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Dallan Forgaill, an Irish poet and writer who distinguished himself at the meeting of bards and others at Dromketh in 574. His compositions are continually referred to by O'Curry; the best known is his elegy on the death of St. Columcille. He died about 600, and was succeeded as chief poet of Ireland by the young poet Seanchan.

D'Alton, John, genealogist and antiquarian, was born at Bessville, Westmeath, in 1792. He was educated at Trinity College, called to the Bar in 1813, and appointed Commissioner of the Loan Fund Board, Dublin, in 1835. He devoted himself to the study of Irish antiquities, and published Annak of Boyle, Lives of the Archbishops of Dublin, History of the County of Dublin, King Jameses Irish Army List, and other standard works - valuable contributions to the study of Irish history and archaeology. He was for many years a contributor to the Gentleman's Magazine. Most of his life was passed in Dublin. He died 20th January 1867, aged about 75.

Daly, Denis, a member of the Irish Parliament, the intimate friend of Henry Grattan. He represented the town of Galway in 1767, and sat for the county from 1768 until his death. He was hospitable and of an amiable disposition, but his character was weakened by pride and indolence. By some he was considered superior to Flood in natural ability, though without his brilliant oratorical powers. Daly once humourously declared that the Volunteers are "ready to determine any question in the whole circle of the sciences which shall be proposed to them, and to burn any unfortunate person that doubts their infallibility." A friend to Catholic rights, he opposed general parliamentary reform. Grattan considered his death (in the autumn of 1791) an irretrievable loss to Ireland. He was a Privy-Councillor, and for some time Muster-Master General.

Daly, Richard, theatrical manager, was born in the County of Galway, in the middle of the 18th century, and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He became a noted duellist, for a time averaging eight contests annually. He was of a handsome and engaging person. In 1781 he opened Smock-alley Theatre' in Dublin (upon the spot where the church of SS. Michael and John now stands), and there Kemble, Mrs. Siddons, and other eminent actors appeared under his management. In 1786 he was appointed Master of the Revels. In partnership with Higgins, the "Sham Squire," he spent a large sum in rebuilding and decorating Crow-street Theatre. He eventually disposed of his theatrical patent rights for an annuity of £1,332. Mr. Daly died in 1813.

Danby, Francis, A.R.A., was born near Wexford in 1793, and received his early artistic education at the school of the Royal Dublin Society. In 1812 he earned enough to pay his way to London with a friend, O'Connor. He struggled with difficulties for some years, and would have been glad to return to Ireland if he had had means; but at length sprang into fame by his "Sunset at Sea after a Storm," exhibited in the Royal Academy in 1824. Two years afterwards he was elected an Associate, beyond which grade he never advanced. For fifteen years he resided principally on the Continent, painting and drawing on commission. "In 1841", says the Annual Register, "he returned and resumed his place in public favour, by exhibiting year after year a series of pictures, the power, poetry, and romance of which should long ago have won their painter a chair among the forty, were the battle always to the strong in art. But a private reason was alleged for this artistic wrong, and the latter years of the artist's life were embittered by the sense of injury and the disappointment of hope deferred. Danby's style was so peculiarly his own that none once acquainted with it could enter the rooms of the Royal Academy without instantly picking out his works. In the power of accumulating his subjects - whether masses of men or masses of architecture and other inanimate objects - he was equal to Martin or Turner. Over these principal subjects he threw an atmosphere of glow and sunshine, of solemn evening splendour, of mid-day glare or gorgeous sunset, or of warm voluptuous moonlight, that was altogether his. It may, however, be objected to many of his pictures, that his tints sometimes conveyed the idea of arid and fierce heat." His great painting of "The Opening of the Seventh Seal," in the Dublin National Gallery, was finished in 1828. Mr. Danby died at Exmouth, 17th February 1861, aged 68. He left two sons, both artists.

Darcy, Patrick, Count, an engineer officer, was born at Galway, 27th September 1723. He was sent to an uncle in Paris in 1739. There he studied under Clairaut, and at the age of seventeen distinguished himself by the solution of some extremely difficult mathematical problems. He made two campaigns in Germany and one in Flanders-being Colonel in the Irish Brigade at Rosbach in 1757. His essays on artillery and on scientific questions display genius and solidity of judgment. He died in Paris, of cholera, 18th October 1779, aged 56. A eulogium was pronounced upon him by Condorcet.

Dargan, William, contractor and financier, was born in the County of Carlow, 28th February 1799. On leaving school he was placed in a surveyor's office, where he showed great aptitude for business. Having gained some experience in England under Telford, he entered into a contract for the construction of the road from Dublin to Howth, in which work he was so successful that in 1831 he contracted for the construction of the Dublin and Kingstown Railway, the first in Ireland. As the railway system spread through the country, he undertook the construction of the principal lines-Great Southern and Western, Midland Great Western, and others, in all about 1,000 miles, and accumulated a large fortune, mostly invested in Irish railway shares. He undertook the financial risk of the Dublin Industrial Exhibition of 1853, and bore the deficit of about £ 10,000 resulting therefrom. On the occasion of its opening by the Queen he declined the honour of knighthood. To commemorate his active interest in the industrial progress of Ireland, his statue was erected in front of the National Gallery of Dublin, and from 1853 to 1865 he was among the most honoured men in the country, and was supposed to be one of the wealthiest. But a terrible reverse was impending. In 1866 he was severely injured by a fall from his horse, and soon afterwards, overstrained by innumerable undertakings, became bankrupt, and died, broken in health and spirits, 7th February 1867, aged nearly 68. He was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery. A small pension on the Civil List was granted to his widow.

Dathi, the last pagan king of Ireland, reigned twenty-three years, from 404 to 427. The early successes of his arms in Britain and emulation of his uncle Niall stimulated him to continental expeditions. Keating recounts the following legend of his death by lightning while passing through the Alps. "And the manner in which Dathi was slain was this; to wit, a flaming thunderbolt, shot from heaven, smote him upon the head whilst he was making conquests in Gaul. It was near the mountains called the Alps that he fell by the vengeance of God, for he had plundered the sanctuary of a holy hermit Parmenius, who cursed him therefor." Dathi's death has formed a favourite subject for Davis, Mangan, Aubrey de Vere, Irwin, and other poets. It is related that his body was carried home by his followers, and interred at Rathcroghan, Tulsk, in Roscommon, where a pillar of red-grit sandstone still marks the spot. He was distinguished for his activity, sprightly manners, and ability in war.

Davies, Sir John, political writer and historian, was born at Chisgrove, Wiltshire, about the year 1570. He was author of a well-known poem, Nosce Teipsum, and other writings flattering to the vanity of Elizabeth. His abridgment of Coke's Reports showed that he was not destitute of legal acumen. In 1603, having secured James's favour, he was sent to Ireland as Solicitor-General, and four years afterwards was knighted. He spent much of his leisure in studying the history and institutions of Ireland, and thereby acquired the knowledge of the country and interest in her affairs that distinguish his writings. His well-known Discovery of the True Cause why Ireland was never entirely Subdued till the beginning of His Majesty's Reign was published in 1612. The conclusions he arrives at in this work are: "First, the armies for the most part were too weak for a conquest; secondly, when they were of competent strength they were too soon broken up and dissolved; thirdly, they were ill paid; and fourthly, they were ill governed, which is always the consequent of ill-payment... The clock of the civil government is now well set; the strings of this Irish harp.. are all in tune,.. and make a good harmony in the commonwealth; so we may well conceive a hope that Ireland.. will from henceforth prove a land of peace and concord. And though heretofore it hath been like the lean cow of Egypt in Pharaoh's dream, devouring the fat of England and yet remaining as lean as it was before, it will hereafter be as fruitful as the land of Canaan." Mr. D'Alton says : "It affords the most candid, graphic, and able summary of the vicissitudes of Ireland to his day." Notes and Queries, ist, 2nd, and 4th Series, contain interesting notes upon his life and writings. He was Speaker of the Irish Parliament of 1615, that repealed the Statute of Kilkenny. The same year saw his Reports of Cases, containing much curious information relative to the laws, history, and antiquities of Ireland. In 1616 he returned to England, and entered Parliament, where he showed an enlightened spirit in opposing measures calculated to injure Irish trade. He died of apoplexy in London, 7th December 1626, after being appointed Lord Chief- Justice of England. Allibone says: "In versatility of talent, brilliancy of imagination, political wisdom, and literary taste, few Englishmen have equalled Sir John Davies.

Davis, Thomas Osborne, poet and politician, was born at Mallow, 14th October 1814. From his very earliest years he was noted for his passionate love of Ireland. In 1835 he graduated with distinction at the University of Dublin, mathematics and modern history being his favourite studies. In the debates of the College Historical Society he was distinguished more for talents and learning than for eloquence. Although called to the Bar in his twenty- fourth year he afterwards evinced little taste for following up the profession of the law. He travelled on the Continent, and collected a good library. In 1840 lie contributed a series of articles on the state of Europe to the Dublin Morning Register -contending that a crisis was approaching in which Ireland would be able to obtain her legislative independence. He became an active member of the Repeal Association, where his ability and the sincerity of his character soon obtained for him an effective and influential position. At times he did not shrink from opposing O'Connell, for whom he had the greatest veneration. In 1842, with a few other persons desirous of strengthening the spirit of nationality in Ireland, he started the Nation newspaper. The success of his poetical contributions to the paper astonished himself, his friends, and the country. His fancy clothed many localities of Ireland with a great interest, and illuminated many dry incidents in the history of the country. "Thenceforth, as a political writer and poet, he continued till his premature death to be the chief of that party who, under the name of `Young Ireland' swayed the democracy of Ireland with extraordinary power. And so he laboured at his great mission from that day with indefatigable industry, unabating zeal, unquenchable enthusiasm; giving the energies and resources of his vigorous intellect, and his large erudition, to what he deemed the work of his life; producing a wonderful mass of writing, while he toiled incessantly behind the scenes, organizing measures and aiding in committees, till at last he exhausted his constitution, and died of fever at his residence, 67 Baggotstreet, Dublin, 16th September 1845, aged nearly 31." He passed away in the zenith of hopefulness, before the famine had desolated Ireland, before the exodus of her people to America, before the splitting up of parties and the imprisonment of his friends. He was buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery, where a marble statue by Hogan marks his resting place. His poems were collected shortly after his decease. They have ever since enjoyed an extensive popularity in Ireland. Davis is described as low-sized, fresh complexioned, aught but poetical in appearance. His character was above reproach, and he earned the sincere respect even of those who differed most from him in politics. His poetry is so national in its character that few of his pieces can ever attain to more than an Irish celebrity. Many have entered into the life of the people, raising their self-respect and giving them a keener interest in all that belongs to their country and its history. Thomas O. Davis was a Protestant. He died unmarried. The Nation said about the time of his death: "The characteristic features in the public life of Davis were a simple, spontaneous truth, that scorned all subterfuges, personal or political, and counted candour the soundest policy; an absolute unselfishness; an earnestness that nothing could abate or dishearten; and an industry that has had no parallel in the history of young men in this country... His industry was something miraculous... In the Royal Irish Academy, in the Art Union, in the Eighty- two Club, on the committee of the Dublin Library, he was a zealous, steady worker, seldom absent, never shrinking from the extra duties that fall upon the able and zealous."

Davis, William, landscape painter, was born in Ireland about 1813. The greater part of his artistic career was passed at Liverpool, where he was a member of the local Academy. The Athenaeum, says: " His character was singularly estimable, modest and unassuming in the highest degree, cheerful, industrious, persevering, conscientious. He lived bravely a life of much disappointment and some privation, alleviated by a keen sense of what is lovely and lofty in nature, and by the artist's power of realizing, for the delight of others, what he himself felt and saw... His merits have been warmly recognized by several of the best judges, but only slightly and intermittingly remarked by the mass of sightseers. He will assuredly not pass into oblivion, but he will hold a distinct and highly honourable position in our school of art... No man saw further than Mr. Davis into the opportunities of a quiet rural subject - a hedge, a stream, a drenched autumnal pasture, a flitting of light and shadow over an English sky, a farm with its sheltering trees and homely appurtenances. All this he felt keenly and thoroughly, and translated it into art, not only familiar and realistic, but touching, elevated, and on occasion even grand." He died in London, 22nd April 1873, aged about 60.

