Wars of the Irish Kings (37 page)

The primat of Armagh personallie accompanieng the English power, & blessing their enterprise, gave them such comfortable exhortation, as he thought served the time before they began to incounter. And herewith [at Faughart] buckling togither, at length the Scots fullie and wholie were vanquished, and two thousand of them slain, togither with their capteine Edward Bruce. Maupas that pressed into the throng to incounter with Bruce hand to hand, was found in the search dead aloft upon the slaine bodie of Bruce. The victorie thus obteined upon saint Calixtus day, made
an end of the Scotish kingdom in Ireland, & lord Birmingham sending the head of Bruce into England, or as Marlburrow hath, being the messenger himselfe, presented it to king Edward, who in recompense gave to him and his heires male the earledome of Louth, and the baronie of Ardich and Athenrie to him and his heirs generall for ever. Shortlie after sir Richard de Clare with four other knights of name, and manie other men of war were slaine in Thomond.

A
S WE SAW IN
HOLINSHED’s CHRONICLES,
the Bruce invasion provided cover for a number of small local wars that had little or nothing to do with the Scots. One of the most decisive broke out in Brian Boru’s old kingdom of Thomond in 1318.

For generations two factions of the O’Brien family had been battling each other over the crown. In 1318, the king of Thomond was Murtough, a descendant of Thurlough O’Brien, and his challenger was Mahon, from the Brian O’Brien side of the family, who had a powerful ally in Richard de Clare. De Clare, himself a descendant of the invader Strongbow, ruled—at least in theory—most of the west of Ireland from Limerick or his castle at Bunratty. In practice, however, the English respected the sovereignty of Thomond and remained outside its borders. De Clare’s alliance with Mahon O’Brien, however, gave him an excuse to invade the kingdom. The two sides—Murtough’s Irish and de Clare’s “pale Englishmen,” as they are frequently called in the text—met in battle in May 1318, at Dysert O’Dea near the present town of Ennis in County Clare.

Although horses are mentioned in accounts of the battle, it was a battle fought on foot that began with the Irish typically setting up an ambush that, this time, turned into a pitched battle. A curious thing about this particular fight is that some of the Irish seem to have worn armor and in its final moments—when fresh Irish troops arrived to save the day for Murtough—they looked so much like de Clare’s men that there was some confusion as to what side they were on.

Another distinctive aspect of this battle is that the Irish clearly won it. Almost six hundred years later, writing about the 1916 Easter Week uprising then in progress, James Stephens, a Dubliner with no love for the English, noted that for the Irish fighting well was more important than winning. He quotes, “‘They went forth always to the battle; and they always fell.’” And he adds, “Indeed, the history of the Irish race is in that phrase.” But Dysert O’Dea was an undisputed win for the Irish, and for
centuries to come the English left Thomond alone as a place for the O’Briens to rule and squabble over. Not until the early years of Hugh O’Neill’s rebellion at the end of the sixteenth century would there be another such clear-cut victory. Ironically, by then most of the O’Briens would become allies of the English against their fellow Irishmen.

SINCE APPARENTLY WAR THEY
must have, they [the men of Murtough O’Brien] would harry and banish Mahon O’Brien so that he should not be in their midst, and de Clare on their outer side, to vex them with hostilities. For to elude their enemies and to provide against them on one hand alone, seemed easier than it would be with some of them in their own bosom.

At early morn and in the one day, rigorously, unsparingly, with all circumstance of hostile fury and resentment, from the Leap to S. Mac
Duach’s church they made the intended creachs [raids]. So efficiently and skilfully they congregated flocks and herds, that whether of single horses or of whole studs, of kine by the head or kine in frightened droves, of swine, of small cattle few or many, of sheep, of plough-teams, of wolfdogs or of hounds in packs, of “agriculture” [implements and produce], of gear and goods of value, of raiment and of arms, they left not a jot but speedily and completely they swept clean and forcibly brought away ….

It came to pass now, that within the city of Limerick Ireland’s principal barons appointed a general meeting, having for its purpose a composition of some sort between O’Brien and the gentlemen of Thomond of the one part, de Clare and Mahon O’Brien of the other. All concerned, both Gall and Gael, answered the tryst; Murtough O’Brien and Mac Conmara, with many others of degree, coming (under protection of the chief Butler and of sir Maurice, joined with Thomas and sir William Oge Burke) with proposals of redress to de Clare and Mahon, in the matter of preyings done on the latter.

They propounded their terms, with guarantee of the barons that they should have effect; but de Clare refused the security and insisted rather that they should submit themselves to his honour, that is to say: their tender of reparation to be duly carried out at maturity, or [failing that] themselves to lie [in his hands] as pledges of fulfilment. The other side, as well knowing what measure of grace would be theirs if they gave in to de Clare, repelled such settlement ….

