1580. Sept. 7. Vol. 619, p. 48. Oct. 18. Vol. 619, p. 18. 481. 482. letters, as to the Lo. Deputy of Ireland, in presence of the Council, noblemen, and gentlemen, in Saint Patrick's Church in the city of Dublin: with the delivery whereof surceased all his authority." In the handwriting of Pelham's secretary. Pp. 108. SIR NICHOLAS MALBIE to the EARL OF LEICESTER. Tirlaghe Lenaghe is drawing down near Dundalk with 6,000 men, of which 800 are horsemen, 2,600 Scots, and the rest his own followers. By his arrogant demands my Lord Deputy is driven to alter his determination of prosecuting Balltinglasse, and to make head against Tirlaghe. Religion is now the quarrel. O'Wrourcke has committed some spoil in Connaught. I must home to my charge there. Some do think there I do use the sword too much. If her Majesty do not use her sword more sharply, she will lose both sword and realm. The expectation of foreign forces is not out of their heads. I have but one band of footmen in Connaught, and more cannot be spared from hence. All the realm is in a general uproar. Dublin, 7 September 1580. Signed. Holograph. Pp. 2. Addressed. Endorsed. CAPTAIN RICHARD BINGHAM to the EARL OF LEICESTER. On Friday, the 14th day, at night, we held through the Race of Portland to the westwards. The Admiral with all his fleet met with a great wind and " growne sea." We lost one another in the night. Not finding the Admiral at Falmouth, we went on our course for the Land's End. I entered the Sound of the Ventry on Sunday. Not knowing whether the enemy were in the Ventry, I bare in with the harbour of Valentia. There I met with Mr. Clyntton, by whom I understood that the enemy was fortified at Smeryck in the old fortress, which James Fewe Morrys first prepared. I hastened thither with all speed on Monday. On Tuesday the 17th I entered the harbour, within falcon-shot of their fortress, from forth of which they welcomed us with such bullets as they had. "I returned them an exchange better than theirs twenty in the hundred." They had two ships and a galley. I learn that the enemy "departed from the hither Spain with five sail of ships, of which the greatest was a Baskeyne of 400 ton; two more, the one of six score and the other of four score, the other two of three score or 50 ton the piece, and a small galley of ten oars of a side. They had shipped into these ships aforesaid a thousand poor simple Bysswynes, very ragged, and a great part of them boys. In this great Baskayne was shipped their Colonel, an Italian, the Pope's 1580. * Nuncio, an Italian also, the Irish Bishop, two preachers, Jesuits, Italians also, and three or four friars, with a 400 of their company, and much of their store of their munition, and, as they gave it forth, 12,000 ducats in ready money. In their way coming over, being taken with storm, they lost their ship of six score, and one of the other of three score, which are not yet come to them. Whether they be gone back into Spain, but it is said amongst them that they are taken by the Rochellers and carried into Rochelle. In the ship of six score there was an Earl and an Earl's son, with divers young gentlemen, who had aboard the same ship an eight fair Spanish horses. Further, in their passage they boarded a ship of 150 ton, of Newhaven, which had been at the bank towards the New Land a-fishing, and had in her 56,000 of fish, which they have here, both ship and fish. They had 28 men in her, of which they slew three, and their captain, whose name was Granno, of the same town. Of these an eight or ten stale away from them, which Mr. Clyntton lighted on; from which Frenchmen and Mr. Clyntton I have learned this which I now write. 66 About the 3th* of this present of October the great Baskeyne and their ship of four score departed for Spain, and of the 800 men which they brought hither, there went away with them again, as the Frenchmen doth assure me, more than 200 which were sick and malcontent with the country and their evil and hard entertainment. Very many of the rest that are here do die daily, so that there should not be here of them all left above 500 at the highest. "Since they landed here they have spent their time in this sort. Their lieutenant-colonel, with 300 of his, joined with the Earl traitor, went to the siege of two castles of Mack Morrys; the one is called Feonede Castle, and the other Addartt Castle. Their greatest artillery to batter these was a falcon, which seems they were but young soldiers; they were well defended of Irishmen. They departed from both