D'Aguila, Don Juan, a Spanish general, who "being in prison to answer some actions of his in Brytanny," consented in 1601 to take the command of a large force for the invasion of Ireland. Owing to difficulty in procuring transports, his departure was retarded at the port of embarkation, until the 6,000 men originally composing the armament were diminished to 4,000. On the passage, seven of the ships, conveying a chief part of the artillery and military stores, were, through stress of weather, obliged to put back to Corunna. Don Juan occupied Kinsale and the forts of Rincorran and Castle-ni- Park at the entrance of the harbour, on 23rd September, sent his transports back for further supplies, and communicated with O'Neill, O'Donnell, and the other Irish chieftains in arms against Elizabeth. Lord Mount joy and Sir George Carew, with a force of some 3,000 men, 2,000 of whom were Irish, and several war vessels, hastened to blockade.Kinsale, and supplies were fast poured in to them from England. The siege was carried on with great activity, and the Spaniards behaved with admirable bravery. On 1st November the besiegers took Rincorran, and on the 20th Castle-ni-Park. The loss of these forts effectually prevented succours arriving by sea to the beleaguered garrison. The Spaniards made several desperate sorties, in which numbers were slain on both sides. The want of artillery wherewith properly to defend the place was severely felt. On the 20th November the investing force had been increased to some 11,800 foot and 857 horse, with 20 pieces of siege ordnance. On 1st December a breach was stormed by a party of 2,000 English, who were repulsed by the Spaniards. On the 3rd the missing portion of the Spanish fleet, under Don Pedro Zubiaur, arrived at Castlehaven, and landed 700 men, who were by the Irish put in possession of O'Driscoll's castle of Baltimore, O'Sul- livan Beare's castle of Dunboy, and the fort of Castlehaven. On 21st December O'Neill and O'Donnell showed themselves on the hill of Belgley, north of Kinaale, about a mile from the English camp. Their forces numbered 6,000 foot and 500 horse, with 300 Spaniards from Castlehaven. Don Juan was urgent that an immediate effort should be made to raise the siege, and on the morning of the 24th December O'Neill and O'Donnell marched to the attack. Their plans had, however, been betrayed, Mount joy was fully prepared, and a disgraceful rout of the Irish troops ensued, with little loss on the English side. Don Juan's position being now desperate, he demanded a parley, and articles of capitulation were signed by him on the 2nd January 16O1-'2. He surrendered the town and other fortresses in the possession of his countrymen on condition that his whole force, "as well Spaniards as other nations whatsoever that are under his command,.. with arms, munition, money, ensigns displayed, and artillery," should be provided with provisions at market prices, and ships for their return to Spain. He bitterly complained of not having been properly supported by the Irish chieftains, and declared that he had found them "not only weak and barbarous, but (as he feared) perfidious friends." It is right to add that Hugh O'Neill had always advised that a Spanish force, to effect anything, should be landed in Ulster, especially after the end of the Desmond war, and the occupation of Munster by Elizabeth's troops. Numbers of Irish gentlemen, who are named in Pacata Hibernia, took advantage of the terms of the capitulation to retire to Spain, and as fast as transports could be prepared the Spaniards were embarked. Before Don Juan could deliver up Dunboy it was re-occupied by O'Sullivan Beare's retainers, who stood a long siege. [See O'SULLIVAN.] Don Juan felt his honour at stake, and if permitted by Mount joy would himself have undertaken its reduction and surrender in accordance with the terms of capitulation. Much of his time between the capture of Kinsale and his return to Spain on 8th March 16O1-'2, was spent in company with Sir George Carew at Cork. They became friends, and after Don Juan's arrival in Spain he sent Sir George a present of wine and fruits. Sir George in his letter of acknowledgment says: " I am much grieved then to see that this country produces not anything worthy to be presented to your lordship, that I might in some proportion manifest in what esteeme I hold the favour of a man of your qualities, honour, and merit." No particulars concerning the life of Don Juan d'Aguila before or after his Irish expedition appear available. The name is spelled indifferently D'Aguila, D'Aquila, and D'Aquilla. Full particulars of the siege of Kinsale will be found in Pacata Hibernia and the Carew Papers, and an admirable summary in Haverty's Ireland.

Dean, Hugh, an Irish artist in the 18th century, who early attained considerable excellence in landscape. The then Lord Palmerston enabled him to visit Rome to complete his studies, but was ultimately obliged to abandon him on account of the irregularity of his conduct. In 1780 Dean gave an exhibition of his paintings in London. He soon afterwards became a Methodist preacher. He is supposed to have died in 1784.

De Barry, Robert, an Anglo-Norman knight who distinguished himself in the invasion of Ireland. He was grandson of Nesta. [See NESTA.] In 1169 he accompanied his uncle FitzStephen in the expedition to Ireland, and nearly lost his life in the assault on Wexford. His bravery obtained for him the cognomen of " Barrymore." He fell in battle at Lismore in 1185. His brother, Giraldus Cambrensis, styles him "a young knight, that for his worthiness cared not for his life, and was rather ambitious to be really eminent than to seem so. The less he coveted honour, the more it clung to him." He speaks of another brother, Philip de Barry, who obtained large estates in Ireland, as "a man of prudence and courage."

De Barry, Gerald (Giraldus Cambrensis), younger brother of the preceding, a distinguished author and ecclesiastic, was born at the castle of Manorbeer in Pembrokeshire, in 1147. He studied principally at Paris, and in 1175 was created Archdeacon of Brecknock. In 1184 he was invited to court by Henry II.. and became one of his chaplains. Next year he accompanied Prince John in his expedition to Ireland. He employed much of his time here in collecting materials for his Topography of Ireland and History of the Conquest of Ireland. Mr. Brewer, in editing the former work, remarks: " With all that has been done since by modern topographers trained in the more scientific habits of observation, the conception of his task, as it existed in the mind of Giraldus, if not the execution of it, must remain as a monument of a bold and original genius... In the first [Book] the author gives an account of the physical features of the island, including in it the history of its more remarkable productions. .. In the second [Book], devoted exclusively to the marvels of Ireland, full scope is given to the credulity of his age: it is fooled to the top of its bent." The Third Book is devoted to the ancient annals of the country, and the manners and customs of the inhabitants. This work, which appeared in 1187, was dedicated to Henry II. It was followed by his History of the Conquest of Ireland, " not only," says Mr. Brewer, "the most valuable of all our author's works, but [one which] as a historical monograph may challenge comparison with any work of a similar nature. .. The personal sketches of the chief leaders in the expedition, which are numerous, are drawn with masterly precision. The only drawback is the occurrence of artificial orations... The Conquest of Ireland is a noble specimen of historical narration, of which the author's age furnished very rare specimens. Events have been carefully gathered, examined, and arranged; battlefields, sieges, and marches verified by ocular inspection of routes and localities; accounts on both sides tested. No personal labour has been spared by the historian in collecting, or sifting, or placing his materials in their most lucid order; no efforts have been wanting which the most rigid historical fidelity could demand." Giraldus returned to England after the Easter of 1186, and almost immediately gave public readings of his works at Oxford. Many years of his life were occupied in unceasing litigations and journeyings, which in the end proved unavailing, to have himself confirmed by the Pope in the see of St. David's, to which on the 29th June 1199 he had been unanimously elected by the Chapter. After these events his name disappears from the page of history. The date of his death is uncertain. Mr. Brewer does not find any authority for the age generally ascribed to him at his death - 74, which would place that event in 1221. He was buried in the Cathedral Church of St. David's, where his supposed monument and effigy are shown. This notice is written from an exhaustive account of his life, prefixed to Mr. Brewer's splendid seven- volume edition of Cambrensis's works in the Master of the Rolls' series. For general use, as far as the topography and invasion of Ireland are concerned, Mr. Bonn's translation will be found convenient. Cambrensis's statements regarding the Irish Church have been traversed by Lynch in his Cambrensis Eversus, published in the 17th century.

De Barry, David FitzJames, Viscount Buttevant, a descendant of the same family as the two preceding, was born the middle of the 16th century. He was one of the lords of Sir J. Perrot's parliament in 1585; but afterwards took an active part with the Earl of Desmond. Eventually he gave in his submission to Lord Grey, and acknowledged a debt of £500 to the Crown - a claim which was afterwards granted to Florence MacCarthy, and created much correspondence and bickering. In 1601 he was made a general by Sir G. Carew, after the siege of Kinsale saw considerable service in Munster, and was granted large estates in Desmond, forfeited by the MacCarthys. In 1615 he was appointed one of the Council for Munster. He died at Barryscourt, near Cork, 10th April 1617.

De Barry, David FitzDavid, Earl of Barrymore, grandson of preceding, a posthumous child, was born March 1605. At the age of twelve he succeeded to the estates of his family, and in 1621 married Alice, daughter of the Earl of Cork, and through the Earl's influence was created Earl of Barrymore. When the war broke out in 1641, he held to the English side, and garrisoned his castle of Shandon with about 100 men; being offered the position of general in the Irish army, he replied: "I will first take an offer from my brother Dungarvan to be hangman- general at Youghal." On 10th May 1642 he, with Lord Dungarvan, took the castle of Ballymacpatrick (now Careysville), held by his grand-aunt, a MacCarthy, rescued a large number of English confined therein, and killed in cold blood the whole garrison, about fifty men. He headed his regiment at the battle of Liscarroll in September 1642, and died on the 29th of the same month, probably from his wounds, or from the fatigues of compaigning. He was buried in his father-in-law's family vault at Youghal. Lodge says : " His lordship was a person of great generosity, humanity, and Christian charity." He was a Protestant. The honours of the family became extinct upon the death of Henry Barry, 8th Earl of Barrymore, in 1824.

De Bicknor, Alexander, Archbishop of Dublin and Lord-Chancellor of Ireland, an Englishman, favourite of Edward II., who, after being employed by him on several foreign missions, was consecrated Archbishop of Dublin at Avignon, 22nd July 1317. In 1320 he made vigorous efforts to found a university in Dublin, and obtained the Pope's sanction; but he was unable to carry out the plan for want of funds. In 1323 he was deputed by the King ambassador to France. He was concerned in the surrender of the town of La Royalle to the French, and thereby incurred the displeasure of the King, who tried to induce the Pope to banish him. In 1325 he was entrusted with the Great Seal of Ireland, the King, however, sequestering the profits of his archdiocese. In 1330 he was appointed by the Pope to collect the Pontifical tax. Disputes relative to precedence with the Archbishop of Armagh followed. De Bicknor was empowered by commission to establish a militia for preserving the peace of Meath and apprehending all traitors and their abettors. His high functions did not prevent him descending to peculation and malversation of moneys, for which, however, he received a formal pardon from the Crown in 1347. He died 14th July 1349, having practically administered the government of Ireland for a considerable period, with ability. His opponent, the Archbishop of Armagh, took advantage of his last illness to enter Dublin with crozier erect, and otherwise to assert the precedence of his see.

De Blaquiere, Peter Boyle, Canadian politician, was born in Dublin, 27th April 1784. A midshipman in H.B.M. fleet at the battle of Camperdown, he afterwards left the navy, and emigrated to Canada in 1837. He was a member of the legislature for twenty-two years, and was some time Chancellor of the University of Toronto. He died at Yorkville, near Toronto, October 1860, aged 76.

De Burgh, William FitzAdelm. The De Burghs, De Burgos, Burkes, or Bourkes, as the name is variously spelled, claim descent from Pepin, King of France. The members of the family who attended William the Conqueror in his descent on England were considerably enriched thereby. When Henry II. received the news of the first successes of the invaders in Ireland, he sent over William FitzAdelm de Burgh with Hugh de Lacy to take the submission of Eoderic O' Conor. After Strongbow's death, FitzAdelm was appointed governor of Ireland. In 1177 he founded the monastery of St. Thomas, near Dublin. We are told that he oppressed and impoverished the Anglo-Norman families, and amassed great wealth by conceding privileges to the native princes. It is even said that for bribes he allowed some portions of the fortifications of Wexford to be demolished. He was recalled in 1179, and De Lacy appointed in his place. He was, however, soon received back into favour, and given in marriage Isabel, natural daughter of Richard I., and widow of Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, and received large grants of land in Connaught. FitzAdelm was the founder of the Monastery of Dromore, and also the Abbey of Athassel, County of Tipperary, where he was buried in 1204. His character is thus sketched by Giraldus Cambrensis: "This FitzAdelm was large and corpulent, both in stature and shape, but of a reasonable height. He was a pleasant and courtly man; but whatever honours he paid to any one were always mingled with guile. There was no end of his craftiness - there was poison in the honey, and a snake in the grass. To outward appearance he was liberal and courteous, but within there was more aloes than honey." Several communications regarding the De Burgh family will be found in Notes and Queries, 4th Series.

De Burgh, Richard, Lord of Connaught, son of preceding. In 1204 he succeeded to large estates in the province of Connaught, which were confirmed to him by King John for a fine of 300 marks, and by Henry III. for a fine of 3,000 marks. In 1225, after Cathal O'Conor's death, the whole of Connaught, with the exception of five cantreds for the support of Athlone garrison, was made over to him for 500 marks a year. But the O'Conors clung to their patrimony, and upon one occasion Felira O'Conor was even deputed by Henry III. to act against De Burgh and check his rising power. De Burgh exercised almost regal sway, and at his castle at Galway (built in 1232), and in that at Loughrea (built in 1236), he was attended by a train of barons, knights, and gentlemen. He was for some time Lord-Deputy of Ireland. He died on his passage to France, January 1243. whither he was proceeding, attended by his barons and knights, to meet the King of England at Bordeaux. His wife was Una, daughter of Hugh O'Conor, Prince of Connaught.

