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1580.

June 15. 405.

Vol. 597, p. 346.

June 15. 406.

Vol. 597, p. 346a.

procured by them for the welcoming of William Burcke, the Earl's son, who came lately out of England. That young man is not well bent; he wanteth but ability, for he hath good will enough. Ulick Burcke is determined to come over, and doth mind to depend upon your Honour. I have a good liking to him, for he is no lover of thieves. He and John be at great dissension. I have given order to the sheriff of the county and to the provost marshal of the province to execute all such idle men as they shall find to be out of their master's book."

The whole of Connaught is as well as I can wish it to be, and yet is there great practice both from Munster and Ulster. At Galway I was much abused by the townsmen.

O'Connor Slygo stands in doubt of O'Donnell's malice. I have licensed him to buy O'Donnell's goodwill. McWilliam is preparing to come into England.

I am become a great builder at Roscoman.

"Munster surveyor I can say nothing of yet; but when Mr. Guildford shall come over, who will shortly repair unto your Honour, I will open mine opinion both of that and of all other my knowledge."

Athlone, 11 June 1580. Signed.

Holograph. Pp. 2. Addressed and endorsed.

PELHAM to SIR WARHAM SENTLEGER.

Thanks for your careful advertisements. "I doubt not but it will breed good blood, because my Lord of Ormond is made half angry thereby." We shall have private conference at my repair to Cork. I send you a cipher.

Glandoshaken, 15 June* 1580. Signed.

II. The cipher above mentioned.

Contemp. copy. P. 1.

PELHAM to ORMOND.

I have this day with great difficulty passed over the mountain of Sleulohere. Tomorrow I march to Castle Mange, and there will stay your coming. I have sent for my Lord of Clancartie; also for the Lord FitzMorris, whose messenger met me upon the midst of the mountain with a letter, whereby I perceive my coming this way, however secretly intended, is not hid from him.

At my camp near the Island, 15 June 1580. Signed. Postscript." During the writing of this letter I have overtaken 2,000 of the traitors' cows, and some sheep and garrous, and very narrowly missed the Earl of Desmond and Sanders, who were in that bollie."

Contemp. copy. P. 3.

* "May" in MS.

1580.

June 25.

Vol. 597, p. 347.

July 4.

Vol. 597, p. 347a.

407.

408.

PELHAM to SIR HENRY WALLOP.

At my return from the Dingle to this place I received your letter, signifying the receipt of divers paquets from the Council at Dublin, and sundry examinations concerning the Baron of Upper Osserie; and also mentioning Pheaughe McHughe's disposition to return to his old vomit.

If any news be come from England, send it with those
paquets to Cork, towards which I am marching. As I pass
through the Earl of Clancare's country, I will search for the
traitors. The soldiers have no bread, drink, hose or shoes,
nor money to buy them. I am not able, for want of victuals,
to follow the enemy. Send a convenient proportion of victual
to Kilmalloke, Asketten, and Adare; and to Castle Mange
25 tuns of Gascon wine and sack, and biscuit.
Send some
trusty person to take charge, lest the accustomed spoils used
by the insolency of mariners in the transporting of victuals
do consume the same."

Castle Mange, 25 June 1580. Signed.
Contemp. copy. P. 14.

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PELHAM to the PRIVY COUNCIL in ENGLAND.

Sent by William Persevall, Mr. Bland's man.

My Lord of Ormond and I, with the forces divided betwixt us, have continually been in journey. At my coming to Limerick I will advertise you what success this journey has had.

The three barks with corn, under Persevall's charge, directed for Limerick, did most haply arrive here. Through continual travel and want of bread the army was brought into exceeding great extremity. So great is the scarcity, both in this city and in the other corporate towns, as the people are like to starve.

I have drawn to me the noblemen and gentlemen whose names are enclosed, and who incline to the traitors. I take them all with me to Limerick.

Cork, 4 July 1580. Signed.

II. "The Names of such Noblemen and Gentlemen as appeared at Cork, the 4 July 1580."

The Earl of Clancartie; the Viscount Barrie; the Viscount Roche; Barrie Oge; Sir Cormocke McTeige, sheriff; Sir Owen O'Sulivant; Sir Thomas of Desmond and his son; Sir Owen McCartie; Mauris Roche, eldest son to the Lord Roche; McDonouge; O'Callohan; O'Kiefe; Donell McCartie Ainester of Carberie; Mauris FitzJames; Donoughe McCormocke; John Roche; John FitzEdmonds of Clonne.

Contemp. copy. Pp. 3.

"24" in the margin of the MS.

1580.

July 9. 409.

Vol. 597, p. 349.

PELHAM to the COUNCIL in ENGLAND.

Sent by Mr. Spencer.

"The 30 of May last, by Mr. Holden, I received a letter from you, whereby I first understood of your Lls.' determination to continue Sir William Winter upon this coast, and for the revictualling of his companies for three months." The proportion of 21,000 pieces of beef, and of meal and cheese, sent from Mr. Bashe, came not till of late, when I encountered it at Dingle. The beef is very unseasonable, but I leave that to the report of Mr. Treasurer at Wars (Wallop) and Mr. Waterhouse, to you, my Lord Treasurer (Burleigh); they have straightly looked to the victuallers. The biscuit provided at Dublin by Sir William Druri's order and sent to Cork, being made of musty corn, was wholly lost, "saving that little that was uttered to such ships as Sir Humfrey Gilbert had in entertainment, whom hunger compelled to feed upon it."

A second letter of yours dated 12 May I received yesterday, signifying your care in sending 8,000l. in money and 2,000l. in victual, and that you had given order for furnishing of these western parts with grain. The greatest proportions should be directed to this place, as Waterford is too remote.

