if they were in any distress, he promised 
 to furnish him with corn, and all other necessaries which hia 
 country produced. This generous act could not but be well re- 
 ceived by Aaron, who returned him thanks for his civility, and 
 took his leave. When he returned to the camp, he gave an ac- 
 count to Moses of the adventure he had met with, and the kind 
 offers that were made him by a neighbouring prince. Niul like- 
 wise, when he came home, related the history of the Israelite!} 
 to some of the principal of his people, and repeated the conver- 
 sation he had with one of their commanders. 
 
 It happened, that upon the same night, the young prince Ga- 
 delas, the son of Niul, had the misfortune to be bit in the neck 
 by a serpent ; some say as he was swimming in a river, though 
 others assert that the serpent came out of the adjacent wilderness, 
 and bit him in his bed. The venom instantly spread itself through 
 his veins, and poisoned the whole mass of blood, so that the 
 prince languished, and was reduced to the very brink of death. 
 This dreadful accident alarmed Niul and his people, who, upon 
 consultation, resolved to carry the expiring prince to the camp 
 of the Hebrews, and entreat the humanity of Moses, that he 
 would pray for his recovery to that Almighty God, who had 
 displayed his power, in so wonderful a manner, among the Egyp- 
 tians. Moses complied with their request, and addressed him- 
 Belf fervently to God, for the safety of the young prince : and 
 
10b THE G ;,'5^;ral H!f:;T!a:Y 
 
 laying his rod, that i^as in his hand, upon the n'ound, the youth 
 immediately recovered, and was perfectly healed, but there re- 
 mained a green spot upon the place where the bite was. From 
 this green spot the prince was afterwards called Gaodhal glas, 
 but by modern authors Gadelas ; Glas signifies green, and Gao- 
 dhal (as the moderns corruptly pronounce it, though Gadel 
 was the proper name) being joined with it, is the reason that 
 he is generally called Gadelas ; and from this Gaodhal, or Ga- 
 delas, the Irish are called Clana Gaodhal, which is as much as to 
 say, the posterity of Gaodhal, or Gadelas. 
 
 When Moses had so miraculously cured this bite of the ser- 
 pent, he prophesied, that wherever that young prince or his 
 posterity should inhabit, the country should never be infested 
 with any venomous creature. This prediction is fulfilled in the 
 island of Crete, now called Candia, where some of the descen- 
 dants of this prince remain to this day : and it is well known 
 that no poisonous creature will live in that island, but die imme- 
 diately upon their arrival there, as they do in Ireland. Some, I 
 confess, are of opinion, that there were serpents in Ireland, till St. 
 Patrick- arrived to propagate Christianity in that country ; but 
 this assertion depends upon the figurative manner of expression, 
 which is to be understood of devils or infernal spirits, that 
 may properly be called serpents, and were expelled the island 
 by the piety and preaching of this saint. But we have no ac- 
 count in our ancient annals of any serpents in Ireland since the 
 invasion of the country by the Gadelians ; and, by the universal 
 silence of our historians, we may with great reason collect, that 
 there were do such creatures ; and, as a farther testimony, we are 
 to observe, that the infernal fiends, or the devils, are generally 
 called serpents, in the life of St. Patrick. 
 
 We have an account, from some antiquaries, that Moses locked 
 a chain he had in his hand about the neck of Gaodhal, or Gade- 
 las ; and from thence he was called Gaodhal glas, that is Gade- 
 las ; for the word Glas, by another termination, in the Irish 
 language, signifies in the English, a lock, and by joining together 
 the words Gaodhal Glas, we come at the name Gaodhalglas 
 or Gadelas. In those times every principal and chief com- 
 mander wore a rich chain about his arm, as a badge of his ofiice^ 
 and a distinction of his authority. But as an evidence that this 
 young prince had the syllable Glas added to his name, from jthe 
 impression of the serpent's teeth, (which occasioned a gvecn 
 spot ui^on the wound, in Irish cf^Ued Glas,") and not from a cham 
 
OF IRELAND. 107 
 
 locked about his neck, I heave inserted the following verses, ex- 
 tracted from the Eoyal Records of Tara. 
 
 The hissing serpent, eager of his prey, 
 
 Ascends the couch where sleeping Gadel lay ; 
 
 In winding mazes then himself he roll'd, 
 
 And leap'd upon him in a dreadful fc.^ld. 
 
 And shook his foriced tongue, and then around 
 
 His neck he twists, ai:d gives a deadly wound ; 
 
 From his black gums he press'd the killing foam, 
 
 And from his mouth the blasting vapours come. 
 
 The subtle poison spreads through every vein, 
 
 No art, no juice of herbs, can ease the pain, 
 
 Till Moses, with his never-faihng wand. 
 
 Touched the raw wound which heal'd at his command, 
 
 But a green spot the tender skin distain'd. 
 
 From henco the princely youth receiv'd his name, 
 
 And was called Gaodliai glas. 
 
 Other antiquaries are of opinion, that he was called Gaodhal 
 glas, or Gadelas, from the brightness of his armour, and the 
 shining of the weapons he used in the wars j as the poet observes 
 in this manner, 
 
 This prince, the virtuous Scota bore, 
 
 From the bright lustre of the arms he wore, 
 Called Gaodhal glas. 
 
 From this. Gaodhal glas, or Gadelas, the Gadelians derive 
 their name; and the Irish, from him, are called Clana Gaodhal 
 Upon this account an ancient poet has these lines : 
 
 From Gadelas the Irish had their name, 
 The Scots from Scota, Feine from Fenius. 
 
 Some of the Irish chronicles assert, that the reason why Scota, 
 the mother of Gadelas, was so called, was, because the father of 
 Gadelas was descended from the Scythian race, among whom it 
 was a custom to call the women after their husband's names. 
 
 It is to be observed, that this princess was a different person 
 from that Scota, who was the wife of Golamh, afterwards called 
 Milesius, king of Spain, by whom he had six sons j for the 
 father of Scota, the mother of Gadelas, was Pharaoh Cingcri^ 
 king of Egypt, who pursued the children of Israel, as they fled 
 from slavery, and perished in the Red Sea with all his army j 
 out the father of that Scota, who was the wife of Milesius, king 
 of Spain, was the fifteenth king oi Egypt in succession from the 
 Pharaoh above-mentioned, and distir.guished by the name of 
 Piuiraoh Noctoucbus. 
 
108 THE GENER\L HISTORY 
 
 When Niul had received the prince, his son, in perfect healthy 
 by the prayers of Moses, and in return had supplied the Israel- 
 ites with provisions, and what was necessary for their journey, 
 he began to be apprehensive that his father-in-law would be ditj- 
 pleased at the civility he showed a people, whom he esteemed 
 as a company of slaves, in a state of rebellion against his autho- 
 rity. He communicated his fears to Moses, who persuaded him 
 to remove himself and his people, and accompany him into the 
 promised land, where he should have a part of the country assigned 
 him for his own support, and the maintenance of his followers ; 
 or if he refused this proposal, he would deliver up the shipping 
 which belonged to the crown of Egypt, into his hands, where he 
 might dispose of himself and his subjects with safety, till he 
 found how the great God would deal with Pharaoh, who re- 
 solved to pursue the Hebrews, and force them back to slavery. 
 This motion Niul complied with, and accordingly Moses dis- 
 patched 1000 men, well armed, who made themselves masters 
 of the ships, and delivered them into the possession of Niul, who, 
 with all possible speed, went on board with all his people, and 
 stood out to sea, in expectation of the event. Upon the next 
 day the waters of the Red Sea were divided, and a wonderful 
 passage made for the Israelites to go through ; and Pharaoh, 
 with the choicest forces of his kingdom, attempting to follow 
 them, were all drowned. Upon this memorable transaction, an 
 old poet has these lines : 
 
 The haughty monarch, Avith a heart elate, 
 Eesolv'd to follow, and to tempt his fate. 
 He rush'd into the deep, the waters close, 
 And with impetuous rage his pride oppose : 
 They cover all his host, and, in their course, 
 Sweep away 60,000 foot, and 50,000 horse. 
 
 This overthrow of the Egyptians was brought to pass about 79/ 
 years after the Deluge. 
 
 Niul, observing from his ships that Pharaoh and the Egyptian 
 army were destroyed, resolved to return, and fix himself and his 
 people in their former settlement : he brought his ships to land, 
 and went on shore with all his followers. After this enterprise 
 he had many children, and lived till his sons were able to bccar 
 arms, and then died, leaving behind him the character of one of 
 the most learned and valiant princes of his age. Gadelas, after 
 the decease of his father, took upon him the command, and ad- 
 mitted his mother Scota into a share of the government, and 
 they reigned together with great wisdom and unanimity. 
 
OP IRELAND. 109 
 
 It was observed before that Moses had prophesied, that the 
 countries wherever Gadelas or any of his posterity should in- 
 habit should not be infested with any poisonous creature ; and 
 he likewise added this prediction, that the posterity of this prince 
 should encourage the sciences, and be the constant patrons of 
 poets, philosophers, historians, and men of learning in all pro- 
 fessions. This account we receive from an ancient poet, in the 
 following verses, to be found in the Psalter na rann : 
 
 The holy prophet was mspir'd to see 
 Into events of dark futurity ; 
 
 And said, for thee, young prince, has heav'a in store 
 Blessings that mortals scarce enjoy'd before ; 
 - For Avheresoe'er thy royal line shall come. 
 
 Fruitful shall be their land, and safe their home ; - 
 
 No poisonous snake or serpent shall deface 
 
 The beauty of the field, or taint the grass ; 
 
 No noisome reptile Avith envenom'd teeth, 
 
 Nor deadly insect with infectious breath, 
 
 Shall ever bloat that land, or be the cause of death. 
 
 But innocence and arts shall flourish there, 
 
 And learning in its lovely shapes appear. 
 
 The poets there shall in#their songs proclaim 
 
 Thy glorious acts and never-dying name. 
 
 Gadelas had a son born him in Egypt, whom he named Eas- 
 ru ; he was the father of Sru, who possessed and ruled over the 
 territory of his ancestors. The successor of Pharaoh Cingcris, 
 who perished in the Red Sea with his whole army, was Pharaoh 
 an Tuir; he was a prince of a military disposition, and recruited 
 the forces of his kingdom after that wonderful overthrow in his 
 predecessor's reign. The kings of Egypt were successively called 
 Pharaohs, till the time of Pharaoh JSTectonebus, who was the 
 fifteenth in succession from Pharaoh Cingcris, that possessed 
 the throne of the Egyptian monarchy. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE EXPULSION OF THE POSTERITY OF NIUL AND HIS 
 PEOPLE OUT OF EGYPT, BY PHAEAOH AN TUIR. 
 
 Pharaoh an Tuir, upon his succession to the crown of Egypt, 
 immediately set himself to repair the loss sustained in the last 
 reign; and raised a numerous army, with a design of revenge 
 upon the posterity of Niul and the Gadelians, for seizing the 
 shipping, and assisting the Israelites with provisions when they 
 encamped upon the borders of the Pted Sea : and when he had 
 completed his forces, he marched towards the country of Capa- 
 Ciruutj. and entered it with fire and sword. AVp iciingham, in his 
 
 F 
 
110 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 book called Hypodigma, gives the same account, where he says :* 
 " The Egyptians being overwhelmed by the Red Sea, those that 
 remained drove oiit a Scythian prince, who resided among them, 
 lest he should take advantage of the weakness of the govern- 
 ment, and make an attempt upon the crown. When he was 
 expelled the country, with all his followers, he came to Spain, 
 where he and his people lived many years, and became nume- 
 rous, and from thence they came into Ireland." 
 
 We are to observe, that this Scythian prince was Sru, the son 
 of Easru, son of Gadelas, arnd not Gadelas himself, as Hectoi 
 Boetius, and some ignorant English writers that followed him take 
 the freedom to assert. But such pretenders to history will be of no 
 authority, when compart with the testimony of the Irish chro- 
 nicles, which affirm positively, that Gadelas was the son of Scota, 
 the daughter of Pharaoh Gingcris, king of Egypt ; that he re- 
 mained there his life-time, and there died. We are informed by 
 the same records, that this prince never came out of Greece, as 
 others imagine ; but his father, who was Niul, the son of Feniusa 
 Farsa, came directly from Scythia. Nor is the account of Wal- 
 singham to be wholly credited ;^or this Sru, upon his expulsion 
 from Egypt, did not direct his course towards Spain, but arrived 
 in Scythia, and it was Pagha, the son of Bratha, the fifteenth 
 descendant from Sru, that came first into Spain, as the anti- 
 quities of Ireland inform us. However,- it is certain, that Sru 
 was the commander and prince of the Gadelians, in their voyage 
 from Egypt, when they were driven out by Pharaoh an Tuir. 
 This is confirmed by the authority of GioUa Caomhan, a cele- 
 brated poet, who wrote a poem upon the subject while he wa& at 
 sea, and has these verses : 
 
 Sru, son of Easru, son of Gadelas, 
 
 The founder of the great Gadelian race, 
 
 Left the Egyptian shore, expell'd by force, 
 
 And sail'd with four ships. He had in every transport 
 
 Twenty-five nobles of the chiefest rank, 
 
 Attended by their virtuous ladies. 
 
 The Irish records of the best authority agree, that Gadelas, 
 and his son Easru, lived and died in Egypt, and that Sru, tlie 
 son of Easru, son of Gadelas, was the commander of the Gade- 
 
 * Egyptiis in mari Rubro submersis, illi qui superfuerunt expulerunt a se 
 quendam nobilem Scythicum qui degebat apud eos, ne dominium super eos in- 
 vaderet. Expulsus ille cum familia, pervenit ad Hispaniam, ubi et habita^it 
 '•Wilis multis et progenies ipsius, familife multse multipHcata est nimis, et inde 
 venerunt in I-Iiberui<un. 
 
OF IRliLAXD. 
 
 in 
 
 lians in this expedition. He landed with his followers in the 
 uiand of Crete, where he died ; and was succeeded in the govern- 
 ment by Eibher, or Heber Scot, his son, who was the head of that 
 people, and sailed with them from Crete, and brought them to 
 Scythia. 
 
 There is an author of some note, who is of opinion, that tho 
 Irish and Scots, were generally called Scots from this Hebei 
 Scot, who sailed with the Gadelians from Crete to Scythia, be- 
 cause the word Scot signifies a soldier, or a man of valour ; and 
 it is certain, that this prince was a person of great bravery, and 
 an expert bowman, from whom, this writer supposes, that his 
 posterity were called Scots, and made use of bows and arrows 
 in their wars and huntings, after the example of their ancestors, 
 till late years, when they thought proper to use other weapons. 
 But I am not to believe this author, when he contradicts the 
 evidence of the most ancient of the Irish chronicles, which assert, 
 that he Gadelians in general were called Scots, because they 
 origiually came out of Scythia. 
 
 Gadelas, we are to observe, was contemporary with Moses, and 
 was eighty years old when Pharaoh and his army were destroyed 
 iii the Red Sea. The fourth descendant from him, in a direct 
 line, was this Heber Scot, son of Sru, son of Easru, son of Gade- 
 las who was born in Egypt before the Gadelians were expelled 
 thence. Some antiquaries imagine, that it was 440 years from 
 the destruction of Pharaoh till the sous of king Milesius arrived 
 in Ireland ; and this account is confirmed by an old poet, in these 
 lines : 
 
 From the destruction of Pharaoh Cmgcris, 
 
 Till the descendants of Milesius sailed 
 
 From Spain, and landed on the Irish shore, 
 
 Was forty and four hundred years. 
 
 The Book of Conquests, or Invasions, computes but 283 years 
 from the time that Moses governed the Israelites in Egypt till 
 the sons of Milesius arrived in Ireland ; and the Irish chronicles 
 agree, that the posterity of Milesius first invaded the country 
 1080 years after the Flood. The book above -mentioned reckons, 
 that it was 300 years after the Deluge when Partholanus came 
 into Ireland ; that his posterity continued there 300 years, and 
 that the country was uninhabited and waste 30 years after the ex- 
 tinction of the Partholanians, till the Clana Neimhidh, or the 
 posterity of Nemedius landed upon the coast. The Nemedians 
 governed the island 217 years ; the Firbolgs succeeded them, and 
 reigned 3G years ; they were subdued by the Tuathade Danaus, 
 
112 thl general history 
 
 V'ho were governors of the coimtrv^ 197 years ; ami by adding 
 tJQP whole numbei-s together, they amount to 1080 years, which 
 IS ^ne distance of time agreed to be from the Deluge "till the pos- 
 terity of Milesius first came into Ireland. If this computation 
 be compared with the 797 years that were between the Flood and 
 the government of Moses over the Israelites, it will appear evi- 
 aently, that, from t.hat time till the arrival of the Milesians in 
 Ireland, there parsed no more than 283 years ; so that the above 
 Hupposition is false, and without authority, which asserts, fhat 
 the posterity of Milesius landed in Ireland 440 years after the 
 passage of the Israelites through the Eed sea. 
 
 Somo antiquaries are of opinion, that when -Sru and his 
 fjllo^ers set sail from Egypt, he steered west and by north into 
 the ^gean sea, and left Trepofane, by some called Tarobain, and 
 Asia Minor upon his right. h&Dd, ani so he riailed round the 
 coast of Asia. noithT--ards urion irx'T. left, and from thence west- 
 wards to mount Riffe, on the west and by north side of Asia ; 
 he Bteered then into the narrow sea that divides Europe from 
 Asia, and fr'cm thence into Scythia. But it is certain, that this 
 was not the course by which Sru attempted to steer fr'om Egypt 
 into Scythia ; for he began his voyage from the mouth of the 
 river jSile, and so sailed to the*island of Crete, now called Can- 
 dia, where he continued till he died ; and as an evidence that 
 yome of this posterity remain there to this day, no serpent or 
 venomous creature will live in the place, which is as free from 
 those creatures as the country of Ireland. From Crete the 
 Gadelians sailed through the ^gean sea into Pontus Euxinus, 
 and up the river Tanais as far as navigable, and then marched his 
 men under the conduct of Heber Scot before mentioned, who was 
 their commander in all their voyages and adventures. If it should 
 be thought impossible to come by sea from Egypt into Scythia, 
 which was a kingdom of great extent in those times, it is to be 
 observed, that the historians in their accounts of Scythia agree, 
 that the river Tanais runs into Pontus Euxinus, which hath 
 communication with the ^gean, and the ^gean with the Medi- 
 terranean, which sea extends to the coasts of Egypt; and to the 
 mouth of the Nile, and Tanais was always accounted to be a 
 river of Scythia, Herodotus, in his fourth book, gives this de 
 scription of the river Tanais :* " The river Tanais, which divides 
 Asia fr'om Eui'ope, is reckoned to be one of the rivers of Scy- 
 thia.^ 
 
 * Tarais fluviiis, dividens Asiam ab Europa, enurnerature inttr flumma qwE 
 E4>UQ Scythas sunt. 
 
OF 1KELA.ND. 113 
 
 When the Gadelians arrived in Scythia, from whence they 
 ariginally descended, they were harassed with continual wars by 
 their kindred, the posterity of Nenuall, the son of Feniusa 
 Farsa, king of Scythia, who were afraid they would put in some 
 claim to the government of the country ; and in one of the en- 
 gagements between them, Agnon, the son of Tait, the son of 
 Heber Scot, fought hand to hand with his own cousin Reffleior, 
 the son of Rif51, the son of Nenuall, and king of Scythia, and 
 sle^ him. Their dissensions continued seven years ; as the old 
 poet, GioUa Caomhan, observes in the verses following, extracted 
 from the poem which begins thus : Gaodhal' glas otaid Gaoid- 
 hill. 
 
 For seven long yenrs the Scythian wars continued, 
 Till Reffleior; (engaged with the vaUant Agnon) 
 Was slain. 
 
 THE EXPULSION OF THE GADELTANS OUT OF SCYTHIA. 
 
 When Refileior, king of Scythia, was slain, he had two sons, 
 Nenual and Riffil, who resolved to revenge their father's death, 
 and, with a great army they had raised, to drive the Gadeliana 
 out of the country. The Gadelians, unable to engage with the 
 Scythian forces, consulted together, and came to a resolution to 
 ieave the country before they were pressed to a battle ; and ac- 
 cordingly they retired with all possible speed into the territo- 
 ries of the Amazons, where they contmued tor tJie space or a 
 year, under the conduct of Adnoin and Heber, the two sons of 
 Tuit, son of Agnamou, son of Beogamon, son of Heber Scot, son 
 of Sru, son of Easru, son of Gadelas. 
 
 Adnoin had three sons, whose names were Ealloid. Lamhfionn 
 and Lamfhglas : Heber had two sons, Caicer apd Cing; Adnoin 
 died. After they had continued for the space of a year in that 
 country, the Gadelians set to sea in three ships, threescore per- 
 sons in each ship, and every third person had a wife. In this 
 voyage they had six commanders ; and they sailed westwards 
 till they came into the narrow sea that flows from the Northern 
 oc3an, where they were surprised .with' a violent storm, that 
 drove them upon an Island called Caronia, in the Pontic sea. 
 In this island they staid a year and a quarter ; and here Heber, 
 the son of Tait, and Lamfhglas, one of the sons of Adnoin, died, 
 and were interred with great pomp and solemnity, if we consi- 
 der the rudeness and simplicity of those times. The principal 
 commanders in this voyage were Ealloid, Lamhfionn, Cing and 
 Oiicor. They were persons tolerably experienced in adventures, 
 
114 THE GENERAL HiSDRY 
 
 and directed their voyage with great skill ; but they encoun- 
 tered great difficulties, partly owing to the inclemeucy of the 
 w^eather, and in some measure to the rocks that lay concealed 
 under water, and made sailing extremely dangerous. Uncertain 
 which way to steer their course, they applied themselves to 
 Caicer for advice. This person was a principal druid among 
 them, and by his prophetic knowledge informed them, that there 
 was no country ordained for them to inhabit till they arrived 
 upon the coast of a certain western isle, which was Ireland ; put 
 that it was decreed the)'- should never set foot in that country, 
 yet it should be enjoyed by their posterity. It must be under- 
 stood, that a druid signifies a priest, and a person of singular 
 learning and wisdom ', and the Gadelians were always happy in 
 the attendance of some of these extraordinary sages, in all their 
 travels and adventures, till they came to Ireland, and afterwards 
 to the birth of Christ, which put an end to their idolatry and 
 pagan priesthood. 
 
 The Gadelians, overawed by this prediction, proceeded in their 
 voyage, and landed in Gothland, where Lamhfionn had a son of 
 uncommon wisdom and courage, who was called Heber Glunfionn. 
 In this country these people continued thirty years, and some of 
 their posterity are inhabitants there to this day ; as the learned 
 Giolla Caomhan relates in a poem of his in this manner : 
 
 The ivarlike sons of the Gadelian race 
 liemain'd among the Goths for thirry years. 
 And there shall some of their posterity 
 Eemain till the world's end. 
 
 But we have Irish records of great authority which contra- 
 dict this account, .and assert that the Gadelians continued in 
 Gothland an hundred and fifty years, and this appears to be the 
 truest computation ; for it is certain that eight generations of 
 that people died in that country. The eight successive descen- 
 dants from Heber Glunfionn to Bratha are these : Bratha, the 
 son of Deaghatha, son of Earchada, son of Alloid, son of 
 JSTuagatt, son of Nenuaill, son of Eibric, son of Heber Glun- 
 fionn, who was born iri Gothland, the son of Lamhfionn, the 
 principal commander that conducted the Gadelians into that 
 country ; and since it is impossible to think that the space of 
 thirty years could consume eight generations, the last computa- 
 tion we must depend upon as the best authority. 
 
 Other chronicles assort that the Gadelians continued in Goth- 
 Uviid three hundred years ; yet this account is far from being 
 
OF IRELAND. 115 
 
 true, because the histories of the several invasions of the island 
 agree that there were not complete three hundred years, from 
 the destruction of Pharaoh and his army in the Red sea, till 
 the son of king Milesius landed upon the Irish coast. This 
 computation therefore must be false, because within that space 
 of time it was that the Gadelians finished all their voyages and 
 travels, from. Egypt to Crete, from Crete to Scythia, from 
 Scythia to Gothland, from Gothland to Spain, from Spain back 
 to Scythia, from Scythia to Egypt, from Egypt to Thrace, from 
 Thrace to Gothland, from Gothland to Spain, and from thence 
 to Ireland. 
 
 THE VOYAGE OF THE MILESIANS FROM GOTHLAND TO SPAIN. 
 
 Bratha, the son of Deaghatha, the eighth descendant frorr 
 Heber Glunfionn, was the principal commander in the voyage, 
 and conducted the Gadelians from Gothland into Spain. He 
 had but four transports, and disposed twenty-four men, and as 
 many women, and four mariners, in every ship. The offioers 
 who commanded under Bratha in his expedition, were Oige, 
 Vige, (the two sons of Ealloid., the son of Nianuall,) Mantan, 
 and Caicer. He sailed from Gothland, with Crete upon his left 
 hand, and steered south-west of Europe, and so landed in Spain. 
 The posterity of Tubal, the son of Japhet, were the inhabitants 
 of tlie country at that time ; and with 'them the Gadelians, 
 upon their arrival, fought many desperate engagements, and 
 came off victorious over the natives in many battles. About 
 that time the family of Ealloid were all swept away by a dread- 
 ful pestilence, except ten persons, who increased and multiplied, 
 and in a few years m great measure supplied the loss. 
 
 Bratha had a son born to him in Spain, whom he called 
 Breogan, who proved to be a prince of great bravery and mili- 
 tary conduct, and with his bold Gadelians, engaged the Spaniards 
 in many bloody battles, and always fought with success. It was 
 he that built Brigantia, near Cruine ; and from him the city 
 had the name of Bragansa, as the learned Giolla Caomhan ohr 
 serves in these lines : 
 
 The brave Breogan chasM the Spanish troop , 
 FoEow'd by victory vhere'er he fought, 
 And rais'd the city of Brigantia. 
 
 This warlike prince had ten sons : their names were Cuailgne, 
 Cuala, Blath, Aibhle, Nar, Breagha, Fuad, Muirtheimhne, 1th, 
 and Bille. as the same author mentions in this manner* 
 
116 THE GENERAL HI8T0R 
 
 Ten u-ere the sons of Breogan, their names 
 Breagha, Fuad, Miurtheimhne, Sula, 
 Cuailgne, Blath, Aibhle, Nar, Ith, and Bille. 
 
 The famous Gallamh, who was called Milesius of Spaiu, was 
 the son of Bille, son of Breoghan, who, though he be the last 
 named of all the brothers, yet the most authentic records of the 
 kingdom allow him to be the eldest son. The family of Breogan 
 obtained such a character among the Spaniards, that, by the 
 assistance of their hardy Gadelians, they almost made a conquest 
 of the whole country, and obtained some of the principal offices 
 in the government. The young prince Gallamh was the son of 
 Bille, and after he had fought with great bravery in many en- 
 gagements against the natives, he resolved to undertake a voyage 
 to Scythia, to visit his royal relations in that country. Accor- 
 dingly he fitted out thirty ships, and when he had furnished his 
 fleet with sufficient necessaries and provisions, he manndd it with 
 the stoutest of the Gadelian troops, and weighed anchor. He 
 steered his course through the western sea till he came into the 
 Mediterranean, and passing by Scythia and Crete he sailed north- 
 wards, through the ^Egean into the Euxine sea, and so entering 
 the river Tanais he landed in Scythia. He immediately de- 
 spatched a courier to the Scythian court, to give notice to 
 Keffleior, the king, of his arrival. This prince was related to 
 Reffleior, the son of Riffil above mentioned. The king of 
 Scythia received this visit with great civility, and by his mes- 
 sengers invited him and his retinue to court, where the Spaniard 
 behaved himself with so much gallantry, that he soon found a 
 way into the affections of the kiDg, who made him his prime 
 minister, and generalissimo of all his forces, and bestowed his 
 daughter upon him, whose name was Seang, by whom he had 
 two sons, Donn and Aireach Feabhruadh. Milesius, having the 
 Bole command of the army, suppressed the growing power of the 
 neighbouring princes, enlarged the bounds of that monarchy, 
 and in many battles subdued all the enemies of the Scythian 
 nation. By the continued course of his victories, he became 
 the darling of the populace, which raised a jealousy in the king, 
 who resolved to crush and put an end to his greatness, lest his 
 ambition, supported by the love of the people, should animate 
 him to make attempts upon the government, and to fix himself 
 on the throne ; and therefore he determined, when a proper 
 opportunity offered, to dispatch him. Milesius, informed of his 
 bad design, assembled the principal officers of his Gadelians, and 
 they came to a resolution of forcing their way into the palace, 
 
OF mELA"NT). 117 
 
 and killing the king, which they immediately put in execution : 
 then they retired to their shipping, and left Scythia. They wont 
 on board in the river' Tanais, and sailed through the Euxina 
 and the yEgean seas, till they came to the Mediterranean ; and 
 so they steered towards the river Nile, and landed on the coast 
 f)f Egypt. When Milesius and his attendants came on shore, 
 he sent messengers to Pharaoh Ncctonebus, the Egyptian king, 
 to notify his arrival, who returned him his compliments, and 
 invited him with great civility to the Egyptian court. He as- 
 signed a tract of land for the support of the Gadelian forces, 
 and entertained Milesius as became the dignity of his character. 
 This transaction is confirmed by the testimony of the learned 
 Giolla Caomhan, in this manner : 
 
 Milesius slew the monarch in his palace, 
 Assisted by his brave Gadeliau troops. 
 Then saild away, and left th' ungrateful shore, 
 And landed on the Egj^ptian coast. 
 
 In this voyage Milesius was followed by his two sons, Donn 
 and Aireach Feabhruadh, whom he had by the princess Seang, 
 the daughter of Reffleoir, but she died before ho left Scythia. 
 The Gadelians, when they arrived in Egypt, found that countiy 
 engaged in a desperate war with the Ethiopians. Pharaoh Nec- 
 tonebus, observing the valour of Milesius, and finding him to 
 be an expert soldier, made him the general of the Egyptian 
 forces, and depended upon his conduct in the whole manage- 
 ment of the war. He first reduced his troops to a strict mili- 
 tary discipline, and niarched his army against the Ethiopians, 
 and engaging in many bloody encounters, victory was always 
 on his side ; and he made that use of success, that at last he 
 quite broke the spirits of his enemy's soldiery, and made them 
 tributaries to the crown of Egypt. The war being thus for- 
 tunately ended by the bravery and conduct of Milesius, his 
 fame spread into all the adjacent countries, and he was so well 
 esteemed in the Egyptian court, that Pharaoh Nectonebus gave 
 him in marriage the princess Scota, his daughter, a lady oi 
 great virtue, and of excellent beauty. This princess was called 
 Scota, for the same reason that Scota, the daughter of Pharaoh 
 Cingcris, who perished in the Red Sea in pursuit of the Israel- 
 ites, obtained that name, who w^as the wife of the famous Niul, 
 the great ancestor of the Gadelians. Milesius, by this princess, 
 in Egypt, had two sons, Heberus Fionn and Aimhergin. Upon 
 iiis arrival in that country he appointed twelve of the most 
 
118 THE GENERAL HPJ.TORT 
 
 ingenious youths that camo over with him, to be instructed in 
 the curious arts and sciences of Egypt, with a design, when they 
 were perfect masters in their several professions, to teach his 
 own countrymen the trades and mysteries of the Egyptians. 
 
 When he had continued seven years in Egypt he remembered 
 the remarkable prediction of Caicer, the principal druid, who 
 foretold that the posterity of Gadelas should obtain the possessioQ 
 of a western island, which was Ireland, and there inhabit. Con- 
 fiding in the truth of this prophecy, he fitted out sixty ships, 
 and furnished them with provisions necessary for a voyage, then 
 taking leave of the Egyptian court, he went on board with his 
 followers, and sailed from the mouth of the river Nile into the 
 Mediterranean till he came near Thrace, where he landed : in 
 this place the princess Scota was delivered of a son, whom he 
 named Ir. Soon after Milesius and his people left Thrace, and 
 crossed many countries till he came to another island called 
 Gothiana, which lies in the narrow sea (now called the British 
 sea) that divides the Baltic from the ocean noAhwards. Here 
 he continued for some time, and in this isle his wifb Scota was 
 delivered of another son, whom he named Solpa : he was the 
 lixth son of Milesius, and was afterwards called the Swordsman. 
 ^rorh hence he sailed with his Gadelians till be arrived at the 
 kingdom of the Picts, formerly called Albania, now Scotland. 
 Here he landed, and plundered all the country that lay upon the 
 coasts, and conveying his booty on shipboard, he sailed' away, 
 leaving Britain on his right hand, and having France west by 
 south upon the left, he arrived upon the coast of Biscay, or 
 Biscany, in Spain, where he unladed his ships, and set all his 
 people on shore. 
 
 The certainty of his arrival was soon spread over all Biscany, 
 and was carried with all possible speed over the whole kingdom. 
 He found the Spaniards in the most deplorable circumstances, 
 overrun by the Goths and other plundering foreigners, who 
 took the opportunity of his absence and ransacked the whole 
 country. Milesius, resolving to prevent the farther incursions 
 of these barbarians, and deliver his subjects from the tyranny of 
 these invaders, summoned the whole force of the Gad-elians that 
 continued in Spain, and forming them into regular troops, he 
 joined them with those that followed him in his voyages, and 
 offered battle to the Goths and their auxiliary foreigners, and put 
 them to a general rout. He pursued his blow, and with the same' 
 good fortune defeated them in fifty-four several battles, and quite 
 drove them out of the kingdom. By this means Milesiiis and 
 
OP In FT. A NO, 
 
 119 
 
 his felatioiM who were the family of Breogan, the son of Bra 
 became masters of almost the whole kingdom of Spain. 
 
 The sons of Milesius were, in the whole, thirty -two, and twenty- 
 four of them were illegitimate : he had eight sons by his two 
 wives, Seang, a daughter of the king of Scythia, and the princess 
 Scota, the daughter of Pharaoh Nectonebus, king of Egypt ; buf 
 no more than eight, which he had by his wives, arrived in Irelani) 
 as the poet testifies in this manner, 
 
 Milesins, the -warlike Spanish king. 
 Had two-and-thh'ty sons, and heroes all. 
 But only eight born from the marriage bed, 
 Arrived in Ireland. 
 
 Twenty-four of the sons of Milesius, we observed, were born 
 to him by his concubines, before he began his voyage from Spain 
 to Scythia; the other eight legitimate princes he had by his two 
 Avives ; Seang, the daughter of Reffleoir, king of Scythia, bore 
 him two sons in that' country, Donn and Aireach Feabhruadh ; 
 and Scota, the daughter of Pharaoh Nectonebus, king of Egypt, 
 was the mother of the remaining six ; their names were Heber 
 Fionn and Aimhergin, who were born in Egypt ; Ir, born in tho 
 island Irene, situated in the Thracian sea; Golpa, called the 
 swordsman, born in Gothiana ; and Aranann and Heremon, born 
 in Galicia. This is observed by a poet of great antiquity, in the 
 following lines : 
 
 •© 
 
 The valiant Gallamh, who was called Milesius, 
 And fought a thousand battles with success, 
 Had eight young princes of his royal blood ; 
 Aireach Feabhruadh, and the noble Donn, 
 Both born in Scythia ; near the river Nile, 
 In EgjT^t, Heber Fionn and Aimhergin 
 Drew their first breath ; the most com-ageous Ir, 
 A hero, who in fight surpass'd them all. 
 Bom in Irene, near the Thracian shore ; 
 Culpa, a prince that well could wield a sword, 
 The princes Arannan and Heremon, 
 Bom in the tower of Brigantia. 
 
 The children of Breogan, the son of Bratha, increased in Spain 
 to be a numerous progeny, and had that confidence in the cou- 
 rage of their soldiers, that they resolved to attempt a conquest 
 of some other country, and make it a place for their abode. They 
 came into this design, because there had been a great scarcity cf 
 corn and other provisions in Spain, occasioned by the burning 
 heats and dryness of the seasons j and they wore so continually 
 
120 , TMK ^NliRAL HTSTOra'' 
 
 alarrr.ecl with the inroads of the Goths and other foreiguors, tkat 
 they were obliged to be perpetually in the Held in arms, for fear 
 of being surprised. The principal persons of that family met in 
 council, to debate upon this important subject^ to come to a re- 
 solution which way they should steer their coarse, and who waa 
 the most proper to employ in the discovery of a country that 
 was capable of supporting themselves and their people. Aft-nr 
 frequent consultations upon this affair, they agreed unanimously 
 to dispatch Ith, the son of Breogan, a prince of great valour and 
 penetration, and possessed of many other excellent qualities, to 
 make a discovery of the western island, which by an old predic- 
 tion was foretold should be iiihabitated by that family. When 
 this prophecy of the learned druid Caicer was mentioned in the 
 council, the Gadelians were transported with joy, and depended 
 upon success in the undertaking; and Ith with great satisfaction 
 accepted of the chief command in that intended expedition. The 
 place where this assembly met to consult was Bragansa or Brig- 
 antia, in Galicia, in the kingdom of Spain. 
 
 This was certainly the occasion of tho voyage of Ith, the son 
 of Breogan, to Ireland ; and what some imagine is more than a 
 fiction, that he discovered the island in a starry winter night, 
 with a telescope, from the top of the tower of Brigantia ; for we 
 have the greatest authority from the ancient chronicles of Ire- 
 land, to believe that there was a strict friendship and correspon- 
 dence by navigation and traffic, between the Spaniards and the 
 Irish, from the time that Eochaidh, the son of Eire, the last king 
 of the Firbolgs in Ireland, was married to Tailte, the daughter 
 of Maghmore, king of Spain ; so that the people of the two na- 
 tions were well acquainted with one another long before Ith, the 
 son of Breogan, was born. And this account is sufficient to de- 
 stroy the credit of that idle fancy, that Ith, and the family of 
 Breogan, first discovered the country of Ireland with an optical 
 instrument, from the top of the tower of Briga,ntia ; and puts it be- 
 yond dispute, that there was long before a constant familiarity and 
 acquaintance between the Irish and the Spaniards. 
 
 Ith, who, as we observed before, was a prince of great learning 
 and prudence, was of an enterprising genius, and furnished with 
 many other princely accomplishments, fitted out a ship with 
 provisions and necessaries, and manned her with 150 of thti 
 most resolute and hardy soldiers of the Gadelians. He took with 
 him on board his sou Lughaidh or Laugadius, weighed anchor, 
 p ud set sail for Ireland. He arrived upon the northern coast of 
 the island, and when he had landed his men, he sacrificed with 
 
 J 
 
OF IRFLAaD. ' 121 
 
 great devotion to Neptune, the god of the seas, but the omens 
 were not propitious. A number of the inhabitants soon came 
 to the shore, and called to him, in Irish, to know his business, 
 and the country he was of ; he answered them distinctly in the 
 same language, and told them, that he was of the same tribe, 
 descended from the great Magog as well as themselves ; and 
 ihat the original Irish was the language in use, and inviolably 
 preserved in his family. 
 
 From this transaction in the Book of Conquests, the most an- 
 cient of the Irish antiquaries conclude, that the Irish tongue 
 was the genuine language of Nemedius and his people, and con- 
 sequently, of the Firbolgs and the Tuatha de Danans. And thij 
 seems to be more than probable from what was observed before, 
 that Gaoidhal, the son of Eathoir, by the direction and com 
 mand of Feniusa Farsa, king of Scythia, reduced the Irish lan- 
 guage into method and regularity ; and from this Gaoidhal the 
 grammarian, the Irish tongue, in the same language, is called 
 Gaoidhalg, though by a strange corruption, it is called by the 
 English the Irish tongue. This Gaoidhal, we have said, in- 
 structed the Scythian youth in the public schools, before Ne- 
 medius began his voyage from Scythia to Ireland j and the Irish 
 tongue was the common language in Scythia, when Nemediua 
 came from thence. The Irish chronicles agree, that the Irish 
 was the genuine language of Nemedius and his followers, when 
 they arrived in Ireland, and was made use of afterwards by the 
 posterity of that people ; not to say that the Irish was the na- 
 tural language of the posterity of Milesius, and the Gadelians 
 in general, from the time that Niul first departed from Scythia. 
 The learned Richard Creagh, primate of Ireland, confirms this 
 opinion by this remark :* " The Irish language is in common 
 use in Ireland, from the coming of Nemedius, 630 years after 
 the Flood, even to this day." And therefore it is no way in- 
 credible, that Ith, the son of Breogan, and the Tuatha de Da- 
 nnns, should converse intelligibly together in the same lan- 
 guage. 
 
 Ith, upon his landing, inquired of the inhabitants the name 
 of the island, aud what was the name of the prince that go- 
 verned it at that time. They answered him, the name of the 
 ivsland was Inis alga, and that it was under the domiuion of 
 three princes, the three sons of Cearmada Miorbheoil, the son 
 of Daghdha, as was before mentioned. They told him likewise, 
 
 • Gallica locutio est in usii in Hibernia, ab adventn "NTemedi', anno 630 a 
 DUuvio, in liunc usqiif (Vieiu Gf 
 
123 Ta:i, g :neral history 
 
 • 
 
 thcat these three kings were all together at a place callod Oil- 
 each Neid, on the confiues of the province of Ulster, and were 
 quarrelling about a number of jewels that were left them by 
 their ancestors ; and the dispute ran so high, that the contest, 
 in all likelihood, would be decided by the sword. 
 
 Upon this information Ith made choice of 100 of his trusty 
 Gadelians, leaving the remaining 50 to guard the ship, and be- 
 gan his march with all expedition to Oileach Neid. When he 
 arrived, he found there the three princes of the island, the sons 
 of Cearmada, who received him with great civility, and all out- 
 ward marks of respect, and related to him the occasion of the 
 controversy that was between them. Ith returned their com- 
 pliments, and told them, that it was by chance that he came 
 into the island, and was driven upon the coasts by stress of 
 weather ; that ho had no design to continue long, but to return 
 with all convenient speed into his own country. The three 
 kings, observing the prndence of his answers, and that ho was a 
 person of great abilities, resolved, by general consent, to choose 
 him umpire of the differences between them, and obliged them* 
 selves to be determined by his arbitration. Upon a fair stating 
 of the dispute, Ith was of opinion that the jewels ought to be 
 equally divided between them. 
 
 W hen the debate was at an end, Tth took upon him to recom- 
 mciend friendship and unanimity to the brothers ; and told them 
 he thought they had no occasion to quarrel among themselves, 
 since Providence had made them princes of so fruitful an island, 
 that abounded with honey, acorns, milk, fish, and plenty 
 of- corn ; that the air was neither hot nor cold, but exceeding 
 temperate and wholesome for human bodies ; and that the coun- 
 try was of so large an extent, that if it was divided equally be- 
 tween them, there would be sufficient to satisfy the wants, or 
 even the ambition of every one of them. When he had ended 
 his advice, and gratefully acknowledged their civilities, he took 
 his leave, and departed with his retinue, in order to go ou 
 board. 
 
 The three brothers, the sons of Cearmada, observing what 
 encomiums this foreigner bestowed upon the island, and how 
 feelingly he expressed himself upon the air and the fertility of 
 the country, were jealous he would give so great a character of 
 the kingdom of Ireland, upon his return, that the Gadelians 
 would soon pay them a visit, in order to make a conquest of it ; 
 and therefore Mac Cuill, one of the brothers, was immediately 
 dispatched, with 150 select resolute soldiers, in pursuit of Ith. 
 
OF IRELAXP. 123 
 
 They overtook him, and immediatel3^ fell upon his rear ; Ith per- 
 ceiving the attack, came to the relief of his men, and by his con- 
 duct and uncommon bravery made good his retreat, till he came 
 to a place called Muigh Ith, called so from this Ith, the com- 
 mander of the Gadelians. Here the Gadelians faced about, and 
 both companies advancing in order, a most desperate and bloody 
 battle was fought for many hours ; and Ith, notwithstanding he 
 was supported by the bravest handful of troops that ever the 
 world bred, was mortally wounded in the action. His followers, 
 perceiving their general in this distress, and despairing of victory, 
 carried him oflP, and retired safely with him on shipboard, where 
 he died of his wounds, before they were^ able to reach the Span- 
 ish coasts. I am sensible som-e of the Irish historians assert, 
 that Ith was killed at Dromligon, and there was buried ; yet I 
 choose to follow this account, because I find it related by the 
 undoubted testimony of the best Irish authors. 
 
 Before the soldiers of Ith arrived in Spain, that incomparable 
 prince, Mclesius, died, after he had reigned in that country for 
 thirty-six years. He was, as the chronicles of Ireland give his 
 character, a prince of the greatest honour and generosity ; and 
 for courage, conduct, and military bravery, the world never saw 
 his equal since the Creation. When Lughaidh, the son of Ith, 
 had landed his father's body, he showed it to the sons of Milesius, 
 and related the treacherous circumstances of his death, which so 
 enraged the Gadelians, that they solemnly vowed revenge upon 
 the three sons of Cearmada, and engaged to sacrifice their blood 
 to the manes of their grand-uncle, and to drive them out of the 
 kingdom. 
 
 But before I begin to give an account of this adventure of the 
 Milesians, in order to the invasion of Ireland, it may not be im- 
 proper to answer the peevish objections of some ignorant authors, 
 who have the front to assert, that it was impossible the Gade- 
 lians, who knew nothing of navigation, and understood neither 
 fiea-card or compass, should attempt a voyage from Spain to 
 Ireland ; and that there were no ships or shipwrights in the 
 world, when the Milesians are said to invade the island. But 
 a small acquaintance with history will inform us, that, soon after 
 the Deluge, the posterity of Noah began to build ships in imi- 
 tation of the Ark, and, by continued practice, became great 
 proficients in that art ; insomuch, that not long after the Flood- 
 they had invented several sorts of transports, to convey colonies 
 of people from the continent of Armenia, where Noah lived, into 
 remote islands and distant countries. Can an}- one think it 
 possible, that the posterity of Noah, who, by ihe direction of 
 
1 '34 THE GFXrEAL HTSTORY 
 
 Providence, were to inhabit almost all parts, of the earth, and 
 were spread all over the face of it, conld possibly arrive over 
 rivers, and seas, and oceans, into countries they were to possess, 
 without the use of shipping and navigj^Lion? And it is to be 
 denied, that several islands and distant parts of the world, which 
 could never be come at by land, were peopled by the posterity 
 of Noah, long before the sea-card or ^compass was discovered ? 
 This is so obvious to common undei'standing, that it is needles 
 to insist farther upon it. And it is evidenj^/reyond dispute, 
 that the islands in the Mediterranean, the Adriatic, Pontic, and 
 Western seas, and many others, were inhabited long before the 
 modern methods of navigation were known in the world ; as 
 appears from the histories of the first discoveries of those islands, 
 that give the earliest accounts of the inhabitants, and the first 
 peopling of them. 
 
 We meet frequently, in the Irish histories, with, many voyages 
 made by a sort of Africans, who often landed upon the island ; 
 and there we have an account of certain stars , and the names 
 of them, that were worshipped by the mariners, and were sup- 
 posed to derive a power from the god of the sea, either to misguide 
 the ship, or to conduct her safe into the port. Infinite is the 
 number of authors that mention the siege and destruction of 
 Troy by the resolute Grecians, which happened, as Scaliger 
 computes, 1240 years before the birth of Christ, though Euse- 
 bius places it earlier by 2 1 years ; but be it more or less, we 
 are certain the Greeks fitted out a numerous fleet, consisting al- 
 most of an incredible number of ships of all rates. The Afri- 
 cans, the Grecians, and all other nations of the world, are al- 
 lowed by all authors, ancient and modern, "to have had fleets at 
 E.ea, and to make long voyages, before the use of a sea-card or 
 compass was ever known. But I am not surprised at the par- 
 tiality of these petty historians, who exclude the Gadelians, a peo- 
 ple ever esteemed the most ingenious and enterprising of any 
 in the world, from the use of shipping and navigation, when 
 they prostitute their pens upon all occasions, to obscure the 
 glory, and to deface the venerable antiquities of the Irish na- 
 tion. 
 
 Let me for once recommend to them the twenty-seventh and 
 twenty-eighth chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, where the 
 holy writer gives a relation cf 3t. Paul's voyage from Jerusalem 
 to Rome, with these memorable circumstances, that the ship 
 was of a large size, and able to contain 276 persons ; that she 
 had sails and anchors, and that the mariners steered by the 
 
OF liiELAND. 125 
 
 stars, long before the chart or compass was discovered : so that 
 this objection is of no manner of force, but designed only to 
 destroy the authority of the Irish records, which give an account 
 of the voyage of the Gadelians from Spain into Ireland ; and to 
 impose upon the world with a fiction, that the Gadelians came 
 from some other country, and were accidentally driven upon 
 the Irish coasts ; and for no other reason but because they 
 could not steer by the compass, which at that time was undis- 
 covered. But the ancient chronicles of Ireland shall ever be a 
 guide to me ; and unless we depend upon their authority, it is 
 impossible to arrive at any certainty of the antiquities, and the 
 religious or political state of that kingdom. 
 
 AN ACCOl^NT OF THE VOYAGE OF THE MILESIANS FROM SPAIN INTO IRELAND, 
 THEIR ADVENTURES, AND THEIR CONQUEST OF THE ISLAND 
 
 Hector Boetius, in his history of Scotland, is of opinion that 
 Heber and Heremon were the sons of Gadelas ; but this asser- 
 tion is opposed, for, very good reasons, by the learned Cormao 
 Mac Cuillenan, who affirms, that Gadelas was cotemporary with 
 IMoses j and observes likewise, from the Book of Conquests, or 
 Invasions, that the Milesians invaded Ireland 283 years after 
 Pharaoh Cingcris, king of Egypt, perished in the Red sea, and 
 therefore it is impossible that Gadelas should be the father of 
 Heber and Hemeron : which appears 3^et more evident, from, 
 the computation of Cormac Mac Cuillenan of the several ances- 
 tors of Gallamh, otherwise called Milesius, king of Spain, who 
 was the father of Heber and Hemeron. I shall represent the 
 distinct genealogy of Milesius, to show that Gadelas was not 
 the father of these two young princes, but lived nineteen gene- 
 rations before them. This pedigree is extracted from that most 
 valuable record, the Psalter of CasheL 
 
 Gallamh, or Milesius, son of Bille, son of Breogan, son of 
 Bratha, son of Deaghatha, son of Earchada, son of Alloid, son 
 cf Nuagatt, son of Nenuaill, son of Feibhricglas, son of Heber 
 Glunfionn, son of Ldmhfionn, son of Adhnoin, son of Tait, son 
 cf Ogamhan, son of Heber Scot, son of Sru, son of Easru, so\, 
 of Gadelas, son of Niul, son of Feniusa Farsa, son of Baath, 
 eon of Magog, son of Japhet, son of Noah, son of Lamech. 
 
 Whoever reads the Scottish history of Hector Boetius would 
 be apt to imagine, that he intended another Gadelas, from whom 
 the Gadelians in Scotland were derived, different from tha' 
 Gadelas who was the great ancestor of the Irish ; but I depend 
 upon the testimony of a learned author, who asserts, that the 
 
125 TIl^ GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 GadeliaDS in Ireland and Scotland originally descended from 
 the same founder. Johannes Major affirms, in proof of this,* 
 " My opinion is, that from whomsoever the Irish were derived, 
 the Scots owe their original to the same founder." And vene- 
 rable Bede, in the first chapter of his Kcclesiastical history, 
 agrees with the judgment of this author ; where he says,t " In 
 process of time, the country of Britain, after it had been inha- 
 bited by the Britons and Picts, was possessed on the side of the 
 Picts, by a nation of the Scots, who came out of Ireland, under 
 the conduct of Keuda, and made themselves masters of those 
 lands, either by friendship or by the sword, which they enjoy to 
 this day." From whence it appears, that the Scottish race 
 came originally out of Ireland into 'Scotland, under Reuda their 
 general, and that the present Scots are the descendants of that 
 colony, Humfredus, a Welsh author, thus delivers his opinion 
 upon the same subject.!|; '* The Scots themselves, and others, 
 well know that the Scots are the ofTspring of the Irish, and that 
 our countrymen, the Welsh, called them bothby the same name, 
 Guidhil, that is, Gadel^ians." Giraldus Cambrensis, in the 
 16th chapter of the third distinction of the book he wrote upon 
 the history of Ireland, says, that Niall, of the nine hostages, 
 was the monarch of Ireland ; that the six sons of Murieadhach, 
 or Mortaugh, king of Ulster, made a voyage to Scotland, where 
 they grew powerful, and by their courage made themselves mas- 
 ters of the country, and obtained the principal command of it ; 
 and that at that time they gave it the name of Scotia, or Scot- 
 land. His words are,§ " The Scottish nation descended from 
 them is particularly so called to this day." So that what Hec- 
 tor Boetius attempts to prove upon this subject, in his history of 
 Scotland, is a downright falsehood ; and he is to be esteemed 
 fabulous, when he asserts that Gadelas was the father of Heber 
 and Heremon, the sons of Milesius, and would impose another 
 Gadelas upon the world, as the ancestor of the Scottish nation, 
 different from that Gadelas who was the founder of the Milesian^ 
 and made a conquest of the kingdom of Ireland. 
 
 Buchanan, a t-cottish writer in his history of Scotland, would 
 
 * Dico ergo, a quibiiscunque Hiberni originem duxerunt, ab eisdem Scoti 
 eKordium capiuiit. 
 
 t Procedente autem tempore Britannia, post Britones et Pictos, Scotorum 
 nationem in Pictorum parte recepit, qui duce Rouda de Hiberaia egressi, vel 
 aiTiicitia, vel ferro, sibimet inter eossedes, quas hactenus habent, vindicarunt. 
 
 J Scotos Hibernorum prolem, et ipsi et omnes optime norunt, eodeinque nomme 
 a ni^stratibus scilicet Guidhil appellantur. 
 
 § Gens ab his propa^ata specificate vocabulo Scoti ca vocatur in hodicmiuiL 
 
OP IRtLAKD. 127 
 
 have it believed, that the progeny of Milesiiis came directly from 
 France into Ireland ; and in confirmation he gives three reasons, 
 which he thinks sufficiently prove it. 
 
 The first, the kingdom of France vns grown so populous, that 
 from that part of it only, called Gallia Lugdunensis, there went 
 out a colony of 300,000 able men, with a design to make a con- 
 quest of other countries ; and some of these, he says, were the 
 posterity of Gadelas, and came into Ireland. But this author 
 seems to be grossly ignorant of the time when* the Milesians got 
 possession of the island, and could therefore have no knowledge 
 whether the country of France was over-stocked with inhabitants 
 or not. But supposing that France could spare great colonies 
 jf its people, at the time when the Milesians invaded Ireland, is 
 there not the same reason to believe, that the kingdom of Spain, 
 not far distant, abounded with inhabitants, and was equally 
 populous, and sent out colonies 1 so that this argument is no way 
 convincing, to prove that the Gadelians came out of France ; 
 for, by the same reason, they might as well set out from Spain, 
 or from any other country whose people were too numerous, and 
 therefore obliged to send colonies abroad. 
 
 His second reason carries just as much evidence with it as tho 
 first ; the Milesians, he says, must unavoidably come out of 
 France, because there is a great resemblance between the French 
 and the Irish languages, particularly in the words Dris and Dun, 
 with some others which have the same signification in both. In 
 answer we are to observe, that there are many words, borrowed 
 from all languages, to be met with in the fourth degree of the 
 Ii ish tongue, that have been admitted from the reign of Feniusa 
 Farsa to the present time ; and as we find many French words 
 intermixed, so there are. a great many Spanish, Italian, Greek 
 and Hebrew words, and others of the other principal languages 
 of the world, to be discovered in the modern Irish, which, by 
 reason of the intercourse of other nations, is strangely difierent 
 ftom the purity of the original language. But this is no proof 
 that the Milesians came out of France ; for notwithstanding there 
 may be words of the same signification in both languages, yet 
 the reason of it was, as Julius Ceesar observes, in the sixth book 
 of his Commentaries, because the druids, who were a sort of 
 priests and soothsayers, went from the British isles into France, 
 and were received with such veneration in the country, that 
 they were advanced to be their judges, and were invested with 
 large patrimonies, privileges, and immunities, by the nobility 
 nd gentry of that nation : or perhaps these and other words? 
 
128 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 were introduced into France by Manann, that was subject to 
 the Gadeiians, and wtiose natural language was the Irish tongue. 
 
 Artelius observes that the pure Irish was the genuine language 
 of Manann ; from whence it appears that the British druids or 
 augurs went out of the island of Ireland into France ; for in 
 those ages Ireland was the fountain of knowledge and learning 
 and by the druids, who travelled abroad, the youth of the neigh- 
 bouring countries were instructed in the liberal arts and sciences ^ 
 and since the natural language of these druids must be the Irish, 
 it is easy to suppose that the French youths collected many Irish 
 u ords, and introduced them into their own tongue, and they are 
 ?J0 continued to be used to this day. 
 
 The learned Camden, in his Britannia, informs us, that the- 
 druids or soothsayers more commonly taught the youth in their 
 schools by word of mouth, than by writing and books ; and as a 
 farther reason how some Irish words came to be intermixed in 
 the French tongue, it must be known, as the Book of Conquests 
 observes, that the French and Irish had a correspondence with 
 one another by navigation and traffic ; and that the daughter of 
 the king of France was married to Ugainemore, one of the mon- 
 archs of Ireland, who made war with the French ; and likewise, 
 that Criomhthan, the sou of Fiodhadh, another king of th^ island, 
 attempted to conquer the country. The Irish often transported 
 their forces into France. Niail, of the nine hostages, long after 
 Ugaine, at the head of a numerous army, designed to over-run 
 tiie country, and make it tributary to the Irish, and, humanly 
 speaking would have succeeded in his invasion, had he not been 
 treacherously shot with an arrow by Eochaidh, the son of Eana 
 Cinnsealach, king of Leinster, by the river Loire, in France ; as 
 shall be more particularly related in the course of this history. 
 Dathi, the son of Fiachradh, another Irish monarch, raised a 
 great army, and landed in France ; he marched through the 
 country, and spoiled the inhabitants as far as the Alps, and de- 
 sigrfed entirely to subdue the kingdom ; but he was destroyed by 
 Providence before he had accomplished his purpose, and slain by 
 a thunderbolt at the foot of the Alps. We have the testimony 
 likewise of Cornelius Tacitus, that there v/as a great correspon- 
 dence, by means of trade, between Ireland and France : and 
 therefore the wonder seems to be at an end, how it came to pass, 
 that the Irish and French borrowed some words one of another, 
 and admitted them into their own language ; for the reasons that 
 we have produced evidently show that it was impossible it should 
 be otherwise, and sufficiently overthrow the argument of Bu- 
 
OF ir.ILA^D. 120 
 
 chanan, by which he offers to prove that the Gadelians fjailed 
 from France into Ireland, 
 
 His third supposition is of no more credit than the two we 
 have already confuted. He fancies that there is a great resem- 
 blance between the manners and customs of the French and 
 Irish, and therefore the Gadelians must necessarily come out of 
 France : but Johannes Belinus, in his book wherein he describes 
 the customs and manners of all nations in the world, makes no 
 such remark ; and therefore the observation of Buchanan in this 
 case is singular, and like other fictions to be met with in his his- 
 tory deserves no credit. 
 
 Having answered the reasons of this Scottish writer, I am 
 now to reply to the opinion of some English authors, who pre- 
 tend to treat of Ireland, and assert that the Gadelians. or the 
 posterity of Milesins, came originally from Britain, and got pos- 
 session of the island. Their arguments are much the same with 
 those already answered : and first they say, that many words 
 in the British and Irish language have the same signification ; 
 but this can be no evidence that the Gadelians were the inha- 
 bitants of Britain, and so removed into Ireland, because the 
 country of Britain received its name from Briotan Maol, a 
 Scythian by descent, whose language was the pure Irish. Cam- 
 den says,* "Britain was so called from a prince whose name 
 was Briotan." The learned Cormac Mac Cuilieaan, in his 
 Psalter of Cashel, and the Book of Conquests, and the Inva- 
 rs ons of Ireland, gives the same account ; and observes, that 
 Britain received its name from Briotan Maol, the sou of Fergus 
 Leathdearg, son of Nemedius, whose language was the original 
 Irish. This Briotan Maol (descended from that noble Scythian, 
 Nemedius) lived in Britain, and his posterity after him, till 
 Heremon, the son of king Milesius, sent the Picts to make a 
 settlement in the couutrj^ of Scotland. They were afterwards 
 invaded by Brutus, the son of Silvias, as some chronicles relate; 
 and afterwards they were attacked by the Eomans, the Saxons, 
 the Danes, and then by William the Conqueror, and thb 
 French ; so that after so many confusions and invasions of eiie- 
 mies, it is not to be wondered, tha^^ ^he Irish tongue, the genuine 
 language of Briotan Maol and his posterity, from whom de- 
 scended the warlike Britains, should be strangely corrupted, and 
 almost utterly destroyed. But ilotwithstanding the alterations 
 liiai; language has received, yet some part of it remains pure 
 
 * ]>ritannia dicta est a (j-.;crlare qui voeabatiiv BriUraus. 
 
iSO THE GENERAL niST.)RY 
 
 aul unmixed, and is the same with the ancient Irish, that was 
 spoken by Briotan Maol and his posterity. 
 
 Another reason to account for the near resemblance between 
 the British and the Irish languages, is this observation, that the 
 island of Ireland was the common refuge of the Britains in their 
 wars,, when they were pressed hard, and driven out of their own 
 "country by the Romans, the Saxons, and other enemies who in- 
 vaded them ; so that many families, for fear of slaughter and 
 captivity, fled into Ireland, and were not only protected and 
 secured by the arms of the generous and warlike Irish, but had 
 lands assigned them for their support, exempt from all taxes 
 and public contributions, as long as they thought fit to stay in 
 the country. During their residence among these hospitable 
 people, no doubt but the children of the Britains became ac- 
 quainted with the Irish language ; and from them many of the 
 villages they inhabited retain their name to this day ; such as 
 Graig na Mbreathnach, Sliabh na Mbreathnach, Bally na 
 Mbreathnach, and many others. When these Britains thought 
 they might return with safety into their own country, they left 
 the island, and constantly used many Irish words and expres- 
 sions, and so did their posterity. This is a just account of the 
 reason of the analogy there is between the British and the Irish 
 language : and how far this will be admitted as an evidence, 
 that the Gadelians came originally from Britain, every impar 
 tial person is at liberty to judge. 
 
 I confess there is a very remarkable resemblance between the 
 Irish and the Britains in their manners and customs. They 
 are both a warlike, a generous, and a brave people, distinguished 
 for their justice and integrity ; free and hospitable in their 
 houses ; lovers of learning and learned men ; curious in chro- 
 nology, and exact in the genealogies of their families ; admirers 
 of poets and music, and particularly delighted with the harp ; 
 and in other commendable instances, there is a very near like- 
 ness in the disposition, the genius, and practice of both nations. 
 But this is so far from being a testimony, that the Gadelians 
 came out of Britain into Ireland, that it rather confirms what 
 was observed before, that the Britains borrowed their langua,o(e, 
 their manners, and customs from the Irish ; and farther it is 
 certain, that some of the principal officers, who followed the 
 Milesians into Ireland, did afterwards leave the island and set- 
 tied themselves in the country, of Britain. 
 
 The. sons of Breogan, who camo with the Gadelians into Ire- 
 land; were Breogha, Fuaid, Muirtht^»mhn'j Cuailgne^ Cuala, 
 
• OF IRELAND. 131 
 
 Eibhle, Blaidh, and Nar ; and from the posterity of Breogan, 
 no doubt, descended the people called Brigantes, as the ancient 
 chronicles of Ireland inform us : and what confirms this opi- 
 nion is, the remark of Thomasius, in his Latin Expository Dic- 
 tionary, who says, that the Brigantes, or the children of Breo- 
 gan, were descended from a family in Ireland, notwithstanding 
 they inhabited the counties of York, Lancaster, Durham, West- 
 moreland and Cumberland in Great Britain. So that the diffi- 
 culty is cleared, and we are now sufficiently informed of the 
 reason that many words of the same signification are to be 
 found in the respective languages as British and Irish ; and 
 that the Britajns copied after the Irish, not only in their lan- 
 guage, but in many of the polite customs and manners of that 
 illustrious people. 
 
 The learned Camden (an author fond of the honour of his 
 own country) asserts that the original inhabitants of Ireland 
 came oiit of Britain. But this writer, though ever so well versed 
 in the antiquities of the English nation, must yet be a stranger 
 to the early histories of Ireland, because he was unacqi:ainted 
 with the language they were wrote in ; and therefore I choose 
 to be directed by the ancient records of the kingdom, rather 
 than by the ill-grounded supposition of any modern whatsoever. 
 Giraldus Cambrensis, in his legend concerning the Irish affiiirs, 
 relates, that the Milesians came originally from Biscany into Ire- 
 land, by the command or permission of a king of Britian ; and 
 that by the persuasion of the same king they possessed them- 
 selves of the Orcades, and from thence transported a colony of 
 many families into Ireland. His design it seems, by inviting 
 these foreigners, was to bring the island into his own power, and 
 to reduce it into the form of a tributary province to his own 
 kingdom. The name of this prince, if we believe this writer, was 
 Gorgundus, the son of Peilin, But this is an apparent fiction 
 and falsehood, as will appear evidently, if we consult the chroni- 
 cle of Stow, which proves to demonstration that Gorgundus 
 was king of Britain not much above 300 years before Julius 
 Caesar made a conquest of the kingdom, in the eighth year of the 
 reign of Cassibelan, who was king at that time ; and the same 
 author observes, that there were not many above 52 years from 
 Julius Caesar to the birth of Christ : so that by the computation 
 of Stow, there were not full 400 years from the reign of Gor- 
 gin:!dus till Christ was born. Now we are assured by the faith- 
 lid Oorraac Mac Cuillenan, in his Psalter of Cashel, and in thv^ 
 book of the Conquests of Ireland, that the Milesians landed in 
 
132 THE GENERAL HltsTORT 
 
 the island about 1300 years before the birth of Christ. The au- 
 thor of the Polyehronicon agrees with this account, where he 
 says,* " From the coming of the Milesians into Ireland to the 
 death of St. Patrick, are 1800 years :" This is as much as to say, 
 that the Milesians landed in the island about 1300 years before 
 Christ was born ; for by subtracting the 492 years that passed 
 between the coming of Christ and the death of St. Patrick, the 
 remaining years will be about 1300, which is about the number 
 between the coming of the Milesians into Ireland, and the birth 
 Df Christ. So that we have the testimony of Cormac Mac Cull- 
 ienan, the book of Invasions, and the Polyehronicon, to balance 
 against the fabulous account of Cambrensis. And by these au- 
 thorities it appears, that the Milesians were in Ireland above 
 900 years before Gorgundus was king of Great Britain ; which 
 overthrows the fiction of this idle writer, who would have it be 
 lieved, that Gorgundus invited the Milesians from Biscany, that 
 they landed in the Orcades, and sent a coloDy of families into 
 Ireland to inhabit the country ; when that king was not born, by 
 many hundred years, as the ancient records of the kingdom in- 
 form us ; to whose authority I shall pay the utmost deference, 
 r.s it is impossible without them to open a light into these dis- 
 tant transactioDs, and to confute the errors and falsehoods of 
 modern historians, who attempt, without the assistance of the 
 Irish Chronicles, to write about the antiquities of that kingdom. 
 These difficulties being cleared up, I now proceed directly to .the 
 course of the history. 
 
 It has been observed before that when Lnighaidh, the son of 
 Itb, had brought the body of his father on shore, he exposed it 
 opecly, and related the perfidious manner of his death before an 
 iit:sembly of the descendants of Milesius, and the sons of Breogan. 
 The tragical sight, and the treachery of the Irish princes, had 
 tiiat effect upon the spectators, that they came into a resolution 
 xmanimously to invade the island, to destroy the inhabitants, 
 and the cruel tyrants that governed them, and fix a new settle- 
 ment in the country. Pursuant to this design, they fitted out 
 a fleet, and raised a gallant army of the Gadelians, in order to 
 wrest the kingdom from the power of the Tuatha de Danans. 
 Some chronicles assert, that the Milesians began their voyage 
 from a place called Mandoca, near the river Verundo, in Biscany ; 
 and the ground of this opinion is, because they say Milesius was 
 king of Biscany only in the latter part of his life ; for he was 
 
 * Ab advontu Iliberniensun^, ucqvx- ?.d obitir.n Sr.ucti Patrki Kuut aiiui mill*) 
 octi cen'ii. 
 
OF IRELAND. 133 
 
 driven out q£ Spaia by the incursions of foreigners, who. with 
 their united force, had the better of him in several engagements, 
 and confined him and his people within the narrow territories of 
 that country, and there he continued till his death ; for the coun- 
 try was fortified by nature, very difi&cult of access, and impos- 
 sible to be subdued, by reason of the vast woods and mountains 
 that inclosed it. But this is opposed by the testimony of the 
 most valuable a-nd authentic records, which affirm, that the Mile- 
 sians set sail for Ireland from Tor Breogan in Gahcia. And this 
 seems to be the truest account, for the book of Conquests or In- 
 vasions says, that Tor Breogan was the place they held a council, 
 and determij>ed to send Ith into Ireland ; and thither Luighaidh 
 returned from Ireland with the dead body of his father, when he 
 exposed hiji wounds to the family of Milesius, and the sons of 
 Bi-eogan ; and therefore it seems reasonable to believe, that they 
 steered from that place to invade the island. 
 
 Milesius being dead before Luighaidh returned, Scota, his 
 wife, resolved to leave the country, and to follow the fortune of 
 the sons she had by Milesius in this expedition : for the kingdom 
 of Spain was rent in pieces by intestine wars, and the continual 
 inroads of foreign enemies. The Milesians, therefore, having 
 j)ut their provisions and their men on board, weighed anchor, 
 snd were impatient till they landed upon the Irish coast, to re- 
 venge the death of the valiant Ith, who was inhumanly slain, 
 in defiance of the established laws of nature and of nations. 
 This invasion they undertook under the command of forty brave 
 commanders. The learned Eochaidh o Flinn has transmitted 
 to us their names in a poem of his, which begins thus, Taoisig 
 na luing sin tar lear. 
 
 Tlip. valiant chiefs of the Milesian race. 
 Who led the bold Gadeiians into Ireland, 
 Were Eibhle, Fuaid, Breagha, Bladhbhin, 
 Luighaidh, Muirtheimhne, Amergin, Buas, 
 Breas, Bviaiglme, Donn, Ir, Heber, Heremon, 
 Colpa, the swordsman, Eibher, Aireach, 
 A)Tanan, Cuala, Cualgne, Narumrxe, 
 Tduimhne, Luighne and Laighne, 
 Fulman, Mantan, Bile, Er, Orba, Fearon, 
 Feargin, En, Un, Eadan, Goisden, Seagda, 
 Sobhairce, Suirge, Palap, son of Heremon, 
 Tiie learned Caicer, son of Maman, warriors, all, 
 Fidl of revenge, sailed towards the Irish coast. 
 
 The number of their ships was thirty, and they disposed 
 thirty of the most courageous of their troops in every ship : 
 
134: THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 they had their wr-e? Kkewise on board, and many others fol- 
 lowed them, out cf a prospect of obtaining possessions in this 
 new plantation. 
 
 From these principal officers, who commanded in this expe- 
 dition, many places in Ireland obtained their names. Breagha, 
 son of Breogan, gave the name to Moighe Breagha in Meath : 
 Cuala, son of Breogan, gave the name to Sliabh Cuala : Cualgne, 
 j=5on of Breogan, gave the name to Sliabh Cualgne : Bladh, son 
 of Breogan, gave the name to Sliabh Bladhma : Fuaid, son of 
 Breogan, gave the name, to Sliabh Fuaid : Muirtheimhne, son 
 of Breoghan, gave the name to Sliabh Muirtheimhne, other- 
 wise called the plain of Muirtheimhne : Luighaidh, son of Ith, 
 who came to Ireland to revenge his f ither's death, gave the 
 name to Sorca-Luighe, in Munster : Eibhle, the son of Breo- 
 gan, gave the name to Sliabh Eibhlo, in Munster : the generals 
 Buas, Breas and Buaighne, the three sons of Tigeharnbard, the 
 soci of Brighe Nare, gave the name to Ross Nare, at Sliabh 
 Bladhma : Seagda, Fulmane, and Mantane, Caicer and his son 
 Sobhairce, Er, Orba, Fearon and Feargna ; the four sons of 
 Heber, En, Un, Eadan and Goisdean ; Sobhairce, whose father 
 is unknown ; Bille, the son of Frighet, ,3?n of Breogan ; the 
 eight sons of Milesius, Donn, Aireach, Fabhruadhe, Heber Fionn, 
 Amergiu, Ir, Colpa the swordsman, and Arranhan the youngest ; 
 the four sons of Heremon, Muimhue, Luighne, Laighne, and 
 Palpa ; Heber or Eibher, the only son of Ir, the son of Milesius : 
 these were the forty commanding officers who conducted the 
 Gadelians into Ireland. Iriel the prophet, the son of Heremon, 
 was born after they arrived in the island. 
 
 The Milesian fleet first attempted to land upon the northern 
 coast of Leinster, at a place then called Inbher Slainge, but now 
 known by the name of the harbour of Wexford. The Tuatha 
 de Danans, alarmed at the number of the ships, immediately 
 flocked towards the shore, and by the power of their enchant- 
 ments and diabolical arts they cast such a cloud over the whole 
 island, that the Milesians were confounded, and thought they 
 saw nothing but the resemblance of a Hog ; and for this reason 
 the island was called Muicinis. The inhabitants, by these delu- 
 sions, hindered the Milesians from landing their forces, so that 
 they were obliged to sail about the island, till at last, with great 
 difficulty, they came on shore at Inbher Sceine, in the west of 
 Munster. From thence they marched in good order to a moun- 
 tain called Sliabh Mis ; here they were met by Eanba, attended 
 by a beautiful train of ladies, and followed by her druids and 
 
OF IRELAND. 135 
 
 Eoofchsayers. Amergin, the Milesian, addressed himself to her, 
 and desired the honour to know her name ; she answered, her 
 name was Banba, and from her the island was called Inis Banba. 
 From thence they proceeded on their march, and arrived at 
 Sliabh Eibhline, where the princess Fodhla met them, with a 
 retinue of ladies and druids about her ; they desired to know 
 her name, and she replied, her name was Fodhla, which also 
 was the name of the island. They went on, and came to Vis- 
 neach, where they were met by Eire and her attendants ; she 
 was likewise desired to discover her name, and she told them 
 her name was Eire, and from her the country was called Eire. 
 This transaction is confirmed by the testimony of an ancient 
 poet, who, in a poem that begins thus, Sanna buuadhus na 
 ngaoidhiol, has these lines : 
 
 JBanba they met, with all her princely train, 
 On Sliabh Mis ; and on the fruitful plain 
 Of Sliabh Eibhline, Fodhla next they spied, 
 With priests and learned druids for her guide, 
 And all her charming court of ladies by her side ; 
 Then virtuous Eire appeared in pomp and state, 
 In Yisneach's pleasant fields, majestically great. 
 
 These ladies were married to the three sons of Cearmada, whc 
 divided the island between them, though some of the Irish 
 chronicles assert, that each of them ruled alternatively over the 
 whole kingdom, and the country was for the time called by the 
 name of the reigning prince. This appears from the following 
 verges : 
 
 These Irish kings alternatively reigned. 
 And for their consorts chose three princesses, 
 Fodhla, Banba and Eire. 
 
 The Milesians, after this adventure, continued their march 
 till they came to the palace of Teamair, where the sons of Cear- 
 mada kept their court, and appeared in great grandeur and 
 magnificence, encompassed with their enchanted guards. Amergin 
 immediately addressed himself to the throe kings, and resolutely 
 demanded of them to resign their government, or be decided by 
 the hazard of a pitched battle ; and this he insisted upon in 
 revenge for the death of the valiant Ith, whom they had trea- 
 cherously slain. The prince of the Tuatha de Danans, surprised 
 at this bold summons, made answer that they were not prepared 
 to decide the dispute in a military way, because they had no 
 standing forces, and could not instantly bring an army into the 
 field ; but they were willing the whole affair should be deter- 
 
T3G TKi: CKNCKAL UISTOUY 
 
 mined by the arbitration of Amergin, who they perceived waa 
 a person of great judgment and abilities, but threatened binri 
 withal, that if he imposed any unjust conditions, they would 
 certainly destroy him by their enchantments. Amergin imme- 
 diately ordered the Gadelians to retire to Inbher Sceine, and 
 with all possible expedition to hasten on shipboard, with the 
 rest of the Gadelians, and to sail out of the mouth of the har- 
 bour, or as others say, nine waves from the shore ; then he made 
 this proposal to the Tuatha de Danans, that if they could hinder 
 his men from landing in the island, he, with his whole fleet, 
 would return into Spain, and never make any other attempt 
 upon the country ; but if he and his resolute Gadelians could, 
 in defiance of them, land upon their coast, the Tuatha do 
 Danans should resign the government and become their tribu- 
 taries. This offer was well accepted by the inhabitants, who, 
 depending upon the influence of their art, thought they should 
 soon get rid of these insolent invaders ; for they had that com- 
 mand over the elements by their enchantments, that they made 
 no question of preventing them from ever setting foot upon the 
 shore again. 
 
 In obedience to the com.mand of Amergin, the Milesians re- 
 turned to their shipping, and he went on board with them ; 
 they weighed anchor, and moved no more than the distance of 
 nine waves from the shore. The Tuatha de Danans perceiving 
 the ships were afloat, confiding in their art, had immediate re- 
 course to their enchantments, which succeeded so far as to raise 
 a most violent and tempestuous wind, which soon disordered 
 , the Milesian fleet, and drove them foul one upon another. A^mer- 
 gin and Donu, the sons of Milesius, knew the storm proceeded 
 from no natural cause, and Arranan, the youngest son of the 
 brave Milesius, went up to the topsail to make discoveries, but 
 was unfortunately blown off by a gust of wind, and falling upon 
 the hatch he instantly died. The Gadelians began to be in 
 great confusion, for the ships were dreadfully tossed, and the 
 whole fleet was in danger of being lost : the vessel which Donn 
 commanded, was, by the violence of the storm, separated from 
 the rest of the fleet, and was broken to pieces, and himself and 
 fill the crew were drowned. By the wreck of this ship there 
 perished four-and- twenty common soldiers, four gailey slaves, 
 twelve women, fifty brave Gadelians, who went volunteers, and 
 five captains, whose names were Bilie, the son of Brighe, Air- 
 ctich Feabhruadh, Buan, Breas, and Cualgne. The valiant Ir, 
 the son of Milesius^ with his ship, met with the same fate ;. for 
 
OF IRELAND. 137 
 
 he was divided from the fleet, and was driven upon the western 
 coast of Desmond, in the kingdom of Ireland, where he split 
 upon the rocks, and every man perished. The body of this un- 
 fortunate prince was cast upon the shore, and was buried in 
 a small island called Sceilg Mithill, 
 
 This place, by reason of its peculiar qualities, deserves a 
 particular description. It is a kind of rock, situated a few 
 leagues in the sea, and since St. Patrick's time, much fre- 
 quented by way of piety and devotion ; the top of it is flat 
 and plain, and though the depth of the earth be but shallow, it 
 is observed to be of a very fattening nature, and feeds abun- 
 dance of wild fowl that are forced to be confined upon it ; I 
 say they are forced, because the surface of the ground, it is sup- 
 posed, has that attractive virtue, as to draw down all the bird^ 
 that attempt to fly over it, and oblige them to alight upon the 
 rock. The people who live nigh, resort hither in small boats, 
 when the sea is calm, to catch these birds, whose flesh being 
 very sweet, they use for provision, and their feathers for other 
 occasions ; and it is observed, that these fowl, though almost 
 innumerable, are exceeding fat, notwithstanding the circum- 
 ference of the top of the rock is but small, and does not exceed 
 three acres of land. This isle is surrounded with high and al 
 most inaccessible precipices, that hang dreadfully over the sea, 
 which is generally rough, and roars hideously beneath. There 
 is but one track, and that very narrow, that leads up to the top, 
 and the ascent is so diflicult and frightful, that few are so 
 nardy as to attempt it. 
 
 This Ir, who was so unhappily lost, was a prince of gi-eat 
 bravery, and military experience, always in the'front of an en- 
 gagement, at the head of his stout Gadelians, attended with suc- 
 cess whenever he fought, the guardian and protector of his fol- 
 lowers in battle, by his very name a terror to his enemies. The 
 posterity of this warlike general were the noble Clana Hugh- 
 ruaidhe, who kept a splendid and magnificent court, for the 
 space of 900 years, at Famhain Macha, in the province of Ul- 
 ster, and for 700 years of the time, were the heroes of the ago 
 they lived in, and were reputed the celebrated champions of the 
 western parts of Europe, as shall be particularly observed in 
 the progress of this Irish history. 
 
 The learned Eochaidh 6 Flinn has taken notice of these mis^ 
 fortunes that befel the Milesians at sea, in a poem of his, which 
 begiiis thus, Taoisig na luing tar lear, the lines are these ; • 
 
^^^ . TilB GENERAL HIST Ml y 
 
 The rufiiing winds the toaming billows rise, 
 The face of heaven is ravished from their eyes : 
 Art fails, and courage falls, no succour near, 
 As many waves as many deaths appear. 
 The giddy ships run round, and then are tost, " 
 Then bulge at once, and in the deep are lost. 
 The brave Milesians, to the bottom borne, 
 Attempt to rise, but never must return. 
 Don, BiUe, Buan, with his %T^rtuous bride, 
 Dill, Aireach, Buas, Breas, Cualgne, 
 All plunged into the deep, are buried by the tide 
 
 It was observed before, that the ship wherein Ir was, sepa- 
 rated from the rest of the fleet, and was lost in the storm, and 
 his body driven on shore, and buried ; this shipwreck, and the 
 loss of this prince and his two brothers, is lamented by an old 
 poet, in these verses : 
 
 Amergin, learned and valiant, fell in battle. 
 At Billeteum ; Ir was cast away 
 Near the rocky cliffs of Sceilg , and Arranan 
 Vv'^as shipwrcck'd on the Irish coasu. 
 
 Heremon, with part of the Milesian fleet, was drives to the 
 left, towards the island, and with great difficulty arrived safely 
 at Inbher Colpa, now called Drocheda. The place was called 
 Inbher Colpa, because Colpa, who went by the name of the 
 swordsman, another son of Milesius, was unfortunately drowned 
 as he attempted to come on shore. It appears that this enter- 
 prise of the Gadelians was fatal to the five sons of Milesins, who 
 were lost before the country was conquered, and the Tuatha de 
 Danans were dispossessed of the government. The death of 
 these five princes is recorded and confirmed by an old poet in 
 this manner : 
 
 The sorcerers, by force of wicked magic, 
 Summon'd the winds, and in the storm destroy 'd 
 Five princes of the famed Milesian race. 
 
 The names of these brothers who perished before the con- 
 quest of the island, were Donn, Ir, Aireach, Feabhruadh, Arra- 
 nan, and Colpa the swordsman, who were all lost by the en- 
 chantment of the inhabitants, end no more than three sons of 
 Milesius survived this dreadful tempest, to possess the country ; 
 their names were Heber, Heremon, and Amergin, and they 
 Imded at Inbher Sceine. 
 
 Three days after Heber and his followers were got on shore, 
 they were attacked by Eire, the wife of Mac Breine one of the 
 
OF IRELAND. ^ 139 
 
 piHnoes of the country, at Sliabh Mis, or the moiintaiu of Mis ; 
 this lady was attended by a strong body of men, and a despe- 
 rate battle followed, where many were destroyed on both sides. 
 In this action Fais, the wife of Un mac Vighe, was slain in a 
 valley at the foot of a mountain, which, from her, obtained the 
 name of Blean Fais, which signifies the valley of Fais. The 
 death of this lady is thus observed by an old poet : 
 
 The valley where the lovely Fais fell, 
 From her, as ancient Irish records tell, 
 ■Obtained the name of Blean Fais. 
 
 Scota, the relict of king Milesius, was likewise slain in this 
 engagement, and was buried in another valley on the north 
 side of the mountain Sliabh Mis, adj oining to the sea. This valley, 
 which was the place of her interment, was called Glean iScoithin, 
 or the valley of Scota, as an old poet testifies in these verses : 
 
 Beneath a vale its bosom does display, 
 With meadows green, with flowers profusely gay ; 
 Where Scota lies, unfortmiately slain, 
 ' And with her royal tomb gives honor to the plain. 
 Mix'd with the first, the fair virago fought, 
 Sustain'd the toik of arras, and danger sought ; 
 From her the frixxful valley had the name 
 01 Glean Scoith, and we may trust to fame. 
 
 This was the first battle that was fought between the Milesians 
 and the Tuatha de Danans for the empire of the island, as we 
 are informed by the same author in this manner : 
 
 The stout Gadelians first their corn-age try 
 
 At Sliabh Mis, and rout the enemy ; 
 
 Where heroes, pierced -with many a deadly wound, 
 
 Choak'd in their blood, lay gasping on the groxmd ; 
 
 Heroes, whose brave exploits may justly claim 
 
 Triumphant laurels, and immortal fame. 
 
 The persons of note that fell on the side of the Milesians, in 
 this action, were the princess Scota, and the lady Fais ; they 
 likewise lost two of their principal druids, whose names were Uar 
 and Eithir : but there were no more than 300 of the Gadelian 
 soldiers missing after the fight, notwithstanding they defeated the 
 Tuatha de Danans, and slew 1000 of them. Eire, the wife of 
 Mac Greine, one of the princes of the country, with as many of 
 her flying troops as she could keep together, retired to Tailton 
 and there related the misfortunes she had met with, and how she 
 was routed by the enemy, and the choicest of her men were slain. 
 The Milesians continued upon the field of battle, burying their 
 
I'iO THE GENERAL HlfeTORT 
 
 dead, and celebrating the funeral rites of the two druids -with 
 great solemnity. An old poet makes honourable mention of 
 this battle, and confirms some of the particulars in these verses. 
 
 On. Sliabh Mig our -warlike Sfjuadrons stood, 
 
 Eager of fight, and prodigal of blood ; 
 
 Victoriojis arms our stout Gadelians bore, 
 
 Ruin behind, and terror march'd before : 
 
 A thousand of the enchanted host are slain, 
 
 They try their charms and magic arts in vain, 
 
 For Avith their niaugled limbs they cover all tli§ plain. 
 
 Three hundred only of our troops are kili'd, 
 
 Who bravely turned the fortune of the field. 
 
 The learned Uar rush'd among the rest, 
 
 But, with repeated blows and wounds oppress'd, 
 
 lie fell, and by his side expiring lay 
 
 Either, a priest, and gasp'd his soul away. 
 
 The victors then the funeral rites prepare, 
 
 Due to their dead companions of the Avar. 
 
 It was observed before, that eight of the commanding officers 
 of the Milesians were unfortunately destroyed at sea, by the en- 
 chantments of the Tuatha de Danans : Ir was lost at Sceilg Mih- 
 chil ; Arranan was dashed to pieces by a fall from the topsail ; 
 Donn, with five of the principal Gadelians, was drowned at a 
 place called Teach Dainn, in the west of Ireland. Eight ladies 
 likewise of the first quality perished at sea ; two lost their lives 
 when Donn was shipwrecked ; their names were Buan, the wife 
 of Bille, and Dil^ the daughter of Milesius, the wife and sister of 
 Donn. Sceine, the wife of Amergin, was unfortunately cast 
 away at Inbher Sceine. From the misfortune of this lady the 
 river was called Inbher Sceine, or the river of Sceine, for Inbher 
 signifies a river ; and it is known by the same name in the county 
 of Kerry, to this day. 
 
 Fial, the wife of Lughaidh, was a lady of strict virtue and un- 
 common modesty ; for she was so confounded with shame, be- 
 cause her husband had seen her naked as she was swimming in 
 the river Feil, that she languished, and died with grief. The 
 stream received the name of Inbher Feile from this fair Milesian, 
 and is so called to this time. Scota and Fias, two other ladies 
 of the Gadelians were slain in the battle of Sliabh Mis before 
 mentioned. 
 
 The wife of Ir, and the wife of Muirtheimhne, the son of Bre- 
 ogan, likewise died before the battle of Tailton was fought ; these 
 made up the eight ladies of the Milesians who were dead before 
 that engagement. The names of seven of them are recorded in 
 
or IRELAND. 141 
 
 the book of the Conquests of Ireland, and are Scota, Tea, Fial, 
 Fias, Liobhra, Oghbha, and Sceine. The same number of prin- 
 cipal officers of the Gadelians perished before that action with 
 the Tuatha de Danans, whose names are expressed before. An 
 old antiquary, in one of his poems, has given us the names of 
 seven of these female adventurers, who came into Ireland. 
 
 Seven ladies of the chiefest quality 
 Followed the fortunes of the stout Gadelians, 
 When they resolved to conquer or to die. 
 Tea, the virtuous queen of Heremon ; , ■ 
 
 Fial, the consort of the brave Lughaidh ; 
 Fias, a princess of distinguished beauty was, 
 And the beloved wife of Un ; and Sceine 
 Was wedded to Amergin's princely bed ; 
 Liobhradh was the royal pride of Fuaid ; 
 Scota, the relict of the great Milesius • 
 And Oghbha strictly chaste in widoAS'hood. 
 
 The Gadelians, who were under the command of Hebef, and 
 came off with victory at the battle of Sliabh Mis, when they 
 had buried their dead, and recovered themselves from the in- 
 tigue of the fight, they marched to Inbher Colpa, now caPed 
 Drocheda, in the province of Leinster, where they joined a 
 strong body of Milesians, with Heremon at the htad of them ; 
 with this reinforcement they sent a summons to the three princes 
 of the island, the sons of Cearmada, to come to a pitched battle 
 at a place appointed, in order to decide the government of the 
 country. The Tuatha de Danans accepted of the challenge, and 
 advanced with their choicest troops, led on by their three 
 princes, and began the fight ; the Milesians received the charge 
 with great bravery, and, greedy of revenge for the death of Ith, 
 fell desperately upon the enemy, when a most bloody action 
 followed. Both sides maintained their ground, and victory was 
 in suspense for some time ; but at length the Gadelians broke 
 the ranks of the Tuatha de Danans, and occasioned such confu- 
 sion among their forces, that they were put to the rout with 
 great slaughter, and driven out of the field. The three princes 
 of [he country were slain in the engagement ; Mac Greine fell 
 in an encounter with Amergin ; Mac Ceacht was killed by 
 Heremon, and Mac Cuill was slain by Heber Fionn. This me- 
 morable transaction comes to the notice of posterity from the 
 following verses of an old poet ; 
 
 The princes of the island kept their court 
 AtTailtou: but the bold Gacieliaas "• 
 
142 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 Punished their treachery to the Vcaliaut Itlv •• 
 Mac Greine, though fierce in fight, Amergin slew , 
 Mac Cuill fell beneath the dreadful sword 
 Of Heber ; and Heremon, hand to hand, 
 O'erbore Mac Ceacht, and pierced him to the ground. 
 
 In this action were slain likewise the consorts of these three 
 princes^ who were Eire, Fodhla, and Banba. The same poet 
 gives this account of their death : 
 
 This fatal day the virtuous Eire was slain 
 By Siurge ; Fodhla by the sword of Headan 
 Fell dead ; and Banba sunk beneath 
 The avenging arm of Saicer. . 
 
 The Tuatha de Danans, perceiving the death of their three 
 commanders, despaired of victory, and fled in great disorder. 
 The Milesians followed their success with great slaughter of the 
 enemy, but in the pursuit they lost two of their leading officers, 
 Cualgne, the son of Breogan, at Sliabh Cualgne, and Fuaid his 
 brother at Sliabh Fuaid : but the Gadelians, no way discou- 
 raged, pressed hard upon the vanquished, destroyed numbers of 
 them in their flight, and put them to a general rout. The in- 
 habitants were never able to recruit their forces, but were 
 obliged to submit to the victors, and deliver up the government 
 of the island. 
 
 Some of the Irish antiquaries are of opinion, that after tho 
 Milesians had obtained this victory, Heber Fionn and Heremon 
 divided the country into two parts between them ; the northern 
 part, from the river Boyne and Sruibh, fell to the share of 
 Heremon, and from thence to the main ocean southwards, came 
 to the possession of Heber Fionn. A poet of great antiquity 
 makes mention of this division in this manner : 
 
 The two commanders shared the isle between them ; 
 The north division Heremon enjoyed 
 From the rich vale, where, in delightful streams, 
 The Boyne, the darling of the ocean, flows ; 
 SouthAvards from thence the royal Heber reigned, 
 And his dominion to the sea extended. 
 
 Five of the Milesian officers attended upon Heremon to his 
 part of the country, and had lands assigned them for their sup- 
 port, where each of them erected a castle upon their ov.u 
 estate, and there they resided with their families. The names 
 c»f these five commanders were Amergin, the son of Milesius.. 
 
■ OF II?ELAND. 143 
 
 Goifidean, Seaghda, Sobh-iiroe and Siurge. Heremou also builfc 
 a magnificent palace, where he kept his court, at Airgiodross, 
 jpon the bank of the river Feoir, in Ossery, and called it Rath 
 Beothach ; Amergin raised the castle of Turlagh Inbher More, 
 now called Arcloe ; Sobhairce built the fort of Duna Sobhairce ; 
 Seaghda erected Dunn Deilguisis in the territory of Cualann ; 
 Goisdean built Cahair Nare, and Siurge called his seat by the 
 name of Dunn Eadair. 
 
 Some of the principal of the Milesians likewise followed 
 Heber Fionn into his division of the country, who generously 
 allowed them an hDuourable subsistence, and gave them lands 
 fur the support of their families ; their names were Caicer. 
 Mantann, Eadan, Vige, and Fulman. Each of these Gadelian 
 nobles raised very stately structures upon their own estates ; 
 Heber Fionn built a royal palace for himself in Leinster, and 
 called it Rath Loamhuin ; Caicer erected the Castle of Dunn 
 Inn, in the west of Ireland ; Mantann was the founder of Cumh- 
 dach Cairge Bladhruidhe ; Unn the son of Vige built Rath 
 Arda Suird, and Fulman built the fort of Cairge Feadha. 
 
 But this division of the island is opposed by some of our an- 
 tiquaries of great authority, who assert, that Heber possessed 
 Himself of the two provinces of Munster ; the province of Lein- 
 ster and Conacht fell to the share of Heremon ; the province 
 of Ulster they divided between Eimhir or Heber, the son of Ir, 
 the son of Milesius, their brother's son, and some others of the 
 principal Gadelians ; and the canthred of Corckaluighe, in the 
 county of Cork, in Munster, they assigned to Lughaida, the son 
 of Ith. who was treacherously siain by the princes of the coun- 
 try, in revenge of whose death the Milesians first engaged in 
 this expedition. 
 
 This latter division of the island seems to deserve the great- 
 est credit ; because it is certain, that the royal palace of Here- 
 mon, called Rath Beothaic, was built at Airgiodross, upon the 
 bank of the river Feoir, in Leinster ; and it appears likewise, 
 that the posterity of Heber Fionn resided for many years in 
 the province of Munster. The descendants of Heremon inha- 
 bited in Conacht and Leinster ; and the family of Eimhir or He- 
 ber, the son of Milesius, commonly called Clana Rughraidhe, 
 Temained for many generations in the province of Ulster, and 
 are the original and the most ancient inhabitants of Ulster of 
 all the posterity of the Milesians. They were a tribe who kept 
 their royal seat at Eamhain, for the space of 900 years, and 
 for their valour, their generosity and military exploits, they were 
 
144 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 the glory of ilie Irish oation ; as the most authentic records, 
 particulady th§ Psalter of Cashel and the royal Psalter of Tara, 
 inform us. They flourished in great honour, and were the re- 
 nowned heroes of the western parts of Europe for many ages, 
 till, sinking under the weight of their own greatness, they were 
 destroyed by intestine quarrels and irreconcileable breaches in 
 their families, as will be related hereafter ; by which means the 
 royal seat of Eamhaim fell to ruin, and the tribe separated and 
 fixed themselves in other provinces of the island. The descen-. 
 dants of the brave hero Connall Cearnach removed to Laoighis, 
 (in 'English, Lex) in the province of Leinster, and the posterity 
 of Eergus Mac Roigh obtained settlements in Conmacne, Co- 
 nacht, Careamruadh, and Kerry, in Munster : these families 
 were originally derived from the same ancestors, and were called, 
 in general, by the name of Clana Paighraidhe. The : same 
 changes and divisions happened likewise in other tribes of the 
 Milesians, who, by reason of animosities among themselves, se- 
 parated from the possessions that were first assigned them ; par- 
 ticularly in the family of the Dwyers, or as some write them, 
 O Divir, in Irish called Dnibhidhir, descended from Cair- 
 bre, the son of Conchorb, who lived four generations before Cav 
 tlioir More, monarch of Ireland, of the line of Heremon. The 
 same alterations appear likewise in the tribe of the O Ryans, 
 who were of the same family, and removed from the province of 
 Leinster to Munster, where their posterity remain to this day ; 
 but the revolutions that arose in these families, and their re- 
 moval from the lands where they .first settled, happened many 
 years after Heber and Heremon divided the island as before 
 mentioned. 
 
 It is evident, that the three Collas, with all their relations and 
 dependants, went into Ulster about the year of our Redemption 
 130 ; where, by their valour, they dispossessed the former inhabi- 
 tants, and fixed themselves. The lands which they obtained in 
 this province, were called Modhoirn ui Macuais, and Ui Chriom- 
 buin, where some of their posterity remain to this time. Itf 
 ^•as in the reign of Muireadhach Tireach that they got into the 
 enjoyment of these new estates. The noble earl of Antrim, Mao 
 Daniel by surname, is descended from Collauais ; and the most- 
 illustrious family of the iviac Mahons, in the pro\ince of Ulster, 
 tiie Maguires, in Irish, Maguidhir, and the O Hanlauns, with 
 several other branches derived from the same stem, were the 
 lineal descendants of Colla da Cbrioch, as will be confirmed par- . 
 ticiilarly in the progress of tiiLs liistory ,. 
 
OV ICELAND. 145 
 
 J a the reign of Cormack Mac Airt. a descendant from ths 
 posterity of Heremon, called Ueisig, (m Engiisb, Desie,) the <J 
 i aolains, the kings of Desie, came mto Munster, and got possen- 
 Bion of a great part of the country. And in the reign of Oilioll 
 Ollum, king of Munster, the learned (. airbre Muse, a gentleman 
 of the line of Heremon, ] resented a most ingenious poem, in 
 Irish, to OiLoll Ollum, wherein he celebrated the valour, tue 
 generosity, the magnificence aud grandeur of his loyai patron j 
 who so graciously accepted the performance, that as a rewa,:d, 
 he bestowed upon him the two Urmhumhain, in English, the 
 ,two Ormonds, but known then by the name oi Muscruidhe, so 
 called from Cairbre Muse '^beiore mentioned. These counties 
 contained all the canthred from Beaiach mor, in Ossery, to Car- 
 rignasuire, now styled Carrig. These were the lauds conferred 
 upon th it excellent poe% and not the Muscruicihe, in the county 
 of Cork j but they continued only a short time in the possession 
 of his issue, lor his family wixs soon extinc. . 
 
 It was not long after this, that some of the post:rity of Heber 
 Fionn, descended from Cormac Gaiieangadh, removed out of 
 Munster, and settled themselves, and their families, in very 
 large estates in Conacht and Leinster. The lands which they 
 obtained were called (jaileangadh and Luigne ; and from the 
 descendants of this Cormac Gaiieangadh, the noble families of 
 O Hara, (in Irish O Headhra,) and of Gara (in Irish Gara) 
 are derived. So that it appears by what means these several 
 femilies got possession of large tracts of land in the island ; and 
 that they did not receive their estates from the donation of Heber 
 and Heremon, when they laid out the division of the country. 
 And this account is reason sufficient for us to believe, that Heber 
 and ileremon did not, after their conquest of Ireland, attempt 
 to share the country between tbem in the manner W3 have 
 observed before ; because we find that Hiremon built his palace 
 within the territories of Heber Fionn, (called Eath Beothach, 
 and situated at Airgiodross, in the province of Leiuster,) which 
 it is impossible to suppose : but" the last division has the best 
 authority to support it, which asserts, thftt Heremon was pos- 
 ceFsed of the province of Leinster, where he erecred his royal seat 
 Mid kept his court. 
 
 The Milesians brouglit over with them, in the Irish expedi- 
 tion, a very skilful musician and an eminent poet ; the name 
 of the poet was Cir mac Cis, and the musician was called 
 O Naoi. These two persons being very ex:ellent in their prt)- 
 fesi^k)n, there was some contest between Keber and TIeremou 
 
 H 
 
146 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 about them : for they were both delighted with their oorapauy, 
 and resolved, if possible, to detain them ; but they agreed, at 
 length, to decide the dispute by lots, and determine to whom 
 they should belong ; by this means the musician fell to Heber, 
 and the poet was to attend upon Heremon. From this contro- 
 versy, as the chronicles inform us, arose that laudable custo m 
 among the Irish, to show great honour and munificence to their 
 poets, historians, philosophers, and men of learning ; and the 
 musician being to attend upon Heber in the southern part of 
 the country, that division of the island is observed to be more 
 particularly delighted with music j as an old poet remarks in 
 this manner : 
 
 The learaed princes, Heber and Heremon, 
 
 Contended which should, A^ith the poet's art, 
 
 And the musician's skill, be entertained. 
 
 Thej' cast the lots ; the northern prince enjoyed 1^ 
 
 The pleasing charms of poetty ; and Heber 
 
 With music first his southern subjects bless'd. 
 
 From hence the generous Irish, with rewards, 
 
 Did bountifully crown the poet's skill, 
 
 And music flourished in the southern coasts. 
 
 In the Milesian invasion of Ireland there came over twenty 
 mechanical persons of several occupations, and a number of 
 labouring men, fit only for servile work, whose business was to 
 clear the country by cutting down the woods, and to render it 
 proper for tillage or pasture ; accordingly these four-and-twenty 
 labourers, soon after thei" arrival in the island, laid open twenty- 
 four large tracts of land, which by cultivating beca ne fruitful. 
 The names of these tradesmen were Aidhne, Ai, A sal, Meidhe, 
 Morba, Meide, Cuibh, Cliu, Ceara, Reir, Slan, Leighe, Liife, 
 Line, Leighean, Trea, Dula, Adhar, Aire, Deisi, Deala, Fea, 
 Femhean, and Seara ; and the plains that were cleared at that 
 time are literally known by these names to this day. 
 
 The princess Tea, the daughter of Lughaidh, the son of Ith, 
 and the wife of Heremon, the son of Milesius, gave orders for 
 erecting a royal palace for herself in Lyatrim, which seat is now 
 called Teamhair, from this lady, who was the foundress of it ; 
 for Mur signifies a seat or a palace, and Tea being the proper 
 name of that princess, by joining the words they sound Tea- 
 inhuir, and by another termination in Irish they are pronounced 
 Teamhair ; but in construction they are the same, for they both 
 eignify the royal seat or palace at Tara. 
 
 The two principal Gadelians, Heber and Heremon, adminis- 
 
OF IRELAND. 147 
 
 tered the govei'iiment together, with great affection and unani- 
 mity, for the space of a year, and then an unfortunate difference 
 a'-ose, attended with very fatal consequences. The occasion of 
 the dispute was the possession of three of the most fruitful val- 
 leys in the whole island ; their names were Druim Clasach, in 
 the territory of Maine, Druim Beathach, in Maonmuighe, and 
 Druim Finginn, in Munster. Two of these valleys lay in tho 
 division of Heber Fionn, and he received the profits of them ; 
 but his wife, being a woman of great pride and ambition, en- 
 vied the wife of Heremon the enjoyment of one of these delight- 
 ful valleys, and therefore she persuaded her husband to demand 
 the valley of Heremon, and upon a refusal, to get possession of 
 it by the sword ; for she passionately vowed she would never 
 be satisfied till she was called the queen of the three most fruit- 
 ful valleys in the island. The wife of Heremon, a lady of mas- 
 culine spirit, prevailed upon her husband to insist upon his 
 title, and to defend his right : and this resolution occasioned a 
 war between the two princes, who, by consent, led their whole 
 forces to the plains of Geisiol, in Leinster, where a desperate 
 battle was fought, in which the eldest brother, Heber Fionn, 
 and three of his chief commanding officers, Siurge, Sobhairce, and 
 Goisdean were slain. The death of these brave Gadelians, we 
 perceive, was wholly owing to the pride of this woman, who, to 
 quicken her husband in this unjust undertaking, swore she 
 would not sleep a night more in the island till she had accom- 
 plished her purpose. This transaction stands thus upon record 
 in the verses of an old poet : 
 
 The royal princes, Heber and Heremon, 
 With mutual consent, and kind affection. 
 The isle divided ; and they reigned in peace, 
 Till the ambition of a woman's heart, 
 The wife of Heber, urged them on to war 
 By pride o'ercome, she thirsted to enjoy, 
 And to b^ called queen of the Three Valeo, 
 The most delightful lands in all the isle, 
 hhe vowed, and, raging passionately, swore, 
 That she would never sleep on Irish ground 
 Till she was mistress of those fruitful plains. 
 A battle followed on Geisiol's fatal field, 
 Where Heber Fionn fell a sacrifice 
 To the ambition of a haughty wife. 
 
 This relation is confirmed by the concurring testimony of the 
 learned Tanuidhe 6 Conairej who has these lines : 
 
148 Til;: GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 Tliree of the fruitful valleys of tlie isle, 
 
 Druira Fiiigiun, Druim Clasach, aud Dniiai Beathach, 
 
 (Occasioned the fierce bettle of Geisiol, 
 
 VVIiere valiant Heber feU. 
 
 Heremon, after this victory over his brother, the unfortunate 
 Heber, succeeded in the whole government, and reigned sole 
 monarch of the kingdom of Ireland for tho spaoe of fourteen 
 years. There is some difference in the ancient records, concern- 
 ing the death of Prince Heber ; for some of our antiquaries 
 assert, that he was slain at the battle of Airgiod Ross, as these 
 ■verses intimate : 
 
 Heremon wns moiiarch of the isle 
 
 Full fourteen vc.irs after the bloody fight 
 
 Of Airgiod Ross, where Keber lost his life. 
 
 But this opinion is contradicted by some authors, of great 
 fidelity, who wich good authority deny that Heber was slain at 
 the battle of Airgiod Koss, and justly place his death at the 
 fight of Geisiol befoi'e mentioned. In the reign of King Here- 
 mon the desperate battle of Cuil Caicer was fought, where Caicer, 
 one of the principal officers of Heber Fionn, was slain by 
 Amergin, the ton of Milesius. This action happened about a 
 year after the death of Heber ; and in the year following the 
 fight of Caicer, Amergin, the son of Milesius, was killed by his 
 brother Heremon, in the battle of Bile Teiniodh, at Cuil Breagh. 
 
 In the same year the nine rivers of Eile broke out, and the 
 three streams of Va Nioliiolo, in Ireland, began to flow. In 
 the thi "d year following, Mantan and Fulman, two of tiie prin- 
 cipal officers of Heber P'ionn, were slain by Heremon, in the 
 battle of Breaghuin, in Freamhain. 
 
 During the monarchy of Heremon over the whole island, the 
 nine following lakes discovered themselves ; Loch Cime, on 
 Magh Sreiug, Loch Buadhaice, Loch Bagha, Loch Rein, Loch 
 Fionnmhaighe, Loch Greine, Loch Riach< which spreads its 
 waters over all the plain of Magh Maoin, Loch da Choidh, in 
 Leinster, aitd Loch Laoigh, in Ulster. Four years afterwards the 
 Gadelian commanders, En, Un, aud Eadan, were slain by Here- 
 mon, in the fight of Comhraire, in Meath, where they were 
 likewise buried. In the same year three rivers broke out in 
 Conacht, which were all known by the name of Succa. 
 
 Some of the Irish historians assert, that after Heremon had 
 o}>tained the victory over Heber Fionn, he divided the island into 
 live prjvinces, among some of his commanding officers. The 
 
OF IKELAND. 140 
 
 province of Leinster he gave to Criomhthan Sciathbheil of the 
 Domhnonchuibh, a gentleman of great worth, and descended 
 from the ancient Firbolgs. He bestowed the two provinces of 
 Mimster upon Er, Orbha, Fearon, and Feargna, who were the 
 sons of Heber Fionn, his brother. The province of Conacht he 
 conferred upon Un, the son of Vige, and Eadane, two no tod 
 generals, who came along with him out of Spain ; and the pro- 
 vince of Ulster he settled upon his other brother's son, whose name 
 was Heber or Eimher, the son of Ir, the son of Milesius, king of Spain. 
 
 In the beginning of the reign of this Irish monarch, the Picts, 
 who resided in Thrace, left their own country, and landed with 
 a numerous army upon the coasts of Ireland. The reason why 
 they quitted their country is thus related by Cormac Mac Cuil- 
 lenan, in his Psalter of Cashel. Policornus was king of Thraxie 
 at that time, and, being an effeminate prince, he resolved to 
 seize by violence upon a beautiful young lady, the daughter of 
 Gud, generalissimo over the Picts, and to keep her as a concu- 
 bine. This design was seasonably discovered to Gud, who, by 
 the assistance of his faithful Picts, who were then in pay under 
 the crown of Thrace, found means to destroy Policornus, whom 
 they slew, and then fled the country. They marched through 
 the dominions of several princes, till they came into France, 
 where they were kindly received, and admitted into pay by the 
 French king, who assigned them a tract of land for their sup- 
 port, where they built a city, and properly c^ave it the name of 
 Pictaviam, now called Poictiers. When Gud, the commander of 
 the Picts, had related to the king of France the occasion of his 
 leaving Thrace, and that his design was to secure the honour of 
 his daughter, that prince also resolved to debauch her himself, 
 and made some attempts to force her out of her father's hands ; 
 who, so soon as he perceived his intention, summoned his peo- 
 ple together, and by stratagem seized upon the French shipping, 
 ^ weighed anchor and stood out to sea ; they came upon the coasta 
 of Ireland, and landed at Inbher Slaigne, but the young lady 
 unfortunately sickened and died in the voyage. 
 
 The venerable Bede, in the first chapter of his Ecclesiastical 
 history of England, agrees with this account, with this differenco 
 only, that he says that these wandering Picts landed in the nor- 
 thern part of the island. His words are these : * " It happened, 
 
 * Contigit gentem Pictomm de Scythia, ut perhibent, longis navibus non 
 muitis oceanum iiigressam, circumagente flatn ventorum fines omnes Britannue 
 Hiberniam pervenisse, ejusque septeutrionales oras intrasse, atque inventa iM 
 gente Scotonim, sibi quoque in parMbus illis petiise locum, nee iropetrasse potiiisst 
 
150 TH:!; GlilNWRAL HIST'JRY 
 
 as fame goos, that a nation of the Picts from Soythia, setting to 
 sea ill a few long ships, after they had by the varying of the 
 wind sailed round the coast of Britain, ciane at last into Ire- 
 land, and landed in the northern part of 'the island : there th^y 
 found the nation of the Scots, among whom they desired a set- 
 tlement, but their request was denied." But one circumstance 
 of this relation is a mistake, for they did not land in the north 
 of Ireland, but they came on shore in the harbour of Wexford, 
 as it is now called. 
 
 At that time Criomhthan Sciathbheil was governor of Lein- 
 ster by commission from Heremou, who, as soon as these people 
 arrived, received them hospitably, and entered into a gtrict al- 
 liance with Gud, and Cathluan, his son, who were the com- 
 manders of the Picts ; because he wanted their assistance 
 against some mischievous Britons (called Tuatha Fiodhga) who 
 spoiled and made great depredations on both sides the river 
 Siainge ; and to terrify the Milesian soldiery, they violated the 
 law of nations, by poisoning the heads of their arrows and their 
 other weapons, which had that effect as to make the least wound 
 mortal or incurable. Criomhthan relating this savage practice 
 of the Britons to his new associates, they told him there was a 
 very eminent druid, who came over with them, that, by his 
 skill in physic, knew how to prepare an antidote against the 
 poison, and hinder its operation. The name of this druid was 
 Trosdane, who, when he was applied to by the Milesian general, 
 confessed that he understood a method which would destroy the 
 ))arbarous designs of the Britons, and expel the venomous qua- 
 lity of their weapons ; accordingly he advised him to procure 
 150 white-faced cows, and when he had digged a pit near the 
 place where he usually fought with the Britons, to empty their 
 milk into the hole, and when anv of his soldiers were wounded 
 by the enemy, they should immediately go into the pit, and 
 bathe themselves in the milk, Tvhich would prove a sovereign 
 antidote against the poison and hinder its effect. Criomhthan 
 followed the advice of the druid, and when he had made the 
 pit near the field of battle, and tilled it with milk, according to 
 his directions, he drew up his forces against the" Britons, and a 
 most desperate fig; t followed, (called the battle of Cath Arda 
 Leamhnachta,) and the Milesians obtained a complete victory ; 
 for when any of the Gadcliau soldiery perceived themselves 
 wounded, they immediately removed to this bath of milk, where 
 they washed, and became perfectly cured. This defeat of the 
 
OF IRELAPTD. 151 
 
 Britons, who were called Tuatha Fiodho-a, is tmnymitted to poa- 
 teritj, by a very ancient poet of good authority, in these lines . 
 
 The Avandering Picts, after a tedious voyage 
 Around the British coasts, at length arrive 
 Upon the Irish shore ; where the Gadelians 
 Were fighting with the Britona fierce and cruel. 
 Who, with envenom 'd arrows, certain death 
 Dispensed ; and many a brave Milesian 
 Languished with wounds incurable, till relieved 
 By a prevailing antidote, prescribed 
 By the wise Trosdane, of the Piptish race. 
 This learned druid, exquisitely skill 'd 
 In poison, did expel the subtle venom 
 By a warjn bath of milk, which from the dugs 
 Of an hundred and fifty bald-faced cows distilled 
 The soldiers here soften'd their rankling wounds. 
 And washed, and to the figlit returned unhurt 
 Thus were the Britons routed in the field, 
 ^wl all thei;- ba^-^ai-ous art defeated. 
 
 After this victory over the Britons, Gud, and his son Catn 
 laan, who were the leaders of the Picts, formed a conspiracy, 
 and resolved to possess themselves of the government of Lein 
 scer, and there to settle with their followers. This design wag 
 timely discovered to Heremon, the king of Ireland, who imme- 
 diately raised an army to suppress these foreigners, and drivo 
 them out of the country. But before they came to engage, the 
 Picts, unable to resist the Milesian troops, with great humility 
 and submission surrendered themselves up to the mercy of the 
 king, who with great generosity pardoned them, and withdrew 
 his forces, but gave them notice withal, that there was a coun- 
 try lying east and by north of Ireland, where they might trans- 
 port themselves and obtain a settlement. The Plots imme- 
 diately came to a resolution to leave the island ; but first de- 
 isired some of the Milesian women to go along with them, upon 
 whose issue, they solemnly swore that the government of the 
 country, if ever it came into their hands, should devolve, and 
 continue for ever in their family. Upon these assurances Here- 
 raon complied, and delivered to them three women of quality, 
 who were widows ; they were the relicts of Breas, Buas, and 
 Buaigne, one of whom Cathluau, the chief commander of the 
 Picts, took to himself They immediately set sail, and arrived 
 at Cruithantuath, now called Scotland, where Cathluan, the 
 Pictish general, obtained the sovereignty of the country, and 
 was the fiirst monarch of the Pictish line ; and of this family, 
 afier the demise of this prince, there were 70 sacces^ive kiugs 
 
152 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 in Scotland ; as is observed in the following verses, extracted 
 from the Psalter of Cashel, out of a poem that begins thus, 
 Eolach Alban vile ; 
 
 The Picts, unable to withstand the pow'r 
 Of the Milesian troops, a truce implore ; 
 And, -willing to be gone, their anchors weigh 'd 
 And boldly the Albanian coasts invade, 
 Where seventy monarchs of the Pictish race 
 With great exploits the Scottish annals grace. 
 'Twas Cathluan began the royal line 
 Which ended in the hero Constantine. 
 
 The learned Trosdane, who by his art assisted the Gadelians 
 in subduing the Britains, and five more of principal note among 
 the PictS;, did not follow the fortune of Cathluan in the Scottish 
 expedition ; their names were Oilean, Ulpra, Neachtain, Nar, 
 and Eneas, and these six that remained in Ireland had estates 
 assigned them for their support, in Breagmhuigh, in Meath. 
 
 Heremon, the king of Ireland, after a reign of fourteen years, 
 died at Airgiod Ross, in Rath Beothaice, near Feior, and there 
 he was buried ; and in the same year the river called Eithne 
 broke out, and i)egan to flow, between Dial na Ruidhe and Dial- 
 riada. 
 
 The chronicles of Ireland give an account, that Heremon sent 
 away a great number of the posterity of Breogan, that is, the 
 Brigantes, and of the Tuatha de Danans, along with the Picts, in 
 their invasion of Scotland; and from these descendants of Breogan 
 were the Brigantes derived, who afterwards possessed themselves 
 of very large settlements in England. Such of this family (called 
 in Irish Clana Breogan) as survived the battle of Tailtean, sepa- 
 rated, and some of them followed Ileber Fionn into Munster, 
 others attended upon Heremon into Conacht and Leinster, and 
 part of them went into Ulster with Heber, the son of Ir. These 
 Brigantes, some time afterwards, understanding that the Picts, 
 and their relations that followed them, had been successful in 
 the Scottish invasion, and had wrested the government out of 
 the hands of the former inhabitants, a number of them, ani- 
 mated with this success, resolved .to transport themselves 
 thither, and obtain a settlement in the country ; thither there- 
 fore they came, and had lands and estates bestowed upon them 
 for their maintenance. But in process of time, they with the 
 Picts were driven out of the country, by the prevailing power 
 of the Dalriada, and afterwards by P'ergus the Great ; as .will bo 
 particularly mentioned in the further progress of this history. 
 
OF IKELAND. 1,53 
 
 Some of the Irish chronides assert, that the posterity of Breogan^ 
 afterwards called the Brigantes, came into Ireland, Albion, and 
 Britain, as they fled out of Spain, to avoid the cruel tyranny of 
 the Goths, and the incursions of other hostile nations, who mise- 
 rably ravaged that country after the sons of Milesius had left it ; 
 BO that we have reason to conjecture, that the Brigantes of Eng- 
 land removed thither from Ireland, Albion, and Spain, when 
 jhey fixed themselves in some of the counties of that kingdom. 
 Upon the decease of Heremon, king of Ireland, the 
 „V-.^ crown devolved upon his three sons, Muimhne, Luighne, 
 
 and Laighne ; these princes reigned jointly and peaceably 
 for the space of three years, at which time Muimhne died at 
 Magh Cruachain, and the remaining brothers, Luighne and 
 Laighne, were slain by the sons of Heber Fionn, at the battle of 
 Ard Ladhran. 
 iynr^ The succession then came into the hands of Er, Orbha, 
 
 Fearon, and Feargna, the four sous of Heber Fionn, who 
 governed the kingdom together for one year, and were slain ia 
 an engagement by Irial, the son of Heremon. 
 o-.p They were succeeded by IriaJ, the son of Heremon, who 
 
 was a learned prince, and could foretell things to come : 
 the reason of his entering into war with the sons of Heber Fionn 
 was, because they had basely taken away the lives of two of his elder 
 brothers, who died without issue, so that the crown came by suc- 
 cession to him, and he governed the kingdom ten years. During 
 the reign of this monarch, a great part of this country was laid 
 open, and freed from woods ; particularly the following places 
 were cleared, and made fit for tillage and pasture : their names 
 were Magh Eeidchiodh,now called Lex Magh Neilm, in Leinster ; 
 Magh Comair, Magh Feile, in Jobh Neiil ; Magh Sanuis, in 
 Conacht ; Magh JNinis, in Ulster ; Magh Midhe, Magh LuiL-'ne, 
 in Conacht ; Magh Teachta, in Jobh mac Uais ; Magh Fearn- 
 muighne, at Oirgialladh ; Magh Cobha, at Jobh Beathach ; Magh 
 Cumaoi, at Jobh Neil ; Magh Cuille Feadha, Maoh Riada, Magh 
 Nairbhrioch, at Fotharthuathaibh Airbhrioch, in Leinster. This 
 prince adorned his country with seven royal palaces, where ho 
 kept his court : they were called Rath Ciombaoith, at Nemhuin, 
 Rath Coincheada, at Seimhne ; Rath Mothuig, at Deag Carbad ; 
 Rath Buirioch, at Sleachtaibh ; Rath Luachat, at Glas Carn ; 
 Rath Croicne, at Maghnis ; and Rath Boachoill, at Latharna. 
 
 The year after these seats were erected, the three rivers, called 
 the three Finns, in Ulster, broke out and began to flow. The 
 lollowing year this prince won four remarkable victories ove? 
 
154 THE GENERAL HItiTORr 
 
 his enemies : the first was at the battle of Ard In math, at 
 Teabtha, where Stirne, the son of Duibh,* son of JBomhoir, waa 
 slain ; the second was at the battle of Teanmhuighe, which he 
 fought against a sort of pirates, called Fomhoraicc, and slew 
 Kichtghe, the leader of them ; the third was at the battle of 
 Loch Muighe, where Lngrot, the son of Moghfeibhis, was slain ; 
 and the fourth was at the battle of Cuill Martho, where he 
 overcame the four sons of Heber. The second year after this 
 victory Irial died, at a place called Magh Muagh, where he waa 
 buried. These battles are recorded by an old poet in these 
 verses ; 
 
 Trial, the youngest of the royal line, 
 
 Was king of Sliabh Mis, and king of Macha : 
 
 Success attended him whene'er he fought, 
 
 And in four battles he was crowned with victory. 
 
 Eithrial, the son of Irial, son of Heremon succeeded 
 ^1^^\ in the government, and reigned twenty years as monarch 
 ^^ of the whole kingdom. This prince was distinguished 
 
 for his es.cellent learning, for he wrote with his own hand the 
 history and travels of the Gadelians ; nor was he less remark- 
 able for his valour and military accomplishments. In his reign 
 seven plains or woods, that covered a great tract of land, were 
 cut down : they were called Tean mhagh, in Conacht ; Magh 
 Liogat, Magh Bealaig, at Jobh Turatire ; Magh Geisile, at Jobh 
 Failge ; Magh Ochtair, in Leinster ; Loch mhagh, in Conacht ; 
 and Magh Rath, at Jobh Eachach. After this long reign of 
 twenty years this prince was killed by Conmaol, the son of 
 Heber Fionn, at the battle of Soirrean, in Leinster. 
 ^rjc^n Conmaol, the son of Heber Fionn, by this victory 
 obtained the crown, and governed the kingdom of Ire- 
 land thirty years, and was the first absolute monarch of the 
 Heberian line. He was continually engaged in wars with the 
 family of Heremon, and fought twenty-five pitched battles 
 against them, and came off with victory in all. The names of 
 nine of them were as follow : the battle of Ucha, the battle of 
 Conucha, the battle of Sliabh Beatha, the battle of Geisille, 
 where Palpa, the son of Heremon, was slain ; the battle of Mud- 
 huirn, where Samhro, the son of Jonbhotha, was killed ; the 
 battle of Lochlein, where Magrot was slain ; the battle of Beirre, 
 the battle of Aonach Macha, where Conmaol, a valiant prince, 
 lost his life, by the hands of Heber, the son of Tighermhas, of 
 the line of Heremon. After the battle he was buried upon the 
 
OF IUELAInD. 155 
 
 80 nth side of Aouach Macha, in a place called Feart Choiimaoll, 
 which signifies the grave of Gonmaol ; for the Irish word 
 Feart in the English signifies a grave. 
 
 Tighermhas, the son of Follain, son of Eithriall, son of 
 o^l'p the learned Irial the prophet, the son of Heremon, suc- 
 ' ceeded and reigned fifty years. He was continually 
 alarmed with the pretensions of the family of Heber Fionn, but 
 engaged them in twenty-seven battles, and had always the vic- 
 tory. The names of these several actions stand thus upon re- 
 cord : the battle of Eille, where Rochorb, the son of Gullain, 
 was slain ; the battle of Comair, the battle of Maighe Teacht, 
 the battle of Loch Moighe, where Deighiaruo, son of Goill, son 
 of Gullain, was killed ; the battle of Caillard, at Moighinis; the 
 battle of Cuill Fraochain, the battle of Atguirt. in Seimhne ; 
 the battle of Ard Niadh, in Conacht ; the battle of Carn Fear- 
 radhoig, where Fearradhoch, son of Kochuirb, son of Gullain. 
 was slain ; the battle of Cluain Cuis, in Teabtha ; the battle of 
 Comhnuidhe, at Tuath Eabhe ; the battle of Cluain Muireag, in 
 the north of Breifne ; the battle of Cuill Faibhair, at Earbus ; 
 the seven battles of Luglocht, by Loch Lughach ; the two bat- 
 tles -of Cuill, at Airgiod Ross ; and the battle of Reibh, where 
 most of the posterity of Heber Fionn were destroyed by the 
 forces of Tighermhas. 
 
 The foKowiug year nine streams broke out of the earth, and 
 began to flow : their names were Loch Cea, which covered the 
 plain of Magh Falchuir ; Loch Nualline, in Conacht ; Loch 
 Niarun, Loch Nuair, Loch Saiglean, Loch Gabhair, in Meath 
 and Breagmhaigh ; Loch Feabhuil, at Tir Eogain, which drowned 
 the whole tract of land called Feabhuil Mac Loduin and Magh 
 Fuinsighe, by which names the country it overflowed was called; 
 Dubh Loch at Ard Cianachta ; and Loch Dabhuil, in Oirgial- 
 ladh. About this time the three black rivers in L-eland disco- 
 vered themselves, Fubno, Torruin, and Calluin. 
 
 The first golden mine in this country was found out in the 
 reign of this prince. It was discovered near the Liftee, by a 
 person called Juchadhan, who had the management of the ore, 
 and was very curious in the working of metals. In his time, 
 likewise, the colours of blue and green were invented, and the 
 people began to be more polite in their habits, and set off theif 
 dress with various ornaments. This prince established a law 
 through his whole dominions, that the quality of every persoa 
 should be known by his garb ; and for a distinction he enacte i, 
 that the clotlies of a slave should be of one colour ; the habit of 
 
]56 THE GENERAL HISTORY ] 
 
 a solt^ier he allowed to be of two colours ; he permitted thrf^e 
 colours to be the dress of a commanding officer j the apparel of ^ 
 gentlemen, who kept hospitable tables for the entertainment of , 
 s*"ranger5^ vas to consist of four colours; five colours were 
 allowed to the nobility of the country ; the king. and queen and 
 the royal family were confined to six colours, and the chrono- 
 iogers and persons of eminent learning were indulged the same 
 number. 
 
 This prince died at Magh Sleachta, and three parts of hia 
 subjects, by the judgment of heaven, perished with him the 
 same night ; it was upon the eve of the festival of All Saints, 
 and he was struck as he was worshipping his idol Crom cruadh, 
 the same God that Zoroaster adored in Greece. The Irish anti- 
 quaries agree, that Tighermhas was the first that introduced ido- 
 latry, and erected Pagan altars in the island, and began to estab- 
 lish his religion about 100 years a,fter the Milesians arrived in 
 the country. From the adoration paid to this idol, and thei 
 kneeling posture of those who worshipped it, the field in Breifne, 
 now in the country of Lahaiu, was called Magh Sleachta. After 
 the decease of this prjnce, some of our authors are of opinion 
 that there was an interregnum, and the country was without a 
 king for the space of seven years, and then they placed upon 
 the throne of Ireland, Eochaidh Faobharglas, the son of Cou- 
 maol ; but this is a mistake, and is contradicted by the regal 
 table of the Irish monarchs, which particularly mentions thai 
 the successor of Tif^hermhas was Eochaidh Eadgothach, a de- 
 scendant of Lughaidh, the son of Ith ; and this account has au- 
 thority sufEcient for us to follow. 
 
 Eochaidh Eadgothach, son of Datre, son of Conghal, 
 i:Qf,r ^^^ ^f Eadamhuin. son of Mail, son of Lughaidh, son of 
 ^' Ith, son o^reogan, succeeded Tighermhas in the throne 
 of Ireiand. His reign continued four years, and then he was 
 glain by Cearmna, of the line of Ir, son of Mileaius. 
 no-r Cearmna and Sobhairce, two brothers of the sons of 
 
 " ' Eibhric, son of Eibher, son of Heber, son of Ir, son of 
 Milesius, succeeded, and reigned joint monarchs of Ireland 
 forty years. These were the first Irish princes that came out 
 tf Ulster, and were of the line of Ir. They agreed to divide 
 the kingdom between them ; and the boundary between each 
 division extended from Inbher Colpa, now called Drocheda, to 
 IJmerick, in Munster. The north part of the country was pos- 
 Eo?;!-jed by Sobhairce, who erected a magnificent palace in his 
 O' i; share, and called it Dunn Sobhairce. His brother, Ceai-mua 
 
OF IRELAND, JDi 
 
 was prince of the southern division, in which he likewise bnilt a 
 royal seat, where he kept his court, and gave it the name of 
 Dunn Cearmna ; it is now called Dunn Patrick, and is situated 
 in Courcie's country. Sobhairce was killed by Eochaidh Mean, 
 and Cearmna was slain in the battle of Duna Cearmna, by 
 Eochaidh Faobharglas^ a prince of the family of Heber Fionn. 
 
 Eochaidh Faobharglas, son of Conmaol, son of Heber 
 ^Q.^ Fionn, son of Milesius, obtained the crown, and sat upon 
 * the Irish throne 20 years. He was distinguished by the 
 name of Eochaidh Faobharglas, because the two javelins he 
 used in the wars were green and sharp-edged, and he wore a 
 sword of the same colour ; for the word Glas signifies green, and 
 Facbhar signifies sharp-edged, and these two epithets being 
 joired sound Faobharglas. This prince \ms the first of the 
 Milesian kings that, by his arms, reduced a part of Albain, or 
 Scotland, to become tributary to the crown of Ireland ; for the 
 Plots, who settled themselves in that country, notwithstanding 
 they bound themselves with solemn oaths to pay homage to the 
 king of Ireland, broke out into frequent rebellions, since the 
 time of Heremon, and gave great disturbance to the Irish go- 
 vernment. This prince was annoyed by the posterity of Here- 
 mon, against whom he fought the following battles, and came 
 off with success : the battle of Luachair Deaghadh, in Desmond ; 
 the battle of Fosuighe da Ghort, the battle at the meeting of 
 the three streams, the battle of Tuam Dreogan, at Breifne, and 
 the brittle of Drom Liathain. He laid open the country by 
 cutting down seven great woods, which were known by the 
 names of Magh Smearthuin, in I've Failge ; Magh Laoighin, 
 Magh Luirg, in Conacht : Magh Leamhna, Magh Manair, Magh 
 Fubna, and Magh da Ghabhol, at Oirgialladh. Eochaidh was 
 at length killed by Fiachadh Labhruine, who was descended 
 from Heremon, at the battle of Corman, 
 
 2930 Fiachadh Labhruine, son of Smiorgioill, son of 
 Eanbothadh, son of Tighermhas son of Follain, sou of 
 Eithrial, son of Irialfaidh, son of Heremon, succeeded and 
 reigned monarch of Ireland twenty-four years ; though somo 
 of our antiquaries assert that he reigned twenty-seven years. 
 The reason why he was distinguished by the name of Fiachadh 
 Labhruine was, because in the time of this prince the stream 
 of Inbher Labhruine began to flow. There likewise broke out, 
 daring his government, the rivers Inbher Fleisge and Inbher 
 Maige ; as did the lake called I^och Eirue, which overflowed & 
 
 I 
 
15S TBE GENKliAL iJiSTORY 
 
 great traot of land that was known by the name of Magh ^ 
 beanuinn. • ,1 
 
 This Irish monarch had a son, called Aongus Ollbhuagach, j 
 who was a prince of great courage and singular conduct, and 
 engaged the Scottish Picts, and the old Britons that inhabited \ 
 that country, and defeated them in every action. The effect i 
 of his victories was an entire conquest of the country, and a 
 reduction of that warlike people, the Scots, as well as the Picts, 
 to pay homage to the crown of Ireland. For though the Picts 
 had, from the time of Heremon, been tributaries to the Irish 
 for the space of 230 years after the Milesians first possessed 
 themselves of the island, yet the Scots never owned themselves 
 under subjection till they were conquered by Aongus Ollbhua- 
 gach, who compelled the whole kmgdom of Scotland to obe- 
 dience, and forced the inhabitants to pay a yearly tribute. 
 
 Fiacha.lh Labhruine king of Ireland, engaged the family of 
 Heber Fionn in four battles : th'ey were called the battle of 
 Fairge, the battle of Galluig, the battle of Claire, and the 
 battle of Bealgadain, in which action he fell by the hands of 
 Eoohaidh Mumho, the son of Mofeibhis. 
 
 Eochaidh Mumho, the son of Mofeibhis, son of Eochaidh . 
 ^^^] Faobharglas, son of Conmaol, son of Heber Fionn, son of 
 MilesiiTS, sat next upon the Irish throne. His reign con- 
 tinued twenty-two years, andhe was slain by Aongus Ollmuchach, 
 at the battle of Cliach. 
 
 ^„„„ Aongus Ollmuchach succeeded. This king was the 
 son of Fiachadh Labhruine, son of Smiorgoill, son of Irial 
 faidh, son of Heremon, son of Milesius. He reigned eighteen 
 vears, though some antiquaries assert that he governed twenty- 
 one years. The reason why he was called Ollmuchach was, be- 
 cause he was famous for having a breed of swine of a much 
 larger size than any in Ireland ; for the Irish words Oil and Muca 
 Bignify great swine, which gave occasion to his name of QHmu-. 
 chach. He was a valiant and warlike prince, and fought the 
 following battles ; the battle of Cleire, the battle of Siiabh Cao- 
 lite, where Baibcion was slain ; the battle of Moigein Cgiath, in 
 Conacht, the battle of Glaise Fraochain, where Fraochan Faidh 
 was killed ; and he fought thirty battles against the Picts, the 
 Firbolgs, and the inhabicants of the Orcades. 
 
 In the reign of this prince three lakes began to flow j Loch 
 Einbheithe Anoirghiallaibh, Loch Failcheadain, and Loch Gasain, 
 at Muigh Luirg ; and by his industry the following plains were 
 laid open, and cleared of wood, MaghGlinne Dearcon, in Cineal 
 
OP IHELAND. 1^9 
 
 Conuill ; Magh Nionsglach, in Leinster ; Magh Cuille Gaol, iu 
 Boguijie ; Aolmagh, at Callroighe ; Magh Mucraine, in Couacht ; 
 Magh Luachradh Deaghadh, and Magh Archuill, in Kerry Cuach- 
 radh. Aongus was at length slaiia by Eana, son of Neachton, 
 a person of authority in Munster ; though 1 am rather induced 
 to^ believe he was killed by Eana Firtheach, in the battle of Car- 
 man, because not only the histories which treat of th& kings of 
 Ireland assert the same, but the poems, which are of great au- 
 thority, and begin with these words, Aongus Ollmuchaoh adbath, 
 are likewise an undeniable evidence of this opinion. 
 
 Eadna Airgtheach, the son of Eochaidh Mumho, son 
 ooQQ of Modh Feibhis, son of Eochaidh Faobharglas, son of 
 Conmaol, son of Heber Fionu, son of Milesius, succeeded, 
 and reigned monarch of Ireland twenty-seven years. This prince 
 took care to reward the courage of his soldiery ; and to incite 
 their bravery he ordered a number of silver shields and targets 
 to be made, which he bestowed among the most valiant and Re- 
 serving of the Irish militia, without partiality or affection, and 
 regarded nothing in the distribution but merit and military ex- 
 perience. He was unfortunately killed by Kotheachta, son of 
 Maoin, son of Aongus Ollmuchach, in the battle of Raighne. 
 o-^r,^ Rotheachta after him enjoyed the crown. He was the 
 '^ son of Maoin, son of Aongus Ollmuchach, son of Fiachadh 
 
 Labhruine, son of Smiorgoill, son of Eanbotha, son of Ti- 
 ghermhas, son of Foilain, son of Eithriall, son of Irialfaidh, son 
 of Heremon ; he governed the kingdorn twenty-five years, and 
 vas slain by Seadhna, son of Artri, at Rath Cuachain. 
 o/N i r Seadhna, was the next monarch of Ireland : this prince 
 ' * was the son of Artri, son of Eibhric, son of Eibher or 
 Heber, son of Ir, son of Milesius, king of Spain ; he unhappily 
 fell by the hands of his own son, when the Dubloingois, that is^ 
 the pirates, came to Cruachan, after a reign of five years. 
 nr^xf) Fiachadh Fionnsgothach, the son of Seadhna, son of 
 Artri, son of Eibhric, son of Heber, son of Ir, son of Mile- 
 sius, succeeded, and governed the kingdom twenty years. The 
 reason why he was called Fiachadh Fionnsgothach was, because 
 in his reign it was observed that there grew abundance of white 
 flowers, which the inhabitants squeezed into cups, and used the 
 juice for drink, which was likewise very medicinal in many dis- 
 tempers j for the word Sgoth signifies a flower, and Fionn signi- 
 fies white, which being joined, is pronounced Fionnsgothach 
 This prince was killed by Muinheamhoin, the son of Cas Clo- 
 thach. 
 
160 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 Muinheamhoin obtained the government : he was tho 
 •^070 ^^^ of Cas Clothach, son of Firarda, son of Kotheachta, soix 
 * of Kosa, son of Glas, son of Nuaghatt, son of Eochaidh 
 Faobharglas, son of Conmaol, son of Heber Fionu, son of Miiesius. 
 king of Spain, and reigned five j^ears. This prince ordained, that 
 the gentlemen of Ireland should wear a chain about their necks. 
 as a badge of their quality, and to distinguish them from the 
 populace : he also commanded several helmets to be made, with 
 the neck and forepieces all of gold ; these he designed as a re- 
 ward for his soldiers, and bestowed them upon the most deser- 
 ving of his army. He died of the plague at Magh Aidne. 
 on^K Aildergoidh, the son of Muinheamhoin, son of Gas Clo- 
 thach, son of Firarda, son of Rotheachta, son of Eosa, soa 
 of Glas, son of Nuaghatt, son of Eochaidh Faobharglas, son 
 of Conmaol, son of Heber Fionn, son of Miiesius, king of Spain, 
 succeeded, and reigned seven years ; he was the first prince 
 that introduced the wearing of gold rings in Ireland, which he 
 bestowed upon persons of merit, that excelled in the knowledge 
 of the arts and sciences, or were any other way particularly ac- 
 complished. He was at length killed by Ollamh Fodhla, in the 
 battle of Ceamhair, or Tara. 
 
 oQoo Ollamh Fodhla was his successor in the throne : he 
 .* was the son of Fiachadh Fionnsgothach, son of Seadhna, 
 Bon pf Artri, son of Eibhric, son of Heber, son of Ir, son of Miie- 
 sius, king of Spain, and his reign continued thirty years. This 
 prince was possessed of many excellent qualities, which gave oc- 
 casion to his name : for Ollamh signifies a person that excels iu 
 wisdom and learning, and Fodhla was ^ the name of the island, 
 and the character by which this monarch is distinguished in the 
 Irish chronicles, justly merited that denomination; for he was cer- 
 tainly a prince of the most comprehensive knowledge, and of the 
 strictest virtue, that ever sat upon the Irish throne. He instituted 
 the most useful laws for the government and the advantage of 
 his people, and was so indefatigable in his studies, that he under- 
 took to transmit to posterity, in a very correct history, the seve- 
 ral travels, voyages, adventures, wars, and other memorable 
 transactions of all his royal ancestors, from Feniusa Farsa, the 
 king of Scythia, to his own times j and in order to purge and 
 digest the records of this kingdom, he summoned his princiiDal 
 nobility, his druids, the poets, and historiographers, to meet him 
 in a full assembly at Tara, once in every three years, to revise 
 the body of the established laws, and to change or correct them 
 as the exigence of aflairs required. In testimony of this, 1 shall 
 
OF IRELAi^rD. 161 
 
 produce the following verses of great antiquity, and to by fuund 
 in writings of good authority ; 
 
 The learned Ollamh Fcdhla fii'st ordained 
 The great assembly, where the nobles met, 
 And priests, and poets, and philosophers, 
 To make iiew laws, and to correct the old, 
 And to advance the honour of his country. 
 
 Thih illustrious assembly was called by the name of Feis 
 FeamhiTich, which signifies a general meeting of the nobility, 
 gentry, p:*iests, historians, and men of learning, and distinguished 
 by their ftbilities in all arts and professions : they met by a 
 royal summons, in a parliamentary manner, once every ihree 
 } -'ar.«^i at die palace of Tara, to debate upon the most impor- 
 tant Concerns of state ; where they enacted new laws, and re- 
 pealed such as were useless and burthensome to the subject, and 
 consulted nothing but the public benefit in all their resolutions. 
 In this assembly the ancient records and chronicles of the island 
 were perused and examined, and if any falsehoods were de- 
 tected they were instantly erased, that posterity might not be 
 imposed upon by false history ; and the author, who had the 
 insolence to abuse the world by his relation, either by per- 
 verting matters of fact, and representing them in improper 
 colours, or by fancies and inventions of his own, was solemnly 
 degraded from the honour of sitting in that assembly, and was 
 dismissed with a mark of infamy upon him : his works like- 
 wise were destroyed, as unworthy of credit, and were not to be 
 admitted into the archives, or received among the records of 
 the kingdom. Nor was this emulsion the whole of his punish- 
 ment, for he was liable to a fine, or imprisonment, or what- 
 ever sentence the justice of the parliame:it thought proper to 
 inflict. By these methods, either out of scandal or disgi'ace, 
 or of losing their estates, their pensions and endowments, and 
 of sulTeriug some corporal correction, the historians of those 
 ages were induced to be very exact in their relations, and to 
 transmit nothing to after-times, but what had passed this 
 solemn test and examination, and was recommended by the 
 sanction and authority of this learned assembly. 
 
