actually crowned as Edward VI., by the bishop of Meath, in Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin, in presence of the deputy Kildare, the archbishop of Dublin, and a great concourse of Anglo-Irish nobles, ecclesiastics, and officers. But this foolish business came to a sudden termination when Simnel was defeated and taken prisoner in England. Then Kildare and the others humbly sent to ask pardon of the king; who dreading their power if they were driven to rebellion, took no severer steps than to send over Sir Richard Edgecomb to exact new oaths of allegiance. In the following year the king invited them to a banquet at Greenwich; and one of the waiters who attended them at table was their idolized prince Lambert Simnel.

305. A little later on reports of new plots in Ireland reached the king's ears; whereupon in 1492 he removed Kildare from the office of deputy. These reports were not without foundation, for now a second claimant for the crown, a young Fleming named Perkin Warbeck, landed in Cork in 1492 and announced that he was Richard duke of York, one of the two princes that had been kept in prison by Richard III. And he was at once accepted by the Anglo-Irish citizens of Cork.

It was chiefly the English colonists who were concerned in the episodes of Simnel and Warbeck; the native Irish took little or no interest in either claimant.

306. The king now saw that his Irish subjects were ready to rise in rebellion for the house of York at every opportunity. He came to the resolution, therefore, to lessen their power by destroying the independence of their parliament; and having given Sir Edward Poynings instructions to this effect, he sent him over as deputy.

307. Poynings' first act was to lead an expedition to the north against O'Hanlon and Magennis, who had given shelter to some of the supporters of Warbeck. But he heard a rumour that the earl of Kildare was conspiring with O'Hanlon and Magennis to intercept and destroy himself and his army; and news came also that Kildare's

brother had risen in open rebellion and had seized the castle of Carlow. On this Poynings returned south and recovered the castle.

308. He convened a parliament at Drogheda in November, 1494, the memorable parliament in which the act since known as "Poynings' law" was passed. The following are the most important provisions of this law:

1. No parliament was in future to be held in Ireland until the Irish chief governor and privy council had sent the king information of all the acts intended to be passed in it, with a full statement of the reasons why they were required, and until these acts had been approved and permission granted by the king and privy council of England. This single provision is what is popularly known as "Poynings' law."

2. All the laws lately made in England affecting the public weal should hold good in Ireland. This referred only to English laws then existing; it gave no power to the English parliament to make laws for Ireland in the future.

3. The Statute of Kilkenny was revived and confirmed, except the part forbidding the use of the Irish tongue, which could not be carried out, as the language was now used everywhere, even through the English settlements.

4. For the purpose of protecting the settlement, it was made felony to permit enemies or rebels to pass through the marches; and the owners of march lands were obliged to reside on them or send proper deputies on pain of losing their estates.

5. The exaction of coyne and livery was forbidden in any shape or form.

6. Many of the Anglo-Irish families had adopted the Irish war-cries; the use of these was now strictly forbidden.*

*The war-cry of the O'Neills was Lamh-derg abu, i.e., the Redhand to victory (lamh, pron. lauv, a hand). That of the O'Briens and Mac Carthys, Lamh-laidir abu, the Strong-hand to victory (laidir, pron. lauder, strong). The Kildare Fitzgeralds took as

In this parliament the earl of Kildare was attainted for high treason, mainly on account of his supposed conspiracy with O'Hanlon to destroy the deputy; in consequence of which he was soon afterwards arrested and sent a prisoner to England.

309. Up to this the Irish parliament had been independent; it was convened by the chief governor whenever and wherever he pleased; and it made its laws without any interference from the parliament of England. Now Poynings' law took away all this power and made the parliament a mere shadow, entirely dependent on the English king and council.

This indeed was of small consequence at the time; for the parliament was only for the Pale, and no native Irishman could sit in it. But when at a later period English law was made to extend over the whole country, and the Irish parliament made laws for all the people of Ireland, then Poynings' law which still remained in force was felt by the people of Ireland to be one of their greatest griev

ances.

