The story of an Irish sept : their character & struggle to maintain their lands in Clare

Front matter

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Prefatory Note

The Sept, or group of families referred to in the following history were derived from a common ancestor, and occupied from the fifth to the seventeenth century a definite area of land situated in the centre of county Clare. These people were frequently assailed by Norsemen, Anglo-Normatis, and by the English, but they successfully defended their lands and homes against invaders for twelve hundred years, and were then dispersed, but by no means exterminated, by Cromwell. Throughout this long period of time the members of this Sept remained an almost pure race ; they were principally engaged in agriculture, and their surroundings varied but little, and that only with the lapse of time ; until the reign of James I. they lived under the Brehon laws, and clung to the traditions of the Church founded by St. Patrick in Ireland. The history of a Sept placed in circumstances of this kind is not only an interesting study, but may teach us muck concerning their character, and that of the Irish people, and thus help us to understand the hereditary qualities which to a large extent have moulded their career, and continues to influe?ice the descendants of Celtic Irishmen as individuals, and collectively as a nation.

In preparing this story for the press I have to acknowledge the great help I have received from the researches of Mr. Standish Hayes O Grady, especially for his work "Silvia Gadelica," and for his valuable translation of Magrath's " Triumphs of Turlough,"

viii PREFACE

and also for his generous assistance on many occasions. To my friend Mr. T. J. Westropp, I beg to return my sincere thanks ; his time and pencil have been placed at my disposal with characteristic Celtic sympathy, and as an archaologist few men have a more extensive or accurate knowledge of county Clare. Several of the plates in this work are taken from copies of Mr. Westropfs drawings which have already appeared in the pages of the "Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquarians of Ireland? arid which t/ie Council of the Society have kindly given me permission to reproduce. I have acknowledged in footnotes to these pages the authorities referred to, and as a rule quoted their own words rather than attempt to explain their meaning according to my ideas on the subject. Lastly, I must crave the indulgence of my readers for the imperfections of this work, which has been ivritten during the few leisure hours of a busy, and often anxious life.

N. C. MACNAMARA.

GROSVENOR STREET. LONDON, IV.

Afrit t8<)6.

Chapter I

Locality in which the Sept lived — Boundaries of County Clare — Burren — Stock from which the Sept were derived — The Iberians — Their character — The Basques of Spain — The Celts — Their character — Sept derived from Iberians and Celts Pp. 1-14

Chapter II

The Brehon Code — Pre-Christian — Derived from Aryan sources — Brehons, their office — Law of distress — Fasting on plaintiff — Homicide punished by fine — Bee judgment — Tribe, sept and chief of ancient Irish — Election of the chief — Conjoint family — Division of land among its members — Repartition of land — Parents and children — Fosterage — Guilds — Dwellings — Furniture — Dress — Food

Chapter III

Bards and poets of ancient Ireland — Their office — Schools conducted by — Fags in schools — Military system — The Fenia — Examination for admission into — Provision for poor and sick — The physicians and laws relating to — Land tenure — Possession of land all important — Constituted a freeman — The serf — Tribal lands — Private estates — Military retainers — System differed from feudalism — Social rank depended on amount of land a family possessed . Pp. 30-41

Chapter IV

teligious opinions of early Irish — The Irish Druid and his belief in a Supreme Being — Transmigration — Connac Mac Art (a.d. 227) his religion — Christianity among early Irish — St. Patrick — The Celtic Irish Church — Druidism long continued after Patrick's time — St. Patrick engrafted Christianity into Paganism — St. Columbia — Strife between monasteries — Caelestius (a.d. 370) — His opinions — John Scotus Erigena — Appendix .... Pp. 42-57 x CONTENTS

Chapter V

History of the origin of the Dalcasian tribe — Of the Eoghanists — Cormac Cas, first of the Dalcasian chiefs (a.d. 234) — The Macnamaras, a sept of the Dalcasian tribe, which tribe was granted possession of North Munster or Thomond — They conquered that province from the Iberian race, including co. Clare (a.d. 419) — Iberians then formed a large proportion of the population of Clare