 In this parliament of Tara, that wise prince Ollamh Fodhia 
 ordained, that a distinction should be observed between the 
 Eobility, the gentry, and other members of the assembly : and 
 that every person should take his place according to his qua- 
 litv, his office^ and his merit. He made verj strict and whole 
 
152 THE Gli^NERAL HISTORY 
 
 some laws for the government of his subjects, and particularly 
 expressed his severity against the ravishment of women, which, 
 it seems, was a piece of gallantry and a common vice in those 
 days, for the offender was to suffer death without mercy ; and 
 the king thought fit to give up so much of his prerogative, as to 
 put it out of his power either to extend his pardon, or even to 
 reprieve the criminal. It was a la\^, likewise, that whoever 
 presumed to strike or assault a member of the parliament during 
 the time of the sessions, or give him any disturbance in the exe- 
 cution of his ofhce, either by attempting to rob him, or by any 
 other violence, he was condemned to die, without any possibi- 
 lity, by bribes, by partiality, or affection, to save his life, or es- 
 cape the sentence. 
 
 The members of this triennial convei^tion usually met toge- 
 ther, though not in a parliamentary way, six dayrf before the be- 
 ginning of the session ; that is, three days before the festival 
 of All Saints, and three days after, which time they employed 
 in mutual returns of friendship and civility, and paying their 
 compliments one to another. A poet of great authority, and 
 very ancient, has given the following account of this assembly. 
 
 Once in tliree years, the convention sat, 
 And for the public happiness debate ; 
 The khig was seated on a royal throne, 
 And in his face majestic greatness shone. 
 A monarch for heroic deeds designed : 
 For noble acts become a noble mind : 
 About him summon'd, by his strict command, 
 The peers, the priests, and commons of the land, 
 In princely state and solemn order stand ; 
 'J'he poets likewise are imiulg'd a place, 
 And men of learning tne assembly grace. 
 Here ev'ry member dares the truth assert. 
 He scorns the false, and double-deahng part : 
 . For a true patriot's soul disdains the trimmer's art. 
 Here love and union, ev'ry look confess 'd. 
 And joy and friendship beat in every breast. 
 Justice by nothing biass'd or inclin'd, 
 Is deaf to pity, to temptation blmd : 
 For here with stern and steady rule she swayR, 
 And flagrant crimes with certain vengeance pays 
 The monarch ever jealous of his state, 
 Inflexibly decrees th' ofl^nder's fate, 
 Tho' just, yet so indulgently severe, 
 ^ Like Heav'n, he pities those he cannot spare. 
 
 The place appointed for the meeting of this assembly, was a 
 convenient room in the palace of Tara ; the apartment was very 
 
OF IRELAND. 163 
 
 long, but narrow, with a table fixed Id the middle, and seats 
 on both sides, At the end of this table, and between the seats 
 raid the wall, there was a proper distance allowed, for the ser- 
 Aants and attendants that belonged to the menabers, to go be- 
 tween and wait upon their masters. 
 
 In this great hall this triennial parliament assembled ; but 
 before they entered upon public business, they were entertained 
 with a magnificent feaet, and the order wherein every member 
 took his place was in this manner. When the dinner was upon 
 the table, and the room perfectly cleared of all persons, except 
 tlie grand marshal, the principal herald, and a trumpeter, whose 
 offices required they sholud be within, the trumpeter sounded 
 thrice, observing a proper distance between every blast, which was 
 t.'ie solemn summons for the members to enter. At the first 
 sound all the shield-bearers, that belonged to the princes and the 
 chief of the nobility, came to the door, and there delivered their 
 shields to the grand marshal, who, by the direction of the king 
 at arms, hung them up in their due places upon the wall on the 
 right side of the long table, where the princes and nobility of 
 the greatest quality had their seats. When ho blew the second 
 blast, the target-bearers, that attended upon the generals and 
 commanding officers of the army and of the militia of the king 
 dom, advanced to the door, and delivered their targets in the 
 same manner, which were hung in their proper order upon the 
 other side of the table. Upon the third summons the princes, 
 the nobility, the generals, the officers and principal gentry of 
 the kingdom entered the hall, and took their places, each under 
 his own shield or target, which were easily distinguished by 
 the coat of .arms that was curiously blazoned upon the outside 
 of them ; and thus the whole assembly were seated regularly 
 without any dispute about precedency or the least disorder No 
 person was admitted beside the attendants that waited, who 
 stood on the outside of the table. One end of the table w s 
 appointed for the antiquaries and the historians, who understood 
 and were perfectly skilled in the records and ancient monuments 
 of the kingdom ; the other end was filled by the chief officers 
 of the court : and care was particularly taken, that their debates 
 should be kept secret, for which reason no woman was ever to bo 
 admitted. i 
 
 When dinner was ended, and every thing removed, they or- 
 dered the antiquities of the kingdom to be brought before them, 
 and read them over, and examined them strictly, lest any false- 
 hoods or interpolations should have crept in ; and if they found 
 
164 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 any mistakes or false representations of facts, occasioned eit^^er- 
 by the prejudice or the ignorance of the historians, they wer« 
 scratched out, after they had been censured by a select cominit- 
 tee of the greatest learning, appointed to' inspect into those olc 
 records. The histories and relations that were surveyed am 
 found true and perfect, were ordered to be transcribed, after thoj 
 had passed the approbation of the assembly, and inserted in the au- 
 thentic chronicles that were always preserved in the king's palace,^ 
 and the book wherein they were written was called the Psalter of 
 Tara. This ancient record is an invaluable treasure, and a 
 most faithful. collection of the Irish antiquities; and whatever 
 account is delivered in any other writings repugnant to this, 
 is to be esteemed of no authority, and a direct imposition upon 
 posterity. 
 
 In this solemn manner did the Milesians, a learned and gene- 
 rous people, preserve from the most early times the monuments 
 of every memorable transaction that deserved to be transmitted 
 to the world ; and in the interval between every session of this 
 triennial parliament, not only the professed antiquaries, but the 
 gentry, and persons of abilities in all professions and capacities, 
 did with all diligence and fidelity collect what was worthy to be 
 observed in their several distHcts and provinces, and laid their 
 remarks before the next assembly, to be examined ; and, if they 
 were approved, to be transcribed in the royal records for the 
 henefit and information of their descendants. If the same care 
 had been taken by other nations, we should not see so many fabu- 
 lous histories abroad that are founded upon no authority, but 
 supported only by the effrontery of the relaters ; but this me- 
 thod it seems was peculiar to the . ancient Irish, whose policy 
 and civil government have been the wonder, and ought to have 
 been the example and standard of after ages. And this form of 
 assembling, and bringing their antiquities to a public scrutiny, 
 was followed till the time of St. Patrick, and continued with some 
 alterations, but rather with more care and exactness than to any 
 disadvantage, as will be observed in the course of this history 
 in its proper place. 
 
 I am obliged to mention it as the singular glory of the Irish 
 nation, that their Milesian ancestors had so great a veneration, 
 and valued themselves so much upon the nobility of their ex- 
 tract, that they preserved their pedigrees and genealogies with 
 the strictest care ; and it is evident, that in former times there 
 were above 200 principal annalists and historians in the king- 
 dom, who liad a handsome revenue, and a large estate in laud 
 
OF lELA^D. 165 
 
 as&igned them, to support themselves in the study of heraldry 
 and chronology, and to gain a perfect knowledge in those useful 
 professions. Every nobleman of any quality retained a num- 
 ber of these learned men, on purpose to record tl^ actions of 
 himself and his family, and to transmit them to posterity, be- 
 sides such as were in constant pay and attendance for the ser- 
 vice of the public. But these private antiquaries had no liberty 
 of themselves to enter any thing upon record, unless it had been 
 first approved by the great triennial assembly, whose confir- 
 mation gave authority to all the private as well as the public 
 records of the kingdom. The same generosity and encourage- 
 ment was likewise extended to men of learning in other profes- 
 sions ; the physicians, the poets, and harp-players, had estates 
 settled upon them, that they might not be disturbed by cares 
 and worldly troubles in the prosecution of their studies : and 
 they lived without depen dance, and were obliged to no service, 
 but to employ themselves for the use of their noble patrons that 
 retained them. In the time of war, or any other public cala- 
 mities, thsT were bound to no military attendance or contribu- 
 tions ; their persons were inviolable, and it was the greatest of 
 crimes to kill them, and esteemed sacrilege, whatever distress 
 the public were in, to seize upon their estates, so that they were 
 never molested in improving themselves in their several profes- 
 sions ; every one followed his proper study under these noble 
 encouragements, which were never wanting when merit and in- 
 dustry were to be rewarded. And when an eminent antiquary, 
 a physician, a poet, or harp-player died, his eldest son was not to 
 succeed him, either in his estate or his salary, unless he was the 
 most accomplished of the family in that profession ; for his suc- 
 cessor in his office and the fortune he enjoyed, was to be the 
 most learned and expert of that tribe he belonged to ; which was 
 the occasion that every person in the family studied to perfect 
 himself in the knowledge of that art or science to which he pro- 
 posed to succeed in, in order to obtain the revenue and honour 
 that belonged to it. And this emulation, supported by such en- 
 couragements, advanced all the branches of learningto such a char- 
 acter in the kingdom, that it became the centre of knowledge, and 
 polite and generous education, and was so esteemed by all the 
 neighbouring nations, especially in the western part of the world; 
 us appears evidently by the general testimony of foreign as well as 
 domestic writers, who have undertaken to treat of the affairs of 
 this kingdom. 
 
 The military discipline in use among the Milesians, is dift'er- 
 
166 TUB GENERAL HISTOKY 
 
 eiitly related by the Irish authors ; but they all agree in this, that 
 in the forming of their armies, and giving battle to their ene- 
 mies, they observed an exact regularity, and knew well how to 
 improve aU advantages. The common' soldiers were always 
 perfect in their exercise, and advanced to fight with great bra- 
 very, and in close order. Every company was four or eight 
 deep, according to the number of men they had, and the con- 
 veniency and disposition of the ground they were to engage upon. 
 It was death without mercy, by the military law, for a' soldier 
 to retreat a foot of ground, but he was still to advance boldly 
 forward, if not countermadded by the commanding officer. 
 They had always a general appointed over the whole army, whose 
 orders were absolute, and to be obeyed by all inferior officers 
 without dispute or appeal. Every lower officer had his coat oi 
 arms blazoned curiously upon his banner, that he might be dis- 
 tinguished, and either rewarded for his courage, or punished 
 for his cowardice, in the time of battle. They were always at- 
 tended in their marches, and when they were engaged, by their 
 antiquaries and annalists, who were employed to take notice 
 of the behaviour of every officer ; and when they found a com- 
 mander who had signally distinguished himself against the enemy, 
 his name and his exploit was immediately entered into the re- 
 cords of the family he belonged to, and transmitted down from 
 father to son, in order to inspire the several branches of that 
 tribe with emulation and courage, and spur them forward into 
 R,n imitation of that great example ; and this transaction wa? 
 not only recorded in the private history of the family, but an 
 exact copy of it was to be laid before the next triennial assembly, 
 and upon approbation to be inserted in the royal records of 
 the kingdom. This monarch likewise, for the encouragement of 
 learning, made a law, that the dignity of an antiquary, a physi- 
 cian, a poet, and a harp-player, should not be conferred but upon 
 persons descended from the most illustrious families in the 
 whole country. 
 
 Having observed that the princes, the nobility, and the gen- 
 t;ry of the Milesians made use of coats of arms, as badges and 
 distinctions of their quality, it will be useful, I am persuaded, 
 as well as entertaining, to take notice from writers of the best 
 authority, of the original of this practice, and by what ^means 
 it was first introduced among them. 
 
 It must be understood, therefore, that the Israelites, bein^ 
 oppressed by the tyranny and persecution of the Egyptian.-^, 
 resolved, under the conduct of Moses, to free them^ei^es froii* 
 
that cruel bondage ; and accordingly the twelve tribes assembled 
 together, under the command of that ^great officer, who designed 
 to deliver them from slavery, and lead them out of that bar- 
 barous country. In this expedition every tribe had» a banner, 
 and a certain device or a coat of arms distinctly biazoned upon 
 it. In their march they came to Capacirunt, where Niul, the 
 father of Gadelas, resided with his people, near the borders of the 
 Red Sea, through which, by an Almignty power, a way was 
 w^onderfully opened, and the whole nation of the Hebrers 
 passed through, as we have before related. 
 
 In process of time it happened, that Sru, a great-grandson of 
 Niul, was banished out of Egypt by the prince who then 
 reigned, with his whole family and descendants ; and as he con- 
 ducted his people out of the country, he followed the example 
 of the Israelites, and, in imitation, had a banner, with a dead 
 serpent and the rod of M >ses painted upon it for a coat of arms ; 
 and \ie made a choice of this device, for this reason particularly, 
 because Gadelas, who was his grandfather, was bi": by a serpent, 
 and the wound was cured by Moses, who laid his wonder-work- 
 ing rod upon it, and saved his life. From this example the 
 posterity of Sru always made use of banners and coats of arms, 
 as an honourable distinction of their families ; and this account 
 is confirmed by the annals of Leath Cuin, which is supported 
 by the additional testimony of the book called Leabhar Leatha 
 Cuin, in this manner. Tiie aithor, treating upon this subject, 
 gives this account of the coats of arms of the twelve tribes : the 
 tribe of Reuben had a mandrake painted upon their banners ; 
 Simeon, a spear ; Levi, the ark ; Judah, a lion ; Issachar, an 
 ass ; Zebulun, a ship ; Naphthali, a deer j Gad, a lioness ; Jo- 
 seph, a bull ; Benjamin, a wolf ; Dan, a serpent ; and Asher, a 
 branch of a vine. 
 
 Our Irish annals are very particular in accounting for the 
 arms and devices borne by several eminent persons, and the 
 most flourishing nations. They inform us, that Hector, the 
 Trojan hero, bore sable two lions combatant, Or ; that Osiris 
 bore a sceptre royal ensigned on the top with an eye ; Hercules 
 Dore a lion rampant, holding a battle-axe ; the arms of the king- 
 dom of Macedon were a wolf ; Anubis bore a dog ; the Scy- 
 thians, who remained in the country and made no conquests 
 abroad as the Gadelians did, bore a thunder-bolt ; the Egyp- 
 tians bore an ox; the Phrygians, a , swine; the Thracians 
 painted the god Mars upon their banners ; the Romans, au 
 eagle ; and the Per^sians, bows and arrows ; the old poet, Honker 
 
168 ' THK GENERvVL HISTORY 
 
 jpslatea, that several curious devices were raised upon the shield 
 of Achilles, such as the motious of the sun and moon, the stars 
 and planets, a sphere with the celestial bodies, the situation of 
 the earth, the ebl)inpj and flowing of the sea, with other uncom- 
 mon decorations and ornaments that rendered it beautiful and 
 surprising.' Alexander the Great bore a lion rampant, and or< 
 dered his soldiers to display the same arms upon their shields, 
 as a distinsjjuishing mark of their valour and military achieve- 
 ments ; Ulysses bore a dolphin and the giant Typhon belching 
 out flames of fire ; the arms of Perseus was a Medusa's head ; 
 Antiochus chose a lion and a white wand for his ; Theseus bore 
 an ox, and SqIcucus, a bull ; Augustus Taesar bore the image of 
 the great Alexander ; sometimes he laid that aside, and used 
 the sign Capricorn : at other times he blazoned a globe, or the 
 helm of a sliip, supported commonly by an anchor and dolphin. 
 Simon, the high priest of the Jews, dressed himself in his ponti- 
 fical robes, which were very splendid, and set off with variouq 
 ornaments and representations, when he went out of Jerusalem 
 to meet the victorious Alexnnder, who resolved to level the city 
 Avith the ground ; and, by the curiosity and solemnity of his 
 habit, he overawed that invincible conqueror, and suppressed 
 his designs. In the same manner almost, Pope Leo adorned 
 himself, and mollified the anger of Attila, that warlike Scythian, 
 who threatened to sack the city of Kome ; and Pope Benedict 
 used the same method to prevail upon Totilus, a vajianfc Groth, 
 to withdraw his forces out of Italy. 
 
 There was a custom likewise in use avSJong warriors of old, to 
 adorn their helmets with a crest, tliat i'(er|)resented some savage 
 beast, or fierce bird of prey ; by these figures to distinguish 
 themselves in the field of battle, to- impress a dread and terror 
 upon their enemies, and to encourage, and with a nobler air U 
 lead their own troops, and engage them to fight. Nor wera 
 these representations and devices confined only to set off the 
 shields and helmets of the ancient heroes, but they were at 
 length used to adorn the prows of ships and smaller vessels ; 
 such figures were from very ancient times introduced to beau- 
 tify and grace their fore-decks, and besides the ornament they 
 gave, they served to distinguish one ship from another ; and this 
 wo have authority to believe, from the testimony of the holy 
 penman, who, in the twenty-eighth chapter of the Acts of the 
 Apostles, particularly mentions, that the ship wherein St. Paul 
 was to be conveyed to Rome, was distinguished by the sign of 
 Castor and PoHuit. 
 
OF IRELAND. 169 
 
 Now to show the insufferable partiality of the English writers, 
 I am obliged to take notice, that these undur-workmen in history 
 never take upon them to deny the use of banners with coats of 
 arms, among the Hebrews, the Creeks, the Romans, and other 
 nations ; but the Gadelians and the old Irish, it seems, have no 
 claim to this honorary privilege. Every account tf^at is given 
 of this ancient and worthy people, they esteem fabulous ; and 
 they would, if their arguments and integrity were equal to their 
 malice, erase the very name of a Gadelian out of all lecords, and 
 destroy the memory of them among men. But notwithstanding 
 the feeble efforts of these little authors, we have the testimony 
 of the best historians, to prove that the Cadelians were a family 
 as illustrious, and made as early a figure in the chronicles of the 
 world, as any tribe in the universe ; and as an unquestionable 
 evidence upon this subject, they preserved their own monuments 
 and records with the strictest care, and faithfully delivered them 
 to posterity ; and therefore prejudice and ignorance are the only 
 inducements that could prevail upon the English writers who 
 pretend to treat of Irish affairs, to deduce their accounts of Ire- 
 land fi'om no higher a period than the reign of William the Con- 
 queror ; and because the histories of their own country cannot bo 
 traced with any tolerable authority farther than the time of that 
 prince, therefore it must needs follow, that the Irish annals are of 
 the same modern date, and every chronicle beyond that point of 
 time must be a fable and romance. How conclusive this argr- 
 ment is, any unprejudiced person will easily determine. How- 
 ever this is certain, that the old chronicles of England were de- 
 Btroyed by the victorioufii Romans, Goths, Saxons, Germans, 
 Normans and other forcigitiprs, who made a conquest of the king- 
 dom ; but the Irish records were kept sacred, and were never ia 
 the hands of any invading enemy, nor was the island ever abso- 
 lutely subdued, so as to be under a foreign yoke, from the first 
 arrival of the Milesians unto this day. 
 
 It is therefore certain, that the Milesians, from the time they 
 first conquered the island, down to the reign of Ollamh Fodhla, 
 made use of n other arms of distinction, in their banners, than 
 a dead serpent and the rod of Moses, after the example of their 
 Gadelian ancestors. But in this great triennial assembly at Tara, 
 it was ordained by a law, that every nobleman and great officer 
 5;hould, by the learned heralds, have a particular coat of arms 
 yf^ffigned him according to his merit and his quality, whereby 
 he' should be distinguished from others of t\\o same rank, and 
 be known to any antiquary or person of learning; wherever he 
 
170 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 appeared, whether at sea or land, in the prince's court, at the 
 place of his own residence, or in the field of battle. ' Upon the 
 death of this great monarch, the crown devolved by an hereditary- 
 right upon his son. 
 
 Fionnachta succeeded in the government of Ireland. 
 „ ' o He was the son of Ollamh Fodhla, son of Fiachadh Fionns- 
 gothach, son of Seadhna, son of Artri, son of Eibhric, son 
 Heber, son of Ir, son of Milesius, king of Spain. His reign conti- 
 nued 15 years, though some authors assert that he filled the throne 
 20 years. The reasoi^ why he was distinguished by this name was, 
 because abundance of snow fell upon the island in his reign, and 
 for a long time covered the whole country. There is an account, 
 but of no manner of authority, that wKen this snow came to thaw 
 and dissolve it turned into natural and perfect wine. This is 
 certainly a fiction, for though the wOrd Fion in the Irish signi- 
 fies wine, yet by adding another N to it, and spelling it thus, 
 Fionn, which is the first syllable of this prince's name, it signi- 
 fies white j the following word Acta, or Sneacta, is the genuine 
 Irish for snow, and these words, when they are joined, are pro- 
 nounced Fionnachta, not Fionachta ; so that by observing the 
 proper spelling of this name, the writers of the best credit are 
 induced to believe that this monarch obtained his name from the 
 great quantity of snow that fell in his time ; and reject, as idle 
 and fictitious, the other opinion, which asserts that he was so 
 called, because the snow when it dissolved became true wine. 
 This prince died at Magh Inis, and there was buried. 
 0-, oo Slanoll was his successor. He was another son of 01- 
 
 * lamh Fodhla, son of Fiachadh Fionnsgothach, son of 
 Seadhna, son of Artri, son of Eibhric, son of Heber, son of Ir, 
 son of Milesius, and he wore the crown of Ireland fifteen years. 
 The reason why he was distinguished by the name of Slanoll 
 was, because the people of the country enjoyed so perfect a state 
 of health, that very few or none of them fell sick, or died of any 
 malignant distemper, during his whole reign ; for the syllable 
 Oil in the Irish is the same as great in the English, and SJan 
 signifies health, which, by beina: transposed and joined with the 
 other word, is pronounced Slanoll. This prince died at Tara, in 
 the house of Modhchuarda, but the distemper that occasioned his 
 death was never known. 
 ^-,,0 Geide Ollgothach succeeded him. He was the third 
 
 ' son of Ollamh Fodhla, son of Fiachadh Fionnsgothach, 
 son of Seadhna, son of Artri, son of Eibhric, son of Heber, son 
 of Ir, son of Milesuis, and he sat upon the throne severt- 
 
OF IRELAND. 1 i'l 
 
 teen years. He received the name of G^ide Ollgothach, be 
 causfe the people of Ireland, in his time, had a custom of being 
 very loud and noisy wnen they spoke ; for the syllable Oil, a& 
 was before observed, signifies great, and the word Gothach signi- 
 fies talking or speaking, which, when they are joiped together, 
 sound Ollgothach, that is, great or loud talking. This prince 
 was at length killed by Fiachadh, the son of Fionnachta. 
 
 Fiachadh, the son of Fionnachta, son of Ollamh Fod- 
 t\ ppj hla, son of Fiachadh Fionnsgothach, son of Seadhna, 
 ■^ son of Artri, son of Eibhric, son of Heber, son of Ir, 
 
 son of Milesius, obtained the crown and reigned 20 years, as some 
 of the chronicles assert j though upon a strict inspection 1 am 
 induced to believe, that he governed four years more, for the 
 regal table admits of no interregnum, and the book of the 
 reigns of the Irish kings speaks very dubiously concerning the 
 reign of this prince. It seems to intimate, that there were other 
 competitors with him, who raised pretences to the government, 
 and particularly observes, that Beafngall, the succeeding mo- 
 narch, made war upon him for some years before he lost the 
 soveretgnt^y : the four years therefore that passed, while the 
 ciown was in dispute, may be placed to the reign of either of 
 these princes, for the reasons above mentioned. This king was 
 at length dethroned and slain by Bearngall, the son of Geide 
 Ollgothach. 
 on ^^ Bearngall was his successor. He was the son of Geide 
 
 Ollgothach, son of Ollamh Fodla, son of Fiochadh 
 Fionnsgothach, son of Seadhna, son of ^rtri, son of Eibhric, 
 son of Heber, son of Ir, son of Milesius. His reign continued 
 twelve years, and he was killed by Oilioll, the son of Slanoll. 
 oiq/^ Oilioll, the son of Slanoll, son of Ollamh Fodhla, son 
 ; of Fiachadh Fionnsgothach, son of Seadhna, son of Ar- 
 tri, son of Eibhric, son of Heber, son of Ir, son of Milesius, 
 king of Spain, sat next upon the throne. He reignea sixteen 
 years, and lost his life by the hands of Siorna Saoghalach, son 
 of Dein. 
 22 TO Siorna Saoghalach succeeded. He was the son of 
 
 Dein, son of Kotheachta, son of Maoin, son of Aongus 
 Ollmuchach, son of Fiachadh Labhruine, son of Smiorgoill, son 
 of Eaubotha, son of Tighermas, son of Follain, son of Eith- 
 riall, son of Irialfaidh, son of Heremon, son of Milesius, king 
 of Spain ; and his reign lasted twenty-one years. He was 
 called Siorna Saoghalach, because he lived to an exceeding great 
 age, beyond any of hib time, as his name plainly imports. Ho 
 
A.M. 
 
 3233. 
 
 172 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 was slain by Rotheachta, the son of Roan, at Aillin ; as the old 
 poet gvies us to understand in the following lines, taken out uf 
 a poem which begins thus, Eir ard Inis na Roig. 
 
 Sioraa reigned one-and-twenty years, 
 And prosperously -wore the Irish crown ; 
 Bxit, though long lived, he died a fatal death, 
 Unfortunately slain by Rotheachta, 
 At Ailhn. 
 
 Rotheachta succeeded him ; he was the son of Roan, 
 son of Failbhe, son of Cas Cead Chaingniodb, son of 
 Aildergoid, son of Mjiineamhoin, son of Cas Clothach, 
 son of Firarda, son of Rotheachta, son of Rosa, son of Glas, 
 son of Nuaghatt Deaglamh, son of Eochaidh Faobharglas, son 
 of Conmaol, son of Heber Fionn, son of Milesius. His reign 
 was not long, for he governed but seven years, and died at last 
 terribly, for he perished by fire at Dunn Sobhairce. 
 „^ - Eilm was his successor. He was the son of Roth- 
 
 "" " ' eachta, son of Roan son of Failbhe, son of Cas Cead 
 Chaingniodh, son of Aildergoid, son of Muineamhoin, son of 
 Cas Clothach, son of Firarda, son of Rotheachta, son "of Rosa, 
 son of Glas, son of Nuaghatt Deaglamh, son of Eochaidh Faob- 
 harglas, son of Conmaol, son of Heber Fionn, son of Milesius. 
 He was slain, after a reign of one year, by Giallacha, son of Oli- 
 olla Olchaoin. 
 
 ^911 Giallacha cbtaJned the crown. He was the son of 
 
 *" ' Oliolla Olchaoin, son of Siorna Saoghalach, son of Dein, 
 son of Rotheachta, son of Aongus Ollmuchach, son of Fia- 
 chadh Lahruine, son of Smiorgoill, son of Eanbotha, son of 
 Tighermas, of the posterity of the line of Heremon. His reign 
 cnnt'nued nine years, and he was killed by Art Imleach, at 
 Moighe Muadh 
 
 oi^i^rx Art Imleach succeeded. He was the son of Eilm, son 
 '^ ' of*Rotheachta, son of Roan, son of Failbhe, son of Cas 
 Cead Chaingniodh, son of Ail^Iergoid, a descendant from Heber 
 Fionn. He sat upon the throne twenty-two years, and was 
 killed by Nuadha Fionn Fail. 
 
 „n79 Nuadha Fionn Fail was his successor. He was the 
 * son of Giallncha, son of Oliolla Olchaoin, son of Siorna 
 Saoghalach, of the line of Heremon. His reign lasted twenty 
 years, and he was slain by his successor Breasrigh, the son of 
 Art Imleach. 
 
 q»pQ9 Breasrigh, the son of Art Imleach, son of Eilm, son 
 ^ *'* of Rotheachta, son of Roan, a prince of the posterity of 
 
OF IRELA^B. ^ 178 
 
 Heber Fionn, succeeded. He governed the kiugdon nine years, 
 and fought many successful battles against the pirates that in- 
 fested the coasts. He was killed by Eochaidh Apthach, at Cam 
 Chluain. 
 
 Eochaidh Apthach obtained the crown. He was the 
 „ * j son of Fin, son of Oliolla^ son of Floinruadh, son of Roith- 
 ' lain, son of Martineadh, son of Sitchin, son of Riaglan, 
 son of Eochaidh Breac, son of Luigheach, son of Ith, son of Breo- 
 gan. His reign was but short, for he sat upon the throne but 
 one year. He was distinguished by the name of Eochaidh Ap- 
 thach, because during the short time of his reign there was a 
 great mortality among his subjects, that swept away most of the 
 inhabitants ; for once in every month the whole island was in- 
 fected with a malignant distemper that was incurable. The Irish 
 word Apthach signifies a plague or infection. He was killed by 
 Fionn, son of Bratha. 
 „^2 Fionn, the son of Bratha, son -of Labhra, son of Cairbro, 
 
 son of Ollamh Fodhla, a descendant in succession from 
 Ir, the son of Milesius, obtained the crown. He governed twenty 
 years, and was slain by Seadhna Jonaraicc. 
 0099 Seadhna Jonaraicc was his successor. He was the soa 
 ^ ^^' of Breasrigh, son of Art Imleach, of the line of Heber 
 Fionn, and reigned twenty years. He was called Seadhna Jona- 
 raicc, because he was the first monarch of Ireland that settled a 
 constant pay upon the ofiicers and soldiers of his army, and 
 maintained them, by a fixed salary, according to the quality of 
 their posts and commissions. He likewise ordained military laws, 
 and instituted a form of discipline that was a standard to the 
 Milesians for many ages. This unfortimate prince was inhumanly 
 murdered by his successor, and had his limbs violently drawn 
 asunder, which put him to inexpressible torture. 
 ooj^9 Simon Breac by this barbarous act obtained the 
 
 crown. He was the son of Nuadh Fionn Fail, of the line 
 of Heremon. His reign continued six years ; but the Divine 
 vengeance pursued him in an exemplary manner, for he was 
 seized by Duach Fionn, the son of his predecessor, who justly 
 punished him with the same ignominious death he had iuflictsd 
 upon his father, and ordered his body to l^e torn to pieces, 
 004^0 Duach Fionn, son of Seadhna Jonaraicc, son of Brers 
 
 righ, a descendant from Heber Fionn, succeeded, and 
 reigned five years. He was slain by Muireadhach Balgrach. 
 «<. jj« Muireadhach Balgrach was his successor. He was tho 
 ' ' son of the cruel Simon Breac, of the posterity of Here- 
 
174 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 >l 
 
 1 
 
 mon. He gfov^erned the kingdom four years, and then was killed ■ 
 by Eadhna Dearg, the son of Duach Fioun. 
 
 Eadhna Dearg, the son of Duach Fionn, son of Seadhna 
 o"^" ' Jonaraicc, of the line of Heber Fionn, succeeded, and 
 ' reigned twelve years. The reason why he was distin- 
 guished by the name of Eadhna Des^rg was, because he was remark- 
 able for a fresh and sanguine complexion. It was in the reign of 
 this prince that a mint waserected, and money coined, at Airgiod- , 
 ross. He did not die by the sword, as did Uiost of his predecessors, 
 but was destroyed by the plague, which depopulated most part 
 of the island, and was buried at Sliabh Mis. 
 o'^nq Lughaidh Jardhoinn obtained the government. He 
 
 * was the son of Eadhna Dearg, son of Duach Fionn, of 
 the posterity of Heber Fionn, and was monarch of the island 
 nine years. He was called Lughaidh Jardhoinn from the colour 
 of his hair, which was a very dark brown ; for the word Jar- 
 dhoinn, or Dubhdhonn, in Irish, is the same as dark brown in 
 English, which gave occasion to his name. This prince was 
 killed Ipy Siorlamh, the son of Fionn, at Roth Clochair. 
 
 0070 Siorlamh, the son of Fionn, son of Bratha, son of 
 
 * Labhra, son of Cairbre, son of Ollamh Fodhla, a descen- 
 dant from Ir, the son of Milesius, king of Spain, succeeded in the 
 throne, and governed the island sixteen years. He was known 
 by the name of Siorlamh, from the extraordinary length of his 
 hands ; for the word Sior, in the Irish language, has the signifi- 
 cation of long in English, and Lamh is the same with hands. 
 And indeed this monarch was called so with great propriety, for 
 nature had furnished him with hands so long, that when, he 
 eiood upright his fingers would touch the ground. His successor, 
 Eochaidh Uairceas, slew him, and put an end to his reign. 
 ^nqA Eochaidh Uairceas seized upon the crown. He was 
 ^"^ ' the son of Lughaidh Jardhoinn, son of Eadhna Dearg, a 
 descendant from Heber Fionn, and ruled the kingom twelve 
 years. He was called by the name of Eochaidh Uairceas, from 
 a sort of skiffs or small boats, of which he was the inventor. 
 This prince was banished, or driven out of the kingdom of Ire- 
 land, two years beforef he came to the government j and, when 
 ho was obliged to quit the island, he summoned and took with 
 him a select number of his followers and friends, and in thirty 
 ships well manned with choice troops and expert mariners, be 
 set to sea, (this was his security all the time of his. banishment,) 
 but he would often come upon the coasts, and spoil the inhabi- 
 cants ; and for the convenient landing of his men he invented a 
 
OF IRELXND. 176 
 
 .oi't of cock-boats, that were easy to maaage, and covered thera 
 vv'ith the skins of beasts. By this device he would frequently 
 set a body of his men on shore, and make great depredations 
 upon the coasts, and plundered all the maritime parts of the 
 country. This invention gave occasion to his name ; for the 
 word Uairceas, or(asothers pronounc3 it) FuarceaSj-signifiesacold 
 fckifF, or a cock-boat, in Englisli ; because these small vessels were 
 used in the cold and severest weather for the conveniency of 
 landing. These skiffs are called in the Irish language by the 
 ii'ime of Curachs or Curachain, and are made use of in some parts 
 of the island to this day. This Irish monarch was slain by Eo- 
 Ciiaidh Fiadhmhuine. 
 
 Eochaidh Fiadhmhuine, and his brother, Conning Beg 
 oru'a A-glach, obtained the sovereignty. They were the sons 
 
 of Duach Teamhrach, son of Muireadhach Balgrach, son 
 of Simon Breac, of the royal line of Heremon. They reigned 
 joint monarchs oi the island for five years. The eldest of these 
 princes was distinguished by the name of Eochaidh Fiadhmhuine, 
 because he to6k great pleasure in the chasing of deer and other 
 wild beasts, which he frequently hunted in the woody and wild 
 parts .of the country ; for the word Fiadh in Irish signifies a deer, 
 and Muine is the same as a wood or desolate wilderness in English, 
 which words, when they are joined, make Fiadhmhuine. These 
 brothers lost the kingdom, and Eochaidh Fiadhmhuine was slain 
 by Luighaidh Lamhdhearg, the son of Eochaidh Vairceas. 
 o i 1 1 Luighaidh Lamhdhearg, the son of Eochaidh Vairceas, 
 
 a prince of the posterity of Heber Fionn, succeeded, and 
 reigned seven years. He was kLOwn by the name of Luighaidh 
 Ivamhdhearg, because he had a remarkable red spot upon one 
 Oi his hands. He was killed by Conning Beg Aglach,who made 
 ■war upon him, and by that menus revenged his brother'? 
 death. 
 «^1 o Conning Beg Aglach obtained the crown. He was tha 
 
 son of Duach Teamharach, son of Muireadhach Balgrach, 
 son of Simon Breac, of the line of Heremon. When he had 
 overcome his competitor, he resumed the government, and 
 reigned ten years. He received the name of Conuing Beg 
 Aglach, because he was a prince of an undaunted spirit, exposed 
 his life with the greatest bravery, and was always seen in the 
 heat of action ; for the words Beg Aglach signify resolute and 
 fearless. This monarch was of a strong constitution of body, 
 and was inspired with a soul capable of designing and executinn 
 ^he greatest actions. The glory of the Iriih nation was rai^^el 
 
173 THE GENERAL HISTt)RY 
 
 to a c 'nsiderable height, during the reign of this king, who not 
 only fought successfully against the enemies of his country, but 
 governed his subjects at home with justice and moderation, and 
 ruled absolutely in the hearts and affections of his people. But 
 these excellent qualities could not protect him from the at- 
 tempts of Art, who succeeded him, and slew him ; as a poet of 
 gieat antiquity observes in this manner. 
 
 Conuing the brave, with love of glory fired, 
 Oppress 'd by force, triumphantly expirea ; 
 He I'aised his courage for the last debate, 
 And with a princely soul undaunted met his fate. 
 Slain by the sword of Art. 
 
 ^ Art succeeded to the crown. He was the son of 
 
 ^^g Luighaidh Lamhdearg, of the line of Heber Fionn, and 
 
 governed the kingdom six years ; he lost his life by the 
 hands of Duach Laghrach, who, with the assistance of his father, 
 slew him. 
 oA>jA Fiachadh Tolgrach, the son oi MuireadKach Balgrach, 
 
 son of Simon Breac, son of Aodhain Glas, a prince of 
 the posterity of Heremon, was his successor, and was monarch 
 oi the island for seven years. His life and reign were ended by the 
 sword of Oil! oil Fionn, who slew him. 
 ^4.41 Oilioil Fionn possessed the thx'one. He was the sou 
 
 of Art, the son of Luighdheach Lamdhearg, of the line 
 of Heber Fionn, and he wore the crown nine years, but waa 
 killed by Airgeadmhar, with the assistance of Fiacha and hia 
 two sons. 
 ^A^O Eochaidh, the son of Oilioil Fionn, son of Art, son of 
 
 Luididheach Lamdhearg, of the posterity of Heber Fionn, 
 succeeded, and he governed the island seven years. He would 
 not admit of a partner in the throne, and refused to allow 
 Airgeadmhar a share in the government. He made a peaco 
 with Duach, which continued but a short time, for he was after-:, 
 wards slain by him, after a reign of seven years. 
 „^P_ Airgeadmhar was his successor. He was the son of 
 
 Siorlamh, son of Finn, son of Bratha, a prince of the 
 posterity of Ir, the son of Milesius, king of Spain. He filled 
 the throne for twenty-three years, and was at last killed by 
 Duach Laghrach, and by Lughaidh Laighde. 
 c,Aor\ Duach Laghrach seized upon the crown. He was the 
 
 son of Fiachadh Tolgrach, son of Muireadhach Bolgrach, 
 son of Simon Breac, descended from th^family of Heremou, and 
 
OP Tnn.A>cD. 177 
 
 governed the island ten years. The reason why he was distin 
 guished by the name of Duach Laghrach, was because he was 
 so strict and hasty in the execution of justice, that he was im-- 
 patient and would not admit of a moment's delay, till the cri- 
 minal was seized and tried for the offence : for the word Ladh- 
 rach in the Irish language signifies speedy and sudden, which 
 gave occasion to his name. He was killed by Lughaidh Laighe, 
 A.M. Lughaidh Laighe was his successor. He was the son 
 
 3490. of Eochaidh, son of Oiliolla Fionn, of the posterity of 
 Ileber Fionn, and he was monarch of the island seven years. 
 An old book, called the Etymology of Names, asserts, that this 
 Lughaidh was one of the five sons of Daire Domhtheach, and 
 that all the brothers went by the same name. The same author 
 relates, that a certain druid, who had the skill of prophecy, 
 foretold to Daire, the father, that he should have a son, whose 
 name should be Lughaidh, who should one day sit upon the 
 throne of Ireland. Daire, it seems, afterwards had five sons, 
 and the more effectually to bring about this prediction, he gave 
 the same name to every one. When the five brothers were 
 come to a maturity of years, Daire took an opportunity to call 
 upon the druid, and inquired of him which of his sons should 
 have the honour of being monarch of the island 1 The druid. 
 instead of giving him a direct answer, ordered him to take his 
 five sons with him on the morrow to Tailtean, where there was 
 to be a general convention of all the principal nobility and 
 gentry of the kingdom, and that while the assembly sat he 
 should see a fawn or young deer running through the field, 
 which should be pursued by all the company ; his five sons 
 likewise would ran among the rest, and whosoever of them 
 overtook and killed the lawn, the crown should be his, and he 
 should be sole monarch of the island. The father followed the 
 direction of the druid with great exactness, and accordingly the 
 next day set out with his five sons, and came to Tailtean, where 
 he lound the assembly sitting, and looking about him, he spied 
 the fawn running over the fields, and the whole assembly left 
 their debates and pursued her ; the five brothers ran 
 among the rest, and followed her close till they came to 
 Binneadair, now called the hill of Hoath ; here a mist, 
 that was raised by enchantment, separated the five sons of 
 Daire from the other pursuers, and they continued the chase, 
 and hunted her as tar as Dail Maschorb, in Leinster, where 
 Lughaidh Laighe, as the druid foretold, overtook the fawn, and 
 killed her. b'rom this traa-jauaon this priucj was called Lugh- 
 
173 THE GENF^UAL HrSTOriY 
 
 aidh Laiglie, for the word Laiglie in the Irish signifies a fawn. 
 There goes an old story of no great credit concerning this 
 monarch, which, though it be a fiction, I shall mention, out of 
 respect to its antiquity ; for it is a fable of many hundred years' 
 standing. This prince, it seems, as he was hunting in one of 
 the forests of Ireland, and was divided from his retinue that 
 followed him, was met by an old withered hag, who, after soma 
 discourse with him, prevailed to be admitted into his embraces, 
 and accordingly they retired to a private place of the wood, 
 where, when the king attempted to caress her, he was surprised 
 with the appearance of a most beautiful young lady, and instead 
 of a deiormed old woman, he found a lovely maid in his arms. 
 This vision represented, as the legend observes, the genius of 
 the kingdom oi Ireland, which this monarch obtained with great 
 difficulty and danger ; but though he underwent very grievous 
 hardships belore he had the crown fixed upon his head, yet ho 
 was amply rewarded for his sufterings, with the possession of tho 
 sovereignty and the riches of one of the most fruitful islands ia 
 the whole world. So far is the relation of this ancient writer ; 
 but I much question his fidelity, and every one is left to judgo 
 for himself. But notwithstanding the account given of this 
 prince in the fore-mentioned book of Etymology, that he was 
 the son of Daire Doimhthach, yet I am apt to believe that the 
 king I am speaking of was a person different from his son, and 
 that the prediction of the druid belonged to another man of 
 the same name. Lughaidh Laighe, after a reign of seven years, 
 was slain by Aodh Ruadh, son of Badhurn. 
 o ,Q^ Aodh Ruadh succeeded in the government. He wag' 
 the son of Badhurn, son of Airgeadmhar, son of Siorlamh, 
 ^?on of Finn, son of Bratha, son of Labhradh, son of Carbre, 
 son of Ollamh Fodhla, of the family of Ir, the son of Milesius, 
 king of Spain. He was monarch ot the island twenty-one years, 
 and was unfortunately drowned at Easruadh. 
 
 Diothorba, the son of Diomain, son of Airgeadmhar, 
 ^:^' son of Siorlamh, of the posterity of Ir, the son of Mile- 
 
 ' sius, succeeded him. He likewise governed the king- 
 dom twenty-one- years, and died of a malignant distemper at 
 Eamhain Macha. 
 „;.o^ Ciombaoith, son of Fionntan, son of Airgeadmhar,' 
 
 ' son of Siorlamh, son of Finn, a descendant from Ir, the 
 son of Milesius, succeeded, and reigned over the island twenty 
 years; he was at last destroyed by the plague at Eamhaia 
 Mn.cha, 
 
OF IRKLIND. 179 
 
 Maclia Mongruadh obtained the crown. She was the 
 o^'-k daughter of Aodh Ruadh, son of Badhurn, son of Sior- 
 lamh, a descendant from Ir, the son of Milesius ; and she 
 reigned seven years. It was in the government of this princess 
 that the royal palace of Eamdaih was erected : and the reason 
 why that magnificent structure was called Eamhain Macha is 
 thus related in the Irish records. There were three princes in 
 the province of Ulster, who for a long time waged continual, 
 wars for the government of the island : their names were Aodh 
 Ruadh, the son of Badhurn, from whom Easruad obtained its 
 name ; Diathorba, tiie son of Demain, from Visneach Meath ; 
 and Ciombaoith, the son of Fionntan, from Fionnabhair. These 
 three kings, after they had worn one another out with struggling 
 for the crown, came at last to an agreement, and consented that 
 every one should reign monarch successively, for the space of 
 twenty or twenty-one years ; and by the force of these articles 
 they had all their turns, and sat upon the throne according to 
 the treaty. Aodh Ruadh was the first of these three princes 
 that wore the crown, and died ; but left only a daughter behind 
 him, whose name was Macha Mongruadh, or the red-haired 
 princsss. Diathorba, according to the agreement, obtained the 
 government, and reigned the whole time that was allotted him : 
 then he resigned, and by the articles Ciombaoith, who was the 
 third prince in succession, reigned his time ; for Aodh Ruadli 
 died, as we observ^ed before, and left no son behind him. But 
 the princess Macha Mongruadh claimed the throne, as she was 
 the daughter of Aodh Rnadh, and insisted upon her right of 
 inheritance, because her father, if he had lived, should have 
 succeeded next. Diathorba, meeting with this unexpected 
 opposition, sent for his five sons, who were persons of great 
 courage and ambition, and, when he had informed them of the 
 design of this young lady, they all came to a resolution to stand 
 by the former treaty, and vindicate their pretensions by the 
 sword ; for they could not bear that- a woman should fill the 
 throne of Ireland, and attempt to govern so brave and warlike 
 a people. 
 
 The princess Macha was a lady of an invincible spirit, of a 
 strong robust constitution, able to endure hardships, of a bold 
 enterprising genius, and is always mentioned with great honour 
 and respact by the Irish historians. As soon as she heard of the 
 preparations of Diathorba and his sons, she resolved not to ba 
 surprised, and therefore she sent a summons to the principal 
 nobility who took her part, and commissions to raise a st»"fiig 
 
ISO TFT'il GENF.RAL HISTORY 
 
 body of troops, and with all possible expedition to attack the 
 enemy. Diathorba and his sons were supported by a numeroiu 
 army, well disciplined. In a short time the two competitors 
 met, and their whole forces engaged, and a most desperate 
 battle was fought, when the princess Macha obtained a complete 
 victory. This success fixed the crown firmer upon her head, and 
 gave peace to the kingdom for some time ; for Diathorba did, 
 not long survive the misfortune, but died with grief, and left* 
 five sons, whose names were Baoth, Buadhach, Bras, Uallach,- 
 and Borbchas, to insist upon their claim, and when opportunity 
 offered, to defend their rights. 
 
 It was not long before these five brothers, by the interest of 
 their friends, raised a considerable body of men, and resolved 
 once more to appear in the field, and decide their pretensions 
 to the crown. But before they offered battle they dispatched a 
 herald to the princess, to demand the government and the pos- 
 session of their right, to which they had a just claim, not only 
 by the treaty, but upon the account of their family, as they 
 were descended from the royal line of the Irish monarchs. The 
 princess, instead of complying with the summons, sent the 
 messenger away with indignation, and told him she would soon 
 chastise his masters for their insolence, at the head of her vic- 
 torious army ; and she was as good as her word, for soo» after 
 both armies engaged, and fought with great bravery, and victory 
 v.'-as a long time in suspense, for no less than the kingdom of 
 Ireland depended upon the event, and was to be the prize of the 
 conqueror : but after a bloody and sharp action, the confede- 
 rate army of the brothers was broken, and a- general rout fol- 
 lowed, and by this success the princess got absolute possession 
 of the throne. 
 
 After this defeat the brothers were close pursued, and forced 
 to conceal themselves in the woods and marshes of the country ; 
 but they were discovered to the queen, who resolved upon a. 
 stratagem to apprehend them, very dangerous and difficult in 
 the execution. It seems that after this battle she was pleased 
 to marry Ciombaoith, the son of Fionntan, and to him she left 
 the government of the kingdom, and the command of the army, 
 "while she took upon herself to go in quest of the five preten- 
 ders, and if possible to secure them from any farther attempts 
 upon the crown. To bring this to pass she laid by her roboa 
 of state, and disguised herself in an ordinary habit, suitable to 
 her design, and changed the colour of her hair, which was re- 
 markable for its redness, by powdering it with the fiower of rye. 
 
OF IRELAND. 181 
 
 II this obscure dress she set forward, without any attendants, 
 owards the woods of Buirrinn, where the brothers were con- 
 ;ealed ; and after some search she found them together, boil- 
 ng part of a wild boar which they had hunted and killed. 
 Vhen she advanced near them, she was observed by the young 
 Lien, who were surprised at the sight of a woman in so solitary 
 . place ; but when they recovered themselves they civilly asked 
 ler to sit down, and partake of what entertainment she found, 
 or their misfortunes had obliged them to that way of life, and 
 heir desperate circumstances could supply them with no other 
 Drovision. She courteously accepted of the invitation ; and 
 iter she had eaten, one of the brothers, with an air of gallan- 
 ry, said, that the lady, though she was none of the handsomest 
 n the face, yet she had fair lovely eyes, and therefore declared 
 le could not withstand the temptation, and resolved to have a 
 learer acquaintance with her. Accordingly he took her by the 
 land, and leads her to a close thicket at some distance, and at- 
 empted to debauch her ; but she, observing her opportunity, 
 aid hold upon his arms, and, after some struggle, by main force 
 vercame him ; and having brought cords with her for the pur- 
 iose, she bound him fast, and returned to the four brothers. 
 
 They were somewhat surprised to see the lady without her 
 •allant, and asked what was become of her lover ; she told them 
 he supposed he was ashamed to appear and show his face, after 
 16 had condescended so much below his quality as to converse 
 vith so mean a person ; and this reply she delivered in so 
 Qodest a manner, that they resolved in turns to withdraw with 
 ler, and use her as they pleased, which they attempted one 
 /iter another, btit she played the same part with them all, and 
 secured them. By this dangerous stratagem she brought 
 hem away prisoners with her, and returned to court, where her 
 iusband, and the principal nobility and commons of the king- 
 lom, w^ere impatiently expecting the event. When she had 
 ■elated the particulars of the adventure, she was applauded and 
 congratulated by the whole company, and with a noble carriage 
 iLe delivered up her captives. 
 
 The five competitors for the crown being thus apprehended, 
 lie council of the kingdom sat to determine what sentence should 
 je passed upon them ; and they unanimously agreed, that tiie 
 jeace of the government would never be settled uitTess they 
 'ere all put to death. But the queen, who was of a merciful 
 lisposition, interposed, and as she had hazarded her own royal 
 jeition to secure them, ahe desired their lives might be saved, for 
 
 K 
 
182 "~ ' THE GlilNERAL HIST'ORY 
 
 it would be contrary to the established laws and customs of the 
 land to proceed to execution ; and insisted, that, instead of death, 
 their punishment might be, to erect a stately palace in that pro- 
 vince, where the prince should always keep his court. They 
 agreed to the justice of her request, and upon that condition tho 
 five brothers saved their lives. 
 
 The queen undertook t6 draw the plan of this structure, 
 which she did with her bodkin that she wore on her neck, and 
 served to bind her hair. The name of this royal fabr^c is Earn- 
 liuin Macha, and it was so called from the pin or bodkin that 
 the queen used in laying out the area of it ; for Eo in the Irish 
 language signifies a needle or bodkin, and Muin is the same as 
 neck in English, which words together sound Eomuin, and some- 
 times it is read Eamhuin, because it signifies the pin of the neck, 
 which gave occasion to the name. This word, with the name of 
 the queen joined to it, was the reason that this building was 
 called Eamhuin Macha. 
 
 There is another account, mentioned in some Irish chronicles, 
 different from what we have now related, and asserts, that the 
 palace of Eamhuin Macha received its name from a woman so 
 called, who was wife to Cruin, the son of Adnamhuin. .This 
 woman, it seems, was obliged (for what reason is uncertain) to 
 run a race with the horses of Connor, king of Ulster, and (as 
 the story goes on) she out-ran them, and came first to the goal ; 
 she was with child at the time, and near her delivery, and when 
 she fell in labour was delivered of twins, a son and a daughter. 
 The barbarity of this action, and the pains she suffered in tra- 
 vaij, so incensed the unfortunate woman, that she left a curse • 
 upon the men of Ulster ; and heaven heard her, for the men of 
 that province were constantly afflicted with the pains of child- 
 bearing for many years, from the time of Connor, who then 
 reigned in Ulster, to the succession of Mai, the son of Roch- 
 ruide. This Irish heroine governed the kingdom for many 
 years, in a magnificent manner. She was the delight of her sub- 
 jects, and the terror of her enemies, but was at last slain by 
 Eeachta Righdhearg, who succeeded her. 
 
 Reachta Righdhearg was the next monarch. He was 
 J";^' the son of Lughaidh Laighe, son of Eochaidh, son of' 
 OilioU Finn, son of Lughaidh Lamdhearg, son of Eo- 
 chaidh Uflirceas, a prince of the posterity of Heber Fionn, and 
 governed the kingdom twenty years. He was distinguished by 
 the name of Reachta Righdhearg, because one of his arms was 
 exceeding red, for the word Rig in the Irish language signifies 
 
OF IKELAXD. 183 
 
 an arm : lie was killed by Ugaine Mure, in revenge for his foster- 
 mother. 
 
 Ugaiue More, who was surnamed the Great, obtained 
 ■jr'^.n the crown. He was son of Eochaidh Buaidhaig, son of 
 Duach Laidhrach, a descendant from the royal line of He- 
 remon, and was monarch of the island thirty years, or, as some writ- 
 ers assert, governed it forty years. He was known by the name of 
 Ugaine More, because his dominions were enlarged beyond the 
 bounds of his predecessors ; for he was the sovereign prince of 
 all the western European isles. This prince had a very nume- 
 rous issue ; for he had twenty-five children, twenty- two sons and 
 three daughters. 
 
 When his sons were grown up, each of them took upon him- 
 self to raise a company of soldiers, and in a military manner 
 they would march through the kingdom, and raise contributions 
 upon the country for their support ; and no sooner had one 
 troop left a place, but another came and consumed all the pro- 
 visions that were left. This oppression was insupportable, and 
 the subjects were forced to represent their grievances to the king, 
 and complain to him of the distressed state of the country. 
 Upon this remonstrance Ugaine convened his council, and con- 
 sulted how he should suppress these violent meafsures of his 
 sons, that were of the most destructive consequence to his people. 
 It was their advice, that the kingdom of Ireland should be 
 divided into five-and-twenty parts,, and shared equally between 
 his children, under this restriction, that the young princes should 
 content themselves with the portion assigned them, and confine 
 themselves within the bounds of their own territories, without 
 presuming to encroach upon the dominions of their neighbours. 
 In confirmation of this division, we meet with the following lines 
 in a very old poet : 
 
 Ugaine. the monarch of the western isle, 
 Concerned at the oppression of his people, 
 l>ivided into equal parts his kingdom 
 Between his five-aud-tweiity chiltlren. 
 
 And by the rules of this division, the public taxes and reve- 
 nues of the island were collected hj the king of Ireland, for the 
 space of three hundred years after, from the time of this mo- 
 narch down to the provincial ages. 
 
 I confess the kingdom of Ireland was also divided in a man- 
 ner different from this ; but that division was not made by 
 Ugaiue the Great, but bj Eochaidh Feidhliach, who, by Hia 
 
184 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 royal donation, conferred the country upon his prime raini-ters. 
 The province of Ulster he settled upon Feargus, the son of 
 Leighe ; the province of Leinster he bestowed upon Rossa, the 
 sou of Feargus Fairge ; the two provinces of Munster he gave 
 to Tighernach TeadhbJieamach and Deaghadh. He divided the 
 province of Oonacht between three of his favourites, whose names 
 were Fiodhach, son of Feig, Eochaidh Allat and Tinne, sons of 
 Conrach. But a particular account will be given of these trans- 
 actions when the course of this history brings us to treat of the 
 reign of Eochaidh Feidhliach, a succeeding monarch in the go- 
 vernment of the country. 
 
 Ugaine left behind him two sons', Laoghaire Lorck, and Cobh- 
 thach Caolmbreag, by whom the royal line of Heremon waa 
 continued ; and to these princes all- the future branches of that 
 family owe their descent. After a long reign this great monarch 
 was slain by Badhbhchadh, the son of Eochaidh Buaidhaig, but 
 he did not succeed him. 
 
 Laogiiaire Lorck, the son of Ugaine More, laid claim 
 rr*Qfi ^'^ ^tie government, and fixed himself in the throne. 
 He was the grandson of Eochaidh Buaidhaig, son of 
 Duach Laidhrach, a descendant from Heremon ; and he wore 
 the crown two years. His mother was a French princess, her 
 name was Ceasair Cruthach, a daughter of the king of France ; 
 Sii3 was the wife of Ugaine More, and had issue, this monarch 
 and his brother Cobhthach Caolmbreag. This king was distin- 
 guished by the name of Laoghaire Lorck, because he seized upon 
 the murderer of his father, who was Badhbhchadh, the son of 
 Eochaidh Buaidhaig, and slew him ; for the word Lorck, in the 
 Irish language, signifies murder or slaughter. But he was after- 
 wards most perfidiously slain himself, by his brother Cobhthach 
 Caolmbreag, at Didhion Riogh, near the bank of the river Bear- 
 biia. The circumstances of this inhuman act are thus related 
 in the records of Ireland. The king Laoghaire Lorck was very 
 kind and indulgent to his brother, and settled a princely revenue 
 upon him ; but his bounty and affection met with very ungrate- 
 ful returns, for Cobiithach envied his brother the enjoyment of 
 the crown, and nothing less tlian the whole kingdom would sa- 
 tisfy his ambition ; and because he could not obtain his ends he 
 perfectly languished, through grief and madness, for his consti- 
 tution was broken, and his body daily wasted, which brought 
 him into so bad a state of health that his life was despaired of. 
 As soon as the king heard of his sickness, and the melancholy 
 circumstauuas he was in, he resolved to pay him a visit, and set 
 
opirrl\!:d. 185 
 
 out with liis b?dy guards and his household troops about him 
 for that purpose. When he came to his bed side, the sick prince, 
 observing that his brother was attended by men in arms, 
 asked the reason of such a military retinue, and seemed to re- 
 sent it, as if he suspected his fidelity, and dared not trust him- 
 self with a sick man without such a warlike attendance. The 
 king courteously answered, that he never entertained the least 
 suspicion of his loyalty or affection, but came in that manner 
 only for state, and to keep up the dignity of his royal character ; 
 but that rather than make him uneasy he promised the next 
 visit he made him he would be without a guard ; and so, with 
 the most tender and compassionate expressions, he took hi3 
 
 The perfidious Cobhthach, reflecting that his brother would 
 soon come to visit him alone and unattended, resolved upon his 
 death ; but not relying upon his own capacity, he communicated 
 his design to a wicked druid, and advised with him in what 
 manner he should accomplish his purpose. The infamous 
 soothsayer, instead of detecting the treason, encouraged the con- 
 spirator ; and upon consultation it was agreed, that Cobhthach 
 should feign himself to be dead, and when his brother came to 
 lament over his body, he was to stab him with a poniard that 
 was to be concealed by him. And this barbarous stratagem had 
 its desired success ; for when the news of his brother's death 
 came to Laogbaire, he immediately came to the body, and as he 
 was lying upon it, expressing his sorrow, his brother secretly 
 thrust his poniard into his belly, and killed him. 
 
 But he thought he was not sufficiently secure in his usurpa- 
 tion by the murder of the king, unless he destroyed all the priucea 
 of the blood, that might claim a right or give him any distur- 
 bance on the throne ; he therefore murdered Oilioll xiine, the 
 son of Laogbaire ; and likewise designed to take away the life 
 of a young prince, who was the grandson of his brother ; but 
 he was saved almost by a miracle, for when the cruel tyrant sent 
 for the child, he forced him to eat part of the hearts of his 
 facher and grandfather ; and to torture him the more, he caused 
 him to swallow a living mouse, and by such inhuman methods 
 iesolved to destroy him : but by a strange providence the child 
 was so affrighted by these barbarities, that he seemed distracted, 
 and by the convulsions and agonies he was in perfectly lost the 
 use of his speech ; which when the usiu'per perceived he dis- 
 TTiissed him with his life, for he thought he wo-uld never recover 
 
:S(j THE GKNRRAL HISTORY 
 
 his senses, arid therefore could not be able to assert his right, oi 
 give him disturbance in the government. 
 
 This young prince was called Maion, and was conveyed awaj 
 by his friends to Corcaduibhne, in the west of Munster, wher< 
 be was entertained for some time by Scoriat, who was the king 
 of that country ; from thence he removed into France, with 
 nine of his friends, (though some antiquaries are of opinion that 
 he went into the country of Armenia.) who, soon after his ar- 
 ri\/al, discovered to the French king the circumstances of his 
 royal birth, and the tragical history of his misfortunes. The 
 king was so affected with this relation, that he received him 
 into his service, and soon after advanced him to be his general 
 in chief, and fixed him in the command of his whole army. He 
 had by this time his voice restored, and in this post he behaved^ 
 with so much bravery and conduct, that his character and repu- 
 tation increased daily, and" was carried abroad into all the neigh- 
 bouring countries, and at length came to the knowledge of tlie 
 loyal party in Ireland, many of whom resorted to him to avoid 
 the tyrpn ly of the usurper The mOnarch, Laoghaire Lorck, 
 being murdered, after a short reign of two 3'ears, his brothtr 
 seizdd upon the crown. 
 
 Cobhthach Caolmbreag set the crown upon his owa 
 o./^o head. He was the son of Ugaiue More, the son of Eoc- 
 haidh Buaidhaig, of the royal line of Heremon. Not- 
 withstanding his usurpation, and the disaffection of his subJ3Ct8 
 he reigned tliirtj years, and, if we believe some chronicles, he 
 governed the kingdom fifty years. His mother, as was observed 
 before, was tiie daughter of the king of France. He was 
 known by the name of Cobhthach Caolmbreag, because his body 
 was so macerated and worn away, by envy and ambition, that 
 he seemed to be a walking shadow : he had no flesh upon hia 
 bones, nor scarce any blood ia his veins, and the consumption 
 had reduced him to a skeleton ; for the Irish word Caol signi- 
 fies small and lean, and the place where he resided in his sick- 
 ness was called Maghbreag, for wuich reason he had the name 
 of Caolmbreag, After this long reign vengeance overtook him, 
 and he was set upon and slain by Maoin, who was called Lab- 
 hradh Loingseach, as a j ust sacrifice to the gliosts of his father 
 and grandfather. 
 
 ofAQ Labhradh Loingseach 'was his successor. He was a 
 ^ ^ " son of Oilioli Aine, son of Laoghaire Lorck, son of Ugaine 
 More j and wore the crown eighteen years, but fell at last by the 
 isword ot Meilge, the son of Cobhthach Caolmbreag. This laoa- 
 
OB^ IRELAND. 187 
 
 nrch was a learned and valiant prince, and acquired such repu- 
 tp.tion when he commanded the army of France, that Moriat, 
 the daughter of Scoriat, the king of Fearmorck, in the west of 
 Munster, charmed with the relation of his exploits, conceived a 
 wonderful affection for him, and fell desperately in love with 
 him ; and to discover her passion, and recommend herself to his 
 esteem, she employed an eminent musician that was then in Ire* 
 land, whose name was Craftine, to carry over a letter to France, 
 with a noble present of jewels, and to deliver them in a proper 
 manner to the general, as a testimony of her love and the value 
 she had for him. The musician faithfully executed bis message, 
 and, arriving in France, he found away to have access to Labh- 
 r dh. When he was introduced to him, he delivered his cre- 
 dentials, and then took out his harp, and played a most ravish- 
 ing tune, which was the better received because he sung with it 
 a poem that was composed by the young lady in praise of the 
 heroic actions of the general. From this happy adventure Labh- 
 radh resolved to vindicate and prosecute his right to the crown 
 of Ireland; and when he had communicated his design to some 
 of the prime ministers of the French court, that were his friends, 
 and concerned for his interest, they took an opportunity to re- 
 mind the king of the pretensions of Labhradh to the Irish throne, 
 aud desired he would be pleased to assist him in the recovery of 
 bis right. The king, convinced of the justice of the cause, com- 
 ] lied with their request, and gave immediate orders for a body 
 of 2200 choice troops to be ready, and a number of ships to trans- 
 port them. With these forces Labhradh set to sea, and landed in 
 the harbour of Wexford. Upon his arrival he had intelligence 
 that Cobhthach Caolmbreag, who had usurped the crown, re- 
 sided at that time at Didhion Riogh, where he kept his court, 
 attended by his rainisters and nobility who had submitted to his 
 tyranny. Labhradh resolved if possible to surprise him, and 
 therefore marched with all expedition, and came upon hiai un- 
 prepared, and put the old usurper and all his retinue to the 
 sword. He immediately insisted upon his hereditary right, and 
 was proclaimed king of Ireland. 
 
 After he had killed the tyrant in his own court, surrounded 
 by his nobles, and cut off all his favourites and attendants, the 
 chronicles relate, that a certain druid, surprised at the bravery 
 of this action, asked some of his retinue who was that gallant 
 hero, who had the policy to design, and the courage to execute 
 such an exploit ; he was answered, that the name of the general 
 was Loingseach. Can Tioingseach speak 1 says the soothsayer. 
 
i 
 
 1 88 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 It was replied, he can ; for which reason that monarch -w; 
 called by the name of Labhradh Loingseach, for Labhradh 
 the Irish language signifies to speak ; and by this addition 
 title was Maoin always distinguished in the history of Ireland, 
 wherever he is mentioned. - 
 
 This prince was the inventor of a sort of green-headed pari 
 tisans, in the Irish called Laighne, and gave orders that they 
 should be used by his whole army. From these military wea* 
 pons it was that the inhabitants of the province of Gailean, 
 rnw called Leinster, were known by the name of Laighne ; as 
 th(L poet makes the observation in this manner : 
 
 Two thousand and two hundred of the Gauls, 
 With broad green partisans of pohsh'd steel, 
 Landed at Wexford, on the Irisli coasis ; 
 Fro-ri whence the province, called of old Gailean, 
 Obtained the name of Leinster. 
 
 When Labhradh had destroyed the tyrant, and fixed himself 
 in quiet possession of the government, he resolved to make his 
 addresses to the young princess who so generously offered him 
 her love, and first inspired him with resolution to vindicate his 
 right to the crown of Ireland. He therefore waited upon her 
 with a noble retinue, and took his favouri*-.e, Craftine, the musi- 
 cian, with him, and had the happiness to ba well received by the 
 father of the lady, and they were soon u^arried with great 
 solemnity. 
 
 Kit should be demanded why this monarch,when hewks forced 
 to fly out of Ireland, chose rather to apply foi refuge to the 
 French court than to retire to any other country, we are to con- 
 sider, that he was nearly related by blood to the French king ; 
 for it was observed before, that Ceasair Chruthach was a daughter 
 of a king of France, and was married to Ugaine More, by whom 
 she had two sons, Laoghaire Lorck and Cobhthach Caolmbreag ; 
 and this prince, whose life we are writing, was the grandson of 
 Laoghaire Lorck. Another inducement, which prevailed upon 
 him to fly to France for protection, was, because there was 
 a very strict league and familiar intercourse between the province 
 of Leinster and the kingdom of France ; and it is observed 
 that every province of Ireland maintained a correspondence with 
 the country beyond the seas that was nearest to it. The 
 O'i^eills were in friendship and alliance with Scotland ; the 
 province of Munster with England ; the province of Ulster with 
 Spain; the province of Conacht with Wale3 ; and the province 
 
OF IRELAND. V 189 
 
 If Leinster, as before mentioned, with the kingdom of Franc ■. 
 |.'iiis friendly intercourse is taken notice of by tiio famous Toma 
 ) Mac Cionaire, who, in his time, was one of the principal poeta 
 .lid antiquaries of the island. Tiie lines are these : 
 
 Each of the Irish provinces observ'd 
 
 A strict alliance with the neighbouring nations 
 
 O'Neills corresponded with tiie Scots, 
 
 The men of IMimster with the English, 
 
 The inhabitants of Ulster lov'd the Spaniards, 
 
 Of Couacht, lived in friendship with the Britons, 
 
 Of Leinster traded safely with the French. 
 
 We are to remark, in this place, that all the princes that go- 
 eLiied the province oi Leinster, were the lineal descendants of 
 iiis Irish monarch Labhradh Loingseach, except O'Nuallain, 
 vho was of the posterity of Cobhthach Caolmbreag. 
 
 From this mutual correspondence and intercourse, kept up 
 between the provinces of Ireland and the neighbouring countries, 
 irose that resemblance to be observed in the carriage and de- 
 jortment of the Irish with the manners of those adjacent fo- 
 -eigners. 
 
 The names of the principal families, that were to be found in 
 Leinster, ar^ these following : O'Connor Falie, with all the 
 oranches derived from him, who was descended from Rasa Failge, 
 the eldest son of Gathaoir More ; the families of the Cavanaghs, 
 the Marphys, the Tooles, in Irish O'Tuathaill, the O'Branaina, 
 the O'MacgioUa Patricks, in English Fitz Patricks, the O'Dunns, 
 O'Dempseys, O'Dwyres, O'Kyans, and the several descendants 
 that came k'om them. The greatest part of the inhabitants of 
 Leinster proceeded from Gathaoir More, bnt Macgiolla Patrick 
 did not descend from him j for the branches parted in Breasal 
 Breac, the son of Fiachadh Fobharaicc, fourteen generations be- 
 fore Gathaoir More, including Gathaoir and Breasal. This Brea- 
 sal Breac, we are to observe, had two sons, and their names were 
 Lughaidh Lothfin and Gonla. Tiie province of Ulster was di- 
 vided between these brothers : Lughaidh and his posterity pos- 
 sessed the country from the river Bearbha eastwards ; and from 
 thence westwards to Slighdhala was the portion of Gonla and 
 his descendants. And this division is taken notice of in a 
 very ancient poem, which begins in this manner, Naoimshean- 
 chus Inis Fail. 
 
 Lughaidh and Cohla, princes of renown 
 L)eaceui.ied aom the valiant Breasal iireac: 
 
^90 THE GENERAL hllSTOUr 
 
 The men of Ossery were derived from Coiila; 
 
 And Lughaidh, eldest of the tvv^o, began ' 
 
 The noble family of the O'Dwyres * 
 
 This ancieut tribe of the O'Dwyres was divided in the fifth 
 (legi-ee before Cathaoir More, in this manner ; Cathaoir More 
 was the son of Feidhlim Fiorurglas, son of Uormac Gealtagaoth, 
 son of Niachorb, son of Cormac Gealtagaoth, son of Gonchorb, 
 who had a son called Gairbre Gluthiochair, who was the great 
 ancestor of this illustrious family. The tribe of the O'Kyans 
 descended from Nathy, son of Criomthun, son of Eana Cinn- 
 sealachj the seventh generation from Gathaoir More. From the 
 second son of Ugame More, whose name was Gobhthach Caolm- 
 breag, was derived the posterity in general of Sioll Guin ; and 
 likewise the tribes of Fiachadh Sreabhthitie, and Eochaidh Dubh- 
 lein, and all other branches of those families that descended 
 from Gapa ; as will be more particularly c^bserved when the 
 genealogy of the Milesians comes to be considered. 
 
 There is a fable to be met with in the ancient manuscripts of 
 Ireland, that relates to this prince Labhradh Loingseach. No 
 doubt it refers to some very remarkable transactions in liis reign, 
 but at this distance of time it is impossible to trace out the 
 moral of it ; arvery person, therefore, is at liberty to draw what 
 consequences from it he pleases : I shall transcribe it faithfully, 
 observing only that some of the incidents of it are very curious, 
 and because of its antiquity it may not be unworthy of a place 
 in this history. 
 
 As the story goes, therefore, this monarch, Labhradh Loing- 
 seach, had ears of a very immoderate length, which resembled 
 the ears of a horse ; and, to conceal this deformity from the no- 
 tice of his subjects, when he had his hair cut, the person that 
 served him in that office was sure to lose his life ; for he was im- 
 mediately killed, lest he should discover this blemish in the king, 
 and expose him to the contempt and ridicule of his people. It 
 was, therefore, a custom among the hair-cutters of the kingdom, 
 to determine by lots who should succeed in this desperate em- 
 ployment, which always became vacant once every year ; for once 
 within that time the king was constantly used to have his hair 
 cut from below his ears, and by that means exposed the length 
 of them to his barber. It happened that the lot to officiate in 
 this post fell upon a young man, the son of a poor widow, and 
 he was her only child ; the sorrowful mother apprehending the 
 loss of her son, was oveiwhelrat^d with grief, and applied herself 
 to the king, lamenting her miblortune, and entreating his royal 
 
OF IRELAND. 191 
 
 nercy to spare her child. This moving scene had the effect to 
 obtain the life of the young man ; but it was on this condition, 
 that he would never divulge a secret that should be committed 
 :o him, nor reveal what he should observe, under the penalty of 
 ■orfeiting his life. The young man joyfully complied with these 
 :erms, which he thought very favourable and easy to observe, and 
 3ut the king's hair ; but, when he discovered his ears, he was 
 somewhat surprised, but outwardly took no notice, yet when he 
 3ame home he fell desperately sick, (for secrecy it seems was ever 
 X burden,) and was so oppressed with the weight of the discovery 
 he made, that he would admit of no remedy, and was reduced to 
 the very brink of death. His mother, sorely afflicted with this 
 misfortune, applied herself for advice to an eminent druid, who 
 was a physician, in the neighbourhood, who came to the youth, 
 and soon perceived that his distemper was not the effect of a 
 natural cause ; and examining his patient, he told him his art 
 was ineffectual in his cause, for his recovery was impossible, unless 
 he was disburdened of an important secret, which lay heavy upon 
 him. But even the remedy was as bad as the disease, for if he 
 divulged it he was sure to lose his life ; and this miserable diffi- 
 culty, and the apprehension of death either way, was the true 
 occasion of his sickness. The druid represented the circum stances 
 of the young man to his mother, and by way of remedy, con- 
 trived a method between the two extremes, that would answer the 
 purpose and have the desired effect ; he observed to her, that 
 though her son was under strict obligations not to discover the 
 secret to any person living, yet this did not hinder but he might 
 divulge and repeat it in the open air ; and therefore he advised him 
 to go to a neighbouring wood, and, when he came to a meeting 
 of tour highways, to turn upon the right hand, and the first tree 
 that he came to, to apply his lips close to it and whisper the 
 secret. The young man exactly followed the prescription of tho 
 druid, and a willow tree being the first he came to, he delivered 
 himself of the secret, and found immediate ease, for he soon re- 
 covered of the distemper, which began to leave him in his return 
 home. 
 
 Soon after this it happened that the harp of Craftine, the 
 king's principal musician, was broke, and he came to this wood 
 to cut down a tree, that was proper to make him a new instru- 
 ment, and by chance ' he made choice of the willow that the 
 young hair-cutter had whispered the royal secret to. The musi- 
 cian carried the tree home, and made a harp out of it ; and when 
 it was strung and put in order, it would sound but one tunc. 
 
192 THE GENEHAL HISTOBT 
 
 the words of which in Irish are these : Da chluais chapuil ar 
 Labhradh Loingseach, which is in English, Labhradh Loin^- 
 seach has the ears of a horse. This surprised the musician, and 
 the fame of this wonderful instrument was carried all over the 
 kingdom ; others of the same profession attempted to touch it, 
 but it was always in the same tune, which so amazed the king, 
 that he thought the hand of heaven was concerned in this miracle, 
 which he believed was sent by the gods, who were offended at; 
 his cruelty, for putting to death so many of the young men ol* 
 his kingdom, only to conceal his deformity from his subjects.' 
 And this reflection had that impression upon his mind, that he, 
 repented of the barbarity he had used, and openly exposed his 
 long ears all his life afterwards. This relation, though accord- 
 ing to the letter of it, it must be false, yet I am apt to believe, 
 could we come at the genuine moral of it, the circumstances of 
 the fable would appear very beautiful. 
 
 ^ Meilge Malbthach got possession of the throne of Ire- 
 
 op'^p land. He was the son of Cobhthach, son of Cobhthach 
 Caolmbreagh, of the royal line of Heremon. His reigu 
 continued seven years, till he was killed by Modhchorb, the 
 son of Cobhthach Caomh. 
 or-o Modhchorb was his successor. He was the son of 
 
 Cobhthach Caomh, son of Eeachta Righdearg, son of 
 Lughaidh Laighe, a prince of the posterity of Heber Fionn, 
 He governed the kingdom seven years, and was slain by Aongus 
 Ollamh. 
 
 o/.nM Aongus Ollamh, son of Oiliolla, son of Labhradh 
 * Loingseach, a descendant from Heremon, succeeded. He 
 reigned eighteen years, and fell by the sword of Jeran Gleofa- 
 thach, son of Meilge. 
 
 o^qs -^aran Gleofathach was the succeeding monarch. He 
 ^ ' was the son of Meilge, son of Cobhthach Caolmbreagh, 
 son of Ugaine More, lineally descended from Heremon. His 
 reign continued seven years, and he was slain by Fearchorb, son 
 of Modhchorb. The reason why he was distinguished by the 
 name of Gleofathach was, because he was a person of great 
 wisdom and judgment, and fine natural parts, which he im- 
 proved by study, and became a very accomplished prince, 
 orrrjfj Fcarchorb obtained the^ crown. He was the son of 
 Modhchorb, son of Cobhthach Caomh, of the royal pos- 
 terity of Heber Fionn, and governed the island eleven years. 
 Tie lost his crown and his life by the sword of Conla, the son of 
 J-iran Gleofathach, 
 
OP IRELA^JD. 
 
 193 
 
 Conla Cruaidli Cealgach, son of Jaran Gleofathach, sou 
 ^"^^' of Meilge, son of Cobhthach Caolmbreag, son ot Ugaina 
 
 ot 
 
 16. 
 
 More, a descendant from Heremon, was his successor. ^ 
 lie wore the crown four years, bu1»the manner of his death is 
 uot recorded in the history of the Irish monarchs. It may be sup- 
 posed he died naturally, because he was succeeded by his son. 
 ^_.-,^ Oiliolla Caisfhiaclach, son of Conla Cruaidh Cealgach, 
 '^''^ son of Jaran Gleofathach, of the royal line of Heremou, 
 was the succeeding prince. He reigned over the kingdom twenty- 
 five years, and was slain by Adamhar Foltchaoin, at Tara. 
 o- ,pj Adamhar Foltchaoin sat next upon the throne. IIg 
 '^' ' was the son of Fearchorb, son of Modhchorb, a lineal de- 
 scendant from Heber Fionn, and reigned five years 
 .^_^Pj Eochaidh Foltleathan succeeded. He was the son of 
 oioO q^i^qIi^ Caisfhiaclach, son of Conla Cruaidh Cealgach, a 
 prince of the posterity of Heremon, and was monarch of the 
 island eleven years. He was slain by Feargus Fortamhuill. 
 o-p-, Feargus Fortamhuill was his successor. He was the 
 
 ^' "" son of Breasal Breac, son of Aongus Gailine, son of 
 Oiliolla Brachain, son of Labhradh Loingseach, descended from 
 the line of Heremon, and reigned twelve years. He was known 
 by the name of Feargus Fortamhuill, because he was a prince 
 ot exceeding great strength of body, and brave beyond any of, 
 Ills time, but fell at last by the victorious sword of Aongus 
 Tuirmheacht 
 
 ^^„o Aongus Tuirmheach got possession of the throne. He 
 
 ^* ^ ' was the son of Eochaidh Foltleathan, son of Oiliolla 
 Caisfhiaclach, of the posterity of Heremon. He governed 
 the kingdom thirty years , and according to the computa- 
 tion of other writers, he was monarch sixty years. He was 
 distinguished by the name of Aongus Tuirmheach, on account 
 of the invincible shame he conceived for violating the chastity 
 of his daughter, and getting her with child. He could never 
 bear to be seen publicly, he was so much concerned at that 
 abominable act, though it was committed when he was overcome 
 with wine. The effect of this incestuous crime was a son, whose 
 name was Fiachadh Fearmara. We are to observe, that the 
 word Tuirmheach, in the Irish language, signifies a sense of 
 bashfulness or shame, which gave occasion to the name of that 
 prince. The son the young lady bore him was called Fiachadh 
 Fearmara, because he was conveyed away privately, and exposed 
 in a small boat, without any attendants, to the mercy of the sea, 
 but care was taken to furnish him with very vieh mantles, and 
 
 L 
 
194 THE GENERAL ^.'TSTORY 
 
 other couveniencies j and, to defray the expense of his mainte- 
 nance and education, there was a number of very valuable jewels 
 laid by hira, which was a testimony of his extraction, and that 
 he was a c.ild of no ordiaai-y quality. In this manner the in- 
 fant was exposed, and must have perished, if the boat had not 
 soon been discovered, floating on the sea, by a company of fisher- 
 men, who instantly made up to it, and took out the distressed 
 babe, and provided a nurse for him with all the care that tha 
 meanness of their condition was capable of. This Aongua 
 Tuirmheach had a son that was legitimate, whose name was Eanda 
 Aighnach, from whom the tribe of SioU Cuin in general descended. 
 This Irish monarch was slain at Tara.» 
 
 Conall Callamhrach succeeded in the throne. He was 
 o */xo the son ot Eidirsgeoil, son of Eochaidh Foltleathan, son 
 
 of Oiliolla Caisfhiaclach, descended from the line of He- 
 remon, and governed the kingdom five years. He was killed 
 by Niadh Seadhamhuiu, a prince of the posterity of Heber Fionn. 
 ooAo Niadh Seadhamhuin was his successor. He was the 
 
 son of Adamhar Foltchaoin, son of Firchorb, descended 
 from Heber Fionn, and reigned over the island seven years. In 
 his reign the wild hinds would come of their own accord from 
 the woods and mountains, and suffer themselves to be milked aa 
 quietly as cows and the tamest cattle. They, it seems, were 
 under the enchantment of a woman, who was the mother of this 
 monarch, and a sorceress of distinction in those times, whose 
 name was Fleidhis : but her art could not preserve the life of her 
 son, for he was slain by Eanda Aighnach. 
 oo^K Eanda Aighnach obtained the crown. He was the son 
 
 of Aongus Tuirmheach Teamharach, son of Eochaidh 
 Foltleathan, descended from the royal stem of Heremon, and was 
 possessed of the government twenty-eight years. This prince 
 was called by the additional name of Eanda Aighnach, because 
 he was of a very bountiful disposition, and exceedingly munificent 
 in his donations ; for the word Aighnach in the Irish language 
 signifies liberal, free, and hospitable. This monarch lost his life 
 by the hands of Criomhthan Crosgrach. 
 
 ooAo Criomhthan Crosgrach filled the throne of Ireland. 
 * He was the son of Feidhlim Fortruin, son of Feargus 
 Fortamhuill, son of Breasal Breac, of the line of Heremon^ 
 and governed the kingdom seven years. He was distin- 
 guished by the titlo of Criomhthan Crosgrach, because he behaved 
 with such bravery at the head of his army, that he was victo- 
 rious in every battle he fought; for the Irish word Crosgraoh 
 
 i 
 
CP IRELAND, 195 
 
 sin^nifies skuo^hter and bloodshed. He was slain By Rogerus, 
 the son of Sit !iry. 
 
 Rughraidhe, surnamed the Great, was his successor. 
 oo'^r^ He was the son of Sithrighe, son of Dubh, son of Fomhar, 
 
 son of Airgeadmhar, son of Siorlamh, son of Fionn, de- . 
 Bcended from the illustrious line ot Ir, the son of Milesius, king 
 of Spain. He was i^onarch of the island thirty years ; but, if 
 we give credit to another computation, he sat on the throne seventy 
 years, and died a natural death at Airgiodross. 
 noQO Jonadhmhar, the son oi Niaseagharahuin, son oi Adam- 
 ' bar, derived from the princely stock of Heber Fionn, 
 succeeded. He reigned three years, and lost his life by the sword 
 of Breasal Bodhiabha. 
 o^oo Breasal Bodhiabha fixed himself in the government. 
 
 He was the son of Rughraidhe, son of Sithrighe, son of 
 Dubh, son of Fomhar, son of Airgeadmhar, son of Siorlamh, 
 descended lineally from Ir, the son of Milesius, king of Spain. 
 He was known by the name of Breasal Bodhiabha, because, 
 during his reign, a most pestilential murrain happened, which 
 raged with such fury among the cows and black cattle, that most 
 of them through the whole kingdom died ; for the word Bod- 
 hiabha,' in the Irish language, signifies the mortality of kine or 
 black cattle. This prince, after a reign of eleven years, was 
 killed by Lughaidh Luaghne. 
 ooQ I Lughaidh Luaghne seized upon the crown. He was 
 
 the son of Jonadhmhar, son of Niaseaghamhuin, of the 
 royal posterity of Heber Fionn, and governed the kingdom five 
 years. He was slain by Congall Claringneach, 
 oqqq Congall Claringi»ieach, the son of Rughraidhe, son of 
 
 Sithrighe, son of Dubh, descended from the line of Ir, 
 the son of Milesius, king of Spain, succeeded. His reign con-, 
 tinned thirteen years, and he fell by the sword of Duach Dalt? 
 Deaghadh. 
 
 on-|9 Duach Dalta Deaghadh was his successor. He wag 
 "** the son of Carbre Loisgleathan, son of Lughaidh Lua 
 ghne, son of Jonadhmhar, of the royal stock of Heber Fionn. 
 He ruled the kingdom of Ireland ten years. This prince was 
 distinguished by the title of Duach Dalta Deaghadh, because 
 his father, Cairbre Loisgleathan, had two sons, the monarch we 
 are speaking ot, whose name was Duach, and another that was 
 called Deagl adh. These two brothers were princes of great va- 
 lour and military conduct and equally worthy of the Irish 
 throne j but the right of succession was invested in Duach, 
 
196 THK GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 who was the elder brother, who therefore seized upon the sove- 
 reignty, and fixed himself in possession. The younger brother, 
 Deaghadh, resolved to dispute with him in the field ; and tosup- 
 port his pretensions, raised an army ; but before he had put 
 himself at the head of his forces, his brother, who was the reign- 
 ing prince, was advertised of the treason, and sent for him to 
 court, but in a friendly manner, as if he understood nothing of 
 his purpose. He accordingly came, and no sooner arrived, but 
 he was taken into custody, and his eyes put out, to make him 
 incapable to pursue his ambitious designs ; but still he allowed 
 him a handsome revenue, and maintained him like a prince all 
 his lifetime. From this transaction Duach received the addi- 
 tional names of Dalta Deaghadb ; for the word Dalta, in the 
 Irish language, signifies a foster-father, which this prince was to 
 his brother Deaghadh, by the care he took of him as long as he 
 lived. But this method to secure himself in the throne could 
 not defend him from the attempts of Fachtna Fathach, who 
 slew him, and reigned after him. This event,' concerning the 
 blindness of Deaghadh, is observed by an ancient poet in these 
 lines : 
 
 Deaghadh, invited to his brother s court, 
 Inhospitably had his eyes scoop'd out ; 
 His mmes did scarce deserve a milder fate, 
 For treason must be punished mthout mercy. 
 
 Fachtna Fathach was the succaediug monarch. Fe. 
 on '9 9 ^^s ^^^ ^^^ ^f Rughraidhe, son of Sitrighe, son of Dubh, 
 son of Fomhar, son of Airgeadmhar, a descendant from 
 the line of Ir, the son of Milesius, king of Spain, and governed the 
 kingdom eighteen years. He was known by the name of Fachtna 
 Fathach, because he was a prince of great learning and wisdom, 
 and possessed many excellent accomplishments. He established 
 most wholesome laws for the government of his people, whom 
 he ruled with signal prudence and moderation : for the Irish 
 word Fathach, signifies wisdom or discretion. This monarch, 
 notwithstanding his princely qualities, was slain by Eochaiati 
 Feidhlioch. 
 
 o^-^nj Eochaidh Feidhlioch filled the throne. He was tiia 
 ' son of Finn, son of Finlogha, son of Roighnein Ruadh, 
 son of Easamhuin Eamhna, son of Blathachta, son of Labhr;i 
 Luirc, son of Eana Aighnach, son of Aongus Tuirmheach, de- 
 scended from the line of Heremon, and he governed the kingdom 
 twelve years. The mother of this prince was Benia, the daugn- 
 
OF IRKLAXD. * 197 
 
 ter of Criomthan ; and the reason for which he was known by 
 the name of Eochaidh Feidhlioch waS; because he laboured under 
 so melancholy a dejection of spirits, that he was quite oppressed 
 with vapours, and would draw out his sighs to a very immode- 
 rate length ; for the word Feil, in the Irish language signifies 
 as much as a great length in English, and Uch or Och is the 
 Irish term for a sigh, which gave occasion to his name. He con- 
 tracted this sadness of mind upon the loss of three of his sons, 
 who were princes of very promising hopes, but were unfortu- 
 nately slain in the battle of Dromchiiadh, and the habit of 
 sighing that was upon him followed him to his grave. 1'hese 
 t ree brothers were called the three Fineamhnas because they 
 were all born at a birth ; for the word Amaoin, in the Irish ton- 
 gue, signifies to deny, for none of them ever denied the extra- 
 ordinary manner of their birth, but took pleasure upon all oc- 
 casions to relate the circumstances of it. The names of these 
 young princes were Breas, Nar, and Lothar, and their mother v/;is 
 Clothfionn, a very virtuous lady, and the daughter of Eochaidh 
 Uchtleathah. 
 
 This monarch, Eochaidh Feidhlioch, was the first that laid 
 out the division of the Irish provinces. The province of Conacht 
 he divided into three parts, between three of his favourites ; 
 tiieir names were Fiodhach, son of Feig, Eochaidh Allat, and 
 Tinne, the sons of Conrach ; he conferred upon Fiodhach all the 
 country from a place called Fiodhach, to Limerick ; upon Eoch- 
 rudh Allat he bestowed the territory from Jorrus Domhnan cmd 
 Galway to Daibh and Drobhaois ; to Tinne, the son of Conrach 
 I\iagh Sambh, he gave the tract of land that extends from Fiod- 
 Ijach to Teamhair Broghaniadh ; he likewise gave him possession 
 of all the ancient territories of Taodin. Feargus, the son of 
 Leigh e, was settled by his authority in the province of Ulster : 
 he invested Rossa, the son of Feargus Fairge, in the province of 
 J.einster ; the two provinces of Munster he bestowed upon Tigh- 
 ei nach Teadhbheamach and Deagbadah ; and this division and 
 investiture of the country continued during his whole reign. 
 
 Eochaidh, after he had thus divided the kingdom, went into 
 Conacht, for he determined to erect a royal palace in that pro- 
 vince, and there to keep his court. Upon his arrival he sum- 
 moned the three petty princes of the province to attend him, 
 aud, informing them of his design, required that they should 
 agree upon a proper place for the building of this fabric, where 
 he resolved to fix his residence. Two of these princes, Eochaidh 
 Ajlat, and Fiodh^.idh, absolutely refused to comply with hU 
 
198 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 demand, and told him to his face, that the revenue which be 
 longed to their share of the country, and what taxes and con- 
 tributions fell to them, they would pay as usual into the royal 
 exchequer at Tara ; but the third prince, who was Tinne, the 
 son of Conrach, being a courtier, made an offer of any part of 
 his country for the king to build upon ; which compliance of his 
 so pleased the king, that he bestowed upon him his daughter, a 
 very beautiful lady, whose name was Meidhbh, whom he soon 
 married, with the consent of the princess ; and in a short time 
 he had, by the nobleness of his carriage, and his other princely 
 accomplishments, so recommended himself to the favour and es- 
 teem of the king, that he conceived a very great affection lor 
 him, and admitted him in all his councils of state, made an in- 
 violable league and friendship with him, and advanced him to 
 be prime minister of the kingdom. 
 
 It being agreed that a royal palace should be erected in the 
 province of Conacht, the king consulted with his druids and 
 soothsayers what parts of the country would be most propitious 
 lor the undertaking. They immediately had recourse to their 
 art, and Ibund that Druin na ndruagh now called Cruachan, was 
 tlie most proper and fortunate place for this royal building. The 
 plan was drawn by the most eminent architects, and they set 
 about the work with such application, that the ditch, which was 
 very large and to surround the whole pile, was finished within 
 the compass of one day. This fabric went under the name of 
 Kath Eochaidh, and was likewise called Rath Cruachan. 
 
 Upon the marriage of Tinne with this Irish princess, the king 
 bestowed upon him the sovereignty over all the province of Co- 
 nacht, and made him the king of it : and a difference arising be- 
 tween him and one of the petty princes, Eochaidh Aliat, he slew 
 him in an engagement, and gave away his share of the province 
 to Oilioll Fionn. Meidhbh who was called queen of Conacht, 
 made a present of the palace of Rath Eochaidh to her mother, 
 whose name was Cruachan Crodhearg ; from whom that royal 
 structure changed its name, and is called Rath Cruachan to this 
 day. This transaction is delivered down to posterity, by a very 
 ancient poet, in this manner : 
 
 The royal palace of Eath Eochaidh, 
 
 "Was called DruimDruagh and Tuluig Aidhne; 
 
 But afterwards obtained a nobler name, 
 
 Of Eath Cruachan, from the virtuous lad> 
 
 Cruachan Crodheari^-. 
 
OF IKELAND. 199 
 
 Tinne, the son of Conrach, reigned with his queen Meidhbh 
 for many years over the province of Conacht, but he was at last 
 slain at Tara, by Monuidhir, otherwise called Maceacht. After 
 liis decease Meidhbh administered the government for ten years ; 
 then she married Oilioll More, the son of Rossa Ruadh, who came 
 out of Leinster ; but it is supposed he was born in Conacht, for 
 his mother, whose name was Matha Muireasg, was originally a 
 - lady of that province ; she bore seven sons to Oilioll More, who 
 were distinguished by the name of the seven Maine ; her husband 
 was at length run through with a lance by Conall Cearnach, not- 
 withstanding he was of a great age. The place where this act 
 was committed was Cruachan ; but the inhabitants, and the 
 neighbouring people were so alarmed at this murder, that the 
 whole country of Cotiacht were up in arms, and made so close a 
 pursuit after Conall Cearnach, that they overtook and killed him, 
 ill revenge ior the death of Oilioll More, who was very much 
 esteemed in that province. 
 
 After the death of Oilioll More the government returned a 
 second time into the hands of Meidhbh ; and, whilst she was a 
 widow, and the queen of Conacht, there arose a most unhappy 
 difference between her subjects and the inhabitants of Ulster, 
 over which province Connor was then king. This contest broke 
 out into open hostilities, and occasioned a long war. But to 
 give a particular relation of these occurrences, I am obliged 
 to trace the account of them to the very beginning, and to par- 
 ticularly take notice of the death of the three sons of Visneach, 
 wliich was the true cause that gave birth to these fatal commo- 
 tions. 
 
 Connor, who at that time was possessed of the government of 
 IJlster, being invited to a splendid entertainment at the house 
 of one Feidhlim, the son of'Doill, principal secretary of state to 
 the king, it happened that the wife of Feidhlim fell in labour 
 and was delivered of a daughter. An eminent di'uid, that al- 
 ways attended the king's person, being present at the feast, by 
 liis prophetic skill foretold, that the child just born should occa- 
 sion great disturbances in the province of Conacht, and turn 
 the government into confusion. This prediction surprised the 
 nobility and the great officers that waited upon the king, who 
 unanimously advised, that the public welfare required that the 
 child should be immediately destroyed. But Connor opposed 
 this resolution, and persuaded them to spare the lii^ of the in- 
 f tnt ; for that he would take care to disappoint the accomplish" 
 mont of the propheov. by breedino- up the child under his own 
 
% 
 200 THE GE^iilKAi^ HlBTOiiY 
 
 inspection, and, perhaps, when she arrived at maturity of years 
 he might think it proper to make her his wife ; by which means 
 he diverted the nobles from their purpose, and preserved the 
 child ; and, as he undertook the education of the girl, immedi- 
 ately removed her from her father's house, and carried her to 
 his own court. Tiie druid insisted upon the truth and authority 
 of liis prediction, and called the child by the name of Deirdre. 
 
 To secure the infant, and to prevent the consequences of the 
 druid's prophecy, the king conveyed her to one of the strongest, 
 garrisons in his province, and placed her in a well fartified tower, 
 almost inaccessible ; and gave strict orders, that none should bo 
 admitted within the child's apartment but her necessary attend- 
 ants, and a woman, who was the favourite of the king's, whos3 
 name was Leabharcham. This woman, wh(* was a great po^f-ess, 
 and could deliver verses extempore on any subject, was muca 
 respected by the nobility of the country. 
 
 Within the walls of this castle was the young Deirdre con- 
 fmed till she became marriageable j and as she grew up she ap- 
 peared to be a lady of singular beauty, and those who had the 
 care of her education had been so ikithiul to their trust, that 
 Rhe was the* most genteel and accomplishei person in the whole 
 kingdom. 
 
 It happened that, as Deirdre and her governess were iooking^ 
 out of the window, upon a snowy day, they saw a slaughter-man 
 of the garrison killing a calf, for the use of her table, and some 
 of the blood fell upon the snow, when a raven came and fed upon 
 it. This sight occasioned a strange passion in the young lady, 
 for notwithstanding her confinement she was of a very amorous 
 disposition, and, turning to Leabharcham, '* Oh," says she," that 
 I could but be so happy as to be in the arms of a man, who 
 was of the three colours I now see ; I mean, who had a skin as 
 white as the driven snow, hair as shining black as the feathers 
 oi a raven, and a blooming red in his cheeks as deep as the calt'a 
 blood." Her governess was at first surprised at this uncommon 
 wish ; but, out of tenderness to the young lady, for whom she 
 had an unalterable aftection, she told her, that there was a young 
 gentleman, belonging to the court, exactly agreeing with that 
 description, whose name was Naois, the son ot Visneach, Deir- 
 dre began immediately to be in love with him, and begged of Leab- 
 harcham that she \Vould contrive a method to bring him pri- 
 vately into the castle, and introduce him into her apartment, 
 lor she was passionately charmed with his features and complex- 
 ion, and was in torment till she saw liim. The indulgent 
 
OP IRELAND. . 201 
 
 governess promised she would ease her of her pain upon the first 
 opportunity ; and in a short time found means to inform Naois, 
 the young gentleman, of the love of the lady ; and assured him, 
 that if he had gallantry enough to venture his person, she would 
 find means to convey him into the tower, and give him posses- 
 sion of one of the finest women in the world. It was impossible 
 lor the young Naois to withstand so generous an offer ; and soon 
 after, by the policy of Leabharcham, he got within the garrison, 
 and was convej^ed into the lady's chamber, where after many 
 endearm^ents, and solemn protestations of love, she entreated 
 that he would deliver her from confinement, and remove iier 
 out of the castle. 
 
 The lover promised he would release her, or die in the at- 
 tempt ; but the enterprise was of the utmost danger, for the 
 tower was well fortified, and strictly guarded. He therefore 
 communicated his design to his brothers Ainle and Ardan, who 
 generously resolved to support him, and, with the assistance of 
 150 resolute soldiers, they surprised the garrison, and carried off 
 the damsel. They immediately left the country, and fled to 
 the sea coasts, and upon the first opportunity they went on 
 board, and arrived safely in Scotland. 
 
 Upon their arrival the king of Scotland received them hospi- 
 tably ; and when he understood the quality of his new gaests, 
 he settled a revenue upon JSTaois and his followers ; but he wa^ 
 soon informed of the beauty of the young lady, which left such 
 an impression upon him tliat he resolved to force her from the 
 arms of her husband, and, if he met with opposition, to run the 
 utmost hazard to obtain her. Naois was made acquainted with 
 his design, -and put himself into a posture of defence. There 
 were many skirmishes and engagements between the king's 
 troops and the Irish, but at last Naois was forced to fly, and 
 with his wife and followers got possession of an adjacent island, 
 expecting to be instantly attacked. In this distress he sent to 
 some of his friends, among the nobility of Ulster, for a supply 
 of forces ; and his request was so favourably received, that the 
 principal nobility of the province interceded with king Connor 
 that they should be relieved, and have liberty to return to their 
 own country ; for they said it would be barbarous to suffer the 
 three sons of Visneach to be destroyed upon the account of a 
 lewd woman. Connor seemingly consented, and complied with 
 this representation oi his nobles, and, as a testimony that he 
 had no treacherous design upon the three brothers when they 
 returned, condescended to deliver two of his fiavourites into the 
 
202 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 liaiids of some of the friends of Naois, and his followers, as hos- 
 tages for their security. The names of these two princes were 
 Feargus, the son of E,oigh, and Cormac Conloingios. Depend- 
 ing upon the honour and sincerity of the king, Feargus, the son 
 of Roigh, sent his own son, with a sufficient number of forces, 
 to relieve Naois, which was soon accomplished ; and he brought 
 Naois, his wife, his brothers and followers with him, safely into 
 Ireland, I 
 
 The king, when he had notice of their landing, despatched 
 Eogan, the sou of Durtheacht, who was the principal com- 
 mander of Fearmoighe, to conduct the three brothers to Eam- 
 hain ; but gave him secret orders to fall upon them in the way, 
 and kill every man of them. Eogan met with the sons of Vis- 
 neach in the plains of Eamhain j and, when he fixed his eyes 
 upon Naois, who was in the front, he advanced towards him, 
 as if he designed to salute and congratulate him upon his return 
 CO Ulster, but he suddenly thrust him through with a spear, 
 and he fell dead upon the spot. This action was so treacherous 
 in itself, and was so resented by Fiachadh, the son of Feargus, 
 who was sent to assist those distressed Irish, and bring them 
 into their own country, that he attacked Eogan with all his 
 might, but with ill fortune to himself, for he was thrust through 
 the body, and died instantly. Animated with this success, 
 Eogan, who was, it must be confessed, a person ot singular bra- 
 very, fell upon the two brothers, the remaining sons of Visneach, 
 and slew them likewise, and routed all the forces they had, then 
 seizing upon the unfortunate Deirdre, he carried her to the 
 court of Connor, the king of Ulster. 
 
 One of the two hostages for the kifig's honour, whose name 
 was Feargus, the son of Roigh, was so incensed at this breach 
 of faith, that he resolved to revenge it upon the king, especially 
 because his son Fiachadh, who was sent to conduct those dis 
 tressed Irish, was treacherously slain. He communicated his 
 design to Dubtljaig, who accepted of the proposal; accordingly 
 they raised a large body of resolute troops, and advanced 
 towards Eamhain, where the king was. Connor was not to be 
 surprised, therefore opposed them with all his forces, and a most 
 bloody fight followed, wherein Maine, one of the king's sons, 
 was killed, with 300 of his choicest men, and the flo^je^of all 
 his army. This defeat gave the victors an opportunity .^seize 
 upon the palace of Eamhain, which they plunde>0d, aiid put 
 al! they met to the sword, not sparing the ladies of the seraglio, 
 whom the king kept for his own pleasure. 
 
f 
 
 OF IRELAND. 203 
 
 Cormao Oonloingios, we have observed, was the other hostage. 
 He hkewise raised a body of stout men among his friends, to the 
 number of 3000, and marched with them into the province of 
 Conacht, then under the government of Queen Meidhbh. From 
 this queen they met with kind reception, and continued under 
 her protection for some time ; but in the night they would send 
 strong detachments into the province of Ulster, to burn and 
 ravage the country, which they harassed with such dreadful hos- 
 tilities, that the inhabitants, and the fruits and provisions of 
 the whole province, were in a manner all destroyed by fire and 
 sword. The country of Crioch Cuailgne particularly suffered 
 in these calamities, which was the cause of those contests and 
 heart-burnings kept up between the two provinces for seveu 
 years afterwards. 
 
 During the time of those provincial wars it was, that Feargus, 
 tlie son of Roigh, found means to insinuate himself into the 
 affections of Meidhbh, the queen of Conacht, who proved with 
 child by him, and was delivered of three boys at a birth. The 
 names of these three princes were Ciar, Core, and Conmac j as 
 the poet has long since related in this manner. 
 
 Tke valiant prince, Feargus, son of Roigh • 
 
 Was master of the charms of Meidhbh Cruachna, 
 "Wlio bore him three sons, whose names in history- 
 Axe Ciar, Core, and Conmac. 
 
 From these three brothers it is certain, that some families of 
 principal distinction in Ireland derive their extraction. Ciar, 
 the eldest brother, gave name to Ciaruidh, that is, Kerry, in the 
 province of Munster : and the excellent O'Connor, of Kerry, is 
 a descendant of some of his posterity. Corcamruidh was so 
 called from Core, and from him is derived the illustrious O'Con- 
 nor, of Corcamruidhe ; and from Conmac sprang all the worthy 
 families of the Comaicnies, in Conacht. And to illustrate this 
 with more authority, I refer to a very ancient poem, composed 
 by Lughair, an eminent poet and antiquary, the first verse be- 
 gins thus, Clann Feai*gusa clann os Cach ; where it appears evi- 
 dently, that the three sons of Meidhbh obtained possessions and 
 authority, as well in the province of Conacht, as in Munster, 
 which may be farther proved by observing, that the countries 
 in th:Ose two provinces are known by the names of these princes 
 to this day. 
 
 The unfortunate Deirdre, who, as the prediction foretold, was 
 the unhappy occasion of all these calamities, was confined by 
 
204 THE GENtiilAL HISTORY 
 
 Connor, the king of Ulster, one whole year, after the death of 
 her husband and the tribe of Visneach ; in which time she was 
 so afflicted with the loss of her beloved Naois, that she was per- 
 fectly inconsolable ; she never raised up her head, nor was seen 
 to smile, but was almost distracted with giief, and would admit 
 of no comfort. The king was moved with a sense of her mis. 
 fortunes, for she was beautiful in her tears, and, after he had 
 tried in vain to mitigate her sorrow, he sent for the perfidious 
 Eogan, son of Durcheacht, the chief commander of Fearmoighe. 
 who was the executioner of her husband, and to torment her the 
 more, made a present of her to him, to be used at his pleasure. 
 She was immediately put into the chariot along with him, who 
 resolved to carry her to one of his seats in the country,, there 
 to be confined a close prisoner. The cruel Connor vouchsafed 
 to ride a few miles with his favourite general, in order to secure 
 his prey, which so enraged the distracted Deirdre, that she took 
 an opportunity to discover her anger, by looking upon them 
 both with such sternness and indignation, that the king took no- 
 tice of her, and told her, that the cast of her eyes between them 
 two was like the look of a sheep between two rams. This re- 
 mark so incensed the poor lady, that she started out of the cha- 
 riot, and fell with such :violence upon her head that she beat out 
 her brains, and instantly died. And th^ is the account given 
 by the records of Ireland, concerning tlfe banishment of Fear- 
 gus, the son of Roigh, of Cormac Conloingios and Dubthaig 
 Daoluladh, and the miserable death of the unfortunate Deirdre. 
 We have observed before, that Connor was king of Ulster 
 at the time when Meidhbh was possessed of the government of 
 Cona-cht ; which province was under the power of that princess 
 for many years, for she reigned after the death of Tinne, son of 
 Conrach, who was her first husband, ten years ; she was the wife 
 of OilioU More eight years, and, after his decease, continued 
 eight years a widov^^, but at last was slain by Ferbhuidhe, the 
 son of Connor. This princess's reign was ennobled by many 
 memorable transactions, and produced many eminent personages, 
 whose brave exploits deserve a place in this history. I shall, 
 therefore, for the sake of posterity, give an account of some of 
 their heroic exploits and military achievements ; and to observe 
 an order in this relation, I am obliged to take notice of the 
 death of Connor, king of Ulster, which was brought about in 
 this manner. 
 
OF IRELAXD. . 205 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE DEATH OF CONNOR, KING OF ULSTER. 
 
 It was one of the commendable customs oi the ancient Irish 
 to encourage tlie youth of the kingdom, and train them up in a 
 jaiilitary life, that they might defend their country in time of dis- 
 tress, and make conquests, and become formidable abroad. To 
 incite their valour, and to inspire them with generous and war- 
 like sentiments, it was established, that whoever was the victor 
 in single combat, should be distinguished with the spoils of the 
 vanquished as a trophy and testimony of his bravery. This 
 honour and encouragement was the occasion of violent contests 
 and disputes, and stirred up an emulation in the minds of the 
 youth, which seldom ended without duelling and bloodshed. The 
 principal heroes in these times, were Connall Cearnach, Cong- 
 cuillin, and Laoghre Buadhach, in Eamhain. The first of these 
 champions insisted upon a pre-eminence above the other two ; and 
 to convince them that te was of superior courage, he commanded 
 the brains of a great soldier, called Meisgeadhra, to be brought as 
 an evidence of his merits : this Meisgeadhra had the character of 
 one of the bravest persons in the island, and had distinguished 
 himself upon all occasions, but was killed in a trial of skill, by 
 Connall Cearnach. Congcuiilin and Laoghre Buadhach being 
 satisfied of the truth of this victory, submitted, and gave up their 
 pretensions to the laurel ^ for they thought it in vain to contend 
 with so illustrious a champion, who had slain the best swordsmaa 
 of the age. 
 
 The reason v/hy tliis great hero called for the brains of his 
 adversary, in proof of his courage, was, in compliance with a re- 
 markable custom in those times, that whenever a champion over- 
 came his adversary in single combat, he took out his brains, and, 
 by mixing them with lime, made a round ball, which by drying 
 in the sun became exceeding solid and hard, and was always 
 yroduced in public meetings and conventions, as an honourable 
 iistinctiou, and a trophy of experienced valour and certain vic- 
 'iory. 
 
 At this time it happened that there were two natural fools be- 
 Wiging to the court of Connor, king of Ulster ; and this prince, 
 having in his possession one of these noble badges, made of the 
 brains of Meisgeadhra, took great care to preserve it, which the fools 
 taking notice of, supposed it to' be of great value, and therefore 
 resolved to steal it out of the palace. This trophy was then 
 lodged in one of the royal seats of Ulster called Craobh Dhearg 
 Besides this there woi-e three stal.eiv fabrics in that province • 
 
206 THE GENKRAL HISTORY 
 
 tlie priiicipal was the palace of Eamhain, where the kings of 
 Ulster generally resided and kept their court. Adjoining to 
 this stately fabric was the lodge of Teagh na Craoibhe Kuadhe, 
 which, in English, signifies the house of the red branch, where 
 the most renowned champions lodged their arms, and hung up 
 their honourable trophies, and the spoils they had taken in the 
 wars, when they came off victorious over foreign enemies. The 
 third building of note was the royal hospital of Broinbhearg, 
 which signifies the house of sorrow and affliction ; for here the 
 sick and wounded were provided for and supported till they were 
 perfectly cured. The champions, whose trophies and arms were 
 placed in the palace of Teagh na Craoibhe Kuadhe, were distin- 
 guished by the title of Champions of the red branch, and were 
 tuown by that name in foreign countries; for they were a mili- 
 tary order of brave soldiers, whose courage had obtained them, 
 an honotirable character over all the western part of the world. 
 9 This palar^^ being the place appointed to preserve the most 
 Trainable jewll^ and monumental trophies of the kingdom, this 
 ball of brains was there laid up for security ; but the two fools 
 above-mentioned, observing where it was, found means to con- 
 veyj.it awaA^ undiscovered. When they had it in their possession, 
 they imnmliately we\it to the green of Eamhain, and began to 
 play and divert themselves, by tossing it in the air from one to 
 anotlj^r. As they were sporting upon the green/^^a very eminent 
 hero of those times, ^whose name was Ceat, the son of Magach, 
 happene'd to come by. This champion belonged to the province 
 of Conacht, and was an implacable enemy to the government of 
 Ulster ; he rode up to the fools, and, finding they were diverting 
 themselves with one of these military trophies, he prevailed upon 
 them to give him the ball, which he carried with him into his 
 own province. \ 
 
 The contests and disputes among the men of Ulster and the in- 
 habitants of Conacht> broke out some time before into open hosti- 
 lities, and there were many battles fought between the two pro- 
 vmces j and this Ceat, by way of insult to his enemies, when he came 
 into the field, would threaten them with this ball of brains, which 
 he always tied to his belt, and which, according to an old pre- 
 diction, was some time or other to be of fatal consequence to the 
 provmce of Ulster. The prophecy it seems foretold that M eis- 
 geadhra, of whose brains this ball was composed, should, after 
 his death, be fully revenged upon the men of Ulster, for the in- 
 dignities he had suffered from them ; and Ceat, obtaining this 
 trot/hy by stratagem, alw^ays wore it about him, being persuaded 
 
OP IRELAND. 207 
 
 that the prediction would b^ accomplished by him; for he resolved 
 upon the .first opportunity to enter the lists with the boldest 
 champion of Ulster, and this ball of brains was the weapon he 
 chiefly designed to use in the combat. 
 
 The war was still carried on with vigour between the two 
 princes, and Ceat, at the head of a powerful army, made incur- 
 sions, entering the province of Ulster with fire and sword, plun- 
 dered the country, and drove away all their cattle. These hos- 
 tilities enraged Connor, who drew together all his forces, and, 
 supported by a well disciplined army, marched with all possible 
 expedition towards the enemy, and resolved to give them battle. 
 By this time Ceat had received a choice body of recruits from 
 the province of Conacht, and with these reinforcements he drew 
 up, and both armies were prepared to engage. 
 
 But Ceat was unwilling to come to a decisive battle with Con^ 
 nor, and therefore contrived a statagem to surprise and destroy 
 him without fighting. It seems that most of > the principal 
 ladies of Conacht were standing upon the top of a hill, viewing 
 the two armies, expecting the event of the battle. It was re- 
 solved that these women should send a messenger to Connor, as 
 if they had something of importance to communicate, and de- 
 sired he would be pleased . to come to them ; for no danger 
 could be apprehended from a company of women, and therefore 
 his person was secure. Connor being a prince of great gallan- 
 try, fell into the snare, and accepted the invitation ; confidijg 
 iu the honour of the ladies, with great indiscretion, he" went to 
 the top of the hill, without his guards, and unattended. He 
 immediately paid his compliments to the ladies, but the trea- 
 cherous Ceat had found a way to conceal himself in the com- 
 pany, and, observing his opportunity, placed his ball, of braina 
 in a sling, with a design to discharge it at the king^ of Ulster, 
 and so by killing him put an end to the war ; but (5onnor per- 
 ceiving the viliany, immediately retired towards his forces. 
 Ceat pursued him close, and, overtaking him at Doire da Bha- 
 oith, he let fly, and was so sure of his mark, that he hit Connor 
 full on his head, and broke his skull. His army, perceiving him 
 in this distress, hastened to relieve him, which forced Ceat to 
 make his way towards his troops, and so by flight preserved his 
 life. 
 
 The ball of brains made a contusion in the head of Connor, 
 and when one of the principal surgeons was sent for, whose name 
 was Fighnin Faithaig, he found that the wound was of danger- 
 ous consequence, though, if the nobles would give their consent, 
 
208 THE GENERAL HISTORY ' 
 
 he promised to use the utmost of his skill in the operation, and, 
 if possible, to preserve his life. The uobility and principal offi- 
 cers that were attending, readily agreed to this proposal ; for 
 they said that the happiness of the whole province depended 
 upon the king's life, and they were sensible that, though the sa- 
 cred person of the king must be hazarded in the attempt, yet a 
 desperate case would admit of no cure but what was desperate. 
 The wound, however, was in a short time cured, by the care and 
 skill of this surgeon : but it had such effect upon the brain, 
 that, upon the least passion or heat of the spirits, it was in dan- 
 ger of breaking out again, and a relapse might be attended with 
 very fatal consequences. Fighnin, therefore, thought it his duty 
 to represent the truth of the case to Connor, and advised him, 
 in a submissive manner, to avoid all immoderate exercise, that 
 might disorder or put his blood into a ferment, particularly not 
 to ride hard, or be incontinent any way, but to keep his spirits 
 cool and in a proper motion. 
 
 The king strictly observed the directions of the surgeon ; for 
 the violence of heat or passion would force the wound open, 
 and by that means bring his life into the utmost danger ; 
 and in this state Connor continued for seven years, to the great 
 joy of his subjects, till (as some of the Irish chronicles, though 
 of no great authority, assert) the Friday on which our Sa^ iour 
 was crucified ; and then the king, being surprised at the dread- 
 ful and supernatural eclipse, and shocked at the horrid dark- 
 ness and convulsion of nature, that followed the death of the 
 Son of God, consulted with one Bacrach, an eminent druid of 
 Leinster, to know the occasion and design of that wonderful 
 event. The pagan prophet replied, that the cause of those 
 strange and violent alterations arose from a barbarous murder 
 that day committed by the wicked Jews, upon a most innocent, 
 and divine person, Jesus Christ, the Son of the everlasting God. 
 The king resented that inhuman act with such passion, that he 
 cried out, if he were a spectator of the villany, he would be 
 revenged upon those barbarous Jews, who had the insolence to 
 destroy his Lord, the Son of the great God of the whole earth. 
 He immediately drew his sword, and went to an adjacent grove, 
 and, distracted almost to madness at the thoughts of that abo- 
 minable act, he hacked and cut the trees, protesting, if he were 
 in the country of the Jews where this holy person was executed, 
 he would be revenged upon his murderers, and chop them to 
 pieces as he did those trees ; and by the violence of his anger, 
 his blood and spirits were diisordered and fermented, which hdd 
 
OF IRELAND. 203 
 
 tbiit effect, that the woHnd burst open, and some of his bruins 
 followed, so that he died upon the spot. The grove of trees 
 where this accident happened was called Coill Lamhruadhe, from, 
 the hand of this Connor, king of Ulster. 
 
 After the death of this prince there was some dispute about 
 the succession, which was at last accommodated by this resolu- 
 tion, that whoever would undertake to carry the body of Connor 
 from the place where it lay to the "palace of Eamhain, without 
 resting by the way, should succeed to the throne of Ulster. 
 This proposal worked upon the ambition of a footman that be- 
 longed to the deceased king, whose name was Ceann Bearruidhe, 
 whO; encouraged with the prospect of wearing a crown, resolved to 
 try his fortune, though he died in the attempt ; and therefore 
 he took the body, that was of a great weight, upon his shoulders, 
 but when he came to the top of Sliabh Faaid, he sunk under 
 the burden, for his heart was broke, and he died instantly. And 
 from this transaction there arose a proverbial saying in the 
 country, when a person undertakes a trust or charge upon him- 
 self that he is unable to manage, he miscarried like the govern- 
 ment of Ceann Bearruidhe, whose ambition put him upon this 
 desperate attempt, which cost him his life. 
 
 But the authors, who deliver this account of Connor, king of 
 Ulster, are not to be respected, when they contradict the more 
 solemn testimony of the Irish records, which assert directly that 
 Connor was dead long before the birth of Christ. It must be 
 confessed that some circumstances of the above-mentioned rela- 
 tion are supported by good authority ; for it is certain that 
 Bacrach, a famous druid of Leiuster, did prophecy to the people 
 of that province, and foretel that a most hoty and divine person 
 should be born in a wonderful manner, and be barbarously mur- 
 dered by the great council of his own nation, notwithstanding 
 his design of coming into the world was for the happiness and 
 salvation of the whole earth, and to redeem them from the delu- 
 sions and tyranny of infernal demons, whose office was to tor- 
 ture them with insupportable pains in a future state. And 
 these cruel and ungrateful indignities, that were to be offered to 
 this innocent and god-like man, made such an impression upon 
 Connor, that he was overcome with indignation and resentment, 
 and, drawing his sword, he hacked and chopped the wood like a 
 person distracted, which so inflamed his spirits that the ball of 
 brains dropped off, and he fell down dead. But the death of 
 this king happened long before Christ was born, and therefore 
 that circumstance of the history must be false. 
 
210 ' TIIR GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 If it should be thought incredible that a pagau prophet should 
 be so inspired as to foretel the birth and the crucifixion of 
 Christ, I desire that it might be considered that Almighty God, 
 to accomplish the ends of His all-wise designs, might, if He 
 pleased, vouchsafe such a measure of inspiration to a pagan as 
 to be able to deliver such a prediction ; and, as an evidence 
 upon this occasion, the oracles of those heathen prophetesses 
 called sybils will prove that the circumstances of Christ's birth 
 and passion have been foretold by those who knew nothing of 
 the true God, but lived in tiie dark ages of ignorance and ido- 
 latry. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE DEATH OF CEAT, THE SON OF MAGACH. 
 
 This Ceat was the general over the army of Conacht, and 
 was one of the most celebrated ch'i,mpions of those times ; he 
 seldom failed of victory when he engaged, and was so inveterate 
 an enemy to the men of Ulster, that by his frequent inroads 
 and cruelties he had almost ruined the whole province. He 
 plundered and spoiled the country wherever he came, and so 
 harassed the inhabitants, that his name was a terror to them ; 
 lor he had often routed them in the field, and under his. op- 
 pression they became a miserable and dispirited people. It 
 happened that this hero of Conacht made incursions into Ulster 
 in the time of winter, when the country was covered with deep 
 snow ; he had met with some opposition, but after many skir- 
 mishes and engagements he obtained his purposes, and by his 
 conduct and bravery was returning home loaden with spoils. 
 In this expedition he had fought three of the stoutest champions 
 of Ulster, and killed them in single combat, and designed to 
 carry their heads with him into Conacht, but in his march he 
 was pursued by Connall Cearnach, who overtook him at Ath- 
 ceitt, and offering him battle, a most bloody action followed, in 
 which Ceat was slain by the general of Ulster ; but he sold his 
 l:fe dearly, for in the engagement Connall himself was so despe- 
 rately wounded, and lost so much blood, that he fell down in a 
 swoon, upon the very spot where the combat was fought. In 
 tliis fainting state he was found by another renowned swords- 
 man of Conacht, whose name was Bealchu Breifne, who, per- 
 ceiving the wounds of one of the combatants, and that the other 
 was killed outright, was pleased with the sight, and said that he 
 never received more satisfaction in his lifetime than he enjoyed 
 
OF IRhlLAXD. , 211 
 
 at present ; for two implacable oompetitors, whose ambition had 
 involved the whole kingdom of Ireland in confusion, and had 
 occasioned so much bloodshed, were destroyed by one another, 
 and met with a fate suitable to their deserts. Connall was "so 
 incensed by being insulted in this manner, that he desired Beal- 
 chu to despatch him at once out of his misery, for his reflections 
 were insupportable ; and he chose rather to die by his hand, 
 because it would vindicate and raise his character, for then it 
 could not be said, with justice, that he fell by the sword of one 
 man, but two champions of Conacht overcame him. But Beal- 
 chu generously spared his life, and with great honour assured 
 him that he would not only give him his life, which he thought 
 could not continue long, but he would endeavour to recover him 
 of his wounds, and, when he was perfectly cured, he would fight 
 him in single combat, and give him satisfaction ; and accord- 
 ingly he saved him from the fury of the soldiers, and took him 
 with him in his chariot. The most eminent surgeons of the 
 kingdom were ordered to attend him, and to take care of his 
 wounds, which by proper skill and application were soon healed, 
 and Connall obtained his perfect health. 
 
 But Bealchu observing that Connall so suddenly recovered, 
 and enjoyed his full strength and former activity, was afraid to 
 fight him fairly, but resolved to dispatch him another way ; and 
 accordingly he fixed upon his own sons for the executioners, who 
 by agreement were to surprise him in the dead of the night, and 
 murder him in his bed. But Connall was acquainted with this 
 treacherous design soon enough to prevent it ; and therefore 
 upon the night when this barbarous act was to be committed, 
 he boldly addressed himself to Bealchu, and desired him to change 
 beds with him, or he would instantly take away his life. Bealchu 
 was unwilling to gratify his request ; but, when he considered 
 the case, he complied, and accordingly went to the bed where 
 Connall lay, and Connall removed into his bed. In the night 
 tlie ruffians entered the room, and fell upon their own father 
 through mistake, and killed him. Connall, observing his oppor- 
 tunity, rushed upon them by surprise, and slew the three bro- 
 thers. He took their heads and that of their father along with 
 him, and soon after arrived at the palace of Eamhain, where he 
 related the particulars of the adventure, and exposed the heads 
 of his enemies, as infallible proofs of his courage and success. 
 This transaction is transmitted to posterity, by a very old poet, 
 iu this manner : 
 
212 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 ' Connall Cearnach was renowned in arrnsi, 
 
 And, with a courage not to be subdued, 
 
 He fell upon the ruftians in the chamber, 
 
 Three brothers, sons of Bealchu Breifne, 
 
 * And slew them all. 
 
 Til this manner died Bealchu Breifne, who was a person of 
 great bravery, and his three sons, who were to be the executioners 
 of the illustrious Connall ; and the account which I have given, 
 contains likewise the particulars of Ceat's death, the son of Ma- 
 gaoh. I could set off this history with many great actions in 
 chivalry, performed by this valiant knight Connall, what combats 
 he fought, and victories he won, were it consistent with my pre- 
 sent design ; but I observe, in short, that the Irish records make 
 very honourable mention of this champion, and speak of him 
 with the greatest applause, as the best swordsman, and the in- 
 vincible hero of the western world. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE DEATH OF FEARGUS, THE SON OF ROIGH. 
 
 It has been observed before, that Feargus underwent a volun- 
 tary exile in the province of Conacht, and retired to Oilioll and 
 Meidhbh at the royal castle of Mayeo. During his banishment 
 it happened that the king and queen and their guest were W^lk • 
 ing, in the summer season,, upon the bank of a lake that was 
 near the palace ; Oilioll desired Feargus to strip himself, and di- 
 vert him by swimming the lake, Feargus complied, and when he 
 was undressed he plunged into the water. The sight of so comely 
 a person naked had that effect upon the queen, that she longed 
 to be near him, and desired leave from her husband to bathe 
 herself, for the weather was exceeding hot, and promised to bathe 
 in a secret and distant part of the lake. He thought himself 
 secure of the honour of his wife, and therefore, to please her 
 humour, he gave his consent. She immediately retired to a pri- 
 vate place, and, after having undressed, jumped in ; but, being 
 very expert in swimming, she could not though in the sight of 
 her husband, forbear approaching the gallant Feargus, which so 
 enraged the jealous Oilioll, that he commanded a kinsman of his, 
 who was one of the retinue, to throw a partisan, that he had 
 in his hand with all his violence at Feargus ; which he did 
 with such dexterity, that he wounded him sorely in the body, but 
 did not disable him from naaking to shore, though the wound 
 was exceeding painful, and proved mortal. When he came 
 
OP IRELAND. 2 1 3 
 
 to land he tAvisted the spear out of his body, and flung it with 
 all his might at OilioU, but missed his mark, and pierced a 
 greyhound to the ground, that stood near the chariot of the king 
 so that it died upon the spot. Feargus, after he had thrown 
 the javelin, fainted with the loss of blood, and, falling to the 
 ground, immediately expired, and was buried upon the bank of the 
 lake. This unfortunate prince was a person of consummate 
 courage, and had exerted himself often with applause in single 
 combat and the field of battle. He it was that killed Fachtna, 
 
 , the son of Connor ; and those formidable champions, Geirgin, 
 the son of Nialladha, and Owen, the son of Durtheachta, the 
 brave commander of Fearmoighe, felt the metal of his sword. 
 He likewise foiled many resolute swordsmen, whose names, and 
 the accounts of their combats, it would be tedious to mention : 
 but we are not to forget what rich spoils he brought away from 
 Ulster, and how he ravaged and sacked the country, and over- 
 run the province with fire and sword, 'insomuch, that the cala- 
 mities he brought upon the people of Ulster were not repaired 
 in many years ; for the strangers, who followed the fortune o( 
 
 ^this prince, were for seven, or as others assert, ten years plun- 
 dering the country, which reduced the inhabitants to the extre- 
 mest misery. These incursions were occasioned by the treach- 
 erous death of the sons of Visneach, who were barbarously slain ; 
 which cruelty the men of Conacht undertook to revenge, bat 
 they met with great opposition in their hostilities, for the forces 
 of Ulster would often penetrate into the province of Gonacht, 
 and captivate the people, and carry ofiP very considerable booty. 
 This enmity and heart-burning produced perpetual wars between 
 the two provinces, which were waged with different success, but 
 brought such insupportable calamities upon the people, that 
 whole volumes have been written upon the miseries that at- 
 tended these commotions ; but the nature of this history will 
 not admit of a particular account, but requires other matters 
 to be considered of more importance to the present design. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE DEAT.l OF LAOGHAIRE BUADHAIG. 
 
 That famous prince, Connor, king of Ulster, retained a poet 
 in his court, whose name was Hugh, the son of Ainin, who was 
 suspected to bQ..very intimate with the queen, and to hold a cri- 
 minal correspondence with her. This intrigue was discovered at 
 length to the king, who, enraged at the baseness of the action, 
 
21 i THE GENERAL HrSTOHY 
 
 gave immediate orders that the poet should be drowned in a 
 pond that was adjacent to the house of Laoghaire Buadhaig. 
 The command was instantly obeyed, and tl ^ poet was seized 
 and designed for execution, but tiie principal shepherd of Laog- 
 haire was resolved to prevent the sentence, and boldly asked the 
 guards that attended, whether they could find no place more 
 proper to drown the poet than before the door of his master, and 
 declared he would prevent it as far as his life went, because it 
 would occasion a fright, and give great offence to the family. 
 Laoghaire, hearing the debates, and observing there was more 
 than a common disturbance, started up in haste, and, in running 
 out, struck his head against the upper part/ of the door, which 
 with the violence of the blow, fractured his skull ; but the 
 wound was not immediately mortal, for he lived to call his ser- 
 vants about him, who fell bravely upon the king's guards, and 
 those who attended the execution, and, putting them to flight, 
 he obtained his purpose, and saved the life of the poet ; but he 
 did not survive this action, for after the encounter he died upoa 
 the spot. This was the unfortunate end of Laoghaire Buadhaig, 
 as Irish chronicles expressly assert. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE DEATH OF MEIDHBII CRUACHNA. 
 
 Oilioll More, the husband of Meidhbh, being killed by the 
 hand of Connall Cearnach, Meidhbh removed her place of resi- 
 dence to Inis Chroithoin, situated upon the bank of the lake 
 Ribh ; and, having the conveniency of a sweet water, she used 
 in the summer mornings to retire into the pond, and divert and 
 refresh herself by swimming. Forbuidhe, the son of Connor, 
 king of Ulster, being a prince of very severe resentment, hearing 
 of this custom of the queen, found means privately to come to 
 the lake, and with a line he had for that purpose, he measured 
 the exact distance between the one side and the other, where 
 Inis Cloithroin formerly stood, and returned back to Ulster un- 
 discovered. As soon as he arrived, he drove two stakes of wood 
 into the ground, at the same distance with the length of the line 
 which measured the breadth of the lake; and when he had placed 
 an apple at the top of the stakes, he stood at the other, and 
 for some time made it his practice to cast a stone at the ..apple 
 with a sling. He used this exercise so long till he could fling 
 to the greatest nicety, and became so dexterous^ that he never 
 missed his inark. At that time there wa^a an appointed meetnig 
 
OF IRELAND. 215 
 
 between the principal inhabitants of Ulster and Conacht, upon 
 one side of the river Siiannon, at Inis Cloithroin. It was to com- 
 pose some differences between the two provinces; and i orbuidhe, 
 the son of Connor, came with his father's deputies, and was the 
 principal person in the management of the treaty. This he 
 thought was a proper time to execute his design against the 
 queen of Conacht ; and an immediate opportunity offered to 
 accomplish his purpose, for the queen, according to custom, came 
 in the morning to divert herself in the lake, and when she was 
 in the water, Forbuidhe flung a stone at her with his sling, and 
 was so expert in the art, that he smote her full in the forehead, 
 when, sinking to the bottom, she died instantly. In this man- 
 ner fell this heroic queen, after she had enjoyed the government 
 of Conacht ninety-eight years, as before mentioned.' It was 
 thought proper to give an account of the death of some of the 
 most illustrious princes of the island, and of the memorable ex- 
 ploits and achievements of those brave persons that were called 
 the champions of the western isle ; and this was thought the 
 most proper place to introduce these transactions, because they 
 happened in the reign of Meidhbh, queen of Conacht. But lest 
 it should be thought a digression, if we stay too long upon this 
 subject, we shall return and take notice of the children of Eoch- 
 aidh Feidhlioch, who makes so great a figure in the Irish history. 
 This prince, Eochaidh Feidhlioch, had three sous and three 
 daughters ; the names of his three sons were Breas, Nar, and 
 Lughair, and the thiee daughters were known by the names of 
 Eithne Vathach, Clothra, and Meidhbh Cruachna. A very an- 
 cient poet gives the same account, which authority is sufficient 
 for us to follow. 
 
 The valiant Eochaidh FeidhUoch 
 
 Leit tiiree fair daughters of his royal line, 
 
 Each would adorn a monarch's nuptial bed, 
 
 Their names were Eitlme Vathach, Meidhbh, and Clothra, 
 
 A FARTHER ACCOUNT OF THE EXPLOITS OF CON^NTOR, KING OF ULSTE'C. 
 
 This prince is so honourably mentioned by the historians of 
 Ireland, that it would be injustice to his memory, as well as to 
 posterity, to rob the world of any of those memorable actions, 
 which so eminently distinguish this prince in the ancient records 
 of the kingdom. It must be observed, therefore, that Neasa, the 
 daughter of Eochaidh Salbuidhe, was mother of this excellent 
 
210 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 monarch ; and wherever we find his genealogy, he is always said 
 to be Connor, the son of Neasa, &c. His father was Fachtna 
 Fathach, the son of Cais, son of Rughraidh, a descendant from 
 the royal line of Ir, the son of Milesius, king of Spain. One of 
 the daughters of Connor was married to Carbre Niadfar, king of 
 Leinster, who, to obtain her, made over part of his own domi- 
 nions to her father; and when the provincialists insisted upon 
 laying out the distinct bounds of each province, it appeared 
 that a great part of Leinster was claimed by Connor, king of 
 Ulster, as settled by the marriage of his daughter ; and he added 
 to his own territories all the country from Loch an Choigeadh 
 and Teamhair, that is, Tara, to the main ocean. This tract of 
 the island is known to include three complete territories ; as a 
 poet of great antiquity observes in the following lines : 
 
 Connor enlarged the bounds of Ms command j 
 And, as a dowry for his daughter's beauty, ' 
 Obtain'd three fruitful tracts of land from Leinster, 
 And join'd them to his own dominions 
 
 The name of the lady who procured these three territories for 
 Connor, the king of Ulster, was Feidhlin Nuadhcrothach ; but 
 she had more regard for the grandeur of her own family than 
 for the honour of her husband or her own character, for she 
 found means to make her escape, and fled from Leinster, with a, 
 young gallant called Connall Cearnach. 
 
 Connor, notwithstanding his own accomplishments, by one 
 action obscured the glory of his reign ; for upon a time, when 
 he had drank to excess, he attempted familiarity, and had the 
 misfortune to be allowed to commit incest with his own mother. 
 JSTeasa ; which abominable crime produced a son, whose name 
 was Cormac Conloingios. But the vengeance of Heaven severely 
 punished the mother, who was most concerned in the guilt of 
 this wickedness, with the loss of all her other children, except 
 these three sons, who died without issue ; the names of the sur- 
 viving three were Beanna, from whom Beantry obtained its 
 name ; Lamha, who gave the name to Lamhruidhe ; and 
 Glaisue, from whom Glasruidhe is derived : and to perpetuate 
 the infamy of that unnatural act, Providence, as our Irish annals 
 it form us, has taken care that at this day there is not one de- 
 scendant, even from these three, living upon the (ace of the 
 eai-th. 
 
OF IRKLANP. Q,^ 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE DEATH Ut CONLAOCH, ;.UN OJ- CONGCULIONN'. 
 
 The Irish records deliver these particulars concerning the 
 death of Conlaoch. Congculionn, it seems, discovered a mar- 
 tial disposition, and deligbed in arms from his youth ; and, to 
 perfect himself in the discipline of war, he went into Scotland, 
 where there was a lady of masculine bravery and great experi- 
 ence, whose name was Sgathach, and to her he applied to be 
 instructed in the exercise of his weapons, under whose care and 
 inspection he soon improved, and became one of the most 
 accomplished warriors of his time. But the soft passion of love, 
 notwithstanding, found a way into the heart of the young sol- 
 dier ; for there was a most beautiful young lady in Scotland, 
 whose name was Aoife, the daughter of Ardgeine, who was so 
 charmed with the comeliness of his person, and the generous 
 manner of his deportment, that she conceived the most violent 
 passion for him, which she soon found means to acquaint him 
 with. The cavalier with great gallantry accepted of her love , 
 and upon the first sight of her was moved with the most tender 
 sentiments, and though he had not any opportunity of marrj'- 
 ing her-, yet he attempted the lady's virtue, who yielded upon 
 the first summons, and she proved with child by him. He now 
 began to think oi returning into Ireland, and, taking leave of 
 the distressed Aoifo, he gave her a chain of gold, and charged 
 her to keep it safely, till the child, if it proved a son, came to 
 the estate of a man ; and then he ordered her to send him to 
 Ireland with that token, by which he should discover him to be 
 his son, and promised that as such he would entertain him ; 
 but withal he gave her this injunction particularly, that she 
 should lay the strictest command upon him to observe her direc- 
 tions in three things ; the first, that he should never give the 
 way to any person living, but rather die than be obliged to tum 
 back : the second, not to refuse a challenge from the boldest 
 champion alive, but to fight him at all hazards, if he was sure 
 to lose his life : the third, not to confess his name upon any 
 account, though threatened with death for concealing it. These 
 obligations she was to lay upon him with a parent's authority, 
 which she promised to execute faithfully, and with these assur- 
 ances Congcuiionn returned to Ireland. 
 
 The unfortunate Aoife was soon after delivered of a son, who 
 was named Conlaoch, whom she carefally educated, and, when 
 he came of age, she placed him under the tuition of Sgathach 
 
 M 
 
218 THE GENERAL mSTOr.Y 
 
 the virago of Scotland, to be instructed in the use of arms, and 
 in the art of war and military discipline. He discovered the 
 same genius with his father, and when he had finished his exer- 
 cises with applause, his mother, as she was ordered, sent him 
 into Ireland to Congculionn. 
 
 As soon as he arrived upon the coasts, he resolved to go 
 directly to the court of Connor, king of Ulster, which was then 
 kept at a seat called Thracht Eise, because that was the most 
 convenient place for the reception of his principal nobility and 
 commons, who were then assembled to debate upon some im- 
 portant affairs that related to the government of the province. 
 When the young cavalier appeared at court, Connor sent one of 
 his commanding officers to inquire who he was, and upon what 
 business he came ; but the stranger resolved to observe the 
 commands of his mother, and refused absolutely to give him 
 satisfaction upon that head, and declared that his name was not 
 of much importance, but he would not discover it to the stoutest 
 man living. The messenger, whose name was Cuinnire, sur- 
 prised at this insolent answer, returned to the king, and related 
 what had happened. Congculionn was at that time at court, 
 and, willing to be fully satisfied who this stranger was, desired 
 ^leave to go to him, saying he did not doubt of giving the king 
 a good account of him. He was accordingly sent, with a full 
 commission to use him as he pleased, and to force him, if he 
 continued obstinate, into compliance and good manners. When 
 he came he demanded, with an air of authority, what his name 
 was 'j but the stranger would by no means give him satisfac- 
 tion, which so enraged his father, whose passion had overcome 
 his reasoUj that he struck at him with his lance, and a most 
 desperate combat followed between the two champions, the father 
 and the son, equally brave and expert in the management of 
 their arms. They fought a considerable time with doubttal 
 success ; at last Congculionn, unable to sustain the force of his 
 son's youthful heart, who charged him briskly, was obliged to 
 give way, and, notwithstanding he had fought so many duels, 
 killed maijy renowned swordsmen, and understood his weapons- 
 as well as any man living, and had courage to use them, yet he 
 engaged with a young hero of superior strength, who pressed 
 him very hard, and forced him to take the refuge of a ford to 
 defend his life. He was perfectly distracted with this repulse, 
 and, forgetting the reason of his quarrel, which should have en- 
 gaged him to receive the stranger with the greatest tenderness 
 and honour, he called to an officer that belonged to him, and 
 
OF IllELAND. 219 
 
 was a spectator of the combatj to give him the spear called ia 
 tiie Irish language Gai Builg, with which he was sure to destroy 
 his adversary, and put an end to the dispute. His friend, whose 
 name was Laoigh, the son of Righe Gabhra, finding him in dis- 
 tress, and close pursued, gave him the weapon, which Congcu- 
 lioun instantly threw -with all his might, and pierced the unfor- 
 tunate Conlaoch through the body ; which decided the fortune 
 of tiie combat, for the young hero fell dead upon the spot by the 
 builds of his own father. 
 
 It were easy to enlarge and set off this history with numerous 
 relations of adventures oi this nature, between the most renowned 
 champions of those warlike ages. I could, if my bounds would 
 ailuw me, give an account of the death of Congculionn, who Wcis 
 slain by the childr-^n of Caileiin ; in what manner the brave 
 Feardia, the son ol Domhnoiu, was killed by Congculionn, and 
 how the seven brothers, who were called the Mames, and were 
 the sons of Oilioll M-ore, and the famous Meidhbh, queen of Con- 
 iiciit, lost their lives. 'These, and many more transactions, that 
 relate to Congculionn, and other champions of those times, might 
 be particularly mentioned ; but volumes would not contain all 
 the military exploits of the Irish heroes, and therefore they are 
 not to be expected within the compass of this history ; but who- 
 ever desires to be acquainted with those illustrious events may, 
 il he understands the ancient language of the country, have re- 
 course to manuscripts, that are now preserved in the kingdom 
 of Ireland, and whose authority was never yet questioned. They 
 are of easy access to the curious, and the antiquaries are glad of 
 the opportunity of communicating them. The books, wiiich 
 treat of the actions of these heroes, are these, Brislioch Muigh 
 Miiirtheimhne, Oideadh na gcurruidhe. Tain bo Cuailgne, Tain 
 bo seaghamhain deargruathar Chonuill Chearnuig, Feis Eamhna 
 tain bo Fleidhis, and many others upon the same subject. 
 
