Subsequently, in accordance with the promise contained in this letter, Turlough O'Conor Don presented himself before the king in Waterford, and there, as "Captain of his Nation," made his submission in the manner recorded in the following extracts :

"In the name of God, Amen. Let it appear evident by the present public instrument that in the year of our Lord, 1395, on the 29th day of April, in the conventual church of the Friars Minors, situate within the City of Waterford in Ireland, in the presence of our most excellent Lord, Richard, King of England and France, and Lord of Ireland, and also of a Notary public and the under-written witnesses, Terrelagh O'Conco' Don of Connaught, appearing and removing his mantle, hood, girdle, and dagger, on bended knees, at the foot of the said king, pronounced these words in the Irish tongue, which were by the Lord James, Earl of Ormond, faithfully rendered into English: 'I, Terrelagh O'Conco' Don of Connaught, Captain of my Nation, become a liegeman of my Lord, Richard, King of England and France, and Lord of Ireland, and of his heirs,' &c. 'I will be faithful to the same in all things, and will come to the said lord and his heirs, Kings of England, to his and their Parliament and Council, and elsewhere whensoever he or they shall send for me, and well and faithfully I will come to consult, and I will do in all and singular what a good and faithful liegeman ought, and is bound to do to his natural liege lord.' 'So help me God and these Holy Gospels of God.'

"The Holy Gospels having been touched and kissed, and the oath taken. The said Lord our King admitted the aforesaid Terrelagh O'Conco' Don as his liege. Which being finished, William de Borg, and Bernard, son of Tatheus O'Brien, and Dormicius, son of O'Brien of Thomond, and others made similar submissions. Then the Lords Patrick and Gregory, Bishops of Ferns and Dwacensis, threw themselves on bended knees before the lord the king, and said that Bernardus O'Brien, prince of Thomond (Princeps Thomonie), and Terrelagh O'Conco' Don of Connaught (Don de Conacia), had power of doing liege homage for their nations, and those under them, that is to say, O'Conco' Don' had power to do liege homage for

"Donald O'Conho', Tumoltagh M'Donagh, Roger O'Dowd, Shawn O'Hagh, Tadeus O'Hara, Tomaltagh O'Gara, Mulroony M'Dermoda, Malachy O'Galle, Eugene O'Madagan, Christanus O'Mulrennin, Odo O'Hanly, Tadeus O'Brien, Dormicius O'Flanagan, Shane M'Dearnama, and Tiernan O'Rourke.

"All which things were done as above written. There being then present the Venerable Lords, Fathers in Christ, Robert, by the Grace of God Archbishop of Dublin, Richard, Tideman, Robert, Robert, and William, Bishops of Chichester, Llandaff, Ossory, Lismore, and Waterford, and Clonfert; also Edward, Earl of Rutland and Cork; John Holland, Earl of Huntingdon, and Thomas Mowbray, Marshal of England, and Earl of Nottingham, witnesses to the premises specially called and summoned, and Thomas Sparkeford, Clerk of the Diocese of Bath and Wells, by Apostolic authority Notary Public," &c., &c.

"In the name of God, Amen. Let it appear evident by the present public instrument that in the year of our Lord, 1395, on the 1st day of May, the Lord Richard, King of England, &c., being on board the ship called 'The Trinity,' in the Port of Waterford, Terrelagh O'Conco' Don of Connaught, William de Borg, and Walter Bermynian, who some

In this instance the word "Don" in the original Latin is marked with an abbreviation mark, as if it were an abbreviation for "Dominus."

times, as it is said, were rebels against the said king, came on board the ship aforesaid, and saluted the said king, who 'desiring that they should not leave his sight without a reward or honour, created them knights, and signalized each knight,' and admitted them to the kiss of peace, and gave to them swords to be honestly used; and immediately afterwards the Lord Henry Percy, and the Lord William Arundell, knights, as a sign of such order, put golden spurs on their heels; and the aforesaid Terrelagh O'Conco' Don, William de Borg, and Walter Bermynian, so created knights, as well in bending the knee as also by stretching forth of hands, according to their powers bestowed the reverence due to so great a king.

