Unprepared for this sudden attack, some of his opponents fled to Leyney in the county of Sligo, and to Tyrawly in Mayo, whilst the sons of Roderic withdrew to Kilkelly, where they got ready to defend themselves. Hugh, with the English in his pay, pursued them to Meelick, in the barony of Gallen, and county of Mayo, and then devastated Leyney, where he compelled the chieftain of that district, O'Hara, to submit to him, upon which the sons of Roderic and their followers separated, some joining O'Flaherty, and some submitting to Hugh O'Conor, who had meanwhile proceeded to Tyrawly.

Whilst these events were taking place in the northern part of Connaught, O'Brien and the English mercenaries from Munster, were devastating the southern part of that kingdom, much to the dissatisfaction of Hugh, who, now that his enemies had submitted, was very desirous to get rid of his allies. To accomplish this was not so very easy, as the troops from the south were determined not to leave the country without securing for themselves a large share of plunder.

"Woeful," say the annalists, "were the misfortunes which God permitted to fall upon the best province in Ireland at that time, for the young women did not spare each other, but preyed and plundered each other to the utmost. Women and children, the feeble, and the lonely poor, perished of cold and famine in that war."

O'Flaherty, finding that further resistance was useless, at length sued for peace, and an arrangement was agreed upon between him and Hugh O'Conor at Tuam, after which Hugh dismissed the English who had been in his service, giving hostages to them for the payment of their wages.

The peace thus hurriedly concluded lasted no longer than the power to enforce it was apparent. As soon as the English and the other allies of the King of Connaught departed, O'Flaherty again revolted, and raised the standard of the sons of Roderic. The English justiciary, hearing of this revolt, at once sent an army under the command of William Grace to oppose O'Flaherty in south-west Connaught, whilst Hugh O'Conor himself attacked the sons of Roderic in the north. Success for a time favoured O'Flaherty, who completely defeated the English, and drove them eastwards towards Athlone; but Hugh O'Conor, having broken up the combination in the north, turned his attention to the south, defeated O'Flaherty, and compelled him to give hostages for his future good behaviour, and for the preservation of peace. And "this," according to the annalists, "was a necessary rest, for there was not a church or a hosting in Connaught which had not been plundered and devastated."

After this war Hugh O'Conor's authority in Connaught was completely re-established, and peace for a short time restored. The wants of the English exchequer very soon disturbed this tranquillity. The bribe offered by Richard de Burgh, for a recognition of his claim to Connaught was not without its effect, and, as a larger subsidy was apparently to be obtained from him than what the King of Connaught was willing to grant, it was determined to deprive the latter of his kingdom.

A mandate was accordingly issued to Geoffrey de Marisco, the justiciary, on 30th June, 1226, directing him to summon Odo (Hugh), King of Connaught, before the king's court, that he might "surrender the land of Connaught, which he ought no longer to hold, on account of his father's and his own forfeiture;" and further directing that "if he do not surrender" the kingdom, the justiciary shall inquire into the truth of the forfeiture, and, "if it be proved," take the country into the king's possession. At the very same time, and without waiting for any proof of forfeiture, another order was issued to the same functionary, directing him to hand the territory over to De Burgh, "to hold of the K. at a rent of 300 marks, for the first five years, and 500 marks subsequently; five of the best cantreds nearest to the castle of Athlone, to be retained for the K."

In the following month, July, 1226, the justiciary was further ordered that "when Richard de Burgh shall have obtained seizin of the land of Connaught by judgment of the king's court in Ireland, the justiciary cause Richard to have forty-six days for rendering the service due to the king in Ireland to aid him in fortifying that land."

These directions of the King of England were not so easily carried out.

Windsor (Pt. 10, Henry III., m. 4).

"Cantred." The extent of land in a cantred is uncertain. Sir James Ware, in his Antiquities of Ireland, Vol. II., p. 30, quotes the following from a MS. written about the beginning of the reign of Edward I., and preserved in the library of Archbishop Usher :

"A cantred contains thirty townlands. Every townland can pasture 300 cows, and if the cows be divided into four herds, none of the herds shall come near the others. Every townland contains eight plowlands. Munster contains 70 cantreds; Leinster, 31; Connaught, 30; Ulster, 35, and Meath, 18; in all 184 cantreds."

Cambrensis states: "A cantred is such portion of land as usually contains 100 towns." "So that," says Ware, "the quantity of a cantred, which is the same with the Saxon hundred,' is not ascertained by any fixed measure. And as the quantity of a cantred is variable and uncertain, so also is the quantity of a caracute, or plowland, which is greater or less according to the quality of the soil, though it is commonly reputed to be such portion of land as can give employment to one plow through the year."

The King of Connaught naturally declined, in this easy way, to surrender his dominions, and in August, 1226, the justiciary informed the King of England that "the King of Connaught, at the instigation of William Crassus,1 has become heedless of the K's mandates. The justiciary summoned him to come to Dublin with, and under the safe-conduct of, William de Lacy. As the king did not come, the justiciary appointed a day for him at the K's castle of Athlone, which is on the confines of the king's territory, and is fortified with men and provisions against the K. If he does not come thither, the justiciary will proceed to carry out against him such orders as the king may give."