 But notwithstanding the bounds set to this history, it will be 
 of some use to take notice of the death of a most distinguished 
 champion, whose fame is alive to this day among the Irish, his 
 name was Conrigh, the son of Daire ; and what makes it proper 
 to introduce this transaction at tiiis time is, because this valiant 
 hero was cotemporary with Connor, king of Ulster, and was one 
 of the most eminent warriors of the age. The mother of this 
 illustrious person was Morann Manannach, the daughter of Ir, 
 tiie son of Virsighe, and sister to Eochaidh Eiohbheoil ; and 
 tiiis account we receive from a poet of great antiquity, ia the 
 following manner , 
 
220 Tfiil GENERAL HISTOHY 
 
 T! -J ^dl•tuous lady, Moraiin Manannacli, 
 iMui';liter of valiant Ir, soa of Viusigue, 
 Si;itei' to Eochaidh Eichblieoii, 
 \Va3 mother of tiie mt>;st couragaous Coarigh, 
 The son of i>aire. 
 
 It must be observed, that there were three principal tribes, 
 or orders oi knights, or renowned champions in Ireland, at that 
 time, that were the bravest persons of the age they lived in. and 
 were so confessed by all nations abroad ; for their valour, their 
 tallness, and the proportion of their bodies, were made the won- 
 der of all foreign countries, and their exploits are not to be pa- 
 ralleled in history ; nor was the famed Fionu of Leinster able 
 to engage any of them. The first tribe of these warriors wai 
 called, the Champions of the Red Branch, in the Irish language 
 Curruidhe na Croibhe Ruadhe ; and these were under the coai- 
 mand of Connor, king ot Ulster. The second order was those 
 who had the government of Jorrus Domhuoinn, in Conacht ; 
 and the master of these kpights was Oilioil Fionn. The third 
 ce nsisted of a select family of hereditary courage, called Tiie 
 children of Deaghdha, who were under the authority of Con- 
 righ, the son of Daire, and they had their residence in the west 
 of Munster. These tribes were the most celebrated heroes of 
 those times ; and they were never to be overcome by all the 
 champions oi the world, nor could they be conquered, uniesi 
 tiiey quarrelled among themselves, and by that means fell by 
 each tiler's arms. 
 
 A PARTiCULAR ACCOUNT F THE DEATH OF CONRIuH, THE SON OF DAiRE. 
 
 Notwithstanding the bravery of this great warrior, his d^ath 
 was brought about in this manner; as the genuine recoids oi 
 Ireland particularly mention. It happened that the champions 
 of Craobh Kuadh, or the Eed Branch, had intelligence of a rich 
 island near the coast of Scotland, that abounded with gold, sil- 
 yer, jewels, and otlier valu&ble commodities, which tliey resolved 
 to attack and plunder, and return home laden with spoils; 
 and, as an inducement to sharpen their courage, they had heard 
 that there was a most beautiful maiden lady in the island, who 
 exceeded all the women of her time, the daughter of the gover- 
 nor of the country, and her name was Blanaid. Conrigh, un- 
 derstanding that the knights of the Ked Branch were going upoi) 
 this design, and had made tnemselves ready for the expediiion, 
 
OF IRl LANP. 221 
 
 Imrl recourse to bis necromantic art, in which he was very expert, 
 and which was a poHte study in those times , and by the assis- 
 tance of his skill he transformed himself into a disguised shape, 
 BO tliat nobody knew him ; and under this cover he conveyed 
 himself on shipboard, and landed with them^upon the island. 
 
 When they arrived, they found the inhabitants in a conster- 
 nation, and for security, and to prevent surprise, the governor 
 h:id removed his daughter, and her jewels, and the most valu- 
 able treasure of the country, into a strong castle, well fortified> 
 and almost impossible to be stormed ; and what added to tho 
 difficulty, the defenders of it w^ere almost as skilful in magic as 
 the besiegers, and summoned all their art to defend the castle. 
 There were several attempts made by the Irish without, but 
 with no success ; and, after some fruitless assaults, they began 
 to despair of accomplishi'g their design, and had some thoughts 
 of quitting the island. But Courigh, in the habit of a mean 
 person, in a gray habit, whose heart was fixed upon the young 
 ludy, conveyed himself among the commanding officers, who 
 were debating the matter in a council of war ; and when he found 
 thoy resolved to break up the siege, boldly, and with a good 
 grace, opposed their return to Ireland before they had taken the 
 castle ; and engaged, under the penalty of losing his life, that, 
 if he would give him the liberty of choosing one of the jewels 
 within the garrison, he would soon make them masters of it, and 
 the}^ might plunder it at their pleasure. Congcullionn, who was 
 the Irish general, ioyfuUy accepted the proposal, and pi'omised 
 him upon his honour he should have his choice of the plunder, 
 and the liberty to take which jewel he pleased. Upon this se- 
 curity Conrigh put himself at the head of the troops, for he was 
 to command in the assault, and, advancing to the walls o( the 
 castle, he thought it rashness to depend wholly upon the bravery 
 of his forces, and therefore made use of his necromantic art^ 
 which had that effect as to stop the motion of an enchanted 
 wheel that was placed at the castle gate to prevent the entrance 
 of the besiegers. When he had removed this difficulty, i.o 
 forced the gate, and made way for the whole army, who entered, 
 and put all the enclosed islanders to the sword, except the beau- 
 tiful Blanaid. They plundered the fort of all the riches and 
 jewels they could find, and, with great treasure and valuable 
 j>poils, they returned to their shipping, and went on board and 
 landed in Ireland. 
 
 They directed their way towards Eamhain, and when they 
 came there they resolved to divide the prey they had taken. 
 
233 THE GRNKRAL HlSTui'Y 
 
 Coiirigb, in his graj habit, applied himself to the general W 
 hia choice of what jewel he pleased, which he obliged hinM-lf 
 upon honour to allow him. Congculionn made no objecciou ; 
 and Conrigh immediately took the young lady by the hand, and, 
 said, this is the jeyv^el 1 choose as a reward ior all my services. 
 The general, who had depended upon her tor himself, resolved 
 to sacrifice his honour to his love ; and, forcing the lady ironi 
 him, told him he had deceived him by the manner o; his ex- 
 pression, and that he would stand by the contract only in^the 
 sense he understood it, which was, tiiat he might oboose which 
 of the precious stones he would, and that he might do il ne 
 pleased ; but he would not deliver up the lady, neither did the 
 laws of honour oblige him to it. This answer surprised Con- 
 righ, who upbraided the general with the breach of his word, 
 juid resolved upon the first opportuiaity to seize her, and to con, 
 vey her out of his reach ; and he found means to effect this in 
 a short time, for though he was not able to accomplish it i y 
 force, yet his magical art never failed him, and by enciiantmynC 
 he stole away the damsel unperceived, and carried iier oif. 
 Congculionn soon perceive'd his fair plunder was gone ; and tne 
 Djan in the gray habit being missing at the same time, he began 
 to siispect that Conrigh, tiie son of .Daire, made use of thai UiS- 
 guise to steal her away, and instantly ordered messengers every 
 way to pursue them ; and he himseli\, by good fortune, set out 
 towards Munster, and overtook Conr.gh at Solochoid. He com- 
 inanded him to give up the lady ; but Conrigh had moie 
 gallantry than to comply, and told him that they would decide 
 tneir pretensions in single combat, and the victor should claim 
 the lady as his prize. Congculionn accepted of the challenge j and 
 the rivals fought desperately, and the victory was a long time 
 Goubtiul, but Conrigh proved the happy mai^, and overcame t.e 
 general, whom he used in an ignominious, and, were it not the 
 custom of the country, in an ungenerous manner ; for he tied 
 hnn neck and heels, and, what v. as the greatest testimony of 
 (.li^giace, he cut o£' his hair with his sword, and lelt him in a 
 v.ry deplorable condition. When he had secured his rival, and 
 exposed liim to all imaginable shame, he pursued his journey, 
 and came with his lair jewel mto the west oi Munster. 
 
 He had no sooner left the place of combat, but Lttoigh, tho 
 Gon of Eiogh an Gabhra, a servant to Congculionn, came up to 
 his master, and, when he had unbound him, took care oi his 
 wounds, and they retired with all possible expedition into the 
 T»ildeniess of Ulster, near a place called Beanaibh Boirche ; and 
 
CF TT? ELAND. 223 
 
 in thh solitiule the disgraced general, attended with Iiis man, 
 continued for the space of a year ; in which tinje they never 
 aopeared in public, but lived privately, and concealed them- 
 selves from the knowledge of the inhabitants. And the reason 
 of this resolution was, because it was a sign of cowardice, and 
 the most infamous scandal to a champion or a professed soldier 
 to be without his hair. When the year was expired, Congculionn, 
 as he wandered about, came to the top of Binn Boirche, and, 
 looking about him, he observed a great flight of large black 
 birds, flying from the north sea, and landing upon the shore. 
 Fe immediately advanced towards them, and with an engine, 
 called Taithbheim, he pursued them incessantly day and night, 
 and killed a bird of them in every county of the kingdom, till 
 he came to Srabh Broinn, in the west of Munster. 
 
 In his return ho was surprised with the sight of the beautiiiil 
 Blanaid, near the bank of Fionngiaise, a river in the coanty of 
 Kerry, where Conrigh had a noble seat, and lived in great state 
 and magnificence. Congculionn addressed himself to her, and 
 she immediately knew him ; and, after they had converged for a 
 short time, the lady could not forbear confessing she loved iiim 
 above all men living, and entreated him to believe it was agiJust 
 her consent she was divorced from him ; and therefore desired 
 that, about the next Allhallow-tide, he would come with an armed 
 .force, and deliver her from the tyranny of a man whom she hated, 
 and she would take care that Conrigh should have no guards 
 about him to oppose the design, which she was confident, if he 
 had but the courage fo attempt, she could assure him of succssp. 
 Conculionn gallantly promised that he should be prepared for 
 the adventure by that time, and depended upon her maiiagement 
 for the happy issue of it, and with the most endearing expres- 
 sions on both sides they took their leave. He directly wont to 
 the court of Conuor, king of Ulster, to whom he coramurdciitcd 
 the engagements he was under to the lady, and entreated that he 
 would supply him with a sufficient number of troops for thu p'sr- 
 pose. The king approved of his design, and promised him all 
 Euitable assistance and protection. 
 
 In the meantime Blanaid, the better to carry on the intrigue, 
 and make it safe for her lover, advised Conrigh, over whom she 
 had great influence, to erect a stalely palace for his residence, 
 that should exceed all the buildings in the kingdom ; and to make 
 it more noble, and the better to provide materials, she thought 
 it not improper, since he was in peace with his neighbours, to 
 employ his soldiery, who were distinguished by the ijume of CJana 
 
224 The general TnsTor.T 
 
 Deaglia, to gather nil the stones of a larger sizo, tliat stood up- 
 right, for the foundation of the building, with design that all the 
 experienced warriors that belonged to Conrigh, should be dis- 
 persed over the kingdom, at the time that Congculionn pro- 
 mised to relieve her and carry her off. The unfortunate husband 
 deceived by this stratagem, complied, and gave immediate orders 
 that all his forces should scatter themselves over the country, to 
 collect stones for the fabric ; and his commands were obeyed, fur 
 he did not reserve so much as a troop to guard his person, or to 
 employ upon any emergencies of the government. 
 
 The news that Conrigh had sent away his army, was soon 
 conveyed to Congculionn, who thought this time the most proper' 
 to execute his purpose, especially since the forces made up of tlio 
 Clana Deagha were like wise removed; for these made up a formida- 
 ble band, and were some of the bravest soldiers in the world. He 
 accordingly put himself at the head of a resolute body of troops, 
 that were given him by Connor, king of Ulster, and began his 
 march. He soon arrived near the seat of Conrigh, and privately 
 lodged his men in a thick wood near the palace. His first busi- 
 ness was, to dispatch a messeuger to Blanaid, to notify his arri- 
 val with a sufficient force to carry her off, which he would attempt; 
 in whatever manner she proposed. The lady was transported 
 With the news, and sent him word, that she would take care Con- 
 righ should be unable to make opposition for she would steal his 
 sword ; and that he should know what time was the most proper 
 to attack the palace by this sign : there was a brook, which ran 
 from the seat where Conrigh lived, through the wood vvdieie Cong- 
 culionn had encamped ; into this rivulet she proposed to pour a 
 large quantity of milk, sufficient to discolour the stream, and 
 Congculionn was to observe when the water ran white, and im- 
 mediately to draw out his men and break into the castle. Tho 
 messenger returned, and the general, strictly observing the di- 
 rections, discovered the brook tobe white with milk, when, sallying 
 out, he forced his way into the palace without opposition, and 
 slew Conrigh, who had not so much as a sword for his defence, 
 othervv^ise he would have sold his life dearly. Blanaid threw her- 
 self into the arms of the conqueror, who carried her away with 
 him into Ulster. The rivulet obtained its neme from this me- 
 morable transaction ; and from the whiteness of the water, oc- 
 cadoned by the milk, was called Fionnglaise ; for the word Fionn, 
 in ohe Irish language, signifies white, and Glaise is the same 
 with the word brook, and by joining both words they iuim Fiomi 
 glaiso. 
 
OF 1 1- ELAND, 225 
 
 But the perfidious Blaiiaid did not long survive lier treachery ; 
 for the unhappy Courigh retained a poet in his court, whose 
 name was Feircheirtne, who pursued the conqueror and his mis- 
 tress into Ulster, resolving to sacrifice the base woman to the 
 ghost of his murdered master. When he arrived he found Cong- 
 culionn and Blanaird, with many of the principal nobility, at- 
 tending upon Connor, the king of that province, who diverted 
 himself by walking upon the top of a very steep rock, called in 
 the Irish language Kinchin Beara. The poet, watching his op- 
 portunity, observed Blanaid standing upon the very edge of the 
 cliff, and addressing himself, as if he made his compliment to 
 her, he seized upon her violently, with all his force, and, clasping 
 her in his arms, he threw himself headlong with her down the 
 precipice, and they were both dashed to pieces. 
 
 I shall no longer interrupt the connexion of this history, by 
 relating the heroic exploits and achievements of the ancient wor- 
 thies of Ireland; but so much was thought proper to be observed, 
 as a specimen- of the bravery of those ancient champions, and to 
 convince posterity, that the ancestors of the genuine Irish were 
 a warlike and generous peopde, and deserve to have their names 
 and their actions recorded for their own honour, and for the ex- 
 ample and improvement of future ages. I shall now proceed 
 regularly to the successive reigns of the Irish monarchs. 
 
 Eochaidh. who had the sui-name of Aireamh, succeeded 
 oqKo in the throne. This prince was the son of Fin, son of 
 
 Finloga,* son of Roighueni Ruadh, son of Easamuin 
 Eamhna, son of Blathachta, son of Labhra Lore, a descendant 
 from the royal line of Heremon, and governed the island twelve 
 years. He was distinguished by the name of Eochaidh Aireamh, 
 because it was he that first introduced the custom of burying 
 the dead in graves dug within the earth , for the Irish wcrd 
 Aireamh signifies a grave. The Milesians, and their posterity, 
 before the reign of this monarch, were used to cover their dead 
 by raising great heaps of stones over their bodies, which practice 
 tpis prince abolished, as not so decent and secure. He lost his 
 i.fe by Siodhmali, at Freamhain Teabhtha. 
 oi)PA Eidersgeoil was his successor. He was the son of 
 
 Eogan, son of Oilioll, son of Jar, son of Deagha, son t)f 
 Suin, son of Roisin, son of Trein, son of Rothrein, son of Airindii, 
 son of Maide, son oi Forga, son of Fearadhach, son of Oilioila 
 Euron, son of Fiacha Fearmara, son ot Aongus Tuirmheach, sou 
 oi Eochaidh Foitleathan, of the posterity of Heremon, and wore the 
 crown six years^ but was killed by Nuaghadh Neacht, at Ailiin, 
 
226 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 ' Nuaghadh Neacht was the succeeding monarch. He was 
 SO 70 *^® ^^^ of Seadna Siothbach, son of Lughaidh Loitfm, sou 
 of Breasal Breac, son of Fiacuadh Fiorbric, sou of OilioUa 
 Glas, son of Fearaidhach Foglas, son of Nuaghat Follamhain, 
 son of AUoid, son of Art, son of Criomthan Cosgrach, son of 
 Fearaidhach Fionn, son of Breasal Breagamhuin, son of Aongus 
 Gailine, descended from the line ol Heremon, and reigned 
 but half a year. He was known by the name of Nuagbadh 
 Neacht, from the Latin word Nix, which signifies snow ; for his 
 skin was so exceeding white as to be compared to the driven 
 snow. This prince fell by the sword of Conaire, the son of 
 Eidersgeoil. 
 
 3970 Conaire, who was surnamed the Great, seized upon 
 the government. He was the son of Eidersgeoil, ..son of 
 Eogan, son of OilioUa, descended from the line of Here- 
 mon, and tilled the throne' thirty years, or, if we believe an- 
 other computation-, he reigned seventy years It is to be ob- 
 served, that from this monarch the noble families of the Ear- 
 nighs, in Munster, and of ^hf^ Pailriadhs, in Scorlawd, desf^ended, 
 'Che Earaif^hs first went into Munster, in the time of Duach 
 Dalta Deaghadh ; and the occasion oi their settling there, as the 
 anclunt poeb Cormac Mac Cuillenan records, in his Psalter ot 
 I'ashel, was the superior force of tl.ie Clana Rughraidhe, of the 
 )')Osterity of Ir, the son of Milesius, who expelled them out of 
 vheir former possessions, and routed them in eight several en- 
 gagements, which forced them to fly for refuge into Munster, 
 where they became powerful, and got large estates ; and they 
 flourished in this province, from the time of Duach Dalta Deag- 
 hadh to the reign of Mogha Nuagat, insomuch that they were 
 obliged to extend their settlements ; and in process of time they 
 spread themselves westwards of Iverahagh, and from thence to 
 tiie western islands in Munster, as the history of that province 
 particularly mentions. This tribe arrived to so great authority, 
 as to take upon themselves the command of the whole country, 
 which they governed till the reign of Mogha Nuagat, by whom 
 they were expelled, and forced to seek new habitations. Conaire, 
 the monarch of Ireland, was deprived of his crown and his life, 
 by Aingeal Caol, son of the king of Wales. 
 Ar)r\r^ Lughaidh Riabhdearg filled the throne. He was the 
 son of Fineamhnas, son of Eochaidh Feidhlioch, son of 
 Fian, son of Finlogha, descended from the royal line of- He- 
 remon, and reigned over the kingdom twenty years. This 
 monarch entered into alliance with the king of Denmark, whose 
 
OP IRELAND. 
 
 227 
 
 dangliter, Doarborgnill, he obtained for his wife. He received 
 the title of Lughaidh Riabhdearg on the account of two 
 red circles, one of which encompassed his neck, the other sur- 
 rounded his body. Upon some discontent he put an end to his 
 own life, by lalling upon his sword. There is an account to be 
 met with in some of the Irish chronicles, that this prince was 
 begot by three brothers, by committing incest with their own 
 sister, when '"hey were intoxicated with win6 ; the brothers and 
 sister, as the same authority asserts, were the children of Eoch- 
 aidh Feidhlioch, one oi the kings of Ireland. 
 
 Connor Abhradhruadh succeeded in the government. 
 f^i)^ , He was the son of Feargus Fairge, son of Nuaghadh Neacht, 
 '' ' son 01 Seadna Siothbhaic, a prince of the posterity of 
 Heremon, and wore the crown but one year. The reason why 
 he was distinguished by the name of Abhradhruadh was, because 
 the hair oi his eye-brows was red ; for the Irish word Abhradh- 
 ruadh signifies red eye-brows. 
 
 4.090 Criomhthan Niadhnar was his successor He was the 
 ■ son of Lughaidh Riabhdearg, descended from the line of 
 Heremon, and reigned monarch of the island sixteen years. He 
 was known by the name of Criomchan Niadhnar, because he was 
 one oi the bravest and most victorious champions of the age ho . 
 lived in ; for in the Irish language the word Niadh signifies a 
 bold hero. It was in the twelfth year oi the reign of this prince 
 that Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, was born. His 
 death was occasioned by an unfortunate fall from his horse. 
 
 Fearaidhach Fionfachtnach obtained the arovernment. 
 
 AD 
 
 *i * He was the son of Criomthan Niadhnar, son of Lughaidh 
 Riabhdearg, oi the posterity ol the line oi Heremon, 
 and he reigned twenty years. His mother was Nar Tath Cha- 
 och, daughter Of Laoch, son oi Daire, who lived in the land of 
 the Picts, or Scotland. He was distinguished by the honourable 
 title Oi Fearaidhach Fionfachtnach, because he was a prince oi 
 strict justice, and governed his subjects with equity and mode- 
 ration all his reign, j for the Irish word Fachtnach signifies just' 
 and equitable ; and he had the most lawful claim to that title, 
 f6r ^ monarch of more integrity and virtue never sat upon the 
 throne oi Ireland. In the reign of this prince ^it was, that Mo- 
 ran, the son oi Maoin, lived, and was the chiel justice of the 
 kingdom. He was called, by way of eminence, the just judge ; 
 and he was the first that wore the wonderful collar, called in the 
 Irish language Jadh Morain. This, collar was attended with a 
 most surprising virtue * for if it was tied about the neck of a 
 
2'28 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 wicked judge, who intended to pronounce false judgment, it would 
 immediately shrink, and contract itself close, and almost stop 
 the breath ; but if the person that wore it changed his resolu- 
 tion, and resolved sincerely to be just in his sentence, it would 
 instantly enlarge itself, and hang loose about the neck. This 
 miraculous collar was also used to prove the integrity of the wit- 
 nesses who were to give evidence in the court of judicature ; 
 and if it were tied about the neck of a person who designed to 
 give a false testimony, it would wonderfully shrink close, and 
 extort the truth, or continue contracting itself till it had throttled 
 him. And from this practice arose the custom, in the judica- 
 tories of the kingdom, for the judge, when he suspected the ve- 
 racity of a witness, and proposed to temfy him to give true evi- 
 dence, to charge him solemnly to speak the truth, for his lifo 
 was in danger if he falsified, because the fatal collar, the Jadh 
 Morain, was about his neck, and would inexorably proceed to 
 execution. This Feai-aidbach Fionfachtnach died a natural 
 death at Liatrym. 
 
 Fiachadh Fion, from whom descended lineally the Dial 
 
 oV Fiat hach, was the succeeding monarch. He was the sou 
 
 of Daire, son of Dluthig, son of Deitsin, son of Eochaidh, 
 
 son of Suin, son oi Rosin, derived from the princely stock of 
 
 ' lieremon. He sat upon the throne three years, and fell by the 
 
 Bword of Fiachadh Fionoluidh, 
 
 nrr Fiachadh Fionoluidh was his successor. He was the 
 
 son of Fearaidhach Fionfachtnach, descended from the 
 posterity of Heremon, and governed the kingdom twenty-seven 
 years. He was called the prince of the white cows ; and the 
 reason of this distinction was, because all the time of his reign 
 the greatest number of the cows were white over all the kingdom : 
 this gave him the name of Fionoluidh ; for the word Fionoluidh, 
 in the Irish language signifies white cows, Fionn is the same ^ as 
 white, and Oluidh is in the English a cow. It must be observed 
 in this place, that the Chronicle of Stow asserts, that the Scots 
 had possessed themselves of the kingdom of Scotland in the year 
 ol our redemption 73, which was before Carbre Riada was born. 
 This Fiachadh was murdered by the plebeians of Ireland, called 
 Aitheach Tuatha. 
 
 ^. Cairbre Cinncait filled the throne. He was the son of. 
 
 Dubthaig, son oi Rughraidhe, son oi Diochuin, son of 
 
 Tait, son ol Luighre, son of Oiris, son oi Earnduilbh. son of 
 
 Ptionoil, son ol the king of Denmark, who came into Ireland with 
 
 LabLra Loing^eachp to the fort of Tuama Teanbhoith ; and ho 
 
OF IRELAKD. 229 
 
 ^.nt upon the throne five years. He was, as some of the chronicles 
 u..sert, descended from the posterity of the Firbolgs, and was 
 known by the name of Cairbre Cinncait, because his ears wcis 
 of an uncommon shape, and resembled the ears of a cat. This 
 frince fixed himself in the government by one of the most bar- 
 barous acts of treason that is to be met with in history. The 
 manner was thus. 
 
 There was a conspiracy formed by the common people of the 
 kingdom, the ordinary mechanioas and meanest o± the plebeians, 
 to dethrone the reigning monarch, to murder the nobility and 
 gentry, and by that means to seize upon the government. To 
 accomplish their design, which was carried on with the utmost 
 secrecy, they resolved to provide a most magnificent entertain- 
 ment, and to invite the king, the petty princes, and the nobility 
 and gentry ot the kingdom, to a feast that was to be celebrated 
 at a place called Magh Cru, in the province of Conacht. This 
 feast was three years in making ready, for they could not furnish 
 suitable provision for so numerous an assembly in less time; and 
 within that space the conspirators reserved and laid up the third 
 part of their corn, and other necessaries, to furnish the entertain- 
 ment. When everything was thus prepared, with great state 
 and plenty, the king and princes, the nobility and gentry of the 
 ioland were invited, and fatally accepted the invitation, to their 
 own ruin. The principal guest was Fiachaidh Fionoluidh, the 
 monarch of Ireland, who brought his queen along with him, her 
 name was Eithne, daughter to the king of Scotland ; the second 
 in quality was Feidh, son of Fidheigh Chaoich, king of Muns-ter, 
 who had his wife with him, whose name was Beartha, daughter 
 to the king of Wales • the third was Breasal, the son of Firb, 
 king of Ulster, his wife likewise was present at the entertainment, 
 and her name was Aine, daughter of the king of England. 
 These princes were attended with a numerous and splendid re- 
 time, which consisted of the prime nobility and gentry of the 
 kingdome 
 
 There were three persons particularly, who were the ringleaders 
 and principally directed this conspiracy : their names were Mo- 
 narch, Buan, and Cairbre Cinncait, that usurped the government 
 ot Ireland, who was the chief traitor, and by his wicked policy 
 coutrived the entertainment. The feast continued for the space 
 of nine days in great splendour, and when that time was expired, 
 tlio plebeians, and the vilest scum of the people, led on by their 
 generals, fell suddenly upon the royal guests, the nobility, and 
 aii the company, and put them to the sword, without distinction, 
 
 N 
 
230 TriT5 GRNET^AL HISTOnv 
 
 except the three queens, who by good providence were all big 
 with child, and moved the compassion of the traitors : but they 
 resolved not to trust long to their mercy, for upon the first op- 
 portunity they made their escape, and landed safely in Scotland. 
 Here they fell in travail, and each of them was delivered of a son, 
 whose names were Tuathal Teachtmar, Tiobruide Tirioch, and 
 Corbulan. 
 
 These confusions so distressed the people, that they were re- 
 duced to the utmost extremities, and to a state of despondency : 
 they had no encouragement to follow their business and occupa- 
 tions ; the fields lay unmanured, and a most desperate famine 
 followed. These were the effects of the usurpation, which at 
 last opened the eyes of the inhabitants, who began to inquire 
 after the young princes, and resolved to restore them to their 
 just rights. When they had intelligence that they were in Scot- 
 land, they invited them in the most submissive manner to re- 
 turn to their country, and deliver their subjects out of the 
 hands of those tyrants, who had oppressed them for many years ; 
 and they promised to vindicate their titles, and put them in 
 possession of their crowns. The princes, unwilling to rely wholly 
 upon the loyal tenders of the unsteady populace, would not ac- 
 cept of the invitation, unless they would bind themselves by an 
 oath of allegiance to continue in their obedience, which they 
 willingly submitted to ; and accordingly the exiled kings re- 
 turned into Ireland, where they were received by the general 
 acclamations of the people, the tyrants were destroyed, the coun- 
 try was restored to its former state of plenty and happiness, and 
 a. final end put to usurpation. 
 
 Since we are relating the lives of the ancient monarchs, it may 
 not be improper to obviate an objection that might be offered, 
 concerning the genealogy of these princes ; for if it should bf> 
 thought surprising, that the Irish writers of late ages deduce 
 the descent of the kings, either from the sons ot Milesius, or 
 from Lughaidh, the son of Ith ; and likewise if it should seem 
 unaccountable, that the principal families of Ireland to this day 
 derive their original from some of the branches of the Milesian 
 line, without owning themselves to be the descendants of any 
 officer or other soldier, who came over in this expedition, and, 
 it may be presumed, left a posterity behind them. In answer 
 to these difficulties, it must be observed, that the ancient re- 
 cords of the kingdom, particularly the books that treat of the 
 reigns and conquests of the kings, take express notice of the 
 ruin and extirpation of the posterity of the Milesian soldiery ; 
 
OF iJRELANa !?"1 
 
 for in process of time they degenerated into a barbarous and re- 
 bellious race of men, and used their princes in the most seditiouii 
 and inhuman manner ; for which turbulent and disloyal prac- 
 tices the monarchs by degrees weeded them out of the kingdom j 
 and those few that remained, were so vile and infamous, that the 
 antiquaries never preserved their genealogies but passed them 
 over in oblivion, as a reproach and scandal to the Irish nation. 
 But to return to our history. 
 
 Elim obtained the government of the island. He was 
 ;-■(^ ' the son of Conragh, son of Rughruidhe, son of Sithrighe, 
 
 son of Dubh, son of Fomhoir, of the royal line of Ir, 
 the son of Milesius, king of Spain, and reigned twenty years, 
 but was at length slain by Tuathal Teachtmar, at the battle of 
 Aichle. • 
 
 ^Q Tuathal Teachtmhar was his successor. He was the 
 
 son of Fiachadh Fionoluidh, son of Fearaidhach Fionfacht- 
 nach, sou of Criomthan Niadhnar, of the posterity of Heremon, 
 and filled the throne thirty years. He received the name of 
 Tuathal Teachtmhar from the state of plenty and public pro- 
 sperity which he settled over the whole kingdom, by succeeding 
 in the government ; for the word Teachtmhar, in the Irish lan- 
 guage, signifies fruitfulness and prosperity. This Tuathal Te- 
 achtmhar was the only child of Fiachadh Fionoluidh, and his 
 mother was big with child of him when she was forced to fly into 
 Scotland, some time after the bloody massacre of Magh Cru, in 
 Conacht, when the plebeians rebelled, and, by murdering the 
 reigning princes, the nobility and gentry of the kingdom, seized 
 upon the government. The mother of this monarch took great 
 care of his education, and brought him up suitable to his quality 
 till he was twenty-five years of age. It has been observed be- 
 fore, that the kingdom of Ireland sujBTered great calamities under 
 the tyranny of the usurpers, and was particularly distressed by 
 a sore and long famine : these miseries at length roused up tho 
 spirits of the people, who applied themselves to their learned 
 druids and soothsayers to know the cause of their misfortunes, 
 and what remedy would be effectual to redress them. Tive 
 priests had recourse to their art, and upon consultation they 
 found that the cause of ail their afflictions was the barbarous 
 murder of the kings, the nobility and gentry, and the expulsion 
 of the lawful heirs j and therefore tbey tol4 the plebeians, that 
 nothing could atone to heaven for their disloyalty and barbarities 
 and remove the famine out of the land, but a resolution to re- 
 turn to their allegiance, to recall their exiled monarch, and to 
 
232 Tun: general history 
 
 establish him upon the throne of his ancestors, which was the 
 only method to recover the state out of confusion, and settle 
 the tranquillity of the nation. The plebeians, reduced to the 
 last extremity by want, were pleased with this vanswer, and find- 
 ing upon inquiry that Fiachadh Fionoluidh had a son in Scot- 
 land, whose name was Tuathal, they consulted together to send 
 messengers to Scotland, with a tender of their loyalty, and an 
 DfFer to fix the injured king upon the throne of his progenitors. 
 
 And to favour the restoration of this young prince, theie were 
 some of the nobility and gentry remaining in the country, who 
 had the fortune not to be present at the entertainment when the 
 massacre was committed. These were upon all occasions pro- 
 moting the interest of Tuathal Teachtmhar, and disposing the 
 people to insist upon his return : the chief of them was Clan- 
 duin Deasuig, out of Leinster. 
 
 But there were two gentlemen, Fiachadh Caisin, and Fionmal 
 his cousin, who signally distinguished themselves, in these dan- 
 gerous times, against the party of the usurpers ; for they raised 
 five hundred resolute men, and when they were well armed and 
 disciplined, they ranged about the country spoiling and killing 
 the plebeian rebels in all parts of the kingdom, which was a 
 great support to the royal cause, and by degrees so dispirited the 
 malcontents that they began to long for a change of governmient, 
 and passionately desired a revolution. 
 
 The messengers of the people arriving in Scotland, delivered 
 their credentials to Tuathal Teachtmhar, who being informed of 
 the deplorable state of his oppressed country, resolved to attempt 
 a recovery of his right, and abolish the tyranny of the usurpers. 
 Accordingly he went on board with all possible, expedition, and, 
 taking his mother with him, who was Eithne, the daughter of 
 the king of Scotland, and a strong body of old experienced sol- 
 diers, landed safely at Jorris Domhrionn. Here he met with 
 the loyal party of forces, headed by the brave Fiachadh Caisin, 
 who were plundering and destroying the country of the rebels 
 with fire and sword, and, joining with their troops, directed his 
 march to Tara, where he found the principal men of the kingdom 
 assembled in his favour, who received him with joyful acclama- 
 ations, and in a solemn and magnificent manner proclaimed Tua- 
 thal king of Ireland. 
 
 Elim, the son of^'Conragh, had then possessed himself of the 
 government of Ireland, being an elective king chosen by the suf- 
 frage of the plebeians, after the death of Cairbre Cinncait, The 
 usurper, alarmed at these proceedings, prepared for delence, and 
 
OF IRELAND. 233 
 
 baving raised what power the exigency of the time would permit, 
 inarched with what forces he had against Tnathall, and gave him 
 battle at Aichle, where his new raised army was soon broken and 
 defeated, and he himself slain. This success so animated the 
 royal party, that they pursued their victory, and fell upon the 
 plebeians, and routed them m all parts of the kmgdom. Bui. 
 this was not accomplished without great difficulty, for the rebels 
 had made themselves strong by a possession of twenty-five years, 
 and tried their fortune in several engagements before they were 
 absolutely quelled, but at length by the superior bravery of Tua- 
 thal's troops, they were .reduced ^ for they were defeated in 
 twentj^-five battles in Leinster, in twenty -five battles in Couacht, 
 and in twenty-five battles in Munster. 
 
 Tuathal, by these repeated victories, put an end to the usur- 
 pation, redeemed the nobility and gentry from the oppression of 
 the commons, and restored happiness and tranquillity to the 
 kingdom. When he had fixed himself in the government, he 
 convened the general assembly of Tara, after the example of his 
 roj^ai predecessors in the throne of Ireland, who always sum- 
 moned a parliament in the beginning of their reigns, to debate 
 upon the affairs of the state, and to consult the welfare and peace 
 of the public. The nobility and gentry of the island joyfully 
 met him, and in this convention recognised his title to the crown, 
 confessed him to be their lawful and rightful monarch, and pro- 
 mised to support his government against all foreign and domestic 
 enemies ; and, as a farther testimony of their loyalty, engaged 
 to continue the succession in his family for ever ^ in the very- 
 same manner as they promised to Ugaine More, one of his pre» 
 decessors. 
 
 In this assembly it was that Tuathal separated a tract of land 
 from each of the four provinces, which met together at a certain 
 place • and oi that part which he took he made the country of 
 Meath, as h appears at this day. For though the territory of 
 land that is adjacent to Visneach, was known by the name of 
 Meath, from the time of the sons of Nemedius till the reign of 
 this monarch, Tuathall, yet the proportion that was thus sepa- 
 rated and divided from the rest was not so called till the death 
 of this prince, who established it as a distinct part of the country 
 from every one of the provinces, as before mentioned. 
 
 In each portion taken out oi the provinces, Tuathal erected a 
 magnificent palace. In the tract he divided from Munster, and 
 added to Meath, he built the royal seat of Tlachtga, where the 
 fire Tlachtga was ordained to be kindled. The use of this sacred 
 
-''>^ THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 fire was to summon the priests, augurs, and druids of Ireland, to 
 repair thither, and assemble upon the eve of All Saints, in order 
 to consume the sacrifices that were offered to their pagan gods ; 
 and it was established, under the penalty of a great fine, that no 
 other fire should be kindled upon that night throughout the 
 kingdom, so that the fire that was to be used in the country was 
 to be derived from this holy fire ; for which privilege the people 
 were to pay a Scraball, which amounts to three pence, every 
 year, as an acknowledgment to the king of Munster ; because the 
 palace Tlachtga, where this fire burned, was the proportion taken 
 from the province of Manster, and added to the country of 
 Meath. 
 
 The second royal palace that was erected, was in the propor- 
 tion taken from the province of Conacht, and here a general 
 convocation was assembled, of all the inhabitants of the kingdom 
 that were able to appear, which was called The Convocation of 
 Visneach, and was kept upon the first day of May, where they 
 oifered sacrifices to the principal deity of the island, whom they 
 adored under the name Beul. Upon this occasion they were 
 used to kindle two fires in every territory of the kingdom, in 
 honour of this pagan god. It was a solemn ceremony at this 
 time, to drive a number of cattle of every kind, between these 
 fires , this was conceived to be an antidote and a preservation 
 against the murrain, or any other pestilential distemper among 
 cattle, for the year following. And from those fires, that were 
 made in worship of the god Beul, the day, upon which the Chris- 
 tian festival of St. Philip and St. James is observed, is called, in 
 the Irish language, La Beultinne. The derivation of the word 
 is thus , La in Irish signifies a day, Beul is the name of the pagan 
 deity, and Teinne is the same with fire in the English, which words 
 when they are pronounced together, sound La Beultinne. The 
 inhabitants at this time, for want of the conveuiency of coined 
 money, would change and barter their horses, their arms, or what 
 other valuable things they had, for different necessaries which 
 they had occasion for, which was the way of buying and selling 
 in those ages. The king of Conacht, as a tribute and acknow- 
 ledgment, had a horse and arms for every lord of a manor, or 
 chieftain of lands, that came to this assembly ; and the reason of 
 tiiis claim was, because the tract of Visneach was a proportion 
 separated from the province of Conacht. in order to enlarge the 
 borders of Meath. 
 
 The third royal seat erected by Tuathal, was the palace of 
 Tailtean, which was a territory added to Meath. and originally 
 
m IRELAND. 
 
 235 
 
 belonged to the province of Ulster. At this place was the cele- 
 brated fair of Tailteau held, which was the more remartable, 
 as the inhabitants of the island brought their children thither, 
 that were of a suitable age, and contracted with one another 
 about the marriage of them. The strictest and most becoming 
 order was observed in this meeting ; for the men were placed by 
 themselves, the women likewise had a peculiar place at a conve- 
 nient distance assigned them, where they treated about the dis- 
 posal of their children, and when the articles were agreed upon 
 they proceeded to the ceremony. 
 
 It must he observed here^ that Lughaidh Lamhfhada was the 
 first monarch who established the fair oi Tailtean, in honour to 
 the memory of Tailte, the daughter of Maghmor, king of Spain, 
 and wife to Eochaidh, the son of Eire, the last king of the Fir- 
 bolgs, as before mentioned. In this field that renowned queen 
 was buried, by Lughaidh Lamhfhada, who, in commemoration 
 of her, instituted the fair of Tailtean ; because she had taken 
 care of his education in his minority, and accomplished him in 
 pulite learning, and the discipline of arms, till he was grown a 
 man. This fair was then kept upon the day known in the Iri^li 
 language by the name of La Lughnasa, in the month of August, 
 which is as much as to say, the day ordained by Lughaidh, and 
 is called in the English Lammas-day, observed upon the first 
 day of the month of August. But notwithstanding the fair of 
 Tailtean was ordained before the reign of Taathal Teachtmhar, 
 yet there was no palace erected in that place till the time of this 
 monarch ; and because the seat of Tailtean, in the country of 
 Meath, was separated from the province o. Ulster, the king of 
 that province laid claim to a tribute of acknowledgment, Arising 
 from that fair, which consisted in an ounce of silver from every 
 couple that were contracted and married at that time. 
 
 The tourth royal seat, erected by Tuathal Teachtmhar, was 
 the palace of Teamhair, that is, Tara, which was added to Meatb, 
 and originally belonged to the province of Leinster. In this 
 Btately fabric the general meeting of the several estates of the 
 kingdom was held, which convention was called the royal assem- 
 bly of Tara. This parliament was summoned once in three years, 
 and was also distinguished by the name oi Feas Teamhrach. 
 The business of this assembly was to enact wholesome laws for 
 the government of the kingdom, to examine into the ancient 
 chronicles and records, to purge them of all false and spurious 
 relations, and to settle th^.^enealogies of the renowned Ga<le- 
 lians. The pedigrees fend -niSjle exploits of -the several families 
 
^^^ THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 in the island, were brought before this assembly, who appointed 
 a select committee of the most learned antiquaries, to search into 
 the truth and authority of them ; and if they were approved 
 and passed the scrutmy, they were admitted by the parliament, 
 and transcribed into the royal records, called the Psalter of 
 Tara ; so that whatever laws, customs or genealogies were offered 
 to be introduced, if they were not upon inquiry to be found in 
 this venerable and authentic journal, were not admitted as gen- 
 uine, but were rejected as an imposition upon posterity. 
 
 The bounds of this history will not allow of a particular ac- 
 count of the several laws and institutions established by this 
 convention^ which I am certain will take up a vo ume of them- 
 cselves, and may hereafter, upon proper encouragement, be com- 
 municated to the public ; yet it may be convenient to repeat, 
 in some measure, what was observed beforb, and speak of the 
 regularity and decent order observed in the magnificent enter- 
 tainments, provided for the several members of this triennial 
 parliament during the time of their session. 
 
 This assembly did not only consist of the principal nobility 
 and gentry of the kingaom, but the military officers, and the 
 principal commanders of the army, were admitted to a place in 
 these debates ; and the name of every officer, that was in fall 
 pay, and employed m the defence of the country, with the date 
 of his commission, was enrolled by the learned antiquaries in 
 the royal records. The nobility and gentry likewise had their 
 names inserted in the list, by public authority, according to 
 their several qualities ; and by the superiority of their degrees, 
 every member had a right to a place at these entertainments. 
 
 When the dinner was prepared, and the apartment ready, 
 every guest had a servant to attend upon h::a, and to carry his 
 target, which he delivered to the antiquaries, who hung them up, 
 according to their enrolments. The dining-room was a iong 
 and narrow building, with tables placed against each side of 
 the room, only allowing a space for a waiter to stand behind. 
 Above the table were hooks fixed in the wall, at convenient 
 distances, upon which the targets of the nobility, the gentry, 
 and commanding officers, were hung up, by the learned antiqua- 
 ries or heralds, whose office it was, by which means every mem- 
 ber knew the place appointed for him to sit, for they were to 
 take their places under their own targets, which were easily dis- 
 tinguished by the coats of arms blazoned upon the outside of 
 them, so that there was no dispute about precedence and pre- 
 cminency, for by these methods it was impossible to mistake. 
 
^^/ 1RELA^'0. 237 
 
 The table on' the right hand was appointed for the nobility, who 
 were possessed of the greatest estates : that on the left hand 
 was for the principal officers who had the highest posts in the 
 army, and for the rest of the members. The end of the apart- 
 ment was allotted to the antiquaries, the historians, the juc^es, 
 the poets, and men of learning in all professions, who were al- 
 lowed to sit in this convention. A space was left between the 
 table and the wall for the attendants. Before the dinner every 
 person was to go out of the room, and the members were to be 
 called in by three loud blasts of a trumpet ; and several other 
 ceremonies were observed, to raise the state and solemnity of 
 this convention, which are particularly described in the reiga 
 of Ollamh Fodhia, a preceding monarch. 
 
 It was this prince, Tuathal Teachtmhar, that first laid the 
 tribute, or chief rent, called Boiroimhe, upon the province of 
 LeinBter, which he exacted as satisfaction for the death of two 
 young princesses, his daughters, who lost their lives on the ac- 
 count of the king of Leinster ;' their names were Fithir and 
 Dairine. The king of this province, called Eochaidh Ainchean, 
 was married to Daiiine, the eldest sister, and brought her away 
 with him to his royal palace in Leinster. About a year after 
 the marriage, this lascivious prince, not contented with the em- 
 braces of his lady, craftily went to Tara, the court of Tuathal 
 Teachtmhar, and told him, that his daughter Dairine was dead, 
 •which loss could no way be repaired to him, unless he would 
 condescend to bestow her sister upon him ; for he valued the 
 honour of his friendship, which would be more sacred and last- 
 ing by this alliance, and in some measure contribute towards the 
 public peace of the kingdom. This request was complied with 
 by the king of Ireland, and the princess Fithir was delivered to 
 Eochaidh Ainchean, who married her, and took her with him 
 to his own province. When she arrived she found her sister 
 Bairine, and was so surprised and overcome with shame at tha 
 sight of her, that she fainted away, and could not be recovered, 
 for she instantly died. The unfortunate Dairine, not suspecting 
 the virtue of her sister, was so affected with the loss of her 
 that she threw herself upon the dead body, and her grief was so 
 violent, that she fell into convulsions, which immediately put 
 an end to her life. This melancholy accident is taken notice of 
 by a very ancient poet, in this manner : 
 
 Tavo princesses, tlie daughters of iUathal 
 The fair Dahine, and the lovely Fithir, 
 Fell by tiie ludt oi" Eochaida Aincheau j 
 
233 TaiZ QBNfiRAL HISTORY 
 
 The virtuous Fithir died with guiltless :;uaine, 
 And Dah'ine overcome with grief, 
 "Would not survive her sister's fate. 
 
 Tke Irish monarch, informed of the tragical end of his two 
 daughters, resolved to revenge their death upon the king of Leiu- 
 ster, whose treachery and falsehood had destroyed two of the 
 most beautiful ladies in the whole kingdom. He therefore im- 
 mediately dispatched messengers throughout the island, to com- 
 plain of the indignity oflfered him ; and demanded assistance of 
 the principal nobility and gentry, to vindicate his abused hon- 
 our, and to chastise the baseness of the unfaithful Eochaidh. 
 They received his letters, and, resenting the affront in a pro- 
 per ma-nner as became good subjects, they raised an army with 
 all expedition, and when they were well fitted out they were sent 
 to Tuathal, to support the justice of his cause, and to invado 
 the territories of the king of Leinster. 
 
 Supported with a numerous and resolute body of troops, Tua- 
 thal marched into the province of Leinster with fire and sword, 
 making most dreadful depredations, and miserably distressing 
 the inhabitants. Eochaidh, informed of the miseries of his peo- 
 ple, designed at first to raise an army, and give battle to the 
 enemy ; but when he understood the strength of the Irish forces, 
 he found he was unable to make head against them in the field, 
 and therefore, in the most submissive manner, desired a cessa- 
 tion of arms, and by treaty to compound the dispute. The 
 king of Ireland had it in his power to destroy and overrun the 
 whole province, but being of a merciful disposition, he consented 
 to withdraw his troops, and restrain them from plundering the 
 country, if the king and people of Leinster would bind them- 
 selves by solemn engagements, to pay a certain tribute, every 
 second year, to him and his successors in the throne of Ireland, 
 ■which contract should oblige the king and the inhabitants of 
 the province for ever. These terms were accepted by Eochaidh 
 and his subjects, with great satisfaction ; and the tribute and 
 acknowledgment, that was demanded by TuathaJ for the death 
 of his daughters, was, threescore hundred cows, threescore hun- 
 dred hogs, threescore hundred wethers, threescore hundred cop- 
 per cauldrons, threescore hundred ounces of silver, and threescore 
 hundred mantles. This tribute was ordered to be disposed of 
 in this manner ; a third part of it was to be paid to the people 
 of Oirgiallach, a third part to the inhabitants of Conacht, and 
 the remaining part to Jobh Neill. A poet of great antiquity 
 has transmitted an account of this transaction in the following 
 
OV IRELAND. 239 
 
 lines, which exactly agrees with the old history called Boiroimlie 
 Laighean, or the fine of Leinster. 
 
 As tribute for the death of the two princesses, 
 
 And in revenge for the base act of Eochaidh, 
 
 The men of Leinster were obliged to pay 
 
 To Tuathal, and all the monarchs after him, 
 
 Threescore hundred of the fairest cows, 
 
 And threescore hundred ounces of pure silver, 
 
 And threescore hundred mantles richly woven. 
 
 And threescore hundred of the fattest hogs, 
 
 And threescore hundred of the largest sheep, 
 
 And threescore hundred cauldrons strong and polish'd. 
 
 This tribute Avas appointed to be sent, 
 
 A third part to the inhabitants of Conacht, 
 
 Another third to Oirgiall, and the rest 
 
 To Jobh Neill. 
 
 This taXywas known in Ireland by the name of Boiroimhe 
 Laighean, or the tribute of Leinster, and was duly paid every 
 second year during the reign of forty monarchs in Ireland, after 
 Tuathal, who first received it ; as the poet has given us to uuder- 
 Etand in this manner ; 
 
 To forty royal monarchs of the isle, 
 This heavy tribute was exactly paid, 
 From the renowned Tuathal's restoration, 
 To Fianachta's happy reign. 
 
 The province of Leinster was delivered from the payment of 
 this tax b}'' the intercession of St. Moling, who obtained from 
 Fianachta a forbearance till Monday, as he expressed it. The 
 gtiint, it seems, had an equivocal evasion, for he meant the Mon- 
 day after Doomsday, by which artifice he overreached the king, 
 who remitted the tribute. 
 
 It has been observed that this fine of Leinster was paid for 
 many ages ; but sometimes, when the kingdom of Ireland was 
 invaded or disturbed by civil commotions, the king of the pro- 
 vince would refuse to send his tax, which occasioned many wars 
 and fatal disputes ; for the Irish monarchs would insist upon 
 their right and defend it by arms, and by these contests and 
 quarrels many of the nobility and gentry were slain on both 
 sides, but the greatest calamities generally fell upon the province. 
 
 During tha reign of Tuathal Teachtmhar, as the Irish records 
 of Tara expressly mention, there were two general assemblies 
 convened within the kingdom of Ireland : the first was sum- 
 moned to the palace of Eamhain, in Ulster ; the other met at. 
 
240 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 Cruachau, in the province of Conacht. The most remarkable 
 ordinances and laws, that were debated and established in these 
 great councils of the nation, were those that follow. It was 
 enacted, that all the annals, histories, ana other, public chroni- 
 cles of the kingdom should be examined and revised, and the 
 same method should be used in fixing their authority, as was 
 ordained by the committee of the triennial parliament, in the 
 reign of that illustrious monarch Ollamh Fodhla ; for great 
 corruptions had been introduced from the murder of Fiachadh 
 Fionoluidh, under the usurpation of the plebeians, and those 
 conventions had been discontinued till the restoration of Tua- 
 thal. 
 
 It was likewise established in that august assembly, by the 
 king and his nobles, that the artificers, the tradesmen and handi- 
 craftsmen of the kingdom, should be brought under regulation ; 
 for which end the mechanics of all occupations, smiths, carpen- 
 ters, musicians, and all other ingenious professions, were sum- 
 moned to attend upon these triennial parliaments : when they 
 came, a select committee was appointed to examine into the 
 skill and abilities of every mechanip-^ and to make choice of sixty 
 of the most eminent in their several professions, who had autho- 
 rity by commission to govern and be supervisors over the rest. 
 Every one of these had the proper extent of his jurisdiction set- 
 tled ; and their office was to reform all abuses m their several 
 professions, and suspend such as were unskilful, or by misman- 
 agement brought their art into disrepute, from the exercise of 
 their trades ; so that no person was allowed publicly to practise 
 his art, or profess any mechanical employments, without a li-. 
 cense from these commissioners, after he had been strictly exa- 
 mined, and accepted, by reason of his abilities, in the trade and 
 bu^ness he designed to follow. These supervisors, invested with 
 this authority, were knownin the Irish language by the name of 
 Jollanuidh, which signifies skilful and able mechanics. Before 
 this time, it must be observed, that very few of the posterity of 
 the Milesians professed any trade or occupation, but were gene- 
 rally persons of some estate, or employed in the army, or in 
 other public posts of the government. The mechanics of the 
 country, in those days were the remnant of the Tuatha de 
 Danans, who were permitted to stay in the kingdom, the Bri- 
 gantes, and some c^ the principal plebeians : the lower branches 
 of the Milesian race were the militia of the island, the historians, 
 antiquaries, harpers, physicians, and Brehon or judges, and other 
 public officers of the state, who would not submit to any manual 
 
OF IRELAND. 241 
 
 labour, lest they should degrade and bring a stain upon the ho- 
 nour of their families. This monarch, Tuathal Teachtmhar, 
 was slain by his successor, Mai, the son of Rughruidh. 
 
 Mai, the son of Rughruidh, seized upon the govern- 
 -jQQ ment. His grandfather was Cathbhadha, son of Giall- 
 
 chadha Finn, son of Fionchadha, son of Muireadhuagh, 
 son of Fiachadh Fionnamhaig, son of Iriel Glunmar, son of Con- 
 nall Cearnach, son of Amergin Jargiunaig, son ot Gas Triilsigh, 
 son of Fachtna, son of Cana, son ol Gionga, son of Rughruidh 
 More, (from whom Clana Rugbruidhe obtained its name,) a 
 descendant from the posterity of Ir, the son of Milesius, king ol 
 Spain. He filled the throne of Ireland t jur years, and fell by 
 the sword of Feidhlin Reachtmar, son ol Tuathal Teachtmhar 
 Feidhlin. 
 I -J o Feidhlimhidh Reachtmar was his successor. He wa3 
 
 the son of Tuathal Teachtmar, son of Fiachadli Fiono- 
 luidh, derived from the royal line of Heremon, and wore tho 
 crown nine years. The mother of this Irish monarch was 
 Baine, the daughter oi Sgaile Balbh, the king of England. This 
 prince was distinguished by the name ol Feidhlimhidh Reacht- 
 mhar, because he governed his subjects, and administered jus- 
 tice among them, by the most equitable law of retaliation.' 
 Every" sentence and decree that he passed upon an offender 
 was strictly conformable to this ancient law, which he enjoined 
 with the same exactness in all the public judicatories oi the 
 kingdom. If a criminal had defrauded another ot his cattle, 
 his sheep, or any part of his property, or had destroyed the use 
 ol a leg, an arm, or an eye, or of whatever nature the offence 
 was, he was obliged to make satisfaction by this law. And by 
 the dread of this severe though just decree, the inferior subjects 
 of Ireland were terrified into humanity, integrity, and good 
 manners, and became an honest and worthy peopxe. From this 
 method of punishment and retribution was this prince distin- 
 guished by the name of Feidhlimhidh Reachtmar : and Provi- 
 dence rewarded him for the justice of his administration, for he 
 did not fall by the sword, as did most ol his predecessors, but; 
 died a natural death. 
 ■190 Cathaoir More, who was surnamed the Great, was 
 
 the succeeding monarch. He was the son 01 Feidhlim- 
 hidh Fionirglais, son of Cormac Gealta Gaoth, son of INiadh 
 Corb, son of Concorb, son oi Modha Corb, son of Concha bhar 
 Abbraruadhe, son of Feargus Fairge, a prince descended from 
 tht posterity ol Heremon, and governed the kingdom three 
 
242 ■ THE GLINERAL HISTORY 
 
 years. This king had thirty sons, as an old poet gives us to 
 understand in this manner : 
 
 Descended from the loins of Cathaoir More 
 Were th rty j>rinces, most renowa'd in iiims. 
 Most comely personages, and Tierces all. 
 
 Yet we are assured that twenty of those princes died, and left 
 no issue behii^d them ; the remaining ten married, and had 
 many children. The names of those brothers who survived 
 were Rosa Failge, Daire Barrach Breasal, Eineach Glass, Fear- 
 gus, Oilioll, Criomthan Dearg Maisneach, Eochaidh Teimhin, 
 Aongus, Fiachadh Baiceada, who was the youngest prince of 
 the family. This last branch obtained the government of th-s 
 province oi Leinster, and were kings of that country for many 
 ages. 
 
 From Rosa, the eldest son of this monarch, Cathaoir More, 
 who was surnamed Failge. which signifies the hero of the rings, 
 descended the most princely and illustrious family of O'Connor 
 Faly. The word Faly, it must be observed, is an erident cor- 
 ruption of Failge, which in the Irish language signifies rings. 
 For this prince Failge, who was the eldest son of the posterity 
 01 Cathaoir More, was distinguished by the iionourable name of 
 O'Connor Faly, or Failge ; as appears evidently from all the 
 authentic records ot Ireland in general, and particularly by the 
 p:enealogy, preserved through so many ages, of the illustrious 
 family of O'Connor Faly, which testifies, that the hereditary 
 princes oi Leinster successively retained the ancient title of 
 Failge, m proof ot their royal extraction from Rosa Failge, 
 whom they justly claim as the greatest ancestor of the family. 
 And they have exertdd^ themselves as a posterity worthy of 
 Buch progenitors j for they have shown themselves a valiant and 
 generous tribe, tree and hospitable, and true patriots, when the 
 cause oi their country required their arms : they were so free 
 of their blood in its detence, that the family, in process of time, 
 was reduced to a small number, for the bravery of this illus- 
 trious house of Leinster exposed them to the gi*eatest dangers 
 and difficulties, and they would never fi.y or retreat, though op- 
 pressed by superior strength, but rather chose to sell their lives 
 dearly upon the spot. From this prince, Rosa Failge, de- 
 scended other noble families, as the O'Dempseys, lords of Clan- 
 malier, and O'Dunne, with several others of principal note, as 
 will be particularly observed when we oome to adjust the pedi- 
 grees of tlie iniieoiaus. 
 
OP iiiELA?n>, 243 
 
 Tt IS certain, that Fiachadh Baiceada, though a younger bro- 
 , tiier to iiosa Failge, is placed in many books^of genealogies be- 
 fore any of th.^ nine sons of Cathaoir More, who left issue be- 
 hind .nem ; and for this reason, because the province of Lein- 
 Bter was governed by more kings of his posterity than of any of 
 th<} other brothers. From ^im desce-uded the princely families 
 ot Mac Morough Cavanagh, in the Irish language Mac Murcha- 
 diia Caomhanach, king of Leinster ; of O'Tool, in Irish O'Tua- . 
 thail, who were some time the monarchs of that province ; of 
 Byrn, in Irish O'Broin, who were not only kings of Leinster, 
 out lords oi Wicklow, for many generations. From this Fia- 
 chadh were derived likewise the noble families of the Murphys, 
 in the Irish O'Murchudha ; of Bowling, in Irish O'Dunluing ; 
 of Ryan, in Irish Eiain, and in sox^e chronicles of Ireland it 
 is called O'Maoilriar. , of Cmsealagh, of O'Mulduin, of O'Cor- 
 mac, o. O'Duffy, and many others. 
 
 From Cairbre, the son of Concorb, who lived four generations 
 before Cathaoir More, ware descended the families of O'Dwyre, 
 in the Irish O'Duibhidir, who were kings of Carbry, Coillnama- 
 nach, &c. 
 
 From Conla, theson of Breasal Ereac, who preceded Catha- 
 oir More by fourteen generations, whs derived the princely family 
 of Fitz Patrick, in the Irish language Macgiollaphadruigh. who 
 were the kings of Ireland for many ages,- and from the 'same 
 noble stem proceeded the heroic tribe of O Braonain, of Vibh- 
 duach, who were distinguished by their military achievements, 
 and were some of the most renowned' champions of the times 
 they lived in. 
 
 A D . ^^^^ Ceadchathach, who for his valour obtained the 
 125* *^^^^ ^^ *^^ -^^^^^ ^^ *^^ hundred battles, obtained the 
 government. He was the son of Tuathal Teachtmhar, 
 descended from the royal line of Heremon, and wore the crown 
 twenty years ; but was at length slain by Tiobraidhe Tireach, 
 son oi Mail, son o. itochruidhe, king of Ulster. He was bar- 
 barously murdered in the territory of Tara, when he chanced to 
 be alone and unattended by his guards; the executioners were 
 fifty ruffians, disguised for that purpose in the habit of women, 
 and employed by Tiobraidhe Tireach to fall upon him when op- 
 portunity favoured, and put an end to his life. The mother of 
 Conn Oeadchathach was Ughna, the daughter of the king of 
 Denmark This prince was attacked, and so overpowered by 
 Modha ISTuagufc, king of Munster, that he lost half his dominions. 
 
244 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 after he had been defeated in ten battles, and was forced to de- 
 liver them into the possession of the conqueror. 
 
 The mother of the viciorious Modha Nuagat was Sigoda, tb© 
 daughter of Floin, son of Fiaohrad, of the Earnaidhe ; and the 
 reason of his quarrel with the kmg of Ireland was, upon the 
 account of the Earnaidhs, who were descended from the pos- 
 terity of Fiachadh Fearmara, and derived from the princely stock 
 9t Heremon. This family by continual victories had the bet- 
 ter of the descendants of Heber Fionn, in Munster ; so that 
 there were three, who at the same time raised pretensions tp 
 the crown of that province Lughaidh Allathach, Daire Dorn- 
 more, and Aongus. When Modha Nuagat perceived that the 
 royal house of Heremon had possession of the government of 
 Munster, he did not think it safe to stay in that province, but 
 removed into Leinster, where he had his education and support 
 with Daire Barrach, the son of Cathaon^ More. There grew an 
 intimate friendsJiip between these two young princes ; so that 
 Modha Nuagat requested of his royal companion, that he would 
 favour his right, and supply him with sufficient forces to re- 
 cover the crown of Munster. His friend complied, and imme- 
 diately put him at the head of a stout body of troops. Modha, 
 with his assistance, marches into the province in a hostile man- 
 ner, and halted at Vibh Liathain • here Aongus made head 
 against him, with a numerous army, and a fierce and bloody bat- 
 tle commenced ; but after a sharp dispute, with doubtful suc- 
 cess, Modha Nuagat was victorious, who routed the enemy, and 
 pursued them so close, that he drove them out of Ikie province. 
 This battle was fought upon a spot of ground fortunate for the 
 conqueror ; for in the same place he fought the battle of Ard 
 Neimhidh. 
 
 Aongus after this defeat, fled directly to Conn Ceadchathacb, 
 the monarch of Ireland, and entreated his assistance ; the king 
 supplied him with a reinforcement of fifteen thousand men ; with 
 this army he enters the province of Munster, and, prompted by 
 indignation and revenge, resolved to recover the crown he had 
 lost, or die upon the spot. He halted at Crioch Liathain, where 
 Modha Nuagac was ready to receive him, and offered him battle. 
 The two armies engaged with great bravery, but the forces of 
 Modha. accustomed to victory, broke through the adverse troops, 
 and destroyed the greatest part of them, wilh tk u^rribie slaugh- 
 ter, and put the rest to a general rout. 
 
 Animated with this sx^JBcess, Modha Nuagat banished the 
 Earnaidhi out of ths province of Mun^iter, but with this restnc- 
 
OF IRELAND, 2i5 
 
 tion, that as many as submitted peaceaoly to his government 
 might continue in the country. It was the assistance that Conn 
 Ceadchathach gave to Aongus, that was the cause ot those 
 dreadful wars between that king and Modha Nuagat ; but the 
 Irish monarch was unfortunate in most engagements, for he 
 lost the day in ten several battles. He was defeated in the bat- 
 tle of Broisne, the battle Oi Sampaite, the battle of Greiue, the 
 battle of Athlone, the battle oi Moigh Crioch, in which action 
 Fiachadh Rioghf hada, the son of Feidhlimhidh Reachtmar, was 
 slain ; the battle of Asail, the battle of Sliabh Mosaigh, the 
 battle of Suamaigh, the battle of Gabhran, and the battle of 
 Visnigh. And these contests and dissensions continued between 
 the two princes, till Modha Nuagat, by a constant course of suc- 
 cess, had .got possession of one half of the kingdom ; so that 
 his territories extended from Gal way and Dablin, and Eiskir 
 Heada was the bounds of his government. From this conquest 
 the southern part of the kingdom is known to this day by the 
 name of Leath, Modha, or Modha's half, who was the victorious 
 prince we are now speaking of, and was likewise distinguished 
 by the name of Eogan More. The northern part of the island 
 is called to this time by the distinction of Leath Ciiinn, or 
 Conn's half, from this Conn Ceadchathach, king of Ireland. 
 
 Modha Nuagat had another opportunity of enlarging his con- 
 quests, that could not, fail of success, and prevailing upon the 
 affections of the people ; for it happened that seven years be- 
 fore, an eminent druid, whom he retained in his family, disco- 
 vered by his art that there should be a most dreadful famine 
 throughout the island, and so great a scarcity oi provision, and 
 the fruits of the earth, that the inhabitants would be compelled 
 to feed upon one another's flesh, to preserve their lives ; and, 
 therefore, to obviate these calamities, he advised him to support 
 himself and his retinue, by feeding on fish and fowl, of which at 
 that time there was great plenty in all parts of the kingdom ; 
 by this means he had the advantage of saving all the corn, and 
 other fruits for subsistence, when that desolation and misery 
 should fall upon the land j and, as a farther provision against 
 the approaching famine, he persuaded him to build storehouses, 
 and to buy in all the corn of the country, and to lay out all tlie 
 revenue of his province, that could be spared from other uses id 
 the purchase. Modha Nuagat was so convinced of the integrity 
 of the druid, that he gave belief to the prediction, and for the 
 space of seven years he and his subjects lived upon fish and 
 fowl, and secured the corn, and other necessaries of life, in gra- 
 
2iQ 
 
 THH GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 naries and proper places, and sent factors all over the kingdom, 
 to buy all the provision that was exposed for sale^ as far as the 
 whole income of his province would extend. At the time fore- 
 told, there was a miserable scarcity throughout the whole island, 
 and the people were reduced to the most desperate extremities; 
 but when they were informed of the provident care of the prince 
 of Munster, who had laid in great quantities of corn and other 
 necessaries, they applied to him in great numbers, and relying 
 upon his mercy and humanity, entreated him to support them 
 with bread, and save the lives of the whole kingdom. Modha 
 made use of this advantage, and though he resolved to relieve 
 the miseries of the people, yet insisted upon an acknowledg- 
 ment as an equivalent, and promised to assist them with corn 
 in this distress, upon condition that they would submit to a 
 constant tribute, and pay a tax to the crown of Munstei'. These 
 terms were joyfully accepted by the starved petitioners ; and 
 so the granaries and store-houses were opened, and necessaries 
 were distributed, but with a sparing hand, among the people. 
 The circiimstances ot this transaction are confirmed by the con- 
 curring testimony ot an authentic poem, that begins thus, 
 Eogan* More la mor a raith ; the lines are these ; 
 
 Aiid now, alas ! came on the deadly year, 
 'And dreadftd blasts infected all the air. 
 The fields no chearful hopes of harvest bring, 
 Nor tender buds foretel a coming spring, 
 Nor bladed grass, nor bearded corn succeed, 
 But scales of scurf and putrefaction breed ; 
 And men, and beasts, and fowls, with hunger pined, 
 And trees and plants in one destruction joined. 
 The scattered vidgar search aroiuid the fields. 
 And puck what^'er the withered herbage yields. 
 Famished with want, the wUds and desarts tread, 
 And fainting wander for their needful bread ; 
 But, tired at length, unable to sustain 
 Afflictive want, and hunger's pinching pain, 
 They pray to Modha as a guardian god. 
 And bless, with hands upheld, the place of his abode. 
 *' Let fall,'' they cry, " some pity on our grief, 
 " If what we beg be just, and we deserve relie£" 
 The prince, with pity moved extended wide 
 His granaries, and all their wants supplied ; 
 But, as a most deserved reward, commands 
 A tax, and lays a tribute on their lands. 
 
 This prince, Modha Nuagat, it must be observed, was known 
 bj lour different names ; he was called Eogan Fiahfheaohacu, 
 
OF ItiELAND. 217 
 
 Eogaii More, Eogan Taithlioch ; and Modha Nuagat ; as au 
 ancient poet has given us to understand in this manner ; 
 
 The prince of Munster is known in history 
 By four most noble titles, Eogan Mare, 
 Eogan Fidhfheathach, Eogan Taithlioch, 
 And Modha Nuagat. 
 
 To understand the true occasion why this prince was distin- 
 guished by these several appellations, the carious may coasuit 
 that ancient treatise, called the Etymology of Names, which will 
 give him satisfaction concerning the derivation of them, Eogan 
 More was the son of Modha Neid, and was married to Beara, 
 the daughter of Heber More, son of Miodhna, king of Castile, 
 in the kingdom of Spain. By this Spanish princess he had one 
 son and two daughters ; the name of his son was Oilioll Olam, 
 the eldest daughter was called Sgoithneamh, and the youngest 
 Coinioll, This is confirmed by a poet of great antiq^ntty in 
 these verses i 
 
 The Spanish princess, beautiful Beara, 
 Daughter of Heber, the Castilian king, 
 Was mother of the valiant Oilioll Olum, 
 And of the virtuous ladies Sgoithneamh 
 And Coinioll. 
 
 Modha Nuagat, the king of Munster, was at length treacher- 
 ously slain by Conn Ceadchathach, the monarch of Ireland, who. 
 as some chronicles assert, killed him in his bed, in the morning 
 of <the day when they intended to fight the battle of Maigh 
 Leane. The reason why this kiitig Conn was surnamed the hero 
 of a hundred battles, was, because he subdued the provincialists, 
 and triumphed over them in 80 many engagements ; to confirm 
 this^ we have the testimony of the following lines : 
 
 The warlilte Conn came off with victory 
 In Mvmster, and an hundred battles won ; 
 So many times with laurels was he crownod, 
 And triumphed over Ulster, and in Leinstcr 
 He fought in sixty battles w ith success. 
 
 But the good fortune oi this prince at last forsook him, and he 
 was slain by Tiobraide Tireach, as before mentioned. 
 
 Conaire was the succeeding monarch. He was the son 
 
 ■J of Modha Lamhadh, son of Luigheach Allathach, son of 
 
 Gairbre Cromcinn, son of Daire Dornmore, son oi Cair- 
 
218 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 bre Fionumor, son of Conair More, son of Eidersgeoil, descenciGd 
 from the royal line of Heremon, and governed the kingdom 
 seven years. He was killed by Neimhidh, the son of Sruibu- 
 chin. ' The mother of this prince was Eithne, the daughter of 
 Lughaidh, son of Daire. From this Conaire, ki ^g of Ireland, 
 descepdcd the Dailraids, in Scotland, as did the Baisgnigh froia 
 Leim Congculionn, as the old poet obcerves in this manner ; ^ 
 
 The noble tribe of the Dailriads 
 
 Descended from the illudtrioas Conaire; 
 
 Mi.sgraidh proceeded from the royal stock 
 
 Of the same monarch ; and the famed Baisgnigh 
 
 From gi'eat Conge alion's loins their hneage di'ev/. 
 
 AD. 
 
 152 
 
 Art Aonfhir, the Melancholy, sat next on the throne of 
 Ireland. He was the son of Conn Ceadchathach, son of 
 Feidhlimhidh Reachtmhar, a prince of the posterity of 
 Heremon, and reigned thirty years. His queen was Meidhbh 
 Leathdearg, the daughter of Conann Cualann, and from this prin- 
 cess Rath Meidhbhe, near Tara, obtained its name. The cause of 
 this monarch's being distinguished by the title of Art Aonfhir 
 was, because he was the sole survivor of his two brothers, wiio 
 were unfortunately killed by the brothers of Conn, the hero of 
 the hundred battles. The names of these princes were Conia 
 and Crionna ; and the brothers of Conn, who slew them, were 
 called Eochaidh Fionn, and Fiachadh Suidhe. This transaction 
 is confirmed by the testimony of an ancieuo poet, whose autho- 
 rity was- never yet questioned, in these lines i 
 
 Eochaidh Fionn, and Fiachadh Suidhe, 
 Bi-others of Conn, the hdl-o of the island. 
 Destroyed the princes Conla and Crionna, 
 Brothers of Art ; at whose mihappy fate 
 He grieved, and with continued sorrow pined, 
 And so was called The melancholy Ai't. 
 
 Conn, the monarch of Ireland, had six children ; the two sorifi, 
 who were killed, as before mentioned, and Art, who ^'ucceedcd 
 hhn in the government ; and three daughters, -whof-.e names 
 were Maoin, Sadhbh, and Sarah, as an old poet gives as to uu- 
 derstand in these verses , 
 
 Six children from the royal loins of Conn 
 Descended; tlu'ee brothers, worthy of a crown. 
 Conla, Crionna, and melancholy Art; 
 Three daughters, beautiful and virtuous, 
 Maoin, Sadhbh and Saralu 
 
01" IRELAND. .249 
 
 The princes Conla and Crionna were slain by their uncles, 
 their father's brothers ; the princess Sarah was married to Co- 
 naire, the son of Modha Lamhadh, by whom she had three sons, 
 called the three Cairbres ; their names were Cairbre Rioghfada, 
 Cairbre Baschaoin, and Cairbre Muisg, The posterity of Cair- 
 bre Rioghfhada, the eldest of the brothers, removed into Scot- 
 land, and are tiistinguished in that country by the name of Dail- 
 riadas. One of the descendants of this prince, who was called 
 Eochaidh Munramhar, had two sons, whose names were Earcha 
 and Tolchu ; from the eldest of these brothers were derived the 
 Dailriadas of Scotland ; from the youngest sprang, in a lineal 
 descent, the Dailriadas that settled in the province of Ulster, 
 and were called Ruthach. The princess Sadhbh, another daugh- 
 ter of Conn, was married to Macniadh, the son oi Lughdheach, 
 derived from the posterity of Ith, the son of Breogan, by whom 
 ehe had a son, whose name was Lughaidh, and sometimes he wag 
 distinguished by the title ot Mac Conn. Her husband Mac- 
 niadh died, but she was soon married to Oilioll Olum, by whom 
 she had nine sons ; seven of these young princes were unfortu- 
 nately killed in the battle of Magh Muchruime, as Oilioll Olum 
 has confir.ned in a poem composed by himself. 
 
 The tender father for his sons laments ; 
 Seven princes, the only hopes of my old age, 
 Fell in one day : Eogan, Dubmerchon, Modchorb, 
 Lughaidh, Eochaidh, and Diothorba. 
 
 The two brothers that escaped the battle oi Magh Muchrnime, 
 were called Cormac Cas and Cian. And though Oilioll Olum 
 had nineteen sons in the whole, nine by the daughter of Conn, 
 and ten by other women, yet but three of them left any poste- 
 rity j as we have sufficient reason to believe, from the testimony 
 of an ancient poet in this manner, 
 
 Nineteen j'oung heroes were the valiant sons 
 Of OQioll Olum, a renowned prince ; 
 But, by untimely fate destroyed, sixteen 
 Childless ; three alone -were blessed with issue, 
 Vnd to posterity delivered down 
 The princely line ol: tiie Heberian race. 
 
 The sons of Oilioll Olum, that had children, he had by hia 
 queen Sadhbh, the daughter of Conn, the monarch ot Ireland. 
 The eldest ol the three brothers was called Eogan More, and he 
 fell in the battle of Magh Muchruime, by the victorious sword 
 
250 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 of a Welsh hero, Beine Briot, who was sou to the king of Waleg, 
 This prince, Eogan More, left a son behind him, called Fiachadh 
 Muilleathan, from whom descended all the illustrious families of 
 the Clancarthy Mores, the Mac Carthys, OSullivans, and the 
 O'Bryens, with all the spreading branches of those noble tribes, 
 who have appeared very glorious in the Irish nation. The 
 mother of this Fiachadh Muilleathan was Muncha, the daughter 
 ot Dil da Chreaga, and he was born at Ath UisioU, that lies 
 upon the river Suir. He was distinguished by the title of Fia- 
 chadh Fear da Liach, by reason of the sorrowful news which was 
 brought ; for the word Fiach in the Irish language signifies news. 
 The melancholy account that was brought, was the death of his 
 father, Eogan More, at the battle of Magh Muchruime, soon 
 after he was conceived, and before he was born, and the painful 
 death of his mother, who died in travail with him. When he 
 came to the years of understanding, he was made acquainted with 
 the unhappy fate of both his parents, which gave occasion to his 
 name ; and he was afterwards called Fiachadh Fear da Liach, 
 upon account of the sorrow and grief he conceived at the loss 
 of them. Oilioll Olum composed a poem upon the celebrated 
 battle of Magh Muchruime, where this transaction is rec )ided 
 in an elegant and pathetic manner : the verses are these : 
 
 The prince, with more than common grief oppress'd, 
 
 Heard the strange death, and sorrow swelled his breast. 
 
 His father, brave in arms, untimely slain; 
 
 His mother, torn asuiidei, died with pain 
 
 In childbuth. Thus o'ercome "vvith sad surprise, 
 
 A stream of fruitless teaxs ran tricldmg from his' eyes. 
 
 This young prince was also called Fiachadh Muilleathan. 
 What gave occasion to this name was this : his mother's father, 
 it seems, was endued with a prophetic skill ; and, among others 
 of his predictions, he foretold to his daughter, that, if she could 
 forbear the delivery (for she was then in travail) for the space 
 of twenty-four hours, the child that should be born should bo 
 advanced to great honour, and one day fill the throne of Ireland ; 
 but if he came into the world immediately, he should never be 
 promoted to a crown, but should prove an eminent druid, and 
 be of principal note for his divinations. The mother, though 
 in the utmost pain, resolved, if possible, to pi event the birth ; 
 for it was her ambition she designed to gratify, though it coso 
 her her life, and she told her father she would take care tlid 
 cuiid sihould not bs buru within the time, uuicss it forced a vvcc/ 
 
OP IRELAMD. 251 
 
 tlitougii tbe sides of her belly; and accordingly, as an expedient, 
 she instantly ran into a ford of the river Suir, which ran near 
 her father'fc; house, and, wading into a proper depth, she sat, for 
 the ep3ce of t\-enty-four hours, in the cold water, upon a stone, 
 whicb uiTccrually prevented her delivery. Upon her return 
 home the child A^as born, but, as the just reward of her pride, 
 the fainted atua expired. This transaction gave a name to the 
 infant, who was called Fiachadh Muilleathan ; for the crown of 
 hi. iiea^ was, by his mother's sitting upon the stone, pressed in 
 and Liade flat, and in allusion he was known by the title of 
 Muilleathan, which word, in the Irish language, signifies flat- 
 headed. 
 
 The second son of Oilioll Olum was Cormac Cas, from whom, 
 in a lineal descent, are derived the renowned tribe of the 
 Dailgeais, or the O'Bryens, MacMahons, the Macnamaras, other- 
 wise called Sioll Aodh, with many other branches of noble and 
 heroic bloody as shall be particularly observed in its proper 
 place. To this son, Cormac Cas, Oilioll Olum demised the 
 perpetual government of the province of Munster, after his 
 decease ; but when he had intelligence that Fiachadh Muilleathan 
 was born, he thought proper to alter his will, and in this manner 
 ettled the succession : that his son, Cormac Cas, after his death, 
 should wear the crown of Munster during his natural life, any 
 then it should devolve to Fiachadh Muilleathan, the son of 
 Eogan More ; the sovereignty .then was to return into the 
 family of Cormac Cas, and so the province was to be governed 
 alternately by the heirs of these two illustrious tribes, without 
 quarrels or disputes ; and the will of Oilioll Olum was held in 
 that veneration by his posterity, that there were no contests 
 between the two families for the crown of Munster for many 
 ages; 
 
 The third son of Oilioll, that left issue behind him, was Cian , 
 from which prince descended the most noble family of O'Carrol, 
 who were kings oi Ely for many generations ; from him like- 
 -wise derived O'Meachair, O'Hara, O'Gara, and O'Connor Ciau- 
 nachta, 
 
 It must be observed that Oilioll Olum was the first king that 
 reigned- in Munster, of the royal line of Heber Fionn, and he 
 begins the list of those princes in the royal tables, and the public 
 records of the kingdom : of those, I mean, who presided over 
 the two divisions of that province, for Oilioll Olum was in pos- 
 session of the government before he had expelled Mac Con, 
 (Mac Con, who descended fi'om the posterity of Dairine, of the 
 
252 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 noble line of Lnghaidh, the son of Ith, son of Breogan,) and 
 was a branch of the family of Deirgthene, whose great ancestor 
 was Heber Fionn. When the tribe of Dairine had the command 
 in the province of Munster, the descendants of Deirgthene v;ere 
 admitted into the principal offices of the state, and were the 
 established judges of the country ; and when the posterity of 
 Deirgthene obtained the government, the family of Dairine wcfe 
 invested with a great share of authority, they preside^i in the 
 public courts, and administered justice to the subjects ; and this 
 succession in the posts of honour and trust continued till 
 Mac Con was detected of corruption in pronouncing judgment, 
 for which he was degraded by Oilioll Olum, who as a just 
 punishment banished him the island. 
 
 In this state of exile Mac Con continued for some time, but 
 being a person of a factious and turbulent disposition, he began 
 to think himself injured, and resolved upon revenge, and by 
 violence to return into his country, against the express sentence 
 of the king. To accomplish his design he projected an open 
 invasion ; but having no forces to support him, he applied him- 
 self to Beine Briot, son to the king of Wales, who promised to 
 assist him with a competent number of troops, and fix him in 
 the possession of his authority ; and the more easily to engage 
 this young prince, the crafty conspirator assured him he had a 
 considerable party in the island, who resented the injustice of 
 his sentence, and were ready to declare in his favour as soon as 
 he arrived upon the coast. 
 
 Confiding in the integrity of Mac Con, the prince of Wales 
 raised a numerous army, and enlisted into his service men of all 
 nations, that offered to follow him in the expedition ; and when 
 he had provided a sufficient number of transports he weighed 
 anchor, and landed upon the Irish shore. When they arrived 
 they held a council of war, where it was resolved to dispatch a 
 herald to the melancholy Art, who was then monarch of the 
 island, and require him to resign the government, or to give 
 them battle, and decide the contest with the sword. The chal- 
 lenge was a surprise to the kinsr, but he accepted the summons, 
 and sent orders to the general of his militia to attend upon him 
 with his trained hands ; for he had raised an army to oppose 
 the insolent invaders, which if it should give way, and offer to 
 fly, he was ordered to assist with his fresh body, and by that 
 means, recover the fortune of the day. But the perfidious Fionn 
 had been bought off from the service of the king, and had sold 
 his loyalty to Mac Con for a sufiicient bribe which engaged him 
 
OF IRELAND. 253 
 
 to get out of tlie way, and carry himself as a neuter in the 
 dispute. 
 
 The king of Ireland soon perceived the treachery oi his gene- 
 ral, who not only refused to attend upon him in his own person, 
 but seduced the principal officers oi the militia, and engaged 
 them to be absent, and not appear in the fight y but these dis- 
 couragements did not prevent the king irom making head 
 against the enemy ; and accordingly, after he had laid a solemn 
 curse upon the traitor, he marched with the forces he had 
 against Mac Con, who had drawn out his army, and was ready 
 to receive him. The Irish troops were supported by the assist- 
 ance of nineteen sons of Oilioll Olum,* who brought with them 
 a considerable body ; and the army of the invaders consisted 
 chiefly of foreigners, of all nations, but were well disciplined by 
 the care and vigilance of Beine Briot, the prince of Wales, who 
 was an accomplished general, oi a robust constitution of oody, 
 and for his courage and conduct in arms was one of the most 
 renowned heroes of the age. The fight began with great fury 
 on both sides, and victory was in suspense for some hours, but 
 the king of Ireland, for want of his militia, who were resolute 
 and hardy soldiers, was forced to give way to the superior force 
 of tiie foreign troops, who followed their blow, and put the Irish 
 to a general rout. In this action, called the battle ot Magh 
 Muchruime, was Art, monarch of Ireland, and the son of Conn, the 
 hero of the hundred battles, unfortunately slain, by Lughhaidh 
 Laga, the brother of Oilioll Olum, who took part with the in- 
 vaders, and turned the fortune of the day. The death of the 
 king so dispirited his troops, that they fled instantly, and were 
 pursued with great slaughter by the conquerors, who in that 
 engagement destroyed the bravest soldiers of the kingdom, for 
 they gave no quarter, but put all to the sword. Among the 
 slain were seven of the sons of Oilioll Olum, that he had by 
 Sadhbh, the sister of Art, the king oi Ireland, and daughter oi 
 Conn, the renowned hero ot the hundred battles. 
 
 It must be observed in this place, that Oilioll Olum was pro- 
 perly called Aongus ; but his name was changed upon this 
 occasion. , It happened that Oilioll Olum, being an amorous 
 prince, offered violence to a young lady, whose name was Aina, 
 the daugher of Ogamuill : the lady, resenting this injury, re- 
 solved to revenge herself upon the ravisher, and finding an 
 opportunity, w.hen she was in bed with him, observing he was 
 asleep, bit off part of his ear. By this action she thought she 
 had fixed a budge of intamy upon Oilioll for the abuse he had 
 
254 ' THC GENERAL HIbTOlU 
 
 offered her, and in somo measure revengecl the death of her 
 father, whom he slew. This transaction, as some chroniclea 
 assert, was the cause Ox changing his name. 
 
 But there are i-ecords of some authority, that give another 
 account ot this matter, and relate, that he received the title of 
 Oilioll Olum, iiom the words Oil Oil, which, in the Irish Ian- 
 gaage, signify shame or reproach. This prince, it seems, waa 
 distinguished by three remarkable blemishes, which were es- 
 teemed a great disgrace to him, and attended upon him to hia 
 grave. He was deformed, as was observed before, by the loss of 
 the greatest part of his ear ; his teeth were exceeding black, and 
 his breath very offensive, and had a nauseous smell. These 
 ipaperfections befel him upon the account of the rape he com- 
 mitted upon the young lady, who had no sooner bit his ear thau 
 he seized a spear or partizan, that was placed near him, and, 
 thrusting it through her body, he fixed her to the ground. The 
 head of the spear struck against a stone, and, by the force of 
 the blow, the point of it was b3nt ; Oilioll having drawn the wea- 
 pon out 01 her body, put the point ol the spear into his mouth, 
 intending to straighten it wit a his teeth, but the metal, being 
 envenomed with a strong poison, changed the colour of his teeth 
 into black, and had that effect upon his breath, that h after- 
 wards had a nauseous smell not to be endured. These were tho 
 three blemishes, which gave the name of Oilioll Olum to thi«» 
 prince, who was the less to be excused, because he had warning 
 long beiore. by a prediction, concerning this spear, which fore- 
 told that he should be afHicted with three great misfortunes, if 
 he sufiered the point of that spear to touch a stone, or if he 
 applied it to his teeth, or attempted with it to kill a woman ; 
 but the prophecy found no credit with Oilioll Olum, for which 
 reason he deservedly fell under those calamities, which occasioned 
 the change of his name, and which he carried with him to his 
 grave. 
 
 Luighaidh, who had the name of Mac Con, by his vic- 
 ■j ^.y tory got possession of the government. He was the 
 son of Macniadh, son of Luighdheach, son of Daire, sou- 
 of Firuillne, son of Eudbuilg, son of Daire, son of Siothbuilg, 
 Bon of Firuillne, son of Deagamhrach, son of Deagfia Dearg, 
 son of Deirgtheine, son of Nuagatt Airgtheach, son of Luch- 
 taire, son of Logha Feidhiioch, son of Ereamhoin, son of 
 Eadamhuin, sou of Gosamhuin, son of Sin, son of Maithin, son of 
 Logha, son of Eadamhuin, son of Mail, son ot Luighaidh, sou 
 Qi itfi, son ot Breogau, and filled the throne of Ireland thirty 
 
or IRELAND. 25S 
 
 years. The mother of this princ« was Sadhbh, the daughter of 
 Conn, as before mentioned. He obtained the name ot Mac 
 Con from a greyhound that was called Ealoir Dearg, that be- 
 longed to Oilioll Olum. This king, in his infancy, was edu- 
 cated in the court of Oilioll Olum, and being a child of a very 
 weak and tender constitution, he was very fretful and difficult 
 to be pleased j but when he could not be pacified by other 
 methods, those who had the care of him procured a young 
 greyhound for him to play with, which, by its fondness and 
 diverting postures, so amused the child, that he conceived a 
 wonderful kindness for the dog, and was never easy or contented 
 without him •, and from this playing with the greyhound, he 
 was known by the name of Mac Con, but he was properly 
 called Lughaidh. The victory he obtained in the battle of 
 Magh Muchruime put him in possession of the kmgdom ; for 
 within the compass of a week, by pursuing his success, he fixed 
 himself in the sovereignty of the whole island, and governed 
 it securely thirty years ; as is particularly mentioned in the 
 following verses, transcribed from a very ancient poem, which 
 begins in this manner, Cnocha cnoc os ciou iilFe. 
 
 Within seven days the fortunate Lughaidk 
 Obtained the scepter of the western isle ; 
 And reign'd in honour and prosperity, 
 For thirty years, as ancient records tell, 
 But he was at last slain by treachery, 
 Sitting 'n state in the assembly. ^ 
 
 It must be observed, that this Mac Con, the Irish monarch 
 we are speaking of, was not a descendant from the posterity of 
 Heber Fionn, as he* is expressly mentioned to be, in the poerii 
 that begins with these words, Coniare caomh chaomhuin chuin, 
 but was derived from the family of Lughaidh, the son of Ith, 
 son ot Breogan ; Ith, and Milesius, the king of Spain, who was 
 otherwise called Gollamh, were brothers' children; and not- 
 Vv'ithstanding that Lughaidh, the son of Ith, and his posterity, 
 were descended from Gadelas in a lineal succession, yet they 
 are not to be reckoned of the line of Milesius, but were cousin- 
 germains to that family : and this account is confirmed by the 
 testimony of a poet of great credit and antiquity, who, speak- 
 ing of the three renowned tribes that were derived from the 
 posterity of Lughaidh, the son of Ith, has these verses ; 
 
 Three princes, famous in the Irish annals, 
 O Cubhthaig, generous and hos^icabie j 
 
256 THE GENr.RAL niSTl-RV 
 
 O Floin Arda, invincible naC brave ; 
 And tlie most valiant Heidersgeoil, 
 Were not descended from the royal line 
 Of great Milesius. 
 
 From Lughaidh, the son of Ith, the following surnames de- 
 duced their original; O'Laoghaire, in the English language 
 called O'Laoery, or Leary; O'Baire of Aronn, in Carbry ; Magh 
 Fianchy, of Darthruidlie ; Magh Amalgadh, of Callruidhej 
 O'Curnyn, and Mac Aillin, in the kingdom of Scotland. 
 
 This Mac Con, it must be understood, was the third monarch 
 of Ireland, who was of the royal line of Ith. The first monarcii 
 of that family was Eochaidh Eadgothach, the son of Daire, who 
 possessed the government of the island four years, and fell by 
 the sword oi Chermana, the son of Eibhric, the son of Ir. The 
 second of that line was Eochaidh Apthach, who sat upon the 
 throne one year, and was slain by t ionn, the son of Bratha. 
 The third, descended from this illustrious house, was this Mao 
 Con ; as appears evidently by the authority of an ancient poet, 
 who has transmitted to us the following verses : 
 
 From the most noble race of Ith descended 
 Three princes, who the Irish scepter swcxy'd j 
 Eochaidh Eadgothach, Eochaidli Apthach, 
 And the renowned Lughaidh, wnu reveng'd 
 The cruel death of their great ancestor. 
 
 Comain Eigis, the son of Fearcio, for^ned a conspira'^y by the 
 persuasion of Cormac, the son of Art, the Melancholy, against 
 Mac Con, and slew hin;i with a remarkable spear, known in the 
 Irish language by the name oi Ei-hcie. This treacherous act 
 was committed at Feimhin, in Leiuster, as ^e king was return- 
 ing from Munster. The uniortunate journey of the king into 
 that province, was occasioned by the prediction of his druid, 
 who foretold that he should not wear the crown of Ireland for 
 half a year, if he removed, the place ot his residence from the 
 royal house ot Tara. Influenced by this prophecy, he came to 
 Munster, to solicit the friendship and assistance of his relations 
 in that province, who descended from OilioU Olum ; but this 
 family, instead of favouring his request, resolved to destroy him ; 
 for they could not forget the revenge they owed him for the 
 death of Eogan More and his brothers, whom he slew in the 
 battle 01 Magh Muchruima. Mac Con, upon this repulse, re- 
 turned back to Leinster, where he was treacherously killed, in 
 the manner betore-meutioued. He lost his life in the field 
 
OF IRELAND. 25T 
 
 called, in the Irisli language, Gort an oir, which signifies the 
 Golden field, at Magh Feimhin, near Dearg Rath, that lies on 
 the north side of Ath na garbat, or the Chariot's ford. The 
 place is known to this day by the name of Gort an oir, or the 
 Golden field ; which title it received, because Mac Con, when 
 he was slain, was distributing his liberality, and rewarding the 
 poets and principal artists of the kingdom with large sums of 
 gold, when the murderer came behind him undiscovered, as he 
 was standing near a large rock, and most barbarously thrust 
 him through with a spear. 
 
 Feargus, who was distinguished by the name of Black 
 ^."g Teeth, was the succeeding monarch. He was the son 
 of Fionnchada, son of Eogamhuin, son of Fiathach, son 
 of Finn, son of Daiie, son of Dluthach, son of Deisin, son of 
 Eochaidh, son of Sin, son of Rosin, son of Trein, son of Roth- 
 rein, son of Airiondil, son of Maine, son of Forga, son of Fear-- 
 adhach, son of Oilloilaran, son ot Fiach Fearmara, son of Aon- 
 gus Tuirmheach, descended from the royal line of Heremon, 
 and sat upon the throne one year. It was in the reign of this 
 prince, that the inhabitants of Ulster expelled Cormac by force 
 out of that province into Conacht, notwithstanding he made an 
 entertainment at Magh Breag, and feasted them plentifully. It 
 was at this feast the king of Ulster commanded one o his ser- 
 vants to set fire to Cormac's beard with a lighted candle, which 
 was accordingly done, and then he was banished the province. 
 The three prmcipal persons, concerned in the disgrace and exile 
 of this noble man, were the three Feargus's, the sons of Fion- 
 chada, eon of Eogamhuin ; their names were, Feargus, who was 
 surnamed Dubhdheadach, or Black Teeth , the second brother 
 was called Feargus, surnamed Caisfhiachlach, which signifies 
 Crooked Teeth ; and the youngest was Feargus, surnamed Folt- 
 leabhair, or Longhaired. 
 
 Cormac, inflamed with resentment at this ungenerous usage 
 applied for protection to Thady, the son of Cein, son of Olioll 
 Olum, who was a person oi authority and great interest in the 
 country of Ely. When he arrived he represented his misfor- 
 tunes, and the indignities he had received, with so moving an 
 address, that the generous Thady promised to support bim 
 against his oppressors, and restore him to his just rights, if he 
 would engage to settle a tract oi hand upon him, after he had 
 trmmphed over his enemies. Cormac joyluUy complied with 
 the conditions, and gave him security, that he should be pnt 
 into possession of as much land as he could surround with Lis 
 
S^S THE GENERAL HISTCFtY 
 
 chariot npon the day of battle, v^Len the fight was over, a^.-*^ he 
 had obtained a complete yictory o v&rthe three brothers. Thady 
 relying upon his honour and integrity, resolved to cspouoC nis 
 cause with all imaginable vigour ; anf, to intimidate" bis ene- 
 mies, he told Cormac that he knew "where the invincible hero, 
 Lughaidh Laga, lay concealed; and assured him, that if he 
 could prevail upon that bold champion to appear at the head 
 of his troops, and present himself in the front of the battle, 
 the day would be his own ; and, as an undisputed sign of suc- 
 cess, the heads of the three Feargus's, he maJIe no question, 
 would be cut off by this intrepid warrior, and laid a^: his feei. 
 He further informed him, that this stout soldier had retired, 
 and lived an obscure life at Atharla, near Sliabh Grctt; where 
 he would be sure to find him. 
 
 Encouraged by thqjse assurances, Cormac went mstantiy to 
 Atharla, and upon a strict search he found the bravo Lughai:lh 
 in a poor despicable cottage, lying along upon the groand, with 
 his face upwards. When he perceived him in that posture, he 
 pricked him gently with the end of his lance ; upon which the 
 old soldier demanded, with a stern countenance, who it was that 
 presumed to disturb him in so insolent a manner. Cormac re- 
 plied mildly, and told him his name ; and Lughaidh answered, 
 that if he had been pleased, he might justly have taken away 
 his life, in revenge for the death of his father Art, the Melan- 
 choly, who fell by his hand. Cormac told him, he thought he 
 was obliged to make him a suitable recompense for that action ; 
 that I promise you, says Lughaidh, for I will make you a pre- 
 sent of a king's head in the time of battle. By this time 
 Cormac had made known his business ; and after he had received 
 his word that he would assist him to the utmost of his life, and 
 give him revenge over his enemies, they set forward together 
 cowards Ely, where Thady, the son of Cein. kept his residence. 
 
 By this time Thady had raised a numerous army, with a de- 
 sign to destroy the province of Ulster with fire and sword ; and 
 was the more easily induced to engage in this expedition, be- 
 cause Feargus Dubhdheadach, or the Black Teeth Prince, who 
 was the elder brother, had some time before slain the father of 
 Thady in the battle of Samhna. This resolute :^rmy marched 
 to Brugh mac anoig, and Criona chin comar, where the brothers 
 were ready to receive them with the forces they had raised, and 
 resolved to engage at all events. In this place was the memo- 
 rable battle of Criona fought, between Cormac and the three 
 Feargus's; but Thady would not permit Cormac to enter iu.o 
 
OF IRELA^^). 259 
 
 l;he %lit, but persuaded him to be spectator of tlie action upoa 
 the top of a hill^ uear the field where the battle was fought, aud 
 expect the event. 
 
 The sign was given, and both armies engaged with signal 
 courage, and the victory was undetermined for some hours ; but 
 the valiant Lughaidh resolved to turn the fortune of the^daj, 
 and, rushing into the hottest of the action, made his way 
 through heaps of slain, till he came to Feargus Foltleabhair, or 
 the Long-haired, whom he fell upon with desperate fury, and 
 cut off his head ; he retired with the spoil of his enemy in his 
 hand, and coming to the place where Cormac was supposed to 
 be, he advanced up to him, and threw the head of this Feargus 
 at his feet. 
 
 It seems that Cormac, apprehensive of some danger from the 
 fury and outrageous passion of Lughaidh, who, in the heat of 
 the battle, when his blood was in ferment, would divert himself 
 with the slaughter of his friends and enemies without distinction, 
 had before the engagement changed his habit with one of his 
 servants, whose name was Deilion Druth. Lughaidh therefore 
 brought the head of his enemy, and throwing it at the feet of 
 Cormac, as he imagined, demanded whether that was the head 
 of Feargus, king of Ireland. The servant, assuming an air of 
 state to himself, answered him, that it was not. The champion 
 immediately forced his way into the hottest of the battle, and 
 dealing his blows terribly about him, he met Feargus Chais?-. 
 f hiaclach, or the Crooked Teeth, and rushed upon him so via*-' 
 lently, that he slew him without much resistance, and likewise ^ 
 cut off his head. With this trophy he returned to the supposed 
 Cormac, and, showing him the face, asked him, was not that the 
 head of the king of Ulster? The disguised servant replied 
 it was not his, but the head of his brother. Enraged with tiiese 
 disappointments, he resolved to accomplish his purpose, and 
 with dreadful slaughter of the enemy, he made his way to the 
 kisig, whom he engaged with such fury, that he slew him before 
 be could be relieved, and brought his head away with him in 
 triumph. He came joyfully to the supposed Cormac, and de- 
 manded whether that was not the head of Feargus Dubhdheadach, 
 king of Ulster ? The servant, when he had examined .the face, 
 answered, it was. The victor, proud of his conquest, threw the 
 head with his whole force at the servant, who appeared in the 
 habit of his master, and the blow was so violent' that he fell 
 dead at his feet. This happy stratagem preserved the life of 
 Cormac j for this Lughaidh was so untractable and fierce, that 
 
2^0 THE GCNBRAL HISTORY 
 
 in his fury he delighted iu bloodshed, and were it not for the 
 disguise, Cormac must certainly have fallen a sacrifice to the 
 passion of this ungovernable and savage warrior. But Lug- 
 haidh, notwithstanding his reputation and conduct in arms, was 
 wounded desperately, and lost so much blood that he fainted 
 away. The fight was bloody on both sides, and the victory was 
 won with great loss, for the army of Ulster, though obliged to 
 give way, rallied seven times with bravery ; but the victorious 
 Thady, the son of Cein, with his hardy troops, pierced into the 
 main body of the enemy, and, after a sharp contest, put them 
 to the rout, and drove them out of the field ; he pursued them 
 with great slaughter from Criona to Glaise an Eara, near Drom 
 lonasgluinn ; as the learned Flanagan, whose authority is indis- 
 putable, observes in his poem iu this manner ; 
 
 Feig Mac Cein, from Rath Cro, subdued 
 The army of Ulster tho' seven times they rallied, 
 And fought ; but, with superior force o'erbome, 
 They fled, and were pursued from Rath Criona 
 To Ard Cein. 
 
 After the action was over, the valiant Thacly, the son of Cein, 
 was obliged by the sore pain of the wounds he received, to be 
 carried out of the field in his chariot ; for he was miserably 
 galled by three spears, in three several places of his body. His 
 design was to surround as large a tract of land as he was able ; 
 for this, as was before o bserved, was to be his reward, if he came 
 off with victory. Accordingly, he commanded the driver of his 
 chariot to make all possible expedition ; for in the circuit of the 
 day he proposed to encompass the royal palace of Tara, and to 
 drive on as far as Dublin. But the anguish of his wounds, 
 and a large effusion of blood, had reduced him to so weak a 
 state, that he perfectly languished ; yet, intent upon the enlarg- 
 ing his territories, he called to the driver, and asked him, 
 whether he had yet surrounded the royal seat of Tara ? tha 
 'servant told him he had not ; upon which Thady was so enraged, 
 that he summoned all his strength, and flung his spear so vio- 
 lently, that he transfixed his body, and he instantly dropped 
 the reins and died. 
 
 • At this time Cormac came to the place, and perceiving 
 Thady in tiiat miserable condition, by the pain of his wounds, 
 called to a surgeon that was in his company, and with the 
 most barbarous design commanded him, under a pretence ol 
 dressing one of his wounds, to convey an ear of barley into it ^ 
 
OF IRELAND. 261 
 
 into the second wound he ordered him to inclose a small black 
 worm ; and in the third he was to conceal the point of a rusty- 
 spear ; and then he was to take care, in the administering of 
 his medicines, that the wounds should seemingly be cured, and 
 the surface of the skin closed, bat they were not to be searched 
 to the bottom, in order to give him the more pain, and by de- 
 grees to affect his life. This I think is the most ungrateful 
 instance of cruelty to be met with in the Irish history ; but 
 Thady was a person of great courage, and had a brave army at 
 his command, which gave Cormac a suspicion that he would 
 S'^-ize upon the government himself, and therefore he resolved 
 by this inhuman method to destroy him. 
 
 In this deplorable state the unfortunate Thady continued 
 for the space of a year, and suffered most exquisite tortures, 
 and his life was in the utmost danger. The condition of this 
 young prince was lamented by his whole army, but particularly 
 by Lughaidh Laga, who, not suspecting the treachery of Cor- 
 mac, went to Munster, and brought away with him an eminent 
 surgeon, who had performed wonderful cures in that province, 
 and through the whole kingdom. When he came to examine 
 into the wounds of his patient, he ordered his three pupils, who 
 attended him, to lance the skin, and with proper instruments to 
 probe the wounds. Thady could not bear the pain occasioned 
 by this operation, but gave a most pitiful sigh, and almost 
 fainted under the hand of the operator. The surgeon asked the 
 eldest of his pupils, who was the most expert in his profession, 
 what was the reason the young prince sighed so lamentably, 
 and in what state the wound was ? He answered, that he was 
 not surprised to hear the patient cry out and lament, for there 
 was an ear of barley inclosed within the wound. Thady was in 
 the utmost pain when the second wound was searched ; and 
 unable to conceal the torment he suffered, sighed again, which 
 made the surgeon examine into the reason ; and the second 
 pupil told him that he discovered a living black worm that 
 gnawed upon the flesh and occasioned the most acute torture. 
 The third wound was now to be examined ; and notwithstanding 
 the compassionate care of the young operator, Thady could not 
 forbear crying out when the probe was within the skin ; and 
 upon inquiry into the reason, the third pupil told his master, 
 that notwithstanding the surface of the skin was healed, yet the 
 flesh was putrified and corrupted within, for the rusty point of 
 an old spear lay concealed at the bottom. The surgeon, sur- 
 prised at so uncommon a case, gave orders that a ploughshare 
 
-ib'J THE GENERAL HTSTOnT 
 
 should be heated in the fire till it was red hot ; which being 
 brought to him he took it in his hand, and with a cruel stern 
 countenance, he ran violently at his patient, as if he would have 
 forced the iran through his body : Thady, surprised at this at- 
 tempt, started out of his bed to avoid the push, and by the vio- 
 lence of his motion occasioned by his fear, his wounds were 
 forced open, and he fortunately discharged the car of barley, the 
 black worm and the rusty iron ; which had that happy effpct 
 that the surgeon, by applying proper medicines, soon accom- 
 plished his cure, and he was perfectly recovered. Thady, after 
 this act of treachery, employed his forces in making conquests 
 in the country, and his arms were attended with that succt/Sa, 
 that he subdued large territories in Leath Cuinn ; so called be- 
 cause it was part of the dominions ol Conn, who lost hJ.f the 
 island, and was forced to be content with the remaining part 
 which was known by this name, Leath Cuinn. 
 
 The victorious Thady was the son of Cein, con of OilioU 
 Olum ; from Jomhchaidhe, the son of Conla, descended the 
 noble families of the O'Carrolls ; from Fionachta, the son of 
 Conla, the tribe of O'Meaghair was derived ; from Cormdc Gai- 
 leangach proceeded the families of O'Hara, O'Gara, C^'Cahaiae, 
 and O'Connor Cianachta. They extended their conquests over 
 the country in this manner : Gaileanga was victorious e^xstward 
 and westward, Cianachta southward and northward. The pos- 
 terity of Heber Fionn got possession of other countries in Leath ' 
 Cuinn, or the half of Ireland, under the sovereignty of Conn. 
 This part of the island was conquered by the posterity of 
 Conhlan, son of Lorcan, son of Dathin, son of T( achuire, con of 
 Sidhe, son of Ambhile, son of Big, son of Aodh n, son of Deal- 
 bhaoth, son of Cas, son of Conall Eochluath, son of Lai^-hdherali 
 Mean, who made swords-land of all the countries from Limerick 
 to the mountain of Eachtuighe, son of Aongus Tiruach, son of 
 Firchairb, son of Modha Chorb, son of Cormac Cas, son of 
 Oilioli Olum. The territories that fell into the hands of the 
 conquerors were these ; the seven Dealbhnas, that is, Dealbhna 
 more, Dealbhna beg, Dealbhna eathra, Dealbnna jathar, Midi e 
 dealbhna sithe neanta, Dealbhha cuill fabhair, and Dealbhna 
 lire da loch, in Conacht. This Feargu.?, fae Lish monarch we 
 are treating of, was slain as' before mentioned by Lughaiih 
 Laga, at the instigation of Cormac, the son of Art. 
 
 Cormac Ulfada, after his victory, seizbd upon the go- 
 
 /'^* vcrnment. He wa3 the son of Art, eon of Conn, the re- 
 
 nowned hero of die iiunctred battles, and he Lllcd the 
 
OP IRISLAXD. 263 
 
 throne forty years. The reason why he was distinguished by 
 the name of Cormac Ulfada, was, upon the account of his beard 
 and the hair of his "head, which was exceeding long ; or he might 
 receive this title from the word Ulfada, or Ulafad, which signi- 
 fies, in English, far or remote from Ulster ; for we have observed, 
 that the inhabitants of Ulster expelled him out of that pro- 
 vince, and he continued in banishment sixteen years, or, accord 
 ing to other computations, he was in exile ten years, before he 
 returned and became the monarch of the island. The mother 
 of this prince was Eachtach, the daughter of Ulcheataigh, who 
 was by his profession a blacksmith. His father, who was Art, 
 the Melancholy, the son of Conn, was charmed with the beauty 
 of this fair plebeian, who bore him this king Cormac, not long 
 before the battle of Magh Muchruime. This young woman he 
 used as a concubine ; for it was a custom in those times, that a 
 king's son might lay his commands upon any poor mechanic to 
 deliver up his daughter, and it was thought honourable to the 
 family to have a child admitted within the embraces of a prince ; 
 but the father might refuse to give up his daughter, unless the 
 prince engaged to endow her with a handsome portion. By this 
 means the mother of Cormac became the concubine of Art ; for 
 she was not his lawful queen, his wife being Meidhbh Leath- 
 dearg, the daughter of Conan Cuaian, from whom Rath Meidhbh, 
 adjoining to the palace of Tara, received its name. This concu- 
 bine, Eachtach, the mother of Cormac, had a dream one night 
 as she was in bed with Art, the young prince, that her head was 
 chopped off, and that a tree grew out ot her neck, whose branches 
 overspread the whole kingdom of Ireland ; but the sea rose to 
 a prodigious height, and destroyed that tree, and then retired ; 
 Irom the root of this tree sprang out another, but this was blasted 
 by a westerly wind, ani so it died. When she awaked in the 
 morning, she was surprised at the strange circumstances of her 
 dream, and with great concern related the particulars of it to 
 Art. The prince being well accomplished in soothsaying and 
 divination, interpreted the dream in this manner : You are to 
 observe, says he, that the head of every woman, by the law of 
 nature, is the husband, and me you will certainly lose in the 
 battle of Magh Muchruime, where I shaU be slain. The tre6 
 that you supposed grew out of your neck, is a son you will bear 
 to me, who, I foretel, shaU one day sit upon the throne of Ire- 
 land. The overflowing of the sea, by which he was destroyed, 
 implies that this prince shall die by the sticking of a bone of a 
 sea-lish in his throat ; the tree you perceived to spring out of 
 
264 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 the root of t\^e former, will be the son of that king, who like- 
 wise shall obtain the sovereignty of the kingdom ; and the blast 
 of the west wind, by which it vvithered and decayed, signifies, 
 that a desperate battle will be fought between himself and the 
 Irish militia, who will rise in arms against him, "when he shall 
 be slain. But the Fiana Eirionl, or the militia of Ireland, shall 
 have no occasion to boast of their victory obtained by treason 
 and rebellion, for they shall never flourish or prosper after that 
 action, but their courage shall fail them, and they shall become 
 a prey to their enemies. And in process of time the interpreta- 
 tion of this dream was exactly accomplished in the persons of 
 Art, his son Cormac, and Cairbre his grandson. Art was slain 
 in the battle of Magh Muchruime, Cormac was choked by the 
 bone of a sea- fish, and Cairbre Liffeachair lost his life in the 
 battle of Gabhra, by the Fiana Eirionn, or the standing militia 
 of the kingdom. 
 
 The wife of Cormac, king of Ireland, was, if we give credit to 
 some chronicles, Eithne Taobhfada, the daughter of Cathaoir 
 More ', but that must be a mistake, and to assert that Eithno 
 Cathach was the mother of Cairbre Liffeachair is equally false, 
 and impossible to be proved ; for there was the distance of four- 
 score and eight years between the death of Cathaoir More, and 
 the time that Cormac took upon him the command of Ireland, 
 which may be computed in this manner. Conn reigned twenty 
 years ; Conaire More held the government seven years ; Art was 
 monarch of the kingdom thirty years ; Mac Con reigned as 
 many, and Feargus Dubhdheadach wore the crown one year 
 before he was dethroned by Cormac, who fixed himself in the 
 succession. And we have undoubted authority to believe that 
 Eithne Ollamhdha, daughter of Dunluing, son of Eana Niadh, 
 was the mother of Cairbre Liffeachair ; and the same testimony 
 informs us, that this lady was fostered and educated by Bui- 
 ciodh Brughach, an eminent and wealthy herdsman, who lived 
 in the province of Leinster. 
 
 This Baiciodh Brughach was a very hospitable person, and 
 made it his practice to have a large cauldron always boiling upon 
 the fire, full of flesh and provision for the entertainment of all 
 passengers who came that way, who he relieved generously upon 
 free cost, without asking any questions, or demanding of his 
 guests who they were, or to what part of the island they be- 
 longed. This herdsman abounded in cattle of all kinds : he had 
 in his possesion at one time seven herds of cows, each herd con- 
 sisted of seven score ; be was furnished with a noble stud of 
 
OF IRELAND. 2G5 
 
 fine horses, and had flocks of sheep not to be numbered. The 
 gentry of Leinster, with their whole families and retinue, would 
 often visit the house of this herdsman, and quarter themselves 
 upon him for a long time ; and when they left him, they would 
 bring away with them a drove of his , cows, or take his horses 
 and mares, or whatever else they pleased, without asking his con- 
 sent, and never make him any return. This ungrateful prac- 
 tice of the guests soon impoverished their benefactor, who wab' 
 at last by this method stript of all his cattle except seven cows 
 and a bull. With this small remaining part of his fortune he 
 removed privately in the night from Dun Buiciodh, taking 
 along with him his wife and his foster-child Eithne. He tra- 
 velled with his little family till he came to a great wood, ad- 
 joining to Ceanannanus, in the country of Meath, which Cormac 
 generally made his place of residence. In this solitude Buiciodh 
 resolved to spend the rest of his days ; and, as a defence against 
 the weather, he built a small tent, with turf and boughs, where 
 he lodged his wife and his fair charge Eithne, who, in her rus- 
 tic dress, discovered a singular beauty, and attended upon her 
 foster-parents in the quality of a servant. 
 
 It happened that Cormac rode out and diverted himself in 
 this wood j and his fortune directing him towards this little 
 hermitage, he spied the beautiful Eithne very cheerfully milk- 
 ing the cows ; she had two vessels, which she made use of, to 
 separate the thin milk from the richer and more substantial, for 
 when she began to milk a cow she disposed of the first part of 
 the milk into one vessel, and the latter part of the strippings 
 she poured into the other, which method she observed till she 
 had gone over the whole number ; when she had finished, she 
 took up the vessels and carried them home. Cormac followed 
 her at a distance, admiring her sagacity and the niceness of 
 her care, perfectly charmed with the modesty of her looks 
 and the fine shape and beauty of her person. The young 
 milkmaid did not stay long in the cottage, but cime out again, 
 with two other vessels and a bowl in her hand, and went to 
 a spring of water not far from the hut ; she stooped to the 
 brink of the spring, and laded with the bowl, with the water 
 that was near the surface she filled one vessel, and into the other 
 she poured the water that was laded from the middle of the 
 spring, which was cooler and clearer than the rest. When her 
 vessels were full she returned home ; Cormac still having his 
 eye upon her, and surprised at her innocent behaviour and exact 
 judgment : she soon came out again, for she was obliged to do 
 
205 THE GEXERAL HISTORY 
 
 all the menial offices of the family, with a reaping-hook in her 
 hand, and she had not gone far before she found a place that 
 abounded with rushes ; there she began to work, and when she 
 had cut a handful of rushes, she separated those that were long 
 and green from such as were short and withered, and laid them 
 in different heaps ; which distinction she used till she had as 
 many as she designed to carry. The amorous Cormac observed 
 her at a distance, and, unable to stifle his passion, rode up to 
 her. She was somewhat surprised, at first, to see so genteel a 
 person in so solitary a place ; but the, young prince, by the 
 courtesy of his address, soon removed her fears, and assured her 
 that she was in no danger, notwithstanding she was alone ; for 
 it would be the greatest barbarity to offer violence to a maid of 
 Bo innocent a carriage, and whose beauty deserved to be removed 
 from woods and wildernesses into the courts of princes. After 
 some of these polite compliments had passed, and the fair 
 Eithne was recovered from her sorprige, Cormac asked her the 
 reason of the distinction she had used in separating the milk, 
 the water, and the rushes, and desired to know who was that 
 happy person whom she was so careful to oblige, as to preserve 
 the best of every thing by itself, and to distinguish by particular 
 marks of her favour and esteem. The maid, with a blush rising 
 in her face, answered, that the peiGon upon whom I bestow the 
 choicest of what I can provide, is one, to whom I owe all the 
 services of my life, and to please whom is my duty and the 
 utmost of all my care. The pvince inquired who this fortunate 
 person was, she told him it was the unhappy Buiciodh Brugh- 
 ach ; what, says Cormac, the generous herdsman, so remarkable 
 for his hospitality in the province of Leinster ! The very same, 
 sir, replies the maid _; why then, says he, your name must be 
 Eithne, and you rig the daughter of Dunluing, and foster-child 
 to this herdsman, who has taken care of you from your infancy, 
 and bred you up. Yes, sir, she answered, 1 perceive you know 
 my family and the circumstances of my fortune : I do, fair 
 maid, says he, and I am so charmed with your modesty, and 
 the beauty of your person, that I scorn to make any unbecom- 
 ing attempts upon your honour, but resolve by the ties of mar- 
 riage to make you a partner in my bed. Sir, she replied, though 
 a poor maid may justly be ambitious to be thus advanced upon 
 any terms, yet I retain that duty to my foster-father, that I 
 would not presume to dispose of myself, without his consent, to 
 the greatest monarch of the universe. Cormac applauded her 
 resolution, and desired to be con.ducted to the cottage where 
 
OF IRELAND. 2G7 
 
 « 
 
 Buiciodh was ; and when he came, he informed him of his de- 
 sign, and the sincerity of his passion j and engaged, upon the 
 honour of a prince, to remove him out of that solitary retire- 
 ment, and bestow wealth and lands upon him, suitable to the 
 generosity of his soul, if he would consent that the beautiful 
 Eithne should be his wife. Buiciodh rejoiced at this good for- 
 tune, especially because his fair charge, whom he affectionately 
 loved, was to be the wife of a prince, and soon complied with 
 his request. Cormac fulfilled his promise to Buiciodh, and gave 
 him the tract 'of land called Tuath Odhrain, that is situated 
 near the palace of Tara, and furnished him with a great stock 
 of cattle and other necessaries, by which means he was made 
 happy during his life : and then the marriage was consummated 
 with the beautiful Eithne, by whom he had a son, who made a 
 great figure in the Irish history, called Cairbre LifFeachair. 
 
 This Cormac, the monarch of Ireland, it must be observed, 
 was a prince of the most consummate wisdom, who perfectly 
 understood the maxims of government, and the most accom- 
 plished statesman of the age ; and, as a testimony of his learn- 
 ing and political knowledge, he wrote a tract, for the use of his 
 son, Cairbre Liffeachair, intituled, Advice to Kings, which is 
 worthy to be inscribed in golden characters, for the informa- 
 tion of princes, and as a most complete standard of policy to 
 all ages. He was very solicitous in revising and purging the 
 ancient laws of the people, and established new acts and ordi- 
 nances for the regulation of his subjects, exactly calculated* to 
 the genius and temper of his people. He was likewise a prince 
 of great munificence and hospitality, and supported the royal 
 dignity of a king in the utmost state and grandeur. We may 
 form a judgment of the splendid and magnificent court of this 
 monarch, by the description of the palace where he kept his re- 
 sidence, called in the Irish language, the royal seat of Miod- 
 chuarta. The account of this noble fabric we received from 
 the relation of Amergin, the son of Amalgadlia, son of Maolru- 
 adhna, an eminent poet, retained in the family of Diarmod 
 Mac Carrol, and to be found in the book that treats of the De- 
 scription of Places and Buildings, written by this learned 
 author. This palace of Miodcbuarta was built, it must be con- 
 fessed, a long time before Cormac came to the crown ; for in this 
 house it was, that Slanoll, one of the monarchs of Ireland, died, 
 many years before Cormac was born : but it was repaired and 
 enlarged by this prince, and made a banqueting- house, for the re- 
 ception and entertainment of his own nobilitjj and tae ambassa- 
 
268 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 dors of foreign princes. The length of this structure was 300 
 cubits j it was 30 cubits in height, and 50 cubits in breadth ; a 
 lanthorn of curious workmanship and of a large size, hung up la 
 the middle of the state room ; fourteen doors belonged to the 
 house, and the lodging apartments were furnished with 150 beds, 
 beside the royal bed of state, where the king himself usually lay. 
 iNever was there a monarch in the throne of Ireland, that was 
 attended with a more noble retinue ; for he had in constant pay 
 150 of the most distinguished champions of the kingdom, as 
 the yeomen of his guard, to wait upon his person, especially to 
 serve him at his table when he dined in public ; at which time 
 he was served in an hundred and fifty cups of massy gold and 
 silver. The household guards, that were in constant attendance, 
 consisted of a thousand and fifty of the bravest men in his whole 
 army ; and other ensigns and distinctions of royalty he had 
 about him, which would have been no reproach to the dignity 
 of the greatest princes. A poet of great antiquity has trans- 
 mitted to us the character of this munificent king, the lines are 
 these ; 
 
 The melancholy Art, who fiU'd the throne 
 Of Ireland, had but one son, the brave Cormac ; 
 A prmce most generous, liberal, and free, 
 Who raised the grandeur of the Irish nation, . 
 And made it fLimed throughout the world 
 
 Cormac had a numerous issue j his children were three sons 
 and ten daughters, as an eminent poet has given us to under- 
 stand in this manner ; 
 
 Ten princesses of most accomplished beauty 
 Were daughters of Cormac, the Irish king ; 
 Three sons he had of a superior courage, 
 Their names wei'e Daire, Cakbre and Ceatlach. 
 
 The first-named of the three young princes was slain at Dubh- 
 rois, near the banks of the river Boyne, at Breag ; Ceallach, 
 another of the brothers, fell by the hand of Aongus Gaothbhu- 
 ailteach j as the following verses, composed by a poet of great 
 veracity, inform us : 
 
 » The valiant Aongus Gaothbhuailteach , 
 
 Slew Ceallach, a prince, the son of Cormac ; 
 His brother Daire unfortunately fell 
 With the renowned Thady, son of Cein, 
 , At Dubhruis, neaj: the river Boyne. 
 
OF IRELAND. 260 
 
 Tt may not be improper, in this place, the better to illustrate 
 this part of the history, to mention particularly the genealogies 
 of some of the principal persons concerned in the government, 
 and in the public administration of the Irish affairs. It must 
 be observed, therefore, for this purpose, that Feidhlimhidh 
 Eeachtmhar had three sons, whose names were, Conn Cead- 
 chathach, who was kuown by the title of The hero of the hun- 
 dred battles, Eochaidh Fionn, and Fiachadh Suidh, as before 
 mentioned. The posterity of Conn were kings, and governed 
 in Tara : the second brother, whose name was Eochaidh Fionn, 
 went into Leinster, at the time that Cuchorb, the son of Modh- 
 achorb, was king of that province. Laoighseach Cean More, 
 the son of Connall Cearnach, had his. education with the prince 
 Eochaidh Fionn, and at this time the inhabitants of Munster 
 made incursions into Leinster, and conquered a large proportion 
 of that province ; and by the success of their arms were in pos- 
 session of Ossery and Laoigheis, as far as the top of Maisteau 
 Cuchorb then reigned in Leinster, and, perceiving that the 
 forces of Munster had got footing in his province, and were not 
 easily to be expelled by his own strength, he entreated the as- 
 sistance of Eochaidh Fionn to drive them back into their own 
 territories ; Eochaidh complied with his request, and sent com- 
 missions to his friends and allies, to attend upon him with a 
 complete number of troops, to engage in this expedition. His 
 orders were faithfully obeyed, and he advanced his companion, 
 Laoighseach Cean More, who was bred up with him, to be the 
 general of his forces ; Cuchorb put himself at the head of what 
 men he could engage to follow him, and joined his ally, who 
 thought it proper that his friend Laoighseach should be com- 
 mander in chief of the whole army. 
 
 Thus united, they marched towards the Momonians, or the 
 men of Munster, who, apprehending that they should be" at- 
 tacked, were prepared to receive them. The two armies soon 
 engaged, and a bloody^ action followed, in which both sides 
 fought with great valour and bravery, and it was difficult for 
 some time to judge which way the victory would incline, but 
 fortune, after a sharp dispute, declared in favour of the confe- 
 derate army, who broke the ranks of the enemy, with terrible 
 slaughter, and routed them from the top of Maistean to the 
 river Bearbha. The battle was fought at Athtrodain, now known 
 by the name of Athy, situated upon the river Bearbha, now 
 called Barrow. And the Momonians, in this engagement, were 
 defeated, and the flower of their troops lay dead upon the spot. 
 
270 THS GENERAL HfSTOIlY 
 
 The Lagonians, or the men of Leinster, animated with this 
 success, continued the pursuit ; and, perceiving that a strong 
 body of the enemy had rallied, and were drawn up in order at 
 Cainthine, on Magh Riada, now called Laoighis, that is, Laise 
 or Leise Riada, the victors fell upon them with desperate fury 
 and put them to flight : they then pursued them to Slighe Dhala, 
 now called Bealach More Ossery, where the forces of Leinster 
 made so dreadful a slaughter of the Momonians, that they were 
 forced to desist for want of enemies to kill ; which victory re- 
 settled the state of that province, and so discouraged the men 
 of Munster, that they never attempted to enlarge their bounds, 
 bat were glad to confine themselves within their own territo- 
 ries. 
 
 Cuhorb, being reinstated in his dominions by the assistance 
 of Eochaidh Fionn, out of gratitude thought himself obliged to 
 recompense his services, and therefore generously bestowed upon 
 him the seven Fothortuaths ; and confirmed this donation, by 
 perpetuating the right to his posterity for ever. Laoighseach, 
 the general of the confederate army, who had his education 
 with Eochaidh Fionn, he rewarded with the seven Laoighises, 
 to be enjoyed by him and his heirs ; for he confessed, that th(T 
 success of the expedition was owing to the valour and conduct 
 of the general, whose military experience gave him advantages 
 over the incapacity of the commanding officer in the enemy's 
 army, which he made such use of as to obtain a complete vic- 
 tory. 
 
 From this instance of gratitude to Laoighseach, the posterity 
 of this general took upon themselves the title of kings of Leix 
 or Leise ; and the king of Leinster, being sensible that he owed 
 his crown to the bravery of this commander, obliged himself, 
 and his successors in that province, to make a perpetual acknow- 
 ledgment to the kings of Leix, in memory of the service he 
 received from Laoighseach, who restored him to his throne. 
 He established it by law, that the kings of Leix should have 
 a just claim for ever, to a sirloin of every beeve that was killed 
 in the royal slaughter-house, for the use of the kings of Lein- 
 ster ; and that one of the king of Leinster's galloglachs, or re* 
 ceivers, should attend constantly in the king of Leinster's court, 
 and should have a salary allowed him for that purpose, whose 
 sole business it should be to supervise and collect this tribute 
 for the use of the king of Leix. 
 
 It was ordained, likewise, that the king of Leix for the time 
 being, should be allowed a place at the council-board of the kio^ 
 
or IRl-LAXD. 271 
 
 of Leinster, and was to take his place in the fourth degree at 
 all public assemblies and entertainments, and but three were 
 admitted to sit above him nearer the king. He was to enjoy 
 the principal office in the treasury, and to distribute the king's 
 bounty and munificence to the gentry, the antiquaries, the 
 poets, the musicians, and the learned in all arts and professions, 
 whose abilities entitled them to a reward ; and whatever pre- 
 sents or acknowledgments were sent to the king, were trans- 
 mitted to him, and passed through his hands. It was enjoined 
 further, that seven of the royal family of Laoighis, or Leix, should 
 constantly attend the person of the king of Leinster, as a fixed 
 guard, for which service they were to be honourably maintained, 
 at the charge of the crown of Leinster. But the king of Leix, 
 in return for these privileges, was obliged to maintain, at his 
 own expense, one hundred and fifty stout soldiers, to serve in 
 the ainny of the king of Leinster, who were bound to execute 
 the most difficult and dangerous commands ; to force the lines 
 of the enemy, though with the utmost hazard ; to beat them 
 out of their quarters, and to distinguish themselves in the hot- 
 test part of the battle. 
 
 It was observed before, that Laoighseach Ceanmor, the fir?f5 
 king Of I,aoighis or Leix, was brought up, and had his educa*. 
 tion with Eochaidh Fionn, son of Feidhlimhidh Reachtmhar^ 
 the first king of Fothortuath ; for which reason it was, that th? 
 kings of Leix w^ere obliged to be ready upon all occasions, with 
 a competent number of troops, to assist the king of Fothortnatk 
 npon the first sumpions; and this custom was faithfully observed 
 by the kings of Leix to the time of Henry II. king of England. 
 ■ The third brother of Conn, the hero of the hundred battles, 
 was called Fiachadh Suidhe. This prince was very powerful, 
 and in possession of a large tract of land near the palace of 
 Tara, that was known by the name of Deisie Teamhrach, but ha 
 was never fixed in the sovereignty of the kingdom. He had 
 three sons, whose names were Rosa, Aongus, who was distin- 
 guished by the title of Gaothbhuailteach, and Eogan ; the 
 second brother, Aongus, was the most accomplished soldier of 
 the three, for he had signalized himself in several engagements, 
 was very expert in military discipline, and victory scarce ever 
 failed him. 
 
 At this time it happened, that there was a person of principal 
 note in the kingdom, who, by his misbehaviour, had fallen under 
 the displeasure of Cormac, who could not be induced, by the 
 licatiou of his greatest favourites, to receive him into his 
 
272 THE 0!']NERAL HISTORY 
 
 ersteeiLj till Aongus undertook to be his advocate, and humbly 
 interceded for his pardon. The king was at first inflexible, but 
 when Aongus offered himself to be bound for his fidelity and 
 good conduct for the time to come, Cormao was prevailed upon 
 to forbear his resentments, and admit the discarded favourite 
 into his court. This reconciliation, procured by the intercession 
 of Aongus, was so disagreeable to the young prince, Ceallach, 
 the son of Cormac, that he seized violently, and without com- 
 irjission, upon the forgiven offender, and when he had him in 
 custody he never asked the consent of his father, but in revenge 
 put out both his eyes. Aongus, being informed of this barba- 
 rity, resented it in an outrageous manner, and, being incensed 
 at the treachery of the action, raised a numerous army, and, 
 appearing himself at the head of them, marched towards Tara, 
 to chastise the insolence of the young prince, and to do justice 
 to his injured friend. Cormac, alarmed at this formidable re- 
 bellion, prepared to defend himself and his son ; but Aongus 
 made a vigorous attack, and slew Ceallach with his lance, as he 
 stood by his father's side, and likewise at another throw he 
 struck out one of the king's eyes with his spear. 
 
 But Cormac, nothing discouraged at these misfortunes, resolved 
 to crush the rebellion ; and, having a gallant army about him, 
 he offered battle to the haughty traitor, and, with a terrible 
 slaughter of his best troops, drove him out of the field. After 
 this defeat Aongus and his brother retired for protection to the 
 province of Leinster, where they continued for one year ; from 
 thence they removed to Ossery, but this place was no safe refuge 
 for them, which obliged them to fly to the court of Oilioll Ollum, 
 who they supposed would be inclined to succour them, because 
 he had married the princess Sadhbh, the daughter of Conn, to 
 whom they had a near relation. 
 
 'Oilioll Ollum was moved with compassion at the miserable 
 distress of the three brothers, and bestowed upon them, for their 
 present support, the territories of Deasie, in the province of 
 Munster ; and the reason he conferred this tract of land upon 
 them was, because they were in possession of the Deasie, near 
 the palace of Tara, before this misfortune happened, and by their 
 deieat were obliged to seek for new settlements, or fall a sacri- 
 fice to the arms of the conqueror. 
 
 The brothers gratefully accepted of the lands assigned them, 
 and, without quarrel or dispute, they divided the country be- 
 tween them, in three equal parts. Some of the old records as- 
 sert, that these young princes were the liueal descendants of 
 
OF IRELAND. 273 
 
 Oilioll Aram, and were called Earnaighe ; but this appears to 
 be a mistake, for they were improperly distinguished by that 
 name, because the Earnaighe were the posterity of Conaire, the 
 son of Mogha Lamha, justly speaking, who are particularly men- 
 tioned in the preceding part of this history. The reason, why 
 these brothers, the sons of Fiachadh Suidhe, applied to the court 
 of Munster for protection was, the persuasion of Core Duibhue. 
 the son of Cairbre Muisc ; and the posterity of these princes 
 were known by the name of Deasies. This tribe was conducted 
 into this province by Eochaidh Fionn, the son of E.eachtmar, 
 and the three brothers, Rosa, Eogan, and Aongus Gaothbhuail- 
 leach. 
 
 At the time when these young princes arrived in Muaster, 
 Cairbre Muisc had a considerable interest in that province j 
 but his wickedness was a scourge to the whole country, for duis 
 iug his residence there the fruits of the earth were all destroyed, 
 and the corn was blasted, which occasioned a very dreadful fa-, 
 mine. The particular act of impiety, that was supposed to pro- 
 voke the vengeance of heaven was, his committing incest with 
 his own sister, whose name was Duibhin, who proved with child. 
 When the time of her delivery came, she had two sons, whom she 
 named Cormac and Core. The father and mother of this inces- 
 tuous issue were the children of Modha Lamha, and of Sarah his 
 wife, who was the daughter of the renowned Conn, the hero of 
 the hundred battles. 
 
 The inhabitants of Munster, particularly the principal gentry 
 of the country, were so alarmed at the miserable scarcity of 
 provision, that they applied to Cairbre, and inquired if he could 
 inform them of the occasion of the dreadful famine that raged 
 through all the province. Cairbre, being conscious that his guilt 
 deserved so severe a judgment, told them he was of opinion 
 that his own impiety was the cause of that visitation, par- 
 ticularly an act of incest he committed with his own sister, who 
 bore him two sons, whom he called Core and Cormac. The 
 gentry were moved with horror and indignation at so base a 
 crime, and demanded, by way oi atonement, that the children 
 should be delivered into their hands, whom they proposed to 
 put to death, to burn their bodies to ashes, and to cast the dust 
 into a stream that was near the place. 
 
 When this transaction happened, there was a druid in the 
 company, whose name was Dionach ; this soothsayer had re- 
 course to his art, and found it expedient that one of the bro- 
 tUers, Called Cormac, should be given up to the people ; h'lt 
 
274 THE GENERAL niSTORY . 
 
 Core, the younger son, lie desired to be delivered into his hands, 
 and he promised to convey him out of Ireland. This motion was 
 agreed to by the whole assemby, and accordingly the prophet 
 took up the child assigned to him, and travelled to the sea shore, 
 where he procured a vessel, and weighed anchor, and landed 
 with the infant at a small island called Inis Baoi. It had this 
 name from an old woman styled Baoi/ who lived there ; and to 
 her the druid delivered the child, who took care of him for the 
 space of a year, and then the druid, who never left him, re- 
 warded the nurse for her trouble, and returned with him back 
 into Ireland. When he arrived, he brought him to his grand- 
 mother by his father and mother, whose name was Sarah, de- 
 livering withal a strict charge, that she should give him hand- 
 some education with all imaginable privacy, and secure him 
 from the knowledge and resentment of the people of Munster. 
 The Deasies, affected with these (calamities of the province, 
 consulted the most eminent druids, whether the country should 
 be destroyed, or enjoy a state of happmess for the time to come? 
 For if they learned there would be any wars or commotion^ 
 among the inhabitants; they were resolved not to abide the 
 issue, but to remove and seek for new settlements. The sooth- 
 sayers gave them to understand^ that it was proper they should 
 continue in the country ; and informed them withal, that the 
 wife of Eana Cinnsealach, whose name was Cuingion, was far 
 gone with child, and would be delivered of a daughter ; and 
 that, as soon as she was born, they were to apply to the father, 
 to desire the nursing and the education of her ; if he refused 
 their request, they were to make a suitable present to the father, 
 and that would prevail with him to resign her to their disposal : 
 the reason of these instructions was, because it was foreseen 
 that this child should consult the interest, and bestow great ad- 
 vantages upon that family. The Deasies gave belief to the pre- 
 diction, and, following the advice of their druids, obtained the 
 child of the father. But the prophecy being not to be accom- 
 plished till the child was marriageable, they were impatisnt till 
 she was of a suitable age ; and to forward her growth they slew 
 many young children, and fed her with their flesh. This method 
 of dieting her promoted her inclinations, and she was capable 
 )f marriage some years sooner than the usual age. The name 
 of this lady was Eithne Vathach, whose husband, it was pre- 
 dicted, should be a fast friend to the tribe of the Deasies ; and 
 therefore they made inquiry for a husband for her, and when 
 the articles of marriage were settled, they bestowed her upon 
 
OF IRELAND. 275 
 
 Aongus/ tlie son of Nadhfraioch, king of Muuster. But this 
 prince could not obtain her without a gratuity to the family 
 that brought her up ; and therefore Aongus delivered as a 
 dowry, into the possession of the Deasies, the lands of Magh 
 Feimhin, consisting of the third part of Ciuain Mell, and the 
 middle third ; but he was first obliged to drive the people of 
 Ossery out of those estates, who at that time were the pos- 
 sessors of them. A considerable time after this, Aongus and 
 his lady Eithne were slain by the people of Leinster, in the 
 battle of Ceallosnadh, four miles eastward of Laithglin. 
 
 The posterity of Fiachadh Suidhe, who were distinguished by 
 the name of Deasies, had not, when they first came into Mun- 
 ster, any lands in that province, except that part of the country 
 called Deasie Deisgceart, or the South Deasie, which extends 
 itself from the river Suir to the south sea, and from Liosmoro 
 to Ceann Criadain, till* the marriage of this lady Eithne with 
 the prince Aongus, son of Nadhfraioch, king of Munster ; for 
 then it was, in accomplishment of the prediction, that he con- 
 ferred upon the tribe of Deasie the country called Tuaagirt, or 
 North Deasie, which contains the tract of lands from the river 
 ^uir aforesaid, to Corea Athrach, known now by the name of 
 Macha;re Chaisil, or the plains of Gashel. 
 
 There was a prince called O'Faolan, who descended lineally 
 from the family that was king of JSTorth Deasie, and he erected 
 a stately palace, and kept hi3 court, westward of Dunleamh- 
 nachta, which structure continues the name of Don Faolan to 
 this day. He had a relation of the same family, who fixed him- 
 self in the possession of Deasie Deisgceirt, or the South Deasie, 
 and from him O'Bric received its name. His royal seat was 
 situat:d near the coast of the south sea, called Oilean O'Bric, 
 or the island of Brie ; and between these two families was the 
 government of the two divisions of the Deasie contin?ied, till 
 the death of O'Bric, who left no issue behind him, and then the 
 government of both parts fell into the hands of Faolan, whoso *" 
 descendants possessed the sovereignty for many years and suc- 
 cessions, til they were driven out of the North Deasie by the 
 prevailing power of the posterity of Heber Fionu, the son of 
 Milef-ius, who conquered that part of the country, and left no 
 more to that tribe than the South Deasie : and in this posture 
 were both Deasies found by the English, who were brought iulo 
 Ireland by Diarmuid Mac Morough, king of Leinster. 
 
 It must be observed in this place, that Aongus Ossery, and 
 ^.is folio Wdi'KA, had ths command of Ma^,'!! Feimhin, called tha 
 
276 THE GENERxiL HISTORY 
 
 North Deasie, and that Aongus was forced to abandon his pos- 
 sessions of Magh Feimhiu, and was expelled the country by tho 
 posterity of Fiacaadh Suidhe, with all his relations and de- 
 pendants ; so that from this general defeat of Aongus Ossery it 
 is, that Bailie Urlifidhe, and Mulloch Aindeonach, are known 
 by the same name to this day ; for the word Urlnidh, in the 
 Irish language, signifies the blows or irresistible strokes of vy 
 liant men, and Aindeonach is as much as to say a violent ex* 
 pulsion. 
 
 Cormac, the son of Art, king of Ireland, had at that time a 
 numerous family to maintain, and his revenue was so small, that 
 he was not able to find provisions, especially a sufficient quan- 
 tity of flesh to support them suitable to his quality. He there- 
 fore advised with his treasurer, who had the principal manage- 
 ment of his affairs, and knew the exigency of his fortune, on 
 what method he should take to keep up the dignity of his table, 
 and to subsist his attendants, till his subsidies and tributes 
 would become due, and enable him to defray the expense. His 
 treasurer, being sensible of the wants of his master, gave his' 
 opinion, that there was no other redress left, but to raise a 
 number of resolute and well-disciplined troops, and enter the 
 province of Munster in a hostile manner., and demand of the 
 king of Munster the revenue that lay in arrear ; for, sir, saya 
 he, there are two provinces in Munster, and you receive con- 
 tributions but from one of them ; your business, therefore, is to 
 insist upon your right, to demand what you have been de- 
 frauded of, and, if he should deny your claim, to plunder the 
 conutry, and to force a just acknowledgment from the inhabi- 
 tants. 
 
 This advice was well received by Cor mac, who immediatel/ 
 put it in execution. He therefore dispatched a proper messen- 
 ger to Fiachadh Muilleathan, the king of Munster, and made a 
 demand of the revenue arising from one of the provinces, which 
 had been unjustly detained from him. The message was re- 
 ceived with contempt, and Fiachadh returned this answer, that 
 the demand was unprecedented, none of his predecessors, the 
 kings of Ireland, ever received an additional tribute from the 
 province, neither would he distress his subjects by raising new 
 cciitributions, which they had no right to pay. Cormac, upon 
 the return of the messenger, was incensed with this denial, and 
 raised an army with all expedition, and directed his march to- 
 wards Munster. He entered the province as an enemy, and 
 came as far as Druim Da Maire, (Nvhich place la now called Cnoo 
 
OF IICELAND. 277 
 
 Luinge,) where he halted aud encamped with his forces. Fiach- 
 adh Muilleathaii, the king of Munster, perceiving he shoujd be 
 attacked, was ready to receive him; and encamping with his army 
 in the very face of Cormac, resolved to try the issue of the 
 battle. 
 
 But Cormac, not confiding wholly in the courage of his forces, 
 had recourse to policy, and, having a great number of Scottish 
 druids and enchanters in his army, desired the assistance of their 
 skill to annoy and dispirit the enemy. These necromancers 
 made use of their art, and, by charms and incantations, occa- 
 sioned the greatest trouble and inconveniences to the army of 
 Munster ; particularly their magical skill had that success, as 
 to dry up the water that was in the enemy's camp, so that the 
 soldiers and tht cattle were in the utmost distress, and were 
 ready to expire for thu'st. 
 