"All and singular these things were done, in the year, month, day, and place above written, there being then present John Booz, Dean of the Free Chapel of the household of the king, brother John Borghulle, the king's confessor for the time being, and Thomas Merk, Monk of Westminster-and I, Thomas Sparkeford, Clerk of the Diocese of Bath and Wells," &c., &c.1

A few days afterwards Richard set sail for England, having during his stay in Ireland accomplished little beyond obtaining these formal submissions of the Irish chieftains.

Turlough O'Conor Don's reception amongst his countrymen, after his submission to King Richard, was not of the most cordial character. As stated by himself, he had waited on the king contrary to the wishes and advice of many of his chieftains; and on his return to Connaught, the old family disputes broke out with renewed vigour. The records of each year at this period are but records of the direful consequences of these animosities, which were perpetuated till the death of Turlough, which took place in 1406, under the following circumstances, as narrated in the Annals of the Four Masters2:—

"O'Conor Don, i.e., Turlough Oge, son of Hugh, son of Turlough, the protector and defending tower of Connaught in hospitality and nobleness, was slain by Cathal Duv, the son of O'Conor Roe, and by John, the son of Hubert, son of Edward, son of Hubert, son of David Burke, whose mother was Bean Mumhen, grand-daughter of Felim, at the house of Richard, son of John Burke, son of Edward, son of Hubert Burke, at Cregan, in Clan Conway, and John, the son of Hubert, fell by the hand of O'Conor at the same time."

From this it would appear that O'Conor was treacherously inveigled into the house of Burke, the kinsman of O'Conor Roe, and there attacked, and that he sold his life dearly, fighting to the last, and laying low one of his assailants.

ROD

CATHAL, SON OF RODERIC O'CONOR, 1406-1439.

On the murder of Turlough Oge, in 1406, his adherents formally proclaimed and inaugurated Cathal, son of his predecessor Roderic, altogether

For copy of original, see Appendix D.

Annals of the Four Masters, A.D. 1406.

ignoring the claims of Turlough Roe. That they should have done so was scarcely a matter for surprise, for, as we have seen, his legitimacy was questioned, and as O'Conor Don had been foully murdered by his son, any compact or agreement entered into with him was hardly likely to be respected. by the indignant friends of the murdered chief. Accordingly, Brien, son of Donnell O'Conor (O'Conor Sligo), and other chieftains, assembled at Carnfree after the death of O'Conor Don, and there solemnly inaugurated his first cousin, Cathal, as full King of Connaught. This proceeding, as might be expected, provoked the hostility of O'Conor Roe, and in the following year he, in conjunction with M'Dermot, attacked and defeated Cathal, who, on this occasion, was assisted by M'William Burke, whilst Brian O'Conor Sligo and the M'Donoughs attacked and destroyed O'Conor Roe's castle of Tulsk.

The condition of the English settlers in Ireland at this period would have been very critical had the O'Conors and other chieftains combined against them, and not wasted their resources in domestic broils. "Notwithstanding," says Leland," the affected superiority of the English, the power of the ancient natives was every day extending and increasing, when a reign of turbulence in England, and the reckless factions of the English lords in Ireland, deprived the Government of its necessary support. The borderers were by degrees driven to secure themselves against the inroads of the neighbouring Irish by bribes and pensions."1

"Had the whole Irish race arisen as one man against the subjects of the Crown of England, they must have instantly destroyed them. But the truth is, this little handful of men-for such they were, when compared to the body of the original natives-had the same ground of security with any of the particular Irish septs. They had enemies on all sides, but these were enemies to each other; nor were any concerned to espouse the quarrels of their neighbours, or mortified by their losses or defeats."?

To secure and strengthen the English interest in Ireland, "the Duke of Lancaster, when Governor of Ireland in 1408, stipulated, amongst other particulars, that men and money should be provided for his use; that the Act against absentees should be strictly enforced; and, to strengthen the English plantation still further, that one or two families should be transported to Ireland, at the king's expense, from every parish in England; that the Royal demesnes in Ireland should be removed from those to whom they had been precipitately granted, or who had fraudulently usurped them; and that besides

the pay of his forces, an annual pension of 1,000 marks should be secured to himself for seven years, that the support of his government might not entirely depend on the precarious issues of Irish revenue."1

Meanwhile, the dissensions between the Connaught chieftains continued. One of them now claimed to be full King of Connaught, and to regard all others as his subjects. In 1409 O'Conor Roe laid siege to the castle of Roscommon, the chief seat of his rival, destroyed a portion of the town, and burned the monks out of the monastery, lest they might convey intelligence to the castle. On the other hand, Brian O'Conor Sligo, the active defender of O'Conor Don, hearing of this siege, set out to bring succour to his chief, and on his arrival, succeeded in throwing provisions into the castle, and forced O'Conor Roe to retire. This was followed by attacks on O'Conor Roe's territory, which were subsequently followed by reprisals.