Chapter VI

Cas, chief of Thomond, the progenitor of the Macnamara or Clancuilein Sept — Their history from a.d. 455 to close of ninth century — Their tribal lands in Central Clare known as Ui-Caisin — St. Patrick — Macnamaras as Marshals of Thomond — Inauguration of Kings of Thomond on Magh Adhair — Attack by King of Ireland on Magh Adhair — He is taken prisoner by Sioda Macnamara, a.d. 877 — Lorcain's character— Prosperity of Ireland and invasion by the Danes — Turgesius — Esida Macnamara appointed leader against Sitric — Brian Boru, Chief of the Dalcasians and King of Ireland — Battle of Clontarf — The Macnamaras led by their Chief Menma, a.d. 1014 — Death of Brian Boru — Attempt to oppose return of Dalcasians to Thomond . . . Pp. 69-84

Chapter VII

Aodh Macnamara, a.d. 1019 — Teigue, a.d. 1044 — Discontent due to bad harvests, a.d. 1064 — Lanfranc's Letter on Irish Church, a.d. 1070 — Mac Commara, death of, a.d. 1090 — Cumara-Mor-Macnamara killed by Chief of Desmond — Cumara, a.d. 1 143 — Invasion of Kerry — Cumara Beg Macnamara, a.d. 1151 — Battle of Moinmore — Dunhual Macnamara, a.d. 1159 — Conditions under which the Sept lived Pp. 85-93

CHAPTER VIII Ireland, on account of her sins, made over by the Supreme Pontiff to Henry II. of England — King of Leinster invited Anglo-Normans to conquer the country and made the Earl of Pembroke his successor, a.d. 1172 — Henry II. visited Ireland and received submission of chiefs — Divides the country among his barons to take possession by conquest — Resistance of the O'Briens and Macnamaras — Attack on them by the Lord Deputy effectually resisted, a.d. 1 192 — Henry III. assumed right to govern Thomond, but had no power to enforce his rule — The Macnamaras and other septs refuse to submit to English rule — Niel Macnamara, a.d. 1242 — His daughter married Conor O'Brien, King of Thomond — Importance of alliance — They defeat the English, a.d. 1257 — Meeting of provincial kings for combined action futile — Magrath's " History of Wars of Thomond" — Sioda Macnamara inaugurates Brian Roe, King of

CONTENTS xi

Thomond, on Magh Adhair — Turlough O'Brien's revolt joined by the Macnamaras — Brian Roe seeks aid of Earl de Clare — Turlough and Clancuilein (Macnamara) gain a victory — Brian Roe murdered by De Clare — His son, Donogh Brien, succeeds his father and joins de Clare — Death of Sioda Macnamara at Quin, a.d. 1277 — Succeeded by Coveha or Cumheadha — Mac Carthy of Desmond declines to give Coveha up to De Clare — Coveha defeats the Anglo-Normans — The Earl de Clare killed, a.d. 1287 — The O'Briens and Macnamaras retain their lands and homes — Burning of fort at Quin by Coveha Macnamara — His death, a.d. 1306 — Donchard Macnamara succeeds — His victory over other Dalcasian septs and his murder . . . Pp. 94-115

Chapter IX

Anglo-Normans under De Clare and allies attack the O'Briens and Macnamaras, a.d. 13 1 1 — Lochlain Macnamara, chief of his sept, treacherously seized by De Clare and executed with his nephew, a.d. 1312 — Mac-con (Macnamara) succeeds as head of Clancuilein — Robert Bruce invades Ireland — Appears on the Shannon— Skirmish with Clancuilein — Mac-con (Macnamara) and sept at battle of Corcomroe, a.d. 1350 — Richard de Clare defeated and killed — The Anglo- Normans completely driven out of Clare, a.d. 1332 — Extension of Clancuilien territory from Fergus to Shannon — Mac Con died, 1365 — Cumedha succeeded, followed by Lochlain Mac Con, whose daughter married Brian O'Brien, King of Thomond, a.d. ? 1364 — Appeal of Irish Chiefs to the Pope to establish English laws in Ireland or else leave her alone— Edward III.'s opinion regarding Ireland — Duke of Clarence sent over to subdue country— Successfully resisted by O'Briens and Clancuilein — " Mear Irish " — Kilkenny Parliament, a.d. 1367 — Gerald Fitzgerald sent his son to be brought up by O'Brien and Macnamara in place of the English Court — Second Mac-con (Macnamara) — The most powerful Irish families united in marriage through the Macnamaras, a.d. 1370 — Alteration in tenure of land as shown by Macnamara's rent roll and other documents of the fourteenth century Pp. 116-141

