soon promised to become chronic. His prodigal grants to his English followers and their creatures had established in the East of Ireland an oligarchy of enriched bankrupts and upstarts which soon became intolerable to the people. Although the King of England had received the nominal submission of most of the Irish kings and chieftains, this submission lasted in reality only so long as he was present to enforce it, and his real power was confined to but a small portion of the island. Ulster still remained absolutely independent, and many of the other kings and chieftains who had recognised the authority of the English sovereign were ready to repudiate it on the first convenient opportunity. Such an opportunity soon arose. Strongbow, who had taken up his residence at Ferns, the ancient seat of the Kings of Leinster, received orders shortly after Henry's departure, to join him with all the forces he could command, in order to oppose a formidable league which had been raised up against the English monarch by his own sons. These orders he immediately obeyed, and leaving his yet unsettled possessions in Leinster open to the Irish enemy, he started for England.

Strongbow's departure furnished the opportunity desired by the Irish chieftains. They boldly disavowed their late submission, and broke out into open revolt, which so alarmed the English monarch that he at once dispensed with Strongbow's services in England, and sent him back to Ireland with increased powers. Before his departure he was invested with the office of Viceroy of Ireland, and the city of Waterford and the castle of Wicklow were granted to him by the king.

Immediately after his return, Strongbow determined, in the first instance, to punish O'Brien, who had in his absence shown signs of disaffection, and accordingly he proceeded with a large army into Munster. In this emergency Roderic O'Conor, forgetting his former rivalry with O'Brien, and the treachery and desertion of the Irish cause by the latter, laid aside all feelings of jealousy, and marched to O'Brien's assistance. Disconcerted by this addition to the Munster army, the English commanders sent for reinforcements to Dublin, and these having arrived, they proceeded with all possible speed to Thurles, where they were attacked by the united armies of Munster and Connaught,

In this year, 1172, Tiernan O'Rourke was treacherously slain near Athboy, in Meath, by Hugh de Lacy and an O'Rourke, one of his own tribe. "He was beheaded by them, and they conveyed his head and body ignominiously to Dublin. The head was placed over the gate of the fortress as a spec tacle of intense pity to the Irish; and the body was gibbeted, with the feet upwards, at the northern side of Dublin."-Annals of the Four Masters, A.D. 1172.

completely defeated, and forced to retreat to Waterford, having lost 1,700

men.1

Instead of following up this brilliant victory by an advance upon Waterford, O'Brien, satisfied at having driven the English out of his own territory, returned home, leaving to Roderic O'Conor alone the task of carrying on the war against the English. Roderic, who was now little more than King of Connaught, was shortly after joined by Donnell Kavanagh, the son of the late Dermot M'Morrough, who had seen with jealousy the throne of his father occupied by a stranger, and who hoped to recover the kingdom of Leinster for himself. The confederate Irish force then marched into Meath, and demolished all the forts which had been erected there by Sir Hugh de Lacy, laying waste the country to the very gates of Dublin, whilst Hugh Tyrrell, Governor of the castle of Trim, finding himself unable to defend it, destroyed the fortifications, and burned down all the combustible portions of the castle, to prevent O'Conor placing a garrison therein, and then fled to Dublin with his soldiers.

Strongbow now began to be seriously alarmed at the spread of this antiEnglish spirit, and fearing a mutiny amongst his own troops, sent messengers to the popular champion, Raymond le Gros, who was then in England, requesting him to return and resume the command of the army in Ireland assuring him, at the same time, that his own sister, Basilia, was anxiously awaiting his arrival in order to marry him.

On receiving this intelligence, Raymond hastily collected together 30 knights, 100 men-at-arms, and 300 archers, and embarked with Meyler FitzHenry for Waterford. Just as his ships appeared in sight, the citizens of Waterford were about to rise and to put all the English to death, but his arrival completely changed the state of affairs. No opposition was offered to him, and, having united his forces with those of Strongbow, they both proceeded to Wexford, where his nuptials with the Lady Basilia were speedily celebrated. Immediately after the ceremony, the English at Wexford were affrighted on hearing that Roderic O'Conor was marching upon Dublin, and Raymond was forced at once to take the field. This, however, was but a false rumour, as Roderic, having overrun Meath, and destroyed the castles which were erected there, returned to Connaught in triumph, without coming into contact with the English forces. Raymond then appointed Hugh Tyrrell

1,700.

1 According to the Irish Annals, the English lost only 700 men. O'Donovan states the number at

Governor of Meath, and having given him the charge of rebuilding or repairing the castles which had been injured or destroyed by the Irish, returned to Wexford.

By his marriage, Raymond le Gros obtained the lands of Idrone and Fothart, now the barony of Forth and Glascarrig, in the north-east of the county of Wexford, and he was appointed by the Earl of Pembroke to the high office of Constable and Standard-bearer of Leinster. He also acquired the district of Courtstown, in the county of Kilkenny, which he transmitted to his descendants, who assumed the surname of Graas, or Grace, from his sobriquet of "le Gros."

To retain his influence with the soldiery, Raymond soon found it necessary to renew hostilities, and the unfortunate people of the south became the prey of the rapacious band which he commanded; but a check was put for a time to these proceedings by news which came from England.

