Young people's history of Ireland

Front matter

.

<s V co cv

V

Introduction

NOTHING could better illustrate the deplorable relations of England and Ireland, than the complete absence of Irish history from both English and Irish schools and public libraries. So far as English power could reach, Irish history has been obliterated, misrepresented, or left unwritten. The English story of Ireland would not bear telling, and it must not be told.

If the Irish nation were an unimportant, uninteresting, unrelated element, the students of English, except the Irish themselves, might be excused for ignoring it. But this is far from being the case. In the unbroken lines of nationalities, there are few, if any, longer than that of Ireland.

By ethnology, philology, geography, history, by the beauty and wealth of the country, and the sentiment and character of its people, Ireland must be ranked with the best-defined nationalities.

To justify her oppression, England has resorted to a system of misrepresentation and misreport. Irish antiquities have been doubted and belittled. The natural resources of the land have been left unused, and have been underrated.

IV INTRODUCTION.

The ancient history of Ireland has been set down as unreliable, mythical, — a story born of Celtic pride, imagination, and passion.

Yet the student who turns to the history of Ireland finds at a glance that he has entered an original and authentic region, on a study not only national, but racial. He finds a distinct expression of architecture in the archaic round towers and other Celtic remains ; of law, in the revered and beautiful Brehon Code ; of music, in the marvellously sweet and simple strains coming down from prehistoric times, and still sung by the peasant girls and played by the wandering minstrels ; of decorative art, in the fantastic tracings of Gaelic stones and manuscripts ; of language and literature, in the ancient and eloquent Irish tongue, which is as complex and as perfect as classic Greek, and as old as primitive Sanscrit ; of religion, in the natureworship of the Magi or Druid, with its Baaltane ceremonies coming clearly down to the time of St. Patrick, — a comparatively modern period in Irish history, though separated from us by fourteen centuries.

Irish history, according to the Englishman, begins only when he began to write it ; and he wrote it after his -own knowledge and for his own purpose. From the twelfth century, the period covered by English historians after their fashion, the history of Ireland is the story of an endless fight, — of an ancient nation's brave struggle to keep its own from the hands of a powerful foreign invader, filled with personal

INTRODUCTION. V

rapacity and an ultimate political determination to make the island a component part of Great Britain.

To follow the unbroken Irish line through all these phases, is a work undertaken by numerous historians of other nations. It is a hopeful sign to see the task undertaken by competent hands in America.

The Celtic element will always be an important and progressive element of the American population. The history of its origin and development is a proper and necessary study in every American school. It is a strange fact, that, up to the present time, Irish history has not been studied even in the private schools of the Irish-American element.

From the so-called " national schools " of Ireland, the national history is banished as a crime. The original and leading purpose of those schools was to educate the people out of a knowledge of their own national history.

It is not too sanguine a hope that we have now seen the beginning of attention to a field that has been too long neglected.

JOHN BOYLE O'REILLY.

Contents

CHAPTER

I. Irish Legends .

II. The Ancient Irish

Chapter I. Irish Legends

THE trustworthy history of Ireland emerges from a long period of dim legend and of vague traditions. We know nothing, as a matter of fact, of the earliest races which inhabited the island, and very little of the successive invasions, which, coming from various parts of the world, swept over and The island conquered it. Like the legends of most of Fable - other long-settled countries, the legends of Ireland abound with stories of heroism and romance, of the conflicts of giants, of the presence of fairies, soothsayers, and magicians, of knightly prowess, chivalry, and love. The ancient Irish bards, whose legendary tales, like those of the bards of Wales, have to some extent been preserved, tell of wonderful feats, of mighty wars, of kingly rivalries, and of rude, barbaric customs. They relate how one Lady Cassair reigned in Erin before the Deluge ; and how, after that event, Erin was ruled by Partholan, a near descendant of Japhet.