De Burgh, Walter, 1st Earl of Ulster, son of preceding, married Maud, daughter and heiress of Hugh de Lacy, Earl of Ulster. At her father's decease, about 1243, he became, in her right, Earl of Ulster.

De Burgh, Richard, 2nd Earl of Ulster, son of preceding, commonly known as the "Red Earl," was educated at the court of Henry III. For his successes against the Scots he was made general over the Irish forces in Ireland, Great Britain, and France. He was esteemed the most powerful subject of his time in Ireland. Besides carrying on hostilities with the native chieftains, he besieged Thomas de Verdon in Athlone, and advanced with a great army to Trim. Three times he assisted the English kings in their descents upon Scotland. He founded monasteries or castles at Loughrea, Ballymote, Corran, Sligo, Castleconnel in Limerick, and Greencastle in Down. On Whit-Sunday 1326 he sumptuously entertained the Anglo- Norman knights of the Pale assembled at Kilkenny, previous to shutting himself up in the monastery at Athassel, where he died the same year.

De Burgh, William, 3rd Earl of Ulster, was born in 1312, and succeeded his grandfather in 1326. "He was murdered on 6th June 1333 by Robert Fitz- Richard Mandeville (who gave him the first wound) and others, his servants, near to the Fords, in going towards Carrickfergus, in the 21st year of his age, at the instigation it was said, of Gyle de Burgh, wife of Sir Richard Mandeville. in revenge for his having imprisoned her brother Walter and others." Three hundred of Sir R. Mandeville's followers were put to death for this murder. De Burgh married Maud, great-granddaughter of Henry III. His estates were seized by his relatives, a branch of the De Burghs, who abjured the English name, and adopted that of Mac William, assumed Irish dress and customs, and ruled over Connaught conjointly.

De Burgh, Lady Elizabeth, only child and heiress of preceding, born in 1332, married in 1352, Lionel, son of Edward III., who became in her right 4th Earl of Ulster and Lord of Connaught. Her daughter Philippa, wife of Edmund Mortimer, was ancestor of Edward IV. and subsequent British sovereigns. [See CLARENCE, DUKE OF.]

De Burgh, Ulick, 1st Earl of Clanricard, was a descendant of the second son of Richard de Burgh, Lord of Connaught. He fortified Roscommon, Galway, Loughrea, Leitrim, and several other towns. He was, according to Lodge, called by the native Irish "Negan," or the beheader, having made a mound of the heads of men slain in battle, which he covered with earth." In 1538 he covenanted to furnish Henry VIII. with men and supplies; and surrendering his large estates into the King's hands, received them back with the title of Earl of Clanricard in 1543. He died 19th October 1544.

De Burgh, Richard, 2nd Earl of Clanricard, succeeded upon his father's death in 1544. He was known amongst the native Irish as "Sassanagh." In 1548 he captured Cormac Roe O'Conor, of Offaly, and sent him to Dublin, where he was executed. He was constantly engaged in harassing and bloody feuds with other branches of the De Burghs. In 1553, with Sir Richard Bingham, he routed the Scots on the Moy. He was thrice married: (1) to Margaret, daughter of Murrough, 1st Earl of Thomond; (2) Catherine, daughter of Donough, 2nd Earl of Thomond; (3) Honora, daughter of O'Brien of Duharras. He died 24th July 1582 and was succeeded by his son, who does not require special notice.

De Burgh, Richard, 4th Earl of Clanricard and Earl of St. Alban's, son of the 3rd Earl, succeeded in 1601, upon his father's death. In 1599 he was made governor of Connaught by the Earl of Essex; and he greatly distinguished himself at the siege of Kinsale in 1601, when he was knighted. In 1624 he was raised to an English peerage as Baron Somerhill, and four years afterwards was advanced to the earldom of St. Alban's. He married Frances, the widow of Sir Philip Sidney and the Earl of Essex, by whom he had an only son, who succeeded him. He died 12th November 1635.

De Burgh, Ulick, 5th Earl and Marquis of Clanricard, son of preceeding, was born in 1604. He attended Charles I. on his campaign in Scotland in 1640, and continued true to the royalist cause in the War of 1641-'52. Although his name appears prominently in Clarendon's History, his role was rather that of a negotiator than a warrior. In 1644 he was created a marquis and appointed Commander-in-chief in Connaught. He supported the Marquis of Ormond in the matter of the cessation of hostilities; and when Ormond retired to France, accepted the Lord-Lieutenancy of Ireland. He was a prime mover in the negotiations with the Duke of Lorraine, for making over to him some of the strong places of the island in return for a sum of money, but ultimately was obliged to repudiate the arrangement. In 1652, wearied out with Irish affairs, by the consent of Prince Charles and with the leave of General Ludlow, he retired to his estate in Kent; where, according to Clarendon, "he was civilly treated by all men, as a man who had many friends and could have no enemies but those who could not be friends to any." He died in 1657, within a year of leaving Ireland, worn out by the fatigues and distresses he had been exposed to. He was buried with his father at Tunbridge. He was a zealous Catholic. Both Clarendon and Carte speak in the highest terms of his character. The latter writes: "H e had a greatness of mind, a nobleness of sentiments, and an integrity of heart, that were not to be corrupted by any temptation, or biassed by any selfish, mean, or unworthy views; compassionate in his temper, sincere in his professions, true and constant in his friendships, and delicate (if possible to an excess) in the point of honour; no man ever loved his country more or his friend better than he did, being ready on all occasions to sacrifice himself for either." Clarendon mentions his having left memoirs of his time, which do not appear to have been as yet given to the public. This branch of the De Burghs is at present represented by Hubert, 2nd Marquis and 15th Earl of Clanricard.

De Burgo, John, Rev., Vicar-Apostolic of Killala. He left Ireland in his youth, and served as an officer in the Austrian army. He afterwards entered the Church, and was appointed abbot of Clare, from 1647 to 1650 acting as Vicar- General of Killaloe. Three years later he was arrested by Cromwell's orders, and sent into banishment. He exercised clerical functions in France and Italy until 1671, when he was appointed Vicar-Apostolic of Killala, and returned to Ireland. In 1674 he was arrested on the charge of "bringing Protestants to the Catholic faith," "preaching perverse doctrine," and "remaining in the kingdom." After two years' imprisonment, having refused many offers of advancement if he would join the Established Church, he was sentenced to confiscation of his goods, and banished to the Continent. In compliance with a vow made while in confinement, he visited Palestine during his exile, and was captured by pirates and sold as a slave. He eventually found means to escape to Constantinople, and thence to Rome, where he ended his days.

De Clare, Richard, Earl of Pembroke and Strigul, surnamed Strongbow, was born about 1130. He succeeded his father in his title and estates in 1149. The extensive ruins of his castle at Chepstowe would alone attest his possessions and influence; but having wasted his substance by extravagance, and being out of favour with Henry II., he eagerly seized the first opportunity that offered of retrieving his broken fortunes. This came in King Henry's licence to Dermot MacMurrough, permitting him to seek assistance in England to establish his claim to the throne of Leinster. MacMurrough offered Strongbow extensive territories in Ireland, and the hand of his daughter Eva, if he would enter into his plans. The intrepid Earl threw himself heart and soul into the enterprise, and in May 1169 sent forward an expedition under FitzStephen, Raymond le Gros, and De Marisco, with whose assistance MacMurrough was reinstated in his kingdom. Henry II. was alarmed at the success attending their arms, and interdicted further expeditions to Ireland until he should have leisure to proceed thither in person. Strongbow, whose preparations were made, went to Normandy in 1170, obtained an equivocal permission from Henry, and embarked a small army of 1,200 men at Milford Haven. After a favourable passage, he landed near Waterford on the 23rd August 1170. Next day, being joined by Raymond le Gros and his forces, he marched to the attack of the city, which was bravely defended by the Danish and Irish inhabitants. Even after the walls were scaled and the city occupied by the small band of Anglo-Normans, some of the garrison held out in Reginald's Tower. The nuptials of Strongbow and Eva were immediately celebrated, and having established his power in Waterford and the surrounding districts, he pushed on through Ferns, and by the coast road to Dublin - the more direct route by the Barrow and Kildare being barred by levies hastily collected by the Irish chiefs. Dublin was taken by assault after great slaughter, its Danish king, Asculf, and "the better part" of his followers embarking with their valuables, and setting sail for the Isle of Man and the Western Islands. The capture of Dublin was followed by expeditions into Meath and other parts of the island, under the guidance of MacMurrough. Upon the death of the latter, which took place in a few months, Strongbow succeeded to the throne of Leinster. Already Milo de Cogan had defeated an effort made by the Northmen and Irish to recapture Dublin; but a more formidable confederacy was now formed by Roderic O'Conor, aided by the Danes of the Hebrides and Man. They commenced operations by investing Dublin - Roderic taking up his position at Castleknock, O'Rourke and O'Carrol at Clontarf, O'Kinsellagh at Irishtown, and the Prince of Thomond at Kilmainham, while Godred, King of Man, blockaded the harbour. After a siege of two months, the distress of the Norman garrison was increased by the news that FitzStephen was besieged in Ferry Carrig Castle, near Wexford. They therefore opened negotiations with Roderic; but his terms were so humiliating that they could not accept them, and a desperate sally in the direction of Finglas was headed by Strongbow, Raymond le Gros, Milo de Cogan,and Maurice FitzGerald, with small bodies of men-at-arms. The Irish troops, disorganized by the assurance of a speedy surrender of the town, offered but a feeble resistance to the redoubtable Normans, and were cut down in multitudes. The siege of Dublin was raised, and vast stores of provisions fell into the hands of the invaders. Strongbow next proceeded to the succour of FitzStephen - too late, however, to save him from falling into the hands of the native princes. On the march south he encountered a vigorous resistance near Carlow. From Wexford he proceeded to Waterford, and thence back to Ferns, where he assumed almost regal state. Meanwhile he received news of Henry II.'s great displeasure at his precipitancy, and sent Raymond le Gros to proffer his submission, and reassure the King as to his loyalty. He then followed in person, and found Henry at Newnham, in Gloucestershire, making preparations for a personal visit to Ireland. After some demur, Strongbow's homage and oath of fealty were accepted, and he was confirmed in his Irish estates (Dublin and the seaport towns being reserved by the King), and also in his English possessions, which had been confiscated. Henry thought it more prudent to keep him by his side, until, having collected a considerable army, he landed in person at Waterford, 18th October 1171. The following year, when Henry returned to England, Strongbow accompanied him; but great disasters falling upon the Anglo- Norman colonists, he returned in 1173 as Lord-Warden, or Justice of Ireland. A quarrel ensued between him and Raymond le Gros, who was the beloved of the army, and whose good will was necessary to the further carrying out of Strongbow's plans of conquest. Raymond retired to England, but before long Strongbow was glad to secure his aid by giving him the hand of his sister Basilia, which Raymond had long coveted. Harassed by constant hostilities with the Irish, Strongbow's position was by no means an easy one, and he died in Dublin, after a lingering illness, in the year 1176 or 1177, aged about 47. Raymond le Gros was absent at the time, and the safety of the Dublin garrison almost depended upon Basilia's concealing even the illness of her brother; so that she could convey the intelligence to her husband only in the following form: "To Raymond, her well-beloved lord and husband, Basilia wisheth health as to herself. Be it known to your sincere love, that the great jaw-tooth which used to give me so much uneasiness has fallen out. Wherefore, if you have any care or regard for me, or even for yourself, return with all speed." Strongbow is thus described by Giraldus Cambrensis: " His complexion was somewhat ruddy and his skin freckled; he had grey eyes, feminine features, a weak voice, and short neck. For the rest, he was tall in stature, and a man of great generosity and of courteous manner. What he failed of accomplishing by force, he succeeded in by gentle words. In time of peace he was more disposed to be led by others than to command. Out of the camp he had more the air of any ordinary man- at-arms than of a general-in-chief; but in action the mere soldier was forgotten in the commander. With the advice of those about him, he was ready to dare anything; but he never ordered any attack relying on his own judgment, or rashly presuming on his personal courage. The post he occupied in battle was a sure rallying point for his troops. His equanimity and firmness in all the vicissitudes of war were remarkable, being neither driven to despair in adversity, nor puffed up by success." Strongbow was buried in Christ Church, Dublin, which he had helped to rebuild. There his reputed monument may be seen. [See DESMOND, 8th EARL OF.] He is supposed to have left a son, who died a few years after him, and a daughter, Isabel, given in marriage by Richard I. to William Marshal, who succeeded to his title and estates. A building on the site of the present Royal Hospital at Kilmainham was founded and largely endowed by Strongbow as a preceptory for the Knights Templars. Several notices of Strongbow's family - the De Clares- will be found in Notes and Queries, 1st Series.