According to Giraldus, the Bull of Pope Adrian IV., before alluded to, and a subsequent confirmation of it by Pope Alexander III., were, for the first time, published in Ireland, in the year 1175, and William FitzAdelm de Burgh, and Nicholas, Prior of Wallingford, were appointed to make known the contents of these documents to the Irish hierarchy and clergy; and to get their adhesion to the English monarch. A synod of the bishops was assembled to meet them, and the papal grants were there inspected and publicly read. After performing their commission, the Prior of Wallingford and FitzAdelm repaired to the king, who was then in Normandy, and reported to him their views on the state of Ireland. In explanation of the increased disorders which prevailed in that unfortunate country, they accused Raymond le Gros of having converted the English army into a mere band of freebooters, whose continual depredations had driven into revolt, not only the native Irish, but even the more friendly disposed population of the Dano-Irish towns. To this they added, that Raymond intended, with the aid of the army, to usurp the dominion of the whole island, and had even secretly sworn the soldiers to assist him in his treasonable designs.

Henry listened with attention to their recital, and giving full credence to it, sent over two lords of his court, ordering them to bring Raymond with them into Normandy; whilst two other noblemen, who accompanied them, were charged to remain with the Earl of Pembroke, and to assist him with their advice. On receiving the orders of his sovereign, Raymond prepared at once to obey, but as he was waiting for a fair wind to set sail for Normandy, intelligence arrived that O'Brien of Thomond had surrounded Limerick with a large

force, and that all the provisions laid in for the garrison having been exhausted, they were reduced to the last extremity. On the receipt of this information, Strongbow ordered out all his forces, and prepared to march at their head for the relief of Limerick. But a new triumph awaited Raymond. The soldiers refused to march under any other leader, and Strongbow, having consulted with the king's commissioners, and received their sanction, requested him to take the command of the expedition.

To this Raymond, with feigned reluctance, consented. The force he had then under his command consisted only of 80 heavy cavalry, 200 horse, and 300 archers; but these were joined, on their march, by bands of Irish infantry, under the chiefs of Ossory and South Munster, who were hostile towards O'Brien. Before this force arrived at Cashel they learned that O'Brien, hearing of their approach, had raised the siege of Limerick, and lay, strongly entrenched, in a defile, near Cashel, through which the English and their adherents must necessarily pass. Undaunted by the dangerous nature of the defile, Raymond determined to force his way through it, and was strengthened in this resolution by the taunts of the chieftain of Ossory, who plainly told him that, if he hesitated, he would join O'Brien. Meyler Fitz Henry, taking command of the vanguard, the expedition started, the defile was reached, and, before very long, the English carried all before them, the men of Thomond being routed with great slaughter. This victory was followed by the most important results: Limerick was immediately relieved; Raymond was free to return to Leinster; and O'Brien, exhausted by the useless struggle in which he had been engaged, was induced to sue for terms of peace.

About the same time Roderic O'Conor, finding himself deserted by nearly all his allies, determined also to come to an arrangement with the English, and a conference was agreed upon, which took place near the river Shannon; Roderic O'Conor, with his troops, taking up his position on the western shore of Lough Derg, O'Brien and his followers occupying the opposite bank, and the English general choosing a place near Killaloe, at an equal distance from both. This conference ended in the submission of both O'Conor and O'Brien, who renewed their allegiance to King Henry, and gave hostages for their future good behaviour.

In the course of the same year, 1175, Roderic O'Conor sent over to England an embassy empowered to negotiate in his name, consisting of Catholicus O'Duffy, Archbishop of Tuam, Concors, abbot of St. Brendan's, and Laurence O'Toole, Archbishop of Dublin and Chancellor of the Irish king. These plenipotentiaries, having waited upon the King of England at

Windsor, a great council was held there by extraordinary summons, and a solemn treaty ratified, the terms of which were as follows:

"Henry granted to his liegeman, Roderic, that, so long as he continued faithfully to serve him, he should be a king under him, and that he should hold his hereditary territories as firmly and peaceably as he had held them before the coming of Henry into Ireland. He was likewise to have under his dominion and jurisdiction all the rest of the island, and the inhabitants thereof, kings and princes included, and was bound to oblige them to pay tribute, through his hands, to the King of England, preserving to that monarch his other rights. These kings, chieftains, and nobles, were likewise to hold peaceable possession of their principalities, so long as they remained faithful to the King of England, and paid him their tribute, and all other dues, through Roderic's hands-saving in all things the honour and prerogative of both these kings. And in case that any of them should rebel against the King of England, or against Roderic, and refuse to pay their tribute, or perform other duties in the manner before prescribed, or should depart from their fealty to the King of England, Roderic was then authorized to judge them, and if required, remove them from their governments or possessions; and should his own power be insufficient for that purpose, he was to be assisted by the English king's constable and his household. The annual tribute demanded of Roderic and the Irish at large was a merchantable hide for every tenth head of cattle slaughtered in Ireland.

"The said Roderic, King of Connaught, was, moreover, empowered to take hostages from all those whom the King of England had committed to him, at his own and the King of England's choice, and was to give the said hostages to the King of England or others at the king's choice; and all those from whom these securities were demanded, were to perform certain annual services to the King of England, and were not to detain any person whatsoever, belonging to any land or territory of that prince, against his will or commandment."

"It was further agreed that if any of the Irish who had fled from the territories of the king's barons, should desire to return thither, they might do so in peace, upon paying the tribute above-mentioned, or performing the services they were anciently accustomed to perform for their lands-according as their lords should think proper; and if any of the Irish, who were subjects of Roderic, as King of Connaught, should refuse to return to him, he was empowered to compel them to do so."

Such in substance were the articles of the treaty drawn up, and ratified in a council of prelates and barons, eight of whom, including Laurence O'Toole, Archbishop of Dublin, subscribed their names to the document.

The amount of power and jurisdiction still left to the King of Connaught by this treaty was very great; but the extent of territory within which he could exercise his authority was strictly limited. In none of the districts immediately under the dominion of the King of England and his barons was Roderic allowed to interfere, or to claim any rights whatsoever. This exempted territory, which formed what was called the English Pale, included Dublin, the whole of Meath, besides Waterford, and the country