with loss of divers of their men and one of their chiefest captains. There are now of these in the fortress, a 300, who, with the help of the Irishmen, do daily strengthen their fortification; the rest are with John of Desmond, who this Wednesday the 18th is come to the Dyngle, and looked for here at the fortress. "There are two notable places which they give forth they will fortify that do lie in the Bay of Tralye; the one is called Bongonder, and the other is Kilballyth, which places are naturally very strong, as I learn. "They do daily aspect the coming of four or five sail more with a supply of men and all sorts of munition, as they give it forth. It is also given forth that the Earl traitor received four little barrelletts of Spanish ryalls for a present. 1580. [Dec.23.]* 483. Vol. 607, p. 76. "The Thursday before my arriving, the Earl of Ormond was here with divers English captains, and being in skirmish with the enemy about the fortress, had only one slain with a calyver bullet, which was Andrew Martyne, the Constable of Castle Mayne." Harbour of Smerryck, 18 October 1580. Signed. The EARL OF KILDARE. "The Principal Matters which Charge th' Earl [of Kildare]."† "A month before the Viscount [Baltinglas] broke out, it was bruited amongst the common sort that the Viscount would rebel. The Knight Marshal had an espial in Tyrloughe Lennaghe his camp; who seeing one Sir Manus, a chaplain of the Viscount, sent in message to Tyrlaghe by secret devices, attained the understanding of the message, which was to have Tyrlaghe and his force to join with him, Feaghe,‡ and the Munster rebels, who should have all the O'Conors and the O'Mores to join with them and O'Rwyrke and others in Connaught, appointing a time of their meeting in the county of Meath; which messenger returned with contented answer. "Th' Earl was appointed by commission, joined with the Archbishop, then Keeper of the Seal, to be General in the absence of Sir William Pelham, then Lord Justice, for preservation of the Pale. The Earl and the Lord Archbishop appointed at the Hill of Tarraghe upon Monday, the 4th of July, a general muster to view the forces. The Knight Marshal sent to the Lord Archbishop the examination of his espial, and the news of the breaking out of the Viscount, and the consent of Tirlaghe to join. "The Archbishop and Earl met at Tarraghe the same day according to appointment. Upon their meeting, before they entered to view the forces, the Earl took the B. apart, and, as the Bishop affirmeth, used this or the like speeches unto him." (They are given at length.) The Earl delayed the apprehension of the Viscount, and was unwilling to proceed against him. The Council agreed the Earl should parle with him, and provided that 500 footmen and 200 horsemen should meet with him. If the Viscount refused his offers, then the Earl was to prosecute the rebels; but after the Viscount's refusal of the offers the Earl returned to Dublin. By his return the rebels had free passage to enter the Byrnes' country, and there preyed and burned the New Castle, a town of Sir Henry Harrington's. This greatly Carew has dated this document "1581" in the margin. It appears to have been drawn up by Chancellor Gerrard. See the letter from Lord Deputy Grey and the Council to the Queen of 23 December 1580, in the Public Record Office. The words in brackets are in Carew's hand. Feagh McHugh McShane O'Byrne. 1580. increased the suspicion that the Earl would not willingly have the rebels harmed, and made the Lord Chancellor and Lord Archbishop ever after to be doubtful of some mischief the Earl would work them. Upon the landing of the Lord Deputy a messenger came from the rebels to the Earl without any protection. The Lord Deputy and Council agreed to hang the messenger, whereat the Earl fell into a great storm and passion. "Before the Lo. Deputy journeyed into Munster, the Earl put in trust to prosecute openly said and at sundry times, 'Let me have such a number of soldiers, (which was agreed unto,) and I will undertake to make a short end of this war.' When his plat was considered, the suspicion we had that he would never harm the enemy increased. All the O'Conors and O'Mores who were known before to be joined with the rebels by oath he entertained as kerne for the service. Amongst which company it is to be noted that he entertained Conor McCormocke, one who, not long before, was at the murthering of Rosse McGoghgan, the chief doubted knave of the O'Conors, the great rebel, who with all the O'Conors still kept