his life (however invigorated and cheered by the warm beams of munificient patronage) in the patient and laborious investigation of ancient facts, the only guides to truth in historical research, for the purpose of bringing before the public documents which contribute to render more interesting several traditions and monuments hitherto of dubious date, which will be hereby placed deyond the reach of controversy, unless he act under the strongest conviction of these annals and records being original and genuine, and not the fictions and dreams of monks of the ninth century. We have his special sanction for saying, that "though Dr. O'Conor feels anxious to remove the imputation of imposing on the world| an imaginary race of Irish kings, he has been equally care. ful not to fritter away the authority of one ancient written re, cord of antiquity. Therefore such there are.

Q. E. D.

"Mr.

118. Some few years back, when Dr. O'Conor was fully as anxious as he has latterly been for his countrymen's participation in the full effects of his grandfather's labours, talents, knowledge and zeal for their credit and welfare, he collected the following instructive inference from the his torical researches of his truly patriotic ancestor.* Pinkerton and Dr. Priestley observe very justly, that there is scarce any method by which historic list of kings or princes are better preserved, than by the traditionary songs by which the senachies of the ancient noble families of Ireland preserved their genealogical computations." The names of the whole Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian kings preced ing the 11th century have been preserved in this manner,t and nature alone could form differences of person, age, character, family, place of residence, party, &c. so nice and yet so evident, as those which appear in the ancient genealogical accounts of the Irish nation, handed down so invariably from

Lord Lyttleton gives this honourable testimony of Mr. Charles O'Conor (Life of Hen. II. vol. iv. p. 300. Dub. ed. 1768.) "As for what had passed in Ireland during the times that I write of, before the English adventurers in Dermod's service went thither, the best authorities for it are the annals of Ireland compiled by contemporary writers, with extracts of which, translated from the original Irish, I have been favoured by a gentleman well-skilled in that language, Charles O'Conor, esq. who, with the noble blood which flows in his veins, has naturally inherited a passionate love for the honour of his country, and therefore willingly assists in any undertaking that may render the history of it more and more complete."

+ See Mallet's Northern Antiquities, 2 vols. 8vo. and the first volume of the History of Norway, by the erudite Torseus.

age to age, in such a wide and almost infinite range of being as to beggar the most creative invention; and hence the ingenious Dr. Bernard accurately remarks," that the Irish genealogies still extant carry intrinsic proofs of their being genuine and authentic, by their chronological accuracy and consistency with each other, through all the lines collateral as well as direct; a consistency not to be accounted for on the supposition of their being fabricated in a subsequent age of ignorance, but easily explained, if we admit them to have been drawn from the source of real family records and truth."* "To describe men," says the celebrated Mr. Wood, "to point out their persons, to relate their adventures, and make a long recital of their families, seems to be beyond the power of fiction; the feigning faculty, be it ever so rich and inventive, after an effort or two, recoils upon itself."+

119. Besides the documents of ancient Irish history, of which some account has been submitted to the reader, there are many other both valuable and interesting relics of the senachies and phillids, that have been traced into the hands of the modern researchers into Irish antiquity, such as General Vallancey, Dr. Parsons, Mr. O'Halloran, and others, as well as such as are deposited in public libraries and collections; upon which, having already exceeded the intended limits of this Dissertation, we shall say nothing.

120. We conclude by observing, that the Irish annalists are uniform in relating the extreme caution and constitutional severity and precision with which their historical records were constructed, entered, and preserved both in ethnic and christian Ireland; an institution unknown to any other nation of Europe, which descended not from the same stock, and which Ireland has ever deemed the most precious monument of her glory and antiquity. To give full effect to this observation, it remains to shew from external authority, that this institution was exclusively in use in that nation from which the Irish draw their origin, government, and laws. Joseph, the Jew, in his book against Apian, the Greek grammarian of Alexandria, after having exposed to contempt the Greek's pretensions to any ancient, chronolo

Inquiry into the Origin of the Scots, published in the first volume of the Trans. of the R. I. A. + Wood's Life of Homer. + O'Hal. p. 62.

gical, or historical knowledge, says, "for though it be ac knowledged, that they received their first letters from the Phoenician Cadmus, yet, from want of public registers, they are unable to produce any testimonies of this, or indeed of any other point of high antiquity, which might be depended upon. But not so with the Phænicians, the Chaldeans, and with us (the Jews), who have from remote antiquity, by means of registers, and the care of persons particularly appointed to this office, preserved our histories beyond all other nations."

