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cast a trench and to build themselves a tempo- | gether with a piece of the town wall; and then, rary fort of turf and twigs, when they were at- a way being thus opened, they entered into the tacked by a body of 3000 of the people of Water- city, and killed the people in the streets without ford; but this mob were scattered with frightful pity or mercy, leaving them lying in great heaps; slaughter. Five hundred of them were cut down and thus, with bloody hands, they obtained a in the pursuit; and then, as Giraldus asserts, the bloody victory." MacMurrogh arrived along with "victors, being weary with killing, cast a great Fitz-Gerald and Fitz-Stephen while the work of number of those whom they had taken prisoners plunder and carnage was still proceeding; and it headlong from the rocks into the seas, and so was in the midst of the desolation which foldrowned them." lowed the sacking of the miserable city, that, in fulfilment of his compact with Strongbow, the marriage ceremony was solemnized between his daughter Eva and that nobleman.

The Earl of Pembroke did not set sail till the beginning of September. He then embarked at Milford Haven, with a force of 200 gentlemen, and 1000 inferior fighting men, and on the vigil of St. Bartholomew, landed in the neighbourhood of the city of Waterford, which still remained unreduced. On the following day, Raymond le Gros came with great joy to welcome him, attended by forty of his company. "And on the morrow, upon St. Bartholomew's Day, being Tuesday, they displayed their banners, and in good array they marched to the walls of the city, being fully bent and determined to give the assault." The citizens, however, defended themselves with great spirit; and the assailants were

Immediately after this they again spread their banners, and set out on their march for Dublin. The inhabitants of that city, who were mostly of Danish race, had taken the precaution of stationing troops at different points along the common road from Waterford; but MacMurrogh led his followers by another way among the mountains, and, to the consternation of the citizens, made his appearance before the walls ere they were aware that he had left Waterford. A negotiation was attempted, but, while it was still going on, Raymond and his friend, Miles

or Milo de Cogan, "more willing to purchase honour in the wars than gain it in peace, with a company of lusty young gentlemen, suddenly ran to the walls, and, giving the assault, brake in, entered the city, and obtained the victory, making no small slaughter of their enemies." Leaving Dublin in charge of Milo de Cogan, Strongbow next proceeded, on the instigation of MacMurrogh, to invade the district of Meath, anciently considered the fifth province of Ireland, and set apart as the peculiar territory of the supreme sovereign, but which King Roderick had lately made over to his friend O'Ruarc. The Anglo-Norman chief, although he seems to have met with no resistance from the inhabitants, now laid it waste from one end to the other. While all this was going on, the only effort in behalf of his crown or his country that Roderick is recorded to have made, was the sending a rhetorical message to MacMurrogh, commanding him to return to his allegiance and dismiss his foreign allies, if he did not wish that the life of his son, whom he had left in pledge, should be sacrificed. To this threat MacMurrogh at once replied that he never would desist from his enterprise until he had not only subdued all Connaught, but won to himself the monarchy of all Ireland. Infu

REGINALD'S OR THE RING TOWER, Waterford.-From the Picturesque Annual.

twice driven back from the walls. But Raymond, who, by the consent of all, had been appointed to the command, now "having espied a little house of timber, standing half upon posts without the walls, called his men together, and encouraged them to give a new assault at that place; and having hewed down the posts whereupon the house stood, the same fell down, to

The Irish name of this tower is Dundery, or the King's Fort. Its history is briefly recorded in the following inscription placed over the doorway:-"In the year 1003, this Tower was erected by Reginald the Dane-in 1171, was held as a fortress by Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke-in 1463, by statute 3d of Edward IV., a mint was established here-in 1819, it was re-edified in its original form, and appropriated to the police establishment by the corporate body of the city of Waterford."

VOL. I.