Chapter X

Richard II. in Ireland — Receives submission of chiefs, but no provision whatever made to govern the country, a.d. 1394 — English rule confined to neighbourhood of Dublin— Inhabitants of Clare flourished— Quin Abbey founded by the Macnamaras — Death of chiefs of Clancuilein, a.d. 1428 and 1444 — The English defeated by O'Briens and Macnamaras— Lands of Clare still preserved from invasion, a.d. 1499 — Torlogh, King of Thomond, married to daughter of Rory Macnamara — Desperate battle of Knocktow, between natives of North and South of Ireland — Dalcasians defeated — a.d. 1510 the O'Briens and Macnamaras for the last time defeat the English and drove them out of Thomond — Firearms introduced and put an end to former method of warfare — Henry VIII. declared King of Ireland — His policy — The O'Briens and Macnamaras meet xii CONTENTS

the Lord Deputy and Parliament at Limerick, and agree to become vassals of the King and adopt English land tenure, a.d. 1537 — Agreement made between Henry VIII. and Sioda Macnamara on behalf of landlords of Clancuilein — Sioda Macnamara recommended by Lord Deputy to be created " Baron Clancuilein," a.d. 1543 — Gavelkind existed in Clare at end of sixteenth century

Chapter XI

Henry VIII. 's Irish policy just and liberal — Difficulties of working it in Clare — The Macnamaras oppose the second Earl of Thomond in favour of Donald O'Brien as their chief — Covenant between the O'Briens and Macnamaras, a.d. 1558 — Bribery of Governor of Connaught — O'Brien takes refuge in Sioda Macnamara's castle of Rosroe — Rathfolan castle — Bastard sons of Bishop of Killaloe — Sidney's report on Clare and the Macnamaras, a.d. 1576 — His efforts to persuade landowners to enter on fresh terms as to land tenure and revenue i Pp. 155-161

Chapter XII

O'Neill's rebellion — Desmond, a.d. 1582 — Confiscation of the greater part of land of Ulster and South Munster by the Crown — Terrible years of war and famine, 1551 to 1582 — Clare and the Macnamaras remained at peace — References to members of the sept by " The Four Masters" — Commencement of trouble between O'Briens and Macnamaras, a.d. 1567 — Sidney's remarks on the dispute— Important inquisition in connection with land tenure by Macnamaras, a.d. 1585— Borome tax existed in Clare at the end of sixteenth century — Macnamara, chief of Clancuilein, refuses to sign Sidney's new plan of land tenure and revenue — Abides by his contract of Henry VIII. 's time — Sir J. Perrott orders tenure of land and amount of rents to be taken in Clare before a Commission — The Macnamaras had to appear before the Commissioners — They decline all change for reasons given by the Lord Deputy who supported Macnamara's contentions — He reports to Lord Burghley that there were no better men or any like the Macnamaras in their country — Correspondence on this subject between Lord Deputy and the Privy Council— J. Macnamara's letter to Lord Burghley — Quin Abbey granted by Queen Elizabeth to an O'Brien — Close of the sixteenth century in Clare attended with inroads from the North and rising of O'Briens of Ennistymon against the Macnamaras

Chapter XIII

James I.'s treatment of Catholics — Sudden application of English laws to Ireland entirely opposed to wishes of the natives of the country, a wrong not yet adjusted— Sir J. Davis's report on Clare, a.d. 1606 — The execution of two weakminded men — Case of Sir J. Macnamara, as showing how lands were secured by Court favourites from Irish gentlemen in 1608 — Sir J. Perrott's decision on