Of the barons under whose protection they were, Thomond now prayed that they would convoy them safe [out of de Clare’s immediate grasp]. They did so, coming with them as far as the head of Thomond-bridge, where the barons told them that injustice was done them, and added: “it just happens well for you that at this departing on your journey both tide and moon at the full await you.” The Butler went on: “I beseech you injure not this night aught that is de Clare’s, but suffer him to use [this present favourable] opportunity of the sea to gain Bunratty; for he himself says that, at all times when it may be his chance personally to oppose you, no whit he cares for your war. Wherefore be ye not again cozened in the same quarter; so shall ye fare well.” They took leave one of the other, and O’Brien’s party sought the place in which their horses their riding-gear and horseboys expected them.

With spirits bent on action, yet prudently contained, roundly they coasted along the Cratalachs’ [“Cratloes”] thick-sheltering fruitful-branched mast-abounding woods; entered into Hy-Amrid of the high hills with pleasant levels, clear good horse-paths and salmon-yielding rivers; past hazel-woody Ballymulcashel towards the much-resorted hard-flagged
strath of Cullane, with its tracks among the rocks and eminences of pleasant prospect; on to
Tulach na nespoc
[“hill of bishops”] sanctified by bell and precious Mass, by relics gold-enshrined, by rare piety and notable miracles. In shelter of which famous church that night they lay, and on the irachts enjoined to keep good watch and ward in their “gaps of danger” [at their vulnerable points], at the common border-fords, and to guard the ways; to be alert and vigilant, ready to meet all alarms assaults and sudden war. On the extreme verge of demarcation [between de Clare and him] O’Brien pitched a standing camp to hold that position. With a strong body of horse Mac Conmara penetrated to Bunratty of the wide roads, oared galleys and safe harbour, where past and close to the town’s outskirts he drove a trifling stealth of cattle, sheep and horses; and de Clare pursued, because he thought that Mac Conmara would be found following close in the wake of the prey, whereby opportunity might be had to detain him; and that day he had it too, had his own numbers but been sufficient.

Concerning Mahon O’Brien’s two sons: out of Connacht by night they came with a troop of horsemen and rode through Thomond to Bunratty, to speak with de Clare ….

Concerning O’Brien and the men of Thomond: the aforesaid night was the same during which they set themselves in motion to execute a creach on de Clare, who [so soon as he was advised that they stirred] determined himself to go in pursuit and to effect their detention.

The cows and the families that tended them [the entire contemplated prey in fact] lay in Maethal, where precisely Mahon O’Brien’s sons had left their horses and horseboys; and there it was that O’Brien appointed his men to lie low: along the very way by which he supposed that de Clare would come [on his avenging progress, and so walk fair] in among the ambushed parties. In the morning he covered Maethal with squads of marauders [apparently] rashly daring, and ostentatious with flying colours, who to the baron’s contumely, by main force yet without a blow stricken, pillaged and gutted the place of its horses, its stock of all other kinds, its plenishing and wealth.

When de Clare beheld these preys boldly before his face lumped together and, without zig-zag or twist or wavering without offer to evade, without let or hindrance driven straight along the road; in his heart he understood that it was on behalf of Thomond’s main host and Murtough O’Brien the chief that this overweening attack so was pushed home on him. For which reason he suffered not a man of his own pursuing force to press or follow the raiders, nor with the children of Cas to content for this ample haul that they had made.

O’Brien marking that de Clare persevered not in the quest he made his
men to rise out of the lurking watch that they had kept; and when the baron saw the ranks start up out of their hiding places, the conduct that he had observed pleased him vastly. Well for him who had shunned those young men’s weaponed vigour, and refrained from meddling with them!

As from the English aforesaid they had had neither fight nor other hardship, jovially and prosperously they followed the preys, droves and herds, into Echtge’s woody deep-valleyed white-rocked lofty-hilled pap-peaked fastnesses, and there divided their creachs and other booty. A good thing and an opportune too they judged it that they had hold of Mahon O’Brien’s sons’ horsemen: horsemen of them that came for de Clare to go and meet their enemies’ flittings, for ever meddling and making to their mischief, and fomenting constant war upon them.

De Clare now despatched messengers to sir William Oge Burke to bid him protect Mahon O’Brien and Kineldunal with their irachts and flittings [baggage], and convey them to Kilnasula’s causeway, whither he with his full numbers would repair to meet them. [On arrival of the envoy] Mac William mustered heavily, and on that day [of his start] came as far as Ardrahen; de Clare in the same day marching to the venerable fane of Quin. That night he abode in S. Finian’s church, and on the morrow’s morn early advanced into grassy apple-fruitful
fiadh uachtarach;
thence up to the glittering river and rushing water of Curra-Neill, not fairly practicable for horses. But as they were for crossing the cool broad pools, boiling eddies, swelling volume and clear calm backwaters of huge-fish-containing Fergus, there they saw await them a horrific beldam [hag], that in the current washed and with huge exertion dipped old armours, satin vestments, goldthreaded jacks of price, smooth finetextured silken shirts, handsome oversea-fashioned wares, with other garments and strippings of a host; so that of all the river below her was made a broo of blood and water, while from above the sunlighted glaucous spoutings, in gurgling torrent of pure water, over smooth sand rolled down to her.