The Land-War in Ireland: A History for the TimesGodkin, James
History
The Land-War in Ireland: A History for the Times
Godkin, James
Ireland -- Economic conditions; Land tenure -- Ireland
The insurgent leaders and the dangerous kerne having been effectually
cleared off in various ways, the whole territory of Inishown was
overrun by the king's troops. The lord deputy, Sir Arthur Chichester,
with a numerous retinue, including the attorney-general, sheriffs,
lawyers, provosts-martial, engineers, and 'geographers,' made a grand
'progress,' and penetrated for the first time the region which was to
become the property of his family. It was a strange sight to the poor
Irish that were suffered to remain. 'As we passed through the glens
and forests,' wrote Sir John Davis, 'the wild inhabitants did as much
wonder to see the king's deputy as the ghosts in Virgil did to see
Æneas alive in hell.' In this exploring tour a thorough knowledge of
the country was for the first time obtained, and the attorney-general
could report that 'before Michaelmas he would be ready to present to
his majesty a perfect survey of six whole counties which he now hath
in actual possession in the province of Ulster, of greater extent of
land than any prince in Europe hath in his own hands to dispose of.' A
vast field for plantation! But Sir John Davis cautioned the Government
against the mistakes that caused the failure of former settlements,
saying, that if the number of the Scotch and English who were to come
to Ireland did not much exceed that of the natives, the latter would
quickly 'overgrow them, as weeds overgrow corn.'
O'Cahan, who was charged with complicity in O'Dogherty's outbreak, or
with being at least a sympathiser, had been arrested, and was kept,
with Nial Garve, a close prisoner in Dublin Castle. An anonymous
pamphleteer celebrated the victories that had been achieved by the
lord deputy, giving to his work the title, 'The Overthrow of an Irish
Rebel,' having for its frontispiece a tower with portcullis, and the
O'Dogherty's head impaled in the central embrazure. The spirit of the
narrative may be inferred from the following passage: 'As for Tyrone
and Co., or Tyrconnel, they are already fled from their coverts, and I
hope they will never return; and for other false hearts, the chief of
note is O'Cahan, Sir Nial Garve, and his two brothers, with others of
their condition. They have holes provided for them in the castle of
Dublin, where I hope they are safe enough from breeding any cubs to
disquiet and prey upon the flock of honest subjects.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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