day was fast approaching when Protestantism and English power in Ireland would be no more. The Irish cause was pleaded strongly in Rome by Peter Lombard; a Spanish force was dispatched by Philip to Ireland. But all was lost in the disaster of Kinsale. The letters of Hugh O'Neill and Hugh O'Donnell to Peter Lombard and Clement VIII are intensely interesting reading. The Irish chiefs are most earnest in the declaration of their attachment to the Holy See, and of their zeal for the Catholic Faith'; they aver that they carry on the war not from any temporal motives, but in the interests of the true religion, as may be seen from the fact that they will accept no peace without guarantees securing the free exercise of their religion. As may be supposed, these protestations are but the preface to the petitions which follow. Help is required to carry on the war-O'Neill declares that he has been at war constantly for six years at his own expense, and that if aid is not forthcoming he will be obliged to conclude peace. He further requests that the Pope should issue a decree of excommunication against those Irish who joined the Queen's forces, and that indulgences should be granted in favour of those who fought on his side. But the most significant petition of all is that which begs for the Irish chiefs the rights of patronage enjoyed by their ancestors, and further, that no bishops should be appointed without letters of approval from them. This last request was signed, in one letter, by O'Neill and O'Donnell conjointly," and in another by J. Desmonde, Dermode Maccarthy, H. O'Neill, Maccarthy More.'" Students of history are well aware of the many abuses which followed the system of lay patronage, in Ireland as well as over the continent. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Roman authorities should have spared no effort to destroy such a source of evil, and from these petitions of the Irish chiefs it would appear as if the rights of patronage had been at that time taken out of lay hands almost altogether. The chiefs were most anxious for the restitution of these powers, knowing well what a source of strength they would be for them, enabling them to fill 1 Archiv. Hib., ii. p. 281. 2 Ibid. pp. 283, 284. 3 Ibid. pp. 283, 284. 4 Ibid. pp. 290-2. 5 Ibid. p. 281. • Ibid. pp. 288-9. A facsimile of this document faces p. 288. every important ecclesiastical position with relatives or supporters of their own. It does not appear that the request was received favourably in Rome. Nor did the petition for a voice in future episcopal elections meet with a better reception, for, from subsequent documents1 it transpires that it was stoutly opposed by Peter Lombard, on the grounds that bishops nominated by O'Neill would never be tolerated by the civil authorities. The documents supply many interesting details. At this period most of the Irish sees were vacant, or occupied by bishops who were unable to visit their dioceses and lived on the Continent. In a letter addressed to Clement VIII in 1601 by Dermot Creagh, Bishop of Cork and Cloyne, these absent bishops are referred to with a touch of bitterness. The writer states that he has been the only bishop in Munster for the past twenty years, and that now his failing health and advancing age prevent him from performing his onerous duties. He begs, therefore, for the appointment of some bishops, zealous men, and not such as, when appointed, will spend the rest of their lives peacefully in foreign countries, or, if they do come to Ireland, display but little activity. Knowing, as we do, that no risk was too great for Creagh to encounter, and that he laboured not alone in Munster, but also in Connacht and Leinster, we may well pardon his impatience with those who shunned the perils which he was every day prepared to face. A paper, dated 1600, gives the actual facts regarding the number of vacant sees.1 In the northern province there were four bishops. Derry was occupied by Redmund O'Gallagher, now, the record states, over eighty years of age, and unable to perform his duties. Richard Brady of Kilmore was also an old man, anxious to resign. Of Neil O'Boyle, Bishop of Raphoe, a character is given which is by no means favourable; and regarding Cornelius O'Devaney of Down and Connor it is naively stated that he is a good man, but too simple to be of much use. Three of the Leinster sees were filled, Dublin, Ossory, and Leighlin, but none of the bishops resided in his diocese; Matthew de Oviedo, the Archbishop of Dublin, was, for his own safety, 1 Archiv. Hib. iv. pp. 292-310. 2 Ibid. pp. 284-9. Ibid. ii. pp. 287, 288. 4 Ibid. pp. 301, 302. with O'Neill, while the Bishops of Ossory and Leighlin lived on the Continent. The whole province of Connacht had not even one bishop, and, as Cornelius O'Ryan of Killaloe was not residing in his diocese, the care of the province of Munster depended on the aged Dermot Creagh of Cork. That the affairs of the Church were in a sorry state is apparent from the fact that need was felt for the visit of a Nuncio. A memorial of the same year (1600) consists of suggestions for the Nuncio who was expected to visit Ireland.' The objects of the Nuncio's visit are set forth : to ascertain the precise civil and religious conditions, to secure unity in the prosecution of the war, to establish communications with the Holy See and with foreign Catholic princes, in order to obtain aid, to appoint suitable men to the vacant sees, to make some arrangements in regard to the temporalities of the Church, and to provide for spiritual needs by means of indulgences, censures, and dispensations. The chief obstacles to united action in the war are said to be the suspicion between the Old Irish and the AngloIrish, and the fact that in some places freedom of worship had been allowed by the authorities, in order to encourage the