with the late rebel. He had old Mac Goghgan, who procured the murdering of his own son Rosse. He entertained Brian McGoghgan, who in person murthered his said brother Rosse. Within the month before he entertained Tec McGilpatrick, the notorious spoiler of the Pale. "The Earl lying at Kilbery, these kerne preyed in the Pale and the borders to the value of four or five thousand pounds, and drove their spoils to Ossorie and other countries without resistance. When complaint was made to the Earl of these spoils and the parties present, he refused to call them to answer, saying he would not hinder his service." The show the Earl made to journey one day and a night into the rebels country, and there taking 200 cows, rather increased our suspicion. "He wrote to the Council that he had found by experience that he must take another course to lay the garrisons nearer the rebels to prosecute them. This increased suspicion, for he knew before he had laid them where they would never harm the enemy. The manner of the running away of Captain Garret ; the suit the Earl made to bail McGoghgan; the suits he secretly made for some belonging to him and known rebels; the often letters he wrote to have the Council meet him at the Nasse; the slender or rather no occasion at all to move him thereunto; his refusal to come to Dublin of six weeks, whither ever before he was accustomed to travel for consultation; his passionate speeches when the Council refused to come to him; sometimes braying out with oaths, and saying this were enough to make a man to break out; his sudden alteration of mind-where, at the first before all the Council, he refused the service of the country people, saying he durst not trust them, yea, and the service of his own horsemen, saying 1580. some of them were run to the rebels-now he disdained the service of the English soldier, calling them English beggars, and openly commended the service of the kerne, as those he would for his life trust unto; brought us to doubt that he would break out, and to devise means to have him to Dublin upon and under some pretence of consultation to have restrained him." Oliver Ewstace, a civilian, one sworn to the rebels, confessed he had been entertained by one Woogan of Rathcoffye towards the Lawe, who, being examined, confessed that he saw the Viscount the day the muster was at Tarraghe, viz., 4 July, as he rode thither. The Earl and Viscount rode together in company towards the muster in familiar talk until they came to Killene, two miles from the Hill. After they were returned from the Hill, the Viscount and the Earl rode in company till it was towards evening. The Viscount supped with Woogan, and the Earl rode to Menouthe. After supper the Earl and the Viscount met again, and that night rode together until far in the night. But the Earl never told the [Arch]bishop of Dublin how they had been together that day, and refused to execute the Bishop's warrant for the Viscount's apprehension, which he could have easily effected, on being informed by the Viscount's wife when he would be at Monketon, four miles from Dublin. That Lady and the Lady of Upper Ossory, the Viscount's sister, posted to and fro by the Earl's direction rather to hasten the Viscount away for fear of apprehension than to persuade him to come in. The Viscount's wife, on examination, saith the Viscount did not tell her that he would break away, but that a boy came to Dublin and told her. The examinations of the Viscount's wife, Pipho, and the Earl differ the one from the other. But on hearing them, we were fully resolved that the Earl himself thrust out the Viscount, who otherwise had come in. The Viscount's demand for protection for six weeks was made by the Earl's direction. He did not execute the warrant of the Chancellor and Archbishop for apprehending Compton, one who kept at the Earl's house at Rahanghan, and was a traitor. Until the day the Earl was committed, Compton continually lay in the Earl's house, and taught his boy. The Chancellor also requested him to apprehend Sir Nicholas Ewstace, priest, who also kept at Rahanghan, was sworn to the rebels, and had given the like oath to many in the country. He answered that he knew not where to look for him. Woogan told the Earl what he had confessed. The Earl grew angry and grieved, and came to the Chancellor to remove his suspicions. "A pamphlet was found and delivered to the Chancellor. Among other things contained in the pamphlet this was one, that the Earl the same night sent a cousin of his, named |