A Popular History of Ireland : from the Earliest Period to the Emancipation of the Catholics — CompleteMcGee, Thomas D'Arcy
History
A Popular History of Ireland : from the Earliest Period to the Emancipation of the Catholics — Complete
McGee, Thomas D'Arcy
Ireland -- History
According to the chronicles of the Pale, they won a second
victory before nightfall at the town of Callan, over O'Carroll of Ely,
who was marching to the aid of McMurrogh. But so confused and
unsatisfactory are the accounts of this twofold engagement on the same
day, in which the Deputy in person, and such important persons as the
Earls of Desmond, of Ormond, and the Prior of Kilmainham commanded,
that we cannot reconcile it with probability. The Irish Annals simply
record the fact that a battle was gained at Callan over the Irish of
Munster, in which O'Carroll was slain. Other native authorities add
that 800 of his followers fell with O'Carroll, but no mention whatever
is made of the battle with McMurrogh. The English accounts gravely add,
that the evening sun stood still, while the Lord Deputy rode six miles,
from the place of the first engagement to that of the second. This was
the last campaign of Sir Stephen Scrope; he died soon after by the
pestilence which swept over the island, sparing neither rich nor poor.
The Duke of Lancaster resumed the Lieutenancy, arrested the Earl of
Kildare as before related, convoked a Parliament at Dublin, and with
all the forces he could muster, determined on an expedition southwards.
But McMurrogh and the mountaineers of Wicklow now felt themselves
strong enough to take the initiative. They crossed the plain which lies
to the north of Dublin, and encamped at Kilmainham, where Roderick when
he besieged the city, and Brien before the battle of Clontarf, had
pitched their tents of old. The English and Anglo-Irish forces, under
the eye of their Prince, marched out to dislodge them, in four
divisions. The first was led by the Duke in person; the second by the
veteran knight, Jenico d'Artois, the third by Sir Edward Perrers, an
English knight, and the fourth by Sir Thomas Butler, Prior of the Order
of Saint John, afterwards created by Henry V., for his distinguished
service, Earl of Kilmain. With McMurrogh were O'Byrne, O'Nolan, and
other chiefs, besides his sons, nephews, and relatives. The numbers on
each side could hardly fall short of ten thousand men, and the action
may be fairly considered one of the most decisive of those times. The
Duke was carried back wounded into Dublin; the slopes of Inchicore and
the valley of the Liffey were strewn with the dying and the dead; the
river at that point obtained from the Leinster Irish the name of
_Athcroe_, or the ford of slaughter; the widowed city was filled with
lamentation and dismay. In a petition addressed to King Henry by the
Council, apparently during his son's confinement from the effects of
his wound, they thus describe the Lord Lieutenant's condition: "His
soldiers have deserted him; the people of his household are on the
point of leaving him; and though they were willing to remain, our lord
is not able to keep them together; our said lord, your son, is so
destitute of money, that he hath not a penny in the world, nor a penny
can he get credit for."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account