You have ordered handbills and some match to be sent hither, and refer me to a farther proportion of match to be made in the English Pale. I have sent order to the Master of the Ordnance to Dublin to make provision of match in those parts.

I have caused the Clerk of the Check to send you one other note of the monthly charge, because of the diminution of the book, by discharge of The Handmaid and other shipping, and the diminution of some bands of kerne and Claiton's band of footmen. These bands of kerne must be revived upon the entry into any long journey, because without them we cannot drive the woods.

You desire to be satisfied of the sums issued for extraordinaries of the war as well as the ordinaries, but this is hard to do, without a collection to be made by the auditors.

"And whereas your Lls. refer me to supply the 300 soldiers which I desired from England to be taken up in the Pale, the captains do despair to find there such soldiers as they are willing to lead, and I more loth to train the natives of this land in any discipline of war, being informed that the outrages of the Cavenaghs and Mores lately committed hath been assisted with trained soldiers of this country birth, that have left their captains and consorted themselves with the rebels" in Munster, and with other of the evil disposed Irish northward.

I have made choice of the haven of the Ventrie for fortification.

1580.

July 9.
Vol. 597, p. 351a.

410.

The numbers of the rebels still continue great, "for there be of the Barris (by the malice of the Viscount, as I think it will be proved) as many gentlemen in this action as be of the Geraldines. Nevertheless hunger and this continual prosecution of them, as well by journeys as by strong garrisons, who are every day upon them, shall, I hope, shortly make an end of the war, unless it take new life with foreign aid, and then I look their strength will be infinitely multiplied." Limerick, 9 July 1580. Signed.

Contemp. copy. Pp. 5.

PELHAM to the PRIVY COUNCIL in ENGLAND.
Sent by Mr. Spencer.

I dispatch my brother Spencer, who has accompanied me in this journey.

Finding that, without some relief out of England, it would be hard to feed such garrisons as I had established in all places, I determined to enter into some sudden journey to keep them from opinion of any extremity, "and accordingly set my course with the Earl of Ormond, that he with his companies and that part of the army appointed to him should meet me at Boutivaunt the 12th of this last."

I advanced from Asketten the 11th day, and he from Kilmalloke to the camping place. The soldiers were persuaded, with hope to revictual at Dingle, to set forward with only four days bread, and without any drink at all.

I took my journey through the borders of the county of Cork, to confirm the lords and gentlemen. New oaths and promises were exacted from them for defence of these borders in our absence; which done, we proceeded towards Kerrie, the Earl into the Earl of Clancartie's country, and I over the mountain of Sleulougher, appointing to meet again at Castle Mange. The weather was wet and stormy. I passed over the mountain the 15th of June, by a march of 21 miles The scout discovered a great prey of cattle, which fled towards the Lord Fitz Morris's country. I brake forth three or four miles towards the plains, where we cut off 1,500 cows, besides sheep and other small cattle.

"This service had fallen out most happily, if the Earl of Desmond (who was then not far behind in that boily, as they term it) had not discovered us in descending from the top of the hill; and being accompanied with the Countess, Doctor Sanders and others, and with little force or none, fled with the foremost, leaving behind them the Doctor's coat, some trifles belonging to the Countess, and their masking furniture, some of which was taken by the soldiers. It was reported that the Earl and his Lady were by gallowglas carried over a bog, and so took the mountain and fled all the night for his safety. In this service Mr. Souche and others showed themselves very forward and adventurous."

1580.

The next day we departed from thence to Castle Mange, a place of great importance. "It is a castle built upon a bridge over the river Mange, dividing the county of Kerrie from the Earl of Clancartie's country, and is portable with hoys or big pinnaces from the Bay of Dingle to the bridge, and for big boats above the bridge. In this I stayed partly for the coming of the Earl of Ormond, partly for conference with the Earl of Clancartie, who came in his company the next day; and there taking order for some reparations, to th' end a staple of victuals might hereafter be appointed there, where I also purpose to intrench a piece of ground for a small town, I caused thewhiles the plains about Trallie (being on the north side of the mountain) and all like places about Kerrie, near adjoining, to be searched by the army for spoils."

The Earl of Clancartie was willing to do any service, being tied thereto by the pledge of his eldest son, whom I had before seized and left in charge with the mayer of this city. He was appointed to bring his principal followers to me to Cork, and guide Ormond upon the traitors' goods fostered in his country. It was ordered that Ormond should pass into Desmond to those services, and I to the Dingle to confer with the Admiral, with whom I spent a day or two in conference. We found the haven of Ventrie the meetest place to be fortified, being almost an island, wherein much cattle might be kept from any attempt of the enemy; thinking nevertheless that a small ward should be settled in the Dingle.

"And because the fort of Smirwicke is much spoken of, as well by the opinion conceived amongst the Irish of the strength of the situation, as for the defending there of the traitor James Fitz Morris, I took occasion to look upon that, and found it a vain toy, and of little importance, in which place no man could hide himself, but that in the hill adjoining he was subject to all shot, small or great. And the place doth argue unto me, that James was not of so little judgment to have kept it one hour, if he had not been sure of the Earl of Desmond to have been as far forth in the action as himself."

At my first meeting with the Admiral I found there the ship called The James of London, wherein Richard Peters' servant was, with provision to be delivered to me. Having resolved with Sir William Winter upon my own speedy return, or sending some force shortly into those parts, I dislodged from thence to Castle Mange, where Ormond, having taken a prey of 1,000 cows in Desinond, met me on the 24th. "The next day we passed our whole companies over the bridge at Castle Mange, and so through Desmond towards Cork, and took our way by the woods of Glanfliske and over another part of Sleulogher, searching in two companies every day the most likeliest places where any rebels might be found." On the last of June we arrived at Cork, where I remained encamped not far from the city four days. I assembled the lords and gentlemen of the county, who had

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