Part 15 (1/2)

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

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

[115] Instructions to Skeffington, No. 57 in the printed _State Papers_.

He landed near Dublin, August 2, 1529.

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

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

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

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

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

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

[122] Report to Cromwell, printed _State Papers_, vol. ii. p. 174.

Instructions to Sir John Alen, No. 63 in same.

[123] Report to Cromwell, quoted above.

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

[125] Stanihurst.

CHAPTER X.

THE GERALDINE REBELLION--SKEFFINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION, 1534-1535.

[Sidenote: Kildare is sent to the Tower.]

Among the letters which Alen brought with him from England was one of thanks for past services to Connor Maguire, chief of Fermanagh. Maguire belonged to the party in Ulster which opposed O'Neill, and consequently Kildare; and he seems to have been in some degree under Alen's influence.

He now wrote to the King, adding to the already overwhelming case against Kildare, and praying for the appointment of Skeffington. This despatch probably reached London about the same time as the Earl, who was examined by the Council and at once sent to the Tower. The heaviest charge against him was that of fortifying his own castles with the King's artillery; and it was in fact this which enabled his son to make head for a time against the Crown. He could only answer that he had intended to defend the Pale against the Irish: perhaps the hesitation caused by his wound was taken for the confession of guilt. He was no longer the man who had bearded Wolsey in his pride; and, unfortunately, his old power of repartee had descended to his son, who annoyed with his taunts those whom he should most have conciliated. The young Vice-Deputy made no secret of his dislike to the King's policy, sought alliances with O'Brien and Desmond, and gave the enemies of his House plausible grounds for stigmatising him as a traitor from the very first.[126]

[Sidenote: His death prematurely reported.]

Early in the summer of 1534 a report reached Ireland that Kildare was to be beheaded, and his son and brother arrested. A poor retainer of his house living near Kilcullen is said to have brought to Lord Offaly from London a little silver-gilt heart and a pair of black dice, with a verbal message from his father bidding him not to trust the Irish Council, but to keep out of the way lest he should lose life and liberty. About the same time a private letter from Thomas Cannon, who had been in Skeffington's service, confirmed the sinister rumours already afloat. In days when there were no newspapers such letters were handed about freely, and this one fell into the hands of a priest who read English with difficulty, and who put it aside until he had time to spell out its meaning. A retainer of Offaly's, who chanced to stay the night in the priest's house, used the letter as a shoe-horn, and forgot to withdraw it. Undressing in the evening he found the paper, read it out of curiosity, and found to his dismay that it announced Kildare's death. He at once took the fatal missive to James Delahide, who carried it to the Vice-Deputy. Delahide was one of those whose advice Kildare had directed his son to take: he now counselled him to rebel and to avenge his father's death.[127]

[Sidenote: His son rebels.]

Though his death was at hand Kildare still lived, and there is no reason to suspect foul play: he was old and suffering from wounds, and confinement or anxiety may well have hastened his end. But his impetuous son a.s.sumed the worst, and at once prepared for war. His Irish connections O'Neill and O'Connor approved his resolution; but the Earl of Desmond, Sir Thomas Eustace of Baltingla.s.s, Fitzmaurice of Kerry, Fleming, Lord of Slane, and most of the Anglo-Irish well-wishers of his House, counselled prudence. Lord Chancellor Cromer, a grave and learned divine, gave similar advice. But Rehoboam would not be persuaded. On St.

Barnabas' Day he rode through Dublin with 140 armed retainers, each wearing a silken fringe on his helmet, a mode of decoration which gave Offaly the name by which he is best remembered. Pa.s.sing through Dame's Gate the Geraldines forded the Liffey and rode to St. Mary's Abbey, where he had summoned a meeting of the Council. No sooner had the Deputy taken the chair than his armed followers invaded the council-chamber, and waited with ill-concealed impatience while their leader made a speech, in which he declared himself no longer King Henry's officer, and called on all who hated cruelty and tyranny to join him in open war. He then tendered the sword of state to the Primate, who besought him with tears in his eyes not to do so mad and wicked an act. 'They are not yet born,'

he said, 'that shall hereafter feel the smart of this uproar.' The Chancellor's speech was probably unintelligible to most of the intruders; and the effect of it was at once dispelled by an Irish bard named Nelan, who recited a long heroic poem in honour of Silken Thomas, and upbraided him with lingering too long. Stung by this taunt, Offaly replied that he was much obliged to the Archbishop for his advice, but that he came to announce his own intention and not to seek counsel: he then threw down the sword and left the room. He was now a subject, and the Council at once ordered his arrest; but the Mayor had no force at his command, and the rebel was allowed to rejoin his forces on Oxmantown Green. Archbishop Alen, who had good reasons for fear, took refuge in the castle, and the Chief Baron, who accompanied him, wrote to Cromwell for help.[128]

[Sidenote: The Butlers remain loyal.]