310. During the whole time that this parliament was sitting the Warbeck party were actively at work in the south. But Warbeck had at last to fly; and the rest of his career belongs to English rather than to Irish history. In 1499 he was hanged at Tyburn, with John Walter, mayor of Cork, his chief supporter in that city.

311. A double ditch or wall was at this time built all along on the boundary of the Leinster settlement from sea to sea to keep out the Irish. This little territory was called the Pale; and it remained so circumscribed for many years, but afterwards became enlarged from time to time.

their cry Crom abu, from the great Geraldine castle of Crom or Croom in Limerick; the earl of Desmond Shanit abu, from the castle of Shanid in Limerick. Most of the other chiefs, both native and Anglo-Irish, had their several cries.

CHAPTER XIII.

GARRETT, THE GREAT EARL OF KILDARE.

(1477-1513.)

312. Garrett or Gerald Fitzgerald, who is known as the Great earl of Kildare, became the eighth earl in 1477. His sister Eleanora was married to Conn O'Neill chief of Tyrone (father of Conn Bacach). He was at this time in custody in London, but only on mere suspicion (308). The king now resolved to govern Ireland through him : but first brought him up to answer the charges. A whole crowd of enemies came forward to accuse him. He was charged with burning the church of Cashel, to which he replied, that it was true enough, but that he would not have done so only he thought the archbishop was in it. The archbishop himself was present listening; and this reply was so unexpectedly plain and blunt that the king burst out laughing.

The king advised him to have the aid of counsel, saying that he might have anyone he pleased; to which the earl answered that he would have the best counsel in England, namely, the king himself; at which his majesty laughed as heartily as before. At last when one of his accusers exclaimed with great vehemence: "All Ireland cannot rule this man!" the king ended the matter by replying: "Then if all Ireland cannot rule him, he shall rule all Ireland!"

Thus the great earl triumphed; and the king restored him, and made him lord lieutenant of Ireland. (1496.)

313. There was at this time a bitter war between the O'Neills and O'Donnells; and the earl often went north to aid his brother-in-law Conn O'Neill.

314. The most important event the great earl was ever engaged in was the battle of Knockdoe, which came about in this way. O'Kelly chief of Hy Many, having a quarrel with Mac William Burke of Clanrickard, applied for help to

the earl of Kildare. Kildare and O'Kelly enlisted on their side the chiefs of almost all the north of Ireland except O'Neill. On the other side Burke, knowing what was coming, collected a considerable army, being joined by many of the native chiefs of the south, among others O'Brien of Thomond, Macnamara, and O'Carroll; and he awaited the approach of his adversary on a low hill called Knockdoe-the hill of the battle-axes-about eight miles from Galway.

The battle that followed, which was fought in 1504, was the most obstinate, bloody, and destructive fought in Ireland since the invasion, with the single exception of the battle of Athenry (251). The southern men, who were far outnumbered by the earl's forces, held the field for several hours; but in the end they suffered a total overthrow, with a loss of upwards of 2,000. The victors encamped on the battle-field for twenty-four hours; and the next day Galway and Athen opened their gates to the earl.

315. On the accession of Henry VIII. in 1509 the great earl was made lord deputy. The next year, 1510, he set out on an expedition, which did not end so well for him as the battle of Knockdoe. Having overrun a good part of south Munster, he invaded Thomond, but was utterly routed near Limerick by O'Brien and Burke of Clanrickard, and saved himself and the remnant of his army by flight.

316. This defeat did not check the warlike activity of the earl. Two years later, in 1512, he captured Roscommon; after which he went north, took the castle of Belfast, and plundered the Glens of Antrim, the Scottish Mac Donnells' district. In 1513 he made an unsuccessful attempt to take O'Carroll's castle of Leap in King's County; and soon after died at Athy.