were so changed, as to put him under the contempt of a cowardly prince, who had the insolence to demand hostages, or to challenge him into the field, where he did not doubt to make him feel the force of his arms, and of his courageous followers, who were justly esteemed invincible. The messenger, instead of returning the answer, presumed to dissuade Donough from his design of fighting; and insisted that his men were in no capacity to engage with the forces of his master, whose army was fresh and in good heart, and seemed impatient to enter into the field. But Donough replied with his usual majesty that if the law of nations had not secured him from ill treatment, he would instantly cut his tongue out for his insolence, and ordered him out of his presence with this injunction, to tell his master that he would meet him and his subjects of Ossery in the field if he had but one man to stand by him. With this answer the messenger returned, and Donough drew up his men in order of battle. His sick and wounded he designed to commit to the charge of one third part of his army, and with the rest he resolved to engage the enemy, but the wounded soldiers, who were lying upon the ground, immediately started up, and by the violence of the motion bursting open their wounds, they desired their general not to leave them behind, but suffer them to have a part in the action; and stopping their wounds a second time with moss, they laid hold of their weapons, and took their places in the ranks, resolved to assist their companions, and come off with victory or bravely die in the attempt. But most of them were so much reduced by loss of blood that they could not stand upon their legs, and to remedy this misfortune, they desired the general that a number of stakes should be cut in the neighbouring wood and driven into the ground; every wounded soldier was to be tied fast to one of these piles, and then to be placed regularly between two sound men, which would have that effect, that their sound companions would be ashamed to fly and abandon them in that helpless condition to the fury of the enemy; and therefore it would sharpen their courage to reflect that nothing but victory could secure the lives of their distressed friends, who would be cut off to a man if they were not relieved by the bravery of their fellow-soldiers. This proposal was put in execution to the great surprise of the enemy, who judged that they had nothing to expect but death or victory. The army of Leinster and Ossery, under the command of Mac Giolla Patrick, were astonished at the resolution of that martial tribe, who were under arms expecting the sign of battle. They positively refused to fight, and told the king in a mutinous manner that nothing but a defeat was to be expected from the bravery of the Dailgais, that the wounded were as eager to engage as the sound, and therefore they would not run wilfully into the jaws of lions, who would inevitably tear them to pieces. Mac Giolla Patrick was ashamed, after he had given the challenge, to retire without fighting; and, upbraiding his army with fear and cowardice, insisted that they had the advantage of numbers, that the enemy had but a handful of men, worn out with grievous wounds and long marches, and that the first charge must give them victory. But the courage of the Dailgais, and their unexpected resolution, had impressed such a terror upon the army of Leinster, that they absolutely refused to engage with such desperate enemies; and the king, fearing a general mutiny and defection, was obliged to give over his design, and content himself with falling upon the Dailgais, and by constant skirmishes and stratagems of war to cut them off in their retreat; and this method was so successfully executed, that he annoyed the Dailgais and destroyed more of their men than he could possibly have done in a pitched battle. The conduct and experience of Donough was remarkable in making good his retreat and securing his men against the sudden attack of the enemy; but, notwithstanding all his diligence and caution, he brought back into their own country no more of that valiant tribe than 850, for a great number perished in the battle of Clontarf, and 150 were cut off in their return by Mac Giolla Patrick, king of Ossery. Adieu to her nobles, may honour ne'er fail them! | Adieu to her fish rivers murmuring through rushes! [Gerald Nugent was, says Hardiman in his Irish Minstrelsy, the "son of a settler,” that is, he was one of those Irishmen of English descent of whom it was complained that they became more Irish than the Irish themselves. In the reign of King John the barony of Delvin in Meath was granted to Gilbert de Nugent, "the ancestor of our poet and also of the present noble family of Westmeath." By the time of Elizabeth the Nugents had taken to the Irish language like many other inhabitants of the Pale, and Gerald Nugent was a bard and harpist. He composed in Irish, and flinging aside his harp he joined with the Irish in their attempt to throw off the yoke of the conquerors. Of course the result was failure, and Nugent became an exile. In his grief at leaving the land