They relate how this Partholan was a savage monster, who had killed his father and mother from greed of power ; and how the race of Partholan was swept from the earth, to the last man, by a terrible pestilence. After Partholan's colony, Ireland was occupied by the Nemedhians, so called from their chief, Nemedh, who came from the borders of the Black Sea. Nemedh is said to have built forts, and cleared lands in the island. He engaged in fierce wars with hordes of negro sea-rovers, who came from The Formo- Africa, and were called Formosians. The sians. Formosians, who were the third race to in-

vade Ireland, at last overcame the Nemedhians, and possessed the land. The Nemedhians fled, and scattered to different parts of Europe. A little later some of the Nemedhians, called Firbolgs, returned to Ireland under five brothers as their chiefs, dispossessed in turn the Formosians, and divided the island into five kingdoms. These made the fourth conquest of Ireland.

But the Firbolgs were not allowed, according to the legends, to remain long undisturbed. Another The Tuatha branch of the Nemedhian race, called the de Danans. Tuatha de Danans, were the next conquerors. These are described as a race of magicians and warriors, who had settled in Greece, whence they now came to conquer their former country. In the decisive battle which was fought between the Firbolgs and the Tuatha, the Firbolg king was killed, and was buried on the shore of Sligo. It is an Irish

IRISH LKGENDS. 3

tradition that his grave is still to be seen, and that the waves have never been known to wash over it. The king of the Tuatha, in the same battle, lost his right hand ; and, as his subjects would not have a ruler without a right hand, a silver hand was made for him by one of his skilled artificers. The Tuatha, the legends tell us, were endowed with super- c . .

o ' i Supernatural

natural powers. They could work many powers of

! t^, ii-i ,i r • the Tuatha.

wonders. 1 hey could silence the furious winds. They could heal the sick, forge metals, cast magical spells over their enemies, and could even restore the dead to life.

The Tuatha, according to the traditions, held their own in Ireland through a long period. They were often unsuccessfully assailed by the fierce black Formosians, whom the Firbolgs had ousted. But great as was their prowess, the Tuatha also were doomed to defeat and extinction. The various races of the Nemedhians are believed to have been of Turanian origin, and to have originally come from the interior of Africa. But now Ireland was invaded by a very different race of men. This last race was clearly of Aryan blood, akin to the other Ar Aryan races who swept over and occupied invasion of nearly the whole of Europe. The Nemedhians were probably small of stature, and dark of complexion. But the new race was comprised of men who were robust, tall, and fair. The particular branch of the Aryans which found its way to Ireland is variously named in history as "Gaels," "Milesians," and "Scots;" but the name by which they are most commonly known is that of the

The "Celts." /

" Celts. They invaded Ireland under the lead of the sons of Milesius, who had some time before been their chief.

The Celts came, some across the Irish Sea from Britain, but mostly from the shores of Spain, and are believed to have been the descendants of Phoenicians who had established themselves in those lands. They found it no easy task to overcome the Tuatha, who clung obstinately to their island realm. The Tuatha put forth all their power of sorcery to Legends of repel and destroy the invaders. They the Tuatha. enveloped the Celtic ships in dense fogs, the legends say ; they raised terrific storms to dash them on the rocks; they summoned "spirits from the vasty deep" to bring destruction upon them. But at last the Celtic hordes gained a foothold on the coast. Gradually they drove the valiant Tuatha into the gorges of the hills, and finally they obtained sway over the whole island. The two sons of Milesius, Heber and Heremon, divided their conquest between them. But in course of time Heber overcame Heremon, and assumed the sole sovereignty.

For a very long period the Tuatha continued to harass the new masters of Ireland. But after a while they became absorbed, and lost their distinctive Triumph of traits ; and the dominion of the Celts bethe celts. came complete. The Celtic was the fifth and last successful invasion of Ireland, according to

IRISH LEGENDS. 5

the ancient traditions. They became the prevailing race in the island for all time. It was they who formed the character of the Irish as a people, as they have always been since. The Irish of to-day are overwhelmingly Celtic in blood. Their language, customs, and traditions are to be traced to a Celtic origin. The Celts not only absorbed the Tuatha, and the remains of previous races, but 'they later absorbed the races which from time to time gained some foothold on the island ; just as, in England, the Saxons first replaced the Britons, and then absorbed in turn the Danes and the Normans.

