James, Fifth Earl of Ormonde. BORN A. D. 1420-BEHEADED A. D. 1461. THIS nobleman succeeded in 1451 to his father's title, estates, and political connexions. In 1449 he was created earl of Wiltshire. In 1450 he was one of the commissioners for the custody of Calais. In 1453 he was appointed lord lieutenant of Ireland for ten years. He seems to have been very distinguished for his activity and the confidence of the king. He was joined with the earl of Salisbury and other noblemen to guard the seas, receiving the tonnage and poundage to defray their expense. In 1455 he was appointed lord high treasurer of England. He was present at the battle of St Albans, and when the Yorkists gained the day, escaped by divesting himself of his armour; but king Henry recovering his authority, he was reinstated in office. He was, in 1456, made keeper of the royal forest of Pederton, in Somersetshire; and of Cranbourn chace, in Wilts and Dorset. He fitted out five ships against the earl of Warwick. At the battle of Wakefield, in December, 1460, when the duke of York was slain, this earl of Ormonde commanded one wing of the royal army. In the next year, however, he was taken in a bloody battle fought at Towton, in Yorkshire, and, with many others of the English nobility, beheaded by order of Edward IV.* O'Conor, Chief of Offaly. DIED A.D. 1465. Or this person, the descendant of a line of princes, we obtain one of those casual glimpses which, for the most part, is all that can be attained of those whose names have not found a place in the history of the English pale. He had accompanied his father, in 1451, in a predatory incursion into Kildare. Their party was surprised and scattered by an English company under the command of a knight named Fitz-Eustace. His father being thrown, his horse escaped, and he was in imminent danger of being taken by his pursuers, who were fast approaching. O'Conor, with a generous contempt of danger, dismounted and offered his own horse, which the father, with a disinterestedness worthy of such a son, refused to accept: the son persisted to press, and the father to refuse, and neither would be saved at the cost of the other. last the escape of the father became impossible; and his stern command was obeyed when obedience itself had become a dangerous duty. By an exertion of great steadiness and activity the son escaped. His father was released when it appeared that the incursion was bona fide in pursuit of prey. * Lodge. At Once more the same O'Conor appears about ten years after, exhibiting the same generosity of character. In the government of Thomas, eighth earl of Desmond, this nobleman received a defeat from a powerful combination of the septs of Meath. The Irish had a prejudice in favour of Desmond, whose title and family had acquired nationality in their eyes. O'Conor, who was among the principal leaders of the Irish, saw and availed himself of the feeling. He recollected the mercy by which his own father had been released; and being also connected by gossipry, or some such old Irish tie, with Desmond, he interposed to obtain his freedom. Calling him by the title of brother, he took possession of him, and led him away with many of his followers, to a safe distance from his captors, where he set them all at liberty.* Thomas, Eighth Earl of Desmond. beheaded a. d. 1467. THIS nobleman, the same mentioned in our last notice, was appointed lord deputy to the duke of Clarence, in 1463. His character appears to have a considerable resemblance to that of his father—encroaching, ambitious, and fond of the savage and semi-barbarous independence to which he had been trained. After the death of James, earl of Ormonde, an act was passed by the triumphant Yorkists for the attainder of many of his family. His brother escaped to Ireland with many followers; who, being proscribed in England, hoped to find refuge under his protection in Ireland. He soon collected a formidable force, and levied war against the deputy, Sir Rowland Fitz-Eustace. The earl of Desmond collected twenty thousand men, and after some checks, attributable to his want of military skill, came to an engagement, in which he gave them a defeat which completely scattered and subdued them. In consequence of this great service, Desmond was appointed deputy. His success in the field, and the elevation which followed, were too much for his weak and proud mind. Attributing all to his own valour, spirit, and greatness, his indiscretion was inflamed to a rash confidence, which was increased by flattery. His large territories swarmed forth a crowd of enthusiastic Irish, who, considering him as their countryman, were themselves elated with the pride of his glory and power, and fed his eyes and ears with daily admiration. But his conduct was not the less subject to the scrutiny of rivals, who, while jealous of his favour, were resentful of a success of which they felt his character to be undeserving. This is indeed the most bitter sting of jealousy: men seldom admit a sentiment of envy, when they admit answerable merit. It was immediately after that he received the deep mortification of a defeat, of which the result has been related in the notice last before this. In addition to the defeat, he had the mortification to be obliged * Leland. to compromise matters with O'Brien, the southern chief, by allowing him to retain his conquests, and a pension of 60 marks from the city of Limerick. He now became the object of loud accusation, and his enemies began to shake his power on every side. His rash wars and disgraceful treaties, his Irish friendships and connexions, his oppressions, and the intolerable insolence of his pretensions, were registered against him in malice. He, by his conduct, added weight to the machinations of his enemies; and at last, by a rash quarrel with the bishop of Meath, he made a powerful enemy, who collected the complaints of his enemies, and carried them to the English court. Desmond's great popularity was, however, sufficient as yet to sustain his imprudence. He held a parliament in Wexford which passed an address to the king, in which his successes were magnified, and his failures and follies suppressed. With this he went to England, and was received favourably by king Edward. His enemies were obliged to treasure their malice for a season, and he returned in high favour to his government. His conduct on his return was in some respects more cautious. He was more studious of the English interests, and made many regulations favourable to them. 66 But matters were working for his ruin. Holinshed notices a tradition, that when in England he had, with his characteristic incaution, expressed some remarks reflecting on the family of the lady Elizabeth Gray, in a conversation