THE

HISTORY OF IRELAND,

FROM THE INVASION OF HENRY II. TO ITS INCOPORATE UNION WITH GREAT BRITAIN.

BOOK I.

COMPRISING THE PERIOD OF TIME FROM THE INVASION UNDER HENRY PLANTAGANET, TO THE REFORMATION OF RELIGION UNDER HENRY VIII.

CHAPTER I.

1154.-HENRY II.

1. THE first book comprises a period of nearly 400 years. It demands peculiar attention, inasmuch as it was a long test of the mutual disposition and relative conduct of the two nations of England and Ireland to each other, whilst both professed the same religion. It is the more necessary not to lose sight of this circumstance, by how much Ireland, in later days, has suffered on the score, under the pretext, or by the abuse, of religious prejudice. No prepossessions on either side can be so ungovernable, as to preclude the most poignant grief, that the sacred cause of religion should have ever been perverted to ends so diametrically opposite to its benign institution. Whatever jealousy, diffidence, or oppression then shall be found to have existed during these four centuries, will be naturally placed to the account of national, not religious antipathy..

2. The latter part of the Irish history immediately preceding the close of the Milesian dynasty, presents a continued scene of intestine dissension, turbulence and faction. But it would exceed the scope of this history to trace the causes which led to the weakening and ultimately brought about the dissolution of the Irish monarchy. No historian, either Irish or British, gives any account of the public or

secret manœuvres of the kings of England to acquire the dominion of Ireland. About this time* William of Malmesbury said, as did afterwards Sir James Ware, that our Henry the first had Murtough and his successors so much at his devotion, that they would not write or do any thing without his approbation. It appears however that Henry II. must have bent his mind most determinately to the acquisition of Ireland from his accession to the throne of England. He is, indeed, said to have often seriously meditated the conquest of that country; he had even in 1155, summoned a council at Winchester to consult upon the expediency of such a measure.t He was crowned in the twenty-second year of his age, by Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, on the 19th of December, 1154. As this young, enterprising, and ambitious prince thought proper to rest his right and claim to the sovereignty of Ireland upon a papal bull or donation, it is necessary to notice that on the 6th of December in the very same year,

lishman of low parenta 54, Nicholas Breakspear, an Eng

then cardinal bishop of Albano, was elected to the papacy; and he filled the pontifical chair under the name of Adrian the IVth, four years, eight months, and twenty-nine days. It is remarkable, that few or none of his bulls are dated according to the year of his pontificate: a circumstance entirely unprecedented. Our English historians have represented Henry's application to the pope, and Adrian's conduct in consequence of it, in a manner widely different from the Irish. They inform us, that Henry, having been invited by the inhabitants of Ireland to take possession of that kingdom, acquainted the pope with his design of invading it, in order to extend the bounds of the church, to instruct that ignorant and unpolished people in thë truth of the christian religion, to extirpate vice and plant virtue in its room; and to facilitate that undertaking he begged the advice and favour of the apostolic see, promising the yearly pension of a penny to St. Peter from every house in the island. The pope commended so pious and laudable a design, assuring him, that not only Ireland, but all the islands, that had received the christian faith, undoubtedly be

Mortough was the immediate predecessor of Roger O'Connor. William of Malmesbury was a very accurate and industrious investigator of antiquity, and (barring the propensity of his time to rehearse miracles) a faithful annalist; he was a Cluniac monk of the abbey of Malmesbury, and died in 1142, in the troubled days of king Stephen. He was consequently cotemporary with Henry I. who died A. D. 1135. + Int. to Sir R. C. Hoare's Tour, xxxiii.