CONTENTS xiii

this case— His praise of Sir J. Macnamara, who is appointed High Sheriff of Clare, a.d. 1623 — O'Brien's successful scheme to possess himself of the Tulla estates belonging to the Macnamaras, a.d. 1585 — Sir Thomas Wentworth's (Strafford's) confiscation of the greater part of Clare by the Crown, " a violation of the King's promise " Pp. 175-187

Chapter XIV

Charles I.'s and James II.'s opinion as to state of Ireland in their time — Cause of rebellion of 1641 — Donogh and Teigie Macnamara appointed to keep order in Clare — English in Clare not ill-treated by Irish — Siege of Ballyallia — Donogh Macnamara sent on a mission to O'Neill — Roman Catholic Confederation — Two of the Macnamaras appointed by people of Clare to represent them in Confederate Council — The Pope's Nuncio Rinuccini arrives in Ireland — Lord Inchiquin — Surrender of Bunratty Castle — The Macnamaras at the battle of Knockmoness — Rinuccini leaves Ireland, a.d. 1648 — Cromwell's rule in Ireland — Siege of Limerick — Teigie Macnamara surrenders the place to the Parliamentary forces — Daniel Macnamara signs treaty on behalf of the Clare Brigade — Quin Abbey — Its destruction by Cromwell's soldiers — Roger Macnamara — Importation of Catholic Irish into Clare — Confiscation of the Macnamara estates — They held the same lands in 1654 which had been granted to them in the fifth century ; and no lands outside boundary of former tribal lands — Of two hundred and ninety-three principal families of the Macnamara living in these lands in 1654 only six were permitted to retain a part of their estates — The remainder expelled to Burren, the West Indies, or left to labour on the property formerly their own — Rathfolan and Ballinacragga family expelled to north of Burren Pp. 188-205

Chapter XV

Importance of the study of the congenial character of individual members of the sept, in order rightly to comprehend the past, present, and future social and political condition of these people — The character of the members of Clancuilein derived from their history Pp. 206-218

Chapter XVI

Religious, political, and social life of people living to the west of the Shannon during the first half of the seventeenth century — Opinion of the Pope's Nuncio in a.d. 1658 concerning the state of the Church in Ireland — Sir W. Petty, and Edmund Spenser on this subject — Education — Payne and Champion's description of, a.d. 1589 — Political state of the people changed but little for many centuries — Description of — Brehon laws still in force — Payne's account of how they worked — State of judicial proceedings under English rule — Social conj CONTENTS

dition of the people of Clare— Land all in all to them— The family system still in force — Freehold and leasehold understood— Relations between the lord and landholder— Forest lands, and wolves— Agriculture— Dwellings — Furniture — Dress— Military system — Old customs prevailing in Clare — Description of country by Payne — Injustice of forcing English common law on the Irish — Treatment of women by the Irish— Relations of master and servant — Physical explanation of love of Irish for their lands and homes . . Pp. 219-235

Chapter XVII

Slave-dealers given a free hand in Ireland, a.d. 1654 — Cromwell orders Irish girls and boys to be captured and sent to Jamaica — Case of O'Carroll at Rathfolan — Charles II. receives a loan from Col. Macnamara — The King's letter of acknowledgment — He cannot restore the Macnamaras to their estates — Teigie, son of Daniel Macnamara, of Rathfolan, subsequently of Ballinacragga, Burren — James II. in Ireland, a.d. 1689, his Parliament and Acts— Repeal of Act of Settlement — Macnamara appointed lieutenant of county, another high sheriff, and three others assessors of land revenue for co. Clare — Regiment of Clare or Yellow Dragoons: officers, Col. J. Macnamara and eight others of the same family — Battle of Lismarkea — Of the Boyne — Dragoons return to Clare under Col. Macnamara — Teigie holds Clare Castle — Confiscation of Lord Clare's estates — His will— Many members of the Macnamara family pass over to the Continent — The Clare brigade in France — Vice-Admiral Macnamara — The King of France creates Henry Macnamara a Count — The order giving the king's reasons for granting this honour — Treaty of Limerick — The Penal Code created and enforced against Roman Catholics in Ireland — Due to rapacity of English officials and merchants, who cared less for the religion than the lands of the Irish — Exportation of cattle prohibited from Ireland — The wool trade of Ireland suppressed, and all other agricultural produce, because it interfered with the interest of Englishmen — Condition of lower classes in Ireland — The middleman — The upper classes at the end of seventeenth century, and commencement of eighteenth century — Degradation of some of the members of the Macnamara sept .... Pp. 236-260