In 1410 a change took place in the sovereignty of England, Henry V. being proclaimed king; but this does not appear to have had any effect in Ireland, where a viceroy, named Stanley, sent over in 1414, appears to have been particularly obnoxious; and is stated to have shown no mercy to ecclesiastic, layman, or literary man, but to have plundered all with whom he came in contact. He died shortly after his arrival, his death being ascribed by the chroniclers of the times to the bitter poetic satires of O'Higgins of Westmeath, whom he had plundered.

Stanley was succeeded as viceroy by Sir John Talbot, otherwise called Lord Furnival, who, during his administration, brought many of the Irish chieftains under subjection, although in Connaught his power does not appear to have been considerable. In that province no events worthy of note occurred until 1418, when O'Kelly erected the small castle of Roscommon opposite the large one, in the space of fifteen days, in spite of the opposition of the sons of O'Conor Don and their allies; and although the sons of O'Conor Sligo, with a great force, attempted to demolish it, they failed in doing so. O'Kelly erected this castle as a point of attack on the great castle, which was the stronghold of O'Conor Don; and O'Conor Sligo, not being able to destroy the small castle, provisioned the large one, and then retired.

In 1422 Henry V., King of England, died in France, and his son, then an infant, was proclaimed king. This event is not even noticed in the Annals, but was followed in 1423 by an attack on the English by O'Neill and O'Donnell, in which the English were defeated; after which peace was made

1 1 Leland, Vol. II., p. 6.

with the viceroy; Dundalk and all the surrounding country, with its English inhabitants, being put under tribute to the Irish.

In 1426 Turlough Roe (O'Conor Roe) died. His death by no means. terminated the disputes between the rival families of O'Conors. The sons of O'Conor Roe continued the contest. The castle of Tulsk, which had been erected by O'Conor Roe in 1407, was the first object of contention. It had been taken from O'Conor Roe by O'Conor Don; and in 1430 it was retaken by Cathal Duv, the son of O'Conor Roe, who continued to annoy and harass O'Conor Don until 1433, when he died. Upon his death the family feud was continued by his brother Teige, who attacked and destroyed a great part of the castle of Ballintober.

The ease with which the Irish could have regained possession of their native land at this time, if they had only for a short time been united, appears from a record of the year 1430, in which, to use the words of Leland,1"we find the limits of the English pale as it stood in the ninth of Henry VI., defined in such a manner as gives a mortifying idea of the extent of the English power at this period. It informs us that the enemies and rebels had conquered and put under their tribute well-nigh all the counties of Limerick, Tipperary, Kilkenny, and Wexford; and in the nether parts, well-nigh all the counties of Carlow, Kildare, Meath, and Uriel; so that there is left unconquered and out of tribute little more than the county of Dublin."

Yet no advantage was taken of this state of things by the native kings or chieftains to consolidate their power, and all their resources and strength were wasted in futile family feuds. After a long reign spent in such exploits, Cathal O'Conor, styled by the annalists "King of Connaught," died in 1439.

HUGH, SON OF TURLOUGH OGE, AND TEIGE, SON OF TURLOUGH ROE, A.D. 1439-1461.

The hostilities between the O'Conors were renewed and intensified after the death of Cathal; and two rival chiefs were again set up in the persons of Teige, the son of O'Conor Roe, and Hugh, the son of Turlough Oge, or O'Conor Don. The former was recognised by all the clan Felim, as they now. called themselves; and the latter by O'Conor Sligo, and the M'Donoughs, whose territory of Tirrerill, in the county of Sligo, was, in 1446, divided between

'Leland, Vol. II., p. 23.