De Cogan, Milo, was one of Nesta's grandsons who embarked in the Anglo- Norman invasion of Ireland. [See NESTA.] He was by Strongbow appointed governor of Dublin, and successfully defended it against the first attack of the Northmen. He married his cousin, a daughter of Robert FitzStephen. In 1177 he was by patent created " Lord of the moiety of the Kingdom of Cork." He and his son-in-law, Ralph FitzStephen, we are told by Cambrensis, "jointly governed the kingdom of Desmond in peace for five years, restraining by their prudence and moderation the unruly spirits of their young men on both sides." They were killed in 1182, in an engagement with MacTire, prince of Imokelly, as they were, with a party of knights, proceeding from Cork to Lismore, to hold conference with some of the people of Waterford.

De Cogan, Richard, younger brother of preceding, specially distinguished himself in the defence, above mentioned, of Dublin. He is spoken of as having been appointed to the command of a picked body of troops by King Henry II. and sent into Ireland to supply the place of his brother Milo.

De Courcy, Sir John, Earl of Ulster, was one of the most valiant of the Anglo-Norman adventurers in the invasion of Ireland. An ancestor had accompanied the Conqueror to England and there obtained large estates. Sir John de Courcy served Henry II. in his French wars, and after Strongbow's death came to Ireland with De Burgh. Dissatisfied with De Burgh's conduct, he, with Armoric St. Laurence (his sister's husband) and Robert de la Poer, in 1177 proceeded northwards to carve out their fortunes by the sword. Having arrived at Downpatrick, De Courcy seized upon the district, and fortified the town, regardless of the remonstrances of the Papal legate, Vivian, and of the claims of MacDunlevy, prince of the district, who insisted that he had done homage to Henry II. for his estates. MacDunlevy, assisted by Roderic O'Conor of Connaught, collected a force of 10,000 men to dispossess De Courcy and his fellows. After many bloody encounters, at the bridge of Ivora and elsewhere, the discipline of the Normans prevailed over the numbers of the native owners of the soil. De Courcy now parcelled out Ulidia (the counties of Down and Antrim) among his followers. He was confirmed in his possessions by Henry II., who created him Lord of Connaught and Earl of Ulster. Wills says: "He erected many castles, built bridges, made highways, and repaired churches, and governed the province peacefully to the satisfaction of its inhabitants, until the days of King John's visit to Ireland." In 1178 he was obliged to retire for a time to Dublin wounded, after suffering a defeat from one of the northern chieftains. In 1185 he was appointed deputy to Prince John, a post he held for four years. He is thus described by Cambrensis: "In person John de Courcy was of a fair complexion, and tall, with bony and muscular limbs, of large size, and very strong make, being very powerful, of singular daring, and a bold and brave soldier from his very youth. Such was his ardour to mingle in the fight, that even when he had the command he was apt to forget his duties as such, and exhibiting the virtues of a private soldier, instead of a general, impetuously charge the enemy among the foremost ranks; so that if his troops wavered he might have lost the victory by being too eager to win it. But although he was thus impetuous in war, and was more a soldier than a general, in times of peace he was sober and modest, and paying due reverence to the Church of Christ, was exemplary in his devotions and in attending holy worship; nor did he forget in his successes to offer thanksgivings, and ascribe all to the Divine mercy, giving God all the glory as often as he had achieved anything glorious. 'But/ as Tully says, 'nature never made anything absolutely perfect in all points,' so we find in him an excessive parsimony and inconstancy which cast a shade over his other virtues." De Courcy married Affreca, daughter of the King of Man and the Isles. Soon after the accession of King John, he incurred his displeasure by speaking of him as a usurper, and Hugh de Lacy the younger was appointed Lord-Justice and sent against him, with directions to carry him prisoner to London. By Scandinavian and Irish aid, however, De Courcy managed to hold possession of Ulidia against the Viceroy, whom he defeated in a battle at Down in 1204. As Cox says: "The valiant Courcy sent Lacy back with blows and shame enough." He was eventually captured by some of De Lacy's followers, as, in the garb of a monk, he was doing penance at Downpatrick, one of the many monasteries he had founded. He defended himself with the only weapon at hand, the pole of a cross, and is said to have killed thirteen before he was overpowered. He was committed to the Tower of London, and the King granted his lands to De Lacy. We are told that about a year after his arrest a quarrel arose between King John, and Philip Augustus of France, concerning the Duchy of Normandy. It was referred to single combat, and De Courcy was prevailed upon to act as champion, for King John. According to the chroniclers, his proportions and appearance so terrified the French King's champion, that he fled, and in recognition of this service the King restored him to his estates, and granted him and his successors the privilege of standing covered in the royal presence. After this he is stated to have been fifteen times prevented by contrary winds from landing in Ireland, and he retired to France, where he died about 1219. Lords of Kingsale, who claim to be descendants of Sir John de Courcy, asserted their privilege of standing covered in the royal presence in the reigns of William III. and some of the Georges.

De Ferings, Richard, Archbishop of Dublin, consecrated to that office in 1299. He is worthy of remembrance as having for a time succeeded in allaying the jealousy between the two Dublin cathedral bodies -St. Patrick's and Christ Church. It was arranged that both should be called cathedrals - Christ Church to have the precedence; the bodies of the Archbishops to be alternately buried in either church; their crosses, mitres, and rings to be deposited in Christ Church. He lived much abroad, and died on the Continent, 18th October 1306, on a return journey from Rome.

De Ginkell, Godert, Earl of Athlone, one of William III.'s ablest generals in the Irish War of 1689-'91, was born in Holland, of a noble family. A commander of proved ability, he accompanied William III.'s Dutch troops to England, and in March 1689 distinguished himself by the dispersion of the Scotch regiment that mutinied at Ipswich. At the battle of the Boyne he commanded a regiment of cavalry. The following September he was appointed Commander-in-chief of William's Irish army, having his head-quarters at Kilkenny. In February 1691 De Ginkell issued a proclamation in which he declared that "Their Majesties had no design to oppress their Roman Catholic subjects of this kingdom in either their religion or their properties, but had given him authority to grant reasonable terms to all such as would come in and submit according to their duty." Towards the end of the same month a detachment of his army defeated Sarsfield's troops at Moate. During the winter the rapparees, or Irish irregular troops, chiefly men whose ancestors had been dispossessed of their lands by the Cromwellian settlers, gave him an immensity of trouble; and he also found extreme difficulty in restraining the excesses of his own troops. On the 30th May De Ginkell joined the main body of his army at Mullingar and took the field. On 7th June he attacked and captured Ballymore, a fortress on the road between Mullingar and Athlone, and on the 19th, being joined by the Duke of Wirtemberg with a large body of troops, he stormed and with small loss occupied the portion of the town of Athlone on the east bank of the Shannon. The castle and town on the west bank was defended by D'Usson, Colonel Grace, and Sarsfield, with obstinate bravery, for ten days-their Irish troops displaying desperate valour in the defence of the broken bridge, which the assailants made repeated efforts to cross. St. Ruth, in supreme command of the Irish army, had his headquarters a few miles out of the town. With De Ginkell forage became scarce; and it was absolutely necessary he should either force a passage across the river or retreat. On the 30th June he consented that an effort should be made by 1,500 grenadiers, headed by a forlorn hope of 60 men in armour, to cross the ford in face of the guns of the castle. The Irish, fancying the English were about to retreat, kept guard carelessly; St. Ruth was in his own quarters; the grenadiers passed over in the face of every obstacle, and after a brave resistance, in which Colonel Grace fell, the Irish army was obliged to fall back into Connaught. St. Ruth resolved to risk an engagement, and took up a strong position near the village of Aughrim, on the slope of the hill of Kilcommadan, with a bog in front; and on Sunday, 12th July, the battle of Aughrim was fought. The numbers engaged on both sides are variously estimated. De Ginkell probably had 20,000 men, St. Ruth 15,000. The contest at first inclined in favour of the Irish, and St. Ruth, confident of victory, was heading a charge of cavalry, when his head was taken off by a cannon ball. He had not confided his plans to Sarsfield, second in command, and before long the Irish broke and fled in every direction. De Ginkell's loss in the engagement was about 2,000; that of the Irish twice or thrice as many. De Ginkell next marched to Galway, which capitulated on the 21st July, the garrison marching out with all the honours of war, and joining Sarsfield at Limerick. On the 25th August De Ginkell appeared before Limerick. The particulars of the heroic defence of the town belong more properly to Sarsfield's life. The siege lasted to the 23rd September, when a truce was agreed upon, and the treaty under which the war was brought to an end was signed on the 3rd October. [See SARSFIELD.] The victorious De Ginkell was received in Dublin with great honours, and on the 21st was entertained at a sumptuous banquet. As a reward for his services he was given the forfeited estates of the Earl of Limerick, comprising 26,480 acres, besides house property in Dublin. This grant, with grants to other Williamite officers, was afterwards reversed by Parliament, much to William III.'s chagrin. On 4th March 1692 he was created Earl of Athlone and Baron of Aughrim "in consideration of his great merits and services, in valiantly defeating her [the patent was signed by the Queen] enemies in several memorable battles, and by his conduct and courage enforcing them to lose and deliver up the several strong places of Ballymore, Athlone, Galway, and Limerick." De Ginkell afterwards distinguished himself in command of the Dutch horse in Flanders, and in 1702 was made Field-Marshal of the armies of the States- General. He died at Utrecht after a short illness, 11th February 1720, and was buried at his castle of Amerongen. His descendant, the 6th Earl, sat in the Irish House of Lords in 1795, and the title became extinct in 1844, on the death of the 9th Earl.

Delacour, James, an obscure poet, was born at Killowen, near Blarney, in 1709. He was educated at Trinity College, and before he reached his twenty-first year wrote his Letter of Abelard to Eloisa, in imitation of Pope. In 1733 appeared his work entitled The Prospect of Poetry. Eventually he fell into intemperate habits and became deranged. The latter part of his life he pretended to have the gift of prophecy, and was regarded with some awe after a successful guess as to the day on which the garrison of Havannah, then besieged, would be compelled to surrender. He died in 1781, aged about 72. De Lacy, Hugh, one of the most distinguished of the Anglo-Norman invaders, came over in Henry II.'s retinue, landing at Waterford, 18th October 1171. The estates that fell to his lot were chiefly in Meath and Connaught. He was appointed Lord-Justice more than once, and vigorously maintained the English authority, building castles at New Leighlin, Timahoe, Castledermot, Tullow, Kilkea, and Narragh. His rising power eventually brought him under the suspicion of Henry, and he was twice called to England to give account of his stewardship. On the last occasion De Braosa was appointed in his stead. De Braosa displayed great incapacity, and De Lacy, reinstated, had to put forth all his energies to amend the injuries done to the English interest by his predecessor's unwise proceedings. Under 1178 mention is made of Hugh de Lacy plundering Clonmacnoise, sparing, however, the churches and the bishop's house. Prince John, during his residence in Ireland, suspected him of using his influence to prevent the Irish chieftains from coming in to offer due submission. De Lacy's second wife, whom he married in 1180, contrary to the wishes of Henry II., was a daughter of Roderic O'Conor. His sudden and violent death is thus related in the Annals of Ulster: " A.D. 1186. Hugo de Lacy went to Durrow to make a castle there, having a countless number of English with him; for he was king of Meath, Breifny, and Oriel, and it was to him the tribute of Connaught was paid, and he it was that won all Ireland for the English. Meath from the Shannon to the sea was full of his castles and English followers. After the completion of this work by him, i.e., the erection of the castle of Durrow, he came out to look at the castle, having three Englishmen along with him. There came then one youth of the men of Meath up to him, having his battle-axe concealed, namely Gilla-gan-inathar O'Megey, the foster son of the Fox himself (chief of Teffia), and he gave him one blow, so that he cut off his head, and he fell, both head and body, into the ditch of the castle." O'Megey, who escaped, was probably actuated by motives of revenge for seizures of land by De Lacy. This murder was by some considered a judgment of Providence for his building the castle on land sacred to St. Columcille. Hugh de Lacy was buried in the abbey of Bective with his first wife. His character is thus sketched by Cambrensis: "If you wish to have a portrait of this great man, know that he had a dark complexion, with black sunken eyes and rather flat nostrils, and that he had a burn on the face from some accident, which much disfigured him, the scar reaching down his right cheek to his chin. His neck was short, his body hairy and very muscular. He was short in stature and ill-proportioned in shape. If you ask what were his habits and disposition, he was firm and steadfast, as temperate as a Frenchman, very attentive to his own private affairs, and indefatigable in public business and the administration of the government committed to his charge. Although he had great experience in military affairs, as a commander he had no great success in the expeditions which he undertook. After he lost his wife, he abandoned himself to loose habits, and not being contented with one mistress, his amours were promiscuous. He was very covetous and ambitious, and immoderately greedy of honour and reputation."