Chapter XVIII

Smuggling in Ireland actively carried on in Burren in first half of the eighteenth century — Daniel Macnamara and members of his family took their share in these proceedings — The Doolin and Ennistymon branch of Macnamara's family of Rathfolan — Michael Macnamara and Eleanora O'Carroll — Character of people living west of the Shannon as shown by their combined action in the case of the Whiteboys — The object of this rising — The Roman Catholic Priests of a.d. 1763 — Political feeling in Ireland — Molyneux, Swift, and

CONTENTS xv

Lucas — The Irish Volunteers first raised in Cork, a.d. 1744, Limerick and Galway 1766, throughout Ireland from 1776 to 1784, then disbanded — Their character— Loyal to the king and their country — Col. F. Macnamara commanded Clare Volunteers . Pp. 261-276

Chapter XIX

Ireland in the latter half of eighteenth century — Agitation for relief from English restrictions on trade— Meeting at Ennis, co. Clare — Action of volunteers — The Roman Catholic clergy — Relief of penal laws, a.d. 1793 — Of Act 6 of George I. — Irish Volunteers of 1784-6 disbanded — Subsequent volunteers a different class of people — Character of original Irish volunteers — French revolutionary ideas in Ulster — Its inhabitants urge France to take possession and form a "national" government in Ireland — South and West of Ireland staunch to the Crown and country — They rise to a man to resist the French landing at Bantry Bay — This landing was on the invitation of Ulster and part of Leinster — Macnamaras in France refuse to join the revolutionary movement — Count Harry Macnamara— W. N. Macnamara of Doolin, High Sheriff of Clare, a.d. 1789 — Landing of French at Killala — Volunteers of Clare, Galway, and West of Shannon march against them — Lord Cornwallis' order regarding volunteers — No higher praise could be given to any such body of men Pp. 277-288

Chapter XX

Colonel F. Macnamara, M.P., in Dublin Parliament voted for the Union— "Fireball" Macnamara — Mr. J. Macnamara, M.P. for Leicester, intimate with Mr. Pitt, and a strong Tory — Severely wounded in contested election — Pitt's letter to Mr. Macnamara— Married to Mary Jones at Gretna Green— His character and pedigree — Grandfather to Mr. Arthur and John Macnamara — Descended from head of sept in Henry VIII. 's reign — Admiral James Macnamara — His duel and trial — Letter from Lord Nelson — Another Macnamara a well-known person in London at end of last century — His character and that of other members of the old sept — Precisely the same qualities as their forefathers

Chapter XXI

Conclusions drawn from the preceding history regarding some of the leading questions affecting Ireland — Arthur Macnamara, the last representative of one of the chief families of Clancuilein Pp. 304-318

ILLUSTRATIONS

Page\

Map of Thomond il

Pre-historic Forts of Moghane and Langough 4

Magh Adhar, near Quin, co. Clare, from the West .... 70

Magh Adhar from the North-East 70

Plan of Quin Abbey and Fort 104

Ennis Abbey no

Danganbrack 138

Cratloemael . . . . . .138

Ralakine 138

Quin Abbey 142

Tomb of Founder of Quin Abbey (Lochlain Macnamara) . . . 144

East Window, Quin Abbey 172

The Cloisters, Quin Abbey 200

Section of Ballyportrea Keep 228

Mr. John Macnamara, M.P. 294

Mrs. John Macnamara 294

Admiral James Macnamara 296

Chapter I Origin Of The Sept

Locality in which the Sept lived— Boundaries of County Clare— Burren— Stock from which the Sept were derived — The Iberians— Their character— The Basques of Spain— The Celts— Their character— Sept derived from Iberians and Celts.