 The king of Munster lamented this sad calamity among his 
 forces, and, hearing of an eminent druid that lived in Ciarruidho 
 Luachra, whose name was Modharuith, he sent to him, and re* 
 quested him to deliver his armies out uf these difficulties ; but 
 the crafty druid, taking advantage of the misfortune of the 
 khig, denied his assistance, unless he had confirmed to him, as 
 a reward, the two territories, now called Koche's country and 
 the country of Condon, and settled upon his posterity for ever ; 
 upon that condition he engaged to deliver the army of Munster 
 from the power of the Scottish enchanters, and to procure plenty 
 of water in the camp. 
 
 The ne€essity of the king's affairs obliged him to comply with 
 this unconscionable demand, and the druid had immediate re- 
 course to his art. The counter-charm, which he used upon this 
 occasion, was an enchanted dart he had in his hand, which he 
 flung into the air with all his force, declaring, that from the 
 spot of ground upon which the arrow fell, there should spring a 
 fountain of the purest water sufficient to supply the wants of 
 the whole army ; and so it came to pass. By this means the 
 soldiers were relieved and inspired with fresh courage ; and, en- 
 raged with the miseries they had endured, they desired the king 
 to lead them against the enemy, and promised him full revenge, 
 and assured him of victory. He accordingly drew out his forces, 
 and offered baittle to the king of Ireland, who, distrusting the 
 courage of his soldiers, flecj for his security without striking a 
 blow, and was pursued so closely by the king of Munster, that 
 he was overtaken at Ossery, and obliged to capitulate. The 
 ccnditions insisted on were, that he wiu to deliver up ho^ta^^es, 
 
273 THE GENERAL HTSTORT 
 
 which were to be the principal of his nobility, and send them 
 from Tara to Raith Naoi, now called Cnoc Rathfann, as a solemn 
 assurance that he would repair all the losses the people of Mnn- 
 ster had sustained by the plundering and depredations of his 
 army, from the time that he first entered the province. These 
 terms were accepted, for they were offered sword in hand : and 
 the testimony of an old poet, who wrote of these affairs, con- 
 firms this account in these lines : 
 
 Tlie valiant Fiachadh Muilleatlian, 
 The Avarlike monarch of the soutliern coasts, 
 Received the hostages, who came from Tara 
 To Kathfuin and Rath ISTaoi. 
 
 This prince, the victorious Fiachadh Muilieathan, had two 
 sons, whose names were Oilioll Flan More and Oilioli Flan 
 Beag. Oilioll Flan More, who was the eldest, died without 
 issue ; and all the posterity, -descended from Fiachadh Muiliea- 
 than, were the offspring of Oilioll Flan Beag, whose descendants 
 were very numerous, and of great authority, in the province of 
 Munster. This is taken notice of in the verses of an old poet, 
 in this manner : 
 
 Two worthy princes of the royal blood 
 
 Of Fiachadh Muilieathan, 
 
 Were Oilioll Flan Alore, and Oilioll Flan Beag. 
 
 The eldest with a child was never blest : 
 
 The youngest with a numerous progeny 
 
 O'erspread the province. 
 
 The prince, Oilioll Fian More, having no child of his own, by 
 public authority adopted his brother, Oilioll Flan Beag, for his 
 son, and demised to him all his fortune and estate, upon this 
 condition, that his name should be inserted in the lineal gene- 
 alogies, between the name of his father, Fiachadh Muilieathan, 
 and that of his brother, in order to make posterity believe that 
 he was the father of Oilioll Flan Beag ; and the pedigrees 
 belonging to all the spreading branches of that line, have the 
 name of Oilioll Flan More disposed according to the oontraci 
 agreed to by the two brothers, and are delivered down in trie 
 same form through many ages. The Psalter of Cashel, likewise, 
 and others of the most ancient and anthentic chronicles of Ire- 
 land, take notice of these genealogies, with the name of this 
 prince placed next to' his father's ; though the writers of those 
 times were sensible, that Oilioll Flan More was not the fatiier 
 
/ OF IT?r.T.AXD. ^ 279 
 
 of Oilioll Flan Beag : notwithstanding, the pubh'o records of 
 the kingdom always mention the name of Oilioll Flan More in 
 the genealogy of Fiachadh Mnilleathan, but with no design to 
 impose upon posterity, only in observance of the agreement be- 
 tween the two brothers, upon the consideration before men- 
 tioned. 
 
 We are now come to the death ot this renowned prince Fia- 
 chadh Mnilleathan, who was treacherously slain by Conla, tho 
 B©n of Thady. son of Cian, son of Oiliolla Olum, at the ford 
 called Aith Uisiol, upon the river Suir. This barbarous act was 
 accomplished in this manner ; Conla, it must be observed, had 
 Lis education with Cormac, monarch of Ireland, where he was 
 instructed in military discipline, and the polite parts of learn- 
 ing, and was bred up suitably to his descent and quality. When 
 he was young, it happened that he had a sharp humour in. his 
 blood, which occasioned a scabby and leprous scurf all over his 
 body j the most eminent physicians were applied to, and they 
 administered medicines, but without success : the young prince 
 became a most frightful object, for his whole body was broken 
 out, and covered as it were, with scales. This misfortune was 
 lamented by the whole court, but by none more than by Cor- 
 mac himself, who had conceived a sincere affection for him, as 
 he was his companion from a child. In those times it was es- 
 teemed the highest accomplishment to understand divination 
 and soothsaying, and Cormac was become so great a proficient 
 in those studies, that, for the service of his friend, he tried the 
 utmost of his skill ; and upon consultation was able to foretel, 
 that he should never be delivered from that distemper, but 
 would without remedy continue afflicted with the leprosy, un- 
 less he could find means to wash his body all over with the 
 blood of a king. Soon after this prediction, Conla, despairing 
 of a cure, took leave of Cormac and his court, and came into the 
 province of Munster. over which Fiachadh Mnilleathan was 
 then king, and kept his residence at Rath Rathfuinn, now called 
 Cnoc Rathfuinn. In the court of this prince he was received 
 with great favour and civility, and, notwithstanding the appear- 
 ance of his distemper, he was admitted near the person of the 
 king. ■ Some time after it happened that Fiachadh, attended by 
 his nobles and his retinue of state, had resolved to divert him- 
 self by swimming in the river Suir, and Conla, who was his 
 near relation, was so well esteemed as to have the honour of 
 carrying his lance. When they arrived upon the bank of the 
 river, his servants undressed, him, and he plunged into Aith 
 
280 THE GENERAL HISTORY \ 
 
 X.iiaiojj to bathe and refresh himself. He had not been long in 
 the water, till Coula observed him swimming towards him, and 
 niaking his way towards the shore. The prediction of Cormao 
 instantly came into his mind, and, thinking this a proper op- 
 portunity to accomplish it, he basely violated the laws of gra- 
 Jitude and hospitality, and ran the king through the body with 
 ^is own spear. The wound was mortal, and the attendants, ad- 
 vancing to take full revenge upon the traitor, the expiring prince 
 laid his dying commands upon them, to save his life, and par- 
 don the murderer. His orders were faithfully obeyed ; Gonla 
 had his life spared, and the king was carried on shore and in- 
 stantly died. 
 
 It was observed before, in a preceding part of this history, 
 that Cormac, king of Ireland, had ten daughters ; yet the an- 
 cient records being silent, and mentioning nothing memorable ot 
 eight of these princesses, what they have related of the other 
 two will be properly introduced in this place. The name of one 
 of these ladies was Graine, who was man-ied to Fioun, the son 
 of Cumhall : but being of an amorous disposition she left him, 
 and stole away with her gallant Diarmuid O'Duibhne ; the 
 other was called Ailbhe, who was married tc her sister's husband, 
 Fionn, the son of Cumhall. 
 
 From this Fionn the established militia of the kingdom were 
 called Fiana Eirionn ; and if it should be asserted either through 
 ignorance or prejudice, that there was no such standing body 
 of troops in the island as these trained bands, tc evince the con- 
 trary, let it be considered that this part of history is supported 
 by evidence not tc be opposed. The constant tradition of the 
 ancient Irish, concerning the militia, which has delivered down 
 from father to son a continued account of many great and me- 
 morable exploits, performed by the bravery of these troops for 
 many ages, is a testimony of sufficient force, with an impartial 
 judgment, to prove that the brave Fiana, or Trained B.mds, 
 were fixed upon the Irish establishment, and were the standing 
 army of the kingdom. As a further argument upon this occa- 
 sion, let it be observed, that to deny the authority of this tra- 
 dition is not only to suppose that the ancient Irish, for many 
 centuries, conspired to abuse posterity with a fiction, but by 
 this means the reputation of the most authentic record? is dis- 
 puted, which particularly relate the actions of the Irish militia. 
 Besides, there remain to this day several unquestionable monu- 
 ments of these old soldiers, to deny which, is to disbelieve 
 matter of fact, and to oppose the cooimon reason ">f mankind. 
 
OF IRELAND. 281 
 
 Some of the remaining footsteps of these old warriors are known 
 by their first names at this time ; as, for instance, Suidhe 
 Fionn, or the palace of Fionn, situated at Sliabh na Mban, or 
 the Woman's Mountain, which seat was so called from Fionn 
 O'Baoisgue. Gleann Garruidh, in Vibh Fathach, received its 
 name from Garruidh Mac Morna ; Leaba Dhirmuda, and 
 Graine, which signifies Diarmuid and Graine's Bed, and stood 
 at a place called Poll tighe Liabain, in Yibh Fiachrach, in 
 O'Shaghnusie's country. Many instances to the same purpose 
 might be produced, to prove that many places in the kjngdom 
 retain, to this day, the names of some of the old Irish militia , 
 but these are sufficient ; and to mention more would occasion 
 too wide a breach in the progress of this history. 
 
 If it should be objected, that it is not to be supposed some 
 particular transactions, relating to O'Fionn, and his Fiana 
 Eirionn, or the Irish militia, can obtain belief, because some of 
 the circumstances are impossible in fact, and therefore must be 
 absolutely false, I confess, indeed, that the history of Ireland, 
 in some degree, la,bours under the same misfortune with most 
 of the old chronicles that were written in the times of idolatry 
 and paganism ; and there is scarce a country upon earth, I sup- 
 pose, whose primitive records are not disguised with fable and 
 some incredible relations ; and even since Christianity appeared 
 in the world, and the clouds of superstition and ignorance were 
 in some measure dispelled, many strange and romantic accounts 
 have been delivered with an air of truth, and obtained credit 
 among weak judgments, notwithstanding the monstrous incon- 
 sistencies they abound with. But it is an unjustifiable conse- 
 quence to conclude from thence, that the old records and chro- 
 nicles of all nations are fables and rhapsodies ; as if antiquity 
 was a sure and infallible mark of falsehood, and that the ancient 
 writers were a gang of cheats and impostors, who conspired 
 together to transmit lies and to impose upon posterity. 
 
 It cannot be denied, however, that many poetical fictions, 
 and suspected relations, are foisted into the chronicles that treat 
 of Fionn and his Irish militia ; such as, the battle ot Fionn 
 Tragha, Bruighean Chaorthuin, Achtra, and Ghiolla Dheacair, 
 which are accounts, not so much designed to gain credit, as to 
 relieve the reader, and to embellish and set off the history ; and 
 therefore to weaken the authority of the whole, upon the ac- 
 count of some poetical fables interspersed, is too severe and un- 
 justifiable a piece of criticism, and contrary to the common 
 candour allowed to such ancient writings. 
 
282 THK GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 . In some of the records, which treat of the old militia of Ire- 
 land, it is asserted that they were a body of men, so strong, 
 and so tall of stature, as is really incredible j for it is certain, 
 though there were a brave and undaunted number of troops, 
 yet the size of the persons did not exceed the common pro- 
 portion of those times. They were no more than a standing 
 well-disciplined army, under the monarchs of Ireland, in whose 
 hands the militia ever was, that were kept in regular and con- 
 stant pay. Their business was to defend the country against 
 foreign or domestic enemies, to support the right and succession 
 of their kings, and to be ready at the shortest notice, upon any 
 surprise or emergencies of the state. They were to guard the 
 sea coasts, and to have a strict eye upon the creeks and havens 
 of the island, lest any pirates should be lurking there, to plun- 
 der the country, and infest the inhabitants ; and they were 
 established for the same purpose as a standing body of forces 
 are kept up in any nation, to defend it from invasions, to sup- 
 port the rights and prerogatives of the crown, and to secure the 
 liberty and property of the people. 
 
 The way of subsisting these troops was by billeting them 
 upon the country, from Allhallow-tide to the month of May, 
 which was the winter season ; during the other part of the year 
 they were obliged to fish and to hunt, and find provision for 
 themselves. But they were confined to perform their military 
 exercise, and to be under discipline. The officers were enjoined 
 not to oppress, but to defend the inhabitants from the attempts 
 of thieves and robbers, and to promote the peace and happiness 
 of the people : it was their duty to quell all riots and insurrec- 
 tions, to raise fines, and secure forfeited estates for the use of 
 the king ; to inquire into, and suppress all seditious and traitor- 
 ous practices in the beginning, and to appear in arms when any 
 occa;_ion of the state required. 
 
 For these services they were allowed a regular pay, as the 
 princes of Europe at this day maintain their armies ; for 
 though this militia had no pay from the kings of Ireland, but 
 when they were in winter quarters, from Allhallow-tide to the 
 month of May, yet, as was observed before, they had the pri- 
 vilege, for the other part of the year, to fish and fowl for their 
 support, which was equivalent to their settled pay, for the 
 fiesh of what they killed they eat, and the skins they had liberty 
 to sell, which afforded a good price. 
 
 The method of dressing their meat was very particular ; for 
 when they had success in hunting, it was their custom in the 
 
OF IRELAND. 
 
 283 
 
 forenoon to send their huntsman, with what they had killed, to 
 a proper place, where there was plenty of wood and water ; there 
 they kindled great fires, into which their way was to throw s 
 n amber of large stones, where they were to continue till they 
 were red hot , then they applied themselves to dig two great 
 pits in the earth, into one of which, upon the bottom, they used 
 to lay some of those hot stones as a pavement, upon them they 
 would place the raw flesh, bound up hard in green sedge or bull- 
 rushes , over these bundles was fixed another layer of hot stones, 
 then a quantity of flesh, and this method was observed till the 
 pit was full. In this manner their flesh was sodden or stewed 
 till it was fit to eat, and then they uncovered it , and, when the 
 hole was»-emptied, they began their meal. This Irish militia, it 
 must be observed, never eat but once in twenty-four hours, and 
 their meal time was always in the evening. When they had a 
 mind to alter their diet, instead of stewing their meat, as we 
 have before mentioned, they would roast it before these fires 
 and make it palatable and wholesome. 
 
 And, as an undisputed evidence of these" fires, the marks of 
 them continue deep in the earth, in many places of the island, 
 to this day ; for they were very large, and burned exceeding 
 fierce, and the impression they left is now to be met with many 
 fyet deep in the ground. When any husbandman in Ireland 
 turns up with his plough any black burnt earth, he immediately 
 knows the occasion of it ; and the soil of that colour is known, 
 with great propriety, by the name of Fulacht Fian to this time. 
 
 When the Irish militia came to these fires to dress their meat 
 before they went to eat they would strip themselves to their 
 shirts, which they modestly tied about theit middles, and go 
 into the other pit dug in the ground, which was very large, and 
 filled with water. Here they would wash their heads and necks, 
 and other parts of their bodies, till they had cleansed themselves 
 from the sweat and dust occasioned by their hunting - and this 
 custom was very wholesome and refreshing, for they would rub 
 their limbs and their joints till they had forgot all their fatigue, 
 and became as sprightly and active as when they began their 
 sport in the morning : when they were perfectly clean, they 
 would put on their clothes, and begin their meal. ' 
 
 After they had eaten they would apply themselves to build 
 huts and tents, where they made their beds, and designed to re- 
 pose themselves for the following night. These beds were com- 
 posed and laid out with great exactness They cat down branches 
 of trees, which they placed next the ground ; upon these was 
 
284 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 laid a quantity of dry moss, and upon the top of all was strewed 
 a bundle of green rushes, which made a very commodious lodg- 
 ing. These beds, in the ancient manuscripts, are called Tri 
 ouilceadha na feine ; which in English signifies the three beds 
 of the Irish militia. 
 
 •Campian, an author of little veracity, would impose upon 
 the world, by asserting that Fionn, the son of Cumhall, was 
 known by the name of Roanus ; but this is either an ignorant 
 mistake or a signal instance of the prejudice of this writer, for 
 the father of Cumhall was Trein More, the fourth lineal de- 
 scendant of Nuagadh Neacht, king of Leinster, and the mother 
 of Fioan was Muirn Munchaomh, the daughter of Thady, the 
 son of Nuagatt, an eminent druid, retained in the 'family of 
 Cathaoir More. Almhuin, in the province of Leinster, was the 
 native country and inheritance of Thady, the son of Nuagatt, 
 upon which account Fionn obtained possession of Almhuin, in 
 right of his mother ^ yet Fionn was invested with the country 
 of Formaoilna Bhfian, in Cinseallach, where Limerick, in Lein- 
 ster, now stands, by the donation of the king of Leinster. 
 
 Hector Boetius, another fabulous writer, in his history oi 
 Scotland, imposes upon the world, by asserting that Fionn was 
 of a gigantic size, and that he was fifteen cubits high ; but by 
 the ancient records of the kingdom, whose authority will be for 
 ever sacred with me, it appears that Fionn did not exceed the 
 common proportion of the men of his time : and there were 
 many soldiers in the militia of Ireland, that had a more robust 
 constitution of body, and were of a more extraordinary sfcatiire ^ 
 and the reason why Fionn was the general and first commanding 
 officer over the Irish militia was, because his father and grand- 
 father enjoyed the same dignity before him, and had the honour 
 to be at the head of these invincible troops ; but upon this ao-^ 
 count more especially he had the principal command of the 
 standing army, as he was a person of superior courage, of great 
 learning and militar 7 experience, which accomplishments ad- 
 vanced him in the esteem of the soldiery, who thought him 
 worthy to lead them. His uncommon stature, therefore, and 
 gigantic streagth, are mere fictions, designed to abuse the world, 
 and to destroy the credit of these historians who treat upon 
 the affairs of the old Irish government. 
 
 The constant number of those standing forces, that were 
 quartered upon the kingdom of Ireland, was three battalions, 
 each battalion consisting of 3,000 able men. But this was thg 
 establishment only in time of peace, when there were no dis 
 
OF IRELAND. 
 
 285 
 
 turbances at home, or fear of any invasions from abroad. But 
 if there were any public discontents, or aiT^y apprehensions of a 
 rebellion or a conspiracy ; if there arose any contests between 
 the king and his nobility, or the king foand himself under a 
 necessity to transport a body of troops into Scotland, to assist 
 the Dailriads, or upon any surprise or difficulties of the state, 
 Fionn increased his forces to the number of seven battalions, 
 which was strength sufficient to assist his friends, the Dailriads, 
 in Scotland, and to defend the kingdom of Ireland from the 
 attacks of domestic or foreign enemies. 
 
 It has been observed, that Fionn was the commander-in-chief 
 of the Irish militia, but he had several inferior officers, who, in 
 their degrees, exercised an authority under him, by his commis- 
 sion. Every battalion or legion was commanded by a colonel ; 
 every hundred men were under the conduct of a captain ; an 
 officer, in the nature of a lieutenant, bad fifty under him ; and 
 a sergeant, resembling the Decurio of the Romans, was set over 
 five-and-twenty : but when an hundred of these militia were 
 drawn out, by ten in a rank, there was an officer appointed over 
 every ten of them commonly called the commander of ten ; 
 and, therefore, when the chronicles of Ireland make mention of 
 Fear Comhlan Cead, or Fear Comhlan Caoguid, which signifies 
 a man able to engage with a hundred, and another to fight with 
 fifty, it is not to be understood as if the first was able to en- 
 counter an hundred himself, and conquer them with his own 
 hand, or the other had the courage to engage with fifty, and 
 come off with victory ; the meaning is, that such an officer had 
 the command of an hundred men, with whom he would fight 
 hand to hand with the same number of enemies ; and that an 
 officer who had fifty under him, would engage with any fifty 
 that opposed him, with their commander at the head of them. 
 
 Every soldier that was received into the militia of Ireland 
 by Fionn, was obliged, before he was enrolled, to subscribe to 
 the following articles : the first, that, when he was disposed to 
 marry, he would not follow the mercenary custom of insisting 
 upon a portion with a wife, but, without regard to her fortune, he 
 should choose a woman for her virtue, her courtesy, and good 
 manners. The second, that he would never offer violence to a 
 woman, or attempt to ravish her. The third, that he would be 
 charitable and relieve the poor, who desired meat or drink, as 
 far as his abilities would permit. The fourth, that he would 
 not turn his back, or refuse to fight with nine men of any other 
 nation that set upon him, and offered to fight with him. 
 
2SG THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 It must not be supposed, that every person who was willing 
 to be enlisted in the militia of Ireland, would be accepted ; for 
 Fionn was very strict in his inquiry, and observed these rules 
 in filling up the number of his troops, which were exactly fol- 
 lowed by his successors in command, when they had occasion to 
 recruit their forces. 
 
 He ordained, therefore, that no person should be enlisted or 
 received into the service, in the congregation or assembly of 
 Visneach, or in the celebrated fair of Tailtean, or at Feaa 
 Teamhrach, unless his father and mother, and all the relatives 
 of his family, would stipulate and give proper security, that 
 not one of them should attempt to revenge hi^ death upon the 
 person that slew him, but to leave the affair of his death wholly 
 in the hands of his fellow-soldiers, who would take care to do 
 him justice as the case required ; and it was ordained, likewise, 
 that the relations of a soldier of this militia should not receive 
 any damage or reproach for any misbehaviour committed by him. 
 
 The second qualification for admittance into these standing 
 forces was, that no one should be received unless he had a 
 poetical genius, and could compose verses, and was well ac- 
 quainted with the twelve books of poetry. 
 
 • The third condition was, that he should be a perfect master 
 of his weapons, and able to defend himself against all attacks ; 
 and to prove his dexterity in the management of his arais, he 
 was placed in a plain field, encompassed with green sedge, that 
 reached above his knee ; he was to have a target by him, and a 
 hazle stake in his hand of the length of a man's arm. Then nino 
 experienced soldiers of the militia were drawn oat, and ap- 
 pointed to stand at the distance of nine ridges of land f^om him, 
 and to throw all their javelins at him at once ; if he had the 
 skill, with his target and his stake, to defend himself, and come 
 off unhurt, he was admitted into the service j but if he had the 
 misfortune to be wounded by one of those javelins, he vras re- 
 jected as unqualified, and turned off with reproach. 
 
 A fourth qualification was, that he should run well, and in 
 his flight defend himself from his enemy ; and to make a trial 
 of his activity he had his hair plaited, and was obliged to run 
 through a wood, with all the militia pursuing him, and was al- 
 lowed but the breadth of a tree before the rest at his setting 
 out j if he was overtaken in the chase, or received a wound be- 
 fore he had ran through the wood, he was refused, as too slug- 
 gish and unskilful to fight with honour among those vaiiaufc 
 troops. 
 
OF IRELAND. 287 
 
 It was required, in the fifth place, that whoever was a candi- 
 <3ate for admission into the militia, should have a strong arm, 
 and hold his weapons steady ; and if it was observed that his 
 hands shook, he was rejected. 
 
 The sixth requisite was, that when he ran through a wood his 
 hair should continue tied up, during the chase ; if it fell loose, 
 he could not be received. 
 
 The seventh qualification was, to be so swift and light of foot 
 OS not to break a rotten stick by standing upon it. 
 
 The eighth condition was, that none should have the honour 
 of being enrolled among the Irish militia, that was not so active' 
 as to leap over a tree as high as his forehead ; or could not, by 
 the agility of his body, stoop easily under a tree that was lower 
 than his knees. 
 
 The ninth condition required was, that he could, without 
 stopping or lessening his speed, draw a thorn out of his foot. 
 
 The tenth and last qualification was, to take an oath of alle- 
 giance to be true and faithful to the commanding officer of the 
 army. These were the terms required for admission among 
 these brave troops ; which, so long as they were exactly insisted 
 upon, the militia of Ireland were an invincible defence to their 
 country, and a terror to rebels at home and enemies abroad. 
 
 It happened, that, when Cormac was monarch of Ireland, some 
 of the principal gentry of the province of Ulster transported 
 themselves into Scotland^ and committed great hostilities upon 
 the coasts : and: in some of their incursions, they had the for- 
 tune to surprise the beautiful Ciarnuit, daughter to the king of 
 the Picts. With this fair prize, and other valuable booty, they 
 returned into Ireland. The beauty of this captived lady could 
 not be long concealed, and came at length to the ears of Cormac, 
 who, before he saw her. was so transported with the relation of 
 her charms, that he demanded her of the gentry who brought 
 her out of her own country , accordingly she was presented to 
 the king, who fitted up an apartment for her in his palace, and 
 valued her beyond all the ladies of his court. 
 
 But her beauty, and the place she had in the king's favour, 
 occasioned her many enemies ; and the queen resolved upon re- 
 venge, for robbing her of her husband's love, and soon found 
 means to put her designs in execution. The queen of Cormac 
 at this time was Eithne Ollamhada, the daughter of Dunluing, 
 and, being a lady of great spirit, she resented the indignity she 
 had received in so violent a manner, that she boldly told the 
 king, that, unless he would deliver into her hands this mistress 
 
2SS THE GENRRAL niSTORT 
 
 of his, she would leave the court, and separate herself from him 
 for ever. Cormac, unwilling to incense his inj ured queen, and 
 to drive her to extremities, resigned the fair Ciarnuit into hei' 
 hands, whom she used with great severity, and, as a punishment, 
 obliged her every day to grind with a quern or hand-mill nine 
 quarters of corn. But notwithstanding the close confinement 
 she was under, the king could not give up his passion, but found 
 ^eans to be admitted privately where she lay, and got her with 
 jhild. Her slavery was continued by the queen, who insisted 
 on the quantity of meal ; but when she grew big she became 
 weak and faint, and unable to perform the task enjoined her. 
 In this distress, upon the first opportunity, she applied herself 
 to the king, and complained so tenderly of her misfortunes, that 
 he dispatched a messenger to Scotland, who brought over with 
 him one of the most expert carpenters of the kingdom. This 
 skilful mechanic in a short time erected a mill, by means of 
 which the unfortunate Ciarnuit was delivered from the daily 
 servitude enjoined her by the queen, as a just revenge for de- 
 frauding her of the esteem and affections of the king. This 
 transaction contmues upon record, in the verses of an ancient 
 poet, in this manner : 
 
 The lovely Ciarnuit, forced away 
 
 And taken captive by her enemie?, 
 
 Was made a present to the Irish monarch, 
 
 The royal Cormac, who, by beauty's charms 
 
 Subdued, esteem'd her mistress of his heart. 
 
 The jealous queen, mth keen resentment fir'd, 
 
 Demanded, in revenge, the Scottish lady. 
 
 To be delivered to her mercy. The king 
 
 Unwillingly consented ; for the fair 
 
 Unfortunate Ciarnute was obliged 
 
 To turn a mUl, and, with her tender hands, * 
 
 To grind of corn nine quarters every day. 
 
 In this distress, and in her poor apartment, 
 
 The king woiild privately be introduced 
 
 Till she grew big with child, and then, unable 
 
 To undergo the slavery of the mill, 
 
 She cried, and humbly begg'd her royal lover 
 
 To send to Scotland for a skilful workman, 
 
 Who, by his art, could make a proper engine 
 
 To grind without her hand. The king complied ; 
 
 The workman came, and, by his cunning skill, 
 
 He made a mill, and eas'd her of her pains. 
 
 In the reign of Cormac, king of Ireland, it was, that the fa- 
 mous Fiothall flourished, who was the chief justice of the kin^- 
 
OF IRELAND. 28.3 
 
 dom. This learned judge had a son, whose name was Flaifch- 
 righe : when he was upon his death-bed he sent for his son, who 
 waif a person of great learning and every way accomplish sd : 
 and, when he Lad given him his blessing in the most affection- 
 ate manner, he obliged him, by the bonds of his duty, to observe 
 four particulars, that would be of great service in the future 
 management of his life : — The first, that he should not undertake 
 the charge of educating and maintaining a king^s son : the se- 
 cond, that he should not impart any secrets of importance to 
 his wife : the third, that he should not advance, nor be concerned 
 in promoting a clown, or a person of low birth and ill manners ; 
 the fourth, was not to admit his sister into the government of 
 his affairs, nor trust her with the keeping of his house, or of 
 his money. These were the injunctions the expiring father laid 
 upon his son, who, after his decease, resolved to make trial whe- 
 ther it was of any consequence to observe them, and whether 
 any signal misfortune would attend the breach of them. 
 
 Accordingly he took upon himself the education of the son 
 of Cormac, king of Ireland, and engaged to breed him up. 
 When the child was able to go of itself and to speak intelligi- 
 bly, Flaithrighe carried him into a wood, and committed him 
 to the care of one of his herdsmen, an honest man, and wliose 
 fidelity he could confide in ; he strictly commanded him to con- 
 ceal the child in the most retired place of the wood, and admit 
 no body to the sight of him, unless he sent him a certain to- 
 ken, which was the sign that he might safely trust the person 
 to see him. When he had thus provided for the security of the 
 child, he returned home, and pretended to be exceedingly sor- 
 rowful and dejected, as if some misfortune of consequence had 
 befallen him : his wife observing him seemingly oppressed with 
 grief, inquired into the reason of his sorrow, which would be 
 eased by being discovered to her, whu would willingly endure 
 a part with him in his sufferings. He gave her no answer at 
 first, which increased her curiosity, and she repeated her impor- 
 tunity, and more passionately entreated him to communicate to 
 her the cause of his af&iction ; at last he complied, but upon 
 this condition, that she would never discover what he told her 
 to any creature living : she immediately bound herself to se- 
 crecy by a solemn oath, and he, upon this security, informed 
 her, that the reason of his melancholy was, that he had unfor- 
 tunately killed the young prince committed to his care. The 
 woman, forgetting the obligation of her oath, and unmindful of the 
 duty she owed to her husband, immediately cried out, and basely 
 
^90 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 breaking her trust, she called the servants of the family to seize 
 upon their master, who was a murderer and a traitor, for he had 
 destroyed the king's son. The servants, surprised at the cruaity 
 of the action, and urged by the instigation of their mistress, 
 seized upon Flaithrighe, and when they had bound him they de- 
 livered him into the hands of justice. 
 
 In this manner were the two first injunctions of the father 
 violated by the son, in order to make trial of the force and im- 
 portance of them. The third he proved, by advancing the son 
 of one of his shepherds, who was an illiterate person, and of no 
 education, and promoting him to a good estate and an honour- 
 able employment. The fourth he made an experiment of, by 
 committing, after his father's decease, the greatest part of his 
 fortune to his sister, and trusting her with the principal manage- 
 ment of all his affairs. 
 
 Flaithrighe was brought to trial for the murder of the king's 
 son, and being convicted by the evidence of his wife, to whom 
 le had confessed the fact, he was cast for his life, and by express 
 sentence from the judge he was condemned to die ; and the most 
 violent enemy in his misfortunes was the ungrateful son of the 
 shepherd, whom he raised from poverty into plenty and gran- 
 duer ; for he thought that, when Flaithrighe was executed, he 
 should have an opportunity of purchasing his forfeited estate of 
 the king, which he was able to do, by the great riches conferred 
 upon him by his benefactor, whose life he resolved if possible to 
 destroy. The unfortunate Flaithrighe thought that a sum of 
 money, if well applied among the' courtiers, might procure him 
 a reprieve, and therefore he sent a messenger to his sister, to 
 desire she would send him the bags he had intrusted her with, 
 for his life was in the utmost danger, and if she denied him. he 
 was sure to be executed in a few days. The sister most inhumanly 
 refased, adding this falsehood to her cruelty, that she never re- 
 ceived any money from him, and wondered at the insolence of 
 his demand. Flaithrighe, astonished at this reply, and the time 
 of his execution approaching, desired, before his death, to be 
 admitted into ttie king's presence, for he had a matter of great 
 importance to communicate. His request being granted, he 
 humbly asked pardon for reporting that the prince was dead, 
 and assured him that his information was false, for he was alive 
 and in perfect health ; and, says he, if your majesty distrust the 
 truth of this, I will immediately send for him, and he shall ap- 
 pear safe before you. The king was surprised at this discovery, 
 and commanded him to dispatch a messenger for the youth, and 
 
. OF IRELAND. 291 
 
 bring bim instantly to court ; threatening liim withal, that if 
 this account of his proved false, he should be loaded with irons, 
 and suffer the most ignomious and cruel death. The pri- 
 soner, as he was ordered, sent to his herdsman, and gave the 
 messenger the sign agreed upon, whereby he was sure that tlio 
 prince would be delivered. The child was soon brought to court 
 and into the presence of the king, where his foster-father was, 
 and when the youth beheld him fettered as a malefactor, he cried 
 out, and humbly entreated the king, that the irons should be 
 taken off. Flaithrighe was immediately released, and received 
 into the king's favour, as a testimony of his innocence. 
 
 Cormac, being fully satisfied when he saw his son alive, do- 
 raanded of Flaifehrighe, what was the reason of this behaviour 
 of his, and for what ends he brought himself under those diffi- 
 culties, as to suffer imprisonment and fetters, and to put his life 
 into the utmost hazard ? He answered that his design was only 
 CO prove the importance of four notable injunctions that his 
 father laid upon him before his decease. The first, says he, waa 
 that I should not take upon me the care of educating and breed- 
 ing up the son of a king, because if the youth comes to mis- 
 chance or dies, the life of the foster-father is in the king's hand, 
 and he lies wholly at his mercy. The second was, not to commit 
 a secret to a woman, because the whole sex are talkative and 
 unguarded, and oftentimes bring the life and honour of their 
 husbands into danger, by discovering what they are bound by 
 the most solemn obligations to conceal. The third command 
 was, that I should not be concerned in advancing the son of a 
 clown, of mean extract and low education ; because he soon for- 
 gets his benefactor, that raised him from poverty and rags into 
 jjlenty and honour j his "principle is ingratitude, and he often 
 contrives the destruction of his friend, in order to conceal the 
 lowness of his descent and the baseness of his original. The last 
 injunction was, that I should not commit the keeping of my 
 wealth, or any valuable part of my fortune, into the hand of my 
 sister ; and for an infallible reason, because it is the practice of 
 women to make a prey of what they get into their hands, and 
 what they receive only in trust, they understand as a gift, they 
 rifle their nearest relations, and, if opportunity offers, will plun- 
 der them of all they have. 
 
 It was an established law, in the reign of Cormac, king of 
 Ireland, that every monarch of the kingdom should be attended 
 by these ten officers, which he was obliged to have always in his 
 letinue, a lord, a judge, an augur or druid, a physician, a poet. 
 
292 TUa GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 an antiquary, a mii:sician, and tliree stewards of his household. 
 The duty of the lord was, to be a cotnpauion for the king, and to 
 entertain him with suitable discourse and conversation. The 
 office of the judge was, to administer justice to the subjects, to 
 publish the laws and customs of the country, and to preside in 
 courts of judicature under the king, who was generally present 
 in those assemblies. The function of the druid was, to regulate 
 the concerns of religion, and the worship ol the gods, to offer 
 Bacrifices, to divine and foretel, for the use and advantage of 
 the king and country. The physician was to preserve the health 
 of the king, the queen, and the royal family, and to administer 
 medicines upon proper occasions. The poet was to transmit to 
 posterity the heroic and memorable actions of famous men, of 
 whatsoever quality they weie ; to compose satires upon de- 
 bauchery and vice ; and to lash the immorality of courtiers 
 and inferior persons, without partiality or affjction. The office 
 of the antiquary was, to preserve the genealogies of the kings 
 of Ireland, to correct the regal tables of succession, and to de- 
 liver down the pedigrees of every collateral branch of the royal 
 family. He had likewise authority to supervise the genealogies 
 of the gentry and other private persons, and enter them into 
 the public records of the kingdom. The musician was to divert 
 the kinoj with his instruments, to sinoj before him, when he was 
 pleased to throw off public cares, and to ease his mind from the 
 business of the state. The tliree principal stewards of the 
 household were to provide for his table, to wait upon the king 
 when he dined or eat in public, and to govern the inferior 
 oiiicers and servants of the kitchen, and when they offended to 
 inflict proper punishments upon them. 
 
 These regulations and orders were observed strictly, for many 
 a^es, by the successive monarchs of the kingdom, from the 
 reign of Cormac, to the death of Bryen. the son of Kennedy, 
 without any alteration. But when the kings of Ireland were 
 received into the Christian faith, they dismissed the druid, who 
 was a pagan, and admitted into his place a Christian priest, as 
 a confessor, whose business it was to instruct the king in the 
 principles of his holy faith, and to assist him in his devotions. 
 These ancient customs of the Irish kings are confirmed by the 
 testimony of an eminent poet of great antiquity, who upon 
 this occasion has left these lines : 
 
 Ten royal officers, for use and state, 
 Attend the court, and on the monarch wait : 
 
OF IRELAND. 293 
 
 A nobleman, Avhose virtuous actions grace 
 
 His blood, and add new glories to his race. 
 
 A judge, to fix the meaning of the laws, 
 
 To save the poor, and right the injur'd cause. 
 
 A grave physician, by his artful care 
 
 To ease the sick, and weaken'd health repair. 
 
 A poet, to applaud and boldly blame. 
 
 And justly to give infamy or fame ; 
 
 For without him the freshest laurels fade. 
 
 And vice to dark oblivion is betray'd. 
 
 The next attendant was a faithful priest, ' 
 
 Prophetic fury roll'd within his breast : 
 
 Full of his god, he tells the distant doom 
 
 Of kings unborn, and nations yet to come ; 
 
 Daily he worships at tlie holy shrine, . 
 
 And pacifies his gods with rites divine. 
 
 With constant care the sacrifice renews. 
 
 And anxiously the panting entrails views. 
 
 To touch the harp, the sweet musician bends, 
 
 And both his hands upon the strings extends ; 
 
 The sweetest sound fiows from each warbling string, 
 
 Soft as the breezes of the breathing spring. 
 
 Music has poAv'r the passions to control. 
 
 And tunes the harsh disorders of the soul. 
 
 The antiquary, by his skill, reveals 
 The race of kings, and all their offspring tells. 
 The spreading branches of the royal Ime, 
 Traced out by him, in lasting records shine. 
 
 Tlu-ee ofllcers in lower order stand. 
 And, when he dines in state, attend the Idng's command. 
 
 Cormac, the monarch of Ireland, it must be obssrved, wag a 
 prince of great virtue and strict morality, and very exact in the 
 worship of the Deity, as far as the light of nature informed 
 him ; and his piety and devotion found acceptance and a re- 
 ward from above, for the merciful God was pleased to deliver 
 him from the obscurity of pagan darkness, and enlightened him 
 with the true faith of the gospel. He was converted seven 
 years before his death, during which time he refused to adore 
 his false deities, and instead of bowing to his idols, he did ho- 
 mage as a devout Christian to the true God ; so that this prince 
 was the third person who believed in the faith of Christ, before 
 the arrival of St. Patrick in Ireland. The names of these con- 
 verts were Connor, the son of Neasa, who was informed of the 
 sufferings of Christ, and the redemption of mankind, by Bac- 
 rach, a pagan druid ; Moran, son of Maoin, the second, and 
 Cormac, king of Ireland. 
 
 This prince kept his court, as did most of his predecessors in 
 the throne of Ireland, at the royal palace of Tara, till he had 
 
294 THE GENERAL HTSTORT 
 
 the misfortune to lose kis eye by Aoiigas Gaothbhuailfceach, ag 
 before mentioned ; and from that time till he died, he lived in 
 a very mean house, covered with thatch, at Anachuill, in Ceana- 
 nus. The reason of retiring from his court was, because the 
 principal nobility and gentry of the kingdom supposed it to be 
 a bad omen for the happiness of the public, if a king, who had 
 any blemish upon him, should reside in the royal palace of 
 Tara ; and therefore Cormac resigned the government to his 
 son, whose name was Cairbre LifFeachair, and contented himself 
 with that ordinary house at Anachuill, which was not far from 
 the court. In this contented privacy he spent the remainder 
 of his life ; and, being a prince of great learning, and an accom- 
 plished statesman, here it was that he drew up that admirable 
 treatise, called Advice to kings, for the use of his son, as was 
 observed before ; and during his retreat from public business, 
 he banished all rit^s of superstition and idolatry, and improved 
 himself in the worship and knowledge of the true God. 
 
 In those pagan times, one of the idols of the ancient Irish 
 was a golden calf, and it happened, that when Cormac was em- 
 p'oying himself in devotion in his thatched house, some of the 
 druids that belonged to the court, brought this image into his 
 presence, and, as their custom was, fell down before it, and 
 adored it with divine worship ; but the king contmued his ad- 
 dresses to the true God, and would not comply with their ido- 
 latry. Maoilogeann, who was the principal of these pagan 
 priests, perceiving that the king acted in contempt of their 
 holy rites, demanded of him the reason why he did not comply 
 with the religion of his ancestors, and pray to the golden calf, 
 and conform to the established worship 1 The king answered, 
 that it was beneath the dignity of a rational being to adore a 
 brute, which he determined never to do, much less a log of wood 
 fashioned by the workman's hand, who was no more able to 
 make a God than to create himself, and therefore he would direct 
 his addresses to that supreme Being, who formed the carpenter 
 and the tree, superstitiously converted into a god. Tne druid 
 then conveyed away the image, and soon after brought it to the 
 king, and presented it before him, dressed in the most magnifi- 
 cent attire, decked with jewels, and confidently demanded, 
 whether he would not address himself to a deity so splendidly 
 arrayed, and of so majestic appearance 1 Cormac replied, that 
 it was in vain to tempt him to idolatry, for he was resolved to 
 pay no divine homage but to the one supreme God, the Creator 
 of the heavens and of the earth, and of a place of punishment 
 
OF IRELAND. . 295 
 
 for tliG wicked, who corrupt his worship, and disobey his laws. 
 This resolution of the king, it is supposed^ cost him. his life ; for 
 .the very same day; in the evening, a salmon was provided lot 
 his supper, which the sorcery and magical art of this pagan 
 priest had so enchanted, that a bone of the fish stuck in the 
 king's throat, and choked him. Other authorities assert, that 
 as the king was at supper eating. the fish, a number of infernal 
 fiends were raised by the charms of the druid Maoilogeann, who 
 set upon the king, and strangled him : but before he expired, 
 he gave orders to his servants not to bury him in the royal 
 sepulture of the Irish monarchs ; for he would not have his dust 
 mixed with that of his pagan predecessors. 
 
 His commands were obeyed, and another place was appointed 
 for his interment ; but as his body was carrying upon a bier, 
 after the custom of the country^ the river Boyue was so enlarged, 
 and overflowed its banks in so wonderful a manner, by the 
 wicked arts of these infernal spirits, that the bearers could not 
 attempt to pass over the channel ; for these furies of hell would 
 not admit his body to be buried in a temple devoted to their 
 service, because he refused to conform to their abominable rites, 
 and introduced a way of worship in opposition to the established 
 religion. This stratagem these cursed spirits made use of three 
 several times, in order to prevent the interment of the body j 
 but the servants, intrusted with the care of the funeral, did 
 not desist from their duty, for, notwithstanding these dreadful 
 discouragements, they made a fourth attempt to carry the royal 
 corpse over the river, but the body was whirled out of the r 
 hands by a hurricane, and dropped into the stream, which was 
 so rapid, that it rolled it along to Rosnaroigh, where it was washed 
 off from the carriage. Upon this account that part of the river 
 Boyne is distinguished by the namf^ of Athfuaid to this day : 
 for Ath in the Irish language signifies a ford, and the word 
 Fuaid, a bier, which, being joined, are pronounesd Athfuaid. 
 The bod}'-, when it was found, was taken up, and buried solemnly 
 at Rosnaroigh. 
 
 A long time after this action, as the chronicles of Ireland in- 
 form us, the head of this monarch was found by St. Collum 
 Cill. or, as modern authors call him, St. Columba, who buried 
 it ; and in the same place he contmued till he had celebrated 
 thirty masses for his departed soul, which gave occasion to the 
 erecting of a church over the grave, which remains to this day. 
 
 In those times there were two remarkable temples, or bury- 
 ing-places, where most of the Irish monarchs were interred. The 
 
2^6 ' THE GENERAL HISTaRY 
 
 names of these royal repositories were, ferugh na Boine, and 
 Koilic na Riogh, near Cruachan, in the province of .Conacht. 
 The latter of these was of principal note, and contained the 
 bodies of most of the ancient kings ; as the learned Torne Eigis, 
 an omiuent poet, gives us to understand, in the following verses : 
 
 This sepulture preserves the royal dust 
 
 Of the renowned monarchs of the isle. 
 
 Here Dathy lies (whose acts were sung by fame) 
 
 Near Cruachan's pensive walls ; close by whose side, 
 
 For great exploits in war and equal arms 
 
 Dreaded, Dungalach sleeps ; who from his foe, 
 
 Wrested by greater might, to his own sway, 
 
 Numbers of captiv'd hosts in fetters bound, 
 
 Witnessing thraldom. Near the mournful shade 
 
 These weeping marbles cast, are also laid 
 
 The great remains of Conn, who sway'd with fame 
 
 Hibemia's royal sceptre ; nor deny 
 
 To hold the kindred dust, in love once join'd, 
 
 Of Tuathal and Tumultach, who their sire, 
 
 Wliile mortal, Eochaidh Feidhlioch own ; 
 
 He too, great parent of three sons as brave, 
 
 Mingles his dust with those he once mspir'd 
 
 With happy life ; nor does the grave refuse 
 
 To lieep the bi-eathless dust, by death disjoin 'd, 
 
 Of Eochaidh Airiamh, who his fate 
 
 Ow'd to Mormaol's sword, witn blood distain'd. 
 
 Nor could thy beauty, lovely once, secure 
 
 Thee Clothro. or from death's subduing arm 
 
 Guard thy all-conquering eyes, whose lance destj'oy'd 
 
 (With thee in blood alike and charms alliec 
 
 Thy sisters Meidhbh and Murasg ; heie entomb'd 
 
 They rest in silence, near thre ■ royal queens, 
 
 (Forgetful now in death they ever reign d ; 
 
 Eire, Fodhla, Banba, from the scepter'd line 
 
 Sprung of the Tuatha de Danans, far renown'd 
 
 For dire enchanting arts and ma .^ic power. 
 
 In this repositorj"- sleep m peace 
 
 Cearmada's royal sons ; three warlike names, 
 
 While life and vigom* could their arm inspire, 
 
 Now lifeless each, nor more intent on fame. 
 
 Here valiant IMidher rests, to death a prey. 
 
 While the still monument seems proud to hold 
 
 The relicts of great Gaol and Ugaine, 
 
 Mixt with the brother dust, which lies entomb'd, 
 
 Of Cobhthach and Badhbhcha, who, in happier times 
 
 Were born, now sleep near Oiholl's princely urn. 
 
 Eochaidh Gunait succeeded in the throne of Ireland. 
 
 4^:. o He was the son of Feig, son of Jomachaidh, son of Brea- 
 
 sal, son of Fionchadha, son of Fiachadh Fionn (from 
 
 whom Duilbfiath obtained its name), son of Dluthaig, sou of 
 
OF IRELAND. 297 
 
 Deithsin, son of Sin^ son of Rosiiij son of Airndill, son of Maine, 
 son of Forga, son of Feargus, son of Oilioll, son €if Fiachadii 
 Fearmara, son of Aongus Tuirmheach, of Tara, ?• prince de- 
 scended from the royal line of Heremon. He was monarcii of 
 tiie island one year, and was slain by Lughaidh Feirtre. 
 
 Cairbre Liffeachair, the son of Cormac, son of Art, son 
 or/ of Conn, the hero of the hundred battles, succeeded, and 
 governed the kingdom twenty-seven years. He was distin- 
 guished by the name of Cairbre Liffeachair, because he was nursed 
 near the banks of the river Liffee, in Leinster. The mother of this 
 prince was Eithnc Ollamhda. the daughter of Dunluing, the son ot 
 Eana Madh : and he was slain by Simeon, the son of Ceirb, 
 who came from the confines ot Cource, or the borders of Lein- 
 ster, in the battle of Gabhra, that was fought betw^een this 
 monarch and the militia di" the kingdom, who took up arms 
 against him. The, reat^on ot this i ebellion, and the engagement 
 that followed it, is recorded in this manner. 
 
 There w^as a lady, the daughter of Fionn, the general ot the 
 Irish militia, whose name was Samuir ^ her father bestowed her 
 upon Cormas Cas. son of Oilioll Olum^ by whom 'she had two 
 sons, who were c:illed Tinne and Conla, Upon account of this 
 relation it was that Modha Corb, the son of Cormac Cas, kept, 
 as h^ confident, his uncle Oisin. the son of Fionn and Clana 
 Baoisgine, expressly contrary to the consent and order of Cairbre 
 Liffeachair and Aodh Caomh, son of Gai idh Glandubh, of 
 Clana Morna. At this time, it must be observed, that Clana 
 Morna had authority to quarter and billet the militia of the 
 kingdom, who were in a state of mutiny and rebellion against 
 Fionn and Clana Baoisgine, and had been so for seven years 
 before. For this reason Clana Morna attempted to persuade 
 Cairbre Liffeachair, and the .provincialists of Ire^nd, to re- 
 establish Modha Corb in the throne of Munster, from a prospect 
 that Clana Baoisgine would be expelled the province ; which 
 was the true occasion of the battle whei ^^n this monai'ch lost 
 his life. 
 .-).-, Fathach Airgtheach and Fathaci Cairptheach, the two 
 sons of Mac Con, son of Maciiiaali^ son of Luigheach, 
 descended from the posterity of Ith, tiie son of Breogan, 
 possessed themselves of the government ; but their reign was 
 short, for they did not govern a whole year before they were 
 slain. Fathach Cairptheach fell by the sword of his brother 
 Fathach Airgtheach ; but he did not long survive this fratri- 
 
298 THE GEI^RAL HISTORY 
 
 cide, for he was soon dethroued by the militia of the kingdom, 
 who killed him in the battle of Ollarbha. 
 
 Fiachadh Sreabhthuine was the succeeding monarch. 
 2 or,* He was the son of Cairbre LiiFeachair, son of Cormao 
 Ufada, derived from the royal line of Heremon, and sat 
 upon the throne thirty years, but fell at last by the sword of the 
 three Collas, in the bloody battle of Dubhcliomar. This prince 
 obtained m marriage Aoife, the daughter of the king of Gall 
 Gaodhal, by whom he had a son called Muireadhach Tireach. 
 He was known by the name of Fiachadh Sreabhthuine, Decause 
 he was bred up, and had his education in Dun Sreabthuine, ia 
 the province of Conacht. 
 
 To enlighten this pd-rt of the history, as far as the ruins of 
 time will give leave, it is proper to take notice of the reason 
 tnat gave occasion to this battle of Dubhchomar, which stands * 
 lecorded in that valuable record, the Psalter of Cashel j and 
 likewise some account should be given of- the genealogies that 
 belong to the relations of the Collas, which Fiachadh Sreabh- 
 thuine. son of Cairbre Liffeachair, divided ; Clana Gcolla, and 
 the Oirgiallaidh, from Clana Neill, and the posterity of the 
 same family, in the province of Conacht. 'J. his prince, Fiachadh 
 Sreabhthuine we have observed, was the son of Cairbre Liflfea- 
 chair, and was the grandfather of Eochaidh Muighmeodhain, 
 son of Muireadhach Tireach, son of Fiachadh Sreabhthuine ^ 
 from this prince Muireadhach descended Clana Neill, and those 
 of the same tribe in the province of Conacht. Eochaidh Dubh- 
 lein, the son of Cairbre Liffeachair, was likewise brother to Fia- 
 ciiadb Sreabthuine ; this Eochaidh, we find, had three sons, who 
 were distinguished by the title of the three Collas, from whom 
 descended Ui Mac Vais, Ui Criomthan, and Mogh Drona. The 
 proper naij|es of these three brothers, called the Collas, were 
 Cairioll, Muireadhach, and Aodh : and this we understand by 
 the testimony of an ancient poet, who has transmitted the 
 axjcount to us m these lines . 
 
 Three princes, once the glory of the ^sle, 
 Known by the name of the three warhke OAlns. 
 W ere sons of Eochaidh ; and in battle slew 
 Tht Irish monarch, for heroic deeds 
 EenowTi'd, and seiz'd upon the Irish sceptre ; * 
 These brothers are in ancient records call'd 
 Aodh, Muireadhach, and Cairioll, 
 Or for distinction otherwise express'd, 
 Cairioll Colla Uais, Aodha Colla Mean, 
 And Muii-eadhach Colla da Chrioch. 
 
OF IRELA^'D. 299 
 
 The wife of Eochaidh Dubhlein was Oilean, the daughter of 
 the king of Scotland, whose glory it was to be the mother of 
 these three martial princes, the three CoUas ; who, entering into 
 a conspiracy against their native prince, Fiachadh Sreahhthuine, 
 by the success of their treason, in a decisive battle, wrested the 
 sovereignty out of his hands, and put an end to his life. The 
 true occasion of this rebellion is recorded in this manner. 
 
 Fiachadh Sreahhthuine, the Irish monarch, had a son, whose 
 name was Muireadhach Tireach. This young prince soon dis- 
 covered a military genius, and obtained such experience in the 
 art of war, that his father, convinced of his bravery and abi- 
 lities, made him generalissimo of all his forces, and delivered 
 into his hands the absolute command of his armies ; for at that 
 time the king never exposed himself at the head of his forces, 
 his royal life being of that importance as not to be hazarded 
 upon the uncertain issues of a battle. Upon some prevocations 
 from the king of Munster, it was thought necessary to send a 
 strong body of troops into that province, under the command 
 of Muireadhach, the young prince ; and fortune, whose darling 
 he was, followed him in all his undertakings, for he succeeded 
 in this expedition beyond his hopes, and brought away with him 
 a great number of captives, and an immense booty. His father, 
 Fiachadh Sreahhthuine, king oi Ireland, was encamped at that 
 time at Dubhchomar, near Tailtean, with a numerous army ; 
 for the three Collas, his brother's sons, had raised a considerable 
 body of troops, and joined the forces of the king, who by these 
 forces became formidable, and resolved to do himself justice 
 upon his enemies. 
 
 Now the success of the young prince, in the province of 
 Munster, was known in the king's camp, which gave great satis- 
 faction to his father, but was not so well received by the three 
 Collas, who envied him the glory of his conquests, and therefore 
 conspired to destroy the king, and seize upon the government ; 
 for they apprehended that when the young prince came to the 
 throne, he would resent some indignities he had received from 
 them, and at least banish them the court, if not take away their 
 lives. They, began, therefore, to concert measures, in order to 
 execute their designs; and, prevailing upon some officers of 
 the king's troops, they thought themselves able, with the 
 forces they had brought along with them, and this additional 
 strength, to engage with the Irish army, and give them battle j 
 and if they came off with victory, they would be in a capacity 
 
300 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 to defeat the siiccessioa of the yoaug prince, and to seize upon 
 the crown. 
 
 It happened that at this time the king had a very eminent 
 di'uid in his retinue, with whom he consulted upon this occa- 
 sion ; for he was made sensible of the treachery of the three 
 brothers, who had separated their forces from the Irish army, 
 and withdrawn to some distance, with a design to fall upon the 
 king. The druid, whose name was Dubhchomair, made use of 
 his art, and informed his master, that he found it would be of 
 the last importance to himself and his family, to save the life 
 of the three Collas, notwithstanding their rebellion ; for if ha 
 destroyed them, the crown of Ireland should not be worn by 
 any of his posterity, but descend into another line. The king 
 was somewhat surprised at this reply, but upon recollection 
 made this gallant answer, that he would joyfully resign his life, 
 so that he might secure the succession to his descendants, rather 
 than, by destroying those three traitors, be instrumental iu 
 fixing the crown upon the heads of their posterity ; and armed 
 with this resolution, which added to his natural bravery, he 
 drew out his forces, and fell upon the enemy 3 but his destiny, 
 and the prediction of the druid followed him, for he was slain ia 
 the action. 
 
 Colla Uais, obtaining a complete victory, was pro- 
 oi k' claimed monarch of the kingdom. He was the son of 
 Cairbre LifFeachair, a descendant from the posterity of 
 Heremon, and supported his title to the goverment four years. 
 But the lawful heir, Muireadhach Tireach, the son of the de- 
 ceased king, kept his pretensions on foot, and with a brave body 
 of loyal troops engaged the usurper, and his success was equal 
 to the justice of his cause, for he dethroned him, and drove him 
 out of the kingdom. He fled for refuge with his two brothers 
 to the court of the king of Scotland, where they were hospitably 
 received, and allowed protection. The reason that prevailed 
 lipon them to fly into that country was, because they bore a 
 Yerj near relation to the king ; for the princess Oilean was a 
 daughter to the king of Scotland, the wife of Eochaidh Dubh- 
 lein, and the mother of these three ambitious brothers. This 
 ursurper was distinguished by the name of Colla* Uais, as he 
 was of a more noble and martial disposition than his brothers, 
 and as he found means to fix the crown* of Ireland upon his 
 head for some time, which the other two were so far from ac- 
 complishiiig, that they were obliged to leave their country, and 
 rejiove into a forem-n land to save their lives. 
 
319. 
 
 OP IRELAND, 301 
 
 Mtiu-eadhacli Tireach suGceeded the usurper. He was 
 the son of Fiachadh Sreabhthuine, son of Cairbre 
 LifFeachair, descemied from the royal line of Heremon, 
 and governed the kingdom thirty years; but was at length 
 killed by Caolbhach, the son of Cruin Badhraoi. The consort 
 of this prince was Muirion, the daughter of Fiachadh, king of 
 Cinneal Eoguin, and the mother of Eochaidh Muighmeodhoin. 
 The three Collas, being expelled the kingdom ^gf Ireland, 
 were forced to fly for refuge to the king of Scot'ia'^ a, who sup- 
 ported them suitable to their quality, and entered, 300 soldiers, 
 that followed them, into the regular pay of his c'vn army ; for 
 they were a handful of brave hardy men, and ,^'pnderfally es- 
 teemed by the king; fcft* the comeliness of their persons, and 
 undaunted resolution and courage. The three brothers con- 
 tinued in Scotland for the space of three years ; till tired at 
 length of residing in a strange land, they called to mind the 
 prediction of the druid bsfore-mentioned, which foretold, that 
 if they fell by the hand of the king of Ireland, the crown should 
 devolve upon their posterity ; they resolved, therefore, to ac- 
 complish this prophecy, at all hazards, and settle the succession 
 upon some of their descendants. ' Arriving in Ireland, with no 
 more than nine persons to attend upon each of them, they 
 directed their march towards the court, with a design to offer 
 their lives into the king's hands, who, incensed with indignation 
 and revenge, they expected would sacrifice them to the manes 
 of his murdered father. When they came to Tara with so small 
 a guard, they were admitted into the presence of the king, 
 who, instead of committing them to prison, or punishing them 
 with immediate death, as traitors and rebels, received them 
 courteously, and congratulated them on their return to their 
 own country. He asked them what news there was from Scot- 
 land, and whether they were not dejected at the melancholy 
 Btate of their affairs 1 They replied, that they were surprised 
 at this unexpected reception, especially since they were the 
 executioners of his royal father, which action sat very imeasy 
 upon their minds, and gave them the utmost anguish in re- 
 flecting upon it. The king answered, that clemency was one of 
 the brightest jewels in the crowns of princes, and therefore he 
 was contented to forgive their past crimes, and leave them to 
 the justice of the immortal gods, and the sharp remorse of their 
 own minds, which was the most severe torment that could be 
 inflicted on the guilty ; and as a testimony that they might 
 depend upon the promise of a king, he conferred upon them 
 
302 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 very signal marks of his favour, be settled a princely revenue 
 upon them, and made them principal officers in the command 
 ©f his army. 
 
 In these posts of trust and honour they continued for some 
 'time, till the king, either jealous of their fidelity, or from a 
 principle of friendship and affection, told them, that the places 
 they enjoyed, and the salary attending them, would expire with 
 their lives, and not descend to their families ; and therefore he 
 recommended t<^. them to consider of some provision for their 
 children, wh>.' would be left destitute, unless they took care to 
 secure an estate for them in their life -time. He assured them 
 they might rel ^' upon the continuance of his favour ; and, as an 
 evidence of hiti esteem, ho generously offered them a number of 
 troops, sufficient to support them in their attempts, and to make 
 a conquest of lands and estates, that would be a dependance for 
 their posterity. The brothers gratefully accepted of the king's 
 proposal, and desired to kiiow what country was most proper 
 for them to invade : the king replied, that the province of 
 Ulster formerly offered such an indignity to 'one of their family, 
 that it demanded full revenge ; his advice therefore was, that 
 they should enter the country with fire and sword, and have 
 satisfaction of the inhabitants for banishing Cormac, son of Art, 
 after they had infamously branded him, by burning his beard 
 with a candle, at Magh Breag. Tiiis injured prince was forced 
 to fly for security into Conaoht, after he had been inhospitably 
 treated by the king of Ulster, at whose command a servant held 
 the lighted torch to his face ; and therefore they had a right, 
 he thought, not only to do themselves justice upon the people, 
 but to attempt the crown, and seize upon the governmsnt. 
 
 Accordingly the three brothers, suppor^-ed by a numerous and 
 well-disciplined army, entered the province of Ulster ; and, in- 
 stead of opposition from the inhabitants, they were joined upon 
 their arrival with a body of 7000 troops, and some of tae prm- 
 cipal nobility of the country at the head of them, who promised 
 to assist them in their pretensions, and stand by them with 
 their lives and fortunes. This reinforcement put a good face 
 Tipon the enterprise, and raised the mrage of the brothers, who 
 directed their march towards the provincial army, and came to 
 Carn Eochaidh Leathdhearg, in Fearmuighe. Here the king of 
 Ulster was ready to receive the invaders, and both armies en- 
 gaged ; a most desperate and bloody action it was, and after a 
 sharp dispute, the three brothers won the field. The king" 
 rallied his broken forces, and again offered battle to the victors, 
 
OP IRELAND. • SO 3 
 
 but without success ; for his army was routed in seven several 
 engagements, one day after another, within the compass of a 
 week. The last dispute ended with a most terrible slaughter of 
 the king's troops ; and Feargus Fodha, king of Eamhain, was 
 slain : his army instantly fled, and were pursued with incredible 
 fury and bloodshed by the victors, who covered the earth with 
 their dead bodies, from Carn Eochaidh to Gleanrighe. By this 
 time the swords of the conquerors were so drenched and fati- 
 gued with the execution they made, that they were forced to 
 ciesist, or not a man of the provincial army could possibly have 
 escaped. 
 
 The three Collas, animated with this victory, returned with 
 their forces to the palace of Eamhain, where the king of Ulster 
 kept his court. This royal seat they plundered, and set it on 
 fire ; by which means, though the fabric was not wholly con- 
 sumed, yet it became so ruined and unfit for service, that ib 
 could never recover its former magnificence, nor be used as a 
 palace by the kings of that province. 
 
 The brothers resolved to make the most of their success, and 
 made an absolute conquest of the countries of Modernuigh, Ui 
 Criomhthain, and Ui Mac Uais. Colla Mean, after he had dis- 
 possessed the inhabitants, fixed himself in the possession of 
 Modernuigh ; Colla da Chrioch obtained the territory of Criomh- . 
 thain ; and Colla Uais settled himself in Mac Uais. With these 
 transactions we shall conclude the reign of Muireadhach Tir- 
 each, king of Ireland, who was slain by Gaolbhach, the son of 
 Cruin Badhraoi. 
 
 Caolbhach was the succeeding monarch. He was tha 
 5^^' son of Cruin Badhraoi, son of Eachadh Ghobhna, son of 
 Luighdheach, son of Jomchoda, son of Feidhlim, son of 
 Cas, son of Fiachadh Aruidhe, son of Aongus Gaibion, son of 
 Feargus Foglas, son of Tiobhruidhe Tireach, son of Breasal, son 
 of Firb, son of Mail, son of Rochruidhe, a descendant from the 
 posterity of Ir, the son of Milesius, king of Spain. He pos- 
 sessed the sovereignty one year, and fell by the sword of Eoch- 
 aidh Moighmeodhin. The mother oi this prince was Inniaoht, 
 the daughter of Luighdheach. 
 
 of-o Eochaidh Moighmeodhin was the succeeding monarch. 
 
 He was the son of Muireadhach Tireach, son of Fiachadk 
 S'-eabhthuine, a descendant from the royal line of Here- 
 mon, and governed the island seven years. This prince ob- 
 tained in marriage, for his first wife, Mung Fionn, the daughter 
 of Fiodhuigh, by whom he had four sons, Brian, Fiachradh, 
 
304 THE GT^NERAL HISTORY 
 
 Feargus, and Oilioll. After the decease of this lady, his second 
 consort was a Welsh princess, whose name was Carthan Cas 
 Dubh, daughter of the king of Wales, by whom he had a son, 
 who for his valour and military exploits was known by the name 
 of Niall of the nine hostages. This king was distinguished by 
 the title of Eochaidh Moighmeodhin, because his head, and the 
 features of his complexion, resembled his father, but the siz3 
 and sha|)e of his body was like a common labourer, whose nam.e 
 was Miongadhach. This prince was at war with the king of 
 Leinster ; and the celebrated battle of Cruachan Claonta was 
 fought between him and Eana Cinsalach, who had the govern- 
 meut of that province. In this engagement a most eminent 
 druid, whose name was Ceadmuithach, who was an attendant 
 upon the king of Ireland, was taken prisoner by the army of 
 Leinster. When he was brought before Eana Cinsalach, ho 
 asked his officers how they came to spare the life of the priest, 
 and did not put him to the sword without giving him quarter ? 
 The druid, incensed with this question, boldly told the king, that 
 whatever came of his life, he might be assured that he should 
 never fight with success out of that field where he then stood. 
 The king was enraged at this reply, and, with a scornful smile, 
 instantly thrust his spear through the captive's body. The 
 priest, perceiving himself ready to expire, had only time to as- 
 sure the king, that the insulting smile, which attended the thrust 
 that gave him his death's wound, should be a reproach to his 
 posterity as long as one of them remained alive, for it should 
 give them a name that would not be forgotten. This prediction 
 was literally accomplished, for the family of this prince was 
 afterwards known by the name of Vibh Cinsalach : the word 
 Salach, in the Irish language, signifies foul or reproachful, a 
 character that this royal line of Leinster could never wipe off. 
 This king, Eana Cinsalach, was a fortunate and martial prince, 
 and the most powerful and formidable of any of the petty princes 
 of the island ; as a poet of credit and antiquity has confirmed 
 in the following lines : 
 
 The great Eana, that with honour fill'd 
 
 The throne of Leinster, and by victory 
 
 Followed where'er he fought, advanced the glory 
 
 Of the province : as an annual tribute, raised ^ 
 
 An ounce of gold on every village ; he forced 
 
 From every house in Leatii Cuin, a tax i 
 
 Of three pence j^early, as a just confession ; 
 
 Of his imperial sway ; for to withstand ., 
 
 liis power and his conunauds were certain death. 
 
or IRELAND. 305 
 
 Though rage and cruelty did ever stain 
 
 His royal breast, adorn'd with numerous triumphs 
 
 He comes transmitted to posterity. 
 
 The Psalter of Cashel, whose credit and authority will admit 
 of no dispute, has it upon record, that the aforesaid Eana fought 
 fifteen battles in Leath Cuin^ and came ofi with victory in 
 every engagement. 
 
 Criomthan sat next upon the throne of Ireland. He 
 oAq' was the son of Fiodhuig, son of Daire Cearb, son of 
 Oilioll Flanbeg, son of Feachadh Muilleathan, son of 
 Eogan More, son of Oilioll Olum, descended from the poste- 
 rity of Heber Fionn. and wore the crown seventeen years. The 
 royal consort of this prince was Fidheang, the daughter of the 
 king of Conacht. This monarch carried his arms into foreign 
 nations, and overcame the Scots, the Britons, and the French, 
 in several engagements; and made them tributaries. A poet, 
 whose authority is unquestionable, has given this account iu 
 the following manner .: 
 
 --^ The fam'd Criomthan sway'd the Irish sceptre; 
 ^nd, cheaded for the fury of his arms, 
 
 I His sovereignty extended cross the seas, 
 
 I Unmindful of the dangers of the waves. ] 
 
 - He with insuperable force subdued 
 
 The Scots, the Britons, and the warlike Gauls, 
 Who paid him homage, and confess'd his sway. 
 
 This renowned monarch bestowed the kingdom of Munster 
 upon Conall Eachluath, who had his education with him from 
 his youth. The donation of this province to a stranger, was 
 thought unjust by the posterity of Fiachadh Muilleathan, who 
 judged it proper to represent to Conall, that he was put into 
 possession of what he had no right to enjoy ; for though he 
 was their kinsman, yet he could have no pretension to the crown of 
 Munster, so long as the lawful heir was alive ; that the govern- 
 ment of the province ought to descend lineally to Core, the son 
 of Luighdheach, who descended from the line of Fiachadh : and 
 worthy he was to fill the throne of his ancestors, being a prince 
 of consummate wisdom and undaunted bravery This remon- 
 strance had such an influence upon Conall, that he was willing to 
 refer the case of the succession to proper arbitrators; that were 
 learned in the law, and promised to abide by their determina- 
 tion The rcatter was debated on both sides before the umpires, 
 who came to this resolution, that Core, the son of Luighdl^each, 
 
30(> THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 should first take possessiou of the government of Munster, as 
 ■he was of the eldest branch, but the crown should not descend 
 to his heirs ; for the succession was limited and settled upon 
 the posterity of Cormac Cas. 
 
 The family of Fiachadh Muilleathan agreed to this award, 
 and engaged themselved by sureties, and the most solemn secu- 
 rities, that after the decease of Core the crown should devolve 
 upon Conali Eachluath, if living, or his immediate heir, with- 
 out contest or disturbance. This act of succession was con- 
 formable to what OilioU Olum had before established upon the 
 same account ; for he ordained that the two families should 
 have an alternate right to the crown of Munster successively, 
 and the throne be tilled with the lineal posterity of Fiachadh 
 Muilleathan, and the lawful descendants of Cormac Cas. 
 
 Upon this arbitration the just and generous Conali resigned 
 the government of Munster into the hands of Core, who, after 
 a short reign, died : and then he re-assumed the crown, as his 
 right, accurding to the establishment. By this uncommon act 
 of equity Conali was had in such esteem by Criomthan, king of 
 Ireland, that he delivered into his custody all the prisoners and 
 hostages that he brought over with him in triumph from the 
 kingdoms of Britain, Scotland, and France ; for he thought he 
 could rely upon the integrity of a prince who delivered up the 
 possession of a crown that he was able to defend, for no other 
 reason but because he bad no right to it, and who therefore 
 thought it would not sit easy upon his temples. This transac- 
 tion is confirmed by a poem, to be found in the Psalter of 
 Cashel, composed by that son of the Mus3s, Cormac Mac C-nil- 
 lenan. 
 
 The kings of dis*^ant lands were forced to own 
 The victor's power, and to the great Criomthan 
 Tribute and homage paid ; a worthier prmce 
 Ke'er till'd a throne, nor sail'd to foreign shores, 
 Unnumber'd captives he in triumph led, 
 And hostages, the bonds of true submission. 
 Tliese pledges, and the prisoners of his wars, 
 He trusted in the hands of the brave Conali ; 
 Than whom, a prince of more integrity. 
 And stricter justice, never wore a crown. 
 This prince, for arms and martial skill renown\l, 
 Enlarg'd the bounds of his command, and rui'd 
 With equity the countries he had won ; 
 He govern'd Fearta Conuill, in Feimlim, 
 And Druin Cormaic Aine, and Dungar ; 
 His was the celebrated seat of Cashel, 
 * ;^nd Maig and Duncearmna. 
 
OP 1KEL.1ND. 307 
 
 The king Crioffithaa, notvAitiistanding his princjly accoai- 
 plisiimeiits, could not be secure from the villanous attempts of 
 liis own, sister, wh.ise name was Mung Fionn, for she resolved 
 to destroy him, and prepared a dose of poison for that purpose, 
 out of a prospect to obtain the crown for her son Brian, whom 
 she had by Eochaidk Moighmeodhin. She found means to ad- 
 minister the draught, which had the desired effect, for the king 
 died at Sliabh Vidhe an Eiogh. that lies northward of Limerick. 
 But vengeance close pursued the wicked executioner, who, the 
 more securely to recommend the dose to the king, tasted of it 
 herself, which despatched her at Inis Dornglass. 
 
 Niall, distinguished by the name of the nine hostages, 
 o'^^ succeeded. He was the son of Eochaidh Moighmeodhin, 
 son of Muireadhach Tireach, descended from the royal 
 line of Hersmon, and governed the kingdom twenty-seven years. 
 The mother of this prince was Carthan Casdubh., daughter to 
 the king of Britain. His first queen was Inne, the daughter of 
 Luighdheach, who was the relict of Eiachadh ; his second con- 
 sort was Boigneach, by whom he had seven sons, wbo are known 
 in history by these names, Laoghaire, Eane, Maine, Eogan, two 
 had the name of Con all and Cairbry. 
 
 This prince, at the request of the Dailriads, in Scotland, who 
 were harassed and oppressed by the savage Picts, transported a, 
 numerous army into that kingdom to assist them. When he 
 arrived he changed the old name of the country, and called it 
 Scotia, at the request of the Dailriads and the Scots themselves,, 
 but it was upon condition that Scotland was to receive the hon- 
 our of that appellation; tor it was agreed that it should be 
 called only Scotiir. Minor, but Scotia Major was to be the name 
 of Ireland. The occasion of this name was in honour and me- 
 mory of the ladv Scota, the daughter of Pharaoh Nectonebas, 
 king of Egypt, who was queen to the famous Gollamh, otherwi^se 
 called Milesius, king of Spain ; from this monarch the Dailriads 
 t^escended, and therefore they made choice that ^he island should 
 be called by the name of Scotia Major, rather than Hibernia, 
 or any other appellation. The authority of the learned Camden 
 might be insisted upon in confirmation of this account^ for he 
 asserts, in his ohronicl of Britain, that Scotland was called 
 Scotia Minor, and Ireland Scotia Major ; and declares that there 
 is no certain evidence upon record to prove that the inhabitants 
 of Scotland were known by the name of Scots^ before the time 
 that Constantino the Great was emperor of Rome. 
 
 This judicious antiquary very justly calls the Irish Scotoruiu 
 
308 Tfin- GENERAL ni^TORY 
 
 Atavi, -'the ancestors ot the iScots," as aa argument that tha 
 people of Scotland were originally derived from the ancient 
 Irish ; and the same author proceeds upon the same subject, 
 and has this expression* "The '^^ cots came from Spam, an^i 
 arrived in Ireland in the Jourth age." To contirm the testimony 
 of this writer, Nemius, a Welsh author of great credit, agrees 
 with this opinion, which is so consistent with the Irish history, 
 that it cannot be denied. 
 
 It is evident, from the ancient records of the island, that the 
 country of Scotland was known by the name o. Albain, till the 
 reign of Niall, distinguished by the title of the nine hostages ; 
 and. as the tribe of the Dailriada prevailed that the country 
 should be called for the future by the name cf Scotia, so they and 
 their posterity continued there, and enjoyed large tdrritories for 
 many ages. The kingdom of Scotland was styled Albania, from 
 Aibanactus, th^ third son of Brutus, to whom the country was 
 assigned by bt, when the father was making provision for his 
 children. This prince, Brutus, as JeofFi-y of Monmouth re- 
 lates,, had three sous, and their names were Leagrus, Ca nber, 
 and Albanactus, to whom he gave proper settlements : tugland 
 he bestowed upon Leagrus, which after his name was called 
 Lagria ; the territory of Wales he conferred upon his son Cam- 
 ber, called alter him Cambria; the country of Scotland fell oo 
 the share of Albanactus, from whom it ;>btamed the name of 
 Albania, and continues to be so called to this day. 
 
 Nial the Irish monarch, upon some provocation., carried with 
 him a great army from Scotland into Lagria, or England ; and 
 from thence transported it in a numerous fleet into Armorica, 
 now called Bretagne, in the kingdom of France. These troops 
 made great devastations in the country, for they met with little 
 op!)Osition ; and, after plundering the inhabitants, returned 
 with rich spoils and valuable booty. But the most considerable 
 paL't of their prey consisted of 200 children, descended from the 
 most noble blood in the province, whom they brought home with 
 tiiem, and among the rest was St. Patrick, a youth of about six- 
 teen years of age ; his two sisters, whose names were Lupida and 
 Jjarerca, were likewise carried into captivity, and the rest 0/ 
 tiii number were of the first rank. 
 
 Many are the authorities that might be urged to prove thai 
 the kingdom of Ireland was called Scotia, and that the inhabi- 
 tants were known by the name of Cineadh Scait. Among othei-s, 
 
 * Scoti ex Hispaaia ia Hiberniain c][uarta ojt.ite voiyiMiit 
 
OF IRELAND. 309 
 
 Jonas the abbot, speaking of St. Collum Cill, in his second chap- 
 ter has this expression ;* " Columbanus, who is also called Col- 
 umba, was born in Ireland, a country inhabited by the nation 
 of the Scots." The venerable Bede, in the first chapter of tho 
 history of England, asserts, that the Scots were the inhabitants 
 of Ireland : t '■' Ireland is the original country of the Scots.'* 
 And the same learned author, giving an account of the saints, 
 speaks thus: I Saint Kilianus, and his two companions, came 
 from Ireland, an island of the Scots." From the testimony of 
 this faithful writer it appears, that the Irish were called Scots, 
 or Cineadh Scuit, in the time of Bede, who flourished abuub 
 Too years after the birth of Christ. 
 
 Orosius, who lived much earlier, in the fourth century, agrees 
 with the evidences before produced ; and, in the second chapter 
 ot the first book, expresses himself thus : § "Ireland is inha- 
 bited by the nation of the Scots." It is most certain, that tho 
 island was called by the name of Scotia by most authors. Se-' 
 rapius informs us, that *'the blessed St. Kilian descended ivoni 
 the Scots j" his words are, beatus Kilianus Scotorum genere ; 
 and near the same place he says,|| "Scotland, which is also called 
 Ireland ;" so that this island was known by both names. Bub 
 as the clearest testimony in this matter, the expression of Cap- 
 gravius must not be omitted. This author, writing of St. Col- 
 lum Cill, has these words :^ "The kingdom of Ireland was an- 
 ciently called Scotland ; from whence came the people of tho 
 Scots that inhabit Albany, which joins to a part of the greater 
 Britain, and is now called Scotland." This evidence is sup- 
 ported by Marianus, a Scottish author, in this manner ; he is 
 writing of St. Kilian, and speaks thus :** "At this time that 
 part of Britain, which borders upon the north of England, ia 
 properly called Scotland j but venerable Bede does not ouly 
 
 * Columbanus, qui Columba vocatur, in Hibernia ortus est, earn Scotonim. 
 gens incolit. 
 
 t Hibernia propria Scotorani patri est. 
 
 I Sanctus Kilianus etduo socii ejus ab Hibernia Scotoru;-n insula venerur.t. 
 § Hibernia Scotorum gentibus coiitor. 
 
 II Scotia quae et Hibernia dicitur. 
 
 ^ Hibernia eniin aatiquitus Scotia dicta est, de qua gens Scotorum Albania 
 Britanniae majori proxima, quie ab eventu modo Scotia dicitur, originem duxit 
 et. progressuin habuit. 
 
 *'^ Etiamsi hodie Scotia proprie vocatur ea Britanniie pars, qure ipsi Anglij© 
 fontinens ad septemtrionalem vergit, dim tamen eo nomine Hiberiiiam noii tan- 
 "uisse osteudit venerabilis Beda, cum ex Scotia 
 venisse ait, ibique Scotorum gentem invenisse. 
 
310 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 prove that Ireland was formerly known, by that name, when he 
 says, that the nation of the Picts came from Sootland into Ire- 
 land, and there they found a nation of the Scots." 
 
 This opinion, that Ireland was formerly distingnished by the 
 name of Scotia, is yet confirmed by the authority of Caesarius, 
 wi)o lived about 500 years after Christ ; the words of this writer 
 follow :* '* Whoever doubts whether there be any such place as 
 purgatory, let him go to Scotia, let him enter into the Purga- 
 tory of St. Patrick, and he will no longer disbelieve the pains 
 of purgatory." This expression may justly be depended upon 
 to prove that Scotia was then the proper name of the island ; 
 for there is no place to be found, in Scotland, that goes by the 
 name of St. Patrick's Purgatory, and it is certain that thore ia 
 Buch a place in Ireland, to be met with at this day. 
 
 Ca3sarius,- speaking of St. Boniface, delivers his sentiments in 
 this manner jt "Ireland was properly known by the name of 
 Scotia, out of which island a colony of Scots removed, and set- 
 tled themselves in the part of Britain that was possessed by the 
 Picts. They were called Dailreudins originally, from Rheuda, 
 their general, as the venerable Bede observes ; and they expel- 
 led the Picts out of that country, and possessed themselves of 
 all the northern coast, which they distingnished by the ancient 
 name of their own nation. So that though the nation of the 
 Scots was one, yet there were two countries known by the name 
 of Scotia, the one the old Scotia, which is properly the king- 
 dom of Ireland, the other the new, which is in north Britain." 
 l^'rom the expression of this author, it is proper to observe, that 
 he was persuaded that the Irish were the genuine Scots ; that 
 the tribe of the Dailriads were the first called Scots, in Scot- 
 land ; and that the ancient name of Ireland was Scotia Major j 
 as Scotland was distinguished by the title of Scotia Minor, 
 which naine was imposed upon that country by Cineadh Scuit. 
 
 Buchanan, a Scottish author of some note, has a passage in 
 the second book of his history of Scotland, agreeable to the 
 
 ■•■ Qui de purgatorio dubitat, Scotiam pergaf., Furga tori urn Saiicti Patricii 
 intret, et de purgatorii poenis amplius non dubitabit. 
 
 t llibeniia Scotia sibi nomen etiam vindicabit, qua taraen ex Hibernia ista 
 Scotorum pars quaidam egresstt eat, in eaque liricannioe ora qiiani i-ictijara 
 liabebant consederunt ; ii qui priacipio a duce sue Kheuda Dailrcudiiii dicti 
 fuerunt, ut ait venerabilis Beda ; postea tamea Pictos inde ipsos exegeruut ; et 
 boreale totum illud latus obtinueruiit, eique vetus gentes s\ic2. nomea indiderunt; 
 ita ut Scotoruui gens una fuerit, sed Scotia duplex facta sit, una vetus et propria 
 in Hibernia, receutior altera in septemtrionaii i3ritaiUiia 
 
OF iiU:LAND. 
 
 311 
 
 0[)iiuon of tliG writer above meiitioiied. 
 the itibabitauts of Ireland were originally called Scots, as Oro- 
 sius testifies ; and our annals give an account, that the Scots of 
 Ireland removed more than once in'to Scotland." From whence 
 it is to be collected, that not only the Dailriads transported 
 themselves from Ireland, into Scotland, but that more of the in- 
 habitants left the island, and obtained settlements in Scotland. 
 And this is agreeable to the ancient records of the kingdom, 
 which purtic'ilarly mention several colonies, that from time, to 
 time invaded the country, and by their valour and other me- 
 thods made themselves masters of new possessions, which con- 
 tinned in their families for many ages. 
 
 The Irish chronic'es assert, that Aongus Ollmuchach, the soa 
 of Fiachadh Labhraine, was sect into Scotland, by the king his 
 master, to settle and collect the tribute that was imposed upon 
 the Picts, as an acknowledgment of homage and submission to 
 the crown of Ireiand ; and this happened about 250 years after 
 the Milesians were in possession of the island. At a consider- 
 able distance of time Rcachta Eighdhearg, king of Ireland, went 
 into Scotland upon the same design, and imposed a tax upon 
 the inhabitants. Cairbre liiada likewise transported a number 
 of forces, and attempted to make a conquest of the eastern part 
 of Scotland, from whom the Scottish Dailreudini, as the learned 
 Bede observes, were lineally descended. JVlac Con also had great 
 authority in the government of Scotland and Wales, and from 
 thence he came into Ireland, to the battle of Magh Muchruime, 
 where Art, the son of Conn, the hero of the hundred battles, 
 was slain ; by which success Mac Con obtained the sovereignty 
 and was the succeeding monarch of the island. Some time 
 afterward Fatha Canain, the son of Mac Con, with a resolute 
 body of troops, invaded the coasts of Scotland, and got posses- 
 sion of large territories in the country. The posterity of tliis 
 prince were the Mac Aliens and their descendants. Colla Uais, 
 and his followers, transported themselves into Scotland, and by 
 ttieir bravery and success obtained a settlement for their ia- 
 milies , from this commander derived the noble and iliustrioua 
 tribe of the Clan Donalls, in Scotland and Ireland. Criumh- 
 than, the son of Fiachadh, the king of Ireland, made an inva- 
 sion upon the Scottish dominions, as d^'d Earc, the son of Eoch-- 
 aidh Munramhar, son of Aongus Firt, a prince descended from 
 
 Scot' oranes Hibemige habitatores initio vocabantur, ut indicat Orosius ^ nee 
 sexiioi "'cotoram ex Hibcruia transitum ia Aibaiiiani factum uostri auaales 
 rfclarunt. 
 
312 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 Cairbre Riada, whose posterity are distiuguished by the names 
 of Clan Eire, and Cineal Gabhrain, in Scotland, and Cineal 
 Lodhairn, Cineal Comhghaill, Cineal Naongusa, and Cineal 
 Conchriche, in Nilii, with all the spreading branches of thosc 
 ancient families. Maine Leamhna, the son of Core, son of 
 Luighdheach, invaded the kingdom of Scotland, and succeeded 
 so far in his design, that he made a conqaest of a large territory, 
 which from him was called Mormor Leamhna, now the duke • 
 dom of Len3x j and to this prince the noble family of the house 
 of Lenox owe their original. Eoganach Moigh Geirgin de- 
 scended from a brother of this Maine Leamhna, whose name 
 was Cairbre Cruithniach. These two brothers, some time after 
 the reign of Niall of the nine hostages, went into Scotland, and 
 there settled themselves. After them the six son of Muireadh- 
 ach, the son of Eogan, son of Neill, encouraged by the success 
 of their countrymen, made an attempt, and got possessions in 
 the country -, they were known by the names of the two Lo- 
 dains, two Aongus's, and two Feargus's ! from whence it ap- 
 pears that the principal of the Scottish families were originally 
 d scended from the ancient Irish, to whom they owe the nobility 
 of their blood, and the glory of their families. 
 
 But it must be confessed, that the Scottish tribes that inhabit 
 near the borders of England, have no pretence to a descent 
 from the Irish ; because their ancestors were banished out of 
 England by William the Conqueror; which may be easily col- 
 lectei by the resemblance of manners and customs to be ob- 
 served at this day between the borderers of both nations. 
 
 Many other families likewic^, that have possessions in Scot- 
 land, have no right to boast of an Irish extraction, being the 
 posterity of the old English. In testimony of this, we iiave 
 the authority of the laborious Stowe, who in his xlnnals gives 
 this account : Henry 11. king of England, was engaged ina_wac 
 wiLh the Scots, and took William, king of Scotland, prisoner, 
 whom he ordered into custody, and to be close confined at 
 Euan, in IN'ormandy, where he continued a captive till he was 
 dismissed by paying a ransom of 400 pounds, afcer which botii 
 kings made peace, and became friends. The king of Scotland, 
 after his release, prepared to return into his own country ; and 
 ddiormined, from a principle of gratitude, to take with him a 
 number of English gentlemen, who had obliged him by many 
 civilities in his restraint, and bestowed settlements upon them 
 among his subjects. This he generously did, upon his return, 
 and aupoiuted a large territory for the support of his EugUsli 
 
OF IRFLAN'T). 313 
 
 attendants, and their heirs for ever, which estates are enjoyed 
 hy some of tlieir posterity to this day. The names of the prin- 
 cipal English, who followed the king into Scotland, are trans- 
 mitted to us ; as, BalioU, Bruce, Eawly, Moubry, Sincl-nr, 
 Hangiford, Ramsey, Barkley, Landell, Bisey, Wallegene, Royse, 
 Montgomery, WiiUey, Colly, Milly, Fricer, Greme, Gar ley, unl 
 many others. 
 
 Buchanan, the Scottish author, agrees with this relation, iu 
 the second book of his history of Scotland, where he has this 
 expression :* " Since the natives of Ireland, and the colonies 
 sent from thence into Scotland, were originally called Scots ; in 
 order to distinguish between the Irish and these Scots, they 
 began to call those transplanted Irish by the name of Albanian 
 Scots." From the testimony of this historian we are to ob- 
 serve, that the Scots, who inhabited Scotland, were originally 
 natives of Ireland, and removed from thence to obtain new 
 settlements ; and likewise, that the ancient Irish were originally 
 known by the name of Scots. To confirm the opinion of this 
 author, we have the concurring sentiments of the English an- 
 nalist, the celebrated Stowe, which may be properly introduced 
 in this place, before we treat particularly of the reign of Niall 
 of the nine hostages ; because what we have to observe concern- 
 ing that prince will receive an additional credit; by the autho- 
 rity of this great antiquary; who has been ever esteemed a 
 "writer of singular integrity and reputation. 
 
 The learned Stowe gives an account, that m the year of 
 Christ 73, one Marius was king of England, and that Rogerus, 
 king of 'the Picts, invaded the British territories with a nume- 
 rous army out of Scotia, a strong body of hardy Scots, who 
 entered the country with fire and sword, and by continued hos- 
 tilities and incursions mightily distressed the inhabitants. The 
 king of England, with a number of choice forces, made head 
 against the invaders, and gave them battle, wherein Rogerus 
 and most of his army were slain. The victor used his success 
 with moderation ; for such of the enemy as surrendered to his 
 mercy, he spared, and assigned them a competency of lands in 
 tlie east part of S<;otland, for their support. Here they settled, 
 but having no women among them to perpetuate their families, 
 they sent into Wales for a supply ; but they were denied, which 
 
 * Principio cum utrique id est Iliberniae incolte et coloiii eormn in Albimn 
 mis.si Scoti appcllarentiir, ut cliscriiniue aliquo alteri ab alteris clistiiiicacientur 
 initio coepere alteri Scoti Albani vocaiv 
 
3]'l- TOK GENERAL HISTOTIY 
 
 made tLom to address the Irish, who complied with their re- 
 quest. So far we have followed the teatimoiij of Stowe, as a 
 collateral evidence upon this occasion. It was observed before, 
 that the general of the Pictish army transported women out of 
 Ireland with him, in the time of lieremon, which was about 
 300 years before Marias was king of England ; and this trans- 
 action happened, as the same, author asserts, in the year of 
 Ciirist wherein Vespasian Wcis elected emperor of Rome, which 
 was ten years before the abbey of Glastonbury was built, and 
 27 '2 years after the beginning of the Christian era, when. Au- 
 reiian presided over the empire, and first attempted to adorn 
 his head with an imperial crown. 
 
 Pelao;iu3, a native of Wales, beojan first to broach his 
 o:]~ heresy, at which time it was, that the emperor Aurelian 
 selected a number of the Roman clergy, and sent them 
 into Great Britain, to instruct the inhabitants, and settle the 
 Catholic religion among them. When they arrived they found 
 the Soots and the Picts plundering and harassing the country 
 without opposition. TLie Britons, in this extremity, sent their 
 deputies to Honorias, the emperor, and implored his assistance- : 
 bat the emperor at that time could not spare any troops to de- 
 fend their conquests at so great a distance, and therefore the 
 Britons received no other answer, than that they must provide 
 for themselves in the best manner they could, for they were not 
 to expect any succours from Rome. By this' means the invaders 
 brought the Britons under servitude, and cruelly fleeced the 
 inhabitants, who were unable longer to bear the yoke, or to 
 answer the exorbitant demands of the conquerors. Reduced to 
 this distress, they again depute messengers, and send them to 
 Rome, who succeeded so well in their negociations, that a legion 
 was sent over with them ; but this assistance was too weak to 
 repel the victorious Picts, who had considerably enlarged their 
 conquests, and almost overrun the whole kingdom. The Ro- 
 man legion, upon their arrival, made several attempts upon the 
 enemy, but with small success, for they could not boast of any 
 advantage over the invaders^ who fatigued them with continual 
 skirmishes, and made tliem resolve to give over the attempt, 
 and return to Rome ; but, before they left the country, they 
 persuaded the Britons to raise a strong fortification upon the 
 borders of Englancf, between them and their enemies, which 
 would be a means to prevent the incursions of the Scots and 
 Plots, and be a great security to the inhabitants. 
 
 The Roman auxiliaries departed, and when they were gone. 
 
OF I UPLAND. 31.7 
 
 the Britons^ perceiving themselves destituto o.l ijreign succours, 
 thought proper to put in execution the advice ot fortifying their 
 borders, and opposing the inroads of their neighbours ; accordingly 
 they made a deep trench, and raised a high bank of sods, from 
 s6a to sea ; but this defence proved ineffectual to restrain the 
 attempts of their enemies, for when the Scots and Picts had iii- 
 telligeuce that the Romans had left the island, they immedi- 
 ately set upon the abandoned Britons, broke dov^n the partition 
 of turf, and, by plundering and other cvuelties, brought great 
 distress upon the inhabitants. These calamities were insup- 
 portable, and therefore the Britons, unable to bear or to redress 
 these misfortunes, were obliged to send their deputies to Rome 
 a third time, and by representing the deplorable state of the 
 country, to humbly supplicate for relief. The Romans thought 
 themselves obliged to defend their allies, and therefore sent a 
 foice over to their assistance. When they arrived, the Britons 
 drew together their scattered forces, which, with the auxiliary 
 legion, made a considerable army. With these troops they 
 marched against the enemy, who, unable to bear the shock of 
 the Roman courage, were obliged to fly with great loss, and 
 were so dispirited with continual skirmishes and bad success, 
 that they despaired of maintaining what they had acquired, 
 and retired toward their own borders. Hither they were pur- 
 sued by the victors, with great slaughter, and forced to retreat 
 beyond the fortification erected by the Britons, and fly far into 
 their own country to save their lives. 
 
 The Romans, having thus delivered the Britons from the cruei 
 tyranny of the Scots and Picts, resolved to return ; for they 
 found it of small importance to undertake such long marches, 
 and hazard their lives, when no rewards followed their victories, 
 and their allies were in so low a condition, by the miseries of a, 
 long war, that they were unable to make them suitable satis- 
 faction. Under these discouragements they left the island, and 
 i he distressed Britons, to the mercy of an enra^ged enemy, who 
 soon had notice of their departure, and prepared themselves for 
 another invasion. The Britons, apprehensive of their design, 
 used their utmost diligence to repair the wail upon the borders, 
 which they proposed to fortify with stronger materials than 
 turf and dirt, and began to raise it with stone- work eight feet 
 broad, and twelve feet high ; as the learned Bede pardcularly 
 relates in the fifth chapter of his English history. 
 
 By this time the Scots and Picts were ready for their attempt, 
 aiid encouraged by the absence of the Romans, were certain of 
 
316 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 success ; for the enemies they were to engage with were broken* 
 hearted, and accustomed to fly at tiie first attack. Accordingly 
 they marched their forces, that were very numerous, towards 
 the borders, and, making a wide breach in the partition-wall, 
 they entered the country with dreadful hostilities, committing 
 the most unheard-of outrages, and so dispirited the Britons, who 
 dreaded their cruelty, that, without attempting to hinder their 
 incursions, they were obliged, with their wives and families, to 
 leave their habitations, and fly to the woods and wildernesses to 
 preserve their lives. The invaders pursued them closely, resolv- 
 ing to extirpate the whole race of them, and besieged them, 
 within those inaccessible places, wherein they sheltered them- 
 selves, insomuch that the Britons were constrained to feed upon 
 wild beasts and the natural produce of the earth ; for if they 
 attempted to peep out of their fastnesses, they were in danger 
 of being taken by the Picts and Scots, who used them barb.i- 
 rously, and put them to the most tormenting death. 
 
 In these miserable extremities they continned for some time, 
 till at last their indefatigable and sharp-sighted enemies had 
 driven them into a corner of the country, with the sea be- 
 hind them, and the victorious invaders in front. This dis- 
 tressed condition obliged them to solicit mercy of the Romans 
 once more ; and accordingly they found means to dispatcii a 
 messenger, with a most supplicating letter, to Boetius, one of 
 the consuls. This epistle most pitifully represented the cir- 
 cumstances of their hard fate, how they were confined within a 
 narrow compass, between the sea and the enemy ; so that, if 
 they attempted to fly, they were sure of being drowned ; and if 
 they stirred out of their camp, they fell into the hands of the 
 besiegers, the most inhuman and relentless enemy of the two , 
 concluding in the most submissive manner, and imploring tho 
 assistance of the Romans against the Scots and Picts, who would 
 unavoidably, in a short time, destroy the old Britons, and make 
 themselves masters of the whole island. This transaction is 
 particularly mentioned by the venerable Bede, in tho thirteenth 
 chapter of his history of England, where he has preserved the 
 very expression made use of in that epistle to the consul ; tiio 
 words are these :'^ " The barbarians drive us back to the sea, 
 the sea beats us again upon the barbarians ; so that between 
 these two enemies we have two sorts of death betore us, we are 
 either butchered or drowned." 
 
 * Repellant barbari ad mare, rppellit mare ad barbaros, intt-r luec orluntur 
 duo genera iiuiei'um, aat juguluiuiir aiit luergiuiiir. 
 
OF IllELAND. 317 
 
 By the success of the Scots, in their invasions of the English, 
 it appears that the Irish Scots, (as thej all originally were,; had 
 the Britons in subjection, and made them tributaries. Non- 
 nius, an ancient. British author, as Speed in his chronicle ob- 
 serves, asserts that the Scots and Picts were victorious over tho 
 Britons, who were a conquered people for the space of four hun- 
 dred years ; and the learned Camden confirms this opinion, 
 where he says ;* " Five hundred years after Csesar first entered 
 the island, the kingdom of Britain was left abandoned to the 
 Picts and Scots ;" which farther deserves our belief, because the 
 judicious Bede, in the fourteenth chapter of the first book of 
 the before -mentioned history, has this expression :t " The au- 
 dacious Irish plunderers are returned home, designing after a 
 short time to invade us again." From whence it is obvious to 
 collect, that the Irish were professed enemies to the Britons, and 
 made frequent invasions into their country ; for when the Ro- 
 mans would not interpose in their quarrels, but withdrew their 
 succours, they were sorely harassed by the Scots and Picts, who 
 reduced them to the lowest misery, and exercised an insupport- 
 able tyranny over them. 
 
 But the continual inroads and barbarities of their enemies 
 was not the only calamity that oppressed the Britons ; for about 
 that time the Pelagian heresy gave them great uneasiness, which 
 was propagated with great industry, and found kind reception 
 among the populace. To stop the infection of these wicked 
 principles, the Britons, unable to exercise any church disci- 
 pline, by reason of their servitude, summoned a convention, and 
 agreed in council to apply to the church of France, and desire 
 they would send over some of their eminent prelates and divines 
 to recover the people outi of this filthy heresy, and establish them 
 in the orthodox faith. The Gallican church held a meeting 
 upon this message ; and after some debates they resolved to 
 dispatch two celebrated bishops, Germanus and Lupus, into 
 Britain, to oppose the progress of the Pelagian doctrines. The 
 prelates, when they arrived, applied themselves vigorously to the 
 business they came about, and by the irresistible force of their 
 arguments, and the piety of their lives, they so prevailed upon 
 the afiections of the people, that they renounced the impious 
 tenets of Pelagius, and were confirmed in the principles of the 
 true religion. 
 
 ^' Anno oOO a Caesam ingressu Britannia, Pictorum immanitati relinquunti r, 
 t Revertuntur iuipudentes grassatorei Hiberni doinum, poat non longmu 
 teiiipu3 reversuru 
 
318 TI-IPJ GEMP.RAL HISTORY . 
 
 The Scots and PictSj we have observed, were continual 
 .,r,' tliorn8 ill tiie sides of the Britons, and wars were waged 
 betweea the two nations, until the reign of Vortigern, 
 king of Britain, which was in the year of our Redemption 447. 
 The inhabitants of Britain, at this time, were a very wicked 
 people ; and heaven, for their impieties, delivered them uudei 
 the power of the Scots and Picts, who were sore scourges in the 
 hand of Providence/ aaid ruled them with a rod of iron ; inso- 
 much, that the Britons were forced to send messengers to two 
 Saxon princes, Hengist and Horsa, and desire their assistance. 
 These foreigners landed in the island, attended with a numerous 
 army, and in several engagements repelled the insolence of the 
 Scots and Picts, and obliged them to give over their attempts, 
 and to cease their hostilities. By the assistance of these Ger- 
 man forces the Britons were freed from the incursions of their 
 lieighbours, who kept within their own borders, and the king- 
 dom was settled in peace, to the universal joy and satisfaction 
 of the inhabitants. 
 
 The indefatigable Stowe, in his British Chronicle, printed at 
 London in the year 1614, at the fifty- second page, gives an ac- 
 count, that these Germans or Saxons were so pleased with the 
 air and the fertility of the island, that they barbarously mur- 
 dered, at one massacre, 480 of the nobility and gentry of Bri- 
 tain ; and that Aurelius Ambrosias, then king of Britain, caused 
 the stones, that were brought by Merlin, from mount Clare, in 
 the province of Munster, to be erected in the same place where 
 the barbarous execution was committed, as an eternal monu- 
 ment of the German cruelty upon the natives of Britain. Soma 
 time afterwards Aurelius himself was buried in the same place ; 
 and the same author observes, that these stones, when they wer& 
 hxed, were called Chorea Gigantum, but now are known by the 
 name of Stone Henge, upon Salisbury plain. Tnat historian 
 asserts farther, that the Irish brought these stones with them 
 from Africa, and what Geoffry of Monmouth observes is very 
 remarkable, that not two of those stones, came originally out of 
 the same part of that country. 
 
 From the testimony of this English historian it is easy to be- 
 lieve, that the Irish fleets were accustomed to sail to Africa, 
 that they made voyages abroad with honour and success, and 
 obtained considerable authority in other countries beside their 
 own ; and whoever disputes the grandeur and great character of 
 the ancient Irish, betrays his ignorance of antiquity, aud con- 
 lescics that he never cou^^ersei! with old records, which are tiia 
 
OF IRELAND. 319 
 
 foutii^lii from wlienco an historian is to draw out his observa- 
 tions. Some persons would willingly be acquainted with the 
 celebrated transactions of past ages, without the trouble of read- 
 ing and study; for which reason they are mere pedants, and take 
 up with superficial relations, without searching into the original 
 or kingdoms, or turning over the old chronicles, that preserve 
 the memory of those renowned times. It is the observation of 
 Macrobius, in the sixth book of his Saturnalia^ ;^? "We are ignorant 
 of many things with which we might be acquainted, would we 
 make the reading of the ancient annals familiar to us." And 
 this remark is in no instance more exactly verified than with 
 relation to the Irish history. 
 
 For when we assert that the kingdom of Britain was formerly 
 tributary to the Scots and Picts ; if the integrity of our rela- 
 tion be suspected, we can immediately refer to the testimony of 
 the learned Camden, who, in his chronicle, has this expression :f 
 " In the year 476 the Britons became tributary to the Scots 
 and Picts." And when we say that the Picts were afterwards 
 overpowered and suppi'essed by the Scots, we have liberty to 
 call in the evidence oi the same writer, who informs us, that 
 about the year 850, or, as others suppose, 83:9, when Cionaoth, 
 the son of Alpin, was king of Scotland, the Picts were brought 
 in subjection to the Scots. If the credit of this history should 
 be questioned, because we insist that no other foreign powers 
 possessed the sovereignty of the kingdom of Ireland, but those 
 princes we have taken notice of, and whose succession we have 
 accounted for, such as Partholanus, Clana Neimidh, Firbolg, the 
 Tuatha de Danans, and the Milesians, we have authority to 
 justify our relation, by citing the testimony of a reputable au- 
 thor, Gulielmus Nubirgensis, who says expressly in the twenty- 
 sixth chapter of his second book, J " The kingdom of Ireland 
 never submitted to a foreign power." And lastly, if we trans- 
 mit to posterity some remarkable exploits of Niall, the hero of 
 the nine hostages, that were scarce ever heard of before, espe 
 cially in the latter ages, we declare that we abhor to impose 
 upon the world with fictions of romantic adventures ; but our 
 authorities are the most valuable ancient records of the king- 
 dom, which we peruse -with great caution and industry, and 
 from thence extract our materials, and are directed in our method 
 and the management of the subject before us. 
 
 * Malta igaoraraus quae non laterent, si veterum lectio nobis esset fainUiaris. 
 f Britanni facti sunt tributarii Scotis et Pictis, anno 471). 
 j Hiberuia nunquam externce subjeeit ditioni. 
 
320 THS GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 There is an old manuscript in vellum, excoelin^ curious, en- 
 titled the life of St. Patrick, which treats likewise of the lives 
 of Muchuda Albain and other saints, from whence I shall tran- 
 scribe a citation that relates to St. Patrick, and particularly 
 mentions that he was of Welsh extraction ;* " Patrick was a 
 Biiton born, and descended from religious parents." And in 
 the same place he has the following remark :f " The Irish Scots, 
 under Niall their king, wasted and destroyed many provinces 
 of Britain, in opposition to the power of the Romans. They 
 attempted to possess themselves of the northern part of Britain ; 
 and, at length, having driven out the old inhabitants, those Irish 
 seized upon the country, and settled in it." The same author, 
 upon this occasion, remarks, that from thenceforth Great Bri- 
 tain was divided into three kingdoms, that were distinguishjd 
 by the names of Scotia, Anglia, and Britia. 
 
 This ancient writer likewise asserts, that when Niall, the hero 
 of the nine hostages, undertook the expedition of settling the 
 tribe of the Dailriada in Scotland, the Irish fleet sailecW to the 
 place where St. Patrick resided 4 " At this time the fcet out 
 of Ireland plundered the country in which St. Patrick then lived, 
 and, according to the custom of the Irish, many captives were 
 carried away from thence, among whom was St. Patrick, in the 
 sixteenth year of his age, and his two sisters, Lupida and Da- 
 rerca ; and St. Patrick was led captive into Ireland in the ninth 
 year of the reign of Niall, king of Ireland, who was the mighty 
 monarch of the kingdom for twenty-seven years, and brought 
 away spoils out of England, Britain and France." By this ex- 
 pression it is to be supposed that Niall of the nine hostages 
 waged war against Britain, or Wales, and perhaps made a con- 
 quest of the country ; and it is more than probable that when 
 this Irish prince had finished his design upon the kingdom of 
 Wales, he carried his arms into France, and invaded the comi" 
 try, at that time called Armorica, but now Little Britann}', and 
 from thence he led St. Patrick and his two sisters into captivity. 
 
 * Patricias Brito natus, ex pareutibus religiosis ortus. 
 
 t Scoti de Hibernia sub rege suo Niall, diver^as provincias Britannige contia 
 Romanura imperium multum devastabunt, contendere incipientes aquiloualein 
 Britannise plagam, tandem, ejectis veteribus colonis, ipsi ilibernienses earn occu- 
 pavei'unt et habitaverunt. 
 
 J Hoc tempore quajdaiu classis Hibernica depredavit patriam, in qua mora- 
 batur Divus Patricias, et consaeto Hibernoruiu more, muiti inde captivi ducti 
 sunt, iutei quis erant Divus Patricias, setatis suae anno decimo texto, et duse ejus 
 sorores, Lupida et Darerca, et ductus est Divus Patricius in Hibeiuiam captivus, 
 anno none Niall, regis Hibeniiie, qui potenter 27 annis reguavit, ac Britanuiam, 
 et Angliam, et Galliain devastavit. 
 
OP IRELAND. 321 
 
 And this T am ratlier included to believe, because the mother 
 of St. Patrick was the sister of Martin, the bishop of Turin, in 
 France ; and I have read in an ancient Irish manuscript, whose 
 authority I cannot dispute, that St. Patrick and his two sisters 
 were brought captiv^ into Ireland, from Armorica, or Britanny, 
 in the kingdom of France. It is evident likewise, that when 
 Niall, the king of Ireland, had subdued the Britons, he dis- 
 I)atched a formidable fleet to plunder the coasts of France, and 
 had so great success, that he carried away numbers of the na- 
 tives with him into captivity, one of which, it is reasonable to 
 suppose, was the young Patrick, who was afterwards distin- 
 guished by the name of the Irish saint. 
 
 Niall, encouraged by the number of his captives, and the suc- 
 cess of his arms in France, resolved upon another expedition ; 
 and accordingly raised a gallant army of his Irish subjects for 
 that purpose, and sent a commission to the general of the Dail- 
 riada in Scotland, to follow him with his choicest troops, and 
 assist him in the in/asion. Niall, having prepared a sufficient 
 number of transports, and a competency of provision, weighed 
 anchor with his victorious Irish, and, steering his course directly 
 to France, had the advantage of a prosperous gale, and in a few 
 days landed upon the coasts : he immediately began to spoil and 
 ravage the country near the river Loire ; here it was that the 
 general of the Dailriada found him, and both armies being 
 joined, they committed dreadful hostilities, which obliged the 
 inhabitants to fly, and leave the country to the mercy oi the 
 invaders. 
 
 The commanding officer of the Dailriada, in this expedition, 
 was Gabhran, the son of Domhanguirt, who brought over with 
 him Eochaidh, the son of Eana Cinsalach, king of Leinster. 
 This young prince had been formerly banished into Scotland by 
 Niall, but resolving to be revenged, when opportunity offered, 
 he desired to be admitted as a volunteer in the service, and by 
 that means was transported into France. The king of Ireland 
 being informed of his arrival, would on no account permit a 
 visit from him, nor sufl'er him in his presence, but Eochaidh 
 Eoon found an opportunity to execute his design, for one day 
 perceiving the king sitting upon the bank of the Loire, he con- 
 veyed himself secretly into an opposite grove, on the other side, 
 and shot Niall through the body with an arrow ; the wound 
 was mortal, and he instantly expired. 
 
 The difference between the king of Ireland, and Eochaidh, the 
 prince oi Leinster, arose upon this occasion : the ambitio?i of 
 
822 Tn-: GrxERAL history 
 
 EoolinKl^ incited him to keep his residence at Tara, as monarch 
 of the island, in express opposition to the command of thekinsr, 
 and accordingly, by way of to.king possession, he abode there 
 nine days and nights. This attempt of his was censured by a 
 druid of principal note, who informed him, that by this practice 
 he had violated the ancient and solemn customs of Tara, which 
 enjoined, that no person should presume to keep his court ia 
 that royal palace, before he was admitted into the order of 
 knighthood. This intelligence had that effect, that Eochaidh 
 withdrew from Tara, and relinquished his pretensions to the 
 crown of Ireland. When he was gone, Niall removed thither, 
 and kept his court as the king of Ireland ; and, lest Eochaidh 
 should again renew his claim to the crown, after many skir- 
 mishes and sharp disputes, he was banished into Scotland. 
 
 The king of Ireland received another provocation from Eoch- 
 aidh, which incensed his resentment, and in some measure oc- 
 casioned his banishment ; for when Eochaidh had abandoned 
 the royal seat of Tara, and was upon his way towards his owa 
 province, he came to the house of Laidhgin, the son of Bair- 
 ceadha, a principal druid, who was in great favour with the 
 king of Ireland. While he continued there the son of this 
 druid had the imprudence to threw out some contemptuous ex- 
 pressions against Eochaidh, which he so resented, that he fell 
 upon him, and killed him on the spot. This action so enraged 
 the father, that he instantly applied himself to Kiall for satis- 
 faction, and, representing the fact in the most aggravi^ting cir- 
 cumstances, prevailed upon the king, who promised tc revenge 
 the death of his son upon the prince and people of Leinster. 
 
 Niall, with aU expedition, prepared an army to invade the 
 province, which he entered with fire and sword, and miserably 
 distressed the inhabitants. The druid followed the army into 
 Leiuster, and perceiving the miseries the innocent people suf- 
 fered by this dreadful invasion, he took pity on their misfor- 
 tunes, and told them, that the king's forces should commit no 
 further disorders, if they would deliver Eochaidh, who was tha 
 only criminal, into his hands. The inhabitants, reduced to the 
 last extremities, accepted of this expedieni}»; and, though with 
 great reluctance, seized upon the prince, and surrendered hioi 
 into the power oi his enraged enemy. 
 
 The druid, full of revenge, designed to execute his pi'isonerby 
 a lingering death, and therefore caused his body to be chained 
 to a great stone, that stood upright, and is now to be seen on 
 the west side of Slainv, between Cill Brighde and Tallach 
 
OF in.i';LA>]D, 323 
 
 O'Feidhlin. The unfortunate prince was obliged to stand with 
 his back towards the stone ; and when he had remained there 
 for some time, loaded and galled with the weight of the chain, 
 the druid resolved to dispatch him, and put an end to his life ; 
 he therefore commanded nine soldiers to set upon him, for 
 Eochaidh was a person of great strength and invincible bravery, 
 and he supposed would not fall without resistance. The prince, 
 perceiving the executioners advanced towards him, summoned 
 all his courage, and forcing the chain with more than mortal 
 strength, unrivetted the pin which fastened the -ends of the 
 chain, and obtained his liberty. Unarmed as he was, he fell 
 upon the soldiers, and twieting their weapons out of their hands, 
 he killed some of them, and, making good his retreat with 
 safety, found means to escape into Scotland. When he arrived, 
 he requested the protection of Gabhran, the son of Domhanguirt, 
 the general of the Dailriada, with whom he came into France, 
 and slew Niall, who was the occasion of all his misfortunes. 
 
 When this prince Eochaidh was in exile'in Scotland, it hap- 
 pened that his wife, whose name was Feidhlin, the daughter of 
 Cobhthain, son of Dathi, was with child ; and at the same time 
 the wife of Gabhran, the son of Domhanguirt, whose name was 
 Ingeanach, was likewise with child j and both ladies, it seems, 
 were equally near their travail, for they were both seized with 
 pains, and delivered on the same night. For convenience, and 
 by reason of the friendship that was between them, the two 
 princesses lodged in the same apartment ; there were no persons 
 admitted .in the room but the midwife, all the other attendants 
 being commanded to stay v^ithout the door till they were called. 
 The Irish princess was delivered of two sons, and the Scottish 
 lady, who had borne many children, but all females, and who 
 passionat?ely desired a son, the more to please and engage the 
 affections of her husband, was delivered of a daughter. There- 
 fore when she understood, that the oLher lady was delivered of 
 two sons, she desired that she would part with one of them to 
 her ; the Irish princess consented, and her friend received the 
 infant into her bed with the greatest transport and satisfaction. 
 
 The artifice was concealed from the attendants, who, upon 
 their admission into the room, perceiving that the Scottish lady 
 had a son, instantly carried the joyful news to the father, who 
 caressed the infant with the fondest endearments, and called him 
 by the name of Eogan, not suspecting the fraud, but supposing 
 it to be his own. He likewise complimented the Irish lady 
 upon the birth of her young prince, who was known by the 
 name of Raudubh, son of Eochaidh. 
 
324 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 After the death of Niall, the hero of the nine hostages, 
 Eochaidh returned into Ireland, and sent for his lady and his 
 Bon from Scotland. He took possession of the government of 
 Leinster, and was king of that province for many years. His 
 friend Gabhran, the general of the Dailriadas, obtained the so- 
 vereignty of Scotland, and settled the succession upon his sup- 
 posed son. 
 
 Eogan, the young prince, after the death of Gabhran, laid 
 claim to the kingdom of Scotland by hereditary right, and was 
 crowned without opposition ; and when he had settled the state 
 of his affairs, he prepared a number of shipping, and a gallant 
 army, to invade Ireland ; for he justified his pretensions to the 
 kingdom, as he was a lineal descendant from Cairbre Riada. 
 His forces consisted of English, Welsh, and Scots. When ha 
 lande"d upon the Irish coast, he began hostilities upon the pro- 
 vince of Leinster. llandubh being unable, with the strength 
 of his provincial troops, to oppose the invaders, was forced to 
 see his subjects pillaged, and consult his own safety. Hi3 
 mother lived with him at that time, who, lamenting the dis- 
 tressed circumstances of her son, advised him p.ot to sink under 
 his misfortunes ; for she would go in person to the king of 
 Scotland, and by stratagem was confident she could put a stop 
 to his spoiling of the country, and persuade him to retire out 
 of the province. This motion came very seasonably, for the king 
 of Scotland had then sent to the king of Leinster, to demand a 
 heavy tribute from him, and, if refused, he threatened him with 
 military execution, and the utmost miseries of fire and sword. 
 
 The good old lady, as she promised, set out for the Scottish 
 camp, and when she arrived demanded audience of the king ; 
 Eogan was surprised at the adventure, and supposing ghe was 
 distracted, he admitted her into his presence. She then boldly 
 expostulated with him upon the subject of his invasion, and, 
 representing the cruel depredations he had committed upon the 
 province of Leinster, she demanded with intrepid bravery, what 
 provoked him to so barbarous and unwarrantable an undertak- 
 ing. The king, enraged- at this question, replied, that he was 
 not obliged to answer the impudence of every old hag that 
 should ask him questions, and commanded her to make -the best 
 of h^r way out of the camp. The lady, not discouraged at this 
 reply, told him, that his mother was as much a hag as she, and 
 if he pleased to give her liberty of speaking with him in pri- 
 vate, she engaged to convince him, and inform him of a seCiCfc 
 that was of the last importance to his interest. The king com- 
 plied, and taking her asiie from his attendants, was impatient 
 
OF IRr':LA^^). 355 
 
 to hear this weighty discovery. Sir, said she, I told you that 
 your own mother was such a hag as myseh, which is literally 
 true ; for I am your own mother, and Randubh, the king of 
 Leinster, whom you seem resolved to drive out of his country, 
 is your own- brother ; and to evince my honour and veracity 
 upon this occasion, I beseech you to send instantly to your sup- 
 posed mother, the queen dowager of Scotland, who, I am con- 
 fident, will assert the truth, and confess that you are my son ; 
 only let me entreat you to cease hostilities and outrages upon 
 the province until the messenger returns. The king was asto- 
 nished at this relation, and thought it of such importance, that 
 he instantly dispatched a messenger into Scotland to his mother, 
 and desired she would come to him into IreLind with all possi- 
 ble haste ; for her presence was of absolute necessity, and con- 
 cerned him in the most tender circumstances of his wliole life. 
 She complied with the request of her son, and, landing in Ire- 
 land, was conducted to the camp. The king of Scotland ac- 
 quainted her with his message, and the surprising account he 
 bad heard from the queen of Leinster, and desired that she 
 would satisfy him in the truth of the discovery, and declare 
 upon her honour whether he was her son or not. The old lady 
 openly confessed the whole intrigue between her and the quesn 
 of Leinster, and convinced the king in the point of his birth, 
 who desired they would keep the matter secret, lest his right to 
 the crown should be disputed, and an attempt made to prevent 
 the succession of his family in the throne of Scotland. For it 
 the tribe of the Dailriadas should be informed that he was not 
 the son of the deceased king, they would dispute his title, and 
 disturb his government. The ladies bound themselves to se- 
 crecy, a peace was immediately made, and a strict friendship 
 established with Randubh, the pi'ince of Leinster, and Eogau 
 withdrew his forces from the island, and returned to Scotland. 
 Niall, the king of L'eland, had eight sons, who left a nume- 
 rous posterity behind them, from which some noble families in 
 the country claim an extraction at this day ; but it will be im- 
 proper, in this place, to speak particularly of their offspring and 
 descendants, because they will be mentioned with more method, 
 when we treat ol the genealogies and spreading branches ol the 
 Milesians, or the Clana Mileadh. The reason why this prince 
 was distinguished by the title of hero ol the nine hostages, 
 and is called in the Irish language Niall Naoighialiach, was be- 
 cause he had nine hostages in his custody, live from the provinces 
 
 s 
 
^2(j THE OEN'SRAL mSTORY 
 
 of Ireland, and four from the kingdom of Scotland, in order to 
 secure the fidelity ot his enemies in both countries, who he sus- 
 pected would offer to raise commotions, and disturb the peace 
 ol his reign ; for the word Niall in the Irish, signifies in Eng- 
 lish, a prisoner or hostage. This transaction is upon record, in 
 the verses oi an ancient poet, who mentions it in this manner : 
 
 Niall, the martial hero of the Iridh, 
 
 The son of the reno^vned Eochaidh, 
 
 By force of arms, and military skill, 
 
 Subdued the rebels who opposed his right ; 
 
 And, as a plege of theu' allegiance, 
 
 Detain'd nve hostages of noble blood ; 
 
 And, to secure the homage of the Scots, 
 
 He kept confin'd four hostages of note : 
 
 From whence this prince, the ancient records call, 
 
 The Hero of the Nine Hostages. 
 
 Dathy was the succeeding m.onarch. He was the son 
 ^'^ of Fiachradh, son of Eochaidh Moighmeodhin, son of 
 Muireadhach Tireach, descended from the royal line of 
 Heremon, and he governed the kingdom twenty-three years. 
 His first consort was Fial, the daughter of Eachach, from whom 
 Feile Cruachan obtained its name. His second queen was 
 Eithne, the daughter of Orach, by whom he had a son called 
 OiiioU Molt : his third wife was Ruadh, the daughter of Artigh 
 Uchelathan, the son of Fir Conga, and this lady was mother of 
 Fiachadh Ealgaigh, but unfortunately died in triivail. From 
 Dathy, king of Ireland, descended the noble families of the 
 O'Sheagnasy, king of Vibhfhiachrach, O'Dowd, in the Irish 
 O'Dubhda, O'Heyn, kings of Aidne, Kilkelly, in the Irisli 
 Giol!achealaigh, O'Cearaigh, O'Comain, O'Clierigh, O'Fahy, and 
 many illustrious tribes that will be particularly inserted in the 
 course of this history. This monarch was distinguished by the 
 name of Dathy, because of his wonderful sprightliness and ac- 
 tivity of body ; for he was so accomplished, that he handled 
 bis weapons dexterously, and put on his armour before he was 
 at the estate of a man ; for the word Dathy signifies nimbleness 
 and agility. This prince received his death by a thunderbolt, 
 as he was pursuing his conquests in the dominions of France, 
 where he had carried his arms with great success. He died 
 near the foot of the Alps, from whence his army carried his 
 body with them into Ireland, and interred it with great so- 
 lemnity at Roilicna Riogh, in Cruachan, after he had governed 
 the island twenty-three years. 
 
THE SECOND BOOK. 
 
 Giving an account of tHe most memorable transactions of the ancient Jrisli, from 
 their reception of Christianity to the invitation of the English in the reiga ot 
 Henry II., king of England. 
 
 Having deduced the General History of Ireland from the first 
 inhabitants of the kingdom to the death of NialL the hero of the 
 nine hostages, in wnose reigo St Patrick was Drought into the 
 island, we are now to prosecute the account of this nation, till 
 the English were introduced by King Henry ll., who went into 
 the island m person, and, upon the submission of the nobility 
 and principal gentry, confirmed the inhabitants in their estates 
 and ancient liberties. 
 
 There is an author, one Sanders whose legendary writings 
 have ever been rejected by the lovers of truth, that has the con- 
 fidence to assert, in his first book of the English wars, that as 
 soon as the Irish had received the Christian faith, they submit- 
 ted themselves, their consciences, 'iud estates^ to the management 
 and direction of the Pope of Rome, and that they acknovrledged 
 no other sovereign prince in that kingdom bu^ the Roman Pon- 
 tiff, from the first establishmeni of Christianity in the island, 
 till it fell into the hands ol the Pjnglish, under King Henry II. 
 His expression is this.* "The inhabitants of Ireland imme- 
 diately upon embracing the Cnristian faith, surrendered them- 
 selves, their estates, and fortunes^ under the dominion of the 
 Pope of Rome, nor did they own any other supreme prince, in 
 that kingdom, besides the Roman Pontiff, down to that time.'* 
 But the falsehood of this assertion is evident from the testi- 
 mony of tiiat ancient record, the Psalter of Cashel, which, speak- 
 
 * ITibcrnia initio statim post religion em acoeptam, se suaque omnia in Ponti- 
 fices Romani ditionem dederunt, nee quemque altum su{)remum pnncipcm 
 Hiborniie ad illud iisque teinpuo preter unum Pontiliceni agnovenmt. 
 
32S THE GENx^lP.AL H.'STORY 
 
 ing of the prophet Trial, a renowned mouavch of Ireland, and a 
 sou to Heremon, relates that many of that illustrious line filled 
 the throne, both before and for many ages after Christianity was 
 received in that kingdom. His words upon this occasion are 
 these : * " Irial the prophet reigned ten years, and before the 
 faith of Christ was propagated in Ireland by St. Patrick, there 
 were fifty-seven kings of iiis race, who governed that kingdom, 
 and after the time of St. Patrick, there were fifty kings in succes- 
 sion of the same family." And his account is consistent with the 
 ancient records of the kingdom, which take no notice of sub- 
 jection to the see of Eome, but mention in the regal tables a 
 succession of princes of the royal Irish blood, and that the island 
 was governed independently by its own kings. 
 
 The author of the Polichronicon agrees with the preceding 
 account ; the words are,t " From the arrival of Saint Patrick 
 to the time of Feidhlim, there were thirty- three kings, who go- 
 verned the kingdom for 400 years ; in the reign of this prince, 
 the l^orwegians made a conquest of the country, under Tur- 
 gesius, their general." Feidhlim was king of Munster in whose 
 time the king of Norway transported a body ol hardy troops, 
 and brought the island into great troubles ; and from this cita^ 
 tiou it appears, that the Pope had not the sovereignty of the 
 kingdom, but that it was governed successively by many mo- 
 narchs of the Milesian race, after the time of St. Patrick, till 
 the invasion of the Norwegians, who are otherwise called Fionn- 
 lochlannuig. The same author has this expression in the same 
 place : J " From the time of Turgesius to the reign of Hoderick, 
 the last monarch in Conacht, there were seventeen kings on the 
 throne of Ireland." From these testimonies it is evident, that 
 the Eoman Pontiff had not the supreme authority in the island, 
 from the time of St. Patrick till the English arrived, under 
 Henry II., and settled in the country. 
 
 This account is farther confirmed by the testimony of Anselm, 
 archbishop of Canterbury, who inscribes his thirty-sixth epistle,§ 
 
 * Irial proplieta per decern annos regnavit, et antequam regula Christi per 
 Patricium seniinata esset in HiberPxia, de riemine ejusdem regis quinqnaginta sep- 
 teni reges reguavenint super Hiberniafti. et post Fatrlciuni de prole ipsius quiii- 
 quaginta reges. 
 
 t Ab adventu Sancti Patricii usque ad Feidlilimidii regis tempora, triginta 
 ires reges per quadringeutos amios in Hiberaia regriaverunt : tempore autesii 
 Feidhliiuidii Norvecienses duce Turgesio terram banc occuparunt. 
 
 X A tempore Turgesii usque ad ultimum moaarchum, Rodoricum, ConaciJJ 
 regem, decern et septeai reges ia Hiberaia regaaveriiat. 
 
 § Moriardacho glorioso, gratia Dei, rcgi Hibernian. 
 
OF IRELAND. 329 
 
 *• To the illustrious Moriartach, or Mortough O'Bryen, by th3 
 grace of God, king of Ireland." Tiiis epistle is to be found ia 
 the works of archbishop Usher, that learned prelate, who has, 
 with indefatigable pains, collected the epistles that were sent 
 between England and Ireland, and other great persons of both 
 nations, and preserved them to posterity. The same archbishop 
 Anselm wrote another letter to the same prince, and calls him 
 expressly the renowned king of Ireland ; and archbishop Lan- 
 franc, one of his successors in the see of Canterbury, wrote a 
 letter to Terlagh O'Bryen, king of Ireland, in the year 1074, and 
 introduces it in this form :* " Lanfranc, a sinner, and the un- 
 worthy archbishop of the holy church of Canterbury, to the 
 most magnificent Terlagh, king of Ireland, our benediction with 
 our service and prayers." I'he learned Usher, in the same 
 book, has preserved an epistle of great importance upon this 
 eubject, wherein Henry I., king of England, wrote to Rodol- 
 phus, archbishop of Canterbury, recommending to him, for holy 
 orders, one Gregory, that upon admission into the priesthood 
 he might be consecrated, at the request of the king of Ireland, 
 to the bishopric of Dublin. This epistle was written in the 
 year llf^, wherein is this expression :t "The king of. Ireland 
 has given me to understand, that by his writ, and by the consent 
 of the burghers of Dublin, this Gregory is chosen to be a bishop, 
 and they send him to you to be consecrated ; my will therefore 
 is, that you satisfy their desire by consecrating him without 
 delay." 
 
 From what has been before said upon this subject, and from 
 the concurring testimony of so many authorities, it appears 
 that the kingdom of Ireland was governed by monarchs of the 
 Milesian line, till the English invaded and settled in the coun- 
 try ; and it is likewise evident, that the l^oman Pontiff had no 
 right of sovereignty, nor exercised any jurisdiction in the island, 
 from the time of St. Patrick, than what he administered and 
 laid claim to in other nations, not only in Erance and Spain, 
 but in most oi' the countnes of Christendom, which were go- 
 
 * Lanfrancus peccator, et indlgnus sanctae Dorovernensis, ecclesia^ archicpis- 
 copiis, magaifico regi Hiberuise Terdeluaco benedictionem cum servitio et oia- 
 tionibus. 
 
 t Mandavit miM rey Ilibcrniaj per breve suum et burgenses Dubliniifi, quod 
 elegerunt hunc Gregorium in episcopum, et earn mittunt tibi consecrandum : 
 unde tibi mando ut petitionem eorum satisfacieuj ejus consecrationem sine dila- 
 tione ira pleas. 
 
330 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 vei'iied by their owa kings, and paid no liomago to the see of 
 liome as to a temporal prince. 
 
 It must be confessed, notwithstanding, that about seventy- 
 seven yenvs before tiie English invitation, Donough, the son of i 
 Brjen Boiroimhe, undertook a journey to Rome, and had a com- 
 mission from the principal nobility and gentry of the island, to 
 offer themselves as subjects to the see of Rome, and implore, the 
 protection ot the Roman Pontiff: and the reason of this act of 
 submission was, because the petty princes of the island word 
 continually quarrelling about the bounds of their territories ; 
 and these contests had so harassed and impoverished the island, 
 that the inhabitants chose rather to submit themselves to a fo- ; 
 reign power, than to be subject to the tyranny and oppression 
 of their own kings. And what seemed to induce the people to 
 offer their submission to the see of Rome was, that the Pontiff 
 was not only a spiritual, but a temporal prince, of great interest 
 and authority throughout Christendom, and able, by his assist- 
 ance or mediation in the courts of foreign prii^ss, to establish 
 the peace, and secure the liberties and privileges of the country. 
 P>ut this surrender of the island into the hands of the Pope, is 
 no evidence to confirm what is asserted by some autftors, who 
 relate that the emperor Constantine, upon his receiving the 
 Christian faith, conferred the western isle of Europe, which is 
 Ireland, upon Pope Sylvester ; which is impossible to be true,, 
 for this reason, because this island was never conquered by the 
 Romans, nor in the possession of Constantine, or any other j 
 emperor of Rome ; and therefore it would be ridiculous in that 
 emperor, or any other, to make a grant of an island to a prince,; 
 which he had no right to himself and was never under his aiz.* 
 thority. Nor can it be supposed with reason, that an island so 
 fruitful, so populous, so wealthy, and of so considerable -au ex^ 
 tent as the country of Ireland, should be without a king to com- 
 maud it for so many ages, but be governed by the Pope, and by' 
 his deputies, from the time of Si. Patrick till the invasion by 
 the English, wiio subdued it, and made it a tributary province ; 
 but we have been too long in refuting the falsehood of Sanders, 
 an author of no credit, though it was proper to remove this ob- 
 jection before we proceeded farther in the course of this history. 
 Laogaire was the succeeding monarch. He was tha 
 
 ,U' son of Niall, the hero of the nine hostages, and wore tho 
 
 crown thirty years ; the mother of this Irish king was 
 
 lioigheach. In the fourth year of this prince's reign, Pope 
 
 Celestine commissioned St. Patrick with proper powers, and 
 
OF IRSLAXD. 331 
 
 sent him into Ireland to propagate the Christian faith, and to 
 establish the inhabitants in the beliei of the Gospel. It waa 
 observed before, that St. Patrick was brought a captive from 
 France into Ireland by Niall, in the ninth year of his reign, and 
 that this saint was then a youth of sixteen years of age. Niall, 
 after his victories-in France, ant^his return home with his cap- 
 tives, enjoyed the crown eighteen years : Dathy, as we said be- 
 fore, was his successor, and he reigned twenty -three years. No^r 
 by adding the eighteen years of Niall, after St. Patrick arrived 
 in Ireland,-to the whole reign of Dath}^, we come to the numBer 
 oi forty-one years ; with which, if we reckon sixteen years, that 
 was the age oi the saint when he was carried into captivity, and 
 join to them four years of the reign of Laogaire. it is evident, 
 that St. Patrick was sixty-one years of age wuen Pope Gelestine 
 sent him into Ireland to convert the country, and introduce 
 Christianity among the inhabitants. 
 
 And to confirm this computation, we have, as evidence, the 
 concurring testimony of a book, entitled, " Marty rologium," 
 which asserts, that St. Patrick was 122 years of age when he 
 died ; which proves that his age was sixty-one years when he 
 arrived in Ireland to execute his commission, and preach the 
 Gospel ; for H is beyond dispute, that he continued in the 
 country sixw-one years, in converting the inhabitants, before 
 his death. Bat St. Piitrick was not the first person deputed by 
 Pope Gelestine to recommend the Ghristian faith to the Irisli, 
 for Palladius, a bishop, was sent before him, in tlie year 430, as 
 ,the venerable Bede, in his English annals, particularly mentions; 
 his expression is,^'' " Palladius was the first bishop that was sent 
 by Pope Gelestine to the Ghristian Scots." The arrival of this 
 prelate in the island, was in the third yes^r of the reign of Lao- 
 gairfi, which was in the year preceding the landing of St. 
 Patrick, as his successor, on the same important negociation. 
 
 Palladius, in this expedition, was attended by t^^'slve clergy- 
 men ; with them he arrived in Ireland, and landed in the north 
 part ot the province of Leinster, at a place called Inbhec 
 ]3ijaghadh. Here he erected three churches, which he conse- 
 crated,, and dedicated them to three eminent saints j the first 
 was CLilled Gillfiune, where he deposited his books, and some 
 valuable relics of the apostles St. Peter and St. Paul ; the se- 
 cond was Teach na Ptomhauach j and the third had the name of 
 
 t 
 
 * Anno quadringentesimo tricesimo Palladius ad Scotos in Christum credeutea 
 a Celestino Papa primus miUitur upiscopus. 
 
332 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 Dorabnacb Arda. AVhen he had finished the solemnity of con- 
 secration, and before he had an opportunity of making any 
 number of proselytes among the inhabitants, he was seized by 
 Nathi, the son of Garchon, a violent bigot for the old pagan 
 religion, who had the principal command in that part of the 
 country, and obliged Palladims and his followers to abandoa 
 their design, and quit the island to preserve their lives. 
 
 One year after the expulsion of Palladius, St. Patrick, not 
 discouraged by the ill fortune of liis predecessor, came into Ire- 
 land, and, resolving to prosecute his designs with vigour and 
 Christian zeal, he brought over with him twentj^-four of the 
 Roman clergy to assist him in his undertaking. This account 
 is in some measure opposed by Henrioas Antisiodorensis, who, ' 
 in the life of St. Germanus, in the l28th chapter, asserts, that 
 St. Patrick brought with him thirty holy men ot the episcopal 
 order, and dispersed them over the country. These are the 
 words of that author,* "The blessed St. Patrick, having finished 
 his journey from a very distant country, not only comforted his 
 foJiowers by his presence, but he appointed thirty bishops, whom 
 he had gathered together from the parts beyond the sea, after ha 
 had consecrated them, into the Lord's harvest, because it was 
 great and the labourers were few" From hsnce it appears, that 
 St. Patrick proposed to himself the conversion of the whole 
 island, which it was impossible for him to accomplish in his own 
 person, and therefore he brought over with Mm a number of 
 pious and learned associates to carry on the work, and the moie 
 effectually to propagate the faith ; and when he arrived in the 
 country, he inquired after those Scots who had embraced the 
 Gospel from the preaching of Palladius, whom he received into 
 communion, and ordained laws and canons for regulating his 
 converts, and forming them into discipline; which injunctions 
 were religiously observed by the Irish Christians throughout the 
 kingdom, for 400 years after the death of St. Patrick, until tha 
 island was invaded by the Danes. About the time that thia 
 Irish apostle entered upon the execution of liis office, there waa 
 a mint erected at Ardmach and Cashel, and money coined for 
 the service of the state. 
 
 Henricus Antisiodorensis above mentioned, in his ITith chap- 
 ter, asserts that St. Patrick laid out the whole kingdom into cer- 
 
 * Benedictus Patricius itinere longo de reglone longinqua peracto, et prae- 
 8^ntia sua suos exhilarabat, et triginta episcopos ex transmarinis partibiis con- 
 gregato3, et a se consecrates in Domiui mes^jein, eo quad esset multa et operarh 
 , pauci, destiiiabatr 
 
OF IKELAND. 333 
 
 tain divisions, and disposed the iahabitaiits, their cattle, their 
 goodsj and all their efiects into such a method, that he knew Lha 
 produce of all the land, and understood the private fortune^ and 
 the abilities of all the people The tenth, not only of the fruits 
 ot the earth, but of the inhabitants, their cattle, and their sub- 
 stance, he separated for the support of the clergy : the men he 
 ordained into some religious order of the Roman Catholic church, 
 the women he settled in convents and nunneries by themselves; 
 for he had erected monasteries and other structures for their re- 
 ception, and appointed a sufficient revenue for their constant 
 support. This autTJior is express to this purpose, where he de- 
 livers himself in this manner :^- " He built a great number of 
 monasteries, ior the convenience of the men, whom he made 
 monks, and of the women, whom he separated as nuns, and 
 assigned the tenth part of the lands and ot the cattle for their 
 maintenance." The same writer observes farther upon this sub- 
 ject, that by the order and prudent management of St. Patrick, 
 there was not the least part of the whole kingdom that did not 
 abound with religious persons of exemplary piety, whose devo- 
 tion and holy lives were admired and had in reverence among 
 the neighbouring nations, who usually distinguished the country 
 of Ireland by the name of the island of saints. 
 
 Nonnius, a Welsh author, in the history of Wales, bestows 
 great encomiums upon St. Patrick, and, among other excellen- 
 cies of his character, relates* that " he i junded 355 churches, 
 and consecrated the same number of bishops ; but for presby- 
 ters he ordained 3000 of them." The testimony of this writer 
 is confirmed by the authority of an old poet, who delivers the 
 same account in the following lines : 
 
 The bless'd St Patrick, with his priestly hands, 
 The rite, of consecration did confer 
 Upon the most reUgious of his oiergy, 
 Three hundred and afty-five in number. 
 He likewise, for the service of the ohurcb, 
 As many sacred structures did erect, 
 And presbyters ordained three thousand. 
 
 If it should seem improbable, and not easy to be credited, 
 that so great a number of bishops should be consecrated and 
 
 * Omnes ergo mares moniichos fcerainas sanctas mcniales erficiens. numorosa 
 monastena editicavit ; decimamque portioneixi terrarurn ao pecuduru v^oruai sus- 
 tentationi assignavit. 
 
 f Rcclesias 35r fundavit, episcopos ordinarlt eodum numeroj presbyteros 
 auteic usque ad trid millia ordinavit 
 
334 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 disposed ill the island at one time by St. Pacrick, let the testi- 
 moay of St. Bernard be admitted, to take ofi this difficulty, who, 
 treating in the life of St. Malachias concerning the ecclesiastical 
 customs and discipline originally established in the Irish church, 
 makes use of this expression,* " The bishops are changed and 
 inaltiplied at the will and discretion of the metropolitan ; so 
 that one bishopric was not content with one bishop, but every 
 particular church was governed by its own particular bishop. 
 From the testimony of this writer it appears that the bishops 
 of Ireland were very numerous when Christianity began to be 
 established in the time of St. Patrick ; and indeed .the necessity 
 01 the church, that was then in her infancy, required the joint 
 endeavours of many faithful pastors to compose and qualify the 
 minds of new converts, and to guard against the attempts of the 
 great enamy of mankind, whose kingdom was shaken by the 
 zeal and devotion of these prelates, and in apparent danger of 
 being overthrown. And, as a farther evidence upon this sub- 
 ject, let it be considered that the ancient records of the kingdom 
 iutorm us, that every deanery in the island had a bishop to 
 preside over h : and the old chronicles relate that St, Patrick 
 consecrated two archbishops in the country ; the archbishop of 
 Ardmach, who was primate of all Ireland, and the archbishop of 
 Cashel. The first of these prelates exercised a plenitude of 
 power over the whole kingdom, especially his jurisdiction ex- 
 tended over Leath Cuinn ; the other had authority over Leath 
 Modha, but in obedience and subordinate to the primate and 
 metropolitan. 
 