35

riated by this defiance, the other savage instantly | letter with which he was charged, but Henry gave orders to cut off MacMurrogh's son's head. had sent no answer, and had not even admitted But now the adventurers were struck on a sud-him to his presence. Meanwhile, on the side of den with no little perplexity by the arrival of a proclamation from King Henry, prohibiting the passing of any more ships from any port in England to Ireland, and commanding all his subjects now in the latter country to return from thence before Easter, on pain of forfeiting all their lands and being for ever banished from the realm. A consultation being held in this emergency, it was resolved that Raymond le Gros should be despatched to the king, who was in Aquitaine, with letters from Strongbow reminding Henry that he had taken up the cause of Dermond MacMurrogh (as he conceived) with the royal permission; and acknowledging for himself and his companions, that whatever they had acquired in Ireland, either by gift or otherwise, they considered not their own, but as held for him their liege lord, and as being at his absolute disposal. The immediate effect of the proclamation was to deal a heavy blow at their cause, by the discouragement it spread among their adherents, and by cutting off the supplies both of men and victuals they had counted upon receiving from England.

Things were in this state when a new enemy suddenly appeared-a body of Danes and Norwegians brought to attack the city of Dublin by its former Danish ruler, who had made his escape when it was lately taken, and had been actively employed ever since in preparing and fitting out this armament. They came in sixty ships, and as soon as they had landed proceeded to the assault. "They were all mighty men of war," says the description of them in Giraldus, "and well appointed after the Danish manner." The attack was made upon the east gate of the city, and Milo de Cogan soon found that the small force under his command could make no effective resistance. But the good fortune that had all along waited upon him and his associates was still true to them. His brother, seeing how he was pressed, led out a few men by the south gate, and attacking the assailants from behind, spread such confusion through their ranks, that after a short effort to recover themselves, they gave way to their panic and took to flight. Great numbers of them were slain, and their leader himself, being taken prisoner, so exasperated the Anglo-Norman commander when he was brought into his presence, that Milo de Cogan ordered his head to be struck off on the spot.

It would appear to have been not long after this that Dermond MacMurrogh died, on which it is said that Strongbow took the title and assumed the authority of King of Leinster in right of his wife. Raymond le Gros had now also returned from Aquitaine; he had delivered the

the Irish, there was one individual, Laurence, Archbishop of Dublin, who saw that the moment was favourable for yet another effort to save the country. Chiefly by his exertions, a great confederacy was formed of all the native princes, together with those of Man and the other surrounding islands, and a force was assembled around Dublin, with King Roderick as its commander-in-chief, of the amount, it is affirmed, of 30,000 men. Strongbow and Raymond, and Maurice Fitz-Gerald had all thrown themselves into the city, but their united forces did not make twice as many hundreds as the enemy numbered thousands. For the space of two months, however, the investing force appears to have sat still in patient expectation. Their hope was, that want of victuals would compel the garrison to surrender; and at length a message came from Strongbow, and a negotiation was opened; but before any arrangement was concluded, an extraordinary turn of fortune suddenly changed the whole position of affairs. While the besieged were anxiously deliberating on what it would be best for them to do, Donald Kavenagh, a son of the late King MacMurrogh, contrived to make his way into the city, and informed them that their friend, Fitz-Stephen, was besieged by the people of Wexford in his castle of Carrig, near that place, and that, if not relieved within a few days, he would assuredly, with his wife and children, and the few men who were with him, fall into the hands of the enemy. Fitz-Gerald proposed, and Raymond seconded the gallant counsel, that, rather than seek to preserve their lives with the loss of all besides, they should make a bold attempt to cut their way to their distressed comrades, and, at the worst, die like soldiers and knights.