De Lacy, Hugh, the younger, succeeded to his father's possessions in 1186, and in 1189 was appointed Lord-Deputy in place of De Courcy. He and his brother Walter compassed the capture of De Courcy, and after his death in exile obtained his Ulster estates. Their power assumed dangerous dimensions and they espoused the cause of De Braosa. On King John's visit to Ireland the three fled to France, in which country their adventures were of the most romantic description. They are said to have obtained situations as gardeners at the Abbey of St. Taurin. The abbot discovering their quality, and interesting himself on their behalf, they were permitted to return to their estates, Hugh paying 4,000 marks for Ulster, and Walter 2,500 for Meath. The De Lacys proved their gratitude to this abbot by knighting his nephew and investing him with a lordship in Ireland. Both Hugh and Walter died in 1234 or 1243, leaving but daughters, Hugh's daughter married Walter de Burgh, and Walter's daughters married Lord de Verdon and Geoffrey Genneville. Mr. Wills says the De Lacys "lived in an endless train of dissensions and intrigues, wars, oppressions, and spoliations, which the law had not force to control, and at which the Government found it necessary to connive, unless where circumstances made the opposite policy the more expedient means of conciliating the most efficient servants."

Delane, Denis, an Irish actor, was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He appeared as an actor at Smock-alley Theatre in 1728. His success in England was considerable; his handsome countenance and figure, powerful though somewhat monotonous voice, pleasing address, and easy action, secured numbers of admirers, until Garrick, by raising the public taste, threw many of the old school of actors like Delane into the shade. His death, supposed to have been accelerated by intemperate habits, took place in April 1750.

Delany, Patrick, D.D., Dean of Down, an eloquent preacher, a man of wit and learning, the friend of Swift, Gay, and Bolingbroke, was born of humble parentage in 1686. He entered Trinity College as a sizar, and obtained a high reputation for conduct and learning. He rose to be Senior Fellow, and became well known as a preacher at St. Werburgh's. Lord Carteret, when Lord-Lieutenant, was greatly attracted by his talents, and made him a frequent visitor at the Castle. In 1727-8 he was impoverished by exchanging the Fellowship for the Chancellorship of Christ Church, an office the emoluments of which were small, but which he hoped would lead to still further advancement. In 1731 he married Mrs. Margaret Tenison, a rich Irish widow, and again found himself in a position to gratify his hospitable disposition and indulge his literary tastes. He wrote and published several works, chiefly theological; and at his beautiful residence of Delville, Glasnevin, he was wont to collect a brilliant circle, in which Swift shone pre-eminent. His wife died in 1741, and two years afterwards he married Mrs. Pendarves, a lady of uncommon brilliancy, heart, and accomplishments, his junior by fourteen years. Her fortune brought a considerable addition to his income. She had visited Dr. Delany during his first wife's lifetime, and had long been an admirer of his character and his writings. Her maiden name was Mary Granville: she was highly connected, being a niece of Lord Lansdowne's. At eighteen she was married for money to a Cornish miser of "the name of Pendarves. After about six years of misery, her husband died suddenly in London, in 1724, and she found herself a rich young widow at twenty-four years of age. Moving in the dissolute society of the time, nought but her purity and good sense carried her safely through her married life, and her nineteen years of widowhood, during which she received numberless brilliant offers. Her marriage with Dr. Delany proved singularly happy. She writes: "I could not have been so happy with any man in the world as the person I am now united to; his real benevolence of heart, the great delight he takes in making everyone happy about him, is a disposition so uncommon, that I would not change that one circumstance of happiness for all the riches and greatness in the world." Mrs. Delany delighted in Delville, a spot that will long be associated with her memory and that of her husband. In May 1744 he was made Dean of Down. Dr. Delany vindicated his friend Dean Swift's memory from the strictures of Lord Orrery. It is related that on one occasion he had the honour of preaching before George II., and when the moment came he was so awed by the presence of Majesty that Mrs. Delany was obliged to write out the text for the royal pew. He died at Bath, 6th May 1768, aged about 82, and was buried in Glasnevin graveyard. The last seven years of his life were years of ill-health and great depression; added to which their means had been somewhat reduced by his generosity and hospitality. Allibone writes: "Delany was a man of ability and learning; disposed occasionally to use his fancy, and to reason confidently on doubtful or disputed premises. There is also a great lack of evangelical sentiment in his writings." His bust in the Library of Trinity College is thus described in an interesting notice of him in the University Magazine. "The most singular bust in the room. It is that of a man perfectly bald-the cranium well studded with moral and intellectual eminences; the eyes small, humorous, and piercing; the under lip, prominent and sensual, is relieved by the firmness of the upper companion; there is much depth from the ear to the eye, denoting constructive powers of a high order. The head is sculptured looking downwards, 'demisso vultu'; and the whole face seems kindling with either a repressed or an outcoming burst of laughter. Mirth lurks in every chiselled feature, and the genius of good humour is caught and indurated into the marble, there to last, and to look like life for time. The neck, which is scarcely seen, is slovenly arranged in a pair of clergyman's bands, which are tossed and rugged." Mrs. Delany survived until 1788. She enjoyed the friendship of George III. and his Queen. Her Autobiography and Correspondence were edited by Lady Llanover in 6 vols. - three appearing in 1861 and three in 1862 - enriched with numerous portraits of Mrs. Delany and her correspondents. The particulars of her life in Ireland are interesting. She liked the country and its inhabitants: in her Diary we find the following remarkable testimony to the safety of travel here a century ago: " A comfortable circumstance belonging to this country is that the roads are so good and free from robbers, that we may drive safely at any hour of the night."

De Loundres, Henry, Archbishop of Dublin, was consecrated to the office in 1213. He was much trusted by King John, and attended him at Runnymede, when he signed the great charter. He occupied more than once the post of Lord- Deputy of Ireland. During De Loundres' episcopate Glendalough was united to the see of Dublin, and St. Patrick's raised from a parish to a cathedral church. He died in July 1228, and was buried in Christ Church. De Loundres obtained the opprobrious epithet of "Scorch-villein" from his perfidy.'on one occasion, in calling his tenants to produce their leases at an appointed time, and sweeping all the documents into a fire prepared for the purpose.

De Marisco, Hervey, one of the most distinguished of the Anglo-Norman invaders of Ireland, nephew to Earl Strongbow, came over with the first band of adventurers led by Robert FitzStephen, in May 1169, and received large grants of land in Tipperary, Wexford, and Kerry -some of which is still vested in his brother's descendants, but the greater portion was carried by intermarriages into the houses of Butler and FitzGerald. Hervey was the rival and opponent of Raymond le Gros. He was commander of the body of troops defeated by Duvenald, Prince of Limerick, in Ossory. When Strongbow went over to the assistance of King Henry in Normandy, jealousies broke out between De Marisco and Raymond le Gros, upon their being appointed joint governors of Ireland. In 1175 he married Nesta, daughter of Maurice FitzGerald. [See NESTA.] In 1179 he founded Dunbrody Abbey, Wexford; and he ultimately retired as a monk to Canterbury, where he ended his days. He was interred at Dunbrody. Giraldus Cambrensis places his character in no favourable light : "Hervey was a tall and handsome man, with grey and rather prominent eyes, a pleasant look, fine features, and a command of polished language. His neck was so long and slender that it seemed scarcely able to support his head; his shoulders were low, and both his arms and legs were somewhat long. He had rather a broad breast, but was small and genteel in the waist, which is generally apt to swell too much, and lower down his stomach was of the same moderate proportion. His thighs, legs, and feet, were well shaped for a soldier, and finely proportioned to the upper part of his body. In stature he was above the middle height. .. He was addicted to lascivious habits. .. He was spiteful, a false accuser, double-faced, full of wiles, and smooth but false,.. a man of no principle. .. Formerly he was a very good soldier after the French school, but now he is more remarkable for his malice than his gallantry." He left no descendants. His large estates passed to his brother Geoffrey (whom we find Custos of Ireland in 1215, 1226, and 1230), ancester of the Mount- morris family, who with his son perished in an engagement with some of the pirates that then frequented the coasts of Ireland. His sister Ellinor married Thomas FitzGerald, ancestor of the Desmonds.

Denham, Sir John, a poet and writer, was born in Dublin in 1615. He was early removed to London (upon his father being appointed an English instead of an Irish judge), and receiving his preliminary education there, entered Oxford in 1631. At Oxford he acquired the character of " a dreamy young man, more given to dice and cards than to study." Habits of gaming followed him through early life, and after his father's death in 1638 he squandered most of his patrimony. In 1642 he delighted the literary world with his tragedy of The Sophy, and he was made Sheriff of Surrey, and Governor of Farham Castle. The poet Waller says, "He broke out like the Irish rebellion, three score thousand strong, when nobody was aware, or in the least suspected." While in attendance on the King at Oxford, in 1643, he published his well- known poem of Cooper's Hill. Being devotedly attached to Charles I., he was entrusted with several missions for the Stuarts, and resided a considerable time on the Continent, and suffered the loss of most of his estates. After the Restoration he received an appointment under Government, and was created a Knight of the Bath. He died in March 1668, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, near Chaucer, Spencer, and Cowley. Dr. Johnson wrote of him : "Denham is deservedly considered as one of the fathers of English poetry... Cooper's Hill is the work that confers upon him the rank and dignity of an original author. He seems to have been, at least among us, the author of a species of composition that may be denominated local poetry, of which the fundamental subject is some particular landscape to be poetically described, with the addition of such embellishments as may be supplied by historical retrospections or incidental meditation. He is one of the writers that improved our taste and advanced our language, and whom we ought therefore to read with gratitude; though, having done much, he left much to do."

De Oviedo, Matthew, Archbishop of Dublin, was born at Segovia, in Spain, and educated at Salamanca. He became a Franciscan friar, and having previously visited Ireland on a political mission, was, by the Pope, in May 1600, created Archbishop of Dublin. He then conferred with O'Neill and O'Donnell, returned to Spain, and landed at Kinsale in 1601, in the suite of Don Juan d'Aguila. He afterwards took an active part in the negotiations between the Irish princes and the Spanish court. While nominally Archbishop of Dublin he continued to acknowledge Philip II. as his sovereign. Upon the discomfiture of D'Aguila's expedition, De Oviedo returned to Spain, and died in obscurity, a court pensioner.

De Palatio, Octavian, Archbishop of Armagh, a Florentine, was advanced to the see by Sixtus IV. in 1480. He was one of the few dignitaries of the Pale that opposed the coronation of Simnel, and maintained unshaken loyalty to Henry VII. He held numerous provincial synods. De Palatio died at an advanced age, in June 1513, having governed his see thirtythree years, and was buried in St. Peter's Church, Drogheda.

Dermody, Thomas, a poet, was born in Ennis, 17th January 1775. Although his memoirs have been written at considerable length, and his poems were in his time much esteemed, the former contain little of real interest, and the latter are now quite forgotten. Endowed with fine natural abilities, he was befriended by the amiable Countess of Moira, and by other persons of refinement and position, but nothing could wean him from dissolute and irregular habits, and he died in poverty, alone, in a wretched hovel near Sydenham, England, 15th July 1802, aged 27. His poems were published in 1807 under the title of the Harp of Erin.

Derrick, Samuel, a writer, the friend of Johnson and Boswell, occasionally referred to in Boswell's Johnson, was born in Dublin in 1724. Abandoning the linen- drapery business, he went to London in 1751, made an unsuccessful appearance upon the stage as an actor, and wrote some poetical pieces of a secondary character. Johnson, when asked whether Derrick or Smart was the better poet, replied : "Sir, it is not easy to settle the point of precedency between a louse and a flea." His flighty, careless way of living involved him in repeated monetary embarrassments; but when Beau Nash died, he had the good fortune to be chosen to succeed him as Master of the Ceremonies at Bath. The best known of his works (of which works a list will be found in Allibone) are his Letters, written from Liverpool to Chester, published in 1767. A collection of his jests appeared the year he died, 1769.

De St. Paul, John, Archbishop of Dublin in 1349. In his time the Pope ordained that the Archbishop of Armagh should be styled "Primate of all Ireland," the Archbishop of Dublin, "Primate of Ireland." De St. Paul was a zealous advocate of the English interest; he called a synod for the better regulation of the affairs of the Church. In 1360 he was appointed by the King one of three commissioners to search for and manage mines of gold and silver in Ireland. In 1361 he was instrumental in procuring an amnesty for such of the Anglo-Irish chieftains as had been in opposition to Government. He enlarged and beautified Christ Church, and built the choir at his own expense; and when he died, 9th September 1362, he was buried under the high altar.