 The reason of this distribution of ecclesiastical power seems 
 to be because the sovereignty of the kingdom was in possession 
 of the royal line of Heremon, of whose posterity was the mo- 
 narch then reigning, Laogaire, the son of Niall, the renowned 
 hero of the nine hostages. There were many personages of rank 
 and quality descended from the royal branches ol this frimily 
 who became early converts to the Christian faith, and received 
 the initiation of baptism trom the hands of St. Patrick upon 
 his first publication of the Gospel. The most eminent of these 
 most noble proselytes were Eogan and Conall, who, with the 
 principal lelatioas of their family, insisted that the metropolitical 
 church, that was to preside over the kingdom, should be erected 
 
 *• Miitaiitur et multiplicantu episcopi pr > libitu metropolitani ; ita ut uims 
 epijcopatus uiio nan e.iS3t conteutus, t>ed si;igulae pene ecciesia; siiigiilos iiabareut 
 e/iscopos. 
 
OF IRELAND. 335 
 
 and established at Leath Cainn, and should have the precedency, 
 and exercise a jurisdiction in spirituals over all the bishops in 
 the island ; and this privilege they were the more importunate 
 to obtain, because they had the supreme command over the king- 
 dom at that time, and they were willing that the new archiepis- 
 copal see should be honoured with the same rights and dignities, 
 and be equally extensive with their temporal power. ' For the 
 same reason it was that the descendants from the line of Heber 
 Fionn desired and obtained from St. Patrick that the see in the 
 second degree of jurisdiction and authority should be appointed 
 in the division of the country which they enjoyed, and whereiu 
 they had the supreme command ; and accordingly thfe archie« 
 piscopal diocese of Caahel, in Leath Modha, was established, 
 because there lay the estate of that illustrious family, who were 
 invested with great immunities and privileges in these partg> 
 which they were in possession of from the reign of Conn, and 
 exercised under the successive monarchs ot the kingdom : and 
 this receives an additional evidence from the testimony of the 
 most authentic records of the island, which not only mentiua 
 the archbishop of Cashel under the title of the archbishop of 
 Munster, but likewise he is particularly called the archbishop of 
 Leath Modha in the ancient records. 
 
 Some have imagined that Imlioch Jobhair was the seat of au 
 archbishop in the time of St. Patrick, bat the reason of thi^i 
 conjecture evidently arose from hence, that the archbishop and 
 his clergy of Cashel, were violently banished from Cashel by the 
 victorious Danes, who had almost subdued the whole kingdom, 
 and supported themselves in their conquests by the most barba- 
 rous outrages and military executions. Maolseachlin, the son of 
 Molrony, had fixed himself in possession of Meath, in the reign 
 of Niall Caille over Ireland, and Olchabhair had seized upon 
 the government of Munster, and seated himself in that province; 
 and Turgesius, the Danish general, had spread a terror over the 
 whole kingdom, and by his arms was in command of exceeding 
 large territories. The country labouring under the heavy yoke of 
 these foreigners, and the inhabitants, flying from then- settle- 
 ments to preserve their lives, it may be supposed with groat 
 reason, that Foranan, who then was primate of Ardmach, retired 
 from Cashel with his clergy, for their secnrit3% and absconded 
 to Imlioch Jobhair, to conceal themselves from thecruelty of the 
 Danes, who in their plunderings observed no distinction of 
 sacred persons and things, but most dreadfully ravaged the coun- 
 try, and forced the inhabitants into slavery. In this solitude, 
 
338 THE GENERAL HISTOIIY 
 
 that was defended by thick woods and dangerous bogs, did this 
 primate and his college of clergy tak.e up their residence, during 
 the tyranny of the merciless Danes, which continued a long 
 time, and reduced these most pioas and excellent divines to 
 great miseries and distress. 
 
 Nor dpes it appear from the ancient annals of the kingdom, ' 
 that there were originally constituted any more archbishops in 
 Ireland than the primate of Ardmach and the archbishop of 
 Cashel. But the number afterwards increased ; for in the year 
 of our Lord 1152, the Eoman cardinal, Johannes Papiron, made 
 a voyage into Ireland, attended by Giallo Chriost O'Connaire, 
 bishop ot Lismore,' who was commissioned with a legatine au- 
 thority from the Pope. When they arrived they summoned a 
 general convocation of the clergy, and assembled at Ceananus, 
 in Meathj and in this convention an archbishop was consecrated 
 for the city of Dublin, and another consecrated and appointed 
 for the diocese of Tuam. Tiiese prelates, in this ecclesiastical 
 assembly, obtained a Pallium, as will be particularly expressed 
 hereafter, from the authority of the Irish annals, that were ori- 
 ginally written at Cluain xiiduach. 
 
 In the reign of Laogaire, king of Ireland, it was, as was be- 
 fore observed, that St. Patrick entered upon the execution of 
 his ministerial office, and began to introduce the Gospel in the 
 kingdom ;" at which time Aongus, the son of Nadfraoch, was 
 king of Munster. This prince, being informed that St. Patrick 
 was propagating the faith in some part of that province, resolved 
 to apply himself to him in person, and went with his retinuQ , 
 as far as Magh Feimhin, where he found him preaching ; 
 he invited him to his royal seat at Cashel, where Aongus was 
 instructed in the Christian principles, and was admitted by 
 baptism into the communion of the church. This transaction 
 is expressly upon record, in the life of St. Patrick above men- 
 tioned, where are these words :'^' "AYhen St. Patrick went about 
 the province of Munster, Aongus, the son of Nadfraoch, the 
 king of Munster, went to meet him at Magh Feimhin, in the 
 lands of the Deisies, and joyfully conveyed him to the royal 
 city of Cashel, which is in the country of Eoganacht, where the 
 king believed and was baptized." The same writer gives an 
 account of a misfortune that happened at the time when the 
 
 * Dum vero Momoniam proficisceretur venit obviam ei rex Momonise Aon- 
 gus, filius Naclfi-aoch, in cauipo Feimhin, iu terra Deisi, eumque cluxit in civi- 
 tiiitnu regalem, nomine Caisil, qu£e est in vegiuue Eoganacht, ibique credidlt res 
 Aongus et baptiaatiis est. 
 
OF IRELAND. 337 
 
 kin^ was standing at the font, and relates that St. Patrick, 
 striking the end of his episcopal staff, that was defended with a 
 spike of iron, with some vehemence, designing to fix it in tha 
 ground, he struck it through the foot of the king, which pufc 
 him into great disorder; but notwithstanding the acute pain ha 
 suffered, and the abundance of blood which flowed from tha 
 wound, he had that regard for the religion into which he was 
 baptized, that he would not stir from the place till the solemnity 
 of the office was finished. This transaction is transmitted by 
 the same authority in the following words," " While St. Patrick 
 was pronouncing the benediction over the king, who was standin;^ 
 to receive it, the point of the staff was fixed in the king's foot.'* 
 From the testimony of this writer it appears that it was Aon- 
 gus, the son of Nadfraoch, who had his foot transfixed with tha 
 episcopal stafi; notwithstanding, it is the opiniou of some, that 
 the person who received this wound was Eogan, the son of Nm\\ 
 king of Ulster ; and as an indisputable evidence upon this occa- 
 sion, the history of Leath Cuinn, very ancient, and of great 
 authority, gives the same account, in the following verses, that 
 were composed by the. celebrated poet Torna O'Muicouaire. 
 
 His royal foot transfix'd, the gitshing blood 
 Enrich'd the pavement with a uobie tioocL 
 
 Aongus, the king of Munster, had a numerous issue ; for hii 
 children were twenty-four sons and a,3 many daughters; and i o 
 showed that regard to the piety and institutions of St. Patrick, 
 that he devoted twelve of each sex to the service of God, and 
 confined them to a religious and monastic life. This princa 
 settled a fixed revenue upon St. Patrick and the clergy of Ire- 
 land, to secure them from poverty and the contempt of tha 
 people. He ordained that every person that was admitted to 
 baptism within the province of Munster should pay three pence 
 for the service of the church ; but the king, considering that it 
 would be inconvenient for the clergy to collect their fees them, 
 selves, and divert them from the conscientious discharge of their 
 office, ordered by law that this tax should be paid into the king's 
 exchequer, who, in consideration of it, obliged himself and his 
 successors to deliver to the convents and religious houses founded 
 by St. Patrick, 500 cows, 500 bars of iron, 500 shirts, 500 
 li antles, and 500 sheep, which were to be duly provided every 
 
 * Cum que Sanctum Patiicius regcin stanJo bcne'iixissct, ciispis baculi sancti 
 fixa est ia pede regis. 
 
338 THE GENERAL HISTORT 
 
 year for the support and maintenance of tlie clergy ; scad this 
 triennial tribute was constantly paid into the treasury of the 
 province till the time of Cormac Mac Caillenan. 
 
 There is an account to be found in the Red Book of Mao 
 Eogaine, that Aongus, the son of Nadfraoch, king of Munster, 
 was a pious prince ; that he retained two bishops, ten priests, 
 and. seventy-two persons of other religious orders, to attend upon 
 him in his court, to say mass in his royal chapel and to offer up 
 prayers to heaven for the happiness of ^himself and the whole 
 kingdom ; and this he did by the direction of St. Patrick, who 
 was the spiritual guide of this prince, and kept up the spirit of 
 devotion in the court of Munster during the reign of Laogaire, 
 the son of Niall, king of Ireland. 
 
 Bryen, the son of Eochaidh Moidhmeodhin, had twenty-four 
 Bons in the reign of Laogaire, the Irish monarch, at the time 
 that St. Patrick was executing his commission in the kingdom. 
 The principal of these brothers was Eichin, who had a large ter- 
 ritory, and was of greatest authority in the province of Gonacht. 
 To him St. Patrick applied himself, with a design to recom- 
 mend the Christian faith, and convert him from the pagan reli- 
 gion. But this prince was a violent bigot for the idolatry of his 
 ancestors, and, instead of receiving the holy missionary with 
 reverence suitable to his character, he was so transported with 
 passion, that he fell upon him, and beat him without mercy ; 
 and not contented with this barbarity, he commanded his 
 brothers that were with him to correct him with blows, and 
 show him no favour. The brothers obeyed the orders, and in- 
 humanly cudgelled the saint, and bruised him all over his body : 
 but the youngest, whose name was Duach Galach, was moved 
 with compassion, and not only refused to strike him, but com- 
 forted him under his misfortune, and took care of. his wounds, 
 and entertained him honourably at his own house. This civility 
 was so gratefully received by St. Patrick, that, as soon as he was 
 able to go abroad, he went to the barbarous Eichin, and boldly 
 expostulated Vv^ith him concerning the severity of his usage ; 
 and, as an exemplary vengeance from heaven, for treating the 
 ambassador of Christ with stripes and contempt, he predicted to 
 his face that neither he, nor any of his cruel brothers, or of the 
 posterity descended from them, should ever arrive at the princely 
 dignity, or have the honour to wear a crown ; but the youngest 
 brother, the compassionate Duach Galach, who treated him with 
 veneration and humanity/, for the sake of the Great God, whose 
 cocamissiouer he was, should sit upon a throne, and his descen- 
 
OF IRELAND. 339 
 
 dants inherit the same blessing and honour for many ages. 
 When the young prince heard of this prophecy, that was so im- 
 portant to himself and his family, he solemnly engaged to St. 
 Patrick, that he would obey his commands in whatever he en- 
 joined him ; which submission was so acceptable to the prophet 
 that he gave him his benediction, and assured him of the truth 
 of what he had foretold, that he himself should sit upon a 
 throne, and the crown lineally descend to his posterity. 
 
 It was 430 years after the birth of Christ that St. Patrick 
 opened his commission in Ireland, which was in the fourth year 
 of the reign oi Laogaire, as before-mentioned. He continued iu 
 Ireland sixty-one years, propagating the Christian doctrines 
 with resolution and success, which number of years being added 
 to the 430 above, make 491 from the beginning of the Christian 
 era to the death of that Irish apostle ; who, as we are informed 
 in the account of his life, was sixty-one years preaching the 
 gospel in the island, and working miracles for the confirmation of 
 the religion he recommended. This computation is supported 
 by the concurring testimony of an ancient poet of good autho- 
 rity, who has transmitted the account in these verses subjoined : 
 
 The holy saint, with zeal and Christian courage, 
 Did propagate the Gospel of his Master, 
 For one-and-sixty years, and miracles 
 Performed,^ strong evidence of trath. 
 
 It it should be questioned whether there are any such verses 
 upon record in the life oi St. Patrick that is handed down to 
 tbe present times, let it be considered, that we are informed by 
 a manuscript chronicle of antiquity, that sixty-four persons have 
 severally written the life of this reverend missionary ; and no 
 doubt there is some difference to be observed in their relations ; 
 and therefore it is not to be wondered that some particular 
 transactions and miracles of that saint are expressed in some of 
 these lives that are omitted in others ; but the authority of the 
 whole is not to be overthrown for this reason, which would be a 
 severe execution, and was never put in practice in judging of 
 the truth ol other histories. 
 
 In the reign oi Laogaire, king of Ireland, Dubhthach, the 
 son of Lughair, a poet, Fithall Feargus, and Eosa, the son of 
 Tirchin, recommended to St. Patrick the examination ot the 
 chronicles and genealogies of the kingdom, and submitted them 
 to his correction ; but the saint modestly refused to act in a 
 matter oi this importance, upon his own judgment, because he 
 
310 THIJ] GENEIIAL HISTORY 
 
 was not thoroughly acquainted with the antiquities of the island 
 and the pedigrees of the families ; and therefore he addressed 
 himself to Laogaire, and desired him to issue out his royal 
 mandate, for a convocation of the principal clergy, historians, 
 and antiquaries of the kingdom, and in the writs to express the 
 time and place of their meeting. The king was well pleased 
 with the method, and accordingly ordered out his summons, and 
 the most eminent of the three professions met and assembled 
 in convocation. The several genealogie.?, and the old record:?, 
 were produced before the convention, who examined into their 
 authority with great care and exactness ; but considering the 
 number of the members that composed the assembly, and tho 
 difficulty and the time that would be employed, if every parti- 
 cular person was to read over the whole and give his opinion ; 
 it was agreed by consent, that a select committee of nine should 
 be appointed, to whom the purgation and amendment of tho 
 chronicles should be committed, and their corrections shouM 
 receive a sanction from the whole assembly. The nine deputed 
 upon this occasion were three learned kings, three eminent pre- 
 lates, and three of the most accomplished antiquaries : the three 
 kings were, Laogaire, the son of Niall, tho hero of the nine hos- 
 tages ; Daire, king of Ulster, and Core, king of Munster. The 
 Christian bishops were St. Patrick, the pious Binen, and the 
 judicious Cairneach j the antiquaries were Dubhthach, Feargus, 
 and Rosa. By this learned committee were the genealogies of 
 the principal families, and the ancient records of the kingdom, 
 carefully examined, and purged oi all spurious relations, and 
 then disposed into the archives of the island, as a venerable and 
 authentic collection, whose veracity was to be relied upon, and 
 never was questioned by future ages, who called this body of 
 records the Great Antiquity. This convocation, and the select 
 committee, who had the particular inspection of these affairs^ 
 are transmitted by an ancient poet in these lines that follow ; 
 
 The learned authors of those choice records, 
 Which for their truth are called the Great Antiqvity, 
 Were nine, selected by the convocation, 
 
 For wisdora and integrity .renowned; ■ ■ 
 
 • Three kings, three prelates, and thrc^e antiquaries : 
 The prelates were, the most devout St. Patrick, 
 The pious Binen, and the wise Oairneaeh ; 
 The liings were Laogaire, the Irish nionarclo, 
 A prince in heraldry exactly skill'd ; 
 
 Join VI with him was the judicious Dairf>, , ...li 
 
 The warlike king of Ulster ; the third, ^ „ ■'% , j 
 
 'A prince for letters and for martial acta 
 
OF IKELAXD. o41 
 
 Was famous, hh name was Cere, the potent king 
 Of Mnuster : three antiquaries next survey'd 
 'i'hese old records, and purg'd tliem by their skill ; 
 'ihe faithful Dubhthach, and the sage Feargus, 
 /iud Eosa, nicely vers'd in foreign tongues. 
 Those nine perus'd the annals of their ancestors, 
 l>as'd the errors, the effects of fraud 
 Or ignorance ; and by the test of truth 
 Lxamin'd, they establish'd the records, 
 J^nd every pecugree of noble blood ; 
 And thus corrected they descend to us. 
 Unworthy issue of our brave progenitors. 
 
 The fiimals and records being thus perused and reformed^ by 
 the care and learning of this select committee, the king, hy the 
 consent of the nobility, ordained, that they should be committed 
 to the trust of the reverend prelates of the kingdom, who had 
 them transcribed in legible characters, and laid up in their prin- 
 cipal churches for the benefit ot posterity. There are many of 
 these venerable manuscripts preserved to the present times, and 
 many copies of them found in the custody of the curious at this 
 day ; such are the book oi Ardmach, the Psalter oi Cashel, the 
 book of Glean da loch, the book called in the Irish language 
 Leabhar na Huaidhchongabhala, the treatise of Cluain mac 
 naois, the book of Fionta cliiana haiglmeach, the Yellow book 
 of Moling, the Black book ot Molaiga, and several other ancient 
 tracts, that relate to the antiquities of the kingdom, which have 
 tifiorded great assistance in the collection of this history. 
 
 And farther, that the annals, the genealogies, and chronicles 
 of the kingdom, might be preserved incorrupt, without false- 
 hood or interpolations, it was established by law, that the sub- 
 stance, and the most important transactions, should be tran- 
 scribed once in every three years into the royal Psalter of Tara, 
 after they had been examined, and received a sanction from the 
 approbation of the great assembly of the kingdom. But the 
 ])articular account of these triennial conventions, and. the nature 
 of their debates, have been mentioned, when we spoke of the 
 reign of Cormac, the Irish monarch, and thereiore will be pro- 
 secuted no farther in this place. 
 
 The princi])al authors, who treated of the aflairs of Ireland 
 in the pagan times, were these following : Amergin Gluugeal, 
 »Sean Macaighe, Brigh Banaghdar, from whom the woid Brighe 
 in the Iri^-h language is become proverbial ; Conla Caoiu 
 Bhreathach, the famous antiquary of the province of Conacht ; 
 Beanchan Mac Cuil Chlaoiu, and the learned Fachtna his son ; 
 ^eanchan, the Bon oi OilioUa ; Muran, the son of Maoin ; 
 
343 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 Feargus Fianaidhe, in Kerry ; Luachra, Feircheairtine, a cele- 
 brated poet ; Neidhe, the son of Aidhna ; Aitherue, the sou of 
 Amhnas ; Feargus, a poet of note, the son of Aithirne ; Neara, 
 the son of Fionchuil, from Siodubh, Seadamus, the son of Mo- 
 ruinn ; Fearadach Fionnfathach, the principal author of tho 
 Wisdom of the king of Ireland ; Fithall Feargus, a good poet ; 
 Rosa, the son of Tirchin ; and Dubhthach O'Lugair ; these threo 
 last mentioned delivered the annals and public records of the 
 kingdom to St. Patrick, to be revised by him, which he refused 
 to correct by his own j udgment, without the assistance of the 
 most learned professors in the kingdom. 
 
 In the times of paganism, it was ordained by law, that if any 
 public antiquary had deviated from the truth in any state re- 
 cord, or in the private genealogy of a family, he was immedi- 
 ately degraded and not allowed for the future to act in his pro- 
 fession : if a judge, through ignorance or corruption, pronounced 
 unjust judgment, he was never afterwards permitted to sit in 
 the courts of justice. And there seems to be good authority to 
 believe, that there were several concomitant marks and symp- 
 toms that attended the sentence of the judge, either in his own 
 person or in some other remarkable way, whereby it was pub- 
 licly known whether the decree pronounced was consistent with 
 justice or not ; particularly we are informed by good evidence, 
 that when an Irish judge, called Sean Macaighe, delivered an 
 unjust sentence, there broke out visibly many large blisters 
 upon his right cheek ; but when he was upright in his judg- 
 ment, the skin remained smooth, and no pustules appeared. 
 
 The celebrated Conla Caoin Breathach administered justice 
 with the strictest equity, was proof against the corruption of 
 bribes, and delivered his sentence without affection or prejudice. 
 Seancha Macuill was a person of consummate wisdom and in- 
 tegrity ; and when he presided in courts of justice, and was to 
 pronounce his decree, he always fasted the night before. When 
 his son Fachtna, who was a judge in those times, was unjust in 
 his decision of causes, if it was in the time of harvest, a very 
 remarkable event ensued, upon the night following all the acorns 
 would fall from the trees in that part of the country, which was 
 a great misfortune to the inhabitants ; but if his decree was 
 consistent with justice, no calamity ensued, but the oaks re- 
 tained their fruit. It was observed, that if a judge was cor- 
 rupt in his administration in the spring, when the trees were in 
 blossom, the cows forgot their natural instinct, and would not 
 bear their calves to remain near them ; and the famous Moran, 
 
OF IRELAND. 343 
 
 the son of Maoin^ who was one ol the principal judges o.t tiie 
 kingdom, when he sat upon the bench to administer justice,, put 
 the miraculous chain, called in the Irish language Jodha Morain, 
 about his neck, which was attended with that wonderful virtue, 
 that if the judge pronounced an unjust decree, the chain would 
 instantly contract itselt, and encompass the neck so close, that 
 it would be almost impossible to breathe ; but if he delivered a 
 just sentence, it would open itself, and hang loose upon the 
 shoulders. 
 
 A certain distinguished evidence of truth or ialsehood was 
 likewise observed to attend upon the historians and public no- 
 taries Oi the kingdom, which restrained them from corrupting 
 the genuine chronicles, or altering the genealogies of private 
 families ; but the particular signs that followed sannot be dis- 
 covered at this distance of time, because many records oi mo- 
 ment are lost from whence we might expect information upon 
 this subject. However, we have the same evidence to prove 
 the authority of the Irish annals and public manuscripts, as is 
 esteemed sufScient to coniirm the histories of other nations ; 
 and perhaps it would be no more than truth to affirm, that no 
 people, except the Jews, whose writers were divinely mspired, 
 have more genuine or earlier accounts of the concerns of their 
 ancestors, *-han the chronicles and records that give being to the 
 present history ; and ior this reason, among many otners be- 
 cause no nation in the world could possibly be more exact in 
 preserving their records, and transmitting them uncorrupt to 
 posterity, than the ancient Irish ; especially considering they 
 were corrected and confirmed by the most pious and learned 
 prelates oi the Christian church m that kingdom. 
 
 Laogaire, the son of Niali, king of Ireland, summoned a 
 great convention to assemble at Tara^ alter the custom ot Ins 
 ancestors j and when the principal nooiiity, gentry, and the 
 most learned antiquaries met, at the tim5 and place appointed, 
 the ancient laws and records were read over ; and when they 
 were purged and corrected, ana the new statutes were trans- 
 cribed and added, they were deposited in the most sacred ar- 
 chives, as a body oi laws to be 3onsulced upon occasions lor the 
 administration of justice and for the government and public 
 happiness of the kingdom. 
 
 When this parliament assembled, the king of Ireland kept 
 his court in a royal palace, which was appointed only tor his 
 own use and the reception of his attendants ; and this was called 
 the house ot Moidhchuarta> The king of every province iu «h9 
 
island had likewise a house assigned, for the convenience of him- 
 gjlf and his retinue. Tne king of Munster lived in the ho'jse 
 called in the Irish language Lung Muimhneach ; for Lung sig- 
 niSes a house, which being joined to Muinhneach, implies the 
 Mimster house : the king of Leinster had for his house Lung 
 Lughneach, or the Leinster house : the house wlieie the king 
 oi' Conacht resided, was known bj the name of Coisirchon- 
 iiachtach : and the palace of the king of Ulster was called 
 Eachruis Uladh. 
 
 There were three other houses at Tara, that were built lor the 
 use ol the public : the first was called Caircair ne JNgiali, whicli 
 was a strong building where the state prisoners were kept and 
 secured : the second was callecl llealta Nabhfileadh, where the 
 judges, the antiquaries, and the poets of the kingdom assembled 
 to decide suits at law, to impose lines and punishments upon 
 delinquents, and to regulate and adjust th:^ customs of the coun- 
 try ; the third was a noble edifice, called Grianan na Ninghean^ 
 where the provincial queens, and the ladies their attendants^ re- 
 tided during the assembly, and kept a very splendid court. Bat 
 notwithstanduig this structure was only one house yet every 
 princess had a separate apartment magnificently firted up, waica 
 coutributed in a great measure to thu splendour and gallantry 
 cf that triennial convention. 
 
 The provincial kings, it has been observed, had their separate 
 houses daring the sittmg of the parliament at Tara j but wnea 
 they assembled upon the business of the kingdom^ and to enaci 
 or repeal laws for the benefit of the public, they met in the great 
 house ot Miodhchuart, where there was a most noble room of 
 {•tate, where every member of the assembly sat, aacording to his 
 profession and his quality, witaout disputes )P precedency or 
 disLurbanoe. 
 
 In the middle of the room there was a throne erected, and 
 under a canopy was placed a royal chair, where the king of Ire- 
 land always sat with his back to the east. The situation of the 
 house, it must be observed, was directly east and west. Upon 
 the left hand of the monarch sat the king of Munster ; the king 
 of Leinster sat before the king, with his face towards the throne; 
 the king of Conacht sat behind his back, and the king of Ulster 
 f;at upon the king's right hand, towards the north ; the princi- 
 ]al nobility and gentry of each province had their places near 
 llie kings they belonged to ; bo that the whole assembly made a 
 most solemn and splendicl appearance. The manner of the bitting 
 
OF IRELAXD. 34-5 
 
 of this parliament is upon record in the writings of a learned 
 antiquary, in the following verses : 
 
 The Irish monarch on a royal throne 
 Conspicuous sat, in tlie mid.lle of the house; 
 The prince of Leinstev in a chair of state 
 Was plac'd, but with his back to the assamb^y, 
 His face towards the king ; behind the throne 
 The prince of Conacht sat ; towards the south. 
 Upon the king's left hand, the prince of Muaster 
 Grac'd the assembly ; and upon the right 
 Sat in his splen lid robes the prince of Ulster. 
 
 Laogaire, the king of Ireland, was disturbed in his government 
 by Criomthan, the son of Eana Cinsalach, who, with the assis- 
 tance of the provincial troops of Lsinster, fought with the Irish 
 army the memorable battle of Ath Dara, where the king's forces 
 were defeated with terrible slaughter, and himself taken pri- 
 soner. Criomthan, having the king in his power, would not 
 give him his liberty, unless he would promise and engage, with 
 the most solemn oaths and imprecations, that he would never 
 attempt to get possession of Boiroimhe, or challenge any right 
 to it. The king being in his enemy's power, thought proper to 
 tubmit to the conditions, and bound himself under the obligation 
 of the strictest oaths ; but when he was released he broke thrpugh 
 Lis engagements, which he insisted were the efiects of necessity, 
 raid extorted from him by military violence. But the vengeance 
 of heaven ever attending upon the guilt of perjury, would not 
 }'e eluded by such sophistical evasions ; and therefore by a thun- 
 derbolt put an end to the life of the unfaithful king, at Greal- 
 lach Dabhuill, near the Liffee, as v;e are informed by an old poet 
 in this manner : 
 
 Laogaire, the son of the renoAvned Niall, 
 Was struck from heaven, in the delightful plains 
 Near Liffee's fruitful streams, to death devoted 
 Tor violating the bonds of solemn oaths. 
 
 This was the end of that unfortunate prince, designed by 
 heaven aa a perpetual example to succeeding kings, who triiia 
 Tvuth treaties and oaths, and imagine they have a dispensing 
 I>ower to cancel the obligations of them at their own pleasure, 
 or when that wicked engine, called reasons of state, seems to re- 
 quire it. 
 
 The consort of Laogaire was Aongus, daughter to the general 
 who commanded the army of King O'Liathan, by which lad^^ h*^ 
 
346 THE GEN-ERAL HmiOR? 
 
 had a son, whose name was Lughaidh. There is a relation in- 
 serted in some old manuscripts concerning this princess and her 
 son, which, without doubt, is owing to the bigotry and supersti- 
 tion of those early times, which had that veneration for St. 
 Patrick, that almost every action of his life was esteemed a mir- 
 acle ; this transaction that follows, it must be observed, is not 
 designed to gain belief" nor is it proposed, by relating it in this 
 history, to put it upon the same foot of certainty and credit with 
 other particulars, though nothing is impossible to God Almighty : 
 but as it was the foundation of an ancient custom practised to this 
 day by the genuine Irish, and not otherwise to be accounted for, 
 it must not be omitted absolutely. The story therefore is this : 
 
 St. Patrick, attended by the principal of the Irish clergy, made 
 a visit to the consort of Laogaire, who received them with great 
 courtesy and goodness, and when she had assured them of her 
 esteem and the continuance of her favour, she invited them to 
 an entertainment, that was provided on purpose, as a testimony 
 of her respect ; for the queen it must be considered, was bap- 
 tized by St. Patrick, upon her marriage, and from that time had 
 the saint in great veneration. The young prince was placed 
 near his mother at the table, who, being hungry, and eating 
 hastily, he unfortunately attempted to swallow a large morsel, 
 but after all his endeavours, it stuck fast in his throat and stop- 
 ped his breath. The whole company was astonished at this 
 misfortune, the court was in confusion, and the queen particu- 
 larly was overwhelmed with grief, and was utterly inconsolable. 
 All methods were used to open the passage, but without success; 
 so that the prince was given over for lost beyond recovery. The 
 queen, finding all human means ineffectual, addressed herself to 
 ISfc. Patrick, and implored his assistance in this distress, whoso 
 prayers to heaven she thought would restore her son, notwith- 
 standing he seemed expiring, and in the very agonies of death. 
 The saint immediately ordered the youth to be removed into 
 another apartment, where no person was to be admitted but 
 himself- By this time the prince, to all appearance, was quite 
 dead ; which was so far from discouraging the endeavours of St. 
 Patrick, that he applied himself by fervent prayer to heaven, 
 for the space of three days and three nights, and continued in 
 that supplicating posture without intermission, or refreshing 
 himself by eating or drinking; for he justly tht^ught, that the 
 duty of fasting was a necessary attendant upon the act of prayer, 
 and added an irresistible force to devotion. Upon the third 
 day, (as some legendary writer has corrupted the story, which 
 
OP IRELAND. d47 
 
 hitlierto is far from being incredible,) St. Michael the Archan- 
 gel, conveyed himself into the apartment, where St. Patrick was 
 prosecuting his request with great perseverance and importunity, 
 and stood before him in the shape of a pigeon. The dove im- 
 mediately accosted the saint, and after he had informed him 
 that he was the Archangel Michael under that humble appear- 
 ance, he told him, that the Almighty God had heard his prayars 
 for the recovery of the prince, who lay stretched at length 
 upon his back with his mouth wide open, a posture very conve- 
 ni'9nt for the operation that was to follow; for the dove, it seems, 
 without any difficulty, thrust his bill down the throat where the 
 stoppage was, and dexterously drew out the morsel that stopped 
 the breath, and the prince immediately revived. The pigeon 
 having executed his business, conveyed himseli away without 
 any ceremony, and vanished out of sight. 
 
 St. Patrick, leading the young prince by the hand into the 
 presence of the queen, presented him alive ; and she was so trans- 
 ported with joy, that she received him upon her knees, and in 
 that submissive posture returned her thanks to the saint, for hi.s 
 unwearied application to heaven, and congratulated him upon 
 the success of his prayers. But he, with great modesty, refused 
 to take upon himself the merit of the action, and relating to her 
 the particular circumstances oi his recovery, told her, that she 
 ought to express her gratitude to Michael tiie Archangel, who 
 was the great phj^sician that restored the prince The queen 
 was so affected with the account, that she obliged herself, by a 
 most solemn vow, never to forget the favour, and as an acknow- 
 ledgment to St. Michael, she promised to bestow annually one 
 siieep out of every flock she had, and a part of all the provision 
 that came to her table, upon the poor, daring her life : and to 
 perpetuate the memory of this miraculous recovery of the 3'ouog 
 prince, and in honour to the archangel who effected this cure, it 
 was ordained by law, that all the Christian converts throughout 
 the kingdom of Ireland sliould conform to the practice of the 
 queen, and constantly offer the same oblations. And in obedi- 
 ence to this injunction, arose the custom of killing St. Michael's 
 sheep, called in the Irish language Cuid Mhichill, observed to 
 this day ; for it is most certain, that every family, upon the 
 29th of September, which is the anniversary festival in honour 
 of St. Michael, at least oi the ordinary sort of people, kill a 
 sheep, and bestow the greatest part of it upon relieving tha 
 poor. This is the relation, which is impossible to be true in 
 every circumstance, yet so much of it may deserve credit, tha' 
 
Stl.8 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 the young pnace, the son of Laogaire, was by soms accilsnt in 
 apparent hazird of his life, and was recovered by the C-ire and 
 advice of St. Patrick, upon Michaelmas Day ; in memory of 
 which deliverance, the qaeen from a principle of piety, did be- 
 Biow such yearly charities upon the poor, whose example v,rai 
 followed by the whole kingdom, arnd is religiously obiserved by 
 many families to this day. 
 
 Oilioli Molt succeeded Laoraire in the throne of Ire- 
 ^^;o' land. He was the son of Dathy, son of Fiachadh, son 
 of Eochaidh Moidhmeodhin, descended from the royal 
 line of HeremoU;, and governed the island twenty years. Tue 
 consort of this prince was Uchtdealbh, the daughter of Aonguv 
 son of Nadfraocb : and ths reason why he was distinguished by 
 the name of Oilioli Molt was, because his mother, whose nama 
 was Eithne, when she was big with child oi him, passionately 
 longed for a piece of wether mutton ; she communicated her 
 desire to a gentlewoman, called Fial, the daughter of Eochaidh 
 Sedaigh, who came to visit her when she was uear her de- 
 livery, and when the child was born the lady insisted that 
 Ids name should be Oilioli Molt. It was in the reign of this 
 prince, that A^malgaidh, the sou of Fiachadn, son of Eochaidh 
 Moidhmeodhin, was king of Conacht, who died after he had ga- 
 vorued the province twenty years. In his time Muireadhacb 
 Mundearg was king of Uist< r, who died after a reign of twelve 
 years. This provincial prince was the son ot Feargna, son of 
 Ddllain, son of Dubhthaig, son ol Mianaign. son of Lighaidh, 
 son of Aongus Fionn, son oi Feargas Dabhdhea.lhach. 
 
 This Irish monarch, soon after he was proclaimed, thought it 
 convenient to assemble the convention of the s*:ate3, at the royal 
 \ {dace of Tara, after the example of precedent kings. And here 
 ii may bs proper to observe, that in ancient times there were 
 \ jree general convocations held in the whole kingdom of Ire- 
 f(:aid ; thej were distinguished by the names of the convocation 
 ( f Tara, the convocation oi Eamhain, and the convocation of - 
 (Jraachan. The first of these has been particularly described 
 in the foregoing part of this history, the two others deserve our 
 no ice in this place. 
 
 .t must be observed therefore, that the conventions of Eam- 
 liaiii and Cruachan were appointed to examine and inspect into 
 the tradesmen and mechanics, to determine of their abilities in 
 the ii' several crafcs, and to regulate their ocoupations. This as- 
 sei ibly consisted of the principal nobility and gentry, with the 
 m )it UariioJ autic^uaries of the kingdom ; aui when they met, 
 
Of IHiLAXD £19 
 
 Vagj s-elacted tlireei^core, who vere the ino ;t expert in their se- 
 veral professions; and coLiimissioned them with a power to sepa- 
 rate and disperse themselves throughont the island, and to take 
 cogaizance of the accomplishments, the industry, or imperfeo- 
 tions of the several tradesmen within their respective jurisdic- 
 tions ; and without an express license from one of these commis- 
 sioners, no mechanic could exercise his art, or vrork publicly ^al 
 Lis trade, in any part of tlie country. These were the priuclpal 
 affairs concerted in these assemblies, which were of great use 
 towards the improvement of ingenuity, industry, and trade, and 
 promoted order and uniformity among the people. 
 
 There is a manuscript extant, of great antiquity, cilled 
 Leabhar Oiris, that mentions this Irish monarch, OilioU -Molt, 
 under the title of king of the Scots : and in the reign of this 
 prince it was, that Benignus, a comharbha ot St. Patrick, that 
 is, a clergyman of a religious order ordained by that missionary, 
 departed this life. This king was engaged in a war with the 
 people of Leinster, and he fought the memorable battle of Tuama 
 Aichir with the inhabitants of that province, in which action 
 many gallant soldiers perished, and the fight concluded v.ith in-' 
 credible slaughter on both sides. In the reign of this king, 
 AmbrosiuSj king "of Wales, had many encounters with the Scots 
 And Picts ; and about tiiis time Conall Creamhtuine died, as did 
 likewise Jarlaithe, the third bishop of Ardmach, when Simpli- 
 cius was Pope of Eome. This Oilioll Molt did not enjoy tha 
 crown by right of succession j for Lughaidh, the son of Laogaire, 
 was the hereditary prince, who promoted his title by the sword, 
 ftnu was supported in his pretensions to the crown by Mortough, 
 Eon of Earca, Feargus Cearbheoil, Conall Creamhtuine, and by 
 Fiachadh Lonn, the son of Caolbhadh, king of Dailraidhe, who 
 raised a numerous army, and when they had joined the young 
 prince, they engaged the king's army, and fought the battle of 
 Ucha, where Oilioll Molt was defeated and slain. 
 
 Twenty years after Lughaidh obtained this victory, the six 
 sons of Eochaidh Munramhar went to Scotland ; they were 
 known by the names of the two Aongus's, the two Loarns, and 
 the two Feargus's. It was the distance of 300 years from the 
 reign of Connor, the son of Neasa, to the time of Cormac, the 
 fcon of Art ; and 204 years had passed from the reign of Cormac 
 to the memorable battle of Ocha ; twenty years after which en- 
 gagement the sons of Eire, tha son of Eoohaidh Munramhar, 
 transported themselves into Scotland. At this time Duach 
 Galach, the son of BrveU; the son of Eo^h-iidh Mjidameodhom, 
 
SjO the aENERAL IIISTORT 
 
 governed the province of Munster ; he reigned seven years, and 
 fell by the sword of Eochaidh Tormcharna. 
 
 Lnghaidh succeeded to the crown of Ireland. He wag 
 .„o* the son of Laogaire, the son of Niall, the hero of the 
 nine hostages, descended from the royal Une of Herem'on, 
 and his reign continued twenty years. At this time Fraoch, 
 the son of Fionchad, was king over the province of Leinster; and 
 now it was that the battle of Cill Osnach was fought at Moigh 
 Fea^ in the county of Caharlo, four miles eastward of Leithlin : 
 in this action Aongus, the son of Nadfraoch, who had been king 
 of Munster thirty-six years, lost his life ; his wife also, whose 
 name was Eithne Uathach, the daughter of Criomhthan, son of 
 Eana Cinsalach, was slain by Mortough, the son of Earca, and 
 Oilioll, the son of Dunluing, as a poet of sufBicient credit in- 
 forms us in these lines ; 
 
 The martial prince Aongas, son of Nad raocb, 
 Fouglit in Cill Osnach's bloody field, and fell 
 By the victorious sword of Oilioll, 
 Son of Dmiluing. 
 
 After this action, Fraoch, the son of Fionachuidhe, son to the 
 king of Leinster, was slain in the battle of Graine, by Eochadli, 
 the son of Cairbre. In the tenth year of the reign of this Irish 
 monarch, Felix, the third of the name, was elected Pope of 
 Rome : and near the same time was fought the battle of 
 Eamhna, by Cairbre, son of Naill, who afterwards engaged in 
 the battle of Cinnailbhe, in the province of Leinster. About 
 this time Mochaon Naolndroma died ; and by Cairbre above 
 mentioned was fought the ftimous battle of Seaghsa, where 
 Duach Teangamhadh, the king of Conacht, was slain by Mor- 
 tough, son of Earca, as the following lines particularly testify : 
 
 The martial prhice Duach Teaugiamhadh 
 Kngag'd in the three moaiorable battles 
 Of Dealga Muchroma, Tuama, 
 And Seaghsa. 
 
 About this time it was that the inhabitants of the province 
 of Leinster engaged with a gallant army against Jobh Neili, 
 and fought the battle of Loch Moighe, where there was much 
 l>lood spilt, and a desperate slaughter on both sides ; and now 
 it was tnai Feargus More, the son of Earca, followed by the 
 Uailriadas, made an attempt upon the kingdom of Scotland, 
 and arrived at great authority in that country. In tiie four- 
 
OF IRELAND 351 
 
 teenth year of the reign of Lughaidh, the son of Laogaire, king 
 ■of Ireland, St. Patrick died, after he had, by indefatigable zeal 
 and industry, propagated the Christian faith, and extended his 
 conquests over the pagan idolatry through the greatest part of 
 the island ; the age of this saint was 122 years. . The king o^ 
 Ireland did not long survive him, but died soon after by a stroke 
 with a thunderbolt, which was the instrument of vengeance used 
 by heaven to punish him for opposing the preaching of Sc. 
 Patrick, and suppressing to the utmost of his power, the doc- 
 trines of Christianity, and preventing their admission among his 
 people. Geiasius was the Pope of Rome in the last year of the 
 reign of Lughaidh, king of Ireland. 
 
 Mortough obtained possession of the government, lie 
 .,jo' was the son of Muireadhach, son of Eogan, son of 
 Niall, the hero of the nine hostages, descended from the 
 royal line of Heremon, and filled the throne twenty-four years. 
 The mother of this Irish monarch was Earca, the daughter of 
 Loar, who came from Scotland. In the beginning of the reign 
 of this prince the pious Ciaran was born, whose father was a 
 carpenter, but of eminent extraction, of the posterity of Ir, the 
 son of Milesius, king of Spain. This Ciaran was a person de- 
 voted to a religious life, and his name is often mentioned with 
 honour in the book that treats of the lives of the Irish saints. 
 In the fourth year of the government of Mortough, Anastatius, 
 the second of that name was elected Pope ; and about this time 
 the famous Comhgall Beannchoir was born, and in process of 
 time became an abbot of such note and authority, that he had 
 40,000 religious monks under his jurisdiction and command; the 
 character of this religious person, and the extent of his power, 
 is particularly expressed in the book called Leabhar Ruadh Mao 
 Eagaine ; the authority of which relation comes recommended 
 by the concurring testimony of St. Bernard, a writer of reputa- 
 tion, who, in the life of St. Malachias, gives an account that ad 
 eminent disciple, whose name was Roanus, who had been edu- 
 cated under this Comhgall, was sent abroad by the holy abbot, 
 who, he says, had erected a hundred religious houses ; and men- 
 tion the particulars of his descent, that he was oi the posterity 
 of Iriall, the son of Conall Cearnach, son of Amergin, of tha 
 illustrious tribe of Clanna Ruighruidhe, descended from Ir^ the 
 son of Milesius, king of Spain. This relation is farther sup- 
 ported by an ancient poem, extracted from the chronicle of 
 saints, wherein are these verses. 
 
352 Tli:': GENERAL IlI.TOIll 
 
 The mo.st r.iligiou.s Comligall Beannclioir, •- 
 
 Son of SeacUma, with undaunted courage 
 
 Met the approach of death ; with Christian bravery 
 
 His soul surrendor'd, and approv'd himself 
 
 Descended from the royal line of Ir. 
 
 Near this tirao died Anastius^ the Roman emperor ; and the 
 pious St. Caiueach Acbadh Bo left the world ; this devotionist 
 was descended from Feargus, the son of Raogh, derived fi'om 
 the royal stem of Ir, the son of Milesius, ^ing of Spain. la 
 the reign of Mortough, king of Ireland, was born that great 
 example of piety, Collum Cill, the son of Feidhlin, son of Fear- 
 gus, son of Conull Gulban, son of Niall, the hero of the nine 
 Postages. About this time died the most religious St. Bridget; 
 this excellent parson was the daughter of Dubhthaig, the son of 
 Ureimne, son of Breasal, son of Deic, son ofCoanla, son of Art, 
 fcon of Cairbre Niadh, son of Cormac, son of Aongus More, son 
 of Eathach Fioii Fuathnairt, son of Feidhlimidh Rsachtmar, 
 son of Tuathal Teachtmar, of royal extraction, and descsnddd 
 from the line of Heremon. She died afcer she had lived eighty- 
 seven, or according to another computation, seventy years. 
 
 In the tenth year of the reign of Mortough, king of Ireland, 
 Symmachus was elected Pope, and presided in the primacy 
 fifteen years and eight months. In the twenty-first year of hia 
 reign Hormisda .succeeded in the pontificate, and lived four years 
 afcer his election. About this time the dead body of the blessed 
 Autonius, a most religious monk, was miraculously found, and 
 conveyed to Alexandria, and solemnly interred in the church 
 dedicated to St. John the Baptist in that city. Mortough mit 
 \7ith great disturbances and opposition in his government, and 
 ill one year was obliged to engage in the folio wing ~ memorable 
 battles j the battle of Cinneich, the battle of Almiine, the 
 battle of Cliach, the battle of Eibhlina, and the battle ot Moighe 
 llailbhe ; not long after this last action, Mortough died at the 
 house of Cheitthigh ; and near the same time the devout Sg. 
 Ailbhe Imiiigh was translated to a better life. 
 
 Tuathal Mao-garbh succeeded in the throne. He was 
 f.,' ' the son of Cormac Caoch, son of Cairbre, son ot Niall, 
 the hero of the nine hostages, descended from the re- 
 nowned posterity of Heremon, and governed the island thirteen 
 years. The mother of this monarch was Comaoiu, the daughter 
 of Dall Bronuigh, and he was particularly distinguished by the 
 Dime of Tuathal Maolgarbh, because his mother, as soon as sha 
 was delivered of him; sirack his head against a stone, as a>'r't 
 
or niELixD. n.')3 
 
 oi charm upon v/liio'i hU fatara fjrtuua wa3 to dapBiicI ; the 
 Mow made an imjires^ion, aad occisioned a flita83s ia his skull, 
 which was the reason that gave him the title of Tuathal Maol- 
 garbh. In the reign of this Irish monarch, Mootius, a person 
 of exemplary piety, and* one of the disciples of St. Patrick, 
 died, after 'hd' had lived, as the chronicles assert, 300 years. 
 Under the government of this prince, B.ioithiu, a scholar of 
 Collum Cill was born ; and, it must be observed, that Collum 
 Cill and Baoithin were nearly related, for they were brothers' 
 children. About this time Comhgall, the king of Scotland, 
 departed the present life, and the devout Mobi, a very excellent 
 person, died near the same time ; he was otherwise called by the 
 name oi Bearchain, a celebrated prophet, extracted from the 
 posterity of Fiachadh Baiceada, the son of Cathaoir More. Tae 
 noted battle of Tortan was fought by the people of the province 
 of Leinster, in the reign of Tuathal Maolgarbh ; in which en- 
 gagement, Earca, the son of OilioU Molt, from whom came Fir- 
 ceara, lost his life. The battle of Sligo was fought not long 
 f;.fterwards, by the two young princes, Feargus and Daniel, the 
 two sons of M or tough, son of Earca, in which bloody action 
 I^ogan Beal, who had governed the province of Conacht thirty - 
 five years, was unfortunately slain. Abo^it this time died the 
 excellent Oghran, the saint of Leathruidh, who lineally de- 
 ecended from the posterity of Conaire, the son of Modha Lamha ; 
 find the most religious Ciaran, the carpenter's son, was cut off 
 in the blossom of his age, having lived no more than thirty-one 
 ;}ears. 
 
 In the reign of this Irish monarch it was, that Bachach, which 
 in the Irish language signifies a sturdy cripple, had his head 
 f truck off from his shoulders, by the vengeance of heaven, as a 
 punishment for swearing falsely, by the hand of Ciaran ; and 
 this execution, by the appointment of Providence, happened al 
 the great fair of Tailtean, in the sight ot innumerable spectators. 
 
 Tuathal Maolgarbh was soon after slain by Maolmor, the son 
 of Niathire, at the request and instigation of Diarmuid, the son 
 of Feargus Ceirbheoil, at a place called Grealladh Eily. In the 
 !eign of this monarch, Guaire, the son of Colman, took upon 
 liim the command of the province of Conacht, and fixed him 
 f elf in the throne, after the death of Eogan Beal, notwithstand- 
 ing the deceased prince had a son, whose name was Ceallach, 
 \\'ho had entered himself into a religious order, under the tui- 
 tion of Ciaran, with a design to devote himself to a pious and 
 monastic life j but by the persuasion and importunicy of hia 
 
354 " TRE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 friends ia the province, who resolved to assert and support h'n 
 right, this young devotionist was prevailed upon to leave his 
 cell, and appear at the head of a good body of forces, who de- 
 termined to proclaim and establish him in the throne of Co- 
 nacht. Ciaran soon missed him out oi his monastery, and 
 cursed him with a most dreadful imprecation, anH implored 
 heaven to blast his designs, by catting him off by a sudden and 
 untimely death. Ceallach had intelligence of the severe resent- 
 ment of Ciaran, and dreading the influence oi his prayers, he 
 hastened to the convent, and prostrating himself with the most 
 humble submission at the feet of the abbot, he promised to pay 
 him implicit obedience for the future part of his life, and to 
 engage in nothing without his approbation and consent. The 
 compassionate Ciaran, imputing his conduct to the folly of 
 youth and the importunity of his friends, immediately gave him 
 his pardon and his benediction ; but assured him withal, that 
 his prayers were sealed in heaven by an irreversible decree, and 
 that his death would be violent and unexpected. This answer 
 surprised the young votary, who applied himself for the rest of 
 his life to piety and charitable acts, and continued in the mo- 
 nastery under the care of Ciaran, till at length his merits ad- 
 vanced him into a bishopric in the country. But though he 
 had relinquished his pretensions to the government of Conaoht, 
 and resolved to sequester himseU from temporal affairs, yet he 
 was willing that the crown of that province should descend to 
 his family ; and accordingly he used all possible endeavours to 
 establish an interest, and place his younger brother in the go- 
 vernment. But Guaire, by the industry of his spies, had notice 
 of his preparations and designs, and imagining his reign would 
 never be free from tumults and pretences, so long as Ceallach, 
 who was a politic and indefatigable person, was on thi^ side the 
 grave, he, by sufhcient rewards, prevailed upon three of the 
 bishop's own servants to dispatch him, which they basely exe- 
 cuted upon the first opportunity. Tiius fell this noble prelate, 
 and accomplished the prediction of Ciaran, who foretold his 
 death, which heaven inflicted for renouncing his religious vow, 
 and attempting a secular life after most solemn engagements to 
 the contrary. 
 
 Diarmuid succeeded to the crown of Ireland. He waa 
 ^'^' the son of Feargus Ceirbiieoil, the son of Conall Creamh- 
 thaine, son of Niall, the hero of the nine hostages, de- 
 scended from the royal stock of Heremon, and governed the king- 
 dom twenty-two years. The mother of this prmce was Corb- 
 
OF IRELAy/D. 355 
 
 liach, ti.., dLiu.3ater of Maine, of the province of Leinster, and 
 in his reign died the pious Tigearnach, the bishop of Cluain Eos, 
 derived from the family of Daire Barach, sou of Cathaoir More. 
 About the same time expired Oilioll, the son of Mortough, that 
 governed the province of Leinster nine years ; in whose reign 
 Cormac, the son of Oilioll, son of Muireadhach, son of Eochaidh, 
 Bon of Daire Cearb, son of Oilioll Flan Beag, was king of Mun- 
 Bter. 
 
 The memorable battle of Cuill Conaire was fought at Ceara 
 near this time, by the two princes, Feargus and Daniel^ the sons 
 of Mortougb, son of Earca, where Oilioll Jonbhanda, the king 
 of Conacht, and his brother Aodh Fortamhail, were unfortu- 
 nately slain. In the reign of Diarmuid a most dreadful plague 
 happened, that overspread the whole kingdom of Ireland, and 
 made terrible devastations among the people, especially among 
 the saints and the religious of the kingdom, particularly Mac 
 Tuil, of Cil Cuilin, was carried off in this visitation, which, by 
 way of distinction, was called Crom Chonuill. About this time 
 was fought the bloody battle of Cuill, where great numbers of 
 the inhabitants of the county of Cork perished ; and it is 
 said, that the bad success of this engagement was owing to the 
 prayers of a most pious lady, called Suidhe Midhe, that was de^ 
 scended from the posterity of Fiachadh Suidhe, the son of Feidh- 
 limidh Reachtmar, and occasioned the defeat, by soliciting hea- 
 ven for revenge upon that people, who had injuriously treated 
 her, and used her unbecoming her descent and character. The 
 king of Ulster, who had governed that province twenty-two 
 years, and was the first king of Dailnaruidhe, died about this 
 time. The name of this prince was Eochaidh, and he was the 
 son of Connla, son of Caolbhadh, son of Cruin Badhraoi, son of 
 Eochaidh Cobha. Cormac, the son of Oilioll, king of Leinster, 
 died under the government of Diarmuid, as did likewise that 
 noted prophet Beg Mac De. 
 
 In the same reign was born the most devout St. Molua ; he 
 was the son of Sinil, son of Amergin, son of Duach, son of Eoch- 
 aidh Moidhmeodhin, at which time happened the death of the 
 bishop of Acha Cuingire, and St. Neasin the leper. In the 
 government of this Irish monarch, the church of Cluain Feart, 
 in the county of Kerry, was founded and completed by the chari- 
 table bounty of St, Breannuin, who claimed his extraction from 
 the posterity of Ciar, the son of Feargus. Gabhran, the king of 
 Scotland, died in this year, and his enemy Gruige, the son of 
 Maolchion, king of the Picts, fought successfully, and routed tho 
 
S.JlJ THE GENERAL KISTOP.T 
 
 Scots in a pitched battle. Another eugagement about tliis lima 
 was fought by Feargus and Daniel, the two sous oi Mbrtougli 
 the sou of Earca, that was called the battle of Cuildreioinc, 
 against Diarmuid, the son of Feargus, who was defeated with a 
 terrible slaughter of his troops, and obliged to fly for his life. 
 Tae unfortunate event of this action, wherein the greatest part 
 of his army was lost, was the effect of the prayers ot St. Collum 
 Cill. This excellent person had been reproachfully used by the 
 king, who had violently put to death Curnan, the son of Hugh, 
 the son of Tiormcharna, who was educated under the care and 
 protection of Collum Cill ; and for this barbarous act the saiut 
 applied to heaven for vengeance, which heard his prayers, and 
 punished the king with the loss of his choicest forces in the 
 battle before mentioned. Diarmuid was attended with the same 
 ill fortune, when he fought the battle of Cuil Uinsion at Teabh- 
 tha, and was driven out of the field by Hugh, the son of Breanian, 
 king oi Teabhtha, where the slaughter was incredible, and scarce 
 it man of the whole army remained alive. Collum Cill, after 
 this defeat, removed into Scotland, to a place called Hoide Collum 
 Cill, and now he was about forty-three years of age. Soon after 
 he arrived in that country, a most desperate battle was fought, 
 by Clanna Neill, in a part of the highlands, called the fight of 
 Monadoire, where seven petty kings of the Picts, with the flower 
 of their army, were left dead upon the field of battle. About 
 this time died Colman More, the son of Cairbre, son of Dunluing, 
 v/ho had governed the province of Leinster for thirty years. 
 
 There is an account in a very ancient chronicle, that in the 
 seventh year of the reign of Diarmuid, king of Ireland, a poor 
 woman, who was a nun, and had vowed a religious life, called 
 Sionach Cro, applied herself to the kmg, complaining of the 
 great injury she had received from Guaire, the son 6f Colman, 
 who had violently forced from her a cow, that was the only 
 means of her subsistence. This injury was so resented by Diar- 
 muid, that he selected a strong body of his troops, and directed 
 his march towards the River Shannon, and encamped upon the 
 banks of the stream. Guaire had soon notice of his preparations 
 and his march, and, with a much less number of forces, resolved 
 to justify what he had done by the sword; and leading his 
 men towards the banks of the Shannon, he faced the king's 
 troops on the other side. In this posture of defiance the two 
 armies were drawn out; but Guaire, doubting of success, dis- 
 patched Cumin, one of his favourites, to Diarmuid, to desire he 
 would not attempt to cross the river with hli forces within tha 
 
OF TRFL/LXD. 357 
 
 space of twenty four hoTir?. The king promised that he woull 
 not, and told the messenger, that his request was but of small 
 importance, for he was assured of victory, depending not only 
 upon the justice of his cause, but the number and experienced 
 bravery of his forces. Diarmuid, as he had engaged, continued 
 in his encampment till the next morning, upon the east side of 
 the river, and Guaire upon the west. 
 
 Cumin having intelligence of the number of the king's troops, 
 was averse to an engagement, and, desiring to persuade Guairo 
 to make his peace by a timely submission, he expostulated with 
 him upon the uncertainty of the success, and wondered he would 
 attempt to come to a battle under so great disadvantages ; but 
 Guaire, no ways discouraged, for his personal bravery was never 
 questioned, replied, that victory was not always the consequcuca 
 of numbers, but depended upon the disposal of heaven, whicli 
 often bestows success upon a few, and defeated a multitude j and 
 that he was satisfied in the courage of his soldiers, and thereforj 
 he determined to face the enemy, and leave the event to Provi- 
 dence. In this enterprise Guaire was attended by theprincipil 
 nobility and gentry of the provinces of Munster and Conacht, 
 who raised what forces they were able, and came to his assistance. 
 And now the two armies, drawn out in order of battle upon the 
 banks of the Shannon, attempted to recover the opposite side, 
 but the provincial troops were unable to oppose the undaunted 
 resolution of the king's army, which plunged into the stream, 
 and with incredible difficulty forced their way ; and notwith- 
 standing Guaire, with all the conduct of an able and experienced 
 general, attempted to hinder their landing, his forces were de- 
 feated with a dreadful slaughter, and the few that remained fiod 
 for their lives. 
 
 The misfortune of this battle is attributed to the impcrtunata 
 prayers of St. Caimin, who founded and consecrated the churcii 
 of luis Cealtrach ; for that holy person, as the chronicles inform 
 us, had spent three days and three nights in devotion, and im- 
 ploring heaven to blast the designs of Guaire, and to confound 
 his army. This St. Caimin was a lineal descendant from tho 
 posterity of Fiachadh Baiceada, the son of Cathaoir More ; and 
 when Guaire was informed, before the engagement, that St. Cai- 
 min was supplicating upon his knees against his success, and 
 professed himself an enemy to his cause, he applied himself to 
 the saint, and with great humility asking his pardon, and la- 
 menting the misfortune of his displeasure, he entreated him to 
 be reconciled, and to pray for his victory : but the saint re- 
 
3/>8 THE gen"Fjral history 
 
 mained inexorable, and told him, that his overthrow and the 
 destruction of his army was determined, and the decree of 
 heaven could not be revoked. 
 
 After the defeat of the provincial troops, Guaire had no se- 
 curity for his life but a secret and swift flight, and therefore he 
 made his way through woods and solitary places, without any 
 attendants, till he came to a small cell, where no person lived 
 but a religious woman, who had retired thither for the benefit 
 of devotion. When the woman saw him she inquired after his 
 name, and the business that brought him into that unfrequented 
 solitude ; he concealed his name, and told her that he was a 
 friend to Guaire, who had been routed by the king's troops, and 
 was obliged to fly to preserve his life. The woman replied that 
 she was sorry for the defeat of Guaire, who was a prince of that 
 goodness, bounty, and charity, as to deserve a better fortune ; 
 and after she had enlarged upon the accomplishments and the 
 calamities of the general, she welcomed him into her apartment, 
 promised fidelity in concealing him, and supplied him with ne- 
 cessary accommodations, as far as her abilities and the circum- 
 stances of the place would permit. But this pious woman, 
 concerned that the meanness of her provision was unsuitable to 
 the quality of her guest, went to an adjacent brook, in order 
 to procure some fish for the entertainment of the prince, and 
 by good fortune espying a salmon, which of herself she was. 
 unable to catch, she returned to her cell, and joyfully relating 
 her success, she desired him to go with her to the river, and 
 assist her to catch the fish : he willingly followed her to the 
 place, they drew the salmon out of the water, and Guaire, who 
 was used to keep a splendid table, and generally consumed 
 among his household ten oxen at a meal, made a supper of only 
 the fish with great cheerfulness and satisfaction, and expressed 
 his gratitude to Providence, and to the piety of his host, for hia 
 unexpected relief. The next morning the prince left the cell, 
 and, wandering through the woods, met with a body of his troops 
 who had survived the defeat ; they received him with great joy, 
 and he put himself at the head of them : a council of war was 
 immediately called, and the debate was, whether the prince 
 should again try his fortune, and recruit his forces, or submit to 
 the victor with his whole army 1 After several arguments were 
 offered on both sides, it was concluded, that a general submis- 
 sion best became the unfortunate posture of their affairs ; and 
 Guaire, convinced of this advice, led his broken forces, and 
 resolved to make his peace with the conquerors upon any terms. 
 
OF IRELAND. 3o9 
 
 Approaching the royal army, Guaire sent a messenger to 
 offer his submission, which was accepted, and promising to 
 lay down his arms, he was admitted into the presence of the 
 king; he immediately fell upon his knees, and delivered up 
 his sword into the king's hand, who obliged him to hold the 
 point of it between his teeth, and in that humble posture he 
 confessed disloyalty and the unwarrantableness of his designs, 
 and bound himself by the most solemn obligations to atone for 
 his miscarriages, by his future fidelity and obedience. 
 
 It was observed before, that Guaire was a person of the most 
 exemplary goodness and extensive charity ; and the king, sus- 
 pecting the integrity of his outward virtues, resolved to make 
 a trial while he had him at his mercy, who still continued upon 
 his knees, lamenting his misfortune, and supplicating pardon. 
 And for this purpose the king commanded an eminent druid, 
 who always attended near his person, to ask some favour of 
 Guaire, to try whether his charity and his great bounty pro- 
 ceeded from a principle of religion and goodness, or were the 
 effect of a desire of popularity and ostentation. The druid 
 obeyed his orders, and implored the charity of the unhappy 
 prince, and begged he would bestow something upon him for 
 the sake of his profession ; but Guaire, suspecting his design, 
 refused his request, being convinced that he was supported by 
 the king, and could be under no necessity to desire his relief. 
 Upon this repulse, a man, grievously afflicted with the leprosy, 
 and a very miserable object, was sent to Guaire, who solicited 
 his charity, and begged alms for God's sake. Tiiis, he sup- 
 posed was an unhappy person worthy of his compassion, and 
 accordingly, being incapable to relieve him any other Wciy, he 
 gave him the silver bodkin that stuck in his vest. The poor 
 man retired with great gratitude, and applied to heaven for a 
 blessing upon his benefactor ; but the bodkin was taken from 
 him by the king's order, and the leper returned to Guaire, to 
 acquaint him of his misfortune, and again to entreat his charity. 
 Upon his return, the good prince, affected with the relation and 
 barbarity of the act, resolved to supply his wants to the utmost 
 of his ability, and bestowed upon him a golden girdle of great 
 value, that Y>^as tied about his waist. It was gratefully accepted 
 by the beggar ; but before he had gone far it was taken from 
 him, by the king's command, which forced him to return again 
 to the unhappy prince, who continued still upon his knees, 
 with the point of the sword between his teeth, the king holding 
 the hilt in his hand. When the leper had related the cruel cir- 
 
3 GO THE GENERAL HISTOP.T 
 
 cumstanco of his usage, he implored hh farther relief ; upoi\ 
 which the compassionate Guaire, who had nothing more that ho 
 could bestow, was so concerned, that he burst out into a flood of 
 tears. The king, observing him in this affliction, demanded the 
 occasion of it, and asked him whether his sorrow and concern 
 proceeded from the calamity of his affairs; because he had made 
 his submission, and lay at his mercy, who had the power of tha 
 sword, and was able, if he pleased, instantly to dispatch him. 
 
 Guaire replied, that bis melancholy fortune was the least sub- 
 ject of his grief, which arose wholly from reflecting on the dis- 
 tress ot the miserable leper, and the incapacity of his condition 
 to afford him relief. The king immediately commanded him to 
 rise from the ground, and, being convinced of the humanity of 
 his nature, and the sincerity of his virtue, generously receive . I 
 him into his friendship, and promised never to require any sub- 
 jection from him, being sensible there was an Almighty Sove- 
 reign, to whom he himself owed homage, and whose vicegerent 
 he was in the administration of his government. 
 
 The two kings being reconciled, entered into a strict league, 
 and bound themselves in the most solemn manner not to violate 
 their engagements. The king of Ireland invited Guaire to go 
 with him to the great fair of Tailtean, which was the general 
 mart ot the whole kingdom ; and to convince him of the sin- 
 cerity of his affection, among other testimonies of his esteem, 
 he promised to settle the succession upon him, and resolved to 
 confirm the crown to him after his decease. The two princes, 
 with a noble retinue, came to Tailtean, and Guaire carried with 
 him a great quantity of money, to dispose of in acts of charity, 
 and upon other occasions, as opportunity offered ; but Diarmuiil, 
 understanding the generosity of his nature, and that his bounty 
 admitted no limits, gave ^^ecret orders through the whole fair, 
 that no person shonid presume, on any account, to apply to 
 Guaire for his charity, or receive a gratuity from his hand^. 
 Three days after his arrival, Guaire, perceiving no miserabb 
 object to implore his relief, and being informed that the king had 
 forbidden, by a strict injunction, that no person should beg alms 
 of him, was so dejected, that he desired the king to allow him 
 the attendance of a good bishop, to whom he might confess, 
 and from whose hands he might rec3ive absolution and the holy 
 ointment. The king surprised, asked " him, what he intended 
 by this request ? ho answered, that his death, he was certain, 
 was approaching j because he was unable to live without exer- 
 cifc^jng his charity, which his royal mandate had absolutely pat 
 
OP IIlELAyD. 3Gl 
 
 out of his power to do. The king immediately revoked hia 
 order, and by that means opened a way for the bounty of his 
 royal companion, who, besides the large sums he expended in 
 relieving the poor, with great generosity encouraged the men of 
 learning in all professions, and by his benefactions procured 
 the applause of the most eminent poets and antiquaries of the 
 kingdom. There is an account in an ancient manuscript, the 
 credit of which may perhaps be questioned, that the hand with 
 •which he extended his charity to the poor, was longer than that 
 which bestowed his gifts upon men of learning. The king of 
 Ireland proposed the succession of Guaire to the nobility and 
 gentry of the kingdom, who confirmed his title with public de- 
 monstrations of joy ; and this mutual affection and esteem con- 
 tinued inviolable between the two princes, till death dissolved 
 their engagements, and put an end to their friendship. 
 
 The Irish annals give an account that Guaire had a brother, 
 "who devoted himself to a religious life, whose name was Mo- 
 chua. This holy person observed all the fasts of the Church 
 with great obedience ; and, designing to abstain from his com- 
 mon diet, and to eat no more than what was absolutely neces- 
 sary to support nature, during the time of Lent, he retired for 
 that purpose to a fountain of pure spring water, that lay south- 
 wards of Boirin, at the distance of five miles from Durlus 
 Guaire ; and he had no person to attend upon him but a clergy- 
 man of a lower order, whom he retained to say mass, vin this 
 retirement these votaries observed great abstinence and regu- 
 larity in their eating and drinking, and their custom was, to re- 
 fresh themselves with no more thai> one meal a day ; which con- 
 sisted of the meanest provisions, a small quantity of coarse bar- 
 ley bread with water-cresses, and sprmg water from the fountain. 
 In this manner they spent the time of Lent till Easter-day, 
 which festival the holy Mochua resolved to observe with the 
 strictest devotion and reverence, and therefore he celebrated the 
 mass himself, and performed other ofiices that belonged to the 
 solemnity of the occasion ; but his clerk, who attended upon 
 him, was so tired with feeding upon herbs and such slender pro- 
 visions, that he interrupted the saint before the prayers were 
 over, and longed so impatiently to eat flesh, that he cesired his 
 master to give him leave, to go to Durkis, to the court of GuairO, 
 king of Conacht, and refresh and satisfy himself with flesh ; 
 for he was no longer able to support nature by that absterai'u.s 
 method he had used, and by a way of living that his constitu- 
 tion wculd not permit Mochua did not oppose the rea^onablc- 
 
 u 
 
563 THE GENERAL msTORT 
 
 ness of his request, but persuading him to be pafisnt and ro« 
 signed, he told him lie would supply him with flesh without 
 undertaking such a journey, for he would supplicate heaven iu 
 his behalf, and he was assured that his prayers would have the 
 desired effect, and supply his wants ; accordingly he prostrated 
 liimseh, and most importunately called upon God, imploring his 
 bountiful hand to provide flesh for his servant, who had fasted 
 the time ot Lent with strict reverence, and was unable to pre- 
 serve his health without immediate reliei. 
 
 At that very instant it happened, (as some particular manu- 
 scripts relate, but with small truth I am afraid,) that the ser- 
 vants of Guaire, king of Conacht, were laying his dinner upon 
 the table ; and to the great surprise of the attendants, the dishes 
 were hurried away by an invisible power, and conveyed directly 
 to the solitary cell, where Mochua was continuing his devotion, 
 and his clerk expecting the event. The prince, with his whole 
 court, was amazed at this wonderful accident ; and, enraged at 
 th-e loss and disappointment of his dinner, he orci'ered a body of 
 hirf horse guards to pursue the disjes travelling vu the air, and 
 he followed, with the principal oi his nobility, resolving to re- 
 cover them and bring them back to his court at Darius. 
 
 It seems beneath the gravity as well as. the dignity of an his. 
 torian, to take notice of these legendary relations, which are 
 certain rather to move the indignation and spleen than the be- 
 lief of the reader ; but it must be considered, that the times 
 ve are writing of abounded with incredible relations, and the 
 writers ot those ages were always raising the characters of the 
 Baints, even to miracles, not foreseeing the disadvantage they 
 bring to religion, which, instead of recommending it to the 
 world, they ridicule and expose. And in the present case it can- 
 not be supposed, that the transaction we are speaking of is put 
 upon the least foot ot credibility, but designed only to keep the 
 thread of our history entire, and to give light to some material inci- 
 dents, which otherwise would be obscure, and perhaps not easily 
 to be accounted for. But to go on with our story : 
 
 When the dishes arrived at the cell, they presented themselves 
 with great submission before the devout Mochua and his clerk, 
 and after the saint had returned thanks to the bounty of hea- 
 ven for so miraculous a supply, he desired his servant, that waa 
 so carnally inclined, to fall to and eat heartily. The clerk had 
 Bcarce put bit in his mouth, but looking about him he spied 
 a great company of horsemen advancing upon fall speed, and 
 making towards them. He was terribly affrighted at the sight, 
 
OF IRELAND. 363 
 
 and, lamenting the voracity of hia appetite, he told his master, 
 that he wished the dishes had stayed at home ; for he was afraid 
 they came with au evil design, and would certainly bring them 
 into some misfortune. Mochua comforted his timorous clerk, 
 and assured him, that it was his brother Guaire, the king of Con- 
 acht, with his retinue, that was pursuing the meat ; and to keep 
 up his appetite, he engaged that they should not be able to move 
 a step nearer, before he had filled himself, and eaten as much as 
 he thought fit : and accordingly, the saint having offered up a 
 short petition to heaven, the feet of the horses stuck last in the 
 ground, and the riders remained immoveable upon their backs, 
 and had no power to stir a step before the hungry clerk had sa- 
 tisfied himself, and made a good meal of it. When he had dined, 
 the saint addressed himself to God for the relief ol' the pursuers, 
 and the hor^ses immediately found themselves released, and the 
 company, overcome with wonder and astonishment, advanced^ 
 and presented themselves before the saint. 
 
 Guaire and his retinue found the devout Mochua upon hia 
 knees : and he immediately quitted his horse, and in the most 
 submissive manner entreated his compassion, and desired hi3 
 benedicton. Tiie saint gave him his blessing and his |)ardon, 
 and desired him and his attendants to tall to and eat their din- 
 ner in that place ; they joyfully complied with the invitation, 
 and without more ceremony they consumed most of the provi- 
 si :n, and when they had reverently taken their leave ot Mochua, 
 Guaire, with his guards and his followers, returned to his palace 
 at Durlus. Whatever share ot credit or contempt this relation 
 may meet with, it is most certain, that the road leading from 
 Durlus to the fountain where St. Mochua and his clerk retired 
 to fast, during the time of Lent, which is the length of fiva 
 miles, is known to this day in the Irish language by the nam 3 
 ot Bothur na Mias, which in the English signiiies the Dishes' 
 road. 
 
 In this place, it must be observed, that some of the ancient 
 chronicles assert, that Eogan More had another son besides 
 Fiachadh Muilleathan, whose name was Diarmuid ; and tlie 
 same authority informs us, that St. BGacan,'who consecrated the 
 church of Cill Beacan in Aluskry Guirc, was a descendant from 
 the posterity of that Diarmuid, from whom likewise the anti' 
 quaries allow, were derived Oilioil Flan More, OilioU Flan B3g, 
 and Deachluath. Upon the excractiou ojt thjse persons, an old 
 poet composed the following verses ; 
 
364 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 The holy Bcaclian from Dlarmuid 
 Descended, aud from the same progenitor 
 Sprung OilioU Flanmore, a most; renowned piiaca 
 Oilioll Flan Beg, and Deachluath. 
 
 About this time it was that Breasal, the son of Diarmuid, 
 king of Ireland^ resolved to invite his father, and the principal 
 nobility of his court, to a magnificent entertainment, which he 
 designed to furnish in the most sumptuous manner at Ceananus 
 ia Meath ; among other dishes for the feast he proposed to have 
 a large piece of beef of exceeding fatness, and examining his 
 own cattle for this purpose, he found them so lean, that they 
 -were not fit to be killed, especially upon so public an occasion. 
 Under this disappointment he was informed that a religious 
 woman had a cow that would suit his design ; but when he ap- 
 plied to her to purchase the beast, she absolutely refused to sell 
 Ler, and when she could not be prevailed upon to exchange her 
 for suven cows and a bull that were offered, Breasal drove her 
 away by violence, and killed her for the entertainment. This 
 poor woman lived at Cill Ealchruidhe. The king of Ireland, 
 with his courtiers and his royal retinue, came to the feast ; and 
 when they were in the height of their mirth, this injured woman 
 forced herself into the room, and in the most affecting manner 
 complained of Breasal to the king, and representing the circum- 
 stances of the wrong she had suffered, most passionately de- 
 manded justice. Diarmuid was so moved at the violence offered 
 to her, and so highly resented the baseness of his son, that he 
 was in a rage, and vowed he would revenge the injury, and put 
 his son to death for the fact. Accordingly he commanded him 
 to be seized, and taken into strict custody, and dragging him to 
 the river Loch Iluidhe, he ordered him to be drowned, which 
 unnatural sentence was immediately executed. 
 
 So far this story may deserve belief; but what follows, without 
 doubt, was foisted in by the credulous writers of those dark ages, 
 who were for heaping miracles upon the backs of their saints, 
 which the present times are not expected to give credit to. But 
 those obscure guides are the only authority we have to direct us, 
 and therefore we are obliged to comply with the coarseness of 
 our materials, and proceed regularly, lest our design should suf- 
 ier more by omitting these legendary relations, than it possibly 
 can by inserting them in the history. 
 
 Tne king having indulged his passion so far as to destroy his 
 
 B.)n, in his calmer moments began to Liiuent his lo:iS, and to cou- 
 
 CJiu himseit for the sudden vioLeacc of his resentment. * He 
 
OF lUELAXD. 36 J 
 
 was perfectly overcome with melancholy, .ind when he rellecfcad 
 upon his death, the thoughts of it were insupportable. In this 
 distracted condition he applied himself to Collum Cill, who 
 advised him to go to St. Beacan, who lived in the province of 
 Munster, and possibly from the prayers of that holy person h3 
 might find relief The king followed this advice, and, attended 
 by Collum Cill, came to the saint, who resided in a mean cell, 
 upon the north side of mount Grott, which at this time is known 
 in the Irish language by the name of Cill Beacan. When they 
 arrived they found the saint with great labour digging a ditclx 
 to surround his churchyard, and working in his wet clothes, foe 
 it was a rainy day. \Yhen St. Beacan percoived that it was 
 the king of Ireland, he cried out to him aloud, " murderer, 
 down to the ground upon your knees." The king instantly 
 quitted his horse, and prostrated himself before the saint, 
 Collum Cill, who attended upon the king, informed the holy 
 Beacan of the business they came upon, and told him that tha 
 king was almost distracted with reflecting upon the barbarity of 
 the act he had committed, and had no relief left him but his 
 prayers to heaven, that God would be pleased to pardon him tho 
 offence, and restore him his son alive ; and therefore he pre- 
 sumed that £0 religious a person would not refuse to intercede 
 for him, since his life and happiness were so immediately con- 
 cerned. The saint was moved with compassion, and addressed 
 himself three times with great fervency to heaven, for the re* 
 storing of the young prince, and heaven heard his prayers, for, 
 as the legend relates, the king's son was brought to life and 
 presented to his father, who received him with inexpressible joy, 
 and ever after held the saint in great veneration, whose devo- ' 
 tion had power sufficient to work such wonders, and accomplish 
 &o miraculous an event. 
 
 The Irish chronicles go on and entertain us with transactions 
 of no great importance, yet not so trifling as to be wholly 
 omitted. They inform us that Guaire, the son of Colman, king 
 of Conacht, Cuimin Fada, son of Fiaohadh, and Camin of Ini:i 
 Cealtrach, met a,t the great church of Inis, where it was agreed 
 that three questions were to be proposed among them, and were 
 to be severally answered. Camin was appointed to ask the first, 
 and demanded of Guaire what he most passionately wished to 
 be possessed of in this world ? His answer was, an immense 
 treasuf-e of gold and silver. Then Guaire proposed to him what 
 was t^e utmost of his wishes and desires? He replied, to their 
 great surprise, a languishing and distempered body. The next 
 
 U -Z 
 
oGG THE GENERA.L IIISTORr 
 
 question was offered by Guaire to Cuimin, who asked him A\hat 
 he would wish to obtaia ? He replied, a number of pious and 
 learned books, to make me capable of discovering the truth to 
 the people, and instructing them in the doctrines of religion. 
 It is said they all severally obtained their desires ; particularly 
 we are informed that Gamin ended his days miserably, his body 
 being sorely afiiicted with pains and diseases, being under the 
 curse oi St. Mochua, who, as the Irish annals relate, implored 
 heaven to punish him with the most dreadful visitations. 
 
 Guaire, the son of Cohnan, received provocations from the 
 people of Munster, which he resolved to revenge by the sword ; 
 find, after he had completed three battalions of choice troops, 
 raised in Conacht, entered the province of Munster, with great 
 terror and loss to the inhabitants. The king of Cashel at that 
 time was Dioma, the son of Roanan, son of Aongus, who vras 
 followed by a gallant army, and resolved to oppose the hostili- 
 ties oi Guaire, and drive him into his own territories. Tne 
 two armies met at a place called Magh Figinty, now known by 
 the name of the heart or middle oi the country of Limerick, 
 where the two princes with great courage engaged at Carn 
 Fearaidhaidh, and a terrible slaughter was made on both sides; 
 but Guaire was at length compelled to fly, and most of his forces 
 were slain upon the spot. In this action were lost seven of the 
 principal gentlemen of the province of Gonacht, The cause 
 that induced Guaire to invade the province of Munster was, to 
 support his pretensions to all the territories from mount Eacht- 
 uidhe to Limerick, which originally belongedto the old division 
 of Conacht, but was separated from that province by Lughaidh 
 Meoin, the son of Aongus Tireach, who defeated the forces of 
 Conacht in seven successive battles j in which terrible engage- 
 ments, which were sharply disputed on both sides, seven king3 
 were slain, who fought with great bravery, and unfortunately 
 idil at the head of their troops. Lughaidn was at length so re- 
 duced, that the remaining part of his army consisted of raw 
 undisciplined men; scarce of age, and of small experience ; so 
 that he made sv^^rds land of all the country from Beirn Tri 
 Garbat, by Cai^ 1^'earaidhaidh, to B3alach Luchaidhe, and from. 
 Ath Boiroimhe, to Lein Congculoinn^ as the ancient poet Cor- 
 mac Mac Guillenan observes, m the following manner ; 
 
 The marilal pvlnce L.Tigliaidli Lamlidearg, 
 
 Was crovvn'd -with victory, aud by his arms ^ 
 
 Coutvacted the old liaiits of the province, 
 
OF IRELAND. 367 
 
 And took from Conaclit all the territories " 
 From Cam Fearaidhaidli to Ath Lucliat. 
 
 St. Mochua and St. Collum Cill lived in the same age, and, 
 as a manuscript of some credit, though of small importance, 
 relates, when Mochua, who was likewise known by the name of 
 Mac Duach, was retired into the wilderness for the benefit of 
 bis devotion, he had no living creatures about him except a 
 cock, a mouse, and a fly. The use of the cock was to give him 
 notice of the time of night by his crowing, that he might know 
 when to apply himself to his prayers : the mouse, it seems, had 
 his proper office, which was, to prevent the saint from sleeping 
 above five hours within the space of twenty-four ; for when the 
 business of his devotion, which he exercised with great reverence 
 and regularity upon his knees, had so fatigued his spirits, that 
 they required a longer refreshment, and Mochua was willing to 
 indulge himself, the mouse would come to his ears, and scratch 
 him with its feet till he was perfectly awake : the fly always at- 
 tended upon him when he was reading ; it had the sense, it 
 seems, to walk along the lines of the book, and when the saint 
 had tired his eyes and was willing to desist, the fly would stay 
 upon the first letter of the next sentence, and by that means 
 direct him where he was to begin. An excellent monitor ! but 
 as fate would have it, these three sensible creatures unfortunately 
 died, which was an afiliction of that consequence to the saint, 
 that he immediately dispatched a letter to Collum Cill, who was 
 then in Scotland, lamenting the death of his companions, and 
 entreated a proper message from him to support him in his 
 sorrow. Collum Cill received the news with Christian magna- 
 nimity, and returned this comfortable answer, that he ought to 
 mitigate his griei, for misfortunes attend upon all sublunary 
 things j that his three companions were mortal, and subject to 
 the inexorable stroke oi death, and therefore it became him not 
 to be surprised, or in an immoderate manner to lament their 
 departure. Not long after this it was, that Diarmuid, the son. 
 ot Feargus, king oi Ireland, fell by the sword of Hugh Dubh 
 Mac Swyny, at a place called Kath Beag, in Muighlirs, and was 
 buired at Cuinnirry. 
 
 Feargus and his brother Daniel were the succeeding 
 Q^r.' monarchs. They were the sons of Mortaugh, sou of 
 Earcha, son of Muireadhach, son of Eogan, son of Niall, 
 the renowned hero of the nine hostages, descended from the 
 posterity of Ileremon. These brothers governed the island 
 without jealousy or dispute, for the space of one year. The 
 
363 THE GENERAL HI&TORT 
 
 mother of these princes was Duinseach, the daughter of Duach 
 Teangabha, king of Conacht. These kingo were obliged to en- 
 gage with the inhabitants of Leinster, and they fought the me- 
 morable battle of Gabhrah LifFe with the subjects of that pro- 
 vince, who in the action lost 400 of the principal nobility and 
 gentry of the country, together with the greatest part of their 
 whole army. About this time Dioman Mac Muireadhach, who 
 governed the province of Ulster ten years, was unfortunately 
 killed by Bachlachuibb. Feargus and Daniel died soon after ; 
 but whether they fell by an untimely stroke, as did most of their 
 predecessors, it is impossible at this distance to determine. 
 
 Eochaidh, the son of Daniel, was the next successor in 
 ^;I^* the throne x)f Ireland : he was the son of Mortough, 
 son of Earca. This prince admitted with him into the 
 government his uncle Baodan, son of Mortough, sou of Earca, 
 descended from the illustrious line of Heremon, and they go- 
 verned the island three years. In the reign of these princes it 
 was, that Cairbre Crom, the son of Criomthan Sreibh, son of 
 Eochaidh, son of Nadfraoch, who was king over the province of 
 Munster, departed the present life. This martial prince fought 
 the battle of Feimhiu, agaitist Colman Beag, the son of Diarmuid, 
 and defeated him, with a terrible slaughter of the greatest part 
 of his forces : the victor was distinguished by the name of Cair- 
 bre Crom, because he was nursed and educated at a place called 
 Cromgluisse. About this time died, as some of the ancient re- 
 cords of the kingdom inform us, Breannuin Biorra, who lived to 
 the age of nine score years ; as a poet of great antiquity and 
 good credit has transmitted to us in the following verges : 
 
 Happy the man whom Providence preserves 
 
 To the long life of Breannuin Biorra, , 
 
 Who lived in plenty and prosperity 
 
 A hundred and eighty years, and then he died 
 
 Lamented. 
 
 Some time after this, Fiachadh, the son of Baodhan, engageii 
 in the bloody battle of Folia and Forthola, against the inhabi- 
 tants of the counties of Ely and Ossory, and obtained a complete 
 victory, by slaying incredible numbers of the enemy. In the 
 reign of these kings died Conull, son of Comhguill, the comman- 
 der of the Dailriada, in Scotland, after he had governed that il- 
 lustrious tribe for the space of sixteen years. This Scottish 
 general bestowed Aoii in that kingdom upon Collum Cill. These 
 Irish princes, Eochaidh and Baodhan, were slain by Crouan, tho 
 Bon of Tiaghernaig, king of Conachta Glinne Geimhin. 
 
OF IRELAIJD. 3G9 
 
 Aiiimet-eacli was tbe succeeding m'Onarcli. He was the 
 ^.^\ ' son of Seadlina, son of Feargus Ceanfada, sou of Conull 
 
 Gulban, son of Niall, the hero of the nine hostages, de- 
 scended from the royal branch of Heremonj and administered the 
 government three years. The wife of this prince was Bridget, 
 the daughter of Cobhthach, the son of Oiliolla, descended from 
 the noble family of the Leinsters of .Ard Ladhran, by whom he 
 had a prince whose name was Hugh. Ainmereach, after a short 
 reign^ was deprived of his crown and of his life by Feargus Mac 
 Neil, at Carrig Leime an Eich. 
 ^.-„ Baodan sat next upon the throne of Ireland. Ke 
 
 was the son of Nineadhadh, son of Feargus Ceannfada, 
 son of Conull Gulban, son of Niall, the hero of the nine hos- 
 tages, descended from the posterity of Heremon, and governed 
 the island one year. The royal consort of this prince was Cacht, 
 the daughter of the king of Fionngall : and in this king's reign 
 it was, that St. Breanuiu of Cluain Feart was translated to a 
 better life. About this time was fought the bloody conflict of 
 Bagha, in which eno;agement Aodh, the son of Eochaidh Tiorm- 
 charnadh, king of Conacht, was slain. The reign of this Irish 
 monarch was memorable for the death of the renowned Cairbre 
 Crom, king of Muuster, and of Baodan, king of Ulster, and 
 likewise of St. Ruadhan Lothra, derived from the family of Oili- 
 olla Flan Beg, the son of Fiacha Muilleathan. Baodan, the king 
 of Ireland, after one year's reign, was treacherously slain by the 
 two Cuimins, that is, by Cuimin, son of Colman Beag, and 
 Cuimin, the son of Libhrein, at a place called Carrig Leime an 
 Eich. It is proper to observe in this place, that the venerable 
 Bede, in the fourth chapter of the third book of his English his- 
 tory asserts, that St. Collum Cill removed into Scotland in the 
 year of our redemption 565.. 
 f.^^ ' Aodh, or Hugh, obtained^ the crown. He was the son 
 
 of Ainmereach, son of Seadhna, son of Feargus Ceannfada, 
 son of Conull Gulban, son of Niall, the hero of the nine 
 hostages, of the royal line ot Heremon. The mother of this 
 prince, as was observed before, was Bridget, the daughter oi 
 Cobhthach. This Irish monarch had a long reign of twenty- 
 seven years, and he fought the noted battle of Beallach Dathi, 
 where he obtained a signal victory, and slew Colman Beag, tho 
 son of Diarmuid, and 5000 of the enenay were left dead upon the 
 spot : by this means the prophecy of Collum Cill, who particu- 
 larly predicted this defeat, was accomplished. In the reign of 
 Hugh, the pious Seanagh, the bishop of Cluainioraird, departed 
 
370 THE GENERAL niSTORY 
 
 the pres2rifc life ; and during his govGrnmenf'it was, that Fi* 
 achadh, the son of Baodan, son of Muireadhach, who governed 
 the province of Ulster twenty-five years, was killed by the sword 
 of Fiachadh, the son of Deamain, in the battle of Beathadh ; 
 about which time died Feidhlim, the son of Tighernach, king of 
 Munster. 
 
 This Irisli king summoned, by his royal mandate, the princes, 
 the nobility, anil the clergy of the kingdom, to meet at the par- 
 liament of Dromceat ; he had three reasons which induced him 
 to appoint this convention, but the principal occasion was, to 
 concert proper measures to expel and banish a numerous body 
 of men, who were called poets, out of the island : these profes- 
 sors were become very chargeable to the inhabitants, and being 
 01 a covetous disposition, were a grievance insupportable to tha 
 people ; and upon account of the privileges and immunities 
 enjoyed by these versifiers, from the indulgence of former kings, 
 a third part of the whole kingdom passed under the notion of 
 poets, and professed themselves regular members of that society ; 
 for it was a plausible cover to idleness and ease, it being or- 
 dained by law, that they should be supported by other men's 
 labours, and billeted upon the people throughout the island 
 from AllhalloW'tide till May. This grievance being represented 
 to the king, he resolved to reduce their number by expelling 
 most ol them the kingdom, and by that means to redress this 
 insufferable imposition, and satisfy the desires of his subjects. 
 
 But the great reason that incensed this monarch against ths 
 poets, and provoked him to drive them out of the island wa-', 
 for their insolence in demanding the golden bodkin that fastened 
 the royal robes under the king's neck, and was esteemed so sa- 
 cred and unalienable, that it was carefully delivered down from 
 one prince to another, as a royal jewel of singular worth ♦and 
 virtue. Tiiis unprecedented demand enraged the king, but he 
 considered it might be of bad conseouence to banish them the 
 kingdom, and therefore he resolved to confine them to Dallriada, 
 in the province ot Ulster. 
 
 It must be observed that this was not the first time the poets 
 fell under the resentment of the Irish princes ; for in the reign 
 ot Connor Mac Neasa, king of Ulster, who reigned many years 
 before Hugh came to the throne, there was a design to prosecute 
 the poets with the utmost severity of law and justice ; for they 
 had, by their behaviour, rendered themselves so obnoxious to 
 the state, and so burthensome to the people, that there was no 
 possibility of appeasing the inhabitants without expelling theia 
 
OF IRELAND, 371 
 
 the iislaiid. But wlien this resolution of the government was 
 known to the poets, the whole body of them, which amounted 
 to one thousand, met to concert measures to preserve themselves 
 from the impending storm : nor are we to wonder that they 
 were increased to so great a number ; for every principal poet, 
 for a mark of distinction, retained thirty of inferior note as his 
 attendants, and a poet of*the second order was always followed 
 by a retinue of fifteen. In this convention of poets, after many 
 debates, it was resolved to leave the island before the sentence 
 of t*heir banishment was pronounced, and retire into Scotland. 
 When the king of Ulster understood their design, he thought it 
 Trould be inexpedient to transport themselves into that king- 
 dom, and therefore he sent to them Congculion, one of his 
 £AVOurites, with a commission to treat with the malcontents, 
 and allow them a continuance of seven years in the country, as 
 a' time of probation ; and if they did not reform their conduct 
 before the time expired, they were to be finally banished. Ail 
 ancient poet has recorded t!iis transaction in this manner r 
 
 Connor, llie most reno-vvned king of Ulster, , 
 
 A friend to arts, a patron to tlie learned, 
 
 Protected by his great authority 
 
 The poets for seven years, who liv'd in peac« 
 
 Throughout the island. 
 
 Within the time allowed, the poets by degrees found means 
 to disperse themselves over the whole nation, and gave no un- 
 easiness to the people ; so that they lived unmolested till the 
 reign of Fiachadh, the son of Baodan, king of Ulster, and from 
 the time of Fiachadh, to Maolchabha, son of Diomain, son of 
 Carril, who governed the same province, and so they continued 
 unpersecuted, till Hugh, the son of Ainmereach, became mo- 
 narch of the i&land. Three several times this profession of men 
 Lad rendered themselves offensive and insufferable to the people, 
 who represented their oppression to the state, and petitioned 
 for their expulsion j but they were still protected by the medi- 
 ation of the kings of Ulster, who received them into that pro- 
 vince, and were answerable for their behaviour. When the first 
 attempt was made towards their banishment, Connor, king of 
 Ulster, interposed, mid pro^fessed himself their patron and advo- 
 cate, and reprieved their punishment for seven years, notwith- 
 Btauding they were above a thousand in number. The second 
 persecution they brought themselves under, was taken ofi by 
 the interest and authority of Fiachadh, the son qa Baodan, who 
 
372 THE GENERAL HTSTORY 
 
 governed the same province, and entertained tbem for tho spaco 
 of one year ; for by this time their number was reduced, the 
 whole body amounting to no more than seven hundred, with an 
 eminent poet at the head of them, called ^Eochaidh Riogh Eigcas, 
 as another poet has recorded in this manner : 
 
 The learned Eocliaidh Riogh "Eigeas, 
 
 The celebrated poet of the age, 
 
 With all his followers of the same profession, 
 
 Were kindly entertain'd by Fiachadh, . . 
 
 And saved from punishment. 
 
 The third design to expel the poets was prevented by the sea- 
 sonable intercession of Maolchabha, king of Ulster, who re- 
 ceived them into his favour, and saved them from banishment ; 
 for at this time they made a considerable figure in the kingdom 
 by their numbers, which increased daily, and amounted com- 
 pletely to 1200. The principal poets, who had a sort of a juris- 
 diction over the rest, were Dalian, t*orguill. and Seanchan. This 
 deliverance of the poets is recorded in the following lines : 
 
 The valiant Maolchabha, king of Ulster, 
 From exile sav'd, by his authority, 
 The poets of the island ; in his province 
 He entertain'd them, abandon'd and forlorn, 
 As the groat patron of the Irish miise. 
 
 The second reason that pre-^-'.'lei upon the king to summon, 
 by his royal mandate, the great assembly of Dromceat, was, in 
 order to settle a constant tribute upon the tribe of the Dail- 
 riads in Scotland, who owed homage to the crown of Ireland, 
 and paid an acknowledgment, called Eiric, which signifies ransom 
 or kindred money, to the king. This tax was first laid upon 
 tbem by Colman, the son of Comhgealladh ; but they had of 
 late refused to contribute their proportion, which Hugh, tho 
 reigning monarch was resolved to insist upon, and accordingly 
 the matter was fully debated in this convention. Colman, who 
 first obliged them to be tributaries to the Irish, has taken notice 
 of their subjection in this manner : 
 
 The Daih'iads, I ordain, shall pay 
 Eiric, as tribute to the Irish crown, 
 And with their troops endeavour to support 
 T he king by sea and land. 
 
 The third occasion for which Hugh assembled this convention 
 
OF IRELAIO?. 373 
 
 of the nobility and gentry of the kingdom was, to deprive Scan- 
 Ian More, the son of Cionfhaoladb, of the command of Osserj, 
 who had refused to pay the reveaue arising from that country 
 into the public exchequer, and converted it to his own use. His 
 post and authority the king designed to confer upon Jollan, tha 
 son of Scanlan, who was exceedingly well qualified to govern that 
 people, and gave security to the king that he would be punctual 
 in the payment of the taxes laid upon him. These were the 
 reasons for which the king convened this parliament of Drom- 
 ceat, as these ancient, lines expressly testify ; 
 
 The Irisli monarch siimmon'd by his writs 
 
 The parliament of Droniceat ; the subjects in debate 
 
 Were, the expulsion of the poets, the ancient tribiJie 
 
 Of the Dailriads, and the just deposing 
 
 Of Scanlau, prince of Ossery. 
 
 Having mentioned the^couventioa of Dromoeat, and the occa- 
 sion of their meetings, it may not be improper to give a parti- 
 cular account of the members of .that assembly, which consisted 
 of the princes, and the principal nobility and gentry of tb.e 
 kingdom. There met, upon the summons from the king 
 Cr'omhthan Gear, king of Leinster; Jollan, son of Scanlan, king 
 of Ossery j Maolduin, son of Aodhna or Hugh Beannain, king of 
 West Munster ; Guaire, son of Colman, king of Glan Fiachadh 
 north and south ; Firghin or Florence, son of Aodhna or Hugh 
 Dubh, son of Criomhthan, king of the whole province of Mun- 
 ster ; GriomhthanfDeilgeneach, king of West Ireland ; Ragal-^ 
 lach, son of I^dhach, king of Tuatha Taighdean, and Breifnc 
 O'Korke to Gliabhan Modhuirn ; Geallach, son of Gearnach, son 
 of Dubh Dothra, at Briefne ui Reyly, Gongallach Ceanmhaguii* 
 Tirconconuill ; FearguilL son of Maolduin on Oilioch ; Guaira. 
 son of Conguill on Ulster ; the two kings of Oirgiall, their names 
 were Daimin, son of Aongus, from Colchar Deasa to Fionn Garn 
 at Sliabh Fuaid, and Hugh, son of Duach (?&,llach, from Fionu 
 Garn at Sliabh Fuaid to the river Boyne. St. Golium Gill like 
 wise attended this assembly at Dromceat ; for he had notice 
 sent him into Scotland of the meeting, and the principal mo- 
 tives that occasioned it, and he immediately transported ^him- 
 self from Aoii, where he lived, and was accompanied by a great 
 number of religious persons, who were allowed to sit in this 
 assembly. This saint was followed into Ireland by a retinue of 
 twenty bishops forty priests, fifty deacons, and thirty students 
 in divinity, who were not yet admitted into holy orders. Thi3 
 
874: THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 transaction is transmitted to posterity in the verses ot an old 
 poet called Amhra Colluin Gill, which may be translated thus : 
 
 St. Colhim Cill arrived at Dromceat, 
 Followed by a retinue of his clergy ; 
 By twenty prelates of superior order, 
 By forty presbyters and fifty deacons, 
 And thirty students in divinity 
 » !Not yet ordained.. 
 
 I confess it may seem surprising that Ccllum Gill, who was no 
 more than an abbot, should be attended by prelates, who were 
 of a more excellent order among the clergy ; but the seeming 
 difficulty will cease, by observing what the venerable Bade as- 
 serts, in the fourth chapter of the fifth book of his English his- 
 tory, where he treats of the bishops of the island of Aoii, in 
 Scotland, and declares that the Scottish bishops acknowledged 
 the superior jurisdiction of the abbpts of Aoii, and in the 
 ancient times paid them spiritual obedience ; his expression is,* 
 *' The island of Aoii was used to have an abbot, who was a priest, 
 for its governor, to whom not only the whole province, but also 
 the bishops, by an unusnal order, owed submission, after the 
 example of the founder and the first teacher, 'who was not a 
 bishop, but a priest and a monk." 
 
 From the testim.ony of this learned writer we are to under- 
 stand, that St. Gollum Gill was the first teacher that attempted 
 to propagate the Christian faith among the Picts, in the north 
 of Scotland ; lor which reason, not only the priests and the 
 monks submitted to the authority of CoUum Cill, and his suc- 
 cessors in the island of Aoii, but the prelates of the kingdom 
 likewise were under their jurisdiction^ and paid them obedience. 
 And therefore the bishops, who were instructed in the doctrines 
 of Christianity by CoUum Cill, thought it their duty to attend 
 upon him into Ireland, to the assembly of Dromceat. We have 
 an account in the ancient manuscripts of a remarkable circum- 
 stance relating to this saint, who, it seems, had obliged himself 
 never more to look upon Irish ground, and therefore to prevent 
 his sight, he wore a sear-cluth over his eyes during the voyage, 
 and all the time he continued in the island. There was a very 
 holy person called St. Malaise, who had sent CoUum Cill into 
 
 * Solet ipsa habere proteotorem semper abbaten\ presbyterum, cnjus viri et 
 omnis provincia et ipsi etiani episcopi ordine inusitato debent esse subjecti, juxta 
 exemplum primi dootoris illius (jui non epigcopus sed presbyter e.^titit et mona- 
 chos. 
 
OF IRELAND. 375 
 
 Scollanci. as a religious penance for some offence he had com- 
 mitted, and enjoined him, under solemn penalties, never more 
 to. behold Ireland with his eyes; and CoUum Cill religiously 
 observed his commands, and never was refreshed with a glimps'3 
 of light till the assembly broke up and he returned into Scot- 
 land. St. Molaise wrote a poem upon this occasion, wherein are 
 these lines : 
 
 The pious Collum Cill with his retinue 
 Sail'd from the isle of Aoii, and arrived 
 In Ireland ; but by the discipline of the church 
 Enjoin'd, he never with his eyes beheld 
 The country. 
 
 The occasion of this severe penance inflicted by St. Molaise, 
 was to correct the vindictive nature of St. Collum Cill, who had 
 embroiled the kingdom in great confusion, and to gratify his 
 revenge, was the promoter of the following bloody engagements ; 
 the battle of Cuill Dreimne, the battle of Cuill ;Rathain, ar d 
 the battle of Cuill Feadha. The battle of Cuill Dreimne was 
 fought, as St. Ciaran testifies, in an ancient manuscript called 
 Jobhuir Chiaran, upon this occasion. During the time of the 
 sessions of the royal parliament of Tara, that was summoned 
 by Diarmuid, the son of Feargus Ceirbheoil, king of Ireland, it 
 unfortunately happened, that Cuarnon, the son of Hugh, son of 
 Eochaidh Fioncharna, killed a gentleman, against the established 
 laws and privileges of that convention. The king, resolved to 
 preserve the rights and the dignity of that assembly ordered 
 Cuarnon to be executed j but he escaped the hands of justice 
 at that time, and implored the protection of the two sons ol 
 Earoa, Feargus and Daniel, who gave him refuge ; and for the 
 'better security of his life, they committed him to the care of 
 St. Collum Cill, as to a religious sanctuary, which no authority 
 would presume to violate. But notwithstanding the piety and 
 the character of his keeper, the crime of the offender was ot 
 that importance that justice found him out in his retirement 
 and deprived him of his life. This sacrilegious violence, as it 
 was judged to be, so enraged St. Collum Cill, that his passion 
 urged him on to revenge ; and incensing the northern Clanna 
 Neill, with the injury he had received , and the impiety of the 
 fact, they took arms in defence of the saint ; and in an out- 
 rageous manner demanded satisfaction of Diarmuid, for vio- 
 lating the holy asylum, and putting the offender to death ; the 
 king thought to chastise their sedition with the sword, and 
 
376 THE aENBRAL HIBTORT 
 
 marched against them with his forces ; a terrible engagement 
 followed, and after a bloody conflict the royal army, supported 
 by the provincial troops of Conacht, was defeated, and that mar- 
 tial glan obtained a complete victory, not a little owing (saya 
 the manuscript) to the fervent prayers of Collum Ciil. 
 
 There is another record, called the Black book of Molaga, 
 which gives a different account of the battle of Cuill Dreimne. 
 This chronicle relates, that there was a copy of the new testa- 
 ment transcribed from the book of Fiontan, which was claimed 
 by no proprietor, and therefore Fiontan insisted that the copy 
 was his, as it was written from the original which was in hi3 
 bands. Collum Cill was of another opinion, and strenuously 
 urged, that since it was unknown who wrote it, he might as well 
 ""ay claim to it as another, and resolved to prosecute the matter 
 :.o the utmost. This dispute was managed with great violence 
 and ncrimony on both sides, and occasioned such disturbance, 
 thac T'iarmuid was obliged to interpose and decide the dispute. 
 Tie ki 1.4 heard the pretensions of both parties, and weighing 
 
 iioeiately the arguments that were off*ered, he gave sentence 
 X. 'ia'our of Fiontan, using this familiar proverb, that ' the cow 
 anC .' calf ought always to go together ;' and therefore the 
 propi ;tor of the original had an undoubted right in the copy, 
 till the transcriber, who was the true owner, thought fit to lay 
 in his claim. This repulse was resented by St. Collum Cill, i 
 who found means to engage the king in a war, which occasioned 
 the memorable battle of Cuill Dreimne. The battle of Cuill 
 Rathain, fought between the Dailnaruidhe and the inhabitants 
 of Ulster, was occasioned by the resentment of St. Collum Cill, 
 who had received some affront from Comhgall, and resolved to re- 
 venge it with the sword. Comhgall raised the forces of that pro- 
 vince to oppose him, and both sides came to an engagement. The 
 battle of Caill Feadha was likewise fought by the procurement 
 of St, Collum Cill. In this action he encountered the forces of 
 Colman, the son of Diarmuid, who had raised a numerous army 
 in defence of his son Colman, who had unfortunately killed 
 Baodan, the son of Ninneadha, kiag of Ireland, at Leim an 
 Eich, which young prince was committed to the charge and 
 tuition of St. Collum Cill. 
 
 It has been observed before, that St. Collum Cill came out of 
 Scotland, attended by many prelates, presbyters, and deacons ; 
 and when he came near Dromceat, where the principal of the 
 kingdom were assembled, the wife of Hugh, king of Ireland, 
 was incensed at his arrival, and commanded her sou Conall to 
 
OF IRELAND. S77 
 
 use these religious foreigners with contempt and disrespect, and 
 not- to regard their office, nor give them the least countenanco 
 or protection. This uncivil design was soon communicated to 
 St. Collum Cill, who being of a quick resentment, refused to 
 enter into the assembly, till he had obtained his revenge upon 
 the queen and the prince for this treatment ; and therefore he 
 addressed himself to heaven, and importunately petitioned for 
 an exemplary stroke of vengeance ; which was, that the queea 
 and her waiting lady, who attended near her person, might be 
 punished with a disease, which, though not incurable, yet should 
 afflict them with long and lingering pains. This infliction was 
 sent by heaven, and obliged the queen and her attendant to con- 
 fine themselves in their apartments, and not to come abroad^ 
 During the time that their distemper continued, the supersti- 
 tious people of the country imagined that they were turned 
 into cranes ; for it happened that two cranes, that were never 
 observed before, frequented an adjoining ford, which made the 
 poor rustics fond ot this opinion. A poet of that age severely 
 lashes this superstitious conceit, and among other satirical lites 
 has these following : 
 
 The queen astonisli'd at her feathers stood, 
 And with her maid translorm'd, frequents the flood: 
 But when she sees a coming storm, she sails 
 Above the clouds and leaves the lowly vales. 
 
 The reason of the saint's resentment against the servant was, 
 because she was the messenger employed by the queen to the 
 young prince, to prejudice him against the reception of St. Col- 
 lum Cill and his attendants. 
 
 After St. Collum Cill had accomplished his revenge upon the 
 queen and her servant, he entered the assembly, where he was 
 received with singular respect, and had the honovir to be placed 
 next to Conall, the son of Hugh, son of Ainmereach, king oi 
 Ireland, and the nobility and gentry that belonged to him. But 
 when the young prince observed that the clergy were admitted 
 into the convention, and seated in so eminent a place, he was 
 moved with indignation, and incensed twenty- seven of the most 
 luiious and passionate of his friends, who obeyed the commands 
 of Conall, and in a most barbarous manner insulted the clergy, 
 by pelting them with tufts and dirt, till they were covered with 
 tilth, and some of them very much bruised by this violent and 
 uncivil treatment. St. Collum Cill was amazed at the indig- 
 nity, and undertaking the cause and protection of his followers, 
 
S78 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 he expogtulated with Vae assailarits, and boldly inquired at 
 w-hose instigation it was, that the privileges belonging to that 
 assembly were so outrageously violated, and the rights of the 
 particular members so insolently invaded ? and when he under- 
 stood that Conall, the king's son, was the director and the prin- 
 cipal cause of this barbarity, he warmly represented to the 
 prince the heinousness of the fact ; and, as the chronicle goes on^, 
 he caused twenty-seven bells to be rung, and by these bells he 
 laid the most heavy curses and dreadful imprecations upon him ; 
 which had that effect, as to deprive Conall of his sense and 
 understanding, and in the end occasioned- the loss of his estate, 
 and of the succession itself to the crown of Ireland. This cruel 
 prince, from the curse laid upon him by ringing the bells, was 
 afterwards distinguished by the name of Conall Clogach. 
 
 Hugh, the king of Ireland, had another son, whose name was 
 "Oaniel, a prince of a more humane and courteous disposition 
 
 n,n his brother, and who professed a reverend regard to the 
 
 . ir'stian religion, and the clergy that officiated in the adminis- 
 
 of it. St. Collum Cill applied himself to this young 
 
 nco, v^ho received him suitable to his character and holy 
 
 ■ ipaioa ;. he instantly rose up, and kissed the cheek of the 
 . LCiiufc ; and among other testimonies of respect, he resigned his 
 seat, end placed St. Collum in his own chair. The saint was so 
 affeCv i with this uncommon courtesy and condescension, that 
 he pronounced a benediction over the young prince, and prayed 
 solemnly to heaven that his life might be crowned with pros- 
 perity and happiness, and after the decease of his father, he 
 might succeed him in the throne of Ireland, and be a blessing 
 to his people. The prayers of the saint had their desired suc- 
 cess ; for Conall, as his right and inheritance, his brother being 
 incapable to govern, was possessed of the sovereignty of the 
 island, and ruled the kingdom thirteen years. 
 
 After these civilites had passed between the saint and the 
 young prince, St. Collum Cill addressed himself to the king, who 
 was in a separate apartment from the rest of the assembly, and 
 the young prince Daniel with him. The king was somewhat 
 surprised at the appearance of the saint ; for by the miracles 
 Y^hich he had performed, and by the constant success of his 
 prayers, he became terrible to the Irish court, and the king 
 himself had a great awe upon him when he came into his pre- 
 feence ; but, notwithstanding, he was received with great cere- 
 mony and outward respect, which proceeded perhaps more from 
 fear than any sincere value for his person or his character. The 
 
OF lai^LAXD. 379 
 
 gaint -u'as willing to prove the integrity of the reception, And to 
 n^ake trial of the king's favour, and therefore he told him that 
 he had three requests to propose, which, if thsy were granted, 
 he should be convinced that the civility and reverence showed 
 him outwardly by the king was real and undisguised. Hugh, 
 afraid to disoblige the saint, replied, that whatever his petitions 
 were, if it was in his power, they should certainly be grtinted. 
 St. Collum made answer, that he was able to gratify his desires, 
 which were, that he would retract his purpose of banishing the 
 poets, and driving them out of the kingdom : that he would 
 discharge Scanlan More, king of Ossery, from his confinement, 
 whom he kept in his custody as a prisoner ; and that he would 
 not transport his army into Scotland, to raise the chief rents 
 and contributions of the Dailriada, or advance their tribute be- 
 yond what was paid to his predecessors. The king said in 
 answer, that it would be of infinite prejudice to his government 
 to give any protection to the poets, for they were a lazy, cove- 
 tous, and insatiable body, and an insupportable grievance to the 
 people ; that their numbers increased daily, every superior poet 
 taking state upon himself, being followed by a retinue of thirty, 
 and those of a lower order retaining a proportionable number 
 of attendants suitable to their several degrees, so that a third 
 part of the whole kingdom had entered themselves into the so- 
 ciety of the poets, to the great decay of trade and industry, and 
 the sensible impoverishment of the country ; and therefore he 
 was obliged, for the ease of his subjects, and his own safety, to 
 purge the island of them, and transplant them into new settle- 
 ments. The saint patiently attended to the king's reasons, and 
 convinced by the force of his arguments, he replied, that it was 
 necessary that the college of poets should be reformed but not 
 suppressed ; that he would consent to the reduction of their 
 numbers, and the degrading of the greatest part of them; yet it 
 would be a support and emolument to the royal dignity, if his 
 majesty, after the example of the preceding kings, retained a 
 poet of honesty and distinction in his court, and would allow 
 that every provincial prince in the island should enjoy the pri- 
 vilege of a learned poet in his retinue ; and that every lord of 
 a cantred should likewise maintain a poet if he pleased, to pre- 
 serve the exploits and record the genealogy of his family. Tnis 
 proposal was accepted by the king, the expulsion of the poets 
 was prevented, and this regulation was the standard by which 
 the society of poets were directed in future ages. This agree- 
 ment between St. Collum Cill and the king of Ireland is thus 
 
SSO THE GBNBHAL HlSTuET 
 
 transmitted to us^, in the lines of an old poet, called Maol- 
 ruthuin : 
 
 The poets ^ve^e seciirVl from banishtnent 
 Ey CoUum Ciil, who, by his sage advice, 
 Soften'd the king's I'e&entment, and prevail'd 
 That every Irish monarch should retain 
 A learn'd poet ; every provincial prince, 
 And lord of a cantred, were by right allowed 
 The same privilege and honour. 
 
 ■■'.* 
 
 From this establishment by Hugh, the king of Ireland, and 
 'St. Collam Gill, arose the continued custom for every Irish 
 monarch to maintain a most learned and accomplished poet ia 
 his court, for his own use and service ; every provincial princa 
 and lord of a cantred had the same liberty allowed, and were 
 obliged to settle a fixed salary upon their poets, that was suffi- 
 cient to afford them an honourable maintenance, and secure 
 them from the contempt of the people. In those ages the per- 
 sons of poets were esteemed sacred, and their patrimonies and 
 properties inviolable. In public wars and commotions they 
 were exempted from plundering and contributions, they paid no 
 taxes or acknowledgments to the state, and their houses wera 
 invested with the privilege of a sanctuary, and not to be forced 
 without sacrilege and impiety. There were colleges erected, 
 and large revenues settled upon them in the nature of universi- 
 ties, where learning and arts were taught and encouraged. Rath 
 Ceannaid was an academy in those times^ and so were Masruidh 
 and Maigh Sleachta in Breifne : here free schools were opened, 
 and youth educated and instructed in antiquity, history, poetry, 
 and other branches of valuable and polite learning. 
 
 In the reign of this Irish monarch, Eochaidh Eigeas was the 
 -most excellent poet, and was president over the whole body 
 throughout the island ; he was known by another name, and by 
 some called Dalian Forgaill : this governor of the society had 
 authority to examine into the qualifications and abilities of 
 novices and candidates, and upon admission, he sent them into 
 the several provinces of the island ; particularly he recommended 
 Hugh Eigeas to Crioch Breag, and Meath Urmaol he ordained 
 the chief poet in the two provinces of Munster ; Seanchan, son 
 of Uairfeartaig, he appointed to the province of Conacht, and 
 Firb, the son of Muireadhach, he fixed in the province of Ulster, 
 and settled a poet of good learning and ingenuity in the family 
 of every lord of a cantred through the whole kingdom. These 
 
OF mELA^1>. S81 
 
 poetics.! professors ha<l free lands and revenues assigned them 
 for their support, by their several patrons ; they were exempted 
 from tax and plunder, invested with valuable privileges^ and, 
 over and above their salaries, were paid for every poem they 
 composed, by the person or family that, employed them. 
 
 The §ecoud request that St. Collum Gill preferred to Hugh, 
 the king of Ireland, was the release and enlargement of the king 
 of Ossery ; but this petition was denied, which so displeased the 
 f:aint, that he replied boldly, that Scanlan should be discharged, 
 and that very night should untie the strings of his brogues at 
 the time when he was offering up his midnight devotion. 
 
 The third favour, that St. Collnm Gill desired of the king of 
 -Ireland was, that he would not attempt to transport au army 
 into Scotland, to raise the tribute and taxes that were usually 
 paid by the tribe of the Dailriada ; for it would be an encroach- 
 ment upon their ancient privileges, and contrary to the estab- 
 lished laws of his predecessors, to commit hostilities upon that 
 honourable clan, which was always ready to assist the Irish crowa 
 with their arms, and expose their lives with great bravery in its 
 defence. But this remonstrance, how reasonable soever, had no 
 effect upon the king, who resolved to invade Scotland with a 
 powerful arm}', and compel that tribe to gratify his demand. The 
 Baint made answer, that Providence had taken that illustrious 
 clan into its peculiar protection, which was able and resolved to 
 set bounds to the tyranny and exactions of the Irish crown, and 
 ■would deliver the Dailriadas from so unjust and unprecedented 
 oppressions ; and this was spoken with a prophetic spirit, and 
 was afterwards literally accomplished. After this discourse be- 
 tween the king and the saint, he with the retinue of the clergy 
 took leave of the court, and prepared to return to Scotland. 
 An ancient manuscript, called Leabhar Glin da Loch, observes, 
 that Aodhan, the son of Gabhran, son of Domanguirt, was pre- 
 sent at the assembly of Dromceat, and was allowed a place ia 
 the convention, and that he was among the attendants of Saint 
 Collum Gill, when he had the last intercourse with the Irish 
 monarch, and made his compliments at his departure. The same 
 valuable record asserts, that the assembly of Dromceat sat con- 
 stantly, without prorogation, for the space of a Tfhole year and 
 one month, where most excellent laws were established and ad- 
 mitted, for the correcting of abuses in the state, and for the ta- 
 tare government of the people. 
 
 When St. Gollum Gill had taken his final farewell of the king 
 and the Irish court, he withdrew and came with his followers to 
 
SS2 TOE GENERAL HISTOnY 
 
 a placft called Dabh Eeagluis, in Inis Eogain, where Scanlan 
 the king of Ossery, was confined in close custody ; and the night 
 after he arrived (as the old chronicle, tinctured, I am afraid, 
 with ignorance or superstition, particularly mentions) a most 
 miraculous event happened : for a large pillar, as it were or 
 fire, appeared in the air, which it enlightened, and directly hung 
 ov^r the apartment where Scanlan was imprisoned, under a strong 
 guard, and loaded with chains. The soldiers were astonished 
 at this fiery appearance, which w^s exceeding bright and terrible, 
 and under surprise fell flat upon their faces to the ground. All 
 the castle was illuminated as at mid-day, and a beam of light 
 darted into the room where the king of Ossery lay, groaning 
 under the weight of his irons, and (as the tale goes on) he heard 
 a distinct voice, which called to him aloud, "Stand up, Scanlan, 
 give me your hand, fear nothing, leave your chains and fetters 
 behind you." The king was in amaza at the vision and the 
 voice ; but he took courage upon recollection, and rose up, and 
 gave his hand to an angel in human shape, who led him out of 
 the apartment, his feet being at liberty, and his chains falling 
 oft ot their own accord. The guards were surprised as the angel 
 Avas conducting the king, and demanded who they were that 
 dared to force the prison against the king's command. The 
 ungel replied, that Scanlan. king of Ossery, was delivered from 
 his imprisonment ; which answer confounded the soldiers, for 
 Ihey thought it impossible that any human power would make 
 W desperate an attempt. And by this means the king obtained 
 Lis liberty. 
 
 AVhen they had passed the guards, the king was presented to 
 St. Collum (Jill, with whom he was to continue that night; and 
 the saint being disposed to sleep, intended to take off his brogues, 
 but was prevented by the king, who untied them, as St. Collum 
 Cill had predicted. The saint, in surprise, demanded who had 
 loosened his strings ; the king answered he had done it, which 
 gave the saint great satisfaction, because he had frustrated the 
 design of Hugh, the king of Ireland, upon that prince, and pro- 
 cured his delivery from a cruel imprisonment. 
 
 The king of Ossery was severely used during his confinement ; 
 his apartment^was mean and unbecoming his quality, his diet 
 hard and exceeding coarse, his keepers allov/ed him nothing 
 but salt meat, which so violently inflamed his throat, and raised 
 Lis thirst, that when St. Collum Cill would have talked with 
 Lim about the circumstances of his usage, and the posture of his 
 affairs, his mouth was so dry, that he could not speak plain, or 
 
OF UlELAND. 383 
 
 give an ansvrer, but made signs, and by a confused noise signi- 
 fied that he wanted drink. The saint immediately relieved his 
 thirst, and commanded Baoithin, one of his followers, to give the 
 king a large bowl top full, which the king ioyfully accepted, 
 and finished at three draughts. After his thirst was thus as- 
 suaged, and his throat cooled, he was able to discourse, and an- 
 swered the saint particularly to every question, and made him 
 acquainted with his nearest concerns. From the impediment 
 that was in the speech of the king, occasioned by his thirst, the 
 posterity of Scaulan, who succeeded him in the command of 
 Osser}^, were observed to stammer, and to pronounce their- words 
 with a great deal of trouble and difficulty. The king being thus 
 restored to liberty, was advised by St. Collum Gill to return to 
 his government, and appear publicly in the administratiou. of 
 afFiiirs. But Scanian apprehended the resentment of Hugh, king 
 of Ireland, who would be apt to seize upon him again, and com- 
 mit him to prison, under a stronger guard, with worso usage. 
 The saint told him not to fear, and to inspire him with courage, 
 he bestowed upon him his episcopal stafi, as a secuUty and pro- 
 tection, with a command to leave it for him at hi?, convent at 
 Armuigh, in the county of O'ssery. The king, under this sacred 
 assurance of safety, returned to his court, and reigned over his 
 people as long as he lived, without any distui'bauce or invasion 
 from Hugh, king of Ireland. 
 
 Scanian, from a principle ot gratitude, acknowledged the fa- 
 vours he had received from St. Collum Cill, to whom he owed 
 his life and delivery, and enacted a law, which should oblige 
 his subjects, who were masters of families, to pay three pence 
 a year towards the support of the convent, which St. Collum 
 Cill had erected, at Armuigli, in the county of Ossery ; and this 
 tax was to be levied from Bladhma to the sea- side. An old poet 
 of good authority, who composed upon the Amhra or the Vision 
 of St. Collum Cill, has recorded this transaction iu the following 
 lines. 
 
 It is establish'd by my royal la^r, 
 
 Which 1 require my subjects to obey, 
 
 That every master of a family, 
 
 Who lives witliin th' extent of m.y command, 
 
 Should three pence offer, as a j-'early tribute, 
 
 To the religious convent of Armuigh. 
 
 After this revenue was settled upon the convent by a legal 
 establishment, St. Collum Cill pronounced a solemn benediction 
 upon the royal family of Scanian, and upon the whole country 
 
38-1 TH:-: gp:neral history 
 
 in general ; but limited by this condition, that the king and the 
 people should pay obedience to the governor of the convent, who 
 was to exercise a sort of spiritual jurisdiction over all Ossery ; 
 and likewise, that they would be just and regular in the pay- 
 ment of the yearly revenue that was fixed by law upon them- 
 selves and their posterity. An account of this transaction 
 is transmitted to us in the same poem, called the Vision of St. 
 Cullum Cill : the verses may be thus translated ; 
 
 The fruitful land of Osseiy I bless, 
 
 The king, his family, and all his subjects, 
 
 Who from a conscience of religion 
 
 Have bound themselves a yearly tax to pay. 
 
 And fix'd the same on their posterity. 
 
 It is to be observed, that St. Collum Cill, whose memory is 
 BO valuable among the ancient Irish, was called originally at his 
 baptism by the name ot Criomthan ; and, if we believe the book 
 that gives an account of his Vision, (whose testimony may per- 
 haps be questioned in some particulars,) his guardian angel, who 
 always attended him, was known by the name of Axail ; and 
 his evil genius, who followed him as a plague to infect his mind 
 and inspire him with impious thoughts and wicked designs, 
 was called Demal. This we find recorded (though with what 
 certainty it is hard to say) in the same treatise which relatea 
 the most memorable acts of this saint. 
 
 The pious Christian hero, Collum Cill, 
 When he was baptiz'd, received the name 
 Of Criomthan O'Cuin ; his guardian angel 
 Was the most watchful Axall ; but the demon 
 Who, with infernal malice stung, attended 
 Upon the saint to torture and torment hun, 
 Was called Demal. 
 
 This change of his name 'aappened when ha was under tha 
 tuition of Florence, or Finghin Moigh Bille, who was the tutor 
 that instructed him in the doctrines of religion, and had the 
 principal care and management of his education. This master 
 allowed his pupil liberty, one day in the week, to divert himself, 
 and go to the neighbouring town, to play with his companions, 
 w^ho were youths of the same age ; and being a child of a very 
 modest and agreeable disposition, his company was desired by 
 all the children in the country, who, upon the day that he was 
 to go abroad, would resort to the door of the monastery to re- 
 ceive him j and when they saw him coming to the gate th^y 
 
OF IBJILAND. 385 
 
 would from a transport of joy lift up their hands, and cry, 
 " Here comes CoUum na Cille," which in the Irish language sig- 
 nifies The pigeon of the church ; for he was a child distinguished 
 for a meek behaviour, and the title was applied to him with 
 great propriety. When the abbot Florence, who was his guar- 
 dian, observed the name his companions had bestowed upon the 
 youth, he began to think it was the will of heaven that he 
 should be so called, and from that time he gave him the title ot 
 CoUum Cill, and never used the name of Criomthan, which was 
 given him at his baptism. 
 
 Nor is it surprising to find an alteration in the name of this 
 saint ; for such changes happened frequently among the saints, 
 who were often distinguished by new names. This we observe 
 in a religious person called Muchoda, who was a disciple of St. 
 Patrick, and was originally called Carthach ; the same we find 
 in Caomhan, who at the font received the name of Mac Neile ; 
 and St. Patrick himself was called Sicar at his baptism, but 
 when he came to confirmation he had the name given him of 
 Gemnus Magnus, and afterwards when Celestine, the Pope of 
 Eome, sent him into Ireland to propagate the Christian faith, he 
 again changed his name, and called him Patrick. Upon this 
 occasion I might instance Fionnbhair of Cork, and many others 
 of exemplary piety, who were distinguished upon occasions by 
 different names, in the same manner as St. Colium Cill, who 
 irom his youth was known by that name, notwithstanding he 
 received the name of Criomthan when he was baptised. 
 
 It must not be omitted in this place, that the father of St. 
 Colium Cill was naturally an Irishman, his mother was like- 
 wise of the same country, and not of a Scottish descent, as some 
 partial historians of that kingdom would willingly impose upon 
 the world ; and to confirm this truth we have the authority of 
 a book called the Chronicle of the Saints of Ireland, which ex- 
 pressly asserts, that Feidhlin, the son of Feargus Ceannfada, 
 son of Conull Gulban, the son of Niall, the great hero of the 
 nine hostages, was the father of St. Colium Cill ; and as a far- 
 ther evidence it may not be improper to subjoin the following 
 verses, translated from an old poet, whose testimony cannot be 
 disputed : 
 
 The most religious Colium Clli 
 Desceadsd from the roj'al race of Felix, 
 Son of Feargus, most renown \l iu war, 
 Sou of the uivL'acible Conuii Gulban. 
 
o3t> THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 This is the genealogy of St. Colliim Ciil by his father's line ; 
 and that he was likewise of Irish extraction by the family of 
 his mother, appears from the testimony oi the treatise beCoro 
 mentioned, called The vision of Collum Cili, which records, that 
 Eithne, the daughter of Diom-a, son of Naoi, who came from 
 the posterity of Cairbre Kiafer, king of Lsinster, was the mother 
 of this saint. The following verses are translated h'oiu th3 
 same writer : 
 
 Eithne, a noLle and virtuous princess, 
 Sprung from the illustrioiis line of Cairbre, 
 Vv'as daughter of Dioma, son of Naoi, 
 And mother to St. Collum Cill. 
 
 This Irish saint raortined hh body by a continued course of 
 abstinence ancl austerity, which by this severe usage became so 
 macerated, that his bones had almost pierced through his skin ; 
 and when the v/ind blew hard through the wall of his cell, which 
 was unplaistered, and forced aside his upper garment, his ribs 
 became visible through life habit ; for by his fasting and other 
 acts of devotion he was no more than the image of a man, and 
 was v/orn to a very ghastly spectacle. An ancient poet haa 
 transmitted this description of St. Collum Cill in the follow- 
 ing verses : 
 
 This pious saint, as a religious penance, 
 Lay on the cold gi-ound, and through his garments. 
 His bones look'd sharp and meagre ; his poor cell 
 Was open to the inclemency of the winds, 
 Which blew through the unplaister'd walls. 
 
 The age of this saint, as the m.ost authentic chronicles relate, 
 was seventy- seven years. This copaputation is justified by tho 
 account oi Dalian Forguill, who vvrote The vision of St. Collum 
 Cill soon after his decease. He v/as a poet, and upon this occa- 
 sion has these verses : 
 
 St. Collum Cill, after a pious life 
 Of S3venty-sevea years, breath'd out his soul, 
 And was translated to the heavenly choir 
 Of angels and archangels, as a rev/ard 
 Due to his virtues. 
 
 The first forty-three years of his life he spent in the kin2:dom 
 of Ireland, which was his native country ; then he removed into 
 Scotland, where he continaed thirty-four years. The author of 
 
OP IRELAND, 387 
 
 tlie vision of tbis saint has recorded these particulars of his Ijfe 
 in the lines subjoined ; 
 
 Forty-tliree j^ears this Christian hero liv'd 
 \ Among his Irish countrymen, then inspired 
 
 ' With zeal to propagate the Christion faith 
 
 He visited the Scots, to whom he preach'd. 
 The gospel four -and-thirty years. 
 
 The three principal places where St. Collum Cill usually re- 
 sided, are known by the names of Aoii, in Scotland j .Derry, ia 
 the province of Ulster, and Dunn da Leathghlass, where his 
 body was solemnly interred. For these places of abode the 
 laint ever retained a great affection, and mentions them with a 
 particular fondness in tiiese verses, which he composed himself : 
 
 ]\ry soul delights to meditate- and pray 
 
 At iioii, tlie happy paradise of Scotland ; 
 
 Deny, the glory of my native isle, 
 
 I celebrate thy praise, by nature bless'd ; • 
 
 To Dunn de Leathghlass I bequeath my bonea. 
 
 In life a s\fect retreat. 
 
 Sf. CollTim waf< naturally of a hate and robust constifiition ; 
 for tlie author of his life relates, that when he used to celebrate 
 mass or to sing psalms, his voice might be distinctly heard a. 
 mile and a half from the place where he was performing his de- 
 votion j and, as we find expressly related in his vision, no evil 
 rpirit could bear the divine and harmonious sound of his voice, 
 but fled away far out of the reach of it. To confirm this, it ia 
 proper to introduce the evidence of an ancient poet, who, treat- 
 ing of the vision of St. Colium, particularly luenlious it; the' 
 lines may be thus trauslaied : 
 
 . St. Colium by his swoet mclcdious voice 
 
 iixpell'd the evil spirits, Avho tiom the' iound 
 
 3'recipitantly lied ; for, by heaven inspir'd, 
 • lie charm'd the good, but was a scourge and terror 
 
 T',' tiiC profane. 
 
 There is an account of a wonderful event, to be met with ii 
 an old manuscript, which perhaps may be refused belief, but 
 cannot wholly be omitted in tbis place. The chronicle relates, 
 that when St. Colium Cill was in Ireland, there lived a pagan 
 priest in the county of Tyrconnel, who erected a temple of great 
 beauty and magnificenGa in those times, and among other curi- 
 oijities of art and workmanship, he made an altar of fine glass,, 
 
388 THE GaNERAL HTSTORT 
 
 which he stiperstitiously adorned with the vepresenfation of the 
 sun and moon. It happened that this priest was seize^l with a 
 sudden distemper, which took away his senses, and he was with- 
 out motion, as if he had been in a swoon. The devil, who it 
 seems had a particular resentment against the man, took advan- 
 tage of the opportunity, and seizing him with his talons, was 
 hurrying him away thi'ough the air ; St. Ck)llum looking up, 
 perceived the fiend upon the wing bearing his prey, and when 
 he was flying directly over him, the saint made the sign of the 
 cross in the air above his head, which so astonished the devil, 
 that he let go his hold and dropped the priest, who providen- 
 tially fell at St. Collum's feet. This deliverance was so grate- 
 fully received by the priest, that after a short discourse he be- 
 came a convert to Christianity, and when he had dedicated his 
 temple to the Christian service, he bestowed it upon St. Collum, 
 and entered himself into a religious order, where he led a mo- 
 nastic life, and became an eminent confessor for the faith of 
 Christ. In the reign of Hugh, son of Ainmereach, kiog of Ire- 
 land, the celebrated St. Collum was removed to a better state. 
 
 It is to be cautioned in this place, that the saint we are 
 speaking of was Collum Cill, the son of Feidhlin, son of Fear- 
 gus ; for many excellent and pious persons in Ireland were 
 afterwards known by the same name. That valuable record, 
 called Leabhar Kuadh Mac Eogain, and the Chronicle oi the 
 Irish saints, expressly assert, that many religious men, and ex- 
 icmplary women, and abbesses of that kingdom, had the same 
 name ; they take notice that there were twenty-two saints in 
 Ireland called St. Collum, the first of which name was the saint 
 ■whose piety and virtuous acts have been described, and in hon- 
 our of whose memory every one was desirous of that title, as a 
 sort of check and restraint upon immorality and vice, and a 
 signal example of temperance, charity, and every other Chris- 
 tian virtue. 
 
 We are told that there were fourteen religious persons in 
 Ireland, known by the name of Breannuin ; the two principal 
 were Breannuin Biorra and Breannuin Ardfeart : and we find 
 that there were twenty-five saints in that kingdom called Ciaran, 
 particularly those holy men Ciaran Cluana Mac Naois, Ciaran 
 Saigre, Ciaran Tiabruide Naoi, and Ciaran Cille Fionnuidhe. 
 Thirty were distinguished by the name of Aodhan, and seven 
 called Bairrfionn, of whom Bairrfioua, who lived in Cork, was 
 of superior note ; this person had another name, and was called 
 1^'iunnbhair of Cork, and was the son of Amergiu, sou of Dabii: 
 
* OF IRELAND. 389 
 
 Baibhin, son of Nineadha, son of Eochaidli, son of Cairbre Ard, 
 son of Bryen, son of Eochaidh Moidhmeodhin, king of Ireland. 
 In the convent of Cork, the governor of which religious house 
 was this Fionnbhair, there were seventeen prelates constantly 
 residing, and seven hundred of the clergy. There w re fifteen 
 holy women in Ireland, who were distinguished by the name of 
 Bridget ; the most eminent of them was Bridget, the daughter 
 of Dubhthaig, who lived in the province of Leinster, and the 
 character of this pious woman is highly valued and esteemed 
 among the religious throughout Europe. It is certain that she 
 descended lineally from the posterity of Eochaidh Fionn Fuath- 
 nairt, who was a famous prince, and brother to the renowned 
 Conn, the hero of the hundred battles ; as we find it particu- 
 larly mentioned in the chronicle of the Irish saints, where there 
 is a poem that begins with these words, Naomh Sheanchus, 
 Naomh Insi Fail, and has the genealogy of this lady expressed 
 at large in this manner : Bridget, the daughter of Dubhthaig, 
 Bon of Dreimne, son of Breasal, son of Dein, son of Conla, son 
 of Art, son of Cairbre Niadh, son of Cormac, son of Aongus, 
 son of Eochaidh Fionn Fuathnairt, son of Feidhlimidh Reacht- 
 mar, son of Tuathal Teachtmar, king of Ireland. The religious 
 women that w;ere known by the name of Bridget in that king- 
 dom were fourteen, and were those that follow : Bridget, the 
 daughter of Dioma ; Bridget, the daughter of Mianaig ; Bridget, 
 the daughter of Momhain ; Bridget, the daughter of Eana y 
 Bridget, the daughter of Colla; Bridget, the daughter of Eathtair 
 Ard^ Bridget, of Inis Bride ; Bridget, the daughter ot Diamair; 
 Bridget, the daughter of Seannbotha ; Bridget, the daughter of 
 Fiadnait ; Bridget, the daughter of Hugh; Bridget, the daughter 
 of Luinge ; B/"idget. the daughter of Fiochmaine ; Bridget, the 
 daughter of Flainge. 
 
 It was in the reign of Hugh, the son of Ainmereach, king of 
 Ireland, whose history is now under consideration^ that Gaodhil 
 gave over Manuinn Eogan Mac Gabhran, being very a^ed at 
 that time. Under the government of this monarch St. Caia- 
 catch Aphadhbo, descended from the posterity of Feargus, son 
 of Riogh, departed the present life. About this time it was, 
 that Colman Rimidh engaged in the memorable battle of 
 Sleamhna, where the royal army of Hugh, king of Ireland, with 
 his son Conall at the head ol it, was defeated ; soon afterwards 
 the battle of Cuill Caoll was fought by Fiachadh, the son of 
 Baodan, in which action Fiachadh, the son of Diomain, was" 
 routed, and the greatest part of his army put to the .sword. 
 
3D0 THE GENERAL HISTORY ♦ 
 
 After tins defeat. Conall, the son ol Suibhne, obtained, by hia 
 singular bravery, three complete victories in one day, when he 
 conquered three generals of the name of Hugh, viz., Hugh 
 Slaine, Hugh Buidhe, kino- of Omaiue, and Hugh Roinn, king 
 of O'Faile. These battles were fought at Bruighin da Choga, 
 as the following Imes expressly testify : 
 
 The martial Conall with his valiant troops 
 Three battles fought, and fortunately conquer'd 
 The three renowned Hughs, Hugh Slaine, 
 Hugh Roinn, and Hugh Buidlie who bravely fcJ 
 With all their forces- 
 
 Fiachadh, the sou of Baodan, and Fiachadh, the son of Dio- 
 main, who are mentioned before, were engaged in perpetual 
 quarrels and disputes, which were fomented with great violence 
 on both sides ; and they could not be persuaded to an interview 
 and reconcilement, for St. Collum Cill interposed, and -by the 
 lueditation of his prayers prevailed, that Fiachadh, son of Dio- 
 maiu, had always the advantage of his enemy, over whom he 
 obtained several victories. The unfortunate Fiachadh, son of 
 Baodan, having suffered many grievous defeats, applied J;iimself 
 to St. Collum Cill, and desired him to favour his interest ; for 
 ,he was sensible he was not so much overcome by the arms of his 
 enemies, as vanquished by the irresistible powers of his prayers. 
 The saint expostulated the matter with him, and among other 
 particulars, demanded whether it was his choice to lose his life 
 in battle, and be happy afterwards in the kingdom of heaven, 
 or to come off victorious over his enemies and be eternally 
 miserable in another state. The ambitious and deluded prince 
 replied, that he would trust his soul into the hands of Providence; 
 but of all things he desired in this world, he would choose to 
 subdue his enemies in battle ; for such exploits would make hig 
 name immortal and mentioned with honour to all posterity. 
 This answer was very unwelcome to the saint, who lamented the 
 folly of the young prince ; but proposing the same question to 
 Fiachadh, son of Diomain, he made a more Christian choice, and 
 preferred the happiness of a future life to all the titles of fame, 
 and the glorj^ of conquest, which attended the victorious in this 
 world ; and the wisdom of this prince was so acceptable to the 
 saint, that he received him under his immediate charge, entreated 
 heaven for success in all his undertakings, and by his prayers 
 obtained victory for him in every engagement. 
 
 Evef J principal family of the nobility and gentry throughout 
 
** OFIHELANB." 391 
 
 the kingvlorn of Irelandj expressed a singiilar veneration and re- 
 verence for some particular saint^ whose name 'they invoked, 
 and whose protection thej implored upon all occasions ; and 
 this will appear evidently from the instances that follow. The 
 families of the Tuathallachs and Byrns applied themselves to 
 St. Caoimhgin, of Glindaloch ; the Cinsalachs committed them- 
 selves to the care of Maoidog Fearna ; the Cavenaghs to Mo- 
 ling ; the Moores, in the Irish language O'Mordha, addressed to 
 Fioutan of Cluain Aidnach ; Ossery called upon Caineach Ach- 
 asdho ; the O'Bryens Apharlach directed their prayers to 
 Seadhna ; Muskry Mac Diarmuid placed themselves under tho 
 care of Gobuuit ; Imocuille fixed upon St. Colman, with many 
 other noble families that might be mentioned in this place. 
 There was not a county or territory in all the kingdom but what 
 had a particular saint, whose name they invoked in all emer- 
 gencies, and who was made choice of as the guardian of them- 
 selves, their families, and fortunes. But the saints we have 
 already mentioned were not the most distinguished ; for the 
 most popular names throughout the island were such as Finghin 
 or Florence, of Moigh Bille Ciaran Cluana, Conihgoill Bean- 
 choir, Bridget of Kildare, Eilbe of Imligh, and St. Patrick. 
 These saints are particularly recorded, with the provinces and 
 femilies they had the charge of, by A ongus Ceilede, who composed 
 the book called Psalter na Kann, from whence the following 
 lines are extracted, that were written by the same author : 
 
 The illnstriotts tribe of the O'lSTeilis address'd 
 
 Themselves, in tlieir religious offices, 
 
 To the devout St. Collum ; the men of Ulster 
 
 Invok'd the help of Finghin Maigh Bille. 
 
 The noble family of the Dalnaruidhe 
 
 Implor'd the kind protection of ComhgoUl. 
 
 Eridget, a lady lineally deriv'd 
 
 From a renowned race of kings, took charge 
 
 Of Leinster ; and the most dev^out St. Ailba 
 
 Presided over Munster. These were saints 
 
 Of an inferior order, when compar'd 
 
 With the di\ane St. Patrick, who possessed 
 
 The first place in the Irish kalendar, 
 
 And was the guardian angel of the isle. 
 
 In the reign of Hugh, son of Ainmereach, king of Irelan:!, 
 Brandubh, the son of Eochaidh, son of Muireadhach, son of 
 A ongus, son of Feidhlim, son of Eana Cinsalacb, was king of 
 i^einster, and governed that province for one j^ear. This pro- 
 vincial prince engaged in a war with Hugh, the Irish monaroa, 
 
so 2 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 and after several sharp disputes he defeated the royal army ii 
 the celebrated battle of Beallach Duubolg, where Hugh, the sod 
 of Aiamereach, was unfortunately slain. After this victory, 
 the ancient records assert, that the inhabitants of Leinster re- 
 belled against Brandubh, who raised a considerable force to sup 
 press the traitors ; but they were supported with superior num- 
 bers, and engaged the king in the battle of Camel uain, by SaraD 
 Saoibhdearg of Seannboith, in which action the king, after a 
 terrible slaughter of his troops, lost his life. This memorable 
 event is related by an old poet of good authority, in the follow- 
 ing lines : 
 
 The most heroic Saran Saoibhdearg 
 Of ancient Seannboith, Avith his sword 
 Engag'd the valiant Brandubh, king of Leinster, 
 And slew him hand to hand. 
 