Rightly to comprehend the history of the Sept,* whose fortunes we have to follow, it is necessary to know something of the locality in which its members dwelt, and of the stock from which they proceeded, for their surroundings doubtless influenced their mental as well as their physical character, and it is equally certain that their congenital qualities |had an important share in shaping their history. f We shall find that the members of our Sept, from the early part of the fifth to the middle !of the seventeenth century, dwelt in a well defined district of Clare, a (county which until comparatively recent times was isolated from the irest of Ireland ; its southern and eastern boundary being formed by the jriver Shannon, which throughout this part of its course was only fordable at one place situated below the town of Killaloe. To the north, Clare is separated from Galway by a range of high hills (Echtye) 'running from the Shannon westward towards Galway Bay ; between the (extreme western spur of these hills and the bay is a strip of low lying jswampy land, through which the road northward from Clare passed ; this low land as well as the Echtye hills were in former times covered by a dense forest rendering them almost impassable. The geographical position of the county was such as to preserve its inhabitants from successful invasion, or from being occupied by foreigners until late in the sixteenth century ; thus not only did the people of Clare

* A sept consists of a group of families derived from a common ancestor.

t By congenital qualities or character is meant peculiarities, whether structural or mental, with which an individual is born. Important as these inherent tendencies are, our history will afford us a good illustration of the paramount power exercised by the law of selection, in crushing out septs and races of mea who fail to keep abreast of the times in which they live.

A

2 ISOLATED POSITION OF CLARE

retain their independence but also their old Brehon laws and customs for two, if not three centuries after much of the rest of Ireland hac passed into the hands of Englishmen.

The county is divided by the river Fergus into east and west Clare the greater part of the former being covered by low hills and bog land ; but to the south-east of this part of the county there are a mass of lofty rugged hills which run down to the Shannon and the western shore of Loch Derge. These hills in former times were covered with forest trees and were known as one of the best hunting districts in Ireland ; it was here that Brian Boru lived, his place of residence being situated on a spur of the hills overlooking the Shannon as it passes out of Loch Derge, a spot of exceeding beauty, and commanding the ford of Killaloe, the only weak point in the boundary of Clare to the east.

The northern part of the western division of Clare is formed by the district of Burren, which Cromwell's general, Ludlow, refers to as not possessing water sufficient to drown a man in, wood enough to hang a man on, or soil sufficient to bury him in. Burren is in fact little more than a series of bare hills, some of them rising a thousand feet above the level of the sea ; the sides of these hills are terraced in a remarkable manner and are of a light slate colour, with patches of exquisitely green grass scattered over their surface ; they are, however, intersected with deep valleys, forming some of the finest grazing lands in the country.* Burren, with all its barrenness, has singular charms : its northern boundary, formed by Galway Bay, is indented with creeks which run up to the foot of its hills for long the home of numerous smugglers. To the west, the hills of Burren form perpendicular cliffs against which the Atlantic hurls its mighty waves, a coast which can hardly be equalled for the wildness or grandeur of its scenery, and which has been so well described by the Hon. Miss Lawless in her pathetic story of " Hurrish."

Up to the close of the sixteenth century there seems to have been only one road leading through Burren, and now, unless along the coastline it is no easy matter to travel over this part of Ireland. These highlands afforded a safe refuge to the pre-Celtic race, when they were driven westward by the more highly civilised Celt in his advance from the east. How well these people defended their lands may be learnt from the investigations of my friend Mr. T. J. Westropp, who has discovered the remains of about two hundred pre-Celtic forts in this part of county Clare. In close proximity with these remains some of the work of the earliest Christian settlers in Ireland still exist, rude in the

* " Memoirs of the Geological Survey," Sheets 114 to 123 (Ireland).