Desmonds, The, are properly FitzGeralds; but occupying for centuries the district of " Deasmhumhain " (pronounced Desmond), or "south Munster," they practically lost their original patronymic. (1) THOMAS FITZGERALD, Lord of O'Connelloe, the son of Maurice FitzGerald, one of the Anglo-Norman invaders of Ireland, and a grandson of Nesta [See NESTA], was brother of Gerald FitzGerald, ancestor of the Earls of Kildare and Dukes of Leinster; he died in 1213. (2) JOHN, son of preceding, Lord of O'Connelloe, and of Decies, Desmond, and Dungarvan, was killed at the battle of Callan, in Kerry, in 1261, by his son-in-law, MacCarthy Mor, and was buried in the north part of the monastery of Tralee, of which he was the founder. He was the ancestor of Clan Gibbon, the Knights of Glin, the Knights of Kerry, FitzGeralds of Clane, Seneschals of Imokelly. (3) MAURICE, son of preceding, was slain with his father, in 1261, at the battle of Callan. (4) THOMAS, son of preceding, was called "Thomas an-Apa," or "Thomas Simiacus," from an incident which is thus related in the Desmond Pedigree: "This Thomas, being in his swadling cloaths accidentally left alone in his cradle, was by an ape carryed up to the battlements of the monastery of Traly, where the little beast, to the admiration of many spectators, dandled him to and froe, whilst everyone ran with theire beds and caddows, thinking to catch the child when it should fall from the ape. But Divine Providence prevented that danger; for the ape miraculously bore away the infant, and left him in the cradle as he found him, by which accident this Thomas was ever after nicknamed from the ape." [A similar anecdote is related of the 1st Earl of Kildare, whose family adopted as their crest two monkeys "environed and chained."] In 1295 he acted as Lord-Justice, and dying next year, was buried in the Dominican Friary, Youghal, which he had completed in 1268. The war cry of the Desmonds was "Shanet-a-boo!" "Shanid [castle] to victory!"

Desmond, Maurice, 1st Earl, son of preceding, called " Maurice the Great," appears to have taken the rightful place of his elder brother, who died young. He was Lord-Justice of Ireland, had livery of Decies and Desmond in 1312, of Kerry in 1315, and was created Earl of Desmond, 22nd August 1329. He married at Greencastle, 16th August 1312, Margaret, fifth daughter of Richard de Burgh (the Red Earl of Ulster), who died 1331; and secondly Aveline, or Ellinor, daughter of Nicholas FitzMaurice, 3rd Lord of Kerry and Lixnaw. He took an active part in the war against Bruce in Scotland. In contest with the O'Nolans and O'Murroughs in 1330 he first introduced the practice of coigne and livery, or quartering soldiers on the inhabitants of the district they were sent to protect. About this time the Anglo-Normans began to adopt Irish customs and names, and throw off English authority. Their estrangement was hastened by an Act of the English Parliament under Edward III., confining offices in Ireland to those who had estates in England, which irritated the Anglo- Norman party, and Desmond and others called a counter parliament at Kilkenny. Ufford, the Lord-Justice, marched against them, seized Desmond's estates, and threw him into prison. After Ufford's death, Desmond made his peace, attended Edward III. to the French war with twenty men-at- arms and fifty hobellars, and had his estates restored to him. "In consequence of his having been insultingly termed (rhymer' by Baron Arnold le Poer, at a public assembly, this Maurice embarked in a fierce intestine strife, the nobles of Ireland banding themselves on the opposite sides. Such ravages were committed that the towns were obliged to provide garrisons for their own protection, and royal writs were issued from England, ordering the Le Poers and Geraldines to desist from levying forces for the purpose of attacking each other; but to little purpose." The 1st Earl died in Dublin, 25th January 1355, and was buried at Tralee.

Desmond, Maurice, 2nd Earl, son of preceding. By his wife Beatrix, daughter of the Earl of Stafford, he had but a daughter, who married Donald Oge Mac- Carty Mor. He was drowned or died a natural death in 1358, and was buried in Tralee Abbey.

Desmond, Nicholas, 3rd Earl, brother of preceding. Being an idiot, Edward III. granted custody of the Desmond estates to his younger brother Gerald. Nicholas died childless in 1367.

Desmond, Gerald, 4th Earl, half- brother of preceding, surnamed "Gerald the Poet," succeeded to the estates and honours of the family. He married, by the King's command, Eleanor, daughter of James, 2nd Earl of Ormond, who gave her for portion the barony of Inchiquin in Imokelly. Gerald was Lord-Justice of Ireland, 1367. In 1398 he disappeared, and is fabled to live beneath the waters of Lough Gur, near Kilmallock, on whose banks he appears once every seven years. O'Donovan quotes the following concerning his character: " A nobleman of wonderful bountie, mirth, cheerfulness in conversation, charitable in his deeds, easy of access, a witty and ingenious composer of Irish poetry, and a learned and profound chronicler; and, in fine, one of the English nobility that had Irish learning and professors thereof in greatest reverence of all the English in Ireland, died penitently after receipt of the sacraments of the holy church in proper form." Fragments of Anglo-Norman verse attributed to him, known as "Proverbs of the Earl of Desmond,” survive

Desmond, John, 5th Earl, son of preceding, was drowned near Ardfinnan, on the Suir, when returning with his followers from an incursion into the Earl of Ormond's territory, 4th March 1399, and was buried at Youghal. He married according to one account, Mary Bourke; or, according to Lodge, Joan, daughter of the Lord of Fermoy.

Desmond, Thomas, 6th Earl, son of preceding, was deprived of his earldom in 1418, on account of his marriage with Catherine, daughter of William MacCormac of Abbeyfeale, one of his dependants. The romantic incident of his meeting Catherine as he was out hunting, is told in Moore's lines, commencing: "By the Feal's wave benighted, Not a star in the skies, To thy door by love lighted, I first saw those eyes." The alliance was so unfavourably regarded by his clan, that he abandoned his estates, and retired to France. He died at Rouen, 10th August 1420, and was buried at Paris "with great and mighty show, where the two kings of England and France were present." It is said that by his wife he left two sons - Maurice, ancestor of the FitzGeralds of Adare and Broghill, and John Claragh, who died in 1452.

Desmond, James, 7th Earl, uncle of preceding, son of the 4th Earl, surnamed "James the Usurper." One of the chief instruments in compelling his nephew's exile, he seized his estates, but was not generally acknowledged as Earl until 1422. In the same year he was made Constable of Limerick, and two years afterwards obtained the custody of Limerick, Waterford, Cork, and Kerry. He married Mary, eldest daughter of Ulick de Burgh. He was relieved from the duty of attending Parliament in 1445. He and the Earl of Ormond were godfathers to George, afterwards Duke of Clarence. The following is a portion of a letter addressed to him as a descendant of the Geraldines in 1440, in the name of the Florentine republic: "Magnificent lord and dearest friend: If it be true, as is publickly stated, that your progenitors were of Florentine origin, and of the right noble and antique stock of the Gherardini, still one of the highest and greatest families of our states, we have ample reason to rejoice and congratulate ourselves that our people have not only acquired possessions in Apulia, Greece, and Hungary, but that our Florentines, through you and yours, bear sway even in Ibernia, the most remote island of the world. O great glory of our state! O singular benevolence of God towards our people! from whom have sprung so many nobles and dominators diffused over the entire orbit of the earth." By the Earl of Ormond he was appointed Seneschal of Imokelly, Inchiquin, and Youghal, and founded the monastery of Franciscans at Askeaton. He died in 1462, and was buried in the Friary of Youghal.

Desmond, Thomas, 8th Earl, son of the preceding, was in 1463 appointed Lord-Deputy under the Duke of Clarence. On assuming the government he was opposed by 5,000 of the English of Meath, whom he soon reduced to obedience. On many other occasions he had to take the field both against the "King's English rebels," and the "King's Irish enemy." The Irish Parliament, in letters to the King, referred to the great services which he "at intolerable charges," and "in jeopardy of his life, rendered to the reigning monarch, as well as to his father, 'the right noble and famous prince of blessed memory, Richard Duke of York.' They certified that he was and ever had been the King's true and faithful liegeman, governing himself always by English laws, and by those who were well-wishers to his Highness. By God's grace and the great travail and labour of the Deputy, the land, they wrote, was in a reasonable state of peace and tranquillity. The Parliament prayed that it might please the King to bear in remembrance the great services, costs, and charges, of the Earl Thomas, to have him in tenderness and special favour, and to reward him according to his wisdom and bounty." In 1464 he founded the collegiate church of Youghal. In 1467 he was succeeded in the government by John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester, "who caused him to be attainted of treason in a parliament held at Drogheda, with the Earl of Kildare and Edward Plunket, for alliances, fosterage, and alterage with the Irish; for furnishing them with horse and arms, and supporting them against the King's subjects; for which he was beheaded, 15th February 1467, at Drogheda, and was there buried in St. Peter's Church." Lodge makes the following statement in a note: "His tomb was removed, by order of Sir Henry Sidney, to the church of the Holy Trinity in Dublin, where it seems to represent the person of Earl Strongbow, whose monument was broken by the fall of the roof of the church on Whitsun-eve, 1572." He married Ellice, daughter of John, Lord Barry of Buttevant. Three of his sons, James, Maurice, and Thomas, became Earls of Desmond. One account attributes his death to the intrigues of Edward IV.'s Queen, Elizabeth Gray, who was jealous of Desmond's influence over her husband.

Desmond, James, 9th Earl, was born in 1459, and succeeded on his father's execution in 1467. O'Daly says: "Now James FitzThomas, having made terms with King Edward, and received immunity for any act which he had committed to avenge his father's death, became Earl of Desmond. He was a man of singular prudence, and largely to the detriment of the Irish did he increase the territories he had acquired." He married Margaret, daughter of Thady O'Brien, Prince of Thomond. King Richard III. endeavoured to attach him to his interests, and sent him a collar of gold weighing 20 oz., with the device of a white boar, pendant from a circlet of roses and suns; also a "long gown of cloth of gold, lined with satin or damask; two doublets, one of velvet, and another of crimson satin; three shirts and kerchiefs; three stomachers; three pair of hose-one of scarlet, one of violet, and the third of black; three bonnets; two hats; and two tippets of velvet." But notwithstanding these blandishments, the Earl augmented his Irish alliances, and retained his Irish habits. He was murdered at Rathkeale, 7th December 1487 (aged 28), possibly at the instigation of his brother and successor, and was buried at Youghal. His sister Catherine married the MacCarthy Reagh. A book once her property (now known as the Book of Lismore) was discovered in a wall in Lismore Castle in 1811.

Desmond, Maurice, 10th Earl, succeeded on the death of his brother in 1487. Being lame, and usually carried in a horse-litter, he was styled "Vehiculus," and by some, on account of his bravery, "Bellicosus." He sided with the pretender, Perkin Warbeck, in the siege of Waterford and other expeditions. Nevertheless, making humble submission, the King not only forgave, but took him into favour, 26th August 1497, and granted him all the "customs, pockets, poundage, and prize-wines of Limerick, Cork, Kingsale, Baltimore, and Youghall, with other privileges and advantages." The condition of the inhabitants within the Pale at this period is thus described by a cotemporary writer: "What with the extortion of coyne and lyverye dayly, and wyth the wrongful exaction of osteing money, and of carryage and cartage dayly, and what with the Kinge's great subsydye yerely, and with the said trybute, and blak-rent to the Kinge's Iryshe enymyes, and other infynyt extortions, and dayly exactions, all the Englyshe folke of the countys of Dublyn, Kyldare, Meathe, and Uryell ben more oppressyd with than any other folke of this land, Englyshe or Iryshe, and of worsse condition be they athysside than in the marcheis." O'Daly thus writes of Earl Maurice: "This man was subsequently far famed for his martial exploits. He augmented his power and possessions - for all his sympathies were English - and a furious scourge was he to the Irish, who never ceased to rebel against the crown of England. The bitterest enemy of the Geraldines he made his prisoner, to wit, MacCarthy Mor, Lord of Muskerry; and now having passed thirty years opulent, powerful, and dreaded, he died [1520] to the sorrow of his friends and the exultation of his enemies." He was buried at Tralee. His first wife was daughter of Lord Fermoy; his second, daughter of the White Knight.

