THE STORY OF IRELAND

New Zealand Tablet, 14 August 1919, Page 9

THE STORY OF IRELAND

(By A. M. Sullivan.) CHAPTER XXXl.—Continued. In the reign of the eighth Henry, as well as for.a long time previous thereto, the Geraldine family comprised two great branches, of which the Earl of Desmond and the Earl of Kildare were respectively the heads; the latter being paramount. Early in Henry's reign Gerald, Earl of Kildare, or "The Great Earl," as he is called in the Irish annals, died after a long life, illustrious as a soldier, statesman, and ruler. He was succeeded by his son, Garret Oge, or Gerald the younger, who was soon appointed by the Crown to the high office and authority of lord deputy as vested in his father. Gerald Oge found his enemies at Court active and restless in plotting his overthrow. He had more than once to proceed to England to make his defence against fatal charges, but invariably succeeded in vindicating himself with the King. With Henry, indeed, he was apparently rather a favorite; while, on the other hand, Cardinal Wolsey viewed him with marked suspicion. Kildare, though at the head of the English power in Ireland, was, like many of the Geraldines, nearly as much of an Irish chief as an English noble. Not only was he, to the sore uneasiness of the Court at London, in friendly alliance with many of the native princes, but he was allied by the. closest ties of kindred and alliance with the royal houses of Ulster. So proud was he of this relationship, that, upon one occasion, when he was being reinstated as lord deputy, to the expulsion of Ormond, his accusing enemy, we are told, that at Kildare's request "his kinsman, Con O'Xeill, carried the Sword of State before him to St. Thomas's Abbey, where he entertained the King's commissioners and others at a sumptuous banquet." But soon Gerald's enemies were destined to witness the accomplishment of all their designs against his house. James, Earl of Desmond, "a man of lofty and ambitious views," entered into a correspondence with Charles V., King of Spain, and Francis I. of France, for the purpose, some hold, of inducing one or other of those Sovereigns to invade Ireland. What follows I quote textually from O'Daly's quaint narrative, as translated by the Rev. 0. P. Meehan: "Many messages passed between them, of all of which Henry VIII. was a long time ignorant. It is commonly thought that Charles V. at this time meditated an invasion of Ireland ; and when at length the intelligence of these facts reached the King of England, Cardinal Wolsey (a man of immoderate ambition, most inimical to the Geraldines, and then ruling England as it were by his nod) caused the Earl to be summoned to London ; but Desmond did not choose to place himself in the hands of the Cardinal, and declined the invitation. Thereupon the King dispatched a messenger to the Earl of Kildare, then Viceroy in Ireland, ordering him to arrest Desmond and send him to England forthwith. On receipt of the order, Kildare collected troops and marched into Munster to seize Desmond; but, after some time,- whether through inability or reluctance to injure his kinsman, the business failed and Kildare returned. Then did the Cardinal poison the mind of the King against Kildare, asseverating that by his connivance Desmond had escaped—(this, indeed, was not the fact, for Kildare, however so anxious, could not have arrested Desmond). Kildare was then arraigned before the Privy Council, as Henry gave willing ear to the Cardinal's assertions; but before the Viceroy sailed for England, he committed the State and administration of Ireland to Thomas, his son and heir, and then presented himself before the council. The Cardinal accused him of high treason to his liege Sovereign, and endeavored to brand him and all his family with the ignominious mark of disloyalty. . Kildare, who was a man of bold spirit, and despised the base .origin of. Wolsey, replied in polished, yet vehement language; and though the Cardinal and Court were hostile to him, nevertheless he so well managed the matte? , that

he- was* only committed to the Tower of; London. But the Cardinal, determined to carry out his designs"of vengeance, without knowledge of the King, sent private instructions to the Constable of the Tower ordering him to behead the Earl without delay. When the Con- " stable received his orders, although he knew how dangerous it was to contravene the Cardinal's mandate, commisserating the Earl, he made him aware of his instructions. Calmly, yet firmly, did Kildare listen to the person who read his death-warrant; and then launching into a violent invective against the Cardinal, he caused the Constable to proceed to the King, to learn if such order had emanated from him, for he suspected that it was the act of the Cardinal unauthorised. The Constable, regardless of the risk he ran, hastened to the King, and, about 10 o'clock at night, reported to his Majesty the order of the Cardinal for destroying Kildare. Thereon the King was bitterly incensed against Wolsey, whom he cursed, and forbade the Constable to execute any order not sanctioned by his own sign-manual; stating, at the same time, that he would cause the Cardinal to repent of his usurped authority and unjust dislike to Kildare. The Constable returned, and informed the Earl of his message but Kildare was nevertheless detained a. prisoner in the Tower to the end of his days." "There is," says O'Daly's translator, "a chapter in Gait's Life of Wolsey full of errors and gross misrepresentations of Ireland and the Irish. It is only fair, however, to give him credit for the spirited sketch he has given of the dialogue between Wolsey and Kildare. 'My lord,' said Wolsey, 'you will remember how the Earl .of Desmond, your kinsman, sent letters to Francis, the French King, what messages have been sent to you to arrest him (Desmond), and it is not yet done . . . but in performing your duty in this affair, merciful God ! how dilatory have you been ! . . . what! the Earl of Kildare dare not venture! nay, the King of Kildare; for you reign more than you govern the land.' 'My Lord Chancellor,' replied the Earl, 'if you proceed in this way, I will forget half my defence. I have no school tricks nor art of recollection; unless you hear me while I remember, your second charge will hammer the first out of my head. As to my kingdom, I know not what you mean ... I would you and I, my lord, exchanged kingdoms for one month; I would in that time undertake to gather more crumbs than twice the revenues of my poor earldom. While you sleep in your bed of down, I lie in a poor hovel.; while you are served under a canopy, I serve under the cope of heaven ; while you drink wine from golden cups, I must be content with water from a shell; my . charger is trained for the field, your jennet is taught to amble.' O'Daly's assertion that Wolsey issued the Earl's death-warrant does not appear to rest on any solid foundation ; and the contrary appears likely, when such usurpation of Royalty was not objected in the impeachment of the Cardinal." (To be continued.)