A compendium of the history of Ireland from the earliest period to the reign of George I

Front matter

A COMPENDIUM OF THE HISTORY OF IRELAND, jfxom tlje writes ©ertoiJ . TO THE REIGN OF GEORGE I. By JOHN LAWLESS, Esq. PROPRIETOR AND EDITOR OF THE IRISHMAN, PUBLISHED IN BELFAST. Historia est temporum testis, lux veritatis, magistra vita?, vita memoriæ, et nuncia antiquitatis. — Cicero. History is the witness of times past, the light of truth, the mistress of life, the life of memory, and the herald of antiquity. THIRD EDITION. VOL. I. LONDON: PRINTED FOR EFFINGHAM WILSON, ROYAL EXCHANGE. 1824. CONTENTS OF VOL. I. Page Invasion of Henri) II. 20 Reign of Richard 1 64 1 John 71 Henry III.... 81 Edward J.... 95 Edward II. 105 Edward III. 122 Richard II. 140 Henry IV 148 Henry V. 153 Henry VI. 158 Edward IV. 168 Henry VII. 174- Henry VIII. 195 Edward V. 237 Mary 247 Elizabeth to THE IRISH PEOPLE.

The book, which I now have the honour to present to my countrymen, has been written in the hope that it will contribute, in some degree, to the 'promotion of that liberal, enlightened and benevolent feeling, which has been making such rapid strides for the last thirty years of our history. If the author has been guilty of any exaggeration in description, or in commentary (which he has industriously struggled to avoid), let the Irishman reflect that his errors are on the side of the honour of his country ; that his feelings, if too warm, are heated by an anxious desire to vindicate the insulted character of a people who have been eternally the victims of calumny, the prey to every speculator on their fame and their glory, the devoted savol. i. a DEDICATION. crifice to insatiable avarice, to dishonourable ambition, and a sanguinary foreign ascendancy- - It is hoped that the reader of every class and description, of every persuasion, and sect of Christianity, will observe through the pages of this volume of Irish history, that the leading object of its author was the inculcation of that grand and paramount principle of Christianity, which imperatively tells us to respect the reli gious feelings of every human being — to prac^ tise that toleration which each sect is perpe tually demanding, and leave to God and to his creature the settlement of those points which are beyond all human control, and should ever command the veneration of the wise, the libe ral, and the enlightened.

That the partisan of faction, or the partizan of the people — that the advocate of into lerance, as well as the advocate of equal and im partial privilege, will find much to censure, and perhaps little to praise, must be expected by him who pleads the cause of truth with firmness and impartiality. The author has endeavoured to refute the libeller of Ireland, with temperance and deco- DEDICATION. V rum. The composer of an abridgment of Irish history can lay but little claim to the merit of invention : his duty is to select with industry and with judgment ; to compare his authori ties with caution, anxiety, and impartiality ; and to put into as small a space as possible the grand and leading features of his history. To such claims, the author will flatter himself he may, without the hazard of contradiction, put in his humble pretensions.

Preface

. It is universally admitted by every friend to the religion, the liberties, and the welfare of Ireland, that nothing can contribute so much to their promotion, as the dissemination of that historical knowledge which informs the Irish people what their country has been — what it now is— and by what means its future prosperity may be retarded or advanced. The Irishman who is ignorant of the history of his country, can but little contribute to the councils of men whose opinions are regulated by the wisdom of their ancestors, and whose errors are corrected by the accurate knowledge of the mistakes of those who have gone before them. He who Is a stranger to the history of Ireland, can draw no resources from the laborious lucubrations of talent, or the brilliant discoveries of genius, to which his country has given birth, and which time has swept into the grave.

Such a man can receive no supplies from the treasury of antiquity. Centuries have rolled by, without advantage to him against whom the book of history has been closed : the author and his productions sink into the same tomb, unobserved and unthought of. For him the ancient magnificence of Ireland -is in vain established by the successful researches of the antiquarian ; and the wisdom of former ages lies mouldering in records, which perhaps he has had no opportunity of examining. PKEFACE. VIII The principal object of tlie present work, is to give uni versa circulation to the leading and remarkable features of Irish history ; — to give those features with veracity — with conciseness — and at such a price as may render them acces sible to the poor, though independent Irishman. The early period of Irish history may perhaps be considered more interesting to the curious antiquarian than to the practical politician.

The records of Keating, however flat tering to the pride of an Irishman, will be found but little calculated to add to that stock of useful information, which our modern history so abundantly affords. The memory of his reader is oppressed by the labour of recollection ; and the efforts ofthe historian to establish the authenticity of Irish fame, and the superior claim of Irish genealogy, too frequently entan gle the understanding of the reader in unprofitable researches, vi sionary inquiries, and idle conjectures. The present compen dium takes a rapid view of those days of greatness, of which the Irish bards have sung with rapturous enthusiasm : it then passes to the second Henry of England, and carries the records of the principal and most leading events down to the reign of George the First, This task, it is hoped, will be found to be performed with proper anxiety for the interest of truth, as well as the honour and welfare of our country.

The writer of this volume has another object in view, and he hopes, one which will find shelter in every Irish bosom — namely, to excite an honest and an ardent feeling a mong his countrymen, for the recorded sufferings of Ire land, and to teach, from the experience of the past, the most certain and judicious mode of guarding against the calamities of the future. To accomplish these views in one volume at once compendious and satisfactory, will be admitted by the candid and ingenuous reader, to bo a task of difficulty and hazard. P11EFACE. IX To relate the afflicting and melancholy events which crowd the history of Ireland, without incurring the charge of preju dice, or the suspicions of party, will perhaps be impossible. Such suspicions, however, do not discourage the attempt to give a brief narrative of our history, with truth, and with impartiality ; with an anxiety to please all parties, but with a determination to sacrifice the cause of justice to none.

It is hoped that the reader of this cheap and compendious volume, will find that the first and last feeling which influen ced the pen of him who wrote it, was a sincere and zealous anxiety for the establishment of political aud religious rreedom among Irishmen of every persuasion. Jiinnary Ut, 181*. THE HISTORY OF IRELAND, PREVIOUS AND SUBSEQUENT TO THE