How long the Celts had populated Ireland before authentic history begins, there is no means of knowing. The legends tell of one hundred and The Celtic eighteen kings, ruling in succession over kings - their turbulent people, and engaging in frequent conflicts to maintain themselves ; of rebellions of royal sons against their fathers ; of a queen named Meave, who was the daughter of a fairy, and who lived a hundred years, and was continually waging bloody wars ; of the fair Deirdri, who, by Celtic tradiher beauty, brought many woes upon tlons - Erin ; of the fierce race of Feni and their chief, Finn, surrounded by his shaggy warriors, his bards and poets, his clowns and champions ; of invasions by Norman sea-rovers, who were driven back by the valiant Irish ; of the loves and treacheries of princes, the magic spells of sorcerers, and the terrible feuds and revenges of rival chiefs.

6 YOUNG TEOPLE S HISTORY OF IRELAND.

Whatever credit may be given to these legendary tales, it seems certain that, before the time of Christ, Ireland had good harbors, traded with the busy ports of the Mediterranean, and was the home of a people brave and not wholly barbarous. The Irish, with little doubt, were strong enough at times to attack the Roman strongholds in Britain and in Gaul. The Romans, on the other hand, never attempted the conquest of Ireland ; nor was Ireland ever conquered, after its settlement by the Celts, until, many centuries after that settlement, it was subdued by English arms.

Till': ANCIENT IRISH.

Chapter II. The Ancient Irish

TT J"E can only guess, from the dim legends which » V have been described, what may have been the character, institutions, and customs of the successive races who preceded the Celts in the occupation of Ireland. But we do know what many of the institutions and customs of the Celts were, at the time that authentic history finds them in possession of the island. Over all the people was set The"archthe "arch-king," whom they called the kin s-" "Ard-Righ." The successor of this arch-king was chosen by the people during the arch-king's lifetime, and was called the "roydamna." The roydamna was selected from the arch-king's family, and was usually, though by no means always, his eldest son. There were several causes for which a prince might be excluded from the throne. One of these was physical deformity. A prince who had lost a hand, who was blind, or hump-backed, 'could not succeed to the crown. If, after his accession, the arch-king became in any way deformed, he was deposed.

Under the arch-king were a number of princes or chiefs, who divided the government of the various Early Irish parts of the island between them. These chiefs. were called "righ," or "kings." Their

successors, like those of the arch-kings, v/ere elected by the people from their families, and were called " tanists." One and all of these "righ" were subject to the arch-king's authority. The provinces ruled over by the righ were again sub-divided into tribes or clans, which the Irish called "septs." Each sept comprised a group of families, living in the same neighborhood ; and each sept had its popularly elected chief. So, too, each family included in the sept had its chief or head, who owed allegiance to the chief of the sept. Under him, however, the head of the family had absolute power over its several members. Each tribe had its established domain, which its members cultivated, and upon which it dwelt. This domain was divided up, and its various portions were devoted to certain purposes. A part of it was used by all the members of the tribe in common, who cultivated it, pastured their horses, pigs, sheep, and cows upon it, and took their fuel from it. Another part served for the The tribal habitations of the tribe, and yet a third domain. p art was p rov ided for the use or pleasure

of the chief. A portion of the tribal domain, moreover, was occupied by nobles, who had secured it by their prowess, or by services to the tribe or king.

There was no such thing among the ancient Irish as a law of primogeniture ; that is, a law, such as

THE ANCIENT IRISH. 9

long prevailed among the English, which provided that the eldest son of a family should inherit all the lands of his father. When an Irishman died, all his sons took an equal share of the lands he left. This was called the custom of "gavelkind." If

r . . Gavelkind.

a family became extinct, its lands were taken by the tribe, and redivided. But little cultivating of the land was done by the ancient Irish. Their main source of support was cattle ; and, among cattle, cows were raised to the largest extent. Indeed, the cow played a curious part in the laws and business relations of the Irish. If a man was fined for breaking the laws, he was condemned to pay over so many cows. Land, too, was measured ac- cows as curcording to its capacity to feed a greater or rencv - less number of cows. The Irish also raised a great many pigs, and some horses and sheep.