RACIAL ORIGIN OF SEPT 3

extreme, and said to have been built by the same hands as those which erected the forts above referred to ; pagans and Christians dwelt side by side, the sentiments of the former largely influencing the people of this part of Ireland up to within comparatively recent times. For instance, in the middle of the seventeenth century we are informed that the Archbishop of Tuam had to cross over to the isles of Arran to destroy the oak figure of " Mac Dara," which the people then worshipped in spite of all the clergy could do to induce them to abandon the adoration of this idol * At the present time Irish men and women living to the west of the Shannon are full of the folk-lore and ideas derived from their

ancestors.

County Clare has no seaport town or bay of sufficient depth and magnitude to afford protection to modern vessels. Excepting Ennis, with its 6000 inhabitants, there are no important towns or many large villages in Clare ; it is covered with hamlets, in which small farmers and tradesmen reside being essentially an agricultural district.!

Regarding the race or stock from which the inhabitants of Clare were derived. There are certain anatomical peculiarities which characterise various pure races of men ; among these is the shape of their skulls. In some ancient burying-places in Ireland we find, with human remains, rude earthen vessels, flint arrow-heads, bone pins and shells, but no bronze or iron instruments, and we therefore conclude that these

* «• Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy," p. 813. third series, vol. ii., No. 5,

August 1893.

+ Ireland, as is well known, consists of a large, almost flat, central plain, which seldom rises more than two or three hundred feet above the level of the sea. This central plain is surrounded by ranges of hills or mountains, and is crossed by a number of sluggish rivers ; it contains no less than a million acres of bog, the greater part of which lies west of the river Shannon. The central plain is composed of carboniferous limestone, covered to a large extent with layers of gravel or of boulder clay, forming a soil well adapted for the growth of grass. In former ages the surface of Ireland must have been overspread with extensive coalfields ; but with her characteristic cussedness, Ireland insisted on keeping her land exposed above the surface of the ocean ; and so, in the course of ages, under the influence of rain ice and atmosphere, her rich coal strata was washed away together with much of her mineral wealth. During these long past ages England was submerged and so her coalfields were buried beneath deposits from the ocean ; and when the time came for her to appear above the waters her mineral stores were well guarded against the assaults of storm and frost, and have since yielded enormous wealth to her people. There can be no question that the loss to Ireland of her coalfields has vastly influenced both the social and political development of her inhabitants, compelling them to become agriculturists rather than manufacturers, and so to remain poor in comparison with their richer neighbours, the English.

4 THE IBERIAN RACE

articles were used by people who lived and died before the present era, because it was not long before Christianity was introduced into Ireland that bronze and iron instruments were freely exported from the continent into that country, and would have been used and buried in the graves of the people above referred to had they lived some time after the commencement of the Christian era. Together with the flint arrow-heads and bone pins we find the crania of the individuals who used these primitive weapons, and these skulls are characteristic in shape, being, in relation to their breadth, much elongated from before backwards. Skulls of a precisely similar form, together with the same kind of bone and flint instruments, have been found in many parts of Europe, including Spain, especially in the Basque provinces, where at present the inhabitants have not only traits of character similar to those possessed, so far as we can judge, by the ancient inhabitants of Clare, but the conformation of their skulls and features are believed to be identical with those of the*pre-historic people of Ireland* In this way we are led to think that the Basques of Spain, a remnant of the old Iberian race of Europe, are derived from the same stock as that which overran Ireland in former times ; the pre-Celtic people of Ireland having been to a large extent Iberians, who probably passed over from Spain into Ireland. t Professor Boyd Dawkins observes that Erin, Ireland, the land of Erna, Ivernian, Ibernian, is merely a variant of Iberia, and that the name of the great island of the Western Ocean, and the southwestern peninsula of Europe, is due to their having been occupied by the same race, a race so clearly marked off from all others as to be known by the same name.J Tradition refers to this long-skulled race as having been rather under the average height, with brown or grey eyes and curly dark hair, a type to be found in considerable numbers among the people of Clare at the present day.§ The ancient inhabitants of Ireland