 - Hugh Slaine seized upon the governroent. He was 
 '-' the son of Diarmuid, son of Feargus Ceirbheol, s^n of 
 Conali Creamthuine, son of Niall, the 'hero of the nine 
 hostages, descended from the royal line of Heremon ; and he 
 admitted as a partner in the sovereignty, Colman Rimidh, the 
 son of Mortough, son of Earca, derived from the same illustrious 
 family. Tnese princes were the succeeding monarchs, and ruled 
 jointly with great friendship for the space of six years. The 
 mother of Hugh Slaine was Mungan, the daughter of Congear- 
 uinn, son of Duach, of the province of Conacht; and he con- 
 tracted marriage with Eithne, the daughter of Breannuin Dall, 
 of the same part of the country : by this lady he had six sons, 
 and their names were Diarmuid, Donagh, Maolbreasail, Maolo- 
 dhar, Congall, and OilioU. This king was particdarly distin- 
 guished by the name of Aodha Slaine ; and he was known by 
 that title, because his mother was delivered of him upon the 
 river Slaine. In the reign of these Irish princes, Gregory, the 
 Koman pontiff, deputed St. Augustine the monk, with a com- 
 mission to propagate Christianity in Britain ; into which country 
 he came, attended with a great number of clergy, whose busi- 
 ness was to obey his orders, and assist him in that religious uu* 
 dertaking. This transaction is contradicted by some writers, 
 who assert, that five missioners of the name of Augustine ar- 
 rived in Britain at the same time, which account may be justly 
 suspected to be a mistake. Colman Eimidh fell by the sword 
 of Lochan Diolmhain, and Hugh Slaine was killed by Conuil 
 Guthbin : such was the unfortunate end of these princes, who 
 Bat jointly ia the throne of Ireland. 
 
' Cy lEELAXD. 393 
 
 Aodh Uairiodhnach succeeded. He was the son oi: 
 f ',* Daniel, son of Mortough, son of Muireadhach, son of 
 Eogan, son of Niall, the famous hero of the nine, hos- 
 tages, descended from the posterity of Heremon ; and wa3 
 blessed with a long reign, for he enjoyed the sovereignty twenty- 
 seven years. The mother of this prince was Bridget the daugh- 
 ter of Orca, son of Eiric, son of Eachach ; and the occasion of 
 his being called Aodh Uairiodhnach was, because he was troubled 
 with acute pains, and frequently felt stitches in his side ; for 
 the word Jodnach in the Irish language, signifies in the English 
 a cold stitch, and Uair is the Irish word for an hour, (because 
 his distemper was regular in its attack, and seized him con- 
 stantly at certain hours,) so that by joining these words together 
 they sound Uairiodhnach. This tormenting disease was a great 
 affliction to the king, and was very sharp and violent while it. 
 lasted, insomuch that the king would cry out as if upon the 
 rack, and offer his kingdom to be eased of it for one hour. But 
 notwithstanding he was subject to these pains in his body, he 
 was a prince of a martial disposition, and could well endure the 
 fatigues of war. His reign met with frequent disturbances 
 from Aongus, the son of Colman, who was at length totally de- 
 feated in the memorable battle of Odhbha, in which bloody con- 
 flict Conall Laoghbreag, the son of Aodha Slaine, the preceding 
 monarch, lost his life ; soon after this action Aodh Uairiodh- 
 nach, king of Ireland, was killed in the battle of Da Fearta. 
 «,^ Maolchobha succeeded in the Irish throne. He was 
 
 the son of Aodh or Hugh, the son of Ainmereach, son 
 of Seadhna, son of Feargus Ceannfada, son of ConuU Gulban, 
 son of Niall, the celebrated hero of the nine hostages, de- 
 rived from the royal stock of Heremon, and administered the 
 government four years. The consort of this monarch was Craoi- 
 eeacl^ the daughter of Hugh Fionn, king of Osseiy : and he 
 fell by the victorious sword of Suibhne Meain, in the dreadfiii 
 battle of Bealgadin. 
 
 ^^^ Suibhne Meain seized upon the crown. He was the 
 
 ~'~'' son of Fiachra, son of Fearadhaich, son of Mortough, 
 son of Muireadhach, son of Eogan, son of Niall, the renowned 
 hero of the nine hostages, a lineal descendant from the royal 
 race of Heremon, and enjoyed the sovereignty thirteen years. 
 It was in the reign of this Irish monarch that St. Caomhgin of 
 Glindaloch was translated to a better state, after he had been 
 blessed with a long life of 120 years. This religious person waa 
 the sou of Caomlilo^a; sou oi Caumfheiida, son of Ourile, sou 
 
394 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 \ 
 
 of Feargus Liioibhdearg, son of Meisia Cairb, who came fror.i 
 the posterity of Labhra Loingseach. Under his governmen", 
 likewise died Hugh, who was otherwise called Aodha Beanain, 
 king* of Munster ; and about the same time was removed by 
 death out of the present world, the most pious St. Adamain, \ 
 Bon of Ronain, son of Tinne, son of Aodha, son of Coluim, son 
 of Seadha, son of Feargus, son of ConuU Gulban, son of Niall, the 
 hero of the nine hostages. The wife of Suibhne Meain, king ol 
 Ireland, was Rona, the daughter of king Ua Durtri. This prince 
 met with an untimely fate, as did most of his predecessors, and 
 was slain by Couall Claon, son of Sganlann Sgiath Leathan. 
 
 Daniel possessed the sovereignty of Ireland. He was 
 gA^' • the son of Hugh, son of Ainmereach, son of Seadhna, 
 son of Feargus Ceannfada, son of ConuU Gulban, son of 
 Niall, the hero of the nine hostages, descended from the royal 
 posterity of Heremon, and sat upon the throne thirteen years. 
 It was this prince that fought the terrible battle of Dun Citherne, 
 where he engaged Conall Claon, whom, after a dreadful slaughter 
 of his best troops, he routed and drove out of the field. In the 
 reign of this Irish monarch, St. Fiontan, who was likewise known 
 by the name of Muna, exchanged this life for a better ; and 
 about the same time Carthacii Mochuda was banished from 
 Rathan to Lismore. Under the government of this prince hap- 
 pened the death of Mochua and Molaise, the pious bishops of 
 Leithglin. Carthach Mochuda before mentioned, was a descen- 
 dant from the noble family of Ciar, son of Feargus Mac Roigh, 
 and undertaking a pilgrimage from Kerry to Rathan, when he 
 arrived there he erected an abbey in that place, and settled some 
 monks in it, to the number, as an old record asserts, of 710. . 
 These religious persons were distinguished by their piety and 
 holy lives, and their character was so valuable among the people, 
 that it was given out, that an angel usually conversed with eivery 
 third person in a familiar manner. 
 
 The great reputation of these monks of Rathan raised a jea^ 
 lousy among the religious who lived in the convent of Jobh 
 Neill, and lost ground considerably in the affections of the peo- 
 ple. To recover their character they sent messengers to Moch- 
 uda, to desire him to leave Rathan, and repair to his own coun- 
 try, which was the province of Munster. The saint refused the 
 invitation, and replied resolutely, that he would never forsake 
 his pious monks of Rathan till he was compelled by violence, 
 either l3y a king or a bishop invested with proper authority. 
 This answer enraged the monks of Clanna Neiil, who resolved to. 
 
0? IRELAND. 305 
 
 force tlie saint from Rathao, incensed Blathmac and Diarmuid, 
 who came attended by a body of the northern clergy, in a tu- 
 multuous manner, with a design to seize upon Mochuda, and 
 drag him out of his convent. When the saint was informed of 
 the violence projected against him, and that his enemies were 
 approaching, he dispatched a Pictish nobleman of Scotland, who 
 was a lay monk in the house, to treat with Blathmac, and desire 
 the fiivour of continuing with his monks at Rathan for the 
 space of a year longer without disturbance ; the name of this 
 religious Pict was Constantine. Blathmac was prevailed upon 
 to allow a year's respite, and, without offering any violence, re- 
 turned home with his followers. When the time was expired 
 Blathmac came to Rathan, expecting Mochuda and his monks 
 would quit the convent; and when he arrived he sent a clergy- 
 man into the house, to require the saint to fulfil the agreement, 
 and leave the monastery without giving him the trouble of an 
 ejectment ; but Mochuda, unwilling to forsake the convent, 
 which he had erected for a religious use, dispatched the pious 
 Constantine to Blathmac, entreating him not to proceed in his 
 design, and force him out by violence, and promising him withal, 
 that if he would allow him to continue there with his monks 
 for one year more, he would withdraw v,dthoufc giving him more 
 trouble. This request with great dij^culty was obtained, and 
 the saint remained undisturbed till the time expired ; but at 
 the end of the year Blathmac with his clergy about him returned 
 to Rathan, and when he found Mochuda and his monks con* 
 tinned in the convent, he raised a company of rude fellows in 
 the neighbourhood, with a design to force the house and appro- 
 hend the saint. The leader in this enterprise was Diarmuid^ 
 Ptuaighnigb, who was followed by the principal of the tribe of 
 Cluain Aongusa. 
 
 Supported with this assistance Diarmuid advanced towards 
 the abbey gate, and not attempting to enter, he fixed himself 
 behind the door on the outside, which stood wide open. Mo- 
 chuda was soon informed of this attempt, and without any sign 
 of fear or surprise he came to the gate where Diarmuid was, 
 and when he had addressed him with great civility, he courte- 
 ously invited him into the convent, but Diarmuid*^ did not ac- 
 cept of the invitation, and could by no means be induced 
 to go in. This denial astonished the saint; who expected to be 
 used with violence, and demanded the reason of his refusal, and 
 whether he did not come with such a number of followers on pur- 
 pose to seize upon hhn and his monks^ and by force to eject 
 
396 Tim GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 \ 
 
 them out of the monastery. Diarmuid acknowledged that the 
 design of his arrival, and those hostile preparations, were to ap- 
 prehend him, and in case of resistance and opposition, to seiza 
 him and turn him and his religious out by force ; but, says 
 he, I find a compunction in my mind, and dare not prose- 
 cute this attempt, which I am concerned that I any way en- 
 gaged in, for I have that veneration for your professed piety, 
 and the dignity of your sacred character, that I should incur 
 the guilt of sacrilege should I impiously lay hands upon j'ou, 
 or presume to violate this structure, devoted to the purposes of 
 religion and the pure worship of God. May that God there- 
 fore, replied Mochuda, shower his divine blessings upon you and 
 your posterity ; you are worthy to sit in the throne of Ireland, 
 which would be happy under the command of so pious a princo, 
 and I pray God that the crown may be fixed upon your royal 
 head, and by an uninterrupted succession descend to your family 
 for many ages. Nor, continued he, would I have you be con- 
 cerned at the scoffs and indignities you will be apt to receive, 
 on your return to Blathmac and his profane companions : for 
 they will in derision bestow a title upon you, and call you by 
 the name of Diarmuid Ruaighnigh, yet that name shall be a 
 distinction of honour to yourself and your posterity. 
 
 With this encouragement from St. Mochuda, Diarmuid re- 
 turned to Blathmac, who, expecting the saint and his monks, 
 passionately inquired why he had not entered the convent, and 
 forced away the members of the house if they refused to follow 
 him with consent. Diarmuid replied, that he never designed 
 to offer violence to so religious a person ; to which answer 
 Blathmac returned scoffingly, " that, I confess, was Ruaighnigh," 
 which was as much as to say, it was charitably done ; for the 
 word Ruaighnigh in the Irish language signifies charitable in 
 the English. The whole company immediately derided him 
 with the same appellation, and by that means the prediction of 
 the saint was accomplished ; upon the account of this circum- 
 stance the descendants of Diarmuid were called Sliocht Diar- 
 muida Ruaighnigh for many generations. 
 
 Blathmac still persisted in his resolution oi forcing the con- 
 vent, and expelling the monks ; and followed by a number of 
 rude profane people, he advanced towards the abbey. The gate 
 was found open, and he seized Mochuda, and using him in a 
 very rude and disrespectful manner, he thrust him and his 
 monks out of their apartment, and made fast the gates. This ' 
 barbarous treatment was so resented by the saiat, tiiat he cursed 
 
or incLAXD. 307 
 
 him with dreadfal imprecations, and implored heaven to revengo 
 this cruel persecution upon his family. 
 
 Mochuda, after this expulsion, was uncertain whither to re- 
 tire and conduct his followers, but at length he resolved to lead 
 them towards the county of Deisies, in the province of Mun- 
 ster ; and while the saint was upon his journey, as the chronicle 
 asserts, he performed many miracles, and worked wonders among 
 the people. When he arrived in that country with his monks, 
 he applied to the king of the Deisies, who gave him a courteous 
 and honourable reception, and made provision for the saint and 
 his followers ; and in a short time Mochuda was so sincerely re- 
 spected by the king, that he committed himself and the affairs 
 of his government to his care and administration, and took him 
 with him to Dunsginne, which place has changed its name, and 
 is the same with Lismore at this day. This is the account ex- 
 tracted faithfully from the Irish chronicles, concerning the ex- 
 pulsion of Mochuda and his monks from the abbey of Eathan, 
 of their arrival in the county of Deisies, of the entertainment 
 they received from the king, who made provision for them, and 
 settled them in Lismore. 
 
 It is to be observed in this place, that the remarkable battle 
 of Muighrath was fought by Daniel, the son of Hugh, son of 
 Ainmereach, in which terrible conflict Conall Claon was unfor- 
 tunately slain, after he had governed i:he province of Ulster ten 
 years. In the reign of Daniel, the following saints, who were 
 most eminent for their piety in those times, departed the present 
 life, viz., St. Mochuo, who was descended from the posterity of 
 Catbaoir More ; this religious person erected and consecrated 
 Tigh Mochuo in Leix, otherwise called in the Iiish language 
 Laoeghis ; St. Mochuda, Molaise Leithgline, Comhdan mac da 
 Chearda, and the devout Cronan, bishop of Caoindrom. This 
 prince died soon afterwards, of- a natural death ; which is the 
 more remarkable, because most of his predecessors fell by the 
 sword. ^ 
 
 Conall Claon obtained the sovereignty, and admitted 
 ^ , o* his brother Ceallach as a partner in the government. 
 * . These princes were the sons of Maolchabha, son of Hugh, 
 son of Ainmereach, son of Seadhna, son of Feargus Ceannfada, 
 son of Conull Gulban, son of Niall, the hero of the nine hos- 
 tages, descended from the royal line of Heremou, and filled the 
 throne with peace and unanimity thirteen years. In the reiga 
 of these brothers, Cuana, the son of Cailchine, derived from the 
 illustrious posterity oi Jieber Fionn; and king; of Fearney ia 
 
 Y 
 
398 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 south Minister, departed this life. This prince was called the 
 renowned champion of Liathmuine, and was contemporary with 
 the celebrated Giiaire, son oi Colraan, king of Conacht, and re- 
 sembled that noble person in his acts of munificence and cha- 
 rity ; for he was continually extending his relief to the poor 
 and indigent, liberal to men of learning in all professions, and 
 hospitable to strangers, which were accomplishments that Guairo 
 was distinguished by, who is delivered down by the Irish writers 
 as the standard of these princely and uncommon virtues to pos- 
 terity. Upon this occasion the following verses were composed 
 by Conall and Corahdan, who had an excellent genias for poetry, 
 aad were the laureats of the age : 
 
 The most illustrious Guaire, thft sou of Colman, 
 
 A liberal and hospitable prince, 
 
 Was equall'd in his virtues by Guana, 
 
 The brave and pious champion of Liathmuine. 
 
 In the reign of Conall Claon and his brother Ceallach, Ra- 
 gallach, the son of Uadhach, who had governed the province of 
 Conacht for 25 years, was killed by Maolbride, the son of Moth- 
 lachan, and met with an inglorious fate, from the hands of a 
 base vile rabble of mechanics and labourers that were his im- 
 mediate executioners. This Ragallach had conceived a violent 
 hatred and aversion for the son of his elder brother, whose right 
 to the crown he had invaded, and was fearful lest he should be 
 disturbed in his government by the pretensions of his nephew, • 
 who was the next heir in succession, and had a formidable inte- .- 
 •'.'est in the affections of the people. He resolved therefore to 
 remove him out of the way, and had made several attempts ' 
 upon his life, but without success ; but when he perceived his 
 wicked designs defeated, and that it was impossible to murder 
 him by open violence, by reason of his popularity, he had re- 
 course to a stratagem which effected his purpose, and concluded 
 in the death of the young prince. Ragallach it seems was so 
 concerned because be could not destroy the young prince, that 
 he contracted a languishing disease, and fell into a consumption ; 
 and to conceal his treachery the better, he sent a message to his 
 nephew, to desire a visit from him before he died, for his disease, 
 iie judged to be incurable, and therefore he passionately expected 
 to see him, for he designed to leave the government to him, and 
 to settle upon him the crown of Conacht. The prince and his 
 friends scon discovered the meaning of this disgui^d friendship, 
 and resolving to go to court upon the invitation, he raised a 
 
OF IRF-LAND. 3'9& 
 
 considerable force, to atteud him as a guard, but he charged 
 them to behave themselves without committing hostilities, only 
 to have their swords drawn under their cloaks, and be in readiness 
 jf any violence should be offered by his uncle, whose treachery he 
 suspected, and was apprehensive some attempt would be made 
 upon his life. Under this strong guard the prince and his 
 friends arrived at the court of Conacht, and baing introduced 
 into the king's presence, who lay languishing upon his bed, ho 
 courteously inquired after his health, and the nature of his dis- 
 temper. The king was surprised when he saw the prince enter 
 his chamber with so numerous a retinue, and with a seeming 
 concern told him, that it was the greatest trouble of his whole 
 life, to be suspected of insincerity by the person he fully de- 
 signed should wear the crown after his decease ; for there could 
 be n(iJpca|sion for such a guard, and so many followers, unless 
 he a|^^^ended some danger, which was unreasonable to sup- 
 pose from an expiring king, who st) <ii^|^;^H|^u3d him, and re- 
 solved to declare him his successor ; ana therefore he desired to 
 see him again the nest morning, but without attendants, for he 
 had something of importance to communicate, which was uofc 
 proper to be divulged before company j nor indeed, continued 
 he, am I able to bear the suspicion of my dear nephew, who, by 
 the number about him, must be jealous of my friendship, which 
 confounds me upon a death-bed, when I am preparing to leave 
 the world, and fix him in the succession to the crown of Conacht. 
 The nephew, deceived by the hypocrisy of his perfidious uncle, 
 went to visit him the next day, unattended and without his 
 |:uards, and he had no sooner entered the chamber, but, upon a 
 &ign given, a body of soldiers, who were prepared for the exe- 
 cution, followed him, and falling upon him in a barbarous man- 
 ner, left him dead upon the spot. Kagallach being thus deli- 
 vered from his fears, by destroying the rightful heir, began to 
 recover from his languishing state of health, his consumptiou 
 daily abated, and his cure was perfected in a short time. He 
 had now no apprehensions of a competitor to give him disturb- 
 ance, and therefore he abandoned himself to ease and indolence, 
 neglected the weighty affairs of his government, and consumed 
 his time and his revenue in rioting, feasting, and sensuality. 
 
 This treacherous prince, Ragallach, had for his wife a com- 
 passionate and well-disposed lady, whose name was Mixrron, and 
 she so lamented the miserable death of the young prince, that 
 she was afraid that the gods, for she was a pagan, would revenge 
 this cruelty upon her hutsband or herself in an exemplary man- 
 
4.00 THE GENERAL HmiORY 
 
 ner ; and therefore she had recourse to an eminent augur re- 
 tained in the family, and inquired of him whether the vengeance 
 of heaven was concerned to punish the murder, and who would 
 suffer for that monstrous act, Ragallach, who contrived his exe- 
 cution, or herself, who was no way privy to it. The soothsayer 
 replied by the rules of his art, that the death of her nephew 
 would be revenged upon the king and herself, and that by the 
 most unexpected means, and by the hands of her own child; for 
 the child she had then in her womb would be the instrument 
 appointed by Providence to punish this barbarous murder, which 
 would be amply revenged upon Ragallach and herself. The 
 queen, astonished with this answer, informed the king, who re- 
 solved to destroy the child as soon as it was born, and by that 
 means defeat the prediction of the druid. The lady was soon 
 after delivered of a daughter, and in obedience to the king's com- 
 mands, tho infant was thrown naked into a bag, and given to a 
 swineherd to be destroyed ; but the man looking upon the 
 child, was so moved with its cries and the sweet beauty of its 
 face, that he relented with compassion, and resolving to preserve 
 its life, he carried it privately to the door of a religious woman, 
 who lived in a cell in the neighbourhood, and hung the bag upon 
 a cross that stood in fall view of the woman's house. In that 
 condition the helpless babe lay exposed, and the swineherd, for 
 fear of a discovery, returned by unfrequented ways to his own 
 dwelling : but Providence ordered, that the woman came home 
 within a short time, and hearing the mournful cries of a dis- 
 tressed infant, she soon perceived the bag hanging upon the, 
 cross, and taking it down, she found a most beautiful babe, which 
 she assisted in the best manner she was able, and became so de- 
 lighted with her fondling, that though her circumstances were 
 mom, she resolved to breed her up at her own charge. 
 
 The child was nursed and educated with great care and ten* 
 derness, and when she began to grow up, she discovered so beau- 
 tiful a complexion, and so complete a person, that the fame of 
 her spread over all the country, and came at last to the ears of 
 xhe king of Conacht. Ragallach, who was a very lascivious prince, 
 was so charmed with the description of this rural maid, and the 
 character of her uncommon beauty, that he sent a messenger to 
 bring the girl to court ; and if the supposed mother refused to 
 part with her, he was not to use violence upon the first summons, 
 but return with all possible speed with an answer. The woman, 
 wiio valued tho maid with the most tender affections of a pareur., 
 rafused to send her child, and the messenger returning with na- 
 
OF lUt^LAXP. 401 
 
 1ic3 of her refusal, the king was so abandoned to his passioi., 
 that he sent positive orders to force her away, and bring her to 
 the court of Conacht. His commands were faithfully executed 
 by the messenger; and when the maid was admitted into the 
 presence of Kagallach, he was so charmed with the modesty ot 
 her carriage and the beauty of her person, that he resolved to 
 preserve her for his own use, and within a short time she was 
 received into his embraces. This contempt and indignity en- 
 raged the queen, who boldly represented to the king the iujustico 
 and scandal of the action, but without success ; for he was re- 
 solved to gratify his. pleasures at all hazards, and persisted in his 
 converse with this country beauty, whom he resolved to retain, 
 at the expense of his character, and of the indignation of a jea- 
 lous queen, who resented this affront in the most outrageous 
 manner. 
 
 When the queen perceived that her persuasions and her me- 
 naces were ineffectual, she applied herself to the most eminent 
 clergy of the kingdom, to represent the wickedness of this 
 practice to tbe king, and prevail with him to dismiss his concu- 
 bine ; and accordingly Feichin Fabhair attended with a great 
 number of eminent divines, and religious persons of several 
 orders, came to Conacht, to address the king upon this occasion, 
 and in the most submissive manner entreat him to desist from 
 that impious course of life, and banish his mistress the court. 
 They were soon admitted into the presence of Ragallach, and 
 utied all possible arguments to prevail with him, but without 
 success ; for he was a prince of a libidinous disposition, and 
 refused absolutely to comply with their I'equest ; which so en- 
 raged the clergy, that they left the court, and implored the jus- 
 tice of heaven to overtake the king by a most «ignai stroke : they 
 loaded him with the most dreadful imprecations, and prayed to 
 God that he might not live till the May following, that he might 
 receive his death by the most despicable weapons, that the mean- 
 est persons and the very scum of mankind might be the execu- 
 tioners of the divine vengeance, and that he might die in a plac9 
 unbecoming the majesty of a king, and end his days in a most 
 vile and ignominious manner. These imprecations of the clergy 
 were heard, and were accomplished in the most minute circum- 
 sance ; for, as the chronicle continues the relation, Kagallach 
 and his nobles were diverting themselves in an island by hunt- 
 ing a stag, the beast had received a wound, and coming near the 
 place where the king was expecting him, he threw a dart with 
 Buoii force and judgment, that he pierced him through the body. 
 
403 TiTK GKN'ERAL HISTCilY 
 
 Th9 stag in this extremity plunged into tho lako, ani.l the ki:-.[» 
 vdth his followers pursaed him tlirough it. Tne beast reached 
 the farther shore, and ran into a field where some labourers were 
 cutting turf. The stag, by the pain of his wound, and the fa- 
 tigue of swimming, was ready to drop, which when the rustics 
 psrceived they ran upon him, and killed him, and by consent 
 divided the flesh equally between them. By this time Ragal- 
 lach and his retinue came up, and finding the boors cutting up 
 the beast, he was in a great passion, and commanded them to 
 resign the stag, and deliver it to the huntsman to be carried to 
 court; but the countrymen resolved not to part with their 
 booty, and upon a short consultation they perceived the king 
 bad but few in his company, and found themselves able to da- 
 fend their prey : accordingly they fell upon the king with their 
 spades and other tools, and wdthout much difficulty they dis- 
 mounted Eagallach, and left him and most of his followers dead 
 upon the spot. Thus did heaven confirm the prayers of the 
 clergy, and punished a wricked and lascivious prince, who com- 
 mitted murder to secure himself upon the throne, and lost his 
 life for the sake of a concubine. MaiTon, the queen of Con- 
 acht, did not long survive, for the neglect of her husband threw 
 her into a melancholy distemper, which occasioned her death ; 
 nor did the daughter long enjoy the pleasures of a court, for 
 she soon died unlamented, and vengeance justly punished sucn 
 wicked and promiscuous mixtures. 
 
 In the reign of Conall Claon, king of Ireland, was fought tha 
 noted battle of Carn Conuill, by Diarmuid, the son of Aodha 
 iolaine, in which engagement was killed Cuan, the son of Am- 
 holgadhg, who had governed the province of Munster ten years 
 In the same action fell Guan Conuill, king of Figinte, and Tal 
 monach, king of O'Liathain. This victory, we are told, was in 
 a great measure owing to the incessant prayers ot the religioai 
 belonging to the convent of Cluaiu Mao Naois, who fervently 
 addressed themselves to heaven for the success of Diarmuid, who, 
 after a bloody conflict and terrible slaughter, won the battle. 
 Tae victor, when he returned, bestowed a valuable tract of land 
 and great privileges upon the convent, and the estate he settled 
 at that time, is known at this day by the name of Liathmau- 
 tain ; and he had that veneration for the abbey of Cluain Mio 
 Naois, that he ordered by his will, that there his body should 
 be interred, which was done accordingly. The most pious S&. 
 Fursa died about this time ; she was of the royal line, descended 
 from the posterity of Lughaidh Laga, brother to Oilioll Oiiioa j 
 
or IRKLAXD. 403 
 
 and St Mocli3alIaj, w'lo eractel and consecrated Cill Mjcheal* 
 log, was soon akerwards translated to a better state : this reli- 
 gious person was derived from the family of Conaire, the son of 
 Eidersgeoil. The brothers, who sat jointly on the throne of Ire- 
 land concluded their i^ign in this manner : Ceallach was lost in 
 Brugh Os Boyne, and Conall was killed by Diarmuid, the son of 
 Aodh Slaine. 
 
 Blathmac and Diarmaid Rnaidhnaigh, the two song 
 *^,' of Aodha Slaine, son of Diarmuid, seized upon the so- 
 vereignty. These princes descended from the royal line 
 cf Heremon, and reigned over the island seven years. In the 
 government of these brothers the memorable battle of Pancty 
 was fought, in which bloody engagement the king of England, 
 with thirty of his principal nobility, was slain. About this 
 time that religious person St. Oltan died, and Maoidog, descended 
 from the posterity of Colla Uais, monarch of Ireland, who built 
 and consecrated the church of Fearna, left the present world, 
 and was removed to a better ; he was fallowed by Cuimin Foda, 
 the son of Fiachradh the monk, and by St. Mannach, the son 
 of Finghin or Florence, King of Munster. These two brothers, 
 Blathmac and Diarmuid, died of the plague that for distinction 
 was called Buidhe Conuuill. 
 
 ppo Seachnusach was the successor in the throne of Ire- 
 
 land. He was the son of Blathmac, son of Hugh, other- 
 wise called Aodha Slaine, descended f/om the royal line of He- 
 remon, and reigned monarch of the island six years. In the 
 government of this prince the battle of Feirt was fought be- 
 tween the inhabitants of the province of Ulster and the Picts, 
 where there was a terrible slaughter of both armies. In the 
 reign of this prince died the most pious Baoithin, abbot of Be- 
 anchuir. Seachnusach was afterwards killed by Dubh Duin of 
 Cineol Cairbre. 
 
 ^„. Cionnfaolaj the son of Blathmac, son of Aod!)a 
 
 Slaine, son of Diarmuid, possessed the sovereignty, and' 
 reigned four years. Under the administration of this prince, 
 the convent of Beannchuir was consumed by fire to the ground, 
 and all the members of that religious house were dispossessed 
 and expelled by invading foreigners. This monastery was dis- 
 tinguished by the name of Beannchuir, upon the account of 
 Breasal Breac, king of Ireland. This prince transported a nu- 
 merous army into Scotland, and was so successful in his expe- 
 ;3ition, that he returned with considerable booty, and among the 
 rtsl he brought over ^vith him a great number of horned uaUio, 
 
404 TUF. OKXERAL HJSTanT 
 
 Wiien he arrived in Ireland he encamped with his forces in a 
 place now called Beannchuir, where he was obliged for the sup- 
 port of his troops to kill many of these beasts, and their horaa 
 were scattered all over the plain, which fiom that time has been 
 called by the name of Beannchuir, upon the account of these 
 horns ; for the word Beanna or Adharchadh, in the Irish tongue, 
 signifies horns in the English. Many years after this en- 
 campment, the religious abbot Comhgall erected and endowoi 
 an abbey in the same place ; and, regarding its original appol- 
 lation, occasioned by scattering the horns, he retained the u'.d 
 name, and called it the abbey of Beannchuir, After this reli- 
 gious house was attacked and burned down by foreigners, Cioa 
 Faola, king of Ireland,, was killed by Fionnachta Fleadhacb, 
 the son of Dunchada, in the memorable battle of Cealtrach. 
 
 Fionnachta Fleadhach obtained the government, ilo 
 ..'jg' was the son of Dunchada, son of Aodha Slaine, derived 
 
 from the illustrious line of Heremon, and he filled t)\'» 
 throne of Ireland seven years. Under the administration of 
 this prince, the people of Ireland were accustomed to niako 
 great feasts, and recreated themselves with noble and expensive 
 entertainments ; and from these sumptuous and magnificent 
 banquets, the king was distinguished by the name of Fioanacht:-v 
 Fleadhach, for the word Fleadh in the Irish language signifies 
 in the English a feast. lu the reign of this prince died Coiman, 
 the pious bishop of Inis Bo Finne, and about the same timo 
 Fionnan, who pronounced his benediction over Ardfionan, left 
 the world ; this excellent person descended from the posterity 
 of Fiachadh Muilleathan. Tne famous St. Aranan died not- 
 long afterwards. This Fionnachta, king of Ireland, fought tho 
 battle of Lochgabhair, against the iahabitants of the provinco 
 of Leinster, in which engagement a great number of the provin- 
 cial troops were cut ofi:'. The learned Cionnlliola died under 
 the government of this monarch ; and in the same year Dun- 
 gall, the son of Scanlan, king of the Picts, and Cionnfaola, king 
 of Oionnachta Glinne Geimin, were buried by Maolduin, son of 
 Maolfithrigh, at Dunceithrin. In the same reign some of tho 
 principal commanders of the Welsh invaded Ireland, with a 
 numerous and 'gallant army of their countrymen, and, as the 
 venerable Bede relates in the sixth chapter of the fourth book 
 of his history, committed dreadful hostilities, and made cruel 
 devastations upon the Irish coasts. Tne same writer asserts, 
 that in the year of our redemption 684, the forces of the king of 
 Er gland; under the co-uduct of an experienced general, svhos(3 
 
OP IRELAND. 405 
 
 name was Bar hi??, landad upon the inland, and redncsd the in- 
 habitants to great extremities. His expression is,* " Bert us 
 miserably ravaged that innocent nation, which was a most friendly 
 filly to the English." In this invasion was fought the famous 
 tattle of Rathmore, at Muigh Glinne, in which action Cumas- 
 gach, king of the Picts, and a great number of the Irish were 
 slain. These resolute and hardy Welsh transported themselves 
 from thence to the isles of Orcades, which they subdued, and 
 plundered the country without mercy. Some of these people 
 landed upon the northern coast of Leinster, and spoiled the in- 
 habitants with great cruelty, not sparing age or sex, or even the 
 churches and the sacred vessels dedicated to divine service. 
 After these ravages they returned, loaded with booty, into their 
 own country. Fionnachta Fleadhach, king of Ireland, was 
 killed by Hugh, the son of Dubhthaigh, and by Conning, at 
 Greallach Dolling. 
 
 Loingseach got possession of the crown. He was the 
 po-* son of Daniel, son of Hugh, son of Ainmereach, derived 
 from the illustrious race of Heremon, and governed the 
 kingdom of Ireland eight years. In the reign of this prince 
 Adamhnan removed himself from Scotland, to propagate the 
 Christian faith among the Irish, and about the same time Mo- 
 ling Lauchradh left the world. Under the government of 
 Loingseach the Welsh invaded the island, by whom Magh Muir- 
 theimhne was miserably plundered. Among other misfortunes 
 of his reign, a most dreadful and consuming murrain raged 
 among the cattle throughout England and Ireland, which occa- 
 sioned a most terrible and afflicting famine among the inhabi- 
 tants, so that the people were compelled to feed upon one ano- 
 ther ; and this visitation continued with great violence for the 
 space of three years. Egbertus the saint undertook to preach 
 the gospel in Scotland about this time, and Muireadhach Muil- 
 leathan, king of Conacht, died. The subjects of Ulster soon 
 afterwards engaged the Welsh in the battle of Moigh Cuillinn, 
 and obtained a victory over those foreigners, of whom a terrible 
 slaughter was made, and almost their whole army slain. Adamh- 
 nan, the religious abbot of Aoii, in the kingdom of Scotland, 
 died about the same time, after a life of seventy-seven years. 
 It was within the reign of Loingseach, that the Saracens invaded 
 the Grecian empire with an incredible number of forces, and 
 attempted to make themselves masters of the capital city, Con- 
 
 * Bertus vastavit gentem innocentem misere «t nation! Anglorum amicissimam. 
 
40G THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 8tantino[)?e ; but, after a siege of threa 5'ears, they were repcJllel 
 with considerable loss, and obliged to give over the undertaking. 
 The pious Coibhdhean, bishop of Ardfert, was now removed to 
 abetter life; and, soon after the decease of this prelate, the 
 battle of Cormin was fought by Ceallagh, the .^^on of Ragallach, 
 who governed the province of Conacht seven years, in which 
 bloody action Loiugseach, the son 01 Aongus. king of Ireland, 
 lost his life. 
 
 Congall Cionnmaghair succeeded in the throne. He 
 PQo' was the son of Feargus Fanuid, son of ConuU Gulbau, 
 
 son of Niall, the hero of the nine hostages, descended 
 from the princely line of Heremon, and he was in possession of 
 the sovereignty nine years. This Congall was a cruel perse- 
 cutor of the Irish church,'and he burned the regular and secular 
 clergy at Kildare without mercy or distinction. But the divine 
 vengeance pursued him, and punished him with a sudden and 
 unlamented death, 
 ^^f, FeargalJ obtained the government. He was the son 
 
 of Maolduin, son of Maolfithrigh, son of Hugh, otherwise 
 called Aodha Uairiodhnach, a lineal descendant from the line 
 of Heremon, and sat upon the throne of Ireland seventeen years. 
 The mother of this monarch was Cacht, the daughter of Maol- 
 chabha, king of Cineal Conuill. In the reign of this prince 
 died Baodan, the bishop of Inis Bo Finne. About this time 
 the Welsh, and the noble tribe of the Dailriadas, fought a most 
 bloody and desperate battle, at a place called Cloch Mionuire ; 
 the victory was in suspense, and the slaughter equal on both 
 sides, for some part of the day, but the undaunted bravery of 
 that ancient clan was not to he resisted, and the Welsh were 
 routed with the loss of the greatest part of their army. In 
 the same year Neachtan, the king of Scotland, expelled his do- 
 minions a convent of monks, who presumed to reprehend him 
 for his conduct, and by that means promoted discontents among 
 his subjects. The reign of this prince was remarkable for a very 
 wonderful event that happened, and which gave a name to Niall 
 Frasach, who was born about the same time ; for three showers 
 fell from the heavens in the sight of a number of spectatois, 
 viz., a shower oi honey at Foithin Beag, a shower oi money at 
 Foithin More, and a shower of blood at Magh Laighion. 
 
 But the most remarkable transaction in the reign of Feargall 
 was the battle of Almhuinne, that was fought between Morough 
 Mac Broin, king of Leinster, who had governed that province 
 fifteen years, and this Feargallj the son of M^olduiu, king of 
 
OP IRELA^n). 407 
 
 Ireland. Tho rojal army, raised "by tha 'king, consisted of 
 21j000 choice troops ; and the provincial forces, that followed 
 the king of Leinster, amounted in the whole but to 90U0, sup- 
 ported by eighty-nine valiant and distinguished champions of 
 hardy seasoned courage, and his household troops, that were in- 
 considerable in number, but of undaunted bravery. Both armies 
 entered tho field, and a most bloody and desperate engagement 
 followed j but the provincial troops made so dreadful an impres- 
 sion in the beginning of the action, that they pierced into the 
 king's army, and put them into confusion with incredible 
 slaughter, and notwithstanding a great superiority of numbers, 
 Feargall was forced to give way, victory declared for the king 
 of Leinster, and 3300 of the enemy were left dead upon the field 
 ot battle. At the first onset an unaccountable terror seize<l 
 upon the royal army, occasioned, as some authors assert, hy 
 a dreadful apparition that hung over them in the air, which 
 put them into such dread and consternation that they were 
 easily overthrown ; which terrible sight, the chronicle relates, 
 left such an impression upon the minds of some of the soldiery, 
 that though they escaped with their lives in the action, yet after 
 the defeat they ran distracted. Some accounts magnify the loss 
 sustained by the king of Ireland, and express that 7000 of his 
 men w^ere killed upon the spot. The misfortune of the royal 
 army, we are informed, was owing to a sacrilegious act committed 
 by Feargall, as he was advancing to fight the king of Leinster ; 
 for it is said that in his march some of his forces broke into a 
 church called Cillin, and carried away all the holy vessels, and 
 violently drove away a cow that belonged to a hermit of that 
 place. This injustice was so resented by the pious old man, 
 that he laid dreadful imprecations upon the king, and applied 
 to heaven for exemplary vengeance upon his army; and the" 
 prayers of that holy person prevailed, and occasioned the loss of 
 the battle, wherein Feargall, king of Ireland, and his sacrilegious 
 forces lost their lives. * 
 
 Fogarthach was the successor to this unfortunate 
 A\/ prince. He was the son of Neill, son of Cearmuigh Sotu- 
 
 ill, son of Diarmuid, son of Hugh, otherwise called Aodha 
 Slaine, of the royal Jine of Heremon, and reigned monarch of 
 the island one year. He lost his life by Cionaoith, the son of 
 Jurgallach, in the battle of Beilge. 
 f-.^r. Cionaoith fixed himself in the sovereignty. Ho was 
 
 the son of Jargallach, son of Conning Charraig, son of 
 Congailie, sou of Aodha Slaiue, derived from the princely stoci£ 
 
408 THE QENEKAL HISTORY 
 
 of Hereinon, and administered the government four years. In 
 the reign of this prince the relics of the pious Adnomhan wcro 
 removed from Scotland into Ireland. The bloody engagement 
 of Drom Curran was fought soon afterwards, by Flaithbhear- 
 tach, the son of Loinseach, with Cionaoth, king of Ireland ; in 
 which action the royal army received a general defeat, and the 
 king himselt was found dead upon the field of battle. 
 
 Flaithbheartach succeeded in the throne. He was tho 
 r.p/ son of Loingseach, son of Aongus, son of Daniel, son o/ 
 Hugh, son of Ainmereach, a descendant from the royal 
 line of Heremon, and enjoyed the crown seven years. The mother 
 of this prince was Murion, the daughter of Ceallach. The vene- 
 rable Bede, in his English history, relates, that the dreadfi/l bat- 
 tle of Drom Dearg was fought in Scotland, in the reign of thia 
 Irish monarch, between Drust and Aongus, two brothers, 
 and sons of Aongus, king of the Picts. The succession to the 
 kingdom of Scotland was determined in this engagement, where 
 Drust, and the army that asserted his right, was subdued, and 
 himself slain. The battle of Murbuilg was fought soon after- 
 wards, in the same kingdom, between the noble tribe of the 
 Dailriadas and the Picts, where the Picts were defeated with 
 great slaughter, and drove out of the field. About the same 
 time was fought the battle of Fotharta, in Muirtheimne, be- 1 
 tween the forces of Aodha AUain, the noble Clanna Neill, and 
 the inhabitabts of Ulster, in which sharp engagement Aodha 
 lloin, who had been king of that province for thirty years, and 
 Concha, son of Cuanach, king of Cobha, were unfortunately 
 slain. Not long after this action, Loingseach, the monarch oi 
 Ireland, died a natural death at Ardmach. 
 ^.^- Aodha or Hugh Cdlan got possession of the sove- 
 
 ' ' * reignty. He was the son of Feargaile, son of Maol- 
 duin, son of Maolfithrig, son of Aodha Uairiodhnach, ^de- 
 scended from the royal family of Heremon, and governed the 
 kingdom nine years. The mother o£ this Irish prince was Brid- 
 get, the daughter of Orca, son of Carrthon. In his reign the 
 provinces of Munster and Leinster fought the bloody battle ot 
 Beallach Faile, where there was a dreadful slaughter on both 
 sides, and in the conflict perished Ceallach, the son oi Faob- 
 iiuir, king of Ossery. In this dispute the victory was doubt- 
 ful for some time but at last the fortune of the day fell to Ca- 
 thall, the son of Fionguine, king of Munster. 
 
 In the government of this king, Aongus, the son of Feargus, 
 king of the PictS; raised a cunsiderabb army and invaded ihe 
 
OF ISELASD. 409 
 
 territories of the tribe of the Dailriada, in the kingdom of Scot- 
 land, and committed terrible devastations, having entered the 
 country with fire and sword. Among other hostilities he plun- 
 dered without mercy and distinction Dun Greidhe, and 'hen 
 set the place on fire, and levelled it with the ground. This Pict- 
 ish king was followed with victory in this attempt, his arms and 
 cruelties were a terror to the inhabitants, and among his suc- 
 cesses, the fortune of war delivered into his hands Dongall and 
 Feargus, the sons of Seaibhaigh, who was at that time king of 
 the Dailriada, whom he made prisoners^ and confined closely 
 under a strong guard. 
 
 Abo at the same time there was an interview between Hugh 
 Allan, king of Ireland, and Cathall, the son of Fionguine, king 
 of Munster, at a- place called Tirda Glass, in the county of Or- 
 mond, where, among other debates, it was consulted what me- 
 thods should be used to advance the yearly revenue of St. Pa- 
 trick throughout the kingdom, and they established a particular 
 law for that purpose. The battle of Athseanuigh was soon af- 
 terwards fought between Hugh Allan, king of lireland, and 
 Hugh, the son of Colgan, king of Leinster. This engagement 
 was fought with desperate courage on both sides, and many per- 
 sons of distinction lost their lives. The king of Ireland re- 
 ceived a dangerous wound, and Hugh, son of the king of Lein* 
 ster, was slain ; the provincial troops fought with great bravery, 
 but the principal nobility of the province perished in the action, 
 and it is said that 9000 of the forces of Leinster remained dead 
 upon the field of battle. The army o-f the kingdom of Irelaudl 
 suffered great difficulties and loss of men ; and among the com- 
 manders, Hugh, the son of Mortough, a brave and experienced 
 soldier, who shared the sovereignty of the island with Hugh, 
 was wounded mortally, and did not survive the action of the 
 clay. The reign of this prince was distinguished by the death 
 of these eminent persons, Flann, the son of Cronmaol, the pious 
 and charitable bishop of Rotheruine j Cahall, the son of Fion- 
 guinne, who governed the province of Munster j and the mar^ 
 tial prince Hugh Balve, the son of lonrachia, who had been king 
 of Conacht seven years. Hugh Allan, king of Ireland, fell 
 under the victorious sword of Daniel, the son of Morrough, ia 
 the noted battle of Seiridhmidh, known otherwise by the name 
 of the battle of Ceananus. 
 
 Daniel succeeded to the crown of Ireland. He was 
 
 t-.r.' the son of Morrough, son of Diarmuid, son of Airmeadh 
 
 Caoch, son of ConuU Guthbhin, son of Suibhne, son of 
 
410 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 Colman More, son of Feargus Ceirblieoil, son of Conall Cream- 
 thuine, son of Nialj, the martial hero of the nine hostages, a 
 lineal descendant from the renowned line of Heremon, and was 
 monarch of the island forty-two years. The mother of this 
 prince was Ailpin, the daughter of Congall of Dealbhna More. 
 In the reign of this Irish king, Colman, the bishop of Laosan, 
 ■was killed by the hands of O'Durraire ; and Cormac, the bishop 
 of Ath Trim, left the present life for a better. About this time, 
 as the chronicle relates, a prodigy was observed, for the appear- 
 ance of a monstrous serpent was seen moving in the air : this 
 apparition was followed by the death of Seachnusaoh, the son 
 of Colgan, king of Cinsalach ; and soon afterwards Cathasacb, 
 the son of Oiliolla, king of the Picts, was killed at Hath Beath- 
 ach, by the inhabitants of the province of Leinster. Under the 
 government of Daniel two eminent prelates, whose names were 
 Suarleach, bishop of Fabhair, and Osbran, the bishop of Cluain 
 Creamha, were translated into another life. The memorable 
 battle of Beallach Cro was fought about this time by Criomh- 
 than, the son of Eana, in which engagement Fionn, the son of 
 Airb, king of Dealbhna, was slain, and great numbers of his 
 army followed him into another world. This terrible fight hap- 
 pened at a place called Tiobraid Fionn, and from the dreadful 
 slaughter and bloodshed of that action, the adjoining lake that 
 is near the place has been ever since distinguished by the name 
 of Loch Beallin Cro ; for the word Cro in the Irish language, 
 signifies blood in the English, and the spring that gives rise to 
 that lake is called Tobur Fionn. In the same reign died these 
 remarkably great men : Comusgach, the king of O'Faly, who 
 ■was killed by the hands of Maolduin, the son of Hugh Beanain, 
 king of Munster j and Aongus, the king of Scotland, who re- 
 signed his crown and his life. About the same time the battle 
 of Beallach Gabhrah was fought, by Maconceara and the inha- 
 bitants of Ossery, who, with their joint forces, engaged Dungall, 
 the son of Laidhgin, son of O'Cinnseallach, in which action 
 Dungall with the principal gentry of Leinster lost their lives ; 
 and soon afterwards died MortOugh, the son of Murchadh, king 
 of Leinster ; and after a long reign followed Daniel, the son of 
 Morrough, king of Ireland. This prince descended from Clan 
 Colman, and died it is supposed naturally and without violence. 
 Niall Freasach was the next successor. He was the 
 (^ A.2* son of Feargall, son of Maolduing, son of Maolfithreach, 
 son of Aodh Uairiodhnach, derived from the royal pos- 
 terity of Heremon; he enjoyed the crown four years. The 
 
OF IRELAND. 411 
 
 mother of this prince was Aithiochta, the daughter ol Ceiii 
 O'Connor, king of Cianachta. The reason why he was distin- 
 guished by the name oi Niall Freasach was, because there fell 
 three preternatural showers in the kingdom of Ireland the time 
 he was born ; a shower of honey, a shower of silver, and a 
 shower of blood ; for the word Fras in the Irish language, sig- 
 nifies a shower in the English. Under the government of thia 
 prince died Dubhionrachtach, the son of Cahal, son oi Mui- 
 readhach Muilleathan, after he had governed the province of 
 Conacht five years. The reign of this Irish king was afflicted 
 with many dreadful calamities ; for many terrible earthquakes 
 happened in several parts of the island, and a most miserable 
 famine raged throughout the kingdom, and destroyed multitudes 
 of people. Dungall, the son of Ceallach, king of Ossery, died 
 about this time ; likewise Cronmaol, the pious bishop of Cill 
 More, and Ailpin, king of the Picts, and Colgnait, the charitable 
 bishop of Ardbreacan, who were removed into another world. 
 The battle of Acha Liag was fought in the reign of Niall, be- 
 tween Jobh Bruin and Jobh Maine ; the action was sharp, and 
 concluded with great slaughter on both sides. Soon after thia 
 engagement Artgoile, the son of Cathal, undertook a pilgrimage, 
 and went to Aoii CoUum Cill, in the dominions of Scotland ; 
 about the same time, Feargus, the bishop of Damhliag, was 
 translated into a better state, and the bloody engagement of 
 Corann was fought between Cineal Connuill and Siol Eogain, in 
 which action Hugh Allain, the king of Fochla, came off with 
 complete victory, and Daniel, the son of Hugh Mundeirg, was 
 defeated with exceeding loss, and a general rout of his whole 
 army. Niall Freasach, the king of Ireland, did not long sur- 
 vive this fight, but died in Aoii Collum Cill, in the kingdom of 
 Scotland. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 Donchadha obtained the government. He was the 
 /^gjp* son of Daniel, son of Murchadha, son of Diarmuid, sou 
 
 of Airmeadh Caoch, son of Conull Guthbhin, son of 
 Suibhne, son of Colman More, son of Feargus Ceirbheoil, son of 
 Conall Creamhthuine, son of Niall, the celebrated hero of the 
 nine hostages, descended from the royal stock of Heremon, and 
 enjoyed the sovereignty twenty-seven years. He escaped the 
 sword by which most of his predecessors fell, and died in his bed 
 in his own royal palace, 
 g. o Hugh, who was otherwise called Aodha Dorndighe, 
 
 succeeded in the throne of Ireland. Pie was the son of 
 
4:12 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 Niall Freasach, and derived from the illustrious line of Kere- 
 mon, and was monarch of the island twenty-four years. Ttio 
 mother of this prince was Dunflaith, the daughter of Flaith- 
 bheartach, son of Loingseach, king of Cineall Conuill ; and he 
 was distinguished by the appellation o£ Aodha Dorndighe, or 
 Oirndighe, because when weaned from the breast of his nurse, 
 he used himself to that unbecoming practice of sucking his fin- 
 gers ; for the words Aodha Dorndighe, in the Irish language, 
 signify in the English, Hugh, the fist or finger sucker. The 
 reign of this prince was signally remarkable for the invasion cf 
 the Danes, who were hitherto strangers to the island, and landed 
 in a hostile manner in the west of Munster, with a numerous 
 army transported in fifty sail. Airtre, a descendant from the 
 race of Heber Fionn, governed the province of Munster at that 
 time ; and, upon the first notice of the attempt, he marched 
 •with a strong body ot his provincial troops, resolved to repel the 
 invaders. A most desperate and bloody action followed, where 
 the Danes were defeated, and fled in confusion to their shipping, 
 leaving 416 of their countrymen dead upon the spot. The 
 darkness of the night favoured their retreat, and hindered the 
 pursuit, which otherwise would have been attended with much 
 greater slaughter. After this trial of Irish courage the Danes 
 gave over the attempt for that time, and were obliged to return 
 into their own country. 
 
 Six years after this expulsion of the Danes, when Feidhlime, 
 the son of Criomhthan, was king of Munster, another fleet set 
 sail from Norway, and landed upon the coast of that province, 
 where they plundered and ravaged with the utmost barbarity, 
 and reduced the inhabitants to great extremities ; but an army 
 being raised with all possible expedition, to oppose the dreadful 
 progress of the invaders, the provincial troops gave them battle, 
 Irish bravery prevailed, and the Danes, h-epulsed with great 
 slaughter, were obliged to quit the island. In the seventeenth 
 year of the reign of this monarch, that bloody tyrant, Turge- 
 sius, made an attempt upon Ireland ; at which time Olchabhair, 
 son of Cionnfhaoith, son of Congall, son of Maolduin, son of 
 Hugh Beanain, was king over the province of Munster. This 
 account is confirmed by the authority of some Irish chronicles, 
 though the Polychronicon, speaking of the affairs of Ireland, 
 expressly asserts, that the Danes made their invasion upon the 
 island when Feidhlime, the son of Croimhthan, was the king of 
 Munster. His expression upon this subject it may not be iiii- 
 
OP IRELAND. > 413 
 
 proper to transcribe :* " From the coming of St. Patrick dowa 
 to the time of Feidhlime, thirty-three kings reigned in Ireland 
 for the space of 400 years ; but in the time of Feidhlime, the 
 Norwegians, under the conduct of Turgesius, got possession of 
 the country." There are other authors which say, that the 
 Danes made their first attempt upon the kingdom of Ireland, 
 at the time when Artry, the son of Conall, was king of Mun- 
 ster, and this is affirmed with great truth ; but it must be ob- 
 served they were not able to obtain footing in the country, but 
 were obliged to desist and return with loss, after they had plun- 
 dered the people, and done incredible damage wherever they 
 came. The writer of the Polychronicon likewise is to be cre- 
 dited in what he asserts, for he observes that Feidhlime was 
 king of Munster when that cruel tyrant Turgesius with his fol- 
 lowers landed upon the coasts, and with dreadful hostilities 
 harassed the inhabitants, who were miserably pillaged and en- 
 slaved under the oppression of these barbarous foreigners. 
 Keifher are we to reject the testimony of those writers, who 
 afiirm that the Danes landed in the country when Olchobhair 
 was in possession of the throne of Munster ; for those foreign- 
 ers, who made an attempt upon the island at that time, were 
 natives of the kingdom of Dania or Denmark and these people 
 are called in the old Irish records by the name of Dubhgeinte or 
 Dubh Lochlannaig ; the Norwegians, who came originally from 
 Norway, are styled in the chronicles Finngeinte orFionn Lochlan- 
 naig. It is to be observed in this place, that the word Lochlau- 
 nach, does not signify in the Irish language any particular tribe 
 or nation, but it implies strong or powerful at sea ; for the word 
 Lonn signifies strong in the English, and Loch is the Irish word 
 from the sea : for the people of Norway and Denmark were 
 skilful in navigation, and expert seamen, and by their shipping 
 transported powerful armies into Ireland, when they attempted 
 to make a conquest of the country. The particular exploits 
 and invasions of these foreigners will be related at large in the 
 following part of this history, extracted from that valuable re- 
 cord, known in the Irish language by the name of Cogadh Gall 
 ra Gaoidhealuibh, or An account of the wars of the Gauls 
 against the Irish. 
 
 In the reign of Hugh Girndighe, king of Ireland, and Artry, 
 
 * Ah adventu Sancti Patricii usque ad Feidhlimidii regis tempora, trigint^, 
 tres reges per quadringentos annos in Hibemia regnaverunt, tempore autem 
 Feidlilimidii, Norvogesenses dixce Turgesio. teiTam hanc occuparunt. 
 
414 THE GENERAL HI&TOIIT 
 
 the son of Cohall, king of Munster, the Gauls made an attempt 
 upon the island, and landed at Caomh In is Obhrathadh, with a 
 fleet of 60 ships ; these transports brought over a numerous body 
 of troops, who, upon their arrival, plundered the coasts with dread .» 
 fal cruelty, and then set the country on fire. In their fury Inij 
 Labhraine, after it had been pillaged, was consumed, and Dair- 
 inis suffered the same calamity, and was burned to the ground. 
 The inhabitants of Eoganacht and of Loch Lein resolved to re- 
 pel the invaders, and raising what forces they were able, they 
 resolutely gave them battle ; the action was short but violent, 
 and the natives obtained a complete victory, and 416 of the Gauls 
 were slain. This defeat so discouraged the foreigners, that they 
 retired with great precipitancy to their ships, they weighed an- 
 chor, and made homewards with all their sail. 
 
 But the kingdom of Ireland was so preferable in its wealth and 
 fertility to the barren country of Norway, that those northern 
 people soon prepared for another descent upon the island, and in 
 the second year of the reign of Feidhlime, king of Munster, they 
 landed and practised their usual barbarities upon the natives. 
 Among other ravages they burned Inis Eibhin, Beannchuir, 
 Cluain Umhadh, Ross Maoiladh, and Sgeilg Michael. Another 
 fleet of these foreigners arrived about the same time, and landed 
 in the east part of the island : they carried with them the ut- 
 most miseries of fire and sword ; they plundered Beannchuir, 
 and killed the bishop and the religious of that place, and added 
 sacrilege to their cruelty by breaking open the rich shrine of 
 CombgoU. These invaders were reinforced with another fleet of 
 JNorwegians, who, hearing of the success of their countrymen, 
 resolved to try their fortune, and landed at Jobh Cinnseallach. 
 Their arrival struck fresh terror into the inhabitants, who fled 
 for the security of their lives, and left the country to the mercy 
 of the invaders. In this attempt were plundered Teach Munna, 
 Teach Moling, and Inis Tiog. The hopes of booty encouraged 
 tliem to proceed in their hostilities, and coming to Ossery, they 
 began to spoil and pillage without opposition ; but the people 
 of that country rose upon them, and with great bravery attacked 
 the foreigners, who were unprepared for an assault, and intent 
 upon carrying off their booty, and after a desperate and bloody 
 conflict gave them an entire defeat, and slew 707 of them upon 
 the spot. The Danes, nothing dispirited by this misfortune, 
 distressed the country, and practised their usual devastations, 
 plundering Dundergmuighe, Inis Eogan, Diosiort, Tiobruid, and 
 Lismore; and they ransacked and burned to the ground Cillmo- 
 
OP IRELAND. 415 
 
 laisy, Gliodalocii, Cluaiuard, Mobeodhg, Suini Collum Gill, 
 Diamhliag Ciaran, Slaine, Cealla Saile, and Cluaiu Uadhme 
 Mungairid. The churches felt the common calamity, and after 
 they had been stripped of their ornaments and sacred vessels 
 they were set on fire ; and most of the monasteries and religi- 
 ous houses in the kingdom were consumed by these savage and 
 wicked invaders, without remorse or distinction. 
 
 Another fleet of these freebooters followed the former, and 
 landed in the harbour of Limerick. The coasts were immedi- 
 ately plundered with military execution, and Corcabaisgiaii 
 Tradruighe and Jobh Conuill Gabhra were set on fire and con- 
 sumed to ashes. But the Danes were not sufiered to carry off 
 their prey without opposition ; for Jobh Conuill, with a stout 
 body of native Irish, gave them battle at Seanuid, and putting 
 them to rout with considerable slaughter, recovered the spoil 
 out of their hands. But the most dreadful attempt upon the 
 island was by the cruel tyrant Turgesius, supported by a num- 
 ber of his countrymen, and a great fleet of ships, who, with 
 great terror to the inhabitants, landed upon the northern coasts 
 of Ireland. The historians of this time differ in their account 
 of this Turgesius, some asserting that he was the king of Nor- 
 way, others that he was the king's son ; but of whatever qua^ 
 lity he was, it is certain that he was a man of great personal 
 courage, but of a savage and inhuman disposition. The Danes, 
 whom he found in the liingdom, received him with universal 
 joy and loud acclamations ; and being before divided into seve- 
 ral bodies, under many commanders, they united under him, 
 and with one consent chose him for their general. Under the 
 conduct of this leader they renewed their hostilities, and pro- 
 ceeded in their ravages with that success that they determined 
 to conquer the whole island ; he fortified himself in the posses- 
 sion of what he had got, and dispatched a considerable part of 
 his army to seize upon the northern half of the country, called 
 for distinction Leath Coinn. He divided his fleet likewise, and 
 setting a sufficient number of his men on board, he sent some 
 of his ships to Loch Meachach, others had orders to sail to 
 Lughmiagh, and others were' commanded to Loch Bibh, with 
 positive commissions to ravage wdth fire and sword, to spare 
 neither age nor sex, but by their cruelties and terror of their 
 arms to dispirit the people, and fix themselves without fear of 
 being dispossessed. And these incursions were successfully 
 executed ; and among other instances of barbarity, Ardmach 
 was miserably plundered three times within the space of a 
 
4:16 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 month, aad Turgesius, without any regard to his character, 
 Eeized upon the abbot of Ardmach, and made him his prisoner. 
 The Irish apostle; St. Collum Cill, foretold the captivity of this 
 abbot, as it is recorded in the following lines ; 
 
 The most religious abbot of Ardmach, 
 Shall, by the force of the Norwegian arms, 
 Be seized, and made a prisoner of war. 
 
 There were many of the clergy of several orders within the 
 kingdom of Ireland, who, by a prophetic spirit, foresaw the soro 
 calamities that were coming upon their country long before they 
 happened ; for the inhabitants were become very profligate and 
 corrupt in their manners, and a torrent of vice and profaneness 
 had overspread the nation, but prevailed chiefly among the no- 
 bility and gentry, whose pride, injustice, and ambition, deserved 
 the severest inflictions from the hand of Pi-ovidence ; so that 
 the cruel Danes were used as instruments by Divine vengeance 
 to scourge and correct a wicked and debauched nobility, and an 
 immoral and licentious populace : it was.therefore predicted by 
 some of the ecclesiastics of the kingdom, that the sins of the 
 inhabitants would be punished by very terrible visitations, which 
 should overrun the land in the reign of Aodha Dorndighe, king 
 of Ireland, and Artry, the son of Cohall, king of Munster. 
 
 The province of Munster, it has been before observed, was 
 under the government of Feidhlime, son of Criomhthan, wheu 
 Turgesius,' the cruel Dane, invaded the island and spoiled the 
 country. Among other ravages he plundered the churches and 
 monasteries, sacrilegiously seized upon the ecclesiastical revenues 
 and expelled the primate of Ardmach and" his college of clergy 
 out of their benefices, and fixed himself in possession of that 
 church and the estates belonging, which he kept till he was 
 taken, by Maolseachluin, and afterwards drowned by him iu 
 Loch Ainnin, as will be particularly related in its proper place. 
 In the reign of Hugh Dorndighe, Inis Patrick suffered in the 
 common calamity, and was plundered by the merciless Danes, 
 v/ho by the benefit of their shipping spoiled most of the islands 
 between Ireland and Scotland, and returned loaden with booty. 
 
 About this time the revenue of St. Patrick, was established 
 upon the province of Conacht, by the authority of Gormgall, 
 the son of Diondaithaigh ; soon after Hugh Dorndighe divided 
 the country of Meath between the two sons of Donough, son of 
 Daniel; the names of these two brothers were Connor and 
 
OF mi;L.un3. 417 
 
 Oilioll. The monastery of Aoii Collum Cill, about this time 
 fell a sacrifice to the cruelty of the savage Danes, who had made 
 an invasion upon Scotland ; and their countrymen, inspired 
 Tvith the same barbarity, were not behind in their executiona 
 upon the Irish. 
 
 The kingdom of Ireland, notwithstanding the oppression of 
 these victorious foreigners, was rent asunder by civil discord ; 
 for the king and petty princes of the country, instead of oppos- 
 ing the common enemy with their united strength, quarrelled 
 among themselves, and laid themselves open with great disad- 
 vantage to the invaders. Hugh Dorndighe, the monarch of the 
 kingdom, was provoked by the people of Leinster, and enter- 
 ing the province in a hostile manner, he slew the inhabitants 
 that fell in his way j and within the space of a month he plun- 
 dered and reduced the country to the last extremities. About 
 a year aft«r these calamities, in the latter end of the month of 
 March, there were such teriible shocks of thunder, and the 
 lightning did such execution, that 1010 persons, men and wo- 
 men, were destroyed by it, between Corcabaisginn and the sea- 
 side ; at the same time the sea broke through its banks in a 
 violent and dreadful manner, and overflowed a tract of land that 
 would every year afford sufficient pasture for twelve head of cat- 
 tle j it was added to the channel and could never be recovered. 
 The tempest raged with exceeding terror, and the current of the 
 waters was so violent, that the island, called Inis Fidhe, was 
 forced asunder, and divided into three parts. 
 
 Hugh Dorndighe, king of Ireland, in his expedition against 
 the people of Leinster, pierced as far into the province as Dun 
 Cuair ; and having subdued the country as he went, he divided 
 it in equal parts between Muireadhach, the son of Ruarach, and 
 Muireadhach, the son of Bruin. Some time after this division 
 Muireadhaig was set on fire and consumed by the Danes, after 
 it had been plundered ; and these ravagers, emboldened by sue- 
 cess, made incursions upon the people of Omhaill, oven*an tho 
 country, and carried off the spoil. In the reign of this Irish 
 monarch died the venerable Eochaidh, bishop of Tamhlachta, 
 and likewise Eidersgeoil, the son of Ceallaig, the pious prelate 
 of Glindaloch, and Siadhuall, the good bishop of Eoscommon, 
 did not long survive the miseries of his country, but was trans- 
 lated to a better life. Hugh Dorndighe, after a troublesome 
 reign, was killed at Moigh Conuille, by the sword of Muoloa- 
 naigh, in the battle of Da Fearta. 
 
418 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 Conchabhar, otherwise called Connor, sat next upon 
 o.ij' the throne. He was the son of Donough,' son of Daniel, 
 son of Murchada, son of Diarmuid, son of Airnieadh 
 Caoch, descended from the royal line of Heremon, and was pos- 
 sessed of the sovereignty fourteen years. In the reign of this 
 Irish prince, the most exemplary Cionf haola, bishop of Athtrym, 
 left the world ; Eoohaidh O'Tuathail, the bishop of Luigh Moigh, 
 soon followed into another life. The reign of this king was 
 miserably harassed by the Danes, who began to settle in the 
 island, and among other devastations Inis Damhly and Cork 
 were plundered and burned. 
 
 About this time the revenue of Sfc. Patrick was established 
 upon the province of Munster by Feidhlime, the son of Criomh- 
 than ; and Artry, the son of Connor, enjoined the same tax 
 upon the province of Conaoht. Beannchuir and Dundaleth 
 Gias were attacked and plundered by the Danes, and not con- 
 tent to set fire to Moigh Bille, they enclosed the hermits that 
 belonged to the place, and consumed them to ashes, Mortough, 
 the son of Eogan, was king of Ulster at this time ; etnd Connor, 
 the king of Ireland, attempted to chastise the Gailiongachs, 
 who had provoked him by their insolence ; and for that purpose 
 he raised a gallant army, marched against them, and offered 
 them battle. They accepted the challenge, and engaged in tlia 
 plain of Tailtion, where the king's troops slew multitudes ol' 
 the enemy, and won the day. The inhabitants of Leinster re- 
 solved to oppose the progress of the Danes with all the forcea 
 of the province ; they met the army of the foreigners at Druim 
 Conla, and a bloody action followed : fortune remained doubt- 
 ful for some time, and in suspense between both parties, but 
 the provincial troops gave way and fled, which occasioned a ter- 
 rible slaughter in the pursuit j among the slain was the valiant 
 Conning, son of Conchoingiolt, chief of the tribe of the Fothartu- 
 arths. Sooii after this defeat Ardmach was plundered with 
 great barbarity by the victorious Danes, who, in the month fol- 
 lowing, spoiled with their accustomed cruelty Lughmagh, Finne 
 Cianachta, and Lismore, with all the churches and religious 
 houses that fell in their way, which they violently broke into, 
 killed or expelled the members, and seized upon the consecrated 
 vessels and whatever they found, as lawful booty. Before these 
 ravages of the Danes, there were four flourishing universities of 
 principal note in the kingdom of Ireland : one at Ardmach, which 
 was filled with 7000 students, as appears expressly by an old 
 roil discovered lately in tho library of Oxford ; tiie university 
 
OF IRELAND. 419 
 
 of Dunda Leath Glass : the university jof Lismore, and the 
 university of Cash'el. with many academies and colleges of 
 smaller account ; but they felt the destroying sword of these 
 barbarians, who had no regard for learning or learned men ; 
 nothing sacred or civil escaped their rage, but they swept all 
 they could lay hold on with a cruel and undistinguishing fury. 
 Connor, king of Ireland, unable to bear or redress the misfor- 
 tunes of his country, it is supposed died of grief. 
 
 Niall Caille was the succeeding monarch. He waa 
 ^P"?" the son of Hugh Dorndighe, son of Niall Frasach, a de- 
 "^ ' scendant from the posterity of Heremon, and he ruled 
 the island fifteen years. The mother of this prince was 
 Meidhbh, the daughter of Jonrachtach, son of Muireadhach, 
 king of Durlus. He was particularly known by the name of 
 Isiall Caille for this reason ; upon a time he came attended with 
 a great retinue of horse to the bank of the river Callain, with 
 a design to ford the stream, but it happened that the river was 
 swollen to a great height by the violence of the rains, which 
 occasioned him to halt, and sound the depth before he at- 
 tempted to enter the water. For this purpose he commanded 
 a gentleman who rode in his train to try the ford, who, before 
 he had gone far, was carried down by the current, and washed 
 off his horse. The king, willing to preserve him, gave orders 
 for those about him, who had the ablest horses, to plunge into 
 the water and lay hold of the gentleman ; but they were all 
 afraid and astonished at the fury and rapid course of the river, 
 and refused to venture, which made the king, concerned for the 
 misfortune of the guide, who by this time was almost drowned, 
 resolve to hazard his own person, and, if possible, to save his' 
 life. With this design he advanced to the very brink of the 
 water, and preparing to jump in, the ground, undermined by 
 the stream, broke under the horse's feet, and the current being 
 exceeding violent, rolled man and horse headlong, and the king 
 perished in. the attempt. This unfortunate prince had some 
 warning to avoid the river Callain, for it was predicted some 
 time before, that he should be-dfowned in that stream, which 
 was the sad occasion of his name, and he was always mentioned 
 afterwards by the name of Niall Caille. In the leign of this 
 prince died Diarmuid, the son of Tumaltach, who governed the 
 province of Conacht. The Danes still continued spoiling the 
 country ; they plundered Loch Bricirne, and killed Cocgallach, 
 the son of Neachach. 
 
 Niall, wbtse life we are writing, invaded the province of 
 
420 TDE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 Leinster at the head of a numerous army, designing by this ex- 
 pedition to place upon the throne of that country a princo 
 whose name was Bryen, the son of Faolan. The cruel Danes 
 carried on their depredations in a very dreadful manner ; they 
 plundered Fearna Maoidog, Mungairid, and Jollar Ceall, in the 
 county of Ormond ; the churches and monasteries were rifled 
 and demolished, the religious expelled with unheard-of violence, 
 and in their sacrilegious fury the magnificent church of Kildare 
 was wholly destroyed. 
 
 The success of the Danish invasion, promoted by the most 
 savage barbarities, that spared neither sex nor age, encouraged 
 the Normans to try their fortune ; who having fitted out a 
 number of transports, set sail from their own country, and ar- 
 rived in the mouth of the Boyne, and another fleet of forty sail 
 came into the mouth of the river LifFy. These invaders, if possi- 
 ble, exceeded the bloody Norwegians in their hostilities and mili- 
 tary executions ; they pillaged the coasts, and devoured what 
 the Danish locusts had left ; they carried with them the terror 
 of fire and sword in their incursions, they plundered Magh 
 Liffy, in the county of Dublin, Magh Breagh, and Fingal. iThe 
 progress of these foreigners alarmed the Danes, who, fearing the 
 Normans would deprive them of their conquests, and drive 
 them out of the kingdom, either by their own power or joining 
 with the natives, collected their scattered forces, that were di- 
 vided into several bodies for the convenience of plunder, came 
 to Jobh Neill, and offered battle to the Normans. The fight 
 began briskly, and a dreadful slaughter followed on both sides, 
 but the victory inclined to the Danes, who, after a terrible im- 
 pression upon the enemy, turned the fortune of the day, an(J 
 pursued them from Inbher Nambark, where the battle was 
 fought, along the banks of the Shannon, to the sea side. This 
 success animated the Danes, who, finding the country open and 
 xmguaided, renewed their hostilities, and ransacked and burned 
 Inis Ccaltrach Cluain Mac Nois, and all the churches of Loch 
 Eirne were consumed to ashes. 
 
 In the time of these public calamities, Feidhlime, ttie son of 
 Criomhthan, governed the province of Munster; and having 
 entered into holy orders, presided in the archiepisi-opal chair of 
 Leath Modha, as the south half of Ix'eland was generally called. 
 This prince received provocations from the northern half of the 
 island, known by the name of Leath Cuin, and carrying his 
 arms into that part of the country, he sorely distressed the 
 inhabitants, and plundered without distinction from Birr to 
 
Oy IRILLAND. 421 
 
 TeiTmbair Breag ; but he met with opposition at Tara, which 
 he overcame with some difficulty, and in a conflict, wherein his 
 forces engaged Jonrachtach, the son of Maolduin, lost his life. 
 This ecclesiastical prince did not long survive to enjoy the benefit 
 of his victories, being cut off by death, after he had filled the 
 throne of Munster for twenty- seven years. There is a valuable 
 treatise extant, which gives a great character of this Feidhlime, 
 the son of Criomhthan ; and, speaking of his disease, says :* 
 " The most excellent and wise anchoret of the Scots departed 
 this life ;" which is authority sufficient to believe that this princa 
 was a person of great learning and accomplishments, and, by 
 reason of his piety and the holiness of his life, a bright orna- 
 ment of the Christian professiou. 
 
 In the same year with the death of Feidhlime, Olchobhair, 
 abbot of Imly, a man ambitious and fond of power, had interest 
 sufficient to have himself elected king of Cashel. Maolseach- 
 luin, king of Meath, about the same time engaged the Danes at 
 Casan Linge, and gave them a signal overthrow, which con- 
 cluded with the slaughter of 700 of them upon the spot. The 
 Danish general, whose name was Saxolb, was killed by Cianach- 
 taibh, in an encounter wherein the foreigners were defeated with 
 great loss. The fortune of the Danes began now to abate, for 
 they were generally routed by the natives, who struggled hard 
 for their liberties, and particularly destroyed numbers of them 
 in the battle of Easruaidh ; but after this bad success the in- 
 vaders recovered their strength, and with the choicest of their 
 forces, laying siege to the city of Dublin, took it sword in hand. 
 The famous Cormac Mac Cuillenan, who was archbishop of 
 Cashel, and governed the province of Munster for seven years, 
 was born about this time ; soon after the pious bishop of Teilge, 
 whose name was Exnich, was unfortunately killed. The inha- 
 bitants of Conacht attempted to oppose the incursions of the 
 Danes, and gave them battle, but with ill success ; for the pro- 
 vincial troops were cut off in great numbers, and Maolduin, the 
 son of Muirguisa, was skin. Near this time died Bryeu, the 
 son of Faolan, king of Leix. 
 
 The Danes were continually reinforced with fresh recruits 
 from their own country, and a fleet of many sail, with a body 
 of troops on board, arrived upon the coasts, and landed at 
 lioch Neachach. They committed their usual hostilities, and 
 plundered the country in an inhuman manner ; they broke 
 
 ^ Optimus et sapiens anacliorta Scotorum quievlt. 
 
422 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 through the law of nations, and contrary to the practice of de- 
 clared enemies, they ravaged with all the terror and calamities 
 of fire and sword. The churches in the northern part of the 
 island fell a prey to these barbarians, who had no regard to re- 
 ligion and the Christian worship, but with a savage brutality 
 they destroyed every thing civil and sacred ; and among other 
 acts of violence, Fearna and Corke were spoiled and pillaged, 
 and then set on fire and consumed to ashes. 
 
 Niall Caille, king of Ireland, about this time, at the head of 
 a numerous army, plundered and destroyed Fearceall and Deab- 
 bna Eathra ; and soon after Morrough, the son of Hugh, king 
 of Conacht, left the world j the celebrated bishop of Cluaiu 
 Heois followed, and was delivered from a troublesome life. The 
 Danes, encouraged by their success, and to secure what they had 
 conquered, erected a fort at Linn Duachaill, which they filled 
 with their choicest troops ; this garrison was a terror to the na- 
 tives, and by their continued excursions plundered and destroyed 
 the country called Tuatha Teabhtha. They also built another 
 castle at Dublin, from whence they had an opportunity of ruin- 
 ing the province of Leinster and Jobh Neill ; the churches were 
 levelled with the ground, and the country was miserably dis- 
 tressed, from the city of Dublin to Sliabh Bladhma. They ran- 
 sacked Cluain Aidhnach, Cluain Joraird, and Cluain Mac Naois ; 
 the whole land around became desert, and was like an unin- 
 habited wilderness. About this time Feargus, the son of Fo- 
 thig, who governed the province of Conacht, departed this life ; 
 and the cruel Dane, Turgesius, erected a fort at Loch Kibb, 
 which commanded the country about, and infested Cluain Mao 
 Naois, Cluain Fearta Breanuin, Tirdagiass, Lothra, and many 
 other adjacent places and cities, which were plundered and de- 
 stroyed, and fell a miserable sacrifice to the fury of these invaders. 
 Not long afterwards the venerable Muireadhach, bishop of Laine 
 Leire, was translated to a better life ; and about the same tima 
 Niall Caille, king of Ireland, engaged the Danes in a pitched 
 l)attle, and gave them a signal overthrow, which was attended 
 with the loss of numbers left dead upon the spot ; but this 
 prince did not survive long enough to enjoy the fruits of his 
 victory, for he was unfortunately drowned in the river Callain, 
 in the manner before related. 
 
 Turgesius, the Dane, usurped the sovereignty of Ire- 
 oQg" land. This foreigner was the king of Norway, as some 
 writers afhrm, or as others, the king's son. His coun- 
 trymen, the Norwe^^iaus and other easterJings who sided agamsf 
 
OP IRELAND. 423 
 
 tlie natives, proclaimed him king of Ireland, and invested him 
 with the government of the island, which he ruled thirteen years. 
 Before he came to the throne he had been seventeen years in the 
 country, plundering and destroying the inhabitants with inex- 
 pressible calamities. He was a scourge in the hands of divine 
 Providence, to punish the Irish nation, which was reduced to 
 the last extremities, and at last compelled to submit under tha 
 yoke of this usurper. The island had been for many year3 
 harassed with wars and intestine divisions, as well as continual 
 struggles to preserve their oppressed liberties, and repel the in- 
 solence and cruel hostilities of the invaders ; but the foreigners 
 being constantly supported with recruits from Norway, and all 
 the eastern countries adjacent, poured in such numbers upon 
 the natives, that they were forced to give up the defence of their 
 country, and submit to the tyranny of this usurper, who reduced 
 them to the lowest servitude, imposed insufferable taxes, and by 
 other acts of cruelty and oppression established himself in the 
 government, and as it were, made a conquest of the island. 
 This foreigner had no sooner seized upon the crown, but he dis- 
 patched messengers into Norway, who were commissioned to give 
 notice of his accession to the throne, and to desire a supply of 
 forces sufficient to support his pretensions against any attempts 
 of the natives, who were a people jealous of their liberties, and 
 if not kept under by the terror of a standing army, would oc- 
 casion him an uneasy reign. Accordingly a fleet of many sail, 
 and a number of transports filled with regular troops, were dis- 
 patched, and landed upon the western coast. The country was 
 immediately laid waste, the inhabitants were forced by droves 
 like sheep into captivity, and such as escaped were obliged to 
 retire into woods and wildernesses with their families, and lie 
 exposed to the miseries of famine, to preserve themselves from 
 slavery. These foreigners manned out several boats that wero 
 ordered upon Loch Neachach and Loch Ribh, from whence they 
 ravaged and committed hostilities savage and terrible beyond 
 expression. St. Collum Cill, many years before the invasion 
 of the Danes, foretold the calamities that should fall upon his 
 country ; and Bearchan the prophet predicted particularly, 
 that the Norwegians should arrive and bring the country into 
 servitude. The verses of this ancient poet may be thus trans- 
 lated ; 
 
 The bold Nonrcgians, with a numerous sail, 
 Shall try the Irish ocean, and arrive 
 Upon the coasts. The isle shall be enslav'd 
 
424 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 By these victorious foreigners, who shall place 
 In eveiy church an abbot of their own, 
 And shall proclaim, to fill the throne of Ireland, 
 A kin^ of the Norwegian race. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE MANY BATTLES FOUGHT BY TUKGESIU3, ET. 
 
 TurgesiiiG, having reduced the island under his subjection, 
 and by usurpation broke in upon the succession of the royal 
 line of the Irish monarchs, exercised his government with great 
 tyranny, establishing himself upon the ruins of I'he national 
 liberties, and made his arbitrary and unbounded will the rule 
 of his administration. The natives were miserably galled with 
 the heavy yoke of this foreigner, and, resolving to attempt a 
 recovery "of their freedom, a conspiracy was formed by the prin- 
 cipal nobility and gentry of the kingdom, to dethrone the tyrant, 
 and fix the state upon its ancient foundation. They reflected 
 upon the bravery of their ancestors, how prodigal they were ot 
 their blood in defence of their country, and what noble efforts 
 they made to secure their rights and privileges, and deliver them 
 down unoppressed to posterity. Inspired with these reflections, 
 the revolt became universal, the Irish unanimously armed, and 
 assembled in bodies over the whole kingdom. Tliey engaged 
 the Danes in several desperate battles, and fought with success 
 in many encounters. A spirit of freedom and liberty prevailed 
 throughout the island, and was attended with victory, insomuch 
 that the foreigners began to be weary of their conquests. They 
 were so harassed and borne down by the old Irish courage, that 
 they were overthrown and defeated with incredible loss, and at 
 last obliged to retire to their shipping, and bid adieu to tho 
 Lland. 
 
 It may not be improper in this place to relate particularly 
 some of the most memorable battles that were fought becween 
 the natives and the invaders, and express some of the most re- 
 markable circumstances that attended them ; in order to give 
 posterity a just idea of the courage and bravery of the ancient 
 Irish, who were a nation fond of their liberties, and of the royal 
 family of their kings, whose throne they could not endure should 
 be filled by foreigners, but exposed themselves to preserve their 
 country, and put an end to those calamities that closely followed 
 a foreign yoke, and are the necessary effects of tyranny and 
 usurpation. 
 
 Tiie Irish, led on by the principal nobility of the country. 
 
OP irri.AXD. 425 
 
 particularly the tribe of the Dailgais, engaged the Danes, and 
 gave them a signal overthrow at Ardbreacan. The foreigners 
 were again attacked by the people of Colgain, and routed with 
 the loss of all their forces; in which action Saxolb, a commander 
 of great courage and experience among the Danes, was slain. 
 Olchobhair, the son of Cionnfaoith, who governed the province 
 of Munster, and Lorcain, the son of Ceallach, king of Leinster, 
 joined their provincial forces, and fell upon the army of the 
 invaders with irresistible bravery ; the dispute was hot and 
 bloody, but the impetuosity of the Irish broke the ranks of the 
 enemy, and a general rout followed. In this engagement the 
 earl of Tomair, heir apparent to the crown of Denmark, was 
 slain, and 1200 of the best soldiers of the Danish army followed 
 him to the other world. The king of Munster before mentioned, 
 and the inhabitants of Eoganacht Cashel, defeated the Danes in 
 a pitched battle near Cashel, where 500 of them were killed, and 
 the rest fled for their lives. The people of Tyrconnel armed to 
 recover their liberties, and attacked the invaders near Easruaidb, 
 and fought them with success ; for the choicest of their forces 
 perished in the engagement, and few escaped the slaughter of 
 the day. The men of Jobh Figinty resolved to be no longer 
 slaves, and, observing an opportunity, fell upon the Danes, and 
 killed 360 of them. Two hundred of these foreigiiers were de- 
 stroyed by the people of Cianachta; and 240 at Druinda Chonn, 
 were slain by Tighernach, king of Loch Gabhair, Maolseach- 
 luin, king of Meath, attempted to shake off the yoke, and en- 
 gaged the Danes with such success at a place called Glasglean, 
 that 1700 of them were cut off. Yet, notwithstanding these 
 victories, the foreigners were far from being suppressed ; for 
 they were constantly supplied with fresh recruits from their owa 
 country, which inspired them with courage under the greatest 
 slaughter of their troops ; their broken armies were soon com- 
 pleted, and the natives were so harassed with continual skirmishes 
 and attacks, that they lost their choicest soldiers without any 
 prospect of filling their places ; and therefore being dispirited 
 and worn out, they were obliged to confess themselve^ a van- 
 quished people, and submit to the cruel tyfanny of Turgesiug 
 and his Danish soldiery, who ruled them with a rod of iron, and 
 forced them to taste of the very dregs of servitude. The whole 
 kingdom was reduced, the usurper seized upon the crown, and 
 by his followers was proclaimed monarch of Ireland. 
 
42 G THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 A r\imCULAR ACCOUNT OF THE SLAVERY IMPOSED UPON THE ANCrEm 
 IRISU, BY TUIJGESIUS, THE DANISH TYIiANT. 
 
 The native Irish could neither bear nor shake off the oppres- 
 sive yoke of these foreigners ; and Turgesius, who had posses- 
 sion of the government, thought no method more expedient to 
 secure his new power than to new model the state, to overturn 
 the old constitution, and to place his countrymen in the posts 
 of trust and authority. Accordingly he appointed a Danish king 
 in every cantred of land throughout the island, and a captain 
 was fettled in every territory. He nominated an abbot in every 
 church and monastery, and a sergeant of the Danes was fixed 
 as the commanding officer in every village ; and to complete the 
 miseries of the natives, a soldier was billeted by authority upon 
 every house and cottage through the whole kingdom. The in- 
 Bolence and rapines of these common soldiers were insupport- 
 able, for the master of a family had no power in his own house ; 
 he could not command the use of a hen or a chicken of his 
 own, for fear of giving oflcnce to this rascally foreigner, whose 
 vengeance he dreaded, and whose resentment perhaps would dis- 
 possess him of all he had. If a poor man had but one cow to 
 nfford milk f(jr the support of his family, the soldier quartered 
 upon him would consume the whole, not regarding the cries 
 mid wants of the young children, who were ready to die of hun- 
 ger ; and if a person in the house chanced to be sick, and the 
 wealcness of his stomach would admit of no other food but mijk, 
 this barbarous Dane would not allow him a drop to save him 
 from death, but suffer him to perish. And when the soldier 
 had a mind for a piece of beefj he would oblige the man of the 
 liouse to kill this cow, whose milk was the greatest part ol his 
 sustenance, and when that beast was the whole stock he was 
 possessed of These barbarities and oppressions distracted the 
 unhappy Irish, who were obliged to conform to the sordid and 
 cruel temper of these soldiers, and supply them with what pro- 
 vision they required, how expensive soever ; otherwise they 
 would be dragged by violence to the general rendezvous of the 
 army, and committed to the guard-room, and kept under close 
 confinement till the prisoner had made satisfaction to his inso- 
 lent guest, who often would be so unconscionable as not to bo 
 content with less than the ruin of his family and fortune. 
 
 The arbitrary Danes imposed likewise a heavy tribute on the 
 vanquished Irish ; for every master of a lamily throughout the 
 
OF lilELAND. 427 
 
 whole island was obliged, under the {severest penalties, to pay, 
 as a yearly tribute, an ounce of gold ; and if thrpugh misfor- 
 tune or poverty he was incapable to furnish out his contribu- 
 tion, he was punished with the loss of his nose. No lord or 
 lady was permitted to wear any clothes but what had been left 
 off by the Danes ; for if their habit was of any value, it was 
 torn off their backs, and ragged cast-off garments were given 
 them in the place. These savage invaders were professed ene- 
 mies to learning and learned men, and therefore the sovereignty 
 of the kingdom being in their own hands, they determined to 
 extirpate all schools and seminaries of education ; the Irish 
 were not suffered to have their children taught to read ; the 
 churches and holy places for divine service were likewise shut 
 up or destroyed to the ground ; all the books they could fiud 
 they burned or tore to pieces ; the poets, historians, musicians, 
 and the professors of other liberal arts and sciences were ba- 
 nished, or imprisoned, or forced to abscond in woods and soli- 
 tudes to preserve their lives. No young lady, of whatsoever 
 quality, though she were the daughter of a lord or of a king, 
 was allowed to work with her needle, or embroider in gold, sil- 
 ver, or silk ; and the sons of noblemen were forbidden to leara 
 the use of arms, or exercise themselves in feats of activity or 
 martial sports, lest they should one time or other reflect upon 
 the bravery of their ancestors, and grow uneasy under the yoke 
 of slavery. The Irish were discouraged, under the penalty of 
 fines and imprisonment, to make feasts or public entertainments, 
 or to use hospitality among one another, but were forced to be 
 content with the scraps and offals that were left at the tables of 
 the riotous and luxurious Danes, who prodigally consumed afc 
 once the support of many families, and spent the revenue of 
 whole countries to indulge their palates, and to please them- 
 selves in the most scandalous and unnatural debaucheries. 
 
 Such was the miserable state of the island, under the oppres- 
 sion and cruel yoke of these domineering foreigners ; the natives 
 were broken-hearted, and despaired of recovering their liberties; 
 the clergy were forced to fly into woods and the most desolate 
 places, for the security of their lives ; for the Danes were a 
 wicked and abandoned race of men, and so covetous of wealth 
 and plunder, that churches and monasteries were rifled, their 
 consecrated plate carried off", and the religious turned out of 
 doors. But the cries and prayers of the pious clergy, who hid 
 themselves in caves and deserts, and incessantly addressed them- 
 Belves to heaven for the deliverance of their country, prevailed 
 
428 THE QEYEIIAL HISTORY 
 
 at last with the divine mercy to find a way for their redemption, 
 as unexpected as it was acceptable to the natives, who were in 
 despair, and gave themselves up for lost j for it must be ob- 
 served that the clergy, notwithstanding the inconveniences they 
 suffered, strictly performed the divine offices of the church in 
 the best manner they were able ; they fasted and prayed, and 
 obliged the laity to be regular in their devotions, and to entreat, 
 without intermission, that God would destroy the power of thosa 
 profane invaders, professed enemies to mankind and to his church, 
 and restore the kingdom to its ancient liberty. And heavea 
 rewarded their piety with success, so far as to deliver the tyrant 
 Turgesius himself into the hands of the Irish. 
 
 For when this bloody usurper was in the height of his unjust 
 authority, among other methods to confirm himself in his new 
 power, and to prevent the natives from giving disturbance to 
 bis reign, he erected a castle as a royal palace, where he designed 
 to reside, near the seat of Maolseachluin, who governed the 
 country of Meath. This haughty Dane would sometimes con- 
 descend to make a visit to this neighbouring prince, who had a 
 daughter of excellent beauty, that had the finest shape and com- 
 plexion, and was one of the most celebrated ladies iu the island. 
 Turgesius, who by this time began to be aged, was at an enter- 
 tainment in the palace of Meath, where this princess sat at tha 
 table, and by her charms so captivated this royal lecher, that 
 the blood grew warm in its old channels, and he conceived so 
 strong a passion, that he desired Maolseachluin to resign his 
 daughter to his arms, and promised she should be the favourite 
 mistress in his seraglio. The king of Meath, not daring to in- 
 cense the tyrant by a denial, who he knew would gratify his 
 lust by violence, with great submission requested, that since his 
 mpjesty was pleased to make choice of his daughter for a mis- 
 tress, he would not make it known in a public manner, out of 
 respect to the character of the young lady, whose reputation 
 would sufi\3r, and her honour be so blemished, that it would be 
 difficult afterwards to dispose of her in marriage, and provide a 
 husband for her suitable to her quality j and therefore he de- 
 sired, that since his royal palace was at no great distance, he 
 might be permitted to send the princess to him privately, to 
 conceal it from the knowledge of the world. And, continued 
 he, I will convey to your majesty fifteen of the most celebrated 
 beauties that my small territories produce, who, I am confident, 
 will so far eclipse the charms you are pleased to commend in 
 my daughter that she will scarce receive the honour of being 
 
OP IRELAND. 429 
 
 admitted to your embraces, wben you are convinced she is ex- 
 celled by 80 many of a superior beauty. Turgesius was tran- 
 sported with the expectation of receiving the young lady, and 
 a night was appointed to crown his hopes and give him posses 
 sion ; she was to be conducted with all possible privacy into one 
 of his royal apartments, and the yonng ladies were to be dis- 
 posed of as the lusts and humour of the tyrant directed. 
 
 It happened that at this time there was a convention of the 
 principal Danes throughout the kingdom summoned by Tur- 
 gesius, to assemble at Dublin, in order to settle his infant go- 
 vernment upon lasting foundations ; to defeat the prospects of 
 the natives, who were inclined to a revolt ; to defend the coun- 
 try from other invaders, and to perpetuate the succession to his 
 posterity. These matters, and whatever seemed to contribute 
 to the establishment of the usurpation, being adjusted, the king 
 appointed an entertainment for some of his prime ministers and 
 favourites ; and being well warmad with wine, he communicated 
 to fifteen of them his intrigue with the young princess, the 
 daughter of the king of Meath, and promised to bestow upon 
 each of them a young lady of consummate beauty, if they were 
 disposed for an act of gallantry, and thought proper to follow 
 him to court. These lascivious Danes, conforming to the prac- 
 tice of the tyrant, expressed their gratitude for his royal bounty, 
 and fired with the prospect before them, desired the honour of 
 waiting upon him ; and accordingly Turgesius, attended with 
 fifteen of his debauched nobles and officers, set out from Dub- 
 lin, where the assembly sat, and arrived at the palace where he 
 usually kept his residence. 
 
 But Maolseachluin, the king of Meath, designed nothing less 
 than to contribute to the prostitation of his daughter, and 
 resolving to vindicate the honour of the young lady, he entered 
 upon a desperate attempt to dethrone and destroy the tyrant, 
 and sacrifice him to the fury of his own lust. Accordingly he 
 selected fifteen of the stoutest and most beautiful youths in his 
 dominions, who were of a fair fresh complexion, and had no 
 beards upon their faces ; he ordered them to be apparelled in 
 the habit of young ladies, and to conceal under their gowns a 
 ehcrt sharp sword, which they were to make use of according to 
 his directions. Thus fitted out, the princess, attended with her 
 retinue, upon the night appointed left her father's court ; and 
 "when she arrived near the castle, where Turgesius had his royal 
 Beat, she sent privately to acquaint him of her approach, which 
 he received with inexpressible joy : he gave notice to his officers 
 
430 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 that the ladies were coming, and having ordered them to retire 
 to their chambers, he sent one of his favourites to meet the 
 princess, and conduct her to his court. The Danish nobles se- 
 verally repaired to their apartments, that were made proper for 
 their reception, and impatiently expected their Irish mistresses ; 
 while the king, with the same fury of passion, was waiting ia 
 his bedchamber, transported with the prospect of satisfying his 
 brutish desires upon a princess of the greatest beauty and qua- 
 lity throughout the island. 
 
 But providence determined to put a final end to the tyranny 
 of this usurper ; for Maolseachluin, king of Meath, the better 
 to accomplish his design, so glorious in the event as to subvert 
 the oppressive yoke of these foreigners, under cover of the night 
 marched with a resolute body of hardy Irish, and advancing 
 towards the castle of Turgesius, he drew up his men silently 
 under the walls, in order, when he received the signal from those 
 within, to break into the fort, and to put the tyrant and all his 
 retinue to the sword. 
 
 The princess with her followers were by this time admitted 
 into the palace, and the gentlemen who attended her had 
 orders from the king to preserve the honour of his daughter 
 at all hazards, and to fall upon the tyrant, ungaarded as he 
 was, before he had perpetrated his design ; and inspiring them 
 with a love of liberty, and of redeeming their country from a 
 cruel slavery, he had raised their indignation to that height, 
 that they engaged to a man to expose their lives in this great 
 adventure, and they did not doubt of success. Their commis- 
 sion was to seize upon the usurper and take him alive, but to 
 bind him with strong cords that he could not possibly escape : 
 then they were to secure his nobles and officers, who expected 
 other sort of embraces, and not to leave a man of them alive : 
 and there seemed no -difficulty to bring to pass this surprising 
 event ; for the tyrant thought he had established his power, and 
 broken the spirit of the natives, and therefore there was no oc- 
 casion to keep a strict guard about his person ; and his officers 
 were so infatuated by their lusts, that they left their arms behind 
 them, lest they should frighten the ladies, and discompose them 
 for softer encounters. There was a proper signal agreed upon, to 
 give notice to the king under the walls, when he should rush 
 into the fort, and assist with his troops to fall upon the Danes, 
 who perhaps might be so numerous as not easily to be dis- 
 patched. 
 
 Tiie circumstances of this secret adventure being thus ad^ 
 
* OF IRELAND. 431 
 
 justecl, the princess witli all her retinue were introduced into 
 the king's apartment, -who received her with open arms, and 
 though of a very advanced age, proposed wonderfal delights to 
 himself in the possession of her. He examined into the beauty 
 of her attendants, who, though very "handsome and genteel 
 youths, yet made but an awkward appearance in their unac- 
 customed dress, and therefore the princess was sure to find no 
 rival among them, and was made choice of to sleep in the arms 
 of this lascivious Dane, who embraced her tenderly, and was 
 conducting her into his private chamber. The Irish youths 
 thought now was the time to discover and exert themselves in 
 defence of the honour of their mistress and of their enslaved 
 country ; and throwing aside their loose gowns, laid hold of the 
 tyrant, and pointing one of their short swords to his throat, 
 threatened him with instant death if he cried out, which so ter- 
 rified him that he submitted, and they instantly bound him ; 
 then destroying all they met, they forced into the apartments 
 of the nobles and officers, who were unarmed and prepared for 
 other engagements, and put them all to the sword. The palace 
 was filled with cries and slaughter, and to add to the terror, the 
 signal was given to the king under the walls, who broke into 
 the castle with dreadful shouts, and finished what was left un- 
 done ; the guards were killed, no quarter was given, the dark- 
 ness of the night increased the fears of the Danes, officers and 
 soldiers fell promiscuously in the carnage, and not a man of 
 them escaped. When the fury of the Irish was abated, and 
 there was no enemy left in the castle, the king of Meath entered 
 the room w^here Turgesius lay bound, and upbraiding him with 
 his excessive cruelties, the many rapes and violences he had 
 committed upon the Irish ladies, and his repeated murders ; he 
 commanded him to be loaded with irons, and to be carried be- 
 fore him in triumph. The soldiers were allowed to plunder the 
 castle, where they found an incredible booty, and the king with 
 the princess and his brave hardy troops returned to Meath. 
 
 This transaction was soon spread over the whole kingdom ; 
 and the Irish, animated with the success of the king of Meath, 
 unanimously revolted, and resolved to throw off the Danish yoke. 
 The foreigners were quite dispirited and abandoned to their fears, 
 when they heard that their king Turgesius was taken prisoner, 
 and his principal nobility and commanding ofScers put to the 
 sword • and considering that the natives were up in arms, and 
 themselves without a leader, they thought it safest to fly to 
 their ships, and with all possible expedition to quit the island. 
 
432 THE GENERAL HISTORY * 
 
 Those invaders, who lived near the sea coasts, got onboard with- 
 out much difficulty j but those who had possessed themselves of the 
 inland country, at a great distance from the sea, were obliged to 
 retire into cities and fortified places for their security ; but the 
 desperate Irish resolved to rid themselves of these foreigners, 
 which now they had an opportunity to do, and fell upon them 
 in all places without distinction : they hunted them out of the 
 woods and wildernesses, where they had taken shelter ; they 
 stormed their towns and forts, and engaging them with irresis- 
 tible fury, slew infinite numbers of the Danes before they could 
 reach their ships : no solitude or flight could protect them from 
 the enraged Irish, who fought for their lives, and laws and liber- 
 ties, and determined to bring about a complete revolution, and 
 establish the government upon its ancient foundation. Some of 
 those wretched foreigners escaped to the sea under favour of the 
 night; and others who were surrounded by their enemies, and 
 found it impossible to fly, most submissively petitioned for quar- 
 ter, and promised to become servants to the Irish ; and to savo 
 their lives, to comply with whatever tax or imposition should be 
 laid upon them. The king of Meath, when the first fury of the 
 Irish had in some measure subsided, perceiving that those few 
 Danes that remained, might be so disposed of as to be incapable 
 of giving any disturbance to the state, received them into mercy, 
 and having disarmed them spared their lives. The tyrant, after 
 he had been for some time kept in fetters, and been a witness 
 to the miseries of his countrymen, had an end put to his unfor- 
 tunate life, being thrown, by the command of the king, bound 
 as he was, into Loch Annin, where he perished. 
 
 This wonderful revolution being accomplished by the death of 
 the usurper, and the expulsion of the Danes, the nobility and 
 gentry of Ireland, willing to [settle the constitution of the go- 
 vernment, and reduce the afiairs of state into some order, as- 
 sembled in a general convention, and reflecting upon the means 
 by which they received their freedom and redemption, unani- 
 mously came to a resolution to place the crown upon the head 
 of their great deliverer Maolseachluin, king of Meath. 
 
 It must be observed here, that Buchanan, the Scottish his- 
 torian, asserts that Gregory, king of Scotland, invaded the king- 
 dom of Ireland with a numerous army, and having plundered 
 the inhabitants, and miserably harassed the country with their 
 hostilities, they had the success to kill Bryen and Connof, who 
 were appointed guardians to the king of Ireland^ who was a minor. 
 But this writer is miserably mistaken ia this fact, because, as tho 
 
OP IIIELA]SD. 433 
 
 authentic chronicles of the island expressly testify, the crown 
 never descended to an infant, who was a minor, from the rei^a 
 of Slainge, who was the first Irish king of the line of the Firbolgs, 
 till the time of Henry II., king of England ; for the succession, 
 though it often descended to the next heir, yet he was always of 
 man's estate j and when the hereditary right, by the iniquity of 
 the times and the violence of parties, was laid aside, the nobility 
 and gentry commonly made choice of the most accomplished 
 person in the island, and placed him in possession of the govern- 
 ment. This historian therefore is not to be credited ; for it is 
 beyond dispute that Turgesius, the Danish tyrant, was the king 
 of Ireland at that time. 
 
 Maolseachluin, by the suffrage of the nobility and 
 oi-TQ gentry, was placed upon the throne of Ireland, He was 
 the son of Maolruanadh, son of Donough, son of Daniel, 
 son of Murchadha, son of Diarmuid, son of Airmeadh Caoch, son 
 of Conall Guthbhin, son of Suibhne Meain, son of Colman More, 
 son of Diarmuid, son of Feargus Ceirbheoil, descended from the 
 royal stock of Heremon, and held the government sixteen years. 
 The mother of this monarch was Arog, the daughter of Cahall, 
 son of Fiachrad, king of Bearcuil. 
 
 The Danes, being driven out of the kingdom by the prevailing 
 power of the natives, under the conduct of this prince, began to 
 form designs of regaining their settlements in the island ; for 
 they had experienced so much of the fertility and richness of the 
 country, that their native possessions were incapable of support- 
 ing them in that riotous and expensive way of life which they 
 bad used themselves to, when they had the command of the 
 labours and the wealth of the industrious and frugal Irish. In 
 order to concert measures for another descent, the principal of 
 the Norwegians and Danes assembled, and, after many debates, 
 came to a resolution to send three of their most experienced 
 generals, and a well appointed fleet, with a commission to land 
 upon the coasts of Ireland in a peaceable manner, to avoid the 
 committing of hostilities, and by that means gradually insinuate 
 themselves into the affections of the inhabitants, till they found 
 themselves of ability to contend with them, and then violence 
 was to be used. And the better to disguise their designs, these 
 three commanding officers were to pass under the notion of mer- 
 cantile men, and their fleet was to be called a sail of merchant- 
 men, which was to be furnished with jewels and gaudy wares, to 
 be sold or to be presented to the Irish as occasion offered ; but 
 a number of arms and military preparations were to be secretly 
 
 2 a 
 
434: THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 stowed in the ships, to be used when matters were well concerted, 
 and ripe for execution. The people of the island were thus to 
 be corrupted and softened into effeminacy by this stratagem of 
 these subtle foreigners, in order that they might be subdued 
 with the less difficulty, and in some measure be the instruments 
 of their own misfortunes and destruction. 
 
 The author of the Polichronicon gives this account of thig 
 expedition :* " After the death of Turgesius, three brothers, 
 Amelanus, Cyracus, and Imorus, came from the parts of Nor- 
 way in a peaceable manner, and under pretence of merchandis- 
 ing arrived with their followers in this island ; and getting pos^ 
 session of places that lay upon the coasts, by the consent of the 
 Irish, who were an idle and inactive people, they built three 
 cities, Waterford, Dublin, and Limerick, and their numbers 
 daily increasing, they often insulted and disturbed the natives." 
 From the testimony of this writer it appears, that the Nor- 
 wegians, by this political device, and under the conduct of those 
 officers, in the disguise of merchants, obtained settlements in 
 the island, which they gradually improved by new acquisitions, 
 till they became able to oppress the natives, and bring the whole 
 kingdom into subjection. And it is not to be wondered that 
 these foreigners carried on their conquests with success, and 
 after their expulsion regained what they had lost, and often en- 
 slaved the people ; for it must be observed, that the invaders 
 were constantly supplied with fresh recruits, their own country 
 was an inexhaustible store of men and shipping, which encou- 
 raged them to bear up against all misfortunes or defeats that 
 might happen, and to prosecute their designs at all hazards. 
 But the greatest advantages were given them by the natives, 
 occasioned by the contests and civil discords among themselves. 
 Nothing promoted the common ruin more than their animosi- 
 ties within themselves ; and their unnatural and irreconcilable 
 quarrels were attended with more dreadful effects, than could 
 follow from all the force of the enemy j to add to the calamity, 
 the contending parties would receive these Danes into pay, aa 
 auxiliary troops, who when opportunity offered turned their 
 arms against those that hired tiiem ; and thus, while the petty 
 
 * Post obitiim Tnrgesij, de Xorvegire partibns quasi sub pads intuitu et Mer- 
 caturse exercend® prastextu, tres fratres, Amelanus, Cj'racus, et Iraorus, cum 
 sua sequela in banc insulain appulerunt et de consensu Hibeniorura, otio dedito- 
 rum, maritima loca occupantes, tres civitates, viz., Waterfordiam, Dubliuiam, 
 et Lumericum conytmxerunt, qui tamen numero succrescenteg contra indigenoa 
 frequenter insultabant. 
 
01 IREL.\XD, 435 
 
 princes \Tere striviiip: and tearing eacli other to pieces for trifles, 
 the Danes, when they found them sufficiently weakened, sub- 
 dued the victor and the vanquished, and forced them both to 
 confess their superior power, and own them for their masters. 
 Thus were the unfortunate Irish, by a concurrence of unhappy 
 circumstances, again obliged to pass under the yoke, which 
 galled them with inexpressible misery, and could never be 
 shaken off till the death of that illustrioas hero, the brave Bryea 
 Boiroimhe, king of Ireland. 
 
 The annals of Ireland assert, that when the Norwegians had 
 subdued the inhabitants, not only by their aims, but by the 
 effects of their own intestine divisions, the Danes, in hopes of 
 plunder and conquest, fitted out a considerable fleet, and made 
 a descent upon the island. They met with some opposition, 
 but it was fruitless and without success, for they destroyed tho 
 country and the people, and plundered the city of Dublin, and 
 terribly ravaged ail the adjacent territories ; but the Norwe- 
 gians fearing to be driven out of their possessions by the Danes, 
 determined to make head against them before they grew too 
 powerful, and advancing towards them with a select body of 
 troops, ofiered them battle. They accepted the challenge, and 
 a desperate fight commenced at a place called Linnduachaill, 
 wherein the Danes obtained a complete victQiy, the Norwegians 
 were defeated with the loss of their best forces, and 1000 of 
 them left dead upon the spot. Encouraged by this success, the 
 \ictors seized upon the greatest part of the islaud, and still im- 
 proving their authority, and plundering the natives, they bo- 
 came the most formidable power, and acquired the most consi- 
 derable settlements in the country. 
 
 Not long after this victory of the Danes, Amhlaoibb, other- 
 wise called Amelanus by some authors, son to the king of Den- 
 mark, arrived in Ireland, with a design to take upon himself 
 the command of the Danes that were dispersed throughout the 
 island ; and putting himself at the head of his countrymen, 
 he fought the natives in several engagements with great advan- 
 tage, imposed heavy contributions upon them, and reduced 
 them to a state of servitude. About this time died (. Icbabhair, 
 the son of Cionnaoth, who governed the province of Munster, 
 and Flaithnia, the pious bishop of Biorra, and Cormac, the de- 
 vout prelate of Lathraigh Broiu, soon followed that prince into 
 the other world. 
 
 The unfortunate state of the island, under the oppression of 
 
436 THE GEI«3i"lAL HISTORY 
 
 these foreigners, was the reason that about this time Maolseach- 
 luin summoned, by his royal writs, a convention of the princi- 
 pal nobility and gentry of the kingdom, to meet at a place 
 called Rath Aoda Mac Brie, who unanimously assembled ac- 
 cording to the summons ; for the natives consulting their com- 
 mon safety, had laid aside their private contests and quarrels ; 
 but it was with some difficulty they united, and were reconciled 
 by the unwearied diligence and importunity of that holy per- 
 son Eatgna, a convert of St. Patrick, who had entered himself 
 into some religious order. In this convention, among other 
 acts that promoted the public good, it was determined, that 
 Maolguala, the son of Dungaile, king of Munster, and Carrol, 
 king of Ossery, should conclude' a peace with the inhabitants of 
 Leath Cuinn ; and in the assembly it was agreed, that the king 
 of Ossery aforesaid should make his submission to Eatgna 
 above-named, who was a saint of excellent holiness and devotion. 
 Some time after this the Normans fell in a desperate fury 
 upon Maolguala, who governed the province of Munster, and 
 slew him with stones ; and not long after this unfortunate acci- 
 dent, Maolseachluin, king of Ireland, engaged the Danes, and 
 fought the remarkable battle of Drom da Moighe, wherein great 
 numbers of the foreign troops were destroyed, especially such 
 as were quartered in the city of Dublin. After this victory 
 obtained by the Irish, Daniel, the son of Ailpin, king of the 
 Picts, left the world; and the king of Ireland did not long enjoy 
 the fruits of his success, but died of a natural death after a very 
 troublesome and distracted reign. 
 
 Huoh Fionnliath was the succeeding monarch. He 
 ^^S was the son of Niall Caille, son of Hugh Dorndighe, son 
 of Niall Freasach, descended from the royal line of Here- 
 mon, and possessed the throne eighteen years. The mother of 
 this Irish prince was Gormfhlaith, the daughter of Dinnis, the 
 son of Daniel. He took to wife Maolmuire, the daughter of 
 Cionaoith, son of Ailpin, king of Scotland, by whom he had a 
 son called Niall Glandubh. During the reign of this king 
 several actions of importance happened ; among the rest, Con- 
 nor, the son of Donnogh, who had the government of half the 
 country of l^Ieath, was unfortunately slain by the sword of 
 Humphry, son to the king of Denmark, at a place called Cluain 
 Joraird. This Danish prince, known in the Irish language by 
 the name of Amhlaoibh, after this victory, transported a suffi- 
 cient number of his countrymen into Scotland, and falling upon 
 
OF IRPILAND. 437 
 
 the Picts^ he slew miUlitudes of them, and made many of them 
 ])risoners, whom he carried away with him and made them 
 slaves. 
 
 Near this time it was that Hugh Fionnliath, monarch of Ire- 
 land, fell upon the Danes at a place called Loch Feabhail, and 
 gave them a general defeat. In this action the foreign troops 
 fiufFered exceedingly, and most of the officers were cut off; for 
 the victor brought away with him the heads of forty of the 
 principal commanders, and the fight concluded with the loss of 
 1200 of the Danes, who perished in this engagement. The 
 Irish army, encouraged with this success, attacked the fortifica- 
 tions and garrisons of the enemy, and beat them out of their 
 fastnesses, and recovered all the booty and plunder they had 
 taken. Conall, the religious bishop of Cill Sgire, died soon 
 after this .ictory; about which time the palace of Humphry, 
 con to the king of Denmark, which he had built at Cluain Dal- 
 chain, was clandestinely set on fire by Gaoithin, and Mac Ciaran, 
 the son of Roannan, and consumed to the ground. This accident 
 occasioned great confusion of those within, and the Irish taking 
 advantage of the fears of the Danes, fell upon' them, and slew 
 100 of their principal commanders. Humphry, to revenf^e 
 himself upon the Irish, laid an ambuscade, and surprised 2000 
 oi» theni, who were either killed, wounded, or taken prisoners ; 
 and this victory inspired him with fresh courage, for he plun* 
 dered Ardmach and the adjacent country ; and when he had 
 raged with all the fury of an incensed enemy, he carried off 
 very valuable spoils, with which he paid and rewarded his army. 
 
 Tiie death of Cionfhaola, the son of Mochtighern, who had 
 filled the throne of Munster for thirteen years, happened about 
 this time ; and he was succeeded in the government of that 
 ]U'ovince by Donnogli Mac Dubhdabhoirionn, who seized upon 
 .the crown and proclaimed himself king. 
 
 The Danes by this time were become a terror not only to the 
 Irish, but the success of their arms gave them power to improve 
 their conquests among the Picts in Scotland and the Welsh ; the 
 first of these they overcame in a battle, and slew great numbers 
 of them, and Roger, the son of Moirmin, king of Wales, being 
 terrified with the fame of their victories, left his own country, 
 and fled into Ireland for refuge and protection, where he met 
 with an honourable reception suitable to his quality. These 
 foreigners, it has been observed, broke open churches and shrines, 
 and plundered the dead as well as the living, which was tha 
 reason that the relics of St. Collum Cill were removed to Ire- 
 
 cc:> 
 
438 THE GENERAL nrSTOHY 
 
 land, to preserve them from injury and the sacrilegious h?onds 
 of these impious barbarians. Lorcan Lfac Lachtna about this 
 time was fixed in the possession of the crown of Thumond. The 
 tribe of the Dalgais inhabited this country, and their territories 
 extended to the gates and walls of Cashel : they had twelve 
 cautreds in their divisions, which reached from Leim Congculioa 
 to Bealaoh Mor, in the county of Ossery, and from Mount Each- 
 tighe to Mount Eibhlinne. This was a brave and martial claii, 
 and it was observed particularly of them, that they always chose 
 to be in the front of the Momonian forces when they entered 
 an enemy's country, where they distinguished themselves with 
 signal courage ; and when they were marching homewards, and 
 leaving the country of the enemy, their place was in the rear ; 
 so that they were exposed to the greatest dangers, and were a 
 shield to the rest of the army, whom they always led on to ac- 
 tion, and covered in their retreat. The old poet, Cormao Mac 
 Cuillenan, gives an express account of the bravery of this tribe 
 in the following lines : 
 
 The martial clan of the Dalgais appear 
 
 In front, and make the foremost ranks, exposed 
 
 To the first fury of the enemy ; 
 
 And when the military instruments 
 
 Sound a retreat, they last forsake the field « 
 
 -And cover all the I'ear ; these martial chiefs, 
 
 Strangers to fear and flight, with victory 
 
 Were ever crown'd, their all-subduing arras 
 
 Witli never-failing force their javelins threw, 
 
 And scattered certain death. 
 
 Hugh Fionnliath, monarch of Ireland, died without violence 
 at Druim Jonasglan, in Crioch Conuill ; and the pious Tigher- 
 iiach, the son of Muireadhaidh, bishop of the same Druim Jo- 
 nasglan, was about the same time translated to a better life. 
 
 Flan Sionna was the succeeding king. He was the 
 , jo' son of Maolseachluio, son of Maolruadhna, descended 
 from the royal line of Heremon, and governed the king- 
 dom 38 years. The mother of this prince was Lan, the daugh- 
 ter of Dungoil, son of Feargoil, king of Ossery. This Irish 
 king met with many disturbances in his reign ; for he was no 
 sooner fixed in the throne but he found it necessary to raise an 
 army and invade the province of Munster. This attempt was 
 Buccessfully prosecuted, for the provincial troops were unable to 
 oppose him, so that the whole country lay exposed to the fury 
 of the royal army, who miserably distressed the inhabitants, 
 
or iR.^LAXD. 439 
 
 and earned them away lifter they were cruelly plundered, into 
 a wretched captivity. In the feign of this prince, Daniel, the 
 son of Muireagein, -^vas treacherously slain by his own followers ; 
 and Fiachna, the son of Ainbroith, son of Hugh Roin, who had 
 governed the province of Ulster the space of one year, left the 
 world ; and about the same time died Donnogh Mac Dubhaob- 
 oirunn, king of Munster. 
 
 The Danes still carried on their hostilities, and behaved mora 
 like robbers than enemies," for they plundered Cluain Joraird, 
 and Kildare suffered the same devastations. The celebrated fair 
 of Tailton was proclaimed about this time by the king of Ire- 
 land j which was no sooner elided but Maolguala, who had go- 
 verned the province of Munster seven years, departed the pre* 
 gent life. The Normans were now in possession of some part 
 of the island ; and these foreigners fell upon Sitrick Mac Job- 
 hair, and slew him. Aidhet, king of Ulster, was inhumanly 
 murdered by his own subjects, which occasioned such distur 
 bances in the province, that the Danes took advantage of their 
 civil discords, and such of them as lived at Loch Feabhail entered 
 Ardmach, and plundered the country. In this expedition they 
 surprised Cumasgach, king of Ulster, and his son Hugh, and 
 made them prisoners. About this time died Daniel, a prince 
 of great hopes, the son of Constantine, king of Scotland. 
 
 Cormac Mac Cuillenan had now fixed himself in the govern- 
 ment of Munster, and reigned with great conduct and modera- 
 tion for seven years. During the reign of this prince the king- 
 dom of Ireland enjoyed settled peace and tranquillity ; the 
 island began to recover breath, after the calamities of intestine 
 wars and foreign invasions ; the lands were manured and culti- 
 vated, and afforded plentiful crops ; and so remarkable was the 
 happiness of the island at this time, that not a shepherd or 
 herdsman was wanting through the whole country. The churches, 
 and abbeys, and religious houses, began to be repaired and ne\f 
 built ; for these structures were reduced to ruins by the sacri-- 
 legions Danes, who ravaged without distinction of places, s(? 
 that nothing however solemn or sacred could escape their fury. 
 Learning now revived, and many free schools and academies were 
 erected, for the education of youth in arts and in the liberal 
 sciences. Their former miseries were forgotten by the inhabi- 
 tants, a new scene appeared, and opened a delightful prospect 
 of peace, happiness, and prosperity. 
 
 Such was the flcurisbinfy state of the kin^cloni when Cormae 
 
440 t:ie gi^^sral HTSTonr 
 
 Mac Cuillenan wore the crown of Mauster, that the coulestj 
 and animosities between the pttty princes were happily con- 
 cluded ; insomuch, that the Danes, fearing the effects of this 
 reconciliation, desisted from their usual hostilities ; and, though 
 the desire of plunder remained, and nothing of their savage dis- 
 position abated, yet they apprehended their lives were in con- 
 tinual danger from the natives, who by their common union and 
 friendship were able to drive them out of the kingdom; and 
 therefore a great number of these foreigners retired to theii* 
 ships of their own accord, and bid adieu to the island. 
 
 Cormac proposed, in one year of his reign, to celebrate the 
 festival of Easter with great state and magnificence at Cashel ; 
 and a short time before the holydays he sent a messenger to the 
 country called Eoganacht, that lay near Cashel, to demand of 
 the inhabitants a quantity of provision, that would be sufficient 
 'Tor himself and his attendants during his stay at that place. But 
 the messenger was dismissed with a refusal ; and an account of 
 this rude denial being brought to the generous tribe of the Daii- 
 gaip, they prepared with all possible speed what provisions were 
 necessary for the khig of Munster, and supplied his wants. 
 This relief was very seasonable, and was received by Cormao 
 with the most grateful acknowledgments. The king resolved 
 once more to try the spirit of the people of Eoganacht, and for 
 that purpose sent to them, to desire that they would assist him 
 with some of their best arms and horses, to bestow upon those 
 strangers who should come to his court, according to their de- 
 serts and merits : and the messeftiger was to notify that his 
 master did not doubt of their compliance, since they were sen- 
 sible of the obligations they lay under, and liad not yet paid 
 Inm the usual compliments, oi* convinced him of their good 
 aifactions by one single testimony of their respect. The inhabi- 
 tants of Eoganacht did not absolutely refuse to answer his de- 
 mand, but their manner of complying was a notorious affront 
 to the king, for they mustered together all their old battered 
 arms, and picked out the most useless and disabled horses they 
 could find, and sent them to Cashel to the court of Cormac, 
 The clan of the Dailgais was soon acquainted with this insolent 
 behaviour, and chose a number of strong able horses, with suit- 
 able equipage and furniture, and presented them to tho king ; 
 the best ot their arms likewise, and a collection of valuabi*^ 
 jewe's, were generously oftered to his acceptance. Cormac re- 
 ceived their favours with sincere expressions of gratitude^, and 
 
OF IRELAND. 441 
 
 upon the occasion composed the following lines ; for he was a 
 prince ol great learning, but his genius chiefly inclined to 
 poetry. 
 
 May heaven protect the most illustrions triba 
 Of Dailgais, and convey its choicest blessings 
 On their posterity. This renowned clan, 
 Though meek and merciful as are the saints, 
 Yet are of courage not to be subdued. 
 ' Long may they live in gloiy and renown^ 
 
 And raise a stock of heroes for the world. 
 
 The authentic records of Ireland expressly assert, that from 
 the reign of Aongus^ the son of Nadfi^och, kiog of Munster, to 
 the time of Matthew, the sou of Kennedy, who likewise go- 
 verned that province, there had reigned forty-four princes line- 
 ally descended from Eogan More, the son of Oilioll Ollum ; and 
 during this space of time it is observed, that the tribe of Dail- • 
 gais had the possession of no more lands than the kingdom of 
 Thumond ; but after the decease of Cormac Mac Cuilienan, the 
 succession to the crown of Munster devolved upon Lorcan, who 
 was of the line of Dailgais, and governed that province till hia 
 death. The country of Thumond had a king of its own, and 
 consisted of all the lands from Slighe Dala, known otherwise 
 by the name of Bealach Mor, in Ossery, to Leim Congculion, in 
 the west of Corca Baisain. This tribe of the Dailgais always 
 took up arms in defencd of the kings of Cashel, against ,the 
 provincial troops of Leinster, and the army of Leath Cuinn. 
 This account we find recorded 'in a poem composed by O'Dugan, 
 who has related the particulars in the verses following ; 
 
 The Dailgaisian troops with glory fir'd, 
 Fought for the honour of the kings of Cashel, 
 And carried into other provinces 
 The terror of their arms. 
 
 Cormac Mac Cuilienan governed the province of Munster for 
 the space of seven years, and acquired the character of a learned 
 and just prince. Fortune favoured him in all his attempts, his 
 enemies dreaded his power, and his subjects almost adored him 
 for his virtues ; and his reign might have continued for many 
 years longer, attended with the same glory and prosperity, had 
 he not been misled and overruled by the advice of his counsel- 
 lors, who put him upon destructive measures, which robbed him 
 of his life and crown. The principal nobility and gentry of hia 
 province urfred him forward to invade the territories of Leinster, 
 
4'i:2 THE GENERAL HlrsTORY 
 
 and demand a tribute or chief-rent from the inhabitants ; avtd 
 ii they refused, to pay their acknowledgments of subjection, they 
 j)er8uaded him to use violence, and immediately enter into hos- 
 tilities. This enterprise was not agreeable to the king, but upon 
 the advice of his council, and particularly of Flathbhertach 
 Mac Jonmuinein, abbot of Inis Catha, and of the blood royal, 
 who insisted that the king had a just demand upon that pro- 
 vince, as it was a part of Leath Modha, he raised a numerous 
 army, consisting of the flower of his provincial troops, and pre- 
 pared for the undertaking. His forces assembled at a placa 
 appointed, and the gentry of Munster were resolved to prose- 
 cute the right of their ki«ig with their lives and fortunes; for 
 they supposed he had a just title to this tribute, upon account 
 of the division that was formerly made between Modha Nuagatt 
 and Conn. But the king of Munster opposed this expedition, 
 '4 and would have disbanded his troops ; for he was endowed wiih 
 a prophetic spirit, and foreknew that the attempt would be at- 
 tended with an unfortunate issue, and he should lose his life in 
 the action. Under these apprehensions he delayed his march, 
 till overcome by the importunity of his friends, he advanced 
 towards the borders of Leinster; but before he had entered that 
 province, he determined to make his will and testament, being 
 sensible he should never return ; and having prepared himself 
 by devotion for that solemn act, he left considerable legacies to 
 Vises of charity, and particularly expressed his bounty to the 
 principal abbeys and religious houses throughout the kingdom : 
 he left an ounce of gold and an ounce of silver, a horse and 
 arms, to Druimabhradh, now known by the name of Ard Fio- 
 nane. A golden and a silver chalice, and a vestment of silk, he 
 bestowed upon Lismore. A golden and a silver chalice, four 
 ounces of gold and five of silver, he bequeathed to Cashel. He 
 gave to Imleach Jubhair three ounces of gold and a mass book; 
 this place at present is called Inily. To Glean da Loch he de- 
 mised an ounce of gold and another of silver. A horse and, 
 arms, an ounce of gold, and a silk vestment, he bequeathed t^ 
 Kildare. Twenty-four ounces of gold and silver he left to Ard- 
 mach ; three ounces of gold he gave to Inis Catha ; three ounces 
 of gold and a silk vestment, with his royal benediction, he be- 
 stowed upon the successor of Mungairid, with several other 
 noble and charitable benefactions. 
 
 This excellent prince being poetically inclined, composed his 
 last will and testament in verse, which may not improperly bf 
 thus translated : 
 
OP IRELAND. 443' 
 
 Suinmon'd away by death, which I perceive 
 Approaches, (for by my prophetic skill 
 I fina that short will be my life and reign,) 
 I solemnly appoint, that my afl'airs 
 Shall thus be settled after I am dead ; 
 And this I constitute my latest will. 
 
 My golden vestment, for most sacred use 
 Ordain'd, and for the service of my God, 
 I give to the religious St. Shanon 
 Of Inis Catha, a most holy man. 
 My clock, which gave me notice of the time, 
 And warn'd me when to offer ray devotion, 
 I leave, nor is my will to be revok'd, 
 To Conuil of Feargus, a true friend, 
 And follower of my fortune, good or bad. 
 My royal robe, embroider'd o'er ^vith gold, 
 And sparlding with the rays of costly jewels, 
 Well suited to a state of majesty, 
 I do bequeath to Roscre to be kept 
 By Cronane with the strictest care. My armour, 
 And coat of mail of bright and polished steel, 
 Will well become the martial king of Ulster, 
 To whom I give it ; and my golden chain 
 Shall the most pious Machuda enjoy, 
 As a reward for all his worthy labours. 
 
 My royal wardrobe I resolve to give • 
 
 To Mac Gleinin at Cluain by Colman. 
 My Psalter, which preserves the ancient recrrds 
 A nd monuments of this my native qountr}'-, 
 Which are transcrib'd with great fidelity, 
 I leave to Ronal Casliel, to he preserv'd 
 ^ To after times, and ages yet to come. 
 My soul for mercy I commit to heaven. 
 My body leave to dujt and rottenness. 
 May God his choicest store of blessings send 
 Upon the poor, and propagate the faitii 
 Of Christ throughout the world. 
 
 This Cormac, king of Munster, gives in his writings an exact 
 account of the convention of Mungairide ; as appears expressly 
 in that part of his poetical composition which begins with these 
 words, A ghille, ceangaill ar loin, where he expressly mentions 
 the number of monks that were members of the six churches 
 that stood in that place. There were five hundred, who were 
 men of approved learning, and were appointed to attend the 
 office of preaching, six hupdred presbyters perved in the choir, 
 and four hundred ancient men of exemplary piety spent their 
 whole time in prayers and contemplation. 
 
 But to return to the design of Cormac upon the province of 
 Leinster. When he had concerted measures, and made the ne- 
 cessary preparations for this expedition; he thought it not sufli- 
 
444 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 cient to make his will, and settle his private affairs,, but that it 
 was his duty to provide for his people, and regulate the point of 
 succession before his decease j for this purpose he dispatched a 
 messenger to Lorcan, the son of Lachtna, king of Thumond, to 
 desire the favour of a visit from him in his camp before he pas- 
 sed the frontiers and entered upon action. This neighbouring 
 prince came upon the message, and was received by Cormac with 
 great tenderness and affection. Soon after his arrival the king 
 of Munster called a council of the principal nobility and gentry, 
 and commanding ofl&cers, and leading his royal gaest by the hand 
 into the assembly, he told them, that he apprehended the expe- 
 dition he had undertaken would be fatal to himself; and there- 
 fore to prevent all tumults, and defeat the pretensions of con- 
 tending factions, he thought himself obliged to settle the suc- 
 cession before his decease ; and fof that purpose he declared, 
 before the nobility ol Siol Eogain, who were chiefly concerned, 
 that he demised the crown of Munster to Lorcan, king of Thu- 
 mond, whose indisputable right it was, and persuaded them to 
 ratify his nomination, and accept him for their king. He did 
 not think proper to bind them to this convention by oath not 
 to withdraw their allegiance from the king of Thumond ; which 
 was the reason, it is supposed, that after the death of Cormac 
 his designation was rejected by the nobility and gentry, who by 
 election placed another prince upon the throne of Munster ; 
 though it is evident, that Lorcan, king of Thumond, was the 
 apparent successor in the government of that province, in con- 
 formity to the last will and testament of Oilioll Ollum, who 
 ordained that the crown of Munster should descend alternately 
 to the posterity of Fiachadh Muilleathan and the royal family 
 of Cormac Cas. 
 
 The provincial troops of Munster being assembled, Cormac, 
 attended by Flathbhertach Mac Jonmuinein, abbot of Inis Ca- 
 tha, who was the principal promoter of this war, advanced at 
 the head of the army towards the borders of Leinster ; but, 
 before he passed the boundaries, he sent a herald to the king of 
 Leinster, to demand a yearly tribute as a testimony ot subjec- 
 tion, which he insisted upon as his right, as that province was a 
 part of Leath Modha. If the king of Leinster was not pre- 
 pared to answer his chief-rent in ready money, the mesenger 
 was to require hostages for the security of the payment, and 
 upon refusal to denounce war. The king of Munster halted in 
 the expectation of the return of the herald, and in that inter- 
 val an unfortunate accident happened, that was of fatal conse- 
 
OF IRFLAND. 445 
 
 qiience to the army of Mnnster ; for Flathbhertac'.i Mac Jon- 
 muinein, abbot of Inis Catha, who, though in orders, was a per- 
 son of courage and warlike disposition, mounted his horse, with 
 a design to ride through the ranks and take a view of the camp ; 
 but the horse being frighted, fell into a deep ditch with the ri- 
 der upon the back of him, which was understood by the soldiers 
 to be an unfortunate omen, and filled their minds with siich im- 
 pressions of fear, that many of them, despairing of success, re- 
 solved not to wait for the event, but withdrew from the camp 
 and returned home. 
 
 The herald returned to the king of I\Iansfcer, and brought 
 with him ambassadors, who were commissioned by Carrol, the 
 son of Muireagain, and the nobility of Leinster, to propose a 
 treaty and cessation of arms till it took effect. They were to 
 insist, that hostilites should cease on both sides, and that tho 
 country should be freed from the apprehensions of war till the 
 month of May following. To induce the king of Mnnster to 
 attend to these conditions, and accept them, they brought with 
 them a large sum of money, and a quantity of choice jewel?, 
 and other presents of value, to offer him and soften him into 
 compliance. This treaty began in the first fortnight of harvest ; 
 and to convince the king of Munster, that the king of Leinster 
 was sincerely inclined to peace, he ordered his ambassadors to 
 promise, that hostages should be placed in the hands of the ab- 
 bot of Diseart Diarmuida, until matters were brought to a con- 
 clusion. Nor did the king of Leinster forget to send a noble 
 present to Flathbhertach, being sensible what interest ha 
 had with the king of Munster, who would enter into any mea- 
 sures upon his recommendation. But this abbot, who ought to 
 have been the minister ol peace, was tho great incendiary, and 
 was not to be mollified into other sentiments. For when tho 
 ambassadors ot Leinster were admitted to audience, and had 
 made proposals, notwithstanding the king of Munster, who 
 dreaded the consequences oJ the war, was disposed to accept of 
 the conditions, and to prevent bloodshed, and with great conde- 
 scension desired the concurrence of Flathbhertach in his opinion, 
 yet the passionate and implacable abbot could not be brought 
 into any pacific measures, but resolved to push on the war at 
 all hazards ; and proceeded so far in his resentment against tho 
 ambassadors, that he insolently upbraided the king of Munster 
 with cowardice, and told him to his face, that the paleness of 
 Lis complexion evidently betrayed his want of courage ; and 
 used many other aggravating expressions, reflecting upon the 
 
 2b 
 
440 * THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 conduct and personal bravery of the king. But Cormac thought 
 fit to overlook the affront, and replied mildly, with great sedate- 
 ness, that his aversion to the war was not the effect of fear, but 
 proceeded from the sense he had of the consequences that would 
 inevitably attend the expedition, which he was convinced would 
 be fatal to his own life ; for, says he, I am assured that I shall 
 not survive the first battle, and perhaps your rashness and pre- 
 cipitancy will likewise prove your destruction. 
 
 After this conversation with the abbot, the king retired to his 
 tent, with very disconsolate and melancholy impressions upon 
 his mindy and admitting none but his chief favourites into his 
 presence, they persuaded him not to oppress himself with grief, 
 but to support his spirits, and refresh himself with what the 
 circumstances of the place would afford. Accordingly a basket 
 of apples was brought before him, which he distributed among 
 those that were present, but with this afflicting prediction, that 
 his death was at no great distance, and that he should not have 
 an opportunity of dividing his favours of this kind among them 
 more. The company, surprised and dejected at this expression 
 of the king, were overcome with sorrow, and dreaded the event 
 of the war ; for they were sensible that Cormac had an insight 
 into futurity, particularly when himself was immediately con- 
 cerned ; and that no unfortunate accident happened to him, 
 through his whole life, but what he particularly foretold before 
 it fell out, though it was not in his power to prevent it. 
 
 Cormac ordered every one out of his presence, and resolved 
 to spend what time he had to spare from public affairs in piety 
 and exercises of devotion ; and the better to prepare himself 
 for his dissolution, which he foresaw was approaching, he sent 
 for his confessor, whose name was Comhgoll, a person of great 
 judgment and exemplary holiness, with a design to confess his 
 sins and receive the absolution of the church. He likewise 
 made some alterations in his will, and particularly added a 
 codicil, that related to his funeral' and the place of his inter- 
 ment. But though he was certain that he should be slain in 
 the engagement with the king of Leinster, yet he had that re- 
 gard for the happiness of his people, that he commanded those 
 to whom he had communicated the secret, not to divulge it 
 among the army, lest the soldiers should be intimidated ; for ho 
 designed to sell his life at a dear rate, and if possible to secure 
 a victory to his subjects. His body, if it could be recovered 
 from the enemy, he ordered to be buried at Cluain Umha j or if 
 that could not be obtained; he would be interred at Diseart 
 
OF IRELAND. 447 
 
 Dianuuda, for which place he had a great respect, because he 
 resided there for some years in his youth, and received his edu- 
 cation : but Cluain Umha he designed for the repository of his 
 bones, if his people could convey him thither, because Mac 
 Leimbnin was buried there. Yet this part of the king's will 
 was disagreeable to a holy and religious person, whose name was 
 Maonach, who had a particular veneration for Diseart Diarmuda, 
 and endeavoured to honour it with the interment of the king's 
 body ; because there was a convent of monks under the govern- 
 ment of ComhgoU, and Maonach likewise exercised some share 
 of authority in the monastery, being the confessor of Comhgoll 
 at this time. 
 
 This Maonach was a person of distinguished piety, and of a 
 merciful and compassionate disposition, that inclined him to 
 peace, and preventing the shedding of Christian blood ; and 
 therefore he used- all possible endeavours to heal the breach, and 
 prevail with the king oi Munster to desist from the prosecution 
 of the war, and accept of the conditions offered by the nobility 
 of . Leinster j and as an argument to dissuade the king from his 
 expedition, he assured him that Flann, the son of Maolseach- 
 luin, king of Ireland, was followed by a number of brave troops, 
 and was now at the royal palace of Leinster, with a design to 
 defend and vindicate the cause oi that province ; and therefore 
 it would be prudence and policy to admit oi the honourable 
 terms proposed, to receive the hostages as preliminaries Oi a 
 treaty, and not to enter upon hostilities on either side, rather 
 than to persist and refer the matter to the decision oi the sword 
 and the uncertain issue of a battle. This representation was 
 well received by the king and many oi his Momonian forces ; 
 and had that eftect upon some oi the soldiery, who dreaded the 
 united power oi the king of Ireland and the people of Leinster, 
 that they left the camp out oi fear and discontent, and returned 
 home. Those who remained declared in favour oi peace, and 
 thought the terms that were offered ought not to be denied, 
 especially considering the quality of the hostages, who were 
 persons of no less rank than two young princes, the son of the 
 king of Leinster, and a son oi the king oi Ossery : and to show 
 with V7hat unwillingness the army followed the king in this 
 undertaking, they murmured in a mutinous manner against 
 Flathbhertach Mac Jonmuinein ; and charged him with being 
 the f'omenter of the difference between the two provinces, and 
 exclaimed against him as the author of all the miseries that 
 might be the consequence of the war. 
 
448 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 But the abbot of Inis Catha bad that commanding influence 
 over the ting's counsels, that he determined to prosecute tlie 
 war with vigour, and accordingly gave orders to the army to 
 march. He directed his course eastwards to mount Mairge, and 
 came to the bridge of Leithglin, called otherwise by the name 
 Oi Loghlin. The baggage and the spare horses of the army 
 were sent before, and Tiobruide, the religious successor of 
 A-oilbhe, with a number oi clergy, halted at this bridge till the 
 king with his Momonians arrived and joined them. From hence 
 the army advanced, with trumpets sounding and colours flying, 
 and came to a place called Magh Ailbhe, where he marked out 
 a camp and fortified himself by the side of a wood, expecting 
 the enemy. Here he drew up his men in order of battle, and 
 divided them into three parts under three several commanders. 
 The abbot Flathbhert?>ch Mac Jonmuinein, and the king of 
 Ossery, commanded the first battalion ; Cormac Mac Cuillenau 
 commanded the second ; and the third was under the conduct 
 of an experienced general Cormac Mac Mothly, king Ox tho 
 Deisies. The battle was agreed to be fought in the plains oi 
 Magh Ailbhe, where the army of Munster stood prepared to 
 receive the enemy ; but their courage began to fail them before 
 the engagement, for they were terrified with the account they 
 heard of the numbers they were to fight with, which, as soma 
 authors assert, were at least five to one, and consisted oi the 
 choicest and best disciplined troops in the kingdom. 
 
 The Lagonians, or the army of Leinster, advanced with assur- 
 ance of victory, and began the fight ; they relied upon their 
 numbers, and their personal bravery, and fell on with such irre- 
 sistible fury, that the torces Ol Munster could not stand the 
 first charge, or resist the impression of the enemy, but fled out 
 of the field, which was covered with dead bodies ; for the defeat 
 was attended with dreadful slaughter, and great numbers wera 
 killed in the pursuit. 
 
 This general rout was in a great measure owing to two unfor- 
 tunate accidents in the beginning of the battle. The one was, 
 a treacherous and cowardly action of Ceilliochair, the brother of 
 Ceangeagan, a former king of Munster, who rode through the 
 Momonian ranks, and being averse from the beginning to the 
 prosecution oi this war, addressed himself aloud to the soldiers, 
 persuading them to save themselves by flight, for they were cer- 
 tain to be all cut to pieces ; and fixing the odium of this under- 
 taking upon the rashness oi the abbot ot Inis Catha, he advised 
 them to secure their own lives, and leave those who occasioned 
 
OP ICELAND. 4ti9 
 
 the wai' to stan-I t'le issue of it, and fight it ont by themselves. 
 Aftei* this harangue he clapt spurs to his horse, and galloped 
 out of the field ; and the soldiers were so dispirited with what 
 h3 had offered, that they threw down their arms, and at the first 
 charge quitted their posts and shifted for themselves. The other 
 misfortune that occasioned the defeat was, the cowardice of 
 Ceallach Mac Carrol, who had a prircipal command in the army 
 of Munster ; this officer, amazed and shocked at the dreadful 
 •slaughter of his men, rode out of the field with full speed, 
 ordering his men to provide for themselves, and follow his ex- 
 ample before it was too late, and the enemy prevented their re- 
 treat. They complied with this advice, and instantly fled, which 
 so discouraged the rest of the army, that the defeat became uni- 
 versal, and more were slain in the pursuit than fall in the engage- 
 ment, which was but of a short continuance, lor the Momonian 
 troops were not able to stand against the first impression ot the 
 enemy, so that the bloodshed was dreadful, and the officers and 
 the clergy were cat off in great numbers, without quarter or 
 distinction ; an'I if any person of rank escaped after the first 
 fury of the soldiers was abated, he was saved, not from a prin- 
 ciple of humanity and compassion, but for the sake of a large 
 sum of money expected for his ransom. 
 