Desmond, James, 11th Earl, succeeded on his father's death in 1520. In 1529 he proffered fealty to the Emperor Charles V., and declared himself willing to enter into a league against England. The Emperor commissioned his chaplain to visit Ireland. The report of his mission to Dingle, of the resources of the country, of the demeanour of the Earl, and his reasons for hostility to England, as given by Mr. Froude in his History of England, are extremely interesting. The chaplain writes: "The Earl himself is from thirty to forty years old, and is rather above the middle height. He keeps better justice throughout his dominions than any other chief in Ireland. Robbers and homicides find no mercy, and are executed out of hand. His people are in high order and discipline. They are armed with short bows and swords. The Earl's guard are in a mail from neck to heel, and carry halberds. He has also a number of horse, some of whom know how to break a lance. They all ride admirably, without saddle or stirrup." A skirmish between him and Ormond was thus reported to Henry VIII. by the Lord- Lieutenant : " In the sayd conflyct were slayn of the said Erll of Desmonde's party xviii. banners of galoglas, which bee commonly in every baner lxxx. men, and the substance of xxiv. baners of horsemen, which bee xx. under every banr at the leest, and under some xxx., xl., and l.; and emonges others was slayne the said Erll is kinnesman, Sir John FitzGerot, and Sir John of Desmond takyn, and his son slayne, and Sir Gerald of Desmond, another of his uncles, sore wounded and takyn; with many others whereof the certainte yet appereth not... His discomfyture and losse may bee right hurtfull; the moost part of theym that overthrew him bee Irishmen; and I feare it shall cause theyme to wex the more prowder, and also shall cause other Irishmen to take pride therin, setting the less by Englishmen." He died at Dingle, 18th June 1529, and was buried with his father at Tralee. He had but one legitimate child, Amy, who married, (1) 9th Earl of Ormond, (2) Sir Francis Bryan, Lord-Justice, (3) Gerald, 15th Earl of Desmond.

Desmond, Sir Thomas, 12th Earl, uncle of preceding, brother of 10th Earl, born in 1454, succeeded on his nephew's death in 1529. He was known as "Sir Thomas the Bald," and "Thomas the Victorious." "Far-famed was he in feats of arms; in nine battles did he win the palm of victory... Another subject for congratulation had this Earl - the two Lords of Muskerry fell beneath his sword." He took up the intrigues of his predecessor. Lodge tells us that "the King without hesitation established him in the earldom, merely endeavouring with friendly phrases to induce him to send his grandson and heir to his Majesty's court; which, with phrases equally amiable, the Earl showed the impossibility of his doing." Eventually embarrassments attendant on the question of the succession obliged him to make every profession of loyalty to the King. He died at 'Rathkeale in 1534, aged 80, and was buried at Youghal.

Desmond, Catherine, Old Countess, second wife of the 12th Earl, was a FitzGerald of Dromana in the County of Waterford. She was married to the Earl in 1529, but a few years before his death, and gave birth to a daughter, married to Philip Barry Oge. Her survival in 1590 is established by her name being mentioned in a deed of that date. Her jointure after the Earl's death was the manor of Inchiquin, five miles from Youghal, where she removed with her daughter; but in 1575 the 15th Earl persuaded her to make it over to him by a deed still in the Record Office, Dublin. Upon Raleigh's arrival in Ireland in 1589, he visited her; and Fynes Moryson described her as "able to goe on foote four or five miles to the market towne, and used weekly soe to doe in her last years." It is thought that she died in 1604, aged about 100. The ordinary account of her life - of her being born in 1464; of her dancing with Richard III.; of her visiting James I., landing at Bristol and walking to London in her 139th year; of her losing her life by falling from a tree when gathering nuts; and other remarkable occurrences - is effectually disposed of by writers in Notes and Queries, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Series, and an article in the Dublin Review for February 1862. It is questionable whether any of her eleven reputed portraits are genuine -most being without doubt portraits of Rembrandt's mother.

Desmond, James, 13th Earl, grandson of 12th Earl, called the "Court Page,” having been hostage for his grandfather at the court of Windsor. On the earldom becoming vacant in 1534, "the King loaded him with honours, and fitted out ships to accompany him to the Irish shores, and provided him with a number of men who were ready to stand by him against those who were inclined to dispute his title to the patrimonial honours and inheritance." His title to the earldom was disputed by his grand-uncle, Sir John, who being supported by a large faction, was de facto 13th Earl. This Sir John died about Christmas 1536. The "Court Page" did not long enjoy his honours, for he was murdered at Leacan Sgail in Kerry, by his cousin, Maurice an Totane, son of his late opponent, 19th March 1540. He married a daughter of his grand-uncle, Cormac Oge MacCarthy.

Desmond, Sir James, 14th Earl, son of Sir John, de facto 13th Earl, succeeded on his cousin's murder in 1540. He is called by English writers the "Traitor Earl." In 1538 he had written to the Pope, declaring that an army of 30,000 Spaniards would ensure the conquest of Ireland, proposing that Ireland should be annexed to the Holy See, and offering to undertake the government as viceroy, paying a revenue to Paul of 100,000 ducats. " The expedition would be costly, but the expenses would fall neither on his Holiness nor on the Emperor. Desmond, with armed privateers, would seize and deliver into the hands of the Pope the persons of a sufficient number of the heretical English, whose ransoms would defray the necessary outlay." In July 1539 we find him in open arms against the English power, in conjunction with O'Neill, but he was soon overcome by Viscount Thurles, who seized upon his castle at Lough Gur. Having surrendered and obtained letters from the Lord-Deputy, he sailed from Howth in 1542, repaired to London, made submission to Henry VIII., was kindly received, reinstated in his ancient patrimony, and sent back with the titles of Treasurer of Ireland and President of Munster. He is afterwards said to have "lived in honour and prosperity," until he died at Askeaton, 14th October 1558. He was there buried in the Franciscan Friary. The 14th Earl was four times married - to daughters of Lord Fermoy, Lord Ely O'Carroll, 8th Earl of Ormond, and Donald MacCarthy Mor. [See also FITZMAURICE, JAMES.]

