479. The night was unusually dark, wet, and stormy; the guides lost their way, and the army wandered aimlessly and wearily, till at length at the dawn of day, O'Neill unexpectedly found himself near the English lines, which he saw were quite prepared to receive him.

His own men were wearied and his lines in some disorder, so he ordered the army to retire a little, either to place them in better order of battle or to postpone the attack. But Mountjoy's quick eye caught the situation, and he hurled his cavalry on the retreating ranks. For a whole hour O'Neill defended himself, still retiring, till his retreat became little better than a rout. All efforts to rally his. ranks were vain; by some mistake Del Aguila's attack did not come off; and the Irish lost the battle of Kinsale.

480. Soon after the battle Del Aguila surrendered the town; and having agreed also to give up the castles of Baltimore, Castlehaven, and Dunboy, which were garrisoned by Spaniards, he returned to Spain.

481. On the night following that fatal day, the Irish chiefs retired with their broken army to Innishannon. Here they held a sad council, in which it was resolved to send O'Donnell to Spain for further help; leaving his Tirconnellian forces in command of his brother Rory. Philip king of Spain received him most cordially, and assured him that he would send with him to Ireland an armament much more powerful than that of Del Aguila.

482. But Red Hugh O'Donnell never saw his native Ulster more. He took suddenly ill at Simancas, and hig bodily ailment was intensified by sickness of heart, for he had heard of the surrender of Kinsale and of the fall of Dunboy; and he died on the 10th of September 1602 in the twenty-ninth year of his age.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE SIEGE OF DUNBOY.

(1602.)

483. THE Irish chiefs were very indignant with Del Aguila for surrendering Kinsale; and they were incensed beyond measure when they heard that he had agreed to hand over to the deputy the castles of Baltimore, Castlehaven, and Dunboy. The castles had not yet been given however, and Donall O'Sullivan Beare, the owner of Dunboy, resolved to regain possession of it and defend it.

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484. In February 1602, he threw in a body of native troops under the command of Richard Mac Geoghegan and Thomas Taylor an Englishman. The Spaniards were overpowered and sent away; and now Mac Geoghe gan's whole garrison amounted to 143 men, who straightway began to make preparations for a siege.

It might seem an act of madness for such a small garrison to attempt a defence against the overwhelming force at the disposal of Carew: but O'Sullivan hoped that O'Donnell would return with help from king Philip, and that the fortress could hold out till the arrival of the Spaniards.

The

485. Carew set out from Cork with 3,000 men, sending round his ships with ordnance and stores. At Bantry Sir Charles Wilmot joined him with 1,000 more. whole army was conveyed to Great Beare Island by sea in the first few days of June; and encamped near the illstarred castle. The devoted little garrison never flinched at sight of the powerful armament of 4,000 men, and only exerted themselves all the more resolutely to strengthen their position.

486. And now the siege was begun in good earnest, and day after day the ordnance thundered against the walls. On the 17th of June the castle was so shattered

that Mac Geoghegan sent to Carew offering to surrender, on condition of being allowed to march out with arms : but Carew's only answer was to hang the messenger and to give orders for a final assault. The storming party were resisted with desperation and many were killed on both sides; but the defenders were driven from turret to turret by sheer force of numbers: till at last they had to take refuge in the eastern wing which had not yet been injured.

487. The only way to reach this was by a narrow passage where firearms could not be used; and a furious hand to hand combat was kept up for an hour and a half, while from various standpoints the defenders poured down bullets, stones, and every available missile on the assailants, killing and wounding great numbers.

While this was going on some of the besiegers, by clearing away a heap of rubbish, made their way in by a back passage, so that the garrison found themselves assailed on all sides; whereupon forty of them sallying out, made a desperate rush for the sea, intending to swim to the island. But before they had reached the water they were intercepted and cut down, all but eight who plunged into the sea; and for these the president had provided by stationing a party with boats outside, "who," in Carew's words, "had the killing of them all."

488. This furious struggle had lasted during the whole long summer day, and it was now sunset; the castle was a mass of ruins, and the number of the garrison was greatly reduced. Late as it was the assault was vigorously renewed; and after another hour's fighting the assailants gained all the upper part of the castle; and the Irish, now only seventy-seven, took refuge in the cellars. Then Carew, leaving a strong guard at the entrance, withdrew his men for the night; while those in the castle enjoyed their brief rest as best they could, knowing what was to come with the light of day.

489. On the next morning-the 18th of June-Taylor was in command; for Mac Geoghegan was mortally

wounded; and the men resolved to defend themselves to the last, except twenty-three who laid down their arms and surrendered. Carew now directed his cannons on the cellars till he battered them into ruins on the heads of the devoted band; and at length Taylor's men forced him to surrender. When a party of English entered to take the captives, Mac Geoghegan, who was lying on the floor, his life ebbing away, snatched a lighted candle from Taylor's hand, and exerting all his remaining strength, staggered towards some barrels of powder which stood in a corner of the cellar. But one of Carew's officers caught him and held him in his arms, while the others killed him with their swords.

490. On that same day Carew executed fifty-eight of those who had surrendered. He reserved Taylor and fourteen others to tempt them to give information; but as they firmly refused to purchase their lives on such terms, he had them all hanged.

491. It is from Carew himself that this account of the siege is chiefly taken: and he concludes by saying that of the 143 defenders of Dunboy "no one man escaped, but were either slaine, executed, or buried in the ruins; and so obstinate and resolved a defence had not been seene within this kingdom." The powder that was in the vaults was heaped together and ignited; and all that remained of Dunboy was blown into fragments, except two parallel side walls which still remain.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE RETREAT OF O'SULLIVAN BEARE.

(1603.)

492. After the capture of Dunboy, Donall O'Sullivan the lord of Beare and Bantry had no home; and finding that he could no longer maintain himself and his followers where he was, he resolved to bid farewell to the land

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of his inheritance and seek a refuge in Ulster. On the last day of the year 1602 he set out from Glengarriff on his memorable retreat, with 400 fighting men, and 600 women, children, and servants. The march was one unbroken scene of conflict and hardship. They were everywhere confronted or pursued by enemies, who attacked them when they dared; and they suffered continually from fatigue, cold, and hunger.

493. They fled in such haste that they were able to bring with them only one day's provisions, trusting to be able to obtain food as they fared along; for O'Sullivan had plenty of money, which had been sent to him from Spain. But they found the country people too much terrified by Carew's threats to give them help or shelter or to sell them provisions. As they could not buy, they had either to take by force or starve, which explains much of the hostility they encountered; for no man will permit his substance to be taken without resistance. Scarce a day passed without loss: some fell behind or left the ranks overcome with weariness; some sank and died under accumulated hardships; and others were killed in fight.

494. The first day they made their way to Ballyvourney, after a journey of about twenty-four miles over the mountains. Here they rested for the night. On next through Duhallow, till they reached Liscarroll, where John Barry of Buttevant attacked their rear as they crossed the ford, and after an hour's fighting killed four of their men, but lost more than four himself. Skirting the north base of the Ballyhoura Mountains, they encamped one night beside the old hill of Ardpatrick. Their next resting place was the Glen of Aherlow, where among the vast solitudes of the Galtys they could procure no better food than herbs and water: and the night sentries found it hard to perform their duty, oppressed as they were with fatigue and hunger. For the first part of their journey they made tents each evening to sleep in; but they were not able to continue this. so that they had to lie under the open sky,