 Cormac Mac Cuillenan, though convinced of the certainty of 
 liis death, behaved with signal bravery at the head of his troops, 
 ap.d exposed himself, not out of despair, but from a principle 
 of true courage, in the front of the battle ; but in the disorder 
 of the fight his horse fell into a pit, and threw him. He was 
 much bruised with the fall, and being unable to rise, it was his 
 fortune to be seen by some of his own troops, that were pre- 
 cipitatel}^ &ying out of the field, who remounted him upon a 
 fresh horse with some difficulty, and left him to provide for his 
 life. The king by chance espied one of his favourites, whom he 
 much esteemed for his learning and other accomplishments, 
 making towards him ; and understanding by him that his army 
 was broken in pieces, and the slaughter of his troops almost 
 incredible, he commanded this loyal person whose name was 
 Hugh, and who promised never to abandon him, but to share 
 with him in all his misfortunes, to take care of his own safety, 
 and not to venture himself in his company, which would be his 
 inevitable destruction ; for his enemies, he was sensible, would 
 give no quarter, and he had but a few moments to live. It was 
 with great regret that his orders were obeyed by this gentleman, 
 who no sooner left the king, but his horse, attempting to climO 
 
450 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 a steep ascent, that was exceeding slippery with the blood of 
 the slain, made a false step, and tumbled with the rider dowa 
 the hill ; and by that accident broke the king's neck and hia 
 backbone, so that he died upon the spot. Thus was his predic- 
 tion accomplished, and he did not survive the action of the day 
 His body being found among the dead, by some soldiers of the 
 enemy, they had no regard to the dignity of his person, but in- 
 humanly mangled and thrust it through with their lances, and thda 
 cut off the head, which they carried away with them in triumph. 
 This unfortunate prince, if providence had thought fit, seemed 
 to have deserved a better fate ; for he was a person of exemplary 
 life, and consummate piety, as may be concluded by his be- 
 haviour in the last moment of his life, Which ended with this 
 devout ejaculation : " Into thy hands, God, I commit my 
 spirit." 
 
 Hanmer the historian in his chronicle attempts to impose 
 upon the world with a falsehood, for he asserts that Cormac Mac 
 Cuillenan, and Carrol, king oi Leinster, were killed in an en- 
 gagemeny. with the Danes, in the year of our redemption 905 ; 
 but this writer has notoriously mistaken the fact, for Cormac 
 neither lost his life in that manner, nor were the Danes any 
 way concerned in that action ; but the battle was fought, and 
 the victory obtained by Flann Sionna, monarch of Ireland, who 
 assisted the forces of Leinster, as appears expressly by the his- 
 tory known by the name of Beallach Mugna, which relates that 
 Cormac Mac Cuillenan fought bravely among the thickest of tho 
 enemy, and lost his life by a fall from his horse ; and gives a 
 particular account of the principal persons on both sides, that 
 fell in the action of that day. Among the slain was Ceallach 
 Mac Carrol, the valiant king of Ossery, and his son, a prince of 
 promising hopes ; many of the nobility oi Ireland lost theii* 
 lives, and numbers of superior officers and eminent clergy per- 
 ished. Fogartach Mac Suibhne, king of Kerry, Oilioll Maa 
 Eogain, a gentleman of unblemished reputation, and Colman, the 
 religious abbot of Cinneity, left their bodies among the dead. 
 This holy person was lord chief justice of Ireland, and sat upon 
 the bench, and administered the laws with great honour to him- 
 self and advantage to his country. It is impossible to relate the 
 particular names of all who tell in this battle, but these following 
 personages are transmitted to us ; Cormac, king oi Deisies, 
 Dubhagan, king of Fearmuigh, Cionnfaola, king oi Jobh Connell, 
 Aidhin, king of Aidhne, who was an exile in the province of 
 Munster, Huo^h, king of O'Liathan, Daniel; king of Daa Cearmna^ 
 
OP IRELAND. 451 
 
 Conna Hadair of Aineislis in Uidirreadh Maolmuadh, Madagau 
 Dubhdabhuirrionn, ConDal Fearadhach, and many others, who 
 are not delivered to the notice of posterity. The most eminent 
 commanders in the army of the king of Ireland, and of the pro- 
 vincial troops, to whose courage was owing the slaughter and 
 the defeat of the Momonians, were Flann Sionna, monarch of 
 Ireland, Carrol Mac Muireagain, king of Leinster, Teige Mac 
 Faolain, king of Cinnseallach, Teimeinean, king of Deagadh, 
 Ceallach and Lorcan, the two kings of Cinneal, Inneirge, the son 
 of Dubhgiolla, king of O'Drona Fallomhar, the Sffo. of Oiliolla, 
 king of Fothartafea, Tuathal, the son of Ughoire, king of O'Muir- 
 eadhaig, Odhran Mac Kennedy, king of Leis, Maolcalann, sou 
 of Fearghoile, king of Fortuath, and Cieircin, king of O'Bairce, 
 and many 'other princes and noble personages who distinguished 
 themselves in the action of that day. 
 
 Flann Sionna, king of Ireland, when he had refreshed his 
 troops after this victory, marched into Ossery, with a numerous 
 and princely retinue, to place Diarmuid Mac Carrol upon the 
 throne of that petty kingdom, which became vacant by the de- 
 cease of Ceallach Mac Carroll, his brother, who was slain in the 
 battle above-mentioned, and was a tributary prince to Corn^ac 
 Mac Cuillenan, king of Munster and of Leath Modha. Here the 
 soldiers brought the head of Cormac to the king, and laid it at 
 his feet, expecting a great reward for the service they had done ; 
 but Flann Sionna was a generous enemy, and instead of ap- 
 plauding and giving them a gratuity for the action, he up- 
 braided them with cruelty and inhumanity for violating the law 
 of nations, which forbids mangling and stabbing of the dead, 
 and commanded them from his presence as barbarous ruffians, 
 who had no more veneration for the dignity and majesty of a 
 ,-kiug than for a common enemy. The head was left, and the 
 king of Ireland, with difficulty refraining from tears, took it up 
 in his hand, and kissed it, lamenting the instability of human 
 greatness, and the untimely fate of so religious a prince and so 
 venerable a prelate. He then gave strict orders for the body to 
 be searched after, and to be interred as his will appointed. 
 Maonach, the confessor of Comhgall, had the royal relics com- 
 mitted to his care, who removed them with great solemnity to 
 Diseart Diarmuda, where they were interred as became his 
 character. 
 
 The king of Ireland having fixed Diarmuid Mao Carrol in the 
 throne of Ossery without opposition, after he was proclaimed 
 and crowned with the usual ceremonies, and reconciled some 
 
453 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 email disputes that arose between that prince and his brothers, 
 returned with his army to his own royal palace. He received 
 the most grateful acknowledgments from the king of Leinster, 
 for his assistance in the war ; who likewise returned with his 
 forces into his own province, laden with spoils, and followed by 
 a number of prisoners of the first qualit3^ 
 
 Carrol, the son of Muireagein, king of Leinster, directed his 
 march towards Kildare, where he arrived with many prisoners 
 of note of the Momonians ; and among the rest, the author of 
 this rash ar\^d unnecessary war, Flathbhertach Mac Jonmuinein, 
 abbot of Inis Catha, was led in triumph among the captives. 
 The clergy of Leinster were so enraged at his conduct, that they 
 upbraided him with being the fomenter of the divisions between 
 the two provinces, and the cause of all the bloodshed on both 
 sides ; and they prosecuted their resentment with that violence, 
 that the unfortunate abbot was closely imprisoned and severely 
 used, so long as Carrol, king of Leinster, lived ; after whose de- 
 cease he was discharged, and obtained his liberty. 
 
 About a year after the decease of this provincial prince, 
 Muirionn, the pious abbess of St. Bridget, was so concerned 
 about the safety of this abbot, that though he was released from 
 His imprisonment and received his pardon, yet she apprehended 
 he might be set upon by the enraged populace and his life en- 
 dangered, and therefore, for his security, she prevailed with a 
 number of the most religious clergy, to procure a guard for him 
 till he arrived at a place called Magh Nairb ; from thence he 
 came to Munster, and retiring to his monastery of Inis Catha, 
 he spent some time there in great devotion and exemplary 
 practice of holiness, till the death of Dubhlachtua, the son of 
 Maolguala, who governed the province of Munster for seven 
 years after the decease of Cormac Mac Cuillenan. By the death 
 of this king the throne of Munster became vacant, and tliis 
 abbot was removed from his retirement at Inis Catha, to admi- 
 nister the government of that province, which he held for many 
 years with great applause ; and notwithstanding his want of 
 policy with regard to the invasion of Leinster, he proved a sober 
 and discreet prince, and was possessed not only of the command 
 but of the affections of his people. The transactions above- 
 mentioned stand upon record in a very ancient treatise of Cluain 
 Aidhnach Fiontan, in Leix, where the particulars of the battle 
 of Beallach Mugna are related at large. It is a poetical com- 
 position of a learned person called Dalian, who was retained as 
 principal historiographer to Cearbhal, king of Leiuster, Tuis 
 
OP IRELAND. ' 4^3 
 
 •writer gives an exriress account of the number of the slain, aa 
 we'd officers as soldiers^ v/ho perished in that engagement ; the 
 beginning only of the poem shall be inserted in this place, be- 
 cause it would be too prolix to translate the whole, especially 
 considering that the names of the most eminent nobility have 
 beer ahc^idj- taken notice of. The lines carry this sense : 
 
 Tiie valiant Cormac, Feimhin, and Fogartacli, 
 
 And the renowned Colman Ceallach 
 
 With six. thousand of the best provincial troops, 
 
 Were slain, engaging in the bloody lields 
 
 Of Mu-aa. 
 
 yV.D. 
 
 Miall Glundubh succeeded in the throne of Ireland, 
 (^^o He was the son of Hugh J^'ionnliath, son of N^all Uaiiie, 
 descended from the royal line of Heremon, and reigned 
 monarch of the island three years. This prince re-established 
 the celebrated fair of Tailton, which had been omitted for some 
 time ; and the Danes attempting to disturb the state, were 
 overthrown by him, in a pitched battle, at Loch da Chaoch, in 
 the province of Ulster. In this engagement a great number of 
 foreigners were slain ; but they did not fall unrevenged, for the 
 Irish, though victorious, suffered great loss, and some of their 
 best troops perished in the action. In the reign of this mo- 
 narch the Lagonians, or the inhabitants of Leinster, encountered 
 the X>anes with their provincial forces, but they were totally 
 routed by the bravery and conduct of Jomha,ir an experienced 
 commander of the enemy, at Ceannfuaid, and left 600 of their 
 best soldiers dead upon the spot. In this bloody action Mao 
 Huireagin, king of East Liffy, was slain ; and with him fell the 
 valiant Ughaire, the son of Oiliolla, and Mogroiu, the son of 
 Kennedy, king of the Comanns and Leix, and many renowned 
 generals, whose names are now lost to posterity. 
 
 About this time it was that Oittir, a very able and accom- 
 plished general of the Danes, attempted an invasion upon th3 
 kingdom of Scotland ; for that purpose he transported a body 
 of choice troops from Loch da Chaoch, and landed in that coun- 
 try ; but upon his arrival he met with a warm reception from 
 Cuas, the son of Hugh, who fell upon him with a fury not to be 
 resisted, forced the Danes to retire to their ships, after a terribla 
 daughter, and obliged them to return without their captain, who 
 met his fate in the first heat of the action. 
 
 But Niall Glundubh, the king of Ireland, was not so success- 
 ful in repelling an itaya;sion of these foreigners, who landed - a 
 
454 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 numerous army upon the island, under the conduct of Sitricd 
 and the sons of Jomhair. Upon their arrival they plundered 
 and distressed the people with incredible oppressions, and among 
 other successes, they made an attempt upon^the city of Dublin 
 and took it sword in hand. Niall, alarmed at these hostilities, 
 resolved to oppose the progress of the proud Danes, and collect- 
 ing with the utmost expedition all the forces of Leath Cuin, 
 gave them battle ; but the foreign army, emboldened by their 
 conquests, received the charge with great courage, and falling on 
 with terrible fury, broke through the Irish troops, and gave 
 them a general defeat ; the pursuit was hot and bloody, and in 
 the flight great numbers were cut off, for the victors resolved to 
 give no quarter. In the engagement fell Niall Glundubh, king 
 of Ireland^ and Connor Mac Maolseachluin, prince of Ireland ; 
 and there followed them into the other world, Hugh Mac Eo- 
 chagain, king of Ulster, Maolmithig, son of Flanagan, king of 
 Breag, Maolcraoibhe O'Dubsionna, Riogh Oirgial, with many 
 more illustrious personages, who had the principal command in. 
 the Irish army, and chose rather to die in the field of honour 
 than survive the liberty and freedom of their country. 
 ^ ^ Donough was the succeeding monarch. He was the 
 
 g^^' son of Flann Sionna, descended from the royal stock of 
 Heremon, and governed the kingdom thirty years. The 
 mother of this prince was Gormflath, the daughter of Flann, sou 
 of Conning, and his reign was made memorable by many sig- 
 nal transactions. 
 
 This king sat upon the throne of Ireland when Ceallachan, 
 the son of Buadhachain, but more commonly known by the 
 name oi Ceallachan Cashel, began his government over the two 
 provinces of Munster, and wore that provincial crown for ten 
 years. But he met with opposition with regard to his succes- 
 sion in that throne, ''which was like to be attended with fatal 
 consequences : but was at length happily overcome ; for Ken- 
 nedy Mac Lorcan, a prince of formidable interest in that coun- 
 try, designed to lay claim to that province, and for that pur- 
 pose came as far as Gleanamhuin with a numerous retinue, to 
 treat with the nobility and gentry of Munster about the point 
 of succession. The throne of that province was vacant at this 
 time, and the proposals of Kennedy were near taking effect; but 
 the mother of Ceallachan, a lady of great prudence, and much, 
 esteemed by the people, fearing that her son should be excluded 
 and Kennedy proclaimed king, resolved to use her utmost efforts- 
 to secure the succession in her family, w^ffc had a just claim^ 
 
but were unable to support their pretensions with a military 
 iorce j and therefore boldly addressing herself to Kennedy, and 
 expostulating with him about the injustic3 of his design, she 
 told him, that he was bound by the agreement made many years 
 before between Fiachadh Muilleathan and Cormac Cas, wherein 
 it was stipulated, that the government of Munster should de- 
 ecend alternately to their respective families : and the right 
 being in her son, she desired that he would not violate the con- 
 tract of his ancestors, and seize upon a crown by usurpation, 
 which he could have no just pretence to. This transaction is 
 recorded in an ancient poem, and the lines may not improperly 
 be rendered thus : 
 
 Most nol»le Kennedy, let no injustice 
 
 Derive a blemish on your princely name , 
 
 Consider the most solemn contract made ' 
 
 By the brave Fiachadh and Cormac Cas, \ 
 
 That Munster should alternately be ruled 
 
 By the successive heks of both Lheir fainilies. 
 
 The representation of this princess had its desired effect; for 
 Kennedy, overcome by the justice of it, and conscious of the de- 
 fect in his own title, relinquished his pretensions peaceably, and 
 Ceallachan was acknowledged and proclaimed king of Munster. 
 But notwithstanding he had possession of the government, the' 
 Danes disturbed his reign with frequent incursions ; and when 
 these foieigners perceived that they could not carry on their 
 designs by force, they had recourse to treachery, and were so 
 successful, as by a stratagem to seize upon Ceallachan and take 
 him prisoner ; but his captivity was of no long continuance, 
 for he soon obtained his freedom by the victorious arms of the 
 Eugenians and Dailgaisians, who were resolved to recover him 
 out of the hands of the Danes or perish in the attempt. 
 
 This provincial prince and his hardy Momoniaus, inspired 
 with revenge, engaged these foreigners in many battles, and 
 iought them with that success, that they found it proper to 
 abandon the province of Munster, and look out for new settle- 
 ments. But the Danes still retained an affection for their old 
 possessions, and finding themselves too weak to be reinstated by 
 force of arms, they betook themselves to their usual arts, and 
 formed a design so base and treacherous in itself, that history 
 can hardly parallel it, and deserves from us a particular relation. 
 
 At this time the Danes were under the command of SitriCj 
 ibc son of Turgesius, that cruel usurper, whose name alone was 
 
450 THE GENERAL HISTORT 
 
 a terror to the Irish. This general, the son of that tyrant, hav- 
 ing first taken the advice of his council, sent a messenger to 
 Ceallaohan, king of Munster, to notify to him his sincere incli- 
 nations to peace and a good understanding and corresDondeape 
 between them ; and as a testimony of his integrity and respect 
 he offered him his sister, the princess-royal of Denmark, in 
 marriage, who was a lady of consummate virtue and unexcep- 
 tionable beauty. He would oblige himself likewise, never to 
 invade or disturb hi? government in Munster, and promised that 
 he would withdraw his forces, put an end to his hostilities, ami 
 for tho future not only make no attempt upon his crown, but 
 enter into a league offL^nsive and defensive, mutually to assist 
 each other against their enemies ; and to give a sanction to these 
 proposals, he engagc-d to send him suitable hostagBS, whose safety 
 p.nd quality would oblige him, to the exscutiou of them. But 
 Si trie intended nothing less than to contract his sister to the 
 king of Munster ; his design was, to murder him and his retinue 
 upon the night the marriage was to be solemnized, and then 
 seize upon his crown. To support his interest after the com- 
 • mission of this execrable fact, and the better to establish himsctlf 
 iin that province, he communicated this cruel resolution to 
 : Bonuogh, the son of Flann Sionna, king of Ireland : who, instead 
 of starting at the attempt, encouraged it, and applauded the 
 treacherous Dane, and promised him his friendship and alliance 
 after the execution j for it must be observed, that the king of 
 Ireland was at that time an, enemy to the king of Munster, be- 
 cause he refused to pay his 'contributions and chief rents ; and 
 by this means he thought he should get rid of a troublesome 
 neighbour, who disputed his authority, and denied him the 
 homage and testimonies of subjection which his predecessors 
 laid claim to. 
 
 The messenger of Sitrio being introduced to Ceallaohan, de- 
 livered the proposals, and that unfortunate prince fell into the 
 snare that was laid for him by one of his most inveterate enemies; 
 for when he was told of the contract with the young princess, he 
 was transported with the news ; the fame of this young lady's 
 beauty, her virtue and other accomplishments having reached 
 his ears long before, and he had conceived a passion before he 
 had seen her. He suspected nothing of the design, and being of 
 an amorous disposition, returned his compliments to Si trie, and 
 promised he would make him a visit with ail possible expedition. 
 Accordingly very noble and expensive preparations were made 
 for this joui'iiey ; he was to be attended with a splendid retinue, 
 
OF IRELAND. 457 
 
 nnrl ft princely equipage, to be followed by his body guards and 
 the choicest of his troops, m order to conduct the princess into 
 his province with the state and magnificence that became her 
 Lirth and quality. 
 
 But Kennedy, the prince of North Munster, hearing of the 
 design of Ceallachan, and that he intended to take with him his 
 choicest ibrces, and to leave the province of Munster unguarded, 
 and open to the incursions of any one who would attempt to 
 invade it, represented the imprudence of this resolution, and how 
 dangerous it was to leave the country without defence ; and by 
 his advice, and the strength of his reasons, dissuaded the king 
 irom his purpose, who altered his measures, and appointing a 
 fcufiicient force to secure the province, began his journey, atten- 
 ded by the young prince Dunchuan, the son of Kennedy, and 
 followed only by his body guards. He continued his journey 
 with quick marches, ana soon arrived within sight of Dublin. 
 
 It happened that Sitric, the Danish general, had married an 
 Irish lady, whose name was Morling, and daughter of Hugh 
 Mac Eochaidh. This princess, hearing that Ceallachan, king 
 of Munster, was upon his journey to accomplish the marriage 
 rites with the princess-royal of Denmark, and arrived almost as 
 lar as Kilmainham, near Dublin, was somewhat surprised at it ; 
 and for satisfaction freely expostulated with Sitric, her husband, 
 what could induce him to bestow his sister in marriage upon 
 the provincial prince, who was a professed enemy to the Danish 
 race, and had destroyed so many of the principal nobility and 
 gentry of his country. Sitric, with great freedom, discovered 
 his design, and replied, that he was urged on by revenge to in- 
 vite the king of Munster to Dublin ; for he would disappoint 
 him of his nuptiai pleasures with his sister, and, when he had 
 him in his power, he was resolved to sacrifice him to the ghosts 
 of those renowned Danes he had destroyed. His wife was asto- 
 nished at theV)arbarity of this action, especially since CeallacluiQ 
 was appointed to be the victim ; for she had entertained a very 
 tender esteem for that prince, and was perfectly in love with 
 him from the time she by chance saw iiim at Wateriord, but 
 had the prudence not to discover her concern, and appeared be- 
 fore her husband to approve of his design, and outwardly encou- 
 raged him in the execution of it. 
 
 13ut the next morning she rose much earlier than usual, and 
 being sensible that Ceallachan was upon the road to Dublin, 
 she conveyed herself with great privacy out of the town, and 
 took up her. standing in a convenient place by wliich the king 
 
458 THE QENSHAL IIIKTORV 
 
 of Mun^jher was to pass. Here she discovered herself to him, 
 and, declaring the particulars of the conspiracy that was formed 
 against his life, advised him to retire with the utmost speed, 
 and provide for his own safety and that of his followers. He 
 \i^as amazed and confounded with the intelligence, and express- 
 ing himself in a grateful manner to the lady for her informa- 
 tion, he took leave of her, and turning about made the best of 
 his way to Munster. But Sitric had taken care to prevent his 
 retreat ; for he had lined the hedges with armed Danes, and 
 laid so many ambushes in his way, that it was impossible for 
 him to escape. Ceallachan and his retinue found themselves 
 surrounded with enemies, who galled them on all sides, and did 
 great execution. The king of Munster ordered his men to fall 
 on, and defend themselves against the treacherous Danes ; and 
 a desperate conflict began, in which many of the principal of 
 the Moco^nians were slain. The Danes likewise sufTdred exceed- 
 ingly in the action, and must have given way to the superior 
 courage of the king's guards, had they not been supported by 
 fresh supplies from the city, which renewed the fight, and at 
 length, after a terrible slaughter, obtained a complete victory. 
 In this engagement Ceallachan, king of Munster, and Dun- 
 ohuan, son of Kennedy, were taken prisoners, after a long and 
 resolute resistance ; and the Danes, after they had stripped and 
 plundered the dead, returned with their royal captives in tri- 
 umph to the city of Dublin. Here they were confined but a 
 Bhort time, and were removed under a strong guard to Ard- 
 mach, where they were imprisoned with great strictness and 
 severity ; and nine Danish noblemen, of the quality of earls, 
 were appointed to command a strong bodv of troops, whose 
 business was to secure these prisoners, so thac it was impossible 
 Cor them to escape. 
 
 The forces of Munster, that had the good fortune to save 
 themselves by flight, returned home, where they related the 
 treachery of the Danes, and bi ought the intelligence of the 
 captivity of their king, and the death of many o; nis followers, 
 who perished by the ambuscade. This account alarmed the 
 whole province, but more particularly afiected Kennedy, prince 
 of Munster, who was deputed regent of the country, and had 
 the sole management oi public afiairs in the absence of the 
 king. He was so incensed at the baseness of the act, and con- 
 cerned at the captivity ol his son, that he resolved to take 
 ample satisfaction of those treiicherous foreigners, and rescue 
 the prisoners at all events ; for this purpose he summoned 
 
OF IRELAND. 459 
 
 together the provincial troops, and making the battalions com- 
 plete by fresh recruits, he provided a formidable army by land ; 
 and to accomplish his design with greater certainty, he fitted 
 out a fleet of ships, and manned it with able seamen, that he 
 might make sure of his revenge, and attack the enemy at once 
 by sea and land. The command of the army was committed 
 to the conduct of a brave and experienced general, Donnogh 
 Mac Keefie, king of Fearmoighe. To raise the courage of this 
 general, and to inspire him with proper sentiments of indigna- 
 tion, he reminded him of the nobility of his blood, and of the 
 magnanimity of his ancestors, who were kings of Munster ; and 
 having repeated their names, and mentioned them with honour 
 and due applause, he related their particular exploits, how they 
 exposed their lives for the good of their country, and repelled 
 the insolence of foreign invaders ; and concluded with inform- 
 ing him of the prospect he had ot success, under his conduct 
 and bravery, which he was certain would chastise those insolent 
 Danes, lor violating the law oi nations, and the established 
 rights ot hospitality, and by that means procure deliverance to 
 the island and glory to himself. To support the provincial 
 troops, if there should be occasion, Kennedy ordered 1000 
 choice soldiers of the martial tribe of the Dailgais upon this 
 expedition, and disposed them under the command of three 
 captams of confessed courage and experience, who were his own 
 brothers, and were distinguished hyL, the names of Cosgrach, 
 Lonargan, and Congallach. This transaction is upon record in 
 an ancient composition, wherein are these verses : 
 
 Go, my renowned brothers, and command 
 This warlike tribe ; your names shall not be lost. 
 But the brave Cosgrach, and the stout Lonargun, 
 And Congallach invincible in war, 
 Shall stand immortal in the lists of fame. 
 
 Kennedy resolved to prosecute this design with the utmost 
 vigour, and therefore he raised 500 more of the clan of the 
 Dailgais, and appointed for their general the heroic Sioda, the 
 son of Clan Cuilleain ; and another 500 of the same tribe he 
 placed under the conduct of Deagadh, the son of Daniel, a cap- 
 tain of distinguished bravery and experience, who likewise had 
 the command of numbers of the nobility and gentry of the 
 Dailgais, who came from the country of Thumond, and volunta- 
 rily offered their service in this expedition. The fleet was now 
 ready to sail, and the command of it was conferred upon an 
 
430 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 almiral perfectly skilled m maritime affairs. Failbbe Fionn, king 
 Ox Desmond. 
 
 Tiiese military preparations being adjusted, the army began 
 to march from Munster, and took their route through the pro- 
 vince ot Conacht, where they halted; and a council of war being 
 called, it was agreed to send out considerable parties, to forage 
 and fetch in provisions from Jerny and Umhall. In these places 
 they found a good booty of cattle and other necessaries, and 
 designed to carry them off to the camp. They thought themselves 
 Becure of their prey, but their scouts surprised them with the 
 intelligence that they had discovered a body of troops marchiig 
 towards them in regular order, with their commander at the 
 head of them. This information obliged the foragers to retire 
 without the plunder to the main body, who were immediately 
 ordered to stand to their arms and expect the event. By this 
 time the strange troops approached near the outlines of the camp, 
 but advanced without beginning hostiliries, or discovering that 
 they had any design to attack it. The general of Munster re- 
 solved to be satisfied of their intention, and for that purpose tho 
 brave Donnogh Mac Keeffe called to the commanding officer, 
 and demanded from whence he came, and whether he was a 
 friend or an enemy. The captain answered, that he came out 
 of Munster, and that his followers belonged to that province, 
 and were raised out of two particular places, called Gaileangaidh 
 and Luignig. He replied farther, that most of them were the 
 posterity of Teige, the son of Cein, the son of the great Oilioll 
 Ollum ; and the rest were the men of Dealbna, descended from 
 the renowned Dealbhaoith, the son of Gas, son of Conal Each- 
 luath, and were resolved to expose their lives against those bar- 
 oarous Danes, who by the basest treachery had surprised their 
 king, and kept' him in an unjust captivity. He moreover in- 
 formed Donnogh Mac Keeffe, that he had with him three officers 
 ot signal courage and abilities, who had a principal command 
 over three clans. The tribe of the Gaileangaidhs were under the 
 'Conduct ot Hugh, the son of Dualgaia, Diarmuid Mac Fianach- 
 taig was the superior officer over the Luignigs, and Dinis Mac 
 Maoldomhnaig was captain of the Dealbhnas. This account is 
 recorded in a poem of good authority, which begins with these 
 verses subjoined : 
 
 The most courageous tribes of Claniu Ceiti, 
 
 And the invincible Dealbhaoith, 
 
 United all their forces to redeem 
 
 Their king, and free iiini from iaiprisonraent. 
 
OP IRELAND. 461 
 
 This iiiifixpected supply consisted of 500 expsrt archers, nnl 
 500 completely armed with swords and shields, and was a sea- 
 eonable recruit, and of eminent service in this expedition. 
 
 The army of Munster was formidable, and began their hostil- 
 ties by plundering the adjacent country, and destroying the in- 
 habitants. Mor tough, the son of Arnalaig, applied to the 
 general, Donnogh Mac KeefFe, and desired that he would return 
 the booty that was carried away by the Momon'ian soldiers ; for 
 he insisted upon the injustice of the action, and pleaded that ifc 
 was barbarous to oppress a people who were unconcerned in the 
 quarrel, and who deserved protection rather than to fall a sacri- 
 fice to the greedy soldiers ; but his request was denied, though 
 not absolutely ; for Donnogh was content, that if there remained 
 any of the booty over and above what would satisfy the necessi- 
 ties of the army, it should be returned. But 'this answer was 
 unsatisfactory, and Mortough, resolved to revenge himself upon 
 the troops of Munster, dispatched messengers privately to A.rd- 
 mach, to inform the Danes that the provincial troops were upon 
 their march, and determined at all hazards to recover their king 
 from imprisonment, and to do themselves justice upon those 
 ])erfidious foreigners, who broke through the received laws of 
 mankind to make him their prisoner. , 
 
 The nine Danish earls, who were the sons of Turgesius the 
 tyrant, and were appointed to guard the castle wliere Ceallachau, 
 the king of Munster, and Dunchuain, the son of Kennedy, were 
 confined, were alarmed with this intelligence of Mortough ; and 
 leaving a small number of their forces to secure the prisoners, 
 whom they resolved to remove, drew out their troops, and 
 marched out of Ardmach, with a full resolution to offer battle 
 to the army of Munster. The provincial army directed their 
 course towards Ardmach, but when they arrived they understood 
 that the prisoners were conveyed out of the castle, and carried 
 to Sitric, who had put them on shipboard. Donnogh, enraged 
 at this disappointment, gave no quarter to the Danes that fell 
 in his way, but cut them off to a man, and next morning marched 
 towards Dundalk, where they had intelligence that their king 
 and the young prince were confined under deck by Sitric ; who 
 being informed of the number of the provincial forces, and sen- 
 sible of his own incapacity to oppose them, had ordered all his 
 men on board, and resolved to try his fortune by sea, for by land 
 h« was much inferior to his enemies ; and his shipping lying 
 couvenieutly in the bay of Dundalk, were of infiaite service, 
 
4:G2 THE GENERAL IlIoTOlIY 
 
 and for the present put him in expectation of getting clear of 
 the enemy. 
 
 The army of Munster pursued him to the shore, and expected 
 the Danes were shut in by the sea which would prevent their 
 retreat ; but were surprised to find them on shipboard, for they 
 had no notice that their fleet lay at anchor in that bay. The 
 Irish were enraged at this disappointment, and while they 
 were consulting what they should do in this juncture, they 
 espied a sail of ships, in regular order, steering with a brisk 
 gale towards the Danish fleet, which they supposed to be the 
 fleet of Munster under the conduct of that brave admiral, 
 Failbhe Fionn ; and so it fortunately proved, for they perceived 
 them draw up in liue of battle, and attack the Danes, who ex- 
 pected no such treatment, for they thought themselves secure, 
 and that no enemy could possibly disturb them in those seas. 
 Tiie admiral of Munster, observing the disorder of the enemy, 
 fell upon the ship where Sitric and his two brothers, Tor and 
 Magnus, were, and with irresistible force boarded her. He no 
 sooner found himself upon deck but he saw Ceallachan tied 
 with cords to the main-mast. This spectacle inspired him with 
 a fresh supply of courage, and he resolved to deliver the prince 
 at all hazards ; he laid about him with incredible fury, and 
 after having slain several of the Danes, he cut the cords, and 
 set the prince at liberty. He then put a sword in his hand, 
 and advised him to take upon himself the charge of the ship 
 from whence he came, which was now left without a com- 
 mander, and leave him to engage the Danish admiral, whom he 
 made no question to give a good account of. 
 
 Ceallachan complied with this proposal, and Failbhe Fiona 
 continued on board the Dane, and behaved himself with sig- 
 nal courage, but was at length overborne by numbers, wheu 
 fainting with loss of blood, he was slain ; and to discourage the 
 Irish, some of whom followed their admiral into the enemy's 
 ship, the Danes hacked and mangled his body, and at last cut 
 ofl" his head. Thus fell the brave Failbhe Fionn, who was 
 obliged to give way to multitudes that pressed upon him, after 
 he had dispatched many of them to the other world ; and Sitrio 
 and his brothers, being sensible that the loss of that ship would 
 occasion the ruin of the fleet, showed themselves able seamen 
 and experienced commanders, and appeared with that intre- 
 pidity at the head of their body guards, whom they had on 
 board; that for some time the fortune of the day eesmed to be 
 
OF IRELAND. 463 
 
 on their side, and they began to have a distant prospect of 
 victory. 
 
 But Fiongall, a valiant and expert commander among the 
 Irish, resolved to revenge the death of the admiral, whom he 
 followed on board, and maintaining his post with incredible 
 bravery, he slew the foremost of the Danes that opposed him, 
 and the decks of the ship were covered with blood. But the 
 number of the enemy was much superior to the Irish, and they 
 continued the fight, and supplied the place of the slain. Fion- 
 gall found himself unable at length to keep possession of the 
 Danish ship, and ashamed to retire to his own, he recollected 
 himself, and seizing upon Sitric by the collar, grasped him close, 
 and threw himself with him in his arms into the sea, where in 
 the disorder of the fight they both perished. 
 
 Seagda and Conall, two undaunted captains among the Irish, 
 fired with the glory of this action, tell upon the Danes witli 
 redoubled fury, and resolving to put an end to the dispute by 
 one instance of courage, they made their way through the 
 enemy to Tor and Magnus, the two brothers of Sitric, and rush- 
 ing violently upon them, they caught them both up in their 
 arms, and jumped with them overboard, where in the confusion 
 they were all lost. 
 
 The Danes, astonished at these desperate exploits of the Irish, 
 began to abate of their courage, and the Momonians perceiving 
 they gave way, pursued their advantage with that success, that 
 they boarded most of the Danish fleet, killing and destroying 
 without distinction, till victory finally declared for the Irish ; 
 but it was bought at the expense of much blood, for many 
 brave officers and soldiers perished in the engagement. Nor is 
 this to be wondered at, if it be considered, that the Danes were 
 good seamen, that they were perfectly skilled in maritime affairs, 
 and were likewise resolute and fierce, and resolved to sell their 
 lives at a dear rate ; for on the success of this action depended 
 not only their present security, but likewise their future peace 
 and establishment in the island. 
 
 The historians, who have delivered down to us an account of 
 this action, relate that this fight between the Irish and the 
 Danes was the most dreadful and terrible of any that happened 
 upon those coasts for many ages ; for the officers eminently 
 distinguished themselves on both sides, nor were the seamen 
 wanting in their duty, so that the slaughter was surprisingly 
 great, no less than dominion and liberty being the prize of 
 victory. The army of Munster, that stood upoa the shore in 
 
464 THE GENERAL HISTOPvY 
 
 sight of the engagement, were distracted, and ran up and down 
 the coasts with fury and distraction, because it was out oi their 
 power to assist their countrymen, who engaged with great dis- 
 advantage, so that the event remained doubtful for some time ; 
 for the Danes had all their land forces on board, which yet were 
 not a match for the Irish seamen, who behaved with wonderful 
 conduct and bravery, and would have entirely destroyed the 
 Danish fleet, had not some of the enemy escaped in their light 
 galleys, which were chased briskly by the victorious Irish, but 
 they could not overtake them. 
 
 The Irish fleet, having cleared the coast of those foreigners, 
 made to the shore, where they found their land army, who -re- 
 ceived them with open arms and joyful acclamations, and were 
 transported at the sight of their king, who had obtained his li- 
 berty by this victory. Nor was Ceallachan, who was "under 
 constant apprehension of death, so long as he was in the cus- 
 tody of the enemy, less pleased with his deliverance ; for Sit- 
 ric was a cruel t3Tant, of a savage and unmerciful disposition, 
 and had no regard to the majesty of a king, or the law of na- 
 tions, by which his person w^as sacred and inviolable ; and there- 
 fore the king of Munster retained a grateful sense of the loy- 
 alty of his people, and applauded the bravery of his sea forces, 
 who had actually procured his freedom ; and the fidelity of 
 his land army, who had discovered so great an affection to his 
 person, and zeal for his safety, as to pursue the Danes, and if 
 they would have accepted of a battle, to expose their lives in 
 his service. He ordered provisions for his fleet, and, when he 
 had given instructions for the care of the wounded, he put him- 
 self at the head ot his army, and by ' long marches arrived in 
 Munster, where he resumed the management of affairs, and fixed 
 himself in the government of that province. 
 
 But he met with opposition in his march that was near 
 being attended with fatal consequences j for Mortough Muc 
 Flann, king of Leinster, attempted to obstruct his passage, and 
 hinder him from conducting his troops through that province. 
 This prince was of a mean servile disposition, and consulted 
 more the interests of the Danes than the prosperity of his na- 
 tive country ; upon which account he determined to take re- 
 venge upon the army of Munster, and vindicate the cause of 
 those foreigners upon the brave Irish, by cutting ofi their re- 
 treat, and harassing them in their march 38 ; for this purpose he 
 summoned all the forces under his command, and resolved to 
 lay ambushes in their way, and fall upon them when unprovided 
 
OP IRELAXD. 465 
 
 or tlefence. Cut Ceallachan, king of Munster, having timely 
 Qtelligence of the treachery of this apostate prince, who had 
 enounced the love of his country, and wanted to betray it un- 
 ;er a foreign yoke, prepared to receive him ; and was so in- 
 ensed at the baseness of the attempt, that he commanded his 
 aen to give no quarter, but to make examples of those perfi- 
 ious Irishmen, who had no title to mercy, and were not to be 
 reated as open and honourable enemies ; and to raise their in- 
 lignation the more, he declared that the Danes, being of another 
 ountry, were to be used as the laws of nations direct j but the 
 nemies they we^e to encounter had forfeited the common and 
 stablished rights of mankind, and therefore they were to be 
 lunted down as robbers and beasts of prey, and not a man of 
 hem was to be spared. These severe injunctions, and the reso- 
 ution of Ceallachan, was carried by deserters to the king of 
 ^einster, who, dreading the resentment of the Momonians flushed 
 7ith victory, desisted from his enterprise, and withdrawing the 
 orces of his province, he retired to a considerable distance, and 
 eft the army of Munster to prosecute their journey without 
 liuderance or molestation. 
 
 Ceallachan having settled himself in the command of Mun- 
 iter, began to reflect upon the servitude his subjects had endured 
 uider the oppression of the Danes ; and urged on by the trea- 
 jhery of those foreigners, which he had sufficiently experienced, 
 10 entered upon a resolution to fall upon them in every division 
 )f the province, and to unite his whole forces in order to expel 
 :hem the country. For this purpose he recruited his troops 
 ind completed his battalions, and flrst assaulted, with unex- 
 pected fury, the Danes that inhabited about Limerick, and with- 
 out much opposition he obtained a^ signal victory ; 500 of tho 
 enemy he killed, and took the rest prisoners. This success gavo 
 new lifa to the prospects of the Irish; they plundered the coun- 
 try of Cashel, where they found a body of 500 Danes, whom they 
 put to the sword. Sitric, the general of the foreigners, at- 
 tempted to recover the booty from the victors, but was obliged 
 to retire after 500 of his soldiers were slain ; neither had tho 
 general himself escaped the slaughter, if he had not fled to his 
 shipping, and by that means put a stop to the pursuit. 
 
 After this uninterrupted success, Ceallachan marched with 
 his victorious army to pay a visit to Daniel O'FaoIan, king of 
 the Deisies, with whom ho entered into strict friendship ; and 
 he admitted him into his alliance, by bestowing upon him ia 
 ma^rriago his sister, whose namo was Gromflath, who was a priu- 
 
463 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 cess of great beauty and exemplary virtue. The king of Mun- 
 ster soon after left the world, and after a troublesome and 
 hazardous reign descended peaceably to his grave, and without 
 violence. 
 
 His successor in the throne of that province was Feargna,j 
 the son of Ailgeanan, son of Dungala, and he enjoyed the go*: 
 v-ernment of that country but two years, his life and reign being' 
 ended by treachery ; for he was murdered by a set of conspira- 
 tors who were near relations to him. 
 
 The crown was then seized by Mahon, the son oi Kennedy. 
 His reign was much longer than that of his predecessor, for it 
 continued twelve years j his brother Eichiaruinn possessed the 
 government of Thumond at this time. This piriuce had anothei^ 
 brother, whose name was Bryen, that had a principal command 
 in the army of Munster when Mahon fell upon the Danes, and; 
 fought the battle of Sulchoid. In this engagement the foreigners 
 received a memorable defeat, and many of their most experi- 
 enced officers perished in the action. Teitill, a person of great 
 strength, and a distinguished champion oi the enemy, lost his 
 life, and his government of Waterford ; Euanon, governor of, 
 Cork ; Muiris, governor oi Limerick ; with Bernard and Toroil, 
 two officers of the first rank for courage and conduct, did not 
 survive the action of that day. The slaughter among the sol- 
 diery was exceedingly bloody and terrible, for 2000 of the Danes, 
 remained dead upon the field of battle. The victors pursued' 
 the flying enemy into the city of Limerick, and chased them 
 through the streets and into their houses, where they were slain 
 without mercy or quarter. The plunder of that city was be- 
 stowed upon the soldiers of Mahon, where they tound an im- 
 mense booty of jewels, gold, silver, and rich furniture, to a sur- 
 prising value. After they had rifled the houses they set them 
 on fire, they burned the fortifications, demolished the walls, and 
 perfectly dismantled the town, and made it incapable oi defence. 
 After this victory, Mahon, the king of Munster, a fortunate and 
 a worthy prince, was betrayed and seized by his traitorous sub- 
 jects in his own palace, and conducted as a prisoner, under a 
 strong guard, to Mac Broin, wuere he was barbarously put to 
 death by the people oi that place ; nor would the importunate 
 intercession of the blessed St. Oollum Mac CiaragaiU; the con- 
 fessor of St. Bairre, prevail to save his life. 
 
 In the reign of Donough, the son of Flann Sionna, king oi 
 Ireland, before mentioned, several important occurrences hap- 
 pened, which must not be omitted in the course of this history.* 
 
OF IRELAND. 467 
 
 Under tLe government of this prince died the pious bishop of 
 Tuileim ; near the time of whose decease Donnogh invaded the 
 territories of Conacht, but the attempt was unfortunate, for 
 many of his subjects perished at Dubhtir near Athlone ; at 
 which place Cionaoth, son of Connor, king of Falie, was slain. 
 Soon after this defeat Cluain Mac Nois was entered by the 
 Danes, and plundered ; and this success encouraged the foreign- 
 ers to proceed to Loch Ribh, where they committed dreadful 
 ravages, and spoiled the adjacent country oh both sides. They 
 likewise carried on their conquests to Ein Inis, which they 
 spoiled, and after a sharp engagement cut off 1200 of the Irish, 
 who opposed them and gave them battle"; but the foreigners 
 within a short time lost the same number of their men, for 
 1200 of them perished in Loch Rughruidh. The Danes about 
 this time succeeded in most of their attempts, for when they 
 could not accomplish their designs by fores they prevailed by 
 treachery; and by stratagem the Danes of Dublin surprised 
 Faolan, the king of Leinster, and his children, and made them 
 prisoners. They likewise continued their hostilities with great 
 cruelty, and Dun Sobhairce was spoiled by the Danes of Loch 
 Cuain ; and the country of Kildare suffered great oppressions, 
 and was plundered by the loreigners of Waterford. 
 
 The inhabitants of the province of Ulster, a brave and war- 
 like people, by this time grown jealous of their liberty, were 
 alarmed at the progress of the Danes, and therefore resolved to 
 oppose their conquests ; they summoned their provincial troops 
 together, and fell upon the Danes with such fury and success, 
 that victory appeared for them at the first charge ; for the 
 Danish forces were unable to bear up against the impression of 
 the Irish, and a general defeat and a dreadful slaughter followed. 
 In the action of that day fell 800 of the foreign forces, which 
 loss was the more considerable by the death of three oi their 
 bravest commanders, whose names were Albdan, Aufear, and 
 Koilt, who likewise fell among the slain. This victory was 
 chiefly owing to the couraoje and experience of Mortough Mac 
 Neil, the Irish general ; and the success of the engagement was 
 attended with such happy consequences, that the effect of it was 
 sensibly perceived through the whole kingdom. The Danes 
 were dispirited, and ceased from their former oppressions, and 
 the natives enjoyed a taste of tranquillity and freedom, which 
 had been banished the island for many years before, and trad- 
 ing and a state of prosperity succ eded in the room of a long 
 scene of misery and slaughter. 
 
468 THE GENKRAL HlSTOItr 
 
 Bat tbis sunshine was in danger of being dismally obacured, 
 by an unexpected attack from tiio Danes, who had been en- 
 couraged by their countrymen to new attempts, and came with 
 a numerous and well-disciplined army from Limerick and Co- 
 nacht, under the command of can enterprising general, whosa 
 name was Olfinn, who designed by this expedition to surprise 
 the natives, who were at that time assembled from all parts of 
 the country at the celebrated fair of Roscrea, which was annu- 
 ally kept upon the fe'stival of St. Peter and St. Paul. But the 
 Irish were so well acquainted with the Danish treachery, that 
 they thought proper to bring their arms with them ; and when 
 they had intelligence that the foreigners were marching against 
 them, they immediately left their trade, their shops, and th^ii* 
 merchandise, which they esteemed of jmall importance to t 1 
 concern of their country, and made head against the Danes; 
 and notwithstanding the disadvantages they lay under from thi 
 surprise, which gave them no time to draw up in regular order, 
 they supplied this defect by their unanimity and courage, ami 
 so shocked the foreign troops at the first charge, that they felt 
 the impression through all their ranks, and a terrible slaughter 
 and an universal rout followed, and fortune and victory declared 
 for the Irish ; 4000 of the enemy were left dead in this engage- 
 ment, and Olfinn, a Danish earl, and general of the army, was 
 slain. This memorable instance of success, obtained by mer- 
 chants, shopkeepers and traders, met together without order and 
 discipline in a public fair, is expressly recorded by a reputable 
 author, called Florence Mac Carty, who has delivered down 
 the transactions of Ireland for man}'' ages. 
 
 About this time died Teige, the son of Cahill, who enjoyed 
 the government of Conacht for 20 years ; as did likewise Silric, 
 the son Jomhair, who was the king over the Danes and Norwe- 
 gians, wherever dispersed throughout the island. The inhabi- 
 tants of the province of Conactit, being concerned for the pub- 
 lic liberty, attempted to dispossess the foreigners, particularly 
 such as resided about Loch Oirbhsionn, whom they engaged and 
 defeated ; which success was followed by another victory, for 
 Boon after Conning Mac Neil observing his opportunity fell upoa 
 the Danes, and slew 1200 of them at Loch Neachach. But this 
 misfortune was recovered by the foreigners, who came to Loch 
 Eirne, and plundered the adjacent country with incredible bar- 
 barity, Nothing however sacred or devoted to divine use es- 
 caped their fury, but the churches and religious houses wera 
 spoiled and rifled, and the clergy dispcaBessed without mercy. The 
 
OF inELAND. 469 
 
 province of Ardmach was likewise invaded and harassed by 
 Godfrey, who was the principal commander of Loch Cuain ; 
 and Cilcuillen about the same time was spoiled by Ambrose, the 
 Bon of Godfrey, who destroyed the country with fire and sword 
 and carried away 1000 prisoners. Gilioch Neid likewise felt 
 the fury of these foreigners, who plundered it, and seized upon 
 Mortough Mac Neill, who they closely imprisoned, but by a 
 stratagem he freed himself from confinement and escaped their 
 hands. 
 
 But the Irish, resolving to shake off the oppression of the 
 Danes, encountered them ; particularly the people of. Conacht 
 exerted themselves, and in the assault killed Arolt Mac Jomhair, 
 who held the government of Limerick for the enemy. About 
 the same time Ambrose, the son of Godfrey, king of the Danes 
 and Norwegians, who had possessions in the island, was slain by 
 the Normans, who had landed upon the coasts and attempted a 
 conquest of the country. 
 
 There was a prince of Wales about this time, whose name was 
 Ptodericus, a brave and experienced commander, that transported 
 a numerous army of Welsh, with a design to plunder and spoil 
 the country, and if possible to obtain possession of it. But the 
 Irish repelled his attempt with great resolution and success, for 
 this prince lost his life in the first engagement, and the greatest 
 part of his army were destroyed. Hanmer, the historian, ex- 
 pressly relates, that in the year of our redemption 966, Congal- 
 lach, the son of Maolmithig, took the city of Dublin, then in- 
 habited by the Danes, and gave it up to be plundered by his 
 soldiers, after 740 of the enemy were put to the sword. Don- 
 nogh, the son of Flann Sionna, king of Ireland, did not long 
 survive this success, but gave up his life and his government by 
 a natural death. 
 
 Congall was the succeeding monarch. He was the sou 
 Q,^ / of Maolmithig, son of Flanagan, son of Ceallaig, son of 
 Conning, son of Congalla, son of Hugh Slaine, descended 
 lineally from the royal house of Heremon, and possessed the throne 
 ten years. The mother of this Irish prince was Mary, the daugh- 
 ter of Cionaoth, son of Ailpin, and his reign was remarkable by 
 the death of two neighbouring kings, Eitimont, king of England, 
 and Blathchuire Mac Jomhair, kind of Normandy. The Danes 
 raised great disturbances under the government of this priuec, 
 but they were severely chastised by the Irish forces, who killed 
 7000 of them in the memorable battle of Muiue Breogain ; but 
 
 2c 
 
470 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 though the victory declared for the natives, yet they suffirel 
 great loss, and many of their best troops were slaia. 
 
 In the fourth year of the reign of Congall, king of Ireland, 
 that renowned hero, Bryen Boiroimhe, entered upon the govern- 
 ment of the two provinces of Munsier; and this prince had not 
 possessed the crowa of that province above two years, before ha 
 dispatched one of his heralds at arms to challenge Meills Mao 
 Brom, the king of Oneachach, to a pitched battle in the plains 
 of Beallach Leachta, in order to revenge upon him and his army 
 the barbarous death of Mahon, his brother, who was treacherously 
 murdered by some of the subjects of that prmce. The king of 
 Oneachach received the challenge, and promised to meet him at 
 the place appointed ; and for that purpose he raised a formidable 
 army, consisting of Irish and foreigners, for he depended in a 
 great measure upon the courage of the Danes, whom he enlisted 
 among his forces to the number of 1500, Bryen, king of Mun- 
 ster, marched at the head of his provincial troops, and being 
 followed by the illustrious tribe of the Dailgais, oilered battle to 
 the enemy. The fight began furiously on both sides, and the 
 slaughter was terrible, but the Momonian torces broke through 
 the opposite army, and a general rout followed ; the mercenary 
 Danes fled, but were pursued, and great numbers of them were 
 slain, and those who had the fortune to escape the sword were 
 made prisoners. 
 
 This success of Bryen against the king of Oneachach, was very 
 unacceptable to Daniel O'Faolan, king of the Deisies, who re- 
 solved to revenge the slaughter of the Danes, and take ample 
 satisfaction of the king of Munster ; for that purpose he raised 
 a numerous and well disciplined army of his own people, and 
 being supported by a formidable body of Danes, he determined 
 to invade the territories of that province. He no sooner entered 
 the country but he behaved with all the cruelty of an enraged 
 enemy, and committed inexpressible barbarities upon the inha- 
 bitants. Bryen Boiroimhe soon received intelligence of these 
 hostilities, and the progress of the enemy ; he immediately led 
 his army to oppose their incursions, and overtook them plunder- 
 ing the country at Fan Conrach, where he set upon them with 
 incredible bravery, and impressed such a terror upon the aux- 
 iliary Danes, that they were totally routed ; the king of the 
 Deisies with his forces was unable to maintain the fight, and 
 quitting the field, was obliged to fly for his life; the pursuit was 
 hot and bloody, and the king of Munster with his invincibio 
 
OP lUELAND. 4? I 
 
 Dailgais chased the Danes and the vanquislaed Irish into the 
 town of Waterford, whicli they entered, and put all to the sword, 
 and among the rest Daniel O'Faolan perished in the contusion 
 of the slaughter. The town was sacked and plundered by the 
 victors, who, after they had secured the booty, set it on fire, 
 which raged dreadfully, and consumed it to the ground. 
 
 This great hero, Bryen Boiroimhe, had enjoyed the crown of 
 Munster about eight years, when he by force of arms obliged 
 the country ot Leath Modha to become tributary and pay him 
 obedience. But after the death of Daniel Claon, the son of 
 Daniel, king of ^einster, the subjects of that province, both 
 Irish and Danes refused to confess the authority of Bryen, and 
 denied him their subjection. The king of Munster resolved to 
 chastise them into their duty, and for that design he mustered 
 Lis Momonian forces, that were become invincible under his 
 conduct, and invaded the territories oi Leinster. The Lagoniaa 
 army, consisting of Irish and Danes, offered them battle, which 
 began with great fury on both sides ; but the army of Munstei; 
 soon broke into the ranks of the enemy, and pursued their ad- 
 vantage with a dreadfal slaughter, which ended in a general and 
 bloody defeat, for in this battle of Gleann Mama 5000 of the 
 Lagonians and Danes remained dead upon the spot. This mar- 
 tial and renowned prince, Bryen Boiroimhe, king oi Munster, 
 was an instrument in the hand oi providence, to scourge the 
 insolence and cruelty of those foreigners, which he did success- 
 fully, for he routed them in twenty- five battles, from the first 
 time he entered the field against them, to the last conflict ha 
 had with them, which was the battle oi Cluaiutart, where he was 
 slain, being then possessed of the government oi the island. 
 
 It was not long after the battle of Gleann Mama, fought by 
 that great commander Bryen Boiroimhe, that Congall, son oi 
 Maolmithig, king of Ireland, entered the province ot Munster 
 in a hostile manner, and plundered the country about him, and 
 put the two sons of Kennedy Mac Lorcan, whose names were 
 Eichiaruin and Dunchuan, to the sword. The Danes likewise 
 made frequent incursions upon the neighbouring Irish, whose 
 possessions they destroyed; and, under the command of Godfrey 
 Mac Sitric, they spoiled Ceananus Domhnach, Patrick Ard Brea- 
 cain, Cill Sgirre, and many other places dedicated to divine use, 
 which never escaped their fury. The number or prisoners they 
 carried away in this expedition amounted to 3000 ; besidea 
 great quantities of gold, silver, and other spoils, Y>/hich wero 
 prized at an immense value. 
 
472 Tnv. <?f>:rral ht^^totiy 
 
 The royal consorh of Congall. king of Ireland, died about this 
 time; the name of this lady was Eithne, and she was the 
 daughter of Feargoll who had been queen of Ireland. The death 
 of these illustrious personages happened soon after ; Maolcullum 
 Mac Daniel, king of Scotland, the most religious Gaoithne, 
 bishop of Dun da Leathglass, and Teighe, the son of Cahil, king 
 of Conacht. Nor did Congall, king of Ireland, long survive, 
 for he fell into the hands of the Danes that served in the pro- 
 vincial army of Leinster, who killed him at Ardmach. 
 
 Daniel succeeded in the Irish throne. He was the son 
 ^; / , of Mortough, son of Niall Glandubh, descended from 
 the posterity of Heremon j and he administered the govern- 
 ment for ten years. The reign of this prince was disturbed by 
 the hostilities of the Danes ; for in his time the foreigners, who 
 inhabited the city of Dublin, plundered the country of Kildare, 
 under the command of Huinphry, or Amhlaoimh, the son of 
 Sitric. This Irish monarch upon some provocation invaded the 
 territories of Conacht, and spoiled that province without mercy, 
 where he found a valuable booty, which he carried oft,* with a 
 great number of prisoners ; and the king of Conacht, whose 
 name was Feargal O'Eourke, was obliged to let these hostilities 
 pass unrevenged, the forces of his province being too weak to 
 engage in the defence of the country. 
 
 In the reign of Daniel, the son of Mortough, king of Ireland, 
 that noble fabric, the great church of Tuam, was erected by the 
 pious prelate, Cormac O'Cilline, bishop oi Tuam Greine ; and 
 Feargal O'Rourke was killed by Daniel, the son ot Congall, son 
 of Maolmithig. Bryen, the son o^ Kennedy, king oi Munster, 
 about this time assaulted the Danes who inhabited the city of 
 Limerick, and set it on fire. Daniel O'JN'eill, who governed the 
 province of Ulster, raised a formidable army of his sul^jects, and 
 entering the territories oi Leinster, he miserably distressed the 
 people, and plundered all the country from the Bearow eastwards 
 to the sea. He encamped in the heart of this province ior tha 
 space oi two months, notwithstanding the united strength ot 
 the Lagonians and Danes used their utmost endeavours to dis- 
 lodge him and force him to retire. Near this time died Maol- 
 finnin, the son oi Uchta^n, the pious bishop oi Ceananus, and 
 the venerable confessor of Ultan was translated to a better state. 
 
 The Danes, notwithstanding the many discomfitures they met 
 with from the natives, continued their hostilities, and were sup- 
 ported in their incursions by the army of Leinster. These for- 
 eigners, under the command of Humphrey Cuarain, and the 
 
OF IRELA^ID. 473 
 
 Lagonians, conducted by a general of tbeir own province, plun- 
 dered Ceauanus, where they found spoils of great value, which 
 they carried off, and by that means impoverished the people, 
 and reduced them to miserable extremities. The battle of Ciii- 
 mona was fought about this time between Daniel, the son of 
 Congall, who was assisted by the Danes that inhabited the city 
 of Dublin, and Daniel, the son of Mortough, king of Ireland. 
 The action concluded with great slaughter on both sides ; and 
 among the slain fell Ardgall, the son of Madagan, who had go- 
 verned the province of UJster for seventeen years, and Donna- 
 gan, the son of Maolmuirre, king of Oirgiallach. and many other 
 noble personages of the first quality and distinction. The most 
 religious Beacan, the bishop of Finne, did not long survive the 
 engagement of that day. 
 
 It was the misfortune of the Irish that they were never fi-ee 
 from intestine divisions, which contributed to their ruin ; 
 and so implacable was the spirit of discord among them, that 
 they would often join with the forces of the Danes to br^ng 
 slavery upon the country ; for about thifi time Cionaoth O'Har- 
 tagan, the primate of Ardmach, assisted the foreigners, who 
 lived in Dublin, and by that means Ugaire, the son of Tuatbal, 
 king of Leinster, was surprised and taken prisoner ; but this 
 enterprise was revenged by Bryen, the son of Kennedy, who en- 
 gaged the Danes of Inis Catha, f*nd gave them a general defeat, 
 with the loss of 800 of them> upon the spot. In this action 
 three of their principal commanders wera taken, and made pri- 
 soners of war, and the names v.f these captive officers were 
 Jomhair, Humphry, and Drabbgeann. We receive an account 
 of this transaction from the testimony of a poet cf repiitaticu 
 in the following lines : 
 
 to 
 The memorable fight of Inis Catha 
 Was fatal to the Danes, whose slaughter'd bodies 
 Lay scatter'd o'er the plam; these foreigners 
 Lost three of their renowned generals, 
 Jomhair, Humphr}^, and Dubhgeann. 
 
 About this time the Danes, who inhabited the city of Dublin, 
 committed hostilities in Leinster, and engaged the provincial 
 troops of that country in the battle of Boithlione ; and in the 
 action Ugaire, the son of Tuathal, king of Leinster, was slain. 
 Soon after this victory obtained by the Danes, Daniel Mac 
 Mortough, king of Ireland, left the world by a natural death, 
 and expired at Ardmach 
 
474 THE GENERAL IlISTORTI 
 
 Maolseachluin was the sucoeeding monarch. He waa 
 ^■^:,.\ the son of Flann Sionna, a lineal descendant from the 
 ' posterity of Heremon, and filled the throne twenty-three 
 years. The mother of this monarch was Dunflath, the daughter 
 of Mortough Mac Neill, who likewise was the mother of Glu- 
 nioruin, that was king of the Danes dispersed throughout the 
 whole kingdom. Many transactions of importance happened 
 during the reign of this monarch j particularly the memorable 
 battle 01 Tara, which he fought against the Danes of Dublin 
 iind the sons of Humphry, and gave them a total defeat, after 
 5000 of those foreigners were slain. In this engagement Han- 
 dle, the son of Humphry, a prince of distinguished courage, 
 v/ho had the principal command over the whole settlement of 
 the Danes throughout the island, lost his life. Encouraged by 
 this victory, Maolseachluin, king of Ireland, and Eochaidh, son 
 of Ardgail, who had governed the province of Ulster for thirty- 
 five years, joined their forces^ and resolved to attack the city of 
 Dublin, the place of refuge to which the Danes retired, and 
 drive them out of the country ; for that purpose they made all 
 necessary preparations for a siege, and with a numerous and 
 well disciplined army sat down before the walls. Three days 
 after their first encampment they resolved to make a general 
 assault, and try the courage of the besieged. The attack was 
 most violent, and attended with great slaughter, but the supe- 
 rior bravery of the Irish prevailed, and having fixed their stand- 
 ard upon the walls, so intimidated the Danes, that they surren- 
 dered. The victors avoided such dreadful cruelties as usually 
 follow the taking of towns, and behaved with humanity and 
 moderation. They set at liberty many of the principal gentry 
 of the Irish, who had been taken captive by the Danes, and 
 Buffered a severe and long CQjifineraent ; particularly Daniel of 
 Claon, king of Leinster, and the hostages of O'Neill, were re- 
 lieved and discharged. The affairs of the Danes were reduced 
 to great extremities by this success of the Irish, and the van- 
 quished were obliged to accept of hard conditions, and were glad 
 to be admitted to mercy upon the terms of quitting all their 
 conquests from the river Shannon eastwards to the sea ; to for- 
 btar hostilities under the penalty of death ; and to submit to 
 whatever tribute it should be thought proper to lay upon them. 
 About this time it was, that Humphry, the son of Sitric, was 
 forced to fly for security to Aoii Collum Gill, in the kingdom of 
 Scotland, being banished the island by the victorious Irish. 
 Near the same time Maolseachluin; king of Ireland; had a quar- 
 
OF IRELx^XD. 475 
 
 rel with the famous tribe of the Dailgais, aiit^ destroye^l Bllo 
 Moigh Hadair ; but this action was afterwards revenged by 
 Bryen. Glen da Loch was taken and plundered by three sons 
 ot Carrol, the son of Lorcan ; but these three brothers were 
 pursued by divine vengeance for this execrable act, and were 
 found dead the night afterwards, by the influence of the impor- 
 tunate prayers of the pious Caomhgin, who consecrated that 
 place for divine uses. 
 
 The death of those two eminent persons happened about this 
 time, Morling, the daughter of Donnogh Mac Cealla, queen of 
 Ireland, and Joraird Mac Coisie, primate of Ardmach. The 
 Danes, notwithstanding the stipulations they had made, having 
 in some measure recovered their former losses, prepared for new 
 attempts. The foreigners of Dablin, under the command of 
 Mortough O'Congallach, plundered Dounach Patrick with great 
 cruelty ; but Providence soon corrected them for their breach of 
 faith, for a visitation fell among them, by which infinite numbers 
 were destroyed. This affliction was followed by another, for 
 Maolseachluin, king of Ireland, engaged the foreigners with sue- 
 cess, and encountering hand to hand with one of their pro- 
 fessed champions,' whose name was Tomor, he foiled him, and took 
 from him a collar of gold, which he wore about his neck, as a 
 trophy of victory. He fought Carolus, another of their chief 
 commanders, with the same success, and carried off his sword. 
 But the foreigners receiving constant supplies from Denmark 
 and Norway, began to raise new commotions, and in a short; 
 time were attended with that success in their attempts, that the 
 natives were in great danger of being subdued and forced into 
 slavery ; nor was there any prince in the island who opposed 
 these insults of the Danes but the brave Bryen Boiroimhe, king 
 of Munster. This renowned hero, with his stout Momouians, 
 was always in arms, harassing the foreigners, which ^humbled 
 their insolence, and made them less frequent in their incursions. 
 The success and industry of the king of Munster had so fixed 
 him in the esteem of the natives, who owed their lives and 
 liberties to his protection, that they made an attempt to de- 
 throne the king of Ireland, and give him possession of the go- 
 vernment in his room ; and they were the more encouraged in 
 this design, because Maolseachluin was an indolent inactive 
 prince, addicted to pleasure and a love of ease, and sacrificed 
 the happiness of his country to his own private diversions ; and 
 the people, who were immediately under his authority had con- 
 tracted a servile habit of idleness from the example of the 
 
47G THE aSNSnAL HTSTOP.Y 
 
 court:, and novcr disturbed themselves with opposing tho iuroads 
 of the Danes, or calling them to an account for their cruelties 
 and oppressions. 
 
 The nobility of Munster, and the principal inhabitants of the 
 province of Conacht, reflecting upon the distressed and melan- 
 choly state of their country, applied themselves to Bryen Boir- 
 oimhe, as a deliverer ; and it was unanimously agreed in council 
 that ambassadors should be sent to Maolseachluin, to signify to 
 him in express terms, that he was unworthy of the government, 
 and unfit for the management of public affairs, since he neglected 
 the protection of his subjects, and unconcernedly permitted 
 them to be oppressed by the merciless Danes, who took advan- 
 tage of his indolent disposition, to destroy the country and bring 
 it into slavery. They farther expostulated with him, and used 
 the freedom to inform him, that a king of Ireland, who had at 
 heart the happiness of his people, would never suffer the insolent 
 attacks of those foreigners to pass uurevenged as he did ; that 
 the brave Bryen Boiroimhe had undertaken the cause of public 
 liberty, and to repel the incursions of the haughty Danes, and 
 therefore that he deserved to wear the crown of Ireland, who 
 knew how to defend it with honour to himself, and happiness 
 to his subjects ; in the end these ambassadors declared they 
 were commissioned to acquaint him, that the nobility and gen- 
 try designed to dethrone him ; and therefore to prevent blood- 
 shed and disturbances they advised him to resign of his own 
 accord, and to retire to a private life. This representation was 
 received with the utmost scorn and indignation by the king, 
 who absolutely refused to comply, and knew the value of a crown 
 too well to deliver it up only for asking. He likewise resolved 
 to enter into no treaty with the nobility of Munster, who desired ' 
 to meet him on the plain of Magh da Caomhog, but insisted 
 upon his right of possession, which he determined to maintain 
 to the last extremity. 
 
 The king of Munster being informed by his messengers of the 
 resolution of the king of Ireland, resolved to make use of tho 
 affection of the natives to seize upon the crown, and to dispossess 
 him by force; for this purpose he raised a numerous army, con- 
 sisting of the standing forces of his own province, and the aux- 
 iliary troops of the Danes, whom he received into pay, particu- 
 larly those who had possessions in Leath Modha, and for that 
 reason owed homage and subjection to the king of Munster. Be 
 set himself at the head of his Momonian battalions, and directed 
 his march towards Tara; but beiore.he began hostilities he dii»- 
 
OF miiiLAOT). 47 T 
 
 patched a herald to the king of Ireland, who had orders to sara- 
 mon him to resign the throne, and to send him hostages of tho 
 first quality for his future obedience j and if he refused, he was 
 to challenge him to a decisive battle, and to submit the dispute 
 to the longest sword. The king of Ireland, somewhat surprised 
 at this message, answered, that he was in no condition to give 
 hini battle immediately, because his army was disbaj.ided, and 
 it would require some time to collect them together ; but as a 
 testimony that it was not out of cowardice that he refused to 
 meet the army of Munster in the field, if Bryen would suspend 
 hostilities, and allow him the respite of a month, to muster hia 
 forces, particularly the troops of Leath Cuinn, he would accept 
 his challenge ; or if his subjects refused to support him with 
 men or money for this expedition, he promised to send proper 
 hostages as a security for his obedience. He likewise desired 
 the commissioners of Munster to use their interest with Bryen, 
 that he would not permit his army to plunder the country of 
 Meath, but that he would restrain the excursions, and continue 
 at Tara till the time of the cessation was expired. 
 
 The ambassadors returned with this answer to the king of 
 Munster, who accepted of the conditions proposed, and com- 
 manded his officers to continue the soldiers peaceably in their 
 quarters till farther orders. In the meantime Maolseachluin 
 convened the principal nobility of Laath Cuinn, and advised 
 with them upon this important subject. He likewise dispatched 
 messengers to most of the petty princes of the kingdom, to de- 
 raand their assistance ; particularly he sent Giolla Comhgall, 
 whom he retained as his antiquary, to the great O'Neill, to re- 
 quire his proportion of troops upon this occasion, upon which 
 his crown and the security of his person depended, and to en- 
 join him, if he refused to supply him with his quota, to provide 
 hostages and send them to Bryen Boiroimhe, king of Munster, 
 as an evidence of his subjection and obedience ; for these were 
 the terms he was bound to accept, which, though severe in them- 
 selves, yet the necessity of his affairs would oblige him to com- 
 ply with. This antiquary had a commission to deliver the same 
 message to Eochaidh, the son of Ardgail, king of Ulster, and to 
 Cathal O'Connor, king of Conacht, and require their immediate 
 assistance •; and if they were unwilling to support him against 
 the army of Munster, he had orders to represent to them, that 
 if the king of Ireland was forced to resign his crown, and give 
 up the royal seat of Tara, where the monarchs of the island had 
 resided for many ages, it could be no reproach to him, becausa 
 
47 B TRE GENERAL HISTORT 
 
 Be was deniec(j the assistance of his subjects, but the dishonour 
 would more immediately affect the O'Neills, and the principal 
 nobility of Leath Cuinn, whose ancestors had been in possession 
 of the Irish throne for many successive generations. 
 
 The messenger was very faithful in the execution of his or- 
 ders j and when he represented the circumstances, and the ne- 
 cessity of. the king's affairs, to the nobility of Leath Cuinn, 
 the answer he received from Hugh O'Neill was, that when the 
 royal seat of Tara was possessed by the posterity of Eogan, his 
 great ancestor, they defended it against all attempts, and there- 
 fore it was reasonable that those who were masters of it should 
 secure themselves in the possession, or deliver it up ; but with 
 regard to himself, he absolutely denied to assist the king of Ire- 
 land, who had lost the affections of his people, or to draw upon 
 himself the displeasure and resentment of the noble tribe of the 
 Dailgais, whose friendship he esteemed, and therefore he deter- 
 mined to be neuter in the dispute. Giolla Comhgaill returned 
 with this unwelcome answer to the king of Ireland ; who, find- 
 ing himself abandoned by the petty princes, and reflecting that 
 the non-compliance of Hugh O'Neill might be attended with 
 bad consequences, and by the influence of his example prevail 
 upon others to withdraw their supplies, he resolved to pay a 
 visit to Hugh O'Neill in person, and persuade him, if possible, 
 to interest himself in his cause ; and as an argument, which he 
 thought was irresistible, he offered, that rather than -the royal 
 eeat of Tara should fall into the power of Bryen Boiroimhe, he 
 would resign his right, and if he would use his utmost efforts 
 to defend it against the enemy, he would confirm him in the 
 possession of that ancient palace and the lands belonging to it, 
 and engage for him and his successorSj that no claim should bo 
 revived, and that it should descend without opposition to hia 
 posterity ; so violent was the resentment of the king of Ire- 
 land against Bryen Boiroimhe, that he resolved to disappoint 
 him in his designs at any rate, particularly that the seat of Tara, 
 ^hich was the court of the Irish monarchs, should not fall into 
 his hands. 
 
 Hugh O'Neill desired to be excused from giving an immediate 
 answer, and insisted upon time to convene the principal nobi- 
 lity of Siol Eogain, in order to receive their sentiments upon a 
 matter of such importance. Accordingly when the assembly 
 mot, he communicated to them the cause ot the king of Ire- 
 land's arrival, and the advantageous proposals that he offerea, 
 if they would support him with their assistance against the 
 
OF lEELAXD. / 479 
 
 king of Munster, and the army tliat was raised against him by 
 the tribe of the Dailgais. After some debates, the chiefs of 
 Siol Eogain came to a resolution not to concern themselves with 
 the king of Ireland, for they suspected the integrity of his of- 
 fers, and that he did not design, after his business was accom- 
 plished, and he found himself established in the throne, to abide 
 by his resignation of Tara j and therefore their advice to Hugh 
 O'Neill was, that he should return a civil answer to the king of 
 Ireland, but refuse absolutely to act in a quarrel of that conse- 
 quence, that possibly might draw upon him new enemies, whose 
 resentment might prove his destruction. 
 
 But the convention, upon second thoughts, perceived that 
 they might procure some advantages to themselves by the mis- 
 fortunes and exigencies of the king of Ireland, and therefore they 
 imagined that the answer agreed upon at their last meeting might 
 be altered and mollified ; and though they seemed satisfied that 
 if they joined the army of the king of Ireland against the forces 
 of Munster, they might lose their lives, and scarce a man of them 
 return home, especially since they were to engage against the 
 martial and invincible tribe of the Dailgais, who never turned 
 their back, and were the constant scourges of the Danes, yet they 
 resolved to venture themselves, and assist the king of Ireland 
 with a competent force, on condition that they might find a 
 recompense equal to the hazard, and that he M^ould deliver to 
 them one half of the country of Meath, and the lands of Tara 
 for a reward ; for they resolved, if they did not meet with suc- 
 cess in the expedition, their wives and children should be suffi- 
 ciently provided for ; and though they lost their lives, it was 
 their duty, they judged, to take a proper care of the interest of 
 their posterity. 
 
 These proposals were offered to Maolseachluin, who received 
 them with indignation, apprehending them to be exorbitant and 
 unjust j he therefore left O'Neill, and with his retinue returned 
 to his own court. Under these disappointments he was undeter- 
 mined what course to follow, and therefore he summoned the 
 principal of Clan Colman to repair to him, and assist him with 
 their advice. He represented to the nobility of that tribe the de- 
 plorable state of his affairs, and particularly informed them of the 
 insolence and haughty demands of Hugh O'Neill and the chiefs 
 of Siol Eogain, requesting withal that they would not leave 
 him in his extremities, but continue their fidelity to him at this 
 time when he had most occasion for their counsel and assistance. 
 
 The clan assembled upon this occasion, and weighing even the 
 
4S0 THE GENERAL HISTOHY 
 
 minutest circumstance of the case, came to this resolution, that 
 the king being unable to meet the king of Munster in the field, 
 and decide the dispute by force of arms, should make his sub- 
 mission to Bryen Boiroimhe, and immediately go to his camp at 
 Tara, where he had lain for a month, and offer him his future 
 obedience. This advice was complied with by the king, who 
 taking with him 1200 horse, arrived at the king of Munster's 
 camp ; he was soon admitted into the presence of Bryen Boi- 
 roimhe, who received him with great courtesy, and accepted his 
 submission. 
 
 But Maolseachluin so resented the treatment he received from 
 Hugh O'Neill, that he informed Bryen of what had passed; and 
 notwithstanding his unfortunate circumstances obliged him to 
 submit, yet he still retained so much of the spirit of a king, that 
 he told the king of Munster that his submission was no reflection 
 upon his personal courage, for he had fully determined to give 
 him battle if his subjects would have allowed him a competent 
 supply ; and therefore his present tender of obedience was the 
 effect of invincible necessity, which it was out of his power to . 
 overrule. This ingenuous declaration made such an impressiou 
 upon the king of Munster, that he told him, he was sensibly 
 affected with the posture of his affairs, and promised, that if he 
 had any prospect of retrieving the difficulties he lay under, he 
 would forego the advantages he had, and allow him a year's re- 
 spHe to repair his broken fortune, and then he would meet him 
 in the field, and decide the controversy by the sword ; and he 
 further engaged, that he would rely upon his honour for the ex- 
 ecution of the terms after the year was expired, and would not 
 insist upon hostages as a security for its performance. In tho 
 mean time he proposed to march northwards with his army, to 
 watch the motions of Hugh O'Neill, and Eochaidh, son of Ard- 
 gaii, king ol Ulster, whom if he lound inclined to oppose him, he 
 resolved to engage ; and said, that he should not be surprised if 
 Maolseachluin should join his northern confederates and fight 
 against him, since he was willing to put the cause upon the issue 
 of a battle, and that the victor should enjoy the crown of Ire- 
 land without disturbance. Maolseachluin, moved with the gene- 
 rosity of the Momonian king, assured him that he abhorred such 
 ungrateful practices, and he also promised that he would not, 
 were it in his power, assist them against him ; but told him he 
 was of opinion, that his northern progress was unseasonable afc 
 that time, and might be justly deferred to another opportunity, 
 and therefore he dissuaded him from undertaking it. This advice 
 
OP irbla:td, 481 
 
 was accepted l^y Bryeri, and -was suitable to tlie condition of bi^ 
 army, for the greatest part of his provision was exhausted, and 
 he was in no capacity to attempt such a journey^ or to execute 
 such a design. 
 
 Bryen therefore decamped trom Tara, and directed his march 
 homewards ; but first he made a present of 240 fine horses to the 
 Irish monarch, and bestowed very munificent gifts of gold and 
 silver upon his retinue, and the two Idngs parted with great 
 friendship, and with all the outward testimonies of affection and 
 respect. Bryen Boiroimhe returned to his court in Munster, 
 and Maolseachluin took upon him the care of his government, 
 and the administration of the public affairs as before. 
 
 After the expiration of the year, for which time a cessation 
 of arms was concluded between the two kings, Bryen Boiroimhe 
 began his military preparations with great vigour ; he ordered 
 his army, after he had completed his regiments, to a general 
 rendezvous, and summoned not only the natives ol his own 
 province, but the Danes, to enter into the service ; there offered 
 themselves, as auxiliaries, the Irish and Danes of Waterford, of 
 "Wexford, of O'Neachachs in the province of Munster, of Oor- 
 coluigheach, and ot Jobh Cinsealach. These, when they were 
 united, made a iormidable body, and the king of Munster at 
 the head of them marched to Athlone, where he was met by 
 the principal nobility of the province of Conacht, who had pre- 
 pared hostages of the first quality, and delivered them up a^ p. 
 security for their future submission and obedience to him as 
 king of Ireland. Here likewise he received hostages , trom 
 Maolseachluin, king of Ireland, who was not capable of meet- 
 ing him in the field, and therefore was obliged to confess him- 
 self a tributary prince, and pay homage to the king of Mun- 
 ster. Bryen Boiroimhe, attended by the confederate forces of 
 Munster, Leinster, Conacht, and Meath, directed his march 
 tot^ards Dundalk, where he met with some opposition from the 
 people of Ulster, but they were subdued with small difficulty, 
 and the principal nobility of the province were taken prisoners. 
 A continued course of victory and success followed the arms of 
 this renowned prince, who having extended his conquests over 
 the most considerable part of the island, what remained volun- 
 tarily submitted ; and thus he seized upon the crown, and was 
 ■proclaimed monarch of Ireland. 
 
 And worthy he was to command a kingdom of much larger 
 extent, for he was a prince invincible in arms, of great experi- 
 ence in military discipline, munificent to his friends, and mer-. 
 
 2d 
 
482 THE ge:t£RxV.l history 
 
 ciful to Ins enemies. He hacl a great share in the afFectiong of 
 the people, i^pon account of his many heroic victoriea and ac- 
 compHshments ; nor was it unjust or inglorious iu him to make 
 an attempt upon the crown of Ireland, for it appears in this 
 history that the course of succession was often interrupted, and 
 hereditary rights laid aside ; the monarchy was in some measure 
 elective, and generally fell into the hands of the most valiant 
 and beloved by the people ; so that tlie aspersions that are fixed 
 by some authors upon the character of this Momonian prince, 
 for thrusting himself by violence into the throne of Muuster, 
 are ill supported ; nor did he violate any of the established 
 laws, or act contrary to the constitution of the kingdom. The 
 greatest part of the island he subdued by his arms, for he forced 
 under his obedience all who refused to confess his authority ; 
 but the justice and natural clemency of his temper soon pro- 
 cured him the affections of the people ol all ranks and condi- 
 tions, so that he was proclaimed by universal consent, anJ 
 Maolseachluin was obliged to resign the sceptre, and retire 
 peaceably to the state of a subject. 
 
 Bryen Boiroimhe was now in possession oi the throne. Ha 
 was the son of Kennedy, son of Lorcan, son of Lachtna, son •>! 
 Cathal, son of Core, son of Anluan, son of Mahon, son oi Tur- 
 lagh, son of Cathol, son oi Hugh Caomh, son of Eochaidh Bal- 
 dearg, son oi Carthan Fionn, son of Bloin, son oi Cais, son ol 
 Conall Eachluath, son of Luighdheach Meann, son ol. Aongus 
 Tireach, son of Fearchorb, son of Modhchorb, son oi Cormaii 
 Cas, son of Oilioll OUum, descended from the royal line oi Hebor 
 l''ionn, and governed the kingdom twelve years. The mother 
 of this warlike prince was Beibhionn Cianog, the daughter ol 
 Archadh, king of the western part of the province of Conacht. 
 There were many memorable transactions happened during tho 
 reign of this prince, particularly an attempt of Sitric, the so'i 
 of Humphry, general of the Danes, This foreigner, with a 
 number of his countrymen, fitted out a fleet, and plundered th 3- 
 coasts of Ulster with great cruelty; he likewise destroyed and 
 ransacked Cill Cleithe, and Ines Comeasgraidh^ and carried c S* 
 very valuable spoils and many prisoners. 
 
 After these outrages of the Danes, the pious Kaomhan, sc n 
 of Maolciarain, primate of Ireland, was translated to a better 
 life ; and about the same time died Randle, the son of Goffra, 
 king of the isle of the Danes. Bryen Boiroimhe, king of Ire- 
 land, with a strong body of troops, marched to Cineal Eogain, 
 ia ^the province of Ulster, and from thence he directed his 
 
OF IRELAND. 4S3 
 
 coursG to Mc-cith, T;here he oontinned for tho space of a week ; 
 and being a prince of sing-alar piety, he laid twenty ounces of 
 gold upon the altar of Ardmach as an oblation. He proceeded 
 from thence with his army to Dalnaruidhe, where the principal 
 nobility of Ulster met him with their hostages, whom they de- 
 livered to him as security for their future obedience. Soon after 
 this he removed to Tyrconnel, where he likewise received hos- 
 tages from the principal nobility of that country, who confessed 
 bis authority, and paid him homage as a prince in actual pos- 
 session of the throne, and therefore as the lawful monarch of 
 the kingdom. 
 
 About this time Maolruaua, the son of Ardgail, king of 
 Ulster, died ; as did likewise the learned Clothna, son of Aon- 
 gas, the principal poet of Ireland, and Cathall O'Connor, who 
 governed the province of Couacht for twenty years, and expired 
 at Inis Domhnain. 
 
 The provincial troops of Munster and Leinster, under the 
 conduct of Mortough, the son of Biyen Boiroimhe, made iucar- 
 sions and plundered Cineal Luigheach. There attended him in 
 this expedition Flathbhertach, the son of Muireadhach, who 
 raised a resolute body of the martial tribe of the O'Neills, and 
 did great execution upon the enemy. In this attempt the spoils 
 that were carried off amounted to a great value, and the num« 
 ber of prisoners was 300. The king of Ireland likewise, at the 
 head oi a formidable army, marched to Magh Coruinn, and sur- 
 prised Maolruadhna O'Doraidh, king oi Cineal Conuill, and 
 carried him prisoner to Cean Coradh. Mortough, the son of 
 the king of Ireland, a valiant and warlike prince, entered the 
 province of Leinster with fire and sword, and raged over the 
 country in a terrible manner, as far as Glean da Loch, and from 
 thence he led his victorious army to Kilmainham. The Danes 
 about this time set to sea and lauded upon the coasts of Mun - 
 ster, where they committed dreadful ravages, and plundered 
 Cork and then set it on fire. But the divine vengeance pur- 
 sued these savage barbarians ; for soon after these hostilities, 
 Humphry, the son ol Sitric, king of the Danes, and Math- 
 ghamhuin, the son oi Dubhgoil, son of Humphry, were seized 
 by stratagem and murdered by Daniel Dubhdabhoireann. 
 About this time the L^genians, in conjunction with the Danes 
 of Leinster, entered the country of Meath, and plundered Tar- 
 m\iin Feicinn with great cruelty, and carried away a multitude 
 of prisoners. But the hand of God was distingui:shed in the 
 
484 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 punishment of these ravagers, for they perished soon after by 
 exemplary inflictions from heaven. 
 
 Bryen Boiroimhe, having fixed himself in the absolute pos- 
 session Oi the throne of Ireland, and suppressed by force of arms 
 the unruly Danes, and others who opposed him, resolved to set. 
 tie the disordered state oi his dominions^ and repair what the 
 fury of the civil wars had destroyed. In the first place he 
 judged it would contribute to his future security, to bestow some 
 popular favours upon the principal nobility and gentry of the 
 kingdom, whom by degrees he so obliged, by conferring very 
 valuable rights and privileges upon them, that instead of dis- 
 turbing his reign with new commotions, they were overcome by 
 his clemency and indulgence, and approved themselves a loj^al 
 and obedient people. This generous and princely conduct fixed 
 him in the aftections oi his subjects, and obtained him the cha- 
 racter of a worthy and munificent prince. By this time a 
 general peace and tranquillity prevailed throughout the island, 
 which afiarded a proper opportunity to the kmg of Ireland to 
 rebuild and repair the churches and religious houses which the 
 wicked Danes had destroyed. He summoned together all the 
 clergy of whatever order, who had been ejected by these cruel 
 sequestrators daring the time of the public troubles, and in- 
 quiring strictly into the rights and pretensions oi every one, he 
 restored them all to their several rights, and filled the cathedrals 
 and abbeys with the members that belonged to them. The re- 
 venues likewise oi the church, which had been seized by the 
 sacrilegious Danes, and perverted to abominable purposes, he 
 recovered and established them upon their original foundations. 
 The face of religion being thus cleared up, his next care was 
 to provide for the education ol youth ; and for that end he re- 
 paired the public schools, that had been destroyed by the Danes, 
 who were professed enemies to learning, and erected new acade- 
 mies where they were wanting in several parts ol the kingdom. 
 In thece nurseries the liberal sciences and all the branches of 
 human learning were taught ; public libraries were built for 
 poor students, and a provision made for youth of promising 
 hopes, who were unable to support themselves. And thus were 
 the universities enriched and governed by regular discipliae, 
 which nad that eftecb as to train up persons of excellent abili- 
 tiis in all professions, who revived the decayed state of learn- 
 ing, and not only concerned themselves in instructing the youth 
 of their own kingdom, but were of excellent use in polisiii'ig 
 the rugged and illiterate disposition of the neighbouring nations. 
 
CF IRELAXD. * 4S5 
 
 'Fne commons likewise of the kingdom, who were lords of 
 lauds, the farmers, and the lowest degree oi the people, were 
 endowed v/ith large immunities by the munificence of this prince, 
 '^■ho bestowed upon the native Irish whatever territories he con- 
 quered from the Danes ; and il those who were the original pro- 
 prietors were alive, and could give evidence oi their right, they 
 were settled in their former possessions and confirmed in them. 
 This prince kept his court free from sycophants and favourites; 
 nor would he enrich his nearest relations by oppressing the 
 meanest subject in the island. He it was that appointed sir- 
 names of distinction to all the several branches of the Milesian 
 race, and to other principal families in Ireland, in order to avoid 
 confusion, and that the genealogies might be preserved with more 
 regularity Among other public structures this prince erected 
 the great church of Killaloe, and the church oi Inis Cealtrach, 
 and repaired the steeple of Tuam Greine, that was ruinous and 
 decayed. He likewise laid causeways throughout the kingdom, 
 and mended the high roads for the ease of travellers, which was 
 an act very popular to his subjects. He built garrisons, and 
 raised fortifications in proper places, where he kept a standing 
 force, to be ready upon all exigencies and necessities of the state, 
 lie also fortified the royal palaces of Cashel, of Cean Feabradh, 
 of Inis Locha Cea, of Inis Locha Guir, of Dun Eochair Maighe, 
 of Dun Jasg, of Dun Trilliag, of Dun Gcrott, of Dun Cliach 
 Insi an Gaill Ducbh, of Inis Locha Saighlean, of Rosna Riogh, 
 of Ceann Coradh, of Boiroimhe, and of all the royal forts in 
 the province of Munster. He built bridges over rivers and 
 deep waters that were impassable before ; and repaired and 
 purged the corruptions that had crept into the established laws; 
 and inspired his subjects with such a spirit of honour, integrity, 
 and virtue, that a young lady of excellent beauty undertook a 
 journey from the north of Ireland, adorned wdth jewels and a 
 most costly dress; and as a testimony of the security. there was 
 in travelling, she carried a wand in her hand, with a gold ring 
 of great value fixed on the top of it, and arrived at a place 
 called Tonn Cliodhna, which lay in the southern part of the 
 iiland, and was at the utmost distance from the place she set 
 out ; yet such impressions had the good laws of Bryen fixed 
 upon the minds of the people, that no person attempted to iu- 
 jare her honour, or to rob her of the ring that she carried openly 
 upon a stick, or strip her oi her clothes, which would have been 
 a vftiuabie booty. This transautiun is delivert-d cj posterity ia 
 
483 THE GENERAL HTSTOr.Y 
 
 a pcot.ical composition of good authoiitj, wherein are the IJiica 
 ioliowing : 
 
 The inetitutS3 of Bryen Boiroinib.e, 
 So wholesome for the support of value, 
 Were kept with so miich reverence and regard, 
 That a young lady of consummate beauty, 
 Adorn'd with jewels and a ring of gold, 
 Travell'd alone on foot from north to goutli, 
 And no attempt was made upon her hououTj 
 Or to divest her of the clothes she wore. 
 
 The tingdom of Ireland recovered from intestine and foreign 
 wars, under the kind influence of the administration of this 
 prince, who opened a scene of plenty and tranquillity to the 
 inhabitants, which continued without interruption for the spaca 
 o( twelve years, which was the whole time of his reign. The 
 state ot happiness which prevailed throughout the island is re- 
 corded in the verses subjoined : 
 
 The most renowned Bryen Boiroimhe 
 Govern'd the isle in. peace ; and through his re'^gn 
 The Irish were a brave and werJthy people, 
 And wars and discords ceased. 
 
 The historians of those times reckon this excellent prince in 
 the number of the heroic and munificent kings that sat upon 
 flte throne of this kingdom. They always mention him as the 
 third whose conduct and heroic virtues raised the reputation of 
 the Irish, and made them formidable to their enemies. The 
 first of these excellent monarchs they esteem to be Conaire the 
 great, the son oi Eidirsgeoil ; the second was Cormac, the son of 
 Art, son of Conn, the renowned hero of the hundred battles ; 
 and the third was the most illustrioais Brien Boiroimhe, king of 
 Ireland. This magnificent prince supported his royal grandeur 
 by a splendid €ourt, and kept a most sumptuous and hospitable 
 table suited to his dignity. The quantity of provisions that 
 were daily consumed is scarce credible. The place oi his resi- 
 dence was Ceann Coradh, where his retinue was becoming the 
 majesty oi an Irish monarch, and whither the three provinces 
 of the island brought their subsidies and contributions, which 
 were very large, to defray the expenses of his royal court, be- 
 side the constant revenue which arose from the two proviacea 
 of Munster, and was paid yearly into his e.^chequer. An ac- 
 count uf thuse particulars io trausuiitled to Ub by a celebrated 
 
OF IIVELAND. 437 
 
 poet and antiquary, in a poem rvirjch nogiiis bx ih.B^? vvoi'o??, 
 Boiroimlie baiie na Biogh." This writci' expressly relator tiio 
 constant tribute both of provisions and other necessaries thafc 
 ■vvas paid, not only by the two provinces ot Munster, but by 
 the other three provinces oF the isk-ind. The particulars ara 
 specified in the following order: 2670 beeves, 1370 hogs, 180 
 loads or tons ol iron, 325 hogsheads or pipes of red wine, and 
 150 pipes of other wines oi various sorts, and -500 mantles. 
 These annual tributes,* appointed for the use and service oi tho 
 crown, were laid by public laws upon the several countries of 
 the island, and in the following proportion : 800 cows and 800 
 hogs were fixed upon the province of Conacht, and appointed to 
 be sent in annually upon the first day of November ; 500 cloaks 
 or mantles, and 500 cows, were to be supplied from the country 
 of Tyrconnel ; 60 hogs, and 60 loads or tons of iron, was the 
 yearly tribute of the inhabitants of Tir Eogain ; 150 cows, and 
 150 hogs, were to be paid by tne Clana Rughraidhe, in the pro- 
 vince of Ulster; 160 cows was the contribution oi tlie Oirgiai- 
 lachs j 300 beeves, SOO hogs, and 300 loads or tons of iron, were 
 to be paid by the province oi Leinster ; 60 beeves, 60 hcgs, 
 and 60 loads or tons ol iron, were provided by the people of 
 O^sery ; 150 pipes or hogsheads of wine was the proportion oC 
 
 * Detail of the Public Eiglits, regarding both the king of Munster and tha 
 sahordLaate princos and states of the same province : extracted from Gen. Val- 
 lancey's Collect, de Rebus Hibemicis, Vol. I. No, 111. p. 374, &c. 
 
 I. The king of Munster, (who was also called the king of Cashel, from his 
 residing at that place,) presented by way of siibsidy every year, ten goldea 
 cups, thirty golden-hilted swords, and thirty horses in ricli furniture, to the Dal- 
 Cassian king, v/henever he was not the sovereign of all Munster, to which be 
 had an alternate right by the will of Olliol Olum. In some copies of the book of 
 tights, I find added to tlie above presents, ten coats of mail, two cloaks richly 
 adorned, and two pair of chess-boards of cnjious workmanship. 
 
 ir. To the king of Eoganact Caisil, when tbe Dal-Cassian chief became king 
 of Munster according to his alternative, ten men slaves, ten women slaves, tea 
 golden cups, and ten horses in full furniture. 
 
 Hi. To the king of Ossery, otherwise called the king of Gabhran, ten shields, 
 ten svi'ords, and two cloaks with gold clasps and rich embroidery. The prose 
 mentions ten horses, ten shields, ten cloaks, and two suits of military array. 
 
 IV. To the king of Ara, six sv^ords, six shields of curious workmanship, and 
 six scarlet cloaks. ' The prose add,^, seven shields, seven swords, and seven horsey, 
 
 V. To the king of Eile, six men slaves and six women slaves, six shields, and 
 six sv/ords ; according to the prose, eiglit coats cf mail, eight shields, eight 
 swords, eight horses, and eight cups. 
 
 VI. To the king of Uuithne, six shields, six svTords richly mounted, and six 
 horses magnificently accoutred, and pai-ticidarly vath golden-bitted bridles : ac- 
 cording to tbe prose, seven horses, eight swords and eight cup.^, together with 
 particular marks of honour and dibtinction shown him at the court of Cashel. 
 
A^S ~nS GENERAL HJST'^nY 
 
 (-lie "DaHcswIia iu'^iabited tlio city of Dublin, and 33-5 pipe^ or 
 liAo-slicads ot. red wine was the yearly tribute demanded from 
 the Danes of Limerick. 
 
 The great revoiues that wore paid annitally into the exchequer 
 of this prince, by the several counties throughout the island, are 
 an evident testimony of the pomp and grandeur of his royal 
 court at Ceann Goradh, with what liberality and magnificence 
 he supported iiis princely character, and how he exceeded the 
 rauniticence and state of most of his predecessors. It would be 
 inconsistent with the brevity of this chronicle, to take particular 
 notice of all the virtues and accomplishments of this Irish mo- 
 narch, and of the several laws which he ordained for the govern- 
 ment of his kingdom. Among the rest, what injunctions he es- 
 tablished for regulating the precedency of the nobility, when they 
 look their pLices in the public assemblies convened by his sum- 
 joons ; of which the curious may be thoroughly informed by 
 having recourse to the poetical composition above mentioned, 
 vrbere the several orders are at large expressed ; but it may not 
 be improper to observe in this place, that none, of whatever 
 quality, were permitted to wear arms in the court of this prince, 
 biifc the noble tribe of the Dpilgais, as the following verses testify : 
 
 VI r. To tlie king of Deisles, a slilp well rigged, a gold-liilted sword, and a 
 horse in rich furniture : by the prose, eight ships, eight men slaves, eight woiuen 
 slaves, eight coats of mail, eight shields, eight swords, and eight horses. 
 
 VIII. To the king of Cairbre Aodhbha, whose principal seat was Brughrigh, 
 ten slaves made captive in a foreign country, as appears from the plain text of 
 t'le verse, viz., Deith Gaill gan Gaedliilga: the prose has seven bondslaves, seven 
 freeservants, seven swords, and seven cups. 
 
 IX. To the king of Conall Gabhra, the following privileges and presents, viz., 
 while the king of Conal Gabhra remained at the court of Cashel, he had the hon- 
 our to sit near the king at table, and at his departure from court was presented 
 with a horse in rich furniture, and a military suit of array, and all his attendants 
 received the like presents proportioned to their respective ranks : according to 
 the prose, the whole was only ten shields, ten swords, ten horses, and ten cups. 
 
 X. To the king of Ame Chach, a sword and shield of the king's own wear- 
 ing, and thirty cloaks, which were gi\ en him in the month of May, precisely 
 according to the verse, Is triocad brat gaCh Beiltine ; the pross has eight swords, 
 eight horses, eight cups, two coats of mail, and two cloaks. 
 
 Xr. To the king ot Fearmuighe or Gleanamhain, one horse richly accoutred, 
 one shield cu.riousIy wrought, and one swerd : by the prose, seven horses, seveu 
 shields, and seven cups. 
 
 Xil. To the king of Aiobh Liatham, a sword and shield of the king's own 
 wearing, one horse richly accoutred, and one embroidered cloak ; according to 
 the prose, five horses, five swords, five cloaks, and five cups. 
 
 Xiil. To the king of Musgiuidhe, one of the king's OAvn swords, one of his 
 horses, and one of his hounds : the prose allows seven horses, seven coats of 
 niji), and seven suits of complete armour. 
 
OF IP.KLA?^t>. 483 
 
 The Jiiost illustrious tribe of Dail.:.jri'-i 
 A lone were honour'd with the privilege 
 • Of wearing arms when they appear d at court. 
 
 Bryen Boiroimhe having thus established his revenues^ and by 
 his munificence and other virtues recovered the ancient charac- 
 ter of the Irish, that had been declining for somo ages, resolved 
 to build some shipping and become formidable at sea. For this 
 purpose h© sent to Maolmordha Mac Murchuda, desiring that 
 three of the longest and largest masts that could be found in 
 his territories should be sent to him. The request was im- 
 mediately granted by the provincial prince, who ordered his 
 woods to be surveyed, and the fairest trees to be cut down and 
 hewed by shipwrights, and sent to the court of Ceann Coradb, 
 and came himself to present them to the king of Ireland. Tho 
 first of these masts was carried by the inhabitants of Jobh 
 Failge, the second by the people of Jobh Faolain, and the third 
 by those of Jobh Muireadhuig. In their way, as they came 
 through Sliabh and Bhoguig, or as other authors assert, at a re- 
 markable bog near the wood where the trees grew, there aroso 
 a violent contest between the three tribes, that were appointed 
 to carry the masts, about the point of precedence ; and the 
 
 XIV. To the king of Raithleann, ten swords, ten scarlet and ten blue cloaks, 
 and ten cups : according to the prose, ten horses, tan coats of mail, and .ten 
 shields. 
 
 XV. To the king of Dairinne, seven ships, seven coats of mall, and seveu 
 swords ; by the prose, seven ships, seven coats of mail, seven horses, seven 
 sv/ords, and seven cups. 
 
 XVI. To the king of Leim-con, a ship in full rigging, one horse in rich furni- 
 ture, one Clip curiously wrought, and one sword: in the prose, seven ships, seveu 
 horses, seven coats of mail, seven shields, and seven swords. 
 
 XVII. To the king of Loch-k'in, ten ships, ten dun horses, and ten coats of 
 mail; by the prose, seven ships, seven horses, seven coats of mail, seven shields, 
 and seven swords. 
 
 XVII i . To the king of Ciaruidhe, ten horses well accoutred, and a silk cloak 
 according to the prose, seven cloaks with go' d clasps, seven horses, and seven 
 cups. 
 
 XIX. To the king of Dairbre, three ships well rigged, and three swords: ac- 
 cordmg to the prose, seven horses, seven hounds, and seven cups : and so on to 
 other petty kings and states, too tedious to be mentioned ; every one of which hj 
 complimented with a proportionable present, by way of an annual subsidy." 
 
 " The Fiscal Tributes, the manner of paying tliem, agreeably to the primitive 
 times, will be sufficiently exemplified by the foiloAving entries, faithfully trans- 
 lated word for word, out of the ancient record, called Leabhar na gcort, or The 
 book of Irish rights. 
 
 J. The king of Cashel or Munster received a yearly tribute of 1000 bullocks, 
 1000 cows, 1000 wethers, and 1000 cloaks, from the inhabitants of Biu'reu, 
 
400 THE Gvl\ERAL ni^TORY 
 
 dispute was, which of those tribss should go foremost with their 
 burden, and be first admitted into the presence of the king of 
 Ireland. This controversy was carried on with great heal and 
 animosity on all sides, and at length came to the ears oi MaoJ- 
 mordha, king of Leinster, who, instead of behaving as a neuter 
 in the quarrel, immediately got from his horee and declared himself 
 in favour of the tribe of Jobh Faolain. He rushed into the midst 
 of the throng, and by force coming to the mast that belonged to 
 that tribe, he clapped his shoulders under it as a common 
 bearer, and took his share of the burden with the rest. But 
 in the struggle he made to distinguish himself upon this occa- 
 sion, the silver button that kept together his ric-h mantle fliw 
 off and was lost. This mantle, worn by the king oi Leinster, 
 was made ol the richest silks, embroidered in a splendid maa- 
 ner with gold and silver ; the bottom of it was fringed about 
 with a lace of inestimable value, and had some time ago been 
 presented to this prince by Bryen Boiroimhe, king of Ireland. 
 
 The king of Leinster interposing by his authority in thisdis- 
 pute, the tribes proceeded leisurely in their journey, and by 
 slow marches arrived at Ceann Coradh, where they were cour- 
 teously received, and were honourably rewarded by the king. 
 The king of Leinster was admitted into the court, where he was 
 
 II. From the inhabitants of Corcamruaclh, 1000 bullocks, 1000 cows, 1000 
 eh-^op, and 1000 cloaks. 
 
 III. From the people of Corcabhaiscin, 1000 bullocks, 1000 wethers, 1000 
 hogs, and 1000 cloaks. 
 
 i V. From the inhabitants of Corcaduibhne, 1000 bullocks and 1000 cows ; but 
 according to the poem beginning with the words, " Cios Caisil Accualabhair,'* 
 it is added, 30 scarlet cloaks, 30 bullocks, and 30 milch cows. 
 
 V. From those of Ciaruidhe, 1000 bullocks, 1000 cows, and 1000 hog^i. 
 
 VI. From the people of Seactmadh, 100 bullocks, 100 cows, and 100 hogs: 
 according to the poem, they were to pay only GO bullocks, 60 cows, and 6C black 
 •^v ethers. 
 
 VII. From the inhabitants of Corcaluighe, 100 bullocks, 100 cows, and 100 
 hogs. 
 
 Vill. From the people of Musgruidhe, 1000 cows and loOO hogs; thougl' 
 other accounts add 300 beeves, 300 hogs, 100 milch cows, and 100 cloaks. 
 
 iX. Fi-om the inhabitants of that part of Feai-muiglie Avhich belonged if 
 O'Dugaiu, of the race of Ir, son of Mileadli, 40 bullocks, 40 beeves, and 10 
 milch cows. 
 
 X. From the people of the Desles, 1000 bullocks, 1000 milch cows, 2000 
 hogs, 1000 sheep, and 1000 cloaks. 
 
 XI. From those of Uaithne, 300 milch cow3, 300 hogs, 100 bui;pck3, and 30() 
 clojiks. 
 
 Xlf. From the inhabitants of Ara, 100 ci>ws, 100 hogs, 200 wethers, and 
 100 crrefin cloaks. 
 XiiL Froai tae people of O^sery, 700 cows and 700 cloalcs ; beside tiioobll- , 
 
Oi? IRELAND. 491 
 
 welcomed bj bis sisrer, whoi'-.o n?.m.o wis Gornif'nlath, and who, 
 by her marriage with Bryen Boiroinihe, was acknowledged 
 qneeii of Ireland. After the usual ceremonies were past be- 
 tween the brother and sister, the king of Leinster desired the 
 queen that she would be pleased to fix a button upon his man- 
 tle, in the place of one he liad lost, in a dispute that arose be- 
 tween the tribes that were appointed to carry the masts, which 
 he was proud of the honour of bearing upon his shoulders, as 
 a testimony of his subjection and obedience to her husbaud, 
 the king of Ireland. The queen, reflecting upon the glory of 
 her ancestors, who never paid homage to any prince in tha 
 world, was so incensed at this servile disposition of her brother, 
 that she upbraided him severely for his cowardice and meanness 
 of spirit, degenerating from the courage and bravery of his 
 family, and submitting to a yoke that was never Vv^orn by any 
 of her illustrious hou?e, and by that means entailing bondage 
 and slavery upon all his posterity ; and pulling the mantle frorti 
 his shoulders with indignation, she threw it into the fire. 
 
 The kin£? of Leinster was moved with this violent and bold 
 
 gation incumbent on the king of. Ossery of supplying the king of Munster witi/ 
 ills contingent of armed men, when demanded, upon any necessary occasioii- 
 /»nd so on from difff>rent other countries and petty states : all Avhich supplies 
 v.-er0 t-^ be paid in by those diivcrent paople at stated times and certain seasoc A 
 of the year. 
 
 N.B. — The D>iilgais, and the following tribes and principalities, were exemptef-* 
 ■frni-n papng this kind of fiscal tribute to the king of Munster, as is set forth iiij 
 Tl:« book of rights, but more at large in the liish poem beginning with tW 
 words, A eolcha mumhan moire, viz. : — 
 
 I. Eoganact Cayhei ; 2. Eoganact Aine; 3. Eoganact Gleannamhain ; 4- 
 Eogonact Railhlean ; 5. Eoganact Locha Lein; 6. Eoganact Graflfan ; 7. Aoibh 
 Liathain; 8. Ua Cconalli Gabhra; 9. Aoibh Cairbre Aodhbha; 10. Eile y 
 Fhog\irtha. In a word, all the tribes descended from Olliol Olum, by his three 
 sens, Eogan More, Cormac Cass, and Cian, were considered as free states ex- 
 empted from tiie payment of this sort of annual tribute for the support of the 
 kiiig's household." 
 
 '• Subsidiary Presents made by the Idng of Tilunster to the different pentarchs 
 or rr.-'vincial kings, and other princes of Ireland, in his royal tour to those 
 princes, as the sai^e is described in The book of rights. 
 
 i. The king of Munster, attended by the chief princes of his kingdom, begaa 
 his visits Avith the king of Connaught, and presented to him 100 steeds, 100 
 suits of military array, 100 swords, and 100 cups ; in return for which, he was 
 to entertain him for two months at hia royal palace of Cruachan, and then escort 
 him to the territories of Tyrconnell. 
 
 II. lie presented to the king of TjTconnell, 20 steeds, 20 complete armours, 
 and 20 cloaks ; 'or whicathe said king supported l;im and the nobility of i\.1.im- 
 ster, for one month, at his palace of Eoisruadli, and afterwards escorted him to 
 the principality of Tyrone. 
 
492 1BK GENERAL PlIKTORY 
 
 remonstrance from his sister, but suppressed his passion at that 
 time, and made no repl}' ; but the next day it happened that 
 Morrough, the son of Brjen, and Conuing, the son of Dunchu- 
 ain, were playing at tables, (though other writers assert that 
 the confessor of St. Caomhgin of Glindaloch was engaged in 
 the game with Morrough,) and the king of Leinster stood by, 
 but as an unfair spectator he advised Conuing to make a point 
 in his tables, which had that effect, that Morrough lost the 
 game. This ungenerous behaviour was so resented by the 
 prince of Ireland, that, among other things delivered in passion, 
 lid told the king of Leinster that it was by his advice that the 
 Danes lost the battle of Gleann Madhma ; which charge occa- 
 tdoned the king of Leinster to reply, that if the Danes were 
 defeated by his advice, he would soon put them in a way to 
 retrieve their loss, and have full revenge upon himself and his 
 lather, the king of Ireland. The prince made answer, that 
 those foreigners had been so often chastised by the Irish army, 
 that he stood in no fear from any attempt they could make, 
 thont^h the luujx of Leinster wa.s at the head of them. M.aul- 
 
 II I. tie presented to the king of Tyrone, 50 steeds, 60 swords, and 50 cups; 
 for which this king entertained him and his court for a month at his palace of 
 Diiigh, and then conveyed him to Tulach-og. 
 
 iV. He gave the king of Tulach-og 30 sorrel steeds, 30 swords, and 30 cups; 
 in return for Avhich this dynast treated him and his suit for twelve da3'b at 
 L'rumchia, and thenc-<i escorted him to the principality of Orgialla. 
 
 V. lie presented the king of Orgialla with 70 steeds, 70 suits of milit?r>' ap- 
 parel, and eight corslets ; in gratitude of which the said prince was to entt:.- 
 tain him and his nobility for one month at his palace of Eamham, and after- 
 wards to escort him to the kingdom of Ulster. 
 
 VI. To the king of Ulster he presented 100 steeds, 100 swords, 100 cloakj*. 
 100 cups, and 100 bed-covers or counterpoints curiously wroiight; in considera- 
 tion of which royal present, this king regaled him and his retinue for two momjia 
 ct his palace of Boirce, and then waited upon him with the princes and noble 
 of his court to the kingdom of Meath. 
 
 VII. He presented to the king of Meatli 100 sceeds, 80 comple1;e armours, 30 
 corslets, and 30 cloaks; for which the said king treated him and his court for 
 one month in his palace of Teamhair or Tara, and afterwards escorted him with 
 100 of his own chiefs to the kingdom of Leinster. 
 
 VIII. He presented the king of Leinster with SO bond- women, 30 steeds, 30 
 cups, and 30 rich bed-covers ; in return of which he was entertained for two 
 months by the two kings of the north and south parts of Leinster ; and thca 
 the said kings, together with their nobles, were to accompany him to the princi- 
 pality of Ossery. 
 
 IX. He presented the king of Ossery with 30 h'^rses, 30 corslets or coats of 
 mail, and 30 swords : for which this king was to entertain him at his palace of 
 Gowran for one month, and then to escort 'lim to ths teiritories of his owa 
 iiiiigdoro." 
 
OF IRELAND. 403 
 
 mordha immediately retired to his chamber, and overcome with 
 reflecting upon the indignity he had received, he refused to eat 
 or drink publicly, as his custom was ; and lest the prince of 
 Ireland should find means to seize upon his person, and prevent 
 lis return, he rose early the next morning, and left the court, 
 full of indignation and desire of revenge, which he resolved to 
 put in execution the first opportunity. 
 
 The king of Leinster was soon missing, and Bryen Boiroimhe, 
 considering that he was gone without the ceremony of taking 
 leave, was resolved if possible by fair means to induce him to 
 return ; and for that purpose he dispatched a messenger after 
 him, to desire he would come back to Ceann Coradh, and receive 
 a present from the king of Ireland, which he had provided 
 as an acknowledgment for his past services. The messenger 
 overtook the king upon the east side of the river Shannon, 
 near Killaloe ; and having delivered his message from his 
 master, Maolmordha in his passion struck him violently thrica 
 upon the head, with a cane which he held in his hand, by 
 which means he fractured his skull. The name of this messen- 
 ger was Cogaran, who by reason of his wound was obliged to 
 be carried back to Ceann Coradh in a litter : from this unfor- 
 tunate person, Jobh Cogaran, in the province of Munster, re- 
 ceived its name. Upon his return, relating the cruel circum- 
 stances of his usage, the household troops desired leave to pur- 
 sue the king of Leinster, and bring him to answer for this bar- 
 barous treatment of the king's messenger, who represented the 
 king ; and therefore it reflected upon his majesty's honour, to 
 permit an indignity of this nature to pass unpunished. But 
 the king of Ireland, considering that Maolmordha had received 
 an afil-ont in his palace, against the laws of hospitality, ap- 
 peased the fury of his guards, and told them he would chastise 
 the insolence of the king of Leinster at his own doors ; and so 
 permitted him to make his escape, and to return with safety 
 into his own province. 
 
 Immediately upon his arrival the king of Leinrter summoned 
 a convention of the principal nobility and estates of his coun- 
 try j and representing the usage he received at the court of 
 Ceann Coradh, and relating the indignity of the action in tho 
 most aggravating circumBtances, the whole assembly came in- 
 stantly into a resolution to join the power of the Danes, and to 
 fall upon the king of Ireland ; which design was soon after 
 executed in the battle of Ciountarfie, as wiil be pailicuiarly 
 mentioned in the course of this history. 
 
494 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 It must be observed in this place, that Bryen Boiroimbe, 
 king of Ireland, had the honour of his country so much at 
 heart, that by his authority he expelled all the Danes through- 
 out the island, excep.t such as inhabited the cities of Dublin, 
 Wexford, Waterford, Cork, and Limerick, whom he permitted 
 to remain in the country for the benefit of trade ; for these fj. 
 reigners were a mercantile people, and by importation supplied 
 the kingdom with commodities that served both for pleasure 
 and use, and by this means were a public advantage to the 
 whole nation ; the king of Leinster determined to prosecute 
 his design, and for that purpose he dispatched his messengers 
 to the king of Denmark, to desire the assistance of auxiliary 
 forces against the king of Ireland, who had erected a tyranny 
 in the island, and used the Danes with great barbarity, and 
 , forced them to abandon their possessions in the country. The 
 Danish king complied with his solicitations, and selecting a 
 choice body of his army, consisting of 12,000 men, he placed 
 them under the command of two of his sons, Carolus Cnutu^ 
 and Andrew, who safely arrived with them at the port of 
 Dublin. 
 
 Q'he king of Leinster having received this foreign aid, sent a 
 herald to Bryen Boiroimhe, to challenge him to fight him at 
 Clountarffe j* by this time the king of Ireland had inteiligenQe 
 
 * The following beautiful description of the memorable battle of Clontai', 
 from tiie annals of Innisfallen, extracted from Gen. Vallencey's Coll. de Rebus 
 Hib. Vol. I. No. IV. p. 525, &c., may not be unacceptable to the reader. 
 
 " Brien, hearing of the immense preparations of the Danes and Lagenians, 
 and of the landing of very considerable Danish auxiliaries ifrom De; mark, IS orway, 
 Sweden, the Orlvney Islands, the Islands of Shetland, the Hebrides, the Isle of 
 Man, the Island of Le^vis, the Isle of Sky, Cantire and Oathness, both at and 
 near the city of Dublin, marched at the head of his Momonian forces, joined by 
 the. tJTOOps of B'leath and Conn aught, under the command of their respective kings, 
 Malachy and Teige, son of Catlial, son of Connor, and encamped, as he had dona 
 the year before, at Kilmainham, within fall view of his enemies. Soon after 
 the encampment of his army, he detached into Leinster a select body of troops, 
 consisting of the flower of his Dal-Cassians and the third part of the Eugenians, 
 under the command of his son Donogh, unperceived by the enemies, charging 
 them to return in two days' time, after they had annoyed the Lagenians, and 
 d.'Stroyed their country. This expedition, which was designed for causing a 
 diversion, had been approved of hj Malachy and all the other princes of Brien d 
 council: but in the mean time the treacherous and ungrateful king of Tara lost 
 no time to send a trusty emissary to the Danish camp, to inform tliose foreign- 
 ers of what had happened, entreating them in the most pressing manner to 
 attack Brien the following day, and as an additional encouragement to them, he 
 promised to desert from the monarch in the beginning of the action. 
 
 These advantageous offers of the king of Tara vt^eie soon accepted of by tha 
 Danes and Lagenians, insomuch that they spent the night in preparing for a 
 
ov TPvTiLAyn. 4 O.J 
 
 of the landing of the Danes, whioh news nofc only nrirprised the 
 court of Geann Coradb, but the whole kingdom was alarmed, 
 as dreading the consequences of a war, which had so terrible an 
 aspect, and might be attended with an issue fatal to the peace 
 Lnd liberty of the island. But the heart of Bryen was a stian- 
 ger to fear, and therefore he accepted of the challenge, and col- 
 lected all the force he was able, to repel this formidable conspiracy 
 of natives and foreigners, and reduce the state to its former tran- 
 quillit}'- ; for this purpose he mustered the provincial troops of 
 Munster and Conacht, which consisted of a number of martial 
 clans, among whom were the posterity of Fiachadh Muilleathau 
 with all their dependants. The posterity of Cormac Cas rosa 
 ill defence of their country, which were branched out into se- 
 Teral families, Jobh Bloid, Jobh Oaisin, Clann Aongusa Cinna- 
 thracb, Cineal Baoth, Cineal Cuallachta, Cineal Failbhe, and 
 Clan Eachach, with Ceallach, son of Dubhgin, Clan Cuiileain, 
 Meanmain, the son of Assiodha, son of Sioda, son of Maolclui- 
 the, Cineal Fearmach, with Maolmeadha, son of Baodan. Thero 
 came likewise to the support of public liberty the sons of Ken- 
 nedy, son of Lorcan, whose names were Dimchnain, Eichiar- 
 vinn, Anluan, Lachtna, Cosgrach, Lorcan Seanachan, Ogan, Ma- 
 okiiadhna, and Aingidh ; Morrough, the prince of Ireland, was 
 
 gsBeral action, and presented themselves at the first appearance of daylight be- 
 fore Erien's army on the plain of Clontarf, with colours displayed, and formed 
 iato three separate corps or divisions. The first was composed of the Danes of 
 33ublin, under the command of their king Sitricus, assisted by the auxiliaries 
 sent from Sweden, Xorway, and Denmark, who were commanded by their gene- 
 rals Carrol and Anrud, the two sons of Em-icus, king of Norway, Dolanus and 
 Conmaolus, two famous officers, and Brodar, general of the troops of Denmark ; 
 and what was remarkable in those days, 1000 of these auxiliaries had their 
 bodhs covered with entire coals of brass. The second division consisted of the 
 insulsr Danish auxiliaries, under the command of Sitricus, son- of Lodar, earl 
 of the Orkney Islands, who Avas an officer of distinguished experience a:id 
 merit ; and the last consisted of the forces of Leinster, under the command of ■ 
 Tilaolmordha IVIac I\Iurchada, principal king of that province, Baodan, son of 
 j^uluing, petty king of the western parts of Leinster, Sfac Tuathil, king of Liffe, 
 Mac Brogarvan, king of Ive Failge, and 1000 Danish troops to support them in 
 the engagement. 
 
 Brien had no sooner reconnoitred the order of his enemy's battles, than he 
 divided his own troops into three separate columns. The first was compose! 
 of the tribe of Dal-Cas, under the particular command of Brien in person, and 
 of his son jMorrogh. His four otlier sons, by name Connor, Flan, Teige, and 
 Donnal, had also a particular share in the command of this corps. The other 
 officers of distinction were Conning, son of Donnchuan, son of Kennedy; as 
 also Lcnargan, Ceiliochar, Fingnlach, and Jonnrn'^hfach. Beside the Dal-Cas- 
 slans, Malachy, king of Tara, vnih. the tyi'ces of Mciilh, founed a part of this 
 
40^ TTTR (5r:N"i5RAL HISTORr 
 
 rosoWed to distinguish himself in this expodifcioa, aii^I took with 
 him his son Tarlough and his five brothers, Teigo, Donough, 
 Daniel, Connor, and Flann. The sons of Dunchuain, the sou 
 of Kennedy, volnntarily offered their service to the king of Ire- 
 land ; their names were Lonargan, CeilUochair, Kennedy, Fian- 
 galach, and Jonnrachtach. Eochaidh, son of Jonnrachtach, and 
 Dnbhgin, son of Eochaidh and Beolan, appeared at the head of 
 their friends, relations, and dependants, to fight for the com- 
 mon cause against the king of Leinster who conspired with a 
 foreign power to bring slavery upon his country. The king of 
 Ireland was supported likewise by the assistance of Teige, tho 
 son of Morrough O'Kelly, king oi 0' Maine, who had raised a 
 strong body of men out of the province of Conacht, and ao- 
 peared at the head of them ; and this gave encouragemect to 
 Maolruadhna na Paidre O'Eeon, the prince of Aidhne, with 
 many others of the first quality and interest in their country, co 
 gather what strength they were able, which amounted to a con- 
 siderable number, because of their near relation to Bryen Bojr- 
 oimhe whose mcthBr was a princess of that province. Maolseaoti- 
 luin, the deposed king of Ireland, mustered all his forces in the 
 country of Meath, and joined the whole body of the Irish army ; 
 with these auxiliaries Bryen Boiroimhe began to march, and di- 
 
 division, and was to supply instead of Donogh O'Brien and his party ; and the 
 whole corps was to attack the first division of the enemies. 
 
 The second division of Brien's forces consisted of the Conatians under the 
 command of Teige, son of Cathal, son of Connor, principal king of Connaught, 
 Maolruana, son of Heidhne, king of Fiachrach-Aidhne, Kelly, king o: ive-Maine, 
 Flaherty, king of the west of Connaught, and Connor, son of Maolruana, king 
 Df Magh-Luirg. And these troops were supported by a strong body of Munster- 
 men, under the command of Mortagh son of Core king of Musgry-Cuire, Aodh 
 son of Lochlin king of Conuagh, Donogh son of Cathal king of Musgry- Aodha, 
 Donal son of Dermod, king of Corcobhaisgin, and Eichiaran son of Donagan, 
 king of Ara. This whole corps was to engage the second division of the enemies, 
 consisting of the insular Danish auxiliaries. 
 
 The last division of the king of Ireland's army was composed of the Eugenians 
 and Desians, under the command of Cian son-o£ Maolmuadb Mac Brain, and 
 Ponal son of Dubhdabhoirean, the two chief kings of Ive-Eachach ; the other 
 chief officers of note, who fought under them, were Motlila son of Felan king 
 of the Desies, Mortogh sou of Anamchada king of Ive-Liathain, Scanlan son of 
 Cathal king of Loch-Leane, Loingsioch son of Duloing king of Connallgabhra. 
 Cathal son of Donovan, king of Cairbre- Aodhbha, Mac Beathach king of Kerry- 
 Luachra, Geibhionach son of Dubhgan king of Fermoy, Carrol king of Eiie, 
 Tvith some others. This entire corps was supported by a considerable, reinforcement 
 of Ultonian troops, under the command of Carrol, principal king of ' >irgiail, 
 and Mac Gulbhir king of Fearmanach, who were to supply the place oi the i^- 
 sent Eugenians; and they were jointly to attack tli3 third divLsioa of th« eno* 
 mys uiiny, coiiai^suu^' ol cue LvcvS ox Lcaibcer. 
 
OF IRELAN-D. 497 
 
 rected his conrse to the plains of Magh Nealta, where he found 
 the king ol Leinster and the Danish forces expecting his arri- 
 val. Morrongh O'Bryen.was appointed general of the Momo- 
 mans and the troops of Conacht ; but Maolseachluin, king of 
 Meatb, drew ofl his men from the Irish army, and refused to 
 be concerned in the engagement ; for bethought to be revenged 
 upon Bryen, who had robbed him of the crown oi Ireland, and 
 supposed that by his desertion at so nice a conjuncture, he 
 should infuse a terror into the rest of the troops, and occasion 
 the defeat of the whole army ; he therefore drew off with the 
 forces of his country, and planted himself at a convenient dis- 
 tance in expectation of the event. 
 
 And now both armies being drawn up in order of battle, the 
 sign was given, and the charge began dreadfully on both sides. 
 The conduct of the officers, and the bravery of the soldiers, at 
 first seemed equal ; there was no breaking of ranks, for every 
 man stood immoveable in his post till he fell, and was supported 
 with the same courage by those behind him. In this manner 
 the fight continued doubtful and terrible, and victory for some 
 time hovered in suspense over both armies, but at last, after 
 gre*at slaughter, and a most bloody contest, declared in favour 
 of the king of Ireland ; for the Danes could not stand the 
 
 While Brien was employed in ranging his army in order of battle, he repre- 
 sented to his troops the indispensable necessity of distinguishing themselves in 
 that action against a foreign enemy, who had been for some ages past the per- 
 petual oppressors and murderers of their kings, dynasts, and clergy, without 
 showing the least mercy to sex, character, or age, had so often spoiled and burned 
 or pillaged their churches, and trampled under foot the most sacred relics of their 
 saints. And, " I am convinced," says he, " that your valour and conduct will 
 tills day put an end to all the suiFerings of your dear country, by a total defeat 
 of those sacrilegious and merciless tyrants. And what proves providential in 
 our favour is, that we shall take full revenge of them for their constant acts of 
 treachery, and for the profanation of so many churches this Friday in Holy- 
 week, on which Jesus Christ had suffered an ignominious death for our redemp- 
 tion, who will undoubtedly be present with us, as a just avenger of his holy reli- 
 gion and laws." Saying these last words, he showed them the crucifix, which 
 he held in his left hand, and his sword in his right, intimating thereby that he 
 was willing to sacrifice his own life in the assertion of so just, so honourable a 
 cause 
 
 After these words, he ordered the different corps of his army to fall upon the 
 enemies with sword in hand, when to his great surprise, Malachy and the forces 
 of Meath deserted their post, and retired with precipitation from the field of 
 battle. This act of treachery and ingratitude, in so considerable an ally as 5Ia- 
 lachy, at the first setting out of the action, animated the Danes of the first divi- 
 sion to such a degree, that the first attacks of their cuirassiers were almost in- 
 eunportable ; yet Brien and his corps, far from being daunted, maintained their 
 ground Avith great firmness and intrepidity, redoubling their courage upon see- 
 
49 S THE GENERAL niSTORY 
 
 shock, but were disordered, and a general rout soon followed ; 
 the forces of Leinster were so terrified by the flight of their 
 auxiliaries, that the defeat became universal, and the Irish fol- 
 lowing their blow, and animated with a prospect of victory, 
 drove the enemy out of the field. In this engagement, which 
 coiicluded with the loss of many brave persons, fell the generals 
 of the Danes, Carolus Cnutus and Andrew, the sons of the king 
 oi Denmark, whose death was attended by the chiefest foreign- 
 ers who inhabited the city of Dublin, oi whom 4000 were slain 
 in the first charge. The unfortunate king of Leinster, whose 
 passion and inadvertency was the first occasion of the war, did 
 not survive the action oL that day, and the principal nobility 
 and gentry of his province accompanied him as a retinue into 
 the other world ; the number of the Leinster forces that were 
 slain amounted to 3700. Nor was the success of the victors 
 obtained without great slaughter of persons of the first quality 
 and distinction, among whom fell Murrough O'Bryen, and tho 
 greatest part of the nobility of the two provinces oi Munster 
 and Conacht, whose loss was followed by 4000 of the Irish army 
 who perished in the action. The Danes were the greatest suf- 
 ferers in this battle, but their loss was in some measure recdin- 
 pensed by the death of Bryen Boiroimhe, whom they slew in 
 
 iiig their tribe of Dal-Cas all alone, and witlioiit the mixture of any other troops 
 to share in the glory of their exploits : novf it was, that a general and obstinata 
 tight began between the difierent coj'ds of both armies, which lasted from soon 
 after the rising of the sun till late in the evening, at the expense of much blood 
 on both sides. The Danes and Lagen-ans, after the loss of most of their com- 
 manders and troops, gave ground and fled for shelter to Dublin and to the^r 
 ships, but were' so closely pursuea by the victors, that very few ol diem arrived 
 at then' places of refuge. The Irish in tlii^ deroute cf the Danes had the woe- 
 ful misfortune to lose their famous monarch Brien, who, after having shown pro« 
 digies of valour as well as of military skill in the general command of his army 
 during the whole action, pursued the enemies at the head of his corps, where ha 
 was slain by Brodar, general of the auxiliaries from IJeumark, by a stroke of a 
 battle- ax 5 but Brien at the same time gave him a thrust of his sword, cf whicii 
 thiit Dane immediately expired. 
 
 Brien's eldest son Morrogh, at the age of 63 years, did wonders in this action, 
 and slew several Danish olScers of distinction, among whoir. were Carrol and 
 Anrud, the two sons of the king of Norway, as also Conmaol another famous 
 commander. He in like manner slew Sitricns, son of Lodar or Lotharius, earl 
 of the Orkney Islands, and chief commander of the insular Danes, by dividi;i.<]; 
 him into two equal parts through his coat of brass frx)ni his head to his runri 
 with a single blow of Iiis military axe. For when his father had observed that 
 Danish commander make a great carnage of the Eugeniaus in the heat of t^ie 
 battle, hi commanded his son Morrogh to hasten and go to meet hrn, charging 
 liiui to cjeck his proceedings if possible. Morrogh soon obeyed thii order, ai:d 
 diopatched the Dane in the now deiiciihed niauaer, and theu retu,r^td wiihwat 
 
or IRELAND. 400 
 
 •flieir retreat, I'or a "bocly of these foreigners in their fligbt cLanced 
 to pass by the royal pavilion of the king, which when they 
 understood, they entered under the leading of Bruadar, who was 
 captain of those runaways, and finding the king ot Ireland, they 
 di^w upon him and slew him ; but the death of this monarch 
 was soon revenged by the Irish guards, who coming into the tent, 
 and seeing the king dead upon the ground, fell upon Bruadar 
 and his cowardly Danes and cut them all to pieces. 
 
 It may not be improper in this place to insert a list of the 
 principal of the Irish army who were slain in this engagement, 
 which upon the best survey stands as follows : Turlougb, the 
 son of Morrough, son of Bryen, king oi Ireland ; Conning, tba 
 son of Duuchuain, son oC Kennedy ; Mothla, the son of Danie], 
 son of Faolan, king of Deisie, in the province oi Munster ; Eo- 
 cbaidh, the son of Dunadhaig, king oi Clan Sganlan ; Niall 
 O'Cuin, and Cudoilaig, the son of Kennedy ; Teige, the son of 
 Morrough O'Keliy, king of O'Maine ; Geibhiouach, the son of 
 Dubhagin, king of Fearmioys ; Maolruadhna na Paidre O'Heyn, 
 king of Aidhne ; Mac Beathaig, the son ot Muireadhach, heir 
 apparent in the succession to the kingdom of Kerry Luachra ; 
 Daniel Mac Dermott, king of Corca Baisgin ; Scanlan, the son 
 of Cathall, king of Eoganach't Locha Lein ; Daniel, the son of 
 
 delay to bis father's corps, at the head of which he performed great exploits, and 
 continued to press the enemies with such irresistible fury and strength, that his 
 right hand was entirely mangled from the repetition of his blows. After tliia 
 disability of his hand, the Norwegian prince Anrud above mentioned made to- 
 wards him with sword in hand ; Morrogh endeavoured to parry his passes, and 
 then taking fast hold of him with his left hand, he lifted him above ground, 
 and shook him quite out of his coat of brass ; then prostrating him he leaned 
 upon his sword with his breast, and pierced it through Anrud's body. The Nor- 
 wegian in the meantime drew MoiTogh's knife or scimetar from his belt, and 
 gave him a mortal wound, of which he soon expired, after having made his 
 confession and received the holy communion of the body of Christ. Such was 
 the point of honour and way of fighting between the princes and chief com- 
 manders of all engaged armies in those days, as well as in the heroic ages of the 
 Romans and Greeks, witness the personal engagements of ^neas and Tm-nus : 
 they generally encountered each other of both sides hand to hand during the 
 heat of the action. An ill-judged practice, unless it was their established dis- 
 cipline and maxim at the same time to have appointed lieutenants, who should 
 supply their place in the general command and direction of the action during 
 those personal engagements with each other. 
 
 Besides the Danish commanders slain by Mon'ogh, there also fell in the first 
 division of the enemy, Dolatus, an officer of note, Dubhgall, son of Aulavius, 
 and Giolla Cm'ain, son of Gluniaran, two of the principal Danes of Dublin, 
 together with the greatest part of their troops. The Engenians made a great 
 carnage upon the auxiliaries of the islands, and slew almost all their officers and 
 iuexi. Maulaaurdha, principal king of Leiuster, Mac Tuaihai, sou of Gaire, a 
 
500 THE GENERAL HISTOKY 
 
 Eirabip^ son Oi Cahiaig ; Mormor Muireadhacli sirnamecl ihs 
 Great, of the kingdom of Scotland, with many more of the gen- 
 try of the island, whose names are not transmitted, who fell in 
 this memorable battle. This action happened la the year of 
 our redemption 1034, upon Good Friday, as the lines oi a poem 
 particularly meiition in this manner : 
 
 The most renowned Bryen Boiroirahe, 
 
 Was slain one thousand four-and-thirty years 
 
 After the birth of Christ, 
 
 This monarch lived to a venerable old age, and lost Lis life in 
 this engagement, after he had lived eighty-eight years. This 
 computation is recorded in the same poem in the verses sub- 
 joined : 
 
 In the most dreadful fight of CJjuntarffe 
 Was slain the valiant monarch of the island, 
 After a life of eighty and eight years. 
 
 The Irish army having obtained this signal victorj', though 
 with the loss of the most eminent officers and the principal 
 nobility of the island, determined to break up and return home 
 Accordingly thay began their march, and the tribe ot Dailgais, 
 
 Lagenian prince of great valour, Mac Bi'ogarbhan, king of Ive-I'ailge, and most 
 of the nobility of Leinster lay stretched on the plain. And the attention to 
 Slaughter alone was so great, that the victors, pursuant to the orders of Brien, 
 did not lose time in makuig prisoners of war, but put all enemies to the 
 sword without distinction. This account of the battle of Clontarf, which 
 is inserted in my copy of the annals of Innisfallen, makes the number of the 
 slain on the part of the Danes and Lagenians to amount to 13,800 men ; that 
 is to say 4000 of the Danes of Dublin and Ireland, 6700 of the auxiliary Danes, 
 and 3100 ol the forces of Leinster. The Chronicon Scotorum, wliich gives but 
 a very short sketch of this battle, still gives u& a very good idea of the obsti- 
 nacy with which it was fought, by saying, " that the like battlf, or any equal 
 to it, had not been fought in Ireland for many ages." But the account that 
 chronicle gives of the number of Danes slain in this battie, falls short of tlie 
 above computation, as it positively mentions, " that there were in all but 4000 
 Danes killed, among whom were 1000 brass-coated combatants," and is quite 
 silent concerning the loss of the Lagenians. According to the account inserted 
 in the Innisfallen annals, there were 4000 of Brien'tj 'orces killed dining the en- 
 gagement, and many wounded ; but the Chi-onicon Scotorum gives no further 
 account of it than that the loss of Brien was very considerable. 
 
 Besides our renowned monarch Brien Boiroimlie, and his iUnstrious son Mor- 
 rough, with his son Turlough, a youth of fifteen years, there were several other 
 Irish commanders of distinction killed by the enemy, of whom the most re- 
 markable were Conning, son of Donnchuan, Brien's brother's son, Mothla, son 
 oi Doual, sou of Felan, king of Deisies, Eociia, son of Dunuidhe, Nial. son 
 of Cuiiin, and Cudula, son of Cinidh e, who were all three Brien's axost intimato 
 
OP IRELA?ra. 501 
 
 iiiid the posterity of Fiacbadh Muilleathan happened to take 
 the same rout, and came together as far as MuUach Maistean. 
 Here the family ol Fiachadh Muilleathan resolved to separate 
 from the other tribe, who were under the conduct oi Donough, 
 the son of Bryen ; but before they parted they agreed to send 
 a messenger to Donough, to demand his submission, and that 
 he would relinquish his pretensions to the crown of Munster, 
 which by ancient contract was to be alternately governed by 
 both tribes ; they insisted farther that he should send hostages 
 as a security for his obedience, for his father and uncle received 
 hostages from them ; and now they resolved to vindicate their 
 right, and to settle the succession in the ancient channel, as 
 formerly stipulated between the two families. Donough was 
 surprised at this message, and returned for an answer, that the 
 submission they paid to his father and uncle was involuntary, 
 and extorted from them by force, for the whole nation was com- 
 pelled by arms into subjection and to deliVer hostages ; and 
 replied farther that they durst not be so insolent in their de- 
 mands, if they had not taken the advantage ot his misfortunes; 
 and that it the brave tribe oi. the Dailgais had not suffered so 
 deeply in the last battle, he would, instead of giving up hostages, 
 chastise them into their obedience, and oblige them to give suffi- 
 cient security for their future conduct and submission. The 
 forces of Desmond receiving this answer, determined to fall 
 
 favourites and his aids-de-camp in the battle, Tiege, son of Kelly, king of Ive- 
 Maine, Maolruana, son of Heidhin, king of Aidhne, Geibhionach, son of Dubh- 
 gan, king of Farmoy-Feiue, Mac Beothach, son of Muireadhach Claon, king of 
 Kerry-Liiachra, Donal, son of Derniod, king of Corcabhasgin, Scanlan, son of 
 Cathal, king of Lough-Leane, Donal, son of Eimhin, son of Caine, with many 
 other princes and heads of tribes, who are too tedious to be enumerated. 
 
 After the victory had been thus gloriously obtained by the Momonian and 
 Conatian forces, Teige, son of Brien, and Cian, son of Maolmuadh, conveyed 
 such of the wounded as were not judged incurable to the camp at Kilmainham, 
 and applied medicaments and remedies to their wounds. As soon as the monies 
 of Sord had heard of Brien's death, they came directly to the camp, and took 
 the bodies o^ Brien and his son to Sord, and afterwards bore them to the religi- 
 ous hor-e cV St. Kiaran at Duleek, and those conveyed them to Louth, to which 
 pLice Idaolmuire, or Marianus, son of Eochadh, archbishop of Armagh, accom- 
 panied by his clergy, came for the bodies, and conveyed them in great solemnity 
 to the catiiedol chm-ch, where they oftered masses for the repose of their souls, 
 and continued their sacrifices, prayers, and watchings over the bodies for twelve 
 days and nights -without intermission. After which the body of Brien was 
 solemnly interred in a monument of hewn marble, at the north side of the 
 cathedral church, and the bodies of Morrough and his son Turlough, and of 
 Conuing, son of Donnchuan, were interred in another tomb at the south side of 
 the same chuich." 
 
502 THE GENERAL HTSTOP.Y 
 
 upon Donougli unprepared as he was, and immediately stood to 
 their arms. The tribe of the Dailgais, perceiving that .they 
 were in instant danger of being set upon, cominanded that their 
 sick and wounded, who were unfit for action, should be disposed 
 of in a strong garrison that was on the top of Muilach Mais- 
 tean, and that the third part of the sound forces should be left 
 to guard and secure them from any attempts of the enemy, and 
 the remaining body should engage the Desmonian army, though 
 superior in number ; for the tribe of the Dailgais, after this de- 
 duction, amounted to no more than 1000 complete men, and the 
 enemy were full 3000. 
 
 But the wounded and sick resolved not to bo separated from 
 their companions, and charmed with the bravery of their gene- 
 ral, agreed, notwithstanding the anguish of their wounds, to 
 share in the common event and abide the issue of a battle. 
 Accordingly they refused to be put into garrison, and seizing 
 their weapons, and stopping their wounds with moss, they pre- 
 pared for the fight. This surprising courage of the Dailgais so 
 astonished the Desmonian army, that they desisted from their 
 pretensions, withdrew their forces, and continued their march 
 homewards ; the Dailgais likewise directed their course towarda 
 Athy, which stands upon the bank of the river Barrow, and re- 
 freshed themselves with drinking of that stream. 
 
 But this illustrious tribe met with new difficulties in their 
 return, for Donough Mac Giolla Patrick, king. of Ossery, having 
 raised a considerable army of his own subjects and the people 
 of Leinster, resolved to hinder the march of the Dc\ilgais, and 
 oppose their journey through any part of his territories ; for 
 this purpose he sent out scouts and spies to attend the motions 
 of this tribe, and to bring him intelligence of every day's 
 march, since they began their journey from the battle ofCloun- 
 tarffe. The king of Ossery had conceived an invincible hatred 
 against the Dailgais, because Bryen Boiroimhe had made hia 
 iather prisoner, and killed many of his subjects; and therefore 
 he thought that it was seasonable for him at this time to take 
 revenge for the indignities his father had received, which he 
 proposed to accomplish by harassing the Dailgais, and cutting 
 them off in their return ; but before ho begun hostilities he sent 
 a messenger to Donough, the general of that tribe, to Athy, 
 where he was encamped, to demand hostages from him, as se- 
 curity that he would not commit any outrages in passing 
 through his country, or if he refused, the king of Ossery would 
 oppose his march and prevent his return ; Donough received 
 
rr T^T:T,-\rD, /)''^3 
 
 ■.)ii.^ insolent dsraand with scorn and indignation, and instead 
 ^Ji cpmplying returned for an answer, that he was amazed at 
 the baseness ot the king of Osserv, for taking advantage of 
 the distress of his army ; but notwithstanding his men were 
 fatigued by their long journey, he would decide the dispute with 
 liirn in a pitched battle, and give him ample satisfaction ; and told 
 the messenger withal, that it was the greatest misfortune of hihj 
 whole life to be insulted by Mac Giolla Patrick, whom he ever 
 despised as below his notice ; but now his cu-cumstances were 
 60 changed, as to put him under the contempt of a cowardly- 
 prince, who had the insolence to demand hostages, or to chal- 
 lenge him into the field, where he did not doubt to make him 
 feel the force oi his arms, and of his courageous followers, who 
 v;ere justly esteemed invincible. The messenger, instead ol re- 
 turning the answer/ presumed to dissuade Douough from his 
 design of fighting ; and insisted that his men were in no capa- 
 city to engage with the forces of his master, whose army was 
 fresh and in good heart, and seemed impatient to enter into the 
 field. But Donough replied with his usual majesty, that if the 
 law of nations had not secured him from ill treatment, he 
 •would instantly cut his tongue out for his insolence, and ordered 
 him out of his presence with this injunction, to tell his master 
 that he would meet him and his subjects of Ossery in the field 
 if he had but one man to stand by him. 
 