The animating appeal nerved every heart. With all speed each man got ready and buckled on his armour, and the little band was soon set in array in three divisions. All things being thus arranged, about the hour of nine in the morning, they suddenly rushed forth from one of the gates, and threw themselves upon the vast throng of the enemy, whom their sudden onset so bewildered and confounded, that, while many were killed or thrown to the ground, the bold assailants scarcely encountered any resistance, and in a short time the scattered host was flying before them in all directions. King Roderick himself escaped with difficulty, and almost undressed, for he had been regaling himself with the luxury of a bath. Great store of victuals, armour, and other spoils was found in the deserted camp, with which the victors returned at night to the city, and there set everything in

order, and left a garrison well provided with all | Stephen himself they carried away with them to necessaries, before setting out the next morning an island called Beg-Eri, or Little Erin, lying not to the relief of their friends at Wexford. far from Wexford, having fled thither, after set

ting that town on fire, when they heard that Strongbow had got out of Dublin, and was on his march to their district. They now sent to inform the earl that, if he continued his approach, they would cut off the heads of Fitz-Stephen and his companions. Deterred by this threat, Strongbow deemed it best to turn aside from Wexford, and to take his way to Waterford.

Meanwhile, it had been determined to make another application to Henry; and Hervey of Mountmaurice had been despatched to England for that purpose. On reaching

The earl and his company marched on unop- | Waterford, Strongbow found Hervey there, just posed till they came to a narrow pass in the midst of bogs, in a district called the Odrone or Idrone. Here they found the way blocked up by a numerous force, but after a sharp action, in which the Irish leader fell, they succeeded in overcoming this hinderance, and were enabled to pursue their journey. They had nearly reached Wexford when intelligence was received that Fitz-Stephen and his companions were in the hands of the enemy. After standing out for several days against the repeated attacks of 3000 men, he and those with him, consisting of only five gentlemen and a few archers, had been induced to deliver up the fort, on receiving an assurance, solemnly confirmed by the oaths of the Bishops of Kildare and Wexford, and others of the clergy, that Dublin had fallen, and that the earl, with all the rest of their friends there, were killed. They promised Fitz-Stephen that, if he would surrender, they would conduct him to a place of safety, and secure him and his men from the vengeance of King Roderick. But as soon as they had got possession of their persons, "some," according to Giraldus, "they killed, some they beat, some they wounded, and some they cast into prison." Fitz

"A little further on and we arrive at a most interesting relic

of ancient days—the site of Carrick Castle, the first castle that was built by the Anglo-Normans in Ireland-not the small anLique tower which, situated on the pinnacle of a rock, forms one of the most strikingly picturesque objects in the kingdom, and which has long usurped the name and 'honours' of the fortress of Fitz-Stephen. The true castle of the first Anglo-Norman *adventurer and conqueror'-was on the opposite side of the river, a stately pile that crowned the summit of a rugged hill,

barely enough of which now remains to mark the space it occuped-for the plough has passed over nearly the whole of it."Hall's Ireland.

returned, with the king's commands that the earl should repair to him without delay. He and Hervey accordingly took ship. As soon as they landed, they proceeded to where Henry was, at Newnham, in Gloucestershire. He had returned from the Continent about two months before, and had ever since been actively employed in collecting and equipping an army and fleet, and making other preparations for passing over into Ireland. When Strongbow presented himself, he at first refused to see him; but after a short time he consented to receive his offers of entire submission. It was agreed that the earl should surrender to the king, in full possession, the city of Dublin, and all other towns and forts which he held along the coast of Ireland; on which condition he should be allowed to retain the rest of his acquisitions under subjection to the English crown. This arrangement being concluded, the king, attended by Strongbow and other lords, embarked at Milford. His force consisted of 500 knights or gentlemen, and about 4000 common soldiers. He landed at a place now called the Crook, near Waterford, on the 18th of October, 1171.

