as the hereditary domain of his Ancestors, from the days of Nial the Great; and he made war upon the English invaders of his country. - The Irish Annals mention the fact without the least reference to religious controversy.

* "A. C. 1539.-Sluaigh leis ua Neill 7 le hua n Domhn. "do ched 7 do chomairle a chele sa Midhe, 7 an tir do mhill 7 "do losg. leo go Teamr. 7 nar thinoil Gaoidhil co Galloibh ar "dheiredh na haimseresi aenthsluaigh. as mo leir milledh do "mhaithes na Midhe na an Sluaighedh sin, 7 do ba aidhble ed"ala oir 7 airgid, 7 umha, 7 iarainn, 7 gach uile mhaithusa "aile ar cena, 7 baile Atha-Fhirdhia do lomargain leo, eider "innmhus 7 edail. 7 ar bfill. don tsluaigh sin doibh, 7 iad lan "duaill 7 do dhiomus 7 dedail, lenais in Giusdis Saxanach iad. "i. Loard Linaird, 7 leirthionol na mbailte mor 7 na Midhe, "etter Cill 7 Tuaith, 7 araibhe do h Saxanch. in Er, 7 a mbi "do Chobhlaighedh ar na cuantoibh gacha taobh dibh; .i. "Cobhloch ro mor do bhi ar Cuan Cairlinne, 7 leir, an tinol sin "an Giusdis ar hsluagh Gaodheal an Oircghialloibh a in bel-atha"hoa co hairighthe, 7 ranaig leis an sluagh n Gaoidhelach dol "ant ordugh. amhail bu coir, na urmaisin ar comhairle andig"dhaoin. do dhenamh re cosnomh, na re cothugh, acht imthecht "co han ordaighthe, 7 moran. da nedal fein 7 dedail Gall fhag"bhail ann sin ag sluagh na Saxann, 7 gana beg dechtoibh oird"erca dfhagbhail doibh ge do imthighsed co han ordaigthi, co na he Maolmuire Meirgeach m. Evin Ruaid m. Suibne Sgel "as mo do fagb do Chonallchoibh ann."

TRANSLATION.

An Army conducted by O'Nial and O Donnell, by common consent and advice, into Meath, and the Country sr I and

This is but one out of numerous instances, from which we may infer, what reliance can be placed on the superficial and declamatory narra

burned by them as far as Tarah: and there has not assembled of Irish with Foreigners in these latter times any army which destroyed more of the property of Meath than this Army; and which could boast of more prey of gold, silver, copper, iron, and of every species of property likewise; and the town. of Ardee was plundered by them of its riches and booty. And as this army was returning full of vanity and pride, and loaded with spoil, the English Justice followed them; that is Lord Leonard and the Musters of the great towns and of Meath, both Ecclesiastical and Secular, and as many as were of English in Ireland, and whatever of fleets were in the harbours on all sides; that is the great fleet which was stationed at Carlingford; and that army of the Justice's overtook the Irish army in Argial, (commonly Uriel, or the C. of Louth, with parts of Ardmagh and Monaghan) at the mouth of the ford of Hoa, (Belahoe) precisely; and the Irish army could not draw up in order as it ought, nor obey the orders of its chosen officers, for defence, or for mutual support; but marched in a disorderly way; and much of its own property, and of the plunder of the foreigners, was left there to the army of the Saxons; and not a few of the officers illustrious of them were killed from their marching so very disorderly. Maolmure, the Ensign bearer, Son of John Roe, Son of Subne the Historian, was the greatest of the Tirconallians who fell in that battle.—This narrative is taken from the Annals of Connacht, an Irish MS. on vellum written by a coeval Author, and now preserved in the Stowe Library.

tive of Dr. Leland! The very authors to whom he himself refers, are sufficient evidence to overthrow what he labours to establish. In the instance before us, Stanihurst, the only authority he quotes for this holy war of O'Nial, declares in plain terms, that O'Nial's object was precisely what I have stated, and what from every document that remains in the Cotton Library, I know to be true.

4. And yet our modern compilers of Historical Reviews of the state of Ireland, are not ashamed to confess that, for very obvious reasons they have chosen to follow Leland's and Sir J. Davies's opinions, both as to the nature of

"Soone after this Parlement of 1539, says Stanihurst, "O'Neale, imagining that he was able to make his partie good against the English Pale, conspired with O'Doneale, Mag"gadnesh, O'Caghan, Mackwilen, O'Hanlan, and other Irish "Lords, and on a sudden invaded the Pale, came to the Navan, "burnt all the townes on each side confining, after marched to "Taragh, mustering with greate pride his armie upon the top of "the hill; and having gathered together the spoile of the Pale "without resistance he began to recule." See the first vol. of Hollinshed's Chronicles, where the Irish Chronicles are given, pag. 101. Lond. fol. 1585.-Here is nothing, not one syllable, of a Religious war!

Ireland, and the dispositions of its inhabitants.* Their reasons may be very obvious to themselves. We write History by the foot square, when, from laziness, or incapacity, or from impatience to proceed without the labour of inquiry, we copy whole pages from quartos of bigotry, of ignorance, and declamation.

VI. The Desmond War not a War of Religion.

1. O Daly, the founder of Corpo Santo at Lisbon, wrote a work intitled Relatio Giraldinorum, printed at Lisbon in 1655, in which he asserts that the Desmond war was for Liberty of Conscience.-But it is now acknowledged, and even though it were not, the original instrument of Association, dated July 18, 1574, which was fully authenticated in the presence of the Irish Chieftains in the Parliament of 1585, would alone suffice to prove, that the Desmond insurrection, however animated by Clerical Emissaries from Spain and Rome, was not awar of Religion.-In that Instrument, the grounds of the insurrection are expressly stated

* Plowden. Ir. Hist. vol. 1, p. 4, and 52,

to be for the preservation of Civil rights and temporal property. The Chieftains who signed it, exhort Desmond to defend himself against the violence of the Lord Deputy, for that he had made abundant concessions in his letter and agreement of the preceding year 1573, and that he could not safely agree to any more.

2. I repeat then that no Religious war was ever countenanced by Irishmen, until after Lord Perrott was recalled in 1588.-Knowing that affections and aversions are reciprocal, and that Irishmen are won by conciliation, sooner than they can be conquered by force, that humane Governor, endeavoured, not without success, to gain them over by persuasion to a conformity with English Law, for the benefits of which their ancestors had repeatedly petitioned in the course of the 14th century. For this purpose he travelled into Connacht in 1584, induced the ancient

"The combination of Gerot, late Earl of Desmond, attainted of High Treason, 1578." Desider. Curiosa Hibern. t. 1. p. 4.

This document has been published by Plowden, vol. 1. Ap pendix X.--But so incorrectly, with respect to dates, that it cannot be relied on, as published by him. He dates it 1578 instead of 1574, and yet he makes the subscribers refer to a transaction of 1579 in the very text!