The ancient Irish usually dwelt in small clusters of dwellings, which were commonly built either upon the islands of the lakes, or upon hills. Around the settlement was erected a thick wall of earth and stone, for purposes of defence ; and a fort was also constructed in the centre of the settlement, in which the chief of the sept lived. Sometimes these defences were of great strength, the walls being twelve or fourteen feet thick. The huts theme The Irish selves were built of wood or wattles, fifteen huts - or twenty feet long ; while the chiefs had much larger dwellings, some of which were built with no little skill and knowledge of architecture. The

IO YOUNG PEOPLE S HISTORY OF IRELAND.

ancient Irish appear to have had a rude system of writing, by making" notches in wood, and sometimes in stone. At a very early period, too, they sent their native ores, and sold slaves, to the seaport towns of , . . , .„ . the Mediterranean. They are also known

Irish skill in J

mechanic to have had much skill in the making of weapons, and in the working of precious metals. These arts they perhaps derived from their Phoenician ancestors.

Some of the laws of the ancient Irish have happily come down to us, and present a curious view of their ideas and customs. They do not seem to have made any clear distinction between what we call crimes, and what we look upon merely as civil Ancient Irish injuries. Whether a man committed a laws. theft, or an assault, or only a trespass upon

land, his punishment was a fine, to be paid in cows. If the criminal could not pay his fine, it was paid by his family; and, when this was the case, the criminal lost his civil rights, and his share in the common land. Fines were imposed for injuries to women, theft, murder, receiving stolen goods, and swindling, which we call crimes ; and also for trespass, slander, negligence, and the failure to pay debts, which we regard, less seriously, as civil wrongs. In one respect, the ancient Irish laws were much in advance of those of most primitive peoples. The husband Husband and wife were put on a footing of perfect and wife. equality as to their rights in the land. The wife had as much to say, in the disposal of

THE ANCIENT IRISH. II

the land, as her husband. The old Irish laws, moreover, commanded the people to receive hospitably all comers. They also made rules as to the clothing which each social rank should wear.

The religion of the ancient Irish, like that of the ancient Britons and Gauls, was that known to us as Druidism, and was no doubt derived from the East. The priests of this religion were called Druids, and the worship of fire was one of its main

' The Druids.

features. The Druids were "priests of the sun." There is some reason to believe that, in the groves where they conducted the rites of their faith, they were in the habit of offering up sacrifices of men and women, on great stone altars erected for the purpose. The chief god was Crom, who was called the god of fire. There were also other gods, who were the special deities of the bards, the champions, the sailors, and the workers in metal. Groves were dedicated to the worship of these gods, which was conducted in the open air. As for the Druids themselves, both the priests and the priestesses, they were held sacred, and revered above all others among the ancient Irish. On all public occasions, they held the place of honor near the king. They Honors to consecrated the weapons of the warriors ; the Druids - they dictated whether there should be peace or war ; the best products of the earth, and of the artificers, were devoted to their use.

All the principal officers of the Irish realm were chosen from among the Druids. The chief of these officers were the priests, who served at the altars ; the Brehons, who were men of learning, and by their wisdom settled all quarrels and disputes, and inter- The Brehons preted and executed the laws; and the and Bards. Bards, whose task it was to write the histories of events, and to sing the exploits of princes. Below these three higher officers, were the royal doctors, stewards, knights or champions, and the armorers. The farmers were an inferior rank ; and the millers, weavers, shepherds, and farm-laborers were, for the most part, slaves, who had been captured in war, or had been bought from the Britons. In various parts of Ireland are to be seen strange round towers, the origin and use of which can only be con- The round jectured. It is believed by some writers towers. tnat th e y were erected by the Druids.