with the king, who was at the time bent on making her his queen. This the king afterwards told her, and Desmond was never forgiven. In aggravation of this offence, he was in the habit of sneering when she was spoken of in company, and frequently called her a taylor's wife." Her pride and her fears were equally excited. Her marriage with the king was an object of discontent to the English nobility; and she exerted herself with industrious malice for the ruin of one whose indiscretion had nigh been fatal to her ambition, and might yet injure her family. The occasion soon presented itself. Her father was to be raised to sudden honours; and having been made earl of Rivers, was to be further promoted by the high office of lord constable. The earl of Worcester held the office, but willingly resigned it, and was in recompense appointed lord deputy in Ireland. It is thought that in coming over, Worcester was privately pledged to the adoption of the queen's resentment; and the supposition is affirmed by his conduct. His appointment excited Desmond's resentment, and we may infer that it was rash and outrageous. It was alleged that he intended to set up for the independent sovereignty of Ireland. Many of the new deputy's acts were in themselves calculated to excite his anger, and shock his pride. Among others, his treaties were cancelled, his friends prosecuted, and his enemies supported. The parliament was adjourned to Drogheda, where it might be unbiassed by the influence of his supporters, and an act of attainder was passed against him. Habitual impunity, and the confidence acquired by long continued command, made Desmond bold. He could not conceive himself to be in danger. His immediate step was one of singular daring: he at once, without any reflection on the subject, repaired to the earl of Worcester to justify himself: he was seized without delay, and instantly beheaded. John, Sixth Earl of Ormonde. DIED A. D. 1478. THIS earl was attainted for his faithful adherence to the Lancasterian monarch. Edward IV., however, restored him in blood. He is memorable as the most finished gentleman of his day. Edward IV., himself eminent for manners and accomplishments beyond the rudeness of his age, said of him, "that he was the goodliest knight he ever beheld, and the finest gentleman in Christendom; and that if goodbreeding, good-nature, and liberal qualities were lost in the world, they might all be found in John, earl of Ormond."* He was master of most living languages of Europe, and had been employed by Edward IV. as his ambassador to every court. He did not marry. He made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where he died, 1478. Sir Ulick de Burgh. DIED A.D. 1429. THIS person was eminent for his great power, and for his activity and success in arms against the Irish septs. As it is our design to contract this portion of our history, we shall only say of his exploits, that they were as distinguished as those of most others who took part in the confused and petty warfare of which we have already had to detail so much; and as little worthy of historical detail. He married a daughter of the famous earl of Warwick, and died in 1429. Thomas, Seventh Earl of Kildare. died a. d. 1478. WE have already had occasion to advert to the chief political events of this nobleman's life under our notices of his illustrious contemporaries. He was, in 1460, deputy to the unfortunate duke of York. In 1463, he was lord chancellor. In 1467, he was attainted, with the earl of Desmond, and Edward Plunket; but had the good sense to escape from the bloody fate of the former of these eminent persons. On this occasion, while the rash confidence of the earl of Desmond, betrayed him into the hands of the lord deputy, who ordered off his head without hearing the representations to which he trusted, Kildare made his escape, and, appealing to the justice of Edward IV., was not * Lodge. only restored, but on the recall of the earl of Worcester, was made deputy in his room. Into his administration we need not specially enter. By his advancement, the Geraldine faction were restored to their ascendancy and the interests of the great rival house of Butler suffered a temporary depression. Kildare's opponents were put down with a high hand, and his dependents and connexions promoted. Faction was acquiring at that time a destructive energy and organization, which we shall hereafter have occasion to notice more expressly. So high was the power of this great earl, that the restoration of Henry VI. did not shake him in his seat. It was at this time that he first set on foot a remarkable scheme of combination for the defence of the English. It was improved afterwards in 1474, when an association of thirteen lords and gentlemen was authorized by parliament, under the denomination of "The Fraternity of St George." Of these the earl of Kildare was the principal; they were to meet on St George's day every year, to express their loyalty and adherence to the English government. Their captain was to be annually chosen on this anniversary meeting: he was to command a force of two hundred men, one hundred and twenty mounted archers, and forty men at arms likewise mounted, with an attendant to each. For the maintenance of this force, they were empowered to levy twelve pence in the pound upon all merchandise sold in Ireland except hides, and the goods of freemen in Dublin and Drogheda. They were also empowered to make laws for their own regulation and government; and had authority for the apprehension of outlaws, rebels, &c.* Meanwhile the earl of Ormonde, the political opponent of Kildare, was by the admirable prudence of his deportment, and the winning address of his manner and conversation, advancing into favour in the court of Edward; and under the protection and countenance of this accomplished nobleman, his numerous connexions and dependents were labouring to undermine Kildare. Their efforts were at last successful, and an enemy appointed in his place. He shortly after died, in 1478, and was buried in All Saints, near Dublin.† Sir Christopher Plunket. DIED A. D. 1445. THIS person was distinguished in the warfare of his time, under Henry VI. and Edward IV. Having been sheriff of Meath, he is said to have hurt his fortune by services which surpassed his means. This appears by a grant of 20 marks from Henry VI., dated 1426. In 1432, he was appointed deputy to Sir Thomas Stanley: Camden asserts to the duke of York. The real foundation of his fortune was a marriage with the daughter of Sir Lucas Cusack, lord of Killeen, Dunsany, &c., in the county of Meath. In consequence he became lord Killeen. He founded a church at Killeen, with four priests to pray * Stat. 14 Edward IV. Leland. + Lodge. |