This latter alternative, of meeting the English representative at Athlone, Hugh O'Conor does not appear to have accepted, but in the following year, 1227, he consented to attend a council in Dublin, when the Anglo-Norman barons treacherously attempted to make him a prisoner. To this treachery the viceroy, De Marisco, was no party. Having received some intimation of the intended attempt, he most honourably gave Hugh timely notice of it, and thus enabled him to defeat the project, and to make his escape. The King of Connaught at once returned to his own country, assembled his forces, attacked the English at Athlone, defeated them, and took many prisoners, some of whom he subsequently exchanged for his hostages, then in the hands of his opponents.3

This complete rupture between the King of Connaught and the English was immediately followed by the execution of the grant of Connaught to Richard de Burgh. Henry, by royal charter, dated 21st May, 1227, granted to Richard de Burgh "all the land of Connaught" which the King Oethos (Hugh) had forfeited, reserving "the rents mentioned above;"" five of the best cantreds near Athlone," and "episcopal investitures." This decree of the English monarch appears to have troubled the King of Connaught very little. Henry had no power to enforce it; and, for the time at least, it was regarded merely as an idle threat. The provincial king was just then far more troubled by domestic dissensions. The sons of Roderic O'Conor were again in arms against him, and seized his wife Rainault, or Reginalda, who was daughter of

' William Crassus. William Grace, who, as before mentioned, had been sent by the justiciary to assist the King of Connaught.

Annals of the Four Masters, A.D. 1227. It is there stated that William Mareschal assisted Hugh O'Conor to escape, and escorted him to Connaught.

Annals of the Four Masters, A. D. 1227. Hugh O'Conor's son and daughter were hostages with the English.

4 Irish Synchronisms. Ashburnham Collection.

Auley O'Ferrall, and delivered her a prisoner to De Burgh. Probably at the same time, Hugh's daughter also fell into the hands of the Anglo-Norman baron, who, struck by her beauty,' determined to make her his wife, and, by marrying her, established a new claim to the succession of Connaught.

Shortly after the capture of his wife, Hugh became reconciled with Geoffrey de Marisco, the justiciary, who had acted such a friendly part on a former cccasion, and in 1228 accepted an invitation to pay him a visit, which turned out most unfortunately for the King of Connaught, who met his death under the following circumstances, as narrated in the Annals of Cloonmacnoise :

"In 1228 Hugh O'Conor came to an atonement with Geoffrey March (De Marisco), Lord Deputy of Ireland, and was again recognised as King of Connaught, and, being afterwards in the deputies house, he was treacherously killed by an Englishman, for which cause the deputy the next day hanged the Englishman that killed him for that fowle fact. The cause of killing the King of Connaught was, that after the wife of that Englishman (that was hanged by the deputie) had so washed his head and body with sweet balls and other things, he, to gratifie her for her service, kissed her, which the Englishman seeing, for mere jealousie, and for none other cause, killed the King of Connaught presently unawares."

During Hugh's reign, in the year 1227, the castle of Athleague was built by the justiciary; and, about the same time, was also built the castle of Randown, or St. John's, near Athlone.

HUGH, SON OF RODERIC O'CONOR, A.D. 1228-1233.

Upon the death of Hugh, the son of Cathal Crovedearg, a war broke out in Connaught between the two sons of Roderic. They, who had been united before in disputing the sovereignty with the late king, now with equal fierceness struggled for it between themselves. The choice of the chieftains ultimately fell upon the younger son, Hugh, who, in preference to his elder brother, Turlough, assumed the sovereignty.

The country over which he thus became king was then in a deplorable condition. Excessive famine prevailed in consequence of the protracted wars. The churches and country were plundered, the clergy and learned men were exiled, and the people perished of cold and famine. Little respite was given for the recovery of prosperity. Hugh had scarcely been two years on the

'Hardiman's West Connaught, p. 39.

* Annals of Cleonmacnoise, M‘Geoghegan's translation.
Annals of the Four Masters, A.D. 1228.

O

throne when O'Donnell marched his forces against him, and laid waste a great part of Connaught. On the other hand, the English, who had at first favoured his election, now turned against him. Richard de Burgh, to whom Henry had granted a charter of the land of Connaught, and who, meanwhile, had been appointed justiciary of Ireland, in succession to Geoffrey de Marisco, alternately played one chieftain of the O'Conor sept against another; first supporting Hugh, the son of Roderic, and subsequently Felim, son of Cathal Crovedearg.

In 1229 the advisers of the English king, whose object seems to have. been to get as much money as possible out of Ireland, had the meanness to propose to the justiciary that a money payment should be asked for the release of the wife of the late King of Connaught, who was still in the hands of the English. This appears from the following order, issued to the justiciary from Daventry, in the name of the king, and dated 3rd June, 1229:-" If it be to the honour and advantage of the K. to take a ransom from Iwinia,' who was wife of the K. of Connaught, for her release from prison, to take it; but if not, that he suffer her to go free."

This ransom was probably never exacted, as De Burgh's wife was the daughter of the imprisoned queen, and it is scarcely likely that he would have advised that it would be to the honour of the king to have taken it. Shortly after De Burgh joined with the opponents of Hugh, the son of Roderic, expelled him from Connaught, and invited Felim, the brother of the late king, and son of Cathal Crovedearg, to take his place.

Felim was accordingly proclaimed king in 1230,3 and a treaty was entered into with him, and guarantees given securing him in his dominions. This treaty had not long a binding effect, and the guarantees turned out to be worthless. In the following year, De Burgh, finding that the succession of Felim to the throne did not answer the purpose which he intended, declared war against him, took him prisoner to Meelick, and treated him so badly that the King of England had to interfere.

In August, 1232, Henry wrote as follows:-" The king is informed that Richard de Burgh, justiciary of Ireland, seized Feidhlim, son of a former King of Connaught, imprisoned and treated him grievously and shamefully.

'Iwinia. The name is given in the Irish records as " Rainault," or "Reginalda."

2 Close, Hen. III., m. 9.

3 Annals of the Four Masters, A.D. 1230.

In the Annals of the Four Masters this is entered as if Felim was taken prisoner at Meelick; but as Meelick was De Burgh's castle, it is more probable that Felim was conducted there as a prisoner.