of his birth he composed the ode or lamentation, a translation of which by the Rev. W. H. Drummond we extract from Hardiman's Minstrelsy. This is the only one of his poems that has been preserved. Where and when Gerald Nugent died we have been unable to discover.] ODE WRITTEN ON LEAVING IRELAND. What sorrow wrings my bleeding heart, Oh, anguish from her scenes to part, Of mountain, wood, and vale! Vales that the hum of bees resound, And plains where generous steeds abound. While wafted by the breeze's wing, More poignant griefs my bosom wring, The farther eastward still I speed. With Erin's love my bosom warms, No soil but hers for me has charms. A soil enrich'd with verdant bowers, And groves with mellow fruits that teem; A soil of fair and fragrant flowers, Of verdant turf and crystal stream: Rich plains of Ir, that bearded corn, And balmy herbs, and shrubs adorn. A land that boasts a pious race, A land of heroes brave and bold; Enriched with every female grace Are Banba's maids with locks of gold. Of men, none with her sons compare; No maidens with her daughters fair. If Heaven, propitious to my vow, Grant the desire with which I burn, And to my native shores return; I dread yet sorrow wounds my heart; Farewell, ye kind and generous bards, Bound to my soul by friendship strong; And ye Dundargvais' happy lands, Ye festive halls-ye sons of song; Ye generous friends in Meath who dwell, Beloved, adored, farewell! farewell! TEIGE MACDAIRE. BORN 1570-DIED 1650. [Teige MacDaire, son of Daire MacBrody, | To draw his glory from such order'd sway, was born about the year 1570. He was prin- That all may love and cheerfully obey— cipal poet to Donogh O'Brien, fourth earl of To raise his country to a prosp'rous height, Thomond, and as his appanage possessed the Or plunge it deep in dark disastrous night! castle of Dunogan, with adjoining lands, in the Since by his deeds the state must rise or fall, west of Clare. MacDaire was an elegant and He should incline to hear th' advice of all. . . elaborate poet, as may be seen by his longest A king, as many a sage hath truly told, effort, from which we quote-Advice to a If he his pow'r by tyranny uphold, Prince. This poem was written in accordance Must blast the public welfare and his own;— with the ancient custom, which not only He sacrifices not himself alone!-allowed but almost compelled the presentation of an ode of advice to the chieftain on his appointment, and was to be read before him when he was being enthroned. MacDaire, in order to "elevate the house of O'Brien above the tribes descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages, such as the O'Neills, O'Donnells, &c.,” attacked the works of Torna | Eigeas, the last of the heathen bards. This brought forth an answer from O'Clery, who defended Torna, to which MacDaire replied, and reply and answer following reply and answer, almost all the bards of north and south got mixed up in the poetic strife. The poems written on the subject, which were called the Contention of the Bards, are most of them still extant, and are very valuable for the light they throw on ancient Irish history. Of course the discussion ended as do all such discussions, by the parties to it becoming silent through exhaustion and weariness-neither side being convinced that it was in the wrong. Mac Daire was 66 'assassinated by a marauding soldier of Cromwell's army" some time about 1650. This soldier was most likely an Irishman, though serving the Cromwellians; for, as he treacherously flung MacDaire down a precipice, he cried out in Irish with exultant mockery, "Say your verses now, my little man!"] Death, want, and famine ghastly stalk around, With richest treasures, crowding from the main, Thou mighty king of Lumnia's fertile plain, Oh ne'er forgetful from him turn astray, 2 Ireland as the land of Feilim the lawgiver. Daily attend, my prince, thy people's cause, ... Be not thy judgment basely bought and sold. . . . A mighty monarch's reign immortalize. I will not, till my footsteps you pursue, Nor tap'ring active foot, alert as air, Nor lib'ral soul, majestic, great, and good, Yet will I praise, nor will my voice alone Shall praise thy name, thy great wise deeds avow, And none thine equal, virtuous prince, allow! MICHAEL O'CLERY. BORN 1580-DIED 1643. [Michael O'Clery, the principal author of the well-known Annals of the Four Masters, was, according to Geraghty in his introduction to Connellan's translation of that work, born in Donegal about the year 1580. He was descended from a learned family who had been for centuries hereditary historians to the O'Donnells, princes of Tyrconnell, and at an early age became distinguished for his abilities and laboriousness. While yet young he left Ireland and retired to the Irish Franciscan monastery at Louvain, where he soon attracted the attention of the learned Hugh Ward, a native of his own county, and a lecturer at the Irish College. His perfect knowledge of the Irish language and history caused him to be employed by Ward to carry out a project that enthusiastic monk had formed for rescuing the annals and antiquities of his country from the