Others think that they were built by petty chiefs of clans, who formed a special rank, or caste, among the early Irish.

It was in ancient times, too, — though how ancient, no one knows, — that Ireland was divided into the four great provinces which still retain their boundaries and names. Indeed, there was of old, in eastern Ireland, a fifth province, called Meath. This province was the domain of the arch-king, where he The royal had his residence and held his court. Its domain. people were free from all taxation except

such as was imposed by the sovereign. It held a sort of neutral position among the other provinces, and was endowed with special privileges. Its territory

THE ANCIENT IRISH. 1 3

is now included in the two counties of Meath and Westmeath. The four other provinces — Ulster, Leinstcr, Connaught, and Munster — had, geographically, very much the same boundaries that they have to-day. Such, in brief, was the pagan Ireland, which, in the first half of the fifth century, the famous St. Patrick came to win from its idolatries, and convert to Christianity.

Chapter III. Saixt Patrick

SAINT PATRICK is the first great and distinct figure in the authentic history of Ireland. The story of his life is interesting ; and the results of the good work that he did, in bringing the entire Irish people within the civilizing fold of Christianity, remained for ages after he himself had been laid in the st. Patrick in grave. Patrick was a Gaul, and was born Gaui. anc | brought up in the seaside town which

we now call Boulogne, in France. There he was born, probably at the beginning of the fifth century (400). His father was a well-to-do citizen, and Patrick was no doubt fairly educated in his boyhood. But 'when he was sixteen years old, his country was invaded by the warlike Irish king Nial. Patrick himself was captured, carried over to Ireland, and, as befell all prisoners of war in those rude days, was sold into slavery. His master was a great Irish chief st. Patrick a named Milcho, in the county of Antrim, slave. During the seven years that he was a slave,

Patrick tended his master's sheep on the Antrim hills.

SAINT PATRICK. I 5

When Patrick was twenty-three, he succeeded in making his escape. He ran away, hid himself in a vessel, and thus got safely back to Gaul. He now became a Christian priest, and was soon known for the fervor with which he performed the duties of his sacred office. He resided for a while at Tours, and then repaired to Rome, where he rose high Life at in favor at the Papal court. All the while, Rome - his mind was filled with thoughts of the pagan land where he had spent his youth in servitude. He remembered with horror the hideous rites of which he had been a witness, — the cruel human sacrifices, the idolatrous worship of the sun and of fire, the severity of the rule of the Druids, and the ignorance and abasement of the people. His heart longed to raise them out of their degraded condition, and to bring them into the light of the Christian faith. As he dwelt continually upon these thoughts, he began to be visited by strange dreams, and then by startling visions. It seemed to him as if God were thus commanding him to leave his work in Rome, to go and convert the Irish.

At last he had a vision which decided him. He thought that an angel came to him in his dreams, holding a scroll on which was plainly writ- st Patrick ten, "The voice of the Irish." At the goes to same time, he seemed to hear the wailing and groans of the benighted people. Despite all the dangers which threatened him, Patrick finally resolved to go and preach in the land of his former captivity.

l6 YOUNG PEOPLE'S HISTORY OF IRELAND.

He made known his resolution to Pope Celestine, who gave him authority to convert the Irish. More than twenty years had elapsed since his escape from slavery. Patrick was now a middle-aged man, robust of frame, brave of heart, and fervid of spirit. It is not known in what year he arrived, with a few fellowpriests, off the Irish coast ; but it is certain that it was in the first half of the fifth century. He attempted to land on the shores of Wicklow, on the eastern coast, south of the spot where Dublin now stands. But the fierce Irish had heard of his coming, and assailed his vessel from the shore with a storm of missiles.