In the short interval that had elapsed since the departure of Strongbow, another attack had been made upon Dublin by Tiernan O'Ruarc; but the forces of the Irish prince were dispersed with great slaughter in a sudden sally by Milo de Cogan. This proved the last effort, for the present, of Irish independence. When the English king made his appearance in the country, he found its conquest already achieved, and nothing remaining for him to do except to receive the eagerly-offered submission of its various princes

and chieftains. The first that presented them- | the monarch," it is added, "came no nearer than selves were the citizens of Wexford, who had so to the side of the river Shannon, which divideth treacherously obtained possession of the person Connaught from Meath, and there Hugh de Lacy of Fitz-Stephen; and they endeavoured to make a and William Fitz-Aldelm, by the king's commandmerit of this discreditable exploit-bringing their ment, met him, who, desiring peace, submitted prisoner along with them as a rebellious subject, himself, swore allegiance, became tributary, and whom they had seized while engaged in making did put in (as all others did) hostages and pledges war without the consent of his sovereign. Before for the keeping of the same. Thus was all IreHenry removed from Waterford, the King of land, saving Ulster, brought in subjection." Cork, or Desmond, came to him of his own accord, After this, Henry kept his Christmas in Dublin, and took his oath of fealty. From Waterford he the feast being held in a temporary erection, conproceeded with his army to Lismore, and thence structed, after the Irish fashion, of wicker work, to Cashel, near to which city, on the banks of the while the Irish princes, his guests, were astonSuir, he received the homage of the other chief ished at the sumptuousness of the entertainment.

Henry remained in Ireland for some months longer, and Juring his stay, called toge ther a council of the clergy at Cashel, at which a number of constitutions or decrees were passed for the regulation of the church, and the reform of the ecclesiastical discipline, in regard to certain points where its laxity had long afforded matter of complaint and reproach. He is also said, by Matthew Paris, to have held a lay council at Lismore, at which provision was made for the extension to Ireland of the English laws. Henry employed all his arts of policy to attach Raymond le Gros, and the other principal English adventurers settled in Ireland, to his

Munster prince, the King of Thomond or Lime- | interest, that he might thereby the more weaken rick. The Prince of Ossory, and the other inferior chiefs of Munster, hastened to follow the example of their betters; and Henry, after receiving their submission, and leaving garrisons both in Cork and Limerick, returned through Tipperary to Waterford. Soon after, leaving Robert Fitz-Bernard in command there, he set out for Dublin. Wherever he stopped on his march, the neighbouring princes and chiefs repaired to him, and acknowledged themselves his vassals. Among them was Tiernan O'Ruarc. "But Roderick,

On the rock of Cashel, which rises boldly from a fertile plain, formerly was situated the residence of the Kings of Munster. Here, in 1666, we are informed by Sir James Ware (Ware's works), that he has seen the stone on which those reguli were inaugurated, and where they are said to have received their subordinate toparchs. The town, now much decayed, is chiefly planted round the southern and eastern sides of a mass of limestone. A remarkable stone-roofed chapel, and a round tower adjoining, are ascribed to Cormac, son of Cullenan, King of Munster and Bishop of Cashel, about the beginning of the tenth century, whose ancestor, Angus, was a disciple of the famous Patric at the period of the introduction of Christianity into Ireland; but the chapel is considered, upon better authority, to

the Earl of Pembroke and strengthen himself. At last, about the middle of Lent, ships arrived both from England and Aquitaine, and brought such tidings as determined the king to lose no time in again taking his way across the sea. So, having appointed Hugh de Lacy to be governor of Dublin, and, as such, his chief representative in his realm of Ireland, he set sail from Wexford at sunrise on Easter Monday, the 17th of April, 1172, and about noon of the same day, landed at Portfinnan, in Wales.

have been founded by Cormac MacCarthy, King of Munster and Bishop of Cashel, in the eleventh century. Both the chapel and the round tower were evidently erected prior to the foundation of the cathedral, which was built by Donald O'Brien, King of Limerick, immediately before the arrival of the English, towards the latter part of the twelfth century. The cathedral is cruciform, the choir and southern transept embracing Cormac's chapel on two sides. The abbey of the rock of Cashel, of which some remains still exist, was founded by David MacCarwell about 1260. A wall, intended for defence, surrounds the plat form on which the ruins stand. Some of the bastions belong. ing to this wall were standing at the beginning of the present century.