Desmond, Gerald, 15th Earl, son of preceding by his second wife, succeeded on the death of his father in 1558. He is known to English writers as the "Rebel Earl," or "Ingens Rebellibus Exemplar." "Soon after his father's death," says O'Daly, "surrounded by a noble retinue of 100 youths, all of honourable birth, he proceeded to do homage to the Queen, by whom he was graciously received, and restored to all his ancestral honours by a new patent." Sir Thomas Desmond, his elder half-brother, by his father's first marriage, afterwards annulled as contracted within degrees of consanguinity, was for a short time recognized as Earl. Gerald was, however, chosen by the septs of Desmond, and his claim was eventually allowed by Government. (Thomas took no part with his brothers in the succeeding convulsions, and died at his castle of Connagh, near Youghal, 18th January 1595.) The Earl sat in a parliament held in Dublin in 1559. For many years he was engaged in bloody and aimless feuds with the Butlers and O'Briens. On 15th February 1564 Desmond proceeded to levy imposts on Sir Maurice FitzGerald of Decies, a relative of the Butlers. Sir Maurice applied to the latter for aid, and a battle was fought at Affane, on the Blackwater, two miles south of Cappoquin, where the Earl of Desmond was wounded and made prisoner. While being carried on a litter from the field, one of his captors is said to have tauntingly asked: "Where now is the proud Earl of Desmond?" to which he haughtily rejoined: "Where he ought to be - upon the necks of the Butlers." The Earl appears to have been liberated soon afterwards. Sir Henry Sidney, in his progress through Munster in January 1567, speaks of the Earl as "a man both devoid of judgment to govern, and will to be ruled," and describes his territories as in a wretched plight. "Like as I never was in a more pleasant country in all my life, so never saw I a more waste and desolate land... Such horrible and lamentable spectacles are there to behold as the burning of villages, the ruin of churches, the wasting of such as have been good towns and castles." He was especially severe against the Earl for the mismanagement of his estates, and being likewise fearful of his strong Catholic proclivities, seized him at Kilmallock, and carried him about in durance the remainder of his progress. The sons of the Earl of Clanricard were also captured in Connaught, and the Lord-Deputy returned to Dublin with his prisoners the 16th April. He had caused numberless malefactors to be executed in the course of his visitation. In October Sidney proceeded to England, bringing with him the Earl of Desmond and his brother Sir John, Hugh O'Neill, the O'Conor Sligo, and other chieftains. The Earl and his brother Sir John were detained captives for six years in the Tower of London, while their cousin FitzMaurice assumed the leadership of the family, and carried on those hostilities against the Government that will be found detailed in his life. After FitzMaurice's submission in 1573, they were set free and received at court. A ship was furnished to convey them to Dublin, where, however, the Earl was detained under an honourable arrest, whilst Sir John was permitted to return to Munster. Before long the Earl managed to escape whilst out hunting near Grangegorman, and although large rewards were offered for his apprehension, he was soon safe amongst his followers in the fastnesses of Desmond. During the O'Neill wars of the following months he remained neutral. In May 1574 the Earl met at Waterford by appointment the Earl of Essex and the Earl of Kildare, and under the protection of a safe conduct returned with them to Dublin. There he was informed that the Queen desired his presence in London; but remembering his former captivity, he made many excuses, and Essex honourably conducted him to the frontiers of the Pale. Shortly afterwards he surrendered Castlemaine and Castlemartyr, which were occupied by English garrisons. In other respects his authority over his feudal principality was left undisturbed, and he passed for a loyal subject. In the autumn of 1575 he proffered Sir Henry Sidney his services against the northern chieftains. In 1576 he was brought into collision with the new President of Munster, Sir William Drury. He protested against the holding of courts within his palatinate; but finding Drury obdurate, and about proceeding to Tralee to hold a sessions, he made a virtue of necessity, and offered the hospitality of his castle. On approaching Tralee, the President perceived about 800 armed men retiring into the woods. The Countess of Desmond met him outside the town and assured him that her lord had no hostile intention, but that, his visit being unexpected, the forces had assembled for a general hunting. Shortly afterwards Drury seized Sir John of Desmond in Cork, on suspicion of treasonable practices, and sent him under an escort to Dublin. When FitzMaurice landed with the" Papal expedition at Smerwick, in 1579, the Earl maintained a semblance of loyalty, and even forwarded to Dublin his cousin's letters. The previous year he had arrested, and handed over to the President, Patrick O'Haly, Bishop of Mayo, and other ecclesiastics, who had landed from Spain. Sir John, who appears to have been liberated, and Sir James, hastened to meet their cousin and his allies. The Lord-Justice, who was in Cork, immediately despatched Henry Davells, Constable of Dungarvan, and Arthur Carter, Provost-Marshal of Munster, to summon the Earl of Desmond and his brothers to attack FitzMaurice and the Spaniards. They were extremely officious and insolent to the Earl, reconnoitred the fort at Smerwick, where FitzMaurice and the Spaniards were entrenched, and were on their way back to Cork, when they were murdered by Sir John in a little inn at Tralee. The atrocity of the deed was aggravated by the fact that Sir John and Davells had been intimate friends. A few days after FitzMaurice's death in August 1579, the Earl met Sir William Drury at Kilmallock, and endeavoured to clear himself from the charge of complicity in his cousin's proceedings. After being kept under arrest for three days, he was liberated on undertaking to send in his only son, James, as a hostage. He received a promise that his lands and tenants should be respected - an engagement violated almost as soon as made. Most of the Earl's forces went over to Sir John of Desmond, who took his cousin FitzMaurice's place - the Spanish officers materially assisting in disciplining these irregular levies. Sir William Drury, on the other hand, collected a considerable army, chiefly composed of Catholic Irish. In an engagement that ensued between a portion of these forces and those under Sir John and Sir James, at Springfield, in the south of the County of Tipperary, the latter were successful. Shortly afterwards, on 30th September, Sir William Drury sickened of the fatigues of the campaign, and died at Waterford, whereupon the command of the royal forces devolved upon Sir Nicholas Malby, who was reinforced by 600 Devonshiremen, landed at Waterford. A fleet also hovered off the coast under the command of Sir John Perrot. Leaving 300 foot and 50 horse at Kilmallock, Malby early in October marched with some 600 of his army to Limerick; then turning south, he encountered and gave battle to Sir John and Sir James with vastly superior forces at Monasteranenagh, two miles from Croom. For a time victory seemed undecided. Malby's lines were twice broken; but ultimately the Desmonds were routed with the loss of Thomas FitzGerald, the Earl's cousin, and some 260 men. The Earl of Desmond and FitzMaurice, Lord of Lixnaw, watched the progress of this engagement from top of Tory Hill, little more than a mile distant, and late in the evening sent to congratulate Malby on his victory. This message was treated with contempt-there being no doubt that the Earl would in any case have congratulated the winning side - and Malby proceeded to lay waste Desmond's territory in the neighbourhood. Askeaton, Rathkeale, and Adare, were given to the flames. On 30th October the Earl of Ormond, acting under Malby, demanded that Desmond should give up the Papal Nuncio (Dr. Saunders), and surrender for the Queen's service the castles of Carrigfoyle and Askeaton. Desmond hesitated; on 2nd November a proclamation was issued declaring him a traitor unless he submitted within twenty days, and the next day the Queen's troops marched into the Earl's palatinate of Kerry, and the Earl of Ormond was constituted governor of all Munster. The vacillating Earl of Desmond was forced to choose a side, and he took the field with his brothers about Christmas 1579. The war in which he now found himself involved, continued the four remaining years of his life. It had already been carried on by his cousin FitzMaurice and his brothers for nearly six years. For ten years the country was desolated by contentions of the most sanguinary and merciless character. The conclusion of the war found Munster well-nigh depopulated, and the whole of Desmond parcelled out amongst new proprietors. The war had its origin in the effort of Elizabeth to impose English habits and laws, and English religion, upon the people of Munster; in the rapacity of adventurers thirsting for the confiscation of Irish estates; and in the almost inevitable contest between Elizabeth and her Catholic subjects, forced on by the Papal Bull of 1569, which had excommunicated and deposed her. The points at issue were clearly put by the Earl of Desmond himself : "It is so that I and my brother are entered into the defence of the Catholic faith, and the overthrow of our country by Englishmen, which had overthrown the Holy Church, and go about to overrun our country, and make it their own, and to make us their bondmen." The Earl was, however, utterly unfit to conduct a war of any kind; no important engagement occurred; and his exploits were never more, in Mr. Richey's words, "than an occasional skirmish or plundering excursion; and he gradually sank into a fugitive, and finally into a mere criminal fleeing from justice. .. [Between the two parties] the interest or the existence of the mass of the people was wholly disregarded. On the one hand, they were excited by the promises of Spanish invasions, and succour which never arrived [in sufficient force to effect anything]; on the other, they were trampled down and decimated by way of precaution; and thus, from year to year, the plundering and killing went on, until there was nothing left to plunder, and very few to kill." On more than one occasion the Earl nobly refused terms for himself which would involve the surrender of Dr. Saunders, the Papal Legate. In January 1580 two Italian vessels with powder arrived at Dingle, bringing news that he might soon expect other forces from abroad. As spring opened Pelham and Ormond "passed through the rebel counties in two companies, consuming with fire all habitations, and executing the people wherever they found them. FitzMaurice's widow and her two little girls were discovered by the way, concealed in a cave. Mr. Froude adds: " They are heard of no more, and were probably slain with the rest. The Irish annalists say that the bands of Pelham and Ormond killed the blind and the aged, women and children, sick and idiots, sparing none. Pelham's own words too closely confirm the charge." In August 1580 Sir James of Desmond was captured and taken to Cork. There he was hanged and quartered, and his head spiked over one of the city gates. In September, 700 Spaniards and Italians under Sebastian San Josef were landed from four vessels in Smerwick harbour. They conveyed arms for 5,000 men, together with large sums of money and promises of further aid. The fort of Oilen-an-Oir, at Smerwick, garrisoned by FitzMaurice and his party the previous year, was again occupied, repaired, and strengthened. The Earl hastened to meet his foreign auxiliaries, and some weeks were spent in desultory excursions in the neighbourhood. On 31st October, Lord Grey, burning to retrieve his recent disgrace in Glenmalure, encamped with a strong force under experienced officers some eight miles from Smerwick. Five days afterwards Admiral Winter arrived with his fleet from Kinsale. Heavy guns were landed, trenches opposite the fort were opened on the 7th, and on the 10th the Spaniards surrendered - unconditionally, according to English dispatches: Irish authorities state that the lives and liberties of the soldiers were guaranteed. After surrendering, the English commander asked who they were, and for what purpose they had landed in Ireland; to which they replied in effect that they had been brought over to Ireland " upon fair speeches aiid great promises, which they had found vain and false." Next morning the officers were, by Lord Grey's orders, reserved for ransom, while the soldiers were slaughtered in cold blood, and a few women and a priest amongst them were hanged. The bodies, 600 in all, were stripped and laid out upon the sands-"as gallant and goodly personages, said Grey, "as ever were beheld." "To him," says Mr. Froude, "it was but the natural and obvious method of disposing of an enemy who had deserved no quarter. His own force amounted barely to 800 men, and he probably could not, if he had wished, have conveyed so large a body of prisoners in safety across Ireland to Dublin." Sir Walter Raleigh was one of the officers commanding the party who carried the Deputy's orders into execution. The war in Munster now assumed, if possible, a more savage character, and untold atrocities were committed on both sides. A large though diminishing number of followers still surrounded the Earl and his Countess. About July 1581, while encamped at Aghadoe, Killarney, he was taken unawares by Captain Zouch, many of his men were slain, and he escaped with difficulty. In September he penetrated as far as Cashel, and carried off to Aherlow large spoil of cattle and other property. In the course of the next winter Dr. Saunders, the Papal Legate, died of cold and exposure. In August 1581, one year after his brother's death, Sir John of Desmond was intercepted (a spy having given information as to his whereabouts) at Castlelyons by Captain Zouch with a strong party, was wounded by a spear thrust, and expired before his enemies had carried him a mile. His body was thrown across his own steed, and conveyed to Cork, where it was hanged in chains - his head being cut off for exposure on Dublin Castle. The unhappy Earl now remained alone in arms. While the Government offered terms to such minor persons as would submit, he was excluded from mercy. The large rewards offered for his capture appeared to attach the peasantry of Desmond only the more to the faith and fortunes of their old lord. Hunted from place to place, he occasionally dealt heavy blows at his adversaries. The Glen of Aherlow was his favourite retreat, at other times he frequented the woods in the south-west of Limerick, or the fastnesses of Kerry. He passed Christmas of this year at Kilquane, near Kilmallock. There he was surprised by a party of soldiers led by a spy, John Welsh; the Earl's retreat was surrounded, and he and the Countess only saved themselves by plunging into a river hard by, and hiding in the water under an overhanging bank until the enemy had retired. On 28th April 1583 he wrote to Queen Elizabeth, offering to come to terms-" So as me country, castles, possessions, and lands, with me son, might be put and left in the hands and quiet possession of me council and followers, and also me religion and conscience not barred." About June, Lady Desmond, the companion hitherto of all her husband's wanderings, left him, probably by his own desire. Free from the incumbrance of her presence, the aged Earl wandered from glen to glen, and mountain to mountain, attended only by a priest and three or four faithful followers who would not leave him. "Where they did dress their meat," says Hooker, as quoted by Haverty, "thence they would remove to eat it in another place, and from thence go into another place to lie. In the nights they would watch; in the forenoon they would be upon the hills and mountains to descry the country, and in the afternoon they would sleep." On the 9th November he left the woods near Castleisland and went westward towards Tralee. Some of his kerns carried off forty cows and nine horses for his use from Maurice MacOwen, who immediately despatched messengers to Lieutenant Stanley at Dingle, and to his brothers-in-law, Owen and Donnell Moriarty. The two latter followed in the track of the prey, with a band of eighteen kerns. At Castlemaine they obtained the assistance of a few soldiers. From Tralee they traced them to Glanageenty. When dusk fell they saw a fire in the glen beneath them. At dawn (11th November 1583) the Moriartys with Daniel O'Kelly, one of the soldiers, took the lead of the band up the glen, and rushed with a loud shout to the cabin where the Earl's party had lain. All escaped except a venerable looking man, a woman, and a boy. O'Kelly, who entered first, aimed a blow with his sword and almost severed the arm of the old man, who cried: "I am the Earl of Desmond: spare my life." O'Kelly immediately cut off his head, which was forwarded to London and impaled on the bridge. His body, after being concealed for some time by the peasantry, was ultimately interred in the little chapel of Kilnamanagh, near Castle- island. The spot where the Earl was killed is still pointed out as Bothar-an- Iarla, and the trunk of an old tree under which his body was thrown, remained in 1850.69 "So ended a rebellion," says Mr. Froude, "which a mere handful of English had sufficed to suppress, though three- fourths of Ireland had been heart and soul concerned in it, and though the Irish themselves, man for man, were no less hardy and brave than their conquerors. The victory was terribly purchased. The entire province of Munster was utterly depopulated. Hecatombs of helpless creatures, the aged, the sick, and the blind, the young mother, and the babe at the breast, had fallen under the English sword. And though the authentic details of the struggle have been forgotten, the memory of a vague horror remains imprinted in the national traditions." The whole of Desmond, extending over nearly four modern counties, or 800,000 acres, was confiscated to the Crown, and the greater part divided amongst English settlers. The Countess appears to have been made an allowance by the Government. In October 1584, Perrot writes: The Countess of Desmond lay at Clonmel, where she was allowed a diet of viiis. per diem for herself, her daughter, and weemen." This was afterwards disallowed, and she was permitted to live in Dublin Castle. In March 1587 she repaired to Elizabeth, who gave her a pension of £200 to be paid in Ireland, with 100 marks for her two daughters. The Earl left no issue by his first wife, daughter of the 11th Earl, widow of James, Earl of Ormond. She died in 1564, and was buried at Askeaton. By his second wife, daughter of Lord Dunboyne (who remarried Sir Donough CConor Sligo, and died in 1636), he left two sons and five daughters.

Desmond, James, 16th Earl, son of the preceding, was born in England, 6th June 1571. Queen Elizabeth was his god-mother, and he is commonly spoken of as the "Queen's Earl." Most of his life was spent in the Tower of London, and both body and mind were weak, probably from long confinement and ignorance of the world. When the Earl and Countess returned to Ireland in 1573, he was detained as a hostage in London. In 1579 he was permitted to return for a short time under strict guard. During his stay, Wallop suggested to Walsingham that "Desmond's son might be executed as an ensample of Desmond's disloyalty." For a time he was committed to the custody of the town of Kilkenny. The citizens petitioning against the expense of his keep, he was removed to Dublin Castle. The Lords-Justices wrote, 17th November 1583: "For that we acompt Desmond's sonne here in the Castell to be a prisoner of greate chardge, and that manie escapes have been mad hear, hence (though not in our tyme) we wyshe, for the better assurance of hym, that her Matie mighte be p'suaded to remouve hym hence into the Towre of London, wch. notwithstandinge we leve to yor Ll.'s grave consideracon." They were not relieved of the charge until July 1584, and then the Tower gates closed on him for several years. During the O'Neill wars he was almost forgotten: there are few memorials of his prison life but the numerous apothecaries' and surgeons' bills on his account, still preserved in the Tower records. His education does not appear to have been neglected. In 1600, when Irish affairs had become desperate, it was thought that his name might have some influence in establishing Irish loyalty. The Desmond earldom was restored to him on the 1st October 1600, and he was sent over to Ireland under the charge of Captain Price. The particulars of this visit are detailed in letters from the young Earl to Lord Burleigh. They set sail from " Shirehampton for Corke," 13th October 1600. Desmond was so sea-sick that after two days he persuaded his custodians to land at Youghal, where, he says, " I had like, comming new of the sea, and therefore weake, to be overthowen uith the kisses of old calleaks." At Kilmallock he was received with wild enthusiasm by the people, "insomuch as all the streets, doores, and windowes, yea, the very gutters and tops of the houses, were so filled with them." This enthusiasm, however, completely died away when he was seen to attend the Protestant service- "The people used loud and rude hehortations to keepe him from church, and spat upon him." Government gained nothing by sending him over but the surrender of Castlemaine. With the capture of his cousin James Desmond, known as the Sugan Earl, all public interest in his fortunes was at an end, and we find him back in England at liberty, petitioning the Queen for a proper maintenance, yet owning that his state-penniless, despised, and dying -was happiness compared to “the hell" of his imprisonment in the Tower. He probably died in London towards the end of 1601, aged 30.

Desmond, James, Sugan Earl, was nephew of the 15th Earl. In 1598, exasperated at seeing his ancestral territories in the hands of the English settlers, and at the efforts made to extirpate Catholicism, he joined Hugh O'Neill in his war, and by him was created an earl. Hence " Sugan Earl" - an "earl of straw" -not appointed by regular authority. He soon became a distinguished commander in Munster against the Queen. The plot for his capture, formed by Sir George Carew, fully detailed in Pacata Hibernia, may be here summarized. Dermot O'Conor Don, a valiant man, had, with a body of 1,500 kerns and gallowglasses, entered his service. O'Conor's wife was a sister of the 16th Earl of Desmond, and with a view to promote his interests, she met the advances of Carew, and his advocate, Miler Magrath, Archbishop of Cashel, and persuaded O'Conor to betray his chief for the sum of £1,000. Carew furnished O'Conor with a forged letter as if from the Sugan Earl to Carew, offering to betray O'Conor. This letter was to serve as a pretext with his followers for his treachery. Matters being arranged, O'Conor asked the Sugan Earl to an interview at Connello, on the borders of Limerick, 18th June 1600. After some controversy, O'Conor produced the forged letter, made the Earl a prisoner in the name of O'Neill, and carried him off to his fortress of Castleishin, in the great wood and fastnesses of Connello, in the present County of Limerick. The ruins of the castle still remain. The Earl's followers, with Pierce Lacy and others, immediately assembled, took the castle on the 26th June, and liberated him. At the siege of Glin Castle, by Carew, in July, the Earl, with 3,000 men, watched the proceedings from a distance without being able to interfere. Afterwards, while on his way to the Castle of Aherlow, he was attacked by a strong body of troops from Kilmallock, and after a skirmish, was defeated and driven to seek refuge elsewhere. Even at this low ebb in his fortunes, so strong was his hold on the affections of the people, that the plan of bringing over the "Queen's Earl" completely failed in its object. The successes of Carew, howe