He then sailed northward, and succeeded in landing on the coast of Antrim, the county in which he st Patrick nac ^ ^ vec ^ as a slave. With his little group lands in of missionaries, Patrick began his preach-

ing at a place called Saul. He held his meetings in a barn, where he caused a rude altar to be erected, and where he exhorted the natives who could be induced to enter, to abandon Druidism and embrace Christianity. But Patrick's zeal outstripped the first results of his mission. He was impatient to make conversions on a wider field, and on a larger scale. So he bravely resolved to appear before the arch-king Leoghaire himself, surrounded though he might be by his warriors and priests. So sure was Patrick of the truth of his teaching, and so ardent was he in its cause, that he did not despair of success, even in such a presence.

SAINT PATRICK. I J

It happened that the arch-king was about to hold a joyous festival in honor of his birthday, on the royal hill of Tara. There would be a vast gathering of princes, champions, priests, and bards T he feast on from every part of the island ; and the Tara - historic hill would swarm with the fierce soldiery of the barbaric court. • There would be solemn religious rites, attended by ghastly human sacrifices. This celebration was to take place, Patrick learned, on the day before Easter. Inspired by a bold resolve, Patrick bade adieu to his little flock at Saul, embarked on his ship, and landed at the mouth of the Boyne. From thence he proceeded directly across the great plain that spreads out between the Boyne and the hill of Tara. He was only attended by a few Irishmen, whom he had recently converted. He staid cue night at the house of a kindly chief, whom, with all his family, Patrick persuaded to accept the Christian faith. On the third day of his journey, the Saint beheld, in the distance, the edifices and lofty trees which crowned the royal eminence. Above them all rose the king's palace and his banquetinghall, now decorated for the birthday festival.

But no fires were lit on the massive Druid altars on the hill, nor anywhere in the country roundabout. For the arch-priest had ordained that, at s Patrick a given moment, they should all be lit in before the honor of the monarch. Patrick, however, deliberately disobeyed this command. He lit his fire before his camp, on the slope opposite Tara.

l8 YOUNG PEOPLE'S HISTORY OF IRELAND.

No sooner did the pagan hosts perceive what they regarded as an act of audacious treason and sacrilege, than they rushed over to Patrick's camp, seized him and his companions, and dragged them into the presence of the arch-king and his courtiers and priests, who were gathered in a large open space. Patrick remained undaunted in the midst of his angry enemies. One of the chiefs, acting according to the polite custom of the Irish, offered him a seat ; and he sat down. Then he was commanded to say why he had committed such an outrage against the religion of the land. Patrick felt that his opportunity had come. Inspired rather than frightened by the scene, by the historic spot on which he stood, and by the multitude of fierce and glowering faces which surrounded him, st Patrick ne nervec l himself for a supreme effort of preaches to eloquence. He spent but a few words in justifying his act of lighting the fire. Soon, he was boldly showing the barbaric concourse the cruelty, the falsity, and the absurdity of their faith. They listened in spellbound wonder. Then, with all the fervor of his soul, he told them the story of Christ ; of his miracles ; the wise, good, humane, lessons which he taught ; and the church which he had founded on the earth. Rude as were the spirits he addressed, the minds and hearts of many of them were touched by his glowing words. Their wrath subsided. They looked at each other, and murmured. When Patrick had finished, a hubbub of confused voices arose.

SAINT PATRICK. 10.

Forthwith nobles, priests, and warriors began to argue eagerly with each other. Some boldly took the part of the Christian ; others hotly opposed him ; many wavered in their faith. Then a _

J Conversions

Wonderful thing happened. The daugh- to cnristers of the arch-king Leoghaire declared tianity - themselves converted. Several great princes and chiefs followed their example. At last, the arch- Druid himself, the head of the entire pagan church of Ireland, embraced the new faith. Patrick hastened to baptize his new converts ; and presently great numbers of the chief men of Ireland, including many Druid priests, came to the baptism, and were thus received into the Christian church. The arch-king, though he did not receive Christianity, shielded Patrick from violence, put him Patrick under his own protection, and assigned held m the Saint the castle of Trim, not far distant from Tara, as his residence. Thither Patrick repaired, to continue without ceasing the great and good work which he had undertaken, and which had been so auspiciously begun.