comparative oblivion into which they had fallen. O'Clery, accepting the offer made to him, returned to Ireland, where for many years he busied himself collecting manuscripts and other works and transmitting them to Louvain. In 1635 Ward died, but some time before he managed to publish from O'Clery's materials The Life of St. Rumold, an Irish Martyrology, and a treatise on the Names of Ireland. John Colgan, also a native of Done The works of his predecessors. gal, afterwards made large use of O'Clery's manuscripts in his works on the Irish saints Trias Thaumaturga and Acta Sanctorum Hiberniæ. Even before Ward's death, however, O'Clery had already commenced his great work, which at first went by the name of The Annals of Donegal, then by the title of The Ulster Annals, and is now known over the world as The Annals of the Four Masters, as he and his assistants, Peregrine O'Clery, Conary O'Clery, and Peregrine O'Duigenan, a learned antiquary of Kilronan, were named. He had also some little help from two members of the old and learned family of the O'Maolconerys, hereditary historians to the kings of Connaught. In the "Testimonials" prefixed to the work it is stated that it was entirely composed in the convent of the Brothers of Donegal, who supplied the requirements of the transcribers while their labours were in progress. Fergal O'Gara, a member for Sligo in the parliament of 1634, is also said to have liberally rewarded O'Clery's assistants, while it was his advice and influence that prevailed on O'Clery to bring them together and proceed with the work. In the "Testimonials" are also stated the names of the books and manuscripts from which the Annals were compiled, and there also we find the information that the first volume was begun on the 22d January, 1632, and the last finished on the 10th August, 1636. To the "Testimonials," which is a kind of guarantee of the faithfulness of the work, is subscribed the names of the superior and two of the monks, together with the counter signature of O'Donnell, prince of Tyrconnell. annalistic form, can never become popular reading. A knowledge of it is necessary, however, to any one who even pretends to the study of Irish history or antiquities.] THE CAPTURE OF HUGH ROE [The capture of Hugh Roe O'Donnell, or Red Hugh O'Donnell, was effected in A.D. 1587, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. It was the custom at that time, we are told, to imprison any chieftain, or son of a chieftain, who might in any way contribute to the disturbance of a country already troublesome enough to England. For this purpose all possible stratagems were resorted to. One of which in the following extract is demonstrated.] The fame and renown of Hugh Roe or Red Hugh, the son of Hugh, spread throughout the five provinces of Ireland even before he had arrived at the age of manhood, as being distinguished for wisdom, intellect, personal figure, and noble deeds, and all persons in general said that he was truly a prodigy, and that, should he be allowed to arrive at the age of maturity, the disturbance of the whole island of Ireland would arise through him, and through the Earl of Tyrone, should they be engaged on the one side, and that they would carry the sway, being in alliance with each other, as we have before stated; so that it was for these reasons the Lord Justice and the English of Dublin determined in their council what kind of plot they should adopt respecting After the completion of the Annals O'Clery that circumstance which they dreaded, and the returned to Louvain, where in 1643 he pub-resolution they came to was to fit out in Dublin lished a Vocabulary of the Irish Language. This seems to have been the last of his works, and this year the last year of his life. Magee, however, tells us that "relics of other undertakings both by him and Ward are reported to exist in some continental collections." The Annals of the Four Masters commence at the earliest period of Irish history, about A.D. 1171, and terminate A.D. 1616, embracing a period of 444 years. They were fully translated from the original Irish in which Michael O'Clery and his assistants wrote them into English by Owen Connellan, Irish historiographer to George IV. and William IV., and one of the best Irish scholars of his day. The Annals were published in Dublin by Bryan Geraghty in 1846. a ship, with its crew, and a cargo of wine and spirituous liquors, and to send it by the lefthand side of Ireland north-eastward as if it were they went on traffic, and to take port in some harbour on the coasts of Tirconnell. The ship afterwards came with a fair wind from the west, without delay or impediment, until it arrived in the old harbour of Suilidh (Lough Swilly, in Donegal), exactly opposite Rath Maolain (Rathmullen), a town which had been formerly founded on the sea-shore by Mac Sweeney of Fauat, the hereditary marshal to the Lord of Tirconnell. This ship having been moored there by her anchors, a party of the 1 This extract and also the two that follow are from Connellan's translation of The Annals of the Four O'Clery's great work, written as it is in the Masters. |