people not to join the Ulster chiefs. The remainder of the Borghese papers which relate to Ireland are published in the third and fourth volumes of the Archivium. The first of these is a description of the manner in which the conquest of Ireland might be effected, and is probably, Dr. Hagan conjectures, the work of Oviedo, who was in Rome in 1580, as agent of the Irish chiefs.2 The Irish, the writer declares, are natural enemies of the English, because of religion, usurpation, tyranny, and misrule, and it is declared that they are purposely kept in a state of ignorance, lest with knowledge they might succeed in shaking off the English yoke. An army of 5,000 men should be sufficient to conquer the country, considering the facilities in the way of harbours, the goodwill of the chiefs and people, and the fact that the enemy is engaged in foreign wars. In several letters the progress of the war is recounted,3 and various communications of O'Neill with Spain and Rome lead up to the fatal battle of Kinsale, in connexion with which the articles of capitulation are given. 1 Archiv. Hib. ii. pp. 303-12. 2 Ibid. iii. pp. 228-31. 8 Ibid. pp. 234 sqq. 4 Ibid. p. 247. Evidently the authorities were encouraged by the success at Kinsale to renew their efforts at persecution, for we next meet with an order of the President and Council of Munster1 attributing all the recent disturbances to the arts of Jesuits, seminarists, and Mass-priests, and therefore commanding all such to quit the country before the end of August, 1604, and not to return for seven years, and then only with permission. Those who aided and abetted these disturbers were to be imprisoned during the King's pleasure, and fined £40, and anyone who delivered up a priest was rewarded, receiving for a Jesuit, £10, for a seminarist, £6 13s. 4d., and for a Mass-priest, £5. This legislation against the clergy was soon followed by provisions affecting the laity, as we find a royal mandate, signed by H. Brunkerd, President of Munster, bearing the date February 11, 1605, ordering attendance at the Protestant service on every Sunday and holiday. 3 The hapless state of the Catholics of Ireland at this time is well expressed in a Brief of Pope Paul V to the Irish people, in which the Pope extends his sympathy, sorrowing at their sufferings, but consoled by their constancy. The document has an added interest by reason of the fact that the Pope grants a plenary indulgence, on the usual conditions, to those who visit certain places of popular devotion on their festival days. The places mentioned include the Church of St. Fechin of Fore, Iniscaltra in Lough Derg, Arran Islands, Skellig Rock, Croagh Patrick, Armagh, and Clonmel. Among many other important papers appears a letter of the Irish chiefs to Paul V, dated about the year 1613,* urging that the only way in which Ireland can be delivered is by force of arms, and that the present offers an admirable opportunity, for the royal treasury is exhausted, it is impossible to raise an army, and the King is in disfavour. But little foreign aid would be needed, as the Irish have proved their strength by the wars of the past eleven years, in which they killed over 60,000 of the enemy. The contents of the fourth volume of the Archivium conclude the Borghese documents, covering the period already described. A goodly number of papers refer to the flight of the Earls; a copy of the proclamation of James I against the Earls finds a place among them, and 1 Archiv. Hib. iii. p. 253. 2 Ibid. p. 255. VOL. X-9 Ibid. p. 260. finally some petitions of O'Neill and O'Donnell regarding episcopal appointments, of which something has been said previously. Having completed the examination of the Borghese collection, Dr. Hagan next turned his attention to the archives of the Congregation of the Council, from which he has brought to light a collection of documents of greater interest, perhaps, than any of those hitherto published. These are a number of Relationes Status, twenty-one in number, ranging in date from 1619 to 1771.1 We should naturally expect many more than twenty-one of these reports, if we did not remember that the times were abnormal, and the bishops few in number. Some reports might have been intercepted by the Government, and doubtless in many cases a verbal account was regarded as sufficient. Still Dr. Hagan holds out the hope that others may be forthcoming, and the archives of the Propaganda should yield a goodly number. Although the obligation of presenting the Relatio Status is personal, the bishops of those times were unable, for various reasons, to visit Rome. The danger of detection was too great, and besides, their slender resources were scarcely equal to the strain of a long voyage. Hence we find that in every case before us, the report was presented by a procurator, some by diocesan clergy, but most of them through the hands of Dr. Edmund O'Dwyer, who was agent of the Irish Bishops in Rome for some years.2 The transmission of the documents themselves was no easy matter, for, as the Archbishop of Dublin declares in his report, at all ports there are spies and officials, who closely examine all travellers to Rome, Italy, Spain, or any Catholic country; and if they find upon them anything referring to the Church, or savouring of Rome, they immediately cast them into prison, to be executed or otherwise punished according to the will of the Viceroy. Even the sailors and merchants are cruelly punished, and their ships and cargoes forfeited to the Crown.' Owing, therefore, to the danger of interception, the reports are sometimes not as full as might be desired, it being left to the agent who presented them in Rome to supply verbally for the omissions. These omissions, however, refer only to matters of 1 Archiv. Hib. v. pp. 74 sqq. * Dr. O'Dwyer afterwards became Bishop of Limerick. |