IRELAND
101
IRELAND
These invaders were the Danes from the coasts of of others the decrees of synods were often flouted, and
Scandinavia. Pagans and pirates, they loved plunder the new diocesan boundaries ignored.
and war, and both on land and sea were formidable The Anglo-Nopm.\ns.— In Henry II of England an
foes. Like the fabled Fomorians of earlier times they unexpected reformer appeared. The murderer of
had a genius for devastation. Descending from their Thomas a Becket seemed ill-fitted for the role, but he
ships along the coasts of western Europe, they mur- undertook it, and in the first year of his reign (1154) he
dered the inhabitants or made them captives and procured a Bull from the English-born Pope Adrian
slaves. In Ireland as elsewhere they attacked the IV authorizing him to proceed to Ireland "to cneck
monasteries and churches, desecrated the altars, the torrent of wickedness, to reform evil manners, to
carried away the gold and silver vessels, and smok- sow the seeds of virtue." The many troubles of his
ing ruins and murdered monks attested the fury extensive kingdom thwarted his plans for years. But
of their assaults. Armagh and Bangor, Kiklare and in 1168 Macmurrogh, King of Leinster, driven from
Clonmacnoise, lona and Lindisfarne thus fell before his kingdom sought Henry's aid, and then Adrian's
their fury. Favoured by disunion among the Irish Bull was remembered. A first contingent of Anglo-
chiefs, they crept inland, effected permanent settle- Normans came to Ireland in 1169 under Fitzgerald, a
ments at Waterford and Limerick and established a stronger force under Strongbow (de Clare, Earl of
powerful kingdom at Dublin; and, had their able chief Pembroke) in 1170, and in 1171 Henry himself landed
Turgesius lived much longer, they might perhaps have at Waterford and proceeded to Dublin, where he spent
subdued the whole island. For a century after his the winter, and received the submission of all the
death in 845 victory and defeat alternated in their Irish chiefs, except those of Tyrconnell and Tyrowen.
wars; but they clung tenaciously to their seaport These submissions, however, aggravated rather than
possessions, and kept the neighbouring Irish in cruel lessened existing ills. The Irish chiefs suljrnitted to
bondage. They were, however, signally defeated by Henry as to a powerful ardri, still preserving their
the Ardri Malachy in 980, and Dublin was compelled privileges and rights under Brehon law. Henry, on
to pay him tribute. But, able , . his side, regarded them as vas-
as Malachy was, an abler man sals holding the lands of their
soon supplanted him in the tribes by military service and
supreme position. Step by ^»^^^ "i accordance with feudal law.
step Brian Boru had risen from M^^*^,^ ^^K. Thus a conflict lietween the
being chief of Thomond to be yl^^HfllL tiSjti^P^ '^'^'^ system and feudalism
undisputed ruler of Munster. H^^^Hf^^Sf^HP^^,..^ jk .M>- ^^ose. Exercising his eu)5posed Its chiefs were his tributaries ^^^^F^__5^^BBLl'8Bt*'Tfc^BB I'Sl^. H'Miry divided the eoun- and his allies; the Danes he ^^^^^JEjirrl^K^Bil^^l j I jig^rH y '"'" ^° many great fiefs, had repeatedly cha.stised, and ^H^ fl|B%'^^Hj^HS|| ^1 SllMtll giving Mcath to de Lacy, Lein- in 1002 he compelled Malachy B|^^^^^^^^^^B^^WHBrJ|BMK|^^| ster to Strongbow, while de to abdicate in his favour. HB^SBJ^^^BBHHH8il<fc»*liMMiMiiSi Courcy was encouraged to con-
It was a bitter humiliation B^BB^^T-' iiiiiiiiii i .iiii iiimMiiiMiM^Miii iiii quer Ulster, and de C'ogan Con- fer Malachy thus to lay down ^^^^^^^raw|K|^nB|^HHHHHHHH|| naught. At alaterdatethede the sceptre which for 600 years ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^f^^^^^^^^^H Burgos
had been in the hands of his '^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^si Fitzgeralds in Kildan-and Des- family. It gave Ireland, how: Ruins of Ardfert Abbey mond, the Butlers in O.ssory.
ever, the greatest of her high-kings and unbroken peace
forsome years. War came when the elements of dis-
content coalesced. Brian had irritated Leinster by re-
viving the Boru tribute ; he had crushed the Danes ; and
these, with the Danes of the Isle of Man and those of
Sweden and the Scottish Isles, joined together, and on
Good Friday, 1014, the united strength of Danes and
Leinstermen faced Brian's army at Clontarf. The
Discord enfeebled the capacity of the Irish chiefs for
resistance; nor were kernes and gallowglasses equal
to mail-clad knights, nor the battle-axe to the Norman
lance, and in a short time large tracts had passed from
native to foreign hands.
The new Anglo-Irish lords soon outgrew the posi- tion of English subjects, and to the natives Ijecame tyrannical and overbearing. Ignoring the many evi-
victory gained by the latter was great; but it was denees of culture in Ireland, her Romanesque archi-
dearly bought by the loss of Brian as well as his son
and grandson. The century and a half which followed
was a weary waste of turbulence and war. Brian's
usurpation encouraged others to ignore the claims of
descent. O'Loughlin and O'Neill in the North,
O'Brien in the South, and O'Connor beyond the Shan-
tecture, her high crosses, her illuminated manuscripts,
her shrines and crosiers, the scholars that had shed
lustre on her schools, the saints that had hallowed her
valleys, the missionaries that had spread her fame
tliroughout Europe — ignoring all these, they despised
the Irish as rude and barbarous, despised their lan-
non fought for the national throne with equal energy guage, their laws, their dress, their arms; and, while
and persistence; and as one set of disputants dis- not recognizing the Brehon law, they refusetl Irish-
appeared, others replaced them, equally determined to men the status of English subjects or the protection of
prevail. The l&sser chiefs were similarly engaged. English law. At last, despairing of union among their
This ceaseless strife completed the work begun by the own chiefs, or of justice from Irish viceroy or English
Danes. Under native and Christian chiefs churches king, the oppressed Irish invited Edward Bruce from
were destroyed, church lands appropriated by laymen, Scotland. In 1315 he landed in Ireland and was
monastic schools deserted, lay abbots ruled at Armagh crowned king. Successful at first, his allies beyond
and elsewhere. Bishops were consecrated without the Shannon were almost annihilated in the battle of
sees and conferred orders for money, there was chaos Athenry (1316); and two years later he was himself
in church government and corruption everywhere, defeated and slain at Faughart. His ruin had been
In a series of synods beginning with Rathbreasail effected by a combination of the Anglo-Irish lords, and
(1118) and including Kells, at which the pope's legate
presided, many salutary enactments were passed, and
for the first time diocesan episcopacy was established.
Meanwhile, St. Malachy, Archbishop of Armagh, had
done very remarkable work in his own diocese and
elsewhere. His early death in 1148 was a heavy blow
to the cause of church reform. Nor could so many
evils be cured in a single life, or by the labours of a
single man; and in spite of his efforts and the efforts
this still further inflated their pride. Titles rewarded
them. Birmingham became Lord of Athenry and
Earl of Louth, Fitzgerald Earl of Kildare, his kinsman
Earl of Desmond, de Burgo Earl of Ulster, Butler Earl
of Ormond. But these titles only increased their inso-
lence and disloyalty. Favoured by the weakness of
the viceroy's government the native chiefs recovered
most of the ground they had lost.
Meanwhile the de Burgos in Connaught changed