 With this answer the messenger returned, and Donough drew 
 up his men in order ot battle. His sick and wounded he de- 
 signed to commit to the charge of one third part of his army, 
 and with the rest he resolved to engage the enemy ; but the 
 wounded soldiers, who were lying ujpon the ground, immsdiately 
 started up, and by the violence of the motion bursting open 
 their wounds, they desired their general not to leave them be- 
 hind, but suffer them to have a part in the action ; and stop- 
 ping their wounds a second time with moss, they laid hold of 
 their weapons, and took their places in the ranks, resolved to 
 assist their companions, and come oS with victory or bravely 
 die in the attempt. But most of them were so much reduced 
 by loss of blood, that they could not stand upon their legs ; 
 and to remedy this misfortune, they desired the general that a 
 number of stakes should be cut in the neighbouring wood and 
 driven into the ground. Every wounded soldier was to be tied 
 fast to one of these piles, and then to be placed regularly be* 
 tween two sound men, which would have that effect, that their 
 fcound companions would be ashamed to fly, and abandon thuia 
 
504 THE GENERAL HISTOUT 
 
 in that helpless condition to the fary of the enemy ; and there- 
 fore it would sharpen their courage to reflect that nothing^ but 
 victory could secure the lives of their distressed friends, who 
 would be cut off to a man. if they were not relieved by the 
 bravery of their fellow-soldiers. This proposal was put in exe- 
 cution, to the great surprise of the enemy, who judged that 
 they had nothing to expect but death or victory* 
 
 The army of Leinster and Ossery. under the command of 
 Mac GioUa Patrick, were astonished at the resolution of that 
 martial tribe, who were under arms expecting the sign of battle. 
 Tiiey positively refused to fight, and told the king in a muti- 
 nous manner, that nothing but a defeat was to be expected from 
 the bravery of the Dailgais ; that the wounded were as eager 
 to engage as the sound, and therefore they would not it i wil- 
 fully into the jaws of lions, who would inevitably tear them to 
 pieces. Mac Giolla Patrick was ashamed, after he had given 
 the challenge, to retire without fighting, and upbraiding his 
 army with fear and cowardice, insisted that they had the ad- 
 vantage of numbers, that the enemy had but a handful of men, 
 worn out with grievous wounds and long marches, and that the 
 first charge must give them victory. But the courage of the 
 Dailgais, and their unexpected resolution, had impressed such 
 a terror upon the army of Leinster, that they absolutely refused 
 to engage with such desperate enemies ; and the king fearing a 
 general mutiny and defection, was obliged to give over his de- 
 sign, and content himself with falling upou the Dailgais, and 
 by constant skirmishes and stratagems of war, to cut them off 
 in their retreat ; and this method was so successfully executed, 
 that he annoyed the Dailgais, and destroyed more of their meu 
 than he could possibly have done in a pitched battle. The con- 
 duct and experience of Donough was remarkable in making 
 good his retreat, and securing his men against the sudden at- 
 tacks of the enemy ; but notwithstanding all his diligence and 
 caution, he brought back into their own country no more of 
 that valiant tribe than 850 ; for a great number perished in 
 the battle of Clountarffe, and 150 were cut off in their retura 
 by Mac Giolla Patrick, king of Ossery. 
 
 The memorable battle of Clountarffe makes such a figure in 
 the Irish history, that it may not be improper, over and above 
 what has been said, to take notice of a particular description oi 
 tha,t fight that was sent to Clan Colman, by Maolseachluin, the 
 Bon of Daniel, king of Meath, a month after the engagement, 
 ** 1 never," says he, '' beheld with my eyes nor read iu histor/ 
 
OF IRELAND- * ^05 
 
 au account of a sharper and bloodier uglrb tlian this memorable 
 action ; nor if an angel from heaven would descend and relate 
 the circumstances of it, could you without difficulty be induced to 
 give credit to it : I withdrew with the troops under my com- 
 Tnand, and was no otherwise concerned than as a spectator, and 
 Ptood at no greater distance than the breadth of a fallow field 
 ^•nd a ditch. When both the powerful armies engaged, and 
 grappled in close fight, it was dreadful to behold how the swords 
 glittered over their heads, being struck by the rays of the sun, 
 which gave them an appearance of a numerous fiock of white 
 sea gulls flying in the air ; the strokes were so mighty, and the 
 fury ot the combatants so terrible, that great quantities of hair 
 torn or cut ofi- from their heads by their sharp weapons, was 
 driven far off by the wind, and their spears and battle-axes were 
 so encumbered with hair cemented together with clotted blood, 
 that it was scarce possible to clear or bring them to their former 
 brightness." 
 
 It was observed before that Maolseachluin, with his forces 
 raised out of the country oi Meath, though he joined the army 
 ot Brj^en Boiroimhe, as if he designed to fight in defence of his 
 cause, yet when he came to the field of battle was so influenced 
 by the Danes that he withdrew, and at a distance was a spec- 
 tator of the fight. Nor did Cineal Eogain, though he offered his 
 assistance to the king of Ireland, bear a part in the action of that 
 day ; for that monarch had such confidence in his own personal 
 courage, and the bravery of his army, that he told them, since 
 he had fought so many battles, and obtained so many victories, 
 without their auxiliary troops, he would not lay himself under 
 an obligation at present, but would take the success or the defeat 
 of that day wholly upon himself. 
 
 Maolseachluin again recovered the crown of Ireland, 
 ^ ■ ' and was the succeeding monarch after the death of Bryen 
 ' Boiroimhe, who was slain in the battle of Clountarffe, 
 and governed the island nine years, though some authors place 
 ten years to his second reign. This prince, in conjunction with 
 O'Neill and O'Maoldoruig, led a formidable army to the city of 
 Dublin, which he surprised, and after it was plundered by the 
 .soldiers he set it^i fire. The Danish inhabitants of that city, 
 who escaped the battle of ClountarfFe, and were dispossessed of 
 their houses, united in a body and marched to Jobh Cinnseallach, 
 which they rifled and burned to the ground ; in this expedition 
 they ravaged the country with fire and sword, killed multitudes 
 of peonlc; and carried off many prisoners. Soon after Maol- 
 
 ' 2e 
 
^^^ fTHE GL'NSRAL HISTOUX 
 
 seachluin entered the province of Ulster in a hostile manner, 
 and when he had plundered the country he made slaves of the 
 inhabitants. Near the same time Donagan, king of Leinster, 
 with many of his principal nobility, were barbarously murdered 
 in the palace of Teighe O'Eyan, king of Ondrona, by Donough 
 Mac Giolla Patrick. About this time died the celebrated Mao 
 Liag, who was the most eminent poet in the whole island. 
 Maolseachluin not long after led his army into the country of 
 Ossery, and killed Dungal Mac Giolla Patrick Mac Donough, and 
 a great number of his subjects, and such as escaped the slaugh- 
 ter were made prisoners. There is a tradition, but upon what 
 authority is uncertain, that this Irish monarch laid the founda- 
 . tion of St. Mary's abbey, in the city of Dublin, in the year of 
 our redemption 1045 ; but of this we are assured, that in his 
 last reign he followed the example of his predecessor, the great 
 Bryen Boiroimhe, and he was a prince of exemplary goodness 
 and devotion in the latter part of his life. He repaired decayed 
 churches and monasteries, and re-established the public schools 
 that were destroyed by the civil wars and brought to ruin ; and 
 it is asserted with great truth, in the annals of his reign, that he 
 maintained 300 poor scholars at his own expense. 
 
 In the reign of Maolseachluin it was, that Sitric, the son of 
 Humphiy, struck out the eyes of Bran, the son of Maolmordha, 
 son of Murchada, in the city of Dublin, after he had governed 
 the province of Leinster for two years. The Danes who inha- 
 bited Dublin, under the conduct of Sitric, plundered Ceananus in 
 a cruel manner, killed multitudes of people, and forced many 
 more into slavery. About this time Ugaire, the son of Dunlaing, 
 who was king of Leinster for three years, encountered the Danes 
 of Dublin, and overthrew them in a pitched battle. Soon after 
 this defeat Sitric, the son of Jomhair, who was governor of the 
 Danes of Waterford, was killed by the king of Ossery ; nor did 
 Maolseachluin long survive, for he died at Cro Inis Locha Hain- 
 ninn. After the decease of this prince, some of the chronicles 
 of the island give an account of many monarchs in succession 
 to the throne of Ireland ; but it is a more probable opinion, 
 that from the death of this king till the English arrived, thera 
 was no absolute monarch of the country, thoiggh there were se- 
 veral who assumed to themselves the names of kings. The 
 island was governed afterwards by petty princes, as may be col- 
 lected from the testimony of a poet, who has these lines : 
 After the death of Maolseachluin, 
 The famous son of Daniel, son of Donough, 
 There was no mguarch in the Irish throne. 
 
OF IRELAND. 507 
 
 D enough, the son of Bryen Boiroimhe, succeeded 
 -iQAo Maolseachluin in the government of Leath Modha, and 
 * had likewise under his command the greatest part of 
 the Irish dominions. This prince enjoyed a long reign of fifty 
 years, as Florence Mac Carty asserts in his general history of 
 Ireland, which computation is supported by the authority of 
 other chronicles, which allow him the same time. Some wri- 
 ters contradict this opinion, and place the reign of this princa 
 to no more than twelve years ; but the account of Florence 
 Mac Carty deserves the preference, for he agrees with the num- 
 ber of years which passed from the death of Bryen Boiroimhe 
 to the first arrival of the English, and therefore the last com- 
 putation dissenting from that number is not to be believed or 
 allowed of. 
 
 ~ About this time it was that Harolt Conan, by others called 
 Harott Coran, fled for refuge into Ireland, where he received 
 honourable support and protection, becoming his grandeur and 
 high quality. Mauy memorable transactions happened in the 
 reign of Donough king of Ireland. In his time Humphry, the 
 son of Sitric, who was commander of the Danes throughout the 
 island, was taken prisoner by ]\fe,hon O'Riagan, king of Breag, 
 and was obliged to purchase his fi^eedom at no less an expense 
 than 200 cows and twenty horses. In the year of our redemp- 
 tion 1073, Flathbheartach or Flaharty O'Neill, undertook a 
 pilgrimage to Kome, which he accomplished : soon after Teige 
 O'Lorcain, king of Cinsealach, departed the present life, at 
 Glen da Loch ; and about the same time died Gormflaith, the 
 daughter of Morrough Mac Flinn, king of Leinster, who was 
 mother to Sitric, the son of Humphry, commander of the 
 Danes in Ireland. This lady was likewise the mother of Don- 
 ough, the son of Bryen Boiroimhe. Near this time Arthurcil- 
 each O'Rourke, king of Breifhe, committed great ravages, and 
 plundered the church of Cluain Fearta Breanon, but was chas- 
 tised the same day for this sacrilegious action by Donough, king 
 of Ireland, who slew him, and destroyed most of his army. The 
 city of Waterford was pillaged and ruined by Diarmuid Mac Maol 
 Nambo, who, after he had secured the plunder set the town on fire, 
 and burned it to the ground. This Diarmuid was at the game time 
 king of Leinster. Cluain Mac Nois was soon after miserably 
 spoiled, and afterwards burned by the people of Conmacine ; 
 but their barbarity was sorely punished by the hand of God, 
 who sent a pestilential distemper among them, 'which occasionyci 
 
508 TTTID GEinOBA-Ij nir-^O^Y 
 
 a great morlalliy, and tlic infection reached tlieir cattle and 
 carried off whole droves. 
 
 In the reign of this Irish prince, Carthach, the son of Justin, 
 king of Eoganacht Cashel, was burned to death, with many- 
 persons of the first quality, in a house that was set oil fire by 
 Mac Lonargain, the son of Dunchuain. Soon after this acci- 
 dent, Donough, the son of Bryen Boiroimhe, was deposed from 
 his government by the states of the kingdom, because he was 
 concerned in the murder of Teige, a prince of great hopes, who 
 was his elder brother. After his expulsion from the throne he 
 was contented to lead a private life, and resolved to spend the 
 remaining part of his days in piety and exercises of devotion ; 
 and for that purpose he undertook a religious pilgrimage to 
 Eome, where he died, and was buried in St. Stephen's abbey. 
 
 There are some at this day, who assert that the families of 
 the Powers, the Plunkets, and Eustaces, are descended lineally 
 from the posterity of this Donough, son of Bryen Boiroimhe ; 
 but I could never find any authority to justify this opinion, 
 either in prose or verse, excepting the composition of a modern 
 poet of a late age, called Maolin Mac Bruadeadha, in a poem 
 which begins with these word^, Cuirfiod cumaoin ar chlointail. 
 It must be observed in this place, that the foundation of this 
 opinion depends upon an idle fictitious story, of no truth or 
 probability, concerning what happened to this Donough afcer 
 he arrived at Home. The legend says, that this prince, when 
 he came to that city, got access to a lady, who was the daughter 
 of an emperor, whom he enjoyed, and became the fftther of a son ; 
 and from this son, it seems, descended the three families above- 
 mentioned. But in opposition to this story it must be consi- 
 dered, that Donough was fourscore and eight years of age be- 
 fore he undertook that pilgrimage; and it is perfectly incredi- 
 ble, that a young princess could be disposed to receive into her 
 arms a pilgrim of so advanced years ; neither is it to be sup- 
 posed that if the lady were inclined, Donough, who came thither 
 lor devotion, ^vouid commit such wickedness, or gratify her 
 desires upon the most importunate solicitations ; and these 
 reasons, I presume, are sufficient to destroy the pretensions of 
 these three families, since it is morally impossible that Donough 
 should have a son at Kome by an emperor's daughter, frooi 
 whom they value themselves for being descended. And as an 
 iinauswerable testimony upon this occasion, it must be observed 
 ttiat che Duok called Leabnar Andala^ that was transcribed out 
 
OF IRELAND. 509 
 
 of the bcok of Mac Eogan, about 400 years ago, as near as can 
 be computed, asserts positively that Donough, the son of Bryea 
 Boiroimhe, after he had finished his pilgrimage at Rome, took the 
 religious habit in Saint Stephen's abbey, where he spent the re- 
 maining part of his life in piety and exercises of devotion. 
 Besides it appears evidently to any one who peruses the chro- 
 nicles of Ireland which are written by English authors, that 
 upon the first arrival of the English in that country, Robert la 
 Peer was among the first that landed in the island, from whom 
 the families of the Powers and Eustaces originally sprung ; as 
 for the family of the Plunkets the same writers assert, that they 
 are originally of foreign extraction, and descended from the 
 Danes, and therefore have no claim to a descent from the an- 
 cient Irish, and by consequence not from Donough, the son ot 
 Bryen Boiroimhe, king of Ireland. 
 
 Turlough was the succeeding monarch. He was the 
 1 rlos ^^^ ^^ Teige, son of Bryen Boiroimhe, and governed the 
 
 province of Munster, and the greatest part of the island, 
 for the space of twelve years. The mother of this prince was 
 Morling, the daughter of Giolla Bride, king oi Cineal Eiachadh 
 and Fear Ceall. Many transactions of importance happened in 
 the reign of this king ; Connor, the son of Maolseachluin, son 
 of Floin, was inhumanly murdered by his own brother, whose 
 name was Morough ; Connor was at that time king of Meath, 
 and his head was seized by force by Turlough, and removed 
 from Cluain Mac Nois to Ceann Coradh, in order to be interred 
 upon the Friday before Easter ; but the day after the head was 
 miraculously conveyed back to Cluain Mac Nois, (which is scarce 
 credible,) by the prayers of the pious Ciaran. 
 
 In the reign of Turlough, William Kufus, king of England, 
 had occasion for timber to build the roof of AVestminster-hall ; 
 this was about the year Oi. our redemption 1099 ; and not con- 
 tented with the wood that grew in his own dominions, he sent 
 a messenger to the king of Ireland, to desire leave to be fur- 
 nished out of his country with a quantity sufiicient for the 
 work. In the preceding year a bishop, whose name was Mai- 
 chus, was consecrated by Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury. 
 About this time died Dearbhforguill, the daughter of TeigeMac 
 Giolla Patrick, that was married to Torlough, king of Ireland ; 
 and he did not long survive, but was soon after removed to 
 another life. 
 -J -. . ^ Mortough may be properly said to succeed to the 
 
 crowa of Ireland. He was the son of Teige, the son of 
 
OIO TtlE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 Bryeii Boiroimhe, aDcl was king oi Leath Modha and tlie prii^- 
 cipal part of the island, and sat upon the throne for twenty 
 years. The mother of this prince was Ceallrach, the daughtci* 
 oi Ui Eine, who also had another son called Roger O'Connor. 
 Mortough was a prince oi great virtue and exemplary piety ; it 
 was he who bestowed Cashel upon the clergy, as a testimony of 
 his munificence and divine charity^ in the first year of his reif^n, 
 and confirmed it to them in the year of our redemption 1111. 
 
 This monarch summoned "a general assembly of all the nobi- 
 lity and clergy of his kingdom, and ordered them by his roval 
 summons to meet him at a place called Fiadh Mao Naongusa. 
 The clergy of the island, wiio appeared in that convention, con- 
 sisted of the persons following : Maolmuira O'Dunaiu, arch- 
 bishop of the province of Munster, Cealach Mac Hugh, the con- 
 verb of St. Patrick, and vicar-general to tiie primate of Ard- 
 niach, eight other bishops of inferior diocese, 360 priests and 
 priors, 140 deacons, and many other religious persons of all 
 orders. In this convention were many wholesome laws and 
 regulations established, not only for the government of the 
 clergy, but of the laity likewise, throughout the kingdom ; soon 
 after Maolmuire O'Dunain, archbishop of the province of Mun- 
 ster, was translated to a better life. 
 
 Another general convention was summoned in the reign of 
 Mortough, in the year of our redemption 1115, by Giolia 
 Kasbuig, bishop of Limerick, who was then legate of Ireland, 
 and the first person in authority over the whole assembly. The 
 old book of Oluaiu Aidnacii, in Leix, gives a particular account 
 of this synodical meeting, and records tlie principal transactions 
 that were debated and agreed upon in that assembly. This 
 treatise relates, that in that convocation it was ordained that 
 there should be twelve episcopal sees fixed in Leath Modha, 
 which contained the southern half of the island ; and thac 
 •^he same number of bishops should be appointed in Leath 
 Cuinn, which included the northern hali : it was agreed 
 likewise that two bishops should be settled in the country of 
 Meath. In this convention the revenue of the clergy and the 
 church lands were confirmed to the several bishops of the 
 inland, for their maintenance and support of the episcopal cha- 
 racter, which lands were to be exempted from tribute and chief- 
 rents and other public contributions, and so remain in that stale 
 of freedom and independency for ever. At this time the boun- 
 daries of all the dioceses in the island were distinctly laid out ; 
 and it wab ebLablished; that in the divieiou cf Leath Cuinn there 
 
OF IRELAND, »511 
 
 elioiild be twelve bishops beside the primate ; five being fixed 
 in the province of Ulster, five in the province of Conacht, and 
 two in the country of Meath, which make up the whole number. 
 The primate had the government of Ardmach, and exercised a 
 spiritual jurisdiction over the whole kingdom, over Clocharj 
 Ardsratha, Derry, Coinire, and Dun da Leath Glass. 
 
 The seats of residence for the bishops of Meath were Damh- 
 liag and CJuain Joraird. The bishops in the province of 
 Gonacht resided at Tuam da Gualana, Cluain B'rearta, Brenoian, 
 Conga, Killaia, and Ard Carna, The palaces of the bishops in 
 Munster were, Cashel, where the archbishop of Leath Modha 
 resided, Lismore or Waterford, Cork, Rathmoigh, Deisgirt, 
 Limerick, Killaloe, and Emlioch Jobhair ; these seven seats 
 were appoicted for the bishops of Munster in that convention. 
 ] n the province of Leinster were ordained five sees, viz., Kill- 
 cuilliu, Lpghliu, Kildare, Glean da Loch, and Wexford, other- 
 wise called Fearna ; which five sees being added to the seven in 
 the province of Munster above-mentioned, make up the number 
 of twelve, ordained in the division of the island distinguished 
 by the name of Leath Modha. The reason why the see of 
 Dublin is not taken notice of in this place is, because the bishop 
 of that diocess generally received his consecration from the 
 bands of the archbishop of Canterbury in England. Hanmer, 
 the historian, very unjustly asserts in his chronicle, that the 
 clergy of Ireland were under the spiritual jurisdiction of the 
 archbishop of Canterbury, from the time of Augustine the 
 monk to the reign of king Henry IL j but he brings no evidence 
 to confirm this opinion, nor is it possible for him to prove that 
 the Iviah clergy in general throughout the kingdom paid obedi- 
 ence to any of the prelates of Canterbury, except Lanfranc, 
 .Randulph, and Anselm ; nor at that time did the clergy in 
 general throughout the kingdom pay obedience to these arch- 
 bishops, but only such as lived in Dublin, Waterford, and 
 Limerick, that originally descended from the Danes, or else 
 were of the Norman race, who were derived from the same 
 extraction. And as a testimony not to be denied upon this 
 occasion, I appeal to the writings of that prodigy of learning 
 and industry, archbishop Usher," who asserts th« same upon 
 good authority, and confutes this English historian beyond a 
 possibility of reply. It appears therefore evidently, that ti>e 
 number of bishops in the province of Munster were six, and 
 that six likev;ise were appointed over the province of Leinster, 
 and all of them wei;e under the spiritual power of the arch 
 
512 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 bishop of Cashel, as arch-prelate of Leath Modha, iu imitatiou 
 of the form of government established in the state, which who- 
 ever pleases may be fully informed of by turning back to the 
 reign of Laogaire, king of Ireland. 
 
 The Irish synod, called the convocation of Rath Breasail, 
 determined the boundaries of several dioceses, and fixed them 
 in the manner following : the diocess of the bishop of Ardmach 
 extended from Sliabh or Mount Breag to Cuill Cianachta, and 
 from Biorr to Abhainmore. The diocess of the bishop of Qo- 
 chair extended from Abhainmore to Gabhail Liuin, and from 
 Sliabh or Mount Biatha to Mount Larga. The diocess of Ard 
 Sreatha extended from Mount Larga to Carn Glas, and from 
 Loch Craoi to Binn Fiobhne. The diocess of the bishop of 
 Derry extended from Easruadh to Srubh Broinn, and from 
 thence to Carn Glass. The diocess of the bishop of Cuinire 
 extended from Binn Fiobhne to Torbuirg, and from port Mur- 
 builg to Hollorba, and to Cuan Snamha Haighne, and from 
 Gloin Biogh to Colbha Gearmann. The diocess of the bishop 
 of Dun da Leath Glas is not laid out in the journal of this 
 convention. The diocess of the bishop of Danihiiag extended 
 from Mount Breag to Carn Dun Cuair, and from Lochan na 
 Hinrime eastwards to the sea. The diocess of Cluain Hioraird 
 extended from Clochan eastwards to the Shannon, and from Vir 
 Coilte to Cluain Conaire. The diocess of Cluain Fearta ex- 
 tended from the Shannon to Buirinn, and from Eachtighe to 
 Suca. The diocess of Tuam extended from Suca to ArdCarna, 
 and from Athan Tearmon to the Shannon. The diocess of 
 Conga extended from Abhain O'Broin in the north to Neamh- 
 thain, and from Athan Tearmon westwards to Killala. The 
 dioces s of Killala extended from Neimhthin to Easruadh, a-ud 
 from Cill Ard Bille to Srathan Fearainn: The diocess of Ard 
 Carna extended fr'om Ard Carna to Sliabh an.Jaruinn, and from 
 Ceio Corainn to Huircuilten. If the clergy of the province of 
 Couacht will allow of these boundaries it will be a satisfaction 
 to me, but it must be granted that there were but five bisLop- 
 rics in that province. 
 
 The diocess of the archbishop of Cashel extended from Mount 
 Eibhlinne to the river Suir, and from Cnamh Coill by Tipperary 
 to Grein Airbha, that is to Cross Greine westwards. The diocese 
 of Lismore or Waterford extended from Mileadhach upon the 
 bank of the river Barrow to the meeting of the three streams of 
 Cork, and from the river Suir southwards to the sea. The diocesa 
 of ^Cork extended from Cork to Carn Ui Neid, and from xUq 
 
OF IRELAND. dl3 
 
 Blackwater southwards to the sea. The diocess of Rath Maighe 
 Deisgirfc extended from Baoi Bearra to Ceau Moara, and from 
 Fell to Dairbhre. The diocess oi Killaioe extended from Slighe 
 Dhala to Leim Congculion, and from Mount Eachtighe to Mount 
 Uidhe an Riogh, and from thence to Mount or Glean Caoin. 
 The diocess of Limerick extended from Maolcearn westwards to 
 Ath an Coinne Lodain, and to Lach Guir, and to Lathach More, 
 and from Aidhne westwards, and Ard Patrick southwards, and 
 Beallach Feabhrat and Tullach inchisive ; Feil and Tairbearfc 
 westwards, and Ouinche in Thumond Cross in Mount Uidhe au 
 Riogh, and Dubh Abbain. # The journal of that convention adds 
 this sanction in this place, " whoever exceeds these boundaries 
 acts contrary to the will of God and the intention of ^t. Peter 
 and St. Patrick, and all the Christian churches." The cathedral 
 OL this diocess is St. Mary's church in Limerick. The diocess of 
 Emly Jobhair extended from Cluain Caoin to the Blackwatei^, 
 and from Cnamh Coill by Tipperary to Abhaid Alia. The dio- 
 cess of Kilkenny extended from Mount Biadhma to Mileadhacli, 
 and from Greine Airb to Mount Mairge. The diocess of Leitli 
 Glin extended from Mount Biadhma to Mount Uidhe in the proj 
 vince of Leinster, and from Mount Mairge to Beallach Carcrach, 
 and from Beallach Mugua to Teach Moling and to Natearmann. 
 The diocess of Kildare extended from Ross Fionglaise to the 
 Naas in Leinster, and from thence to Cumar Cluana Hioraid, 
 e.nd to the Mounts Glin da Loch. The diocess of Glin da Loch 
 extended from Grianog to Breigeirinn, to the Naas, and to Reach- 
 roinu. The diocess oi Fearns or Wexford extended from Bei- 
 geirn to Mileadhach, on the west of the river Barrow, and from 
 Mount Uidhe in the province oi Leinster southwards to the 
 eea. The clergy of the province of Leinster, I presume, will 
 allow of this method of laying owt the boundaries of the seve- 
 ral dioceses ; nor is it to be disputed that there were any more 
 than five bishoprics in that province. The famous convocation 
 of Rath Breasal, and the 25 bishops who sat in that assembly, 
 left the blessing of God, and their own likewise, upon the suc- 
 ceeding bishops, in the 25 dioceses above mentioned, who should 
 support and vindicate the orders and laws that were ordained 
 in that synod, with regard to the limits of their several bishop- 
 rics, and invoked dreadful imprecations upon such as presumed 
 to violate those injunctions, or disputed the authority of that 
 venerable synod. 
 
 it is observed by Hacluit in his cbronicle, that when Mortongli 
 O'Bryen was possessed of the government of Ireland, the m- ' 
 
51 i THE GENiiUAL HISTORY 
 
 habifcants of the neighbouring islands sent a messenger to that 
 prince^ that he would send them a person of the royal blood to 
 command those isles, during the minority of Olanus or Hum- 
 phry, the son of Godfrey, who was heir apparent to the crown 
 of those countries. Mortough complied with their request, and 
 •sent a cousin ot his own, whose name was Daniel, the son of 
 Teige O'Bryen, who administered the government for the spaca 
 of three years ; but notwithstanding he was no more than .a vice- 
 roy over the people, he ruled with such tyranny and despotic 
 power, that the inhabitants began to suspect his designs, and 
 grew jealous of their rigbts and prwileges, which he attempted 
 to invade, and therefore the principal persons of the island de- 
 posed him from his authority, and ignominiously sent him hskok 
 into Ireland. 
 
 We have an account likewise in the same historian, that Mag- 
 nus, the son of Olanus, son of Arailt, king of Norway, dis- 
 patched messengers to Mortough O'Bryen, to demand his hom- 
 age and submission ; and likewise sent a pair of his shoes, which 
 he commanded him to carry upon his shoulders, as an evident 
 testimony of his subjection. Mortough dreading an invasion 
 from these toreigners, we are informed, obeyed, which servile 
 compliance of his was so resented by the nobility and chief per- 
 sons oi his dominions, that they upbraided him with cowardice 
 and a meanness of spirit, for degenerating from the courage of 
 his ancestors, who abhorred such abject behaviour, and would 
 have chastised with the sword the haughty Dane for the inso- 
 lence of his demands. But Mortough was not the least incensed 
 by this remonstrance, and he replied with great mildness, thad 
 he would rather advange the happiness and security ot his coun- 
 try by his submission, than to expose to ruin and desolation 
 the least province in his dominions. 
 
 But Magnus, not satisfied with this servile homage from 
 Mortough, fitted out a numerous fleet, which he manned with 
 Danes and Norwegians, and set sail lor the Irish coasts. His 
 design was to plunder and destroy the country, and to harass ib 
 in a dreadful manner ; the people he determined to put to the 
 sword without mercy, and to take ample revenge upon the Irish 
 for all the victories they had obtained over the Danes, and for 
 driving them out of the island. And so impatient was this 
 cruel Dane to put his design into execution, Ihat h^ landed, 
 with his wife, a few of his nobility, and a small number of 
 soldiers, before the body of his fleet approached the shore, and 
 s-Jt the country about him on fire. But the Irish were prepared 
 
OF IRELAND. HW 
 
 to receive liim, for they had laid ambushes to cut him off before 
 the rest of his forces arrived, and surprised him with such suc- 
 cess, that Magnus and all his men were destroyed. When tho 
 rest of the fleet arrived, they were so astonished with the mis- 
 fortune of their captain and companions, that they made all the 
 gail they could homewards, and bid a final adieu to the island. 
 
 Mortough O'Bryen, king of Ireland, fell sick of a languishing 
 disease, which attended him for five years, and then concluded 
 his life and reign. He died at Ardmach, and made a most 
 religious exit ; his body was buried in the great church at Kil- 
 laloe, in the year of our redemption 1120. 
 
 Tmiough, the son of Roger O'Connor, succeeded to 
 ^: .j\ the government of the greatest part of the island, and 
 ' eat upon the throne for twenty years. This prince dis- 
 tinguished his reign by many memorable actions ; among the 
 rest he erected three remarkable bridges in the province of 
 Conacht, the bridge of Athlone and the bridge of Ath Chrochta, 
 both which stood over the Shannon, and the bridge of Dun 
 Leogha over the Suca. This monarch entered the territories 
 of Munster in a hostile manner, and among other devastations 
 he plundered Cashel and Ard Fianan ; but the provincial troops 
 falling successfully upon his rear, did great execution, and slew 
 Hugh O'Heyn, king of Fiachrach Aidhne, and Muireadhach 
 O'Flatherty, king of West Conacht, and many other persons of 
 the first distinction. But this misfortune did not discourage 
 Turlough in his designs upon that province, for he soon repaired 
 the loss he had suffered, by recruiting his forces and completing 
 his battalions, and entered the country with all the fury of an 
 enraged enemy, where he used great cruelties, and committed 
 inexpressible barbarities upon the people. He reduced the pro- 
 vince under his obedience, and as his own by right of conquest, 
 he divided it into two parts; the south division he gave to 
 Donough Mac Carty, and the north he bestowed upon Connor 
 O'Bryen ; but acting with great policy before he fixed them in 
 possession, he obliged them to deliver hostages as a security for 
 their future homage and subjection. 
 
 About this time the church of Cormac, at Cashel, was con- 
 secrated, at the performance of which solemnity the principal 
 clergy and nobility of that kingdom were present, in the year 
 of our redemption 1134. Soon after Cormac Mac Carty was 
 barbarously mui-dered by Connor O'Bryen, who was his near 
 relation ; aud about the same time the pious Maolmaodhog or 
 
516 THE GENERAL HrSTORY 
 
 Malicbias, wlio was archbishop of Ireland and Scotland, wn-a 
 removed to another life. 
 
 Turlough O'Connor made an attemi t upon the whole pro- 
 vince of Munster, and for that purpose he collected all the 
 forces of Conacht and Lei ester, of Meath Teasa and O'ilourk, 
 and directed his march to Gleann Maghair ; but there ho was 
 met by Turlough O'Bryen and the son of Connor O'Bryen, 
 attended with the provincial troops, which consisted of three 
 battalions. Both armies prepared for battle, and be_;an the 
 fight with great fury and slaughter ; for some time the success 
 was doubtful, but at last favoured Turlough O'Connor, and the 
 Momonian troops and the martial tribe of the Dailgais received 
 a terrible defeat at Moin More, and suffered inexpressible loss 
 in the engagement. After this victory Turlough O'Bryen was 
 banished to Tir EOgain, and Turlough O'Connor made another 
 division of the province of Munster, between Teige O'Bryen 
 and Diarmuid, the son of Cormac Mac Carty. 
 
 Turlough O'Connor, king of Ireland, did not long survive 
 this memorable battle ; he died in the sixty-eighth year of his 
 age, and was interred with great solemnity near the great altar 
 of Ciaran at Cluain Mac Nois. This prince hft to the clergy 
 of the kingdom the greatest part of his personal estate, which 
 consisted of 540 ounces of gold, forty marks of silver, all his 
 jewels, plate, horses, arms, bows, quivers, arrows, and all hia 
 military equipage, and ordained that this legacy of his should 
 be divided into just proportions, and given to the clergy ac- 
 cording to their several degrees and the orders they professed. 
 The decease of this prince was accompanied by the death of the 
 most religious Teige O'Lonargain, bishop of Killaloe, who ex- 
 pired in the year of the Christian era 1150. 
 
 Mortough Mac Neill Mac Lachluin succeeded in the 
 Vi'ro government of Ireland. This prince was descended 
 
 '^ ' from the posterity of Heremon, and commanded the 
 greatest part of the island for eighteen years. In the seventh 
 year of his reign was convened a national synod of the clergy, 
 which assembled at Ceananus, in the country of Meath, and in 
 the year of our Lord 1157. The design oi this convocation 
 was to consult proper measures for the better propagation of 
 the Christian faith ; for the more effectual edihcation of the 
 people, and to ordain two more archbishops in the island ; for 
 before there were no more than the archbishops of Ardmach and 
 Cashel. The principal persons who were appointed by the Pope 
 
to pre!?k]e in this contention were, Giolla Criost O'Coiiairo, 
 bishop oi Lismore, superior oi all the monks in Ireland, and 
 the Pope's legate, and Johannes Papiron, one oi the Eoman 
 cardinals. They regulated the diocesses throughout the king- 
 dom, and bestowed four copes upon the four archbisho.ps, which 
 was very ungrateial to the Irish ; for they would have been 
 better satisfied with the old form, without the addition oi any 
 more archbishoprics. One ol these copes, called Pallium in the 
 journal, oi that synod, was bestowed upon Ardmach, and an- 
 other upon Cashel, which was contrary to the will of the clergy 
 of Ardmach and Dun da Leath Glas ; the other two were pre- 
 sented to the new archbishops, as appears expressly by an old 
 book of the clergy of Cluain Aidnach, where the determinations 
 of that council are particularly recorded ; the same treatise 
 ixentions, that the synod assembled in the year ol Christ 1157, 
 and gives the following account of the injunctions that were 
 established, and the delivery oi the four copes, in the manner 
 following:* "In the year 1157 from the Incarnation of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, being bissextile, was celebrated in the spring 
 a noble council at Ceananus ; in which synod presided Cardinal 
 John, a presbyter of the blessed St. Laurence, and the assembly 
 consisted of twenty- two bishops, and five bishops elect, and ot bo 
 many abbots and priors, belonging to the blessed apostles Peter 
 and Paul, and our apostolic father Eugenius. This cardinal 
 condemned, and by all proper methods extirpated, the practica 
 of simony and usury, and commanded tithes to be paid by 
 apostolical authority. He delivered four copes to the four 
 archbishops oi Ireland, to the archbishop oi Dublin, of Tuam, 
 of Cashel, and oi Ardmach : moreover he constituted, as it 
 became him, the archbishop ol Ardmach primate over the rest, 
 and as soon as the council was ended he began his journey, and 
 passed the seas upon the ninth day of the calends oi April." 
 
 The names of the bishops that were present in this synodical 
 meeting, are delivered down to u^ in the mannqr following ; 
 
 MCLS^II. anno ab Incamatione Domini nostri Jesu Christi bLssextili, uobile 
 concilium in vernali tempore apud Ceaiianus celebratum tait ; in quo president 
 dominus Joaniws (.irdinalis, presbyter beati Laurentii, inter \iginti duos episcopos, 
 €t quinque electos, et inter tot abbates et priores ex parte beatorum apostoionnn 
 Petri et Pauli et domini apostolici Eugenii. Simoniam et usm-as omnibus mcdis 
 extirpavit, et daranavit, et decimas dandas apostolica authoritato prajcepit. 
 Quatuor pallia quatuor archiepiscopos Hibemige, Dubliniensi, Tuaimensi, Caise- 
 lensi, et Ardmachano tradidit. ]nsuper Ardmachanum episcopum in primatem 
 super alios pro ut decuit crdinavit ; qui etiam cardinalis Joannes protinub p'.sc 
 per actum concilium iter ftrripuit et nouo calencus Aprilis transfretavit. 
 
 2f 
 
518 THE GENERAL HISTOnT 
 
 Giolla ^Criost 0*Conaire, bishop oi Lismore, and tbe Pope'a 
 legate; Giolla Mac Liag, primate of Ireland j Daniel O'Loa- 
 gargan, archbishop oi Muuster, that is, Cashel ; Hugh O'Heyn, 
 archbishop of Conacht, that is, Taam Greine ; Gregory, bishop 
 of Dublin ; Giolla na Naomh, bishop of Glean da Loch ; Dun- 
 gal O'Caollaighe, bishop oi Leithglinn ; Tuistius, bishop of 
 Waterford ; Daniel O'Fogartaigh, vicar-general bishop of 
 Ossery ; Fionn Mac Tiagurnain, bishop of Kildare ; Giolla an 
 . Choimde, or Deicola, a worshipper of God ; O'Hardmhaoil, bishop 
 ot Imleach [or Emly ; Giolla Aodh O'Heyn, bishop of Cork ; 
 Maolbreanuin O'Kuanain, bishop of Kerry, that is, Ard Fearta; 
 Turgesius, bishop ot Limerick ; Mortough O'Maolidhir, bishop 
 of Cluain Mao Naois ; Maoiliosa O'Conachtain, bishop of Oir- 
 thior Conacht ; Ua Ruadhain, bishop of Luighne, that is, Achad 
 or Achonry ; Macraith O'Morain, bishop of Conmaicne or Ar- 
 dacha ; Eathruadh O'Miadhachain, bishop of Cluain Joraird ; 
 Tuathal O'Connachtaig, bishop of Jobh Bruinn, that is Enach- 
 duin j Muireadhach O'Cobhthaig, bishop of Cineal Eogain, that 
 is, Deny ; Maolpadruio O'Beanain, bishop of Dailnaruigh, that 
 is, of Connor j Maoiliose Mao an Chleirighchuirr, bishop of 
 Down. 
 
 The archbishop of Ardmach had under his jurisdiction the 
 following sees : Connor, Down, Louth, Clonard, Kells, Ardach- 
 adh, Raphoe, Rathlury, Duleek, and Derry ; but some of these 
 have been since united into one bishopric. The archbishop of 
 Cashel presided over the diocesses of Kiilaloe, Limerick, Inia 
 Catha, Kilfenora, Emly, Roscrea, Waterford, Lismore, Cloin, 
 Cork, Ross, and Ardfearta ; but the number is not so many at 
 present, because some of them have been likewise united. Under 
 the authority of the archbishop of Dublin are these sees, Glean- 
 daloch, Ferns, Ossery, Leithglm, and Kildare. The jurisdiction 
 of the archbishop of Tuam extends over the diocesses of Mayo, 
 Killala, Roscommon, Cluainfeart, Achonry, Cluain Mac Kois, and 
 Kilmacogh, in L-ish Cill mhic Duach ; but those sees are now 
 fewer, and some of them at this time are utterly unkeown. 
 
 Not long after this national convention broke up, Daniel 
 O'Longargan, bishop of Munster, left the world ; nor did Mor- 
 tough Mac Neill long survive, who was king over the principal 
 part of the kingdom of Ireland. 
 
 ^ ^ Roderick, otherwise called Roger, fixed himself in tho 
 
 11G8. *^^'^^® ^^ ^^s predecessor. He was the son of Turlough 
 
 O'Connor, sirnamed the Great, and descended from tiiQ 
 
 royal line of Heremon. This prince, by the historians of thogd 
 
OF l!?^:LA^^). 519 
 
 timeg, was always placed iu the table of the Irish monarchs, 
 and called king of Ireland ; and not improperly, for the kings 
 of Oirgiallach, of Meath. and Breifne, submitted to him, though 
 many of the nobility and gentry of the island stood out and 
 opposed his government. He ia said to wear the crown eight 
 years. 
 
 In the reign of Roderick, king of Ireland, Teighernan O'Rourke, 
 king of Breifne, had married a lady of a very lascivious dispo- 
 sition, who had banished the conjugal esteem of her husband, 
 and resolved when opportunity offered, to fly away from his 
 court. The name of this lady was Dearbhf horguill, the daughter 
 of Mortough Mac Floinn, king of Meath, and not the wife of 
 that prince, as Giraldus Cambrensis falsely asserts. In order 
 to accomplish her designs she sent a private message to Diar- 
 muid Mac Morroagh, king of Leinster, with whom she was ia 
 love, and entreated him that he would rescue her from the em- 
 braces of a husband she hated, and use any methods, either of 
 stratagem or force, to carry her away : and to favour her escape, 
 the messenger was to acquaint the king of Leinster, that ha 
 might safely remove to Conacht, and continue there till her hus- 
 band set out upon his pilgrimage to St. Patrick's Purgatory, 
 which he proposed to undertake in a short time ; so that if he 
 complied with this opportunity he might easily convey her to 
 Leinster, where they might both gratify those desires with secu- 
 rity, which her forced marriage with the king of Breifne would 
 not suffer her to improve. 
 
 Diarmuid received this message with all the joy of a trans- 
 ported lover j and immediately prepared to accomplish an 
 amour that had been long carried on, but by some unfortunate 
 accidents had been always perplexed and disappointed. He 
 ordered a party of horse to attend him, and arriving at the 
 place where the lady was, he found her ready to receive him. 
 He caught her in his arms, and mounted her on horseback be- 
 hind one of his superior officers, who soon arrived with her at 
 bis palace in Leinster. But the lady did not seem outwardly 
 to be concerned in this design, for when she was seized she cried 
 out for help, as if she had been carried away by violence, th9 
 better to put a colour upon her escape. 
 
 The king of Breifne was at this time upon his pilgrimage ; 
 but when he returned he soon missed his wife, and understand- 
 ing she was seized by force by the king of Leinster, for the lady 
 by her outcries had deceived her attendants, he instantly medi- 
 tjited revenge, and applied himself to Roderick, the king of Iro- 
 
520 THS GICNEnAL HISTORY 
 
 land, for as3i3fanc3 ; he likewise instigated the nobility and gen- 
 try of his own country to undertake his quarrel, and to chastise 
 the ravislier for this outrageous indignity, which so sensibly 
 aiit?Gted the honour of himself, his wife, and his family. Tha 
 king of Ireland immediately mustered all the provincial troop.s 
 of Conacht, the forces of Breifne, of Oirgiallach, and the coun- 
 try of Meath, with a full resolution to enter the province of 
 Lsinster with fire and sword, and take ample satisfaction of thafc 
 prince for the base and unworthy act he had committed. Diar- 
 muid soon had intelligence ol these military preparations against 
 him, and summoning his nobility about him, he laid before 
 them the formidable strength oi the confederate army, and with 
 great condescension implored their help to scatter the impend^ 
 ing storm, that would not only overwhelm himself but involve 
 them in the common ruin, and bring destruction upon the 
 whole country. But this application had not the desired effect, 
 for the nobility had conceived such a violent resentment against 
 their prince, ibr the abominable injury he had committed, that 
 they absolutely refused to support him in so wicked a cause, 
 which no excuse could palliate, and nothing but repentance and 
 restitution could atone for ; and to secure themselves from any 
 violence that Diarmuid might propose to execute, the nobility 
 renounced his authority, and put themselves under the proteo 
 tion of Roderick O'Connor, king of Ireland ; for the king of 
 Leinster had incensed his subjects by many former provocations, 
 and by his impolitic and tyrannical government had so lost 
 their affections, that they left him in his distress, and abandoned 
 him to the power of his enemies. The king of Ireland, encou- 
 raged by this defection ot the nobility oi Leinster, marched his 
 army into the territories ol that province, and plundered the 
 country that had continued firm in their allegiance to Diarmuid; 
 tor he met with no opposition, the king ol Leinster being ob- 
 liged to fly with a few followers, and leave the province without 
 defence. The confederate army raged with all the terrors of 
 fire and sword, and among other dreadful devastations they 
 marched to Fearna, plundered and demolished the royal palace 
 of Diarmuid, and drove that uafoitunate prince out of the 
 island. 
 
 This exiled king, thus forced from his dominions, was bent 
 upon revenge, and giving a full loose to his passions, determined 
 to punish his rebeiiious nobility at all hazards, though the 
 happiness of his country was to be sacrificed in the attempt. 
 For this purpose he fled into France, and imi)iored the proteo* 
 
/ OF IRRLAND. 521 
 
 tion of Henry II., king of England, who was carrying on bia 
 conquests in that country. The English raonarch was not then 
 in a capacity to lend him any. troops to assist him in the reco- 
 very of his crown, but wrote letters by him to some, of his mi- 
 nisters in England, which gave him authority to raise what men 
 were willing to enlist themselves in his service, and transport 
 them into Ireland. Diarmuid gratefully received and acknow- 
 ledged the civility he found from King Henry, and taking his 
 leave of that prince, he left France and landed safely in the 
 port of Bristol. Upon his arrival he delivered his commission 
 to the magistrates ot that city, where the letters were publicly 
 read ; and to encourage men to engage in his service, he made 
 ample promises of lands and estates to such as offered them- 
 eelves, and would assist him in the expedition against his ene- 
 mies, who bad invaded his province and robbed him of his 
 crown. In this city he met Richard Mac Gilbert, son to the 
 Earl of Strangwell, to whom be engaged, that if he would ap- 
 pear in his cause, and raise a body of men for his service, he 
 would bestow upon him his daughter Aoiffe, who was heir ap- 
 parent to his dominions, and as a dowry would confirm to him 
 and his heirs the crown of Leinster after his decease. The 
 English nobleman joyfully accepted of the terms, and promised 
 that be would instantly beat up for volunteers, and when he 
 had completed his number he would transport them into Ire- 
 land. 
 
 Diarmuid having met with this encouragement from the 
 English, went into Wales, the prince of which country was 
 Balph Griffin, who was deputed to that government by Henry 
 11. of England. To him he notified the cause of bis arrival and 
 the circumstances of his distressed aftairs, and desired that he 
 would favour the cause of an exiled prince, driven from bis 
 dominions by a seditious nobility and the rebellion of his own 
 subjects. Here he was informed that a nobleman of signal 
 courage and an experienced commander, whose name was Robert 
 Fitz Stephen, was detained a prisoner by the viceroy of Wales, 
 for some traitorous practices against the king of England. This 
 person he thought would be of great imjDortance to carry on his 
 designs, and therefore he solicited his enlargement with all his 
 interest, and promised, ii Ralph Griffin would release him from 
 his confinement, and oblige him to engage in the Irish expedi- 
 tion, Fitz Stephen should never be under a temptation to raise 
 disturbances in England ; for be would provide lor him to hia 
 -•alifciiaouon, and bebtow esiaieb upon him that Sj*^<^uld support 
 
522 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 him in a princely grandeur, and satisfy the utmost extent of his 
 ambition. Robert Fitz Stephen had a brother-in-law in that 
 country, whose name was Maurice Fitz Gerald, who was in 
 great favour with Ralph Griffin ; and he, with the bishop of St, 
 David's, interceded for the releasement of Fitz Stephen, and 
 with much importunity prevailed for his discharge, but upon 
 condition that he should transport himself into Ireland between 
 that time and the summer following, and contribute his utmost 
 to the restoration of the king of Leinster. Diarmuid likewise 
 obliged himself to confirm to this English nobleman the town 
 of Wexford, and the two canthreds of the lands adjacent, to his 
 heirs for ever, as a reward for his service, in assisting him to 
 recover his right, and to re-establish him in his dominions. 
 
 The king of Leinster having thus successfully managed his 
 solicitation among the English and the Welsh, conveyed him- 
 self with great privacy, and with a very small retinue, into 
 Ireland, in order to be ready to receive the succours he ex- 
 pected. He came toFearna in a disguise, and discovering him- 
 self to the clergy of that place, they promisad to protect him 
 till his designs were ripe for execution. Here he lay concealed 
 in his retirement till the summer following, at which time Robert 
 Fitz Stephen, having finished his preparations, and raised what 
 forces he was able, landed upon the coasts. The number he 
 brought over with him seemed unequal to the attempt ; for it 
 consisted of no more than 30 knights, 60 esquires, and 300 foot 
 soldiers, who were set on shore at a place called Cuan an 
 Bhaimbh, which lies upon the border of the country of Wex- 
 ford upon the south by Beg Abhain. These English auxiliaries 
 landed in Ireland in the seventh year of the reign of Roderick 
 O'Connor, and in the year of our redemption 1175. There 
 came over likewise in this expedition a valiant knight, whose 
 name was Hermon Mort}^, who belonged to the Earl of Strang- 
 well, and was sent by him to inspect into the manners and dis- 
 position of the Irish, and to make discoveries of the produce 
 and the extent of the island. 
 
 Upon the arrival of the English, Robert Fitz Stephen dis- 
 patched a messenger to the king of Leinster, with whom he kept 
 correspondence. This news was very acceptable to Diarmuid, 
 who immediately left his obscurity, and putting himself at the 
 head of 500 horse, whom he always had in readiness in the 
 country adjacent, he made all possible haste to join the English, 
 and enter upon action, betore his enemies were apprised of his 
 design, or were in any capacity to oppose him. A council of 
 
ov v.if.lm:o. ■ 523 
 
 -war was immediately called, and it was resolved that Wexford 
 ebould be closely besieged, aud accordingly the army was drawn 
 up before the walls ; but the inhabitants were so terrified at the 
 approach of the king of Leinster, that, in a meeting of the prin- 
 cipal burghers, it was unanimously agreed to open the gates be- 
 fore any assault was made, and by that means recommend them- 
 selves to the favour of the victors, and prevent the sacking ot 
 the town. It was likewise concluded, that a number of select 
 hostages should be sent to Diarmuid j as a security ^ for their 
 future obedience and submission, and as pledges for an annual 
 tribute they would oblige themselves to pay, as the most effec- 
 tual method that could be thought in that exigency to save 
 their lives and preserve their houses from plunder. These pro- 
 posals were no sooner offered but they were accepted by the 
 king of Leinster, who, to fulfil his engagement, upon the sur- 
 render bestowed the town of Wexford, and two canthreds of the 
 lands, upon Robert Fitz Stephen ; and likewise conferred the two 
 next canthreds upon Hermon Morty, as he had formerly pro- 
 mised, when he was soliciting assistance in Wales against tho 
 prevailing power of his enemies. 
 
 Diarmuid having thus rewarded his auxiliaries, made a gene- 
 ral muster of his forces, and found upon a review that his force 
 consisted of a complete body of 3000 men. He gave orders to 
 decamp, and marched towards the territories of Ossery, with a 
 design lo plunder the country, and reduce it to obedience. The 
 king of Ossery at this time was Donough, the son of Daniel 
 Ramhar, who was a professed enemy to the king of Leinster. 
 But when the confederate army had passed the boundaries, and 
 began to commit hostilities upon the inhabitants, the king of 
 Ossery, finding himself in no capacity to oppose the invaders, 
 summoned a council of his principal nobility and gentry, who, 
 after mature consideration, were obliged to resolve to send hos- 
 tages to the king of Leinster, as a testimony of their submis- 
 sion, and to pay him an annual tax and acknowledge themselves 
 tributaries ; accordingly a messenger was dispatched express 
 with these conditions, which the king of Leinster complied with, 
 and by this means the fury of the soldiers was restrained, and 
 the country secured from further depredations. 
 
 By this time Ihe whole kingdom was alarmed with the suc- 
 cess of Diarmuid and his auxiliary English j and to prevent 
 the dreadful calamities of a civil war, the chiefs of the island 
 both nobles and gentry, applied to Roderick O'Connor, king of 
 Ireland, to consult upon proper methods to put a stop to th© 
 
5Si ■ TiTR GENJ^RAL umjoav 
 
 amblliou^ desigas of the kiivi of L3ia3ter, and scatter the im- 
 pending storm before it grew formidable, and in a capacity of over- 
 whelming the island in blood and confusion. A convention of 
 the estates therefore was assembled, and after many debates it 
 was agreed, that every province in the island should be obliged 
 to supply the king of Ireland with an appointed number of 
 forces, in order to confine the king of Leinster within the 
 bounds oi his province, and drive the English out of the coun- 
 try. This resolution was punctually executed, and every pro- 
 vince raised their quota of men, who were sent to the place of 
 rendezvous with the utmost expedition. When Roderick found 
 his army complete, he began his march, and directed his course 
 towards Jobh Cinsealach, with a full design to give battle to 
 the kino; of Leinster, and fight him at all adventures. But 
 Diarmuid being much inferior in the number of men, determined 
 not to stand the shock of this formidable army ; but as Rode- 
 rick approached he retired, and withdrew with his troops iiito 
 the woods and wildernesses, which at that time stood near 
 Fearna and afforded him a secure retreat. The king of Ireland, 
 perceiving that the enemy would not abide the issue of a deci- 
 Bive battle, but lurked in the woods, where they could not he 
 attacked, sent to Robert Fitz Stephen, the commander of the 
 English, with orders that he shouklinstantly leave the country 
 with all his foreigners ; for the cause he was engaged in was un- 
 just and dishonourable, and he had no right to a foot of land 
 tnroughout the island. But Robert despised this proud com- 
 mand, and returned for answer, that he had no inclination to 
 quit the country, and would never forsake the king of Leinster, 
 but prosecute his right as long as he had a man left. Roderick, 
 enraged \nth this reply, divided his army into small bodies, and 
 gave orders to his officers to enter the woods and attack the ■* 
 kmg of Leinster in his fastnesses, and he commanded them to 
 give no quarter to native or foreigner," but to put them all to 
 tne sword, and by that means at once to bring the war to a fi- 
 nal end. 
 
 But the clergy of the province of Leinster, foreseeing that 
 these commotions would be ot fatal consequence to their coun- 
 try, and that these intestine broils were destructive to the peaco 
 and the established revenues of the church, resolVed to use their 
 utmost efforts in reconciling the two kings, and securing the 
 kingdom from bloodshed and other miseries, that the continua- 
 tion of the war made unavoidable. For that purpose they 
 ttbitiuibled in a body, and uiaiCiitsd towards the army of thekio^ 
 
of Ireland. When they arrived they were admitted into tha 
 king's presence, aiid prostrating themselves before him as hum- 
 ble supplicants, they besought him to commiserate the dis- 
 tressed state of his native country, and prevent the effusion of 
 Christian blood, by ceasing hostilities, and entering into a 
 treaty with the king of Leinster. Roderick, who was a prince 
 of a merciful disposition, relented at this representation of the 
 clergy, and was contented to withdraw his army and come into 
 pacific measures with the king of Leinster. The conditions of 
 peace were agreed upon, which established that Diarmuid 
 siiould enjoy the government of Leinster in as full extent as 
 any of his predecessors did before him ; but he was obliged to 
 aend hostages of the first quality, to the king of Ireland, as a 
 security tor his future obedience, and that he would not embroil 
 the kingdom in new troubles ; he was likewise bound to pro- 
 mise fealty and homage to the crown of Ireland, as the kings of 
 Leinster had ever done to the Irish monarchs, and engage that 
 he would give no encouragement to foreigners to invade the 
 island, particularly that the English should find no protection 
 from him, but be compelled to quit the country. These condi- 
 tions were accepted by Diarmuid, who, as an evidence of his 
 integrity, delivered to Roderick, as a hostage, his son, whose 
 name was Art na ISTgiall, and the king of Ireland stipulated 
 ihat he would bestow his sister in marriage upon the king of 
 Leinster ; by which alliance it was hoped that a solid and last- 
 ing peace would be established between the two families, and 
 the island restored to its former tranquillity. 
 
 But this nappy prospect was soon obscured ; for the summer 
 following Maurice Fitz Gerald, remembering the promise he had 
 made to the king of Leinster, landed in Ireland. ]S[or was ho 
 without hopes that by assisting that prince to recover his right, 
 he should be entitled to a great reward, and obtain large pos- 
 sessions in the country. The number of men that he brought 
 over in this expedition, consisted of no more than 10 knights, 
 30 esquires, and 100 loot, whom he set on shore in the port of 
 "Wexford. 
 
 iJe soon notified his arrival to the king of Leinster, and 
 Eobert Filz Stephen, the English general ; and Diarmuid, 
 urged on by his ambitious designs, resolved to break the peace, 
 and with his auxiliary English again try his fortune and take 
 the field ; accordingly he marched at the head oi his forces to 
 Weslord, to congratulate the arrival of Maurice Fitz Gerald, 
 cind to as&jgn him a pciit in the anuy buitabie to his expeiience 
 
526 THE GEXRUAL nTCTOTlT 
 
 and his qualii.y. With this additional aid he resolved to begin 
 the campaigD, and laid close siege to the city of Duhlin ; for 
 the inhabitants of that place had always professed themselves 
 enemies to his father and himself, and therefore he proposed to 
 take revenge for the indignities which his family had received, 
 find chastise the pride and insolence of those haughty citizens. 
 Bat Robert Fitz Stephen did not attend him in this expedition, 
 but stayed behind to erect a fort at a place called Carraick, 
 v/ithin two miles of the town of Wexford, Diarmuid, with his 
 auxiliaries under the command of Maurice Fitz Gerald, directed 
 bis march to Fingall, and set all the adjacent country on fire. 
 These hostilities alarmed the magistrates of Dublin, who im- 
 mediately summoned a council, and resolved to make theiu 
 peace wdth the king of Leinster upon any terms, and save tha 
 city from plunder. They sent to him in his c^mp a larg3 
 quantity of gold, silver, jewels, silks, and other valuable pre- 
 sents, and surrendered themselves to his mercy, imploring him 
 to spare a deluded and unfortunate people, and accept of hos- 
 tages, whom he should receive as an evidence of their loyalty, 
 and a security for their future obedience ; they promised like- 
 wise that they would cheerfully pay whatever tribute was laid 
 upon them, and atone for their former miscarriages by a double 
 ehare of duty and fidelity. These articles were accepted by 
 Diarmuid, and the citizens delivered from their fears. 
 
 This continued course of success animated the king of Lein- 
 ster to more ambitious desigas ; and reflecting that many of 
 his ancestors had worn the crown of Ireland, he entertained 
 hopes of being monarch of the island, and resolved to make an 
 attempt upon the throne. The kings who swayed the sceptre 
 from whom he descended were, Cathaoir More, Connor -Abhra- 
 raadh, Labhra Loingseach, Laogaire Lore, and Ugaine More. 
 Diarmuid communicated his resolution to Robert Fitz Stephen 
 and Maurice Fitz Gerald, who approved of his design, and told 
 him that he was now become formidable, and might with small 
 difficulty fix the crown upon his head ; but withal, politically 
 advised him to proceed with great caution and secrecy, and 
 not to enter upon execution before his army was reinforced 
 ■with fresh supplies, which would soon be transported from Eng« 
 land, and put him into a capacity of carrying on his designs 
 beyond a. possibility of disappointment. This approbation of 
 the English generals added fuel to the fire of ambition already 
 kindled in the breast of the king of Leinster, who, transported 
 with the friendship and iiinccrity of his auxiliaries; off^si-ed hia 
 
OF IRELAND. 527 
 
 daughter to either of them, as a reward for their zeal and faith- 
 ful services ; but they both had too much honour to accept oi 
 the lady, because she had been formerly contracted to the Earl 
 of Strangwell, when Diarmuid was soliciting assistance from 
 the crown of England. They advised him to apply to this 
 nobleman immediately ; to write him an obliging letter, re- 
 questing him to come over to his assistance with the forces ha 
 promised him, and engaging that the conditions on his part 
 should be fulfilled, the marriage to his daughter should be con- 
 tracted, and that he was ready to settle the crown of Leinster 
 upon him and his heirs after his decease. He was to signify 
 likewise, that his affairs went on prosperously, that his provinca 
 of Leinster was recovered, and he had a fair prospect of reduc- 
 ing the other four provinces under his government, and fixing 
 himself in the monarchy of the whole island. 
 
 This letter was sent and received by the Earl of Strangwell, 
 "wlio perused it with great deliberation, and reflecting upon the 
 good fortune ol the king of Leinster, and the success of his 
 countrymen, Maurice Fitzgerald and Robert Fitz Stephen, de- 
 termined to accept oi the invitation, and transport himself with 
 all possible speed into Ireland ; but first he applied to his sove- 
 reign, the king of England, and desired leave to go out of the 
 kingdom and seek his fortune abroad, for he was weary of an 
 inaccive life, and requested his permission to travel and try the 
 mettle of his sword in foreign countries. The king, not willing 
 to discourage the enterprising genius of this noble earl, nor yet 
 willing to be reflected upon if he miscarried, neither gave his 
 actual licence, nor repulsed him with a positive denial, but left 
 him to pursue the bent of his inclination ; which silence of the 
 king was understood by the earl as an evidence of his permis- 
 Biou, and taking leave of his majesty, he prosecuted his design 
 ■with vigour, raised a small party of men, and made all neces- 
 sary preparations for his Irish expedition. But before he came 
 over himself in person, he thought it proper to send before him 
 two of his superior officers, Redmond de la Grose, and William 
 Fitz Gerald, (the elder brother of Maurice Fitz Gerald above 
 mentioned,) with a small body of forces, to inquire into the 
 posture of affairs, and signify to the king of Leinster, and his 
 countrymen, that he would soon follow with large supplies, and 
 tuifil his promise. These officers set to sea, and landed at Diiu. 
 DomiMiail, lour miles south of Waterford ; and according to 
 Siauihurst, in his chronicle, the number who v/ere sent over at 
 thii: time, cunai&ted of no more than ten knights, ten esqaiieSr 
 
528 •TEIB GlNEWiL KICTOHY 
 
 av]d sixty foot soldiers ; and when they came upon the coast* 
 they erected a strong fort of sods and stones, to defend them 
 Irom the attempts of the inhabitants. 
 
 When the inhabitants of Waterford, and Maolseachluin 
 O'Faolain, king of the Deisies, received intelligence that the 
 English had fortified themselves in their neighbourhood, they 
 apprehended themselves to be in imminent danger ; and sum- 
 moning a council, it was unanimously agreed to attack the lort, 
 v;hich was defended but by a handful of men, and put them all 
 to the sword, before they were relieved by fresh supplies. Ac- 
 cordingly a select party of 200 men, under the conduct of an 
 experienced officer, was ordered to dislodge these foreigners, and 
 not suffer a man oi them to escape. 
 
 Redmond de la Grose, who had tlie command of the foi't, ob- 
 serving the Irish advancing towards him, resolved to oppose 
 them before they came near the wails, and drawing out his small 
 number of men, he led them on, and with great indiscre'tion 
 began the charge. But the Irish received him smartly, which 
 Boon convinced him of his mistake, and finding the enemy to 
 be more numerous than he expected, he sounded a retreat, and 
 thought to recover the fort with small loss. But the Irish fell 
 upon his rear and pursued him so hotly, that he was obliged to 
 face about, and fighting with desperate courage at the head of 
 his company, he so astonished the Irish troops, that they were 
 not able to stand the shock, but gave way and fled for their lives, 
 "i'he slaughter in this action was terrible ; for the English were 
 a handful of brave well disciplined troops, and notwithstanding 
 the disproportion of nuDibers, they broke the ranks of tha raw 
 disordered Irish, and gave them a general defeat. 
 
 The year following, upon St. Bartholomew's day, in the time 
 Oi. harvest, the Earl of Strangwell landed in Ireland, and brought 
 over a strong body of forces, consisting of 200 valiant knights, 
 and 1000 esquires that were bowmen, whom he set on shore in 
 the port of AVaterford. Upon his arrival he sent intelligence 
 to the king of Leinster, and to his countrymen Hobert Fitz 
 ^Stephen and Redmond de la Grose, and likewise notified how 
 well provided he came, and what forces he had to support him. 
 Diarmuid received this news with great joy, and with his aux. 
 iliary English immediately directed his march to welcome the 
 Earl of Sirangwell, and pay him hia compliments. After a small 
 time was spent in ceremonies and mutual civilities, a general 
 council of war was called, wherein it was agreed that the army 
 iaijuuid inibtantly euier upuu action, and open their designs by 
 
OF I U ELAND. 529 
 
 laying close siege to the town of Waterford. Accordingly they 
 decamped the next day, and presented themselves before the 
 walls. The inhabitants within made a vigorous defence, but 
 the valiant Earloi Sfcrangwell was not to be repelled; his troops 
 signally distinguished themselves in this action, and making a 
 general assault, entered the town. The soldiers in their first 
 fury destroyed all they met, and gave no quarter. Maolseach- 
 luin O'Faolaiu, king of the Deisies, was taken prisoner, and 
 hardly escaped with his life, which would certainly have fallen 
 a sacrifice to the enraged victors, if the king of Leinster had 
 not interceded, and with great generosity rescued him out of 
 their hands. .-, 
 
 It was observed before, that Diarmuid, king of Leinster, had 
 a young lady to his daughter, whose name was Aoiffe, whom 
 he promised in England to the Earl of Strangwell. This prin- 
 cess, after the taking of Waterford, was sent for by her father, 
 and was married there with great solemnity to that noble eari, 
 upon the conditions formerly stipulated between them. After 
 the accomplishment of the nuptial rites, the earl left his lady, 
 and the town of Waterford, under the care of a strong guard, 
 and at the head of his troops directed his march towards thg 
 city of Dublin. Never did the approach of an *nemy make a 
 more terrible impression upon a distressed city, than the advan- 
 cing of the Irish and English upon the inhabitants of Dublin, 
 lior could a victorious geueral lay siege to a tov/n with more 
 fury and resentment about him, than raged at that time in the 
 breast of the king of Leinster against tlie people of that city, 
 who had killed his father, and used him in an ignominious man- 
 ner after his death ; for they buried a dog in the same grave 
 with him, as a testimony of their hatred, and offered such indig- 
 nities to him as history can scarce parallel. These affi-onta 
 were fresh in the memory of the king of Leinster, who resolved 
 to take ample revenge of these viie citizsns ; and they were so 
 convinced of what usage they had to expect from him, that they 
 immediately met in council, to debate upon the necessity of their 
 affairs, and avert the impending storm before they were over- 
 whelmed by it. In this assembly it was unanimously agreed to 
 send Laurence CTuathail, in the English language O'Toole, arch- 
 bishop of Dublin, with a commission to treat in the most sub- 
 missive manner with the king ot Leinster, and to prevail with 
 him, upon any terms, to spare a distressed city, that was now 
 loo sensible of the indignities she had offered him; and pro- 
 mised by way of alonumcnt, to purchase his friandiship at the 
 
530 Tiir: general nisTOivY 
 
 expense of all the gold aud silver tliey could raise, and deliver 
 him hostages to secure their future submission, if he would 
 raise the siege and withdraw his army. 
 
 But while the archbishop was interceding for the acceptance 
 of these conditions, and adjusting the capitulation, it happened 
 that Meills Cogan and Redmond de la Grose, with a strong 
 body of his English knights, were posted on the other side of 
 the town, and carried on the attack with such vigour and suc- 
 cess, that they made a considerable breach in the walls, and 
 forcibly entered the city. The citizens and whomsoever the 
 fcoldiers met, in their first fury, they put to the sword without 
 distinction ; the gates were seized, and the city secured for the 
 king of Leinster, who, after, he had left a strong garrison to 
 de/end it, drew out his men, and led them in pursuit of farther 
 conquests. The king of Breifne at this time was 0"Rourk, who 
 had always professed himself an enemy to the king of Leinster j 
 Diarmuid therefore, attended by his confederate English, entered 
 the country of Breifne with fire and sword, and committed 
 incredible barbarities upon the inhabitants. O'Rourk was 
 reduced to great extremities by this invasion ; and the king of 
 Leinster was so elevated by a constant course of success, that 
 he made no qiifjstion of gratifying his ambition with the mo- 
 narchy of the island, for his very name was a terror throughout 
 the kingdom, and victory followed him in all his undertakings. 
 
 Roderick O'Connor, king of Ireland, was alarmed at the pro- 
 gress of the king of Leinster, and was now convinced that no 
 treaties or obligations could bind a prince, who resolved to stand 
 to no engagements which shortened his prospects and opposed 
 his designs, for he had broken the peace in a most outrageous 
 manner, not considering that his son was a hostage, and that 
 he had sworn ^allegiance to the king of Ireland. But before 
 Roderick took the field to chastise his insolence, he thought 
 proper to send a messenger, to expostulate with him upon his 
 breach of faith, to upbraid him for his perjury and perfidious- 
 ness, and to assure him that if he would not return to his duty, 
 and send back the English 'into their own country, he would 
 send him his son's head, and lay him under a public interdict, 
 and again oblige him to quit the island. This .message was 
 delivered, but made no impression upon the king of Leinster, 
 who knew himself to be too well supported to be terrified by 
 words, apd returned an answer, that^he would not send back 
 the English, but soon transport more of them into the country ; 
 and that he would not lay dowa his arms until he had reduced 
 
OF IRELAND. 531 
 
 the whole kingdom under his authority ; and withal, that if the 
 king of Ireland offered to take away the life of his son, he 
 would revenge his death by hostilities yet unheard of, and not 
 give up his resentment without a complete" destruction of him- 
 self and his family. Roderick O'Connor was astonished at the 
 insolence of this petty prince, and resolved in his passion to 
 execute his purpose upon the royal hostage he had in his hands; 
 but upon mature reflection he desisted, and wisely considered 
 that his enemy was in possession of a great part of the king- 
 dom, and a terror to what remained unsubdued ; that the event 
 of war was uncertain, and that such a barbarous act would 
 render him odious to his people, whose affections were his only 
 support against the prevailing power of a successful and haughty 
 enemy. 
 
 The king of England had received intelligence of the pro- 
 ceedings of his subjects in Ireland, under the conduct of the 
 ICail of Strangwell, and other valiant commanders ; and, not 
 approving of their designs, he published a proclamation, that 
 no ship or bark should sail for Ireland out of any of the Eng- 
 lish ports ; and that no -trade or correspondence should be 
 maintained with that island, under the severest penalties ; and 
 that all the English in that kingdom should immediately return 
 home, upon pain of losing their estates, and of being declared 
 rebels and traitors. This proclamation soon came to the hands 
 of the Earl of Strangwell, who immediately called a council of 
 the English officers, and it was agreed not to return instantly 
 and quit that country, but to send E,edmond de la Grose to the 
 king of England, with a commission to represent to his majesty, 
 that it was by his own royal permission that the Earl of Strang- 
 well espoused the cause of Diarmuid Mac Morrough, king of 
 Leinster ; and that the English had no design to withdraw their 
 allegiance from their natural sovereign, but intended to con- 
 quer the country in his name, and submit the territories they 
 fchould subdue to his authority and disposal. 
 
 With this message 'Redmond de la Grose sailed into France, 
 and found the king of England in Gascoign. This was the 
 year in which that famous prelate, Thomas Becket, archbishop 
 of Canterbury, was murdered ; which barbarous act was com- 
 mitted upon the first day of Christmas, in the year of our re- 
 demption 1171. In the month of May following Diarmuid 
 Mac Morrough, king of Leinster, died, and was buried at 
 Fearna» 
 
 Henry II., soon after he had received this message from hia 
 
53.2 THE GENEP.AL HISTORY 
 
 subjects in Ireland, returned into England, and sent one of his 
 knights, whose name was Hermon Morty, with letters to the 
 Earl of Strangwell ; Redmond de la Grose was likewise sent 
 back to the earl, who, receiving the letters, found that he waa 
 obliged instantly to repair to England, and give an account of 
 hi§ conduct to his majesty. When he came to court he was 
 admitted into the king's presence ; and, after he had faithfully 
 informed him of the posture of the Irish affairs, he offered to 
 deliver up the possession of Dublin, Waterford, and other prin- 
 cipal towns in the province of Leinster, into his Majesty's hands, 
 if he pleased by his royal grant to confirm to him and his heirs 
 the enjoyment of the remaining parts of that province. Tiie 
 king condescended to accept of these terms, and in a short time 
 followed the earl with a numerous army into Ireland j he landed 
 in the port of Waterford, and was attended in this expedition 
 by 500 knights, besides a select army of horse and foot, who 
 were all set on shore in the year of Christ 1172. 
 
 The king continued at Waterford for some time : this was 
 his head quarters, and here the burghers of Wexford, and the 
 English throughout the kingdom, who had notice of his arrival, 
 came and paid him homage, and submitted to his auth-^vity. 
 Diarmuid More Mac Carty, king of Cork, likewise made a 
 tender of his submission to King Henry, which he accepted. 
 From Waterford the king removed to Cashel, where he was 
 met by Daniel O'Bryen, king of Limerick, who submitted him- 
 self" and promised to continue faithful in his obedience, in the 
 same manner as Diarmuid, king of Cork had done before him. 
 The king of England was pleased with this success, and sent a 
 party of horse and foot to secure Cork and Limerick for his 
 service. At Cashel, the principal nobility of Munster waited 
 upon him, and promised him obedience ; from thence he re- 
 turned to Waterford, where he received homage from the king 
 of Ossery, and assurances of his future fidelity. From Water- 
 iord the king of England removed to Dublin, where he was met 
 by the nobility of the province of Leinster, whose submission 
 he removed, and promised to continue them in the possesjsion of 
 their lawful privileges. 
 
 This general defection was very unacceptable to Roderick 
 O'Connor, king of Conacht, and of the greatest part of t|ie 
 island, who, finding himself abandoned by his countrymen, who 
 rather chose to submit to a foreign yoke than attempt to repel 
 these foreigners, thought it prudential in him to make a virtue 
 oi necessity, and submit likewise to the king of EaL^land ; for 
 
or 7KEL.^ND. 533 
 
 he was forsakeu by most of the princes of the island, and rirag 
 in no circumstances to oppose the progress oi the English arms ; 
 and therefore he thought tha,t the condition oi his' affairs ro" 
 quired that he should rather confess an authority, however un- 
 just, than oppose it to his own destruction. Under these re- 
 flections he received a message from, the king of England, by 
 two principal noblemen, whose names were Hugo de Lacy and 
 William de Adelmel, with a kind invitation to wait upon their 
 master, who lay with his army upon the bank of the river Shan- 
 non. The king of Ireland was obliged to comply, and accord- 
 ingly he met the English monarch at the place appointed, who 
 received him with great generosity and friendship, and after mu- 
 tual compliments a peace was concluded before the nobility of 
 both kingdoms, Morrough Mac Floinn was at that time king 
 of Meath ; and he likewise confessed the authority of the king 
 of England,, so that there was an universal submission, nor wa3 
 there any king, prince, o^ nobleman throughout the island, who 
 refused to receive this invitation^ or did, not pay homage to the 
 English crown. 
 
 The foiloTi'ing winter proved stormy and tempestuous, so that 
 navigation was dangerous, nor would any ship venture to sail 
 in the Irish sea ; by this means the king of England could re- 
 ceive no intelligence from his own country till the month of 
 March, at which time he had letters brought him from England 
 and France^ which were very unacceptable, and gave him great 
 uneasiness ; among other articles of news^ he had an account 
 that the Pope of Eome sent cardinals into England to make 
 particular inquiry into the death of the archbishop of Canter- 
 bury, and if the king in person refused to give them satisfaction 
 upon that head, they had commission to excommunicate him, and 
 all his subjects who should afterwards submit to his authority, 
 or acknowledge him for their sovereign. This intelligence was 
 very unwelcome to the king, as the circumstances of his affairs 
 then stood ; but he was equally surprised to hear that his eldest 
 son had, in his absence, seized upon the crown of England, and 
 resolved to defend it against his father by force of arms. Un- 
 der this difficulty of affiiirs he called a council of his superior 
 olEcers, wherein it was agreed that a select body of forces should 
 be transported into England with all expedition, and the king 
 himself should soon follow them. This advice was immediately 
 executed ; a strong body was detached, who landed in England, 
 and the king, after he had settled his Irish affairs, set to sea, 
 and arrived safely in his own dominions. He disposed of tha 
 
534 TUE GEiv^SEAI; HISTORY 
 
 forces he left in Ireland in proper garrisons, for the defence of 
 the country, and to suppress all attempts that should be made 
 by the natives, in case they should be any ways troublesome 
 under his government. Hugo de Lacy he left with twenty 
 knights in Meath, and bestowed upon him that country, and 
 confirmed it by his royal grant to his posterity. The command 
 of the city of Dublin he committed to Robert Fitz Stephen 
 and Maurice Fitz Gerald, and allowed them twenty knights for 
 guard. He left William de Adelmel in the government of Wex- 
 ford, and joined with him in commission Philip de Hastings and 
 Philip de Bruss, who likewise had twenty knights in their ser- 
 vice. The command of Waterford he appointed to Humphry 
 iJolum, Hugo Gundavil, and Robert Mac Bernard, who were 
 attended by twenty knights. When King Henry arrived in 
 England, he found that the necessity of his affairs obliged him 
 to submit to the Roman cardinals, and to comply with whatever 
 they requu^ed, in relation to the deSfch of the archbishop of 
 Canterbury. These missionaries likewise adjusted the differeuca 
 between Henry and the crown of France, and established a 
 peace between the two kingdoms. 
 
 If it should be inquired in this place upon what account 
 Diarmuid, king of Leinster, chose to commit himself and hi3 
 affairs under the protection of the king of England, rather than 
 to the king of France, or any other monarch of Christendom, 
 it must be understood, that D enough, the son of Bryen Boir- 
 oimhe, was a prince very unacceptable to the principal nobility 
 of Ireland, who, rather than pay him obedience, unanimously 
 came to a resolution to make a present of the whole island tu 
 Urbaniis IL, Pope of Rome, which was done in the year of our 
 redemption 1092 ; so that by this donation the Popes laid claim 
 to the sovereignty of Ireland, which they executed so far, as to 
 govern the nobility and clergy by wholesome laws, and to estab- 
 lish a regular discipline in the church. And the Popes main- 
 tained this authority till Adrian, the foui'th of that name, sat 
 in St. Peter's chair, which was in the year of our Lord 1154. 
 This Pope was an Englishman by descent, and his original 
 name was Nicholas Brusber. 
 
 Stowe, the English annalist, asserts, in his chronicle, that 
 this pope bestowed the kingdom of Ireland upon Henry II. in 
 the first year of his reign, and in the year of our redemption 
 1154. This author likewise relates, that this donation was con- 
 fs-rred upon the king of England, on condition that he would 
 revive the profession of the Christian faith, which w^as dead 
 
OF mELAND. 1^35 
 
 throughout the island ; that he should polish the rude manners 
 of the inhabitants, defend and restore the rights and revenues 
 of the church and clergy, and take especial care that every in- 
 habited house in the kingdom .should pay annually one penny 
 to the Pope, under the name of St. Peter's penny. 
 
 This grant of the kingdom of Ireland to King Henry was 
 drawn up in writing, which when he received, he csent John, 
 bishop of Salisbury, with this instrument of the Pope's dona- 
 tion into Ireland. Upon his landing at Waterford he sent to 
 the bishops and the principal clergy of the island, and gave 
 them an account of his commission. They attended upon him 
 at Waterford, where he published the Pope's grant of the king- 
 dom of Ireland to Henry II., king of England, with the condi- 
 tions to be performed on his part, and by all who succeeded hina 
 in that crown. The clergy took the matter into consideration 
 and after some debates an instrument was drawn up, which 
 contained their absolute submission to this donation of the 
 Pope, and to this they all unanimously subscribed. The bishop 
 returned with this confirmation of the Pope's grant by the 
 clergy oi Ireland, and the king of England sent the same pre- 
 late with the instrument to the Pope, who was well pleased with 
 -the submission of the Irish clergy, and sent a ring to King 
 Henry, as a confirmation of his former grant, by which he was 
 established in the possession of the Irish crown. 
 
 Bellarmine, an eminent cardinal, agrees with this account in 
 a part of his works, where are these words :* " Adrian IV., Pope 
 
 * Adrianus Papa quartus, natione Anglus, vir sapiens et pius, Hiberniara in- 
 snlam Henrico secundo regi Angiorum concessit ea conditione, ut in ea insula 
 virtutes plantaret et vitia eradica'-et, ut a singulis domibus quotannis denariura 
 Sancto Petro pendi curaret, et vit jura ecclesiastica illibata servaret.^. Extat 
 diploma T. XII. Cardanolis Baronius. 
 
 Although to Diarmuid Mac Morrough is to be attributed the introduction of 
 the English, yet it is apparent, that the ambitious Henry jmerely waited aa op- 
 portmiity to carry the designs he had formed upon the Irish crown into execu- 
 tion. His application to the court of Rome evinces the determination of a mo- 
 narch, who, to further his ambitious views, made the pretext of propagating 
 true religion, in a coimtry already Christian, and so remarkable for the piety and 
 sanctity of the natives, as to be styled the Island of Saints, the means of obtam- 
 ing a colourable sanction for the aggression he meditated upon a weak and \m~ 
 oti'ending nation. This sanction, the Bull of Pope Adrian IV., not being given 
 complete by our author, for the gratification of the curious readei-, is here an_ 
 nexed. 
 
 " Adrian the bishop, the servant of the servants of God, to his most dear son 
 in Christ, the noble king of England, -sendeth greeting and apostoHc benediction. 
 Your magnificence hath been very careful and studious how you might enlarge 
 the church of God here on earth, and inciedse the uiaiib ; of saints and elect in 
 
530 in.l GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 of Rome, by birth an Englishman^ a wise and pious man, hafch 
 granted the island of Ireland to Henry II., king of England, 
 upon condition that he propagates virtue in that island and 
 extirpates vice ; that he takes care that one penny be paid, 
 yearly to St. Peter by every house, and that he preserves the 
 rights of the church inviolable; the diploma is extant in the 
 12th volume of Cardinal Baronius." 
 
 Stanihurst, in his chronicle, asserts the same thing, where 
 he gives the account that Henry II., king of England, procured. 
 a bull from Adrian, the Pope of Eome, which enjoined the 
 clergy of Ireland, and likewise the nobility of the kingdom, to 
 pay obedience to Henry II. upon the conditions and under the 
 restrictions therein contained. The same author likewise re- 
 lates, that Alexander, the third Pope of that name, sent a car- 
 dinal (whose name was Vivianus) into Ireland, to inform the 
 subjects of that kingdom of the grant that he and the precedent 
 Pope made of that kingdom to Henry II., king of England; 
 by the tenor of which that crown was confirmed to Henry and 
 bis successors, upon condition of paying to himself and his 
 successors in Saint Peter's chair, a yearly tribute of a penny 
 from every inhabited house throughout the island. 
 
 It appears therefore, that the reason why Diarmuid, king of 
 Leinster, applied to the king of England rather than any other 
 ]irince, was, because the king of England laid claim to the 
 kingdom of Ireland, by virtue of the donation from the two 
 Popes above-mentioned ; and therefore that king had power, 
 
 heaven, in that as a good Catholic king, you have and do by all means laboai 
 and travel to enlarge and increase God's church, by teaching the ignorant peo- 
 \,lti the true and Christian religion, and in abolishing and rooting up the weeds 
 of sin and -wickedness. And wherein you have, and do crave, for your better 
 furtherance, the help of the apostolic see (wherein more speedily and discreetly 
 you proceed) the better success, we hope, God will send ; for all they, which of 
 a fervent zeal and love in religion, do begin and enterprise any such thing, shall 
 no doubt in the end have a good and prosperous success. And as for Ireland, 
 and all other islands where Christ is knoAvn and the Christian religion received, 
 it is out of all doubt, and your excellency well khoweth, they do all appertain 
 and belong to the right of St. Peter, and of the church of Kome ; and we are 
 £0 much the more ready, desirous and willing, to sow the acceptable seed of 
 God's word, because we know the same in the latter day will be most severely 
 required at your hands. You have (our well beloved son in Christ) advertised 
 and signified unto us, that you Avill enter into the land and realm of Ireland, to 
 the end to bring them to obedience unto law, and under your subjection, and to 
 root out from among them their foul sins and wickedness ; as also to yield and 
 pay yearly out of every house, a yearly pension of one penny, to St. Peter, 
 and besides also will defend and keep the rigiits of those chm-ches whole and 
 iuviolate. We tlierefore, well alloAing and favouiinij' this your godly disposi-^ 
 
OP IRBLA^TD. /537 
 
 b}^ hissnpen'or authority, to arljust the pretenceg of the princes 
 in Ireland, and to engage in their disputes, and consequently to 
 interpose in the quarrel oi the king of Leinster, and settle him 
 in the possession of that province. 
 
 It must be surprising to every one, who makes himself ac- 
 quainted with Irish history, to find such an expression in tho 
 bull of Pope Adrian, as that the king of England was to enjoy 
 the crown of Ireland, upon condition that he would revive the 
 Christian faith, and restore it to its former lustre ; as it Christi- 
 anity had been expelled, and the people had returned to a state 
 of paganism and idolatry. Whoever gave this account to the 
 Pope was as great an enemy to truth, as he was to the glory of 
 the Irish nation ; since it is evident beyond contradiction, that 
 the religion that was propagated in the island by St. Patrick 
 was never totally suppressed, though by frequent confusions in 
 the state it might sometimes be a little obscured. And this is 
 confirmed, not only by writers among the Irish, but by many 
 nuthors of other nations ; for notwithstanding, as the venerable 
 Eede relates in his history of England, there was a difference 
 between the Irish and the English clergy, and some of the for- 
 mer were infected with the heresy of Pelagius, yet the principal 
 and the more learned part of the clergy of Ireland were free 
 from the contagion of those pestilential doctrmes ; and not only 
 kept the Christian faith alive, but by their preaching and ex- 
 ample occasioned it to flourish through the greatest part of 
 tlte island, especially from the reign of the illustrious Bryea 
 Boiroimhe till Henry II. landed upon the coasts. 
 
 tion arid commendable affection, do accept, ratify, and assent unto this your 
 petition, and do grant that yon (for the dilating of God's church, the punish- 
 ment of sin, the reforming of manners, the planting of virtue, and the increas- 
 ing of Christian religion) do enter to possess that land, and there to exec\ite, 
 according to youi wisdom, whatsoever shall be for the honour of God and the 
 saiety of the realm. And further also we do strictly charge and require, that 
 all the people of that land do with all humbleness dutifulness, and honour, 
 receive and accept you as their liege lord and sovereign, reserving and excepting 
 tiie right of Holy Church to be inviolably preserved, as also the yearly pension 
 of Peter pence out of every house, which we requir3 to be truly answered to St. 
 Peter and to the Church of Eome. If therefore you do mind to bring your 
 godly purpose to etfcct, endeavour to travail to reform the people to some better 
 Older and trade of hfe, and that also by yourself and by such others as you 
 shall think meet, true and honest in their life, manners, and conversation, to 
 the end the church of God may be beautified, the true Christian religion sowed 
 and planted, and all other things done, that by any means shall or may be to 
 God's honour and salvation of men's souls, whereby you may in the end receive 
 of God's hands the reward of everlasting life, and also in the meantime, and ia 
 this life, cany a glorious fame and an honourable report among all nations.'* 
 
038 THE GENERAL HISTOR? 
 
 And that the state of religion was not so languishing as tho 
 bull of the Pope would represent, among other testimonies that 
 might be produced, it will be sufficient to insist upon the num- 
 ber among the principal nobility and gentry of the kingdom, 
 that, in the latter part of their life, entered into religious 
 houses, as retirements wherein to spend their remaining days in 
 piety and exercises of devotion. Among the illustrious person- 
 ages, who secluded themselves from the pleasures of the world 
 for the sake of devotion, was the pious Flathbheartaoh an 
 Torsdan O'Neill, who was the first professed penitent in Ireland, 
 and afterwards undertook, according to the custom of those 
 times, a pilgrimage to Rome, in the year of our Lord 1073. 
 Donough, the son of Bryen Boiroimhe, as appears by this his- 
 tory, finished a pilgrimage to the same place ; and devoted him- 
 self to a holy life in the abbey of St. Stephen, where he ended 
 his days. Teige Mac Lorcan, king of Cinseallach, spent tho 
 latter part of his life in Glean da Loch, in a most penitent and 
 religious manner. Cathal, the son of Roger O'Connor, king of 
 the east part of the province of Conacht, ended his life with 
 gr6at devotion in Ardmach ; and Mortough O'Bryen, king of 
 Leath Modha and of the greatest part of Ireland, retired to the 
 same place for his five last years, and died a severe penitent. 
 
 Many more instances might be produced of the principal 
 nobility of the kingdom, who ended their days in religious sor- 
 row and the strictest piety, from the reign of the great Bryen 
 Boiroimhe to the arrival of the English upon the coasts ; from 
 whence it is evident, that whoever gave intelligence to Popo 
 Adrian, that the Christian faith was suppressed and abolished 
 throughout the kingdom of Ireland, was as great an enemy to 
 truth and integrity, as he professed himself to be to the piety 
 and character of the Irish nation. 
 
 A second evidence, to prove that the doctrmes of Christianity 
 were received and established in the island long betore the 
 coming of the English, may be deduced, by taking a survey of 
 the many churches, monasteries, and abbeys erected through- 
 out the island by the charity of pious persons, for the benefit 
 of devotion and the service of divine worship, before the Eng- 
 lish drew breath in the country. Maolseachluin, king ot Meath, 
 and monarch of ^the island, built St. Mary's abbey, in the 
 city of Dublin, in the year of our redemption 1139. Donough 
 O'Carrol, king of Oirgiallach, erected the abbey of Mellifont, in 
 the county ot Louth ; this pious work was begun at the solici- 
 tation of St. Malachias, and completed in the year 1142* St» 
 
OF IRELAND. i)39 
 
 Malachias, the bishop of Each Dun, built the abbey of Jobhair 
 Cintmgha, in the year 1144. Diarmiud Mao Morrough, king 
 of Leinster, laid the foundation of the abbey of Bealtinglass, 
 in the year of our Lord 1151. The abbey of Beictif, otherwise 
 called de Beatudine, in the coutity of Meath ; the abbey 
 O'Dorna, in the county of Kerry j and the abbey of Boyle, were 
 erected in the year of our redemption 1161. Daniel O'Bryen, 
 king of Limerick, built the abbey of the Holy Cross, in the 
 oounty of Tipperary, in the year of Christ 1169. The abbey of 
 Fearmoy, in the county of Cork, was finished in the year 1170. 
 Many more instances might be produced of churches, abbeys, 
 monasteries, and other religious foundations, erected in those 
 pious times, before the Euglish came upon the Irish coasts;, 
 and consequently it follows, that those foreigners did not plant 
 the Catholic faith in the island, but found it as it was believed 
 and established for many preceding ages. 
 
 A third testimony, in confirmation that Christianity was not 
 extinguished in the island before the arrival of the English, 
 may be drawn from the ancient annals of the kingdom, which 
 give an account of many synods and ecclesiastical conventions, 
 consisting of the clergy and nobility, that were held with a 
 design to regulate the discipline of the church, and likewise 
 matters of secular concern ; and it is certain that the afiairs of 
 religion were settled by those assemblies, and canons and in- 
 junctions established, from the reign of D enough, the son of 
 Bryen BoiroieibO; till the English obtained possessioj^ in the 
 island. 
 
 The first convocation of note in Ireland, was assembled at 
 Fiadh Mac Naonguasa, in the first year of the reign of Mor- 
 tough O'Bryen, and in the year of Christ 1110. In this synod 
 the old laws and canons, both ecclesiastical and civil, were re- 
 vised and corrected ; and whatever errors or heretical doctrines 
 had, through the indolence of the church discipline, crept into 
 the church, were censured and condemned, and the fomenters 
 of schism and division brought to punishment. 
 
 Another ecclesiastical convention was summonod in the fifth 
 year of the reign of Mortough above-mentioned, and the whole 
 body of the clergy and nobility assembled at Rath Breasail, in 
 the year of our redemption 1115. In this synod the dioceses 
 were laid out, their several boundaries fixed, and bishops or- 
 dained throughout the kingdom. 
 
 A third convocation of the clergy and nobility of Ireland 
 was held at Ceanauus, in the country of Meath, m^ which 
 
540 THE GENERAL HISTORY 
 
 Cbristianus O'Conaire, bishop of Lismore, presided, and wag 
 commissioned with a legatine power from the Pope. In this 
 sjnod also sat a Roman cardinal, called Johannes Papirou, 
 lie was sent from the holy father, to present foui* copes to the 
 fuuu archbishops in Ireland, to ordain ecclesiastical canons, and 
 to regulate the discipline of the church. In this convention, 
 among other excellent injunctions, the wicked practice of simony 
 was suppressed, usury was censured and forbidden, tithes were 
 ordered to be paid by divine right, rapes, incontinence, profane- 
 ness, and immorality, were interdicted and restrained. It would 
 be a repetition to insist upon the particular matters debated 
 and confirmed in this synod, since they have been related before 
 in their proper place. These are arguments ot force suffioienc 
 to overthrow the aspersions of those writers, who confidently 
 assert that Christianity was extinguished in the island when 
 the English first made an attempt and landed upon the coasts. 
 The English historians have likewise abused the ancient Irish 
 in another instance, by ciiarging them with barbarities an I 
 unheard-of cruelties, and with a peculiar savageness in their 
 nature, that inclined them to the most uncivilised and brutish 
 practices; but to qualify the severity of this censure, it will 
 appear unquestionably true, that five o.( the superior •officers, 
 wno came over with the English, were guilty of more vile and 
 inhuman actions than had been committed in the island from 
 the reign of Eryen Boiroimhe till those foreigners arrived. 
 Notbingl^ivil or sacred escaped the fury of these commanders ; 
 ' churches and religious houses were plundered and destroyed 
 without mercy and distinction ; murders, rapes, tyranny, and 
 the most unconscionable oppressions, were the recreation of 
 these foreigners, who, without remorse or regret, confounded 
 every thing human and divine, and made the island a most de- 
 plorable scene of bloodshed and misery. The Earl of Strang- 
 well, Kcbert Fitz Stephen, Hugo de Lacy, John de Courcy, and 
 V/illiam Aldelmel, were severe instruments in the hands of 
 Providence to chastise the divided natives ; as will appear from 
 some instances of iheir barbarity, but more particularly froiH . 
 the chronicle of Stanihurst and other writers. But divine ven- 
 geance,' notwithstanding they raged with impunity, fixed a 
 mark of infamy upon the families of these plunderers, lor 
 scarce a man of them left a son behind him to enjoy the effects 
 of their father's oppressions ; as Stanihurst expressly testifies 
 of the Earl of Strang well, who, after he had committed mex- 
 pres£il:^le outrages upon the natives, ravaged and dcsttoyed 
 
OF IKELAND. 541 
 
 churches and monasteries, and expelled the clergy, regular and 
 secular, without distmctiou, died miserably at Dublin,, in tho 
 year of Christ 1177, after a tyi^anny of seven years from his 
 first landing in the country. It wa,s observed before, that this 
 English nobleman was married to Aoiffe^ the daughter of the 
 king of Leinster ; by this princess he left iss.^e but one daugh- 
 ter, whose name was Isabella ; this lady was contracted to Wil- 
 liam Marshal, an Englishman, by whom she had five sons and 
 five daughters ; all the sons died childless ; the daughters wero 
 married to English noblemen, among whom was divided th^.fe;, 
 country of Leinster, in the year 1230, which brought great and 
 lasting calamities upon that province. Thus were misfortunes 
 entailed upon the posterity of the Earl of Strangwell ; from 
 whom, by his grand- daughters, were derived the Mortimers, the 
 Bruces, and other families of good quality. 
 
 Hugo de Lacy, when he had fixed himseU" in the government 
 of Meath, by a grant from King Henry 11. most injuriously 
 treated Clan Colman, and the nobility and gentry of that coun- 
 try : he put as many to the sword as were persons of any dis- 
 tinction, and reduced the inhabitants to the utmost distress. 
 These barbarities procured him the hatred of the people, inso- . 
 much that a young gentleman of Meath resolved to destroy tho 
 tjTant ; and the better to execute his purpose, he came to a fort 
 which Hugo was raising at Diarmuigh, and disguising himself 
 in the habit of a common labourer, he found an opportunity to 
 accomplish his design. Stanihurst bestows an infamous charac- 
 ter upon this English nobleman, and particularly charges him 
 with ungovernable lust, which he brutishly gratified at all ad- 
 ventures. But as the same historian observes, his death was 
 severely prpsecuted and revenged by a son of his own name, 
 upon the people. of Meath ; for the young Hugo de Lacy, sup- 
 ported by the assistance of John de Courcy, fell upon the in- 
 habitants, plundered the country, and committed the most cruel 
 outrages, that fire and sword in the hands of an ei;iraged enemy 
 could attempt and execute. 
 
 i The chronicle above cited gives an account that William Adel- 
 mel was ot a malicious and cruel disposition, was miserably co- 
 vetous, and the most fickle, false-hearted, and inconstant of 
 men. Among other acts of oppression, he violently seized upon 
 a manor of land, that was possessed by the children of Maurice 
 Fitz Gerald, which was their lawful right and inheritance, aiid 
 to whom this William bore an irreconcileable hatred. 
 
 The old annals of Ireland expressly mention, that when Wil- 
 
 . 2 G 
 
542 The aE^f^:RAL n'STonr 
 
 liam Adelmel held the command of Limerick by commission 
 from the king of England, there arose a violent contest between 
 two princes of the line of the O'Connors, who were brothers, 
 concerning the government of the province of Conacht. The 
 names of these rivals were Cathall Carrach and Cathall Crobh- 
 dearg ; and the historian relates, that William Adelmel espoused 
 the cause of Cathall Cairrach, and John de Courcy professed him- 
 self on the other side, and declared in favour of Cathall Crobh- 
 dearg. Forces were raised, and many encounters happened, and 
 the province was miserably plundered by both parties : in this 
 dispute the principal nobility of Conacht were destroyed, but at 
 ^ast the controversy was ended by a decisive battle, that was 
 fought courageously by the Irish and English on both sides, 
 and victory was for some time in suspense-, but the forces of 
 Cathall Carrach in the end received a general defeat, and ha 
 himself was slain. After this battle William Aidelmel built a 
 strong castle for his security at Mileach O'Madden, which he for^ 
 tified with a good guard, and then returned to Limerick. 
 
 Cathall Crobhdearg laid close siege to this garrison, and con- 
 tinued his attack with vigour, that the party within were appre- 
 hensive the castle would be taken, and every man of them put 
 to the sword. To avoid this military execution they stole away 
 by night and fled for protection to William Aidelmel at Lime- 
 rick. Cathall, in the morning finding the fort without defence 
 set it on fire, and razed it to the ground. Aidelmel, after this 
 misfortune, raised fresh troops, and when he had completed his 
 numbers, he led them into the province of Conacht, where he 
 raged in a most hostile manner, and plundering the country, he 
 found booty of immense value. But cruelty was the predomi- 
 nant passion which this nobleman resolved to gratify. ; he there- 
 fore put all that he found to the sword, without distinction ol 
 clergy or laity, and demolished all the consecrated places, and 
 destroyed most of the religious houses throughout the province. 
 For these impious and inhuman practices he was prosecuted by 
 the discipline of the church, and solemnly excommunicated by 
 the clergy of Conacht. This transaction stands upon record ia 
 a book of the annals of Ireland, written about 300 years ago ; 
 this chronicle is of undisputed authority, and is commonly 
 known by the name of the Speckled book of Mac Eogain, and 
 in the Irish language called Leabhar Breac. The same author 
 observes likewise, that the vengeance of heaven pursued this 
 oppressor, William Aidelmel, in a wonderful manner, and fixed 
 Bucu distortions and strange diseases upon his body, that were 
 
OF IT?EL\-XT>. 543" 
 
 utterly incurable, so that he died in a most deplorable manner, 
 without any fc-^mptoms of remorse or repentance, and was de- 
 prived of the decent rites of Christian bnrial j for his body was 
 carried to a village, whose inhabitants he had murdered, and 
 thrown into a pit in unhallowed ground, from whence it was 
 never removed. 
 
 Near the same time there arose a violent difference between 
 John de Courcy and Hugo de Lacy the younger, which was 
 carried on with great passion and animosity on both sides. In 
 this contest most of the principal nobility and gentry of Ulster, 
 find the country of Meath, lost their lives, and the people were 
 dreadfully plundered ; but in the end John de Courcy was 
 taken prisoner by Hugo, who charged him with treasonable 
 jnactices against the crown of England, and therefore he deli- 
 vered him into the hands of the English, who undertook to 
 support their allegations and prove the accusation against him. 
 I)e Courcy was accordingly sent into England to answer the 
 treason he was charged with, and as soon as he arrived the king 
 commanded him to be laid in irons ; but he was soon delivered 
 from his imprisonment, and not only fully pardoned, but re- 
 ceived a licence if he pleased to return to try his fortune again 
 in Ireland. For this purpose he set to sea, but was driven 
 back to England fourteen times by storms and bad weather ; 
 but nothing discouraged, as Stanihurst relates in his chronicle, 
 he again weighed anchor, but was encountered by a violent 
 tempest and driven upon the coasts of France, where he landed, 
 and in that country be ended his life. 
 
 The above cited annalist gives an account, that an English 
 gentleman of the family of the Courcy's had fixed himself in 
 Ireland, and was treacherously slain by Hugo de Lacy and his 
 brother Walter, who conspired his death. To revenge this 
 itclion, the relations of the deceased took up arms, and many 
 misfortunes arose from this difference, and such heart-burnings 
 l.'etween the two families, that they could never be reconciled. 
 ^J'heir mutual animosities were at length carried to that height, 
 Ihat they affected the peace of the whole kingdom, insomuch 
 that King John of England was obliged to transport a nume- 
 rous army, which being joined with several bodies of the Irish, 
 entered the country of Meath, in order to suppress the quarrel, 
 and punish the family of Hugo de Lacy, who had been the 
 aggressor. Hugo had quick intelligence of the march of the 
 king's forces, and fled with his followers to Carrick Feargus. 
 He was pursued close, and being in immediate dangers, the two 
 
544 THE genp^raL nisTonv 
 
 brothel's went on shipboard and sailed to France. In that 
 country it was necessarj they should conceal their quality, and 
 for that purpose they disguised themselves in a mean dress, and 
 hired themselves as labourers to work in the garden of an abbot, 
 in the country of Normandy. In this obscurity they remained 
 for fcome time, but weary of their hard service, and desirous to 
 return to their own country, they at length found an opportu- 
 nity to discover themselves to their master j when they had 
 made known to him the circumstances of their misfortunes , they 
 entreated him that he ^ould intercede for them to the king of 
 liingland, and endeavour to obtain their pardon. The abbot 
 immediately undertook the good office, and not only prevailed 
 that they should be forgiven, but that they should be restored 
 to their estates. The brothers under this security returned 
 to Ireland, and John, king of England, died soon after, in the 
 year of Christ 1216. 
 
 In the reign of Henry, king of England, very violent wars 
 were carried on between Hugo de Lacy and William Marshall, 
 insomuch that by the hostilities on both sides the country of 
 Meath was almost destroyed, and many of the Irish^ nobility, 
 who engaged in this dispute, lost their lives. The same Wil- 
 liam Marshall fought Meills Fitz Henry in many battles with 
 various success, and by these intestine broils, the two provinces 
 of Munster and Leinster were plundered, and the inhabitants 
 reduced to the utmost misery. 
 
 Hanmer observes, in his chronicle, that 'William Marshall 
 was publicly excommunicated by the bishop of Fearns, because 
 he had seized upon a manor of land that was his, and refused 
 to restore it. Under this sentence that cruel Englishman died 
 in his own country, and the divine vengeance severely chastised 
 him for his sacrilege and other impieties, for out of five sons, 
 not one. survived to enjoy the cursed acquisitions of the father, 
 who died childless, with a brand upon his memory that will 
 never be worn out. 
 
 The abovesaid Meills was of a cruel and merciless disposition, 
 and committed great outrages upon the natives. Among other 
 hostilities, he led his troops to Cluain Mac Nois, and laying 
 close siege to it for twelve days, he took it by storm, and put 
 all he met with to the sword. The houses were plundered, and 
 the provisions and cattle which they found were carried oit : 
 nothing, however sacred, escaped the fury of the soldiers; 
 churches and religious houses were pillaged, and all their oina- 
 jUiCuts and con^ecraied plate they esleumed as lawful booiy. 
 
OF IRELAND. 545 
 
 These barbarous and wicked hostilities were practised by the 
 English wherever they came, and the whole island was almost 
 destroyed by their continual devastations. Lismore and the 
 liberties of it were plundered, as the chronicles of Stanihurst 
 expressly testify, by Hermon Morty and Redmond de la Grose; 
 though it must be confessed that Hermon, before he died, was 
 struck with remorse for all the cruelties he had acted, and as 
 atonement he assumed the habit of a monk, and built the 
 abbey of Dun Broith, in the country of Wexford, in the year 
 of Christ 1279. This nobleman had been very active in re- 
 ducing the Irish, and was concerned in many vv^icked and un- 
 warrantable practices ; but what made the deepest impression 
 upon bis mind was, his being concerned with William Aldelmel 
 in plundering and ravaging the church of Inis Catha, and 
 alienating the revenues belonging to it to their own use. 
 
 The Irish were at length enraged by these insupportable op- 
 pressions, for when they observed that the English, instead of 
 propagating the religion of Christ, and reforming the rugged 
 manners of the people, had nothing in view but plunder and 
 booty, and that churches and monasteries were not exempt 
 from their covetous and sacrilegious attempts, they formed a 
 design to free themselves from such merciless auxiliaries, and 
 to drive them out of the island. For this purpose the principal 
 of the Irish nobiUty applied themselves to. O'Connor Maon- 
 muighe, king of Conacht, and offered to raise him to the sove- 
 reignty of the island, if he would but assist to expel these 
 foreigners, and restore liberty to his country. The first who 
 made these proposals to the king of Conacht was Daniel 
 OBryen, king of Limerick, who was followed in the same 
 generous design by Roger, son of Dunsleibhe, king of Ulster, 
 Daniel Mac Carty, king of Desmond, Maolseachluin Beag, king 
 of Meath, and by O'Rourke, king of O'Broin and O'Conmaine. 
 But before any resolutions were formed upon this scheme, 
 O'Connor, king of Conacht, was unfortunately killed by an 
 accident, at Dun Leoga, in Jobh Maine, where he kept his 
 court. 
 
 It is evident, from what has been hitherto observed, that the 
 tvranny, the oppression, and many cruelties perpetrated by the 
 English upon the native Irish, was the cause of that disaffection 
 which appeared in general throughout the island. The inhabi- 
 tants were made a sacrifice of upon all occasions, and when the 
 English quarirellod among themselves, vrhatever party succeeded, 
 the natives were siure to be the buffjreis. The pride, ambition, 
 
^46 THE GltXEHAL HISTORY 
 
 and covetonsuess of those foreignei's was perfectly insupporfc- 
 able, they offered outrageous violence to the law of nations and 
 the received usages of mankind ; and therefore it is no wonder 
 that the Irish made frequent attempts to depose their lordly 
 masters, and shake off a yoke that they were unable to bear. 
 The English government in Ireland, had it been administered 
 with discretion and good policy, would have been well received 
 by the inhabitaifts, who naturally are a submissive and obedient 
 people, and esteem the authority of the laws as sacred, when 
 they are executed with moderation and prudence. And this 
 character is consistent with what John Davies observes, in the 
 last leaf of his Irish history : '^ There is no nation of people 
 under the sun that doth love equal and indifferent justice better 
 than the Irish, in case it would proceed against themselves in 
 justice, so as they may have the proportion and benefit of the 
 law, when upon any just occasion they require it." It was the 
 opinion, we perceive, of this author, that the seeds of disobe- 
 dience were not naturally planted in the people of Ireland ; but 
 the oppressions they suffered, by the tyranny of the English com- 
 manders, made them desperate, and urged them on to attempts 
 which they would never have thought of, had they been well 
 used, and treated with that tenderness and humanity which the 
 circumstances of their case so justly deserved. 
 
 Notwithstanding what has been said of the cruelties and sa- 
 crilegious acts of some of the English, it must be observed, that 
 many of those foreigners, who came into Ireland, were persons 
 of different qualities from those five superior ofiicors above men- 
 tioned. Many of them were men of virtue and strict piety, 
 who promoted the service of God and the cause of religion by 
 erecting churches and monasteries, and bestowing large reve- 
 nues upon them for their support : and God rewarded their charity 
 and acts of mercy with particular marks of his favour, and 
 not only blessed them in their own persons, but in a noble and 
 v;orthy posterity. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Africans, aitival of the, page 77 — subjugation of Ireland bv the, ib. 
 
 Air, strarige appearance in the, 410. 
 
 Almhuinne, remarkable battle of, 406. 
 
 Alphabet, invention of the, 102. 
 
 Annalists and Historians, encouragement of, 164. 
 
 Aodh Uairiodhnach, afflicting disease of, 393. 
 
 Aongus, king of Munster, accident attending the baptism of, 337- -ba;itis.n of, 
 
 336 — issue of, 337 — pious determination of, ib. v 
 
 Aongus Tuirmheach, crime of, 193. ] 
 
 Aoii Collum Cill, destruction of the monastery of, 417. ' 
 
 Aoii, gift of, to St. Collum Cill, 368. 
 
 Archbishops and clergy of Cashel, violent banishment of the, 335. "x,,^^ 
 
 Archbishops of Ix-eland, consecration of, 336. ^ 
 
 Arms and devices, Irish annals particular in the account of, 107. 
 Armuigh, revenue settled upon the convent of, 383. 
 Athseanuigh, remarkable battle of, 409. 
 Augustine, the monk, mission of, to Britain, 392 
 Authorities in proof of Ireland being called Scotia, 308, &c 
 Authors, principal, in the times of Paganism, 341. 
 
 Lachach, exemplary punishment of, 350. 
 
 Beacan, St., efiicacy of the prayers of, 365. 
 
 Bealchu Breifne, Conall Cearnach kills, and his three sons, 211 — insulting ob- 
 servations of, 210 — treacherous attempt of, upon Conall Cearnach, 211. 
 
 Beannchuir, burning of the convent of, 403 — derivation of the name of, ib. 
 
 Beine Briot, prince of Wales, invasion of Ireland by, 252 — success of, 253. 
 
 Beqvxest of Turlough O'Connor, 516. 
 
 Beultinne, La, derivation of the name, 234. 
 
 Bishops, necessity of a gi'eat number of, 334 — number of, consecrated by St. 
 Patrick, 333. 
 
 Blanaid, Congculionn carries away, 224 — d^ath of, 225 — stratagem of, 223. 
 
 Boiroimhe, the tribute of, amount of, 238 — cause of, 237 — cessation of, 239-- 
 imposition of, on Leinster, 238. 
 
 Bounty of Cormac IMac Cuillenan, 442. 
 
 Breannuin Biorra, extraordinary age of, 368. 
 
 Breasal, outrage o.*", 364 — punishment of, ib. 
 "cogan, son of Bratha, birth of, 115 — increase of the posterity cf, 119- sons ^ 
 of, 115 — sons of, who came into Ireland, 114. 
 
518 IN'DEX. 
 
 Bridges, erection of, by Tiirlougli, 515. 
 
 Bridgetj St., genealogy of, 389. * 
 
 Brigantes, settlement of the, in England, 152, 
 
 Britannia, derivation of the name of, 80. 
 
 Britons, antidote against the poisoned -weapons of the, 150 — descent of the, 
 129 — miserable situation of the, 313 — poisoned weapons used by the, 150. 
 
 Brutus, England, Scotland, and Wales, divided between the sons of, 308. 
 
 Bryen Boiroimhe, agreement between, and Maolseachluin, 480 — character o^ 
 481 — commencement of the reign of, 470 — courage and industry of, 475 — • 
 Danes and Lagonians defeated by, 471 — death of, 500 — determination" of, to 
 seize the Irish monarchy, 477 — glorious acts of, 484, &c. — hostages received 
 by, 481. 483 — king of Oneachach defeated by, 470— king of the Deisies de- 
 feated and slain by, 470— sovereignty of Ireland assumed by, 481. 
 
 Buchanan, refutation of the suppositions of 126 &c. 
 
 Buiciodh Brughach, hospitality of. 264. 
 
 Bull of Pope Adrian IV., 635. 
 
 Buiial places, remarkable, 295. 
 
 Caicer, prediction of the dmid, 114. 
 
 Caimin, St., effects of the prayers of, 357. 
 
 Cairbre Muse, donation of Oilioll OUum to, 145. 
 
 Calamities caused by the Danes foretold, 416. 423. 
 
 Cambrensis, Giraldus, false representations of, 68 — confutation of the, iOl. 
 
 Cashel, cause of the name of, 68 — why built, ib. 
 
 t'athaoir More, descendants of, 241. 
 
 C'eallachan, king of Munster, braverj' of, 458 — capti\aty of, ib. — design of SItric 
 made known to, ib imprudence of, 456 — release of, 462. 
 
 Ceallach Mac CaroU, ' cowardice of, 449. 
 
 Ceananus, bishops present at the national synod of, 517. 
 
 C'eann Bearruidhe, ambition of, 209 — proverb concerning, ib. 
 
 C'eat, son of Magach, death of, 210. 
 
 CeilUochair, treachery of, 448. 
 
 Champions, customs of, 205. 
 
 Christianity, introduction of, 331. 
 
 Christian religion, state of the, in Ireland, at the coming of the English, 537, &c. 
 
 Chronicles, public, remarkable care of, 160. 240 — revision of, by St. Patrick, 
 339. 
 
 Churches, number of, .founded by St. Patrick, 333. 
 
 Ciaran, birth of, 351 — death of, 353, 
 
 Clerg}-, zeal of the, 317. 
 
 Clontarf, remarkable battle of, 494. 504. 
 
 Cobhthach Caolmbreag, cruelties of, 185 — death of, 187. 
 
 Collas, conspiracy of the, 299 — expulsion of the, 300 — pardon of the, 301— 
 success of the, in Ulster, 302. 
 
 Colhim CiU, St., accomplishment of a prophecy of, 369 — age of, 386 — attendants 
 ol', at the parliament of Dromceat, 373. 3-77 — birth of, 351 — cause of the 
 ]ienance of, S75 — Christianity introduced into Scotland by, 374 — Criomhthan, 
 the baptismal name of, 384 — effects of the prayers of, 356. 376, 377, 378 
 — evil treatment of, 377, 378 — extraordinary voice of, 387 — ^genealogy of, 
 oS 5— jurisdiction of, 466— mortifications of, 386 — penance of, 374 — removal 
 01; to Scotland, 369 — removal of the relics of, to Ireland, 437 — requests a^ 
 3r9. 381 — residences of, 387. 
 
 Colours, invention of blue and green, 155. 
 
 X^on&di" derivation of the name of, 53 — divisions of, ib. 
 
INDEX. Si^ 
 
 Conall, surprising act of, 463. 
 
 (Jonditions imposed on Diarmuid Mac Morrougli, 625. 
 
 Conduct, generous, of Flann Sionna, 450. 
 
 Congculionn, injunctions of, 217— son of, killed by the father, 219. 
 
 Conall Cearnach, remarkable actions of, 210. 
 
 Connor, long of Ulster, death of, 209 — extraordinary actions of, ib. — ^perfidy oS, 
 202. 
 
 Conrigh Macdairi, palaces of the province of, 57. 
 
 Conrigh, son of Baire, agreement of J with CongculioriB, 22 1 — ^breach of, by 
 Congculionn, 222 — success of, ib. 
 
 Conuing Beg Aglach, heroic disposition of, 175. 
 
 Convention of Fiodh Mac Naongusa, 510. 
 
 Convention of Rath Breosail, 510, &c boundaries of dioceses fixed in the, 
 
 il). &c. 
 
 Convocation of Visneach, customs at the, 234. 
 
 Conspiracy, treasonable, of Cairbre Cinncait, 229. 
 
 CormacMac Cuilleuan, character of, 441 — death of, 450 — reign of, 439, &c. 
 
 Cormac Ulfada, agreement of, v/ith Thady, 257 — amoxir of, 287 — base treat- 
 ment of Thady by, 2G0 — caixse of, supported by Thady, 257 — conversion of, 
 293— disgrace and banishment of, 257 — Lughaidh Laga engaged to assist, 
 258— marriage of, 267 — Munster invaded by, 276— rebellion of Aongus 
 crushed by, 272 — wisdom of, 267. 
 
 Crime of Cairbre Muse, 273 — punishment of the, ib. 
 
 Criomhthan, murder of, 307 — successes of, 305. 
 
 Cruachan, duties of the Convocation of, 348. 
 
 Cruelties committed by the first English adventurers in Ireland, 540, &c. 
 
 Cuana, champion of Liathmuine, munificence of, 398. 
 
 Currachs, (boats covered with skins,) inveatioa of, 175. 
 
 Customs of the ancient heroes, 168. 
 
 Dailgais, bravery of the, 501 — character of the, 438 — generous conduct of the 
 4iO 
 
 Dailriada, descent of the, 249 — assistance afforded to the, of Scotland, byNiall, ■ 
 307 — parliament of Dromceat summoned to settle the tribute of the, 373. 
 
 Danes, different invasions of Ireland by the, il4, 415 — first invasion of the, 
 412 — general destruction of the, 431 — last attempt of the, 514 — ravages of 
 the, 414, 415, 416. 418, 419, 420, 4,21, 422. 468. 471. 482, 483— 
 repulse of the, 413 — successes of the, 453 — various defeats of the, 425. 453. 
 465. 467. 469, 470. 473. 
 
 Dathy, activity of, 326 — remarkable death of, ib. 
 
 Dearbhf horguill, queen of Breifne, elopement of, with Diarmuid Mac Llorrough, 
 519. . 
 
 Death, dismal, of Ragallach and his queen, 402 — prediction of the, 400. 
 
 Decision of Diarmuid respecting a copy of the New Testament, 376. 
 
 Deirdre, extraordinary wish of, 200 — imprisonment of, ib. — miserable death of, 
 204 — prediction «f the druid relative to, 199. 
 
 Deposition of Maolseachluin, king of Ireland, 476. , 
 
 Design of the Irish nobility to expel the English, 645. 
 
 Diarmuid Mac Morrougli, aided by the English, 522 — ambition of, 526. 530 — 
 application of, to the English, 520 — criminal conduct of, 519 — perfidy of, 525 
 — punishment of, 520— reason oi the application of, to Henry IL, 534 — suc- 
 cess of, 523, &c. 
 
 Disaffection of the Irish to the English, cruelties of the English the cause of th^ 
 545. 
 
toO ^ , IKDEX. 
 
 Dream, remarkable, of Eachtach, 2 Go. 
 
 liromceat, parliament of, 370 — motives of Aodh for suratnonmg the, 870. 372, 
 
 373 — particular account of tlie, 373. 
 Dubhchomar, cause of the battle of, 298. 
 Dubhn, capitulation of, to Diarmuid, 526 — Dalies drove out of, 474 — selge of, 
 
 ib — taken by the English, by assault, 530. 
 Dundalk, naval engagement in the bay of, 462 — astonishing braveiy of the Irish 
 
 in, ib — complete success of the Irish in the, 468. 
 Dun Domhuail, defeat of the Irish at, 528 landing of the English at, 527- 
 
 ICamhain, duties of the convocation of, 348. 
 
 Eamhuin Macha, palace of, built, 182. 
 
 Ecclesiastical convocations held in Ireland previous to the arrival of the English, 
 
 539. 
 Eana Cinsealach, cruelty of, 304, 
 Eamighs, banishment of the, 244— descent and settlements of the families of 
 
 the, 226. 
 Paster, celebration of the festival of, by Cormac Mac Cuillenan, 440. 
 Ecclesiastical power, reason of the distribution of, 334. 
 Eithne, conduct of, 265. 
 
 England, invasion of, by Rogerus, king of the Picts, 313 — by Nial, 320. 
 English, arrival of the, 522 — invitation of the, 520 — recall of the, by Henry IT., 
 
 531— success of the, 523. 
 Eochaidh, ambitio of, 321 — escape of, 323— extraordinary courage of, ib — 
 
 Nial of the nine hostages, murdered by, 323 — punishment of, 322— sovereignly 
 
 of Leinster assumed by, 324. 
 Eochaidh Feidhlioch, children of, 215 — melancholy disposition of, 197. 
 Eogan, king of Scotland, birth of, 323— friendship formed between, andRandubh, 
 
 king of Leinster, 325— invasion of Ireland by, 324 — relationsliip of, with the 
 
 king of Leinster made known to, ib. 
 Eoganacht, rude conduct of the inhabitants of, 440, 
 
 Eachtna Fathach, excellent accomphshments of, 196. 
 
 Failbhe Fionn, admiral of the Irish fleet, remarkable courage and conduct of, 462. 
 
 Families, extraction of the principallrish, 203. 250,251. 256. 262. 311. 326. 
 
 508, 509. 
 Famine, remarkable, 245 — advantage made of it by Modha Nuagatt, 245. 
 Fearaidhach Fionfachtnach, strict justice of, 227. 
 
 Feargus, son of Eoigh, courageous acts of, 213— untimely death of, 212. 
 Feidlilime, king of Munster, character of, 420. 
 Feniusa Farsa, particular account of, 99. 
 Fiachadh Muilleathan, barbarous murder of, 279 — pride of the mother of, 250 
 
 — ungenerous conduct of the tribe of, 501. 
 Fiachadhs, different choice of the, 390. 
 Fiana Eirionn, or Irish militia, cleanliness of the, 283 cookery of the, 282 — 
 
 discipline of the, 285— duties of the, 282 dwellings of th^ 283 — pay of the, 
 
 2 8 2_places called after the, 28l_qualifications of the, 285, 286, 287— size 
 
 of the, 282. 284_subsistence of the, 282— tradition concerning the, 280. 
 Fionngall, desperate courage of, in th,e naval engagement at Dundalk, 463. 
 Fionn Mac Cumhall, commander in chief of the Irish militia, fabulous account of, 
 
 284— Fiana Eirionn called after, 280 — genealogy of, 284. 
 Firbolgs, arrival of the, 81— division of Ireland by the leaders of the, 82, 83 — 
 
 expulsion of the, 85— famihes descended from the, 85 — slavery of the, in 
 
 Greece, 82, 83_three ^^-^ses of the, 82. 
 
INDEX. 551 
 
 riatlibliertach, captivity of, 452— goveniment of Munstef given to, ib.— re 
 leasment of, from imprisonment, ib. — resentment of, the cause of the war be- 
 tween the kings of Munster and Leinster, 442. 445. 
 
 Folly of the king and princes of Ireland, 417. 
 
 Fortifications of the Britons against the Picts, 314, 315. 
 
 France, invasion of, by Niall, 308. 821. 
 
 Freedom, spirit of, in the Irish, 424. 
 
 Gabhra Liffe, destruction of the army of Leinster in the battle of, 368. 
 
 Gadelas, the Scots descended from, 125. 
 
 Gadehans, expulsion of the, 113 — objections to the arrival of the, in Ireland re- 
 futed, 134 — original of the, 98 — resemblance of the customs, games, triumphs, 
 &c., of, to the Grecian, ib. — travels of the, wrote by Eithrial. 154. 
 
 Gaoidhal, the grammarian, Irish language called after, 121. 
 
 Garrisons, formation of, in Ireland, by Henry II., 534. 
 
 Gartigarran, the universal language called, in the Irish chronicles, 100. 
 
 Gauls, invasion of Ireland by the, 414 — defeat of the, ib. 
 
 Gentry, massacre of the English, by the Saxons, 318. 
 
 Gold, first discovery of, in Ireland, 155. 
 
 Government of Munster, alternate succession to the, established, 251 — resiguatloa 
 of the, by Conall Eachluath, 306. 
 
 Grant of the kmgdom of Ireland to Henry II., by the Pope, 535. 
 
 Graves, interment in, introduced by Eochaidh Aireamh, 225. • 
 
 Guaire, defeat of, 366 — flight of, 358 — goodness and charity of, 359, «§;c — in- 
 jurious conduct of, 356 — invasion of Munster by, 366 — punishment of, 357. 
 359 — splendid household of, 358 — trial of the benevolence of, 359. 
 
 Hanmer, falsity of the chronicle of, G8. 
 
 Heber and Heremon, fatal difference between, 146. 
 
 Heber Fionn, death of the sons of, 153. 
 
 Heber, original language remained with, 100. 
 
 Henry II., king of England, arrival of, in Ireland, 532 — disastrous state of the 
 
 affairs of, 533 — submission of the Irish kings to, 532. 
 Heremon, arrival ot, 138 — changes among the descendants of, 143, &c. 
 Hermits of Moigh Biile burned by the Danes, 418. 
 Hinds, tameness of, 194. 
 
 Historians, character of the English, Pref., xv. xvii. &c. - 
 History, remarks upon Irish, 319. 
 Hugh O'Neill, answer of, to Maolseachluin, 478. 
 
 Idolatry, introduction of, 156 — punishment of, ib. 
 
 Ingemach wife of Gabhran, deception of, 323. 
 
 Injunctions of Fiothall to his son, 289 — experiment made of, ib. 
 
 Insidious policy of the Danes, 433. 
 
 Intestine divisions of the Irish, 434— Ireland never exempt from, 473. 
 
 Ireland, archbishopiics and bishoprics of, 60 — different divisions of, 52, 53, 54. 
 
 74. 142,143,144. 156. 183. 197~first inhabitants of, 61— first inhabitants 
 
 of, after the flood, 69 to T4— first invasion of, 63 to 68— names of, 48 to 51 
 
 — situation of, 49, 50. 
 Ir. prince of the Gadelians, character of, 137. 
 Island of Saints, Ireland distinguished by the title of, 333. 
 Ith. arrival of, in Ireland, 120 — attack and death of, 123— cause of the voyago 
 
 of, 120 — decision of, 122 —enquiries of, ib praise of Ireland by, ib. 
 
 Jouh Morain, or wonderful collar, 228. 337. 
 
DJ'J INDEX. 
 
 ^^^-^•^■^'^ .^,^ 
 Kennedy Mac Lorijaft', generous deter mination of, 455— glorious conduct of, 458, 
 
 &c extraordinary prudence of, 456. 
 
 King of Ossery., ungenerous conduct of the, 502. 
 Kinfrs, number of, in Ireland, 328. 
 KingB of Ulster, agreement of the, 179. 
 
 Labhradh Loingseach, fable relata» to, 190. 
 
 Laogha|re, king of Ireland, ens^ements violated by, 345 — miraculous relation 
 
 concemingvthe son of, Bi^&c punishment of, 345. 
 
 Laoghairi Bilihaig, unfortunate death of, 214. 
 
 Laoghaire\L|rc, murdf^^'^f, 185. 
 
 Law, rem^'lj^ble, oJ^-SPighermas, 155. 
 
 Leath CuiAn, the p&rthern jpart of Ireland called, 245. 
 
 Leath Modha, t|j^ southeni)bart of Ireland failed, 245. 
 
 Leinster, (^visions of, 57 — ^derivation of th(|^iame of, ib. — royal seats of, ib. 
 
 Lex talio nil; Ireland governetVJDy, 241. ' 
 
 Lia fail, pf Fatal stone, or Stoi^ of dest^'l virtues of the, 60, 51. 87, 88-^ 
 
 removdj,. of, 88. 
 Life of St.'' f*atrick, numerous wri^s of tl 
 Lisraore, settlement of the monks oRjiath^ 
 Loch Feabhail, defeat of the Danes s^, 4i 
 
 Lughaidh Laga, remarkable actions o\ 24§| ^ 59— ungovernable fury of, 259. 
 Lughaidh Laigh, fable relative to, 178L_pr(Miecy of a druid concerning, 177. 
 Lughaidh, sirnaped Mac Con, assisted by B^ih'p Briot, prince of Wales, gets 
 
 possession of the monarchy, 254 — hbferality of| 257 — murder of, ib. 
 
 Magh Ailbhe, remarkable battle of, 443. ki l\ 
 
 Magh Muchruime, unfortunate issue of ithe hsii^lk &f, 253. 
 
 Magnus, king of Norway, defeat of, 514 — insolent demand of, ib invasion of 
 
 Ireland by, ib. 
 
 Magog, genealogy' of, 95. 
 
 Manners and customs, resemblance between the Irish and British, 130. 
 
 Maolmordha, the battle of Glontarf caused by the conduct of, 491. 
 
 Maolseachluin, king of Ireland, deposition of, 475 — personal bravery of, ib. — . 
 piety of, 506 — resumption of the crown by, 505 — treachery of, 497. 
 
 Martin, bishop of Turin, uncle of St. Patrick, 321. 
 
 Meath, boundaries of, 55 — divisions of, 54, 55. 234 — derivation of the name 
 of, 54. 
 
 Mechanics, regulations for, 240. 
 
 Meidhbh, queen of Conacht, death of, 215 — fatal commotions in the reign of, 
 199. 
 
 Meisgeadhra, ball of brains of, Conall Ceamach's demand of the, 205 — predic- 
 tion concerning the, 206. 
 
 Michael's sheep, St., origin of the custom of killing, 348. 
 
 Milesians, arrival of the. 111. 134, 135 — coats of arms worn by the gentiy of 
 the, 166 — commanders of the, 133, 134 — encouragement of learning by the, 
 164, 165 — militaiy discipline of the, 166 — misfortunes of the, 136 — original 
 
 of the, 95, &c. — origin of the coats of arms of the, 1 6^, «S:c poet and musician 
 
 brought by the, 145 — tradesmen that came with, 146 — voyage of the, from 
 Gothland to Spain, 115 — voyage of the, from Spain to Ireland, 125. 132, 133. 
 
 Milesius, actions of, 116. &c. — arrival of, in Biscany, 118 — departure of, from 
 Egypt, ib. — marriage of, IIG — sons of, 119. 
 
 Military rewards, 159. 
 
 Mint, erection of a, 332. 
 
INDEX. . 663 
 
 Mlodchuarta, description of the palace of, 268. 
 
 Mochua, St., regularity of the life of, 361 — extraordinary circumstances of, 361. 
 
 867. 
 Modha Nuagatt, death of, 247 — different names of, 2i6 — remarkable success of, 
 
 244. 
 Momonians, expulsion of the, from Leinster, 269. 
 Moran, son of Maoin, the just judge, 227. 
 Moriat, love stratagem of, 187. 
 Mortough O'Brien, king of Ireland, servility of, 514. 
 Moses, cure performed by, 105 — prophecy of, ib. 
 Muineamhoin, orders and rewards of, 160. 
 Mungairide, convention of, 443. 
 
 Blunster, the divisions of, 59 — reduction of, by Turlough, 517. 
 Murrain, pestilential, 195 — di'eadful in the reign of Loingseach, 405. 
 
 Nemedians, attempt of the, to recover their liberty, 78 — defeat of, 79 — departure 
 
 of the, 80 — oppression of the, 77. 
 Nemedius, anival of, 75 — defeat of, by the Africans, 77 — Ixish, the language of, 
 
 121 — royal seats of, 76. 
 New Testament, a copy of the, the cause of the battle of CuiU Dreimne, 376. 
 Niall Caille, humane attempt of, 419 — unfortunate death of, ib. 
 Niall, cause of the enmity of Euchaidh to, 321 — great success of, 321 — murder 
 
 of, ib. — distinguished by the title of the Nine hostages, 326. 
 
 NiuU, adventiu-es of, 103, &c expulsion of, and his people, 109. 
 
 Noah, division of the world between the sons of, 62 — genealogy of, 61 — posterity 
 
 of the sons of, 63. 
 Nobility, murder of the Irish, by Cairbre Cincaitt, 318. 
 Isormaus, defeat of the, by the Danes, 420 — invasion of the, ib. 
 
 Officers, appomtment of, to attend the monarch, 291 — duties of the, 292. 
 
 Oilioll Olum, shameful acts of, 253, 254. 
 
 OilioU More, death of, 199 — sons of, ib. 
 
 Ollamh Fodhla, character of, 160. 
 
 Origin of nations, difficulty of tracing the, 63. 
 
 Ossery, submission of the kingdom of, to Diarmuid, 523. 
 
 Pagan priest, remai'kable narrative of a, 387. 
 Palladius, amval of, 331 — expulsion of, 332 — mission of, 331. 
 Partholanus, arrival of, 70 — conduct of the wife of, 71 — followers of, carried off 
 by pestilence, 71. 
 
 Patrick, St., age of, 331 — barbarous treatment of, by Eichin, 338— bishops con- 
 secrated by, 333 — captivity of, 308 — commencement of the mission of, 339— 
 churches founded by, 333 — death of, 351 — Gemnus Magnus, the name at 
 contirmation given to, 385 — good effects of the management of, 333 — Pope 
 Celestiue, when sending St. Patrick to Ireland, gives the name of Patrick to, 
 385 — presbyters ordained by, 333 — revenue appointed for the maintenance of 
 the clergy by, 333 — Sicai', the baptismal name of, 385 — sisters of, captivity 
 of the, 308_zeal of, 332. 
 
 Pelagian heresy, commencement of the, 314 — overthrow of the, 317. 
 
 Picts, arrival of tlie, 149 — expulsion of the, 151 — seventykings of the, in. Scot- 
 land, 151. 
 
 Piety of the Irish clergy, 427. 
 
 Plague, dreadful ravages of tlie. 355. 
 
554: INDEX. 
 
 Poets, different attempts to expel tlie, 371 — expiilslon of tlie, ptevented by St. 
 CoUum Cill, 379 — great number of the, 371 — insolence of the, 370 — parlia- 
 ment of Dromceat convened to expel the, 370 — regulations for the, 379. 
 
 Power of the Pope, non-existence of the temporal, in Ireland, 329. 
 
 Prediction of the dismal death of Ragallach, 400 — attempts to hinder the ac- 
 complishment of, frustrated, ib. 
 
 Princes, genealogy of the Irish, defended, 230. 
 
 Privileges of the kings of Leix, 270. 
 
 Proclamation of Henry II., king of England, 531. 
 
 Punishment of Ciamuit, Cormac's concubine, 287. 
 
 Pagallach, death of, 402 — lustful disposition of, 400 — murder of the nephew of, 
 
 3b 9 — murderous design of, 398. 
 Eathan, erection of the abbey of, 394 — expulsion of the monks from, 396. 
 Rath Cruachan, palace of, built, 1 98. 
 Records, primitive, disguised with fable, 281. 
 
 Red Branch, champions of, 206. 220— expedition of, to Scotland, 220. 
 Representation of the nobility of Munster to Maolseachluin, king of Ireland, 476. 
 Request of the clergy, Diarmuid Mac Morrough spared at the, 524. 
 Revenue of St. Patrick established in Mimster, 333 — in Conacht, 418. 
 Rewards granted to Laoighseach, 270. 
 
 Rings, gold, custom of wearing, mtroduced by Aildergoidh, 160. 
 Roderick O'Connor, king of Ireland, Diarmuid Mac Morrough expelled by, 620 
 
 —skilful dispositions of, 524, 
 Rodericus, prince ot Wales, defeat of, in his attempt upon Ireland, 469. 
 Romans, assistance given by the, to the Britons, 315 — supplication of the Britons 
 
 to the, 314. 
 Eoscrea, remarkable defeat of the Danes at the fair of, 468. 
 
 Saints, changes in the names of, 385 — numerous, of the name of Collum, 388 — 
 numerous, of the name of Bridget, ib.— particular, for different families, 391. 
 
 Saunders, false assertion of the historian, 327. 
 
 Scanlan, king of Osserj--, benediction of St. Collum Cill on, 383— cruel treat- 
 ment of, 382 — releasment of, by the prayers of St. Collum Cill, ib. 
 
 Sceilg Mithill, description of the isle of, 137. 
 
 Scotia Minor, Scotland so called, 307. 
 
 Scotland, invasion of, by the Danes, 453 — invasions of, by the Irish, 311 — ^name 
 of, changed by Niall, 307 — removal of the sons of Eochaidh Munramhar to, 
 349 — settlements of the Irish in, 311 — succession to the kingdom of, deter- 
 mined in the battle of Dram Dearg, 408 — tribute imposed on, by the Irish, 
 158. 311. 
 
 Scots and Picts, success of the, against the Britons, 315, &c 
 
 Scots, the inhabitants of Ireland called, 309. 
 
 Scottish families, extraction of the, 312. 
 
 Scraball, tribute of, 234, 
 
 Scythians, character of the, 96. 
 
 Seagda, surprising act of, 463. 
 
 Sees, archiepiscopal, first erection of, 60. 
 
 Sentences of Judges, remarkable circumstances attending the, 34^ 
 
 Settled state of Ireland in the reign of Bryen Boiromlie 484* 
 
 Showers, three remarkable, 406. 
 
 Siol Eogain, resolutions of the chiefe of, 479, 
 
 Sionach Cro, the nun, injury done to, 356. 
 
 Siaveiy of the Irish under Turgesius, 426. 
 
INDEX. 655 
 
 Soldiery, first constant pay settled upon tlie Irish, 173. 
 
 Siniames, appropriation of, by Biyen Boiroimhe, 485. 
 
 Spencer, false assertions of, Pref. xx. 
 
 Sru, chief of the Scythians that left Egypt, 110— voyage of, 112. 
 
 Stanihurst, misrepresentations of, Pref. xxi. 
 
 State of Christianity in Ireland at the commg of the English, 537, &c 
 
 State, flourishing, of Ireland, 439. 
 
 Stipulations entered into by the Danes of Dubhn, 474— breach of the, 478. 
 
 Stonehenge, cause of the erection of the monument of, 318. 
 
 Story, remarkable, of Campion, Pref. xxix. 
 
 Strangwell, agreement of the earl of, with Diarmuid Mac Morrough, 527 — arri- 
 val of, in Ireland, 528 — marriage of, 529 — submission of, to Henry 11., 532 — 
 Waterford taken by, 528. 
 
 Stratagem of Maolseachluin to destroy Turgesius, 428, &c.— success of the, 431. 
 
 Submission of the kings of Ireland to Henry II., king of England, 632. 
 
 Success, remarkable, of Criomthan, 305. 
 
 Sulchoid, remarkable defeat of the Danes, in the battle of, 466. 
 
 Supplication of the mhabitants of Dublin to Diarmuid Mac Morrough, king of 
 Leinster, 526. 
 
 Surrender made of Ireland to the Pope, 330 — reason of, ib. 
 
 Tailtean, establishment of the fair of, 235— remarkable fair of, ib.— palace of, 234. 
 
 Tara, parliament of, duties of the, 160, &c houses appointed for the kings of 
 
 Ireland at the, 344 — laws of the, 161 — manner of dining of the, 163 — manner 
 of meeting of the, 161 — time of meeting of the, 162. 
 
 Tax, appointment of a, for the support of the clergy, 337. 
 
 Teige O'Bryen, tyrannical conduct of, 514. 
 
 Thady, son of Cein, barbarous treatment of, by Cormac, 260 — Cormac raised to 
 the throne of Ireland by, 257 — extraordinary cure of, 262. 
 
 Thunder storm, dreadful, 417. 
 
 Tighermas, victories of, 155. 
 
 Tinne, prince of Conacht, marriage of, 198 — sovereignty of Conacht conferred 
 on, ib. 
 
 Tktchtga, fire of, 233— royal seat of, ib. 
 
 Tomair, death of the earl of, 425. 
 
 Tor Breogan, in Galicia, the Milesians depart from, for Ireland, 133. 
 
 Treacherous conduct of Maolseachluin in the memorable battle of Clontarf, 497. 
 
 Tributes paid to the king of Munster, 486, &c. 
 
 Trophies of champions, formed of the brains of their adversaries, 205. 
 
 Tuam, erection of the church of, 472. 
 
 Tuatha de Danans, arrival of the, 86. 89, 90 — cities given to the, 87 — cui'iosi- 
 ties carried away by the, 87, 88 — Denmark forsaken by the, 87 — Genealogy 
 
 of the nobiUty of the, 92 — kings of the, 93, &c magical arts of the, 86. 90. 
 
 134 — reason why distinguished by the name of, 91 — schools of the, 87 — tutors 
 of the, ib. 
 
 Tuathal Teachtmhar, plebeian usurpation destroyed by, 233 — prosperity of Ire- 
 land in the reign of, 231 — sovereignty of Ireland offered to, 232. 
 
 Turgesius, demand of Maolseachluin's daughter by, 428 — punishmenc ina death 
 of, 432— tyranny of, 423, &c. 
 
 Tyrconnel, bravery of the people of, 425. 
 
 Ulster, derivation of the name of, 66— divisions of, 56. 189 — remarkable build- 
 dings of 2ni) — royal seats of, 66. 
 
 Unanimity o' the Irish, happy consequences of the, 440. 
 Universities, principal, of Ireland, 418. 
 
55Q 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Verse, principal Ti-Ish compositions in, Pref. xxxv. 
 Virtues, remarkable, of the collar Jadh Morain, 227, 
 Visneach, unfortimate death of the sons of, 202. 
 
 Voyage of the Milesians from Gothland to Spain, 115— from Spain to Ireland, 
 125. 
 
 Warriors, custom among the ancient, 1G8. 
 
 Waterford, arrival ofthe earl of Strangwell at, 529 — taking 'f, by the English, ib. 
 
 War, cause of the, between Conn and Modha Nuagatt, 245 fatal issue of the, 
 
 between the king of Munster and the kmg of Leinster, ^49. 
 
 Weakness of the king of Conacht, 472. ' 
 
 Welsh, cruelties of the, 404— defeat of the, 405, 406— desceat of the, 80— in- 
 vasion of the, 404. 
 
 Westminster-hall, timber for the building of, sent for to Ireland, 509. 
 
 Wexford, town of, taken by the English, 523 — bestowed upon Robert Fitz Ste- 
 . phen by Diarmuid Mac Morrough, king of Leinster, 523. 
 
 Will of Cormac Mac Cuillenan, 443. 
 
 Wise institutions of Ollamh Fodhla, 161, 1G2. 
 
 Wishes of Guaire, Cuimin, and Caimin, 365, 366. 
 
 Wounded soldiers, remarkable bravery of, 503. 
 
 Youth, the ancient Irish, trained to a military life, 205. 
 
 Zeal of Maolmordha, king of Leinster, to please Bryeu Boiroimhe 490. 
 
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